DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Claims status
In the amendment filed on April 27, 2026, claims 1, 3, 10-12 and 16 have been amended. Therefore, claims 1-20 are currently pending for examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 10 recites an abbreviation "MEMs". It is unclear what the abbreviation stands for.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brusky et al. (Brusky: US 5903259) in view of Melodia et al. (Melodia: US 20180000344A1) further in view of Chen et al. (Chen: US 2009/0046537).
Regarding Claim 10, Brusky teaches a method for communicating commands from an information handling system keyboard (Fig. 2, CPU 24 and keyboard 38 and Fig. 3, CPU 72 and K/B 80) to a peer device (Fig. 2, 22 and Fig. 3, 74), the method comprising:
receiving at the keyboard a command to a peer device (Col. 6 lines20-44 and Table A);
playing the command as ultrasonic sounds coupled in the keyboard; and detecting the command coupled in the peer device (Col. 7 lines 65-Col. 8 lines 7: sound waves (including audible and inaudible sounds) or other wireless communication transmitters and receivers can be used and Fig. 3, REMOTE STG 78 from 80 to 74 and Col. 7 Lines 30-35; transmit remote control signals 78 directly to the electronic device 74 when a predetermined key or key combination is pressed on the wireless computer keyboard 80).
Brusky does not explicitly disclose playing ultrasonic sounds with a MEMs speaker or detecting with a microphone.
However, the preceding limitations are known in the art of ultrasonic communication devices. Melodia teaches an ultrasonic communication between a first device and a second device (Par 39, enable commercial devices, such as smartphones, laptops and smart-TVs, to communicate with ultrasonic wearable devices in the near-ultrasonic frequency range, i.e., from 15 or 17 kHz to 20 or 22 kHz, using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) speakers and microphones. And Par 59 ) and further teaches playing ultrasonic sounds with a speaker and detecting with a microphone (Fig. 4, microphone 108 as air-coupled ultrasonic transducers and Par 111 and Par 150, ) and the speaker is a MEMs speaker (Par [0057] An ultrasonic transducer is a device that converts electrical signals into ultrasonic signals and vice versa. And Par 58, microelectro-mechanical (MEMS) technology has enabled the fabrication of microscopic piezoelectric and electrostatic transducers, i.e., so-called Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (MUTs). With MUTs, the acoustic impedance can be controlled to match the external medium by manipulating the device geometry. This characteristic makes MUTs suitable for air-coupled applications)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Melodia in the base process of ultrasonic signal communication with the predictable result of transferring the desired data from one device to another.
The combination of Brusky and Melodia does not explicitly disclose detecting gestures above the keyboard with doppler sensing ultrasonic sounds played by the speaker coupled in the keyboard.
However, the preceding limitation is known in the art of input devices. Chen teaches controlling the power supply of the keyboard using ultrasonic transceiver (par 27) and further teaches detecting gestures above the keyboard with doppler sensing ultrasonic sounds played by the ultrasonic transceiver/speaker coupled in the keyboard (Par 87-89, determining hand gestures to control the power and Par 92, for keyboard power supply and Par 12, using doppler sensing and see also: par 83).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Chen in order to save the power (Chen: Par 50).
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 7-9, and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brusky in view of Melodia and Chen further in view of Schroder (GB1437355A).
Regarding Claim 1, Brusky teaches an information handling system (Fig. 2, CPU 24 and Fig. 3, CPU 72) comprising:
a housing (Fig. 2, CPU 24 has an enclosure housing the internal components);
a processor coupled in the housing and operable to execute instructions to process information; a memory coupled in the housing and interfaced with the processor, the memory operable to store the instructions and information (Col.4 lines 60-64;The CPU may also comprise a hard drive 28, a CD ROM player, a floppy disk drive 30, and a microprocessor);
a peer device separate from the housing (Fig. 2, 22 and Fig. 3, 74) and having ultrasonic wireless receiver configured to receive ultrasonic signals, the peer device configured to perform a function that includes the receiver (Col. 7 lines 65-Col. 8 lines 7: sound waves (including audible and inaudible sounds) or other wireless communication transmitters and receivers can be used); and
a peripheral keyboard separate from the housing (Fig. 2, 38 and Fig. 3, 80) and interfaced with the processor (Fig. 3, M/B SIG 82 and Col. 7 lines 30-35; ), the keyboard having plural keys each key accepting an end user press as an input (Col. 6 lines20-44 and Table A),
the keyboard having ultrasonic wireless transmitter configured to play ultrasonic signals, the ultrasonic wireless transmitter selectively configured in response to a peer device control input at the keyboard, to communicate commands with the ultrasonic signals, the ultrasonic signals received directly by the peer device receiver and applied as commands to adjust the peer device function (Col. 7 lines 65-Col. 8 lines 7: sound waves (including audible and inaudible sounds) or other wireless communication transmitters and receivers can be used and Fig. 3, REMOTE STG 78 from 80 to 74 and Col. 7 Lines 30-35; transmit remote control signals 78 directly to the electronic device 74 when a predetermined key or key combination is pressed on the wireless computer keyboard 80. ).
Brusky does not explicitly disclose the peer device having a microphone, the peer device configured to perform a function that includes the microphone or the keyboard having a speaker configured to play ultrasonic pulses.
However, the preceding limitations are known in the art of ultrasonic communication devices. Melodia teaches an ultrasonic communication between a first device and a second device (Par 39, enable commercial devices, such as smartphones, laptops and smart-TVs, to communicate with ultrasonic wearable devices in the near-ultrasonic frequency range, i.e., from 15 or 17 kHz to 20 or 22 kHz, using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) speakers and microphones. And Par 59 ) and further teaches a first device having a microphone, the first device configured to perform a function that includes the microphone and the second device having a speaker configured to play ultrasonic signals (Fig. 4, microphone 108 as air-coupled ultrasonic transducers and Par 111 and Par 150, ).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Melodia in the base process of ultrasonic signal communication with the predictable result of transferring the desired data from one device to another.
The combination of Brusky and Melodia does not explicitly disclose capturing gestures above the keyboard with doppler sensing.
However, the preceding limitation is known in the art of input devices. Chen teaches controlling the power supply of the keyboard using ultrasonic transceiver (par 27) and further teaches detecting gestures above the keyboard with doppler sensing ultrasonic sounds played by the ultrasonic transceiver/speaker coupled in the keyboard (Par 87-89, determining hand gestures to control the power and Par 92, for keyboard power supply and Par 12, using doppler sensing and see also: par 83).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Chen in order to save the power (Chen: Par 50).
The combination of Brusky, Melodia and Chen does not explicitly disclose ultrasonic signals are pulses.
However, the preceding limitation are known in the art of ultrasonic transmission devices. Schroder teaches a method to use in remotely controlling the operating functions of at least two apparatuses at the same location using ultrasonic frequency signals (Page 1 Lines 85-95) and further teaches transmitting the ultrasonic pulses of identifying frequency signal and the command frequency signal (Page 2 Lines 45-52 and Page 3 lines 85-105).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Schroder for the benefit of compatible remote control operation of different devices in a common room (Schroder: Page 2 Right Colum lines 80-85).
Regarding Claim 2, the combination of Brusky, Melodia, Chen and Schroder teaches the information handling system of Claim 1 wherein: the peer device comprises a speaker to play audible sounds; the commands include a first set of ultrasonic pulses to increase volume and a second set of ultrasonic pulses to decrease volume (Brusky: Col. 5 lines 28-35; wireless computer keyboard of the exemplary embodiment will have functions, such as …, volume-up and volume-down mapped into the system. A user of the exemplary PC/TV system can use the wireless computer keyboard to operate both the personal computer and the remote control operations associated with the television mode of the system.).
Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Brusky, Melodia, Chen and Schroder teaches the
information handling system of Claim 1 further comprising: plural peer devices, each peer device separate from the housing and the peripheral keyboard and configured to perform a function that includes a microphone (Brusky: Col. 4 lines 50-57; the personal computer could be converged with or be connected with a variety of other electronic devices. Such electronic devices include, but are not limited to, a video player; a digital disc player; a compact disk player; a RF tuner, cable tuner or satellite tuner; a telecommunication device such as a cell phone or video phone; and a gaming device such as a Sega.RTM. game system or Sony.RTM. game system. And Col. 8 lines 5-8; wireless keyboard can be used to control a plurality of electronic devices without having to use the remote control designated for the remotely controllable device.); and wherein the ultrasonic pulses include an identifier to identify which of the plural peer devices is to perform the command (Schroder: Page 2 Lines 10-18: operating functions in the said apparatuses being allocated particular ultrasonic command frequencies, and wherein means are provided, by way of ultrasonic identification signals, for the purpose of identification of said apparatus receivers for the reception of ultrasonic command frequencies intended therefor, such identification signals being transmitted either simultaneously with a command frequency or in predetermined time-alternation therewith.).
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Brusky, Melodia, Chen and Schroder teaches the information handling system of Claim 1 further comprising: first and second peer devices, each of the first and second peer devices separate from the housing and the peripheral keyboard and configured to perform a function that includes a microphone (Brusky: Col. 7 lines 58-64: a sound system, a stereo system); and wherein the ultrasonic pulses are played at a first frequency to perform a command at a first peer device and a second frequency to perform a command at a second peer device (Schroder: Page 2 Lines 10-18: operating functions in the said apparatuses being allocated particular ultrasonic command frequencies, and wherein means are provided, by way of ultrasonic identification signals, for the purpose of identification of said apparatus receivers for the reception of ultrasonic command frequencies intended therefor, such identification signals being transmitted either simultaneously with a command frequency or in predetermined time-alternation therewith and Page 3 lines 110-115).
Regarding Claim 7, the combination of Brusky, Melodia, Chen and Schroder teaches the information handling system of Claim 1 wherein the command comprises a preamble of ultrasonic pulses communicated before command information (Schroder: Page 2 Lines 10-18: such identification signals being transmitted with a command frequency in predetermined time-alternation therewith).
Regarding Claim 8, the combination of Brusky, Melodia, Chen and Schroder teaches the information handling system of Claim 7 wherein the preamble includes identification of which of plural peer devices will receive the command (Schroder: Page 2 Lines 10-18: operating functions in the said apparatuses being allocated particular ultrasonic command frequencies, and wherein means are provided, by way of ultrasonic identification signals, for the purpose of identification of said apparatus receivers for the reception of ultrasonic command frequencies intended therefor, such identification signals being transmitted with a command frequency in predetermined time-alternation therewith).
Regarding Claim 9, the combination of Brusky, Melodia, Chen and Schroder teaches the information handling system of Claim 8 wherein the preamble identifies the peer device based upon the frequency at which the preamble is communicated (Schroder: Page 2 Lines 10-18: wherein means are provided, by way of ultrasonic identification signals, for the purpose of identification of said apparatus receivers for the reception of ultrasonic command frequencies intended therefor, such identification signals being transmitted with a command frequency in predetermined time-alternation therewith).
Regarding Claim 14, the combination of Brusky, Melodia and Chen teaches the method of Claim 10 further comprising: controlling plural peer devices with the ultrasonic sounds played by the keyboard speaker (Brusky: Col. 4 lines 50-57; the personal computer could be converged with or be connected with a variety of other electronic devices. Such electronic devices include, but are not limited to, a video player; a digital disc player; a compact disk player; a RF tuner, cable tuner or satellite tuner; a telecommunication device such as a cell phone or video phone; and a gaming device such as a Sega.RTM. game system or Sony.RTM. game system. And Col. 8 lines 5-8; wireless keyboard can be used to control a plurality of electronic devices without having to use the remote control designated for the remotely controllable device).
The combination does not explicitly disclose distinguishing between the plural devices by communicating ultrasonic sound at a different frequency for each of the plural peer devices.
However, the preceding limitation are known in the art of ultrasonic transmission devices. Schroder teaches a method to use in remotely controlling the operating functions of at least two apparatuses at the same location using ultrasonic frequency signals (Page 1 Lines 85-95) and further teaches distinguishing between the plural devices by communicating ultrasonic sound at a different frequency for each of the plural peer devices (Page 2 Lines 45-52 and Page 3 lines 85-105).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Schroder for the benefit of compatible remote control operation of different devices in a common room (Schroder: Page 2 Right Colum lines 80-85).
Regarding Claim 15, the combination of Brusky, Melodia and Chen teaches the method of Claim 10 further comprising: controlling plural peer devices with the ultrasonic sounds played by the keyboard speaker (Brusky: Col. 4 lines 50-57; the personal computer could be converged with or be connected with a variety of other electronic devices. Such electronic devices include, but are not limited to, a video player; a digital disc player; a compact disk player; a RF tuner, cable tuner or satellite tuner; a telecommunication device such as a cell phone or video phone; and a gaming device such as a Sega.RTM. game system or Sony.RTM. game system. And Col. 8 lines 5-8; wireless keyboard can be used to control a plurality of electronic devices without having to use the remote control designated for the remotely controllable device).
The combination does not explicitly disclose distinguishing between the plural devices by communicating ultrasonic sound with a different preamble for each of the plural peer devices.
However, the preceding limitation are known in the art of ultrasonic transmission devices. Schroder teaches a method to use in remotely controlling the operating functions of at least two apparatuses at the same location using ultrasonic frequency signals (Page 1 Lines 85-95) and further teaches distinguishing between the plural devices by communicating ultrasonic sound with a different preamble for each of the plural peer devices (Page 2 Lines 45-52 and Page 3 lines 85-105: identifying signal is radiated in this arrangement, not simultaneously, but alternately with the command frequency signal).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Schroder for the benefit of compatible remote control operation of different devices in a common room (Schroder: Page 2 Right Colum lines 80-85).
Regarding Claim 16, Brusky teaches a keyboard (Fig. 2, 38 and Fig. 3, 80) comprising:
plural keys each key accepting an end user press as an input (Col. 6 lines20-44 and Table A);
a processing resource operable to execute instructions and interfaced with the plural keys and the speaker; and a non-transitory memory interfaced with the processing resource and storing instructions that when executed on the processing resource (Col. 8 lines 10-20; wireless keyboard is programmed and … memory modules into the wireless keyboard which contain information designated IR transmissions for predetermined key presses) cause:
detection of receipt of a peer device command; and in response to the peer device command, playing ultrasonic signals from the speaker to communicate the peer device command to a peer device (Col. 7 lines 65-Col. 8 lines 7: sound waves (including audible and inaudible sounds) or other wireless communication transmitters and receivers can be used and Fig. 3, REMOTE STG 78 from 80 to 74 and Col. 7 Lines 30-35; transmit remote control signals 78 directly to the electronic device 74 when a predetermined key or key combination is pressed on the wireless computer keyboard 80. ).
Brusky does not explicitly disclose a speaker operable to play ultrasonic pulses.
However, the preceding limitations are known in the art of ultrasonic communication devices. Melodia teaches an ultrasonic communication between a first device and a second device (Par 39, enable commercial devices, such as smartphones, laptops and smart-TVs, to communicate with ultrasonic wearable devices in the near-ultrasonic frequency range, i.e., from 15 or 17 kHz to 20 or 22 kHz, using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) speakers and microphones. And Par 59 ) and further teaches a first device having a microphone, the first device configured to perform a function that includes the microphone and the second device having a speaker configured to play ultrasonic signals (Fig. 4, microphone 108 as air-coupled ultrasonic transducers and Par 111 and Par 150, ).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Melodia in the base process of ultrasonic signal communication with the predictable result of transferring the desired data from one device to another.
The combination of Brusky and Melodia does not explicitly disclose detecting gestures above the keyboard with doppler sensing ultrasonic pulses played by the speaker or detection of gestures above the plural keys with the ultrasonic pulses used for the doppler sensing.
However, the preceding limitation is known in the art of input devices. Chen teaches controlling the power supply of the keyboard using ultrasonic transceiver (par 27) and further teaches detecting gestures above the keyboard with doppler sensing ultrasonic signals played by the speaker and detection of gestures above the plural keys with the ultrasonic signals used for the doppler sensing (Par 87-89, determining hand gestures to control the power and Par 92, for keyboard power supply and Par 12, using doppler sensing and see also: par 83).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Chen in order to save the power (Chen: Par 50).
The combination of Brusky, Melodia and Chen does not explicitly disclose ultrasonic signals are pulses.
However, the preceding limitation are known in the art of ultrasonic transmission devices. Schroder teaches a method to use in remotely controlling the operating functions of at least two apparatuses at the same location using ultrasonic frequency signals (Page 1 Lines 85-95) and further teaches transmitting the ultrasonic pulses of identifying frequency signal and the command frequency signal (Page 2 Lines 45-52 and Page 3 lines 85-105).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Schroder for the benefit of compatible remote control operation of different devices in a common room (Schroder: Page 2 Right Colum lines 80-85).
Regarding Claim 17, the combination of Brusky, Melodia, Chen and Schroder teaches the keyboard of Claim 16 further comprising: an external speaker operable to play audible sounds as the peer device; and an instruction to play ultrasonic pulses to change the volume of the external speaker audible sounds (Brusky: Fig. 2, 22 with volume and Col. 4 lines 58-60: television and Col. 6 lines 5-10: volume associated with the television may increase).
Regarding Claim 18, the combination of Brusky, Melodia, Chen and Schroder teaches the keyboard of Claim 16 further comprising: an external web camera operable to capture audiovisual information as the peer device; and an instruction to play ultrasonic pulses to adjust the capture of the audiovisual information (Brusky: Col. 7 lines remotely controllable, electronic devices including, a video telecommunication system).
Regarding Claim 19, the combination of Brusky, Melodia, Chen and Schroder teaches the keyboard of Claim 16 further comprising instructions to send a preamble of ultrasonic pulses that include an identifier of the peer device to executed the command (Schroder: Page 2 Lines 10-18: operating functions in the said apparatuses being allocated particular ultrasonic command frequencies, and wherein means are provided, by way of ultrasonic identification signals, for the purpose of identification of said apparatus receivers for the reception of ultrasonic command frequencies intended therefor, such identification signals being transmitted with a command frequency in predetermined time-alternation therewith).
Regarding Claim 20, the combination of Brusky, Melodia, Chen and Schroder teaches the keyboard of Claim 16 further comprising instructions to send the ultrasonic pulses at a frequency that identifies the peer device to execute the command (Schroder: Page 2 Lines 10-18: operating functions in the said apparatuses being allocated particular ultrasonic command frequencies, and wherein means are provided, by way of ultrasonic identification signals, for the purpose of identification of said apparatus receivers for the reception of ultrasonic command frequencies intended therefor, such identification signals being transmitted with a command frequency in predetermined time-alternation therewith).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brusky in view of Melodia, Chen and Schroder further in view of Albert (US 20220313087) .
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Brusky, Melodia, Chen and Schroder teaches the information handling system of Claim 1 but does not explicitly disclose wherein the peer device acknowledges the command with an ultrasonic response played by a speaker of the peer device.
However, the preceding limitation is known in the art of ultrasonic communication devices. Albert teaches two way ultrasonic communication between the two devices (Fig. 27 and Par 303) and further teaches wherein the peer device acknowledges the received data with an ultrasonic response played by a speaker of the peer device (Par 304-305: Acknowledgement (ACK) and Par 115, a transducer capable of delivering ultrasonic frequencies (i.e., piezo speaker)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Albert in order to stop retransmitting the data (Albert: Par 304).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brusky in view of Melodia and Chen further in view of Albert.
Regarding Claim 11, the combination of Brusky, Melodia and Chen teaches the method of Claim 10 further comprising: performing the command at the peer device (Brusky: Col. 7 lines 25-26, he electronic device may perform a predetermined function (such as channel-up) in response thereto).
The combination does not explicitly disclose acknowledging the command with ultrasonic sounds played from a speaker of the peer device.
However, the preceding limitation is known in the art of ultrasonic communication devices. Albert teaches two way ultrasonic communication between the two devices (Fig. 27 and Par 303) and further teaches acknowledging the received data with ultrasonic sounds played from a speaker of the peer device (Par 304-305: Acknowledgement (ACK) and Par 115, a transducer capable of delivering ultrasonic frequencies (i.e., piezo speaker)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Albert in order to stop retransmitting the data (Albert: Par 304).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brusky in view of Melodia, Chen and Schroder further in view of Sander et al. (Sander: US 2010/0260341).
Regarding Claim 3, the combination of Brusky, Melodia, Chen and Schroder teaches the information handling system of Claim 1 wherein: the peer device comprises a sound system or a stereo system (Brusky: Col. 7 lines 58-64: a sound system, a stereo system); the commands include a first set of ultrasonic pulses to increase volume and a second set of ultrasonic pulses to decrease volume (Brusky: Col. 5 lines 28-35; wireless computer keyboard of the exemplary embodiment will have functions, such as …, volume-up and volume-down mapped into the system. A user of the exemplary PC/TV system can use the wireless computer keyboard to operate both the personal computer and the remote control operations associated with the television mode of the system.).
The combination does not explicitly disclose a headset to play audible sounds into earcups or the peer device microphone comprises a noise cancellation microphone configured to capture ambient noise to support noise cancellation.
However, the preceding limitation is known in the art of ultrasonic communication devices. Sander teaches a peer device such as a headset to play audible sounds into earcups (Par 34, Speakers in accessory 14 may be provided as earbuds ) and the peer device microphone comprises a noise cancellation microphone configured to capture ambient noise to support noise cancellation (Par 116, headset 14 contains circuitry that requires low-impedance power such as ambient noise cancelling circuitry and Par 78) and the peer device having ultrasonic transceiver for ultrasonic communications (Fig. 3, 138 and Par 63).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Sander in order to allow comparable amounts of information to be passed in both directions (Sander: Par 63).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brusky in view of Melodia and Chen further in view of Sander.
Regarding Claim 12, the combination of Brusky, Melodia and Chen teaches the method of Claim 10 wherein: the peer device comprises a speaker playing audible sounds; and the microphone receiving the command as ultrasonic sounds from the MEMs speaker; the command comprises a change in the volume of the audible sounds (Brusky: Fig. 2, 22 with volume and Col. 4 lines 58-60: television and Col. 6 lines 5-10: volume associated with the television may increase and Melodia: Par 58).
The combination does not explicitly disclose a microphone configured to capture ambient noise to support noise cancellation,
However, the preceding limitation is known in the art of ultrasonic communication devices. Sander teaches a peer device such as a headset to play audible sounds into earcups (Par 34, Speakers in accessory 14 may be provided as earbuds ) and the peer device having a microphone configured to capture ambient noise to support noise cancellation (Par 116, headset 14 contains circuitry that requires low-impedance power such as ambient noise cancelling circuitry and Par 78) and the peer device having ultrasonic transceiver for ultrasonic communications (Fig. 3, 138 and Par 63).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Sander in order to allow comparable amounts of information to be passed in both directions (Sander: Par 63).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brusky in view of Melodia, Chen and Sender further in view of Busch et al. (Busch: US 4845755).
Regarding Claim 13, the combination of Brusky, Melodia and Chen teaches the method of Claim 12 but does not explicitly disclose wherein the command ultrasonic sounds comprise
ultrasonic pulses of a first predetermined time to communicate a zero and ultrasonic pulses of a
second predetermined time to communicate a one.
However, the preceding limitation is known in the art of ultrasonic communication
devices. Busch teaches using ultrasonic transmitter to transmit control signal to hearing aid using
microphone as a receiver (abstract and Col. 1 lines 45-55) and further teaches wherein the
command ultrasonic sounds comprise ultrasonic pulses of a first predetermined time to
communicate a zero and ultrasonic pulses of a second predetermined time to communicate a one
(Col. 3 lines 5-25; According to FIG. 3, a keyboard 24.5 through 24.8 is provided for
remote control, as in FIG. 2. This signal is subsequently fed for modulation to a clock
frequency control 33 where the signals of a timing pulse generator 34 determine the duration of
the logical 0 signals and the signals of a timing pulse generator 35 determine the duration of
logical 1 signals. This processes the signal so that when it then arrives at a clock frequency
generator 36 it is modulated there with the clock frequency in the ultrasonic range. Finally, an
amplifier 37 further intensifies the signals so that they can be emitted through a loudspeaker 38
to act upon the microphone 3.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Busch in order to
modulate the digital code word (Busch: Col. 3 lines 15-20).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on April 27, 2026 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of new grounds of rejections.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Nay Tun whose telephone number is (571)270-7939. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Thurs from 9:00-5:00.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's Supervisor, Steven Lim can be reached on (571) 270-1210. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/Nay Tun/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2688
Prosecution Insights