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 .
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, 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 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.
1. Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zheng et al. US2022/0095029A1), hereinafter Zheng.
As to Claim 1, Zheng teaches an earphone ( Figures 30-31, earphone 10, comprising a core module(holding component 13) and a hook structure( hook shaped component 11) connected with the core module ( holding component 13), wherein: the core module(holding component 13) is disposed at a front side of an ear in a wearing state( The holding component may be configured to contact a front side of the ear, abstract), at least a portion of the hook structure( hook 11) is disposed at a rear side of the ear in the wearing state,( the hook-shaped component may be configured to hang between a rear side of an ear of a user and a head of the user, abstract) the core module( holding component) includes a core housing ([0174] the holding component 13 may include an inner housing 131c and an outer housing 132c, which may be connected to form a cavity structure for accommodating structural components such as the core 14, the mainboard 15, or the like) and a loudspeaker disposed in the core housing( [0253] teaches structural components such as the core 14, the partition 137 or the acoustic resistance net, the sealing member thereon, etc., may form a loudspeaker assembly, that is, the structural components can be modularized to facilitate assembly.). Regarding the following: the hook structure includes an adapter housing connected with the core housing, at least a portion of the adapter housing is disposed at the front side of the ear in the wearing state, the adapter housing forms an accommodation cavity and one or more through holes communicated with the accommodation cavity, and the earphone includes one or more electrode terminals at least partially disposed in the one or more through holes, Zheng teaches on [0206]-[0208] FIG. 34-41 the connecting component 12 may include a third housing 122 connected to an end of the elastic metal wire 115 away from the battery compartment 1161. In combination with FIG. 41, the third housing 122 and the first housing 1314 may be integrally formed, and a connecting plug hole may also be formed. Further, the connecting component 12 may also include a connecting plug member 123. [0225] the earphone 10 may further include a first charging electrode 126 arranged at the holding component 13 or the connecting component 12 and a second charging electrode 1164 arranged at the hook-shaped component 11. One of the first charging electrode 126 and the second charging electrode 1164 may be used as a positive charging electrode, and the other may be used as a negative charging electrode. In the present disclosure, for illustration purposes, the first charging electrode 126 may be used as the positive charging electrode and the second charging electrode 1164 may be used as the negative charging electrode. In such cases, the earphone 10 may be charged by the two charging electrodes. [0226] the first charging electrode 126 may be arranged at the connecting component 12, and the second charging electrode 1164 may be arranged at the battery part 116. Specifically, the first charging electrode 126 may be at least partially arranged at the periphery of the second housing 1315, for example, arranged between the third housing 122 and the first housing 1314. the first housing 1314 and the battery compartment 1161 may be respectively configured with through-holes that allow the charging electrodes to be exposed, so that the charging electrodes can be in contact with output electrodes on a charging box. Zheng does not explicitly teach the adapter housing forms an accommodation cavity and one or more through holes communicated with the accommodation cavity, and one or more through holes communicated with the accommodation cavity, and the earphone includes one or more electrode terminals at least partially disposed in the one or more through holes. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Zhen such that the connecting component 12 also includes through holes instead of configuring through holes in the first housing 1314 and the battery compartment 1161 as taught by Zhen on [0226] to allow the charging electrode 126 that may be arranged in the connecting portion 12 to be exposed depending on the design configuration of the housing. See at least Figure 30, 36.
As to Claim 2, Zhen teaches the limitations of Claim 1, and wherein the one or more electrode terminals (first charging electrode126, Figure 30-36) face the front side of the ear in the wearing state (Figure 30 and 36 shows charging electrode 126 facing front side of first housing 1314).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 15-20 are allowed. The independent Claim 15, identifies a uniquely distinct feature of “…the earphone includes a positive charging terminal, a negative charging terminal, and a communication terminal which are spaced apart from each other, the positive charging terminal, the negative charging terminal, and the communication terminal are disposed at the same side of the ear in the wearing state, a spacing between the positive charging terminal and the negative charging terminal is greater than a spacing between the positive charging terminal and the communication terminal, and the spacing between the positive charging terminal and the communication terminal is greater than a spacing between the communication terminal and the negative charging terminal.”
The closest prior art to Zheng (US2022/0095029A1), teaches [0225] the earphone 10 may further include a first charging electrode 126 arranged at the holding component 13 or the connecting component 12 and a second charging electrode 1164 arranged at the hook-shaped component 11. One of the first charging electrode 126 and the second charging electrode 1164 may be used as a positive charging electrode, and the other may be used as a negative charging electrode. In the present disclosure, for illustration purposes, the first charging electrode 126 may be used as the positive charging electrode and the second charging electrode 1164 may be used as the negative charging electrode. In such cases, the earphone 10 may be charged by the two charging electrodes. [0226] the first charging electrode 126 may be arranged at the connecting component 12, and the second charging electrode 1164 may be arranged at the battery part 116. Specifically, the first charging electrode 126 may be at least partially arranged at the periphery of the second housing 1315, for example, arranged between the third housing 122 and the first housing 1314. the first housing 1314 and the battery compartment 1161 may be respectively configured with through-holes that allow the charging electrodes to be exposed, so that the charging electrodes can be in contact with output electrodes on a charging box. The prior art to Zheng does not explicitly teach the earphone includes a positive charging terminal, a negative charging terminal, and a communication terminal which are spaced apart from each other, the positive charging terminal, the negative charging terminal, and the communication terminal are disposed at the same side of the ear in the wearing state, a spacing between the positive charging terminal and the negative charging terminal is greater than a spacing between the positive charging terminal and the communication terminal, and the spacing between the positive charging terminal and the communication terminal is greater than a spacing between the communication terminal and the negative charging terminal.” The prior art fails to anticipate or render the independent claims obvious.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SUNITA JOSHI whose telephone number is (571)270-7227. The examiner can normally be reached 8-3.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Duc Nguyen can be reached at 5712727503. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SUNITA JOSHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2691
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