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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
1.Claims 6-8 and 10-12 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
2.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.
3. Claim(s) 1-5 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cohen et al. (US 9414141) in view of Auclair et al. (US 20160073183)
Regarding claim 1, Cohen discloses a device comprising: a housing having a sound port (Col.2 lines 1-14: Cohen discusses the housing of an electronic device having an audio port opening); a gasket disposed within the housing, the gasket comprising: an opening aligned with the sound port (Col.2 lines 11-14, Col.8 lines 48-53 and fig.5, 506, 512: Cohen discusses how the first end of the acoustic chamber can be secured and/or acoustically sealed to the audio element by any of a variety of ways, including a mechanical feature, a gasket, adhesive and the like; and how a housing having an audio port opening); and a pair of acoustic channels that terminate at the opening to acoustically couple the pair of acoustic channels to the sound port (Col.8 lines 29-33 and fig.5, 506, 508: Cohen discusses how an audio channel can be established between the audio element and the opening; and how the audio element can be acoustically coupled to the opening in the housing by or via various components that participate in providing the audio channel); a directional microphone coupled to the pair of acoustic channels (Col.4 lines 12-25 and fig.5, 506: Cohen discusses how the one or more microphones can pick-up audio sounds that are received (e.g., directly or by way of one or more acoustic chambers) via an audio input opening in the housing of the portable electronic device); wherein the opening and the sound port establish a shared sound port for the directional microphone having a area larger than cross-sectional areas of the pair of acoustic channels (Col.4 lines 64-67, Col.5 lines 1-8 and fig.6, 606, 608, 612: Cohen discusses how the audio elements can be drivers (e.g. , speakers) or receivers ( e.g., microphones), wherein an audio element can be mounted on or coupled to an acoustic chamber having an opening therein to allow audio sound to pass there through; and also shows the audio element (i.e. a microphone) 606 having a larger than cross-sectional area of the pair of acoustic channels 608).
Cohen discloses the invention set forth above but does not specifically point out “a mesh disposed between the housing and the gasket, the mesh extending across the sound port and the opening”
Auclair however discloses a mesh disposed between the housing and the gasket, the mesh extending across the sound port and the opening (Paragraph: 0022 and fig.3, 325, 340, 350: Auclair shows how a mesh disposed between the housing and the gasket in fig.3 and Auclair also teaches how the acoustic mesh is integrally molded into the housing and located between the speaker and the port to the external environment)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the invention of Cohen, and modify a system wherein a mesh disposed between the housing and the gasket, the mesh extending across the sound port and the opening, as taught by Auclair, thus allowing thus controlling an excursion and pressure responses of the speaker in an effective manner; and the housing protects the acoustic elements from damage, and optimizes performance, as discussed by Auclair.
Considering claim 2, Cohen further discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the opening comprises an indentation along a surface of the gasket adjacent to the housing (Col.8 lines 48-55 and fig.5, 502, 504, 506, 508: Cohen discusses how the first end of the acoustic chamber can be secured and/or acoustically sealed to the housing of an audio element by any of a variety of ways, including a mechanical feature, such as a gasket (i.e. gasket adjacent to the housing), and the like).
Considering claim 3, Cohen further discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the pair of acoustic channels terminate at opposing edges of the opening (Col.9 lines 47-54 and fig.5, 508, 510).
Considering claim 4, Cohen further discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the mesh is adhesively secured to the housing and the gasket (Col.8 lines 48-55, Col.10 lines 1-6 and fig.5, 502, 504, 506, 508: Cohen discusses how the acoustic chamber which are acoustically coupled to a cosmetic barrier such as mesh barrier can be secured and/or acoustically sealed to the audio element by any of a variety of ways, including a mechanical feature, a gasket, adhesive and the like).
Considering claim 5, Cohen further discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the mesh is configured to deter dust ingress into the housing (Col.4 lines 8-11: Cohen discusses how a mesh cover serves to protect foreign matter from entering into the housing of the portable electronic device).
Considering claim 9, Cohen further discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the sound port of the housing comprises a perforated opening (fig.1, 108, 112).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YOSEF K LAEKEMARIAM whose telephone number is (571)270-5149. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30-6:30 M-F.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Duc Nguyen can be reached at (571) 272-7503. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
YOSEF K. LAEKEMARIAM
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2651
/YOSEF K LAEKEMARIAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2691
Prosecution Insights