DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claims 1-25 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 6-7, 10, 11, 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Boettcher et al (US Publication No. 20170303129).
Regarding claim(s) 1, 11, Boettcher teaches an audio device (wearable, 200), comprising: an ultrasonic proximity sensor (para. 0069; contact sensor, 252) comprising an ultrasonic transducer comprising a piezoelectric actuator (para. 0069; contact sensor, 252), the ultrasonic proximity sensor configured to emit an ultrasonic signal from the audio device into its surroundings; and a processor (fig. 2; processor, 202), coupled to the ultrasonic proximity sensor (252), configured to determine whether the audio device is being worn responsive to a determination of whether a reflection of the ultrasonic signal is detected (claim 25; processor detects whether the device is worn using a sensor, para. 0069).
Regarding claim 2, Boettcher teaches the audio device of claim 1, wherein the processor (202) if configured to determine that the audio device is being worn responsive to a determination that the reflection of the ultrasonic signal is detected (para. 0069; wherein the sensor detects the galvanic skin response (GSR). GSR is the measurement of the conductivity of skin. In this sense, the reflection is anticipated since the electrical signature of the skin’s conductivity reacts to electrodes of the sensor pressed on the skin).
Regarding claim 3, Boettcher teaches the audio device of claim 1, wherein the processor, if configured to determine that the audio device is not being worn responsive to a determination that the reflection of the ultrasonic signal is not detected (para. 0069; wherein the sensor detects the galvanic skin response (GSR). GSR is the measurement of the conductivity of skin. In this sense, the reflection is anticipated since the electrical signature of the skin’s conductivity reacts to electrodes of the sensor pressed on the skin).
Regarding claim 6, Boettcher teaches the audio device of claim 4, wherein the piezoelectric actuator (para. 0069; contact sensor, 252) is mounted to the internal surface of the housing.
Regarding claim 7, Boettcher teaches t(he audio device of claim 6, wherein the piezoelectric actuator (para. 0067; 242, accelerometer) is a first piezoelectric actuator, wherein the ultrasonic transducer (para. 0069; 252, contact sensor) further comprises a second piezoelectric actuator acoustically coupled with the housing.
Regarding claim 10, Boettcher teaches the audio device of claim 1, wherein the processor (202) is configured to cause the audio device to activate a wireless communication connection with another device responsive to a determination that the reflection of the ultrasonic signal is detected.
Regarding claim 12, Boettcher teaches the audio device of claim 11, wherein the ultrasonic transducer is a first ultrasonic transducer (para. 0067; 242, accelerometer), and wherein the audio device further comprises a second ultrasonic transducer configured to detect the reflection of the ultrasonic signal (para. 0069; 252, contact sensor), when the ultrasonic signal is reflected from the object in the local environment of the audio device (para. 0069; wherein the sensor detects the galvanic skin response (GSR). GSR is the measurement of the conductivity of skin. In this sense, the reflection is anticipated since the electrical signature of the skin’s conductivity reacts to electrodes of the sensor pressed on the skin).
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.
Claim(s) 4 is/ae rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Boettcher.
Regarding claim 4, Boettcher teaches the audio device of claim 1, further comprising: a housing (fig. 1; 100, wearable audio device) having an interior region, wherein the housing defines an external surface and an internal surface positioned opposite the external surface, wherein the internal surface at least partially surrounds the interior region; and a speaker (fig. 2; para. 0055; 222, speaker) acoustically coupled with the interior region of the housing, , wherein the ultrasonic transducer (252, contact sensor) is coupled with the internal surface of the housing.
Although Boettcher does not specifically teach a port providing an acoustic pathway from the interior region to an exterior of the housing, the Examiner takes official notice that it is known in the art for an internal speaker to port so that the audio wave has an outward pathway for the sound.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the port in the invention would have yielded a predictable result and resulted in an improvement.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 13-25 is/are allowed.
Claim(s) 5 and 8-9 is/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.
Conclusion
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September 28, 2026
/PHYLESHA DABNEY/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2694
