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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
1. 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
2. Claims 1 – 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WANG (translation of CN109362065A) in view of Lee et al. (translation of KR101418929B1).
Regarding claim 1, WANG teaches that a pairing method, based on two-way communication and applicable to a receiver (paragraphs 16 – 30, where teaches two-way communication, handshake with microphone and speaker with pairing). WANG teaches that determining a target frequency, wherein the target frequency is a frequency at which the receiver has least interference within a range of the receiver or is a frequency stored in the receiver (paragraphs 62 – 84, where teaches when searching for any frequency that is not occupied, starting to broadcast pairing information by the infrared transmitter at a preset frequency, and stopping searching for the unoccupied frequency point, wherein the pairing information includes a pairing frequency Point information and a first handshake instruction, the pairing frequency point information corresponds to the unoccupied frequency point, and the frequency band is a frequency band used by the microphone for wireless data transmission, and the unoccupied frequency point corresponds to a microphone that is currently in an unattended state, and the signal interference of the frequency point is the smallest, a preset frequency point stored in the receiver), sending frequency information of the target frequency to a microphone (paragraphs 62 – 73, where teaches a pairing method for a microphone, it is suitable for a microphone provided with an infrared receiver, and when receiving the pairing information sent by the speaker device at any time, pairing with the speaker device based on the pairing information), receiving pairing information from the microphone (paragraphs 62 – 73, where teaches two-way communication, handshake with microphone and speaker with pairing), switching a working frequency of the receiver to the target frequency to pair and connect with the microphone (paragraphs 62 – 73, where teaches when any frequency point that is not occupied is searched, the pairing information is started to be broadcasted at a preset frequency, and the search for the unoccupied frequency point is stopped, wherein the pairing information includes the pairing frequency point information and the first handshake an instruction, the pairing frequency point information corresponds to the unoccupied frequency point, and the paring frequency point information is used for pairing, therefore the receiver must have switched previously to said paring frequency in order to perform the pairing). WANG does not specifically disclose the limitation “the pairing information comprises identity information of the microphone, determining, according to the pairing information, whether the identity information of the microphone matches identity information stored in the receiver, and in response to determining that the identity information of the microphone matches the identity information stored in the receiver”. However, Lee teaches the limitation “the pairing information comprises identity information of the microphone, determining, according to the pairing information, whether the identity information of the microphone matches identity information stored in the receiver, and in response to determining that the identity information of the microphone matches the identity information stored in the receiver” (paragraphs 11 – 16, Fig. 1, and 76 – 85, where teaches the usage by a microphone of an ID sent by the receiver and hence known by the receiver that is used to checked the origin of the audio signal, and setting the ID of the wireless microphone transmitter to match the ID of the receiver, and setting the ID of the wireless microphone transmitter to match the ID of the receiver of restoring an RF output of wireless microphone transmitter to a predetermined normal value, and receiver frequency is switched response to triggered by the identity information matching the preset identity). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teaching of the WANG’s communication pairing performance as taught by Lee, provide the motivation to achieve prevent unwanted connections and allowing users to easily connect and using in near field communication.
Regarding claim 2, WANG and Lee teach all the limitation as discussed in claim 1, Furthermore, WANG further teaches that before the determining the target frequency, switching the working frequency of the receiver to a common frequency (paragraphs 62 – 73).
Regarding claim 3, WANG and Lee teach all the limitation as discussed in claim 1, Furthermore, WANG further teaches that the determining the target frequency comprises: controlling the receiver to be in a pairing mode, and determining the target frequency in a polling manner (paragraphs 16 – 30 and paragraphs 62 – 73).
Regarding claim 4, WANG and Lee teach all the limitation as discussed in claim 1, Furthermore, WANG further teaches that in response to that the receiver is in a working mode (operative or switched), communicating with the microphone according to the target frequency (paragraphs 16 – 30 and paragraphs 62 – 73, where teaches speaker device must be operative to communication with microphone).
Regarding claim 5, WANG and Lee teach all the limitation as discussed in claim 1, Furthermore, WANG further teaches that after successfully pairing with the microphone, sending successful pairing information to the microphone (paragraphs 16 – 30 and paragraphs 62 – 73, where teaches responding to the second handshake signal is returned).
Regarding claim 6, WANG and Lee teach all the limitation as discussed in claim 1, Furthermore, WANG further teaches that receiving frequency information of a target frequency sent by a receiver, wherein the target frequency is a frequency at which the receiver has least interference within a range of the receiver or is a frequency stored in the receiver (paragraphs 62 – 84, where teaches when searching for any frequency that is not occupied, starting to broadcast pairing information by the infrared transmitter at a preset frequency, and stopping searching for the unoccupied frequency point, wherein the pairing information includes a pairing frequency Point information and a first handshake instruction, the pairing frequency point information corresponds to the unoccupied frequency point, and the frequency band is a frequency band used by the microphone for wireless data transmission, and the unoccupied frequency point corresponds to a microphone that is currently in an unattended state, and the signal interference of the frequency point is the smallest, a preset frequency point stored in the receiver), switching a working frequency of the microphone to the target frequency, and generating pairing information (paragraphs 62 – 73, where teaches when any frequency point that is not occupied is searched, the pairing information is started to be broadcasted at a preset frequency, and the search for the unoccupied frequency point is stopped, wherein the pairing information includes the pairing frequency point information and the first handshake an instruction, the pairing frequency point information corresponds to the unoccupied frequency point, and the paring frequency point information is used for pairing, therefore the receiver must have switched previously to said paring frequency in order to perform the pairing), and sending the pairing information through the target frequency to the receiver, wherein the receiver is configured to determine, according to the pairing information, whether to pair and connect with the microphone (paragraphs 62 – 84, where teaches sending a second handshake instruction to the speaker device in response to the first handshake instruction, and when the acknowledgment handshake signal is received, it is determined that the microphone is successfully paired with the speaker device, wherein the acknowledgment handshake signal is sent by the speaker device in response to the second handshake instruction).
Regarding claim 7, WANG and Lee teach all the limitation as discussed in claims 1 and 6. Furthermore, WANG further teaches that before the receiving frequency information of the target frequency, switching the working frequency of the microphone to a common frequency (paragraphs 62 – 84).
Regarding claim 8, WANG and Lee teach all the limitation as discussed in claims 5 and 6.
Regarding claim 9, WANG and Lee teach all the limitation as discussed in claims 1 and 6. Furthermore, WANG further teaches that video-audio entertainment system, comprising a processor, a communication interface, a memory, and a communication bus (paragraphs 104 – 110), wherein the processor, the communication interface, and the memory communicate with each other through the communication bus; the memory is configured to store a computer program; and the processor is configured to execute the computer program to perform operations (paragraphs 104 – 110).
Regarding claim 10, WANG and Lee teach all the limitation as discussed in claims 1 and 2.
Regarding claim 11, WANG and Lee teach all the limitation as discussed in claims 1 and 3.
Regarding claim 12, WANG and Lee teach all the limitation as discussed in claims 1 and 4.
Regarding claim 13, WANG and Lee teach all the limitation as discussed in claims 1 and 5.
Regarding claim 14, WANG and Lee teach all the limitation as discussed in claims 1 and 6. Furthermore, WANG further teaches that receiving, by the microphone, the frequency information of the target frequency (paragraphs 62 – 84), and switching, by the microphone, the working frequency of the microphone to a common frequency (paragraphs 62 – 84).
Regarding claim 15, WANG and Lee teach all the limitation as discussed in claims 1 and 6.
Regarding claim 16, WANG and Lee teach all the limitation as discussed in claims 1 and 6.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Narendra et al. (US 2015/0099466) discloses Audio Sequence Out-of-Band Bluetooth Pairing.
ZHANG (US 2019/0191473) discloses Bluetooth Pairing Method and Bluetooth Device.
Information regarding...Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system... at 866-217-9197 (toll-free)."
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN J LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-7880. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri (8:00am-5:00pm).
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, Yuwen Pan can be reached on 571-272-7855. 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). If you would like assistance from a USPTO
Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
J.L
September 4, 2026
John J Lee
/JOHN J LEE/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2649
Prosecution Insights