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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/15/2025 and 01/24/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement are being considered by the examiner.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US Publication 2019/0248297 (“Feng et al.”).
Regarding claim 1, Feng et al. discloses a vehicle speaker ([0004] an acoustic transducer (e.g., a loudspeaker) of a vehicle audio system) comprising:
a vibration portion ([0051] an acoustic diaphragm);
a magnetic driver configured to drive the vibration portion ([0051] an acoustic diaphragm coupled to a magnetic coil positioned in a magnetic field, to cause motion in response to electrical signals received by the coil); and
a housing in which the vibration portion and the magnetic driver are accommodated, and a sound pressure opening is formed (Fig. 4A, The distal end 416 includes a mouth 418),
wherein a sound pressure space partitioned by the vibration portion and communicating with the sound pressure opening is formed in the housing ([0047] Fig. 5 cross sectional profile of the acoustic conduit 410),
wherein the sound pressure space includes a duct portion that extends from a starting edge to the sound pressure opening where the starting edge is an edge of the vibration portion closest to the sound pressure opening ([0044] examples may have sharp bends or edges at the terminal ends, e.g., the proximal end 412 and the distal end 416, to accommodate the openings at the ends, and to accommodate mounting features such as a flange or a recess to accommodate a frame of the loudspeaker), and
a cross-sectional area of a space of the duct portion at the starting edge is larger than an area of the sound pressure opening ([0039] Fig. 5 the interior volume 114 may include a constant cross section or may include an increasing cross sectional area).
Regarding claim 2, FENG ET AL. discloses the vehicle speaker according to claim 1,wherein when the duct portion is divided into multiple sections by evenly dividing a distance from the starting edge to the sound pressure opening, among the multiple sections, an internal volume of a starting-edge-side section including the starting edge is larger than an internal volume of a sound- pressure-opening-side section including the sound pressure opening ([0039] FIGS. 1A-1C may be linear or conical tapered waveguides, whose interior volume 114 includes a cross sectional area that decreases from the proximal end 112 to the distal end 116.).
Regarding claim 3, FENG ET AL. discloses the vehicle speaker according to claim 2, wherein, when the duct portion is divided into two sections, which are the starting-edge-side section including the starting edge and the sound- pressure-opening-side section including the sound pressure opening, by bisecting the distance from the starting edge to the sound pressure opening, an internal volume of the starting-edge-side section including the starting edge is larger than an internal volume of the sound-pressure-opening- side section including the sound pressure opening (Fig. 2C and Fig. 4C, [0039]).
Regarding claim 4, FENG ET AL. discloses the vehicle speaker according to claim 2, wherein, when the duct portion is divided into three sections, which include the starting-edge-side section including the starting edge, an intermediate section, and the sound-pressure-opening-side section including the sound pressure opening, by evenly dividing the distance from the starting edge to the sound pressure opening into three, an internal volume of the starting-edge-side section including the starting edge is larger than an internal volume of the sound-pressure-opening- side section including the sound pressure opening, and is larger than an internal volume of the intermediate section ([0039] examples of a decreasing cross section are illustrated in FIGS. 2B-2C).
Regarding claim 5, FENG ET AL. discloses the vehicle speaker according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional area of the space of the duct portion gradually decreases from the starting edge toward the sound pressure opening (Fig. 2B, [0040]).
Regarding claim 6, Feng et al. discloses a vehicle speaker comprising:
a vibration portion ([0051] an acoustic diaphragm);
a magnetic driver configured to drive the vibration portion ([0051] an acoustic diaphragm coupled to a magnetic coil positioned in a magnetic field, to cause motion in response to electrical signals received by the coil); and
a housing in which the vibration portion and the magnetic driver are accommodated, and a sound pressure opening is formed (Fig. 4A, The distal end 416 includes a mouth 418),
wherein a sound pressure space partitioned by the vibration portion and communicating with the sound pressure opening is formed in the housing ([0047] Fig. 5 cross sectional profile of the acoustic conduit 410), and
wherein, when a virtual line passing through a center of the vibration portion and extending in a vibration direction of the vibration portion is determined as a vibration center line, and a line intersecting the vibration center line at a right angle and extending to a center of the sound pressure opening is determined as a plane center line ([0043] FIG. 4C illustrates a “side” view of the acoustic conduit 410, shown in cross-section along the center line 460 of FIG. 4B. FIG. 4C also illustrates a number of curvatures 470 of an interior surface of the acoustic conduit 410. According to various examples, the curvatures 470 are relatively gradual such that a cross sectional area),
a width of the housing in a direction perpendicular to both the vibration center line and the plane center line gradually decreases from a position of the vibration center line toward the sound pressure opening ([0039] examples of a decreasing cross section are illustrated in FIGS. 2B-2C).
Regarding claim 7, FENG ET AL. discloses the vehicle speaker according to claim 6, wherein a height of the housing projected onto a vertical plane parallel to both the vibration center line and the plane center line gradually decreases from the position of the vibration center line toward the sound pressure opening (fig. 4C and fig. 5, [0047], center line 460).
Conclusion
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/JIRAPON TULOP/Examiner, Art Unit 2693
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