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 Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 (line 5): “arc-shaped antenna element” should be amended to “an arc-shaped antenna element”;
Claim 1 (line 7): “an user” should be amended to “a user”;
Claim 20: “said helical conductor strands” should be amended to “said at least three helical conductor strands”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 14, 18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 14 (lines 2-3) recites: “one end of said arc-shaped antenna element is oriented again in a direction toward said housing.” The meaning of an end of the antenna element being oriented again in a certain direction is not clear. For examination purposes, this limitation is interpreted as: one end of said arc-shaped antenna element is oriented in a direction toward said housing.
Claim 18 recites: “wherein all said helical intertwined conductor strands are formed by laser structuring”. It is unclear if this limitation refers to the “at least two helical intertwined conductor strands” from claim 2. For examination purposes, this limitation is interpreted as: “wherein the at least two helical intertwined conductor strands are formed by laser structuring”.
Claim 20 recites: “several of said helical conductor strands”. The term “several” is indefinite. Furthermore, the Specification does not define a specific quantity associated with the term “several”. Therefore, the scope of the claim is indefinite.
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.
Claims 1, 8-10, 13-15, 17, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kvist et al. (US 11496843 B2, hereinafter Kvist) in view of Bodvarsson (US 10264369 B2).
Regarding claim 1, Kvist (Figs. 1, 2d) discloses an in-the-ear hearing aid (100), comprising:
a transmitting and receiving unit (108 – Fig. 1);
a housing (200 – Fig. 2d) having said transmitting and receiving unit disposed therein; and
arc-shaped antenna element (210 – Fig. 2d) emerging from said housing and forming at least part of a handle element (200 – Fig. 2d), said arc-shaped antenna element is used for transmitting or receiving a signal and is connected to said transmitting and receiving unit (see col. 8, lines 54-58) disposed in said housing.
Kvist does not disclose the limitations wherein with an aid of said handle element the hearing aid is removable from an ear by an user and said arc-shaped antenna element having at least one helical conductor strand, said at least one helical conductor strand is formed arc-shaped.
Bodvarsson (Fig. 7; col. 14, lines 12-33) teaches arc-shaped antenna element (40) forming at least part of a handle element (26), with an aid of said handle element the hearing aid is removable from an ear by an user (see col. 9, lines 48-49), said arc-shaped antenna element having at least one helical conductor strand (43), said at least one helical conductor strand is formed arc-shaped.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that with an aid of said handle element the hearing aid is removable from an ear by an user and said arc-shaped antenna element has at least one helical conductor strand, said at least one helical conductor strand is formed arc-shaped as taught by Bodvarsson. This modification would provide, firstly, a convenient way for attaching the hearing aid to the user’s ear (see Bodvarsson, col. 9, lines 48-49) and, secondly, an antenna element that takes less space (see Bodvarsson, col. 6, lines 35-38).
Regarding claim 8, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 1 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein said at least one helical conductor strand extends from a first end at a beginning of said arc-shaped antenna element to a second end at an end of said arc-shaped antenna element.
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Bodvarsson (Fig. 7; col. 14, lines 12-33) teaches at least one helical conductor strand (43) extends from a first end at a beginning of an arc-shaped antenna element (40) to a second end at an end of said arc-shaped antenna element (regarding the first end and the second end of the arc-shaped antenna element, see annotated Fig. 7 in Bodvarsson below).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that said at least one helical conductor strand extends from a first end at a beginning of said arc-shaped antenna element to a second end at an end of said arc-shaped antenna element as taught by Bodvarsson. This modification would provide an antenna element that takes less space (see Bodvarsson, col. 6, lines 35-38).
Regarding claim 9, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 1 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein a number of turns of said at least one helical conductor strand is selected such that a desired transmitting and receiving frequency is set.
Bodvarsson (Fig. 7) a helical conductor strand (43) having a number of turns. Further, Bodvarsson (col. 6, lines 11-23) teaches adjusting the number of turns. It is well-known in the art that the transmitting and receiving frequency of an antenna element is directly related to its length. Also, a person skilled in the art would know that by adjusting the number of turns of the helical conductor strand the length of the antenna element is adjusted as well, so that a desired transmitting and receiving frequency is set.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that a number of turns of said at least one helical conductor strand is selected such that a desired transmitting and receiving frequency is set. This modification would provide an antenna element having the desired transmitting and receiving frequency.
Regarding claim 10, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 1 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein said arc-shaped antenna element has a curved carrier, around said curved carrier said at least one conductor strand is helically wound.
Bodvarsson (Fig. 7; col. 14, lines 12-33) teaches an arc-shaped antenna element (40) has a curved carrier (21), around said curved carrier a conductor strand (43) is helically wound.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that said arc-shaped antenna element has a curved carrier, around said curved carrier said at least one conductor strand is helically wound as taught by Bodvarsson. This modification would provide an antenna element that takes less space (see Bodvarsson, col. 6, lines 35-38).
Regarding claim 13, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 1 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein said arc-shaped antenna element is detachably attached to said housing via a coupling point.
However, Kvist (Fig. 2d; col. 9, lines 54-65) teaches an arc-shaped antenna element (210) is detachably attached to said housing (200) via a coupling point (208, 209).
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that said arc-shaped antenna element is detachably attached to said housing via a coupling point as taught by Kvist. This modification would provide an antenna element that can connect to the housing at different coupling points (see Kvist, col. 6, lines 4-9).
Regarding claim 14, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 1 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein said arc-shaped antenna element forms a half arc, wherein one end of said arc-shaped antenna element is oriented again in a direction toward said housing.
However, Kvist (Fig. 2a) teaches an arc-shaped antenna element (210) forms a half arc, wherein one end (207) of said arc-shaped antenna element is oriented again in a direction toward said housing (200).
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that said arc-shaped antenna element forms a half arc, wherein one end of said arc-shaped antenna element is oriented again in a direction toward said housing as taught by Kvist. This modification would provide a hearing device with radio frequency (RF)-antenna functionality at low cost and low device complexity, while maintaining good antenna performance in terms of antenna efficiency and bandwidth (see Kvist, col. 1, lines 60-67 and col. 2, lines 1-50).
Regarding claim 15, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 1 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein said arc-shaped antenna element only extends above a surface area formed by an end wall of said housing and does not protrude laterally beyond said housing.
However, Kvist (Fig. 2b) teaches an arc-shaped antenna element (210) only extends above a surface area formed by an end wall (204) of said housing (200) and does not protrude laterally beyond said housing.
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that said arc-shaped antenna element only extends above a surface area formed by an end wall of said housing and does not protrude laterally beyond said housing as taught by Kvist. This modification would provide a hearing device with radio frequency (RF)-antenna functionality at low cost and low device complexity, while maintaining good antenna performance in terms of antenna efficiency and bandwidth (see Kvist, col. 1, lines 60-67 and col. 2, lines 1-50).
Regarding claim 17, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 9 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein the desired transmitting and receiving frequency is set at 2.4 GHz.
However, Kvist (col. 5, lines 42-52) teaches the desired transmitting and receiving frequency is set at 2.4 GHz.
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that the desired transmitting and receiving frequency is set at 2.4 GHz as taught by Kvist. This modification would provide a hearing device having an antenna element operating at the desired frequency.
Regarding claim 19, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 13 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein said coupling point is a socket.
Bodvarsson (Fig. 7) teaches a coupling point which is a socket (regarding the socket, see annotated Fig. 7 in Bodvarsson above).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that said coupling point is a socket as taught by Bodvarsson. This modification would provide a convenient way of attaching and detaching the antenna element to and from, respectively, the hearing aid housing.
Claims 2-5 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the modified Kvist as applied to claim 1 in view of Klein (US 9899731 B1).
Regarding claim 2, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 1 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein said at least one helical conductor strand of said arc-shaped antenna element is one of at least two helical intertwined conductor strands.
Klein (Fig. 2) teaches at least one helical conductor strand of an antenna element is one of at least two helical intertwined conductor strands (regarding the at least one helical conductor strand, the antenna element, and the at least two helical intertwined conductor strands, see annotated Fig. 2 in Klein below).
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It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that said at least one helical conductor strand of said arc-shaped antenna element is one of at least two helical intertwined conductor strands as taught by Klein. This modification would provide an ultra-compact helix antenna with reduced mis-matching and mutual coupling between the helical conductor strands (see Klein, col. 1, lines 48-53).
Regarding claim 3, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 2 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein one of said at least two intertwined helical conductor strands is grounded.
Klein (Fig. 2) teaches one of at least two intertwined helical conductor strands is grounded (Grounded Parasitic Elements).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that said one of said at least two intertwined helical conductor strands is grounded as taught by Klein. This modification would provide an ultra-compact helix antenna with reduced mis-matching and mutual coupling between the helical conductor strands (see Klein, col. 1, lines 48-53).
Regarding claim 4, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 1 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein said at least one helical conductor strand is one of at least three helical conductor strands.
Klein (Fig. 2) teaches at least one helical conductor strand of an antenna element is one of at least three helical intertwined conductor strands (regarding the at least one helical conductor strand and the at least three helical intertwined conductor strands, see annotated Fig. 2 in Klein above).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that said at least one helical conductor strand is one of at least three helical conductor strands as taught by Klein. This modification would provide an ultra-compact helix antenna with reduced mis-matching and mutual coupling between the helical conductor strands (see Klein, col. 1, lines 48-53).
Regarding claim 5, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 2 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein said at least two helical intertwined conductor strands are open at an end.
Klein (Fig. 2) teaches at least two helical intertwined conductor strands are open at an end (see annotated Fig. 2 in Klein above).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that said at least two helical intertwined conductor strands are open at an end as taught by Klein. This modification would provide an ultra-compact helix antenna with reduced mis-matching and mutual coupling between the helical conductor strands (see Klein, col. 1, lines 48-53).
Regarding claim 20, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 4 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein several of said helical conductor strands are grounded.
Klein (Fig. 2) teaches several of said helical conductor strands are grounded (Grounded Parasitic Elements).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that several of said helical conductor strands are grounded as taught by Klein. This modification would provide an ultra-compact helix antenna with reduced mis-matching and mutual coupling between the helical conductor strands (see Klein, col. 1, lines 48-53).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the modified Kvist as applied to claim 10 in view of Klein (cited above).
Regarding claim 11, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 10 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein said at least one conductor strand is formed by a metallization applied to said curved carrier.
Klein (col. 3, lines 5-6) teaches at least one conductor strand is formed by a metallization applied to a curved carrier.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that said at least one conductor strand is formed by a metallization applied to said curved carrier as taught by Klein. This modification would provide an ultra-compact helix antenna with reduced mis-matching and mutual coupling between the helical conductor strands (see Klein, col. 1, lines 48-53).
Claims 6, 7, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the modified Kvist as applied to claim 2 in view of McConnel et al. (US 5635945 A, hereinafter McConnel).
Regarding claim 6, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 2 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein said at least two helical intertwined conductor strands are directly connected to one another at an end and short-circuited.
McConnel (Fig. 1; col. 4, lines 4-10) teaches at least two helical intertwined conductor strands (14 and 18, 16 and 20) are directly connected to one another at an end and short-circuited.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that said at least two helical intertwined conductor strands are directly connected to one another at an end and short-circuited as taught by McConnel. This modification would provide an antenna having numerous advantages including simple construction, light weight, and compact design (see McConnel, Summary of the Invention).
Regarding claim 7, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 2 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein an impedance of said arc-shaped antenna element is set by a number of said at least two helical intertwined conductor strands.
McConnel (Fig. 1; col. 2, lines 46-49) teaches an impedance of an antenna element (10) is set by a number of at least two helical intertwined conductor strands (14 and 18, 16 and 20).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that an impedance of said arc-shaped antenna element is set by a number of said at least two helical intertwined conductor strands as taught by McConnel. This modification would provide an antenna having numerous advantages including simple construction, light weight, and compact design (see McConnel, Summary of the Invention).
Regarding claim 16, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 7 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein the impedance of said arc-shaped antenna element is set to a value of 50 ohm.
McConnel (Fig. 1; col. 6, lines 16-19) teaches the impedance of an antenna element (10) is set to a value of 50 ohm. Furthermore, it is well-known in the art that in most cases the input impedance of an antenna is 50 ohm in order to avoid mismatch between the antenna and the radio (electronic) equipment or devices the antenna is being connected to.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that an impedance of said arc-shaped antenna element is set by a number of said at least two helical intertwined conductor strands as taught by McConnel. This modification would provide an antenna which can be fed by a BNC connector or coaxial connector (see McConnel, col. 6, lines 16-19).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the modified Kvist as applied to claim 1 in view of Shiu et al. (US 20130082895 A1, hereinafter Shiu).
Regarding claim 12, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 1 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein said at least one conductor strand is formed by laser structuring.
Shiu (Fig. 2, [0045]) teaches antenna elements formed on dielectric carriers by laser structuring.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that said at least one conductor strand is formed by laser structuring as taught by Shiu. This modification would provide means of forming the antenna element on the hearing aid housing in cases wherein the housing has a complex geometry and/or curved surfaces.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the modified Kvist as applied to claim 2 in view of Shiu (cited above).
Regarding claim 18, the modified Kvist teaches the hearing aid of claim 2 as addressed above.
The modified Kvist does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein all said helical intertwined conductor strands are formed by laser structuring.
Shiu (Fig. 2, [0045]) teaches antenna elements formed on dielectric carriers by laser structuring.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kvist so that all said helical intertwined conductor strands are formed by laser structuring as taught by Shiu. This modification would provide means of forming the antenna element on the hearing aid housing in cases wherein the housing has a complex geometry and/or curved surfaces.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARIN STOYTCHEV STOYTCHEV whose telephone number is (571)272-3467. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 8:00-17:00.
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/MARIN STOYTCHEV STOYTCHEV/Examiner, Art Unit 2845
/DIMARY S LOPEZ CRUZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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