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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-5, 10-12 and 14-20 are rejected
Claims 6-9 and 13 are objected to
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 15 recites the limitations: wherein the nozzle: a) aids in controlling battery usage at the open-ear headphone by improving the sound pressure level (SPL) per volt output to the ear canal entrance, and/or b) enhances a stable gain of the acoustic energy output when the open-ear headphone is used as a hearing assistance device. However, the applicant’s specification as originally filed does not provide any detail or specific explanation on how the nozzle accomplishes these claimed benefits. For instance, paragraphs [0022] and [0062] of the specification only recite these claimed benefits of the nozzle without providing any detail description or recite any special features of the nozzle by which these claimed benefits can be achieved.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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) 1-2, 11 and 16-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Stark et al (US PUB 20230247339, hereinafter Stark).
Regarding Claim 1, Stark discloses an open-ear headphone (e.g. open-ear headphone 10), (see at least the abstract and figure 1A) comprising: a body (e.g. a body 13) having: a first portion (e.g. a first portion 20) configured to pass over an outer side of at least one of an anti-helix, a helix, or a lobule of the outer ear, and a second portion (e.g. a second portion 14) configured to be located behind the outer ear (see figures 3A-3B); and an acoustic module (e.g. acoustic module 12) coupled to the body and configured to be located at least in part in a cavum conchae of an outer ear of a user, the acoustic module having an acoustic transducer (e.g. a transducer 82), (see figure 4), and a nozzle (e.g. a sound output nozzle) including a first sound-emitting opening (e.g. a first sound-emitting opening or port 16) wherein the nozzle is an extension of the acoustic module that directs acoustic energy from the first sound-emitting opening toward an ear canal entrance of the user (e.g. the nozzle extends from the body 20 and includes the first opening or port 16 for guiding emitted sound into the ear canal of the user during use), (see Stark, [0035]-[0037] and [0041]-[0044], also figures 1A-1C, 3A-3C, and 4).
Regarding Claim 2, Stark discloses the open-ear headphone of claim 1, wherein the first sound-emitting opening (16) is configured to be spaced from and proximate the user's ear canal opening (e.g. sound-emitting opening 16 is spaced from but close to the user's ear canal opening 63), (see Stark, [0041], also figures 3C and 4).
Regarding Claim 11, Stark discloses the open-ear headphone of claim 1, wherein the nozzle includes at least one of: a) a contoured shape configured to contact a portion of the user's ear proximate to the ear canal entrance, or b) a compliant material configured to contact a portion of the user's ear proximate to the ear canal entrance (e.g. the nozzle is contoured to conform to the shape of the lower concavity 52), (see Stark, [0041]-[0042], and figure 3A).
Regarding Claim 16, Stark discloses the open-ear headphone of claim 1, wherein the acoustic module and the nozzle define an asymmetric physical acoustic package such that an axis of the nozzle extends in a direction toward the ear canal entrance that is off-axis relative to an axis of the body (e.g. the axis of the nozzle is generally orthogonal to the axis of the body 20), (see Stark, figures 1A and 3A).
Regarding Claim 17, Stark discloses the open-ear headphone of claim 1, wherein the acoustic transducer is located in the nozzle (e.g. acoustic transducer 82 is positioned within portion of the nozzle), (see Stark, [0044] and figure 4).
Regarding Claim 18, Stark discloses the open-ear headphone of claim 1, wherein the second portion (e.g. second portion 14) includes a battery housing that houses a battery (see Stark, [0036] and figure 4).
Regarding Claim 19, Stark discloses the open-ear headphone of claim 1, wherein at least one of the anti-helix, the helix, or the lobule of the outer ear is configured to be located between the first portion and the second portion of the body, wherein the body is generally L-shaped, and wherein the acoustic module and the body together are generally C-shaped (see Stark, [0036], and figures 1A, 1B, 3A and 4).
Regarding Claim 20, Stark discloses the open-ear headphone of claim 1, further comprising at least one microphone located in the acoustic module and/or the body (e.g. microphones located below microphone openings 18 and 26), (see Stark, [0039], and figure 3C).
Claim(s) 3-5, 10, 12 and 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stark as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of Scheimberg (US PUB 20190007760, hereinafter Scheimberg).
Regarding Claim 3, Stark discloses the open-ear headphone of claim 1, but fails to explicitly disclose wherein the nozzle includes a mount for receiving a removably couplable sleeve.
However, Scheimberg in the same field of endeavor teaches that it is well known in the art to provide an headphone with a nozzle comprising a mount (e.g. an adapter 5) for receiving a removably couplable sleeve (e.g. a removable flexible tube 6), (see [0006]-[0007], also figures 1 and 2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to any person having an ordinary skill in the art to incorporate a mount for receiving a removably couplable sleeve as taught by Scheimberg in the teachings of Stark in order to achieve effective delivery of undiluted sound output from the acoustic transducer via the sleeve, and towards the eardrum of the user, and thereby further improving the listening experience of the user.
Regarding Claim 4, Stark as modified by Scheimberg discloses the open-ear headphone of claim 3 wherein the mount (adapter 5) is sized to receive one or more sleeves for adjusting the acoustic energy output from the first-sound-emitting opening (see Scheimberg, [0007] and figure 2).
Regarding Claim 5, Stark as modified by Scheimberg discloses the open-ear headphone of claim 4, wherein at least one of the one or more sleeves (flexible tube 6) is configured for use in two or more orientations (e.g. front or back orientations), (see Scheimberg, figure 2).
Regarding Claim 10, Stark as modified by Scheimberg discloses the open-ear headphone of claim 1, wherein the nozzle includes a flexible extension (e.g. flexible tube 6) of the acoustic module, wherein the nozzle includes a pliable material that approximately maintains a shape after adjustment (see Scheimberg, [0006]-[0007], also figures 1-2).
Regarding Claim 12, Stark as modified by Scheimberg discloses the open-ear headphone of claim 1, but fails to explicitly disclose wherein the nozzle is formed of a material having a Shore A durometer of at least 10. However, it would have been obvious to any person having an ordinary skill in the art to select a material having a Shore A durometer of at least 10 for the nozzle if such is suitable for achieving an optimum outcome, since it has been held that “selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use supported a prima facie obviousness determination in Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp., 325 U.S. 327, 65 USPQ 297 (1945); see MPEP 2144.07.
Regarding Claim 14, Stark as modified by Scheimberg discloses the open-ear headphone of claim 1, wherein the nozzle enhances active noise reduction (ANR) control of the acoustic energy output (see Stark, [0039], also figures 3C and 4).
Regarding Claim 15, Stark as modified by Scheimberg discloses the open-ear headphone of claim 1, wherein the nozzle:
a) aids in controlling battery usage at the open-ear headphone by improving the sound pressure level (SPL) per volt output to the ear canal entrance, and/or
b) enhances a stable gain of the acoustic energy output when the open-ear headphone is used as a hearing assistance device (e.g. the narrow and elongated structure of the flexible tube 6 will enhance acoustic output and response of the earpiece), (see Scheimberg, [0006]-[0007], also figures 1-2).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-9 and 13 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
The prior art made of record provided on PTO 892 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OYESOLA C OJO whose telephone number is (571)272-0848. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 8:00am to 4:00pm Central Time.
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/OYESOLA C OJO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2695.
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