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
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jenkins et al., U.S. Patent No. 10,687,136, patented on June 16, 2020, in view of Baker et al., U.S. Publication No. 2020/0129760, published on April 30, 2020 (Baker).
As to Claim 1, Jenkins discloses (in Fig. 3A) an acoustic device [300] comprising: two speaker assemblies [302] (the speaker assemblies [302] are earphone speakers; col. 3, lines 49-51); two ear-hook assemblies [304], wherein each of the two ear-hook assemblies [304] is configured to accommodate one of the two speaker assemblies [302] (col. 3, lines 48-51; see Fig. 3A); and an interactive assembly [312] wherein the interactive assembly corresponds to the two speaker assemblies [302], the interactive assembly [312] is configured to control the speaker assemblies [302] to implement a function corresponding to a user operation instruction (the interactive assembly [312] performs a volume control function; col. 3, lines 65-67).
Jenkins does not explicitly disclose two interactive assemblies, wherein each of the two interactive assemblies corresponds to one of the two speaker assemblies, each interactive assembly is configured to independently control its corresponding speaker assembly to implement a function corresponding to a user operation instruction. However, providing two interactive assemblies was well known in the design of similar devices. Baker discloses an acoustic device [100] comprising: two speaker assemblies [160, 170] (para. 0047); and two interactive assemblies [104], wherein each of the two interactive assemblies [104] corresponds to one of the two speaker assemblies [160, 170], each interactive assembly [104] is configured to independently control its corresponding speaker assembly [160, 170] to implement a function corresponding to a user operation instruction (the interactive assemblies comprise volume control functions, each volume control corresponds to a speaker assembly on each side; para. 0033). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of Applicant’s invention, to apply Baker’s improvement of providing two interactive assemblies for each speaker assembly, to the acoustic device of Jenkins. The improvement would have provided for greater user customization.
As to Claim 3, Jenkins and Baker remain as applied above to Claim 1. Jenkins further discloses a control circuit assembly [308], wherein the control circuit assembly includes a function switch [310] (col. 3, lines 58-63), one side of the one or more first components is provided with a switch accommodating area [303], the switch accommodating area [303] is configured to accommodate the function switch [310] (the function switch [310] is disposed in elongated channel [310]; col. 5, lines 6-9; see Fig. 3C).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jenkins et al., U.S. Patent No. 10,687,136, patented on June 16, 2020, Baker et al., U.S. Publication No. 2020/0129760, published on April 30, 2020 (Baker), further in view of Klemenz, U.S. Publication No. 2008/0025540, published on January 31, 2008 (Klemenz).
As to Claim 2, Jenkins and Baker remain as applied above to Claim 1. Jenkins further discloses a housing [304] wherein the housing including the two ear-hook assemblies [304] (see Fig. 3A), the interactive assembly [312] includes one or more first components (the interactive assembly [312] includes volume up/down buttons; col. 3, lines 65-67), and the one or more first components are configured to adjust an audio gain of the speaker assembly [302] (the interactive assembly [312] performs a volume control function; col. 3, lines 65-67). Baker discloses two interactive assemblies configured to adjust an audio gain of the corresponding speaker assembly (the interactive assemblies comprise volume control functions, each volume control corresponds to a speaker assembly on each side; para. 0033). Jenkins and Baker do not explicitly disclose that one of the two interactive assemblies includes one or more third holes disposed on the housing and one or more first components disposed in the one or more third holes respectively. However, providing holes in the housing of an acoustic device was a well-known technique for incorporating interactive assemblies such as buttons into the acoustic device. Klemenz discloses an acoustic device comprising a housing [1’], and an interactive assembly comprising a third hole [3] and a first component [5] disposed in the third hole [3] (the first component is a button; para. 0021, lines 1-3; see Fig. 2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of Applicant’s invention, to apply the well-known technique of providing a hole in a housing of an audio device for a first component, such as a button, to the acoustic device of Jenkins and Baker.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-20 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. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claim 4 recites the unique feature of the housing having an accommodating space and one or more communication holes, each communication hole communicating the accommodating space and an outside space; at least one of the one or more communication holes is disposed on a side of the housing away from one of the two speaker assemblies. Claim 5 recites the unique features of the control circuit assembly including a main circuit board, one of the two control elements being integrated on the main circuit board, and the main circuit board being accommodated in an accommodating space of one of the two ear-hook assemblies; and the control circuit assembly further including a sub-circuit board, the other of the two control elements is integrated on the sub-circuit board; the sub-circuit board being disposed in an accommodating space of another one of the two ear-hook assemblies. The closest prior art does not disclose or suggest such features.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ryan Robinson whose telephone number is (571) 270-3956. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Carolyn Edwards, can be reached on (571) 270-7136. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/RYAN ROBINSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2694
