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 .
Examiner’s Note
Examiner has cited particular columns and line numbers or figures in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the responses, to
fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed 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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-10 and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Jang et al. (US 2023/0152874).
As to claim 1, Jang teaches a speech recognition device comprising: a main board 120 ; and a power board 110 receiving a signal from the main board to activate an Always Ready (AR) (standby) mode that always stands by for speech recognition, under a standby mode that periodically operates switching elements 41-42, and supplying a constant voltage to the main board according to the received signal, thereby continuously operating a plurality of switching elements (Pars.25, 66, 73, 81-83, 91-92, 123-126; Figs.1-5, 10-11).
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As to claim 2, Jang teaches wherein the power board includes an AR/STBY mode input pin for receiving a signal for activating the AR mode (Fig.4, 41-2, 42-3; Fig.5).
As to claim 4, Jang teaches wherein the constant voltage is the voltage level supplied to the main board in the standby mode, and wherein the waveform of the constant voltage is a flat form (Figs.6A-6B, 7).
As to claim 5, Jang teaches wherein the main board receives a command for switching to the AR mode through user input and generates the signal for activating the AR mode according to the received command (Pars.81-87).
As to claim 6, Jang teaches wherein the power board includes: a switching part including the plurality of switching elements, a power supply, which is an interface that supplies power to the main board. an AR mode switching circuit converting the signal received from the main board; and a controller switching the standby mode of the speech recognition device to the AR mode based on the converted signal (Figs.2-4).
As to claim 7, Jang teaches wherein the power mode of the speech recognition device includes the standby mode, the AR mode, and a normal mode, wherein the magnitude of the constant voltage supplied to the main board under the AR mode is the same as the magnitude of the voltage supplied to the main board in the standby mode, and wherein operations of the plurality of switching elements under the AR mode is the same as the switching operation in the normal mode (Pars.17-25; Figs.5-7).
As to claim 8, Jang teaches wherein the speech recognition device is either a TV, an AI speaker, or a smartphone (Fig.1, 200).
Regarding claims 9-10 and 12-15, the corresponding method comprising the steps similar to the steps cited in the device claims is analogous, therefore rejected as being anticipated by Jang et al. for the foregoing reasons.
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.
Claim(s) 3 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang et al. (US 2023/0152874) and in view of Sha et al. (US 2010/0321957).
As to claims 3 and 11, Jang doesn’t explicitly teach wherein the power board further includes a photocoupler for converting a signal received through the AR mode input pin into an optical output signal. However, Sha teaches a standby power saving method for power module comprising the steps of generating a mode signal according to voltage comparison of a feedback signal and a threshold voltage, wherein the mode signal has a normal mode state and a standby mode state; generating a pulse signal according to the mode signal, wherein the pulse signal has a normal PWM mode responsive to the normal mode state of the mode signal, and a V.sub.CC mode responsive to the standby mode state of the mode signal; and generating a gating signal according to the pulse signal for driving a primary side power switch, wherein the power module comprises a photocoupler (Fig.2, #210, #217; Fig.3, #310; Fig.4; Pars.17-23).
The modification and combination of the analogous arts would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of applicant’s invention for the purpose of reducing power consumption during standby mode.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL DEMELASH ABEBE whose telephone number is (571)272-7615. The examiner can normally be reached monday-friday 7-4.
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, Daniel Washburn can be reached at 571-272-5551. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANIEL ABEBE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2657
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