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 Application
This communication is responsive to the applicant's application filed 04/24/2025.
Claims 1-9 are pending.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-9 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites limitations in parentheses: (hereinafter, referred to as a negative phase sound) in lines 4-5; (hereinafter, referred to as a negative phase sound) in lines 9-10; and (hereinafter, referred to as a positive phase sound) in lines 18-19, are causing confusion. Appropriate correction is required.
Dependent claims 2-8 are objected for being depending on independent claim 1.
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 1-3, 5-6, and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hitomi (JP S61-095189, cited in IDS filed 04/24/2025).
Regarding claim 1, Hitomi discloses an acoustic signal output device (see Figs. 1, 3) comprising: a speaker unit (1); and a collar (shielding plate 7) that is a housing accommodating a part of the speaker unit to cause a sound emitted from the speaker unit in a back surface direction of the speaker unit to be guided in a front surface direction of the speaker unit (see section under [utility model claim] on pg 1, section [Means for solving the problems] on page 3 of the translation filed], wherein the collar is provided with a hole (Fig. 3, 31) for emitting the negative phase sound in the front surface direction of the speaker unit, and the collar accommodates a part of the speaker unit in such a manner that a path from a hole of the speaker unit for emitting the negative phase sound to the first negative phase sound emission hole is short (the path 31 is shot as shown in Fig. 3) so that the negative phase sound emitted from the first negative phase sound emission hole and a emitted from the speaker unit (1) in the front surface direction of the speaker unit have a substantially anti-phase relationship in a predetermined frequency band in the front surface direction of the speaker unit (see page 3, 2nd para of the translation).
However, Hitomi does not show the acoustic signal output device having a resonance frequency of an internal space of the collar formed with respect to the speaker unit is high.
Hitomi discloses in pg 9, lines 1-9 of the specification, that the lowest resonance frequency increases as a result of surrounding the back surface of speaker 1 with the collar or shielding plate 6. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to realize that the acoustic signal output device having a resonance frequency of an internal space of the collar formed with respect to the speaker unit is high as the resonance frequency of the internal space is depending on a result of design choice regarding the size of the collar or shielding plate being surrounding the back surface of the speaker as shown in Fig. 3.
Regarding claim 2, Hitomi discloses in pg 9, lines 1-9 of the specification, that the lowest resonance frequency increases as a result of surrounding the back surface of speaker 1 with the collar or shielding plate 6, which meets one of the 3 methods as claimed.
Regarding claim 3, see baffle or horn 8 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.
Regarding claim 4, Hitomi discloses wherein the collar is provided with a hole different from the first negative phase sound emission hole for emitting the negative phase sound in a direction other than the front surface direction of the speaker unit (see collar or shielding plate 6 and 7 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3).
Regarding claim 5, Hitomi discloses wherein the collar includes a tubular member extending in the front surface direction of the speaker unit from a plane that is a front surface of the speaker unit, or has a shape extending in a tubular shape in the front surface direction of the speaker unit from the plane that is the front surface of the speaker unit (see Fig. 3, where the collar 6 comprise a tubular member or horn 7).
Regarding claim 6, see baffle or tubular member or horn 8 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.
Regarding claim 9, Hitomi discloses wherein a member for suppressing vibration of the collar is attached to the collar (see Fig. 3, arm 12 that is attached to collar or shielding plate 6 and capable of suppressing vibration of the collar or shielding plate 6).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 7, and 8 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 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kim, Proni, Wang, Hyde, and Balciunas are made of record here as pertinent art to the claimed invention. The cited references disclose various loudspeakers having structures for guiding rear emitting sound to front of the loudspeaker.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to XU MEI whose telephone number is (571)272-7523. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 10-6:30 est.
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/XU MEI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2695 09/30/2026
