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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/17/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “A housing designed for wear at an ear” as recited in claim 6 and 15 and “The first and second wearable devices” as recited in claim 15 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claim 1-16 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.
Claims 1, 6, and 15 recite the limitation “oriented substantially in opposition to one another” which renders the claim indefinite. The term “substantially” is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite The term “substantially” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. What degree of error would this have, 1%, 5%, 10%?, and how would “substantially in opposition” be different form “just in opposition”. The drawings seem to only show the components ever being in opposition. For the purposes of examination, the examiner, as best understood, will interpret the limitation to mean “oriented in opposition to one another” to bring the claims more in line with what is taught in the drawings.
Claims 2-5, 7-14, and 16 inherit the indefiniteness of claim 1, 6, and 15.
Claims 1, 6, and 15 recite the limitation “the respective switch unit is connected to one or more elements” which renders the claim indefinite. The term “one or more elements” does not clarify if all the switches would be connected to the same element or different element. Based on the specifications and drawings it is clear that the switches connect to different elements from one another like 702A and 702C. For the purposes of examination, the examiner, as best understood, will interpret the claim to mean “the respective switch unit is connected to one or more distinct elements”.
Claims 2-5, 7-14, and 16 inherit the indefiniteness of claim 1, 6, and 15.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the antenna comprising:… coupling to a wireless transceiver ” which renders the claim indefinite. The claim refers to an antenna system comprising an antenna but then recites the wireless transceiver in an indented paragraph which would imply that the transceiver is part of the antenna system. This is indefinite since the specifications and figure 2 teach the transceiver being a separate component from the antenna/antenna system wherein said transceiver would be located in the wearable device. For the purposes of examination, the examiner, as best understood, will interpret the claim to mean “coupling to a wireless transceiver located in the wearable device”.
Claims 2-5 inherit the indefiniteness of claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1, 6, and 15 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 1, 6, and 15, patentability exists, at least in part, with the claimed features of “a set of switch units, wherein: the set of switch units includes a first switch unit that connects the first portion of the strap element and the third portion of the strap element, set of switch units includes a second switch unit that connects the second portion of the strap element and the third portion of the strap element” as recited in claim 1, 6, and 15.
Elghannai et al., Thaysen, Kvist, and Venkatasubramanian et al. disclose two wearable devices for an ear canal wherein each wearable device comprises a housing, a wireless transceiver, one or more processors, an antenna with a first antenna element, a second antenna element, a strap element, a first/second/third strap portion, a plurality of feed points with a first/second feed point, a switch element disposed between two strap portions, a first switch state, and a second switch state. Elghannai et al., Thaysen, Kvist, and Venkatasubramanian et al. fail to disclose a set of switch units that comprise a first and second switch units which are disposed between three strap portions.
However, the prior art, when taken alone, or, in combination, cannot be construed as reasonably teaching or suggesting all of the elements of the claimed invention as arranged, disposed, or provided in the manner as claimed by the Applicant.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GURBIR SINGH whose telephone number is (703)756-4637. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dameon E Levi can be reached at (571)272-2105. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAMEON E LEVI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2845
/GURBIR SINGH/Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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