Patent Application 18331330 - HEARING INSTRUMENT SYSTEM - Rejection
Appearance
Patent Application 18331330 - HEARING INSTRUMENT SYSTEM
Title: HEARING INSTRUMENT SYSTEM
Application Information
- Invention Title: HEARING INSTRUMENT SYSTEM
- Application Number: 18331330
- Submission Date: 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Effective Filing Date: 2023-06-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Filing Date: 2023-06-08T00:00:00.000Z
- National Class: 381
- National Sub-Class: 315000
- Examiner Employee Number: 85629
- Art Unit: 2691
- Tech Center: 2600
Rejection Summary
- 102 Rejections: 0
- 103 Rejections: 1
Cited Patents
No patents were cited in this rejection.
Office Action Text
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. 1. Claims 1 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over RĂźfenacht; Marius et. al. (US11595767 B1), hereinafter âMariusâ in view of Kaempf (US 2013/0016861A1). As to Claim 1, Marius teaches a hearing instrument system ( abstract), comprising: a hearing instrument( hearing aid 100, Figures 3-5, col. 4 lines 45-60) and a third-party device( charger 200f, Figure 24); said hearing instrument ( hearing aid 100) including: an input transducer( microphone 108) for receiving signals being characteristic of acoustic events and for converting the signals into corresponding input signals( implicit â microphoneâ), an output transducer( speaker or receiver) for outputting output signals derived from the input signals( See at least col. 1 lines 17-23); a controller( sound processer circuitry) configured to process the input signals and to generate the output signals from the input signals( See at least col. 1 lines 17-23, processor 110, Figure 5), a housing for housing said input transducer and said controller( In FIGS. 3-5, the exemplary hearing aids 100 (represented by hearing aid 100L) include a BTE component 102 that receives sound (including sound signals from another device) and an ITE component 104 that delivers sound to ear canal. The exemplary BTE component 102 may have a housing 106, one or more microphones 108, a processor 110 that may be used for sound processing, a rechargeable battery or other rechargeable power source 112, and a control panel 114. Regarding the following: teach an LED connected to said controller for outputting optical signals and for receiving optical signals; said controller of said hearing instrument configured to derive information from an optical signal received by said LED and to use the information to continue to operate said hearing instrument; said third-party device configured to communicate with said hearing instrument through an optical data transmission arrangement using light signals, Marius teaches on col. 5 lines 8-10, power may be inductively transferred to from the charger to the power source 112 by way of antenna coils (not shown) within the charger and hearing aid, but does not explicitly teach said third-party device configured to communicate with said hearing instrument through an optical data transmission arrangement using light signals,. However, Kaempf in related field ( charging of hearing aids) teaches FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment for a hearing aid 10 that has been placed onto a charge station 30. The charge station 30 consists of a housing bottom part 32, onto which a housing cover 34 is attached by means of a pivot joint. The housing furthermore has a holding pan 36 which is supported by the housing bottom part 32, which has the receptacle 37 which accommodates a hearing aid 10 and the shape of which is matched to the contour of the hearing aid to the extent possible, and in which an aperture 38 is formed. Below the aperture 38 is a photodiode 39, which, in the embodiment shown is sensitive to infrared light, for example. Evaluation means and control means (not shown) are arranged in the charge station 30 to read-out and process the signal of the photodiode 39. [0027]. Further, on [0029] hearing aid 10 in the charge position is inside the charge station 30. For this purpose, it lies in the receptacle 37 of the charge station 30 which is matched to the external contour of the hearing aid housing 15. In this position, the aperture 38 of the charge station 30 and a signal exit window 18 formed in the hearing aid housing 15 are reciprocally opposite such that light from the exit window 18 from the hearing aid 10 impinges on the photodiode 39. 0030] The hearing aid 10 furthermore comprises a rechargeable battery 19. Pursuant to the embodiment, the charging is to occur without contact. For this purpose, a receiver coil 12 with coil windings 13 is arranged in the hearing aid such that energy transmitted by the transmitter coil 40 can be received inductively and be supplied to the battery 19 by means of a suitable charging circuit 20. The charging circuit 20 is arranged on a printed circuit board 22, on which a control 21 as well as an LED 25 which emits light in the infrared spectral range is furthermore arranged. The beam direction 26 of the LED 25 in the embodiment shown runs approximately perpendicular to a line defined by the surface normal 18a of the exit window 18 where the optical beam exits, so that any light emitted from the diode 25 would not reach the photodiode 39 directly. Kaempf teaches optical data transmission between hearing aid 10 and charger 30 using light signals. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective fling date of the invention to modify Marius such as to charge hearing aid device using optical data transmission with the charger for contactless charging of hearing aid. Marius in view of Kaempf further teaches said third-party device forming a box-shaped charger ( charger housing 30, Figure 1 of Kaempf) having a charging interior for receiving said hearing instrument( [0029], [0030]), and said third-party device configured to transmit a charging light signal into said charging interior; and said controller of said hearing instrument configured to take reception of the charging light signal as a basis for identification of said hearing instrument being disposed in said charging interior and for taking a measure related to said identification by deactivating at least one of a signal processing, a sound output or a sound capture or switching off said hearing instrument, Marius teaches the charger 200d is provided with a light source, such as an LED, at each of the left and right charge locations 202L and 202R. The light sources 240L and 240R may be separately controlled by the controller 236 so that one light source may be in an âoffâ state while the other light source is in an âonâ state. The light source 240L is maintained in the âoffâ state (FIG. 21) and is switched to the âonâ state when the left hearing aid 100L is placed into the receptacle 220 at the left charge location 202L (FIG. 22). The light source 240R is maintained in the âoffâ state (FIG. 21) and is switched to the âonâ state when the right hearing aid 100R is placed into the receptacle 220 at the right charge location 202R (FIG. 22). The presence of a hearing aid may be sensed by sensing a change in resistance across the contacts 226, or through the use of a light gate or other suitable instrumentality. The light sources 240L and 240R will return to the âoffâ state when the hearing aids 100L and 100R are removed from the charge locations 202L and 202R. See at least col. 8 lines 24-45. As to Claim 7, Marius in view of Kaempf teaches the limitations of Claim 1 and wherein said controller has a general input/output connected to said LED, Kaempf teaches on [0030] The charging circuit 20 is arranged on a printed circuit board 22, on which a control 21 as well as an LED 25 which emits light in the infrared spectral range is furthermore arranged. The beam direction 26 of the LED 25 in the embodiment shown runs approximately perpendicular to a line defined by the surface normal 18a of the exit window 18 where the optical beam exits, so that any light emitted from the diode 25 would not reach the photodiode 39 directly. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-6 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 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SUNITA JOSHI whose telephone number is (571)270-7227. The examiner can normally be reached 8-3. 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 examinerâs supervisor, Duc Nguyen can be reached at 5712727503. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /SUNITA JOSHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2691