Appeal No. 96-2515
Application 08/037,567
follows:
1. A transducer device operative to permit two-way communication between a user and
another party, said transducer device adapted to be placed proximately to the external auditory canal of a
user’s ear in order for the user to interface with communications apparatus and operative to produce audible
output in response to input signals received from said communications apparatus and operative to produced
output signals in response to audible input for transmission by said communications apparatus, comprising:
(a) a housing sized and configured to be positioned in a mounted state at a location
proximately to the external auditory canal of the user’s ear;
(b) a speaker element disposed in said housing in communication with said communications
apparatus, said speaker element operative to receive input signals and produce the audible output in response
thereto;
(c) a microphone element disposed in said housing in communication with said
communications apparatus, said microphone element oriented proximely to the ear when in the mounted state
and operative to receive audible input from a user and produce output signals in response thereto; and
(d) isolation means for acoustically isolating said microphone element sufficiently from said
speaker element such that the audible output from said speaker element does not create feedback to said
microphone element, said transducer device thereby operative to permit two-way communication between a
user and another party.
The references relied upon by the examiner are:
Konomi (Konomi ‘428) 4,516,428 May 14, 1985
Konomi (Konomi ‘867) 4,588,867 May 13, 1986
Moseley 5,001,763 Mar. 19, 1991
The appealed claims stand rejected as follows:
1. Claims 1-3, 7, 9-14 and 16-20 are rejected under 35U.S.C. § 102(b) as anticipated by
Konomi ‘867.
2
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