US 9070374

Here's a concise summary of US patent 9070374:

Patent Number: US9070374B2

• Title: Communication apparatus and condition notification method for notifying a used condition of communication apparatus by using a light-emitting device attached to communication apparatus
• Assignee: Soundclear Technologies LLC (Original Assignee: JVCKenwood Corp)
• Inventors: Masaya Konishi, Tatsuya Onoda
• Filing Date: 2013-02-19
• Issue Date: 2015-06-30
• Abstract: A condition notification method for notifying a used condition of a simplex communication apparatus by using a light-emitting device attached to the simplex communication apparatus, the method comprising: a communication-mode determination step of determining whether a communication mode of the simplex communication apparatus is a transmission mode or a standby mode; a sound pick-up state determination step of determining a sound pick-up state of a sound carried by a speech signal to be transmitted if the communication mode is the transmission mode; and a control step of controlling the light-emitting device so that the light-emitting device is turned off, turned on or repeatedly turned on and off based on determination results of the communication-mode determination step and the sound pick-up state determination step.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

The patent includes three independent claims: Claim 1, Claim 10, and Claim 15.

• Independent Claim 1 (Method Claim): This claim describes a method for a simplex communication apparatus (like a two-way radio) to tell its user how it's being used via a light.

  1. It first checks if the apparatus is in "transmit mode" (sending speech) or "standby mode" (not sending speech).
  2. If it's in transmit mode, it then checks the "sound pick-up state" of the speech signal (meaning, how well the sound is being captured, e.g., speech quality or if speech is even present).
  3. Finally, it controls a light on the device (turns it off, turns it on, or makes it blink) based on both whether it's transmitting and the quality/presence of the sound being picked up.

• Independent Claim 10 (Apparatus Claim): This claim describes a communication apparatus that performs the method of Claim 1. It includes:

  1. A "first pick-up unit" (microphone) to capture voice.
  2. A "transmitter unit" to send the voice as a signal.
  3. A "communication-mode switching unit" (like a Push-To-Talk button) to switch between standby and transmission modes.
  4. A "sound pick-up state determination unit" to figure out the quality/presence of the voice being picked up.
  5. A "light emission device" to emit light.
  6. A "control unit" that manages the light emission device based on the current communication mode and the sound pick-up state determined by the apparatus.

• Independent Claim 15 (Audio Input Apparatus Claim): This claim describes an audio input apparatus (e.g., a noise-canceling microphone) with features for evaluating and notifying speech quality, particularly in noisy environments. It includes:

  1. A "first sound pick-up unit" (main microphone).
  2. A "second sound pick-up unit" (sub-microphone).
  3. A "noise-cancellation processing unit" that uses the second speech signal to cancel noise from the first speech signal.
  4. A "speech-quality evaluation unit" to assess the quality of the speech after noise cancellation.
  5. An "evaluation-result notification unit" to inform the user about the speech quality evaluation result.

Litigation Information:

The patent US9070374B2 is currently "Active" and "expires 2033-09-16". There is ongoing litigation associated with this patent family:

• PTAB Cases:
  • IPR2025-00344 filed (Not Instituted - Procedural)
  • IPR2025-01067 filed (Not Instituted - Procedural)
• US District Court Cases (Virginia Eastern District Court):
  • Case 1:24-cv-00729
  • Case 2:24-cv-00321
  • Case 1:24-cv-00728
• First worldwide family litigation filed

These litigation events indicate that the patent is actively being asserted or challenged. As of the current date, the PTAB cases listed are "Not Instituted - Procedural," meaning they did not proceed to a full review. No specific CAFC dockets for 2026 were found directly for this patent number in the provided search results, but the existence of district court cases suggests the potential for future appeals to the CAFC.