Obviousness

Obviousness Analysis of US Patent 9804819 under 35 U.S.C. § 103

This analysis identifies combinations of prior art references that would render the claims of US Patent 9804819 obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (POSITA), along with the motivation for combining them. The primary prior art reference for this analysis is Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. JPH09130173 (hereinafter "JPH09130173A"), which is explicitly cited and discussed in the background of US9804819.

Person Having Ordinary Skill in the Art (POSITA)

A POSITA in this field would likely be an electrical engineer or software engineer with experience in the design and development of audio systems, particularly for portable electronic devices such as transceivers, and possess knowledge of user interface (UI) design principles and safety considerations for such devices.

Prior Art Reference

JPH09130173A (Sony Corp) - "Volume misoperation prevention method and device"
This patent is described in US9804819 as disclosing "an apparatus that automatically returns a volume key that has been inadvertently operated to a position at any given point in time." It teaches a volume lock function in a transceiver or similar device. However, US9804819 highlights two key drawbacks of JPH09130173A:

1. Complicated Operations: "To set the volume again after the volume has been locked, the locked state be canceled and then the volume key be operated to thereby set the locked state."
2. Unintentional High Volume Output: "When the volume key is inadvertently operated in the locked state, the known transceiver outputs audio at an unintentional volume level as soon as the locked state is canceled."

From this description, JPH09130173A clearly teaches:

• A receiving apparatus with an audio output unit.
• A volume operating unit (e.g., a volume key) to adjust audio level.
• A locked state where the audio volume is fixed.
• A non-locked state where the audio volume can be varied.
• The concept of a "lock value" that defines the fixed volume in the locked state.

Obviousness Analysis of Independent Claims 1 and 8

Independent Claim 1 of US9804819 describes a receiving apparatus, and Independent Claim 8 describes a control method for such an apparatus, both sharing the same core inventive features. The analysis below applies to both claims.

Differences from JPH09130173A:

The key differentiating features of US9804819 over JPH09130173A relate to the mechanism for temporarily adjusting and updating the locked volume:

1. Conditional Temporary Switch: When a "predetermined operating part" (e.g., monitor key 40) is turned on in the locked state, the system temporarily switches to the non-locked state only for a period of time that starts when the operating value becomes a value that falls within a predetermined range based on the lock value and ends when the predetermined operating part is turned off.
2. Automatic Lock Value Update: When the predetermined operating part is turned off after having switched to the non-locked state, the lock value is updated with the current operating value, and the system switches back to the locked state.

Motivation for Combination/Modification:

A POSITA, starting with the volume lock function taught by JPH09130173A, would be directly motivated to address the two explicit problems identified in the background of US9804819: simplifying the volume reset operation and preventing sudden, unintentionally high volume output.

1. Simplifying the Volume Reset Operation:

   • The "complicated operations" of JPH09130173A (manually canceling lock, adjusting volume, then manually re-locking) create a clear motivation for a POSITA to streamline the user experience.
   • Using a "predetermined operating part" for temporary adjustment: It is common practice in UI design to assign temporary or secondary functions to existing, easily accessible momentary switches. On a transceiver, buttons like a "monitor key" (e.g., monitor key 40 in US9804819) are momentary switches related to audio functions (disabling squelch to listen to background noise). Repurposing or adding a secondary function to such a key for temporary volume adjustment is an obvious design choice for improving ease of use. The patent explicitly identifies the monitor key 40 as the "predetermined operating part."
   • Automatic lock value update and re-locking: Once a user temporarily adjusts the volume, it is intuitive for a POSITA to design the system to automatically save this new setting as the new "lock value" and re-engage the lock when the momentary operating part is released. This transforms a multi-step process into a single, fluid operation, directly solving the "complicated operations" problem.

2. Preventing Unintentional High Volume Output:

   • The risk of "audio at an unintentional volume level" (e.g., a sudden loud blast) when canceling the locked state in JPH09130173A creates a strong safety motivation for a POSITA.
   • Conditional switch to non-locked state based on operating value: To mitigate the risk of sudden loud output, a POSITA would find it obvious to implement a safety mechanism. This involves ensuring that the physical volume control (operating value) is brought into alignment with the currently output fixed volume (lock value) before allowing the system to transition to a freely adjustable, non-locked state. This prevents abrupt volume changes if the physical knob was previously moved to a high position while the system was locked. The "predetermined range" around the lock value (e.g., 95% to 105% as described in US9804819) provides a practical and user-friendly tolerance for this alignment. Claim 4 further specifies this range using subtracting and adding predetermined values, while Claim 5 notes it can cover values smaller than the lock value, both being routine mathematical definitions for such a range.

Supporting Details from Dependent Claims:

• Claim 2: Maintaining the locked state until the operating value enters the predetermined range. This is inherent to the safety mechanism described above, ensuring the "unintentional high volume" problem is addressed.
• Claim 3: Displaying information indicating the locked state during this initial period. This is a standard UI feedback mechanism to inform the user why their volume adjustment isn't immediately taking effect.
• Claim 6: Specifying the predetermined operating part as a "monitor key" that disables a squelch function. As discussed, the monitor key's function in relation to audio output (e.g., outputting white noise even without a reception signal) makes it a highly motivated choice for a temporary volume adjustment mode, allowing the user to set the volume while hearing output.
• Claim 7: Stating the volume controller includes a "mechanical operating device." The patent's description of the volume key 36 as a "rotary variable resistor" confirms it is a mechanical device, which is a conventional component in such apparatuses and would be present in systems like JPH09130173A.

Conclusion

The features of US9804819, particularly those related to the conditional temporary release of the volume lock and the automatic update of the lock value, represent logical and straightforward improvements to the existing volume lock technology exemplified by JPH09130173A. The motivation for these modifications arises directly from the problems acknowledged in the background of US9804819 itself—namely, complicated volume reset procedures and the risk of sudden, loud audio. A person having ordinary skill in the art, faced with these known problems in the context of prior art like JPH09130173A, would find it obvious to apply routine engineering and user interface design principles to arrive at the claimed invention, thereby providing a simpler and safer method for resetting a locked volume.