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 .
Detailed Action
Claims 2-24 are pending in this Office Action.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements filed on 5/14/24 and 4/22/24 have been considered.
Change of Address
The change of address received on 4/11/03 has been entered.
Formal Drawings
The formal drawings received on 4/22/24 have been entered.
Priority
The case is afforded priority of 9/14/2015 for being a continuation of Application 14853680, now Patent 9800905.
New Examiner of Record
Please note the new examiner of record prosecuting the case.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112:
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 23 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 23 recites the limitation "at a plurality of different sampling rates" referring to claim 9 in the preamble. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 9 states different audio qualities but nothing about sampling rates.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 2-13, 15-19, 21-21, 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2015/0264504 A1 to YEO et al.
2. (Currently Amended) A method comprising:
sending, to an audio output device associated with a user device a first content portion comprising audio encoded in a first audio data type (Yeo: page 1, para 9-12; page 3, para 41);
receiving, from the user device, and by a computing device, an audio recording, made by the user device, an audio of the first content portion corresponding to first video content (Yeo: page 3, para 41 detection unit; page 1, para 10); and
sending, to the audio output device and based on the audio recording, a second content portion comprising audio encoded in a second audio data type that has a different audio quality level from the first audio data type (Yeo: page 3, para 42, 43).
3. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 2, wherein the second content portion is subsequent to the first content portion (Yeo: page 1, para 9-12).
4. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 2, further comprising:
sending, to a second user device associated with the user device, an instruction to locate the second user device for recoding audio (Yeo: pages 4-5; para 55; page 3, para 41-43);
receiving, from the second user device at a second location, a second audio recording of output by the audio output device (Yeo: pages 4-5; para 55; page 3, para 41-43); and
selecting, based on the audio recording and the second audio recording, the different audio quality level (Yeo: pages 4-5; para 55; page 3, para 41-43).
5. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 2, further comprising sending, to the user device, an instruction comprising a request to locate the user device relative to a display associated with the user device (Yeo: Fig 1, Fig 2A-2B; page 3, para 41).
6. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 2, wherein audio output device comprises a plurality of speakers, and wherein the second audio data type, is selected based on a layout of the plurality of speakers (Yeo: page 3, para 42, 43).
7. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 2, wherein the different audio quality level comprises a sampling rate different from a sampling rate associated with the audio data type (Yeo: page 3, para 42, 43-- 5.1 to 4.1 channel audio).
8. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 2, further comprising:
using audio measurements taken during presentation of an initial portion of a content item to adjust audio parameters of a subsequent portion of the content item, wherein the first portion comprises the initial portion of the content item, and the second portion comprises the subsequent portion of the content item (Yeo: page 3, para 41).
9. (Currently Amended) A method comprising:
sending, to an audio output device associated with a user device, digitally encoded audio corresponding to first video content (Yeo: page 1, para 9-12; page 3, para 41; pages 4-5; para 55, video is associated with these multi-channel formats);
receiving, from the user device, audio information based on an audio recording of an output, at the audio output device, of the digitally encoded audio corresponding to the first video content (Yeo: page 3, para 41 detection unit; page 1, para 10); and
causing selection, based on the audio information, of a second audio data type for digitally encoding audio corresponding to second video content, wherein the second audio data type for the digitally encoding the audio corresponding to the second video content has a different audio quality level from a first audio data type used to digitally encode the audio corresponding to the first video content (Yeo: page 3, para 42, 43).
10. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 9, wherein the first video content is a first content portion of a video asset and the second video content is a second portion of the video asset, and the second content portion of the video asset is subsequent to the first content portion of the video asset (Yeo: page 1, para 9-12).
11. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 9, wherein the audio information comprises a sound sample that is generated by the user device and that is based on the digitally encoded audio corresponding to the first video content (Yeo: page 1, para 9-12; page 3, para 41; pages 4-5; para 55, video is associated with these multi-channel formats).
12. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 9, wherein the audio information comprises data indicating an analysis of a sound sample, wherein the sound sample is generated by the user device based on the digitally encoded audio corresponding to the first video content (Yeo: page 1, para 9-12; page 3, para 41; pages 4-5; para 55, video is associated with these multi-channel formats).
13. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 9, wherein the audio output device comprises a plurality of speakers, and the audio information comprises data indicating a layout of the plurality of speakers (Yeo: page 1, para 9-12; page 3, para 41-43; pages 4-5; pra 55, video is associated with these multi-channel formats).
15. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 9, wherein the different audio quality level comprises a different number of audio channels (Yeo: pages 4-5, para 55).
16. (Currently Amended) A method comprising:
recording, by a user device, a first audio output of digitally encoded audio corresponding to first video content (Yeo: page 1, para 9-12; page 3, para 41; pages 4-5; para 55, video is associated with these multi-channel formats);
sending, based on the recording of the first audio output, audio information (Yeo: page 3, para 41 detection unit; page 1, para 10); and
recording, by the user device and based on the audio information, second audio output of digitally encoded audio corresponding to a second video content that has a different audio quality level from a first audio data type of the digitally encoded audio corresponding to the first video content (Yeo: page 3, para 42, 43).
17. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 16, wherein the first video content is a first content portion of a video asset and the second video content is a second content portion of the video asset, and the second content portion of the video asset is subsequent to the first content portion of the video asset (Yeo: page 1, para 9-12).
18. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 16, further comprising receiving, by the user device, an instruction to locate the user device relative to a display associated with the user device (Yeo: pages 4-5; para 55; page 3, para 41-43).
19. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 16, further comprising generating, by the user device and based on analysis of the recording of the first audio output, the audio information (Yeo: pages 4-5; para 55; page 3, para 41-43).
21. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 16, wherein the different audio quality level comprises a different number of audio channels (Yeo: pages 4-5, para 55).
24. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 2, further comprising:
converting the first audio data type to the second audio data type by adding or removing, based on the audio recording, an audio channel in the first audio data type (Yeo: pages 4-5, para 55; page 6, para 65-66).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 14 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable US 2015/0264504 to YEO et al in view of Eyler et al. (Pub No US 2015/0188966).
Regarding claim 14, the Yeo reference teaches the method of claim 9, a method of adjusting audio based on detected devices.
The Yeo reference fails to teach adjusting sampling rate.
However, in analogous art, the Eyler reference teaches wherein the different audio quality level comprises a different sampling rate (Eyler: page 4, para 32-33) in order to efficiently and effectively provide media to a viewer (Eyler: page 1, para 3-5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effectively filed date, to include the different audio levels of Eyler into the method of adjusting audio by Yeo in order to efficiently and effectively provide media to a viewer (Eyler: page 1, para 3-5).
Claim 20 is rejected under the same rationale as above as being substantially similar to claim 14.
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable US 2015/0264504 to YEO et al in view of US Patent Pub No 2011/0176060 by Lee
Regarding claim 22, the Yeo reference teaches the method of claim 2.
Yeo fails to teach changing audio quality files but keeping to an earlier audio sampling.
In analogous art, the Lee reference teaches an audio quality level of a later portion of a video program is different from an audio quality level of an earlier portion of the video program, and wherein the audio quality level of the later portion of the video program is selected based on a sampling of an audio output of the earlier portion of the video program (Lee: page 4, para 42-45; page 7, para 75-77—Lee teaches distortion begins while broadcasting and adjusts the power to channel) in order to support higher-resolution data transmission (Lee: page 1, para 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effectively filed date, to include the default sampling rates of Lee into the method of adjusting audio by Yeo in order to support higher-resolution data transmission (Lee: page 1, para 4).
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable US 2015/0264504 to YEO et al in view of US Patent Pub No 2005/0100122 by Hsu et al.
Regarding claim 23, the Yeo reference teaches the method of claim 9, wherein the digitally encoded audio corresponding to the first video content is encoded at a plurality of different sampling rates, further (Yeo: page 2, para 22. Where each of these MPEG-1, MPEG2, or MP3 are different sampling rates as defined by their standards) comprising:
selecting, based on the audio recording of the output, a sampling rate of the plurality of different sampling rates (Yeo: page 3, para 42-43; para 5, para 55); and
generating the digitally encoded audio corresponding to the second video content by encoding based on the selected sampling rate (Yeo: page 3, para 42-43; para 5, para 55).
Yeo fails to explicitly state different sampling rates.
However, in analogous art, the Hsu reference teaches different sampling rates with different formatted media data (Hsu: Fig 4, Fig 2; page 1, para 2). These formats of data are used to synchronize the signal of frames with signals in media (Hsu: page 1, para 1, 8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effectively filed date, to include the different sampling rates of Hsu into the method of adjusting audio by Yeo to synchronize the signal of frames with signals in media (Hsu: page 1, para 1, 8).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN R BRUCKART whose telephone number is (571)272-3982. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH: 7-6p.
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. 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.
BENJAMIN R. BRUCKART
Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2424
/BENJAMIN R BRUCKART/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2424