DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
2. A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.
Response to Amendment
3. Applicant’s arguments received 01/20/2026 have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new or modified grounds of rejection. Detailed response is given in sections 4-5 as set forth below in this Office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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 of this title, 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.
5. Claims 1, 3-12, 15-17 and 20-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TORII (JP 2000122643 A, machine translation) in view of Cho et al. (US 20130010969 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 6 and 7, TORII discloses a sound signal generation method and device, including a computer program for implementing the method, comprising: receiving a pitch and an intensity (para. 0026-0027: by inherency, the touch data corresponding to the key depression speed based on a signal indicating the ON/OFF state of the key switch designates “a pitch and an intensity”); and generating a sound signal corresponding to the pitch (para. 0029-0030).
TORII is silent on: generating said sound signal such that, as the intensity increases, a size of a sound image of the sound signal is made larger so that at least a perceived physical size of a sound source is made at least larger, wherein the sound image corresponds to at least one of a perceived physical location, the perceived physical size, or a perceived physical shape of the sound source; and wherein the perceived physical size of the sound image of the sound signal is adjusted by adjusting, in accordance with the intensity, at least one of: a phase difference between left and right components of the sound signal, and/or a quantity of sound processing elements that alter the sound signal.
Cho discloses a computer implemented sound signal generation method and device, comprising: obtaining an intensity of an input signal (para. 0100); generating a sound signal such that, as the intensity increases, a size of a sound image (i.e., “sound perspective” or “the perceived size of the sound object”) of the sound signal is made larger so that at least a perceived physical size of a sound source is made at least larger (para. 0023, 0025, 0117-0118), wherein the sound image corresponds to at least one of a perceived physical location, the perceived physical size, or a perceived physical shape of the sound source (para. 0041, 0048-0049; see also discussion of parameter calculator 570 in Fig. 5); and wherein the perceived physical size of the sound image of the sound signal is adjusted (e.g., via the level controller 571 in Fig. 5) by adjusting, in accordance with the intensity (i.e., a size of the sound image is in accordance with the obtained intensity), at least one of: a phase difference between left and right components of the sound signal (para. 0026-0027, 0111-112; see also discussions of sound perspective adjustment related to 572 in Fig. 5), and/or a quantity of sound processing elements that alter the sound signal (para. 0023-0025).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Cho’s teaching of sound signal generation and adjustment of perceived physical size of the sound image into TORII to achieve the claimed invention. Doing so would allow the listener to experience sufficient depth, creating a sound field that is closer to that of a grand piano (TORII, para. 0008, 0040) and/or to enhance a user's 3D video/image experience with stereophonic sound that is in concert with the action being viewed (Cho, para. 0004).
Regarding claim 3, TORII discloses: wherein the sound signal is generated by adjusting a correlation between left and right sound signals (e.g., LB/RB Fig. 4) in accordance with the intensity (para. 0036-0037).
Regarding claim 4, TORII discloses: wherein the sound signal is generated by adjusting a panning of the sound signal (i.e., adjusting the position of a sound within the stereo or surround sound field, creating the illusion of the sound coming from a specific location, whether left, right, or somewhere in between) in accordance with the intensity (para. 0009, 0039: “a weak touch can cause the sound source to be perceived as being localized near the player P, whereas a strong touch can cause the sound source to be perceived as being localized at a position farther away from the player P in the depth direction”).
Regarding claim 5, TORII does not but Cho teaches: wherein the size of the sound image is adjusted in accordance with a pitch (e.g., a frequency band component) of a sound object/signal (para. 0052, 0065). As such, the combination of TORII and Cho renders the claimed invention obvious.
Regarding claims 8-9, TORII discloses: an outputter (15/16 Fig. 3) that outputs the sound signal generated by the sound signal generation; a performance operator that supplies information in regard to the pitch and the intensity to the designation receiver (para. 0026-0027), and an outputter that outputs the sound signal generated by the sound signal generation device (para. 0022).
Regarding claim 10, TORII discloses: a performance operator comprising a keyboard for supplying information in regard to the pitch and the intensity to the designation receiver (para. 0026-0027); and an outputter that outputs the sound signal generated by the sound signal generation (para. 0022).
Regarding claim 11, TORII discloses: wherein the intensity represents a key depression speed (para. 0027).
Regarding claims 12 and 17, TORII discloses: wherein the sound signal is generated such that as the received intensity regarding one sound increases, a broadness of sound in a right and left direction and a broadness of sound in a front and back direction increases simultaneously (para. 0030, 0034, 0038-0040; see also discussion for claims 1, 6 and 7 above).
Regarding claims 15 and 20, TORII discloses: wherein the perceived physical shape of the sound source includes a distribution including a front and back direction and has a shape imitating a soundboard of an acoustic piano (feature being inherent to the teaching in para. 0010, 0014, 0017, 0038, 0043).
Regarding claim 16, TORII discloses: wherein the intensity represents a key depression speed (para. 0027).
Regarding claim 21, TORII does not but Cho teaches: wherein the size of the sound image of the sound signal is made larger in at least one of a longitudinal direction and/or a transverse direction (see Fig. 6 and related text). As such, the combination of TORII and Cho renders the claimed invention obvious.
Contact Information
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIANCHUN QIN whose telephone number is (571)272-5981. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5:30PM EST M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dedei Hammond can be reached on (571)270-7938. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JIANCHUN QIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837