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 .
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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 09/17/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant’s arguments regarding the recent Federal Circuit decision in Dental Monitoring SAS v. Align Tech, it is noted that the court decision was not directed to or include any reference to foreign priority applications, as applicant suggests. The CAFC decision, which does not include any references to foreign priority, is currently only directed to US provisional applications and does not apply to foreign priority claims.
Thus, for foreign priority applications the “ministerial” standard still applies and the question of whether a patent or published application is actually entitled to priority or benefit with respect to any of its claims is not at issue in determining the date the patent or published application was "effectively filed" for prior art purposes.
See MPEP §2154.01(b).
Therefore, applicant’s arguments regarding some of the foreign priority documents not including “Hotplug” are not persuasive, as such as feature was not relied upon or cited for the rejections.
While applicant argues “As such, these two Chinese applications cannot "provide[] written description support for at least one claim" of Wang, as is required by Dental Monitoring SAS v. Align Tech.”, as indicated above, this is not the current standard as Dental Monitoring SAS v. Align Tech does not currently apply to foreign priority claims.
In this case, foreign priority application 202010862737.X, published as CN111970613A, and foreign priority application 202021793548.3, published as CN213339098U, both include the subject matter cited and relied upon from Wang et al. (US 2023/0221917) describing built in TV speakers using an external speaker timing delay to synchronize output. A machine translation of each is provided herein for applicant’s convenience.
For example, CN 213339098U A discloses the following paragraphs, corresponding to paragraphs 133, 136 cited within (US 2023/0221917), via machine translation:
“Exemplarily, take the TV as an example, because there will be a delay in wireless transmission, and the I2S delay can be ignored, so it will appear that the built-in speakers of the TV (ie, built-in speakers) are earlier than the surround sound box (ie, external speakers). The situation where the sound is made. To avoid this problem, you can set a delay synchronization mechanism. Because the processing time of the TV set (for example, the image quality improvement algorithm) is longer than the processing of the sound signal, in order to maintain the synchronization of the sound and the picture, most of the current TV sets have delayed the sound processing, such as this The audio system delay is Mms. Assume that the surround sound box emits sound Nms later than the built-in sound box of the TV. Before accessing the dongle (i.e. wireless transmitting device), the system delay of the sound signal is Mms, and the delay after accessing becomes (M-N)ms. At the same time, set the delay of the I2S interface (some TV Soc's I2S has a delay module, and the lack of Soc can be set through the audio amplifier) from 0ms to Nms. If the delay of the surround sound box is too long, that is, N⟩M, because the TV picture cannot be buffered, the system delay can only be reduced to 0ms. At the same time, in order to ensure the user's hearing experience, the delay of the surround sound box must not exceed 150ms, that is, when N⟩M, N-M is less than 150ms. When this condition is not met, a wireless module solution with lower delay should be selected. According to the above principles, the first delay time of the I2S interface corresponding to the built-in speaker and the second delay time of the multi-channel signal are controlled, so that the time difference between the sound emitted by the built-in speaker and the external speaker is within the preset threshold range, thereby improving the user's hearing experience.”
“In the control method provided in this embodiment, when the display device recognizes that the preset type of wireless transmitter is inserted, the working mode of the control display device is multi-channel mode or SPDIF mode and the audio driver works in the state of dual output signals. , The sound signal to be played can be decoded into a multi-channel signal, part of the channel sub-signal in the multi-channel signal is played by the built-in speaker, and the other part of the multi-channel signal is played by the external speaker, so that The external speakers can work with the built-in speakers of the display device to achieve the effect of stereo surround sound without the need to modify the structure of the display device. It can also easily achieve compatibility with multiple display device platforms, effectively solving the existing technology It is easy to cause noise and broken sound problems due to packet loss due to USB delay timeout. Also through the delay control, you can effectively control the synchronization of sound playback between the built-in speakers and the external speakers, and further improve the user's hearing experience.”
Finally, it is noted that CN 111970613 A and CN 111970613 A were both published before applicant’s earliest priority date of 07/22/2021, and would thus still directly qualify as prior art if the standard changes in the future.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1-10, 12-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lau et al. (Lau) (US 2018/0077443) (of record) in view of Curtis et al. (Curtis) (US 2020/0186864) (of record) and Wang et al. (Wang) (US 2023/0221917) (of record).
As to claim 1, while Lau discloses a first playback device (Fig. 1-2, paragraph 25-34) comprising:
at least one processor (paragraph 24, 31); and
at least one tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor (paragraph 24, 31) such that the first playback device is configured to:
receive a media stream comprising audio data associated with video data (Fig. 1-2, paragraph 25-27, 31-33);
following a determination that conditions are insufficient, operate in a first media distribution mode (Fig. 4; semi-isochronous mode; see Fig. 4-6C; paragraph 48-49);
following a determination that conditions are sufficient, operate in a second media distribution mode (Deterministic mode; Fig. 4, 7-8; paragraph 62);
while operating in the first media distribution mode (semi-isochronous mode; see Fig. 4-6C; paragraph 48-49):
generate playback timing for individual frames of the audio data, wherein the playback timing comprises, for an individual frame of audio data, an indication of a corresponding future time that is within a first duration of time from a current clock time of the first playback device (audio intended to be played as its received with little buffering, based upon the estimated time needed to render the video; paragraph 20, 38, 54-56), and wherein the future time for the individual frame specifies a time at which the one or more second playback devices are to play the individual frame of audio data in lip-synchrony with the video data associated with the audio data (paragraph 54-61);
transmit the playback timing and the audio data to the one or more second playback devices for playback according to the playback timing (paragraph 54-61);
play, using the playback timing, the video data in synchrony with audio data at the one or more second playback devices (paragraph 54);
while operating in the second media distribution mode (Deterministic mode; Fig. 4, 7-8; paragraph 62):
generate playback timing for individual frames of the audio data, wherein the playback timing comprises, for an individual frame of audio data, an indication of a corresponding future time that is within a second duration of time from a current clock time of the first playback device, wherein the second duration of time is greater than the first duration of time (paragraph 66), and wherein the future time for the individual frame specifies a time at which the one or more second playback devices are to play the individual frame of audio data in lip-synchrony with the video data associated with the audio data (audio buffered with delay for future playback, which can be up to several seconds delay, paragraph 20, 38, 63-69);
transmit the playback timing and the audio data to the one or more second playback devices for playback according to the playback timing (Fig. 5-8; paragraph 56, 58, 70-71, 73, 77),
play, using the playback timing, the video data in synchrony with audio data at the one or more second playback devices (paragraph 54),
Lau fails to specifically disclose a determination that the media stream comprises the audio data received from a display device in communication with the computing device and a determination that the media stream comprises both the audio data and the video data received from an audio / video content source in communication with the computing device, and wherein the first playback device plays, using the playback timing that was generated at the first playback device and that was also transmitted by the first playback device to the one or more second playback devices, the audio data in synchrony with the one or more second playback devices.
In an analogous art, Curtis discloses a media distribution system (Fig. 1) wherein a computing device will determine if a media stream comprises audio data received from a display device in communication with the computing device or that the media stream comprises both the audio data and the video data received from an audio / video content source in communication with the computing device (determining if the device is receiving audio/video from source or just audio from the display device; Fig. 3, 302; paragraph 38-39, 43), and following the determination that the media stream comprises the audio data received from a display device in communication with the computing device, operate in a first media distribution mode (Fig. 4, paragraph 38-39, 43-49), and following the determination that the media stream comprises both the audio data and the video data received from an audio/video content source in communication with the computing device, operate in a second media distribution mode (Fig. 3, paragraph 38-42) and wherein the first playback device plays the audio data in synchrony with the one or more second playback devices (audio also played on internal television speakers, 105; paragraph 17, 25) so as to reduce audio transmission delays when the wireless connection is not also needed for the transmission of the video (paragraph 26-27, 41, 45-46).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lau’s system to include following a determination that the media stream comprises the audio data received from a display device in communication with the computing device, operate in a first media distribution mode, following a determination that the media stream comprises both the audio data and the video data received from an audio / video content source in communication with the computing device, operate in a second media distribution mode, and wherein the first playback device plays the audio data in synchrony with the one or more second playback devices, as taught in combination with Curtis, for the typical benefit of reducing audio transmission delays when the wireless connection is not also needed for the transmission of the video (paragraph 26-27, 41, 45-46).
While Lau and Curtis wherein the first playback device plays the audio data in synchrony with the one or more second playback devices (see Curtis at paragraph 17, 25 and Lau at paragraph 18), they fail to specifically disclose wherein the first playback device plays the audio data in synchrony using the playback timing that was generated at the first playback device and that was also transmitted by the first playback device to the one or more second playback devices.
Additionally, in an analogous art, Wang discloses a media distribution system (Fig. 10, 13-19) wherein a display device will output audio data in synchrony with one or more second playback devices (built-in speakers of the display synchronized with audio from external speakers; paragraph 60-62, 132-136) using the playback timing that was generated at the first playback device and that was also transmitted by the first playback device to the one or more second playback devices (built-in speakers using external speaker timing delay to synchronize output; paragraph 133, 136) so as to improve the user’s listening experience by delaying the built-in speaker playback to ensure synchronization with the external speaker (paragraph 133, 136).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lau and Curtis’ system to include wherein the first playback device plays the audio data in synchrony using the playback timing that was generated at the first playback device and that was also transmitted by the first playback device to the one or more second playback devices, as taught in combination with Wang, for the typical benefit of improving the user’s listening experience by ensuring the built-in speaker is in synchronization with the external speaker (paragraph 133, 136).
As to claim 2, Lau, Curtis and Wang disclose wherein the first duration of time is coextensive with at least a portion of the second duration of time (see Lau at paragraph 54-56, 65-66).
As to claim 3, Lau, Curtis and Wang disclose wherein the first duration of time is between 5 milliseconds and 100 milliseconds, and wherein the second duration of time is between 50 milliseconds and 30 seconds (see Lau at paragraph 54-56, 65-66 and Curtis at paragraph 49).
As to claim 4, Lau, Curtis and Wang disclose wherein the at least one tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium further comprises program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the first playback device is configured to:
while operating in the second media distribution mode, transmit the video data to a video display based on the playback timing associated with the audio data, thereby causing the video display to display the video data in lip synchrony with playback of the audio data by the one or more second playback devices (see Lau at paragraph 27, 33, 54, 67-68).
As to claim 5, Lau, Curtis and Wang disclose wherein the at least one tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium further comprises program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the first playback device is configured to:
while operating in the second media distribution mode, buffer the video data after receipt at the first playback device for up to the second duration of time from the current clock time of the first playback device before transmitting the video data to a video display based on the playback timing associated with the audio data, thereby causing the video display to display the video data in lip synchrony with playback of the audio data by the one or more second playback devices (video buffered for delay time before being output video renderer and display; see Lau at paragraph 33. 66-68).
As to claim 6, Lau, Curtis and Wang disclose wherein the first playback device is configured to operate in the first media distribution mode while receiving media content from the display device in communication with the first playback device over a local connection (wherein each mode may be used for both local and Internet content based upon the home network conditions; see Lau at Fig. 1-2, 4; paragraph 25-27, 31-33, 41-44 and see Curtis at Fig. 3, 302; paragraph 38-39, 43), and wherein the first playback device is configured to operate in the second media distribution mode while receiving media content from the audio/video content source in communication with the first playback device over an Internet connection (wherein each mode may be used for both local and Internet content based upon the home network conditions; see Lau at Fig. 1-2, 4; paragraph 25-27, 31-33, 41-44 and see Curtis at Fig. 3, 302; paragraph 38-39, 43).
As to claim 7, Lau, Curtis and Wang disclose wherein the at least one tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium further comprises program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the first playback device is configured to: while operating in the first media distribution mode, switch from operating in the first media distribution mode to operating in the second media distribution mode after detecting a first event corresponding to the first playback device receiving a media stream from the audio/video content source (switching modes based upon changed criteria such as content source, depending on the ability to buffer the source content; see Lau at paragraph 26, 28, 41-44 and see Curtis at Fig. 3, 302; paragraph 38-39, 43).
As to claim 8, Lau, Curtis and Wang disclose wherein the at least one tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium further comprises program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the first playback device is configured to: while operating in the second media distribution mode, switch from operating in the second media distribution mode to operating in the first media distribution mode after detecting a second event corresponding to the first playback device receiving a media stream from the display device (user selection command to a content source which requires a different mode depending on the content type; see Lau at paragraph 26, 28, 41-44 and Curtis at paragraph 20, 47, 52-53).
As to claim 9, Lau, Curtis and Wang disclose wherein the second event comprises at least one of (i) receiving audio data from the display device via an Audio Return Channel (ARC) of a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) interface (see Curtis at paragraph 20, 47, 52-53) or (ii) receiving a Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) command from the display device via the HDMI interface.
As to claim 10, Lau, Curtis and Wang disclose wherein the at least one tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium further comprises program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the first playback device is configured to:
after receiving a command from a controller device configured to control the first playback device (see Lau at paragraph 26-28), generate playback timing for individual frames of audio data comprising a confirmation of the command, wherein the playback timing comprises, for an individual frame of audio data, a corresponding indication of a future time relative to the current clock time of the first playback device, and wherein the indication of the future time for the individual frame specifies a time at which the first playback and one or more playback second devices are to play the individual frame of audio data (see Lau paragraph 20, 38, 54-61 and Curtis at paragraph 17, 25); and
transmit the audio data comprising the confirmation of the command and the playback timing for the audio data comprising the confirmation of the command to the one or more second playback devices for playback according to the playback timing (see Lau at Fig. 5-8; paragraph 56, 58, 70-71, 73, 77).
As to claim 12, Lau, Curtis and Wang disclose wherein the audio data comprises audio data having a first encoding rate while operating in a first media distribution mode, wherein the audio data comprises audio data having a second encoding rate while operating in the second media distribution mode, and wherein the second encoding rate is greater than the first encoding rate (lower bandwidth and higher compression audio within the first mode; see Lau at paragraph 49-52).
As to claim 13, while Lau discloses a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media comprising program instructions (paragraph 24, 31), wherein the program instructions, when executed by one or more processors (paragraph 24, 31), cause a first playback device (Fig. 1-2, paragraph 25-27, 31-33) to perform functions comprising:
receiving a media stream comprising audio data associated with video data (Fig. 1-2, paragraph 25-27, 31-33);
following a determination that conditions are insufficient, operate in a first media distribution mode (Fig. 4; semi-isochronous mode; see Fig. 4-6C; paragraph 48-49);
following a determination that conditions are sufficient, operate in a second media distribution mode (Deterministic mode; Fig. 4, 7-8; paragraph 62);
while operating in the first media distribution mode (semi-isochronous mode; see Fig. 4-6C; paragraph 48-49):
generating playback timing for individual frames of the audio data, wherein the playback timing comprises, for an individual frame of audio data, an indication of a corresponding future time that is within a first duration of time from a current clock time of the first playback device (audio intended to be played as its received with little buffering, based upon the estimated time needed to render the video; paragraph 20, 38, 54-56), and wherein the future time for the individual frame specifies a time at which the one or more second playback devices are to play the individual frame of audio data in lip-synchrony with the video data associated with the audio data (paragraph 54-61);
transmitting the playback timing and the audio data to the one or more second playback devices for playback according to the playback timing (paragraph 54-61);
playing, using the playback timing, the video data in synchrony with audio data at the one or more second playback devices (paragraph 54);
while operating in the second media distribution mode (Deterministic mode; Fig. 4, 7-8; paragraph 62):
generating playback timing for individual frames of the audio data, wherein the playback timing comprises, for an individual frame of audio data, an indication of a corresponding future time that is within a second duration of time from a current clock time of the first playback device, wherein the second duration of time is greater than the first duration of time (paragraph 66), and wherein the future time for the individual frame specifies a time at which the one or more second playback devices are to play the individual frame of audio data in lip-synchrony with the video data associated with the audio data (audio buffered with delay for future playback, which can be up to several seconds delay, paragraph 20, 38, 63-69);
transmitting the playback timing and the audio data to the one or more second playback devices for playback according to the playback timing (Fig. 5-8; paragraph 56, 58, 70-71, 73, 77),
playing, using the playback timing, the video data in synchrony with audio data at the one or more second playback devices (paragraph 54),
Lau fails to specifically disclose a determination that the media stream comprises the audio data received from a display device in communication with the computing device and a determination that the media stream comprises both the audio data and the video data received from an audio / video content source in communication with the computing device, and wherein the first playback device plays, using the playback timing that was generated at the first playback device and that was also transmitted by the first playback device to the one or more second playback devices, the audio data in synchrony with the one or more second playback devices.
In an analogous art, Curtis discloses a media distribution system (Fig. 1) wherein a computing device will determine if a media stream comprises audio data received from a display device in communication with the computing device or that the media stream comprises both the audio data and the video data received from an audio / video content source in communication with the computing device (determining if the device is receiving audio/video from source or just audio from the display device; Fig. 3, 302; paragraph 38-39, 43), and following the determination that the media stream comprises the audio data received from a display device in communication with the computing device, operate in a first media distribution mode (Fig. 4, paragraph 38-39, 43-49), and following the determination that the media stream comprises both the audio data and the video data received from an audio/video content source in communication with the computing device, operate in a second media distribution mode (Fig. 3, paragraph 38-42) and wherein the first playback device plays the audio data in synchrony with the one or more second playback devices (audio also played on internal television speakers, 105; paragraph 17, 25) so as to reduce audio transmission delays when the wireless connection is not also needed for the transmission of the video (paragraph 26-27, 41, 45-46).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lau’s system to include following a determination that the media stream comprises the audio data received from a display device in communication with the computing device, operate in a first media distribution mode, following a determination that the media stream comprises both the audio data and the video data received from an audio / video content source in communication with the computing device, operate in a second media distribution mode, and wherein the first playback device plays the audio data in synchrony with the one or more second playback devices, as taught in combination with Curtis, for the typical benefit of reducing audio transmission delays when the wireless connection is not also needed for the transmission of the video (paragraph 26-27, 41, 45-46).
While Lau and Curtis wherein the first playback device plays the audio data in synchrony with the one or more second playback devices (see Curtis at paragraph 17, 25 and Lau at paragraph 18), they fail to specifically disclose wherein the first playback device plays the audio data in synchrony using the playback timing that was generated at the first playback device and that was also transmitted by the first playback device to the one or more second playback devices.
Additionally, in an analogous art, Wang discloses a media distribution system (Fig. 10, 13-19) wherein a display device will output audio data in synchrony with one or more second playback devices (built-in speakers of the display synchronized with audio from external speakers; paragraph 60-62, 132-136) using the playback timing that was generated at the first playback device and that was also transmitted by the first playback device to the one or more second playback devices (built-in speakers using external speaker timing delay to synchronize output; paragraph 133, 136) so as to improve the user’s listening experience by delaying the built-in speaker playback to ensure synchronization with the external speaker (paragraph 133, 136).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lau and Curtis’ system to include wherein the first playback device plays the audio data in synchrony using the playback timing that was generated at the first playback device and that was also transmitted by the first playback device to the one or more second playback devices, as taught in combination with Wang, for the typical benefit of improving the user’s listening experience by ensuring the built-in speaker is in synchronization with the external speaker (paragraph 133, 136).
As to claim 14, Lau, Curtis and Wang disclose wherein the first duration of time is coextensive with at least a portion of the second duration of time (see Lau at paragraph 54-56, 65-66).
As to claim 15, Lau, Curtis and Wang disclose wherein the first duration of time is between 5 milliseconds and 100 milliseconds, and wherein the second duration of time is between 50 milliseconds and 30 seconds (see Lau at paragraph 54-56, 65-66 and Curtis at paragraph 49).
As to claim 16, Lau, Curtis and Wang disclose wherein the functions further comprise:
While operating in the second media distribution mode, transmitting the video data to a video display based on the playback timing associated with the audio data, thereby causing the video display to display the video data in lip synchrony with playback of the audio data by the one or more second playback devices (see Lau at paragraph 27, 33, 54, 67-68).
As to claim 17, Lau, Curtis and Wang disclose wherein the functions further comprise:
while operating in the second media distribution mode, buffering the video data after receipt at the first playback device for up to the second duration of time from the current clock time of the first playback device before transmitting the video data to a video display based on the playback timing associated with the audio data, thereby causing the video display to display the video data in lip synchrony with playback of the audio data by the one or more second playback devices (video buffered for delay time before being output video renderer and display; see Lau at paragraph 33. 66-68).
As to claim 18, Lau, Curtis and Wang disclose wherein the functions further comprise:
operating in the first media distribution mode while receiving media content from the display device in communication with the first playback device over a local connection (wherein each mode may be used for both local and Internet content based upon the home network conditions; see Lau at Fig. 1-2, 4; paragraph 25-27, 31-33, 41-44 and see Curtis at Fig. 3, 302; paragraph 38-39, 43),
operating in the second media distribution mode while receiving media content from the audio/video content source in communication with the first playback device over an Internet connection (wherein each mode may be used for both local and Internet content based upon the home network conditions; see Lau at Fig. 1-2, 4; paragraph 25-27, 31-33, 41-44 and see Curtis at Fig. 3, 302; paragraph 38-39, 43);
while operating in the first media distribution mode, switching from operating in the first media distribution mode to operating in the second media distribution mode after detecting a first event corresponding to the first playback device receiving a media stream from the audio/video content source (switching modes based upon changed criteria such as content source, depending on the ability to buffer the source content; see Lau at paragraph 26, 28, 41-44 and see Curtis at Fig. 3, 302; paragraph 38-39, 43); and
while operating in the second media distribution mode, switching from operating in the second media distribution mode to operating in the first media distribution mode after detecting second event corresponding to the first playback device receiving a media stream from the display device (user selection command to a content source which requires a different mode depending on the content type; see Lau at paragraph 26, 28, 41-44 and see Curtis at Fig. 3, 302; paragraph 38-39, 43).
As to claim 19, Lau, Curtis and Wang disclose wherein the second event comprises at least one of (i) receiving audio data from the display device via an Audio Return Channel (ARC) of a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) interface (see Curtis at paragraph 20, 47, 52-53) or (ii) receiving a Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) command from the display device via the HDMI interface.
As to claim 20, Lau discloses a method performed by a first playback device, the method comprising
receiving a media stream comprising audio data associated with video data (Fig. 1-2, paragraph 25-27, 31-33);
following a determination that conditions are insufficient, operate in a first media distribution mode (Fig. 4; semi-isochronous mode; see Fig. 4-6C; paragraph 48-49);
following a determination that conditions are sufficient, operate in a second media distribution mode (Deterministic mode; Fig. 4, 7-8; paragraph 62);
while operating in the first media distribution mode (semi-isochronous mode; see Fig. 4-6C; paragraph 48-49):
generating playback timing for individual frames of the audio data, wherein the playback timing comprises, for an individual frame of audio data, an indication of a corresponding future time that is within a first duration of time from a current clock time of the first playback device (audio intended to be played as its received with little buffering, based upon the estimated time needed to render the video; paragraph 20, 38, 54-56), and wherein the future time for the individual frame specifies a time at which the one or more second playback devices are to play the individual frame of audio data in lip-synchrony with the video data associated with the audio data (paragraph 54-61);
transmitting the playback timing and the audio data to the one or more second playback devices for playback according to the playback timing (paragraph 54-61);
playing, using the playback timing, the video data in synchrony with audio data at the one or more second playback devices (paragraph 54);
while operating in the second media distribution mode (Deterministic mode; Fig. 4, 7-8; paragraph 62):
generating playback timing for individual frames of the audio data, wherein the playback timing comprises, for an individual frame of audio data, an indication of a corresponding future time that is within a second duration of time from a current clock time of the first playback device, wherein the second duration of time is greater than the first duration of time (paragraph 66), and wherein the future time for the individual frame specifies a time at which the one or more second playback devices are to play the individual frame of audio data in lip-synchrony with the video data associated with the audio data (audio buffered with delay for future playback, which can be up to several seconds delay, paragraph 20, 38, 63-69);
transmitting the playback timing and the audio data to the one or more second playback devices for playback according to the playback timing (Fig. 5-8; paragraph 56, 58, 70-71, 73, 77),
playing, using the playback timing, the video data in synchrony with audio data at the one or more second playback devices (paragraph 54),
Lau fails to specifically disclose a determination that the media stream comprises the audio data received from a display device in communication with the computing device and a determination that the media stream comprises both the audio data and the video data received from an audio / video content source in communication with the computing device, and wherein the first playback device plays, using the playback timing that was generated at the first playback device and that was also transmitted by the first playback device to the one or more second playback devices, the audio data in synchrony with the one or more second playback devices.
In an analogous art, Curtis discloses a media distribution system (Fig. 1) wherein a computing device will determine if a media stream comprises audio data received from a display device in communication with the computing device or that the media stream comprises both the audio data and the video data received from an audio / video content source in communication with the computing device (determining if the device is receiving audio/video from source or just audio from the display device; Fig. 3, 302; paragraph 38-39, 43), and following the determination that the media stream comprises the audio data received from a display device in communication with the computing device, operate in a first media distribution mode (Fig. 4, paragraph 38-39, 43-49), and following the determination that the media stream comprises both the audio data and the video data received from an audio/video content source in communication with the computing device, operate in a second media distribution mode (Fig. 3, paragraph 38-42) and wherein the first playback device plays the audio data in synchrony with the one or more second playback devices (audio also played on internal television speakers, 105; paragraph 17, 25) so as to reduce audio transmission delays when the wireless connection is not also needed for the transmission of the video (paragraph 26-27, 41, 45-46).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lau’s system to include following a determination that the media stream comprises the audio data received from a display device in communication with the computing device, operate in a first media distribution mode, following a determination that the media stream comprises both the audio data and the video data received from an audio / video content source in communication with the computing device, operate in a second media distribution mode, and wherein the first playback device plays the audio data in synchrony with the one or more second playback devices, as taught in combination with Curtis, for the typical benefit of reducing audio transmission delays when the wireless connection is not also needed for the transmission of the video (paragraph 26-27, 41, 45-46).
While Lau and Curtis wherein the first playback device plays the audio data in synchrony with the one or more second playback devices (see Curtis at paragraph 17, 25 and Lau at paragraph 18), they fail to specifically disclose wherein the first playback device plays the audio data in synchrony using the playback timing that was generated at the first playback device and that was also transmitted by the first playback device to the one or more second playback devices.
Additionally, in an analogous art, Wang discloses a media distribution system (Fig. 10, 13-19) wherein a display device will output audio data in synchrony with one or more second playback devices (built-in speakers of the display synchronized with audio from external speakers; paragraph 60-62, 132-136) using the playback timing that was generated at the first playback device and that was also transmitted by the first playback device to the one or more second playback devices (built-in speakers using external speaker timing delay to synchronize output; paragraph 133, 136) so as to improve the user’s listening experience by delaying the built-in speaker playback to ensure synchronization with the external speaker (paragraph 133, 136).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lau and Curtis’ system to include wherein the first playback device plays the audio data in synchrony using the playback timing that was generated at the first playback device and that was also transmitted by the first playback device to the one or more second playback devices, as taught in combination with Wang, for the typical benefit of improving the user’s listening experience by ensuring the built-in speaker is in synchronization with the external speaker (paragraph 133, 136).
As to claim 21, Lau, Curtis and Wang disclose wherein the first playback device is a playback device other than a television (“Display devices 104 may be any combination of monitors, televisions (TVs), computers, smart phones, tablets, wearables (such as a watch), appliances, and/or projectors, to name just some examples.”, see Curtis at paragraph 17, and
“The media player 203 receives the media content 209 through a receiver 211 for playback. The media player can be, for example, a TV, computer, audio-video receiver (“AVR”), or the like.”, see Lau at paragraph 33).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/James R Sheleheda/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2424
