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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 1,9,14 objected to because of the following informalities: ‘and an’ should be ‘an’. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4,6-7,9,11-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schinkel US 20190081621 A1, and further in view of Chmelar (US 20130202065 A1) and further in view of Borstad (US 20200382079 A1).
As per claim 14, an audio amplification system comprising:
an audio amplifier (abstract fig. 1d, 204,210,220) configured to receive an input signal (203) and generate an output signal (235), the input signal including a tone (part of 229) having a tone frequency (the feedback will reproduce the tone frequency produced via 212); and
a calibration circuit including a first sampling circuit 300 configured to sample the output signal 235 at an output node of the audio amplifier,
the calibration circuit further including a gain adjustment circuit configured to generate a correction signal to compensate for a gain variation of the audio amplifier based at least in part on a window of frequency at or about the tone frequency (the subtraction stage 202 generates a correction signal, with a gain adjustment via the subtracting operator, that is combined with/compensates 201 based on any gain variations in 201, which will be reflected in the output 235 which is used to create the compensating input into 202, the frequencies in 229 are based on frequencies/window of freq in 201 since it is feedback )
The window circuit comprises a capacitor 230 in fig. 1a which operates without having to retrieve a saved window configuration that was previously generated because the capacitor is an analog component.
However, Schinkel does not disclose the details of the calibration circuit including:
the calibration circuit further including a window circuit configured to provide the tone to the input signal,
the window circuit including a pulse train generator configured to generate a train of rectangular pulses having M amplitude values,
the quantity M being an integer greater than 1,
the window circuit further including M-1 accumulators arranged in series to transform the train of rectangular pulses into an output that is representative of an M-th order window applied to the tone.
Chmelar teaches that data corruptions can be prevented via a calibration circuit comprising:
the calibration circuit further including a window circuit (ESA module para. 9),
the window circuit including a pulse train generator configured to generate a train of rectangular pulses (rectangular pulse per para 38) having M amplitude values (para. 9: The ESA module generates (i) a reconstructed ADC value corresponding to an estimated cursor bit based on a number of pre-cursor estimated bits, the estimated cursor bit, and a number of post-cursor estimated bits, noting that bits have at least two amplitude values representing at least 1 and 0),
the quantity M being an integer greater than 1 (as explained above),
the window circuit further including M-1 accumulators arranged in series to transform the train of rectangular pulses into an output that is representative of an M-th order window applied to the tone (para. 9: An error signature analysis (ESA) module defines a window of bit samples, there is at least accumulator, which is M-1, which operates on the bits/train per the process as shown in para. 72-74 in order to use an error estimation based on inter-symbol interference in order to adapt the taps used to equalize the isi per para 76).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to implement the adaptive ADC of Chmelar in the ADC of Schinkel for the purpose of equalizing/compensating for ISI/DC offset in the feedback signal.
As combined, the resulting system has a window circuit as part of the ADC of Schinkel which is a window circuit configured to provide the tone to the input signal, where the tone has been corrected/equalized for ISI/DC offset.
However the resulting system does not comprise generating the train of rectangular pulses is based on and an amplitude vector having M respective values obtained from a lookup table,.
Borstad teaches that pcm based audio amplifiers can implement ultrasound generators via generating rectangular pulses having M respective values obtained from a lookup table (para. 88). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of filing to generate the rectangular pulses within the system of Schinkel and Chlmelar based on a lookup table for the purpose of producing ultrasound as desired.
As per claim 1, the claim 14 rejection discloses a window circuit for an audio amplification system, comprising: a pulse train generator configured to generate a train of rectangular pulses having M amplitude values, the quantity M being an integer greater than 1; and M-1 accumulators arranged in series to transform the train of rectangular pulses into an output that is representative of an M-th order window ;
Where the window circuit operates without having to retrieve a saved window configuration that was previously generated because the capacitor is an analog component..
(per the claim 14 rejection).
As per claim 9, a calibration circuit comprising:
a first sampling circuit configured to sample an output signal at an output node of an audio amplifier, the output signal resulting from amplification of an input signal received by the audio amplifier at an input node, the input signal including a tone having a tone frequency (per the claim 14 rejection);
a gain adjustment circuit configured to generate a correction signal to compensate for a gain variation of the audio amplifier based at least in part on a window of frequency at or about the tone frequency (per claim 14 rejection); and
a window circuit configured to provide the tone to the input signal, the window circuit including a pulse train generator configured to generate a train of rectangular pulses having M amplitude values, the quantity M being an integer greater than 1, the window circuit further including M-1 accumulators arranged in series to transform the train of rectangular pulses into an output that is representative of an M-th order window applied to the tone such that the window circuit operates without having to retrieve a saved window configuration that was previously generated.
(per the claim 14 rejection).
As per claim 2, the window circuit of claim 1 wherein the M-th order window is a sinc function based window (since the pulses used to create the window are rectangular, the windows is a sinc function based window).
As per claim 3, the window circuit of claim 1 wherein the amplitude values are based on an array of values provided to the pulse train generator (the bits per the claim 14 rejections are based on an array of values, which are defined by the set of bits).
As per claim 4, the prior art cited above discloses the window circuit of claim 3, but does not disclose wherein the array of values is obtained from a lookup table.
The examiner takes official notice it is well known in the art to implement lookup tables in digital processing to improve efficiency.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to implement a lookup table for the cited functions, including for the array values, for the purpose of improved efficiency.
As per claim 6, the window circuit of claim 3 wherein the array of values for the M-th window includes an array AmpM(i), i = 1 to M, the array AmpM(i) generated as being equal to AmpM-1(i) - AmpM-1(i-1), where AmpM-1 is an array for an M-1 order window, the array AmpM-1(i) having a value of 0 if i > M or i = 1. (the set of bits per the claim 14 rejection, which comprises an array of digital values comprising at least 0 and 1 which satisfy the above equations when used to create a window via accumulators as per the claim 14 rejection).
As per claim 7, the prior art cited above discloses the window circuit of claim 1 wherein the M-th order window includes the output normalized to provide a peak having a value of approximately 1, normalized such that the sum of all samples in the M-th order window is approximately 1, and/or normalized such that a root mean square (RMS) of all samples in the M-th order window is approximately 1 (the output of Schinkel is normalized to 1 via the value of the bits/pulses which are at least 1 or 0 as applied to the windowing circuit of Chmelar, which have a peak value of 1, and, when there are two consecutive bits with a value of 1 then 0, will have an rms of 1).
As per claim 10, the calibration circuit of claim 9 wherein the window circuit is part of the gain adjustment circuit (the window circuit and the gain circuit are coupled together as per the claim 14 rejection).
As per claim 11, the calibration circuit of claim 9 further comprising a second sampling circuit (part of 202, required to sample the input at the correct time to synchronize with signal 229 in Schinkel) configured to sample the input signal at the input node of the audio amplifier, and the gain adjustment circuit is configured to generate a correction signal to compensate for a gain variation of the audio amplifier based on a window of frequency at or about the tone frequency (as per the claim 14 rejection).
As per claim 12, the above prior art discloses the calibration circuit of claim 9 but does not specify wherein the tone frequency is selected to be outside of an audible frequency range.
The examiner takes official notice it is well known in the art the PWM power supplies can operate at many frequencies including audible and non-audible.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of filing that the operating frequency of the pwm and hence the selected tone frequency could be outside of the audible frequency range for the purpose of not producing audible noise.
As per claim 13, the calibration circuit of claim 12 wherein the M-th order window applied to the tone results in elimination or reduction of a sidelobe frequency outside the window of frequency (the functions per the claim 14 rejection including applying the window to the tone results in reduction of ISI/ DC offset, which is reduction of a sidelobe frequency outside the window of frequency).
Response to Arguments
The submitted arguments have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER KRZYSTAN whose telephone number is 571-272-7498, and whose email address is alexander.krzystan@uspto.gov
The examiner can usually be reached on m-f 7:30-4:00 est.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone or email are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Fan Tsang can be reached on (571) 272-7547.
The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are 571-273-8300 for regular communications and 571-273-8300 for After Final communications.
/ALEXANDER KRZYSTAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2653
Examiner Alexander Krzystan
March 26, 2026