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
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 13 July 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 5 & 6, filed 13 July 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 & 11 under 35 U.S.C. § 112 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of US 2021/0208839 hereinafter Yamamoto in view of US 2009/0292528 hereinafter Kameyama in view of US 2014/0334638 hereinafter Barksdale.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 11-15, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2021/0208839 hereinafter Yamamoto in view of US 2009/0292528 hereinafter Kameyama in view of US 2014/0334638 hereinafter Barksdale.
In regards to Claim 1: Yamamoto teaches of an emotional care apparatus, comprising: a sound output device configured to selectively output a sound to a plurality of speakers (Yamamoto, Paragraph 24; Figure 1 Items 106, 110, & 112); and a processor in communication with the sound output device (Yamamoto, Paragraph; Figure 1 Item 104), wherein the processor is configured to: select an emotional care mode (Yamamoto, Paragraphs 26 & 27; Figure 1 Item 108); distribute the sound source and separated instrument sounds to at least one distributed speaker of the plurality of speakers (Yamamoto, Paragraph 52; Figure 2 Items 106, 110, 112, & 210); and control the sound output device to output the sound source and separated instrument sounds to the at least one distributed speaker (Yamamoto, Paragraph 52; Figure 2 Items 106, 110, 112, & 210).
However, Yamamoto does not teach of selecting an emotional care mode based on at least one of a user input, a driving environment, or a passenger state, the emotional care mode being divided into a stress relief mode, a meditation mode, and a healing mode, and separating a sound source for each instrument of an instrument composition comprising a plurality of instrument sounds into separated instrument sounds based on the instrument composition matched with the emotional care mode.
Kameyama teaches of selecting an emotional care mode based on at least one of a user input, a driving environment, or a passenger state, the emotional care mode being divided into a stress relief mode, a meditation mode, and a healing mode (Kameyama, Paragraph 123; “The music mode code is data showing an expected effect linkage between the music and a mental and/or physical condition of the user who selected the music. The music mode code may vary "uplifting, activating", "refreshing", "mild and smooth", "healing, alpha-wave inducing", etc.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to add the musical mode being divided in different designations as taught by Kameyama to the processor of Yamamoto, the motivation being to further pinpoint the purpose of the emotional care mode.
Barksdale teaches separating a sound source for each instrument of an instrument composition comprising a plurality of instrument sounds into separated instrument sounds based on the instrument composition matched with the emotional care mode (Barksdale, Paragraph 5; “The signal processor may remix the audio signals from the source into intermediate signals corresponding to a set of component directions, and each of the first and second set of processing parameters may distribute different portions of the intermediate signals corresponding to each of the component directions to the headrest speaker and the first and second fixed speakers”; Examiner interprets the intermediate signals to represent individual instruments).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to add the signal processor remixing audio signals taught in Barksdale to the processor of a modified Yamamoto, the motivation being to provide a more immersive experience to the user.
In regards to Claim 2: A modified Yamamoto teaches of the emotional care apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to distribute the sound source and separated instrument sounds to the plurality of speakers based on a position of a passenger in a vehicle (Yamamoto, Paragraph 0053; Figure 2).
In regards to Claim 3: A modified Yamamoto teaches of the emotional care apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to distribute the sound source and separated instrument sounds to the plurality of speakers based on a frequency for each instrument sound of the plurality of instrument sounds (Yamamoto, Paragraph 0052; Figure 2 Items 210a-e).
In regards to Claim 4: A modified Yamamoto teaches of the emotional care apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to correct a volume level of the sound source and separated instrument sounds depending on the emotional care mode (Yamamoto, Paragraph 0058).
In regards to Claim 5: A modified Yamamoto teaches of the emotional care apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to modulate a waveform of the sound source and separated instrument sounds depending on the emotional care mode (Yamamoto, Paragraph 0062 & 0063).
In regards to Claim 11: Yamamoto teaches of an emotional care method, comprising: selecting, by a processor, an emotional care mode (Yamamoto, Paragraphs 26 & 27; Figure 1 Item 108); distributing, by the processor, the sound source and separated instrument sounds to at least one distributed speaker of a plurality of speakers in a vehicle (Yamamoto, Paragraph 52; Figure 2 Items 106, 110, 112, & 210); and controlling, by the processor, a sound output device to output the sound source and separated instrument sounds to the at least one distributed speaker (Yamamoto, Paragraph 52; Figure 2 Items 106, 110, 112, & 210).
However, Yamamoto does not teach selecting, by a processor, an emotional care mode based on at least one of a user input, a driving environment, or a passenger state, the emotional care mode being divided into a stress relief mode, a meditation mode, and a healing mode, and separating, by the processor, a sound source for each instrument of an instrument composition comprising a plurality of instrument sounds into separated instrument sounds based on the instrument composition matched with the emotional care mode.
Kameyama teaches selecting, by a processor, an emotional care mode based on at least one of a user input, a driving environment, or a passenger state, the emotional care mode being divided into a stress relief mode, a meditation mode, and a healing mode (Kameyama, Paragraph 123; “The music mode code is data showing an expected effect linkage between the music and a mental and/or physical condition of the user who selected the music. The music mode code may vary "uplifting, activating", "refreshing", "mild and smooth", "healing, alpha-wave inducing", etc.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to add the musical mode being divided in different designations as taught by Kameyama to the processor of Yamamoto, the motivation being to further pinpoint the purpose of the emotional care mode.
Barksdale teaches separating, by the processor, a sound source for each instrument of an instrument composition comprising a plurality of instrument sounds into separated instrument sounds based on the instrument composition matched with the emotional care mode (Barksdale, Paragraph 5; “The signal processor may remix the audio signals from the source into intermediate signals corresponding to a set of component directions, and each of the first and second set of processing parameters may distribute different portions of the intermediate signals corresponding to each of the component directions to the headrest speaker and the first and second fixed speakers”; Examiner interprets the intermediate signals to represent individual instruments).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to add the signal processor remixing audio signals taught in Barksdale to the processor of a modified Yamamoto, the motivation being to provide a more immersive experience to the user.
In regards to Claim 12: A modified Yamamoto teaches of the emotional care method of claim 11, wherein the distributing of the sound source and separated instrument sounds step further includes: distributing the sound source and separated instrument sounds to the at least one distributed speaker based on a position of a passenger in the vehicle (Yamamoto, Paragraph 0053; Figure 2).
In regards to Claim 13: A modified Yamamoto teaches of the emotional care method of claim 11, wherein the distributing of the sound source and separated instrument sounds step further includes: distributing the sound source and separated instrument sounds to the plurality of speakers based on a frequency for each instrument sound of the plurality of instrument sounds (Yamamoto, Paragraph 0052; Figure 2 Items 210a-e).
In regards to Claim 14: A modified Yamamoto teaches of the emotional care method of claim 11, wherein the distributing of the sound source and separated instrument sounds step includes: correcting a volume level of the sound source and separated instrument sounds depending on the emotional care mode (Yamamoto, Paragraph 0058).
In regards to Claim 15: A modified Yamamoto teaches of the emotional care method of claim 11, wherein the distributing of the sound source and separated instrument sounds step further includes: modulating a waveform of the sound source and separated instrument sounds depending on the emotional care mode (Yamamoto, Paragraph 0062; Figure 3 Item 302).
Claim(s) 6, 7, 9, 16, 17, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2021/0208839 hereinafter Yamamoto in view of US 2009/0292528 hereinafter Kameyama in view of US 2014/0334638 hereinafter Barksdale in view of US2021/0409867 hereinafter Yoo.
In Regards to Claim 6: A modified Yamamoto teaches all of claim 1, but does not teach a
processor configured to generate an emotional vibration signal based on the sound source for each instrument sound of the plurality of instrument sounds; and control a vibration
seat to be excited based on the emotional vibration signal.
Yoo teaches of a processor further configured to:
Generate an emotional vibration based on the sound source for each instrument sound of the plurality of instrument sounds (Yoo, Paragraph 0004; teaches of a sound vibration system configured to vibrate according to sound, in synchronization with the sound); and
Control a vibration seat to be excited based on the emotional vibration
signal (Yoo, Paragraph 0009; teaches of a vibration system capable of giving
various vibration effects according to beats and rhythms of sound that the
user feels, greatly enhancing the effect of listening to music).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to add the sound vibration system of Yoo to the processor configuration taught by Yamamoto, the motivation being to increase the immersion of the passenger by adding tactile stimulation that mirrors the audio being observed.
In regards to Claim 7: A modified Yamamoto teaches all of claim 1, A modified Yamamoto
in view of Yoo teaches all the limitations of claim 6, but does not teach a processor configured to convert the sound source into a converted vibration signal; synthesize a modulation signal of a main vibration signal and a sub-vibration signal with the converted vibration signal into a synthesized vibration signal; and correct vibration signal to generate the emotion vibration signal.
Yoo further teaches the processor configured to:
convert the sound source and separated instrument sounds into a converted vibration signal (Yoo, Paragraph 0011; teaches of a vibration system that is configured to perform fast Fourier transformations (FFT) to divide a digital sound signal into multiple digital sound signals according to N Frequency bands),
Synthesize a modulation signals of a main vibration signal and a sub-vibration signal into a synthesized vibration signal (Yoo, Paragraph 0011; teaches of a beat selection part that is configured to select a sound signal of a specific frequency band) and
Correct the synthesized vibration signal to generate the emotional vibration signal (Yoo, Paragraph 0011; teaches of takes the selected signals and generate vibrations).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to add the Vibration control system taught by Yoo to the processor configuration of Yamamoto, the motivation being to centralize the processing system by combining the configuration needed for audio control with the configuration needed to generate vibrations in vehicle seats.
In regards to Claim 9: A modified Yamamoto teaches all of claim 1, A modified Yamamoto
in view of Yoo teaches all the limitations of claims 6 & 7, but does not teach of a processor configured to generate a first vibration at a first point of a seat back based on the main vibration signal; and generate a second vibration adjacent the seat back and a seat cushion based on the sub-vibration signal.
Yoo further teaches of a processor configured to:
Generate a first vibration at the first point of a seat back based on the main vibration signal (Yoo, Paragraph 0056; teaches of a vibration chair were the vibration motors that generate fast beats are located in the seat back) and;
Generate a second vibration at a second point adjacent the seat back and a seat cushion based on the sub-vibration signal (Yoo, Paragraph 0056; teaches of a vibration chair where the vibrations corresponding with the slow beats may be implemented in the seat portion).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to add separation of vibration types into regions in a chair as taught by Yoo to the Processor configured to perform the actions taken in claims 1, 6, &7 by Yamamoto in combination with Yoo, the motivation being to create a more immersive experience for the user.
In regards to Claim 16: A modified Yamamoto teaches all of claim 11, but does not teach an
emotional vibration signal based on the sound source for each instrument sound and controlling a vibration seat to be excited based on the emotional vibration signal.
Yoo teaches of an emotional care method further comprising:
Generating an emotional vibration based on the sound source for each instrument sound of the plurality of instrument sounds (Yoo, Paragraph 0004; teaches of a sound vibration system configured to vibrate according to sound, in synchronization with the sound); and
Controlling a vibration seat to be excited based on the emotional vibration signal (Yoo, Paragraph 0009; teaches of a vibration system capable of giving various vibration effects according to beats and rhythms of sound that the user feels, greatly enhancing the effect of listening to music).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to add the sound vibration system of Yoo to the processor configuration taught by Yamamoto, the motivation being to increase the immersion of the passenger by adding tactile stimulation that mirrors the audio being observed.
In regards to Claim 17: A modified Yamamoto teaches all of claim 1, A modified Yamamoto in view of Yoo teaches all the limitations of claim 6, but does not teach of further including converting the sound source into a converted vibration signal; synthesizing a modulation signal of the main vibration signal and a sub-vibration signal with the converted vibration signal into a synthesized vibration signal; and correcting the synthesized vibration signal to generate the emotional vibration signal.
Yoo further teaches the processor configured to:
converting the sound source and separated instrument sounds into a converted vibration signal (Yoo, Paragraph 0011; teaches of a vibration system that is configured to perform fast Fourier transformations (FFT) to divide a digital sound signal into multiple digital sound signals according to N Frequency bands),
Synthesizing a modulation signals of a main vibration signal and a sub-vibration signal into a synthesized vibration signal (Yoo, Paragraph 0011; teaches of a beat selection part that is configured to select a sound signal of a specific frequency band) and
Correcting the synthesized vibration signal to generate the emotional vibration signal (Yoo, Paragraph 0011; teaches of takes the selected signals and generate vibrations).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to add the Vibration control system taught by Yoo to the processor configuration of Yamamoto, the motivation being to centralize the processing system by combining the processes for audio control with the ability to generate vibrations in vehicle seats.
In regards to Claim 19: A modified Yamamoto teaches all of claim 11, but does not teach all
of Claims 16 & 17 and further including generating a first vibration at a first point of a seat back based on the main vibration signal; and generating the controlling of the vibration at a second point adjacent to the seat back and a seat cushion based on the sub-vibration signal.
Yoo further teaches of a processor configured to:
Generate a first vibration at the first point of a seat back based on the main vibration signal (Yoo, Paragraph 0056; teaches of a vibration chair where the vibration motors that generate fast beats are located in the seat back) and;
Generate a second vibration at a second point adjacent the seat back and a seat cushion based on the sub-vibration signal (Yoo, Paragraph 0056; teaches of a vibration chair where the vibrations corresponding with the slow beats may be implemented in the seat portion).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to add separation of vibration types into regions in a chair as taught by Yoo to the Processor configured to perform the actions taken in claims 11, 16, & 17 by Yamamoto in combination with Yoo, the motivation being to create a more immersive experience for the user.
Claim(s) 8 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2021/0208839 hereinafter Yamamoto in view of US 2009/0292528 hereinafter Kameyama in view of US 2014/0334638 hereinafter Barksdale further in view of US 2021/0121915 hereinafter Delson.
In regards to Claim 8: A modified Yamamoto teaches all of claim 7, but does not teach an emotional care apparatus wherein the main vibration signal is a sine wave, and wherein the sub-vibration signal is a square wave, a triangle wave, or a sawtooth wave.
Delson teaches; when a force is generated in a repeated cycle it can generate a vibratory force. The profile waveform of a repeated force cycle can be in a sinusoidal shape, triangular wave, a square wave, or a repeated profile. The frequency of the vibration describes how frequently a vibration cycle is repeated. (Delson, Paragraph 0160)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to add the teachings about vibration frequencies to the description of the vibration signals in Yoo, the motivation being a need for a clear evaluation characteristic for the vibration signal to separate the main vibration signal from the sub-vibration signal.
In regards to Claim 18: A modified Yamamoto teaches all of claim 11, while Yoo teaches all of claims 16 and 17 as recited above. However, they do not teach of a method wherein the controlling vibration seat excitation step further includes generating a first vibration at a first point of the seat back based on the main vibration signal; and generating a second vibration point adjacent the seat back and a seat cushion based on the sub-vibration signal.
Delson teaches when a force is generated in a repeated cycle it can generate a vibratory force. The profile waveform of a repeated force cycle can be in a sinusoidal shape, triangular wave, a square wave, or a repeated profile. The frequency of the vibration describes how frequently a vibration cycle is repeated. (Delson, Paragraph 0160)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to add the teachings about vibration frequencies to the description of the vibration signals in Yoo, the motivation being a need for a clear evaluation characteristic for the vibration signal to separate the main vibration signal from the sub-vibration signal.
Claim(s) 10 & 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2021/0208839 hereinafter Yamamoto in view of US 2009/0292528 hereinafter Kameyama in view of US 2014/0334638 hereinafter Barksdale in view of US 2017/0206095 hereinafter Gibbs.
In regards to Claim 10: A modified Yamamoto teaches all of claim 1, but does not teach wherein the processor is further configured to determine the emotional care mode classifying a driver emotion category using a three-dimensional emotion analysis of pleasure, arousal, and dominance dimensions.
Gibbs teaches wherein the processor is further configured to determine the emotional care mode by classifying a driver emotion category using a three-dimensional emotion analysis of pleasure, arousal, and dominance dimensions (Gibbs, Paragraphs 29 & 67).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to add the classification of driver emotion taught in Gibbs to the processor taught in a modified Yamamoto, the motivation being to provide an emotional model to represent the emotions of the driver for analysis.
In regards to Claim 20: A modified Yamamoto teaches all of claim 11, but does not teach wherein the selecting of the emotional care mode step further includes: determining the emotional care mode by classifying a driver emotion category using a three-dimensional emotion analysis of pleasure, arousal, and dominance dimensions.
Gibbs does teach wherein the selecting of the emotional care mode step further includes: determining the emotional care mode by classifying a driver emotion category using a three-dimensional emotion analysis of pleasure, arousal, and dominance dimensions (Gibbs, Paragraph 29 & 67).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to add the classification of driver emotion taught in Gibbs to the processor taught in a modified Yamamoto, the motivation being to provide an emotional model to represent the emotions of the driver for analysis.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NOE R DIETZ whose telephone number is (571)272-1135. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8am - 5pm.
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/N.R.D./Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3791 /ALEX M VALVIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3791
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