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 .
Response to Amendment
Receipt is acknowledged of applicants’ amendment filed May 11, 2026. Claims 21-29 have been canceled without prejudice. Claims 1-20 and 30-41 are pending and an action on the merits is as follows.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 6, 7, 10, 15 and 16 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected inventions/species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on May 11, 2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-3, 8, 9, 30, 33-35 and 38-41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Turner (US 10,657,942 B2).
Claims 1 and 33: Turner discloses a method and electronic device comprising a memory and one or more processors configured to perform operations where motion sensor information is obtained (column 13 lines 14-24) from a sensor (pedometer) of the electronic device (column 12 lines 32-36). Audio content having an initial tempo is obtained via user selection (column 15 lines 34-39) and based on the motion sensor information, an adjusted tempo of the audio content is determined, by matching as close as possible the audio content to a motion of a cyclic movement (repetitive motion activity) of a user of the electronic device captured from the motion sensor information (column 10 lines 20-27). Since the audio content is matched as close as possible, not only will the tempo of the audio content match the tempo of the user’s motion, but a phase (timing of beats) of the audio content would also match a phase of the user’s motion. Therefore a phase for output of the audio content is determined, and the adjusted tempo is determined at least in part by phase matching the phase for output of the audio content to the motion phase. The audio content is then provided for output with the adjusted tempo and the phase (column 16 lines 6-16).
Claims 2 and 34: Turner discloses a method and electronic device as stated above, where the electronic device determines, based on the motion sensor information, a motion cadence corresponding to minimum levels of intensity (504), multiple intermediate peaks of intensity (506, 508) and maximum level of intensity (510) and the motion phase of the cyclic movement of the user of the electronic device (column 9 lines 53-62), as shown in FIG. 5. Determining the adjusted tempo then comprises modifying the initial tempo of the audio content according to the motion cadence.
Claims 3 and 35: Turner discloses a method and electronic device as stated above, where the cyclic movement comprises a walking movement or a running movement, and wherein determining the motion cadence and the motion phase comprise: identifying, based on the motion sensor information, a plurality of times of a plurality of respective footfalls (number of steps) of the user; and determining the motion cadence and the motion phase based at least in part on the identified plurality of times (column 13 lines 13-22).
Claims 8 and 40: Turner discloses a method and electronic device as stated above, where obtaining the audio content comprises obtaining a playlist of songs each having a respective initial tempo that are approximately the same or similar (column 19 lines 24-29) and fall within a range of the motion cadence (column 15 lines 34-37).
Claims 9 and 41: Turner discloses a method and electronic device as stated above, where based on the motion sensor information from the sensor of the electronic device, a change in a motion cadence of the cyclic movement of the user is detected and the adjusted tempo is slewed to track the change in the motion cadence (column 24 lines 16-22).
Claim 30: Turner discloses a method, comprising determining a footfall contact time corresponding to a number of steps of a wearer of an electronic device during an activity being performed by the wearer (column 13 lines 13-22), as shown in FIG. 5. The electronic device obtains (places on a menu of choices) audio content based at least in part on the footfall contact time (column 15 lines 32-34) and outputs the audio content during the activity being performed by the wearer (column 16 lines 6-16).
Claim 38: Turner discloses an electronic device as stated above, where the operations further comprise determining a characteristic (intensity) of at least one of the plurality of respective footfalls, as shown in FIG. 5 (column 9 lines 53-58).
Claim 39: Turner discloses an electronic device as stated above, where the characteristic comprises footfall contact time corresponding to when a step is made of the at least one of the plurality of respective footfalls, as can be seen in FIG. 5.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 4, 5, 11-14, 17-20, 36 and 37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Turner (US 10,657,942 B2) in view of MacPherson (US 9,183,822 B2).
Claims 4 and 36: Turner discloses a method and electronic device as stated above, where the audio content for output is provided to a media output device (data storage and playback device 1002) that is wirelessly connected to the electronic device (column 11 lines 40-45). This reference fails to disclose the electronic device to obtain from the media output device a transmission latency corresponding to communication between the electronic device and the media output device, wherein performing the phase matching comprises determining the phase based on the plurality of times and the transmission latency.
However MacPherson teaches a method and electronic device, where an electronic device obtains a transmission latency corresponding to communication between the electronic device and the media output device (column 9 lines 1-6), wherein performing the phase matching comprises determining the phase based on the plurality of times and the transmission latency (column 6 lines 56-63).
Given the teachings of MacPherson, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and electronic device disclosed in Turner with providing the electronic device to obtain from the media output device a transmission latency corresponding to communication between the electronic device and the media output device, wherein performing the phase matching comprises determining the phase based on the plurality of times and the transmission latency. Doing so would allow a delay to be introduced into the audio content to be output in order “to match up the beats with the movement” as taught in Macpherson (column 6 lines 57-60) when a delay exists “between sending the request and receiving the music” (column 9 lines 1-2).
Claims 5 and 37: Turner modified by MacPherson discloses a method and electronic device as stated above, where the initial tempo for output of the audio content is disclosed in Turner to correspond to a number of beats per unit time (BPM) and wherein determining the adjusted tempo and the phase for output comprises determining the adjusted tempo and the phase that cause the beats of the audio content to be output by the media output device (column 15 lines 58-62) at tempo-matched and phase-matched times that coincide with the plurality of times of the plurality of respective footfalls (column 10 lines 24-27, column 13 lines 13-22).
Claim 11: Turner discloses a non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations where an application running on an electronic device allows communication between the electronic device and a media output device that is connected to the electronic device (column 11 lines 40-45). The application obtains motion information associated with a motion (activity) of a user of the electronic device (column 13 lines 14-24), and obtains audio content for output by the media output device via user selection (column 15 lines 34-39). The audio content from the electronic device is provided to the media output device for output by the media output device based at least in part on the motion information (column 16 lines 6-16). This reference fails to disclose the application to obtain information associated with a transmission latency between the electronic device and the media output device, such that the audio content is provided based at least in part on the information associated with the transmission latency.
However MacPherson teaches a non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions executed by one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to perform operations, where an application obtains information associated with a transmission latency corresponding to communication between an electronic device and media output device (column 9 lines 1-6), such that the audio content is provided based at least in part on the information associated with the transmission latency (column 6 lines 56-63).
Given the teachings of MacPherson, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the non-transitory machine-readable medium disclosed in Turner with providing the application to obtain information associated with a transmission latency between the electronic device and the media output device, such that the audio content is provided based at least in part on the information associated with the transmission latency. Doing so would allow a delay to be introduced into the audio content to be output in order “to match up the beats with the movement” as taught in Macpherson (column 6 lines 57-60) when a delay exists “between sending the request and receiving the music” (column 9 lines 1-2).
Claim 12: Turner modified by MacPherson discloses a non-transitory machine-readable medium where information associated with the transmission latency is obtained by an application running on the electronic device, as stated above. The information associated with the transmission latency then would be obtained at the application from a system process at the electronic device, as is recognized in the art.
Claim 13: Turner modified by MacPherson discloses a non-transitory machine-readable medium as stated above, where obtaining the information associated with the transmission latency and obtaining the motion information comprise obtaining a plurality of beat output times for the audio content from a system process at the electronic device, the beat output times determined by the system process based on the transmission latency and the motion information, as shown in MacPherson (column 6 lines 56-63).
Claim 14: Turner modified by MacPherson discloses a non-transitory machine-readable medium where the audio content is provided to the media output device, as stated above. The audio content is shown in MacPherson to be provided in advanced in time corresponding to a subtracted time difference, according to the transmission latency for tempo and phase synchronization with the motion of the user (column 6 lines 60-63).
Claim 17: Turner modified by MacPherson discloses a non-transitory machine-readable medium as stated above, where the tempo and phase synchronization with the motion of the user is disclosed in Turner to comprise a synchronization of a tempo of the audio content with a motion cadence corresponding to minimum levels of intensity (504), multiple intermediate peaks of intensity (506, 508) and maximum level of intensity (510) of the motion of the user (column 9 lines 53-62), as shown in FIG. 5 and a synchronization of a phase of the audio content with a motion phase of the motion of the user (column 10 lines 20-27).
Claims 18 and 19: Turner modified by MacPherson discloses a non-transitory machine-readable medium where the audio content is provided from the electronic device to the media output device for output by the media output device based at least in part on the motion information and the information associated with the transmission latency, as stated above. Output of the audio content is then modified based on the motion information and the information associated with the transmission latency to generate modified audio content, as shown in MacPherson (column 6 lines 56-63).
Claim 20: Turner modified by MacPherson discloses a non-transitory machine-readable medium as stated above, where the media output device is disclosed in Turner to be wirelessly connected to the electronic device (column 11 lines 40-45).
Claims 31 and 32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Turner (US 10,657,942 B2) in view of Takai et al. (US 7,544,880 B2).
Claim 31: Turner discloses a method as stated above, but fails to disclose the footfall contact time to comprise an amount of time a foot of the wearer is in contact with ground during each of a plurality of footfalls during the activity being performed by the wearer.
However Takai et al. teaches a method, where a footfall contact time comprises an amount of time a foot of a wearer is in contact with ground between the foot contacting the ground and the foot having cleared the ground during each of a plurality of footfalls during an activity being performed by the wearer (column 5 lines 46-58).
Given the teachings of Takai et al., it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method disclosed in Turner with providing the footfall contact time to comprise an amount of time a foot of the wearer is in contact with ground during each of a plurality of footfalls during the activity being performed by the wearer. Doing so would allow a stride of a user to be measured using a single sensor corresponding to one of the user’s feet, as taught in Takai et al. (column 5 lines 54-68), thereby lowering costs of the system.
Claim 32: Turner modified by Takai et al. discloses a method as stated above, where a tempo and a phase of the output of the audio content is disclosed in Turner to be synchronized with the plurality of footfalls (column 10 lines 24-27).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 8,865,991 B1, US 7,855,334 B2, US 7,745,716 B1 and US 7,521,623 B2 pertaining to changing an audio content tempo according to a user activity.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER UHLIR whose telephone number is (571)270-3091. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-4.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anita Coupe can be reached at 571-270-3614. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Christopher Uhlir/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3619 July 11, 2026
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