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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
Acknowledgment is made of the information disclosure statement filed on May 2, 2024. U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, and non-patent literature documents have been considered.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-18 in the reply filed on January 2, 2026 is acknowledged. Claims 19-27 are withdrawn from consideration.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3-4, 8-11, and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being unpatentable by Hsieh (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2022/0239413).
Regarding Claim 1,
Hsieh discloses: A method for transmitting a wireless multi-source packet, performed by a processing unit of a first audio-data transmitter device, comprising:
obtaining data-slot assignments indicating that a first data slot is assigned to a second audio-data transmitter device and a second data slot is assigned to the first audio-data transmitter device for data transmission from an audio-data receiver device
[0030] In some embodiments of LE audio, the mobile phone 130 may establish different connection-oriented isochronous channels with the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120, respectively, and each channel uses the LE Connected Isochronous Stream (LE-CIS) logical transport and supports bi-directional communication.
[0031] The two CISs form a connected isochronous group (CIG) and each CIS has multiple CIS instances. The CIS instances in the same CIG have common timing reference data, which is used in the synchronization of isochronous data processing by the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120. Only one wireless receiver with unique access address is presented in each CIS, and the wireless receiver uses the designated channel map to receive media packets. Within the CIG, and for each CIS, there exists a schedule of transmission and reception time slots referred to as events and subevents.
[0035] For example, refer to FIG. 4, in an exemplary transmission between the mobile phone 130 and the left wireless earbud 110, the mobile phone 130 transmits CIS left-channel data L #1 and L #2 to the left wireless earbud 110 in the subevents SE #1 and SE #2. But for the right wireless earbud 120, the times slots in the subevents SE #1 and SE #2 are IDLE slots, which may also be referred to as peer-side transmission/reception (RX/TX) slots. In an exemplary transmission schedule between the mobile phone 130 and the right wireless earbud 120, the mobile phone 130 transmits CIS right-channel data R #1 and R #2 to the right wireless earbud 120 in the subevents SE #3 and SE #4. But for the left wireless earbud 110, the times slots in the subevents SE #3 and SE #4 are IDLE slots, which may also be referred to as peer-side RX/TX slots.
Note: The first audio device is being interpreted as the mobile phone (master device), and second audio-data devices are being interpreted as the left and right wireless earbuds (slaves). When referring to Figure 4, the first data slot can comprise CIS data that corresponds to when the mobile phone transmits audio date in the left and right earbuds (SE#1 through SE#4).
tuning in a first physical channel in the first data slot to obtain a first frame from the second audio-data transmitter device
[0029] In adaptive frequency hopping (AFH), the mobile phone 130 may send the same channel map or different channel maps to the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120. The channel map instructs the left wireless earbud 110 or the right wireless earbud 120 to use the specified one of the multiple physical channels (for example, 37) in the 2.4 to 2.48 GHz frequency band in each time interval (or time slot) to receive data or transmit data, thereby enabling the corresponding RF module 320 to receive or transmit data in each time interval on the designated physical channel. The RF module 320 is employed to receive RF signal in the medium and convert the received RF signal into baseband signal that can be processed by the MODEM 330. The RF module 320 is also employed to receive baseband signal from the MODEM 330 and convert the received baseband signal into RF signal that can be sent to the mobile phone 130. The RF module 320 may include a mixer to generate a new frequency according to the input signal, and the signal output from a local oscillator. The MODEM 330 may implement Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying (GFSK), π/4-Differential Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (DQPSK), 8-Differential Phase Shift Keying (DPSK), or others.
Note: The “tuning” is in the frequency band (“channel”), where the channel map “instructs” (or “tunes”) the devices to use a particular channel (the same or different channels coming from the mobile phone).
wherein the first frame comprises a chunk of first audio data originated by the second audio-data transmitter device;
[0086] The aforementioned method for retransmitting wireless peer packets can be applied to the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) of the ACL channel. For example, refer to FIG. 11, the mobile phone 130 establishes ACL links with the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120. The right wireless earbud 120 successfully receives the media packet 1110 that is originally sent by the mobile phone 130 to the left wireless earbud 110 in the time slot of one Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side RX slot) and stores the media packet 1110 in the memory 344. In the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side TX slot), the right wireless earbud 120 subsequently detects NAK information in the response packet 1120 that is originally sent by the left wireless earbud 110 to the mobile phone 130. The right wireless earbud 120 transmits the media packet 1110 to the medium for enhancing signal in the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame, which is used to increase the opportunity of successfully receiving the retransmitted media packet 1110 by the left wireless earbud 110. The formats of the media packet 1110 and the response packet 1120 conform to the Bluetooth specification. The peer-side RX and TX slots are collectively referred to as a peer-side time period.
Note: The “chunk” is being interpreted as a piece of data from the second device. Here, the signal received from the left wireless earbud (a second device) has information coming from the phone (master device), to which the mobile phone is transmitting audio data to the earbuds.
obtaining a second frame comprising a chunk of second audio data originated by the first audio-data transmitter device
[0086] The aforementioned method for retransmitting wireless peer packets can be applied to the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) of the ACL channel. For example, refer to FIG. 11, the mobile phone 130 establishes ACL links with the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120. The right wireless earbud 120 successfully receives the media packet 1110 that is originally sent by the mobile phone 130 to the left wireless earbud 110 in the time slot of one Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side RX slot) and stores the media packet 1110 in the memory 344. In the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side TX slot), the right wireless earbud 120 subsequently detects NAK information in the response packet 1120 that is originally sent by the left wireless earbud 110 to the mobile phone 130. The right wireless earbud 120 transmits the media packet 1110 to the medium for enhancing signal in the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame, which is used to increase the opportunity of successfully receiving the retransmitted media packet 1110 by the left wireless earbud 110. The formats of the media packet 1110 and the response packet 1120 conform to the Bluetooth specification. The peer-side RX and TX slots are collectively referred to as a peer-side time period.
Note: The “second frame” is the” next Bluetooth frame”, which includes auto data from both the mobile phone as well as left and right earbuds.
encapsulating the first frame and the second frame into a payload of a media packet
[0085] For example, refer to FIG. 10. The right wireless earbud 120 operates as the monitoring device to successfully receive the media packet 1010 that is originally sent by the mobile phone 130 to the left wireless earbud 110 in the first time slot of the eSCO window (the “Yes” paths of steps S912 and S914 in sequence) and store the media packet 1010 in the memory 344 (step S932). In the second time slot of the eSCO window, the right wireless earbud 120 subsequently detects NAK information in the response packet 1020 that is originally sent by the left wireless earbud 110 to the mobile phone 130 (the “Yes” paths of steps S938 and S942 in sequence). The right wireless earbud 120 transmits the media packet 1010 to the medium for enhancing signal in the third time slot of the eSCO window (step S956), which is used to increase the opportunity of successfully receiving the retransmitted media packet 1010 by the left wireless earbud 110.
Note: The “encapsulation” is the retransmitted media packet that contains audio data from the mobile device as well as both earbuds.
transmitting the media packet at a second physical channel to the audio-data receiver device in the second data slot.
[0086] The aforementioned method for retransmitting wireless peer packets can be applied to the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) of the ACL channel. For example, refer to FIG. 11, the mobile phone 130 establishes ACL links with the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120. The right wireless earbud 120 successfully receives the media packet 1110 that is originally sent by the mobile phone 130 to the left wireless earbud 110 in the time slot of one Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side RX slot) and stores the media packet 1110 in the memory 344. In the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side TX slot), the right wireless earbud 120 subsequently detects NAK information in the response packet 1120 that is originally sent by the left wireless earbud 110 to the mobile phone 130. The right wireless earbud 120 transmits the media packet 1110 to the medium for enhancing signal in the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame, which is used to increase the opportunity of successfully receiving the retransmitted media packet 1110 by the left wireless earbud 110. The formats of the media packet 1110 and the response packet 1120 conform to the Bluetooth specification. The peer-side RX and TX slots are collectively referred to as a peer-side time period.
Note: Since the data is being transmitted in the next Bluetooth slot, Bluetooth itself comprises a frequency range over channels, and, as such the next Bluetooth slot would also occupy a channel.
Regarding Claim 3,
Hsieh discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein the audio-data receiver device operates as a master device to control times and packet channels of packet transmissions performed by the first audio-data transmitter device and the second audio-data transmitter device, and the first audio-data transmitter device and the second audio-data transmitter device operate as slave devices.
[0087] Although the aforementioned embodiments describe the network formed by the mobile phone 130 (also called the wireless master device), the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120 (also called the wireless slave devices), but this is only for illustration and not for limiting the present invention.
Regarding Claim 4,
Hsieh discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein any of the first audio-data transmitter device and the second audio-data transmitter device is installed in a handheld, handset or lavalier wireless digital microphone.
[0024] Refer to FIG. 1. In a scenario, an user acquires data from the mobile phone 130 through wireless earbuds. The wireless earbuds are a pair of apparatuses with wireless communications capabilities, including a left wireless earbud 110 and a right wireless earbud 120, and no physical wire line is connected between the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120. It may use a wireless communications protocol, such as Bluetooth low energy Audio (LE Audio), extended Synchronous Connection-Oriented (eSCO), Asynchronous Connection-Less (ACL), etc., to transfer packets carrying audio signals between the mobile phone 130 and the left wireless earbud 110 and between the mobile phone 130 and the right wireless earbud 120. In some embodiments, the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120 may receive media packets including left channel and right channel of stereo data, respectively. In alternative embodiments, the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120 may receive media packets including mono data.
Regarding Claim 8,
Claim 8 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 1.
Hsieh discloses: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein program code that, when loaded and executed by a processing unit of a first audio-data transmitter device, causes the processing unit to: obtain data-slot assignments indicating that a first data slot is assigned to a second audio-data transmitter device and a second data slot is assigned to the first audio-data transmitter device for data transmission from an audio-data receiver device
[0030] In some embodiments of LE audio, the mobile phone 130 may establish different connection-oriented isochronous channels with the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120, respectively, and each channel uses the LE Connected Isochronous Stream (LE-CIS) logical transport and supports bi-directional communication.
[0031] The two CISs form a connected isochronous group (CIG) and each CIS has multiple CIS instances. The CIS instances in the same CIG have common timing reference data, which is used in the synchronization of isochronous data processing by the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120. Only one wireless receiver with unique access address is presented in each CIS, and the wireless receiver uses the designated channel map to receive media packets. Within the CIG, and for each CIS, there exists a schedule of transmission and reception time slots referred to as events and subevents.
[0035] For example, refer to FIG. 4, in an exemplary transmission between the mobile phone 130 and the left wireless earbud 110, the mobile phone 130 transmits CIS left-channel data L #1 and L #2 to the left wireless earbud 110 in the subevents SE #1 and SE #2. But for the right wireless earbud 120, the times slots in the subevents SE #1 and SE #2 are IDLE slots, which may also be referred to as peer-side transmission/reception (RX/TX) slots. In an exemplary transmission schedule between the mobile phone 130 and the right wireless earbud 120, the mobile phone 130 transmits CIS right-channel data R #1 and R #2 to the right wireless earbud 120 in the subevents SE #3 and SE #4. But for the left wireless earbud 110, the times slots in the subevents SE #3 and SE #4 are IDLE slots, which may also be referred to as peer-side RX/TX slots.
Note: The first audio device is being interpreted as the mobile phone (master device), and second audio-data devices are being interpreted as the left and right wireless earbuds (slaves). When referring to Figure 4, the first data slot can comprise CIS data that corresponds to when the mobile phone transmits audio date in the left and right earbuds (SE#1 through SE#4).
tune in a first physical channel in the first data slot to obtain a first frame from the second audio-data transmitter device
[0029] In adaptive frequency hopping (AFH), the mobile phone 130 may send the same channel map or different channel maps to the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120. The channel map instructs the left wireless earbud 110 or the right wireless earbud 120 to use the specified one of the multiple physical channels (for example, 37) in the 2.4 to 2.48 GHz frequency band in each time interval (or time slot) to receive data or transmit data, thereby enabling the corresponding RF module 320 to receive or transmit data in each time interval on the designated physical channel. The RF module 320 is employed to receive RF signal in the medium and convert the received RF signal into baseband signal that can be processed by the MODEM 330. The RF module 320 is also employed to receive baseband signal from the MODEM 330 and convert the received baseband signal into RF signal that can be sent to the mobile phone 130. The RF module 320 may include a mixer to generate a new frequency according to the input signal, and the signal output from a local oscillator. The MODEM 330 may implement Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying (GFSK), π/4-Differential Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (DQPSK), 8-Differential Phase Shift Keying (DPSK), or others.
Note: The “tuning” is in the frequency band (“channel”), where the channel map “instructs” (or “tunes”) the devices to use a particular channel (the same or different channels coming from the mobile phone).
wherein the first frame comprises a chunk of first audio data originated by the second audio-data transmitter device;
[0086] The aforementioned method for retransmitting wireless peer packets can be applied to the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) of the ACL channel. For example, refer to FIG. 11, the mobile phone 130 establishes ACL links with the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120. The right wireless earbud 120 successfully receives the media packet 1110 that is originally sent by the mobile phone 130 to the left wireless earbud 110 in the time slot of one Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side RX slot) and stores the media packet 1110 in the memory 344. In the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side TX slot), the right wireless earbud 120 subsequently detects NAK information in the response packet 1120 that is originally sent by the left wireless earbud 110 to the mobile phone 130. The right wireless earbud 120 transmits the media packet 1110 to the medium for enhancing signal in the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame, which is used to increase the opportunity of successfully receiving the retransmitted media packet 1110 by the left wireless earbud 110. The formats of the media packet 1110 and the response packet 1120 conform to the Bluetooth specification. The peer-side RX and TX slots are collectively referred to as a peer-side time period.
Note: The “chunk” is being interpreted as a piece of data from the second device. Here, the signal received from the left wireless earbud (a second device) has information coming from the phone (master device), to which the mobile phone is transmitting audio data to the earbuds.
obtain a second frame comprising a chunk of second audio data originated by the first audio-data transmitter device
[0086] The aforementioned method for retransmitting wireless peer packets can be applied to the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) of the ACL channel. For example, refer to FIG. 11, the mobile phone 130 establishes ACL links with the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120. The right wireless earbud 120 successfully receives the media packet 1110 that is originally sent by the mobile phone 130 to the left wireless earbud 110 in the time slot of one Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side RX slot) and stores the media packet 1110 in the memory 344. In the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side TX slot), the right wireless earbud 120 subsequently detects NAK information in the response packet 1120 that is originally sent by the left wireless earbud 110 to the mobile phone 130. The right wireless earbud 120 transmits the media packet 1110 to the medium for enhancing signal in the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame, which is used to increase the opportunity of successfully receiving the retransmitted media packet 1110 by the left wireless earbud 110. The formats of the media packet 1110 and the response packet 1120 conform to the Bluetooth specification. The peer-side RX and TX slots are collectively referred to as a peer-side time period.
Note: The “second frame” is the” next Bluetooth frame”, which includes auto data from both the mobile phone as well as left and right earbuds.
encapsulate the first frame and the second frame into a payload of a media packet
[0085] For example, refer to FIG. 10. The right wireless earbud 120 operates as the monitoring device to successfully receive the media packet 1010 that is originally sent by the mobile phone 130 to the left wireless earbud 110 in the first time slot of the eSCO window (the “Yes” paths of steps S912 and S914 in sequence) and store the media packet 1010 in the memory 344 (step S932). In the second time slot of the eSCO window, the right wireless earbud 120 subsequently detects NAK information in the response packet 1020 that is originally sent by the left wireless earbud 110 to the mobile phone 130 (the “Yes” paths of steps S938 and S942 in sequence). The right wireless earbud 120 transmits the media packet 1010 to the medium for enhancing signal in the third time slot of the eSCO window (step S956), which is used to increase the opportunity of successfully receiving the retransmitted media packet 1010 by the left wireless earbud 110.
Note: The “encapsulation” is the retransmitted media packet that contains audio data from the mobile device as well as both earbuds.
transmit the media packet at a second physical channel to the audio-data receiver device in the second data slot.
[0086] The aforementioned method for retransmitting wireless peer packets can be applied to the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) of the ACL channel. For example, refer to FIG. 11, the mobile phone 130 establishes ACL links with the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120. The right wireless earbud 120 successfully receives the media packet 1110 that is originally sent by the mobile phone 130 to the left wireless earbud 110 in the time slot of one Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side RX slot) and stores the media packet 1110 in the memory 344. In the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side TX slot), the right wireless earbud 120 subsequently detects NAK information in the response packet 1120 that is originally sent by the left wireless earbud 110 to the mobile phone 130. The right wireless earbud 120 transmits the media packet 1110 to the medium for enhancing signal in the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame, which is used to increase the opportunity of successfully receiving the retransmitted media packet 1110 by the left wireless earbud 110. The formats of the media packet 1110 and the response packet 1120 conform to the Bluetooth specification. The peer-side RX and TX slots are collectively referred to as a peer-side time period.
Note: Since the data is being transmitted in the next Bluetooth slot, Bluetooth itself comprises a frequency range over channels, and, as such the next Bluetooth slot would also occupy a channel.
Regarding Claim 9,
Claim 9 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 3.
Regarding Claim 10,
Claim 10 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 4.
Regarding Claim 13,
Hsieh discloses: An apparatus for transmitting a wireless multi-source packet, installed in a first audio-data transmitter device, comprising: a processing unit, arranged operably to: obtain data-slot assignments indicating that a first data slot is assigned to a second audio-data transmitter device and a second data slot is assigned to the first audio-data transmitter device for data transmission from an audio-data receiver device
[0030] In some embodiments of LE audio, the mobile phone 130 may establish different connection-oriented isochronous channels with the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120, respectively, and each channel uses the LE Connected Isochronous Stream (LE-CIS) logical transport and supports bi-directional communication.
[0031] The two CISs form a connected isochronous group (CIG) and each CIS has multiple CIS instances. The CIS instances in the same CIG have common timing reference data, which is used in the synchronization of isochronous data processing by the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120. Only one wireless receiver with unique access address is presented in each CIS, and the wireless receiver uses the designated channel map to receive media packets. Within the CIG, and for each CIS, there exists a schedule of transmission and reception time slots referred to as events and subevents.
[0035] For example, refer to FIG. 4, in an exemplary transmission between the mobile phone 130 and the left wireless earbud 110, the mobile phone 130 transmits CIS left-channel data L #1 and L #2 to the left wireless earbud 110 in the subevents SE #1 and SE #2. But for the right wireless earbud 120, the times slots in the subevents SE #1 and SE #2 are IDLE slots, which may also be referred to as peer-side transmission/reception (RX/TX) slots. In an exemplary transmission schedule between the mobile phone 130 and the right wireless earbud 120, the mobile phone 130 transmits CIS right-channel data R #1 and R #2 to the right wireless earbud 120 in the subevents SE #3 and SE #4. But for the left wireless earbud 110, the times slots in the subevents SE #3 and SE #4 are IDLE slots, which may also be referred to as peer-side RX/TX slots.
Note: The first audio device is being interpreted as the mobile phone (master device), and second audio-data devices are being interpreted as the left and right wireless earbuds (slaves). When referring to Figure 4, the first data slot can comprise CIS data that corresponds to when the mobile phone transmits audio date in the left and right earbuds (SE#1 through SE#4).
drive a radio frequency (RF) module and a modulator-demodulator (MODEM) to tune in a first physical channel in the first data slot to obtain a first frame from the second audio-data transmitter device
[0029] In adaptive frequency hopping (AFH), the mobile phone 130 may send the same channel map or different channel maps to the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120. The channel map instructs the left wireless earbud 110 or the right wireless earbud 120 to use the specified one of the multiple physical channels (for example, 37) in the 2.4 to 2.48 GHz frequency band in each time interval (or time slot) to receive data or transmit data, thereby enabling the corresponding RF module 320 to receive or transmit data in each time interval on the designated physical channel. The RF module 320 is employed to receive RF signal in the medium and convert the received RF signal into baseband signal that can be processed by the MODEM 330. The RF module 320 is also employed to receive baseband signal from the MODEM 330 and convert the received baseband signal into RF signal that can be sent to the mobile phone 130. The RF module 320 may include a mixer to generate a new frequency according to the input signal, and the signal output from a local oscillator. The MODEM 330 may implement Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying (GFSK), π/4-Differential Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (DQPSK), 8-Differential Phase Shift Keying (DPSK), or others.
Note: The “tuning” is in the frequency band (“channel”) from the RF module/modem, where the channel map “instructs” (or “tunes”) the devices to use a particular channel (the same or different channels coming from the mobile phone).
wherein the first frame comprises a chunk of first audio data originated by the second audio-data transmitter device
[0086] The aforementioned method for retransmitting wireless peer packets can be applied to the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) of the ACL channel. For example, refer to FIG. 11, the mobile phone 130 establishes ACL links with the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120. The right wireless earbud 120 successfully receives the media packet 1110 that is originally sent by the mobile phone 130 to the left wireless earbud 110 in the time slot of one Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side RX slot) and stores the media packet 1110 in the memory 344. In the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side TX slot), the right wireless earbud 120 subsequently detects NAK information in the response packet 1120 that is originally sent by the left wireless earbud 110 to the mobile phone 130. The right wireless earbud 120 transmits the media packet 1110 to the medium for enhancing signal in the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame, which is used to increase the opportunity of successfully receiving the retransmitted media packet 1110 by the left wireless earbud 110. The formats of the media packet 1110 and the response packet 1120 conform to the Bluetooth specification. The peer-side RX and TX slots are collectively referred to as a peer-side time period.
Note: The “chunk” is being interpreted as a piece of data from the second device. Here, the signal received from the left wireless earbud (a second device) has information coming from the phone (master device), to which the mobile phone is transmitting audio data to the earbuds.
obtain a second frame comprising a chunk of second audio data originated by the first audio-data transmitter device
[0086] The aforementioned method for retransmitting wireless peer packets can be applied to the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) of the ACL channel. For example, refer to FIG. 11, the mobile phone 130 establishes ACL links with the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120. The right wireless earbud 120 successfully receives the media packet 1110 that is originally sent by the mobile phone 130 to the left wireless earbud 110 in the time slot of one Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side RX slot) and stores the media packet 1110 in the memory 344. In the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side TX slot), the right wireless earbud 120 subsequently detects NAK information in the response packet 1120 that is originally sent by the left wireless earbud 110 to the mobile phone 130. The right wireless earbud 120 transmits the media packet 1110 to the medium for enhancing signal in the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame, which is used to increase the opportunity of successfully receiving the retransmitted media packet 1110 by the left wireless earbud 110. The formats of the media packet 1110 and the response packet 1120 conform to the Bluetooth specification. The peer-side RX and TX slots are collectively referred to as a peer-side time period.
Note: The “second frame” is the” next Bluetooth frame”, which includes auto data from both the mobile phone as well as left and right earbuds.
encapsulate the first frame and the second frame into a payload of a media packet
[0085] For example, refer to FIG. 10. The right wireless earbud 120 operates as the monitoring device to successfully receive the media packet 1010 that is originally sent by the mobile phone 130 to the left wireless earbud 110 in the first time slot of the eSCO window (the “Yes” paths of steps S912 and S914 in sequence) and store the media packet 1010 in the memory 344 (step S932). In the second time slot of the eSCO window, the right wireless earbud 120 subsequently detects NAK information in the response packet 1020 that is originally sent by the left wireless earbud 110 to the mobile phone 130 (the “Yes” paths of steps S938 and S942 in sequence). The right wireless earbud 120 transmits the media packet 1010 to the medium for enhancing signal in the third time slot of the eSCO window (step S956), which is used to increase the opportunity of successfully receiving the retransmitted media packet 1010 by the left wireless earbud 110.
Note: The “encapsulation” is the retransmitted media packet that contains audio data from the mobile device as well as both earbuds.
and drive the RF module and the MODEM to transmit the media packet at a second physical channel to the audio-data receiver device in the second data slot.
[0029] In adaptive frequency hopping (AFH), the mobile phone 130 may send the same channel map or different channel maps to the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120. The channel map instructs the left wireless earbud 110 or the right wireless earbud 120 to use the specified one of the multiple physical channels (for example, 37) in the 2.4 to 2.48 GHz frequency band in each time interval (or time slot) to receive data or transmit data, thereby enabling the corresponding RF module 320 to receive or transmit data in each time interval on the designated physical channel. The RF module 320 is employed to receive RF signal in the medium and convert the received RF signal into baseband signal that can be processed by the MODEM 330. The RF module 320 is also employed to receive baseband signal from the MODEM 330 and convert the received baseband signal into RF signal that can be sent to the mobile phone 130. The RF module 320 may include a mixer to generate a new frequency according to the input signal, and the signal output from a local oscillator. The MODEM 330 may implement Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying (GFSK), π/4-Differential Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (DQPSK), 8-Differential Phase Shift Keying (DPSK), or others.
[0086] The aforementioned method for retransmitting wireless peer packets can be applied to the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) of the ACL channel. For example, refer to FIG. 11, the mobile phone 130 establishes ACL links with the left wireless earbud 110 and the right wireless earbud 120. The right wireless earbud 120 successfully receives the media packet 1110 that is originally sent by the mobile phone 130 to the left wireless earbud 110 in the time slot of one Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side RX slot) and stores the media packet 1110 in the memory 344. In the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame (also referred to as a peer-side TX slot), the right wireless earbud 120 subsequently detects NAK information in the response packet 1120 that is originally sent by the left wireless earbud 110 to the mobile phone 130. The right wireless earbud 120 transmits the media packet 1110 to the medium for enhancing signal in the time slot of the next Bluetooth frame, which is used to increase the opportunity of successfully receiving the retransmitted media packet 1110 by the left wireless earbud 110. The formats of the media packet 1110 and the response packet 1120 conform to the Bluetooth specification. The peer-side RX and TX slots are collectively referred to as a peer-side time period.
Note: Since the data is being transmitted in the next Bluetooth slot, Bluetooth itself comprises a frequency range over channels, and, as such the next Bluetooth slot would also occupy a channel.
Regarding Claim 14,
Claim 14 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 3.
Regarding Claim 15,
Claim 15 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 4.
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 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Hsieh in view of Tamura and Tanada (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2008/0268922), herein referred to as “Tamura”.
Regarding Claim 2,
Hsieh does not explicitly disclose all the limitations of this claim.
However, Tamura discloses: The method of claim 1, comprising: storing the first frame in a memory; and reading the first frame from the memory before a generation of the media packet.
[0028] The short-range wireless communication unit 22, for example, is constituted by a module that performs wireless communication by using Bluetooth (registered trademark) and the like. The short-range wireless communication unit 22 performs wireless communication with a headset 2 located in the vicinity of the cellular phone 1 or the like. A wireless communication method (for example, infrared communication) other than Bluetooth may be used. The short-range wireless communication unit 22 includes a frame clipping section 24, a packet generating section 25, a packet transmission section 26, a parameter information acquisition section 27, a parameter determining section 28, a parameter setting section 29, and the like.
[0029] The frame clipping section 24 reads out the audio data stored in the memory unit 14, clips the read-out audio data into frames appropriate for the codec type (for example, an encoding method such as AAC) thereof, and supplies the clipped audio data in units of frames to the packet generating section 25.
Note: Here, the audio data stored in memory is formed into frames as part of the “read-out” process, which leads to the generation of the packet.
Hsieh and Tamura are considered to be analogous because they involve wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hsieh to include the concept of storing and receiving a frame from memory before generating a packet as taught by Tamura so as to promote wireless connections between devices.
Claims 5, 7, 11, 16, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Hsieh in view of Toy (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2017/0041248). This reference was provided in the information disclosure statement dated May 2, 2024.
Regarding Claim 5,
Hsieh does not explicitly disclose all the limitations of this claim.
However, Toy discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein the first frame is attached with a first flush timeout value that is later than a start time of the second data slot, and the second frame is attached with a second flush timeout value that is later than the start time of the second data slot.
[0089] In an aspect, the time cycle can comprise a second time allocation allocated for a second source. The first source and the second source can be network flows of a second device (e.g., the second device 206 and/or the third device 208 of FIG. 2). The time cycle can comprise first time allocations for data received via a first port of the first device and second time allocations for data received via a second port of the first device. The first port can be configured to receive data at a first bit rate. The second port can be configured to received data at second bit rate. The first bit rate can be different than the second bit rate.
Note: Here, the “flush timeout value” is being interpreted as a tine allocation that receives data at a certain rate. Here, since the first bit rate can be different that a second bit rate, it can also be “later” in time as required by this claim.
Hsieh and Toy are considered to be analogous because they involve wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hsieh to include the concept of having timeout values associated with data slots as taught by Toy so as to promote wireless connections between devices.
Regarding Claim 7,
Hsieh does not explicitly disclose all the limitations of this claim.
However, Toy discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein a header of the media packet records information about a first device ID of the first audio-data transmitter device that originally provides the second frame, a second device ID of the second audio-data transmitter device that originally provides the first frame, a first start bit number of the first frame in the payload of the media packet, and a second start bit number of the second frame in the payload of the media packet.
[0074]. The one or more network flows 232 can be associated with and/or receive data based on a device type (e.g., a mobile phone, a set top box, a television, a tablet, a laptop), a data type (e.g., video, audio, voice call, video call, text, images), a data priority (e.g., a high priority, a medium priority, a low priority), an application (e.g., a streaming application, a web browser, a chat program), a user (e.g., an administrator, a parent, a child, an owner, a customer), devices (e.g., user devices such as one or more of the plurality of third devices 208), a bit rate (e.g., 1 Gbps, 10 Gbps), and/or the like.
[0093] The data transmissions can be received into the buffer as one or more data units, such as a data packet (e.g., IP packet), a data frame (e.g., Ethernet frame), encapsulated data, a data block, a data segment, a data fragment, and/or the like.
[0094] In an aspect, the buffer can be configured to receive data transmissions via a first port of the first device. The buffer can be configured to receive data transmissions via a second port of the first device. The first port can be configured to receive data transmissions at a first bit rate (e.g., 1 Gbps). The second port can be configured to receive data transmissions at a second bit rate (e.g., 10 Gbps). The first bit rate can be different than the second bit rate. The first time allocation can be granted to the first source based on which one of the first port and the second port the first source is configured to utilize for communication to the first device. For example, the first source can communicate via the first port, the second port, a combination thereof, and/or the like. The first source can comprise an optical network unit of the passive optical network
[0095] At step 604, a first data transmission of the plurality of data transmissions in the buffer can be determined (e.g., identified, selected, received for processing). A first source of the first data transmission can also be determined (e.g., identified, selected, received for processing). For example, the first source can be a network flow of a second device (e.g., the second device 206 and/or the third device 208 of FIG. 2) comprising a plurality of network flows. In another aspect, the first source can comprise the second device (e.g., if the second device has a single network flow). The first source can be configured to provide the first data transmission to a device comprising the buffer (e.g., first device) without requesting a time slot for providing the first data transmission.
Note: The buffer includes the identification of the device ID since they are related back to the transmissions of the devices (Figure 2). The buffer would be considered the payload, and the data transmissions can also be audio data per paragraph [0074]. The data transmissions can also comprise data frames (paragraph [0093]). Paragraph [0094] demonstrates first and second bit rates, which would incorporate a start bit.
Hsieh and Toy are considered to be analogous because they involve wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hsieh to include the concept of having device identifier and start bit values as taught by Toy so as to promote wireless connections between devices.
Regarding Claim 11,
Claim 11 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 5.
Regarding Claim 16,
Claim 16 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 5.
Regarding Claim 18,
Claim 18 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 7.
Claims 6, 12, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Hsieh in view of Toy, held further in view of Gossiaux et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2020/0336277), herein referred to as “Gossiaux.”.
Regarding Claim 6,
Hsieh in view of Toy does not explicitly disclose all the limitations of this claim.
However, Gossiaux discloses: The method of claim 5, comprising:
dropping a third frame attached with a third flush timeout value that is earlier than the start time of the second data slot, so that the third frame is not transmitted in the second data slot.
[0115] In at least one embodiment, the network-status table further includes one or more communication devices 125 listed on one or more maintenance packets 270 received during the shared network-self-administration time slot 215 of one or more frames 205 within a preceding second timeout period. This second timeout period is referred to as Z seconds in step 930. The communication device 125 may reset the second timeout period for each communication device 125 upon receipt of each maintenance packet 270 listing the respective communication device 125, and may drop communication devices 125 from the network-status table upon expiration of the second timeout period for the respective communication device 125.
Note: This citation is demonstrating when the second timeout period is dropped, such that the frames after the second frame will also be dropped.
Hsieh in view of Toy and Gossiaux are considered to be analogous because they involve wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hsieh in view of Toy to include dropping frames based on a timeout value earlier than a specific time as taught by Gossiaux so as to promote wireless connections between devices.
Regarding Claim 12,
Claim 12 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 6.
Regarding Claim 17,
Claim 17 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 6.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSE P. SAMLUK whose telephone number is (571)270-5607. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Derrick Ferris can be reached on 571-272-3123. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JESSE P. SAMLUK/Examiner, Art Unit 2411
/DERRICK W FERRIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411