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 Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because a computer program is not patentable.
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.
Claim(s) 1-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Park et al (US 20190200159 A1).
As per claim 1, Park discloses a signal processing device comprising:
a generation unit that generates a second HRTF (Fig. 3 HRTF’) from a second sound source position to a position of a user by changing interaural information (any of the parameters in para 101) indicated by a first HRTF (Fig. 3 HRTF) from a first sound source position to the position of the user (para. 101: the contralateral group-delay may be an ITD time for the position of the virtual sound source corresponding to the input audio signal with respect to the listener) according to a shape of the user’s head (para. 103: the audio signal processing device may also obtain the ITD by using personalized HRIRs that is a measured response based on the head model of the listener, where measured audio responses that comprise the head model are based on the head shape because the head shape affects the measurements made in order to create the cited head model because head shape affects the path of the audio),
the second sound source position being at a same angle as the first sound source position with reference to the position of the user (para. 73: the output audio signal may be a 2-channel audio signal representing the input audio signal as a virtual sound source located in a three-dimensional space) (para. 123: generate a third HRTF corresponding to the different angle of elevation between the first angle and the second angle, where, in any case where only one of the elevation or azimuth position is changed, then then other of the azimuth or elevation angle does not change/at a same angle).
As per claim 2, the signal processing device according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit acquires a difference amount between the interaural information for the second sound source position and the interaural information for the first sound source position (the change in position is based on a change in the coordinates/difference amount, represented by the change in interaural information as cited in the claim 1 rejection, which is a difference between the current coordinates and interaural information, and the new coordinates and interaural information) by referring to a database in which a change characteristic of the interaural information for a sound source position is registered for each shape of the user’s head (para. 109: the ITD may vary depending on the head shape of the listener. The audio signal processing device may use the head modeling information of the listener to determine a personalized contralateral group-delay where the stored model comprises the shape of the user’s head); furthermore, para. 134, via the lookup table) and changes the interaural information indicated by the first HRTF by the difference amount (the changes made to produce the HRTF’ in fig. 3).
As per claim 3, the signal processing device according to claim 1, wherein the interaural information is at least one of an ITD and an ILD (per para 9 and 10).
As per claim 4, the signal processing device according to claim 1, wherein the first sound source position is a position farther from the position of the user than the second sound source position (para. 130: the positions comprise movement within a 3 dimensional space which comprises by definition all relative movements in space, including movement to a position farther or closer to the listener ).
As per claim 5, the signal processing device according to claim 1, wherein the first sound source position is a position closer to the position of the user than the second sound source position (para. 130: the positions comprise movement within a 3 dimensional space which comprises by definition all relative movements in space, including movement to a position farther or closer to the listener ).
As per claim 6, the signal processing device according to claim 2, wherein in the database, the interaural information for the sound source position and a frequency is registered for each shape of the user’s head(per the head model based processing in the claim 1 rejection).
As per claim 7, the signal processing device according to claim 2, wherein in the database, information for calculating the interaural information for the sound source position is registered for each shape of the user’s head (per the table based and head model based processing in the claim 1 rejection).
As per claim 8, the signal processing device according to claim 2, wherein in the database, information based on a sound pressure level of a sound reaching both ears of the user from the sound source position is registered for each shape of the user’s head (the parameters cited in the claim 1 rejection require an indication of amplitude where the amplitude is information based on sound pressure level of the sound as applied by an HRTF, which by definition is a sound pressure level of a sound reaching both ears of the user from the sound source position).
As per claim 9, the signal processing device according to claim 1, further comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires a shape of the user’s head (the processing in para 112, where the parameters, radius distance approximated sphere).
As per claim 10, the signal processing device according to claim 9, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the shape of the user’s head by collating the interaural information indicated by the first HRTF with the interaural information held for each shape of the user’s head (para. 134: . The phase information may be stored as a look-up table form, and in para 109itd/phase information is an indication of/collating the head shape).
As per claim 11, the signal processing device according to claim 9, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the shape of the user’s head input by the user (para. 109: determine a personalized contralateral group-delay, which is an indication of headshape per the ITD and para 109).
As per claim 12, the signal processing device according to claim 9, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the shape of the user’s head
on a basis of an image in which the user’s head is,
or
a detection result by a distance sensor that detects a distance to the user’s head,
or
a detection result by a sensor provided in a device worn by the user (the process to correct the measurement error para 139, as applied to the step of determining head shape as cited above).
As per claim 13, the signal processing device according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit generates the second HRTF by interpolating the first HRTF on a basis of a third HRTF from a third sound source position near the first sound source position to the position of the user (per the HRTFs and interpolating as per claim 15).
As per claim 14, the signal processing device according to claim 2, wherein the generation unit acquires the difference amount by interpolating the interaural information for the first sound source position on a basis of the interaural information for a fourth sound source position near the first sound source position registered in the database,
or
by interpolating the interaural information for the second sound source position on a basis of the interaural information for a fifth sound source position near the second sound source position registered in the database (per the lookup table processing cited above and per the process of Park claim 15).
As per claim 15, the signal processing device according to claim 2, wherein the generation unit changes the interaural information indicated by the first HRTF by the difference amount to which a weight specified by the user is applied (the interpolating of HRTF per the claim 13 and 14 rejections changes the interaural information based on the differences between two hrtf parameter sets; where the user weight is the parameters obtained by the head measurements as cited above).
As per claim 16, the signal processing device according to claim 1, wherein the position of the user is a position of a center of the user’s head or a position of an ear canal entrance of the user (para. 125: positions of the sound sources with respect to the listener/center user’s head/ear canal entrance noting the HRTF based processing)).
As per claim 17, the signal processing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a correction unit that corrects a frequency characteristic of a first HRTF or a second HRTF according to the shape of the user’s head (para. 109, ITD and group delay are based on head shape, and the itd and group delay are corrected in frequency per para 118: the group-delay may be a delay time corresponding to an integer number of sample(s) based on a sampling frequency. Per the processing in para 118 ).
As per claim 18, a signal processing method comprising:
generating a second HRTF from a second sound source position to a position of a user by changing interaural information indicated by a first HRTF from a first sound source position to the position of the user according to a shape of the user’s head, the second sound source position being at a same angle as the first sound source position with reference to the position of the user.
As per claim 19, a program for causing a computer to execute processing of: generating a second HRTF from a second sound source position to a position of a user by changing interaural information indicated by a first HRTF from a first sound source position to the position of the user according to a shape of the user’s head (per the claim 1 rejection),
the second sound source position being at a same angle as the first sound source position with reference to the position of the user (per claim 1 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
August 22, 2025