DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the correspondence filed by the applicant on 11/24/2025.
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to rejections have been fully considered, but they are not persuasive. Applicant asserts, LASSER in view of CHESNEY does not teach the newly amended claim limitations, “a controller to acquire an echo cancellation parameter based on a position of the wireless set-top box placed on a side of the user located in front of the wireless display device and a direction of placement of the microphone toward the user.” However, Examiner respectfully disagrees.
LASSER teaches a configuration of a TV, a set-top box, and a user, where an echo cancellation filter function (e.g., adaptive filter) is created to reduce the echo in the configuration. At least the Figs. 3 and 5 show where the set-top box is placed on a side of a user located in front of the display device. LASSER further implicitly teach the echo cancellation filter function is based on position of the set-top box since LASSER’s filter is based on a signal delay (Par 107 – “This is done by subtracting from the microphone signal some filtered function of the TV audio signal. The filtering function is designed so as to compensate for delays and reflections affecting the audio track of the TV signal on its way to the microphone, and is typically implemented as an adaptive filter.”). Since the microphone is embedded in the set-top box, the delay corresponds to the distance between the audio source and the set-top box. However, LASSER does not explicitly teach “a direction of placement of the microphone toward to the user.” CHESNEY heals the deficit of LASSER.
CHESNEY teaches a noise cancellation method, where the “angle” (i.e., direction) of the source (i.e., user) is used to create a noise canceling filter. As shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 8, the angle “b” and/or “f” denotes the “direction from which signal arrives” That is the direction of placement of the microphone toward the user. At least based the angle, “b”, a filter (e.g., equalizer) reverses the effect of the frequency response or “comb” caused by the echo (Pars 108-109). For at least the reasons above, LASSER in view of CHESNEY teaches the limitations. Please see the rejections below for more details.
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 of this title, 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.
Claims 1-3 and 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LASSER (US 2016/0309119 A1), and in further view of CHESNEY (US 2020/0228896 A1).
REGARDING CLAIM 1, LASSER discloses a wireless set-top box that communicates with a wireless display device and performs voice recognition, the wireless set-top box comprising:
a transmitter to transmit image data and sound data (LASSER Par 19 – “For the present disclosure, a ‘TV signal’ comprises two components (i) a TV video signal and (ii) a TV audio signal corresponding to an audio track of the TV signal.”; Par 31 – “The method of FIG. 2B comprises: a. obtaining S101, by the STB 100, digital data 130 corresponding to content of a TV signal (e.g. via input port 110); b. based on the digital data 130, generating S105, by the STB 100 (e.g. by TV signal generator 140), the TV signal—i.e. the TV video signal (e.g. generated by TV video signal generator 145) and the TV audio signal (e.g. generated by TV audio signal generator 150); and c. outputting S109, from the STB 100 to the local external TV set 200, the TV signal to cause the local external TV set 200 to play the STB-generated TV signal (i.e. by presenting the TV video signal on screen 210 and causing speaker 220 to play TV audio signal).”) to the wireless display device (LASSER Par 21 – “For the present disclosure, unless stated otherwise, a ‘port’ may be wired or wireless. Thus, STB box 100 may be in wired and/or wireless communication with external TV set 200 via respective ports 112, 210.”);
a microphone configured to receive a voice [command] of a user (Par 94 – “In step S117, the STB 100′ receives a microphone signal (MIC signal) from a microphone 180—as noted elsewhere the microphone may be (i) an internal microphone, in which case the microphone signal may be received from within STB 100′ or (ii) an external microphone.”; Par 35 – “In order to participate in the conference with remote user(s), the STB must output an audio signal to the remote peer(s). Towards this end, as is common in the art of conferencing, a local microphone senses desirable audio input such as the speaker's voice.”); and
a controller to acquire an echo cancellation parameter based on a [position] delay information of the wireless set-top box placed on a side of the user located in front of the wireless display device (Figs. 3 and 5; Par 62 – “In some embodiments, the microphone is an onboard microphone of the STB that is embedded therein.”; Fig. 1 – “Echo path”; “x(n)+r(n)”; Par 40 – “The adaptive filter of the AEC module is designed to reflect the transformations applied to the TV audio signal on its path through the TV speaker and the conferencing microphone, including effects caused by reflections from walls and other objects.”; Par 89 –“ The filtering of the TV audio signal is designed to correspond to delays and distortions suffered by the audio track of the TV signal from the time it enters speaker 220 until the time it is received by TV echo canceller 160.”; Par 107 – “The filtering function is designed so as to compensate for delays and reflections affecting the audio track of the TV signal on its way to the microphone, and is typically implemented as an adaptive filter.”; In other words, LASSER teaches an echo cancellation filter function (e.g., adaptive filter) corresponds to delays. One of ordinary skill in the art would know the delays corresponds to the distance between the sound source and the microphone (i.e., the microphone in the set-top box). Thus, LASSER implicitly suggests that the filter is based on the distance (i.e., a position information) of the set-top box and the sound source.) [and a direction of placement of the microphone toward the user] and perform echo cancellation using the echo cancellation parameter (Fig.1 – “u(n) = x(n)+r(n) – r^(n)”; Par 89 – “For example, TV echo canceller 160 processes the microphone signal according to the TV audio signal by subtracting from the microphone signal a filtered version of the TV audio signal. Other methods and algorithms of signal processing other than subtraction may also be used, as long as they result in removal or reduction of the existence of the TV audio signal in the output of TV echo canceller 160. The filtering of the TV audio signal is designed to correspond to delays and distortions suffered by the audio track of the TV signal from the time it enters speaker 220 until the time it is received by TV echo canceller 160.”).
LASSER does not explicitly teach the [square-bracketed] limitations.
CHESNEY discloses the [square-bracketed] limitations. CHESNEY discloses a method/system for processing echoes comprising:
a microphone configured to receive a voice [command] of a user (CHESNEY Par 39 – “For instance the source 102 could be a person speaking voice commands to the user device 103, and the user device 103 could be any voice-controlled device such as a TV set, set-top box, music-player, computer terminal, or even a robot assistant or robot pet.”; Par 44 – “For instance the speech recognition algorithm may be configured to enable the user 102 to control one or more functions of the user device 103 by voice command, such as to adjust a volume of the device, mute the device, change channel, open a chosen application, turn on or off the device, put the device into sleep mode or wake it from sleep mode, etc.”);
a controller to acquire an echo cancellation parameter based on a [position] of the wireless set-top box placed on a side of the user located in front of the wireless display device (CHESNEY Figs. 2-6; Par 35 – “FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a relation between a, b, D, and d, where a is the angle of the microphone unit relative to a normal to the surface, b is the angle of the source relative to the microphone unit, D is the distance of the microphone unit from the surface, and d is the spacing between individual microphones of the device;”; Pars 63-66 – “However, with a known relationship between the positions of the microphones 106 in space, the different paths for each microphone 106 may be related to one another. Assuming that the hard surface 105 is vertical (e.g. a wall), there are a total of three unknowns that are to be found: the angle b of the direction of the source 102 (in embodiments this is the unknown that is really of interest), the distance Dc between the microphone unit 104 and the hard surface, and the rotation a of the microphone array 104 relative to the hard surface 105.”; Par 101 – “As an example, given measurements of 0.283, 0.212, and 0.309 for M1, M2, and M3 and microphone locations of 0.05 (J), 0.025 (K) and 0.025 (L), a numerical solver can compute a distance of 0.100 for H, and an angles of 30 degrees (for c) and 45 degrees (for f).”; Par 89 – “The AEC algorithm tries to predict an impulse response that describes all these paths—the distance to the reflective surface, the attenuation along the path, and the nature of the reflection; for each microphone 106. In this case, the impulse response will detect, for each microphone 106, a strong signal after a few microseconds (the direct path), and attenuated version (e.g. of −5 dB) after a time that is related to twice the distance D. This first loud echo indicates a nearby hard surface 105. This distance D will be different for each microphone 106 (as each microphone has a different distance from the hard surface), but an average can be used as Dc. The individual distances D for the microphones 106 can also be used to compute an initial estimate for a as well, as it can be seen which microphones are further and which are nearer, providing an indication of the complete orientation.”) [and a direction of placement of the microphone toward the user] (CHESNEY Figs. 2-6; Par 35 – “FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a relation between a, b, D, and d, where a is the angle of the microphone unit relative to a normal to the surface, b is the angle of the source relative to the microphone unit, D is the distance of the microphone unit from the surface, and d is the spacing between individual microphones of the device;”; Par 40 – “The sound from the source 102 is received by the microphone unit 104 via a direct path (i.e. the shortest path, typically a single straight line path between the source 102 and the microphone unit 104). However, another instance of the same sound is also received by the same microphone unit 104 via a longer echo path, reflected via the reflective surface 105.”; Pars 63-66 – “However, with a known relationship between the positions of the microphones 106 in space, the different paths for each microphone 106 may be related to one another. Assuming that the hard surface 105 is vertical (e.g. a wall), there are a total of three unknowns that are to be found: the angle b of the direction of the source 102 (in embodiments this is the unknown that is really of interest), the distance Dc between the microphone unit 104 and the hard surface, and the rotation a of the microphone array 104 relative to the hard surface 105.”; Par 101 – “As an example, given measurements of 0.283, 0.212, and 0.309 for M1, M2, and M3 and microphone locations of 0.05 (J), 0.025 (K) and 0.025 (L), a numerical solver can compute a distance of 0.100 for H, and an angles of 30 degrees (for c) and 45 degrees (for f).”) and perform echo cancellation using the echo cancellation parameter (CHESNEY Par 51 – “As an example, say that D is 200 mm and g is 400 mm, then the first null will occur where w is 800 mm, the first lobe will occur where g is 400 mm, and subsequent nulls occur for w=2g/(2k+1) at wavelengths of 800/3, 800/5, 800/7, etc. And further lobes occur where w=g/k, which is at wavelengths of 400/2, 400/3, etc. Assuming the speed of sound is 340 m/s, this works out as nulls at 425, 1275, 2125, . . . Hz, and lobes at 850, 1700, 2550, . . . Hz.”; Par 108 – “In a second category of use cases, knowledge of the combination of D, b, and a can be used to identify the frequency characteristics of each of the microphones 106 1, 106 2, . . . , taking into account the comb filter created. For example, voice processing can for each part of the frequency spectrum pick a good microphone 106 n to receive audio in said frequency spectrum. This can be used to avoid ‘nulls’, and get a balanced frequency response of the signal.”; Par 109 – “In addition or instead of this, equalisation filters can be applied to the microphones to straighten out the frequency responses on the basis of establishing the shape of the comb in the frequency response. That is, the spectral shape can be used to rectify the signal and straighten out the frequency response. In this case the signal processing module 107 is configured to apply an equaliser to the each microphone 106 in order, based on the detected frequency response, to amplify the frequency bands that have been attenuated. That is to say, the equalizer reverses the effect of the frequency response or “comb” caused by the echo. Signals that have been strongly attenuated (i.e. nulled), can no longer be amplified as they have all but disappeared; but if the nulls aren't too deep, the signal equalizer can straighten the response back out, improving the signal quality for later stage.”).
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/system of LASSER to include recognizing voice commands by removing echo using locational information, as taught by CHESNEY.
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to include recognizing voice commands by removing echo using locational information, in order to estimate accurate echo removal parameters and to improve recognition accuracy for providing accurate service to a user.
REGARDING CLAIM 2, LASSER in view of CHESNEY discloses the wireless set-top box according to claim 1.
CHESNEY further discloses wherein the controller is configured to perform the echo cancellation for the voice command using the echo cancellation parameter (CHESNEY Par 51 – “As an example, say that D is 200 mm and g is 400 mm, then the first null will occur where w is 800 mm, the first lobe will occur where g is 400 mm, and subsequent nulls occur for w=2g/(2k+1) at wavelengths of 800/3, 800/5, 800/7, etc. And further lobes occur where w=g/k, which is at wavelengths of 400/2, 400/3, etc. Assuming the speed of sound is 340 m/s, this works out as nulls at 425, 1275, 2125, . . . Hz, and lobes at 850, 1700, 2550, . . . Hz.”; Par 109 – “In addition or instead of this, equalisation filters can be applied to the microphones to straighten out the frequency responses on the basis of establishing the shape of the comb in the frequency response. That is, the spectral shape can be used to rectify the signal and straighten out the frequency response. In this case the signal processing module 107 is configured to apply an equaliser to the each microphone 106 in order, based on the detected frequency response, to amplify the frequency bands that have been attenuated. That is to say, the equalizer reverses the effect of the frequency response or “comb” caused by the echo. Signals that have been strongly attenuated (i.e. nulled), can no longer be amplified as they have all but disappeared; but if the nulls aren't too deep, the signal equalizer can straighten the response back out, improving the signal quality for later stage.”) and perform the voice recognition using voice data purified through the echo cancellation (CHESNEY Par 17 – “In embodiments, the sound recognition algorithm may comprise a speech recognition algorithm for recognizing an intention in a person's speech, and said directing may comprise controlling the receive beam to avoid the source of the noise during the speech recognition.”).
REGARDING CLAIM 3, LASSER in view of CHESNEY discloses the wireless set-top box according to claim 1.
CHESNEY further discloses wherein the controller is configured to acquire the echo cancellation parameter based on delay information that varies based on location information of the wireless set-top box (CHESNEY Fig. 1; Par 50 – “The direct signal from the source 102 will travel a distance E, and the first echo will travel a distance E+2D. The difference between the direct signal and the first echo, 2D in this case, governs whether signals will be amplified or attenuated by the echo. This distance is referred to herein as g.”; Par 89 – “The AEC algorithm tries to predict an impulse response that describes all these paths—the distance to the reflective surface, the attenuation along the path, and the nature of the reflection; for each microphone 106. In this case, the impulse response will detect, for each microphone 106, a strong signal after a few microseconds (the direct path), and attenuated version (e.g. of −5 dB) after a time that is related to twice the distance D. This first loud echo indicates a nearby hard surface 105. This distance D will be different for each microphone 106 (as each microphone has a different distance from the hard surface), but an average can be used as Dc. The individual distances D for the microphones 106 can also be used to compute an initial estimate for a as well, as it can be seen which microphones are further and which are nearer, providing an indication of the complete orientation.”).
REGARDING CLAIM 6, LASSER in view of CHESNEY discloses the wireless set-top box according to claim 1.
CHESNEY further discloses wherein the echo cancellation parameter comprises a total harmonic distortion based on location information of the wireless set-top box and a delay time based on the location information of the wireless set-top box (CHESNEY Fig. 2; Par 51 – “As an example, say that D is 200 mm and g is 400 mm, then the first null will occur where w is 800 mm, the first lobe will occur where g is 400 mm, and subsequent nulls occur for w=2g/(2k+1) at wavelengths of 800/3, 800/5, 800/7, etc. And further lobes occur where w=g/k, which is at wavelengths of 400/2, 400/3, etc. Assuming the speed of sound is 340 m/s, this works out as nulls at 425, 1275, 2125, . . . Hz, and lobes at 850, 1700, 2550, . . . Hz.”; Par 109 – “In addition or instead of this, equalisation filters can be applied to the microphones to straighten out the frequency responses on the basis of establishing the shape of the comb in the frequency response. That is, the spectral shape can be used to rectify the signal and straighten out the frequency response. In this case the signal processing module 107 is configured to apply an equaliser to the each microphone 106 in order, based on the detected frequency response, to amplify the frequency bands that have been attenuated. That is to say, the equalizer reverses the effect of the frequency response or “comb” caused by the echo. Signals that have been strongly attenuated (i.e. nulled), can no longer be amplified as they have all but disappeared; but if the nulls aren't too deep, the signal equalizer can straighten the response back out, improving the signal quality for later stage.”).
REGARDING CLAIM 7, LASSER in view of CHESNEY discloses the wireless set-top box according to claim 1.
LASSER further discloses wherein the controller is configured to:
acquire an output signal of the sound data transmitted to the wireless display device (LASSER Fig. 3 – “TV audio signal -> Speaker 220 -> Microphone 180”; Par 87 – “Instead, the MIC signal is processed to filter out the TV audio signal. In particular, microphone signal 180 receives audio of voice(s) from the local user(s) who speak (i.e. ‘desirable audio’) and audio of the TV audio signal as output by speaker 220.”);
perform the echo cancellation using the output signal and the echo cancellation parameter (LASSER Fig. 3 -- “TV audio signal -> Speaker 220 -> Microphone 180 -> TV Echo Canceller 160”; Par 87 – “Instead, the MIC signal is processed to filter out the TV audio signal. In particular, microphone signal 180 receives audio of voice(s) from the local user(s) who speak (i.e. ‘desirable audio’) and audio of the TV audio signal as output by speaker 220.”; Par 39 – “Thus, in some embodiments, the audio TV signal replaces the far-end signal (y(n) in FIG. 1) as input to the AEC module. The skilled artisan will appreciate that the presently disclosed techniques may, in some embodiments, be used in combination with conventional echo-cancellation (e.g. of the far-end signal y(n)). For example, two AEC modules may be used—the first module may receive the far-end signal y(n) as input and the second module may receive the audio TV signal as input.”); and
perform [the voice recognition] based on voice data purified through the echo cancellation (LASSER Par 96 – “In step S125, the STB 100′ outputs (e.g. by conferencing module 170) the filtered microphone signal (i.e. optionally after further filtering of additional disturbances) as the conferencing audio signal to the at least one remote peer.”).
LASSER does not explicitly tach performing [the voice recognition] after the echo cancellation.
CHESNEY discloses the [square-bracketed] limitations. CHESNEY discloses a method/system for processing echoes comprising: perform the echo cancellation using the output signal and the echo cancellation parameter (CHESNEY Par 51 – “As an example, say that D is 200 mm and g is 400 mm, then the first null will occur where w is 800 mm, the first lobe will occur where g is 400 mm, and subsequent nulls occur for w=2g/(2k+1) at wavelengths of 800/3, 800/5, 800/7, etc. And further lobes occur where w=g/k, which is at wavelengths of 400/2, 400/3, etc. Assuming the speed of sound is 340 m/s, this works out as nulls at 425, 1275, 2125, . . . Hz, and lobes at 850, 1700, 2550, . . . Hz.”; Par 109 – “In addition or instead of this, equalisation filters can be applied to the microphones to straighten out the frequency responses on the basis of establishing the shape of the comb in the frequency response. That is, the spectral shape can be used to rectify the signal and straighten out the frequency response. In this case the signal processing module 107 is configured to apply an equaliser to the each microphone 106 in order, based on the detected frequency response, to amplify the frequency bands that have been attenuated. That is to say, the equalizer reverses the effect of the frequency response or “comb” caused by the echo. Signals that have been strongly attenuated (i.e. nulled), can no longer be amplified as they have all but disappeared; but if the nulls aren't too deep, the signal equalizer can straighten the response back out, improving the signal quality for later stage.”); and perform [the voice recognition] based on voice data purified through the echo cancellation (CHESNEY Par 17 – “In embodiments, the sound recognition algorithm may comprise a speech recognition algorithm for recognizing an intention in a person's speech, and said directing may comprise controlling the receive beam to avoid the source of the noise during the speech recognition.”).
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/system of LASSER to include recognizing voice commands by removing echo using locational information, as taught by CHESNEY.
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to include recognizing voice commands by removing echo using locational information, in order to estimate accurate echo removal parameters and to improve recognition accuracy for providing accurate service to a user.
Claims 8-10 and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LASSER (US 2016/0309119 A1), and in further view of CHESNEY (US 2020/0228896 A1) and OGLE (US 2018/0332340 A1).
REGARDING CLAIM 8, LASSER in view of CHESNEY discloses the wireless set-top box according to claim 2.
LASSER in view of CHESNEY does not explicitly teach transmitting a control signal to another device.
OGLE discloses a method/system for set-top box with enhanced functionality, wherein the controller is configured to transmit a control signal corresponding to a result of the voice recognition to the wireless display device (OGLE Par 27 – “The processed audio signal isolates the speech S.sub.2, which may be analyzed by the set-top box 12 to determine the presence of a command by evaluating the processed audio signal for a spoken sequence of words to validate a meaning with respect to the visual prompt. The spoken sequence of words may be an utterance, vocalization, word, words, or phrase, for example.”; Par 28 – “By way of example, remote control functionality may be provided by a spoken sequence of words to send a command signal to the display, control an amenity associated with the room R, make a service request associated with the hospitality lodging establishment H, or execute a program via the Internet, for example. As shown in FIG. 1, by way of example, the set-top box 12 provides instructions to the display 16 to show the visual prompt 46 on the display 16. By way of example and not by way of limitation, the visual prompt 46 relates to a favorite program of the guest G being on television on a different channel. The visual prompt 46 provides a visual cue for sounds or speech the guest G should vocalize or utter for a particular command, such as change the channel from the program P.sub.1 to the program P.sub.2, to be executed by the set-top box 12.”).
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/system of LASSER in view of CHESNEY to include transmitting a control signal to a display device, as taught by OGLE.
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to include transmitting a control signal to a display device, in order to allow a user to more efficiently control multiple devices in a user environment.
REGARDING CLAIM 9, LASSER discloses an operating method of a wireless set-top box, comprising:
receiving a user voice [command] through the wireless set-top box (Par 94 – “In step S117, the STB 100′ receives a microphone signal (MIC signal) from a microphone 180—as noted elsewhere the microphone may be (i) an internal microphone, in which case the microphone signal may be received from within STB 100′ or (ii) an external microphone.”; Par 35 – “In order to participate in the conference with remote user(s), the STB must output an audio signal to the remote peer(s). Towards this end, as is common in the art of conferencing, a local microphone senses desirable audio input such as the speaker's voice.”);
acquiring an echo cancellation parameter based on a [position] delay information of the wireless set-top box placed on a side of the user located in front of the wireless display device (Figs. 3 and 5; Par 62 – “In some embodiments, the microphone is an onboard microphone of the STB that is embedded therein.”; Fig. 1 – “Echo path”; “x(n)+r(n)”; Par 40 – “The adaptive filter of the AEC module is designed to reflect the transformations applied to the TV audio signal on its path through the TV speaker and the conferencing microphone, including effects caused by reflections from walls and other objects.”; Par 89 –“ The filtering of the TV audio signal is designed to correspond to delays and distortions suffered by the audio track of the TV signal from the time it enters speaker 220 until the time it is received by TV echo canceller 160.”; Par 107 – “The filtering function is designed so as to compensate for delays and reflections affecting the audio track of the TV signal on its way to the microphone, and is typically implemented as an adaptive filter.”; In other words, LASSER teaches an echo cancellation filter function (e.g., adaptive filter) corresponds to delays. One of ordinary skill in the art would know the delays corresponds to the distance between the sound source and the microphone (i.e., the microphone in the set-top box). Thus, LASSER implicitly suggests that the filter is based on the distance (i.e., location information) of the set-top box and the sound source.) [and a direction of placement of the microphone toward the user] and performing echo cancellation using the echo cancellation parameter through the wireless set-top box when the user voice [command] is received (Fig.1 – “u(n) = x(n)+r(n) – r^(n)”; Par 89 – “For example, TV echo canceller 160 processes the microphone signal according to the TV audio signal by subtracting from the microphone signal a filtered version of the TV audio signal. Other methods and algorithms of signal processing other than subtraction may also be used, as long as they result in removal or reduction of the existence of the TV audio signal in the output of TV echo canceller 160. The filtering of the TV audio signal is designed to correspond to delays and distortions suffered by the audio track of the TV signal from the time it enters speaker 220 until the time it is received by TV echo canceller 160.”);
performing the echo cancellation on the voice command using the echo cancellation parameter (Fig.1 – “u(n) = x(n)+r(n) – r^(n)”; Par 89 – “For example, TV echo canceller 160 processes the microphone signal according to the TV audio signal by subtracting from the microphone signal a filtered version of the TV audio signal. Other methods and algorithms of signal processing other than subtraction may also be used, as long as they result in removal or reduction of the existence of the TV audio signal in the output of TV echo canceller 160. The filtering of the TV audio signal is designed to correspond to delays and distortions suffered by the audio track of the TV signal from the time it enters speaker 220 until the time it is received by TV echo canceller 160.”) and [performing the voice recognition using voice data], which is purified through the echo cancellation, through the wireless set-top box (LASSER Par 96 – “In step S125, the STB 100′ outputs (e.g. by conferencing module 170) the filtered microphone signal (i.e. optionally after further filtering of additional disturbances) as the conferencing audio signal to the at least one remote peer.”);
<transmitting a control signal corresponding to a result of the voice recognition to the wireless display device through the wireless set-top box; and
performing a function corresponding to the control signal corresponding to the result of the voice recognition through the wireless set-top box>.
LASSER does not explicitly teach the [square-bracketed] and <angle-bracketed> limitations.
CHESNEY discloses the [square-bracketed] limitations. CHESNEY discloses a method/system for processing echoes comprising:
receiving a user voice [command] through the wireless set-top box (CHESNEY Par 39 – “For instance the source 102 could be a person speaking voice commands to the user device 103, and the user device 103 could be any voice-controlled device such as a TV set, set-top box, music-player, computer terminal, or even a robot assistant or robot pet.”; Par 44 – “For instance the speech recognition algorithm may be configured to enable the user 102 to control one or more functions of the user device 103 by voice command, such as to adjust a volume of the device, mute the device, change channel, open a chosen application, turn on or off the device, put the device into sleep mode or wake it from sleep mode, etc.”);
acquiring an echo cancellation parameter based on a [position] of the wireless set-top box placed on a side of the user located in front of the wireless display device (CHESNEY Figs. 2-6; Par 35 – “FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a relation between a, b, D, and d, where a is the angle of the microphone unit relative to a normal to the surface, b is the angle of the source relative to the microphone unit, D is the distance of the microphone unit from the surface, and d is the spacing between individual microphones of the device;”; Pars 63-66 – “However, with a known relationship between the positions of the microphones 106 in space, the different paths for each microphone 106 may be related to one another. Assuming that the hard surface 105 is vertical (e.g. a wall), there are a total of three unknowns that are to be found: the angle b of the direction of the source 102 (in embodiments this is the unknown that is really of interest), the distance Dc between the microphone unit 104 and the hard surface, and the rotation a of the microphone array 104 relative to the hard surface 105.”; Par 101 – “As an example, given measurements of 0.283, 0.212, and 0.309 for M1, M2, and M3 and microphone locations of 0.05 (J), 0.025 (K) and 0.025 (L), a numerical solver can compute a distance of 0.100 for H, and an angles of 30 degrees (for c) and 45 degrees (for f).”; Par 89 – “The AEC algorithm tries to predict an impulse response that describes all these paths—the distance to the reflective surface, the attenuation along the path, and the nature of the reflection; for each microphone 106. In this case, the impulse response will detect, for each microphone 106, a strong signal after a few microseconds (the direct path), and attenuated version (e.g. of −5 dB) after a time that is related to twice the distance D. This first loud echo indicates a nearby hard surface 105. This distance D will be different for each microphone 106 (as each microphone has a different distance from the hard surface), but an average can be used as Dc. The individual distances D for the microphones 106 can also be used to compute an initial estimate for a as well, as it can be seen which microphones are further and which are nearer, providing an indication of the complete orientation.”) [and a direction of placement of the microphone toward the user] (CHESNEY Figs. 2-6; Par 35 – “FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a relation between a, b, D, and d, where a is the angle of the microphone unit relative to a normal to the surface, b is the angle of the source relative to the microphone unit, D is the distance of the microphone unit from the surface, and d is the spacing between individual microphones of the device;”; Par 40 – “The sound from the source 102 is received by the microphone unit 104 via a direct path (i.e. the shortest path, typically a single straight line path between the source 102 and the microphone unit 104). However, another instance of the same sound is also received by the same microphone unit 104 via a longer echo path, reflected via the reflective surface 105.”; Pars 63-66 – “However, with a known relationship between the positions of the microphones 106 in space, the different paths for each microphone 106 may be related to one another. Assuming that the hard surface 105 is vertical (e.g. a wall), there are a total of three unknowns that are to be found: the angle b of the direction of the source 102 (in embodiments this is the unknown that is really of interest), the distance Dc between the microphone unit 104 and the hard surface, and the rotation a of the microphone array 104 relative to the hard surface 105.”; Par 101 – “As an example, given measurements of 0.283, 0.212, and 0.309 for M1, M2, and M3 and microphone locations of 0.05 (J), 0.025 (K) and 0.025 (L), a numerical solver can compute a distance of 0.100 for H, and an angles of 30 degrees (for c) and 45 degrees (for f).”);
performing the echo cancellation on the voice command using the echo cancellation parameter (CHESNEY Par 51 – “As an example, say that D is 200 mm and g is 400 mm, then the first null will occur where w is 800 mm, the first lobe will occur where g is 400 mm, and subsequent nulls occur for w=2g/(2k+1) at wavelengths of 800/3, 800/5, 800/7, etc. And further lobes occur where w=g/k, which is at wavelengths of 400/2, 400/3, etc. Assuming the speed of sound is 340 m/s, this works out as nulls at 425, 1275, 2125, . . . Hz, and lobes at 850, 1700, 2550, . . . Hz.”; Par 108 – “In a second category of use cases, knowledge of the combination of D, b, and a can be used to identify the frequency characteristics of each of the microphones 106 1, 106 2, . . . , taking into account the comb filter created. For example, voice processing can for each part of the frequency spectrum pick a good microphone 106 n to receive audio in said frequency spectrum. This can be used to avoid ‘nulls’, and get a balanced frequency response of the signal.”; Par 109 – “In addition or instead of this, equalisation filters can be applied to the microphones to straighten out the frequency responses on the basis of establishing the shape of the comb in the frequency response. That is, the spectral shape can be used to rectify the signal and straighten out the frequency response. In this case the signal processing module 107 is configured to apply an equaliser to the each microphone 106 in order, based on the detected frequency response, to amplify the frequency bands that have been attenuated. That is to say, the equalizer reverses the effect of the frequency response or “comb” caused by the echo. Signals that have been strongly attenuated (i.e. nulled), can no longer be amplified as they have all but disappeared; but if the nulls aren't too deep, the signal equalizer can straighten the response back out, improving the signal quality for later stage.”) and [performing the voice recognition using voice data], which is purified through the echo cancellation, through the wireless set-top box (CHESNEY Par 17 – “In embodiments, the sound recognition algorithm may comprise a speech recognition algorithm for recognizing an intention in a person's speech, and said directing may comprise controlling the receive beam to avoid the source of the noise during the speech recognition.”).
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/system of LASSER to include recognizing voice commands by removing echo using locational information, as taught by CHESNEY.
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to include recognizing voice commands by removing echo using locational information, in order to estimate accurate echo removal parameters and to improve recognition accuracy for providing accurate service to a user.
Regarding <angle-bracketed> limitations, LASSER does not explicitly teach transmitting a control signal to another device.
OGLE discloses the <angle-bracketed> limitations. OGLE discloses a method/system for set-top box with enhanced functionality, <transmitting a control signal corresponding to a result of the voice recognition to the wireless display device through the wireless set-top box (OGLE Par 27 – “The processed audio signal isolates the speech S.sub.2, which may be analyzed by the set-top box 12 to determine the presence of a command by evaluating the processed audio signal for a spoken sequence of words to validate a meaning with respect to the visual prompt. The spoken sequence of words may be an utterance, vocalization, word, words, or phrase, for example.”; Par 28 – “By way of example, remote control functionality may be provided by a spoken sequence of words to send a command signal to the display, control an amenity associated with the room R, make a service request associated with the hospitality lodging establishment H, or execute a program via the Internet, for example.”); and
performing a function corresponding to the control signal corresponding to the result of the voice recognition through the wireless set-top box> (OGLE Par 28 –“ By way of example, remote control functionality may be provided by a spoken sequence of words to send a command signal to the display, control an amenity associated with the room R, make a service request associated with the hospitality lodging establishment H, or execute a program via the Internet, for example. As shown in FIG. 1, by way of example, the set-top box 12 provides instructions to the display 16 to show the visual prompt 46 on the display 16. By way of example and not by way of limitation, the visual prompt 46 relates to a favorite program of the guest G being on television on a different channel. The visual prompt 46 provides a visual cue for sounds or speech the guest G should vocalize or utter for a particular command, such as change the channel from the program P.sub.1 to the program P.sub.2, to be executed by the set-top box 12.”).
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/system of LASSER in view of CHESNEY to include transmitting a control signal to a display device, as taught by OGLE.
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to include transmitting a control signal to a display device, in order to allow a user to more efficiently control multiple devices in a user environment.
REGARDING CLAIM 10, LASSER in view of CHESNEY and OGLE discloses the operating method according to claim 9.
CHESNEY further discloses wherein the acquiring of the echo cancellation parameter comprises acquiring the echo cancellation parameter based on delay information that varies based on location information of the wireless set-top box (CHESNEY Fig. 1; Par 50 – “The direct signal from the source 102 will travel a distance E, and the first echo will travel a distance E+2D. The difference between the direct signal and the first echo, 2D in this case, governs whether signals will be amplified or attenuated by the echo. This distance is referred to herein as g.”; Par 89 – “The AEC algorithm tries to predict an impulse response that describes all these paths—the distance to the reflective surface, the attenuation along the path, and the nature of the reflection; for each microphone 106. In this case, the impulse response will detect, for each microphone 106, a strong signal after a few microseconds (the direct path), and attenuated version (e.g. of −5 dB) after a time that is related to twice the distance D. This first loud echo indicates a nearby hard surface 105. This distance D will be different for each microphone 106 (as each microphone has a different distance from the hard surface), but an average can be used as Dc. The individual distances D for the microphones 106 can also be used to compute an initial estimate for a as well, as it can be seen which microphones are further and which are nearer, providing an indication of the complete orientation.”).
REGARDING CLAIM 13, LASSER in view of CHESNEY and OGLE discloses the operating method according to claim 9.
CHESNEY further discloses wherein the echo cancellation parameter comprises a total harmonic distortion based on location information of the wireless set-top box and a delay time based on the location information of the wireless set-top box (CHESNEY Fig. 2; Par 51 – “As an example, say that D is 200 mm and g is 400 mm, then the first null will occur where w is 800 mm, the first lobe will occur where g is 400 mm, and subsequent nulls occur for w=2g/(2k+1) at wavelengths of 800/3, 800/5, 800/7, etc. And further lobes occur where w=g/k, which is at wavelengths of 400/2, 400/3, etc. Assuming the speed of sound is 340 m/s, this works out as nulls at 425, 1275, 2125, . . . Hz, and lobes at 850, 1700, 2550, . . . Hz.”; Par 109 – “In addition or instead of this, equalisation filters can be applied to the microphones to straighten out the frequency responses on the basis of establishing the shape of the comb in the frequency response. That is, the spectral shape can be used to rectify the signal and straighten out the frequency response. In this case the signal processing module 107 is configured to apply an equaliser to the each microphone 106 in order, based on the detected frequency response, to amplify the frequency bands that have been attenuated. That is to say, the equalizer reverses the effect of the frequency response or “comb” caused by the echo. Signals that have been strongly attenuated (i.e. nulled), can no longer be amplified as they have all but disappeared; but if the nulls aren't too deep, the signal equalizer can straighten the response back out, improving the signal quality for later stage.”).
REGARDING CLAIM 14, LASSER in view of CHESNEY and OGLE discloses the operating method according to claim 9.
LASSER further discloses wherein the performing of the echo cancellation comprises:
acquiring an output signal of sound data transmitted to the wireless display device (LASSER Fig. 3 – “TV audio signal -> Speaker 220 -> Microphone 180”; Par 87 – “Instead, the MIC signal is processed to filter out the TV audio signal. In particular, microphone signal 180 receives audio of voice(s) from the local user(s) who speak (i.e. ‘desirable audio’) and audio of the TV audio signal as output by speaker 220.”); and
performing the echo cancellation using the output signal and the echo cancellation parameter (LASSER Fig. 3 -- “TV audio signal -> Speaker 220 -> Microphone 180 -> TV Echo Canceller 160”; Par 87 – “Instead, the MIC signal is processed to filter out the TV audio signal. In particular, microphone signal 180 receives audio of voice(s) from the local user(s) who speak (i.e. ‘desirable audio’) and audio of the TV audio signal as output by speaker 220.”; Par 39 – “Thus, in some embodiments, the audio TV signal replaces the far-end signal (y(n) in FIG. 1) as input to the AEC module. The skilled artisan will appreciate that the presently disclosed techniques may, in some embodiments, be used in combination with conventional echo-cancellation (e.g. of the far-end signal y(n)). For example, two AEC modules may be used—the first module may receive the far-end signal y(n) as input and the second module may receive the audio TV signal as input.”).
REGARDING CLAIM 15, LASSER in view of CHESNEY and OGLE discloses a wireless display system comprising a wireless display device and a wireless set-top box, wherein the wireless display system is configured to perform: steps of claim 9; thus, it is rejected under the same rationale.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/JONATHAN C KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2655