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 § 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, 3-10, 12, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a(1) as being anticipated by Bonde et al. (US 2023/0051084).
Referring to Claim 1, Bonde teaches a method for managing audio quality in low energy (LE) audio broadcast scenario performed by a source device (see paragraph 46 which shows LE audio), the method comprising:
reserving a receiver (Rx) slot in the source device to receive link quality feedback data packets from one or more sink devices, wherein the reserved Rx slot includes Rx slot information (see paragraph 65 which shows the sink device being made aware that feedback information sent back to the source device is sent using a different channel which is the reserved Rx slot);
transmitting the Rx slot information to the one or more sink devices in a control subevent of a broadcast isochronous stream (BIS) event (see paragraph 65 which shows the source device broadcasting to a plurality of sink devices using BIS and also making the sink device aware that feedback information will be sent on a different channel);
receiving the link quality feedback data packets from the one or more sink devices in the reserved Rx slot (see fig. 7 which shows feedback sent to source device 106 from sink devices 122 by signal paths 138D, 138E, and 138F);
determining a quality of a broadcast link between the source device and the one or more sink devices by scanning the received link quality feedback data packets (see paragraph 65 which shows the monitoring of the feedback from the sink devices for a triggering event and paragraph 66 which shows the triggering event as a decrease in link quality); and
optimizing, based on a result of the determination, at least one of a plurality of LE isochronous parameters to manage the quality of the broadcast link (see paragraph 67 which shows the source device transmitting at a different bit rate and sample rate).
Claim 14 has similar limitations as claim 1.
Referring to Claim 3, Bonde also teaches a result of the determination of the quality of the broadcast link as an indicator of a Tx quality of audio data packets to the one or more sink devices (see paragraph 47 which shows the measuring of the link quality of all wireless signals 138 including the broadcasted signals to the sink devices).
Referring to Claim 4, Bonde also teaches the Rx slot information transmitted periodically to the one or more sink devices (see paragraph 55 which shows the process of the transmission and retransmission of packets from source device to sink device repeated which implies that the transmission which indicates the feedback channel to sink device in paragraph 65 is repeated periodically).
Referring to Claim 5, Bonde also teaches optimizing, to increase a periodicity of the transmission of the Rx slot information to the one or more sink devices, the plurality of LE isochronous parameters in a case in which the determined quality of the broadcast link is less than a predefined threshold value (see paragraph 10 which shows the link quality below a threshold as a triggering event and paragraph 56 which shows repeating the transmissions periodicity increased to every other isochronous interval).
Referring to Claim 6, Bonde also teaches optimizing, to decrease a periodicity of the transmission of the Rx slot information to the one or more sink devices, the plurality of LE isochronous parameters in a case in which the determined quality of the broadcast link is greater than a predefined threshold value (see paragraph 66 which shows the link quality rising above the threshold and paragraph 55 which shows repeating the transmissions periodicity decreased to every third isochronous interval).
Referring to Claim 7, Bonde also teaches adjusting, in a case in which the determined quality of the broadcast link is less than a predefined threshold value, a retransmission number (RTN) of audio data packets to increase a reception rate of audio data packets at the one or more sink device (see paragraph 10 which shows the link quality below a threshold as a triggering event and paragraph 37 which shows adjusting the rate and number of retransmission packets as a result of a triggering event).
Referring to Claim 8, Bonde also teaches adjusting, in a case in which the determined quality of the broadcast link is greater than a predefined threshold value, a retransmission number (RTN) of audio data packets to decrease retransmissions of audio data packets to the one or more sink devices (see paragraph 66 which shows the link quality rising above the threshold resulting in decreased traffic and retransmissions).
Referring to Claim 9, Bonde also teaches optimizing, in a case in which the determined quality of the broadcast link is greater than a predefined threshold value, quality of service (QoS) parameters to enhance audio quality of sound that is being reproduced at the one or more sink devices (see paragraph 66 which shows the link quality rising above the threshold as a triggering event and paragraph 41 which shows how an audio device producing acoustic audio data is affected by change in bit rate in regards to audio quality).
Referring to Claim 10, Bonde also teaches increasing a Tx Power of the source device if a greater number of packets indicate poor received signal strength indicator (RSSI) strength indicating that the one or more sink devices are located at a far distance from the source device (see paragraph 48 which shows a RSSI falling below a threshold which triggers a higher bitrate where raising the bitrate is known in the art to require an increase in power consumption).
Referring to Claim 12, Bonde also teaches modifying channel coding scheme of audio data packets in a case in which the determined quality of the broadcast link is below a predefined threshold value and the received link quality feedback data packets indicate a poor received signal strength indicator (RSSI) at the one or more sink devices; and transmitting the audio data packets having the modified channel coding scheme to the one or more sink devices (see paragraph 66 which shows the RSSI falling below a threshold and adjusting the bit rate which equates to modifying the channel coding scheme since the number of bits transmitted is also modified).
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(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bonde in view of Sridhara et al. (US 11,115,902).
Referring to Claim 2, Bonde does not teach the Rx slot information indicates timing information regarding a time period after which the source device will open the reserved Rx slot for listening to the link quality feedback data packets from the one or more sink devices. Sridhara teaches the Rx slot information indicates timing information regarding a time period after which the source device will open the reserved Rx slot for listening to the link quality feedback data packets from the one or more sink devices (see col. 6, line 59-col. 7, line 18 which shows transmissions alternating between source and sink which implies the feedback occurring in its own time slot). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the teachings of Sridhara to the device of Bonde in order to better adjust device parameters to improve audio quality.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bonde in view of Batra et al. (US 10,148,453).
Referring to Claim 11, Bonde does not teach wherein the plurality of LE isochronous parameters includes at least one of a number of subevents (NSE), burst number (BN), an immediate retransmission count (IRC), or a pre-transmission offset (PTO) used for broadcasting audio data packets. Batra teaches wherein the plurality of LE isochronous parameters includes at least one of a number of subevents (NSE), burst number (BN), an immediate retransmission count (IRC), or a pre-transmission offset (PTO) used for broadcasting audio data packets (see col. 20, lines 42-67 which shows a burst number). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the teachings of Batra to the device of Bonde in order to better provide quality broadcasted data.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bonde in view of Young et al. (US 2021/0306103).
Referring to Claim 13, Bonde does not teach updating channel map information of audio data packets in a case in which the determined quality of the broadcast link is below a predefined threshold value and the received link quality feedback data packets indicate a presence of interference; and transmitting, to the one or more sink devices, the updated channel map information in a PDU in the control subevent. Young teaches updating channel map information of audio data packets in a case in which the determined quality of the broadcast link is below a predefined threshold value and the received link quality feedback data packets indicate a presence of interference; and transmitting, to the one or more sink devices, the updated channel map information in a PDU in the control subevent (see paragraph 61 which shows negotiating and updating channel map information when quality falls below a threshold as shown in paragraph 32). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the teachings of Young to the device of Bonde in order to better ensure sink devices receiving optimum quality data while conserving power.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EUGENE YUN whose telephone number is (571)272-7860. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm.
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, Wesley Kim can be reached at 5712727867. 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.
/EUGENE YUN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2648
Prosecution Insights