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 .
DETAILED ACTION
2. This action is in response to the Amendment filed June 4, 2026.
3. Claims 1, 4, 7-8, 11, 14-15, and 18 have been amended and claims 3, 10, and 17 have been canceled.
4. The information Disclosure Statement filed June 29, 2026 has been considered.
5. Claims 1-2, 4-9, 11-16 and 18-20 have been examined and are pending with this action.
Response to Arguments
6. Applicant’s arguments, filed June 4, 2026, with respect to the rejections of independent claims 1, 8, and 15, previously rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lau et al. (US 2012/0099594 A1) in view of Arteaga-King (US 2013/0151977 A1) and Ramsay (US 2010/0293264 A1), have been fully considered but are not persuasive.
The applicant seems to be asserting that because the claim mapping equates the first playback device and the second playback device to the gateway media node 104A in Lau, “that the mapping of the primary reference Lau to the elements of the Applicant’s claims is internally inconsistent and cannot be sustained”, (see REMARKS, Page 9, Last Sentence). The examiner disagrees.
First, it is erroneous to assert that the Office equates both first and second playback device to the gateway media node. The office obviously equates 1st playback device to Media source device 102a or 102b, and the 2nd playback device to the gateways. Lau explicitly teaches that the playback devices can be any one of the devices in FIG. 1 such as Media source devices 102a & 102b, Living Room Gateway 104, Office Renderer 104, Kitchen Renderer 104, Speakers 109, Guest Bedroom Renderer 104, Bedroom Gateway 104, and so on. Furthermore, although Lau references a mobile phone in FIG. 1, Lau teaches in the Abstract, the media source can be any device including tablets, stereo, set-top box, PC or other devices. Lau supports this in paragraph [0002], by teaching “Herein, a device that provides media is referred to as a "media source device." Other media source devices include a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a personal computer, etc. The user may have an application such as an MP3 player, a Web Browser, a media player, etc. that allows them to play media that is either stored locally or retrieved from another source, such as the Internet.”.
Lau also teaches in paragraph [0037], “Note that the media nodes 104 themselves may control audio/video distribution, timing, and rendering. Therefore, much of the processing load is removed from the media source device 102. Therefore, a device such as a cellular telephone, which may have limited processing power, is not burdened. According to such teachings, one can construe, any of the media nodes themselves can be a 2nd playback device and the Media source devices 102a & 102b themselves can retrieve, receive, download, etc., media from a plurality of sources (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Prime Video, Pandora, etc) via a cellular connection, which well-known, routine, and conventional in the art. Typical gateways such as Gateway 104 of Lau, are generally not afforded the capability of cellular services, so although they might be able to receive media according to a standard protocol from a particular media source, they might not be able to retrieve or receive media via cellular, which is well-known and well-understood in the art. Lau also adds in the Abstract, “Audio is injected into the network from a source and the end-point network itself controls audio/video distribution, timing, and rendering”. Such citations explicitly teach and suggest the media source device or media receiving device is different from the media coordinator. With these teachings above coupled with the teachings from the recited citations below, it is explicitly clear and very obvious that the architecture is internally consistent and readily sustainable. The applicant seems to be arguing a particular utility of the invention rather than the functional novelty of the invention itself.
For these reasons above and the rejections set forth below, claims 1-20 have been rejected and remain pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 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.
7. Claims 1-2, 4-9, 11-16 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lau et al. (US 2012/0099594 A1) in view of Arteaga-King (US 2013/0151977 A1) and Ramsay (US 2010/0293264 A1).
INDEPENDENT:
As per claim 1, Lau teaches a first playback device comprising:
at least one processor (see Lau, [0090]: “The media node 104 may have one or more processors and computer readable storage media with instructions thereon, which when executed on the one or more processors, implement functionality of various elements of the media node 104. An example device having a processor and computer storage is discussed later.”);
at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium; and program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor (see Lau, [0090]: “The media node 104 may have one or more processors and computer readable storage media with instructions thereon, which when executed on the one or more processors, implement functionality of various elements of the media node 104. An example device having a processor and computer storage is discussed later.”) such that the first playback device is configured to:
operate in a synchrony group comprising the first playback device and a second playback device (see Lau, FIG. 1; Abstract: “allows for the simultaneous transmission of media to multiple zones while maintaining precise timing synchronization”; [0024]: “The technology described herein provides an architecture for distributing media content. A wired and wireless media transport technology is provided that allows for the simultaneous transmission of media to multiple zones while maintaining precise timing synchronization. A user can have a network of speakers, and independently select which ones are actively playing and have their playback synchronized. This network of speakers is referred to herein as a virtual media network. Note that the media signal itself can be audio or video. Therefore, the virtual media network may include display devices.”; [0025]: “The speakers themselves may be governed in a self-forming network. Audio may be injected into the network from media source device and the end-point network itself controls audio/video distribution, timing, and rendering. In one embodiment, the audio that is injected into the network is the audio portion of an audio-video signal.”; and [0035]: “The media signal may be audio or video. In one embodiment, the media signal is the audio portion of an audio-video signal.”),
wherein the second playback device is operating as a group coordinator that is responsible for transmitting respective portions of audio content to members of the synchrony group for synchronous playback (see Lau, Abstract: “Audio is injected into the network from a source and the end-point network itself controls audio/video distribution, timing, and rendering.”; and [0037]: “Note that the media nodes 104 themselves may control audio/video distribution, timing, and rendering. Therefore, much of the processing load is removed from the media source device 102. Therefore, a device such as a cellular telephone, which may have limited processing power, is not burdened. The example of FIG. 1 pertains to a home environment, but embodiments are not so limited.”);
receive, from a media source device using a first communication protocol, audio content for playback by the synchrony group (see Lau, Abstract: “Audio is injected into the network from a source and the end-point network itself controls audio/video distribution, timing, and rendering”; [0002]: “Herein, a device that provides media is referred to as a "media source device." Other media source devices include a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a personal computer, etc. The user may have an application such as an MP3 player, a Web Browser, a media player, etc. that allows them to play media that is either stored locally or retrieved from another source, such as the Internet.”; [0036], “The transmission method of media into the network can be wired, as through an auxiliary cable, or wireless as with Bluetooth, WiFi or another network communication protocol”; [0048]: “The connection between the media source device 102 and gateway media node 104A could be wireless or wired. In one embodiment, it is a wireless Bluetooth connection. However, a wireless protocol other than Bluetooth may be used.”; [0051]: “In one embodiment, the broadcaster 304 transmits the media signal using a different network protocol than the one used to send the media signal to it. For example, the media source 102 might send the media signal using a Bluetooth protocol. The broadcaster 304 might reformat this signal and send it using a Wi-Fi protocol.”; and [0053]: “In one embodiment, the access point 310 is a Wi-Fi access point. However, the access point 310 could use a different protocol.”);
after receiving, from the media source device using the first communication protocol, the audio content for playback by the synchrony group, transmit the audio content to the second playback device using a communication protocol (see Lau, FIG. 1; FIG. 3A-3G; Abstract, “The transmission method of media into the network can be wired, as through an auxiliary cable, or wireless as with Bluetooth or WiFi. The speakers/endpoints themselves are governed in a self-forming network. Audio is injected into the network from a source and the end-point network itself controls audio/video distribution, timing, and rendering”; [0037], “Note that the media nodes 104 themselves may control audio/video distribution, timing, and rendering. Therefore, much of the processing load is removed from the media source device 102.”; [0044]: “A broadcaster 304 may be implemented by any combination of hardware and/or software. In one embodiment, broadcasters 304 transmit media in an airtime broadcast format that is understood by other media nodes 104. Note that this format may be different from the one used to send the media signal from the media source 102.”; [0045]: “As noted, a gateway capable media node 104 has the combination of a sink 302 and a broadcaster 304. In one embodiment, gateways receive media from the media source device 102 and re-broadcast the media in a format that is compatible with the virtual media network.”; [0051]: “In one embodiment, the broadcaster 304 transmits the media signal using a different network protocol than the one used to send the media signal to it. For example, the media source 102 might send the media signal using a Bluetooth protocol. The broadcaster 304 might reformat this signal and send it using a Wi-Fi protocol.”; [0118]: “For example, the audio signal may have been encoded at the media source device in a format that is compatible with Bluetooth. It may be re-encoded in a format that is compatible with Wi-Fi.”; and page 11, claim 5: “wherein the first network interface uses a first communication protocol, the second interface uses a second communication protocol”);
after transmitting the audio content to the second playback device, receive from the second playback device, a first portion of the audio content that is to be played back by the first playback device in synchrony with playback of a second portion of the audio content by the second playback device (see Lau, [0028]: “Broadcaster--Any device that can transmit a media stream that is formatted for the virtual media network. May also refer to a broadcasting mechanism within the device.”; [0030]: “Media Node--Any device that contains a renderer or a broadcaster. Nodes of one embodiment are responsible for maintaining network time synchronization and the state of the network including media routing information.”; [0036]: “The transmission method of media into the network can be wired, as through an auxiliary cable, or wireless as with Bluetooth, WiFi or another network communication protocol.”; [0044]: “Broadcasters 304 and renderers 306 may co-exist in the same media node 104 so that local playback can be synchronized with playback on remote renderers. Source injection may be done via a source-sink link. Unlike source to sink transmission, airtime broadcasts can be used for point-to-multipoint media transmission with synchronous playback.”; and page 11, claim 5: “wherein the first network interface uses a first communication protocol, the second interface uses a second communication protocol”); and
play back the first portion of the audio content in synchrony with the playback of the second portion of the audio content by the second playback device (see Lau, Abstract: “A user can have a network of speakers, and independently select which ones are actively playing and have their playback synchronized.”; [0024]: “A user can have a network of speakers, and independently select which ones are actively playing and have their playback synchronized”; and [0036]: “In one embodiment, the system allows for simultaneous transmission of media to multiple zones while maintaining precise timing synchronization. As one example, a user can have a network of speakers, independently select which ones are actively playing and have their playback synchronized.”).
Although Lau explicitly teaches plurality of communication protocols (see Lau, [0036], “The transmission method of media into the network can be wired, as through an auxiliary cable, or wireless as with Bluetooth, WiFi or another network communication protocol”), Lau does not explicitly teach wherein the second playback device is not configured to receive audio content using the first communication protocol; transmit the audio content to the second playback device using a second communication protocol; and wherein the first portion of the audio content is different from the second portion of the audio content.
Arteaga-King teaches a playback device, not configured to receive audio content using the first communication protocol (see Arteaga-King , [0013]: “The appliance itself can comprise any of a wide variety of components… entertainment components (such as television and/or radio broadcast receivers, audio and/or video playback systems, and so forth), and so forth.”; and [0032]: “permits providing the end user with a shared opportunity to view and interact with a plurality of appliances wherein at least some of the plurality of appliances communicate using incompatible protocols”), transmit the audio content to the second playback device using a second communication protocol (see Arteaga-King , [0019]: “this first gateway 102 serves, at least in part, to translate as appropriate communications from (or to) these appliances 101 into (or from) another communications protocol… IP is the principal communication protocol used for relaying datagrams (packets) across an internet (also sometimes referred to as an internetwork) using the Internet protocol suite.”; and [0020]: “and translate received message content, as appropriate, into the communications protocol that defines the communications pathway 103 between itself and the appliance(s) 101”), and using the second communication protocol for distributing the audio content (see Arteaga-King , [0023]: “The appliances in this example include a climate control system 202 and exterior lighting 203 (that communicate using a first protocol A), an alarm system 204 (that communicates using a second, different protocol B), and a garage-door opener 205 and garage worklight 206 (that communicate using a third, different-still protocol C)”; and [0025]: “So configured, each of these appliances can communicate information regarding itself by communicating via its particular protocol to its corresponding gateway, the latter then translating that information into an IP-friendly communication that can be communicated to a given destination via the Internet 211. Via a similar process in reverse, these appliances can receive information (such as, for example, an instruction to be carried out by the appliance).”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system of Lau in view of Arteaga-King so that the second playback device is not configured to receive audio content using the first communication protocol; and transmit the audio content to the second playback device using a second communication protocol. One would be motivated to do so because Lau teaches in paragraphs [0038]: “the media nodes 104 perform a "self-discovery" protocol in which the media nodes 104 learn of each other's existence and their capabilities”; [0051]: “In one embodiment, the broadcaster 304 transmits the media signal using a different network protocol than the one used to send the media signal to it. For example, the media source 102 might send the media signal using a Bluetooth protocol. The broadcaster 304 might reformat this signal and send it using a Wi-Fi protocol.”, [0053]: “In one embodiment, the access point 310 is a Wi-Fi access point. However, the access point 310 could use a different protocol”, emphasis added.
Ramsay teaches wherein the first portion of the audio content is different from the second portion of the audio content (see Ramsay, [0084]: “Zone Control. In broad terms, this allows multiple groups of speakers to operate as a single zone. For example, existing speaker sets defined by groups are linked together, for example to allow synchronized playback across a plurality of groups”; [0086]: “Surround Sound. This allows various surround sound control functionalities to be implemented within a group. For example, each speaker within a group takes on a role defined within a predetermined surround sound arrangement (such as a 5.1 channel arrangement). In this manner, by way of illustration, a "front left" speaker renders only a portion of a stream that is designated for the "front left" speaker.”; and [0088]: “That is, a stereo audio file is able to be rendered by these speakers such that one plays a left-channel signal and the other synchronously plays a right-channel signal.”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system of Lau in view of Ramsay so that the first portion of the audio content is different from the second portion of the audio content. One would be motivated to do so because it is well known and widely implemented that in a grouped speaker setting, different portions of the audio content are outputted from different speakers in synchronous playback to created surround sound.
As per claim 8, Lau, Arteaga-King, and Ramsay teach at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium is provisioned with program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause a first playback device to:
operate in a synchrony group comprising the first playback device and a second playback device, wherein the second playback device is operating as a group coordinator that is responsible for transmitting respective portions of audio content to members of the synchrony group for synchronous playback;
receive, from the media source device using a first communication protocol, audio content for playback by the synchrony group, wherein the second playback device is not configured to receive audio content using the first communication protocol;
after receiving, from the media source device using the first communication protocol, the audio content for playback by the synchrony group, transmit the audio content to the second playback device using a second communication protocol;
after transmitting the audio content to the second playback device using the second communication protocol, receive from the second playback device, using the second communication protocol, a first portion of the audio content that is to be played back by the first playback device in synchrony with playback of a second portion of the audio content by the second playback device, wherein the first portion of the audio content is different from the second portion of the audio content; and
play back the first portion of the audio content in synchrony with the playback of the second portion of the audio content by the second playback device (see Claim 1 rejection above).
As per claim 15, Lau, Arteaga-King, and Ramsay teach a method carried out by a first playback device, the method comprising:
operating in a synchrony group comprising the first playback device and a second playback device, wherein the second playback device is operating as a group coordinator that is responsible for transmitting respective portions of audio content to members of the synchrony group for synchronous playback;
receiving, from the media source device using a first communication protocol, receiving audio content for playback by the synchrony group, wherein the second playback device is not configured to receive audio content using the first communication protocol;
after receiving from the media source device, using the first communication protocol, the audio content for playback by the synchrony group, transmitting the audio content to the second playback device using a second communication protocol;
after transmitting the audio content to the second playback device using the second communication protocol, receiving from the second playback device, using the second communication protocol, a first portion of the audio content that is to be played back by the first playback device in synchrony with playback of a second portion of the audio content by the second playback device, wherein the first portion of the audio content is different from the second portion of the audio content; and
playing back the first portion of the audio content in synchrony with the playback of the second portion of the audio content by the second playback device (see Claim 1 rejection above).
INDEPENDENT:
As per claims 2, 9, and 16, which respectively depend on claims 1, 8, and 15, Lau further teaches wherein the first communication protocol comprises a communication protocol in accordance with an IEEE 802.15 standard, and wherein the second communication protocol comprises a communication protocol in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 standard (see Lau, [0051]: “In one embodiment, the broadcaster 304 transmits the media signal using a different network protocol than the one used to send the media signal to it. For example, the media source 102 might send the media signal using a Bluetooth protocol. The broadcaster 304 might reformat this signal and send it using a Wi-Fi protocol.”).
As per claims 4, 11, and 18, which respectively depend on claims 1, 8, and 15, Lau and Arteaga-King further teaches wherein the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor such that the first playback device is configured to receive, from the media source device using the first communication protocol, the audio content for playback by the synchrony group (see Claim 1 rejection above) comprise program instructions executable by the at least one processor such that the first playback device is configured to:
based on the second playback device not being configured to communicate with the media source device using the first communication protocol, receive, from the media source device using the first communication protocol, the audio content for playback by the synchrony group (see Arteaga-King, [0021]: “Accordingly, in a typical application setting, the first gateway 102 cannot communicate compatibly with this later group of appliances 105 nor can the Nth gateway 106 communicate compatibly with the first group of appliances 101. In all cases in this example, however, the gateways 102, 106 are configured to communicate compatibly via the Internet 108.”; and [0024]: “a first gateway 207 communicates with the climate control system 202 and the exterior lighting 203 using protocol A, a second gateway 208 communicates with the alarm system 204 using protocol B, and a third gateway 209 communicates with the garage-door opener 205 and worklight 206 using protocol C. To confirm a point specified above, these three protocols are technically incompatible with one another; as a loose metaphor it is as though one protocol is hand-based sign language, another is spoken Japanese, and the third is written Sanskrit. Each of these gateways 207-209, in turn, communicatively couples to an Internet modem 201 and hence to the Internet 211.”).
As per claims 5, 12, and 19, which respectively depend on claims 1, 8, and 15, Lau further teaches wherein the synchrony group comprises a stereo pair, and wherein the first portion of the audio content comprises a first channel of the audio content and the second portion of the audio content comprises a second channel, and wherein the first channel of the audio content is different from the second channel of the audio content (see Lau, [0110]: “There may be two channels associated with the communication link such that the audio signal and commands are sent on separate channels.”; [0111]: “However, the network interface 722 may be compliant with any network protocol. In one embodiment, commands are sent over one channel and the media signal over a second channel.”; and [0116]: “Other information for the rendering of the stream may also be included in the stream format including sampling frequency, word size, number of channels, encoding format, etc.”).
As per claims 6, 13, and 20, which respectively depend on claims 1, 8, and 15, Lau further teaches wherein the synchrony group further comprises a third playback device (see Lau, FIG. 1), and wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the first playback device is configured to play back the first portion of the audio content in synchrony with the playback of the second portion of the audio content by the second playback device further comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the first playback device is configured to:
play back the first portion of the audio content in synchrony with playback of a third portion of the audio content by the third playback device (see Lau, [0029]: “Renderer--Any device that can render a media stream that is formatted for the virtual media network. May also refer to a rendering mechanism within the device.”; and [0034]: “Virtual Media Network--A group of one or more nodes having at least one gateway. A virtual media network may be established by a user and renders a media signal that is synchronized between all rendering devices in the network. Note that only one media node serves as an active gateway in one embodiment of a virtual media network.”).
As per claims 7 and 14, which respectively depend on claims 8 and 15, Lau and Arteaga-King further teach wherein:
the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the first playback device is configured to receive, from the media source device using the first communication protocol, the audio content for playback by the synchrony group comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the first playback device is configured to:
receive the media stream from the media source device using the first communication protocol, wherein the media stream has a first source type that is incompatible with the second communication protocol (see Claim 1 rejection above); and
the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the first playback device is configured to transmit the audio content to the second playback device using the second communication protocol comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the first playback device is configured to:
convert the media stream from the first source type that is incompatible with the second communication protocol to a second source type that is compatible with the second communication protocol (see Lau, [0095]: “As has been previously discussed, one embodiment of a gateway media node 104 has the ability to perform any needed reformatting and processing of the media signal so that it is compatible with the virtual media network. Thus, the gateway media node 104 offloads much of the processing from the media source device 102.”; and [0118]: “For example, the audio signal may have been encoded at the media source device in a format that is compatible with Bluetooth. It may be re-encoded in a format that is compatible with Wi-Fi.”); and
transmit the converted media stream to the second playback device using the second communication protocol (see Claim 1 rejection above).
Conclusion
8. For the reasons above, claims 1-2, 4-9, 11-16 and 18-20 have been rejected and remain pending.
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL Y WON whose telephone number is (571)272-3993. The examiner can normally be reached on Wk.1: M-F: 8-5 PST & Wk.2: M-Th: 8-7 PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicholas R Taylor can be reached on 571-272-3889. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Michael Won/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2443
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