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 .
Response to Amendment
This office action is responsive to applicant’s remarks received on November 03, 2025. Claims 1-6 remain pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Applicant’s arguments with respect to the amended claims filed on November 03, 2025 have been considered but are moot. Upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Bromand et al. (US 20210074289 A1 hereinafter, Bromand ‘289) and Suzuki et al. (US 202003414723 A1 hereinafter, Suzuki ‘723) and further in view of Matsumoto et al. (US 20090044688 A1 hereinafter, Matsumoto ‘688).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bromand ‘289 and Suzuki ‘723 and further in view of Matsumoto ‘688.
Regarding claim 1; Bromand ‘289 discloses an information processing device (Fig. 2, Personal Media Streaming Appliance System 110) comprising
a processor (Fig. 10, Speech Processor 1002) configured to: acquire an utterance of a user (i.e. The user input device 130 operates to receive a user input 152 from a user U for controlling the PMSA system 110. As illustrated, the user input 152 can include a manual input 154 and a voice input 156. Fig. 10 illustrates a communication diagram of a method of receiving a voice command and processing it to produce a desired outcome. The system 1000 includes a user U, PMSA 110, media delivery system 112, and optional speech processor 1002. Paragraphs 0057 & 0198)
Bromand ‘289 does not expressly disclose the limitations as expressed below.
Suzuki ‘723 discloses search for one or more sound sources that is able to provide a first musical piece via wireless communication in response to a request to play the first musical piece included in the acquired utterance of the user (i.e. The music piece provision device 42 is a device that provides music piece that is a basis of the playback sound 34 to be provided by the vehicle playback sound provision device 1. The music piece provision device 42 may include one or a plurality of sound sources. The sound source may be, for example, a sound source that is distributed over a communication network (for example, the Internet). Paragraph 0043);
acquire information on sound quality of the first musical piece from each of the one or more first sound sources (i.e. In the playback sound provision device, the playback method may include playing back the playback sound by changing sound quality of the playback sound. Paragraph 0008);
select a second sound source from among the one or more first sound sources for which the information on the sound quality of the first musical piece indicates as having the highest sound of the first musical piece (i.e. the playback method 33m includes at least one of playing back the playback sound by changing the amplitude of the playback sound, playing back the playback sound by changing the pitch of the playback sound, playing back the playback sound by changing the playback speed of the playback sound, playing back the playback sound by changing the progressing order of a plurality of parts obtained by dividing the playback sound by time, playing back the playback sound while changing the sound quality of the playback sound, playing back the playback sound by changing the dynamic range of the playback sound, playing back the playback sound by superimposing a delayed sound obtained by delaying the playback sound on the playback sound, and playing back the playback sound by superimposing a noise on the playback sound. Paragraph 0105);
and play the first musical piece provided from the second sound source (i.e. The playback sound signal 32 is output as playback sound 34 by the playback sound output device 20. Paragraph 0040);
Bromand ‘289 and Suzuki ‘723 are combinable because they are from same field of endeavor of speech systems (Suzuki ‘723 at “Background”).
Before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the speech system as taught by Bromand ‘289 by adding the limitation as taught by Suzuki ‘723. The motivation for doing so would have been because it would be advantageous to enhance the playback sound of music or the like for a vehicle. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Bromand ‘289 with Suzuki ‘723 to obtain the invention as specified.
Examiner reasonably believes that Bromand ‘289 in view of Suzuki ‘723 discloses each and every limitation as expressed above. However, Examiner cites Matsumoto ‘688 to cure any deficiencies of Bromand ‘289 in view of Suzuki ‘723.
Matsumoto ‘688 also disclose acquiring information on sound quality of the first musical piece from each of the one or more first sound sources (i.e. Segment selector 84 reads the noise levels and the talk likelihoods of each of the segments in the musical piece contents out of quality information storage unit 93, and selects the segments having lower noise or the segments having lower talk likelihood. Paragraph 0066)
select a second sound source from among the one or more first sound sources for which the information on the sound quality of the first musical piece indicates as having the highest sound of the first musical piece (i.e. Segment selector 84 selects the segments having the highest quality among the segments in each of the musical piece contents located in equal temporal positions. A higher quality segment is selected according to the quality information on the two musical piece contents stored in quality information storage unit 93. That is, segment selector 84 reads the noise levels and the talk likelihoods of each of the segments in the musical piece contents out of quality information storage unit 93, and selects the segments having lower noise or the segments having lower talk likelihood. The segments selected by segment selector 84 are supplied to segment combining unit 85. Paragraph 0066)
Bromand ‘289 and Matsumoto ‘688 are combinable because they are from same field of endeavor of speech systems (Matsumoto ‘688 at “Background of the Invention”).
Before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the speech system as taught by Bromand ‘289 by adding the limitation as taught by Matsumoto ‘688. The motivation for doing so would have been because it would be advantageous to be able to have a technique for automatically searching for contents of the same musical piece by executing matching computation of the respective audio waveforms of musical piece contents. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Bromand ‘289 with Matsumoto ‘688 to obtain the invention as specified.
Regarding claim 2; Suzuki ‘723 discloses wherein the processor is further configured to determine that the sound quality is high as a bit rate is high (i.e. The filter code 33f is a control signal for changing filter characteristics of a filter through which the playback sound passes. For example, it is possible to control the change pattern for changing sound quality of the playback sound with time using the filter code 33f. The filter code 33f can express four types of change patterns of filter characteristics when the filter code 33f has a 2-bit width, and 16 types of change patterns of filter characteristics when the filter code 33f has a 4-bit width. The bit width of the filter code 33f can be set according to the number of types of desired change patterns. Paragraph 0064)
Regarding claim 3; Suzuki ‘723 discloses wherein the processor is further configured to download data of the first musical piece from the second sound source (i.e. The control device 60 can generate the playback sound signal 32 based on the playback method control signal 33 specified from the sharing information 80b and provide the playback sound signal 32 to the playback sound output device 20. In this case, for example, distribution of application software for uploading information for reproducing a playback method or a sound effect based on a predetermined arrangement to the website 80w and downloading the information from the website 80w is conceivable. The specific arrangement information can be acquired through downloading or the like by a person satisfying predetermined conditions. Paragraphs 0166-0167)
and store the data in a storage unit (i.e. Although not specifically described in each embodiment, a configuration in which the specific aspect 33n of the playback method 33m for the playback sound based on the detection information 28 can be changed by a user such as the occupant of the vehicle, and the specific aspect 33n of the playback method 33m changed by the user can be stored may be adopted. For example, the control device 60 can store the specific aspect 33n of the changed playback method 33m in the information recording unit 30r. Paragraph 0181)
Regarding claim 4; Suzuki ‘723 discloses wherein the first sound source provides a musical piece by the wireless communication from an outside of a vehicle (i.e. The music piece provision device 42 is a device that provides music piece that is a basis of the playback sound 34 to be provided by the vehicle playback sound provision device 1. The music piece provision device 42 may include one or a plurality of sound sources, a sound source that is provided by a music player or a smartphone, a sound source that is distributed via a broadcast such as a television or a radio or over a network, a sound source that is distributed over a communication network (for example, the Internet) such as a moving image distribution service or a music distribution service. Paragraph 0043).
Regarding claim 5; Bromand ‘289 discloses wherein the utterance of the user is acquired via a microphone (Fig. 2, Sound Detection Device 162 i.e. The sound detection device 162 operates to detect and record sounds proximate the PMSA system 110. The sound detection device 162 can detect sounds including the voice input 156 Acoustic sensors of the sound detection device 162 includes one or more microphones. Various types of microphones can be used for the sound detection device 162 of the PMSA system 110. Paragraph 0060);
determine whether the request to play the first musical piece is included based on the utterance of the user and information stored in a storage unit (Fig. 9, Steps 910-920 i.e. Utterance is received at Step 910. The command portion is applied to the parameter portion 920. For example, if the command is “play” and the parameter is “preset one,” then the PMSA 110 will begin to play preset one. Paragraphs 0195-0196),
transmit a request to search for the first musical piece to one or more of first sound sources in response to the request to play the first musical piece (i.e. The method comprises transmitting a media context to the media playback device for playback; upon playing the media context using the media playback device, obtaining an audio clip of an instruction representative of a save preset command from the media playback device, the save preset command having preset identification information and command intent information, the preset identification information identifying the preset signal source of the media playback device. Paragraph 0008).
Bromand ‘289 does not expressly disclose the limitations as expressed below.
Suzuki ‘723 discloses receive search results of the request to search for the first musical piece and the information on the sound quality of the first musical piece from the one or more sources (i.e. In the playback sound provision device, the playback method may include playing back the playback sound by changing sound quality of the playback sound, Paragraph 0008)
select the second sound source having the highest sound quality from among the first sound sources based on the received search results and the received information on the sound quality of the first musical piece from the one or more sound sources (i.e. The music piece signal 42c is played back by the playback sound playback unit 30e to become a playback source signal 32b. The playback source signal 32b is converted into a playback sound signal 32 by the playback sound provision unit 30f and is provided to the playback sound output device 20. The playback sound signal 32 is output as playback sound 34 by the playback sound output device 20. Paragraph 0040);
transmit a request to transmit data of the first musical piece to the second sound source (i.e. When the process S100 is started, the control device 30 initializes the vehicle playback sound provision device 1 (step S102). When the acquisition of the music piece source signal is started, the control device 30 starts provision of the music piece signal 42c to the playback sound playback unit 30e (step S106). Paragraph 0073)
store data of the first musical piece received from the second sound source in the storage unit (i.e. Although not specifically described in each embodiment, a configuration in which the specific aspect 33n of the playback method 33m for the playback sound based on the detection information 28 can be changed by a user such as the occupant of the vehicle, and the specific aspect 33n of the playback method 33m changed by the user can be stored may be adopted. For example, the control device 60 can store the specific aspect 33n of the changed playback method 33m in the information recording unit 30r. Paragraph 0181)
play the first musical piece based on the data of the first musical piece stored in the storage unit (i.e. The playback sound provision unit 30f converts the normally played playback source signal 32b into a playback sound signal 32 and provides the playback sound signal 32 to the playback sound output device 20 (step S110). In this state, the playback sound output device 20 normally outputs the music piece source signal 42b to the inside of the vehicle. Paragraph 0074)
Bromand ‘289 and Suzuki ‘723 are combinable because they are from same field of endeavor of speech systems (Suzuki ‘723 at “Background”).
Before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the speech system as taught by Bromand ‘289 by adding the limitation as taught by Suzuki ‘723. The motivation for doing so would have been because it would be advantageous to enhance the playback sound of music or the like for a vehicle. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Bromand ‘289 with Suzuki ‘723 to obtain the invention as specified.
Regarding claim 6; Suzuki ‘723 discloses wherein the information on the sound quality of the first musical piece acquired from each of the one or more first sound sources includes bit-rate information indicating a bit rate of data of the first musical piece (i.e. The filter code 33f is a control signal for changing filter characteristics of a filter through which the playback sound passes. For example, it is possible to control the change pattern for changing sound quality of the playback sound with time using the filter code 33f. The filter code 33f can express four types of change patterns of filter characteristics when the filter code 33f has a 2-bit width, and 16 types of change patterns of filter characteristics when the filter code 33f has a 4-bit width. The bit width of the filter code 33f can be set according to the number of types of desired change patterns. Paragraph 0064).
and the second sound source is a first sound source from among the one or more first sound sources that has a highest bit rate of the data of the first musical piece based on the bit- rate information acquired from each of the one or more first sound sources (i.e. The playback method 33m includes at least one of playing back the playback sound by changing the amplitude of the playback sound, playing back the playback sound by changing the pitch of the playback sound, playing back the playback sound by changing the playback speed of the playback sound, playing back the playback sound by changing the progressing order of a plurality of parts obtained by dividing the playback sound by time, playing back the playback sound while changing the sound quality of the playback sound, playing back the playback sound by changing the dynamic range of the playback sound, playing back the playback sound by superimposing a delayed sound obtained by delaying the playback sound on the playback sound, and playing back the playback sound by superimposing a noise on the playback sound. Paragraph 0105).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARCUS T. RILEY, ESQ. whose telephone number is (571)270-1581. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5 M-F.
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, Hai Phan can be reached at 571-272-6338. 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.
MARCUS T. RILEY, ESQ.
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2654
/MARCUS T RILEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2654