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 . This Office action is based on the communications filed October 9, 2025. An attempt to schedule an interview, as requested by Applicant, was made on January 21, 2026 however a response was not received. Claims 1 – 20 are currently pending and considered below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to independent claim(s) 1, 14, and 19 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Applicant’s arguments, see page 7, filed October 9, 2025, with respect to dependent claim 4 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of has been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 1 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The term “near” in independent claims 1, 14, and 19 is a relative term which renders the claims indefinite. The term “near” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Claims 2 – 13, 15 – 18, and 20 are rejected due to dependency.
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) 1 – 3, 5 – 8, 10 – 11, and 13 – 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hudman et al. (US 2024/0096306 A1), hereinafter Hudman, in view of Jarvinen et al. (US 2016/0125867 A1), hereinafter Jarvinen.
Claim 1: Hudman discloses a device (see at least, “FIG. 1 depicts the HMD 102 as including various components, although, as mentioned, at least some of the components, programs, and/or data may reside elsewhere (e.g., on the host computer 104 and/or the remote system 108). The components may include, without limitation, off-ear speaker(s) 114, one or more fans 118, drive circuitry 120, one or more sensors 122, such one or more temperature sensors 124, one or more microphones 126, one or more power sources 128, one or more processors 116, such as one or more CPUs 130 and/or one or more GPUs 132, memory 134 storing, among other things, the application(s) 112, an ANR component(s) 136, and/or a model(s) 138,” Hudman [0021], Hudman FIG. 1), comprising:
a sound-generating component (see at least, “The fan(s) 118 may produce noise 140 during operation of the fan(s) 118. This noise 140 may be heard by the user 106 while the application(s) 112 is executing (e.g., while a video game is being played) due to the "off-ear" speaker(s) 114 of the HMD 102,” Hudman [0022]);
a plurality of speakers (see at least, “In the examples disclosed herein, the HMD 102 includes a pair of off-ear speakers 114 including a first (e.g., left) off-ear speaker 114(1) and a second (e.g., right) off-ear speaker 114(2). For example, the first (e.g., left) off-ear speaker 114(1) may be located on a left side of the HMD 102, and the second (e.g., right) off-ear speaker 114(2) may be located on a right side of the HMD 102 (e.g., from a perspective of the user 106 wearing the HMD 102). Both off-ear speaker(s) 114(1) and 114(2) are diagrammatically shown in FIG. 3, while FIG. 1 illustrates a zoomed-in view of the second (e.g., right) off-ear speaker 114(2) of the HMD 102. As the name implies, the "off-ear" speakers 114 do not cover the ears of the user 106. Instead, the off-ear speakers 114 can be spaced respective distances from the ears of the user 106, leaving the ears uncovered. As mentioned, this allows the user 106 to hear both the sound corresponding to the audio content of the executing application 112 and the sound of the user's 106 surroundings, and the user 106 may be able to adjust the distances that the off-ear speakers 114 are spaced from the ears for a desired audio experience. However, in the absence of the ANR techniques described herein, the use of the off-ear speakers 114 means that the user 106 can hear the noise 140 from the fan(s) 118 whenever the fan(s) 118 is/are operating to cool an electronic component(s) of the HMD 102,” Hudman [0022]); and one or more processors, configured to (see at least, “The ANR component(s) 136 may represent computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor(s) 116, cause performance of the operations and techniques described herein, such as the execution of an ANR algorithm for reducing the fan noise 140 at a location(s) of the user's 106 ear(s). For instance, an ANR algorithm may cause the one or more off-ear speakers 114 to output a sound(s) 142 having one or more audio characteristics (e.g., frequency, phase, amplitude, etc.) to reduce the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 at a location of an ear of the user 106 of the HMD 102,” Hudman [0023]):
obtain audio content (see at least, “A model(s) 138 stored in the memory 134 may be referenced and used at runtime to determine, based on the received data, one or more audio parameter values that are to be used to output a noise reducing sound 142 having one or more audio characteristics (e.g., frequency, phase, amplitude, etc.) to reduce the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 at a location of an ear of the user 106 of the HMD 102. Such a model(s) 138 may represent any suitable type of model, such as a mathematical model, a statistical model, a model of weights, a trained machine learning model, or the like. Accordingly, the model(s) 138 can be generated in various ways, depending on the type of model(s) 138,” Hudman [0026], “Once the model(s) 138 is generated and is accessible to the HMD system 100 (e.g., stored in the memory 134 thereof), the model(s) 138 can be used during runtime to reduce fan noise 140. That is, the audio parameter value(s) (determined based on the received data and using the model(s) 138) can be used to generate a noise reduction signal that causes a noise reducing sound(s) 142 to be output via the one or more off-ear speakers 114 of the HMD 102, the noise reducing sound(s) 142 causing the fan noise 140 to be reduced, if not eliminated, at a location( s) of the user's 106 ear(s). For example, with the example HMD 102 described herein, the first (e.g., left) off-ear speaker 114(1) may output a first sound 142 having one or more first audio characteristics (e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase, etc.) that are based at least in part on the determined audio parameter value(s), and the second (e.g., right) off-ear speaker 114(2) may output a second sound 142 having one or more second audio characteristics (e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase, etc.) that are based at least in part on the determined audio parameter value(s). In this manner, the first sound 142 may reduce the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 at a location of a first e.g., left) ear of the user 106, and the second sound 142 may reduce the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 at a location of a second (e.g., right) ear of the user 106. The noise reducing sound(s) 142 may have the same amplitude as the amplitude of the fan noise 140, but an inverted phase (e.g., due to phase shifting) and/or a nulling frequency to reduce the unwanted fan noise 140. In some examples, the noise reducing sound(s) 142 may be represented by a sound wave having the same or directly proportional amplitude and the opposite polarity (e.g., a reversed polarity waveform) as the sound wave of the fan noise 140. The noise reducing sound(s) 142 described herein may be represented by a sound wave having any suitable audio characteristic that destructively interferes with the sound wave of the fan noise 140 at a location(s) of the ear(s) of the user 106 to reduce or attenuate the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 in the vicinity of the user's ear(s),” Hudman [0029]);
obtain a geometric distribution for an output of the audio content, the geometric distribution configured to mitigate a sound corresponding to the sound-generating component (see at least, “FIG. 3 illustrates a first instance 300(1) of the noise 140 produced by the fan 118 that is detected by the first microphone 126(1) and a second instance 300(2) of the noise 140 produced by the fan 118 that is detected by the second microphone 126(2). The fan noise 140 may result in different audio data generated by each microphone 126 due to the direction and/or the location of the fan 118 relative to each microphone 126. In some examples, the direction and/or location of the fan 118 relative to each microphone 126 can be described in terms of a relative azimuth angle 302 and a relative elevation angle 304 from either microphone 126(1) or 126(2), or from another location (e.g., from a midpoint between the microphones 126(1) and 126(2)). The relative direction and/or location of the fan 118 from each of the microphones 126 of the HMD 102 may dictate the audio parameter(s) values of the noise reduction signal (s), as described herein. That is, the model(s) 138 may include or otherwise reflect the directionality and/or the relatively location of the fan(s) 118 of the HMD 102 with respect to the microphone(s) 126, and the audio parameter value(s) (e.g., a frequency parameter value, a phase parameter value, and/or an amplitude parameter value, etc.) determined at block 204 of the process 200-which can be used to output the noise reducing sound 142 via the off-ear speakers 114(1) and 114(2)-may vary depending on the direction and/or location of the fan(s) 118 relative to the first microphone 126(1) and/or the second microphone 126(2). Accordingly, the directionality of the fan(s) 118 may be factored into the determination of the audio parameter value(s) at block 204 of the process 200, in some examples,” Hudman [0040], Hudman FIG. 3); and
operate the plurality of speakers to output the audio content in accordance with the obtained geometric distribution (see at least, “which can be used to output the noise reducing sound 142 via the off-ear speakers 114(1) and 114(2),” Hudman [0040]).
Hudman does not disclose to mitigate, at or near the sound-generating component, a sound corresponding to the sound-generating component. However, Jarvinen discloses a similar apparatus where the concept is “to provide a signal which attempts to perform sound masking by the addition of natural or artificial sound (such as white noise or pink noise) into an environment to cover up unwanted sound. The sound masking signal thus attempts to reduce or eliminate awareness of pre-existing sounds in a given area and can make a work environment more comfortable, while creating speech privacy so workers can concentrate and be more productive. In the concept as discussed herein an analysis is performed on the 'live' audio around the apparatus and further or comfort audio objects are added in a spatial manner. In other words the spatial directions of noise or audio objects are analysed for spatial directions and further or comfort audio object(s) are added into the corresponding spatial direction(s),” Jarvinen [0087], “The concept in other words attempts to remove/reduce the impact of background noise (or any sound perceived by user as disturbing) coming from the "live" audio environment around the user and make the background noise less disturbing (for example for listening of music with the device),” Jarvinen [0088]. Jarvinen further discloses to mitigate (see at least, “Comfort audio signals or audio sources such as employed in the embodiments herein does not attempt to cancel the background noise but instead attempts to mask the noise sources or make the noise sources less annoying/audible,” Jarvinen [0086], “The concept in other words attempts to remove/reduce the impact of background noise (or any sound perceived by user as disturbing) coming from the "live" audio environment around the user and make the background noise less disturbing (for example for listening of music with the device). This is achieved by recording with a set of microphones the live spatial sound field around the user device, then monitoring and analyzing the live audio field, and finally hiding the background noise behind a suitably matched or formed spatial "comfort audio" signal comprising comfort audio objects. The comfort audio signal is spatially matched to the background noise, and the hiding is complemented by spectral and temporal matching. The matching is based on continuous analysis of the live audio environment around the listener with a set of microphones and subsequent processing. The embodiments as described herein thus do not aim to remove or reduce the surrounding noise per se but instead make it less audible, less annoying and less disturbing for the listener,” Jarvinen [0088]), at or near the sound-generating component, a sound corresponding to the sound-generating component (see at least, “In some embodiments the comfort audio object generator 603 comprises a comfort audio object positioner 703. The comfort audio object positioner 703 is configured to receive the comfort audio objects 1 to L1 generated from the comfort audio object generator 701 with respect to each of the local audio objects and positions the comfort audio object at the location of the associated local audio object. Furthermore in some embodiments the comfort audio object positioner 703 can be configured to modify or process the loudness (or sets the volume or power) of the comfort audio object such that the loudness best matches the loudness of the corresponding live audio object,” Jarvinen [0201]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the aforementioned features of Jarvinen in the invention of Hudman given the advantage “to reduce or eliminate awareness of pre-existing sounds,” Jarvinen [0087], in the invention of Hudman, “in different spatial locations while leaving the audio environment in other directions intact,” Jarvinen [0089].
Claim 2: Hudman and Jarvinen disclose the device of claim 1, wherein the sound-generating component comprises a fan (see at least, “The fan(s) 118 may produce noise 140 during operation of the fan(s) 118. This noise 140 may be heard by the user 106 while the application(s) 112 is executing (e.g., while a video game is being played) due to the "off-ear" speaker(s) 114 of the HMD 102,” Hudman [0022]).
Claim 3: Hudman and Jarvinen disclose the device of claim 2, wherein the audio content comprises a representation of the sound of the fan (see at least, “The noise reducing sound(s) 142 may have the same amplitude as the amplitude of the fan noise 140, but an inverted phase (e.g., due to phase shifting) and/or a nulling frequency to reduce the unwanted fan noise 140. In some examples, the noise reducing sound(s) 142 may be represented by a sound wave having the same or directly proportional amplitude and the opposite polarity (e.g., a reversed polarity waveform) as the sound wave of the fan noise 140. The noise reducing sound(s) 142 described herein may be represented by a sound wave having any suitable audio characteristic that destructively interferes with the sound wave of the fan noise 140 at a location(s) of the ear(s) of the user 106 to reduce or attenuate the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 in the vicinity of the user's ear(s),” Hudman [0029]).
Claim 5: Hudman and Jarvinen disclose the device of claim 1, wherein the audio content is binaural and non-spatial (see at least, “Once the model(s) 138 is generated and is accessible to the HMD system 100 (e.g., stored in the memory 134 thereof), the model(s) 138 can be used during runtime to reduce fan noise 140. That is, the audio parameter value(s) (determined based on the received data and using the model(s) 138) can be used to generate a noise reduction signal that causes a noise reducing sound(s) 142 to be output via the one or more off-ear speakers 114 of the HMD 102, the noise reducing sound(s) 142 causing the fan noise 140 to be reduced, if not eliminated, at a location( s) of the user's 106 ear(s). For example, with the example HMD 102 described herein, the first (e.g., left) off-ear speaker 114(1) may output a first sound 142 having one or more first audio characteristics (e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase, etc.) that are based at least in part on the determined audio parameter value(s), and the second (e.g., right) off-ear speaker 114(2) may output a second sound 142 having one or more second audio characteristics (e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase, etc.) that are based at least in part on the determined audio parameter value(s). In this manner, the first sound 142 may reduce the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 at a location of a first e.g., left) ear of the user 106, and the second sound 142 may reduce the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 at a location of a second (e.g., right) ear of the user 106,” Hudman [0029]).
Claim 6: Hudman and Jarvinen disclose the device of claim 1, wherein the audio content comprises at least a first audio layer and a second audio layer, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to operate the plurality of speakers to output the audio content in accordance with the obtained geometric distribution by outputting the first audio layer in a first geometric distribution and outputting the second audio layer in a second geometric distribution different from the first geometric distribution (see at least, “Once the model(s) 138 is generated and is accessible to the HMD system 100 (e.g., stored in the memory 134 thereof), the model(s) 138 can be used during runtime to reduce fan noise 140. That is, the audio parameter value(s) (determined based on the received data and using the model(s) 138) can be used to generate a noise reduction signal that causes a noise reducing sound(s) 142 to be output via the one or more off-ear speakers 114 of the HMD 102, the noise reducing sound(s) 142 causing the fan noise 140 to be reduced, if not eliminated, at a location( s) of the user's 106 ear(s). For example, with the example HMD 102 described herein, the first (e.g., left) off-ear speaker 114(1) may output a first sound 142 having one or more first audio characteristics (e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase, etc.) that are based at least in part on the determined audio parameter value(s), and the second (e.g., right) off-ear speaker 114(2) may output a second sound 142 having one or more second audio characteristics (e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase, etc.) that are based at least in part on the determined audio parameter value(s). In this manner, the first sound 142 may reduce the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 at a location of a first e.g., left) ear of the user 106, and the second sound 142 may reduce the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 at a location of a second (e.g., right) ear of the user 106,” Hudman [0029], “In some examples, the first sound 142 output via the first (e.g., left) off-ear speaker 114(1) has a different audio characteristic(s) (e.g., a different phase, a different frequency, a different amplitude, etc.) than the audio characteristic(s) of the second sound 142 output via the second (e.g., right) off-ear speaker 114(2). This may be because the fan noise 140 can have different audio characteristics at the respective locations of the user's 106 left and right ears due to, for instance, asymmetries of the HMD 102 (e.g., the fan 118 might be located on one side (e.g., the left side or right side) of the HMD 102, the tolerances of the off-ear speakers 114(1) and 114)(2) may be different, etc.), thereby creating a different noise 140 (i.e., a noise 140 having a different audio characteristic(s)) at the left ear than the noise 140 at the right ear,” Hudman [0030]).
Claim 7: Hudman and Jarvinen disclose the device of claim 6, wherein the first audio layer has first frequency characteristics that are different from second frequency characteristics of the second audio layer (see at least, “In some examples, the first sound 142 output via the first (e.g., left) off-ear speaker 114(1) has a different audio characteristic(s) (e.g., a different phase, a different frequency, a different amplitude, etc.) than the audio characteristic(s) of the second sound 142 output via the second (e.g., right) off-ear speaker 114(2). This may be because the fan noise 140 can have different audio characteristics at the respective locations of the user's 106 left and right ears due to, for instance, asymmetries of the HMD 102 (e.g., the fan 118 might be located on one side (e.g., the left side or right side) of the HMD 102, the tolerances of the off-ear speakers 114(1) and 114)(2) may be different, etc.), thereby creating a different noise 140 (i.e., a noise 140 having a different audio characteristic(s)) at the left ear than the noise 140 at the right ear,” Hudman [0030]).
Claim 8: Hudman and Jarvinen disclose the device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain the audio content by recording an environmental sound of a sound-generating entity in a physical environment of the device (see at least, “Any given fan 118 can produce a tolerance range of noise, depending on a level at which the fan 118 is driven, as well as due to the inherent differences from one fan 118 to another. With this understanding, testing can be performed by operating various fans 118 over their respective operating ranges (e.g., from minimum input electrical current to maximum input electrical current), capturing the corresponding fan noise 140 using microphones positioned at locations that are representative of the locations where a user's 106 ears would be located while wearing the HMD 102, and recording the audio characteristics of the fan noise 140. This heuristic testing can be performed repeatedly to calibrate for a range of noises produced by the fans 118, as well as for a range of head sizes and shapes (because the sizes and shapes of heads vary across a user population), a range of different locations of the fans 118 relative to the microphones, and/or a range of testing environments with different levels of ambient/background noise, and the like. Over the course of such testing, the recorded audio characteristics of the fan noise 140 can be plotted as a function of the level (e.g., the input electrical current) at which the fan 118 is driven. For example, the X-axis of a graph may represent the drive level ( e.g., the number of milliamps (mA) of input electrical current) of the fan 118, ranging from zero (e.g., the fan 118 is off) to N (e.g., the fan 118 is being driven at a maximum level). Meanwhile, one or more audio characteristics of the fan noise 140 can be plotted on the Y-axis of the graph, where the audio characteristics include, without limitation, frequency, amplitude, phase, etc. In some examples, averages and/or other statistical values may be computed as part of this testing process, such as the average phase of the fan noise 140 recorded at a location where the user's 106 ear would be located relative to the fan 118. In some examples, the final audio parameter values derived from testing may compensate for a latency of the microphones that are used, during testing, to mimic the user's 106 ears, thereby obtaining the audio characteristics of the fan noise 140 as the noise 140 would be heard by the human ear (as opposed to the noise 140 as "heard" by the microphones). In addition, an application(s) 112 can be executed by the HMD system 100 under test while test data is being gathered and recorded, such test data including, for example, the aforementioned temperature data, drive data, utilization data, and the like. This gathered data may be plotted as a function of the drive level of the fan 118 as well. A model(s) 138 can be generated based on such testing, the model(s) 138 being usable to determine, based on one or more types of input data, an audio parameter value( s) ( e.g., a frequency parameter value, a phase parameter value, an amplitude parameter value, a tone parameter value, a pitch parameter value, a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) parameter value, etc.) that can be used to generate a noise reducing sound 142 for reducing the fan noise 140 at a location of an ear of the user 106,” Hudman [0027], “Although one use of the microphones 126 of the HMD 102 may be to capture the sound of the user's 106 voice (e.g., to allow the user 106 to issue voice commands, and/or talk to other users wearing other HMDs, etc.), the microphones 126 of the HMD 102 may also be configured to generate audio data representing the noise 140 that is being produced by the fan(s) 118 of the HMD 102 for use of the audio data in ANR, as described herein,” Hudman [0039], “At 418, power may be supplied to the microphone (s) 126 of the HMD 102 for use of the microphone(s) 126 in an ANR algorithm. This is sometimes referred to as "opening" the microphone(s) 126 to capture sound in their environment,” Hudman [0056]).
Claim 10: Hudman and Jarvinen disclose the device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain the geometric distribution based on a physical characteristic of a user of the device (see at least, “This heuristic testing can be performed repeatedly to calibrate for a range of noises produced by the fans 118, as well as for a range of head sizes and shapes (because the sizes and shapes of heads vary across a user population), a range of different locations of the fans 118 relative to the microphones, and/or a range of testing environments with different levels of ambient/background noise, and the like,” Hudman [0027]).
Claim 11: Hudman and Jarvinen disclose the device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain the geometric distribution based on a three-dimensional map of a physical environment around the device (see at least, “In some implementations, one or more cameras 508 or other types of sensors 122, such as the aforementioned temperature sensor(s) 124, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) 510, or the like, may function as input devices 504. For example, the IMU 510 may be configured to detect head motion of the user 106, including for gestural input purposes. The sensors 122 may further include sensors used to generate motion, position, and orientation data, such as gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, color sensors, or other motion, position, and orientation sensors,” Hudman [0065], “As mentioned, in some embodiments, the sensors 122 may include light sensors that are sensitive to light emitted by base stations in the environment of the HMD 102 for purposes of tracking position and/or orientation, pose, etc., of the HMD 102 in three-dimensional (3D) space. The calculation of position and/or orientation may be based on timing characteristics of light pulses and the presence or absence of light detected by the sensors 122,” Hudman [0066]).
Claim 13: Hudman and Jarvinen disclose the device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: detect a change in an operating state of the device; and cease outputting the audio content (see at least, “At 402, a processor(s) 116 of the HMD system 100 may determine whether a fan(s) 118 of a HMD 102 of the HMD system 100 is on or off. The fan(s) 118 being "on," as used herein, means that the fan(s) 118 is operating, and, hence, making noise 140. In some examples, the determination at block 402 can be made by determining whether the fan(s) 118 is/are drawing power from a power source(s) 128 (e.g., a battery) of the HMD 102. If the fan(s) 118 is not on (e.g., if the fan(s) 118 is not drawing power from the power source(s) 128 of the HMD 102) at block 402, the process 400 may follow the NO route from block 402 to iterate the determination at block 402 (e.g., by continually monitoring the on/off state of the fan(s) 118). In other words, if the fan(s) 118 is not operating, the processor(s) 116 may determine to refrain from executing an ANR algorithm in order to conserve energy of the HMD system 100 (e.g., to save battery power), because it takes resources, including power resources, to execute the ANR techniques described herein. Accordingly, if the fan(s) 118 is not operating, energy can be conserved by refraining from performing ANR and by continuing to monitor the on/off state of the fan(s) 118. In response to determining that the fan(s) 118 is on (e.g., in response to determining that the fan( s) 118 is drawing power from the power source(s) 128 of the HMD 102), the process 400 may follow the YES route from block 402 to block 404,” Hudman [0046]).
Claim 14: Hudman discloses a method, comprising:
operating a sound-generating component of an electronic device component (see at least, “The fan(s) 118 may produce noise 140 during operation of the fan(s) 118. This noise 140 may be heard by the user 106 while the application(s) 112 is executing (e.g., while a video game is being played) due to the "off-ear" speaker(s) 114 of the HMD 102,” Hudman [0022]);
obtaining audio content (see at least, “A model(s) 138 stored in the memory 134 may be referenced and used at runtime to determine, based on the received data, one or more audio parameter values that are to be used to output a noise reducing sound 142 having one or more audio characteristics (e.g., frequency, phase, amplitude, etc.) to reduce the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 at a location of an ear of the user 106 of the HMD 102. Such a model(s) 138 may represent any suitable type of model, such as a mathematical model, a statistical model, a model of weights, a trained machine learning model, or the like. Accordingly, the model(s) 138 can be generated in various ways, depending on the type of model(s) 138,” Hudman [0026], “Once the model(s) 138 is generated and is accessible to the HMD system 100 (e.g., stored in the memory 134 thereof), the model(s) 138 can be used during runtime to reduce fan noise 140. That is, the audio parameter value(s) (determined based on the received data and using the model(s) 138) can be used to generate a noise reduction signal that causes a noise reducing sound(s) 142 to be output via the one or more off-ear speakers 114 of the HMD 102, the noise reducing sound(s) 142 causing the fan noise 140 to be reduced, if not eliminated, at a location( s) of the user's 106 ear(s). For example, with the example HMD 102 described herein, the first (e.g., left) off-ear speaker 114(1) may output a first sound 142 having one or more first audio characteristics (e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase, etc.) that are based at least in part on the determined audio parameter value(s), and the second (e.g., right) off-ear speaker 114(2) may output a second sound 142 having one or more second audio characteristics (e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase, etc.) that are based at least in part on the determined audio parameter value(s). In this manner, the first sound 142 may reduce the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 at a location of a first e.g., left) ear of the user 106, and the second sound 142 may reduce the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 at a location of a second (e.g., right) ear of the user 106. The noise reducing sound(s) 142 may have the same amplitude as the amplitude of the fan noise 140, but an inverted phase (e.g., due to phase shifting) and/or a nulling frequency to reduce the unwanted fan noise 140. In some examples, the noise reducing sound(s) 142 may be represented by a sound wave having the same or directly proportional amplitude and the opposite polarity (e.g., a reversed polarity waveform) as the sound wave of the fan noise 140. The noise reducing sound(s) 142 described herein may be represented by a sound wave having any suitable audio characteristic that destructively interferes with the sound wave of the fan noise 140 at a location(s) of the ear(s) of the user 106 to reduce or attenuate the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 in the vicinity of the user's ear(s),” Hudman [0029]) having a geometric distribution for an output of the audio content, the geometric distribution configured to mitigate a sound corresponding to the sound-generating component (see at least, “FIG. 3 illustrates a first instance 300(1) of the noise 140 produced by the fan 118 that is detected by the first microphone 126(1) and a second instance 300(2) of the noise 140 produced by the fan 118 that is detected by the second microphone 126(2). The fan noise 140 may result in different audio data generated by each microphone 126 due to the direction and/or the location of the fan 118 relative to each microphone 126. In some examples, the direction and/or location of the fan 118 relative to each microphone 126 can be described in terms of a relative azimuth angle 302 and a relative elevation angle 304 from either microphone 126(1) or 126(2), or from another location (e.g., from a midpoint between the microphones 126(1) and 126(2)). The relative direction and/or location of the fan 118 from each of the microphones 126 of the HMD 102 may dictate the audio parameter(s) values of the noise reduction signal (s), as described herein. That is, the model(s) 138 may include or otherwise reflect the directionality and/or the relatively location of the fan(s) 118 of the HMD 102 with respect to the microphone(s) 126, and the audio parameter value(s) (e.g., a frequency parameter value, a phase parameter value, and/or an amplitude parameter value, etc.) determined at block 204 of the process 200-which can be used to output the noise reducing sound 142 via the off-ear speakers 114(1) and 114(2)-may vary depending on the direction and/or location of the fan(s) 118 relative to the first microphone 126(1) and/or the second microphone 126(2). Accordingly, the directionality of the fan(s) 118 may be factored into the determination of the audio parameter value(s) at block 204 of the process 200, in some examples,” Hudman [0040], Hudman FIG. 3); and
operating a plurality of speakers of the electronic device to output the audio content in accordance with the obtained geometric distribution (see at least, “which can be used to output the noise reducing sound 142 via the off-ear speakers 114(1) and 114(2),” Hudman [0040]).
Hudman does not disclose to mitigate, at or near the sound-generating component, a sound corresponding to the sound-generating component. However, Jarvinen discloses a similar apparatus where the concept is “to provide a signal which attempts to perform sound masking by the addition of natural or artificial sound (such as white noise or pink noise) into an environment to cover up unwanted sound. The sound masking signal thus attempts to reduce or eliminate awareness of pre-existing sounds in a given area and can make a work environment more comfortable, while creating speech privacy so workers can concentrate and be more productive. In the concept as discussed herein an analysis is performed on the 'live' audio around the apparatus and further or comfort audio objects are added in a spatial manner. In other words the spatial directions of noise or audio objects are analysed for spatial directions and further or comfort audio object(s) are added into the corresponding spatial direction(s),” Jarvinen [0087], “The concept in other words attempts to remove/reduce the impact of background noise (or any sound perceived by user as disturbing) coming from the "live" audio environment around the user and make the background noise less disturbing (for example for listening of music with the device),” Jarvinen [0088]. Jarvinen further discloses to mitigate (see at least, “Comfort audio signals or audio sources such as employed in the embodiments herein does not attempt to cancel the background noise but instead attempts to mask the noise sources or make the noise sources less annoying/audible,” Jarvinen [0086], “The concept in other words attempts to remove/reduce the impact of background noise (or any sound perceived by user as disturbing) coming from the "live" audio environment around the user and make the background noise less disturbing (for example for listening of music with the device). This is achieved by recording with a set of microphones the live spatial sound field around the user device, then monitoring and analyzing the live audio field, and finally hiding the background noise behind a suitably matched or formed spatial "comfort audio" signal comprising comfort audio objects. The comfort audio signal is spatially matched to the background noise, and the hiding is complemented by spectral and temporal matching. The matching is based on continuous analysis of the live audio environment around the listener with a set of microphones and subsequent processing. The embodiments as described herein thus do not aim to remove or reduce the surrounding noise per se but instead make it less audible, less annoying and less disturbing for the listener,” Jarvinen [0088]), at or near the sound-generating component, a sound corresponding to the sound-generating component (see at least, “In some embodiments the comfort audio object generator 603 comprises a comfort audio object positioner 703. The comfort audio object positioner 703 is configured to receive the comfort audio objects 1 to L1 generated from the comfort audio object generator 701 with respect to each of the local audio objects and positions the comfort audio object at the location of the associated local audio object. Furthermore in some embodiments the comfort audio object positioner 703 can be configured to modify or process the loudness (or sets the volume or power) of the comfort audio object such that the loudness best matches the loudness of the corresponding live audio object,” Jarvinen [0201]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the aforementioned features of Jarvinen in the invention of Hudman given the advantage “to reduce or eliminate awareness of pre-existing sounds,” Jarvinen [0087], in the invention of Hudman, “in different spatial locations while leaving the audio environment in other directions intact,” Jarvinen [0089].
Claim 15: Hudman discloses the method of claim 14, wherein the sound is generated as a byproduct of a primary function of the component (see at least, “Head-mounted displays (HMDs), such as virtual reality (VR) headsets, are used both within and outside of the video game industry. Some users run their headsets to their maximum performance, such as by throttling the central processing unit (CPU) and the graphics processing unit (GPU), to achieve a high-fidelity experience. When electronic components are running at or near their maximum performance, they tend to get hot. Many VR headsets include fans to cool electronic components when they get too hot, thereby preventing them from overheating,” Hudman [0001], “With VR headsets that have off-ear speakers, the noise produced by the fan(s) of the headset can be unpleasant for the headset user. Moreover, the fan noise may interfere with the user's ability to hear the sound of the audio content being output via the off-ear speakers, such as the sound of a video game being played by the user. For example, when a fan of the headset is operating, the fan may produce a humming, buzzing, or whirring sound that is audible to the headset user due to the off-ear speakers of the headset,” Hudman [0002], “However, the fan(s) also produces noise as a byproduct,” Hudman [0010], “However, in the absence of the ANR techniques described herein, the use of the off-ear speakers 114 means that the user 106 can hear the noise 140 from the fan(s) 118 whenever the fan(s) 118 is/are operating to cool an electronic component(s) of the HMD 102,” Hudman [0022]).
Claim 16: Hudman and Jarvinen disclose the method of claim 15, wherein the primary function of the component is a thermal management function for the electronic device (see at least, “Head-mounted displays (HMDs), such as virtual reality (VR) headsets, are used both within and outside of the video game industry. Some users run their headsets to their maximum performance, such as by throttling the central processing unit (CPU) and the graphics processing unit (GPU), to achieve a high-fidelity experience. When electronic components are running at or near their maximum performance, they tend to get hot. Many VR headsets include fans to cool electronic components when they get too hot, thereby preventing them from overheating,” Hudman [0001], “With VR headsets that have off-ear speakers, the noise produced by the fan(s) of the headset can be unpleasant for the headset user. Moreover, the fan noise may interfere with the user's ability to hear the sound of the audio content being output via the off-ear speakers, such as the sound of a video game being played by the user. For example, when a fan of the headset is operating, the fan may produce a humming, buzzing, or whirring sound that is audible to the headset user due to the off-ear speakers of the headset,” Hudman [0002], “However, the fan(s) also produces noise as a byproduct,” Hudman [0010], “For instance, when an electronic component(s) (e.g., the CPU(s) 130) starts to heat up and the temperature sensor(s) 124 senses an elevated temperature of the electronic component(s), this may trigger the fan(s) 118 to start operating to cool the electronic component(s). Accordingly, an elevated temperature sensed by the temperature sensor(s) 124, for example, may be indicative of the fan(s) 118 operating, and, hence, making noise 140. As another example, if the fan(s) 118 is being driven at a certain level, and if drive data indicative of this drive level is received by the processor(s) 116, such drive data is indicative of the fan(s) 118 operating, and, hence, making noise 140. As yet another example, if the CPU(s) 130 and/or GPU(s) 132 utilization suddenly increases, this may be indicative of the CPU(s) 130 and/or GPU(s) 132 running at or near maximum performance, which may indicate that the CPU(s) 130 and/or GPU(s) 132 is overheating, or is about to overheat, which, in turn, may indicate that the fan(s) 118 is operating to cool the electronic component(s), and, hence, making noise 140,” Hudman [0025]).
Claim 17: Hudman and Jarvinen disclose the method of claim 14, wherein the audio content comprises a representation of the sound of the component (see at least, “The noise reducing sound(s) 142 may have the same amplitude as the amplitude of the fan noise 140, but an inverted phase (e.g., due to phase shifting) and/or a nulling frequency to reduce the unwanted fan noise 140. In some examples, the noise reducing sound(s) 142 may be represented by a sound wave having the same or directly proportional amplitude and the opposite polarity (e.g., a reversed polarity waveform) as the sound wave of the fan noise 140. The noise reducing sound(s) 142 described herein may be represented by a sound wave having any suitable audio characteristic that destructively interferes with the sound wave of the fan noise 140 at a location(s) of the ear(s) of the user 106 to reduce or attenuate the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 in the vicinity of the user's ear(s),” Hudman [0029]).
Claim 18: Hudman and Jarvinen disclose the method of claim 14, wherein the audio content comprises a sample of an environmental sound generated by a sound-generating entity in an physical environment around the electronic device (see at least, “Any given fan 118 can produce a tolerance range of noise, depending on a level at which the fan 118 is driven, as well as due to the inherent differences from one fan 118 to another. With this understanding, testing can be performed by operating various fans 118 over their respective operating ranges (e.g., from minimum input electrical current to maximum input electrical current), capturing the corresponding fan noise 140 using microphones positioned at locations that are representative of the locations where a user's 106 ears would be located while wearing the HMD 102, and recording the audio characteristics of the fan noise 140. This heuristic testing can be performed repeatedly to calibrate for a range of noises produced by the fans 118, as well as for a range of head sizes and shapes (because the sizes and shapes of heads vary across a user population), a range of different locations of the fans 118 relative to the microphones, and/or a range of testing environments with different levels of ambient/background noise, and the like. Over the course of such testing, the recorded audio characteristics of the fan noise 140 can be plotted as a function of the level (e.g., the input electrical current) at which the fan 118 is driven. For example, the X-axis of a graph may represent the drive level ( e.g., the number of milliamps (mA) of input electrical current) of the fan 118, ranging from zero (e.g., the fan 118 is off) to N (e.g., the fan 118 is being driven at a maximum level). Meanwhile, one or more audio characteristics of the fan noise 140 can be plotted on the Y-axis of the graph, where the audio characteristics include, without limitation, frequency, amplitude, phase, etc. In some examples, averages and/or other statistical values may be computed as part of this testing process, such as the average phase of the fan noise 140 recorded at a location where the user's 106 ear would be located relative to the fan 118. In some examples, the final audio parameter values derived from testing may compensate for a latency of the microphones that are used, during testing, to mimic the user's 106 ears, thereby obtaining the audio characteristics of the fan noise 140 as the noise 140 would be heard by the human ear (as opposed to the noise 140 as "heard" by the microphones). In addition, an application(s) 112 can be executed by the HMD system 100 under test while test data is being gathered and recorded, such test data including, for example, the aforementioned temperature data, drive data, utilization data, and the like. This gathered data may be plotted as a function of the drive level of the fan 118 as well. A model(s) 138 can be generated based on such testing, the model(s) 138 being usable to determine, based on one or more types of input data, an audio parameter value( s) ( e.g., a frequency parameter value, a phase parameter value, an amplitude parameter value, a tone parameter value, a pitch parameter value, a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) parameter value, etc.) that can be used to generate a noise reducing sound 142 for reducing the fan noise 140 at a location of an ear of the user 106,” Hudman [0027], “Although one use of the microphones 126 of the HMD 102 may be to capture the sound of the user's 106 voice (e.g., to allow the user 106 to issue voice commands, and/or talk to other users wearing other HMDs, etc.), the microphones 126 of the HMD 102 may also be configured to generate audio data representing the noise 140 that is being produced by the fan(s) 118 of the HMD 102 for use of the audio data in ANR, as described herein,” Hudman [0039], “At 418, power may be supplied to the microphone (s) 126 of the HMD 102 for use of the microphone(s) 126 in an ANR algorithm. This is sometimes referred to as "opening" the microphone(s) 126 to capture sound in their environment,” Hudman [0056]).
Claim 19: Hudman discloses a non-transitory, machine-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to (see at least, “The memory 134 may be implemented as computer-readable storage media ("CRSM"), which may be any available physical media accessible by the processor(s) 116 to execute instructions stored on the memory 134. In one basic implementation, CRSM may include RAM and Flash memory. In other implementations, CRSM may include, but is not limited to, ROM, EEPROM, or any other non-transitory and/or tangible medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the processor(s) 116,” Hudman [0062]):
operate a sound-generating component of an electronic device (see at least, “The fan(s) 118 may produce noise 140 during operation of the fan(s) 118. This noise 140 may be heard by the user 106 while the application(s) 112 is executing (e.g., while a video game is being played) due to the "off-ear" speaker(s) 114 of the HMD 102,” Hudman [0022]);
obtain audio content (see at least, “A model(s) 138 stored in the memory 134 may be referenced and used at runtime to determine, based on the received data, one or more audio parameter values that are to be used to output a noise reducing sound 142 having one or more audio characteristics (e.g., frequency, phase, amplitude, etc.) to reduce the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 at a location of an ear of the user 106 of the HMD 102. Such a model(s) 138 may represent any suitable type of model, such as a mathematical model, a statistical model, a model of weights, a trained machine learning model, or the like. Accordingly, the model(s) 138 can be generated in various ways, depending on the type of model(s) 138,” Hudman [0026], “Once the model(s) 138 is generated and is accessible to the HMD system 100 (e.g., stored in the memory 134 thereof), the model(s) 138 can be used during runtime to reduce fan noise 140. That is, the audio parameter value(s) (determined based on the received data and using the model(s) 138) can be used to generate a noise reduction signal that causes a noise reducing sound(s) 142 to be output via the one or more off-ear speakers 114 of the HMD 102, the noise reducing sound(s) 142 causing the fan noise 140 to be reduced, if not eliminated, at a location( s) of the user's 106 ear(s). For example, with the example HMD 102 described herein, the first (e.g., left) off-ear speaker 114(1) may output a first sound 142 having one or more first audio characteristics (e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase, etc.) that are based at least in part on the determined audio parameter value(s), and the second (e.g., right) off-ear speaker 114(2) may output a second sound 142 having one or more second audio characteristics (e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase, etc.) that are based at least in part on the determined audio parameter value(s). In this manner, the first sound 142 may reduce the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 at a location of a first e.g., left) ear of the user 106, and the second sound 142 may reduce the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 at a location of a second (e.g., right) ear of the user 106. The noise reducing sound(s) 142 may have the same amplitude as the amplitude of the fan noise 140, but an inverted phase (e.g., due to phase shifting) and/or a nulling frequency to reduce the unwanted fan noise 140. In some examples, the noise reducing sound(s) 142 may be represented by a sound wave having the same or directly proportional amplitude and the opposite polarity (e.g., a reversed polarity waveform) as the sound wave of the fan noise 140. The noise reducing sound(s) 142 described herein may be represented by a sound wave having any suitable audio characteristic that destructively interferes with the sound wave of the fan noise 140 at a location(s) of the ear(s) of the user 106 to reduce or attenuate the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 in the vicinity of the user's ear(s),” Hudman [0029]);
obtain, by the electronic device, a geometric distribution for an output of the audio content, the geometric distribution configured to mitigate a sound corresponding to the sound-generating component (see at least, “FIG. 3 illustrates a first instance 300(1) of the noise 140 produced by the fan 118 that is detected by the first microphone 126(1) and a second instance 300(2) of the noise 140 produced by the fan 118 that is detected by the second microphone 126(2). The fan noise 140 may result in different audio data generated by each microphone 126 due to the direction and/or the location of the fan 118 relative to each microphone 126. In some examples, the direction and/or location of the fan 118 relative to each microphone 126 can be described in terms of a relative azimuth angle 302 and a relative elevation angle 304 from either microphone 126(1) or 126(2), or from another location (e.g., from a midpoint between the microphones 126(1) and 126(2)). The relative direction and/or location of the fan 118 from each of the microphones 126 of the HMD 102 may dictate the audio parameter(s) values of the noise reduction signal (s), as described herein. That is, the model(s) 138 may include or otherwise reflect the directionality and/or the relatively location of the fan(s) 118 of the HMD 102 with respect to the microphone(s) 126, and the audio parameter value(s) (e.g., a frequency parameter value, a phase parameter value, and/or an amplitude parameter value, etc.) determined at block 204 of the process 200-which can be used to output the noise reducing sound 142 via the off-ear speakers 114(1) and 114(2)-may vary depending on the direction and/or location of the fan(s) 118 relative to the first microphone 126(1) and/or the second microphone 126(2). Accordingly, the directionality of the fan(s) 118 may be factored into the determination of the audio parameter value(s) at block 204 of the process 200, in some examples,” Hudman [0040], Hudman FIG. 3); and
operate a plurality of speakers of the electronic device to output the audio content in accordance with the obtained geometric distribution (see at least, “which can be used to output the noise reducing sound 142 via the off-ear speakers 114(1) and 114(2),” Hudman [0040]).
Hudman does not disclose to mitigate, at or near the sound-generating component, a sound corresponding to the sound-generating component. However, Jarvinen discloses a similar apparatus where the concept is “to provide a signal which attempts to perform sound masking by the addition of natural or artificial sound (such as white noise or pink noise) into an environment to cover up unwanted sound. The sound masking signal thus attempts to reduce or eliminate awareness of pre-existing sounds in a given area and can make a work environment more comfortable, while creating speech privacy so workers can concentrate and be more productive. In the concept as discussed herein an analysis is performed on the 'live' audio around the apparatus and further or comfort audio objects are added in a spatial manner. In other words the spatial directions of noise or audio objects are analysed for spatial directions and further or comfort audio object(s) are added into the corresponding spatial direction(s),” Jarvinen [0087], “The concept in other words attempts to remove/reduce the impact of background noise (or any sound perceived by user as disturbing) coming from the "live" audio environment around the user and make the background noise less disturbing (for example for listening of music with the device),” Jarvinen [0088]. Jarvinen further discloses to mitigate (see at least, “Comfort audio signals or audio sources such as employed in the embodiments herein does not attempt to cancel the background noise but instead attempts to mask the noise sources or make the noise sources less annoying/audible,” Jarvinen [0086], “The concept in other words attempts to remove/reduce the impact of background noise (or any sound perceived by user as disturbing) coming from the "live" audio environment around the user and make the background noise less disturbing (for example for listening of music with the device). This is achieved by recording with a set of microphones the live spatial sound field around the user device, then monitoring and analyzing the live audio field, and finally hiding the background noise behind a suitably matched or formed spatial "comfort audio" signal comprising comfort audio objects. The comfort audio signal is spatially matched to the background noise, and the hiding is complemented by spectral and temporal matching. The matching is based on continuous analysis of the live audio environment around the listener with a set of microphones and subsequent processing. The embodiments as described herein thus do not aim to remove or reduce the surrounding noise per se but instead make it less audible, less annoying and less disturbing for the listener,” Jarvinen [0088]), at or near the sound-generating component, a sound corresponding to the sound-generating component (see at least, “In some embodiments the comfort audio object generator 603 comprises a comfort audio object positioner 703. The comfort audio object positioner 703 is configured to receive the comfort audio objects 1 to L1 generated from the comfort audio object generator 701 with respect to each of the local audio objects and positions the comfort audio object at the location of the associated local audio object. Furthermore in some embodiments the comfort audio object positioner 703 can be configured to modify or process the loudness (or sets the volume or power) of the comfort audio object such that the loudness best matches the loudness of the corresponding live audio object,” Jarvinen [0201]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the aforementioned features of Jarvinen in the invention of Hudman given the advantage “to reduce or eliminate awareness of pre-existing sounds,” Jarvinen [0087], in the invention of Hudman, “in different spatial locations while leaving the audio environment in other directions intact,” Jarvinen [0089].
Claim 20: Hudman and Jarvinen disclose the non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the sound-generating component comprises a thermal management component (see at least, “Head-mounted displays (HMDs), such as virtual reality (VR) headsets, are used both within and outside of the video game industry. Some users run their headsets to their maximum performance, such as by throttling the central processing unit (CPU) and the graphics processing unit (GPU), to achieve a high-fidelity experience. When electronic components are running at or near their maximum performance, they tend to get hot. Many VR headsets include fans to cool electronic components when they get too hot, thereby preventing them from overheating,” Hudman [0001], “With VR headsets that have off-ear speakers, the noise produced by the fan(s) of the headset can be unpleasant for the headset user. Moreover, the fan noise may interfere with the user's ability to hear the sound of the audio content being output via the off-ear speakers, such as the sound of a video game being played by the user. For example, when a fan of the headset is operating, the fan may produce a humming, buzzing, or whirring sound that is audible to the headset user due to the off-ear speakers of the headset,” Hudman [0002], “However, the fan(s) also produces noise as a byproduct,” Hudman [0010], “For instance, when an electronic component(s) (e.g., the CPU(s) 130) starts to heat up and the temperature sensor(s) 124 senses an elevated temperature of the electronic component(s), this may trigger the fan(s) 118 to start operating to cool the electronic component(s). Accordingly, an elevated temperature sensed by the temperature sensor(s) 124, for example, may be indicative of the fan(s) 118 operating, and, hence, making noise 140. As another example, if the fan(s) 118 is being driven at a certain level, and if drive data indicative of this drive level is received by the processor(s) 116, such drive data is indicative of the fan(s) 118 operating, and, hence, making noise 140. As yet another example, if the CPU(s) 130 and/or GPU(s) 132 utilization suddenly increases, this may be indicative of the CPU(s) 130 and/or GPU(s) 132 running at or near maximum performance, which may indicate that the CPU(s) 130 and/or GPU(s) 132 is overheating, or is about to overheat, which, in turn, may indicate that the fan(s) 118 is operating to cool the electronic component(s), and, hence, making noise 140,” Hudman [0025]).
Claim(s) 9 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hudman and Jarvinen in view of Xiang et al. (US 2012/0316869 A1), hereinafter Xiang.
Claim 9: Hudman and Jarvinen disclose the device of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are configured to output the audio content in accordance with the obtained geometric distribution by operating the plurality of speakers (see at least, “The ANR component(s) 136 may represent computer-
executable instructions that, when executed by the processor(s) 116, cause performance of the operations and techniques described herein, such as the execution of an ANR algorithm for reducing the fan noise 140 at a location (s) of the user's 106 ear(s). For instance, an ANR algorithm may cause the one or more off-ear speakers 114 to output a sound(s) 142 having one or more audio characteristics (e.g.,
frequency, phase, amplitude, etc.) to reduce the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 at a location of an ear of the user 106 of the HMD 102,” Hudman [0023]) but does not disclose as a beamforming speaker array to project the recorded environmental sound of the sound-generating entity to a location of the sound-generating entity in the physical environment. However, Xiang discloses a similar technique regarding “a way to obscure or mask acoustic signals (e.g., voice, speech or other signal) using an electronic device,” Xiang [0026]. Xiang further discloses a beamforming speaker array to project the recorded environmental sound of the sound-generating entity to a location of the sound-generating entity in the physical environment (see at least, “The system and methods disclosed herein may use,
for example, multiple loudspeakers, directional loudspeakers, beam forming techniques and/or device insulation to improve system performance and/or user experience,” Xiang [0032], “steer the acoustic masking signal 152 away from strong ambient signals (e.g., sounds) 148a-n that are sufficient to mask the acoustic voice signal 146 and/or potentially towards quiet ambient signals 148a-n and/or in directions without acoustic ambient signals 148a-n,” Xiang [0061]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the aforementioned teaching of Xiang to the sound of the fan taught by Hudman given the advantage that Xiang provides “a way to obscure or mask acoustic signals (e.g., voice, speech or other signal) using an electronic device,” Xiang [0026].
Claim 12: Hudman and Jarvinen disclose the device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain the audio content having one or more frequencies that are the same as or complementary to a frequency of the sound of the sound-generating component (see at least, “Once the model(s) 138 is generated and is accessible to the HMD system 100 (e.g., stored in the memory 134 thereof), the model(s) 138 can be used during runtime to reduce fan noise 140. That is, the audio parameter value(s) (determined based on the received data and using the model(s) 138) can be used to generate a noise reduction signal that causes a noise reducing sound(s) 142 to be output via the one or more off-ear speakers 114 of the HMD 102, the noise reducing sound(s) 142 causing the fan noise 140 to be reduced, if not eliminated, at a location( s) of the user's 106 ear(s). For example, with the example HMD 102 described herein, the first (e.g., left) off-ear speaker 114(1) may output a first sound 142 having one or more first audio characteristics (e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase, etc.) that are based at least in part on the determined audio parameter value(s), and the second (e.g., right) off-ear speaker 114(2) may output a second sound 142 having one or more second audio characteristics (e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase, etc.) that are based at least in part on the determined audio parameter value(s). In this manner, the first sound 142 may reduce the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 at a location of a first e.g., left) ear of the user 106, and the second sound 142 may reduce the noise 140 produced by the fan(s) 118 at a location of a second (e.g., right) ear of the user 106,” Hudman [0029]) but does not disclose by selecting media content. However, Xiang discloses a similar technique regarding “a way to obscure or mask acoustic signals (e.g., voice, speech or other signal) using an electronic device,” Xiang [0026]. Xiang further discloses selecting media content (see at least, “In one configuration of the systems and methods disclosed herein, a voice microphone captures speech. The character of the speech may then be analyzed, from which an electronic device derives a control signal to manipulate a masker (e.g., masking signal generator). The masker source signal may be the speech itself, a synthesized signal and/or audio ( e.g., a sound signal) from other sources such as media files inside a handset, for example,” Xiang [0040]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the aforementioned teaching of Xiang to the sound of the fan taught by Hudman given the advantage that Xiang provides “a way to obscure or mask acoustic signals (e.g., voice, speech or other signal) using an electronic device,” Xiang [0026].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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.
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/JOSEPH SAUNDERS JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2692