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
The Office Action is responsive to amendments filed for application 18/519,324 filed on 11/13/2025. Please note claims 1-10 remain in the application.
Applicant’s amendment to Fig. 5 has been acknowledged, and the objection regarding the missing reference signs is withdrawn. However, further objections remain, detailed under the heading “Drawings.”
Response to Remarks and Arguments
On page 8, paragraph 4 of applicant’s remarks, filed 11/13/2025, applicant notes the filing of a terminal disclaimer with respect to application 18/502,148. To date, no terminal disclaimer appears to have been submitted in either application. As such, the application remains provisionally rejected under grounds of double patenting.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 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.
Drawings
Figures 1, 2, and 5 are objected to because shown components are not clearly identified in the figure. Elements critical to the understanding of the invention should also be identified via written legend (See 37 CFR 1.84 (o)). Such a legend may, for example, be placed above, below, or alongside the figures as presented, identifying elements by name and number (e.g. 6: First Hearing Device).
New corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in this application. Applicant is advised to employ the services of a competent patent draftsperson outside the Office, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office no longer prepares new drawings. The corrected drawings are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The requirement for corrected drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claim 1 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 12 of copending Application No. 18/502,148 (Reference application) in view of Allegro-Baumann et al (hereinafter Allegro-Baumann), US-PG-PUB No. 2007/0269064. Note that unless otherwise specified, the reference claim language is found in claim 11 of the copending application, from which claim 12 is dependent.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Current Application
Reference Application 18/502148
1. A method of operating a hearing system, the hearing system including a first hearing device and a second hearing device, the first hearing device having a first reference microphone and a first auxiliary microphone, and the second hearing device having a number of microphones, the method comprising:
11. A method for operating a hearing system, the hearing system having a first hearing device and a second hearing device, the first hearing device having at least a first reference microphone and a first auxiliary microphone, and the second hearing device having a plurality of second microphones, which comprises the following steps:
for the first hearing device:
performing, via the first hearing device, the substeps of:
generating a first reference signal and a first auxiliary signal from an ambient sound by the first reference microphone and the first auxiliary microphone, respectively;
generating a first reference signal and a first auxiliary signal from an environment sound via the first reference microphone and the first auxiliary microphone, respectively;
defining a first frontal direction as a direction from the first auxiliary microphone towards the first reference microphone; and
a first frontal direction is defined as a direction from the first auxiliary microphone towards the first reference microphone,
generating a first pre-processed signal by applying a direction-sensitive pre-processing to the first reference signal and the auxiliary signal by way of corresponding first reference and first auxiliary pre-processing coefficients, respectively,
generating a first pre-processed signal by applying a direction-sensitive pre-processing to the first reference signal and the first auxiliary signal, by means of corresponding first reference and first auxiliary pre-processing coefficients, respectively;
to be chosen and applied to the first reference signal and the first auxiliary signal accordingly in such a way that the first pre-processed signal shows a maximal attenuation for a generic sound signal originating from an angle that is restricted to an angular range of [+105°, +255°] with respect to the first frontal direction;
in a way that the first pre-processed signal shows a maximal attenuation for the generic sound signal originating from an angular range of [+90°, +270°] with respect to the first frontal direction.
providing a first head-related transfer function that is representative of a propagation of a generic sound signal from a given angle towards the first hearing device when the first hearing device is mounted on a head of a user;
providing for the first reference microphone and the first auxiliary microphone, a first reference head related transfer function and a first auxiliary head related transfer function, being representative of a propagation of a generic sound signal from a given angle towards the first reference microphone and the first auxiliary microphone when the first hearing device is mounted on a head of a user; and
for the second hearing device:
performing, via the second hearing device, the substeps of:
generating a second pre-processed signal by way of the number of microphones, the second pre-processed signal being representative of the ambient sound; and
generating a second pre-processed signal by means of the plurality of second microphones, the second pre-processed signal being representative of the environment sound;
providing a second position-related transfer function, representative of the propagation of the generic sound signal from a given angle towards the second hearing device when the second hearing device is mounted at a specific location; and
providing a second position related transfer function, representative of the propagation of the generic sound signal from the given angle towards the second hearing device when the second hearing device is mounted at a specific location; and
performing a direction-sensitive signal processing task on the first pre-processed signal and the second pre-processed signal, using the first head-related transfer function and the second position-related transfer function; and
performing a direction-sensitive signal processing task on the first pre-processed signal and the second pre-processed signal, using the first head related transfer function and the second position related transfer function for the direction-sensitive signal processing task.
generating the first pre-processed signal by way of an adaptive beamforming process employing the first reference and first auxiliary pre-processing coefficients.
From claim 12: generating the first pre-processed signal by means of an adaptive beamforming process employing the corresponding first reference and first auxiliary pre-processing coefficients.
Table 1
The reference claim fails to recite wherein the first pre-processed signal is generated in such a way that the first pre-processed signal shows a maximal attenuation for a generic sound signal originating from an angle that is restricted to an angular range from +105° to +255° with respect to the first frontal direction, instead citing the range +90° to +270°.
Allegro-Baumann teaches a method wherein a beamforming hearing device (¶[0143], lines 7-8) may generate processed signals (Shown in Fig. 2, a transmission unit (20) applies transfer function (G) to generate processed signal (7).....¶[0105], lines 1-7) in such a way that the first signal shows a maximal attenuation (Noises other than those of interest may be fully suppressed (maximally attenuated).....¶[0143], lines 1-5) for a generic sound signal originating from an angle that is restricted (The beamformer’s performance is defined by an angular range Δθ (Shown in Figs. 8 and 9), wherein noises within the range are amplified, and noises outside the range are suppressed. Therefore, attenuation is restricted to outside the range Δθ.....¶[0145], lines 15-20, ¶[0146], lines 5-8) to an angular range from +105° to +255° (Shown in Fig. 9, the range in which attenuation occurs is restricted to from +105° to +255°. This may be seen in the annotated figure below, in which Allegro-Baumann Fig. 9 is overlaid with applicant’s Fig. 4, depicting the same range.....¶[0147], lines 1-3), with respect to a first frontal direction (The user is facing 0°, using the same first frontal direction as applicant’s Fig. 4).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified reference claim 11 to provide the benefit of a hearing system wherein sound signals originating from the user’s periphery could be perceived without the user turning their head.....Allegro-Baumann, ¶[0147], lines 12-13). Such a modification would make obvious the feature wherein a beamforming hearing device may generate processed signals in such a way that the first signal shows a maximal attenuation for a generic sound signal originating from an angle that is restricted to an angular range from +105° to +255°, with respect to a first frontal direction.
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Allegro-Baumann Fig. 9 (Annotated)
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.
Claims 1, 4, 6-7, and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Olsson, US-PG-PUB 2015/0172807 (previously cited) in view of Rung, US-PG-PUB 2011/0044460 in further view of Allegro-Baumann.
Regarding claim 1, Olsson discloses a method of operating a hearing system (A hearing aid apparatus.....¶[0010], line 1), the hearing system having a first hearing device (Shown in Fig. 1, first beamformer (105) with attached microphones 101 and 103) and a second hearing device (Second beamformer (106) with attached microphones 103 and 104),
the first hearing device having a first reference microphone (Shown in Fig. 1, microphone (101)), and a first auxiliary microphone (102), and the second hearing device having a number of microphones (microphones (103) and (104)), the method comprising:
for the first hearing device: generating a first reference signal and a first auxiliary signal (Shown in Fig. 1, first reference microphone and first auxiliary microphone generate and feed first reference signal and first auxiliary signal into first beamformer (105).....¶[0062], lines 1-4) from an ambient sound by the first reference microphone and the first auxiliary microphone, respectively (Microphone signals are representative of desired signals (e.g. speech) and noise signals (e.g. wind), types of ambient sound received at said microphones.....¶[0013] line 1, ¶[0014] line 1); and
defining a first frontal direction as a direction from the first auxiliary microphone towards the first reference microphone (The microphone pair may be in an end-fire configuration, aligned with a signal source in a first frontal direction with respect to the wearer.....¶[0097], lines 6-9); and
generating a first pre-processed signal (The first beamformer processes input microphone signals to output signal “XL”.....¶[0062], lines 5-6) by applying a direction-sensitive pre-processing (The beamformer outputs adapt spatial (directional) in the processing of its signal.....¶[0063], lines 1-3) to the first reference signal and the auxiliary signal (Shown in Fig. 1, the beamformer processes the input reference and auxiliary signals.....¶[0062], lines 1-2) in such a way that the first pre-processed signal shows a attenuation for sound signals other than the target sound signal (The beamformers are configured to suppress noise other than a desired sound signal.....¶[0063], lines 1-4), and
providing a first head-related transfer function (A transfer function “GL” is provided by the first beamformer along with XL.....¶[0065], lines 1-2) that is representative of a propagation of a generic sound signal from a given angle towards the first hearing device when the first hearing device is mounted on a head of a user (The transfer function is derived from the microphone inputs, and therefore representative of sound signals received at the microphones of the first beamformer, which is mounted on the head of the user as shown in Fig. 3.....¶[0066], lines 1-5);
for the second hearing device: generating a second pre-processed signal by way of the number of microphones, the second pre-processed signal being representative of the ambient sound (As with the first hearing device, the second hearing device also pre-processes its two input signals via a first-stage beamformer to provide second signal XR…..¶[0062], lines 5-6); and
providing a second position-related transfer function, representative of the propagation of the generic sound signal from a given angle towards the second hearing device when the second hearing device is mounted at a specific location (As with the first hearing device, a transfer function “GR” for the second hearing device is provided based on data output from the beamformer…..¶[0065], lines 1-2); and
performing a direction-sensitive signal processing task on the first pre-processed signal and the second pre-processed signal (Shown in Fig. 1, a third beamformer (107) performs direction-sensitive signal processing on the outputs of the first two beamformers (first and second pre-processed signals.....¶[0064], lines 1-4), using the first head-related transfer function and the second position-related transfer function (The output signal is derived using the transfer functions previously mentioned.....¶[0064], lines 4-6, ¶[0065], lines 1-3); and
generating the first pre-processed signal by way of an adaptive beamforming process (Stated previously, the beamformers spatially adaptable.....¶[0063], lines 1-3).
Olsson fails to explicitly teach wherein the first pre-processed signal is generated by way of corresponding first reference and first auxiliary pre-processing coefficients, instead teaching wherein the beamformers may be configured according to WO 2009/132646 (additionally published as Rung) (¶[0063], lines 5-6).
Olsson additionally fails to teach wherein the first pre-processed signal is generated in such a way that the first pre-processed signal shows a maximal attenuation for a generic sound signal originating from an angle that is restricted to an angular range of [+105°, +255°] with respect to the first frontal direction.
Rung teaches wherein a beamformer signal (Shown in Fig. 1, Sout) is generated by way of corresponding first reference and first auxiliary pre-processing coefficients (As part of the audio processing, the first audio signal (from first microphone (2)) and second audio signal (from second microphone (4).....¶[0021], lines 1-5), respectively, to be chosen and applied to the first reference signal and the first auxiliary signal.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Olsson by Rung to provide the benefit of an output which may minimize contributions from noise signals received unevenly at the microphones (Rung, ¶[0021], lines 7-10). Such modification would make obvious the features wherein the first pre-processed signal is generated by way of corresponding first reference and first auxiliary pre-processing coefficients, respectively, to be chosen and applied to the first reference signal and the first auxiliary signal accordingly, and generating the first pre-processed signal by way of an adaptive beamforming process employing the first reference and first auxiliary pre-processing coefficients.
This combination fails to teach wherein the first pre-processed signal is generated in such a way that the first pre-processed signal shows a maximal attenuation for a generic sound signal originating from an angle that is restricted to an angular range of [+105°, +255°] with respect to the first frontal direction.
Allegro-Baumann teaches a method wherein a beamforming hearing device (¶[0143], lines 7-8) may generate processed signals (Shown in Fig. 2, a transmission unit (20) applies transfer function (G) to generate processed signal (7).....¶[0105], lines 1-7) in such a way that the first signal shows a maximal attenuation (Noises other than those of interest may be fully suppressed (maximally attenuated).....¶[0143], lines 1-5) for a generic sound signal originating from an angle that is restricted (The beamformer’s performance is defined by an angular range Δθ (Shown in Figs. 8 and 9), wherein noises within the range are amplified, and noises outside the range are suppressed. Therefore, attenuation is restricted to outside the range Δθ.....¶[0145], lines 15-20, ¶[0146], lines 5-8) to an angular range of [+105°, +255°] with respect to the first frontal direction (Shown in Fig. 9, the range outside of Δθ in which attenuation occurs is an angular range of 150° ([+105,+255]), centered opposite (with respect to) of the first frontal direction. This may be seen in the annotated figure below, in which Allegro-Baumann Fig. 9 is overlaid with applicant’s Fig. 4, depicting identical ranges.....¶[0147], lines 1-3), with respect to a first frontal direction (The user is facing towards the top of the figure (0°), using the same first frontal direction as applicant Fig. 4).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Olsson and Rung by Allegro-Baumann to provide the benefit of a hearing system method wherein sound signals originating from the user’s periphery could be perceived without the user turning their head.....Allegro-Baumann, ¶[0147], lines 12-13). Such a modification would make obvious the feature wherein a beamforming hearing device method may generate processed signals in such a way that the first signal shows a maximal attenuation for a generic sound signal originating from an angle that is restricted to an angular range of [+105°, +255°] with respect to the first frontal direction.
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Allegro-Baumann Fig. 9 (Annotated)
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Olsson, Rung, and Allegro-Baumann teach the method according to claim 1 as explained above.
Olsson additionally teaches wherein the direction-sensitive signal processing task comprises generating a beamformer signal, with the beamformer signal containing signal contributions from the first and second pre-processed signals (The outputs of the first two beamformers are used in a third beamformer.....¶[0064], lines 1-4).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Olsson, Rung, and Allegro-Baumann teach the method according to claim 1 as explained above.
Allegro-Baumann additionally teaches wherein the rear hemisphere may be further divided into angular regions which are investigated more precisely, preventing attenuation of sound signals considered desirable under different configurations (¶[0131], lines 1-4, 10-11).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Olsson, Rung, and Allegro-Baumann further by Allegro-Baumann to provide alternate design choices allowing for the generation of the first pre-processed signal by applying the direction-sensitive pre-processing in such a way that the first pre-processed signal shows a maximal attenuation for a generic sound signal originating from an angle that is restricted to any angular range, including one of [+125°, +235°], with respect to the first frontal direction. This would provide the benefit of a beamforming hearing aid capable of optimizing effectiveness in any situation (Allegro-Baumann, ¶[0002], lines 5-7).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Olsson, Rung, and Allegro-Baumann teach the method according to claim 1 as explained above.
Olsson additionally teaches generating the first pre-processed signal to have a directional characteristic with a cardioid shape (¶[0015], lines 1-6).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Olsson, Rung, and Allegro-Baumann teach the method according to claim 1 as explained above.
Olsson additionally teaches a hearing system, comprising: a first hearing device having a first reference microphone and a first auxiliary microphone (A hearing system (headset) is comprised of a left-side pair (first reference and first auxiliary) of microphones (first hearing device).....¶[0010], lines 1-6); a second hearing device having a number of microphones (A hearing system (headset) is comprised of a right-side pair (first reference and first auxiliary) of microphones (second hearing device).....¶[0010], lines 1-6); a control unit (Data processing system.....¶[0053], lines 1-4) having at least one signal processor (Fig. 1 is that of a signal processor.....¶[0057], line 1), and wherein the hearing system is configured to perform the method according to claim 1 (¶[0053], lines 1-4).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Olsson, Rung, and Allegro-Baumann teach the method according to claim 1 as explained above.
Olsson additionally teaches wherein the system is a binaural hearing system (The system may be configured with a pair of microphones on the left and right side of the head, forming a binaural system.....¶[0010], lines 1-6), with: said first hearing device and said second hearing device being configured to be worn by a user on mutually different ears during an operation of the binaural hearing system (The microphones may be provided to earcups of a headset, placed on left and right ears of a wearer.....¶[0010], lines 6-9).
Claims 2, 3, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Olsson in view of Rung and Allegro-Baumann in further view of Cezanne et al (hereinafter Cezanne), US Patent No. 5,473,701.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Olsson, Rung, and Allegro-Baumann, as explained above, teach the hearing device according to claim 1.
Olsson additionally teaches wherein the number of microphones of the second hearing device includes at least a second reference microphone and a second auxiliary microphone (A right side pair of microphones.....¶[0010], lines 1-6), and
the method further comprises: for the second hearing device: generating a second reference signal and a second auxiliary signal from the ambient sound by the second reference microphone and the second auxiliary microphone, respectively (Shown in Fig. 1, second reference microphone and second auxiliary microphone generate and feed first reference signal and first auxiliary signal into second beamformer (106).....¶[0062], lines 1-4);
defining a second frontal direction as the direction from the second auxiliary microphone towards the second reference microphone (A microphone pair may be aligned with a desired signal source (in a first frontal direction) in an end-fire configuration.....¶[0097], lines 1-4); and
generating the second pre-processed signal by applying a direction-sensitive pre-processing to the second reference signal and the second auxiliary signal (A beamformer (direction-sensitive processor) generates a signal using the second reference and second auxiliary signal.....¶[0062], lines 1-6) in such a way that the second pre-processed signal shows a attenuation for sound signals other than the target sound signal (The beamformers are configured to suppress (attenuate) noise other than a desired sound signal.....¶[0063], lines 1-4).
This further combination fails to teach wherein the second pre-processed signal is generated by way of corresponding second reference and second auxiliary pre-processing coefficients, instead teaching wherein the beamformers may be configured according to WO 2009/132646 (additionally published as Rung, US-PG-PUB 2011/0044460).....¶[0063], lines 5-6.
Olsson additionally fails to teach wherein the second pre-processed signal is generated in such a way that the first pre-processed signal shows a maximal attenuation for a generic sound signal originating from an angle that is restricted to an angular range of 180°, centered opposite of the first frontal direction.
Rung teaches wherein a beamformer signal (Shown in Fig. 1, Sout) is generated by way of corresponding first reference and first auxiliary pre-processing coefficients (As part of the audio processing, the first audio signal (from first microphone (2)) and second audio signal (from second microphone (4).....¶[0021], lines 1-5), respectively, to be chosen and applied to the first reference signal and the first auxiliary signal.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified the combination of Olsson, Rung, and Allegro-Baumann by Rung to provide the benefit of an output which may minimize contributions from noise signals received unevenly at the microphones (Rung, ¶[0021], lines 7-10). Such modification would make obvious the features wherein the second pre-processed signal is generated by way of corresponding second reference and second auxiliary pre-processing coefficients, respectively, to be chosen and applied to the second reference signal and the second auxiliary signal accordingly.
This further combination fails to teach wherein the second pre-processed signal is generated in such a way that the first pre-processed signal shows a maximal attenuation for a generic sound signal originating from an angle that is restricted to an angular range of [+90°, +270°] with respect to the first frontal direction.
Cezanne teaches a method wherein a beamforming device may generate processed signals in such a way that the first signal shows a maximal attenuation (Shown in Fig. 2, the signal is nulled (maximally) attenuated at point NS…..Col. 3, lines 27-30) for a generic sound signal (NS is a noise source (generic sound signal)…..Col. 3, line 30) originating from an angle that is restricted to an angular range of [+90°, +270°] (Referring to Fig. 2, nulls may only be formed in the background region (The rear 180° range)…..Col. 3, lines 36-38 ), with respect to the first frontal direction (Shown in Fig. 2, the foreground is centered around 0°, a first frontal direction).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Olsson, Rung, and Allegro-Baumann by Cezanne to provide a method which avoids attenuating desired sounds in a foreground with respect to a user (Cezanne, Col. 3, lines 38-41). This would make obvious the feature wherein the second pre-processed signal is generated in such a way that the first pre-processed signal shows a maximal attenuation for a generic sound signal originating from an angle that is restricted to an angular range of [+90°, +270°] with respect to the first frontal direction.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Olsson, Rung, Allegro-Baumann, and Cezanne teach the method according to claim 2 as explained above.
Olsson additionally teaches providing as the second position-related transfer function, a second head-related transfer function, the second head-related transfer function being representative of a generic sound signal from a given angle towards the second hearing device when the second hearing device is mounted on the head of the user, with the first and second hearing devices being mounted on mutually opposite sides of the head (The system calculates (provides) head-related transfer functions (GL, GR) for the first and second hearing devices (which are worn on opposite sides of the head of a user during use) based on data output from first stage beamformers.....¶[0065], lines 1-9, ¶[0010], lines 1-6).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Olsson, Rung, Allegro-Baumann, and Cezanne teach the method according to claim 3 as explained above.
Olsson additionally teaches wherein the direction-sensitive signal processing task comprises determining an angle of a sound source by generating a set of spatial filters with the first and second head-related transfer function each of the spatial filters attenuating in space towards different angles (The combined signal of the third beamformer (direction sensitive processing task) takes noise suppression coefficients using the pre-processed signals and derived head-related transfer functions of the first and second device (which will be at different angles as compared to a noise source).....¶[0019], line 1 – ¶[0020], line 8).
This further combination does not teach wherein the attenuation is that of a notch.
Cezanne teaches wherein the attenuation is that of a notch (Shown in Fig. 2, the beamformer response forms a notch at -135°).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Olsson, Rung, Allegro-Baumann, and Cezanne to further incorporate the teachings of Cezanne, and provide wherein each of the spatial filters attenuates as a notch in space. This would provide the benefit of a method which provides nulls with directivity patterns that substantially reduce impinging undesired sounds (Cezanne, Col.2 , lines 56-59).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Olsson in view of Rung, Allegro-Baumann, in further view of As’ad et al (hereinafter As’ad), US-PG-PUB 2019/0394580 (Previously cited).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Olsson, Rung, and Allegro-Baumann teach the method according to claim 1 as explained above, but fail to explicitly teach wherein the head-related transfer functions correspond to individual microphones.
As’ad teaches providing, for the first head-related transfer function, a first auxiliary head-related transfer function, being representative of the propagation of a generic sound signal from a given angle towards the first auxiliary microphone, when located at a respective position on the head of the user (HRTFs are provided for both transducers derived by (given) angle-dependent measurements on human heads.....¶[0022], lines 1-4).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Olsson, Rung, and Allegro-Baumann to incorporate the teachings of As’ad, and provide for the first head-related transfer function, a first auxiliary head-related transfer function, being representative of the propagation of a generic sound signal from a given angle towards the first auxiliary microphone, when located at a respective position on the head of the user. This would provide the further benefit of a system which takes into account the specific anatomy of a hearing instrument’s user (As’ad, ¶[0022], lines 4-6).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Homayoun, US-PG-PUB No. 2017/0353804 teaches a beamforming hearing aid wherein a left and right pre-processed signal are provided by left and right microphone arrays to a beam form processor.
Hertzberg et al, US-PG-PUB No. 2019/0246218 teaches a beamforming hearing aid wherein suppression of noise is restricted to a user-defined angular aperture.
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 SEAN M RINEHART whose telephone number is (571)272-2778. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM ET.
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, Fan Tsang can be reached on (571) 272-7547. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SEAN M RINEHART/ Examiner, Art Unit 2694
/FAN S TSANG/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2694