Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
DETAILED ACTION
Introduction
This action responds to application 18/660,424 filed on 05-10-2024. Claims 1-20 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention
encompasses a signal per se. Per MPEP 2106 Section I, transitory forms of signal
transmission are non-patent eligible subject matter. In this case, claim 20 recites a
" a computer program product, stored on a computer readable medium ". The specification is silent on " a computer program product, stored on a computer readable medium " therefore the limitation is being interpreted under ordinary and
customary meaning. According to the Interim Examination Instructions for Evaluating
Subject Matter Eligibility Under 35 U.S.C. § 101, Aug. 24 2009 memo, the ordinary and
customary meaning of " a computer program product, stored on a computer readable medium " encompasses signals. See In re Nuijten, 500 F.3d 1346, 1356-57 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (transitory embodiments are not directed to statutory subject matter.)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
4. 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 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.
5. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
6. Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a (1) as being anticipated by Rollow, IV et al. (US 2020/0068297).
Consider Claim 1, Rollow teaches a beamforming audio processing apparatus(see figs. 2-3) comprising at least one processor and a memory storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the processor, to cause the beamforming audio processing apparatus(see figs. 2-5 and paragraphs[0058]-[0068]}. to:
Receive(see figs. 2-5) audio data from a plurality audio capture devices comprising at least one microphone array located within an audio environment; generate a steered response power (SRP) transformation of the audio data, wherein the SRP transformation comprises a set of SRP weights for a spatial coordinate grid representing the audio environment; perform, based at least in part on a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) estimate associated with the SRP transformation(see figs. 5-14E and paragraphs[0063]-[0083]),
one or more of beamforming steering or beamforming selection with respect to the at least one microphone array; and output, based at least in part on the beamforming steering or the beamforming selection, beamformed audio data via the at least one microphone array(see figs. 5-14E and paragraphs[0085]-[0103]).
Consider Claims 2 and 3, Rollow teaches the beamforming audio processing apparatus wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the beamforming audio processing apparatus to: determine steering coordinates for at least one beamforming lobe associated with the at least one microphone array based at least in part on the SRP transformation of the audio data; and perform one or more of the beamforming steering or the beamforming selection with respect to the at least one microphone array based at least in part on the steering coordinates(see figs. 2-14E and paragraphs[0085]-[0103]}; and the beamforming audio processing apparatus wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the beamforming audio processing apparatus to: apply spatial filtering of the audio data based at least in part on the steering coordinates to generate the beamformed audio data for the at least one microphone array; and output the beamformed audio data toward a sound source associated with the steering coordinates(see figs. 2-14E and paragraphs[0063]-[0092]}.
Consider Claims 4 and 5, Rollow teaches the beamforming audio processing apparatus wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the beamforming audio processing apparatus to: select a first microphone array or a second microphone array to output the beamformed audio data based at least in part on a comparison between the SRP transformation of the audio data and an alternate SRP transformation of the audio data. (see figs. 2-14E and paragraphs[0085]-[0103]}; and the beamforming audio processing apparatus wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the beamforming audio processing apparatus to: select a beamforming lobe for the at least one microphone array to output the beamformed audio data based at least in part on the SNR estimate associated with the SRP transformation(see figs. 2-14E and paragraphs[0065]-[0110]}.
Consider Claims 6 and 7, Rollow teaches the beamforming audio processing apparatus wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the beamforming audio processing apparatus to: apply predefined beamforming coefficients to respective values of the spatial coordinate grid to generate the SRP transformation (see figs. 2-14E and paragraphs[0063]-[0092]}; and the beamforming audio processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the beamforming audio processing apparatus to: determine steering coordinates for at least one beamforming lobe associated with the at least one microphone array based at least in part on the SRP transformation of the audio data; compare the steering coordinates against predefined polar patterns to verify the steering coordinates; and perform one or more of the beamforming steering or the beamforming selection with respect to the at least one microphone array based at least in part on the steering coordinates(see figs. 2-14E and paragraphs[0085]-[0103]}.
Consider Claims 8 and 9, Rollow teaches the beamforming audio processing apparatus wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the beamforming audio processing apparatus to: determine steering coordinates for at least one beamforming lobe associated with the at least one microphone array based at least in part on the SRP transformation of the audio data; compare the steering coordinates to a previous beamformed frame to verify the steering coordinates; and perform one or more of the beamforming steering or the beamforming selection with respect to the at least one microphone array based at least in part on the steering coordinates(see figs. 2-14E and paragraphs[0085]-[0103]}; and the beamforming audio processing apparatus wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the beamforming audio processing apparatus to: determine steering coordinates for at least one beamforming lobe associated with the at least one microphone array based at least in part on the SRP transformation of the audio data determine a confidence value for the steering coordinates based at least in part on the SNR estimate; and apply spatial filtering of the audio data based at least in part on the confidence value satisfying a confidence threshold(see figs. 2-14E and paragraphs[0065]-[0110]}.
Consider Claims 10 and 11, Rollow teaches the beamforming audio processing apparatus wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the beamforming audio processing apparatus to: determine steering coordinates for at least one beamforming lobe associated with the at least one microphone array based at least in part on the SRP transformation of the audio data determine a confidence value for the steering coordinates based at least in part on the SNR estimate; and update beamforming weights for the audio data based at least in part on the confidence value satisfying a confidence threshold(see figs. 2-14E and paragraphs[0065]-[0110]}; and the beamforming audio processing apparatus wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the beamforming audio processing apparatus to: compare the SNR estimate to a different SNR estimate for a different microphone array; and responsive to a determination that the SNR estimate is greater than the different SNR estimate, generate the beamformed audio data(see figs. 2-14E and paragraphs[0065]-[0110]}.
Consider Claim 12, Rollow teaches a computer-implemented method performed by an audio signal processing apparatus(see paragraph[0072]), comprising:
receiving(see figs. 2-5) audio data from a plurality audio capture devices comprising at least one microphone array located within an audio environment; generating a steered response power (SRP) transformation of the audio data, wherein the SRP transformation comprises a set of SRP weights for a spatial coordinate grid representing the audio environment; performing, based at least in part on a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) estimate associated with the SRP transformation(see figs. 5-14E and paragraphs[0063]-[0083]},
one or more of beamforming steering or beamforming selection with respect to the at least one microphone array; and outputting, based at least in part on the beamforming steering or the beamforming selection, beamformed audio data via the at least one microphone array(see figs. 5-14E and paragraphs[0085]-[0103]).
Consider Claims 13 and 14, Rollow teaches the computer-implemented method further comprising: determining steering coordinates for at least one beamforming lobe associated with the at least one microphone array based at least in part on the SRP transformation of the audio data; and performing one or more of the beamforming steering or the beamforming selection with respect to the at least one microphone array based at least in part on the steering coordinates(see figs. 5-14E and paragraphs[0065]-[0103]); and the computer-implemented method further comprising: applying spatial filtering of the audio data based at least in part on the steering coordinates to generate the beamformed audio data for the at least one microphone array; and outputting the beamformed audio data toward a sound source associated with the steering coordinates(see figs. 5-14E and paragraphs[0065]-[0103]).
Consider Claims 15 and 16, Rollow teaches the computer-implemented method further comprising: selecting a first microphone array or a second microphone array to output the beamformed audio data based at least in part on a comparison between the SRP transformation of the audio data and an alternate SRP transformation of the audio data(see figs. 2-14E and paragraphs[0065]-[0110]}; and the computer-implemented method further comprising: selecting a beamforming lobe for the at least one microphone array to output the beamformed audio data based at least in part on the SNR estimate associated with the SRP transformation(see figs. 2-14E and paragraphs[0065]-[0110]}..
Consider Claims 17 and 18, Rollow teaches the computer-implemented method further comprising: applying predefined beamforming coefficients to respective values of the spatial coordinate grid to generate the SRP transformation(see figs. 5-14E and paragraphs[0065]-[0103]); and the computer-implemented method further comprising: determining steering coordinates for at least one beamforming lobe associated with the at least one microphone array based at least in part on the SRP transformation of the audio data; comparing the steering coordinates against predefined polar patterns to verify the steering coordinates; and performing one or more of the beamforming steering or the beamforming selection with respect to the at least one microphone array based at least in part on the steering coordinates(see figs. 5-14E and paragraphs[0065]-[0103])..
Consider Claim 19, Rollow teaches the computer-implemented method further comprising: determining steering coordinates for at least one beamforming lobe associated with the at least one microphone array based at least in part on the SRP transformation of the audio data; comparing the steering coordinates to a previous beamformed frame to verify the steering coordinates; and performing one or more of the beamforming steering or the beamforming selection with respect to the at least one microphone array based at least in part on the steering coordinates(see figs. 2-14E and paragraphs[0065]-[0110]}.
Consider Claim 20, Rollow teaches a computer program product, stored on a computer readable medium(see paragraph[0072]), comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an audio signal processing apparatus, cause the one or more processors(see figs. 2-5 and paragraphs[0058]-[0068]) to:
receive (see figs. 2-5) audio data from a plurality audio capture devices comprising at least one microphone array located within an audio environment; generate a steered response power (SRP) transformation of the audio data, wherein the SRP transformation comprises a set of SRP weights for a spatial coordinate grid representing the audio environment; perform, based at least in part on a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) estimate associated with the SRP transformation(see figs. 5-14E and paragraphs[0063]-[0083]},
one or more of beamforming steering or beamforming selection with respect to the at least one microphone array; and output, based at least in part on the beamforming steering or the beamforming selection, beamformed audio data via the at least one microphone array(see figs. 5-14E and paragraphs[0085]-[0103]).
Conclusion
7. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. Zheng et. al. (US 2025/0080892) is cited to show other related the BEAMFORMING FOR A MICROPHONE ARRAY BASED ON A STEERED RESPONSE POWER TRANSFORMATION OF AUDIO DATA.
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/LUN-SEE LAO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2691 US Patent and Trademark Office
Knox
571-272-7501
Date 01-15-2026