DETAILED ACTION
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 in response to the claim amendment filed on February 11, 2026 and wherein claims 15, 17, 22, 24, 29, 31 amended and claims 1-14 remained cancellation status, and claim 35 newly added.
In virtue of this communication, claims 15-35 are currently pending in this Office Action.
With respect to the objection of drawings due to lack of support of claimed features in claims 17, 24, 31, as set forth in the previous Office Action, the amendment of claims 17, 24, 31 and argument, see paragraph 3 of page 10 in Remarks filed on February 11, 2026, have been fully considered and the argument is persuasive. Therefore, the objection of drawings due to lack of support of claimed features in claims 17, 24, 31, as set forth in the previous Office Action, has been withdrawn.
With respect to the specification objection due to formality issue, as set forth in the previous Office Action, the specification replacement sheets submitted on February 11, 2026, and argument, see paragraph 2 of page 10 in Remarks filed on February 11, 2026, have been fully considered and the argument is persuasive. Therefore, the specification objection due to the formality issues, as set forth in the previous Office Action, has been withdrawn.
With respect to the objection of claims 15-34 due to formality issues, as set forth in the previous Office Action, the claim amendment, and argument, see paragraph 4 of page 10 in Remarks filed on February 11, 2026, have been fully considered and the argument is persuasive. Therefore, the objection of claims 15-34 due to the formality issues, as set forth in the previous Office Action, has been withdrawn.
With respect to the rejection of claims 17, 24, 31 under 35 USC §112(b), as set forth in the previous Office Action, the claim amendment, and argument, see paragraph 5 of page 10 in Remarks filed on February 11, 2026, have been fully considered and the argument is persuasive. Therefore, the rejection of claims 17, 24, 31 under 35 USC § 112(b), as set forth in the previous Office Action, has been withdrawn.
The Office appreciates the explanation of the amendment and analyses of the prior arts, and however, although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993) and MPEP 2145.
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 of this title, 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 15-17, 20-24, 27-31, 34-35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuwahara et al. (US 20050244010 A1, hereinafter Kuwahara) and in view of references Konagai et al. (US 20080226084 A1, hereinafter Konagai) and Furge et al. (US 20050018860 A1, hereinafter Furge).
Claim 15: Kuwahara teaches a playback device (title and, abstract, ln 1-31, surround sound system in fig. 1), comprising:
at least one forward-firing transducer (FL 132 and FR 133 in fig. 2-3) configured to direct sound along a forward axis of the playback device and toward an intended listening location (listening position in a listening room 10 in figs. 2-3);
at least one side-firing transducer (SBL 134/SBR 135 speakers in figs. 2-3) configured to direct sound along a side axis that is horizontally angled with respect to the forward axis (angled with respect to FL 132/FR 133 speakers in figs. 2-3 and for providing sound reflection through left side/right side wall surfaces in fig. 3);
a circuitry to perform operations (circuits in the surround sound system 100 in fig. 1) comprising:
receiving audio input (from a sound source such as a recording medium or a television signal, para 60) including surround audio content (including channels outputted from sound source output device 110, including FR to the listener’s right ear, FL to the listener’s left ear, SBL surround sound left, SBR surround sound right in fig. 1, para 56-57);
playing back at least a first portion of the surround audio content via the side-firing transducer(s) (SBL/SBR 126 signals delivered to SBL 134/SBR 135 speakers, respectively in fig. 1) such that the first portion of the surround audio propagates along the side axis to be reflected towards the listening location (reflected from the left side wall/the right side wall, respectively in fig. 3 and such that the first portion of the surround audio content reaches the listening location with a first sound pressure level SPL (reflected sound from the left wall surface and the right wall surface to arrive at the listening position in fig. 3, the SPLs formed at the listening location are inherency)); and
playing back at least a second portion of the surround audio content () via the forward-firing transducers (FL/FR 126 signals delivered to FL 132/FR 133 speakers, respectively in fig. 1) such that the second portion of the surround audio propagates along the forward axis towards the listening location (to listeners left ear and the right ear, respectively in figs. 3), such that the first portion of the surround audio content reaches the listening location with a first sound pressure level SPL (the sound from the speakers FL132/FR133 carrying FL/FR 126 signals, respectively in fig. 1, arrived at the listening position in fig. 1, and SPLs formed at the listening location are inherency), wherein the first portion and the second portion of the surround audio content comprise audio content over a common frequency range including at least frequencies between 300 Hz and 5 kHz (e.g., attenuation of 1 KHz through wall surface reflection, para 75 and another example is 4 kHz set as central frequency for the filter processing unit 340, para 120).
However, Kuwahara does not explicitly teach that the first SPL corresponding to side-firing transducers is greater than the second SPL corresponding to the forward-firing transducers and does not explicitly teach wherein the circuitry of the playback device comprising one or more processors; and data storage having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the playback device to perform the disclosed operations.
Konagai teaches an analogous field of endeavor by disclosing a playback device (title and abstract, ln 1-16 and an array speaker apparatus in fig. 2) and wherein a first SPL corresponding to side-firing transducers is greater than a second SPL corresponding to forward-firing transducers is disclosed (in order to generate localized virtual sound sources in different direction from the direction defined by speakers, localizing virtual sound sources on walls, sound beams that reach a listener after being reflected by the walls should be sufficiently stronger than a sound that reaches the listener directly from the speaker so that the virtual sound sources can be perceived by the listener, para 7) in order to strengthen the virtual sound sources.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have applied the first SPL corresponding to side-firing transducers is greater than the second SPL corresponding to forward-firing transducers, as taught by Konagai, to the first SPL corresponding to the side-firing transducers and the second SPL corresponding to the forward-firing speakers in the playback device, as taught by Kuwahara, for the purpose and benefit above.
However, the combination of Kuwahara and Konagai does not explicitly teach one or more processors and data storage having instructions stored thereon and the program is executed by the one or more processors.
Furge teaches an analogous field of endeavor by disclosing a playback device (title and abstract, ln 1-16 and a sound processing system 202 in fig. 2) comprising one or more processors (pre-processor block 208, corssbar matrix maixer 302, and post processor 412 in fig. 4); and data storage (memory such as RAM, ROM FLASH, etc., para 38) having instructions stored thereon (storing data and instructions, para 38) that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the playback device to perform operations (execution of the instructions by the processors, para 38 and the operations in figs. 7-8) for benefits of improving the sound playback performance in a flexibly manageable manner (by compensating for loudspeaker placement, and optimizing the frequency range of the audio output, para 10 and improving spatial characteristics and reproduction of surround sound field for variety of listeners’ locations, para 34-35 and easier update and maintained in implementing the instructions by the processors, para 38).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have applied the one or more processors; and the data storage having the instructions stored thereon, in the playback device, that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the playback device to perform the operations, as taught by Furge, to the circuitry of the playback device, as taught by the combination of Kuwahara and Konagai, for the benefits discussed above.
Claim 22 has been analyzed and recited a method and essentially same features as recited in claim 15 and thus, rejected according to claim 15 above.
Claim 29 has been analyzed and recited one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions, etc., and essentially same features as recited in claim 15 and thus, rejected according to claim 15 above.
Claim 16: the combination of Kuwahara and Konagai and Furge further teaches, according to claim 15 above, wherein the first SPL is greater than the second SPL (discussed in claim 15 above), except explicitly teaching by at least 10 dB.
It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that at least 10dB or at least other amount dB in the difference amount between the first SPL corresponding to the forward-firing transducers and the second SPL corresponding to the side-firing transducers would have been a designer’s choice for benefits of satisfying whether specific sound field locations or component such as virtual sound sources are more emphasized or more attenuated during their reproductions.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have applied the one of solutions, such that the first SPL corresponding to side-firing transducers is greater than the second SPL corresponding to the forward-firing transducers, as taught by the obvious-to-try, to playing back at least the first portion of the surround audio content via the side-firing transducers and playing back at least the second portion of the surround audio content via the forward-firing transducers in the playback device, as taught by the combination of Kuwahara, Konagai and Furge, for the benefit discussed above.
Claim 17: the combination of Kuwahara, Konagai and Furge further teaches, according to claim 15 above, wherein playing back the second portion of the surround audio content () via the forward-firing transducer is delayed with respect to playing back second portion of the surround audio content via the side-firing transducer (Kuwahara, Various main signals and woofer signals are respectively inputted into the delay circuits 124. The delay circuits 124 add a delay time corresponding to a propagation route to a listener through a wall surface of a sound field space in publicly addressing a surround sound signal, and the added signals are respectively outputted to the D/A converters 125,para 76 and Konagai, adding proper delays under the control of the control section 35, para 84).
Claim 20: the combination of Kuwahara, Konagai and Furge further teaches, according to claim 15 above, wherein the audio input comprises at least one of: 3D audio input, MPEG-H audio input, Dolby ATMOSTM audio input, or DTSTM: X audio input (Kuwahara, DolbyTM digital 5.1 channel, para 5, and Furge, Dolby DIGITALTM, or DTSTM, para 45).
Claim 21: the combination of Kuwahara, Konagai, and Furge further teaches, according to claim 15 above, wherein a first frequency response of the first portion of the surround audio content differs from a second frequency response of the second portion of the surround audio content by an adjusted level difference (Kuwahara, the sound level is amplified of the high frequency component of the surround by a frequency characteristics correction circuits 123, para 73 and Konagai, adding phase differences and sound pressure differences between two ears to emphasize the sound locality, para 75), except the adjusted level difference is of level of an average of no more than about 10 dB over a range of about 300 Hz to about 5 KHz.
It has been a recognized problem and need in the art, which may include a design need to optimize sound perception experiences based on the listener’s needs in a combination of frequency range and the level difference between the side-firing and forward-firing speakers and there had been a finite number of identified, predictable potential solutions to the gain settings of the multiple combinations:
10dB over a range of 300Hz and 5kHz for sensing sound difference in this range,
Less than 10dB over a range of about 300Hz and 5kHz for less sensing sound difference in this range,
More than 10dB over a range of about 300Hz and about 5kHz for more sensing the sound difference in this range, or
Anyone of combination thereof (Note, according to the application specification, the claimed “about 10dB” having a range “about 300 Hz” and “about 5 kHz” would be interpreted as “no more than 1, 2., …, or 20 dB” over a range of “lower end of 300, 400, …, 1kHz” and “an upper end of about 1, 1.5, …, or 9.5kHz”, USPGPub 20240406657 A1, para 110),
it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have pursued the known potential solutions with a reasonable expectation of success or obvious to try, see MPEP 2141, III.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have applied the one of solutions, including one of the level of the average of no more than about 10 dB over the range of about 300 Hz to about 5 KHz, as taught by the obvious-to-try, to the adjusted level difference applied in the playback device, as taught by the combination of Kuwahara, Konagai and Furge, for the benefit discussed above.
Claim 23 has been analyzed and rejected according to claims 22, 16 above.
Claim 24 has been analyzed and rejected according to claims 22, 17 above.
Claim 27 has been analyzed and rejected according to claims 22, 20 above.
Claim 28 has been analyzed and rejected according to claims 22, 21 above.
Claim 30 has been analyzed and rejected according to claims 29, 16 above.
Claim 31 has been analyzed and rejected according to claims 29, 17 above.
Claim 34 has been analyzed and rejected according to claims 29, 20 above.
Claim 35: the combination of Kuwahara, Konagai, and Furge further teaches, according to claim 15 above, wherein:
the surround audio content comprises a left surround input channel (Kuwahara, SBR/SBL and FR/FL outputted from sound source output device 110 in fig. 1 and Konagai, SL/L and SR/R in fig. 2);
playing back at least the first portion of the surround audio content via the side-firing transducers comprises playing back at least a first portion of the left surround input channel via the side-firing transducers (SBL played by the SBL speaker in figs. 2-3); and
playing back at least the second portion of the surround audio content via the forward-firing transducers comprises playing back at least a second portion of the left surround input channel via the forward-firing transducers (FL played by the FL speaker in figs. 2-3).
Claims 18-19, 25-26, 32-33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuwahara (above) and in view of references Konagai (above), Furge (above) and further Mehta et al. (US 20150223002 A1, hereinafter Mehta).
Claim 18: the combination of Kuwahara, Konagai, and Furge further teaches, according to claim 15 above, wherein the audio content comprises at least six input channels including left, right, center, left surround, right surround, and sub woofer 136 (Kuwahara, fig. 3, Konagai, from five channels to generate N channels in fig. 2, para 50 and Furge, including seven or more channels: center, left-front, right-front, left-side, right-side, left-rear, and right-rear, para 7), except explicitly teaching wherein the operations further comprise combining the left surround channel and left rear channel for processing via a first array, and combining the right surround channel and right rear channel for processing via a second array.
Mehta teaches an analogous field of endeavor by disclosing a playback device (title and abstract, ln 1-13 and a playback system in fig. 3) and wherein combining the left surround channel (forward of left rear 908 in fig. 9A or forward of the left rear side in fig. 9B) and left rear channel (rearward of the left rear 908 in fig. 9A or sideward of the left rear side in fig. 9B) for processing via a first array (combined via the left rear 908 in fig. 9A or left rear side 922 in fig. 9B), and combining the right surround channel and right rear channel for processing via a second array (similarly on the right side, combining the forward of the right rear side as right surround channel and either rearward of the right rear 910 in fig. 9A or sideward of the right rear side 924 by the right rear side array 940) for benefits of obtaining more adaptive playback to variety of speaker arrangement and listening environment (para 8, by enhancing user experience based on the adaptive audio system, para 9, obtaining enhanced audience immersive and greater artistic control with system level flexibility and scalability, para 45-46).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have applied wherein the operations further comprise combining the left surround channel and the left rear channel for processing via the first array, and combining the right surround channel and the right rear channel for processing via a second array, as taught by Mehta, to the left/right surround channels and the left/right rear channels in the playback device, as taught by the combination of Kuwahara, Konagai, and Furge, for the benefits discussed above.
Claim 19: the combination of Kuwahara, Konagai , Furge, and Mehta further teaches, according to claims 15, 18 above, wherein the audio content comprises at least nine input channels including left, right, center (Kuwahara and Konagi, front left FL, front right FR, center channel C and Furge, in 6.2 output channels, including LF CTR, RF, para 46 and Mehta, at least forward channels in left front array 904, center array 902, right front array 906 in fig. 9A or fig. 9B), left surround, right surround (Kuwahara, surround sound left SBL, and surround sound right SBR, subwoofer SUB 136 and Furge, also including LS as left-side, RS as right-side, para 46 and Mehta, forward channels in left rear array and right rear array in fig. 9A or fig. 9B), left rear, right rear (Kuwahara, high frequency component is amplified, para 119, and Furge, LR as left-rear and RR as right-rear, para 46 and Mehta, the rearward in arrays 908 and 910 in fig. 9A and rearward channels in arrays 908 and 910 in fig. 9B), left height, and right height (Mehta, upward of the left rear array and upward of the right rear array in fig. 9A or upward of the left rear side array and upward of the right rear side array in fig. 9B, respectively), and wherein the operations further comprise combining the left surround channel, the left rear channel, and the left height channel for processing via a first array (Mehta, combining the rearward, upward, and forward into the array 908 in fig. 9A and combining forward, upward, and sideward into the array 922 in fig. 9B), and combining the right surround channel, the right rear channel, and the right height channel for processing via a second array (Mehta, combining the rearward, upward, and forward into the array 910 in fig. 9A and combining forward, upward, and sideward into the array 924 in fig. 9B).
Claim 25 has been analyzed and rejected according to claims 22, 18 above.
Claim 26 has been analyzed and rejected according to claims 22, 19 above.
Claim 32 has been analyzed and rejected according to claims 29, 18 above.
Claim 33 has been analyzed and rejected according to claims 29, 19 above.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on February 11, 2026 have been fully considered and but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection necessitated by the applicant amendment. The Office has thoroughly reviewed Applicants' arguments but firmly believes that the cited references to reasonably and properly meet the claimed limitations.
In the response to this office action, the Office respectfully requests that support be shown for language added to any original claims on amendment and any new claims. That is, indicate support for newly added claim language by specifically pointing to page(s) and line numbers in the specification and/or drawing figure(s). This will assist the Office in prosecuting this application.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LESHUI ZHANG whose telephone number is (571)270-5589. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 6:30amp-4:00pm EST.
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, Vivian Chin can be reached at 571-272-7848. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/LESHUI ZHANG/
Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 2695