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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/13/2025 was filed after the mailing date of the application on 05/30/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “judging module configured to” “ending module configured to” “determining module configured to” “compensating module configured to” in claim 8-10. Upon checking applicant’s specification, it states in paragraph [0099] that the software modules are executed by a processor.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oishi et al (US 10,893,357 B1) in view of view of Yu et al (US 2019/0253545 A1) and further in view of Termulen (US 9,843,861 B1).
Regarding claim 1, Oishi et al disclose a far-field muffling method for a head-mounted device (Oishi et al; Fig 1), wherein the head-mounted device comprises a first speaker, a second speaker, and a monitoring microphone (Oishi et al; Fig 1; speaker 185a speaker 185b; and microphone 160), the method comprising: receiving a monitoring sound signal by the monitoring microphone during operations of the first speaker and the second speaker (Oishi et al; Fig 1; col 2; lines 35-55; leakage signal interpreted as monitoring sound); but do not expressly disclose judging whether the monitoring sound signal satisfies a preset requirement if the preset requirement is satisfied, ending the method; if the preset requirement is not satisfied, determining a current first target compensation signal and a current second target compensation signal from preset various compensation signals and compensating the first speaker by using the first target compensation signal, compensating the second speaker by using the second target compensation signal, and returning to the “receiving a monitoring sound signal picked up by the monitoring microphone.” However, in the same field of endeavor, Yu discloses a head mounted device wherein judging whether the monitoring sound signal satisfies a preset requirement if the preset requirement is satisfied, ending the method (Yu et al; Para [0093]; compare amplitude of muffle sound to threshold; termination of adjustment when monitoring sound is less than threshold); if the preset requirement is not satisfied, determining a current first target compensation signal (Yu et al; Para [0090]-[0091]) and compensating the first speaker by using the first target compensation signal (Yu et al; Para [0090]-[0091][0115]), and returning to the “receiving a monitoring sound signal picked up by the monitoring microphone” (Yu et al; Para [0093]; continue monitoring for continuous adjustment until preset requirement is not satisfied). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the compensation taught by Yu as compensation in the device taught by Oishi. The motivation to do so would have been achieving a confidential sound reproduction (Yu et al; Para [0138]). Moreover, in the same field of endeavor, Termulen discloses a head mounted device comprising determining a current first target compensation signal (Termulen; col 6; lines 30-45; Fig 4; filter 210) and a current second target compensation signal from preset various compensation signals (Termulen; col 6; lines 30-45; Fig 4; filter 212) and compensating the first speaker by using the first target compensation signal (Termulen; col 6; lines 30-45; cancelling noise signals to compensate for noise signals), compensating the second speaker by using the second target compensation signal (Termulen; col 6; lines 30-45; cancelling noise signals to compensate for noise signals). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the compensation taught by Termulen as compensation in the device taught by Oishi. The motivation to do so would have been to provide improved performance (Termulen; col 6; lines 10-15).
Regarding claim 8, Oishi et al disclose a far-field muffling apparatus for a head-mounted device, wherein the head-mounted device comprises a first speaker, a second speaker, and a monitoring microphone (Oishi et al; Fig 1; speaker 185a speaker 185b; and microphone 160), the apparatus comprising: a receiving module configured to receive a monitoring sound signal picked up by the monitoring microphone during operations of the first speaker and the second speaker (Oishi et al; Fig 1; col 2; lines 35-55; leakage signal interpreted as monitoring sound); but do not expressly disclose a judging module configured to judge whether the monitoring sound signal satisfies a preset requirement, and if the preset requirement is satisfied, to trigger an ending module; if the preset requirement is not satisfied, to trigger a determining module; the ending module configured for ending an operation; the determining module configured to determine a current first target compensation signal and a current second target compensation signal from preset various compensation signals; a compensating module configured to compensate the first speaker by using the first target compensation signal, to compensate the second speaker by using the second target compensation signal, and to trigger a return to the receiving module. However, in the same field of endeavor, Yu discloses a head mounted device a judging module configured to judge whether the monitoring sound signal satisfies a preset requirement, and if the preset requirement is satisfied, to trigger an ending module; if the preset requirement is not satisfied, to trigger a determining module (Yu et al; Para [0093]; compare amplitude of muffle sound to threshold; termination of adjustment when monitoring sound is less than threshold); and if the preset requirement is satisfied, to trigger an ending module; if the preset requirement is not satisfied, to trigger a determining module (Yu et al; Para [0090]-[0091]) and compensating the first speaker by using the first target compensation signal (Yu et al; Para [0090]-[0091][0115]), the ending module configured for ending an operation (Yu et al; Para [0093]; continue monitoring for continuous adjustment until preset requirement is not satisfied). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the compensation taught by Yu as compensation in the device taught by Oishi. The motivation to do so would have been achieving a confidential sound reproduction (Yu et al; Para [0138]). Moreover, in the same field of endeavor, Termulen discloses a head mounted device comprising the determining module configured to determine a current first target compensation signal (Termulen; col 6; lines 30-45; Fig 4; filter 210) and a current second target compensation signal from preset various compensation signals (Termulen; col 6; lines 30-45; Fig 4; filter 212); a compensating module configured to compensate the first speaker by using the first target compensation signal (Termulen; col 6; lines 30-45; cancelling noise signals to compensate for noise signals), to compensate the second speaker by using the second target compensation signal (Termulen; col 6; lines 30-45; cancelling noise signals to compensate for noise signals). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the compensation taught by Termulen as compensation in the device taught by Oishi. The motivation to do so would have been to provide improved performance (Termulen; col 6; lines 10-15).
Regarding claim 9, Oishi et al disclose a far-field muffling system for a head-mounted device, wherein the head-mounted device comprises a first speaker, a second speaker (Oishi et al; Fig 1; speaker 185a and speaker 185b), a monitoring microphone (Oishi et al; col 5; lines 30-35), a processor and a memory, wherein: the memory is configured to store a computer program (Oishi et al; col 19; lines 25-55; the processor is configured to implement steps of the far-field muffling method according to claim 1 for a head-mounted device when executing the computer program (Oishi et al in view of Yu et al and further in view of Termulen disclose claim 1).
Regarding claim 10, Oishi et al disclose a head-mounted device comprising a first speaker, a second speaker, a monitoring microphone (Oishi et al; Fig 1; speaker 185a speaker 185b and microphone 160) and the far-field muffling system according to claim 9 for a head-mounted device (Oishi et al in view of Yu et al and further in view of Termulen disclose claim 9).
Claim(s) 2-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oishi et al (US 10,893,357 B1) in view of view of Yu et al (US 2019/0253545 A1) and further in view of Termulen (US 9,843,861 B1) and further in view of Lasserre (FR 2954655 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Oishi et al in view of Yu et al and further in view of Termulen the far-field muffling method according to claim 1 for a head-mounted device, but do not expressly disclose wherein the “determining a current first target compensation signal and a current second target compensation signal from preset various compensation signals" is comprises: randomly selecting a first target amplitude compensation value and randomly selecting a second target amplitude compensation value from the preset various compensation values; randomly selecting a first target phase compensation value and randomly selecting a second target phase compensation value from the preset various compensation values; determining the first target amplitude compensation value and the first target phase compensation value as the current first target compensation signal; and determining the second target amplitude compensation value and the second target phase compensation value as the current second target compensation signal. However, in the same field of endeavor, Lasserre discloses a head mounted device wherein the “determining a current first target compensation signal and a current second target compensation signal from preset various compensation signals" is comprises (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 1-45; the range of possible values for the optimization process is interpreted as compensation signals; optimization by random modification of the set of filter is interpreted as compensation signal because when applied to each loudspeaker compensate for effects of the environment): randomly selecting a first target amplitude compensation value (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 1-45; random selection of gain parameters for each speaker) and randomly selecting a second target amplitude compensation value from the preset various compensation values (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 1-45; random selection of gain parameters for each speaker); randomly selecting a first target compensation value (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 1-45; random selection of filter set) and randomly selecting a second target compensation value from the preset various compensation values (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 1-45; random selection of filter set); randomly selecting a first target phase compensation value (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 1-45; random selection of phase for each speaker) and randomly selecting a second target phase compensation value from the preset various compensation values (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 1-45; random selection of phase for each speaker) determining the first target amplitude compensation value and the first target phase compensation value as the current first target compensation signal (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 1-45; determining filter set for each speaker); and determining the second target amplitude compensation value and the second target phase compensation value as the current second target compensation signal (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 1-45 determining filter set for each speaker). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the compensation taught by Lasserre as compensation in the device taught by Oishi. The motivation to do so would have been to provide good variability of the parameters between the different sets of filter (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 25-55).
Regarding claim 3, Oishi et al in view of Yu et al and further in view of Termulen the far-field muffling method according to claim 1 for a head-mounted device, but do not expressly disclose wherein a the "determining a current first target compensation signal and a current second target compensation signal from preset various compensation signals" comprises: determining a first target amplitude compensation value and a first target phase compensation value of a next order from the preset various amplitude compensation values and the various phase compensation values respectively, wherein the determining a first target amplitude compensation value and a first target phase compensation value of a next order is according to an amplitude compensation value and a phase compensation value of a previous first target compensation signal; determining the current first target compensation signal using the first target amplitude compensation value and the first target phase compensation value of the next order; determining a second target amplitude compensation value and a second target phase compensation value of a next order from the preset various amplitude compensation values and the various phase compensation values respectively, wherein the determining a second target amplitude compensation value and a second target phase compensation value of a next order is according to an amplitude compensation value and a phase compensation value of a previous second target compensation signal; and determining the current second target compensation signal using the second target amplitude compensation value and the second target phase compensation value of the next order. However, in the same field of endeavor, Lasserre discloses a head mounted device wherein a the "determining a current first target compensation signal and a current second target compensation signal from preset various compensation signals" comprises (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 1-45): determining a first target amplitude compensation value and a first target phase compensation value of a next order from the preset various amplitude compensation values and the various phase compensation values respectively (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 1-45; select gain and phase parameters values), wherein the determining a first target amplitude compensation value and a first target phase compensation value of a next order is according to an amplitude compensation value and a phase compensation value of a previous first target compensation signal (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 1-45; Page 5; lines 1-40); determining the current first target compensation signal using the first target amplitude compensation value and the first target phase compensation value of the next order (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 1-45; Page 5; Page 5; lines 1-40); determining a second target amplitude compensation value and a second target phase compensation value of a next order from the preset various amplitude compensation values and the various phase compensation values respectively (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 1-45; Page 5; lines 1-40), wherein the determining a second target amplitude compensation value and a second target phase compensation value of a next order is according to an amplitude compensation value and a phase compensation value of a previous second target compensation signal (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 1-45; Page 5; lines 1-40); and determining the current second target compensation signal using the second target amplitude compensation value and the second target phase compensation value of the next order (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 1-45; Page 5; lines 1-40). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the compensation taught by Lasserre as compensation in the device taught by Oishi. The motivation to do so would have been to provide good variability of the parameters between the different sets of filter (Lasserre; Page 2; lines 25-55).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oishi et al (US 10,893,357 B1) in view of view of Yu et al (US 2019/0253545 A1) and further in view of Termulen (US 9,843,861 B1) and further in view of Lasserre (FR 2954655 A1) and further in view of Chang et al (US 2018/0292539 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Oishi et al in view of Yu et al and further in view of Termulen and further in view of Lasserre et al disclose the far-field muffling method according to claim 2 for a head-mounted device, wherein the head-mounted device further comprises a first calibration microphone provided at a sound hole of the first speaker (Oishi et al; col 5; lines 30-35), and a second calibration microphone provided at a sound hole of the second speaker (Oishi et al; col 5; lines 30-35); but do not expressly disclose wherein the "compensating the first speaker by using the first target compensation signal, compensating the second speaker by using the second target compensation signal” further comprises: compensating an amplitude and a phase of a current first transfer function of the first speaker respectively by using the first target amplitude compensation value and the first target phase compensation value of the first target compensation signal, so as to obtain an updated first transfer function; and compensating an amplitude and a phase of a current second transfer function of the second speaker respectively by using the second target amplitude compensation value and the second target phase compensation value of the second target compensation signal, so as to obtain an updated second transfer function; wherein, in a first round of compensation, the first transfer function corresponding to the first speaker is obtained by analyzing a first sound signal picked up by the first speaker; and the second transfer function corresponding to the second speaker is obtained by analyzing a second sound signal picked up by the second speaker. However, in the same field of endeavor, Chang et al disclose a noise cancellation device wherein the "compensating the first speaker by using the first target compensation signal, compensating the second speaker by using the second target compensation signal” (Chang et al; compensation of each speaker Para [0107]) further comprises: compensating an amplitude and a phase of a current first transfer function of the first speaker respectively by using the first target amplitude compensation value and the first target phase compensation value of the first target compensation signal, so as to obtain an updated first transfer function (Chang et al; compensation of each speaker Para [0106][0044][0107][0144]); and compensating an amplitude and a phase of a current second transfer function of the second speaker respectively by using the second target amplitude compensation value and the second target phase compensation value of the second target compensation signal, so as to obtain an updated second transfer function (Chang et al; compensation of each speaker Para [0106][0044][0107][0144]); wherein, in a first round of compensation, the first transfer function corresponding to the first speaker is obtained by analyzing a first sound signal picked up by the first speaker (Chang et al; Fig 4; Para [0144];[0108]; response at quiet zone microphones interpreted as transfer function; transfer function from speaker to microphone in the quiet zone); and the second transfer function corresponding to the second speaker is obtained by analyzing a second sound signal picked up by the second speaker (Chang et al; Fig 4; Para [0144];[0108]; response at quiet zone microphones interpreted as transfer function; transfer function from speaker to microphone in the quiet zone). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the noise compensation taught by Chang as noise compensation in the device taught by Oishi. The motivation to do so would have been to enjoy pleasant environment; free from the annoying acoustic noises originated from nearby sources (Chang et al; Para [0048]).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oishi et al (US 10,893,357 B1) in view of view of Yu et al (US 2019/0253545 A1) and further in view of Termulen (US 9,843,861 B1) and further in view of Lasserre (FR2954655 A1) and further in view of Yen et al (US 11,074,903 B1).
Regarding claim 5, Oishi et al in view of Yu et al and further in view of Termulen and further in view of Lasserre disclose the far-field muffling method according to claim 4 for a head-mounted device, but do not expressly disclose wherein a difference value of every two adjacent amplitude compensation values is a preset amplitude value. However, in the same field of endeavor, Yen et al disclose a head mounted device wherein a difference value of every two adjacent amplitude compensation values is a preset amplitude value (Yen et al; col 5; lines 55-67), and a difference value of every two adjacent phase compensation values is a preset phase value (Yen et al; col 5; lines 55-67). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the compensation value determination taught by Yen as compensation determination in the device taught by Oishi. The motivation to do so would have been allowing the AR , VR and / or MR environment to be incorporated more fully into a user’s day to day activities (Mehra; col 3; lines 5-8).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oishi et al (US 10,893,357 B1) in view of view of Yu et al (US 2019/0253545 A1) and further in view of Termulen (US 9,843,861 B1) and further in view of Nagayoshi et al (EP 0464222 B1).
Regarding claim 6, Oishi et al in view of Yu et al and further in view of Termulen the far-field muffling method according to claim 1 for a head-mounted device, but do not expressly disclose wherein the “judging whether the monitoring sound signal satisfies a preset requirement comprises: judging whether the monitoring sound signal is in a preset frequency bandwidth range, and if yes, satisfying the preset requirement; and if not, not satisfying the preset requirement. However, in the same field of endeavor, Nagayoshi et al disclose a head mounted device wherein the “judging whether the monitoring sound signal satisfies a preset requirement comprises: judging whether the monitoring sound signal is in a preset frequency bandwidth range (Nagayoshi et al; col 3; lines 25-55; col 5; lines 25-55), and if yes, satisfying the preset requirement; and if not, not satisfying the preset requirement (Nagayoshi et al; col 3; lines 25-55; col 5; lines 25-55; col 10; lines 30-50). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the monitoring determination taught by Nagayoshi et al as monitoring determination in the device taught by Oishi. The motivation to do so would have been perform a sound reproduction comfortable to the listener himself and to the surrounding people (Nagayoshi et al; Para [0010]).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oishi et al (US 10,893,357 B1) in view of view of Yu et al (US 2019/0253545 A1) and further in view of Termulen (US 9,843,861 B1) and further in view of Mehra (US 10,555,106 B1).
Regarding claim 7, Oishi et al in view of Yu et al and further in view of Termulen the far-field muffling method according to claim 1 for a head-mounted device, but do not expressly disclose wherein the monitoring microphone is located in a mid-vertical plane where the first speaker and the second speaker are connected. However, in the same field of endeavor, Mehra discloses a head mounted device wherein the monitoring microphone is located in a mid-vertical plane where the first speaker and the second speaker are connected (Mehra; Fig 2A; microphone 170B is located in a mid-vertical plane where the first speaker 180A and the second speaker 180B are connected). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the microphone location taught by Mehra as microphone location in the device taught by Oishi. The motivation to do so would have been allowing the AR, VR and / or MR environment to be incorporated more fully into a user’s day to day activities (Mehra; col 3; lines 5-8).
Conclusion
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/KUASSI A GANMAVO/Examiner, Art Unit 2692
/CAROLYN R EDWARDS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2692