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
Regarding applicant’s amendments to claims 19-20, the amendments are fully responsive and have overcome the previously presented 35 USC § 101.
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ arguments filed 2026-08-20 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding Claims 1-3, 5, 10-12, 14, and 19 applicant argues Goh et al. (US-20230353668-A1) fails to anticipate claim 1, more specifically:
"in response to a change in the sensor input indicating that a position of the device has moved from inside to outside of the use space and while the external audio output device is within a communication range with the wireless transceiver, discontinue communicating the audio output signal to the external audio output device"
Examiner respectfully disagrees, as the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim reads on Goh’s disclosure. For instance, Goh discloses user induced instruction to handoff audio from a first device to a second device (Goh, fig. 7, step 702), the audio switching dongle detects this input and determines if the second communication is within a communication range (Goh, fig. 7, step 704) and based on the determination the dongle switches to a different device or ceases transmitting audio (Goh, fig. 7, steps 706-712).
Examiner acknowledges the invention as claimed utilizes the term “use space” to indicate the position of the user’s device location, however, the broadest reasonable interpretation in the wireless arts for a use space can be defined as range of communication between two devices, which Goh addresses in step 704. Examiner notes, that elements of the instant application appear to better clarify the language over the applied art, see [0020] lines 2-5.
Examiner further notes, although not used for this rejection, the secondary reference of record, Peng et al. (US-20240416752-A1) also addresses the invention as claimed, please refer to figs. 32A-32B.
Regarding Claims 7 and 16, applicant argues the combination of Goh and Peng fail to teach an external sound context as claimed. Examiner respectfully disagrees, Peng discloses the detection of the terminal of the terminal device from inside to the outside based on sounding signals through calculating the time of arrival between the terminal and the vehicle (Peng, par. 15; In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the detecting that the first terminal device is moved from the inside of the vehicle to the outside of the vehicle includes: The vehicle sends a plurality of target audio signals according to a preset frequency. The plurality of target audio signals include a first sounding signal and a second sounding signal. At least one arrival time includes a first time set corresponding to the first sounding signal and a second time set corresponding to the second sounding signal. The first time set includes at least one time at which the first sounding signal arrives at the first terminal device through direct incidence and/or reflection. The second time set includes at least one time at which the second sounding signal arrives at the first terminal device through direct incidence and/or reflection. The first terminal device generates, based on a time interval between an arrival time in the first time set and an arrival time in the second time set, first location information corresponding to the terminal device. The first location information indicates whether the first terminal device is located inside the vehicle or outside the vehicle. The first terminal device determines, based on the first location information of the first terminal device in a preset time period, that the first terminal device is moved from the inside of the vehicle to the outside of the vehicle).
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., [0038] The changes in magnitude may include matching or recognizing sound patterns characteristics that differ on each side of occupant enclosure 190. Sound patterns associated with exterior space 192 may include tire noise or engine noise from vehicles that are louder in exterior space 192 and attenuated in use space 185. Sound patterns associated with use space 185 may be spoken conversation and sounds produced by exterior audio output device 184 that are attenuated when in exterior space 192. The matching may be based on an abrupt change in interior sound being attenuated and exterior sounds being accentuated.) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). 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).
Regarding Claim 9 and 18, applicant argues the combination of Goh and Petit fail to disclose an UWB transceiver, examiner respectfully disagrees Petit et al. (US 20250211984 A1) discloses the method for handover connectivity is performed by an antenna to communicate with any device configured to transmit or receive wireless signals (Petit, par. 73; a wireless antenna 1078 to communicate with any device configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals) and the method is performed in accordance to IEEE 802.11 including ultra wide band communication (Petit, par. 70; an interface for wireless antenna 1078 operates in accordance with, but is not limited to, the IEEE 802.11 standard and its related family, Home Plug AV (HPAV), Ultra Wide Band (UWB), Bluetooth, WiMax, or any form of wireless communication protocol). Examiner further notes, although not used for this rejection Peng also discloses the use of an UWB transmitter to aid in the UE positioning.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-3, 5, 10-12, 14, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. (a)(2) as being clearly anticipated by Goh et al. (US-20230353668-A1, published: 2023-11-02) hereinafter Goh.
For examination purposes, claims 1-9 referring to an apparatus and claims 10-18 referring to a method and claims 19-20 referring to a computer program are henceforth grouped together for claims mirroring the same limitations or which disclose analogous art to the invention as claimed.
Regarding Claim 1, 10 and 19, Goh discloses a device comprising: a communication subsystem comprising a wireless transceiver (Goh, fig. 1, par. 20; audio switching dongle 130); a sensor (Goh, fig. 1, par. 21; The audio switching dongle 130 in an embodiment may be coupled to one or more wireless speaker and microphone devices 180 and 190), Examiner notes, for the purpose of examination, a sensor was interpreted to include a microphone based on the broadest most reasonable interpretation of the claims in light of the specification; and a controller communicatively coupled to the communication subsystem and the sensor, and which configures the device to: communicate, via the wireless transceiver (Goh, fig. 1, par. 20; The audio switching dongle 130 in an embodiment may house a microcontroller 150 executing firmware instructions of the Wi-Fi switching dongle control system 140), examiner notes, see also par. 27, an audio output signal to an external audio output device positioned in a use space (Goh, fig.1, par. 23; The audio switching dongle wireless radio system 199 may provide connectivity of the audio switching dongle 130 operatively coupled to the information handling system 100 to one or more operatively coupled wireless input/output devices such as wireless speaker and microphone devices 180 or 190); monitor a sensor input detected by the sensor; and in response to a change in the sensor input indicating that a position of the device has moved from inside to outside of the use space and while the external audio output device is within a communication range with the wireless transceiver (Goh, fig. 7, par. 87; At block 704, it may be determined whether the second wireless speaker and microphone device is within communication range of the audio switching dongle and information handling system), Examiner notes, see also par. 40, discontinue communicating the audio output signal to the external audio output device (Goh, fig. 7 par 90; At block 710, the audio switching dongle in an embodiment may cease transceiving the audio data stream established by the information handling system to the first wireless speaker and microphone device by placing the first wireless speaker and microphone device in standby mode ).
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Regarding claims 2 and 11, Goh discloses the device and method of claims 1 and 10, further comprising a first audio output device communicatively coupled to the controller (Goh, par. 20; The information handling system 100 in an embodiment is operably coupled to an audio switching dongle 130, which may orchestrate seamless handoff of active audio data streams between or among a plurality of wireless speaker and microphone devices), and, in response to determining that the position of the device has moved from inside to outside of the use space (Goh, figs. 3 and 6-7, par. 75; The audio switching dongle may be wirelessly coupled with multiple wireless speaker and microphone devices in an embodiment at block 604 … with reference to FIG. 3, audio switching dongle 330 may execute firmware instructions of the Wi-Fi switching dongle control system to wirelessly couple with multiple wireless speaker and microphone devices within communication range of the information handling system 305 to establish plural, parallel wireless links) the controller configures the device to communicate the audio output signal to the first audio output device (Goh, fig. 6, par. 81; At block 610, the audio switching dongle in an embodiment may begin transceiving streaming audio data with the first wireless speaker and microphone device via a first wireless link).
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Regarding Claims 3 and 12, Goh discloses the device and method of claims 2 and 11, wherein the controller configures the device to: communicate the audio output signal to the first audio output device further in response to determine whether the first audio signal is associated with a live communication session (Goh, fig. 6, par. 78; At block 606, the audio switching dongle in an embodiment may place each of the wirelessly coupled multiple wireless speaker and microphone devices in standby mode until an audio data stream is established between the information handling system and the audio switching dongle), examiner notes, see also par. 80 for step 608.
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Regarding Claims 5 and 14, Goh discloses the device and method of claims 1 and 10, wherein the controller configures the device to: in response to determining, based on a second change in the sensor input, that the position of the device has moved from outside to inside of the use space (Goh, par. 15; the Wi-Fi switching dongle control system of the audio switching dongle may wirelessly couple with multiple wireless speaker and microphone devices within communication range of the information handling system), resume communicating the audio output signal to the external audio output device (Goh, par. 55; The audio switching dongle 230 in such an embodiment may conduct seamless switching by transmitting a standby command to the second wireless speaker and microphone device 290 to place the second wireless speaker and microphone device 290 in standby mode where transmission and reception of the active audio data stream may be prohibited and a wake or activate command to the wireless speaker and microphone device 280 to enable transmission and reception of audio data via the active audio data stream).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 4, 6-7, 13, 15-16 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goh et al. (US-20230353668-A1, published: 2023-11-02) hereinafter Goh in view of Peng et al. (US-20240416752-A1) hereinafter Peng.
Regarding Claims 4 and 13, Goh discloses the device and method of claims 2 and 11, wherein the controller configures the device to: pause communication of the audio output signal in response to determining that the first audio signal comprises entertainment content (Goh, par. 15; Upon such an initial, pre-set wireless coupling session, the Wi-Fi switching dongle control system operating at the audio switching dongle may establish wireless links with each of the wireless speaker and microphone devices, and transmit an instruction to each of the wireless speaker and microphone devices to initiate a standby or low-power mode. Each of the wirelessly coupled wireless speaker and microphone devices in embodiments may remain in such a standby mode, in which their respective radio systems may process only minimal data packets (e.g., control instructions from the audio switching dongle, push notifications, e-mails), until the audio switching dongle selects one of the wireless speaker and microphone devices for transmission and receipt of an active audio data stream (e.g., streaming music, podcasts, Wi-Fi or cellular calls, online meetings, etc.)).
Goh does no explicitly disclose the system determining that the standby mode be invoked when the audio being streamed is entertainment content. However, Peng discloses a method to process audio streams which categorizes audio streams by content and further pauses the audio when one of the categories is being streamed (Peng, par. 576; in the process of switching the play device of the audio streams in all the categories included in the third category from the first terminal device to the vehicle, if the first terminal device is playing an audio stream, the vehicle may pause playing of the audio stream, or the vehicle may continue to play the audio stream).
Therefore, it would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the Goh’s teachings for switching devises among plural wirelessly coupled devises using and audio switching dongle with Peng’s audio and stream processing method to enhance user experience and pause entertainment content being streamed when there is an incoming call to the terminal device or there is a safety alert that takes precedence.
Regarding Claims 6, 15 and 20, Goh discloses the device, method and program of claims 1, 10 and 20, wherein the use space comprises an occupant enclosure (Goh, par. 15; the Wi-Fi switching dongle control system of the audio switching dongle may wirelessly couple with multiple wireless speaker and microphone devices within communication range of the information handling system).
Goh does not explicitly disclose the communication range comprising an occupant enclosure, however, Peng discloses an audio stream processing method where communication is stablished between a terminal and a vehicle, where the vehicle functions as an occupant enclosure (Peng, figs. 1a-1b, par. 479; the first time that the first terminal device establishes the connection to the vehicle, the first terminal device may scan a surrounding electronic device by using Bluetooth, wireless fidelity (wireless fidelity, Wi-Fi), another technology, or the like. If at least one vehicle is found within a preset distance threshold, the first terminal device may send a connection request to each vehicle, to trigger a pairing operation between the first terminal device and the vehicle).
Therefore, it would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the Goh’s teachings for switching devises among plural wirelessly coupled devises using and audio switching dongle with Peng’s audio and stream processing method to enhance the user experience and the communication within an enclosed area, to intuitively transmit the audio stream to the car when the user’s terminal or other wearable device is detected to be inside the vehicle.
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Regarding Claims 7 and 16, the combination of Goh and Peng further teach, wherein the sensor comprises a microphone, and the controller configures the device to: identify a sound characteristic of the sensor input to the microphone as an internal sound context within the occupant enclosure; and detect the change in the sensor input based on a magnitude of one or more types of sound content changing more than a respective threshold, indicating an external sound context (Peng, par. 258; the in-vehicle location sensing operation, the terminal device may send the first measurement signal to the vehicle. Correspondingly, the vehicle also receives, through the target sounder, the first measurement signal sent by the terminal device. The vehicle is configured with at least two sounders. The target sounder is any one of the at least two sounders configured for the vehicle. The first measurement signal is an ultrasonic signal).
Claims 8-9 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goh et al. (US-20230353668-A1, published: 2023-11-02) hereinafter Goh in view of Petit et al. (US-20250211984-A1, filed: 2023-12-22) hereinafter Petit.
Regarding Claims 8 and 17, Goh discloses the device and method of claims 1 and 10, wherein the sensor comprises a receiver power sensor of the wireless transceiver, and, in determining the change in the sensor input, the controller configures the device to detect a reduction in received signal strength of a wireless signal received by the wireless transceiver from the external audio output device (Goh, par. 40; The microcontroller chip 150 may execute code instructions 154 of the Wi-Fi switching dongle control system 140 to handoff an active audio data stream from a first wireless speaker and microphone device 180 to the second wireless speaker and microphone device 190 only upon determining that the second wireless speaker and microphone device 190 is within communication range of the audio switching dongle 130).
Goh does not explicitly disclose using RSSI to determine handover or device positioning, however, Petit discloses a handover connectivity and privacy for Bluetooth devices in communication with other peripherals. Petit discloses a method to use RSSI during Bluetooth connection events (Petit, par. 25; all the BT central devices 102, 104, 106 can receive transmissions from the BT peripheral 108 (if they are within range) and measure the BT signal strength (e.g., received signal strength indicator (RSSI)) and related link parameters).
Therefore, it would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the Goh’s teachings for switching devises among plural wirelessly coupled devises using and audio switching dongle with Petit’s methods for handover connectivity to improve both terminal and peripheral position estimation and perform reliable audio handover between devices connected to the wireless network.
Regarding Claims 9 and 18, the combination of Goh and Petit further teach the device and method of claims 1 and 10, wherein the communication subsystem further comprises a first ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver, and the controller configures the first device to: communicate, via the first UWB transceiver with a second UWB transceiver positioned in the use space (Petit, par. 70; an interface for wireless antenna 1078 operates in accordance with, but is not limited to, the IEEE 802.11 standard and its related family, Home Plug AV (HPAV), Ultra Wide Band (UWB), Bluetooth, WiMax, or any form of wireless communication protocol); and in response to determining, based on communicating with the second UWB transceiver, that a position of the device has moved from inside to outside of the use space, discontinue communicating the audio output signal to the external audio output device (Petit, par. 39; Alternatively, a RSSI based algorithm running on the BT central 506 can be enhanced with indoor positioning inputs to choose a suitable BT peripheral 500, 502, 504 to switch to).
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It is noted that any citations to specific pages, columns, lines or figures in the prior art
references and any interpretation of the reference should not be considered limiting in any way. A
reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably
suggested to a person of ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2123
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Other Pertinent References Not Relied Upon
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Atkinson et al. (US-20150256668-A1), MANAGING FEATURES ASSOCIATED WITH A USER EQUIPMENT BASED ON A LOCATION OF THE USER EQUIPMENT WITHIN A VEHICLE, 2015.
Neely et al. (US-12272183-B2), Motor vehicle with control system operable for transferring in-vehicle voice calls to an external mobile device, 2022.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARIO R CAMPERO MIRAMONTES whose telephone number is (571)272-5792. The examiner can normally be reached Monday -Thursday 0600 - 1600.
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, Yuwen (Kevin) Pan can be reached at (571) 272-7855. 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.
/MARIO R CAMPERO MIRAMONTES/Examiner, Art Unit 2649 /YUWEN PAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2649
