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 .
This office action is in response to applicant’s filing dated 8/28/2024, claims 1-20 are currently pending in the application.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-4, 10-12, 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Karkkainen et al. (US 20190357000 A1) hereinafter Karkkainen.
Regarding claim 1, Karkkainen teaches an audio device (20 in Fig. 1) comprising a first audio wearable adapted to be worn at a first ear of a user and a second audio wearable adapted to be worn at a second ear of the user (“The one or more head-mounted devices 20 include, in this example, at least one short-range transmitter (e.g. a Bluetooth® transmitter) located in either the left or right earpiece.” in ¶[0027]), the first audio wearable comprising: a first output transducer (“one audio signal for the left ear and one audio signal for the right ear” in ¶[0043] and “multiple speakers are distributed within the one or more head-mounted devices 20 in order to render audio events at specific locations relative to the user's head position and orientation” in ¶[0044]), a first wireless communication interface (“The one or more head-mounted devices 20 include, in this example, at least one short-range transmitter (e.g. a Bluetooth® transmitter)” in ¶[0027]), one or more processors, and a first memory wherein the first audio wearable is configured to: obtain a first audio signal via the first wireless communication interface (“Signals received by a mobile device from the headset over a short-range wireless connection” in ¶[0019]); obtain head orientation data indicative of a head orientation of the user (“As shown in FIG. 1, one or more head-mounted devices 20 (which in certain embodiments may be part of one or more client devices 10) provide position and orientation movement information to the MLB3DAR system 30” in ¶[0027]); determine a first filter based on the head orientation data (“output a directional transfer function such as a head-related transfer function (HRTF) pair or a filter pair producing inter-aural level and/or time differences corresponding with a target direction to which a spatial audio signal is rendered based at least in part on the wireless signals 204 and the model data 303 so as to control spatial audio signal reproduction to effect a change in the position and orientation of the one or more head-mounted devices 20 during reproduction of the spatial audio signal” in ¶[0032]), wherein the first filter is based on a first delay and/or a first level compensation (“determining a filter pair corresponding with a direction to which a spatial audio signal is rendered… The directional transfer function pair is a head-related transfer function (HRTF) pair or a filter pair producing inter-aural level differences (ILD) and/or inter-aural time differences (ITD)” in ¶[0066]); apply the first filter to the first audio signal to compensate for the head orientation of the user (“so as to control spatial audio signal reproduction to effect the change in the at least one of the position and orientation of the first head-mounted device during rendering of the spatial audio signal” in ¶[0066]) for provision of a first filtered audio signal (“(e.g., apparatus 300 is configured to position the music to a certain direction)” in ¶[0066]), and output the first filtered audio signal at the first audio wearable (As shown in Fig. 5. A columns B and C show the transfer function (filter) for each left and right headphone speakers signal outputs are different and “A target position for each of the input audio signals is a direction to which each of the audio signals should be rendered to provide spatially filtered output audio signals for playback for the at least one device” in ¶[0043]),
Regarding claim 3, Karkkainen teaches the device of claim 1, Karkkainen further teaches the device further comprising wherein the second audio wearable comprises: a second output transducer (“The one or more head-mounted devices 20 include, in this example, at least one short-range transmitter (e.g. a Bluetooth® transmitter) located in either the left or right earpiece.” in ¶[0027]), a second wireless communication interface (“short-range transmitter (e.g. a Bluetooth® transmitter) located in either the left or right earpiece” in ¶[0027]), one or more second processors (“the processor may be embodied as one or more of various hardware processing means such as a coprocessor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP” in ¶[0051]), and a second memory (“In an example embodiment, the processor or processing element 304 may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory 301 or otherwise accessible to the processor” in ¶[0052]), wherein the second audio wearable is configured to: obtain a second audio signal via the second wireless communication interface (“Signals received by a mobile device from the headset over a short-range wireless connection” in ¶[0019]); determine a second filter based on the head orientation data(“output a directional transfer function such as a head-related transfer function (HRTF) pair or a filter pair producing inter-aural level and/or time differences corresponding with a target direction to which a spatial audio signal is rendered based at least in part on the wireless signals 204 and the model data 303 so as to control spatial audio signal reproduction to effect a change in the position and orientation of the one or more head-mounted devices 20 during reproduction of the spatial audio signal” in ¶[0032]), wherein the second filter is based on a second delay and/or a second level compensation (“determining a filter pair corresponding with a direction to which a spatial audio signal is rendered… The directional transfer function pair is a head-related transfer function (HRTF) pair or a filter pair producing inter-aural level differences (ILD) and/or inter-aural time differences (ITD)” in ¶[0066]); apply the second filter to the second audio signal (“so as to control spatial audio signal reproduction to effect the change in the at least one of the position and orientation of the first head-mounted device during rendering of the spatial audio signal” in ¶[0066]) for provision of a second filtered audio signal (“(e.g., apparatus 300 is configured to position the music to a certain direction)” in ¶[0066]); output the second filtered audio signal at the second audio wearable (As shown in Fig. 5. A columns B and C show the transfer function (filter) for each left and right headphone speakers signal outputs are different and “A target position for each of the input audio signals is a direction to which each of the audio signals should be rendered to provide spatially filtered output audio signals for playback for the at least one device” in ¶[0043]).
Regarding claim 4, Karkkainen teaches the device of claim 3, Karkkainen further teaches the device further comprising wherein the second delay is based on the base delay (As shown in Fig. 5, at time =t,sub.0 HTRF (t) is used for column C right side), and a second compensation delay (at T=t.sub.1 HTRF (t.sub.1) is different), and wherein to apply the second filter comprises to second delay to the second audio signal (“The directional transfer function pair is a head-related transfer function (HRTF) pair or a filter pair producing inter-aural level differences (ILD) and/or inter-aural time differences (ITD)” in ¶[0066]).
Regarding claim 10, Karkkainen teaches the device of claim 1, Karkkainen further teaches the device further comprising wherein the head orientation data comprises a head rotation angle, wherein the head rotation angle is measured with respect to a line of sight of the user at a reference position of the user’s head (See Figs 4a and 4b).
Regarding claim 11, Karkkainen teaches the device of claim 1, Karkkainen further teaches the device further comprising wherein the first audio signal and/or the second audio signal are binaural audio signals (“Detecting the correct orientation is particularly important when a user is listening to audio with spatial content, like stereo, binaural, multichannel audio, audio in Ambisonics representation, or audio objects” in ¶[0018]).
Regarding claim 12, Karkkainen teaches the device of claim 3, Karkkainen further teaches the device further comprising wherein the first audio signal and/or the second audio signal are binaural audio signals (“Detecting the correct orientation is particularly important when a user is listening to audio with spatial content, like stereo, binaural, multichannel audio, audio in Ambisonics representation, or audio objects” in ¶[0018]).
Regarding claim 18, Karkkainen teaches the device of claim 3, Karkkainen further teaches the device father comprising wherein the first audio wearable is a first earpiece, and the second audio wearable is a second earpiece (Fig. 5 shows a Headphone Left and Headphone Right earpieces).
Regarding claim 19, Karkkainen teaches the device of claim 1, Karkkainen further teaches the device father comprising wherein the audio device is a headset and wherein the first audio wearable is a first earcup and the second audio wearable is a second earcup (“As used herein, the terms “wearable slave device,” “slave device,” “headphones.” “headset,” “first head-mounted device,” “head-mounted device” and variations thereof may refer to an object that is configured to hold one or more earpieces in close proximity to a user's ear and is/are connected via Bluetooth® or other short-range communication technique with a master device (e.g., mobile device)” in ¶[0016]).
Regarding claim 20, claim is rejected for being the method comprising at least the same elements and performing at least the same functions performed by the device of rejected claim 1.
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.
Claim(s) 2, 5-7, 13-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karkkainen et al. (US 20190357000 A1) hereinafter Karkkainen in view of Park et al. (US 20190200159 A1) hereinafter Park.
Regarding claim 2, Karkkainen teaches the device of claim 1, Karkkainen does not specifically disclose the device further comprising wherein the first delay is based on a base delay, and a first compensation delay, and wherein to apply the first filter comprises to apply the first delay to the first audio signal however,
Since it is known in the art as evidenced by Park for a device to further comprise wherein the first delay is based on a base delay (“In step S1102, the audio signal processing device may initialize a phase response of each of the plurality of original HRTFs included in the original set of HRTFs” in ¶[0125]), and a first compensation delay (“According to an embodiment, the processor 120 may generate the output audio signal by binaural rendering the input audio signal based on a transfer function pair. The transfer function pair may include at least one transfer function. For example, the transfer function pair may include a pair of transfer functions corresponding to both ears of the listener. The transfer function pair may include an ipsilateral transfer function and a contralateral transfer function. In detail, the transfer function pair may include an ipsilateral head related transfer function (HRTF) corresponding to a channel for an ipsilateral ear and a contralateral HRFT corresponding to a channel for a contralateral ear” in ¶[0075]), and wherein to apply the first filter comprises to apply the first delay to the first audio signal (“A contralateral group-delay corresponding to a phase response of the first contralateral HRTF may be determined based on an ipsilateral group-delay corresponding to the modified phase response of the first ipsilateral HRTF, and the phase response of the first contralateral HRTF may be a linear phase response” in ¶[0008]),
An ordinary skilled in the art would be motivated to modify the invention of Karkkainen with the teachings of Park for the benefit of improving the quality of the binaural sound by equalizing the two signals before further processing with HRTF, therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Karkkainen with Park.
Regarding claim 5, Karkkainen teaches the device of claim 4, Karkkainen does not specifically disclose the device further comprising wherein the base delay is a constant delay configured to be applied to the first audio signal and the second audio signal however,
Since it is known in the art as evidenced by Park for a device to further comprise wherein the base delay is a constant delay configured to be applied to the first audio signal and the second audio signal (The step S1102 in Fig. 11 and “In step S1102, the audio signal processing device may initialize a phase response of each of the plurality of original HRTFs included in the original set of HRTFs. The audio signal processing device may modify the phase response of each of the plurality of original HRTFs to have the same phase response with each other” in ¶[0125]),
An ordinary skilled in the art would be motivated to modify the invention of Karkkainen with the teachings of Park for the benefit of improving the quality of the binaural sound by equalizing the two signals before further processing with HRTF, therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Karkkainen with Park.
Regarding claim 6, Karkkainen as modified by Park teaches the device of claim 2, Park further teaches the device further comprising wherein the first compensation delay is configured to modify an Interaural Time Difference between the first audio signal and the second audio signal, and the second compensation delay is configured to modify an Interaural Time Difference between the first audio signal and the second audio signal (“The contralateral group-delay may be a value determined by using an interaural time difference (ITD) information with respect to the ipsilateral group-delay.” in ¶[0009]).
Regarding claim 7, Karkkainen as modified by Park teaches the device of claim 2, Karkkainen further teaches the device further comprising wherein the first level compensation is configured to modify an Interaural Level Difference between the first audio signal and the second audio signal, and the second level compensation is configured to modify the Interaural Level Difference between the first audio signal and the second audio signal (“The directional transfer function pair is a head-related transfer function (HRTF) pair or a filter pair producing inter-aural level differences (ILD) and/or inter-aural time differences (ITD)” in ¶[0066]).
Regarding claim 13, Karkkainen teaches the device of claim 1, Karkkainen does not specifically disclose the device further comprising wherein the first filter is a time domain filter and/or the second filter is a time domain filter however,
Since it is known in the art as evidenced by Park for a device to further comprise wherein the first filter is a time domain filter and/or the second filter is a time domain filter in (“the audio signal processing device may generate a binaural filter having a peak value at the same sample time when the audio signal processing device linearly combine HRTFs corresponding to positions of a plurality of different sound sources in the time domain” in ¶[0125]),
An ordinary skilled in the art would be motivated to modify the invention of Karkkainen with the teachings of Park for the benefit of improving the quality of the binaural sound, therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Karkkainen with Park.
Regarding claim 14, Karkkainen teaches the device of claim 3, Karkkainen does not specifically disclose the device further comprising wherein the first filter is a time domain filter and/or the second filter is a time domain filter however,
Since it is known in the art as evidenced by Park for a device to further comprise wherein the first filter is a time domain filter and/or the second filter is a time domain filter in (“the audio signal processing device may generate a binaural filter having a peak value at the same sample time when the audio signal processing device linearly combine HRTFs corresponding to positions of a plurality of different sound sources in the time domain” in ¶[0125]),
An ordinary skilled in the art would be motivated to modify the invention of Karkkainen with the teachings of Park for the benefit of improving the quality of the binaural sound, therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Karkkainen with Park.
Regarding claim 15, Karkkainen teaches the device of claim 1, Karkkainen does not specifically disclose the device further comprising wherein the first compensation delay is frequency-based and/or the second compensation delay is frequency-based however,
Since it is known in the art as evidenced by Park for a device to further comprise wherein the first compensation delay is frequency-based and/or the second compensation delay is frequency-based (“the audio signal processing device may convert the original HRIR included in the obtained set of HRTFs to a response in the frequency domain” in ¶[0127]),
An ordinary skilled in the art would be motivated to modify the invention of Karkkainen with the teachings of Park for the benefit of improving the quality of the binaural sound, therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Karkkainen with Park.
Regarding claim 16, Karkkainen teaches the device of claim 4, Karkkainen does not specifically disclose the device further comprising wherein the first compensation delay is frequency-based and/or the second compensation delay is frequency-based however,
Since it is known in the art as evidenced by Park for a device to further comprise wherein the first filter is a time domain filter and/or the second filter is a time domain filter in (“the audio signal processing device may generate a binaural filter having a peak value at the same sample time when the audio signal processing device linearly combine HRTFs corresponding to positions of a plurality of different sound sources in the time domain” in ¶[0125]),
An ordinary skilled in the art would be motivated to modify the invention of Karkkainen with the teachings of Park for the benefit of improving the quality of the binaural sound, therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Karkkainen with Park.
Regarding claim 17, Karkkainen teaches the device of claim 3, Karkkainen does not specifically disclose the device further comprising wherein the application of the first filter to the first audio signal is performed separately from the application of the second filter to the second audio signal, and wherein the first filtered signal is determined separately from the second filtered signal however,
Since it is known in the art as evidenced by Park for a device to further comprise wherein the application of the first filter to the first audio signal is performed separately from the application of the second filter to the second audio signal, and wherein the first filtered signal is determined separately from the second filtered signal in (“FIG. 5 shows a linearized phase response of each of left and right HRTFs included in an HRTF pair. The left HRTF may be an ipsilateral HRTF, and the right HRTF may be a contralateral HRTF.” in ¶[0097]),
An ordinary skilled in the art would be motivated to modify the invention of Karkkainen with the teachings of Park for the benefit of improving the quality of the binaural sound, therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Karkkainen with Park.
Claim(s) 8, 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karkkainen et al. (US 20190357000 A1) hereinafter Karkkainen in view of Agevik (US 20120077437 A1) hereinafter Agevik.
Regarding claim 8, Karkkainen teaches the device of claim 1, Karkkainen does not specifically disclose the device further comprising wherein the audio device comprises a head orientation sensor configured to provide the head orientation data, wherein the first audio wearable comprises the head orientation sensor however,
Since it is known in the art as evidenced by Agevik for a device to further comprise wherein the audio device comprises a head orientation sensor configured to provide the head orientation data, wherein the first audio wearable comprises the head orientation sensor in (“In one embodiment, the method comprises establishing a short-range communication link between a user's wireless communication device and a hands-free headset worn by the user, detecting an orientation of the user's head using a sensor in the headset, generating orientation information” in ¶[0024]),
An ordinary skilled in the art would be motivated to modify the invention of Karkkainen with the teachings of Agevik for the benefit of improving the accuracy of the device, therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claime3d invention to modify Karkkainen with Agevik.
Regarding claim 9, Karkkainen as modified by Agevik teaches the device of claim 8, Agevik further teaches wherein the audio device is configured to send the head orientation data from the first audio wearable to the second audio wearable (In Fig. 2 Orientation sensor 60 transmits orientation data wirelessly to base station).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMMAR T HAMID whose telephone number is (571)272-1953. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5, Eastern time.
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AMMAR T. HAMID
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2695
/AMMAR T HAMID/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2695