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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/05/2024 and 12/28/2025 was filed after the mailing date of the application on 07/05/2024. 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 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, 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al (US 2014/0369505 A1) in view of Dabney (US 10070244 B1).
Regarding claim 1, Lee et al disclose a method for a multi-channel speaker system including N speakers, N≥2 (Lee et al; Para [0034]; multiple sound apparatus), comprising the steps of: obtaining N! permutations of channel sequence for the N speakers (Lee et al; Fig 3; Para [0029][0051]; permutation of channel sequence to the speakers); assigning input source channels to the N speakers in the order of the channel sequence indicated in the selected permutation (Lee et al; Para [0054]; mapping channel to appropriate speaker) but do not expressly disclose determining, for each permutation, a voting score that represents a matching degree between the channel sequence indicated in the permutation and a correct channel assignment sequence of the N speakers; selecting one permutation with the highest voting scores. However, in the same field of endeavor, Shi et al disclose a device comprising determining, for each permutation, a voting score that represents a matching degree between the channel sequence indicated in the permutation and a correct channel assignment sequence of the N speakers (Dabney; col 2; lines 50-60; col 10; lines 20-40 ; col 13; lines 35-50; detect matching degree between a channel and the correct assignment based on matching loudspeaker angle to reference layout speaker; role assignment interpreted as voting score;); selecting one permutation with the highest voting scores (Dabney; col 15; lines 5-15; selecting a role assignment of speakers that most closely resembles the reference layout; the loudspeaker which most closely resembles the reference layout is interpreted as selecting the permutation with the highest voting score). 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 sound source orientation taught by Arnold as sound source orientation detection in the device taught by Lee. The motivation to do so would have been to determine a channel signal association that minimizes differences between the actual device positions and the reference positions (Dabney et al; col 3; lines 1-5).
Regarding claim 9, Lee et al disclose a multi-channel speaker system comprising: N speakers, wherein N≥2 (Lee et al; Para [0034]; multiple sound apparatus); and a processor configured to (Lee et al; Para [0038]): obtain N! permutations of channel sequence for the N speakers(Lee et al; Fig 3; Para [0029][0051]; permutation of channel sequence to the speakers); and assign input source channels to the N speakers in the order of the channel sequence indicated in the selected permutation (Lee et al; Para [0054]; mapping channel to appropriate speaker); but do not expressly disclose determine, for each permutation, a voting score that represents a matching degree between the channel sequence indicated in the permutation and a correct channel assignment sequence of the N speakers; select the permutation with the highest voting score. However, in the same field of endeavor, Shi et al disclose a device comprising determine, for each permutation, a voting score that represents a matching degree between the channel sequence indicated in the permutation and a correct channel assignment sequence of the N speakers (Dabney; col 2; lines 50-60; col 10; lines 20-40 ; col 13; lines 35-50; detect matching degree between a channel and the correct assignment based on matching loudspeaker angle to reference layout speaker; role assignment interpreted as voting score;); select the permutation with the highest voting score (Dabney; col 15; lines 5-15; selecting a role assignment of speakers that most closely resembles the reference layout; the loudspeaker which most closely resembles the reference layout is interpreted as selecting the permutation with the highest voting score). 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 sound source orientation taught by Arnold as sound source orientation detection in the device taught by Lee. The motivation to do so would have been to determine a channel signal association that minimizes differences between the actual device positions and the reference positions (Dabney et al; col 3; lines 1-5).
Claim(s) 2, 4-5, 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al (US 2014/0369505 A1) in view of Dabney (US 10070244 B1) and further in view of Shi et al (US 2019/0268710 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Lee et al in view of Dabney et al disclose the method according to claim 1, but do not expressly disclose wherein the step of determining, for each permutation, a voting score comprises: for each speaker: calculating sound source directions from all speakers that are playing a sweep signal, and comparing the sound source directions to a corresponding direction condition for the corresponding speaker; and based on comparison results, determining the voting score for each permutation; wherein each corresponding direction condition for each speaker is an angle condition which should be met when all speakers are assigned with input source channels in the correct channel assignment sequence. However, in the same field of endeavor, Shi et al disclose a device wherein the step of determining, for each permutation, a voting score comprises: for each speaker: calculating sound source directions from all speakers that are playing a sweep signal (Shi et al; Para [0078]-[0079]), and comparing the sound source directions to a corresponding direction condition for the corresponding speaker (Shi et al; Para [0078]-[0079]; comparing estimated angle to ideal angle from a standard layout); and based on comparison results, determining the voting score for each permutation (Shi et al; Para [0078]-[0079][0081][0028]; result of comparison of angle difference to the threshold interpreted as voting score); wherein each corresponding direction condition for each speaker is an angle condition which should be met when all speakers are assigned with input source channels in the correct channel assignment sequence (Shi et al; Para [0028]; ideal angle specified in an ideal loudspeaker layout interpreted as corresponding direction condition). 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 sound source orientation taught by Shi as sound source orientation detection in the device taught by Lee. The motivation to do so would have been to derive the more reliable loudspeaker position estimates (Shi et al; Para [0034]).
Regarding claim 4, Lee et al in view of Dabney et al and further in view of Shi et al disclose the method according to claim 2, but do not expressly disclose wherein the step of calculating sound source directions from all speakers that are playing the sweep signal further comprises: estimating time differences of arrival of the at least two internal microphones included in each speaker based on sweep signals from all speakers in the multi-channel speaker system; and calculating sound source directions for each speaker based on the estimated time differences of arrival for each speaker. However, in the same field of endeavor, Shi et al disclose a device wherein the step of calculating sound source directions from all speakers that are playing the sweep signal further comprises: estimating time differences of arrival of the at least two internal microphones included in each speaker based on sweep signals from all speakers in the multi-channel speaker system (Shi et al; Para [0027]-[0028][0051]); and calculating sound source directions for each speaker based on the estimated time differences of arrival for each speaker (Shi et al; Para [0028][0053]). 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 sound source orientation taught by Shi as sound source orientation detection in the device taught by Lee. The motivation to do so would have been to derive the more reliable loudspeaker position estimates (Shi et al; Para [0034]).
Regarding claim 5, Lee et al in view of Dabney et al and further in view of Shi et al disclose the method according to claim 2, but do not expressly disclose wherein the sound source directions for each speaker are angles of each speaker that is recording the sweep signal relative to other speakers that are playing the sweep signal; and wherein the step of comparing the sound sources directions to the corresponding direction condition for each speaker further comprises: comparing a relation of magnitudes of the angles; and determining the matching degree between the relation of magnitudes of the angles and the corresponding direction condition. However, in the same field of endeavor, Shi et al disclose a device wherein the sound source directions for each speaker are angles of each speaker that is recording the sweep signal relative to other speakers that are playing the sweep signal (Shi et al; Para [0027]); and wherein the step of comparing the sound sources directions to the corresponding direction condition for each speaker further comprises: comparing a relation of magnitudes of the angles (Shi et al; Para [0006][0074]; compare estimated angle with ideal angle); and determining the matching degree between the relation of magnitudes of the angles and the corresponding direction condition (Shi et al; Para [0027]; [0072]; compare the angle difference to a threshold of tolerance to detect matching). 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 sound source orientation taught by Arnold as sound source orientation detection in the device taught by Lee. The motivation to do so would have been to derive the more reliable loudspeaker position estimates (Shi et al; Para [0034]).
Regarding claim 10, Lee et al in view of Dabney et al disclose the multi-channel speaker system according to claim 9, but do not expressly disclose wherein the processor is configured to perform the following for each speaker: calculate sound source directions from all speakers that are playing the sweep signal, and compare the sound sources directions to a corresponding direction condition for the corresponding speaker; and determine the voting score for each permutation based on comparison results; wherein each corresponding direction condition for each speaker is an angle condition which should be met when all speakers are assigned with input source channels in the correct channel assignment sequence. However, in the same field of endeavor, Shi et al disclose a method wherein the step of determining, for each permutation, a voting score comprises: for each speaker: calculating sound source directions from all speakers that are playing a sweep signal (Shi et al; Para [0078]-[0079]), and comparing the sound source directions to a corresponding direction condition for the corresponding speaker (Shi et al; Para [0078]-[0079]; comparing estimated angle to ideal angle from a standard layout); and based on comparison results, determining the voting score for each permutation (Shi et al; Para [0078]-[0079][0081][0028]; result of comparison of angle difference to the threshold interpreted as voting score); wherein each corresponding direction condition for each speaker is an angle condition which should be met when all speakers are assigned with input source channels in the correct channel assignment sequence (Shi et al; Para [0028]; ideal angle specified in an ideal loudspeaker layout interpreted as corresponding direction condition). 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 sound source orientation taught by Shi as sound source orientation detection in the device taught by Lee. The motivation to do so would have been to derive the more reliable loudspeaker position estimates (Shi et al; Para [0034]).
Claim(s) 3, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al (US 2014/0369505 A1) in view of Dabney (US 10070244 B1) and further in view of Sasaki et al (US 2005/0152557 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Lee et al in view of Dabney et al disclose the method according to claim 1, but do not expressly disclose wherein each speaker in the multi-channel speaker system includes at least two internal microphones. However, in the same field of endeavor, Sasaki et al disclose a device wherein each speaker in the multi-channel speaker system includes at least two internal microphones (Sasaki et al; Fig 43; microphone 202a and microphone 202b). 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 integration taught by Sasaki as sound sensor in the device taught by Lee. The motivation to do so would have been to more accurately calculate the layout configuration of the speaker devices (Sasaki et al; Para [0533]).
Regarding claim 11, Lee et al in view of Dabney et al disclose the multi-channel speaker system according to claim 9, but do not expressly disclose wherein each speaker in the multi-channel speaker system includes at least two internal microphones. However, in the same field of endeavor, Sasaki et al disclose a device wherein each speaker in the multi-channel speaker system includes at least two internal microphones (Sasaki et al; Fig 43; microphone 202a and microphone 202b). 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 integration taught by Sasaki as sound sensor in the device taught by Lee. The motivation to do so would have been to more accurately calculate the layout configuration of the speaker devices (Sasaki et al; Para [0533]).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al (US 2014/0369505 A1) in view of Dabney (US 10070244 B1) and further in view of Sasaki et al (US 2005/0152557 A1) and further in view of Soo et al (KR101483271B1).
Regarding claim 6, Lee et al in view of Dabney et al and further in view of Sasaki et al disclose the method according to claim 3, but do not expressly disclose wherein the sound source directions are calculated by the equation as follows: θ=sin^(-1)(T_diff*c/d_Mic ) wherein T_diff is the time difference of arrival of the at least two internal microphones included in each speaker, d_Mic is a distance between the at least two internal microphones, and c is a sound speed. However, in the same field of endeavor, Soo et al disclose a method wherein the sound source directions are calculated by the equation as follows: θ=sin^(-1)(T_diff*c/d_Mic ) wherein T_diff is the time difference of arrival of the at least two internal microphones included in each speaker, d_Mic is a distance between the at least two internal microphones, and c is a sound speed (Soo et al; Para [0022]-[0025]). 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 sound source orientation taught by Soo as sound source orientation detection in the device taught by Lee. The motivation to do so would have been to improve the accuracy of sound source location estimation (Soo et al; Para [0074]).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al (US 2014/0369505 A1) in view of Dabney (US 10070244 B1) and further in view of Shi et al (US 2019/0268710 A1) and further in view of Arnold et al (US 2017/0180904 A1).
Regarding claim 7, Lee et al in view of Dabney et al and further in view of Shi et al disclose the method according to claim 4, but do not expressly disclose wherein the step of estimating time differences of arrival of the at least two internal microphones included in each speaker based on sweep signals from all speakers in the multi-channel speaker system comprises the step of: estimating time differences of arrival of the at least two internal microphones included in each speaker based on a latency between impulse responses of the at least two internal microphones. However, in the same field of endeavor, Arnold et al disclose a method wherein the step of estimating time differences of arrival of the at least two internal microphones included in each speaker based on sweep signals from all speakers in the multi-channel speaker system comprises the step of: estimating time differences of arrival of the at least two internal microphones included in each speaker based on a latency between impulse responses of the at least two internal microphones (Arnold et al; Para [0091]-[0097]; delay between responses of the microphones interpreted as latency between impulse response). 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 sound source orientation taught by Arnold as sound source orientation detection in the device taught by Lee. The motivation to do so would have been to ensure a correct rendering process (Arnold et al; Para [0003]).
Claim(s) 8, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al (US 2014/0369505 A1) in view of Dabney (US 10070244 B1) and further in view of Walsh et al (US 2015/0016642 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Lee et al in view of Dabney et al disclose the method according to claim 1, but do not expressly disclose further comprises the step of: performing frequency response calibration for each speaker using the sweep signal. However, in the same field of endeavor, Walsh et al disclose a method further comprises the step of: performing frequency response calibration for each speaker using the sweep signal (Walsh et al; Para [0048]). 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 sound calibration taught by Walsh as sound calibration in the device taught by Lee. The motivation to do so would have been to improve listening experience dynamically (Walsh et al; Para [0034]).
Regarding claim 16, Lee et al in view of Dabney et al disclose the multi-channel speaker system according to claim 9, but do not expressly disclose wherein the processor is further configured to perform frequency response calibration for each speaker using the sweep signal. However, in the same field of endeavor, Walsh et al disclose a method wherein the processor is further configured to perform frequency response calibration for each speaker using the sweep signal (Walsh et al; Para [0048]). 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 sound calibration taught by Walsh as sound calibration in the device taught by Lee. The motivation to do so would have been to improve listening experience dynamically (Walsh et al; Para [0034]).
Claim(s) 12-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al (US 2014/0369505 A1) in view of Dabney (US 10070244 B1) and further in view of and further in view of Sasaki et al (US 2005/0152557 A1) and further in view of Shi et al (US 2019/0268710 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Lee et al in view of Dabney et al and further in view of Sasaki et al disclose the multi-channel speaker system according to claim 11, but do not expressly disclose wherein the processor is further configured to: estimate time differences of arrival of the at least two internal microphones included in each speaker based on sweep signals from all speakers in the multi-channel speaker system; and calculate sound source directions for each speaker based on the estimated time differences of arrival for each speaker. However, in the same field of endeavor, Shi et al disclose a device wherein the step of calculating sound source directions from all speakers that are playing the sweep signal further comprises: estimating time differences of arrival of the at least two internal microphones included in each speaker based on sweep signals from all speakers in the multi-channel speaker system (Shi et al; Para [0027]-[0028][0051]); and calculating sound source directions for each speaker based on the estimated time differences of arrival for each speaker (Shi et al; Para [0028][0053]). 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 sound source orientation taught by Shi as sound source orientation detection in the device taught by Lee. The motivation to do so would have been to derive the more reliable loudspeaker position estimates (Shi et al; Para [0034]).
Regarding claim 13, Lee et al in view of Dabney et al and further in view of Sasaki et al and further in view of Shi et al disclose the multi-channel speaker system according to claim 12, but do not expressly disclose wherein the sound source directions for each speaker are angles of each speaker that is recording the sweep signal relative to other speakers that are playing the sweep signal; and wherein the processor is further configured to: compare a relation of magnitudes of the angles; and determine the matching degree between the relation of magnitudes of the angles and the corresponding direction condition. However, in the same field of endeavor, Shi et al disclose a device wherein the sound source directions for each speaker are angles of each speaker that is recording the sweep signal relative to other speakers that are playing the sweep signal (Shi et al; Para [0027]); and wherein the step of comparing the sound sources directions to the corresponding direction condition for each speaker further comprises: comparing a relation of magnitudes of the angles (Shi et al; Para [0006][0074]; compare estimated angle with ideal angle); and determining the matching degree between the relation of magnitudes of the angles and the corresponding direction condition (Shi et al; Para [0027]; [0072]; compare the angle difference to a threshold of tolerance to detect matching). 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 sound source orientation taught by Arnold as sound source orientation detection in the device taught by Lee. The motivation to do so would have been to derive the more reliable loudspeaker position estimates (Shi et al; Para [0034]).
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al (US 2014/0369505 A1) in view of Dabney (US 10070244 B1) and further in view of and further in view of Sasaki et al (US 2005/0152557 A1) and further in view of Shi et al (US 2019/0268710 A1) and further in view of and further in view of Soo et al (KR101483271B1).
Regarding claim 14, Lee et al in view of Dabney et al and further in view of Sasaki et al and further in view of Shi et al disclose the multi-channel speaker system according to claim 13, but do not expressly disclose wherein the angles are calculated by the equation as follows: θ=sin^(-1)(T_diff*c/d_Mic ) wherein T_diff is the time difference of arrival of the at least two internal microphones included in each speaker, d_Mic is a distance between the at least two internal microphones, and c is a sound speed. However, in the same field of endeavor, Soo et al disclose a device wherein the sound source directions are calculated by the equation as follows: θ=sin^(-1)(T_diff*c/d_Mic ) wherein T_diff is the time difference of arrival of the at least two internal microphones included in each speaker, d_Mic is a distance between the at least two internal microphones, and c is a sound speed (Soo et al; Para [0022]-[0025]). 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 sound source orientation taught by Soo as sound source orientation detection in the device taught by Lee. The motivation to do so would have been to improve the accuracy of sound source location estimation (Soo et al; Para [0074]).
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al (US 2014/0369505 A1) in view of Dabney (US 10070244 B1) and further in view of and further in view of Sasaki et al (US 2005/0152557 A1) and further in view of Shi et al (US 2019/0268710 A1) and further in view of Soo et al (KR101483271B1) in view of and further and further in view of Arnold et al (US 2017/0180904 A1).
Regarding claim 15, Lee et al in view of Dabney et al and further in view of Sasaki et al and further in view of Shi et al and further in view of Soo et al disclose the multi-channel speaker system according to claim 14, but do not expressly disclose wherein the processor is further configured to: estimate time differences of arrival of the at least two internal microphones included in each speaker based on a latency between impulse responses of the at least two internal microphones. However, in the same field of endeavor, Arnold et al disclose a device wherein the step of estimating time differences of arrival of the at least two internal microphones included in each speaker based on sweep signals from all speakers in the multi-channel speaker system comprises the step of: estimating time differences of arrival of the at least two internal microphones included in each speaker based on a latency between impulse responses of the at least two internal microphones (Arnold et al; Para [0091]-[0097]; delay between responses of the microphones interpreted as latency between impulse response). 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 sound source orientation taught by Arnold as sound source orientation detection in the device taught by Lee. The motivation to do so would have been to ensure a correct rendering process (Arnold et al; Para [0003]).
Conclusion
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/KUASSI A GANMAVO/Examiner, Art Unit 2692
/CAROLYN R EDWARDS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2692
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