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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 8-10, 16-19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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 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) 1-4, 12-13, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gupta et al. (WO #2023/069144 used US #2024/0397399).
Regarding Claim 1, Gupta discloses an audio playback method for a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) system (abstract, figs. 1-17) comprising
a BLE audio source device (Gupta fig. 1: 102) having at least two BLE transceivers (Gupta ¶0057 discloses within the PAN 100, a central device 102 can connect to and establish a BLE communication link 116 with one or more peripheral devices 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114 using a BLE protocol or a modified BLE protocol), a plurality of BLE audio playback devices configured to be bonded to the BLE audio source device (Gupta ¶0059 discloses after a requested link layer connection is established, the central device 102 can become a host device, and the selected or intended peripheral device 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, or 114 can become paired [i.e., bonded] with the central device 102 over the established link layer connection. As a host device, the central device 102 can be capable of supporting multiple link layer connections at a time with various peripheral devices 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, or 114 operating as client devices), a first BLE audio playback device of the plurality of BLE audio playback devices configured to initially have an active connection to the BLE audio source device (Gupta ¶0058 discloses the central device 102 can include suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, processors, and/or code that can be used to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, or 114 using the BLE protocol or the modified BLE protocol as described herein. The central device 102 can operate as an initiator to request establishment of a link layer [LL] connection with an intended peripheral device 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, or 114. A Link Manager can be used to control operations between a Bluetooth Over Internet Protocol [BToIP] application controller in the central device 102 and a BToIP application controller in each of the intended peripheral devices 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, and/or 114), the method comprising:
sending audio data from the BLE audio source device to the first BLE audio playback device (Gupta ¶0060 discloses in some implementations, the central device 102 may be configured to transmit the first link layer data PDU in each connection event to an intended peripheral device 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, or 114. In other implementations, the central device 102 may utilize a polling scheme to poll the intended peripheral device 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, or 114 for a link layer data PDU transmission during a connection event);
determining a metric of an active connection signal transmitted from the first BLE audio playback device to the BLE audio source device (Gupta ¶0095 discloses when the earbuds 520 are not within the respective wireless coverage areas 511 and 531 provided by the STA 510 and the AP 530, or when a link metric of the Bluetooth connection 501 is less than the first link metric threshold and a link metric of the WLAN channel 502 is less than a second link metric threshold, handover operations disclosed herein can be used to switch communications with the earbuds 520 from the first AP 530 to the second AP 540. In some instances, one or more of signal strengths, PERs, latencies, throughput, and/or other channel metrics associated with nearby APs [including the APs 530 and 540] may be used to determine or identify nearby Aps [including the AP 830] as candidates for the handover operation, and to select one of the candidate APs with which the earbuds 520 can be associated. After performing association and authentication procedures with the earbuds 520, the second AP 540 may transmit Bluetooth-encoded data frames, encapsulated within WLAN-compliant PPDUs, to the earbuds 520 over one or more WLAN channels. ¶0114 discloses conversely, when the Bluetooth link metric is greater than the first link metric threshold, the wireless device may maintain the communications with the peripheral device on the Bluetooth connection, and may continue transmitting Bluetooth-encoded data frames to the peripheral device over the Bluetooth connection);
determining a metric of a bonded connection signal transmitted from a second BLE audio playback device of the plurality of BLE audio playback devices to the BLE audio source device (Gupta ¶0116 discloses the peripheral device 820 [fig. 8] can be paired [i.e., bonded] with the wireless device 810 [or the softAP operated by the wireless device 810] over a Bluetooth connection 840 according to one or more Bluetooth Specifications. The peripheral device 820 may be an example of one or more of the peripheral devices 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, or 114 of fig. 1, the earbuds 420 of figs. 4A-4B, the earbuds 520 of figs. 5A-5B, or the peripheral device 620 of figs. 6-7. In the example of fig. 8, the peripheral device 820 is a pair of earbuds that includes a first earbud and a second earbud. The first earbud is closer to the wireless device 810 than the second earbud, and therefore data packets transmitted by the wireless device 810 may arrive at the first earbud before arriving at the second earbud. Similarly, first earbud is closer to the AP 830 than the second earbud, and therefore data packets transmitted by the AP 830 may arrive at the first earbud before arriving at the second earbud);
determining whether to handover the active connection to the second BLE audio playback device depending on at least the bonded connection signal metric (Gupta figs. 8-10: step 1006; fig. 11: step 1102; fig. 12A: steps 1202-1204; fig. 12B: steps 1212-1214); and
in response to determining to handover the active connection to the second BLE audio playback:
handing over the active connection to the second BLE audio playback device (Gupta ¶0054 discloses the wireless device can obtain an indication of one or more changes in the link metric of the Bluetooth connection, and can selectively initiate a handover operation based on the changes in the Bluetooth link metric. When the Bluetooth link metric is less than a first link metric threshold, the wireless device can initiate the handover operation and switch the communications with the peripheral device from the Bluetooth connection to a WLAN channel. The wireless device can then transmit additional Bluetooth-encoded data frames to the peripheral device over the WLAN channel. The Bluetooth-encoded data frames can be encapsulated within one or more WLAN-compliant PPDUs when transmitted to the peripheral device over the WLAN channel. ¶0056 discloses the wireless device can initiate a second handover operation responsive to the signal strengths of Bluetooth advertisement message received from the peripheral device exceeding a signal strength threshold. Specifically, during the second handover operation, the wireless device can switch the communications with the peripheral device from the WLAN channel to the Bluetooth connection based on the Bluetooth link metric being greater than a second link metric threshold. Thereafter, the wireless device can transmit one or more third Bluetooth-encoded data frames to the peripheral device over the Bluetooth connection) by:
initiating a connection request to the second BLE audio playback device (Gupta ¶0056 discloses the wireless device can initiate a second handover operation responsive to the signal strengths of Bluetooth advertisement message received from the peripheral device exceeding a signal strength threshold);
sending audio data to the second BLE audio playback device while simultaneously sending data to the first BLE audio playback device (Gupta ¶0087 discloses figs. 4A-4B show example topologies of wireless networks that support wireless communications using the BToIP disclosed herein. For example, Fig. 4A shows an example wireless network 400A that includes an STA 410 and a pair of earbuds 420 that may be paired with each other via a Bluetooth connection. The STA 410 may be one example of the central device 102 of fig. 1, and the earbuds 420 may be one example of the peripheral device 112 of fig. 1. In various aspects, the STA 410 and earbuds 420 are also connected by a communication link 430 over which the STA 410 and the earbuds 420 may exchange data and other information with each other based on the BToIP disclosed herein. As discussed, the BToIP allows the STA 410 to transmit Bluetooth-encoded data [such as an audio stream or a video stream] to the earbuds 420 over the communication link 430 using frames or packets compliant with the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication standards); and
in response to a connection complete status, stopping sending audio data to the first BLE audio playback device (Gupta ¶0140 discloses the peripheral device 820 associates with the first AP 910 on the WLAN channel 845. After the association and related authentication procedures are completed, the peripheral device 820 exchanges one or more Bluetooth-encoded data frames 950 with the first AP 910 over the WLAN channel 845. The peripheral device 820 may determine or obtain a link metric of the WLAN channel 845, and may selectively initiate a handover operation based on the WLAN link metric. For example, when the WLAN link metric indicates a stable or improving WLAN link quality, the peripheral device 820 may maintain communications with the first AP 910 and not perform a handover operation. Specifically, the peripheral device 820 may compare the WLAN link metric with one or more WLAN link metric thresholds, and may maintain the communications with the first AP 910 when the WLAN link metric is greater than a respective WLAN link metric threshold. Thereafter, the peripheral device 820 may continue exchanging Bluetooth-encoded data frames 951 with the first AP 910 over the WLAN channel 845).
Regarding Claim 2, Gupta discloses the audio playback method of claim 1,
wherein the BLE audio source device is configured as a scanner (Gupta ¶0060 discloses in some implementations, the central device 102 may be configured to transmit the first link layer data PDU in each connection event to an intended peripheral device 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, or 114. In other implementations, the central device 102 may utilize a polling scheme to poll [i.e., scan] the intended peripheral device 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, or 114 for a link layer data PDU transmission during a connection event),
the first and second BLE audio playback devices are configured to transmit advertiser (ADV) packets (Gupta ¶0056 discloses the wireless device can initiate a second handover operation responsive to the signal strengths of Bluetooth advertisement message received from the peripheral device exceeding a signal strength threshold. ¶0124 discloses the peripheral device 820 can periodically broadcast Bluetooth advertisement messages 825 over the shared wireless medium that includes at least the Bluetooth connection 840. The Bluetooth advertisement messages 825 can indicate the presence of the peripheral device 820, and can include discovery and capability information that can be used by other Bluetooth-enabled devices to seek connection establishment with the peripheral device 820, fig. 8 and ¶0152: fig. 13B: step 1312), and wherein the method further comprises:
receiving the ADV packets by the BLE audio source device from the first and second BLE audio playback devices (Gupta ¶0152: fig. 13B: step 1314); and
the BLE audio source device determining the active connection signal metric and the bonded connection signal metric from the ADV packets (Gupta ¶0125 discloses the Bluetooth advertisement messages 825 broadcast by the peripheral device 820 can be indicative of the link quality of the Bluetooth connection 840. In some instances, a link metric of the Bluetooth connection 840 can be determined or obtained based on the Bluetooth advertisement messages 825 broadcast over the shared wireless medium. The Bluetooth link metric can be any suitable indicator of a quality, latency, interference level, or throughput of the Bluetooth connection 840. ¶0152: fig. 13B: step 1316).
Regarding Claim 3, Gupta discloses the audio playback method of claim 1, wherein determining the active connection signal metric (Gupta ¶0126 discloses the comparison may be performed by the Bluetooth subsystem 811, the WLAN subsystem 812, or another suitable component of the wireless device 810. For example, when the Bluetooth link metric is greater than a first link metric threshold, the wireless device 810 can continue transmitting Bluetooth-encoded data frames to the peripheral device 820 over the Bluetooth connection 840) and the bonded connection signal metric (Gupta ¶0116 discloses the peripheral device 820 [fig. 8] can be paired [i.e., bonded] with the wireless device 810 [or the softAP operated by the wireless device 810] over a Bluetooth connection 840 according to one or more Bluetooth Specifications) comprises
determining a received signal strength indication (RSSI) of the respective connection signal (Gupta fig. 8; fig. 13A: steps 1302-1304; fig. 14: step 1406; fig. 15: step 1502; ¶0055 discloses the Bluetooth link metric can include one or more of RSSI values of the first Bluetooth-encoded data frames, a quality of the Bluetooth connection, a data rate associated with the transmission of the first Bluetooth-encoded data frames over the Bluetooth connection, a PER associated with the transmission of the first Bluetooth-encoded data frames over the Bluetooth connection, an average channel access time associated with the Bluetooth connection, or a presence of concurrent DL and UL transmissions associated with the peripheral device).
Regarding Claim 4, Gupta discloses the audio playback method of claim 3, wherein determining whether to handover the active connection to the second BLE audio playback device further comprises:
comparing a bonded connection signal RSSI to a RSSI proximity threshold value (Gupta ¶0130 discloses the wireless device 810 can determine or obtain RSSI values of the Bluetooth advertisement messages 825 broadcast on the shared wireless medium, and can compare an average RSSI value of a group of the Bluetooth advertisement messages 825 with one or more RSSI thresholds to determine whether or not to initiate the handover operation from the Bluetooth connection 840 to the WLAN channel 845); and
determining that the second BLE audio playback device is a better candidate for audio playback than the first BLE audio playback device if the bonded connection signal RSSI is above the RSSI proximity threshold value (Gupta ¶0130 discloses for example, when the average RSSI value is greater than a first RSSI threshold, which may indicate that the Bluetooth link quality is acceptable, the wireless device 810 maintains communication with the peripheral device 820 on the Bluetooth connection 840).
Claims 12-13 and 15 are rejected for the same reasons as set forth in Claims 1-2 and 4.
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 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.
Claims 5 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gupta et al. (WO #2023/069144 used US #2024/0397399) in view of Choi et al. (US PGPUB #2016/0112839).
Regarding Claim 5, Gupta discloses the audio playback method of claim 3,
wherein determining the active connection signal metric and the bonded connection signal metric (Gupta ¶0125 discloses the Bluetooth advertisement messages 825 broadcast by the peripheral device 820 can be indicative of the link quality of the Bluetooth connection 840. In some instances, a link metric of the Bluetooth connection 840 can be determined or obtained based on the Bluetooth advertisement messages 825 broadcast over the shared wireless medium. The Bluetooth link metric can be any suitable indicator of a quality, latency, interference level, or throughput of the Bluetooth connection 840. ¶0152: fig. 13B: step 1316).
But Gupta may not explicitly disclose comprises determining a time-of-flight ToF of the respective connection signal.
However, Choi (title, abstract, figs. 1-54) teaches determining a time-of-flight ToF of the respective connection signal (Choi ¶0172 discloses a distance between an WLAN based access point (AP) [for example, the external electronic device 102] and an electronic device can be obtained by using at least one of round trip time [RTT] of a transmitted/ received signal, a radio signal strength indicator [RSSI], modulation and coding scheme [MCS] information, time of flight [ToF], angle of arrival [AoA], and angle of departure [AoD]).
Gupta and Choi are analogous art as they pertain to wireless Bluetooth devices. Therefore it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify Bluetooth device (as taught by Gupta) to determine time of flight (as taught by Choi, ¶0172) to provide a device searching for checking the location of the other party electronic device (Choi, ¶0006).
Regarding Claim 7, Gupta discloses the audio playback method of claim 4, but may not explicitly disclose wherein determining the active connection signal metric and the bonded connection signal metric comprises determining an angle-of-arrival of the respective connection signal.
However, Choi (title, abstract, figs. 1-54) teaches wherein determining the active connection signal metric and the bonded connection signal metric comprises determining an angle-of-arrival of the respective connection signal (Choi ¶0172 discloses a distance between an WLAN based access point (AP) [for example, the external electronic device 102] and an electronic device can be obtained by using at least one of round trip time [RTT] of a transmitted/ received signal, a radio signal strength indicator [RSSI], modulation and coding scheme [MCS] information, time of flight [ToF], angle of arrival [AoA], and angle of departure [AoD]).
Gupta and Choi are analogous art as they pertain to wireless Bluetooth devices. Therefore it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify Bluetooth device (as taught by Gupta) to determine an angle of arrival (as taught by Choi, ¶0172) to provide a device searching for checking the location of the other party electronic device (Choi, ¶0006).
Claim 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gupta et al. (WO #2023/069144 used US PGPUB #2024/0397399) in view of D’Amato (US PGPUB #2022/0078219).
Regarding Claim 11, Gupta discloses the audio playback method of claim 3, but may not explicitly disclose wherein determining the active connection signal metric and the bonded connection signal metric comprises determining a signal-to-noise ratio SNR of the respective connection signal.
However, D’Amato (title, abstract, figs. 1-8) teaches wherein determining the active connection signal metric and the bonded connection signal metric comprises determining a signal-to-noise ratio SNR of the respective connection signal (D’Amato ¶0213 discloses the group member 714 selectively receiving and/or processing packets received via one of the two streams of packets comprising audio content additionally, or alternatively includes the group member comparing one or more quality metrics for the A2DP transmissions with one or more corresponding quality metrics for the CSB transmissions. In operation, the one or more quality metrics include a wireless SNR [Signal-to-Noise Ratio], an RSSI [Received Signal Strength Indication], etc. ¶0221 discloses the group coordinator exchanges control messages [e.g., comprising wireless network metrics] with the group members. These control messages may include information about one or more of device-to-device wireless SNR, an RSSI, etc. ¶0230 discloses the quality metric is at least on of wireless SNR, an RSSI, etc.).
Gupta and D’Amato are analogous art as they pertain to wireless Bluetooth devices. Therefore it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify Bluetooth device (as taught by Gupta) for one or more quality metrics to include a wireless SNR (as taught by D’Amato, ¶0213) to configure multiple networked media playback devices into a playback group of playback devices configured to play audio content in synchrony with each other (D’Amato, ¶0030).
Claims 14 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gupta et al. (WO #2023/069144 used US #2024/0397399) in view of Choi et al. (US PGPUB #2016/0112839) further in view of D’Amato (US PGPUB #2022/0078219).
Regarding Claim 14, Gupta discloses the BLE audio source device of claim 12, but may not explicitly disclose wherein the active connection signal metric and the bonded connection signal metric comprises at least one of a received signal strength indication (RSSI), a time-of-flight (ToF), an angle-of-arrival, and a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the respective connection signal.
However, Choi (title, abstract, figs. 1-54) teaches wherein the active connection signal metric and the bonded connection signal metric comprises at least one of a received signal strength indication (RSSI), a time-of-flight (ToF), an angle-of-arrival (Choi ¶0172 discloses a distance between an WLAN based access point (AP) [for example, the external electronic device 102] and an electronic device can be obtained by using at least one of round trip time [RTT] of a transmitted/ received signal, a radio signal strength indicator [RSSI], modulation and coding scheme [MCS] information, time of flight [ToF], angle of arrival [AoA], and angle of departure [AoD]).
Gupta and Choi are analogous art as they pertain to wireless Bluetooth devices. Therefore it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify Bluetooth device (as taught by Gupta) to determine time of flight and an angle of arrival (as taught by Choi, ¶0172) to provide a device searching for checking the location of the other party electronic device (Choi, ¶0006).
And D’Amato (title, abstract, figs. 1-8) teaches wherein the active connection signal metric and the bonded connection signal metric comprises at least one of a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the respective connection signal (D’Amato ¶0213 discloses the group member 714 selectively receiving and/or processing packets received via one of the two streams of packets comprising audio content additionally, or alternatively includes the group member comparing one or more quality metrics for the A2DP transmissions with one or more corresponding quality metrics for the CSB transmissions. In operation, the one or more quality metrics include a wireless SNR [Signal-to-Noise Ratio], an RSSI [Received Signal Strength Indication], etc. ¶0221 discloses the group coordinator exchanges control messages [e.g., comprising wireless network metrics] with the group members. These control messages may include information about one or more of device-to-device wireless SNR, an RSSI, etc. ¶0230 discloses the quality metric is at least on of wireless SNR, an RSSI, etc.).
Gupta, Choi, and D’Amato are analogous art as they pertain to wireless Bluetooth devices. Therefore it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify the teachings of Gupta in view of Choi in light of the teachings of D’Amato for one or more quality metrics to include a wireless SNR (as taught by D’Amato, ¶0213) to configure multiple networked media playback devices into a playback group of playback devices configured to play audio content in synchrony with each other (D’Amato, ¶0030).
Regarding Claim 20, Gupta discloses a BLE audio system comprising the BLE audio source device of claim 14 wirelessly coupled to a plurality BLE audio playback devices (Gupta fig. 1).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YOGESHKUMAR G PATEL whose telephone number is (571)272-3957. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30 AM-4 PM PST.
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, Duc Nguyen can be reached at (571) 272-7503. 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.
/YOGESHKUMAR PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2691
Prosecution Insights