DETAILED ACTION
This is responsive to the amendment filed 26 May 2026.
Claims 2-22 remain pending and are considered below.
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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 2-22 have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejections.
Claim Objections
Claims 2-22 are objected to because of the following informalities: in lines 12-13, claim 1 recites the limitation “using the signature corresponding each of the one or more first speakers” is believed to be a typographical error ‘using the signature corresponding to each of the one or more first speakers’. Independent claims 12 and 22 recite similar limitations and are likewise objected to. The dependent claims are objected to as they depend upon an objected to claim without providing a remedy.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 2-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
In lines 4-5, claim 2 recites the limitation “in response to receiving the first indication, initiating a calibration period for each of the one or more first speakers”. However, the calibration was not disclosed in the specification as being initiated in response to the first indication.
Prior art disclosing the new matter was not found.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Wexler et al. (US 2020/0296521) discloses a system which may include a wearable camera configured to capture images and a microphone configured to capture sounds, and a processor programmed to receive the images captured by the camera and audio signals representative of sounds received by the microphone. The processor may also be programmed to determine a look direction for a user based upon detection of a representation of a body part of the user in at least one of the captured images and a pointing direction of the body part relative to an optical axis associated with the wearable camera. The processor may further be programmed to cause selective conditioning of an audio signal received by the microphone from a region associated with the look direction of the user and cause transmission of the conditioned audio signal to an interface device.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMUEL G NEWAY whose telephone number is (571)270-1058. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm EST.
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/SAMUEL G NEWAY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2657
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