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 .
DETAILED ACTION
1. This is in response to CON application filed 08/11/2024.
Information Disclosure Statement
2. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the Examiner.
Priority
3. the Examiner notes that a foreign priority claim is asserted, however, the foreign priority application was not available for review and therefore the priority claims could not be verified by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
4. 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 and 6-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Miura et al. (Pub.No.: 2005/0117753 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 9-10, Miura teaches an information processing method realized by a computer system, the information processing method, a system and a non-transitory computer readable medium (reads on sound field reproduction apparatus and system implemented via processing units that compute and generate sound field synthesizing parameters, i.e., an information processing method realized by a computer system, see abstract and [0011]- [0012] and Figs. 1, 5 and 6) comprising:
acquiring a first sound field parameter representing a feature of a first sound field (reads on sound field synthesizing parameters, e.g., filter coefficients, frequency conversion parameters, representing features of a reproduced sound field, see [0012], [0032] and [0035]) and a second sound field parameter representing a feature of a second sound field (reads on recomputation and modification of sound field synthesizing parameters based on different positional relationships and movement conditions, resulting in different parameter sets for different sound fields, see [0035], [0036], [0040] and [0041]), the first sound field having first acoustic characteristics different from second acoustic characteristics of the second sound field (reads on filter coefficients, frequency conversion, produce different acoustic characteristics , including Doppler-based changes and spatial variations, see [0036] and [0037]); and
generating a third sound field parameter representing a feature of a third sound field (reads on generating modified sound field synthesizing parameters by computationally determining a new filter coefficient and frequency conversion parameters, see [0035], [0036], [0040] and [0042]) by using the first sound field parameter and the second sound field parameter (reads on previously determined sound field synthesizing parameters are reused and modified by the sound field synthesizing parameter computing means to generate updated parameters, see [0035], [0040]-[0041] and Fig. 5), the third sound field having third acoustic characteristics different from the first acoustic characteristics and the second acoustic characteristics (reads on the newly generated parameters result in a sound field with different acoustic characteristics (e.g., movement-dependent Doppler effects and spatial perception changes), see [0037] and [0042]).
Regarding claim 2, Miura teaches wherein the third sound field parameter, which reflects the first sound field parameter and the second sound field parameter (reads on modifying previously determined sound field synthesizing parameters to generate updated sound field synthesizing parameters, see [0035], [0040] and [0041]) at a degree corresponding to an instruction from a user, is generated (reads on the reproduction process and listener position being controlled by operation input from an operator, which determines how sound field parameters are generated and applied, see [0038], [0066]-[0067] and Figs. 6 and 10).
Regarding claim 3, Miura teaches wherein the third sound field parameter is generated from the first sound field parameter and the second sound field parameter (reads on generating updated sound field synthesizing parameters by recomputing previously determined parameters, see [0035], [0040] and [0041]), by a computation to which an instruction value that changes continuously in accordance with an operation from the user is applied (reads on continuous recomputing of sound field synthesizing parameters in response to ongoing listener movement and operation progress controlled by the user, see [0035], [0040]-[0042, [0067] and Figs. 5 and 6).
Regarding claim 4, Miura teaches weighting each of a plurality of audio signals (reads on applying digital filter coefficients to sound data for each channel, see [0035] and [0036]) supplied to different speakers (reads on array speaker system in which a sound signals are output to multiple speaker channels, see [0036] and [0042]) in accordance with the third sound field parameter (reads on sound field synthesizing parameters (filter coefficients) control the respective channels of the array speaker, see [0035], [0042] and Figs. 5 and 7).
Regarding claim 6, Miura teaches wherein each of the first sound field parameter (reads on sound field synthesizing parameters that represent spatial distributions of sound waves produced by virtual sound sources round a listener, see [0012] and [0033]) and the second sound field parameter is a parameter (reads on multiple sound field synthesizing parameters corresponding to a different sound source positions and listening conditions, each defining a spatial sound field distribution, see [0033] and [0035]) representing a distribution of acoustic energy on one spherical surface (reads on reproducing of a sound field surrounding a listener using array speakers, wherein the sound field is synthesized so that sound waves are perceived as originating from positions surround the listener, surrounding to a spherical sound field distribution, see [0033], [0037] and Figs. 3-4).
Regarding claim 7, Miura teaches wherein the third sound field parameter is generated (reads on generating sound field synthesizing parameters used to reproduced a resulting sound field, see [0035] and [0036]) from a weighted sum (reads on reproduced sound field at an evaluation point is determined based on the total sum of weighted transfer functions from multiple speakers, see [0033]) of the first sound field parameter and the second sound field parameter (reads on combining contributions from multiple sound sources and channels via filter coefficients and transfer functions to generate a resulting sound field parameter, see [0033] and [0035]).
Regarding claim 8, Miura teaches wherein the third sound field parameter is generated (read son generating sound field synthesizing parameters for reproducing sound field based on positional relationships, see [0035] and [0040]) such that acoustic energy of the third sound field is located at a position (reads on controlling sound field synthesizing parameters so that a sound image is reproduced at a desired positions in a listener space, see [0012] and [0033]) intermediate between a peak of acoustic energy of the first sound field and a peak of acoustic energy of the second sound field (read on reproducing sound images at positions determined from relative positional relationships between multiple sound sources and the listener , resulting in perceived sound positions between sound source locations, see [0033], [0035], [0040]-[0042] and Figs. 3-4).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Miura et al. (Pub.No.: 2005/0117753 A1).
Claim 5 recites “wherein each of the first sound field parameter and the second sound field parameter includes a plurality of expansion coefficients corresponding to different spherical harmonics”.
Miura does not specifically teach “expansion coefficients corresponding to different spherical harmonics” as recited in claim 5, how ever Miura teaches sound field synthesizing parameters comprising a plurality of coefficients representing spatial characteristics of a sound field for controlling multiple speaker channels (see [0033], [0035] and [0037]).
Thus, it would have been obvious for one of an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to represent such a spatial sound field parameters using expansion coefficients corresponding to spherical harmonics, as spherical harmonics were a well-known and conventional mathematical basis at the time of the invention, yielding predictable results.
Conclusion
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Rasha S. AL-Aubaidi whose telephone number is (571) 272-7481. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Ahmad Matar, can be reached on (571) 272-7488.
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/RASHA S AL AUBAIDI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2693