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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because claim 24 recites a “computer-readable storage medium” which can encompass non-statutory transitory forms of signal transmission. Applicant’s specification fails to exclude signals as a form of medium. As a result, the “computer-readable storage medium" can be interpreted as a signal, which is non-statutory subject matter.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-17, 20-21, 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the playback device" in line 7. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear as to which of the “N playback device” is considered to be “the playback device.”
Claim 12, line 6, similarly recites “the playback device.”
Claim 20, line 7, similarly recites “the playback device.”
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) 1-17, 20-21, 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vautin et al. (US 2023/0254654 A1, “Vautin”) in view of Salehin et al. (US 2021/0099825 A1, “Salehin”).
As to claims 1, 12, 20, 21, 24, Vautin discloses an audio playback method, performed by a reception end, wherein N playback devices are arranged in a periphery of the reception end, N is a positive integer (audio control in a vehicle cabin, with four sets of speakers permanently attached to the vehicle structure, para. 0042; Fig. 1), and the method comprises:
receiving an audio stream from a transmission end, and decoding the audio stream to obtain a first audio signal decoded; and
processing the first audio signal according to the N playback devices, to perform audio playback by the playback device (speaker elements in each set may be driven from processing unit 102, para. 0043-0042; combinations of speakers can be used with appropriate signal processing, para. 0047).
Vautin differs from claim 1 in that it does not disclose the above underlined limitation.
Salehin teaches a consumer device receiving audio content from a source device over a transmission channel, the audio content stream being received by an audio decoder and rendered to an audio playback system (Fig. 1A; para. 0081-0089), and implemented in a vehicle (para. 0127). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Vautin with the above teaching of Salehin in order to receive and process audio content from another entity for immersive playback (para. 0005, 0032, 0037).
As to claims 2, 13, Vautin in view of Salehin teaches: determining a target location, wherein the target location is a location where a listener is in a case that the audio playback is performed; selecting M first playback devices for audio playback from the N playback devices based on first relative location information between the target location and each of the N playback devices, where M is a positive integer, M<N; determining second audio signals each corresponding to each of the M first playback devices based on the first audio signal and second relative location information between the target location and each of the M first playback devices; and transmitting each of the second audio signals to the first playback device corresponding to the second audio signal, to perform the audio playback (Salehin: audio playback involves driving one or more speakers, para. 0057-0059, and based on listener location and speaker geometry, para. 0081).
As to claim 3, Vautin in view of Salehin teaches: transmitting the first audio signal to a signal processing device, to enable the signal processing device to process the first audio signal according to the N playback devices to obtain a second audio signal and play back the second audio signal by the playback device (Salehin: renderer generation unit 32 processing audio content received from audio decoding device 24 for playback via audio renderers 22, Fig. 1A, para. 0081-0086).
As to claims 4, 5, 14, 15, Vautin in view of Salehin teaches: wherein the first relative location information comprises at least one of:
distance information between the target location and the playback device (Vautin: distance between each speaker and each ear, para. 0047);
orientation angle information between the target location and the playback device, wherein the orientation angle information comprises pitch angle information and/or azimuth angle information (Vautin: angle at which the signals arrive and the anatomy of the listener’s outer ear structures, para. 0047); or
information about an obstacle between the target location and the playback device.
As to claim 6, Vautin in view of Salehin teaches: wherein the reception end is in a vehicle (Vautin: audio control in vehicle cabin, Abstract; Salehin: vehicle, para. 0127), and the N playback devices are arranged on an inner wall of the vehicle (Vautin: four sets of speakers permanently attached to the vehicle structure, para. 0042; Fig. 1).
As to claim 7, Vautin in view of Salehin teaches: wherein the reception end is a vehicle-mounted communication device (Vautin: audio system 100 is permanently attached to the vehicle structure, para. 0042).
As to claim 8, Vautin in view of Salehin teaches: wherein the reception end is a mobile terminal in the vehicle (Vautin: network-connected smartphone, para. 0045, 0050, 0068, 0072; Salehin: smart phone, para. 0053, 0127).
As to claim 9, Vautin in view of Salehin teaches: the reception end is in a vehicle (Vautin: audio control in vehicle cabin, Abstract; Salehin: vehicle, para. 0127), and the N playback devices are arranged on an inner wall of the vehicle (Vautin: four sets of speakers permanently attached to the vehicle structure, para. 0042; Fig. 1), and determining the target location comprises: obtaining the target location predetermined, wherein the target location is any location in the vehicle (Vautin: listener’s ear, para. 0047; Salehin: listener location for audio rendering, para. 0081, 0086).
As to claim 10, Vautin in view of Salehin teaches: the reception end is a mobile terminal in the vehicle (Vautin: network-connected smartphone, para. 0045, 0050, 0068, 0072; Salehin: smart phone, para. 0053, 0127), and the N playback devices are arranged on an inner wall of the vehicle (Vautin: four sets of speakers permanently attached to the vehicle structure, para. 0042; Fig. 1); and the determining the target location comprises: determining a location of the mobile terminal as the target location (Vautin: listener’s ear, para. 0047; Salehin: listener location for audio rendering, para. 0081, 0086).
As to claims 11, 17, Vautin in view of Salehin teaches: wherein the signal processing device is a vehicle-mounted signal processing device (Vautin: audio system 100 is permanently attached to the vehicle structure, para. 0042).
As to claim 16, Vautin in view of Salehin teaches: wherein the signal processing device is in a vehicle (Vautin: audio control in vehicle cabin, Abstract; Salehin: vehicle, para. 0127), and the N playback devices are arranged on an inner wall of the vehicle (Vautin: four sets of speakers permanently attached to the vehicle structure, para. 0042; Fig. 1).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ono (US 2010/0241434 A1) teaches a multi-channel decoding device in a vehicle with several speakers.
Seefeldt et al. (US 12,003,946) teach adaptable spatial audio playback.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Stella L Woo whose telephone number is (571)272-7512. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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STELLA L. WOO
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2693
/Stella L. Woo/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2693
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