DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because they do not include descriptive legends with text, but only include reference numerals in Figures 1 to 3C. 37 CFR 1.84(o) states: “(o) Legends. Suitable descriptive legends may be used subject to approval by the Office, or may be required by the examiner where necessary for understanding of the drawing. They should contain as few words as possible.” Here, Applicants’ drawings do not include any descriptive legends, and a proper understanding of the invention by the public could be improved by providing these descriptive legends along with reference numerals.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office Action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, Applicants will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office Action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it is not in narrative form. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP §608.01(b).
MPEP 608.01(b) C. states that an abstract should be in narrative form and should avoid the form and legal phraseology of claim language. Here, Applicants’ abstract is not in narrative form because it has the format and legal phraseology characteristic of claim language.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 1 to 2, 4 to 5, 8 to 9, 11 to 12, 14 to 15, and 17 to 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ortiz Valencia (EP 2,983,148) in view of Foisy et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2013/0027197).
Concerning independent claims 1, 8, and 14, Ortiz Valencia discloses a system, method, and algorithm for a voice-sensitive emergency alert system, comprising:
“a plurality of audio devices installed at two or more different locations of a premises” – fire alarm systems typically include one or more alarms located in various locations including hallways or individual rooms (¶[0002]); a sound-sensitive emergency alert system comprises at least one electronic alarm module disposed at a predetermined location in a building (“locations of a premises”) (¶[0004]); sound-sensitive emergency alert system 100 includes an electronic alarm module 102; alarm module 102 is disposed at one or more predetermined locations and is configured to detect one or more acoustic sounds 108 at a respective location (“a plurality of audio devices”) (¶[0008]: Figure 1); alarm model 102 includes an acoustic sensor 114 comprising a microphone to detect various sounds including human voices and an acoustic output device 116 comprising a speaker to produce voice messages (¶[0009] - ¶[0012]: Figure 1); a location signal indicates a predetermined location of one or more alarm modules 102 (¶[0016]: Figure 3);
“a control panel communicatively coupled to each of the audio devices” – electronic control unit 104 is in electrical communication with each alarm module 102; electronic control unit 104 is configured to receive one or more sound detection signals from a respective alarm module 102, and can determine the location of one or more persons 110 based on the locality of the detected acoustic signal 108 (¶[0009]: Figure 1); electronic control unit 104 is located remotely from alarm modules 102 included in emergency alert system 100, and may operate as an electronic main control and indication panel (“a control panel”) (¶[0018]: Figure 1); electronic control unit 104 is configured to receive one or more sound detection signals from a respective alarm module 102 (¶[0019]: Figure 1);
“wherein in response to an emergency detected or notified to the control panel, the system is configured to: . . . establish, by the control panel, a two-way communication session with each of the plurality of audio devices” – a sound-sensitive two-way emergency alert system in a building includes at least one electronic alarm module disposed at a predetermined location in the building; when the system detects an emergency event, the alarm module outputs an acoustic and/or visual alert and listens for sounds indicating the presence of people or animals in the building; if voices are detected, their location is transmitted to a remotely located control module to inform emergency personnel about the location of individuals needing assistance (Abstract); an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a two-way interactive voice-sensitive emergency alert system (¶[0007]); electronic control unit 104 is configured to receive one or more sound detection signals from a respective alarm module 102 (¶[0019]); one or more embodiments provide a two-way interactive voice-sensitive emergency alert system that can dynamically adjust operation in response to detecting one or more acoustic voices during an emergency event such as a fire (¶[0023]); broadly, control unit 104 is configured to “establish . . . a two-way communication session with each of the plurality of audio devices” at least because it outputs an acoustic and/or visual alert to an alarm module 102 and receives sound detection signals from a respective alarm module 102;
“transmit, by each of the plurality of audio devices to the control panel, an audio data stream” – a voice-sensitive emergency system can dynamically adjust operation in response to detecting one or more acoustic sounds, e.g., voices, during an emergency event; acoustic voices include vocal requests for help during the emergency event (¶[0007]); electronic control unit 104 may determine which connection delivered the sound detection signal to determine the respective alarm module 102 that detected the acoustic voice 108 (¶[0018]: Figure 1); electronic control unit 104 is configured to receive one or more sound detection signals from a respective alarm module 102, and can determine the location of the respective alarm module 102 that detected the acoustic voice 108 (¶[0019]: Figure 1);
“identify, by the control panel, in response to the audio data stream from each of the plurality of audio devices, an audio device at which human voice is detected” – acoustic sensor 114 includes a microphone configured to detect various acoustic sounds including human voices 108 (¶[0011]: Figure 1); sound recognition module 122 may also determine specific vocal statements of one or more persons 110 (¶[0015]: Figure 1); sound recognition module 122 can recognize one or more vocal statements and can determine a vocal alert response message in response to receiving a vocal statement from one or more persons 110; vocal alert responses include, but are not limited to, a vocal inquiry, a vocal answer, and a vocal recommended course of action based on the recognized voice signal, e.g., the recognized human speech (¶[0016]: Figure 1); electronic control unit 104 may determine which connection delivered the sound detection signal to determine the respective alarm module 102 that detected the acoustic voice 108 (¶[0018]: Figure 1).
Concerning independent claims 1, 8, and 14, Ortiz Valencia discloses all of the limitations with the exception of “a remote server configured for two-way communication with the control panel and each of the audio devices” and “connect, by the control panel, the identified audio device to the remote server so as to enable two-way audio communication between the identified audio device and the remote server.” Here, Ortiz Valencia does not disclose ‘a remote server’. However, Foisy et al. teaches audio buffering in a two-way voice alarm system that includes an alarm panel that signals sensed alarm conditions at a premises to a monitoring server over a packet switched data network. An alarm panel may receive live audio from the premises, and data representing live audio and buffered audio may be transferred enabling an operator at a monitoring center to listen to audio arising from events, and enable real-time communication between the monitoring center and the panel. (Abstract) Here, Figure 1 illustrates that monitoring station 26 comprises a monitoring server 32 that communicates over data network 24 with alarm panels 22A to 22C. A network interface interconnects an alarm monitoring server to at least one network for receiving alarm signals and two-way audio communication. A processor establishes two-way audio communication with an alarm panel originating the alarm signal, and buffers audio received from the alarm panel as part of the two-way audio communication. (¶[0011]) Specifically, monitoring station 26 and panels 22 may establish voice channels including two-way voice channels 80 enabling individuals audible at audio detector 36 in communication with panels 22 to communicate with monitoring server 32 through speakers 54 and/or microphones 52 at terminals 50 to enable operators to communicate with premises 28 in real time. (¶[0040]: Figure 1) Foisy et al., then, teaches monitoring server 32 (“a remote server”) is in communication with panels 22 to enable two-way audio communication between an alarm panel that originates the alarm signal and monitoring server 32. An objective is to better capture audio related to sensed alarm conditions in alarm systems so that events giving rise to alarm conditions or occurring immediately after sensing of alarm conditions may be heard by an operator. (¶[0006] - ¶[0007]) It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to provide a remote monitoring server for two-way communication with audio devices as taught by Foisy et al. to connect a control panel with an audio device that is identified as having delivered a sound detection signal in Ortiz Valencia for a purpose of better capturing audio related to sensed alarm conditions so that events giving rise to alarm conditions may be heard by an operator.
Concerning claims 2, 9, and 15, Foisy et al. teaches that monitoring station 26 and panels 22 may establish two-way voice channels 80 enabling individuals audible at audio detector 36 in communication with panels 22 to communicate with a monitoring server 32 through speakers 54 and/or microphones 52 so that operators at terminals 50 can communicate with premises 28 in real time; two-way voice channel 80 may be established using the SIP (¶[0040]: Figures 1 and 3). Here, a plurality of voice channels 80 are established between monitoring server 32 and speakers 34 and audio detectors 36 at customer premises 28. Implicitly, these two-way communication channels are established “in a parallel manner”.
Concerning claims 4 to 5, 11 to 12, and 17 to 18, Ortiz Valencia discloses sound recognition module 122 is in electrical communication with the acoustic sensor 114 and is configured to convert the acoustic voices 108 into a sound detection signal; although acoustic voices are described, the sound recognition module 122 may also identify other acoustic sounds such as animal response including, but not limited to, dog barks; in addition to detecting an acoustic voice, the sound recognition module 122 may also determine specific vocal statements of one or more persons 110; statements may include names of one or more persons requesting help, a number of people in an area near the alarm module 102, and verbal location of one or more persons (¶[0015]: Figure 1); sound recognition module 122 can recognize one or more vocal statements and can determine a vocal alert response message in response to receiving a vocal statement from one or more persons 110; sound recognition module can store a plurality of vocal alert responses/messages, and select a particular vocal alert response among the plurality of vocal alert responses based on the vocal statement received from one or more persons 110; vocal alert responses are based on the recognized voice signal, e.g., recognized human speech (¶[0016]: Figure 1). Ortiz Valencia, then, discloses “when performing the identification step, the system is further configured to perform the analysis on the audio data stream transmitted by each of the audio devices” and “a human voice recognition module configured to enable human voice recognition and/or human speech recognition so as to analyze the audio data stream” because audio is analyzed to identify human voices by sound recognition module 114 as recognized human speech along with a location of the detected human speech, which is distinguished from sounds of dogs barking.
Claims 3, 10, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ortiz Valencia (EP 2,983,148) in view of Foisy et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2013/0027197) as applied to claims 1, 8, and 14 above, and further in view of Elkhatib et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2016/0066113).
Ortiz Valencia discloses that sound recognition module 122 recognizes human voices so as to identify a location at which a human voice is detected at an alarm module in an emergency event. However, Ortiz Valencia does not expressly disclose that a system is “configured to block, by the control panel, all of the audio devices except the identified audio device from connecting to the remote server.” Elkhatib et al. teaches selectively enabling a microphone circuit by performing sound detection based on a microphone signal to determine whether to enable a component based on the sound detection. (Abstract) Detection logic 116 of microphone circuit 110 may determine whether to enable a component based on a sound detection operation that is performed on microphone signal 114. The method may enable a microphone circuit to selectively activate components of a mobile device, and performing determinations at a microphone circuit may enable keeping other components in sleep mode for longer periods of time which may reduce overall power consumption of the mobile device. (¶[0057]: Figure 7) A method may include determining whether an energy satisfying an energy threshold is detected, and includes enabling a DSP at the microphone circuit and performing sound detection at the DSP, e.g., so that a first DSP 215 is enabled. When a particular sound is not detected, a method may include disabling the DSP at the microphone circuit. (¶[0060] - ¶[0061]: Figure 8: Step 812) Here, disabling a microphone circuit after a determination that no sound is detected at microphones is equivalent to “block . . . all of the audio devices except the identified audio device”. An objective is to reduce overall power consumption. (¶[0005]) It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to provide an algorithm that selectively enables or disables a microphone circuit in response to sound detection as taught by Elkhatib et al. in a sound detection module that determines a location of a human voice in Ortiz Valencia for a purpose of reducing overall power consumption.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ortiz Valencia (EP 2,983,148) in view of Foisy et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2013/0027197) as applied to claims 1, 4, and 5 above, and further in view of Cha et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2021/0134271).
Ortiz Valencia discloses that sound recognition module 122 recognizes human voices so as to identify a location at which a human voice is detected at an alarm module in an emergency event so that a sound recognition module is “a human voice recognition module” and a “speech recognition algorithm”. However, Ortiz Valencia does not disclose “wherein the human voice recognition module comprises an artificial intelligence speech recognition algorithm configured to improve efficiency and accuracy of human voice recognition.” Still, speech recognition algorithms that operate according to principles of artificial intelligence are known in the prior art as taught by Cha et al. Generally, Cha et al. teaches a low-power speech recognition device based on artificial intelligence and a method of operating the same so that power consumption is reduced, thereby satisfying industrial and user demands for producing and using low-power products. (Abstract) Speech recognition based on artificial intelligence technology increases accuracy at the expense or memory and computer power. (¶[0005]) Various embodiments may provide a hardware device that reduces power consumption in a device performing speech recognition by using an artificial intelligence technology. (¶[0008]) Here, reducing power consumption by using artificial intelligence technology is equivalent to promoting more ‘efficiency’. An objective is to provide low-power speech recognition based on artificial intelligence to reduce power consumption. (Abstract; ¶[0008]) It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to perform human voice recognition in Ortiz Valencia with artificial intelligence to increase efficiency and accuracy of speech recognition as taught by Cha et al. for a purpose of reducing power consumption.
Claims 7, 13, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ortiz Valencia (EP 2,983,148) in view of Foisy et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2013/0027197) as applied to claims 1, 8, and 14 above, and further in view of Barfield, Jr. et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2015/0145662).
Ortiz Valencia discloses informing emergency personnel about the location of individuals needing assistance in a voice-sensitive emergency alert system. (Abstract) Similarly, Ortiz Valencia discloses guiding emergency personnel towards the locality of the acoustic voices, e.g., the help requests. (¶[0007]) Accordingly, emergency personnel 112 can quickly and easily ascertain the location of one or more persons 110 in need of assistance during an emergency event. (¶[0021]: Figure 4) Ortiz Valencia, then, discloses “where the system is further configured to dispatch . . . emergency personnel to the premises when . . . the plurality of audio devices detects a human voice”, but does not dispatch emergency personnel “when none of the plurality of audio devices detects a human voice.”
However, Barfield, Jr. et al. teaches using audio signals in personal emergency response systems that may include an audio sensor to enhance operation by obtaining audio data that can be used to verify a fall event. (Abstract) Audio may be automatically transmitted to an emergency response center to enable an emergency response center to better dispatch appropriate personnel. (¶[0012]) A personal emergency response device 100 may initiate emergency calls in response to automatic detection of a fall event or emergency event by user 100, or in response to a user explicitly requesting help. (¶[0014]: Figure 1) Specifically, Barfield, Jr. et al. describes possible classification categories of ‘silence, calls for help, panic’ and ‘general talking and talking from multiple users’. The classification category of ‘silence’ may indicate that a user is incapacitated, but a classification category of ‘general talking’ may be associated with sounds that indicate that the user has not fallen, is not in distress, or is in the company of other people that can assist the user. Speaking by multiple users or general talking or conversation my indicate that the user does not require additional assistance. (¶[0040]: Figure 4) Barfield, Jr. et al., then, teaches dispatching emergency personnel under a circumstance when a human voice is not detected. An objective is to prevent false positives of a fall event that can annoy a user and cause undue expense/strain on a communication infrastructure and/or an emergency response system. (¶[0003]) It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to dispatch emergency personnel when audio devices fail to detect a human voice as taught by Barfield, Jr. et al. in a voice-sensitive emergency alert system of Ortiz Valencia for a purpose of preventing false positives that can annoy a user and cause undue expense.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicants’ disclosure.
Dildy, Velius, El-Mankabady et al., Min et al., Takaya, Wright, Sr., Guo et al., Belsarkar et al., and Baker et al. disclose related prior art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARTIN LERNER whose telephone number is (571) 272-7608. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:30 AM-6:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Richemond Dorvil can be reached at (571) 272-7602. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARTIN LERNER/Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2658
July 13, 2026
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