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 § 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
1. Claims 1-5, 8-12, 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Alexander (DE102018209962A1) in view of Zhou et al. (US20190258143A1).
As to Claim 1, Alexander teaches an individualized audio delivery arrangement for a motor vehicle ( a private audio system for a 3-D like listening experience for a vehicle occupant, abstract), the arrangement comprising: Regarding the following: a gimbal; an array of ultrasonic transducers mounted on the gimbal; and an electronic processor configured to: control an orientation of the gimbal to perform coarse adjustment of a direction in which the array of ultrasonic transducers emits an audio signal; Alexander teaches on [0008],the advantage of using an ultrasound speaker is that it directs the sound in a narrow beam and only directs it to a single occupant, so that the others are not disturbed and do not experience what the occupant hears, which enables the occupant to have a private listening experience, The private audio system further comprises an occupant monitoring unit that is configured to track the position of the head of a vehicle occupant. By tracking the position of the occupant's head, it is meant that the monitoring unit can recognize a position and a change in position of the head. This is advantageous because the head and, accordingly, the ears of each occupant can be in different positions depending on their body size and shape. Furthermore, the occupant can sometimes move to another place in the vehicle, so that his head occupies a different position. Since the sound beams from the ultrasound transmitter should be bundled in order to be perceptible only to the occupant, it may be necessary to know the exact position of the occupant's ears, since otherwise the beam may not be well aligned and therefore may not be perceptible to the occupant , For this purpose, the information from the occupant monitoring unit is used by a signal processor to detect the position of an occupant's ears and to control the orientation of the ultrasound beam and to direct it onto the detected ears. This can be done either mechanically, such as by rotating the ultrasound speaker when it is on a pan head mount, or preferably by changing the direction of the sound beam electronically respectively. In this way, the occupant is given a 3D-like, private listening experience. Also on page 3, [0002] Alexander teaches another example consists in the private audio system from the first example, in which several acoustic loudspeakers for sound transmission from several audio sources; multiple ultrasound speakers for transmitting sound beams from multiple audio sources; there are several occupant units for tracking the heads of several occupants and several signal processors for guiding beams from the ultrasound speakers to the ears of the respective occupant. This is advantageous for providing a private listening experience for multiple occupants in one vehicle, with the occupants being able to listen to different audio sources. For example, one occupant can listen to a sports program alone while another is on the phone and the driver is listening to navigation instructions and other vehicle messages. Although there are preferably a plurality of signal processors and a plurality of monitoring units, in other embodiments a head monitoring unit and / or a signal processor can be sufficient to align each beam from an ultrasound loudspeaker to the respective occupant. The single head monitoring unit can be attached to the interior ceiling to detect multiple occupants. Alexander does not explicitly teach motor vehicle comprising a gimbal; an array of ultrasonic transducers mounted on the gimbal. However, Zhou in related field (mounts for vehicle accessories) teaches mounting a gimbal in 100 in a vehicle to rotate the imaging device 200. See at least [0078]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to use a pan tilt mount or a gimble to rotate the ultrasonic speakers within the vehicle to direct sound beam at the ears of the occupant. See at least page 3, [0007] and [0002]. Regarding the limitation: and operate the array of ultrasonic transducers as a phased array to perform fine adjustment of the direction in which the array of ultrasonic transducers emits the audio signal, Alexander teaches the private audio system includes several acoustic loudspeakers for sound transmission from several audio sources; multiple ultrasound speakers for transmitting sound beams from multiple audio sources; there are several occupant units for tracking the heads of several occupants and several signal processors for guiding beams from the ultrasound speakers to the ears of the respective occupant. This is advantageous for providing a private listening experience for multiple occupants in one vehicle, with the occupants being able to listen to different audio sources. For example, one occupant can listen to a sports program alone while another is on the phone and the driver is listening to navigation instructions and other vehicle messages. Although there are preferably a plurality of signal processors and a plurality of monitoring units, in other embodiments a head monitoring unit and / or a signal processor can be sufficient to align each beam from an ultrasound loudspeaker to the respective occupant, thus teaching “ phased array to perform fine adjustment to direction” See at least Alexander on page 2, [0002].
As to Claim 2, Alexander in view of Zhou teaches the limitations of Claim 1 and wherein the gimbal is rotatable by the electronic processor in pan directions and tilt directions, Zhou on [0043] teaches the gimbal 100 can rotatably support the imaging device 200 to rotate about at least one of a yaw axis (pan axis), a pitch axis (tilt axis), or a roll axis.
As to Claim 3, Alexander in view of Zhou teaches the limitations of Claim 1 and wherein the direction in which the array of ultrasonic transducers emits an audio signal comprises a direction towards a head of an occupant of the motor vehicle, multiple ultrasound speakers for transmitting sound beams from multiple audio sources; there are several occupant units for tracking the heads of several occupants and several signal processors for guiding beams from the ultrasound speakers to the ears of the respective occupant. This is advantageous for providing a private listening experience for multiple occupants in one vehicle, with the occupants being able to listen to different audio sources. For example, one occupant can listen to a sports program alone while another is on the phone and the driver is listening to navigation instructions and other vehicle messages. See at least Alexander on page 3, [0002].
As to Claim 4, Alexander in view of Zhou teaches the limitations of Claim 3 and wherein the direction in which the array of ultrasonic transducers emits an audio signal comprises a direction towards an ear of an occupant of the motor vehicle, the Signal processor is set up to direct the ultrasound beam, which is emitted by the ultrasound speakers, towards the ears of the occupant. The signal processor enters the information from the occupant unit (camera images or sensor data) into a face detection algorithm to recognize the head and ears of the occupant and directs the beam of the ultrasound speakers towards the detected ears. See at least page 4, [0002].
As to Claim 5, Alexander in view of Zhou teaches the limitations of Claim 3 and further comprising a system for determining the position of the occupant's head, the system being communicatively coupled to the electronic processor, the Signal processor is set up to direct the ultrasound beam, which is emitted by the ultrasound speakers, towards the ears of the occupant. The signal processor enters the information from the occupant unit (camera images or sensor data) into a face detection algorithm to recognize the head and ears of the occupant and directs the beam of the ultrasound speakers towards the detected ears. In a further embodiment, the signal processor can be part of the occupant monitoring unit. See at least page 4, [0002].
As to Claim 8, Alexander teaches a method for delivering individualized audio in a motor vehicle ( a private audio system for a 3-D like listening experience for a vehicle occupant, and a method thereof, abstract, page 2, [0006]), the method comprising: Regarding the following: mounting an array of ultrasonic transducers on a single gimbal or distributed between multiple gimbals; controlling the orientation of the gimbals to perform coarse adjustment of a direction in which the array of ultrasonic transducers emits an audio signal; Alexander teaches on [0008],the advantage of using an ultrasound speaker is that it directs the sound in a narrow beam and only directs it to a single occupant, so that the others are not disturbed and do not experience what the occupant hears, which enables the occupant to have a private listening experience, The private audio system further comprises an occupant monitoring unit that is configured to track the position of the head of a vehicle occupant. By tracking the position of the occupant's head, it is meant that the monitoring unit can recognize a position and a change in position of the head. This is advantageous because the head and, accordingly, the ears of each occupant can be in different positions depending on their body size and shape. Furthermore, the occupant can sometimes move to another place in the vehicle, so that his head occupies a different position. Since the sound beams from the ultrasound transmitter should be bundled in order to be perceptible only to the occupant, it may be necessary to know the exact position of the occupant's ears, since otherwise the beam may not be well aligned and therefore may not be perceptible to the occupant , For this purpose, the information from the occupant monitoring unit is used by a signal processor to detect the position of an occupant's ears and to control the orientation of the ultrasound beam and to direct it onto the detected ears. This can be done either mechanically, such as by rotating the ultrasound speaker when it is on a pan head mount, or preferably by changing the direction of the sound beam electronically respectively. In this way, the occupant is given a 3D-like, private listening experience. Also on page 3, [0002] Alexander teaches another example consists in the private audio system from the first example, in which several acoustic loudspeakers for sound transmission from several audio sources; multiple ultrasound speakers for transmitting sound beams from multiple audio sources; there are several occupant units for tracking the heads of several occupants and several signal processors for guiding beams from the ultrasound speakers to the ears of the respective occupant. This is advantageous for providing a private listening experience for multiple occupants in one vehicle, with the occupants being able to listen to different audio sources. For example, one occupant can listen to a sports program alone while another is on the phone and the driver is listening to navigation instructions and other vehicle messages. Although there are preferably a plurality of signal processors and a plurality of monitoring units, in other embodiments a head monitoring unit and / or a signal processor can be sufficient to align each beam from an ultrasound loudspeaker to the respective occupant. The single head monitoring unit can be attached to the interior ceiling to detect multiple occupants. Alexander does not explicitly teach motor vehicle comprising a single gimbal or distributed between multiple gimbals. However, Zhou in related field (mounts for vehicle accessories) teaches mounting a gimbal in 100 in a vehicle to rotate the imaging device 200. See at least [0078]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to use a pan tilt mount or a gimble to rotate the ultrasonic speakers within the vehicle to direct sound beam at the ears of the occupant. See at least page 3, [0007] and [0002]. Regarding the limitation: operating the array of ultrasonic transducers as a phased array to perform fine adjustment of the direction in which the array of ultrasonic transducers emits the audio signal. Alexander teaches the private audio system includes several acoustic loudspeakers for sound transmission from several audio sources; multiple ultrasound speakers for transmitting sound beams from multiple audio sources; there are several occupant units for tracking the heads of several occupants and several signal processors for guiding beams from the ultrasound speakers to the ears of the respective occupant. This is advantageous for providing a private listening experience for multiple occupants in one vehicle, with the occupants being able to listen to different audio sources. For example, one occupant can listen to a sports program alone while another is on the phone and the driver is listening to navigation instructions and other vehicle messages. Although there are preferably a plurality of signal processors and a plurality of monitoring units, in other embodiments a head monitoring unit and / or a signal processor can be sufficient to align each beam from an ultrasound loudspeaker to the respective occupant, thus teaching “ phased array to perform fine adjustment to direction” See at least Alexander on page 2, [0002].
As to Claim 9, Alexander in view of Zhou teaches the limitations of Claim 8 and wherein the step of controlling an orientation of the gimbal or set of gimbals includes rotating the gimbal or gimbals in pan directions and tilt direction, Zhou on [0043] teaches the gimbal 100 can rotatably support the imaging device 200 to rotate about at least one of a yaw axis (pan axis), a pitch axis (tilt axis), or a roll axis.
As to Claim 10, Alexander in view of Zhou teaches the limitations of Claim 8 and wherein the direction in which the array of ultrasonic transducers emits an audio signal comprises a direction towards a head of an occupant of the motor vehicle, multiple ultrasound speakers for transmitting sound beams from multiple audio sources; there are several occupant units for tracking the heads of several occupants and several signal processors for guiding beams from the ultrasound speakers to the ears of the respective occupant. This is advantageous for providing a private listening experience for multiple occupants in one vehicle, with the occupants being able to listen to different audio sources. For example, one occupant can listen to a sports program alone while another is on the phone and the driver is listening to navigation instructions and other vehicle messages. See at least Alexander on page 3, [0002].
As to Claim 11, Alexander in view of Zhou teaches the limitations of Claim 10 and wherein the direction in which the array of ultrasonic transducers emits an audio signal comprises a direction towards an ear of an occupant of the motor vehicle, the Signal processor is set up to direct the ultrasound beam, which is emitted by the ultrasound speakers, towards the ears of the occupant. The signal processor enters the information from the occupant unit (camera images or sensor data) into a face detection algorithm to recognize the head and ears of the occupant and directs the beam of the ultrasound speakers towards the detected ears. See at least page 4, [0002].
As to Claim 12, Alexander in view of Zhou teaches the limitations of Claim 10 and determining the position of the occupant's head; and causing the array of ultrasonic transducers to emit the audio signal toward the occupant's head, the Signal processor is set up to direct the ultrasound beam, which is emitted by the ultrasound speakers, towards the ears of the occupant. The signal processor enters the information from the occupant unit (camera images or sensor data) into a face detection algorithm to recognize the head and ears of the occupant and directs the beam of the ultrasound speakers towards the detected ears. In a further embodiment, the signal processor can be part of the occupant monitoring unit. See at least page 4, [0002].
As to Claim 15, Alexander teaches an individualized audio delivery arrangement for a motor vehicle, ( a private audio system for a 3-D like listening experience for a vehicle occupant, and a method thereof, abstract, page 2, [0006]), the arrangement comprising: a system for detecting a position of a head of an occupant of the motor vehicle ( a private audio system for a 3D-like listening experience for a vehicle occupant, comprising: at least one acoustic loudspeaker configured to transmit sound from an audio source in an audio frequency; at least one ultrasound loudspeaker configured to transmit an audio beam from an audio source, the audio beam being orientable with respect to the occupant; an occupant monitoring unit configured to track the position of an occupant's head.) Regarding the following: a gimbal or set of gimbals; an array of ultrasonic transducers mounted on the gimbal or set of gimbals; and an electronic processor communicatively coupled to the head position detecting system and configured to: aim an audio signal from the ultrasonic transducers in a direction toward the head of the occupant of the motor vehicle; control an orientation of the gimbal or set of gimbals to perform coarse adjustment of the direction in which the array of ultrasonic transducers emits an audio signal; Alexander teaches on [0008],the advantage of using an ultrasound speaker is that it directs the sound in a narrow beam and only directs it to a single occupant, so that the others are not disturbed and do not experience what the occupant hears, which enables the occupant to have a private listening experience, The private audio system further comprises an occupant monitoring unit that is configured to track the position of the head of a vehicle occupant. By tracking the position of the occupant's head, it is meant that the monitoring unit can recognize a position and a change in position of the head. This is advantageous because the head and, accordingly, the ears of each occupant can be in different positions depending on their body size and shape. Furthermore, the occupant can sometimes move to another place in the vehicle, so that his head occupies a different position. Since the sound beams from the ultrasound transmitter should be bundled in order to be perceptible only to the occupant, it may be necessary to know the exact position of the occupant's ears, since otherwise the beam may not be well aligned and therefore may not be perceptible to the occupant , For this purpose, the information from the occupant monitoring unit is used by a signal processor to detect the position of an occupant's ears and to control the orientation of the ultrasound beam and to direct it onto the detected ears. This can be done either mechanically, such as by rotating the ultrasound speaker when it is on a pan head mount, or preferably by changing the direction of the sound beam electronically respectively. In this way, the occupant is given a 3D-like, private listening experience. Also on page 3, [0002] Alexander teaches another example consists in the private audio system from the first example, in which several acoustic loudspeakers for sound transmission from several audio sources; multiple ultrasound speakers for transmitting sound beams from multiple audio sources; there are several occupant units for tracking the heads of several occupants and several signal processors for guiding beams from the ultrasound speakers to the ears of the respective occupant. This is advantageous for providing a private listening experience for multiple occupants in one vehicle, with the occupants being able to listen to different audio sources. For example, one occupant can listen to a sports program alone while another is on the phone and the driver is listening to navigation instructions and other vehicle messages. Although there are preferably a plurality of signal processors and a plurality of monitoring units, in other embodiments a head monitoring unit and / or a signal processor can be sufficient to align each beam from an ultrasound loudspeaker to the respective occupant. The single head monitoring unit can be attached to the interior ceiling to detect multiple occupants. Alexander does not explicitly teach motor vehicle comprising a gimbal or set of gimbals; an array of ultrasonic transducers mounted on the gimbal or set of gimbals. However, Zhou in related field (mounts for vehicle accessories) teaches mounting a gimbal in 100 in a vehicle to rotate the imaging device 200. See at least [0078]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to use a pan tilt mount or a gimble to rotate the ultrasonic speakers within the vehicle to direct sound beam at the ears of the occupant. See at least page 3, [0007] and [0002]. Regarding the limitation: operate the array of ultrasonic transducers as a phased array to perform fine adjustment of the direction in which the array of ultrasonic transducers emits the audio signal. Alexander teaches the private audio system includes several acoustic loudspeakers for sound transmission from several audio sources; multiple ultrasound speakers for transmitting sound beams from multiple audio sources; there are several occupant units for tracking the heads of several occupants and several signal processors for guiding beams from the ultrasound speakers to the ears of the respective occupant. This is advantageous for providing a private listening experience for multiple occupants in one vehicle, with the occupants being able to listen to different audio sources. For example, one occupant can listen to a sports program alone while another is on the phone and the driver is listening to navigation instructions and other vehicle messages. Although there are preferably a plurality of signal processors and a plurality of monitoring units, in other embodiments a head monitoring unit and / or a signal processor can be sufficient to align each beam from an ultrasound loudspeaker to the respective occupant, thus teaching “ phased array to perform fine adjustment to direction” See at least Alexander on page 2, [0002].
As to Claim 16, Alexander in view of Zhou teaches the limitations of Claim 15 and wherein the gimbal or set of gimbals are rotatable by the electronic processor in pan directions and tilt directions, Zhou on [0043] teaches the gimbal 100 can rotatably support the imaging device 200 to rotate about at least one of a yaw axis (pan axis), a pitch axis (tilt axis), or a roll axis.
As to Claim 17, Alexander in view of Zhou teaches the limitations of Claim 15 and the electronic processor is configured to aim the audio signal from the ultrasonic transducers in a direction toward an ear of an occupant of the motor vehicle, the Signal processor is set up to direct the ultrasound beam, which is emitted by the ultrasound speakers, towards the ears of the occupant. The signal processor enters the information from the occupant unit (camera images or sensor data) into a face detection algorithm to recognize the head and ears of the occupant and directs the beam of the ultrasound speakers towards the detected ears. See at least page 4, [0002].
As to Claim 18, Alexander in view of Zhou teaches the limitations of Claim 15 and further comprising a motor communicatively coupled to the electronic processor and configured to actuate the gimbal, Zhou on [0043] teaches the gimbal 100 can rotatably support the imaging device 200 to rotate about at least one of a yaw axis (pan axis), a pitch axis (tilt axis), or a roll axis.
2. Claims 6,7, 13, 14, 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Alexander (DE102018209962A1) in view of Zhou et al. (US20190258143A1) in further view of Zilberman et al. (US20190349703A1).
As to Claim 6, Alexander in view of Zhou teaches the limitations of Claim 1 but does not explicitly teach further comprising a beamforming oscillator configured to apply to the array of ultrasonic transducers an electronic signal including pulses of sine waves oscillating at an ultrasonic frequency. However, Zilberman in related field (3D auditory space within a vehicle) teaches producing virtual binaural audio space are disclosed. In some implementations, the method includes providing staged audio data indicative of an audio data piece and of a relative position of a virtual source from which the audio data piece should be perceived by a designated listener; determining a position (e.g. location and orientation) of a head of user, which designated to be the listener; and transmitting one or more ultrasound fields towards a one or more selected audio center points located in the vicinity of the user's head for producing, via sound from ultrasound effect, left and right audible sound fields carrying the audio data piece to the left and right ears of the user respectively. See at least abstract. Further, [0232] teaches the sound from ultra-sound signal generator 632 and the beam-former 634 are configured and operable to generate signals for operating the selected transducer array(s) to transduce ultrasonic acoustic signals which when undergo non-linear interaction with the medium (e.g. air) in their propagation path towards the user, form very small audible sound bubble(s) in the vicinity of (e.g. surrounding) one or both of the user's P ears. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to further include a beamformer to produce directional audio and enhance special audio experience to the vehicle occupants.
As to Claim 7, Alexander in view of Zhou teaches the limitations of Claim 1 but does not explicitly teach wherein the electronic processor is configured to control timing of pulses emitted by each said ultrasonic transducer to thereby perform the fine adjustment of the direction in which the array of ultrasonic transducers emits the audio signal. However, Zilberman in related field (3D auditory space within a vehicle) teaches on [0263] beam forming can be implemented by various known techniques by introducing phase delays to the signals of the ultrasound channel arriving to different elements of the selected (phased array) transducer, so as to form the desired beams directed and/or focused to their respective focal points. Accordingly, the beam forming module 12530 may be configured and operable according to any suitable technique for generation, such beam formed ultrasound channels to be used for actuation of the phased array ultrasound transducer. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to control timing of pulses emitted by each said ultrasonic transducer or introduce phase delays so as to form the desired beams directed and/or focused to their respective focal points.
As to Claim 13, Alexander in view of Zhou teaches the limitations of Claim 8 but does not explicitly teach further comprising applying to the array of ultrasonic transducers an electronic signal including pulses of sine waves oscillating at an ultrasonic frequency. However, Zilberman in related field (3D auditory space within a vehicle) teaches producing virtual binaural audio space are disclosed. In some implementations, the method includes providing staged audio data indicative of an audio data piece and of a relative position of a virtual source from which the audio data piece should be perceived by a designated listener; determining a position (e.g. location and orientation) of a head of user, which designated to be the listener; and transmitting one or more ultrasound fields towards a one or more selected audio center points located in the vicinity of the user's head for producing, via sound from ultrasound effect, left and right audible sound fields carrying the audio data piece to the left and right ears of the user respectively. See at least abstract. Further, [0232] teaches the sound from ultra-sound signal generator 632 and the beam-former 634 are configured and operable to generate signals for operating the selected transducer array(s) to transduce ultrasonic acoustic signals which when undergo non-linear interaction with the medium (e.g. air) in their propagation path towards the user, form very small audible sound bubble(s) in the vicinity of (e.g. surrounding) one or both of the user's P ears. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to further include a beamformer to produce directional audio and enhance special audio experience to the vehicle occupants.
As to Claim 14, Alexander in view of Zhou teaches the limitations of Claim 8 but does not explicitly teach controlling timing of pulses emitted by each said ultrasonic transducer to thereby perform the fine adjustment of the direction in which the array of ultrasonic transducers emits the audio signal. However, Zilberman in related field (3D auditory space within a vehicle) teaches on [0263] beam forming can be implemented by various known techniques by introducing phase delays to the signals of the ultrasound channel arriving to different elements of the selected (phased array) transducer, so as to form the desired beams directed and/or focused to their respective focal points. Accordingly, the beam forming module 12530 may be configured and operable according to any suitable technique for generation, such beam formed ultrasound channels to be used for actuation of the phased array ultrasound transducer. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to control timing of pulses emitted by each said ultrasonic transducer or introduce phase delays so as to form the desired beams directed and/or focused to their respective focal points.
As to Claim 19, Alexander in view of Zhou teaches the limitations of Claim 15 but does not explicitly teach further comprising a beamforming oscillator configured to apply to the array of ultrasonic transducers an electronic signal including pulses of sine waves oscillating at an ultrasonic frequency. However, Zilberman in related field (3D auditory space within a vehicle) teaches producing virtual binaural audio space are disclosed. In some implementations, the method includes providing staged audio data indicative of an audio data piece and of a relative position of a virtual source from which the audio data piece should be perceived by a designated listener; determining a position (e.g. location and orientation) of a head of user, which designated to be the listener; and transmitting one or more ultrasound fields towards a one or more selected audio center points located in the vicinity of the user's head for producing, via sound from ultrasound effect, left and right audible sound fields carrying the audio data piece to the left and right ears of the user respectively. See at least abstract. Further, [0232] teaches the sound from ultra-sound signal generator 632 and the beam-former 634 are configured and operable to generate signals for operating the selected transducer array(s) to transduce ultrasonic acoustic signals which when undergo non-linear interaction with the medium (e.g. air) in their propagation path towards the user, form very small audible sound bubble(s) in the vicinity of (e.g. surrounding) one or both of the user's P ears. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to further include a beamformer to produce directional audio and enhance special audio experience to the vehicle occupants.
As to Claim 20, Alexander in view of Zhou teaches the limitations of Claim 15 but does not explicitly teach the electronic processor is configured to control timing of pulses emitted by each said ultrasonic transducer to thereby perform the fine adjustment of the direction in which the array of ultrasonic transducers emits the audio signal. However, Zilberman in related field (3D auditory space within a vehicle) teaches on [0263] beam forming can be implemented by various known techniques by introducing phase delays to the signals of the ultrasound channel arriving to different elements of the selected (phased array) transducer, so as to form the desired beams directed and/or focused to their respective focal points. Accordingly, the beam forming module 12530 may be configured and operable according to any suitable technique for generation, such beam formed ultrasound channels to be used for actuation of the phased array ultrasound transducer. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to control timing of pulses emitted by each said ultrasonic transducer or introduce phase delays so as to form the desired beams directed and/or focused to their respective focal points.
Conclusion
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/SUNITA JOSHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2691
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