DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to communications filed 10/4/2024:
Claims 1-20 are pending
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 § 102
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 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) 1-5, 7-12, and 14-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Binal et al (US20220283775, hereinafter “Binal”).
Regarding claim 1, Binal teaches an audio system (abstract, system) comprising:
an audio controller programmed to transmit a control signal and an audio input signal (Fig. 12, processor capable of transmitting and processing signals);
an amplifier including at least one processor (Fig. 3, amplifier including a signal processor), the amplifier being programmed to:
process the control signal (¶183, processing delays can occur from processing of one or more signals);
transmit the processed control signal on a control bus (Fig. 12, processing of data includes sending various commands and the results thereof on the one or more busses (1208)); and
execute the processed control signal at the at least one processor to perform an operation on the audio input signal (Fig. 10A, ¶203, the user can modify (i.e. add/delete) filtering to be applied to one or more audio output signals); and
a measurement controller programmed to determine a total time delay for performing the operation on the audio input signal at the amplifier, wherein the total time delay corresponds to (i) a first time delay associated with at least processing the control signal; (ii) a second time delay associated with at least transmitting the processed control signal; and (iii) a third time delay associated with at least executing the processed control signal at the least one processor (Fig. 1, a total delay time is tracked wherein the total delay can result from processing delays [¶183], transmission delay [¶183], and execution delays resulting from processing of one or more modifications/filtering (control signals) to be applied to one or more signals [¶203]).
Regarding claim 2, Binal teaches wherein the amplifier includes a first network physical layer (Fig. 12, physical layer includes physical connection points between two devices to transmit data from one device to another) to process the control signal prior to executing the processed control signal at the at least one processor (¶198, system can periodically send out test signals to determine a system delay and to determine a universal clock datum).
Regarding claim 3, Binal teaches wherein the first time delay is further associated with processing the control signal at the first network physical layer (¶198, system can periodically send out test signals to determine a system delay and to determine a universal clock datum).
Regarding claim 4, Binal teaches wherein the amplifier further includes a control bus positioned between the first network physical layer and the at least one processor (Fig. 12, bus 1208 located between a physical input and the processor).
Regarding claim 5, Binal teaches wherein the second time delay is further associated with transmitting the processed control signal on the control bus (¶210, Fig. 12, processing of data includes sending various commands and the results thereof on the one or more busses (1208) and wherein the dynamic delay adjustment (DDA) accounts for physical characteristics such as wire length).
Regarding claim 7, Binal teaches wherein the control signal corresponds to one of (i) a command for the amplifier to mute or unmute an audio input signal, (ii) a command for the amplifier to output an audio output signal (Figs. 1, 12, using the available one or more interface options, a user can utilize the system to output one or more AV signals at one or more networked locations), and (iii) a command for the amplifier to output the audio output signal at a sound sequency.
Regarding claims 8-12 and 14, they are rejected similarly as claims 1-5 and 7, respectively. The method can be found in Binal (abstract, method).
Regarding claims 15-19, they are rejected similarly as claims 1-5, respectively. The method can be found in Binal (abstract, method). The medium can be found in Binal (¶250, medium).
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.
Claim(s) 6, 13, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Binal et al (US20220283775, hereinafter “Binal”) in view of Sun (US10911883).
Regarding claim 6, Binal fails to explicitly teach further including a network analyzer programmed to provide a first output signal to trigger an oscilloscope to measure the second time delay.
Sun teaches further including a network analyzer programmed to provide a first output signal to trigger an oscilloscope to measure the second time delay (col 9 lines 26-42, a processor (Fig. 8), can be programmed to determine a delay associated with transmission of a signal through the use of an oscilloscope).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the audio distribution system (as taught by Binal) with the delay measurement technique (as taught by Sun). The rationale to do so is to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield the predictable result of storing a predetermined delay value for later use (such as adjusting output delay) (Sun, col 9 lines 34-35).
Regarding claim 13, it is rejected similarly as claim 6. The method can be found in Binal (abstract, method).
Regarding claim 20, it is rejected similarly as claim 6. The medium can be found in Binal (¶250, medium).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Refer to PTO-892, Notice of References Cited for a listing of analogous art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QIN ZHU whose telephone number is (571)270-1304. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 6AM-4PM EST.
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/QIN ZHU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2691
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