CTNF 18/908,060 CTNF 89950 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeon et al. (US 2020/0037091) herein Jeon in view of Fielder et al. (EP 3257268) herein Fielder . Regarding claim 1, Jeon discloses an acoustic processing method (acoustic processing method in Jeon: [0007]) comprising: obtaining (i) sound information related to a sound including a predetermined sound and (ii) metadata including information related to a space in which the predetermined sound is reproduced (Jeon: fig. 2, [0058], [0145]) ; performing, based on the sound information and the metadata, acoustic processing of generating a sound signal expressing a sound including an early reflection that reaches a user after a direct sound that reaches the user directly from a sound source object (Jeon: [0055], [0061], [0062]) ; and outputting an output sound signal including the sound signal (Jeon: [0046]) , wherein the acoustic processing includes: determining parameters for generating the early reflection, the parameters including a position, in the space, of a virtual sound source object that generates the early reflection (‘virtual reflect sound source”, Jeon: fig. 8, [0062], [0112]) ; and generating the early reflection based on the parameters determined (Jeon: [0112]) , but lacks wherein the parameters include at least a parameter that varies over time according to a predetermined condition. Nevertheless, it is well known in the art to adjust parameters that varies over time according to a predetermined condition as demonstrated by Fielder (virtual reflect sound source processed to have specific directional patterns based on a wobbling function with a stochastic amplitude, Fielder: figs. 2, 4, [0023]-[0025], [0034]) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the parameters of Jeon to include at least a parameter that varies over time according to a predetermined conditioned as demonstrated by Fielder in order to adjust for fluctuations of direction and amplitude of the virtual reflect sound source from the user’s point of view to improve the sense of externalization. Regarding claim 2 , in the combination of Jeon and Fielding, Fielding discloses wherein the parameter that varies over time is the position, in the space, of the virtual sound source object that generates the early reflection (parameter varies over time in position and space of the virtual sound source object with a stochastic directional pattern, Fielding: [0023]-[0025], [0034]) . Regarding claim 3 , in the combination of Jeon and Fielding, Fielding discloses wherein the predetermined condition is a random number for determining the position of the virtual sound source object (stochastic directional pattern involves a random number for determining the position of virtual sound source objects, Fielding: [0023]-[0025], [0034]) . Regarding claim 4 , in the combination of Jeon and Fielding, Fielding discloses wherein the predetermined condition is a trajectory in the space for determining the position of the virtual sound source object (trajectory in the space is used for determining position of the virtual sound source object, Fielding: [0023]-[0025], [0034]) . Regarding claim 5, in the combination of Jeon and Fielding, Jeon discloses wherein a range over which the position of the virtual sound source object can vary is determined according to a positional relationship between the user and the virtual sound source object (Jeon: [0061], [0062]) . Regarding claim 6, in the combination of Jeon and Fielding, Jeon discloses wherein a range over which the position of the virtual sound source object can vary is determined according to an acoustic characteristic of the space (Jeon: [0061], [0062]) . Regarding claim 7, in the combination of Jeon and Fielding, Jeon discloses non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to execute the acoustic processing method according to claim 1 (Jeon: [0023]) . Regarding claim 8, Jeon discloses an acoustic processing system (acoustic processing system in Jeon: [0007]) comprising: an obtainer that obtains (i) sound information related to a sound including a predetermined sound and (ii) metadata including information related to a space in which the predetermined sound is reproduced (Jeon: fig. 2, [0058]) ; an acoustic processor that performs, based on the sound information and the metadata, acoustic processing of generating a sound signal expressing a sound including an early reflection that reaches a user after a direct sound that reaches the user directly from a sound source object (Jeon: [0055], [0061], [0062]) ; and an outputter that outputs an output sound signal including the sound signal (Jeon: [0046]) , wherein the acoustic processor includes: a parameter determiner that determines parameters for generating the early reflection, the parameters including a position, in the space, of a virtual sound source object that generates the early reflection (‘virtual reflect sound source”, Jeon: fig. 8, [0062], [0112]) ; and an early reflection generation processor that generates the early reflection based on the parameters determined (Jeon: [0112]) , but lacks the parameters include at least a parameter that varies over time according to a predetermined condition. Nevertheless, it is well known in the art to adjust parameters that varies over time according to a predetermined condition as demonstrated by Fielder (virtual reflect sound source processed to have specific directional patterns based on a wobbling function with a stochastic amplitude, Fielder: figs. 2, 4, [0023]-[0025], [0034]) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the parameters of Jeon to include at least a parameter that varies over time according to a predetermined conditioned as demonstrated by Fielder in order to adjust for fluctuations of direction and amplitude of the virtual reflect sound source from the user’s point of view to improve the sense of externalization. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEAN H NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-5728. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-6 PM. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Duc Nguyen can be reached at (571)272-7503. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /SEAN H NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2691 Application/Control Number: 18/908,060 Page 2 Art Unit: 2691 Application/Control Number: 18/908,060 Page 3 Art Unit: 2691 Application/Control Number: 18/908,060 Page 4 Art Unit: 2691 Application/Control Number: 18/908,060 Page 5 Art Unit: 2691
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