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 § 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) 1-3, 5-10, 12-17 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Milne in view of Jairath et al (US 2017/0006331), Wang (US 2022/0030321) or Imbruce et al (US 2025/0053373).
Claims 1, 8 and 15, Milne, via Fig. 3, teaches a computer-implemented method, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and an apparatus for comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to perform operations for:
receiving an audio stream; (The streaming application 107a (of audio source 101 of fig. 1) may transmit the first audio stream to the first auditory device 120a based on the first audio preferences and the second audio stream to the second auditory device based on the second user preferences, [0028]);
establishing a connection with a first audio device associated with a first user; (FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example environment 100…A first user 125a may be associated with the user device 115 and a first auditory device 120a. [0020]);
establishing a connection with a second audio device associated with a second user; (FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example environment 100... A subsequent user 125b may be associated with a subsequent auditory device 120n, [0020]);
Though Milne does not specifically detail, “parsing the audio stream, by signal processing, into at least a first segment and a second segment, wherein the first segment comprises a first portion of audio data of the audio stream and the second segment comprises a second portion of audio data of the audio stream, the first portion and the second portion comprising different audio content”.
Jairath teaches, “[0005] A system is disclosed for splitting a multimedia content stream associated with a single program for synchronized rendering among multiple destination devices. Splitting multimedia content may be desirable, for example, when two viewers of the same movie wish to hear the audio track in different languages. In such a case, a media server processes the multimedia stream for a single program to provide video data and audio data associated with the program for substantially simultaneous presentation on different media players. For example, the media server may provide video for display on a television screen, while an English language audio track is presented via the television sound system. Meanwhile, a French language audio track may be split from the multimedia stream and presented at the same time on a separate device, e.g., a smart phone, so that a second user can listen through headphones to the movie soundtrack in French while watching the video on the TV. Furthermore, video information may be split among two or more devices so that while a movie is being displayed on a television screen, a version of the video containing sub-titles is also being shown in synchronized fashion on a tablet computer. In another scenario, a documentary film may be provided as a pair of video streams, wherein one stream includes only images, and another stream includes supplemental information such as historical facts superimposed on the images. Alternatively, a sports event may be presented along with a second video stream that includes player information, game statistics, play-by-play annotations, and the like);
Wang: [0105] …, the utterances 116 and 110 of the first user and the second user respectively are parsed as described in detail in FIG. 8. Upon parsing, the first user is assigned a first context and the second user is assigned a second context. In some embodiments, the first context may include the first user 108's preference towards the first media asset (“Batman”) and the second media asset (“Iron Man”).
Imbruce: candidate audio segment is split into two or more candidate audio segments, [0052] and the recommended audio segment is automatically provided in an audio segment feed. For example, an audio segment feed for a specific user includes recommended audio segments from different audio content episodes for that specific user. Each specific user can quickly explore different audio content episodes by reviewing the user's audio segment feed. For example, a user can explore available audio content episodes by navigating through the user's audio segment feed and consuming recommended audio segments. The audio segment feed can be used to present recommended audio segments of different audio content episodes in a continuous manner, [0018]. (Please note)… a user can receive and/or subscribe to one or more segment feeds. Custom segment feeds can be created for a user based on preferences, [0036]).
delivering the first segment to the first audio device based on user preferences associated with the first user; (Milne: The streaming application 107a may generate a first user profile for the first user that includes first user preferences for streaming a first audio stream from the audio source 101 to the first auditory device 120a. For example, the first user may prefer that the first audio is streamed in English with a standard quality of audio, [0026]. Please also see Jairath, [0005]; Wang, [0105]) and
delivering the second segment of the audio stream to the second audio device based on user preferences associated with the second user. (The streaming application 107a may generate a second user profile for the second user (e.g., the subsequent user 125n) that includes second user preferences for streaming a second audio stream from the audio source 101 to the second auditory device. The first user preferences may include at least one different preference than the second user preferences. For example, the second user preferences may include a high quality of audio and a preferred volume level., [0027]. Please also see Jairath, [0005]; Wang, [0105]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to the ordinary artisan before the effective filing date to modify the teaching of Milne to include the teaching of Jairath, Wang or Imbruce for the purpose of explicitly describing the splitting process and providing the proper service to accommodating the appropriate request, i.e. different languages, different movies, or selecting the different audio content episodes.
Claims 2, 9 and 16, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: deliver a third segment of the audio stream to the first audio device and the second audio device. (Milne: [0087]… a third audio stream).
Claims 3, 10 and 17, wherein the first segment of the audio stream corresponds with audio content of a first language, and wherein the second segment of the audio stream corresponds with audio content of a second language. (Milne: [0067] The user interface module 304 generates graphical data for displaying a user interface with options for configuring user preferences. The user preferences may include a language,… in English and the preferred language may be in Spanish. Also see Jairath, [0005] in English and French).
Claims 5, 12 and 19, wherein delivering the first segment of the audio stream to the first audio device further comprises: amplifying one or more frequencies associated with the first segment of the audio stream based on the user preferences associated with the first user. (Milne: preferences may include a high quality of audio and a preferred volume level, [0027]; Also see Fig. 4D, [0077]. Wang: Media guidance may be provided to the user equipment with any suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, a user-specified period of time, a system-specified period of time, in response to a request from user equipment, etc.), [0070]. Imbruce: the audio content can be transformed to a different domain such as the frequency domain before analysis is performed, [0034]).
Claim 6, 13 and 20, wherein delivering the first segment of the audio stream to the first audio device further comprises: attenuating one or more frequencies associated with the first segment of the audio stream based on the user preferences associated with the first user. (Milne: The first user preferences may include at least one different preference than the second user preferences. For example, the second user preferences may include a high quality of audio and a preferred volume level, [0027].
Claims 7 and 14, wherein the first segment of the audio stream comprises audio descriptions associated with visual content corresponding with the audio stream. (Milne: [0071] The user may additionally select a closed-captioning box 411 to indicate a preference for closed captioning, select an audio descriptive services box 413 to indicate a preference for a description of important visual elements in a scene. Imbruce: In various embodiments, the video portions of the highlight video clip include visual indictors of the audio segment and/or corresponding content episode, [0037]).
Claim(s) 4, 11 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Milne in view of Jairath, Wang or Imbruce and further in view of Sarikaya OR Gnanasekaran.
Claim 4, 11 and 18. Milne does not teach “wherein the first segment of the audio stream is based on a mature language filter associated with a user profile for the first user”.
Sarikaya teaches, “ Filters that may be applied include age appropriate content filters (e.g., certain language may be deemed to complex or too adult-oriented for one or more age groups), preference filters (e.g., a user's personal user profile may indicate that the user does not like R-rated horror movies even if they are over 17 years old), sexual content filters, and profanity filters, among others, [0043].
Gnanasekaran teaches, “Thus, selecting the appropriate content filter(s) may depend on one or more of a user profile, user location, time of day, day of year, and language. Once an identity of a user or users is determined, a database may be accessed and/or searched to find information about the user(s). Based on one or more of the various factors discussed herein, one or more appropriate content filters may be retrieved, [0036]”.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to the ordinary artisan before the effective filing date to incorporate the teaching of Sarikaya OR Gnanasekaran into the teaching of Milne for the purpose of protecting the decency request based on a specific profile by the user.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHUNG-HOANG J. NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1949. The examiner can normally be reached Reg. Sched. 6:00-3:00.
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/PHUNG-HOANG J NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2691
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