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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/23/2024 and 03/09/2026. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 8-10, and 15-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Cole et al. (US Patent No. 7,945,277) hereinafter Cole.
Per claims 1, 8 and 15, Cole discloses a method/device implemented by a device of a user (see figure 2 and one of the items 214-216), comprising: joining a push-to-talk (PTT) channel (see figure 2, a link between item212 and 216); receiving, from a PTT server (see figure 2 and item 208, figure 1 and item 104, , a context with respect to a most recent audio message transmitted within the PTT channel immediately after the device joined the PTT channel; and outputting the context (see column 4 and lines 12-31, a first listener might receive the context [stream with a first packet] in real time/immediately).
Per claims 2, 9, and 16, Cole further comprising: receiving a notification from the PTT server that the context is available (“invitation”); and outputting an alert indicating availability of the context (see column 5 and lines 28-38 and column 6, lines 1-15, alert from a GUI).
Per claim 3, 10, and 17, Cole further teaches outputting the context comprises: buffering incoming PTT messages while the context is being output; and outputting the buffered PTT messages after the context is output (see column 5 and lines 39-67, the POC module save/download the data stream in order to allow the user to play the speech/audio back).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim(s) 4-7, 11-14 and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cole in view of Dai et al. (US20100048235) hereinafter Dai.
Per claim 4, 11, and 18, Cole discloses a PTT system over a cellular system that converts received signals into an audio for a user (see column 6 and lines 47-50). Cole doesn’t expressly teach that the data/signal is in a textual format, and wherein outputting the context comprises: converting the context from text to speech using a text-to-speech engine; and outputting the context audibly to the user. Dai teaches that such additional features (see figure 2, and para. 0032). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the TTS engine to quick dispatch the audio information to the user.
Per claim 5, 12, and 19 Cole discloses a PTT system over a cellular system that converts received signals into an audio for a user (see column 6 and lines 47-50). Cole doesn’t expressly teach that outputting the context comprises: displaying the context textually on a display of the device. Dai teaches such features (see para. 008 and 009, wherein information can be presented in both audio or visual). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate such features to provide the user consuming information with different options.
Per claim 6, 13, and 20, Cole discloses a PTT system over a cellular system that converts received signals into an audio for a user (see column 6 and lines 47-50). Cole doesn’t expressly teach the context comprises a summary of prior messages that are contextually relevant to the most recent audio message. Dai teaches such features (see figure 6 and 7 and corresponding paragraphs, the user of the PTT system is able view who and marked conversations). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate such features to allow a user to glance at the conversation before committing more time to digest/ listen to it (see para. 004).
Per claims 7 and 14, Cole discloses a PTT system over a cellular system that converts received signals into an audio for a user (see column 6 and lines 47-50). Cole doesn’t expressly teach transmitting a request to the PTT server indicating a context format for the context. Dai teaches the mobile terminal/phone format the context during a PTT conference. Combination of Cole and Dai doesn’t express teach the formatting is done at the network side. The examiner takes an official notice. It is notoriously will known to implement such task in the network side. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to shift the formatting/transformation task to the network/cloud side such that there will be less computation or burden on the user’s terminal.
Conclusion
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YUWEN . PAN
Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2649
/YUWEN PAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2649
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