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 .
1. This communication in response to application filed 10/15/2024
Information Disclosure Statement
2. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted 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 § 103
3. 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1, 9 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhartikar et al. (Pub.No.: 2008/0279318 A1) in view of Mehrabi et al. (Pub.No.: 2024/0259761 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 9 and 17, Bhartikar teaches an apparatus, method and computer-readable storage medium (reads on room acoustic equalization and filters used for acoustic equalization, see [0001, 0008 and 0028-0029]) comprising:
a memory (obvious if not inherent within the teaching of Bhartikar); and
a processor communicably coupled to the memory (reads on equalization filter 16/ equalizer 16 that produce equalized signal applied to loudspeaker 20, see also computing equalization filters as discussed in [0028-0029, 0030-0033 and 0038-0040]), the processor configured to:
control equalization applied to a loudspeaker within a location based on acoustic characteristics of the location and the loudspeaker (reads on loudspeaker-room acoustic equalization, where a loudspeaker is placed in a room and the loudspeaker is measured and equalized, see [0002, 0004, 0008 and 0028-0029]);
receive audio measurements of the loudspeaker and location from at least one microphone that is also located in the location (reads on measuring loudspeaker-room impulse response at a measurement/listener position, see [0028-0029 and 0043]); and
modify at least one equalization setting of the loudspeaker based on relative values of the time-domain metric in the one or more fractional-octave frequency bands (reads on generating equalization filters from measured loudspeaker-room response and performing level adjustment between equalization paths, see [0038-0040 and 0046]).
Again, Bhartikar teaches loudspeaker-room acoustic equalization, where a loudspeaker is placed in a room and the loudspeaker is measured and equalized, see [0002, 0004, 0008 and 0028-0029], measuring loudspeaker-room impulse response at a measurement/listener position, see [0028-0029 and 0043] and generating equalization filters from measured loudspeaker-room response and performing level adjustment between equalization paths, see [0038-0040 and 0046], however Bhartikar does not expressly teach “calculate data for a time-domain metric of the location and loudspeaker in one or more fractional-octave frequency bands based on the audio measurements”.
However, Mehrabi teaches capturing microphone data and determining measured target impulse responses representing the listening environment (see [0170 and 0232]). Mehrabi further teaches analyzing measured target impulse responses in subbands, such as 1/3-octave subbands, and determining target room parameters from measured impulse responses, including early decay time, late reverberation time, direct-to-reverberant ratio, and mixing-time energy level (see [0171-0178]). Mehrabi also teaches using such room parameters for room adaptation and subband gain matching/equalization (see [0178 and 0214-0222]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply Mehrabi’ s subband time-domain room-parameter calculation to Bhartikar’ s loudspeaker-room equalization system because equalization already measures the loudspeaker-room impulse response for equalization, and Mehrabi teaches known-room acoustic parameters derived from measured impulse responses in subbands to adapt/equalize audio to the listening environment. The combination would have predictably improved Bhartikar’ s room equalization by allowing equalization settings to be adjusted based on perceptually relevant time-domain room characteristics in fractional-octave frequency band.
Regarding claims 2, 10 and 18, the combination of Bhartikar in view of Mehrabi teaches wherein the processor is configured to modify phase and magnitude setting of at least one frequency band of the loudspeaker based on the relative values of the time-domain metric in the one or more fractional-octave frequency bands (in Bhartikar this reads on correcting magnitude response/flat magnitude response/level adjustment, see [0004, 0008, 0038-0040] and [0049]. Bhartikar also teaches minimum-phase FIR equalization filter, see [0008 and 0036-0037]. note that minimum-phase equalization filter necessarily has a phase response associated with the filter transfer function. In addition, Bhartikar teaches low-frequency and high-frequency equalization paths and octave-band smoothing/resolution, see [0030 and 0038-0040]).
Regarding claims 3, 11 and 19, the combination of Bhartikar in view of Mehrabi teaches wherein the audio measurements comprise a room impulse response (RIR) measured by the at least one microphone, and the processor is configured to remove ambient noise from the RIR and calculating time-domain metrics in one or more fractional-octave frequency bands based on the RIR with ambient noise removed (Bhartikar teaches measuring the loudspeaker-room impulse response, see [0028-0029] and Mehrabi teaches measured target IRs from microphone data, see [0170] and [0232]).
Regarding claims 4, 12 and 20, the combination of Bhartikar in view of Mehrabi teaches wherein the processor is configured to calculate a Definition metric of the RIR using a split time in a range of 10 milliseconds to 250 milliseconds in 1/N octave bands, where N comprises an integer value of at least one of 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24, and modify the at least one equalization setting of the loudspeaker based on the relative values of the Definition metric in the 1/N octave bands (Mehrabi teaches analyzing measured target impulse responses in subbands, including 1/3-octave subbands, and determining temporal room parameters using frequency and temporal segmentation of the RIR, including early/late reverberation and direct-to-reverberant energy relationships (see [0172-0172], [0176], [0186] and [0223-0224]). Bhartikar also teaches 1/3-octave and 1/12-octave resolution/smoothing (see [0040]). Thus, the recited 1/N octave bands are met at least by N=3).
Regarding claims 5 and 13, the combination of Bhartikar in view of Mehrabi teaches wherein the processor is configured to calculate a Definition metric of the RIR using a preferred 50 millisecond split times in 1/N octave bands, where N comprises an integer value of at least one of 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24, and modify the at least one equalization setting of the loudspeaker based on the relative values of the Definition metric in the 1/N octave bands (Mehrabi teaches the use of a 50 ms mixing/window time in the temporal segmentation of the measured impulse response, see [0176] and [0186]).
Regarding claims 6 and 14, the combination of Bhartikar in view of Mehrabi teaches wherein the processor is configured to calculate a Reverb Time metric of the RIR in 1/N octave bands, where N comprises an integer value of at least one of 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24, and modify the at least one equalization setting of the loudspeaker based on the relative values of the Reverb Time metric in the 1/N octave bands (Note that Mehrabi teaches late reverberation time from measured IRs/EDC and calculation in subbands. See Mehrabi [0171-0178], [0171] and [0198]).
Regarding claims 7 and 15, the combination of Bhartikar in view of Mehrabi teaches wherein the processor is further configured to calculate frequency-domain equalization values based on the relative values of the time-domain metric in the one or more fractional-octave frequency bands, and modify the at least one equalization setting of the loudspeaker based on the frequency-domain equalization values (note that Bhartikar teaches measuring h(n), transforming/using H(z), computing equalization filters F(z)/G(z), smoothing magnitude response, and level adjustment, see [0028-0029], [0038-0040]. Mehrabi teaches using room parameters from measured IRs to generate room adaptation/gain-matching filters, see [0187] and [0214-0222]).
Regarding claims 8 and 16, the combination of Bhartikar in view of Mehrabi teaches wherein the processor is configured to augment a level of the equalization for at least one frequency band of the loudspeaker and attenuate another level of the equalization for at least one other frequency band of the loudspeaker based on the relative values of the time-domain metric at different frequency bands (Bhartikar teaches low-frequency and high-frequency equalization paths and automatic level adjustment between the equalization paths (see [0008, 0039-0040 and 0046]). Mehrabi furth teaches per-subband gain adjustment to match target and reference room parameters (see [0214-0222])).
Conclusion
4. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Rasha S. AL-Aubaidi whose telephone number is (571) 272-7481. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Ahmad Matar, can be reached on (571) 272-7488.
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/RASHA S AL AUBAIDI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2693
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