DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to communications filed 10/30/2024:
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) 1-3, 6, 8-10, 12-14, 17, and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mehta et al (US20220030373, hereinafter “Mehta”).
Regarding claim 1, Mehta teaches an Information Handling System (IHS) for providing audio spatial notifications (¶45, system for providing spatial audio), comprising:
at least one processor configured to execute an operating system (OS) and one or more applications, including an audio environment agent (¶43, including the use of computers and processors to accomplish the spatial audio rendering (see also ¶104)), the agent configured to:
identify all microphones and audio playback devices attached to the HIS (¶92, identifying the one or more plurality of drivers/speakers and microphones);
create profiles of the sensitivity and range of the microphones (¶92, discovering microphone characteristics or parameters associated with the microphone(s));
create profiles of the range of the audio playback devices (¶92, discovering the speaker profiles wherein the profiles device speaker characteristics such as frequency response);
produce diagnostic sound waves to identify acoustic characteristics of an environment near the HIS (¶102, Fig. 12, calibrating the speakers involve outputting a test signal and recording its response (¶101)); and
automatically alter one or more speaker output to modify audio within the environment (Fig. 12, modifying one or more parameters of the speaker in correspondence to the collected impulse response).
Regarding claim 2, Mehta teaches wherein the audio playback devices comprise one or more of: an internal speaker, an external speaker, a soundbar, a subwoofer, a center-channel speaker, headphones, a passive speaker, and an active speaker (Fig. 13, external speaker such as sound bar and various L/R/C channel speakers; see also Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 3, Mehta teaches wherein the diagnostic sound waves comprise one or more of: high frequency signals, low frequency signals, and white noise (¶101, a test signal is output wherein the test signal must comprise at least one of “low frequency” or “high frequency” or “mid frequency” and this can be modified according to design requirements).
Regarding claim 6, Mehta teaches wherein the speaker output is altered by adjusting a volume, a pitch, or a balance of an audio signal sent to the speaker output (¶102, calibration can include EQ and gain).
Regarding claim 8, Mehta teaches wherein the audio within the environment is modified by adjusting system notifications transmitted to the speakers (¶152, providing spatial location for an audio object (wherein the audio object can be system notification)).
Regarding claim 9, Mehta teaches wherein the audio within the environment is modified by adjusting panning of system notifications transmitted to the speakers (¶72, panning techniques can be applied to output audio).
Regarding claim 10, Mehta teaches wherein the one or more speaker output is altered to modify system notifications while leaving other audio settings unmodified (¶47, each object can be controlled by defining metadata such that “system notifications” can be a set of audio objects that are modified while other objects/sound settings are untouched).
Regarding claims 12-14, they are rejected similarly as claims 1-3, respectively. The method can be found in Mehta (¶9, method).
Regarding claim 17, it is rejected similarly as claim 6. The method can be found in Mehta (¶9, method).
Regarding claims 19-20, they are rejected similarly as claims 9-10, respectively. The method can be found in Mehta (¶9, method).
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) 4-5, 7, 15-16, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mehta et al (US20220030373, hereinafter “Mehta”) in view of Klinke et al (US20210306782, hereinafter “Klinke”).
Regarding claim 4, Mehta fails to explicitly teach wherein the high frequency signals are transmitted at a highest frequency possible for the speakers, the low frequency signals are transmitted at a lowest frequency possible for the speakers, and the white noise is broadcast in a frequency range between 85 Hz to 255 Hz.
Klinke teaches wherein the high frequency signals are transmitted at a highest frequency possible for the speakers, the low frequency signals are transmitted at a lowest frequency possible for the speakers, and the white noise is broadcast in a frequency range between 85 Hz to 255 Hz (¶47, test signals can include pure tones and sine sweeps wherein the upper/lower limits can be set according to design needs).
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 device (as taught by Mehta) with the testing methods (as taught by Klinke). The rationale to do so is to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield the predictable result of improving audio quality through improved test methodologies (Klinke, ¶37).
Regarding claim 5, Mehta in view of Klinke teaches wherein the acoustic characteristics of the environment comprise one or more of: occlusions, distortions, and echoes (Klinke, Fig. 4, ¶48, echo can be captured as part of the environment characteristic).
Regarding claim 7, Mehta in view of Klinke teaches wherein the audio within the environment is modified by removing occlusions, distortions, and echoes created by the environment (Klinke, ¶83, echo cancellation).
Regarding claims 15-16, they are rejected similarly as claims 4-5, respectively. The method can be found in Mehta (¶9, method).
Regarding claim 18, it is rejected similarly as claim 7. The method can be found in Mehta (¶9, method).
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mehta et al (US20220030373, hereinafter “Mehta”) in view of Elsley et al (US20220386051, hereinafter “Elsley”).
Regarding claim 11, Mehta fails to explicitly teach wherein the agent is further configured to: compare the profiles of the create profiles the microphones and the audio playback devices to previously created microphone and speaker profiles.
Elsley teaches wherein the agent is further configured to: compare the profiles of the create profiles the microphones and the audio playback devices to previously created microphone and speaker profiles (¶36, comparing a historical operating characteristic data of an input device against the current operating characteristic data).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the technique of adjusting audio device characteristics against historic data (as taught by Elsley) to the audio system (as taught by Mehta). The rationale to do so is to apply a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield the predictable result of improving audio output in an environment (Elsley, ¶20).
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Duc Nguyen can be reached on 571-272-7503. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/QIN ZHU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2691
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