DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to communications filed 11/25/2024:
Claims 1-10 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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 8, it recites “…a space different from the space….” It is advised to change “a space” to another term such as “a second space” (or the like) to avoid confusion with the already-recited “space”.
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)(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) 1-2 and 4-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Narula et al (US20250119688, hereinafter “Narula”).
Regarding claim 1, Narula teaches a voice processing system (abstract, audio management system) that controls voices of a plurality of voice devices arranged in a same space (Fig. 1, control of one or more devices in the same room), comprising:
an acquisition processor that acquires a first voice input to a microphone of a first voice device (Fig. 1, ¶247, acquiring voice signal using microphone); and
a setting processor that enables or disables a function of outputting the first voice from speakers of one or more other second voice devices for each of the second voice devices (¶247, system allows for selectively enabling/disabling one or more speakers for outputting sound; see also ¶103-104).
Regarding claim 2, Narula teaches further comprising:
a specification processor that specifies a type of each of the voice devices, wherein
the setting processor enables or disables the function of a target second voice device of the second voice devices on the basis of the type of the target second voice device (¶103-104, hardware and/or software based features that can be enabled/disabled based on “by-device”; ¶112, 114, device identifier or identification number methodologies are employed).
Regarding claim 4, Narula teaches wherein
the setting processor sets a signal level of the speaker of the target second voice device on the basis of the type of the target second voice device (¶103-104, software-based features that can be enabled/disabled or modified on a by-device basis include, but are not limited to: muting or unmuting a microphone or speaker, changing an audio input or output gain or volume, etc.).
Regarding claim 5, Narula teaches wherein
the setting processor enables or disables the function of the target second voice device in accordance with a setting operation of a user (¶103-104, software-based features that can be enabled/disabled or modified on a by-user basis include, but are not limited to: muting or unmuting a microphone or speaker, changing an audio input or output gain or volume, etc.)
Regarding claim 6, Narula teaches wherein,
when the target second voice device is connected, the setting processor acquires the type associated with identification information of the target second voice device from a storage that stores identification information of each of the voice devices and the type of each of the voice devices in association with each other, and enables or disables the function of the target second voice device on the basis of the acquired type (¶114, configuration database can include information such as serial numbers, model numbers, service tags, device capabilities, settings, configurations, firmware versions, health status, utilization data, digital certificates, public encryption keys, device telemetry data, etc.; ¶103-104, software-based features that can be enabled/disabled or modified on a by-user basis include, but are not limited to: muting or unmuting a microphone or speaker, changing an audio input or output gain or volume, etc.).
Regarding claim 7, Narula teaches wherein,
when the target second voice device is connected and the type of the target second voice device is not stored in the storage, an inquiry about the type of the target second voice device is made, and the type of the target second voice device is stored in the storage when being acquired (¶200-202, when a new device connects to the meeting, device details may need to be verified before being added to the meeting; further, the new device might only receive temporary access and the access may expire at the end of the meeting).
Regarding claim 8, Narula teaches wherein
the acquisition processor acquires a second voice input to a microphone of a voice device arranged in a space different from the space, and
the setting processor matches a signal level of the first voice output from the speaker of a target second voice device of the second voice devices with a signal level of the second voice output from the speaker of the target second voice device (¶39, remote meeting may employ several different technologies, including Unified Communication (UC) applications and services (e.g., ZOOM, TEAMS, SKYPE, FACETIME, etc.), robust (and/or lightweight) protocols, data encryption and compression techniques, etc., to enable the exchange of streams of text messages, voice, video, and/or other electronic data (e.g., files, documents, etc.) in real-time among remote users in dispersed locations; ¶103-104, software-based features that can be enabled/disabled or modified on a by-user or by-device basis include, but are not limited to: muting or unmuting a microphone or speaker, changing an audio input or output gain or volume, etc.).
Regarding claim 9, it is rejected similarly as claim 1. The method can be found in Narula (¶1, method).
Regarding claim 10, it is rejected similarly as claim 1. The medium can be found in Narula (¶273, medium).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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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