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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been received.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/03/2024 was filed 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 § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
1. Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Regarding claims 1, 10, and 11, “A sound processing apparatus”, “A method”, and “A non-transitory computer readable medium” are recited, which is directed to one of the four statutory categories of invention (machine; process; article of manufacture). However, the claims limitations, under their broadest reasonable interpretation, recite mathematical concepts which fall into the category of abstract idea (Step 2A Prong 1: YES).
The following limitations in claim 1, and similar limitations recited in claims 10 and 11, under their broadest reasonable interpretation, recite mathematical concepts:
execute time different acquisition processing to acquire a difference between propagation time of a sound signal from the second position to the first position in the wireless communication of the sound signal, and propagation time of a sound from the second position to the first position in air propagation of the sound: determining a difference in times amounts to a mathematical calculation
execute attenuation factor acquisition processing to acquire an attenuation factor of a sound from the second position to the first position in air propagation of the sound: determining an attenuation factor amounts to a mathematical calculation
execute correction processing to remove a third sound signal, which was acquired by attenuating the second sound signal based on the attenuation factor and delaying the second sound signal based on the difference, from the first sound signal: attenuating (e.g. changing magnitude of signal) and delaying a signal to remove the third signal from the second signal amounts to mathematical calculations
Claims 1, 10, and 11 do not contain any additional elements which amount to significantly more than the judicial exception (Step 2A Prong 2: NO). The only additional elements are “a processor; and a memory storing a program which, when executed by the processor, causes the sound processing apparatus to” (claim 1), “A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores a program, wherein the program causes a computer to execute a sound processing method comprising” (claim 11), “acquire a first sound signal which is collected at a first position” (claims 1, 10, 11), and “acquire a second sound signal which is collected at a second position, transmitted from the second position by wireless communication, and received at the first position” (claims 1, 10, and 11). Recitation of the processor, memory, wireless communication, and non-transitory computer readable medium are recited at a high level of generality and amount to mere instructions to implement the judicial exception using a generic computer. Furthermore, the receiving of the first and second sound signals at a first and second position amounts to pre-solution activity, falling under the category of insignificant extra-solution activity. Even when viewed in combination with the claims as a whole, these limitations do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application as they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract ideas. Therefore, claims 1, 10, and 11 are directed to abstract ideas.
Claims 1, 10, and 11 do not contain any additional elements which amount to significantly more than the judicial exception (Step 2B: NO). As discussed above, the only additional limitations amount to mere instructions to implement the judicial exception using a generic computer and insignificant extra-solution activity. Even when viewed in combination with the claims as a whole, these limitations do not amount to significantly more than the judicial exception as they do not provide an inventive concept. Therefore, claims 1, 10, and 11 are not patent eligible.
Regarding claims 2-9, “The sound processing apparatus” is recited, which is directed to one of the four statutory categories of invention (machine). However, the claims limitations, under their broadest reasonable interpretation, recite further mathematical concepts which fall into the category of abstract idea (Step 2A Prong 1: YES).
The following limitations in claim 1, and similar limitations recited in claims 10 and 11, under their broadest reasonable interpretation, recite further mathematical concepts:
Claim 2:
further causes the sound processing apparatus to execute synthesis processing to synthesize a fourth sound signal, generated by removing the third sound signal from the first sound signal, and the second sound signal: creating a fourth signal by removing a third signal from the first sound signal amounts to a mathematical calculation
Claim 3:
wherein based on the first sound signal and the second sound signal acquired by emitting a predetermined sound at the second position, the attenuation factor is acquired in the attenuation factor acquisition processing, and the difference is acquired in the time difference acquisition processing: determining time differences and attenuation factors amounts based off a predetermine sound amounts to mathematical calculations
Claim 4:
wherein in the time difference acquisition processing, time from timing of the predetermined sound in the second sound signal to timing of the predetermined sound in the first sound signal is acquired as the difference between the propagation time in the wireless communication and the propagation time in the air propagation: determining a time difference as a difference between wireless propagation and air propagation times amounts to a mathematical calculation
Claim 5:
wherein in the attenuation factor acquisition processing, a ratio of a level of the predetermined sound in the first sound signal with respect to a level of the predetermined sound in the second sound signal is acquired as the attenuation factor: determining an attenuation factor based on determining a ratio of sound levels amounts to mathematical calculations
Claim 6:
wherein information on the propagation time in the wireless communication is provided in advance, and in the time difference acquisition processing, the difference is acquired by acquiring the propagation time in the air propagation based on a distance from the first position to the second position: using known information about wireless propagation times to determine a time difference based on distances amounts to mathematical calculations
Claim 7:
wherein in the attenuation factor acquisition processing, the attenuation factor is acquired based on a distance from the first position to the second position: determining an attenuation factor based on distances amounts to mathematical calculations
Claim 8:
Claim 8 recites “execute information acquisition processing to acquire information indicating the distance from the first position to the second position”, which amounts to further pre-solution activity (insignificant extra solution activity)
Claim 9:
wherein the third sound signal is a sound signal in a predetermined frequency band: using a third sound signal in a predetermined frequency band to be removed from a first sound signal amounts to mathematical calculations
Claims 2-9 do not contain any additional elements which integrate the judicial exception into a practical application (Step 2A Prong 2: NO). As discussed above, the only additional elements amount to either mere instructions to implement the judicial exception using a generic computer or insignificant extra-solution activity. Even when viewed in combination with the claims as a whole, these limitations do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application as they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Therefore, claims 2-9 are directed to abstract ideas.
Claims 2-9 do not contain any additional elements which amount to significantly more than the judicial exception (Step 2B: NO). As discussed above, the only additional elements amount to either mere instructions to implement the judicial exception using a generic computer or insignificant extra-solution activity. Even when viewed in combination with the claims as a whole, these limitations do not amount to significantly more than the judicial exception as they do not provide an inventive concept. Therefore, claims 2-9 are not patent eligible.
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.
2. Claims 1-2, 10, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (US 2020/0160882 A1) in view of Itou (US 2010/0150376 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Liu discloses A sound processing apparatus comprising (Fig. 1): a processor (Fig. 1, processing circuit 1064; para. 0015 “The processing circuit 1064 of the audio processing circuit 106 can be a digital signal processor (DSP) chip, but not limited thereto.”)… execute first sound acquisition processing to acquire a first sound signal which is collected at a first position (Fig. 1, first sound signal (coming from sound source 20) is collected (via 1022) at a first position (see Fig. 4, 1022 in a first position farther from sound source 20); para. 0022 “According to the procedure 2, in Step S202, when the electronic system 1 is operating, the first audio input circuit 1022 acquires a first audio signal A1 and transmits the first audio signal A1 to the analog to digital converter 1024. The digital converter 1024 converts the first audio signal A1 into a first digital audio signal D1. The first digital audio signal D1 is transmitted to the audio processing circuit 106.”); execute second sound acquisition processing to acquire a second sound signal which is collected at a second position (Fig. 1, second sound signal (coming from sound source 20) is collected (via 1042) at a second position (see Fig. 4, 1042 is in a second position close to the sound source 20); para. 0023 “In Step S204, the second audio input circuit 1042 is acquires a second audio signal A2 and transmits the second audio signal A2 to the analog to digital converter 1044. The analog to digital converter 1044 converts the second audio signal A2 into a second digital audio signal D2 and transmits the second digital audio signal D2 to the communication circuit 1046.”), transmitted from the second position by wireless communication (this second sound signal is transmitted wirelessly (Fig. 1, signal A2 converted to digital signal D2, which is further transmitted as wireless signal W1); para. 0023 “The communication circuit 1046 converts the second digital audio signal D2 into a wireless transmission signal W1 and transmits a wireless radio signal corresponding to the wireless transmission signal W1…”), and received at the first position (this wireless signal W1 is received by processing circuit 106, which is located at first position (see Fig. 4, 106 in same position as 1022); para. 0023 “The communication circuit 1046 converts the second digital audio signal D2 into a wireless transmission signal W1 and transmits a wireless radio signal corresponding to the wireless transmission signal W1 so as to transmit the wireless transmission signal W1 to the audio processing circuit 106 through wireless communications.”); execute time difference acquisition processing (time delay is calculated: para. 0026 “The audio processing circuit 106 can delay the second digital audio signal D2 for a delay time period TD to generate a delayed second digital audio signal D2′ and perform an echo cancellation process on the first digital audio signal D1 according to delayed second digital audio signal D2′ so as to generate the digital audio detection signal DS.”) to acquire a difference between propagation time of a sound signal from the second position to the first position in the wireless communication of the sound signal, and propagation time of a sound from the second position to the first position in air propagation of the sound (see Equation (1); TD comprises a difference (subtraction) between a propagation time of sound signal from second position to first position (represented as T1 + TP1; para. 0026 “The delay time period TD is associated with at least one of a transmission time T1 of transmitting sound from the sound source 20 to the first audio input circuit 1022, a processing time TP1 of converting the first audio signal A1 into the first digital audio signal D1 by the analog to digital converter 1024…”) and a wireless transmission time of sound from second position to first position (represented as TP2+TP3+TP4; para. 0026 “The delay time period TD is associated with at least one of …a processing time TP2 of converting the second audio signal A2 into the second digital audio signal D2 by the analog to digital converter 1044, a processing time TP3 of converting the second digital audio signal D2 into the wireless transmission signal W1 and emitting a wireless radio signal corresponding to the wireless transmission signal W1 and a processing time TP4 of converting the wireless transmission signal W1 into the second digital audio signal D2.”))…execution correction processing to remove a third sound signal (Fig. 3, D2’), which was acquired by…delaying the second sound signal based on the difference (Fig. 3, third signal D2’ acquired by delaying second sound signal (D2) according to the time delay (using 1066); para. 0029 “The delay circuit 1066 delays the second digital audio signal D2 for a delay time period TD and outputs a delayed second digital audio signal D2′.”), from the first sound signal (Fig. 3, third signal D2’ is removed from first signal D1 to generate DS; para. 0029 “The subtractor 1068 subtracts the delayed second digital audio signal D2′ from the first digital audio signal D1 to generate the digital audio detection signal DS. As a result, the subtractor 1068 outputs the digital audio detection signal DS from which the components of the second digital audio signal D2 has been removed, so as to eliminate the unwanted ambient noise sound and retain the normal sound signals for improving sound input accuracy.”).
Liu does not specifically disclose a memory storing a program which, when executed by the processor, cause the sound processing apparatus to…execute attenuation factor acquisition processing to acquire an attenuation factor of a sound from the second position to the first position in air propagation of the sound; [execute correction processing to remove a third sound signal,] which was acquired by attenuating the second sound signal based on the attenuation factor…
Itou teaches a memory storing a program which, when executed by the processor, cause the sound processing apparatus to… (para. 0028 “The correction amount calculation section 12 includes a storage circuit such as a memory storing a computer program 120 as a firmware and a control circuit such as an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) performing various controls and operations, to execute the computer program 120 stored in the storage circuit at the control circuit and to perform various operations, so that a computer functions as the echo suppressing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment.”); execute attenuation factor acquisition processing to acquire an attenuation factor of a sound from the second position to the first position in air propagation of the sound (para. 0025 “More specifically, the sound output from the loud speaker 101 based on the reference sound signal x(t) passes through the acoustic field in the external environment to be received by the microphone 102.”; observed sound signal y(t) measured by microphone 30 at second sound position (see Fig. 2); para. ; para. 0032 “Moreover, the correction amount calculation section 12 receives the reference sound signal x(t) and the observed sound signal y(t), calculates the power ratio of the observed sound signal y(t) to the reference sound signal x(t)…”); [execute correction processing to remove a third sound signal,] which was acquired by attenuating the second sound signal based on the attenuation factor… (para. 0032 “Moreover, the correction amount calculation section 12 receives the reference sound signal x(t) and the observed sound signal y(t), calculates the power ratio of the observed sound signal y(t) to the reference sound signal x(t), calculates the correction amount for the observed sound signal y(t) in accordance with the calculated power ratio, specifically here the correction amount for the differential signal e(t) which is the observed sound signal after echo removal by the adaptive filter 10, and outputs the calculated correction amount to the correction section 11.”; para. 0033 “The correction section 11 receives the correction amount from the correction amount calculation section 12 to output, based on the received correction amount, a correction signal e'(t) obtained by correcting the differential signal e(t) which is the observed sound signal after echo removal by the adaptive filter 10, to the sound processing device 3.”).
Liu and Itou are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention as
they both are in the same field of echo cancellation. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Liu to incorporate the teachings of Itou in order to execute attenuation acquisition processing to acquire an attenuation factor a sound from the second position to the first position in air propagation of the sound and to execute correction processing to remove a sound signal by attenuating the second sound signal based on the attenuation factor. Doing so would be beneficial, as this correction utilizing the attenuation factor would help remove residual echo (para. 0006), improving quality.
Regarding claim 2, Liu in view of Itou discloses wherein the program, when executed by the processor, further causes the sound processing apparatus to execute synthesis processing to synthesize a fourth sound signal, generated by removing the third sound signal from the first sound signal (Liu, Fig. 3, third signal D2’ is removed from first signal D1 to generate a fourth signal DS; para. 0029 “The subtractor 1068 subtracts the delayed second digital audio signal D2′ from the first digital audio signal D1 to generate the digital audio detection signal DS. As a result, the subtractor 1068 outputs the digital audio detection signal DS from which the components of the second digital audio signal D2 has been removed, so as to eliminate the unwanted ambient noise sound and retain the normal sound signals for improving sound input accuracy.”), and the second sound signal (second sound signal is generated by second audio input circuit 1042 (see Fig. 1, generated second audio signal A2)).
Regarding claim 10, Liu discloses A sound processing method comprising: acquiring a first sound signal which is collected at a first position (Fig. 1, first sound signal (coming from sound source 20) is collected (via 1022) at a first position (see Fig. 4, 1022 in a first position farther from sound source 20); para. 0022 “According to the procedure 2, in Step S202, when the electronic system 1 is operating, the first audio input circuit 1022 acquires a first audio signal A1 and transmits the first audio signal A1 to the analog to digital converter 1024. The digital converter 1024 converts the first audio signal A1 into a first digital audio signal D1. The first digital audio signal D1 is transmitted to the audio processing circuit 106.”); acquiring a second sound signal which is collected at a second position (Fig. 1, second sound signal (coming from sound source 20) is collected (via 1042) at a second position (see Fig. 4, 1042 is in a second position close to the sound source 20); para. 0023 “In Step S204, the second audio input circuit 1042 is acquires a second audio signal A2 and transmits the second audio signal A2 to the analog to digital converter 1044. The analog to digital converter 1044 converts the second audio signal A2 into a second digital audio signal D2 and transmits the second digital audio signal D2 to the communication circuit 1046.”), transmitted from the second position by wireless communication (this second sound signal is transmitted wirelessly (Fig. 1, signal A2 converted to digital signal D2, which is further transmitted as wireless signal W1); para. 0023 “The communication circuit 1046 converts the second digital audio signal D2 into a wireless transmission signal W1 and transmits a wireless radio signal corresponding to the wireless transmission signal W1…”), and received at the first position (this wireless signal W1 is received by processing circuit 106, which is located at first position (see Fig. 4, 106 in same position as 1022); para. 0023 “The communication circuit 1046 converts the second digital audio signal D2 into a wireless transmission signal W1 and transmits a wireless radio signal corresponding to the wireless transmission signal W1 so as to transmit the wireless transmission signal W1 to the audio processing circuit 106 through wireless communications.”); acquiring a difference (time delay is calculated: para. 0026 “The audio processing circuit 106 can delay the second digital audio signal D2 for a delay time period TD to generate a delayed second digital audio signal D2′ and perform an echo cancellation process on the first digital audio signal D1 according to delayed second digital audio signal D2′ so as to generate the digital audio detection signal DS.”) between propagation time of a sound signal from the second position to the first position in the wireless communication of the sound signal, and propagation time of a sound from the second position to the first position in air propagation of the sound (see Equation (1); TD comprises a difference (subtraction) between a propagation time of sound signal from second position to first position (represented as T1 + TP1; para. 0026 “The delay time period TD is associated with at least one of a transmission time T1 of transmitting sound from the sound source 20 to the first audio input circuit 1022, a processing time TP1 of converting the first audio signal A1 into the first digital audio signal D1 by the analog to digital converter 1024…”) and a wireless transmission time of sound from second position to first position (represented as TP2+TP3+TP4; para. 0026 “The delay time period TD is associated with at least one of …a processing time TP2 of converting the second audio signal A2 into the second digital audio signal D2 by the analog to digital converter 1044, a processing time TP3 of converting the second digital audio signal D2 into the wireless transmission signal W1 and emitting a wireless radio signal corresponding to the wireless transmission signal W1 and a processing time TP4 of converting the wireless transmission signal W1 into the second digital audio signal D2.”))… removing a third sound signal (Fig. 3, D2’), which was acquired by…delaying the second sound signal based on the difference (Fig. 3, third signal D2’ acquired by delaying second sound signal (D2) according to the time delay (using 1066); para. 0029 “The delay circuit 1066 delays the second digital audio signal D2 for a delay time period TD and outputs a delayed second digital audio signal D2′.”), from the first sound signal (Fig. 3, third signal D2’ is removed from first signal D1 to generate DS; para. 0029 “The subtractor 1068 subtracts the delayed second digital audio signal D2′ from the first digital audio signal D1 to generate the digital audio detection signal DS. As a result, the subtractor 1068 outputs the digital audio detection signal DS from which the components of the second digital audio signal D2 has been removed, so as to eliminate the unwanted ambient noise sound and retain the normal sound signals for improving sound input accuracy.”).
Liu does not specifically disclose acquiring an attenuation factor of a sound from the second position to the first position in air propagation of the sound; [removing a third sound signal,] which was acquired by attenuating the second sound signal based on the attenuation factor…
Itou teaches acquiring an attenuation factor of a sound from the second position to the first position in air propagation of the sound (para. 0025 “More specifically, the sound output from the loud speaker 101 based on the reference sound signal x(t) passes through the acoustic field in the external environment to be received by the microphone 102.”; observed sound signal y(t) measured by microphone 30 at second sound position (see Fig. 2); para. ; para. 0032 “Moreover, the correction amount calculation section 12 receives the reference sound signal x(t) and the observed sound signal y(t), calculates the power ratio of the observed sound signal y(t) to the reference sound signal x(t)…”); [removing a third sound signal,] which was acquired by attenuating the second sound signal based on the attenuation factor… (para. 0032 “Moreover, the correction amount calculation section 12 receives the reference sound signal x(t) and the observed sound signal y(t), calculates the power ratio of the observed sound signal y(t) to the reference sound signal x(t), calculates the correction amount for the observed sound signal y(t) in accordance with the calculated power ratio, specifically here the correction amount for the differential signal e(t) which is the observed sound signal after echo removal by the adaptive filter 10, and outputs the calculated correction amount to the correction section 11.”; para. 0033 “The correction section 11 receives the correction amount from the correction amount calculation section 12 to output, based on the received correction amount, a correction signal e'(t) obtained by correcting the differential signal e(t) which is the observed sound signal after echo removal by the adaptive filter 10, to the sound processing device 3.”).
Liu and Itou are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention as
they both are in the same field of echo cancellation. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Liu to incorporate the teachings of Itou in order to acquire an attenuation factor a sound from the second position to the first position in air propagation of the sound and to remove a sound signal by attenuating the second sound signal based on the attenuation factor. Doing so would be beneficial, as this correction utilizing the attenuation factor would help remove residual echo (para. 0006), improving quality.
Regarding claim 11, Liu discloses …a sound processing method comprising: acquiring a first sound signal which is collected at a first position (Fig. 1, first sound signal (coming from sound source 20) is collected (via 1022) at a first position (see Fig. 4, 1022 in a first position farther from sound source 20); para. 0022 “According to the procedure 2, in Step S202, when the electronic system 1 is operating, the first audio input circuit 1022 acquires a first audio signal A1 and transmits the first audio signal A1 to the analog to digital converter 1024. The digital converter 1024 converts the first audio signal A1 into a first digital audio signal D1. The first digital audio signal D1 is transmitted to the audio processing circuit 106.”); acquiring a second sound signal which is collected at a second position (Fig. 1, second sound signal (coming from sound source 20) is collected (via 1042) at a second position (see Fig. 4, 1042 is in a second position close to the sound source 20); para. 0023 “In Step S204, the second audio input circuit 1042 is acquires a second audio signal A2 and transmits the second audio signal A2 to the analog to digital converter 1044. The analog to digital converter 1044 converts the second audio signal A2 into a second digital audio signal D2 and transmits the second digital audio signal D2 to the communication circuit 1046.”), transmitted from the second position by wireless communication (this second sound signal is transmitted wirelessly (Fig. 1, signal A2 converted to digital signal D2, which is further transmitted as wireless signal W1); para. 0023 “The communication circuit 1046 converts the second digital audio signal D2 into a wireless transmission signal W1 and transmits a wireless radio signal corresponding to the wireless transmission signal W1…”), and received at the first position (this wireless signal W1 is received by processing circuit 106, which is located at first position (see Fig. 4, 106 in same position as 1022); para. 0023 “The communication circuit 1046 converts the second digital audio signal D2 into a wireless transmission signal W1 and transmits a wireless radio signal corresponding to the wireless transmission signal W1 so as to transmit the wireless transmission signal W1 to the audio processing circuit 106 through wireless communications.”); acquiring a difference (time delay is calculated: para. 0026 “The audio processing circuit 106 can delay the second digital audio signal D2 for a delay time period TD to generate a delayed second digital audio signal D2′ and perform an echo cancellation process on the first digital audio signal D1 according to delayed second digital audio signal D2′ so as to generate the digital audio detection signal DS.”) between propagation time of a sound signal from the second position to the first position in the wireless communication of the sound signal, and propagation time of a sound from the second position to the first position in air propagation of the sound (see Equation (1); TD comprises a difference (subtraction) between a propagation time of sound signal from second position to first position (represented as T1 + TP1; para. 0026 “The delay time period TD is associated with at least one of a transmission time T1 of transmitting sound from the sound source 20 to the first audio input circuit 1022, a processing time TP1 of converting the first audio signal A1 into the first digital audio signal D1 by the analog to digital converter 1024…”) and a wireless transmission time of sound from second position to first position (represented as TP2+TP3+TP4; para. 0026 “The delay time period TD is associated with at least one of …a processing time TP2 of converting the second audio signal A2 into the second digital audio signal D2 by the analog to digital converter 1044, a processing time TP3 of converting the second digital audio signal D2 into the wireless transmission signal W1 and emitting a wireless radio signal corresponding to the wireless transmission signal W1 and a processing time TP4 of converting the wireless transmission signal W1 into the second digital audio signal D2.”))… removing a third sound signal (Fig. 3, D2’), which was acquired by…delaying the second sound signal based on the difference (Fig. 3, third signal D2’ acquired by delaying second sound signal (D2) according to the time delay (using 1066); para. 0029 “The delay circuit 1066 delays the second digital audio signal D2 for a delay time period TD and outputs a delayed second digital audio signal D2′.”), from the first sound signal (Fig. 3, third signal D2’ is removed from first signal D1 to generate DS; para. 0029 “The subtractor 1068 subtracts the delayed second digital audio signal D2′ from the first digital audio signal D1 to generate the digital audio detection signal DS. As a result, the subtractor 1068 outputs the digital audio detection signal DS from which the components of the second digital audio signal D2 has been removed, so as to eliminate the unwanted ambient noise sound and retain the normal sound signals for improving sound input accuracy.”).
Liu does not specifically disclose A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores a program, wherein the program causes a computer to execute…acquiring an attenuation factor of a sound from the second position to the first position in air propagation of the sound; [removing a third sound signal,] which was acquired by attenuating the second sound signal based on the attenuation factor…
Itou teaches A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores a program, wherein the program causes a computer to execute… (para. 0028 “The correction amount calculation section 12 includes a storage circuit such as a memory storing a computer program 120 as a firmware and a control circuit such as an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) performing various controls and operations, to execute the computer program 120 stored in the storage circuit at the control circuit and to perform various operations, so that a computer functions as the echo suppressing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. It is noted that, though the storage circuit and the control circuit are used for convenience to execute the computer program 120 in the description, it is also possible to design a dedicated operation circuit such as VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) or the like as hardware instead of executing the computer program 120 as a firmware.”; see also claimed computer-readable recording medium recited in Itou, claim 19) acquiring an attenuation factor of a sound from the second position to the first position in air propagation of the sound (para. 0025 “More specifically, the sound output from the loud speaker 101 based on the reference sound signal x(t) passes through the acoustic field in the external environment to be received by the microphone 102.”; observed sound signal y(t) measured by microphone 30 at second sound position (see Fig. 2); para. ; para. 0032 “Moreover, the correction amount calculation section 12 receives the reference sound signal x(t) and the observed sound signal y(t), calculates the power ratio of the observed sound signal y(t) to the reference sound signal x(t)…”); [removing a third sound signal,] which was acquired by attenuating the second sound signal based on the attenuation factor… (para. 0032 “Moreover, the correction amount calculation section 12 receives the reference sound signal x(t) and the observed sound signal y(t), calculates the power ratio of the observed sound signal y(t) to the reference sound signal x(t), calculates the correction amount for the observed sound signal y(t) in accordance with the calculated power ratio, specifically here the correction amount for the differential signal e(t) which is the observed sound signal after echo removal by the adaptive filter 10, and outputs the calculated correction amount to the correction section 11.”; para. 0033 “The correction section 11 receives the correction amount from the correction amount calculation section 12 to output, based on the received correction amount, a correction signal e'(t) obtained by correcting the differential signal e(t) which is the observed sound signal after echo removal by the adaptive filter 10, to the sound processing device 3.”).
Liu and Itou are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention as
they both are in the same field of echo cancellation. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Liu to incorporate the teachings of Itou in order to acquire an attenuation factor a sound from the second position to the first position in air propagation of the sound and to remove a sound signal by attenuating the second sound signal based on the attenuation factor. Doing so would be beneficial, as this correction utilizing the attenuation factor would help remove residual echo (para. 0006), improving quality.
3. Claims 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu in view of Itou, and further in view of Kim et al. (US 2023/0245669 A1, hereinafter Kim).
Regarding claim 3, Liu in view of Itou discloses based on the first sound signal and the second sound signal…, the attenuation factor is acquired in the attenuation factor acquisition processing (Itou teaches attenuation factors based on the first and second audio signals; see above claim mapping), and the difference is acquired in the time difference acquisition processing (Liu teaches calculating a time difference based on the first and second audio signals; see above claim mapping).
Liu and Itou are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention as
they both are in the same field of echo cancellation. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Liu to incorporate the teachings of Itou in order to have the attenuation factor be acquired in the attenuation factor acquisition processing based on the first sound signal and the second sound signal. Doing so would have been beneficial, given the same rationale as for claim 1.
Liu in view of Itou does not specifically disclose that the first and second sound signal are acquired by emitting a predetermined sound at the second position.
Kim teaches the first sound signal and the second sound signal acquired by emitting a predetermined sound at the second position (para. 0030-0031 “The mobile device 202 receives audio content from the remote device 204 and adds an out-of-band acoustic reference signal to the audio content. This audio content with the out-of-band acoustic reference signal is transmitted to an external speaker device 208 as modified audio content 206. The external speaker device 208 outputs the modified audio content 206 as audio playback 210, which is received (e.g., picked up or sensed) by a microphone in the mobile device 202 as audio input. Speech 212 from a user 214 of the mobile device 202 is also received by the microphone in the mobile device 202 as audio input. [0031] The external speaker device 208 is typically local to the mobile device 202 so that the user 214 is able to hear the audio playback 210. However, the external speaker device 208 may be any of a range of distances away from the mobile device 202, for example anywhere from 2 feet to 20 feet or further away. The out-of-band acoustic reference signal included in the modified audio content 206 allows the mobile device 202 to determine an echo delay based on the distance between the mobile device 202 and the external speaker device 208. Using this echo delay, the mobile device 202 performs echo cancellation so that speech 212 from the user 214 is transmitted to the remote device 204 but the audio playback 210 received by the microphone of the mobile device 202 is not transmitted to the remote device 204.”).
Liu, Itou, and Kim are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention as
they both are in the same field of echo cancellation. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Liu in view of Itou to incorporate the teachings of Kim in order to specifically have the first and second audio signals be acquired by emitting a predetermined sound at the second position. Doing so would be beneficial, as using a predetermined sound such as this would allow for echo cancellation to be performed even if the distance between an audio playback device and a microphone is not known, allowing for adaptive echo cancellation (para. 0015-0016).
Regarding claim 4, Liu in view of Itou and Kim discloses wherein in the time difference acquisition processing, time from timing of the predetermined sound in the second sound signal to timing of the predetermined sound in the first sound signal is acquired as the difference between the propagation time in the wireless communication and the propagation time in the air propagation (Kim teaches use of predetermined sounds (see above claim mapping for claim 3); Liu discloses a difference (subtraction, Equation 1) between a propagation time of sound signal from second position to first position (represented as T1 + TP1; para. 0026 “The delay time period TD is associated with at least one of a transmission time T1 of transmitting sound from the sound source 20 to the first audio input circuit 1022, a processing time TP1 of converting the first audio signal A1 into the first digital audio signal D1 by the analog to digital converter 1024…”) and a wireless transmission time of sound from second position to first position (represented as TP2+TP3+TP4; para. 0026 “The delay time period TD is associated with at least one of …a processing time TP2 of converting the second audio signal A2 into the second digital audio signal D2 by the analog to digital converter 1044, a processing time TP3 of converting the second digital audio signal D2 into the wireless transmission signal W1 and emitting a wireless radio signal corresponding to the wireless transmission signal W1 and a processing time TP4 of converting the wireless transmission signal W1 into the second digital audio signal D2.”)).
Liu, Itou, and Kim are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention as
they both are in the same field of echo cancellation. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Liu in view of Itou to incorporate the teachings of Kim in order to specifically have the first and second audio signals be acquired by emitting a predetermined sound. Doing so would be beneficial, given the same rationale as for claim 3.
Regarding claim 5, Liu in view of Itou and Kim discloses wherein in the attenuation factor acquisition processing, a ratio of a level of the predetermined sound in the first sound signal with respect to a level of the predetermined sound in the second sound signal is acquired as the attenuation factor (Itou teaches the claimed attention factor as a ratio of levels of sounds in the first and second sound signals: para. 0025 “More specifically, the sound output from the loud speaker 101 based on the reference sound signal x(t) passes through the acoustic field in the external environment to be received by the microphone 102.”; observed sound signal y(t) measured by microphone 30 at second sound position (see Fig. 2); para. ; para. 0032 “Moreover, the correction amount calculation section 12 receives the reference sound signal x(t) and the observed sound signal y(t), calculates the power ratio of the observed sound signal y(t) to the reference sound signal x(t)…”; Kim teaches the use of the predetermined sound (see above claim mapping for claim 3)).
Liu, Itou, and Kim are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention as
they both are in the same field of echo cancellation. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Kim in order to have the attenuation factor be a ratio of a level of the sound in the first sound signal with respect to a level of the predetermined sound in the second sound signal. Doing so would have been beneficial, given the same rationale as in claim 2. Furthermore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Kim in order to specifically have the first and second audio signals be acquired by emitting a predetermined sound. Doing so would be beneficial, given the same rationale as for claim 3.
4. Claims 6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu in view of Itou, and further in view of Nishio (US 2024/0331711 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Liu in view of Itou does not specifically disclose wherein information on the propagation time in the wireless communication is provided in advance, and in the time difference acquisition processing, the difference is acquired by acquiring the propagation time in the air propagation based on a distance from the first position to the second position.
Nishio teaches wherein information on the propagation time in the wireless communication is provided in advance (para. 0033 “In contrast, as described below, the voice processing system according to the present embodiment sets in advance an appropriate delay time for each of the wireless microphone speaker device 2 and the wired microphone speaker device 3…”; para. 0057 “In addition, the computation processing unit 112 computes, as the first transmission time, a fixed value set in advance by a wireless communication method. For example, when a Bluetooth profile is HFP1.6 or more, a transmission time (first transmission time) from the wireless microphone speaker device 2 to the voice processing device 1 becomes about 40 ms (fixed value).”), and in the time difference acquisition processing, the difference is acquired by acquiring the propagation time in the air propagation based on a distance from the first position to the second position (para. 0053 “In addition, the computation processing unit 112 computes a second transmission time, which is a time from a time when the first speech voice propagates in the air and is input to the wired microphone speaker device 3 until predetermined voice processing is performed in the voice processing device 1. Specifically, the measurement processing unit 113 measures a distance between the first wireless microphone speaker device 2 and the voice processing device 1, and the computation processing unit 112 estimates a distance between the first wireless microphone speaker device 2 and the wired microphone speaker device 3, based on the distance to be measured by the measurement processing unit 113, and computes the second transmission time, based on the estimated distance.”).
Liu, Itou, and Nishio are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention as
they are all in the same field of audio processing. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Nishio in order to have the information of propagation time in the wireless communication be provided in advance, and to acquire a time difference of the propagation time in the air based on a distance from the first position to the second position. Doing so would have been beneficial, as the speed of sound is constant in air and distance and time are directly proportional (d=v * t); thus, knowing the distance and the constant speed of sound would directly yield the propagation time.
Regarding claim 8, Liu in view of Itoh and Nishio discloses wherein the program, when executed by the processor, further cases the sound processing apparatus to execute information acquisition processing to acquire information indicating the distance from the first position to the second position (Nishio: para. 0045 “The controller 11 monitors a radio field intensity of each wireless microphone speaker device 2 in real time. The estimated distance is information indicating a distance between each wireless microphone speaker device 2 and the wired microphone speaker device 3. The controller 11 estimates the distance, based on a radio field intensity of each wireless microphone speaker device 2.”).
Liu, Itou, and Nishio are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention as
they are all in the same field of audio processing. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Nishio in order to acquire information indicating the distance from the first position to the second position. Doing so would have been beneficial, given the same rational as in claim 6.
5. Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu in view of Itou, and further in view of Wexler & Shashua (US 2023/0045237 A1, hereinafter Wexler).
Regarding claim 7, Liu in view of Itou does not specifically disclose wherein in the attenuation factor acquisition processing, the attenuation factor is acquired based on a distance from the first position to the second position.
Wexler teaches wherein in the attenuation factor acquisition processing, the attenuation factor is acquired based on a distance from the first position to the second position (para. 0572 “In embodiments where a distance from the user to the sound emanating object is determined, the attenuation factor may be based on the distance rather than, or in addition to, the direction. For example, if an object is far away from user 100, the attenuation factor may be less than an object closer to user 100 but at a same direction relative to user 100.”).
Liu, Itou, and Wexler are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention as
they are all in the same field of audio processing. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Wexler in order to have the attenuation factor be based on a distance from the first position to the second position. Doing so would have been beneficial, as this would account for sound’s natural tendency to attenuate when traveling through air from a first position to a second position.
6. Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu in view of Itou, and further in view of Chu et al. (US 10,115,411 B1, hereinafter Chu).
Regarding claim 9, Liu in view of Itou does not specifically disclose wherein the third sound signal is a sound signal in a predetermined frequency band.
Chu teaches wherein the third sound signal is a sound signal in a predetermined frequency band (Col. 3 Lines 3-20 “The system may determine that double-talk conditions are present (e.g., the near end signal and the far end signal are both active) in individual frequency bands by determining a correlation between input audio data from a microphone and estimated echo audio data associated with a loudspeaker for individual frequency bands (e.g., on a band-by-band basis). The correlation may be done using data in a frequency domain. For example, the system may determine that double-talk conditions are present within a first frequency band and not present within a second frequency band. Thus, the system may perform residual echo suppression using a first gain value (e.g., value close to 0, which suppresses audio data) for the first frequency band (e.g., during far end single-talk) and a second gain value (e.g., value close to 1, which passes audio data) for the second frequency band (e.g., during near end single-talk or double-talk if the near-end signal is significantly stronger than the far end echo).”).
Liu, Itou, and Chu are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention as
they both are in the same field of echo cancellation. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Chu in order to have the third sound signal be a sound signal in a predetermined frequency band. Doing so would have been beneficial, as this would allow for sub-band specific echo cancellation, enabling more dynamic echo suppression and improving audio quality (Col. 3 Lines 23-25).
Conclusion
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/CODY DOUGLAS HUTCHESON/Examiner, Art Unit 2659
/PIERRE LOUIS DESIR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2659
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