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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference characters not mentioned in the description:
“S327” in Figure 8
“936” in Figure 9
“938” in Figure 9
The drawings are objected to because:
In Figure 6, the “YES” and “NO” labels of S114 should be reversed to be consistent with the specification.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference characters in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Paragraph 0104, lines 1-3, recites “Referring to FIG. 6 together, the descriptions of operations S211 and S212 of FIG. 7 overlap the descriptions of operations S111 and S112 of FIG. 6, and thus the descriptions are placed with the description of FIG. 6.”, and paragraph 0114, lines 1-3, recites “Referring to FIG. 6 together, the descriptions of operations S311 and S312 of FIG. 8 overlap the descriptions of operations S111 and S112 of FIG. 6, and thus the descriptions are placed with the description of FIG. 6.”. However, operation S112 is not described in the description of Figure 6.
In paragraph 0126, lines 1-2, “In operation S326, the host device 200 may perform a function corresponding to the keyword information received from the electronic device 101.” should read “In operation S327, the host device 200 may perform a function corresponding to the keyword information received from the electronic device 101.” to be consistent with Figure 8.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1, 4, 7, 9, 12 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee et al. (US Patent No. 10,192,557), hereinafter Lee.
Regarding claim 1, Lee discloses an electronic device (Column 2, lines 1-4, "An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an electronic device and a method for recognizing a voice by using a processor having low power consumption and a processor conducting high performance voice recognition.") comprising:
a speaker configured to output an audio signal (Column 7, lines 45-47, "For example, the input/output interface 140 may output voice data processed by the processor 120 to the user through a speaker.");
a microphone configured to obtain a voice signal of a user (Column 8, lines 49-53, "Referring to FIG. 2, the electronic device includes the first voice recognition processor 170, the second voice recognition processor 180, a microphone 400, a speaker 410, and an audio module 420. The microphone 400 may receive a voice signal.");
a first memory storing a first voice recognition engine, a second voice recognition engine that is different from the first voice recognition engine, and instructions (Column 6, lines 13-23, "The memory 130 may store commands or data received from or generated by the processor 120 or other elements (for example, the input/output interface 140, the display 150, the communication interface 160, the first voice recognition processor 170, the second voice recognition processor 180, etc.). The memory 130 includes programming modules, i.e., a kernel 131, a middleware 132, an Application Programming Interface (API) 133, and applications 134. Each of the aforementioned programming modules may be formed of software, firmware, hardware, or a combination of at least two thereof."; Column 9, lines 23-32, "The first voice recognition model storage unit 112 may store a first voice recognition model including various voice recognition algorithms used for voice recognition, and may be generated or updated by voice recognition training. The first voice recognition model may include a first level voice recognition algorithm that recognizes a first level voice including a preset command such as a particular word or a combination of one or more words. For example, the first voice recognition model may be a speaker recognition algorithm."; Column 10, lines 11-20, "The second voice recognition model storage unit 222 stores a second voice recognition model used for the voice recognition by the second voice recognition unit 223. The second voice recognition model may include a second level voice recognition algorithm, which recognizes the first level voice that can be recognized by the first voice recognition model and a second level voice including a command of one word. The second level voice recognition algorithm may recognize more commands than the first level voice recognition algorithm."; Column 26, lines 28-32, "At least some of the devices (e.g., modules or functions thereof) or methods (e.g., operations) of the present disclosure may be implemented as instructions stored computer readable storage media in the form of programming modules."; A first voice recognition model reads on a first voice recognition engine, and a second voice recognition model that recognizes more commands than the first voice recognition model reads on a second voice recognition engine that is different from the first voice recognition engine.);
a communication interface configured to establish wireless communication connections with a host device and an external electronic device (Column 7, lines 50-55, "The communication interface 160 may connect communication between the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 104 or the server 106. For example, the communication interface 160 may be connected to a network 162 through wireless or wired communication to communicate with the external electronic device."; A server reads on a host device.);
and at least one processor operatively connected to the speaker, the microphone, the first memory, and the communication interface, the at least one processor being configured to execute the instructions (Column 6, lines 5-12, "The processor 120 may receive a command from the above-described other elements (for example, the memory 130, the input/output interface 140, the display 150, the communication interface 160, the first voice recognition processor 170, the second voice recognition processor 180, etc.) through, for example, the bus 110, decode the received command, and perform a calculation or data processing according to the decoded command."; Column 7, lines 39-47, "Further, the input/output interface 140 may output, through the input/output device (for example, a speaker or a display), the commands or data received from the processor 120, the memory 130, the communication interface 160, the first voice recognition processor 170, or the second voice recognition processor 180 through the bus 110. For example, the input/output interface 140 may output voice data processed by the processor 120 to the user through a speaker."; Column 8, lines 59-63, "The audio module 420 is connected to the first voice recognition processor 170, the second voice recognition processor 180, the microphone 400, and the speaker 410 to convert an analog voice signal into a digital voice signal or convert a digital voice signal into an analog voice signal."),
wherein the first voice recognition engine is commonly stored in the first memory and a second memory of the external electronic device, and wherein the second voice recognition engine is different from voice recognition engines stored in the second memory (Column 9, lines 23-32, "The first voice recognition model storage unit 112 may store a first voice recognition model including various voice recognition algorithms used for voice recognition, and may be generated or updated by voice recognition training. The first voice recognition model may include a first level voice recognition algorithm that recognizes a first level voice including a preset command such as a particular word or a combination of one or more words. For example, the first voice recognition model may be a speaker recognition algorithm."; Column 10, lines 11-20, "The second voice recognition model storage unit 222 stores a second voice recognition model used for the voice recognition by the second voice recognition unit 223. The second voice recognition model may include a second level voice recognition algorithm, which recognizes the first level voice that can be recognized by the first voice recognition model and a second level voice including a command of one word. The second level voice recognition algorithm may recognize more commands than the first level voice recognition algorithm."; Column 11, lines 12-19, "One of the second voice recognition model and the third voice recognition model may be the same recognition model as the first voice recognition model. The third voice recognition processing unit 240 includes a third preprocessing unit 241, a third voice recognition model storage unit 242, and a third voice recognition unit 243."; Column 12, lines 8-13, "Specifically, FIG. 6 illustrates an electronic device similar to the electronic device of FIG. 2, which includes the first voice recognition processor 170 and the second voice recognition processor 180, and an external electronic device including a third voice recognition processor 190."; A first voice recognition model reads on a first voice recognition engine stored in the first memory, a third voice recognition model included in an external electronic device, where the third voice recognition model is the same recognition model as the first voice recognition model, reads on the first voice recognition engine being stored in the first memory and a second memory of the external electronic device, and a second voice recognition model that recognizes more commands than the first voice recognition model reads on a second voice recognition engine that is different from voice recognition engines stored in the second memory.).
Regarding claim 4, Lee discloses the electronic device as claimed in claim 1.
Lee further discloses:
wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to: receive a command to perform voice recognition from the host device, and identify whether a target voice recognition engine corresponding to the command is among voice recognition engines stored in the first memory (Column 8, lines 18-22, "For example, the first voice recognition processor 170 may recognize a first voice received from the input/output interface 140 by using the processor 120, or independently from the processor 120, and determine whether a first command is included in the first voice."; Column 9, lines 23-32, "The first voice recognition model storage unit 112 may store a first voice recognition model including various voice recognition algorithms used for voice recognition, and may be generated or updated by voice recognition training. The first voice recognition model may include a first level voice recognition algorithm that recognizes a first level voice including a preset command such as a particular word or a combination of one or more words. For example, the first voice recognition model may be a speaker recognition algorithm."; Column 24, lines 63-65, "The electronic device 1701 may also receive a user input from an external device (for example, a computer or server) connected thereto, using the communication module 1720."; Receiving a first voice and determining whether a first command is included in the first voice, where the first voice recognition model recognizes a first level voice including a preset command such as a particular word, reads on receiving a command to perform voice recognition and identifying whether a target voice recognition engine corresponding to the command is among voice recognition engines stored in the first memory.).
Regarding claim 7, Lee discloses the electronic device as claimed in claim 1.
Lee further discloses:
wherein the electronic device is configured to: refer to a primary device configured to operate in response to reception of a command from the host device, and transmit the command to the external electronic device, and wherein the external electronic device is configured to refer to a secondary device configured to operate based on the command received from the electronic device (Column 2, line 58 - Column 3, line 11, "In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, which includes a first voice recognition device; a second voice recognition device; and a processor for executing a predetermined application and determining whether voice recognition of a first voice can be performed by the first voice recognition device or the second voice recognition device. When the voice recognition of the first voice can be performed by the first voice recognition device and the first voice recognition device recognizes a predetermined command in the first voice, the first voice recognition device transfers a received second voice to an external electronic device and recognizes the received second voice through the external electronic device. When the voice recognition of the first voice cannot be performed by the first voice recognition device, the second voice recognition device performs the voice recognition, and when the second voice recognition device recognizes the predetermined command in the first voice, the second voice recognition device recognizes a second command in the received second voice and performs an operation based on the recognized second command."; Column 24, lines 63-65, "The electronic device 1701 may also receive a user input from an external device (for example, a computer or server) connected thereto, using the communication module 1720."; The electronic device receiving a user input from a computer or server reads on a primary device configured to operate in response to reception of a command from the host device, and transferring a received voice to an external electronic device and recognizes the received voice through the external electronic device reads on transmitting the command to the external electronic device, where the external electronic device is configured to operate based on the command received from the electronic device.).
Regarding claim 9, Lee discloses an electronic device (Column 2, lines 1-4, "An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an electronic device and a method for recognizing a voice by using a processor having low power consumption and a processor conducting high performance voice recognition.") comprising:
a speaker configured to output an audio signal (Column 7, lines 45-47, "For example, the input/output interface 140 may output voice data processed by the processor 120 to the user through a speaker.");
a microphone configured to obtain a voice signal of a user (Column 8, lines 49-53, "Referring to FIG. 2, the electronic device includes the first voice recognition processor 170, the second voice recognition processor 180, a microphone 400, a speaker 410, and an audio module 420. The microphone 400 may receive a voice signal.");
a first memory storing a first voice recognition engine, a second voice recognition engine that is different from the first voice recognition engine, and instructions (Column 6, lines 13-23, "The memory 130 may store commands or data received from or generated by the processor 120 or other elements (for example, the input/output interface 140, the display 150, the communication interface 160, the first voice recognition processor 170, the second voice recognition processor 180, etc.). The memory 130 includes programming modules, i.e., a kernel 131, a middleware 132, an Application Programming Interface (API) 133, and applications 134. Each of the aforementioned programming modules may be formed of software, firmware, hardware, or a combination of at least two thereof."; Column 9, lines 23-32, "The first voice recognition model storage unit 112 may store a first voice recognition model including various voice recognition algorithms used for voice recognition, and may be generated or updated by voice recognition training. The first voice recognition model may include a first level voice recognition algorithm that recognizes a first level voice including a preset command such as a particular word or a combination of one or more words. For example, the first voice recognition model may be a speaker recognition algorithm."; Column 10, lines 11-20, "The second voice recognition model storage unit 222 stores a second voice recognition model used for the voice recognition by the second voice recognition unit 223. The second voice recognition model may include a second level voice recognition algorithm, which recognizes the first level voice that can be recognized by the first voice recognition model and a second level voice including a command of one word. The second level voice recognition algorithm may recognize more commands than the first level voice recognition algorithm."; Column 26, lines 28-32, "At least some of the devices (e.g., modules or functions thereof) or methods (e.g., operations) of the present disclosure may be implemented as instructions stored computer readable storage media in the form of programming modules."; A first voice recognition model reads on a first voice recognition engine, and a second voice recognition model that recognizes more commands than the first voice recognition model reads on a second voice recognition engine that is different from the first voice recognition engine.);
a communication interface configured to establish wireless communication connections with a host device and an external electronic device (Column 7, lines 50-55, "The communication interface 160 may connect communication between the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 104 or the server 106. For example, the communication interface 160 may be connected to a network 162 through wireless or wired communication to communicate with the external electronic device."; A server reads on a host device.);
and at least one processor operatively connected to the speaker, the microphone, the first memory, and the communication interface, the at least one processor being configured to execute the instructions (Column 6, lines 5-12, "The processor 120 may receive a command from the above-described other elements (for example, the memory 130, the input/output interface 140, the display 150, the communication interface 160, the first voice recognition processor 170, the second voice recognition processor 180, etc.) through, for example, the bus 110, decode the received command, and perform a calculation or data processing according to the decoded command."; Column 7, lines 39-47, "Further, the input/output interface 140 may output, through the input/output device (for example, a speaker or a display), the commands or data received from the processor 120, the memory 130, the communication interface 160, the first voice recognition processor 170, or the second voice recognition processor 180 through the bus 110. For example, the input/output interface 140 may output voice data processed by the processor 120 to the user through a speaker."; Column 8, lines 59-63, "The audio module 420 is connected to the first voice recognition processor 170, the second voice recognition processor 180, the microphone 400, and the speaker 410 to convert an analog voice signal into a digital voice signal or convert a digital voice signal into an analog voice signal."),
wherein the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine are different from voice recognition engines stored in a second memory of the external electronic device (Column 9, lines 23-32, "The first voice recognition model storage unit 112 may store a first voice recognition model including various voice recognition algorithms used for voice recognition, and may be generated or updated by voice recognition training. The first voice recognition model may include a first level voice recognition algorithm that recognizes a first level voice including a preset command such as a particular word or a combination of one or more words. For example, the first voice recognition model may be a speaker recognition algorithm."; Column 10, lines 11-20, "The second voice recognition model storage unit 222 stores a second voice recognition model used for the voice recognition by the second voice recognition unit 223. The second voice recognition model may include a second level voice recognition algorithm, which recognizes the first level voice that can be recognized by the first voice recognition model and a second level voice including a command of one word. The second level voice recognition algorithm may recognize more commands than the first level voice recognition algorithm."; Column 11, lines 26-38, "The third voice recognition model storage unit 242 stores a third voice recognition model used for the voice recognition by the third voice recognition unit 243. The third voice recognition model may include a third level voice recognition algorithm which can recognize a third level voice including a phrase or/and a sentence of a combination of a plurality of words. The third level voice recognition algorithm may recognize more commands than the second level voice recognition algorithm. For example, the third level voice recognition algorithm may be a natural language recognition algorithm, which recognizes a command including a combination of a plurality of words, such as “open camera”."; Column 12, lines 5-13, "FIG. 6 illustrates a first voice recognition processor, a second voice recognition processor, and a third voice recognition processor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 6 illustrates an electronic device similar to the electronic device of FIG. 2, which includes the first voice recognition processor 170 and the second voice recognition processor 180, and an external electronic device including a third voice recognition processor 190."; A first voice recognition model reads on a first voice recognition engine, a second voice recognition model reads on a second voice recognition engine, a third voice recognition model included in an external electronic device reads on a voice recognition engine stored in a second memory of the external electronic device, and the third voice recognition model recognizing more commands than the second voice recognition model and the second voice recognition model recognizing more commands than the first voice recognition model reads on the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine being different from voice recognition engines stored in a second memory of the external electronic device.).
Regarding claim 12, Lee discloses the electronic device as claimed in claim 9.
Lee further discloses:
wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to: receive a command to perform voice recognition from the host device, and identify whether a target voice recognition engine corresponding to the command is among voice recognition engines stored in the first memory (Column 8, lines 18-22, "For example, the first voice recognition processor 170 may recognize a first voice received from the input/output interface 140 by using the processor 120, or independently from the processor 120, and determine whether a first command is included in the first voice."; Column 9, lines 23-32, "The first voice recognition model storage unit 112 may store a first voice recognition model including various voice recognition algorithms used for voice recognition, and may be generated or updated by voice recognition training. The first voice recognition model may include a first level voice recognition algorithm that recognizes a first level voice including a preset command such as a particular word or a combination of one or more words. For example, the first voice recognition model may be a speaker recognition algorithm."; Column 24, lines 63-65, "The electronic device 1701 may also receive a user input from an external device (for example, a computer or server) connected thereto, using the communication module 1720."; Receiving a first voice and determining whether a first command is included in the first voice, where the first voice recognition model recognizes a first level voice including a preset command such as a particular word, reads on receiving a command to perform voice recognition and identifying whether a target voice recognition engine corresponding to the command is among voice recognition engines stored in the first memory.).
Regarding claim 15, Lee discloses the electronic device as claimed in claim 9.
Lee further discloses:
wherein the electronic device is configured to: based on reception of a command from the host device, refer to a primary device configured to operate; and transmit the command to the external electronic device, and wherein the external electronic device is configured to refer to a secondary device configured to operate based on the command received from the electronic device (Column 2, line 58 - Column 3, line 11, "In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, which includes a first voice recognition device; a second voice recognition device; and a processor for executing a predetermined application and determining whether voice recognition of a first voice can be performed by the first voice recognition device or the second voice recognition device. When the voice recognition of the first voice can be performed by the first voice recognition device and the first voice recognition device recognizes a predetermined command in the first voice, the first voice recognition device transfers a received second voice to an external electronic device and recognizes the received second voice through the external electronic device. When the voice recognition of the first voice cannot be performed by the first voice recognition device, the second voice recognition device performs the voice recognition, and when the second voice recognition device recognizes the predetermined command in the first voice, the second voice recognition device recognizes a second command in the received second voice and performs an operation based on the recognized second command."; Column 24, lines 63-65, "The electronic device 1701 may also receive a user input from an external device (for example, a computer or server) connected thereto, using the communication module 1720."; The electronic device receiving a user input from a computer or server reads on a primary device configured to operate based on reception of a command from the host device, and transferring a received voice to an external electronic device and recognizes the received voice through the external electronic device reads on transmitting the command to the external electronic device, where the external electronic device is configured to operate based on the command received from the electronic device.).
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.
Claims 2 – 3 and 10 – 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee in view of Bromand et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0221755), hereinafter Bromand '755.
Regarding claim 2, Lee discloses the electronic device as claimed in claim 1, but does not specifically disclose: wherein the first voice recognition engine has a greatest number of uses during a predetermined period, among a plurality of voice recognition engines stored in the first memory and the second memory.
Bromand '755 teaches:
wherein the first voice recognition engine has a greatest number of uses during a predetermined period, among a plurality of voice recognition engines stored in the first memory and the second memory (Paragraph 0020, line 1-4, "In some embodiments, one of the voice assistants 110a-e may be removed from the plurality of voice assistants 110a-e, or a voice assistant may be added to the plurality of voice assistants 110a-e."; Paragraph 0035, lines 1-16, "In FIG. 3, the voice assistant controller 108 determines the order of the voice assistants 110a-e based on a popularity. For example, the voice assistants may be ordered based on their historical usage, with voice assistants used more often ranked higher than voice assistants used less often. As is further described below in connection with FIG. 4, popularity may also, in some embodiments, be tracked over a time (e.g., popularity over the last month or year, or popularity during a certain time of the day). As shown in the example of FIG. 3, the voice assistant controller 108 may track how many times each of the voice assistants has been called (e.g., as indicated by the number in parentheses below each voice assistant). The voice assistant controller 108 may, for example, track such data in a database of assistant data 192, which is further described below in connection with FIG. 4."; Ranking voice assistants where the order of the voice assistants is determined based on how many times each of the voice assistants has been called over a time reads on a voice recognition engine having a greatest number of uses during a predetermined period among a plurality of voice recognition engines.).
Bromand '755 is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of voice recognition systems. 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 Lee to incorporate the teachings of Bromand '755 to rank voice assistants where the order of the voice assistants is determined based on how many times each of the voice assistants has been called over a time. Doing so would allow for predicting which voice assistants a user is more likely to use and activating those voice assistants in anticipation of user requests, thereby improving the overall response time and reducing computer operations (Bromand '755; Paragraph 0024, lines 1-12).
Regarding claim 3, Lee in view of Bromand '755 discloses the electronic device as claimed in claim 2.
Bromand '755 further teaches:
wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to: count a number of uses of the plurality of voice recognition engines during the predetermined period, and select and store a voice recognition engine with the greatest number of uses during the predetermined period among the plurality of voice recognition engines, as the first voice recognition engine (Paragraph 0020, line 1-4, "In some embodiments, one of the voice assistants 110a-e may be removed from the plurality of voice assistants 110a-e, or a voice assistant may be added to the plurality of voice assistants 110a-e."; Paragraph 0035, lines 1-16, "In FIG. 3, the voice assistant controller 108 determines the order of the voice assistants 110a-e based on a popularity. For example, the voice assistants may be ordered based on their historical usage, with voice assistants used more often ranked higher than voice assistants used less often. As is further described below in connection with FIG. 4, popularity may also, in some embodiments, be tracked over a time (e.g., popularity over the last month or year, or popularity during a certain time of the day). As shown in the example of FIG. 3, the voice assistant controller 108 may track how many times each of the voice assistants has been called (e.g., as indicated by the number in parentheses below each voice assistant). The voice assistant controller 108 may, for example, track such data in a database of assistant data 192, which is further described below in connection with FIG. 4."; Ranking voice assistants where the order of the voice assistants is determined based on how many times each of the voice assistants has been called over a time reads on counting a number of uses of the plurality of voice recognition engines during the predetermined period, and selecting a voice recognition engine with the greatest number of uses during the predetermined period among the plurality of voice recognition engines as the first voice recognition engine.).
Bromand '755 is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of voice recognition systems. 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 Lee in view of Bromand '755 to further incorporate the teachings of Bromand '755 to rank voice assistants where the order of the voice assistants is determined based on how many times each of the voice assistants has been called over a time. Doing so would allow for predicting which voice assistants a user is more likely to use and activating those voice assistants in anticipation of user requests, thereby improving the overall response time and reducing computer operations (Bromand '755; Paragraph 0024, lines 1-12).
Regarding claim 10, Lee discloses the electronic device as claimed in claim 9, but does not specifically disclose: wherein the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine are selected from a plurality of voice recognition engines based on any one of a number of uses for each of the plurality of voice recognition engines during a predetermined period, or a user setting.
Bromand '755 teaches:
wherein the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine are selected from a plurality of voice recognition engines based on any one of a number of uses for each of the plurality of voice recognition engines during a predetermined period, or a user setting (Paragraph 0020, line 1-4, "In some embodiments, one of the voice assistants 110a-e may be removed from the plurality of voice assistants 110a-e, or a voice assistant may be added to the plurality of voice assistants 110a-e."; Paragraph 0035, lines 1-16, "In FIG. 3, the voice assistant controller 108 determines the order of the voice assistants 110a-e based on a popularity. For example, the voice assistants may be ordered based on their historical usage, with voice assistants used more often ranked higher than voice assistants used less often. As is further described below in connection with FIG. 4, popularity may also, in some embodiments, be tracked over a time (e.g., popularity over the last month or year, or popularity during a certain time of the day). As shown in the example of FIG. 3, the voice assistant controller 108 may track how many times each of the voice assistants has been called (e.g., as indicated by the number in parentheses below each voice assistant). The voice assistant controller 108 may, for example, track such data in a database of assistant data 192, which is further described below in connection with FIG. 4."; Ranking voice assistants where the order of the voice assistants is determined based on how many times each of the voice assistants has been called over a time reads on the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine being selected from a plurality of voice recognition engines based on any one of a number of uses for each of the plurality of voice recognition engines during a predetermined period.).
Bromand '755 is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of voice recognition systems. 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 Lee to incorporate the teachings of Bromand '755 to rank voice assistants where the order of the voice assistants is determined based on how many times each of the voice assistants has been called over a time. Doing so would allow for predicting which voice assistants a user is more likely to use and activating those voice assistants in anticipation of user requests, thereby improving the overall response time and reducing computer operations (Bromand '755; Paragraph 0024, lines 1-12).
Regarding claim 11, Lee in view of Bromand '755 discloses the electronic device as claimed in claim 10.
Bromand '755 further teaches:
wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to: count the number of uses of each of the plurality of voice recognition engines during the predetermined period, sort the plurality of voice recognition engines based on the number of uses of each of the plurality of voice recognition engines, and select and store the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine according to an order of a greatest number of uses among the plurality of voice recognition engines, based on a result of the sorting (Paragraph 0020, line 1-4, "In some embodiments, one of the voice assistants 110a-e may be removed from the plurality of voice assistants 110a-e, or a voice assistant may be added to the plurality of voice assistants 110a-e."; Paragraph 0035, lines 1-16, "In FIG. 3, the voice assistant controller 108 determines the order of the voice assistants 110a-e based on a popularity. For example, the voice assistants may be ordered based on their historical usage, with voice assistants used more often ranked higher than voice assistants used less often. As is further described below in connection with FIG. 4, popularity may also, in some embodiments, be tracked over a time (e.g., popularity over the last month or year, or popularity during a certain time of the day). As shown in the example of FIG. 3, the voice assistant controller 108 may track how many times each of the voice assistants has been called (e.g., as indicated by the number in parentheses below each voice assistant). The voice assistant controller 108 may, for example, track such data in a database of assistant data 192, which is further described below in connection with FIG. 4."; Ranking voice assistants where the order of the voice assistants is determined based on how many times each of the voice assistants has been called over a time reads on counting the number of uses of each of the plurality of voice recognition engines during the predetermined period, sorting the plurality of voice recognition engines based on the number of uses of each of the plurality of voice recognition engines, and selecting the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine according to an order of a greatest number of uses among the plurality of voice recognition engines based on a result of the sorting.).
Bromand '755 is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of voice recognition systems. 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 Lee in view of Bromand '755 to further incorporate the teachings of Bromand '755 to rank voice assistants where the order of the voice assistants is determined based on how many times each of the voice assistants has been called over a time. Doing so would allow for predicting which voice assistants a user is more likely to use and activating those voice assistants in anticipation of user requests, thereby improving the overall response time and reducing computer operations (Bromand '755; Paragraph 0024, lines 1-12).
Claims 5 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee in view of Bromand et al. (US Patent No. 12,488,787), hereinafter Bromand '787, and Boesen (US Patent No. 10,313,779).
Regarding claim 5, Lee discloses the electronic device as claimed in claim 4, but does not specifically disclose: wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to, based on the target voice recognition engine being in the first memory: obtain the voice signal of the user based on the target voice recognition engine, based on detection of a keyword from the voice signal of the user, deactivate the target voice recognition engine.
Bromand '787 teaches:
wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to, based on the target voice recognition engine being in the first memory: obtain the voice signal of the user based on the target voice recognition engine, based on detection of a keyword from the voice signal of the user, deactivate the target voice recognition engine (Column 2, line 61 - Column 3, line 6, "FIG. 1 illustrates aspects of an example system 100 for processing a voice request. In the example shown, the system 100 includes a device 102. In some embodiments, the device 102 may include a voice assistant manager 104 and a plurality of voice assistants 106a-x. In some examples, the device 102 may receive an utterance 108 from a user U. In some embodiments, the voice assistant manager 104 may receive the utterance 108, detect a wake word, and determine, based at least in part on the detected wake word and wake word mapping data 110, which of the plurality of voice assistants 106a-x is called. The voice assistant manager 104 may then communicate the utterance to the called voice assistant (e.g., the voice assistant 106b)."; Column 4, lines 63-67, "Furthermore, as is further described below, the voice assistant 106b may, in some embodiments, communicate the utterance 108 to a cloud service in response to successfully verifying the wake word."; Column 14, lines 52-55, "In some embodiments, in response to determining that the called voice assistant finished processing the utterance, the voice assistant manager 104 may deactivate the called assistant."; Receiving an utterance from a user, detecting a wake word, and determining which voice assistant is called based on the detected wake word reads on obtaining the voice signal of the user based on the target voice recognition engine, and detecting a wake word, determining which voice assistant is called based on the detected wake word, and deactivating the called assistant in response to determining that the called voice assistant finished processing the utterance reads on deactivating the target voice recognition based on detection of a keyword from the voice signal of the user.).
Bromand '787 is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of voice recognition systems. 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 Lee to incorporate the teachings of Bromand '787 to receive an utterance from a user, detect a wake word, determine which voice assistant is called based on the detected wake word, and deactivate the called assistant in response to determining that the called voice assistant finished processing the utterance. Doing so would allow for conserving computer resources so that those computer resources can be used to perform another task or to activate another assistant (Bromand '787; Column 14, line 63 - Column 15, line 3).
Lee in view of Bromand '787 does not specifically disclose: transmit information about the keyword to the host device.
Boesen teaches:
transmit information about the keyword to the host device (Column 18, lines 47-50, "In response to determining the request is not implementable (e.g., entirely) by the wireless earpieces 502 during step 510, the request is processed by the virtual assistant of the wireless device 504 (step 514)."; Column 19, line 66 - Column 20, line 12, "In one embodiment, the user preferences may specify a user location, orientation, determine action/activity, or user input that may be detected by the sensors of the wireless earpieces to automatically provide assistance through the virtual assistant of the wireless earpieces. In one embodiment, the wireless earpieces may detect that the user is jogging in a part close to his home. As a result, the virtual assistant may have a specific user biometrics, such as time jogging, heart rate, average heart rate, cadence, and steps for minute ready should the user provide a specified keyword, such as “work out status.” The user preferences may specify any number of keywords, gestures, head movements, or tactile input that may be utilized to provide the specified user biometrics."; Processing a request by the virtual assistant of the wireless device in response to determining the request is not implementable by the wireless earpieces reads on transmitting information about the keyword to the host device.).
Boesen is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of voice recognition systems. 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 Lee in view of Bromand '787 to incorporate the teachings of Boesen to process a request by the virtual assistant of the wireless device in response to determining the request is not implementable by the wireless earpieces. Doing so would allow for accessing a virtual assistant through a separate wireless device with wireless earpieces acting as an input/output device for providing voice, gesture, touch, or other input to control, manage, or interact with the virtual assistant (Boesen; Column 2, lines 31-41).
Regarding claim 13, Lee discloses the electronic device as claimed in claim 12, but does not specifically disclose: wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, based on the target voice recognition engine being in the first memory: obtain the voice signal of the user based on the target voice recognition engine, deactivate the target voice recognition engine in response to detection of a keyword from the voice signal of the user.
Bromand '787 teaches:
wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, based on the target voice recognition engine being in the first memory: obtain the voice signal of the user based on the target voice recognition engine, deactivate the target voice recognition engine in response to detection of a keyword from the voice signal of the user (Column 2, line 61 - Column 3, line 6, "FIG. 1 illustrates aspects of an example system 100 for processing a voice request. In the example shown, the system 100 includes a device 102. In some embodiments, the device 102 may include a voice assistant manager 104 and a plurality of voice assistants 106a-x. In some examples, the device 102 may receive an utterance 108 from a user U. In some embodiments, the voice assistant manager 104 may receive the utterance 108, detect a wake word, and determine, based at least in part on the detected wake word and wake word mapping data 110, which of the plurality of voice assistants 106a-x is called. The voice assistant manager 104 may then communicate the utterance to the called voice assistant (e.g., the voice assistant 106b)."; Column 4, lines 63-67, "Furthermore, as is further described below, the voice assistant 106b may, in some embodiments, communicate the utterance 108 to a cloud service in response to successfully verifying the wake word."; Column 14, lines 52-55, "In some embodiments, in response to determining that the called voice assistant finished processing the utterance, the voice assistant manager 104 may deactivate the called assistant."; Receiving an utterance from a user, detecting a wake word, and determining which voice assistant is called based on the detected wake word reads on obtaining the voice signal of the user based on the target voice recognition engine, and detecting a wake word, determining which voice assistant is called based on the detected wake word, and deactivating the called assistant in response to determining that the called voice assistant finished processing the utterance reads on deactivating the target voice recognition based on detection of a keyword from the voice signal of the user.).
Bromand '787 is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of voice recognition systems. 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 Lee to incorporate the teachings of Bromand '787 to receive an utterance from a user, detect a wake word, determine which voice assistant is called based on the detected wake word, and deactivate the called assistant in response to determining that the called voice assistant finished processing the utterance. Doing so would allow for conserving computer resources so that those computer resources can be used to perform another task or to activate another assistant (Bromand '787; Column 14, line 63 - Column 15, line 3).
Lee in view of Bromand '787 does not specifically disclose: transmit information about the keyword to the host device.
Boesen teaches:
transmit information about the keyword to the host device (Column 18, lines 47-50, "In response to determining the request is not implementable (e.g., entirely) by the wireless earpieces 502 during step 510, the request is processed by the virtual assistant of the wireless device 504 (step 514)."; Column 19, line 66 - Column 20, line 12, "In one embodiment, the user preferences may specify a user location, orientation, determine action/activity, or user input that may be detected by the sensors of the wireless earpieces to automatically provide assistance through the virtual assistant of the wireless earpieces. In one embodiment, the wireless earpieces may detect that the user is jogging in a part close to his home. As a result, the virtual assistant may have a specific user biometrics, such as time jogging, heart rate, average heart rate, cadence, and steps for minute ready should the user provide a specified keyword, such as “work out status.” The user preferences may specify any number of keywords, gestures, head movements, or tactile input that may be utilized to provide the specified user biometrics."; Processing a request by the virtual assistant of the wireless device in response to determining the request is not implementable by the wireless earpieces reads on transmitting information about the keyword to the host device.).
Boesen is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of voice recognition systems. 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 Lee in view of Bromand '787 to incorporate the teachings of Boesen to process a request by the virtual assistant of the wireless device in response to determining the request is not implementable by the wireless earpieces. Doing so would allow for accessing a virtual assistant through a separate wireless device with wireless earpieces acting as an input/output device for providing voice, gesture, touch, or other input to control, manage, or interact with the virtual assistant (Boesen; Column 2, lines 31-41).
Claims 6 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee in view of Boesen.
Regarding claim 6, Lee discloses the electronic device as claimed in claim 4.
Lee further discloses:
wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to, based on the target voice recognition engine not being in the first memory: transmit the command received from the host device to the external electronic device, receive, from the external electronic device, keyword information detected from the voice signal of the user by using the target voice recognition engine stored in the external electronic device (Column 2, line 58 - Column 3, line 11, "In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, which includes a first voice recognition device; a second voice recognition device; and a processor for executing a predetermined application and determining whether voice recognition of a first voice can be performed by the first voice recognition device or the second voice recognition device. When the voice recognition of the first voice can be performed by the first voice recognition device and the first voice recognition device recognizes a predetermined command in the first voice, the first voice recognition device transfers a received second voice to an external electronic device and recognizes the received second voice through the external electronic device. When the voice recognition of the first voice cannot be performed by the first voice recognition device, the second voice recognition device performs the voice recognition, and when the second voice recognition device recognizes the predetermined command in the first voice, the second voice recognition device recognizes a second command in the received second voice and performs an operation based on the recognized second command."; The second voice recognition device performing the voice recognition when the voice recognition of the first voice cannot be performed by the first voice recognition device reads on transmitting the command received from the host device to the external electronic device based on the target voice recognition engine not being in the first memory, and receiving, from the external electronic device, keyword information detected from the voice signal of the user by using the target voice recognition engine stored in the external electronic device.).
Lee does not specifically disclose: transmit the keyword information to the host device.
Boesen teaches:
transmit the keyword information to the host device (Column 18, lines 47-50, "In response to determining the request is not implementable (e.g., entirely) by the wireless earpieces 502 during step 510, the request is processed by the virtual assistant of the wireless device 504 (step 514)."; Column 19, line 66 - Column 20, line 12, "In one embodiment, the user preferences may specify a user location, orientation, determine action/activity, or user input that may be detected by the sensors of the wireless earpieces to automatically provide assistance through the virtual assistant of the wireless earpieces. In one embodiment, the wireless earpieces may detect that the user is jogging in a part close to his home. As a result, the virtual assistant may have a specific user biometrics, such as time jogging, heart rate, average heart rate, cadence, and steps for minute ready should the user provide a specified keyword, such as “work out status.” The user preferences may specify any number of keywords, gestures, head movements, or tactile input that may be utilized to provide the specified user biometrics."; Processing a request by the virtual assistant of the wireless device in response to determining the request is not implementable by the wireless earpieces reads on transmit the keyword information to the host device.).
Boesen is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of voice recognition systems. 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 Lee to incorporate the teachings of Boesen to process a request by the virtual assistant of the wireless device in response to determining the request is not implementable by the wireless earpieces. Doing so would allow for accessing a virtual assistant through a separate wireless device with wireless earpieces acting as an input/output device for providing voice, gesture, touch, or other input to control, manage, or interact with the virtual assistant (Boesen; Column 2, lines 31-41).
Regarding claim 14, Lee discloses the electronic device as claimed in claim 12.
Lee further discloses:
wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, based on the target voice recognition engine not being in the first memory: transmit the command received from the host device to the external electronic device, receive, from the external electronic device, keyword information detected from the voice signal of the user by using a target recognition engine stored in the external electronic device (Column 2, line 58 - Column 3, line 11, "In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, which includes a first voice recognition device; a second voice recognition device; and a processor for executing a predetermined application and determining whether voice recognition of a first voice can be performed by the first voice recognition device or the second voice recognition device. When the voice recognition of the first voice can be performed by the first voice recognition device and the first voice recognition device recognizes a predetermined command in the first voice, the first voice recognition device transfers a received second voice to an external electronic device and recognizes the received second voice through the external electronic device. When the voice recognition of the first voice cannot be performed by the first voice recognition device, the second voice recognition device performs the voice recognition, and when the second voice recognition device recognizes the predetermined command in the first voice, the second voice recognition device recognizes a second command in the received second voice and performs an operation based on the recognized second command."; The second voice recognition device performing the voice recognition when the voice recognition of the first voice cannot be performed by the first voice recognition device reads on transmitting the command received from the host device to the external electronic device based on the target voice recognition engine not being in the first memory, and receiving, from the external electronic device, keyword information detected from the voice signal of the user by using the target voice recognition engine stored in the external electronic device.).
Lee does not specifically disclose: transmit the keyword information to the host device.
Boesen teaches:
transmit the keyword information to the host device (Column 18, lines 47-50, "In response to determining the request is not implementable (e.g., entirely) by the wireless earpieces 502 during step 510, the request is processed by the virtual assistant of the wireless device 504 (step 514)."; Column 19, line 66 - Column 20, line 12, "In one embodiment, the user preferences may specify a user location, orientation, determine action/activity, or user input that may be detected by the sensors of the wireless earpieces to automatically provide assistance through the virtual assistant of the wireless earpieces. In one embodiment, the wireless earpieces may detect that the user is jogging in a part close to his home. As a result, the virtual assistant may have a specific user biometrics, such as time jogging, heart rate, average heart rate, cadence, and steps for minute ready should the user provide a specified keyword, such as “work out status.” The user preferences may specify any number of keywords, gestures, head movements, or tactile input that may be utilized to provide the specified user biometrics."; Processing a request by the virtual assistant of the wireless device in response to determining the request is not implementable by the wireless earpieces reads on transmit the keyword information to the host device.).
Boesen is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of voice recognition systems. 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 Lee to incorporate the teachings of Boesen to process a request by the virtual assistant of the wireless device in response to determining the request is not implementable by the wireless earpieces. Doing so would allow for accessing a virtual assistant through a separate wireless device with wireless earpieces acting as an input/output device for providing voice, gesture, touch, or other input to control, manage, or interact with the virtual assistant (Boesen; Column 2, lines 31-41).
Claims 8 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee in view of Graham et al. (US Patent No. 12,003,911), hereinafter Graham.
Regarding claim 8, Lee discloses the electronic device as claimed in claim 7, but does not specifically disclose: wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to: identify a remaining battery capacity of the electronic device, compare a remaining battery capacity of the external electronic device received from the external electronic device with the remaining battery capacity of the electronic device, and change the external electronic device to the primary device and change the electronic device to the secondary device, based on a result of the comparison.
Graham teaches:
wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to: identify a remaining battery capacity of the electronic device, compare a remaining battery capacity of the external electronic device received from the external electronic device with the remaining battery capacity of the electronic device, and change the external electronic device to the primary device and change the electronic device to the secondary device, based on a result of the comparison (Column 2, lines 22-32, "In general, embodiments of the disclosure provide paired earbuds that switch between primary and secondary modes in order to balance power consumption between the batteries in the two earbuds. In primary mode, an earbud receives audio data from a user media device and transmits the received audio data to the second earbud. In secondary mode, the earbud receives the audio data from another earbud. Each earbud monitors the battery level in each earbud and switches roles between primary mode and secondary mode based on the relative battery levels of both batteries."; Monitoring the battery level in each earbud and switching roles between primary mode and secondary mode based on the relative battery levels of both batteries reads on identifying a remaining battery capacity of the electronic device, comparing a remaining battery capacity of the external electronic device received from the external electronic device with the remaining battery capacity of the electronic device, and changing the external electronic device to the primary device and change the electronic device to the secondary device, based on a result of the comparison.).
Graham is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of wireless earbuds. 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 Lee to incorporate the teachings of Graham to monitor the battery level in each earbud and switching roles between primary mode and secondary mode based on the relative battery levels of both batteries. Doing so would allow for balancing power consumption between the batteries in the two earbuds (Graham; Column 2, lines 22-32).
Regarding claim 16, Lee discloses the electronic device as claimed in claim 15, but does not specifically disclose: wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to: identify a remaining battery capacity of the electronic device, compare a remaining battery capacity of the external electronic device received from the external electronic device with the remaining battery capacity of the electronic device, and change the external electronic device to the primary device and change the electronic device to the secondary device, based on a result of the comparison.
Graham teaches:
wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to: identify a remaining battery capacity of the electronic device, compare a remaining battery capacity of the external electronic device received from the external electronic device with the remaining battery capacity of the electronic device, and change the external electronic device to the primary device and change the electronic device to the secondary device, based on a result of the comparison (Column 2, lines 22-32, "In general, embodiments of the disclosure provide paired earbuds that switch between primary and secondary modes in order to balance power consumption between the batteries in the two earbuds. In primary mode, an earbud receives audio data from a user media device and transmits the received audio data to the second earbud. In secondary mode, the earbud receives the audio data from another earbud. Each earbud monitors the battery level in each earbud and switches roles between primary mode and secondary mode based on the relative battery levels of both batteries."; Monitoring the battery level in each earbud and switching roles between primary mode and secondary mode based on the relative battery levels of both batteries reads on identifying a remaining battery capacity of the electronic device, comparing a remaining battery capacity of the external electronic device received from the external electronic device with the remaining battery capacity of the electronic device, and changing the external electronic device to the primary device and change the electronic device to the secondary device, based on a result of the comparison.).
Graham is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of wireless earbuds. 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 Lee to incorporate the teachings of Graham to monitor the battery level in each earbud and switching roles between primary mode and secondary mode based on the relative battery levels of both batteries. Doing so would allow for balancing power consumption between the batteries in the two earbuds (Graham; Column 2, lines 22-32).
Claims 17 – 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seok et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0217150), hereinafter Seok, in view of Lee and Kim et al. (US Patent No. 11,222,624), hereinafter Kim.
Regarding claim 17, Seok discloses an electronic device (Paragraph 0011, lines 1-5, "An electronic device accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure may include: a first wireless earphone, a second wireless earphone, and a cradle on which the first wireless earphone and the second wireless earphone are disposed.") comprising:
a first sub-device (Paragraph 0011, lines 1-5, "An electronic device accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure may include: a first wireless earphone, a second wireless earphone, and a cradle on which the first wireless earphone and the second wireless earphone are disposed."; A first wireless earphone reads on a first sub-device.);
and a second sub-device (Paragraph 0011, lines 1-5, "An electronic device accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure may include: a first wireless earphone, a second wireless earphone, and a cradle on which the first wireless earphone and the second wireless earphone are disposed."; A second wireless earphone reads on a second sub-device.),
wherein the first sub-device comprises: a first speaker configured to output a first sound signal (Paragraph 0078, lines 1-3, "According to an embodiment, the first wireless earphone 222 may include a first processor 222a, a first sound output unit 222b (e.g., speaker/receiver), a first microphone 222c");
a first microphone (Paragraph 0078, lines 1-3, "According to an embodiment, the first wireless earphone 222 may include a first processor 222a, a first sound output unit 222b (e.g., speaker/receiver), a first microphone 222c");
a first wireless communication circuit configured to connect to the second sub-device via wireless communication (Paragraph 0011, lines 1-10, "An electronic device accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure may include: a first wireless earphone, a second wireless earphone, and a cradle on which the first wireless earphone and the second wireless earphone are disposed. The cradle may include a control device including a processor, a memory operatively coupled to the processor, communication modules configured to communicate with an external terminal and/or communication between the first wireless earphone and the second wireless earphone");
and at least one first processor operatively connected to the first speaker, the first microphone, the first wireless communication circuit, and the first memory, the at least one first processor being configured to execute the first instructions (Paragraph 0065, lines 1-10, "Various embodiments as set forth herein may be implemented as software (e.g., the program 140) including one or more instructions that are stored in a storage medium (e.g., internal memory 136 or external memory 138) that is readable by a machine (e.g., the electronic device 101). For example, a processor (e.g., the processor 120) of the machine (e.g., the electronic device 101) may invoke at least one of the one or more instructions stored in the storage medium, and execute it, with or without using one or more other components under the control of the processor."; Paragraph 0078, lines 1-3, "According to an embodiment, the first wireless earphone 222 may include a first processor 222a, a first sound output unit 222b (e.g., speaker/receiver), a first microphone 222c"; Paragraph 0081, lines 1-14, "According to an embodiment, the first processor 222a and/or the second processor may control the operation of the first wireless earphone 222 and/or the second wireless earphone 224. As an example, the first processor 222a and/or the second processor may include processing circuitry or control circuitry such as a micro controller unit (MCU), a central processing unit (CPU), a sensor processor, a sensor hub, an application processor (AP), and/or a communication processor (CP) processor). For example, the first processor 222a and/or the second processor may control the components included in the electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 101 of FIG. 1, the electronic device 300 of FIG. 3) or the cradle 210 (e.g., the cradle 210 of FIG. 3), and may perform various data processing or operations."),
and wherein the second sub-device comprises: a second speaker configured to output a second sound signal (Paragraph 0079, lines 4-7, "As an embodiment, the second wireless earphone 224 may include a second processor, a second sound output unit (e.g., speaker/receiver), a second microphone");
a second microphone (Paragraph 0079, lines 4-7, "As an embodiment, the second wireless earphone 224 may include a second processor, a second sound output unit (e.g., speaker/receiver), a second microphone");
a second wireless communication circuit configured to connect to the first wireless communication circuit via wireless communication (Paragraph 0011, lines 1-10, "An electronic device accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure may include: a first wireless earphone, a second wireless earphone, and a cradle on which the first wireless earphone and the second wireless earphone are disposed. The cradle may include a control device including a processor, a memory operatively coupled to the processor, communication modules configured to communicate with an external terminal and/or communication between the first wireless earphone and the second wireless earphone");
and at least one second processor operatively connected to the second speaker, the second microphone, the second wireless communication circuit, and the second memory, the at least one second processor being configured to execute the second instructions (Paragraph 0065, lines 1-10, "Various embodiments as set forth herein may be implemented as software (e.g., the program 140) including one or more instructions that are stored in a storage medium (e.g., internal memory 136 or external memory 138) that is readable by a machine (e.g., the electronic device 101). For example, a processor (e.g., the processor 120) of the machine (e.g., the electronic device 101) may invoke at least one of the one or more instructions stored in the storage medium, and execute it, with or without using one or more other components under the control of the processor."; Paragraph 0078, lines 1-3, "According to an embodiment, the first wireless earphone 222 may include a first processor 222a, a first sound output unit 222b (e.g., speaker/receiver), a first microphone 222c"; Paragraph 0081, lines 1-14, "According to an embodiment, the first processor 222a and/or the second processor may control the operation of the first wireless earphone 222 and/or the second wireless earphone 224. As an example, the first processor 222a and/or the second processor may include processing circuitry or control circuitry such as a micro controller unit (MCU), a central processing unit (CPU), a sensor processor, a sensor hub, an application processor (AP), and/or a communication processor (CP) processor). For example, the first processor 222a and/or the second processor may control the components included in the electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 101 of FIG. 1, the electronic device 300 of FIG. 3) or the cradle 210 (e.g., the cradle 210 of FIG. 3), and may perform various data processing or operations.").
Seok does not specifically disclose: a first memory storing a first voice recognition engine, a second voice recognition engine that is different from the first voice recognition engine, and first instructions; a second memory storing a third voice recognition engine, wherein the first voice recognition engine is the same as or different from the third voice recognition engine.
Lee teaches:
a first memory storing a first voice recognition engine, a second voice recognition engine that is different from the first voice recognition engine, and first instructions (Column 6, lines 13-23, "The memory 130 may store commands or data received from or generated by the processor 120 or other elements (for example, the input/output interface 140, the display 150, the communication interface 160, the first voice recognition processor 170, the second voice recognition processor 180, etc.). The memory 130 includes programming modules, i.e., a kernel 131, a middleware 132, an Application Programming Interface (API) 133, and applications 134. Each of the aforementioned programming modules may be formed of software, firmware, hardware, or a combination of at least two thereof."; Column 9, lines 23-32, "The first voice recognition model storage unit 112 may store a first voice recognition model including various voice recognition algorithms used for voice recognition, and may be generated or updated by voice recognition training. The first voice recognition model may include a first level voice recognition algorithm that recognizes a first level voice including a preset command such as a particular word or a combination of one or more words. For example, the first voice recognition model may be a speaker recognition algorithm."; Column 10, lines 11-20, "The second voice recognition model storage unit 222 stores a second voice recognition model used for the voice recognition by the second voice recognition unit 223. The second voice recognition model may include a second level voice recognition algorithm, which recognizes the first level voice that can be recognized by the first voice recognition model and a second level voice including a command of one word. The second level voice recognition algorithm may recognize more commands than the first level voice recognition algorithm."; Column 26, lines 28-32, "At least some of the devices (e.g., modules or functions thereof) or methods (e.g., operations) of the present disclosure may be implemented as instructions stored computer readable storage media in the form of programming modules."; A first voice recognition model reads on a first voice recognition engine, and a second voice recognition model that recognizes more commands than the first voice recognition model reads on a second voice recognition engine that is different from the first voice recognition engine.);
a second memory storing a third voice recognition engine (Column 11, lines 26-38, "The third voice recognition model storage unit 242 stores a third voice recognition model used for the voice recognition by the third voice recognition unit 243. The third voice recognition model may include a third level voice recognition algorithm which can recognize a third level voice including a phrase or/and a sentence of a combination of a plurality of words. The third level voice recognition algorithm may recognize more commands than the second level voice recognition algorithm. For example, the third level voice recognition algorithm may be a natural language recognition algorithm, which recognizes a command including a combination of a plurality of words, such as “open camera”."; A third voice recognition model reads on a third voice recognition engine.),
wherein the first voice recognition engine is the same as or different from the third voice recognition engine (Column 10, lines 11-20, "The second voice recognition model storage unit 222 stores a second voice recognition model used for the voice recognition by the second voice recognition unit 223. The second voice recognition model may include a second level voice recognition algorithm, which recognizes the first level voice that can be recognized by the first voice recognition model and a second level voice including a command of one word. The second level voice recognition algorithm may recognize more commands than the first level voice recognition algorithm."; Column 11, lines 26-38, "The third voice recognition model storage unit 242 stores a third voice recognition model used for the voice recognition by the third voice recognition unit 243. The third voice recognition model may include a third level voice recognition algorithm which can recognize a third level voice including a phrase or/and a sentence of a combination of a plurality of words. The third level voice recognition algorithm may recognize more commands than the second level voice recognition algorithm. For example, the third level voice recognition algorithm may be a natural language recognition algorithm, which recognizes a command including a combination of a plurality of words, such as “open camera”."; The second voice recognition model recognizing more commands than the first voice recognition model and the third voice recognition model recognizing more commands than the second voice recognition model reads on the first voice recognition engine being different from the third voice recognition engine.).
Lee is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of voice recognition systems. 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 Seok to incorporate the teachings of Lee to implement a first voice recognition model, a second voice recognition model, and a third voice recognition model. Doing so would allow for implementing an electronic device thar recognizes predetermined commands (Lee; Column 2, line 58 - Column 3, line 11).
Seok in view of Lee does not specifically disclose: a fourth voice recognition engine that is different from the third voice recognition engine, and second instructions; and wherein the second voice recognition engine is different from the fourth voice recognition engine.
Kim teaches:
a fourth voice recognition engine that is different from the third voice recognition engine, and second instructions (Column 3, lines 38-50, "In a first example, the server 500 may receive the voice data from the plurality of voice recognition devices 100, 200, 300, and 400 to allow the voice recognition models to learn the voice data. The server 500 may then transmit the learned voice recognition models to the plurality of voice recognition devices 100, 200, 300, and 400. In this example, the plurality of voice recognition devices 100, 200, 300, and 400 may receive the voice data from the users, and input the received voice data to the voice recognition models to output linguistic meaning of the received voice data (i.e., the voice recognition results). The plurality of voice recognition devices 100, 200, 300, and 400 may then perform functions corresponding to the voice recognition results."; Column 8, lines 48-54, "The memory 170 may store therein a plurality of application programs or applications running on the terminal 100, data for the operation of the voice recognition device 100, instructions, and data for the operation of the artificial intelligence unit 130 (e.g., at least one algorithm information for the machine learning, or the like)."; Column 17, lines 1-7, "In this connection, the artificial intelligence unit 520 may input voice data of various categories to the machine learning models such as the artificial neural network, and the like to adaptively train the machine learning models respectively based on the various categories. Thus, the adaptively trained machine learning models may refer to the plurality of voice recognition models 511, 512, 513, and 514."; Column 24, lines 14-20, "It is assumed that the first voice recognition device 100 and the second voice recognition device 200 are currently using the first voice recognition model 511, the third voice recognition device 300 is currently using the third voice recognition model 513, and the fourth voice recognition device 400 is currently using the fourth voice recognition model 514."; The four voice recognition models being adaptively trained based on various categories reads on the fourth voice recognition engine being different from the third voice recognition engine.);
and wherein the second voice recognition engine is different from the fourth voice recognition engine (Column 17, lines 1-7, "In this connection, the artificial intelligence unit 520 may input voice data of various categories to the machine learning models such as the artificial neural network, and the like to adaptively train the machine learning models respectively based on the various categories. Thus, the adaptively trained machine learning models may refer to the plurality of voice recognition models 511, 512, 513, and 514."; Column 24, lines 14-20, "It is assumed that the first voice recognition device 100 and the second voice recognition device 200 are currently using the first voice recognition model 511, the third voice recognition device 300 is currently using the third voice recognition model 513, and the fourth voice recognition device 400 is currently using the fourth voice recognition model 514."; The four voice recognition models being adaptively trained based on various categories reads on the second voice recognition engine being different from the fourth voice recognition engine.).
Kim is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of voice recognition systems. 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 Seok in view of Lee to incorporate the teachings of Kim to implement four voice recognition models adaptively trained based on various categories. Doing so would allow for the voice recognition models learning voice data to receive voice data from users and output linguistic meaning of the received voice data (Kim; Column 3, lines 38-50).
Regarding claim 18, Seok in view of Lee and Kim discloses the electronic device as claimed in claim 17.
Lee further teaches:
wherein the at least one first processor is configured to execute the first instructions to: receive a command to perform voice recognition from a host device, and identify whether a target voice recognition engine corresponding to the command is among the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine stored in the first memory (Column 8, lines 18-22, "For example, the first voice recognition processor 170 may recognize a first voice received from the input/output interface 140 by using the processor 120, or independently from the processor 120, and determine whether a first command is included in the first voice."; Column 9, lines 23-32, "The first voice recognition model storage unit 112 may store a first voice recognition model including various voice recognition algorithms used for voice recognition, and may be generated or updated by voice recognition training. The first voice recognition model may include a first level voice recognition algorithm that recognizes a first level voice including a preset command such as a particular word or a combination of one or more words. For example, the first voice recognition model may be a speaker recognition algorithm."; Column 10, lines 11-20, "The second voice recognition model storage unit 222 stores a second voice recognition model used for the voice recognition by the second voice recognition unit 223. The second voice recognition model may include a second level voice recognition algorithm, which recognizes the first level voice that can be recognized by the first voice recognition model and a second level voice including a command of one word. The second level voice recognition algorithm may recognize more commands than the first level voice recognition algorithm."; Column 24, lines 63-65, "The electronic device 1701 may also receive a user input from an external device (for example, a computer or server) connected thereto, using the communication module 1720."; Receiving a first voice and determining whether a first command is included in the first voice, where the first voice recognition model recognizes a first level voice including a preset command such as a particular word, and a second voice recognition model that recognizes more commands than the first voice recognition model, reads on receive a command to perform voice recognition from a host device, and identify whether a target voice recognition engine corresponding to the command is among the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine stored in the first memory.).
Lee is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of voice recognition systems. 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 Seok in view of Lee and Kim to further incorporate the teachings of Lee to receive a first voice and determining whether a first command is included in the first voice, where a first voice recognition model recognizes a first level voice including a preset command such as a particular word and a second voice recognition model recognizes more commands than the first voice recognition model. Doing so would allow for implementing an electronic device thar recognizes predetermined commands (Lee; Column 2, line 58 - Column 3, line 11).
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seok in view of Lee and Kim, and further in view of Bromand '787 and Boesen.
Regarding claim 19, Seok in view of Lee and Kim discloses the electronic device as claimed in claim 18, but does not specifically disclose: wherein the at least one first processor is further configured to execute the first instructions to, based on the target voice recognition engine being among the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine stored in the first memory: obtain a voice signal of a user based on the target voice recognition engine, based on detection of a keyword from the voice signal of the user, deactivate the target voice recognition engine.
Bromand '787 teaches:
wherein the at least one first processor is further configured to execute the first instructions to, based on the target voice recognition engine being among the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine stored in the first memory: obtain a voice signal of a user based on the target voice recognition engine, based on detection of a keyword from the voice signal of the user, deactivate the target voice recognition engine (Column 2, line 61 - Column 3, line 6, "FIG. 1 illustrates aspects of an example system 100 for processing a voice request. In the example shown, the system 100 includes a device 102. In some embodiments, the device 102 may include a voice assistant manager 104 and a plurality of voice assistants 106a-x. In some examples, the device 102 may receive an utterance 108 from a user U. In some embodiments, the voice assistant manager 104 may receive the utterance 108, detect a wake word, and determine, based at least in part on the detected wake word and wake word mapping data 110, which of the plurality of voice assistants 106a-x is called. The voice assistant manager 104 may then communicate the utterance to the called voice assistant (e.g., the voice assistant 106b)."; Column 4, lines 63-67, "Furthermore, as is further described below, the voice assistant 106b may, in some embodiments, communicate the utterance 108 to a cloud service in response to successfully verifying the wake word."; Column 14, lines 52-55, "In some embodiments, in response to determining that the called voice assistant finished processing the utterance, the voice assistant manager 104 may deactivate the called assistant."; Receiving an utterance from a user, detecting a wake word, and determining which voice assistant is called based on the detected wake word reads on obtaining the voice signal of the user based on the target voice recognition engine, and detecting a wake word, determining which voice assistant is called based on the detected wake word, and deactivating the called assistant in response to determining that the called voice assistant finished processing the utterance reads on deactivating the target voice recognition based on detection of a keyword from the voice signal of the user.).
Bromand '787 is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of voice recognition systems. 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 Seok in view of Lee and Kim to incorporate the teachings of Bromand '787 to receive an utterance from a user, detect a wake word, determine which voice assistant is called based on the detected wake word, and deactivate the called assistant in response to determining that the called voice assistant finished processing the utterance. Doing so would allow for conserving computer resources so that those computer resources can be used to perform another task or to activate another assistant (Bromand '787; Column 14, line 63 - Column 15, line 3).
Seok in view of Lee and Kim, and further in view of Bromand '787, does not specifically disclose: transmit information about the keyword to the host device.
Boesen teaches:
transmit information about the keyword to the host device (Column 18, lines 47-50, "In response to determining the request is not implementable (e.g., entirely) by the wireless earpieces 502 during step 510, the request is processed by the virtual assistant of the wireless device 504 (step 514)."; Column 19, line 66 - Column 20, line 12, "In one embodiment, the user preferences may specify a user location, orientation, determine action/activity, or user input that may be detected by the sensors of the wireless earpieces to automatically provide assistance through the virtual assistant of the wireless earpieces. In one embodiment, the wireless earpieces may detect that the user is jogging in a part close to his home. As a result, the virtual assistant may have a specific user biometrics, such as time jogging, heart rate, average heart rate, cadence, and steps for minute ready should the user provide a specified keyword, such as “work out status.” The user preferences may specify any number of keywords, gestures, head movements, or tactile input that may be utilized to provide the specified user biometrics."; Processing a request by the virtual assistant of the wireless device in response to determining the request is not implementable by the wireless earpieces reads on transmitting information about the keyword to the host device.).
Boesen is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of voice recognition systems. 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 Seok in view of Lee and Kim, and further in view of Bromand '787, to incorporate the teachings of Boesen to process a request by the virtual assistant of the wireless device in response to determining the request is not implementable by the wireless earpieces. Doing so would allow for accessing a virtual assistant through a separate wireless device with wireless earpieces acting as an input/output device for providing voice, gesture, touch, or other input to control, manage, or interact with the virtual assistant (Boesen; Column 2, lines 31-41).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 20 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The primary reason claim 20 would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims is the inclusion of the limitations “based on the target voice recognition engine not being among the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine stored in the first memory, transmit the command received from the host device to the second sub-device, and wherein the at least one second processor is configured to execute the second instructions to, based on the target voice recognition engine not being among the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine stored in the first memory, activate the target voice recognition engine corresponding to the command among the third voice recognition engine and the fourth voice recognition engine in response to reception of the command, obtain a voice signal of a user based on the target voice recognition engine; deactivate the target voice recognition engine in response to detection of a keyword from the voice signal of the user; and transmit information about the keyword to the host device through the first sub-device” in combination with the limitations of an electronic device comprising a first sub-device and a second sub-device, where the first sub-device comprises a first speaker configured to output a first sound signal, a first microphone, a first wireless communication circuit configured to connect to the second sub-device via wireless communication, a first memory storing a first voice recognition engine, a second voice recognition engine that is different from the first voice recognition engine, and first instructions, and at least one first processor operatively connected to the first speaker, the first microphone, the first wireless communication circuit, and the first memory, the at least one first processor being configured to execute the first instructions, and where the second sub-device comprises a second speaker configured to output a second sound signal, a second microphone, a second wireless communication circuit configured to connect to the first wireless communication circuit via wireless communication, a second memory storing a third voice recognition engine, a fourth voice recognition engine that is different from the third voice recognition engine, and second instructions, and at least one second processor operatively connected to the second speaker, the second microphone, the second wireless communication circuit, and the second memory, the at least one second processor being configured to execute the second instructions, where the first voice recognition engine is the same as or different from the third voice recognition engine, and where the second voice recognition engine is different from the fourth voice recognition engine.
Seok in view of Lee and Kim discloses the electronic device as claimed in claim 18. However, Seok, Lee, and Kim, individually or in combination, do not disclose the limitations “based on the target voice recognition engine not being among the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine stored in the first memory, transmit the command received from the host device to the second sub-device, and wherein the at least one second processor is configured to execute the second instructions to, based on the target voice recognition engine not being among the first voice recognition engine and the second voice recognition engine stored in the first memory, activate the target voice recognition engine corresponding to the command among the third voice recognition engine and the fourth voice recognition engine in response to reception of the command, obtain a voice signal of a user based on the target voice recognition engine; deactivate the target voice recognition engine in response to detection of a keyword from the voice signal of the user; and transmit information about the keyword to the host device through the first sub-device”.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Singh et al. (US Patent No. 12,315,514) teaches a method for assigning a voice assistant service from multiple voice assistant services based on a voice input.
Choi et al. (US Patent No. 11,568,875) teaches an artificial intelligence apparatus for recognizing a plurality of wake-up words.
Bhowmik et al. (US Patent No. 11,264,029) teaches a local assistant system responding to voice input using an ear-wearable device, where the system detects a wake-up signal and receives a first voice input communicating a first query content.
Boesen (US Patent No. 11,086,593) teaches a system and method for implementing a virtual assistant on wireless earpieces.
Bak (US Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0129223) teaches a method and apparatus for voice recognition.
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/JAMES BOGGS/Examiner, Art Unit 2657
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