CTNF 18/977,659 CTNF 72566 DETAILED ACTION The Art Unit location of your application in the PTO has changed. To aid in correlating any papers for this application, all further correspondence regarding this application should be directed to Group Art Unit 2691. This communication is responsive to the claims filed 12/11/2024. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Kamath Koteshwara et al. (U. S. Pat. No. - 11,564,036) . Regarding claim 8, Kamath Koteshwara et al. disclose a system (100), comprising: a hardware processor (118); a plurality of speakers (110, 124) coupled to the hardware processor and, capable of emitting audible sound and ultrasound signals under control of the hardware processor; and a plurality of microphones (112, 126) coupled to the hardware processor and capable of detecting reflected ultrasound signals; wherein the hardware processor is capable of performing operations including: detecting , based on the reflected ultrasound signals, presence of a user for the system; and in response to the detecting the presence of the user, adjusting audio played through one or more of the plurality of speakers as audible sound (128, 130)(Figs. 1-4). Regarding claim 9, Kamath Koteshwara et al. further disclose the system, wherein the detecting presence (104) comprises: calculating cross-correlation values between the ultrasound signals and the reflected ultrasound signals (col. 8, line 20 to col. 9, line 38). Regarding claim 10, Kamath Koteshwara et al. further disclose the system, wherein the cross-correlation values are calculated for each microphone of the plurality of microphones (104). Regarding claim 11, Kamath Koteshwara et al. further disclose the system, wherein the hardware processor is capable of performing operations including: detecting a position of the user relative to the system based on the cross-correlation values (col. 6, lines 52-63, col. 9, lines 22-38 and col. 10, line 22-39). Regarding claim 12, Kamath Koteshwara et al. further disclose the system, wherein the adjusting comprises steering audio of one or more audio channels to at least one speaker of the plurality of speakers based on the position of the user (col. 4, lines 14-58). Regarding claim 13, Kamath Koteshwara et al. further disclose the system, wherein the hardware processor is capable of performing operations including: generating distribution coefficients from the cross-correlation values; generating gain masks from the distribution coefficients; and processing the audio of each speaker using the gain masks (Figs. 11-12). Regarding claim 14, Kamath Koteshwara et al. further disclose the system, wherein the gain masks adjust an amount of audio corresponding to each channel played through one or more of the plurality of speakers (Figs. 11-12). Method claims 1-7 are similar to claims 8-14 except for being couched in method terminology; such methods would be inherent when the structure is shown in the references. Computer software product claims 15-20 are similar to claims 1-14 except for being couched in computer software terminology; such product would be inherent when the structure/method is shown in the references . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SUHAN NI whose telephone number is (571)272-7505 . The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to 6:30 pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a PTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice . If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Duc Nguyen can be reached on 571-272-7503 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300 . Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000 . /SUHAN NI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2691 Application/Control Number: 18/977,659 Page 2 Art Unit: 2691 Application/Control Number: 18/977,659 Page 3 Art Unit: 2691 Application/Control Number: 18/977,659 Page 4 Art Unit: 2691
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