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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 5, 16, 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "the digital audio signal" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Dependent claim 5 depends from independent claim 1. The term “digital audio signal” is first recited in claim 3, line 3.
Claim 16 recites the limitation "the digital audio signal" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in claim 16, which depends from independent claim 12..
Claim 18 recites the limitation "the digital audio signal" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in claim 18, which depends from claim 17.
Claim 19 depends from claim 18, which is rejected for the above reasons.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 11-12, 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mittersinker (US 2007/0079315 A1).
As to claims 1, 12, Mittersinker discloses a method of audio playback (hybrid turntable that can selectively play back analog audio or digitally stored audio, para. 0013, 0015; Fig. 1), the method comprising:
receiving an analog audio signal including audio data from an analog audio medium (when the turntable is switched to analog playback mode, an analog signal is received including audio data from vinyl disc 17, para. 0064);
obtaining a digital reference signal associated with the analog audio medium (in a digital playback mode, a compact disc 22 is inserted into the slot 20, para. 0058; a digital audio file can be retrieved from any storage medium, such as a CD or hard drive, para. 0037; the digital file selected by the user may be a digitized version of the analog audio data, e.g. CD version of a vinyl LP);
outputting the analog audio signal (para. 0064); and
intermittently switching from outputting the analog audio signal to outputting the digital reference signal based on a signal quality of the analog audio signal (user may selectively switch between analog and digital playback modes via mode switch 91 at the user’s choosing, para. 0058, which may be based on a signal quality of the analog audio signal as determined by the user).
As to claim 11, Mittersinker discloses: wherein the analog audio medium is a vinyl record (analog vinyl record disc, para. 0015-0016).
As to claim 14, Mittersinker discloses: wherein the apparatus is configured to receive an audio signal from a vinyl record player (hybrid turntable is capable of playing analog vinyl records, para. 0015-0016).
As to claim 15, Mittersinker discloses: wherein the apparatus is integrated in a vinyl record player (hybrid turntable playback device 10, Fig. 1, para. 0039).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 2, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mittersinker in view of Randall et al. (US 2016/0292268 A1, “Randall”).
Mittersinker differs from claims 2, 20 in that it does not disclose:
playing the analog audio medium to generate a first analog signal; and
processing the first analog signal to obtain the digital reference signal.
Randall teaches receiving an analog signal from a phonograph playing a vinyl record and producing digital segments for storage (para. 0009, 0035-0037, 0106). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mittersinker with the above teaching of Randall in order to obtain a digital version of an analog vinyl record. In this way, a user can switch between analog and digital versions of the same audio data.
As to claim 9, Mittersinker in view of Randall teaches:
playing the analog audio medium (Mittersinker: analog playback mode, para. 0064);
determining that there is a stored digital reference signal associated with the played analog audio medium (Mittersinker: a digital audio file can be retrieved from any storage medium, such as a CD or hard drive, para. 0037; the digital file selected by the user may be a digitized version of the analog audio data, e.g. CD version of a vinyl LP);
determining that there is stored time data associated with the played analog audio medium (Randall: album has a plurality of tracks which are known to correlate with time data, para. 0106); and
retrieving the stored digital reference signal and time data associated with the played analog audio medium (Randall: digitized files include a timestamp to locate a track, para. 0129).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mittersinker in view of Wiseman et al. (US 9384734 B1, “Wiseman”).
Mittersinker differs from claim 10 in that it does not disclose:
digitizing an analog signal corresponding to the analog audio medium;
performing audio recognition on the digitized analog audio signal; and
identifying the associated digital reference signal based on the audio recognition.
Wiseman teaches well known real-time audio recognition of an audio sample in order to identify the song’s title, artist, album, etc. (col. 1, lines 19-25). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mittersinker with the above teaching of Wiseman in order to retrieve a corresponding digital audio version of the analog audio.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4, 6-8, 13, 17 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Huang (US 2006/0039245 A1) teaches digital and analog audio playback apparatus with a turntable that plays vinyl records.
Kaufmann et al. (US 2022/0074820 A1) teach analyzing audio quality in real-time by comparing the acoustic signature to a digital twin of the asset (para. 0011).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Stella L Woo whose telephone number is (571)272-7512. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ahmad Matar can be reached at 571-272-7488. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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STELLA L. WOO
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2693
/Stella L. Woo/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2693
Prosecution Insights