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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/09/2025 was filed after the mailing date of the application on 01/09/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Applicant is advised that should claim 19 be found allowable, claim 20 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
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) 11-12, 18, 23-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gustafsson et al (US 2008/0240448 A1).
Regarding claim 11, Gustafsson et al disclose a method for rendering a spatially-bounded audio element having an interior representation and an exterior representation (Gustafsson et al; Para [0057]; interior space and exterior space of audio objects), the method comprising: determining a modifier, m, wherein m indicates an amount by which an extent of the audio element is occluded (Gustafsson et al; Para [0058]; openLevel interpreted a modifier m indicates extent of occlusion); and producing a first combined audio signal, Sc1 for the audio element based on m, a signal, Si1 associated with the interior representation, and a signal, Se1 associated with the exterior representation (Gustafsson et al; Para [0058]; effectLevel for the audio element based on openLevel, a signal, closedEffectLevel associated with the interior representation, and a signal, openEffectLevel associated with the exterior representation).
Regarding claim 12, Gustafsson et al disclose the method of claim 11, further comprising: determining a weight value, w based on a determined occlusion amount, denoted Ao, wherein: Sc1 = (w Si1) + ((1-w) Se1) (Gustafsson et al; Para [0058] openLevel interpreted as weight value).
Regarding claim 18, Gustafsson et al disclose the method of claim 11, further comprising using Sc1 to produce an output audio signal for the listener (Gustafsson et al; Para [0053]).
Regarding claim 23, Gustafsson et al disclose an audio rendering apparatus, wherein the audio rendering apparatus is configured to perform a method for rendering a spatially-bounded audio clement having an interior representation and an exterior representation (Gustafsson et al; Para [0057]; interior space and exterior space of audio objects), the method comprising: determining a modifier, m, wherein m indicates an amount by which an extent of the audio element is occluded (Gustafsson et al; Para [0058]; openLevel interpreted a modifier m indicates extent of occlusion); and producing a first combined audio signal, Sc1 for the audio element based on m, a signal, Si1 associated with the interior representation, and a signal, Se1 associated with the exterior representation (Gustafsson et al; Para [0058]; effectLevel for the audio element based on openLevel, a signal, closedEffectLevel associated with the interior representation, and a signal, openEffectLevel associated with the exterior representation).
Regarding claim 24, Gustafsson et al disclose the audio rendering apparatus of claims 23, but do not expressly disclose wherein the method further comprises determining a weight value (w) based on a determined occlusion amount, and Sc1 = (w * Si1) + ((1-w) * Se1) (Gustaffson et al; Para [0058]; openLevel interpreted as occlusion amount).
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) 1-3, 10, 19-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Munoz et al (US 2020/0107147 A1) in view of Clement et al (US 2017/0262046 A1) and further in view of Munoz (US 2022/0103962 A1) hereinafter Munoz’962.
Regarding claim 1, Munoz et al disclose a method for rendering a spatially-bounded audio element having an interior representation and an exterior representation (Munoz et al; Fig 2; audio element 450B has interior representation and exterior representation), the method comprising: determining a modifier, m wherein m indicates an amount by which an extent of the audio element is occluded (Munoz et al; Fig 2; Para [0089][0091][0093]; occlusion metadata); but do not expressly disclose and determining a transition region, TR for the audio element based on m and a default TR. However, in the same field of endeavor, Clement et al disclose a method determining a transition region, TR for the audio element based on m (Clement et al; Para [0057]-[0059]; [0061]; transition based on occlusion object). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the transition region taught by Clement as transition distance determination in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to enhance the user's sense of presence in the virtual world (Clement et al; Para [0003]). Moreover, in the same field of endeavor, Munoz’962 disclose a method comprising determining a transition region, TR for the audio element based on a default TR (Munoz; Para [0011] [0146]; transition based on default region). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the transition region taught by Munoz’962 as transition distance determination in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to provide an immersive experience in which the user 402 may experience a virtual world (Munoz’962; Para [0012]).
Regarding claim 2, Munoz et al in view of Clement et al and further in view of Munoz’962 disclose the method of claim 1, but do not expressly disclose wherein determining the TR comprises determining a transition distance, TD for the audio element based on m and a default TD, D_TD. However, in the same field of endeavor, Clement et al disclose a method wherein determining the TR comprises determining a transition distance, TD for the audio element based on m (Clement et al; Para [0057]-[0059]; [0061]). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the transition region taught by Clement as transition distance determination in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to enhance the user's sense of presence in the virtual world (Clement et al; Para [0003]). Moreover, in the same field of endeavor, Munoz’962 disclose a method wherein determining the TR comprises determining a transition distance, TD for the audio element based on m and a default TD, D_TD (Munoz; Para [0011] [0146]; transition based on default region). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the transition region taught by Munoz’962 as transition distance determination in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to provide an immersive experience in which the user 402 may experience a virtual world (Munoz’962; Para [0012]).
Regarding claim 3, Munoz et al in view of Clement et al and further in view of Munoz’962 disclose the method of claim 2, further comprising obtaining the default TD by calculating D_TD = X * Dim, where X is a predetermined percentage and Dim is a dimension of the extent of the audio element, or obtaining the default TD by obtaining metadata associated with the audio element, wherein the metadata comprises information indicating the default TD (Munoz et al; Fig 2; Para [0089][0091][0093]; obtaining metadata associated with the audio object; with information indicating extent of occlusion).
Regarding claim 10, Munoz et al in view of Clement et al and further in view of Munoz’962 disclose the method of 8, further comprising using Sc1 to produce an output audio signal for the listener (Munoz et al; Fig 2; Para [0084]).
Regarding claim 19, Munoz et al disclose a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program- comprising instructions which when executed by processing circuitry of an audio rendering apparatus causes the audio rendering apparatus to perform the method of (Munoz et al; Para [0012]) but do not expressly disclose claim 1 (Munoz et al in view of Clement et al and further in view of Munoz’962 disclose claim 1). However, in the same field of endeavor, Munoz et al in view of Clement et al disclose the method of claim 1. It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the method taught by Munoz in view of Clement as transition distance determination in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to enhance the user's sense of presence in the virtual world (Clement et al; Para [0003]).
Regarding claim 20, Munoz et al disclose a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program comprising instructions which when executed by processing circuitry of an audio rendering apparatus causes the audio rendering apparatus to perform the method of (Munoz et al; Para [0012]) but do not expressly disclose claim 1 (Munoz et al in view of Clement et al and further in view of Munoz’962 disclose claim 1). However, in the same field of endeavor, Munoz et al in view of Clement et al and further in view of Munoz’962 disclose the method of claim 1. It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the method taught by Munoz in view of Clement as transition distance determination in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to enhance the user's sense of presence in the virtual world (Clement et al; Para [0003]).
Regarding claim 21, Munoz et al disclose an audio rendering apparatus, wherein the audio rendering apparatus is configured to perform a method for rendering a spatially-bounded audio element having an interior representation and an exterior representation (Munoz et al; Fig 2; audio element 450B has interior representation and exterior representation), the method comprising: determining a modifier, m, wherein m indicates an amount by which an extent of the audio element is occluded (Munoz et al; Fig 2; Para [0089][0091][0093]; occlusion metadata); but do not expressly disclose and determining a transition region, TR for the audio element based on m and a default TR. However, in the same field of endeavor, Clement et al disclose a method determining a transition region, TR for the audio element based on m (Clement et al; Para [0057]-[0059]; [0061]). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the transition region taught by Clement as transition distance determination in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to enhance the user's sense of presence in the virtual world (Clement et al; Para [0003]). Moreover, in the same field of endeavor, Munoz’962 disclose a method comprising determining a transition region, TR for the audio element based on a default TR (Munoz; Para [0011] [0146]; transition based on default region). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the transition region taught by Munoz’962 as transition distance determination in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to provide an immersive experience in which the user 402 may experience a virtual world (Munoz’962; Para [0012]).
Regarding claim 22, Munoz et al disclose the audio rendering apparatus of claim 21, but do not expressly disclose wherein determining the TR comprises determining a transition distance (TD) for the audio element based on m and a default TD, D TD. However, in the same field of endeavor, Clement et al disclose a method wherein determining the TR comprises determining a transition distance, TD for the audio element based on m and a default TD, D_TD (Clement et al; Para [0057]-[0059]; [0061]). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the transition region taught by Clement as transition distance determination in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to enhance the user's sense of presence in the virtual world (Clement et al; Para [0003]). Moreover, in the same field of endeavor, Munoz’962 disclose a method comprising wherein determining the TR comprises determining a transition distance (TD) for the audio element based on a default TD, D TD (Munoz; Para [0011] [0146]; transition based on default region). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the transition region taught by Munoz’962 as transition distance determination in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to provide an immersive experience in which the user 402 may experience a virtual world (Munoz’962; Para [0012]).
Claim(s) 4-5, 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Munoz et al (US 2020/0107147 A1) in view of Clement et al (US 2017/0262046 A1) and further in view of Munoz (US 2022/0103962 A1) and further in view of Thall et al (US 2020/0296533 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Munoz et al in view of Clement et al and further in view of Munoz’962 disclose the method of claim 2, but do not expressly disclose wherein determining the TD comprises calculating TD = m * D_TD. However, in the same field of endeavor, Thall et al disclose a method wherein determining the TD comprises calculating TD = m * D_TD (Thall et al; Fig 2; transition region 233 comprises a portion of the river blocked by the house; the river region interpreted as default distance; m represents the extent of the occlusion object 215). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the transition region taught by Thall as transition distance determination in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to render a more realistic audio environment (Thall et al; Para [0017]).
Regarding claim 5, Munoz et al in view of Clement et al and further in view of Munoz’962 disclose the method of claim 1, but do not expressly disclose wherein determining the TR comprises calculating Dim' = m * Dim, wherein Dim is a dimension of the default TR, and Dim' is a dimension of the TR. However, in the same field of endeavor, Thall et al disclose a method wherein determining the TR comprises calculating Dim' = m * Dim, wherein Dim is a dimension of the default TR, and Dim' is a dimension of the TR (Thall et al; Fig 2; Dim 210 interpreted as default region; m representing occluded region 233; Dim’ is a portion 231 and 232 representing a portion of the default region). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the transition region taught by Thall as transition distance determination in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to render a more realistic audio environment (Thall et al; Para [0017]).
Regarding claim 7, Munoz et al in view of Clement et al and further in view of Munoz’962 disclose the method of claim 1, but do not expressly disclose wherein one or more occluding objects are occluding the audio element, m is a function of a value, P, and P is the percentage of the extent of the audio element that is covered by the one or more occluding objects. However, in the same field of endeavor, Thall et al disclose a method wherein one or more occluding objects are occluding the audio element, m is a function of a value, P, and P is the percentage of the extent of the audio element that is covered by the one or more occluding objects (Thall et al; Fig 2; P the percentage of the extent of the audio element 210 that is covered by the one or more occluding objects 215; m represents the extent of the occlusion object 215). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the transition region taught by Thall as transition distance determination in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to render a more realistic audio environment (Thall et al; Para [0017]).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Munoz et al (US 2020/0107147 A1) in view of Clement et al (US 2017/0262046 A1) and further in view of Munoz (US 2022/0103962 A1) and further in view of Thall et al (US 2020/0296533 A1) and further in view of Gustaffson et al (US 2008/0240448 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Munoz et al in view of Clement et al and further in view of Munoz’962 and further in view of Thall et al disclose the method of claim 4, but do not expressly disclose wherein m is equal to: 1 - Ao, wherein Ao is a value specifying an amount of the extent of the audio element that is occluded. However, in the same field of endeavor, Gustafsson et al disclose a method wherein m is equal to: 1 - Ao, wherein Ao is a value specifying an amount of the extent of the audio element that is occluded (Gustaffson et al; Para [0058]; openLevel specifying an amount of the extent of the audio element that is occluded). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the transition region taught by Thall as transition distance determination in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to improve the user experience.
Claim(s) 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Munoz et al (US 2020/0107147 A1) in view of Clement et al (US 2017/0262046 A1) and further in view of Munoz (US 2022/0103962 A1) and further in view of Thall et al (US 2020/0296533 A1) and further in view of Jang et al (US 2010/0040238 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Munoz et al in view of Clement et al and further in view of Munoz’962 disclose the method of claim 1, but do not expressly further comprising: determining whether a listener is within the TR; and as result of determining that the listener is within the TR, producing a first combined audio signal, Sc1, wherein Sc1 = (w1*Si1) + (w2*Se1), w1 is a first weight value, w2 is a second weight value, Si1 is a first audio signal associated with the interior representation of the audio element, and Se1 is a first audio signal associated with the exterior representation of the audio element. However, in the same field of endeavor, Jang et al disclose a method comprising producing a first combined audio signal, Sc1, wherein Sc1 = (w1*Si1) + (w2*Se1), w1 is a first weight value, w2 is a second weight value (Jang et al; Fig 3; Para [0069]-[0070]; processing of focused sound interpreted as first weight and processing of non-focused sound as second weight), Si1 is a first audio signal associated with the interior representation of the audio element, and Sel is a first audio signal associated with the exterior representation of the audio element (Jang et al; Fig 3; focused sound interpreted as interior sound and non-focused interpreted as exterior). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the sound rendering taught by Jang as sound rendering in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to provide an improved sense of realism (Jang et al; Para [0009]). Moreover, in the same field of endeavor, Clement et al disclose a method further comprising: determining whether a listener is within the TR; and as result of determining that the listener is within the TR (Clement et al; Para [0057]-[0059]; [0061]). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the transition region taught by Clement as transition distance determination in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to enhance the user's sense of presence in the virtual world (Clement et al; Para [0003]).
Regarding claim 9, Munoz et al in view of Clement et al and further in view of Munoz’962 disclose the method of claim 8 when dependent on claim 2, but do not expressly disclose wherein the method further comprises: determining whether a listener is within the TR; and as result of determining that the listener is within the TR, producing a first combined audio signal (Sc1), where Sc1 = (w1 * Si1) + (w2 * Se1), w1 is a first weight value, w2 is a second weight value, Si1 is a first audio signal associated with the interior representation of the audio element, and Se1 is a first audio signal associated with the exterior representation of the audio element, and determining whether the listener is within the TR comprises: determining a distance, d, between the listener and the audio element; and determining whether d is less than the TD. However, in the same field of endeavor, Jang et al disclose a method comprising producing a first combined audio signal, Sc1, wherein Sc1 = (w1*Si1) + (w2*Se1), w1 is a first weight value, w2 is a second weight value (Jang et al; Fig 3; Para [0069]-[0070]; processing of focused sound interpreted as first weight and processing of non-focused sound as second weight), Si1 is a first audio signal associated with the interior representation of the audio element, and Sel is a first audio signal associated with the exterior representation of the audio element (Jang et al; Fig 3; focused sound interpreted as interior sound and non-focused interpreted as exterior). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the sound rendering taught by Jang as sound rendering in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to provide an improved sense of realism (Jang et al; Para [0009]). Moreover, in the same field of endeavor, Clement et al disclose a method further comprises: determining whether a listener is within the TR; and as result of determining that the listener is within the TR (Clement et al; Para [0057]-[0059]; [0061]) and determining whether the listener is within the TR comprises: determining a distance, d, between the listener and the audio element; and determining whether d is less than the TD (Clement et al; Para [0057]-[0059]; [0061]). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the transition region taught by Clement as transition distance determination in the method taught by Munoz. The motivation to do so would have been to enhance the user's sense of presence in the virtual world (Clement et al; Para [0003]).
Claim(s) 13-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gustaffson et al (US 2008/0240448 A1) in view of Leppanen et al (US 2022/0312142 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Gustafsson et al disclose the method of claim 12, wherein w is based further on an initial weight, wi. However, in the same field of endeavor, Leppanen et al disclose a method wherein determining W comprises comparing wi with Ao (Leppanen et al; Para [0083]-[0084]; weight or sound source level at initial position interpreted as initial weight). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the transition region taught by Leppanen as transition distance determination in the method taught by Gustafsson. The motivation to do so would have been for processing audio data to account for occlusion of real life audio sources by an extended reality object (Leppanen et al; Para [0001]).
Regarding claim 14, Gustafsson et al in view of Leppanen et al disclose the method of claim 13, but do not expressly disclose wherein determining W comprises comparing wi with Ao. However, in the same field of endeavor, Leppanen et al disclose a method wherein determining W comprises comparing wi with Ao (Leppanen et al; Para [0083]-[0084]; increase or decrease sound source level based on the distance away or towards the occlusion region). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the transition region taught by Leppanen as transition distance determination in the method taught by Gustafsson. The motivation to do so would have been for processing audio data to account for occlusion of real life audio sources by an extended reality object (Leppanen et al; Para [0001]).
Regarding claim 15, Gustafsson et al in view of Leppanen et al disclose the method of claim 14, wherein determining W further comprises: setting W equal to 0 in response to determining that wi is less than Ao; setting w equal to ((wi - Ao)/(m)) in response to determining that wi is greater than Ao and less than 1; or setting W equal to 1 in response to determining that wi = 1 (Gustafsson et al; Para [0053]-[0055]; setting openLevel to 1).
Regarding claim 16, Gustafsson et al in view of Leppanen et al disclose the method of claim 13, wherein w = Ao*wi (Gustafsson et al; Para [0053]).
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gustaffson et al (US 2008/0240448 A1) in view of Thall et al (US 2020/0296533 A1).
Regarding claim 17, Gustafsson et al disclose the method of claim 11, but do not expressly disclose wherein one or more occluding objects are occluding the audio element, m is a function of a value, P, and P is the percentage of the extent of the audio element that is covered by the one or more occluding objects. However, in the same field of endeavor, Thall et al disclose a method wherein one or more occluding objects are occluding the audio element, m is a function of a value, P, and P is the percentage of the extent of the audio element that is covered by the one or more occluding objects (Thall et al; Fig 2; P the percentage of the extent of the audio element 210 that is covered by the one or more occluding objects 215; m represents the extent of the occlusion object 215). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the transition region taught by Thall as transition distance determination in the method taught by Gustafsson. The motivation to do so would have been to render a more realistic audio environment (Thall et al; Para [0017]).
Conclusion
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/KUASSI A GANMAVO/Examiner, Art Unit 2692
/CAROLYN R EDWARDS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2692
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