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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Applicant is advised that the new art unit number is 2692. Please use the new art unit number for all future communications.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 4/3/2025, 4/3/2025, 6/12/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification - Title
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 7-10, 11, 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang et al. (US 2016/0249134)
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses an apparatus for audio focusing, the apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to (¶ 0013):
receive a multi-channel audio signal that represents sounds in sound directions that correspond to respective positions in an image area of an image (¶ 0017);
receive an indication of an audio focus direction that corresponds to a first position in the image area (¶ 0032; Fig. 4: selection of a first face);
select a primary sound direction from a plurality of different directions (Fig. 4: each boxed face represents a sound direction), wherein said plurality of different directions comprise said audio focus direction and one or more offset directions, wherein the one or more offset directions correspond to one or more offsets from said first position in the image area (other boxed faces are inherently offset from the selected first face/position, as seen in Fig. 4) (¶ 0032, 0028: “audio focus direction” corresponds to an initial beam forming target selected by user, and “primary sound direction” corresponds to a new beam forming target selected by user); and
derive, based on said multi-channel audio signal in dependence of the selected primary sound direction, an output audio signal where sounds in sound directions defined via the selected primary sound direction are emphasized (¶ 0032, 0028).
Regarding claim 7, Wang discloses an apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a respective offset of the one or more offsets corresponds to an offset direction in an image plane of the image (see Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 8, Wang discloses an apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the respective offset of the one or more offsets comprises a pair of the offset direction and an extent of the respective offset in the image plane (see Fig. 4: the boxed faces are both a direction and a distance apart from each other).
Regarding claim 9, Wang discloses an apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus caused to select the primary sound direction comprises the apparatus caused to select the primary sound direction such that the audio focus direction for which an indication is received is included in an audio focus region around the primary sound direction (¶ 0032: “single beam directed to two targets with wide beam opening angle” where wide beam is the “audio focus region” around the two targets, the two targets being the audio focus direction and the primary sound direction).
Regarding claim 10, Wang discloses an apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus caused to derive the output audio signal comprises the apparatus caused to derive the output audio signal such that sounds in sound directions defined via the selected primary sound direction are emphasized in relation to sounds in sound directions other than the selected primary sound direction (¶ 0032: “amplify the voices of those speakers above other speakers and other background noise”).
Claims 11, 17-20 recite similar limitations as claims 1, 7-10, respectively, and are rejected for the same reasons set forth above in the rejections of claims 1, 7-10, respectively.
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.
Claim(s) 2-4, 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Tashev (US 2004/0252845).
Regarding claim 2, Wang discloses an apparatus according to claim 1.
Wang is not relied upon to disclose wherein the apparatus caused to select the primary sound direction comprises the apparatus caused to:
estimate, based on said multi-channel audio signal, for each of said plurality of different directions, an energy of a respective beamformed audio signal obtainable via application of a predefined beamformer; and
select one of the sound directions as the primary sound direction based on respective energies of the beamformed audio signals.
In a similar field of endeavor, Tashev discloses a method of determining beam forming targets (Fig. 3) wherein the apparatus caused to select the primary sound direction comprises the apparatus caused to:
estimate, based on said multi-channel audio signal, for each of said plurality of different directions, an energy of a respective beamformed audio signal obtainable via application of a predefined beamformer (Fig. 2: 204) (¶ 0043); and
select one of the sound directions as the primary sound direction based on respective energies of the beamformed audio signals (Fig. 2: 206-208) (¶ 0044-0045).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to try determining the beam forming targets of Wang using either a method of Wang or the method of Fig. 2 of Tashev,
and note that the latter would result in: wherein the apparatus caused to select the primary sound direction comprises the apparatus caused to:
estimate, based on said multi-channel audio signal, for each of said plurality of different directions, an energy of a respective beamformed audio signal obtainable via application of a predefined beamformer; and
select one of the sound directions as the primary sound direction based on respective energies of the beamformed audio signals,
the motivation being to choose from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success to address the issue of how to determine beam forming targets. See MPEP § 2143(E).
Regarding claim 3, Wang-Tashev discloses an apparatus according to claim 2, and Tashev discloses wherein the apparatus caused to derive the output audio signal comprises the apparatus caused to apply said predefined beamformer to extract, from said multi-channel audio signal, a beamformed audio signal that represents sound in the selected primary sound direction (Fig. 2: 208 and ¶ 0045).
The teachings of Tashev relied upon above are combinable with Wang-Tashev for the same reasons set forth above in the claim 2 rejection
Regarding claim 4, Wang-Tashev discloses an apparatus according to claim 2, and Tashev discloses wherein the apparatus caused to select one of the sound directions comprises the apparatus caused to select at least one of:
the sound direction that results in the beamformed audio signal having the smallest energy;
for frequency sub-bands below a predefined frequency threshold, the sound direction that results in the beamformed audio signal having the smallest energy; or
for frequency sub-bands above the predefined frequency threshold, the sound direction that results in the beamformed audio signal having the highest energy (¶ 0064).
The teachings of Tashev relied upon above are combinable with Wang-Tashev for the same reasons set forth above in the claim 2 rejection
Claims 12-14 recite similar limitations as claims 2-4, respectively, and are rejected for the same reasons set forth above in the rejections of claims 2-4, respectively.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6, 15-16 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
In regard to claim 5, the prior art of record alone or in combination fails to teach or suggest the following limitations of the claim in combination with the rest of the limitations of the claim:
“wherein the apparatus caused to select the primary sound direction comprises the apparatus caused to:
estimate, based on said multi-channel audio signal, for a plurality of analysis directions, an energy of a respective preliminary beamformed audio signal obtainable via application of a predefined dynamic beamformer;
identify those analysis directions that result in a preliminary beamformed audio signal having an energy that exceeds an energy threshold; and
select the primary sound direction from said plurality of different directions for determination of the output audio signal via application of a predefined static beamformer, where each direction results in a respective audio focus region, said selecting comprising:
identifying the sound direction that results in the audio focus region that encompasses a smallest contribution in said identified analysis directions, and
selecting the identified sound direction as the primary sound direction.”
In regard to claim 15, the prior art of record alone or in combination fails to teach or suggest the following limitations of the claim in combination with the rest of the limitations of the claim:
“wherein selecting the primary sound direction comprises:
estimating, based on said multi-channel audio signal, for a plurality of analysis directions, an energy of a respective preliminary beamformed audio signal obtainable via application of a predefined dynamic beamformer;
identifying those analysis directions that result in a preliminary beamformed audio signal having an energy that exceeds an energy threshold; and
selecting the primary sound direction from said plurality of different directions for determination of the output audio signal via application of a predefined static beamformer, where each direction results in a respective audio focus region, said selecting comprising:
identifying the sound direction that results in the audio focus region that encompasses a smallest contribution in said identified analysis directions, and
selecting the identified sound direction as the primary sound direction.”
Claim 6, 16 is/are dependent upon base claims having allowable subject matter.
Conclusion
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/MARK FISCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2692
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