DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to the Applicant’s amendment filed on April 11, 2025. As set forth in the Applicant’s response, claims 1, 14 and 15 are amended and claims 2-13 are canceled.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Reissue Applications
For reissue applications filed before September 16, 2012, all references to 35 U.S.C. 251 and 37 CFR 1.172, 1.175, and 3.73 are to the law and rules in effect on September 15, 2012. Where specifically designated, these are “pre-AIA ” provisions.
For reissue applications filed on or after September 16, 2012, all references to 35 U.S.C. 251 and 37 CFR 1.172, 1.175, and 3.73 are to the current provisions.
Applicant is reminded of the continuing obligation under 37 CFR 1.178(b), to timely apprise the Office of any prior or concurrent proceeding in which Patent No. 8,867,753 is or was involved. These proceedings would include any trial before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, interferences, reissues, reexaminations, supplemental examinations, and litigation.
Applicant is further reminded of the continuing obligation under 37 CFR 1.56, to timely apprise the Office of any information which is material to patentability of the claims under consideration in this reissue application.
These obligations rest with each individual associated with the filing and prosecution of this application for reissue. See also MPEP §§ 1404, 1442.01 and 1442.04.
In accordance with MPEP 1405, 35 U.S.C. 251 prescribes the effect of reissue on the patent term by stating that "the Director shall… reissue the patent… for the unexpired term of the original patent." The Examiner notes that the maximum term of the original patent is fixed at the time the patent is granted, subject to any adjustments to the number of days of extension or adjustment. See MPEP § 2720 and § 2734. While the term may be subsequently shortened, it cannot be extended through the filing of a reissue.
The Examiner notes that in accordance with 37 CFR 1.177, “i[f] any one of the several reissue applications by itself fails to correct an error in the original patent as required by 35 U.S.C. 251 but is otherwise in condition for allowance, the Office may suspend action in the allowable application until all issues are resolved as to at least one of the remaining reissue applications. The Office may also merge two or more of the multiple reissue applications into a single reissue application.” See also 37 CFR 1.78(f).
Response to Amendment
In accordance with 37 CFR 1.177(b), if applicant files more than one application for the reissue of a single patent, each claim of the patent being reissued must be presented in each of the reissue applications as an amended, unamended, or canceled (shown in brackets) claim, with each such claim bearing the same number as in the patent being reissued. The same claim of the patent being reissued may not be presented in its original unamended form for examination in more than one of such multiple reissue applications. The numbering of any added claims in any of the multiple reissue applications must follow the number of the highest numbered original patent claim.
Thus, pursuant to 37 CFR 1.177(b), once a claim in the patent has been reissued, it does not exist in the original patent; thus, it cannot be reissued from the original patent in another reissue application. The Examiner notes that ten total reissue applications of the ‘753 patent were filed. Each reissue application recites original claims 1, 14 and 15 in amended form. In accordance with 37 CFR 1.177(b), the same claim of the patent may not be presented in more than one application for reissue.
Therefore, in all but one of the 10 co-pending reissues of the underlying patent, all claims should be numbered beginning with the number next higher than the number of claims in the original patent. In this patent family, other than one of the 10 co-pending reissues of the underlying patent, the next higher number should begin with 16.
Reissue Declaration
The reissue oath/declaration filed with this application is defective because it fails to identify at least one error which is relied upon to support the reissue application. See 37 CFR 1.175 and MPEP § 1414.
The reissue oath/declaration filed with this application is defective (see 37 CFR 1.175 and MPEP § 1414) because of the following:
The Examiner finds that the reissue application is not correcting an error in the original patent, because once a claim in the patent has been reissued, it does not exist in the original patent; thus, it cannot be reissued from the original patent in another reissue application. In this case, original claim 1 would be superseded by the reissuance of claim 1 in the other reissue application. The Examiner notes that the Applicant has filed nine copending reissue applications with the same pending independent claim numbers of the original patent. Therefore, if one of these applications ultimately proceeds to being reissued, then original claim 1 of the ‘753 patent would be superseded by the reissuance of claim 1 in another reissue application. The instant reissue application is not correcting an error in the original patent.
In addition, the Examiner notes that the stated error states “In error, claim 1 does not recite “wherein the upmixer is configured to apply the temporarily variable upmixing parameters to combine one or more downmix audio signals with one or more de-correlated versions of the one or more downmix audio signals.” The Examiner finds that US Patent 8,867,753 already recited the entirety of amended claim 1 in the form of dependent claim 10. Dependent claim 10 of the ‘753 patent is identical to claim 1 of the reissue claim. Therefore, there is no error that is being corrected.
Claims 1, 14 and 15 are rejected as being based upon a defective reissue declaration under 35 U.S.C. 251 as set forth above. See 37 CFR 1.175.
The nature of the defect(s) in the declaration is set forth in the discussion above in this Office action.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “upmixer” and “parameter interpolator” in claim 1.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
The Examiner notes that 112 sixth paragraph will apply if it meets the following 3-prong analysis:
the claim limitation uses the term "means" or "step" or a term used as a substitute for "means" that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
the term "means" or "step" or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word "for" (e.g., "means for") or another linking word or phrase, such as "configured to" or "so that"; and
(C) the term "means" or "step" or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
As to “upmixer”, the Examiner finds that the term “upmixer” is a generic placeholder since the term lacks sufficient structure for performing the recited function. The Examiner notes that the standard is whether the words of the claim are understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art to have a sufficiently definite meaning as the name for structure." Williamson v. Citrix Online, LLC, 792 F.3d 1339, 1349, 115 USPQ2d 1105, 1111 (Fed. Cir. 2015). The Examiner finds that a reading of the specification does not clearly set forth that ‘upmixer’ has a sufficiently definite meaning for the structure that performs the function.
The Examiner also determines that “upmixer “is followed by a linking word “configured to” and is modified by the functional language of “to apply temporally variable upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signal in order to acquire the upmixed audio signal” and “to apply the temporarily variable upmixing parameters to combine one or more downmix audio signals with one or more de-correlated versions for the one or more downmix audio signals”. Lastly, the Examiner finds that “upmixer” is not modified by sufficient structure for achieving the specified function.
Therefore, “upmixer” is interpreted under 112, sixth paragraph.
As to “parameter interpolator”, the Examiner finds that the term “parameter interpolator” is a generic placeholder since the term lacks sufficient structure for performing the recited function. The Examiner notes that the standard is whether the words of the claim are understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art to have a sufficiently definite meaning as the name for structure." Williamson v. Citrix Online, LLC, 792 F.3d 1339, 1349, 115 USPQ2d 1105, 1111 (Fed. Cir. 2015). The Examiner finds that a reading of the specification does not clearly set forth that ‘parameter interpolator’ has a sufficiently definite meaning for the structure that performs the function.
In addition, “parameter interpolator” is followed by a linking word “configured to’ and is modified by the functional language of “to acquire one or more temporally interpolated upmix parameters to be used by the upmixer on the basis of an information describing a first complex-valued upmix parameter and a subsequent second complex-valued upmix parameter” and “to separately interpolate (a) between a magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, and(b) between a phase value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a phase value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, to acquire the one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters”.
In addition, the Examiner finds that “parameter interpolator” is not modified by sufficient structure for achieving the specified function.
Therefore, “parameter interpolator” is interpreted under 112, sixth paragraph.
Corresponding Structure
Upmixer
As to the recited function “to apply temporally variable upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signal in order to acquire the upmixed audio signal”, a review of the ‘753 patent specification shows that in col. 6, lines 30-33 “[t]he apparatus 100 comprises an upmixer 130 configured to apply temporally variable upmixing parameters to upmix the downmix audio signal 110 in order to obtain the upmixed audio signal 120.” The Examiner finds that this citation does not provide any corresponding structure for the “upmixer” to perform this function.
As to the recited function “to apply the temporarily variable upmixing parameters to combine one or more downmix audio signals with one or more de-correlated versions for the one or more downmix audio signals”, a review of the ‘753 patent specification shows that in col. 6, line 65 – col. 7, line 7, “[t]he upmixer 130 is configured to linearly combine multiple channels of the downmix audio signal 110 in dependence on the temporally interpolated upmix parameters 150, or to linearly combine a channel of the downmix audio signal 110 with an auxiliary signal (e.g. de-correlated signal) (wherein the auxiliary signal may be derived from the same audio channel of the downmix audio signal 110, from one or more other audio channels of the downmix audio signal 110 or from a combination of audio channels of the downmix audio signal 110).” In addition, Figure 1 shows an apparatus which comprises “upmixer” 130.
The Examiner finds that the figure and above citations do not provide any description for corresponding structure for the upmixer to perform this function.
The Examiner acknowledges that in col. 4, lines 63-col. line 11, the ‘753 patent states with respect to the function of “perform a matrix-vector multiplication using a matrix comprising the interpolated upmix parameters and a vector comprising one or more subband parameters of the upmixer audio input signals, to obtain as a result a vector comprising complex-valued subband samples of the upmixed audio signals” that “matrix-vector-multiplication can be efficiently implemented in a signal processor (or in other appropriate hardware or software units)”. However, this function is a different function that that recited in the claims. There is no teaching which correlates the signal processor as being configured to perform the currently claimed function.
The Examiner further acknowledges that in col. 15, lines 45-col. 16, line 29 various implementations of the disclosed embodiments are disclosed. This includes implementing the invention in software, hardware, digital store mediums, data carriers, and computer program products. In addition, further discussion regarding programmable logic devices, field programmable gate arrays, microprocessors are also described for performing the various methods of the invention.
The Examiner notes, however, that this section of the ‘753 patent does not specifically describe which corresponding structure is used to perform the claimed function related to the claimed ‘upmixer’.
Parameter Interpolator
As to the recited function “to acquire one or more temporally interpolated upmix parameters to be used by the upmixer on the basis of an information describing a first complex-valued upmix parameter and a subsequent second complex-valued upmix parameter” and “to separately interpolate (a) between a magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, and(b) between a phase value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a phase value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, to acquire the one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters”.
With reference to Figure 1, the ‘753 patent discloses a parameter interpolator with a magnitude value interpolation 160 and a phase value interpolation 162.
As set forth in col. 6, lines 37-51, the ‘753 patent states, “[t]he parameter interpolator 140 is configured to obtain one or more temporally interpolated upmix parameters 150 to be used by the upmixer 130 on the basis of the first (or initial) complex-valued upmix parameter 142 and the second, subsequent complex-valued upmix parameter 144. The parameter interpolator 140 is configured to separately interpolate between a magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter 142 and a magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter 144 (which magnitude value interpolation is represented at reference numeral 160), and between a phase value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter 142 and a phase value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter 144 (which phase value interpolation is represented at reference numeral 162).”
The Examiner finds that the ‘753 patent does not specifically disclose the corresponding structure for the performing the function of the “parameter interpolator”.
The Examiner further acknowledges that in col. 15, lines 45-col. 16, line 29 various implementations of the disclosed embodiments are disclosed. This includes implementing the invention in software, hardware, digital store mediums, data carriers, and computer program products. In addition, further discussion regarding programmable logic devices, field programmable gate arrays, microprocessors are also described for performing the various methods of the invention.
The Examiner notes, however, that this section of the ‘753 patent does not specifically describe which corresponding structure is used to perform the claimed function related to the claimed ‘parameter interpolator’.
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.
Claim 1 is 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.
As set forth above in the claim interpretation section, the Examiner finds that the disclosure does not disclose the corresponding structure for the claimed ‘upmixer’ or ‘parameter interpolator’.
To satisfy the definiteness requirement under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph, the written description must clearly link or associate the corresponding structure, material, or acts to the claimed function. Telcordia Techs., Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc., 612 F.3d 1365, 1376, 95 USPQ2d 1673, 1682 (Fed. Cir. 2010). It is noted that a bare statement that known techniques or methods can be used would not be a sufficient disclosure to support a means-plus-function limitation. Biomedino, LLC v. Waters Techs. Corp., 490 F.3d 946, 953, 83 USPQ2d 1118, 1123 (Fed. Cir. 2007).
Double Patenting1
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1, 14, and 15 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1,14 and 15 of copending Application No. 19/028,602 in view of Kjorling US Patent Pub. 2006/0239473.
Application
19/029,491
19/028,602
Claim 1
An apparatus for upmixing a downmix audio signal describing one or more downmix audio channels into an upmixed audio signal describing a plurality of upmixed audio channels, the apparatus comprising: an upmixer configured to apply temporally variable upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signal in order to acquire the upmixed audio signal; and a parameter interpolator, wherein the parameter interpolator is configured to acquire one or more temporally interpolated upmix parameters to be used by the upmixer on the basis of an information describing a first complex-valued upmix parameter and a subsequent second complex-valued upmix parameter, wherein the parameter interpolator is configured to separately interpolate (a) between a magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, and (b) between a phase value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a phase value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, to acquire the one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters; and
wherein the method comprises applying the temporarily variable upmixing parameters to combine one or more downmix audio signals with one or more de-correlated versions of the one or more downmix audio signals.
An apparatus for upmixing a downmix audio signal describing one or more downmix audio channels into an upmixed audio signal describing a plurality of upmixed audio channels, the apparatus comprising: an upmixer configured to apply temporally variable upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signal in order to acquire the upmixed audio signal; and a parameter interpolator, wherein the parameter interpolator is configured to acquire one or more temporally interpolated upmix parameters to be used by the upmixer on the basis of an information describing a first complex-valued upmix parameter and a subsequent second complex-valued upmix parameter, wherein the parameter interpolator is configured to separately interpolate (a) between a magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, and (b) between a phase value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a phase value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, to acquire the one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters; and
wherein the parameter interpolator is configured to monotonically time-interpolate between the magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and the magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter to acquire magnitude values of the one or more temporally interpolated upmix parameters.
Application
19/029,491
19/028,602
Claim 14
A method for upmixing a downmix audio signal describing one or more downmix audio channels into an upmixed audio signal describing a plurality of upmixed audio channels, the method comprising: acquiring one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters on the basis of a first complex-valued upmix parameter and a subsequent second complex-valued upmix parameter, wherein the interpolation is performed separately (a) between a magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, and (b) between a phase value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a phase value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter; and applying the interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signal, in order to acquire the upmixed audio signal; and
wherein the method comprises applying the temporarily variable upmixing parameters to combine one or more downmix audio signals with one or more de-correlated versions of the one or more downmix audio signals.
A method for upmixing a downmix audio signal describing one or more downmix audio channels into an upmixed audio signal describing a plurality of upmixed audio channels, the method comprising: acquiring one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters on the basis of a first complex-valued upmix parameter and a subsequent second complex-valued upmix parameter, wherein the interpolation is performed separately (a) between a magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, and (b) between a phase value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a phase value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter; and applying the interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signal, in order to acquire the upmixed audio signal; and
wherein the method comprises monotonically time-interpolate between the magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and the magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter to acquire magnitude values of the one or more temporally interpolated upmix parameters.
Application
19/029,491
19/028,602
Claim 15
A non-transitory computer readable medium including a computer program for performing a method, when the computer program runs on a computer, for upmixing a downmix audio signal describing one or more downmix audio channels into an upmixed audio signal describing a plurality of upmixed audio channels, the method comprising: acquiring one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters on the basis of a first complex-valued upmix parameter and a subsequent second complex-valued upmix parameter, wherein the interpolation is performed separately (a) between a magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, and (b) between a phase value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a phase value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter; and applying the interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signal, in order to acquire the upmixed audio signal; and
wherein the method comprises applying the temporarily variable upmixing parameters to combine one or more downmix audio signals with one or more de-correlated versions of the one or more downmix audio signals.
A non-transitory computer readable medium including a computer program for performing a method, when the computer program runs on a computer, for upmixing a downmix audio signal describing one or more downmix audio channels into an upmixed audio signal describing a plurality of upmixed audio channels, the method comprising: acquiring one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters on the basis of a first complex-valued upmix parameter and a subsequent second complex-valued upmix parameter, wherein the interpolation is performed separately (a) between a magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, and (b) between a phase value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a phase value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter; and applying the interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signal, in order to acquire the upmixed audio signal; and
wherein the method comprises monotonically time-interpolate between the magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and the magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter to acquire magnitude values of the one or more temporally interpolated upmix parameters.
The Examiner first notes that claims of the instant application incorporate the limitations of original dependent claim 10 of US Patent 8,867,753. In addition, claims 1,14 and 15 of US Patent Application 19/028,602 incorporate part of the limitation of original dependent claim 2.
Thus, both sets of claims in these two copending applications are part of the same claim set as set forth in the underlying patent. The Examiner maintains that incorporating dependent claims into independent form for the same base claim set is not considered a patentable distinction since they are part of the same claimed embodiment. Nonetheless, the Examiner finds that in the instant application, the claims of the instant application are broader than the claims of US Patent Application No. 19/028,602 since it does not require, “wherein the parameter interpolator is configured to monotonically time-interpolate between the magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and the magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter to acquire magnitude values of the one or more temporally interpolated upmix parameters”. It is maintained that broader claims are not patentably distinct.
In addition, the Examiner acknowledges that the claims of the instant application are also narrower that the copending application since it recites, “wherein the method comprises applying the temporarily variable upmixing parameters to combine one or more downmix audio signals with one or more de-correlated versions of the one or more downmix audio signals”. However, the Examiner determines that this is not a patentable distinction and that it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to implement such a function by an upmixer.
The Examiner finds that the copending application recites an upmixer configured to apply temporally variable upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signals. In addition, Kjorling US discloses that a downmixed signal is fed into a decorrelation unit as sell as an upmix module. Kjorling discloses that he decorrelation unit creates a decorrelated version of the input signal. See paragraph [0065]. As explained in paragraph [0067], the upmix module generates a linear combination of the downmix signal and the decorrelated version. See also paragraphs [0036-0037].
Kjorling explains that this upmixing is a standard strategy during reconstruction of multi-channel signals for deriving individual channels that have acoustic properties of the corresponding original channel of the multi-channel signal. As explained in paragraph [0149], this would lead to an improved perceptual quality of the reconstructed 5.1 channel signal.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to combine the downmix audio signal with a decorrelation version of the downmix audio signal in order to have an improved perceptual quality of the reconstructed signal.
In view of the above, the current claims are not patentably distinct from the claims of US Patent Application 19/028,602. The Examiner finds that claims 1, 14 and 15 of the instant application corresponds to claims 1, 14 and 15 of the copending application respectively.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection.
Claims 1, 14, and 15 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1,14 and 15 of copending Application No. 19/028,620 in view of Kjorling US Patent Pub. 2006/0239473.
Application
19/029,491
19/028,620
Claim 1
An apparatus for upmixing a downmix audio signal describing one or more downmix audio channels into an upmixed audio signal describing a plurality of upmixed audio channels, the apparatus comprising: an upmixer configured to apply temporally variable upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signal in order to acquire the upmixed audio signal; and a parameter interpolator, wherein the parameter interpolator is configured to acquire one or more temporally interpolated upmix parameters to be used by the upmixer on the basis of an information describing a first complex-valued upmix parameter and a subsequent second complex-valued upmix parameter, wherein the parameter interpolator is configured to separately interpolate (a) between a magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, and (b) between a phase value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a phase value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, to acquire the one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters; and
wherein the method comprises applying the temporarily variable upmixing parameters to combine one or more downmix audio signals with one or more de-correlated versions of the one or more downmix audio signals.
An apparatus for upmixing a downmix audio signal describing one or more downmix audio channels into an upmixed audio signal describing a plurality of upmixed audio channels, the apparatus comprising: an upmixer configured to apply temporally variable upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signal in order to acquire the upmixed audio signal; and a parameter interpolator, wherein the parameter interpolator is configured to acquire one or more temporally interpolated upmix parameters to be used by the upmixer on the basis of an information describing a first complex-valued upmix parameter and a subsequent second complex-valued upmix parameter, wherein the parameter interpolator is configured to separately interpolate (a) between a magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, and (b) between a phase value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a phase value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, to acquire the one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters; and
wherein the parameter interpolator is configured to linearly interpolate between the magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and the magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, to acquire interpolated magnitude values of the one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters.
Application
19/029,491
19/028,620
Claim 14
A method for upmixing a downmix audio signal describing one or more downmix audio channels into an upmixed audio signal describing a plurality of upmixed audio channels, the method comprising: acquiring one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters on the basis of a first complex-valued upmix parameter and a subsequent second complex-valued upmix parameter, wherein the interpolation is performed separately (a) between a magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, and (b) between a phase value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a phase value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter; and applying the interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signal, in order to acquire the upmixed audio signal; and
wherein the method comprises applying the temporarily variable upmixing parameters to combine one or more downmix audio signals with one or more de-correlated versions of the one or more downmix audio signals.
A method for upmixing a downmix audio signal describing one or more downmix audio channels into an upmixed audio signal describing a plurality of upmixed audio channels, the method comprising: acquiring one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters on the basis of a first complex-valued upmix parameter and a subsequent second complex-valued upmix parameter, wherein the interpolation is performed separately (a) between a magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, and (b) between a phase value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a phase value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter; and applying the interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signal, in order to acquire the upmixed audio signal; and
wherein the method comprises linearly interpolate between the magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and the magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, to acquire interpolated magnitude values of the one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters.
Application
19/029,491
19/028,620
Claim 15
A non-transitory computer readable medium including a computer program for performing a method, when the computer program runs on a computer, for upmixing a downmix audio signal describing one or more downmix audio channels into an upmixed audio signal describing a plurality of upmixed audio channels, the method comprising: acquiring one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters on the basis of a first complex-valued upmix parameter and a subsequent second complex-valued upmix parameter, wherein the interpolation is performed separately (a) between a magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, and (b) between a phase value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a phase value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter; and applying the interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signal, in order to acquire the upmixed audio signal; and
wherein the method comprises applying the temporarily variable upmixing parameters to combine one or more downmix audio signals with one or more de-correlated versions of the one or more downmix audio signals.
A non-transitory computer readable medium including a computer program for performing a method, when the computer program runs on a computer, for upmixing a downmix audio signal describing one or more downmix audio channels into an upmixed audio signal describing a plurality of upmixed audio channels, the method comprising: acquiring one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters on the basis of a first complex-valued upmix parameter and a subsequent second complex-valued upmix parameter, wherein the interpolation is performed separately (a) between a magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, and (b) between a phase value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a phase value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter; and applying the interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signal, in order to acquire the upmixed audio signal; and
wherein the method comprises linearly interpolate between the magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and the magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, to acquire interpolated magnitude values of the one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters.
The Examiner first notes that claims of the instant application incorporate the limitations of dependent claim 10 of US Patent 8,867,753. In addition, claims 1,14 and 15 of US Patent Application 19/028,620 incorporate the limitation of dependent claim 3.
Thus, both sets of claims in these two copending applications are part of the same claim set as set forth in the underlying patent. The Examiner maintains that incorporating dependent claims into independent form for the same base claim set is not considered a patentable distinction since they are part of the same claimed embodiment. Nonetheless, the Examiner finds that in the instant application, the claims of the instant application are broader than the claims of US Patent Application No. 19/028,620 since it does not require, “wherein the parameter interpolator is configured to linearly interpolate between the magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and the magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, to acquire interpolated magnitude values of the one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters”. It is maintained that broader claims are not patentably distinct.
In addition, the Examiner acknowledges that the claims of the instant application are also narrower that the copending application since it recites, “wherein the method comprises applying the temporarily variable upmixing parameters to combine one or more downmix audio signals with one or more de-correlated versions of the one or more downmix audio signals”. However, the Examiner determines that this is not a patentable distinction and that it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to implement such a function by an upmixer.
The Examiner finds that the copending application recites an upmixer configured to apply temporally variable upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signals. In addition, Kjorling US discloses that a downmixed signal is fed into a decorrelation unit as sell as an upmix module. Kjorling discloses that he decorrelation unit creates a decorrelated version of the input signal. See paragraph [0065]. As explained in paragraph [0067], the upmix module generates a linear combination of the downmix signal and the decorrelated version. See also paragraphs [0036-0037].
Kjorling explains that this upmixing is a standard strategy during reconstruction of multi-channel signals for deriving individual channels that have acoustic properties of the corresponding original channel of the multi-channel signal. As explained in paragraph [0149], this would lead to an improved perceptual quality of the reconstructed 5.1 channel signal.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to combine the downmix audio signal with a decorrelation version of the downmix audio signal in order to have an improved perceptual quality of the reconstructed signal.
In view of the above, the current claims are not patentably distinct from the claims of US Patent Application 19/028,620. The Examiner finds that claims 1, 14 and 15 of the instant application corresponds to claims 1, 14 and 15 of the copending application respectively.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection.
Claims 1,14, and 15 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1,14 and 15 of copending Application No. 19/028,644 in view of Kjorling US Patent Pub. 2006/0239473.
Application
19/029,491
19/028,644
Claim 1
An apparatus for upmixing a downmix audio signal describing one or more downmix audio channels into an upmixed audio signal describing a plurality of upmixed audio channels, the apparatus comprising: an upmixer configured to apply temporally variable upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signal in order to acquire the upmixed audio signal; and a parameter interpolator, wherein the parameter interpolator is configured to acquire one or more temporally interpolated upmix parameters to be used by the upmixer on the basis of an information describing a first complex-valued upmix parameter and a subsequent second complex-valued upmix parameter, wherein the parameter interpolator is configured to separately interpolate (a) between a magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, and (b) between a phase value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a phase value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, to acquire the one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters; and
wherein the method comprises applying the temporarily variable upmixing parameters to combine one or more downmix audio signals with one or more de-correlated versions of the one or more downmix audio signals.
An apparatus for upmixing a downmix audio signal describing one or more downmix audio channels into an upmixed audio signal describing a plurality of upmixed audio channels, the apparatus comprising: an upmixer configured to apply temporally variable upmix parameters to upmix the downmix audio signal in order to acquire the upmixed audio signal; and a parameter interpolator, wherein the parameter interpolator is configured to acquire one or more temporally interpolated upmix parameters to be used by the upmixer on the basis of an information describing a first complex-valued upmix parameter and a subsequent second complex-valued upmix parameter, wherein the parameter interpolator is configured to separately interpolate (a) between a magnitude value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a magnitude value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, and (b) between a phase value of the first complex-valued upmix parameter and a phase value of the second complex-valued upmix parameter, to acquire the one or more temporally interpolated complex-valued upmix parameters; a