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
Double Patenting
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 obviousness-type 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); and 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 a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the conflicting application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement.
Effective January 1, 1994, a registered attorney or agent of record may sign a terminal disclaimer. A terminal disclaimer signed by the assignee must fully comply with 37 CFR 3.73(b).
Claims 1, 12, and 20 with dependent claims thereof, are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 9, and 15 and any dependent claims thereof of U.S. Patent No. 12217748. Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because said claims of the instant application includes all of the features of said claims of U.S. Patent No. 12217748. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to omit the step of forgoing selection of another service in light of threshold operations for selection of a service, In re Karlson 136 USPQ 184 (1963): "Omission of an element and its function is an obvious expedient if the remaining elements perform the same functions as before"
Present invention U.S. Patent No. 12217748
1. A network device comprising:at least one processor;at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium; andprogram instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to:receive, at a first time via at least one microphone, a first voice input including an indication of a first voice command;select a particular voice service from a plurality of voice services for processing the first voice input;transmit at least the indication of the first voice command to the particular voice service;receive, at a second time after the first time via the at least one microphone, a second voice input including an indication of a second voice command different from the first voice command;determine that the second voice input was received less than a threshold period of time after the first voice input was received;based at least on (i) the selection of the particular voice service for processing the first voice input and (ii) the determination that the second voice input was received less than a threshold period of time after the first voice input was received, select a voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input; andtransmit at least the indication of the second voice command to the voice service selected for processing the second voice input.
2. The network device of claim 1, wherein:the first voice input further includes an indication of an activation word;the network device further comprises program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to determine that, out of the plurality of voice services, the particular voice service corresponds most closely to the activation word; andthe program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to select the particular voice service for processing the first voice input comprise program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to select the particular voice service for processing the first voice input based on the determination that,out of the plurality of voiceservice, the particularvoiceservicecorrespondsmostclosely to the activationword.
3. The network device of claim 2, wherein:the activation word is a first activation word;the second voice input further includes an indication of a second activation word; and the network device further comprises program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to:compare the second activationwordwithactivationword data corresponding to the plurality of voice services.
4. The network device of claim 3, wherein the program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprise program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on the comparison of the second activationword with the activationword data corresponding to the plurality of voice services.
5. The network device of claim 3, wherein:the comparison of the second activation word with the activation word data corresponding to the plurality of voice services fails to identify a corresponding voice service; and the program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services forprocessing the second voiceinput comprise programinstructionsthat,when executed by the at least one processor,cause thenetwork device to select the voiceservice fromamong the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on the comparison failing to identify a corresponding voice service.
6. The network device of claim 1, wherein the program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprise program instructionsthat, when executed by the at least one processor,cause thenetwork device to select the particular voiceservice fromamong the plurality of voiceservicesfor processing thesecond voiceinput.
7. The network device of claim 1, further comprising the at least one microphone.
8. The network device of claim 1, further comprising program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to:receive audio content from the particular voice service; andcause the received audio content to be output by at least one speaker.
9. The network device of claim 8, further comprising the at least one speaker.
10. The network device of claim 1, further comprising program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to determine a type of the second voice command; andwherein the program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor,cause the network device to select the voiceservice fromamong the plurality of voiceservicesfor processing thesecond voiceinput comprise programinstructionsthat, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on the determined type of the second voice command.
11. The network device of claim 10, further comprising program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by the at least one processor,cause the network device to determine a type of the firstvoicecommand; andwherein the program instructionsthat,when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to select the voice service fromamong the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprise program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on the determined type of the second voice command and the determined type of the first voice command comprising a same type of voice command.
12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein the non-transitory computer- readable medium is provisioned with program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause a network device to:receive, at a first time via at least one microphone, a first voice input including an indication of a first voice command;select a particular voice service from a plurality of voice services for processing the first voice input;transmit at least the indication of the first voicecommand to the particular voice service;receive, at a second time after the first time via the at least one microphone, a second voice input including an indication of a second voice command different from the first voice command;determine that the second voice input was received less than a threshold period of time after the first voice input was received;based at least on (i) the selection of the particular voice service for processing the first voice input and (ii) the determination that the second voice input was received less than a threshold period of time after the first voice input was received, select a voice service fromamong the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input; andtransmit at least the indication of the second voice command to the voice service selected for processing the second voice input.
13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein:the first voice input further includes an indication of an activation word;the non-transitory computer-readable medium is further provisioned with program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network device to determine that, out of the plurality of voice services, the particular voice service corresponds most closely to the activation word; andthe program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network device to select the particular voice service for processing the first voice input comprise program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network device to select the particular voice service for processing the first voice input based on the determination that, out of the plurality ofvoice service, the particular voice service corresponds most closely to the activation word.
14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein:the activation word is a first activation word;the second voice input further includes an indication of a second activation word; and the non-transitory computer-readable medium is further provisioned with program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network device to:compare the second activation word with activation word data corresponding to the plurality of voice services.
15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprise program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on the comparison of the second activation word with the activation word data corresponding to the plurality of voice services.
16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein:the comparison of the second activation word withthe activation word data corresponding to the plurality of voice services fails to identify a corresponding voice service; and the program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprise program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on the comparison failing to identify a corresponding voice service.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprise program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network device to select the particular voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium is further provisioned with program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network device to:receive audio content from the particular voice service; andcause the received audio content to be output by at least one speaker. l 9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the network device comprises the at least one speaker.
20. A method implemented by a network device, themethod comprising:receiving, at a first time via at least one microphone, a first voice input including an indication of a first voice command;selecting a particularvoiceservice from a plurality of voiceservicesfor processing the first voice input;transmitting at least the indication of the first voice command to the particular voice service;receiving, at a second time after the first time via the at least one microphone, a secondvoice input including an indication of a second voice command different from the first voice command;determining that the second voice input was received less than a threshold period of time after the first voice input was received;based at least on (i) the selection of the particular voice service for processing the first voice input and (ii) the determination that the second voice input was received less than a threshold period of time after the first voice input was received, selecting a voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input; andtransmitting at least the indication of the secondvoicecommand to the voiceservice selected for processing the second voice input.
1. (Currently Amended) A network microphone device comprising: at least one microphone; a network interface; at least one processor; at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium; and program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network microphone device is configured to:receive, at a first time via the at least one microphone, first voice data indicating a first voice input, wherein the first voice data includes a first portion representing an activation word corresponding to one of a plurality of voice services and a second portion representing a first voice command, wherein the plurality of voice services are externally registered to a media playback system associated with the networked microphone device;identify, from among the plurality of voice services, a particular voice service to process the first voice input, wherein the identifying comprises determining a closest match of the first portion of the first voice data representing the activation word with corresponding activation word data stored in a recognition dataset on the network microphone device;based on the determined closest match, select the particular voice service and forgo selection of another voice service for processing the first voice input;transmit, via the network interface, at least the second portion of the first voice data representing the first voice command to the particular voice service;receive, at a second time after the first time via the at least one microphone, second voice data indicating a second voice input, wherein at least a portion of the second voice data represents a second voice command different from the first voice command;determine that the second voice data was received less than a threshold period of time after the first voice data was received;based at least on (i) the previous selection of the particular voice service for processing the first voice input and (ii) the determination that the second voice data was received less than a threshold period of time after the first voice data was received, select a voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input; andtransmit, via the network interface, at least the portion of the second voice data representing the second voice command to the particular voice service selected for processing the second voice input.
2. (Original) The network microphone device of claim 1, wherein the portion of the second voice data that represents the second voice command is a second portion of the second voice data, and wherein a first portion of the second voice data represents another activation word corresponding to one of the plurality of voice services.
3. (Previously Presented) The network microphone device of claim 2, wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network microphone device is configured to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network microphone device is configured to: select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on a comparison of the first portion of the second voice data with the activation word data in the recognition dataset.
4. (Previously Presented) The network microphone device of claim 3, wherein the comparison of the first portion of the second voice data with the activation word data in the recognition dataset fails to identify a match between the first portion of the second voice data and the activation word data in the recognition dataset, and wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network microphone device is configured to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network microphone device is configured to: select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on the comparison failing to identify a match between the first portion of the second voice data and the activation word data in the recognition dataset.
5. (Currently Amended) The network microphone device of claim 1, further comprising program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network microphone device is configured to determine a type of the second voice command; and wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network microphone device is configured to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network microphone device is configured to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on the determined type of the second voice command.
6. (Previously Presented) The network microphone device of claim 5, further comprising program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network microphone device is configured to determine a type of the first voice command; and wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network microphone device is configured to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network microphone device is configured to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on the determined type of the second voice command and the determined type of the first voice command comprising a same type of voice command.
7. (Canceled)
8. (Canceled)
9. (Currently Amended) A non-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium is provisioned with program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause a network microphone device to: receive, at a first time via at least one microphone of the network microphone device, first voice data indicating a first voice input, wherein the first voice data includes a first portion representing an activation word corresponding to one of a plurality of voice services and a second portion representing a first voice command, wherein the plurality of voice services are externally registered to a media playback system associated with the networked microphone device; identify, from among the plurality of voice services, a particular voice service to process the first voice input, wherein the identifying comprises determining a closest match of the first portion of the first voice data representing the activation word with corresponding activation word data stored in a recognition dataset on the network microphone device; based on the determined closest match, select the particular voice service and forgo selection of another voice service for processing the first voice input; transmit, via a network interface of the network microphone device, at least the second portion of the first voice data representing the first voice command to the particular voice service; receive, at a second time after the first time via the at least one microphone, second voice data indicating a second voice input, wherein at least a portion of the second voice data represents a second voice command different from the first voice command; determine that the second voice data was received less than a threshold period of time after the first voice data was received; based at least on (i) the previous selection of the particular voice service for processing the first voice input and (ii) the determination that the second voice data was received less than a threshold period of time after the first voice data was received, select a voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input; and transmit, via the network interface, at least the portion of the second voice data representing the second voice command to the particular voice service selected for processing the second voice input.
10. (Previously Presented) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the portion of the second voice data that represents the second voice command is a second portion of the second voice data, wherein a first portion of the second voice data represents another activation word corresponding to one of the plurality of voice services, and wherein the program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network microphone device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprise program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network microphone device to:select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on a comparison of the first portion of the second voice data with the activation word data in the recognition dataset.
11. (Previously Presented) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the comparison of the first portion of the second voice data with the activation word data in the recognition dataset fails to identify a match between the first portion of the second voice data and the activation word data in the recognition dataset, and wherein the program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network microphone device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprise program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network microphone device to: select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on the comparison failing to identify a match between the first portion of the second voice data and the activation word data in the recognition dataset.
12. (Previously Presented) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium is also provisioned with program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network microphone device to determine a type of the second voice command; and wherein the program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network microphone device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprise program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network microphone device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on the determined type of the second voice command.
13. (Previously Presented) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium is also provisioned with program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network microphone device to determine a type of the first voice command; and wherein the program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network microphone device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprise program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network microphone device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on the determined type of the second voice command and the determined type of the first voice command comprising a same type of voice command.
14. (Canceled)
15. (Currently Amended) A method carried out by a network microphone device, the method comprising: receiving, at a first time via at least one microphone of the network microphone device, first voice data indicating a first voice input, wherein the first voice data includes a first portion representing an activation word corresponding to one of a plurality of voice services and a second portion representing a first voice command, wherein the plurality of voice services are externally registered to a media playback system associated with the networked microphone device; identifying, from among the plurality of voice services, a particular voice service to process the first voice input, wherein the identifying comprises determining a closest match of the first portion of the first voice data representing the activation word with corresponding activation word data stored in a recognition dataset on the network microphone device; based on the determined closest match, selecting the particular voice service and forgoing selection of another voice service for processing the first voice input; transmitting, via a network interface of the network microphone device, at least the second portion of the first voice data representing the first voice command to the particular voice service; receiving, at a second time after the first time via the at least one microphone, second voice data indicating a second voice input, wherein at least a portion of the second voice data represents a second voice command different from the first voice command; determining that the second voice data was received less than a threshold period of time after the first voice data was received; based at least on (i) the previous selection of the particular voice service for processing the first voice input and (ii) the determination that the second voice data was received less than a threshold period of time after the first voice data was received, selecting a voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input; and transmitting, via the network interface, at least the portion of the second voice data representing the second voice command to the particular voice service selected for processing the second voice input.
16. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 15, wherein the portion of the second voice data that represents the second voice command is a second portion of the second voice data, wherein a first portion of the second voice data represents another activation word corresponding to one of the plurality of voice services, and wherein selecting the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprises: selecting the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on a comparison of the first portion of the second voice data with the activation word data in the recognition dataset.
17. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 16, wherein the comparison of the first portion of the second voice data with the activation word data in the recognition dataset fails to identify a match between the first portion of the second voice data and the activation word data in the recognition dataset, and wherein selecting the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprises: selecting the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on the comparison failing to identify a match between the first portion of the second voice data and the activation word data in the recognition dataset.
18. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 15, further comprising: determining a type of the second voice command; and wherein selecting the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprises selecting the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on the determined type of the second voice command.
19. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 18, further comprising: determining a type of the first voice command; and wherein selecting the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further comprises selecting the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input further based on the determined type of the second voice command and the determined type of the first voice command comprising a same type of voice command.
20. (Canceled)
21. (Previously Presented) The network microphone device of claim 1, further comprising program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network microphone device is configured to: receive audio content from the particular voice service; and cause the received audio content to be output by a speaker.
22. (Previously Presented) The network microphone device of claim 21, wherein the network microphone device comprises the speaker.
23. (Previously Presented) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium is also provisioned with program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network microphone device to: receive audio content from the particular voice service; and cause the received audio content to be output by a speaker.
24. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 15, further comprising: receiving audio content from the particular voice service; and causing the received audio content to be output by a speaker.
25. (Previously Presented) The network microphone device of claim 1, wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network microphone device is configured to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the network microphone device is configured to: select the particular voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input.
26. (Previously Presented) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network microphone device to select the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprise program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the network microphone device to: select the particular voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input.
27. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 15, wherein network microphone device of claim 1, wherein selecting the voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input comprises: selecting the particular voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-6,9-13,15-19 and 21-27 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
After a full review of the prior arguments, and after careful review of the complex claims as a whole, the examiner believes that the prior art taken alone or in combination fails to teach the claims as a whole such as receive, at a first time via at least one microphone, a first voice input including an indication of a first voice command; select a particular voice service from a plurality of voice services for processing the first voice input; transmit at least the indication of the first voice command to the particular voice service; receive, at a second time after the first time via the at least one microphone, a second voice input including an indication of a second voice command different from the first voice command; determine that the second voice input was received less than a threshold period of time after the first voice input was received; based at least on (i) the selection of the particular voice service for processing the first voice input and (ii) the determination that the second voice input was received less than a threshold period of time after the first voice input was received, select a voice service from among the plurality of voice services for processing the second voice input; and transmit at least the indication of the second voice command to the voice service selected for processing the second voice input.
The above claims are deemed allowable given the complex nature of the claims as a whole as precisely claimed, with all limitations considered. The closest prior art teaches multiple devices potentially containing a voice service with a command e.g. “Ok Google” where the user inputs a voice into the primary device. The system then routes the command to all devices capable of ASR and produces a score. No switching or re-selection of a voice service is suggested. Other pertinent prior art teaches that a user can change contexts during a conversation within a certain amount of time e.g. “Order Pizza” “no wait” (1 second), “How much is the total?”. Here the selection of a new context for a command is avoided since it is under the threshold. This appears to teach away from the claims as a whole, which require service selection is at least reperformed. Assuming the user fails to deliver within the threshold, the process simply ends. Additional prior art teaches that based on a keyword, a mobile device can be switched to control a television, such as if a user says “Hello Siri” and then “Ok Google”. However other than switching services, no mention of thresholds or mid conversation changes or previous inputs is suggested. Other prior art relates to disambiguation and user history as a way to adapt and process inputs. Combining the closest prior art under BRI, amounts to a system that can switch devices with likekind services, wherein if other devices are detected with another service, that device can be projected on the main device for one voice command iteration at a time, without performing mid-conversation switching or selection of a service, processing terminates or once a successful first command is processed, the system ceases to process new commands. This combination provides no reasonable motivation under BRI, of the prior art in light of the claims, to modify hotword device service selection to have a second command within a time-frame for switching to non-likekind serve devices. Therefore, the prior art fails to teach or suggest the complex claims as a whole as precisely claimed.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20110066634 A1 Phillips; Michael S. et al.
User history, disambiguation follow ups
US 20160078864 A1 Palanisamy; Prabhu et al.
Sub-commands after question prompt
US 20170110144 A1 Sharifi; Matthew et al.
Hotword multi-device
US 20180278999 A1 David; Rodric et al.
Service device switcher
US 20170151930 A1 Boesen; Peter Vincent
Vehicles
US 9648564 B1 Cui; Wentian et al.
Wake up words
US 20170076212 A1 Shams; Nima Lahijani et al.
Audio networking
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL COLUCCI whose telephone number is (571)270-1847. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9 AM - 7 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Andrew Flanders can be reached at (571)272-7516. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MICHAEL COLUCCI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2655 (571)-270-1847
Examiner FAX: (571)-270-2847
Michael.Colucci@uspto.gov
Prosecution Insights