DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to communications filed 5/27/2025:
Claims 1-20 are pending
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, it recites multiple instances of “control circuitry”. However, it is unclear whether subsequent recitation of “control circuitry” is the same as the first recitation or whether each “control circuitry” is separate and distinct.
Claims 2-10 are dependent upon an indefinite parent claim and therefore also considered indefinite.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-6, 8-16, and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bisti et al (US2025009760, hereinafter “Bisti”) in view of Feng (CN108882103, translated by EPO).
Regarding claim 1, Bisti teaches a method (¶3, a method) comprising:
initiating, using control circuitry, a sound collection session for a plurality of nodes (Fig. 2, ¶37, receiving recording instruction to start recording audio at an event);
determining, using control circuitry, a target sound source for the sound collection session (Fig. 2, ¶40, selecting a target speaker/target speech);
dynamically determining, using control circuitry, which node of a plurality of nodes associated with the sound collection session is currently able to generate an optimal audio output corresponding to the target sound source (Fig. 2, ¶42, an audio quality parameter is monitored so that optimal audio recording of the target speaker is achieved from among the plurality of microphones capable of recording audio (see also ¶80, “obtaining the optimal acoustic recordings from an array of available of microphones from a plurality of available audio devices”));
Bisti fails to explicitly teach and providing, using control circuitry, an audio signal generated by a first node determined to have the current optimal audio output to other nodes associated with the sound collection session.
Feng teaches and providing, using control circuitry, an audio signal generated by a first node determined to have the current optimal audio output to other nodes associated with the sound collection session (¶46-47, plurality of capture devices capturing audio and sending the “best quality” signal for transmission).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the communication technique (as taught by Feng) to the audio recording apparatus (as taught by Bisti). The rationale to do so is to apply a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield the predictable result of improving the transmission of data by providing the best quality signal through the most efficient communication path (Feng, ¶46).
Regarding claim 2, Bisti in view of Feng teaches wherein the method further comprises:
determining whether the quality of the audio signal has fallen below a predefined threshold;
redetermining which node is currently able to generate the optimal audio output of the target sound source when the quality of the provided audio signal falls below the predefined threshold; and
providing an audio signal generated by a second node determined to have the current optimal audio output to other nodes associated with the sound collection session (Bisti, ¶42-43, 45, when a better audio quality microphone is identified, the primary microphone may be switched to the microphone with the improved audio quality).
Regarding claim 3, Bisti in view of Feng teaches wherein the redetermining further comprises
i) determining the identity of nodes within a predefined distance of the node currently determined to be able to generate the optimal audio output (Bisti, ¶45, a distance parameter is used to determine which microphone can be assigned as the primary microphone, background microphone, etc.);
ii) determining which node of the nodes within the predefined distance is currently able to generate the optimal audio output of the target sound source; and
repeating steps i) and ii) until the node currently determined to currently be able to generate the optimal audio output has the optimal audio output of nodes within the predefined distance of that node (Bisti, ¶52, Fig. 4, a distance parameter is used to identify possible microphones that can be used to capture the target speaker wherein the primary microphone is selected as the microphone capable of providing the best audio quality when capturing said target speaker).
Regarding claim 4, Bisti in view of Feng teaches wherein the method further comprises generating an audio signature of the target sound source, and distributing the audio signature to nodes associated with the sound collection session (Bisti, ¶40, a target speaker is identified from among a plurality of speakers and the identification can be achieved through the use of a plurality of parameters such as auditory queues, such as speaking rate or rhythm, voice timbre, pitch, intensity, and decibel level of speech).
Regarding claim 5, Bisti in view of Feng teaches wherein the method further comprises initiating a mesh network for the plurality of nodes (Bisti, ¶29, mesh network is used).
Regarding claim 6, Bisti in view of Feng teaches wherein dynamically determining which node of a plurality of nodes associated with the sound collection session is currently able to generate an optimal audio output of the target sound source comprises at least one of:
periodically assessing which node of the plurality of nodes associated with the sound collection session is currently able to generate the optimal audio output of the target sound source (Bisti, ¶42, periodically sampling audio quality);
determining which of the plurality of nodes associated with the sound collection session is currently able to generate an optimal audio output of the target sound source responsive to receiving a user request;
dynamically determining which node of the plurality of nodes associated with the sound collection session is currently closest to the target sound source; and
determining the node closest to the target sound source as being currently able to generate an optimal audio output of the target sound source (Bisti, ¶29, proximity to a target speaker).
Regarding claim 8, Bisti in view of Feng teaches wherein the optimal audio output of the target sound source is determined based on at least one of: a quality of the audio output of a plurality of nodes; or a distance of each node of the plurality of nodes associated with the sound collection session from the target sound source (Bisti, ¶29, a proximity/distance parameter from the target speaker; ¶42, a quality parameter is also monitored).
Regarding claim 9, Bisti in view of Feng teaches wherein the audio output of the target sound source generated by a node is assessed at the node at which it is generated, and wherein the determination is made based on an indication of the assessment received from the node (Bisti, ¶42, quality comparison is made between primary microphone and nearby microphones to determine the microphone capable of providing the optimal audio quality).
Regarding claim 10, Bisti in view of Feng teaches wherein the method further comprises:
determining whether the target sound source has changed;
in response to determining that the target sound source has changed, determining which node of a plurality of nodes associated with the sound collection session is able to generate an optimal audio output corresponding to the changed target sound source; and
providing an audio signal corresponding to the changed target sound source generated by the node determined to have the optimal audio output corresponding to the changed target sound source to other nodes associated with the sound collection session (Bisti, ¶40, a target speaker can be identified/reidentified through various means such as auditory queues, such as speaking rate or rhythm, voice timbre, pitch, intensity, and decibel level of speech… geographic boundaries where various speakers switch; ¶56, a candidate radio device is identified that may serve as the next primary microphone role. The determination may be made based on audio quality as the speaker moves from one location to another. The determination may be made based on a designated next speaker and corresponding location of the next speaker).
Regarding claims 11-16, they are rejected similarly as claims 1-6, respectively. The system can be found in Bisti (¶3, system).
Regarding claims 18-20, they are rejected similarly as claims 8-10, respectively. The system can be found in Bisti (¶3, system).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7 and 17 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Refer to PTO-892, Notice of References Cited for a listing of analogous art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QIN ZHU whose telephone number is (571)270-1304. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 6AM-4PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Duc Nguyen can be reached on 571-272-7503. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/QIN ZHU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2691
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