DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1 – 5, 7 – 8, 11 and 15 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application No. 2014/0126733 (Gauger) in view of U.S. Patent Application No. 2015/0023522 (Hommel).
With respect to claim 1
Gauger teaches a headphone/device having audio playback, signal
processing, ANC, microphones, loudspeakers, and an active hear-through/transparency mode.
“a device comprising a memory configured to store personal audio data”
Gauger discloses entertainment audio and an audio-source/storage architecture. Gauger ¶0085 further describes an audio input source coupled to the signal processor for entertainment audio reproduction.
“a processor configured to receive a broadcast signal indicating entry into a transparency mode”
Gauger ¶0092 expressly discloses that, during pre-flight announcements
or emergencies, hear-through may be activated on all compatible headphones, including by wide-beam infrared emitters, control signaling over an entertainment audio line providing a broadcast signaling mechanism, and broadcast-type radio remote control for turning hear-through on or off.
Gauger also states in the abstract that its headphone changes between
ANC and hear-through based on a command signal received from an external device.
Thus, Gauger discloses:
• claimed broadcast signal → Gauger broadcast IR/radio/control signal;
• claimed transparency mode → Gauger active hear-through mode.
“based on the broadcast signal, pause personal media playback”.
Gauger ¶0090 expressly teaches that a headphone controlling a playback device such as a smartphone may signal the playback device to pause audio playback when active hear-through is enabled.
Hommel ¶0018 teaches an announcement-start signal transmitted to
each playback device through WLAN routers to interrupt playback.
“transition to the transparency mode”
Gauger ¶0092 teaches turning active hear-through on and off by
broadcast-type control. Gauger ¶0005 defines the second mode as active hear-through of ambient sounds with ambient naturalness.
“to enable playout of ambient sound”
Bose ¶0003 teaches external microphones detecting external sounds and
those sounds being reproduced by the speakers inside the headphones.
It would have been obvious to have incorporated Hommel’s
announcement-start signaling with Gauger’s externally commanded transparency system because both address interruption or modification of personal audio so that a wearer can hear important external announcements. That is, Hommel provides an established broadcast-start mechanism while Gauger provides the corresponding hear-through transition and playback pause behavior.
With respect to claim 2, “wherein the device is wearable”
Gauger ¶0005 teaches an active-noise-reducing headphone having an ear cup configured to couple to a wearer’s ear.
With respect to claim 3, “processor integrated into earbud or a headset”
Gauger ¶0005 expressly places the signal processor within the headphone architecture controlling the microphone, ANC, hear-through and output transducer.
With respect to claim 4, and the registered/group device limitation.
Gauger discloses at ¶0092:
• multiple passengers wearing compatible headphones;
• activation of hear-through on all compatible headphones;
• headphones coordinated by a single entity;
• unique device identifiers;
• broadcast radio control directed to individually specified headphones.
With respect to claim 5, “included in a broadcast network”
Gauger ¶0092 discloses broadcast IR/radio signaling to multiple headphone devices.
Hommel ¶0017–0018 discloses a WLAN-router network distributing wireless data/control to corresponding receivers/playback devices.
Thus, the network/broadcast limitation is directly supported by the combination.
With respect to claim 7, “ambient sound corresponds to an announcement”
Hommel ¶¶0009–0010 expressly concern an announcement signal audible to the user.
“broadcast signal is received in advance of the announcement”
Hommel ¶0010 expressly teaches an acoustic pre-signal emitted before the beginning of the announcement.
Hommel ¶0019 likewise states that the pre-signal is emitted before the announcement signal.
“pause personal media”
Hommel ¶0019 teaches that reception of the pre-signal automatically interrupts playback of video/audio data.
“resume after announcement”
Hommel ¶0021 teaches that when the announcement ends, the post-signal causes continuation of playback.
With respect to claim 8, second broadcast/end signal corresponding to end of announcement.
Hommel ¶0021 expressly teaches a post-signal emitted after the announcement and received by the playback device, whereupon playback continues.
Hommel claim 6 separately recites pre-signal before the announcement and post-signal after the reproduction prompting continuation.
With respect to claim 11, which adds an audio presentation.
Hommel discloses:
Hommel ¶¶0009–0010 teaches an audible announcement signal, with pre-signal and post-signal control.
Hommel ¶0019–0021 provides:
• pre-signal;
• audible announcement;
• post-signal;
• continuation.
The examiner equates an audible announcement with an audio presentation.
With respect to claim 15, “transition to ANC during personal-media playback”
Gauger ¶0016 teaches a first operating mode providing effective ambient-noise cancellation while an electronic audio signal is supplied to the output transducer.
“transition from ANC to transparency based on broadcast”
Gauger ¶0092 teaches broadcast-type control turning active hear-through on/off.
With respect to claim 16, microphones generate ambient signals.
Gauger ¶0003 teaches external microphones detecting external sound and processor uses the microphone signal for ambient-sound playout
Gauger ¶0005 teaches the feed-forward microphone, signal processor and output transducer operating in active hear-through.
With respect to claim 17, loudspeaker outputs ambient sound in transparency mode
Gauger ¶0003 discloses microphone-detected external sounds are reproduced by speakers and outputs resumed personal media
Gauger ¶0085 describes entertainment audio through the output transducer.
Hommel ¶0021 teaches continuation of playback after the post-signal.
With respect to claim 18,
Method counterpart of claim 1.
receiving broadcast mode-change signal
Gauger ¶0092.
pausing personal media based on activation of hear-through
Gauger ¶0090.
transition to transparency
Gauger ¶0005 and ¶0092.
play ambient sound
Gauger ¶0003.
Hommel ¶0018 further establishes announcement-triggered interruption.
It would have been obvious to have incorporated Hommel’s
announcement-start signaling with Gauger’s externally commanded transparency system because both address interruption or modification of personal audio so that a wearer can hear important external announcements. That is, Hommel provides an established broadcast-start mechanism while Gauger provides the corresponding hear-through transition and playback pause behavior.
With respect to claim 19, receive second/end broadcast signal
Hommel ¶0021 teaches the post-signal after the announcement and
resume personal media in response.
Same paragraph 0021, expressly causes continuation of video/audio playback.
With respect to claim 20, Computer-readable-medium counterpart.
The operational limitations are supplied by Bose/Hommel exactly as for claim 1 and would be rejected similarly.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application No. 2014/0126733 (Gauger) in view of U.S. Patent Application No. 2015/0023522 (Hommel) and further in view of U.S. Patent Application No. 2015/0237185 (Theverapperum).
Gauger/Hommel teach the claimed limitations except expressly disclosing a modem configured to receive the broadcast signal. However, it is noted that Theverapperum discloses a wireless headset having a local modem and radio module.
Theverapperum discloses:
• wireless headset 310 includes a local modem and radio module 320;
• the module communicates using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi;
• the local modem/radio receives downlink packets at the wireless headset through the local RF communication link. (See Abstract)
It would have been obvious to implement the wireless/broadcast receiver of Bose/Hommel using Theverapperum’s known headset RF modem because Theverapperum teaches the conventional use of a modem/radio module to receive wireless control/data packets at a headset over Bluetooth/Wi-Fi/RF.
Claims 9 – 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application No. 2014/0126733 (Gauger) in view of U.S. Patent Application No. 2015/0023522 (Hommel) and further in view of U.S. Patent Application No. 2018/0249277 (Sennheiser).
With respect to claim 9, “ambient sound corresponds to a performance”
Sennheiser ¶50 expressly teaches use of the earphones during a concert with talk-through activated.
Concert = performance.
signal in advance / interruption / resume afterward
Hommel ¶0010 supplies the pre-signal before the event-related sound.
Hommel ¶0021 supplies the post-event continuation.
It would have been obvious to have incorporated the teachings of Sennheiser into the Gauger/Hommel system and method in that applying Hommel’s known advance-event signaling and playback-resumption scheme to Sennheiser’s concert transparency environment so that headphone media playback would be controlled around a live performance while preserving awareness of the performance.
With respect to claim 10, “ambient sound is music”
Sennheiser ¶0041 teaches music received from an electronic unit and reproduced by the earphone.
Sennheiser ¶0044 teaches simultaneous reproduction of external/received audio and microphone-derived environmental sound through transparent hearing.
Sennheiser ¶0050 specifically places the talk-through functionality in a concert context.
Claims 12 - 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application No. 2014/0126733 (Gauger) in view of U.S. Patent Application No. 2015/0023522 (Hommel) and further in view of U.S. Patent Application No. 2019/0069107 (Gandhi).
With respect to claim 12, claim 12 requires the broadcast signal to include information indicating an audio adjustment and performing that adjustment on ambient sound before playout.
Bose/Hommel supplies the broadcast/transparency context.
The Gandhi hearing-device reference supplies the received adjustment command and processing of microphone-derived environmental sound.
The Gandhi teaches a hearing device having:
• microphone 204 receiving environmental/input sound;
• volume controller 206 receiving a VC command;
• audio processor 208 processing the microphone signal;
• external device 220 wirelessly transmitting the VC command to the hearing device.
• processing adjuster 214 changing processor settings based on the received VC command. See paragraph 0021 of Gandhi.
Gandhi specifically teaches adjustment of:
• gain;
• compression ratio;
• frequency response.
Thus, Gandhi teaches received control information indicating how microphone/environmental audio is to be adjusted before output.
Bose/Hommel already broadcast information commanding a mode transition. It would have been obvious to include, in that same control message/broadcast, known audio-adjustment control information of the type taught by Gandhi so that the receiving hearable not only enters transparency mode but applies a desired gain/frequency/compression setting to the ambient microphone signal.
The motivation is to tailor ambient-sound audibility and sound quality when transparency mode is activated, using known remotely supplied audio-processing commands instead of requiring manual adjustment after the transition.
With respect to claim 13, claim 13 specifies possible adjustment types.
Gandhi expressly discloses:
• gain;
• compression ratio;
• frequency response.
It also explains adjustment of selected frequency channels based on sound classification. (See at least the Abstract and paragraphs 0024 - 0025).
Claims 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application No. 2014/0126733 (Gauger) in view of U.S. Patent Application No. 2015/0023522 (Hommel) and further in view of U.S. Patent Application No. 2011/0281570 (Shi).
Claim 14 requires:
• first mode-change request;
• a first time identified in the request;
• transition at the identified time.
Shi directly supplies the timing aspect.
Shi teaches that a wireless device receives a configuration mode change message containing a time indication for the start of a configuration-mode change.
Shi ¶0009 teaches:
• wireless transceiver receiving a mode-change message;
• message including a time indication;
• processor extracting the time indication;
• processor reconfiguring from a first mode to a second mode based on that timing information.
Shi ¶0010 additionally teaches a control message containing the time indication for when to start the mode change.
Mapping
• claimed first mode-change request → Shi configuration mode-change message;
• claimed first time → Shi time indication;
• transition at first time → Shi reconfiguration based on the time indication.
Bose/Hommel continues to supply the audio transparency/broadcast environment.
It would have been obvious to have incorporated Shi’s timed-transition field into Bose/Hommel’s broadcast mode-change message in order to coordinate the timing of mode changes among multiple receiving devices and avoid differences caused by transmission/retransmission delay.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Note the Abstracts and Figs. of the additional references cited on the accompanying 892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to William Deane whose telephone number is 571 - 272- 7484. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - FRIDAY from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Ahmad Matar, can be reached on 571-272-7488.
The official fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. However, unofficial faxes can be direct to the examiner's computer at 571 273 -7484.
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05Sep2026
/WILLIAM J DEANE JR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2693
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