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 § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1,2,5-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Muench (US 20180132052 A1).
As per claim 1, Muench discloses a method for control of acoustic signals in a cabin of a vehicle that is separated from an environment exterior of the vehicle:
the vehicle having a set or one or more external microphones arranged to acquire external acoustic signals from the environment yielding respective microphone signals of a set of one or more microphone signals (para 18),
a set of one or more internal speakers for presentation of internal acoustic signals in the cabin according to respective speaker signals of a set of one or more speaker signals driving said internal speakers (para 20 the speakers to provide the audio to the vehicle occupant, which is in the cabin), and
a controller comprising signal processing circuitry for processing the set of one or more microphone signals and for generation of the set of one or more speaker signals for presentation via the internal speakers (the processors required to implement the functions cited below),
the method comprising:
detecting that that the vehicle enters a first state of a plurality of predefined states (para 4 determining an object outside the vehicle, is a state of an object being detected),
the detecting including processing acquiring measurement data about the vehicle or its environment (para 4 the array of sensors) , and
processing said measurement data to detect said first state (determining the location of the object para 4) ;
while the vehicle is in the first state, enhancing a perception of a first component of the external audio signals by a user within the cabin by generating the set of one or more speaker signals (para 5 via the zoom function during the sound event of a detected object per para 5 )
including processing the set of one or more microphone signals to determine said first component and presenting said first component in the set of speaker signals via the set of one or more speakers (the object detected by the microphones then presented n the 3d sound field per the zoom function in fig. 5);
detecting that that the vehicle enters a second state of the plurality of predefined states (an object not being detected/audio event not occurring, or the call state detection per para 21); and
while the system is in the second state, generating speaker signals without enhancing the user's perception of any component of the external audio signals (when an object is not detected, normal use of the speakers occur without the cited zoom function) (further, when an external object is not detected, the zoom function will not be applied and the speakers will output the call audio via the vehicle network per para 21, noting the call audio does not derive from the external microphones).
As per claim 2, the method of claim 1, wherein detecting that that the vehicle enters a first state includes at least one of: detecting a first direction of travel of the vehicle; detecting an operating mode having a high risk of accident; detecting a first location of travel of the vehicle;(alternatives not mapped) and
detecting the first component of the external audio signal (the detected object).
As per claim 5, the method of claim 2, wherein the detecting that the vehicle enters the first state includes detecting the first component of the external audio signal to be at least one of a siren, a back-up alarm, a horn sounded by another vehicle, and a proximity warning from another vehicle (para 21 a vehicle with a siren).
As per claim 6, the method of claim 2, wherein detecting that that the vehicle enters a first state includes detecting the first component of the external audio signal by processing the set of one or more microphone signals (para 21).
As per claim 7, the method of claim 6, wherein detecting the first component of the external audio signal comprises using a predetermined model of a type of sound to detect the first component as being of said type of sound (the mechanism to determine a car with a siren via the microphone array per para 21).
As per claim 8, the method of claim 7, where said type of sound comprises a siren sound (para 21).
As per claim 9, the method of claim 8, wherein the first component comprises a frequency range of the external acoustic signals selected using a model of the siren sound (the cited siren in para 21 is an audible signals by definition comprises a range of frequencies as detected by the microphones and read by the processor).
As per claim 10, the signal is detected via the adaptation of the processing of the microphone signals, where said processing occurs over time, hence, the method of claim 9, wherein the frequency range consists of a time-varying frequency range at which a siren is active (the siren is active for the time periods as measured by the processor).
As pe claim 11, The method of claim 7, where said type of sound comprises a voice sound (a siren is a recognizeable/voice sound as it is identified/classified as a siren).
As per claim 12, the method of claim 1, wherein the method further includes, in the first state and in the second state, passively or actively suppressing at least some of the external acoustic signals in acoustic signals in the cabin (para 3, the use of noise cancellation systems, also any reduction in gain as applied to a detected external object).
As per claim 13, the method of claim 1, enhancing a perception of the first component of the external audio signals by the user within the interior volume comprises attenuating components other than said first component in the one or more speaker signals (the noise cancellation cited in para 3 in view of the external audio detection in para 4).
As per claim 14, the method of claim 1, enhancing a perception of the first component of the external audio signals by the user within the interior volume comprises selecting a gain factor to said first component according to volume levels of other than said first component in the one or more speaker signals (para 5: a zoom function is provided with which a distance of the virtual location of the sound event relative to the vehicle occupant is decreased or increased).
As per claim 15, the method of claim 1, wherein the set of one or more microphones comprises a plurality of microphones, and the set of one or more speakers comprises a plurality of speakers, and wherein presenting the first component in the set of speaker signals via the set of one or more speakers comprises:
estimating a direction of arrival of the first component at the plurality of microphones (para 5: the detected object is placed in the three-dimensional sound field at a virtual location in the three-dimensional sound field such that, when the three-dimensional sound field with the sound event is output to the vehicle occupant, the vehicle occupant locates the sound event at the determined location of the object.); and
presenting the first component includes determining the one or more speaker signals to cause the first component to be perceived as coming from the direction of arrival (para 5: the detected object is placed in the three-dimensional sound field at a virtual location in the three-dimensional sound field such that, when the three-dimensional sound field with the sound event is output to the vehicle occupant, the vehicle occupant locates the sound event at the determined location of the object).
As per claim 16, the claim 1 rejection discloses an apparatus acoustic signal control of a closed acoustic environment according to external acoustic signals in an external environment outside the closed acoustic environment, the apparatus comprising:
a set or one or more external microphones arranged to acquire external acoustic signals from the external environment yielding respective microphone signals of a set of one or more microphone (per claim 1 rejection);
a set of one or more internal speakers for presentation of internal acoustic signals in the closed environment according to respective speaker signals of a set of one or more speaker signals driving said internal speakers (per claim 1 rejection);
and a controller comprising signal processing circuitry for processing the set of one or more microphone signals and for generation of the set of one or more speaker signals for presentation via said speakers (per claim 1 rejection); wherein the controller is configured to:
detect a first component of detect a first component of the external acoustic signals using the set of one or more microphone signal, including using a model of a type of sound and detecting the first component as an example of said type of sound (detecting the siren per the claim 1 rejection);
process the one or more microphone signals to determine said first component according to the model (the model is the means to perform to detect per para 21 a vehicle with a siren);
determine the set of one or more speaker signals to present said first component in the closed acoustic environment, including enhancing a perception of said first component by a user listening to the closed acoustic environment (either per the claim 1 rejection or via the processing as disclosed in para 5).
As per claim 17, the apparatus of claim 16, wherein the set of one or more microphones comprises a plurality of microphones, and the set of one or more speakers comprises a plurality of speakers, and wherein the controller is further configured to: estimate a direction of arrival of the first component at the plurality of microphones; and determine the set of one or more speaker signals to presenting the first component in the closed acoustic environment to be perceived as coming from the direction of arrival (per para 5).
As per claim 18, a non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon (required by the digital processor based system per the claim 1 rejection), wherein when said instructions are executed by a processor of a controller, the controller causes control of acoustic signals in a cabin of a vehicle that is separated from an environment exterior of the vehicle, the vehicle having a set or one or more external microphones arranged to acquire external acoustic signals from the environment yielding respective microphone signals of a set of one or more microphone signals, a set of one or more internal speakers for presentation of internal acoustic signals in the cabin according to respective speaker signals of a set of one or more speaker signals driving said internal speakers, the control of the acoustic signals in the cabin comprises:
detecting that that the vehicle enters a first state of a plurality of predefined states, the detecting including processing acquiring measurement data about the vehicle or its environment, and processing said measurement data to detect said first state; while the vehicle is in the first state, causing an enhanced perception of a first component of the external audio signals by a user within the cabin by generating the set of one or more speaker signals including processing the set of one or more microphone signals to determine said first component and presenting said first component in the set of speaker signals via the set of one or more speakers; detecting that that the vehicle enters a second state of the plurality of predefined states; and while the system is in the second state, generating speaker signals without causing an enhanced the user's perception of any component of the external audio signals (per the claim 1 rejection).
As per claim 19, the medium of claim 18, wherein detecting that that the vehicle enters a first state includes at least one of: detecting a first direction of travel of the vehicle;
detecting an operating mode having a high risk of accident;
detecting a first location of travel of the vehicle; and detecting the first component of the external audio signal (per the claim 2 rejection.
As per claim 20, the medium of claim 18, wherein the set of one or more microphones comprises a plurality of microphones, and the set of one or more speakers comprises a plurality of speakers, and wherein presenting the first component in the set of speaker signals via the set of one or more speakers comprises: estimating a direction of arrival of the first component at the plurality of microphones; and presenting the first component includes determining the one or more speaker signals to cause the first component to be perceived as coming from the direction of arrival (per para 5).
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) 3,4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Muench (US 20180132052 A1) as applied to claim 1,18, above, and further in view of Zhang (US 20220289223 A1).
As per claim 3, Muench discloses the method of claim 2, but does not specify wherein the detecting that the vehicle enters the first state includes detecting that the vehicle is moving in a reverse direction.
Zhang discloses a modern vehicle that tracks external objects/vehicles, and teaches that the vehicle detects entering states of moving in reverse (para 4: obtains moving status data, para 3, the reverse overtake warning comprises indication that the car is moving in reverse) in order to then determine a position, a moving speed, and a direction of a surrounding vehicle or a surrounding obstacle of the ego-vehicle per para 4. It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of filing to detect moving states as a part of the object detection of Muench for the purpose of preventing collisions.
As per claim 4, wherein the detecting that the vehicle enters the first state includes detecting an operating mode having a high risk of accident (the detection of reverse overtake warning claim 3 rejection).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER KRZYSTAN whose telephone number is 571-272-7498, and whose email address is alexander.krzystan@uspto.gov
The examiner can usually be reached on m-f 7:30-4:00 est.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone or email are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Carolyn Edwards can be reached on (571) 270-7136.
The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are 571-273-8300 for regular communications and 571-273-8300 for After Final communications.
/ALEXANDER KRZYSTAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2653
Examiner Alexander Krzystan
August 26, 2026
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