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 .
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 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.
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12293774. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because, as can be seen from the comparison table below independent claims of current application appear to be a broader version of claims of patent 12293774. Similarly, dependent claims are rejected as being similar to dependent claims of U.S. Patent No. 12293774.
The following table is an example for comparing independent claims of this application and U.S. Patent No. 12293774.
The claim mapping is as follows.
Current Application:
1. A device, comprising:
a processing system including a processor; and
a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
creating a reduced resolution image by compressing a time-series graphical image of an original audio signal for an interval;
recreating a retrieved audio signal from the reduced resolution image;
determining whether a comparison of the retrieved audio signal to the original audio signal meets a quality threshold; responsive to meeting the quality threshold, compressing the reduced resolution image further and repeating the recreating and determining steps; and transmitting a last reduced resolution image that meets the quality threshold.
10. A non-transitory, machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
creating a reduced resolution image by compressing a time-series graphical image of an original audio signal;
recreating a retrieved audio signal from the reduced resolution image;
determining whether a comparison of the retrieved audio signal to the original audio signal meets a quality threshold; further compressing the reduced resolution image and repeating the recreating and determining steps responsive to meeting the quality threshold; and transmitting a last reduced resolution image that meets the quality threshold.
18. A method, comprising:
creating a reduced resolution image, by a processing system including a processor, by compressing a time-series graphical image of an original audio signal;
retrieving, by the processing system, a retrieved audio signal from the reduced resolution image; determining, by the processing system, whether a comparison of the retrieved audio signal to the original audio signal meets a quality threshold;
repeating the creating, retrieving and determining steps responsive to meeting the quality threshold, wherein the compressing further reduces a resolution of the reduced resolution image; and transmitting, by the processing system, a last reduced resolution image that meets the quality threshold.
Patent 12293774:
1. A device, comprising:
a processing system including a processor; and
a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
receiving an original audio signal for an interval; creating a time-series graphical image of the original audio signal for the interval;
compressing the time-series graphical image, thereby creating a reduced resolution image; recreating a retrieved audio signal from the reduced resolution image;
determining whether a comparison of the retrieved audio signal to the original audio signal meets a quality threshold; responsive to meeting the quality threshold, compressing the reduced resolution image further and repeating the recreating and determining steps; and transmitting a last reduced resolution image that meets the quality threshold.
10. A non-transitory, machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
compressing a time-series graphical image of an original audio signal comprising human speech, thereby creating a reduced resolution image;
recreating a retrieved audio signal from the reduced resolution image;
determining whether a comparison of the retrieved audio signal to the original audio signal meets a quality threshold; responsive to meeting the quality threshold, compressing the reduced resolution image further and repeating the recreating and determining steps; and transmitting a last reduced resolution image that meets the quality threshold.
18. A method, comprising:
compressing, by a processing system including a processor, a time-series graphical image of an original audio signal, thereby creating a reduced resolution image;
recreating, by the processing system, a retrieved audio signal from the reduced resolution image; determining, by the processing system, whether a comparison of the retrieved audio signal to the original audio signal meets a quality threshold;
responsive to meeting the quality threshold, compressing, by the processing system, the reduced resolution image further and repeating the recreating and determining steps; and transmitting, by the processing system, a last reduced resolution image that meets the quality threshold.
As can be seen from above, the independent claims of instant application are merely broader versions of claims of patented application.
The claimed invention in the instant application is fully disclosed in the patent, and it is broader than the claimed invention in the patent 12293774. No new invention or new improvement is being claimed in the instant application. Applicant is now attempting to claim broadly that which had been previously described in more detail in the claims of the patent (In re Van Ornum, 214 USPQ 761 CCPA 1982).
Furthermore, there is no apparent reason why Applicant was prevented from presenting claims corresponding to those of the instant application during prosecution of the application which matured into a patent.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Claims 1, 10, 18 and their dependent claims thereof are allowed because the closest prior art either alone or in combination, fail to anticipate or render obvious, the claimed limitations of “creating a reduced resolution image by compressing a time-series graphical image of an original audio signal for an interval; recreating a retrieved audio signal from the reduced resolution image; determining whether a comparison of the retrieved audio signal to the original audio signal meets a quality threshold; responsive to meeting the quality threshold, compressing the reduced resolution image further and repeating the recreating and determining steps; and transmitting a last reduced resolution image that meets the quality threshold”, in combination with all other limitations in the claim(s) as defined by applicant.
Consequently, the disclosed independent claims are allowed on behalf of above-discussed reasons. Since the disclosed dependent claims are dependent on one of the above independent claims, therefore they are also patentable.
The closest prior art:
Krishnamoorthy et al. (US 20220148598) discloses a system that accesses a first digital audio file that includes a plurality of spoken instructions. The system converts the first digital audio file to a first spectrogram image, applies a filter to determine whether an image quality of the first spectrogram image is below a predetermined image quality, and in response, generates a second spectrogram image from the first spectrogram image using a training model. The system converts the second spectrogram image to a second digital audio file and converts the second digital audio file into multiple vectors that each correspond to a particular spoken instruction. The system identifies related vectors and concatenates the related vectors together in order to create a plurality of concatenated vectors. The system generates, using the plurality of concatenated vectors, a third digital audio file that includes concatenated spoken instructions from the first digital audio file. However, fails to disclose the subject matter as recited above in independent claims.
Yin (US 20210366170) discloses a method of transforming, by a processing system comprising a processor, text comprising a series of characters into a graphic representation, wherein the graphic representation comprises a series of dots arranged in a two-dimensional pattern, wherein the two-dimensional pattern comprises two dots per character, and wherein each dot in the series of dots is one unit away from a preceding dot; and plotting, by the processing system, the series of dots on a two-dimensional graph, thereby creating a unique encoded image of the text. Other embodiments are disclosed. However, fails to disclose the subject matter as recited above in independent claims.
Krishnamoorthy et al. (US 20210366468) discloses a language proficiency analyzer automatically evaluates a person's language proficiency by analyzing that person's oral communications with another person. The analyzer first enhances the quality of an audio recording of a conversation between the two people using a neural network that automatically detects loss features in the audio and adds those loss features back into the audio. The analyzer then performs a textual and audio analysis on the improved audio. Through textual analysis, the analyzer uses a multi-attention network to determine how focused one person is on the other and how pleased one person is with the other. Through audio analysis, the analyzer uses a neural network to determine how well one person pronounced words during the conversation. However, fails to disclose the subject matter as recited above in independent claims.
However, none of the above references teaches or fairly suggests the combination of the limitations as recited in the claims listed above.
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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTIM G SHAH whose telephone number is (571)270-5214. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 7:30am-4pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ahmad Matar can be reached on 571-272-7488. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANTIM G SHAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2693
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