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.
Claims 1, 4-6, 9 and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application No. 2018/0139533 (Jain) in view of U.S> Patent No. 9,050,212 (Gauger).
Regarding claim 1, Jain teaches a personal audio delivery device corresponding to the claimed audio mixed reality device. Jain expressly teaches a headset/earbud arrangement having sound output transducers and microphones for detecting real-world environmental sound and reproducing spatialized environmental sound together with other audio.
Specifically, Jain teaches:
a first ear interface including a sound output device configured to direct sound toward/into an ear: Jain teaches a personal audio delivery device 502 having an earcup 506 worn on the pinna and including one or more transducers 510, the transducer being a speaker for outputting audible sound; Jain additionally teaches an earbud 552 inserted into the ear canal and a transducer 560 that outputs sound into the ear canal. Jain ¶¶ [0028]–[0032], Figs. 5A–5B.
one or more microphones: sensor 512/562 may be a microphone that detects audible sound and converts it to an electrical signal. Jain ¶¶ [0029]–[0031].
processors and memories storing executable instructions: Jain teaches processing engine 504/554, processor 602, and computer instructions stored in memory and executed by the processor. Jain ¶¶ [0033]–[0034], [0040]–[0041].
communication components: Jain teaches communication circuitry 616 and wired/wireless network communication, including Wi-Fi/Ethernet, between the personal audio device and processing resources. Jain ¶ [0035].
capturing environmental noises using the microphones: Jain expressly identifies car horns, emergency vehicles, other persons, etc. as “real-world sounds,” which sensor/microphone 512 detects and converts to an electrical signal. Jain ¶ [0030].
generating, based on the environmental noises, first signals for output as first sounds at spatial audio locations: Jain processes the microphone signal to provide spatial localization of the real-world sound. At steps 702–706, the microphone detects real-world sound and the system generates a signal containing audio cues facilitating spatialization.
Jain ¶¶ [0038]–[0039], [0042]–[0047]. Jain further determines the direction of the detected sound using microphones, including a plurality of microphones and beamforming, and applies a transfer function associated with the determined direction. Jain ¶¶ [0043]–[0047].
receiving second signals for output as second sounds: Jain expressly teaches at step 708 receiving a third signal indicative of sound to be output by the personal audio delivery device; the reproduced content may include voice or music. Jain ¶¶ [0028], [0039].
outputting both the spatialized first sounds and the second sounds: Jain teaches mixing the spatialized real-world signal with the received signal at step 710 and outputting the mixed signal through the earcup transducer at step 712. Jain ¶ [0039].
Jain therefore supplies the substantive mixed-reality audio processing architecture. Jain does not, however, emphasize the claimed first and second ear interfaces as distinctly as Gauger.
Gauger teaches a binaural headphone arrangement having first and second earcups, each associated with the respective ear/ear canal, feed-forward microphones coupled to the external environment, output transducers, signal processors, and communication/audio playback functionality. See Gauger, col. 2, ll. 51–67; col. 3, ll. 1–21; col. 7, l. 65–col. 8, l. 15, and associated figures. Gauger expressly describes two sets of active-noise-reducing headphones and communication devices, and its system is directed to simultaneous reproduction of audio and hear-through environmental sound.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have incorporated the teachings of Gauger's binaural two-ear headphone architecture into the system and method of Jain in order to permit the wearer to hear program audio while retaining spatial awareness and natural localization of environmental sounds.
Jain expressly seeks to preserve directional/spatial cues of real-world sound while other audio is reproduced, while Gauger seeks natural hear-through of environmental sound in a binaural headphone while reproducing program/communication audio. The combination would predictably permit the wearer to hear program audio while retaining spatial awareness and natural localization of environmental sounds.
With respect to claim 4,
Jain teaches generating the first signal by processing the captured environmental sound. Jain ¶¶ [0030], [0038]–[0039], [0043]–[0047].
Gauger expressly teaches generating anti-noise signals that destructively interfere with ambient sound and thereby cancel or attenuate environmental noise, and operating in an active noise-cancelling mode providing effective cancellation of ambient sound. Gauger, col. 1, ll. 10–25; col. 1, l. 61–col. 2, l. 6; col. 6, ll. 15–33.
Thus, the generated first signal may remove or attenuate the environmental noise as claimed.
With respect to claim 5,
Jain expressly modifies the signal representing real-world environmental sound using a non-linear transfer function to generate audio cues and reproduce a spatialized version of the detected environmental sound. Jain ¶¶ [0039], [0043]–[0047], [0050].
Accordingly, Jain teaches generating the first signal so as to modify the environmental noise, satisfying the alternative “modify or replace” language.
With respect to claim 6,
Jain teaches determining the direction/location from which environmental sound originates using the microphones. Jain expressly teaches directional microphones and multiple microphones and states that the direction may be determined from the relative microphone signals and by beamforming. Jain ¶¶ [0043]–[0044].
Jain then selects/applies spatialization corresponding to the determined direction, thereby causing the reproduced environmental sound to be perceived at the corresponding spatial location. Jain ¶¶ [0045]–[0047], [0050].
With respect to claim 9,
Claim 9 recites the method counterpart of the principal functionality of claim 1.
Jain teaches:
•capturing environmental/real-world sounds — ¶¶ [0030], [0038]–[0039];
•generating a spatialized signal based upon the captured environmental sound — ¶¶ [0039], [0043]–[0047];
•receiving another signal representing audio for reproduction — ¶ [0039], step 708;
•mixing the spatialized environmental signal and received audio signal — ¶ [0039], step 710; and
•outputting the resulting sounds through the sound-output transducer — ¶ [0039], step 712.
Gauger further teaches simultaneous environmental hear-through and reproduction of input/program audio through headphone output transducers. Gauger, col. 6, ll. 15–50.
The motivation stated for claim 1 applies equally to the corresponding method.
With respect to claim 12,
Claim 12 requires processing the first signals to remove or attenuate environmental noises. Gauger's active-noise-reduction circuitry generates anti-noise for cancellation/attenuation of ambient environmental sound. Gauger, col. 1, ll. 10–25; col. 6, ll. 15–35.
With respect to claim 13,
Claim 13 requires processing the first signals to modify or replace environmental noises. Jain expressly modifies the captured real-world sound signal by application of the selected spatialization transfer function before reproduction. Jain ¶¶ [0043]–[0047], [0050].
With respect to claim 14,
Jain determines the direction/location of environmental sound from microphone signals, including by beamforming, and spatializes the reproduced environmental sound according to that determined direction. Jain ¶¶ [0043]–[0047], [0050].
Thus Jain teaches determining one or more locations of environmental noises using the microphones and reproducing the environmental sound at corresponding spatial audio locations.
Claims 1, 4-6, 9 and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application No. 2018/0139533 (Jain) in view of U.S> Patent No. 9,050,212 (Gauger) and further in view of U.S. Patent Application No. 2024/0005902 (Woodruff).
With respect to claim 2,
Gauger expressly teaches physical interaction with the headphone to change operating mode. Gauger states that an active-noise-reducing headphone changes between active noise-cancelling and active hear-through modes based on detection of the user touching the housing of the headphone. Gauger, col. 7, ll. 34–45.
Gauger additionally teaches a user input and selection between first, second and third operating modes, including active noise cancellation and different active hear-through responses. Gauger, col. 2, ll. 36–58; col. 6, ll. 45–67; col. 7, ll. 1–8.
Woodruff supplies the particularly strong teaching of selectable transparency/ANC processing and focused beamforming. Woodruff teaches:
• transparency processing of external microphone signals — ¶¶ [0022]–[0033];
• ANC and transparency modes — ¶¶ [0034]–[0039];
• multiple weighted ANC/transparency operating configurations — ¶¶ [0036]–[0040];
• amplification/boosting of selected target speech — ¶¶ [0040]–[0043];
• beamforming external microphones toward a target voice while suppressing undesired directions — ¶¶ [0044]–[0045]; and
• additional operating configurations varying transparency, ANC, amplification and beamforming — ¶¶ [0045]–[0047].
Thus, collectively, Gauger and Woodruff teach the claimed functional transparency, immersion and focus modes: environmental hear-through/transparency; environmental attenuation/ANC while program audio is reproduced; and directional microphone beamforming/amplification toward selected environmental sound while unwanted audio is attenuated.
It would have been obvious to have incorporated Woodruff's selectable transparency/ANC and beamformed target-listening processing into the Jain/Gauger system because all three references address wearable headphone systems that electronically process externally captured environmental sound while controlling reproduction of other audio. Woodruff expressly identifies beamforming as a means of favoring desired sound from a target direction while suppressing undesired sound. The modification would predictably provide the Jain/Gauger device with selectable environmental-awareness, immersion/noise-reduction, and focused-listening behaviors according to the wearer's listening needs.
With respect to claim 3,
Woodruff teaches beamforming microphone signals toward a target voice/direction so that sound from that direction is spatially favored relative to undesired directions. Woodruff ¶¶ [0044]–[0045].
Jain teaches determining a target sound direction using microphone beamforming and generating the spatialized reproduced environmental sound according to that direction. Jain ¶¶ [0043]–[0047].
Thus the combined teachings provide beamforming on a target region relative to the wearer and a first spatial audio location based upon that target region.
With respect to claim 10,
Gauger teaches physical user interaction/touch causing mode changes (col. 7, ll. 34–45) and Woodruff teaches the multiple transparency/ANC/focused-beamforming operating configurations (¶¶ [0034]–[0047]).
With respect to claim 11,
Woodruff teaches microphone-array beamforming toward a target direction (¶¶ [0044]–[0045]), while Jain teaches determining the direction of environmental sound and spatializing reproduction according to that direction (¶¶ [0043]–[0047]).
Claims 7 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application No. 2018/0139533 (Jain) in view of U.S. Patent No. 9,050,212 (Gauger) and further in view of U.S. Patent Application No. 2023/0421945 (Murgai).
With respect to claim 7,
Murgai expressly teaches an IMU 28 producing motion data indicating the position and/or orientation of the headset. Murgai ¶ [0029].
Murgai further teaches position identifiers using IMU data to determine headset position/orientation. Murgai ¶¶ [0047], [0050].
Murgai's spatial renderer uses positional/orientation information and spatial filters/HRTFs to reproduce virtual sound sources at selected spatial positions relative to the user's orientation. Murgai ¶¶ [0060]–[0067].
Therefore, Murgai teaches detecting the wearer's head orientation and modifying spatial audio rendering/location based upon that orientation.
It would have been obvious to have incorporated Murgai's IMU-based orientation tracking and orientation-responsive spatial rendering into the Jain/Gauger spatial audio headset because Jain already spatializes audio relative to the wearer, while Murgai teaches the known technique of updating spatial rendering using headset orientation. Doing so would predictably maintain the intended apparent spatial locations of environmental and/or reproduced sounds as the wearer turns or moves the head.
With respect to claim 15,
Claim 15 is the method counterpart. Murgai's IMU and position identifier detect headset orientation (¶¶ [0029], [0047], [0050]), and its spatial renderer uses the resulting orientation information in spatial rendering (¶¶ [0060]–[0067]). Claim 15 is therefore obvious for the same reasons.
Claims 8 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application No. 2018/0139533 (Jain) in view of U.S. Patent No. 9,050,212 (Gauger) and further in view of U.S. Patent No. 8,447,059 (Jones).
Jain and Gauger teach binaural wearable sound-output devices and microphones. Gauger particularly teaches first and second ear portions having respective environmental microphones and output transducers. However, they do not disclose the in-canal interface and partial acoustic seal.
Jones teaches insertion earbuds that protrude into the ear canal and use a flexible element contacting the ear canal to form an acoustic seal. Jones, col. 1, ll. 15–40.
Jones teaches an earbud fitting into the ear canal, a drive unit and acoustic output port, and compressible material that expands against the ear canal to form the seal. Jones, col. 3, ll. 25–67; col. 4, ll. 1–13; Figs. 4A–4C.
Jones further expressly teaches a flexible flange that conforms to the ear-canal entrance and forms at least a partial acoustic seal.
It would have been obvious to have incorporated the teachings of Jones into the Jain/Gauger wearable audio system because Jain expressly identifies earbuds inserted into the ear canal as an alternative personal audio delivery device, and Jones teaches that an acoustic seal improves acoustic isolation, bass response, fit, and performance. The modification amounts to using a known sealed in-ear interface for its known acoustic and fitting advantages in the known wearable audio system.
Conclusion
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 directed to the examiner's computer at 571 273 - 7484.
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).
29Sep2026
/WILLIAM J DEANE JR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2693
