DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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
2. 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 of this title, 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.
3. Claim(s) 1 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bi (US 2021/0311694 A1, hereinafter referred as “Bi”) in view of Lee et al. (KR 20200132016 A, hereinafter referred as “Lee”).
Regarding claim 1, Bi discloses an electronic device connectable to at least one other electronic device to provide a multi-display system (Figs. 3C-3D and ¶0076-¶0080 host/primary display is coupled to and communicates with multiple secondary display devices each having respective audio channels), the electronic device comprising:
a display (Fig. 2 and ¶0038 discloses display 244);
at least one speaker configured to output an audio signal (Fig. 2, ¶0043 and ¶0046 discloses speakers 243 for outputting sound);
a communication interface configured to perform communication with the at least one other electronic device (Fig. 2, ¶0032 and ¶0039 discloses computing device 100 is further illustrated as having access to and/or being in communication with one or more database(s) 225 and/or one or more of other computing devices over one or more communication medium(s) 230 (e.g., networks such as a proximity network, a cloud network, the Internet, etc.).);
a memory (Fig. 2 and ¶0028 discloses audio management mechanism 110 may be hosted by memory 104 in communication with I/O source(s) 108, such as microphones, speakers, etc., of computing device 100); and
a processor (Fig. 1 and ¶0025 central processing unit 112) configured to:
…process an input audio signal into a plurality of channels based on the channel mapping information (¶0052-¶0053 discloses split and set up logic splits the audio streams by their corresponding devices and the split streams are mapped to the corresponding audio channels), and
output the audio signal of some channels among the plurality of channels through the at least one speaker (¶0077, and ¶0085-¶0086 discloses configure channels of the host and secondary displays output corresponding audio streams and the mapped streams are broadcast through corresponding speakers of respective media devices), and control the communication interface to transmit information (Fig. 1 and ¶0230 discloses the primary computing device is coupled to stand alone displays, speakers, and another computing device through communication medium 230) on the audio signal of the other channels among the plurality of channels to the at least one other electronic device (¶0051-¶0054, ¶0077, and ¶0085-¶0086 discloses configure channels of the host and secondary displays output corresponding audio streams and the mapped streams are broadcast through corresponding speakers of respective media devices).
Bi doesn’t disclose at least one first sensor configured to detect a folding angle between the electronic device and the at least one other electronic device when the at least one other electronic device is connected to the electronic device; acquire information on the folding angle between the electronic device and the at least one other electronic device through the first sensor while the electronic device is connected to the at least one other electronic device and operated in a multi-display mode; and identify channel mapping information of the audio signal that corresponds to the folding angle.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Lee discloses at least one first sensor configured to detect a folding angle between the electronic device (310) and the at least one other electronic device (320) (¶0100, ¶0104 and ¶0106 discloses at least one sensor device for determining the angle between the first housing 310 and second housing 320) when the at least one other electronic device is connected to the electronic device (¶0012 discloses a first housing and a second housing connected to the rotation shaft so as to be foldable with respect to each other); acquire information on the folding angle between the electronic device and the at least one other electronic device through the first sensor (¶0100, ¶0104 and ¶0106 discloses at least one sensor device for determining the angle between the first housing 310 and second housing 320) while the electronic device is connected to the at least one other electronic device (Fig. 6 and ¶0091 discloses the plurality of speakers 601, 602, 603 and 604 may be provided in the first housing 310 and the second housing 320 rotated around the hinge 510 of the electronic device 101) and operated in a multi-display mode (Figs. 2, 4 and ¶0083 discloses two separately identifiable display areas 201 and 202 respectively associated with housings 310 and 320); and identify channel mapping information of the audio signal that corresponds to the folding angle (¶0345 discloses the audio includes a multi-channel sound source; and ¶0346-¶0351 discloses different policies correspond to folded, intermediate, and unfolded states, and speaker operation changes according to the identified angle-corresponding policy an additional angle-related information).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Bi so that audio allocation automatically remains spatially consistent when the relative orientation of the displays change.
Regarding claim(s) 11, this/these method claim(s) has/have similar limitations as apparatus claim(s) 1, and therefore rejected on similar grounds.
4. Claim(s) 2 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bi in view of Lee, and in further view of Noh et al. (US 2020/0401187 A1, hereinafter referred as “Noh”).
Regarding claim 2, Bi as modified doesn’t disclose the device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to: process the input audio signal into the plurality of channels based on first channel mapping information in the case that the electronic device and the at least one other electronic device are in an unfolded state, and process the input audio signal into the plurality of channels based on second channel mapping information in the case that the electronic device and the at least one other electronic device are in a folded state with a first folding angle.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Noh discloses wherein the processor is configured to: process the input audio signal into the plurality of channels based on first channel mapping information in the case that the electronic device and the at least one other electronic device are in an unfolded state (¶0172-¶0175 discloses processor detects the unfolded state and applies a first channel allocation, e.g., units 510A/ 520A to a first channel and units 510B/520B to a second channel to provide 2.2-channel sound), and process the input audio signal into the plurality of channels based on second channel mapping information in the case that the electronic device and the at least one other electronic device are in a folded state with a first folding angle (¶0176-¶0178 discloses In the both states, the processor applies a different allocation using either units 510A/520B or units 510B/520B to provide 1.1-channel sound).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Bi for the purpose of predictably causing Bi’s audio mapping to remain appropriate as the relative orientation of the connected displays change.
Regarding claim(s) 12, this/these method claim(s) has/have similar limitations as apparatus claim(s) 2, and therefore rejected on similar grounds.
5. Claim(s) 3-4, and 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bi in view of Lee, in further view of Kajimoto et al. (US 2023/0209292 A1, hereinafter referred as “Kajimoto”), and still in further view of LaBosco et al. (US 2014/0334625 A1, hereinafter referred as “Labosco”).
Regarding claim 3, Bi as modified doesn’t disclose the device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to: identify volume information of each audio signal of the plurality of channels based on the folding angle, and output the audio signal of the partial channel at a first volume through the at least one speaker, and control the communication interface to transmit information for controlling the audio signal of the other channel to be output at a second volume to the at least one other electronic device, based on the volume information.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Kajimoto discloses wherein the processor is configured to: identify volume information of each audio signal of the plurality of channels based on the folding angle (Figs. 2-3, ¶0039, ¶0049-¶0050, and ¶0053 discloses the angle and change each speaker’s sound setting according to that angle).
Bi as modified still doesn’t disclose output the audio signal of the partial channel at a first volume through the at least one speaker, and control the communication interface to transmit information for controlling the audio signal of the other channel to be output at a second volume to the at least one other electronic device, based on the volume information.
However, in the same field of endeavor, LaBosco discloses output the audio signal of the partial channel at a first volume through the at least one speaker (¶0095, ¶0101 discloses local speaker outputs for local zones; and ¶0103-¶0105 discloses independently set volume parameters for respective zones), and control the communication interface to transmit information for controlling the audio signal of the other channel to be output at a second volume to the at least one other electronic device, based on the volume information (¶0091-¶0093 discloses multiplex audio and control information, including the volume level, to expansion receivers; ¶0094 discloses controls playback volume in a selected zone; and ¶0139-¶0143 discloses route, process, amplify, and output is selected audio through remote speakers).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Bi for the purpose of predictably maintain balanced audio volume as the connected displays change orientation.
Regarding claim 4, Bi as modified doesn’t disclose the device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first volume is greater than the second volume, and the second volume is reduced as the folding angle is increased.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Kajimoto discloses wherein the first volume is greater than the second volume (¶0075-¶0078 discloses when the display panel angle is changed towards the second row seat orientation, the gain for the third row speakers 51 and 52 is reduced to a minimum, while the gain for the second row speaker 41 and 42 is increased), and the second volume is reduced as the folding angle is increased (¶0073-¶0076 discloses the gain for third row speakers 51, 52 is reduced or minimized when the panel angle changes from the third row orientation towards the second row orientation, i.e., from approximately 90 degrees toward 110 degrees).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Bi for the purpose of maintaining balance spatial audio and reducing unwanted sound for listeners not targeted by current display orientation.
Regarding claim(s) 13-14, this/these method claim(s) has/have similar limitations as apparatus claim(s) 3-4, respectively, and therefore rejected on similar grounds.
6. Claim(s) 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bi in view of Lee and in further view of Jouppi et al. (US 2005/0152565 A1, hereinafter referred as “Jouppi”).
Regarding claim 7, Bi as modified doesn’t disclose the device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a second sensor configured to detect a user position, wherein the processor is configured to: detect the user position through the second sensor, and adjust at least one of the volume or delay time of each audio signal of the plurality of channels based on the distance between the user position and the electronic device or the at least one other electronic device.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Jouppi discloses further comprising a second sensor configured to detect a user position (¶0020 discloses position of the user's head is preferably monitored), wherein the processor (¶0023 discloses a processor) is configured to: detect the user position through the second sensor (¶0027 discloses determining the user’s X-Y position using images from the cameras), and adjust at least one of the volume or delay time of each audio signal of the plurality of channels based on the distance between the user position and the electronic device (¶0033-¶0036 discloses adjust each speaker/channel’s signal level based on Dn, which is defined as horizontal distance from speaker to the user’s head) or the at least one other electronic device.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Bi in order to maintain a more balanced or spatially accurate audio representation as a user changes position relative to the devices.
Regarding claim 8, Bi as modified doesn’t disclose the device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the processor is configured to: adjust the volume of the audio signal output by the electronic device disposed at a first distance from the user position to a first volume, and adjust the volume of the audio signal output by the electronic device disposed at a second distance, which is farther than the first distance, from the user position to a second volume, the second volume being greater than the first volume.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Jouppi discloses adjust the volume of the audio signal output by the electronic device disposed at a first distance from the user position to a first volume (¶0033 discloses the signal for the further speaker is increased while that for the closer speak speaker is reduced), and adjust the volume of the audio signal output by the electronic device disposed at a second distance, which is farther than the first distance, from the user position to a second volume, the second volume being greater than the first volume (¶0034 discloses if the user has moved so that he or she is twice as far from the further speaker, but half as far from the closer speaker, the signal power going to the further speaker should be quadrupled while the signal power going to the closer speaker should be quartered).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Bi in order to compensate for greater propagation distance so that sound from the further device reaches the user at a perceived level comparable to sound from the closer device.
Regarding claim 9, Bi as modified doesn’t disclose the device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to adjust the audio signal output by the electronic device disposed at a first distance from a user position to be output after being delayed for a second time from the audio signal output by the electronic device disposed at a second distance, which is farther than the first distance, from the user position.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Jouppi discloses wherein the processor is configured to adjust the audio signal output by the electronic device disposed at a first distance from a user position to be output after being delayed for a second time from the audio signal output by the electronic device disposed at a second distance, which is farther than the first distance, from the user position (¶0039[-¶0042 discloses when the user is closer to one speaker, the farther speaker signal is time advanced and the closer speaker should be delayed).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Bi in order to compensate for differences in sound propagation time so that audio from there are different devices reaches the user more nearly simultaneously, improving synchronization and spatial imaging.
6. Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bi in view of Lee, in further view of Kajimoto.
Regarding claim 10, Bi discloses the device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the channel mapping information of the audio signal (¶0053 discloses mapping of the split audio streams with their corresponding audio channels) is pre-stored in the memory (¶0080 discloses this configuration is then stored and saved).
Bi as modified doesn’t disclose …that corresponds to the folding angle is pre-stored in the memory.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Kajimoto discloses …that corresponds to the folding angle (¶0036 discloses corresponding to the angle of the display panel 30) is pre-stored in the memory (¶0039 discloses auxiliary storage unit 14 stores a table containing an appropriate sound setting for each predetermined display panel angle).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Bi in order to quickly retrieve and apply an appropriate audio channel configuration when the folding angle changes.
Allowable Subject Matter
7. Claims 5-6 and 15 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PRIYANK J SHAH whose telephone number is (571)270-3732. The examiner can normally be reached on 10:00 - 6:00 M-F.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ghebretinsae, Temesghen can be reached on (571) 272-3017. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PRIYANK J SHAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2626
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