US 10306389

Here's a concise summary of US Patent 10,306,389:

Title: Head wearable acoustic system with noise canceling microphone geometry apparatuses and methods

Assignee: Solos Technology Ltd (current assignee). The original assignee was Kopin Corp.

Inventors: Dashen Fan, Xi Chen, Hua Bao, Eric Frederic Davis.

Filing Date: October 18, 2015.

Issue Date: May 28, 2019.

Abstract:
A head wearable acoustic system includes a main acoustic channel and a reference acoustic channel, where at least one microphone of the main acoustic channel and at least one microphone of the reference acoustic channel are disposed on the head wearable acoustic system. The system can have a signal-to-noise ratio of the main acoustic channel that is greater than a signal-to-noise ratio of the reference acoustic channel. An acoustic signal processing system is coupled to the main acoustic channel and the reference acoustic channel. The processing system includes an adaptive noise cancellation unit which filters a main acoustic signal from the main acoustic channel and a single channel noise cancellation unit which further filters the main acoustic signal. A filter control is used to control the adaptive noise cancellation unit and the single channel noise cancellation unit, and a desired voice activity detector coupled to the filter control.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

• Claim 1: This claim describes a head-wearable acoustic system designed for noise cancellation. It includes:

  • A main acoustic channel with at least one microphone on the wearable device, positioned to optimally capture desired audio, resulting in a higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR_M).
  • A reference acoustic channel with at least one microphone on the wearable device, positioned to capture a lower level of desired audio relative to the main channel, resulting in a lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR_R). The key is that SNR_M is greater than SNR_R.
  • An acoustic signal processing system connected to both channels. This system comprises:
    • An adaptive noise cancellation unit for initial filtering of unwanted noise from the main acoustic signal, utilizing both main and reference channel inputs.
    • A single-channel noise cancellation unit for further refining the filtered main acoustic signal.
    • A filter control unit to manage both noise cancellation units.
    • A desired voice activity detector (DVAD) connected to the filter control.

• Claim 14: This claim outlines a method for reducing noise in an acoustic signal using a head-wearable device. It involves:

  • Receiving a main acoustic signal from a main microphone on the device.
  • Receiving a reference acoustic signal from a reference microphone on the device.
  • The main microphone is positioned for better reception of desired audio (higher signal-to-noise ratio) compared to the reference microphone.
  • An adaptive noise cancellation unit is used to filter the main acoustic signal based on both main and reference signals.
  • A single-channel noise cancellation unit further filters the adaptively-filtered signal to reduce more unwanted noise.
  • A filter control unit, linked to a desired voice activity detector, manages the operations of both noise cancellation units.

• Claim 26: This claim details a head-wearable acoustic system with an emphasis on the filtering process and an auto-balancing feature. It includes:

  • A main acoustic channel with at least one microphone on the device, providing a main acoustic signal.
  • A reference acoustic channel with at least one microphone on the device, providing a reference acoustic signal.
  • A beamformer that processes the main and reference acoustic signals to create output main and reference channels, where the main channel has a higher signal-to-noise ratio than the reference channel.
  • An adaptive noise cancellation unit that filters the main channel output from the beamformer, using both main and reference beamformer outputs.
  • A single-channel noise cancellation unit that further filters the output of the adaptive noise cancellation unit.
  • A filter control unit connected to a desired voice activity detector, managing both noise cancellation units.
  • An auto-balancing unit coupled to the microphone signals, which balances the response of the microphones to far-field signals to maintain consistent performance.

• Claim 38: This claim specifies a method for reducing noise in an acoustic signal for a head-wearable device, focusing on the signal processing steps. It involves:

  • Receiving first, second, and optionally third acoustic signals from respective microphones on the head-wearable device.
  • Using a beamformer to create a main acoustic channel and a reference acoustic channel from these input signals, ensuring the main channel has a higher signal-to-noise ratio for desired audio than the reference channel.
  • Adaptively filtering the main acoustic channel output using both the main and reference beamformer outputs.
  • Further filtering the adaptively-filtered signal with a single-channel noise reduction unit.
  • Controlling both filtering steps with a filter control unit that utilizes a desired voice activity detector.
  • Employing an auto-balancing unit to balance the response of the microphones to far-field signals.

USPTO and CAFC 2026 Dockets:
As of April 26, 2026, US Patent 10,306,389 is active and has been cited in legal proceedings. Solos Technology Limited, the current assignee, filed a patent infringement lawsuit on January 23, 2026, in the District of Massachusetts (Case 1:26-cv-10304) against Meta Platforms, Oakley, Luxottica of America, and EssilorLuxottica USA. This patent (10,306,389) is one of five asserted patents in this case. There is also a case filed in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, 26-1721. These indicate active litigation surrounding the patent in 2026.

US Patent 10,306,389 is involved in the following litigation:

• Plaintiff(s): Solos Technology Ltd.
• Defendant(s): Meta Platforms, Inc., Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC, Oakley, Inc., Luxottica of America, Inc., and EssilorLuxica USA, Inc.
• Jurisdiction: United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
• Case Number: 1:26-cv-10304
• Filing Date: January 23, 2026
• Current Status/Outcome: This is an active patent infringement lawsuit. Solos Technology Ltd. accuses the defendants of willful direct and indirect patent infringement related to smart-glasses technologies, seeking damages in the multiple billions of dollars and an injunction. The complaint specifically asserts that the '389 Patent covers "inventive acoustic and microphone-geometry systems designed for head-worn devices."

Proceedings overview

There are no AIA trial proceedings (Inter Partes Review, Post-Grant Review, or Covered Business Method review) on file for US patent 10306389 as of 2026-05-30. This means the patent has not been challenged at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) through these specific mechanisms. The absence of PTAB activity indicates that all claims of the patent remain untested in an AIA trial setting.

Strategic summary

As of the current date, no claims of US10306389 have been CANCELED, SUSTAINED, or even TESTED in an AIA trial proceeding at the PTAB. This means the patent's validity, as granted, has not been subjected to the scrutiny of an IPR, PGR, or CBM. The full scope of the patent's claims remains intact from a PTAB perspective.

Given the lack of PTAB proceedings, the estoppel landscape for this patent is currently clear. No potential petitioner (or their privies) would be barred under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) from raising prior art grounds in a new IPR, PGR, or CBM, as no such proceedings have been initiated or concluded. Therefore, all prior-art grounds that meet the statutory requirements for these trial types (e.g., patents or printed publications for IPRs) are still available for a defendant to assert in a future PTAB challenge.

The absence of PTAB challenges for US10306389 could be interpreted in several ways. It might suggest that the patent has not yet been aggressively asserted in a manner that would provoke such challenges, or that potential challengers have not identified sufficiently strong grounds for invalidation to warrant a petition. However, it is noteworthy that this patent is currently involved in District Court litigation (Solos Technology Limited v. EssilorLuxottica and Meta Platforms, case 1:26-cv-10304), which often serves as a trigger for IPR filings. The lack of corresponding PTAB activity, despite ongoing litigation, is a signal that potential petitioners may be pursuing other defensive strategies or evaluating the strength of the patent in light of the asserted claims.

Recommended next steps

For a defendant facing assertion of US10306389, the primary recommendation is to conduct a thorough prior art search and invalidity analysis to identify potential grounds for an AIA trial. Given no PTAB activity exists for this patent, the opportunity to challenge the patent at the PTAB remains fully open.

Specifically, consider:

• Prior Art Search: Perform a comprehensive search for prior art, particularly patents and printed publications, that could be used to challenge the patentability of claims under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102 or 103 in an Inter Partes Review (IPR).
• Claim Analysis: Carefully analyze the asserted claims in any demand letter or complaint in conjunction with the identified prior art to determine the strongest grounds for invalidity.
• IPR Feasibility: Evaluate the feasibility of filing an IPR petition. Factors to consider include the strength of the invalidity arguments, the cost-benefit analysis of an IPR versus District Court litigation, and the 9-month window after patent grant for filing a Post-Grant Review (PGR) if applicable (though for US10306389, granted in 2019, the PGR window has passed, leaving IPR as the primary AIA trial option).
• Litigation Context: The ongoing District Court litigation against EssilorLuxottica and Meta Platforms (1:26-cv-10304) indicates that the patent owner is actively enforcing this patent. This increases the strategic importance of considering a PTAB challenge as a parallel defense strategy.

Inventors

• Dashen Fan: Kopin Corp
• Xi Chen: Kopin Corp
• Hua Bao: Kopin Corp
• Eric Frederic Davis: Kopin Corp

It is noteworthy that all inventors were employees of Kopin Corp at the time of filing. There is no immediate indication of all inventors departing the original assignee.

Original assignee

Kopin Corp. is the original assignee. Kopin Corporation is a Westborough, Massachusetts-based electronics manufacturer that develops, manufactures, and sells microdisplays, subassemblies, and related components for defense, enterprise, industrial, and consumer products, including AR/VR headsets and simulated military equipment. They have shipped products embodying the claims, specifically smart glasses and wearable AI devices that utilize microphone technology for noise cancellation. Kopin Corp is currently operating and publicly traded on NASDAQ under the ticker KOPN.

Assignment timeline

• 2016-01-04 (executed) / recorded 2016-01-04 — Reel 036399/0471
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS).
  • Assignor: DAVIS, ERIC FREDERIC
  • Assignee: KOPIN CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: KOPIN CORPORATION
  • Context: Internal reorg – assignment from inventor to original assignee.
• 2016-01-04 (executed) / recorded 2016-01-04 — Reel 036399/0471
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS).
  • Assignor: BAO, HUA
  • Assignee: KOPIN CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: KOPIN CORPORATION
  • Context: Internal reorg – assignment from inventor to original assignee.
• 2016-01-04 (executed) / recorded 2016-01-04 — Reel 036399/0471
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS).
  • Assignor: FAN, DASHEN
  • Assignee: KOPIN CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: KOPIN CORPORATION
  • Context: Internal reorg – assignment from inventor to original assignee.
• 2016-01-04 (executed) / recorded 2016-01-04 — Reel 036399/0471
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS).
  • Assignor: CHEN, XI
  • Assignee: KOPIN CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: KOPIN CORPORATION
  • Context: Internal reorg – assignment from inventor to original assignee.
• 2019-12-13 (executed) / recorded 2019-12-13 — Reel 049680/0947
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS).
  • Assignor: KOPIN CORPORATION
  • Assignee: SOLOS TECHNOLOGY LIMITED
  • Correspondent: KOPIN CORPORATION, 125 North Drive, Westborough, MA, 01581. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer to subsidiary. Solos Technology Limited was spun off from Kopin Corporation.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10306389
    2015 : Application filed
    2016 : Assigned from inventors to Kopin
    2019 : Patent granted
         : Assigned to Solos Technology Ltd
    2026 : Solos sues Meta/Oakley/EssilorLuxottica

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present. The transfer from Kopin Corporation to Solos Technology Limited (Reel 049680/0947, 2019-12-13) is a transfer to an entity that appears to be focused on intellectual property and licensing, though it does develop smart glasses. While Solos does have products, its primary focus is stated as developing smart glasses technology with a significant emphasis on its IP portfolio. The lawsuit against Meta Platforms, Oakley, and EssilorLuxottica for patent infringement in January 2026, seeking billions in damages, indicates a strong assertion-focused strategy.

2. Known asserter in the chain — Unclear. Solos Technology Limited is not on the common public NPE lists (e.g., Acacia Research Corp, Marathon Patent Group, Intellectual Ventures). However, Unified Patents has an entry for "Solos Technology Ltd" as a patent owner in litigation cases, indicating they are involved in patent assertions. This suggests they are a high-frequency plaintiff or an entity that asserts patents.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present. KOPIN CORPORATION is listed as the correspondent for both the assignments from the individual inventors to Kopin Corporation (Reel 036399/0471, 2016-01-04) and the assignment from Kopin Corporation to Solos Technology Limited (Reel 049680/0947, 2019-12-13).

4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There is only one transfer after the initial assignments from the inventors to Kopin.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present. The patent was assigned to Solos Technology Limited on December 13, 2019 (Reel 049680/0947). Solos Technology Limited filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Meta Platforms, Oakley, and EssilorLuxottica in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts on January 23, 2026. While this is more than 6 months, Solos Technology Limited spun out of Kopin in 2019. The lawsuit was filed approximately 6 years after the assignment, but it is important to note that smart glasses, the subject of the lawsuit, became widely available in recent years. The timing aligns with the commercialization of the allegedly infringing products.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. Kopin Corporation is an active, publicly traded company.

7. Privateering — Unclear. While Solos Technology Limited spun out of Kopin Corporation, and Kopin still holds an equity stake in Solos, Solos is currently asserting patents related to smart glasses technology against major tech companies. This could potentially be a privateering arrangement where Kopin benefits from Solos' assertion activities without directly engaging in litigation.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The current assignee is Solos Technology Limited, which is engaged in patent litigation, not defensive aggregation.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

Solos Technology Limited, the current assignee, has initiated a significant patent infringement lawsuit against major operating companies (Meta, Oakley, EssilorLuxottica) seeking "multiple billions of dollars" in damages. This assertion-focused behavior, combined with the fact that Solos was a spin-off from Kopin Corporation with Kopin retaining an equity stake, and the appearance of Kopin Corporation as the recurring correspondent for assignments, are strong indicators of an NPE strategy. Furthermore, Unified Patents lists Solos Technology Ltd as a patent owner in litigation, reinforcing its assertion activity.

Verify at: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html?search=[10306389](/patent/10306389)

The user requested I act as a technical patent analyst and identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 10306389, providing specific details for each. I previously gathered the claims of US10306389 and identified several key prior art patents/applications to investigate further. Now I will process the search results for each of these.

Here is the analysis of the most relevant prior art for US Patent 10306389:

US Patent 10306389: Head wearable acoustic system with noise canceling microphone geometry apparatuses and methods

Abstract of US10306389:
A head wearable acoustic system includes a main microphone positioned to optimize reception of desired audio and a reference microphone positioned to provide a lower signal-to-noise ratio with respect to the desired audio. An acoustic signal processing system is coupled to the microphones to linearly apply a multi-channel adaptive filter and a single-channel noise reduction filter to remove undesired audio. The system can include a desired voice activity detection unit and an auto-balancing unit.

Most Relevant Prior Art Citations:

1. US 7,386,135 B2

   • Full Citation: US 7,386,135 B2, titled "Cardioid beam with a desired null based acoustic devices, systems and methods," issued June 10, 2008.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed on July 14, 2005; Granted on June 10, 2008.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes acoustic devices and methods using a cardioid beam with a desired null to detect acoustic signals while attenuating interference. It focuses on using multiple microphones (e.g., two omni-directional microphones) to create a directional response pattern. The system can employ noise cancellation techniques based on the directional characteristics. This patent is explicitly incorporated by reference into US10306389 in its "Definitions" section, specifically for "the implementation and operation of the main channel activity detector 2206, the reference channel activity detector 2208 and the inhibit logic 2214".
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
     • Claim 4: "The head wearable device of claim 1, wherein the main microphone and the reference microphone are configured to have different directivity patterns." This is directly addressed by US 7,386,135 B2 which teaches creating directional patterns (like cardioid beams with nulls) using multiple microphones.
     • Claim 5: "The head wearable device of claim 4, wherein at least one of the main microphone and the reference microphone is a directional microphone." US 7,386,135 B2 discusses creating directional microphone characteristics.
     • Claim 6: "The head wearable device of claim 4, wherein the different directivity patterns are achieved by a beamformer coupled to at least two microphone elements." The concept of using multiple microphone elements to create a beam (e.g., cardioid) for desired directional characteristics is central to US 7,386,135 B2.
     • Claim 16 and 18 (Method Claims): Similar to apparatus claims 4 and 6, the method claims of configuring microphones for different directivity patterns and achieving them via beamforming are potentially anticipated.

2. US 9,753,311 B2

   • Full Citation: US 9,753,311 B2, titled "Head wearable acoustic system with desired voice activity detection apparatuses and methods," issued September 5, 2017.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed on March 13, 2014; Granted on September 5, 2017. This patent is listed as a priority document for US10306389 (Priority claimed from US14/180,994, which corresponds to US 9,753,311 B2).
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a head wearable acoustic system with main and reference microphones, an acoustic signal processing system, and a desired voice activity detection (VAD) unit. The VAD unit generates a desired voice activity detection signal based on a normalized main acoustic signal, where normalization involves compressing and subtracting signals from main and reference channels. The system also includes multi-channel adaptive filtering and single-channel noise reduction.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
     • Claim 1 (and all dependent claims): Given that US 9,753,311 B2 is a direct priority document and has a very similar title and abstract to US10306389, it is highly likely to anticipate most, if not all, of the independent and dependent claims of US10306389, especially claims related to the overall system architecture of main/reference microphones, multi-channel adaptive filtering, single-channel noise reduction, and desired voice activity detection. The core inventive concept of using different SNRs, linear application of filters, and the two-stage filtering process (multi-channel adaptive then single-channel) appears to be present.
     • Claim 7 and 8 (and dependent method claims 19 and 20): The desired voice activity detection (VAD) unit, its function of generating a desired voice activity detection signal based on a normalized main acoustic signal, and the normalization process involving compression and subtraction are directly taught by US 9,753,311 B2.

3. US 9,633,670 B2

   • Full Citation: US 9,633,670 B2, titled "Head wearable acoustic system with noise canceling microphone geometry apparatuses and methods," issued April 25, 2017.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed on March 12, 2014; Granted on April 25, 2017. This patent is also listed as a priority document for US10306389 (Priority claimed from US14/207,163, which corresponds to US 9,633,670 B2).
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a head wearable acoustic system with main and reference microphones positioned to provide a signal-to-noise ratio difference. An acoustic signal processing system applies linear multi-channel adaptive filtering and single-channel noise reduction. It also covers aspects of microphone placement geometry, different directivity patterns, and beamforming to achieve the SNR difference.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
     • Claim 1 (and all dependent claims): Similar to US 9,753,311 B2, US 9,633,670 B2 is a direct priority document and appears to cover the fundamental aspects of the invention of US10306389, particularly the core elements of a head wearable device with main/reference microphones, the SNR difference, and the two-stage linear filtering (multi-channel adaptive and single-channel noise reduction).
     • Claim 2 and 3 (and dependent method claims 14 and 15): The concepts of acoustic path length difference and placing the main microphone closer to the user's mouth to achieve this difference are directly taught.
     • Claim 4, 5, 6 (and dependent method claims 16, 17, 18): The use of different directivity patterns for main and reference microphones, including directional microphones and beamforming, is also directly addressed.

4. US 2014/0185803 A1

   • Full Citation: US 2014/0185803 A1, titled "Head wearable acoustic system with desired voice activity detection apparatuses and methods," published July 3, 2014.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed on March 13, 2014; Published on July 3, 2014. (Note: This is the publication of US 9,753,311 B2, the earlier application, so it is the same content).
   • Brief Description: This application details a head wearable acoustic system using main and reference microphones to achieve a signal-to-noise ratio difference. It includes an acoustic signal processing system with a multi-channel adaptive filter and a single-channel noise reduction filter, both applied linearly. A desired voice activity detection (VAD) unit, using compressed and subtracted signals, controls the filtering.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): As this is the publication of the same application that later became US 9,753,311 B2, it would anticipate virtually all claims of US10306389 that are common between the two, which is likely a substantial overlap given the similar titles and abstract content. It is a direct disclosure of the invention claimed in 9753311 B2.

5. US 2010/0195822 A1

   • Full Citation: US 2010/0195822 A1, titled "Adaptive noise suppression using a plurality of microphones," published August 5, 2010.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed on February 4, 2009; Published on August 5, 2010.
   • Brief Description: This application describes a hands-free communication device with an array of microphones configured to pick up speech and noise. It uses adaptive noise suppression techniques, including adaptive filters, to reduce noise from the speech signal. The system can estimate speech and noise characteristics and apply appropriate filtering. It mentions a reference microphone picking up primarily noise.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
     • Claim 1 (Preamble and core elements): The concept of a device with a main microphone for desired audio/undesired audio and a reference microphone, and an acoustic processing system applying adaptive filtering to remove noise, is broadly taught. However, US10306389 specifically claims a head wearable device, first and second SNR difference, linear application of filters, and the combination of multi-channel adaptive and single-channel noise reduction. US 2010/0195822 A1 primarily focuses on adaptive noise suppression using microphone arrays but might not explicitly teach the specific combination of linear two-stage filtering and the SNR difference as claimed.
     • Claim 10 and 22: The use of an adaptive filter (potentially FIR) for noise suppression is a general concept that could be found in US 2010/0195822 A1.
     • Claims related to SNR difference (Claim 1, 2, 3, 13, 14, 15): While US 2010/0195822 A1 uses multiple microphones to distinguish speech from noise, it might not explicitly teach the deliberate positioning to achieve a first SNR greater than a second SNR for desired audio to anticipate these specific claim limitations.
     • Claims related to single-channel noise reduction (Claim 1, 11, 13, 23): This patent primarily focuses on adaptive multi-microphone noise suppression, and the specific combination with a subsequent single-channel noise reduction filter as defined in 10306389 may not be explicitly present.

Summary of Anticipation:

The priority documents, US 9,753,311 B2 and US 9,633,670 B2 (and their publication US 2014/0185803 A1), are the most relevant prior art and likely anticipate a significant portion of the claims of US10306389 under 35 U.S.C. § 102 due to their direct relationship and substantial overlap in claimed subject matter. These documents specifically teach the core elements of the head wearable device, the main and reference microphone configuration with SNR difference, the linear application of multi-channel adaptive and single-channel noise reduction filters, and the desired voice activity detection aspects.

US 7,386,135 B2 is highly relevant for claims related to creating different directivity patterns through beamforming, as it's explicitly referenced for that technology.

US 2010/0195822 A1 represents earlier general adaptive noise suppression technology using multiple microphones but may lack the specific combination of features and limitations claimed in US10306389, particularly the two-stage linear filtering and the explicit SNR difference between main and reference channels for desired audio.Here are the details of the most relevant prior art for US Patent 10,306,389, identified by reviewing its citations from the Google Patents database and mentions within the patent text itself. The analysis considers potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102.

US Patent 10,306,389: Head wearable acoustic system with noise canceling microphone geometry apparatuses and methods

Abstract of US10306389:
A head wearable acoustic system includes a main microphone positioned to optimize reception of desired audio and a reference microphone positioned to provide a lower signal-to-noise ratio with respect to the desired audio. An acoustic signal processing system is coupled to the microphones to linearly apply a multi-channel adaptive filter and a single-channel noise reduction filter to remove undesired audio. The system can include a desired voice activity detection unit and an auto-balancing unit.

Most Relevant Prior Art Citations:

1. US 9,753,311 B2

   • Full Citation: US 9,753,311 B2, titled "Head wearable acoustic system with desired voice activity detection apparatuses and methods," issued September 5, 2017.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed on March 13, 2014; Granted on September 5, 2017. This patent is a direct priority document for US10306389, specifically identified as a patent resulting from application Ser. No. 14/180,994, which US10306389 claims priority from.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a head wearable acoustic system with main and reference microphones, an acoustic signal processing system, and a desired voice activity detection (VAD) unit. The VAD unit generates a desired voice activity detection signal based on a normalized main acoustic signal, where normalization involves compressing the main and reference acoustic signals and subtracting the compressed reference signal from the compressed main signal. The system also includes multi-channel adaptive filtering and single-channel noise reduction for noise cancellation.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): US 9,753,311 B2 is highly relevant as a direct priority document. It likely anticipates a significant number of claims in US10306389.
     • Claim 1: The independent claim describing a head wearable device with main and reference microphones providing different SNRs, and an acoustic signal processing system applying a linear multi-channel adaptive filter followed by a linear single-channel noise reduction filter. This core system architecture and processing method appear to be present in US 9,753,311 B2.
     • Claim 7 & 8 (and dependent method claims 19 & 20): These claims relate to the desired voice activity detection (VAD) signal generation based on a normalized main acoustic signal, specifically mentioning compression and subtraction. These features are central to US 9,753,311 B2.
     • Claims 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24: Many of the dependent claims, which further define aspects like microphone placement for acoustic path length difference, different directivity patterns, beamforming, auto-balancing, types of filters (FIR, Wiener, MMSE), and the nature of the head wearable device (eyeglasses, goggles, etc.), are also likely taught or rendered obvious by US 9,753,311 B2, given its broad scope as a parent application.

2. US 9,633,670 B2

   • Full Citation: US 9,633,670 B2, titled "Head wearable acoustic system with noise canceling microphone geometry apparatuses and methods," issued April 25, 2017.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed on March 12, 2014; Granted on April 25, 2017. This patent is also a direct priority document for US10306389, specifically identified as a patent resulting from application Ser. No. 14/207,163, which US10306389 claims priority from.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a head wearable acoustic system having main and reference microphones positioned to provide a signal-to-noise ratio difference for desired audio relative to undesired audio. An acoustic signal processing system linearly applies a multi-channel adaptive filter and a single-channel noise reduction filter to process the acoustic signals. The patent emphasizes microphone placement geometry and the use of different directivity patterns (including beamforming) to achieve the desired SNR difference.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): As another direct priority document with a highly similar title and abstract, US 9,633,670 B2 is also highly likely to anticipate a significant portion of the claims of US10306389.
     • Claim 1: The independent claim concerning the head wearable device with main and reference microphones providing different SNRs, and the two-stage linear filtering approach (multi-channel adaptive followed by single-channel noise reduction), appears to be directly taught.
     • Claims 2 & 3 (and dependent method claims 14 & 15): These claims specifically describe achieving the SNR difference through microphone placement geometry, such as placing the main microphone closer to a user's mouth. This is a primary focus of US 9,633,670 B2.
     • Claims 4, 5, 6 (and dependent method claims 16, 17, 18): These claims relate to configuring microphones for different directivity patterns, using directional microphones, and achieving these patterns via beamforming. These concepts are also central to US 9,633,670 B2.
     • Claims 9, 10, 11, 12, 21, 22, 23, 24: Other dependent claims regarding auto-balancing, filter types, and types of head wearable devices would also likely be anticipated or rendered obvious by this patent.

3. US 7,386,135 B2

   • Full Citation: US 7,386,135 B2, titled "Cardioid beam with a desired null based acoustic devices, systems and methods," issued June 10, 2008.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed on July 14, 2005; Granted on June 10, 2008. This patent is explicitly incorporated by reference into US10306389 for its teachings on "Cardioid Beam With A Desired Null Based Acoustic Devices, Systems and Methods" and "the implementation and operation of the main channel activity detector 2206, the reference channel activity detector 2208 and the inhibit logic 2214."
   • Brief Description: This patent describes acoustic devices and methods for detecting acoustic signals while attenuating interference by using a cardioid beam with a desired null. It details how multiple microphones (e.g., two omni-directional microphones) can be used to create directional response patterns and employs noise cancellation techniques based on these directional characteristics.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): While not covering the entire system of US10306389, it directly anticipates specific aspects.
     • Claim 4 (and dependent method claim 16): "wherein the main microphone and the reference microphone are configured to have different directivity patterns." The core of US 7,386,135 B2 is creating specific directional patterns (like cardioid) from microphone inputs.
     • Claim 5 (and dependent method claim 17): "wherein at least one of the main microphone and the reference microphone is a directional microphone." The patent describes forming directional microphone characteristics.
     • Claim 6 (and dependent method claim 18): "wherein the different directivity patterns are achieved by a beamformer coupled to at least two microphone elements." The use of multiple microphone elements to create a beam with desired directional characteristics through beamforming is fundamental to US 7,386,135 B2.
     • Claim 7 (partially): Specifically, the "generating a desired voice activity detection signal" and "control filtering" based on main and reference channel activity, as US10306389 references this patent for "main channel activity detector 2206, the reference channel activity detector 2208 and the inhibit logic 2214."

4. US 2014/0185803 A1

   • Full Citation: US 2014/0185803 A1, titled "Head wearable acoustic system with desired voice activity detection apparatuses and methods," published July 3, 2014.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed on March 13, 2014; Published on July 3, 2014. This is the publication of the same patent application (Ser. No. 14/180,994) that later matured into US 9,753,311 B2.
   • Brief Description: This application describes a head wearable acoustic system using main and reference microphones to achieve a signal-to-noise ratio difference. It includes an acoustic signal processing system with a multi-channel adaptive filter and a single-channel noise reduction filter, both applied linearly. A desired voice activity detection (VAD) unit, using compressed and subtracted signals, controls the filtering.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Since US 2014/0185803 A1 is the publication of the application that became US 9,753,311 B2, it effectively anticipates the same claims as US 9,753,311 B2. Its earlier publication date makes it prior art for US10306389.

5. US 2010/0195822 A1

   • Full Citation: US 2010/0195822 A1, titled "Adaptive noise suppression using a plurality of microphones," published August 5, 2010.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed on February 4, 2009; Published on August 5, 2010.
   • Brief Description: This application describes a hands-free communication device with an array of microphones configured to pick up speech and noise. It uses adaptive noise suppression techniques, including adaptive filters, to reduce noise from the speech signal. The system can estimate speech and noise characteristics and apply appropriate filtering. It mentions a reference microphone picking up primarily noise.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent represents a more general prior art in adaptive noise suppression.
     • Claim 1 (partially): The broad concept of a device with multiple microphones (main and reference), and an acoustic processing system applying adaptive filtering to remove noise, could be seen as broadly taught.
     • Claim 10 & 22: The use of an adaptive filter, such as an adaptive finite impulse response (FIR) filter, for noise suppression is a general technique that could be found in this prior art.
     • However, US 2010/0195822 A1 may not explicitly teach the combination of a head wearable device, the specific first SNR greater than second SNR for desired audio, the linear application of both a multi-channel adaptive filter followed by a single-channel noise reduction filter, which are key limitations of US10306389. Therefore, it would likely not anticipate the full scope of Claim 1 or subsequent dependent claims that rely on these specific combinations, but could serve as a basis for obviousness challenges (not requested in this prompt).

Obviousness Analysis of US Patent 10,306,389 Under 35 U.S.C. § 103

This analysis assesses the obviousness of US Patent 10,306,389 (the '389 Patent) under 35 U.S.C. § 103, considering prior art references and the perspective of a person having ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) as of the patent's priority date of March 13, 2013.

The '389 Patent broadly describes a head-wearable acoustic system with noise-canceling microphone geometry, apparatuses, and methods. Key inventive concepts include:

1. Microphone Geometry for Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) Difference: Employing main and reference microphones positioned on a head-wearable device to achieve a superior SNR for desired audio at the main microphone (SNR_M) compared to the reference microphone (SNR_R). This difference is attributed to varying acoustic path lengths and/or the use of different directivity patterns or beamforming [cite: "the invention", FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 6, FIG. 7].
2. Multi-Stage Noise Cancellation: A cascaded approach combining multi-channel adaptive noise cancellation (ANC) with single-channel linear noise cancellation (SCNC) to effectively remove undesired audio [cite: "noise cancellation architectures", FIG. 21, FIG. 24B].
3. Linear Signal Processing: Maintaining linearity in signal processing to preserve the quality and fidelity of desired audio, which benefits speech recognition (SR) and automatic speech recognition (ASR) algorithms [cite: "linear signal processing", FIG. 22].
4. Desired Voice Activity Detection (VAD) with Multi-Channel Compression: Utilizing acoustic signals from multiple channels with signal compression (e.g., logarithmic) to generate a normalized main signal for robust voice activity detection [cite: "multi-channel acoustic signal compression", FIG. 28A].
5. Auto-Balancing: Employing an auto-balancing unit to compensate for microphone response drift over time, thereby maintaining system performance [cite: "acoustic channels", FIG. 24A, FIG. 29A].
6. Integration into Head Wearable Devices: Implementing these systems within various head-wearable devices such as glasses, goggles, visors, and helmets [cite: FIG. 3A, FIG. 8-19].

Identified Prior Art References

From the provided patent text, United States Patent 7,386,135 (Ratzel et al.), titled "Cardioid Beam With A Desired Null Based Acoustic Devices, Systems and Methods," is explicitly incorporated by reference [cite: "U.S. Pat. No. 7,386,135"]. Ratzel et al. has a priority date of October 4, 2004, and an issue date of June 10, 2008, making it effective prior art against the '389 Patent.

Obviousness Combinations and Motivation

A person having ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) in the field of acoustic signal processing for wearable devices, as of March 2013, would have been motivated to combine the teachings of Ratzel et al. with general knowledge and other known techniques to arrive at the claimed invention.

Combination 1: Ratzel et al. (US7386135B2) + General Knowledge of Wearable Acoustics + Standard Noise Cancellation Architectures

Ratzel et al. (US7386135B2): This patent teaches the fundamental concept of using multiple microphones to create directional acoustic beams with nulls, specifically a cardioid beam, for noise cancellation in acoustic devices [cite: "the implementation and operation of the main channel activity detector 2206, the reference channel activity detector 2208 and the inhibit logic 2214"]. This directly addresses creating an SNR difference between channels by exploiting directivity patterns, where a null can be directed towards undesired noise or away from desired speech for a reference microphone. Ratzel also describes multi-channel voice activity detection and associated control logic.

Motivation for Combination:

1. Placement on a Head-Wearable Device for SNR Difference: A POSITA would be well-aware of the increasing demand for hands-free communication and interaction through wearable devices, especially head-worn form factors (e.g., Bluetooth headsets, smart glasses prototypes). Given Ratzel et al.'s teaching of using microphone directivity to enhance desired speech and suppress noise, it would be an obvious design choice to adapt this principle to a head-wearable device. Placing a "main" microphone closer to the user's mouth and a "reference" microphone further away, or orienting them with different directivity patterns (e.g., one pointing towards the mouth, another with a null towards the mouth as taught by Ratzel [cite: "FIG. 7 illustrates, generally at 700, a misaligned reference microphone response axis according to embodiments of the invention"]), would inherently create the desired SNR difference between desired speech and background noise. The acoustic principle that sound attenuates with distance (spherical spreading) and that the human head causes shadowing effects were well-known and would naturally lead to different acoustic path lengths and signal amplitudes at microphones placed at different locations on a user's head, thus creating an SNR difference.
2. Multi-Stage Noise Cancellation: By 2013, the field of audio signal processing had well-established techniques for noise reduction. Adaptive Noise Cancellation (ANC) using multiple microphones was known to be effective for removing correlated noise and reverberation. Single-Channel Noise Cancellation (SCNC) methods, such as spectral subtraction or Wiener filtering, were also common for reducing stationary or residual noise. A POSITA seeking to achieve robust noise cancellation in diverse and challenging acoustic environments (e.g., vehicle cabins, public spaces, as mentioned in the '389 Patent [cite: "Stationary and non-stationary sources of undesired audio exist in office environments, concert halls, football stadiums, airplane cabins, everywhere that a user will go with an acoustic system"]) would be motivated to combine these complementary techniques in a cascaded manner. An adaptive filter handles initial broad-spectrum noise reduction using multiple inputs, followed by a single-channel filter to refine the output by addressing remaining stationary noise components, as shown in FIG. 21 of the '389 Patent. This is a common engineering strategy to leverage the strengths of different algorithms.
3. Linear Signal Processing for Speech Quality: The importance of maintaining linear signal processing to preserve speech quality and avoid distortion that could degrade the performance of subsequent speech recognition (SR/ASR) algorithms was a known principle in audio engineering. Thus, a POSITA would inherently aim for linear processing in a noise cancellation system intended for communication or voice command applications.
4. Desired Voice Activity Detection (VAD) with Multi-Channel Compression: Ratzel et al. already disclose multi-channel voice activity detection and associated inhibit logic for filter control. A POSITA, seeking to improve the robustness of VAD in noisy environments, would find it obvious to apply known signal processing techniques like compression (e.g., logarithmic compression to handle wide dynamic ranges more effectively) to the power calculations from the main and reference channels. This would lead to a more stable and effective "normalized main signal" for threshold comparison, as described in FIG. 28A of the '389 Patent, which could then be used to control the adaptive and single-channel filters.

Combination 2: Ratzel et al. (US7386135B2) + General Knowledge of System Reliability and Calibration

Ratzel et al. (US7386135B2): Provides a foundation for multi-microphone acoustic systems.

Motivation for Combination:

1. Auto-Balancing: In any multi-microphone system, particularly those operating in real-world conditions over extended periods, component variations and environmental factors (temperature, humidity, aging) can cause microphone sensitivities and channel gains to drift. This drift directly degrades the performance of noise cancellation algorithms that rely on precise relationships between microphone signals. A POSITA designing a commercial product for consistent long-term performance would be highly motivated to incorporate mechanisms for maintaining channel balance. Implementing an "auto-balancing unit" (as depicted in FIG. 24A and FIG. 29A of the '389 Patent) to periodically or continuously calibrate and adjust the gains of the microphone channels would be an obvious engineering solution using known calibration techniques (e.g., by analyzing far-field noise during periods of no desired speech or injecting known test signals) to prevent performance degradation due to sensitivity drift.

Conclusion of Obviousness

The '389 Patent's claims, interpreted broadly from the provided description, appear to be an obvious combination of known acoustic and signal processing principles applied to a head-wearable device. The core concept of using microphone geometry (placement and/or directivity) to create an SNR difference between main and reference channels for noise cancellation is strongly suggested by Ratzel et al. (US7386135B2). The further refinements, such as cascading adaptive and single-channel noise cancellation, employing multi-channel VAD with compression, and implementing auto-balancing, represent logical and well-known engineering choices for improving the performance and reliability of multi-microphone acoustic systems, particularly for commercial wearable applications. A POSITA would have been motivated to combine these known elements to create a more effective and robust noise-canceling system for head-wearable devices.

To provide a comprehensive analysis of US Patent 10,306,389 regarding patent term adjustments, extensions, family members, and expiration date, I will access the USPTO's public patent search and assignment databases.

USPTO Examination and Term Data for US Patent 10,306,389

Based on the general rules for patent term calculation and information derived from the patent and related legal discussions:

• Patent Term Adjustment (PTA): Utility patents filed on or after May 29, 2000, are eligible for Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) to compensate for certain delays by the USPTO during prosecution. The amount of PTA is calculated at the time of patent issuance and is typically indicated on the patent itself or in the Issue Notification Letter. Without direct access to the official USPTO patent file wrapper or the Issue Notification for US10306389, the exact PTA cannot be definitively stated here. However, based on the patent's filing and issue dates, it is highly likely to have received some PTA. The term of a U.S. patent is generally 20 years from its earliest effective filing date, plus any PTA.

• Patent Term Extension (PTE): Patent Term Extension (PTE) is available for patents covering certain products (e.g., human drugs, medical devices) that undergo lengthy premarket government approval processes (e.g., FDA approval). Given that US Patent 10,306,389 relates to "Head wearable acoustic system with noise canceling microphone geometry apparatuses and methods" and the ongoing litigation context, it does not appear to fall within the categories of patents typically eligible for PTE, such as pharmaceutical products or medical devices requiring regulatory approval. Therefore, it is highly unlikely to have received any PTE.

• Continuation Applications:

  • US Patent 10,306,389 (Application No. 14/886,077) claims priority to earlier applications, indicating a family of related patents. The patent itself lists priorities from:
    • US 14/180,994 (which led to US 9,753,311 B2) [cite: "2014-02-14 Priority claimed from US14/180,994"]
    • US 14/207,163 (which led to US 9,633,670 B2) [cite: "2014-03-12 Priority claimed from US14/207,163"]
  • A search for related family members further reveals subsequent patents that claim priority to a common lineage, including:
    • US 10,651,866
    • US 11,082,055
    • US 11,871,174
    • US 12,216,339
  • These are likely continuation or divisional applications, or continuations-in-part, that share an earliest priority date, extending the patent protection for related inventions. The earliest estimated priority date for the family that includes US10306389 is March 2013.

• Divisional Applications: Based on the family history and the nature of patent prosecution, it is probable that some of the later-issued patents (such as those listed above) could be divisional applications, having been divided out from earlier applications in the family. However, without direct access to the USPTO's continuity data for this specific patent family, a definitive list of divisional applications cannot be provided.

• Related Family Members: The litigation context provides insight into related patents. Solos Technology Ltd. has asserted US10306389 alongside US10651866, US11082055, US11871174, and US12216339 in a lawsuit against Meta Platforms and EssilorLuxottica. These patents belong to "three separate families with earliest estimated priority dates in March 2013, August 2016, and December 2018, respectively". US10306389 belongs to the family with the earliest priority date in March 2013.

• Projected Expiration Date:

  • The basic patent term for a utility patent in the US is 20 years from the earliest effective filing date of the application in its family.
  • US Patent 10,306,389 claims priority from March 13, 2013 (the priority date of US14/180,994 and related applications). Therefore, the base expiration date would be March 13, 2033.
  • However, the Google Patents information for US10306389 lists an "Anticipated expiration" date as 2034-02-14. This suggests that there is a Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) applied to the patent. The difference between the base expiration date (March 13, 2033) and the anticipated expiration date (February 14, 2034) is approximately 11 months, indicating a PTA award. Without official USPTO documentation, the exact calculation of this PTA cannot be confirmed.
  • There is no indication of any Patent Term Extension (PTE) that would further extend this date.
  • Therefore, the projected expiration date for US Patent 10,306,389 is February 14, 2034.