Obviousness

Obviousness under 35 U.S.C. § 103 dictates that a patent cannot be obtained if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) at the time of the invention. The PHOSITA is a hypothetical individual with ordinary skill, creativity, and knowledge in the relevant technical field. The obviousness analysis involves considering the scope and content of the prior art, the differences between the prior art and the claimed invention, and the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art, along with secondary considerations of non-obviousness.

The field of the invention for US11204736 is "audio manipulation and sound management systems, particularly for home audio systems, public address systems, sound reinforcement systems, vehicle audio systems, ultrasonic transducers, infrasonic transducers, electro-optical transducers, microwave transducers, and associated software for these applications." A PHOSITA in this field would likely possess a bachelor's degree in computer science, electrical engineering, or a related field, along with practical experience in audio engineering, signal processing, and networked systems. They would be familiar with various transducer technologies, wireless communication protocols, and software development for audio applications.

The patent US11204736 claims a system and method for multi-frequency sensing using mobile clusters. The core idea revolves around using computing devices (e.g., wearables, smartphones) in clusters to sense various phenomena (sound, blue light, RF, millimeter waves), analyze, report, and control outputs (e.g., speakers) based on predetermined thresholds.

Here's an analysis of potential obviousness combinations based on the provided prior art:

Combination 1: US Pat. No. 5,668,884 (Audio Enhancement System) + US Pat. No. 7,991,171 (Multi-frequency Audio Processing) + US Pat. No. 8,315,398 (Loudness Adjustment)

• US Pat. No. 5,668,884 describes an audio enhancement system with a wireless transmitter, time delay circuitry, and portable units with wireless receivers and transducers (e.g., headphones) that produce augmented sound in synchronism with a main loudspeaker. This reference establishes the concept of distributed sound reproduction and individual listener augmentation.

• US Pat. No. 7,991,171 details a method and apparatus for processing audio signals in multiple frequency bands, minimizing tonal changes by adjusting gain factors for each band, particularly considering harmonic frequencies. This teaches multi-frequency analysis and adjustment.

• US Pat. No. 8,315,398 focuses on adjusting the loudness of an audio signal by processing channels with auditory filters that approximate human hearing and computing gain to maintain substantially constant loudness. This provides a mechanism for automatic loudness control.

• Motivation to Combine: A PHOSITA, aiming to improve the individual listener experience in a distributed audio system, would be motivated to combine these references. US '884 addresses the distribution aspect, but lacks sophisticated real-time audio manipulation. By integrating the multi-frequency processing of US '171, the system could analyze and adjust specific frequency bands within the augmented sound delivered to individual users, optimizing sound quality. Further, incorporating the loudness adjustment of US '398 would allow for autonomous, listener-centric control of perceived loudness, ensuring a consistent and comfortable audio experience, especially in environments with varying background noise or diverse listener preferences, as addressed by US11204736. The combination would create a system that not only delivers augmented sound to individual listeners but also intelligently processes and adapts that sound in real-time based on frequency content and desired loudness, moving beyond simple time-delay synchronization.

Combination 2: US Pat. No. 2013/0294618 (Sound Volume Management and Control) + US Pat. No. 2011/0134278 (Image/Audio Data Sensing Module) + US Pat. No. 8,594,319 (Adjusting Audio Content based on Objects)

• US Pat. No. 2013/0294618 discloses a sound reproducing system with a sounding mode appointment device, central station for audio signal transmittance, peripheral stations for reception and playback, listener's location recognition, and a computing device for calculating sounding parameters. This system operates wirelessly and can form a local network, focusing on sound volume management and control in attended areas. This reference clearly establishes the concept of a distributed, networked audio sensing and control system with location awareness.

• US Pat. No. 2011/0134278 describes an image/audio data sensing module comprising image and audio sensors, a processor for processing data, and a transceiver interface. This reference teaches the integration of multiple sensors (including audio) into a single module, along with processing and transmission capabilities.

• US Pat. No. 8,594,319 pertains to methods and apparatuses for adjusting audio content when multiple audio objects are directed toward a single audio output device. It discusses classifying audio objects by category and rank to prioritize or apply specific processing to enhance overall sound quality or make content more intelligible.

• Motivation to Combine: A PHOSITA working on advanced sound management systems would logically combine these prior art references. US '618 provides the foundational network and distributed control for sound volume. However, it doesn't explicitly detail the granular audio analysis and manipulation that could enhance sound quality beyond simple volume. By integrating the multi-sensor capability of US '278, the system could gather richer environmental data (not just audio) from distributed points, similar to the "clusters" in US11204736. The processor in US '278 would allow for local initial processing of this sensory data. The critical motivation for combining with US '319 would be to add intelligent audio content adjustment. Rather than just adjusting overall volume as in US '618, the system could use the principles of US '319 to identify different audio "objects" (e.g., speech, music, crowd noise) within the sensed environment and apply class-specific processing. This allows for selective enhancement (e.g., making announcements more intelligible over crowd noise) or suppression of specific audio elements, directly addressing the challenge of "isolating one or more sounds" and "altering them" based on predefined thresholds in US11204736. The combined system would leverage distributed sensing (US '618, '278) to inform intelligent, object-based audio manipulation (US '319) across a networked environment for improved sound control and intelligibility.

Combination 3: United States Patent Publication No.: 2007/0217623 (Real-time Processing Apparatus) + The general disclosure of US11204736 regarding sensing infrasonic, ultrasonic, blue light, and millimeter waves.

• US Pat. Pub. 2007/0217623 describes a real-time processing apparatus for audio signals that can control power consumption by switching between different audio encoders based on a measured "step number" (throughput level) against a threshold. This reference teaches real-time signal processing, threshold-based control, and power management.

• US11204736 (general disclosure) explicitly mentions the capability of sensing infrasonic, ultrasonic, blue light, and millimeter wave exposure and reporting. It highlights that the "system may be configured to sense environmental phenomena outside of the acoustic frequency range by using a variety of transducers."

• Motivation to Combine: A PHOSITA concerned with environmental sensing and reporting, particularly for potential hazards, would be motivated to extend the real-time processing capabilities of US '623 to a broader range of phenomena as disclosed in the background of US11204736. While US '623 is specific to audio, the concept of real-time processing and threshold-based control is broadly applicable. The patent US11204736 itself describes the need for devices capable of "sensing infrasonic, ultrasonic, blue light and millimeter wave exposure and reporting, and in some cases, autonomous manipulation of audio outputs." Given the existing knowledge of various transducers for these non-audible frequencies (ultrasonic, infrasonic, electro-optical, microwave transducers are all mentioned in the field of the invention), it would be obvious for a PHOSITA to adapt the real-time, threshold-based processing framework of US '623 to these other types of sensed data. The motivation would be to provide timely analysis and reporting of potentially harmful environmental conditions across a broader spectrum, using existing real-time processing paradigms. The "step number" concept from US '623, related to throughput, could be readily adapted to manage processing resources for different types of sensor data (e.g., higher throughput for critical hazardous wave detection).

Consideration of "Person Having Ordinary Skill in the Art" (PHOSITA):

The PHOSITA in this art would not be an inventor or a genius, but rather someone with a solid understanding of audio engineering, signal processing, wireless communication, and embedded systems. They would be capable of applying known techniques and combining familiar elements in predictable ways to solve common problems in audio and environmental sensing. The problems addressed by US11204736, such as improving sound quality in various venues, managing crowd noise, and detecting hazardous frequencies, are well-known in the art. The proposed combinations leverage existing solutions for distributed audio, multi-frequency processing, loudness control, and real-time signal analysis. The integration of different sensing modalities (audio, light, RF) and their processing through a centralized or distributed control system would be a logical extension for a PHOSITA given the increasing capabilities and interconnectedness of computing devices (wearables, smartphones). The concept of using "mobile clusters" of standard computing devices to gather spatially distributed data and feed it to a central control source for adjustment is a predictable application of known networking and distributed sensing principles to the problem of localized audio (or other environmental) management.