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
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 1-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Greenwood et al. (US 20190094540 A1), referred herein as Greenwood (from IDS) in view of KO et al. (US 20210302967 A1), referred herein as KO.
Regarding Claim 1, Greenwood in view of KO teaches a method for providing a virtual reality experience for at least one passenger of an amusement ride (1), in particular a water ride (Greenwood Abst: The present invention is directed to devices, systems and methods for coordinating water-related experiences with virtual reality content), comprising
Greenwood does not but KO teaches
at least two spaced-apart and stationary UWB antennas (15) (KO [0020] The first antenna may be disposed on the same line with the second antenna in a spaced manner, and the first and second antennas may be directional antennas that transmit and receive the first and second UWB signals only at a preset azimuth angle),
Greenwood in view of KO further teaches
wherein the at least one passenger is able move in the amusement ride (1) the at least one passenger being provided with VR goggles (20) and a UWB tag (25), (Greenwood Abst: providing a headset to the rider, wherein the headset is placed over the rider's eyes; providing a surface of water along which the rider can travel; [0053] 302 (neural net or other machine learning algorithm) processes the input from multiple sensors, such as proximity sensor 330, camera 331, magnetometer 332, accelerometer 333, gyroscope 334, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 335 and compares it to the overall signature of the ride (which it received from 310), and is able to approximate the current position, 372; KO [0160] the distance between the moving robot 100 and the terminal 200 can be determined by measuring a time difference between signals transmitted and received between the UWB tag and the UWB anchor included in the moving robot 100 and the terminal 200, respectively), and
the VR goggles (20) being able to present the virtual reality experience in the field of vision of the at least one passenger (Greenwood [0003] displays virtual reality images, waterproof hand sensors, electronic surface sensors, a computer/controller that both receives and transmits location and speed data from sensors worn by the user, and a computer-implemented virtual reality video input signal that is dynamically modified in accordance with movement of the user's head and/or hand sensors), characterized by the method steps:
establishing a wireless connection and transmitting at least one signal between the at least two stationary UWB antennas (15) and the UWB tag (25) (KO [0169] a plurality of location information transmitters 50M, 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55 may be installed in advance in a predetermined area, in order to set a boundary without laying wires; [0170] The plurality of location information transmitters 50M, 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55 may transmit signals. Specifically, the plurality of location information transmitters 50M, 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55 may transmit signals to one another or may transmit signals to the moving robot 100 and/or the terminal 200);
calculating the position of the UWB tag (25) using the at least one received signal (KO [0176] the moving robot 100 may calculate the location of the moving robot 100 by comparing amounts/intensities of signals of the plurality of location information transmitters 50M, 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55 and determining a spaced distance and direction from each location information transmitter; [0209] At this time, if a distance I between the UWB anchor and the UWB tag T1 is longer than a spaced distance d between the first antenna A1 and the second antenna A2 provided in the UWB anchor, an incident shape as shown in FIG. 5A is shown if the transmitted UWB signals are in the form of a plane wave);
generating a virtual reality according to the calculated position (Greenwood [0080] providing a virtual/mixed reality experience to a rider on a slide is provided. The method involves the steps of: providing a headset to a rider, wherein the headset is placed over the rider's eyes; providing a chute or channel down which the rider can slide; collecting data on the rider through interaction of the headset with beacons placed at intervals along the slide; using the data to calculate one or more values that are used to coordinate virtual/mixed reality content with the rider's position along the slide; presenting the virtual/mixed reality content to the rider through the headset thereby providing a virtual/mixed reality experience to the rider on the slide);
reproducing the virtual reality experience through the VR goggles (20) according to the calculated position and the viewing direction of the VR goggles (20) (Greenwood [0052] This ‘fusion’ block is able to ingest the various inputs from 302 & 304 (position along the track, value between 0 and 1), 303 (position in 3D space, but on the track as simulated), and produces a final 3D position 370. This is provided to the 3D rendering software 305, which also has a 3D map of the track 360, and using these pieces of information, 305 is able to fully create the first person position image 371 of a person moving through a virtual world. This is viewed on a virtual reality screen 306).
Ko discloses a station apparatus, including an Ultra-wideband (UWB) module to receive a first UWB signal transmitted by a moving robot. Ko is analogous to the present patent application.
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Greenwood to incorporate the teachings of Ko, and replace the positioning devices such as beacons 6, sensors 9 and/or transmission 10, as taught by Greewood by the UWB module, as taught by Ko for position calculating method.
Doing so would be capable of facilitating transmission and reception of UWB signals to and from a moving object, and a moving system for the method for providing a virtual reality experience for at least one passenger of an amusement ride, and amusement ride.
Regarding Claim 2, Greenwood in view of KO teaches method of Claim 1, and further teaches characterized in that the position of the UWB tag (25) is calculated using the signals received from the at least two stationary UWB antennas (15) (KO [0020] The first antenna may be disposed on the same line with the second antenna in a spaced manner, and the first and second antennas may be directional antennas that transmit and receive the first and second UWB signals only at a preset azimuth angle; [0175] When the location information transmitter 50M, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55 includes a UWB sensor, the UWB sensor may transmit and receive UWB signals to and from the moving robot 100 and/or the terminal 200 located in a predetermined area, so as to calculate location information regarding the moving robot 100 and/or the terminal 200).
Regarding Claim 3, Greenwood in view of KO teaches method of Claim 1, and further teaches characterized in that the position of the UWB tag (25) is calculated using the signals transmitted by the at least two stationary UWB antennas (15) (KO [0020] The first antenna may be disposed on the same line with the second antenna in a spaced manner, and the first and second antennas may be directional antennas that transmit and receive the first and second UWB signals only at a preset azimuth angle; [0175] When the location information transmitter 50M, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55 includes a UWB sensor, the UWB sensor may transmit and receive UWB signals to and from the moving robot 100 and/or the terminal 200 located in a predetermined area, so as to calculate location information regarding the moving robot 100 and/or the terminal 200).
Regarding Claim 4, Greenwood in view of KO teaches method of Claim 1, and further teaches characterized in that the calculated position is transmitted to the VR goggles (20), and in that the VR goggles (20) produce and present the virtual reality experience according to the calculated position and the viewing direction of the VR goggles (20) (Greenwood [0035] Use of beacons is accordingly a preferred method. Small beacons placed at intervals along the track or waterslide act as a transmitter to emit encoded high frequency signals to a receiver that is connected to the virtual reality headset; [0044] As the virtual reality headset 5 passes each beacon 6, a proximity sensor 9 detects the person 1 passing the sensor 9. A transmission 10 is delivered from the beacon 6 to the headset 5; [0083] launching applications on the virtual/mixed reality headset and for recalibrating the headset's forward direction; [0093] the view of the user can be switched to the view of the real world using the built-in forward facing camera, which gives the user an immediate sense of the physical environment).
Regarding Claim 5, Greenwood in view of KO teaches method of Claim 1, and further teaches characterized in that the virtual reality experience is generated according to the calculated position, and in that the virtual reality experience is transmitted to the VR goggles (20) and the virtual experience is reproduced according to on the viewing direction of the VR goggles (20) ([0041] The virtual reality headset utilizes a mobile radio device, a mobile telephone, in particular a smartphone or tablet computer to power the display and combine the necessary sensors that are used to gather movement and orientation… and optical sensors including cameras and depth scanners; [0065] a plurality of visible markers 17 can be placed along the inside surface of the tank which can be detected by a camera on the virtual reality headset in order to infer the position of the headset in space).
Regarding Claim 6, Greenwood in view of KO teaches method of Claim 1, and further teaches characterized in that at least three UWB antennas (15) are distributed on the amusement ride (1) (Greenwood FIG.1: virtual reality headset 5 passes each beacon 6, a proximity sensor 9; KO [0172] At least three of the plurality of location information transmitters 50M, 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55 may be installed in a spaced manner).
Regarding Claim 7, Greenwood in view of KO teaches method of Claim 1, and further teaches characterized in that the at least one signal is transmitted continuously between the at least two stationary UWB antennas (15) and the UWB tag (25) (KO [0234] At this time, in one embodiment, the control unit of the moving robot 100 may check in real time the position of the charging station 300 and the distance I1 from the current position of the moving robot 100 to the charging station 300, while the moving robot moves to the return reference point G. At the same time, the control unit may control the moving robot to travel while checking even the distance I2 from the current position of the moving robot 100 to the return reference point G in real time).
Regarding Claim 8, Greenwood in view of KO teaches method of Claim 1, and further teaches characterized in that the position of the UWB tag (25) is calculated via triangulation and/or trilateration (KO [0020] The first antenna may be disposed on the same line with the second antenna in a spaced manner, and the first and second antennas may be directional antennas that transmit and receive the first and second UWB signals only at a preset azimuth angle).
Regarding Claim 9, Greenwood in view of KO teaches method of Claim 1, and further teaches characterized in that the UWB tag (25) is connected to the VR goggles (20) via an interface (KO [0208] Referring to FIG. 5A, the UWB anchor includes antennas A1 and A2 in a first transceiver and a second transceiver, respectively, for receiving UWB signals. The UWB tag T1 transmits the UWB signals through an antenna of a third transceiver (Transmit Signal). Then, the first antenna A1 and the second antenna A2 of the UWB anchor receive the UWB signals).
Regarding Claim 10, Greenwood in view of KO teaches method of Claim 1, and further teaches characterized in that the UWB tag (25) is supplied with power via the power source of the VR goggles (20) (Greenwood [0041] The virtual reality headset utilizes a mobile radio device, a mobile telephone, in particular a smartphone or tablet computer to power the display and combine the necessary sensors that are used to gather movement and orientation).
Regarding Claim 11, Greenwood in view of KO teaches method of Claim 1, and further teaches characterized in that the UWB tag (25) communicates wirelessly or with a cable with the VR goggles (20) (KO [0056] the network communication may refer to at least one of wireless communication technologies).
Regarding Claim 12, Greenwood in view of KO teaches method of Claim 1, and further teaches characterized in that the amusement ride (1) has a track and/or a pool that is preferably flushed with water, and in that the at least two UWB antennas (15) are arranged so as to be spatially distributed, preferably over the water-flushed track and/or the pool (Greenwood [0044] FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a waterslide 4 enabled for a virtual reality experience. The person 1 may sit on an inflatable tube 2 that is carried by a stream of water 3 down the length of the slide 4; KO [0169a plurality of location information transmitters 50M, 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55 may be installed in advance in a predetermined area, in order to set a boundary without laying wires).
Regarding Claim 13, Greenwood in view of KO teaches method of Claim 12, and further teaches characterized in that the position of the UWB tag (25) is calculated using the at least one received signal and the course of the track and/or the pool stored as a model (Greenwood [0031] Individual riders complete the track or slide at different speeds, due to variations in height, weight and friction. For virtual reality content to be comfortably displayed on a headset, the headset must be aware of where it is on the track, within a few feet, (e.g., five feet, four feet, three feet, two feet or one foot), so that the images can be synchronized to the rider's motion. A series of ultrasonic sound emitting beacons are placed along the track to instruct the headset that it has passed each beacon in succession. Sensors inside the headset are also monitoring the acceleration and velocity of the rider, performing a series of calculations that help determine where the rider is on the path; [0038] The collected acceleration signatures are used to train a machine learning model, such regression models, random forests, and artificial neural network).
Regarding Claims 14-16, Greenwood in view of KO teaches an amusement ride. The metes and bounds of the limitations of the claims substantially correspond to the elements set forth in claims 1-5; thus they are rejected on similar grounds and rationale as their corresponding limitations.
Conclusion
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/Samantha (YUEHAN) WANG/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2617