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 Objections
Claims 8 and 20 objected to because of the following informalities: “determining a second shoulder position based a maximum.” For further prosecution, it will be assumed that the claims read “determining a second shoulder position based on a maximum.” Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-2, 6-9, 11-14, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito (US 20200364919) in view of Muhammad (US 11907423).
Regarding claim 13, Saito teaches a system comprising:
A storage configured to store instructions (Paragraph 116, one or more instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium);
A processor configured to execute the instructions (Paragraph 116, one or more instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium and executable by processors) and cause the processor to:
(Note: Saito teaches: “For example, for two input joint positions with intermediate structural members surrounding a medial joint, two IK solutions generally exist for the position of the medial joint. The character animation system can determine each of these IK solutions and blend them to determine a modified position located between IK solutions (Paragraph 19). The examples given in Saito related to the elbow joint also apply to the shoulder joint.)
Determine a first shoulder position of a shoulder of an avatar (Paragraph 3, a first IK solution of a first elbow position);
Determine a shoulder inversion factor based on the first shoulder position (Paragraph 53, the conventional system generates the animated character 202 with an elbow position in an awkward, unnatural position based on a shoulder position), wherein the shoulder inversion factor comprises a value that identifies an impingement between the shoulder and an arm and indicates mobility of the shoulder (Paragraph 102, the character animation system may impose a first shoulder angle limit for a first region and a second shoulder angle limit for a second region; Paragraph 103, the shoulder angle limits and the transition angles are automatically determined based on the animated character, user history, or other factors)
If the shoulder inversion factor exceeds a threshold, determine a second shoulder position based on the shoulder inversion factor (Paragraph 3, a second IK solution of a second elbow position; Paragraph 55, In response to determining that the shoulder angle satisfies (e.g., falls below or exceeds) a shoulder angle limit, the character animation system 102 selects a bending direction);
Determine a third shoulder position based on the shoulder inversion factor (Paragraph 80, the character animation system 102 blends elbow positions by starting from a first elbow position (of a first IK solution) and adding a weighted amount of the distance between the first elbow position and the second elbow positions); and
Render the avatar with the shoulder located at the third shoulder position (Paragraph 23, the character animation system can render a representation of the animated character in a pose defined by the modified elbow position).
While Saito fails to disclose the following, Muhammad teaches:
Receive sensor data from an arm motion sensor attached to a wearer (Column 8, Lines 5-8, For instance, movement data obtained by a single movement sensor positioned on the user (e.g., on the user's wrist or arm) may be provided as input data to a trained inference model);
Determining a first shoulder position of a shoulder of an avatar based on the sensor data (Column 11, Lines 42-47, the IMU(s) and the neuromuscular sensor(s) may be arranged to detect movement of different parts of a human body. For example, the IMU(s) may be arranged to detect movements of one or more body segments proximal to the user's torso (e.g., movements of an upper arm)).
Muhammad and Saito are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are the in the same of inverse kinematics. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Saito to incorporate the teachings of Muhammad and use sensor data from an arm motion sensor to determine a shoulder position. Doing so would allow for real-time renderings of the physical body in the virtual avatar.
Method claim 1 corresponds to system claim 13. Therefore, claim 1 is rejected for the same reasons as used above.
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Saito and Muhammad teach the system of claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions and cause the processor to:
Blend the first shoulder position and the second shoulder position based on the shoulder inversion factor (Saito, Paragraph 80, the character animation system 102 blends elbow positions by starting from a first elbow position (of a first IK solution) and adding a weighted amount of the distance between the first elbow position and the second elbow positions).
Method claim 2 corresponds to system claim 14. Therefore, claim 2 is rejected for the same reasons as used above.
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Saito and Muhammad teach the system of claim 13. While the combination as presented previously fails to disclose the following, Muhammad further teaches:
Wherein the arm motion sensor comprises a single arm motion sensor (Column 8, Lines 5-8, For instance, movement data obtained by a single movement sensor positioned on the user (e.g., on the user's wrist or arm) may be provided as input data to a trained inference model).
Muhammad and Saito are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are the in the same of inverse kinematics. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Saito to incorporate the teachings of Muhammad and use sensor data from an arm motion sensor to determine a shoulder position. Doing so would allow for real-time renderings of the physical body in the virtual avatar.
Method claim 6 corresponds to system claim 18. Therefore, claim 6 is rejected for the same reasons as used above.
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Saito and Muhammad teach the system of claim 13. While the combination as presented previously fails to disclose the following, Muhammad further teaches:
Wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions and cause the processor to: determine an elbow position associated with an arm of the avatar based on the sensor data (Muhammad, Column 8, Lines 11-14, For example, the output data may be used to determine the position and/or the orientation of the user's upper arm segment and lower arm segment, which are connected by an elbow joint); and
Wherein the first shoulder position of the avatar is determined based on the elbow position (Muhammad, Column 8, Lines 11-14, For example, the output data may be used to determine the position and/or the orientation of the user's upper arm segment and lower arm segment, which are connected by an elbow joint).
Muhammad and Saito are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are the in the same of inverse kinematics. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Saito to incorporate the teachings of Muhammad and use sensor data from an arm motion sensor to determine a shoulder position based on elbow position. Doing so would allow for real-time renderings of the physical body in the virtual avatar.
Method claim 7 corresponds to system claim 19. Therefore, claim 7 is rejected for the same reasons as used above.
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Saito and Muhammad teach the system of claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions and cause the processor to:
Determine a second shoulder position based on a maximum shoulder inversion factor (Saito, Paragraph 55, identifies a shoulder angle and determines that the shoulder angle falls below a shoulder angle limit. In response to determining that the shoulder angle satisfies (e.g., falls below or exceeds) a shoulder angle limit, the character animation system 102 selects a bending direction (e.g., an IK solution corresponding to an inward/downward bending direction)).
Method claim 8 corresponds to system claim 20. Therefore, claim 8 is rejected for the same reasons as used above.
Regarding claim 9, Saito teaches a method comprising:
Determining an angle of rotation of an arm of the wearer with respect to a reference point (Paragraph 98, a shoulder angle of an animated character may proceed through the blending region);
When the angle of rotation is greater than a first threshold, determining a shoulder inversion factor based on a position of the arm with respect to a shoulder (Paragraph 102, the character animation system may impose a first shoulder angle limit for a first region and a second shoulder angle limit for a second region), wherein the shoulder inversion factor identifies an impingement between the shoulder and an arm and indicates mobility of the shoulder (Paragraph 102, the character animation system may impose a first shoulder angle limit for a first region and a second shoulder angle limit for a second region; Paragraph 103, the shoulder angle limits and the transition angles are automatically determined based on the animated character, user history, or other factors);
Determining a shoulder rotation based on the shoulder inversion factor (Paragraph 104, the character animation system 102 may impose a variety of shoulder angle limits to create continuity, realism, and/or character-specific arm movement as an animated character rotates through a full 360 degree range of motion of the shoulder joint);
Modifying the angle of rotation of the arm based on the shoulder rotation (Paragraph 104, the character animation system 102 may impose a variety of shoulder angle limits to create continuity, realism, and/or character-specific arm movement as an animated character rotates through a full 360 degree range of motion of the shoulder joint); and
Rendering an avatar with the shoulder rotation (Paragraph 104, the character animation system 102 may impose a variety of shoulder angle limits to create continuity, realism, and/or character-specific arm movement as an animated character rotates through a full 360 degree range of motion of the shoulder joint).
While Saito fails to disclose the following, Muhammad teaches:
Receiving sensor data from an arm tracker attached to a wearer (Column 8, Lines 5-8, For instance, movement data obtained by a single movement sensor positioned on the user (e.g., on the user's wrist or arm) may be provided as input data to a trained inference model);
Muhammad and Saito are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are the in the same of inverse kinematics. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Saito to incorporate the teachings of Muhammad and use sensor data from an arm motion sensor to determine a shoulder position. Doing so would allow for real-time renderings of the physical body in the virtual avatar.
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Saito and Muhammad teach the method of claim 9, wherein the shoulder inversion factor is greater than a second threshold, computing a location of the shoulder based on a position of the elbow (Saito, Paragraph 41, a shoulder angle limit can include a limit to the shoulder angle where a first elbow bending direction changes to a second elbow direction; Paragraph 102, the character animation system may impose a first shoulder angle limit for a first region and a second shoulder angle limit for a second region).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Saito and Muhammad teach the method of claim 9, wherein the shoulder rotation comprises circumferential movement of a shoulder joint with respect to a fixed point (Saito, Paragraph 104, an animated character rotates through a full 360 degree range of motion of the shoulder joint).
Claims 4-5 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Saito in view of Muhammad as applied to claims 1-2, 6-9, 11-14, and 18-20 and further in view of Giusti (US 20140045593).
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Saito and Muhammad teaches the system of claim 13. While the combination fails to disclose the following, Giusti teaches:
Determine a first vector from a shoulder root point to an elbow position (Figure 9A, vector 902);
Determine a second vector from the elbow position to a target point associated with the sensor data (Figure 9A, vector 904);
Determine a third vector based on the first vector and the second vector (Figure 9A, vector 906); and
Determine the shoulder inversion factor (Paragraph 44, first angle 910 exceeding the first angle threshold may indicate that the lower arm is bent in relation to the adjacent upper arm) based on the third vector with respect to a reference vector (Figure 9A, vector 910).
Giusti and the combination of Saito and Muhammad are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of inverse kinematics. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Saito and Muhammad to incorporate the teachings of Giusti and determine a shoulder inversion factor based on a first vector from shoulder to elbow, a second vector from elbow to a target position, a third vector based on the first vector and second vector, and a shoulder inversion factor based on the third vector with respect to a reference vector. Doing so would allow for easily storing and calculating shoulder and elbow position and rotation.
Method claim 4 corresponds to system claim 16. Therefore, claim 4 is rejected for the same reasons as used above.
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Saito, Muhammad, and Giusti teaches the system of claim 16. While the combination as presented previously fails to disclose the following, Giusti further teaches:
Wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions and cause the processor to: compute the shoulder inversion factor based on a dot product of the third vector and the reference vector, wherein the reference vector comprises a chest vector (Paragraph 49, a determination of an orientation of left wrist virtual point 320 begins with calculating a vector dot product of a vector 1001 and vector 1003, where vector 1001 is equal to vector 902, and vector 1003 is equal to vector 904, both described above and illustrated in FIG. 9A. If an angle 1005 determined by this dot product exceeds a threshold angle). Note: the orientation of the shoulder, and further the shoulder inversion factor, can be determined with the same method when taking the dot product of a reference vector and the chest vector (Fig A, vector 904).
Giusti and the combination of Saito and Muhammad are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of inverse kinematics. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Saito and Muhammad to incorporate the teachings of Giusti and compute the shoulder inversion factor based on a dot product of a chest vector and reference vector. Doing so would allow for determining a value for shoulder impingement with respect to the body.
Method claim 5 corresponds to system claim 17. Therefore, claim 5 is rejected for the same reasons as used above.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Saito in view of Muhammad as applied to claims 1-2, 6-9, 11-14, and 18-20 and further in view of Winterbach (US 20200335222).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Saito and Muhammad teach the method of claim 9. While the combination fails to disclose the following, Winterbach teaches:
Wherein the shoulder rotation comprises at least one of abduction, adduction, flexion, or extension of the arm (Paragraph 25, one or more of the devices 102-106 may be used to capture range of motion data or movement data, such as shoulder movement or range of motion data (e.g., adduction/abduction, flexion/extension, internal/external rotation)).
Winterbach and the combination of Saito and Muhammad are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of kinematics. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Saito and Muhammad to incorporate the teachings of Winterbach use a sensor to detect shoulder abduction, adduction, flexion, or extension. Doing so would allow for easily calculating unnatural angles of shoulder rotation.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 20 January 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding claims 1, 9 and 13. Saito describes creating an IK solution using structural members surrounding a medial joint given two input joint positions. The structural members surrounding an elbow as described in Saito are the upper arm and lower arm. This same structure can be applied to the shoulder with the structural members being the torso and the upper arm. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use the teachings of Saito and apply them to the shoulder joint. Additionally, the combination of Saito and Muhammad teaches determining a first shoulder position of a shoulder of an avatar based on the sensor data (Muhammad, Column 11, Lines 42-47). The combination of Saito and Muhammad further teaches the shoulder inversion factor as a value that identifies impingement between the shoulder and an arm and indicates mobility of the shoulder as recited in amended claim 1.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/SNIGDHA SINHA/Examiner, Art Unit 2619
/JASON CHAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2619