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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Response to Arguments
Regarding 35 USC § 102/103.
Applicant argues:
Independent claim 23 recites, in part, "provide, by the application to a system process at the electronic device responsive to the user request, a request to switch the user interface from the bounded mode to the exclusive mode" and "receive, by the application, an approval of the switch from the system process".
The Office Action (p. 16) cites paragraphs 51 and 62 of Schwarz in connection with these features of claim 23. However, these cited portions of Schwarz merely describe a "user interface element layout program 12" that receives "user input to switch the display mode of one or more UI elements 76 from floating at an in air location to being displayed on a physical surface." There is no discussion in these cited portions of Schwarz regarding the "user interface element layout program 12" providing or receiving a request to or from any other application or system process responsive to a user request, nor providing or receive any "approval" of such a request to or from any other application or system process.
Accordingly, Schwarz does not disclose or teach all of the features of independent claim 23, which is believed to be in condition for allowance. Reconsideration and withdrawal of the rejection of this independent claim are respectfully requested.
Examiner replies that:
Applicants arguments are not found persuasive. Applicant argues that there is no request to switch and no approval. As noted, Schwarz does include software with a UI where the user provides input to switch, and the mode is switched (Schwarz [0062]). If the user uses the UI to switch, software necessarily is putting in a form of request, and there is some form of approval since the UI does in fact change. The claimed request and approval as written are merely broad generic software functionality inherently being performed.
Since Schwarz only teaches the software at a broad level, further functionality would overcome the current prior art. Examples include: option to have switching prohibited ([0104]), approval if the motion is below a threshold ([0104]), and approval if a minimum period of time has passed ([0104]). Additional clarification of the request (if supported by the specification) such as use of specific protocols, encryption, or other specifics would also overcome the prior art.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 17 (and all associated dependent claims) are allowed.
Claims 25-26 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 17-18, 20-21, 23-24, 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schwarz U.S. Patent/PG Publication 20180286126.
Regarding claim 23:
(Currently amended) A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: (Schwarz [0023] With reference now to FIG. 1, a schematic view of example implementations of computing and display devices for displaying UI element(s) is provided. In one example a computing device 10 is integrated into a head-mounted display (HMD) device 18. Computing device 10 may include a user interface (UI) element layout program 12 comprising instructions that may be stored in mass storage 16. The user interface element layout program 12 may be loaded into memory 20 and executed by a processor 22 to perform one or more of the methods and processes described herein. Additional details regarding the components and computing aspects of the computing device 10 are described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 18.).
receive, by an application running on an electronic device, a user request to switch a user interface of the application from a bounded mode to an exclusive mode, (Schwarz [0062] In some examples, the user interface element layout program 12 may receive user input to switch the display mode of one or more UI elements 76 from floating at an in-air location to being displayed on a physical surface. For example, where one or more UI elements 76 are not within the predetermined distance of the surface, the user may provide user input (such as a voice command) to adjust the UI elements to being displayed on the surface. In a similar manner, the user interface element layout program 12 may receive user input to switch the display mode of one or more UI elements 76 from being displayed on the physical surface to floating at an in-air location.)(Schwarz [0051] With reference now to FIGS. 5-7, in some examples and based on one or more determinations, the UI element layout program 12 may cause the UI elements 76 to be transitioned from a floating, in-air location to displayed on a physical surface.).
wherein the user interface, in the bounded mode, is displayed by a display of the electronic device with user interface elements of the user interface constrained to appear within a boundary at a perceivable location, remote from the display, within a physical environment, wherein the boundary is assigned to the application and defines a portion of the physical environment including the perceivable location, (Schwarz [0070] In the example of FIG. 10, when the user interface element layout program 12 determines that the UI elements 76 are within the predetermined distance 600 of table top 236, a visual indication may be displayed on the table top. In this example, the visual indication takes the form of an outlined area 620 that represents the location on the table top 236 where the UI elements 76 will be displayed. )(Schwarz [0063] In some examples, displaying one or more UI elements on the physical surface also may be based on determining that the physical surface has a surface area greater than a predetermined minimum surface area. In some examples and with reference again to FIG. 2, the HMD device 18 may determine whether the surface area of one or more surfaces, such as the table top 236, walls 214, 216 and 218, ceiling 220, and the top surface 242 of bookcase 240, is greater than a predetermined minimum surface area.)(Schwarz [0065] In some examples, displaying one or more user interface elements on the physical surface also may be based on determining that the physical surface comprises a planar surface. For example, one or more planar surfaces, such as table top 236 or wall 216, may be identified from image data 26 received by the HMD device 18. Any suitable scene analysis method or other technique for identifying planar surfaces may be utilized. In some examples, for a given surface the HMD device 18 may determine a depth error/distance between each depth pixel of the surface and a plane projected onto the surface. If the cumulative depth errors for the depth pixels of the surface are below a predetermined threshold, then the surface may be determined to be a planar surface.) since the interface is displayed within the physical surface boundary.
and wherein, in the exclusive mode, the user interface elements of the user interface are movable to locations outside the boundary (Schwarz [0049] As noted above, user 200 may interact with the UI elements 76 using one or more of a variety of interaction modalities. In some examples, when the UI elements 76 are displayed floating in the air, a layout of the elements may be optimized for gaze and/or gesture input from the user 200. For example, the UI elements 76 may be displayed as hovering in front of the corresponding virtual object and facing the HMD device 18 to enable easy selection by the user via gaze and/or gesture recognition. Additionally and as noted above, the layout of the UI elements 76 may be periodically adjusted such that the elements are facing the HMD device 18 and user 200. )(Schwarz [0078] In some examples, the user interface element layout program 12 may determine a location for displaying the one or more UI elements on a physical surface that avoids at least one obstruction on the physical surface. For example and with reference to FIG. 15, in this example a plant 274 may be sitting on table top 236 in a location where the UI elements 76 are to be displayed upon transitioning from a floating, in-air location. To avoid displaying the UI elements 76 on the plant while still displaying the elements near a desired location, the user interface element layout program 12 may modify the layout of the UI elements to a modified layout in which the move and rotate controls are displayed to the left of the plant 274 on the table top 236, and the scale and remove controls are displayed to the right of the plant.).
provide, by the application to a system process at the electronic device responsive to the user request, a request to switch the user interface from the bounded mode to the exclusive mode receive, by the application, an approval of the switch from the system process and modify, by the application, at least one user interface element of the user interface elements of the user interface for the exclusive mode (Schwarz [0062] In some examples, the user interface element layout program 12 may receive user input to switch the display mode of one or more UI elements 76 from floating at an in-air location to being displayed on a physical surface. For example, where one or more UI elements 76 are not within the predetermined distance of the surface, the user may provide user input (such as a voice command) to adjust the UI elements to being displayed on the surface. In a similar manner, the user interface element layout program 12 may receive user input to switch the display mode of one or more UI elements 76 from being displayed on the physical surface to floating at an in-air location.)(Schwarz [0051] With reference now to FIGS. 5-7, in some examples and based on one or more determinations, the UI element layout program 12 may cause the UI elements 76 to be transitioned from a floating, in-air location to displayed on a physical surface.).
Schwarz discloses the above elements in several embodiments. With the embodiments being disclosed in a single reference, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention being aware of one embodiment would also have been aware of the others, and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to have combined these elements from two or more embodiments into a single arrangement for the benefit of enjoying the advantages of all the embodiments disclosed combined into a single arrangement.
Regarding claim 24:
(Currently amended) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 23, has all of its limitations taught by Schwarz. Schwarz further teaches wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to modify the at least one user interface element by replacing the at least one user interface element with a controllable user interface element that is moveable to the locations outside the boundary of the bounded mode (Schwarz [0028] In some examples such image data 26 may be used by the processor 22 to detect movements within a field of view of the HMD device 18, such as gesture-based inputs or other movements performed by a wearer (e.g., a pinching of fingers, closing of a fist, pointing with a finger or hand, etc.), that indicate an action to be taken, a selection of a virtual object displayed via the HMD device 18, or other user input. In some examples, such image data 26 may be used to determine that a user touches a surface. (Schwarz [0032] In other examples, the HMD device 18 may operate in a body-lock display mode in which one or more virtual objects may be displayed via the HMD device with body-locked positions. In a body-locked position, a holographic object appears to be fixed relative to the wearer of the HMD device 18, and the body-locked position of the holographic object appears to be moveable relative to real-world objects.)(Schwarz [0033] In some examples, and as described in more detail below, a first virtual object may be displayed in an object-locked manner with respect to a second virtual object and/or the HMD device. In these examples, the first and second virtual objects appear to be positionally associated with one another, such that movement of one object causes corresponding movement of the other object. In other words, a position of the first object relative to the second object remains fixed when one or both objects are moved.)
Regarding claim 27:
(Original) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 23, has all of its limitations taught by Schwarz. Schwarz further teaches wherein, in the exclusive mode, the user interface comprises a full screen mixed reality user interface (Schwarz [0025] In some examples the HMD device 18 may comprise an at least partially see-through display 36 that is supported in front of a user's eye or eyes, thereby giving the user a view of his or her surroundings. Any suitable display technology and configuration may be used to display images via the at least partially see-through display 36. For example, the at least partially see-through display 36 may be configured to enable a wearer of the HMD device 18 to view a physical, real-world object in the physical environment through one or more partially transparent pixels that are displaying a virtual object representation. The at least partially see-through display 36 may include image-producing elements such as, for example, a see-through Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display.)(Schwarz [0043] With reference now to FIGS. 2-16, descriptions of example use cases of the present disclosure will now be provided. FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a user 200 wearing HMD device 18 and standing in the real world physical environment of a room 210. The room 210 includes a number of physical objects and surfaces, such as walls 214, 216 and 218, ceiling 220, couch 222, table 230, softball 232, art piece 234, and bookcase 240. Each of the physical objects may comprise one or more physical features, such as linear edges, curved edges, planar surfaces, curved surfaces, corners, angles, etc. For example, table 230 has a planar table top 236. In some examples physical features may represent useful semantic information, such as floors, doors, walls, ceilings, etc.).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON PRINGLE-PARKER whose telephone number is (571) 272-5690 and e-mail is jason.pringle-parker@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:30am-5:00pm est Monday-Friday. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, King Poon can be reached on (571) 270-0728. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JASON A PRINGLE-PARKER/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2617