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 § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 4-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Sadalgi et al. (US 2024/0193886) (hereinafter Sadalgi).
Regarding claims 1 and 10, Sadalgi teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium (CRM), system comprising a processor, storage and display (figs. 17B and 18), comprising instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to:
provide a digital model of a structure, the digital model generated from and representing information about the structure (fig. 6, digital model of a house); and
provide an interface to selectively allow access into the digital model and corresponding information (ph. [0028]-[0030], “FIG. 7 is another example screen capture of an interactive user interface that allows a user to view and interact with visualizations of spaces in a property, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein…FIGS. 8A-8D are example screen captures of an interactive user interface that allows a user to update digital representations of spaces in a property, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein”; ph. [0030], “FIGS. 9A-9B are additional example screen captures of an interactive user interface that allows a user to update digital representations of spaces in a property, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein”) wherein the interface comprises:
controls over viewing and editing different aspects of the digital model (ph. [0028]-[0029], “FIG. 7 is another example screen capture of an interactive user interface that allows a user to view and interact with visualizations of spaces in a property, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein…FIGS. 8A-8D are example screen captures of an interactive user interface that allows a user to update digital representations of spaces in a property, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein”),
controls over accessing portions of the information that are associated with one or more physical portions of the structure (ph. [0033], “FIGS. 12A-12C are example screen captures of an interactive user interface that allows a user to visualize different products at a same position in a visualization of a space in a property, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein”), and
controls over whether the information may be read, written, or altered from a source external to the digital model (ph. [0127]-[0129], “Permissions field 222 may store access permissions for various users of the property and/or authentication information associated with the users. The access permissions may depend on the roles or types of the users. Access permissions associated with a user may indicate whether the user is permitted to access a digital representation of the property/spaces of the property and the type of access (read, write, update, admin, no access, etc.) or level of access (full access or limited access) permitted. For example, a current owner of the property may be permitted to read, write, and/or update the digital representation of the property whereas a past owner may not be permitted to access the digital representation of the property... For example, information in the roles, permissions, and/or authentication fields may be updated to reflect changes in information associated with the user, such as changes in authentication information (e.g., changing a user id or password), changes in roles (e.g., changing a current or active vendor to past or inactive vendor when a project is completed), and/or changes to permissions (e.g., changing an access type or level of access for a user, such as, changing a read and write permission for a designer currently working on a project to a read permission when the project is completed).”).
Regarding claim 4, Sadalgi teaches the CRM of claim 1, wherein the instructions are to further cause the apparatus to, in response to user input to one or more of the controls, selectively display or hide, on the interface, one of the one or more physical portions of the structure (ph. [0187], “The imagery associated with the spaces may be presented in the form of selectable image icons 706, 708, 710, 712. An icon, when selected by the user, may cause an interactive user interface including an expanded visualization of the space to be presented. For example, selection of icon 706 associated with the living room may cause an expanded visualization 808 of the living room to be presented via interactive user interface 830 (FIG. 8D)”).
Regarding claim 5, Sadalgi teaches the CRM of claim 1, wherein the instructions are to further cause the apparatus to, in response to user input to one or more of the controls, add, delete, edit, or view information tagged to the one or more physical portions (Fig. 14, comments 1450, 1452, 1454 received from three users (other than the first user) that the visualization was shared with.).
Regarding claim 6, Sadalgi teaches the CRM of claim 1, wherein the instructions are to further cause the apparatus to manipulate, in response to user input to one or more of the controls, a view of the digital model (ph. [0223], “In some embodiments, the interactive user interface 1200 may include a product browsing interface 1205 that allows a user to see information about one or more products in the space. For example, the user may wish to browse through couches for a particular position in the space. User input indicating a first couch and a position in visualization 1210 at which to insert a visualization (e.g., 3D model) of the first couch may be received. In response to the user input, the visualization may be updated to include the visualization of the first product (e.g., 1202) at the selected position.”).
Regarding claim 7, Sadalgi teaches the CRM of claim 1, wherein the instructions are to further cause the apparatus to provide, in response to user input to one or more of the controls, a view of a status of an appliance that is associated with the digital model (ph. [0227], “The inventors have recognized that users typically shop for products in-context of their space (e.g., a dining table for the dining room, an armchair for the living room, an oven for the kitchen, a swing set for the porch, etc.).”; ph. [0232], “For example, after browsing through various product options determined by the system, the user may select a particular product for purchase. The interactive user interface 1300 allows the user to confirm pricing and select delivery options.”; Fig. 13A, view the status of 15% OFF the item that is associated with the digital model, whether it’s the sofa in figure 13A or the oven for the kitchen mentioned in ph. [0227]).
Regarding claims 8 and 17, Sadalgi teaches the CRM of claim 1 and system of claim 11, wherein the instructions are to further cause the apparatus to provide, in the interface, controls for the ingestion of additional information about the structure (Fig. 14, system controls the ingestion of additional information/comments 1450, 1452, 1454 received from three users (other than the first user) that the visualization was shared with.).
Regarding claim 9, Sadalgi teaches the CRM of claim 1, wherein the instructions are to further cause the apparatus to provide, in the interface, controls for a user of the interface to insert comments into the digital model, the comments selectively viewable by other users of the interface (Fig. 14, comment 1454, mom thinks the coffee table is a great choice).
Regarding claim 10, Sadalgi teaches the CRM of claim 9, wherein the instructions are to further cause the comments to be tagged to one or more portions of the digital model (Fig. 14, the comment 1450 from aunt may saying I love this couch is tagged to the couch, cousin sarah’s comment 1452 is tagged to the rug and mom’s comment 1454 is tagged to the coffee table.).
Regarding claim 12, Sadalgi teaches the system of claim 11, wherein the digital model comprises a 3D rendering of the structure (Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 13, Sadalgi teaches the system of claim 11, wherein the digital model comprises a 2D floor plan of the structure (ph. [0047], “The digital representation of the property may include a two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) representation of the property.”).
Regarding claim 14, Sadalgi teaches the system of claim 11, wherein the controls over viewing and editing different aspects of the digital model comprise controls for inserting, editing, or deleting objects from the digital model (Fig. 11A and 11B, inserting outdoor dining objects)
Regarding claim 15, Sadalgi teaches the system of claim 11, wherein the interface further comprises one or more inventory lists corresponding to items located within the structure represented by the digital model (ph. [0225], “The home data may include the spatial data, imagery and/or information about objects associated with the home/spaces of the home. In some embodiments, utilizing the home data may enable context aware and spatially aware computer vision powered search and recommendations. For example, a user may be looking to replace a couch, for example, couch 1202 in FIG. 12A. The system may perform a search for alternative couch options from the product catalog and filter the search results based on the user data and the home data (including data associated with the space, such as dimensions of the room, location of one or more other objects in the room, style of one or more objects in the room, etc.)”).
Regarding claim 16, Sadalgi teaches the system of claim 11, wherein the interface further comprises controls to allow a user of the system to insert annotations to the digital model that are selectively viewable by other users of the system (Fig. 14, comments from mom, aunt may and cousin sarah).
Regarding claim 18, Sadalgi teaches the system of claim 11, wherein the display comprises a web browser, and the interface is rendered in the web browser (ph. [0168], “may include generating a web interface at server computing device 102 that allows a user at any client computing device 104a, 104b, . . . , 104n to interact with content of the web interface (including the visualizations) via a client program (e.g., a web browser).”).
Regarding claim 19, Sadalgi teaches the system of claim 11, wherein the interface comprises a standalone application. (ph. [0163], “The digital representation of the property may be accessed via the technology platform App installed on client computing device 104a, 104b, . . . , 104n. The App may generate a user interface that allows a user to access the digital representation of the property”).
Regarding claim 20, Sadalgi teaches the system of claim 11, wherein the display is part of a remote device, and the remote device is coupled to the processor over a network (ph. [0168], “In other implementations, causing the interactive user interface to be presented includes providing, by server computing device 102, information about the visualizations to any client computing device 104a, 104b, . . . , 104n, which are then displayed at the client computing device.”).
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) 2-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sadalgi as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Berliner et al. (US 2022/0255974) (hereinafter Berliner).
Regarding claim 2, Sadalgi teaches the CRM of claim 1 but does not explicitly teach causing the apparatus to generate a unique link that allows access to the digital model and corresponding information. However, Berliner teaches causing the apparatus to generate a unique link that allows access to the digital model and corresponding information (ph. [0218], “ In one example, the link may include a direct and/or in-direct communication link between the two extended reality appliances. In another example, a system (such as a centralized system) may be in communication with each one of the two extended reality appliances, for example to provide each one of the two extended reality appliances content for presentation, to receive location and/or orientation information associated with the extended reality appliances, and/or any other information pertaining to presenting content. The link may include a linkage in a data-structure or a database of the system or maintained by the system. In one non-limiting example, a detected proximity of two entities may trigger an automatic or selectable sharing of content. In other embodiments, one entity may select content for sharing either with a group or an individual or may tie content to a physical or virtual location enabling anyone accessing that location to view the content. In some embodiments, content sharing may be enabled through permissions, where viewing of shared content is only enabled for entities with appropriate authority. In yet other embodiments, rules may define with whom content may be shared.”; ph. [0274], “For example, a project mock-up, such as a bridge, building, or other scale or architectural model, may be shared as a three-dimensional virtual object with another user.”). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date would have been motivated to modify Sadalgi in the manner taught by Berliner to allow building owners and designers to interactively collaborate on the same model.
Regarding claim 3, the Sadalgi/Berliner combination teaches the CRM of claim 2. Berliner further teaches causing the apparatus to associate, with the unique link, one or more permissions that determine the level of access into the digital model and corresponding information provided through the unique link (ph. [0218], “In one example, the link may include a direct and/or in-direct communication link between the two extended reality appliances. In another example, a system (such as a centralized system) may be in communication with each one of the two extended reality appliances, for example to provide each one of the two extended reality appliances content for presentation, to receive location and/or orientation information associated with the extended reality appliances, and/or any other information pertaining to presenting content… In other embodiments, one entity may select content for sharing either with a group or an individual or may tie content to a physical or virtual location enabling anyone accessing that location to view the content. In some embodiments, content sharing may be enabled through permissions, where viewing of shared content is only enabled for entities with appropriate authority.”). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date would have been motivated to modify Sadalgi in the manner taught by Berliner to allow building owners and designers to interactively collaborate on the same model.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Whitney et al. (US 2021/0397757) teaches generating space models using machine learning.
Lebaredian et al. (US 2022/0101619) teaches cloud platform for collaboration and connectivity on 3D environments.
Cini (US 2022/0406027) teaches rendering and modifying 3D models for interior design.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN W WATHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-5570. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5:30pm.
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BRIAN W. WATHEN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2151
/BRIAN W WATHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2151
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