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, 2, 7, 13-15, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Prichard-Fox (US Pat. 11,604,905) (hereinafter Prichard-Fox).
Regarding claims 1 and 14, Prichard-Fox teaches a method and CRM (claim 17 of Richard-Fox, “The smart render design tool of claim 8, wherein the first memory and the second memory are included in at least one of the designer computing device, the client computing device, or a remote server.”), comprising:
receiving, at a server from a remote device, an identifier (col. 11., lines 16-19, “Additionally or alternatively, the client side portal 200 may also be accessed by the client (customer) via a link or URL (refer to FIG. 14) that is sent to the client in an email or text message”; col. 6, line 65 to col. 7, line 11, “FIG. 3 shows a designer side GUI screen of the designer side plug-in of the smart render design tool for generating credentials for the client and associating the credentials with the model for the client. The designer will fill out the “ID” field 112 with a desired client identifier (e.g., ClientExample, client1, etc.)”);
identifying, with the identifier, a digital model associated with the identifier and determining, from the digital model and the identifier, access permissions to the digital model; (fig 3., model id: 925046e6-d2f7-4065-bf7b-35b3257e1d76-00005; col. 6, line 65 to col. 7, line 11, “FIG. 3 shows a designer side GUI screen of the designer side plug-in of the smart render design tool for generating credentials for the client and associating the credentials with the model for the client. The designer will fill out the “ID” field 112 with a desired client identifier (e.g., ClientExample, client1, etc.), and click on the “key” button 113 (circular arrow shown at (1) in FIG. 3) to generate a random key 114 (e.g., a pseudo-random sequence of numbers/letters or other characters), which will be used as a password or access code for the client. When both “id” field 112 and “key” field 114 are filled, the designer will click on “Generate client” button 115 (shown at (2) in FIG. 3) to save the client login credentials in association with a particular model for the client (e.g., a floor plan of a specific building design).”; col. 11, lines 24-30, “The client can login to the client side web-based portal 200 by accessing a website address (e.g., URL) or clicking on a link (e.g., a hyperlink) associated therewith, and then input their client identifier (ID) 112 and password (key) 114 to gain access to view the model (e.g., using the client credentials that were previously generated as shown in FIG. 3).”); and
transmitting, to the remote device, at least a portion of the digital model as allowed by the access permissions (col. 11, lines 38-42, “Once the client successfully logs into the client side web-based portal 200, the client's electronic device will display various instructions on how to use the smart render design tool (e.g., how to explore model, select materials, and save selections), as described below with reference to FIGS. 15A-15D.”; col 12, lines 7-13, “Once the client has progressed through the instruction screens 201a-201d of FIGS. 15A-15D, the client can then select surface(s) 221 and see different materials 226 (selectable options) that the designer has given them for each respective surface 221 (via the designer side GUI screens of the designer side plug-in 101 as described above), referring to FIGS. 16A-16I.”; see figs. 15A through 16I).
Regarding claims 2 and 15, Prichard-Fox teaches the method of claim 1 and CRM of claim 14, further comprising: receiving, from the remote device, a location within a structure that is associated with the digital model (fig. 16B, currently viewing the bathroom in the model, the client clicks on buttons 203, such as 203b, to switch to kitchen location in the model within the structure; col. 12, lines 35-38, “Referring to the client side GUI screen of FIG. 16B, in order to change to a different created 3D camera view 203 associated with the published model, the client can click on the camera button 203 and select a second 3D camera view 203b (e.g., Camera 1), for example. The client can then select additional surfaces 221 and select and/or change corresponding materials 226 in the second 3D camera view 203b, as described below with reference to FIGS. 16C, 16D, and 16E.; and transmitting, to the remote device based on the location, a portion of the digital model that is in view of the remote device (figs. 16C, after selecting the second 3D camera view 203b, the client remote device now views the kitchen).
Regarding claim 7, Richard-Fox teaches a non-transitory computer readable medium (CRM) comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus (claim 17 of Richard-Fox, “The smart render design tool of claim 8, wherein the first memory and the second memory are included in at least one of the designer computing device, the client computing device, or a remote server.”) to:
transmit, to a remote server, an identifier (col. 6, line 65 to col. 7, line 11, “FIG. 3 shows a designer side GUI screen of the designer side plug-in of the smart render design tool for generating credentials for the client and associating the credentials with the model for the client. The designer will fill out the “ID” field 112 with a desired client identifier (e.g., ClientExample, client1, etc.), and click on the “key” button 113 (circular arrow shown at (1) in FIG. 3) to generate a random key 114 (e.g., a pseudo-random sequence of numbers/letters or other characters), which will be used as a password or access code for the client. When both “id” field 112 and “key” field 114 are filled, the designer will click on “Generate client” button 115 (shown at (2) in FIG. 3) to save the client login credentials in association with a particular model for the client (e.g., a floor plan of a specific building design).”; col. 11, lines 24-30, “The client can login to the client side web-based portal 200 by accessing a website address (e.g., URL) or clicking on a link (e.g., a hyperlink) associated therewith, and then input their client identifier (ID) 112 and password (key) 114 to gain access to view the model (e.g., using the client credentials that were previously generated as shown in FIG. 3).”); and
receive, from the remote server, access to at least a portion of a digital model (col. 11, lines 24-30, “The client can login to the client side web-based portal 200 by accessing a website address (e.g., URL) or clicking on a link (e.g., a hyperlink) associated therewith, and then input their client identifier (ID) 112 and password (key) 114 to gain access to view the model (e.g., using the client credentials that were previously generated as shown in FIG. 3).;
wherein the digital model is associated with a physical structure (col. 6, line 65 to col. 7, line 11, “FIG. 3 shows a designer side GUI screen of the designer side plug-in of the smart render design tool for generating credentials for the client and associating the credentials with the model for the client…the client login credentials in association with a particular model for the client (e.g., a floor plan of a specific building design).”, the physical structure being associated with the identifier (figs. 3, 4A and 4B, the client login credentials are associated with the physical structure depicted by model id: 925046e6-d2f7-4065-bf7b-35b3257e1d76-00005 as seen in figures 4A and 4B as well as figs. 16A-16I).
Regarding claim 13, Richard-Fox teaches the CRM of claim 7. Prichard-Fox further teaches the apparatus is a mobile device (fig. 1, laptop client computing device 14).
Regarding claim 20, Richard-Fox teaches the CRM of claim 14. Prichard-Fox further teaches the instructions are to cause the apparatus to: receive, from the remote device, a user identity; and grant access to the digital model based in part on the user identity and any access permissions associated with the user identity (col. 6, line 65 to col. 7, line 11, “FIG. 3 shows a designer side GUI screen of the designer side plug-in of the smart render design tool for generating credentials for the client and associating the credentials with the model for the client. The designer will fill out the “ID” field 112 with a desired client identifier (e.g., ClientExample, client1, etc.), and click on the “key” button 113 (circular arrow shown at (1) in FIG. 3) to generate a random key 114 (e.g., a pseudo-random sequence of numbers/letters or other characters), which will be used as a password or access code for the client. When both “id” field 112 and “key” field 114 are filled, the designer will click on “Generate client” button 115 (shown at (2) in FIG. 3) to save the client login credentials in association with a particular model for the client (e.g., a floor plan of a specific building design).”; col. 11, lines 24-30, “The client can login to the client side web-based portal 200 by accessing a website address (e.g., URL) or clicking on a link (e.g., a hyperlink) associated therewith, and then input their client identifier (ID) 112 and password (key) 114 to gain access to view the model (e.g., using the client credentials that were previously generated as shown in FIG. 3).”)
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) 3-5 8-12, and 16-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Prichard-Fox as applied to claims 1 and 14 above, and further in view of Santarone et al. (US 2022/0229947) (hereinafter Santarone).
Regarding claims 3 and 16, Prichard-Fox teaches the method of claim 1 and CRM of claim 14. Prichard-Fox does not explicitly teach revoking access to the digital model based on the access permissions. However, Santarone teaches revoking access to the digital model based on the access permissions (ph. [0425], “a request from an Agent that is at a position that is not within the authorized area 1900 will be denied if the request is to access digital content being protected.”). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date would have been motivated to modify Prichard-Fox in the manner taught by Santarone to protect the intellectual property of the model from possibly being copied from offshore designers/manufacturers.
Regarding claims 4 and 17, the Prichard-Fox/Santarone combination teaches the method of claim 3 and CRM of claim 16. Santarone further teaches receiving, from the remote device, a location of the remote device (fig. 19, location of the remote device 1905 within the rectangular area formed by reference point transceivers 1901-1904); and
revoking access to the digital model when the location of the remote device is outside of a predetermined geofence (ph. [0425], “a request from an Agent that is at a position that is not within the authorized area 1900 will be denied if the request is to access digital content being protected.”). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date would have been motivated to modify Prichard-Fox in the manner taught by Santarone to so that the client only views the model while they’re in the space described by the model so that they may visualize the possibilities.
Regarding claims 5 and 18, the Prichard-Fox/Santarone combination teaches the method of claim 4 and CRM of claim 17. Santarone further teaches granting access to the digital model when the location of the remote device is inside of the predetermined geofence (ph. [0425], “In some embodiments, the radio position tag 1905 may be associated with a particular Agent. The transceiver 1901-1904 are positioned in an area 2900 that may be authorized for access to specified digital content being protected. As illustrated, if an authorized area position 1900 is designated as being with a rectangular area formed by reference point transceiver 1901-1904, then an Agent supported tag 1905 will be in a position authorized to have access to the specified digital content being protected.”).
Regarding claim 8, Prichard-Fox teaches the CRM of claim 7. Prichard-Fox does not explicitly teach the instructions are to further cause the apparatus to obtain the identifier from a physical marker. However, Santarone teaches the instructions are to further cause the apparatus to obtain the identifier from a physical marker (ph. [0022], “Alternatively, the tags may be physical, such as a small disk adhered to an item of equipment, vehicle, or a person's employee badge. Tracking of a position and content associated a physical tag may be updated in real time or on a periodic basis. Physical tags may be moved into a target area, or the target area may be moved to encompass the physical tag. The present invention will automatically generate an interface indicating which tags contained in the interface, what those tags are associated with and where a tag is in relation to the Smart Device. It will also access any information that has been stored and associated with the tag and present int on the Smart Device.”). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date would have been motivated to modify Prichard-Fox in the manner taught by Santarone to so that the client only views the model while they’re in the space described by the model so that they may visualize the possibilities.
Regarding claim 9, the Prichard-Fox/Santarone combination teaches the CRM of claim 8. Santarone further teaches the physical marker is an optical marker (ph. [0199], “For example, in some embodiments, a smart device 600 may communicate wirelessly with one or more of a Bluetooth transceiver, a UWB transceiver, a RFID device or an optical or sonic transceiver as the smart device traverses a known location area 616.”).
Regarding claim 10, the Prichard-Fox/Santarone combination teaches the CRM of claim 8. Santarone further teaches the physical marker is a radio frequency tag (ph. [0199], “For example, in some embodiments, a smart device 600 may communicate wirelessly with one or more of a Bluetooth transceiver, a UWB transceiver, a RFID device or an optical or sonic transceiver as the smart device traverses a known location area 616.”).
Regarding claim 11, Prichard-Fox teaches the CRM of claim 7. Prichard-Fox does not explicitly teach the identifier is a position within a geofence, and the instructions are to cause the apparatus to transmit its location to the remote server as the identifier. However, Santarone teaches the identifier is a position within a geofence, and the instructions are to cause the apparatus to transmit its location to the remote server as the identifier (ph. [0425], “In some embodiments, the radio position tag 1905 may be associated with a particular Agent. The transceiver 1901-1904 are positioned in an area 2900 that may be authorized for access to specified digital content being protected. As illustrated, if an authorized area position 1900 is designated as being with a rectangular area formed by reference point transceiver 1901-1904, then an Agent supported tag 1905 will be in a position authorized to have access to the specified digital content being protected.”; fig. 4, positioning data 412 transmitted to servers 403). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date would have been motivated to modify Prichard-Fox in the manner taught by Santarone to so that the client only views the model while they’re in the space described by the model so that they may visualize the possibilities.
Regarding claim 12, Prichard-Fox teaches the CRM of claim 7. Prichard-Fox does not explicitly teach the identifier is at least partially determined from a visual appearance of the physical structure, and the instructions are to cause the apparatus to transmit an image of the physical structure to the remote server as the identifier. However, Santarone teaches the identifier is at least partially determined from a visual appearance of the physical structure, and the instructions are to cause the apparatus to transmit an image of the physical structure to the remote server as the identifier (ph. [0227], “Identification of a known point may be accomplished, for example, via receiving a short distance communication, such as via BLE, NFC, ANT, or magnetic marker; image scan, image recognition of a known image at a known location”; ph. [0230], “Disorientation may be determined, by way of non-limiting example, by incongruity between captured imagery and stored image based records of an environment.”; ph. [0231], “ Image data may be placed along a predetermined path, located on one or more of: equipment, fixtures, and architectural aspects; positioned in an aesthetically pleasing decorative item and/or artwork: and otherwise arranged in an area of travel.”; fig. 4, positioning data 412 transmitted to server 412).
Claim(s) 6 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the Prichard-Fox/Santarone combination as applied to claims 3 and 16 above, and further in view of Berliner et al. (US 2022/0255974) (hereinafter Berliner).
Regarding claims 6 and 19, the Prichard-Fox/Santarone combination teaches the method of claim 3 and CRM of claim 16. The combination does not explicitly teach revoking access to the digital model based on the access permissions comprises revoking access when a predetermined time has elapsed. However, Berliner teaches revoking access to the digital model based on the access permissions comprises revoking access when a predetermined time has elapsed (ph. [0622], “The private extended reality environment may be configured to deny access after a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 10 minutes, 15 minutes, or any other predetermined time period). After expiry of the predetermined amount of time, the wearable extended reality appliance may no longer be able to display the extended reality environment… In one example, the provided access may be limited to the specific period of time, while in another example, once the access was provided in the specific period of time, the access may be preserved for at least a selected amount of time after the specific period of time has passed.”). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date would have been motivated to modify the Prichard-Fox/Santarone combination to include the time limited access of Berliner in order to limit the client’s access to the model to be only during the period of the contract.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Lebaredian et al. (US 2022/0101619) teaches a cloud-centric platform for collaboration and connectivity on 3D virtual environments.
Sadalgi et al. (US 2024/0193886) teaches generating a digital representation of a property.
Jagannathan et al. (US 2022/0317859) teaches provisioning a collaborative virtual experience of a building.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, James Trujillo can be reached at 571-272-3677. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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BRIAN W. WATHEN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2151
/BRIAN W WATHEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2151
Prosecution Insights