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 AIA .
Status of Claims
This communication is a Non-Final office action in response to RCE filed on 10/29/2025. Claims 1, 3-5, 7, 13, 14, 16 and 17 have been amended. Therefore, claims 1-17 are currently pending and have been addressed below.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 10/29/2025 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claims contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Newly amended Independent claims 1, 16 and 17 recite: “analyzing temporal changes of facial feature points representing facial muscles in the acquired image information to extract facial muscle movements, and calculating emotional states corresponding to the extracted facial muscle movements based on predefined mapping rules”. “Facial muscles” is only mentioned once in Applicant’s specification, with no details or specifics and “facial feature points” is not in Applicant’s specification. Further, Applicant’s specification does not include “predefined mapping rules”, let alone “calculating emotional states corresponding to the extracted facial muscle movements based on predefined mapping rules”. The ‘written description’ requirement implements the principle that a patent must describe the technology that is sought to be patented; the requirement serves both to satisfy the inventor’s obligation to disclose the technologic knowledge upon which the patent is based, and to demonstrate that the patentee was in possession of the invention that is claimed." Capon v. Eshhar, 418 F.3d 1349, 1357, 76 USPQ2d 1078, 1084 (Fed. Cir. 2005). Further, the written description requirement promotes the progress of the useful arts by ensuring that patentees adequately describe their inventions in their patent specifications in exchange for the right to exclude others from practicing the invention for the duration of the patent’s term.
To satisfy the written description requirement, a patent specification must describe the claimed invention in sufficient detail that one skilled in the art can reasonably conclude that the inventor had possession of the claimed invention. See, e.g., Moba, B.V. v. Diamond Automation, Inc., 325 F.3d 1306, 1319, 66 USPQ2d 1429, 1438 (Fed. Cir. 2003); Vas-Cath, Inc. v. Mahurkar, 935 F.2d at 1563, 19 USPQ2d at 1116. However, a showing of possession alone does not cure the lack of a written description. Enzo Biochem, Inc. v. Gen-Probe, Inc., 323 F.3d 956, 969-70, 63 USPQ2d 1609, 1617 (Fed. Cir. 2002). An applicant shows possession of the claimed invention by describing the claimed invention with all of its limitations using such descriptive means as words, structures, figures, diagrams, and formulas that fully set forth the claimed invention. Lockwood v. Amer. Airlines, Inc., 107 F.3d 1565, 1572, 41 USPQ2d 1961, 1966 (Fed. Cir. 1997). The claimed invention as a whole may not be adequately described if the claims require an essential or critical feature which is not adequately described in the specification and which is not conventional in the art or known to one of ordinary skill in the art (MPEP 2163 | (A)). Dependent claims inherit the deficiencies of the parent claims and thus dependent claims are rejected on the same basis as indicated above for the respective parent claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception without a practical application and significantly more.
Step 1: Identifying Statutory Categories
When considering subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101, it must be determined whether the claims are directed to one of the four statutory categories of invention, i.e., process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter (i.e., Step 1). In the instant case, claims 1-15 are directed to a system (i.e. a machine). Claim 16 is directed to a method (i.e., a process). Claim 17 is directed to a non-transitory recording medium (i.e. an article of manufacture). Thus, each of these claims fall within one of the four statutory categories. Nevertheless, the claims fall within the judicial exception of an abstract idea.
Step 2A: Prong One: Abstract Ideas
Claims 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention recites an abstract idea. Representative independent claim 1, analogous to independent claims 16 and 17 recites: an information processing system comprising: acquire, by each of a plurality of users, user meeting information indicating a state of a corresponding one of the plurality of users in a meeting in which the plurality of users participate; the user meeting information including image information indicating a facial expression of the first user and image information indicating a facial expression of the second user acquired; acquire work information related to a history of work-related activities of the plurality of users; divide the meeting into a plurality of segments; calculate a relationship index for each of the plurality of segments, the relationship index reflecting emotional states shared between the plurality of users based on the acquired user meeting information and the acquired work information; by analyzing temporal changes of facial feature points representing facial muscles in the acquired image information facial muscle movements, and calculating emotional states corresponding to the facial muscle movements based on predefined mapping rules; arrange the plurality of calculated relationship indices in chronological order of the segments to generate time-series relationship index information; store the relationship index; and generate, based on the relationship index that is stored, presentation information for presenting the relationship index to each of the plurality of users, and present the presentation information. The limitations as drafted, is a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, falls under at least the abstract groupings of:
Certain methods of organizing human activity (commercial or legal interactions (including advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors; business relations; (managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions)). As the claims discuss acquiring user meeting information indicating a state of a corresponding one of the plurality of users in a meeting in which the plurality of users participate, acquiring work information related to a history of work-related activities of the plurality of users, calculating a relationship, the relationship index reflecting emotional states, the index indicating a relationship between the plurality of users based on the acquired user meeting information and the acquired work information, and generating, based on the relationship index that is stored, presentation information for presenting the relationship index to each of the plurality of users, which is one of certain methods of organizing human activity.
Mental Processes (concepts performed in the human mind (including an observation, evaluation, judgement, opinion (claim 1 recites for example, “acquire, by each of a plurality of users, user meeting information indicating a state of a corresponding one of the plurality of users in a meeting in which the plurality of users participate”, “acquire work information related to a history of work-related activities of the plurality of users”, “divide the meeting into a plurality of segments”, “calculate a relationship index for each of the plurality of segments, the relationship index reflecting emotional states shared between the plurality of users based on the acquired user meeting information and the acquired work information”, “calculating emotional states corresponding to the facial muscle movements based on predefined mapping rules”; “arrange the plurality of calculated relationship indices in chronological order of the segments to generate time-series relationship index information”, “store the relationship index”, “generate, based on the relationship index that is stored, presentation information for presenting the relationship index to each of the plurality of users”, “present the presentation information”.) Concepts performed in the human mind as mental processes because the steps of acquiring, calculating, generating, analyzing and presenting data mimic human thought processes of observation, evaluation, judgement and opinion, perhaps with paper and pencil, where data interpretation is perceptible in the human mind. See In re TLI Commc’ns LLCPatentLitig., 823 F.3d 607, 611 (Fed. Cir. 2016); FairWarning IP, LLC v. Iatric Sys., Inc., 839 F.3d 1089, 1093-94 (Fed. Cir. 2016)). Dependent claims 2-15 add additional limitations, for example: (claim 2), wherein the user meeting information includes at least one of image information of the plurality of users, voice information of the plurality of users, or physiological information of the plurality of users; (claim 3) wherein the presentation information includes either a value of the relationship index for each of the plurality of segments, representing the value, determine a feature having a degree of influence based on the relationship index, among a plurality of features indicated by user information, the user information including the user meeting information and the work information, and generate the presentation information including information related to the determined(claim 7) wherein the plurality of features include one or more of a feature of image information included in the user meeting information, a feature of voice information included in the user meeting information, a feature of physiological information included in the user meeting information, and a feature of the work information; (claim 8) generate an improvement plan for improving the relationship, based on the determined(claim 9) generate the presentation information for presentation during the meeting; (claim 10) determine whether an improvement according to the improvement plan is being made, based on a feature having a degree of influence on the relationship index that is higher than a threshold, the feature being calculated after the improvement plan is presented; and output a result of the determination; (claim 11) determine whether the improvement according to the improvement plan is being made during a meeting, and output the result of the determination during the meeting; (claim 12) wherein the result of the determination is output in the form of a display image, sound, vibration, and light; (claim 13) acquire user meeting information indicating a state of a corresponding one of the one or more other users in a meeting in which the one or more other users participate, acquire work information of the one or more other users, calculate a relationship index for a set of users including the plurality of users and the one or more other users, based on the user meeting information of the plurality of users, the work information of the plurality of users, the user meeting information of the one or more other users, and the work information of the one or more other users, and generate the presentation information based on the relationship index for the set of users; (claim 14) acquire, from a terminal device used by each of a plurality of other users other than the plurality of users, user meeting information indicating a state of a corresponding one of the plurality of other users in a meeting in which the plurality of other users participate, acquire work information of the plurality of other users, calculate relationship indices for combinations of other users, each of the combinations of other users including some or all of the plurality of other users, each of the relationship indices being calculated based on the user meeting information of the plurality of users, the work information of the plurality of users, the user meeting information of the other users included in a corresponding one of the combinations of other users among of the plurality of other users, and the work information of the other users included in the corresponding one of the combinations of other users, and generate the presentation information including information on a ranking of the combinations of other users, based on the relationship indices for the combinations of other users; (claim 15) wherein the plurality of users belongs to a same organization, but these only serve to further limit the abstract idea. If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation of certain methods of organizing human activity and mental processes but for the recitation of generic computer components, the claims recite an abstract idea.
Step 2A: Prong Two
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claims merely describe how to generally “apply” the abstract idea. In particular, the claims only recite the additional elements – (claim 1) circuitry, terminal device(s), extract, memory (claim 17) a non-transitory recording medium, processor(s). These additional elements are recited at a high-level of generality such that it amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. Simply implementing the abstract idea on generic computer components is not a practical application of the abstract idea, as it adds the words “apply it” (or an equivalent) with the judicial exception, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely uses a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea, as discussed in MPEP 2106.05(f). The limitations generally link the abstract idea to a particular technological environment or field of use (such as computing, see MPEP 2106.05(h)). Looking at the limitations as an ordered combination adds nothing that is not already present when looking at the elements taken individually. There is no indication that the combination of elements improves the functioning of a computer or improves any other technology. Their collective functions merely provide generic computer implementation and do not impose a meaningful limit to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application.
Step 2B:
The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to discussion of integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional elements amount to no more than mere instructions to apply an exception and generally link the abstract idea to a particular technological environment or field of use. Furthermore, claims 1-17 have been fully analyzed to determine whether there are additional elements recited that amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. The limitations fail to include an improvement to another technology or technical field, an improvement to the functioning of the computer itself, or meaningful limitations beyond generally linking the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment. Thus, nothing in the claim adds significantly more to the abstract idea. Looking at the limitations as an ordered combination adds nothing that is not already present when looking at the elements taken individually. There is no indication that the combination of elements improves the functioning of a computer or improves any other technology. Their collective functions merely provide conventional computer implementation. The claims are ineligible. Therefore, since there are no limitations in the claim that transform the exception into a patent eligible application such that the claim amounts to significantly more than the exception itself, the claims are rejected under 35 USC 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter.
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, 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
Claims 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over AKITOMI et al. (US 2013/0053086 A1), hereinafter “Akitomi”, over Peters et al. (US 2021/0076002 A1), hereinafter “Peters”.
Regarding Claim 1, Akitomi teaches An information processing system comprising: circuitry configured to: (Akitomi, Abstract, An information processing system including plural terminals, a base station to communicate with the terminals, and a management server coupled via a network to the base station; para 0051, The management server SV1 is comprised of an interface IF1 coupled to a cable network LAN1, and a processor CPU1, a memory MEM1, a sensor database SD1, and a recording device DB1);
acquire, from respective terminal devices used by each of a plurality of users including a first user and a second user, user meeting information indicating a state of a corresponding one of the plurality of users in a meeting in which the plurality of users participate, ... (Akitomi, para 0048, installed in meeting places such as conference rooms, laboratories, or coffee break areas …. The work meeting places of each worker can in this way be known by sending this information by way of the wireless communication; Abstract, a behavioral information sensor to acquire behavioral information on the person wearing the terminal; para 0126, technique for deciding whether each worker is in an activity state or not ... Taking positive action at work allows gathering information from within and outside the organization and promotes the forming of ideal through energetic discussion. Some actions assumed in such cases might include, “face-to-face meetings including gestures as well as words” and “face-to-face meetings by heading toward the location where the other party is present”.);
divide the meeting into a plurality of segments; (See at least Akitomi, Figure 12, para 0137-0138, teaches calculating data in time units; Further, see for example, Akitomi, para 0149 and Figure 15, teaches the time per day that the workers W1 and W2 met face-to-face during the target period was 20 minutes);
calculate a relationship index for each of the plurality of segments, the relationship index reflecting emotional states shared between the plurality of users based on the acquired user meeting information and the acquired work information ... (Akitomi, para 0016, FIG. 6 is a drawing for describing the team (also called structural) relation index; Akitomi, Figure 19, para 0126, Taking positive action at work allows gathering information from within and outside the organization and promotes the forming of ideal through energetic discussion. The present inventors carried out experiments relating to the activity and action (or movement) rhythm of such users and the consequent results such as from video data, and discovered that compared to other time bands, the time band for active work has a high acceleration frequency);
arrange the plurality of calculated relationship indices in … to generate time-series relationship index information; store the relationship index in a memory; and (Akitomi, para 0016, FIG. 6 is a drawing for describing the team (also called structural) relation index; Akitomi, para 0147, teaches calculates the face-to-face time RCH1 for all two person combinations within the organization and stores those results in the face-to-face time matrix RCHMM1 as shown in FIG. 15; para 0043, teaches a memory);
generate, based on the relationship index that is stored, presentation information for presenting the relationship index to each of the plurality of users, and cause one or more terminal devices of the plurality of users to present the presentation information (Akitomi, Figure 18, teaches display relation characteristics; Further, Akitomi, para 0221 and throughout Akitomi teaches various displays of data). Yet, Akitomi does not appear to explicitly teach and in the same field of endeavor; Peters teaches the user meeting information including image information indicating a facial expression of the first user acquired by a first terminal used by the first user and image information indicating a facial expression of the second user acquired by a second terminal used by the second user; (Peters teaches analyzing facial information throughout, see at least Peters, Figures 9D and 16; para 0072, teaches performs facial image or expression recognition, for example, indicating when a certain expression (such as a smile, frown, eyebrow raise, etc.) is detected) acquire work information related to a history of work-related activities of the plurality of users; (See at least Peters, para 0140, 0157-0158, teaching performance of individuals in a communication session. For example, the system can measure effectiveness of a manager regarding how well they facilitate participation and collaboration among groups. For example, the actions of managers or facilitators in meetings, and the emotional responses they produce can be correlated with employee performance, sales, task completion, employee retention, and other measures. The system can then inform individuals which aspects e.g., topics, meeting durations, meeting sizes or participants per meeting, frequency of meetings, type/range/intensity of presenter emotions, speaking time distributions, etc.) by analyzing temporal changes of facial feature points representing facial muscles in the acquired image information to extract facial muscle movements, and calculating emotional states corresponding to the extracted facial muscle movements based on predefined mapping rules; (Examiner notes calculating emotional states corresponding to the extracted facial muscle movements based on predefined mapping rules is not in Applicant’s specification, see above 112 rejection. Rather, Applicant’s specification page 8, describes calculating based on six basic emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise). This is analogous to Peters, see at least Peters, Figures 9D, teaching “Happiness, sadness, anger and stress” and Figure 16 teaching “surprise”. Peters teaches analyzing facial information throughout, see at least Peters, Figures 9D and 16; para 0072, teaches performs facial image or expression recognition, for example, indicating when a certain expression (such as a smile, frown, eyebrow raise, etc.) is detected; Further, Peters, para 0096, teaches stress hormones increase blood flow to skeletal muscles, intensifies breathing and heart rate, dilates pupils, and elevates blood pressure ...detect these physiological changes, for example, though analysis of video data provided during the video conference. Even further, Peters, para 0131, teaches pattern detection can be used, along with various other techniques, to identify micro expressions or “micro-tells” that can signal emotional states and complex conditions beyond basic emotions. People reveal feelings and thoughts through brief, involuntary movements or actions) chronological order of the segments (See at least Peters, para 0339, scores are determined for multiple times during a communication session. For example, a set of scores that indicate a participant's emotional and cognitive state can be generated at an interval, such as every 10 seconds or every minute, etc. This results in a time series of measures of participant emotional and cognitive state, and the participant scores can be aligned with other events and conditions in the communication session ... the different participant scores can be time stamped to indicate the times that they occurred.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Akitomi with the user meeting information including image information indicating a facial expression of the first user acquired by a first terminal used by the first user and image information indicating a facial expression of the second user acquired by a second terminal used by the second user; acquire work information related to a history of work-related activities of the plurality of users; ... by analyzing temporal changes of facial feature points representing facial muscles in the acquired image information to extract facial muscle movements, and calculating emotional states corresponding to the extracted facial muscle movements based on predefined mapping rules; ... chronological order of the segments as taught by Peters with the motivation for enhanced video conference management including a recommended action predicted to encourage or discourage an identified emotional or cognitive state in a communication session (Peters, Abstract).The Akitomi invention now incorporating the Peters invention, has all the limitations of claim 1.
Regarding Claim 2, Akitomi, now incorporating Peters, teaches The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the user meeting information includes at least one of image information of the plurality of users, voice information of the plurality of users, or physiological information of the plurality of users (Akitomi, para 0043, The worker WKR1 retains a sensor node mounted on a name tag or a wrist band. The sensor node is a sensor device comprised of a processor circuit, a wireless circuit coupled to an antenna, a sensor such as for voice; para 0138, Activity state judgments for example may be made based on voice intensity; para 0126, relating to the activity and action (or movement) rhythm of such users and the consequent results such as from video data).
Regarding Claim 3, Akitomi, now incorporating Peters, teaches The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the presentation information includes either a value of the relationship index for each of the plurality of segments,information representing the value,or both the value and the graphical information (Akitomi, para 0016, FIG. 6 is a drawing for describing the team (also called structural) relation index, Examiner notes Figure 6 is information on a graphical representation of the values).
Regarding Claim 4, Akitomi, now incorporating Peters, teaches The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the presentation information includes information representing a time-series arrangement of relationship indices each corresponding to one of the plurality of segments (Akitomi; Figures 11 and 12, teaches a time series in a presentation; Further, see at least Peters, Figure 16, teaches timeline of presentation information; Even Further, Examiner notes other variations of presenting information are certainly within the ability of those having ordinary skill in the art).
Regarding Claim 5, Akitomi, now incorporating Peters, teaches The information processing system according to claim 4, wherein the presentation information includes event information corresponding to the relationship indices arranged in a time series (Akitomi, para 0098, teaches The team relation matrix TRM shown in FIG. 7 stores the team relation index TRI among optional two persons extracted from individual information contained in the individual information table TEAMINFO. The team relation index TRI just as shown in FIG. 6 is utilized to show information from the organization; Figures 11 and 12, teaches a time series in a presentation; Further, see at least Peters, Figure 16, teaches timeline of presentation information; Examiner notes other variations of presenting information are certainly within the ability of those having ordinary skill in the art).
Regarding Claim 6, Akitomi, now incorporating Peters, teaches The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to determine a feature having a degree of influence based on the relationship index, among a plurality of features indicated by user information, the user information including the user meeting information and the work information, and (Akitomi, para 0201, all the two-person estimated face-to-face times in the same way and stores these times in the estimated face-to-face time matrix; 0094, relation characteristics quantities are known to strongly reflect how an individual associates with other persons. Quantitatively determining these related characteristic quantities allows estimating beforehand what type of relation will be established at times such as when a team member has been transferred for example for personnel placement or when the members are the same but their mutual relation has change (for example when a colleague has become a boss) the circuitry is configured to generate the presentation information including information related to the determined feature (Akitomi, para 0034, FIG. 24 is a drawing for describing the estimated results diagram including the display of the estimated productivity shown on the display unit).
Regarding Claim 7, Akitomi, now incorporating Peters, teaches The information processing system according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of features include one or more of a feature of image information included in the user meeting information, a feature of voice information included in the user meeting information, a feature of physiological information included in the user meeting information, and a feature of the work information (Akitomi, para 0043, The worker WKR1 retains a sensor node mounted on a name tag or a wrist band. The sensor node is a sensor device comprised of a processor circuit, a wireless circuit coupled to an antenna, a sensor such as for voice; para 0138, Activity state judgments for example may be made based on voice intensity; para 0126, relating to the activity and action (or movement) rhythm of such users and the consequent results such as from video data. Further, Peters teaches facial and voice feature information throughout, see at least Peters, para 0131).
Regarding Claim 8, Akitomi, now incorporating Peters, teaches The information processing system according to claim 6, wherein the circuitry is further configured to … , based on the determined feature, and generate the presentation information (Akitomi, para 0034, FIG. 24 is a drawing for describing the estimated results diagram including the display of the estimated productivity shown on the display unit). Yet, Akitomi does not appear to explicitly teach and in the same field of endeavor; Peters teaches generate an improvement plan for improving the relationship … including the improvement plan (See at least Peters, para 0133, teaches monitor the engagement of participants with respect to who is speaking (and/or other factors such as the specific topic, slides, or content being discussed). The system may determine that when a certain person starts talking, some people lose interest but one particular person pays attention. The system may determine that when voice stress gets to a certain level, people start paying attention, or it may determine that the people involved stop paying attention. This monitoring enables the system to measure a speaker's impact on specific participants, subgroups of participants, and on the group as a whole. This information can be provided to participants, or to a presenter, moderator, or other person, in order to improve. Examiner notes this is analogous to Applicant’s own specification, Figure 9.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Akitomi with generate an improvement plan for improving the relationship … including the improvement plan as taught by Peters with the motivation for enhanced video conference management including a recommended action predicted to encourage or discourage an identified emotional or cognitive state in a communication session (Peters, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 9, Akitomi, now incorporating Peters, teaches The information processing system according to claim 8, wherein the circuitry is further configured to generate the presentation information for presentation during the meeting (Akitomi, para 0030, FIG. 20 is a drawing for describing the relational characteristics display diagram shown on the display unit; Examiner notes display units are throughout Akitomi; para 0048, meeting places such as conference rooms, Examiner notes presenting information during a conference is certainly within the ability of those having ordinary skill in the art).
Regarding Claim 10, Akitomi, now incorporating Peters, teaches The information processing system according to claim 8, wherein the circuitry is further configured to: … , based on a feature having a degree of influence on the relationship index that is higher than a threshold, the feature being calculated (Akitomi, para 0201, all the two-person estimated face-to-face times in the same way and stores these times in the estimated face-to-face time matrix; 0094, relation characteristics quantities are known to strongly reflect how an individual associates with other persons. Quantitatively determining these related characteristic quantities; para 0132, exceeded a certain threshold value).
Yet, Akitomi does not appear to explicitly teach and in the same field of endeavor; Peters teaches determine whether an improvement according to the improvement plan is being made … after the improvement plan is presented; and output a result of the determination (See at least Peters, para 0133, teaches monitor the engagement of participants with respect to who is speaking (and/or other factors such as the specific topic, slides, or content being discussed). The system may determine that when a certain person starts talking, some people lose interest but one particular person pays attention. The system may determine that when voice stress gets to a certain level, people start paying attention, or it may determine that the people involved stop paying attention. This monitoring enables the system to measure a speaker's impact on specific participants, subgroups of participants, and on the group as a whole. This information can be provided to participants, or to a presenter, moderator, or other person, in order to improve. Peters, para 0134-0135, teaches monitor emotion and feedback, including during a meeting, or can provide a summary/report after a session has ended. Examiner notes this is analogous to Applicant’s own specification, Figure 9.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Akitomi with determine whether the improvement according to the improvement plan is being made during a meeting, and output the result of the determination during the meeting as taught by Peters with the motivation for enhanced video conference management including a recommended action predicted to encourage or discourage an identified emotional or cognitive state in a communication session (Peters, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 11, Akitomi, now incorporating Peters, teaches The information processing system according to claim 10, wherein the circuitry is further configured to.
Yet, Akitomi does not appear to explicitly teach and in the same field of endeavor; Peters teaches determine whether the improvement according to the improvement plan is being made during a meeting, and output the result of the determination during the meeting (See at least Peters, para 0133, teaches monitor the engagement of participants with respect to who is speaking (and/or other factors such as the specific topic, slides, or content being discussed). The system may determine that when a certain person starts talking, some people lose interest but one particular person pays attention. The system may determine that when voice stress gets to a certain level, people start paying attention, or it may determine that the people involved stop paying attention. This monitoring enables the system to measure a speaker's impact on specific participants, subgroups of participants, and on the group as a whole. This information can be provided to participants, or to a presenter, moderator, or other person, in order to improve. Peters, para 0134-0135, teaches monitor emotion and feedback, including during a meeting, or can provide a summary/report after a session has ended. Examiner notes this is analogous to Applicant’s own specification, Figure 9.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Akitomi with determine whether the improvement according to the improvement plan is being made during a meeting, and output the result of the determination during the meeting as taught by Peters with the motivation for enhanced video conference management including a recommended action predicted to encourage or discourage an identified emotional or cognitive state in a communication session (Peters, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 12, Akitomi, now incorporating Peters, teaches The information processing system according to claim 11, wherein the result of the determination is output in the form of a display image, sound, vibration, and light (Akitomi, para 0126, here we judge the time band where the acceleration frequency exceeds a specified (or certain) threshold value as the activity state. A typical acceleration frequency is 2 HZ or higher (Examiner notes sound); Peters, para 0215, The speaking clock may visually, or potentially audibly, alert a participant when the participant has been talking more than m/n minutes).
Regarding Claim 13, Akitomi, now incorporating Peters, teaches The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to: acquire, from respective terminal devices used by each of one or more other users other than the plurality of users, user meeting information indicating a state of a corresponding one of the one or more other users in a meeting in which the one or more other users participate, (Akitomi, para 0048, installed in meeting places such as conference rooms, laboratories, or coffee break areas …. The work meeting places of each worker can in this way be known by sending this information by way of the wireless communication; Abstract, a behavioral information sensor to acquire behavioral information on the person wearing the terminal; para 0126, technique for deciding whether each worker is in an activity state or not ... Taking positive action at work allows gathering information from within and outside the organization and promotes the forming of ideal through energetic discussion. Some actions assumed in such cases might include, “face-to-face meetings including gestures as well as words” and “face-to-face meetings by heading toward the location where the other party is present”.); calculate a relationship index for a set of users including the plurality of users and the one or more other users, based on the user meeting information of the plurality of users, …, the user meeting information of the one or more other users, … and (Akitomi, para 0016, FIG. 6 is a drawing for describing the team (also called structural) relation index; para 0043, teaches a memory);
generate the presentation information based on the relationship index for the set of users (Akitomi, Figure 18, teaches display relation characteristics; Further, Akitomi, para 0221 and throughout Akitomi teaches various displays of data).
Yet, Akitomi does not appear to explicitly teach and in the same field of endeavor; Peters teaches acquire work information of the one or more other users from the memory … the work information of the plurality of users … and the work information of the one or more other users (See at least Peters, para 0140, 0157-0158, teaching performance of individuals in a communication session. For example, the system can measure effectiveness of a manager regarding how well they facilitate participation and collaboration among groups. For example, the actions of managers or facilitators in meetings, and the emotional responses they produce can be correlated with employee performance, sales, task completion, employee retention, and other measures. The system can then inform individuals which aspects e.g., topics, meeting durations, meeting sizes or participants per meeting, frequency of meetings, type/range/intensity of presenter emotions, speaking time distributions, etc.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Akitomi with acquire work information of the one or more other users from the memory … the work information of the plurality of users … and the work information of the one or more other users as taught by Peters with the motivation for enhanced video conference management including a recommended action predicted to encourage or discourage an identified emotional or cognitive state in a communication session (Peters, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 14, Akitomi, now incorporating Peters, teaches The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to: (Akitomi, Abstract, An information processing system including plural terminals, a base station to communicate with the terminals, and a management server coupled via a network to the base station; para 0051, The management server SV1 is comprised of an interface IF1 coupled to a cable network LAN1, and a processor CPU1, a memory MEM1, a sensor database SD1, and a recording device DB1);
acquire, from respective terminal devices used by each of a plurality of other users other than the plurality of users, user meeting information indicating a state of a corresponding one of the plurality of other users in a meeting in which the plurality of other users participate, (Akitomi, para 0048, installed in meeting places such as conference rooms, laboratories, or coffee break areas …. The work meeting places of each worker can in this way be known by sending this information by way of the wireless communication; Abstract, a behavioral information sensor to acquire behavioral information on the person wearing the terminal; para 0126, technique for deciding whether each worker is in an activity state or not ... Taking positive action at work allows gathering information from within and outside the organization and promotes the forming of ideal through energetic discussion. Some actions assumed in such cases might include, “face-to-face meetings including gestures as well as words” and “face-to-face meetings by heading toward the location where the other party is present”.);
calculate relationship indices for combinations of other users, each of the combinations of other users including some or all of the plurality of other users, each of the relationship indices being calculated based on the user meeting information of the plurality of users, … the user meeting information of the other users included in a corresponding one of the combinations of other users among of the plurality of other users, … , and (Akitomi, para 0016, FIG. 6 is a drawing for describing the team (also called structural) relation index; para 0017, FIG. 7 is a drawing for describing the team (also called structural) relation matrix);
generate the presentation information including information on a ranking of the combinations of other users, based on the relationship indices for the combinations of other users (Akitomi, para 0103, the team (structural) relation index TRI showing the relation between the worker W2 and worker W3 is “s1” as viewed by the worker W3. ... The worker 5 is a boss one rank higher in another team of the same group as seen by the worker W3 so the team (structural) relation index TRI showing the relation between the worker W3 and worker W5 … The worker W9 and the worker W11 are bosses one rank higher of another group).
Yet, Akitomi does not appear to explicitly teach and in the same field of endeavor; Peters teaches acquire work information of the plurality of other users … the work information of the plurality of users… and the work information of the other users included in the corresponding one of the combinations of other users (See at least Peters, para 0140, 0157-0158, teaching performance of individuals in a communication session. For example, the system can measure effectiveness of a manager regarding how well they facilitate participation and collaboration among groups. For example, the actions of managers or facilitators in meetings, and the emotional responses they produce can be correlated with employee performance, sales, task completion, employee retention, and other measures. The system can then inform individuals which aspects e.g., topics, meeting durations, meeting sizes or participants per meeting, frequency of meetings, type/range/intensity of presenter emotions, speaking time distributions, etc.). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Akitomi with acquire work information of the plurality of other users … the work information of the plurality of users … and the work information of the other users included in the corresponding one of the combinations of other users as taught by Peters with the motivation for enhanced video conference management including a recommended action predicted to encourage or discourage an identified emotional or cognitive state in a communication session (Peters, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 15, Akitomi, now incorporating Peters, teaches The information processing system of claim 11, wherein the plurality of users belongs to a same organization (Akitomi, para 0102, two workers belong to the same company group).
Regarding claims 16 and 17, the claims are an obvious variant to claim 1 above, and are therefore rejected on the same premise. Akitomi further teaches a non-transitory recording medium storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the processors to perform an information processing method. See at least Akitomi, para 0009, a processor coupled to the network interface, and a storage device coupled to the processor; para 0069, teaches a read-only memory.
Additional Prior Art Consulted
The prior art made of record and not relied upon which is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure includes the following:
WO 2011/045422A1 - Method and system for measuring emotional probabilities of a facial image
Applicant is advised to review additional references supplied on the PTO-892 as to the state of the art of the invention.
Response to Arguments
Applicants arguments filed on 10/29/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding 35 U.5.C. § 101 rejections: Examiner has updated the 101 rejections in light of the most recent claim amendments. Applicant’s arguments have been fully considered but are found unpersuasive and Examiner maintains the 101 rejection.
With respect to Applicants remarks (remarks, page 9): “extraction of facial muscle movements from image signals and calculation of emotional states based on predefined mapping rules”, Examiner notes the newly added limitation: “by analyzing temporal changes of facial feature points representing facial muscles in the acquired image information to extract facial muscle movements, and calculating emotional states corresponding to the extracted facial muscle movements based on predefined mapping rules” is not in Applicant’s specification, see above 112 rejection.
With respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the computing elements ((claim 1) circuitry, terminal device(s), extract, memory (claim 17) a non-transitory recording medium, processor(s)) are additional elements to perform the steps and amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. Examiner fails to see how the generic recitations of these most basic computer components and/or of a system so integrates the judicial exception as to “impose a meaningful limit on the judicial exception, such that the claim is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the judicial exception.” Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. at 53. Thus, Examiner finds that the claims recite the judicial exception of certain methods of organizing human activity and mental processes and is not integrated into a practical application.
Looking at the limitations as an ordered combination adds nothing that is not already present when looking at the elements taken individually. Each step does no more than require a generic
computer to perform generic computer functions. The claims do not, for example, purport to improve the functioning of the computer itself. In addition, the claims do not affect an improvement in any
other technology or technical field. The specification spells out different generic equipment and parameters that might be applied using the concept and the particular steps such conventional processing would entail based on the concept of information access (See for example, Applicants spec, Fig. 2). Thus, the claims at issue amount to nothing significantly more than instructions to apply the abstract idea using some unspecified, generic computer(s). Therefore, Applicants remarks are found unpersuasive and Examiner maintains the 101 rejection.
Regarding 35 U.S.C. § 103 rejections. Examiner has updated the prior art rejections and maintains the prior art rejections. With respect to Applicant’s arguments, Applicants arguments have been considered but are moot as the Examiner has updated the rejections using the Peters reference.
Conclusion
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/R.R.N./Examiner, Art Unit 3629
/LYNDA JASMIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3629