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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 11 - 13 and 17, 19, 20 have been amended.
Claim 6 and 14 have been cancelled
Claims 1-5, 7-13, 15-21 are pending.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/15/2026 has been entered.
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) 1-5, 7-13 and 15-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zimring et al (US 2021/0113927) in view of Tayloe et al (US 11,870,585) in view of Vilmi “Real-time Multiplayer Software Architecture” in view of Hua et al (US 8,873,543)
As per claim 1, Zimring discloses a gaming system comprising:
receiving, from a video game input device used as a video game controller and in response to user interactions on the video game input device in connection with a video game displayed on a display device : (Zimring discloses a video game input device used as a game controller that a user utilized to play an interactive video game by means of transmitting inputs to a game server and the game server transmitting game data such as game media streams to the game client and input device) (Zimring 0070)
a first input state message comprising a first input state of the video game input device corresponding to the user interactions ; and (Zimring discloses the transmission of input messages or signals that comprise input states of the input device) (Zimring 0070)
updating gameplay of the video game based on input state information received in the first input state message and the second input state message. (Zimring discloses the updating of the video game based upon multiple input messages sent from the game controller (i.e. first and second input messages) (Zimring 0141, 0145 – 0147)
Zimring fails to disclose:
receiving, from a video game input device used as a video game controller, a control message that includes a retransmit factor defining a predetermined number of retransmissions for input state messages; performing at least one procedure based at least in part on the control message;
a predetermined number of retransmissions of the first input state, wherein the retransmissions of the first input state are received without providing an acknowledgement associated with the first input state;
receiving, from the video game input device and in response to additional user interactions on the video game input device in connection with the video game:
a second input state message comprising the first input state of the video game input device and a second input state of the video game input device corresponding to the additional user interactions; and
the predetermined number of retransmissions of the second input state, wherein the retransmissions of the second input state are received without providing an acknowledgement associated with the second input state; and
However, in a similar field of endeavor, wherein data signals are transmitted between two devices, Tayloe discloses a communication system that transmits data messages between devices, wherein a transmitting entity will transmit a data message and retransmit the message a predetermined number of times without receiving an acknowledgment and also will retransmit a second message that comprises data that was used in a previous message without an acknowledgment (Tayloe 7:44 – 8:10, 8:17 – 25, 41 – 58).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify Zimring in view of Tayloe to use known technique to improve similar devices in the same way by utilizing a transmission technique of retransmitting messages repeatedly a predetermined number of times without an acknowledgment and wherein the retransmitted of a second message includes data from the first message. This would be beneficial as there is a measure of latency when game controllers communicate with game servers and as using this mechanism for transmission may cover high latency scenarios wherein stop and wait HARQ does not work (Tayloe 8:23 – 25)
However, in a similar field of endeavor, wherein data signals are transmitted between two devices, Vilmi discloses a system of transmitting game inputs from an input device to a server wherein the messages comprise the current input as well previous inputs “As illustrated in Figure 6, the server utilizes a message sequence number to handle incoming input. Each message contains a history of inputs from the previous five frames in case of lost packets. Thus, the server extracts the missing inputs from the message which reduces the latency requirement of requesting missing inputs. [15.] If no inputs are arriving, the server can assume that the previous inputs continue (player keeps moving) or assume nothing at all. Using the sequence number method allows the server to replay the inputs when they finally arrive to correct the game state. [15.] However, including a history of inputs adds redundant size into the messages, which is the tradeoff for less latency when packets are lost. While this works for inputs which are relatively small in terms of bytes, for other cases the protocol must be able to request missing packets.” (Vilmi Page 13)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify Zimring in view of Vilmi to use a known technique to improve similar devices in the same way by utilizing a data communication method of transmitting a first message that comprises a history of previous inputs. This would be beneficial as it would compensate for latency when packets are lost.
In a similar field of endeavor wherein communication messages are transmitted between two devices, Hua teaches “The QoS manager at each VoIP device executes the burst retransmission by causing the media transport protocol module to retransmit the voice packet one or more times. Depending on the network bandwidth, the QoS manager may decide to retransmit only the voice packets of high energy levels (i.e., voice packets that contain audible sounds). Depending on the packet loss rate, the QoS manager may adjust the number of times a voice packet is retransmitted.” (Hua 6:7 – 14). Thus as can be seen the QoS manager resides on the endpoint device and observes the packet loss of the network and adjusts the retransmission count.
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify Zimring in view of Hua to provide a communication mechanism that determined the number of retransmissions based upon a control message depending on the current network conditions. This would be beneficial as it would dynamically retransmit messages as needed based upon how the network is performing and this saving bandwidth and processing power.
As per claim 2, wherein the user interactions on the video game input device in connection with the video game comprise at least one of single-finger touch gesture user interactions or multi-finger touch gesture user interactions. (Zimring discloses a touch interface receiving at least a single touch gesture) (Zimring 0056)
As per claim 3, an initialization procedure with the video game input device , an authorization procedure with the video game input device , a device configuration procedure with the video game input device , or a disconnect procedure with the video game input device . (Zimring discloses the transmitting a gaming setup command and authorization procedures. “The application is further being configured to implement a second mode (e.g., gameplay mode) in which the game controller transmits gameplay commands to the gaming server and a predefined subset of the gaming setup commands to the interface device. In some implementations, the interface device is proximate to the game controller. In some implementations, the game controller and the interface device are connected on the same local network, and the game controller transmits the gaming setup commands to the interface device over the same local network. In some implementations, the game controller stores multiple user credentials and multiple network credentials.) (Zimring 0016, 0116)
As per claim 4, further comprising, in response to the control message, generating an acknowledgement message associated with the control message and transmitting the acknowledgement message to the video game input device . (Combination of Zimring in view of Tayloe, wherein Tayloe discloses the generation of an acknowledgement message and transmitting it between devices in response to an initial transmission message) (Tayloe 9:40- 52)
As per claim 5, wherein the first input state message, the second input state message, and the control message further comprise a device ID associated with the video game input device (Zimring discloses the messages that are transmitted comprise a device ID associated with the input device) (Zimring 0098)
As per claim 6, wherein the predetermined number of retransmissions is defined by a retransmit factor included in at least one of the control messages. (Combination of Zimring in view of Tayloe, wherein Tayloe discloses that retransmission times depend on the distances between transmitting and receiving entities) (Tayloe 7:58 -60)
As per claim 7, wherein the second input state message further comprises a time delta that indicates a number of milliseconds that separate the first input state of the video game input device from a timestamp associated with the second input state message. (Combination of Zimring in view of Tayloe, wherein Tayloe discloses that retransmission of messages that have a calculated time difference or delta in milliseconds such as 0, 8, 16, 24 and 32 msec) (Tayloe 7:58 -8:8)
As per claim 8, further comprising, in response to receiving no input state message transmissions from the video game input device for more than a threshold amount of time, determining that the video game input device is in an idle state. (Zimring discloses the determination if the system is in standby or idle based upon not receiving any inputs from the game controller, thus the game controller is idle as well) (Zimring 0072)
Independent claim(s) 9 and 17 is/are made obvious by the combination of Zimring Tayloe, Vilmi and Hua based on the same analysis set forth for claim(s) 1, which are similar in claim scope.
Dependent claim(s) 10 -13, 15- 16 is/are made obvious by the combination of Zimring Tayloe, Vilmi and Hua based on the same analysis set forth for claim(s) 2 – 5, 7, 8 which are similar in claim scope.
Dependent claim(s) 18 - 20 is/are made obvious by the combination of Zimring Tayloe, Vilmi and Hua based on the same analysis set forth for claim(s) 3, 4 and 7, respectively, which are similar in claim scope.
As per claim 21, further comprising: dynamically adjusting the retransmit factor based at least in part on one or more network conditions; and receiving, from the video game input device, the predetermined number of retransmissions of a last input state. (The combination of Zimring and Hua as applied to claim 1, wherein Hua teaches “The QoS manager at each VoIP device executes the burst retransmission by causing the media transport protocol module to retransmit the voice packet one or more times. Depending on the network bandwidth, the QoS manager may decide to retransmit only the voice packets of high energy levels (i.e., voice packets that contain audible sounds). Depending on the packet loss rate, the QoS manager may adjust the number of times a voice packet is retransmitted.” (Hua 6:7 – 14). Thus as can be seen the QoS manager resides on the endpoint device and observes the packet loss of the network and adjusts the retransmission count.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-5,7-13 and 15-21 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Please see above rejection addressing the newly amended claim limitations in view of newly found reference to Hua.
Conclusion
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/RAW/Examiner, Art Unit 3715 4/4/2026
/KANG HU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3715
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