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 .
Response to Amendment
The examiner thanks the applicant for clearing up the formalities. Claims 1, 3, 10 and 12 are currently amended. Claims 5, 7 and 15-16 are cancelled. Independent claim 1 has incorporated the subject matter of claims 5 and 7. The rejection below reflects this update; minor clarity has been added to the rejection address the changes without a change in scope or thrust of the rejection.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/09/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Concerning the Rejection Under 35 USC 102 – Barnett
Of note, the rejection was not in view of Official Notice but merely anticipated by BARNETT.
Further, Applicant notes Barnett is limited in its description of sensor inputs to those detecting “external events.” The Applicant is cautioned not to conflate the term ‘condition’ with an event somehow being limited to an internal one. Without agreeing or disagreeing with the merits of that allegation, the examiner fails to understand how that explicitly limits instant Independent claim 1 to “other than external events.”
Applicant further inappropriately relies on limitations from dependent claims to further limit the scope of independent claim 1 by pointing out ‘accelerometers, light sensors, pressure sensors, spring sensors, angular velocity sensors, etc.’ All of the aforementioned sensors would and could understandably register external events under a broadest (and narrowest) reading of the claimed invention. As a matter of fact, the portion cited to BARNETT regarding these very limitations recites sensors configured to measure, “motion, heat and/or other conditions to enable the system to react…”
Therefore, as nothing in the instant claims positively limits the invention to somehow internal events (or conditions if you so choose) and therefore do not convey and special meaning or definition that separates itself from BARNETT. As a matter of fact, after a further cursory search of the disclosure, the instant specification relies on many similar examples as those of BARNETT used to trigger projection actions.
Lastly, as a matter of interpretation and after further thought, it could be conceivable that all of the claimed sensors and inputs impact condition and not environment and therefore removing environment fails to change the invention in any meaningful way.
Also, for the reasons above, Applicant’s allegations that the dependent claims are also not met are incorrect and not persuasive.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Barnett et al., (USPN 11,061,304 B2) referred to as BARNETT hereinafter.
Claim 1: BARNETT discloses a device comprising:
a projector (Column 4, lines 8-10), contained within cavity and configured to project an animated image (Column 3, lines 55-58) that causes at least one physical feature of the decorative shape to appear to be moving, when viewed from an exterior of the device (Column 4, lines 8-10 discloses the ability for the object to appear to have a face and be singing along with an audio track.); and
an exterior wall defining a cavity therein (Column 4, lines 31-32 discloses an example being a hollow pumpkin with the components inside.), the exterior wall comprising an interior surface and an exterior surface, the exterior wall having a thickness and material composition selected such that, in response to projection of the animated image onto the front portion of the interior surface, the animated image is visible on the exterior surface (Column 5, lines 5-15 discloses selection of a material that allows a projected image to be visible on the exterior surface.);
a communication module configured to receive wireless instructions to the projector by receiving signals from a wireless communication device through the exterior wall (Column 4, lines 37-41);
a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer code stored thereon, that when executed by a processor of a computing device operatively connected to the projector, controls display of the animated image on the exterior surface (Column 12, claim 6 discloses media for storing programming code for carrying out the invention.);
at least one sensor configured to detect at least one condition of the device or an environment of the device, the at least one sensor operatively connectable to the projector to activate, deactivate, and/or modify display of the animated image and/or any associated audio in response to detection of the condition (Column 4, lines 47-55 disclose various functions being carried out based on detected stimuli to a sensor.).
Claim 2: BARNETT discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor comprises one or more of a proximity sensor, accelerometer, light sensor, temperature sensor, pressure sensor, motion sensor, sound sensor, spring sensor, ball sensor, and/or angular velocity sensor (Column 4, lines 47-50 disclose a motion sensor.).
Claim 3: BARNETT discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the at least one condition of the device comprises one or more of motion of the device, impacts of the device, and/or proximity of other devices, and/or control signals received from a user (Column 4, lines 47-55 disclose various functions being carried out based on detected stimuli to a sensor; in addition to these, which could include impactful motions created by users, Column 7, lines 40-54 disclose a remote control that allows for inputs, this would represent control signals received from a user as well as proximity of the remote control device to the unit.).
Claim 4: BARNETT discloses the device of claim 1, further comprising a remote control configured to control operation of the projector and device by transmitting signals to the device (Column 4, lines 37-41).
Claim 6: BARNETT discloses the device of claim 1, further comprising an audio output device configured to output an audio track (Column 3, lines 59-62), wherein the animated image is projected in synchronization with the audio track (Column 4, lines 8-10 discloses the ability for the object to appear to have a face and be singing along with an audio track.).
Claim 8: BARNETT discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the computer code is further configured, when executed by a processor, to control display of the animated image by:
generating animated image data (Column 9, line 60);
initiating transmission of the animated image data to the projector (Column 9, lines 64-66);
generating audio data representing an audio track (Column 2, lines 56-58 and Column 12, claim 10); and
initiating transmission of the audio data to an audio output device configured to output the audio track, wherein the animated image is projected in synchronization with the audio track (Column 2, lines 56-58 and Column 12, claim 10).
Claim 9: BARNETT discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the computer code is further configured, when executed by a processor, to control display of the animated image by:
causing an input device to receive user input from a user (Column 10, lines 13-18);
in response to receipt of the user input, generating the animated image data (Column 10, lines 13-18); and
initiating transmission of the animated image data to the projector to cause the projector to display the animated image (Column 10, lines 24-26).
Claim 10: BARNETT discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the computer code is further configured, when executed by a processor, to control display of the animated image by:
causing a sensor to generate sensor data based on detection of at least one condition of the device or an environment of the device (Column 10, lines 13-18);
in response to receipt of the sensor data, generating the animated image data (Column 10, lines 13-18); and
initiating transmission of the animated image data to the projector to cause the projector to display the animated image (Column 10, lines 24-26).
Claim 11: BARNETT discloses the device of claim 10, wherein the at least one sensor comprises one or more of a proximity sensor, accelerometer, light sensor, temperature sensor, pressure sensor, motion sensor, sound sensor, spring sensor, ball sensor, and/or angular velocity sensor (Column 4, lines 47-50 disclose a motion sensor.).
Claim 12: BARNETT discloses the device of claim 10, wherein the at least one condition of the device or an environment of the device comprises one or more of presence of a user, motion of the user, sound made by the user; motion of the device, impacts of the device, proximity of other devices, and/or control signals received from a user (Column 4, lines 47-55 disclose various functions being carried out based on detected stimuli to a sensor.).
Claim 13: BARNETT discloses the device of claim 1, wherein: the at least one physical feature comprises a representation of a mouth; the projected animated image comprises a representation of an animated mouth that causes the physical feature to appear to be vocalizing (Column 4, lines 8-10 discloses the ability for the object to appear to have a face and be singing along with an audio track.).
Claim 14: BARNETT discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the projector is configured to project the animated image in a manner that takes into account the at least one physical feature of the decorative shape (Column 4, lines 28-34 discloses a setup that takes the unique character of the jack-o-lantern into account in order to accurately display the projection.).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN W. RIDER whose telephone number is (571)270-1068. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7.00 am - 4.30 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jamie J Atala can be reached at (571) 272-7384. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
JUSTIN W. RIDER
Primary Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2486
/Justin W Rider/ Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2486