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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I, claims 1-9 for examination, without traverse in the reply filed on December 19, 2025 is acknowledged.
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 of this title, 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 nonobviousness.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Janardhan (US 2019/0295304 A1, hereinafter referenced “Jan”) in view of Kobal (US 2017/0196260 A1, hereinafter referenced “Kobal”).
In regards to claim 1. (original): Jan discloses a method of controlling an electronic device (Jan, Abstract), the method comprising:
-predicting a virtual smoke implementation timepoint Jan, para [0101] and [0144]; Reference at [0101] discloses moreover, due to various restraints (e.g., battery life, processing power, memory constraints, display screen resolutions, heat generation issues, etc.) related to the use of the simulation device 300 with regards to system 100, particularly in regards to the real-time collection of data regarding the drawing and ejection operation by the adult vaper, the real-time processing of the 3D vapor simulation and the particle generation, and the real-time AR simulation and VR simulation, the visual quality of the AR simulation and/or the VR simulation of the system 100 may be improved upon. Para [0144] discloses once paired, in operation S501, the simulation device 300 receives and/or detects drawing information corresponding to the adult vaper's operation of the e-vaping device 200. For example, the e-vaping device 200 may transmit information related to the operation of the e-vaping device 200 by the adult vaper, such as the start time of a drawing of vapor from the e-vaping device 200, the stop time of a drawing of vapor from the e-vaping device 200, the amount of pressure exhibited by the drawing operation, the volume of vapor flow, etc. Analyzing start and stop timing of drawing of vapor for the simulation device 300 for subsequent AR/VR simulation interpreted as predicting a virtual smoke implementation timepoint via monitoring vapor exhalation characteristics of the adult user);
-and transmitting a control signal comprising the virtual smoke implementation timepoint to a device for displaying a virtual image (Jan, Fig. 5 and para [0168]; Reference discloses next, in operation S508, the 3D vapor simulator 321 provides and/or transmits the generated 3D vapor particle model to the AR simulator 323 and/or the VR simulator 324 based on the operation mode and/or hardware capabilities of the simulation device 300 for display by the simulation device 300…In other words, using AR glasses as an example, the AR glasses may provide a clear unobstructed view of the adult vaper's present environment (e.g., the room or other physical space that the adult vaper is occupying). The generated 3D vapor particle model is then overlaid and/or projected onto the adult vaper's environment using the AR glasses as a 2D or 3D image on the AR glasses in real-time, with real-time and/or static modeling of the generated vapor particles and/or generated ejected vapor cloud. Transmitting 3D vapor model to AR/VR simulators for display or the AR glasses interpreted as transmitting a control signal comprising the virtual smoke implementation timepoint to a device for displaying a virtual image ).
Jan does not explicitly disclose but Kobal teaches
-by monitoring a change value of a capacitance of the electronic device (Kobal, para [0032]-[0035]; Reference at [0032] discloses the exemplary cigarette model 300 preferably includes a sensor 340, which can be used to sense the position and motion of the model 300, as well as air flow direction and force within the model 300 (i.e. interpreted as monitoring a change value of a capacitance of the electronic device). For example, if a cigarette model 300 is placed in a smoker's mouth, the sensor 340 can be used to sense the position of the cigarette model 300, as well as the path of movement by which the smoker moved the cigarette model 300 and transmit signals indicative of same to a monitor. Para [0035] discloses It is noted that by providing a sensor 340 at a lit end of the cigarette model 300, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the movement of the lit end of the cigarette shaped model 300 can be closely monitored and tracked).
Jan and Kobal are combinable because they are in the same field of endeavor regarding virtual smoking. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the AR/VR based e-vaping simulation system of Jan to include the VR smoking features of Kobal in order to provide the user with a system for generating augmented reality (AR) and/or virtual reality (VR) vapor simulation applications where vaping characteristics of vaping based on the audio signals are recorded to generate a vaping simulation based on the analyzed characteristics, and transmitting a simulation to a headset to be displayed on a display panel as taught by Jan, while incorporating the VR smoking features of Kobal to allow for use of a virtual smoking system in which the room environment may be simulated to give the experience of smoking in a setting of the smoker's choice allowing for the user to simulate the physical and sensorial pleasure of smoking without the burning of tobacco, applicable to improving the virtual smoking experience in systems such as those taught in Jan.
In regards to claim 2. (original): Jan in view of Kobal teach the method of claim 1.
Jan does not explicitly disclose but Kobal teaches
-wherein the predicting of the virtual smoke implementation timepoint comprises: detecting a first timepoint at which the capacitance of the electronic device reaches within a Kobal, para [0032]-[0035]; Reference at [0032] discloses the exemplary cigarette model 300 preferably includes a sensor 340, which can be used to sense the position and motion of the model 300, as well as air flow direction and force within the model 300 (i.e. interpreted as monitoring values of capacitance of the electronic device). For example, if a cigarette model 300 is placed in a smoker's mouth, the sensor 340 can be used to sense the position of the cigarette model 300, as well as the path of movement by which the smoker moved the cigarette model 300 and transmit signals indicative of same to a monitor. Para [0035] discloses It is noted that by providing a sensor 340 at a lit end of the cigarette model 300, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the movement of the lit end of the cigarette shaped model 300 can be closely monitored and tracked) .
Kobal does not explicitly disclose
-first threshold (value) / second threshold (value) (However, the primary reference Jan previously discloses this concept in para [0122] which details the controller 45 performs features of the second section 72, as well as the entire e-vaping device 60, such as controlling the heater, interfacing with an external charger and monitoring the pressure within the e-vaping device 60 to determine whether an adult vaper has applied a negative pressure. Moreover, the controller 45 may determine whether an adult vaper has applied a positive pressure for a threshold time (i.e. the inhale/exhaling regarding the adult vaper interpreted as first and second timepoints having the corresponding thresholds).
Jan and Kobal are combinable because they are in the same field of endeavor regarding virtual smoking. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the AR/VR based e-vaping simulation system of Jan to include the VR smoking features of Kobal in order to provide the user with a system for generating augmented reality (AR) and/or virtual reality (VR) vapor simulation applications where vaping characteristics of vaping based on the audio signals are recorded to generate a vaping simulation based on the analyzed characteristics, and transmitting a simulation to a headset to be displayed on a display panel as taught by Jan, while incorporating the VR smoking features of Kobal to allow for use of a virtual smoking system in which the room environment may be simulated to give the experience of smoking in a setting of the smoker's choice allowing for the user to simulate the physical and sensorial pleasure of smoking without the burning of tobacco, applicable to improving the virtual smoking experience in systems such as those taught in Jan.
In regards to claim 3. (original): Jan in view of Kobal teach the method of claim 2.
Jan further discloses
-wherein the predicting of the virtual smoke implementation timepoint comprises predicting the virtual smoke implementation timepoint based on an interval between the first timepoint and the second timepoint (Jan, para [0144]; Reference discloses for example, the e-vaping device 200 may transmit information related to the operation of the e-vaping device 200 by the adult vaper, such as the start time of a drawing of vapor from the e-vaping device 200, the stop time of a drawing of vapor from the e-vaping device 200, the amount of pressure exhibited by the drawing operation, the volume of vapor flow, etc., using various sensors, e.g., the puff sensor 16, etc., located on or attached to the e-vaping device 200, and/or from data transmitted by the controller 45 of the e-vaping device 200 (i.e. start/stop time of drawing vapor from device 200 interpreted as data used for virtual smoke implementation timepoint based on an interval between the first timepoint and the second timepoint)).
In regards to claim 4. (original): Jan in view of Kobal teach the method of claim 2.
Jan further discloses
-wherein the predicting of the virtual smoke implementation timepoint comprises: predicting a first respiration time based on the interval between the first timepoint and the second timepoint; predicting a timepoint of second respiration based on the interval between the first timepoint and the second timepoint and the first respiration time; and determining the timepoint of second respiration to be the virtual smoke implementation timepoint (Jan, para [0087]; Reference at [0087] discloses in addition, the e-vaping device may include various sensors, such as a wireless transmitter (e.g., a Bluetooth transmitter), a microphone, a puff sensor, a flow sensor, a pressure sensor, etc., and/or input/output (I/O) indicators, such as a heater activation light, etc., that may provide information regarding the time at which the adult vaper has started and stopped the drawing of vapor from the e-vaping device 200, the start and stop of the heater activation and/or the heating of the substance, the amount of vapor produced by the e-vaping device, the amount of vapor drawn from the e-vaping device, etc…. that communicates with a computing device, such as the simulation device 300, or a dedicated vapor simulator device, etc., the time that the adult vaper has engaged the heater of the e-vaping device (e.g., through the engagement of a ON/OFF button or by starting a puff, etc.), the time that the adult vaper has disengaged the heater of the e-vaping device (e.g., through the disengagement of the ON/OFF button, or by ending a puff, etc.). The starting and stopping of the e-vaping device and capturing those times when the user starts and ends puffs and detection of the amount of vapor drawn for use in the subsequent AR display via the simulation device 300 interpreted as the prediction of timepoints regarding respiration time for determining the virtual smoke implementation timepoint) .
In regards to claim 5. (original): Jan in view of Kobal teach the method of claim 2.
Jan further discloses
-wherein the predicting of the virtual smoke implementation timepoint comprises estimating an intake volume and a respiration volume of a user based on the interval between the first timepoint and the second timepoint, wherein the intake volume comprises an intake volume of an aerosol that is inhaled by the user through the electronic device in a state in which the electronic device and the object are in contact, and the respiration volume comprises an inspiration volume inhaled by the user in a state in which the electronic device and the object are not in contact (Jan, para [0144]-[0145]; Reference at [0144] discloses for example, the e-vaping device 200 may transmit information related to the operation of the e-vaping device 200 by the adult vaper, such as the start time of a drawing of vapor from the e-vaping device 200, the stop time of a drawing of vapor from the e-vaping device 200, the amount of pressure exhibited by the drawing operation, the volume of vapor flow, etc., using various sensors, e.g., the puff sensor 16, etc., located on or attached to the e-vaping device 200, and/or from data transmitted by the controller 45 of the e-vaping device 200. Para [0145] discloses once the drawing information related to the adult vaper's drawing operation has been obtained by the simulation device 300, in operation S502, the simulation device 300 may determine and/or calculate drawing statistics related to the vaping operation, such as the length of time, volume of vapor, etc., of the actual vapor drawn by the adult vaper. Characteristics recorded regarding time and volume of vapor as well as use of puff sensor interpreted as providing data for estimating an intake volume and a respiration volume of a user based on the interval between the first timepoint and the second timepoint, wherein the intake volume comprises an intake volume of an aerosol that is inhaled by the user through the electronic device in a state in which the electronic device and the object are in contact, and the respiration volume comprises an inspiration volume inhaled by the user in a state in which the electronic device and the object are not in contact).
In regards to claim 6. (original): Jan in view of Kobal teach the method of claim 5.
Jan further discloses
-wherein the predicting of the virtual smoke implementation timepoint comprises predicting the virtual smoke implementation timepoint based on the intake volume and the respiration volume (Jan, para [0145] and [0168]; Reference at [0145] discloses once the drawing information related to the adult vaper's drawing operation has been obtained by the simulation device 300, in operation S502, the simulation device 300 may determine and/or calculate drawing statistics related to the vaping operation, such as the length of time, volume of vapor, etc., of the actual vapor drawn by the adult vaper. Para [0168] discloses the generated 3D vapor particle model is then overlaid and/or projected onto the adult vaper's environment using the AR glasses as a 2D or 3D image on the AR glasses in real-time, with real-time and/or static modeling of the generated vapor particles and/or generated ejected vapor cloud).
In regards to claim 7. (original): Jan in view of Kobal teach the method of claim 1.
Jan further discloses
-wherein the predicting of the virtual smoke implementation timepoint comprises: determining whether the electronic device satisfies a predetermined operating condition; and predicting the virtual smoke implementation timepoint based on a determination that the electronic device satisfies the operating condition (Jan, para [0087] and [0145]; Reference at [0087] discloses for example, according to at least one example embodiment, the e-vaping device 200 may include a Bluetooth transmitter (e.g., Bluetooth and/or Bluetooth Low Energy (LE), etc.), or other wired and/or wireless transmitter (e.g., USB, NFC, ZigBee, WiFi, etc.), that communicates with a computing device, such as the simulation device 300, or a dedicated vapor simulator device, etc., the time that the adult vaper has engaged the heater of the e-vaping device (e.g., through the engagement of a ON/OFF button or by starting a puff, etc.), the time that the adult vaper has disengaged the heater of the e-vaping device (e.g., through the disengagement of the ON/OFF button, or by ending a puff, etc.), the generated vapor flow volume (e.g., determined based on readings from the puff sensor, pressure sensor, and/or flow sensor), the generated vapor flow rate, etc. Para [0145] discloses once the drawing information related to the adult vaper's drawing operation has been obtained by the simulation device 300, in operation S502, the simulation device 300 may determine and/or calculate drawing statistics related to the vaping operation, such as the length of time, volume of vapor, etc., of the actual vapor drawn by the adult vaper. Engagement with heater of e-vaping device through on/off button and providing vaping characteristics for display by the simulation device interpreted as the electronic device satisfying a predetermined operating condition)).
In regards to claim 8. (original): Jan in view of Kobal teach the method of claim 7.
Jan further discloses
-wherein the operating condition comprises at least one of whether the electronic device is powered on/off and whether a suction sensor included in the electronic device operates (Jan, para [0087] and [0145]; Reference at [0087] discloses in addition, the e-vaping device may include various sensors, such as a wireless transmitter (e.g., a Bluetooth transmitter), a microphone, a puff sensor (i.e. suction sensor)…according to at least one example embodiment, the e-vaping device 200 may include a Bluetooth transmitter (e.g., Bluetooth and/or Bluetooth Low Energy (LE), etc.), or other wired and/or wireless transmitter (e.g., USB, NFC, ZigBee, WiFi, etc.), that communicates with a computing device, such as the simulation device 300, or a dedicated vapor simulator device, etc., the time that the adult vaper has engaged the heater of the e-vaping device (e.g., through the engagement of a ON/OFF button or by starting a puff, etc.) (i.e. operating condition comprises at least one of whether the electronic device is powered on/off), the time that the adult vaper has disengaged the heater of the e-vaping device (e.g., through the disengagement of the ON/OFF button, or by ending a puff, etc.), the generated vapor flow volume (e.g., determined based on readings from the puff sensor, pressure sensor, and/or flow sensor), the generated vapor flow rate, etc.).
Claim 9 is rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Janardhan (US 2019/0295304 A1) in view of Kobal (US 2017/0196260 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kim (US 2022/0248772 A1, hereinafter referenced “Kim”).
In regards to claim 9. (original): Jan in view of Kobal teach the method of claim 1.
Jan further discloses
-wherein the transmitting of the control signal to the device for displaying a virtual image comprises: (Jan, para [0100]-[0101]; Reference at [0100] discloses the memory 520 of the vapor simulator 500 may store the 3D vapor simulator routine 521, the particle generator routine 522, the AR simulator routine 323, and the VR simulator routine 324 and may transmit the necessary real-time data to support the display of the AR simulation and/or the VR simulation by the simulation device 300. Para [0101] discloses moreover, due to various restraints (e.g., battery life, processing power, memory constraints, display screen resolutions, heat generation issues, etc.) related to the use of the simulation device 300 with regards to system 100, particularly in regards to the real-time collection of data regarding the drawing and ejection operation by the adult vaper, the real-time processing of the 3D vapor simulation and the particle generation, and the real-time AR simulation and VR simulation, the visual quality of the AR simulation and/or the VR simulation of the system 100 may be improved upon (i.e. scenarios where transmitting information about a delay in communication between the electronic device and the device for displaying a virtual image . Accordingly, in vapor simulation system 110, some or all of the AR and/or VR processing may be off-loaded and performed by a dedicated computing device, such as the vapor simulator 500.).
Jan and Kobal does not explicitly disclose but Kim teaches
-transmitting information about a type of virtual smoke (Kim, para [0040]; Reference discloses In an embodiment, the display device 110 may receive content information of the article 120. The content information for the article 120 may include information about nicotine content, flavor content, and the like. The display device 110 may change an image displayed on the screen based on the content information of the article 120);
Jan and Kobal are combinable because they are in the same field of endeavor regarding virtual smoking. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the AR/VR based e-vaping simulation system of Jan to include the VR smoking features of Kobal in order to provide the user with a system for generating augmented reality (AR) and/or virtual reality (VR) vapor simulation applications where vaping characteristics of vaping based on the audio signals are recorded to generate a vaping simulation based on the analyzed characteristics, and transmitting a simulation to a headset to be displayed on a display panel as taught by Jan, while incorporating the VR smoking features of Kobal to allow for use of a virtual smoking system in which the room environment may be simulated to give the experience of smoking in a setting of the smoker's choice allowing for the user to simulate the physical and sensorial pleasure of smoking without the burning of tobacco, applicable to improving the virtual smoking experience in systems such as those taught in Jan.
Jan and Kim are also combinable because they are in the same field of endeavor regarding virtual smoking. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the AR/VR based e-vaping simulation system of Jan, in view of the VR smoking features of Kobal, to include the VR smoking experience features of Kim in order to provide the user with a system for generating augmented reality (AR) and/or virtual reality (VR) vapor simulation applications where vaping characteristics of vaping based on the audio signals are recorded to generate a vaping simulation based on the analyzed characteristics, and transmitting a simulation to a headset to be displayed on a display panel as taught by Jan, while incorporating the VR smoking features of Kobal to allow for use of a virtual smoking system in which the room environment may be simulated to give the experience of smoking in a setting of the smoker's choice allowing for the user to simulate the physical and sensorial pleasure of smoking without the burning of tobacco. Further incorporating the VR smoking experience features of Kim allows for use of a device in which an image of a virtual reality or augmented reality in which cigarette smoke is generated in response to a user wearing the display device puffing or ingesting an article containing nicotine where the device can reproduce different types of smoke as well as sound in response to a user wearing the reproducing device puffing or ingesting the article thus enhancing the virtual smoking experience, applicable to virtual smoking systems such as those taught in Jan and Kobal.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: See the Notice of References Cited (PTO-892)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TERRELL M ROBINSON whose telephone number is (571)270-3526. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-5pm.
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/TERRELL M ROBINSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2614