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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 3/18/2026 has been entered. Applicant’s submission of a response on 3/18/2026 has been received and considered. In the response, Applicant amended claims 1, 5, 17 and 31. Therefore, claims 1 – 7, 10 – 12, 15, 17 – 19, 22 – 26 and 31 are pending.
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.
Claims 1 – 4, 6 – 7, 10 – 12, 15, 17 – 19, 22 – 26 and 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tamasi et al. (US Pub. No. 2014/0189091 A1).
As per claim 1, Tamasi et al. discloses a method implemented in a client device, the method comprising: receiving, from a cloud server, video frames of a game running on the cloud server (a cloud gaming architecture, Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, in which a cloud data center server renders graphical images of a video game and streams them as encoded video frames to a client device over the internet, see [0003], [0025] and [0026]); receiving input information from at least one input device of the client device, resulting from user interactions associated with the video frames (User input received in the client device 109--through a graphical user interface, or other hardware input devices such as a mouse, keyboard, or controller--is transmitted directly to the server 103, and the next series of images in a sequence or a new series of images responsive to user input may be processed, rendered, encoded, and streamed back to the client device 109, see [0026]); transmitting the input information to the cloud server (At step 403, the user input is transmitted to a connected game server, see [0038], user input (e.g., controller input) received in the client device 209 is then forwarded back to the server 201 and recorded, before programmed instructions corresponding to the user input are referenced and a new or next sequence of images are processed and rendered, see [0031]); receiving consumption rate information associated with the running game, wherein the consumption rate information is representative of a rate at which the cloud server processes the input information (monitoring of the latency may be performed in real time and one or both of the frame rate and encoding/decode rate may be adjusted dynamically. According to still further embodiments, data transmissions between the server 201 and the client device 209 performed during an active game session may be performed according to the Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP). Under RTP, latency and packet loss (due to a drop in bandwidth) are constantly measured. This data is communicated to the stream component 207, and relayed to the server control module 205, which will then modify the rendering framerate of the game accordingly, see [0032]); and adjusting an input transmission rate at which the input information is transmitted to the cloud server based on the received consumption rate information, wherein the adjustment is performed to stabilize a perceived latency at the client device (When latency is high--such as above a pre-determined threshold--the server control module 205 can dynamically adjust the power state of the rendering component 203 up, and increase the rendering frame rate of the rendering component 203 to reduce the latency contribution of the game server. Likewise, the stream component 205 can also increase the stream rate separately, or in addition to increasing the rendering frame rate of the rendering component 203. When latency is low--below a second pre-determined threshold for example--the server control module 205 can adjust the power state of the rendering component 203 down, effectively capping the rendering frame rate, see [0032]).
As per claim 2, Tamasi et al. discloses receiving the consumption rate information comprises determining a consumption rate value at the client device based on receiving and decoding the video frames received from the cloud server (when the user input is received in the game server, a sequence of images may be rendered that is responsive to the input received. The sequence of images may be then encoded as a video and streamed over the network connection, where it is received by the client device at step 405. The encoded data is subsequently decoded at step 407, and finally displayed in the display device at step 409. Once the received data is decoded and displayed, the length of time since the user input was received may be measured and communicated to the game server as the determined latency, see [0038).
As per claim 3, Tamasi et al. discloses the consumption rate information is received from the cloud server and wherein the consumption rate information indicates a consumption rate value at the cloud server, the consumption rate value indicating the rate at which the cloud server processes the received input information (see [0032]).
As per claim 4, Tamasi et al. discloses the consumption rate information is received from the cloud server and wherein a consumption rate value is determined at the client device based on the received consumption rate information, the consumption rate value being representative of the rate at which the cloud server processes the received input information (see Fig. 4:405-409, [0037] – [0038]).
As per claim 6, Tamasi et al. discloses the consumption rate information indicates at
a game frame rate at which the running game is rendered by a game rendering thread and a server frame rate at which the video frames of the running game are any of encoded and
captured on the cloud server (see [0035]).
As per claim 7, Tamasi et al. discloses the consumption rate information comprises a
timestamp indicating occurrence at the cloud server of any of an input event and a frame rendering event (data transmissions during active game sessions are performed according to the Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP), see [0032]).
As per claim 10, Tamasi et al. discloses the consumption rate information is received
on a regular basis (monitoring may be performed continuously as periodic intervals, to accompany events (e.g., successful or unsuccessful transmissions), and/or responsive to frequent trigger events. When the monitored latency is determined to be within normal boundaries, that is, not exceeding one or more pre-determined thresholds, steps 301-307 are repeated for the duration of the gaming session, see [0035]).
As per claim 11, Tamasi et al. discloses receiving updated consumption rate
information if at least one of the input consumption rate, the game frame rate, the server frame rate, or the filling ratio changes (Once adjusted (either increased or decreased), the next sequence of frames are rendered with the adjusted frame rate, and steps 301 through 307 are repeated, see [0036]).
As per claim 12, Tamasi et al. discloses the consumption rate information is
encapsulated in metadata of a video stream comprising the video frames of the running game (see Fig. 3 and [0032] – [0034]).
As per claim 15, Tamasi et al. discloses a predicted consumption rate value is
determined at the client device based on a history of previous consumption rate information received from the cloud server (a default profile/heuristic that includes values for the render, stream, and/or display frame rates may be created and stored per game, see [0032]).
As per claims 17 – 19 and 22 - 26, the instant claims are a method in which corresponds to the methods of claims 1, 6, 7, 10 11 and 15. Therefore, it is rejected for the reasons set forth above.
As per claim 31, the instant claim is a device in which corresponds to the method of claim 1. Therefore, it is rejected for the reasons set forth above.
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 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamasi et al. (US Pub. No. 2014/0189091) in view of Yong et al. (US Pub. No. 2016/0261656 A1).
As per claim 5, Tamasi et al. does not expressly disclose adjusting the input transmission rate at which the received input information is transmitted to the cloud server comprises synchronizing the input transmission rate to a consumption rate value by setting at least one of (i) a sending rate of the received input information or (ii) a polling rate of the received input information.
Yong et al. teaches a cloud input channel management, wherein the input polling rate is a client-side latency variable in cloud gaming systems (while client devices will attempt to achieve the lowest latency through a variety of methods, inevitably, each client device will experience a different amount of latency due to differences in factors such as the decode speed of transmitted data, render rates, input polling, or even the client's network connection, see [0003]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified the rate monitoring framework of Tamasi et al. with an input polling rate in view of Yong et al. in order to synchronize and monitor each client device’s latency.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 – 7, 10 – 12, 15, 17 – 19, 22 – 26 and 31 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to all of the references being used in the current rejection. Applicant's arguments directed to claims 1, 5, 17 and 31 in view of 35 USC 112 have been addressed as part of the rejection of the claims, as the amendments have broadened the scope of the claims. Examiner directs Applicant to the teachings of Tamasi et al. and Yong et al.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANKIT B DOSHI whose telephone number is (571)270-7863. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri. ~8:30 - ~5:30.
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/ANKIT B DOSHI/Examiner, Art Unit 3715