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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 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.
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) 1-3, 6, 10, 12, 18, 20-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US Publication Number 2016/0324445 A1, hereinafter “Kim”) and Xiong et al. (US Publication Number 2019/0204848 A1, hereinafter “Xiong”), further in view of Bai et al. (US Publication Number 2021/0181765 A1, hereinafter Bai).
(1) regarding claim 1:
As shown in fig. 15, Kim disclosed a method for generating a walk animation of a virtual role, the method being performed by a computer device, a walk process of a leg of the virtual role including alternating swing phases and stance phases (see figs. 6 and 15, para. [0133], note that the controller 510 may determine whether the user's posture corresponds to at least one state of the walking, running, and stopped postures by using the sensor values detected by the plurality of sensors), and the method comprising:
predicting multiple touchdown points of the leg of the virtual role in the walk process according to a movement velocity and a movement direction of the virtual role in a virtual environment (para. [0181], note that the electronic device may calculate a change in the pressure applied to the feet during a process in which the foot completely touches the ground and leave the ground according to the user's gait period);
after the multiple touchdown points are determined, computing positions of a foot of the leg in a swing phase according to the two adjacent touchdown points of the leg (para. [0200], note that the electronic device may calculate an acceleration change when the user's foot leaves the ground and moves into the air, that is, when a top of the foot moves upwards in a swing).
Kim disclosed most of the subject matter as described as above except for specifically teaching wherein a previous touchdown point of two adjacent touchdown points is a lift-up point of a next touchdown point of the two adjacent touchdown points; performing, based on the position of the foot of the leg in the swing phase, inverse kinematics computation to obtain positions of bone points of the leg in the swing phase; and performing, based on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase, gait fusion to generate a walk animation of the virtual role.
However, Xiong disclosed performing, based on the position of the foot of the leg in the swing phase, inverse kinematics computation to obtain positions of bone points of the leg in the swing phase (para. [0026], note that the preset inverse kinematics algorithm is used to calculate the body pose and the foot posture including the target position of the ankle joint of the robot, so as to obtain the joint angle of each of the joints of the left and right legs of the robot); and performing, based on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase, gait fusion to generate a walk animation of the virtual role (para. [0038], note that planning and control to the foot pose of the robot is added in the process of adjusting the walking gait of the biped robot, which calculates the joint angle of each joint of the robot by integrating the body pose and the foot pose of the robot).
At the time of filing for the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art to teach performing, based on the position of the foot of the leg in the swing phase, inverse kinematics computation to obtain positions of bone points of the leg in the swing phase; and performing, based on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase, gait fusion to generate a walk animation of the virtual role. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been in order to provide a gait control method, device, and terminal device for a biped robot (abs.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kim with Xiong to obtain the invention as specified in claim 1.
In addition to that, Bai disclosed wherein a previous touchdown point of two adjacent touchdown points is a lift-up point of a next touchdown point of the two adjacent touchdown points (fig. 4, para. [0026], note that where the right leg (shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 4) as a supporting leg and the left leg (shown by the solid lines in FIG. 4) as a swing leg. In the example, one gait cycle of the biped robot 10 can be divided into a single support phase (SSP) and double support phase (DSP). The feet of the robot 10 will alternate between these two phases during walking of the robot 10).
At the time of filing for the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art to teach wherein a previous touchdown point of two adjacent touchdown points is a lift-up point of a next touchdown point of the two adjacent touchdown points. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been in order to provide a gait control method, device, and terminal device for a biped robot (abs.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kim, Xiong with Bai to obtain the invention as specified in claim 1.
(2) regarding claim 2:
Kim disclosed most of the subject matter as described as above except for specifically teaching wherein the performing, based on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase, gait fusion to generate the walk animation of the virtual role comprises: acquiring pre-configured gait parameters; and performing, based on the gait parameters, gait fusion on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase to generate the walk animation of the virtual role.
However, Xiong disclosed wherein the performing, based on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase, gait fusion to generate the walk animation of the virtual role comprises: acquiring pre-configured gait parameters (para. [0021], note that in order to control the biped robot to go up and down the stairs by means of dynamic walking, various initialization parameters are planned through inputting by the user); and performing, based on the gait parameters, gait fusion on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase to generate the walk animation of the virtual role (para. [0037], note that after adjusting the gait of the biped robot based on the calculated joint angles, it returns to the above-mentioned S101 to recalculate the joint angle of each joint of the biped robot at this moment based on the corresponding foot pose (including the initial position of the ankle joint and the rotation angle of the sole) and body pose of the biped robot at the latest moment).
At the time of filing for the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art to teach wherein the performing, based on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase, gait fusion to generate the walk animation of the virtual role comprises: acquiring pre-configured gait parameters; and performing, based on the gait parameters, gait fusion on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase to generate the walk animation of the virtual role. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been in order to provide a gait control method, device, and terminal device for a biped robot (abs.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kim, Xiong with Bai to obtain the invention as specified in claim 2.
(3) regarding claim 3:
Kim disclosed most of the subject matter as described as above except for specifically teaching wherein the gait parameters comprise: a gait period and leg parameters of the leg within the gait period; the performing, based on the gait parameters, gait fusion on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase to generate the walk animation of the virtual role comprises: performing, within the gait period, gait fusion on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase according to the leg parameters of the leg within the gait period to generate the walk animation of the virtual role; wherein the gait period is an alternating period between the swing phase and a stance phase, and the leg parameters comprise at least one of a lift time point, a duration of the swing phase and a pace midpoint of the stance phase.
However, Xiong disclosed wherein the gait parameters comprise: a gait period and leg parameters of the leg within the gait period (para. [0021], note that the height of the leg of the biped robot at the current time, the length of the stride, the gait cycle, and the magnitude of the centroid shift are determined); the performing, based on the gait parameters, gait fusion on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase to generate the walk animation of the virtual role (para. [0038], note that control to the foot pose of the robot is added in the process of adjusting the walking gait of the biped robot, which calculates the joint angle of each joint of the robot by integrating the body pose and the foot pose of the robot, so that the biped robot can realize walking the manner of humanoid gait after adjusting the gait of the robot based on the joint angle of each joint) comprises: performing, within the gait period, gait fusion on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase according to the leg parameters of the leg within the gait period to generate the walk animation of the virtual role (para. [0041], note that during the process of the robot to swing the legs, the sole of the robot is controlled to rotate around the toe or the heel at the moment of lifting and falling the legs); wherein the gait period is an alternating period between the swing phase and a stance phase (see fig. 4), and the leg parameters comprise at least one of a lift time point, a duration of the swing phase and a pace midpoint of the stance phase (para. [0041], note that the process of the robot to swing the legs, the sole of the robot is controlled to rotate around the toe or the heel at the moment of lifting and falling the legs).
At the time of filing for the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art to teach wherein the gait parameters comprise: a gait period and leg parameters of the leg within the gait period; the performing, based on the gait parameters, gait fusion on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase to generate the walk animation of the virtual role comprises: performing, within the gait period, gait fusion on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase according to the leg parameters of the leg within the gait period to generate the walk animation of the virtual role; wherein the gait period is an alternating period between the swing phase and a stance phase, and the leg parameters comprise at least one of a lift time point, a duration of the swing phase and a pace midpoint of the stance phase. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been in order to provide a gait control method, device, and terminal device for a biped robot (abs.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kim, Xiong with Bai to obtain the invention as specified in claim 3.
(4) regarding claim 6:
Kim further disclosed the method according to claim 1, wherein the predicting multiple touchdown points of the leg of the virtual role according to the movement velocity and the movement direction of the virtual role comprises:
predicting a predicted movement trajectory of the virtual role in a map of the virtual environment according to the movement velocity and the movement direction of the virtual role (para. [0181], note that the electronic device may calculate a pressure change of the user's feet at a moment of the landing according to the determined gait period); and
sampling the multiple touchdown points of the leg on the predicted movement trajectory by taking a current pose of the leg of the virtual role as a predicted starting point (para. [0181], note that the electronic device may calculate a change in the pressure applied to the feet during a process in which the foot completely touches the ground and leave the ground according to the user's gait period).
(5) regarding claim 10:
Kim further disclosed the method according to claim 1, wherein the computing the positions of the foot of the leg in the swing phase according to the two adjacent touchdown points of the leg comprises:
determining, based on positions of the two adjacent touchdown points, a leg swing curve, the leg swing curve indicating a swing trajectory of the foot in the swing phase (para. [0174], note that referring to FIG. 13, the electronic device may calculate an acceleration change when the user's foot leaves the ground and moves into the air according to the user's gait period, that is, when a top of the foot moves upwards during a swing); and
performing, based on the leg swing curve, interpolation computation on the foot of the leg to determine the position of the foot of the leg in the swing phase (para. [0181], note that in operation 1404, the electronic device may calculate a pressure change of the user's feet at a moment of the landing according to the determined gait period).
(6) regarding claim 12:
Kim disclosed most of the subject matter as described as above except for specifically teaching wherein the performing, based on the positions of the foot of the leg in the swing phase, inverse kinematics computation to obtain positions of bone points of the leg in the swing phase comprises: performing a cyclic coordinate descent inverse kinematics (CCDIK) computation according to the two adjacent touchdown points of the leg to obtain the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase; or performing a forward and backward reaching inverse kinematics (FABRIK) computation according to the two adjacent touchdown points of the leg to obtain the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase.
However, Xiong disclosed wherein the performing, based on the positions of the foot of the leg in the swing phase, inverse kinematics computation to obtain positions of bone points of the leg in the swing phase comprises: performing a cyclic coordinate descent inverse kinematics (CCDIK) computation according to the two adjacent touchdown points of the leg to obtain the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase; or performing a forward and backward reaching inverse kinematics (FABRIK) computation according to the two adjacent touchdown points of the leg to obtain the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase (para. [0026], note that the preset inverse kinematics algorithm is used to calculate the body pose and the foot posture including the target position of the ankle joint of the robot, so as to obtain the joint angle of each of the joints of the left and right legs of the robot. Note that in the angle obtained through the above-mentioned inverse kinematics algorithm, the joint angle of each joint includes a roll angle, a pitch angle, and a swine angle of the joint).
At the time of filing for the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art to teach wherein the gait parameters comprise: a gait period and leg parameters of the leg within the gait period; the performing, based on the gait parameters, gait fusion on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase to generate the walk animation of the virtual role comprises: performing, within the gait period, gait fusion on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase according to the leg parameters of the leg within the gait period to generate the walk animation of the virtual role; wherein the gait period is an alternating period between the swing phase and a stance phase, and the leg parameters comprise at least one of a lift time point, a duration of the swing phase and a pace midpoint of the stance phase. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been in order to provide a gait control method, device, and terminal device for a biped robot (abs.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kim, Xiong with Bai to obtain the invention as specified in claim 12.
(7) regarding claim 21:
Kim further disclosed the method according to claim 1, wherein the movement direction of the virtual role is controlled in response to a user operation in a virtual game (para. [0052], note that the home appliance may include at least one of, for example, a television (TV), a digital versatile disc (DVD) player, an audio, a refrigerator, an air conditioner, a vacuum cleaner, an oven, a microwave oven, a washing machine, an air cleaner, a set-top box, a home automation control panel, a security control panel, a TV box (e.g., Samsung HomeSync™, Apple TV™, or Google TV™), a game console (e.g., Xbox™ and PlayStation™)).
The proposed rejection of claims 1-2, renders obvious the steps of the apparatus claim 18 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium claim 20 because these steps occur in the operation of the proposed rejection as discussed above. Thus, the arguments similar to that presented above for claims 1-2 are equally applicable to claims 18 and 20.
Claim(s) 4-5, 8-9, 11, 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim, Xiong and Bai, further in view of Sun et al. (NPL, “Automating Gait Generation”, 2001).
(1) regarding claim 4:
Kim disclosed most of the subject matter as described as above except for specifically teaching wherein the gait parameters comprise a first gait parameter in a first motion pattern and a second gait parameter in a second motion pattern; the method further comprises: performing interpolation on the first gait parameter and the second gait parameter to obtain a first blended gait parameter; and performing, based on the first blended gait parameter, gait fusion on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase to generate a transition animation of the leg of the virtual role to switch from the first motion pattern to the second motion pattern.
However, Sun disclosed wherein the gait parameters comprise a first gait parameter in a first motion pattern and a second gait parameter in a second motion pattern (page 2, 4 ElevWalker: gait motion generation, para. [0003], note that A walking motion dataset is thus represented concisely as a curve c(t), a set of 4D points over time. We normalize the domain of c(t) so that t 2 [0; 1). Points in the range t 2 [0; 1:5) represent the elevation angles during the stance phase of gait, while points in the range t 2 [:5; 1:0) represent the elevation angles during swing phase. At each frame, we select two points, c(ti) and c(ti + :50), where ti 2 [0; :5)); the method further comprises: performing interpolation on the first gait parameter and the second gait parameter to obtain a first blended gait parameter (page 2, 4 ElevWalker: gait motion generation, para. [0005], note that we compute the figure’s joint angles so that its silhouette matches the sagittal elevation angle data silhouette. This is depicted in Figure 4. We also compute the kinematic (or figure) root based on these constraints); and performing, based on the first blended gait parameter, gait fusion on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase to generate a transition animation of the leg of the virtual role to switch from the first motion pattern to the second motion pattern (para. [0004], note that the information contained in these two points can be thought of as a “silhouette” of the legs of the walking figure. ElevWalker uses this information to compute the joint angles of the lower body).
At the time of filing for the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art to teach wherein the gait parameters comprise a first gait parameter in a first motion pattern and a second gait parameter in a second motion pattern; the method further comprises: performing interpolation on the first gait parameter and the second gait parameter to obtain a first blended gait parameter; and performing, based on the first blended gait parameter, gait fusion on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase to generate a transition animation of the leg of the virtual role to switch from the first motion pattern to the second motion pattern. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been in order to have an easy-to-use, real-time, fully automated animation tool suitable for off-line animation and virtual environment simulation (abs.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kim, Xiong and Bai with Sun to obtain the invention as specified in claim 4.
(2) regarding claim 5:
Kim disclosed most of the subject matter as described as above except for specifically teaching wherein the gait parameters comprise a third gait parameter in a first movement direction and a fourth gait parameter in a second movement direction; the method further comprises: performing interpolation on the third gait parameter and the fourth gait parameter to obtain a second blended gait parameter; and performing, based on the second blended gait parameter, gait fusion on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase to generate a walk animation of the leg of the virtual role in the third movement direction; wherein the third movement direction is a movement direction between the first movement direction and the second movement direction.
However, Sun disclosed wherein the gait parameters comprise a third gait parameter in a first movement direction and a fourth gait parameter in a second movement direction (page 2, 4 ElevWalker: gait motion generation, para. [0003], note that A walking motion dataset is thus represented concisely as a curve c(t), a set of 4D points over time. We normalize the domain of c(t) so that t 2 [0; 1). Points in the range t 2 [0; 1:5) represent the elevation angles during the stance phase of gait, while points in the range t 2 [:5; 1:0) represent the elevation angles during swing phase. At each frame, we select two points, c(ti) and c(ti + :50), where ti 2 [0; :5)); the method further comprises: performing interpolation on the third gait parameter and the fourth gait parameter to obtain a second blended gait parameter (page 2, 4 ElevWalker: gait motion generation, para. [0005], note that we compute the figure’s joint angles so that its silhouette matches the sagittal elevation angle data silhouette. This is depicted in Figure 4. We also compute the kinematic (or figure) root based on these constraints); and performing, based on the second blended gait parameter, gait fusion on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase to generate a walk animation of the leg of the virtual role in the third movement direction (page 3, para. [0002], note that the information contained in these two points can be thought of as a “silhouette” of the legs of the walking figure. ElevWalker uses this information to compute the joint angles of the lower body); wherein the third movement direction is a movement direction between the first movement direction and the second movement direction (page 3, 4.1 Computing the figure root, para. [0002], note that since the contact point continuously moves forward along the bottom of the foot, we must recompute the contact point at each frame).
At the time of filing for the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art to teach wherein the gait parameters comprise a third gait parameter in a first movement direction and a fourth gait parameter in a second movement direction; the method further comprises: performing interpolation on the third gait parameter and the fourth gait parameter to obtain a second blended gait parameter; and performing, based on the second blended gait parameter, gait fusion on the positions of the bone points of the leg in the swing phase to generate a walk animation of the leg of the virtual role in the third movement direction; wherein the third movement direction is a movement direction between the first movement direction and the second movement direction. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been in order to have an easy-to-use, real-time, fully automated animation tool suitable for off-line animation and virtual environment simulation (abs.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kim, Xiong with Bai with Sun to obtain the invention as specified in claim 5.
(3) regarding claim 8:
Kim disclosed most of the subject matter as described as above except for specifically teaching computing, in response to a ground where a touchdown point of the multiple touchdown points is located being the non-flat ground, a first projection point of the touchdown point on the non-flat ground in a vertical direction; extracting, based on a leg swing distance, a reference point, from a line between the touchdown point and the first projection point; and using a second projection point of the reference point on the non-flat ground in the vertical direction as an updated touchdown point.
However, Sun disclosed computing, in response to a ground where a touchdown point of the multiple touchdown points is located being a non-flat ground, a first projection point of the touchdown point on the non-flat ground in a vertical direction (page 1, 1 Introduction, para. [0002], note that a gait animation system should be powerful enough to create curved locomotion (walking along a curved path) on uneven terrain); extracting, based on a leg swing distance, a reference point, from a line between the touchdown point and the first projection point (fig. 5, page 3, para. [0004], note that compute the figure’s joint angles, working up the stance leg, across the pelvis, and back down the swing leg; the order of these computations is shown in Figure 6); and using a second projection point of the reference point on the non-flat ground in the vertical direction as an updated touchdown point (page 8, 7 Results, para. [0002], note that we have generated several examples of walking on uneven terrain, using five datasets: walking normally, walking uphill, walking downhill, walking with short strides (level terrain), walking with long strides (level terrain). These show our system’s ability to handle curved locomotion on a continuously changing surface using a very small amount of data).
At the time of filing for the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art to teach computing, in response to a ground where a touchdown point of the multiple touchdown points is located being a non-flat ground, a first projection point of the touchdown point on the non-flat ground in a vertical direction; extracting, based on a leg swing distance, a reference point, from a line between the touchdown point and the first projection point; and using a second projection point of the reference point on the non-flat ground in the vertical direction as an updated touchdown point. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been in order to have an easy-to-use, real-time, fully automated animation tool suitable for off-line animation and virtual environment simulation (abs.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kim, Xiong and Bai with Sun to obtain the invention as specified in claim 8.
(4) regarding claim 9:
Kim disclosed most of the subject matter as described as above except for specifically teaching deflecting a pose of the foot at the time of touchdown according to the normal direction of the ground where the updated touchdown point is located.
However, Sun disclosed deflecting a pose of the foot at the time of touchdown according to the normal direction of the ground where the updated touchdown point is located (fig. 7, page 3, 4.1 Computing the figure root, para. [0003], note that once we have the point of contact, we rotate the foot segment so that its orientation equals the dataset foot elevation angle. The rotation axis is a vector normal to the sagittal plane, and through the point of contact).
At the time of filing for the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art to teach deflecting a pose of the foot at the time of touchdown according to the normal direction of the ground where the updated touchdown point is located. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been in order to have an easy-to-use, real-time, fully automated animation tool suitable for off-line animation and virtual environment simulation (abs.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kim, Xiong and Bai with Sun to obtain the invention as specified in claim 9.
(5) regarding claim 11:
Kim disclosed most of the subject matter as described as above except for specifically teaching determining a spline curve, in response to that an obstacle exists below a body of the virtual role, based on positions of the two adjacent touchdown points and the highest point of the obstacle; and superposing the spline curve with the leg swing curve to obtain an updated leg swing curve.
However, Sun disclosed determining a spline curve, in response to that an obstacle exists below a body of the virtual role, based on positions of the two adjacent touchdown points and the highest point of the obstacle (page 8, 7 Results, para. [0004], note that through the use of a spatial spline curve, this is a test that we can recover position using the elevation angles. Figure 15 shows a graph of real hip, knee and ankle positions plotted against normalized gait cycle time, as well as the hip, knee and ankle positions generated by our model); and superposing the spline curve with the leg swing curve to obtain an updated leg swing curve (fig 15, page 9, para. [0001], note that generate upper body motion by having the arms mirror the opposite leg for arm swing, and bending the spine to compensate for the pelvis’ motion, so that the head stays relatively still).
At the time of filing for the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art to teach determining a spline curve, in response to that an obstacle exists below a body of the virtual role, based on positions of the two adjacent touchdown points and the highest point of the obstacle; and superposing the spline curve with the leg swing curve to obtain an updated leg swing curve. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been in order to have an easy-to-use, real-time, fully automated animation tool suitable for off-line animation and virtual environment simulation (abs.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kim, Xiong and Bai with Sun to obtain the invention as specified in claim 11.
(6) regarding claim 13:
Kim disclosed most of the subject matter as described as above except for specifically teaching acquiring a torso animation of the virtual role, the torso animation is an animation of a body of the virtual role in the walk process; and fusing the torso animation of the virtual role with the walk animation of the virtual role to obtain a bodily movement animation of the virtual role.
However, Sun disclosed acquiring a torso animation of the virtual role, the torso animation is an animation of a body of the virtual role in the walk process (page 9, para. [0001], note that our model generates movement for the lower body only. Currently we generate upper body motion by having the arms mirror the opposite leg for arm swing, and bending the spine to compensate for the pelvis’ motion); and fusing the torso animation of the virtual role with the walk animation of the virtual role to obtain a bodily movement animation of the virtual role (see fig. 14, page 9, para. [0001], note that research in natural looking upper body motion is sorely needed in order to improve the realism of walking animation).
At the time of filing for the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art to teach acquiring a torso animation of the virtual role, the torso animation is an animation of a body of the virtual role in the walk process; and fusing the torso animation of the virtual role with the walk animation of the virtual role to obtain a bodily movement animation of the virtual role. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been in order to have an easy-to-use, real-time, fully automated animation tool suitable for off-line animation and virtual environment simulation (abs.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kim, Xiong and Bai with Sun to obtain the invention as specified in claim 13.
(7) regarding claim 14:
Kim disclosed most of the subject matter as described as above except for specifically teaching wherein the fusing the torso animation of the virtual role with the walk animation of the virtual role to obtain the bodily movement animation of the virtual role comprises: scaling a duration of the torso animation of the virtual role according to a duration of a gait period to obtain a scaled torso animation; the gait period being an overall period of one swing phase and one alternating stance phase; and fusing the scaled torso animation with the walk animation of the virtual role to obtain the bodily movement animation of the virtual role.
However, Sun disclosed wherein the fusing the torso animation of the virtual role with the walk animation of the virtual role to obtain the bodily movement animation of the virtual role comprises: scaling a duration of the torso animation of the virtual role according to a duration of a gait period to obtain a scaled torso animation (page 9, para. [0001], note that Our model generates movement for the lower body only. Currently we generate upper body motion by having the arms mirror the opposite leg for arm swing, and bending the spine to compensate for the pelvis’ motion); the gait period being an overall period of one swing phase and one alternating stance phase (page 3, 4.1 Computing the figure root, para. [0004], note that the root transformation no longer changes until the swing side and stance side are swapped); and fusing the scaled torso animation with the walk animation of the virtual role to obtain the bodily movement animation of the virtual role (fig. 14, note that a walking animation is generated).
At the time of filing for the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art to teach wherein the fusing the torso animation of the virtual role with the walk animation of the virtual role to obtain the bodily movement animation of the virtual role comprises: scaling a duration of the torso animation of the virtual role according to a duration of a gait period to obtain a scaled torso animation; the gait period being an overall period of one swing phase and one alternating stance phase; and fusing the scaled torso animation with the walk animation of the virtual role to obtain the bodily movement animation of the virtual role. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been in order to have an easy-to-use, real-time, fully automated animation tool suitable for off-line animation and virtual environment simulation (abs.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kim, Xiong and Bai with Sun to obtain the invention as specified in claim 14.
(8) regarding claim 15:
Kim disclosed most of the subject matter as described as above except for specifically teaching determining, in response to that a body of the virtual role comprise elastic components, at least two levels of bone nodes corresponding to the elastic components in a bone tree of the virtual role; and performing vibration computation of a three-dimensional vibration model starting from a root node of the at least two levels of bone nodes by taking a previous-level bone node as an origin and a next-level bone node as a vibrator, and determine a bone update position of the next-level bone node, until a bone update position of the elastic component is updated.
However, Sun disclosed determining, in response to that a body of the virtual role comprise elastic components, at least two levels of bone nodes corresponding to the elastic components in a bone tree of the virtual role (fig. 6, page 3, para. [0004], note that ElevWalker’s algorithm for computing the kinematic (figure) root transformation and joint angles begins at the current stance foot. The figure root transformation is computed first. We then compute the figure’s joint angles, working up the stance leg, across the pelvis, and back down the swing leg; the order of these computations is shown in Figure 6); and performing vibration computation of a three-dimensional vibration model starting from a root node of the at least two levels of bone nodes by taking a previous-level bone node as an origin and a next-level bone node as a vibrator, and determine a bone update position of the next-level bone node, until a bone update position of the elastic component is updated (page 3, 4.2 Computing the joint angles, para. [0001], note that after computing the figure root, we proceed to compute the joint angles, working up the stance leg and then down the swing leg. At many of these joints, we are concerned with only a single DOF and a single elevation angle constraint. For example, the stance knee joint (depicted in Figure 6) has only a single DOF).
At the time of filing for the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art to teach determining, in response to that a body of the virtual role comprise elastic components, at least two levels of bone nodes corresponding to the elastic components in a bone tree of the virtual role; and performing vibration computation of a three-dimensional vibration model starting from a root node of the at least two levels of bone nodes by taking a previous-level bone node as an origin and a next-level bone node as a vibrator, and determine a bone update position of the next-level bone node, until a bone update position of the elastic component is updated. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been in order to have an easy-to-use, real-time, fully automated animation tool suitable for off-line animation and virtual environment simulation (abs.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kim, Xiong and Bai with Sun to obtain the invention as specified in claim 15.
Claim(s) 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim, Xiong, and Bai further in view of Lee (US Publication Number 2017/0281085 A1).
(1) regarding claim 16:
Kim disclosed most of the subject matter as described as above except for specifically teaching computing a stance vector of the leg of the virtual role, the stance vector indicating an inclination of a touchdown point of a current leg relative to a torso of the virtual role; computing, based on the stance vector of the leg, a pose angle of the torso of the virtual role; and performing, based on the pose angle, lean compensation on the torso of the virtual role.
However, Lee disclosed computing a stance vector of the leg of the virtual role, the stance vector indicating an inclination of a touchdown point of a current leg relative to a torso of the virtual role (para. [0027], note that the coiling and compression of the body occurs between foot landing and mid stance. It is a very natural, comfortable way of absorbing the impact of landing. The crucial parts of the weight bearing structure in the body for coiling, compression and propulsion is found between the shoulder/arm and knee); computing, based on the stance vector of the leg, a pose angle of the torso of the virtual role (para. [0033], note that the ideal bounce can include compression between shoulder and knee during full foot-ground contact, resulting in extension between shoulder and knee during propulsion); and performing, based on the pose angle, lean compensation on the torso of the virtual role (see fig. 6, para. [0087], note that the animated running motion can be presented with a variety of animated characters. In an example embodiment, the animated running motion can be presented with an avatar or caricature of the user 102, or a 3D image rendering of the user 102, for example).
At the time of filing for the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art to teach computing a stance vector of the leg of the virtual role, the stance vector indicating an inclination of a touchdown point of a current leg relative to a torso of the virtual role; computing, based on the stance vector of the leg, a pose angle of a torso of the virtual role; and performing, based on the pose angle, lean compensation on the torso of the virtual role. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been in order to have to exercise instruction and, more particularly, to methods and systems for training proper, safe and more enjoyable running or walking (para. [0002]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kim, Xiong and Bai with Lee to obtain the invention as specified in claim 16.
(2) regarding claim 17:
Kim disclosed most of the subject matter as described as above except for specifically teaching computing, in response to that the virtual role is above a convex ground, an average height difference between the touchdown point of the leg of the virtual role and a vertex of the convex ground; and performing raising compensation on a height of a torso of the virtual role according to the average height difference.
However, Lee disclosed computing, in response to that the virtual role is above a convex ground, an average height difference between the touchdown point of the leg of the virtual role and a vertex of the convex ground (para. [0033], note that the ideal bounce can include a soft landing including forefoot strike to the ground. In some example embodiments, the ideal bounce can include compression between shoulder and knee during full foot-ground contact, resulting in extension between shoulder and knee during propulsion); and performing raising compensation on a height of a torso of the virtual role according to the average height difference (para. [0101], note that the server 330 can collect post run logs, analyze gait motion by gender, age, weight, height, frequency of running, distance of running, duration of running, speed of running, for example).
At the time of filing for the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skilled in the art to teach computing, in response to that the virtual role is above a convex ground, an average height difference between the touchdown point of the leg of the virtual role and a vertex of the convex ground; and performing raising compensation on a height of a torso of the virtual role according to the average height difference. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been in order to have to exercise instruction and, more particularly, to methods and systems for training proper, safe and more enjoyable running or walking (para. [0002]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kim, Xiong and Bai with Lee to obtain the invention as specified in claim 17.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior arts made of record do not teach “wherein the virtual role comprises n legs, and the sampling the multiple touchdown points of the leg on the predicted movement trajectory by taking the current pose of the leg of the virtual role as the predicted starting point comprises: computing, in response to that a current pose of an ith leg of the virtual role is in a tth second state in the swing phase, a sum of a remaining duration of the swing phase and half of a duration of the stance phase as predicted duration; determining a position of moving forward for a predicted length along the predicted movement trajectory as a body position of the virtual role at a time of touchdown by taking a position of the current pose of the virtual role on the predicted movement trajectory as a starting point, the predicted length being equal to a product of the predicted duration and a movement velocity; and calculating, based on the body position of the virtual role at the time of touchdown and a relative position relationship, touchdown points of the ith leg of the virtual role on the predicted movement trajectory; wherein i is a positive integer not greater than n, and the relative position relationship is a pre-configured relative position between a body and the ith leg of the virtual role”, as recited in claim 7.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ha et al. (US Publication Number 2018/0107175 A1) disclosed a robot design system, and associated method, that is particularly well-suited for legged robots (e.g., monopods, bipeds, and quadrupeds). The system implements three stages or modules: (a) a motion optimization module; (b) a morphology optimization module; and (c) a link length optimization module.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 communication from the examiner should be directed to Hilina K Demeter whose telephone number is (571) 270-1676.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, King Y. Poon could be reached at (571) 270- 0728. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HILINA K DEMETER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2617