DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
1. 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.
2. Claims 1-6, 10-14 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yakymets et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0203064 (hereinafter Yakymets) in view of Benedetto et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0352244 (hereinafter Benedetto) and Lin et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0073372 (hereinafter Lin).
Regarding claim 1, Yakymets discloses a data processing system (from Figure 1, see 102) comprising:
a processor (from Figure 2, see 200); and
a non-transitory machine-readable medium storing executable instructions (from paragraph 0006, see A virtual workplace management device is disclosed that includes memory including programmed instructions stored thereon and one or more processors configured to execute the stored programmed instructions) that, when executed, cause the processor alone or in combination with other processors to perform operations of:
establishing a first group video call (from paragraph 0032, see video communication) with a first communication portal at a first location within a physical space (from Figure 1, see 118), the first communication portal providing audiovisual communications between in-person users (from paragraph 0008, see on-site coworkers) located within a first zone (from paragraph 0025, see including within at least a subset of rooms of the physical workplace 118 (e.g., kitchen, break room, and/or conference room)) at the first location within the physical space and first remote users (from Figure 1, see 106(1)) located at one or more remote locations not at the physical space via the first group video call;
establishing a second group video call (from paragraph 0032, see video communication) with a second communication portal at a second location (from paragraph 0004, see spontaneous birthday celebration for a coworker occurring in a kitchen) within the physical space (from Figure 1, see 118), the second communication portal providing audiovisual communications between in-person users (from paragraph 0008, see on-site coworkers) located within a second zone at the second location (from paragraph 0025, see including within at least a subset of rooms of the physical workplace 118 (e.g., kitchen, break room, and/or conference room)) within the physical space and second remote users (from Figure 1, see 106(n)) located at one or more remote locations not at the physical space via the second group video call;
connecting first client devices associated with each user of the first remote users and second client devices associated with the second remote users with the first group video call and the second group video call (from paragraph 0045, see In particular, a user of one of the remote user devices 106(1)-106(n) can select an office, floor, private room, public room, or an area on the floorplan of the physical workplace 118 that is reproduced virtually within the virtual hybrid environment. Upon entering a virtual location, the user of the one of the remote user devices 106(1)-106(n) can learn contextual information regarding the corresponding physical location in the physical workplace 118 and/or digitally knock on a door or address another coworker to see if someone may be available to collaborate via text, audio, or video, for example, as will now be described below in more detail);
causing the first client devices to participate in the first group video call (from paragraph 0037, see Each of the remote user devices 106(1)-106(n), local user devices 110(1)-110(n), and administrator device 114 of the network environment 100 includes processor(s), a memory, a communication interface, user input device(s), an audio input/output device, an imaging device (e.g., video camera), and/or a display device, which are coupled together by a bus or other communication link, although other numbers and types of network devices could be used. The remote and local user devices 106(1)-106(n) and 110(1)-110(n) can be mobile devices, such as smartphones, and/or tablet or laptop computing devices, for example, that execute applications configured to communicate with the virtual workplace management device 102 for the presentation of, and interaction with, the hybrid virtual environment generated and provided by the virtual workplace management device 102. The remote and local user devices 106(1)-106(n) and 110(1)-110(n) are also configured to facilitate digital communications between users of those devices);
causing the second client devices to participate in the first group video call (from paragraph 0037, see Each of the remote user devices 106(1)-106(n), local user devices 110(1)-110(n), and administrator device 114 of the network environment 100 includes processor(s), a memory, a communication interface, user input device(s), an audio input/output device, an imaging device (e.g., video camera), and/or a display device, which are coupled together by a bus or other communication link, although other numbers and types of network devices could be used. The remote and local user devices 106(1)-106(n) and 110(1)-110(n) can be mobile devices, such as smartphones, and/or tablet or laptop computing devices, for example, that execute applications configured to communicate with the virtual workplace management device 102 for the presentation of, and interaction with, the hybrid virtual environment generated and provided by the virtual workplace management device 102. The remote and local user devices 106(1)-106(n) and 110(1)-110(n) are also configured to facilitate digital communications between users of those devices);
receiving a first navigation signal from a first client device of a first remote user of the first remote users to navigate from the first zone associated with the first communication portal to the second zone associated with the second communication portal (from paragraph 0050, see In step 404, the virtual workplace management device 102 determines whether a move request is received from the one of the remote user devices 106(1)-106(n). The request can be a request to move the viewpoint (e.g., of the associated avatar) received via an interaction with a virtual location within the provided immersive virtual workplace environment with an input device of the one of the remote user devices 106(1)-106(n), for example, although the move request can be received in other ways in other examples);
causing the first client device to stop participating in a video portion of the first video group call in response to the first remote user exiting the first zone (from paragraph 0055, see In step 406, the virtual workplace management device 102 transitions in the provided immersive virtual workplace environment between two of the images of the virtual workplace data 210 (e.g., associated with the prior and subsequent virtual locations) in response to the received request. The received request includes a movement input received at a virtual location (e.g., virtual location 502) within the immersive virtual workplace environment and the virtual location corresponds to a physical location based on stored identifiers for those locations, for example); and
causing the first client device to participate in the audio portion and the video portion of the second group video call in response to the first remote user entering the second zone (from paragraph 0063, see For example, the virtual workplace management device 102 can facilitate a text-based chat interaction, and audio call interaction, or a video conference interaction based on the type of selected interface element. The interaction can be facilitated directly between another one or more of the users and/or with all users currently present physically or virtually in a corresponding room, for example).
Further regarding claim 1, Yakymets does not teach attenuating a volume of an audio portion of the first group video call as the first remote user navigates from the first zone to the second zone. All the same, Benedetto discloses attenuating a volume of an audio portion of the first group video call as the first remote user navigates from the first zone to the second zone (from paragraph 0107, see For example, speaker delays in the HMD can be varied to emulate changes in perceived real world audio as a person might experience them when turning his head from one conversation partner to another, and audio also can be attenuated or amplified as appropriate as the wearer walks around a room “away” and “toward” emulated location of conversation partners). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Yakymets with attenuating a volume of an audio portion of the first group video call as the first remote user navigates from the first zone to the second zone as taught by Benedetto. This modification would have improved the user experience by emulating changes perceived in real world audio as suggested by Benedetto.
Still on the issue of claim 1, the combination of Yakymets and Benedetto does not teach the first communication portal providing a first view of the physical space and the in-person users located at the first zone captured by a first camera of the first communication portal to the first remote users, the first communication portal presenting video of the first remote users captured by first client devices of the first remote users on a display of the first communication portal; the second communication portal providing a second view of the physical space and the in-person users located at the second zone captured by a second camera of the second communication portal to the second remote users, the second communication portal presenting video of the second remote users captured by second client devices of the second remote users on a display of the second communication portal. All the same, Lin discloses the first communication portal providing a first view of the physical space and the in-person users located at the first zone captured by a first camera (from paragraph 0079, see For physical space device(s) 602 corresponding to cameras (e.g., including 360-degree camera(s)), the element properties interface 406 in conjunction with the virtual space design interface 204 provides for configuring the camera to capture image data (e.g., live video) in the physical space. For example, the virtual space design interface 204 allows the first participant to set the position, resolution and the like, for image data captured by each camera. The element properties interface 406 provides for the first participant to set a link (e.g., URL) for accessing the image data (e.g., live video) captured by each camera. In this manner, video captured within the physical room (e.g., a live video feed of the presenter, other in-person participants, an exhibit, and the like) can be observed by the in-person participants within the physical room and/or by the virtual participants) of the first communication portal to the first remote users, the first communication portal presenting video of the first remote users captured by first client devices of the first remote users on a display (from paragraph 0074, see For physical space device(s) 602 corresponding to display devices, the element properties interface 406 in conjunction with the virtual space design interface 204 provides for configuring the content, layout and/or resolution for each display device. Regarding content, a given display device may be configured to display elements such as: image/video captured by a camera in the physical space (e.g., a video of a presenter); slide deck content (e.g., which is controllable by the presenter); chat messages, question board content and/or reactions as provided by in-person and/or virtual participants; and/or video participant elements corresponding to video feeds of the virtual participants) of the first communication portal; the second communication portal providing a second view (from paragraph 0101, see or example, the virtual space may be designed such that different virtual rooms are associated with different physical spaces, different parts of physical spaces, or a combination thereof) of the physical space and the in-person users located at the second zone captured by a second camera (from paragraph 0079, see For physical space device(s) 602 corresponding to cameras (e.g., including 360-degree camera(s)), the element properties interface 406 in conjunction with the virtual space design interface 204 provides for configuring the camera to capture image data (e.g., live video) in the physical space. For example, the virtual space design interface 204 allows the first participant to set the position, resolution and the like, for image data captured by each camera. The element properties interface 406 provides for the first participant to set a link (e.g., URL) for accessing the image data (e.g., live video) captured by each camera. In this manner, video captured within the physical room (e.g., a live video feed of the presenter, other in-person participants, an exhibit, and the like) can be observed by the in-person participants within the physical room and/or by the virtual participants) of the second communication portal to the second remote users, the second communication portal presenting video of the second remote users captured by second client devices of the second remote users on a display (from paragraph 0074, see For physical space device(s) 602 corresponding to display devices, the element properties interface 406 in conjunction with the virtual space design interface 204 provides for configuring the content, layout and/or resolution for each display device. Regarding content, a given display device may be configured to display elements such as: image/video captured by a camera in the physical space (e.g., a video of a presenter); slide deck content (e.g., which is controllable by the presenter); chat messages, question board content and/or reactions as provided by in-person and/or virtual participants; and/or video participant elements corresponding to video feeds of the virtual participants) of the second communication portal. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to further modify the combination of Yakymets and Benedetto wherein the first communication portal providing a first view of the physical space and the in-person users located at the first zone captured by a first camera of the first communication portal to the first remote users, the first communication portal presenting video of the first remote users captured by first client devices of the first remote users on a display of the first communication portal; the second communication portal providing a second view of the physical space and the in-person users located at the second zone captured by a second camera of the second communication portal to the second remote users, the second communication portal presenting video of the second remote users captured by second client devices of the second remote users on a display of the second communication portal as taught by Lin. This modification would have improved the user experience by providing a more engaging hybrid event as suggested by Lin.
Regarding claim 2, Yakymets discloses the data processing system of claim 1, wherein the machine-readable storage medium further includes instructions configured to cause the processor to perform operations of: causing client devices of the first remote users and the second remote users to present a navigation interface that provides a map of the physical space and positions of the first communication portal and the second communication portal within the physical space (from paragraph 0052, see Referring to FIG. 6 is an exemplary virtual floorplan interface 600 illustrating virtual and physical occupancy data 602 and a chat panel 604 for a virtual room is illustrated. In this example, a two-dimensional floorplan is illustrated that can be navigated by a user of the remote user device to display occupants of various rooms. In this particular example, the virtual floorplan interface 600 is at a position of the kitchen of the physical workplace 118 and a kitchen table is illustrated with graphical indications of the occupants of the kitchen table displayed).
Regarding claim 3, Yakymets discloses the data processing system of claim 2, wherein the non-transitory machine-readable medium further includes instructions configured to cause the processor to perform operations of: causing the client devices of the first remote users and the second remote users to present a neighborhood view pane that includes an indication of how far avatars of other users are from an avatar of a respective remote user (from paragraph 0052, see Referring to FIG. 6 is an exemplary virtual floorplan interface 600 illustrating virtual and physical occupancy data 602 and a chat panel 604 for a virtual room is illustrated. In this example, a two-dimensional floorplan is illustrated that can be navigated by a user of the remote user device to display occupants of various rooms. In this particular example, the virtual floorplan interface 600 is at a position of the kitchen of the physical workplace 118 and a kitchen table is illustrated with graphical indications of the occupants of the kitchen table displayed).
Regarding claim 4, Vakymets discloses the data processing system of claim 1, wherein the non-transitory machine-readable medium further includes instructions configured to cause the processor to perform operations of: obtaining a group call identifier of the second group video call associated with the second communication portal from a call mapping datastore stored in a persistent memory (from Figure 2, see 202) of the data processing system (from Figure 1, see 102); and establishing a connection with the first client device to the second group video call using the group call identifier (from paragraph 0031, see The virtual room management module 220 uses the virtual and physical occupancy data 216 and 218 and the virtual workplace data 210 to generate graphical, virtual rooms of the immersive virtual workplace environment along with selectable interaction elements to facilitate coworker collaboration. In particular, the virtual room management module 220 can generate a virtual room interface that includes a graphical representation of a virtual room generated from the virtual workplace data 210, avatars retrieved from the avatar module 212 that correspond to users determined from the virtual and physical occupancy data 216 and 218, and interaction elements).
Regarding claim 5, Vakymets discloses the data processing system of claim 1, wherein the first navigation signal identifies a path taken on a navigation interface, the path indicating the path that an avatar representing the first remote user takes through a virtual representation of the physical space (from paragraph 0052, see Referring to FIG. 6 is an exemplary virtual floorplan interface 600 illustrating virtual and physical occupancy data 602 and a chat panel 604 for a virtual room is illustrated. In this example, a two-dimensional floorplan is illustrated that can be navigated by a user of the remote user device to display occupants of various rooms. In this particular example, the virtual floorplan interface 600 is at a position of the kitchen of the physical workplace 118 and a kitchen table is illustrated with graphical indications of the occupants of the kitchen table displayed).
Regarding claim 6, Vakymets discloses the data processing system of claim 1, wherein the non-transitory machine-readable medium further includes instructions configured to cause the processor to perform operations of: causing the first communication portal and the second communication portal to present a second navigation interface that provides a map of the physical space is a skeuomorphic representation of the physical space and positions of the first communication portal and the second communication portal within the physical space; tracking movement of in-person users through the physical space and movement of the first remote users and the second remote users through a virtual representation of the physical space; and updating a location of first avatars representing the in-person users on the navigation interface based on the movement of the in-person users through the physical space; and updating the location of second avatars representing the first remote users and the second remote users on the navigation interface based on the movement of the first remote users and the second remote users through the virtual representation of the physical space (from paragraph 0056, see In step 408, the virtual workplace management device 102 obtains physical occupancy data for the physical room corresponding to the virtual room that includes the virtual location that was the destination of the move request received in step 404. In some examples, the occupancy module 214 periodically updates the physical occupancy data 218, which can be determined from the room sensor(s) 112 physical locations correlated to physical rooms and determined from the local user devices 110(1)-110(n) executing applications via which other instances of the immersive virtual workplace environment is provided for display, or location inputs received from the on-site users via the applications executed by the local user devices 110(1)-110(n) and including an indication of the physical rooms. Other methods for determining the physical occupancy data 218 can also be used in other examples).
Regarding claim 10, Vakymets as modified by Benedetto discloses the data processing system of claim 1, wherein the non-transitory machine-readable medium further includes instructions configured to cause the processor to perform operations of: attenuating the volume of the audio portion of the first group video call as the first remote user navigates from the first zone to the second zone based on a distance an avatar representing the first remote user is from the first zone, obstructions between a location of the first remote user and the first zone, or a combination thereof (from paragraph 0107 of Benedetto, see For example, speaker delays in the HMD can be varied to emulate changes in perceived real world audio as a person might experience them when turning his head from one conversation partner to another, and audio also can be attenuated or amplified as appropriate as the wearer walks around a room “away” and “toward” emulated location of conversation partners).
Regarding claim 11, Yakymets discloses a method implemented in a data processing system for providing a hybrid environment (from Figure 1, see 100) for interactions between remote (from Figure 1, see 106(n)) and in-person users (from paragraph 0009, see on-site), the method comprising:
receiving a first request to set up a first communication session (from paragraph 0032, see The interaction elements, when selected by a user of the remote or local user devices 106(1)-110(n), facilitate a chat, audio, or video communication between two or more users present in the virtual room of the immersive virtual workplace environment and/or the corresponding physical room of the physical workplace 118) with a first communication portal at a first location (from paragraph 0025, see including within at least a subset of rooms of the physical workplace 118 (e.g., kitchen, break room, and/or conference room)) within a physical space (from Figure 1, see 118), the first communication portal providing audiovisual communications (from paragraph 0032, see video communication) between in-person users located within a first zone at the first location within the physical space and first remote users located at one or more remote locations not at the physical space;
establishing a connection for each client device of a plurality of first client devices (from Figure 1, see 106(n)) of the first remote users to a first group video call associated with the first communication portal;
receiving a second request to set up a second communication session with a second communication portal at a second location (from paragraph 0004, see spontaneous birthday celebration for a coworker occurring in a kitchen) within the physical space, the second communication portal providing audiovisual communications (from paragraph 0032, see video communication) between in-person users located within a second zone at the second location (from paragraph 0025, see including within at least a subset of rooms of the physical workplace 118 (e.g., kitchen, break room, and/or conference room)) within the physical space and second remote users located at one or more remote locations not at the physical space;
establishing a connection for each client device of a plurality of second client devices of the second remote users (from Figure 1, see 106(n)) to a second group video call (from paragraph 0004, see spontaneous birthday celebration for a coworker occurring in a kitchen) associated with the second communication portal;
causing client devices of the first remote users and the second remote users to present a navigation interface that provides a virtual representation of the physical space comprising map of the physical space and positions of the first communication portal and the second communication portal within the physical space (from paragraph 0052, see In this example, a two-dimensional floorplan is illustrated that can be navigated by a user of the remote user device to display occupants of various rooms. In this particular example, the virtual floorplan interface 600 is at a position of the kitchen of the physical workplace 118 and a kitchen table is illustrated with graphical indications of the occupants of the kitchen table displayed);
receiving a first navigation signal from a first client device of a first remote user of the first remote users to navigate from the first zone associated with the first communication portal to the second zone associated with the second communication portal (from paragraph 0050, see In step 404, the virtual workplace management device 102 determines whether a move request is received from the one of the remote user devices 106(1)-106(n). The request can be a request to move the viewpoint (e.g., of the associated avatar) received via an interaction with a virtual location within the provided immersive virtual workplace environment with an input device of the one of the remote user devices 106(1)-106(n), for example, although the move request can be received in other ways in other examples);
disconnecting the first remote user from the first group video call responsive to first remote user exiting the first zone and navigating from the first zone within the virtual representation of the physical space (from paragraph 0055, see In step 406, the virtual workplace management device 102 transitions in the provided immersive virtual workplace environment between two of the images of the virtual workplace data 210 (e.g., associated with the prior and subsequent virtual locations) in response to the received request. The received request includes a movement input received at a virtual location (e.g., virtual location 502) within the immersive virtual workplace environment and the virtual location corresponds to a physical location based on stored identifiers for those locations, for example); and
establishing a connection for the first client device of the first remote user to the second group video call to enable the first remote user to communicate with the in-person users at the second location and the second remote users responsive to the first remote user navigating to less than a threshold connection distance from the second zone within the virtual representation of the physical space (from paragraph 0063, see For example, the virtual workplace management device 102 can facilitate a text-based chat interaction, and audio call interaction, or a video conference interaction based on the type of selected interface element. The interaction can be facilitated directly between another one or more of the users and/or with all users currently present physically or virtually in a corresponding room, for example).
Further regarding claim 11, Yakymets does not teach the navigating is more than a threshold disconnection distance from the first zone and attenuating a volume of an audio portion of the first group video call as the first remote user navigates from the first zone to the second zone. All the same, Benedetto discloses the navigating is more than a threshold disconnection distance from the first zone (from paragraph 0095, see By moving his pawn around the map 100, a user can “wander by” different groups, seeing and hearing them once nearby. This allows a user to sample the content of different conversations before choosing one to join) and attenuating a volume of an audio portion of the first group video call as the first remote user navigates from the first zone to the second zone (from paragraph 0107, see For example, speaker delays in the HMD can be varied to emulate changes in perceived real world audio as a person might experience them when turning his head from one conversation partner to another, and audio also can be attenuated or amplified as appropriate as the wearer walks around a room “away” and “toward” emulated location of conversation partners). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Yakymets wherein the navigating is more than a threshold disconnection distance from the first zone and attenuating a volume of an audio portion of the first group video call as the first remote user navigates from the first zone to the second zone as taught by Benedetto. This modification would have improved the user experience by emulating changes perceived in real world audio as suggested by Benedetto.
Still on the issue of claim 11, the combination of Yakymets and Benedetto does not teach the first communication portal providing a first view of the physical space and the in-person users located at the first zone captured by a first camera of the first communication portal to the first remote users, the first communication portal presenting video of the first remote users captured by first client devices of the first remote users on a display of the first communication portal; the second communication portal providing a second view of the physical space and the in-person users located at the second zone captured by a second camera of the second communication portal to the second remote users, the second communication portal presenting video of the second remote users captured by second client devices of the second remote users on a display of the second communication portal. All the same, Lin discloses the first communication portal providing a first view of the physical space and the in-person users located at the first zone captured by a first camera (from paragraph 0079, see For physical space device(s) 602 corresponding to cameras (e.g., including 360-degree camera(s)), the element properties interface 406 in conjunction with the virtual space design interface 204 provides for configuring the camera to capture image data (e.g., live video) in the physical space. For example, the virtual space design interface 204 allows the first participant to set the position, resolution and the like, for image data captured by each camera. The element properties interface 406 provides for the first participant to set a link (e.g., URL) for accessing the image data (e.g., live video) captured by each camera. In this manner, video captured within the physical room (e.g., a live video feed of the presenter, other in-person participants, an exhibit, and the like) can be observed by the in-person participants within the physical room and/or by the virtual participants) of the first communication portal to the first remote users, the first communication portal presenting video of the first remote users captured by first client devices of the first remote users on a display (from paragraph 0074, see For physical space device(s) 602 corresponding to display devices, the element properties interface 406 in conjunction with the virtual space design interface 204 provides for configuring the content, layout and/or resolution for each display device. Regarding content, a given display device may be configured to display elements such as: image/video captured by a camera in the physical space (e.g., a video of a presenter); slide deck content (e.g., which is controllable by the presenter); chat messages, question board content and/or reactions as provided by in-person and/or virtual participants; and/or video participant elements corresponding to video feeds of the virtual participants) of the first communication portal; the second communication portal providing a second view (from paragraph 0101, see or example, the virtual space may be designed such that different virtual rooms are associated with different physical spaces, different parts of physical spaces, or a combination thereof) of the physical space and the in-person users located at the second zone captured by a second camera (from paragraph 0079, see For physical space device(s) 602 corresponding to cameras (e.g., including 360-degree camera(s)), the element properties interface 406 in conjunction with the virtual space design interface 204 provides for configuring the camera to capture image data (e.g., live video) in the physical space. For example, the virtual space design interface 204 allows the first participant to set the position, resolution and the like, for image data captured by each camera. The element properties interface 406 provides for the first participant to set a link (e.g., URL) for accessing the image data (e.g., live video) captured by each camera. In this manner, video captured within the physical room (e.g., a live video feed of the presenter, other in-person participants, an exhibit, and the like) can be observed by the in-person participants within the physical room and/or by the virtual participants) of the second communication portal to the second remote users, the second communication portal presenting video of the second remote users captured by second client devices of the second remote users on a display (from paragraph 0074, see For physical space device(s) 602 corresponding to display devices, the element properties interface 406 in conjunction with the virtual space design interface 204 provides for configuring the content, layout and/or resolution for each display device. Regarding content, a given display device may be configured to display elements such as: image/video captured by a camera in the physical space (e.g., a video of a presenter); slide deck content (e.g., which is controllable by the presenter); chat messages, question board content and/or reactions as provided by in-person and/or virtual participants; and/or video participant elements corresponding to video feeds of the virtual participants) of the second communication portal. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to further modify the combination of Yakymets and Benedetto wherein the first communication portal providing a first view of the physical space and the in-person users located at the first zone captured by a first camera of the first communication portal to the first remote users, the first communication portal presenting video of the first remote users captured by first client devices of the first remote users on a display of the first communication portal; the second communication portal providing a second view of the physical space and the in-person users located at the second zone captured by a second camera of the second communication portal to the second remote users, the second communication portal presenting video of the second remote users captured by second client devices of the second remote users on a display of the second communication portal as taught by Lin. This modification would have improved the user experience by providing a more engaging hybrid event as suggested by Lin.
Claim 12 is rejected for the same reasons as claim 4.
Claim 13 is rejected for the same reasons as claim 5.
Claim 14 is rejected for the same reasons as claim 6.
Regarding claim 17, Yakymets discloses a data processing system (from Figure 1, see 102) comprising:
a processor (from Figure 2, see 200); and
a non-transitory machine-readable medium storing executable instructions (from paragraph 0006, see A virtual workplace management device is disclosed that includes memory including programmed instructions stored thereon and one or more processors configured to execute the stored programmed instructions) that, when executed, cause the processor to perform operations of:
receiving a request from a first client device of a first remote user to connect to a communication session that includes a plurality of in-person users (from paragraph 0008, see on-site coworkers) located within a physical space (from Figure 1, see 118) and a plurality of remote users (from Figure 1, see 106(n)) located at one or more remote locations not at the physical space, the physical space being segmented into a plurality of zones (from paragraph 0025, see including within at least a subset of rooms of the physical workplace 118 (e.g., kitchen, break room, and/or conference room)), each zone being associated with a communication portal that includes a display (from Figure 1, see 110(n)) for presenting video received from the client devices of remote users and a speaker (from paragraph 0037, see an audio input/output device) for presenting audio received from the client devices of the remote users who have navigated to the zone in a virtual representation of the physical space, the communication portal further including a camera (from paragraph 0037, see an imaging device (e.g., video camera)) for capturing video of the plurality of in-person users who are physically present in the zone and a microphone (from paragraph 0037, see audio input/output device) for capturing audio of the plurality of in-person users who are physically present in the zone;
receiving a first navigation indication from the first client device of the first remote user indicating that the first remote user has navigated to a first zone within the virtual representation of the physical space (from paragraph 0051, see Referring to FIG. 5, an exemplary virtual workplace interface 500 that facilitates movement according to stored virtual workplace data is illustrated. In this example, the virtual workplace interface 500 is provided by the virtual workplace management device 102 via an application executed by the remote user device 106. The virtual workplace interface 500 includes an indication of a virtual location 502 to which a user of the remote user device 106 can move, in response to selecting the virtual location 502, in order to transition locations within the immersive virtual workplace environment);
connecting the first client device of the first remote user with a first group video call associated with a first communication portal associated with the first zone (from paragraph 0045, see In particular, a user of one of the remote user devices 106(1)-106(n) can select an office, floor, private room, public room, or an area on the floorplan of the physical workplace 118 that is reproduced virtually within the virtual hybrid environment. Upon entering a virtual location, the user of the one of the remote user devices 106(1)-106(n) can learn contextual information regarding the corresponding physical location in the physical workplace 118 and/or digitally knock on a door or address another coworker to see if someone may be available to collaborate via text, audio, or video, for example, as will now be described below in more detail);
streaming first audiovisual content of the plurality of in-person users present in the first zone captured by the first communication portal to the first client device responsive to connecting the first client device with the first group video call (from paragraph 0009, see When co-located within the virtual environment, remote and on-site workers can view the associated avatars and engage interaction elements within respective mobile applications, for example, to initiate communication, such as a text-based chat, audio call, or video conference, for example, with other coworkers);
streaming second audiovisual content of the first remote user captured by the first client device (from Figure 1, see 106(n)) to the first communication portal responsive to connecting the first client device with the first group video call;
receiving a second navigation indication from the first client device that the first remote user has navigated from the first zone to a second zone within the virtual representation of the physical space (from paragraph 0050, see In step 404, the virtual workplace management device 102 determines whether a move request is received from the one of the remote user devices 106(1)-106(n). The request can be a request to move the viewpoint (e.g., of the associated avatar) received via an interaction with a virtual location within the provided immersive virtual workplace environment with an input device of the one of the remote user devices 106(1)-106(n), for example, although the move request can be received in other ways in other examples);
disabling a video portion of the first group video call to and from the first client device responsive to the first remote user navigating from the first zone to the second zone (from paragraph 0055, see In step 406, the virtual workplace management device 102 transitions in the provided immersive virtual workplace environment between two of the images of the virtual workplace data 210 (e.g., associated with the prior and subsequent virtual locations) in response to the received request. The received request includes a movement input received at a virtual location (e.g., virtual location 502) within the immersive virtual workplace environment and the virtual location corresponds to a physical location based on stored identifiers for those locations, for example);
connecting the first client device of the first remote user with a second group video call associated with a second communication portal associated with the second zone (from paragraph 0004, see spontaneous birthday celebration for a coworker occurring in a kitchen); and
streaming fourth audiovisual content of the first remote user captured by the first client device to the second communication portal responsive to connecting the first client device with the second group video call (from paragraph 0063, see For example, the virtual workplace management device 102 can facilitate a text-based chat interaction, and audio call interaction, or a video conference interaction based on the type of selected interface element. The interaction can be facilitated directly between another one or more of the users and/or with all users currently present physically or virtually in a corresponding room, for example).
Further regarding claim 17, Yakymets does not teach streaming third audiovisual content of the plurality of in-person users present in the first zone captured by the second communication portal to the first client device responsive to connecting the first client device with the second group video call the third audiovisual content including an audio portion of the first audiovisual content for which a volume level of the first audiovisual content has been attenuated in proportion to how far an avatar representing the first remote user travels from the first zone within the virtual representation of the physical space. All the same, Benedetto discloses streaming third audiovisual content of the in-person users present in the first zone captured by the second communication portal to the first client device responsive to connecting the first client device with the second group video call, the audiovisual content including an audio portion of the first audiovisual content for which a volume level of the first audiovisual content has been attenuated in proportion to how far an avatar representing the first remote user travels from the first zone within the virtual representation of the physical space (from paragraph 0107, see For example, speaker delays in the HMD can be varied to emulate changes in perceived real world audio as a person might experience them when turning his head from one conversation partner to another, and audio also can be attenuated or amplified as appropriate as the wearer walks around a room “away” and “toward” emulated location of conversation partners). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Yakymets with streaming third audiovisual content of the in-person users present in the first zone captured by the second communication portal to the first client device responsive to connecting the first client device with the second group video call, the audiovisual content including an audio portion of the first audiovisual content for which a volume level of the first audiovisual content has been attenuated in proportion to how far an avatar representing the first remote user travels from the first zone within the virtual representation of the physical space as taught by Benedetto. This modification would have improved the user experience by emulating changes perceived in real world audio as suggested by Benedetto.
Still on the issue of claim 17, the combination of Yakymets and Benedetto does not teach the first communication portal providing a first view of the physical space and the in-person users located at the first zone captured by a first camera of the first communication portal to the first remote users, the first communication portal presenting video of the first remote users captured by first client devices of the first remote users on a display of the first communication portal; the second communication portal providing a second view of the physical space and the in-person users located at the second zone captured by a second camera of the second communication portal to the second remote users, the second communication portal presenting video of the second remote users captured by second client devices of the second remote users on a display of the second communication portal. All the same, Lin discloses the first communication portal providing a first view of the physical space and the in-person users located at the first zone captured by a first camera (from paragraph 0079, see For physical space device(s) 602 corresponding to cameras (e.g., including 360-degree camera(s)), the element properties interface 406 in conjunction with the virtual space design interface 204 provides for configuring the camera to capture image data (e.g., live video) in the physical space. For example, the virtual space design interface 204 allows the first participant to set the position, resolution and the like, for image data captured by each camera. The element properties interface 406 provides for the first participant to set a link (e.g., URL) for accessing the image data (e.g., live video) captured by each camera. In this manner, video captured within the physical room (e.g., a live video feed of the presenter, other in-person participants, an exhibit, and the like) can be observed by the in-person participants within the physical room and/or by the virtual participants) of the first communication portal to the first remote users, the first communication portal presenting video of the first remote users captured by first client devices of the first remote users on a display (from paragraph 0074, see For physical space device(s) 602 corresponding to display devices, the element properties interface 406 in conjunction with the virtual space design interface 204 provides for configuring the content, layout and/or resolution for each display device. Regarding content, a given display device may be configured to display elements such as: image/video captured by a camera in the physical space (e.g., a video of a presenter); slide deck content (e.g., which is controllable by the presenter); chat messages, question board content and/or reactions as provided by in-person and/or virtual participants; and/or video participant elements corresponding to video feeds of the virtual participants) of the first communication portal; the second communication portal providing a second view (from paragraph 0101, see or example, the virtual space may be designed such that different virtual rooms are associated with different physical spaces, different parts of physical spaces, or a combination thereof) of the physical space and the in-person users located at the second zone captured by a second camera (from paragraph 0079, see For physical space device(s) 602 corresponding to cameras (e.g., including 360-degree camera(s)), the element properties interface 406 in conjunction with the virtual space design interface 204 provides for configuring the camera to capture image data (e.g., live video) in the physical space. For example, the virtual space design interface 204 allows the first participant to set the position, resolution and the like, for image data captured by each camera. The element properties interface 406 provides for the first participant to set a link (e.g., URL) for accessing the image data (e.g., live video) captured by each camera. In this manner, video captured within the physical room (e.g., a live video feed of the presenter, other in-person participants, an exhibit, and the like) can be observed by the in-person participants within the physical room and/or by the virtual participants) of the second communication portal to the second remote users, the second communication portal presenting video of the second remote users captured by second client devices of the second remote users on a display (from paragraph 0074, see For physical space device(s) 602 corresponding to display devices, the element properties interface 406 in conjunction with the virtual space design interface 204 provides for configuring the content, layout and/or resolution for each display device. Regarding content, a given display device may be configured to display elements such as: image/video captured by a camera in the physical space (e.g., a video of a presenter); slide deck content (e.g., which is controllable by the presenter); chat messages, question board content and/or reactions as provided by in-person and/or virtual participants; and/or video participant elements corresponding to video feeds of the virtual participants) of the second communication portal. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to further modify the combination of Yakymets and Benedetto wherein the first communication portal providing a first view of the physical space and the in-person users located at the first zone captured by a first camera of the first communication portal to the first remote users, the first communication portal presenting video of the first remote users captured by first client devices of the first remote users on a display of the first communication portal; the second communication portal providing a second view of the physical space and the in-person users located at the second zone captured by a second camera of the second communication portal to the second remote users, the second communication portal presenting video of the second remote users captured by second client devices of the second remote users on a display of the second communication portal as taught by Lin. This modification would have improved the user experience by providing a more engaging hybrid event as suggested by Lin.
Claim 18 is rejected for the same reasons as claim 4.
Claim 19 is rejected for the same reasons as claim 5.
Claim 20 is rejected for the same reasons as claim 6.
3. Claims 7, 8, 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yakymets combined with Benedetto and Lin in further view of Roedel et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0021680 (hereinafter Roedel).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of references does not teach the non-transitory machine-readable medium further includes instructions configured to cause the processor to perform operations of: performing a liveliness check on a video stream received from each client device of the plurality of first client devices; and rejecting a connection for any client device for which the video stream fails the liveliness check. All same Roedel discloses the machine-readable storage medium further includes instructions configured to cause the processor to perform operations of: performing a liveliness check on a video stream received from each client device of the plurality of first client devices; and rejecting the connection for any client device for which the video stream fails the liveliness check (from paragraph 0004, see sending a join request signal to a host of the online meeting requesting to allow the second user to join the online meeting; receiving a validation request signal from the host of the online meeting in response to the join request signal; sending a control signal to the second device in response to the validation request signal, the control signal directing the second device to activate a camera to capture a representation of the second user; receiving, from the second device, the captured representation of the second user; sending the captured representation to the host of the online meeting for validation; receiving an authentication signal from the host of the online meeting in response to the captured representation; and admitting or denying the second user based on the authentication signal). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to further modify the combination of references wherein the machine-readable storage medium further includes instructions configured to cause the processor to perform operations of: performing a liveliness check on a video stream received from each client device of the plurality of first client devices; and rejecting the connection for any client device for which the video stream fails the liveliness check as taught by Roedel. This modification would have improved security by admitting only trusted users.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of references does not teach wherein performing the liveliness check includes performing one or more of a face detections check, a face-spoofing check, and an eye-mouth movement detection check. All the same, Roedel discloses performing the liveliness check includes performing one or more of a face detections check, a face-spoofing check, and an eye-mouth movement detection check (from paragraph 0031, see By requiring the user not only to provide a representation of their face but to also perform an action, the technical solution shown in FIG. 5 provides a technical advantage of making it more difficult to insert a prerecorded representation in order to masquerade as the user, increasing security of the online meeting service). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to further modify the combination of references wherein performing the liveliness check includes performing one or more of a face detections check, a face-spoofing check, and an eye-mouth movement detection check as taught by Roedel. This modification would have improved security by making it more difficult to insert a prerecorded representation in order to masquerade as the user as suggested by Roedel.
4. Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yakymets combined with Benedetto, Lin and Malpani et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0196836 (hereinafter Malpani) in further view of Anderson et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0205667 (hereinafter Anderson).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Yakymets, Benedetto and Lin does not teach wherein the non-transitory machine-readable medium further includes instructions configured to cause the processor to perform operations of: analyzing a video stream captured by a camera of the first communication portal using a presence detection model trained to output an indication whether there are any in-person users within a field of view (FOV) of the camera; and automatically muting a microphone and a speaker of the first communication portal responsive to determining that no in-person users are within the FOV of the camera. All the same, Malpani discloses wherein the machine-readable storage medium further includes instructions configured to cause the processor to perform operations of: analyzing a video stream captured by a camera of the first communication portal using a presence detection model trained to output an indication whether there are any in-person users within a field of view (FOV) of the camera; and automatically muting a microphone of the first communication portal responsive to determining that no in-person users are within the FOV of the camera (from paragraph 0010, see in response to detection of a person leaving the field of view of the image sensor, at least one of muting a microphone of the computing device). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to further modify the combination of Yakymets, Benedetto and Lin wherein the machine-readable storage medium further includes instructions configured to cause the processor to perform operations of: analyzing a video stream captured by a camera of the first communication portal using a presence detection model trained to output an indication whether there are any in-person users within a field of view (FOV) of the camera; and automatically muting a microphone of the first communication portal responsive to determining that no in-person users are within the FOV of the camera as taught by Malpani. This modification would have improved the system’s reliability by promoting security as suggested by Malpani.
Again on the issue of claim 9, the combination of references does not clearly teach the muting includes muting the speaker. All the same, Anderson discloses the muting includes muting the speaker (from paragraph 0051, see muting microphone or speakers (or both)). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to further modify the combination of references wherein the muting includes muting the speaker as taught by Anderson. This modification would have provided additional security by accounting for eavesdroppers as suggested by Anderson.
Response to Arguments
5. Applicant’s arguments have been considered and are deemed to be moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
6. Applicant’s amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
7. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OLISA ANWAH whose telephone number is 571-272-7533. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday from 8.30 AM to 6 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Carolyn Edwards can be reached on 571-270-7136. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are 571-273-8300 for regular communications and 571-273-8300 for After Final communications.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or proceeding should be directed to the receptionist whose telephone number is 571-272-2600.
Olisa Anwah
Patent Examiner
February 25, 2026
/OLISA ANWAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2692