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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claim should end with a period (“.”), not a semicolon (“;”). Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE et al., US 2015/0290511 A1 (hereinafter Lee) in view of Hutchon et al., US 2004/0241630 A1 (hereinafter Hutchon).
Regarding Claim 1: Lee discloses an augmented reality game system comprising:
a target system and a projector system (Lee, it is an object of the present invention to provide a penetration type screen for screen golf, wherein a golf ball struck by a golfer is allowed to penetrate through the screen such that the struck golf ball disappears from view, thereby increasing the pleasance of golfing environments and a flying image of the golf ball is allowed to be displayed in the simulation image as the struck golf ball disappears from view, thereby further improving the realism of virtual golf, and wherein screen elements which constitute the penetration type screen are prevented from being opened even when golf balls repeatedly pass between the screen elements, thereby improving product reliability [0008]; the plurality of screen elements is arranged such that light of a projector for projecting an image is directed toward side surfaces of overlapping portions of the screen elements [0011]);
said target system comprises a pervious screen disposed within a target cabinet (Lee, a penetration type screen S is attached to a front side of the screen golf booth 1 [0035]);
said projector system comprises a computer in communication with a projector, and said computer provides an image signal to said projector, and said projector projects a projected target image upon said pervious screen (Lee, a projector 210 that is operated by a golf simulator 200 is provided to project a virtual golf simulation image including a golf course, a background, a moving image of a golf ball, and the like onto the penetration type screen S [0035]);
said pervious screen comprises a plurality of contiguous elastic members (Lee, since each of the screen elements is formed of spandex, the screen elements can elastically return to an original state and can easily be kept in the original shape even when a golf ball repeatedly passes through the screen elements [0054]).
Lee fails to explicitly disclose
a detector frame disposed within said target cabinet and adjacent said pervious screen;
said detector frame determines an impact location of a traverse object contacting said pervious screen.
Hutchon teaches
a detector frame disposed within said target cabinet and adjacent said pervious screen (Hutchon, sensor devices 83 between the launch area 81 and the screen 82 for detecting the flight of a golf ball 8 from the launch area 81 to the screen 82 [0051]);
said detector frame determines an impact location of a traverse object contacting said pervious screen (Hutchon, sensors detect the impact of a ball on the screen [Abstract]).
Lee discloses a penetration type screen used for so-called screen golf which uses a virtual golf simulation apparatus that allows golfers to play golf through virtual golf images projected onto a screen (Lee [0002]). A golf ball struck by a golfer is allowed to penetrate through the screen such that the struck golf ball disappears from view, thereby increasing the pleasance of golfing environments and a flying image of the golf ball is allowed to be displayed in the simulation image as the struck golf ball disappears from view, thereby further improving the realism of virtual golf, and wherein screen elements which constitute the penetration type screen are prevented from being opened even when golf balls repeatedly pass between the screen elements, thereby improving product reliability (Lee [Abstract]). To accomplish this, the penetration type screen includes a plurality of screen elements, each being formed of spandex, the plurality of screen elements being arranged side by side such that the screen elements at least partially overlap each other and are each inclined at a specific angle (Lee [Abstract]). Lee discloses wherein movement of the struck golf ball is detected by a sensor and the golf simulator 200 implements the detected movement of the struck golf ball as an image and projects the image on the penetration type screen S through the projector (Lee [0036]).
Hutchon teaches a golf simulator comprising a launch area facing a screen at which the ball is driven and used to display part of a golf course (Hutchon [Abstract]). Sensors detect the impact of a ball on the screen, and/or flight towards it, and/or club head trajectory (Hutchon [Abstract]). FIG. 8 shows schematically a golf simulator 80 of the present invention comprising a launch area 81 facing a screen 82 at which the ball is driven, sensor devices 83 between the launch area 81 and the screen 82 for detecting the flight of a golf ball 8 from the launch area 81 to the screen 82, a computer 84 and a projector 85 for projecting an image 86 of part of a golf course onto the screen 82 (Hutchon [0051]). The sensor devices 83 each have opposed horizontal and vertical arrays of infra red radiation emitters 87 and detectors 88 (Hutchon [0051]). (It will be appreciated that a large multiplicity of these is used in order to obtain a relatively accurate `fix` on the ball position as it passes the sensor devices 83, but only a few are shown for clarity.) (Hutchon [0051])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to replace the sensor used to detect movement of a struck golf ball towards a penetration type screen used in a virtual golf simulation apparatus as disclosed by Lee with the sensor device that detects the flight of a golf ball from the launch area to the screen as taught by Hutchon since the sensor device of Hutchon would similarly detect ball impact data with the screen.
Regarding Claim 2: Lee further discloses wherein said plurality of contiguous elastic members comprises elastic straps (Lee, since each of the screen elements is formed of spandex, the screen elements can elastically return to an original state and can easily be kept in the original shape even when a golf ball repeatedly passes through the screen elements [0054]).
Regarding Claim 3: Lee further discloses wherein said plurality of contiguous elastic members is each attached to a first screen rail at an elastic strap first end and attached to a second screen rail at an elastic strap second end (Lee, each of the frames 20 may be provided as a single integrated frame that supports the entirety of the plurality of screen elements 10 and may also be provided as a plurality of sub-frames 21, 22, and 23 into which the frame 20 is divided as shown in FIG. 2 [0042] and [Fig. 2]);
said first screen rail is attached to said target cabinet and said second screen rail is attached to said target cabinet where said first screen rail and said second screen rail are spaced apart sufficient to tension said plurality of contiguous elastic members (Lee, a penetration type screen S is attached to a front side of the screen golf booth 1 [0035]).
Regarding Claim 4: Lee further discloses wherein said plurality of contiguous elastic members are oriented vertically (Lee [Fig. 1]).
Regarding Claim 5: Lee fails to explicitly disclose wherein said plurality of contiguous elastic members are oriented horizontally.
Lee discloses a penetration type screen used for so-called screen golf which uses a virtual golf simulation apparatus that allows golfers to play golf through virtual golf images projected onto a screen (Lee [0002]). A golf ball struck by a golfer is allowed to penetrate through the screen such that the struck golf ball disappears from view, thereby increasing the pleasance of golfing environments and a flying image of the golf ball is allowed to be displayed in the simulation image as the struck golf ball disappears from view, thereby further improving the realism of virtual golf, and wherein screen elements which constitute the penetration type screen are prevented from being opened even when golf balls repeatedly pass between the screen elements, thereby improving product reliability (Lee [Abstract]). To accomplish this, the penetration type screen includes a plurality of screen elements, each being formed of spandex, the plurality of screen elements being arranged side by side such that the screen elements at least partially overlap each other and are each inclined at a specific angle (Lee [Abstract]).
Lee further discloses wherein if each of a plurality of screen elements is arranged to be inclined such that a front surface of the screen element faces incident light from the projector as shown in FIG. 4, shadows D are created by light from the projector such that thick stripes are viewed over the entirety of the penetration type screen, which may cause simulation images not to be smoothly viewed (Lee [0051] and [Fig. 4]). It is possible to prevent shadows from being created by light from the projector by arranging (or installing) the screen elements such that light of the projector is directed toward side surfaces of the overlapping portions of the screen elements as shown in FIG. 3 (Lee [0051] and [Fig. 3]).
In a virtual golf simulation apparatus, as shown in Fig. 1, the projector is mounted to the ceiling offset from the center. In this circumstance there are some edges that may still create shadows because the incident light is not directed toward the sides surfaces of the overlapping portions of the screen elements as shown in Fig. 3. By arranging the screen elements horizontally, all the light from the projector will come from the top and therefore are all incident to the side surfaces of the overlapping portions of the screen elements, thereby preventing shadows, which may distract from the simulation.
Regarding Claim 6: Lee further discloses wherein said pervious screen is configured to provide a flat surface to receive said projected target image from said projector (Lee, arranging (or installing) the screen elements such that light of the projector is directed toward side surfaces of the overlapping portions of the screen elements as shown in FIG. 3 [0052] and [Fig. 3]) and
said computer generates an impact animation and communicates said impact animation to said projector (Lee, the golf simulator 200 implements the detected movement of the struck golf ball as an image and projects the image on the penetration type screen S through the projector 210 [0036]); and
said projector projects said impact animation onto said pervious screen at said impact location to simulate an augmented reality impact of said traverse object with said projected target (Lee, the golf simulator 200 implements the detected movement of the struck golf ball as an image and projects the image on the penetration type screen S through the projector 210 [0036]).
Hutchon further teaches wherein
said detector frame surrounds said projected target (Hutchon, sensor devices 83 between the launch area 81 and the screen 82 for detecting the flight of a golf ball 8 from the launch area 81 to the screen 82 [0051]);
said detector frame is in communication with said computer and communicates said impact location (Hutchon, sensor devices formed and arranged for detecting at least one of: the impact of a golf ball on the screen; a computer apparatus operatively connected to said sensor devices [Claim 1]).
Regarding Claim 7: Lee further discloses wherein said target cabinet comprises a target opening, said pervious screen is positioned within said target opening (Lee, the penetration type screen S is basically formed of a plurality of screen elements that are arranged side by side and is implemented such that the struck golf ball passes between screen elements [0037]; a buffer is provided at a rear side of the penetration type screen S such that the penetrated golf ball is buffered and drops to a floor of the screen golf booth 1 [0038]).
Hutchon further teaches wherein
said detector frame is positioned around said target opening to detect passage of said traverse object into said target opening (Hutchon, sensor devices 83 between the launch area 81 and the screen 82 for detecting the flight of a golf ball 8 from the launch area 81 to the screen 82 [0051]).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee, in view of Hutchon, and further in view of Curchod, US 5,354,063 (hereinafter Curchod).
Regarding Claim 8: Lee further discloses wherein said projector system further comprises:
a projector cabinet (Lee, a penetration type screen S is attached to a front side of the screen golf booth 1 and a projector 210 that is operated by a golf simulator 200 is provided to project a virtual golf simulation image including a golf course, a background, a moving image of a golf ball, and the like onto the penetration type screen S [0035]);
Lee, as modified, fails to explicitly disclose
a user interface disposed in said projector cabinet and in communication with said computer; and
said user interface communicates information about said impact location to a user.
Curchod teaches
a user interface disposed in said projector cabinet and in communication with said computer (Curchod, a user interface includes a data input keyboard 84 and a data screen 86 which interface with a computer system 88 [C6:4-8]); and
said user interface communicates information about said impact location to a user (Curchod, a display box 90 for the left half of the booth 50 is provided in the lower left corner of the display screen; a display box 91 for the right half of the booth 50 is provided in the lower right corner of the display screen; the display boxes can show, for example, which player is currently on the tee, which player is next upon the tee, the distance to the hole, the distance of the last hit, and any other relevant information for the players [C5:34-48]).
Lee discloses a penetration type screen used for so-called screen golf which uses a virtual golf simulation apparatus that allows golfers to play golf through virtual golf images projected onto a screen (Lee [0002]). Lee discloses a golf simulator (Lee [0035]), but doesn’t describe what the “golf simulator” is or how to interact with it.
Curchod teaches an improved golf simulation system for two players contained in a single booth, which has a single screen on which are projected various views of simulated golf holes and into which two golfers independently but concurrently hit golf balls from within the single booth, a dual-player golf simulator system (Curchod [Abstract]). Curchod further teaches a computer concurrently computes the flight and landing location of the first golf ball on a simulated first hole and the flight and landing location of the second golf ball on the simulated same hole or a second hole as a function of the sensed velocity, trajectory, and spin of each respective golf ball (Curchod [C2:46-57]). Computer interface means, such as a keyboard and a display screen, are provided to allow each of the golfers to selectably play either singly, independently, and/or concurrently the various simulated golf holes (Curchod [C2:46-57]). The screen can show a display box for each player that can show which player is currently on the tee, which player is next upon the tee, the distance to the hole, the distance of the last hit, and any other relevant information for the players (Curchod [C5:34-48]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to replace the golf simulator as disclosed by Lee with the computer and computer interface that allow each of the golfers to selectably play either singly, independently, and/or concurrently and each be shown a display box displaying which player is currently on the tee, which player is next upon the tee, the distance to the hole, the distance of the last hit, and any other relevant information for the players as taught by Curchod in order to allow the player to interact with the simulator.
Claims 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee, in view of Hutchon, and further in view of Curchod.
Regarding Claim 9: Curchod discloses a game system comprising:
a target cabinet (Curchod, FIG. 1 shows a conventional, single-user, golf simulator booth 10 [C4:50-59] and [Fig. 1]) and a computer (Curchod, a computer concurrently computes the flight and landing location of the first golf ball on the simulated hole and the flight and landing location of the second golf ball on the simulated hole as a function of the sensed velocity, trajectory, and spin of each of the respective golf balls [Abstract]);
a first detector frame disposed within said target cabinet and in communication with said computer (Curchod, ball flight sensors are provided which allow the ball flight to be sensed from each of the tee areas [C2:58-66]);
a second detector frame disposed within said target cabinet and in communication with said computer (Curchod, ball flight sensors are provided which allow the ball flight to be sensed from each of the tee areas [C2:58-66]);
a screen positioned in front of said first detector and said second detector (Curchod, a single screen on which are projected various views of simulated golf holes [C3:23-44]);
a projector connected to said computer and configured to produce a projected target image comprising a first target and a second target on said pervious screen wherein a first target is displayed over said first detector frame and a second target is displayed over said second detector frame (Curchod, a projection means is controlled by the computer for simultaneously projecting onto a portion of the single screen the first simulated golf hole, as viewed from the location of the first ball; a second simulated portion of the same golf hole, as viewed from the location of the second ball is projected onto a second portion of the screen [C2:46-57]).
Curchod fails to explicitly disclose
a pervious screen
wherein said first detector frame can detect an impact location of a traverse object when coinciding with said first target and said second detector frame can detect said impact location of said traverse object when coinciding with said second target; and
said computer generates an impact animation for display at said impact location.
Lee teaches
a pervious screen (Lee, since each of the screen elements is formed of spandex, the screen elements can elastically return to an original state and can easily be kept in the original shape even when a golf ball repeatedly passes through the screen elements [0054]) and
said computer generates an impact animation for display at said impact location.
(Lee, the golf simulator 200 implements the detected movement of the struck golf ball as an image and projects the image on the penetration type screen S through the projector 210 [0036])
Curchod discloses an improved golf simulation system for two players contained in a single booth, which has a single screen on which are projected various views of simulated golf holes and into which two golfers independently but concurrently hit golf balls from within the single booth, a dual-player golf simulator system (Curchod [Abstract]). Curchod further discloses a computer concurrently computes the flight and landing location of the first golf ball on a simulated first hole and the flight and landing location of the second golf ball on the simulated same hole or a second hole as a function of the sensed velocity, trajectory, and spin of each respective golf ball (Curchod [C2:46-57]).
Lee teaches a penetration type screen used for so-called screen golf which uses a virtual golf simulation apparatus that allows golfers to play golf through virtual golf images projected onto a screen (Lee [0002]). A golf ball struck by a golfer is allowed to penetrate through the screen such that the struck golf ball disappears from view, thereby increasing the pleasance of golfing environments and a flying image of the golf ball is allowed to be displayed in the simulation image as the struck golf ball disappears from view, thereby further improving the realism of virtual golf, and wherein screen elements which constitute the penetration type screen are prevented from being opened even when golf balls repeatedly pass between the screen elements, thereby improving product reliability (Lee [Abstract]). To accomplish this, the penetration type screen includes a plurality of screen elements, each being formed of spandex, the plurality of screen elements being arranged side by side such that the screen elements at least partially overlap each other and are each inclined at a specific angle (Lee [Abstract]). Lee teaches wherein movement of the struck golf ball is detected by a sensor and the golf simulator 200 implements the detected movement of the struck golf ball as an image and projects the image on the penetration type screen S through the projector (Lee [0036]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the golf simulation system for two players as disclosed by Curchod with the penetration type screen as taught by Lee in order to improve the realism of virtual golf and product reliability.
Hutchon teaches
wherein said first detector frame can detect an impact location of a traverse object when coinciding with said first target and said second detector frame can detect said impact location of said traverse object when coinciding with said second target (Hutchon, sensors detect the impact of a ball on the screen [Abstract]).
Curchod discloses an improved golf simulation system for two players contained in a single booth, which has a single screen on which are projected various views of simulated golf holes and into which two golfers independently but concurrently hit golf balls from within the single booth, a dual-player golf simulator system (Curchod [Abstract]). Curchod further discloses a computer concurrently computes the flight and landing location of the first golf ball on a simulated first hole and the flight and landing location of the second golf ball on the simulated same hole or a second hole as a function of the sensed velocity, trajectory, and spin of each respective golf ball (Curchod [C2:46-57]).
Hutchon teaches a golf simulator comprising a launch area facing a screen at which the ball is driven and used to display part of a golf course (Hutchon [Abstract]). Sensors detect the impact of a ball on the screen, and/or flight towards it, and/or club head trajectory (Hutchon [Abstract]). FIG. 8 shows schematically a golf simulator 80 of the present invention comprising a launch area 81 facing a screen 82 at which the ball is driven, sensor devices 83 between the launch area 81 and the screen 82 for detecting the flight of a golf ball 8 from the launch area 81 to the screen 82, a computer 84 and a projector 85 for projecting an image 86 of part of a golf course onto the screen 82 (Hutchon [0051]). The sensor devices 83 each have opposed horizontal and vertical arrays of infra red radiation emitters 87 and detectors 88 (Hutchon [0051]). (It will be appreciated that a large multiplicity of these is used in order to obtain a relatively accurate `fix` on the ball position as it passes the sensor devices 83, but only a few are shown for clarity.) (Hutchon [0051])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to replace the sensor used to detect movement of a struck golf ball towards a penetration type screen used in a virtual golf simulation apparatus as disclosed by Lee with the sensor device that detects the flight of a golf ball from the launch area to the screen as taught by Hutchon to make a seamless transition from the physical ball to the virtual ball.
Regarding Claim 10: Lee further teaches wherein said impact animation is a virtual version of said traverse object that simulates interaction of said traverse object with said first target or said second target produced by said projector (Lee, the golf simulator 200 implements the detected movement of the struck golf ball as an image and projects the image on the penetration type screen S through the projector 210 [0036]).
Regarding Claim 11: Lee further teaches wherein said pervious screen comprises a plurality of contiguous elastic straps under tension and extending from a first screen rail to a second screen rail (Lee, since each of the screen elements is formed of spandex, the screen elements can elastically return to an original state and can easily be kept in the original shape even when a golf ball repeatedly passes through the screen elements [0054]).
Regarding Claim 12: Lee further teaches wherein said targeting cabinet comprises a curtain comprising a first pocket and a second pocket (Lee, the penetration type screen S is basically formed of a plurality of screen elements that are arranged side by side and is implemented such that the struck golf ball passes between screen elements [0037]; a buffer is provided at a rear side of the penetration type screen S such that the penetrated golf ball is buffered and drops to a floor of the screen golf booth 1 [0038]); and
said first detector frame is disposed in said first pocket and said second detector frame is disposed in said second pocket (Lee, the penetration type screen S is basically formed of a plurality of screen elements that are arranged side by side and is implemented such that the struck golf ball passes between screen elements [0037]; a buffer is provided at a rear side of the penetration type screen S such that the penetrated golf ball is buffered and drops to a floor of the screen golf booth 1 [0038]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WERNER G GARNER whose telephone number is (571)270-7147. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-15:30 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, DAVID LEWIS can be reached at (571) 272-7673. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WERNER G GARNER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715