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 Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-17 and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mecca et al. (US 20210205999 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 9, Mecca teaches an animated figure comprising one or more actuators configured to adjust the shape of a surface (paragraph 0043),
A projector configured to project imagery onto the surface (paragraph 0035); and
A controller (90, figure 3) configured to perform operations comprising:
Determining target imagery (paragraph 0047; or paragraph 0031, wherein the target imagery is the appearance of the guest),
Instructing an actuator of the one or more actuators to actuate to adjust the shape of the surface based on the target imagery (paragraph 0029; the system generates ‘interactive and/or reactive responses’ which presumably would have to be based on the target imagery at least broadly inasmuch as the target imagery is how a particular character or animal or the like would interact with the guest; or the interactive and reactive responses are merely based on the appearance of the guest in the acquired images of the guest),
Generating output imagery based on the target imagery (paragraph 0035 and 0047), and
Instructing the projector to project the output imagery onto the surface (paragraph 0035).
Regarding claim 2, Mecca teaches the one or more sensors are configured to capture an image of an object and transmit sensor data indicative of the image of the object to the controller (paragraph 0028-0029), and
The controller is configured to determine the target imagery based on the sensor data (paragraph 0031; paragraph 0029).
Regarding claim 3, Mecca teaches the controller is configured to determine the target imagery by retrieving the target imagery from a storage (paragraph 0047, the target imagery here must come from some type of storage device).
Regarding claim 4, Mecca teaches the animated figure comprises a base (see figure 4), and the controller is configured to cause an adjustment of the extent of actuation of the one or more actuators by instructing the one or more actuators to actuate along the base to adjust the shape of the surface (paragraph 0043).
Regarding claim 5, Mecca teaches the animated figure comprises an external cover that encloses and conceals the base and the one or more actuators, wherein the external cover comprises the surface onto which the projector is configured to project the output imagery (figure 4).
Regarding claim 6, Mecca teaches the animated figure comprises an audio output device, and the controller is configured to instruct the audio output device to provide audio effects (136, figure 3).
Regarding claim 7, Mecca teaches one or more sensors communicatively coupled to the controller wherein the one or more sensors are configured to detect audio feedback (paragraph 0033) and transmit sensor data indicative of the audio feedback to the controller (see 109, figure 3), and the controller is configured to perform operation comprising:
Identifying audio characteristics based on the sensor data (inherent that an audio signal used as input would have audio characteristics identified to the controller, or it wouldn’t be useful as an input), and
Instructing the audio output device to provide the audio effects based on the audio characteristics to simulate the audio feedback (paragraph 0052).
Regarding claim 8, Mecca teaches the controller is configured to actuate a subset of the one or more actuators (paragraph 0043) to adjust the shape of the surface based on the audio effects provided by the audio output device (paragraph 0052).
Regarding claim 10, Mecca teaches the processor input instructions, when executed by the processor, are configured to cause the processor select the target face shape from one or more face shapes based on the target imagery (paragraph 0047 or 0043, a reactive facial expression would be chosen from among many different facial expressions possible).
Regarding claim 11, Mecca teaches each face shape of the one or more face shapes is associated with a respective, corresponding position of the one or more actuators (inherent that the actuator position corresponds to the face shape resulting from moving the actuator), and the processor input instructions, when executed by the processor, are configured to cause the processor to output instructions to adjust at least one actuator of the one or more actuators of the animated figure by instructing the at least one actuator of the one or more actuators to actuate to a respective, corresponding position associated with the target face shape (paragraph 0043).
Regarding claim 12, Mecca teaches the processor input instructions, when executed by the processor are configured to cause the processor to determine the target imagery based on imagery of an object, the imagery being captured by one or more sensors (72, 70, figure 3, paragraphs 0028-0029).
Regarding claim 13, Mecca teaches one or more sensors communicatively coupled to the controller wherein the one or more sensors are configured to detect audio feedback (paragraph 0033) and transmit sensor data indicative of the audio feedback to the controller (see 109, figure 3), and the controller is configured to perform operation comprising:
Identifying audio characteristics based on the sensor data (inherent that an audio signal used as input would have audio characteristics identified to the controller, or it wouldn’t be useful as an input), and
Instructing the audio output device to provide the audio effects based on the audio characteristics to simulate the audio feedback (paragraph 0052).
Regarding claim 14, Mecca teaches determining a position and/or orientation of the animated figure (paragraph 0039-0040), and
Adjusting the image data based on the positioning and/or orientation of the animated figure to provide adjusted image data (paragraph 0035); and
Transmitting the adjusted image data to the projector and output instructions to the projector to adjust the output imagery projected onto the surface of the animated figure based on the adjusted image data (paragraph 0035).
Regarding claim 15, Mecca teaches the positioning and/or orientation of the animated figure comprises a relative positioning and/or orientation between a surface of the animated figure and the projector (paragraph 0035).
Regarding claim 16, Mecca teaches causing the processor to instruct the one or more actuators to actuate along a base of the animated figure to adjust the shape of the surface of the animated figure (paragraph 0043).
Regarding claim 17, Mecca teaches an animated figure (12, figure 1) comprising one or more actuators (106, figure 4),
One or more sensors configured to capture first imagery of a person (paragraph 0033);
A projector configured to project second imagery onto the animated figure (paragraph 0035), and
A controller (90, figure 3) communicatively coupled to the one or more sensors,
Wherein the controller is configured to perform operations comprising:
Receiving sensor data indicative of the first imagery of the person from the one or more sensors (paragraph 0031);
Instructing the one or more actuators of the animated figure to actuator based on the sensor data (paragraph 0028-0029) to adjust the shape of a face of the animated figure (paragraph 0043);
Generating the second imagery based on the first imagery (paragraph 0035; if the second imagery is generated based on the movement of the animated figure, and the movement of the animated figure is based on the first imagery, then the second imagery is necessarily based on the first imagery); and
Causing the projector to project the second imagery onto the face of the animated figure having the shape adjusted based on the sensor data to mimic and appearance of the person (paragraphs 0029 and 0043 and 0035).
Regarding claim 19, Mecca teaches determining a target face shape based on the sensor data (paragraph 0028-0029) and
Instructing the one or more actuators to actuate to adjust the shape of the face based on the target face shape (paragraph 0043).
Regarding claim 20, Mecca teaches operating the audio output device (136, figure 3) to provide audio effects (paragraph 0052) and
Instructing the one or more actuators to actuate in coordination with the audio effects (paragraph 0052).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 18 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:
Regarding claim 18, prior art does not teach the one or more actuators comprises one or more initially actuated actuators, and the controller is configured to instruct one or more additional actuators to actuate based on the sensor data to adjust a dimension of the face extending from the one or more initially actuated actuators to the one or more additional actuators.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN D HOWARD whose telephone number is (571)270-5358. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Minh-Toan Ton can be reached at 5712722303. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RYAN D HOWARD/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882 5/23/2026
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