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 § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 14, 22-28, and 31-38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2022/0283602 to Battlogg (hereinafter Battlogg) in view of US 2022/0193538 to Goh et al. (hereinafter Goh).
Regarding claims 14, 28, and 37, Battlogg teaches a method, along with a system and computer readable medium therefor, for providing tactile navigation guidance in a video game environment, the method comprising:
detecting at least part of surroundings of a player in the video game environment (e.g., the virtual game character is walking up a staircase or standing in front of a door or wall in ¶ 13); and
adjusting a tension level of at least one variable tension input on a controller in dependence on at least a subset of the detected surroundings of the player (e.g., at least one magnetorheological brake device and at least one control device for controlling the brake device, wherein the brake device is coupled to the at least one pivot axle in order to dampen at least one pivoting movement of the operator control lever in a manner controlled by the control device in ¶ 6), comprising adjusting the tension level of the at least one variable tension input on the controller (e.g., “If the virtual gamer, moved by the joystick, is standing in front of a door or wall, then the actuation force increases as far as the end stop (high actuation force or high pivoting moment at the actuation lever)” in ¶ 13).
Further regarding claims 14, 28, and 37, Battlogg lacks in explicitly teaching detecting a darkness level of a surrounding environment of the player in the video game environment, determining that the darkness level of the surrounding environment of the player in the video game environment satisfies one or more criteria, and adjusting tension based at least on determining that the darkness level of the surrounding environment of the player in the video game environment satisfies the one or more criteria.
In a related disclosure, Goh teaches a system and method for coordinating gaming haptic response across a peripheral device ecosystem using the position of game action events relative to a player avatar image within the 3D gaming environment (abstract). More particularly, Goh teaches that employ firmware, software, or hardware for the video display to measure and record the magnitude, size and speed of changes in pixel brightness during execution of a gaming application, and such changes in brightness may be used in determination of gaming action events for providing haptic feedback (¶ 41). While certain examples are given relative to a bright flash, Goh is not limited to such embodiments, as shown by at least ¶¶ 41, 111, and 132. Goh further teaches that the haptic feedback may be triggered by a graphical depiction of other images such as a blood splatter image when the player takes damage (¶ 112). Goh further teaches sensing the brightness value across each frame of live gameplay and measuring the change of pixel brightness values relative to a threshold value and within a given location of the game screen (¶¶ 133-134). Goh explains that the system senses brightness values as a number between zero and 255 for 8-bit color (¶ 137), which demonstrates that a low brightness value (low or zero) corresponds to a high darkness value, and vice versa. As such, Goh teaches the sensing of a darkness value and concomitant haptic outcomes lacking from Battlogg. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date to modify Battlogg to include haptic feedback based on darkness or other image properties of the game scene, as taught or suggested by Goh, in order to provide immersive haptic feedback responsive to visual events within the game.
Regarding claims 22 and 31, the combination of Battlogg and Goh teaches or suggests wherein detecting the darkness level of the surrounding environment comprises detecting at least one of a gamma level, a brightness level, or a contrast level of the surrounding environment (e.g., the brightness level in Goh ¶ 137).
Regarding claims 23, 32, and 38, Battlogg teaches or suggests detecting an object in the surrounding environment (e.g., a field or hills in ¶ 15); and
adjusting the tension level of the at least one variable tension input to simulate an adjustment of a number of tactile clicks based on a change in a distance between the detected object and the player (e.g., a ripple operating mode in accordance with the environment of the player, such as a hard ripple when driving on fields or hills in ¶ 15).
Regarding claims 24 and 33, Battlogg in combination with Goh teaches the invention substantially as described above, including a variable level of resistance imparted on a game input device, but lacks in explicitly teaching the simulation of a tactile click when the player is oriented in a direction which is clear of obstacles. Battlogg expressly teaches that the level of force feedback or resistance may be varied according to the existence of obstacles, such as walls, doors, stairs, hills, etc. that the virtual player faces or travels across (see at least ¶¶ 13 and 15). However, Battlogg does not expressly teach what happens when the player is clear of such obstacles, such as when a door is opened to allow passage or when the player begins to traverse a smooth path after having been on a rough path. Regardless, Battlogg makes clear that the feedback or resistance is intended to simulate a virtual environment. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date to modify the system of Battlogg and Goh to include a tactile click to indicate that the player has transitioned to a direction that is clear of obstacles in order to reflect the transition from a rougher or more obstacle-prone area to a smooth or clear path forward in order to accurately communicate the change in virtual environment.
Regarding claims 25 and 34, Battlogg in combination with Goh teaches receiving a type of object specified by a user (e.g., a user controls the game to approach part of the environment such as stairs or doors in ¶¶ 13 and 15); and adjusting the tension level of the at least one variable tension input based on detecting the type of object in the surrounding environment (e.g., the tension is adjusted in accordance with the virtual object as discussed in ¶¶ 13 and 15).
Regarding claims 26 and 35, Battlogg in combination with Goh teaches wherein the tension level is measured by an amount of counterforce applied to the at least one variable tension input (e.g., by increasing the brake such that the actuation force increases as discussed in ¶ 13; see also ¶ 6 discussing the brake device being coupled to the at least one pivot axle in order to dampen at least one pivoting movement of the operator control lever). Note that the braking action of Battlogg is interpreted as a counterforce because it opposes the applied force of the user.
Regarding claims 27 and 36, Battlogg in combination with Goh teaches wherein the tension level is measured by an amount of actuation of the at least one variable tension input before applying a counterforce to the at least one variable tension input (e.g., it is possible for damping curves, which describe the retardation moment as a function of the pivot angle and/or the time, to be set and dynamically varied in ¶ 26). Note that the braking action of Battlogg is interpreted as a counterforce because it opposes the applied force of the user.
Claims 20, 21, 29, and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Battlogg and Goh, in view of US 2019/0377473 to Osman et al. (hereinafter Osman).
Regarding claims 20, 21, 29, and 30 Battlogg in combination with Goh teaches the invention substantially as described above, including the use of a joystick on a handheld remote control in ¶ 18, but lacks in explicitly teaching adjusting the amount of tension based on the position of the controller, or the position or orientation of a user interacting with the controller. In a related disclosure, Osman teaches a virtual space and providing input to the virtual space along with generation of a counteractive response that opposes an attempt to move a given user interface element to a different zone (abstract). More particularly, Osman teaches that a user may input commands using a controller device 104 that is moved in real space and the pointing direction of the device 104 constitutes an input movement to the system (see at least Figs. 1 and 2, and ¶¶ 51, 52, and 56). Osman further teaches that if the pointing direction of the controller device 104 moves to a particular area in real space, the system may activate haptic/tactile feedback notifications in the controller device 104 (see ¶ 56). Because the input device may move freely in real space, the input device operates to provide an input that is based on the position and/or orientation of the input device as held by a user of the device. As such, Osman teaches activation of haptic or tactile feedback based on the position of the controller, or the position or orientation of a user interacting with the controller. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date to modify the system of Battlogg and Goh to include sensing the position or orientation of the user and respective user device taught by Osman, in order to improve the comfort of the virtual reality interface, as favorably taught or suggested by Osman (see at least ¶ 29).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM H MCCULLOCH whose telephone number is (571)272-2818. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-5:30.
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/WILLIAM H MCCULLOCH JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
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