DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendments filed on 11 September 2026 have been entered. Claims 1, 9 and 15 have been amended. Claims 1-20 are still pending in this application, with claims 1, 9 and 15 being independent.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 10 February 2026 has been entered.
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
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barbosa da Silva et al. (US 20230300292 A1), referred herein as Barbosa in view of Bradski et al. (US 20230079929 A1), referred herein as Bradski.
Regarding Claim 1, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches an apparatus comprising (Barbosa Abst: Systems, methods, client devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media are disclosed for enabling video calls which facilitate shared augmented reality (AR) background environments):
a processor configured to (Barbosa [0194] As shown in FIG. 19, the computing device 1900 can include one or more processor(s) 1902):
receive data for display directly from a different apparatus that is coupled to the apparatus (Barbosa [0068] the environment 100 includes the server device(s) 102. In one or more embodiments, the server device(s) 102 generates, stores, receives, and/or transmits digital data, including digital data related to video data and AR data for video calls between client devices (e.g., client devices 108a, 108b-108n); [0073] the client devices 108a, 108b-108n include at least one of a smartphone, a tablet, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a head mounted display device, or other electronic device; [0076] the shared AR video call system 104 also causes a participant client device to display different viewpoints (or portions) of an AR background space upon detecting movement on the client device),
Barbosa does not but Bradski teaches
wherein the different apparatus is a physical apparatus that does not store image data for a virtual environment (Bradski [0209] the processor 38 may process data at a rate sufficient to achieve anywhere between 8 frames/second at 320×240 resolution to 24 frames/second at high definition resolution (1280×720), or greater, such as 60-120 frames/second and 4k resolution and higher (10k+resolution and 50,000 frames/second). Additionally, the processor 38 may store and/or process data that may be presented to the user, rather than streamed in real-time from the computing network 5.),
Barbosa in view of Bradski further teaches
wherein the different apparatus received the data from a third device via a cellular network (Barbosa [0003] establish a video call between client devices; [0206] one or more portions of network 2004 may include an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a portion of the Internet, a portion of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a cellular telephone network, or a combination of two or more of these); 108a-108n of Barbosa are interpreted as the different and third devices; 70 or 38 of Bradski is interpreted as the apparatus;
wherein the apparatus is not coupled to the cellular network and the third device (Bradski [0214] The display 62 is operatively coupled 68, such as by a wired lead or wireless connectivity, to a local processing and data module 70 which may be mounted in a variety of configurations, such as fixedly attached to the frame 64, fixedly attached to a helmet or hat 80 as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 4B, embedded in headphones, removably attached to the torso 82 of the user 60 in a configuration (e.g., placed in a backpack (not shown)) as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 4C, or removably attached to the hip 84 of the user 60 in a belt-coupling style configuration as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 4D); and
modify image data for a virtual environment using the data (Barbosa [0126] the shared AR video call system 104 can also maintain persistence of the AR background environment within other communication mediums. For example, the shared AR video call system 104 can generate a virtual reality space from the AR background environment (and various modifications from participant devices) when a participant user corresponding to the AR background environment joins a virtual reality space); and
a display system coupled to the processor and configured to (Barbosa [0199] The I/O interfaces 1908 may include one or more devices for presenting output to a user, including, but not limited to, a graphics engine, a display (e.g., a display screen)):
display the modified image data of the virtual environment to mirror the data from the different apparatus to the virtual environment (Barbosa [0101] the shared AR video call system 104 can enable client devices to render videos within AR background environments (that replace the background of the videos). For example, FIG. 4 illustrates the shared AR video call system 104 enabling a client device to segment a background and a foreground depicting a participant from a video to render the foreground segmented portion (e.g., a segmented user portion) within an AR background environment).
Bradski discloses method for presenting virtual reality and augmented reality experiences to users, which is analogous to the present patent application.
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Barbosa to incorporate the teachings of Bradski, and applying the local processor with local processing and data module into the method and system for providing computer-generated output and in particular graphical output.
Doing so would provide a high-quality, comfortably-perceived display system for human VR and/or AR.
Regarding Claim 2, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches the apparatus of claim 1, and further teaches wherein the different apparatus is a physical phone (Barbosa [0073] the client devices 108a, 108b-108n include at least one of a smartphone, a tablet, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a head mounted display device, or other electronic device).
Regarding Claim 3, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches the apparatus of claim 2, and further teaches wherein the data corresponds to a phone call using the physical phone (Barbosa [0003] systems can establish a video call between client devices).
Regarding Claim 4, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches the apparatus of claim 1, and further teaches wherein the data corresponds to an application executed on the different apparatus and wherein the processor is further configured to: identify a user interaction with the data in the virtual environment (Barbosa [0005] utilize a dedicated augmented reality data channel to enable shared augmented reality video calls, which facilitate the sharing of, and interaction with, augmented reality elements during video calls… enable one of the client devices to transmit AR data (e.g., AR element identifiers, AR element information, logic data objects, object vectors, participant identifiers) through the AR data channel).
Regarding Claim 5, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches the apparatus of claim 1, and further teaches wherein the processor configured to:
modify the image data for the virtual environment using the data is further configured to add a user interface to the data prior to modifying the image data (Barbosa [0059] an extended-reality device can refer to a computing device that can display an extended reality graphical user interface. An extended-reality device can further display one or more visual elements within the extended reality graphical user interface and receive user input that targets those visual elements),
wherein the user interface is different than an interface utilized by the different device to display the data (Barbosa [0132] FIG. 10 illustrates the shared AR video call system 104 enabling a client device 1002 to modify a video call interface layout to facilitate a display of a menu option interface 1006 while also rendering videos 1004 with AR background environments. As shown in FIG. 10, the client device 1002 modifies a video call interface layout to display a menu option interface 1006 with selectable AR background environments while also displaying the participant videos 1004 with an AR background environment), and
wherein the user interface comprises one or more of an audio interface, a visual interface, and a haptic interface (Barbosa [0133] the shared AR video call system 104 modifies a video call interface layout to display menu interfaces for options, such as options to add participants to a video call, remove participants from the video call, change audio settings, change video settings, and/or other configurations for the video call).
Regarding Claim 6, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches the apparatus of claim 1, and further teaches wherein the processor configured to modify the image data for the virtual environment using the data is further configured to add the data to the image data in a peripheral field of view (Barbosa [0037] AR video call system can also enable the client device to render the AR background environment (with varying viewpoints based on movement) as a background for the rendered avatar within the video call; [0048] visual content (two dimensional and/or three dimensional) that is displayed (or imposed) by a computing device (e.g., a smartphone or head mounted display) on a video (e.g., a live video feed) of the real world (e.g., a video capturing real world environments and/or users on a video call)).
Regarding Claim 7, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches the apparatus of claim 1, and further teaches wherein the processor configured to modify the image data for the virtual environment using the data is further configured to set a size of a display of the data in the virtual environment without reference to a size of a display of the data in the different device (Barbosa [0128] As further shown in FIG. 8, upon initiating the video call, the client device 802 renders a video of a participant user (e.g., segmented user) within a first portion 812 of a 3D shared AR space (e.g., the AR background environment from the indication 808) during the video call. In addition, the client device 802 also displays a video of another participant user within a second portion 814 of the 3D shared AR space. In one or more embodiments, the shared AR video call system 104 causes the other participant device to render the video of the other participant within the second portion 814 and transmit a video stream to the client device 802).
Regarding Claim 8, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches the apparatus of claim 1, and further teaches wherein the processor configured to modify the image data for the virtual environment using the data is further configured to modify a computer-generated environment of the virtual environment to incorporate the data with the computer-generated environment (Barbosa [0157] the shared AR video call system 104 can enable a client device to host a video call within a virtual reality environment (e.g., an extended-reality environment). For example, the shared AR video call system 104 can enable a client device to display selectable options to access an extended-reality environment during a video call. For example, as used herein, the term “virtual environment” or “extended-reality environment” refers to a simulated environment in which users can fully or partially immerse themselves).
Regarding Claim 9, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches a method comprising (Barbosa Abst: Systems, methods, client devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media are disclosed for enabling video calls which facilitate shared augmented reality (AR) background environments):
The metes and bounds of the claim substantially correspond to the limitations set forth in claim 1; thus they are rejected on similar grounds and rationale as their corresponding limitations.
Bradski further teaches
received the call data from a phone call cellular network (Bradski [1059] the AR system may implement one or more virtual actions, for instance render an updated display of the operating system of the phone, render video, render display of a Webpage. Additionally or alternatively, the AR system may implement one or more actual or non-virtual actions, for instance send email, send text, and/or place a phone call).
Regarding Claim 10, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches the method of claim 9, and further teaches further comprising processing the call data to generate processed data (Barbosa [0034] a participant device on the video call has changed or modified the selected AR background environment (in addition to rendering the newly selected AR background environment)).
Regarding Claim 11, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches the method of claim 10, and further teaches wherein modifying the virtual environment further comprises modifying the virtual environment using the processed data (Barbosa [0034] the shared AR video call system can also enable the video call between the participant devices to include various AR effects (or objects) and/or various other modifications in the shared AR background environment (from historical video calls)).
Regarding Claim 12, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches the method of claim 10, and further teaches wherein modifying the virtual environment further comprises modifying audio data of the virtual environment to include the processed data (Barbosa [0131] In one or more embodiments, the shared AR video call system 104 facilitates various functionalities by modifying a video call interface during a rendered AR background environment. For example, the shared AR video call system 104 can facilitate functionalities, such as, but not limited to video streams, audio streams, web browsing, playable video games, eBooks, screen mirroring, digital notes, digital sketchpads, and/or menu options for the video call).
Regarding Claim 13, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches the method of claim 10, and further teaches wherein modifying the virtual environment further comprises modifying image data of the virtual environment to include the processed data (Barbosa [0116] In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, the client device 602 also provides, within the notification 608, a selectable option 610 to change the AR backnoground environment. As shown in FIG. 6, upon receiving a selection of the selectable option 610 to change the AR background environment, the client device 602 displays, within a menu interface 612, selectable 360 AR background environments (as described above) to change the AR background environment across each participant client device on the video call (e.g., in the video cells 614)).
Regarding Claim 14, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches the method of claim 10, and further teaches wherein modifying the virtual environment further comprises modifying haptic data of the virtual environment to include the processed data (Barbosa [0201] Artificial reality content may include completely generated content or generated content combined with captured content (e.g., real-world photographs). The artificial reality content may include video, audio, haptic feedback).
Regarding Claim 15, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches a non-transitory machine-readable medium having computer-readable instructions, which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to (Barbosa Abst: Systems, methods, client devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media are disclosed for enabling video calls which facilitate shared augmented reality (AR) background environments).
The metes and bounds of the claim substantially correspond to the limitations set forth in claim 1; thus they are rejected on similar grounds and rationale as their corresponding limitations.
Barbosa further teaches
modify the image data to include a prompt for functions to be performed utilizing the call data (Barbosa [0115] as shown in FIG. 6, the client device 602 displays a notification 608 indicating the initiation of the AR background environment. In addition to displaying the notification 608, as shown in FIG. 6, the client device 602 also renders the AR background environment with a video captured (e.g., as video stream 606) on the client device 602); and
perform a function based on a user interaction with the prompt (Barbosa [0129] a client device can modify a video interface layout to facilitate various functionalities and/or presentation styles during a video call having participants portrayed in a rendered shared AR background environment. FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate client devices modifying a video interface layout to facilitate various functionalities during the video call).
Bradski further teaches
wherein the physical phone received the call data from a cellular network (Bradski [1059] the AR system may implement one or more virtual actions, for instance render an updated display of the operating system of the phone, render video, render display of a Webpage. Additionally or alternatively, the AR system may implement one or more actual or non-virtual actions, for instance send email, send text, and/or place a phone call; [0206] mobile network connections (including cellular telephone and data networks)).
Regarding Claim 16, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches the machine-readable medium of claim 15, and further teaches wherein the function is provided by a device other than the physical phone (Barbosa [0131] the shared AR video call system 104 facilitates various functionalities by modifying a video call interface during a rendered AR background environment; [0154] the various activities (e.g., as widgets) can include user (or third-party) created applications for the video call AR space; [0210] each server may include hardware, software, or embedded logic components or a combination of two or more such components for carrying out the appropriate functionalities implemented or supported by server… interfaces that enable a client device 2006, a networking system 2002, or a third-party system 2008 to manage, retrieve, modify, add, or delete, the information stored in data store).
Regarding Claim 17, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches the machine-readable medium of claim 15, and further teaches wherein the function filters the call data (Barbosa [0131] interfaces that enable a client device 2006, a networking system 2002, or a third-party system 2008 to manage, retrieve, modify, add, or delete, the information stored in data store).
Regarding Claim 18, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches the machine-readable medium of claim 15, and further teaches wherein the function modifies an avatar of the virtual environment to recite the call data (AR video call system can also enable the client device to render the AR background environment (Barbosa [0037] with varying viewpoints based on movement) as a background for the rendered avatar within the video call).
Regarding Claim 19, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches the machine-readable medium of claim 15, and further teaches wherein the function generates an avatar to recite the call data and wherein the avatar corresponds to a profile of a participant of a phone call (Barbosa [0162] the shared AR video call system 104 can enable other participant client devices to render the participant user corresponding to the extended-reality device as an avatar and/or other representation; [0217] one or more user-profile stores for storing user profiles. A user profile may include, for example, biographic information, demographic information, behavioral information, social information, or other types of descriptive information, such as work experience, educational history, hobbies or preferences, interests, affinities, or location).
Regarding Claim 20, Barbosa in view of Bradski teaches the machine-readable medium of claim 15, and further teaches wherein the apparatus is further configured to provide response data to the physical phone responsive to receipt of a user interaction with the call data (Barbosa [0234] Typical user actions include viewing profile pages, creating or posting content, interacting with content, joining groups, listing and confirming attendance at events, checking-in at locations, liking particular pages, creating pages, and performing other tasks that facilitate social action).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 6-8, filed 11 September 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 9 and 15 under 102 rejection have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of US 20230079929 A1.
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 Samantha (Yuehan) Wang whose telephone number is (571)270-5011. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, King Poon can be reached on (571)272-7440. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Samantha (YUEHAN) WANG/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2617
