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
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-8 and 12-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Pub. 2018/0050273 by Garoufalis.
Regarding claim 1, Garoufalis discloses a three-dimensional display system for playing a game (abstract), the system comprising: a holographic display configured for displaying holographic images which are viewable from a peripheral space surrounding the holographic display (fig. 1; para. 30 – see display 30 and the configuration of players and elements); a processor being operatively coupled to the holographic display (fig. 1; para. 35 – see the processors); a pair of remote electronic devices communicatively coupled to the processor, each remote electronic device of the pair of electronic devices having a memory, the memory storing player game data (fig. 1; para. 35-42 – see the player terminals and the operations of those player terminals); wherein the processor is operable to cause the holographic display to display virtual game characters corresponding to the player game data of each remote electronic device, the processor being operable to cause the holographic display to display the virtual game characters interacting with each other in response to input data (para. 73 – see virtual player hands that are displayed based on the player movements).
Regarding claim 2, Garoufalis discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the holographic display is configured for displaying holographic images which at least appear to occupy a space adjacent to one player of a pair of players when viewed by another player of the pair of players positioned across the holographic display from the one player (fig. 1; para. 73 – see the position of the player terminals and the displayed image).
Regarding claim 3, Garoufalis discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the holographic display comprises an image projector and a display screen, the display screen defining an interior volume therein, the image projector being oriented to project images onto an exterior surface of the display screen viewable from the peripheral space, the display screen being transparent such that images projected onto the exterior surface of the display screen from the image projector appear as objects in the interior volume of the display screen (para. 66-68 – see the projection and display on the pyramidal display).
Regarding claim 4, Garoufalis discloses the system of claim 3, wherein the display screen has a pyramidal shape (fig. 1; para. 66-68 – see pyramidal display).
Regarding claim 5, Garoufalis discloses the system of claim 1, further comprising a pair of player stations positioned opposite each other across the holographic display, each player station of the pair of player stations comprising a barrier defining a player area opposite the holographic display across the barrier (fig. 1 – see the player stations and the position of those stations relative to the screen and other players).
Regarding claim 6, Garoufalis discloses the system of claim 5, wherein each player station of the pair of player stations further comprises a user interface communicatively coupled to the processor, the user interface being operable to send instructions to the processor (para. 33 – see the player interface at the player stations).
Regarding claim 7, Garoufalis discloses the system of claim 6, wherein each player station of the pair of player stations further comprises a transceiver communicatively coupled to the user interface and an associated remote electronic device of the pair of remote electronic devices, the transceiver communicatively coupling the associated remote electronic device to the processor (para. 38 – see communication with a portable electronic device of the player).
Regarding claim 8, Garoufalis discloses the system of claim 5, further comprising a base, the holographic display being mounted on the base, the pair of player stations being mounted to the base (fig. 1- see all elements mounted to the same floor).
Regarding claims 12-15, Garoufalis discloses these method claims as noted above regarding claims 1-8.
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.
Claim(s) 9-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Garoufalis and further in view of U.S. Pub. 2024/0033624 by Phillips.
Regarding claim 9, Garoufalis does not explicitly disclose a power supply electrically coupled to the processor, the power supply comprising a battery. These features are disclosed by Phillips at para. 213. Because the references are from a similar art and concerned with a similar problem, see electronic gaming devices, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to construct Garoufalis with Phillips’s power supply with battery backup. One having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing would have been motivated to do so because such items are commonly used to provide for power to operate electronic gaming machines. The use of a battery allows for a game state to be saved or uninterrupted play, this robustness more than offsets the cost of equipment in a gaming environment.
Regarding claim 10, Phillips discloses the system of claim 9, further comprising a power cord being electrically coupled to the battery, the power cord being configured to electrically couple to an external power source to charge the battery (para. 213 – see the use of a battery backup and power supply).
Regarding claim 11, Garoufalis and Phillips render obvious this claim as noted above regarding claims 1-10.
Conclusion
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/PETER J IANNUZZI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715