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 .
Status of Claims
Applicant's amendments filed on 11 September 2025 have been entered. Claim 1 has been amended. No claims have been canceled. Claims 6-11 have been added. Claims 1-11 are still pending in this application, with claim 1 being independent.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-11 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on every reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lanier (US Pub. 2022/0247975), in view of Lyren et al. (US Patent 9584653), hereinafter Lyren.
Regarding claim 1, Lanier discloses a control apparatus comprising a controller configured to determine an image to be preferentially superimposed on one or more other images, based on a situation of a first user or a situation of a second user facing a display, when two or more images out of an image of the first user, an image of the second user, and an image of a predetermined object are superimposed and displayed on the display (Fig. 1; Paragraph [0007]: a Together Mode user interface positions renderings of meeting participants with an arrangement that allows users to see each other through a large virtual mirror. A system can generate a visual indicator that notifies meeting participants that a particular user is engaged with a personal computing device. The visual indicator can be generated in response to detecting that the user is interacting with an input device, such as a keyboard or touchscreen. Thus, when a user is looking down at their computer and typing on a keyboard, the system may generate a visual indicator that provides a notification to participants positioned below the user in the virtual mirror. The visual indicator can be graphically configured to indicate that the user is interacting with a computing device and not looking in the direction of the participants positioned below the user; Paragraph [0056]: routine 900 includes an operation 902 where the system causes one or more computing devices to display a user interface 101 comprising individual renderings 102A-102L of the video streams of a plurality of participants 10A-10L on remote computing devices 11A-11L each associated with the plurality of participants 10A-10L. The individual renderings 102A-102L each have a position relative to a rendering of a seating configuration of a virtual environment 110. The system allows the plurality of participants to communicate through a communication session 604. The virtual environment 110 can also include lighting effects to help mitigate lighting anomalies that may result from video streams that are received from separate sources), determine the situation of the first user based on first audio data received from the first user (Paragraph [0100]: data store 708 may also include contextual data 714, such as the content that includes video, audio, or other content for rendering and display on one or more of the display screens 629. Hardware data 711 can define aspects of any device, such as a number of display screens of a computer. The contextual data 714 can define any type of activity or status related to the individual users 10A-10F each associated with individual video streams of a plurality of video streams 634. For instance, the contextual data can define a person's level in an organization, how each person's level relates to the level of others, a performance level of a person, or any other activity or status information that can be used to determine a position for a rendering of a person within a virtual environment).
While, Lanier teaches determining the situation of users based on audio data received from the users (Paragraph [0100]: data store 708 may also include contextual data 714, such as the content that includes video, audio, or other content for rendering and display on one or more of the display screens 629. Hardware data 711 can define aspects of any device, such as a number of display screens of a computer. The contextual data 714 can define any type of activity or status related to the individual users 10A-10F each associated with individual video streams of a plurality of video streams 634. For instance, the contextual data can define a person's level in an organization, how each person's level relates to the level of others, a performance level of a person, or any other activity or status information that can be used to determine a position for a rendering of a person within a virtual environment), Lanier does not explicitly disclose to determine the situation of the second user based on second audio data received from the second user.
However, Lyren teaches superimposing users during telecommunications (Abstract; Column 8; Column 32), further comprising to determine the situation of the second user based on second audio data received from the second user (Column 14, line 44-Column 15, line 6: electronic device can make intelligent decisions or recommendations for where to place voices or sound during telephone calls. Consider an example in which this decision is based on or includes a spatial arrangement of SLPs. An intelligent personal assistant (“Hal”) for Alice knows she will have a teleconference with Bob and Charlie. Bob calls first, and his voice localizes to a left side of Alice's face at (1.0 m, −30°, 0°). Charlie then calls, and Hal places the voice of Charlie on a right side of Alice's face at (1.0 m, +30°, 0°). In this way, Bob's voice localizes to Alice's left side, and Charlie's voice localizes to Alice's right side so the voices are symmetrically distributed around the face of Alice. Hal displays images of Alice, Bob, and Charlie and their positions relative to each other on her electronic device so she can visually see her audible perception of the spatial relationship between the parties and their voices). Lyren teaches that this will allow for increasing the realism of a conversation and therefore the amount and efficiency of information transmitted (Column 14). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lanier with the features of above as taught by Lyren so as to allow for increasing the realism of a conversation and therefore the amount and efficiency of information transmitted as presented by Lyren.
Regarding claim 2, Lanier, in view of Lyren teaches the control apparatus according to claim 1, Lanier discloses wherein the controller is configured to determine to superimpose the image of the first user on one or more other images that overlap the image of the first user when the situation of the first user is estimated to be a situation in which a posture is being explained, in a case in which the image of the first user is included in the two or more images (Fig. 2; Paragraphs [0024]-[0026]: display of video streams in traditional box grid formats make it difficult for participants to interpret many non-verbal social cues during a video conference. These types of gestures are used during in-person meetings to guide various types of interactions. There are a number of different types of non-verbal social cues such as head nods, facial cues, body language, etc. These non-verbal social cues communicate many different emotions and intentions. For instance, non-verbal social cues can show that a person has an issue, or that a person wants to speak, or that a person agrees or does not agree. In some cases, non-verbal social cues are so automatic that audience members can even synchronize their breathing pattern to a speaker's breathing pattern. During an in-person meeting, people are constantly interpreting others' eye movements, posture, how their heads are tilted and more, and attributing meaning to those non-verbal cues. But on a video call using a traditional user interface with a grid arrangement, those movements aren't diagnostic, meaning they're not providing accurate information about what's going on. Such shortcomings of existing systems can lead to user fatigue and often lead to a user becoming disengaged…Together Mode user interface changes the whole user experience compared to the traditional box grid user interface arrangement. This is possible because a person's brain is used to being aware of others based on their location, and the Together Mode user interface is designed to manage the location of the user renderings. The way in which people are positioned in the Together Mode user interface can help make it easier for everyone to see non-verbal social cues and tell how they are responding to each other. The Together Mode UI enables participants to utilize social and spatial awareness mechanisms in the brain. This enables a participant's brain to function more naturally and provide a richer user experience that does not cause fatigue. When viewing a video conference through the Together Mode UI, users can practice some of the natural social signaling they would do in real life, e.g., social signaling that may occur during in-person meetings; Paragraph [0048]: visual indicator 300 can be displayed in response to the input data described above and/or in response to detecting that a user is looking in a particular direction. FIG. 8 shows an example where a system can determine if a gaze direction of a user meets one or more criteria, e.g., that the user is looking in a particular direction. In this example, the system can detect that a user, such as the second user 10B (second rendering 102B), is looking toward a predetermined location. In some configurations, the predetermined location can be an area in the virtual environment where a computing device of the user should be located. For example, for the second user 10B, a computing device would be likely positioned below the body or face of the user. Thus, if the user is looking in a downward direction, the system can detect such a gesture and cause the display of the visual indicator 300. Alternatively, the system may cause the display of the visual indicator 300 in response to detecting that input data from an input device meets one or more criteria, and in response to detecting that the user is looking in a predetermined direction; Paragraph [0115]: wherein the individual renderings are generated by: receiving the video streams from remote computing devices of the plurality of participants, wherein the video streams each comprise an image of a person and a physical background physically positioned behind the person; applying a processing filter to each of the video streams to remove a component of the image showing the physical background from the image and configuring the video stream to enable a generation of a rendering of the person shaped according to the image of the person; and scaling the image of the person within the rendering of the person a predetermined size for compatibility with the seating configuration of the virtual environment).
Regarding claim 3, Lanier, in view of Lyren teaches the control apparatus according to claim 1, Lanier discloses wherein the controller is configured to determine to superimpose the image of the second user on one or more other images that overlap the image of the second user when the situation of the first user is estimated to be a situation in which a posture of the first user and a posture of the second user are being explained by comparing, in a case in which the image of the second user is included in the two or more images (Fig. 2; Paragraphs [0024]-[0026]: display of video streams in traditional box grid formats make it difficult for participants to interpret many non-verbal social cues during a video conference. These types of gestures are used during in-person meetings to guide various types of interactions. There are a number of different types of non-verbal social cues such as head nods, facial cues, body language, etc. These non-verbal social cues communicate many different emotions and intentions. For instance, non-verbal social cues can show that a person has an issue, or that a person wants to speak, or that a person agrees or does not agree. In some cases, non-verbal social cues are so automatic that audience members can even synchronize their breathing pattern to a speaker's breathing pattern. During an in-person meeting, people are constantly interpreting others' eye movements, posture, how their heads are tilted and more, and attributing meaning to those non-verbal cues. But on a video call using a traditional user interface with a grid arrangement, those movements aren't diagnostic, meaning they're not providing accurate information about what's going on. Such shortcomings of existing systems can lead to user fatigue and often lead to a user becoming disengaged…Together Mode user interface changes the whole user experience compared to the traditional box grid user interface arrangement. This is possible because a person's brain is used to being aware of others based on their location, and the Together Mode user interface is designed to manage the location of the user renderings. The way in which people are positioned in the Together Mode user interface can help make it easier for everyone to see non-verbal social cues and tell how they are responding to each other. The Together Mode UI enables participants to utilize social and spatial awareness mechanisms in the brain. This enables a participant's brain to function more naturally and provide a richer user experience that does not cause fatigue. When viewing a video conference through the Together Mode UI, users can practice some of the natural social signaling they would do in real life, e.g., social signaling that may occur during in-person meetings; Paragraph [0048]: visual indicator 300 can be displayed in response to the input data described above and/or in response to detecting that a user is looking in a particular direction. FIG. 8 shows an example where a system can determine if a gaze direction of a user meets one or more criteria, e.g., that the user is looking in a particular direction. In this example, the system can detect that a user, such as the second user 10B (second rendering 102B), is looking toward a predetermined location. In some configurations, the predetermined location can be an area in the virtual environment where a computing device of the user should be located. For example, for the second user 10B, a computing device would be likely positioned below the body or face of the user. Thus, if the user is looking in a downward direction, the system can detect such a gesture and cause the display of the visual indicator 300. Alternatively, the system may cause the display of the visual indicator 300 in response to detecting that input data from an input device meets one or more criteria, and in response to detecting that the user is looking in a predetermined direction; Paragraph [0115]: wherein the individual renderings are generated by: receiving the video streams from remote computing devices of the plurality of participants, wherein the video streams each comprise an image of a person and a physical background physically positioned behind the person; applying a processing filter to each of the video streams to remove a component of the image showing the physical background from the image and configuring the video stream to enable a generation of a rendering of the person shaped according to the image of the person; and scaling the image of the person within the rendering of the person a predetermined size for compatibility with the seating configuration of the virtual environment).
Regarding claim 4, Lanier, in view of Lyren teaches the control apparatus according to claim 3, Lanier discloses wherein the controller is configured to determine to superimpose the image of the predetermined object under the image of the second user and superimpose the image of the first user under the image of the predetermined object in a case in which the image of the first user and the image of the predetermined object are included in addition to the image of the second user in the two or more images (Fig. 2; Paragraphs [0024]-[0026]: display of video streams in traditional box grid formats make it difficult for participants to interpret many non-verbal social cues during a video conference. These types of gestures are used during in-person meetings to guide various types of interactions. There are a number of different types of non-verbal social cues such as head nods, facial cues, body language, etc. These non-verbal social cues communicate many different emotions and intentions. For instance, non-verbal social cues can show that a person has an issue, or that a person wants to speak, or that a person agrees or does not agree. In some cases, non-verbal social cues are so automatic that audience members can even synchronize their breathing pattern to a speaker's breathing pattern. During an in-person meeting, people are constantly interpreting others' eye movements, posture, how their heads are tilted and more, and attributing meaning to those non-verbal cues. But on a video call using a traditional user interface with a grid arrangement, those movements aren't diagnostic, meaning they're not providing accurate information about what's going on. Such shortcomings of existing systems can lead to user fatigue and often lead to a user becoming disengaged…Together Mode user interface changes the whole user experience compared to the traditional box grid user interface arrangement. This is possible because a person's brain is used to being aware of others based on their location, and the Together Mode user interface is designed to manage the location of the user renderings. The way in which people are positioned in the Together Mode user interface can help make it easier for everyone to see non-verbal social cues and tell how they are responding to each other. The Together Mode UI enables participants to utilize social and spatial awareness mechanisms in the brain. This enables a participant's brain to function more naturally and provide a richer user experience that does not cause fatigue. When viewing a video conference through the Together Mode UI, users can practice some of the natural social signaling they would do in real life, e.g., social signaling that may occur during in-person meetings; Paragraph [0048]: visual indicator 300 can be displayed in response to the input data described above and/or in response to detecting that a user is looking in a particular direction. FIG. 8 shows an example where a system can determine if a gaze direction of a user meets one or more criteria, e.g., that the user is looking in a particular direction. In this example, the system can detect that a user, such as the second user 10B (second rendering 102B), is looking toward a predetermined location. In some configurations, the predetermined location can be an area in the virtual environment where a computing device of the user should be located. For example, for the second user 10B, a computing device would be likely positioned below the body or face of the user. Thus, if the user is looking in a downward direction, the system can detect such a gesture and cause the display of the visual indicator 300. Alternatively, the system may cause the display of the visual indicator 300 in response to detecting that input data from an input device meets one or more criteria, and in response to detecting that the user is looking in a predetermined direction; Paragraph [0115]: wherein the individual renderings are generated by: receiving the video streams from remote computing devices of the plurality of participants, wherein the video streams each comprise an image of a person and a physical background physically positioned behind the person; applying a processing filter to each of the video streams to remove a component of the image showing the physical background from the image and configuring the video stream to enable a generation of a rendering of the person shaped according to the image of the person; and scaling the image of the person within the rendering of the person a predetermined size for compatibility with the seating configuration of the virtual environment).
Regarding claim 5, Lanier, in view of Lyren teaches the control apparatus according to claim 1, Lanier discloses wherein the controller is configured to determine to superimpose the image of the predetermined object on one or more other images that overlap the image of the predetermined object when the situation of the first user is estimated to be a situation in which the predetermined object is being explained, in a case in which the image of the predetermined object is included in the two or more images (Fig. 6; Fig. 7; Paragraph [0017]: FIG. 6 shows aspects of a Together Mode user interface configured to display renderings of participants and an enhanced visual indicator that is applied to objects surrounding a user, where the enhanced visual indicator is displayed in association with a changed level of user activity with an input device; Paragraphs [0024]-[0026]: display of video streams in traditional box grid formats make it difficult for participants to interpret many non-verbal social cues during a video conference. These types of gestures are used during in-person meetings to guide various types of interactions. There are a number of different types of non-verbal social cues such as head nods, facial cues, body language, etc. These non-verbal social cues communicate many different emotions and intentions. For instance, non-verbal social cues can show that a person has an issue, or that a person wants to speak, or that a person agrees or does not agree. In some cases, non-verbal social cues are so automatic that audience members can even synchronize their breathing pattern to a speaker's breathing pattern. During an in-person meeting, people are constantly interpreting others' eye movements, posture, how their heads are tilted and more, and attributing meaning to those non-verbal cues. But on a video call using a traditional user interface with a grid arrangement, those movements aren't diagnostic, meaning they're not providing accurate information about what's going on. Such shortcomings of existing systems can lead to user fatigue and often lead to a user becoming disengaged…Together Mode user interface changes the whole user experience compared to the traditional box grid user interface arrangement. This is possible because a person's brain is used to being aware of others based on their location, and the Together Mode user interface is designed to manage the location of the user renderings. The way in which people are positioned in the Together Mode user interface can help make it easier for everyone to see non-verbal social cues and tell how they are responding to each other. The Together Mode UI enables participants to utilize social and spatial awareness mechanisms in the brain. This enables a participant's brain to function more naturally and provide a richer user experience that does not cause fatigue. When viewing a video conference through the Together Mode UI, users can practice some of the natural social signaling they would do in real life, e.g., social signaling that may occur during in-person meetings; Paragraph [0048]: visual indicator 300 can be displayed in response to the input data described above and/or in response to detecting that a user is looking in a particular direction. FIG. 8 shows an example where a system can determine if a gaze direction of a user meets one or more criteria, e.g., that the user is looking in a particular direction. In this example, the system can detect that a user, such as the second user 10B (second rendering 102B), is looking toward a predetermined location. In some configurations, the predetermined location can be an area in the virtual environment where a computing device of the user should be located. For example, for the second user 10B, a computing device would be likely positioned below the body or face of the user. Thus, if the user is looking in a downward direction, the system can detect such a gesture and cause the display of the visual indicator 300. Alternatively, the system may cause the display of the visual indicator 300 in response to detecting that input data from an input device meets one or more criteria, and in response to detecting that the user is looking in a predetermined direction).
Regarding claim 6, Lanier, in view of Lyren teaches the control apparatus according to claim 1, Lanier discloses wherein the controller is configured to determine the image to be preferentially superimposed based on the situation of the first user and the situation of the second user (Fig. 1; Paragraph [0007]: a Together Mode user interface positions renderings of meeting participants with an arrangement that allows users to see each other through a large virtual mirror. A system can generate a visual indicator that notifies meeting participants that a particular user is engaged with a personal computing device. The visual indicator can be generated in response to detecting that the user is interacting with an input device, such as a keyboard or touchscreen. Thus, when a user is looking down at their computer and typing on a keyboard, the system may generate a visual indicator that provides a notification to participants positioned below the user in the virtual mirror. The visual indicator can be graphically configured to indicate that the user is interacting with a computing device and not looking in the direction of the participants positioned below the user; Paragraph [0056]: routine 900 includes an operation 902 where the system causes one or more computing devices to display a user interface 101 comprising individual renderings 102A-102L of the video streams of a plurality of participants 10A-10L on remote computing devices 11A-11L each associated with the plurality of participants 10A-10L. The individual renderings 102A-102L each have a position relative to a rendering of a seating configuration of a virtual environment 110. The system allows the plurality of participants to communicate through a communication session 604. The virtual environment 110 can also include lighting effects to help mitigate lighting anomalies that may result from video streams that are received from separate sources; Paragraph [0100]: data store 708 may also include contextual data 714, such as the content that includes video, audio, or other content for rendering and display on one or more of the display screens 629. Hardware data 711 can define aspects of any device, such as a number of display screens of a computer. The contextual data 714 can define any type of activity or status related to the individual users 10A-10F each associated with individual video streams of a plurality of video streams 634. For instance, the contextual data can define a person's level in an organization, how each person's level relates to the level of others, a performance level of a person, or any other activity or status information that can be used to determine a position for a rendering of a person within a virtual environment).
Regarding claim 7, Lanier, in view of Lyren teaches the control apparatus according to claim 6, Lanier discloses wherein the controller is configured to determine the image to be preferentially superimposed further based on image data of a predetermined object associated with at least one of the first user or the second user (Fig. 6; Fig. 7; Paragraph [0017]: FIG. 6 shows aspects of a Together Mode user interface configured to display renderings of participants and an enhanced visual indicator that is applied to objects surrounding a user, where the enhanced visual indicator is displayed in association with a changed level of user activity with an input device; Paragraphs [0024]-[0026]: display of video streams in traditional box grid formats make it difficult for participants to interpret many non-verbal social cues during a video conference. These types of gestures are used during in-person meetings to guide various types of interactions. There are a number of different types of non-verbal social cues such as head nods, facial cues, body language, etc. These non-verbal social cues communicate many different emotions and intentions. For instance, non-verbal social cues can show that a person has an issue, or that a person wants to speak, or that a person agrees or does not agree. In some cases, non-verbal social cues are so automatic that audience members can even synchronize their breathing pattern to a speaker's breathing pattern. During an in-person meeting, people are constantly interpreting others' eye movements, posture, how their heads are tilted and more, and attributing meaning to those non-verbal cues. But on a video call using a traditional user interface with a grid arrangement, those movements aren't diagnostic, meaning they're not providing accurate information about what's going on. Such shortcomings of existing systems can lead to user fatigue and often lead to a user becoming disengaged…Together Mode user interface changes the whole user experience compared to the traditional box grid user interface arrangement. This is possible because a person's brain is used to being aware of others based on their location, and the Together Mode user interface is designed to manage the location of the user renderings. The way in which people are positioned in the Together Mode user interface can help make it easier for everyone to see non-verbal social cues and tell how they are responding to each other. The Together Mode UI enables participants to utilize social and spatial awareness mechanisms in the brain. This enables a participant's brain to function more naturally and provide a richer user experience that does not cause fatigue. When viewing a video conference through the Together Mode UI, users can practice some of the natural social signaling they would do in real life, e.g., social signaling that may occur during in-person meetings; Paragraph [0048]: visual indicator 300 can be displayed in response to the input data described above and/or in response to detecting that a user is looking in a particular direction. FIG. 8 shows an example where a system can determine if a gaze direction of a user meets one or more criteria, e.g., that the user is looking in a particular direction. In this example, the system can detect that a user, such as the second user 10B (second rendering 102B), is looking toward a predetermined location. In some configurations, the predetermined location can be an area in the virtual environment where a computing device of the user should be located. For example, for the second user 10B, a computing device would be likely positioned below the body or face of the user. Thus, if the user is looking in a downward direction, the system can detect such a gesture and cause the display of the visual indicator 300. Alternatively, the system may cause the display of the visual indicator 300 in response to detecting that input data from an input device meets one or more criteria, and in response to detecting that the user is looking in a predetermined direction).
Regarding claim 8, Lanier, in view of Lyren teaches the control apparatus according to claim 1, Lanier discloses wherein the controller is configured to determine the situation of the first user further based on image data from a first image received relative to the first user (Paragraph [0056]: routine 900 includes an operation 902 where the system causes one or more computing devices to display a user interface 101 comprising individual renderings 102A-102L of the video streams of a plurality of participants 10A-10L on remote computing devices 11A-11L each associated with the plurality of participants 10A-10L. The individual renderings 102A-102L each have a position relative to a rendering of a seating configuration of a virtual environment 110. The system allows the plurality of participants to communicate through a communication session 604. The virtual environment 110 can also include lighting effects to help mitigate lighting anomalies that may result from video streams that are received from separate sources).
Regarding claim 9, Lanier, in view of Lyren teaches the control apparatus according to claim 8, Lanier discloses wherein the image data includes a size of a body part of the first user in the received first image (Paragraph [0061]: visual indicator 300 can be displayed in a region in proximity to a rendering of a person associated with the input data. For instance, a region can include any area on the rendering of the person, e.g., on the user's face, clothing or on any accessories worn by the user. The region in proximity to a rendering of the person causing generation of the input data or the person that is the subject of the sensor data can also include a display area adjacent to the user's image. For instance, such embodiments can include a visual indicator that is in the form of a light emanating from the person, which can be displayed in a region around the person's head or body; Paragraph [0117]: receiving the video streams from remote computing devices of the plurality of participants, wherein the video streams each comprise an image of a person and a physical background physically positioned behind the person; applying a processing filter to each of the video streams to remove a component of the image showing the physical background from the image and configuring the video stream to enable a generation of a rendering of the person shaped according to the image of the person; and scaling the image of the person within the rendering of the person a predetermined size for compatibility with the seating configuration of the virtual environment).
Regarding claim 10, Lanier, in view of Lyren teaches the control apparatus according to claim 8, Lanier discloses wherein the controller is configured to determine the situation of the second user further based on image data of a second image received relative to the second user (Paragraph [0056]: routine 900 includes an operation 902 where the system causes one or more computing devices to display a user interface 101 comprising individual renderings 102A-102L of the video streams of a plurality of participants 10A-10L on remote computing devices 11A-11L each associated with the plurality of participants 10A-10L. The individual renderings 102A-102L each have a position relative to a rendering of a seating configuration of a virtual environment 110. The system allows the plurality of participants to communicate through a communication session 604. The virtual environment 110 can also include lighting effects to help mitigate lighting anomalies that may result from video streams that are received from separate sources).
Regarding claim 11, Lanier, in view of Lyren teaches the control apparatus according to claim 10, Lanier discloses wherein the second image data includes a size of a body part of the second user in the received second image (Paragraph [0061]: visual indicator 300 can be displayed in a region in proximity to a rendering of a person associated with the input data. For instance, a region can include any area on the rendering of the person, e.g., on the user's face, clothing or on any accessories worn by the user. The region in proximity to a rendering of the person causing generation of the input data or the person that is the subject of the sensor data can also include a display area adjacent to the user's image. For instance, such embodiments can include a visual indicator that is in the form of a light emanating from the person, which can be displayed in a region around the person's head or body; Paragraph [0117]: receiving the video streams from remote computing devices of the plurality of participants, wherein the video streams each comprise an image of a person and a physical background physically positioned behind the person; applying a processing filter to each of the video streams to remove a component of the image showing the physical background from the image and configuring the video stream to enable a generation of a rendering of the person shaped according to the image of the person; and scaling the image of the person within the rendering of the person a predetermined size for compatibility with the seating configuration of the virtual environment).
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 MATTHEW D SALVUCCI whose telephone number is (571)270-5748. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7:30-4:00PT.
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, XIAO WU can be reached at (571) 272-7761. 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.
/MATTHEW SALVUCCI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2613