DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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 § 112
2. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
3. Claim 28-53 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In particular independent Claim 28, line 12, recites “responsive to at least the comparing establishing”; it’s unclear as to the highlighted claimed limitations; the claimed “the comparing establishing…” appears not to have antecedent basis
Independent claims 47 and 50, recite similar claim limitations, and hence rejected on the same ground(s), as discussed above.
Response to Arguments
4. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 25-53 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection discussed below. The amendments to the claims necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection (please note the 112 Rejection, above). This office action is made FINAL.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
5. 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)(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.
6. Claim(s) 28-30, 33-38 and 47-53 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by MARTIN et al (2020/0228943).
As to claims 28-30, MARTIN discloses power efficient ultra-wideband (UWB) tag or indoor positioning and further discloses a device (figs.1-5 and [0075-0078]) comprising:
a first device (mobile device “MD” 110 communicates with computing device “CD” 111) comprising: a first transceiver configured to engage in signaling with a second transceiver of a second device, wherein the signaling is indicative of an orientation and a position of the first device relative to the second device; at least one processor (configured to transmit and receive signals to communicate with a second transceiver of a handoff device, wherein the signals are indicative of an orientation and a position of the first transceiver relative to the second transceiver, communicating WIFI, Bluetooth low Energy and/or satellite-based systems: GPS, GLONASS, etc. (figs.1-5, [0008-0017] and [0075-0078]); and non-transitory data storage having stored thereon program instructions executable by the at least one processor to carry out a first set of operations including: determining, based on the signaling, a distance between the first device and the second device, comparing the determined distance between the first device and the second device to a first distance threshold (handoff), and responsive to at least the comparing establishing that the determined distance between the first device and the second device is less than the first distance threshold, causing the second device to start playing out a piece of media ([0029-0032], [0043-0047], [0053-0056], [0075-0078], [0087-0090] and [0103-0107]); MD may include UWB tag, used as sensor to determine the heading/direction and further includes accelerometer; based on the relative heading, velocity or distance of the UVB tag with respect to the point of interest communicates with a second transceiver; second rate for subsequent ranging signals between the UWB beacon and the UWB tag within an environment or proximity; MD App (screen or UI) allow occupant to control and/request and/or automatically grant or not grant functionality (communicates media content) associated with one or more building environment devices and/or building security devices based on the position, the tag ID and corresponding permissions associated with the UWB tag; during handoff, transmit and receive signals to communicate with a second transceiver of a handoff device, wherein the signals are indicative of an orientation and a position of the first transceiver relative to the second transceiver, communicating WIFI, Bluetooth low Energy and/or satellite-based systems, wherein the first set of operations additionally includes: responsive to at least the comparing establishing that the determined distance between the first device and the second device is less than the first distance threshold, causing the first device to stop playing out the piece of media and an inertial measurement unit configured to measure changes in angular orientation or position of the first device, wherein the program instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to carry out operations including: determining a velocity of the first device based on the changes in angular orientation or position measured by the inertial measurement unit; determining a transmission frequency based on the velocity of the first device; and causing the first transceiver to communicate with the second transceiver according to the determined transmission frequency ([0029-0032], [0043-0047], [0053-0056], [0075-0078], [0087-0090] and [0103-0107]); MD may include UWB tag, used as sensor to determine the heading/direction and further includes accelerometer; based on the relative heading, velocity or distance of the UVB tag with respect to the point of interest communicates with a second transceiver; second rate for subsequent ranging signals between the UWB beacon and the UWB tag within an environment or proximity; MD App (screen or UI) allow.
As to claims 33-38, MARTIN further discloses a user interface configured to output the piece of media, wherein the determining and comparing occur while the user interface is outputting the piece of media; wherein the piece of media comprises at least one of audio or one or more images, wherein the first device comprises a watch, a wristband, a mobile phone, a tablet, or a remote control, and wherein the second device comprises a television, a speaker, a smart-home hub, a desktop computer, or a tablet; wherein the program instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to cause the first device to use BLUETOOTH Low Energy (BLE) signaling as a basis to identify the second device; wherein the program instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to determine whether the first device is located at a predefined location, wherein the predefined location comprises an at-home location or an at work location; wherein determining whether the first device is located at the predefined location comprises identifying a WIFI network to which the first device is connected and wherein determining whether the first device is located at the predefined location comprises: determining Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) coordinates of the first device; and comparing the GNSS coordinates of the first device to geographic boundaries representing the predefined location ([0028-0032], [0053-0060], [0075-0078], [0087-0090] and [0101-0107]), within an environment or proximity; MD App (screen or UI) allow occupant to control and/request and/or automatically grant or not grant functionality (communicates media content) associated with one or more building environment devices and/or building security devices based on the position, the tag ID and corresponding permissions associated with the UWB tag; casting media from the MD to a screen in the environment based on a proximity threshold; note remarks in claims 28-30.
Claim 46 is met as previously discussed in claims 28-30.
As to claim 47-49, the claimed “A system…” is composed of the same structural elements that were discussed with respect to claims 28-30
As to claim 50-53, the claimed “A system…” is composed of the same structural elements that were discussed with respect to claims 28-30.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
7. 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
8. Claim(s) 31-32 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MARTIN et al (2020/0228943).
As to claims 31-32, MARTIN discloses where MD may include UWB tag, used as sensor to determine the heading/direction and further includes accelerometer; based on the relative heading, velocity or distance of the UVB tag with respect to the point of interest communicates with a second transceiver; second rate for subsequent ranging signals between the UWB beacon and the UWB tag within an environment or proximity, as discussed above, BUT appears silent as to wherein the predefined interval is between 0.2 seconds and 0.8 seconds. 32 and wherein determining the transmission frequency comprises comparing the velocity of the first device to a velocity threshold, wherein the transmission frequency is determined to be between 0.02 Hertz (Hz) and 0.08 Hz when the velocity of the first device is less than the velocity threshold, and wherein the transmission frequency is determined to be between 8 Hz and 10 Hz when the velocity of the first device is greater than or equal to the velocity threshold; the velocity of the device to a velocity threshold repeatedly based on a predefined interval, and wherein the predefined interval is about 0.5 seconds and wherein the transmission frequency is determined by comparing the velocity of the device to a velocity threshold, wherein the transmission frequency is determined to be about 0.05 Hz when the velocity of the device is less than the velocity threshold, and wherein the transmission frequency is determined to be about 10 Hz when the velocity of the device is greater than or equal to the velocity threshold.
However, MARTIN discloses using UWB tag, used as sensor to determine the heading/direction and further discloses an accelerometer determines velocity or distance of the UVB tag with respect to the point of interest communicates with a second transceiver; second rate for subsequent ranging signals between the UWB beacon and the UWB tag within an environment or proximity threshold ([0029-0032], [0043-0047], [0053-0060], [0075-0078], [0087-0090] and [0101-0107]), as discussed above with in claims 1-3.
Hence it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teaching of MARTIN to include specific values or threshold as to velocity, distance, etc., for a specific application as desired.
9. Claim(s) 39-43 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MARTIN et al (2020/0228943) in view of SHIMY et al (2011/0069940)
MARTIN appears silent as to wherein the processor wherein the program instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to cause the first device to determine whether a display of the first device is currently turned on; when the display of the first device is currently turned on, to carry out operations including: comparing the determined distance between the first transceiver and the second transceiver to a second distance threshold; causing to be displayed on the display of the first device, in response to at least the determined distance between the first device and the second device being greater than the first distance threshold and less than the second distance threshold, a prompt that requests confirmation of whether to cause the second device to output the piece of media; and receiving, based on the prompt, an indication that the second device is to output the piece of media, wherein causing the second device to start playing out the piece of media is additionally responsive to the received indication and wherein the program instructions are further executable by the at least one processor, when the display of the first device is currently turned off, to carry out operations including: determining, an amount of time elapsed since the display of the first device was last on; and comparing the amount of time elapsed since the display of the first device was last on to a threshold duration, wherein the processor is configured to execute the first set of instructions when the amount of time elapsed since the display of the first device was last on is less than the threshold duration; an inertial measurement unit configured to measure changes in angular orientation or position of the first device, and wherein the program instructions are further executable by the at least one processor, when the display of the first device is currently turned off, to carry out operations including: determining whether the first device has moved from one location to another location based on the changes in angular orientation or position measured by the inertial measurement unit, wherein the processor is configured to execute the first set of instructions in response to at least determining that the first device has moved from the one location to the other location; wherein the program instructions are further executable by the at least one processor, when the display of the first device is currently turned off, to carry out operations including: determining whether the first device is pointed at the second device based on signals received by the first transceiver from the second transceiver, wherein the causing of the second device to start playing out the piece of media is additionally responsive to determining that the first device is pointed at the second device;.
However, in the same field of endeavor, SHIMY discloses systems and methods for automatically detecting users within detection regions of media devices and further discloses wherein the processor is further configured to execute the set of instructions to determine whether a display of the device is currently turned on; when the device is currently turned on, compare the separation between the first transceiver and the second transceiver to a second range threshold; cause, when the separation between the first transceiver and the second transceiver is greater than or equal to the first range threshold and less than the second range threshold, a prompt to be displayed on the display of the device, wherein the prompt requests confirmation of whether to cause the handoff device to output the piece of media; receive, based on the prompt, an indication that the handoff device is to output the piece of media; and cause, based on the received indication, the handoff device to output the piece of media, when the display of the device is currently turned off, an amount of time elapsed since the display of the device was last on; and compare the amount of time elapsed since the display of the device was last on to a threshold duration, and wherein the processor is configured to execute the first set of instructions when the amount of time elapsed since the display of the device was last on is less than the threshold duration and/or when the display of the device is currently turned off, the processor is further configured to execute the fourth set of instructions to: determine whether the device has moved from one location to another based on the changes in angular orientation or position measured by the inertial measurement unit; and execute, when the device is moved from one location to another, the first set of instructions and when the display of the device is currently turned off, the processor is further configured to execute the fifth set of instructions to cause the first transceiver to communicate with the second transceiver; determine whether the device is pointed at the handoff device based on signals received by the first transceiver; and cause the handoff device to output the piece of media when the device is pointed at the handoff device (figs.1-20. [0009-0012], [0096-0102] and [0105-0113]), detects ranges that overlap determined by the MDs and user(s) moving, detects active and inactive users including devices on or off (sleep mode) and prompting user(s) to perform or interact with the prompt to resume watching media on other MDs; detects user(s) respective device to the MD and turns on or off based on the detects and prompts user(s) to take certain actions accordingly
Hence it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate the teaching of SHIMY into the system of MARTIN to track the status of devices and users and automatically control presentation of content on the respective MD based on detected user(s).
10. Claim(s) 44-45 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MARTIN et al (2020/0228943) in view of CORMICAN et al (2018/0199110)
MARTIN discloses all the claimed limitation as discussed above with respect to claims 43, BUT appears silent as to wherein the processor is further configured to determine wherein the program instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to carry out operations including: determining whether a gesture is traced out by the first device based on signals received by the first transceiver from the second transceiver; and in response to determining that a gesture is traced out by the first device, determining whether the traced out gesture corresponds to a confirmation gesture indicating that the piece of media is to be output by the second device, and wherein the causing of the second device to start playing out the piece of media is additionally responsive to determining that the confirmation gesture is traced out and wherein the program instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to carry out operations including causing the first device to provide haptic feedback before determining whether the gesture is traced out by the first device.
However, in the same field of endeavor, CORMICAN discloses EPG with expanding cells for video preview and further discloses wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether a gesture is traced out by the device based on signals received by the first transceiver; and in response to a gesture being traced out by the device, determine whether the traced out gesture corresponds to a confirmation gesture indicating that the piece of media is to be output by the handoff device, and wherein the handoff device is caused to output the piece of media when the device is pointed at the handoff device and the confirmation gesture is traced out and wherein the processor is further configured to to cause the device to provide haptic feedback before determining whether the gesture is traced out by the device based on signals received by the first transceiver (figs.1-12, Abstract, [0018-0020], [0031-0034], [0044-0046], [0051-0060] and [0077-0078]).
Hence it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate the teaching of CORMICAN into the system of MARTIN to incorporate specific user inputs such as gesture operations to perform certain action associated with the content currently displayed as desired.
Conclusion
11. 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.
12: Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANNAN Q SHANG whose telephone number is (571)272-7355. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7-4.
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/ANNAN Q SHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2424
ANNAN Q. SHANG
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