DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . 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 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.
Applicant’s submission filed on 03/20/2026 has been entered. Claims 1 and 8-11 were amended. Claim 2 was canceled. Claim 12 was added. Claims 1 and 3-12 are pending in the application.
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) 1, 3-4, 7-9, and 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chowdhary et al. (US 2014/0141889) in view of Bathina et al. (US 2020/0398020).
Regarding claim 1, Chowdhary teaches/suggests: A method for rolling out a virtual environment to a person, the method comprising the steps of:
determining a weather prevailing in a region of a predetermined real environment (Chowdhary [0114] “if it is raining in the location where the player is based, the virtual world may simulate a storm to emulate the real world”); and
rolling out a virtual environment to a person, wherein the virtual environment is rolled out based on the determined weather (Chowdhary [0114] “if it is raining in the location where the player is based, the virtual world may simulate a storm to emulate the real world”).
Chowdhary does not teach/suggest immersively based on providing visual data, audible data, and a sensory stimulus from a physical output device associated with an additional sensory channel. Bathina, however, teaches/suggests immersively based on providing visual data, audible data (Bathina [0023]-[0024] “The audiovisual stimulation system 102 provides the user 126 an audiovisual experience ... a Virtual Reality (VR) headset”), and a sensory stimulus from a physical output device associated with an additional sensory channel (Bathina [0030] “For controlling the environmental conditions during an immersive experience, the environmental stimulation system 110 may include components such as fans, heaters, air conditioners, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, radiators, mist generators, and spotlights”). Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the simulation of Chowdhary to include the audiovisual and environmental stimulations of Bathina for an immersive experience.
Regarding claim 3, Chowdhary as modified by Bathina teaches/suggests: The method according to claim 1, wherein the person is situated in the predetermined real environment (Chowdhary [0114] “if it is raining in the location where the player is based, the virtual world may simulate a storm to emulate the real world”).
Regarding claim 4, Chowdhary as modified by Bathina teaches/suggests: The method according to claim 1, wherein the virtual environment is referenced to a predetermined time, and the weather prevailing at the predetermined time is determined (Chowdhary [0114] “if it is raining in the location where the player is based, the virtual world may simulate a storm to emulate the real world”). The current time meets the predetermined time.
Regarding claim 7, Chowdhary as modified by Bathina teaches/suggests: The method according to claim 4, wherein the weather prevailing at the predetermined time is determined based on a weather model (Chowdhary [0114] “the local weather conditions may be used to create the ambiance in the virtual world … the weather forecast model may be used for changes to gameplay”).
Claim 8 recites limitation(s) similar in scope to those of claim 1, and is rejected for the same reason(s). Chowdhary as modified by Bathina further teaches/suggests a computer product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon program code (Chowdhary [0042] “A game or other simulations may be stored on a storage media such as a DVD, a CD, flash memory, USB memory or other type of memory media”).
Regarding claim 9, Chowdhary as modified by Bathina teaches/suggests: An apparatus for rolling out a virtual environment to a person, comprising:
a data memory; and a processor configured to execute program code stored in the data memory (Chowdhary [0042] “a memory for storing a control program and data, and a processor (CPU) for executing the control program and for managing the data”) to:
determine weather data relating to a predetermined real area (Chowdhary [0114] “if it is raining in the location where the player is based, the virtual world may simulate a storm to emulate the real world”);
determine a geographical position in the predetermined real area (Chowdhary [0077] “The player location is determined”); and
roll out the virtual environment immersively based on providing visual data, audible data (Bathina [0023]-[0024] “The audiovisual stimulation system 102 provides the user 126 an audiovisual experience ... a Virtual Reality (VR) headset”), and
a sensory stimulus from a physical output device associated with an additional sensory channel (Bathina [0030] “For controlling the environmental conditions during an immersive experience, the environmental stimulation system 110 may include components such as fans, heaters, air conditioners, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, radiators, mist generators, and spotlights”),
wherein the virtual environment is rolled out based on a weather prevailing at the geographical position (Chowdhary [0114] “if it is raining in the location where the player is based, the virtual world may simulate a storm to emulate the real world”).
The same rationale to combine as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 11, Chowdhary as modified by Bathina teaches/suggests: The apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:
one or more of a fan, a heater, or a sprinkler configured to impart a prevailing weather to the person based on the sensory stimulus associated with the additional sensory channel (Bathina [0030] “For controlling the environmental conditions during an immersive experience, the environmental stimulation system 110 may include components such as fans, heaters, air conditioners, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, radiators, mist generators, and spotlights”).
The same rationale to combine as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 12, Chowdhary as modified by Bathina teaches/suggests: The method of claim 1, wherein the physical output device comprises one or more of a fan, a heater, or a sprinkler (Bathina [0030] “For controlling the environmental conditions during an immersive experience, the environmental stimulation system 110 may include components such as fans, heaters, air conditioners, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, radiators, mist generators, and spotlights”). The same rationale to combine as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated herein.
Claim(s) 5 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chowdhary et al. (US 2014/0141889) in view of Bathina et al. (US 2020/0398020) as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Obradovich (US 2006/0267929).
Regarding claim 5, Chowdhary as modified by Bathina does not teach/suggest: The method according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined time is a future time and the weather prevailing at the predetermined time is determined based on a weather forecast. Obradovich, however, teaches/suggests the predetermined time is a future time (Obradovich [0060] “system 332 provides the user with a weather forecast if the specified time is in the future”). Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the virtual world of Chowdhary as modified by Bathina to be based on a future time as taught/suggested by Obradovich to change the gameplay in the future.
As such, Chowdhary as modified by Bathina and Obradovich teaches/suggests the weather prevailing at the predetermined time is determined based on a weather forecast (Chowdhary [0114] “the local weather conditions may be used to create the ambiance in the virtual world … the weather forecast model may be used for changes to gameplay” Obradovich [0060] “system 332 provides the user with a weather forecast if the specified time is in the future”).
Regarding claim 6, Chowdhary as modified by Bathina does not teach/suggest: The method according to claim 4, wherein the weather prevailing at the predetermined time is determined based on historical weather data in the real environment. Obradovich, however, teaches/suggests historical weather data in the real environment (Obradovich [0060] “system 332 provides the user with a … weather history if it is in the past”). Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the virtual world of Chowdhary as modified by Bathina to be based on a past time as taught/suggested by Obradovich to change the gameplay in the past.
As such, Chowdhary as modified by Bathina and Obradovich teaches/suggests the weather prevailing at the predetermined time is determined based on historical weather data in the real environment (Chowdhary [0114] “the local weather conditions may be used to create the ambiance in the virtual world … the weather forecast model may be used for changes to gameplay” Obradovich [0060] “system 332 provides the user with a … weather history if it is in the past”).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chowdhary et al. (US 2014/0141889) in view of Bathina et al. (US 2020/0398020) as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Laaksonen et al. (US 2021/0390765).
Regarding claim 10, Chowdhary and Bathina are silent regarding: The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:
a receiver for a satellite-assisted navigation system (GNSS) configured to determine a geographical position of the person.
Laaksonen, however, teaches/suggests:
a receiver for a satellite-assisted navigation system (GNSS) configured to determine a geographical position of the person (Laaksonen [0047] “The AR system 1 may also comprise means for determining the position of a user ... the AR glasses 20 or mobile phone or tablet computer may incorporate a GNSS receiver”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the VR headset of Chowdhary as modified by Bathina to include the GNSS receiver of Laaksonen to determine the position of the user.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's argument(s) filed on 03/20/2026 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection set forth in this Office action.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 2015/0254882 – immersive experience
US 2023/0376522 – sprinkler for immersive experience
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 ANH-TUAN V NGUYEN whose telephone number is 571-270-7513. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9AM-5PM ET. 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, JASON CHAN can be reached on 571-272-3022. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANH-TUAN V NGUYEN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2619
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