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 .
Response to Amendment
Received 01/26/2026
Claim(s) 1-10 and 12-13 is/are pending.
Claim(s) 1, 8-10, 12, and 13 has/have been amended.
Claim(s) 11 has/have been cancelled.
The 35 U.S.C § 103 rejection to claim(s) 1-10, 12, and 13 have been fully considered in view of the amendments received on 01/26/2026 and are fully addressed in the prior art rejection below.
Response to Arguments
Received 01/26/2026
Regarding independent claim(s) 1:
Applicant’s arguments (Remarks, Page 8: ¶ 2-5), filed 01/26/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 under 35 U.S.C § 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Wherein, further distinction between the point of gaze and the projection point of the gaze object is further limiting. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn, necessitated by Applicant's amendments. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Yoshimura et al. (US PGPUB No. 20180184072 A1), and further in view of Aizawa (US PGPUB No. 20190349531 A1).
Applicant’s arguments (Remarks, Page 8: ¶ 6 to Page 9: ¶ 1), filed 01/26/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 12 and 13 under 35 U.S.C § 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive due claim 12's and claim 13's similarity to claim 1. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn, necessitated by Applicant's amendments. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of the prior art as mentioned above.
Regarding dependent claim(s) 2-10:
Applicant’s arguments (Remarks, Page 8: ¶ 6 to Page 9: ¶ 3), filed 01/26/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 2-10 under 35 U.S.C § 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive due the dependency upon claims 1, 12, and 13 respectively. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn, necessitated by Applicant's amendments. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of the prior art as mentioned above.
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).
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: “… a position gazed at from a virtual viewpoint”, this limitation is interpreted as a position gazed at (which is) from a virtual viewpoint. However, it is suggested that the language be amended to “… acquire virtual viewpoint information including a position of a point of gaze which is a position gazed at, from a virtual viewpoint: wherein …” (wherein a comma and semicolon are added).
Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1-9 and 11-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshimura et al., US PGPUB No. 20180184072 A1, hereinafter Yoshimura, and further in view of Aizawa, US PGPUB No. 20190349531 A1, hereinafter Aizawa.
Regarding claim 1, Yoshimura discloses a display control apparatus (Yoshimura; a display control (i.e. image processing) apparatus [¶ 0021 and ¶ 0026]; moreover, computer system [¶ 0089]) comprising:
one or more memories storing instructions (Yoshimura; one or more memories storing instructions [¶ 0021-0023]); and
one or more processors executing the instructions (Yoshimura; one or more processors executing the instructions [¶ 0021-0022]; moreover, CRM [¶ 0089]) to:
acquire virtual viewpoint information including a position of a point of gaze which is a position gazed at from a virtual viewpoint (Yoshimura; acquire virtual viewpoint information including a position of a point of gaze which is a position gazed at from a virtual viewpoint [¶ 0024 and ¶ 0026-0027]; moreover, virtual viewpoint settings [¶ 0028-0030]), wherein the virtual viewpoint corresponds to a virtual viewpoint image that is generated based on a plurality of images captured by a plurality of imaging apparatuses (Yoshimura; the virtual viewpoint corresponds to a virtual viewpoint image that is generated based on a plurality of images captured by a plurality of imaging apparatuses [¶ 0024], as illustrated within Figs. 2A-B; wherein, a plurality of images captured by a plurality of imaging apparatuses [¶ 0002]); and
display an image including a point of gaze object indicating the position of the point of gaze and a projected point of gaze object indicating a position of the point of gaze on a projection plane (Yoshimura; display an image including a point of gaze object indicating the position of the point of gaze and a projected point of gaze object indicating a position of the point of gaze on a projection plane (i.e. image capturing-target area) [¶ 0051-0053], as illustrated within Figs. 4A-B and 5A-B), wherein the projected point of gaze object is separated from the point of gaze object (Yoshimura; the projected point of gaze object is implicitly separated from the point of gaze object [¶ 0053], as illustrated within Fig. 5B).
Yoshimura fails to explicitly disclose a point of gaze from a virtual viewpoint; and
a projected point of the gaze object indicating a position of the point of gaze on a projection plane, wherein the projected point of the gaze object is separated from the point of the gaze object.
However, Aizawa teaches to: acquire virtual viewpoint information including a position of a point of gaze which is a position gazed at from a virtual viewpoint (Aizawa; acquire virtual viewpoint information including a position of a point of gaze [¶ 0039-0040] which is a position gazed at from a virtual viewpoint [¶ 0053-0055 and ¶ 0057]; additionally, the gaze-point indicator also incorporates physical information [¶ 0042-0043]); and
display an image including a point of gaze object indicating the position of the point of gaze and a projected point of the gaze object indicating a position of the point of gaze on a projection plane (Aizawa; display an image including a point of gaze object indicating the position of the point of gaze and a projected point of the gaze object (i.e. gaze-point indicator) indicating a position of the point of gaze on a projection plane [¶ 0056], as illustrated within Fig. 6A; wherein, a virtual viewpoint image overlays a gaze-point indicator in a projected manner [¶ 0054-0055]), wherein the projected point of the gaze object is separated from the point of the gaze object (Aizawa; the projected point of the gaze object (i.e. gaze-point indicator) is separated from the point of the gaze object as illustrated within Figs. 6A-B [¶ 0056-0057], as illustrated within Figs. 6A-B; wherein, Figs. 6A-B illustrate, a visual distinction (in space) between a gaze-point indicated viewpoint and a gaze point center of a viewpoint; moreover, physical camera focal/gaze point vs. calculated virtual gaze/focal point (corresponding to a gaze-point indicator) associated with a virtual camera [¶ 0062 and ¶ 0064-0065] in relation to an displayed output [¶ 0076-0077 and ¶ 0079]).
Yoshimura and Aizawa are considered to be analogous art because both pertain to generating and/or managing data in relation with providing media data to a user, wherein one or more computerized units are utilized in order to produce a visualization effect.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention was made to modify Yoshimura, to incorporate to: acquire virtual viewpoint information including a position of a point of gaze which is a position gazed at from a virtual viewpoint; and display an image including a point of gaze object indicating the position of the point of gaze and a projected point of the gaze object indicating a position of the point of gaze on a projection plane, wherein the projected point of the gaze object is separated from the point of the gaze object (as taught by Aizawa), in order to provide improved realism and image quality within a virtualized media environment to a user (Aizawa; [¶ 0002-0005]).
Regarding claim 2, Yoshimura in view of Aizawa further discloses the display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the virtual viewpoint information includes a position of the virtual viewpoint and a line of sight direction from the virtual viewpoint (Yoshimura; the virtual viewpoint information includes a position of the virtual viewpoint and a line of sight direction from the virtual viewpoint [¶ 0051-0053], as illustrated within Figs. 4A-B and 5A-B; moreover, virtual gaze point settings and image capturing parameters [¶ 0028-0030 and ¶ 0043-0044]).
Aizawa further teaches the virtual viewpoint information includes a position of the virtual viewpoint and a line of sight direction from the virtual (Aizawa; the virtual viewpoint information [as addressed within the parent claim(s)] includes a position of the virtual viewpoint and a line of sight direction (corresponding to a posture and angle of view) from the virtual [¶ 0039]; moreover, the information about the virtual camera includes a position, a posture, an angle of view, and the number of pixels [id.]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention was made to modify Yoshimura as modified by Aizawa, to incorporate the virtual viewpoint information includes a position of the virtual viewpoint and a line of sight direction from the virtual (as taught by Aizawa), in order to provide improved realism and image quality within a virtualized media environment to a user (Aizawa; [¶ 0002-0005]).
Regarding claim 3, Yoshimura in view of Aizawa further discloses the display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the projected point of gaze object is generated based on a projection of the point of gaze on the projection plane (Yoshimura; the projected point of gaze object is generated based on a projection of the point of gaze on the projection plane (i.e. image capturing-target area) [¶ 0051-0053], as illustrated within Figs. 4A-B and 5A-B).
Aizawa further teaches the projected point of gaze object is generated based on a projection of the point of gaze on the projection plane (Aizawa; the projected point of gaze object is generated based on a projection of the point of gaze on the projection plane [¶ 0053-0055]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention was made to modify Yoshimura as modified by Aizawa, to incorporate the projected point of gaze object is generated based on a projection of the point of gaze on the projection plane (as taught by Aizawa), in order to provide improved realism and image quality within a virtualized media environment to a user (Aizawa; [¶ 0002-0005]).
Regarding claim 4, Yoshimura in view of Aizawa further discloses the display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image is a virtual viewpoint image corresponding to another virtual viewpoint different from the virtual viewpoint (Yoshimura; the image is a virtual viewpoint image corresponding to another virtual viewpoint (i.e. another gaze point location or vicinity thereof) different from the virtual viewpoint [¶ 0051-0053], as illustrated within Figs. 4A-B and 5A-B).
Regarding claim 5, Yoshimura in view of Aizawa further discloses the display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image includes a virtual viewpoint object representing the virtual viewpoint (Yoshimura; the image includes a virtual viewpoint object representing the virtual viewpoint [¶ 0051-0053]).
Aizawa further teaches the image includes a virtual viewpoint object representing the virtual viewpoint (Aizawa; the image includes a virtual viewpoint object representing the virtual viewpoint [¶ 0056], as illustrated within Figs. 6A-B; wherein, a virtual viewpoint object corresponds to gaze-point indicator further corresponds to graphic object, graphical indicator, or indicator graphic [¶ 0046, ¶ 0048, and ¶ 0051-0052], as illustrated within Figs. 5A-F).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention was made to modify Yoshimura as modified by Aizawa, to incorporate the image includes a virtual viewpoint object representing the virtual viewpoint (as taught by Aizawa), in order to provide improved realism and image quality within a virtualized media environment to a user (Aizawa; [¶ 0002-0005]).
Regarding claim 6, Yoshimura in view of Aizawa further discloses the display control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the one or more processers further execute the instructions to determine another virtual viewpoint corresponding to an image including the point of gaze object, the projected point of gaze object, and the virtual viewpoint object (Yoshimura; the one or more processers further execute the instructions [as addressed within the parent claim(s)] to determine another virtual viewpoint corresponding to an image including the point of gaze object, the projected point of gaze object, and the virtual viewpoint object [¶ 0051-0053], as illustrated within Figs. 4A-B and 5A-B), the another virtual viewpoint being different from the virtual viewpoint (Yoshimura; the another virtual viewpoint being different from the virtual viewpoint [¶ 0051-0053], as illustrated within Figs. 4A-B and 5A-B).
Aizawa further teaches to determine another virtual viewpoint corresponding to an image including the point of gaze object, the projected point of gaze object, and the virtual viewpoint object (Aizawa; determining another virtual viewpoint corresponding to an image including the point of gaze object, the projected point of gaze object (i.e. gaze-point indicator), and the virtual viewpoint object (i.e. graphical indicator / indicator graphic) [¶ 0056-0057]; wherein determining one or more virtual viewpoints corresponds to the image processing associated with the steps of Fig. 7 [¶ 0058] and virtual camera info [¶ 0039], e.g. obtaining a virtual viewpoint based on a calculated perspective and virtual camera information [¶ 0071-0073]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention was made to modify Yoshimura as modified by Aizawa, to incorporate to determine another virtual viewpoint corresponding to an image including the point of gaze object, the projected point of gaze object, and the virtual viewpoint object (as taught by Aizawa), in order to provide improved realism and image quality within a virtualized media environment to a user (Aizawa; [¶ 0002-0005]).
Regarding claim 7, Yoshimura in view of Aizawa further discloses the display control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the virtual viewpoint object is at a position not overlapping the point of gaze object in the image (Yoshimura; the virtual viewpoint object is at a position not overlapping the point of gaze object in the image [¶ 0106], as illustrated within Fig. 11A; moreover, missing information within a view [¶ 0108]).
Aizawa further teaches the virtual viewpoint object is at a position not overlapping the point of gaze object in the image (Aizawa; the virtual viewpoint object (i.e. graphical indicator / indicator graphic) [as addressed within the parent claim(s)] is at a position not overlapping the point of gaze object in the image [¶ 0056-0057], as illustrated within Figs. 6A-B; additionally, Figs. 6A-B illustrate, a gaze-point indicated viewpoint in a non- (completely) overlapping manner with a gaze point center of a viewpoint).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention was made to modify Yoshimura as modified by Aizawa, to incorporate the virtual viewpoint object is at a position not overlapping the point of gaze object in the image (as taught by Aizawa), in order to provide improved realism and image quality within a virtualized media environment to a user (Aizawa; [¶ 0002-0005]).
Regarding claim 8, the rejection of claim 8 is addressed within the rejection of claim 7, due to the similarities claim 8 and claim 7 share, therefore refer to the rejection of claim 7 regarding the rejection of claim 8.
Regarding claim 9, the rejection of claim 9 is addressed within the rejection of claim 7, due to the similarities claim 9 and claim 7 share, therefore refer to the rejection of claim 7 regarding the rejection of claim 9.
Regarding claim 12, the rejection of claim 12 is addressed within the rejection of claim 1, due to the similarities claim 12 and claim 1 share, therefore refer to the rejection of claim 1 regarding the rejection of claim 12. Although, claim 12 and claim 1 may not be identical, it is reasonable to reject claim 12 based on the prior art teachings and rational within the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 13, the rejection of claim 13 is addressed within the rejection of claim 1, due to the similarities claim 13 and claim 1 share, therefore refer to the rejection of claim 1 regarding the rejection of claim 13. Although, claim 13 and claim 1 may not be identical, it is reasonable to reject claim 13 based on the prior art teachings and rational within the rejection of claim 1.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshimura in view of Aizawa as applied to claim(s) 5 above, and further in view of Robertson et al., US PGPUB No. 20020140698 A1, hereinafter Robertson.
Regarding claim 10, Yoshimura in view of Aizawa further discloses the display control apparatus according to claim 5, the virtual viewpoint object (Yoshimura; the virtual viewpoint object [as addressed within the parent claim(s)]).
Robertson teaches the virtual viewpoint object is displayed semi-transparent (Robertson; the virtual viewpoint object is displayed semi-transparent [¶ 0023 and ¶ 0049]).
Yoshimura in view of Aizawa and Robertson are considered to be analogous art because they pertain to generating and/or managing data in relation with providing media data to a user, wherein one or more computerized units are utilized in order to produce a visualization effect.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention was made to modify Yoshimura as modified by Aizawa, to incorporate the virtual viewpoint object is displayed semi-transparent (as taught by Robertson), in order to provide improved navigation techniques within virtualized environments (Robertson; [¶ 0002-0006]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Yoshimura et al. (US PGPUB No. 20180096520 A1);
Fan et al. (US PGPUB No. 20230330532 A1);
Takama (US PGPUB No. 20230098633 A1);
Ye et al. (US PGPUB No. 20250319398 A1);
Piemonte et al. (US PGPUB No. 20130321401 A1);
Arai (US PGPUB No. 20200082603 A1);
Gillard et al. (US PGPUB No. 20150138188 A1);
Ogasawara (US PGPUB No. 20230033201 A1);
Hanamoto (US PGPUB No. 20190163356 A1);
Hayasaka et al. (US PGPUB No. 20190208109 A1); and
Yamaoka (US PGPUB No. 20140354631 A1).
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Refer to PTO-892, Notice of Reference Cited for a listing of analogous art.
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 Charles Lloyd Beard whose telephone number is (571)272-5735. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 5: 00 PM, alternate Fridays EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tammy Goddard can be reached at (571) 272-7773. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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CHARLES LLOYD. BEARD
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2611
/CHARLES L BEARD/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2611
Prosecution Insights