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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 4/17/2024, 8/14/2025, 8/19/2025 and 1/26/2026 were considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 4 and 14 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.
Claims 4 and 14 are unclear in that it recites “a second sensor of the one or more sensors is configured to transmit a second respective signal at a second frequency that is greater than 90 gigahertz.” There is no upper limit to the second frequency.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 5, 6, 9-11, 13, and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yeh US 20190220635.
Regarding claim 1, Yeh discloses an attraction system comprising:
one or more sensors (16, 18, and 20) configured to detect costuming associated with one or more guests (14) and provide data indicative of the costuming associated with the one or more guests (Fig. 1, [0022]); and
a control system (22) communicatively coupled to the one or more sensors (Fig. 1), wherein the one or more sensors are configured to transmit the data to the control system, and the control system is configured to operate the attraction system based on the data (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 3, Yeh further discloses that each of the one or more sensors is configured to: transmit a respective signal (30,32) within the attraction system; receive a reflection of the respective signal (51,52); and detect the costuming based on the reflection of the respective signal (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 5, Yeh further discloses that the control system is configured to: determine a target operation of the attraction system based on the data; and operate the attraction system based on the target operation (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 6, Yeh further discloses that the control system is configured to: identify biometric information associated with the one or more guests based on the data; compare the biometric information with a range of biometric values; and operate the attraction system based at least in part on comparing the biometric information and the range of biometric values ([0035]).
Regarding claim 9, Yeh further discloses that the one or more sensors are configured to detect the costuming associated with the one or more guests by detecting clothing worn by the one or more guests, an accessory associated with the one or more guests, or both (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 10, Yeh further discloses that the control system is configured to: identify a user profile associated with the one or more guests based on the data, wherein the user profile comprises stored data indicative of a target operation of the attraction system; and operate the attraction system based on the target operation ([0063-64]).
Regarding claim 11, Yeh discloses an attraction system comprising:
a sensor (16, 18 and 20) comprising: processing circuitry (26); and a memory (24) storing instructions thereon that, when executed, cause the processing circuitry to: transmit a signal (30,32) within the attraction system; receive a reflection of the signal (51,52); detect costuming associated with one or more guests based on the reflection of the signal (Fig. 1); and determine a target operation of the attraction system based on the costuming (Fig. 2); and
a control system communicatively coupled to the sensor and configured to: receive the target operation from the sensor; and operate the attraction system based on the target operation (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 13, Yeh further discloses that the sensor is a first sensor (Fig. 1) and wherein the attraction system comprises a second sensor, the second sensor comprising: additional processing circuitry (45); and an additional memory (44) storing instructions thereon that, when executed, cause the additional processing circuitry to: transmit an additional signal (51,52) within the attraction system; receive an additional reflection of the additional signal (Fig. 2); detect the costuming associated with the one or more guests based on the additional reflection of the additional signal; and determine the target operation based on the costuming (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 15, Yeh further discloses that a prop, wherein the sensor is embedded within the prop ([0022]).
Regarding claim 16, Yeh discloses an attraction system comprising:
a first sensor (16, 18 and 20) configured to transmit a first signal (30, 32) within the attraction system, the first sensor comprising: first processing circuitry (26); and a first memory (24) storing first instructions thereon that, when executed by the first processing circuitry, cause the first processing circuitry to: receive a first reflection of the first signal (Fig. 1); and determine a target operation of the attraction system based at least in part on the first signal (Fig. 2);
a second sensor (34, 36) configured to transmit a second signal (51, 52) within the attraction system, the second sensor comprising: second processing circuitry (45); and a second memory (44) storing second instructions thereon that, when executed by the second processing circuitry, cause the second processing circuitry to: receive a second reflection of the second signal (Fig. 1); and determine the target operation of the attraction system based at least in part on the second signal (Fig. 2); and
a control system (22) communicatively coupled to the first sensor and the second sensor, wherein the control system is configured to operate the attraction system based on the target operation (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 17, Yeh further discloses that the first reflection of the first signal, the second reflection of the second signal, or both are indicative of costuming associated with a guest within the attraction system (Fig. 1, [0022]), and wherein the first processing circuitry, the second processing circuitry, or both are configured to determine the target operation based at least in part on the costuming ([0022]).
Regarding claim 18, Yeh further discloses that the first processing circuitry (26), the second processing circuitry (45), or both are configured to: identify a user profile associated with a guest within the attraction system based on the first reflection of the first signal, the second reflection of the second signal, or both, wherein the user profile comprises stored data associated with the guest from a previous interaction with the attraction system; and determine the target operation based at least in part on the stored data associated with the user profile ([0027]).
Regarding claim 19, Yeh further discloses that the first processing circuitry (26), the second processing circuitry (45), or both are configured to: receive first data from the first sensor and the second sensor at a first time; associate the first data with the user profile; operate the attraction system in accordance with a subroutine; associate the subroutine with the user profile; receive second data from the first sensor and the second sensor at a second time; and operate the attraction system in accordance with the subroutine associated with the user profile based on the second data matching with the first data (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 20, Yeh further discloses that the first processing circuitry (26), the second processing circuitry (45), or both are configured to send a notification to a mobile device associated with a guest based on the first reflection of the first signal ([0030]), the second reflection of the second signal, or both, wherein the notification includes a narration (68) corresponding to the target operation of the attraction system.
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) 2, 4, 12 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yeh US 20190220635.
Regarding claims 2 and 12, Yeh does not teach that the one or more sensors comprise one or more millimeter wave (mmWave) sensors.
Official notice is being taken that mmWave is 5G, a well-known and common frequency used in communication. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to replace the sensors used in Yeh by utilizing mmWave sensors in order to communicate wirelessly.
Regarding claims 4 and 14, Yeh does not teach that a first sensor of the one or more sensors is configured to transmit a first respective signal at a first frequency that is between 60 and 90 gigahertz, and wherein a second sensor of the one or more sensors is configured to transmit a second respective signal at a second frequency that is greater than 90 gigahertz.
Official notice is being taken that mmWave is 5G, a well-known and common frequency used in communication operates within the claimed frequency range. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to replace the sensors used in Yeh by utilizing mmWave sensors within the claimed range in order to communicate wirelessly.
Claim(s) 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yeh US 20190220635 in view of Richards US 20030083544.
Regarding claim 7, Yeh does not teach that the biometric information comprises a heart rate of the one or more guests, a respiratory rate of the one or more guests, or both.
Richards teaches a wearable sensor (Fig. 10) may measure biometric information such as heart rate or respiratory rate of the wearer (([0050]) in order to provide a service to the user. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the data collected as taught by Yeh by utilizing the collection of heart rate and/or respiratory rate in order to provide a service to the user.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 8 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/BRIAN O PETERS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3711
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