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 .
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.
Claims 1-4, 12 and 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2022/0395752A1 to Kennett.
Re claim 1, Kennett teaches: A method for providing a user interface on a controller having a plurality of input devices,
The abstract describes Kennett as a method, apparatus and software product configured for recognizing events that occur within a gaming session and implementing game enhancements without significant redevelopment of gaming applications. [0080]-[0081] describes an example wherein visual feedback is provided to a player by lighting up a game-state appropriate key to press on an input device. [0021] describes that such an input device can be a keyboard or controller comprising lights.
comprising the steps of: loading game data to initiate interactive gameplay;
[0012], [0015] describes that the instant invention seeks to provide enhancements without requiring re-development of existing game software. To meet this goal, an event recognizer comprising one or more detection models is trained to detect signals indicative of certain game events based on analysis of gaming content. Such detection and recognition does not require exposure to the game’s source code, it can instead be done by analyzing video content resulting from execution of a game that receives inputs from a player.
[0017] describes an illustrative embodiment wherein a gaming service is run from a cloud while recognition event services are concurrently run from the cloud to provide enhanced services without interfering with the execution of the game.
[0033], “gaming consoles may run or host a gaming session and process inputs received from the client system 106 … the gaming service 110 can stream or otherwise deliver the gaming content to the client system 106 over the network 128.
sending control signals to the controller based on the interactive gameplay to provide a lighting effect on a light emitting element associated with one of the plurality of input devices, wherein the lighting effect corresponds to the associated input device;
[0034], gaming service 110 provides a feed of gaming content including indications of input commands received to event recognizer system that applies trained detection models to detect signals indicative of certain events that can occur in a gaming session.
[0035], once instances of predefined events have been recognized, instructions can be provided to gaming service 110 that enables providing enhanced content to client system 106 over network 128 for local output to a user.
[0060], event analysis system causes enhancements to a gaming session to be implemented at the client system. Instructions 310a are provided to instruct client device 106 to present enhancements to a player via one or more devices of the client system – an example is providing executable instructions by a controller device to provide supplemental content to a player that is not included in the original game.
[0061], additionally or alternatively, enhancement instructions may be provided directly to client system 106, such as instructions for providing tactile, audio and/or visual feedback on an input device such as a keyboard or gaming controller capable of receiving and executing instructions.
[0081] describes an illustrative embodiment wherein “input device 510 may light up to indicate the x-key that the user should press based on the content displayed on the display device 506. This visual feedback … can provide a significant enhancement to the gaming experience … as well as providing additional instruction to a user … in conjunction with gaming tutorials or just as an additional aid”
[0091], in-game enhancements include “an input device enhancement associated with tactile or visual feedback presented via an input device of the client system.”
extracting from the interactive gameplay a predetermined operation of at least one of the plurality of the input devices to be performed by a user; and
[0024], “… a recognizer may include one or more models that have been trained to detect various objects, combinations of objects, series of inputs, or combination of any number of signals that are indicative of an instance of an event that occurs within a gaming session”
[0025], detected in-game events can include, for example, “a character jumping within a gaming session”.
[0034], gaming service 110 provides a feed of gaming content including indications of input commands received to event recognizer system that applies trained detection models to detect signals indicative of certain events that can occur in a gaming session.
[0035], once instances of predefined events have been recognized, instructions can be provided to gaming service 110 that enables providing enhanced content to client system 106 over network 128 for local output to a user.
See additionally [0067], [0069], [0070], [0073], [0080], [0081].
demonstrating the predetermined operation through a lighting effect on a light emitting element corresponding to the input device.
[0081], “input device 510 may light up to indicate the x-key that the user should press based on the content displayed on the display device 506. This visual feedback … can provide a significant enhancement to the gaming experience … as well as providing additional instruction to a user … in conjunction with gaming tutorials or just as an additional aid”
[0091], in-game enhancements include “an input device enhancement associated with tactile or visual feedback presented via an input device of the client system.”
Refer also to Fig. 5.
Re claims 16, 17, 18, these claims recite a computer-readable medium, controller and apparatus for performing the method of claim 1; refer to the rejection of claim 1.
Re claims 2-4, [0021] describes that client devices include keyboards and controllers with lights that can turn on or change colors. [0061] describes that visual feedback enhancement instructions may be provided to client system 106 for execution on a compatible keyboard or gaming controller. [0081] describes that “input device 510 may light up to indicate the x-key that the user should press based on the content displayed on the display device 506. This visual feedback … can provide a significant enhancement to the gaming experience … as well as providing additional instruction to a user … in conjunction with gaming tutorials or just as an additional aid”. And [0091] describes that in-game enhancements include “an input device enhancement associated with tactile or visual feedback presented via an input device of the client system.”
Re claims 12, 19, [0081] describes that “input device 510 may light up to indicate the x-key that the user should press based on the content displayed on the display device 506.”
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.
Claims 5, 11, 13-15 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kennett in view of US 2021/0402292 A1 to Chow.
Re claim 5, Although Kennett teaches substantially the same inventive concept including controller devices comprising buttons providing visual output for guiding players in improving their game play, Kennett lacks the controller buttons being analog devices.
Chow is an analogous prior art reference that, like Kennett, is configured to recognize game states and provide visual output on a controller to players to suggest next inputs (see Fig. 5C). The Examiner takes OFFICIAL NOTICE that the controller depicted in Figs. 5A, 5C of Chow as being used to receive inputs for affecting a virtual car in a driving game and displaying visual guidance for operating the controller is of the SONY PLAYSTATION type which, by definition comprises analog input devices including analog buttons (Chow is by the assignee SONY).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that Kennett’s visual, lighted input guidance could have been used with controllers of the SONY PLAYSTATION type comprising analog buttons without causing any unexpected results because those controllers have been ubiquitous in home video gaming for decades.
Re claims 11, 13, 15, 20, [0063]-[0065] discusses that Kennett’s invention can examine game state timestamps and wait a predefined amount of time before providing outputted enhancements. [0006], [0040] and [0064]-[0065] of Chow additionally teaches that it was known to identify interactive tasks in game scenario(s) that a user is taking too long to complete and provide an appropriate cue for the player. [0072] notes that this can involve determining a reaction time of the player as being excessive.
Re claim 14, Chow teaches, see Fig 5C, that outputted suggestions in a driving game example can visually indicate a direction.
Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kennett.
Re claims 6-7, Although Kennett’s illustrative embodiment wherein illuminated input device components driven to instruct a player what a next input should be involve keys, see [0080]-[0081], Kennett admits in [0098] additional or alternative input devices 711 can comprise a “joystick”. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that Kennett’s visually guided input suggestions could have equally applied to the joystick embodiment without causing any unexpected results. The motivation would be to extend input suggestions to different types of known gaming peripherals.
Claims 8-10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kennett in view of EP2778855A2 to Grant et al.
Re claim 10, Although Kennett teaches substantially the same inventive concept including game controller devices being instructed to provide visual output for guiding players which next button to press (see [0080]-[0081], for example next press “X” and “X” is illuminated), Kennet is silent as whether a sequence of operations or simultaneous operations can be indicated.
Grant is an analogous prior art reference in the art of haptic video gaming controllers programmed to output cues on what buttons to press. Grant teaches in [0070], [0072] that it was known in the art for games to require repetitive button presses “such as repeatedly pressing left-right on a d-pad” for performing predefined actions such as breaking a door, and that his invention was capable of providing haptic outputs to instruct a user of a need to repeatedly press a button.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that Kennett could have illuminated buttons that need to be pressed in a particular game state comprising a sequence of operations as taught by Grant without causing any unexpected results. As admitted by Grant in [0072], “Games often involve repetitive gestures.”
Re claims 8-9, Although Kennett admits that his invention can function using a variety of different types of input devices, see [0098], Kennett does not specifically contemplate using a steering wheel.
Grant teaches that it was known in the art of haptic enabled video game output devices configured for suggesting next inputs to be selected from a group consisting of a gamepad and a steering wheel, see [0017], [0041].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that the group of input devices Kennett’s invention is enabled for could have been expanded to include video game steering wheels as taught by Grant without causing any unexpected results, especially because claims 8-9 do not provide any details or evidence as to why a steering wheel is critical to the invention but rather expresses it as a field of use.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN J HYLINSKI whose telephone number is (571)270-1995. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10-530.
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/STEVEN J HYLINSKI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715