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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
The indicated allowability of claims 1-20 is withdrawn in view of the newly discovered reference(s) to Sigchi. Rejections based on the newly cited reference(s) follow.
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- are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sigchi (Acm Sigchi: "Intent-driven input device arbitration for XR", 9 May 2024 (2024-05-09), XP093305780, Retrieved from the Internet (URL): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R02SzWkCp9c&lc=Ugwzha4YKWeDEwDdJAp4AaABAg.
As per claim 1 Sigchi discloses: A method comprising:
identifying an orientation of a first device relative to a second device based on a gaze of a user of the second device {[timestamp 0:31] “Here we demonstrate a technique that uses only the IMUs on the headset and mobile system to determine which device the user is looking at". The user is seen to be wearing a headset (the second device) and holding a phone (the first device). Determining that the user is looking at the phone is shown to include determining the relative orientation of the phone to the headset.};
determining whether the orientation satisfies at least one criterion {[timestamp 0:31] "Here we demonstrate a technique that uses only the IMUs on the headset and mobile system to determine which device the user is looking at". That the user is looking away from the phone is considered as the at least one criterion.};
in response to the orientation satisfying the at least one criterion, receiving touch input for the second device from the first device { [timestamp 0:50] "As they look at their phone, swipes allow for scrolling the web page. As soon as they look away from their phone, these swipes can instead be used to control their virtual scene." The user is seen swiping on the phone to move an object around in the virtual scene created by the second device.); and
in response to the orientation not satisfying the at least one criterion, receiving touch input for the first device from the first device {[timestamp 0:50] "As they look at their phone, swipes allow for scrolling the web page." The user is seen as scrolling on the webpage on their phone.}
As per claim 2 Sigchi discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the orientation of the first device relative to the second device comprises: identifying a first vector associated with a first orientation for the first device; identifying a second vector associated with a second orientation for the second device; identifying an angle between the first vector and the second vector; and identifying the angle as the orientation of the first device relative to the second device { [timestamp 0:50-1:05] where it shown that the angle of the phone relative to the headset is what causes the input to the first device to change to the second device.}.
As per claim 3 Sigchi discloses: The method of claim 2, wherein determining whether the orientation satisfies the at least one criterion comprises: determining whether the angle exceeds a threshold, the first vector being a first direction of a screen associated with the first device, and the second vector being a second direction of the a gaze associated with the second device { [timestamp 0:50-1:05] where it is shown that the angle of the screen of the phone exceeding a threshold relative to the gaze of the user wearing the headset is what causes the input to the first device to change to the second device.}.
As per claim 4 Sigchi discloses: The method of claim 2, wherein identifying the first vector comprises identifying the first vector based on a measurement from at least one of an accelerometer or a gyroscope on the first device, the first vector being a direction of a screen associated with the first device {[timestamp 0:26] "Here we demonstrate a technique that uses only the IMUs on the headset and mobile system to determine which device the user is looking at".}.
As per claim 5 Sigchi discloses: The method of claim 2, wherein identifying the second vector comprises identifying the second vector based on a measurement from at least one of an accelerometer or a gyroscope on the second device, the second vector being a direction of the a gaze associated with the second device {[timestamp 0:26] "Here we demonstrate a technique that uses only the IMUs on the headset and mobile system to determine which device the user is looking at".}.
As per claim 6 Sigchi discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the orientation of the first device relative to the second device comprises: identifying a gaze associated with a user of the second device; identifying image data from the second device; and identifying the orientation of the first device relative to the second device based on the gaze and the image data {[timestamp 0:50-1:05] where image data from the headset/second device is shown and the orientation of the first device is determined based on the gaze direction of the user.}.
As per claim 7 Sigchi discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the orientation of the first device relative to the second device comprises further comprising: identifying image data on from the first device; and identifying determining the a gaze of the a user of the second device based on the image data.; and identifying the orientation of the first device relative to the second device based at least on the gaze {[timestamp 0:50-1:05] where the first device is a smartphone, and the orientation of the first device is determined based on the gaze direction of the user.}.
As per claim 8 Sigchi discloses: The method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving a notification; in response to the orientation satisfying the at least one criterion, causing display of the notification on the second device; and in response to the orientation not satisfying the at least one criterion, causing display of the notification on the first device {[timestamp 1:25] “A user may receive an incoming notification on their smart glasses while walking” where it is shown that the user receives a notification on the second device while not looking at the first device, and later receives a notification on the first device while looking at the first device.}.
As per claim 9 Sigchi discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein: the first device comprises a companion device; and the second device comprises an XR device in communication with the companion device {Note: The first device is seen as a smart phone and the second device is seen to be a head mounted display for use with augmented reality}.
As per claim 10 Sigchi discloses: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions that when executed by at least one processor cause the at least one processor to execute operations, the operations comprising:
identifying an orientation of a first device relative to a second device based on a gaze of a user of the second device {[timestamp 0:31] “Here we demonstrate a technique that uses only the IMUs on the headset and mobile system to determine which device the user is looking at". The user is seen to be wearing a headset (the second device) and holding a phone (the first device). Determining that the user is looking at the phone is shown to include determining the relative orientation of the phone to the headset.};
determining whether the orientation satisfies at least one criterion {[timestamp 0:31] "Here we demonstrate a technique that uses only the IMUs on the headset and mobile system to determine which device the user is looking at". That the user is looking away from the phone is considered as the at least one criterion.};
in response to the orientation satisfying the at least one criterion, receiving touch input for the second device from the first device { [timestamp 0:50] "As they look at their phone, swipes allow for scrolling the web page. As soon as they look away from their phone, these swipes can instead be used to control their virtual scene." The user is seen swiping on the phone to move an object around in the virtual scene created by the second device.); and
in response to the orientation not satisfying the at least one criterion, receiving touch input for the first device from the first device {[timestamp 0:50] "As they look at their phone, swipes allow for scrolling the web page." The user is seen as scrolling on the webpage on their phone.}.
As per claim 11 Sigchi discloses: The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein identifying the orientation of the first device relative to the second device comprises: identifying a first vector associated with a first orientation for the first device based on a gaze of a user of the second device; identifying a second vector associated with a second orientation for the second device; identifying an angle between the first vector and the second vector; and identifying the angle as the orientation of the first device relative to the second device { [timestamp 0:50-1:05] where it shown that the angle of the phone relative to the headset is what causes the input to the first device to change to the second device.}.
As per claim 12 Sigchi discloses: The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein determining whether the orientation satisfies the at least one criterion comprises: determining whether the angle exceeds a threshold, the first vector being a first direction of a screen associated with the first device, and the second vector being a second direction of the a gaze associated with the second device { [timestamp 0:50-1:05] where it is shown that the angle of the screen of the phone exceeding a threshold relative to the gaze of the user wearing the headset is what causes the input to the first device to change to the second device.}.
As per claim 13 Sigchi discloses: The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein identifying the first vector comprises identifying the first vector based on a measurement from at least one of an accelerometer or a gyroscope on the first device, the first vector being a direction of a screen associated with the first device {[timestamp 0:26] "Here we demonstrate a technique that uses only the IMUs on the headset and mobile system to determine which device the user is looking at".}.
As per claim 14 Sigchi discloses: The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein identifying the second vector comprises identifying the second vector based on a measurement from at least one of an accelerometer or a gyroscope on the second device, the second vector being a direction of the a gaze associated with the second device {[timestamp 0:26] "Here we demonstrate a technique that uses only the IMUs on the headset and mobile system to determine which device the user is looking at".}.
As per claim 15 Sigchi discloses: The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein identifying the orientation of the first device relative to the second device comprises: identifying a gaze associated with a user of the second device; identifying image data from the second device; and identifying the orientation of the first device relative to the second device based on the gaze and the image data {[timestamp 0:50-1:05] where image data from the headset/second device is shown and the orientation of the first device is determined based on the gaze direction of the user.}.
As per claim 16 Sigchi discloses: The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein identifying the orientation of the first device relative to the second device comprises the operations further comprise: identifying image data on from the first device; and identifying determining the a gaze of the a user of the second device from the image and identifying the orientation of the first device relative to the second device based at least on the gaze {[timestamp 0:50-1:05] where the first device is a smartphone, and the orientation of the first device is determined based on the gaze direction of the user.}.
As per claim 17 Sigchi discloses: An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions that cause the at least one processor to:
identify an orientation of a first device relative to a second device based on a gaze of a user of the second device {[timestamp 0:31] “Here we demonstrate a technique that uses only the IMUs on the headset and mobile system to determine which device the user is looking at". The user is seen to be wearing a headset (the second device) and holding a phone (the first device). Determining that the user is looking at the phone is shown to include determining the relative orientation of the phone to the headset.};
determine whether the orientation satisfies at least one criterion {[timestamp 0:31] "Here we demonstrate a technique that uses only the IMUs on the headset and mobile system to determine which device the user is looking at". That the user is looking away from the phone is considered as the at least one criterion.};
in response to the orientation satisfying the at least one criterion, receive touch input for the second device from the first device { [timestamp 0:50] "As they look at their phone, swipes allow for scrolling the web page. As soon as they look away from their phone, these swipes can instead be used to control their virtual scene." The user is seen swiping on the phone to move an object around in the virtual scene created by the second device.); and
in response to the orientation not satisfying the at least one criterion, receive touch input for the first device from the first device {[timestamp 0:50] "As they look at their phone, swipes allow for scrolling the web page." The user is seen as scrolling on the webpage on their phone.}.
As per claim 18 Sigchi discloses: The apparatus of claim 17, wherein identifying the orientation of the first device relative to the second device comprises: identifying a first vector associated with a first orientation for the first device; identifying a second vector associated with a second orientation for the second device; identifying an angle between the first vector and the second vector; and identifying the angle as the orientation of the first device relative to the second device { [timestamp 0:50-1:05] where it shown that the angle of the phone relative to the headset is what causes the input to the first device to change to the second device.}.
As per claim 19 Sigchi discloses: The apparatus of claim 18, wherein determining whether the orientation satisfies the at least one criterion comprises: determining whether the angle exceeds a threshold, the first vector being a first direction of a screen associated with the first device, and the second vector being a second direction of the a gaze associated with the second device { [timestamp 0:50-1:05] where it is shown that the angle of the screen of the phone exceeding a threshold relative to the gaze of the user wearing the headset is what causes the input to the first device to change to the second device.}.
As per claim 20 Sigchi discloses: The apparatus of claim 17, wherein identifying the orientation of the first device relative to the second device comprises: identifying a gaze associated with a user of the second device; identifying image data from the second device; and identifying the orientation of the first device relative to the second device based on the gaze and the image data {[timestamp 0:50-1:05] where image data from the headset/second device is shown and the orientation of the first device is determined based on the gaze direction of the user.}.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID D DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)272-7572. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m..
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, Ke Xiao can be reached at 571-272-7776. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DAVID D DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2627
DDD
Prosecution Insights