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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 6/27/2024 was filed before the first office action. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejection Notes
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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) 1-4, 15-18, and 29-32, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Lacey et al. (US 20190362557 A1, published: 11/28/2019).
Claim 1: Lacey teaches a method of input for using augmented or alternative communications (AAC) system including an eye tracking device (the wearable system 200 can include an outward-facing imaging system 464 (shown in FIG. 4) which observes the world in the environment around the user. The wearable system 200 can also include an inward-facing imaging system 462 (shown in FIG. 4) which can track the eye movements of the user. The inward-facing imaging system may track either one eye's movements or both eyes' movements [Lacey, 0098]), the method comprising:
receiving, by the eye tracking device, at least one gaze input from a user of the eye tracking device (wearable system 200 can determine the gaze direction based on the inward-facing imaging system 462 and can cast a cone 2806 or ray in the gaze direction [Lacey, 0325]),
displaying, via a user interface, at least one selected text portion in response to receiving the at least one gaze input, the at least one selected text portion forming a message (the wearable system can select one or more words that intercept with the user's direction of gaze [Lacey, 0325, FIG. 28B]; Examiner's Note: as illustrated),
wherein the user interface comprises a message window, and wherein the message is displayed in the message window (a message with a header 2802 and a body 2804 [Lacey, 0322, FIG. 2B]; Examiner's Note: as illustrated);
generating, by at least one processor, at least one suggested text portion, the at least one suggested text portion being adaptive to a content of the message (In the examples of FIGS. 28D and 28E, the system may automatically present the user with an array of suggested alternatives such as alternatives 2810a and 2810b upon a selection of the word 2808. The suggested alternatives may be generated by the ASR engine or other language processing engines in the system [Lacey, 0331, FIG. 2B]; Examiner's Note: as illustrated);
displaying, via the user interface, the at least one suggested text portion in the message window of the user interface (present the user with an array of suggested alternatives such as alternatives 2810a and 2810b upon a selection of the word 2808 [Lacey, 0331, FIG. 2B]);
receiving, by the eye tracking device, at least one second gaze input from the user (FIG. 28E illustrates how the system may enable the user to select a desired alternative word, such as “corner,” with eye gaze. The wearable system may use similar techniques as those described with reference to FIG. 28C to select the alternative word [Lacey, 0332]); and
modifying, by the at least one processor, the message to add the at least one suggested text portion to the message based on receiving the at least one second gaze input from the user (user's gaze 2812 has been focused upon a particular alternative, such as alternative 2810A or “corner”, for at least a threshold time. After determining that the user's gaze 2812 was focused on an alternative for the threshold time, the system may revise the text (the message) by replacing the originally selected word with the selected alternative word 2814, as shown in FIG. 28F [Lacey, 0332]).
Claims 15 and 29, sharing similar deficiencies of claim 1, are likewise rejected.
Claim 2: Lacey teaches the method of claim 1. Lacey further teaches wherein when receiving the at least one second gaze input, the method further comprises: determining a location of the at least one suggested text portion in the message window; determining a location of the at least one second gaze input (the system may track the user's eyes using inward-facing imaging system 462 to determine that the user's gaze 2812 has been focused upon a particular alternative, such as alternative 2810A or “corner”, for at least a threshold time [Lacey, 0332]); determining whether the location of the at least one suggested text portion in the message window is the same as the location of the at least one second gaze input (after determining that the user's gaze 2812 was focused on an alternative for the threshold time, the system may revise the text (the message) by replacing the originally selected word with the selected alternative word 2814, as shown in FIG. 28F. In certain implementations, where the wearable system uses cone casting to select a word, the wearable system can dynamically adjust the size of the cone based on the density of the text [Lacey, 0332]); and verifying the at least one second gaze input is a confirmatory input based on determining the location of the at least one suggested text portion in the message window is the same as the location of the gaze input (FIG. 28E illustrates how the system may enable the user to select a desired alternative word, such as “corner,” with eye gaze. The wearable system may use similar techniques as those described with reference to FIG. 28C to select the alternative word. For example, the system may track the user's eyes using inward-facing imaging system 462 to determine that the user's gaze 2812 has been focused upon a particular alternative, such as alternative 2810A or “corner”, for at least a threshold time. After determining that the user's gaze 2812 was focused on an alternative for the threshold time, the system may revise the text (the message) by replacing the originally selected word with the selected alternative word 2814, as shown in FIG. 28F. In certain implementations, where the wearable system uses cone casting to select a word, the wearable system can dynamically adjust the size of the cone based on the density of the text. For example, the wearable system may present a cone with a bigger aperture (and thus with a bigger surface area at the away from the user) to select an alternative word for editing as shown in FIG. 28E because there are few available options. But the wearable system may present the cone with a smaller aperture to select the word 2808 in FIG. 28C because the word 2808 is surrounded with other words and a smaller cone can reduce the error rate of accidentally selecting another word [Lacey, 0332]).
Claims 15 and 30, sharing similar deficiencies of claim 2, are likewise rejected.
Claim 3: Lacey teaches the method of claim 2. Lacey further teaches further comprising: determining whether a length of time of the at least one second gaze input satisfies a threshold value, wherein the threshold value is based on a length of the at least one suggested text portion (user's gaze 2812 has been focused upon a particular alternative, such as alternative 2810A or “corner”, for at least a threshold time [Lacey, 0332]).
Claims 16 and 31, sharing similar deficiencies of claim 3, are likewise rejected.
Claim 4: Lacey teaches the method of claim 1. Lacey further teaches wherein receiving the at least one second gaze input further comprises: displaying a visual indication, indicating that the at least one suggested text portion will be added to the message ([Lacey, FIG. 2E]; Examiner's Note: item 2812).
Claims 17 and 32, sharing similar deficiencies of claim 3, are likewise rejected.
Additional References
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following references control the input of text through eye gaze tracking:
Moulder et al. (US 20130138421 A1, published: 5/30/2013)
Kristensson et al. (US 20160062458 A1, published: 3/3/2016)
Powderly et al. (US 20180307303 A1, published: 10/25/2018)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SETH A SILVERMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-9783. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thur, 8AM-4PM MST.
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, Adam Queler can be reached at (571)272-4140. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Seth A Silverman/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2172