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 .
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 1 objected to because of the following informalities: “virtual reality” should be “virtual reality space”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim(s) 6 and 20 objected to because of the following informalities: “the target user” should be “a target user”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim(s) 16 and 17 objected to because of the following informalities: “the virtual reality space” should be “a virtual reality space”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim(s) 6, 18, and 20 objected to because of the following informalities: “the currently displayed bullet comment information” should be “a currently displayed bullet comment information”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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, 3-5, 8, 11, 13, 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 20190392636) in view of Li (U.S. Pub. No. 20200007940).
Regarding claim 1, Zhou discloses a bullet comment information display method based on virtual reality, comprising (para 18, “The method for displaying a bullet screen in an embodiment of this application may be applied to a VR system.”; also, para 40, “FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a method 400 for displaying a bullet screen according to an embodiment of this application. The method 400 is performed by the VR device 10 in FIG. 1.”) entering a virtual reality space (para 19, “The user may, through the VR system, experience a virtual three-dimensional space scene or interact with the virtual three-dimensional space scene.”; also, para 41, “Play a frame in a virtual three-dimensional space scene.”; also, para 42, “For example, the VR device 10 may play the frame in the virtual three-dimensional space scene through a VR display (for example, HMD 11). The playing the frame in the virtual three-dimensional space scene may also be understood as playing a VR frame through the VR display.”), bullet comment information to be displayed (para 38, “The server 31 may further receive and store bullet screens sent by a plurality of terminal devices. The VR device 10 may obtain, from the server 31, the bullet screens sent by the plurality of terminal devices and play the bullet screens in a three-dimensional space scene through a display (for example, HIVID 11) of the VR device 10.”); determining a bullet comment display region in the virtual reality space , wherein the bullet comment display region and a content presentation region for the virtual reality are respectively located at different region positions in the virtual reality space (para 54, “In this embodiment of this application, positions of frames and the bullet screen (for example, the first bullet screen and the second bullet screen) played in the three-dimensional space scene are not limited. The display position of the bullet screen and the position of the played frame may be at different depths.”; also, para 61, “In some embodiments, the bullet screens displayed in the binocular imaging region are located on a binocular bullet screen plane, and the binocular bullet screen plane is located between a plane of the user view angle and a visual plane and is parallel to the visual plane; and the bullet screens displayed in the monocular imaging region are located on a monocular bullet screen plane, and the monocular bullet screen plane is overlapped with the visual plane. The visual plane is a plane at a position where an optimal sight distance is located.”; also, para 86, “In a third portion, the VR device 10 may determine a plurality of bullet screen planes.”; also, para 87, “The determining a plurality of bullet screen planes may include determining lengths, widths, and depths of the plurality of bullet screen planes in the three-dimensional space scene and three-dimensional coordinates of each point on the plurality of bullet screen planes in the three-dimensional space scene.”); and displaying the bullet comment information in the bullet comment display region (para 45, “Display a first bullet screen at a first position in the three-dimensional space scene.”; also, para 46, “Display a second bullet screen at a second position in the three-dimensional space scene, the first position and the second position having different depths in the three-dimensional space scene.”). Zhou does not disclose receiving, from a user, an instruction to enable bullet comment display.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Li discloses receiving, from a user, an instruction to enable bullet comment display (para 73, “When a user watches a video, the setting of echo bullet screen is turned on. An example switch of the echo bullet screen function is illustrated in FIG. 5. The example switch may be located at the same or similar position of the on/off bullet screen switch. The example echo bullet screen switch may share the same function level as the on/off bullet screen switch for switching between displaying all bullet screens and displaying none of bullet screens.”; also, para 68, “in the video player, turn on the function of echo bullet screen, choose a video item, load the bullet screen database, start to play the video item.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou's invention of displaying bullet screens at positions in a virtual three-dimensional space scene that differ from the position of the played frame with the features of Li's invention of a bullet screen switch through which the user turns on the bullet screen display function of a video player. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this combination for the following reasons. First, Li expressly teaches "the on/off bullet screen switch for switching between displaying all bullet screens and displaying none of bullet screens," which gives the viewer direct control over whether the bullet screens that Zhou obtains from the server are displayed in the three-dimensional space scene. Second, Zhou teaches that the virtual reality device obtains "the bullet screens sent by the plurality of terminal devices," and bullet screens sent by many other users can clutter the three-dimensional space scene, so providing Li's switch allows the user to enable the bullet screen display only when commentary is desired. Third, Li teaches that after the bullet screen function is turned on the player proceeds to "load the bullet screen database, start to play the video item," so receiving the user's enabling instruction before loading and displaying bullet screens predictably conserves display and processing resources of Zhou's virtual reality device whenever bullet screen display is not wanted.
Regarding claim 3, Zhou as modified by Li discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein, the different region positions comprise: non-overlapping regions of a same plane of the virtual reality space, or different planes of the virtual reality space (Zhou: para 54, “In this embodiment of this application, positions of frames and the bullet screen (for example, the first bullet screen and the second bullet screen) played in the three-dimensional space scene are not limited. The display position of the bullet screen and the position of the played frame may be at different depths.”; also, para 48, “Therefore, that the first position and the second position having different depths in the three-dimensional space scene means that coordinates of the first position and the second position in a depth direction in the three-dimensional space scene are different. Alternatively, the first position and the second position are not on the same plane in the three-dimensional space scene.”; also, para 76, “As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of bullet screen planes may be set in the three-dimensional space scene and may be parallel planes. The bullet screens may be played on the plurality of bullet screen planes, and the depths of the positions where the bullet screens are played on each of the bullet screen planes are the same.”).
Regarding claim 4, Zhou as modified by Li discloses the method according to claim 3, wherein, the determining a bullet comment display region in the virtual reality space, specifically comprises: determining the bullet comment display region based on a position and size of the content presentation region (Zhou: para 61, “In some embodiments, the bullet screens displayed in the binocular imaging region are located on a binocular bullet screen plane, and the binocular bullet screen plane is located between a plane of the user view angle and a visual plane and is parallel to the visual plane; and the bullet screens displayed in the monocular imaging region are located on a monocular bullet screen plane, and the monocular bullet screen plane is overlapped with the visual plane. The visual plane is a plane at a position where an optimal sight distance is located.”; also, para 62, "In some embodiments, an area of the monocular bullet screen plane is less than an area of the visual plane, and an area of the binocular bullet screen plane is less than an area of the monocular bullet screen plane; and when the binocular imaging region includes at least the two binocular bullet screen planes, if the binocular bullet screen planes are deeper, the binocular bullet screen planes have a larger area.”).
Regarding claim 5, Zhou as modified by Li discloses the method according to claim 4, wherein, the determining the bullet comment display region based on a position and size of the content presentation region, comprising: setting the bullet comment display region according to a preset associated position of the content presentation region in the virtual reality space (Zhou: para 61, “In some embodiments, the bullet screens displayed in the binocular imaging region are located on a binocular bullet screen plane, and the binocular bullet screen plane is located between a plane of the user view angle and a visual plane and is parallel to the visual plane; and the bullet screens displayed in the monocular imaging region are located on a monocular bullet screen plane, and the monocular bullet screen plane is overlapped with the visual plane. The visual plane is a plane at a position where an optimal sight distance is located.”; also, para 86, “For example, the plurality of bullet screens may be located at positions between the visual plane 64 and a virtual camera (including the left virtual camera 21 and the right virtual camera 22).”; also, para 86, “The plurality of bullet screens may be parallel to the visual plane 64.”), and setting a size of the bullet comment display region according to a presentation size of the content presentation region (Zhou: para 62, “In some embodiments, an area of the monocular bullet screen plane is less than an area of the visual plane, and an area of the binocular bullet screen plane is less than an area of the monocular bullet screen plane; and when the binocular imaging region includes at least the two binocular bullet screen planes, if the binocular bullet screen planes are deeper, the binocular bullet screen planes have a larger area.”).
Regarding claim 8, Zhou as modified by Li discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein, the displaying the bullet comment information in the bullet comment display region, comprises: scrolling the bullet comment information displayed in the bullet comment display region toward a preset region in the virtual reality space, and displaying the scrolled bullet comment information in the preset region (Zhou: para 74, “In some embodiments, the method 400 further includes: displaying a third bullet screen based on a first preset track in the three-dimensional space scene. The first preset track passes through a fifth position and a sixth position, and the fifth position and the sixth position have different depths in the three-dimensional space scene.”; also, para 91, “Being played repeatedly means that a bullet screen is moved and displayed along a preset track at a predetermined time interval in the three-dimensional space scene. For example, the third bullet screen may be first played repeatedly through the fifth bullet screen plane 63 in FIG. 6, and when the third bullet screen passes through the projection region of the fourth bullet screen plane 62 on the fifth bullet screen plane 63, the third bullet screen may be switched to the fourth bullet screen plane 62 to be played repeatedly.”).
Regarding claim 11, Zhou as modified by Li discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein, the displaying the bullet comment information in the bullet comment display region, comprises: bullet comment information in a form of a scroll list in the bullet comment display region.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Li discloses displaying the bullet comment information in a form of a scroll list in the bullet comment display region (para 14, “The comments may be animated when displayed. For example, the comments may be shown scrolling (e.g., from right to left, left to right, top to bottom, bottom to top) across the content, which may be referred to as "bullet screens."”; also, para 46, “If the path is from right to left, as shown in FIG. 2, then the second position may be further left than the first position. The combiner 7 may combine the content 11 and the message data 13 in a manner that the message data 13 is successively rendered along the path as the plurality of frames of the content progress.”; also, para 47, “Different message data 13 may be combined in a manner that the message data 13 is rendered at least partially simultaneously.”; also, para 53, “Once the original bullet screen is displayed in scroll mode, the echo bullet screens are displayed in scroll mode too, when the original bullet screen is displayed in fixed mode, the echo bullet screens displayed in fixed mode too.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou's invention of displaying bullet screens on bullet screen planes in a virtual three-dimensional space scene with the features of Li's invention of comments successively rendered along a scrolling path while the content plays. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this combination for the following reasons. First, Li expressly teaches that "the comments may be shown scrolling (e.g., from right to left, left to right, top to bottom, bottom to top) across the content," so presenting the acquired comments in scrolling form is a known display form for bullet screens. Second, Li teaches that "the message data 13 is successively rendered along the path as the plurality of frames of the content progress," so successive comments form a continuously advancing list of comments synchronized with playback of the content. Third, Zhou teaches that the bullet screens obtained from the server are sent by a plurality of terminal devices, and rendering those accumulated comments successively along a scrolling path on Zhou's bullet screen planes predictably allows the viewer to read many comments in sequence without the comments permanently occupying the bullet comment display region.
Regarding claim 13, Zhou as modified by Li discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein, the displaying the bullet comment information in the bullet comment display region, comprises: bullet comment information sent by the user in the bullet comment display region.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Li discloses highlight the bullet comment information sent by the user in the bullet comment display region (para 71, “After the user sending a comment actively, during a period of time when the comment of the user is displayed on a display screen, other bullet screens having similar meanings with the user's comment and other echo bullet screens will be displayed on the display screen.”; also, para 75, “Define the bullet screen sent by the user as bullet screen A (original bullet screen). After the bullet screen A is sent, the front-end traverses the bullet screens sent within 30 seconds before and after the bullet screen A is sent, selects the bullet screens (empathetic bullet screens) having the same semantic meaning as the bullet screen A. The empathetic bullet screens are displayed in 0% transparency. Other bullet screens (other echo bullet screens) within 30 seconds before and after sending the bullet screen A are displayed in 70% transparency.”; also, para 74, “After the echo bullet screen function is turned on, the computer is in a state of no bullet screen when no comment is sent by the user; however, the user can input his or her comments to the computer, which will trigger to display some selected bullet screens, such as the echo bullet screens and the original bullet screen.”; also, para 78, “Only the screen bullet comprising the comment sent by this user and the echo bullet screens are displayed to this user.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou's invention of displaying bullet screens obtained from a server in a virtual three-dimensional space scene with the features of Li's invention of displaying the bullet screen sent by the user and its empathetic bullet screens at full opacity while other bullet screens are displayed at 70% transparency. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this combination for the following reasons. First, Li expressly teaches that "the empathetic bullet screens are displayed in 0% transparency" while "other bullet screens (other echo bullet screens) within 30 seconds before and after sending the bullet screen A are displayed in 70% transparency," so the comment sent by the user and the comments matching it are rendered visually more prominent than the remaining comments. Second, Li teaches that "Only the screen bullet comprising the comment sent by this user and the echo bullet screens are displayed to this user," so the comment sent by the user is selectively displayed while unrelated comments are suppressed, which renders the user's own comment visually prominent in the display. Third, among the many bullet screens that Zhou's virtual reality device obtains from the server, rendering the user's own comment prominently in this manner predictably lets the user confirm that the comment was sent and locate it in the bullet comment display region of the three-dimensional space scene.
Regarding claim 16, Zhou discloses a non-transient computer-readable storage medium having thereon stored a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, performs (para 133, “If the function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, the function may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.”; also, para 133, “The software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to perform all or some of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of this application. The foregoing storage medium includes: any medium that can store program code, such as a USB flash memory drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.”): enter virtual reality space (para 19, “The user may, through the VR system, experience a virtual three-dimensional space scene or interact with the virtual three-dimensional space scene.”; also, para 41, “Play a frame in a virtual three-dimensional space scene.”; also, para 42, “For example, the VR device 10 may play the frame in the virtual three-dimensional space scene through a VR display (for example, HMD 11). The playing the frame in the virtual three-dimensional space scene may also be understood as playing a VR frame through the VR display.”), acquire bullet comment information to be displayed (para 38, “The server 31 may further receive and store bullet screens sent by a plurality of terminal devices. The VR device 10 may obtain, from the server 31, the bullet screens sent by the plurality of terminal devices and play the bullet screens in a three-dimensional space scene through a display (for example, HIVID 11) of the VR device 10.”); determine a bullet comment display region in the virtual reality space, wherein the bullet comment display region and a content presentation region for the virtual reality are respectively located at different region positions in the virtual reality space (para 54, “In this embodiment of this application, positions of frames and the bullet screen (for example, the first bullet screen and the second bullet screen) played in the three-dimensional space scene are not limited. The display position of the bullet screen and the position of the played frame may be at different depths.”; also, para 61, “In some embodiments, the bullet screens displayed in the binocular imaging region are located on a binocular bullet screen plane, and the binocular bullet screen plane is located between a plane of the user view angle and a visual plane and is parallel to the visual plane; and the bullet screens displayed in the monocular imaging region are located on a monocular bullet screen plane, and the monocular bullet screen plane is overlapped with the visual plane. The visual plane is a plane at a position where an optimal sight distance is located.”; also, para 86, “In a third portion, the VR device 10 may determine a plurality of bullet screen planes.”; also, para 87, “The determining a plurality of bullet screen planes may include determining lengths, widths, and depths of the plurality of bullet screen planes in the three-dimensional space scene and three-dimensional coordinates of each point on the plurality of bullet screen planes in the three-dimensional space scene.”); and display the bullet comment information in the bullet comment display region (para 45, “Display a first bullet screen at a first position in the three-dimensional space scene.”; also, para 109, “Display a second bullet screen at a second position in the three-dimensional space scene, the first position and the second position having different depths in the three-dimensional space scene.”). Zhou does not disclose receive, from a user, an instruction to enable bullet comment display.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Li discloses receive, from a user, an instruction to enable bullet comment display (para 73, “When a user watches a video, the setting of echo bullet screen is turned on. An example switch of the echo bullet screen function is illustrated in FIG. 5. The example switch may be located at the same or similar position of the on/off bullet screen switch. The example echo bullet screen switch may share the same function level as the on/off bullet screen switch for switching between displaying all bullet screens and displaying none of bullet screens”; also, para 68, “in the video player, turn on the function of echo bullet screen, choose a video item, load the bullet screen database, start to play the video item.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou's invention of a storage medium storing instructions for displaying bullet screens at positions in a virtual three-dimensional space scene that differ from the position of the played frame with the features of Li's invention of a bullet screen switch through which the user turns on the bullet screen display function of a video player. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this combination for the following reasons. First, Li expressly teaches "the on/off bullet screen switch for switching between displaying all bullet screens and displaying none of bullet screens," which gives the viewer direct control over whether the bullet screens that Zhou's program obtains from the server are displayed in the three-dimensional space scene. Second, Zhou teaches that the virtual reality device obtains "the bullet screens sent by the plurality of terminal devices," and bullet screens sent by many other users can clutter the three-dimensional space scene, so providing Li's switch allows the user to enable the bullet screen display only when commentary is desired. Third, Li teaches that after the bullet screen function is turned on the player proceeds to "load the bullet screen database, start to play the video item," so receiving the user's enabling instruction before loading and displaying bullet screens predictably conserves display and processing resources whenever bullet screen display is not wanted.
Regarding claim 17, Zhou discloses an electronic device, comprising a storage medium, a processor, and a computer program stored on the storage medium and executable on the processor, wherein, the processor, when execute the computer program, performs (para 117, “The apparatus 900 in FIG. 9 includes:”; also, para 118, “a memory 910, configured to store a program; and”; also, para 119, “a processor 920, connected to the memory 910 and a display respectively, and configured to execute the program stored in the memory, where when the program is being executed, the processor is configured to play, through the display, a frame in a virtual three-dimensional space scene; display, through the display, a first bullet screen at a first position in the three-dimensional space scene; and display, through the display, a second bullet screen at a second position in the three-dimensional space scene, the first position and the second position have different depths in the three-dimensional space scene.”): enter virtual reality space (para 19, “The user may, through the VR system, experience a virtual three-dimensional space scene or interact with the virtual three-dimensional space scene."; also, para 41, “Play a frame in a virtual three-dimensional space scene”; also, para 42, “For example, the VR device 10 may play the frame in the virtual three-dimensional space scene through a VR display (for example, HMD 11). The playing the frame in the virtual three-dimensional space scene may also be understood as playing a VR frame through the VR display.”), bullet comment information to be displayed (para 38, “The server 31 may further receive and store bullet screens sent by a plurality of terminal devices. The VR device 10 may obtain, from the server 31, the bullet screens sent by the plurality of terminal devices and play the bullet screens in a three-dimensional space scene through a display (for example, HIVID 11) of the VR device 10.”); determine a bullet comment display region in the virtual reality space, wherein the bullet comment display region and a content presentation region for the virtual reality are respectively located at different region positions in the virtual reality space (para 54, “In this embodiment of this application, positions of frames and the bullet screen (for example, the first bullet screen and the second bullet screen) played in the three-dimensional space scene are not limited. The display position of the bullet screen and the position of the played frame may be at different depths.”; also, para 61, “In some embodiments, the bullet screens displayed in the binocular imaging region are located on a binocular bullet screen plane, and the binocular bullet screen plane is located between a plane of the user view angle and a visual plane and is parallel to the visual plane; and the bullet screens displayed in the monocular imaging region are located on a monocular bullet screen plane, and the monocular bullet screen plane is overlapped with the visual plane. The visual plane is a plane at a position where an optimal sight distance is located.”; also, para 86, “In a third portion, the VR device 10 may determine a plurality of bullet screen planes.”; also, para 87, “The determining a plurality of bullet screen planes may include determining lengths, widths, and depths of the plurality of bullet screen planes in the three-dimensional space scene and three-dimensional coordinates of each point on the plurality of bullet screen planes in the three-dimensional space scene.”); and display the bullet comment information in the bullet comment display region (para 45, “Display a first bullet screen at a first position in the three-dimensional space scene.”; also, para 109, “Display a second bullet screen at a second position in the three-dimensional space scene, the first position and the second position having different depths in the three-dimensional space scene.”). Zhou does not disclose and receive, from a user, an instruction to enable bullet comment display.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Li discloses receive, from a user, an instruction to enable bullet comment display (para 73, “When a user watches a video, the setting of echo bullet screen is turned on. An example switch of the echo bullet screen function is illustrated in FIG. 5. The example switch may be located at the same or similar position of the on/off bullet screen switch. The example echo bullet screen switch may share the same function level as the on/off bullet screen switch for switching between displaying all bullet screens and displaying none of bullet screens.”; also, para 68, “in the video player, turn on the function of echo bullet screen, choose a video item, load the bullet screen database, start to play the video item.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou's invention of an apparatus with a processor that executes a stored program to display bullet screens at positions in a virtual three-dimensional space scene that differ from the position of the played frame with the features of Li's invention of a bullet screen switch through which the user turns on the bullet screen display function of a video player. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this combination for the following reasons. First, Li expressly teaches "the on/off bullet screen switch for switching between displaying all bullet screens and displaying none of bullet screens," which gives the viewer direct control over whether the bullet screens that Zhou's processor obtains from the server are displayed in the three-dimensional space scene. Second, Zhou teaches that the virtual reality device obtains "the bullet screens sent by the plurality of terminal devices," and bullet screens sent by many other users can clutter the three-dimensional space scene, so providing Li's switch allows the user to enable the bullet screen display only when commentary is desired. Third, Li teaches that after the bullet screen function is turned on the player proceeds to "load the bullet screen database, start to play the video item," so receiving the user's enabling instruction before loading and displaying bullet screens predictably conserves the display and processing resources of Zhou's apparatus whenever bullet screen display is not wanted.
Claim(s) 2 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 20190392636) in view of Li (U.S. Pub. No. 20200007940), further in view of Tran et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 20200065051).
Regarding claim 2, Zhou as modified by Li discloses the method according to claim 1, virtual reality space is a shared virtual reality space that is accessible by multiple users.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Tran discloses wherein the virtual reality space is a shared virtual reality space that is accessible by multiple users (para 5, "In some embodiments, multiple users may share a space in a virtual environment. Those users may wish to jointly consume digital content, such as a movie, music, or a TV show.”; also, para 5, “As such, other embodiments of this invention may allow multiple users in a shared virtual space to seamlessly and concurrently consume digital content, with each user separately streaming the content directly from a third-party content application.”; also, para 6, “In some embodiments the users may be represented by avatars within the virtual environment. The avatars may be represented as human characters and may be seated together on a couch, in a movie theater, or in any other appropriate venue or location.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou's invention of displaying bullet screens in a virtual three-dimensional space scene, as modified by Li, with the features of Tran's invention of a shared virtual space in which multiple users jointly consume the same digital content. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this combination for the following reasons. First, Tran expressly teaches that "multiple users may share a space in a virtual environment" and that those users "may wish to jointly consume digital content, such as a movie, music, or a TV show," which extends Zhou's three-dimensional space scene to a space accessible by multiple users. Second, Zhou teaches that the server receives and stores "bullet screens sent by a plurality of terminal devices," so the commenting users of Zhou's system are already consuming the same content, and placing them in Tran's shared virtual space gives their bullet screens an immediate shared context. Third, Tran teaches that the users "may be seated together on a couch, in a movie theater, or in any other appropriate venue or location," which provides a social co-watching experience that predictably increases user engagement with the bullet comment commentary displayed in the virtual reality space.
Regarding claim 14, Zhou as modified by Li discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein, users sending the bullet comment information comprise at least one of: different users in a same room, or users in different rooms.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Tran discloses wherein, the users sending the bullet comment information comprise at least one of: different users in a same room, or users in different rooms (para 17, “For example, two or more users may be separated by a geographical distance but may nonetheless wish to co-watch the same content.”; also, para 17, “As another example, two or more users may be in the same geographic location, but may only have access to, or might otherwise desire to use, user computing devices that are best suited for use by a single user (e.g., a virtual reality headset).”; also, para 22, “For example, in some embodiments user 208 may be presented with a soccer game with standard viewing angles and a chat window consisting of other users' commentary on the soccer game, while user 209 may be presented with a bird's eye view of the game and no chat window.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou's invention of displaying bullet screens sent by a plurality of terminal devices, as modified by Li, with the features of Tran's invention of co-watching by users who are in the same geographic location or separated by a geographical distance and whose commentary is displayed alongside the content. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this combination for the following reasons. First, Tran expressly teaches that "two or more users may be separated by a geographical distance but may nonetheless wish to co-watch the same content," so the commenting users may be located in different rooms. Second, Tran teaches that "two or more users may be in the same geographic location" while each using a device "best suited for use by a single user (e.g., a virtual reality headset)," so the commenting users may equally be different users in a same room. Third, Tran teaches a "chat window consisting of other users' commentary" displayed with the content, so accepting commentary from users regardless of where they are located predictably enlarges the pool of bullet screens that Zhou's server receives from the plurality of terminal devices and enriches the commentary displayed in the virtual reality space.
Claim(s) 6-7, 18-19, 20-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou (U.S. Pub. No. 20190392636) in view of Li (U.S. Pub. No. 20200007940), further in view of Black et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 20180093185).
Regarding claim 6, Zhou as modified by Li discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein, the displaying the bullet comment information in the bullet comment display region, comprises: virtual character of a target user in the virtual reality space while displaying the bullet comment information in the bullet comment display region, wherein the target user is a sending user corresponding to the currently displayed bullet comment information.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Black discloses highlighting a virtual character of a target user in the virtual reality space while displaying the bullet comment information in the bullet comment display region, wherein the target user is a sending user corresponding to the currently displayed bullet comment information (para 69, “In FIG. 9C, a VR scene is shown to receive SFC containing avatars 902b, 904b, 906b, and 908b corresponding respectively to spectators 902, 904, 906, and 908. Additionally, the SFC contains expression 926 tagged to avatar JLin 902b. In certain embodiments like the one shown, avatar 902b is shown to be relatively larger than the rest of the avatars to better indicate from an originator of the communication.”; also, para 69, “In certain embodiments, only a textual form of the communication is made part of the SFC.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou's invention of displaying bullet screens in a virtual three-dimensional space scene, as modified by Li, with the features of Black's invention of displaying the avatar of the spectator who originated a displayed communication relatively larger than the other avatars. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this combination for the following reasons. First, Black expressly teaches that "avatar 902b is shown to be relatively larger than the rest of the avatars to better indicate from an originator of the communication," which identifies for the viewer exactly which user sent the communication currently being displayed. Second, Black teaches that the displayed communication, including its "textual form," is "tagged to avatar JLin 902b," so the displayed comment and the enlarged avatar of its sender are presented together. Third, the bullet screens that Zhou's virtual reality device obtains are sent by a plurality of terminal devices, and applying Black's enlargement of the originator's avatar while the corresponding bullet screen is displayed predictably lets the viewer attribute each currently displayed comment to its sending user within the virtual reality space.
Regarding claim 7, Zhou as modified by Li discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein, the displaying the bullet comment information in the bullet comment display region, comprises: displaying at least one of bullet comment content and a user icon or user identification respectively corresponding to the bullet comment content in the bullet comment display region, and simultaneously displaying at least one of the user icon or user identification of a virtual character of each user in the virtual reality space.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Black discloses displaying at least one of bullet comment content and a user icon or user identification respectively corresponding to the bullet comment content in the bullet comment display region, and simultaneously displaying at least one of the user icon or user identification of a virtual character of each user in the virtual reality space (para 69, “In FIG. 9C, a VR scene is shown to receive SFC containing avatars 902b, 904b, 906b, and 908b corresponding respectively to spectators 902, 904, 906, and 908. Additionally, the SFC contains expression 926 tagged to avatar JLin 902b. In certain embodiments like the one shown, avatar 902b is shown to be relatively larger than the rest of the avatars to better indicate from an originator of the communication.”; also, para 61, “For example, in FIG. 8A a VR scene 801 is shown to have SFC in the form of a column of spectator avatars 802, 804, 806, and 808. The same spectators are shown to be arranged in a grid form in VR scene 803 of FIG. 8B and in floating form in VR scene 805 of FIG. 8C.”; also, para 70, “Also shown in VR scene 1001 are avatars 1004 and 1006, who appear neutral, and an indication 1008 that spectator LBJ has just entered the social VR interactive space.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou's invention of displaying bullet screens in a virtual three-dimensional space scene, as modified by Li, with the features of Black's invention of displaying a textual communication tagged to the named avatar of its originating spectator together with a column of the avatars of the spectators. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this combination for the following reasons. First, Black expressly teaches that "the SFC contains expression 926 tagged to avatar JLin 902b," so the displayed comment content is presented together with the identification of the user corresponding to that comment. Second, Black teaches "SFC in the form of a column of spectator avatars 802, 804, 806, and 808," so the avatars identifying each spectating user are displayed simultaneously in the scene. Third, Black teaches "an indication 1008 that spectator LBJ has just entered the social VR interactive space," so each user present is identified by name to the viewer, and applying these identification features to the bullet screens that Zhou obtains from the plurality of terminal devices predictably lets the viewer know both who wrote the currently displayed comment and which users are present in the virtual reality space.
Regarding claim 18, Zhou as modified by Li discloses the electronic device according to claim 17, wherein, the computer program, which, when executed by a processor, further performs: virtual character of a target user in the virtual reality space while displaying the bullet comment information in the bullet comment display region, wherein the target user is a sending user corresponding to the currently displayed bullet comment information.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Black discloses highlight a virtual character of a target user in the virtual reality space while displaying the bullet comment information in the bullet comment display region, wherein the target user is a sending user corresponding to the currently displayed bullet comment information (para 69, “In FIG. 9C, a VR scene is shown to receive SFC containing avatars 902b, 904b, 906b, and 908b corresponding respectively to spectators 902, 904, 906, and 908. Additionally, the SFC contains expression 926 tagged to avatar JLin 902b. In certain embodiments like the one shown, avatar 902b is shown to be relatively larger than the rest of the avatars to better indicate from an originator of the communication.”; also, para 69, “In certain embodiments, only a textual form of the communication is made part of the SFC”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou's invention of an apparatus with a processor that executes a stored program to display bullet screens in a virtual three-dimensional space scene, as modified by Li, with the features of Black's invention of displaying the avatar of the spectator who originated a displayed communication relatively larger than the other avatars. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this combination for the following reasons. First, Black expressly teaches that "avatar 902b is shown to be relatively larger than the rest of the avatars to better indicate from an originator of the communication," which identifies for the viewer exactly which user sent the communication currently being displayed. Second, Black teaches that the displayed communication, including its "textual form," is "tagged to avatar JLin 902b," so the displayed comment and the enlarged avatar of its sender are presented together. Third, the bullet screens that Zhou's processor obtains are sent by a plurality of terminal devices, and applying Black's enlargement of the originator's avatar while the corresponding bullet screen is displayed predictably lets the viewer attribute each currently displayed comment to its sending user within the virtual reality space.
Regarding claim 19, Zhou as modified by Li discloses the electronic device according to claim 17, wherein, the computer program, which, when executed by a processor, further performs: display at least one of bullet comment content and a user icon or user identification respectively corresponding to the bullet comment content in the bullet comment display region, and simultaneously display at least one of the user icon or user identification of a virtual character of each user in the virtual reality space. Zhou does not disclose display at least one of bullet comment content and a user icon or user identification respectively corresponding to the bullet comment content in the bullet comment display region, and simultaneously display at least one of the user icon or user identification of a virtual character of each user in the virtual reality space.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Black discloses display at least one of bullet comment content and a user icon or user identification respectively corresponding to the bullet comment content in the bullet comment display region, and simultaneously display at least one of the user icon or user identification of a virtual character of each user in the virtual reality space (para 69, “In FIG. 9C, a VR scene is shown to receive SFC containing avatars 902b, 904b, 906b, and 908b corresponding respectively to spectators 902, 904, 906, and 908. Additionally, the SFC contains expression 926 tagged to avatar JLin 902b. In certain embodiments like the one shown, avatar 902b is shown to be relatively larger than the rest of the avatars to better indicate from an originator of the communication.”; also, para 61, “For example, in FIG. 8A a VR scene 801 is shown to have SFC in the form of a column of spectator avatars 802, 804, 806, and 808. The same spectators are shown to be arranged in a grid form in VR scene 803 of FIG. 8B and in floating form in VR scene 805 of FIG. 8C.”; also, para 70, “Also shown in VR scene 1001 are avatars 1004 and 1006, who appear neutral, and an indication 1008 that spectator LBJ has just entered the social VR interactive space.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou's invention of an apparatus with a processor that executes a stored program to display bullet screens in a virtual three-dimensional space scene, as modified by Li, with the features of Black's invention of displaying a textual communication tagged to the named avatar of its originating spectator together with a column of the avatars of the spectators. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this combination for the following reasons. First, Black expressly teaches that "the SFC contains expression 926 tagged to avatar JLin 902b," so the displayed comment content is presented together with the identification of the user corresponding to that comment. Second, Black teaches "SFC in the form of a column of spectator avatars 802, 804, 806, and 808," so the avatars identifying each spectating user are displayed simultaneously in the scene. Third, Black teaches "an indication 1008 that spectator LBJ has just entered the social VR interactive space," so each user present is identified by name to the viewer, and applying these identification features to the bullet screens that Zhou's processor obtains from the plurality of terminal devices predictably lets the viewer know both who wrote the currently displayed comment and which users are present in the virtual reality space.
Regarding claim 20, Zhou as modified by Li discloses the non-transient computer-readable storage medium according to claim 16, wherein, the computer program, which, when executed by a processor, further performs: highlight a virtual character of a target user in the virtual reality space while displaying the bullet comment information in the bullet comment display region, wherein the target user is a sending user corresponding to the currently displayed bullet comment information. Zhou does not disclose highlight a virtual character of a target user in the virtual reality space while displaying the bullet comment information in the bullet comment display region, wherein the target user is a sending user corresponding to the currently displayed bullet comment information.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Black discloses highlight a virtual character of a target user in the virtual reality space while displaying the bullet comment information in the bullet comment display region, wherein the target user is a sending user corresponding to the currently displayed bullet comment information (para 69, “In FIG. 9C, a VR scene is shown to receive SFC containing avatars 902b, 904b, 906b, and 908b corresponding respectively to spectators 902, 904, 906, and 908. Additionally, the SFC contains expression 926 tagged to avatar JLin 902b. In certain embodiments like the one shown, avatar 902b is shown to be relatively larger than the rest of the avatars to better indicate from an originator of the communication.”; also, para 69, “In certain embodiments, only a textual form of the communication is made part of the SFC.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou's invention of a storage medium storing instructions for displaying bullet screens in a virtual three-dimensional space scene, as modified by Li, with the features of Black's invention of displaying the avatar of the spectator who originated a displayed communication relatively larger than the other avatars. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this combination for the following reasons. First, Black expressly teaches that "avatar 902b is shown to be relatively larger than the rest of the avatars to better indicate from an originator of the communication," which identifies for the viewer exactly which user sent the communication currently being displayed. Second, Black teaches that the displayed communication, including its "textual form," is "tagged to avatar JLin 902b," so the displayed comment and the enlarged avatar of its sender are presented together. Third, the bullet screens obtained under Zhou's stored instructions are sent by a plurality of terminal devices, and applying Black's enlargement of the originator's avatar while the corresponding bullet screen is displayed predictably lets the viewer attribute each currently displayed comment to its sending user within the virtual reality space.
Regarding claim 21, Zhou as modified by Li discloses non-transient computer-readable storage medium according to claim 16, wherein, the computer program, which, when executed by a processor, further performs: display at least one of bullet comment content and a user icon or user identification respectively corresponding to the bullet comment content in the bullet comment display region, and simultaneously display at least one of the user icon or user identification of a virtual character of each user in the virtual reality space. Zhou does not disclose display at least one of bullet comment content and a user icon or user identification respectively corresponding to the bullet comment content in the bullet comment display region, and simultaneously display at least one of the user icon or user identification of a virtual character of each user in the virtual reality space.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Black discloses display at least one of bullet comment content and a user icon or user identification respectively corresponding to the bullet comment content in the bullet comment display region, and simultaneously display at least one of the user icon or user identification of a virtual character of each user in the virtual reality space (para 69, “In FIG. 9C, a VR scene is shown to receive SFC containing avatars 902b, 904b, 906b, and 908b corresponding respectively to spectators 902, 904, 906, and 908. Additionally, the SFC contains expression 926 tagged to avatar JLin 902b. In certain embodiments like the one shown, avatar 902b is shown to be relatively larger than the rest of the avatars to better indicate from an originator of the communication.”; also, para 61, “For example, in FIG. 8A a VR scene 801 is shown to have SFC in the form of a column of spectator avatars 802, 804, 806, and 808. The same spectators are shown to be arranged in a grid form in VR scene 803 of FIG. 8B and in floating form in VR scene 805 of FIG. 8C.”; also, para 70, “Also shown in VR scene 1001 are avatars 1004 and 1006, who appear neutral, and an indication 1008 that spectator LBJ has just entered the social VR interactive space.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou's invention of a storage medium storing instructions for displaying bullet screens in a virtual three-dimensional space scene, as modified by Li, with the features of Black's invention of displaying a textual communication tagged to the named avatar of its originating spectator together with a column of the avatars of the spectators. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this combination for the following reasons. First, Black expressly teaches that "the SFC contains expression 926 tagged to avatar JLin 902b," so the displayed comment content is presented together with the identification of the user corresponding to that comment. Second, Black teaches "SFC in the form of a column of spectator avatars 802, 804, 806, and 808," so the avatars identifying each spectating user are displayed simultaneously in the scene. Third, Black teaches "an indication 1008 that spectator LBJ has just entered the social VR interactive space," so each user present is identified by name to the viewer, and applying these identification features to the bullet screens obtained under Zhou's stored instructions predictably lets the viewer know both who wrote the currently displayed comment and which users are present in the virtual reality space.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou (U.S. Pub. No. 20190392636) in view of Li (U.S. Pub. No. 20200007940), further in view of Kawakami et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 20210211632).
Regarding claim 9, Zhou as modified by Li discloses the method according to claim 8, preset region is a floor region in the virtual reality space.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Kawakami discloses wherein, the preset region is a floor region in the virtual reality space (para 75, “A comment posting unit ilk has a configuration for posting a comment that is letter information displayed as an independent virtual object as with an object in the shape of a large letter, such as performing display over the display screen of the live content or performing display on the surface of the virtual object in the virtual space 30, to the server 2.”; also, para 124, “As an example of- using the ribbon-type virtual object 12-1d, a schematic view illustrated in FIG. 17(A) indicates a production in which the ribbon-type virtual object 12-1d that is a virtual item thrown in the virtual space 30 falls from the top to the bottom and lands on the ground of the virtual space.”; also, para 124, “Throwing the virtual object, for example, is common to a sense of throwing "Ohineri" onto the stage of the theater or throwing bouquet in a wedding, and such a production in which the virtual item falls to the bottom and lands on the ground of the virtual space 30 is a production of a natural sense and is easy to get the compathy of the viewer.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou's invention of bullet screens moved and displayed along a preset track in a virtual three-dimensional space scene, as modified by Li, with the features of Kawakami's invention of displayed virtual objects that move to and land on the ground of the virtual space. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this combination for the following reasons. First, Kawakami expressly teaches that a production "in which the virtual item falls to the bottom and lands on the ground of the virtual space 30 is a production of a natural sense and is easy to get the compathy of the viewer," so the ground of the virtual space is a destination region that viewers naturally accept for displayed objects. Second, Kawakami teaches that a comment is "letter information displayed as an independent virtual object" in the virtual space, so a comment can move within the virtual space and come to rest in the same manner as Kawakami's other displayed virtual objects. Third, Zhou teaches that a bullet screen "is moved and displayed along a preset track at a predetermined time interval in the three-dimensional space scene," so setting the destination of Zhou's preset track at the floor region of the virtual reality space predictably moves older bullet comments out of the viewing area in front of the played frame while keeping them visible at a natural resting place in the scene.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou (U.S. Pub. No. 20190392636) in view of Li (U.S. Pub. No. 20200007940), further in view of Hamilton et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 20090046109).
Regarding claim 10, Zhou as modified by Li discloses the method according to claim 8, wherein, the displaying the bullet comment information in the bullet comment display region, further comprises: adjusting display transparency of a virtual character of the user in the preset region. Zhou does not disclose adjusting display transparency of a virtual character of the user in the preset region.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Hamilton discloses adjusting display transparency of a virtual character of the user in the preset region (para 92, “The virtual universe host may apply a rendering effect to each projected avatar.”; also, para 92, “As a second example, the rendering effect may be an increase in the translucency of surfaces in the projected avatar as compared to the translucency of surfaces of the associated avatar.”’; also, para 97, “If the projected avatar is in view of a client computer, the virtual universe host may apply a rendering effect to render the projected avatar as transparent (step 1006).; also, para 97, “Alternatively, the virtual universe host may apply a rendering effect to render the projected avatar as translucent.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou's invention of displaying bullet screens in a virtual three-dimensional space scene, as modified by Li, with the features of Hamilton's invention of applying rendering effects that render a user's avatar transparent or translucent in a virtual universe. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this combination for the following reasons. First, Hamilton expressly teaches that "the rendering effect may be an increase in the translucency of surfaces in the projected avatar," so the display transparency of a user's virtual character is a known, adjustable rendering property in a virtual environment. Second, Hamilton teaches applying the rendering effect when the avatar "is in view of a client computer," so the transparency adjustment is applied precisely when the virtual character is visible to a viewing user and would otherwise affect what that user sees. Third, in the method of Zhou as modified, the bullet comment information is scrolled toward and displayed in the preset region, and applying Hamilton's transparency adjustment to a virtual character located in that preset region predictably keeps the displayed bullet comment information legible while the virtual character remains present in the virtual reality space.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou (U.S. Pub. No. 20190392636) in view of Li (U.S. Pub. No. 20200007940), further in view of Wang (U.S. Pub. No. 20180262795).
Regarding claim 12, Zhou as modified by Li discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein, the acquiring bullet comment information to be displayed, comprises: requesting a server to acquire the bullet comment information (Zhou: para 38, “The server 31 may further receive and store bullet screens sent by a plurality of terminal devices. The VR device 10 may obtain, from the server 31, the bullet screens sent by the plurality of terminal devices and play the bullet screens in a three-dimensional space scene through a display (for example, HIVID 11) of the VR device 10.”; also, para 50, “As a specific example, the VR device 10 may obtain bullet screen data of the first bullet screen from the server 31 and display the first bullet screen according to the bullet screen data of the first bullet screen.”), displaying the bullet comment information in the bullet comment display region, comprises: displaying the bullet comment information (Zhou: para 109, “Display a first bullet screen at a first position in the three-dimensional space scene”) bullet comment display region. Zhou does not disclose extracting from the preset queue and storing the bullet comment information into a preset queue; according to a time sequence of the bullet comment to be displayed, extracting a preset number of bullet comment information from the preset queue in sequence.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Li discloses storing the bullet comment information into a preset queue (para 18, “:The message service 5 may be configured to process the plurality of messages. The message service 5 may implement a queue or otherwise prioritize processing of the plurality messages based on information, e.g., time stamps, incremented identifier, associated with corresponding comments.”; also, para 18, “The message service 5 may store, at least temporarily, the plurality of messages. The message service 5 may store the messages in a datastore, such as a database.”), while wang discloses extracting from the preset queue and according to a time sequence of the bullet comment to be displayed, extracting a preset number of bullet comment information from the preset queue in sequence (para 33, “Alternatively or additionally, before determining the target bullet curtain, the plurality of bullet curtains may be sorted according to sending times of the bullet curtains. Then the VR device may start to make the determination for the bullet curtain which sending time is closest to the current time, until all the bullet curtains have been traversed. The other option is to preset a number of target bullet curtains, and complete the step of determining the target bullet curtain once the number of the target bullet curtains reaches the preset number.”; also, para 26, “In step S103, the VR device may display the target bullet curtain in a display area corresponding to the visual field of the user.”; also, para 27, “In the former implementation, more than one target bullet curtains may be displayed in a certain order. As an example, according to a sequential order of sending times of the target bullet curtains, the target bullet curtain which sending time is closest to the current time may be displayed first.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhou's invention of obtaining bullet screens from a server and displaying them in a virtual three-dimensional space scene with the features of Li's invention of a message service that stores comments in a queue prioritized by time stamps and Wang's invention of determining target bullet curtains in sending-time order until a preset number is reached. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this combination for the following reasons. First, Li expressly teaches that the message service "may implement a queue or otherwise prioritize processing of the plurality messages based on information, e.g., time stamps, incremented identifier, associated with corresponding comments," which supplies orderly storage for the bullet screens that Zhou's virtual reality device obtains from the server. Second, Wang teaches sorting the bullet curtains "according to sending times of the bullet curtains" and completing the determination "once the number of the target bullet curtains reaches the preset number," which bounds how many time-ordered bullet comments are taken from the stored set at a time. Third, Wang teaches that "the target bullet curtain which sending time is closest to the current time may be displayed first," so extracting and displaying a preset number of comments in time sequence predictably keeps the bullet comments displayed in Zhou's three-dimensional space scene synchronized with the content being played and prevents the bullet comment display region from being flooded with more comments than the viewer can read.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jai Li whose telephone number is (571)272-1170. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thu between 06:00-16:00 EST.
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/JAI W LI/Junior Examiner, Art Unit 2613
/XIAO M WU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2613
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