DETAILED ACTION
The following is an initial Office Action upon examination of the above-identified application on the merits. Claims 1-20 are pending in this application.
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 .
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.
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Applicant has complied with the conditions for receiving the benefit of an earlier filing date under 35 U.S.C. 120.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The examiner has considered the information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 24 October 2025, 6 September 2024 and 10 June 2024.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: reference number 502 in figure 5.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference characters "502" in figure 5 and "503" (see [0075], [0076]) have both been used to designate mapping the detected user gesture to the operation control command of the source IoT device.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference characters "503" in figure 5 and "505" (see [0076], [0077]) have both been used to designate adjusting the operational state of the source IoT device based on the mapping of the detected user gesture to the operation control command of the source IoT device.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 11 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/102(a)(2) as being anticipated by CN 107407947 B to CRONIN et al.
As per claim 1, the CRONIN et al. reference discloses a method of a device supporting augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), the method comprising: detecting an occurrence of at least one sensory discomfort (see page 7, 1st paragraph, “particularly high reading of the temperature of the user that may indicate the fever”) to a user when the user uses the device (see page 7 2nd paragraph, “wearable device 204”) supporting the AR or the VR; determining a source internet-of-thing (IT) device (“Internet of Things device 208”) among one or more IoT devices (“Internet of Things device 208”) triggering the occurrence of the at least one sensory discomfort (“particularly high reading of the temperature of the user that may indicate the fever”) to the user by an operational state (see page 7, 1st paragraph, “increase its temperature to help the user overcome the fever or reduce the thermostat so that the user is more comfortable”) of the source IoT device (“Internet of Things device 208”); providing at least one suggestion (“increase its temperature to help the user overcome the fever or reduce the thermostat so that the user is more comfortable”) of the source IoT device (“Internet of Things device 208”) to the user though a user interface (“wearable device interface”) of the device (“wearable device 204”); and adjusting, based on a response (“device commands”) of the user to the provided at least one suggestion (“increase its temperature to help the user overcome the fever or reduce the thermostat so that the user is more comfortable”), the operational state (“increases the ambient air temperature”) of the source IoT device (“intelligent thermostat”).
As per claim 11, the CRONIN et al. reference discloses a device supporting augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), comprising: memory (see page 8 2nd paragraph, “memory”) storing instructions (“one or more instruction set”); at least one processor (“processor 246”) configured to, when executing the instructions (“one or more instruction set”), cause the device (“wearable device 204”) to perform operations comprising: detecting an occurrence of at least one sensory discomfort (see page 7, 1st paragraph, “particularly high reading of the temperature of the user that may indicate the fever”) to a user when the user uses the device (“wearable device 204”) supporting the AR or the VR, determining a source internet-of-thing (IoT) device (“Internet of Things device 208”) triggering the occurrence of the at least one sensory discomfort (“particularly high reading of the temperature of the user that may indicate the fever”) to the user by an operational state (see page 7, 1st paragraph, “increase its temperature to help the user overcome the fever or reduce the thermostat so that the user is more comfortable”) of the source IoT device (“Internet of Things device 208”), providing at least one suggestion (“increase its temperature to help the user overcome the fever or reduce the thermostat so that the user is more comfortable”) to the user via a user interface (“wearable device interface”) of the device (“wearable device 204”), and adjusting, based on a response (“device commands”) of the to the provided at least one suggestion (“increase its temperature to help the user overcome the fever or reduce the thermostat so that the user is more comfortable”), the operational (“increases the ambient air temperature”) of the source IoT device (“intelligent thermostat”).
As per claim 20, the CRONIN et al. reference discloses a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a device supporting augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) cause the device to perform operations, the operations comprising: detecting an occurrence of at least one sensory discomfort (see page 7, 1st paragraph, “particularly high reading of the temperature of the user that may indicate the fever”) to a user when the user uses the device (see page 7 2nd paragraph, “wearable device 204”) supporting the AR or the VR; determining a source internet-of-thing (IT) device (“Internet of Things device 208”) among one or more IoT devices (“Internet of Things device 208”) triggering the occurrence of the at least one sensory discomfort (“particularly high reading of the temperature of the user that may indicate the fever”) to the user by an operational state (see page 7, 1st paragraph, “increase its temperature to help the user overcome the fever or reduce the thermostat so that the user is more comfortable”) of the source IoT device (“Internet of Things device 208”); providing at least one suggestion (“increase its temperature to help the user overcome the fever or reduce the thermostat so that the user is more comfortable”) of the source IoT device (“Internet of Things device 208”) to the user though a user interface (“wearable device interface”) of the device (“wearable device 204”); and adjusting, based on a response (“device commands”) of the user to the provided at least one suggestion (“increase its temperature to help the user overcome the fever or reduce the thermostat so that the user is more comfortable”), the operational state (“increases the ambient air temperature”) of the source IoT device (“intelligent thermostat”).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 2 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 107407947 B to CRONIN et al. in view of US 2019/0368103 A1 (US 10,787,767 B2) to CHOUNG et al.
As per claims 2 and 12, the CRONIN et al. reference does not expressly disclose the further limitations taught by the CHOUNG et al. reference, namely: detecting, using a machine learning (ML) model (see [0136], “machine learning”), the occurrence of the at least one sensory discomfort (“sensible noise”) to the user, based on at least one of historical discomfort data of the user, VR data associated with the device (“position of the user”), and VR activity performance data (“operation profile”) of the user.
Before the invention was filed, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the wearable app algorithm taught by the CRONIN et al. reference with the machine learning taught by the CHOUNG et al. reference.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to modify the wearable app algorithm with the machine learning to the sensor data and the calculated data by one or more wearable sensors.
Claim(s) 5, 6, 15 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 107407947 B to CRONIN et al. in view of US 2022/0253137A1 (US 11,983,313 B2) to Das et al.
As per claims 5 and 15, the CRONIN et al. reference does not expressly disclose the further limitations taught by the Das et al. reference, namely: monitoring VR screen activity (see [0025], “taking an online course, playing computer games, reading news/blogs, shopping, and/or engaging in online transactions”) of the user when the user uses the device; and generating VR activity performance data (“capture physical attributes or other body information of the user while the user is performing these tasks”) of the user based on the monitoring the VR screen activity (“taking an online course, playing computer games, reading news/blogs, shopping, and/or engaging in online transactions”) of the user, wherein the generated VR activity performance data (“capture physical attributes or other body information of the user while the user is performing these tasks”) of the user comprises at least one of content information activity (“taking an online course, playing computer games, reading news/blogs, shopping, and/or engaging in online transactions”) and information of movement of the user (“capture physical attributes or other body information of the user while the user is performing these tasks”) during the VR screen activity (“taking an online course, playing computer games, reading news/blogs, shopping, and/or engaging in online transactions”) of the user.
Before the invention was filed, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the wearable device taught by the CRONIN et al. reference with the device management and content management taught by the Das et al. reference.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to modify the wearable device with the device management and content management to provide the physical attributes or other body information including facial information (e.g., eye redness, eye dryness, eye size, blinking rate, yawn) of the user, gesture information (e.g., raising a hand, nodding off), and/or body measurement data associated with measurements of the user's physical attributes or body functions (e.g., heart rate, temperature, perspiration rate) and health information (e.g., eye strain, headache, neck pain).
As per claims 6 and 16, the CRONIN et al. reference does not expressly disclose the further limitations taught by the Das et al. reference, namely: receiving the VR data device (see [0025], “the physical attributes or other body information may include facial information (e.g., eye redness, eye dryness, eye size, blinking rate, yawn) of the user; body functions (e.g., heart rate, temperature, perspiration rate)”) from one or more sensors (see [0050], “camera 640, perspiration sensor 642, heart rate sensor 644, motion sensor 646”) of the device (“user device 300”), wherein the VR data device (see [0025], “the physical attributes or other body information may include facial information (e.g., eye redness, eye dryness, eye size, blinking rate, yawn) of the user; body functions (e.g., heart rate, temperature, perspiration rate)”) comprises at least one of information associated with at least one of a heart rate (“heart rate”) of the user, a breathing pattern of the user, skin conductance (“perspiration rate”) of the user, odor in surrounding of the user, a light luminance level of a glass screen of the device, facial expression (“facial information”) of the user, an eye blink rate (“blinking rate”) of the user, eye movement of the user, or pupil dilation (“eye size”) of the user.
Claim(s) 7-10 and 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 107407947 B to CRONIN et al. in view of US 2019/0129176 A1 (US 10,754,161 B2) to ENDO et al.
As per claims 7 and 17, the CRONIN et al. reference does not expressly disclose the further limitations taught by the ENDO et al. reference, namely: monitoring an operational state (see [0056], “operation state (present operation state)”) of each of one or more IoT devices (see [0067], “home electrical apparatus 30”); and generating IoT device context data (“updates the information stored”) for a corresponding IoT device (“home electrical apparatus 30”) of the one or more IoT devices (“home electrical apparatus 30”), based on the monitored operational state (“monitoring the operation state”), wherein the IoT device context data (“updates the information stored”) comprises the monitored operational state (“monitoring the operation state”) of the corresponding IoT device (“home electrical apparatus 30”) of the one or more IoT devices (“home electrical apparatus 30”) and an operational feature (“setting state”) of each of the one or more IoT devices (“home electrical apparatus 30”) which are configured to modify the monitored operational state (“monitoring the operation state”).
Before the invention was filed, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify one or more device commands taught by the CRONIN et al. reference with the gestures taught by ENDO et al.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to modify one or more device commands with the gestures to further enable a wearable device to control an Internet of Things.
As per claims 8 and 18, the CRONIN et al. reference does not expressly disclose the further limitations taught by the ENDO et al. reference, namely: determining, based on the IoT device context data (“updates the information stored”) and the detection of the occurrence of the at least one sensory discomfort, a correlation (see [0076], “determined gesture matches any of the gestures”) between the one or more IoT devices (“home electrical apparatus 30”), the operational feature, and the at least one sensory discomfort; and determining, based on the determined correlation (“determined gesture matches any of the gestures”), the source IoT device (see [0042], “candidate (also including the recommended setting RM) corresponding to the matching gesture”) and the operational feature (“recommended setting RM”) of the source IoT device (“home electrical apparatus 30”) which is configured to modify the operational state “operation state (present operation state)”)of the source IoT device (“home electrical apparatus 30”).
As per claims 9 and 19, the CRONIN et al. reference does not expressly disclose the further limitations taught by the ENDO et al. reference, namely: generating an AR object (see [0031], “views images displayed … an apparatus selection screen G1 or an operation selection screen G2”) for controlling the operational feature of the source IoT device (“home electrical apparatus 30”); and providing, to the user, the generated AR object “views images displayed … an apparatus selection screen G1 or an operation selection screen G2”) as the user interface (see [0035], “display 12”) in the device (see [0032], “smart glasses 10”).
As per claim 10, the CRONIN et al. reference does not expressly disclose the further limitations taught by the ENDO et al. reference, namely: detecting (see [0042], “sensor 13”) a user gesture (“gesture performed by the user”) as the response (see [0034], “operational input”) of the user to the provided at least one suggestion (see [0042], “recommended setting RM”); mapping the detected user gesture (see [0076], “determined gesture matches any of the gestures”) to an operation control command (“correct-answer models”) of the source IoT device (see [0030], “home electrical apparatus 30”); and adjusting the operational state (“easily operate”) of the source IoT device (“home electrical apparatus 30”) based on the mapping of the detected user gesture (“determined gesture matches any of the gestures”) to the operation control command (“correct-answer models”) of the source IoT device (“home electrical apparatus 30”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4, 13 and 14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The following references are cited to further show the state of the art with respect to user comfort management via augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR):
US 12,093,094 B1 to Kappler et al.
CA 3228053 A1 to RUTTENBERG
CN 209433136 U to YIN et al.
CN 207037228 U to LU et al.
CN 108445635 A to ZHAO et al.
CN 107703872 A to XIONG
CN 106852193 A to BAKER et al.
WO 2025/070921 A1 to BHATT et al.
WO 2022/172724 A1 to OBA
WO 2021/145131 A1 to OBA et al.
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/CRYSTAL J BARNES-BULLOCK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2117 30 September 2026
