DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejections of claims 1, 14, and 20 under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Therefore, the rejections of claims 1, 14, and 20 are hereby maintained.
Applicant argues that the combination of Yoneda, Sato, and Sakakima does not teach or suggest “output/outputting virtual camera path data including control information recorded on a frame-by-frame basis, wherein the control information corresponding to a particular frame of the virtual viewpoint video includes virtual viewpoint information for specifying the virtual viewpoint for the particular frame and setting information for specifying the subject to be displayed in the particular frame”.
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Sakakima discloses output/outputting virtual camera path data including control information recorded on a frame-by-frame basis, wherein the control information corresponding to a particular frame of the virtual viewpoint video includes virtual viewpoint information for specifying the virtual viewpoint for the particular frame and setting information for specifying the subject to be displayed in the particular frame (Sakakima, para’s 0036-0057, generating and managing a virtual camera path by frames, i.e., on a frame-by-frame basis, the frames corresponding to the virtual camera path include a plurality of intermediate frames generated by interpolating between two or more keyframes. A frame holds information required for generating each image constituting a video. More specifically, a frame holds information of the time of a scene and the position/orientation of the camera “virtual viewpoint information”. The time of a scene is expressed by, for example, a time code in which the time at which the game to be captured is started is set as 00 hour:00 minute:00 second:00 frame. The position of the camera is expressed by, for example, three coordinates, x, y, and z by setting an origin in the image capturing space. The orientation of the camera is expressed by, for example, three angles, pan, tilt, and roll. The number of the frames included in a timeline is determined according to the number of images reproduced per second (frame rate); para’s 0036-0037, subjects “setting information”, such as a player and a ball, whose positions change will be referred to as foregrounds. Also, subjects, such as a field (grass field), other than the foreground will be referred to as backgrounds. First, a plurality of captured images captured by the actual cameras 301 is separated into foregrounds and backgrounds. Then, a 3D form and position of the foregrounds, such as a player and a ball, are calculated from a plurality of separated foregrounds. Next, the foregrounds are reconstructed from the 3D form and position in accordance with the viewpoint of the virtual camera 302. Next, a single background is generated from a plurality of separated backgrounds. Then, a virtual viewpoint image is generated by compositing the reconstructed foregrounds on the generated background; see also para’s 0086-0088, generating virtual camera path data including generating virtual camera viewpoints and setting subject to be displayed in the virtual images).
Applicant's arguments with respect to the rejections of claims 4, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17 and 22 have been considered but are moot in view of new ground(s) of rejection.
As to any other arguments not specifically addressed, they are the same as those discussed above, or are described in the prior art rejection sections below.
Response to Amendment
In response to the amendment, the rejections of claims 18-19 under 35 U.S.C. 101 are withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
5. Claims 11 and 16 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Sakakima (US Publication 2022/0006995).
Regarding claim 11, Sakakima discloses an information processing apparatus comprising one or more memories storing instructions and one or more processors that execute the instructions: to obtain virtual camera path data including control information recorded on a frame-by-frame basis, wherein the control information corresponding to a particular frame of the virtual viewpoint video includes virtual viewpoint information for specifying a virtual viewpoint for the particular frame in a frame of a virtual viewpoint video and setting information for specifying a subject to be displayed in the particular frame; and to generate a frame image that includes the subject specified by the setting information and that corresponds to the virtual viewpoint specified by the virtual viewpoint information (Sakakima, para’s 0041-0045, a virtual camera path defines the movement of the virtual camera 302 in a video that is generated by playing back a plurality of virtual viewpoint images or CG images in order. This virtual camera path is managed by frames, in a timeline, i.e., on a frame-by-frame basis. A frame holds information required for generating each image constituting a video. More specifically, a frame holds information of the time of a scene and the position/orientation of the camera, i.e., virtual viewpoint information as control information. The time of a scene is expressed by, for example, a time code in which the time at which the game to be captured is started is set as 00 hour:00 minute:00 second:00 frame. The position of the camera is expressed by, for example, three coordinates, x, y, and z by setting an origin in the image capturing space. The orientation of the camera is expressed by, for example, three angles, pan, tilt, and roll.; para. 0037, during the process of generating a virtual viewpoint image, subjects, such as a player and a ball, whose positions change will be referred to as foregrounds. Also, subjects, such as a grass field, other than the foreground will be referred to as backgrounds. First, a plurality of captured images captured by the actual cameras 301 is separated into foregrounds and backgrounds. Then, a 3D form and position of the foregrounds, such as a player and a ball, are calculated from a plurality of separated foregrounds. Next, the foregrounds are reconstructed from the 3D form and position in accordance with the viewpoint of the virtual camera 302. Next, a single background is generated from a plurality of separated backgrounds. Then, a virtual viewpoint image is generated by compositing the reconstructed foregrounds on the generated background; specifying foreground subject(s) in the image indicates the subject(s) as control information; fig’s 7, 8, and 13, displaying/outputting images, subjects in the images and virtual viewpoint information).
Claim 16 is rejected for the same reasons set forth in claim 11.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. Claim 13 is rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakakima, as applied to claim 11 above, in view of Takahashi (English Translation of Japanese Publication JP2019079468 05-2019).
Regarding claim 13, Sakakima discloses the information processing apparatus according to claim 11.
Sakakima does not explicitly disclose but Takahashi discloses wherein the one or more processors execute the instructions: to obtain virtual camera path data indicating the control information; and to generate the virtual viewpoint video using subject data representing the subject, the subject data being stored in a storage device separately from the virtual camera path data (Takahashi, para’s 0010-0034, image processing system 100 provides a user with virtual viewpoint content corresponding to a virtual camera path designated by an operator, wherein a virtual camera operation user interface (UI) 330 accepts, from an operator, an instruction for designating a viewpoint related to the generation of a virtual viewpoint image, manages a virtual camera path 8002 corresponding to an operation by the operator, and transmits a virtual camera parameter to a backend server 270, and the backend server 270 uses the received virtual camera parameter to generate a virtual viewpoint image).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Takahashi’s features into Sakakima’s invention for effectively controlling playback of virtual viewpoint video using subject data and virtual camera path stored separately from each other.
7. Claims 12 and 17 are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakakima (US Publication 2022/0006995) in view of Yoneda (US Publication 2019/0221029).
Regarding claim 12, Sakakima discloses an information processing apparatus comprising one or more memories storing instructions and one or more processors that 1execute the instructions: to obtain virtual camera path data including control information recorded on a frame-by- frame basis, wherein the control information corresponding to a particular frame of the virtual viewpoint video includes control information including (i) virtual viewpoint information for specifying a virtual viewpoint for the particular frame in a frame of a virtual viewpoint video and (ii) setting information for specifying a subject in the particular frame; and to generate, for the frame of the virtual viewpoint video, a frame image that corresponds to the virtual viewpoint specified by the virtual viewpoint information and that includes the subject, based on the captured image specified by the setting information (Sakakima, para’s 0041-0045, a virtual camera path defines the movement of the virtual camera 302 in a video that is generated by playing back a plurality of virtual viewpoint images or CG images in order. This virtual camera path is managed by frames, in a timeline, i.e., on a frame-by-frame basis. A frame holds information required for generating each image constituting a video. More specifically, a frame holds information of the time of a scene and the position/orientation of the camera, i.e., virtual viewpoint information as control information. The time of a scene is expressed by, for example, a time code in which the time at which the game to be captured is started is set as 00 hour:00 minute:00 second:00 frame. The position of the camera is expressed by, for example, three coordinates, x, y, and z by setting an origin in the image capturing space. The orientation of the camera is expressed by, for example, three angles, pan, tilt, and roll.; para. 0037, during the process of generating a virtual viewpoint image, subjects, such as a player and a ball, whose positions change will be referred to as foregrounds. Also, subjects, such as a grass field, other than the foreground will be referred to as backgrounds. First, a plurality of captured images captured by the actual cameras 301 is separated into foregrounds and backgrounds. Then, a 3D form and position of the foregrounds, such as a player and a ball, are calculated from a plurality of separated foregrounds. Next, the foregrounds are reconstructed from the 3D form and position in accordance with the viewpoint of the virtual camera 302. Next, a single background is generated from a plurality of separated backgrounds. Then, a virtual viewpoint image is generated by compositing the reconstructed foregrounds on the generated background; specifying foreground subject(s) in the image indicates the subject(s) as control information; fig’s 7, 8, and 13, displaying/outputting foreground subjects and the virtual viewpoint information).
Sakakima does not explicitly disclose but Yoneda discloses setting information for specifying a captured image, among a plurality of captured images obtained by capturing a subject from a plurality of positions, to be used to determine a color of the subject in the particular frame (Yoneda, para’s 0019-0038 and para’s 0069-0079, obtaining virtual viewpoint information, which is input by an operator through the input device 30, including information indicating the position and orientation (i.e., direction) of a virtual viewpoint. In addition, obtaining camera information includes: captured image data, which is obtained by capturing an image capturing area from multiple directions by use of multiple cameras, camera’s extrinsic parameter including the position and orientation of a camera (for example, a rotation matrix and a position vector, etc.), and camera’s intrinsic parameter such as a focal length, an image center, and a lens distortion parameter; the input device 30 accepts input of designation parameters that designate a virtual viewpoint for generating a virtual viewpoint image and designate a camera corresponding to an image to be used for coloring a foreground object 906, i.e., "virtual viewpoint information" and "setting information for indicating an image to be used for determining a color of a subject"; fig’s 7, 8, and 13, providing/outputting the camera information/captured image and the virtual viewpoint information).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Yoneda’s features into Sakakima’s invention for enhancing user’s playback experience by highlighting an object captured at different angles in a particular frame.
Claim 17 is rejected for the same reasons set forth in claim 12.
8. Claims 4, 15, and 22 are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoneda (US Publication 2019/0221029) in view of Sakakima (US Publication 2022/0006995).
Regarding claim 4, Yoneda discloses an information processing apparatus comprising one or more memories storing instructions and one or more processors that execute the instructions (Yoneda, fig. 2, an apparatus comprising CPU, storage device, executable program):
to obtain information for designating a virtual viewpoint in a frame of a virtual viewpoint video; to obtain information for designating a captured image, among a plurality of captured images obtained by capturing a subject from a plurality of positions, to be used to determine a color of the subject in the frame of the virtual viewpoint video; and to output control information including virtual viewpoint information for specifying the virtual viewpoint for the frame of the virtual viewpoint video and setting information for specifying the captured image to be used to determine the color of the subject in the frame (Yoneda, para’s 0019-0038 and para’s 0069-0079, obtaining virtual viewpoint information, which is input by an operator through the input device 30, including information indicating the position and orientation (i.e., direction) of a virtual viewpoint. In addition, obtaining camera information includes: captured image data, which is obtained by capturing an image capturing area from multiple directions by use of multiple cameras, camera’s extrinsic parameter including the position and orientation of a camera (for example, a rotation matrix and a position vector, etc.), and camera’s intrinsic parameter such as a focal length, an image center, and a lens distortion parameter; the input device 30 accepts input of designation parameters that designate a virtual viewpoint for generating a virtual viewpoint image and designate a camera for capturing an image to be used for coloring a foreground object 906, i.e., "virtual viewpoint information" and "setting information for indicating an image to be used for determining a color of a subject"; para. 0070, FIG. 9 illustrates a UI screen 900 on which an operator changes a parameter related to rendering of a virtual viewpoint image. The UI screen 900 includes an area for displaying the virtual viewpoint image 901, which is output from the output unit 140. Further, the UI screen 900 includes setting items of an allowable delay time 902, a rendering order 903, a prioritized rendering position 904, and a used camera 905. Noted that the present embodiment is not limited thereto, and the UI screen 900 may be provided with items or functions for adjusting and setting parameters such as the focal length of a virtual camera. An operator determines the position and orientation of a virtual viewpoint by use of the input device 30 and instructs the image processing apparatus 10 to generate a virtual viewpoint image while watching the virtual viewpoint image 901 displayed on the display device 40. That is, virtual viewpoint information is output from the input device 30 to the image processing apparatus 10. It is assumed that the objects to be rendered in the virtual viewpoint image 901 of FIG. 9 are the foreground object 906 and the background 907).
Yoneda does not explicitly disclose but Sakakima discloses to output virtual camera path data including control information recorded on a frame-by-frame basis, wherein the control information corresponding to a particular frame of the virtual viewpoint video includes the virtual viewpoint for the particular frame and the captured image of the subject in the particular frame (Sakakima, para’s 0036-0057, generating and managing a virtual camera path by frames, i.e., on a frame-by-frame basis, the frames corresponding to the virtual camera path include a plurality of intermediate frames generated by interpolating between two or more keyframes. A frame holds information required for generating each image constituting a video. More specifically, a frame holds information of the time of a scene and the position/orientation of the camera “virtual viewpoint information”. The time of a scene is expressed by, for example, a time code in which the time at which the game to be captured is started is set as 00 hour:00 minute:00 second:00 frame. The position of the camera is expressed by, for example, three coordinates, x, y, and z by setting an origin in the image capturing space. The orientation of the camera is expressed by, for example, three angles, pan, tilt, and roll. The number of the frames included in a timeline is determined according to the number of images reproduced per second (frame rate); para’s 0036-0037, subjects “setting information”, such as a player and a ball, whose positions change will be referred to as foregrounds. Also, subjects, such as a field (grass field), other than the foreground will be referred to as backgrounds. First, a plurality of captured images captured by the actual cameras 301 is separated into foregrounds and backgrounds. Then, a 3D form and position of the foregrounds, such as a player and a ball, are calculated from a plurality of separated foregrounds. Next, the foregrounds are reconstructed from the 3D form and position in accordance with the viewpoint of the virtual camera 302. Next, a single background is generated from a plurality of separated backgrounds. Then, a virtual viewpoint image is generated by compositing the reconstructed foregrounds on the generated background; see also para’s 0086-0088, generating virtual camera path data including generating virtual camera viewpoints and setting subject to be displayed in the virtual images).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Sakakima’s virtual camera path data into Yoneda’s invention for enhancing user’s playback experience by allowing user to navigate and view highlighted frames at different angles.
Claims 15 and 22 are rejected for the same reasons set forth in claim 4.
9. Claims 1-3, 5-6, 9-10, 14, and 20-21 are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoneda (US Publication 2019/0221029) in view of Sato et al. (US Publication 2019/0268587), and further in view of Sakakima (US Publication 2022/0006995).
Regarding claim 1, Yoneda discloses an information processing apparatus comprising one or more memories storing instructions and one or more processors that execute the instructions:
to obtain information designating a virtual viewpoint for a frame of a virtual viewpoint video (Yoneda, fig’s 1 and 9, para’s 0019-0038, camera group 20 outputs, to the image processing device 10, camera information including captured image data obtained by imaging with each camera, external parameters and internal parameters of each camera, and the like, the input device 30 accepts input of designation parameters that designate a virtual viewpoint “virtual viewpoint information” for generating a virtual viewpoint image. An operator determines the position and orientation of a virtual viewpoint by use of the input device 30 and instructs the image processing apparatus 10 to generate a virtual viewpoint image while watching the virtual viewpoint image 901 displayed on the display device 40. That is, virtual viewpoint information is output from the input device 30 to the image processing apparatus 10);
Yoneda does not explicitly disclose to obtain information designating a subject, among a plurality of subjects, to be displayed in the frame of the virtual viewpoint video; and to output virtual camera path data including control information recorded on a frame-by-frame basis, wherein the control information corresponding to a particular frame of the virtual viewpoint video includes virtual viewpoint information for specifying the virtual viewpoint for the particular frame and setting information for specifying the subject to be displayed in the particular frame.
Sato discloses to obtain information designating a subject, among a plurality of subjects, to be displayed in the frame of the virtual viewpoint video (Sato, para’s 0037-0041, 0052-0060, and 0071-0074, a free “virtual” viewpoint image is to be generated on the basis of sensing results in real space, a user selecting an object and subjecting objects other than the selected object to transparency processing).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Sato’s features into Yoneda’s invention for enhancing user’s viewing experience allowing user to effectively playback only video containing object(s) of interest in the virtual viewpoint space.
Yoneda-Sato does not explicitly disclose but Sakakima discloses to output virtual camera path data including control information recorded on a frame-by-frame basis, wherein the control information corresponding to a particular frame of the virtual viewpoint video includes virtual viewpoint information for specifying the virtual viewpoint for the particular frame and setting information for specifying the subject to be displayed in the particular frame (Sakakima, para’s 0036-0057, generating and managing a virtual camera path by frames, i.e., on a frame-by-frame basis, the frames corresponding to the virtual camera path include a plurality of intermediate frames generated by interpolating between two or more keyframes. A frame holds information required for generating each image constituting a video. More specifically, a frame holds information of the time of a scene and the position/orientation of the camera “virtual viewpoint information”. The time of a scene is expressed by, for example, a time code in which the time at which the game to be captured is started is set as 00 hour:00 minute:00 second:00 frame. The position of the camera is expressed by, for example, three coordinates, x, y, and z by setting an origin in the image capturing space. The orientation of the camera is expressed by, for example, three angles, pan, tilt, and roll. The number of the frames included in a timeline is determined according to the number of images reproduced per second (frame rate); para’s 0036-0037, subjects “setting information”, such as a player and a ball, whose positions change will be referred to as foregrounds. Also, subjects, such as a field (grass field), other than the foreground will be referred to as backgrounds. First, a plurality of captured images captured by the actual cameras 301 is separated into foregrounds and backgrounds. Then, a 3D form and position of the foregrounds, such as a player and a ball, are calculated from a plurality of separated foregrounds. Next, the foregrounds are reconstructed from the 3D form and position in accordance with the viewpoint of the virtual camera 302. Next, a single background is generated from a plurality of separated backgrounds. Then, a virtual viewpoint image is generated by compositing the reconstructed foregrounds on the generated background; see also para’s 0086-0088, generating virtual camera path data including generating virtual camera viewpoints and setting subject to be displayed in the virtual images).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Sakakima’s virtual camera path data into Yoneda-Sato’s invention for enhancing user’s playback experience by allowing user to navigate and view highlighted frames at different angles.
Regarding claim 2, Yoneda-Sato-Sakakima discloses the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting information is information indicating whether or not to display each of the plurality of subjects (Sato, para’s 0037-0041, 0052-0060, and 0071-0074, a free viewpoint image is to be generated on the basis of sensing results in real space, a user selecting an object and subjecting objects other than the selected object to transparency processing).
The motivation to combine the references and obviousness arguments are the same as claim 1.
Regarding claim 3, Yoneda-Sato-Sakakima discloses the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting information is information indicating a region in a three-dimensional space of which virtual viewpoint video is to be generated, and a subject positioned within the region is displayed (Yoneda, para. 0045, specifying foreground object in 3D space; Sato, para’s 0037-0041, 0052-0064, and 0071-0074, a free viewpoint image is to be generated on the basis of sensing results in real space, a user specifying an area/region and not displaying objects not positioned within the specified area/region, and selecting an object and subjecting objects other than the selected object to transparency processing; para. 0055, FIG. 3, a layout 400 of the room 2 is displayed in the manipulation screen 40. Further, FIG. 3 illustrates an example in which the layout 400 is 3D video (a point cloud, or the like) constituted by three-dimensional information of each object located in the room 2).
The motivation to combine the references and obviousness arguments are the same as claim 1.
Regarding claim 5, Yoneda-Sato-Sakakima discloses the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the virtual viewpoint information includes an external parameter indicating a position of the virtual viewpoint and a line of sight direction from the virtual viewpoint (Yoneda, para. 0021, the virtual viewpoint information includes information "extrinsic parameters indicating the position of the virtual viewpoint and a line-of-sight direction from the virtual viewpoint" indicating the position and orientation of the virtual viewpoint).
Regarding claim 6, Yoneda-Sato-Sakakima discloses the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the virtual viewpoint information includes an internal parameter indicating a view angle or a focal length of the virtual viewpoint (Yoneda, para’s 0070-0072, parameters designated by an operator include the focal length of a virtual camera "intrinsic parameter indicating the angle of view or focal length of the virtual viewpoint").
Regarding claim 9, Yoneda-Sato-Sakakima discloses the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the virtual camera path data includes a plurality of data blocks, and the virtual viewpoint information for specifying the virtual viewpoint for the particular frame and the setting information for specifying the subject to be displayed in the particular frame are included in the same data block (Sakakima, fig’s 5, 7, 13; para’s 0044 and 0087-0088, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a timeline 501 displays each frame on a single time axis. In FIG. 5 displays the three key frames independently and separately on the virtual camera path 505, each key frame is considered included in respective data block; fig. 13 is a view illustrating the movement of the subject, the movement of the virtual viewpoint, and the generated virtual viewpoint image. A reference 1301 is a subject (ball) used for the sake of descriptive convenience, and the subject 1301 is moving from left to right in the drawing. Each of t1 to t4 indicates the time of capturing. For example, in a case where the capturing was performed on a 60fps camera, the interval between t1 and t2 is 1/60 seconds. A reference numeral 1302 indicates the virtual viewpoint, and fv1 to fv6 indicate the movement of the virtual viewpoint. In the example of FIG. 13, the virtual viewpoint moves in parallel to the ball which is the subject. A reference numeral 1303 is a view indicating virtual viewpoint images generated with each virtual viewpoint from fv1 to fv6. The virtual viewpoint fv1 and the virtual viewpoint fv2 are generated from the capturing content of the same time t1; accordingly, the subject remains unmoving and only the virtual viewpoint moves. Then, when moving from the virtual viewpoint fv2 to the virtual viewpoint fv3, the time transition to t2; accordingly, a virtual viewpoint is generated in a state in which the subject has moved; each key frame associated with the object position is considered included in respective data block).
The motivation to combine the references and obviousness arguments are the same as claim 1.
Regarding claim 10, Yoneda-Sato-Sakakima discloses the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors further execute the instructions: to generate the virtual viewpoint video based on the virtual viewpoint information and the setting information; and to present a user interface that includes the virtual viewpoint video generated and that accepts a designation of at least one of the virtual viewpoint information or the setting information by a user (Yoneda, para’s 0060-0072, fig. 9, an operator changes parameters related to rendering of the virtual viewpoint image by using a user interface screen 900 "user interface" that includes an area in which a virtual viewpoint image 901 is displayed).
Claims 14 and 20 are rejected for the same reasons set forth in claim 1.
Regarding claim 21, Yoneda-Sato-Sakakima discloses the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors further execute the instructions to present a user interface designed to accept a designation of the virtual viewpoint for respective frames of the virtual viewpoint video and a designation of the subject to be displayed for respective frames of the virtual viewpoint video (Yoneda, fig’s 1 and 9, para’s 0019-0038, camera group 20 outputs, to the image processing device 10, camera information including captured image data obtained by imaging with each camera, external parameters and internal parameters of each camera, and the like, the input device 30 accepts input of designation parameters that designate a virtual viewpoint “virtual viewpoint information” for generating a virtual viewpoint image. An operator determines the position and orientation of a virtual viewpoint by use of the input device 30 and instructs the image processing apparatus 10 to generate a virtual viewpoint image while watching the virtual viewpoint image 901 displayed on the display device 40. That is, virtual viewpoint information is output from the input device 30 to the image processing apparatus 10; Sato, para’s 0037-0041, 0052-0060, and 0071-0074, a free “virtual” viewpoint image is to be generated on the basis of sensing results in real space, a user selecting an object and subjecting objects other than the selected object to transparency processing).
The motivation to combine the references and obviousness arguments are the same as claim 1.
Conclusion
10. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LOI H TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5645. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00AM-5:00PM PST FIRST FRIDAY OF BIWEEK OFF.
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/LOI H TRAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2484
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