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 .
Application Status
This office action is responsive to the Application No.:18/7772522, filed on 07/18/2024 (Foreign Priority Date: 02/22/2024).
Claims 1-20 are pending and presented for examination.
This action has been made NON-FINAL.
Examiner Remarks
In the spirit of compact prosecution, Applicant is requested to contact the Examiner for an interview to discuss the inventive concepts of the instant application. Applicant may optionally amend the claims to further direct the claims toward a particular inventive concept described in the specification without an interview.
Additionally, the prior art rejection (if applicable) cites particular paragraphs, columns, and/or line numbers in the references for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in their entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/30/2024 is being considered by the examiner. A signed IDS is hereby attached.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 1,10 and 19 recites “dynamically.” The term “dynamically” is indefinite because the specification lacked some standard for measuring the degrees intended (See MPEP 2173.05(b)). Accordingly, this claim limitation is rendered as indefinite. The examiner suggests removing “dynamically” from the claims.
The dependent claims are rejected for depending upon a rejected base claim.
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)(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) 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by JIANG, US 20230342942.
Claim 1:
Jiang discloses a virtual human-based interaction method (See Jiang Abstract), comprising:
obtaining input data, the input data including at least one of description data or deduction data1 of a character (See Jiang Paragraph 01612);
obtaining feature data (See Jiang Paragraphs 0062; 01613) of the character based on the input data (See Jiang Paragraphs 0062; 0161), the feature data of the character at least includes an expression feature of the character (See Jiang Paragraphs 0062; 0161);
generating a virtual human based on the feature data of the character (See Jian Paragraphs 0148-01514);
and dynamically displaying the virtual human on a display interface (See Jiang Figures 8A-11B; Paragraphs 0180-0182).
Claim 2:
Jiang discloses wherein the obtaining input data (See Jiang Paragraph 0161) includes: determining a target data source and a target mining strategy5 based on the description data of the character (See Jiang Paragraph 00446), wherein the target mining strategy at least includes an associated feature; and obtaining the deduction data (See Jiang Paragraph 01617) of the character from the target data source based on the target mining strategy (See Jiang Paragraph 00448).
Claim 3:
Jiang discloses wherein the obtaining the feature data of the character based on the input data (See Jiang Paragraphs 0062; 01619) includes: obtaining a deduction feature by filtering the deduction data (See Jiang Paragraph 016110); and obtaining the feature data of the character based on the deduction feature (See Jiang Paragraph 016111).
Claim 4:
Jiang discloses wherein the generating a virtual human based on the feature data of the character and dynamically displaying the virtual human on a display interface (See Jiang Figures 8A-11B; Paragraphs 0180-0182) includes:
obtaining a user discourse (See Jiang Paragraph 006212);
determining a user discourse scenario based on the input data;
generating a feedback discourse to a user based on the user discourse (See Jiang Paragraph 006213), the user discourse scenario, and the expression feature of the character;
and displaying and/or voice broadcasting the feedback discourse (See Jiang Paragraph 006214) through the virtual human (See Jiang Figures 8A-11B; Paragraphs 0180-0182).
Claim 5:
Jiang discloses wherein the deduction data (See Jiang Paragraph 016115) includes an object image (See Jiang Figures 8A-11B; Paragraphs 0180-0182), and the obtaining input data includes obtaining the object image captured by a shooting device (See Jiang Paragraph 0050); and the feature data of the character includes a portrait of the character (See Jiang Figures 8A-11B; Paragraphs 0180-0182), and the obtaining the feature data of the character based on the input data includes identifying the portrait included in the object image (See Jiang Figures 8A-11B; Paragraphs 0180-0182).
Claim 6:
Jiang discloses wherein the feature data of the character further includes a portrait feature of the character (See Jiang Paragraphs 0062; 0161), and the generating a virtual human based on the feature data of the character and dynamically displaying the virtual human on a display interface (See Jiang Paragraphs 0062; 0161) includes:
generating portrait information based on the portrait feature, wherein the portrait information (See Jiang Figures 8A-11B; Paragraphs 0180-0182) includes at least one of:
a portrait type, a portrait facial feature, a portrait color feature, a portrait clothing feature, or a portrait size (See Jiang Paragraph 004416);
and generating an image of the virtual human (See Jiang Figures 8A-11B; Paragraphs 0180-0182) based on the portrait and/or the portrait information (See Jiang Paragraph 0044).
Claim 7:
Jiang discloses wherein the feature data of the character further includes a facial expression feature and an action feature of the character, and the generating a virtual human based on the feature data of the character and dynamically displaying the virtual human on a display interface (See Jiang Paragraphs 0062; 0161) includes:
determining a target facial expression generator (See Jiang Paragraph 0111);
generating (See Jiang Paragraph 0111);, based on the expression feature and the facial expression feature (See Jiang Paragraph 0111);, facial expression of the virtual human using the target facial expression generator (See Jiang Paragraph 0111), and displaying the facial expression by the virtual human (See Jiang Figures 8A-11B; Paragraphs 0180-0182);
and/or determining a target action trajectory simulator (See Jiang Paragraph 015017);
generating, based on the expression feature and the facial expression feature (See Jiang Paragraph 0111), an action trajectory of the virtual human using the target action trajectory simulator (See Jiang Paragraph 015018), and executing the action trajectory by the virtual human (See Jiang Figures 8A-11B; Paragraphs 0180-0182).
Claim 8:
Jiang discloses wherein the dynamically displaying the virtual human on a display interface (See Jiang Figures 8A-11B; Paragraphs 0180-0182) includes:
appearing the virtual human via a dynamic generation manner at a target position on the display interface (See Jiang Figures 8A-11B; Paragraphs 0180-0182), wherein, the dynamic generation manner includes one or a combination of more of the following: the virtual human appears through a dynamic change in size, or the virtual human appears through a dynamic change in position (See Jiang Figure 8a/B; Paragraphs 0143-0147; 015719).
Claim 9:
Jiang discloses wherein the dynamically displaying the virtual human on a display interface (See Jiang Figures 8A-11B; Paragraphs 0180-0182) includes:
constructing an environmental map (See Jiang Paragraph 009120) based on an environmental image captured by a shooting device (See Jiang Paragraph 0050);
determining a terminal position of a terminal device (See Jiang Paragraphs 0046-0048) in the environmental map (See Jiang Paragraph 009121) and a first position in the environmental map corresponding to a screen placement position of the virtual human in the display interface (See Jiang Figures 8A-11B; Paragraphs 0180-0182);
and adjusting the first position based on a position change of the terminal position (See Jiang Paragraph 017322), so that the screen placement position of the virtual human in the display interface is adjusted based on the adjusted first position (See Jiang Paragraph 019423), wherein a first distance between the first position and the terminal position is maintained (See Jiang Paragraphs 0193-019424).
Claims 10-18:
Claims 10-18 are rejected on the same basis as claims 1-9, respectively.
Claims 19 and 20:
Claims 19 and 20 are rejected on the same basis as claims 1 and 3, respectively.
Pertinent Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20250371783 relates to displaying an avatar generation interface; on the basis of an avatar creation operation on the avatar generation interface, generating a first avatar; and, in response to a preset interaction trigger operation for the first avatar, sending to a first user the first avatar.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHEREE N BROWN whose telephone number is (571)272-4229. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 5:30-2:00 PM EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, SAID BROOME can be reached at (571) 272-2931. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SHEREE N BROWN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2612 April 7, 2026
1 Note: Applicant’s Paragraph 0041 recites “The deduction data is data that reflects features of the character. For example, the deduction data may include, but is not limited to, an image of the character (e.g., a portrait, a poster, a photograph, a cartoon image, etc.), a video (e.g., an instructional video, an interview footage, etc.), an audio (e.g., a conversation, a speech, etc.), social media dynamics (e.g., photos on social media, Instagram updates, etc.), and a work (a literary work, an artistic work, a scientific paper, etc.).”
2 Jiang Paragraph 0161 recites “In step S601, input information includes at least two facial models.”
3 Jiang Paragraph 0062 recites “the facial models are required to include basic facial physiological features, for example, mouth, eyes, nose, ears, eyebrows and other parts.”
4 Jiang Paragraph 0148 recites “constructing a digital virtual human.”
5 Note: Applicant’s Paragraph 0031 of the specification recites “a target mining strategy based on the description data of the character.”
6 Jiang Paragraph 0044 recites “the terminal 400 acquires the facial model library and store the facial model library locally is taken as an example for description.” Note: The examiner interprets Jiang’s teachings of “the facial model library and store the facial model library locally is taken as an example for description” is the same as the Applicant’s teachings of a “target mining strategy” (i.e. description data of the character.”
7 Jiang Paragraph 0161 recites “In step S601, input information includes at least two facial models.”
8 Jiang Paragraph 0044 recites “the terminal 400 acquires the facial model library and store the facial model library locally is taken as an example for description.” Note: The examiner interprets Jiang’s teachings of “the facial model library and store the facial model library locally is taken as an example for description” is the same as the Applicant’s teachings of a “target mining strategy” (i.e. description data of the character.”
9 Jiang Paragraph 0062 recites “the facial models are required to include basic facial physiological features, for example, mouth, eyes, nose, ears, eyebrows and other parts.”
10 Jiang Paragraph 0161 recites “In step S601, input information includes at least two facial models.”
11 Jiang Paragraph 0161 recites “In step S601, input information includes at least two facial models.”
12 Jiang Paragraph 0062 recites “expressions that are obtained by performing deformation processing on the facial models without expressions, for example, may be smile facial models, laugh facial models and sad facial models.”
13 Jiang Paragraph 0062 recites “expressions that are obtained by performing deformation processing on the facial models without expressions, for example, may be smile facial models, laugh facial models and sad facial models.”
14 Jiang Paragraph 0062 recites “expressions that are obtained by performing deformation processing on the facial models without expressions, for example, may be smile facial models, laugh facial models and sad facial models.”
15 Jiang Paragraph 0161 recites “In step S601, input information includes at least two facial models.”
16 Jiang Paragraph 0044 recites “a virtual human based on the fused facial model, for example, the design of clothing, accessories, hairstyles, body types and other aspects.”
17 The Examiner interprets Jiang Paragraph 0150 teachings of “action capture” as being the same as the Applicant’s “target action trajectory simulator.”
18 The Examiner interprets Jiang Paragraph 0150 teachings of “action capture” as being the same as the Applicant’s “target action trajectory simulator.”
19 Jiang Paragraph 0146 recites “the fused facial model may be adjusted by adjusting the fused weight of each of the initial facial model.”
20 Note: The examiner is interpreting Jiang’s teachings of an “area graph” to the be same as the Applicant’s “environmental map.”
21 Note: The examiner is interpreting Jiang’s teachings of an “area graph” to the be same as the Applicant’s “environmental map.”
22 Jiang Paragraph 0173 recites “reconstructed positions.”
23 Jiang Paragraph 0194 “an adjustment module, configured to: when determining that the weight corresponding to each of the initial facial models is required to be adjusted after outputting the fused facial model.”
24 Jiang Paragraph 0193 recites “determine a distance.”
Prosecution Insights