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 Status
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Priority
The present application claims priority to CN App. Nos. 202311062199.6 and 202311064959.7, both filed on August 22, 2023
Claim Interpretation
Claim 4 is a “process” claim that includes a claimed condition with two possible outcomes,
and that forms two distinct methods within a single claim (“after determining changing trends associated with the plurality of the beads are same, wherein the determining the brightness is based on at least one of: the distance between the target user and each of the plurality of beads; and the changing trend of the distance between the target user and each of the plurality of beads” and “after determining the changing trends associated with the plurality of the beads are not same, determining a target lighting parameter of a target bead as a first parameter and a target lighting parameter of a non-target bead as a second parameter, wherein the target bead is a bead, among the plurality of beads, whose distance from a position of the target user is less than or equal to a target distance”).
A contingent step, when present in a “process” claim only (the following does not apply to product claims, such as machines and manufactures), creates two or more process pathways within the claim based on a condition, where one pathway/step may be traversed and the process terminates, and the other pathway/step is no longer required of the prior art, or vice-versa.
Quoting Ex parte RANDAL C. SCHULHAUSER, UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK
OFFICE, BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD, Precedential decision of 04/28/2016,
“If the condition for performing a contingent step is not satisfied, the performance recited by
the step need not be carried out in order for the claimed method to be performed” at decision
page 10, “the broadest reasonable interpretation of claim 1 includes an instance in which the
step of "determining the current activity level of the subject" and the remaining steps based
thereon do not take place. Thus, under the broadest reasonable interpretation, the step of
"comparing the respiration data with a threshold respiration criteria for indicating a strong
likelihood of a cardiac event if the current activity level is below a threshold activity level"
recited in claim 8 is not necessarily performed” at decision page 11.
Therefore, in the case of claim 4 the prior art need only teach one of the two distinct
claimed methods for anticipation or obviousness. Additionally, claim 5 further defines the second method where “after determining the changing trends associated with the plurality of the beads are not same”, by further defining the first and second parameter. Due to the language, if the first method of claim 4 is rejected, the second method (further defined by claim 5) need not be taught. This is because “If the condition for performing a contingent step is not satisfied, the performance recited by the step need not be carried out in order for the claimed method to be performed. Under the broadest reasonable interpretation claim 5 need not to be taught to due to the condition for the contingent step not being satisfied in claim 4.
Additionally claim 14 also contains Schulhauser language. Claim 14 is a “process” claim that includes a claimed condition with two possible outcomes,
and that forms two distinct methods within a single claim (“when the first parameter indicates a lighting state of the target bead, the second parameter indicates a turn-off state of the non-target beads” and “when the first parameter indicates the turn-off state of the target bead, the second parameter indicates the lighting state of the non-target beads”).
Therefore, in the case of claim 14 the prior art need only teach one of the two distinct
claimed methods for anticipation or obviousness
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ election with traverse of the restriction of claims 1-20 in the reply filed on 06/24/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is found convincing regarding the search burden, the art applicable was overlapping and therefore created no burden. Accordingly, the restriction requirement is withdrawn.
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.
Claims 1-5, 8-9, and 16-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ZHOU et al. (CN 115460746 A Hereinafter “ZHOU”) in view of VAN DE SLUIS et al. (US 20250386411 A1 Hereinafter “VAN”).
Regarding claim 1, ZHOU teaches a method for controlling a light
obtaining pose information of a target user collected by a pose sensor (Page 8, third to last paragraph: “201. acquiring the pose of a target object in a target area; the target object is a human body form obtained through recognition according to the human body skeleton structure”);
determining a user pose of the target user based on the obtained pose information (Page 8, last paragraph: “202. Determining a first number of first target objects according to poses of the target objects in the target area; the first target object is a target object of which the motion amplitude of the pose exceeds a first threshold value”);
determining target lighting parameters based on the determined user pose, wherein the target lighting parameters correspond to the determined user pose, and are used for indicating lighting (Page 9, second paragraph: “203. And generating a first light effect adjusting instruction matched with the scenes with the first quantity and the scenes with the pose motion amplitude exceeding a first threshold value”); and
controlling the (Page 9, fourth paragraph: “204. And responding to the first lamp effect adjusting instruction, and adjusting the lamp effect parameters of the first target lamp”).
ZHOU does not expressly disclose target lighting parameters used for indicating lighting of the plurality of beads; and controlling the plurality of beads according to the determined target lighting parameters.
However, VAN teaches target lighting parameters are used for indicating lighting of the plurality of beads (Fig. 2, [0076-0077]: “In some embodiments, the step of determining 2040 a desaturated light setting may comprise determining 2044 a level of desaturation for the desaturated light setting of the at least one light source of the subset of color light sources. At step 2042, the method may comprise obtaining (accessing or determining) information on which to base the determination 2044 of the level of desaturation for the desaturated light setting of the light source in question. For example, the information obtained at step 2042 may comprise a distance between the light source in question and the position of the user. The information obtained at step 2042 may comprise an orientation of the light source relative to the position of the user. Alternatively, or additionally, the information obtained at step 2042 may comprise a type of the light source in question. Further, the level of desaturation may be based on a known (predefined) preference of a user. [0077] Further, the determination 2040 of the desaturated light setting may also comprise determining 2046 a color range (or gamut) of the reference light scene. A white point of the desaturated light setting may be determined 2048 based on the determined color range”. The setting for specific lights is determined based on the determined distance of the user); and
controlling the plurality of beads according to the determined target lighting parameters ([0078]: “The method 2000 further comprises controlling 2050 the plurality of light sources based on the reference light scene received at step 2010, wherein the at least one color light source of the determined subset is controlled according to the desaturated light setting determined in step 2040. The method 2000 may then return to step 2020, as is illustrated in FIG. 2, to determine a new position of the user”. The lights are controlled based on the reference light scene that is adjusted based on user position. Individual bead lights are among the usable lights for the system “A color lighting unit may be a larger color lighting device comprising a plurality of controllable light nodes. For example, a color lighting device may be a LED strip or panel having (individually) controllable LEDs (nodes), a display, a lighting panel, etc.” (Fig. 1 #106, [0043])
At the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system to include VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting because such a modification is the result of applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results. More specifically, VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting permits use of an adaptive lighting system for LED strips, allowing for more general use since LED strips are more adaptable than lightbulb or stage lighting. This known benefit in VAN is applicable to ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system as they both share characteristics and capabilities, namely, they are directed to adaptive lighting systems based on detected target data. Therefore, it would have been recognized that modifying ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system to include VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting would have yielded predictable results because (i) the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting in adaptive lighting systems based on detected target data and (ii) the benefits of such a combination would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of ZHOU and VAN teaches the method according to claim 1, in addition, ZHOU further teaches wherein the determining the user pose step comprises at least one of following:
determining, based on the determined pose information, whether the target user is in a preset region (Page 8, third to last paragraph: “201. acquiring the pose of a target object in a target area; the target object is a human body form obtained through recognition according to the human body skeleton structure”. For the pose to be of a target object in a target area there must be determination of target user in preset region);
determining, based on the determined pose information, a position of the target user (Page 8, second to last paragraph: “The target object may be a human body skeleton diagram obtained after image recognition, the human body skeleton diagram may be a line segment diagram obtained by connecting human body key points, and may represent a human body form, and spatial positions and relative positions of the key points in the line segment diagram may represent poses of the target object”); and
determining, based on the determined pose information, a movement trajectory of the target user (Page 9, fifth to last paragraph: “Referring to fig. 3, in another embodiment, the light effect control method may further predict a movement trend of the pose of the target object according to the pose of the target object”).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of ZHOU and VAN teaches the method according to claim 1, in addition, ZHOU further teaches wherein the determining the target lighting parameters step comprises:
determining a changing trend of (Page 10, sixth paragraph: “A second number of second target objects is determined 305 from the poses of the target objects in the target area, the second target objects being target objects whose movement trend of the poses matches the first movement trend”. Movement trend is determined by a match); and
wherein the determining the target lighting parameters step is based on the determined changing trend (Page 10, paragraph 7: “306. And generating a second light effect adjusting instruction matched with the second quantity and the first motion trend”)
VAN further teaches determining the distance between the target and each individual bead in the plurality of beads ([0076]: “At step 2042, the method may comprise obtaining (accessing or determining) information on which to base the determination 2044 of the level of desaturation for the desaturated light setting of the light source in question. For example, the information obtained at step 2042 may comprise a distance between the light source in question and the position of the user. The information obtained at step 2042 may comprise an orientation of the light source relative to the position of the user”. If ZHOU teaches detection of a trend of motion and VAN teaches distance determination of the objects to each bead, then the lighting parameters would be affected by a changing trend (Increase or decrease) in distance between the target and beads. Hence the combination of ZHOU and VAN teaches the aspects of claim 3.
At the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system to include VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting alongside detection of distance between the target and the individual LEDs to affect lighting parameters because such a modification is the result of applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results. More specifically, VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting alongside detection of distance between the target and the individual LEDs to affect lighting parameters permits use of an adaptive lighting system for LED strips, allowing for more general use and improved lighting of environments for the person due to the distance also being considered for lighting parameters. This known benefit in VAN is applicable to ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system as they both share characteristics and capabilities, namely, they are directed to adaptive lighting systems based on detected target data. Therefore, it would have been recognized that modifying ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system to include VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting alongside detection of distance between the target and the individual LEDs to affect lighting parameters would have yielded predictable results because (i) the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting alongside detection of distance between the target and the individual LEDs to affect lighting parameters in adaptive lighting systems based on detected target data and (ii) the benefits of such a combination would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of ZHOU and VAN teaches the method according to claim 3, in addition, ZHOU further teaches wherein the determining the target lighting parameters step comprises:
after determining changing trends associated with the (Page 10, sixth paragraph: “A second number of second target objects is determined 305 from the poses of the target objects in the target area, the second target objects being target objects whose movement trend of the poses matches the first movement trend”. Movement trend is determined by a match; therefore the changing trend (estimate path) is the “same” for the first and second detected object), determining brightness of the (Page 9, second paragraph: “203. And generating a first light effect adjusting instruction matched with the scenes with the first quantity and the scenes with the pose motion amplitude exceeding a first threshold value”), wherein the determining the brightness is based on at least one of:
VAN further teaches determining the distance between the target and each individual bead in the plurality of beads ([0076]: “At step 2042, the method may comprise obtaining (accessing or determining) information on which to base the determination 2044 of the level of desaturation for the desaturated light setting of the light source in question. For example, the information obtained at step 2042 may comprise a distance between the light source in question and the position of the user. The information obtained at step 2042 may comprise an orientation of the light source relative to the position of the user”), and target lighting parameters are used for indicating lighting of the plurality of beads (Fig. 2, [0076-0077]: “In some embodiments, the step of determining 2040 a desaturated light setting may comprise determining 2044 a level of desaturation for the desaturated light setting of the at least one light source of the subset of color light sources. At step 2042, the method may comprise obtaining (accessing or determining) information on which to base the determination 2044 of the level of desaturation for the desaturated light setting of the light source in question. For example, the information obtained at step 2042 may comprise a distance between the light source in question and the position of the user. The information obtained at step 2042 may comprise an orientation of the light source relative to the position of the user. Alternatively, or additionally, the information obtained at step 2042 may comprise a type of the light source in question. Further, the level of desaturation may be based on a known (predefined) preference of a user. [0077] Further, the determination 2040 of the desaturated light setting may also comprise determining 2046 a color range (or gamut) of the reference light scene. A white point of the desaturated light setting may be determined 2048 based on the determined color range”. The setting for specific lights is determined based on the determined distance of the user. The “or” language means that only one item in the list need be met for a case of obviousness, that limitation is ”the distance between the target user and each of the plurality of beads”); and
controlling the plurality of beads according to the determined target lighting parameters ([0078]: “The method 2000 further comprises controlling 2050 the plurality of light sources based on the reference light scene received at step 2010, wherein the at least one color light source of the determined subset is controlled according to the desaturated light setting determined in step 2040. The method 2000 may then return to step 2020, as is illustrated in FIG. 2, to determine a new position of the user”. The lights are controlled based on the reference light scene that is adjusted based on user position. Individual bead lights are among the usable lights for the system “A color lighting unit may be a larger color lighting device comprising a plurality of controllable light nodes. For example, a color lighting device may be a LED strip or panel having (individually) controllable LEDs (nodes), a display, a lighting panel, etc.” (Fig. 1 #106, [0043])
The rationale for this combination is similar to the rationale mentioned in the claim 3 combination due to similar methods of combination (using distance to determine lighting parameters) and similar benefits (improved lighting).
Regarding claim 5, claim 5 need not be taught due to the Schulhauser language in claim 4 as explained in the “claim interpretation” section.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of ZHOU and VAN teaches the method according to claim 1, in addition, ZHOU further teaches wherein the determining the target lighting parameters step comprises:
prior to determining the target lighting parameters, determining relative positions (Page 8, third to last paragraph: “201. acquiring the pose of a target object in a target area; the target object is a human body form obtained through recognition according to the human body skeleton structure”); and
determining the target lighting parameters based on the relative positions and the user pose (Page 9, second paragraph: “203. And generating a first light effect adjusting instruction matched with the scenes with the first quantity and the scenes with the pose motion amplitude exceeding a first threshold value”).
VAN further teaches determining relative positions between a detection range of the pose sensor and the plurality of beads ([0076]: “At step 2042, the method may comprise obtaining (accessing or determining) information on which to base the determination 2044 of the level of desaturation for the desaturated light setting of the light source in question. For example, the information obtained at step 2042 may comprise a distance between the light source in question and the position of the user. The information obtained at step 2042 may comprise an orientation of the light source relative to the position of the user”. The distance between the target (user) and the beads is considered the relative position between the detection range of the pose sensor (where the user is detected) and the plurality of beads).
The rationale for this combination is similar to the rationale mentioned in the claim 3 combination due to similar methods of combination (using distance to determine lighting parameters) and similar benefits (improved lighting).
Regarding claim 9, ZHOU teaches a method for controlling a light string having a plurality of beads, and the method comprising:
obtaining a user image of a target user captured by a camera apparatus (Page 8, paragraph 6: “The terminal 103 may include a shooting module for shooting the target area, the terminal 103 may further include functional modules such as a signal receiver and a sensor, information acquired by the terminal 103 may be directly transmitted to the server 102, for example, the terminal 103 may directly transmit an image obtained by shooting to the server 102”. The sensor is a camera to obtain an image);
determining pose information of the target user based on the obtained user image, wherein the pose information represents a user pose of the target user in a shooting region of the camera apparatus (Page 8, sixth paragraph: “the server 102 performs image recognition and processing on the received image to obtain the pose of the target object in the target area. In some embodiments, the terminal 103 may perform image recognition and processing on the captured image to obtain a pose of the target object in the target area, and then send the pose of the target object in the target area to the server 102, where the server 102 may be implemented by an independent server or a server cluster composed of multiple servers”);
determining target lighting parameters based on the determined pose information and target position information, wherein the target position information (Page 9, second paragraph: “203. And generating a first light effect adjusting instruction matched with the scenes with the first quantity and the scenes with the pose motion amplitude exceeding a first threshold value”); and
controlling the (Page 9, fourth paragraph: “204. And responding to the first lamp effect adjusting instruction, and adjusting the lamp effect parameters of the first target lamp”).
However, VAN teaches determining relative positions between a detection range of the pose sensor and the plurality of beads ([0076]: “At step 2042, the method may comprise obtaining (accessing or determining) information on which to base the determination 2044 of the level of desaturation for the desaturated light setting of the light source in question. For example, the information obtained at step 2042 may comprise a distance between the light source in question and the position of the user. The information obtained at step 2042 may comprise an orientation of the light source relative to the position of the user”. The distance between the target (user) and the beads is considered the relative position between the detection range of the pose sensor (where the user is detected) and the plurality of beads),
target lighting parameters are used for indicating lighting of the plurality of beads (Fig. 2, [0076-0077]: “In some embodiments, the step of determining 2040 a desaturated light setting may comprise determining 2044 a level of desaturation for the desaturated light setting of the at least one light source of the subset of color light sources. At step 2042, the method may comprise obtaining (accessing or determining) information on which to base the determination 2044 of the level of desaturation for the desaturated light setting of the light source in question. For example, the information obtained at step 2042 may comprise a distance between the light source in question and the position of the user. The information obtained at step 2042 may comprise an orientation of the light source relative to the position of the user. Alternatively, or additionally, the information obtained at step 2042 may comprise a type of the light source in question. Further, the level of desaturation may be based on a known (predefined) preference of a user. [0077] Further, the determination 2040 of the desaturated light setting may also comprise determining 2046 a color range (or gamut) of the reference light scene. A white point of the desaturated light setting may be determined 2048 based on the determined color range”. The setting for specific lights is determined based on the determined distance of the user); and
controlling the plurality of beads according to the determined target lighting parameters ([0078]: “The method 2000 further comprises controlling 2050 the plurality of light sources based on the reference light scene received at step 2010, wherein the at least one color light source of the determined subset is controlled according to the desaturated light setting determined in step 2040. The method 2000 may then return to step 2020, as is illustrated in FIG. 2, to determine a new position of the user”. The lights are controlled based on the reference light scene that is adjusted based on user position. Individual bead lights are among the usable lights for the system “A color lighting unit may be a larger color lighting device comprising a plurality of controllable light nodes. For example, a color lighting device may be a LED strip or panel having (individually) controllable LEDs (nodes), a display, a lighting panel, etc.” (Fig. 1 #106, [0043])
At the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system to include VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting alongside detection of distance between the target and the individual LEDs to affect lighting parameters because such a modification is the result of applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results. More specifically, VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting alongside detection of distance between the target and the individual LEDs to affect lighting parameters permits use of an adaptive lighting system for LED strips, allowing for more general use and improved lighting of environments for the person due to the distance also being considered for lighting parameters. This known benefit in VAN is applicable to ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system as they both share characteristics and capabilities, namely, they are directed to adaptive lighting systems based on detected target data. Therefore, it would have been recognized that modifying ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system to include VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting alongside detection of distance between the target and the individual LEDs to affect lighting parameters would have yielded predictable results because (i) the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting alongside detection of distance between the target and the individual LEDs to affect lighting parameters in adaptive lighting systems based on detected target data and (ii) the benefits of such a combination would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 16, the content of claim 16 is similar to the content of claim 1, with the additional teachings of processors and memory. ZHOU also discloses this information (Page 13, last paragraph: “In one embodiment, a computer device is provided, which may be a server, and its internal structure diagram may be as shown in fig. 8. The computer device includes a processor, a memory, and a network interface connected by a system bus. Wherein the processor of the computer device is configured to provide computing and control capabilities”). Therefore, claim 16 is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as claim 1, along with the additional teachings above.
Regarding claim 17, the combination of ZHOU and VAN teaches the electronic device according to claim 16, in addition, ZHOU further teaches wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:
obtain a user image of the target user captured by a camera apparatus (Page 8, paragraph 6: “The terminal 103 may include a shooting module for shooting the target area, the terminal 103 may further include functional modules such as a signal receiver and a sensor, information acquired by the terminal 103 may be directly transmitted to the server 102, for example, the terminal 103 may directly transmit an image obtained by shooting to the server 102”. The sensor is a camera to obtain an image); and
determine the pose information of the target user based on the obtained user image, wherein the pose information represents the user pose of the target user in a shooting region of the camera apparatus (Page 8, sixth paragraph: “the server 102 performs image recognition and processing on the received image to obtain the pose of the target object in the target area. In some embodiments, the terminal 103 may perform image recognition and processing on the captured image to obtain a pose of the target object in the target area, and then send the pose of the target object in the target area to the server 102, where the server 102 may be implemented by an independent server or a server cluster composed of multiple servers”), wherein the determining target lighting parameters is further based on target (Page 8, last paragraph: “202. Determining a first number of first target objects according to poses of the target objects in the target area; the first target object is a target object of which the motion amplitude of the pose exceeds a first threshold value”).
VAN further teaches determining relative positions between a detection range of the pose sensor and the plurality of beads ([0076]: “At step 2042, the method may comprise obtaining (accessing or determining) information on which to base the determination 2044 of the level of desaturation for the desaturated light setting of the light source in question. For example, the information obtained at step 2042 may comprise a distance between the light source in question and the position of the user. The information obtained at step 2042 may comprise an orientation of the light source relative to the position of the user”. The distance between the target (user) and the beads is considered the relative position between the detection range of the pose sensor (where the user is detected) and the plurality of beads).
The rationale for this combination is similar to the rationale mentioned in the claim 3 combination due to similar methods of combination (using distance to determine lighting parameters) and similar benefits (improved lighting).
Regarding claim 18, the content of claim 18 is similar to the content of claim 10, therefore it is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as claim 10.
Regarding claim 19, the content of claim 19 is similar to the content of claims 11 and 12, therefore it is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as claims 11 and 12.
Regarding claim 20, ZHOU teaches the system comprising:
a light (Page 8, paragraph 5: “It should be noted that the target lamp may be any one of the 5 illumination lamps A1-A5 in fig. 1, or all or part of the 5 illumination lamps A1-A5, the lamp effect adjustment instruction may be set differently according to needs, and the number of the illumination lamps may also be set according to specific situations, which is not limited herein”); and
a light (Fig. 7, page 12, 10th paragraph: “When the light effect control device provided by the embodiment performs light effect control”), wherein the light
obtain pose information of a target user collected by a pose sensor (Page 8, third to last paragraph: “201. acquiring the pose of a target object in a target area; the target object is a human body form obtained through recognition according to the human body skeleton structure”. This pose is obtained by a pose sensor “The terminal 103 may include a shooting module for shooting the target area, the terminal 103 may further include functional modules such as a signal receiver and a sensor, information acquired by the terminal 103 may be directly transmitted to the server 102, for example, the terminal 103 may directly transmit an image obtained by shooting to the server 102” (Page 8, paragraph 6). The sensor is a camera to obtain an image));
determine a user pose of the target user based on the obtained pose information (Page 8, last paragraph: “202. Determining a first number of first target objects according to poses of the target objects in the target area; the first target object is a target object of which the motion amplitude of the pose exceeds a first threshold value”);
determine target lighting parameters based on the determined user pose, wherein the target lighting parameters correspond to the determined user pose, and are used for indicating lighting (Page 9, second paragraph: “203. And generating a first light effect adjusting instruction matched with the scenes with the first quantity and the scenes with the pose motion amplitude exceeding a first threshold value”); and
control the (Page 9, fourth paragraph: “204. And responding to the first lamp effect adjusting instruction, and adjusting the lamp effect parameters of the first target lamp”).
ZHOU does not expressly disclose target lighting parameters used for indicating lighting of the plurality of beads; and controlling the plurality of beads according to the determined target lighting parameters.
However, VAN teaches target lighting parameters are used for indicating lighting of the plurality of beads (Fig. 2, [0076-0077]: “In some embodiments, the step of determining 2040 a desaturated light setting may comprise determining 2044 a level of desaturation for the desaturated light setting of the at least one light source of the subset of color light sources. At step 2042, the method may comprise obtaining (accessing or determining) information on which to base the determination 2044 of the level of desaturation for the desaturated light setting of the light source in question. For example, the information obtained at step 2042 may comprise a distance between the light source in question and the position of the user. The information obtained at step 2042 may comprise an orientation of the light source relative to the position of the user. Alternatively, or additionally, the information obtained at step 2042 may comprise a type of the light source in question. Further, the level of desaturation may be based on a known (predefined) preference of a user. [0077] Further, the determination 2040 of the desaturated light setting may also comprise determining 2046 a color range (or gamut) of the reference light scene. A white point of the desaturated light setting may be determined 2048 based on the determined color range”. The setting for specific lights is determined based on the determined distance of the user); and
controlling the plurality of beads according to the determined target lighting parameters ([0078]: “The method 2000 further comprises controlling 2050 the plurality of light sources based on the reference light scene received at step 2010, wherein the at least one color light source of the determined subset is controlled according to the desaturated light setting determined in step 2040. The method 2000 may then return to step 2020, as is illustrated in FIG. 2, to determine a new position of the user”. The lights are controlled based on the reference light scene that is adjusted based on user position. Individual bead lights are among the usable lights for the system “A color lighting unit may be a larger color lighting device comprising a plurality of controllable light nodes. For example, a color lighting device may be a LED strip or panel having (individually) controllable LEDs (nodes), a display, a lighting panel, etc.” (Fig. 1 #106, [0043])
At the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system to include VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting because such a modification is the result of applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results. More specifically, VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting permits use of an adaptive lighting system for LED strips, allowing for more general use. This known benefit in VAN is applicable to ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system as they both share characteristics and capabilities, namely, they are directed to adaptive lighting systems based on detected target data. Therefore, it would have been recognized that modifying ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system to include VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting would have yielded predictable results because (i) the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting in adaptive lighting systems based on detected target data and (ii) the benefits of such a combination would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.
Claim 6 and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ZHOU et al. (CN 115460746 A Hereinafter “ZHOU”) in view of VAN DE SLUIS et al. (US 20250386411 A1 Hereinafter “VAN”) in further view of Fasihozaman et al. (US 20200369265 A1 Hereinafter “Fasihozaman”).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of ZHOU and VAN teaches the method according to claim 1, in addition, ZHOU further teaches wherein the determining the target lighting parameters step comprises:
after determining that the user pose satisfies a preset condition, determining the target lighting parameters (Page 9, second paragraph: “203. And generating a first light effect adjusting instruction matched with the scenes with the first quantity and the scenes with the pose motion amplitude exceeding a first threshold value”), wherein the preset condition comprises at least one of:
(Page 11, sixth paragraph: “The identification of the target object may be determined by identifying a preset pose, and it is understood that in some scenes, the light following is not the full-course following, and may only be performed in a specified time interval, for example, if the preset pose is detected in a specified time period, the target object with the preset pose is taken as the target object, and the light following is performed on the target object in the specified time period”. The “or” language means that only one item in the list need be met for a case of obviousness, that limitation is “time for collecting the pose information of the user pose is within a preset time range”); and
Van further teaches indicating that with a target bead at a center, beads on both sides of the target bead are illuminated according to a preset symmetrical light effect ([0089]: “In FIG. 4, the lighting devices 402a-f are arranged at different distances from the chair 422. One lighting device 402b is arranged close to the chair 422. Two intermediate lighting devices 402a and 402d are arranged slightly further away, and three most distant lighting devices 402c, 402e and 402f are arranged the furthest away”. The closest light acts as the target and there is lights to the right and left of the target, the shading implies that the illumination is the same for similar patterned lights, so the lighting is symmetrical about the target (402b has symmetrical lights 402 a/402d and 402c/402e). These can be embodied as LED strips also, so these lights could be beads from an LED strip with the same illumination parameters, “A color lighting unit may be a larger color lighting device comprising a plurality of controllable light nodes. For example, a color lighting device may be a LED strip or panel having (individually) controllable LEDs (nodes), a display, a lighting panel, etc.” [0043]).
At the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system to include VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting and symmetrical lighting because such a modification is the result of applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results. More specifically, VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting and symmetrical lighting permits use of an adaptive lighting system for LED strips, allowing for more general use and cater to user preference (if symmetry is preferred). This known benefit in VAN is applicable to ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system as they both share characteristics and capabilities, namely, they are directed to adaptive lighting systems based on detected target data. Therefore, it would have been recognized that modifying ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system to include VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting and symmetrical lighting would have yielded predictable results because (i) the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting and symmetrical lighting in adaptive lighting systems based on detected target data and (ii) the benefits of such a combination would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.
The combination of ZHOU and VAN does not expressly disclose identifying the target LED based on being shorter than or equal to a threshold.
However, Fasihozaman teaches identifying lights based on being shorter than or equal to a target distance ([0008]: “The light system includes a multitude of lights. The controller will illuminate at least one light of the light system when an object is detected within a threshold distance”).
At the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the combination of ZHOU and VAN’s adaptive lighting system to include Fasihozaman’s ability to select lights within a target distance because such a modification is the result of applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results. More specifically, Fasihozaman’s ability to select lights within a target distance permits use of a light when objects fall within a target distance. This known benefit in Fasihozaman is applicable to the combination of ZHOU and VAN’s adaptive lighting system as they both share characteristics and capabilities, namely, they are directed to responsive lighting to objects around them. Therefore, it would have been recognized that modifying the combination of ZHOU and VAN’s adaptive lighting system to include Fasihozaman’s ability to select lights within a target distance would have yielded predictable results because (i) the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate Fasihozaman’s ability to select lights within a target distance in responsive lighting to objects around them and (ii) the benefits of such a combination would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 13, the combination of ZHOU and VAN teaches the method according to claim 9, in addition, VAN further teaches wherein the determining the target lighting parameters step comprises:
determining a target bead and non-target beads from the plurality of beads based on the determined pose information and the target position information, wherein the target bead is a bead, among the plurality of beads, at a distance less than or equal to a target distance from a position of the target user ([0089]: “In FIG. 4, the lighting devices 402a-f are arranged at different distances from the chair 422. One lighting device 402b is arranged close to the chair 422. Two intermediate lighting devices 402a and 402d are arranged slightly further away, and three most distant lighting devices 402c, 402e and 402f are arranged the furthest away”. The closest light acts as the target and there is lights to the right and left of the target, the shading implies that the illumination is the same for similar patterned lights, so the lighting is symmetrical about the target (402b has symmetrical lights 402 a/402d and 402c/402e). These can be embodied as LED strips also, so these lights could be beads from an LED strip with the same illumination parameters, “A color lighting unit may be a larger color lighting device comprising a plurality of controllable light nodes. For example, a color lighting device may be a LED strip or panel having (individually) controllable LEDs (nodes), a display, a lighting panel, etc.” [0043]); and
determining a target lighting parameter of the target bead as a first parameter (Fig. 2, [0076-0077]: “In some embodiments, the step of determining 2040 a desaturated light setting may comprise determining 2044 a level of desaturation for the desaturated light setting of the at least one light source of the subset of color light sources. At step 2042, the method may comprise obtaining (accessing or determining) information on which to base the determination 2044 of the level of desaturation for the desaturated light setting of the light source in question. For example, the information obtained at step 2042 may comprise a distance between the light source in question and the position of the user. The information obtained at step 2042 may comprise an orientation of the light source relative to the position of the user. Alternatively, or additionally, the information obtained at step 2042 may comprise a type of the light source in question. Further, the level of desaturation may be based on a known (predefined) preference of a user. [0077] Further, the determination 2040 of the desaturated light setting may also comprise determining 2046 a color range (or gamut) of the reference light scene. A white point of the desaturated light setting may be determined 2048 based on the determined color range”. This setting would be present for the first light, and therefore be considered “first parameters”), and determining a target lighting parameter of the non-target beads as a second parameter (Fig. 2, [0076-0077]: “In some embodiments, the step of determining 2040 a desaturated light setting may comprise determining 2044 a level of desaturation for the desaturated light setting of the at least one light source of the subset of color light sources. At step 2042, the method may comprise obtaining (accessing or determining) information on which to base the determination 2044 of the level of desaturation for the desaturated light setting of the light source in question. For example, the information obtained at step 2042 may comprise a distance between the light source in question and the position of the user. The information obtained at step 2042 may comprise an orientation of the light source relative to the position of the user. Alternatively, or additionally, the information obtained at step 2042 may comprise a type of the light source in question. Further, the level of desaturation may be based on a known (predefined) preference of a user. [0077] Further, the determination 2040 of the desaturated light setting may also comprise determining 2046 a color range (or gamut) of the reference light scene. A white point of the desaturated light setting may be determined 2048 based on the determined color range”. This setting would be present for the second lights (non target), and therefore be considered “second parameters”).
At the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system to include VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting and parameters for each of the lights because such a modification is the result of applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results. More specifically, VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting and parameters for each of the lights permits use of an adaptive lighting system for LED strips, allowing for more general use and cater to user preference (if certain parameters are preferred). This known benefit in VAN is applicable to ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system as they both share characteristics and capabilities, namely, they are directed to adaptive lighting systems based on detected target data. Therefore, it would have been recognized that modifying ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system to include VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting and parameters for each of the lights would have yielded predictable results because (i) the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting and parameters for each of the lights in adaptive lighting systems based on detected target data and (ii) the benefits of such a combination would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.
The combination of ZHOU and VAN does not expressly disclose identifying the target LED based on being shorter than or equal to a threshold.
However, Fasihozaman teaches identifying lights based on being shorter than or equal to a target distance ([0008]: “The light system includes a multitude of lights. The controller will illuminate at least one light of the light system when an object is detected within a threshold distance”).
At the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the combination of ZHOU and VAN’s adaptive lighting system to include Fasihozaman’s ability to select lights within a target distance because such a modification is the result of applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results. More specifically, Fasihozaman’s ability to select lights within a target distance permits use of a light when objects fall within a target distance. This known benefit in Fasihozaman is applicable to the combination of ZHOU and VAN’s adaptive lighting system as they both share characteristics and capabilities, namely, they are directed to responsive lighting to objects around them. Therefore, it would have been recognized that modifying the combination of ZHOU and VAN’s adaptive lighting system to include Fasihozaman’s ability to select lights within a target distance would have yielded predictable results because (i) the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate Fasihozaman’s ability to select lights within a target distance in responsive lighting to objects around them and (ii) the benefits of such a combination would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 14, the combination of ZHOU, VAN, and Fasihozaman teaches the method according to claim 13, in addition, VAN further teaches wherein:
when the first parameter indicates a lighting state of the target bead ([0089]: “In FIG. 4, the lighting devices 402a-f are arranged at different distances from the chair 422. One lighting device 402b is arranged close to the chair 422. Two intermediate lighting devices 402a and 402d are arranged slightly further away, and three most distant lighting devices 402c, 402e and 402f are arranged the furthest away”. The closest light acts as the target, and it is activated “When controlled in accordance with the methods described in this disclosure, the lighting device 402b closest to the chair may have a first desaturation level” [0090]), the second parameter indicates a turn-off state of the non-target beads (Fig. 4, [0072]: “A light setting for a light source may include that the light source should be turned off”. The second parameters refer to the lights to the immediate left and right of the first light, the setting for these lights could be “turned off”);
At the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system to include VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting and parameters for each of the lights where the parameters are lighting and turning off because such a modification is the result of applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results. More specifically, VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting and parameters for each of the lights where the parameters are lighting and turning off permits use of an adaptive lighting system for LED strips, allowing for more general use and cater to user preference (if certain parameters are preferred). This known benefit in VAN is applicable to ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system as they both share characteristics and capabilities, namely, they are directed to adaptive lighting systems based on detected target data. Therefore, it would have been recognized that modifying ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system to include VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting and parameters for each of the lights where the parameters are lighting and turning off would have yielded predictable results because (i) the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate VAN’s ability to use an LED strip and individual LEDs on the strip for adaptive lighting and parameters for each of the lights where the parameters are lighting and turning off in adaptive lighting systems based on detected target data and (ii) the benefits of such a combination would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ZHOU et al. (CN 115460746 A Hereinafter “ZHOU”) in view of VAN DE SLUIS et al. (US 20250386411 A1 Hereinafter “VAN”) in further view of Fasihozaman et al. (US 20200369265 A1 Hereinafter “Fasihozaman”) in further view of Quintanschank (“How to make the LEDs come from both ends of the strip and meet in the middle or with a gap” Hereinafter “Quint”) in further view of Amazon (“32.8ft RGBIC LED Strip Lights WiFi Wireless Smart Phone” Hereinafter “Amazon”).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of ZHOU, VAN, and Fasihozaman teaches the method according to claim 6, wherein the preset symmetrical light effect comprises at least one of following:
The combination of ZHOU, VAN, and Fasihozaman does not expressly disclose sequentially lighting up the beads in order from a farthest distance to a nearest distance from the target bead.
However, Quint teaches the idea of sequentially lighting up the beads in order from a farthest distance to a nearest distance from the target bead (Quint poses the question “I was wondering if someone could help me get it where the fire will start on the both edges of the strip and meet in the middle”. This means the strip would illuminate on the ends of the strip and meet in the middle at the “target” LED).
At the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the combination of ZHOU, VAN, and Fasihozaman’s adaptive lighting system to include Quint’s idea of sequentially lighting up the beads in order from a farthest distance to a nearest distance from the target bead because such a modification is the result of applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results. More specifically, Quint’s idea of sequentially lighting up the beads in order from a farthest distance to a nearest distance from the target bead permits sequentially lighting up the beads in order from a farthest distance to a nearest distance from the target bead if the user wants. This known benefit in Quint is applicable to the combination of ZHOU, VAN, and Fasihozaman’s adaptive lighting system as they both share characteristics and capabilities, namely, they are directed to light strips. Therefore, it would have been recognized that modifying the combination of ZHOU, VAN, and Fasihozaman’s adaptive lighting system to include Quint’s idea of sequentially lighting up the beads in order from a farthest distance to a nearest distance from the target bead would have yielded predictable results because (i) the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to Quint’s idea of sequentially lighting up the beads in order from a farthest distance to a nearest distance from the target bead in light strips and (ii) the benefits of such a combination would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.
The combination of ZHOU, VAN, and Fasihozaman does not expressly disclose alternatively lighting up the beads in a preset color sequence.
However, Amazon teaches alternatively lighting up the beads in a preset color sequence (Image of product shows LEDs illuminated in alternating order of green, red, then blue).
At the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the combination of ZHOU, VAN, and Fasihozaman’s adaptive lighting system to include Amazon’s ability to use alternating colors for a LED strip because such a modification is the result of applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results. More specifically, Amazon’s ability to use alternating colors for an LED strip permits ability to use alternating colors if the user wants. This known benefit in Amazon is applicable to the combination of ZHOU, VAN, and Fasihozaman’s adaptive lighting system as they both share characteristics and capabilities, namely, they are directed to light strips. Therefore, it would have been recognized that modifying the combination of ZHOU, VAN, and Fasihozaman’s adaptive lighting system to include Amazon’s ability to use alternating colors for a LED strip would have yielded predictable results because (i) the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to Amazon’s ability to use alternating colors for a LED strip in light strips and (ii) the benefits of such a combination would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.
Claims 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ZHOU et al. (CN 115460746 A Hereinafter “ZHOU”) in view of VAN DE SLUIS et al. (US 20250386411 A1 Hereinafter “VAN”) in further view of Yamazaki et al. (US 20250174024 A1 Hereinafter “Yamazaki”).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of ZHOU and VAN teaches the method according to claim 9, in addition, ZHOU further teaches wherein the determining the pose information step comprises at least one of following:
determining, based on the obtained user image, whether the target user is in a preset region, to obtain the pose information of the target user (Page 8, third to last paragraph: “201. acquiring the pose of a target object in a target area; the target object is a human body form obtained through recognition according to the human body skeleton structure”. For the pose to be of a target object in a target area there must be determination of target user in preset region);
determining, based on the obtained user image, a position of the target user, to obtain the pose information of the target user (Page 8, second to last paragraph: “The target object may be a human body skeleton diagram obtained after image recognition, the human body skeleton diagram may be a line segment diagram obtained by connecting human body key points, and may represent a human body form, and spatial positions and relative positions of the key points in the line segment diagram may represent poses of the target object”);
determining, based on the obtained user image, a movement trajectory of the target user, to obtain the pose information of the target user (Page 9, fifth to last paragraph: “Referring to fig. 3, in another embodiment, the light effect control method may further predict a movement trend of the pose of the target object according to the pose of the target object”); and
The combination of ZHOU and VAN does not expressly disclose determining behavioral intention based on the image as pose information.
However, Yamazaki teaches obtaining behavior intention alongside the pose information ([0107]: “(5) Behavior analysis processing can estimate a movement of a person by using the information about the stick figure model, a change in a pose, and the like, and perform extraction of a feature value (movement feature value) of the movement of the person, classification (division into classes) of a person included in an image, and the like”)
At the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the combination of ZHOU and VAN’s adaptive lighting system to include Yamazaki’s ability to obtain behavior information alongside pose information from images because such a modification is the result of applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results. More specifically, Yamazaki’s ability to obtain behavior information alongside pose information from images permits better understanding of the person in the image by obtaining behavior information about them. This known benefit in Yamazaki is applicable to the combination of ZHOU and VAN’s adaptive lighting system as they both share characteristics and capabilities, namely, they are directed to analyzing images of individuals to determine information about them. Therefore, it would have been recognized that modifying the combination of ZHOU and VAN’s adaptive lighting system to include Yamazaki’s ability to obtain behavior information alongside pose information from images would have yielded predictable results because (i) the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate Yamazaki’s ability to obtain behavior information alongside pose information from images in analyzing images of individuals to determine information about them and (ii) the benefits of such a combination would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 11, the combination of ZHOU and VAN teaches the method according to claim 9, in addition VAN further teaches wherein the determining the target lighting parameters step comprises:
([0032]: “A personal user device may further be used to identify a user, e.g., to adapt the control of the plurality of color light sources to personal preferences”); and
determining the target lighting parameters based on the pose information, the target position information, and the identity information ([0032]: “A personal user device may further be used to identify a user, e.g., to adapt the control of the plurality of color light sources to personal preferences”).
At the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system to include VAN’s identification of user and use of user preferences for lighting effects because such a modification is the result of applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results. More specifically, VAN’s identification of user and use of user preferences for lighting effects permits adapting the lights based on the user preferences, which improves overall quality of life for that user. This known benefit in VAN is applicable to ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system as they both share characteristics and capabilities, namely, they are directed to adaptive lighting systems based on detected target data. Therefore, it would have been recognized that modifying ZHOU’s adaptive lighting system to include VAN’s identification of user and use of user preferences for lighting effects because (i) the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate VAN’s identification of user and use of user preferences for lighting effects in adaptive lighting systems based on detected target data and (ii) the benefits of such a combination would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.
The combination of ZHOU and VAN does not expressly disclose determining the identity of the individual through image analysis.
However, Yamazaki teaches determining the identity of the individual through image analysis ([0102]: “The face analysis function can also determine identity of persons detected from different images, based on a degree of similarity between face feature values of the persons detected from the different images, and the like”).
At the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the combination of ZHOU and VAN’s adaptive lighting system to include Yamazaki’s ability to obtain identity information from images because such a modification is the result of applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results. More specifically, Yamazaki’s ability to obtain identity information from images permits a way for an individual to be determined in an image without need of an additional device (such as detecting a cellphone) to determine their identity. This known benefit in Yamazaki is applicable to the combination of ZHOU and VAN’s adaptive lighting system as they both share characteristics and capabilities, namely, they are directed to identifying people’s identity who are in images for further use. Therefore, it would have been recognized that modifying the combination of ZHOU and VAN’s adaptive lighting system to include Yamazaki’s ability to obtain identity information from images would have yielded predictable results because (i) the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate Yamazaki’s ability to obtain identity information from images in identifying people’s identity who are in images for further use and (ii) the benefits of such a combination would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 12, the combination of ZHOU, VAN, and Yamazaki teaches the method according to claim 11, in addition, VAN further teaches wherein the determining the target lighting parameters based on the pose information, the target position information, and the identity information step comprises:
determining whether the identity information indicates that the target user is a preset user ([0032]: “A personal user device may further be used to identify a user, e.g., to adapt the control of the plurality of color light sources to personal preferences”. If the personal preferences of the user are known, it has been determined that the target user is a preset user); and
after determining that the identity information indicates that the target user is the preset user, determining to-be-displayed colors of the plurality of beads and switching time of the to-be-displayed colors based on the pose information and the target position information, to obtain the target lighting parameters ([0032]: “A personal user device may further be used to identify a user, e.g., to adapt the control of the plurality of color light sources to personal preferences”. Control of the lights includes color decision and light activation “The controller is further configured to determine a subset of the plurality of light sources arranged to illuminate the position of the user. The controller is further configured to determine a desaturated light setting for at least one of the color light sources of the determined subset. The controller is further configured to control the plurality of color light sources based on the reference light scene, wherein the at least one color light source of the determined subset is controlled according to the determined desaturated light setting”. The activation of lights is the “switching time” of when a user enters the target LED range)
At the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the combination of ZHOU, VAN, and Yamazaki’s adaptive lighting system to further include VAN’s determination of user identity and use of user identity to control lights because such a modification is the result of applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results. More specifically, VAN’s determination of user identity and use of user identity to control lights permits recognition of a user and using the users information to control the lights to their preference, improving overall quality of life for the user. This known benefit in VAN is applicable to the combination of ZHOU, VAN, and Yamazaki’s adaptive lighting system as they both share characteristics and capabilities, namely, they are directed to controlling lights based on user information. Therefore, it would have been recognized that modifying the combination of ZHOU, VAN, and Yamazaki’s adaptive lighting system to further include VAN’s determination of user identity and use of user identity to control lights would have yielded predictable results because (i) the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate VAN’s determination of user identity and use of user identity to control lights in they are directed to controlling lights based on user information and (ii) the benefits of such a combination would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 15 is 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:
GOOR (US 20210059031 A1) teaches controlling lighting based on user location, different settings for different locations
Baaijens et al. (US 20150289347 A1) teaches lighting based on user position
BORRA et al. (US 20230083233 A1) teaches lighting based on user positions
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEFANO A DARDANO whose telephone number is (703)756-4543. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 11:00 - 7:00.
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, Greg Morse can be reached at (571) 272-3838. 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.
/STEFANO ANTHONY DARDANO/ Examiner, Art Unit 2663
/SEAN M CONNER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2663
Prosecution Insights