DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claims 6 and 15 are objected to because of the following informality: “the character” should instead read “the display character” to maintain consistency with the phrasing set forth in independent claims 1 and 10. Appropriate correction is required.
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 2, 8, 11, and 17 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.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "the first time" in line 12. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "the user character" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For purposes of examination, this is being interpreted simply as “the user.”
Claim 11 recites the limitation "the first time" in line 11. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 17 recites the limitation "the user character" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For purposes of examination, this is being interpreted simply as “the user.”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea(s) without significantly more.
Regarding Claim 1, analyzed as the representative claim:
[Step 1] Claim 1 recites “A game system…” which falls within the “machine” statutory category of invention under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
[Step 2A – Prong 1] Claim 1 recites “A game system in which a character is able to appear in a field inside of a game, the game system comprising: processing circuitry configured to receive sleep information of a user, receive a setting of an object that is able to be placed in the field and is associated with a parameter in response to an operation of the user before sleep, determine a display character that is a character to be displayed in the field on the basis of at least the sleep information of the user and the parameter of the object, generate a display image indicating a situation of the field including the object placed in the field and the display character, and output the display image after the user wakes up.” The bolded limitations, under their broadest reasonable interpretation, encompass mental processes (including observation, evaluation, judgment, and opinion). That is, other than reciting that the method is performed “by a computer program executing on a computing device,” nothing in the claim precludes the steps from practically being performed by a human and/or in the human mind. Specifically, the claim encompasses a user receiving information about sleep and an object, choosing a display character based on some criteria, and picturing an image of that character and object. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea(s).
[Step 2A – Prong 2] The judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. Specifically, the claim recites the additional element of processing circuity, which is recited at a high level of generality and merely automates the receiving, determining, and generating steps. Therefore, this additional element amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computing device, which does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea(s). Additionally and/or alternatively, the limitations of generating a display image and outputting that display image are drawn to insignificant extra-solution activity (data display). See MPEP § 2106.05(g). Thus, the claim is directed to an abstract idea(s).
[Step 2B] The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea(s) into a practical application, the additional elements of processing circuitry and generating/displaying an image amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computing device and/or insignificant extra-solution activity, which cannot provide an inventive concept. Accordingly, representative claim 1 is not patent eligible.
Claims 2-8 are dependent on representative claim 1 and include all of the limitations of claim 1. Therefore, the dependent claims recite the same abstract idea(s) as those recited in the independent claim or contain limitations drawn to generic computer components and/or reciting extra solution activities. While the dependent claims may have a narrower scope than the representative claim, no claim contains an additional element to integrate the abstract idea(s) into a practical application or to render an inventive concept that transforms the corresponding claim into a patent eligible application of the otherwise ineligible abstract idea(s). Thereby, claims 2-8 are also patent ineligible.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-2, 9-11, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2020-044222 (hereinafter “Shindo”) and further in view of US 2017/0136348 (hereinafter “Hattori”).
Regarding Claims 1, 9-10, and 18, Shindo discloses processing circuitry configured to receive sleep information of a user (par. 0008: “acquiring sleep information which includes at least a sleep pattern indicating the user's bedtime and wake-up time; storing the acquired sleep information as a sleep history; and executing processing related to the game based on the sleep pattern of the sleep history;” par. 0035: “The processing unit 160 calculates a sleep pattern indicating the user's bedtime and wake-up time based on the sensing data”),
receive a setting of an object that is able to be placed in the field and is associated with a parameter in response to an operation of the user before sleep (par. 0077: “Items, for example, when used to put a virtual life form to sleep, can trigger special effects such as making it easier for the virtual life form to level up or causing other virtual life forms to appear;” Examiner notes the setting and parameter of such an item are related to its effect, e.g., causing another virtual life to appear or to level up),
determine a display character that is a character to be displayed in the field on the basis of at least the sleep information of the user and the parameter of the object (figs. 7-9: an image indicating a display character in a visual field; pars. 0071-0074: “an event that occurs when a user's sleep pattern meets a standard sleep pattern … include events that help virtual life forms grow… Growing a virtual life form can involve, for example, becoming physically larger… more beautiful, growing from a child to an adult, evolving… In other words, character A grows when the user's sleep pattern meets the standard sleep pattern. This allows users to enjoy the process of character A growing as they progress through the game by maintaining good sleep habits;” par. 0083: “if a user stays awake beyond their standard bedtime, a virtual life form that is difficult to get to sleep will be introduced;” par. 0077: “Items, for example, when used to put a virtual life form to sleep, can trigger special effects such as… causing other virtual life forms to appear;” par. 0077: “Items, for example, when used to put a virtual life form to sleep, can trigger special effects such as making it easier for the virtual life form to level up or causing other virtual life forms to appear;” Examiner notes that some combination of the collected sleep information of the user and the parameter of the selected object cause a display character to appear or be replaced), and
generate a display image indicating a situation of the field including the display character (figs. 7-9: a generated display image indicating the display character in a visual field).
Shindo does not explicitly disclose that the generated display image includes the object nor that the image is output after the user wakes up. However, Hattori discloses generate a display image indicating a situation of the field including the object placed in the field and the display character (figs. 7-9, 12-14, 21), and
output the display image after the user wakes up (fig. 16; par. 0034: “In response to the determination that the user has awakened or gotten out of bed, the display control unit may automatically display the image on the display device”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the image generation and output of Hattori with the health-based game of Shindo in order to display a more interesting image to the user (Hattori, figs. 7-9, 12-14, 21) and to potentially help motivate the user to wake up and/or to help the user feel less tired/sleepy (“to have an effect of awakening”) (Hattori, par. 0386).
Further regarding Claim 9, modified Shindo discloses a game method in a game system in which a character is able to appear in a field inside of a game (Shindo, par. 0008: “the method relating to this disclosure is a method for managing the progress of a virtual life form game, comprising the steps of: acquiring sleep information which includes at least a sleep pattern indicating the user's bedtime and wake-up time; storing the acquired sleep information as a sleep history; and executing processing related to the game based on the sleep pattern of the sleep history”), the game method comprising the above steps.
Further regarding Claim 10, modified Shindo discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions thereon which, when executed by a game system in which a character is able to appear in a field inside of a game (Shindo, par. 0034: “the CPU uses memory to execute the information processing program stored in the storage unit 140, thereby performing the various information processing operations described above”), the causes the game system to perform the above steps.
Further regarding Claim 18, modified Shindo discloses a server for a game system in which a character is able to appear in a field inside of a game (par. 0009: “a game server that manages the progress of a virtual life form game… the game server includes an acquisition unit that acquires sleep information including at least a sleep pattern that indicates the user's bedtime and wake-up time, a sleep history storage unit that stores the acquired sleep information as a sleep history, and a processing unit that executes processing related to the game based on the sleep pattern of the sleep history”).
Regarding Claims 2 and 11, Shindo modified by Hattori further discloses the sleep information of the user used to determine the display character includes at least information related to a sleep time and does not include information related to quality of sleep (Shindo, par. 0006: “sleep information including at least a sleep pattern indicating the user's bedtime and wake-up time;” pars. 0071-0074: “an event that occurs when a user's sleep pattern meets a standard sleep pattern),
wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to generate a video as the display image and generate the video with a length determined in accordance with the sleep time (Hattori, par. 0254: “the image displayed as the replay game image (a video in the present embodiment);” figs. 4, 6, fig. 10: duration of sleep/waking time is used), and
associate information related to the display character included in the video for the first time with the user (Hattori, figs. 7-8, 12-14, 21: new daily information related to display character in video relayed to user when first going to bed or awakening that day).
Regarding Claims 4 and 13, Shindo further discloses the processing circuitry is further configured to determine a clock time at which the display character has appeared in the field (par. 0034: “presenting to the user information regarding the progress of the game received from the game server 200… the processing unit 160 performs information processing to realize each function. Furthermore, the processing unit 160 obtains the current date and time using the system clock”).
Claims 3, 6-7, 12, and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shindo in view of Hattori as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of US 2022/0168655 (hereinafter “Sekido”).
Regarding Claims 3 and 12, Shindo discloses the processing circuitry is further configured to determine an appearing character that is a character appearing in the field on the basis of the sleep information of the user (figs. 7-9: an image indicating a display character in a visual field; pars. 0071-0074: “an event that occurs when a user's sleep pattern meets a standard sleep pattern … include events that help virtual life forms grow… Growing a virtual life form can involve, for example, becoming physically larger… more beautiful, growing from a child to an adult, evolving… In other words, character A grows when the user's sleep pattern meets the standard sleep pattern. This allows users to enjoy the process of character A growing as they progress through the game by maintaining good sleep habits;” par. 0083: “if a user stays awake beyond their standard bedtime, a virtual life form that is difficult to get to sleep will be introduced”).
Modified Shindo does not disclose a comparison of parameters determining a motion. However, Sekido discloses compare the parameter of the object with a parameter of the appearing character and determine a motion of the appearing character on the basis of a comparison result (figs. 6A-6B, 8A-8B, 9A-9B; pars. 0066-0075: Examiner notes the motion depicted as the display status is determined from a combination of the parameter/type of appearing character and the parameters/values of the heart rate and movement detected by the wearable object), and
wherein a display mode of the display character is determined on the basis of information regarding the appearing character and information regarding the motion of the appearing character (figs. 6A-6B, 9A-9B: display status determined based on type of character and information regarding the determined motion).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the determination of a motion of the appearing character as disclosed by Sekido with the existing parameters and character of Shindo in order to more accurately demonstrate the character based on the collected user data (Sekido, pars. 0066-0070).
Regarding Claims 6 and 15, modified Shindo does not explicitly disclose the character performing motions. However, Sekido discloses the character is associated with a motion parameter that is a condition required for the character to execute any one motion from among a predetermined plurality of types of motions in the field (figs. 6A-6B, 9A-9B, fig. 12; various possible characters and each character is able to conduct at least one of a variety of motions based on the detected user state, the ability to output a particular display status depends on both the character and the user state), and
the processing circuitry is further configured to compare the parameter of the object with the motion parameter of the display character and determine the motion of the display character (figs. 6A-6B, 8A-8B, 9A-9B; pars. 0066-0075: Examiner notes the motion depicted as the display status is determined from a combination of the parameter/type of appearing character and the parameters/values of the heart rate and movement detected by the wearable object), and
notify the user of information related to at least either the motion parameter or the parameter of the object required to cause the display character to execute another motion that is different from the motion determined by the character determination section (par. 0088: “Upon determination of the target character, a notification indicating that the evolution to the character is available is made in the game apparatus 100. The notification includes a selection item to confirm the user's intention of whether the character is caused to evolve;” par. 0067: “The display status is basically determined so that the developing character has an appearance in which the state of activity of the wearer is reflected in order to present the sense of unity with the developing character, which is caused by cooperation with the wearer. More specifically, the state of activity of the wearer is classified into, for example, six kinds: “running”, “special training”, “walking”, “normal” “resting”, and “no-wearing” illustrated in FIG. 6A in accordance with the amount of activity concerning the number of steps and the amount of activity concerning the heart rate of the developing character, and the display status 1456 of the developing character is updated so as to display the appearance in which the state of activity of the wearer is reflected;” Examiner notes the user is apprised both of the ability to evolve a character, which would change its various motion appearances and/or of the type of activity that needs to be detected by the wearable object in order to display a different type of motion).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the determination of a motion of the appearing character as disclosed by Sekido with the existing parameters and character of Shindo in order to more accurately demonstrate the character based on the collected user data (Sekido, pars. 0066-0070).
Regarding Claim 7 and 16, Shindo modified by Sekido further discloses the motion of the display character includes a plurality of types of motions of sleeping in the field (Sekido, figs. 6A, 10A-10B: motion can depict different motions of sleeping in the display field in the “resting” or “no-wearing” states).
Shindo modified by Hattori further discloses at least one motion of waking up in the field (Hattori, figs. 7-9 character 51 performs motion depicting waking up in the display field in response to user waking up).
These particular motions would have been included in the combinations of Shindo with Hattori and Sekido described above for claims 1, 6, 10, and 15.
Claims 5 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shindo in view of Hattori as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of a 2021 Pokémon Go Wiki entry entitled “Incense” (hereinafter “Pokémon Go Wiki”).
Regarding Claims 5 and 14, modified Shindo discloses the display character is determined on the basis of at least the sleep information of the user and the parameter of the object (see claims 1 and 10), but not that the type of field is considered as well. However, Pokémon Go Wiki discloses the field is selected in accordance with the operation of the user before sleep from among a plurality of fields (p. 1: the game’s field/biome is determined by the user’s real-life location/biome; Examiner notes since this inherently cannot happen while the user is asleep, it must happen sometime before the user next sleeps), and
the field is associated with each character that is able to appear in the field (p. 1: “Spawns are… based on the local biome the player is in”), and
the processing circuitry is further configured to determine the display character on the basis of at least the collected information of the user, the parameter of the object, and a parameter of the character associated with the field (p. 1: the user’s physical location determines what characters may appear due to particular types of characters being associated with particular biomes/fields; pp. 1-2, 5: various types of the ‘incense’ object may be used, which each affect the determination of the display character).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the determination of a display character as disclosed by Pokémon Go Wiki—which includes user data collected by the user’s device, the parameter of a selected object, and a parameter of the character, i.e., what types of biomes they can appear in—with the determination of a character as disclosed by Shindo, which includes user data collected by the user’s device (sleeping data) and the parameter of a selected object in order to make further use of the user’s data in the game experience and/or to allow user to seek specific types of characters based on a controllable factor (e.g., field/biome) (Pokémon Go Wiki, pp. 1-2, 5).
Claims 8 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shindo in view of Hattori as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of a 2018 YouTube video entitled “Pokemon Lets Go how to get past the sleeping Snorlax” (hereinafter “Release-Fire”).
Regarding Claims 8 and 17, Shindo further discloses the user character of the user is able to act in the field together with a main character that is able to act in the field together with the user character in the game (par. 0035: “To awaken a virtual life form, you might, for example, tap the virtual life form displayed on the screen or shake the device;” par. 0068: “To awaken a virtual life form, you might, for example, tap the virtual life form displayed on the screen or shake the device”).
Shindo does not explicitly disclose the display character executing a sleeping motion within a defined range of the main character. However, Release-Fire discloses the display character executes a sleeping motion at a position within a predetermined range centered on the main character (figs 1-3 and 0:00-0:12 of video: display character executing a sleeping motion does not occur and/or cannot be displayed until within a predetermined range centered around the main character).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the display character executing a sleeping motion within a predetermined range of the main character as disclosed by Release-Fire with the sleep-tracking game of Shindo as a mere design choice and/or to visually depict the sleep that Shindo is already tracking so it can be seen by the user (Release-Fire, figs. 2-3).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 2021/0252382 (Nishimura) teaches a game that tracks various health markers and incentivizes the user with in-game rewards. Advice is given to the user as to what actions are needed to earn certain rewards.
US 2020/0342648 (Shimizu) teaches a game that changes the display character based on user biometric data and on selected input data.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JULIE DOSHER whose telephone number is (571) 272-4842. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dmitry Suhol can be reached at (571) 272-4430. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J.G.D./Examiner, Art Unit 3715
/DMITRY SUHOL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3715
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