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 .
Claims 1-6 are pending.
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.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Claim 6 recites “A computer program” which appears to be software per se. As such, claim 6 does not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Perez, III et al (US 10553036, hereinafter “Perez”) in view of Johnson (USP 20210173471).
Regarding claims 1, 5, 6, Perez teaches method, program, information processing device comprising: an adjustment screen generation unit that generates an adjustment screen for allowing a user wearing a head-mounted display to adjust virtual objects in a virtual space displayed on the head- mounted display (Fig. 5, line 57 of col. 10 to line 7 of col. 11) (Fig 14, col. 23, lines 11-29: user interface 1402 is generated and rendered for user’s view on the mobile device and may be used to alter structure of the virtual environment) the adjustment screen including an image of a stadiometer (Fig. 14-15), (line 63 of col. 25 to line 11 of col. 26); a display control unit that causes the head-mounted display to display the adjustment screen; and a setting unit that, when an operation for setting a height of the user to the image of the stadiometer in the adjustment screen has been input, sets size in the virtual space according to the height of the user set to the image of the stadiometer (Fig. 14-15), (line 63 of col. 25 to line 11 of col. 26) (Fig. 23, line 56 of col. 30 to line 32 of col. 31).
As seen above, Perez teaches setting the size of virtual object according to the height of the user set to the image of the stadiometer but does not explicitly mention floor height or teach that such size can be floor height. Johnson teaches a virtual space configuration system which is capable of analyzing user’s posture to adjust floor height accordingly (par [0058], [0069] “process 500 can determine whether the posture determined at block 502 corresponds to a seated posture “, “If the determined posture is seated” “the available seated virtual space customizations can include allowing adjustment of a floor height”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Perez teaching of setting the size of virtual object based on the height of the user to include floor height adjustment taught by Johnson. One would have been motivated to make such a combination to in order to provide Perez’s user with more control on customization/configuration of the virtual environment (Johnson, abstract, [0001]).
Regarding claim 2, Perez, as modified by Johnson, teaches the information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the operation for setting the height of the user to the image of the stadiometer is an operation that is input to a button or a stick of a controller and that designates a position that matches the height of the user in graduations of the stadiometer (Fig 5, 14-15, 23).
Regarding claim 3, Perez, as modified by Johnson, teaches the information processing device according to claim 1, wherein, when a visual line of the user is directed downward, the adjustment screen generation unit generates an adjustment screen represented by overlapping an image of a floor in a real space with an image of the floor in the virtual space, and the floor setting unit sets the floor height in the virtual space according to an operation that is input to a button or a stick of a controller and that causes a floor height in the real space and the floor height in the virtual space to match each other. (Perez: line 58 of col. 23 to line 16 of col. 24), (Johnson: Fig 7A, [0092]).
Regarding Claim 4, Perez, as modified by Johnson, teaches the information processing device according to claim 1 wherein the user is allowed to select, as a method for adjusting the floor height in the virtual space, a method different from a method using the adjustment screen (Johnson, [0058], “a user selection of floor height, a floor height based on a determined user height, an average of floor heights selected by other users”).
The prior art made of record on form PTO-892 and not relied on is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
Ryu (US 10909709) teaches interfaces for setting body measurements in 3D environment.
Conclusion
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/KIEU D VU/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2171
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