DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Preliminary Amendment
2. Preliminary amendment to the claims filed on 11/25/2024 is accepted and is examined below.
Claim Objections
3. Claims 1-7 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1 at line 1 recites an avatar and claim 1 at line 4 recites a virtual avatar. However, an avatar is a virtual object so an avatar and a virtual avatar are the same object. Claim 1 at line 1 should amend an avatar to “a virtual avatar” and claim 1 at line 4 should amend a virtual avatar to “the virtual avatar” while Appropriate correction is required. Furthermore, claim 1 at line 7 should amend the virtual avatar with a three-dimensional effect to “the virtual avatar with the three-dimensional effect”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Claims 1, 7, 9-10, 17, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schneider et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0268608 A1) in view of Dedonato et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0171484 A1).
7. Regarding Claim 1, Schneider discloses A method for generating comprising: (Abstract reciting “In one embodiment, a method for designing an augmented-reality effect may include associating, by a computing device, a first visual object with a first rendering order specified by a user. …” see FIG. 8A and 8B wherein the 3D effect comes from multiple planes placed in different 3D space locations.)
acquiring a target material, wherein the target material is divided into at least two layers; (paragraph [0068] reciting “FIGS. 8A-8B illustrate an example of an object having a transparent or translucent property. FIG. 8A illustrates a camera 800, which represents the position of a viewer, and a display region 801 through which a scene of a three-dimensional space is displayed. The three-dimensional space includes a transparent/translucent plane 802 and an opaque plane 803, with the transparent plane 802 positioned in front of the opaque plane 803 with respect to the camera
800. FIG. 8B illustrates the scene of the three-dimensional space as displayed on the display region 801. Because the transparent/translucent plane 802 allows light through, the opaque plane 803 is visible through the transparent/translucent plane 802. In other words, the opaque plane 803 contributes to the pixels occupied by the transparent/translucent plane 802, despite being positioned behind the transparent/translucent plane 802.” The target material corresponds to plane 802 and 803 which are at least two layers.)
determining an occlusion relationship between the at least two layers (paragraph [0068] reciting “FIGS. 8A-8B illustrate an example of an object having a transparent or translucent property. FIG. 8A illustrates a camera 800, which represents the position of a viewer, and a display region 801 through which a scene of a three-dimensional space is displayed. The three-dimensional space includes a transparent/translucent plane 802 and an opaque plane 803, with the transparent plane 802 positioned in front of the opaque plane 803 with respect to the camera
800. FIG. 8B illustrates the scene of the three-dimensional space as displayed on the display region 801. Because the transparent/translucent plane 802 allows light through, the opaque plane 803 is visible through the transparent/translucent plane 802. In other words, the opaque plane 803 contributes to the pixels occupied by the transparent/translucent plane 802, despite being positioned behind the transparent/translucent plane 802.” The occlusion relationship is that plane 802 is transparent and plane 803 is opaque. Therefore, plane 802 does not occlude plane 803 when 802 is placed in front of plane 803.)
While not explicitly disclosed by Schneider, Dedonato discloses an avatar with a three-dimensional effect, (paragraph [0182] reciting “After (e.g., in response to) detecting that the computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) has been removed from the body (e.g., 708 a) of the user (e.g., 708), the computer system captures (806) (e.g., via the one or more sensors such as cameras) information related to (e.g., about) the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., image data, sensor data, and/or depth data indicative of a size, shape, position, pose, color, depth, and/or other characteristic of one or more body parts (e.g., a head and/or a face) of the user) (e.g., information about one or more physical characteristics of a user of the computer system). The computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) is configured to use the information to generate a representation (e.g., 726) (e.g., a (2D or 3D) virtual representation, a (2D or 3D) avatar) of the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., the computer system generates a representation (e.g., an avatar) of the user that is based on the information related to the user, such that the representation of the user includes visual indications based on (e.g., with similar) sizes, shapes, positions, poses, colors, depths, and/or other characteristics of a body, hair, clothing, and/or other features of the user).” The avatar is interpreted as a virtual avatar since avatars are graphical virtual objects in general. The virtual avatar corresponds to 2D avatar of the user.)
and a virtual avatar; (paragraph [0182] reciting “After (e.g., in response to) detecting that the computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) has been removed from the body (e.g., 708 a) of the user (e.g., 708), the computer system captures (806) (e.g., via the one or more sensors such as cameras) information related to (e.g., about) the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., image data, sensor data, and/or depth data indicative of a size, shape, position, pose, color, depth, and/or other characteristic of one or more body parts (e.g., a head and/or a face) of the user) (e.g., information about one or more physical characteristics of a user of the computer system). The computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) is configured to use the information to generate a representation (e.g., 726) (e.g., a (2D or 3D) virtual representation, a (2D or 3D) avatar) of the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., the computer system generates a representation (e.g., an avatar) of the user that is based on the information related to the user, such that the representation of the user includes visual indications based on (e.g., with similar) sizes, shapes, positions, poses, colors, depths, and/or other characteristics of a body, hair, clothing, and/or other features of the user).”
The avatar is interpreted as a virtual avatar since avatars are graphical virtual objects in general. The virtual avatar corresponds to 2D avatar of the user.))
The limitation and rendering the target material and the virtual avatar based on the occlusion relationship to generate the virtual avatar with a three-dimensional effect is disclosed by Schneider in view of Dedonato. Schneider discloses in FIG. 8A and 8B a transparent plane 802 and opaque plane 803 in 3D virtual space. Furthermore, in FIG. 9A, Schneider discloses a further virtual object overlay 904 that is placed between 2 3D plane such as planes 802 and 803. Dedonato discloses in paragraph [0182] a virtual 2D avatar, and this avatar can replace overlay 904 of Schneider to generate a rendered target material that has the virtual avatar sandwiched inbetween the 2 planes 802 and 803 which in turns creates a 3D effect because these objects are all rendered in 3D virtual space. Any object rendered in 3D space is considered to have 3D effect.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to modify Schneider with Dedonato so that an avatar can be sandwiched between 2 virtual planes. This is an obviously beneficial modification since Schenider already discloses two planes 802 and 803 and another graphic to be sandwiched between planes 802 and 803. Dedonato merely discloses a 2D avatar. This is a beneficial modification since it allows avatar to be displayed as well in addition to other types of graphics.
8. Regarding Claim 7, Schneider further discloses The method according to claim 1, wherein the target material comprises a frame; and
wherein rendering the target material and the virtual avatar based on the occlusion relationship comprises: rendering the virtual avatar in front of a part of the frame. (see FIG. 8A, 8B, and 9A, wherein the virtual object 904 is rendered between planes 802 and 803. Plane 803 to a frame layer because it is opaque.)
Dedonato further discloses the virtual avatar (paragraph [0182] reciting “After (e.g., in response to) detecting that the computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) has been removed from the body (e.g., 708 a) of the user (e.g., 708), the computer system captures (806) (e.g., via the one or more sensors such as cameras) information related to (e.g., about) the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., image data, sensor data, and/or depth data indicative of a size, shape, position, pose, color, depth, and/or other characteristic of one or more body parts (e.g., a head and/or a face) of the user) (e.g., information about one or more physical characteristics of a user of the computer system). The computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) is configured to use the information to generate a representation (e.g., 726) (e.g., a (2D or 3D) virtual representation, a (2D or 3D) avatar) of the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., the computer system generates a representation (e.g., an avatar) of the user that is based on the information related to the user, such that the representation of the user includes visual indications based on (e.g., with similar) sizes, shapes, positions, poses, colors, depths, and/or other characteristics of a body, hair, clothing, and/or other features of the user).”)
9. Regarding Claim 9, Schneider discloses An electronic device, (paragraph [0004] reciting “In operation, after an augmented-reality effect has been designed, objects appearing in the effect may be rendered by end-user devices (e.g., smart phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, etc.). …”) comprising: at least one processor; and a storage apparatus, configured to store at least one program, wherein the at least one program, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to: (paragraph [0084] reciting “In particular embodiments, memory
1304 includes main memory for storing instructions for processor 1302 to execute or data for processor 1302 to operate on. As an example and not by way of limitation, computer system 1300 may load instructions from storage 1306 or another source (such as, for example, another computer system 1300) to memory 1304. …”)
acquire a target material, wherein the target material is divided into at least two layers; (paragraph [0068] reciting “FIGS. 8A-8B illustrate an example of an object having a transparent or translucent property. FIG. 8A illustrates a camera 800, which represents the position of a viewer, and a display region 801 through which a scene of a three-dimensional space is displayed. The three-dimensional space includes a transparent/translucent plane 802 and an opaque plane 803, with the transparent plane 802 positioned in front of the opaque plane 803 with respect to the camera
800. FIG. 8B illustrates the scene of the three-dimensional space as displayed on the display region 801. Because the transparent/translucent plane 802 allows light through, the opaque plane 803 is visible through the transparent/translucent plane 802. In other words, the opaque plane 803 contributes to the pixels occupied by the transparent/translucent plane 802, despite being positioned behind the transparent/translucent plane 802.” The target material corresponds to plane 802 and 803 which are at least two layers.)
determine an occlusion relationship between the at least two layers (paragraph [0068] reciting “FIGS. 8A-8B illustrate an example of an object having a transparent or translucent property. FIG. 8A illustrates a camera 800, which represents the position of a viewer, and a display region 801 through which a scene of a three-dimensional space is displayed. The three-dimensional space includes a transparent/translucent plane 802 and an opaque plane 803, with the transparent plane 802 positioned in front of the opaque plane 803 with respect to the camera
800. FIG. 8B illustrates the scene of the three-dimensional space as displayed on the display region 801. Because the transparent/translucent plane 802 allows light through, the opaque plane 803 is visible through the transparent/translucent plane 802. In other words, the opaque plane 803 contributes to the pixels occupied by the transparent/translucent plane 802, despite being positioned behind the transparent/translucent plane 802.” The occlusion relationship is that plane 802 is transparent and plane 803 is opaque. Therefore, plane 802 does not occlude plane 803 when 802 is placed in front of plane 803.)
While not explicitly disclosed by Schneider, Dedonato discloses and a virtual avatar; (paragraph [0182] reciting “After (e.g., in response to) detecting that the computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) has been removed from the body (e.g., 708 a) of the user (e.g., 708), the computer system captures (806) (e.g., via the one or more sensors such as cameras) information related to (e.g., about) the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., image data, sensor data, and/or depth data indicative of a size, shape, position, pose, color, depth, and/or other characteristic of one or more body parts (e.g., a head and/or a face) of the user) (e.g., information about one or more physical characteristics of a user of the computer system). The computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) is configured to use the information to generate a representation (e.g., 726) (e.g., a (2D or 3D) virtual representation, a (2D or 3D) avatar) of the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., the computer system generates a representation (e.g., an avatar) of the user that is based on the information related to the user, such that the representation of the user includes visual indications based on (e.g., with similar) sizes, shapes, positions, poses, colors, depths, and/or other characteristics of a body, hair, clothing, and/or other features of the user).” The avatar is interpreted as a virtual avatar since avatars are graphical virtual objects in general. The virtual avatar corresponds to 2D avatar of the user.)
The limitation and render the target material and the virtual avatar based on the occlusion relationship to generate the virtual avatar with a three-dimensional effect is disclosed by Schneider in view of Dedonato. Schneider discloses in FIG. 8A and 8B a transparent plane 802 and opaque plane 803 in 3D virtual space. Furthermore, in FIG. 9A, Schneider discloses a further virtual object overlay 904 that is placed between 2 3D plane such as planes 802 and 803. Dedonato discloses in paragraph [0182] a virtual 2D avatar, and this avatar can replace overlay 904 of Schneider to generate a rendered target material that has the virtual avatar sandwiched inbetween the 2 planes 802 and 803 which in turns creates a 3D effect because these objects are all rendered in 3D virtual space. Any object rendered in 3D space is considered to have 3D effect.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to modify Schneider with Dedonato so that an avatar can be sandwiched between 2 virtual planes. This is an obviously beneficial modification since Schenider already discloses two planes 802 and 803 and another graphic to be sandwiched between planes 802 and 803. Dedonato merely discloses a 2D avatar. This is a beneficial modification since it allows avatar to be displayed as well in addition to other types of graphics.
10. Regarding Claim 10, Schneider discloses A non-transitory storage medium (paragraph [0089] reciting “Herein, a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium or media may include one or more semiconductor-based or other integrated circuits …”) comprising computer executable instructions, wherein the computer executable instructions, when executed by a computer processor, cause the computer processor to: (paragraph [0084] reciting “In particular embodiments, memory
1304 includes main memory for storing instructions for processor 1302 to execute or data for processor 1302 to operate on. As an example and not by way of limitation, computer system 1300 may load instructions from storage 1306 or another source (such as, for example, another computer system 1300) to memory 1304. …”)
acquire a target material, wherein the target material is divided into at least two layers; (paragraph [0068] reciting “FIGS. 8A-8B illustrate an example of an object having a transparent or translucent property. FIG. 8A illustrates a camera 800, which represents the position of a viewer, and a display region 801 through which a scene of a three-dimensional space is displayed. The three-dimensional space includes a transparent/translucent plane 802 and an opaque plane 803, with the transparent plane 802 positioned in front of the opaque plane 803 with respect to the camera
800. FIG. 8B illustrates the scene of the three-dimensional space as displayed on the display region 801. Because the transparent/translucent plane 802 allows light through, the opaque plane 803 is visible through the transparent/translucent plane 802. In other words, the opaque plane 803 contributes to the pixels occupied by the transparent/translucent plane 802, despite being positioned behind the transparent/translucent plane 802.” The target material corresponds to plane 802 and 803 which are at least two layers.)
determine an occlusion relationship between the at least two layers (paragraph [0068] reciting “FIGS. 8A-8B illustrate an example of an object having a transparent or translucent property. FIG. 8A illustrates a camera 800, which represents the position of a viewer, and a display region 801 through which a scene of a three-dimensional space is displayed. The three-dimensional space includes a transparent/translucent plane 802 and an opaque plane 803, with the transparent plane 802 positioned in front of the opaque plane 803 with respect to the camera
800. FIG. 8B illustrates the scene of the three-dimensional space as displayed on the display region 801. Because the transparent/translucent plane 802 allows light through, the opaque plane 803 is visible through the transparent/translucent plane 802. In other words, the opaque plane 803 contributes to the pixels occupied by the transparent/translucent plane 802, despite being positioned behind the transparent/translucent plane 802.” The occlusion relationship is that plane 802 is transparent and plane 803 is opaque. Therefore, plane 802 does not occlude plane 803 when 802 is placed in front of plane 803.)
While not explicitly disclosed by Schneider, Dedonato discloses and a virtual avatar; (paragraph [0182] reciting “After (e.g., in response to) detecting that the computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) has been removed from the body (e.g., 708 a) of the user (e.g., 708), the computer system captures (806) (e.g., via the one or more sensors such as cameras) information related to (e.g., about) the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., image data, sensor data, and/or depth data indicative of a size, shape, position, pose, color, depth, and/or other characteristic of one or more body parts (e.g., a head and/or a face) of the user) (e.g., information about one or more physical characteristics of a user of the computer system). The computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) is configured to use the information to generate a representation (e.g., 726) (e.g., a (2D or 3D) virtual representation, a (2D or 3D) avatar) of the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., the computer system generates a representation (e.g., an avatar) of the user that is based on the information related to the user, such that the representation of the user includes visual indications based on (e.g., with similar) sizes, shapes, positions, poses, colors, depths, and/or other characteristics of a body, hair, clothing, and/or other features of the user).” The avatar is interpreted as a virtual avatar since avatars are graphical virtual objects in general. The virtual avatar corresponds to 2D avatar of the user.)
The limitation and render the target material and the virtual avatar based on the occlusion relationship to generate the virtual avatar with a three-dimensional effect is disclosed by Schneider in view of Dedonato. Schneider discloses in FIG. 8A and 8B a transparent plane 802 and opaque plane 803 in 3D virtual space. Furthermore, in FIG. 9A, Schneider discloses a further virtual object overlay 904 that is placed between 2 3D plane such as planes 802 and 803. Dedonato discloses in paragraph [0182] a virtual 2D avatar, and this avatar can replace overlay 904 of Schneider to generate a rendered target material that has the virtual avatar sandwiched inbetween the 2 planes 802 and 803 which in turns creates a 3D effect because these objects are all rendered in 3D virtual space. Any object rendered in 3D space is considered to have 3D effect.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to modify Schneider with Dedonato so that an avatar can be sandwiched between 2 virtual planes. This is an obviously beneficial modification since Schenider already discloses two planes 802 and 803 and another graphic to be sandwiched between planes 802 and 803. Dedonato merely discloses a 2D avatar. This is a beneficial modification since it allows avatar to be displayed as well in addition to other types of graphics.
11. Regarding Claim 17, Schneider further discloses The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the target material comprises a frame; and wherein the at least one program causing the electronic device to render the target material and the virtual avatar based on the occlusion relationship comprises a program causing the electronic device to: render the virtual avatar in front of a part of the frame. (see FIG. 8A, 8B, and 9A, wherein the virtual object 904 is rendered between planes 802 and 803. Plane 803 to a frame layer because it is opaque.)
Dedonato further discloses the virtual avatar (paragraph [0182] reciting “After (e.g., in response to) detecting that the computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) has been removed from the body (e.g., 708 a) of the user (e.g., 708), the computer system captures (806) (e.g., via the one or more sensors such as cameras) information related to (e.g., about) the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., image data, sensor data, and/or depth data indicative of a size, shape, position, pose, color, depth, and/or other characteristic of one or more body parts (e.g., a head and/or a face) of the user) (e.g., information about one or more physical characteristics of a user of the computer system). The computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) is configured to use the information to generate a representation (e.g., 726) (e.g., a (2D or 3D) virtual representation, a (2D or 3D) avatar) of the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., the computer system generates a representation (e.g., an avatar) of the user that is based on the information related to the user, such that the representation of the user includes visual indications based on (e.g., with similar) sizes, shapes, positions, poses, colors, depths, and/or other characteristics of a body, hair, clothing, and/or other features of the user).”)
12. Regarding Claim 22, Schneider further discloses The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 10, wherein the target material comprises a frame; and wherein the computer executable instructions causing the electronic device to render the target material and the virtual avatar based on the occlusion relationship comprises at least one computer executable instruction causing the electronic device to: render the virtual avatar in front of a part of the frame. (see FIG. 8A, 8B, and 9A, wherein the virtual object 904 is rendered between planes 802 and 803. Plane 803 to a frame layer because it is opaque.)
Dedonato further discloses the virtual avatar (paragraph [0182] reciting “After (e.g., in response to) detecting that the computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) has been removed from the body (e.g., 708 a) of the user (e.g., 708), the computer system captures (806) (e.g., via the one or more sensors such as cameras) information related to (e.g., about) the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., image data, sensor data, and/or depth data indicative of a size, shape, position, pose, color, depth, and/or other characteristic of one or more body parts (e.g., a head and/or a face) of the user) (e.g., information about one or more physical characteristics of a user of the computer system). The computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) is configured to use the information to generate a representation (e.g., 726) (e.g., a (2D or 3D) virtual representation, a (2D or 3D) avatar) of the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., the computer system generates a representation (e.g., an avatar) of the user that is based on the information related to the user, such that the representation of the user includes visual indications based on (e.g., with similar) sizes, shapes, positions, poses, colors, depths, and/or other characteristics of a body, hair, clothing, and/or other features of the user).”)
13. Claims 4, 14, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schneider in view of Dedonato and further in view of Goncalves et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0286628 A1)
14. Regarding Claim 4, while the combination of Schneider and Dedonato does not explicitly disclose, Goncalves discloses The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the occlusion relationship between the at least two layers and the virtual avatar comprises: determining the occlusion relationship between the at least two layers and the virtual avatar based on a preset occlusion relationship identifier for the at least two layers. (paragraph [0167] reciting “Implementing a graphical user interface (GUI) that enables the user to segment the object manually, or provide an indicator suggestion as to the location of the object of interest to aid some of the methods listed above.” The indicator suggesting the location of object corresponds to preset occlusion relationship of which object is closer to the viewer.)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to modify Schneider and Dedonato with Goncalves so that the planes 802 and 803 have indication showing which ones is in foreground and which one is in the background. This allows the viewer to better comprehend which plane is closer or farther away, thereby comprehending the occlusion relationship between planes 802 and 803.
15. Regarding Claim 14, while the combination of Schneider and Dedonato does not explicitly disclose, Goncalves discloses The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the at least one program causing the electronic device to determine the occlusion relationship between the at least two layers and the virtual avatar comprises a program causing the electronic device to: determine the occlusion relationship between the at least two layers and the virtual avatar based on a preset occlusion relationship identifier for the at least two layers. (paragraph [0167] reciting “Implementing a graphical user interface (GUI) that enables the user to segment the object manually, or provide an indicator suggestion as to the location of the object of interest to aid some of the methods listed above.” The indicator suggesting the location of object corresponds to preset occlusion relationship of which object is closer to the viewer.)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to modify Schneider and Dedonato with Goncalves so that the planes 802 and 803 have indication showing which ones is in foreground and which one is in the background. This allows the viewer to better comprehend which plane is closer or farther away, thereby comprehending the occlusion relationship between planes 802 and 803.
16. Regarding Claim 20, The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 10, wherein the computer executable instructions causing the electronic device to determine the occlusion relationship between the at least two layers and the virtual avatar comprises at least one computer executable instruction causing the electronic device to: determine the occlusion relationship between the at least two layers and the virtual avatar based on a preset occlusion relationship identifier for the at least two layers. (paragraph [0167] reciting “Implementing a graphical user interface (GUI) that enables the user to segment the object manually, or provide an indicator suggestion as to the location of the object of interest to aid some of the methods listed above.” The indicator suggesting the location of object corresponds to preset occlusion relationship of which object is closer to the viewer.)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to modify Schneider and Dedonato with Goncalves so that the planes 802 and 803 have indication showing which ones is in foreground and which one is in the background. This allows the viewer to better comprehend which plane is closer or farther away, thereby comprehending the occlusion relationship between planes 802 and 803.
17. Claims 5, 15, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schneider in view of Dedonato and further in view of Comploi et al. (US Patent No. 11,315,298 B2)
18. Regarding Claim 5, while the combination of Scneider and Dedonato does not explicitly disclose, Comploi discloses The method according to claim 1, wherein the virtual avatar is generated based on the following:
collecting image data of a target object based on an input image collection instruction; (see FIG. 3 wherein step 202 involves capturing one or more images of the user face. The head/face is the target object.)
analyzing the image data to obtain attributes of a plurality of parts of the target object; and (see FIG. 3 wherein steps 210 and 212 that extract and classify features (attributes) of a plurality of parts of the face such as facial hair, eyes, mouth, etc.)
selecting a corresponding virtual part from a preset library based on an attribute of each part; and generating the virtual avatar based on the plurality of virtual parts. (see FIG. 3 wherein step 214 that uses avatar feature database to obtain features based on category, types and subtypes of the feature.)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to modify Schneider and Dedonato with Comploi so that a user’s face is used to obtain features for an avatar face. This is an obviously beneficial modification since Dedonato already discloses that the avatar is based on user features and Comploi merely provides further details on how to go about using user features to generate/render a user avatar based on such real features.
19. Regarding Claim 15, while the combination of Scneider and Dedonato does not explicitly disclose, Comploi discloses The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the virtual avatar is generated based on the following:
collecting image data of a target object based on an input image collection instruction; (see FIG. 3 wherein step 202 involves capturing one or more images of the user face. The head/face is the target object.)
analyzing the image data to obtain attributes of a plurality of parts of the target object; (see FIG. 3 wherein steps 210 and 212 that extract and classify features (attributes) of a plurality of parts of the face such as facial hair, eyes, mouth, etc.) and selecting a corresponding virtual part from a preset library based on an attribute of each part; and generating the virtual avatar based on the plurality of virtual parts. (see FIG. 3 wherein step 214 that uses avatar feature database to obtain features based on category, types and subtypes of the feature.)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to modify Schneider and Dedonato with Comploi so that a user’s face is used to obtain features for an avatar face. This is an obviously beneficial modification since Dedonato already discloses that the avatar is based on user features and Comploi merely provides further details on how to go about using user features to generate/render a user avatar based on such real features.
20. Regarding Claim 21, while the combination of Scneider and Dedonato does not explicitly disclose, Comploi discloses The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 10, wherein the virtual avatar is generated based on the following:
collecting image data of a target object based on an input image collection instruction; (see FIG. 3 wherein step 202 involves capturing one or more images of the user face. The head/face is the target object.)
analyzing the image data to obtain attributes of a plurality of parts of the target object; (see FIG. 3 wherein steps 210 and 212 that extract and classify features (attributes) of a plurality of parts of the face such as facial hair, eyes, mouth, etc.)
and selecting a corresponding virtual part from a preset library based on an attribute of each part; and generating the virtual avatar based on the plurality of virtual parts. (see FIG. 3 wherein step 214 that uses avatar feature database to obtain features based on category, types and subtypes of the feature.)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to modify Schneider and Dedonato with Comploi so that a user’s face is used to obtain features for an avatar face. This is an obviously beneficial modification since Dedonato already discloses that the avatar is based on user features and Comploi merely provides further details on how to go about using user features to generate/render a user avatar based on such real features.
21. Claims 6 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schneider in view of Dedonato in view of Comploi and further in view of Zhang et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0259525 A1)
22. Regarding Claim 6, Schneider further discloses The method according to claim 5, wherein before generating the virtual avatar, the method further comprises:
rendering the target material (see FIG. 8A, 8B, and 9A, wherein the planes 802 and 803 are rendered along with another virtual object 904 in between the planes.) and wherein rendering the target material and the virtual avatar based on the occlusion relationship comprises: rendering the target material based on the occlusion relationship, in response to executing a preset transition effect. (paragraph [0074] reciting “… At step 1130, the editor may associate the first visual object and/or second visual object with an opaque property, transparent/translucent property, overlay property, or cutout property. …” The occlusion relationship may translucency of plane 802 which corresponds to a preset transition effect. Translucency makes plane 802 semitransparent so the transition of object behind it is not 100% shown, but also not hidden.)
Dedonato further discloses and the virtual avatar (paragraph [0182] reciting “After (e.g., in response to) detecting that the computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) has been removed from the body (e.g., 708 a) of the user (e.g., 708), the computer system captures (806) (e.g., via the one or more sensors such as cameras) information related to (e.g., about) the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., image data, sensor data, and/or depth data indicative of a size, shape, position, pose, color, depth, and/or other characteristic of one or more body parts (e.g., a head and/or a face) of the user) (e.g., information about one or more physical characteristics of a user of the computer system). The computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) is configured to use the information to generate a representation (e.g., 726) (e.g., a (2D or 3D) virtual representation, a (2D or 3D) avatar) of the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., the computer system generates a representation (e.g., an avatar) of the user that is based on the information related to the user, such that the representation of the user includes visual indications based on (e.g., with similar) sizes, shapes, positions, poses, colors, depths, and/or other characteristics of a body, hair, clothing, and/or other features of the user).”
The avatar is interpreted as a virtual avatar since avatars are graphical virtual objects in general. The virtual avatar corresponds to 2D avatar of the user.))
While the combination of Schneider, Dedonato, and Compoli does not explicitly disclose, Zhang discloses and the image data; (see FIG. 4 wherein the image of the user face 52 is rendered next to other graphical object 60.) It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to modify Schneider, Dedonato, and Comploi with Zhang so captured user’s face from Comploi can be rendered on the display screen of Schneider next to the planes 802 and 803. This modification is beneficial since it allows the user to see the face the avatar is modelled after.
23. Regarding Claim 16, Schneider further discloses The electronic device according to claim 15, wherein before generating the virtual avatar, the computer executable instructions, when executed by a computer processor, cause the computer processor to render the target material (see FIG. 8A, 8B, and 9A, wherein the planes 802 and 803 are rendered along with another virtual object 904 in between the planes.) and wherein the at least one program causing the electronic device to render the target material and the virtual avatar based on the occlusion relationship comprises a program causing the electronic device to: render the target material and the virtual avatar based on the occlusion relationship, in response to executing a preset transition effect. (paragraph [0074] reciting “… At step 1130, the editor may associate the first visual object and/or second visual object with an opaque property, transparent/translucent property, overlay property, or cutout property. …” The occlusion relationship may translucency of plane 802 which corresponds to a preset transition effect. Translucency makes plane 802 semitransparent so the transition of object behind it is not 100% shown, but also not hidden.)
Dedonato further discloses and the virtual avatar (paragraph [0182] reciting “After (e.g., in response to) detecting that the computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) has been removed from the body (e.g., 708 a) of the user (e.g., 708), the computer system captures (806) (e.g., via the one or more sensors such as cameras) information related to (e.g., about) the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., image data, sensor data, and/or depth data indicative of a size, shape, position, pose, color, depth, and/or other characteristic of one or more body parts (e.g., a head and/or a face) of the user) (e.g., information about one or more physical characteristics of a user of the computer system). The computer system (e.g., 101, 700, and/or 1000) is configured to use the information to generate a representation (e.g., 726) (e.g., a (2D or 3D) virtual representation, a (2D or 3D) avatar) of the user (e.g., 708) (e.g., the computer system generates a representation (e.g., an avatar) of the user that is based on the information related to the user, such that the representation of the user includes visual indications based on (e.g., with similar) sizes, shapes, positions, poses, colors, depths, and/or other characteristics of a body, hair, clothing, and/or other features of the user).”
The avatar is interpreted as a virtual avatar since avatars are graphical virtual objects in general. The virtual avatar corresponds to 2D avatar of the user.))
While the combination of Schneider, Dedonato, and Compoli does not explicitly disclose, Zhang discloses and the image data; (see FIG. 4 wherein the image of the user face 52 is rendered next to other graphical object 60.)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to modify Schneider, Dedonato, and Comploi with Zhang so captured user’s face from Comploi can be rendered on the display screen of Schneider next to the planes 802 and 803. This modification is beneficial since it allows the user to see the face the avatar is modelled after.
Allowable Subject Matter
24. Claims 2-3, 12-13, and 18-19 are 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.
25. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claim 2 recites the limitation wherein determining the occlusion relationship between the at least two layers and the virtual avatar comprises: determining the occlusion relationship between the at least two layers and the virtual avatar in real time based on an action performed by the virtual avatar which is neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited references, neither singly nor in combination.
26. Claim 3 depends from claim 2.
27. Claim 12 recites the limitation wherein the at least one program causing the electronic device to determine the occlusion relationship between the at least two layers and the virtual avatar comprises a program causing the electronic device to: determine the occlusion relationship between the at least two layers and the virtual avatar in real time based on an action performed by the virtual avatar which is neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited references, neither singly nor in combination.
28. Claim 13 depends from claim 12.
29. Claim 18 recites the limitation wherein the computer executable instructions causing the electronic device to determine the occlusion relationship between the at least two layers and the virtual avatar comprises at least one computer executable instruction causing the electronic device to: determine the occlusion relationship between the at least two layers and the virtual avatar in real time based on an action performed by the virtual avatar which is neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited references, neither singly nor in combination.
30. Claim 19 depends from claim 18.
CONTACT
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FRANK S CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7993. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 8-11:30 and 1:30-6.
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/FRANK S CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2611
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