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 .
Priority
2. Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/23/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Claim(s) 1-8 and 11-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pratt et al. (US 2022/0165018 A1) in view of Zimmermann et al. (US 2021/0312684 A1).
8. With reference to claim 1, Pratt teaches An information processing apparatus, comprising: a starting predictive behavior determination unit which determines, with respect to another user object that is a virtual object corresponding to another user within a three-dimensional space, (“The XR server 220 controls provision of the XR environment 206 including immersive experiences to the XR headset 208 and the XR headset 210 for the user 202 and the user 204, respectively. The XR server 220 generally includes a processing system including one or more processors, a memory for storing data and instructions and a communications interface.” [0035] “The representation of the XR experience, including movement of objects and avatars, positioning of objects and avatars and other visual details, are updated by the system 200 creating the XR experience. … the system 200 including the XR server 220 predicts or computes resources and assets within the XR experience 206. This prediction may be based upon information such as how objects are interacting, directions of travel of moving objects, and visual attention of users. This presents features of the XR experience 206 such as material, avatars and objects in a more realistic manner to maintain the immersion for users such as user 202 and user 204.” [0043] “as the first user 202 moves through the virtual world, the coordinator agent 262 retrieves from the object attribute data store 264 the data necessary for rendering the virtual world in the XR experience 206. The coordinator agent 262 operates to predict the movements and actions of the first user 202 in the virtual world and to retrieve from the object attribute data store 264 resources such as data before the data are actually needed. ... Subsequently, the second user 204 logs in or attends to the XR experience 206, step 273. The XR experience 206 communicates over the network 224 to report the presence of the second user 204, step 274. … The second user 204 begins interacting with the existing XR experience 206. The second user 204 sees objects and materials in the virtual world. The second user 204 may also see and interact with the first user 202 in the virtual world. In an example, the experience interpreter 263 predicts actions that the first user 202 and the second user 204 will travel together through the virtual world. Further, the experience interpreter 263 may in the example determine that the first user 202 and the second user, through their avatars, will begin to engage with an object. … The coordinator agent 262 operates substantially in real time as the user 202, 204 interact with the virtual world. The coordinator agent 262 includes a machine learning system that learns from behavior of the users 202, 204 and makes predictions about their behavior and actions. Based on the predicted behavior, the coordinator agent 262 calculates require computing resources and network resources, such as needed bandwidth or other capacity.” [0072-0074] “predicting, by a processing system including a processor, a particular object of an immersive environment that is to be a subject of attention of a user, the immersive environment being accessible by a plurality of users, each respective user of the plurality of users accessing the immersive environment with a user computing device over a communications network, wherein the predicting is based on past interactions with objects in immersive environments by the user; assigning, by the processing system and before the user interacts with the particular object, additional rendering resources for a particular area of the immersive environment that includes the particular object that is predicted to be the subject of attention of the user;” claim 1) Pratt also teaches an ending predictive behavior determination unit which determines, with respect to an interaction target object that is the another user object that has been determined as having taken the starting predictive behavior, presence or absence of an ending predictive behavior that becomes a sign to end the interaction; (“The coordinator agent 262 operates substantially in real time as the user 202, 204 interact with the virtual world. The coordinator agent 262 includes a machine learning system that learns from behavior of the users 202, 204 and makes predictions about their behavior and actions. Based on the predicted behavior, the coordinator agent 262 calculates require computing resources and network resources, such as needed bandwidth or other capacity. ... the immersive experience terminates and the system responds by saving information about the completed experience. The information is stored, for example, in the object attribute data store 264. The stored information may include, for example, metadata and recorded behaviors associated with objects in the XR experience 206. Such information can be used subsequently by, for example, the experience interpreter 263 and the coordinator agent 262 for future operation of the XR experience.” [0074-0075] the storing is responsive to the terminating of the immersive environment; and restarting, by the processing system, the immersive environment at a subsequent time, wherein the restarting comprises retrieving the data defining the state of the immersive environment.” claim 9) Pratt further teaches a resource setting unit which sets, with respect to the interaction target object, processing resources that are used in processing for improving reality to be relatively high until it is determined that the ending predictive behavior has been taken. (“The group leader 283 is showing or demonstrating the object 284 and wants the audience to look in the direction of the object 284. Initially, with the group leader 283 about the same distance from the primary object 284 and the secondary object, the bats 287, the system and method render both the primary object 284 and the secondary object with the same degree of precision or fidelity. However, the group leader 283 has a relatively high priority so the object of his visual focus, the primary object 284, remains rendered in high detail. Secondary objects in the XR environment 282, such as the bats 287, are rendered in less detail. They may appear out of focus or blurred relative to the primary object 284. The primary object gets a higher rendering priority than secondary objects. Members of the virtual audience 286 will not get a high quality rendering of the secondary objects streamed to their XR devices. This can optimize use of computing resources and rendering resources and, for audience members with slow connections or other computing resources, this can improve their experience with the XR environment 282.” [0060] “The experience interpreter 263 operates to detect and prioritize regions and objects within a virtual world such as XR experience 206. The experience interpreter 263 determines which regions and objects are more important for some users. This determination may be based on any suitable information or criteria, such as an estimate of user attention based on interaction with other objects or region and an anticipated direction of travel.” [0066] “additional rendering resources for a particular area of the immersive environment that includes the particular object that is predicted to be the subject of attention of the user; rendering, by the processing system, the particular area in greater detail in the immersive environment than other areas in the immersive environment that do not include the particular object.” claim 1)
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Pratt does not explicitly teach another user object corresponding to another user, an interaction object that is the another user object. This is what Zimmermann teaches (“A virtual avatar may be a virtual representation of a real or fictional person (or creature or personified object) in an AR/VR/MR environment. For example, during a telepresence session in which two AR/VR/MR users are interacting with each other, a viewer can perceive an avatar of another user in the viewer's environment and thereby create a tangible sense of the other user's presence in the viewer's environment. The avatar can also provide a way for users to interact with each other and do things together in a shared virtual environment. “ [0039] “the wearable system may determine that Alice intends to interact with an object of interest (e.g., a tree or a virtual book) in her environment. The wearable system can automatically reorient Alice's avatar to interact with the object of interest in Bob's environment, where the location of the object of interest may not be the same as that in Alice's environment. For example, if a direct one-to-one mapping of the virtual book would cause it to be rendered inside or underneath a table in Bob's environment, Bob's wearable system may instead render the virtual book as lying on top of the table, which will provide Bob with a more natural interaction with Alice and the virtual book.” [0046]) Therefore, 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 teachings of Zimmermann into Pratt, in order to improve the realism and responsiveness of the interaction while conserving resources for less important portions of the XR environment..
9. With reference to claim 2, Pratt teaches the starting predictive behavior includes a behavior that becomes a sign to start an interaction between a user object that is a virtual object corresponding to the user and the another user object, and the ending predictive behavior includes a behavior that becomes a sign to end the interaction between the user object and the another user object. (“The group leader 283 is showing or demonstrating the object 284 and wants the audience to look in the direction of the object 284. Initially, with the group leader 283 about the same distance from the primary object 284 and the secondary object, the bats 287, the system and method render both the primary object 284 and the secondary object with the same degree of precision or fidelity. However, the group leader 283 has a relatively high priority so the object of his visual focus, the primary object 284, remains rendered in high detail. Secondary objects in the XR environment 282, such as the bats 287, are rendered in less detail. They may appear out of focus or blurred relative to the primary object 284. The primary object gets a higher rendering priority than secondary objects. Members of the virtual audience 286 will not get a high quality rendering of the secondary objects streamed to their XR devices. This can optimize use of computing resources and rendering resources and, for audience members with slow connections or other computing resources, this can improve their experience with the XR environment 282.” [0060] “as the first user 202 moves through the virtual world, the coordinator agent 262 retrieves from the object attribute data store 264 the data necessary for rendering the virtual world in the XR experience 206. The coordinator agent 262 operates to predict the movements and actions of the first user 202 in the virtual world and to retrieve from the object attribute data store 264 resources such as data before the data are actually needed. ... Subsequently, the second user 204 logs in or attends to the XR experience 206, step 273. The XR experience 206 communicates over the network 224 to report the presence of the second user 204, step 274. … The second user 204 begins interacting with the existing XR experience 206. The second user 204 sees objects and materials in the virtual world. The second user 204 may also see and interact with the first user 202 in the virtual world. In an example, the experience interpreter 263 predicts actions that the first user 202 and the second user 204 will travel together through the virtual world. Further, the experience interpreter 263 may in the example determine that the first user 202 and the second user, through their avatars, will begin to engage with an object. … The coordinator agent 262 operates substantially in real time as the user 202, 204 interact with the virtual world. The coordinator agent 262 includes a machine learning system that learns from behavior of the users 202, 204 and makes predictions about their behavior and actions. Based on the predicted behavior, the coordinator agent 262 calculates require computing resources and network resources, such as needed bandwidth or other capacity. ... the immersive experience terminates and the system responds by saving information about the completed experience. The information is stored, for example, in the object attribute data store 264. The stored information may include, for example, metadata and recorded behaviors associated with objects in the XR experience 206. Such information can be used subsequently by, for example, the experience interpreter 263 and the coordinator agent 262 for future operation of the XR experience.” [0072-0075])
10. With reference to claim 3, Pratt teaches the starting predictive behavior includes at least one of the user object performing an interaction-related behavior related to the interaction with respect to the another user object, the another user object performing the interaction-related behavior with respect to the user object, the another user object responding to, by the interaction-related behavior, the interaction-related behavior that has been performed by the user object with respect to the another user object, the user object responding to, by the interaction-related behavior, the interaction-related behavior that has been performed by the another user object with respect to the user object, or the user object and the another user object mutually performing the interaction-related behavior. (“The group leader 283 is showing or demonstrating the object 284 and wants the audience to look in the direction of the object 284. Initially, with the group leader 283 about the same distance from the primary object 284 and the secondary object, the bats 287, the system and method render both the primary object 284 and the secondary object with the same degree of precision or fidelity. However, the group leader 283 has a relatively high priority so the object of his visual focus, the primary object 284, remains rendered in high detail. Secondary objects in the XR environment 282, such as the bats 287, are rendered in less detail. They may appear out of focus or blurred relative to the primary object 284. The primary object gets a higher rendering priority than secondary objects. Members of the virtual audience 286 will not get a high quality rendering of the secondary objects streamed to their XR devices. This can optimize use of computing resources and rendering resources and, for audience members with slow connections or other computing resources, this can improve their experience with the XR environment 282.” [0060] “as the first user 202 moves through the virtual world, the coordinator agent 262 retrieves from the object attribute data store 264 the data necessary for rendering the virtual world in the XR experience 206. The coordinator agent 262 operates to predict the movements and actions of the first user 202 in the virtual world and to retrieve from the object attribute data store 264 resources such as data before the data are actually needed. ... Subsequently, the second user 204 logs in or attends to the XR experience 206, step 273. The XR experience 206 communicates over the network 224 to report the presence of the second user 204, step 274. … The second user 204 begins interacting with the existing XR experience 206. The second user 204 sees objects and materials in the virtual world. The second user 204 may also see and interact with the first user 202 in the virtual world. In an example, the experience interpreter 263 predicts actions that the first user 202 and the second user 204 will travel together through the virtual world. Further, the experience interpreter 263 may in the example determine that the first user 202 and the second user, through their avatars, will begin to engage with an object.” [0072-0074])
11. With reference to claim 4, Pratt teaches the interaction-related behavior includes at least one of speaking while looking at a partner, performing a predetermined gesture while looking at the partner, touching the partner, or touching a same virtual object that the partner is touching. (“The users including user 202 and user 204 may interact with the objects including object 212. In the example of a MMORPG, each player assumes the role of a character and is represented by an avatar, such as in a fantasy world, and takes control over the character's actions. Players and their characters interact together in a persistent world which evolves during playing of the game.” [0031] “as the user or the user's avatar focuses attention on an object or touches an object in the XR environment, that process gives life to the object. In the example, the child 234 kicks the virtual ball 236 along the trajectory 239. Because the user controls the user's avatar, the child 232, the user's visual focus is directed to the child in the scene of the XR environment 230. That gives life to the ball 236, meaning that the computer processing resources become focused on the ball 236 to more accurately and completely render the ball 236 and the child 234. In contrast, other objects in the playground 232 that are not being touched by the child 234 or are not part of the visual focus of the user because they are remote from the child, get relatively fewer processing resources and are rendered less accurately and possibly less completely.” [0051])
12. With reference to claim 5, Pratt teaches the ending predictive behavior includes at least one of moving away while being mutually out of eyesight of a partner, an elapse of a certain time while being mutually out of the eyesight of the partner and taking no action with respect to the partner, or an elapse of a certain time while being mutually out of a central visual field of the partner and taking no visual action with respect to the partner. (“the user's visual focus is directed to the child in the scene of the XR environment 230. That gives life to the ball 236, meaning that the computer processing resources become focused on the ball 236 to more accurately and completely render the ball 236 and the child 234. In contrast, other objects in the playground 232 that are not being touched by the child 234 or are not part of the visual focus of the user because they are remote from the child, get relatively fewer processing resources and are rendered less accurately and possibly less completely. For example, as the child 234 kicks the ball 236, visual details of the child 234 are repeatedly updated to reflect the motion of the child. As the child 234 contacts the ball 236, the processing resources in turn are focused on the ball 236, such as by updating the appearance of the ball and tracking the movements of the ball 236, including the physics of the ball's motion. In contrast, during the time when the child 234 kicks the ball 236, relatively few computing resources are focused on features of the XR environment 230 other than the child 234 and the ball 236. For example, if there is motion elsewhere in the XR environment 230, the motion may not be updated as frequently as the motion of the child 234 and the ball 236.” [0051] “This permits limited computing resources, such as processor time, memory space and data communications capacity such as bandwidth, to be assigned to objects that are moving or that are the focus of the user's attention or that are predicted to become active.” [0053] “The coordinator agent 262 operates substantially in real time as the user 202, 204 interact with the virtual world. The coordinator agent 262 includes a machine learning system that learns from behavior of the users 202, 204 and makes predictions about their behavior and actions. Based on the predicted behavior, the coordinator agent 262 calculates require computing resources and network resources, such as needed bandwidth or other capacity. … the immersive experience terminates and the system responds by saving information about the completed experience.” [0074-0075])
13. With reference to claim 6, Pratt teaches the starting predictive behavior determination unit determines the presence or absence of the starting predictive behavior on a basis of user information related to the user and another user information related to the another user, and the ending predictive behavior determination unit determines the presence or absence of the ending predictive behavior on the basis of the user information and the another user information. (“A second factor for assigning computer resources is a prediction of where in the XR experience the user is most likely to travel to or objects the user is likely to interact with. The XR system may use a predictive artificial intelligence (AI) engine to predict the user's activity based on past experience. Further in some embodiments, the XR system may have historical knowledge of the user including the user's history in the XR experience, the user's preferences, etc. This may be in the form of a user profile for the user. The user profile may include information provided or entered by a user, such as by accessing a user interface. The user profile may include information collected or observed about a user, such as where the user has travelled in the environment, objects or situations the user has pursued or avoided, and other information as well. Such information may be accessed by the predictive AI engine to identify portions of the XR experience that should receive more computing resources.” [0048] “as the first user 202 moves through the virtual world, the coordinator agent 262 retrieves from the object attribute data store 264 the data necessary for rendering the virtual world in the XR experience 206. The coordinator agent 262 operates to predict the movements and actions of the first user 202 in the virtual world and to retrieve from the object attribute data store 264 resources such as data before the data are actually needed. ... Subsequently, the second user 204 logs in or attends to the XR experience 206, step 273. The XR experience 206 communicates over the network 224 to report the presence of the second user 204, step 274. … The second user 204 begins interacting with the existing XR experience 206. The second user 204 sees objects and materials in the virtual world. The second user 204 may also see and interact with the first user 202 in the virtual world. In an example, the experience interpreter 263 predicts actions that the first user 202 and the second user 204 will travel together through the virtual world. Further, the experience interpreter 263 may in the example determine that the first user 202 and the second user, through their avatars, will begin to engage with an object. … The coordinator agent 262 operates substantially in real time as the user 202, 204 interact with the virtual world. The coordinator agent 262 includes a machine learning system that learns from behavior of the users 202, 204 and makes predictions about their behavior and actions. Based on the predicted behavior, the coordinator agent 262 calculates require computing resources and network resources, such as needed bandwidth or other capacity. ... the immersive experience terminates and the system responds by saving information about the completed experience. The information is stored, for example, in the object attribute data store 264. The stored information may include, for example, metadata and recorded behaviors associated with objects in the XR experience 206. Such information can be used subsequently by, for example, the experience interpreter 263 and the coordinator agent 262 for future operation of the XR experience.” [0072-0075])
14. With reference to claim 7, Pratt teaches the user information includes at least one of eyesight information of the user, motion information of the user, voice information of the user, or contact information of the user, and the another user information includes at least one of eyesight information of the another user, motion information of the another user, voice information of the another user, or contact information of the another user. (“A first factor for assigning computer resources is where a user's visual attention is looking in the XR experience. This may be determined by monitoring the user's visual focus or where the user is looking, for example by the XR headset 208 worn by the user 202 in FIG. 2A. Similarly, the user's audio focus may be monitored to determine where the user is listening. … A second factor for assigning computer resources is a prediction of where in the XR experience the user is most likely to travel to or objects the user is likely to interact with. The XR system may use a predictive artificial intelligence (AI) engine to predict the user's activity based on past experience. Further in some embodiments, the XR system may have historical knowledge of the user including the user's history in the XR experience, the user's preferences, etc. This may be in the form of a user profile for the user. The user profile may include information provided or entered by a user, such as by accessing a user interface. The user profile may include information collected or observed about a user, such as where the user has travelled in the environment, objects or situations the user has pursued or avoided, and other information as well. Such information may be accessed by the predictive AI engine to identify portions of the XR experience that should receive more computing resources.” [0047-0048])
15. With reference to claim 8, Pratt teaches the processing resources that are used in the processing for improving reality include processing resources used in at least one of high-quality picture processing for improving visual reality or low-latency processing for improving responsive reality in the interaction. (“The group leader 283 is showing or demonstrating the object 284 and wants the audience to look in the direction of the object 284. Initially, with the group leader 283 about the same distance from the primary object 284 and the secondary object, the bats 287, the system and method render both the primary object 284 and the secondary object with the same degree of precision or fidelity. However, the group leader 283 has a relatively high priority so the object of his visual focus, the primary object 284, remains rendered in high detail. Secondary objects in the XR environment 282, such as the bats 287, are rendered in less detail. They may appear out of focus or blurred relative to the primary object 284. The primary object gets a higher rendering priority than secondary objects. Members of the virtual audience 286 will not get a high quality rendering of the secondary objects streamed to their XR devices.” [0060] “The experience interpreter 263 may access the object attribute data store 264 for information about objects. The experience interpreter 263 may assess the quality of an experience. In one example, three users are gathering around an X-Ray image. The experience interpreter 263 may assign a high value to a high resolution view of the X-Ray image.” [0066])
16. With reference to claim 11, Pratt teaches a priority processing determination unit which determines processing to which the processing resources are to be preferentially allocated with respect to a scene constituted of the three-dimensional space, wherein the resource setting unit sets the processing resources with respect to the another user object on a basis of a result of the determination by the priority processing determination unit. (“In an example one user may be designated as having a higher priority within the immersive experience. For example, if two users are cooperating as a team, one may be designated the team leader or guide and get higher priority. Thus, for example, when two users are looking at different objects, the object viewed by the higher-priority user may itself receive a higher priority or be rendered more fully. Similarly, if the team leader is holding an object, the object may be given more compute resources relative other objects.” [0057] “The group leader 283 is showing or demonstrating the object 284 and wants the audience to look in the direction of the object 284. Initially, with the group leader 283 about the same distance from the primary object 284 and the secondary object, the bats 287, the system and method render both the primary object 284 and the secondary object with the same degree of precision or fidelity. However, the group leader 283 has a relatively high priority so the object of his visual focus, the primary object 284, remains rendered in high detail. Secondary objects in the XR environment 282, such as the bats 287, are rendered in less detail. They may appear out of focus or blurred relative to the primary object 284. The primary object gets a higher rendering priority than secondary objects. Members of the virtual audience 286 will not get a high quality rendering of the secondary objects streamed to their XR devices.” [0060])
17. With reference to claim 12, Pratt teaches the priority processing determination unit selects either one of high-quality picture processing or low-latency processing as the processing to which the processing resources are to be preferentially allocated. (“In an example one user may be designated as having a higher priority within the immersive experience. For example, if two users are cooperating as a team, one may be designated the team leader or guide and get higher priority. Thus, for example, when two users are looking at different objects, the object viewed by the higher-priority user may itself receive a higher priority or be rendered more fully. Similarly, if the team leader is holding an object, the object may be given more compute resources relative other objects.” [0057] “The group leader 283 is showing or demonstrating the object 284 and wants the audience to look in the direction of the object 284. Initially, with the group leader 283 about the same distance from the primary object 284 and the secondary object, the bats 287, the system and method render both the primary object 284 and the secondary object with the same degree of precision or fidelity. However, the group leader 283 has a relatively high priority so the object of his visual focus, the primary object 284, remains rendered in high detail. Secondary objects in the XR environment 282, such as the bats 287, are rendered in less detail. They may appear out of focus or blurred relative to the primary object 284. The primary object gets a higher rendering priority than secondary objects. Members of the virtual audience 286 will not get a high quality rendering of the secondary objects streamed to their XR devices.” [0060] “Such XR experiences may render based on the gaze or purposeful attention of the leader, as in FIG. 2D, to guide a student's focus to a particular area or object. An XR system responds to the leader's attention and renders the area or object in high quality.” [0079])
17. With reference to claim 13, Pratt teaches the priority processing determination unit determines the processing to which the processing resources are to be preferentially allocated on a basis of three-dimensional space description data that defines a configuration of the three-dimensional space. (“In an example one user may be designated as having a higher priority within the immersive experience. For example, if two users are cooperating as a team, one may be designated the team leader or guide and get higher priority. Thus, for example, when two users are looking at different objects, the object viewed by the higher-priority user may itself receive a higher priority or be rendered more fully. Similarly, if the team leader is holding an object, the object may be given more compute resources relative other objects.” [0057] “The group leader 283 is showing or demonstrating the object 284 and wants the audience to look in the direction of the object 284. Initially, with the group leader 283 about the same distance from the primary object 284 and the secondary object, the bats 287, the system and method render both the primary object 284 and the secondary object with the same degree of precision or fidelity. However, the group leader 283 has a relatively high priority so the object of his visual focus, the primary object 284, remains rendered in high detail. Secondary objects in the XR environment 282, such as the bats 287, are rendered in less detail. They may appear out of focus or blurred relative to the primary object 284. The primary object gets a higher rendering priority than secondary objects. Members of the virtual audience 286 will not get a high quality rendering of the secondary objects streamed to their XR devices.” [0060] “Such XR experiences may render based on the gaze or purposeful attention of the leader, as in FIG. 2D, to guide a student's focus to a particular area or object. An XR system responds to the leader's attention and renders the area or object in high quality.” [0079])
18. Claim 14 is similar in scope to claim 1, and thus is rejected under similar rationale.
19. Claim 15 is similar in scope to claim 1, and thus is rejected under similar rationale.
20. Claim(s) 9 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pratt et al. (US 2022/0165018 A1) and Zimmermann et al. (US 2021/0312684 A1), as applied to claims 1 and 2 above, and further in view of Dunne et al. (US 2018/0069900 A1)
21. With reference to claim 9, Pratt teaches the resource setting unit sets the processing resources with respect to the another user object (“The group leader 283 is showing or demonstrating the object 284 and wants the audience to look in the direction of the object 284. Initially, with the group leader 283 about the same distance from the primary object 284 and the secondary object, the bats 287, the system and method render both the primary object 284 and the secondary object with the same degree of precision or fidelity. However, the group leader 283 has a relatively high priority so the object of his visual focus, the primary object 284, remains rendered in high detail. Secondary objects in the XR environment 282, such as the bats 287, are rendered in less detail. They may appear out of focus or blurred relative to the primary object 284. The primary object gets a higher rendering priority than secondary objects. Members of the virtual audience 286 will not get a high quality rendering of the secondary objects streamed to their XR devices. This can optimize use of computing resources and rendering resources and, for audience members with slow connections or other computing resources, this can improve their experience with the XR environment 282.” [0060])
The combination of Pratt and Zimmermann does not explicitly teach a friendship level calculation unit which calculates a friendship level of the another user object with respect to the user object, wherein the resource on a basis of the calculated friendship level. This is what Dunne teaches (“The closeness policy may consider any appropriate factor when determining a closeness level. For example, the closeness policy may consider a frequency of communication between the connection and the user's profile through the social application. Another factor that the closeness policy can consider is a type of communication between the connection and the user's profile through the social application. Another factor may include the subject matter of the communications between the connection and the user's profile.” [0058] “The closeness level can be represented with a closeness score. The method may further include assigning a closeness score based on the closeness level to each connection. The closeness level may be conveyed in any appropriate manner, such as with numbers, colors, graphics, other scoring mechanisms, or combinations thereof. In some examples, the closeness score of the closeness level is a numerical value between 1.0 and 0.0 where 1.0 represents a highest closeness level and 0.0 represents a lowest closeness level. The security level implemented for each connection is based on the closeness score.” [0060-0061]) Therefore, 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 teachings of Dunne into the combination of Pratt and Zimmermann, in order to improve the quality and realism of interaction with socially significant users while conserving processing resources for less significant users.
22. With reference to claim 10, the combination of Pratt and Zimmermann does not explicitly teach the friendship level calculation unit calculates the friendship level on a basis of at least one of a number of times the interaction has been made up to a current time point or an accumulated time of the interaction up to the current time point. This is what Dunne teaches (“The closeness policy may consider any appropriate factor when determining a closeness level. For example, the closeness policy may consider a frequency of communication between the connection and the user's profile through the social application. Another factor that the closeness policy can consider is a type of communication between the connection and the user's profile through the social application. Another factor may include the subject matter of the communications between the connection and the user's profile.” [0058] “The closeness level can be represented with a closeness score. The method may further include assigning a closeness score based on the closeness level to each connection. The closeness level may be conveyed in any appropriate manner, such as with numbers, colors, graphics, other scoring mechanisms, or combinations thereof. In some examples, the closeness score of the closeness level is a numerical value between 1.0 and 0.0 where 1.0 represents a highest closeness level and 0.0 represents a lowest closeness level.” [0060]) Therefore, 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 teachings of Dunne into the combination of Pratt and Zimmermann, in order to improve the quality and realism of interaction with socially significant users while conserving processing resources for less significant users.
Conclusion
23. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Michelle Chin whose telephone number is (571)270-3697. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:30 PM.
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:/Awww.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Kent Chang can be reached on (571)272-7667. 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:/Awww.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent- center for more information about Patent Center and https:/Awww.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.
/MICHELLE CHIN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2614
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