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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements entered on September 28th, 2024, January 1st, 2025, and have been considered. A copy of the cited statement(s) including the notation indicating its respective consideration is attached for the Applicant's records.
The information disclosure statement filed September 28th, 2024 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(3)(i) because it does not include a concise explanation of the relevance, as it is presently understood by the individual designated in 37 CFR 1.56(c) most knowledgeable about the content of the information, of each reference listed that is not in the English language. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
The information disclosure statement filed September 15th, 2025 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(3)(i) because it does not include a concise explanation of the relevance, as it is presently understood by the individual designated in 37 CFR 1.56(c) most knowledgeable about the content of the information, of each reference listed that is not in the English language. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under both 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) & 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Woo et al (US 9,242,158).
Claim 1: Woo teaches an apparatus for supporting virtual golf, comprising:
a golf environment simulation device implemented such that a golf ball is physically hit and moved by the hit (Woo Abstract; Fig. 1);
an image acquisition module configured to acquire an image of the golf ball (Woo Col 2:10-24); and
a processor configured to recognize the golf ball based on the image of the golf ball acquired by the image acquisition module at a time point when the golf ball is hit on the golf environment simulation device to determine an initial speed and moving direction of the golf ball, determine a moving trajectory of the golf ball based on a hitting position at which the golf ball is hit and the determined initial speed and moving direction in a virtual play environment for the virtual golf for a user, and display the determined moving trajectory (Woo Col 2:10-3:40).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 2-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Woo et al (US 9,242,158) as applied to at least claim 1 above, and further in view of Kudirka et al (US 2020/0004322).
Claim 2: The combination of Woo & Kudirka teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor performs:
an environment setting operation of setting the virtual play environment (Woo Col 5:63-6:4, 9:63-10:7);
a position setting operation of setting a hitting position at which the golf ball is hit and a target position at which the golf ball reaches in the set virtual play environment (-tracking and updating of ball location during game play- Kudirka Paragraphs [0007], [0127], [0149]);
a speed and moving direction determining operation of recognizing the golf ball through a pre-learned deep learning model based on the image of the golf ball acquired by the image acquisition module at the time point when the golf ball is hit on the golf environment simulation device to determine the initial speed and moving direction of the golf ball (-Determination of motion properties- Woo Col 2:10-3:40, 7:44-64 & -Deep Learning- Kudirka Paragraphs [0161]-[0162]);
a trajectory determining operation of applying the hitting position, and the initial speed and moving direction to a predefined moving trajectory model to determine the moving trajectory of the golf ball (Woo Col 2:10-3:40, 7:44-64); and
a displaying operation of superimposing and displaying the determined moving trajectory on the virtual play environment (Woo Col 2:10-3:40, 7:54-8:23).
Woo teaches the golf simulation as presented herein above. While Woo is silent regarding the explicit tracking and updating of ball location during game play and the use of deep learning, Kudirka teaches that these features were known element in analogous golf simulators (Kudirka Paragraphs [0007], [0127], [0149], [0161]-[0162]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to have incorporated the features of tracking and updating of ball location during game play accounting for use inputs, and the use of deep learning as taught by Kudirka (Kudirka Paragraphs [0007], [0127], [0149], [0161]-[0162]) because such would have provided the predictable and expected result of enabling players to play through a virtual golf course in a manner that reflected game progress and that adapts to changes in the simulation environment and/or golf equipment independently.
Claim 3: The combination of Woo & Kudirka teaches the apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processor further performs a position re-setting operation of re-setting a final point of the moving trajectory determined according to the trajectory determining operation as a new hitting position in the virtual play environment in the case of no separate manipulation of the user, and
the processor re-performs the speed and moving direction determining operation, the trajectory determining operation, and the displaying operation after performing the position re-setting operation (-tracking and updating of ball location during game play accounting for player inputs- Kudirka Paragraphs [0007], [0127], [0149] & -Determination of motion properties- Woo Col 2:10-3:40, 7:44-64).
Claim 4: The combination of Woo & Kudirka teaches the apparatus of claim 3, wherein, when the position re-setting operation, and the speed and moving direction determining operation, the trajectory determining operation, and the displaying operation that are performed after the position re-setting operation are defined as one operation cycle, the processor repeatedly performs the operation cycle until the golf ball reaches the target position in the case of no separate manipulation of the user (-Wherein tracking and updating of ball location during game play occurs during a plurality of shots for a plurality of holes during the game accounting for user inputs as described- Kudirka Paragraphs [0007], [0127], [0149] & -Determination of motion properties- Woo Col 2:10-3:40, 7:44-64).
Claim 5: The combination of Woo & Kudirka teaches the apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processor calculates the initial speed and moving direction of the golf ball required for the golf ball to reach the target position from the hitting position based on the target position set according to the position setting operation and the moving trajectory model, and then provides the calculated initial speed and moving direction to the user (Kudirka Paragraphs [0049], [0110], [0126]).
Woo teaches the golf simulation as presented herein above. While Woo is silent regarding providing suggestions/guides to the player including distance speed direction, however in an analogous invention, Kudirka teaches that these features were known at the time of invention (Kudirka Paragraphs [0049], [0110], [0126]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to have incorporated the guidance recommendation features including distance speed direction as taught by Kudirka (Kudirka Paragraphs [0049], [0110], [0126]) because such would have provided the predictable and expected result of assisting player in improving their game performance through automated instruction specific to the current game state.
Claim 6: The combination of Woo & Kudirka teaches the apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processor provides the user with a distance difference and direction between the target position and a final point of the moving trajectory determined according to the trajectory determining operation (Kudirka Paragraphs [0049], [0110], [0126]).
Claim 7: The combination of Woo & Kudirka teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor supports a training mode in which one user practices golf and a game mode in which multiple users play a virtual golf game (Kudirka Paragraphs [0055], [0143], [0150]-[0153]).
Woo teaches the golf simulation as presented herein above and including the use of the same for practice (Woo Col 4:35-48). While Woo is silent regarding providing both the ability to practice while additionally enabling competition against remote players with related score tracking, however in an analogous invention, Kudirka teaches that these features were known at the time of invention (Kudirka Paragraphs [0055], [0143], [0150]-[0153]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to have incorporated providing both the ability to practice while additionally enabling competition against remote players with related score tracking as taught by Kudirka (Kudirka Paragraphs [0055], [0143], [0150]-[0153]) because such would have provided the predictable and expected result of enabling player to engage in social forms of game play and/or practice.
Claim 8: The combination of Woo & Kudirka teaches the apparatus of claim 7, wherein the game mode corresponds to a mode in which the multiple users located at remote positions play the virtual golf game based on the golf environment simulation device and the image acquisition module provided at a position of each user, and
the processor records scores, which are calculated as the multiple users play the virtual golf game, for each of the multiple users. (Kudirka Paragraphs [0055], [0143], [0150]-[0153])
Claim 9: The combination of Woo & Kudirka teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image acquisition module includes a stereo camera, and
the processor is mounted on a smartphone (Kudirka Paragraphs [0066], [0080], [0084]) and acquires three-dimensional position coordinates of the golf ball acquired by the stereo camera through wired or wireless communication to determine the initial speed and moving direction (Woo Figure 1; Elements 51, 52; Col 4:65-5:2).
Woo teaches the golf simulation as presented herein above and including the use of the stereo cameras (Woo Figure 1; Elements 51, 52; Col 4:65-5:2). While Woo is silent regarding the use of a processor of a smartphone, in an analogous invention, Kudirka teaches that this feature was known at the time of invention (Kudirka Paragraphs [0066], [0080], [0084]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to have incorporated the use of a processor of a smartphone, as taught by Kudirka (Kudirka Paragraphs [0066], [0080], [0084]) because such would have provided the predictable and expected result of off-loading the processing requirements onto user supplied processing devices.
Claim 10: The combination of Woo & Kudirka teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein a user manipulation command and a result of shot in a golf practice and game are provided as voice (Kudirka Paragraph [0077]).
Woo teaches the golf simulation as presented above. While Woo is silent regarding the use of voice commands and audio feedback, Kudirka teaches that this feature was known at the time of invention (Kudirka Paragraph [0077]), in an analogous invention. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to have incorporated the use of voice commands and audio feedback, as taught by Kudirka (Kudirka Paragraph [0077]) because such would have provided the predictable and expected result of enabling system interaction through more natural interfaces.
Claim 11: The combination of Woo & Kudirka teaches a method of supporting virtual golf for a user based on a golf environment simulation device performed by a computing device and implemented such that a golf ball is physically hit and moved by the hit (Woo Abstract; Figs. 1-2), the method comprising:
setting a virtual play environment of the virtual golf (Woo Col 5:63-6:4, 9:63-10:7);
setting a hitting position at which the golf ball is hit and a target position at which the golf ball reaches in the set virtual play environment (-tracking and updating of ball location during game play- Kudirka Paragraphs [0007], [0127], [0149]);
recognizing the golf ball through a pre-learned deep learning model based on an image of the golf ball acquired at a time point when the golf ball is hit on the golf environment simulation device (-Determination of motion properties- Woo Col 2:10-3:40, 7:44-64 & -Deep Learning- Kudirka Paragraphs [0161]-[0162]);
analyzing an afterimage of the image of the golf ball to determine an initial speed and moving direction of the golf ball (Woo Col 2:10-3:40);
applying the hitting position, and the initial speed and moving direction to a predefined moving trajectory model to determine a moving trajectory of the golf ball (Woo Col 2:10-3:40, 7:44-64); and
displaying the determined moving trajectory (Woo Col 2:10-3:40, 7:54-8:23).
Woo teaches the golf simulation as presented herein above. While Woo is silent regarding the explicit tracking and updating of ball location during game play, and the use of deep learning, Kudirka teaches that these features were known element in analogous golf simulators (Kudirka Paragraphs [0007], [0127], [0149], [0161]-[0162]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to have incorporated the features of tracking and updating of ball location during game play accounting for use inputs, and the use of deep learning as taught by Kudirka (Kudirka Paragraphs [0007], [0127], [0149], [0161]-[0162]) because such would have provided the predictable and expected result of enabling players to play through a virtual golf course in a manner that reflected game progress and that adapts to changes in the simulation environment and/or golf equipment independently.
Claim 12: The combination of Woo & Kudirka teaches a computer program coupled to hardware and stored in a computer-readable recording medium (Woo Abstract; Figs. 1-2) to execute:
setting a virtual play environment of virtual golf (Woo Col 5:63-6:4, 9:63-10:7);
setting a hitting position at which a golf ball is hit and a target position at which the golf ball reaches in the set virtual play environment (-tracking and updating of ball location during game play- Kudirka Paragraphs [0007], [0127], [0149]);
recognizing the golf ball through a pre-learned deep learning model based on an image of the golf ball acquired at a time point when the golf ball is hit on a golf environment simulation device (-Determination of motion properties- Woo Col 2:10-3:40, 7:44-64 & -Deep Learning- Kudirka Paragraphs [0161]-[0162]) to determine an initial speed and moving direction of the golf ball (Woo Col 2:10-3:40, 7:44-64), wherein the golf environment simulation device is a device implemented such that the golf ball is physically hit and moved by the hit (Woo Abstract; Fig. 1);
applying the hitting position, and the initial speed and moving direction to a predefined moving trajectory model to determine a moving trajectory of the golf ball (Woo Col 2:10-3:40, 7:44-64); and
displaying the determined moving trajectory (Woo Col 2:10-3:40, 7:54-8:23).
Woo teaches the golf simulation as presented herein above. While Woo is silent regarding the explicit tracking and updating of ball location during game play, and the use of deep learning, Kudirka teaches that these features were known element in analogous golf simulators (Kudirka Paragraphs [0007], [0127], [0149], [0161]-[0162]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to have incorporated the features of tracking and updating of ball location during game play accounting for use inputs, and the use of deep learning as taught by Kudirka (Kudirka Paragraphs [0007], [0127], [0149], [0161]-[0162]) because such would have provided the predictable and expected result of enabling players to play through a virtual golf course in a manner that reflected game progress and that adapts to changes in the simulation environment and/or golf equipment independently.
Conclusion
The following prior art is made of record and though not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
MCNALLY et al (US 2024/0399227) teaches systems and methods for predicting the flight of a golf ball;
Nicora (US 2009/0191929) teaches golf simulator connected to the internet; and
Tynan (US 5,906,547) teaches a golf simulation system.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT E MOSSER whose telephone number is (571)272-4451. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:45-3:45.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dmitry Suhol can be reached at 571-272-4430. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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ROBERT E. MOSSER
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3715
/ROBERT E MOSSER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
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