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 .
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed July 10th 2026 has been entered. Claims 1-20 are pending in the application. Applicant’s amendments to the Claims 1-2, 4-17, and 19-20 have overcome the rejections previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed April 10th 2026. A second search has been performed to address the material amended in the aforementioned claims. Newly found prior art Hanover (US 20220417418 A1) was used for the amended claims. The Examiner thanks the Applicant for the clarifications provided in the interview on July 7th 2026.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Da Veiga (US 20230336865 A1) in view of Hanover (US 20220417418 A1).
Regarding claim 1:
Da Veiga teaches:
A wearable device comprising (Da Veiga: In some embodiments, the computer system is a personal electronic device (e.g., a wearable electronic device, such as a watch, or a head-mounted device). [0006]):
a housing (Da Veiga: In another example, the controller 110 is included within the enclosure (e.g., a physical housing) [0078]);
a first user-facing display disposed to face eyes of a user wearing the wearable device (Da Veiga: In some embodiments, the display generation component 120 uses a display mechanism (e.g., left and right near-eye display panels) for displaying frames including left and right images in front of a user's eyes to thus provide 3D virtual views to the user [0125]);
one or more cameras (Da Veiga: In some embodiments, the computer system has one or more cameras. [0006]);
memory storing instructions, the memory comprising one or more storage media (Da Veiga: Executable instructions for performing these functions are, optionally, included in a transitory and/or non-transitory computer readable storage medium or other computer program product configured for execution by one or more processors [0006]); and
at least one processor comprising processing circuitry (Da Veiga: some or all of the processing functions of the controller may be performed by a suitable microprocessor and software or by dedicated circuitry [0121]);
wherein at least one processor, individually or collectively, is configured to execute the instructions and is configured to cause the wearable device to (Da Veiga: In some embodiments, the computer system has a […] one or more processors, memory and one or more modules, programs or sets of instructions stored in the memory for performing multiple functions [0006]):
while displaying a screen on the first user-facing display, receive a first input (Da Veiga: In some embodiments, before displaying the extended reality camera user interface (e.g., the display of 1102, 1124, and/or 1126), the computer system (e.g., 700) detects […] tactile input (e.g., an input that corresponds to the selection of a hardware button that is coupled to the computer system, or an input on a camera application launch icon) that corresponds to a request to display the extended reality camera user interface [0287]);
in response to the first input, control the first user-facing display to visually highlight, with respect to a remaining portion of the screen, a portion of the screen (Da Veiga: computer system 700 displays reticle virtual object 1320 at each corner of viewfinder 1318. Reticle virtual object 1320 indicates the capture region of the one or more cameras that are in communication with computer system 700 [0306]);
while displaying the visually-highlighted portion of the screen receive a second input; and in response to the second input: generate and store an image (Da Veiga: in response to detecting body portion's 712a activation of hardware button 711a or in response to detecting input 750c, computer system 700 initiates a media capturing process [0157]) based on image data corresponding to the visually-highlighted portion of the screen (Da Viega: In response to detecting the input that corresponds to a request to capture media, the computer system captures media that includes a representation of at least a portion of the physical environment that is within the recording region [0274]; see Note 1A); and
Note 1A: Above, the Examiner cited paragraph [0274] of Da Veiga that teaches that an input may be received to capture a recording region. Da Veiga points to Figure 11D: “computer system captures media that includes a representation of at least a portion of the physical environment that is within the recording region (e.g., the representation of the photo shown in 1126 at FIG. 11D)”.
Figure 11D showcases a viewfinder that highlights a portion of the screen.
Da Veiga fails to teach:
a second outward-facing display facing an external environment of the wearable device;
control the second outward-facing display to display an externally visible indicator providing a notification relating to the generating and storing of the image.
Hanover teaches:
a second outward-facing display facing an external environment of the wearable device (Hanover: the external mode indicator 161 is sized and positioned specifically to alert persons other than the user of video and/or photo capture [0040]; see also Hanover: Fig. 1);
control the second outward-facing display (see Note 1B) to display an externally visible indicator providing a notification relating to the generating and storing of the image (Hanover: it will be seen that the mode indicator 161 in this example embodiment serves to display a plurality of different visual indications corresponding to a plurality of different operational modes of the camera 103 […] A first mode of indicator behavior in this example embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 2A, for indicating active video recording. [0044]).
Note 1B: In Fig. 1, Hanover showcases that the mode indicator 161 faces away from the glasses, and Hanover explicitly teaches that: “the external mode indicator 161 is sized and positioned specifically to alert persons other than the user of video and/or photo capture” [0040] as cited above.
Regarding claim 2:
Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches:
The wearable device of claim 1 (as shown above), wherein at least one processor, individually or collectively, is configured to cause the wearable device to:
control the first user-facing display to display executable objects associated with the generating and storing of the image (Da Veiga: As illustrated in FIG. 11B, computer system 700 displays camera shutter virtual object 1124 within recording indicator 1102. Selection of camera shutter virtual object 1124 initiates a process on computer system 700 for capturing media wherein the captured media includes a representation of content that is within recording indicator 1102 [0263]), in a position on the screen adjacent to the visually-highlighted portion of the screen (see Note 2A).
Note 2A: Da Veiga showcases in Fig. 11B that a shutter virtual object is placed along the bottom-center of the viewfinder while being superimposed on the region highlighted by the viewfinder. The Examiner submits that the shutter virtual object is positioned adjacent to a visually-highlighted portion of the screen.
Regarding claim 3:
Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches:
The wearable device of claim 2 (as shown above), wherein the executable objects are superimposed on the screen (Da Veiga: Fig. 11B; see Note 2A).
Regarding claim 5:
Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches:
The wearable device of claim 1 (as shown above), wherein at least one processor, individually or collectively, is configured to cause the wearable device to:
in response to the second input (Da Veiga: in response to detecting body portion's 712a activation of hardware button 711a or in response to detecting input 750c, computer system 700 initiates a media capturing process [0157]), further store a depth map corresponding to the image (Da Veiga: In the embodiment of FIGS. 11A-11B, the one or more cameras that are in communication with computer system 700 have an optimal capture distance (e.g., or range of distances) that enables the one or more cameras to capture improved and/or optimal depth data, or in some embodiments, to capture depth data at all [0262]).
Regarding claim 6:
Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches:
The wearable device of claim 1 (as shown above), further comprising a button on the housing (Da Veiga: FIG. 7B illustrates computer system 700 as having hardware button 711a [0149]);
wherein at least one processor, individually or collectively, is configured to cause the wearable device to:
display another screen in response to an operation of the button (Da Veiga: As illustrated in FIG. 7C, in response to detecting body portion's 712a activation of hardware button […], computer system 700 displays media capture preview 708, timer virtual object 713, camera shutter virtual object 714, re-positioning virtual object 716, dismiss virtual object 719, and photo well virtual object 715 [0150]).
Regarding claim 7:
Da Veiga teaches:
A wearable device comprising:
a housing (Da Veiga: In another example, the controller 110 is included within the enclosure (e.g., a physical housing) [0078]);
a first user-facing display disposed to display images to a user wearing the wearable device (Da Veiga: In some embodiments, the display generation component 120 uses a display mechanism (e.g., left and right near-eye display panels) for displaying frames including left and right images in front of a user's eyes to thus provide 3D virtual views to the user [0125]);
a plurality of cameras configured to obtain a plurality of images (Da Veiga: In some embodiments, the computer system has one or more cameras. [0006]) with respect to at least a portion of the external environment of the wearable device (see Note 7A);
memory storing instructions, the memory comprising one or more storage media (Da Veiga: Executable instructions for performing these functions are, optionally, included in a transitory and/or non-transitory computer readable storage medium or other computer program product configured for execution by one or more processors [0006]); and
at least one processor comprising processing circuitry (Da Veiga: some or all of the processing functions of the controller may be performed by a suitable microprocessor and software or by dedicated circuitry [0121]);
wherein at least one processor individually or collectively, is configured to execute the instructions and is configured to cause the wearable device to (Da Veiga: In some embodiments, the computer system has a […] one or more processors, memory and one or more modules, programs or sets of instructions stored in the memory for performing multiple functions [0006]):
display, on the first user-facing display, a composite image (Da Veiga: The system composites the images or video with virtual objects, and presents the composition on the opaque display [0073]) with respect to the at least a portion of the external environment generated based on the of images obtained by the plurality of cameras, and a view finder object at least partially superimposed on the composite image (Da Veiga: As illustrated in FIG. 13D, computer system 700 displays reticle virtual object 1320 at each corner of viewfinder 1318 [0306]; see Note 7B);
in an image shooting mode while the composite image and the view finder object are displayed on the first user-facing display, display a first visual notification indicating the image shooting mode;
in the image shooting mode or the video shooting mode, store at least portion of the composite image corresponding to the view finder object in the memory in response to an input to the wearable device.
Note 7A: Figures 7A-7G of Da Viega showcase a user using a camera to capture an external environment.
Note 7B: Figure 13D and 13I of Da Viega showcases a viewfinder 1318 superimposed upon an external environment to be captured.
Da Veiga fails to teach:
a second outward-facing display facing an external environment of the wearable device;
in an image shooting mode while the composite image and the view finder object are displayed on the first user-facing display, display, on the second outward-facing display, a first visual notification indicating the image shooting mode;
in a video shooting mode while the composite image and the view finder object are displayed on the first user-facing display, display, on the second outward-facing display, a second visual notification indicating the video shooting mode; and
Hanover teaches:
a second outward-facing display facing an external environment of the wearable device (Hanover: It will be appreciated that such a user-oriented mode indication mechanism is to be distinguished from the external mode indicator 161 in that the external mode indicator 161 is sized and positioned specifically to alert persons other than the user of video and/or photo capture [0040]);
in an image shooting mode, display, on the second outward-facing display, a first visual notification indicating the image shooting mode (Hanover: A second example mode of operation indicated by the LED ring mode indicator 161 is illustrated with reference to FIG. 2B. This mode is for photo capture, and in this embodiment comprises a single flash or short-interval activation of the full ring of LEDs 207. [0046]);
in a video shooting mode, display, on the second outward-facing display, a second visual notification indicating the video shooting mode (Hanover: A first mode of indicator behavior in this example embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 2A, for indicating active video recording. The indication displayed by the LED mode indicator 161 in this instance comprises animated circular movement of activated LEDs 207 around the LED ring 161 (in the direction of the rotational arrow), creating the visual impression of a “comet tail” countdown. [0044]); and
Note 7C: Hanover teaches separate visual indicators for an image shooting mode and video shooting mode as described above. Da Veiga teaches that: “because computer system 700 is performing a video capture operation, computer system 700 displays recording indicator virtual object 1332 within viewfinder 1318.” [0323]. In other words, Da Veiga explicitly teaches that a recording indicator may be displayed while a view finder is displayed on the user-facing display.
Furthermore, because Da Veiga teaches that: “The system composites the images or video with virtual objects, and presents the composition on the opaque display” [0073] and the viewfinder is a virtual object, Da Veiga is also displaying a composite image while displaying the recording indicator. Therefore, when the teachings of Hanover are combined with Da Veiga, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to display the recording indicators on the second display as taught by Hanover “while the composite image and the view finder object are displayed on the first user-facing display”.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Hanover with Da Veiga. Utilizing a second display facing opposite of the user to display a recording indicator, as in Hanover, would benefit the Da Veiga teachings by enabling viewers not using the HMD to determine what the user using the HMD is doing, which may be beneficial in the context of recording photos and videos: “the external mode indicator 161 is sized and positioned specifically to alert persons other than the user of video and/or photo capture” (Hanover, [0040]).
Regarding claim 8:
Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches:
The wearable device of claim 7 (as shown above), wherein at least one processor, individually or collectively, is configured to cause the wearable device to: display, on the first user-facing display, a control handle at a position adjacent to the view finder object (Da Veiga: In some embodiments, displaying the user interface (e.g., 1304) includes displaying a first set of virtual control objects (e.g., 1316, 1320, 1332 and/or 1330) (e.g., one or more virtual control objects) (e.g., one or more media capture control virtual objects) (e.g., each virtual control object in the first set of virtual control objects is selectable) within the boundary of the viewfinder [0361]).
Regarding claim 9:
Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches:
The wearable device of claim 8 (as shown above), wherein at least one processor, individually or collectively, is configured to cause the wearable device to:
display, on the first user-facing display, the control handle to include (see Note 9A) at least one of a visual object corresponding to a function to browse an image or a video stored in the memory (Da Veiga: computer system 700 displays previously captured media item 730. Previously captured media item 730 is the media item that was most recently captured by computer system 700 [0170]); and
based on an input to the wearable device to select the visual object, display, through the first user-facing display, a list including the image or the video (Da Veiga: Selection of library virtual object 731 causes the display of a plurality of representations of previously captured media items [0172]).
Note 9A: In the rejection of claim 8, it was shown that Da Veiga teaches control objects located within a boundary of the viewfinder. Da Viega also showcases “as illustrated in FIG. 11B, computer system 700 displays photo well virtual object 1126 within recording indicator 1102. As discussed above, photo well virtual object 1126 includes a representation of a most recently captured media item”. Because both the photo well virtual object and the control object are within the boundary of the viewfinder, the Examiner submits that it would be obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to include the photo well virtual object within the control object.
Regarding claim 11:
Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches:
The wearable device of claim 7, further comprising:
a button on the housing (Da Veiga: FIG. 7B illustrates computer system 700 as having hardware button 711a [0149]);
wherein at least one processor, individually or collectively, is configured to cause the wearable device to:
receive the input through operation of the button (Da Veiga: At FIG. 7B, computer system 700 detects body portion's 712a activation of hardware button 711a [0149]).
Regarding claim 12:
Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches:
The wearable device of claim 7 (as shown above), wherein at least one processor, individually or collectively, is configured to cause the wearable device to:
in response to the input, further store (Da Veiga: in response to detecting body portion's 712a activation of hardware button 711a or in response to detecting input 750c, computer system 700 initiates a media capturing process [0157]) a depth map corresponding to the at least portion of the composite image (Da Veiga: In the embodiment of FIGS. 11A-11B, the one or more cameras that are in communication with computer system 700 have an optimal capture distance (e.g., or range of distances) that enables the one or more cameras to capture improved and/or optimal depth data, or in some embodiments, to capture depth data at all [0262]).
Regarding claim 13:
Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches:
The wearable device of claim 7 (as shown above), wherein at least one processor, individually or collectively, is configured to cause the wearable device to:
in response to the input (Hanover: a photo capture command can be issued by a single, relatively short button press (e.g., shorter than a second), [0041]), display, on the second outward-facing display (see Note 1B), at least one of the first visual notification or the second visual notification (Hanover: when the user presses the button 173 to trigger photo capture, the mode indicator 161 displays a single full ring flash substantially simultaneously with the capturing of a photo by use of the eyewear device 100. [0046]).
Regarding claim 14:
Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches:
The wearable device of claim 7 (as shown above), wherein at least one processor, individually or collectively, is configured to cause the wearable device to: display, on the first user-facing display, executable objects associated with the image shooting mode or the video shooting mode (Da Veiga: As illustrated in FIG. 11B, computer system 700 displays camera shutter virtual object 1124 within recording indicator 1102. Selection of camera shutter virtual object 1124 initiates a process on computer system 700 for capturing media wherein the captured media includes a representation of content that is within recording indicator 1102 [0263]; see Note 2A).
Regarding claim 15:
Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches:
The wearable device of claim 7 (as shown above), wherein at least one processor, individually or collectively, is configured to cause the wearable device to:
display the view finder object by visually highlighting a portion of a screen displayed on the first user-facing display, corresponding to the at least a portion of the composite image to be stored by the input, with respect to another portion of the screen (Da Veiga: computer system 700 displays reticle virtual object 1320 at each corner of viewfinder 1318. Reticle virtual object 1320 indicates the capture region of the one or more cameras that are in communication with computer system 700 [0306]).
Regarding claim 16:
Claim 16 is substantially similar to claim 1, and is therefore rejected for similar reasons. Claim 16 contains the following notable differences:
Claim 16 claims a method of operating a wearable device instead of a wearable device. The rejection of claim 1 showcased how Da Veiga in view of Hanover taught the claimed wearable device. It follows that Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches the corresponding method.
Regarding claim 17:
Claim 17 is substantially similar to claim 2, and is therefore rejected for similar reasons. Claim 17 contains the following notable differences:
Claim 17 claims a method of operating a wearable device instead of a wearable device. The rejection of claim 2 showcased how Da Veiga in view of Hanover taught the claimed wearable device. It follows that Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches the corresponding method.
Regarding claim 18:
Claim 18 is substantially similar to claim 3, and is therefore rejected for similar reasons. Claim 18 contains the following notable differences:
Claim 18 claims a method of operating a wearable device instead of a wearable device. The rejection of claim 3 showcased how Da Veiga in view of Hanover taught the claimed wearable device. It follows that Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches the corresponding method.
Regarding claim 19:
Claim 19 is substantially similar to claim 4, and is therefore rejected for similar reasons. Claim 19 contains the following notable differences:
Claim 19 claims a method of operating a wearable device instead of a wearable device. The rejection of claim 4 showcased how Da Veiga in view of Hanover taught the claimed wearable device. It follows that Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches the corresponding method.
Regarding claim 20:
Claim 20 is substantially similar to claim 5, and is therefore rejected for similar reasons. Claim 20 contains the following notable differences:
Claim 20 claims a method of operating a wearable device instead of a wearable device. The rejection of claim 5 showcased how Da Veiga in view of Hanover taught the claimed wearable device. It follows that Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches the corresponding method.
Claims 4 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Da Veiga (US 20230336865 A1) in view of Hanover (US 20220417418 A1) and Bousetouane (US 20220207585 A1).
Regarding claim 4:
Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches:
The wearable device of claim 1 (as shown above), wherein at least one processor, individually or collectively, is configured to cause the wearable device to:
Da Veiga in view of Hanover fails to teach:
control the first user-facing display to further display a visual object for a focal point on the visually-highlighted portion of the screen.
Bousetouane teaches:
control the first user-facing display to further display a visual object for a focal point (Bousetouane: object detection may detect multiple objects within the viewfinder's frames, only the most prominent detected object shall be tracked and visually cued to the customer […] the viewfinder presented in the display 10, an example of which is illustrated in FIG. 4, may provide the customer with an indicia 402, such as a bounding box, that functions to emphasize the current focus of the camera 104, i.e., the current object of interest 404 within the scene [0032]) on the visually-highlighted portion of the screen (see Note 4A).
Note 4A: Da Veiga in Fig. 11D teaches a viewfinder that highlights a portion of the screen. In [0032] above, Bousetouane teaches indicating the focus of the camera within a viewfinder. Therefore, the Examiners submits that when the teachings of Bousetouane are combined with Da Veiga, it would be obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to base the displaying of the visual object on “on the visually-highlighted portion of the screen”.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Bousetouane with Da Veiga in view of Hanover. Displaying a visual object for a focal point in a viewfinder, as in Bousetouane, would benefit the Da Veiga in view of Hanover teachings by enabling the user to determine the focus of the camera when it immediately clear what the camera is focused on: “only the most prominent detected object shall be tracked and visually cued to the customer, allowing the customer to select the object of interest within a crowded scene by simply pointing the camera 104 towards that object and keeping the camera 104 focused on that object for a predetermined period of time 206” (Bousetouane, [0032]).
Regarding claim 10:
Da Veiga in view of Hanover teaches:
The wearable device of claim 7 (as shown above), wherein at least one processor, individually or collectively, is configured to cause the wearable device to:
Da Veiga in view of Hanover fails to teach:
control the first user-facing display to display a visual object associated with a focal point positioned within the view finder object.
Bousetouane teaches:
control the first user-facing display to display a visual object associated with a focal point positioned within the view finder object (Bousetouane: object detection may detect multiple objects within the viewfinder's frames, only the most prominent detected object shall be tracked and visually cued to the customer […] the viewfinder presented in the display 10, an example of which is illustrated in FIG. 4, may provide the customer with an indicia 402, such as a bounding box, that functions to emphasize the current focus of the camera 104, i.e., the current object of interest 404 within the scene [0032]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Bousetouane with Da Veiga in view of Hanover. Displaying a visual object for a focal point in a viewfinder, as in Bousetouane, would benefit the Da Veiga in view of Hanover teachings by enabling the user to determine the focus of the camera when it immediately clear what the camera is focused on: “only the most prominent detected object shall be tracked and visually cued to the customer, allowing the customer to select the object of interest within a crowded scene by simply pointing the camera 104 towards that object and keeping the camera 104 focused on that object for a predetermined period of time 206” (Bousetouane, [0032]).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VINCENT ALEXANDER PROVIDENCE whose telephone number is (571)270-5765. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:30-5:00.
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://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, King Poon can be reached at (571)270-0728. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/VINCENT ALEXANDER PROVIDENCE/Examiner, Art Unit 2617 /KING Y POON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2617
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