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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 2/21/26 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-9, 11-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US 20200379576) in view of Strandborg (US 12197645).
Regarding claim 1 Chen teaches an immersive system, comprising:
a tracking device, configured to generate pose data about the tracking device ([0021] VR and/or AR systems include a hand tracker that can track a user's hands. The hand tracker may track one of the user's hands or both of the user's hands. The hand tracker may be a component of the HMD or may be separate from the HMD. In some implementations, the hand tracker performs key point detection to track one or more points of a user's hand, such as finger tips, knuckles, etc.); and
a head-mounted display device, comprising a displayer, a communication circuit and a processing circuit (fig.1), the displayer configured to display an immersive content ([0013] FIG. 4 is a third-person view of a physical space in which a user is experiencing an immersive environment through the HMD of FIG. 1, [0067] immersive environment 402 and visual entities 408), the communication circuit configured to establish a wireless connection to the tracking device, the processing circuit coupled to the displayer and the communication circuit (fig. 10, [0080] also see fig.1), the processing circuit configured to: in response to the wireless connection being established between the tracking device and the head-mounted display device (fig.1, fig. 10, [0080]), compute an appropriate hand position in front of the head-mounted display device [[without referring to the pose data]] (0068]);
render a virtual model in the immersive content corresponding to the tracking device based on the appropriate hand position prior to stabilization of the pose data received ([0068]) from the tracking device (fig.1, 128); and
correct or determine a position and an orientation of the virtual model in the immersive content based on the pose data received from the tracking device in response to that the pose data has stabilized ([0020] [0033] also see fig.2).
Chen is silent on computing an appropriate hand position in front of the head-mounted display device for the pose data to stabilize.
However, Strandborg teaches computing an appropriate hand position in front of the head-mounted display device (col, 3, It will be appreciated that the term “at least one display apparatus” encompasses a head-mounted display (HMD) device and, optionally, a computing device communicably coupled to the HMD device. The term “head-mounted display” device refers to specialized equipment that is configured to present an extended-reality (XR) environment to a user when said HMD device, in operation, is worn by said user on his/her head.) for the pose data to stabilize (col. 5, the modification comprises a low-pass filtering operation applied on one or more gaze directions indicated in the gaze tracking data and one or more head poses indicated in the pose tracking data during the VOR movement (T2). In this regard, the low-pass filtering operation corresponds to a signal processing technique that allows lower-frequency components of a signal to pass through while attenuating higher-frequency components to smoothen and stabilize gaze directions and head poses during the VOR movement. Additionally, the low-pass filtering operation stabilizes the pose-tracking data).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art to combine Chen in light of Strandborg teaching so that it may include computing an appropriate hand position in front of the head-mounted display device for the pose data to stabilize.
The motivation is for enhancing the alignment of the XR environment with the user's head movement. As a result, the user experiences stable and more realistic XR interaction, making the technology more comfortable and immersive, even in dynamic scenarios, resulting in a more comfortable and visually appealing user experience.
Regarding claim 2 Chen teaches wherein the head-mounted display device comprises a camera (fig. 3A, 380), the camera is configured to capture an image in front of the head-mounted display device, and the processing circuit is configured to execute a computer vision algorithm based on the image to track the appropriate hand position ([0061]).
Regarding claim 3 Chen teaches wherein the processing circuit is configured to execute the computer vision algorithm based on the image to generate at least one hand position about at least one hand relative to the head-mounted display device, and the processing circuit is configured to compare the at least one hand position with predefined criteria and determine an appropriate hand position to display the virtual model on ([0061] fig. 4, [0068] FIG. 4, in which the user U is experiencing the immersive environment 402 through the HMD 104. In FIG. 5, the user U continues to interact with an immersive painting environment. However, in this example, the user U is now holding the handheld electronic device 302 up in front of the user. The position of the handheld electronic device 302 causes the computing device 102 to select a ray-based intersection mode as the interaction mode. In this example, multiple hand properties are determined in the ray-based intersection mode. First, the position of the user's right hand (RH) is determined and mapped i.e. predefined criteria, to a virtual hand position in the immersive environment 402. Additionally, because the ray-based intersection mode has been selected, a pointing direction of a finger of the user's right hand is determined. A virtual ray 502 is generated within the immersive environment 402 extending in the determined pointing direction from the virtual hand position. As the user's hand moves in the physical world, the virtual ray 502 will move in the immersive environment 402 allowing the user to point to and interact with various user interface elements of a user interface entity 504. In some implementations, the user interface entity 504 is a virtual entity that is displayed in the immersive environment 402 based on a determined interaction mode, when the user performs a specific action (e.g., holding up the handheld electronic device 302), or when the user orients toward a specific position in the immersive environment 402).
Regarding claim 4 Chen teaches wherein the predefined criteria comprises a proximity distance or a positional range to determine the appropriate hand position ([0113]).
Regarding claim 5 Chen teaches wherein the tracking device comprises an inertial measurement unit (fig.1, IMU 132), a motion sensor, an optical tracking sensor, a gyroscope, an accelerometer or a magnetometer for generating the pose data ([0041]).
Regarding claim 6 Chen teaches wherein the tracking device is a hand-held controller, a wearable tracker or a tracking attachment (fig.1).
Regarding claim 7 Chen teaches wherein whether the pose data has stabilized is determined by the processing circuit according to a variation of the pose data received from the tracking device ([0024]).
Regarding claim 8 Chen teaches wherein whether the pose data has stabilized ([0024]) is determined by the processing circuit according to whether a predetermined time length expires since the wireless connection is established ([0036]).
Regarding claim 9 Chen teaches wherein the virtual model represents a user interface element that is displayed in response to user interaction ([0031] [0068]).
Regarding claim 11 Chen teaches teaches a displaying method, suitable for displaying a virtual model, the displaying method (fig.2) comprising:
establishing a wireless connection ([0036]) between a tracking device and a head-mounted display device (fig. 1,);
transmitting pose data generated by the tracking device to the head-mounted display device ([0021, [0023] fig. 4) via the wireless connection (fig.1);
computing an appropriate hand position in front of the head-mounted display device without referring to the pose data (0068]);
rendering a virtual model in the immersive content corresponding to the tracking device based on the appropriate hand position prior to stabilization of the pose data received ([0068]) from the tracking device (fig.1, 128); and
correcting or determining a position and an orientation of the virtual model based on the pose data received from the tracking device in response to that the pose data has stabilized ([0020] [0033] also see fig.2).
Chen is silent on computing an appropriate hand position in front of the head-mounted display device for the pose data to stabilize.
However, Strandborg teaches computing an appropriate hand position in front of the head-mounted display device (col, 3, It will be appreciated that the term “at least one display apparatus” encompasses a head-mounted display (HMD) device and, optionally, a computing device communicably coupled to the HMD device. The term “head-mounted display” device refers to specialized equipment that is configured to present an extended-reality (XR) environment to a user when said HMD device, in operation, is worn by said user on his/her head.) for the pose data to stabilize (col. 5, the modification comprises a low-pass filtering operation applied on one or more gaze directions indicated in the gaze tracking data and one or more head poses indicated in the pose tracking data during the VOR movement (T2). In this regard, the low-pass filtering operation corresponds to a signal processing technique that allows lower-frequency components of a signal to pass through while attenuating higher-frequency components to smoothen and stabilize gaze directions and head poses during the VOR movement. Additionally, the low-pass filtering operation stabilizes the pose-tracking data).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art to combine Chen in light of Strandborg teaching so that it may include computing an appropriate hand position in front of the head-mounted display device for the pose data to stabilize.
The motivation is for enhancing the alignment of the XR environment with the user's head movement. As a result, the user experiences stable and more realistic XR interaction, making the technology more comfortable and immersive, even in dynamic scenarios, resulting in a more comfortable and visually appealing user experience.
Regarding claim 12 Chen teaches capturing an image by a camera (fig. 3A, 380) of the head-mounted display device; and executing a computer vision algorithm based on the image by a processing circuit of the head-mounted display device to track the appropriate hand position [0061].
Regarding claim 13 the limitations are like claim 3 so rejected same way.
Regarding claim 14 the limitations are like claim 4 so rejected same way.
Regarding claim 15 the limitations are like claim 5 so rejected same way.
Regarding claim 16 the limitations are like claim 6 so rejected same way.
Regarding claim 17 the limitations are like claim 7 so rejected same way.
Regarding claim 18 the limitations are like claim 8 so rejected same way.
Regarding claim 19 the limitations are like claim 9 so rejected same way.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10, 20 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any of the new reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20230258934 is a related prior art as it describes some aspects of the independent claims.
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/TOWFIQ ELAHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2625
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