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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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)(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.
Claims 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Levitt et al. (US Pub: 2017/0352188 A1).
As to claim 1, Levitt teaches an instruction device (i.e. the figure 17 embodiment of Levitt teaches an instruction device 100 which is an Apple IPAD device 100 to create an integrated virtual input and output system ) (see Fig. 16-17, [0167-0169]) comprising:
a light source that emits light (i.e. the display of the iPad display system is a light emission system to display images for the user to see) (see Fig. 1B and 16-17, [0167-010169]); and
a first processor (i.e. element 140) (see Fig. 11, [0128-0129]), wherein the instruction device is configured to be held and moved by a user in a space such that the light is moved in the space (i.e. the first processor is the processor built into the iPad device 140 which is configured in the instruction device 100 to be moved by a user in a space such that the iPad device emit image consists of light that is viewable by user of the oculus 1610 as seen in figure 17) (see Fig. 11, 17, [0167-0169]), and the first processor is configured to transmit a first signal representing information related to a condition of an image to a second processor of an image generation device that generates an image based on a detection result obtained by detecting movement of the light in the space (i.e. the device of Levitt shows the figure 17 embodiment which track the image with respect to the motion in the air space to create a virtual image is created where the processor of 1610 interact with the processor of the iPad device 100 as the camera of the tablet detects others within the virtual environment to create the different motion and gesture control as seen in figure 17 embodiment) (see Fig. 16-17, [0167-0169]) with a camera (i.e. the camera is the camera device in the Oculus Rift device 1610 which captures environment images such as the light emitted by device 100 as shown in figure 11) (see Fig. 11 and 17), the image generation device including the camera and the image generation device being separated from the instruction device (i.e. as seen in figure 17 the image generation device Oculus Rift device 1610 is separate from the instruction device 100) (see Fig. 17, [0167-0169]) and receive a second signal representing information related to a detection state of the light from the second processor of the image generation device (i.e. the second signal is the digital processed display signal from the 1610 image generation device which is viewable by the viewer) (see Fig. 16-17 [0167-0169]).
As to claim 12, Levitt discloses an image generation device (i.e. the figure 17 embodiment of Levitt teaches an instruction device 100 which is an Apple IPAD device 100 to create an integrated virtual input and output system ) (see Fig. 16-17, [0167-0169]) comprising:
a camera (i.e. the camera 160 as seen in figure 1B in iPad element 100) (see Fig. 1B) that captures light emitted from an instruction device that is configured to be held and moved by a user in a space such that the light is moved in the space, the image generation device being separated from the instruction device (i.e. as seen in figure 17 the image generation device Oculus Rift device 1610 is separate from the instruction device 100) (see Fig. 17, [0167-0169]); and
a processor that is configured to generate an image based on a detection result of movement of the light in the space, the light being detected from a captured image (i.e. the first processor is the processor built into the iPad device 140 which is configured in the instruction device 100 to be moved by a user in a space such that the iPad device emit image consists of light that is viewable by user of the oculus 1610 as seen in figure 17) (see Fig. 11, 17, [0167-0169]), which is captured by the camera (see Fig. 4-6), wherein the processor is configured to receive a first signal representing information related to a condition of the image from the instruction device, and transmit a second signal representing information related to a detection state of the light to the instruction device (i.e. the image data is digital processed display signal from the storage with the image storage 1110 and the geometry storage 1120 by the processor of the IPAD) (see Fig. 1-8, 11, [0049-0058], [0128-0134]).
As to claim 13, Levitt discloses a system (i.e. the figure 17 embodiment of Levitt teaches an instruction device 100 which is an Apple IPAD device 100 to create an integrated virtual input and output system ) (see Fig. 16-17, [0167-0169]) comprising:
an instruction device including a light source that emits light and a first processor, the instruction device being configured to be held and moved by a user in a space such that the light is moved in the space (i.e. the first processor is the processor built into the iPad device 140 which is configured in the instruction device 100 to be moved by a user in a space such that the iPad device emit image consists of light that is viewable by user of the oculus 1610 as seen in figure 17) (see Fig. 11, 17, [0167-0169]) and
an image generation device including a camera that captures light emitted from the instruction device and a second processor that is configured to generate an image based on a detection result of movement of the light in the space (i.e. the processor in the IPAD as seen in figure 4) (see Fig. 4, [0073-0079]), which is captured by the camera (see Fig. 4-6), the light being detected from a captured image, which is captured by the camera, the image generation device being separated from the instruction device wherein the system transmits a first signal representing information related to a condition of the image from the instruction device to the image generation device (i.e. as seen in figure 17 the image generation device Oculus Rift device 1610 is separate from the instruction device 100) (see Fig. 17, [0167-0169]), and transmits a second signal representing information related to a detection state of the light from the image generation device to the instruction device (i.e. the image data is digital processed display signal from the storage with the image storage 1110 and the geometry storage 1120 by the processor of the IPAD) (see Fig. 1-8, 11, [0049-0058], [0128-0134]).
As to claim 14, Levitt discloses a communication method (i.e. the figure 17 embodiment of Levitt teaches an instruction device 100 which is an Apple IPAD device 100 to create an integrated virtual input and output system ) (see Fig. 16-17, [0167-0169]) executed by a first processor of an instruction device including a light source that emits light and the first processor (i.e. the first processor is the processor built into the iPad device 140 which is configured in the instruction device 100 to be moved by a user in a space such that the iPad device emit image consists of light that is viewable by user of the oculus 1610 as seen in figure 17) (see Fig. 11, 17, [0167-0169]), which is captured by the camera (see Fig. 4-6), the instruction device being configured to be held and moved by a user in a space such that the light is moved in the space (i.e. the Apple IPAD device as shown in figures 11 and 12A which shows that the device is able to detect light movement in space with the built-in camera system 160 as seen in figure 1) (see Fig. 1, 11, 12A, [0040-0043], [0128-0134]), the communication method comprising:
transmitting a first signal representing information related to a condition of an image to a second processor of an image generation device that generates an image based on a detection result obtained by detecting movement of the light in the space with a camera, the image generation device including the camera and the image generation device including the camera and the image generation device being separated from the instruction device(i.e. as seen in figure 17 the image generation device Oculus Rift device 1610 is separate from the instruction device 100) (see Fig. 17, [0167-0169]); and receiving a second signal representing information related to a detection state of the light from the second processor of the image generation device (i.e. the image data is digital processed display signal from the storage with the image storage 1110 and the geometry storage 1120 by the processor of the IPAD) (see Fig. 1-8, 11, [0049-0058], [0128-0134])
As to claim 15, Levitt discloses a communication method executed by a processor of an image generation device (i.e. the figure 17 embodiment of Levitt teaches an instruction device 100 which is an Apple IPAD device 100 to create an integrated virtual input and output system ) (see Fig. 16-17, [0167-0169]) including a camera that captures light emitted from an instruction device that is configured to be held and moved by a user in a space such that the light is moved in the space, the image generation device being separated from the instruction device (i.e. as seen in figure 17 the image generation device Oculus Rift device 1610 is separate from the instruction device 100) (see Fig. 17, [0167-0169]), and the processor that is configured to generate an image based on a detection result of movement of the light in the space (i.e. the first processor is the processor built into the iPad device 140 which is configured in the instruction device 100 to be moved by a user in a space such that the iPad device emit image consists of light that is viewable by user of the oculus 1610 as seen in figure 17) (see Fig. 11, 17, [0167-0169]), which is captured by the camera (see Fig. 4-6), the light being detected from a captured image, which is captured by the camera, the communication method comprising: receiving a first signal representing information related to a condition of the image from the instruction device; and transmitting a second signal representing information related to a detection state of the light to the instruction device (i.e. the image data is digital processed display signal from the storage with the image storage 1110 and the geometry storage 1120 by the processor of the IPAD) (see Fig. 1-8, 11, [0049-0058], [0128-0134]).
As to claim 16, Levitt discloses a non-transitory storage medium storing a communication program (i.e. the figure 17 embodiment of Levitt teaches an instruction device 100 which is an Apple IPAD device 100 to create an integrated virtual input and output system ) (see Fig. 16-17, [0167-0169]) that is executed by a first processor of an instruction device including a light source that emits light and the first processor, the instruction device being configured to be held and moved by a user in a space such that the light is moved in the space (i.e. the first processor is the processor built into the iPad device 140 which is configured in the instruction device 100 to be moved by a user in a space such that the iPad device emit image consists of light that is viewable by user of the oculus 1610 as seen in figure 17) (see Fig. 11, 17, [0167-0169]), which is captured by the camera (see Fig. 4-6), the communication program for causing the first processor to execute processing comprising:
transmitting a first signal representing information related to a condition of an image to a second processor of an image generation device that generates an image based on a detection result obtained by detecting movement of the light in the space (i.e. the device of Levitt shows the figure 1-8 embodiment which track the image with respect to the motion in the air space to create a virtual image) (see Fig. 1-8, [0049-0058]) with a camera, the image generation device including the camera and the image generation device being separated from the instruction device (i.e. as seen in figure 17 the image generation device Oculus Rift device 1610 is separate from the instruction device 100) (see Fig. 17, [0167-0169]); and receiving a second signal representing information related to a detection state of the light from the second processor of the image generation device (i.e. the second signal is the digital processed display signal from the storage with the image storage 1110 and the geometry storage 1120) (see Fig. 1-8, 11, [0049-0058], [0128-0134]).
As to claim 17, Levitt discloses a non-transitory storage medium storing a communication program (i.e. the figure 17 embodiment of Levitt teaches an instruction device 100 which is an Apple IPAD device 100 to create an integrated virtual input and output system ) (see Fig. 16-17, [0167-0169]) that is executed by a processor of an image generation device including a camera that captures light emitted from an instruction device that is configured to be held and moved by a user in a space such that the light is moved in the space, the image generation device being separated from the instruction device (i.e. as seen in figure 17 the image generation device Oculus Rift device 1610 is separate from the instruction device 100) (see Fig. 17, [0167-0169]), and the processor that is configured to generate an image based on a detection result of movement of the light in the space, the light being detected from a captured image (i.e. the first processor is the processor built into the iPad device 140 which is configured in the instruction device 100 to be moved by a user in a space such that the iPad device emit image consists of light that is viewable by user of the oculus 1610 as seen in figure 17) (see Fig. 11, 17, [0167-0169]) which is captured by the camera, the communication program for causing the processor to execute processing comprising: receiving a first signal representing information related to a condition of the image from the instruction device (i.e. the device of Levitt shows the figure 1-8 embodiment which track the image with respect to the motion in the air space to create a virtual image) (see Fig. 1-8, [0049-0058]); and
transmitting a second signal representing information related to a detection state of the light to the instruction device (i.e. the second signal is the digital processed display signal from the storage with the image storage 1110 and the geometry storage 1120) (see Fig. 1-8, 11, [0049-0058], [0128-0134]).
As to claim 2, Levitt teaches the instruction device according to claim 1, wherein the first processor is configured to execute a notification operation in which the image generation device notifies a user, based on the information related to the detection state (i.e. as seen in figure 15 the device is able to detect condition in the environment and the user’s movement) (see Fig. 15, [0162-0165]).
As to claim 3, Levitt teaches the instruction device according to claim 2, wherein the notification operation is an operation of vibrating the instruction device (i.e. the IPAD device used vibrate function for notification) (see [0099]).
As to claim 4, Levitt teaches the instruction device according to claim 1, wherein the condition is a condition related to a line to be drawn based on the detection result of the light (i.e. as seen in figure 15 the user’s interaction draws a light as seen in figure 15) (see Fig. 15, [0162-0165]).
As to claim 5, Levitt teaches the instruction device according to claim 1, wherein the condition is a condition related to an effect to be drawn based on the detection result of the light (i.e. as seen in figure 6-8 the IPAD device is seen to detect the light in the environment as seen in figure 8) (see Fig. 8, [0101-0108]).
As to claim 6, Levitt teaches the instruction device according to claim 1, further comprising: an acceleration sensor, wherein the condition includes a condition that is changed based on a detection result of the acceleration sensor (i.e. as seen in figure 1A and 1B, [0020]).
As to claim 7, Levitt teaches the instruction device according to claim 1, further comprising: a switch that is operated for designating the condition (i.e. the switch is the home button switch on the IPAD as shown in figure 8) (see Fig. 8, [0101-0109]).
As to claim 8, Levitt teaches the instruction device according to claim 1, wherein the instruction device defines a period, during which the light is being detected by the image generation device, as a detection period (i.e. as seen in figure 8 the system of Levitt’s IPAD is display the camera detection of light be reflect off of the table) (see Fig. 8, [0101-0107]).
As to claim 9, Levitt teaches the instruction device according to claim 1, further comprising: an instruction switch for performing a start instruction and an end instruction, wherein the instruction device transmits a start signal to the image generation device in a case in which the start instruction is given from the instruction switch, transmits an end signal to the image generation device in a case in which the end instruction is given from the instruction switch, and defines a period from in a case in which the start signal is transmitted until in a case in which the end signal is transmitted, as a detection period (i.e. the system of figure 8 – 10 shows the IPAD device being able to create virtual image with the camera capturing system in a continuous process as the device move in space) (see Fig. 8-10, [0101-0132]).
As to claim 10, Levitt teaches the instruction device according to claim 1, wherein the instruction device has a print function of printing the image generated by the image generation device (i.e. the image generation device is able to virtual print the image on the display system itself such as that of figure 8 and 12C) (see Fig. 8, 12C, [0101-0106]).
As to claim 11, Levitt teaches the instruction device according to claim 1, wherein the instruction device is a drawing device for a space drawing (i.e. the device of Levitt is an IOS device that is shown in figure 12-14 to be able to draw image in space to create virtual image) (see Fig. 11-15, [0161-0163]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/09/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In pages 7-8 of the response, the applicant argues that “Amended independent claim 1 specifies that the first processor is configured, in part, to "transmit a first signal representing information related to a condition of an image to a second processor of an image generation device that generates an image based on a detection result obtained by detecting movement of the light in the space with a camera, the image generation device including the camera and the image generation device being separated from the instruction device." Amended independent claims 12-17 recite similar features. At least Figs. 1 and 4-6 and paras. [0027] and [0028] support the amended features. As discussed during the interview, Applicant contends that Levitt fails to disclose or suggest at least the above features. Since Levitt does not describe all the elements of the independent claims, either explicitly or inherently, an anticipation rejection cannot be maintained. Thus, Applicant submits that the independent claims are allowable.” The examiner respectfully disagree, since the prior art Levitt also teaches the figure 17 embodiment which indeed teaches the instruction and image generation means as seen in [0167] “In some embodiments, a user may wear Head Mounted Display 1610 (an embodiment of Display Device 100) to view a virtual environment. Contemporaneously the user may perform a variety of actions using a handheld controller (optionally also an embodiment of Display Device 100). For example, the user may use strokes or touches on a touch sensitive embodiment of Display 110 in the handheld controller to manipulate objects in the virtual environment; the user may also rotate the handheld controller to control/target/select objects within the virtual environment (the rotation optionally being processed using the anatomical based systems and methods discussed herein); and/or the user may turn their head in order to change their viewpoint within the virtual environment.” And [0168] “In a first specific example, the handheld controller is used as a steering wheel to control a vehicle in a virtual environment. In a second specific example, the handheld controller is used to swing a tennis racket in a virtual environment. In a third specific example, the handheld controller is used to target and shoot objects within a virtual environment. The targeting can be controlled by rotation of the handheld controller and the shooting can be controlled by touches on Display 110. In a fourth specific example, the handheld controller (Display Device 100) is an Apple iPad and Head Mounted Display 1610 is an Oculus Rift™ or smartphone.” For these reasons, the newly amended claims to the independent claims still read on the prior art Levitt’s figure 17 embodiment.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The prior art Fuentes et al. (US Pub: 2016/0343174 A1) is cited to teach another type of digital image detection and display system as seen in figures 1-3 embodiments.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CALVIN C. MA whose telephone number is (571)270-1713. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00AM-5:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Benjamin C. Lee can be reached on 571-272-2963. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CALVIN C MA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2693 June 8, 2026
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