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 office action is in response to Applicant’s amendment filed 08/10/2026 which has been entered and made of record. Claims 1 and 11 have been amended. No claim has been newly added. Claims 1-20 are pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 08/10/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered, however they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues
Naganna does not teach “first input identifying a first attribute”;
Naganna does not teach selecting devices based on the voice command.
Examiner respectfully disagrees. First, Naganna teaches a voice command as first input, the voice command is feed into VCD management to decide on target VCDs in paragraph [0027] “The VCD management application 160 can then be configured to receive an indication (e.g., from an XR device or VCD) of a voice command issued by a user…… Upon receiving the voice command, the VCD management application 160 can be configured to determine one or more target VCD(s). In some embodiments, the target VCD(s) are determined based on the VCD(s) in the vicinity that awaken in response to the command. In some embodiments, the target VCD(s) can be determined based on commands issued by the user as compared to stored command data associated with each VCD. In some embodiments, the target VCD(s) can be determined based on current conditions (e.g., of the user or environment) as compared to conditions in which VCDs are typically interacted with.”.
Second, Naganna teaches based on the voice command, an attribute can be decided, the attribute are stored with each VCD in paragraph [0035-0036]. The claim language uses “attribute”, but there is no detailed definition of “attribute”, the attribute can be the command itself, the condition surrounding each VCD as shown in paragraph [0035-0036] “target VCD(s) can be determined based on stored command data 230 as compared to the voice command issued by the user. That is, each VCD that has command data 230 matching to the user voice command can be determined to be targeted. Thus, voice command data 230 can be temporarily stored (e.g., by XR device 255, VCDs 225, and/or XR VCD management system 205) such that it can be compared to voice command data 230 to determine targeted VCDs …… upon a user issued voice command, the current conditions surrounding each VCD can be compared to the use case data 237 to determine whether it is likely that the VCD was intended to be targeted. If the current conditions substantially match (e.g., based on one or more thresholds) conditions within the use case data 237, then a determination can be made that the VCD corresponding to the match is the targeted VCD.”.
Applicant argues Chu, Kim and Wu, taken individually or in combination, do not teach the newly amended independent claims.
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Naganna in view of Chu teaches the newly amended independent claims as shown below.
Conclusions: The rejections set in the previous Office Action are shown to have been proper, and the claims are rejected below. New citations and parenthetical remarks can be considered new grounds of rejections, and such new grounds of rejection are necessitated by the Applicant's amendments to the claims. Therefore, the present Office Action is made final.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 1-6, 9, 11-16 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Naganna et al. (US 20220254341 A1), hereinafter as Naganna, in view of Chu et al. (US 20220244786 A1), hereinafter as Chu.
Regarding claim 1, Naganna teaches A method (Naganna paragraph [0004] “Embodiments of the present disclosure include a method, computer program product, and system for extended reality (XR) based voice command device (VCD) management.”) comprising: detecting, by a first device, a first input (Naganna teaches an XR device as a first device and the voice command as a first input, paragraph [0027] “The VCD management application 160 can then be configured to receive an indication (e.g., from an XR device or VCD) of a voice command issued by a user. The voice command can be captured by one or more microphones of surrounding devices (e.g., an XR device or VCD) and transmitted to the server 135 for processing.”);
determining that the first input identifies a first attribute (Naganna teaches the voice command of the user as first input, the current condition of user and environment, the command itself can be defined as the first attribute, further teaches storing the use case data 237 for VCDs, paragraph [0027] “The VCD management application 160 can then be configured to receive an indication (e.g., from an XR device or VCD) of a voice command issued by a user…… the target VCD(s) can be determined based on commands issued by the user as compared to stored command data associated with each VCD…… the target VCD(s) can be determined based on current conditions (e.g., of the user or environment) as compared to conditions in which VCDs are typically interacted with.”, paragraph [0035-0036] “ target VCD(s) can be determined based on stored command data 230 as compared to the voice command issued by the user. That is, each VCD that has command data 230 matching to the user voice command can be determined to be targeted. Thus, voice command data 230 can be temporarily stored (e.g., by XR device 255, VCDs 225, and/or XR VCD management system 205) such that it can be compared to voice command data 230 to determine targeted VCDs …… use case data 237 can include time of day the VCD is activated, biometrics (e.g., heart rate, body language, etc.) of a user upon interaction with a VCD, background noise level when a VCD is activated, lighting when a VCD is activated, and other use case factors. In embodiments, upon a user issued voice command, the current conditions surrounding each VCD can be compared to the use case data 237 to determine whether it is likely that the VCD was intended to be targeted.”);
…… identifying a plurality of devices connected to a network, wherein each device of the plurality of devices is associated with at least one attribute (Naganna teaches multiple devices connected with a network in Figure 1, further teaches the use case data 237 related to the device, paragraph [0018] “FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example computing environment 100 in which illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. Computing environment 100 includes a plurality of devices 105-1, 105-2 . . . 105-N (collectively devices 105), at least one server 135, and a network 150.”, paragraph [0036] “use case data 237 can include time of day the VCD is activated, biometrics (e.g., heart rate, body language, etc.) of a user upon interaction with a VCD, background noise level when a VCD is activated, lighting when a VCD is activated, and other use case factors.);
selecting a set of devices of the plurality of devices based, at least in part, on each device of the set of devices being associated with the first attribute identified from the first input (Naganna paragraph [0035-0036] “each VCD that has command data 230 matching to the user voice command can be determined to be targeted. Thus, voice command data 230 can be temporarily stored (e.g., by XR device 255, VCDs 225, and/or XR VCD management system 205) such that it can be compared to voice command data 230 to determine targeted VCDs …… If the current conditions substantially match (e.g., based on one or more thresholds) conditions within the use case data 237, then a determination can be made that the VCD corresponding to the match is the targeted VCD.”);
…… identifying a first display element associated with a second device of the subset of devices; and displaying the first display element (Naganna teaches a visual indication of the target VCD as the first display element of the second device, paragraph [0037] “Upon determining the targeted VCD(s) of the VCDs 225, a VCD visualizer 265 of the XR device 255 can be configured to display a visual indication on the XR display 260 indicating the targeted VCD(s).”, paragraph [0046] “the VCD can be highlighted, enlarged, or otherwise emphasized on the XR device. Thus, the user can readily view the VCD they are interacting with through an XR device.”).
Naganna is not relied on for the below claim language …… detecting, by the first device, an orientation of a user when the first input is detected; calculating a first field of view based, at least in part, on the orientation of the user; ……
selecting a subset of devices of the set of devices based, at least in part, on each device of the subset of devices being located within the first field of view;
Chu teaches …… detecting, by the first device, an orientation of a user when the first input is detected (Chu paragraph [0033] “as a change in orientation of the user 202 is detected, the graphical content rendered in the lenses 206 can be adjusted according to the change in orientation. For example, an icon that is rendered to appear above a computing device that the user 202 looking at can be shifted in the lenses 206 in a direction that is opposite relative to a direction that the user 202 has rotated their head. Similarly, the icon can no longer be rendered in the lenses 206 when the computing device is no longer in a field of view of the user 202 and/or the computerized glasses 204.”); calculating a first field of view based, at least in part, on the orientation of the user (Chu paragraph [0026] “FIG. 1B illustrates a view 120 of the user 102 changing their field of view 124 to face a computing device 122 that is located in a different area of the environment 108. The user 102 can change their orientation to direct a spoken utterance to a different device from the television 106.”);
…… selecting a subset of devices of the set of devices based, at least in part, on each device of the subset of devices being located within the first field of view (Chu paragraph [0024] “the device arbitration process can include identifying the devices that detected the spoken utterance 114 from the user 102 and also determining whether any of the identified devices are associated with the field of view 112 of the user 102. For example, a computing device that is performing the arbitration process can determine that the television 106, the display device 118, the dongle 126, and the tablet device 110 are associated with the field of view 112 of the user of 102.”);
Naganna and Chu are in the same field of endeavor, namely voice based smart device control. Chu teaches a method of deciding assistant-enabled devices based on user’s field of view to improve accuracy and efficiency (Chu paragraph [0005] “Allowing device arbitration to be performed with data from computerized glasses can minimize a number of instances in which a client device is accidentally activated. In this way, memory, power, and network bandwidth can be preserved for those devices that are most susceptible to accidental activation from certain detected user inputs.”). Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Chu with the method of Naganna to improve accuracy and efficiency.
Regarding claim 2, Naganna in view of Chu teach The method of claim 1, and further teach wherein the first device is a wearable extended reality (XR) device, and the first device displays the first display element (Naganna paragraph [0021] “devices 105 can include XR devices configured to display simulated information on a display (e.g., a head-mounted display (HMD). For example, devices can include augmented reality (AR) devices and virtual reality (VR) devices.”, and paragraph [0037] “Upon determining the targeted VCD(s) of the VCDs 225, a VCD visualizer 265 of the XR device 255 can be configured to display a visual indication on the XR display 260 indicating the targeted VCD(s).”).
Regarding claim 3, Naganna in view of Chu teach The method of claim 2, and further teach further comprising: receiving a second input associated with the first display element (Chu paragraph [0061] “The user can then perform a gesture (e.g., holding up their index finger) in front of their face, in order that one or more cameras of the computerized glasses will capture the gesture. The gesture can indicate to the automated assistant 404 that a particular device (e.g., the central most device) is the device that the user intended to be responsive to user input.”); and causing the second device to execute a command based, at least in part, on receiving the second input (Chu Figure 5, operation 512, “causing particular candidate device and/or computerized glasses to initialize performance of one or more operations”, paragraph [0066] “When the automated assistant determines that the assistant input is directed to a particular candidate device, aside from the computerized glasses, the method 500 can proceed from the operation 510 to the operation 512”).
Naganna and Chu are in the same field of endeavor, namely voice based smart device control. Chu teaches a method of deciding assistant-enabled devices based on user’s field of view to improve accuracy and efficiency (Chu paragraph [0005] “Allowing device arbitration to be performed with data from computerized glasses can minimize a number of instances in which a client device is accidentally activated. In this way, memory, power, and network bandwidth can be preserved for those devices that are most susceptible to accidental activation from certain detected user inputs.”). Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Chu with the method of Naganna to improve accuracy and efficiency.
Regarding claim 4, Naganna in view of Chu teaches The method of claim 2, and further teach further comprising: identifying a second display element associated with a third device of the subset of devices; and displaying, by the first device, the second display element (Chu teaches a second selectable element as the third device, paragraph [0061] “The device arbitration engine 416 can communicate an identifier and/or location of the candidate devices to the interface content engine 424, which can render graphical indications, in the lenses of the computerized glasses, at or near a relative location of the candidate devices. For example, a first selectable element can be rendered at a left most portion of a display interface of the computerized glasses in order to indicate that a computing device in a left most portion of the field of view of the user is a candidate device. A second selectable element can be rendered in a more central location of the display interface, simultaneous to the first selectable element, in order to indicate that another computing device in a central portion of the field of view of the user is also a candidate device.”).
Naganna and Chu are in the same field of endeavor, namely voice based smart device control. Chu teaches a method of deciding assistant-enabled devices based on user’s field of view to improve accuracy and efficiency (Chu paragraph [0005] “Allowing device arbitration to be performed with data from computerized glasses can minimize a number of instances in which a client device is accidentally activated. In this way, memory, power, and network bandwidth can be preserved for those devices that are most susceptible to accidental activation from certain detected user inputs.”). Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Chu with the method of Naganna to improve accuracy and efficiency.
Regarding claim 5, Naganna in view of Chu teach The method of claim 4, and further teach wherein the first device displays the first display element and the second display element at the same time (Chu paragraph [0061] “A second selectable element can be rendered in a more central location of the display interface, simultaneous to the first selectable element, in order to indicate that another computing device in a central portion of the field of view of the user is also a candidate device.”).
Naganna and Chu are in the same field of endeavor, namely voice based smart device control. Chu teaches a method of deciding assistant-enabled devices based on user’s field of view to improve accuracy and efficiency (Chu paragraph [0005] “Allowing device arbitration to be performed with data from computerized glasses can minimize a number of instances in which a client device is accidentally activated. In this way, memory, power, and network bandwidth can be preserved for those devices that are most susceptible to accidental activation from certain detected user inputs.”). Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Chu with the method of Naganna to improve accuracy and efficiency.
Regarding claim 6, Naganna in view of Chu teach The method of claim 5, and further teach further comprising: receiving a second input associated with the first display element (Chu paragraph [0061] “The user can then perform a gesture (e.g., holding up their index finger) in front of their face, in order that one or more cameras of the computerized glasses will capture the gesture. The gesture can indicate to the automated assistant 404 that a particular device (e.g., the central most device) is the device that the user intended to be responsive to user input.”);
and causing the second device to execute a command based, at least in part, on receiving the second input (Chu Figure 5, operation 512, “causing particular candidate device and/or computerized glasses to initialize performance of one or more operations”, paragraph [0066] “When the automated assistant determines that the assistant input is directed to a particular candidate device, aside from the computerized glasses, the method 500 can proceed from the operation 510 to the operation 512”).
Naganna and Chu are in the same field of endeavor, namely voice based smart device control. Chu teaches a method of deciding assistant-enabled devices based on user’s field of view to improve accuracy and efficiency (Chu paragraph [0005] “Allowing device arbitration to be performed with data from computerized glasses can minimize a number of instances in which a client device is accidentally activated. In this way, memory, power, and network bandwidth can be preserved for those devices that are most susceptible to accidental activation from certain detected user inputs.”). Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Chu with the method of Naganna to improve accuracy and efficiency.
Regarding claim 9, Naganna in view of Chu teach The method of claim 2, and further teach further comprising: receiving a second input associated with the first display element (Chu paragraph [0061] “The user can then perform a gesture (e.g., holding up their index finger) in front of their face, in order that one or more cameras of the computerized glasses will capture the gesture. The gesture can indicate to the automated assistant 404 that a particular device (e.g., the central most device) is the device that the user intended to be responsive to user input.”); and transmitting a request to the second device, wherein the request indicates a command associated with the second input (Chu paragraph [0051] “This can include determining local and/or remote responses (e.g., answers) to the spoken utterance, interaction(s) with locally installed application(s) to perform based on the spoken utterance, command(s) to transmit to internet-of-things (IoT) device(s) (directly or via corresponding remote system(s)) based on the spoken utterance, and/or other resolution action(s) to perform based on the spoken utterance. The on-device fulfillment can then initiate local and/or remote performance/execution of the determined action(s) to resolve the spoken utterance.”).
Naganna and Chu are in the same field of endeavor, namely voice based smart device control. Chu teaches a method of deciding assistant-enabled devices based on user’s field of view to improve accuracy and efficiency (Chu paragraph [0005] “Allowing device arbitration to be performed with data from computerized glasses can minimize a number of instances in which a client device is accidentally activated. In this way, memory, power, and network bandwidth can be preserved for those devices that are most susceptible to accidental activation from certain detected user inputs.”). Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Chu with the method of Naganna to improve accuracy and efficiency.
Regarding claim 11, Naganna teaches An apparatus (Naganna teaches an XR device as the apparatus, paragraph [0021] “devices 105 can include XR devices configured to display simulated information on a display (e.g., a head-mounted display (HMD). For example, devices can include augmented reality (AR) devices and virtual reality (VR) devices.”) comprising: control circuitry; and at least one memory including computer program code for one or more programs, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the control circuitry (Naganna paragraph [0075-0078] “Referring now to FIG. 6, shown is a high-level block diagram of an example computer system 601 (e.g., devices 105 and server 135) that may be used in implementing one or more of the methods, tools, and modules, and any related functions, described herein (e.g., using one or more processor circuits or computer processors of the computer) …… The computer system 601 may contain one or more general-purpose programmable central processing units …… One or more programs/utilities 628, each having at least one set of program modules 630 may be stored in memory 604”) cause the apparatus to perform at least the following:
detect a first input (Naganna teaches an XR device as the apparatus and the voice command as a first input, paragraph [0027] “The VCD management application 160 can then be configured to receive an indication (e.g., from an XR device or VCD) of a voice command issued by a user. The voice command can be captured by one or more microphones of surrounding devices (e.g., an XR device or VCD) and transmitted to the server 135 for processing.”);
determine that the first input identifies a first attribute (Naganna teaches the current condition of user and environment, the command itself can be defined as the first attribute, further teaches storing the use case data 237 for VCDs, paragraph [0027] “The VCD management application 160 can then be configured to receive an indication (e.g., from an XR device or VCD) of a voice command issued by a user…… the target VCD(s) can be determined based on commands issued by the user as compared to stored command data associated with each VCD…… the target VCD(s) can be determined based on current conditions (e.g., of the user or environment) as compared to conditions in which VCDs are typically interacted with.”, paragraph [0035-0036] “ target VCD(s) can be determined based on stored command data 230 as compared to the voice command issued by the user. That is, each VCD that has command data 230 matching to the user voice command can be determined to be targeted. Thus, voice command data 230 can be temporarily stored (e.g., by XR device 255, VCDs 225, and/or XR VCD management system 205) such that it can be compared to voice command data 230 to determine targeted VCDs …… use case data 237 can include time of day the VCD is activated, biometrics (e.g., heart rate, body language, etc.) of a user upon interaction with a VCD, background noise level when a VCD is activated, lighting when a VCD is activated, and other use case factors. In embodiments, upon a user issued voice command, the current conditions surrounding each VCD can be compared to the use case data 237 to determine whether it is likely that the VCD was intended to be targeted.”);
…… identify a plurality of devices connected to a network, wherein each device of the plurality of devices is associated with at least one attribute (Naganna teaches multiple devices connected with a network in Figure 1, further teaches the use case data 237 related to the device, paragraph [0018] “FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example computing environment 100 in which illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. Computing environment 100 includes a plurality of devices 105-1, 105-2 . . . 105-N (collectively devices 105), at least one server 135, and a network 150.”, paragraph [0036] “use case data 237 can include time of day the VCD is activated, biometrics (e.g., heart rate, body language, etc.) of a user upon interaction with a VCD, background noise level when a VCD is activated, lighting when a VCD is activated, and other use case factors.);
select a set of devices of the plurality of devices based, at least in part, on each device of the set of devices being associated with the first attribute identified from the first input (Naganna paragraph [0035-0036] “each VCD that has command data 230 matching to the user voice command can be determined to be targeted. Thus, voice command data 230 can be temporarily stored (e.g., by XR device 255, VCDs 225, and/or XR VCD management system 205) such that it can be compared to voice command data 230 to determine targeted VCDs ……If the current conditions substantially match (e.g., based on one or more thresholds) conditions within the use case data 237, then a determination can be made that the VCD corresponding to the match is the targeted VCD.”);
…… identify a first display element associated with a first device of the subset of devices; and display the first display element (Naganna teaches a visual indication of the target VCD as the first display element of a first device, paragraph [0037] “Upon determining the targeted VCD(s) of the VCDs 225, a VCD visualizer 265 of the XR device 255 can be configured to display a visual indication on the XR display 260 indicating the targeted VCD(s).”, paragraph [0046] “the VCD can be highlighted, enlarged, or otherwise emphasized on the XR device. Thus, the user can readily view the VCD they are interacting with through an XR device.”).
Naganna is not relied on for the below claim language …… detect an orientation of a user when the first input is detected; calculate a first field of view based, at least in part, on the orientation of the user; …… select a subset of devices of the set of devices based, at least in part, on each device of the subset of devices being located within the first field of view;
Chu teaches …… detect an orientation of a user when the first input is detected (Chu paragraph [0033] “as a change in orientation of the user 202 is detected, the graphical content rendered in the lenses 206 can be adjusted according to the change in orientation. For example, an icon that is rendered to appear above a computing device that the user 202 looking at can be shifted in the lenses 206 in a direction that is opposite relative to a direction that the user 202 has rotated their head. Similarly, the icon can no longer be rendered in the lenses 206 when the computing device is no longer in a field of view of the user 202 and/or the computerized glasses 204.”); calculate a first field of view based, at least in part, on the orientation of the user (Chu paragraph [0026] “FIG. 1B illustrates a view 120 of the user 102 changing their field of view 124 to face a computing device 122 that is located in a different area of the environment 108. The user 102 can change their orientation to direct a spoken utterance to a different device from the television 106.”); …… select a subset of devices of the set of devices based, at least in part, on each device of the subset of devices being located within the first field of view (Chu paragraph [0024] “the device arbitration process can include identifying the devices that detected the spoken utterance 114 from the user 102 and also determining whether any of the identified devices are associated with the field of view 112 of the user 102. For example, a computing device that is performing the arbitration process can determine that the television 106, the display device 118, the dongle 126, and the tablet device 110 are associated with the field of view 112 of the user of 102.”);
Naganna and Chu are in the same field of endeavor, namely voice based smart device control. Chu teaches a method of deciding assistant-enabled devices based on user’s field of view to improve accuracy and efficiency (Chu paragraph [0005] “Allowing device arbitration to be performed with data from computerized glasses can minimize a number of instances in which a client device is accidentally activated. In this way, memory, power, and network bandwidth can be preserved for those devices that are most susceptible to accidental activation from certain detected user inputs.”). Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Chu with the method of Naganna to improve accuracy and efficiency.
Regarding claim 12, Naganna in view of Chu teach The apparatus of claim 11, and further teach wherein the apparatus is a wearable extended reality (XR) device (Naganna paragraph [0021] “devices 105 can include XR devices configured to display simulated information on a display (e.g., a head-mounted display (HMD). For example, devices can include augmented reality (AR) devices and virtual reality (VR) devices.”).
Regarding claim 13, claim 13 has similar limitations as claim 3, therefore it is rejected under the same rationale as claim 3.
Regarding claim 14, Naganna in view of Chu teach The apparatus of claim 12, and further teach wherein the apparatus is further caused to: identify a second display element associated with a second device of the subset of devices; and display the second display element (Chu teaches a second selectable element as the second device, paragraph [0061] “The device arbitration engine 416 can communicate an identifier and/or location of the candidate devices to the interface content engine 424, which can render graphical indications, in the lenses of the computerized glasses, at or near a relative location of the candidate devices. For example, a first selectable element can be rendered at a left most portion of a display interface of the computerized glasses in order to indicate that a computing device in a left most portion of the field of view of the user is a candidate device. A second selectable element can be rendered in a more central location of the display interface, simultaneous to the first selectable element, in order to indicate that another computing device in a central portion of the field of view of the user is also a candidate device.”).
Naganna and Chu are in the same field of endeavor, namely voice based smart device control. Chu teaches a method of deciding assistant-enabled devices based on user’s field of view to improve accuracy and efficiency (Chu paragraph [0005] “Allowing device arbitration to be performed with data from computerized glasses can minimize a number of instances in which a client device is accidentally activated. In this way, memory, power, and network bandwidth can be preserved for those devices that are most susceptible to accidental activation from certain detected user inputs.”). Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Chu with the method of Naganna to improve accuracy and efficiency.
Regarding claim 15, claim 15 has similar limitations as claim 5, therefore it is rejected under the same rationale as claim 5.
Regarding claim 16, claim 16 has similar limitations as claim 6, therefore it is rejected under the same rationale as claim 6.
Regarding claim 19, claim 19 has similar limitations as claim 9, therefore it is rejected under the same rationale as claim 9.
Claim(s) 7-8, 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Naganna et al. (US 20220254341 A1), hereinafter as Naganna, in view of Chu et al. (US 20220244786 A1), hereinafter as Chu, further in view of Wu et al. (CN 114863928 A1), hereinafter as Wu. The original and a machine translation of Wu are provided by the examiner. The paragraphs of the machine translation of Wu starts with both letter ‘n’ and number.
Regarding claim 7, Naganna in view of Chu teach The method of claim 2, but are not relied on for the below claim language further comprising: processing the first input using a natural language processing (NLP) model to determine at least one characteristic associated with the first input, wherein the first input is a voice query comprising at least one word; accessing a database comprising a plurality of entries, wherein each entry of the plurality of entries associates attributes with one or more characteristics; identifying a first entry of the plurality of entries, wherein the first entry associates the at least one characteristic with the first attribute; and determining that the first input corresponds to the first attribute based, at least in part, on identifying the first entry.
Wu teaches further comprising: processing the first input using a natural language processing (NLP) model to determine at least one characteristic associated with the first input , wherein the first input is a voice query comprising at least one word (Wu paragraph [0025] “The Chinese word segmentation module is used to segment the voice command text, extract keywords, perform synonym filtering based on the keywords, and obtain the standard expression corresponding to the voice command.”); accessing a database comprising a plurality of entries, wherein each entry of the plurality of entries associates attributes with one or more characteristics (Wu teaches a smart home knowledge graph database, further teaches intent analysis of standard expressions using the knowledge graph, paragraph [0114] “The data for each product generated will be integrated into a JSON file to form a dataset of smart home device knowledge. When performing intent recognition later, this data will be imported into the Neo4j graph database for intent matching and processing.”, paragraph [0012] “Based on a preset knowledge graph and a preset usage habit database, the intent analysis of the standard expression is performed to generate the true intent of the voice command”); identifying a first entry of the plurality of entries, wherein the first entry associates the at least one characteristic with the first attribute (Wu paragraph [0116] “S1031, invoke a preset knowledge graph to query the keyword, and obtain the related items and attributes corresponding to the keyword”); and determining that the first input corresponds to the first attribute based, at least in part, on identifying the first entry (Wu paragraph [0117-0118] “S1032, invoke a preset usage habit database to obtain the commonly used data values corresponding to the attribute; wherein, the preset usage habit database selects the commonly used data values corresponding to the attribute according to a weighting strategy based on recorded user behavior data; S1033, Generate the true intent of the voice command based on the associated items and the commonly used data values.”).
Naganna, Chu and Wu are in the same field of endeavor, namely voice based smart device control. Wu teaches using a natural language model, knowledge graph and usage habit database to improve the accuracy (Wu paragraph [n0024] “The above statistical analysis shows that effectively improving the accuracy of intent matching between generic and pattern commands will enhance the user experience of smart
homes to a certain extent; this application is based on this.”). Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Wu with the method of Naganna and Chu to improve accuracy.
Regarding claim 8, Naganna in view of Chu teach The method of claim 2, but are not relied on for the below language further comprising: registering the plurality of devices; identifying at least one attribute for each device of the plurality of devices; and storing the at least one attribute for each device in a data structure. Wu teaches further comprising: registering the plurality of devices; identifying at least one attribute for each device of the plurality of devices; and storing the at least one attribute for each device in a data structure (Wu teaches a data table of attribute types for each device, paragraph [n0041] “The knowledge graph for smart home environments involves entity type data tables, entity relationship types, and attribute types…… The attribute types represent the attribute types that each device has, as shown in Table 4.”).
Naganna, Chu and Wu are in the same field of endeavor, namely voice based smart device control. Wu teaches using a natural language model, knowledge graph and usage habit database to improve the accuracy (Wu paragraph [n0024] “The above statistical analysis shows that effectively improving the accuracy of intent matching between generic and pattern commands will enhance the user experience of smart
homes to a certain extent; this application is based on this.”). Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Wu with the method of Naganna and Chu to improve accuracy.
Regarding claim 17, claim 17 has similar limitations as claim 7, therefore it is rejected under the same rationale as claim 7.
Regarding claim 18, claim 18 has similar limitations as claim 8, therefore it is rejected under the same rationale as claim 8.
Claim(s) 10 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Naganna et al. (US 20220254341 A1), hereinafter as Naganna, in view of Chu et al. (US 20220244786 A1), hereinafter as Chu, further in view of Kim et al. (US 20130238326 A1), hereinafter as Kim.
Regarding claim 10, Naganna in view of Chu teach The method of claim 2, but are not replied on for the below claim language wherein the first display element corresponds to an action associated with the first attribute. Kim teaches wherein the first display element corresponds to an action associated with the first attribute (Kim teaches displaying a chart in Figure 7, the first entry shows the name of device and the action of “volume control”, paragraph [0011] “Preferably, the device attributes that are available for voice command control include at least one of a display adjusting feature, volume adjusting feature, data transmission feature, data storage feature and internet connection feature.”, paragraph [0077] “FIG. 7 illustrates a results chart 702 being displayed on a display screen 701 of a voice recognition capable device that is part of a home network. The home network may be assumed to be the same as depicted in FIG. 2 that includes at least a television 210, mobile communication device 220, laptop computer 230 and refrigerator 240. The results chart 702 according to the present invention may be displayed on a voice recognition capable device after each of a user's voice commands have been handled by its intended voice recognition capable device in the home network.”, paragraph [0078] “The results chart 702 according to the present invention may include at least the name of each voice recognition capable device included in a common home network, and the resulting control undertaken by the respective voice recognition capable device in response to the user's announced voice commands.”).
Naganna, Chu and Kim are in the same field of endeavor, namely voice based smart device control. Kim teaches a visual display of voice activated device and the associated action to improve accuracy (Kim paragraph [0040] “It follows that the present invention is able to provide accurate voice command recognition for allowing an individual voice recognition capable device to distinguish a specific voice command intended for the individual voice recognition capable device from among a plurality of other voice commands intended for a plurality of other voice recognition capable devices.”). Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Kim with the method of Naganna and Chu to improve accuracy.
Regarding claim 20, claim 20 has similar limitations as claim 10, therefore it is rejected under the same rationale as claim 10.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to XIAOMING WEI whose telephone number is (571)272-3831. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00.
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, Kee Tung can be reached at (571)272-7794. 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://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.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.
/XIAOMING WEI/Examiner, Art Unit 2611
/KEE M TUNG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2611
