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 § 112
Claims 1, 11 and 2-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Regarding claim 1, the word "type", in the antepenultimate line of claim 1, renders the claim indefinite because the claim include elements not actually disclosed (those encompassed by "type"), thereby rendering the scope of the claim unascertainable. See MPEP § 2173.05(d). Similar indefiniteness exists in claims 11 and 21-22.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 2, 4-6, 10-12, 14-16 and 20-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lake et al (US 2014/0240223) in view of RYOO et al (US 20110310013).
As per claim 1 Lake et al discloses, insofar as the claim is definite and understood: An apparatus comprising:
a first wearable device 200 comprising an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor and an electromyography (EMG) sensor, wherein the first wearable device 200 is configured to detect, based on a movement of a body part of a user, at least one IMU signal and at least one EMG signal, and wherein the body part comprises a forearm of the user and a hand of the user {[0027] In an embodiment, the muscle control device further includes an IMU which has an accelerometer to measure the acceleration of the user's arm. The IMU may include an accelerometer which senses accelerations in three degrees of freedom (x, y, z directions), and may sense the location of the muscle control device on the body of a user (e.g. the forearm). The signal generated from the IMU may therefore be used to measure larger gestures made by the arm of the user, in addition to finer muscle control gestures detected by the plurality of cEMG sensors.}; and
a second wearable device 310 configured to: receive, from the first wearable device 200 via a communication interface, the at least one IMU signal and the at least one EMG signal {[0087] Method 900 then proceeds to decision block 910, where method 900 determines if a connected device requires positional data. If yes, method 900 proceeds to block 912, where method 900 sends an identified gesture together with positional IMU data (e.g. relative velocity and orientation) to the connected device. If no, method 900 proceeds to block 914, where method 900 sends the identified gesture to the connected device. The identified gesture and positional IMU data may be sent over a wired connection to the connected device, or alternatively over a standard wireless communication protocol.};
display a extended reality display 310, wherein the
determine, based on the at least one EMG signal, an input corresponding to a gesture of the hand of the user {[0090] In an embodiment, the apparatus further comprises one or more inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors configured to detect motion and orientation of a gesture by measuring relative velocity and orientation of the apparatus};
wherein the second wearable device is configured to, depending on a type of an object indicated by the virtual cursor, transmit different commands with respect to a same gesture or transmit a same command with respect to different gestures { [0052] In still another embodiment, confirmation of recognition of a gesture may also be provided visually on the display 310 itself. If there is more than one possible gesture that may be interpreted from the detected signals, rather than providing resulting in an error, the muscle interface device 200 and/or the connected device control 300 may provide a selection of two or more possible gestures as possible interpretation, and the user may be prompted to select from one of them to confirm the intended gesture and corresponding control.}.
Regarding claim 1 Lake et al is silent as to: a virtual cursor With respect to claim 1 RYOO et al discloses: [0035] For example, when the user moves his arm up and down, the inertial sensor 104 senses it and induce the mouse cursor to move up and down, and when the user moves his arm left and right, the inertial sensor 104 senses it and induce the mouse cursor to move left and right.
Regarding claim 2 Lake et al is silent as to: The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the virtual cursor is implemented as a virtual ray that is associated with an orientation of the forearm and with a direction of the forearm, and wherein the first wearable device comprises an arm band. With respect to claim 2 RYOO et al discloses: figures 2A-2C & [0035] In FIG. 4, the move up/down/left/right 401 defines, e.g., an up/down/left/right movement corresponding to a coordinate movement of the PC mouse by using a movement of the user's arm, and an up/down/left/right movement or coordinates can be extracted through the corresponding movement. For example, when the user moves his arm up and down, the inertial sensor 104 senses it and induce the mouse cursor to move up and down, and when the user moves his arm left and right, the inertial sensor 104 senses it and induce the mouse cursor to move left and right.
As per claim 4 Lake et al discloses: The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: at least one processor 502 {figure 5}; and memory 504 {figure 5} storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor 502, cause the apparatus to: map position information between the IMU sensor and the { [0043] This wireless communication is utilized to transmit the control signal from muscle interface device 200 to connected device control 300. This is illustrated by way of example in FIG. 4, in which user's hand and wrist gesture is detected and processed as a control signal by the muscle interface device 200 for interacting with content displayed on the connected device 310. Also see [0090] & [0044] In this particular example, a gesture 410 made by the user extending an index finger, and making a wrist flexion motion 420 is detected by the sensors 230 of muscle interface device 200, and processed by CPU 210 (FIG. 2) as a control signal for causing a menu appearing on display 310 to scroll downwards.}; select an object on a virtual space 310 associated with the extended reality display 310 by utilizing an EMG-based gesture input {figure 4}; and process a command associated with a target object, recognized by extended reality display 310 {[0045] As another example, a similar gesture in which user 100 extends the index finger and makes a wrist extension motion is detected by sensors 230 of muscle interface device 200 and processed by CPU 210 (FIG. 2) as a control signal for causing a menu appearing on display 310 to scroll upwards.}.
Regarding claim 4 Lake et al is silent as to: a virtual cursor. With respect to claim 4 RYOO et al discloses: [0035] For example, when the user moves his arm up and down, the inertial sensor 104 senses it and induce the mouse cursor to move up and down, and when the user moves his arm left and right, the inertial sensor 104 senses it and induce the mouse cursor to move left and right.
Regarding claim 5 Lake et al is silent as to: The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor 502, cause the apparatus to map three-dimensional coordinates with respect to a position and orientation of the forearm to the virtual cursor of a virtual ray shape. With respect to claim 5 RYOO et al discloses: figures 2A-2C & [0035] In FIG. 4, the move up/down/left/right 401 defines, e.g., an up/down/left/right movement corresponding to a coordinate movement of the PC mouse by using a movement of the user's arm, and an up/down/left/right movement or coordinates can be extracted through the corresponding movement. For example, when the user moves his arm up and down, the inertial sensor 104 senses it and induce the mouse cursor to move up and down, and when the user moves his arm left and right, the inertial sensor 104 senses it and induce the mouse cursor to move left and right.
As per claim 11 Lake et al discloses, insofar as the claim is definite and understood: A method performed by an apparatus, the method comprising: receiving at least one inertial measurement unit (IMU) signal and at least one electromyography (EMG) signal, wherein the at least one IMU signal is generated based on an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor 230 { [0041] In another embodiment, sensors 230 may include one or more accelerometer sensors for detecting additional aspects of gestures made by user 100 in three degrees of freedom.}, and wherein the at least one EMG signal is generated based on an EMG sensor 230 { [0038] In an embodiment, sensors 230 include at least one or more cEMG sensors adapted to detect electrical signals in the forearm of user 100 for generating a control signal };
determining, based on the at least one IMU signal, a position of a forearm of a user {figure 1} and an orientation of the forearm {figure 9:910};
mapping the determined position and orientation of the forearm to position information of a { [0043] This wireless communication is utilized to transmit the control signal from muscle interface device 200 to connected device control 300. This is illustrated by way of example in FIG. 4, in which user's hand and wrist gesture is detected and processed as a control signal by the muscle interface device 200 for interacting with content displayed on the connected device 310. Also see [0090] & [0044] In this particular example, a gesture 410 made by the user extending an index finger, and making a wrist flexion motion 420 is detected by the sensors 230 of muscle interface device 200, and processed by CPU 210 (FIG. 2) as a control signal for causing a menu appearing on display 310 to scroll downwards.};
identifying, based on the at least one EMG signal, a gesture of a hand of the user {[0090] In an embodiment, the apparatus further comprises one or more inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors configured to detect motion and orientation of a gesture by measuring relative velocity and orientation of the apparatus}; and
determining, based on the identified gesture, an input associated with an object on the virtual space, wherein the object corresponds to the {figure 4}; and
depending on a type of an object indicated by the virtual cursor, transmit different commands with respect to a same gesture or transmit a same command with respect to different gestures { [0052] In still another embodiment, confirmation of recognition of a gesture may also be provided visually on the display 310 itself. If there is more than one possible gesture that may be interpreted from the detected signals, rather than providing resulting in an error, the muscle interface device 200 and/or the connected device control 300 may provide a selection of two or more possible gestures as possible interpretation, and the user may be prompted to select from one of them to confirm the intended gesture and corresponding control.}.
Regarding claim 11 Lake et al is silent as to: a cursor. With respect to claim 11 RYOO et al discloses: [0035] For example, when the user moves his arm up and down, the inertial sensor 104 senses it and induce the mouse cursor to move up and down, and when the user moves his arm left and right, the inertial sensor 104 senses it and induce the mouse cursor to move left and right.
Regarding claim 12 Lake et al is silent as to: The method of claim 11, further comprising: generating a plurality of objects and the cursor on the virtual space, wherein the generating the cursor comprises implementing, as the cursor, a virtual ray that is associated with an orientation of the forearm and with a direction of the forearm. With respect to claim 12 RYOO et al discloses: figures 2A-2C & [0035] In FIG. 4, the move up/down/left/right 401 defines, e.g., an up/down/left/right movement corresponding to a coordinate movement of the PC mouse by using a movement of the user's arm, and an up/down/left/right movement or coordinates can be extracted through the corresponding movement. For example, when the user moves his arm up and down, the inertial sensor 104 senses it and induce the mouse cursor to move up and down, and when the user moves his arm left and right, the inertial sensor 104 senses it and induce the mouse cursor to move left and right.
As per claim 14 Lake et al discloses: The method of claim 12, further comprising processing a command associated with a target object, identified by the {figure 4:310}.
Regarding claim 14 Lake et al is silent as to: a cursor. With respect to claim 14 RYOO et al discloses: [0035] For example, when the user moves his arm up and down, the inertial sensor 104 senses it and induce the mouse cursor to move up and down, and when the user moves his arm left and right, the inertial sensor 104 senses it and induce the mouse cursor to move left and right.
Regarding claim 15 Lake et al is silent as to: The method of claim 14, wherein the mapping comprises: determining three-dimensional coordinates with respect to the forearm; and mapping the three-dimensional coordinates to the With respect to claim 15 RYOO et al discloses: figures 2A-2C & [0035] In FIG. 4, the move up/down/left/right 401 defines, e.g., an up/down/left/right movement corresponding to a coordinate movement of the PC mouse by using a movement of the user's arm, and an up/down/left/right movement or coordinates can be extracted through the corresponding movement. For example, when the user moves his arm up and down, the inertial sensor 104 senses it and induce the mouse cursor to move up and down, and when the user moves his arm left and right, the inertial sensor 104 senses it and induce the mouse cursor to move left and right.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to provide the apparatus of Lake et al with display a virtual cursor on an extended reality display, wherein the virtual cursor is configured to move based on the at least one IMU signal, and wherein the at least one IMU signal corresponds to an orientation change of the forearm and a position change of the forearm and wherein the virtual cursor is implemented as a virtual ray that is associated with an orientation of the forearm and with a direction of the forearm, and wherein the first wearable device comprises an arm band as taught in RYOO et al. The rationale is as follows: one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed would have been motivated to provide an apparatus with display a virtual cursor on an extended reality display, wherein the virtual cursor is configured to move based on the at least one IMU signal, and wherein the at least one IMU signal corresponds to an orientation change of the forearm and a position change of the forearm so that the user can visually select an object or menu item for interaction or information.
As per claim 6 Lake et al discloses: The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second wearable device 310 is configured to provide a plurality of different inputs based on a plurality of commands corresponding to a plurality of gestures { [0043] This wireless communication is utilized to transmit the control signal from muscle interface device 200 to connected device control 300. This is illustrated by way of example in FIG. 4, in which user's hand and wrist gesture is detected and processed as a control signal by the muscle interface device 200 for interacting with content displayed on the connected device 310.}, wherein each of the plurality of different inputs corresponds to one of the plurality of commands, respectively, and wherein at least one of the plurality of gestures is determined based on the at least one EMG signal { [0032] As another example, one or more accelerometer sensors may be used to measure larger gestures made by a user, for example involving the elbow or even the shoulders of a user. When used together with cEMG and/or MMG sensors for detecting more limited gestures (e.g. made by the hand and/or wrist for example), the accelerometer can also provide relative velocity and orientation data in combination with the cEMG sensors gestural data to increase the range of control inputs.}
As per claims 10 and 20 Lake et al discloses: The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second wearable device 310 is configured to display a plurality of outputs corresponding to a plurality of inputs on a virtual space associated with the extended reality display 310 {figure 4}.
As per claim 16 Lake et al discloses: The method of claim 11, further comprising determining a plurality of different inputs based on a plurality of commands corresponding to a plurality of gestures { [0043] This wireless communication is utilized to transmit the control signal from muscle interface device 200 to connected device control 300. This is illustrated by way of example in FIG. 4, in which user's hand and wrist gesture is detected and processed as a control signal by the muscle interface device 200 for interacting with content displayed on the connected device 310.},
wherein each of the plurality of different inputs corresponds to one of the plurality of commands, respectively, and wherein at least one of the plurality of gestures is determined based on the at least one EMG signal { [0032] As another example, one or more accelerometer sensors may be used to measure larger gestures made by a user, for example involving the elbow or even the shoulders of a user. When used together with cEMG and/or MMG sensors for detecting more limited gestures (e.g. made by the hand and/or wrist for example), the accelerometer can also provide relative velocity and orientation data in combination with the cEMG sensors gestural data to increase the range of control inputs.}.
Claims 3, 7-8, 13 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lake et al (US 2014/0240223) in view of RYOO et al (US 20110310013) as applied to claims 2 and 12 above, and further in view of Luccin et al (US 2018/0300551).
Regarding claims 3 and 13 Lake et al is silent as to: wherein an object on a virtual space in the extended reality display 310 is identified through a ray-casting technique utilizing the virtual ray. With respect to claims 3 and 13 Luccin et al discloses: [0111] The position-determining component 1308 projects a virtual ray through each instance of marker information in the same manner described with respect to FIG. 3. The ray's course is determined by at least the reference point r of the HMD (from which it is considered to originate), the x, y position of the marker information (through which it passes), and the position p of the HMD (which determines the overall placement of the sensor in the world). More specifically, FIG. 14 shows that the position-determining component 1308 projects a first ray 1414 through the first marker information 1408, a second ray 1416 through the second marker information 1410, and a third ray 1418 through the third marker information 1412. In an alternative implementation, the marker-scanning component 1302 can perform the ray-casting operation described above rather than the position-determining component 1308.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to provide the apparatus and method of Lake et al with an object on a virtual space in the extended reality display is identified through a ray-casting technique utilizing the virtual ray as taught by Luccin et al. The rationale is as follows: one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed would have been motivated to provide an apparatus and method with an object on a virtual space in the extended reality display is identified through a ray-casting technique utilizing the virtual ray so as to identify a position of a marker in an environment.
As per claims 7 and 17 Lake et al discloses: wherein the plurality of commands comprises a selection command corresponding to a first gesture of the plurality of gestures, an activation command corresponding to a second gesture of the plurality of gestures, a third command corresponding to a third gesture of the plurality of gestures { [0047] If the user extends a different finger other than the index finger, sensors 230 will detect this and may cause a different control signal to be generated. For example, extending the pinky finger instead of the index finger may cause muscle interface device 200 to interpret the user's gestures with functions analogous to clicking a right mouse button rather than a left mouse button in a conventional mouse user interface. Extending both the index and pinky fingers at the same time may cause muscle interface device 200 to interpret the user's gestures with yet other functions analogous to clicking a third mouse button in a conventional mouse user interface.}, a menu command corresponding to a fourth gesture of the plurality of gestures { [0044] In this particular example, a gesture 410 made by the user extending an index finger, and making a wrist flexion motion 420 is detected by the sensors 230 of muscle interface device 200, and processed by CPU 210 (FIG. 2) as a control signal for causing a menu appearing on display 310 to scroll downwards.}, and a
Regarding claims 7 and 17 Lake et al is silent as to: a voice recognition command corresponding to a gesture. With respect to claims 7 and 17 Luccin et al discloses: [0099] A voice command recognition engine 1206 interprets the user's voice commands.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to provide the apparatus and method of Lake with a voice recognition command corresponding to a gesture as taught by Luccin et al. The rationale is as follows: one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed would have been motivated to provide an apparatus and method a voice recognition command corresponding to a gesture so as to provide a hands free user friendly and natural interface with the apparatus.
As per claim claims 8 and 18 Lake et al discloses: the second wearable device 310 is configured to identify different gestures, among the plurality of gestures, via an EMG signal processing associated with
Regarding claims 8 and 18 Lake et al is silent as to: an artificial intelligence model. With respect to claims 8 and 18 Luccin et al discloses: [0099] The voice command recognition engine 1206 can use any technology for performing this task, such as a neural network or a Hidden Markov Model (HMI). Such a model maps voice input signals to a classification result; the classification result identifies the command spoken by the user 102, if any.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to provide the apparatus and method of Lake et al with a neural network or artificial intelligence model as taught by Luccin et al. The rationale is as follows: one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed would have been motivated to an apparatus or method with a neural network or artificial intelligence model so as to effectively understand, process and interpret a user’s voice commands, thereby providing a hands free, user friendly and natural interface with the apparatus.
As per claims 21-22 Lake et al discloses, insofar as the claims are definite and understood: based on the gesture of the hand of the user corresponding to a first gesture and based on the type of the object indicated by the { [0047] If the user extends a different finger other than the index finger, sensors 230 will detect this and may cause a different control signal to be generated. For example, extending the pinky finger instead of the index finger may cause muscle interface device 200 to interpret the user's gestures with functions analogous to clicking a right mouse button rather than a left mouse button in a conventional mouse user interface. Extending both the index and pinky fingers at the same time may cause muscle interface device 200 to interpret the user's gestures with yet other functions analogous to clicking a third mouse button in a conventional mouse user interface.}
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed January 16, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In the paragraph bridging pages 2 and 3 applicant asserts the following:
According to Lake's two distinct embodiments, the gesture interpretation may be interpreted by the muscle interface device 200 (Embodiment 1) or interpreted by the connected device 310 (Embodiment 2). Lake, para. [0049]. Regardless of whether the gesture is interpreted by the muscle interface device 200 or the connected device 310, the detected signal is interpreted as the gesture. Id.
A further read of Lake et al just a few paragraphs below [0049], applicant would have noticed that Lake et al has another embodiment that discloses the newly added claim limitations and not merely the two distinct embodiments highlighted in applicant’s remarks in [0049]. As stated supra, Lake et al discloses in [0052] the following:
In still another embodiment, confirmation of recognition of a gesture may also be provided visually on the display 310 itself. If there is more than one possible gesture that may be interpreted from the detected signals, rather than providing resulting in an error, the muscle interface device 200 and/or the connected device control 300 may provide a selection of two or more possible gestures as possible interpretation, and the user may be prompted to select from one of them to confirm the intended gesture and corresponding control.
Therefore, contrary to applicant’s assertions, Lake et al discloses the newly added limitations “wherein the second wearable device is configured to, depending on a type of an object indicated by the virtual cursor, transmit different commands with respect to a same gesture or transmit a same command with respect to different gestures.” As a result, Lake et al as modified by Ryoo et al, teaches the claimed invention as amended.
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 DAVID D DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)272-7572. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m..
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/DAVID D DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2627
DDD
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