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 § 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 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 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-9 and 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Slob et al. (Virtual reality-based digital twins for greenhouses: A focus on human interaction, 2023), referred herein as Slob in view of LEE et al. (KR 20220085654 A), referred herein as LEE.
Regarding Claim 1, Slob in view of LEE teaches a management system that provides a virtual space to a user, the management system comprising (Slob Abst: use of digital twin technologies in greenhouse horticulture; pg 1, col 1: Within modern agriculture this leads to the next phase: smart farming, where Industry 4.0 technologies enable the farmers to manage their operations both optimally and remotely):
a user apparatus used by the user (Slob pg 2, col 1: VR experience (HMD, controls and UI) has a statistical influence on the user experience.);
a sensor configured to observe change over time of a target present in a real space (Slob pg 10, col 2: linked to the real-life greenhouse with live sensor data integrated); and
Slob does not bust LEE teaches
a server configured to transmit information for providing the virtual space to the user apparatus (LEE Abst: A server that reflects in the virtual space; and receives information about the virtual space from the server and displays it as an image; [0010] the server can send a message to the mobile terminal),
Slob in view of LEE further teaches
wherein the server is configured to obtain a detection result by the sensor (LEE [0041] the server (120) obtains the leaf margin from an image of a plant (110) captured by a thermal imaging camera (106)),
calculate a degree of change of the target based on the detection result (LEE [0032] The IoT sensor can measure and collect growth-related data of the plant (110); [0033] Growth-related data may include various data such as plant leaf length, stem length, leaf length, leaf color, etc.), and
arrange in the virtual space, an object representing the target on which the degree of change is reflected (Slob pg 3, col 1: data represented in 3D visualisation to cater for a detailed overview of the real-world processes taking place as DT applications further grow and develop…3D visualisation has the potential to help to identify patterns in the plant growth).
LEE discloses a smart cultivation system capable of predicting growth rate and precisely controlling the cultivation environment, which is analogous to the present patent application.
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Slob to incorporate the teachings of LEE, and apply the server that creates a virtual space into the digital twin technologies in greenhouse horticulture.
Doing so would be able predict the growth rate of crops and precisely control the cultivation environment through a digital twin, and obtain feedback on the condition of crops while they are growing and enables the harvesting of crops of better quality.
Regarding Claim 2, Slob in view of LEE teaches the management system according to claim 1, and further teaches wherein the target grows with lapse of time, and the degree of change includes a degree of growth of the target (Slob pg 4, col 2: The current timestep can be changed by the user while in the DT. Based on the time step, a height value is retrieved from a.CSV file containing actual height measurements from the NPEC greenhouse).
Regarding Claim 3, Slob in view of LEE teaches the management system according to claim 2, and further teaches wherein the target is different in degree of growth depending on an environment (LEE [0007] simulates the growth rate of the plant based on the cultivation environment of the plant and the growth-related data, and reflects it in the virtual space; [0095] a user can receive information about cultivated crops and remotely control the cultivation environment).
Regarding Claim 4, Slob in view of LEE teaches the management system according to claim 1, and further teaches wherein the target includes a plant (Slob pg 3, col 1: data represented in 3D visualisation to cater for a detailed overview of the real-world processes taking place as DT applications further grow and develop).
Regarding Claim 5, Slob in view of LEE teaches the management system according to claim 4, and further teaches wherein the object includes an object that simulates the plant (Slob pg 5, col 2: play with the plant growth, lights, and screens, to ensure that each participant would experience the whole DT and the plant growth simulation).
Regarding Claim 6, Slob in view of LEE teaches the management system according to claim 4, and further teaches wherein the sensor includes a first sensor configured to observe a first portion of the target and a second sensor configured to observe a second portion of the target (LEE [0079] As shown in Fig. 5, leaf length and stem data of the cultivated crop are captured with a thermal imaging camera (S510); [0056] Based on data received from an ultrasonic distance sensor, as the crop grows, the height of the plant (320) in virtual space).
Regarding Claim 7, Slob in view of LEE teaches the management system according to claim 6, and further teaches wherein the first portion is an overall shape of the plant, and the second portion is a leaf of the plant (LEE [0079] As shown in Fig. 5, leaf length and stem data of the cultivated crop are captured with a thermal imaging camera (S510); [0056] Based on data received from an ultrasonic distance sensor, as the crop grows, the height of the plant (320) in virtual space).
Regarding Claim 8, Slob in view of LEE teaches the management system according to claim 4, and further teaches wherein
the target includes a first target and a second target (Slob pg 3, col 1: a considerable volume of data relating to individual plants that are growing in their greenhouse; Slob pg 4, col 2: Fig. 3a shows the greenhouse from the users’ perspective, with instructions of how to interact with the environment), and
the sensor includes a first sensor configured to observe the first target and a third sensor configured to observe the second target (LEE [0031] IoT sensors include temperature sensors, humidity sensors, soil sensors, light sensors, laser distance sensors, thermal imaging cameras, and infrared cameras; Slob pg 9, col 2: the real-life greenhouse with live sensor data integrated (a third sensor)).
Regarding Claim 9, Slob in view of LEE teaches the management system according to claim 8, and further teaches wherein the second target is a bird house placed around the plant (Slob pg 4, col 2: Fig. 3a shows the greenhouse from the users’ perspective, with instructions of how to interact with the environment). Observing a greenhouse anticipates the function of observing a birdhouse because both greenhouse and birdhouse have similar structure and performing similar functionalities.
Regarding Claims 13-15, Slob in view of LEE teaches
a server that provides a virtual space to a user, the server comprising: a controller; and a storage storing instructions that, when executed by the controller, cause the controller to perform processing (LEE Abst: A server that reflects in the virtual space; and receives information about the virtual space from the server and displays it as an image; [0010] the server can send a message to the mobile terminal; [0100] The processor (TN110) has program instructions stored in at least one of memory (TN130) and storage device (TN140)),
a method of providing a virtual space to a user (Slob pg 3, col 1: Methodology; pg 3, col 2: The user interaction with the camera and virtual environment is made possible by use of 2 handheld controllers); and
non-transitory computer readable medium where a program is stored, the program being to be executed by a server that provides a virtual space to a user, the program comprising, as processing to be performed by a computer (LEE [0101] Each of the memory (TN130) and the storage device (TN140) is composed of at least one of a volatile storage medium and a non-volatile storage medium).
The metes and bounds of the claim substantially correspond to the claimed limitations set forth in claim 1; thus they are rejected on similar grounds and rationale as their corresponding limitations.
Claim(s) 10-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Slob et al. (Virtual reality-based digital twins for greenhouses: A focus on human interaction, 2022), referred herein as Slob in view of LEE et al. (KR 20220085654 A), referred herein as LEE and Timpson (US 20230325792 A1), referred herein as Timpson.
Regarding Claim 10, Slob in view of LEE teaches the management system according to claim 1, but does not teach the claimed limitations herein.
However, Timpson teaches wherein the server is configured to generate a non-fungible token for proving that the object is a property of the user, in accordance with an instruction from the user apparatus (Timpson [0078] Step 6: Local new NFT market (FIG. 6). When all the previous steps have been successful, there is an option to open completely new local marketplace for NFTs. It may involve user friendly interface so the investor can buy with ETH a new kind of NFTs. This time it is fully open to all users… NFTs could be paintings, pictures, music, movies, documentaries, articles, books, songs, poems, any kind of art, events, games, rare trees etc).
Timpson discloses a cryptocurrency based platform for supporting sustainable forest management, which is analogous to the present patent application.
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Slob to incorporate the teachings of Timpson, and apply the NFT corresponds to an individual or shared forest plot into the digital twin technologies in greenhouse horticulture.
Doing so would be able adding value to the forestry by issuing a crypto utility token to non-fungible digital asset, and slow down human induced climate change by providing incentives for restoration and retaining forests.
Regarding Claim 11, Slob in view of LEE and Timpson teaches the management system according to claim 10, and further teaches wherein the server is configured to arrange in the virtual space, a proof object for proving that the object is the property of the user (Timpson [0015] a NFT's digital certificate based on QR code is linked to the server and by scanning the code provides information of the unique location and physical state of the actual forest).
Regarding Claim 12, Slob in view of LEE teaches the management system according to claim 1, but does not teach the claimed limitations herein.
However, Timpson teaches wherein the server is configured to perform purchase processing for purchasing a product manufactured by using the target, in accordance with an instruction from the user apparatus (Timpson [0078] Step 6: Local new NFT market (FIG. 6). When all the previous steps have been successful, there is an option to open completely new local marketplace for NFTs. It may involve user friendly interface so the investor can buy with ETH a new kind of NFTs. This time it is fully open to all users… NFTs could be paintings, pictures, music, movies, documentaries, articles, books, songs, poems, any kind of art, events, games, rare trees etc; [0062] To proceed, there is a need for a server that is combined with peer-to peer (P2P) network to support the next steps. The first part is important to handle the website and communication with the client i.e., also known as the traditional architecture of the World Wide Web uses a server network (FIG. 8), including the personal devices like PC, laptop and smartphone which are all communicatively connected to the server). The same motivation as claim 10 applies here.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Samantha (Yuehan) Wang whose telephone number is (571)270-5011. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm.
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/Samantha (YUEHAN) WANG/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2617
Prosecution Insights