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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
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Claims 1 and 13-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-11 of U.S. Patent No. 12,236,535 B2 in view of EBSTYNE (US2015/0317831 A1 from IDS of 4/23/25) in view of ARORA (US2021/0043005 A1 from IDS of 4/23/25).
Regarding claim 1, the patent teaches most of the limitations but doesn’t teach however the analogous prior art EBSTYNE teaches:
the location and orientation of the eyewear device is determined with respect to at least one object within the environment (EBSTYNE: pars. 30-31).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the location and orientation of the eyewear device is determined with respect to at least one object within the environment as shown in EBSTYNE with the patent for the benefit of consistently providing a high quality augmented reality experience via transitions between display modes even as environmental conditions change [par. 15].
The previous combination of the patent and EBSTYNE doesn’t teach however the analogous prior art ARORA teaches:
the virtual marker position is defined with respect to the at least one object (ARORA: par. 74 lines 9-15).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the virtual marker position is defined with respect to the at least one object as shown in ARORA with the previous combination for the benefit of addressing a shortcoming in the prior art in that users' experiences with virtual environments can be limited by the technology for presenting virtual environments. For example, conventional displays (e.g., 2D display screens) and audio systems (e.g., fixed speakers) may be unable to realize a virtual environment in ways that create a compelling, realistic, and immersive experience [par. 3 lines 10-16].
Claims of 19/040,574 Claims of US 12,236,535 B2
1. An augmented reality guidance system for guiding a user through an environment, the system comprising:
an eyewear device comprising at least one sensor and a display; and
a position detection system comprising:
a processor,
a memory, and
programming in the memory, wherein execution of the programming by the processor performs functions for guiding a user of the eyewear device through the environment, including functions to:
determine, from outputs of the at least one sensor, a current location and orientation of the eyewear device with respect to at least one object within the environment,
identify a virtual marker position defined with respect to the at least one object,
generate, responsive to the current location and orientation of the eyewear device, an overlay image including a guidance virtual marker for display at the virtual marker position, and
provide the overlay image to the display of the eyewear device.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual marker position is a first virtual marker position, the guidance virtual marker is a first guidance virtual marker, the overlay image is a first overlay image, and execution of the programming by the processor further configures the processor to perform additional functions, including functions to:
identify a second virtual marker position within a predefined distance of the current location, the second virtual marker position defined with respect to the environment;
generate, responsive to the current location and orientation of the eyewear device, a second overlay image including a second guidance virtual marker for display at the second virtual marker position; and
provide the second overlay image to the display of the eyewear device.
14. The system of claim 13, further comprising a counter, wherein the second guidance virtual marker is a final destination virtual marker comprising a dynamic image and the second virtual marker position is associated with a physical destination in the environment, and wherein the function to generate the second overlay image includes functions to:
monitor the counter; and
generate, responsive to the counter and the current location and orientation of the eyewear device, successive overlay images including the second guidance virtual marker for display at the second virtual marker position, the second guidance virtual marker having a different orientation in adjacent images of the successive overlay images.
15. The system of claim 13, wherein the second overlay image further includes the first guidance virtual marker for display at the first virtual marker position along with the second guidance virtual marker for display at the second virtual marker position and
the second guidance virtual marker has a plurality of visual
attributes, and wherein the function to generate the second overlay image includes functions to:
determine a distance between the second virtual marker position and the current location of the eyewear device;
adjust a size of the second guidance virtual marker responsive to the determined distance; and
generate, responsive to the current location and orientation of the eyewear device, the second overlay image including the second guidance virtual marker as adjusted responsive to the determined distance.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the second guidance virtual marker is associated with a first visual image and with a second visual image and wherein the function to generate the second overlay image includes functions to:
determine a distance between the second virtual marker position and the current location of the eyewear device;
select the first visual image if the determined distance is less than a first predefined distance and greater than a second predefined distance;
select the second visual image if the determined distance is less than the second predefined distance; and
generate, responsive to the current location and orientation of the eyewear device, the second overlay image including the selected first or second visual image for the second guidance virtual marker.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein execution of the programming by the processor further configures the processor to perform additional functions, including functions to:
identify a third virtual marker position within a predefined threshold of the current location, the third virtual marker position defined with respect to the environment;
wherein the function to generate the second overlay image includes a function to generate, responsive to the current location and orientation of the eyewear device, the second overlay image including a third guidance virtual marker for display at the third virtual marker position along with the first and the second guidance virtual markers.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the function to generate the second overlay image includes functions to:
identify when the first virtual marker position is within a third predefined distance that is less than the second predefined distance, and
generate, responsive to the current location and orientation of the eyewear device, the second overlay image including the second guidance virtual marker for display at the second virtual marker position and the third guidance virtual marker for display at the third virtual marker position while suppressing the first guidance virtual marker.
19. The system of claim 13, wherein the first guidance virtual marker includes a plurality of visual attributes and wherein execution of the programming by the processor further configures the processor to perform additional functions, including functions to:
sense characteristics of the environment adjacent the first virtual marker position; and
adjust at least one of the plurality of visual attributes responsive to the sensed characteristics,
wherein the function to generate the second overlay image includes a function to generate, responsive to the current location and orientation of the eyewear device, the second overlay image including the first guidance virtual marker as adjusted responsive to the sensed characteristics.
20. The system of claim 13, wherein the display comprises:
a see-through display supported by the eyewear device to present the first and the second guidance virtual markers.
1. An augmented reality guidance system for guiding a user through an environment, the system comprising:
an eyewear device comprising at least one sensor; and
a position detection system comprising:
a processor,
a memory, and
programming in the memory, wherein execution of the programming by the processor performs functions for guiding a user of the eyewear device through an environment, including functions to:
determine, from outputs of the at least one sensor, a current location and orientation of the eyewear device within the environment,
identify a virtual marker position within a predefined threshold of the current location, the virtual marker position defined with respect to the environment,
generate, responsive to the current location and orientation of the eyewear device, an overlay image including a guidance virtual marker for display at the virtual marker position, and
provide the overlay image for display on the eyewear device to the user.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual marker position is a first virtual marker position, the guidance virtual marker is a first guidance virtual marker, the overlay image is a first overlay image, and execution of the programming by the processor further configures the processor to perform additional functions, including functions to:
identify a second virtual marker position within the predefined threshold of the current location, the second virtual marker position defined with respect to the environment;
generate, responsive to the current location and orientation of the eyewear device, a second overlay image including a second guidance virtual marker for display at the second virtual marker position; and
provide the second overlay image for display to the user.
3. The system of claim 2,
wherein the
second guidance virtual marker is a final destination virtual marker and the second virtual marker position is associated with a physical destination in the environment.
4. The system of claim 3, further comprising a counter, wherein the final destination virtual marker is a dynamic image and wherein the function to generate the second overlay image includes functions to:
monitor the counter; and
generate, responsive to the counter and the current location and orientation of the eyewear device, successive overlay images including the second guidance virtual marker for display at the second virtual marker position, the second guidance virtual marker having a different orientation in adjacent images of the successive overlay images.
5. The system of claim 2, wherein the second overlay image further includes the first guidance virtual marker for display at the first virtual marker position along with the second guidance virtual marker for display at the second virtual marker position.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein the second guidance virtual marker has a plurality of visual
attributes and wherein the function to generate the second overlay image includes functions to:
determine a distance between the second virtual marker position and the current location of the eyewear device;
adjust a size of the second guidance virtual marker responsive to the determined distance; and
generate, responsive to the current location and orientation of the eyewear device, the second overlay image including the second guidance virtual marker as adjusted responsive to the determined distance.
7. The system of claim 5, wherein the second guidance virtual marker is associated with a first visual image and with a second visual image and wherein the function to generate the second overlay image includes functions to:
determine a distance between the second virtual marker position and the current location of the eyewear device;
select the first visual image if the determined distance is less than a first predefined distance and greater than a second predefined distance;
select the second visual image if the determined distance is less than the second predefined distance; and
generate, responsive to the current location and orientation of the eyewear device, the second overlay image including the selected first or second visual image for the second guidance virtual marker.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein execution of the programming by the processor further configures the processor to perform additional functions, including functions to:
identify a third virtual marker position within the predefined threshold of the current location, the third virtual marker position defined with respect to the environment; and
wherein the function to generate the second overlay image includes a function to generate, responsive to the current location and orientation of the eyewear device, the second overlay image including a third guidance virtual marker for display at the third virtual marker position along with the first and the second guidance virtual markers.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the function to generate the second overlay image includes functions to:
identify when the first virtual marker position is within a third predefined distance that is less than the second predefined distance, and
generate, responsive to the current location and orientation of the eyewear device, the second overlay image including the second guidance virtual marker for display at the second virtual marker position and the third guidance virtual marker for display at the third virtual marker position while suppressing the first guidance virtual marker.
10. The system of claim 2, wherein the first guidance virtual marker includes a plurality of visual attributes and wherein execution of the programming by the processor further configures the processor to perform additional functions, including functions to:
sense characteristics of the environment adjacent the first virtual marker position; and
adjust at least one of the plurality of visual attributes responsive to the sensed characteristics,
wherein the function to generate the second overlay image includes a function to generate, responsive to the current location and orientation of the eyewear device, the second overlay image including the first guidance virtual marker as adjusted responsive to the sensed characteristics.
11. The system of claim 2, wherein the display comprises:
a see-through display supported by the eyewear device to present the first and the second guidance virtual markers.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claims 2-12, the prior art doesn’t teach:
2. The system of claim 1, wherein execution of the programming by the processor performs additional functions for guiding a user of the eyewear device through the environment, including functions to:
construct a map of the environment surrounding the eyewear device with respect to the at least one object, and
present images to the display relative to the location of the eyewear device within the environment.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein execution of the programming by the processor performs additional functions for guiding a user of the eyewear device through the environment, including functions to:
register the guidance virtual marker at a location within the environment for use in tracking and updating a location of users, devices, and objects in the map of the environment.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein execution of the programming by the processor performs additional functions for guiding a user of the eyewear device through the environment, including functions to:
register the guidance virtual marker to a high-contrast physical object in the map of the environment.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein execution of the programming by the processor performs additional functions for guiding a user of the eyewear device through the environment, including functions to:
preassign the guidance virtual marker to the virtual marker position upon detecting of the user entering the environment.
6. The system of claim 2, wherein execution of the programming by the processor performs additional functions for guiding a user of the eyewear device through the environment, including functions to:
register the guidance virtual marker at a location in the environment for use in presenting virtual images at the location in the map of the environment.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein execution of the programming by the processor performs additional functions for guiding a user of the eyewear device through the environment, including functions to:
link the guidance virtual marker to at least one of position information or a physical code.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein execution of the programming by the processor performs additional functions for guiding a user of the eyewear device through the environment, including functions to:
store a set of data associated with the guidance virtual marker in the memory, the set of data including information about the guidance virtual marker including at least one of a position
of the guidance virtual marker or one or more virtual objects associated with the guidance virtual marker.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein execution of the programming by the processor performs additional functions for guiding a user of the eyewear device through the environment, including functions to:
express a location of the guidance virtual marker relative to at least one of real-world geographic coordinates, a system of guidance virtual marker coordinates, or a position of the eyewear device.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein execution of the programming by the processor performs additional functions for guiding a user of the eyewear device through the environment, including functions to:
represent a position of the guidance virtual marker in three-dimensional coordinates for at least one guidance virtual marker landmark in the environment.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein execution of the programming by the processor performs additional functions for guiding a user of the eyewear device through the environment, including functions to:
associate the guidance virtual marker with at least one virtual object, the at least one virtual object including at least one of still images, video, audio, tactile feedback, executable applications, or interactive user interfaces and experiences.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein execution of the programming by the processor performs additional functions for guiding a user of the eyewear device through the environment, including functions to:
store guidance virtual markers within the environment in a look-up table that is retrieved by the eyewear device upon identification of the environment.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAURICE L MCDOWELL, JR whose telephone number is (571)270-3707. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 2pm-10pm.
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/MAURICE L. MCDOWELL, JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2612
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