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 .
Application Status
This office action is responsive to the Application No.:19/041,423 filed on 01/30/2025 (Provisional Filing Date: 02/15/2024).
Claims 1-24 are pending and presented for examination.
This action is made NON-FINAL.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/01/2025 is being considered by the examiner. A signed IDS is hereby attached.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 6, 7, 9 and 13-20, 23 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by TATE-GANS, US 20190197785.
Claim 1:
TATE-GANS discloses a method (See TATE-GANS Abstract) comprising:
at a computing system in communication with one or more input devices and one or more displays (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0057-0058):
receiving, via the one or more input devices, a request to display first virtual content (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 00071-0010);
and in response to receiving the request (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 00072-0010), displaying, via the one or more displays, the first virtual content (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010), including:
in accordance with metadata associated with the first virtual content (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 00903; 0101) indicating a first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231), displaying, via the one or more displays (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010), the first virtual content having the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231);
and in accordance with the metadata associated with the first virtual content (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 00904; 0101) indicating a second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233), different from the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231), displaying, via the one or more displays (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010), the first virtual content having the second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233).
Claim 2:
TATE-GANS discloses wherein:
the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) is one of head-locked, head-locked with elasticity, body-locked, display-locked, horizon-locked, world-locked, or tilt locked (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231);
and the second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233) is one of head-locked, head-locked with elasticity, body-locked, display-locked, horizon-locked, world-locked, or tilt-locked, different from the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231), or another content locking behavior different from the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231).
Claim 3:
TATE-GANS discloses wherein:
the metadata associated with the first virtual content (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 00905; 0101) indicates: a first context for displaying the first virtual content (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010) having the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231);
and a second context, different from the first context, for displaying the first virtual content (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010) having the second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233);
displaying the first virtual content (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010) having the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) is further in accordance with a determination that the computing system is operating in the first context (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231);
and displaying the first virtual content (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010) having the second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233) is further in accordance with a determination that the computing system is operating in the second context (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233).
Claim 6:
TATE-GANS discloses wherein:
in accordance with a determination that the metadata (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 00906; 0101) indicates the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) and the first virtual content has the first content locking behavior in response to receiving the request (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231), the third content locking behavior is the second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233);
and in accordance with a determination that the metadata (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 00907; 0101) indicates the second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233) and the first virtual content has the second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233) in response to receiving the request (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 00078-0010), the third content locking behavior is the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231).
Claim 7:
TATE-GANS discloses wherein: the third content locking behavior is different from the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) and the second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233).
Claim 9:
Claim 9 is rejected on the same basis as claim 1.
Claim 13:
TATE-GANS discloses wherein:
the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) is one of head-locked, head-locked with elasticity, body-locked, display-locked, horizon-locked, world-locked, or tilt locked (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231);
and the second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233) is one of head-locked, head-locked with elasticity, body-locked, display-locked, horizon-locked, world-locked, or tilt-locked (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233), different from the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231), or another content locking behavior different from the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231).
Claim 14:
TATE-GANS discloses wherein:
the metadata associated with the first virtual content indicates (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 00909; 0101):
a first context for displaying the first virtual content having the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231);
and a second context, different from the first context, for displaying the first virtual content having the second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233);
displaying the first virtual content having the first content locking behavior is further in accordance with a determination that the electronic device is operating in the first context (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231);
and displaying the first virtual content having the second content locking behavior is further in accordance with a determination that the electronic device is operating in the second context (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233).
Claim 15:
TATE-GANS discloses wherein:
the metadata associated with the first virtual content indicates (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 009010; 0101):
at least the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) and the second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233);
a first level of priority (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0090; 0149; 035511) for displaying the first virtual content (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010) with the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231);
and a second level of priority (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0090; 0149; 0355), different from the first level of priority (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0090; 0149; 0355), for displaying the first virtual content with the second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233).
Claim 16:
TATE-GANS discloses wherein the one or more displays includes a head-mounted display (See TATE-GANS Figure 1; Item 160; Paragraphs 0010; 0057).
Claims 17-19:
Claims 17-19 are rejected on the same basis as claims 1-3.
Claim 20:
TATE-GANS discloses wherein:
the metadata associated with the first virtual content indicates (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 009012; 0101):
at least the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) and the second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233);
a first level of priority (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0090; 0149; 035513) for displaying the first virtual content (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010) with the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231);
and a second level of priority (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0090; 0149; 0355), different from the first level of priority (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0090; 0149; 0355), for displaying the first virtual content with the second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233).
Claims 23 and 24:
Claims 23 and 24 are rejected on the same basis as claims 6 and 7.
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.
Claim(s) 4, 5, 8, 10-12, 21 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TATE-GANS, US 20190197785 in view of DeFaria, US 20170103576.
Claim 4:
TATE-GANS failed to disclose an override criterion. However, DeFaria discloses this feature in paragraph 0054. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified TATE-GANS by the teachings of DeFaria to enable improved experience with virtual reality (VR) output device by incorporating an override criterion, more effectively (See DeFaria Abstract).
As modified:
The combination of TATE-GANS and DeFaria discloses the following:
while displaying the first virtual content (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010) having the first content locking behavior in accordance with the metadata (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 009014; 0101) indicating the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) or having the second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233) in accordance with the metadata (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 009015; 0101) indicating the second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233):
detecting that an override criterion is satisfied (See DeFaria Paragraph 0054); and in response to detecting that the override criterion is satisfied (See DeFaria Paragraph 0054), displaying, via the one or more displays (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010), the first virtual content (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) having a third content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) that is different from the content locking behavior of the first virtual content (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) when satisfaction of the override criterion is detected (See DeFaria Paragraph 0054).
Claim 5:
The combination of TATE-GANS and DeFaria discloses the following:
while the first virtual content is displayed having the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) or the second content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1560; Paragraph 0233) that is in accordance with the metadata in response to receiving the request (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 009016; 0101), a user of the computing system (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0057-0058) is associated with a first head orientation or a first body orientation (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0019; 0157);
and the override criterion is satisfied (See DeFaria Paragraph 0054) when user input including head rotation or body rotation (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0172; 0232) relative to the first head orientation or the first body orientation, respectively, is detected (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0172; 0232).
Claim 8:
The combination of TATE-GANS and DeFaria discloses the following:
displaying the first virtual content (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010) having the third content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) in response to detecting that the override criterion is satisfied (See DeFaria Paragraph 0054) is further in accordance with a determination that the metadata (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 009017; 0101) indicates that the first virtual content is to have the third content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) in response to detecting that the override criterion is satisfied (See DeFaria Paragraph 0054);
or displaying the first virtual content having the third content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) in response to detecting that the override criterion is satisfied (See DeFaria Paragraph 0054) is independent of whether the determination that the metadata (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 009018; 0101) indicates that the first virtual content is to have the third content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) in response to detecting that the override criterion is satisfied is made (See DeFaria Paragraph 0054).
Claim 10:
TATE-GANS failed to disclose change in viewpoint. However, DeFaria discloses this feature in paragraph 0054. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified TATE-GANS by the teachings of DeFaria to enable improved experience with virtual reality (VR) output device by incorporating change in viewpoint, more effectively (See DeFaria Abstract).
As modified:
The combination of TATE-GANS and DeFaria discloses the following:
wherein: the first content locking behavior is body-locked (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 023119), wherein in response to receiving the request (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 000720-0010), the first virtual content has the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) and is displayed at a first location corresponding to a first respective location in a physical environment (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010; 0013-0015), and wherein the method comprises:
detecting, via the one or more input devices, an event corresponding to a change in viewpoint of the electronic device (See DeFaria Paragraph 0054);
and in response to detecting the event: in accordance with a determination that the change in viewpoint (See DeFaria Paragraph 0054) of the electronic device corresponds to a change in the viewpoint (See DeFaria Paragraph 0054) from a first viewpoint to a second viewpoint that is within a set of viewpoints (See DeFaria Paragraph 0054) for viewing the first virtual content at the first location corresponding to the first respective location in the physical environment (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010; 0013-0015), continue displaying, via the one or more displays (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010; 0013-0015), the first virtual content having the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) at the first location corresponding to the first respective location in the physical environment (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010; 0013-0015);
and in accordance with a determination that the change in viewpoint (See DeFaria Paragraph 0054) corresponds to a change in the viewpoint (See DeFaria Paragraph 0054) from the first viewpoint to a third viewpoint, different from the second viewpoint, that is outside of the set of viewpoints for viewing (See DeFaria Paragraph 0054) the first virtual content at the first location corresponding to the first respective location in the physical environment (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010; 0013-0015):
ceasing display of the first virtual content having the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) at the first location corresponding to the first respective location in the physical environment (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010; 0013-0015);
and displaying, via the one or more displays, the first virtual content having the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) at a second location corresponding to a second respective location in the physical environment (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010; 0013-0015), wherein the second respective location in the physical environment is different from the first respective location in the physical environment (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010; 0013-0015).
Claim 11:
The combination of TATE-GANS and DeFaria discloses the following:
in accordance with a determination that the change in viewpoint is from the first viewpoint to the third viewpoint (See DeFaria Paragraph 0054):
fading out the first virtual content having the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) at the first location corresponding to the first respective location in the physical environment (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010; 0013-0015);
and fading in the first virtual content having the first content locking behavior (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) at the second location corresponding to the second respective location in the physical environment (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010; 0013-0015).
Claim 12:
The combination of TATE-GANS and DeFaria discloses the following:
in accordance with a determination that the change in viewpoint is from the first viewpoint to the third viewpoint (See DeFaria Paragraph 0054):
visually moving the first virtual content having the first content locking (See TATE-GANS Figure 15, Item 1520; Paragraph 0231) behavior from the first location corresponding to the first respective location in the physical environment (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010; 0013-0015) to the second location corresponding to the second respective location in the physical environment (See TATE-GANS Paragraphs 0007-0010; 0013-0015).
Claims 21 and 22:
Claims 21 and 22 are rejected on the same basis as claims 4 and 5.
Pertinent Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20200160602 discloses a head-mounted display device, including a display, one or more input devices including one or more image sensors, one or more communication devices, and a processor. The processor may output for display a mixed reality experience including one or more virtual objects. The processor may transmit imaging data to a server computing device.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHEREE N BROWN whose telephone number is (571)272-4229. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 5:30-2:00 PM EST.
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, SAID BROOME can be reached at (571) 272-2931. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHEREE N BROWN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2612 September 11, 2026
1 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0007 recites “receiving, from an application, a request to display a virtual content in a 3D spatial environment.”
2 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0007 recites “receiving, from an application, a request to display a virtual content in a 3D spatial environment.”
3 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0090 recites “ the mixed reality system may be configured to assign location, orientation, and extent data to a Prism for displaying virtual content within the Prism.”
4 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0090 recites “ the mixed reality system may be configured to assign location, orientation, and extent data to a Prism for displaying virtual content within the Prism.”
5 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0090 recites “ the mixed reality system may be configured to assign location, orientation, and extent data to a Prism for displaying virtual content within the Prism.”
6 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0090 recites “ the mixed reality system may be configured to assign location, orientation, and extent data to a Prism for displaying virtual content within the Prism.”
7 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0090 recites “ the mixed reality system may be configured to assign location, orientation, and extent data to a Prism for displaying virtual content within the Prism.”
8 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0007 recites “receiving, from an application, a request to display a virtual content in a 3D spatial environment.”
9 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0090 recites “ the mixed reality system may be configured to assign location, orientation, and extent data to a Prism for displaying virtual content within the Prism.”
10 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0090 recites “ the mixed reality system may be configured to assign location, orientation, and extent data to a Prism for displaying virtual content within the Prism.”
11 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0355 recites “particular ordering of process actions.” Note: The Applicant’s teachings of “priority” is the same as the prior art teachings of “ordering.”
12 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0090 recites “ the mixed reality system may be configured to assign location, orientation, and extent data to a Prism for displaying virtual content within the Prism.”
13 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0355 recites “particular ordering of process actions.” Note: The Applicant’s teachings of “priority” is the same as the prior art teachings of “ordering.”
14 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0090 recites “ the mixed reality system may be configured to assign location, orientation, and extent data to a Prism for displaying virtual content within the Prism.”
15 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0090 recites “ the mixed reality system may be configured to assign location, orientation, and extent data to a Prism for displaying virtual content within the Prism.”
16 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0090 recites “ the mixed reality system may be configured to assign location, orientation, and extent data to a Prism for displaying virtual content within the Prism.”
17 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0090 recites “the mixed reality system may be configured to assign location, orientation, and extent data to a Prism for displaying virtual content within the Prism.”
18 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0090 recites “the mixed reality system may be configured to assign location, orientation, and extent data to a Prism for displaying virtual content within the Prism.”
19 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0231 recites “FIG. 15 shows different types of body dynamics, according to some embodiments. One example of a type of body dynamic is a world lock 1520, where there are no body dynamics. In some embodiments, generic Prisms are world locked and may not have a body dynamic unless the user chooses to activate a follow behavior from the application options. Another example of a type of body dynamic is a Billboard 1530.”
20 TATE-GANS Paragraph 0007 recites “receiving, from an application, a request to display a virtual content in a 3D spatial environment.”
Prosecution Insights