DETAILED ACTIONNotice 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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In Paragraph 0006, line 3, “limits” should read “limit”
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2020/0368616 Delamont (hereinafter Delamont), in view of US 2025/0182404 Kreis et al. (hereinafter Kreis).
Regarding claim 1, Delamont teaches:
a method for generating a three-dimensional, interactive game from camera inputs, comprising (Paragraph 0099 discloses using captured images from a user’s cameras to generate a 3D game space):
creating a virtual representation of an actual scene captured by camera inputs, creating a virtual representation including:
receiving image data of an actual scene from at least two cameras, the image data including image frames from each camera (Paragraph 0081 discloses using both forward facing cameras to capture two differing perspectives of an environment); and
processing the image data to generate three-dimensional point clouds representing objects in the actual scene (Paragraph 0082 discloses using both cameras to create Cloud of Point holograms, from which, 3D models of real-world objects are formed);
generating a virtual scene that includes additional viewing angles of the virtual representation selectable by a game player (Paragraph 0240 discloses forward sight, an in-game ability that allows a player to view the game from the perspective of another user or AI character);
generating a game map from camera inputs, the game map defining a user interface for virtually navigating the three-dimensional, interactive game; and associating the virtual scene within the game map as a location a game player may virtually view when virtually navigating the game map to yield a three-dimensional, interactive game (Paragraph 0271 discloses world coordinates that are stored as state information on a game server, and Paragraph 0091 discloses the ability for a user to move freely in six degrees of freedom in the virtual world of the game that has been generated from camera inputs);
Delamont does not teach:
processing image data to generate three-dimensional point clouds representing objects in the actual scene for each image frame;
rendering the three-dimensional point clouds into intermediate images comprised of three-dimensional Gaussians representing objects in the actual scene for each image frame;
processing the intermediate images with a deformation field to refine the three-dimensional Gaussians that represent objects in motion in the actual scene to yield the virtual representation;
generating a virtual scene including:
repeating the method for creating a virtual representation at selected intervals to yield time-shifted virtual representations;
combining the time-shifted virtual representations to yield the virtual scene.
However, Kreis teaches a method comprising:
processing image data to generate three-dimensional point clouds representing objects in an actual scene for each image frame (Paragraph 0028 discloses using a point-based representation, for example a point cloud, for 4D content generation, and Paragraph 0061 discloses that the input to the generation system can be one or more images. If the input is a single frame, data processing necessarily occurs for each image frame);
rendering three-dimensional point clouds into intermediate images comprised of three-dimensional Gaussians representing objects in the actual scene for each image frame (Paragraph 0055 discloses a 3D Gaussian splatting rendering);
processing the intermediate images with a deformation field to refine the three-dimensional Gaussians that represent objects in motion in the actual scene (Paragraph 0063 discloses applying a deformation field for motion generation);
generating a virtual scene that includes additional viewing angles of the virtual representation selectable by a user, generating a virtual scene including:
repeating the method for rendering at selected intervals to yield time-shifted data (Paragraphs 0081-0082 disclose rendering a plurality of frames representing varying time steps in the 3D scene or for various camera angles representative of the scene); and
combining said time-shifted data (Paragraph 0084 and Fig. 2 disclose combining frames representative of various time steps).
Kreis teaches that the process of rendering in a time-shifted manner and then combining the data allows for a gradient that is subject to a convergence condition, resulting in less harsh transitions in data in between time steps (Paragraph 0084). Kreis also teaches that 3D Gaussian splatting, and applying a deformation field to said Gaussians allows for maintaining consistency of moving objects across time (Paragraph 0064). Kreis discloses applications for these methods in gaming (Paragraph 0094).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method disclosed by Delamont with the processing steps disclosed by Kreis in order to increase temporal consistency of objects in the image-to-3D-model rendering within the game disclosed by Delamont.
Regarding claim 2, Delamont teaches: further comprising creating multiple virtual scenes and associating the multiple virtual scenes within the game map (Paragraph 1124 discloses multiple areas which are maintained in a virtual state within the game world).
Regarding claim 3, Delamont teaches: further comprising adding visual effects to the virtual scene (Paragraph 0478 discloses adding lighting effects or texture on the surface of a player’s laser gun to augment a scene).
Regarding claim 4, Delamont teaches: wherein the visual effect is associated with a permanent location in the game map (Paragraphs 1453-1454 disclose a user’s ability to touch objects to permanently change lighting properties on an object to show depth and displacement).
Regarding claim 5, Delamont teaches: wherein the visual effect is dynamically added to the virtual scene (Paragraphs 1453-1454 disclose a user’s ability to touch objects to temporarily change lighting properties on an object to show depth and displacement).
Regarding claim 6, Delamont teaches: further comprising adding graphics to the virtual scene (Paragraph 0605 discloses users’ ability to toggle a line-of-sight overlay for the laser gun which is used for assisted accurate targeting. In Delamont’s disclosure, the line-of-sight overlay is considered to be a graphic that adds information for the user to aim a laser gun).
Regarding claim 7, Delamont teaches: wherein the game map defines game boundaries that limit where a game player may virtually navigate within the three-dimensional, interactive game (Paragraph 1124 discloses areas that have been mapped in 3D, where virtual state of the physical space is maintained by the Game Server or Host. The mapped areas are considered to define the game boundaries that limit where a player can virtually navigate within the game).
Regarding claim 8, Delamont teaches: further comprising associating a label with the virtual scene (Paragraph 1124 discloses areas associated within in a grid that has been mapped and stored in a virtual state using a game server or host).
Regarding claim 9, Delamont teaches: further comprising setting levels for the three-dimensional, interactive game (Paragraph 2261 discloses a method for enabling a user to see predicted future events and changes to game scenes in advance; changes to game scenes over time are considered to be levels).
Regarding claim 10, Delamont teaches: wherein creating a virtual representation of an actual scene occurs in real time from live camera inputs (Paragraph 0328 discloses real-time rendering of game scenes).
Regarding claim 11, Delamont teaches: wherein generating the virtual scene with additional viewing angles of the virtual representation occurs in real-time (Paragraphs 0381-0383 disclose adjusting the display of images and projection configuration based on user eye position and orientation in real-time).
Regarding claim 12, Delamont teaches: further comprising distributing the three-dimensional, interactive game to game players (Paragraph 1109 discloses details of distribution to include where the game engine and/or the rendering could be run, for example, locally or on the game server).
Regarding claims 13-15, Delamont does not teach:
Claim 13: wherein distributing the three-dimensional, interactive game to game players includes identifying a game playing device of a game player;
Claim 14: wherein distributing the three-dimensional, interactive game to game players includes adding operating instructions to the three-dimensional, interactive game compatible with the identified game playing device of the game player;
Claim 15: wherein distributing the three-dimensional, interactive game to game players includes adding interaction instructions to the three-dimensional, interactive game compatible with a controller used by the identified game playing device of the game player.
However, Kreis teaches:
Claim 13: wherein distributing the three-dimensional, interactive game to game players includes identifying a game playing device of a game player (Sending data from server 402 to one or more client devices 404; see Fig. 4);
Claim 14: wherein distributing the three-dimensional, interactive game to game players includes adding operating instructions to the three-dimensional, interactive game compatible with the identified game playing device of the game player (Paragraph 0124 recites “a client device may be embodied as a Personal Computer (PC), a laptop computer, a mobile device, a smartphone” which indicates that instructions are available for several different kinds of devices);
Claim 15: wherein distributing the three-dimensional, interactive game to game players includes adding interaction instructions to the three-dimensional, interactive game compatible with a controller used by the identified game playing device of the game player (Paragraph 0106 discloses compatibility with various kinds of I/O devices, for example, a mouse, keyboard, or joystick).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the system of Delamont by adding functionality to identify a variety of game playing devices and a variety of input controllers as taught by Kreis in order to accommodate more types of player devices.
Regarding claim 16, Delamont teaches: receiving audio data corresponding to sounds captured from the actual scene; and synching the audio data with the virtual scene to match the sounds captured from the actual scene (Paragraph 1518 recites “processing of audio files for creating 3D spatial sound and perceptual based 3D sound localisation effects”).
Regarding claim 17, Delamont teaches: generating a virtual scene with additional viewing angles beyond viewing angles captured by camera inputs (Paragraph 2121 discloses generating 3D models in order to enable user selectable viewing direction controlled by eye position, said 3D models having been generated through transformations).
Regarding claim 18, Delamont teaches: adding a real time rendering algorithm to the three-dimensional, interactive game (Paragraph 1457 discloses a 3D rendering method that results in updating the world in real time as disclosed in Paragraph 1453).
Regarding claim 19, Delamont teaches: wherein the real-time rendering algorithm enables a player to select a perspective for viewing the virtual scene in real-time (Paragraph 2121 discloses generating 3D models in order to enable user selectable viewing direction controlled by user eye position).
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Delamont, in view of Kreis, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US 2006/0148545 Rhyne et al. (hereinafter Rhyne).
Rhyne teaches, but Delamont and Kreis lack: associating a fee with the virtual scene in the game map, payment of the fee being required for a game player to virtually view the virtual scene. Rhyne discloses a virtual game environment in which players may be required to pay fees to maintain their right to continue to access the game server (Paragraph 0005).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified the invention of claim 1 by associating a fee to play the game as taught by Rhyne. Doing so would be generate additional revenue for game developers or others involved in the game distribution process.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON LEE GARLAND whose telephone number is 571-272-0810. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:30 - 5.
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/J.L.G./Examiner, Art Unit 3715
/WILLIAM H MCCULLOCH JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
