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).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-7, 9-16 and 19 of U.S. Patent No. 12,277,642. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the instant claim limitations are essentially covered by the Patent.
Instant application
1-7
8-9
10-14
15-16
16
17-18
19
20
U.S. Patent No. 12,277,642
1-7
9-10
11-15
6-7
7
9-10
16
19
Instant application
U.S. Patent No. 12,277,642
1. A method comprising, by a computing system: initiating a scene alignment process to align a previous map of a scene with a current map of the scene;
obtaining a selection of a set of entities in the scene;
determining a particular point in the scene based on one or more of the selected set of entities;
aligning the previous map with the current map based on the particular point in the scene; and loading a scene model associated with the previous map into the current map.
1. A method comprising, by a computing system: initiating a scene alignment process to align a previous map of a scene with a current map of the scene;
sending instructions to a user wearing an artificial-reality system to select a set of entities in the scene;
receiving a selection of the set of entities in the scene;
determining a particular point in the scene based on an intersection of selected set of entities; aligning the previous map with the current map based on the particular point in the scene; and loading a scene model associated with the previous map into the current map.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a user selection of an application on an artificial-reality system, wherein the application requires a scene description associated with the scene model of the scene; determining that the scene description is not associated with the current map; determining that the previous map of the scene is present on the artificial-reality system; and in response to determining that the scene description is not associated with the current map and that the previous map of the scene is present, initiating the scene alignment process to align the previous map of the scene with the current map of the scene.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a user selection of an application on the artificial-reality system, wherein the application requires a scene description associated with the scene model of the scene; determining that the scene description is not associated with the current map; determining that the previous map of the scene is present on the artificial-reality system; and in response to determining that the scene description is not associated with the current map and that the previous map of the scene is present, initiating the scene alignment process to align the previous map of the scene with the current map of the scene.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: deleting the scene model from the previous map in response to loading the scene model into the current map.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: deleting the scene model from the previous map in response to loading the scene model into the current map.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a plurality of maps of the scene present on the artificial-reality system; instructing a user to select a particular map of the scene from the plurality of maps, wherein the particular map is the previous map; and in response to the user selecting the particular map, initiating the scene alignment process to align the previous map of the scene with the current map of the scene.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a plurality of maps of the scene present on the artificial-reality system; instructing the user to select a particular map of the scene from the plurality of maps, wherein the particular map is the previous map; and in response to the user selecting the particular map, initiating the scene alignment process to align the previous map of the scene with the current map of the scene.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining that the previous map of the scene is not present; and in response to determining that the previous map of the scene is not present, initiating a scene capture process to generate a scene model of the scene, wherein generated scene model is loaded into the current map.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining that the previous map of the scene is not present; and in response to determining that the previous map of the scene is not present, initiating a scene capture process to generate a scene model of the scene, wherein generated scene model is loaded into the current map.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein aligning the previous map with the current map comprises: re-positioning the previous map to align the particular point located in the previous map with the particular point located in the current map.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein aligning the previous map with the current map comprises: re-positioning the previous map to align the particular point located in the previous map with the particular point located in the current map.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the scene model associated with the previous map is loaded into the current map in response to successful alignment of the particular point located in the previous map with the particular point located in the current map.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the scene model associated with the previous map is loaded into the current map in response to successful alignment of the particular point located in the previous map with the particular point located in the current map.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the set of entities in the scene comprises two walls of the a room.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the set of entities in the scene comprises two walls of the living room.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the particular point is a corner between the two walls.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the particular point is a room wall corner between the two walls.
10. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to:
initiate a scene alignment process to align a previous map of a scene with a current map of the scene;
obtain a selection of a set of entities in the scene; determine a particular point in the scene based on one or more of the selected set of entities; align the previous map with the current map based on the particular point in the scene; and load a scene model associated with the previous map into the current map.
11. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying software that is operable, when executed by one or more processors, to:
initiate a scene alignment process to align a previous map of a scene with a current map of the scene;
send instructions to a user wearing an artificial-reality system to select a set of entities in the scene;
receive a selection of the set of entities in the scene; determine a particular point in the scene based on an intersection of selected set of entities;
align the previous map with the current map based on the particular point in the scene; and load a scene model associated with the previous map into the current map.
11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the computing system to: receive a user selection of an application on an artificial-reality system, wherein the application requires a scene description associated with the scene model of the scene; determine that the scene description is not associated with the current map; determine that the previous map of the scene is present on the artificial-reality system; and in response to determining that the scene description is not associated with the current map and that the previous map of the scene is present, initiate the scene alignment process to align the previous map of the scene with the current map of the scene.
12. The one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media of claim 11, wherein the software is further operable when executed to: receive a user selection of an application on the artificial-reality system, wherein the application requires a scene description associated with the scene model of the scene; determine that the scene description is not associated with the current map; determine that the previous map of the scene is present on the artificial-reality system; and in response to determining that the scene description is not associated with the current map and that the previous map of the scene is present, initiate the scene alignment process to align the previous map of the scene with the current map of the scene.
12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the computing system to: delete the scene model from the previous map in response to loading the scene model into the current map.
13. The one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media of claim 11, wherein the software is further operable when executed to: delete the scene model from the previous map in response to loading the scene model into the current map.
13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the computing system to: determine a plurality of maps of the scene present on the artificial-reality system; instruct a user to select a particular map of the scene from the plurality of maps, wherein the particular map is the previous map; and in response to the user selecting the particular map, initiate the scene alignment process to align the previous map of the scene with the current map of the scene.
14. The one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media of claim 11, wherein the software is further operable when executed to: determine a plurality of maps of the scene present on the artificial-reality system; instruct the user to select a particular map of the scene from the plurality of maps, wherein the particular map is the previous map; and in response to the user selecting the particular map, initiate the scene alignment process to align the previous map of the scene with the current map of the scene.
14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the computing system to: determine that the previous map of the scene is not present; and in response to determining that the previous map of the scene is not present, initiate a scene capture process to generate a scene model of the scene, wherein generated scene model is loaded into the current map.
15. The one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media of claim 11, wherein the software is further operable when executed to: determine that the previous map of the scene is not present; and in response to determining that the previous map of the scene is not present, initiate a scene capture process to generate a scene model of the scene, wherein generated scene model is loaded into the current map.
15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein aligning the previous map with the current map comprises: re-positioning the previous map to align the particular point located in the previous map with the particular point located in the current map.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein aligning the previous map with the current map comprises: re-positioning the previous map to align the particular point located in the previous map with the particular point located in the current map.
16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the scene model associated with the previous map is loaded into the current map in response to successful alignment of the particular point located in the previous map with the particular point located in the current map.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the scene model associated with the previous map is loaded into the current map in response to successful alignment of the particular point located in the previous map with the particular point located in the current map.
17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the set of entities in the scene comprises two walls of the a room.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the set of entities in the scene comprises two walls of the living room.
18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the particular point is a corner between the two walls.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the particular point is a room wall corner between the two walls.
19. A computing system comprising:
one or more processors; and
one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing system to:
initiate a scene alignment process to align a previous map of a scene with a current map of the scene;
obtain a selection of a set of entities in the scene; determine a particular point in the scene based on one or more of the selected set of entities; align the previous map with the current map based on the particular point in the scene; and load a scene model associated with the previous map into the current map.
16. A system comprising:
one or more processors; and
one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media coupled to one or more of the processors and comprising instructions operable when executed by one or more of the processors to cause the system to:
initiate a scene alignment process to align a previous map of a scene with a current map of the scene;
send instructions to a user wearing an artificial-reality system to select a set of entities in the scene;
receive a selection of the set of entities in the scene;
determine a particular point in the scene based on an intersection of selected set of entities;
align the previous map with the current map based on the particular point in the scene; and load a scene model associated with the previous map into the current map.
20. The computing system of claim 19, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the computing system to: determine a plurality of maps of the scene present on the artificial-reality system; instruct a user to select a particular map of the scene from the plurality of maps, wherein the particular map is the previous map; and in response to the user selecting the particular map, initiate the scene alignment process to align the previous map of the scene with the current map of the scene.
19. The system of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further operable when executing the instructions to cause the system to: determine a plurality of maps of the scene present on the artificial-reality system; instruct the user to select a particular map of the scene from the plurality of maps, wherein the particular map is the previous map; and in response to the user selecting the particular map, initiate the scene alignment process to align the previous map of the scene with the current map of the scene.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 10-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Claims 10-18 describe “A computer-readable storage medium”. Applicant has failed to define or limit the claimed “computer-readable storage medium” to a non-transitory statutory storage medium. Therefore, it would be reasonable to interpret the claimed “computer-readable storage medium” to comprise a signal or a carrier wave; neither of which falls into one of the four statutory categories invention.
Claim Objections
Claims 8 and 17 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 8 and 17 recite two walls of the a room. It should be changed to two walls of .
Appropriate correction is required.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-20 would be allowable if the nonstatutory double patenting rejection is overcome.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KYLE ZHAI whose telephone number is (571)270-3740. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ke Xiao can be reached at (571) 272 - 7776. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KYLE ZHAI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2611
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