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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more. The claims are directed to the abstract idea of mental processes and/ or certain methods of organizing human activity. The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception as discussed below.
Step 1 of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter
More specifically, regarding Step 1, of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, the claims are directed to a machine, process, and/or an article of manufacturer, which are statutory categories of invention.
Step 2a – Prong 1 of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance
Next, the claims are analyzed to determine whether it is directed to a judicial exception.
The claims are directed to the abstract idea of mathematically transforming coordinate values representing an analog input operation amount, modifying a radial component of those values based on stored sensitivity setting information, and converting the modified values back for transmission or inclusion in operation information.
Independent claim 1 recites, in relevant part:
“acquire a first value in an orthogonal coordinate system based on an operation amount at the analog input device,
convert the first value in the orthogonal coordinate system to a second value in a second coordinate system,
modify the second value in the second coordinate system to yield a first modified value based on the sensitivity of the analog input device indicated by the setting information, and
convert the first modified value in the second coordinate system to a second modified value in the orthogonal coordinate system for inclusion in the operation information.”
Independent claim 9 and independent claim 16 recite corresponding method and medium limitations using substantially identical language.
These limitations cover concepts that can be performed in the human mind (or with pen and paper) as pure mathematical calculations (Cartesian-to-polar conversion, radial scaling by a sensitivity factor or curve, and inverse conversion) and/or certain methods of organizing human activity (managing personal interactions with an input device by applying stored preference/sensitivity settings to normalize or adjust operation data). The same abstract idea is present in every dependent claim.
Dependent claims 2, 10, and 17 merely specify that the second coordinate system is a polar coordinate system. Dependent claims 3, 10, and 17 further specify deriving only the radial value r without deriving a deflection angle θ. Dependent claims 4, 11, and 18 specify adjusting the radial value r to an adjusted radial value r′. Dependent claims 5, 12, and 19 recite high-precision acquisition and low-precision conversion. Dependent claims 6, 13, and 20 recite setting a logical movable range narrower than a physical movable range by a predetermined offset. Dependent claims 7 and 14 recite that the offset is included in the setting information. Dependent claims 8 and 15 recite determining minimum and maximum values within the logical range.
None of these dependent limitations remove the claims from the abstract idea. They merely refine the mathematical transformation or the stored setting data used in the transformation.
Step 2a – Prong 2 of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance
The second prong of step 2a is the consideration if the claim limitations are directed to a practical application.
Limitations that are indicative of integration into a practical application:
-Improvements to the functioning of a computer, or to any other technology or technical field - see MPEP 2106.05(a)
-Applying or using a judicial exception to effect a particular treatment or prophylaxis for a disease or medical condition - see Vanda Memo
-Applying the judicial exception with, or by use of, a particular machine - see MPEP 2106.05(b)
-Effecting a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing – see MPEP 2106.05(c)
-Applying or using the judicial exception in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception - see MPEP 2106.05(e) and Vanda Memo
Limitations that are not indicative of integration into a practical application:
-Adding the words "apply it" (or an equivalent) with the judicial exception, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely uses a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea- see MPEP 2106.05(f)
-Adding insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception - see MPEP 2106.05(g)
-Generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use - see MPEP 2106.05(h)
The additional elements are recited at a high level of generality and amount to mere instructions to apply the abstract idea on generic computing components. They include:
an analog input device (generic joystick/thumbstick hardware);
a memory configured to store setting information;
a generation unit / operations of generating;
a transmission unit / transmitting to an external information processing apparatus; and
a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions.
These elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. They do not improve the functioning of a computer, another technology, or a technical field. Coordinate conversion between orthogonal and polar systems, radial scaling according to a sensitivity curve or factor, and the use of logical versus physical ranges (dead zones/offsets) are conventional mathematical techniques long used in input-device signal processing. The claims do not recite any specific technical improvement to, for example, the analog-to-digital conversion hardware, the physical construction of the analog input device, or a novel computer architecture. The “high precision” acquisition and “low precision” output are conventional data-range handling. The transmission of the resulting operation information to an external apparatus is insignificant post-solution activity. The claims merely apply the mathematical coordinate-transformation idea to a generic analog input device and generic processor/memory.
Step 2b of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance
Next, the claims as a whole are analyzed to determine whether any element, or combination of elements, is sufficient to ensure that the claim amounts to significantly more than the exception.
Viewed individually and as an ordered combination, the additional elements do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. Storing sensitivity settings in memory, acquiring values from an analog input device, performing arithmetic conversions, and transmitting the result are well-understood, routine, and conventional activities in the art of game controllers and pointing devices. No inventive concept is present.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5-9, 12-15, 16, 19, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Finocchio (US 2010/0081507 A1).
1. Finocchio discloses a system comprising:
an analog input device (analog thumbstick), [0014];
a memory configured to store setting information associated with a sensitivity of the analog input device [0028]-[0029], [0044], (305: Fig. 3);
a generation unit configured to generate operation information based on an operation performed by a user on the analog input device (processing unit that generates stickX, sickY operation), [0022], [0034], [0048]; and
a transmission unit configured to transmit the operation information generated by the generation unit to an external information processing apparatus (313: Fig. 3), [0050],
wherein the generation unit is configured to;
acquire a first value in an orthogonal coordinate system based on an operation amount at the analog input device (raw or smoothed deltaX/deltaY (Cartesian/orthogonal) values are acquired), (step 301-302: Fig. 3), [0040]-[0041],
convert the first value in the orthogonal coordinate system to a second value in a second coordinate system (converts the modified alternate controller values from Cartesian values into polar (magnitude and angle) values), (step 303: Fig. 3), [0042],
modify the second value in the second coordinate system to yield a first modified value based on the sensitivity of the analog input device indicated by the setting information (sensitivity factor is applied to the magnitude (radial) component (step 305) and dead-zone size is also applied to the magnitude for circular dead zones), (steps 307, 310: Fig. 3), [0042], [0046]-[0047], and
convert the first modified value in the second coordinate system to a second modified value in the orthogonal coordinate system for inclusion in the operation information (after magnitude adjustment the values are converted back to Cartesian stickX/stickY for inclusion in the operation information sent to the console), (steps 308-311, 313: Fig. 3), [0047]-[0050].
2. Finocchio discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the second coordinate system is a polar coordinate system, [0042], [0047].
5. Finocchio discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the generation unit is further configured to acquire the first value in the orthogonal coordinate system at a high precision, and convert the first modified value in the second coordinate system to the second modified value in the orthogonal coordinate system at a low precision (steps 301–302 and 312).
6. Finocchio discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the generation unit is further configured to set a logical movable range of the analog input device, wherein a normalization range is narrower than a physical movable range of the analog input device, wherein the logical movable range is smaller than the physical movable range by a predetermined offset (dead-zone handling creates a logical (effective) range that is offset from the physical rest position / full range, wherein the dead-zone size is an explicit offset applied to the magnitude (steps 307–311).
7. Finocchio discloses the system of claim 6, wherein the predetermined offset is included in the setting information associated with the sensitivity of the analog input device, [0041], [0044]-[0045].
8. Finocchio discloses the system of claim 6, wherein the generation unit is further configured to determine a minimum value and a maximum value within the logical movable range for inclusion in the operation information, (clamping to console min/max range) [0049].
9, 12-15. Finocchio discloses an information processing method comprising: retrieving, from a storage unit, setting information associated with a sensitivity of an analog input device, receiving, from the analog input device, information indicating an operation performed by a user on the analog input device; generating operation information based on the operation performed by the user on the analog input device; and transmitting the operation information to an external information processing apparatus, wherein generating includes; acquiring a first value in an orthogonal coordinate system based on an operation amount of the analog input device corresponding to the operation performed by the user at the analog input device, converting the first value in the orthogonal coordinate system to a second value in a second coordinate system, modifying the second value in the second coordinate system based on the setting information associated with sensitivity of the analog input device to yield a first modified value, and converting the first modified value in the second coordinate system to a second modified value in the orthogonal coordinate system for inclusion in the operation information as similarly discussed above.
16, 19, 20. Finocchio discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, upon execution by an operation apparatus, cause operations comprising: retrieving setting information associated with a sensitivity of an analog input device; receiving information indicating an operation performed by a user on the analog input device; generating operation information based on the operation performed by the user on the analog input device; and transmitting the operation information to an external information processing apparatus, wherein generating includes; acquiring a first value in an orthogonal coordinate system based on an operation amount of the analog input device corresponding to the operation performed by the user at the analog input device, converting the first value in the orthogonal coordinate system to a second value in a second coordinate system, modifying the second value in the second coordinate system based on the setting information associated with sensitivity of the analog input device to yield a first modified value, and converting the first modified value in the second coordinate system to a second modified value in the orthogonal coordinate system for inclusion in the operation information as similarly discussed above.
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, 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) 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Finocchio (US 2010/0081507 A1) as applied above and further in view of NELSON (US 2019/0126140 A1).
3, 10, 17. Finocchio discloses the invention above, but does not expressly disclose wherein the generation unit is configured to convert the first value to the second value by deriving a radial value r for the polar coordinate system as the second value, without deriving a value of a deflection angle θ for the polar coordinate system. Nelson discloses a control-stick sensitivity adjustment system that receives position data (orthogonal coordinates), applies a mapping function that can operate in radial coordinate space by scaling the magnitude of the vector according to a piecewise-linear function defined by dead-zone inflection points and sensitivity inflection points (stored setting information), and produces a transformed position, [0057]. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the polar-coordinate processing of Finocchio by adopting the radial-magnitude-only scaling approach and piecewise sensitivity mapping taught by Nelson as Finocchio already converts to polar coordinates solely to operate on the magnitude component for sensitivity and dead-zone adjustment and Nelson teaches that the same radial scaling can be performed with a more flexible piecewise function defined by stored inflection points. Doing so would have provided greater customization of the sensitivity curve while preserving the computational advantages of magnitude-only processing and avoids explicit calculation of the angle θ (when only the radial component needs modification).
4, 11, 18. Finocchio and NELSON disclose the invention above, wherein the generation unit is configured to modify the second value in the second coordinate system to yield the first modified value by adjusting the radial value r to an adjusted radial value r' based on the sensitivity of the analog input device indicated by the setting information (magnitude (radial) is adjusted by the sensitivity factor and/or dead-zone radius), Finocchio (steps 305, 310), [0041], [0044]-[0045].
Relevant Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see attached USPTO form PTO-892.
Filing of New or Amended Claims
The examiner has the initial burden of presenting evidence or reasoning to explain why persons skilled in the art would not recognize in the original disclosure a description of the invention defined by the claims. See Wertheim, 541 F.2d at 263, 191 USPQ at 97 (“[T]he PTO has the initial burden of presenting evidence or reasons why persons skilled in the art would not recognize in the disclosure a description of the invention defined by the claims.”). However, when filing an amendment an applicant should show support in the original disclosure for new or amended claims. See MPEP § 714.02 and § 2163.06 (“Applicant should specifically point out the support for any amendments made to the disclosure.”). Please see MPEP 2163 (II) 3. (b)
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SENG H LIM whose telephone number is (571)270-3301. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday (9-5).
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, Xuan Thai can be reached at (571) 272-7147. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Seng H Lim/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
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