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
Election/Restrictions
In response to a restriction requirement dated May 12, 2026 the Applicants elected Invention I of claims 1-6 and 10-13 without traverse in a reply filed on June 3, 2026. The non-elected claims 7-9 are withdrawn.
Pending elected claims 2-6, 11, 12 and 13 of which claims 1 and 10 are independent claims, are examined on their merits, infra.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), and based on application # 2023-118312 filed in Japan on July 20, 2023 which papers have been placed of record in 6+the file.
Oath/Declaration
The Office acknowledges receipt of a properly signed Oath/Declaration submitted July 16, 2025
Information Disclosure Statement
The Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement filed (July 16, 2025) has been received, entered into the record, and considered.
Drawings
The drawings filed July 16, 2025 are accepted by the examiner.
Abstract
The abstract filed July 16, 2025 is accepted by the examiner.
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 obviousness-type 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 Omum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and 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 a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the conflicting application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. Effective January 1, 1994, a registered attorney or agent of record may sign a terminal disclaimer. A terminal disclaimer signed by the assignee must fully comply with 37 CPR 3.73(b).
Claims 1-6 and 10-13 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-16 of application No. 18758752 Patent 12386415. Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims recite An information processing apparatus comprising: a memory device that stores a set of instructions; and at least one processor that executes the set of instructions to perform operations comprising: detecting an action of a user to change a holding hand that holds an input device as a re-holding action, based on a distance between a position of the input device and a position of a user's hand, when the user holds the input device that allows a one-hand operation in cross reality, the position of the user's hand being obtained based on a reality image from a user's viewpoint or a third person's viewpoint; and in a case where the re-holding action is detected, determining the holding hand based on the distance, wherein the determining the holding hand includes, in a case where a first distance between the position of the input device and a position of a first hand of the user is smaller than a threshold and a second distance between the position of the input device and a position of a second hand, being different from the first hand, of the user is greater than the threshold, determining that the first hand is the holding hand, and in a case where both the first distance and the second distance are smaller than the threshold and the first distance is smaller than the second distance, determining that the first hand is the holding hand, therefore the same limitations as claimed in application No. 18758752 Patent 12386415.
This is an obviousness-type double patenting rejection.
Application 19270806
Application 18758752 Patent 12386415
1. An information processing apparatus comprising: a memory device that stores a set of instructions; and at least one processor that executes the set of instructions to perform operations comprising: detecting an action of a user to change a holding hand that holds an input device as a re-holding action, based on a distance between a position of the input device and a position of a user's hand, when the user holds the input device that allows a one-hand operation in cross reality, the position of the user's hand being obtained based on a reality image from a user's viewpoint or a third person's viewpoint; and in a case where the re-holding action is detected, determining the holding hand based on the distance, wherein the determining the holding hand includes, in a case where a first distance between the position of the input device and a position of a first hand of the user is smaller than a threshold and a second distance between the position of the input device and a position of a second hand, being different from the first hand, of the user is greater than the threshold, determining that the first hand is the holding hand, and in a case where both the first distance and the second distance are smaller than the threshold and the first distance is smaller than the second distance, determining that the first hand is the holding hand.
An information processing apparatus comprising: a memory device that stores a set of instructions; and at least one processor that executes the set of instructions to: detect an action of a user to change a holding hand that holds an input device as a re-holding action when the user holds the input device that allows a one-hand operation in cross reality; determine the holding hand based on the re-holding action detected; and determine that a hand having a shorter distance from the input device is the holding hand in a case where both user's hands can be determined to be the holding hand, wherein detection of the re-holding action and determination of the holding hand are performed based on a position of the input device and a position of a user's hand tracked by image recognition using a reality image from a user's viewpoint or a third person's viewpoint, and wherein the detection of the re-holding action and the determination of the holding hand are performed by comparing a distance from the input device to the user's hand with a threshold.
10. A control method for an information processing apparatus, comprising: detecting an action of a user to change a holding hand that holds an input device as a re-holding action, based on a distance between a position of the input device and a position of a user's hand, when the user holds the input device that allows a one-hand operation in cross reality, the position of the user's hand being obtained based on a reality image from a user's viewpoint or a third person's viewpoint; and in a case where the re-holding action is detected, determining the holding hand based on the distance, wherein the determining the holding hand includes, in a case where a first distance between the position of the input device and a position of a first hand of the user is smaller than a threshold and a second distance between the position of the input device and a position of a second hand, being different from the first hand, of the user is greater than the threshold, determining that the first hand is the holding hand, and in a case where both the first distance and the second distance are smaller than the threshold and the first distance is smaller than the second distance, determining that the first hand is the holding hand.
13. A control method for an information processing apparatus, comprising: detecting an action of a user to change a holding hand that holds an input device as a re-holding action when the user holds the input device that allows a one-hand operation in cross reality; and determining the holding hand based on the re-holding action detected; and determining that a hand having a shorter distance from the input device is the holding hand in a case where both user's hands can be determined to be the holding hand, wherein detection of the re-holding action and determination of the holding hand are performed based on a position of the input device and a position of a user's hand tracked by image recognition using a reality image from a user's viewpoint or a third person's viewpoint, and wherein the detection of the re-holding action and the determination of the holding hand are performed by comparing a distance from the input device to the user's hand with a threshold.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-6 and 10-13 are allowable upon overcoming double patenting rejection.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to
applicant's disclosure. Nishimaki (US 20190235626 A1) discloses an apparatus connected to a first device fixed to a left hand of a user and a second device fixed to a right hand of the user: detects positions of the first device and the second device; and calculates information associated with sizes of the hands of the user on the basis of the difference between the detected positions
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NELSON ROSARIO whose telephone number is (571)270-1866. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday, 7:30am- 5:00pm EST. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Matthew Eason can be reached on (571) 270-7230. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/NELSON M ROSARIO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2624
Prosecution Insights