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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 08/26/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On page 11, Applicant argues that,
“As acknowledged in the Office Action, Homma does not disclose "the list of identification information for identifying respective second wide-view images," and the Office Action relies exclusively on Taneichi to supply this feature, citing Taneichi at paragraph [0055] and Fig. 6. Office Action at pp. 3-4. It is respectfully submitted that neither Homma nor Taneichi, whether considered alone or in combination, discloses or suggests that a second wide-view image, selected from the very list of identification information relied upon from Taneichi, is displayed at both the first communication terminal and the second communication terminal while the remote communication is being carried out, as now recited in amended claims 1, 10, and 11.”
In response, Examiner respectfully disagrees and submits that, at least in [0059]-[0066], Homma states:
[0059] The users A to C at the sites A to C can each change the point of view for the wide-view image, as desired. Thus, the users A to C viewing the wide-view image in real time are likely to view images with different points of view. It may be difficult for the users A to C to mutually understand each other. In this embodiment, accordingly, information on a virtual point of view set for the communication terminal 30 at any one of the sites is shareable by the communication terminals 30 at the other sites. An overview of the sharing of information will be described. In the following description, in an example, a point of view designated by the user B at the site B is shared by the users A and C at the sites A and C.
[0060] (1) The communication terminals 30A to 30C share a wide-view image (an example of a first wide-view image) captured by the image capturing apparatus 10. In response to the user B making an image capturing request while viewing the wide-view image from a particular point of view on the communication terminal 30B, the communication terminal 30B (an example of a first communication terminal) transmits point-of-view information indicating the point of view and the image capturing request to the information processing system 50.
[0061] (2) In response to the image capturing request, the information processing system 50 designates point-of-view information and transmits an image capturing request to the image capturing apparatus 10 to capture a still image or a moving image.
[0062] (3) The image capturing apparatus 10 captures a wide-view image (an example of a second wide-view image) in response to the image capturing request, and stores the wide-view image (an example of a second wide-view image) and the point-of-view information in association with a uniform resource locator (URL) transmitted from the information processing system 50. The URL is an example of storage destination information and indicates a storage location in a storage 90 in FIG. 1. The wide-view image stored in the storage 90 can be downloaded and displayed by any communication terminal 30.
[0063] (4) The information processing system 50 transmits the URL to the communication terminal 30B.
[0064] (5) The information processing system 50 further transmits the URL to the communication terminals 30A and 30C (examples of a second communication terminal), which are in the same virtual room as that associated with the image capturing apparatus 10 and the communication terminal 30B, automatically or in response to a request from the user B.
[0065] (6) The communication terminals 30A and 30C connect to the URL and receive the point-of-view information and the wide-view image. Each of the communication terminals 30A and 30C sets and displays the point of view identified by the point-of-view information such that point of view matches the center of an image field. It should be noted that the point of view is not necessarily made to completely match the center of the image field. In an example, the point of view may be set and displayed so as to be included in a range near the center of the image field.
[0066] The same applies when the point of view of the user A at the site A is shared by the users B and C at the sites B and C and when the point of view of the user C at the site C is shared by the users A and B at the sites A and B.
(emphases added)
Thus, Homma teaches:
1) a point of view designated by a user can be shared with other users (see emphasized texts in [0059] above),
2) a user who designates the share of the point of view in 1) above (thus the point of view in 1) corresponds to a second-wide view image recited in the claim) makes the request for capturing during a real-time viewing of the first wide-view image by all of the users (see paragraphs [0060]-[0062] above),
3) the designated point of view is captured and the captured point of view is then transmitted to all users automatically (see at least [0063]-[0064] as quoted above),
4) at least each of the user A and user C sets and displays the point of view identified by the point-of-view information (while the first wide-view image is displayed in real-time in image filed 211 as shown in Figs. 27, 28, and 29A-29B).
5) there are multiple second wide-view images, each of which is shared by any user to other users as described in [0066] quoted above.
As such, Homma clearly teaches “each of second wide-view images being an image of the video including the first wide-view image and being captured by the image capturing apparatus in response to receiving a request for capturing from a user of the first communication terminal or the second communication terminal while a remote communication based on the video is carried out” and “the second wide-view image being displayed at both the first communication terminal and the second communication terminal while the remote communication is being carried out.”
The only difference between the teachings of Homma and the claimed invention is that Homma does not explicitly teach the second wide-view images being identified from a single displayed list of identification information. Instead, while Homma teaches there are multiple second wide-view images to be shared, only a case of one being shared is illustrated.
Taneichi is only relied upon to teach using a single list for identifying multiple view images.
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the teachings of Taneichi into the communication system taught by Homma in order to effectively accommodate multiple identification information of wide-view images concurrently shared by the multiple users as described in the Office Action.
Applicant’s other arguments on pages 11-12 are moot in view of the discussion of Homma above.
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, 6, 10-11, 16, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Homma et al. (US 2023/0269482 A1 – hereinafter Homma) and Taneichi et al. (US 2014/0184821 A1 – hereinafter Taneichi).
Regarding claim 1, Homma discloses a communication system (Fig. 1 – communication system 1) comprising circuitry configured to: transmit a video including a first wide-view image to a first communication terminal and a second communication terminal ([0058]; Fig. 1 – circuitry at site A transmits a video including a first wide-view image captured by capturing apparatus 10 as further described at least in [0053] to each of communication terminals 30A, 30B, and 30C, any of which can be a first communication terminal while any of the other can be a second communication terminal), the first wide-view image being an image captured by an image capturing apparatus that captures a wide-view image having a viewing angle in a wide range ([0053] – the first wide-view image being an image captured by the image capturing apparatus 10 that captures a spherical image which is a wide-view image having a viewing angle in a wide range of 180O to 360O); display, on a display of each of the first communication terminal and the second communication terminal ([0265] – display, on a display of each of communication terminals that have entered the virtual room, i.e. communication terminals 30A, 30B, and 30C), a screen including a first image field for displaying the first wide-view image (Figs. 28, 29A, 29B; [0261] – first image field 211), a second image field ([0262] – a new image field is added to the screen 400 to display a downloaded wide-view image while the video including wide-view image distributed in real time is continuously displayed in the first image field 211), and a display area (Figs. 28, 29A-29B – display area 402), the display area for displaying a list of identification information for identifying a respective second wide-view image captured by the image capturing apparatus (Figs. 28, 29A-29B – a list displaying identification information for a respective second wide-view still image captured by the image capturing apparatus 10 and shared by respective users as further described at least in [0268]), each of the second wide-view images being an image of the video including the first wide-view image and being captured by the image capturing apparatus in response to receiving a request for capturing from a user of the first communication terminal or the second communication terminal while a remote communication based on the video is carried out ([0059]-[0066] – each of the users can share a second wide-view image by making a request for capturing, thus a respective sharing is performed while a remote communication based on the video is carried out to provide real-time viewing of the first wide-view image by the users - also see “Response to Arguments” above); and in response to selection of an identification information from the list of identification information at the first communication terminal or the second communication terminal ([0294] – in response to any of the users pressing the download button that identifies the second wide-view still image), display, in the second image field, the second wide-view image that is identified with the selected identification information ([0262] – displaying in an added second image field, the second wide-view still image that is identified with the selection identification), the second wide-view image being displayed at both the first communication terminal and the second communication terminal while the remote communication is being carried out ([0065] – the second wide-view image being displayed at both users, i.e. user A and user C, while the remote communication based on the video is carried out to provide real-time viewing of the first wide-view image by the users - also see “Response to Arguments” above).
Homma does not disclose the list of identification information for identifying respective second wide-view images.
Taneichi discloses a list of identification information for identifying respective second wide-view images ([0055]; Fig. 6 – a communication terminal displays a list of identification for identifying respective second wide-view images as shown in Fig. 5(b)).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the teachings of Taneichi into the communication system taught by Homma in order to effectively accommodate multiple identification information of wide-view images concurrently shared by the multiple users.
Regarding claim 6, Homma in view of Taneichi also discloses the communication system according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to sort the identification information of the second wide-view images in the list displayed in the display area, based on dates and times of capturing the second wide-view images (Taneichi: Fig. 6).
The motivation for incorporating the teachings of Taneichi into the system has been discussed in claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 10, Homma discloses an information processing apparatus comprising circuitry configured to: transmit a video including a first wide-view image to a first communication terminal and a second communication terminal ([0058]; Fig. 1 – an apparatus comprising circuitry at site A transmits a video including a first wide-view image captured by capturing apparatus 10 as further described at least in [0053] to each of communication terminals 30A, 30B, and 30C, any of which can be a first communication terminal while any of the other can be a second communication terminal), the first wide-view image being an image captured by an image capturing apparatus that captures a wide-view image having a viewing angle in a wide range ([0053] – the first wide-view image being an image captured by the image capturing apparatus 10 that captures a spherical image which is a wide-view image having a viewing angle in a wide range of 180O to 360O); generate screen information for displaying a screen including a first image field for displaying the first wide-view image (Figs. 28, 29A, 29B; [0261] – first image field 211), a second image field ([0262] – a new image field is added to the screen 400 to display a downloaded wide-view image while the video including wide-view image distributed in real time is continuously displayed in the first image field 211), and a display area (Figs. 28, 29A-29B – display area 402), the display area for displaying a list of identification information for identifying a respective second wide-view image captured by the image capturing apparatus (Figs. 28, 29A-29B – a list displaying identification information for a respective second wide-view still image captured by the image capturing apparatus 10 and shared by respective users as further described at least in [0268]), each of the second wide-view images being an image of the video including the first wide-view image and being captured by the image capturing apparatus in response to receiving a request for capturing from a user of the first communication terminal or the second communication terminal while a remote communication based on the video is carried out ([0059]-[0066] – each of the users can share a second wide-view image by making a request for capturing, thus a respective sharing is performed while a remote communication based on the video is carried out to provide real-time viewing of the first wide-view image by the users - also see “Response to Arguments” above); transmit the list of identification information and the screen information to the first communication terminal and the second communication terminal ([0265] – transmitting the list and the screen information for display, on a display of each of communication terminals that have entered the virtual room, i.e. communication terminals 30A, 30B, and 30C); and in response to selection of an identification information from the list of identification information at the first communication terminal or the second communication terminal ([0294] – in response to any of the users pressing the download button that identifies the second wide-view still image), display, in the second image field, a second wide-view image of the second wide-view images that is identified with the selected identification information ([0262] – displaying in an added second image field, the second wide-view still image that is identified with the selection identification), the second wide-view image being displayed at both the first communication terminal and the second communication terminal while the remote communication is being carried out ([0065] – the second wide-view image being displayed at both users, i.e. user A and user C, while the remote communication based on the video is carried out to provide real-time viewing of the first wide-view image by the users - also see “Response to Arguments” above).
Homma does not disclose the list of identification information for identifying respective second wide-view images.
Taneichi discloses a list of identification information for identifying respective second wide-view images ([0055]; Fig. 6 – a communication terminal displays a list of identification for identifying respective second wide-view images as shown in Fig. 5(b)).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the teachings of Taneichi into the apparatus taught by Homma in order to effectively accommodate multiple identification information of wide-view images concurrently shared by the multiple users.
Claim 11 is rejected for the same reason as discussed in claim 10 above.
Claim 16 is rejected for the same reason as discussed in claim 6 above.
Claim 20 is rejected for the same reason as discussed in claim 6 above.
Claims 2, 7, 12 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Homma and Taneichi as applied to claims 1, 6, 10-11, 16, and 20 above, and further in view of Ganschow (US 2020/0245017 A1 – hereinafter Ganschow).
Regarding claim 2, see the teachings of Homma and Taneichi as discussed in claim 1 above. However, Homma and Taneichi do not disclose, in a case where the second image field in the screen includes a previously-displayed second wide-view image, the circuitry is configured to update the screen such that the previously-displayed second wide-view image is changed to the second wide-view image identified with the selected identification information.
Ganschow discloses in a case where a second image field in a screen includes a previously-displayed second image, circuitry is configured to update the screen such that the previously-displayed second image is changed to a second image identified with a selected identification information (Figs. 11A-11B; [0113]; [0115]).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the teachings of Ganschow into the communication system taught by Homma and Taneichi to enhance the display interface by replacing an image that the user already viewed with an image that the user wants to view, thus keeping the interface simple without opening too many image fields.
Regarding claim 7, Homma in view of Taneichi also discloses the communication system according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to display the list of identification information in the display area (Taneichi: Fig. 6).
The motivation for incorporating the teachings of Taneichi into the system has been discussed in claim 1 above.
However, Homma and Taneichi do not disclose the second image field for displaying the second wide-view image identified with the identification information is selectable.
Ganschow discloses circuitry configured to display a list of identification information in a display area such that a second image field for displaying a second image identified with the identification information is selectable ([0096] – the image field can be selected for resizing).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the teachings of Black into the communication system taught by Homma and Taneichi to enhance the user interface of the system by resizing the image fields so that they do not block each other so that the user can easily view the content in each of the image fields.
Claim 12 is rejected for the same reason as discussed in claim 2 above.
Claim 17 is rejected for the same reason as discussed in claim 7 above.
Claims 3-5 and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Homma and Taneichi as applied to claims 1, 6, 10-11, 16, and 20 above, and further in view of Black et al. (US 2014/0036090 A1 – hereinafter Black).
Regarding claim 3, see the teachings of Homma and Taneichi as discussed in claim 1 above. However, Homma and Taneichi do not disclose in response to selection of another identification information from the list of identification information at the first communication terminal or the second communication terminal, the circuitry is configured to add a new second image field to the screen and display, in the new second image field, another second wide-view image identified with the selected another identification information.
Black discloses in response to selection of another identification information from a list of identification information at a first communication terminal or a second communication terminal, circuitry is configured to add a new second image field to the screen and display, in the new second image field, another second image identified with the selected another identification information (Figs. 3-5).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the teachings of Black into the communication system taught by Homma and Taneichi to allow the user to view multiple images concurrently which would have been advantageous in comparison of images, etc.
Regarding claim 4, Homma in view of Taneichi and Black also discloses the communication system according to claim 3, wherein the circuitry is configured to display, on the screen, the second wide-view image displayed in the second image field and said another second wide-view image displayed in the new second image field (Black: Figs. 3-4 ) such that the second wide-view image and said another second wide-view image are sorted based on dates and times of capturing the second wide-view image and said another second wide-view image (Taneichi: Fig. 6).
The motivation for incorporating the teachings of Taneichi and Black into the system has been discussed in claim 1 and claim 3 respectively above.
Regarding claim 5, see the teachings of Homma, Taneichi, and Black as discussed in claim 3 above, in which Black also discloses the circuitry is configured to change a size of at least one of a first image field, the second image field, or the new second image field to make the first image field, the second image field, and the new second image field visible on the screen (Figs. 4-5 – a second image field is resized to accommodate another second image field).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the further teachings of Black into the communication system proposed in claim 3 to enhance the user interface of the system by resizing the image fields so that they do not block each other so that the user can easily view the content in each of the image fields.
Claim 13 is rejected for the same reason as discussed in claim 3 above.
Claim 14 is rejected for the same reason as discussed in claim 4 above.
Claim 15 is rejected for the same reason as discussed in claim 5 above.
Claims 8-9 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Homma and Taneichi as applied to claims 1, 6, 10-11, 16, and 20 above, and further in view of Ueda et al. (US 2023/0269481 A1 – hereinafter Ueda).
Regarding claim 8, Homma in view of Taneichi also discloses the communication system according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to display the second wide-view image in the second image field based on point-of-view information indicating a point of view designated for the first wide-view image ([0262]).
However, Homma and Taneichi do not disclose the point of view indicated by the point-of-view information matches a center of the second image field.
Ueda discloses a point of view indicated by a point-of-view information matches a center of a second image field (Fig. 35).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the teachings of Ueda into the communication system taught by Homma and Taneichi to provide better viewing experience to the user.
Regarding claim 9, see the teachings of Homma and Taneichi also discloses communication system according to claim 1, wherein, in a case where the circuitry additionally displays another second wide-view image in the second image field, the circuitry displays the second wide-view image and said another second wide-view image ([0263] – adding new image field in view of Taneichi disclosing selecting any identification information from the list).
However, Homma and Taneichi do not disclose a point-of-view indicated by point-of-view information of any one of the second wide-view image and said another second wide-view image matches a center of the second image field.
Ueda discloses a point-of-view indicated by point-of-view information of any one of a second wide-view image and another second wide-view image matches a center of the second image field (Fig. 35).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the teachings of Ueda into the communication system taught by Homma and Taneichi to provide better viewing experience to the user.
Claim 18 is rejected for the same reason as discussed in claim 8 above.
Claim 19 is rejected for the same reason as discussed in claim 9 above.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUNG Q DANG whose telephone number is (571)270-1116. The examiner can normally be reached IFT.
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/HUNG Q DANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2484
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