The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
DETAILED ACTION
Current Status of Claims
This action responding to communication of December 5, 2025. Claims 1-24 are currently active in the application.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on December 5, 2025 was filed before the mailing date of the first action on merits. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(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) 1-7, 11-14, 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Bannai et al. (US Patent Publication Application 2006/0170652 A1).
In regard of claim 1, Bannai et al. disclose an input system comprising: an electronic stylus (See Figures 1 and 2A-2B of Bannai et al. illustrating input system with electronic stylus (41a) used for input as discussed in paragraph [0082]); a sensor device including a planar stylus sensor configured to detect a position and posture of the electronic stylus (See Figure 1 of Bannai et al. illustrating a sensor device (11a) detecting position and posture of the stylus (41a) as discussed in paragraphs [0089, 0091]); a wearable display device including a camera configured to capture an image of a space at least in front of a user (See Figures 1, 3 of Bannai et al. illustrating a wearable display device (HMD, 20a) including camera (22) capturing space in front of a user (S130) as discussed in paragraph [0122]); and at least one processor configured to perform display control on the wearable display device to display a virtual object in a display area of the wearable display device (See Figure 10 of Bannai et al. illustrating processor (1001) operating display device (1004) as discussed in paragraph [0189]); wherein the at least one processor performs: a detecting process that performs an image processing process on an image signal acquired from the camera to detect the sensor device and acquires a device state quantity representing a position and posture of the sensor device in a display coordinate space defined for the display control (See Figures 1, 10 and 3 of Bannai et al. illustrating detecting process (S130, S140, S150) representing a position of the sensor device (41A) in a display coordinate as discussed in paragraphs [0122-0125]), a calculating process that calculates coordinate transformation rules for mapping a sensor coordinate space defined by the sensor device onto the display coordinate space by using the device state quantity acquired by the detecting process (See Figure 4 of Bannai et al. wherein is shown that calulating process of coordinate transformation rules (S330) which is a transformation matrix used by Bannai et al. as coordinate transformation rules as discussed in paragraph [0144]), and a transforming process that transforms a first stylus state quantity representing a position and posture of the electronic stylus in the sensor coordinate space to a second stylus state quantity representing a position and posture of the electronic stylus in the display coordinate space according to the calculated coordinate transformation rules (See Figures 1 and 5 of Bannai et al. illustrating a transformation process (S500, S511), which is discussed in paragraphs [0152-0155] wherein the stylus information receiving unit (31a) receives the instruction stylus relative position and image generating unit (13) transforms the first stylus state quantity coordinate space of world coordinate system to lay out in the space wherein the operator exists and values in the camera coordinate system as the operator viewpoint transformed into data in the operator world coordinate system).
In regard of claim 2, Bannai et al. further discloses the input system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor further performs a determining process for determining contents of a stylus action using the electronic stylus based on the second stylus state quantity (See Figure 1 of Bannai et al. illustrating performing determining process (16) for determining contents of a stylus action (31a, 11a) based on the second stylus state quantity as discussed in paragraphs [0088-0092]).
In regard of claim 3, Bannai et al. further discloses the input system according to claim 2, wherein the stylus action includes: a pick-up action for moving the virtual object disposed outside of the sensor device to the position of the sensor device, and a drop-off action for moving the virtual object at the position of the sensor device to a position outside of the sensor device after the pick-up action (See Figures 2A-2B of Bannai et al. and paragraph [0117] discussing that manipulation of the virtual object (43) can be done when the point of the stylus (41a) is brought into contact with a virtual object (43) to be manipulated).
In regard of claim 4, Bannai et al. further discloses the input system according to claim 3, wherein the pick-up action or the drop-off action includes an action for dragging and dropping the virtual object by making a change in a position or direction pointed by the electronic stylus (See paragraph [0117] of Bannai et al. discussing that by second pressing the button provided on the stylus (41) during the virtual object holding mode, the holding mode is canceled and manipulation is interrupted).
In regard of claim 5, Bannai et al. further discloses the input system according to claim 4, wherein the action for dragging and dropping the virtual object is activated while a switch of the electronic stylus is being operated (See Figure 5, (S520) is manipulation is made when instructor stylus button (switch) is operated as discussed in paragraph [0117]).
In regard of claim 6, Bannai et al. further discloses the input system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor further performs: a selecting process for selecting whether a stylus action performed by the user using the electronic stylus is a first action on the sensor device or a second action on the wearable display device, and a determining process for, if the stylus action performed by the user is the first action, determining contents of the stylus action on the sensor device by using the first stylus state quantity, and if the stylus action performed by the user is the second action, determining contents of the stylus action on the wearable display device by using the second stylus state quantity (See Figure 5 of Bannai et al. illustrating input system function based on three different selecting process (S500, S511, S590) as discussed in paragraphs [0151-0160]).
In regard of claim 7, Bannai et al. further discloses the input system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor further performs: a selecting process for selecting whether a stylus action performed by the user using the electronic stylus is a first action on the sensor coordinate space or a second action on the display coordinate space, and a determining process for, if the stylus action performed by the user is the first action, determining contents of the stylus action on the sensor coordinate space by using the first stylus state quantity, and if the stylus action performed by the user is the second action, determining contents of the stylus action on the display coordinate space by using the second stylus state quantity (See Figure 5 of Bannai et al. illustrating selecting process of stylus action on the sensor coordinate place (S510) or determining contents of the stylus action (S520) as discussed in paragraph [0156-0157]).
In regard of claim 11, Bannai et al. further discloses the input system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor further performs a tracking process for tracking the electronic stylus in the display coordinate space by successively repeating the detecting process, the calculating process, and the transforming process (See Figures 1, 3 of Bannai et al. illustrating tracking (31a) for stylus (41a) periodically repeated steps (S130-S230) as discussed in paragraph [0138])
In regard of claim 12, Bannai et al. further discloses the input system according to claim 11, wherein the first stylus state quantity represents: a detected value detected by the stylus sensor, or a cumulative value obtained by accumulating distances that the electronic stylus has moved and that have been successively measured by an inertial sensor of the electronic stylus, and, in the transforming process, the at least one processor transforms the cumulative value as the first stylus state quantity to the second stylus state quantity if the detected value is not acquired (See Figures 1 and 3 of Bannai et al. illustrating first stylus quantity detected value (S150) by stylus sensor (41a) and transforming process shown in Figures 4- 5, reference numeral (S330, S500, S511) transforms the cumulative value as the first stylus state quantity to the second stylus state quantity if the detected value is not acquired as discussed in paragraphs [0144-0145]).
In regard of claim 13, Bannai et al. further discloses the input system according to claim 12, wherein the at least one processor further performs an acquiring process for acquiring a corrective quantity for bringing the cumulative value closer to the detected value, and, in the transforming process, the at least one processor corrects the cumulative value by using the corrective quantity and transforms the corrected cumulative value to the second stylus state quantity (See Figures 4-5 of Bannai et al. illustrating acquiring process (S340) as also discussed in paragraph [0144-0145]).
In regard of claim 14, Bannai et al. further discloses the input system according to claim 11, wherein the second stylus state quantity represents: a transformed value obtained by the transforming process, or a detected value obtained by detection of the electronic stylus in the detecting process, and the at least one processor further performs a determining process for determining contents of the stylus action in the display coordinate space by using the detected value as the second stylus state quantity if the transformed value is not acquired (See Figures 4-5 of Bannai et al. illustrating the second stylus state quantity (S340) obtained by the transforming process as discussed in paragraphs [0144-146]).
In regard of claim 24, Bannai et al. further discloses an input method using an input system, the input system including: an electronic stylus, a sensor device including a planar stylus sensor configured to detect a position and posture of the electronic stylus, a wearable display including a camera configured to capture an image of a space at least in front of the user, and at least one processor for performing display control on the wearable display device to display a virtual object in a display area of the wearable display device, the input method comprising: by the at least one processor, a detecting step that performs an image processing process on an image signal acquired from the camera to detect the sensor device and acquires a device state quantity representing a position and posture of the sensor device in a display coordinate space defined for the display control; a calculating step that calculates coordinate transformation rules for mapping a sensor coordinate space defined by the sensor device onto the display coordinate space, by using the device state quantity acquired by the detecting step; and a transforming step that transforms a first stylus state quantity representing a position and posture of the electronic stylus in the sensor coordinate space to a second stylus state quantity representing a position and posture of the electronic stylus in the display coordinate space according to the calculated coordinate transformation rules (See rejection of claim 1 provided 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.
Claim(s) 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bannai et al. (US Patent Publication Application 2006/0170652 A1) in view of Evreinov et al. (US Patent Publication Application 2016/0282970 A1).
In regard of claim 8, Bannai et al. further discloses the input system according to claim 1.
However, the reference to Bannai et al. does not show the details on the stylus and specifically wherein the electronic stylus includes a plurality of haptic devices configured to give a sense of touch from a plurality of positions along circumferential directions of the electronic stylus to a part of the user that is touching the electronic stylus, and the at least one processor further performs a commanding process for commanding the haptic devices to operate to give the sense of touch at a position corresponding to a direction along which an inertial force or a repulsive force is produced as the electronic stylus moves.
In the same field of endeavor, Evreinov et al. discloses a stylus (100) shown in Figure 2 including a plurality of haptic devices (138) illustrated in Figure 3B which provide sense of touch and position along circumferential direction of the stylus cover (130) as discussed in paragraphs [0042-0043] and provide tactile signal like forces, vibration and movements and support interactive operation.
Therefore, it would be obvious for a person skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use stylus of Evreinov et al. with the system of Bannai et al. in order to improve the precision of the touch input rather than using a finger.
In regard of claim 9, Bannai et al. and Evreinov et al. further disclose the input system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic stylus includes a haptic device configured to give a sense of touch to a part of the user that is touching the electronic stylus, and the at least one processor further performs a commanding process for commanding the haptic device to change an operation quantity of the haptic device depending on speed of movement of the electronic stylus or a type of the virtual object (See Figures 2-4 of Evreinove et al. illustrating a haptic device giving sensation to the user when touching and having on the printed circuit board (132) processor (164) which performs commanding for haptic device (116, 148) depending on speed of movement of the stylus (180) as discussed in paragraph [0046-0047] of Evreinov et al.).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10 and 15-23 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The references found pertinent to instant invention:
US Patent Publication 2007/0132662 to Morita discloses the system for detecting position of stylus (120) and list images in a virtual space (110) according to orientation of a viewpoint of the observer (100) as shown in Figure 1.
US Patent Publication 2022/0066577 to Watanabe et al. discloses an input system to the display of the wearable device (20) by using stylus (30) illustrated in Figure 1.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Olga Aronovich whose telephone number is (571)270-7796. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri. from 7:30-5:00.
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/OLGA V MERKOULOVA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2629
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