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 .
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).
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,562,085. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other as will be explained after the comparison chart below:
U.S. Patent No. 12,562,085
Instant Application
1. A method performed by a head mounted display (HMD) device, the method comprising: determining a sleep onset preparation start time; and displaying, on a display, a sleep onset preparation screen to which a visual effect is applied, from the sleep onset preparation start time, in a stepwise manner during a sleep onset preparation time interval, wherein the visual effect that is applied in the stepwise manner comprises a visual effect of switching a virtual screen output through an entire display area of the display to a video see through (VST) screen by increasing a depth of the virtual screen in the VST screen such that the virtual screen has an effect of moving away from a user wearing the HMD device, wherein the VST screen displays the virtual screen with a non-virtual screen as a background in the entire display area of the display, wherein the non-virtual screen is based on an image captured through a front camera, and wherein the virtual screen is based on content executed by the HMD device.
1. A method performed by a head mounted display (HMD) device, the method comprising: outputting a first screen with a first visual effect applied to a display in a first screen display mode; obtaining status measurement information indicating a status of a user; switching from the first screen display mode to a second screen display mode based on the obtained status measurement information; and outputting a second screen with a second visual effect applied to the display in the second screen display mode, wherein the second visual effect increases a depth of a virtual screen in the second screen based on the obtained status measurement information, such that the virtual screen has an effect of moving away from the user wearing the HMD device.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the sleep onset preparation start time comprises: measuring a fatigue level for the user; and determining the sleep onset preparation start time based on a determination that the fatigue level satisfies a predetermined threshold level.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the status measurement information includes first information related to a usage time of the HMD device.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the measuring the fatigue level comprises: performing a first measurement operation of measuring a duration in which eyes of the user are closed; performing a second measurement operation of measuring a number of blinks of the user, performing a third measurement operation of measuring a pupil diameter of the user; performing a fourth measurement operation of measuring an eyeball surface temperature of the user; performing a fifth measurement operation of measuring a heart rate variability of the user; and obtaining, based on at least one of the duration in which the eyes of the user are closed, the number of blinks, the pupil diameter, the eyeball surface temperature, or the heart rate variability, a fatigue level value indicating a level of the fatigue level.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the status measurement information includes second information related to a movement of the HMD device.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining the sleep onset preparation start time further comprises: obtaining the sleep onset preparation start time based on (i) at least one of a sleep onset target time or a wake-up target time of the user and (ii) the sleep onset preparation time interval, or obtaining the sleep onset preparation start time based on sleep data of the user, and wherein the visual effect is applied in the stepwise manner during the sleep onset preparation time interval.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the second information includes head motion information of the user.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein applying, in the stepwise manner, the visual effect during the sleep onset preparation time interval comprises: displaying, through the display, a message indicating whether to start to prepare for sleep onset at the sleep onset preparation start time; and determining whether to apply, in the stepwise manner, the visual effect based on interaction with the user.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual screen in the second screen has a size smaller than a size of a virtual screen included in the first screen.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual effect applied in the stepwise manner comprises at least one of a visual effect in which a proportion of the virtual screen occupied in the VST screen is reduced, in the stepwise manner, during the sleep onset preparation time interval or a visual effect in which a preset background screen is displayed over time during the sleep onset preparation time interval instead of the non-virtual screen.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the switching from the first screen display mode to the second screen display mode comprises: obtaining a fatigue level of the user based on the obtained status measurement information; and determining the depth of the virtual screen included in the second screen based on the obtained fatigue level.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual effect applied in the stepwise manner comprises: a visual effect of displaying the VST screen in which blue light is differentially adjusted for each object in the VST screen based on an attribute of one or more objects included in the VST screen; or a visual effect of displaying the VST screen in which illuminance is differentially adjusted for each object in the VST screen based on the attribute of the one or more objects included in the VST screen, and wherein the attribute of the one or more objects included in the VST screen comprises at least one of a first indicator indicating one of the non-virtual screen or the virtual screen including a corresponding object, a second indicator indicating whether the corresponding object emits light, or a third indicator indicating a light source type of the corresponding object.
7. The method of claim 2, wherein the switching from the first screen display mode to the second screen display mode comprises: obtaining a fatigue level of the user based on the usage time of the HMD device and a type of content; and determining the depth of the virtual screen included in the second screen based on the obtained fatigue level.
8. A head mounted display (HMD) device comprising: at least one memory storing one or more instructions; at least one sensor; at least one camera; a display; and at least one processor comprising a processing circuit, the at least one processor operatively coupled to the to the at least one sensor, the at least one camera, the display, and the at least one memory, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the HMD device to: determine a sleep onset preparation start time, display, on the display, a sleep onset preparation screen to which a visual effect is applied, from the sleep onset preparation start time, in a stepwise manner during a sleep onset preparation time interval, wherein the visual effect that is applied in the stepwise manner comprises a visual effect of switching a virtual screen output through an entire display area of the display to a video see through (VST) screen by increasing a depth of the virtual screen in the VST screen such that the virtual screen has an effect of moving away from a user wearing the HMD device, wherein the VST screen displays the virtual screen with a non-virtual screen as a background in the entire display area of the display, wherein the non-virtual screen is based on an image captured through a front camera, and wherein the virtual screen is based on content executed by the HMD device.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the type of content indicates one of text content, video content, or control content.
9. The HMD device of claim 8, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the HMD device to: measure a fatigue level of the user based on information collected from at least one of the at least one sensor or the at least one camera, and determine the sleep onset preparation start time based on a determination that the fatigue level satisfies a predetermined threshold level.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the switching from the first screen display mode to the second screen display mode comprises outputting guidance information for guiding a transition to the second screen display mode to the display, and wherein a screen on which the guidance information is output on the display includes visual graphic effects.
10. The HMD device of claim 9, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the HMD device to: measure a duration in which eyes of the user are closed, measure a number of blinks of the user, measure a pupil diameter of the user, measure an eyeball surface temperature of the user, or measure a heart rate variability of the user, and obtain, based on at least one of the duration in which the eyes of the user are closed, the number of blinks, the pupil diameter, the eyeball surface temperature, or the heart rate variability, a fatigue level value indicating a level of fatigue of the user.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting a user interface screen configured to select the first screen display mode or the second screen display mode to the display.
11. The HMD device of claim 9, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the HMD device to: obtain the sleep onset preparation start time based on a sleep onset target time or a wake-up target time of the user, or determine the sleep onset preparation start time based on (i) at least one of the sleep onset target time or the wake-up target time and (ii) the sleep onset preparation time interval, and wherein the visual effect is applied in the stepwise manner during the sleep onset preparation time interval.
11. A head mounted display (HMD) device comprising: at least one memory storing one or more instructions; at least one sensor; at least one camera; a display; and at least one processor comprising a processing circuit, the at least one processor operatively coupled to the to the at least one sensor, the at least one camera, the display, and the at least one memory, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the HMD device to: output a first screen with a first visual effect applied to the display in a first screen display mode; obtain status measurement information indicating a status of a user; switch from the first screen display mode to a second screen display mode based on the obtained status measurement information; and output a second screen with a second visual effect applied to the display in the second screen display mode, wherein the second visual effect increases a depth of a virtual screen in the second screen based on the obtained status measurement information, such that the virtual screen has an effect of moving away from the user wearing the HMD device.
12. The HMD device of claim 9, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the HMD device to obtain the sleep onset preparation start time based on sleep data of the user.
12. The HMD device of claim 11, wherein the status measurement information includes first information related to a usage time of the HMD device.
13. The HMD device of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: control the display to display, through the display, a message indicating whether to start to prepare for sleep onset at a time when the sleep onset preparation start time arrives; and determine whether to apply, in the stepwise manner, the visual effect based on interaction with the user using the at least one sensor or the at least one camera.
13. The HMD device of claim 11, wherein the status measurement information includes second information related to a movement of the HMD device.
14. The HMD device of claim 8, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the HMD device to: control the display to reduce, in the stepwise manner, a proportion of the virtual screen occupied in the VST screen during the sleep onset preparation time interval, or display a preset background screen over time during the sleep onset preparation time interval instead of the non-virtual screen.
14. The HMD device of claim 13, wherein the second information includes head motion information of the user.
15. The HMD device of claim 8, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the HMD device to: control the display to display the VST screen in which blue light is differentially adjusted for each object in the VST screen based on an attribute of one or more objects included in the VST screen, or to display the VST screen in which illuminance is differentially adjusted for each object in the VST screen based on the attribute of the one or more objects included in the VST screen, wherein the attribute of the one or more objects included in the VST screen comprises at least one of a first indicator indicating one of the non-virtual screen or the virtual screen including a corresponding object, a second indicator indicating whether the corresponding object emits light, or a third indicator indicating a light source type of the corresponding object.
15. The HMD device of claim 11, wherein the virtual screen in the second screen has a size smaller than a size of a virtual screen included in the first screen.
16. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by a processor in a head mounted display (HMD) device cause the processor to execute a method comprising: determining a sleep onset preparation start time; and displaying, on a display, a sleep onset preparation screen to which a visual effect is applied, from the sleep onset preparation start time, in a stepwise manner during a sleep onset preparation time interval, wherein the visual effect that is applied in the stepwise manner comprises a visual effect of switching a virtual screen output through an entire display area of the display to a video see through (VST) screen by increasing a depth of the virtual screen in the VST screen such that the virtual screen has an effect of moving away from a user wearing the HMD device, wherein the VST screen displays the virtual screen with a non-virtual screen as a background in the entire display area of the display, wherein the non-virtual screen is based on an image captured through a front camera, and wherein the virtual screen is based on content executed by the HMD device.
16. The HMD device of claim 11, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the HMD device to: obtain a fatigue level of the user based on the obtained status measurement information; and determine the depth of the virtual screen included in the second screen based on the obtained fatigue level.
17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the determining the sleep onset preparation start time comprises: measuring a fatigue level for the user, and determining the sleep onset preparation start time based on a determination that the fatigue level is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold level.
17. The HMD device of claim 12, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the HMD device to: obtain a fatigue level of the user based on the usage time of the HMD device and a type of content; and determine the depth of the virtual screen included in the second screen based on the obtained fatigue level.
18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the measuring the fatigue level comprises: performing a first measurement operation of measuring a duration in which eyes of the user are closed, performing a second measurement operation of measuring a number of blinks of the user, performing a third measurement operation of measuring a pupil diameter of the user, performing a fourth measurement operation of measuring an eyeball surface temperature of the user, performing a fifth measurement operation of measuring a heart rate variability of the user, and obtaining, based on at least one of the duration in which the eyes of the user are closed, the number of blinks, the pupil diameter, the eyeball surface temperature, or the heart rate variability, a fatigue level value indicating a level of the fatigue level for determining whether the fatigue level is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold level.
18. The HMD device of claim 17, wherein the type of content indicates one of text content, video content, or control content.
19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the determining the sleep onset preparation start time further comprises: obtaining the sleep onset preparation start time based on (i) at least one of a sleep onset target time or a wake-up target time of the user and (ii) the sleep onset preparation time interval, or obtaining the sleep onset preparation start time based on sleep data of the user, and wherein the visual effect is applied in the stepwise manner during the sleep onset preparation time interval.
19. The HMD device of claim 11, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the HMD device to: output guidance information for guiding a transition to the second screen display mode to the display, and wherein a screen on which the guidance information is output on the display includes visual graphic effects.
20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the visual effect applied in the stepwise manner comprises at least one of a visual effect in which a proportion of the virtual screen occupied in the VST screen is reduced, in the stepwise manner, during the sleep onset preparation time interval or a visual effect in which a preset background screen is displayed during the sleep onset preparation time interval instead of the non-virtual screen.
20. The HMD device of claim 11, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the HMD device to: output a user interface screen configured to select the first screen display mode or the second screen display mode to the display.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,562,085. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because, as can be appreciated in the comparison chart above, independent claims 1, 8, and 16 of U.S. Patent No. 12,562,085 include every single limitation of independent claims 1 and 11 of the instant application. In other words, claims 1 and 11 of the instant application are broader than claims 1, 8 and 11 of U.S. Patent No. 12,562,085, which besides including all the limitations of claims 1 and 11 of the instant application, further includes additional limitations, thereby being much narrower.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Claims 1-20 are allowable, since certain key features of the claimed invention are not taught or fairly suggested by the prior art. In claims 1 and 11, “the second visual effect increases a depth of a virtual screen in the second screen based on the obtained status measurement information, such that the virtual screen has an effect of moving away from the user wearing the HMD device.“. The closest prior art, Asakura (JP 2010187132), discloses a head mounted display (HMD) device (Fig. 1, (1) comprising: at least one memory storing one or more instructions (Fig. 3, (102-105); at least one sensor (Fig. 3, (8); at least one camera (Fig. 3, (2); a display (Fig. 2, (207)); and at least one processor comprising a processing circuit (Fig. 3, 101), the at least one processor operatively coupled to the to the at least one sensor, the at least one camera, the display, and the at least one memory (see Figs. 3 and 4), wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the HMD device to: determine a sleep onset preparation start time (page 15, lines 19-26), display, on the display, a sleep onset preparation screen to which a visual effect is applied, from the sleep onset preparation start time during a sleep onset preparation time interval (page 14, lines 18-22, and page 16, lines 19-26), comprises a visual effect of switching a virtual screen output through an entire display area of the display to a video see through (VST) screen (page 14, lines 18-22, and page 16, lines 1-2), wherein the VST screen displays the virtual screen with a non-virtual screen as a background in the entire display area of the display (page 16, lines 1-2), wherein the non-virtual screen is based on an image captured through a front camera, and wherein the virtual screen is based on content executed by the HMD device (page 1, lines 18-19, and page 2, lines 8-9). However, singularly or in combination, fails to anticipate or render the above underlined limitations obvious, together with all the other limitations of the claims.
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/RICARDO OSORIO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2625
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