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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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)(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.
Claims 1, 6-8, 10-11, and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ach et al (US 2018/0088676 A1).
Claim 1, Ach (Fig. 1a-11) discloses a system (100; Fig. 1a and 1b) for adjusting (Fig. 6a-6f) a user interface (108 Fig. 1c; Paragraph [0029]), the system (100; Fig. 1a and 1b) comprising one or more processors (104; Fig. 1a; Paragraph [0021]; wherein discloses a “processor”), wherein the system (100; Fig. 1a and 1b) is configured (Fig. 11) to:
determine (106a-106c; Fig. 5a; wherein discloses sensor components) a position of a first point of reference (200c; Fig. 5a; Paragraph [0048]; wherein discloses a second tracked position) based on a position of a first point (200c; Fig. 5a; Paragraph [0048]; wherein discloses based on the position of an eye) on a body (200b; Fig. 5a) of a user (200; Fig. 5a);
determine (106a-106c; Fig. 5a; wherein discloses sensor components) a position of a second point of reference (200a; Fig. 5a; Paragraph [0048]; wherein discloses a first tracked position) based on a position of a pointing indicator (200a; Fig. 5a; Paragraph [0048]; wherein discloses based on the position of user’s hand) used by the user (200; Fig. 5a);
determine a position (206; Fig. 5a; Paragraph [0051]) in the user interface (108; Fig. 5a) based on the first point of reference (200c; Fig. 5a) and the second point of reference (200a; Fig. 5a);
adjust (Fig. 6a-6f; wherein figure shows adjusting of element 108b) the user interface (108; Fig. 6a-6f) based on the determined position (206; Fig. 6a-6f) in the user interface (108; Fig. 6a-6f);
generate a display signal (Paragraph [0061-0062]) comprising the adjusted user interface (Fig. 6a-6f; wherein figure shows adjusting of element 108b); and
provide (Fig. 1a and 1b) the display signal (Paragraph [0022]) to a display device (108; Fig. 1a and 1b).
Claim 14, Ach (Fig. 1a-11) discloses a method (Fig. 11) for controlling (104; Fig. 1a and 1b) a user interface (108; Fig. 6a-6f), the method (Fig. 11) comprising:
determining (106a-106c; Fig. 5a; wherein discloses sensor components) a position of a first point of reference (200c; Fig. 5a; Paragraph [0048]; wherein discloses a second tracked position) based on a position of a first point (200c; Fig. 5a; Paragraph [0048]; wherein discloses based on the position of an eye) on a body (200b; Fig. 5a) of a user (200; Fig. 5a);
determining (106a-106c; Fig. 5a; wherein discloses sensor components) a position of a second point of reference (200a; Fig. 5a; Paragraph [0048]; wherein discloses a first tracked position) based on a position of a pointing indicator (200a; Fig. 5a; Paragraph [0048]; wherein discloses based on the position of user’s hand) used by the user (200; Fig. 5a);
determining a position (206; Fig. 5a; Paragraph [0051]) in the user interface (108; Fig. 5a) based on the first point of reference (200c; Fig. 5a) and the second point of reference (200a; Fig. 5a);
adjusting (Fig. 6a-6f; wherein figure shows adjusting of element 108b) the user interface (108; Fig. 6a-6f) based on the determined position (206; Fig. 6a-6f) in the user interface (108; Fig. 6a-6f);
generating a display signal (Paragraph [0061-0062]) comprising the adjusted user interface (Fig. 6a-6f; wherein figure shows adjusting of element 108b); and
providing (Fig. 1a and 1b) the display signal (Paragraph [0022]) to a display device (108; Fig. 1a and 1b).
Claim 6, Ach (Fig. 1a-11) discloses wherein the system (100; Fig. 1a and 1b) is configured to adjust the user interface (108; Fig. 6a-6f) by controlling the user interface 108; Fig. 6a-6f) to animate a transition of a display position (Fig. 6d; Paragraph [0072]) of a selected user interface element (108b; Fig. 6d) from an initial display position of the selected user interface element (108b*; Fig. 6d) to the a changed display position (108b; Fig. 6d) at a pre-defined distance from the pointing indicator (206; Fig. 6d).
Claim 7, Ach (Fig. 1a-11) discloses wherein the system (100; Fig. 1a and 1b) is configured to adjust the user interface (108; Fig. 6a-6f) by controlling the user interface (108; Fig. 6d) to change an opacity of the selected user interface element (108b*; Fig. 6d) while the selected user interface element is shown at the changed display position (108b; Fig. 6d).
Claim 8, Ach (Fig. 1a-11) discloses wherein the system (100; Fig. 1a and 1b) s configured to adjust the user interface (108; Fig. 6a-6f) by controlling the user interface (108; Fig. 6b) to change a shape (Paragraph [0067]; wherein discloses change shape of the object) of the selected user interface element (108b; Fig. 6b) while the user interface element (108b; Fig. 6b) is shown at the changed display position (206; Fig. 6b).
Claim 10, Ach (Fig. 1a-11) discloses wherein the system (100; Fig. 1a and 1b) is configured to process (104; Fig. 1a and 1b; Paragraph [0063]) at least one of depth sensor data of a depth sensor, imaging sensor data of a camera sensors (106a-106c; Fig. 5a) and or stereo imaging sensor data of a stereo camera, to determine (Fig. 11) at least one of the position of the first point of reference (200c; Fig. 5a), and the position of the second point of reference (200a; Fig. 5a), or an identity of the user.
Claim 11, Ach (Fig. 1a-11) discloses wherein the system (100; Fig. 1a and 1b) is configured to determine the positions of joints of a skeletal model (706; Fig. 4b; Paragraph [0038]) of the body of the user (200; Fig. 4a) by processing (104; Fig. 1a and 1b) the depth sensor data, the imaging sensor data (106a-106b; Fig. 5a), and/or the stereo imaging sensor data, and to determine (Fig. 11) at least one of the position of the first point of reference (200c; Fig. 5a) or the position of the second point of reference (200a; Fig. 5a) based on the positions of the joints of the skeletal model (706; Fig. 4b; Paragraph [0038]).
Claim 13, Ach (Fig. 1a-11) discloses wherein the system (100; Fig. 1a and 1b) is configured to highlight (802; Fig. 8; Paragraph [0086]) the determined position (206; Fig. 8) in the user interface (108; Fig. 8).
Claim 15, Ach (Fig. 1a-11) discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium having a program code stored thereon (See claim 24; 112; Fig. 1b), the program code (Fig. 11), when executed by one or more processors (104; Fig. 1a and 1b; Paragraph [0022]), causing performance of the method (Fig. 11) according to claim 14 (See rejection to claim 14 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 2-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ach et al (US 2018/0088676 A1) in view of Trajkovic (US 6,531,999 B1) and Takahashi (US 2010/0192107 A1).
Claim 2, Ach discloses the system according to claim 1.
Ach does not expressly disclose wherein the system is configured to:
obtain imaging sensor data of a camera sensor; and
determine an identity of the user based on the imaging sensor data.
Trajkovic (Fig. 1-3) discloses wherein the system (102; Fig. 2) is configured to:
obtain imaging sensor data (130; Fig. 1) of a camera sensor (104-1 through 104-2; Fig. 1); and
determine an identity of the user (152; Fig. 3) based on the imaging sensor data (130; Fig. 1).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Ach’s display system by applying identifying the user, as taught by Trajkovic, so to use a display system with identifying the user for providing resulting calibration information is used in a subsequent pointing direction determination, and ensures that the pointing direction determination is more accurate than would otherwise be possible without the calibration (Col. 1, Lines 58-65).
Ach in view of Trajkovic does not expressly disclose adjust the user interface by providing the determined position in the user interface with a link to the identity of the user.
Takahashi (Fig. 1-17) discloses adjust the user interface (3; Fig. 1 and 2) by providing the determined position in the user interface (Fig. 7; wherein figure shows cursor with image of user; Paragraph [0085]) with a link to the identity of the user (Fig. 7; wherein discloses an explanatory note of cursor images is shown on the upper right portion of the display screen; Paragraph [0085]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Ach in view of Trajkovic’s display system by applying a cursor information, as taught by Takahashi, so to use a display system with a cursor information for a shared information display device is able to arrange pointing cursors of participating users on a shared screen so as to facilitate the work (Paragraph [0008]).
Claim 3, Takahashi (Fig. 1-17) discloses wherein the system (Fig. 2) is configured to:
provide the link to the identity of the user (Fig. 7; wherein discloses an explanatory note of cursor images is shown on the upper right portion of the display screen; Paragraph [0085]) by generating a visual representation of the user (Fig. 7; wherein discloses an explanatory note of cursor images is shown on the upper right portion of the display screen; Paragraph [0085]) pointing towards the position in the user interface (Fig. 7; wherein figure shows cursor with image of user; Paragraph [0085]) based on the determined identity of the user (Paragraph [0058]) and based on the determined position in the user interface (Fig. 7; wherein figure shows cursor with image of user; Paragraph [0085]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Ach in view of Trajkovic’s display system by applying a cursor information, as taught by Takahashi, so to use a display system with a cursor information for a shared information display device is able to arrange pointing cursors of participating users on a shared screen so as to facilitate the work (Paragraph [0008]).
Claim 4, Takahashi (Fig. 1-17) discloses wherein the system (Fig. 2) is configured to generate the visual representation of the user pointing towards the position in the user interface (Fig. 7; Paragraph [0085]; wherein discloses “a cursor image of each user displayed on a display screen is prepared by combining an avatar image prepared on the basis of an image file of an avatar image of each user described in user attribute information illustrated in FIG. 4 and a given arrow image”) with a positional indicator highlighting the determined position in the user interface (Fig. 7; wherein figure shows an arrow image), an indicator representing the identity of the user (Fig. 7; wherein figure shows an avatar image with arrow), and a visual link between the positional indicator Fig. 7; wherein discloses an explanatory note of cursor images is shown on the upper right portion of the display screen; Paragraph [0085]) and the indicator representing the identity of the user (Fig. 7; wherein further discloses the name of the user).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Ach in view of Trajkovic’s display system by applying a cursor information, as taught by Takahashi, so to use a display system with a cursor information for a shared information display device is able to arrange pointing cursors of participating users on a shared screen so as to facilitate the work (Paragraph [0008]).
Claim 5, Takahashi (Fig. 1-17) discloses wherein the indicator representing the identity of the user (Fig. 7; Paragraph [0085]; wherein discloses “a cursor image of each user displayed on a display screen is prepared by combining an avatar image prepared on the basis of an image file of an avatar image of each user described in user attribute information illustrated in FIG. 4 and a given arrow image”) comprises at least one of a textual representation of the identity of the users (Fig. 6) and an image of the user, or an avatar of the user (Fig. 7).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Ach in view of Trajkovic’s display system by applying a cursor information, as taught by Takahashi, so to use a display system with a cursor information for a shared information display device is able to arrange pointing cursors of participating users on a shared screen so as to facilitate the work (Paragraph [0008]).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ach et al (US 2018/0088676 A1) in view of Kim (US 2012/0206333 A1).
Claim 9, Ach discloses the system according to claim 6.
Ach does not expressly disclose wherein the system is configured to adjust the user interface by controlling the user interface to sub-divide or extend the selected user interface element into a group of two or more sub user interface elements, and to control the user interface to set a display position of the group of two or more sub user interface elements such that the group of two or more sub user interface elements appears to be positioned at the pre-defined distance from the pointing indicator.
Kim (Fig. 1-6) discloses wherein the system (1; Fig. 1) is configured to adjust the user interface (30; Fig. 1) by controlling the user interface to sub-divide (Fig. 2B) or extend the selected user interface element (Music; Fig. 2B) into a group of two or more sub user interface elements (Item1-item4; Fig. 2b), and to control the user interface (30; Fig. 1) to set a display position of the group of two or more sub user interface elements (Item1-item4; Fig. 2b) such that the group of two or more sub user interface elements (item1-item4; Fig. 2b) appears to be positioned at the pre-defined distance (Fig. 2B; wherein figure shows list to be to be positioned at the pre-defined distance from the pointing indicator (X)) from the pointing indicator (X; Fig. 2B).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Ach’s display system by applying submenus, as taught by Kim, so to use a display system with submenus for providing a method capable of controlling electronic equipment without using a pointer on a display surface of the electronic equipment and exactly selecting a specific area on the display surface as if a user delicately touched a touch panel (Paragraph [0006]).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ach et al (US 2018/0088676 A1) in view of Bychkov et al (US 2013/0321265 A1).
Claim 12, Ach discloses the system according to claim 1.
Ach does not expressly disclose wherein the system is configured to:
obtain audio sensor data of a microphone;
determine an utterance of the user from the audio sensor data; and
adjust the user interface by annotating the determined position in the user interface based on the determined utterance.
Bychkov (Fig. 1-12B) discloses wherein the system is configured to:
obtain audio sensor data of a microphone (54; Fig. 2; Paragraph [0048]);
determine an utterance (Paragraph [0093]) of the user (22; Fig. 1) from the audio sensor data (54; Fig. 2); and
adjust the user interface (28; Fig. 8) by annotating the determined position (120; Fig. 8) in the user interface (28; Fig. 8) based on the determined utterance (Paragraph [0048]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Ach’s display system by applying a microphone, as taught by Bychkov, so to use a display system with a microphone for providing methods and systems for interacting with items presented on a display, and receiving non-tactile feedback, thereby compensating for the lack of tactile feedback (Paragraph [0036]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADAM J SNYDER whose telephone number is (571)270-3460. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Chanh D Nguyen can be reached at (571)272-7772. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Adam J Snyder/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2623 09/14/2026
