Appeal No. 2003-1121
Application 09/189,179
the surrounding virtual environment.
Fallacaro discloses a system for stimulating a viewer in
real time correspondence with one or more events occurring during
an audio and/or visual presentation (col. 1, lines 7-11).
Fallacaro discloses (col. 3, lines 24-41):
By way of example, the events may comprise punches
thrown and landed by boxers in a boxing match, and the
stimulation may comprise a gentle rap applied across
the knuckles of the viewers each time a boxer lands a
punch. In this embodiment, the viewers have the option
of selecting as between the two boxers such that a rap
will be applied across the knuckles of the viewers only
in response to punches landed by one or the other of
the two boxers. In another embodiment, the events
comprise specific frequencies occurring during a
concert, and the stimulation comprises impacting some
portion of the listener’s body each time the specific
frequencies occur. In a still further embodiment, the
events may comprise shots fired by tanks as viewed on a
video monitor in accordance with instruction received
from a video cartridge, and the stimulation may
comprise simulated firing of a three dimensional toy
tank situated in proximity to the participants.
The examiner argues (answer, page 6):
Fisher teaches a tactile input glove device which means
a user’s hand can feel the touch when a virtual body (a
glove on a display) contacting (selecting) a virtual
object (see figures 7-8) and tactile means for feeling
or means proceeding from the sense of touch (see
Webster’s II New Riverside University Dictionary). On
the other hand, if Fischer’s tactile input glove is not
provided a tactile feedback to a user to indicate a
virtual body contacting a virtual object, the tactile
input glove has no meaning since the tactile glove is
for a user to wear to controlling the motion or
movement of a virtual object on a display.
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