Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 17/978,355

METHOD FOR PROVIDING USER INTERFACE BASED ON LOCATIONAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE THEREFOR

Non-Final OA §103§112
Filed
Nov 01, 2022
Examiner
HE, WEIMING
Art Unit
2611
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
OA Round
5 (Non-Final)
46%
Grant Probability
Moderate
5-6
OA Rounds
3y 4m
To Grant
60%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 46% of resolved cases
46%
Career Allow Rate
190 granted / 410 resolved
-15.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+13.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 4m
Avg Prosecution
40 currently pending
Career history
450
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.4%
-32.6% vs TC avg
§103
59.2%
+19.2% vs TC avg
§102
12.4%
-27.6% vs TC avg
§112
15.0%
-25.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 410 resolved cases

Office Action

§103 §112
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 . Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 9/2/2025 has been entered. Response to Amendment The amendment filed on 9/2/2025 has been entered and made of record. Claims 1, 6, 11, 14 and 16 are amended. Claims 4-5, 10 and 19-20 are cancelled. Claims 23-24 are new. Claims 1-3, 6-9, 11-18 and 21-24 are pending. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejections of independent claims 1, 11 and 16 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant asserts that the combination of Lee and Meyer fails to teach new limitations “responsive to detecting movement of the at least one external electronic device out of the identified relative position into a new relative position, select a third function pre-associated with the new relative position, remove the second function and the second interface from display by the at least one external electronic device, and cause the at least one external electronic device to display a third interface corresponding to the third function” (p. 13-14 of Remarks). Examiner notices that applicant describes a function in [0115], which is reproduced as below. It is obvious that a set of functions can be defined in the application, and a specific function need to be loaded in the memory before execution. It is unclear how to remove the function from display: does it mean to remove that specified function from the application? However, if the external electronic device moves back to previous location, it will cause the external electronic device to execute that specific function again. Therefore, the above argued limitation is not supported by the written description in the specification. PNG media_image1.png 563 659 media_image1.png Greyscale Examiner also Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. Claims 1-3, 6-9, 11-18 and 21-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Independent claims 1, 11 and 16 cite the limitation “responsive to detecting movement of the at least one external electronic device out of the identified relative position into a new relative position, select a third function pre-associated with the new relative position, remove the second function and the second interface from display by the at least one external electronic device, and cause the at least one external electronic device to display a third interface corresponding to the third function”. Here, the cited “function” is merely a control command that is not displayed on the screen. Examiner notices that there is no written description in the specification to support “removing a function from display”. Claims 2-3, 6-9 and 12-15, 17-18, 21-24 are dependent claims and rejected under the similar rationale. Claims 7 and 25 recite “wherein the electronic device and the at least one external electronic device are devices grouped by a same user account”, which is not supported by the specification. Applicant discloses “For example, the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 203 may indicate user account-based devices which are grouped by a user account” in [0256]. Here, the group is defined by a user account, rather than all user accounts having same user account. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 1-3, 6-9, 11-18 and 21-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Independent claims 1, 11 and 16 cite the limitation “responsive to detecting movement of the at least one external electronic device out of the identified relative position into a new relative position, select a third function pre-associated with the new relative position, remove the second function and the second interface from display by the at least one external electronic device, and cause the at least one external electronic device to display a third interface corresponding to the third function”. It is unclear how to perform removing the second function from display because the cited second function is not the displayed content on the screen. For the purpose of the prosecution of the application, the claim language “remove the second function…from display by the at least one external electronic device” can be interpreted as selecting a different function by the at least one external electronic device. Claims 2-3, 6-9 and 12-15, 17-18, 21-24 are dependent claims and rejected under the similar rationale. 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 of this title, 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 1-3, 6, 8-9, 11-14, 16-18 and 23-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 2017/0366937) in view of Meyer et al. (US 2022/0038883 A1) and Kim et al. (US 2015/0119008 A1). As to Claim 1, Lee teaches An electronic device comprising: communication circuitry including a short-range wireless communication circuitry; a display; a processor (Lee, [0003] and Fig 1a & 2), and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to: store in the memory a plurality of functions, each function pre-associated with a respective orientation of the electronic device relative to another electronic device (Lee discloses “In operation 401, the electronic device may execute a plurality of functions. Here, the function may be associated with an execution screen, and the electronic device may output a plurality of execution screens” in [0156]; “In operation 405, the electronic device may check a sharing scheme based on setting of the executed function…. In a state in which the second xecution screen is set as the main function, if checking the proximity of a peripheral device, the electronic device may check media data played back by the second execution screen of the electronic device as sharing data” in [0158]; see also [0068, 0119]), detect whether at least one external electronic device is in proximity to the electronic device through the short-range wireless communication circuitry (Lee discloses “an electronic device may include a communication module for forming a communication link with a second electronic… the communication module sensing the proximity of the second electronic device, in response to the searching of the second electronic device” in [0010]; “The determination module 184 may sense the proximity of a peripheral device based on a radio signal transmitted by the peripheral device” in [0066]; “According to various exemplary embodiments, the position corresponding to the wireless communication module sensing the proximity of the peripheral device may be associated with at least one of up, down, left, right, front, and rear surfaces of the electronic device… if sensing a peripheral device approaching the first position, the determination module 184 may determine that the first data associated with the first position is sharable with the peripheral device” in [0068]), identify a distance between the electronic device and the at least one external electronic device through the short-range wireless communication circuitry (Lee discloses “the communication module 182 may form a link with a peripheral device in response to determination of the proximity of the peripheral device, and may transmit predetermined data to the linked peripheral device or receive predetermined data from the linked peripheral device” in [0064]); based on the connection with the at least one external electronic device, obtain location data related to the at least one external electronic device, operation data related to the at least one external electronic device and information on a number of the at least one external electronic device, wherein the operation data comprises operation information and status information, wherein the operation information includes information on a type of the at least one external electronic device (Lee discloses “According to an embodiment, the applications 370 may include an application… designated according to attributes of the external electronic device (for example, attributes of the electronic device such as the type of electronic device which corresponds to a mobile medical device)” in [0129]; “an electronic device may include a communication module for forming a communication link with a second electronic device, and a control module configured to perform a sharing operation based on at least one of a setting state of an execution screen of the electronic device and the communication module sensing the proximity of the second electronic device, in response to the searching of the second electronic device” in [0136]; “According to various exemplary embodiments, the control module may be configured to determine at least one of sharing data and an output position of the sharing data or an application associated with the sharing data, based on at least one of the communication module sensing the proximity of the second electronic device and the setting state of the execution screen of the electronic device” in [0137]); identify a relative position of the at least one external electronic device with respect to the electronic device based on the location data (Lee discloses “According to various exemplary embodiments, the electronic device 101 may sense the proximity of a peripheral device to various directions. According to various exemplary embodiments, the electronic device 101 may arrange a communication module corresponding to each direction and sense the proximity of a peripheral device” in [0082]; “the control module may be configured to search the second electronic device which approaches in at least one of up, down, left, right, front, and rear directions of the electronic device” in [0141]; see also location manager in [0123] and Fig 5 & 9). Lee doesn’t explicitly teach distance threshold. The combination of Meyer further teaches following limitations: when the identified distance is equal to or less than a designated distance threshold, establish a connection with the at least one external electronic device through designated wireless communication (Lee discloses “Further, the electronic device may execute a sharing application to transmit sharing data to a peripheral device and output shared data received from the peripheral device” in [0005]; “a control module configured to perform a sharing operation based on at least one of a setting state of an execution screen of the electronic device” in [0010], see also [0012, 0065]. Meyer further discloses “As shown in FIG. 9, for example, control circuitry 22 may determine that node 78-1 is a distance Dl from device 10 and that node 78-2 is a distance D2 from device 10…Control circuitry 22 may use a threshold distance to determine whether a nearby node is sufficiently close to device 10 to trigger appropriate action” in [0089], see also [0100, 0104, 0135].) determine a first function for the electronic device and a second function for the at least one external electronic device, the first function and the second function being associated with a function that is being executed by the electronic device, based at least on the relative position of the at least one external electronic device, wherein the second function is selected from among the plurality of functions, wherein determining is further based on at least one of the identified distance, the operation information, or the information on the number of the at least one external electronic device (Lee teaches executing plurality of functions in Fig 4 & 6-8. Meyer further teaches “In this example, display 14 displays a tether such as tether 106 that appears to physically link device 10' to device 10. Tether 106 may be an image of a line, rope, chain, cord, pattern (e.g., dots, lines, circles, etc.), or other display object that is aligned toward device 10'. Device 10' may generate a similar image such as tether 106'” in [0096]; “Control circuitry 22 may produce tether 106 when device 10 comes within a certain distance of device 10' and/or when device 10 is oriented at a given angle with respect to device 10'” in [0097]; see also Fig 12-13 and 24 as shown below: PNG media_image2.png 759 342 media_image2.png Greyscale PNG media_image3.png 473 347 media_image3.png Greyscale PNG media_image4.png 533 346 media_image4.png Greyscale ); determine a first interface corresponding to the first function for the electronic device and a second interface corresponding to the second function, different from the first interface for the at least one external electronic device, based on the relative position of the at least one external electronic device, the operation information, the status information, and the information on the number of the at least one external electronic device (Lee discloses “According to various exemplary embodiments, the position corresponding to the wireless communication module sensing the proximity of the peripheral device may be associated with at least one of up, down, left, right, front, and rear surfaces of the electronic device” in [0068]; “For example, the determination module 184 may check, as a data output position, a position associated with a position corresponding to a wireless communication module sensing the proximity of the peripheral device… if sensing a peripheral device approaching the first screen, the determination module 184 may determine that it outputs data shared with the peripheral device, to the first output position associated with the first screen” in [0072]; “For example, the electronic device may sense the proximity of the peripheral device to four directions using four wireless communication modules, and may define data associated with each direction” in [0165]; “the electronic device may check that at least one or more second electronic devices approach. If checking the proximity of a plurality of second electronic devices, the electronic device may select as a data sharing target the second electronic device satisfying a condition among the approaching second electronic devices” in [0157]; “the electronic device may give visual display to the main screen, for example, give effect to a window frame, or output a mark (e.g., an icon, etc.) representing the main screen within the execution screen” in [0170]; see also a bolded edge effect 622 in Fig 6A. Here, sensing a peripheral device approaching a position of a communication module, refers to a moving status information. It is obvious that the approaching step may include move the external device from one side of the electronic device to any other side of the electronic device (i.e. up, down, left, right, front, and rear surfaces of the electronic device), which causes the corresponding data sharing at a position corresponding to a wireless communication module sensing the proximity of the external device. See also Meyer, Fig 12); display the first interface on the display and transmit information for providing the second interface to the at least one external electronic device, wherein the information for providing the second interface is configured to cause the at least one external electronic device to display the second interface on a display of the at least one external electronic device (Lee discloses “and a control module configured to control the exchange of sharing data based on at least one of a setting state of a screen outputted to the display and a position of the first communication module sensing the proximity of the second electronic device, in response to the searching of the second electronic device” in [0012]; “The control module 186 may process to perform a predetermined operation in response to the proximity of a peripheral device. According to one exemplary embodiment, the predetermined operation may be associated with an operation of transmitting sharing data, an operation of outputting shared data, etc.” in [0078], See also Meyer, Fig 12.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combining the invention of Lee with the teaching of Meyer so that a control circuit may use a threshold distance to determine whether a nearby external device is sufficiently close to device to trigger appropriate action (Meyer, [0089]). Lee and Meyer are silent on removing a function corresponding to the movement of the external electronic device. The combination of Kim further teaches following limitation: responsive to detecting movement of the at least one external electronic device out of the identified relative position into a new relative position, select a third function pre-associated with the new relative position, remove the second function and the second interface from display by the at least one external electronic device, and cause the at least one external electronic device to display a third interface corresponding to the third function (Lee discloses “The middleware 330 may include a middleware module for forming a combination of various functions of the aforementioned components. The middleware 330 may provide modules specialized according to types of operating systems in order to provide differentiated functions. Further, the middleware 330 may dynamically remove some of the existing components or add new components” in [0124]; “The device management application may manage (for example, install, delete, or update), for example, a function for at least a part of the external electronic device communicating with the electronic device…” in [0128]. Kim further discloses “Further, the middleware 230 may dynamically partially delete an existing constituent element or add new constituent elements. Therefore, some constituent elements described in an embodiment of the present invention may be omitted or other constituent elements is further included, or the constituent element is replaced with a constituent element that has another name and that performs a similar function” in [0070]; “According to an embodiment of the present invention, the multi-screen function may include a function of enabling to output the same content 1030 on a screen of electronic device 1010, onto a screen of the peripheral electronic device 1020 adjacent to a screen 1030 of the electronic device 1010. Or the multi-screen function may include a function of using a screen of the peripheral electronic device 1020 adjacent to a screen of the electronic device 1010 as one screen 1030” in [0136]. Here, Kim teaches selecting one or more functions based on the location of the peripheral electronic device relative to the electronic device 1010.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combining the invention of Lee and Meyer with the teaching of Kim so as to define different functions based on the different location of the external electronic device relative to the location of the main electronic device. As to Claim 2, Lee in view of Meyer and Kim teaches The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to provide an interface indicating proximity of the at least one external electronic device, when detecting the at least one external electronic device is in proximity to the electronic device (Lee discloses “a screen outputted to the position of the wireless communication module sensing the proximity of the second electronic device” in [0138]; “the electronic device may give visual display to the main screen, for example, give effect to a window frame, or output a mark (e.g., an icon, etc.) representing the main screen within the execution screen” in [0170]; see also a bolded edge effect 622 in [0172].) As to Claim 3, Lee in view of Meyer and Kim teaches The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to: identify a status of the electronic device when the at least one external electronic device are detected to be in proximity to the electronic device, and establish the connection with the at least one external electronic device through designated wireless communication, when the status of the electronic device is a designated status (Lee discloses “the communication module 182 may support various shortrange communication schemes, for example, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Bluetooth (BT), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Near Field Communication (NFC), Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), etc.” in [0063]; “the determination module 184 may determine a proximity position of a peripheral device based on a position of a communication module sensing the proximity of the peripheral device” in [0075]; “According to various exemplary embodiments, the electronic device 101 may sense the proximity of a peripheral device to various directions. According to various exemplary embodiments, the electronic device 101 may arrange a communication module corresponding to each direction and sense the proximity of a peripheral device” in [0082]; “the control module may be configured to search the second electronic device which approaches in at least one of up, down, left, right, front, and rear directions of the electronic device” in [0141].) As to Claim 6, Lee in view of Meyer and Kim teaches The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to: detect an input to a notification confirming changing the second interface or rejecting changing the second interface, when the input confirms changing the second interface, change, based on a change in the relative position of the at least one external electronic device with respect to the electronic device, the second interface for the at least one external electronic device to another interface corresponding to the changed relative position of the at least one external electronic device, and provide the another interface to the at least one external electronic device, and when the input rejects changing the second interface, maintain display of the second interface for the at least one external electronic device (Lee discloses “The processor may be set to share data being set to the first communication module with the external device if the external device approaches the first communication module, and share data being set to the second communication module with the external device if the external approaches the second communication module.” in [0014]; “According to various exemplary embodiments, the position corresponding to the wireless communication module sensing the proximity of the peripheral device may be associated with at least one of up, down, left, right, front, and rear surfaces of the electronic device” in [0068]; “the determination module 184 may check, as a data output position, a position associated with a position corresponding to a wireless communication module sensing the proximity of the peripheral device… if sensing a peripheral device approaching the position of the first wireless communication module, the determination module 184 may determine that it outputs data shared with the peripheral device, to the first output position associated with the position of the first wireless communication module” in [0072]. Here, Lee teaches that a location change is detected when the external device is approaching the electronic device. It is obvious that the approaching step may include move the external device from one side of the electronic device to any other side of the electronic device (i.e. up, down, left, right, front, and rear surfaces of the electronic device), which causes the corresponding data sharing at a position corresponding to a wireless communication module sensing the proximity of the external device. Meyer further discloses “control circuitry 22 may automatically share information 130 with device 10' or may prompt user 126 to confirm that he or she wishes to share information 130 with device 10'” in [0135].) As to Claim 8, Lee in view of Meyer and Kim teaches The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to: map a relative location of the at least one external electronic device to a designated matrix, and identify the relative position of the at least one external electronic device with respect to the electronic device, based on analysis of the matrix (Lee discloses detecting multiple second devices close to an electronic device in [0157]. Meyer further discloses “The location and size of each notification on the display may be based on the relative location and proximity of the associated nearby device. For example, larger notifications on the display may indicate a closer device, and a notification on the right hand side of the display may indicate the nearby device is on the right hand side of the electronic device” in [0008]; “When angle θ angle is less than a predetermined threshold and distance D is less than a predetermined threshold, control circuitry 22 may display a visual indication of the wireless link that can be or has been established between devices 10 and 10'” in [0098]; “This may include monitoring the position and orientation of device 10 relative to other devices 10' and/or monitoring characteristics of the user's environment. If desired, different parameters with different thresholds (e.g., context-based thresholds such as minimum distances and minimum angles that are based on the number of people or devices in the same room as device 10) may be used to analyze data from input-output circuitry 24” in [0140]; see also Fig 15.) As to Claim 9, Lee in view of Meyer and Kim teaches The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to: display the matrix on the display, wherein the displayed matrix informs a user of the relative location of the at least one external electronic device, and move at least one external electronic device on the matrix displayed on the display to correct the relative position of the at least one external electronic device with respect to the electronic device in response to a user input (Meyer discloses “FIG. 15 illustrates an example in which device 10 is operating in an environment where multiple devices are within sufficient range to establish a wireless communications link. Display 14 may present images to show the user of device 10 which devices 10' are nearby and where they are located relative to device 10” in [0101].) Claim 11 recites similar limitations as claim 1 but in a method form. Therefore, the same rationale used for claim 1 is applied. Claim 12 is rejected based upon similar rationale as Claim 2. Claim 13 is rejected based upon similar rationale as Claim 4. Claim 14 is rejected based upon similar rationale as Claim 6. Claim 16 recites similar limitations as claim 1 but in a computer readable medium form. Therefore, the same rationale used for claim 1 is applied. Claim 17 is rejected based upon similar rationale as Claim 2. Claim 18 is rejected based upon similar rationale as Claim 4. As to Claim 23, Lee in view of Meyer and Kim teaches The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second function comprises display extension which causes an image displayed by a display of the electronic device to a display of the at least one external electronic device, and wherein the third function comprises a tablet function wherein the at least one external electronic device functions as a tablet allowing touch inputs therein to generate inputs for the electronic device, and wherein detecting the movement of the at least one external electronic device out of the identified relative position into the new relative position causes termination of the display extension, and activation of the tablet function (Kim discloses “In the following description, an electronic device may include at least one of a smart phone, a tablet Personal Computer (PC)…” in [0027]; “According to an embodiment of the present invention, the multi-screen function may include a function of enabling to output the same content 1030 on a screen of electronic device 1010, onto a screen of the peripheral electronic device 1020 adjacent to a screen 1030 of the electronic device 1010. Or the multi-screen function may include a function of using a screen of the peripheral electronic device 1020 adjacent to a screen of the electronic device 1010 as one screen 1030” in [0136]; see also Fig 9-10. Here, an external electronic device can be a tablet PC with outputting the same content on a screen of electronic device 1010.) Claim 24 is rejected based upon similar rationale as Claim 23. Claims 7 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 2017/0366937) in view of Meyer et al. (US 2022/0038883 A1), Kim et al. (US 2015/0119008 A1) and Han et al. (US 2019/0372678). As to Claim 7, Lee in view of Meyer and Kim teaches The electronic device of claim 1. The combination of Han further teaches wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to: responsive to receiving a user input for executing a multi-device mode, execute the multi-device mode; and while executing the multi-device mode, search for the at least one external electronic device that is in proximity to the electronic device, disposed within a designated distance threshold, and wherein the electronic device and the at least one external electronic device are devices grouped by a same user account (Lee discloses “According to one exemplary embodiment, the electronic device may check that at least one or more second electronic devices approach. If checking the proximity of a plurality of second electronic devices, the electronic device may select as a data sharing target the second electronic device satisfying a condition among the approaching second electronic devices” in [0157]. Kim further discloses “An electronic device may form a sharing group by forming a network with at least one peripheral electronic device for sharing digital contents, and reproduce contents with electronic devices included in the sharing group” in [0007]. Han further discloses “Where the distance between a first device, e.g., a smartphone 2711, and a second device, e.g., a laptop PC 2713, is not more than a threshold distance, the laptop PC 2713 examines whether the account for the smartphone 2711 exists among accounts registered in the laptop PC 2713. Where the account for the smartphone 2711 is among the accounts registered in the laptop PC 2713 as a result of the examination, the laptop PC 2713 performs an automated account log-in operation and changes the settings of the laptop PC 2713 to be appropriate for the smartphone 2711” in [0310], see also [0311-312].) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the invention of Lee, Meyer and Kim with the teaching of Han so as to determine a proximity of an external device based on a distance threshold and perform an automated log-in procedure for each device (Han, [0310]). Claim 15 is rejected based upon similar rationale as Claim 7. Claims 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 2017/0366937) in view of Meyer et al. (US 2022/0038883 A1), Kim et al. (US 2015/0119008 A1) and Giraldi et al. (US 2017/0061694 A1). As to Claim 21, Lee in view of Meyer and Kim teaches The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to: detect a change in the relative position of the at least one external electronic device with respect to the electronic device, in response to detecting the change, change and display the second interface according to the detected change in the relative position of the at least one external electronic device with respect to the electronic device (Lee discloses “According to various exemplary embodiments, the position corresponding to the wireless communication module sensing the proximity of the peripheral device may be associated with at least one of up, down, left, right, front, and rear surfaces of the electronic device. For example, in a state in which first data associated with a first position, second data associated with a second position, third data associated with a third position, and fourth data associated with a fourth position are sharable, if sensing a peripheral device approaching the first position, the determination module 184 may determine that the first data associated with the first position is sharable with the peripheral device” in [0068]; see also Fig 7a-7c.) Lee, Meyer and Kim don’t explicitly teach detecting gaze change. The combination of Giraldi further teaches following limitation: based on detecting the changed relative position of the at least one external electronic device with respect to the electronic device matches a specified relative position, detecting the change in a gaze direction (Giraldi discloses “In FIG. 3C, the wearer 302 may shift the gaze vector 312 from the mobile display device 308D towards a large-format display device 308B. In response to movement of the gaze vector 312 away from the mobile display device 308D, the HMD 304 may visually present, via the see-through display, a virtual representation 316 of the baseball game” in [0040].) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the invention of Lee, Meyer and Kim with the teaching of Giraldi so as to change the content displayed from first display to second display based on the change of user gaze (Giraldi, [0040]). Claim 22 is rejected based upon similar rationale as Claim 21. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WEIMING HE whose telephone number is (571)270-1221. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5:00pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tammy Goddard can be reached on 571-272-7773. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /WEIMING HE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2611
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 01, 2022
Application Filed
Jul 17, 2024
Non-Final Rejection — §103, §112
Sep 03, 2024
Examiner Interview Summary
Sep 03, 2024
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Oct 15, 2024
Response Filed
Oct 29, 2024
Final Rejection — §103, §112
Jan 27, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Jan 29, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 19, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103, §112
Jun 12, 2025
Response Filed
Jul 10, 2025
Final Rejection — §103, §112
Jul 10, 2025
Examiner Interview (Telephonic)
Sep 02, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Sep 03, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Oct 19, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103, §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12567135
MULTIMEDIA PLAYBACK MONITORING SYSTEM AND METHOD, AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 03, 2026
Patent 12561876
System and method for an audio-visual avatar creation
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 24, 2026
Patent 12514672
System, Method And Software Program For Aiding In Positioning Of Objects In A Surgical Environment
2y 5m to grant Granted Jan 06, 2026
Patent 12494003
AUTOMATIC LAYER FLATTENING WITH REAL-TIME VISUAL DEPICTION
2y 5m to grant Granted Dec 09, 2025
Patent 12468949
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FEW-SHOT TRANSFER LEARNING
2y 5m to grant Granted Nov 11, 2025
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
46%
Grant Probability
60%
With Interview (+13.8%)
3y 4m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 410 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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