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 .
Response to Arguments
2. Applicant's arguments received 06/09/2026 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection. Detailed response is given in sections 3-8 as set forth below in this Office action.
Rejections - 35 USC § 112
3. 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.
4. Claims 2-4 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
In claim 2, the limitation “wherein the section information is displayed in the operation area" renders the claims 2-4 indefinite. It is unclear what the recited “the operation area” or “the non-operation area” refers to exactly, and whether said “section information” is displayed in “the non-operation area” as recited in claim 1 or in “the operation area” as recited in claims 2-4.
The examiner therefore comprehends the claims based on his best interpretations to these phrases.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
5. 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; or
(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.
6. Claims 1-11 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 2018530820 A (machine translation, hereinafter D1).
Regarding claim 1, D1 discloses an input device comprising: an operator (adaptive input sequence 110 in Fig. 1 and 200 in Fig. 2A) including an operation area (Fig. 2A, e.g., the programmable definition areas 211-214) configured to receive a contact operation performed by a user (Figs. 2A and 2B, a touch on the area 211 corresponding to the sign 201 may activate a volume control function or action); a non-operation area (Fig. 2A, e.g., indicators 201-204 that correspond to various functions or operations); a mode switcher (e.g., Fig. 9, processing unit 902) that switches between a first mode (e.g., the third input mode shown in FIG. 2C , … a left or right sliding touch within region 219 can cause either a corresponding volume adjustment, increase or decrease, depending on the direction of the sliding touch) where a continuously changing value is receivable in response to an operation performed on the operator (e.g., a left or right sliding touch within region 219 of the adaptive input string 200 in Fig. 2C) and a second mode (e.g., the default or initial input mode or a function column input mode of the adaptive input sequence 200) different from said first mode (Fig. 2A, the set of indicators 201-204 may be displayed according to the function column input mode. For example, in response to a touch within touch sensitive area 210, adaptive input sequence 200 may be configured to change the set of signs 201-204 from a first set of signs to a second different set of signs. In some cases, touch sensitive area 210 may be operable to make changes between different input modes of adaptive input sequence 200); and a section presenter (the processing unit) that presents section information (e.g., the combination of indicators 201-204 and the separators or vertical bars/lines as shown in Figs. 2A and 2B, each of the set of indicators 201-204 is associated with a respective indicator of the set of programmable definition areas 211-214, touching one of the sensitive areas 211-214 causes the associated indicator 201-204 to be illuminated) representing a plurality of sections of the operation area during the second mode (i.e., the default or initial input mode of the adaptive input sequence 200), wherein section information is displayed in the non-operation area (Fig. 2A and Fig. 2B).
Regarding claim 2-4, D1 discloses: wherein the section information is displayed in the non-operation area (see discussion for claim 1 above); wherein: the operation area is an area extending in a one-dimensional direction (note, the instant claims do not require that said “operation area” extends in a one-dimensional direction continuously), and the section information is a line (i.e., the vertical bars adjacent to the indicator 201-204 as shown in Fig. 2A) extending in a direction orthogonal to the one-dimensional direction (Fig. 2A); wherein the operator is a touch bar (As shown in FIG. 2A, the adaptive input sequence 200 includes touch sensitive areas 210 …).
Regarding claim 5, D1 discloses: an outputter (processing unit) that outputs operation position information in response to a contact operation performed on the operation area by the user (see discussion of the slider node 233 in Fig. 2E).
Regarding claims 6-7, D1 discloses: wherein the operator includes an indicator that displays an operation position corresponding to a contact operation performed on the operation area by the user, wherein the indicator visibly indicates a range corresponding to a section, among the plurality of sections, corresponding to an operation position in the second mode (see discussion of indicators 211-214, 215, etc.).
Regarding claim 8, D1 discloses: wherein in the second mode (i.e., the default or initial input mode of the adaptive input sequence 200), a discontinuous value is receivable in response to an operation performed on the operator (see discussion of Figs. 2A and 2B; see also discussion for the force node 318).
Regarding claim 9, D1 discloses the claimed invention (see discussion of claims 1-8 above).
Regarding claims 10 and 11, D1 discloses a controller including a processor; and an input device comprising: an operator including an operation area configured to receive a contact operation performed by a user; a mode switcher that switches between a first mode where a continuously changing value is receivable in response to an operation performed on the operator and a second mode different from the first mode; a section presenter that presents section information representing a plurality of sections of the operation area during the second mode; and an outputter that outputs operation position information in response to a contact operation performed on the operation area by the user, where the controller is configured to set a music parameter in accordance with operation position information output by the outputter(see discussion of claim 1-8 above).
The limitation of “An electronic musical instrument” has not been given patentable weight because the recitation occurs in the preamble. A preamble is generally not accorded any patentable weight where it merely recites the purpose of a process or the intended use of a structure, and where the body of the claim does not depend on the preamble for completeness but, instead, the process steps or structural limitations are able to stand alone.
Regarding claim 15, D1 discloses: wherein the non-operation area is arranged around the operation area (Figs. 2A and 2B).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
7. 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.
8. Claims 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2018530820 A (machine translation, hereinafter D1).
Regarding claims 12-14, D1 does not mention explicitly: wherein the section information (e.g., the combination of indicators 201-204 and the separators or vertical bars/lines as shown in Figs. 2A and 2B) is displayed at unequal intervals in the non-operation area.
However, since the instant claims do not specify the particular function or benefit of this limitation, it is considered that displaying said section information at unequal intervals is merely a design choice or design option which relates to only a minor adjustment to the way the section information is displayed as taught by D1. It has been held that an obvious matter of engineering design choice is not patentably advanced.
Conclusion
9. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Contact Information
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIANCHUN QIN whose telephone number is (571)272-5981. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5:30PM EST M-F.
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, Dedei Hammond can be reached at (571)270-7938. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JIANCHUN QIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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