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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is responsive to Applicant's submission filed 5/19/2025. Claims 1-20 are pending. Claims 1, 19, and 20 are independent.
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 1-3, 11-12, 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chan et al., US 2014/0379811, hereinafter Chan, in view of Fausak et al., US 2014/0373098, hereinafter Fausak, and further in view of Subramaniam et al., US 2022/0232066, hereinafter Subramaniam.
In regard to independent claim 1,
executing an application in a first computing environment, wherein the application comprises a user interface (Ul); see at least Chan para [0041], Figure 2C, and Figures 14-18B, UI computing environments are shown with applications (apps).
retrieving a UI component from a second computing environment; see Chan at least Abstract, also Figure 17C, para [0189], [0197], an app is casted to another device by dragging and dropping said app accordingly. See also Chan Figures 3A, 3B and para [0083], where app pulling can occur, therefore teaching "retrieving" a UI component from another device.
causing the UI component to be displayed as part of the UI in the first computing environment; see Chan at least para [0083], [0189], [0192], [0197], after pulling an app or task, an instance of said app/task is subsequently initiated and execution resumes on the first device.
sending, from the UI component, a request for data associated with the UI component to a backend in the second computing environment, wherein the request is sent through a first proxy in the first computing environment; see Chan at least para [0041], [0083], subsequent to a user pulling an app to a first device from a second device, app state data is retrieved from said second device so that a current point of execution is preserved. It is at least obvious to the skilled artisan that the subsequent transfer of state data is executed from a request from the pulled app, inasmuch as the pull process begins with the initial targeting of said app by a user.
receiving, by the UI component, the data associated with the UI component from the backend in the second computing environment, wherein the data is sent through a second proxy in the second computing environment; see Chan at least para [0041], [0083], same analysis as above. The state data is received by the pulled app.
Although Chan teaches request/receiving state data (associated data) as per above, Chan does not teach the use of a backend computing environment using proxies. However, Fausak at Abstract, Figures 3, 7, 19, also at least para [0029], [0044], [0064] teaches client/server communication where backend services and proxies are used. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's claimed invention to apply Fausak to Chan, providing Chan the benefit of enhanced security that backend services provide.
Chan also does not teach the use of "separate" proxies, one for sending a request, and another for receiving data. However, Subramaniam teaches load balancing using discovery agents across proxy
servers (Subramaniam at least Abstract). Subramaniam teaches an endpoint device establishing a channel to an intermediary proxy server (i.e. sending an initial request to a first proxy). The endpoint device then ranks and selects an available proxy for further communication (i.e. eventually receiving data from a second proxy), see Subramaniam at least Figure 9, para. [0170] - [0177]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's claimed invention to apply Subramanian to Chan and Fausek, providing Chan the benefit of enhanced efficiency that Subramanian brings, allowing Chan to choose proxies tailored to the amount or type of data transfer involved.
causing the data associated with the UI component to be displayed in the UI component in the UI in the first computing environment. See Chan at least para [0041], [0083], subsequent to retrieval of related app state data the current point of execution is preserved (e.g. the Angry Birds app is displayed at the same point of execution from the other device). See also Chan para [0050] which lists additional types of apps that would benefit from state data synchronization and subsequent display.
In regard to claim 2, Chan teaches at least para [0041] that once an app is casted, each instance of the app executes independently of each other. Also, Chan para [0008], [0200] teaches features of app casting/pulling can be implemented withing various operating systems running on various computing devices.
In regard to claim 3, Chan teaches at para [0193] that a user can app cast a selected tile to more than one computing device, e.g., to the computing devices of a group of friends.
In regard to claim 11, Chan teaches at para [0041] a multi-tasker for casting applications on a first device of a user on any of multiple computing devices of the user from any of the computing devices. Each of the computing devices presents a unified view of applications and tasks executing on each of the computing devices.
In regard to claim 12, Chan does not teach a provider "farm" that organizes a plurality ofUI providers. However, Fausek teaches at para [0226] a server farm. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's claimed invention to apply Fausek to Chan, providing Chan the benefit of increased security that Fausek's farm centralization provides.
In regard to independent claim 19, claim 19 reflects the method comprising computer-readable instructions used for implementing the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, and is rejected along the same rationale.
In regard to independent claim 20, claim 20 reflects the system comprising computer-readable instructions used for implementing the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, and is rejected along the same rationale.
Claims 4, 6-7, 10, 13, 15-16, 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C.103 as being unpatentable over Chan in view of Fausak and Subramaniam as presented in claims 1-3, 11-12, 19-20 above, and further in view of Mazzaferri, US 2009/0070687, hereinafter Mazzaferri.
Regarding Claim 4, Mazzaferri discloses the non-transitory computer- readable medium of Claim 1, wherein: the user interface for the application further comprises a local UI component from the first computing environment that is loaded during a build process for the application, and the UI component from the second computing environment is loaded into the application at runtime by a user interface manager (see, e.g., Mazzaferri, para. 124 and Fig. 3B, describing and illustrating a flow diagram of a method for maintaining an integrated desktop environment on the remote machine for display to a user by a local machine, the desktop environment providing integrated access both to
resources provided by the local machine and resources provided by the remote machine; para. 192, describing embodiments in which the local agent identifies a shell extension handler by determining or computing a set of built-in menu items provided on the local machine [representing local UI components loaded in a build process in some form]; and paras. 54, 71, 95, 124, 131, 133, 136, 137, 343, 373, and 374, describing embodiments in which the second agent executing on the local machine receives data objects and modification information from the remote machine for local display including output data of the results of application execution [indicating remote user interface components provided at runtime in some form]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's claimed invention to apply Mazzaferri to Chan, providing Chan the benefit of increased efficiency that Mazzaferri's sequence provides (only process when needed).
In regard to claim 6, Mazzaferri discloses the non-transitory computer- readable medium of Claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: accessing a configuration that stores Universal Resource Locators (URLs) for proxies that provide UI components for the application, wherein the configuration comprises a URL for the second proxy in the second computing environment (see, e.g., Mazzaferri, paras. 24-26, 74, 133, 136, and 137, describing embodiments in which data from multiple remote machines is output for display on the local machine; paras. 149, 160, 166, 177-179, 181, 184, 185, 188, 198, 200-202, 218,219,310, and 408, describing embodiments in which applications, servers, resources, and proxies including proxy handlers are registered and various elements each have a globally unique ID in the system; para. 205, describing embodiments in which the local agent identifies a shell extension handler in various ways including by enumerating certain registry keys, by retrieving a value stored in a URL subkey of a SearchGUID subkey of a subkey, and by retrieving a value stored in a SearchGUID subkey of a subkey, where the SearchGUID subkey includes a UrlNavNew key; and paras. 4, 7, 13-15, 80-82, 84, 96, and 97, describing receiving identification of local and remote elements including handlers and resources).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's claimed invention to apply Mazzaferri to Chan, providing Chan the benefit of increased efficiency that Mazzaferri's sequence provides (only process when needed).
In regard to claim 7, Mazzaferri discloses the non-transitory computer- readable medium of Claim 6, wherein the configuration is accessed by a UI manager that is separate from the application, and the UI manager generates a container in which the UI component is dynamically added from a runtime of the second computing environment (see, e.g., Mazzaferri, para. 13, describing embodiments in which a method for providing access to a desk band includes detecting a request for creation of a desk band object by the local agent [which can be viewed as a UI manager at least in terms of the roles is takes in providing remote content for display and which is separate from local applications in various way], instantiating a proxy container object by the local agent responsive to detecting the request, identifying an associated desk band object by the remote agent executing on the remote machine, instantiating a proxy handler associated with the identified desk band object by the remote agent, and directing display of output data
maintained by the remote machine by the desk band object on the local machine [indicating performance at runtime]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's claimed invention to apply Mazzaferri to Chan, providing Chan the benefit of increased efficiency that Mazzaferri's separate and dynamic processes provides.
In regard to claim 10, Mazzaferri discloses the non-transitory computer- readable medium of Claim 1, wherein the UI component comprises a second UI component embedded in the UI component, wherein the second UI component is retrieved from a third computing environment and accesses data at a corresponding backend in the third computing environment, and the UI component and the second UI component are both displayed as part of the UI of the application in the first computing environment (see,
e.g., Mazzaferri, para. 53, describing embodiments in which a client functions as both a client node seeking access to server resources and as a server providing access to hosted resources; paras. 24-26, 74, 133, 136, and 137, describing embodiments in which data from multiple remote machines is output for display on the local machine; para. 136 and Fig. 4B, describing and illustrating a screenshot depicting an embodiment of the integrated desktop environment for display on the local machine in which the desktop environment provides integrated access to resources provided by a second remote machine; and para. 137 and Fig. 5, describing and illustrating a flow diagram depicting an embodiment of a method for maintaining an integrated desktop environment for display on a local machine in which the desktop environment provides integrated access to resources provided by a second remote machine including a remote resource available to a user of a second machine, the remote resource provided by a third machine).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's claimed invention to apply Mazzaferri to Chan, providing Chan the benefit of increased efficiency that Mazzaferri's embedding process provides.
In regard to claim 13, Mazzaferri discloses the non-transitory computer- readable medium of Claim 1, wherein the first proxy comprises a consumer proxy that is uniquely assigned to send requests to the second proxy comprising a provider proxy, and the first computing environment comprises another consumer proxy that is uniquely assigned to send requests to another provider proxy in a third computing environment (see, e.g., Mazzaferri, paras. 24 and 133, describing and illustrating a block diagram depicting an embodiment of the system for maintaining an integrated desktop environment incorporating output data from multiple remote machines for display on the local machine in which the system includes a first remote machine 106 comprising a remote agent 202, a local machine 102 comprising a first local agent 210 and a second local agent 210', and a second remote machine 106' comprising a remote resource 410 and describing embodiments in which the remote agent 202 and first
local agent 210 communicate to provide display information at the local machine 102 and the remote resource 410 and second local agent 210' communicate to provide display information at the local machine 102. Note that components arranged to communicate can be viewed as representing a unique assignment at least in the sense of being unlike other arrangements).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's claimed invention to apply Mazzaferri to Chan, providing Chan the benefit of increased security that Mazzaferri' s unique separate proxies provides.
In regard to claim 15, Mazzaferri discloses the non-transitory computer- readable medium of Claim 1, wherein the UI component comprises code that generates the request for the data associated with the UI component (see, e.g., Mazzaferri, paras. 55, 181, 438, and 474, indicating software programs and components stored and executed as code; and paras. 147, 148, 153, 157-159, 166, 167, 177-184, and 220 and Fig. 6, describing and illustrating embodiment in which a shell extension handler is triggered when the user interacts with a data object associated with a shell extension of various types such as an icon or thumbnail, a request associated with the interaction is received by or redirected through the local agent, a shell extension invoker, and/or a shell extension monitor on the local machine to the remote agent and/or a shell extension proxy handler on the remote machine. Note that various aspects of a user interface associated with a particular interactive element can be viewed as a UI component that comprises code).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's claimed invention to apply Mazzaferri to Chan, providing Chan the benefit of increased efficiency that Mazzaferri's process provides.
In regard to claim 16, Mazzaferri discloses the non-transitory computer- readable medium of Claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise requesting descriptors from a plurality of UI providers in a plurality of other computing environments during initialization of the application (see, e.g., Mazzaferri, para. 172, describing embodiments in which different levels of shared file system visibility
are provided between the remote machine and the local machine and describing embodiments in which shell extensions are initialized by a shell using a list of filenames; and para. 198,201,228,229,231,234, and 236, describing embodiments in which shell extension handlers are identified in relationship to initialization, initialization of handlers comprises evaluation of information sources, and initialized handlers process user requests in various ways based on information related to providers [indicating information requested from providers]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's claimed invention to apply Mazzaferri to Chan, providing Chan the benefit of increased efficiency that Mazzaferri's process provides.
In regard to claim 18, Mazzaferri discloses the non-transitory computer- readable medium of Claim 1, wherein the UI component comprises a data visualization that provides a graph of the data associated with the UI component (see, e.g., Mazzaferri, para. 136 and Fig. 4B, describing and illustrating embodiments for maintaining an integrated desktop environment in which a presentation layer protocol session provides access to a resource in the form of a word processing program Microsoft Word [known in the art to comprise functionality to create and display charts or graphs] and the display of output data generated by the resource is integrated into the local display of the desktop environment).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's claimed invention to apply Mazzaferri to Chan, providing Chan the benefit of increased versatility that Mazzaferri's process provides.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chan in view of Fausak and Subramaniam as presented in claim 1 above, and further in view of Deshpande et al., US2010/0180205, hereinafter Deshpande.
In regard to claim 5, Deshpande teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium wherein an application in a first computing environment is a UI consumer in a User Interface as a Service (UlaaS) framework, and a backend in a second computing environment comprises a UI provider in the UlaaS
framework (see, e.g., Deshpande, Abstract, describing arrangements in which a user interface service composer determines and invokes a particular one of a plurality of user interface service providers based on a user interface request from a user interface consumer; para. 3, describing providing techniques for providing a user interface as a service; para. 21 and Fig. 2, describing and illustrating embodiments in which a user interface [UI] service catalog lists UI service providers, allowing a UI service composer to choose an appropriate UI Service provider to render a user interface for the client as a UI consumer; and para. 36, describing a plug and play approach of user interface service providers made available in a framework for rendering a user interface).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's claimed invention to apply Deshpande to Chan in order to more flexibly select provisions of a user interface based on context (see, e.g., Deshpande, paras. 2-5).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chan in view of Fausak and Subramaniam as presented in claim 1 above, and further in view of Fang et al., US 2024/0211219, hereinafter Fang.
In regard to claim 8, Fang teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium wherein a UI component is embedded into a Document Object Model (DOM) of an application (see, e.g., Fang, Abstract and para. 5, describing embodiments in which, in response to receiving a request to render components of a webpage, a platform of the webpage creates an inline frame element that receives data corresponding to one or more embedded UI elements from a resource associated with a third-party entity, and a computer system renders the one or more embedded UI elements in a shadow document object model).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's claimed invention to apply Fang to Chan in order to more easily add third-party user interface elements to a webpage interface using established data structures (see, e.g., Fang, paras. 2-6).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chan in view of Fausak and Subramaniam as presented in claim 1 above, and further in view of Leigh et al., US 2022/0337908, hereinafter Leigh.
In regard to claim 9, Leigh teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium wherein a UI component from a second computing environment is also provided to a second application executing in a third computing environment, wherein an application from a first computing environment and the second application from the third computing environment both access data (in relationship to a request) associated with the UI component from a backend in the second computing environment (see, e.g., Leigh, Abstract, describing techniques for cloud user interface [UI] rendering in a virtual set top system performed by a UI engine on a server or a cloud platform in which a method includes receiving a request for a UI, identifying UI elements and/or interactions associated with the UI, determining whether or not UI objects corresponding to the UI elements and/or the interactions exist in a cache, and generating the UI using the UI objects upon finding the UI objects in the cache; para. 14, describing embodiments in which a cloud UI engine renders UI elements and reuses and/or shares the rendered UI objects with other copies of UI engines through caching and reusing the UI objects; and para. 39 and Fig. 6, describing and illustrating state transitions with options for segment caching in which the UI engine renders a UI object and the rendered UI object can be reused many times by different users and/or the same user to allow fast cloud UI rendering).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's claimed invention to apply Leigh to Chan in order to more efficiently and quickly render cloud-based UI components (see, e.g., Leigh, paras. 2, 14, 16, and 39).
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C.103 as being unpatentable over Chan in view of Fausak and Subramaniam as presented in claim 1 above, and further in view of Wetter et al., US 2013/0024919, hereinafter Wetter.
In regard to claim 14, Wetter teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium wherein operations comprise: signing a user token in a first computing environment using a token service of the first computing environment, wherein the token service of the first computing environment uses an authorization method of an application; and sending the user token to a proxy in a second computing environment (see, e.g., Wetter, Abstract, describing techniques and/or systems for obtaining access to a cloud service in which a user logs into a client device using an operating system [OS] cloud login ID, a client side application requests a token generated by an identity provider to access a cloud service, and the application presents the token to a cloud service provider for verification to gain access to the cloud service hosted by the cloud service provider; and paras. 34-36 and Fig. 4, describing and illustrating an example of a user accessing a plurality of cloud services using an OS cloud login ID in which the user logs into an operating system using an OS cloud login ID, the user requests a token from a token provider component to access a service provider, a token received from the token provider is provided to the service provider, and content is returned by the service provider based on the received token).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's claimed invention to apply Wetter to Chan in order to more conveniently and securely access content provided by a cloud service at a device (see, e.g., Wetter, paras. 2-6).
Claims 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chan, Fausak, Subramaniam, and Mazzaferri as presented in claim 16 above, and further in view of Deshpande.
In regard to claim 17, Mazzaferri as modified by Deshpande further teaches the non-transitory computer-readable medium wherein the operations further comprise creating a local store of UI provider configurations in a browser, wherein the UI provider configurations are used to load UI components from the other computing environments (see, e.g., Mazzaferri, para. 55, describing embodiments in which a client provide an application such as any type and/or form of web browser or web-based client; and see, e.g., Deshpande, para. 37, describing embodiments in which assistance is provided in listing UI service providers in a catalog, annotation or meta-information about the services is added, and the UI service composer looks up details of a service provider and invokes the service provider with appropriate content fetched from content services and indicating embodiments in which services are provided via a web interface accessed using a browser; paras. 8, 41, and 53 and Fig. 5, describing and illustrating an exemplary system and method in the context of providing a user interface as a service and describing and illustrating embodiments in which a user logs in and accesses the system using a browser; para. 21, describing a UI service catalog listing UI service providers along with their meta-information, allowing the UI service composer to choose an appropriate UI Service provider to render a user interface for the client as a UI consumer; and paras. 67 and 72, describing embodiments in which a UI composer queries the UI service catalog and gets the details of the particular UI service provider that needs to be invoked to render the user interface for the home page and a request message for rendering a user interface is routed to the provider to be invoked using a request message that includes at least configuration parameters and interaction-related data [suggesting browser-based embodiments and rendering obvious storage of configuration data at a browser in some form].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's claimed invention to apply Deshpande to Chan in order to more flexibly select provisions of a user interface based on context, and via the use of a browser.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/30/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues on page 7 of the amendment that Chan does not teach/suggests retrieval or runtime integration of modular UI “components” (italics added). Applicant alleges that Chan does not teach transferring of components, but instead Chan teaches transferring of applications. Applicant defines a UI component as a discrete, modular element (e.g., a visualization tile, input form, or chart) that is dynamically loaded and integrated into the overall user interface of the host application at runtime.
The examiner respectfully disagrees. Applicant appears to be arguing the specification, not the scope of the claimed limitations. Assuming arguendo that the examiner agrees with Applicant’s position regarding UI components (the examiner is not admitting this), the examiner sees no issue with Chan’s application transfer. Since Chan’s transferred applications include UI components, said components are transferred along with the application and its data. The claims do not limit retrieval to just a component. Applicant is encouraged to further clarify the claimed component so as to preclude transfer of the application that said components are part of. Applicant is advised against the addition of new matter.
Applicant argues on page 8 of the amendment that neither Chan, nor Fausak and
Subramaniam, teach a backend, as instantly claimed.
The examiner respectfully disagrees. The instant rejection admits that Chan does not
teach a backend. Chan teaches that app state data is retrieved from said second device so that a current point of execution is preserved, which is used to teach the claimed requesting and receiving data associated with a UI component. Fausak is relied upon to teach the use of backends and proxies for client/server communication.
Applicant argues on page 9 of the amendment that the cited references do not teach proxies, let alone separate proxies, and that Fausak and Subramaniam use proxies for different purposes.
The examiner respectfully disagrees. Fausak is applied to teach proxies for transfer of data, and Subramaniam is used to teach the use of “separate” proxies. The skilled artisan is cognizant of the use of proxies for data transferring, and the examiner does not see anything in the applied references that would preclude the combination to teach Applicant’s claims, as instantly recited.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM BASHORE whose telephone number is (571)272-4088. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thursday 9am - 5:00pm EST.
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/WILLIAM L BASHORE/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2174