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 communication is in responsive to the Application 18/411,589 filed on 01/12/2024.
Claims 1-20 have been examined and are pending in this application. This Action is made Non-FINAL.
Examiner’s Notes
The claimed computer readable storage media of claims 15-20 are directed to statutory subject matter as the specification, paragraph [0096], explicitly defines that “[i]n no case is the computer readable storage media a propagated signal.”
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.
(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.
Claims 1-4, 6-8, 10 and 12-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kohlmeier et al. (“Kohlmeier,” US 2019/0294727), published on Sep. 26, 2019.
Regarding claim 1, Kohlmeier discloses a system (Figs. 1 and 14-15) comprising:
one or more computer readable storage media (Figs. 1 and 14-15);
one or more processors operatively coupled with the one or more computer readable storage media (Figs. 1 and 14-15); and
an application comprising program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media that, when executed by the one or more processors, direct a computing system to at least (Figs. 1 and 14-15):
receive, from a client device, a first non-linear interaction within a productivity application (pars. 0061-0063 and 0103-0105; Figs. 7A-7C; the digital agent interface can allow for continued interaction (e.g., via input field 732) for additional questions by the consumer; although input fields 722, 732 are shown, any suitable input mechanism (e.g., verbal or other natural user interface) may be used; consumer may perform a gesture to access the author-created digital agent; a gesture of selection (710) of an “explore” command 712 is used), wherein the productivity application comprises a composition layer and a discovery layer (pars 0060-0063; Figs. 7A-7C; document window 702 [i.e., composition layer] and bot window/chat box 720 [i.e., discovery layer]);
determine, by a natural user interface (NUI) engine, a first user intent based on the first non-linear interaction (pars.0061-0063; Figs. 7A-7B; a gesture of selection (710) of an “explore” command 712 is used);
generate, by the NUI engine, a first prompt based on the first user intent and the first non-linear interaction (pars. 0062-0063; Figs. 7A-7C; in response to receiving the explore command the author-created digital agent may instantiate and a chat box 720 may open);
submit, by the NUI engine, the first prompt to a content generator, wherein the first prompt requests a first response from the content generator based on the first non-linear interaction (pars. 0062-0063; Figs. 7A-7C; in response to receiving the explore command the author-created digital agent may instantiate and a chat box 720 may open; here, the consumer enters “what is project tree?” 722 in an input field 724);
receive, by the NUI engine, the first response from the content generator (pars. 0062-0063; Figs. 7A-7C; the consumer enters “what is project tree?” 722 in an input field 724; the question may be entered by an explicit statement (e.g., via typing or speaking the question) or may be inferred by selection of the content in the document); and
generate, by the NUI engine, a first card based on the first response within the discovery layer of the productivity application, wherein the discovery layer overlays on to the composition layer (pars. 0062-0063; Figs. 7A-7C; Fig.7C, the author may have included an FAQ file in a corpus attached to the document 702 and the digital agent returns the answer 730 of “Project Tree is a joint effort of Jill and Jack”; document window 702 [i.e., composition layer] and bot window/chat box 720 [i.e., discovery layer]).
Regarding claim 2, Kohlmeier discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the discovery layer comprises one or more content objects and the program instructions further direct the computing system to:
determine, by the NUI engine, spatial proximity of the first non-linear interaction to the one or more content objects (pars. 0103-0105; receiving a touch gesture from a user, a motion input device for detecting non-touch gestures and other motions by a user, a microphone for detecting speech, and other types of input devices and their associated processing elements capable of receiving user input); and
determine, by the NUI engine, the first user intent based on the spatial proximity of the first non-linear interaction (pars. 0062-0063 and 0103-0105; the consumer may perform a gesture to access the author-created digital agent; here, a gesture of selection (710) of an “explore” command 712 is used; as shown in FIG. 7B, in response to receiving the explore command the author-created digital agent may instantiate and a chat box 720 may open).
Regarding claim 3, Kohlmeier discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the discovery layer comprises one or more content objects and the program instructions to generate, by the NUI engine, the first prompt based on the first user intent based on the first non-linear interaction cause, when executed by the one or more processors, to further direct the computing system to (pars. 0062-0063; Figs. 7A-7C):
determine, by the NUI engine, that the first non-linear interaction is made with respect to a first content object of the one or more content objects (pars. 0062-0063; Figs. 7A-7C; the author may have included an FAQ file in a corpus attached to the document 702 and the digital agent returns the answer 730 of “Project Tree is a joint effort of Jill and Jack” as provided by the author; the digital agent interface can allow for continued interaction (e.g., via input field 732) for additional questions by the consumer); and
generate, by the NUI engine, the first prompt based on the first user intent and the first content object (pars. 0062-0063; Figs. 7A-7C; the author may have included an FAQ file in a corpus attached to the document 702 and the digital agent returns the answer 730 of “Project Tree is a joint effort of Jill and Jack” as provided by the author; the digital agent interface can allow for continued interaction (e.g., via input field 732) for additional questions by the consumer).
Regarding claim 4, Kohlmeier discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the program instructions further direct the computing system to:
receive, from the client device, a second non-linear interaction within the productivity application temporally proximate to the first non-linear interaction (pars. 0062-0063; Figs. 7A-7C; the digital agent interface can allow for continued interaction (e.g., via input field 732) for additional questions by the consumer; pars. 0103-0105; receiving a touch/non-touch gesture from a user);
determine, by the NUI engine, that the first non-linear interaction and the second non-linear interaction are related based on their temporal proximity (pars. 0062-0063 and 0103-0105; Figs. 7A-7C; detecting non-touch gestures and other motions by a user, a microphone for detecting speech, and other types of input devices and their associated processing elements capable of receiving user input);
determine, by the NUI engine, the first user intent based on the first non-linear interaction and the second non-linear interaction; determine, by the NUI engine, respective content object that each of the first non-linear interaction and the second non-linear interaction were directed to (pars. 0062-0063 and 0103-0105; Figs. 7A-7C; the author-created digital agent can then, in some cases, operate as described with respect to Figs. 7A-7C); and
generate, by the NUI engine, the first prompt based on the first user intent and the respective content object (pars. 0062-0063; Figs. 7A-7C; the author may have included an FAQ file in a corpus attached to the document 702 and the digital agent returns the answer 730 of “Project Tree is a joint effort of Jill and Jack” as provided by the author. The digital agent interface can allow for continued interaction (e.g., via input field 732) for additional questions by the consumer).
Regarding claim 6, Kohlmeier discloses the system of claim 1, wherein:
the first non-linear interaction comprises clustering of two or more content objects to be within spatial proximity of one another within the productivity application (pars. 0060-0063; Figs. 6 and 10; the content may be located on a local storage 618 of a user device 620, in cloud storage 622, on a web resource 624, on a cloud enterprise resource 626, or an onsite enterprise resource 628); and
the program instructions to determine, by the NUI engine, the first user intent based on the first non-linear interaction cause (pars. 0063 and 0103-0105; the consumer may perform a gesture to access the author-created digital agent; here, a gesture of selection (710) of an “explore” command 712 is used; any suitable input mechanism (e.g., verbal or other natural user interface) may be used), when executed by the one or more processors, to further direct the computing system to:
determine, by the NUI engine, a group interaction intent based on the clustering of the two or more content objects and the client device (pars. 0062-0063 and 0072; Figs. 6 and10; group channel conversation, group chat, instant message, web chat, and even email; the content may be located on a local storage 618 of a user device 620, in cloud storage 622, on a web resource 624, on a cloud enterprise resource 626, or an onsite enterprise resource 628; in response to receiving the explore command the author-created digital agent may instantiate and a chat box 720 may open).
Regarding claim 7, claim 7 is directed to a method corresponding to the system recited in claim 1. Claim 7 is similar in scope to claim 1 and is therefore rejected under similar rationale.
Regarding claim 8, Kohlmeier discloses the method of claim 7, wherein the first non-linear interaction comprises one of:
drawing on a content object within the productivity application;
clustering two or more content objects to be within spatial proximity to one another within the productivity application (pars. 0060-0063; Figs. 6 and 10; the content may be located on a local storage 618 of a user device 620, in cloud storage 622, on a web resource 624, on a cloud enterprise resource 626, or an onsite enterprise resource 628);
speaking with reference to one or more content objects within the productivity application; or
gesturing with reference to one or more content objects within the productivity application (pars. 0043, 0062, 0079 and 0103-0105; the consumer is able to delve deeper into the document than what is shown by using a gesture that accesses digital agent service 130 to utilize information from the attached corpora; the consumer may perform a gesture to access the author-created digital agent).
Regarding claim 10, Kohlmeier discloses the method of claim 7, wherein the discovery layer comprises one or more content objects and determining, by the NUI engine, the first user intent based on the first non-linear interaction comprises:
determining, by the NUI engine, the first user intent for the first prompt based on the spatial proximity of each of the one or more content objects within the discovery layer (pars. 0063 and 0103-0105; the consumer may perform a gesture to access the author-created digital agent; here, a gesture of selection (710) of an “explore” command 712 is used; any suitable input mechanism (e.g., verbal or other natural user interface) may be used).
Regarding claim 12, Kohlmeier discloses the method of claim 7, the method further comprising:
receiving, from the client device, a second non-linear interaction with the first card (pars. 0062-0063; Figs. 7A-7C; the digital agent interface can allow for continued interaction (e.g., via input field 732) for additional questions by the consumer; pars. 0103-0105; receiving a touch/non-touch gesture from a user);
determining, by the NUI engine, a second user intent based on the second non-linear interaction with the first card (pars. 0062-0063 and 0103-0105; Figs. 7A-7C; detecting non-touch gestures and other motions by a user, a microphone for detecting speech, and other types of input devices and their associated processing elements capable of receiving user input);
generating, by the NUI engine, a second prompt based on the second user intent and content of the first card (pars. 0062-0063; Figs. 7A-7C; the author may have included an FAQ file in a corpus attached to the document 702 and the digital agent returns the answer 730 of “Project Tree is a joint effort of Jill and Jack” as provided by the author);
submitting, by the NUI engine, the second prompt to the content generator (pars. 0062-0063; Figs. 7A-7C; the digital agent returns the answer 730 of “Project Tree is a joint effort of Jill and Jack” as provided by the author;);
receiving, by the NUI engine, a second response from the content generator based on the second prompt (pars. 0062-0063; Fig. 7A-7C; the digital agent interface can allow for continued interaction (e.g., via input field 732) for additional questions by the consumer); and
generating, by the NUI engine, a second card based on the second response within the discovery layer of the productivity application (pars. 0062-0063; Fig. 7A-7C; the digital agent interface can allow for continued interaction (e.g., via input field 732) for additional questions by the consumer).
Regarding claim 13, Kohlmeier discloses the method of claim 7, wherein the composition layer comprises a first set of content objects and the discovery layer comprises a second set of content objects, and the method further comprises:
receiving, by the client device, an indication to rearrange the second set of content objects (pars. 0031 and 0040-0041; the content corpora service can use the information from the request to store or update mapping of content to the corpora 214; author-created digital agents and/or the content corpora can be modified and improved); and
modifying, by the NUI engine, the second set of content objects based on the indication within the discovery layer, wherein the second set of content objects are rearranged in the discovery layer without impacting the first set of content objects in the composition layer (pars. 0031 and 0040-0041; the content corpora service can use the information from the request to store or update mapping of content to the corpora 214).
Regarding claim 14, Kohlmeier discloses the method of claim 7, wherein determining, by the NUI engine, the first user intent based on the first non-linear interaction comprises determining, by the NUI engine, a type of response intended to be received from the content generator based on the first non-linear interaction (pars.0061-0063; Figs. 7A-7B; a gesture of selection (710) of an “explore” command 712 is used).
Regarding claim 15, claim 15 is directed to a computer readable storage media corresponding to the system recited in claim 1. Claim 15 is similar in scope to claim 1 and is therefore rejected under similar rationale.
Regarding claim 16, Kohlmeier discloses the computer readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the processor-executable instructions to determine, by the NUI engine, the first user intent based on the first non-linear interaction cause the one or more processors to further execute processor-executable instructions stored in the computer readable storage media to:
determine, by the NUI engine, the first user intent based on a spatial proximity of the first non-linear interaction with one or more content objects within the discovery layer (pars.0061-0063; Figs. 7A-7B; a gesture of selection (710) of an “explore” command 712 is used).
Regarding claim 17, Kohlmeier discloses the computer readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the processor-executable instructions cause the one or more processors to further execute processor-executable instructions stored in the computer readable storage media to:
determine, by the NUI engine, prompting instructions for the discovery layer (pars. 0062-0063; Figs. 7A-7C; in response to receiving the explore command the author-created digital agent may instantiate and a chat box 720 may open); and
generate, by the NUI engine, the first prompt based on the prompting instructions (pars. 0062-0063; Figs. 7A-7C; in response to receiving the explore command the author-created digital agent may instantiate and a chat box 720 may open).
Regarding claim 18, Kohlmeier discloses the computer readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the processor-executable instructions to receive, from the client device, the first non-linear interaction with the productivity application cause the one or more processors to further execute processor-executable instructions stored in the computer readable storage media to:
receive, by the NUI engine, an audio signal based on a user speaking with reference to one or more content objects within the productivity application (pars. 0062-0063 and 0105; the digital agent interface can allow for continued interaction (e.g., via input field 732) for additional questions by the consumer; voice and speech recognition are used as input); and
determine, by the NUI engine, the one or more content objects to which the audio signal is directed (pars.0061-0063; Figs. 7A-7B; a gesture of selection (710) of an “explore” command 712 is used).
Regarding claim 19, Kohlmeier discloses the computer readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the processor-executable instructions to receive, from the client device, the first non-linear interaction within the productivity application cause the one or more processors to further execute processor-executable instructions stored in the computer readable storage media to:
receive, by the NUI engine, a video signal based on a user gesturing with reference to one or more content objects within the productivity application (pars.0061-0063; Figs. 7A-7B; a gesture of selection (710) of an “explore” command 712 is used); and
determine, by the NUI engine, the one or more content objects to which the gestures are directed (pars. 0062-0063; Figs. 7A-7C; in response to receiving the explore command the author-created digital agent may instantiate and a chat box 720 may open).
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 5 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kohlmeier et al. (“Kohlmeier,” US 2019/0294727), published on Sep. 26, 2019, in view of Zhang et al. (“Zhang,” US 2019/0200050), published on Jun. 27, 2019.
Regarding claim 5, Kohlmeier discloses the system of claim 1.
Kohlmeier further discloses determine, by the NUI engine, respective content object to which the first non-linear interaction is directed to (pars. 0062-0063; Figs. 7A-7C; the author may have included an FAQ file in a corpus attached to the document 702 and the digital agent returns the answer 730 of “Project Tree is a joint effort of Jill and Jack” as provided by the author. The digital agent interface can allow for continued interaction (e.g., via input field 732) for additional questions by the consumer);
Kohlmeier does not explicitly disclose perform, by the NUI engine, optical character recognition (OCR) on the respective content object to identify respective text.
However, Zhang discloses a story generation system configured to:
perform, by the NUI engine, optical character recognition (OCR) on the respective content object to identify respective text (Zhang: par. 0134; if the input device 512 is a touch pad or electronic pen, the input 514 may be in the form of handwriting, which may be subjected to handwriting or optical character recognition analysis logic in order to transform the input 512 into processable text).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Zhang with the system/method of Kohlmeier. One would have been motivated to utilize optical character recognition to identify text input (Zhang: par. 0134).
The combination to Kohlmeier and Zhang further discloses:
generate, by the NUI engine, the first prompt based on the first user intent and the respective text (Kohlmeier: pars. 0062-0063 and 0103-0105; Zhang: par. 0134).
Regarding claim 11, Kohlmeier discloses the method of claim 7.
Kohlmeier discloses wherein the first non-linear interaction within the composition layer comprises input within the composition layer and determining, by the NUI engine, the first user intent based on the first non-linear interaction (pars. 0061-0063 and 0103-0105; Figs. 7A-7C; consumer may perform a gesture to access the author-created digital agent; a gesture of selection (710) of an “explore” command 712 is used; document window 702 [i.e., composition layer] and bot window/chat box 720 [i.e., discovery layer]).
Kohlmeier does not explicitly disclose wherein the interaction comprises handwriting; determining text based on the handwriting;
However, Zhang discloses a story generation system/method wherein the interaction comprises handwriting (Zhang: par. 0134; if the input device 512 is a touch pad or electronic pen, the input 514 may be in the form of handwriting); and
determining text based on the handwriting (Zhang: par. 0134; if the input device 512 is a touch pad or electronic pen, the input 514 may be in the form of handwriting, which may be subjected to handwriting or optical character recognition analysis logic in order to transform the input 512 into processable text).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Zhang with the system/method of Kohlmeier. One would have been motivated to utilize optical character recognition to identify text input (Zhang: par. 0134).
The combination of Kohlmeier and Zhang further discloses
determining, by the NUI engine, spatial proximity of the handwriting to one or more content objects within the discovery layer (Kohlmeier: pars. 0062-0063; the digital agent interface can allow for continued interaction (e.g., via input field 732) for additional questions by the consumer; Figs. 7A-7C; Zhang: par. 0134; handwriting input); and
determining, by the NUI engine, the first user intent based on the text and the spatial proximity of the handwriting to one or more content objects within the discovery layer (Kohlmeier: pars. 0063-0063; Figs. 7A-7C; the digital agent interface can allow for continued interaction (e.g., via input field 732) for additional questions by the consumer; Zhang: par. 0134; handwriting input).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kohlmeier et al. (“Kohlmeier,” US 2019/0294727), published on Sep. 26, 2019, in view of Chhaya et al. (“Chhaya,” US 2023/0121711), published on Apr. 20, 2023.
Regarding claim 9, Kohlmeier discloses the method of claim 7.
Kohlmeier does not explicitly disclose determining, by the NUI engine, a user profile associated with the client device; and
determining, by the NUI engine, the first user intent based on the user profile, wherein the user profile comprises an interaction history for the client device.
However, Chhaya discloses a content generator system/method including the steps of: determining, by the NUI engine, a user profile associated with the client device (Chhaya: par. 0030; the text generator subsystem 133 determines one or more inputs by retrieving information (e.g. a current stage identifier for the target entity, a topic of a content interaction history) from a target entity profile stored on a data storage unit 137); and
determining, by the NUI engine, the first user intent based on the user profile, wherein the user profile comprises an interaction history for the client device (Chhaya: par. 0030; the text generator subsystem 133 determines one or more inputs by retrieving information (e.g. a current stage identifier for the target entity, a topic of a content interaction history) from a target entity profile stored on a data storage unit 137).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Chhaya with the system/method of Kohlmeier. One would have been motivated to enabling the system to determine inputs by retrieving content interaction history from user profile (Chhaya: par. 0030).
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kohlmeier et al. (“Kohlmeier,” US 2019/0294727), published on Sep. 26, 2019, in view of Kurita et al. (“Kurita,” US 2017/0090692), published on Mar. 30, 2017.
Regarding claim 20, Kohlmeier discloses the computer readable storage media of claim 15.
Kohlmeier disclose receive input and determine user intent as recited above (Kohlmeier: pars. 0062-0063; Figs. 7A-7C).
Kohlmeier does not explicitly disclose receive a mark made with reference to one or more content objects within the productivity application; and determine the first user intent based on the mark.
However, Kurita disclose a method/system for manage content configured to:
receive a mark made with reference to one or more content objects within the productivity application (Kurita: pars. 0082-0083 a plurality of pages (handwritten pages) including strokes input by handwriting, a page (handwritten page) including a handwritten mark (for example, a star mark) can be easily searched for; see also par. 0219); and
determine the first user intent based on the mark (Kurita: pars. 0082-0083 a plurality of pages (handwritten pages) including strokes input by handwriting, a page (handwritten page) including a handwritten mark (for example, a star mark) can be easily searched for; see also par. 0219).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Kurita with the system/method of Kohlmeier. One would have been motivated to enable users to easily search for a page with a star mark (Kurita: par. 0083).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record on form PTO-892 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Applicant is required under 37 C.F.R. § 1.111(c) to consider these references fully when responding to this action.
It is noted that any citation to specific, pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the references should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33,216 USPQ 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006, 1009, 158 USPQ 275,277 (CCPA 1968))
Inquiries
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LINH K PHAM whose telephone number is (571)270-3230. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (EST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, William L Bashore can be reached on (571) 272-4088. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LINH K PHAM/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2174
Prosecution Insights