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
1. This action is responsive to amendment filed on 4/29/2026.
2. Claims 1-20 are pending in the case.
3. Claims 1 and 13 are independent claims.
Applicant’s Response
4. In Applicant’s response dated 4/29/2026, applicant has amended the following:
a) Claims 1 and 13
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-11 and 13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (hereinafter “Park”) by U.S. Patent No. 9658738 B1 in view of Hochmuth, Roland M., U.S. Published Application No. 20020075319 A1.
Claim 1:
Park teaches A method performed by a terminal device, comprising: in response to an instruction of creating a shortcut icon, obtaining a displaying condition of the shortcut icon; (e.g.., in response to accessing a screen, creating and displaying shortcut icons in a GUI and automatically identifying a current context (i.e., display condition) of each of the shortcut icons col. 2 line 6; For example, the electronic device may rearrange a plurality of icons in a user interface of the electronic device to prominently present one or more icons based on information indicating the current context of the device. The icons may be graphical elements, logos, shortcuts or other graphical representations of applications, content items, or the like, that are accessible on the electronic device by selection of a respective icon via the user interface. col. 2 line 43; Based on the determinations, the device may present icons of certain items more prominently, such as in a designated area of the interface, based on a current context detected by the device. col. 9 line 34; For example, the first page 402 may be the first page of icons 116 presented to the user when the user accesses the interface 400, such as following turning on, activating, awakening, or logging in to the device 100)
determining whether the display condition is satisfied; (e.g., determining if user is at a current location (i.e., satisfying the current context display condition) Examiner notes that this limitation is an example of a contingent limitation and is not required to be met as a method step (see MPEP 2111.04 II) col. 2 line 58;The movement of different icons in and out of the designated area on the first page may be triggered by various context indicators, such as a user's location, a predicted current activity of the user, a current time and/or day, or the like.)
in response to determining that the display condition is satisfied, creating and displaying the shortcut icon; (e.g., each time a user accesses a screen of shortcut icons, displaying the created shortcut icons in a designated area of the screen based on the determined user’s location (i.e., satisfied display condition) Examiner notes that this limitation is not required to be met as a method step due to the previous “determining whether the display condition is satisfied” limitation (see MPEP 2111.04 II) col. 2 line 58;The movement of different icons in and out of the designated area on the first page may be triggered by various context indicators, such as a user's location, a predicted current activity of the user, a current time and/or day, or the like. col. 9 line 34; For example, the first page 402 may be the first page of icons 116 presented to the user when the user accesses the interface 400, such as following turning on, activating, awakening, or logging in to the device 100)
and in response to determining that the display condition is not satisfied, (e.g., in response to the current context not meeting a user location, time or predicted activity (i.e., condition not being satisfied) removing icon from a designated location to a different designated location col. 2 line 58;The movement of different icons in and out of the designated area on the first page may be triggered by various context indicators, such as a user's location, a predicted current activity of the user, a current time and/or day, or the like. col. 3 line 5; For example, if an application has never been used, or has not been used within the past several months, six months, year, etc., the electronic device may designate this application for uninstallation, such as by moving the icon of the application to a predetermined area such as to a particular directory or other designated area in the user interface.) displaying a prompt for reminding a user to remove the shortcut icon. (e.g., identifying shortcut icons to be presented for deletion based on not being accessed within a time threshold(i.e., display condition is not satisfied ) Examiner considers presenting shortcut icons for consideration for deletion as taught by Park to read on the recited “display prompt”. col. 3 line 11; The user of the device may be periodically prompted to confirm that these items can be deleted from the electronic device. ) col. 14 line 54; In addition, the management module 640 may identify one or more items 664 for deletion or removal from the device 100. For example, the management module 640 may compare the items 648 with the access history 610 and a time threshold 666 to determine if any of the items 648 have not been accessed within the time threshold 666. Consequently, such items may be identified for deletion, and corresponding icons may be presented on the display 102 for consideration by a user 668. In some examples, the icons may be added to a recommended deletion directory, which may be displayed to the user as a directory representation 202, as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 2-3.)
Park fails to expressly teach creating a shortcut icon triggered by a user on a target page in an application, obtaining a target parameter corresponding to the target page. (emphasis added)
However, Hochmuth teaches in response to an instruction of creating a shortcut icon triggered by a user on a target page in an application, (e.g., triggering user input via menus or dialog boxes on a target page to access a file par.6; The rest of the programs and files accessible to the user must be selected through the use of less convenient means such as pull-down or pop-up menus, dialog boxes, and windows showing nested folders that represent a directory tree.) obtaining a target parameter corresponding to the target page, the target parameter comprising a display condition of the shortcut icon; ( e.g., in response creating a shortcut icon triggered by a user accessing a file, displaying the shortcut icon having an associated event log on a desktop. Examiner considers the number of times a file has been accessed to be the obtained target parameter corresponding to the accessed file. This obtained “quantity of access times” parameter determines whether a shortcut is displayed. For example, If a particular file has been accessed by the user through the GUI more than a specified threshold number of times within a specified period, it meets the criteria for creating a shortcut. In other words, obtaining the number of access times for a file teaches or suggests the recited target parameter corresponding to the file (i.e., target page in an application).
Examiner also considers each removable displayed shortcut icon to have a default display condition of being removed if the icon has not been used within a threshold amount of time par. 21; Many GUIs, such as Microsoft WINDOWS.TM., include the ability to create an object known as a shortcut and to place that object on the computer desktop. par. 24; In a step 504 the desktop event log is examined to see if a particular file meets the criteria for creating a shortcut. If a particular file has been accessed by the user through the GUI more than a specified threshold number of times within a specified period, it meets the criteria for creating a shortcut. The specified period may be measured in time units, or in GUI commands. Examining the desktop event log may be accomplished by successively looking at portions of the log that represent the specified period and then counting the number of occurrences of each file to see if there are more than the specified threshold number of occurrences of that file in that portion of the desktop event log. Par. 34; If the item has not been used more recently than the threshold amount of time, then the process proceeds to step 612 where the user is asked if that item should be removed from the computer desktop completely, or removed from the computer desktop and placed in the stack.)
and in response to determining that the display condition is not satisfied, displaying a prompt for reminding a user to remove the shortcut icon. (e.g., if shortcut has not been recently used, the user is asked if the shortcut should be removed from the computer desktop completely Par. 34; If the item has not been used more recently than the threshold amount of time, then the process proceeds to step 612 where the user is asked if that item should be removed from the computer desktop completely, or removed from the computer desktop and placed in the stack.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the shortcut icons as taught by Park to include being created based on access to a file as taught by Hochmuth with a reasonable expectation of success, to provide the benefit of automatically managing the display of objects in a graphical user interface in effort to accurately reflect the files and programs being most frequently accessed by the user. (see Hochmuth; par. 8)
Claim 2 depends claim 1:
Park teaches wherein the display condition comprises at least one of: a time parameter for displaying the shortcut icon, a geographical location parameter for displaying the shortcut icon, or a condition corresponding to user data during display of the shortcut icon. (e.g., removing or displaying a short icon at a designated location based on current time or day, user’s location, and predicted current activity (i.e., user data during display of icon) col. 2 line 58;The movement of different icons in and out of the designated area on the first page may be triggered by various context indicators, such as a user's location, a predicted current activity of the user, a current time and/or day, or the like.)
Claim 3 depends claim 2:
Park teaches wherein display condition comprises the time parameter for displaying the shortcut icon, and wherein the time parameter for displaying the shortcut icon comprises at least one of a time point for displaying the shortcut icon, a time period for displaying the shortcut icon, or a time cycle for displaying the shortcut icon. (e.g., removing or displaying a short icon at a designated location based on current time or day (i.e., time point or time period) col. 2 line 58;The movement of different icons in and out of the designated area on the first page may be triggered by various context indicators, such as a user's location, a predicted current activity of the user, a current time and/or day, or the like.)
Claim 4 depends claim 3:
Park teaches wherein the display condition comprises the time parameter for displaying the shortcut icon, and wherein determining that the display condition is satisfied comprises: determining that a current time reaches the time point for displaying the shortcut icon; or determining that a current time is within the time period or the time cycle for displaying the shortcut icon. (e.g., removing or displaying a short icon at a designated location based on current time or day (i.e., determining that a current time reaches the time point or determining that a current time is within the time period) col. 2 line 58;The movement of different icons in and out of the designated area on the first page may be triggered by various context indicators, such as a user's location, a predicted current activity of the user, a current time and/or day, or the like.)
Claim 5 depends claim 2:
Park teaches wherein the display condition comprises the geographical location parameter for displaying the shortcut icon, and wherein determining that the display condition is satisfied comprises: determining that a current geographical location of the terminal device is within a geographical region corresponding to the geographical location parameter. (e.g., removing or displaying a short icon at a designated location based on user’s location col. 2 line 58;The movement of different icons in and out of the designated area on the first page may be triggered by various context indicators, such as a user's location, a predicted current activity of the user, a current time and/or day, or the like.)
Claim 6 depends claim 2:
Park teaches wherein the display condition comprises the condition corresponding to the user data during display of the shortcut icon, and wherein determining that the display condition is satisfied comprises: obtaining the user data; and determining that the user data satisfies the condition corresponding to the user data. (e.g., removing or displaying a short icon at a designated location based on predicted current activity (i.e., user data during display of icon) col. 2 line 58;The movement of different icons in and out of the designated area on the first page may be triggered by various context indicators, such as a user's location, a predicted current activity of the user, a current time and/or day, or the like.)
Claim 7 depends claim 1:
Park teaches wherein the obtaining a display condition of the shortcut icon comprises: obtaining a preset display condition of the shortcut icon; generating the display condition according to a setting instruction input by a user; or receiving the display condition from a server by sending a request for the display condition to the server. (e.g., obtaining context information such as external information from a server (i.e., receiving the display condition from a server col. 3 line 6; When determining the context information 714, the remote computing device 702 may access other sources of information, such as external information 716 and other user information 718. For example, the external information 716 may include information such as time and day of the week, maps indicating what is at a current location of the device 100, weather at a current location of the device 100, planned events at a current location of the device 100, and various other types of information related to the current context of the device 100. In some cases, the context recognition model 712 may access one or more network accessible resources 720, such as may be provided on one or more web servers or other computing devices 722, to obtain certain types of external information 716 that are not already stored at the remote computing device 702.)
Claim 8 depends claim 1:
Park teaches wherein the creating and displaying the shortcut icon comprises: obtaining a display parameter of the shortcut icon; and creating and displaying the shortcut icon based on the display parameter. (obtaining game related identifiers (i.e., display parameter) for shortcut icons col. 2 line 62; As another example, the user may be able to override the automatic management of the icons. For example, the user may make a user input or issue a voice command such as “show game apps,” which may result in one or more game-related icons being moved into the first page of the user interface.)
Claim 9 depends claim 8:
Park teaches wherein the obtaining a display parameter of the shortcut icon comprises: obtaining a preset display parameter of the shortcut icon; (e.g., obtaining a current context (i.e., display condition) of the shortcut icon to display in a designated region more prominently (i.e., preset display parameter) col. 2 line 43; Based on the determinations, the device may present icons of certain items more prominently, such as in a designated area of the interface, based on a current context detected by the device. col. 2 line 47; The electronic device may manage the location of the icons in the user interface based on a set of rules, which may be set by default and/or which may be set by a user. For example, icons of more frequently used items may be moved by the device to an area on a home page or first page of the user interface. For instance, the first page may include an area designated for displaying icons that are identified by the electronic device as being related to a current context detected by the electronic device. As one example, the electronic device may move the icons to a designated area on the first page or to a designated area in a designated directory on the first page )
generating the display parameter according to a setting instruction input by a user; or receiving the display parameter from a server by sending a request for the display parameter to the server. (“show game apps,” to display game related icons at a designated location (i.e., receiving the display parameter from a server by sending a request for the display parameter to the server) col. 2 line 62; As another example, the user may be able to override the automatic management of the icons. For example, the user may make a user input or issue a voice command such as “show game apps,” which may result in one or more game-related icons being moved into the first page of the user interface. col. 3 line 6; When determining the context information 714, the remote computing device 702 may access other sources of information, such as external information 716 and other user information 718. For example, the external information 716 may include information such as time and day of the week, maps indicating what is at a current location of the device 100, weather at a current location of the device 100, planned events at a current location of the device 100, and various other types of information related to the current context of the device 100. In some cases, the context recognition model 712 may access one or more network accessible resources 720, such as may be provided on one or more web servers or other computing devices 722, to obtain certain types of external information 716 that are not already stored at the remote computing device 702.)
Claim 10 depends claim 8:
Park teaches wherein the display parameter comprises at least one of: an identifier of the shortcut icon, a name of the shortcut icon, a display style of the shortcut icon, a behavior definition of the shortcut icon, a display location of the shortcut icon, and a display status of the shortcut icon; and wherein the behavior definition of the shortcut icon indicates an enabled function or a page displayed after the shortcut icon is triggered. (obtaining game related identifiers (i.e., display parameter) for shortcut icons enabled to display game functions (i.e., behavior definition) col. 2 line 62; As another example, the user may be able to override the automatic management of the icons. For example, the user may make a user input or issue a voice command such as “show game apps,” which may result in one or more game-related icons being moved into the first page of the user interface.)
Claim 11 depends claim 10:
Park teaches wherein the display style of the shortcut icon comprises at least one of a size, a shape, a color, an animation, or a video of the shortcut icon. (e.g., shortcut icons with default display style including a default size, shape and color as shown in Figures 3- 5)
Claim 13:
Claim 13 is substantially encompassed in claim 1, therefore, Examiner relies on the same rationale set forth in claim 1 to reject claim 13.
Claim 14 depends claim 13:
Claim 14 is substantially encompassed in claim 2, therefore, Examiner relies on the same rationale set forth in claim 2 to reject claim 14.
Claim 15 depends claim 14:
Claim 15 is substantially encompassed in claim 3, therefore, Examiner relies on the same rationale set forth in claim 3 to reject claim 15.
Claim 16 depends claim 15:
Claim 16 is substantially encompassed in claim 4, therefore, Examiner relies on the same rationale set forth in claim 4 to reject claim 16.
Claim 17 depends claim 16:
Claim 17 is substantially encompassed in claim 5, therefore, Examiner relies on the same rationale set forth in claim 5 to reject claim 17.
Claim 18 depends claim 15:
Claim 18 is substantially encompassed in claim 6, therefore, Examiner relies on the same rationale set forth in claim 6 to reject claim 18.
Claim 19 depends claim 15:
Claim 19 is substantially encompassed in claim 7, therefore, Examiner relies on the same rationale set forth in claim 7 to reject claim 19.
Claim 20 depends claim 14:
Claim 20 is substantially encompassed in claim 8, therefore, Examiner relies on the same rationale set forth in claim 8 to reject claim 20.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park/Hochmuth as cited above, in further view of foreign reference KR 20160007051 (hereinafter “KR reference”) submitted by Applicant (see IDS dated 10/31/2024) of record.
Claim 12 depends claim 10:
Park/Hochmuth fails to expressly teach wherein the display condition is an end time for displaying the shortcut icon, the display style of the shortcut icon comprises a countdown animation, and wherein the method further comprises: displaying the countdown animation on the shortcut icon within a preset duration before the end time.
However, KR reference teaches wherein the display condition is an end time for displaying the shortcut icon, the display style of the shortcut icon comprises a countdown animation, and wherein the method further comprises: displaying the countdown animation on the shortcut icon within a preset duration before the end time. (see Figure 11; page 17; , the control unit 180 can display the elapsed time with respect to the set total time. in this case, the control unit 180 can delete the shortcut icon 80 when the time has elapsed)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the shortcut icons as taught by Park/Hochmuth to include a countdown animation as taught by KR Reference, with a reasonable expectation of success, to provide the benefit of a user friendly way of reminding the user of the deletion process in case they wanted a chance to reverse the deletion process.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/29/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Prior Art Rejections
1)Applicant argues that Hochmuth does not teach a user triggering an instruction on a target page in an application, nor does it teach obtaining a target parameter comprising a display condition in response to such an instruction. Instead, Hochmuth teaches a background operating system process that monitors file access frequency. (see Response; page 8)
Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Examiner notes that under Broadest Reasonable Interpretation (BRI), a obtaining a ‘target parameter” is merely obtaining a characteristic. Examiner considers “file access frequency” as a characteristic for an accessed file. Examiner submits that the recited “triggering” to create a shortcut is merely based on user input. Applicant fails to explain how obtaining a “target parameter” or “triggering” distinguishes over monitoring “file access frequency” and “accessing a file based on user input”, respectively. Examiner notes that the instant specification discloses user input such as “tapping” as a way of triggering (see par. 98; Optionally, the user may tap a shortcut icon creation button on a target page in the application, to trigger an instruction to create a shortcut icon corresponding to the target page). Examiner notes that is well known in the art to access a file based on user input. For example, Hochmuth teaches the variety of ways to access a file based on user input (see par. 6; The rest of the programs and files accessible to the user must be selected through the use of less convenient means such as pull-down or pop-up menus, dialog boxes, and windows showing nested folders that represent a directory tree.). Therefore, in response to user input via menus or dialog boxes of a page, to accessing a file or another page, determining if the access frequency for that accessed file is above a threshold in order to create a shortcut cut for the accessed file teaches or suggests “in response to an instruction of creating a shortcut icon triggered by a user on a target page in an application” as recited in the claims.
2)Applicant argues Hochmuth further states that it "automatically, or semi- automatically create[s] a shortcut for frequently accessed files" (Hochmuth at [0024]). This passive, background monitoring of an event log to automatically create shortcuts is fundamentally different from the claimed method, which requires an explicit user instruction triggered on a target page in an application to obtain a target parameter comprising a display condition. (see Response; page 8)
Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Examiner notes that the user input to access a file is relied upon to teach the recited “triggered”. Examiner notes that the instant specification discloses user input such as “tapping” as a way of triggering (see par. 98; Optionally, the user may tap a shortcut icon creation button on a target page in the application, to trigger an instruction to create a shortcut icon corresponding to the target page). Applicant fails to explain how the recited “triggering” distinguishes over “accessing a file based on user input via menus and dialog boxes”. (see Hochmuth; par. 6) Therefore, in response to user input via menus or dialog boxes of a page, to accessing a file or another page, determining if the access frequency for that accessed file is above a threshold in order to create a shortcut cut for the accessed file teaches or suggests “in response to an instruction of creating a shortcut icon triggered by a user on a target page in an application” as recited in the claims.
3)Applicant argues that the Examiner has improperly stitched together Park's context-based display mechanism with Hochmuth's staleness-based deletion mechanism. In the cited combination, Park's display condition is context-based (e.g., location), while the removal condition in both Park and Hochmuth is strictly based on staleness or lack of use. The prior art fails to teach a unified display condition that dictates the entire lifecycle of the shortcut icon. (see response; page 9)
Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Hochmutch teaches a unified display condition based on a threshold as admitted by the Applicant. For example, when the access frequency amount is greater than a threshold within a specific period, the shortcut is created. When the access frequency amount is less than threshold within a specific period, the shortcut is suggested to be removed. Examiner submits that Hochmutch display condition based on comparing access frequency with threshold within a specific period teaches or suggests a unified display condition that dictates the entire lifecycle of the shortcut icon.
For at least the foregoing reasons, Examiner maintains prior art rejections.
Conclusion
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 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 HENRY ORR whose telephone number is (571)270-1308. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM EST M-F.
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/HENRY ORR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2172
Prosecution Insights