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 Amendment
This action is in response to the amendment filed on 3/4/2026. Claims 1 and 12 have been amended while claims 4 and 5 have been cancelled and applicant added claim 13. Amendments have been fully considered but are not persuasive. Claims 1-3, 6-8, and 10-13 remain rejected in the application.
Response to Arguments
In response to applicant’s arguments regarding Nakano and Kim failing to disclose grouping adjacent buttons together, applicant’s arguments have been fully considered but are not persuasive. Nakano and Kim explicitly teach those limitations [Nakano: 0510 “To the left of the window display section 641 are arranged icons 640 representing the menu items in the launcher screen (Mail, Browser, Address book, Schedule, Memo pad, File viewer, Accessory, and System) in the Vertical direction, and are displayed the upward and down ward scroll buttons 635 and 636.”](teaches a control panel with multiple buttons) [Kim: 0062 “Information on the driver ' s seat position may be information on which of the left and right sides of the vehicle a driver ' s seat is located . The head unit 100 includes a graphical user interface ( GUI ). In the GUI, the arrangement positions of command buttons of a touchscreen type, that is, a soft key type, may be changed according to the driver 's seat position.”].
In response to applicant’s argument regarding Nakano failing to disclose the rendering of an image from the side of the display and moves to the center. Arguments fully considered but is not persuasive. Nakano explicitly discloses [Nakano: 0251 “While the desired menu panel 134 is selected on the Screen and the Selected menu panel 134 is determined then an application is activated in this example, the application may be automatically activated when the desired menu panel 134 has moved to the display position P0 and Selected on the Screen.”] (Nakano teaches once a button from the menu panel is selected, it is moved to display position “p0” which is the center of the display).
In response to applicant’s argument regarding Nakano failing to disclose the grouping adjacent buttons. Arguments fully considered but is not persuasive because the office action explicitly used Kim’s reference to teach those limitations [Kim: 0062 “Information on the driver ' s seat position may be information on which of the left and right sides of the vehicle a driver ' s seat is located . The head unit 100 includes a graphical user interface ( GUI ). In the GUI, the arrangement positions of command buttons of a touchscreen type, that is, a soft key type, may be changed according to the driver 's seat position.”](Kim teaches the user interface changes according to the side of the drivers seat).
In response to applicant’s general and broad arguments regarding the other references used that fail to cure Nakano’s deficiencies. That’s a broad statement and does not explain thoroughly how they fail to cure Nakano’s deficiencies and Examiner requests clear arguments pointing out the differences between the claimed invention and the references.
In response to applicant’s arguments regarding the dependent claims being allowable. Examiner is maintaining rejection of both the independent and dependent claims. Claims 1-3, 6-8, and 10-13 remain rejected in the application.
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, 2, 6, 8, 11, 12, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakano et. al (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0100479), in view of Kim (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0215882).
Regarding claim 1, Nakano discloses a display control apparatus comprising: a display having a plurality of buttons arranged on [Nakano: 0510 “To the left of the window display section 641 are arranged icons 640 representing the menu items in the launcher screen (Mail, Browser, Address book, Schedule, Memo pad, File viewer, Accessory, and System) in the Vertical direction, and are displayed the upward and down ward scroll buttons 635 and 636.”](teaches a control panel with multiple buttons); and a controller that controls images displayed on the display [Nakano: 0277 “The LCD panel 11 comprises an LCD display panel integral with a transparent touch panel overlaid on the LCD display panel. The LCD panel 11 provides a display Screen such as a menu screen 30 described later on the LCD display panel in accordance with a display control Signal from the control unit 18.”] (teaches control panel with controls being display on an LCD panel), the controller upon detecting an operation of a first button by a user causes a transition to a first image from a second image [0505 “When a cursor 637 is positioned on one of the menu items and the side controller 613 is pushed, the side controller operation detector 623 detects this push operation and Supplies a push operation signal to the CPU 621. In response to this, the CPU 621 selects a menu item where the cursor 637 is positioned and activates an application program corresponding to the Selected menu item. Then the System makes a transition to the operation Screen corresponding to the menu item.”] (teaches screen transitioning as the user’s cursor interacts with the system), the first image being associated with the first button and being different from the second image, the second image being associated with the second button that had been displayed on the display before an operation was performed to change to the first image [Nakano 0521 “For example, tapping on the upward or downward scroll button 635 or 636 while the accessory operation Screen is displayed to position a cursor on an icon other than the icon 640 indicating the accessory causes the CPU 621 to Switch over the Screen display.”] (Nakano teaches that there are 2 buttons that cause the display to switch what is being displayed), the controller executing a rendering process during the transition (interpreted as the controller initiating an animation while switching) [Nakano: 0246 “controller 24 references the animation pattern data 540 (step S160) to provide Zoom-back display of the menu screen (step S162).”](Nakano teaches the controller initiates the animation), the rendering process including an appearance rendering, in which the first image is moved from the side of the display where the first button is located [Nakano: 0038 “display entity appears from one Side of the Screen and disappears into the other side”](Nakano: Fig. 36 “Side Controller Input Direction”)(teaches the button for the display which is on the side and once pressed, the entity appears from one side of the screen to the other) to a center of the display from a direction of a position of the first button [Nakano: 0251 “While the desired menu panel 134 is selected on the Screen and the Selected menu panel 134 is determined then an application is activated in this example, the application may be automatically activated when the desired menu panel 134 has moved to the display position P0 and Selected on the Screen.”] (Nakano teaches once a button from the menu panel is selected, it is moved to display position “p0” which is the center of the display), and in which the first image increases in size as the first image moves to the center of the display from the position of the first button until the first image substantially fills the display [Nakano: 0539 “Menu items in the upper area of the window display Section 634 gradually increases their sizes and appear in the state shown in FIG. 55D.”](teaches the obvious limitation of increasing the displayed items size and increasing their sizes), and disappearance rendering, in which the second image is cleared from the display [Nakano: 0460 “While not shown in FIGS. 44 through 47, this processing terminates as follows. When power off of the PDA1 is instructed by the input section 100, the processor terminates the application under execution as well as terminates the display of the menu screen 30 then terminates this processing.”] (teaches application termination (or disappearance rendering) also terminates what is being displayed), and the appearance rendering is executed after the disappearance rendering [Nakano: 0223 “The animation pattern data 540 stores information on an animation pattern to be displayed in case an application is terminated”] (teaches an animation that is executed once the application is terminated or “disappear”), and the controller causing an image associated with the grouped buttons to move to a center of the display from a direction of a center position of the grouped buttons [Nakano: 0170 “In the mode “1”, when a menu item is selected, the menu panel 134 moves to occupy the display positions Pat a predetermined pitch along the travel locuss Lfl through Lf3 in the upward/downward direction in the screen (direction of rotation about X axis in the figure). That is, the menu panel 134 moves to slide along the travel locuss LfE through Lf3.”] [0170 “In the mode “1”, when a menu item is selected, the menu panel 134 moves to occupy the display positions P at a predetermined pitch along the travel locuss Lfl through Lif3 in the upward/downward direction in the screen (direction of rotation about X axis in the figure). That is, the menu panel 134 moves to slide along the travel locuss LfE through Lf3. The display panel 134 located in a display position P0 (also called the “home position') is assumed as a candidate for Selection and displayed for Selection. The display position P0 corresponds to the predetermined position B4 (see FIG. 2A).”](Nakano teaches movement is measured from the mid-arc position toward p0. Nakano further teaches moving the menu towards the center of the display), but fails to explicitly disclose either a left or right side of the display, whichever side is closer to a driver seat, adjacent buttons among the plurality of buttons being grouped together.
However, Kim discloses either a left or right side of the display, whichever side is closer to a driver seat, adjacent buttons among the plurality of buttons being grouped together [Kim: 0062 “Information on the driver ' s seat position may be information on which of the left and right sides of the vehicle a driver ' s seat is located . The head unit 100 includes a graphical user interface ( GUI ). In the GUI, the arrangement positions of command buttons of a touchscreen type, that is, a soft key type, may be changed according to the driver 's seat position.”](Kim teaches the user interface changes according to the side of the drivers seat).
Nakano and Kim are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of graphical user interface display. Therefore, 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 system of Nakano to incorporate Kim’s teachings of changing the user interface according to which side the driver’s seat is. The motivation for such a combination would provide the benefit of flexible implementation across different nation’s with different driving regulations
Regarding claim 2, Nakano and Kim disclose the display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein while the controller is executing the rendering process, the buttons are always displayed on the display in a state that is visible to the user [Nakano: 0510 “To the left of the window display section 641 are arranged icons 640 representing the menu items in the launcher screen (Mail, Browser, Address book, Schedule, Memo pad, File viewer, Accessory, and System) in the Vertical direction, and are displayed the upward and down ward scroll buttons 635 and 636. Tapping on the upward or downward scroll button 635 or 636 moves a cursor 37 (not shown in FIG. 54) between the icons 640.”][Nakano: 0511 “While the accessory operation screen is displayed, the cursor 637 (not shown in FIG. 54) is positioned on the icon indicating the accessory.”][Nakano: 0132 “the transition of display of menu items in an accessory operation”](Nakano teaches that the buttons are on display while the accessory operation is displayed which is a transition of display or interpreted as animation, further teaching the buttons are on display).
Regarding claim 6, Nakano and Kim disclose the display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rendering processes include enlarging an image, reducing an image [Nakano 0064: “the item display control means makes display control by gradually Scaling up the Second plurality of items So as to position the items in the window frames corresponding to the items.”](Nakano teaches controlling the size of the items that are displayed), darkening an image, lightening an image [Nakano: 0040 “It is thus possible to change the weight in accordance with the characteristics of the background and the information display entity and provide appropriate transparency. For example, in case the lightness of the background is low (that is, dark) and the lightness of the information display entity is high (that is, bright), the weight amount is changed to raise the transparency in order to avoid a State where the information display entity is more prominent than the desired appearance.”] (teaches controlling how dark/light an entity that is being displayed), and moving an image [Nakano: 0264 “By moving the Virtual entity, the plurality of menu panels 134 are moved at a time.”] (Nakano teaches moving the virtual entity and menu panels).
Regarding claim 8, Nakano and Kim disclose the display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the direction in which the image moves during the disappearance rendering is the same for all images [Nakano: 0308 “Accordingly, the menu display entities in the menu screen 30 are scrolled in the Same direction as that of the menu display entity group 40.”](Nakano teaches the menu entities are able to move in the same direction as the entity group).
Regarding claim 11, Nakano and Kim disclose the display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of buttons are a plurality of virtual icons [Nakano: 0510 “To the left of the window display section 641 are arranged icons 640 representing the menu items in the launcher screen (Mail, Browser, Address book, Schedule, Memo pad, File viewer, Accessory, and System) in the Vertical direction, and are displayed the upward and down ward scroll buttons 635 and 636.”](Nakano teaches the icons are digital/virtual).
Claims 12 and 13 are method and apparatus claims corresponding to the apparatus claim 1 above without additional limitations or elements. Thus, claims 12 and 13 are rejected for the same reason as claim 1.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakano et. al (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0100479), in view of Kim (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0215882), in further view of Benario et. al (U.S. Patent No. 10,169, 902).
Regarding claim 3, Nakano and Kim disclose the display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein upon detecting an operation of one of the buttons by the user, the controller starts an application associated with the button that was operated [Nakano: 0505 “When a cursor 637 is positioned on one of the menu items and the side controller 613 is pushed, the side controller operation detector 623 detects this push operation and Supplies a push operation signal to the CPU 621. In response to this, the CPU 621 selects a menu item where the cursor 637 is positioned and activates an application program corresponding to the Selected menu item. Then the System makes a transition to the operation Screen corresponding to the menu item.”](teaches how the application program activates or “starts” after user’s cursor pushes a specific button), and the controller prohibits the appearance rendering and the disappearance rendering upon detecting that the tile has been operated by the user, (interpreted as when the user taps the tile, the usual two-stage animations are skipped) [Nakano: 0525 “As mentioned earlier, when the cursor is positioned on the menu item: accessory and a predetermined time has elapsed in a launcher screen, the CPU 621 executes display control of lower-menu items as described referring to FIGS. 54A through 54G. For example, in case the side controller 613 is pushed within a predetermined time, the CPU 621 may skip display control described referring to FIGS. 54A through 54G and promptly display the accessory operation screen shown in FIG. 54G on the liquid crystal panel 612.”](teaches controlling what renders based on which button is pushed which is an obvious limitation), but fail to explicitly disclose, the application includes launching an image of a home screen, the image of the home screen includes a tile for launching a predetermined function.
However, Benario discloses the application includes launching an image of a home screen (Benario: Col. 1, Lines 14-16 “A computer device may represent a set of applications to a user by presenting a set of icons as part of a desktop, or a home screen of an operating system.”), the image of the home screen includes a tile for launching a predetermined function (Benario: Col. 4, Lines 21-23 “ A tile 252 is a marker visual that may incorporate a data display 254 presenting a limited amount of data.”) (Benario teaches a tile associated with data, having data is interpreted to have a predetermined function).
Nakano, Kim, and Benario are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of graphical user interface display. Therefore, 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 system of Nakano and Kim to incorporate Benario’s teachings of including a home screen and tiles with data. The motivation for such a combination would provide the benefit of skipping the launch animation when a tile is tapped or reducing latency and lighting the processor/GPU load.
Claims 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakano et. al (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0100479), in view of Kim (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0215882), in further view of Hillis et. al (U.S. Patent No. 7,724,242).
Regarding claim 7, Nakano and Kim disclose the display control apparatus according to claim 1, but fail to explicitly disclose wherein a time needed for the appearance rendering is longer than a time needed for the disappearance rendering.
However, Hillis discloses a time needed for the appearance rendering is longer than a time needed for the disappearance rendering (Hillis: Col. 13, Lines 13-15 “transition from one image to the next may be abrupt, or may involve gradually lessening the presentation of one image”)(Hillis: Col. 15, Lines “The transparency of the second image is then set to 100% so that it disappears from view, quickly enough that this may be imperceptible to the user”)(Hillis teaches that the presentation of image renderings may quickly disappear from view or slowed down when being presented).
Nakano, Kim, and Hillis are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of graphical user interface display. Therefore, 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 system of Nakano and Kim to incorporate Hillis’s teachings of controlling the time for different rendering types. The motivation for such a combination would provide the benefit of enhanced renderings that are customizable for their intended purpose, enhancing the user’s overall experience.
Claims 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakano et. al (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0100479), in view of Kim (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0215882), in view of Benario et. al (U.S. Patent No. 10,169, 902), in further view of Nguyen Kim et. al (U.S. Patent No. 9,417,087).
Regarding claim 10, Nakano, Kim, and Benario disclose the display control apparatus according to claim 3, but fail to explicitly disclose wherein the application includes activating a route guidance, and when the controller causes an image of the route guidance to appear in the display, the controller prohibits the appearance rendering for an image relating to map information and performs the appearance rendering for an image relating to information other than the map information.
However, Nguyen Kim discloses the application includes activating a route guidance, and when the controller causes an image of the route guidance to appear in the display (Nguyen Kim: Col. 7, Lines 34-43 “At 131, interactive 3D navigation system 10 receives a request for a preview. At 132, interactive 3D navigation system 10 determines whether the request is for a preview of a single turn, rather than a full route. If the request is for a preview of a single turn, route preview process 130 proceeds to 133, in which interactive 3D navigation system 10 deter mines whether the vehicle is stopped. If the vehicle is stopped, route preview process 130 proceeds to 134, in which interactive 3D navigation system 10 selects representative locations along the turn.”), the controller prohibits the appearance rendering for an image relating to map information and performs the appearance rendering for an image relating to information other than the map information (interpreted as the animation for rendering map information is stopped and a different animation is rendered) (Nguyen Kim: Col. 1, Lines 42 – 45 “The navigation system may block display of 3D animated previews when the vehicle is moving due to safety considerations, and allow display of the 3D animated previews of turns when the vehicle is stopped.”) (Nguyen Kim: Col. 3, Lines 30-36 “Prior to displaying 3D animated preview 24, display 32 may communicate with vehicle speed detector 34 to deter mine whether the user's vehicle is stopped or in motion. If the vehicle is in motion, interactive 3D navigation system 10 may determine it is unsafe to display 3D animated preview 24, and display 32 may instead show a still image of the selected turn, Such as a frame 24a in isolation.”) (Nguyen Kim teaches controlling when and what animation is displayed).
Nakano, Kim, Benario, and Nguyen Kim are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of graphical user interface display. Therefore, 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 system of Nakano, Kim, and Benario to incorporate Nguyen Kim’s teachings of controlling when and what animation is displayed. The motivation for such a combination would provide the benefit of a safer driving experience for the user.
Conclusion
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 AHMED TAHA whose telephone number is (571)272-6805. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 am - 5 pm, Mon - Fri. 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, XIAO WU can be reached at (571)272-7761. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786- 9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/AHMED TAHA/Examiner, Art Unit 2613
/XIAO M WU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2613
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