DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . This Office Action is responsive to the communications filed on 23 December 2025. Claims 1, 3-4, 7-9, 11-13, 15-16, and 19-21 are pending.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 202110584990.8, filed on May 27, 2021.
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, 3-4, 7-9, 11-13, 15-16, and 19-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kokuryu (US 2013/0021737 A1) in view of Hirukawa et al. (Hereinafter, Hirukawa, US 2011/0037720 A1).
Per claim 1, Kokuryu discloses a method for identifying an operation(e.g., slide direction determination process 1500 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraph [0120], “FIG. 15 is an illustration of a flow diagram showing an exemplary process 1500 for determining a slide direction according to an embodiment of the disclosure.” ), comprising:
in response to a touch operation acting on a virtual control list (e.g., touch operation acting on ‘First Battery Group’ as shown in Fig. 7A; paragraph [0092], “As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, a user may move a function group to an arbitrary battery block by a touch operation to the function group. For example, when the function group, the "music," is touched, the processor 24 highlights the display of the text indicating the function group of the music, that is, the text of "Music 35:00."…”; Examiner’s Note: Examiner is interpreting the function groups describe in Kokuryu to be virtual control list. ) in a graphical user interface(e.g., function display area 62 as shown in Fig. 7A; paragraph [0074], “… A first battery image BGa and a battery group are also displayed in the function display area 62…”), acquiring a state of a touch point corresponding to the touch operation(e.g., task S25 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraph [0105], “ The slide distance calculation program 310 is configured to calculate a distance from a touched point to a current touched location and for storing the calculated distance in a slide distance buffer 332. The slide direction determination program 312 is a program for determining whether a slide direction is vertical or horizontal based on an angle of the slide.“; paragraph [0120], “FIG. 15 is an illustration of a flow diagram showing an exemplary process 1500 for determining a slide direction according to an embodiment of the disclosure. For example, when the touch flag 350 is turned on, the vertical slide flag 352 is turned off in the task S21, and the horizontal slide flag 354 is turned off in the task S23. In other words, each flag is initialized. Next, the processor 24 determines whether the slide distance is longer than a predefined distance in the task S25…”), wherein the virtual control list comprises a draggable virtual control icon(e.g., Fig. 7A shows ‘Music’ icon being dragged to from ‘First Battery Group’ to ‘Second Battery ; paragraph [0092]);
acquiring, upon the touch point being in a moving state, a movement angle of the touch point relative to a preset sliding direction of the virtual control list (e.g., Step S27 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraph [0121], “Next, the processor 24 calculates the slide angle from a touched point and a current touched location in the task S27 ...” ); and
determining whether the movement angle of the touch point is greater than a sliding angle threshold(e.g., task S29 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraphs [0121-0122] ),
in response to determining that the movement angle of the touch point is greater than the sliding angle threshold, determining the operation type of the touch operation as the drag operation acting on the virtual control icon (e.g., task S33 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraph [0092]; Examiner’s Note: Kokuryu determines that a horizontal slide operation is being performed.);
in response to determining that the dwell touch duration is less than the dwell duration threshold, acquiring a movement distance of the touch point(e.g., task S25 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraph [0120], “… Next, the processor 24 determines whether the slide distance is longer than a predefined distance in the task S25…. “), and determining whether the operation type of the touch operation is the slide operation acting on the virtual control list according to a relationship between the movement distance and a preset distance threshold(Kokuryu, paragraph [0025], “… That is, if the direction is determined when the slide distance stored in the slide distance buffer 332 is extremely short, the battery block may be set by accident, or the capacity ratio may be unintentionally changed. For these reasons, it is determined whether the slide distance is longer than a given distance ... “; Examiner’s Note: Kokuryu determines that a touch operation is the slide operation when the movement distance is greater than a preset distance. ).
Kokuryu does not expressly disclose:
wherein the sliding angle threshold is an angle range in which the slide operation conflicts with the drag operation,
in response to determining that the movement angle of the touch point is less than or equal to the sliding angle threshold, acquiring a movement speed of the touch point,
in response to determining that the movement speed of the touch point is greater than or equal to a sliding speed threshold, determining the operation type of the touch operation as the slide operation acting on the virtual control list;
in response to determining that the movement speed of the touch point is less than the sliding speed threshold, determining a dwell touch duration during which the touch point stays at a same position;
in response to determining that the dwell touch duration is greater than or equal to a dwell duration threshold, determining the operation type of the touch operation as the drag operation acting on the virtual control icon; and
Hirukawa discloses:
wherein the sliding angle threshold is an angle range in which the slide operation conflicts with the drag operation (paragraph [0212]),
in response to determining that the movement angle of the touch point is greater than the sliding angle threshold, determining the operation type of the touch operation as the drag operation acting on the virtual control icon(e.g., Step S214 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0150], “At step S214, the CPU determines whether or not the current mode of mobile phone 100 is the menu selection mode or the drag mode. In the case of the menu selection mode, the process proceeds into step S216, and in the case of the drag mode, the process proceeds into step S224. “; paragraph [0214]);
in response to determining that the movement angle of the touch point is less than or equal to the sliding angle threshold, acquiring a movement speed of the touch point (e.g., Step S214 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0150], “At step S214, the CPU determines whether or not the current mode of mobile phone 100 is the menu selection mode or the drag mode. In the case of the menu selection mode, the process proceeds into step S216, and in the case of the drag mode, the process proceeds into step S224. “; paragraph [0214]),
in response to determining that the movement speed of the touch point is greater than or equal to a sliding speed threshold, determining the operation type of the touch operation as the slide operation acting on the virtual control list(e.g., Steps S222 to S226 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0217], “… Mobile phone 100 is configured to be changed to the drag mode when the time period during which a touch operation continues exceeds predetermined threshold value Tx or when the shift speed exceeds threshold value Vx. Continuation of a touch operation refers to a state of being kept touched without any touch-and-release after the touch. “);
in response to determining that the movement speed of the touch point is less than the sliding speed threshold, determining a dwell touch duration during which the touch point stays at a same position(e.g., Steps S218 to S220; paragraph [0218]; Examiner’s Note: The device remains in menu mode using a touch operation.);
in response to determining that the dwell touch duration is greater than or equal to a dwell duration threshold, determining the operation type of the touch operation as the drag operation acting on the virtual control icon(e.g., Step S216 as shown in Fig. 18; paragraphs [0151-0152]).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the mobile information terminal of Hirukawa with Kokuryu’s mobile electronic device for the purpose of ensuring improved user convenience of a mobile electronic device displaying an operation window on a touch panel provided on a display unit as suggested by Hirukawa (paragraph [0008]).
Per claim 3 , Kokuryu and Hirukawa disclose the method of claim [[2]] 1, wherein acquiring the movement speed of the touch point comprises:
acquiring a movement duration from an initial time point when the touch point enters a touch start state to a current time point(Hirukawa, e.g., Step S208 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0146], “At step S208, the CPU stores the current touch position as touch start position P0 and the current time at this time point as touch start time T0, and advances the process into step S210. Touch start position P0 and touch start time T0 as used herein correspond to start position p and start time t shown in Table 4, respectively.”), and acquiring a movement distance of the touch point (Hirukawa, e.g., Step S216 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0151], “At step S216, the CPU calculates the difference between touch position P1 and touch start position P0 to obtain a shift distance, and determines whether or not the shift distance is longer than a predetermined certain threshold value.”); and
obtaining, according to a ratio of the movement distance to the movement duration, the movement speed of the touch point at the current time point (Hirukawa, e.g., Step 216A as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0217]; Examiner’s Note: Hirukawa discloses obtaining speed by dividing the movement distance (P1-P0) by the movement time (T1-T0). ).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the mobile information terminal of Hirukawa with Kokuryu’s mobile electronic device for the purpose of ensuring improved user convenience of a mobile electronic device displaying an operation window on a touch panel provided on a display unit as suggested by Hirukawa (paragraph [0008]).
Per claim 4, Kokuryu and Hirukawa disclose the method of claim 3, wherein acquiring the movement distance of the touch point comprises:
acquiring an initial position when the touch point enters the touch start state, and acquiring a current position of the touch point at the current time point(Hirukawa, e.g., Step S208 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0146], “At step S208, the CPU stores the current touch position as touch start position P0 and the current time at this time point as touch start time T0, and advances the process into step S210. Touch start position P0 and touch start time T0 as used herein correspond to start position p and start time t shown in Table 4, respectively.”); and
determining the movement distance of the touch point according to the initial position and the current position of the touch point(Hirukawa, e.g., Step S216 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0151], “At step S216, the CPU calculates the difference between touch position P1 and touch start position P0 to obtain a shift distance, and determines whether or not the shift distance is longer than a predetermined certain threshold value.”).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the mobile information terminal of Hirukawa with Kokuryu’s mobile electronic device for the purpose of ensuring improved user convenience of a mobile electronic device displaying an operation window on a touch panel provided on a display unit as suggested by Hirukawa (paragraph [0008]).
Per claim 7, Kokuryu and Hirukawa disclose the method of claim [[ 5]]1, wherein acquiring the dwell touch duration during which the touch point stays at the same position comprises: activating a timer upon the touch point entering a touch start state and detecting, by the timer, the dwell touch duration during which the touch point stays at the same position(Hirukawa, e.g., Step SA110 as shown in Fig. 16; paragraph [0094]).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the mobile information terminal of Hirukawa with Kokuryu’s mobile electronic device for the purpose of ensuring improved user convenience of a mobile electronic device displaying an operation window on a touch panel provided on a display unit as suggested by Hirukawa (paragraph [0008]).
Per claim 8, Kokuryu and Hirukawa disclose the method of claim 1, further comprising:
in response to determining that the operation type of the touch operation is the slide operation acting on the virtual control list, acquiring a movement direction and a movement speed of the touch point (Hirukawa, e.g., Step S216A as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0217]), and controlling the virtual control list to slide according to the movement direction and the movement speed of the touch point(e.g., Steps S224-S226 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraphs [0152-0155]).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the mobile information terminal of Hirukawa with Kokuryu’s mobile electronic device for the purpose of ensuring improved user convenience of a mobile electronic device displaying an operation window on a touch panel provided on a display unit as suggested by Hirukawa (paragraph [0008]).
Per claim 9, Kokuryu and Hirukawa disclose the method of claim 1, further comprising:
in response to determining that the operation type of the touch operation is the drag operation acting on the virtual control icon(Kokuryu, e.g., task S171 as shown in Fig. 19), acquiring a target virtual control icon corresponding to the drag operation (e.g., task S173 as shown in Fig. 19; paragraph [0149], “If the task S171 is "YES," for example, if a user touches the function group of the "music," as shown in FIG. 7A, the processor 24 highlights the touched function group (task S173). For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, the processor 24 adds an underline below the text of the touched function group and changes the typeface to the bold, italic typeface…”; Examiner’s Note: Kokuryu displays information indicating a drag target as shown in Fig. 7A ) ; and
creating a corresponding virtual control drag icon according to the target virtual control icon, and updating a display position of the virtual control drag icon in real time according to a position of the touch point (Kokuryu, e.g., task S183 as shown in Fig. 19; paragraph [0151], “Next, the processor 24 updates the display of battery groups (the task S183). For example, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7(B), the processor 24 updates the display of the first battery group and the second battery group. Then, the processor 24 determines if a release is detected within another battery group….“).
Per claim 11, Kokuryu discloses an electronic device (e.g., mobile phone 10 as shown in Fig. 1as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0034]) comprising:
a processor (e.g., processor 24 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0034]); and
memory (e.g., memory module 50 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0037]) configured to store one or more programs which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;
acquire, in response to a touch operation acting on a virtual control list(e.g., touch operation acting on ‘First Battery Group’ as shown in Fig. 7A; paragraph [0092], “As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, a user may move a function group to an arbitrary battery block by a touch operation to the function group. For example, when the function group, the "music," is touched, the processor 24 highlights the display of the text indicating the function group of the music, that is, the text of "Music 35:00."…”; Examiner’s Note: Examiner is interpreting the function groups described in Kokuryu to be virtual control list. ) in a graphical user interface(e.g., function display area 62 as shown in Fig. 7A; paragraph [0074], “… A first battery image BGa and a battery group are also displayed in the function display area 62…”), a state of a touch point corresponding to the touch operation(e.g., task S25 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraph [0105], “ The slide distance calculation program 310 is configured to calculate a distance from a touched point to a current touched location and for storing the calculated distance in a slide distance buffer 332. The slide direction determination program 312 is a program for determining whether a slide direction is vertical or horizontal based on an angle of the slide.“; paragraph [0120], “FIG. 15 is an illustration of a flow diagram showing an exemplary process 1500 for determining a slide direction according to an embodiment of the disclosure. For example, when the touch flag 350 is turned on, the vertical slide flag 352 is turned off in the task S21, and the horizontal slide flag 354 is turned off in the task S23. In other words, each flag is initialized. Next, the processor 24 determines whether the slide distance is longer than a predefined distance in the task S25…”) , wherein the virtual control list comprises a draggable virtual control icon(e.g., Fig. 7A shows ‘Music’ icon being dragged to from ‘First Battery Group’ to ‘Second Battery ; paragraph [0092]);
determine, in response to determining that the movement angle of the touch point is greater than the sliding angle threshold, the operation type of the touch operation as the drag operation acting on the virtual control icon (e.g., task S33 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraph [0092]; Examiner’s Note: Kokuryu determines that a horizontal slide operation is being performed.);
determine whether the movement angle of the touch point is greater than a sliding angle threshold(e.g., task S29 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraphs [0121-0122] ),
determine, in response to determining that the movement angle of the touch point is greater than the sliding angle threshold, determining the operation type of the touch operation as the drag operation acting on the virtual control icon (e.g., task S33 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraph [0092]; Examiner’s Note: Kokuryu determines that a horizontal slide operation is being performed.);
acquire, in response to determining that the dwell touch duration is less than the dwell duration threshold, acquiring a movement distance of the touch point(e.g., task S25 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraph [0120], “… Next, the processor 24 determines whether the slide distance is longer than a predefined distance in the task S25…. “),
determining whether the operation type of the touch operation is the slide operation acting on the virtual control list according to a relationship between the movement distance and a preset distance threshold (Kokuryu, paragraph [0025], “… That is, if the direction is determined when the slide distance stored in the slide distance buffer 332 is extremely short, the battery block may be set by accident, or the capacity ratio may be unintentionally changed. For these reasons, it is determined whether the slide distance is longer than a given distance ... “; Examiner’s Note: Kokuryu determines that a touch operation is the slide operation when the movement distance is greater than a preset distance. ).
Kokuryu does not expressly disclose:
wherein the sliding angle threshold is an angle range in which the slide operation conflicts with the drag operation,
acquire, in response to determining that the movement angle of the touch point is less than or equal to the sliding angle threshold, a movement speed of the touch point,
determine, in response to determining that the movement speed of the touch point is greater than or equal to a sliding speed threshold, the operation type of the touch operation as the slide operation acting on the virtual control list;
determine, in response to determining that the movement speed of the touch point is less than the sliding speed threshold, a dwell touch duration during which the touch point stays at a same position.
Hirukawa discloses:
wherein the sliding angle threshold is an angle range in which the slide operation conflicts with the drag operation (paragraph [0212]),
determine, in response to determining that the movement speed of the touch point is greater than or equal to a sliding speed threshold, the operation type of the touch operation as the slide operation acting on the virtual control icon(e.g., Step S214 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0150], “At step S214, the CPU determines whether or not the current mode of mobile phone 100 is the menu selection mode or the drag mode. In the case of the menu selection mode, the process proceeds into step S216, and in the case of the drag mode, the process proceeds into step S224. “; paragraph [0214]);
acquire, in response to determining that the movement angle of the touch point is less than or equal to the sliding angle threshold, a movement speed of the touch point (e.g., Step S214 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0150], “At step S214, the CPU determines whether or not the current mode of mobile phone 100 is the menu selection mode or the drag mode. In the case of the menu selection mode, the process proceeds into step S216, and in the case of the drag mode, the process proceeds into step S224. “; paragraph [0214]),
determine, in response to determining that the movement speed of the touch point is greater than or equal to a sliding speed threshold, the operation type of the touch operation as the slide operation acting on the virtual control list(e.g., Steps S222 to S226 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0217], “… Mobile phone 100 is configured to be changed to the drag mode when the time period during which a touch operation continues exceeds predetermined threshold value Tx or when the shift speed exceeds threshold value Vx. Continuation of a touch operation refers to a state of being kept touched without any touch-and-release after the touch. “);
determine, in response to determining that the movement speed of the touch point is less than the sliding speed threshold, a dwell touch duration during which the touch point stays at a same position (e.g., Steps S218 to S220; paragraph [0218]; Step S216 as shown in Fig. 18; paragraphs [0151-0152 Examiner’s Note: The device remains in menu mode using a touch operation.);
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the mobile information terminal of Hirukawa with Kokuryu’s mobile electronic device for the purpose of ensuring improved user convenience of a mobile electronic device displaying an operation window on a touch panel provided on a display unit as suggested by Hirukawa (paragraph [0008]).
Per claim 12, Kokuryu discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon a computer program (e.g., memory module 50as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0037]) which, when executed by a processor(e.g., processor 24as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0034]), causes the processor to:
acquire, in response to a touch operation acting on a virtual control list(e.g., touch operation acting on ‘First Battery Group’ as shown in Fig. 7A; paragraph [0092], “As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, a user may move a function group to an arbitrary battery block by a touch operation to the function group. For example, when the function group, the "music," is touched, the processor 24 highlights the display of the text indicating the function group of the music, that is, the text of "Music 35:00."…”; Examiner’s Note: Examiner is interpreting the function groups describe in Kokuryu to be virtual control list. ) in a graphical user interface(e.g., function display area 62 as shown in Fig. 7A; paragraph [0074], “… A first battery image BGa and a battery group are also displayed in the function display area 62…”), a state of a touch point corresponding to the touch operation(e.g., task S25 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraph [0105], “ The slide distance calculation program 310 is configured to calculate a distance from a touched point to a current touched location and for storing the calculated distance in a slide distance buffer 332. The slide direction determination program 312 is a program for determining whether a slide direction is vertical or horizontal based on an angle of the slide.“; paragraph [0120], “FIG. 15 is an illustration of a flow diagram showing an exemplary process 1500 for determining a slide direction according to an embodiment of the disclosure. For example, when the touch flag 350 is turned on, the vertical slide flag 352 is turned off in the task S21, and the horizontal slide flag 354 is turned off in the task S23. In other words, each flag is initialized. Next, the processor 24 determines whether the slide distance is longer than a predefined distance in the task S25…”) , wherein the virtual control list comprises a draggable virtual control icon(e.g., Fig. 7A shows ‘Music’ icon being dragged to from ‘First Battery Group’ to ‘Second Battery ; paragraph [0092]);
acquire, upon the touch point being in a moving state, a movement angle of the touch point relative to a preset sliding direction of the virtual control list (e.g., Step S27 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraph [0121], “Next, the processor 24 calculates the slide angle from a touched point and a current touched location in the task S27 ...” ); and
determine, in response to determining that the movement angle of the touch point is greater than the sliding angle threshold, the operation type of the touch operation as the drag operation acting on the virtual control icon (e.g., task S33 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraph [0092]; Examiner’s Note: Kokuryu determines that a horizontal slide operation is being performed.);
determine whether the movement angle of the touch point is greater than a sliding angle threshold(e.g., task S29 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraphs [0121-0122] ),
determine, in response to determining that the movement angle of the touch point is greater than the sliding angle threshold, determining the operation type of the touch operation as the drag operation acting on the virtual control icon (e.g., task S33 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraph [0092]; Examiner’s Note: Kokuryu determines that a horizontal slide operation is being performed.);
acquire, in response to determining that the dwell touch duration is less than the dwell duration threshold, acquiring a movement distance of the touch point(e.g., task S25 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraph [0120], “… Next, the processor 24 determines whether the slide distance is longer than a predefined distance in the task S25…. “),
determining whether the operation type of the touch operation is the slide operation acting on the virtual control list according to a relationship between the movement distance and a preset distance threshold (Kokuryu, paragraph [0025], “… That is, if the direction is determined when the slide distance stored in the slide distance buffer 332 is extremely short, the battery block may be set by accident, or the capacity ratio may be unintentionally changed. For these reasons, it is determined whether the slide distance is longer than a given distance ... “; Examiner’s Note: Kokuryu determines that a touch operation is the slide operation when the movement distance is greater than a preset distance. ).
Kokuryu does not expressly disclose:
wherein the sliding angle threshold is an angle range in which the slide operation conflicts with the drag operation,
acquire, in response to determining that the movement angle of the touch point is less than or equal to the sliding angle threshold, a movement speed of the touch point,
determine, in response to determining that the movement speed of the touch point is greater than or equal to a sliding speed threshold, the operation type of the touch operation as the slide operation acting on the virtual control list;
determine, in response to determining that the movement speed of the touch point is less than the sliding speed threshold, a dwell touch duration during which the touch point stays at a same position.
Hirukawa discloses:
wherein the sliding angle threshold is an angle range in which the slide operation conflicts with the drag operation (paragraph [0212]),
determine, in response to determining that the movement speed of the touch point is greater than or equal to a sliding speed threshold, the operation type of the touch operation as the slide operation acting on the virtual control icon(e.g., Step S214 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0150], “At step S214, the CPU determines whether or not the current mode of mobile phone 100 is the menu selection mode or the drag mode. In the case of the menu selection mode, the process proceeds into step S216, and in the case of the drag mode, the process proceeds into step S224. “; paragraph [0214]);
acquire, in response to determining that the movement angle of the touch point is less than or equal to the sliding angle threshold, a movement speed of the touch point (e.g., Step S214 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0150], “At step S214, the CPU determines whether or not the current mode of mobile phone 100 is the menu selection mode or the drag mode. In the case of the menu selection mode, the process proceeds into step S216, and in the case of the drag mode, the process proceeds into step S224. “; paragraph [0214]),
determine, in response to determining that the movement speed of the touch point is greater than or equal to a sliding speed threshold, the operation type of the touch operation as the slide operation acting on the virtual control list(e.g., Steps S222 to S226 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0217], “… Mobile phone 100 is configured to be changed to the drag mode when the time period during which a touch operation continues exceeds predetermined threshold value Tx or when the shift speed exceeds threshold value Vx. Continuation of a touch operation refers to a state of being kept touched without any touch-and-release after the touch. “);
determine, in response to determining that the movement speed of the touch point is less than the sliding speed threshold, a dwell touch duration during which the touch point stays at a same position (e.g., Steps S218 to S220; paragraph [0218]; Step S216 as shown in Fig. 18; paragraphs [0151-0152 Examiner’s Note: The device remains in menu mode using a touch operation.);
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the mobile information terminal of Hirukawa with Kokuryu’s mobile electronic device for the purpose of ensuring improved user convenience of a mobile electronic device displaying an operation window on a touch panel provided on a display unit as suggested by Hirukawa (paragraph [0008]).
Per claim 13, Kokuryu and Hirukawa disclose the method of claim 6, wherein determining whether the operation type of the touch operation is the slide operation according to the movement distance comprises:
in response to determining that the movement distance is greater than a preset distance threshold(Kokuryu, e.g., task S25 as shown in Fig. 15; paragraph [0120], “… Next, the processor 24 determines whether the slide distance is longer than a predefined distance in the task S25…. “), determining that the operation type of the touch operation is the slide operation (Kokuryu, paragraph [0025], “… That is, if the direction is determined when the slide distance stored in the slide distance buffer 332 is extremely short, the battery block may be set by accident, or the capacity ratio may be unintentionally changed. For these reasons, it is determined whether the slide distance is longer than a given distance ... “; Examiner’s Note: Kokuryu determines that a touch operation is the slide operation when the movement distance is greater than a preset distance. ).
Per claim 15 , Kokuryu and Hirukawa disclose the electronic device of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to:
acquire a movement duration from an initial time point when the touch point enters a touch start state to a current time point(Hirukawa, e.g., Step S208 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0146], “At step S208, the CPU stores the current touch position as touch start position P0 and the current time at this time point as touch start time T0, and advances the process into step S210. Touch start position P0 and touch start time T0 as used herein correspond to start position p and start time t shown in Table 4, respectively.”), and acquire a movement distance of the touch point (Hirukawa, e.g., Step S216 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0151], “At step S216, the CPU calculates the difference between touch position P1 and touch start position P0 to obtain a shift distance, and determines whether or not the shift distance is longer than a predetermined certain threshold value.”); and
obtain, according to a ratio of the movement distance to the movement duration, the movement speed of the touch point at the current time point (Hirukawa, e.g., Step 216A as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0217]; Examiner’s Note: Hirukawa discloses obtaining speed by dividing the movement distance (P1-P0) by the movement time (T1-T0). ).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the mobile information terminal of Hirukawa with Kokuryu’s mobile electronic device for the purpose of ensuring improved user convenience of a mobile electronic device displaying an operation window on a touch panel provided on a display unit as suggested by Hirukawa (paragraph [0008]).
Per claim 16, Kokuryu and Hirukawa disclose the electronic device of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to:
acquire an initial position when the touch point enters the touch start state, and acquiring a current position of the touch point at the current time point(Hirukawa, e.g., Step S208 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0146], “At step S208, the CPU stores the current touch position as touch start position P0 and the current time at this time point as touch start time T0, and advances the process into step S210. Touch start position P0 and touch start time T0 as used herein correspond to start position p and start time t shown in Table 4, respectively.”); and
determine the movement distance of the touch point according to the initial position and the current position of the touch point(Hirukawa, e.g., Step S216 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0151], “At step S216, the CPU calculates the difference between touch position P1 and touch start position P0 to obtain a shift distance, and determines whether or not the shift distance is longer than a predetermined certain threshold value.”).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the mobile information terminal of Hirukawa with Kokuryu’s mobile electronic device for the purpose of ensuring improved user convenience of a mobile electronic device displaying an operation window on a touch panel provided on a display unit as suggested by Hirukawa (paragraph [0008]).
Per claim 19, Kokuryu and Hirukawa disclose the electronic device of claim [[17]], wherein the processor is further configured to: activate a timer upon the touch point entering a touch start state and detect, by the timer, the dwell touch duration during which the touch point stays at the same position(Hirukawa, e.g., Step SA110 as shown in Fig. 16; paragraph [0094]).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the mobile information terminal of Hirukawa with Kokuryu’s mobile electronic device for the purpose of ensuring improved user convenience of a mobile electronic device displaying an operation window on a touch panel provided on a display unit as suggested by Hirukawa (paragraph [0008]).
Per claim 20, Kokuryu and Hirukawa disclose the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, but does not expressly disclose wherein the processor is further configured to:
acquire, in response to determining that the operation type of the touch operation is the slide operation acting on the virtual control list, a movement direction and a movement speed of the touch point, and control the virtual control list to slide according to the movement direction and the movement speed of the touch point.
Hirukawa discloses wherein the processor is further configured to:
acquire, in response to determining that the operation type of the touch operation is the slide operation acting on the virtual control list, a movement direction and a movement speed of the touch point, and control the virtual control list to slide according to the movement direction and the movement speed of the touch point (e.g., Step S216A as shown in Fig. 20; paragraph [0217]), and controlling the virtual control list to slide according to the movement direction and the movement speed of the touch point(e.g., Steps S224-S226 as shown in Fig. 20; paragraphs [0152-0155]).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the mobile information terminal of Hirukawa with Kokuryu’s mobile electronic device for the purpose of ensuring improved user convenience of a mobile electronic device displaying an operation window on a touch panel provided on a display unit as suggested by Hirukawa (paragraph [0008]).
Per claim 21, Kokuryu and Hirukawa disclose the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, but does not expressly disclose wherein the processor is further configured to:
acquire, in response to determining that the operation type of the touch operation is the drag operation acting on the virtual control icon, a target virtual control icon corresponding to the drag operation (paragraph [0092]; Fig. 7 illustrates acquire, in response to determining that the operation type of the touch operation is the drag operation acting on the virtual control icon, a target virtual control icon corresponding to the drag operation. );
create a corresponding virtual control drag icon according to the target virtual control icon, and update a display position of the virtual control drag icon in real time according to a position of the touch point (Kokuryu, paragraph [0092]; Fig. 7 illustrates create a corresponding virtual control drag icon according to the target virtual control icon, and update a display position of the virtual control drag icon in real time according to a position of the touch point. ).
Conclusion
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 12/23/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 3-4, 7-9, 11-13, 15-16, and 19-21 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Hirukawa et al. (Hereinafter, Hirukawa, US 2011/0037720 A1).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ichikawa (US 20170083145 A1) - An electronic apparatus, comprises a touch detection unit configured to detect a touch operation performed on an operation surface by an operation body, a determination unit configured to, on an occurrence of a move operation in which the operation body moves while in contact with the operation surface, determine an operating direction of the move operation under a determination condition that varies according to an approach direction of the operation body toward the operation surface and a control unit configured to perform control to execute a function corresponding to the operating direction determined by the determination unit.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DARRIN HOPE whose telephone number is (571)270-5079. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thr - 6:45-4:15, Fri - 6:45-3:15, Alt. Fri Off.
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, Stephen S Hong can be reached at (571)272-4124. 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.
DARRIN HOPE
Examiner
Art Unit 2178
/STEPHEN S HONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2178