DETAILED ACTION
A. This action is in response to the following communications: Request for Continued Examination filed 03/17/2026.
B. Claims 1-12 remains pending.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 03/17/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 1-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fukuoka, Kaoru et al. (US Pub. 2011/0317192 A1), herein referred to as “Fukuoka” in view of Skarp, Ari-Pekka (US Pub. 2010/0162169), herein referred to as “Skarp”.
As for claims 1 and 12, Fukuoka teaches. An information processing apparatus and corresponding non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 including a processor, the processor performing a process to and storing an information processing program executable by a computer to perform processing (par. 37-38 hardware environment to carry out the invention of Fukuoka for the multifunction device (MFP)):
display, on a display unit, an operational part movable along a predetermined direction at a time of executing a function for which setting information has been preset (par. 40 operational panel is a touch display for displaying setting of the MFP by predetermined position of the touch panel; par. 53 fig. 4 a scroll track and slider graphical user interface elements/inputs);
sequentially display the setting information on the display unit in accompaniment with progression of a moving operation of moving the operational part (par. 55-57 sequential list of function icons related to setting information to display within the touch panel that the user can scroll and slide input to access); and
execute the function after the end of the moving operation (par. 67 after the user has used the scroll and/or slide input an example of a function is selected and automatically performed, said function in this example is “separate”, although many other examples are provided throughout the disclosure).
Fukuoka does not specifically teach execute the function when the operational part has been moved to the end of a moving range; however in the same field of endeavor Skarp does teach this added feature to a graphical user interface for purpose of faster input (par. 15 FIG. 1a depicts a touch screen display 100 presenting an example dynamic slider interface. The touch screen display 100 may be incorporated into the user interface of FIG. 1a of any electronic device, such as a mobile terminal. The example dynamic slider interface includes a device status 105, a slider object 110, a reject option 115, a silence option 120, an answer option 125, and a display locked/unlocked status 127; par. 29 A user interacting with the touch screen display 100 of FIG. 1c may have various options for proceeding. If a user desires to select a sub-functionality option, the user may implement a slider selection event directed to the desired sub-functionality option. and not execute the function when the operational part has not been moved to the end of the moving range (par.15 and 29 Further, for example, upon implementing the slider selection event that selected the reject option 115 depicted in FIG. 1b, the user may discontinue contact with the touch screen display 100. According to some exemplary embodiments, discontinuing contact with the touch screen display may indicate that a sub-functionality option will not be selected, and no subsequent selection of a sub-functionality option will be permitted).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Skarp into Fukuoka because Skarp suggests in paragraphs 2-3 With the evolution of computing and communications devices, new and unique ways for users to interface with electronic devices, such as a computers, cell phones, mobile terminals, or the like, are continuously evolving. User interfaces of electronic devices have recently taken another leap with the advent of the touch screen display. Touch screen displays eliminate the need for mechanical keys on an electronic device and are readily configurable via software to support a unique user interface to any application executed by an electronic device. As an output device, a touch screen display may operate similar to a conventional display. However, as an input device, a user may interact directly with the display to perform various operations. To replace the functionality provided by the conventional mechanical keys, touch screen displays can be configured to designate areas of the display to a particular functionality.
As for claim 2, Fukuoka teaches. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor displays the setting information that is displayable in a case in which a touch on the operational part has been detected and sequentially displays the setting information that is not being displayed in a case in which the moving operation has started (par. 55-56 FIG. 4, only a subset of icons are displayed, in such eight consecutive functional icons 30 out of the twenty-six functional icons 30A-30Z are displayed in the functional icon area 23. A user moves the slider 25 to specify which of the functional icons 30 are displayed therein).
As for claim 3, Fukuoka teaches. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor sequentially displays the setting information by scrolling and displaying the setting information or sequentially switching to and displaying screens in which an area where the setting information is displayed is changed (par. 57 The slider 25 moves along the scroll track 24, and specifies eight markers on the scroll track 24 by enclosing the eight markers by a rectangle. Stated differently, functional icons 30 corresponding to the eight markers specified by the slider 25 are displayed in the functional icon area 23).
As for claim 4, Fukuoka teaches. The information processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the processor scrolls the setting information at a predetermined speed in accordance with a speed of the moving operation of the operational part or switches to screens in which the area where the setting information is displayed is changed at the predetermined speed (par. 82 using predetermined speed to control the scrolling in an effort to aid the user to recognize content displayed on the operational touch panel; for example “..the sliding speed for the functional icon 30 for a related function is reduced while the speed at which the user drags the slider 25 with his/her finger remains unchanged...”) .
As for claim 5, Fukuoka teaches. The information processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the processor scrolls the setting information, or switches to screens in which the area where the setting information is displayed is changed, at a speed slower than a speed of the moving operation of the operational part (par. 82 scrolling speed is predetermined to slow in specific areas of scrollable content of setting menus presented on the operational pane of the MFP).
As for claim 6, Fukuoka teaches. The information processing apparatus of claim 1 any one of claims 1, wherein the processor executes the function after elapse of a predetermined amount of time after the moving operation of the operational part is completed (par. 90 various predetermined time thresholds set before a processor executes a function that is selected by the user after said user finds function).
As for claim 7, Fukuoka teaches. The information processing apparatus of claim 1 any one of claims 1, wherein the processor displays the setting information at a position at which it will not obstruct the moving operation of the operational part (fig. 8 shows a transition of displaying sliding motion on the screen in which no obstruction of the moving operation is taken place as the user is freely able to navigate the touch display of menu items).
As for claim 8, Fukuoka teaches. The information processing apparatus of claim 1 any one of claims 1, wherein at a time of displaying the setting information, the processor further displays an image representing a document that is an execution target (fig. 3 shows icons representing images of documents as desired functions to take part on said document as a preview to what they will do functionally).
As for claim 9, Fukuoka teaches. The information processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor sequentially displays the setting information while keeping the image fixed (fig. 6 icon is fixed while user navigates more options in contextual menu 1210).
As for claim 10, Fukuoka teaches. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein a display order of the setting information is an order that prioritizes the setting information that has been changed from predetermined initial settings (par. 169 user selected thereby prioritizes, further to be specific, the related icon determining portion 1300 searches in order, from the record corresponding to “1” of the set number 1711, for a record in which the setting details of the setting items 1712-1714 indicate the received item details).
As for claim 11, Fukuoka teaches. An information processing system comprising:
the information processing apparatus of claim 1; and an image forming apparatus that sends the setting information to the information processing apparatus and receives execution of the function from the information processing apparatus (par. 66 executing a specific function of many functions presented on the MFP operational panel).
(Note :) It is noted that any citation to specific, pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the references should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33, 216 USPQ 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006,1009, 158 USPQ 275, 277 (CCPA 1968)).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-12 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Inquires
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to NICHOLAS AUGUSTINE at telephone number (571)270-1056.
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.
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/NICHOLAS AUGUSTINE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2178 June 16, 2026
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