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 is in response to application filed on 02/28/2024 in which claim 1-20 are presented for examination.
Status of Claims
2. Claims 1-20 are pending, of which claim 1, 15 and 20 are in independent form.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
3. Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-
statutory subject matter.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. Claim 10 recites “A computer-readable storage medium” It appears that the medium recited in the claims are not described in the specification as including a non-transitory tangible medium in a manner which enables it to act as a computer component to realize the computer program’s functionality. Therefore, when the claims are interpreted broadly as transmission medium or signal, the claims appear to be non-statutory because they are not tangibly embodied in a manner so as to be executable. Applicant should add the “non-transitory" to the preamble.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
4. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(B) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 10, the sentence recites “at least one of is satisfied” seems to be ambiguous in definition. It is not clear from specification or in figures as to what is “which one of satisfies”. Appropriate correction is requested.
If the language of a claim, considered as a whole in light of the specification and given its broadest reasonable interpretation, is such that a person of ordinary skill in the relevant art would read it with more than one reasonable interpretation, then a rejection of the claims under 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph, is appropriate. See MPEP 2173.05(a), MPEP 2143.03(I), and MPEP 2173.06.
In light of the aforementioned rejections of the claim(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112, any subsequent rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102 and/or 103 are based on prior art that reads on the interpretation of the claim language of the instant application as best understood by the examiner.
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.
5. Claims 1-6, 10, 13 and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Lanza et al. (US PG Pub 2009/0106310) published on April 23, 2009 in view of Cervelli (US PG Pub 2022/0028136) published on January 27, 2022.
As per claim 1, 15 and 20, Lanza teaches An information processing method comprising: creating a group field in a target table of a first document in response to a first operation event(fig 1a-b Para[0013-0015] user create a group of data based on the selection of the data displayed on a table, as taught by Lanza);
associating a target cell corresponding to the group field with at least one target group in response to a second operation event(fig 1a-d, 2a-d para [0013-0015][0018-0023] grouping the table by the "car" column. A group division is created for each unique value ("coupe" and "sedan") in the column, and an associated group division row (row 2 and row 15) is added to the table corresponding to a subsequent input, as Lanza);
wherein the group field is a field with a field type of group(fig 1A-D. 2a-d displays data field in groups such as coupe, sedan, Q1-Q3, as taught by Lanza).
Lanza does not teach opening or joining the target group in response to a third operation event based on the target cell;
On the other hand, Cervelli teaches opening or joining the target group in response to a third operation event based on the target cell(fig 7 Para[0067-0073] the process 700 displays a portion of the selected object set filtered by the first filter in a second chart corresponding to the third input, as taught by Cervelli);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the
invention to modify Lanza invention with the teaching of Cervelli because doing so would allow the user to
comfortably review the large amount of data and to take advantage of humans' particularly strong pattern
recognition abilities related to visual stimuli.
As per claim 2 and 16, the combination Lanza and Cervelli teaches wherein the method further comprises, after associating the target cell corresponding to the group field with at least one target group, displaying in the target cell identification information respectively corresponding to the associated target group(fig 1A-D 2A-D Para[0012-0022] shows table of cells are group together, as taught by Lanza) .
As per claim 3 and 17, the combination Lanza and Cervelli teaches wherein, the identification
information corresponding to the target group includes: group profile, a group name and/or a group
thumbnail (fig 1A-D. 2a-d coupe, sedan, Q1-Q3, as taught by Lanza).
As per claim 4 and 18, the combination Lanza and Cervelli teaches wherein opening or joining the target group in response to a third operation event based on the target cell comprises: opening or joining the target group corresponding to identification information on which the third operation event is based in response to the third operation event executed based on identification information in the target cell(Para[0072-0074] displays a portion of the selected object set filtered by the first filter in a second chart based on third user input, as taught by Cervelli) .
As per claim 5 and 19, the combination Lanza and Cervelli teaches wherein at least one of the following is satisfied: updating the identification information corresponding to the target group in the target cell in real time or periodically in case that information of the target group is updated or the target group is dismissed(Para[0012] The grouping of a table is based on the current data values of the table and is automatically and dynamically updated in real time to reflect the correct grouping as the data in the table is changed, as taught by Lanza);
updating the identification information corresponding to the target group in the target cell when the target group is associated with the target cell again or the target group is associated with other cells in case that the information of the target group is updated or the target group is dismissed;
displaying a group contact card of the target group corresponding to the identification information in case that a fourth operation event is executed on the identification information, wherein the group contact card includes at least one of: a group name, a group profile, a group label, and a control for opening or joining the target group.
As per claim 6, the combination Lanza and Cervelli teaches wherein opening or joining the target group in response to a third operation event based on the target cell comprises: opening or joining the target group based on a belonging relationship between a current user performing the third operation event and the target group in response to a third operation based on the target cell(Para[0067-0077], as taught by Cervelli).
As per claim 9, the combination Lanza and Cervelli teaches wherein associating a target cell corresponding to the group field with at least one target group in response to a second operation event comprises: displaying optional groups in response to a first operation on the target cell(fig 1A-D and 2A-D, as taught by Lanza); selecting at least one group from the optional groups in response to a second operation on the optional groups(Para[0018-0019], as taught by Lanza); establishing an association between the target cell and the selected group(fig 1A-C cell corresponds to coupe and sedan, as taught by Lanza); wherein the selected group for which an association with the target cell is established is the target group(fig 1a-b Para[0013-0015] user create a group of data based on the selection of the data displayed on a table and cells are corresponds to the group, as taught by Lanza).
As per claim 10, the combination Lanza and Cervelli teaches wherein at least one of is satisfied: the optional groups are groups for which a current user that executes the second operation event has default permissions(Para[0015-0022], as taught by Lanza);;
displaying a search control for searching groups while displaying the optional groups(fig 1B, as taught by Lanza);
after selecting at least one group from the optional groups, displaying in the target cell identification information corresponding to the target group(Para[0015-0017], as taught by Lanza);
in case that a third operation is executed on the identification information, deleting the identification information and deselecting deleted groups corresponding to the identification information(Para[0015], as taught by Lanza).
As per claim 13, the combination Lanza and Cervelli teaches wherein creating a group field in a target table of a first document in response to a first operation event comprises: configuring attribute of a column of cells in a target table of the first document as the group field in response to a first operation event, or adding, in a target table of the first document, a column of cells configured with the group field attribute in response to a first operation event(Para[0013-0020], as taught by Lanza).
5. Claims 7-8 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Lanza et al. (US PG Pub 2009/0106310) published on April 23, 2009 in view of Cervelli (US PG Pub 2022/0028136) published on January 27, 2022 in further view of SCHLESINGER(US PG Pub 2019/0005592) published on January 03, 2019.
As per claim 7, the combination Lanza and Cervelli teaches wherein opening or joining the target group based on a belonging relationship between a current user performing the third operation event(Para[0073-0075], as taught by Cervelli) and the target group comprises: opening the target group(fig 1a-d, as taught by Lanza)
The combination of Lanza and Cervelli does not explicitly teach
in case that the current user has joined the target group; or in case that the current user has not joined the target group, joining the target group.
On the other hand, SCHLESINGER teaches in case that the current user has joined the target group(Para[0037] participant joining the group, as taught by SCHLESINGER); or in case that the current user has not joined the target group, joining the target group.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the
invention to modify Lanza and Cerville invention with the teaching of SCHLESINGER because doing so
would result allow a group administrator to form a group of members that live in a particular
neighborhood.
As per claim 8, the combination Lanza, Cervelli and SCHLESINGER teaches wherein in case that the current user has joined the target group which has already been dismissed, neither joining nor opening the target group after performing third operation event, and displaying a first prompt message, the first prompt message indicating that the current user is not in the target group; or,
in case that the current user has not joined the target group and the current user does not have permission to join the target group, neither joining nor opening the target group after performing the third operation event, and displaying a second prompt message, the second prompt message indicating failure or error upon joining the target group(Para[0023-0035], as taught by SCHLESINGER); or,
if the current user has not joined the target group and the target group has been dismissed or disabled or permission required for joining the target group has changed, neither joining nor opening the target group after performing third operation event, and displaying a third prompt message, the third prompt message indicating that the current user can not join the target group.
As per claim 14, the combination Lanza, SCHLESINGER and Cervelli teaches wherein the target group is a group in a communication client, the communication client is associated with an account of a current user; or the target group is an email group in an email client, the email client is associated with an account of a current user(Para[0014-0018][0036-0037], as taught by SCHLESINGER).
5. Claims 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Lanza et al. (US PG Pub 2009/0106310) published on April 23, 2009 in view of Cervelli (US PG Pub 2022/0028136) published on January 27, 2022 in further view of Chow(US PG Pub 2017/0329786) published on November 16, 2017.
As per claim 11, the combination Lanza and Cervelli does not teach wherein, the target cell is referenced by referencing a target cell and thereby directing to a target group associated with the target cell.
On the other hand, Chow teaches wherein, the target cell is referenced by referencing a target cell and thereby directing to a target group associated with the target cell(Para[0054-0055] Mapping fragment 412 is an “expression” type mapping fragment, and thus has an “expression” type icon 414. Mapping fragment 432 is a “target” type mapping fragment, and thus has a “target” type icon 434, as taught by Chow).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the
invention to modify Lanza and Cerville invention with the teaching of Chow because doing so would result
increased efficiency by allowing multiple data fields to flow into a mapping fragment over a link, which is further described below. For example, the mapping fragment 300 includes a static port representing each of the data fields “dealership_ID,” “region,” “customer,” “firstname,” “lastname,” and “gender.”
As per claim 12, the combination Lanza, Chow and Cervelli teaches wherein creating a group field in a target table of a first document in response to a first operation event comprises: displaying a field creation interface in response to a fourth operation on a first control(Para[0074-0075], as taught by Cervelli); determining that a field type of a field created is group and creating the group field in response to a second operation in the field creation interface(Para[0046-0048], as taught by Chow).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAYEEZ R CHOWDHURY whose telephone number is (571)270-3069. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9AM-6:30PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, William L Bashore can be reached at 571-272-4088. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RAYEEZ R CHOWDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2174
Saturday, March 7, 2026