DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to the response filed on 3/13/2026.
Claims 1, 3-8, 10-15, 17, 18, and 20 are pending in this application. Claims 1, 3-5, 7, 8, 10-12, 14, 15, 17, and 18 have been amended. Claims 2, 9, 16, and 19 have been cancelled. Claims 1, 8, and 15 are independent claims.
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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 8, and 15 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, add “wherein ” before the first candidate item … on line 8. . Please correct claims 8 and 15 analogously.
Claim 1, add “and ” before wherein the first substring is … on line 11. Please correct claims 8 and 15 analogously.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1, 3, 8, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sanada et al., US Patent No. 5,329,609 (hereinafter as Sanada).
Regarding independent claim 1, Sanada discloses an information display method [note the function in col. 3, lines 39-44] comprising:
receiving a first string input by a user [again, see col. 3, lines 39-44; see the user input based on voice or character recognition; especially note the option of user input on an input tablet, the input being a string of characters written by the user, as in col. 3, lines 7-8; see also the input tablet 501 shown on fig. 16]; and
displaying a first candidate item in a first candidate column, and displaying a second candidate item in a second candidate column [note in fig. 14, 1402 (the first 2 columns) and col. 10, lines 44-47 the display of candidates grouped for each consecutive word of user input],
wherein the first string comprises a preset segmentation symbol [note that the words in the input character string are separated by a space which is a preset segmentation symbol for a phrase of input words],
wherein the first candidate item is a candidate item corresponding to a first substring in the first string, the second candidate item is a candidate item corresponding to a second substring in the first string, and the first string comprises the first substring and the second substring [see fig. 14, 1402 (the first 2 columns) and col. 10, lines 44-47 and note that for each word of an input string, there are corresponding candidate words displayed in a column (consider the first 2 columns in 1402 of fig. 14 including candidates A1…N and candidates B1…N)], and
wherein the first substring is a string before a preset segmentation symbol at a preset location in the first string, and the second substring is a string after the preset segmentation symbol at the preset location [again., note in fig. 14, 1402 (the first 2 columns) and col. 10, lines 44-47 the display of candidates grouped for each consecutive word of user input; further note that the words in the input character string are separated by a space which is a preset segmentation symbol for a phrase of input words].
Regarding independent claim 8, Sanada further discloses an electronic device, comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or an instruction that is stored in the memory and that can be run on the processor, wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor [see the device shown on fig. 9 including a processing unit including a CPU and memory], causes the electronic device to perform the method of claim 1. See the rejection of claim 1 for details.
Regarding claims 3 and 10, the rejection of claims 1 and 8 are respectively incorporated. Sanada further discloses that there are M preset segmentation symbols, and the displaying a first candidate item in a first candidate column, and displaying a second candidate item in a second candidate column comprises: displaying the first candidate item in the first candidate column, wherein the first candidate item is a candidate item corresponding to a string before the first one of the preset segmentation symbols in the first string; and separately displaying second candidate items in M sub-candidate columns, wherein the second candidate column comprises the M sub-candidate columns, and a candidate item corresponding to a string between two adjacent preset segmentation symbols is displayed in each sub-candidate column, wherein M is a positive integer greater than 1 [note the example of fig. 14 and note the display of candidates for each of three or more consecutive words as described in col. 10, lines 44-47; note that for 3 words in an input string, there are 2 spaces (preset segmentation symbols) and that for any generic string with M+1 words, there are M spaces and that for each word (string between two adjacent spaces) there is a sub-candidate column where the second candidate column will comprise the M sub-candidate columns].
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 4, 5, 11, 12, 15, 17, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sanada in view of Chronqvist, US PGPUB 2010/0199176 Al (hereinafter as Chronqvist).
Regarding claims 4 and 11, the rejection of independent claims 1 and 8 are respectively incorporated. Sanada further teaches after the displaying a first candidate item in a first candidate column, and displaying a second candidate item in a second candidate column, the method further comprises: receiving a first input performed by the user on a first target candidate item in the second candidate column, wherein the first target candidate item is one of a plurality of second candidate items [note in col. 10, lines 29-36 the selection input received in area 1402 of fig. 14 selecting a candidate word for each word (which includes the second word)].
Sanada, however, does not explicitly teach that after the displaying a first candidate item in a first candidate column, and displaying a second candidate item in a second candidate column, the method further comprises:
in response to the first input, displaying a third candidate item in the first candidate column, and displaying a second associative candidate item corresponding to the third candidate item in the second candidate column, wherein the third candidate item is a candidate item formed by combining the first target candidate item with the first candidate item.
Chronqvist teaches instructions in which after displaying a first candidate item in a first candidate area, and displaying a second candidate item in a second candidate area, the instructions further comprise: receiving a first input performed by the user on a first target candidate item in the second candidate area; and in response to the first input, displaying a third candidate item in the first candidate area, and displaying a second associative candidate item corresponding to the third candidate item in the second candidate area, wherein the third candidate item is a candidate item formed by combining the first target candidate item with the first candidate item [see fig. 5. And note the first candidate area being the center area 60 and the second candidate area 62a-d being spread around the center area 60; note in fig. 4, step 74 the selection of a target item in the second candidate area and in step 76 the combining of the selected target item with the item in the center area 60 and revising the branches which includes the second candidate area 62a-d to match the new string in the center area; see also figs. 5-6 and related description].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Sanada and Chronqvist before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Chronqvist for updating the first and second candidate areas responsive to input by the user to Sanada’s first and second candidate columns. The motivation for this obvious combination of teachings would be to enable automatic revision and refinement for related candidate items that follow user input in an intuitive and user-friendly manner, as in the scenario suggested by Chronqvist [see figs. 4-6 and related description; especially see [0056]].
Regarding claims 5 and 12, the rejection of claims 4 and 9 are respectively incorporated. The previously combined art further teaches in a case that the first input is a select input, the receiving a first input performed by the user on a first target candidate item in the second candidate column comprises:
receiving a select input performed by the user on the first target candidate item in the second candidate column/area [note again, in Sanada, using a mouse in col. 10, lines 29-36 the selection of a word candidate for the second word in the second candidate column]; and
the displaying a third candidate item in the first candidate area in response to the first input comprises: displaying, in the first candidate area in response to the select input, a candidate item formed by combining the first target candidate item with a first one of a plurality of first candidate items; or displaying, in the first candidate area in response to the select input, a candidate item formed by combining the first target candidate item with each of the plurality of first candidate items [again, note in step 76 of fig. 4 of Chronqvist the combining of the selected target item with the item in the center area 60; Examiner notes that since the first candidate area in Chronqvist has one candidate item, the combination with the one item is equivalent to the combination with a first one of a plurality of items as well as the combination with each of the plurality of items].
Refer to the rejection of claims 4 and 11 for motivations to combine the cited art.
Regarding independent claim 15, Sanada teaches an information display method [note the function in col. 3, lines 39-44] comprising:
receiving a first string input by a user [again, see col. 3, lines 39-44; see the user input based on voice or character recognition; especially note the option of user input on an input tablet, the input being a string of characters written by the user, as in col. 3, lines 7-8; see also the input tablet 501 shown on fig. 16]; and
displaying a first candidate item in a first candidate column, and displaying a second candidate item in a second candidate column [note in fig. 14, 1402 (the first 2 columns) and col. 10, lines 44-47 the display of candidates grouped for each consecutive word of user input],
wherein the first string comprises a preset segmentation symbol [note that the words in the input character string are separated by a space which is a preset segmentation symbol for a phrase of input words],
wherein the first candidate item is a candidate item corresponding to a first substring in the first string, the second candidate item is a candidate item corresponding to a second substring in the first string, and the first string comprises the first substring and the second substring [see fig. 14, 1402 (the first 2 columns) and col. 10, lines 44-47 and note that for each word of an input string, there are corresponding candidate words displayed in a column (consider the first 2 columns in 1402 of fig. 14 including candidates A1…N and candidates B1…N)], and
wherein the first substring is a string before a preset segmentation symbol at a preset location in the first string, and the second substring is a string after the preset segmentation symbol at the preset location [again., note in fig. 14, 1402 (the first 2 columns) and col. 10, lines 44-47 the display of candidates grouped for each consecutive word of user input; further note that the words in the input character string are separated by a space which is a preset segmentation symbol for a phrase of input words].
Sanada does not explicitly teach a non-transitory readable storage medium, wherein a program or an instruction is stored on the non-transitory readable storage medium, wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by a processor of an electronic device, causes the processor of the electronic device to perform the above-indicated steps.
Chronqvist teaches a non-transitory readable storage medium, wherein a program or an instruction is stored on the non-transitory readable storage medium, wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by a processor of an electronic device, causes the processor of the electronic device to perform steps of a method for candidate string display [note from [0018] and [0033] that the programs may be loaded onto readable storage media].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Sanada and Chronqvist before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the steps of the similar method taught by Sanada for candidate string display using a non-transitory readable storage medium, wherein a program or an instruction is stored on the non-transitory readable storage medium, wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by a processor of an electronic device, causes the processor of the electronic device to perform steps of a method for candidate string display as that taught by Chronqvist. The motivation for this obvious combination of teachings would be to enable the use of auxiliary portable readable storage media for implement the candidate string display method, as suggested by Chronqvist [again, see [0033]] which would make it more practical to implement on any system.
Regarding claim 17, the rejection of claim 15 is incorporated. Sanada further teaches that there are M preset segmentation symbols, and the displaying a first candidate item in a first candidate column, and displaying a second candidate item in a second candidate column comprises: displaying the first candidate item in the first candidate column, wherein the first candidate item is a candidate item corresponding to a string before the first one of the preset segmentation symbols in the first string; and separately displaying second candidate items in M sub-candidate columns, wherein the second candidate column comprises the M sub-candidate columns, and a candidate item corresponding to a string between two adjacent preset segmentation symbols is displayed in each sub-candidate column, wherein M is a positive integer greater than 1 [note the example of fig. 14 and note the display of candidates for each of three or more consecutive words as described in col. 10, lines 44-47; note that for 3 words in an input string, there are 2 spaces (preset segmentation symbols) and that for any generic string with M+1 words, there are M spaces and that for each word (string between two adjacent spaces) there is a sub-candidate column where the second candidate column will comprise the M sub-candidate columns].
Regarding claim 18, the rejection of independent claim 15 is incorporated. Sanada further teaches after the displaying a first candidate item in a first candidate column, and displaying a second candidate item in a second candidate column, the method further comprises: receiving a first input performed by the user on a first target candidate item in the second candidate column, wherein the first target candidate item is one of a plurality of second candidate items [note in col. 10, lines 29-36 the selection input received in area 1402 of fig. 14 selecting a candidate word for each word (which includes the second word)].
Sanada, however, does not explicitly teach that after the displaying a first candidate item in a first candidate column, and displaying a second candidate item in a second candidate column, the method further comprises:
in response to the first input, displaying a third candidate item in the first candidate column, and displaying a second associative candidate item corresponding to the third candidate item in the second candidate column, wherein the third candidate item is a candidate item formed by combining the first target candidate item with the first candidate item.
Chronqvist teaches instructions in which after displaying a first candidate item in a first candidate area, and displaying a second candidate item in a second candidate area, the instructions further comprise: receiving a first input performed by the user on a first target candidate item in the second candidate area; and in response to the first input, displaying a third candidate item in the first candidate area, and displaying a second associative candidate item corresponding to the third candidate item in the second candidate area, wherein the third candidate item is a candidate item formed by combining the first target candidate item with the first candidate item [see fig. 5. And note the first candidate area being the center area 60 and the second candidate area 62a-d being spread around the center area 60; note in fig. 4, step 74 the selection of a target item in the second candidate area and in step 76 the combining of the selected target item with the item in the center area 60 and revising the branches which includes the second candidate area 62a-d to match the new string in the center area; see also figs. 5-6 and related description].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Sanada and Chronqvist before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Chronqvist for updating the first and second candidate areas responsive to input by the user to Sanada’s first and second candidate columns. The motivation for this obvious combination of teachings would be to enable automatic revision and refinement for related candidate items that follow user input in an intuitive and user-friendly manner, as in the scenario suggested by Chronqvist [see figs. 4-6 and related description; especially see [0056]].
Claims 6 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sanada in view of Chronqvist, as applied to claims 4 and 11 respectively, and further in view of DURGA et al., US PGPUB 2014/0237356 Al (hereinafter as Durga).
Regarding claims 6 and 13, the rejection of claims 4 and 9 are respectively incorporated.
Although the previously combined art teaches receiving an input on a first target candidate item and responsive to the input, updating the first candidate column by displaying a third candidate item [see the rejection of claims 4 and 11], it does not explicitly teach in a case that the first input is a drag input, the receiving a first input performed by the user on a first target candidate item in the second candidate column comprises:
receiving a drag input performed by the user to drag the first target candidate item to a first location in the first candidate column, wherein the first location is a location corresponding to a second target candidate item in the first candidate column; and
the displaying a third candidate item in the first candidate column in response to the first input comprises: displaying, in the first candidate column in response to the drag input, a candidate item formed by combining the second target candidate item with the first target candidate item.
Durga teaches receiving a drag input performed by a user to drag a first target candidate item in a second candidate area to a first location in a first candidate area, wherein the first location is a location corresponding to a second target candidate item in the first candidate area; and creating a third candidate item in response to the drag input, wherein the third candidate item is formed by combining the second target candidate item with the first target candidate item [see e.g. in [0186] the dragging from a word in a first word cluster (a candidate area) to another word in a different cluster (another candidate area) to form sentences or phrases; see also fig. 4].
Durga’s known technique for user input to combine items at the ends of a drag input into one entity is applicable to the environment displaying and updating different candidate items taught by the combination of teachings of Sanada and Chronqvist.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying Durga’s technique of utilizing a drag input to combine displayed items to the environment displaying and updating different candidate items taught by the combination of teachings of Sanada and Chronqvist would have yielded the predictable results of easily, accurately, and intuitively specifying certain items in two different areas for combination, as also suggested by Durga [again, [0186]].
The rationale for the combination would be that a particular known technique was recognized as part of the ordinary capabilities of one skilled in the art. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been capable of applying this known technique to a known invention that was ready for improvement and the results would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art.
See MPEP 2143 I.D.
Claims 7, 14, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sanada in view of Pasquero et al., US PGPUB 2013/0246329 Al (hereinafter as Pasquero).
Regarding claims 7 and 14, the rejection of independent claims 1 and 8 are respectively incorporated. Sanada further teaches that after the displaying a first candidate item in a first candidate column, and displaying a second candidate item in a second candidate column, the method further comprises:
receiving a second input performed by the user on a third target candidate item in the first candidate column, wherein the third target candidate item is one of a plurality of first candidate items; and in response to the second input, displaying the third target candidate item on a screen [note in col. 10, lines 29-36 the selection input received in area 1402 of fig. 14 selecting a candidate word for each word (which includes the first word) and the display of the selected word in display area 1401 of the screen].
Sanada, however, does not explicitly teach in response to the second input, displaying the third target candidate item on a screen, displaying a fourth candidate item in the first candidate column, and displaying a third associative candidate item corresponding to the fourth candidate item in the second candidate column, wherein the fourth candidate item is a candidate item formed by moving the second candidate item to the first candidate column.
Pasquero teaches after displaying a first candidate item in a first candidate column, and displaying a second candidate item in a second candidate column [see fig. 3G]:
receiving a second input performed by the user on a third target candidate item in the first candidate column, wherein the third target candidate item is one of a plurality of first candidate items [note in fig. 3G the tapping on 325 “you’ll” in the middle column; note that there is a possibility of having a plurality of first candidate items as can be seen in the middle column on fig. 3E]; and
in response to the second input, displaying the third target candidate item on a screen, displaying a fourth candidate item in the first candidate column, and displaying a third associative candidate item corresponding to the fourth candidate item in the second candidate column, wherein the fourth candidate item is a candidate item formed by moving the second candidate item to the first candidate column [note in fig. 3H that “you’ll” is displayed in the typing portion on the display and that “find: is moved to the middle column and a new candidate item “out” corresponding to and associated with “find” is displayed in the rightmost column; see also [0039] and corresponding steps in figs. 4 ].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Sanada and Pasquero before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Sanada’s instructions for candidate string display by explicitly specifying in response to the second input, displaying the third target candidate item on a screen, displaying a fourth candidate item in the first candidate column, and displaying a third associative candidate item corresponding to the fourth candidate item in the second candidate column, wherein the fourth candidate item is a candidate item formed by moving the second candidate item to the first candidate column, as per the teachings of Pasquero. The motivation for this obvious combination of teachings would be to facilitate presenting updated future predictions based on user selections from current candidates alternatives, as suggested by Pasquero [see [0039]].
Regarding claim 20, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated.
Sanada further teaches a processor, the processor is configured to run a program or an instruction, and the program or the instruction is executed by the processor to implement the steps of the information display method according to claim 1 [see the processing unit shown on fig. 9].
Sanada does not explicitly teach a chip, wherein the chip comprises the processor and a communication interface, the communication interface is coupled to the processor.
Pasquero teaches a chip, wherein the chip comprises a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface is coupled to the processor, the processor is configured to run a program or an instruction, and the program or the instruction is executed by the processor to implement the steps of a method for candidate string display [see fig. 1 and [0030]]; note processor and communication interface; note the handheld devices in [0001] that typically have the processor and interfaces on a chip].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Sanada and Pasquero before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the steps of the similar method taught by Sanada for candidate string display using a chip, wherein the chip comprises the processor and a communication interface, the communication interface is coupled to the processor as that taught by Pasquero. The motivation for this obvious combination of teachings would be to enable the use of handheld devices or other small-sized devices that can hold a chip for implementing the candidate string display method, as suggested by Pasquero [again, see [0001]] which would make it more practical to implement on mobile systems.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments to the claims in regards to the previously presented various informalities have been fully considered. The claim objections previously presented have been accordingly withdrawn. Applicant is, however, respectfully referred to the newly presented objections, as indicated above.
Claim 19 has been cancelled. Therefore, the rejection of claim 19 under 35 U.S.C. § 101 is respectfully withdrawn.
Applicant’s prior art arguments with respect to the amended independent claims have been considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Sanada fails to disclose a single input string containing a present segmentation symbol and that Sanada is directed to a voice recognition system that does not involve any string input by the user [see pp. 12-14].
Examiner respectfully notes that Sanada teaches both an input voice or character [see e.g. col. 3, lines 39-44 as well as col. 6, lines 8-12; especially note in col. 3, lines 3-11the option of a written character string in which words are delineated]. Furthermore, Sanada teaches recognizing distinct words in the word string input by the user, thus utilizing the space between the words as a preset segmentation symbol when dealing with the word string [see e.g. col. 10, lines 40-47]. Therefore, Examiner reasserts that Sanada clearly discloses each and every limitation of the amended independent claims, including those explicitly being challenged by Applicant.
Thus, Examiner respectfully asserts that the amended independent claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sanada. Applicant is referred to the full rejections above for further details.
The rejections of the dependent claims are also accordingly being updated and reasserted.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Examiner notes from the cited art, Daryani et al., US 20180262460 A1, which teaches parsing using delimiters [see e.g. [0027]].
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/MARIA S AYAD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2172
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