DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
This is a non-final Office action in response to communications received on 03/13/2024. Claims 1 through 20 are presented for examination. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Drawings
The drawings filed on 07/23/2024 are acknowledged.
Priority
No foreign priority or provisional date is recognized.
Specification
The specification is acknowledged.
Objections
Claim 7 is objected to for the following informalities: the claim language “receiving the a” is grammatically incorrect. Appropriate correction/clarification is required.
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.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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 object
tive evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-9, 12-13, 15-17 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ko (US 2020/0249898 A1) in view of Pavlou (US 11,409,370 B1).
Regarding claim 1, Ko discloses the limitation as follows:
A method, applied to an electronic device comprising a first screen and a second screen, wherein the first screen and the second screen form a foldable screen of the electronic device and the first screen and the second screen are respectively located on two sides of a folding edge of the foldable screen; or the first screen and the second screen form a double-sided screen of the electronic device, the first screen is disposed on a front surface of the electronic device, and the second screen is disposed on a back surface of the electronic device; and the method comprises: (Ko paras [0036], [0046], [0050]- [0051], [0089], [0153], fig. 1A-C, 2B-D: an electronic device that comprises a flexible display (i.e. foldable screen) that divides a display area into a plurality of areas; when folded (i.e. the first screen and the second screen form a double-sided screen), the electronic device is divided as front area (i.e. first screen) and second area (i.e. second screen) as the front surface (i.e. disposed on a front surface) and back surface (i.e. disposed on a back surface), and when in its unfolded state both the first area (i.e. first screen) and second area (i.e. second screen) form a separate display according to the fold (i.e. located on two sides of a folding edge))
and the first preset posture is determined based on a first posture of the first screen or a first posture of the second screen; (Ko paras [0140], [0151], [0153], fig. 7: a first oriented state (i.e. first preset posture) is determined when the first area (i.e. first screen) of the display faces a first direction (i.e. first posture of the first screen) and the second area (i.e. second screen) faces a direction opposite the first direction (i.e. first posture of the second screen))
wherein the third preset posture is determined based on a second posture of the first screen or a second posture of the second screen. (Ko paras [0034], [0043], [0056], [0096], [0140], [0151], fig. 6B: the electronic device being in a second orient state (i.e. third preset posture) is based on the first area (i.e. first screen) faces the second direction (i.e. second posture of the first screen) and the second area (i.e. second screen) faces the first direction (i.e. second posture of the second screen)
Ko does not explicitly disclose the remaining part of the limitation as follows:
acquiring a first operation;
in response to acquiring the first operation and the electronic device being in a first preset posture,
disabling M preset privacy information obtaining modules, wherein M is a positive integer,
acquiring a second operation;
in response to acquiring the second operation and the electronic device being in a third preset posture,
recovering normal use of the M preset privacy information obtaining modules in response to the second operation
However, in the same field of endeavor, Pavlou discloses the remaining limitations of claim 1 as follows:
acquiring a first operation; (Pavlou col.2 lines 6-16, 45-50, col.5, lines 3- 13, lines 23- 34, lines 44-50, fig. 1, fig. 5: determining an occurrence of one or more gestures (i.e. first operation) based on data received by (i.e. acquiring) motion sensors)
in response to acquiring the first operation and the electronic device being in a first preset posture, (Pavlou col.2, lines 40-55, col.5, lines 44- 50, col.9, lines 10-25, fig. 1, fig. 5: a privacy mode is activated (i.e. in response to) based on a detected gesture (i.e. acquiring the first operation) corresponding to a physical orientation (i.e. first preset posture) comprising of a face up or a face down orientation of the mobile device)
disabling M preset privacy information obtaining modules, wherein M is a positive integer, (Pavlou col. 2, lines 5-16, col.4, lines 10-20, col.7, lines 8- 15, lines 47-55, col.8, lines 14- 28, fig. 2: blocking transmission of sensitive, personal, or confidential information (i.e. privacy information) by disabling features (i.e. M is a positive integer) such as the video transmission from the camera, muting the microphone, and suspending screensharing (i.e. disabling M obtaining modules))
acquiring a second operation; (Pavlou col.2 lines 20-40, col.3, lines 1-3, col.5, lines 3- 13, lines 23- 40, fig. 1, fig. 5: determining an occurrence of a second gesture (i.e. second operation) based on data received by (i.e. acquiring) motion sensors)
in response to acquiring the second operation and the electronic device being in a third preset posture, (Pavlou col.2 lines 20-40, col.3, lines 1-3, col.5, lines 3- 13, lines 23- 40, col.9, lines 10-25, fig. 1, fig. 4: a privacy mode is activated (i.e. in response to) based on a detected second gesture (i.e. acquiring the second operation) corresponding to a physical orientation (i.e. preset posture) comprising of the mobile device facing up (i.e. third preset posture))
recovering normal use of the M preset privacy information obtaining modules in response to the second operation, (Pavlou col.2, lines 57- 67, col.7, lines 8- 15, col.9, lines 30- 38: a privacy mode being turned off (i.e. in response to) based on a detected second gesture (i.e. second operation) by allowing transmission of sensitive, personal, or confidential information (i.e. privacy information) such as re-enabling the video transmission from the camera, unmuting the microphone, and resuming screensharing (i.e. recovering normal use of M obtaining modules)
Pavlou is combinable with Ko because both are from the same field of endeavor of controlling functionality of mobile electronic devices based on detected device positions or user interactions to manage privacy. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to integrate Pavlou’s method of blocking transmission of sensitive, personal, or confidential information in response to detecting gestures corresponding to changes in the orientation of the mobile device with Ko in order to improve more context-aware and proactive privacy protection and preventing the capture of user information by disabling sensitive data collection modules.
Regarding Claim 2, Ko and Pavlou disclose the limitations of claim 1.
Ko discloses the limitations of claim 2 as follows:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the first preset posture is determined by the electronic device based on at least one of a first included angle between the first screen and the second screen, an included angle between the first screen and a horizontal plane, an included angle between the second screen and the horizontal plane, an included angle between an orientation of the first screen and a Z axis of a geographic coordinate system, or an included angle between an orientation of the second screen and the Z axis of the geographic coordinate system. (Ko paras [0041], [0060]-[0063], [0072], [0106], [0125], [0138], fig. 4A, 5A: the first orient state (i.e. first preset posture) is determined using data from sensors by whether the areas (i.e. first screen and the second screen) on the electronic device form an angle based on folding at the hinge (i.e. first included angle between the first screen and the second screen) , on the intensity of magnetic force (i.e. the horizontal plane), or comparing an angle between an axis and the ground (i.e. a Z axis of a geographic coordinate system))
Regarding Claim 3, Ko and Pavlou disclose the limitations of claim 1.
Pavlou discloses the limitations of claim 3 as follows:
The method according to claim 1, wherein disabling the M preset privacy information obtaining modules in response to the acquiring the first operation and the electronic device being in the first preset posture, comprises: (Pavlou col.2, lines 52-57, col.4, lines 10-20, col.5, lines 44-48, col.7, lines 8- 15, lines 47-55, col.8, lines 17- 28, col.9, lines 10-25, fig. 1, fig. 2, fig. 5: blocking transmission of sensitive, personal, or confidential information (i.e. privacy information) by disabling the video transmission from the camera, muting the microphone, and suspending screensharing (i.e. disabling M obtaining modules) because a privacy mode is activated (i.e. in response to) based on a detected gesture (i.e. acquiring the first operation) corresponding to a physical orientation (i.e. first preset posture) comprising of a face up or a face down orientation of the mobile device)
enabling a privacy mode of the electronic device, and disabling the M preset privacy information obtaining modules indicated by the privacy mode of the electronic device (Pavlou col.4, lines 10-20, col.5, lines 47-50, col.7, lines 8- 15, lines 47-55, col.8, lines 17- 28, fig. 2: privacy mode is set to an on-state (i.e. enabling a privacy mode) in which a functionality of the device is modified or changed (i.e. indicated by the privacy mode) by disabling the video transmission from the camera, muting the microphone, and suspending screensharing (i.e. disabling M obtaining modules) of the device).
The same motivation to combine utilized in claim 1 is equally applicable in the instant claim.
Regarding claims 4 and 15, Ko and Pavlou disclose the limitations of the method of claim 1, and the device of claim 15.
Pavlou discloses the limitations of 4 and 15 as follows:
sending a disabling message to an associated device of the electronic device in response to the acquired first operation and the electronic device being in the first preset posture, wherein the disabling message is used to prompt the associated device to disable N preset privacy information obtaining modules, and N is a positive integer. (Pavlou col. 2, lines 6-16, lines 45- 50, col. 4, lines 10-10, col.5, lines 3- 13, lines 23- 34, col. 7, lines 4- 20, 44-55, fig. 1, fig. 5: causing associated sensing components such as a camera (i.e. associated device) to receive disabling signals (i.e. disabling message) in accordance with the privacy mode by disabling functionality; the privacy mode is activated (i.e. in response to) based on a detected gesture (i.e. acquiring the first operation) corresponding to a physical orientation (i.e. first preset posture) comprising of a face up or a face down orientation of the mobile device), and blocking the transmission of sensitive, personal, or confidential information (i.e. privacy information) by disabling features such as the video transmission from the camera, muting the microphone, and suspending screensharing (i.e. disabling N obtaining modules))
The same motivation to combine utilized in claim 1 is equally applicable in the instant claim.
Regarding Claim 5, Ko and Pavlou disclose the limitations of claim 4.
Pavlou discloses the limitations of claim 5 as follows:
The method according to claim 4, wherein the disabling message is used to prompt the associated device to enable a privacy mode, and is used to disable the N privacy information obtaining modules indicated by the privacy mode of the associated device. (Pavlou col. 2, lines 6-16, lines 45- 50, col.5, lines 3- 13, lines 23- 34, col. 7, lines 4- 20, 44- 55, fig. 1, fig. 5: causing associated sensing components such as a camera (i.e. associated device) to receive disabling signals (i.e. disabling message) in accordance with enabling a privacy mode (i.e. enable a privacy mode) by disabling the functionalities of the video transmission from the camera, muting the microphone, and suspending screensharing (i.e. disabling N obtaining modules))
The same motivation to combine utilized in claim 1 is equally applicable in the instant claim.
Regarding claims 6 and 16, Ko and Pavlou disclose the limitations of the method of claim 1, and the device of claim 14.
Ko discloses the limitations of claims 6 and 16 as follows:
an operation of switching the electronic device from a fourth preset posture to the first preset posture, wherein the first preset posture is different from the fourth preset posture wherein; (Ko paras [0056], [0089], [0106]- [0109], [0151], [0189], fig. 9A: a physical change (i.e. an operation) done to the electronic device by the user involving folding (i.e. switching) from one oriented state (i.e. fourth preset posture) to a original oriented state (i.e. first preset posture) , such as whether a main surface faces downwardly, or a sub surface faces downwardly (i.e. first preset posture is different from the fourth preset posture))
Regarding Claims 7 and 17, Ko and Pavlou disclose the limitations of the method claim 1, and the device of claim 14.
Ko and Pavlou disclose the limitations of claim 7 and 17 as follows:
before receiving the a first operation: (Pavlou col.2 lines 6-16, 45-50, col.5, lines 3- 13, lines 23- 34, lines 44-47, fig. 1, fig. 5: prior to an occurrence of one or more gestures (i.e. first operation))
displaying a first operation prompt on a first preset display in response to detecting that the electronic device is in the first preset posture; (Ko, paras. [0096], [0110], [0130]-[0131], [0175], [0184], Figs. 7 & 10A: displaying on a surface (i.e. first preset display) of the user electronic device an event notification (i.e. first operation prompt) in response to detecting that the electronic device is a first oriented state) or displaying the first operation prompt on the first preset display in response to the electronic device detecting that the electronic device is in the first preset posture and a first included angle does not change within first preset duration, wherein
the first operation prompt is used to prompt that the first operation is used to disable the M preset privacy information obtaining modules, and the first preset display is visible to a user in the first preset posture. (Pavlou col. 7, lines 33-54, col. 8, lines 14-28, col. 9, lines 10-25, col. 10, lines 1-8, fig. 6: the messages or notifications (i.e. prompt) from the occurrence of one or more gestures (i.e. first operation)), which is then used to disable the functionalities of the video transmission from the camera, muting the microphone, and suspending screensharing (i.e. disabling M obtaining modules), while a touchscreen or suitable display device (i.e. first preset display) corresponding to a physical orientation (i.e. first preset posture) provides a user interface for a user to interact and see (i.e. visible to a user))
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to integrate Pavlou’s method of sending messages prompting actions taken to implement a privacy mode with Ko in order to activate privacy mode to improve user awareness and preventing inadvertent capturing of sensitive user data.
Regarding Claim 8, Ko and Pavlou disclose the limitations of claim 1.
Ko and Pavlou disclose the limitations of claim 3 as follows:
The method according to claim 1, further comprising, before receiving the first operation: (Pavlou col.2 lines 6-16, 45-50, col.5, lines 3- 13, lines 23- 34, lines 44-47, fig. 1, fig. 5: prior to an occurrence of one or more gestures (i.e. first operation))
displaying a first control on a first preset display in response to detecting that the electronic device is in the first preset posture, wherein the first preset display is visible to a user in the first preset posture; and (Ko, paras. [0096], [0110], [0130]-[0131], [0175], [0184], Figs. 7 & 10A: displaying on a surface (i.e. first preset display) of the user electronic device an event notification (i.e. first operation prompt) in response to detecting that the electronic device is a first oriented state, where the surface is visible to the user in the first oriented state) and
in response to detecting that the electronic device is in the first preset posture, receiving the first operation performed on the first control. (Pavlou col. 7, lines 25-54, col. 8, lines 14-28, col. 9, lines 10- 28, fig. 5, fig. 6: based on a physical orientation (i.e. first preset posture) which comprises of a face up or a face down orientation of the mobile device being determined, having user configurable operations (i.e. first operation) in the privacy mode control and settings (i.e. first control))
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to integrate Pavlou’s method of sending messages prompting actions taken to implement a privacy mode with Ko in order to allow a user to activate privacy mode to through interaction therefore restricting the collection of sensitive data.
Regarding Claim 9, Ko and Pavlou disclose the limitations of claim 1.
Ko and Pavlou disclose
The method according to claim 1, further comprising, before receiving the first operation: (Pavlou col.2 lines 6-16, 45-50, col.5, lines 3- 13, lines 23- 34, lines 44-47, fig. 1, fig. 5: prior to an occurrence of one or more gestures (i.e. first operation))
displaying a first control on a first preset display in response to detecting that the electronic device is in the first preset posture, wherein the first preset display is visible to a user in the first preset posture; and (Ko, paras. [0096], [0110], [0130]-[0131], [0175], [0184], Figs. 7 & 10A: displaying on a surface (i.e. first preset display) of the user electronic device an event notification (i.e. first operation prompt) in response to detecting that the electronic device is a first oriented state, where the surface is visible to the user in the first oriented state); and
the receiving the first operation in response to detecting that the electronic device is in the first preset posture comprises: (Pavlou col. 7, lines 25-54, col. 9, lines 10- 25, 47- 59, col. 10, lines 1-8, fig. 5, fig. 6: based on a physical orientation (i.e. first preset posture) which comprises of a face up or a face down orientation of the mobile device being determined, having user configurable operations (i.e. first operation) in the privacy mode control and settings (i.e. first control))
in response to the electronic device being in the first preset posture, receiving a third operation of switching the electronic device from the first preset posture to another posture; and (Pavlou col. 2, lines 25- 40, col. 7, lines 25-54, col. 8, lines 14-28, col. 9, lines 10- 28: based on a physical orientation (i.e. first preset posture), the user performing a third gesture (i.e. third operation) of turning the mobile device face down (i.e. first preset posture) followed by turning the mobile device face up (i.e. another posture))
receiving a fourth operation performed on the first control, wherein the first operation comprises the third operation and the fourth operation. (Pavlou col. 2, lines 25- 40, col. 7, lines 25-54, col. 8, lines 14-28, col. 9, lines 10- 28: user interacting with the privacy mode control where a first gesture (i.e. first operation) comprises turning the mobile device down or up, (i.e. third operation) and or maintaining the setting (i.e. fourth operation) of the privacy mode)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to integrate Pavlou’s method of activating privacy protection though posture changes and interactions with Ko in order to mitigate unintended collection of sensitive user information based on how a device is held.
Regarding Claims 12 and 19, Ko and Pavlou disclose the limitations of the method of claim 1, and the device of claim 14.
Pavlou discloses the limitations of claims 12 and 19 as follows:
receiving, by the electronic device, a fifth operation; and (Pavlou col.2 lines 6-16, 45-50, col.5, lines 3- 13, lines 23- 34: determining an occurrence of a gestures (i.e. fifth operation))
disabling K preset privacy information obtaining modules in response to the receiving the fifth operation and the electronic device being in a second preset posture, wherein K is a positive integer, at least one of the M preset privacy information obtaining modules is different from at least one of the K preset privacy information obtaining modules, and the first preset posture and the second preset posture are different postures. (Pavlou col. 2, lines 5-16, col.4, lines 10-20, col.7, lines 8- 15, lines 47-55, col.8, lines 14- 28, fig. 2: blocking transmission of sensitive, personal, or confidential information (i.e. privacy information) by disabling a feature (i.e. K is a positive integer) such as suspending screensharing (i.e. K preset privacy information module) corresponding to a physical orientation (i.e. first preset posture), where disabling the video transmission from the camera, and muting the microphone (i.e. disabling M obtaining modules)) are different functionalities; a physical orientation could include a phone facing up (i.e. first preset posture) or facing down (i.e. second preset posture))
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to integrate Pavlou’s method of allowing different user operations to be performed in different postures for different feature disablements with Ko in order to enable context-aware restrictions to prevent the collection of unauthorized sensitive user data.
Regarding Claims 13 and 20, Ko and Pavlou disclose the limitations of the method of claim 1, and the device of claim 14.
Pavlou discloses the limitations of claims 13 and 20 as follows:
wherein the M preset privacy information obtaining modules of the electronic device comprises one or more of the following: a camera, a microphone, a positioning module, a Wi-Fi module, a Bluetooth module, or a mobile data network module. (Pavlou col.2, lines 55-62, col.6 lines 55-63, col.4, lines 49-63, fig. 2, fig. 3: blocking transmission of sensitive, personal, or confidential information (i.e. M preset privacy information) by disabling features such as the video transmission from the camera (i.e. camera), muting the microphone (i.e. microphone), and suspending screensharing, as well as motion sensors (i.e. position module), and network communications (i.e. mobile data network module))
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to integrate Pavlou’s features that can be disabled with Ko in order to activate privacy mode to restrict potential vectors for unauthorizes acquisition or transmission od sensitive user data across different parts of the device.
Regarding claim 14, Ko discloses the limitations as follows:
An electronic device, comprising one or more processors and a memory with one or more programs stored thereon, wherein the one or more programs, when executed by the one or more processors, enable the electronic device to perform: (Ko paras [0011], [0068- [0070], fig. 4A: an electronic device that has one or more processors and memory storing software or programs to be executed by the processor)
and the first preset posture is determined based on a first posture of the first screen or a first posture of the second screen; (Ko paras [0140], [0151], [0153], fig. 7: a first oriented state (i.e. first preset posture) is determined when the first area (i.e. first screen) of the display faces a first direction (i.e. first posture of the first screen) and the second area (i.e. second screen) faces a direction opposite the first direction (i.e. first posture of the second screen))
wherein the third preset posture is determined based on a second posture of the first screen or a second posture of the second screen. (Ko paras [0034], [0043], [0056], [0096], [0140], [0151], fig. 6B: the electronic device being in a second orient state (i.e. third preset posture) is based on the first area (i.e. first screen) faces the second direction (i.e. second posture of the first screen) and the second area (i.e. second screen) faces the first direction (i.e. second posture of the second screen)
Ko does not explicitly disclose the remaining part of the limitation as follows:
acquiring a first operation;
in response to acquiring the first operation and the electronic device being in a first preset posture,
disabling M preset privacy information obtaining modules, wherein M is a positive integer,
acquiring a second operation;
in response to acquiring the second operation and the electronic device being in a third preset posture,
recovering normal use of the M preset privacy information obtaining modules in response to the second operation
However, in the same field of endeavor, Pavlou discloses the remaining limitations of claim 1 as follows:
acquiring a first operation; Pavlou col.2 lines 6-16, 45-50, col.5, lines 3- 13, lines 23- 34, lines 44-50, fig. 1, fig. 5: determining an occurrence of one or more gestures (i.e. first operation) based on data received by (i.e. acquiring) motion sensors)
in response to acquiring the first operation and the electronic device being in a first preset posture, (Pavlou col.2, lines 40-55, col.5, lines 44- 47, col.9, lines 10-25, fig. 1, fig. 5: a privacy mode is activated (i.e. in response to) based on a detected gesture (i.e. acquiring the first operation) corresponding to a physical orientation (i.e. first preset posture) comprising of a face up or a face down orientation of the mobile device)
disabling M preset privacy information obtaining modules, wherein M is a positive integer, (Pavlou col. 2, lines 5-16, col.4, lines 10-20, col.7, lines 8- 15, lines 47-55, col.8, lines 14- 28, fig. 2: blocking transmission of sensitive, personal, or confidential information (i.e. privacy information) by disabling features (i.e. M is a positive integer) such as the video transmission from the camera, muting the microphone, and suspending screensharing (i.e. disabling M obtaining modules))
acquiring a second operation; (Pavlou col.2 lines 20-40, col.3, lines 1-3, col.5, lines 3- 13, lines 23- 40, fig. 1, fig. 5: determining an occurrence of a second gesture (i.e. second operation) based on data received by (i.e. acquiring) motion sensors)
in response to acquiring the second operation and the electronic device being in a third preset posture, (Pavlou col.2 lines 20-40, col.3, lines 1-3, col.5, lines 3- 13, lines 23- 40, col.9, lines 10-25, fig. 1, fig. 4: a privacy mode is activated (i.e. in response to) based on a detected second gesture (i.e. acquiring the second operation) corresponding to a physical orientation (i.e. preset posture) comprising of the mobile device facing up (i.e. third preset posture))
recovering normal use of the M preset privacy information obtaining modules in response to the second operation, (Pavlou col.2, lines 57- 67, col.7, lines 8- 15, col.9, lines 30- 38: a privacy mode being turned off (i.e. in response to) based on a detected second gesture (i.e. second operation) by allowing transmission of sensitive, personal, or confidential information (i.e. privacy information) such as re-enabling the video transmission from the camera, unmuting the microphone, and resuming screensharing (i.e. recovering normal use of M obtaining modules)
Pavlou is combinable with Ko because both are from the same field of endeavor of controlling functionality of mobile electronic devices based on detected device positions or user interactions to manage privacy. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to integrate Pavlou’s method of blocking transmission of sensitive, personal, or confidential information in response to detecting gestures corresponding to changes in the orientation of the mobile device with Ko in order to improve more context- aware and proactive privacy protection and preventing the capture of user information by disabling sensitive data collection modules.
Claim 10 is unpatentable under U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable Ko (US 2020/0249898 A1) and Pavlou (US 11,409,370 B1), as applied to claim 1, further in view of Baker (US 11,490,248 B2).
Regarding Claim 10, Ko and Pavlou disclose the limitations of claim 1.
Ko and Pavlou disclose the limitations of claim 10 as follows:
The method according to claim 1, further comprising: before receiving the first operation, the method further comprises: (Pavlou col.2 lines 6-16, 45-50, col.5, lines 3- 13, lines 23- 34, lines 44-47, fig. 1, fig. 5: prior to an occurrence of one or more gestures (i.e. first operation))
displaying a time setting control in response to detecting that the electronic device is in the first preset posture
or displaying the time setting control in response to the electronic device detecting that the electronic device is in the first preset posture and a first included angle does not change within first preset duration (Ko paras. [0130]-[0131], [0134]: displaying event information such as an alarm time, user-customized information and real time information in a user setting mode displaying user-controlled set time information (i.e. time setting control) in response to detecting that the electronic device is in the first oriented state)
wherein disabling the M preset privacy information obtaining modules in response to the detected first preset posture and the first operation comprises: (Pavlou col. 7, lines 33-54, col. 9, lines 10- 25, 47- 59, col. 10, lines 1-8, fig. 6: the occurrence of one or more gestures (i.e. first operation) is used to disable the functionalities of the video transmission from the camera, muting the microphone, and suspending screensharing (i.e. disabling M obtaining modules), while corresponding to a physical orientation (i.e. first preset posture)
in response to the detected first preset posture and the first operation, disabling the M preset privacy information obtaining modules, (Pavlou col. 7, lines 33-54, col. 9, lines 10- 25, 47- 59, col. 10, lines 1-8, fig. 6: the occurrence of one or more gestures (i.e. first operation) and correspondence of a physical orientation (i.e. first preset posture), and disabling the functionalities of the video transmission from the camera, muting the microphone, and suspending screensharing (i.e. disabling M obtaining modules)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to integrate Pavlou’s method of gesture-based privacy mode control with Ko in order to improve more context- aware and proactive privacy protection and preventing the capture of user information by disabling sensitive data collection modules.
Neither Ko or Pavlou discloses the limitations of claim 10 as follows:
a time setting control
receiving, by the time setting control, first disabling duration set by a user
and setting disabling duration of the M preset privacy information obtaining modules to the first disabling duration, wherein the first disabling duration indicates the electronic device to recover the normal use of the M preset privacy information obtaining modules in response to the second operation not being received within the first disabling duration within which the M preset privacy information obtaining modules are disabled
However, in the same field of endeavor Baker teaches the limitations of claim 10 as follows:
a time setting control (Baker col. 26, lines 11- 35, lines 38- 54, fig. 12: configuration controls for a timeout period (i.e. time setting control) in privacy mode done though a GUI)
receiving, by the time setting control, first disabling duration set by a user (Baker col. 2, lines 36-43, col. 26, lines 11- 35, lines 38- 54, fig. 12: the configuration controls for a timeout period (i.e. time setting control) may be configurable by a user (i.e. set by a user) and may add a timeout length (i.e. first disabling duration) when enabling the privacy mode)
and setting disabling duration of the M preset privacy information obtaining modules to the first disabling duration, wherein the first disabling duration indicates the electronic device to recover the normal use of the M preset privacy information obtaining modules in response to the second operation not being received within the first disabling duration within which the M preset privacy information obtaining modules are disabled. (Baker col. 2, lines 36-43, col. 6, lines 9- 15, col. 23, lines 6-20, col. 26, lines 11- 35, lines 38- 54, fig. 12: configuring a timeout counter (i.e. a setting disabling duration) of the disablement of transmitting privacy data (i.e. privacy information) for the camera and microphone (i.e. M preset privacy information obtaining modules), where the countdown of the timeout length (i.e. first disabling duration) sends a command to the device (i.e. indicates the electronic device) to the exit privacy mode and reengage; this happens when the user does not manually disengage privacy mode (i.e. second operation not received), causing the timeout length countdown (i.e. first disabling duration) to continue the disablement of the camera ad microphone)
Ko and Pavlou are combinable with Baker because both are from the same field of endeavor of controlling functionality of mobile electronic devices based on user interactions to manage privacy. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to integrate Baker’s method of times privacy protection with Ko and Pavlou in order to limit the exposure of sensitive user data and reduce the likelihood of persistent unauthorized data collection.
Claims 11 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ko (US 2020/0249898 A1) in view of Pavlou (US 11,409,370 B1), as applied to claims 1 and 14, further in view of Ek (US 2016/0225343).
Regarding Claims 11 and 18, Ko and Pavlou disclose the limitations of the method of claim 1, and the device of claim 14.
Pavlou discloses the limitations of claims 11 and 18 as follows:
before receiving the first operation: (Pavlou col.2 lines 6-16, 45-50, col.5, lines 3- 13, lines 23- 34, lines 44-47, fig. 1, fig. 5: prior to an occurrence of one or more gestures (i.e. first operation))
displaying, by the electronic device, selection controls respectively corresponding to a plurality of privacy information obtaining modules, wherein the plurality of privacy information obtaining modules comprise a first privacy information obtaining module and a second privacy information obtaining module, the first privacy information obtaining module corresponds to a first selection control, and the second privacy information obtaining module corresponds to a second selection control, wherein (Pavlou col. 4, lines 8- 20, col. 7, lines 25-54: displaying by the electronic device user configurations that can be selected by the user to configure actions that are taken to implement privacy mode (i.e. user uses selection controls corresponding to privacy obtaining modules to configure privacy mode before receiving gestures that trigger privacy mode) such as the option for the user to configure the camera to be disabled or enabled (i.e. first privacy information obtaining module) and the option to have the microphone be muted or unmuted (i.e. second privacy information obtaining module)
in response to the electronic device receiving a selection operation performed on the first selection control before receiving the first operation and not receiving a selection operation performed on the second selection control, the M preset privacy information obtaining modules comprise the first privacy information obtaining module, and do not comprise the second privacy information obtaining module. (Pavlou col. 4, lines 8- 20, col. 7, lines 25-54, col. 9, lines 10- 25
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to integrate Pavlou’s method of selecting features to enable and disable with Ko in order to minimize the attack surface associated with other features that are continuously enabled.
Neither Ko or Pavlou disclose the remaining limitations of claims 11 and 18 as follows:
in response to detecting that the electronic device is in the first preset posture, displaying, by the electronic device, selection controls respectively corresponding to a plurality of privacy information obtaining modules.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Ek discloses the remaining limitations of claims 11 and 18 as follows:
in response to detecting that the electronic device is in the first preset posture, displaying, by the electronic device, selection controls respectively corresponding to a plurality of privacy information obtaining modules (paras. [0019], [0023], [0050]-[0051], [0058], [0062]: in response to detecting a privacy mode trigger such as a particular location and orientation of the user device as detected by tilt and motion sensors on the device (i.e. device is in a first preset posture), displaying by the user device selections to a user corresponding to privacy mode and normal display mode (plurality of private information obtaining modules comprising a first privacy information obtaining module and a second privacy information obtaining module), where the privacy mode corresponds to implementing a privacy mode and the normal display mode corresponds to implementing less restrictive privacy control),
Ek is combinable with Pavlou and Ko because all are from the same field of endeavor of detecting changes in the orientation and position of user devices. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to integrate Ek’s method of prompting the user to select which privacy mode to enable in response to detecting a privacy trigger event with the system of Pavlou and Ko in order to increase the flexibility of the system by enabling the user to specify the type of privacy mode they want their user device to enter in response to detecting the trigger event.
Prior Art Not Relied Upon but Considered Includes:
US 2020/0264826 A1, “Electronic Device And Display Control Method Thereof”, by Yongjin Kwon. This reference teaches automatically enabling or disabling selected privacy- sensitive information obtaining modules based on detected device posture or operational context. This It determines physical posture using sensor- based orientation data, and in response to detected user operations, selectively controls execution states of modules (see paras [0053]- [0058], ]0127]- [0130], [0184]).
Conclusion
Claims 1-20 are rejected.
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/J.D.M./
Examiner, Art Unit 2438
/TAGHI T ARANI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2438