DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 8 and 17-20 are 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 17 recites the limitation “a non-transitory computer readable storage medium impressed with computer program instructions.” It is unclear what the phrase “a non-transitory computer readable storage medium impressed with computer program instructions” means and/or how a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is impressed with computer program instructions.
Claim 8 recites the limitation " the location of the minified map". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 11, 12 15, 17 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakashima (Pub. No. 2020/0104022), Kumetani (Pub. No. US 2014/0267105), and Bedi et al. (“Bedi”, Pat. No. US 11,366,872).
Per claim 1, Nakashima teaches a method of summoning a toolbar, the method comprising:
receiving, data related to a collaboration workspace including a toolbar displayed, by a display of client device, at a first location in the collaboration workspace displayed on the display, wherein the toolbar includes user interface elements for interacting with the collaboration workspace using the display (fig. 1 and fig. 27, toolbar 120; [0135]… the image/audio processing unit 23 obtains drawn image data, which is drawn on the display 220 by the user using the electronic pen 2500 or the user's hand H, and converts the drawn image data to coordinate data. For example, when one electronic whiteboard (e.g., first electronic whiteboard 2a) provided in one site transmits coordinate data to another electronic whiteboard (e.g., second electronic whiteboard 2b) provided in another site, the second electronic whiteboard 2b causes the display 220 to display the drawn image having the same content with the image drawn at the first electronic whiteboard 2a based on the received coordinate data. [0285]…the writing/reading unit 29 searches the process management DB 2001 to read out display information of the menu bar 120 (step S405). At this stage, the writing/reading unit 29 reads out information on the display position and display size of the menu bar 120 using the process ID and the windows handle of the menu bar 120 as a search key.),
determining a second location in the collaboration workspace using the received data (figs. 29-30; [0294]…When a user selects (presses) the display position change icon 130 of the menu bar 120, the receiving unit 22 receives a request to change the display position of the menu bar 120. On the other hand, if the receiving unit 22 does not receive the request to change the display position of the menu bar 120 (S415: NO), that is, when the user does not select (press) the display position change icon 130 of the menu bar 120, the sequence ends.), and
sending, by the server device, collaboration data causing the toolbar including the user interface elements to move to the second location in the collaboration workspace, and causing display of the toolbar including the user interface elements at the second location (figs. 29 and 30; [0286]…if the display position of the menu bar 120 is displayed on the left side of the display 220, as indicated in FIG. 29, the display control unit 24 displays the application display screen 150a on the left side of the display 220 as similar to the display position of the menu bar 120. On the other hand, for example, if the display position of the menu bar 120 is displayed on the right side of the display 220, as indicated in FIG. 30, the display control unit 24 displays the application display screen 150a to the right side of the display 220 as similar to the display position of the menu bar 120; [0299]… If the display position change icon 130 of the menu bar 120 is selected (S417: YES), in step S418, the display control unit 24 changes the display position of the application display screen 150 in connection with the display position of the menu bar 120 to be changed based on the selection of the display position change icon 130 (an example of second display control step). For example, if the display position change icon 130 is selected on the display screen 100 indicated in FIG. 29, the display control unit 24 changes the display position of the application display screen 150 in connection with the change of the display position of the menu bar 120 so that the display screen 100 is displayed in a state indicated in FIG. 30.)
Nakashima does not specifically teach a large format display of a client device and using a server device for managing the menu bar.
However, Kumetani teaches a large format display of a client device (fig. 4; [0005]; [0057]; [0058]; which show a whiteboard including a large display screen). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the teaching of Kumetani in the invention of Nakashima to include a large display screen because doing so would enhance users’ experience by allowing a plurality of users to interact with the large whiteboard concurrently.
Bedi teaches using a server device for managing the menu bar (col. 4, lines 4-8… The navigation menu management server 120 may be configured to generate the navigation menu for presentation at the user device. For example, the navigation menu management server 120 may execute one or more operations to generate navigation menus with dynamic content placement. At a first operation 130, the navigation menu management server 120 may receive a request for navigation menu card data. The navigation menu presented at the first user interface 110 may be a card or other user interface element that can be interacted with, and may include a menu list, or a list of selectable elements. Col. 5, lines 28-34…the navigation menu management server 120 may send the navigation menu to the user device. For example, the navigation menu management server 120 may send data for the navigation menu user interface to the user device for presentation. The user device may render the navigation menu using the data received from the navigation menu management server 120). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the teaching of Bedi in the invention of the modified Nakashima in order to provide the user with the navigation menu management server, because doing so would allow remote access and/or quicker and better processing power.
Per claim 4, the modified Nakashima teaches the method of claim 1, further including: receiving, by the server device, data related to the second location of the collaboration workspace, and sending, by the server device, the collaboration data causing moving of the toolbar to or near the first location, and causing display of the toolbar at or near the first location (Nakashima, figs. 29 and 30, display position change icon 130. [0294] and [0299], which show the user can change the position of the menu bar 120 from left to right or vice versa by selecting display position change icon 130 in fig. 29 or 30).
Per claim 11, the modifieid Nakashima teaches the method of claim 1, further including: receiving, by the server device, user input including at least one digital asset to move to a third location, sending, by the server device, collaboration data including an updated location of the at least one digital asset wherein the updated location is at or near the third location and causing the display of the at least one digital asset at or near the third location (Nakashima, fig. 29 and 30 show digital access 150a is move from one location to another location. [0288]…if the display position change icon 130, to be described later, is selected while the application display screen 150a is being displayed adjacently on one side of the menu bar 120 (e.g., the right side of the menu bar 120 as indicated in FIG. 29), the display control unit 24 displays the application display screen 150a adjacent to another side of the menu bar 120 (e.g., the left side of the menu bar 120 as indicated in FIG. 30).)
Claims 12 and 15 are rejected under the same rationale as claims 1 and 4 respectively.
Claims 17 and 20 are rejected under the same rationale as claims 1 and 4 respectively.
Claim(s) 2-3, 13-14 and 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakashima (Pub. No. 2020/0104022), Kumetani (Pub. No. US 2014/0267105), Bedi et al. (“Bedi”, Pat. No. US 11,366,872), and Ledet (Pat. No. US 10,025,462).
Per claim 2, the modified Nakashima teaches the method of claim 1, but does not teach sending, by the server device, collaboration data causing the toolbar including the user interface elements to move to or near the second location in the collaboration workspace, and causing display of the toolbar including the user interface elements at a location that is at a distance of least ten pixels from the second location.
However, Ledet teaches sending, by the server device, collaboration data causing the toolbar including the user interface elements to move to or near the second location in the collaboration workspace, and causing display of the toolbar including the user interface elements at a location that is at a distance of least ten pixels from the second location (col. 5, line 4-line 36…the context menu can move to any other location on the screen, such as to the left or right of the touched location. In response to received touching or input, the application causes the computer to record the X-axis and Y-axis present location of the user's pointing device touching the screen, and calculate a location on the screen where the context menu will appear in an area on the touchscreen away from where the pointing device last touched the screen. For example, the detected location may represent a starting point and the final location may be calculated based on a threshold distance from the initial location (i.e., 5, 10, 15 units of distance). The final location may be a reference point for the center of the menu as it is displayed and may be linked to a particular portion of the menu prior to being used as the location of the menu on the display). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the teaching of Lede in the invention of the modified Nakashima in order to include the feature of allowing the user to freely move a menu to any location on the screen because doing so would allow more appropriate spacing and location purposes for the convenience for the user.
Per claim 3, The method of claim 2, wherein the toolbar including the user interface elements is displayed at a location that is at a distance of least one inch from the second location (col. 5, line 4-line 36…the context menu can move to any other location on the screen, such as to the left or right of the touched location. In response to received touching or input, the application causes the computer to record the X-axis and Y-axis present location of the user's pointing device touching the screen, and calculate a location on the screen where the context menu will appear in an area on the touchscreen away from where the pointing device last touched the screen. For example, the detected location may represent a starting point and the final location may be calculated based on a threshold distance from the initial location (i.e., 5, 10, 15 units of distance). The final location may be a reference point for the center of the menu as it is displayed and may be linked to a particular portion of the menu prior to being used as the location of the menu on the display. Accordingly, the user can freely move the menu any location of the user’s choosing).
Claims 13 and 14 are rejected under the same rationale as claims 2 and 3 respectively.
Claims 18 and 19 are rejected under the same rationale as claims 2 and 3 respectively.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakashima (Pub. No. 2020/0104022), Kumetani (Pub. No. US 2014/0267105), Bedi et al. (“Bedi”, Pat. No. US 11,366,872), and Moran et al. (“Moran”, Pat. No. 5,500,935).
Per claim 5, the modified Nakashima teaches the method of claim 1, but does not specifically teach sending, by the server device, the collaboration data causing display of a user interface element at or near the second location of the collaboration workspace in response to a first user input, receiving, by the server device, a second user input indicating selection of the user interface element, and sending, by the server device, the collaboration data causing moving of the toolbar to or near the second location, and causing display of the toolbar at or near the second location.
However, Moran teaches sending, by the server device, the collaboration data causing display of a user interface element at or near the second location of the collaboration workspace in response to a first user input, receiving, by the server device, a second user input indicating selection of the user interface element, and sending, by the server device, the collaboration data causing moving of the toolbar to or near the second location, and causing display of the toolbar at or near the second location (col. 7, line 5-12; fig. 4(a)-4(c), which show path and information message indicating where to move the stylus so that the menu will be displayed at a destination location (i.e. “Move to Here” UI element). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the teaching of Moran in the invention of the modified Nakashima in order to include a guided path and/or visual indicator for a destination location because doing so would provide the user with a friendly graphical user interface that would visually indicate to the user a “move to” location when the user switching a location of the menu bar of the modified Nakashima.
Claim(s) 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakashima (Pub. No. 2020/0104022), Kumetani (Pub. No. US 2014/0267105), Bedi et al. (“Bedi”, Pat. No. US 11,366,872), and Mo (Pub. No. US 2021/0064196).
Per claim 6, the modified Nakashima teaches the method of claim 1, but does not specifically teach receiving, by the server device, data related to the second location of the collaboration workspace, and sending, by the server device, the collaboration data causing collapsing of the toolbar to a compact form, the collapsed toolbar in the compact form being of a smaller display size than the toolbar and hiding at least one user interface element, causing moving of the collapsed toolbar to or near the second location and causing the display of the collapsed toolbar at or near the second location.
However, Mo teaches receiving, by the server device, data related to the second location of the collaboration workspace, and sending, by the server device, the collaboration data causing collapsing of the toolbar to a compact form, the collapsed toolbar in the compact form being of a smaller display size than the toolbar and hiding at least one user interface element, causing moving of the collapsed toolbar to or near the second location and causing the display of the collapsed toolbar at or near the second location ([0013]…before the floating toolbar is moved, whether the floating toolbar is in an expanded state is determined first, and when it is determined the floating toolbar is in the expanded state, an operation of collapsing the floating toolbar is performed before moving the floating toolbar). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the teaching of Mo in the invention of the modified Nakashima in order to provide the user with collapsing toolbar during moving of the toolbar because doing so would enhance visual effect and avoid interference with other contents during the move.
Per claim 7, Nakashima teaches the method of claim 6, but does not specifically teach receiving, by the server device, data related to the second location of the collaboration workspace, and sending, by the server device, the collaboration data causing expanding of the collapsed toolbar to display the toolbar, at the second location, to include at least one of the hidden user interface elements.
However, Mo teaches receiving, by the server device, data related to the second location of the collaboration workspace, and sending, by the server device, the collaboration data causing expanding of the collapsed toolbar to display the toolbar, at the second location, to include at least one of the hidden user interface elements ([0014]…after moving the floating toolbar is completed, the floating toolbar is placed in the expanded state.) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the teaching of Mo in the invention of the modified Nakashima in order to provide the user with collapsing toolbar during moving of the toolbar because doing so would enhance visual effect and avoid interference with other contents during the move.
Claim(s) 8 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakashima (Pub. No. 2020/0104022), Kumetani (Pub. No. US 2014/0267105), Bedi et al. (“Bedi”, Pat. No. US 11,366,872), and Wilson et al. (“Wilson”, Pub. No. US 2016/0274781).
Per claim 8, the modified Nakashima teaches the method of claim 1, but does not specifically teach receiving, by the server device, a first input via a large format display displaying a collaboration workspace, wherein the collaboration workspace includes at least one digital asset, of a plurality of digital assets, positioned on a first location, generating, by the server device, a minified map of the collaboration workspace, wherein the minified map includes a miniaturized representation the at least one digital asset of the plurality of digital assets, determining, by the server device, a second location in the collaboration workspace using a location on the large format display on which the first input is received, sending, by the server device, collaboration data causing display of the minified map on the large format display at the second location, receiving, by the server device, a second input on the large format display, the second input selecting the miniaturized representation of the at least one digital asset in the minified map, and sending, by the server device, collaboration data causing panning the collaboration workspace, such that the panning moves the at least one digital asset close to the location of the minified map on the large format display.
However, Wilson teaches receiving, by the server device, a first input via a large format display displaying a collaboration workspace, wherein the collaboration workspace includes at least one digital asset, of a plurality of digital assets, positioned on a first location (figs. 1a and 2 show a workspace with a plurality of digital assets 130, 232, and 234), generating, by the server device, a minified map of the collaboration workspace, wherein the minified map includes a miniaturized representation the at least one digital asset of the plurality of digital assets (fig. 1a and 2 show a mini-map 140), determining, by the server device, a second location in the collaboration workspace using a location on the large format display on which the first input is received (fig. 2 shows icon 130, 232, and 234 corresponds to one or more locations on a geographic area. [0066]…The user may adjust the portion of the larger geographic area that is depicted in the window 120 by moving the box 145 within the mini-map 140 (ie. to view second location).), sending, by the server device, collaboration data causing display of the minified map on the large format display at the second location (figs. 1and 2. [0066]…The user may adjust the portion of the larger geographic area that is depicted in the window 120 by moving the box 145 within the mini-map 140 (ie. to view second location).), receiving, by the server device, a second input on the large format display, the second input selecting the miniaturized representation of the at least one digital asset in the minified map ([0066]…The user may adjust the portion of the larger geographic area that is depicted in the window 120 by moving the box 145 within the mini-map 140 (ie. to view second location)), and sending, by the server device, collaboration data causing panning the collaboration workspace, such that the panning moves the at least one digital asset close to the location of the minified map on the large format display ([0066]…The user may adjust the portion of the larger geographic area that is depicted in the window 120 by moving the box 145 within the mini-map 140 (ie. to view second location). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the teaching of Wilson in the invention of the modified Nakashima in order to provide the user with display various geographic maps and an interactive user interface to view one or more digital objects within a geographic area because doing so would enhance usability by allowing the user to navigate a larger display area utilizing mini-map and moving box feature.
Claim 16 is rejected under the same rationale as claim 8.
Claim(s) 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakashima (Pub. No. 2020/0104022), Kumetani (Pub. No. US 2014/0267105), Bedi et al. (“Bedi”, Pat. No. US 11,366,872), Wilson et al. (“Wilson”, Pub. No. US 2016/0274781), and Kenyon et al. (“Kenyon”, Pub. No. US 2002/0067379).
Per claim 9, the modified Nakashima teaches the method of claim 8, but does not teach the minified map includes partitions of the workspace, wherein at least one partition of the workspace comprises the at least one digital asset of the plurality of digital assets, and wherein the method further includes: receiving, by the server device, the second input on the large format display, the second input selecting the at least one partition of the workspace comprising the at least one digital asset of the plurality of digital assets.
However, Kenyon teaches the minified map includes partitions of the workspace, wherein at least one partition of the workspace comprises the at least one digital asset of the plurality of digital assets, and wherein the method further includes: receiving, by the server device, the second input on the large format display, the second input selecting the at least one partition of the workspace comprising the at least one digital asset of the plurality of digital assets (figs. 12 and 13; [0065]… the "mini-map" processing logic first forms the mini-map 1220 of the "greater area" (that is, the central zone plus all the immediately adjacent zones having their map tiles provided), using the miniaturized versions of the map tiles 1222, and causes the mini-map 1220 to be superimposed on displayed map 1290. [0069]… as the user moves "visibility area" demarcation window 1224, the "mini map" processing logic further determines if demarcation window 1224 is within a predetermined threshold from a side of the mini-map 1220 (block 1312). If so, the "mini-map" processing logic requests that additional map tiles, (both the "full" as well as the "miniaturized" versions) in the user's movement direction, be pre-fetched (block 1314). [Such pre-fetching may involving fetching of map tiles in both the horizontal and vertical directions to reflect "diagonal" movement by the user.]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the teaching of Kenyon in the invention of the modified Nakashima in order to provide the user with display various geographic maps and an interactive user interface to view one or more digital objects within a geographic area because doing so would allow easily panning and exploring a "greater area" surrounding an original requested location. Accordingly, usability of user panning is further improved.
Per claim 10, the modified Nakashima teaches the method of claim 8, further including: receiving, by the server device, a user input including a third location for summoning the minified map, and sending, by the server device, collaboration data causing moving of the minified map to a location at or near the third location and causing display of the minified map at the location (figs. 12 and 13; [0065]… the "mini-map" processing logic first forms the mini-map 1220 of the "greater area" (that is, the central zone plus all the immediately adjacent zones having their map tiles provided), using the miniaturized versions of the map tiles 1222, and causes the mini-map 1220 to be superimposed on displayed map 1290. [0069]… as the user moves "visibility area" demarcation window 1224, the "mini map" processing logic further determines if demarcation window 1224 is within a predetermined threshold from a side of the mini-map 1220 (block 1312). If so, the "mini-map" processing logic requests that additional map tiles, (both the "full" as well as the "miniaturized" versions) in the user's movement direction, be pre-fetched (block 1314). [Such pre-fetching may involving fetching of map tiles in both the horizontal and vertical directions to reflect "diagonal" movement by the user.]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the teaching of Kenyon in the invention of the modified Nakashima in order to provide the user with display various geographic maps and an interactive user interface to view one or more digital objects within a geographic area because doing so would allow easily panning and exploring a "greater area" surrounding an original requested location. Accordingly, usability of user panning is further improved.
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/THANH T VU/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2179