DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to the application filed on 4/10/2024 and the preliminary amendment filed on the same day.
Claims 1-17, 19, 20, and 22 are pending in this application. Claims 1, 19, and 20 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 .
Priority
This application is a U.S. National Stage of International Application No. PCT/CN2023/071683 filed on 1/10/2023, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202210412488.3, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on 4/19/2022.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS)s submitted on 8/9/2024, 2/28/2025, 8/26/2025 and 1/15/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 5, 8 and 9 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 5, lines 8-9, replace … a photo in the album that is not hidden is displayed … with … a photo in the album that is not hidden and has the same name as the first album is displayed …
Claim 5, lines 10-11, replace … when the there … with … when there …
Claim 8, line 5, replace … first … with … first album …
Claim 9, line 3, replace … is obtained … with … is obtained that …
Appropriate correction is required.
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 6, 7, and 13-15 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 6 recites the limitation “the fifth interface further displays a fifth button for viewing the album that is not hidden …”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Examiner suggests rewording this limitation as “the fifth interface further displays a fifth button for viewing another album that is not hidden …”.
Claim 6 also recites the limitation “displaying an eighth interface in response to a tenth operation of selecting the third album, wherein a first image in the third album and a sixth button indicating completion of adding the photo that is not hidden are displayed in the eighth interface”. This limitation also introduces issues of improper antecedent basis. Examiner suggests rewording this limitation as “displaying an eighth interface in response to a tenth operation of selecting the third album, wherein a first photo in the third album and a sixth button indicating completion of adding the first photo that is not hidden are displayed in the eighth interface”.
Moreover, claim 6 recites “displaying, when the first image is in a selected state, the first image in the third interface in response to an eleventh operation on the sixth button”. Examiner finds this limitation to both create antecedent basis issues as well as confusion regarding the displayed interface in which the added first photo is displayed, as being in contradiction with the disclosure which indicates that the added first photo is moved to the first album. Examiner suggests rewording this limitation as “displaying, when the first photo is in a selected state, the first photo in the fourth interface in response to an eleventh operation on the sixth button”.
Dependent claim 7 is thus accordingly being rejected.
Claim 7 additionally recites the limitation “displaying the first image in the third interface in response to a twelfth operation on the seventh button” which has similar issues to the last limitation of claim 6 which is addressed above. Examiner suggests rewording this limitation as “displaying the first photo in the fourth interface in response to a twelfth operation on the seventh button”.
Claim 13 recites the limitation “wherein a thirteenth button for viewing the album is displayed in the fourteenth interface”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Examiner interprets this limitation as “wherein a thirteenth button for viewing an album is displayed in the fourteenth interface”. Dependent claims 14 and 15 are thus accordingly being rejected.
Claim 14 additionally recites the limitation “displaying the third interface …”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Examiner interprets this limitation as “displaying a third interface …”.
Examiner Comments
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.
Examiner notes that the numbering associated with interfaces, operations, and UI elements in the claims is arbitrary for the sake of art rejection, so long as the items referred to for each numeral are distinct. For claim definiteness, however, proper antecedent basis needs to be taken into consideration.
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 1, 2, 19, 20, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Daniel, US Patent No. 9,165,128 Bl (hereinafter as Daniel) in view of HE et al., US PGPUB 2021/0382850 Al (hereinafter as HE).
Regarding independent claim 1, Daniel teaches a method [title] comprising:
displaying a first interface, wherein an icon of a first album and an icon of a second album are displayed in the first interface [see e.g. fig. 4A and note the display of an icon of a first album 116 and an icon of a second album (e.g. the one next to it); note that the first interface is prior to a user selecting the first album and therefore 302 is not displayed];
displaying a second interface in response to a first operation of selecting the first album, wherein a first option for hiding the first album is displayed in the second interface [note again fig. 4A (with drop down menu 302 displayed) after the click of the icon of the first album (similar to the description in col. 7, lines 44-45 and 47-50); note the option “Hide” in the drop down menu]; and
displaying the first interface in response to a second operation on the first option, wherein after the second operation, the icon of the second album is displayed in the first interface, and the icon of the first album is not displayed in the first interface [note from col. 7, lines 49-50, 54-55, and 58-64 indicating that the content that is hidden is concealed and excluded from the display after the selection of the input command to hide by the user and thus the initial interface will be missing the icon of the album that the user selected to hide but will have the icon of the second album].
Daniel does not explicitly teach that the first option (that is displayed for hiding the first album) is a first button.
HE teaches implementing a Hide operation item for an album as a button [see 4022 in fig. 4d and note [0065]].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Daniel and HE, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Daniel’s first selectable option (for hiding the first album) by explicitly specifying that it is a first button, as per the teachings of HE. The motivation for this obvious combination of teachings would be to enable flexibility in user interface implementations, as suggested by HE [again see [0065]].
Regarding independent claims 19 and 20, they are rejected analogous to the rejection of independent claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 19, Daniel teaches a terminal device comprising: one or more processors; and a memory coupled to the one or more processors [note the device 102 on fig. 1 comprising CPU 106 and memory means 108] and configured to store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the terminal device to be configured to perform the operations [see col. 5, lines 14-23] of claim 1 [See the rejection of clam 1].
Regarding claim 20, Daniel teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a terminal device, cause the terminal device to be configured to perform the operations [see col. 5, lines 14-36] of claim 1 [See the rejection of clam 1].
Regarding claims 2 and 22, the rejections of claims 1 and 19 are respectively incorporated. HE further teaches displaying an initial modified interface in response to the second operation on the first button comprising: displaying a first pop-up window in response to the second operation, wherein text information prompting whether to hide the first album and a second button for hiding the first album are displayed in the first pop-up window; and displaying the first interface in response to a third operation on the second button [see the embodiment of fig. 4d described in [0069] where the detection of the operation on the Hide button triggers the display of prompt box 403 including prompt information and another “OK” button to confirm the hiding; note from [0069] that if the user triggers the OK button in the prompt box (pop-up), the album indicated will be hidden, i.e. the interface will have the other initially displayed albums]. See the rejections of the independent claims for motivations to combine.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Daniel in view of HE, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Mori et al., US PGPUB 2020/0112650 Al (hereinafter as Mori).
Regarding claim 3, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. The previously combined art does not explicitly teach that in response to the first operation, the first button is in a disabled state when the first album does not satisfy a preset condition, or the first button is in an available state when the first album satisfies the preset condition.
Mori teaches disabling a button when a selected item does not satisfy a preset condition, and enabling it when the selected item satisfies the preset condition [see [0088] describing disabling button 1009 when a certain condition is not satisfied for a previously selected item, as can be seen from [0087]; see also fig. 10 and claim 13].
Mori teaches disabling a button when a selected item does not satisfy a preset condition, and enabling it when the selected item satisfies the preset condition [see [0088] describing disabling button 1009 when a certain condition is not satisfied for a previously selected item, as can be seen from [0087]; see also fig. 10 and claim 13].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of the previously combined art and Mori, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the display of the first button taught by HE by explicitly specifying that that in response to the first operation, the first button is in a disabled state when the first album does not satisfy a preset condition, or the first button is in an available state when the first album satisfies the preset condition, as per the teachings of HE applying the preset condition to the selected first album. The motivation for this obvious combination of teachings would be to prevent performing subsequent operations in situations where they are undesirable, as suggested by Mori [again see [0088] and claim 13].
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Daniel in view of HE, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of XU, US PGPUB 2022/0019325 Al (hereinafter as XU).
Regarding claim 4, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. HE further teaches displaying a third interface (showing one or more hidden albums) wherein the icon of the first album (that has been made hidden) is displayed in the third interface [see e.g. fig. 5a showing the icon of the first album that has been made hidden, as per the description of fig. 4d].
The previously combined art, however, does not explicitly teach that a third button for viewing more functions in albums is further displayed in the first interface, and that the method further comprises: displaying a second pop-up window in response to a fourth operation on the third button, wherein a first option for viewing a hidden album is displayed in the second pop-up window; and displaying the third interface in response to a fifth operation on the first option.
XU teaches a button for viewing more functions in albums that is further displayed in an interface showing albums [see the “More” button 314 on fig. 3b].
XU further teaches: displaying a pop-up window in response to an operation on the button, wherein a first option for viewing a hidden album is displayed in the pop-up window; and displaying the hidden-album interface in response to another operation on the first option [again, note in fig. 3b the display of a pop-up with an option 316 for viewing hidden albums; note in [0130] the display of a “hidden albums” interface 330 as that shown in fig. 3g responsive to a tapping operation on the option 316].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of the previously combined art and XU, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Daniel’s method for managing hiding items by explicitly specifying that a third button for viewing more functions in albums is further displayed in the first interface, and that the method further comprises: displaying a second pop-up window in response to a fourth operation on the third button, wherein a first option for viewing a hidden album is displayed in the second pop-up window; and displaying the third interface in response to a fifth operation on the first option, as per the teachings of XU. It would have been further obvious to specify that the icon of the first (hidden) album is displayed in the third (hidden-albums) interface, as per the teachings of HE. The motivation for the first of these obvious combinations of teachings would be to enable an option of navigation to an interface with hidden items with having fewer controls displayed permanently, as in the example shown in figs. 3b and 3g of XU. The motivation for the second of these obvious combinations of teachings would be to enable an option of unhiding items at the album level by displaying an icon for the album in the hidden albums interface, as per the description in [0072] and [0008] of HE.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Daniel in view of HE and XU, as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Sawaya et al., US PGPUB 2007/0143351 Al (hereinafter as Sawaya).
Regarding claim 8, the rejection of claim 4 is incorporated.
HE further teaches:
that the third interface comprises an icon of a fourth album [note from [0072] the option of a plurality of hidden albums at a time being displayed on the interface of fig. 5b as described (even though it is not displayed on fig. 5b)], and
that the method further comprises: displaying a ninth interface in response to a thirteenth operation of selecting the first album in the third interface, wherein an eighth button for unhiding the first is displayed in the ninth interface [note from [0072] the operation of selecting one of the hidden albums in the hidden album interface (by selecting the corresponding UI element 5012) which could be the first album; note that the button 5011 for unhiding is displayed in the interface even after the selection item 5012 is interacted with].
The previously combined art does not explicitly teach in response to a fourteenth operation on the eighth button, not displaying the icon of the first album, and displaying the icon of the fourth album in the third interface.
Sawaya teaches an interface in which in response to an operation on a button, an icon of a previously selected item is no longer displayed and an icon of another item is still displayed on the interface [note in fig. 9D, steps 940 and 941 the removal of items that had been selected to be restored from the recycle bin; see also related description and fig. 11 (note operation element 1020); especially note [0112]].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of the previously combined art and Sawaya, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Daniel’s method for managing hiding items that has been modified by the teachings of HE and XU by explicitly specifying in response to a fourteenth operation on the eighth button, not displaying the icon of the first album, and displaying the icon of the fourth album in the third interface, as per the teachings of Sawaya. The motivation for this obvious combination of teachings would be to enable visualizing which items remain in a certain status through the display of the corresponding interface, as in the scenario taught by Sawaya, which would allow easier tracking for items that remain hidden in the case of hiding/unhiding items.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Daniel in view of HE and XU, as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Anvaripour et al., US Patent No. 11,169,675 B1 (hereinafter as Anvaripour) and Han, US PGPUB 2023/0334740 Al (hereinafter as Han).
Regarding claim 9, the rejection of claim 4 is incorporated.
The previously combined art does not explicitly teach displaying, when a second image is obtained and belongs to the first album, the icon of the first album in the first interface.
Neither does it teach displaying a tenth interface in response to a fifteenth operation of selecting the first album, wherein the second image in the first album is displayed in the tenth interface.
Anvaripour teaches displaying an interface element of a hidden collection when an update occurs to the collection [ note col. 12, lines 16-19]. Anvaripour further teaches images in a collection [see col. 11, lines 57-62].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of the previously combined art and Anvaripour, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Daniel’s method for managing hiding items that has been modified by the teachings of HE and XU by explicitly specifying displaying the icon of the first album (which has been hidden) in the first interface when a second image is obtained and belongs to the first album, as per the teachings of Anvaripour. The motivation for this obvious combination of teachings would be to enable unhiding a representation of a collection when an update (such as the addition of an image) occurs, as in the scenario taught by Anvaripour, which would allow presentation of icons for folders with newly obtained unhidden items.
The previously combined art, still, does not explicitly teach displaying a tenth interface in response to a fifteenth operation of selecting the first album, wherein the second image in the first album is displayed in the tenth interface.
Han teaches displaying an interface in response to an operation of selecting an album, wherein images in that album are displayed in the interface [ note [0038] and figs. 7-8 showing the display of images in an album when receiving a click on an icon of the album].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of the previously combined art and Han, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to further modify Daniel’s method for managing hiding items that has been modified by the teachings of the combined art by explicitly specifying displaying a tenth interface in response to a fifteenth operation of selecting the first album, wherein the second image in the first album is displayed in the tenth interface, as per the teachings of Han. The motivation for this obvious combination of teachings would be to facilitate browsing album contents for further managing individual items, as in the scenario taught by Han, which would allow more individualized settings.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Daniel in view of HE, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of “Baig, Edward C, and Bob LeVitus. Iphone for Dummies, 13th Edition. Thirteenth edition. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley, 2020. Print.” (hereinafter as iPhone2020) and Chiang et al., US PGPUB 2008/0184112 A1 (hereinafter as Chiang).
Regarding claim 10, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. Daniel further teaches that an icon of a fifth album is further displayed in the first interface [see e.g. fig. 4A and note the display of the icon of album 110, for instance)].
The previously combined art, however, does not explicitly teach:
displaying a tenth interface in response to a sixteenth operation of selecting the fifth album, wherein a third image is displayed in the tenth interface;
displaying an eleventh interface in response to a seventeenth operation of selecting the third image, wherein a ninth button for viewing more functions of the third image is displayed in the eleventh interface;
displaying a fourth pop-up window in response to an eighteenth operation on the ninth button, wherein a second option for hiding a photo is displayed in the fourth pop-up window; and
not displaying third image in the tenth interface in response to a nineteenth operation on the second option.
[The numbering is introduced by Examiner for ease of reference].
iPhone2020 teaches [note the description above fig. 9-13 and that figure]:
displaying an interface in response to an operation of selecting an album, wherein an image is displayed in the interface [see Step 1, Option 1 indicating selecting an album and note in step 2 the option to select a picture from an album which indicates that selecting the album causes the display of the picture];
displaying an additional interface in response to an additional operation of selecting the image, wherein a button for viewing more functions of the image is displayed in the additional interface [see Step 2, Option 1 indicating selecting a picture and note the share button on the bottom left of the leftmost image in fig. 9-13]; and
displaying a pop-up window in response to a further additional operation on the button, wherein an option for hiding a photo is displayed in the pop-up window [see the pop-up window in the rightmost image in fig. 9-13 with a “Hide” option displayed; note that the window is displayed responsive to a tap on the share button, as per Step 2, Option 1].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of the previously combined art and iPhone2020, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Daniel’s method for managing hiding of items by explicitly specifying a) displaying a tenth interface in response to a sixteenth operation of selecting the fifth album, wherein a third image is displayed in the tenth interface; b) displaying an eleventh interface in response to a seventeenth operation of selecting the third image, wherein a ninth button for viewing more functions of the third image is displayed in the eleventh interface; and c) displaying a fourth pop-up window in response to an eighteenth operation on the ninth button, wherein a second option for hiding a photo is displayed in the fourth pop-up window; as per the teachings of iPhone2020. The motivation for this obvious combinations of teachings would be to enable multiple options for manipulating/utilizing photos within albums including hiding them, as suggested by iPhone2020 [again, see the pop-up menu in rightmost image in fig. 9-13 with a “Hide” option displayed, as well as the 2nd line of the 2nd paragraph under fig. 9-6].
The previously combined art, still, does not explicitly teach limitation (d) above.
Chiang teaches not displaying a content item in an interface in response to an operation on an option to hide the content item [see [0044] and note the “hide” option 56a displayed in menu 52 and the corresponding action of concealing a selected item from the interface].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of the previously combined art and Chiang, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Daniel’s method that has been modified by the teachings of HE and iPhone2020 by explicitly specifying d) not displaying third image in the tenth interface in response to a nineteenth operation on the second option (by applying the teaching of Chiang to the option on the pop-up and the selected image taught by the iPhone2020). The motivation for this obvious combinations of teachings would be to adapt the interface display according to selected options, as in the scenario taught by Chiang [again, see [0044]].
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Daniel in view of HE, iPhone2020, and Chiang, as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of XU.
Regarding claim 11, the rejection of claim 10 is incorporated.
The previously combined art does not explicitly teach that the first interface further displays a tenth button for viewing more functions in albums, displaying a fifth pop-up window in response to a twentieth operation on the tenth button, wherein a third option for viewing a hidden album is displayed in the fifth pop-up window; and displaying a twelfth interface in response to a twenty-first operation on the third option, wherein the third image is displayed in the twelfth interface.
XU teaches a button for viewing more functions in albums that is displayed in an interface showing albums [see the “More” button 314 on fig. 3b].
XU further teaches: displaying a pop-up window in response to an operation on the button, wherein an option for viewing a hidden album is displayed in the pop-up window; and displaying a new interface in response to another operation on the option, wherein hidden images are displayed in the new interface [again, note in fig. 3b the display of a pop-up with an option 316 for viewing hidden albums; note in [0130] the display of a “hidden albums” interface 330 including one or more hidden pictures 331 as that shown in fig. 3g responsive to a tapping operation on the option 316].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of the previously combined art and XU, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Daniel’s method for managing hiding items that has been modified by the teachings of the other combined art by explicitly specifying that the first interface further displays a tenth button for viewing more functions in albums, and that the method further comprises: displaying a fifth pop-up window in response to a twentieth operation on the tenth button, wherein a third option for viewing a hidden album is displayed in the fifth pop-up window; and displaying a twelfth interface in response to a twenty-first operation on the third option, wherein the third image is displayed in the twelfth interface, as per the teachings of XU. The motivation for this obvious combination of teachings would be to enable an option of navigation to an interface with hidden items with having fewer controls displayed permanently, as in the example shown in figs. 3b and 3g of XU.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Daniel in view of HE, iPhone2020, Chiang and XU, as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Sura et al., US PGPUB 2013/0111412 A1 (hereinafter as Sura).
Regarding claim 12, the rejection of claim 11 is incorporated.
Xu further teaches that the interface showing hidden images further comprises additional images [see fig. 3g and note the multiple images shown].
The previously combined art does not explicitly teach displaying thirteenth interface in response to a twenty-second operation of selecting the third image in the twelfth interface, wherein an eleventh button for unhiding a photo is displayed in the thirteenth interface; and in response to a twenty-third operation on the eleventh button, not displaying the third image, and displaying the fourth image in the twelfth interface.
Sura teaches displaying a new interface in response to an operation of selecting a hidden item in a hidden items interface, wherein a button for unhiding an item is displayed in the new interface; and in response to another operation on the button, not displaying the selected item, and displaying another (previously displayed) item in the initial interface [note in [0116] the option of a home screen showing all of the hidden items; note in [0107]-[0108] the activation of an option such as “unhide” as shown in fig. 3d responsive to a selection of an icon of an item displayed in the interface; note from [0121] that the option is an “unhide” when a previously hidden item is highlighted; note in [0122] the display of a revised user interface after a user interaction with the options and note that the application of this revised view to the interface showing all of the hidden items in a home screen would yield the removal of the item recently unhidden and the retaining of other previously displayed items (hidden items)].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of the previously combined art and Sura, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Daniel’s method for managing hiding items that has been modified by the teachings of the other combined art by explicitly specifying that the twelfth interface further comprises a fourth image, as per the teachings of Xu, and that the method further comprises: displaying thirteenth interface in response to a twenty-second operation of selecting the third image in the twelfth interface, wherein an eleventh button for unhiding a photo is displayed in the thirteenth interface; and in response to a twenty-third operation on the eleventh button, not displaying the third image, and displaying the fourth image in the twelfth interface, as per the combined teachings of XU and Sura (by applying the teachings of Sura to XU’s interface having the hidden images). The motivation for this obvious combination of teachings would be to enable adaptive display of relevant functionality while allowing the user to see all currently hidden items in a single place, as suggested by Sura [see [0121] and [0116]].
Claims 13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Daniel in view of HE, iPhone2020, Chiang, XU, and Sura, as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of CUI al., US PGPUB 2022/0269800 Al (hereinafter as CUI) and DuBois, US PGPUB 2014/0280561 A1(hereinafter as DuBois).
Regarding claim 13, the rejection of claim 12 is incorporated.
The previously combined art does not explicitly teach that the twelfth interface further displays a twelfth button for adding a photo in the hidden album.
Neither does it teach any of the following:
displaying a fourteenth interface in response to a twenty-fourth operation on the twelfth button, wherein a thirteenth button for viewing an album is displayed in the fourteenth interface, and the fourteenth interface further comprises a fifth image and a fourteenth button indicating completion of adding the photo;
displaying, a fifteenth interface in response to a twenty-fifth operation on the thirteenth button, wherein an album that is not hidden is displayed in the fifteenth interface; and
adding, when the fifth image is in a selected state, the fifth image to the hidden album in response to a twenty-sixth operation on the fourteenth button.
CUI teaches an interface for hidden (private items) that displays a button for adding an item to the hidden collection [see fig. 14 and button 141 for adding content].
CUI further teaches displaying an interface in response to an operation on the button, wherein the interface comprises an additional content item and another button indicating completion of adding the content item; and adding, when an additional content item is in a selected state, the additional content item to the hidden collection in response to another operation on the other button [see figs. 15 and 16 as well as [0228] describing adding content items to a public collection after additional items are selected and the confirmation button on the upper right corner is tapped on fig. 15].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of the previously combined art and CUI, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Daniel’s method for managing hiding items that has been modified by the teachings of the other combined art by explicitly specifying the twelfth interface further displays a twelfth button for adding a photo in the hidden album (by applying the teachings of CUI to the hidden photo interface of XU) and by further explicitly specifying: displaying a fourteenth interface in response to a twenty-fourth operation on the twelfth button, wherein the fourteenth interface further comprises a fifth image and a fourteenth button indicating completion of adding the photo; and adding, when the fifth photo is in a selected state, the fifth photo to the hidden album in response to a twenty-sixth operation on the fourteenth button (by again applying the teachings of CUI with respect to adding hidden content items to the hidden photo interface of XU). The motivation for this obvious combination of teachings would be to enable a user to select items to add to a private collection, including the ability to add multiple items together, as in the scenario taught by CUI [see fig4. 14-16 and [0228]].
The previously combined art, still, does not explicitly teach that a thirteenth button for viewing an album is displayed in the fourteenth interface. Neither does it teach displaying, a fifteenth interface in response to a twenty-fifth operation on the thirteenth button, wherein an album that is not hidden is displayed in the fifteenth interface.
DuBois teaches displaying an interface with a button for adding content, wherein a new interface is displayed in response to an operation on the button, the new interface displaying another button for viewing an album [see fig. 13 with button 238 for adding photos and fig. 14 showing button 244 for viewing the gallery], and wherein an additional interface is displayed in response to another operation on the other button, wherein an album that is not hidden is displayed in the additional interface [see fig. 15 showing contents of the gallery album which is not hidden].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of the previously combined art and DuBois, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Daniel’s method for managing hiding items that has been modified by the teachings of the other combined art by explicitly specifying that a thirteenth button for viewing an album is displayed in the fourteenth interface and displaying, a fifteenth interface in response to a twenty-fifth operation on the thirteenth button, wherein an album that is not hidden is displayed in the fifteenth interface, as in the teachings of DuBois. The motivation for this obvious combinations of teachings would be to enable browsing to other candidate photos to add to a collection, as in the scenario taught by DuBois [again, see figs. 13-15 and the related description].
Regarding claim 14, the rejection of claim 13 is incorporated.
CUI further teaches displaying an interface (in response to an operation), the interface comprising an album to which a hidden/private photo belongs and displaying the hidden photo in response to another operation on the album [see e.g. [0665] and note displaying a hidden picture responsive to an operation for opening an enclosing folder that is displayed (after authenticating a user); note e.g. [0561]].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of the previously combined art including CUI, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Daniel’s method for managing hiding items that has been modified by the teachings of the other combined art by explicitly specifying displaying a third interface in response to a twenty-seventh operation of opening the third interface, wherein the third interface comprises a sixth album to which the fifth image belongs; and displaying the fifth image in response to a twenty-eighth operation on the sixth album (by applying the teachings of CUI above regarding a hidden image in an album to the combination). Refer to the rejection of claim 12 for motivations to combine the cited art.
Claims 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Daniel in view of HE and XU, as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Lucy, US PGPUB 2005/0246640 Al (hereinafter as Lucy).
Regarding claim 16, the rejection of claim 4 is incorporated.
HE further teaches that a display style of the third interface is consistent with a display style of the first interface [note that the display of figs. 5a-b (album/folder view) is the same as that of figs. 4a-e].
Xu further teaches a display style of an interface of hidden items that is a photo/file view [see fig. 3g].
The previously combined art does not explicitly teach that a seventeenth button for switching a display manner of a photo in the hidden album is displayed in the third interface.
Neither does it teach displaying, when the hidden album satisfies a first view, a sixth pop-up window in response to a thirty-first operation on the seventeenth button, wherein a fourth option for switching to a second view is displayed in the sixth pop-up window; nor displaying the photo in the hidden album in the third interface in the second view in response to a thirty-second operation on the fourth option.
Lucy teaches a selectable button (on which operations may be performed) displayed in an interface to switch a display manner of content items between a folder view and a file view [see e.g. [0074] and button 141 in fig. 4]. Examiner notes that Lucy’s button further animates and changes labels in response to operations on it [again, see [0074]].
Lucy further teaches an interface element with options in a pop-up displayed in response to an operation on a displayed button [see [0006]].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of the previously combined art and Lucy, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Daniel’s method for managing the hiding of items that has been modified by the teachings of HE and XU by explicitly specifying a seventeenth button for switching a display manner of a photo in the hidden album is displayed in the third interface, as per the teachings of Lucy and by further explicitly using the UI element of a selectable option displayed in a pop-up responsive to an operation on a selectable element within the selectable button taught by Lucy applied to the hidden albums and the hidden photos taught by HE and XU to specify displaying, when the hidden album satisfies a first view, a sixth pop-up window in response to a thirty-first operation on the seventeenth button, wherein a fourth option for switching to a second view is displayed in the sixth pop-up window; and displaying the photo in the hidden album in the third interface in the second view in response to a thirty-second operation on the fourth option, as recited by the claim. The motivation for this obvious combination of teachings would be to enhance navigation efficiency by enabling navigating the hidden items with fewer clicks than would be necessary if the user navigated hierarchically/systematically through the file system, as suggested by Lucy [see e.g. [0006], [0040], and [0064]].
Regarding claim 17, the rejection of claim 16 is incorporated. The previously combined art teaches that when the first view is an album view, the second view is a photo view and when the first view is the photo view, the second view is the album view [again, note the album view taught by HE in figs. 5a-b, the photo view taught by XU in fig. 3g, and switching the views in both schemes taught by Lucy, e.g. in [0074] and fig.4]. Refer to the rejection of claim 16 for motivations to combine.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 6, 7, and 15 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Examiner notes from the cited art:
Jack et al., US 20170094023 A1, which teaches a pop-up with options indicating hidden albums [see fig. 24].
Sanders et al, US 20130047084 A1, which teaches an interface to unhide hidden items [see e.g. [0197]].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARIA S AYAD whose telephone number is (571)272-2743. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7:30 am - 4:30 pm. Alt, Friday, EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Adam Queler can be reached at (571) 272-4140. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MARIA S AYAD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2172