DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
1. Claims 8-14 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 8 is not falling within one of the four statutory categories of invention. Supreme Court precedent and recent Federal Circuit decisions indicate that a statutory "process" under 35 U.S.C. 101 must (1) be tied to another statutory category (such as a particular apparatus), or (2) transform underlying subject matter (such as an article or material) to a different state or thing. While the instant claim(s) recite a series of steps or acts to be performed, the claim(s) neither transform underlying subject matter nor positively tie to another statutory category that accomplishes the claimed method steps, and therefore do not qualify as a statutory process. Appropriate correction is required. Failure to make appropriate correction(s) would lead to 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection(s). Dependent claims 9-14 inherit the same defect(s).
Double Patenting
2. The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
3. Claims 1-15 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-13 of U.S. Patent No. 12,032,923. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the claimed limitations recited in the present application are broader and transparently found in the U.S. Patent 12,032,923 with obvious wording variations. When claims in the pending application are broader than the ones in the patent, the broad claims in the pending application are rejected under obviousness type double patenting over previously patented narrow claims, In re Van Ornum and Stang, 214 USPQ 761. Also, omission of an element and its function in a combination is an obvious expedient if the remaining elements perform the same functions as before. In re KARLSON (CCPA) 136 USPA 184 (1963).
U.S. Patent Application 18/748,991
U.S. Patent 12,032,923
1.A electronic device comprising:
one or more sensors;
at least one processor; and
memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to:
1.A electronic device comprising:
one or more sensors;
at least one processor; and
memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to:
receive an input;
receive an input;
based on the input, generate a translation factor used for limiting a meaning of a word to be translated,
based on the input, generate a translation factor used for limiting a meaning of a word to be translated,
in response to receiving the input, collect data regarding a surrounding environment of the electronic device by using the one or more sensors,
in response to receiving the input, collect data regarding a surrounding environment of the electronic device by using the one or more sensors,
based on the collected data, generate a surrounding environment factor,
determine plural candidate words to be translated,
based on the collected data, generate a surrounding environment factor,
determine plural candidate words to be translated,
determine a correlation between each of the plural candidate words and one of the translation factor or the surrounding environment factor,
based on the correlation, determine a candidate word having a highest correlation value, the determining the candidate word including determining a difficulty level corresponding to the candidate word based on one of the translation factor or the surrounding environment factor,
translate the determined candidate word and the input, and
determine a first usage association of each of the plural candidate words, the first usage association including a correlation between the translation factor and each of the plural candidate words,
based on the correlation, determine a candidate word having a highest correlation value,
translate the determined candidate word and the input, the translating of the input including changing at least one first word corresponding to the input to at least one second word related to the at least one first word, the changing of the at least one first word including adjusting a difficulty level of a result of translating the at least one first word based on the translation factor, and
output a translation result of the input through at least one of a display or a speaker of the electronic device.
output a translation result of the input through at least one of a display or a speaker of the electronic device.
2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, further cause the electronic device to:
determine a keyword based on the surrounding environment factor, and
determine the correlation between the keyword and each of the plural candidate words.
2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the electronic device to: determine a keyword based on the surrounding environment factor, determine a second usage association of each of the plural candidate words based on the keyword, the second usage association including a correlation between the keyword and each of the plural candidate words, based on the second usage association, determine the candidate word having the highest correlation value, and translate the determined candidate word.
3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, further cause the electronic device to:
in case that the correlation of each of the plural candidate words is less than a threshold value, translate all the plural candidate words, and
provide translation results of the translating of all the plural candidate words.
3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the electronic device to:
in case that the second usage association of each of the plural candidate words is less than a threshold value, translate all the plural candidate words, and
provide translation results of the translating of all the plural candidate words.
4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, further cause the electronic device to:
determine a keyword based on the surrounding environment factor, and
determine a first correlation between the keyword and each of the plural candidate words,
determine a second correlation between the translation factor and each of the plural candidate words,
based on the first correlation and the second correlation, determine the candidate word having the highest correlation value, and
translate the determined candidate word.
4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the electronic device to:
based on the surrounding environment factor, change a difficulty level of a translation result, and after changing the difficulty level of the translation result, provide the translation result.
5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the input includes at least one of an utterance input or text input.
5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the electronic device to: based on the surrounding environment factor, change a difficulty level of a translation result, and after changing the difficulty level of the translation result, provide the translation result.
6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, further cause the electronic device to: determine the correlation based on dictionary data and/or history data storing a history of languages used by users.
7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the collected data includes at least one of image or sound.
6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the electronic device to: determine a keyword based on the surrounding environment factor, determine a third usage association of each of the plural candidate words based on the keyword, the third usage association including a correlation between the keyword and each of the plural candidate words, determine a fourth usage association of each of the plural candidate words based on the translation factor, the fourth usage association including the correlation between the translation factor and each of the plural candidate words, based on the third usage association and the fourth usage association, determine the candidate word having the highest correlation value, and translate the determined candidate words.
8. A method for language translation, the method comprising:
7. A method for language translation, the method comprising:
receive an input;
receiving an input;
based on the input, generate a translation factor used for limiting a meaning of a word to be translated,
based on the input, generating a translation factor used for limiting a meaning of a word to be translated,
in response to receiving the input, collect data regarding a surrounding environment of the electronic device by using the one or more sensors,
in response to receiving the input, collecting data regarding a surrounding environment of an electronic device by using the one or more sensors of the electronic device,
based on the collected data, generate a surrounding environment factor,
determine plural candidate words to be translated,
based on the collected data, generate a surrounding environment factor,
determine plural candidate words to be translated,
determine a correlation between each of the plural candidate words and one of the translation factor or the surrounding environment factor,
based on the correlation, determine a candidate word having a highest correlation value, the determining the candidate word including determining a difficulty level corresponding to the candidate word based on one of the translation factor or the surrounding environment factor,
translate the determined candidate word and the input, and
determining a first usage association of each of the plural candidate words, the first usage association including a correlation between the translation factor and each of the plural candidate words,
based on the correlation, determining a candidate word having a highest correlation value,
translating the determined candidate word and the input, the translating of the input including changing at least one first word corresponding to the input to at least one second word related to the at least one first word, the changing of the at least one first word including adjusting a difficulty level of a result of translating the at least one first word based on the translation factor, and
output a translation result of the input through at least one of a display or a speaker of the electronic device.
outputting a translation result of the input through at least one of a display or a speaker of the electronic device.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the translating comprises:
determine a keyword based on the surrounding environment factor, and
determine the correlation between the keyword and each of the plural candidate words.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the translating comprises:
determine a keyword based on the surrounding environment factor, determine a second usage association of each of the plural candidate words based on the keyword, the second usage association including a correlation between the keyword and each of the plural candidate words, based on the second usage association, determining the candidate word having the highest correlation value, and translating the determined candidate word.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: in case that the correlation of each of the plural candidate words is less than a threshold value, translating all the plural candidate words and providing translation results of the translating of all of the plural candidate words.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: in case that the second usage association of each of the plural candidate words is less than a threshold value, translating all the plural candidate words and providing translation results of the translating of all the plural candidate words.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the translating comprises: determining a keyword based on the surrounding environment factor; determining a first correlation between the keyword and each of the plural candidate words; determining a second correlation between the translation factor and each of the plural candidate words; based on the first correlation and the second correlation, determining the candidate word having the highest correlation value; and translating the determined candidate word.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
based on the surrounding environment factor, changing a difficulty level of a translation result, and after changing the difficulty level of the translation result, providing the translation result.
12. The method of claim 9, wherein the input includes at least one of an utterance input or text input.
11. The method of claim 7, further comprising:
based on the surrounding environment factor, changing a difficulty level of a translation result, and after changing the difficulty level of the translation result, providing the translation result.
13. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining the correlation comprises: determining the correlation based on dictionary data and/or history data storing a history of languages used by users.
14. The method of claim 9, wherein the collected data includes at least one of image or sound.
12. The method of claim 7, wherein the translating comprises: determining a keyword based on the surrounding environment factor, determining a third usage association of each of the plural candidate words based on the keyword, the third usage association including a correlation between the keyword and each of the plural candidate words, determining a fourth usage association of each of the plural candidate words based on the translation factor, the fourth usage association including the correlation between the translation factor and each of the plural candidate words, based on the third usage association and the fourth usage association, determining the candidate word having the highest correlation value, and translating the determined candidate words.
15. One or more non-transitory computer readable storage media storing one or more programs including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform operations, the operations comprising:
13. One or more non-transitory computer readable storage media storing one or more programs including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform operations, the operations comprising:
receiving an input;
receiving an input;
based on the input, generate a translation factor used for limiting a meaning of a word to be translated,
based on the input, generating a translation factor used for limiting a meaning of a word to be translated,
in response to receiving the input, collect data regarding a surrounding environment of the electronic device by using the one or more sensors of the device,
in response to receiving the input, collect data regarding a surrounding environment of the electronic device by using the one or more sensors of the device,
based on the collected data, generate a surrounding environment factor,
determine plural candidate words to be translated,
based on the collected data, generating a surrounding environment factor,
determining plural candidate words to be translated,
determine a correlation between each of the plural candidate words and one of the translation factor or the surrounding environment factor,
based on the correlation, determine a candidate word having a highest correlation value, the determining the candidate word including determining a difficulty level corresponding to the candidate word based on one of the translation factor or the surrounding environment factor,
translate the determined candidate word and the input, and
determining a first usage association of each of the plural candidate words, the first usage association including a correlation between the translation factor and each of the plural candidate words,
based on the correlation, determining a candidate word having a highest correlation value,
translating the determined candidate word and the input, the translating of the input including changing at least one first word corresponding to the input to at least one second word related to the at least one first word, the changing of the at least one first word including adjusting a difficulty level of a result of translating the at least one first word based on the translation factor, and
output a translation result of the input through at least one of a display or a speaker of the electronic device.
outputting a translation result of the input through at least one of a display or a speaker of the electronic device.
Allowable Subject Matter
4. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Cho (KR20200069727) teaches system method that provides translation support service that reflects linguistic characteristics information based on the dialogue relationship.
Kurlander et al. (US Patent 7,778,632) teaches a multi-modal multi-lingual mobile device that facilitates intelligently automating an action. The device can automatically synchronize a user schedule based upon a user state, intention, preference and/or limitation. The device employs sensors to automatically detect criteria by which to automatically implement an action.
As to claims 1, 8, and 15, prior arts of record fail to teach, or render obvious, alone or in combination comprising an electronic device, a method for language translation, and one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media storing one or more programs including instruction that when executed by one or more processors of a device cause the device to perform comprising the claimed components, relationships, and functionalities as specifically recited in the claims.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
5. Claims 1-15 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the claims objection(s) and the double patenting rejection(s), set forth in this Office action.
Conclusion
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QUYNH H NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-7489. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30AM-3:30PM.
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/QUYNH H NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2693