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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Double Patenting
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).
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 11,048,681.
Instant Application
U.S. Patent No. 11,048,681
Claim 1
A method, comprising, by a computing device:
-receiving at least one circumstance property;
-identifying a plurality of actions based on the at least one circumstance property, wherein each action of the plurality of actions is associated with a respective utility value;
-displaying, based on the respective utility values of the plurality of actions, a prioritized ordering of at least some actions of the plurality of actions,
-wherein: each action of the at least some actions is associated with a respective unique priority within the prioritized ordering, and the respective unique priority corresponds to the respective utility value; receiving a selection of an action from the prioritized ordering; and
-causing the action to be performed
Claim 1
A method for managing applications, the method comprising, at an electronic device:
-receiving a request to display a list of applications, wherein the request includes at least one circumstance property;
-identifying a plurality of applications based on the at least one circumstance property, wherein each application of the plurality of applications is associated with a respective utility value;
-displaying, within the list of applications, at least two applications of the plurality of applications, wherein the at least two applications are ordered within the list of applications based on their respective utility values;
-receiving a selection of an application from the list of applications; in response to determining that the application is not a highest-recommended application within the list of applications: assigning a first weight to the application that artificially increases its respective utility value; and
-activating the application.
Claim 2-20
Claim 2-20
Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because Claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 11,048,681 contains every element of claims 1-20 of the instant application and thus anticipated the claims of the instant application.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,032,552.
Instant Application
U.S. Patent No. 12,032,552
Claim 1
A method, comprising, by a computing device:
-receiving at least one circumstance property;
-identifying a plurality of actions based on the at least one circumstance property, wherein each action of the plurality of actions is associated with a respective utility value;
-displaying, based on the respective utility values of the plurality of actions, a prioritized ordering of at least some actions of the plurality of actions, wherein: each action of the at least some actions is associated with a respective unique priority within the prioritized ordering, and the respective unique priority corresponds to the respective utility value;
-receiving a selection of an action from the prioritized ordering; and causing the action to be performed
Claim 1
A method, comprising, at a computing device:
-receiving at least one circumstance property;
-identifying a plurality of applications based on the at least one circumstance property, wherein each application of the plurality of applications is associated with a respective utility value;
-displaying, based on the respective utility values of the plurality of applications, a prioritized ordering of at least some applications of the plurality of applications, wherein: each application is associated with a respective unique priority within the prioritized ordering, and the respective unique priority corresponds to the respective utility value; and
-in response to receiving a selection of an application from the prioritized ordering: identifying, based on the selection, the respective unique priority of the application relative to other applications of the plurality of applications within the prioritized ordering, and applying the respective unique priority of the application against the respective utility value of at least the application to modify the respective utility value of at least the application.
Claim 2-20
Claim 2-20
Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because Claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,032,552 contains every element of claims 1-20 of the instant application and thus anticipated the claims of the instant application.
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, 3, 5-8, 10, 12-15, 17 and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (“Lee” Pub. No. US 2013/0132896), Yu et al. (“Yu”, Pub. No. US 2014/0108978).
Per claim 1, Lee teaches a method, comprising, by a computing device:
receiving at least one circumstance property (Fig. 7; step 710; [0053]; [0081]; [0082]; which show after receiving the request signal for the app recommendation, the portable terminal 200 determines the app to be recommended in operation S712. In some exemplary embodiments, the portable terminal 200 may perform operation S712 automatically at a certain time or may perform operation S712 automatically after a certain event occurs in the portable terminal 200, without receiving the request signal (S710).);
identifying a plurality of actions based on the at least one circumstance property, wherein each action of the plurality of actions is associated with a respective utility value ([0051]; [0055]; [0056]; [0065]; [0082]; which show determining the app that is more frequently used (utility value) based on the context information e.g. physical location, the time, and weather information (i.e. circumstance property));
displaying, based on the respective utility values of the plurality of actions, at least some actions of the plurality of actions (figs 8A-8D; [0051]; [0055]; [0056]; [0061]; [0082]; [0094]; which show FIGS. 8A through 8D are diagrams showing examples of displaying an icon of the recommended app and icons of the existing apps in the display setting unit 240 shown in FIG. 2, according to exemplary embodiments.)
receiving a selection of an action from the prioritized ordering and causing the action to be performed (fig. 6, steps 610 and 620; [0075]… In operation S610, the app is executed in the portable terminal 200. In operation S620, the portable terminal 200 collects context information. The collected context information may include the location of the portable terminal 200, the time when the app is executed, and the weather information (for example, temperature and humidity)).
Lee does prioritized ordering of at least some actions of the plurality of actions, wherein: each action of the at least some actions is associated with a respective unique priority within the prioritized ordering, and the respective unique priority corresponds to the respective utility value;
Yu teaches a prioritized ordering of at least some actions of the plurality of actions, ([0012]; [0013]; [0024]; [0026]; [0027]; which show each time an app is used, activated or selected, its weight value is being adjusted. Using the weight value e.g. most frequently used app has the heaviest weight is displayed at the gravity well, the next heaviest weight is displayed in the next closest location to the gravity well. Thus, this would provide prioritized ordering of app icons based on their weight.) wherein: each action of the at least some actions is associated with a respective unique priority within the prioritized ordering ([0022]; [0023]; [0026]; [0027]; which show that each application is also associated with a weight adjustment value (i.e. a respective unique priority) based on learned pattern of certain time, date, or certain event associated with user’s selection), and the respective unique priority corresponds to the respective utility value; receiving a selection of an action from the prioritized ordering; and causing the action to be performed ([0014]; [0017]; [0022]; [0023]; [0026]; [0027]; [0029] which show every time the user makes a selection of an app from the prioritized ordering, the app usage pattern of the user based on date, time location or certain event etc. is learned. The system of Lee can identify and automatically set weight adjustment value (such as date weight, time weight, location weight etc.) to the weight of an app in accordance with the learned pattern of user selections. In addition, it is noted as in para. [0024]; the user can identify and adjust the weight value of an app. And the device relocated the app icon on the display screen in accordance with the manually input weight value).
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 Yu in the invention of Lee in order to provide the user quick access to frequently used application icons based on frequency of use and event-triggered basis.
Per claim 3, the modified Lee teaches the method of claim 1, wherein adjusting the respective utility value comprises increasing or decreasing the respective utility value based on the respective unique priority (Yu, [0022]-[0024]; [0026]; [0027]; which show for example, User Targeting Weight--This feature enables a device to learn the app usage pattern of a user over time, and to autonomously set weight adjustment values in accordance with the learned pattern. A weight adjustment can also be prompted by the activity of an app itself. In this sort of weight adjustment, the activity of one app affects the weight of other apps. For example, if a user has activated a stock trading app, the activity of this app increases the weight of other financial apps, so that the icons of these other financial apps are shifted to or toward the gravity well so long as the stock trading app remains active. If a weight adjustment event has been detected, the method of the present embodiments determines which app icons require adjustment to their weights, and the amount of such adjustment. (step 202). Not every app icon need have its weight adjusted when a weight adjustment event is detected). 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 Yu in the invention of Lee in order to provide the user quick access to frequently used application icons based on frequency of use and event-triggered basis.
Per claim 5, the modified Lee teaches the method of claim 1, wherein each action included in the prioritized ordering is represented with a respective icon (Lee, figs. 8A-8D; Yu, fig. 1).
Per claim 6, the modified Lee teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising: assigning, to a highest-recommended action within the prioritized ordering, an eligibility timer that causes the respective utility value of the highest-recommended action to be artificially lowered until the eligibility timer lapses (Lee, figs. 8A-8D; [0051]; [0055]; [0056]; [0065]; which show, for example, [0061]; [0082]; Yu, ([0013]-[0021]; [0026]; [0027]; which shows for example, Date Weight--The particular weight assigned to an app icon may depend on the date of the year. For instance, as April 15.sup.th approaches, a tax preparation app icon may have its weight increased on a daily basis until a maximum value on April 16.sup.th, so that the icon progressively moves closer to the gravity well on the display screen. On April 16.sup.th the app icon weight may be changed to a minimum value, so that the icon is pushed away from the gravity well, reflecting the understanding that, for those who filed their returns on time, the tax preparation app no longer is of significant relevance. Different apps may react to different dates of the year. For instance, a shopping app may have its icon weight adjusted upwardly as Christmas approaches, or a religious app may have its icon shift toward the gravity well on the eve of a religious holiday.) 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 Yu in the invention of Lee in order to provide the user quick access to frequently used application icons based on frequency of use and event-triggered basis.
Per claim 7, the modified Lee teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the at least one circumstance property is associated with at least one of a geographical location, a time of day, a calendar event, and a presence of one or more devices external to the computing device (Lee, [0051]; [0055]; [0056]; [005]; [0061]; [0082]; which show, for example, the recommended app determination unit 230 may determine an app that is more frequently used than a predetermined frequency by the user or an app that is used longer than a predetermined time as the recommended app in consideration of a location where the determination of the recommended app is performed (that is, the location of the portable terminal 200) and the time when the determination is performed. . Yu, ([0013]-[0021]; [0026]; [0027]; which shows for example, Date Weight--The particular weight assigned to an app icon may depend on the date of the year. For instance, as April 15.sup.th approaches, a tax preparation app icon may have its weight increased on a daily basis until a maximum value on April 16.sup.th, so that the icon progressively moves closer to the gravity well on the display screen. On April 16.sup.th the app icon weight may be changed to a minimum value, so that the icon is pushed away from the gravity well, reflecting the understanding that, for those who filed their returns on time, the tax preparation app no longer is of significant relevance. Different apps may react to different dates of the year. For instance, a shopping app may have its icon weight adjusted upwardly as Christmas approaches, or a religious app may have its icon shift toward the gravity well on the eve of a religious holiday.) 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 Yu in the invention of Lee in order to provide the user quick access to frequently used application icons based on frequency of use and event-triggered basis.
Claims 8, 10, and 12-14 are rejected under the same rationale as claims 1, 3, 5-7 respectively.
Claims 15, 17, and 19-20 are rejected under the same rationale as claims 1, 3, 5-6 respectively.
Claims 2, 9 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (“Lee” Pub. No. US 2013/0132896), Yu et al. (“Yu”, Pub. No. US 2014/0108978), and Qiao et al. (“Qiao”, Pub. No. 2014/0143245).
Per claim 2, the modified Lee teaches the method of claim 1, but does not teaches further comprising: identifying, based on the selection, the respective unique priority of the action relative to other actions of the plurality of actions within the prioritized ordering; and applying the respective unique priority of the action against the respective utility value of at least the action to modify the respective utility value of at least the action.
However, Qiao teaches identifying, based on the selection, the respective unique priority of the action relative to other actions of the plurality of actions within the prioritized ordering, and applying the respective unique priority of the action against the respective utility value of at least the action to modify the respective utility value of at least the action (fig. 3, S302…retrieving condition information input by the user is acquired in response to an input operation of the user, the order of the search results obtained based on the input retrieving condition information is determined and displayed again according to the stored ordering factors and the corresponding ordering weight information [0055]… the ordering factors and corresponding ordering weight information detected in step S101 is stored in a cache. When the user inputs a retrieving condition next time, if it is not detected that the user makes any modification to the ordering factors and corresponding ordering weight information, then the stored ordering factors and corresponding ordering weight information are called from the cache directly to order and display the search results, simplifying the display process of the search results and increasing search efficiency of the user. [0057]… updating the ordering factors and corresponding ordering weight information in response to a second selection operation of the user, determining again the order of the search results according to the updated ordering factors and the corresponding ordering weight information, and jumping to a first page to display the reordered search results. i.e., when detecting the user has changed the ordering factors and corresponding ordering weight information, step S102 is executed again, the order of each search result is redetermined based on the changed ordering factors and corresponding ordering weight information, at which time, if the user has browsed the search results of the second page or the subsequent pages, then the page automatically jumps to the first page of the pages of the search results, and the reordered search results are displayed from the beginning). 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 Qiao in the invention of the modified Lee in order to provide the user with flexibility and quick access to an ordered list of application icons according to the user's intention on each ordering factor/weight.
Claim 9 is rejected under the same rationale as claim 2.
Claim 16 is rejected under the same rationale as claim 2.
Claim 4, 11 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (“Lee” Pub. No. US 2013/0132896), Yu et al. (“Yu”, Pub. No. US 2014/0108978), and Choi et al. (“Choi”, Pub. No. US 2012/0015693).
Per claim 4, the modified Lee teaches the method of claim 1, but does not teach wherein the at least one circumstance is received in conjunction with a finger being dragged across a display with which the electronic device is communicably coupled.
However, Choi wherein the at least one circumstance is received in conjunction with a finger being dragged across a display with which the electronic device is communicably coupled (0143]; [0144]). 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 Choi in the invention of the modified Lee in order to provide a touch drag of an input signal as a choice of implementation to allow command/input interactions from the user.
Claim 11 is rejected under the same rationale as claim 4.
Claim 18 is rejected under the same rationale as claim 4.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ho et al. (Pat. No. 11,347,754) discloses context aware application manager.
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/THANH T VU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2179
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