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 . This Office Action is responsive to the communications filed on 22 July 2024. Claims 1-14 are pending.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “a controller configured to” in claim 1.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1,3,5-8,10 and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon (US 2013/0311946 A1, See IDS filed 07/22/2024) in view of Borshch et al. (Hereinafter, Borshch, US 2019/0103182 A1).
Per claim 1, Kwon discloses a display device (e.g., apparatus 100 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0031, “FIG. 1 is a block diagram explaining an apparatus for user-centered icon layout on a main screen according to one embodiment of the present invention.”) comprising:
a user interface (paragraph [0015], “The display may arrange N icons loaded from the memory in the form of a three-dimensional (3D) sphere consisting of plural folds of transparent layers, and display the icons as an integrated user interface (UI) on the main screen of the user terminal.”; paragraph [0039]);
a display (e.g., display 130 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0038],”The display 130 selects N applications (where, N is a natural number) based on the determined order of priority with regard to the applications, loads icons respectively corresponding to the N selected applications from a memory, and displays the icons on the main screen of the user terminal.”) displaying a menu for providing at least one function (e.g., step 340 as shown in Fig. 3; paragraph [0052], “Next, in operation 340, the display 130 of the apparatus 100 loads icons respectively corresponding to the N selected applications from the memory and displays the icons on the main screen of the user terminal. “); and
a controller(e.g., controller 160 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0047], “The controller 160 may control general operations of the apparatus 100 according to the embodiment, that is, the generator 110, the determiner 120, the display 130, the application recommender 140, the schedule recommender 150, etc. “) configured to:
upon reception of an execution command from a user, generate a user pattern including information about a function corresponding to the execution command and information about a time at which the execution command is received(paragraphs [0011] and [0065]; Kwon discloses a program menu that a user frequently uses according to a use pattern or “life pattern” may be recorded, updated, and developed.),
reconfigure the menu based on the user pattern(paragraphs [0011] and [0065]; Kwon discloses a program menu that a user frequently uses according to a use pattern or “life pattern” may be recorded, updated, and developed, at. Kwon discloses that a main screen application icon menu is monitored and adjusted, at paragraph [0017]), and
control the display to display the reconfigured menu (paragraph [0065] discloses a menu that is updated and modified based on usage patterns, as in [0065], must first be displayed such that a user may select a menu option to establish such patterns).
Kwon does not expressly disclose:
a transceiver configured to receive at least one of weather information or environment information from an external device;
a controller configured to:
determine a recommended operation mode based on at least one of the weather information or the environment information,
control the display to display a menu for providing a function corresponding to the determined recommended operation mode before the user pattern is generate.
Borshch discloses:
a transceiver (e.g., communications assembly 106 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0018], “Communications assembly 106 may be provided to allow device 100 to communicate with one or more other electronic devices or servers or subsystems or any other entities remote from device 100 (e.g., one or more of auxiliary subsystems 200 and 250 of system 1 of FIG. 1) using any suitable communications protocol(s)….” ) configured to receive at least one of weather information or environment information from an external device (e.g., auxiliary environment subsystems 200 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0030], “… As just one example, subsystem 200 may include or may be in communication with a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (“HVAC”) subsystem of an environment, and device 100 may be able to access any suitable HVAC data (e.g., any suitable auxiliary environment subsystem data 91) from auxiliary environment subsystem 200 indicative of any suitable HVAC characteristics (e.g., temperature, humidity, air velocity, oxygen level, harmful gas level, etc.) of the environment, such as when device 100 is located within that environment…. As yet just one other example, subsystem 200 may be provided by a weather service (e.g., a subsystem operated by a local weather service or a national or international weather service) that may be operative to determine the weather (e.g., temperature, humidity, gas levels, air velocity, etc.) for any suitable environment (e.g., at least any outdoor environment)….” ; paragraph [0032] );
a controller configured to:
determine a recommended operation mode based on at least one of the weather information or the environment information (e.g., operation 402 as shown in Fig. 4; paragraph [0014], “Systems, methods, and computer-readable media may be provided to manage comfort states of a user of an electronic device (e.g., to determine a comfort state of an electronic device user and to manage a mode of operation of the electronic device or an associated subsystem based on the determined comfort state) ...”; paragraph [0035]; paragraph [0045]; paragraph [0047], “ …The initial configuration of the comfort engine may be based on data for several environment categories, each of which may include one or more specific environment category data values, each of which may have any suitable initial weight associated therewith, based on the information available to the model custodian at the time of initial configuration of the engine (e.g., at operation 402 of process 400 of FIG. 4)… “; Examiner’s Note: The user provides category data, i.e., weather information or the environment information and a score. ),
control the display to display a menu (e.g., managed element 390 as shown in Fig. 3; paragraphs [0057-0058]; Examiner’s Note: Examiner is broadly and reasonably interpreting the claimed menu to be a managed element.) for providing a function corresponding to the determined recommended operation mode before the user pattern is generated (e.g., operation 404 as shown in Fig. 4; paragraph [0036]; paragraph [0038]; paragraph [0039]; paragraphs [0047-0048]; paragraph [0059], “FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an illustrative process 400 for managing a comfort level. At operation 402 of process 400, a comfort model custodian (e.g., a comfort model custodian system) may initially configure a learning engine (e.g., device comfort model 105a) for an experiencing entity. At operation 404 of process 400, the comfort model custodian may receive, from the experiencing entity, environment category data for at least one environment category for an environment and a score for the environment…”; paragraph [0061]; paragraph [0061], “… The system may be operative to provide recommendations and alerts when the comfortness fails or exceeds certain thresholds. Based on any suitable environment data, the system may be operative to provide suggestions as to how a user might improve environment conditions in order to increase the level of comfortness, or, for example, to improve sleep quality or reduce the effect of desynchronosis or circadian dysrhythmia (i.e., jet lag)…. “; Examiner’s Note: Borshch discloses initializing a learning engine for a user before a training step to recognize a pattern as described in paragraph [0037]. The user provides category data and a satisfaction score for the current environment. ).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the comfort state management device of Borshch with the user-centered icon layout of Kwon for enabling a reliable determination of a comfort state of a user of an electronic device in a particular environment as suggested by Borshch (paragraph [0003]).
Per claim 3, Kwon and Borshch disclose the display device of claim 1, wherein the environment information includes information about a room temperature, an outdoor temperature, indoor humidity, outdoor humidity, indoor dust concentration, and outdoor dust concentration (Borshch, paragraph [0014]; paragraph [0027]; paragraph [0038]; Examiner’s Note: As discussed in paragraph [0014], Borshch’s teachings can be utilized in conjunction with any suitable environment data that may be indicative of any suitable characteristics of an environment. ).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the comfort state management device of Borshch with the user-centered icon layout of Kwon for enabling a reliable determination of a comfort state of a user of an electronic device in a particular environment as suggested by Borshch (paragraph [0003]).
Per claim 10, Claim 10 recites limitations analogous in scope to those of claim 3, and as such is rejected under similar rationale.
Per claim 5, Kwon and Borshch disclose the display device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to reconfigure at least one of order, feature, shape, color, position, or size of the menu based on the user pattern (Kwon, paragraph [0018]; Kwon discloses adjusting a menu icon layout may be adjusted.).
Per claim 12, Claim 12 recites limitations analogous in scope to those of claim 5, and as such is rejected under similar rationale.
Per claim 6, Kwon and Borshch disclose the display device of claim 1, wherein the information about the function may include a type of the function and a setting value of the function (Kwon, paragraph [0017]; Kwon discloses executable application icons [i.e., a type of function] being monitored for usage patterns.).
Per claim 13, Claim 12 recites limitations analogous in scope to those of claim 6, and as such is rejected under similar rationale.
Per claim 7, Kwon and Borshch disclose the display device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to: upon reception of identification information for user identification from the user, match the identification information with the generated user pattern (Kwon discloses use patterns of an application are recorded and updated, at paragraph [0012]. Kwon disclose that a user of the device is identified as “a user” by virtue of their interactions with the device, and such interactions are monitored and “matched” to the user’s device, at paragraph [0011]).
Per claim 14, Claim 15 recites limitations analogous in scope to those of claim 7, and as such is rejected under similar rationale.
Per claim 8, Kwon discloses a method of controlling a display device (e.g., apparatus 100 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0031, “FIG. 1 is a block diagram explaining an apparatus for user-centered icon layout on a main screen according to one embodiment of the present invention.”) comprising:
displaying a menu for providing at least one function corresponding to the determined recommended operation mode(e.g., step 340 as shown in Fig. 3; paragraph [0052], “Next, in operation 340, the display 130 of the apparatus 100 loads icons respectively corresponding to the N selected applications from the memory and displays the icons on the main screen of the user terminal. “);
receiving an execution command from a user (paragraphs [0011] and [0065]; Kwon discloses a program menu that a user frequently uses according to a use pattern or “life pattern” may be recorded, updated, and developed.);
generating a user pattern including information about a function corresponding to the execution command and information about a time at which the execution command is received(paragraphs [0011] and [0065]; Kwon discloses a program menu that a user frequently uses according to a use pattern or “life pattern” may be recorded, updated, and developed.),
reconfiguring the menu based on the user pattern(paragraphs [0011] and [0065]; Kwon discloses a program menu that a user frequently uses according to a use pattern or “life pattern” may be recorded, updated, and developed, at. Kwon discloses that a main screen application icon menu is monitored and adjusted, at paragraph [0017]), and
displaying the reconfigured menu (paragraph [0065] discloses a menu that is updated and modified based on usage patterns, as in [0065], must first be displayed such that a user may select a menu option to establish such patterns).
Kwon does not expressly disclose:
receiving at least one of weather information or environment information from an external device;
determining a recommended operation mode based on at least one of the weather information or the environment information,
Borshch discloses:
receiving at least one of weather information or environment information from an external device (e.g., auxiliary environment subsystems 200 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0030], “… As just one example, subsystem 200 may include or may be in communication with a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (“HVAC”) subsystem of an environment, and device 100 may be able to access any suitable HVAC data (e.g., any suitable auxiliary environment subsystem data 91) from auxiliary environment subsystem 200 indicative of any suitable HVAC characteristics (e.g., temperature, humidity, air velocity, oxygen level, harmful gas level, etc.) of the environment, such as when device 100 is located within that environment…. As yet just one other example, subsystem 200 may be provided by a weather service (e.g., a subsystem operated by a local weather service or a national or international weather service) that may be operative to determine the weather (e.g., temperature, humidity, gas levels, air velocity, etc.) for any suitable environment (e.g., at least any outdoor environment)….” ; paragraph [0032] );
determining a recommended operation mode based on at least one of the weather information or the environment information (e.g., operation 402 as shown in Fig. 4; paragraph [0014], “Systems, methods, and computer-readable media may be provided to manage comfort states of a user of an electronic device (e.g., to determine a comfort state of an electronic device user and to manage a mode of operation of the electronic device or an associated subsystem based on the determined comfort state) ...”; paragraph [0035]; paragraph [0045]; paragraph [0047], “ …The initial configuration of the comfort engine may be based on data for several environment categories, each of which may include one or more specific environment category data values, each of which may have any suitable initial weight associated therewith, based on the information available to the model custodian at the time of initial configuration of the engine (e.g., at operation 402 of process 400 of FIG. 4)… “; Examiner’s Note: The user provides category data, i.e., weather information or the environment information and a score. ),
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the comfort state management device of Borshch with the user-centered icon layout of Kwon for enabling a reliable determination of a comfort state of a user of an electronic device in a particular environment as suggested by Borshch (paragraph [0003]).
Claims 2 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon (US 2013/0311946 A1, See IDS filed 07/22/2024) in view of Borshch et al. (Hereinafter, Borshch, US 2019/0103182 A1), and further in view of Cox et al. (Hereinafter, Cox, US 2008/0021697 A1).
Per claim 2, Kwon and Borshch disclose the display device of claim 1,
wherein transceiver receiving location information from an external device (Kwon, paragraph [0036]; Kwon discloses the use of a global positioning system for tracking device location]), but does not expressly disclose:
wherein the controller is configured to:
determine a language in which to display the menu based on the location information, and
display the menu in the determined language.
Cox discloses:
wherein the controller is configured to:
determine a language in which to display the menu based on the location information(e.g., step 84 as shown in Fig. 4; paragraph [0044], “… As shown in FIG. 4, the method comprises determining a location of the wireless device (82), associating the location of the wireless device with a probable language spoken at the location (84), transmitting data associated with the probable target language to the wireless device (86), and prioritizing the probable target language in a menu system on the wireless device (88) ... “), and
display the menu in the determined language (e.g., step 88 as shown in Fig. 4; paragraph [0044], “… As shown in FIG. 4, the method comprises determining a location of the wireless device (82), associating the location of the wireless device with a probable language spoken at the location (84), transmitting data associated with the probable target language to the wireless device (86), and prioritizing the probable target language in a menu system on the wireless device (88) ... ).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the system and method of Cox with the user-centered icon layout of Kwon and Borshch for rendering the process of selecting and switching between target languages less cumbersome as suggested by Cox (paragraph [0011]).
Per claim 9, Claim 9 recites limitations analogous to those of claim 2, and as such is rejected under similar rationale.
Claims 4 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon (US 2013/0311946 A1) in view of Borshch et al. (Hereinafter, Borshch, US 2019/0103182 A1), and further in view of Almand et al. (Hereinafter, Almand, US 10,025,460 B1, See IDS filed 07/22/2024).
Per claim 4, Kwon and Borshch disclose the display device of claim 1. Kwon discloses that a display may be modified based on usage patterns related to months, dates, days of a week, and time of day, but does not expressly disclose wherein the controller is configured to:
determine a frequency of use of at least one function for each hour based on the user pattern; and
reconfigure the menu based on the determined frequency of use for each hour.
Almand discloses systems and methods for customizing menu items based on user usage patterns, similar to Kwon and Borshch. Furthermore, Almand discloses wherein usage over an hourly time period is tracked (col. 9, lines 36-50.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the interface customization of Kwon and Borshch to include the hourly time period of Almand. One would have been motivated to make such a combination for the advantage of providing a user interface corresponding to a user’s usage patterns at a particular time, commensurate with the disclosure of Kwon, at [0040].
Per claim 11, Claim 11 recites limitations analogous to those of claim 4, and as such is rejected under similar rationale.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DARRIN HOPE whose telephone number is (571)270-5079. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thr - 6:45-4:15, Fri - 6:45-3:15, Alt. Fri Off.
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, Stephen S Hong can be reached at (571)272-4124. 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.
DARRIN HOPE
Examiner
Art Unit 2178
/STEPHEN S HONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2178
Prosecution Insights