DETAILED ACTION
The action is responsive to the Application filed on 09/30/2024. Claims 1-9 are pending in the case. Claims 1 and 6 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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cullum et al. (US 20180114371 A1, hereinafter Cullum) in view of Fram et al. (US 20170038950 A1, hereinafter Fram).
As to claim 1, Cullum discloses a method performed by a computing device to provide a manipulation handle, the method comprising:
a selected object that is displayed on a screen and selected by a user of the computing device ("Turning now to FIG. 1, a view of the control interface 100 after selection of a first object is shown around a right leg 128," Cullum paragraph 0020); and
displaying the manipulation handle corresponding to a function ("The control interface 100 includes a bounding box 102 that surrounds the selected object. The control interface 100 also includes a z-axis manipulator control 110, an x-axis manipulator control 112, a y-axis manipulator control 114, and a z-translation control 116. A user can rotate the right leg 128 about the z-axis using the z-axis manipulator control 110. In an aspect, selecting a right side of the z-axis manipulator control 110 will rotate the top of the right leg 128 to the right from the viewer's perspective. In an aspect, selecting the left side of the z-axis manipulator control 110 will rotate the top of the right leg 128 to the left. Alternatively, the z-axis manipulator control 110 can rotate the right leg 128 around the z-axis in only one direction. The z-axis manipulator control 110 can be depicted as an arrow," Cullum paragraph 0021),
wherein the manipulation handle comprises a button and a guide forming a reference position of the button ("The control interface 100 includes a bounding box 102 that surrounds the selected object. The control interface 100 also includes a z-axis manipulator control 110, an x-axis manipulator control 112, a y-axis manipulator control 114, and a z-translation control 116. A user can rotate the right leg 128 about the z-axis using the z-axis manipulator control 110. In an aspect, selecting a right side of the z-axis manipulator control 110 will rotate the top of the right leg 128 to the right from the viewer's perspective. In an aspect, selecting the left side of the z-axis manipulator control 110 will rotate the top of the right leg 128 to the left. Alternatively, the z-axis manipulator control 110 can rotate the right leg 128 around the z-axis in only one direction. The z-axis manipulator control 110 can be depicted as an arrow," Cullum paragraph 0021, displaying a bounding box (i.e., a guide) and manipulator controls (i.e., buttons) corresponding to functions).
However Cullum does not appear to explicitly disclose:
determining a function to be performed on a selected object; and
displaying the manipulation handle of an outer shape.
Fram teaches:
determining a function to be performed on a selected object ("In this embodiment, the user has limited and/or restricted the rotation function to rotations about the z axis… a guide circle 410 appears. The user can then rotate the image about the z axis by moving the cursor along the guide circle 410," Fram paragraph 0039, restricting rotation in the x and y-axis so that the determined function to be performed is a rotation about the z-axis); and
displaying the manipulation handle of an outer shape ("In this embodiment, the user has limited and/or restricted the rotation function to rotations about the z axis… a guide circle 410 appears. The user can then rotate the image about the z axis by moving the cursor along the guide circle 410," Fram paragraph 0039; “In this embodiment, the user has limited and/or restricted the rotation function to rotations about the y axis… in order to cause a horizontal yellow guide line 310 to appear. In this embodiment, when the guide line 310 appears, the tool icon also changes to the rotate icon 320 indicating that movements of the mouse will cause the 3D image to rotate about the y axis so that the user can rotate the image from left to right (or vice versa) by moving the mouse along the guide line 310, without accidentally rotating the image about the y or z axis in the process,” Fram paragraph 0038, determining the shape of the guide depending on whether rotation is in the z-axis (square guide) or the y-axis (line guide)).
Accordingly it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Cullum to change the shape of a guide according to a function as taught by Fram. One would have been motivated to make such a combination so that it is obvious to the user which functions for manipulating the object are enabled thus resulting in greater ease of use for the user.
As to claim 2, Cullum as modified by Fram further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the guide has a shape of a figure having a transparent interior (Cullum Figure 1 102, 128 bounding box 102 does not obscure or cover up selected object 128 (i.e., it is transparent)), and
the button is arranged on an outline of the guide ("The control interface 100 includes a bounding box 102 that surrounds the selected object. The control interface 100 also includes a z-axis manipulator control 110, an x-axis manipulator control 112, a y-axis manipulator control 114, and a z-translation control 116. A user can rotate the right leg 128 about the z-axis using the z-axis manipulator control 110. In an aspect, selecting a right side of the z-axis manipulator control 110 will rotate the top of the right leg 128 to the right from the viewer's perspective. In an aspect, selecting the left side of the z-axis manipulator control 110 will rotate the top of the right leg 128 to the left. Alternatively, the z-axis manipulator control 110 can rotate the right leg 128 around the z-axis in only one direction. The z-axis manipulator control 110 can be depicted as an arrow," Cullum paragraph 0021; Cullum Figure 1 102, 110, 112, 114, 116 guides positioned on the outside edge of the bounding box).
As to claim 3, Cullum as modified by Fram further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the displaying of the manipulation handle of the outer shape corresponding to the function comprises:
displaying the guide of the manipulation handle in a circle, in response to the selected object that is selected by the user of the computing device comprising a rotate function ("In this embodiment, the user has limited and/or restricted the rotation function to rotations about the z axis… a guide circle 410 appears. The user can then rotate the image about the z axis by moving the cursor along the guide circle 410," Fram paragraph 0039, guide appears as a circle when a z-axis rotation function is enabled); and
displaying the guide of the manipulation handle in a polygon, in response to the selected object that is selected by the user of the computing device not comprising the rotate function ("In this embodiment, the user has limited and/or restricted the rotation function to rotations about the y axis… to cause a horizontal yellow guide line 310 to appear. In this embodiment, when the guide line 310 appears, the tool icon also changes to the rotate icon 320 indicating that movements of the mouse will cause the 3D image to rotate about the y axis so that the user can rotate the image from left to right (or vice versa) by moving the mouse along the guide line 310, without accidentally rotating the image about the y or z axis in the process," Fram paragraph 0038, in the combination with Cullum, Cullum’s guide box would be shown instead of a line to support Cullum’s resize functions).
As to claim 5, Cullum as modified by Fram further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the displaying of the manipulation handle of the outer shape corresponding to the function comprises:
in response to the selected object being a three-dimensional (3D) object, displaying an X-axis manipulation handle, a Y-axis manipulation handle, and a Z-axis manipulation handle ("The control interface 100 includes a bounding box 102 that surrounds the selected object. The control interface 100 also includes a z-axis manipulator control 110, an x-axis manipulator control 112, a y-axis manipulator control 114, and a z-translation control 116. A user can rotate the right leg 128 about the z-axis using the z-axis manipulator control 110. In an aspect, selecting a right side of the z-axis manipulator control 110 will rotate the top of the right leg 128 to the right from the viewer's perspective. In an aspect, selecting the left side of the z-axis manipulator control 110 will rotate the top of the right leg 128 to the left. Alternatively, the z-axis manipulator control 110 can rotate the right leg 128 around the z-axis in only one direction. The z-axis manipulator control 110 can be depicted as an arrow," Cullum paragraph 0021; "The x-axis manipulator control 112 can be used to rotate the right leg 128 about the x-axis. In an aspect, selecting one portion of the x-axis manipulator control 112 will rotate the top of the right leg 128 towards the viewer. In an aspect, selecting the opposite side of the x-axis manipulator control 112 will rotate the top of the right leg 128 away from the viewer. Alternatively, the x-axis manipulator control 112 can rotate the right leg 128 around the x-axis in only one direction," Cullum paragraph 0022; "The y-axis manipulator control 114 can be used to rotate the right leg 128 about the y-axis. In an aspect, selecting one portion of the y-axis manipulator control 114 will rotate the right leg 128 in a first direction. In an aspect, selecting the opposite side of the y-axis manipulator control 114 will rotate the right leg 128 in the opposite direction. Alternatively, the y-axis manipulator control 114 can rotate the object around the y-axis in only one direction," Cullum paragraph 0023; “In one aspect, the control is a two-dimensional control,” Cullum paragraph 0040).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cullum et al. (US 20180114371 A1, hereinafter Cullum) in view of Fram et al. (US 20170038950 A1, hereinafter Fram) in further view of Strinden et al. (US 20190102072 A1, hereinafter Strinden).
As to claim 4, Cullum as modified by Fram further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the function to be performed on the selected object comprises:
identifying an additional object associated with the selected object ("At step 604, a user selection of the 3-D object is received along with activation of a group function. The user selection can occur when the user contacts the 3-D object with a cursor. The cursor can be controlled by a mouse, touchscreen input (e.g., stylus, finger), trackball, gaze detection, head movement, voice control, gestures, or other input techniques. In one aspect, the user selection occurs when the cursor contacts the 3-D object and a second input, such as a mouse click, is provided. As an alternative to a cursor, objects could be selected via voice control, keyboard, or other mechanism In one aspect, double-clicking an object both selects the object and activates the group function," Cullum paragraph 0035; "At step 606, a group of objects associated with the initial 3-D object is identified by evaluating adjacent objects against a set of group criteria. In order to identify group members, a recursive process can evaluate objects in the 3-D space according to a set of criteria. The criteria can group objects that touch or are within a threshold distance. The threshold distance can be absolute or relative to an object's size. An absolute threshold could be measured along the closest distance between the exterior of two objects. Any suitable unit of measure within the 3-D space could be used. The relative threshold is based on one or both objects being considered. For example, the threshold distance could be a percentage of an object's width, height, or length. In one aspect, the threshold is a percentage of the average distance of the width, height, and length," Cullum paragraph 0036, identifying and selecting additional objects related to the user-selected object); and
determining a function to be performed on the additional object ("In this embodiment, the user has limited and/or restricted the rotation function to rotations about the z axis… a guide circle 410 appears. The user can then rotate the image about the z axis by moving the cursor along the guide circle 410," Fram paragraph 0039, restricting rotation in the x and y-axis so that the determined function to be performed is a rotation about the z-axis).
However neither Cullum nor Fram appear to explicitly disclose a limitation wherein the displaying of the manipulation handle of the outer shape corresponding to the function comprises:
arranging a first button for manipulating the selected object and a second button for manipulating the additional object, on an outline of the guide of the manipulation handle.
Strinden teaches a limitation wherein the displaying of the manipulation handle of the outer shape corresponding to the function comprises:
arranging a first button for manipulating the selected object and a second button for manipulating the additional object, on an outline of the guide of the manipulation handle (“As shown in FIG. 5C, the configuration engineer has selected three different graphical elements 525, 528, 530, e.g., as is depicted visually by the highlighted shapes on an editing canvas 532 provided by the graphical display configuration application 110, and as is textually indicated 535 on the corresponding editing pane 538 of the configuration user interface… Additionally, the selection and/or configuration may be graphically implemented without requiring the user to enter any numerical boundaries or definitions, e.g., by grabbing and manipulating a handle of one of the selected elements,” Strinden paragraph 0116; Strinden Figure 5C 528 and 530 guides share a common edge with buttons for the object 528 on the common edge and buttons for the object 530 on the same common edge).
Accordingly it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Cullum to have separate buttons for manipulating an object or an additional object when multiple objects are selected as taught by Strinden. One would have been motivated to make such a combination so that individual manipulations for a particular object could be performed thus allowing the user to more easily stack multiple edits for multiple objects in a related group without having to switch between selecting the objects in the related group.
Claims 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cullum et al. (US 20180114371 A1, hereinafter Cullum) in view of Strinden et al. (US 20190102072 A1, hereinafter Strinden).
As to claim 1, Cullum discloses a method performed by a computing device to provide a manipulation handle, the method comprising:
identifying, among objects displayed on a screen, an object selected by a user of the computing device ("Turning now to FIG. 1, a view of the control interface 100 after selection of a first object is shown around a right leg 128," Cullum paragraph 0020);
determining, from among the objects displayed on the screen, an additional object associated with the selected object ("At step 604, a user selection of the 3-D object is received along with activation of a group function. The user selection can occur when the user contacts the 3-D object with a cursor. The cursor can be controlled by a mouse, touchscreen input (e.g., stylus, finger), trackball, gaze detection, head movement, voice control, gestures, or other input techniques. In one aspect, the user selection occurs when the cursor contacts the 3-D object and a second input, such as a mouse click, is provided. As an alternative to a cursor, objects could be selected via voice control, keyboard, or other mechanism In one aspect, double-clicking an object both selects the object and activates the group function," Cullum paragraph 0035; "At step 606, a group of objects associated with the initial 3-D object is identified by evaluating adjacent objects against a set of group criteria. In order to identify group members, a recursive process can evaluate objects in the 3-D space according to a set of criteria. The criteria can group objects that touch or are within a threshold distance. The threshold distance can be absolute or relative to an object's size. An absolute threshold could be measured along the closest distance between the exterior of two objects. Any suitable unit of measure within the 3-D space could be used. The relative threshold is based on one or both objects being considered. For example, the threshold distance could be a percentage of an object's width, height, or length. In one aspect, the threshold is a percentage of the average distance of the width, height, and length," Cullum paragraph 0036, identifying and selecting additional objects related to the user-selected object); and
displaying a manipulation handle for the selected object and the additional object (“At step 610, a visible indication that distinguishes objects in the group of objects from objects that are not in the group of objects is displayed. In one aspect, a control around the group of 3-D objects is displayed in response as a visible indication. In one aspect, the control is a two-dimensional control. The control comprises an x-axis rotation control, a y-axis rotation control, and a z-axis rotation control. The control can also include a bounding box that enables uniform and/or non-uniform scaling of the object. In one aspect, the x-axis rotation control is located outside of the bounding box on, or adjacent to, the x-axis. In one aspect, the y-axis rotation control is located outside of the bounding box on, or adjacent to, the y-axis. In one aspect, the z-axis rotation control is located outside of the bounding box on, or adjacent to, the z-axis on the side opposite the x or y-axis rotation control. The z-translation control can be located on a side of the box without one of the other controls,” Cullum paragraph 0040),
wherein the manipulation handle comprises a first button, a second button, and a guide forming reference positions of the first button and the second button (“At step 610, a visible indication that distinguishes objects in the group of objects from objects that are not in the group of objects is displayed. In one aspect, a control around the group of 3-D objects is displayed in response as a visible indication. In one aspect, the control is a two-dimensional control. The control comprises an x-axis rotation control, a y-axis rotation control, and a z-axis rotation control. The control can also include a bounding box that enables uniform and/or non-uniform scaling of the object. In one aspect, the x-axis rotation control is located outside of the bounding box on, or adjacent to, the x-axis. In one aspect, the y-axis rotation control is located outside of the bounding box on, or adjacent to, the y-axis. In one aspect, the z-axis rotation control is located outside of the bounding box on, or adjacent to, the z-axis on the side opposite the x or y-axis rotation control. The z-translation control can be located on a side of the box without one of the other controls,” Cullum paragraph 0040),
the additional object being an object not selected by the user of the computing device ("At step 604, a user selection of the 3-D object is received along with activation of a group function. The user selection can occur when the user contacts the 3-D object with a cursor. The cursor can be controlled by a mouse, touchscreen input (e.g., stylus, finger), trackball, gaze detection, head movement, voice control, gestures, or other input techniques. In one aspect, the user selection occurs when the cursor contacts the 3-D object and a second input, such as a mouse click, is provided. As an alternative to a cursor, objects could be selected via voice control, keyboard, or other mechanism In one aspect, double-clicking an object both selects the object and activates the group function," Cullum paragraph 0035; "At step 606, a group of objects associated with the initial 3-D object is identified by evaluating adjacent objects against a set of group criteria. In order to identify group members, a recursive process can evaluate objects in the 3-D space according to a set of criteria. The criteria can group objects that touch or are within a threshold distance. The threshold distance can be absolute or relative to an object's size. An absolute threshold could be measured along the closest distance between the exterior of two objects. Any suitable unit of measure within the 3-D space could be used. The relative threshold is based on one or both objects being considered. For example, the threshold distance could be a percentage of an object's width, height, or length. In one aspect, the threshold is a percentage of the average distance of the width, height, and length," Cullum paragraph 0036, identifying and selecting additional objects related to the user-selected object).
However Cullum does not appear to explicitly disclose a limitation wherein the first button is a button for manipulating the selected object, and the second button is a button for manipulating the additional object associated with the selected object.
Strinden teaches a limitation wherein the first button is a button for manipulating the selected object, and the second button is a button for manipulating the additional object associated with the selected object (“As shown in FIG. 5C, the configuration engineer has selected three different graphical elements 525, 528, 530, e.g., as is depicted visually by the highlighted shapes on an editing canvas 532 provided by the graphical display configuration application 110, and as is textually indicated 535 on the corresponding editing pane 538 of the configuration user interface… Additionally, the selection and/or configuration may be graphically implemented without requiring the user to enter any numerical boundaries or definitions, e.g., by grabbing and manipulating a handle of one of the selected elements,” Strinden paragraph 0116; Strinden Figure 5C 528 and 530 guides with buttons for the object 528 and buttons for the object 530).
Accordingly it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Cullum to have separate buttons for manipulating an object or an additional object when multiple objects are selected as taught by Strinden. One would have been motivated to make such a combination so that individual manipulations for a particular object could be performed thus allowing the user to more easily stack multiple edits for multiple objects in a related group without having to switch between selecting the objects in the related group.
As to claim 7, Cullum as modified by Strinden further discloses the method of claim 6, wherein the first button is arranged in a first region of the guide, and the second button is arranged in a second region of the guide, wherein the first region and the second region are non-overlapping regions (Strinden Figure 5C 528 and 530 guides with a button for the object 528 on the left side of the guide and a button for the object 530 on the right side of the guide where the two buttons don’t overlap).
As to claim 8, Cullum as modified by Strinden further discloses the method of claim 7, wherein the first region and the second region have symmetrical positions with respect to each other (Strinden Figure 5C 528 and 530 guides with a button for the object 528 on the left side of the guide and a button for the object 530 on the right side of the guide where the two buttons don’t overlap and are on opposite sides of the two objects (i.e., a symmetrical position)).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cullum et al. (US 20180114371 A1, hereinafter Cullum) in view of Strinden et al. (US 20190102072 A1, hereinafter Strinden) in further view of Fram et al. (US 20170038950 A1, hereinafter Fram) .
As to claim 9, Cullum as modified by Strinden discloses the method of claim 6, however neither Cullum nor Strinden appear to explicitly disclose a limitation wherein the guide is displayed in different shapes based on whether functions for the selected object comprise a rotate function.
Fram teaches a limitation wherein the guide is displayed in different shapes based on whether functions for the selected object comprise a rotate function ("In this embodiment, the user has limited and/or restricted the rotation function to rotations about the z axis… a guide circle 410 appears. The user can then rotate the image about the z axis by moving the cursor along the guide circle 410," Fram paragraph 0039; “In this embodiment, the user has limited and/or restricted the rotation function to rotations about the y axis… in order to cause a horizontal yellow guide line 310 to appear. In this embodiment, when the guide line 310 appears, the tool icon also changes to the rotate icon 320 indicating that movements of the mouse will cause the 3D image to rotate about the y axis so that the user can rotate the image from left to right (or vice versa) by moving the mouse along the guide line 310, without accidentally rotating the image about the y or z axis in the process,” Fram paragraph 0038, determining the shape of the guide depending on whether rotation in the z-axis (square guide) is enabled or not).
Accordingly it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Cullum to change the shape of a guide according to a function as taught by Fram. One would have been motivated to make such a combination so that it is obvious to the user which functions for manipulating the object are enabled thus resulting in greater ease of use for the user.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 20090157738 A1 to Lection discloses methods, systems and computer readable media for controlling presentation and selection of objects that are digital images depicting subjects where a user can select an object and any additional objects relating to the selected objects are automatically selected also;
US 20170316566 A1 to Lee et al. discloses image processing apparatus, image processing method, x-ray imaging apparatus and control method thereof where if a selected object is rotatable then a guide image is displayed to the user; and
US 20220300147 A1 to Nagaoka discloses a display apparatus, display method and non-transitory recording medium where a user can select an object and objects related to the selected object are automatically selected too.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL SAMWEL whose telephone number is (313) 446-6549. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Thursday 8:00-6:00 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kieu Vu can be reached at (571) 272-4057. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANIEL SAMWEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2171
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