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 has been issued in response to Applicant’s Communication of application S/N 18/860,305 filed on October 25, 2024. Claims 1 to 14 are currently pending with the application.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed with relationship to 371 PCT/JP2022/019368, filed on 04/28/2022.
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.
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: “a controller” in claim 13 and claim 14,. Therefore, U.S.C. 112(f) is invoked for claims 1 and 2 and all its dependent claims.
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 § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 5, and 8-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sirpal et al. (US 2013/0080970) Published on Mar. 28, 2013.
As per Claims 1, 13 and 14, An information processing method for controlling screen display of a touch panel type display, (See para [0065]: “The term ‘screen,’ ‘touch screen,’ or ‘touchscreen’ refers to a physical structure that includes one or more hardware components that provide the device with the ability to render a user interface and/or receive user input.” Para [0254]: “The device 100 is a multi-screen device that includes a primary screen 104 and a secondary screen 108, both of which are touch sensitive.”; as taught by Sirpal)
wherein the screen display includes a first layer positioned in front and a second layer positioned behind the first layer, (See para.344, [0344]: “A window stack 700, 728 is a logical arrangement of active and/or inactive windows for a multi-screen device. For example, the window stack 700, 728 may be logically similar to a deck of cards…” “An active window is a window that is currently being displayed… An inactive window is a window that was opened and displayed but is now ‘behind’ an active window and not being displayed.”; as taught by Sirpal) the information processing method executed by a controller, comprising:
detecting an operation on the screen display; (See para [0296]: “The gestures may be performed not only by a user’s body part, such as a digit, but also by other devices, such as a stylus, that may be sensed by the contact sensing portion(s) of a screen 104, 108.”and Para [0314]: “The Input Management module 536 receives the events and logically stores the events in an event buffer 556. Events can include such user interface interactions as a ‘down event’… a ‘move event’… an ‘up event’…”; as taught by Sirpal)
when the operation is a scroll operation, executing scroll processing of scrolling the first layer; (See para [418] On receiving user input, such as the swipe motion represented by 2208 in the gesture capture region 1020, application X is ‘scrolled’ to the left to be replaced with the dual-screen application A1|A2…” para [0446]: “gesture direction can also optionally be detected. Then, in step S4106, the next application window can be brought into view, enabling, for example, a user to scroll through application window stack.”; as taught by Sirpal)
executing transfer processing of transferring the object having reached the edge from the first layer to the second layer and when an object arranged on the first layer has been scrolled by the scroll processing and reached an edge of the screen display; (See Para.505, In accordance with an optional embodiment, the applications revolve in a "Rolodex" type fashion such that after application Z is reached, and the user "scrolls" to the left again, application Y would be presented. As illustrated in FIGS. 68-69, the stepwise process to initiate movement and display to another application in the stack commences with a gesture in one or more of the gesture capture region 1020 and touch sensitive display 1010 as represented by item 2. Here, the active application X, represented by item 1, can gradually transition off the display 1010, or disappear in favor of the dual-screen application which is illustrated in max mode, as illustrated by item 3 in FIG. 69. Repeating of this sequence of steps 1, 2, 3, would bring application Z into view on the display 1010 in max mode, since it is a single screen application; as taught by Sirpal)
As per Claim 5, Sirpal teaches the information processing method according to claim 1,wherein the screen display includes, in addition to a display area of the object, a fixed display area that is independent of the scroll operation, wherein the display has a shape elongated in a right-and-left direction relative to an up- and-down direction, and wherein the controller displays the fixed display area at a left edge and a right edge, or at either the left edge or the right edge, of the screen display. ; (See fig. 17 depicting a screen with a separated elongated section on the left side of the screen; as taught by Sirpal)
As per Claim 8, Sirpal teaches the information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the object is a widget of application software and includes a panel portion in which information about the application software is displayed, and wherein the information processing method includes, when the panel portion has been scrolled by the scroll processing and reached the edge of the screen display, executing the transfer processing on the widget including the panel portion having reached the edge; (See Para.505, In accordance with an optional embodiment, the applications revolve in a "Rolodex" type fashion such that after application Z is reached, and the user "scrolls" to the left again, application Y would be presented. As illustrated in FIGS. 68-69, the stepwise process to initiate movement and display to another application in the stack commences with a gesture in one or more of the gesture capture region 1020 and touch sensitive display 1010 as represented by item 2. Here, the active application X, represented by item 1, can gradually transition off the display 1010, or disappear in favor of the dual-screen application which is illustrated in max mode, as illustrated by item 3 in FIG. 69. Repeating of this sequence of steps 1, 2, 3, would bring application Z into view on the display 1010 in max mode, since it is a single screen application; as taught by Sirpal)
As per Claim 9, Sirpal teaches the information processing method according to claim 8, wherein the widget includes, in addition to the panel portion, at least one of an icon portion of the application software (See para.517, “to help the user to recognize the application, the application icon can be overlaid on top of the screenshot.”; as taught by Sirpal)
and a shadow portion that displays a shadow on a boundary between the panel portion and the icon portion.(See fig.84, wherein the icon is bordered by a black shadow; as taught by Sirpal)
As per Claim 10, Sirpal teaches The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the object is a widget of application software and includes the panel portion displaying information about application software and the icon portion of the application software, and wherein the scroll processing includes processing of delaying scroll display of the icon portion relative to scroll display of the panel portion; (See para.517, As illustrated by step one in FIG. 84, when the application is revealed in the stack and is the wrong size, the application screenshot can be displayed as a thumbnail and dimmed. As illustrated by step 1A, to help the user to recognize the application, the application icon can be overlaid on top of the screenshot. Step 2 illustrates than once the screenshot is completely revealed, the application can be activated; as taught by Sirpal)
As per Claim 11, Sirpal teaches The information processing method according to claim 10, wherein the transfer processing includes processing of displaying, on the display, the widget transferred to the second layer while holding the relationship between scroll display of the panel portion and scroll display of the icon portion on the first layer; (See fig.84 and para.517 wherein the relationship between the screenshot panel and the icon is maintained until its activated; as taught by Sirpal)
As per Claim 12, Sirpal teaches the information processing method according to claim 10, wherein the detecting the operation on the screen display includes processing of detecting an operation speed in the scroll operation, and wherein the scroll processing includes processing of changing a scroll display speed of widget according to the operation speed; (See para.327, The Gesture Module 576 can receive touch events… and may interpret the touch events using direction, speed, distance, duration, and various other parameters…” “When a gesture is interpreted, the Gesture Module 576 can initiate the processing of the gesture and, by collaborating with other Framework 520 components, can manage the required window animation. The Gesture Module 576 collaborates with the Application Model Manager 542 to collect state information with respect to which applications are running (active or paused) and the order in which applications must appear when a user gesture is performed.”; as taught by Sirpal)
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 2,3 4, 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sirpal et al. (US 2013/0080970) Published on Mar. 28, 2013, in view of NOMA et al. (2012/0084730) published on Apr. 5, 2012.
As per Claim 2, The information processing method according to claim 1, Sirpal fails to teach comprising: executing transparency change processing of increasing the transparency of the object having been transferred to the second layer compared to that before the object is transferred to the second layer.
On the other hand Noma teaches comprising: executing transparency change processing of increasing the transparency of the object having been transferred to the second layer compared to that before the object is transferred to the second layer; ( See para.39, In each of the left reducing display area 31 and the right reducing display area 32, the icon display interval is decreased and adjoining icons overlap with each other. Furthermore, the transmittance (transparency) of the icon is increased as it goes away from the central uniform display area 30; as taught by Noma)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of the cited references and modify the invention as taught by Sirpal, by including the teachings of Noma relating to the changing of visibility of a stack of applications to improve and facilitate the viewing of multiple or plurality of applications on display
As per Claim 3, The combination of Sirpal and Noma teaches the information processing method according to claim 1, comprising; executing size change processing of changing the size of the object having been transferred to the second layer compared to that before the object is transferred to the second layer; (See para.38 “the size of the displayed icon is reduced gradually (decreased in size gradually) as it goes away from the central uniform display area 30.”; as taught by Noma)
As per Claim 4, The combination of Sirpal and Noma The information processing method according to claim 3, wherein the size change processing includes processing of decreasing the size of the object having been transferred to the second layer compared to that before the object is transferred to the second layer; (See para.38 “the size of the displayed icon is reduced gradually (decreased in size gradually) as it goes away from the central uniform display area 30.”; as taught by Noma)
As per Claim 6, the combination of Sirpal and Noma teaches the information processing method according to claim 5, comprising: setting, as the edge of the screen display, a boundary between the area where the object is displayed and the fixed display area; (See para.41, An imaginary left axis 21… is set between the central uniform display area 30 and the left reducing display area 31. Likewise, an imaginary right axis 22 is set between the central uniform display area 30 and the right reducing display area 32.”) and arranging the object on the second layer such that the object having been transferred to the second layer is displayed on the inside of the boundary; (See claim 6: “enable each icon displayed in the first icon display area to move into the second icon display area to be displayed therein by the scrolling display.” )
As per Claim 7, the combination of Sirpal and Noma teaches the information processing method according to claim 1,wherein the transfer processing includes processing of changing a belonging destination of the object having reached the edge from the first layer to the second layer to display the object arranged on the second layer on the display; (See claim 6: “the apparatus is configured to enable each icon displayed in the first icon display area to move into the second icon display area to be displayed therein by the scrolling display.” Para, [0043]: “When an icon crosses the left axis 21 or the right axis 22, the manner of display of the icon is changed…” Para [0046]: “the icon appears as if to be located at a deeper position as it comes closer to the edge of the display screen 17.”; as taught by Noma)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHERIEF BADAWI whose telephone number is (571)272-9782. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 5:30pm, Alt Friday, EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Cordelia Zecher can be reached on 571-272-7771. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHERIEF BADAWI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2169
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