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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because description of element 611 “User B gives a virtual rose*2” in FIG. 6 does not match description of element 611 “user A gives virtual rose*2” in the specification at paragraph 0079. (Emphasis added). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 13 recites the limitation "the first terminal" in line 10. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 14 recites the limitation "the first terminal" in line 7. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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, 6-11, 13, 14 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lin et al. (US 20220141521 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Lin teaches a message processing method, applied to a first terminal (an audience terminal), comprising:
receiving a target virtual object message (receiving a virtual gift message – see FIGs. 1 & 3, 0065,0066, 0068);
in response to that the target virtual object message is a virtual object message corresponding to the first terminal, adding the target virtual object message to a first message queue (in response to the virtual gift message is a host state gift object corresponding to the audience terminal, storing the host state gift object in a host state queue – see FIGs. 4-5, 0110, 0134); and
in response to that the target virtual object message is a virtual object message corresponding to a second terminal, adding the target virtual object message to a second message queue (in response to the virtual gift message is a guest state gift object corresponding to other terminal, storing the guest state gift object in a guest state queue – see FIGs. 4-5, 0111, 0135),
wherein a processing priority corresponding to the first message queue is higher than a
processing priority corresponding to the second message queue (updating a display queue through the host state queue or the guest state queue, wherein an update priority of the host state queue is higher than an update priority of the guest state queue – see 0136).
Regarding claim 6, Lin further teaches displaying virtual object messages to be displayed in the first message queue (displaying display gift object corresponds to the virtual gift message in the host state queue – see 0137, 0140).
Regarding claim 7, Lin further teaches that acquiring a target combo count corresponding to a first virtual object message to be displayed in the first message queue, and determining a current combo count corresponding to the first virtual object message to be displayed; and during a process of displaying virtual object information in the first virtual object message to be displayed, simultaneously displaying a dynamic effect corresponding to the current combo count gradually increasing to the target combo count (determining whether a combo value of gift message A is greater than a combo value of one of combo bars currently displaying on the display interface; adding the gift message A to a display queue to replace a display gift object with a smallest combo value in the display queue for displaying; refreshing the target display combo bar according to the target display gift object, and adjusting the display position of the target display combo bar when the combo times in the target display gift object is greater than the combo times of the target display combo bar. For example, the combo times in the Message A is updated to the target gift object, so as to realize the real-time and rapid update of the data of the “same gift-giving behavior” See 0147, 0148, 0153, 0154, 0189).
Regarding claim 8, Lin further teaches that in response to determining that there is no virtual object message to be displayed in the first message queue, displaying virtual object messages to be displayed in the second message queue (determining if the gift message A is not user's own, then adding the gift message A to the guest state queue for displaying – see 0190-0193).
Regarding claim 9, Lin further teaches acquiring a target combo count corresponding to a first virtual object message to be displayed in the second message queue, and during a process of displaying virtual object information in the first virtual object message to be displayed, simultaneously displaying the target combo count ( determining whether combo times in the target display gift object is greater than combo times of the target display combo bar; refreshing the target display combo bar according to the target display gift object, and adjusting the display position of the target display combo bar when the combo times in the target display gift object is greater than the combo times of the target display combo bar. For example, the combo times (10 times) in the Message A is updated to the target gift object A′, so as to realize the real-time and rapid update of the data of the “same gift-giving behavior”. See 0147, 0154).
Regarding claim 10, Lin teaches that wherein after display of virtual object message currently in a display state ends, the message processing method further comprises: receiving a request message, and acquiring the first virtual object message to be displayed in the second message queue (see 0068, 0073, 0131, 0238), wherein the request message comprises combo group information of a virtual object message which is finished to display (e.g., combo identification – see 0073, 0113); and in response to that combo group information of the first virtual object message to be displayed is identical to the combo group information of the virtual object message which is finished to display, displaying the first virtual object message to be displayed (for example, the Message A may carry combo_ID indicates that the user behavior generating the Message A and one or more previous behaviors are “the same gift-giving behavior”. After receiving the Message A, the audience terminal will traverse whether the target gift object carrying the Combo_ID is included in the host state queue, the guest state queue, and the display queue. If one of the host state queue, the guest state queue, and the display queue includes a target gift object A carrying the Combo_ID, the target gift object A needs to be updated for displaying. See 0147).
Regarding claim 11, Lin teaches that in response to that a type corresponding to a currently displayed virtual object message is a video type, acquiring a next virtual object message to be displayed of a non-video type in the second message queue or the first message queue, and displaying the next virtual object message to be displayed; or in response to that the type corresponding to the currently displayed virtual object message is the non-video type, acquiring a next virtual object message to be displayed in the second message queue or the first message queue, and displaying the next virtual object message to be displayed (adding the gift message to be stored to the display queue as a new display gift object to update the display queue, when the combo value of the gift message to be stored is greater than the combo value of one of the display gift objects in the display queue; wherein the gift items or combo bars corresponding to virtual gift message include text, pictures, animation – see 0052, 0096, 0148, 0242, 0266).
Regarding claims 13 and 14, see rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 21, Lin further teaches that wherein after display of virtual object message currently in a display state ends, the message processing method further comprises:
receiving a request message, and acquiring the first virtual object message to be displayed in the second message queue (see 0068, 0073, 0131, 0238), wherein the request message comprises combo group information of a virtual object message which is finished to display (e.g., combo identification – see 0073, 0113); and in response to that combo group information of the first virtual object message to be displayed is identical to the combo group information of the virtual object message which is finished to display, displaying the first virtual object message to be displayed (for example, the Message A may carry combo_ID indicates that the user behavior generating the Message A and one or more previous behaviors are “the same gift-giving behavior”. After receiving the Message A, the audience terminal will traverse whether the target gift object carrying the Combo_ID is included in the host state queue, the guest state queue, and the display queue. If one of the host state queue, the guest state queue, and the display queue includes a target gift object A carrying the Combo_ID, the target gift object A needs to be updated for displaying. See 0147).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5 and 15-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Liu (US 20220394316 A1) discloses a method, apparatus, a readable medium and an electronic device for sending a message comprising determining a message type of a current message received in a current time window, where the message type includes a first message type and a second message type; buffering the current message in a target buffer queue corresponding to the current message if the determined message type is the first message type, where each message in the target buffer queue has an associated timestamp; and sending the current message to a target client if the determined message type is the second message type.
Zhao et al. (CN 107085540 A) disclose a method and device for displaying virtual gift according to user priority.
Pei et al. (CN 113596492 A) disclose a gift display method in network live broadcast for the audience terminal.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NGOC K VU whose telephone number is (571)272-7306. The examiner can normally be reached Monday & Thursday: 10AM-6:30PM EST; Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday: out of office.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NATHAN FLYNN can be reached at 571-272-1915. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NGOC K VU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2421
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