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 .
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 6-8 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.
Claims 6-8 recite the limitations "the quantity of the virtual resources required to purchase all of the recommended chess pieces", “the quantity of the remaining positions in the preparation region is less than a second threshold”, and “the remaining time for the combat phase is less than a third threshold”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claims.
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.
Claim(s) 1-7, 11-13, and 16-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Qian et al. (CN 114130011 A; machine translation provided).
Regarding claims 1, 16, and 19, Qian discloses a game store display method, the method being performed by a terminal, and the method comprising:
refreshing a display of a virtual chess piece for sale in the game store based on a refresh condition in a turn-based chess game (see pg. 8, 18th par., “S303, responding to the continuous refreshing operation aiming at the refreshing control, refreshing the virtual object list with a specified frequency, displaying the virtual object list after each refreshing, and accumulatively displaying at least one specified virtual object selected from the virtual object list after each refreshing in the virtual object area”);
controlling a first game account to participate in a turn in the turn-based chess game using a purchased virtual chess piece in response to a purchase operation and a game operation (see pg. 13, 17th, par., “On the page 9-2, a target chess 9-21 and a chess library 9-22 (called a virtual object list to be specified) are displayed; here, the operated cards may be moved to the target cards 9-21 by operating the cards in the card library 9-22; the target chess and cards 9-21 can be set after the chess and card library 9-22 is screened by the screening control 9-23; and aiming at the target chess and cards 9-21 and the chess and card library 9-22, different display modes are provided: the small graph display and the large graph display can also display the prompt information 9-24 (namely the number matching icons in the graphs) of recommended settings for the chess and cards in the chess and card library 9-22. After the target playing cards 9-21 are completed, as shown in page 9-3, the target playing cards 9-21 are displayed on the automatic purchase button 9-13, and the number of playing cards in the target playing cards is updated to 5”); and
displaying prompt information that suggests configuring the game store to be in a locked state when the game store meets a locking prompting condition, wherein the locked state is a state in which the game store locks a virtual chess piece for sale without refreshing within locking duration (see pg. 11, 15th par., “In this embodiment of the present application, in S310, when the trigger information corresponding to the continuous refresh operation satisfies the refresh lock condition, after displaying the prompt information that the refresh control is in the continuous refresh state, the method for selecting an object in a virtual scene further includes: and the object selection device responds to the releasing operation aiming at the situation that the refreshing control is in the continuous refreshing state, displays the prompt message that the continuous refreshing state of the refreshing control is released, and terminates the refreshing display of the virtual object list”; also see pg. 11, 16th par., “locked refresh”).
Regarding claims 2, 17, and 20, Qian discloses displaying the prompt information that suggests configuring the game store to be in the locked state when a quantity of recommended chess pieces in the game store meets the locking prompting condition, the recommended chess pieces being virtual chess pieces recommended in the game store to the first game account (see pg. 12, 15th par., “Correspondingly, in this embodiment of the present application, after the object selection device accumulatively displays at least one designated virtual object selected from the virtual object list after each refresh in at least one vacant sub-area of the M sub-areas, the object selection method for the virtual scene further includes: when the M sub-regions are all in a state of displaying the virtual object, the object selection device will terminate the refresh display of the virtual object list.”).
Regarding claims 3 and 18, Qian discloses displaying the prompt information that suggests configuring the game store to be in the locked state when the quantity of the recommended chess pieces in the game store and a game parameter of the first game account meet the locking prompting condition (see pg. 12, 15th par., “Correspondingly, in this embodiment of the present application, after the object selection device accumulatively displays at least one designated virtual object selected from the virtual object list after each refresh in at least one vacant sub-area of the M sub-areas, the object selection method for the virtual scene further includes: when the M sub-regions are all in a state of displaying the virtual object, the object selection device will terminate the refresh display of the virtual object list.”).
Regarding claim 4, Qian discloses wherein the game parameter comprises at least one of the following: a quantity of virtual resources owned by the first game account; a quantity of virtual resources required to purchase all of the recommended chess pieces; a quantity of remaining positions in a preparation region; and remaining time for a combat phase, the virtual resources being resources for purchasing the virtual chess piece in the turn-based chess game; the preparation region being a region storing the virtual chess piece; and the combat phase being a phase in a turn in the turn-based chess game (see pg. 12, 13th par., “In the embodiment of the application, when the virtual resource amount is updated and displayed as the specified virtual resource amount, it indicates that the object selection device cannot refresh the virtual object list or select the specified virtual object based on the executed virtual resource amount; therefore, at this time, the object selection device terminates the refresh display of the virtual object list, and may also display corresponding prompt information, for example, that the virtual resources are insufficient.”).
Regarding claim 5, Qian discloses displaying the prompt information that suggests configuring the game store to be in the locked state when the quantity of the recommended chess pieces in the game store is greater than or equal to a first threshold (see pg. 12, 15th par., “Correspondingly, in this embodiment of the present application, after the object selection device accumulatively displays at least one designated virtual object selected from the virtual object list after each refresh in at least one vacant sub-area of the M sub-areas, the object selection method for the virtual scene further includes: when the M sub-regions are all in a state of displaying the virtual object, the object selection device will terminate the refresh display of the virtual object list.”).
Regarding claim 6, Qian discloses displaying the prompt information that suggests configuring the game store to be in the locked state when the quantity of the recommended chess pieces in the game store is greater than or equal to a first threshold, and the quantity of the virtual resources owned by the first game account is less than the quantity of the virtual resources required to purchase all of the recommended chess pieces (see pg. 12, 15th par., “Correspondingly, in this embodiment of the present application, after the object selection device accumulatively displays at least one designated virtual object selected from the virtual object list after each refresh in at least one vacant sub-area of the M sub-areas, the object selection method for the virtual scene further includes: when the M sub-regions are all in a state of displaying the virtual object, the object selection device will terminate the refresh display of the virtual object list.”; also see pg. 12, 13th par., “In the embodiment of the application, when the virtual resource amount is updated and displayed as the specified virtual resource amount, it indicates that the object selection device cannot refresh the virtual object list or select the specified virtual object based on the executed virtual resource amount; therefore, at this time, the object selection device terminates the refresh display of the virtual object list, and may also display corresponding prompt information, for example, that the virtual resources are insufficient.”).
Regarding claim 7, Qian discloses displaying the prompt information that suggests configuring the game store to be in the locked state when the quantity of the recommended chess pieces in the game store is greater than or equal to a first threshold, and the quantity of the remaining positions in the preparation region is less than a second threshold (see pg. 12, 15th par., “Correspondingly, in this embodiment of the present application, after the object selection device accumulatively displays at least one designated virtual object selected from the virtual object list after each refresh in at least one vacant sub-area of the M sub-areas, the object selection method for the virtual scene further includes: when the M sub-regions are all in a state of displaying the virtual object, the object selection device will terminate the refresh display of the virtual object list.”).
Regarding claim 11, Qian discloses automatically configuring the game store to be in the locked state when the game store meets an automatic locking condition (see pg. 11, 11th par., “refreshing locking condition”).
Regarding claim 12, Qian discloses wherein the recommended chess pieces comprise at least one of the following: a virtual chess piece owned by the first game account; a virtual chess piece that meets an upgrade condition, upgrade being a process of merging, when N same virtual chess pieces exist in the game, the N same virtual chess pieces into a virtual chess piece of a higher level, N being a positive integer; and a virtual chess piece that matches a lineup used by the first game account (see pg. 9, 14th par., “In addition, when the virtual objects in the virtual object list to be specified are more, the first selection operation can be executed on the screened virtual object list to be specified after the virtual object list to be specified is screened; the screening condition of the screening includes at least one of a level type, an attribute type and a virtual resource value, the level type is, for example, a title and a star level of the virtual object, the attribute type is, for example, a skill type (for example, a trip) of the virtual object, and the virtual resource value is the number of virtual resources corresponding to the virtual object.”).
Regarding claim 13, Qian discloses inputting status information of the first game account in a current turn to a chess piece recommendation model; and performing prediction through the chess piece recommendation model to obtain the recommended chess pieces, the status information comprising at least one of a type, quantity, and level of a virtual chess piece owned by the first game account in the current turn, a hit point of the first game account, and a quantity of virtual resources owned by the first game account (see pg. 9, 14th par., “In addition, when the virtual objects in the virtual object list to be specified are more, the first selection operation can be executed on the screened virtual object list to be specified after the virtual object list to be specified is screened; the screening condition of the screening includes at least one of a level type, an attribute type and a virtual resource value, the level type is, for example, a title and a star level of the virtual object, the attribute type is, for example, a skill type (for example, a trip) of the virtual object, and the virtual resource value is the number of virtual resources corresponding to the virtual object.”).
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.
Claim(s) 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qian et al. (CN 114130011 A; machine translation provided) in view of Rizzotti et al. (US 2014/0018156 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Qian discloses the method as discussed above including displaying the prompt information that suggests configuring the game store to be in the locked state when the quantity of the recommended chess pieces in the game store is greater than or equal to a first threshold (see pg. 12, 15th par., “Correspondingly, in this embodiment of the present application, after the object selection device accumulatively displays at least one designated virtual object selected from the virtual object list after each refresh in at least one vacant sub-area of the M sub-areas, the object selection method for the virtual scene further includes: when the M sub-regions are all in a state of displaying the virtual object, the object selection device will terminate the refresh display of the virtual object list.”). However, Qian does not explicitly disclose displaying the prompt information that suggests configuring the game store to be in the locked state when the remaining time for the combat phase is less than a third threshold.
Rizzotti teaches a gaming application where a notification can be displayed to the player upon reaching a threshold for remaining time (see par. [0046], The toggle button 218 may in some embodiments flash or blink a particular color to notify the player that he or she has a certain amount of time (e.g., 20 seconds)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the method of Qian with the notification of Rizzotti so that the player is alerted to perform any game actions prior to running out of time.
Regarding claim 9, Qian discloses the method as discussed above including displaying a locking button, the locking button being configured to place the game store to be in the locked state when a trigger operation is received (see pg. 11, 12th par., “It should be noted that after receiving the continuous refresh operation, the object selection device may further lock the continuous refresh of the virtual object list based on the trigger information corresponding to the continuous refresh operation; the trigger information comprises at least one of trigger frequency, trigger duration, trigger pressure and trigger results of the locking control.”). However, Qian does not explicitly disclose displaying the locking button in a blinking state.
Rizzotti teaches a gaming application including a blinking button (see par. [0046], The toggle button 218 may in some embodiments flash or blink a particular color to notify the player that he or she has a certain amount of time (e.g., 20 seconds)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the method of Qian with the notification of Rizzotti so that the player is alerted to perform any game actions prior to running out of time.
Regarding claim 10, Rizzotti teaches wherein a blinking parameter of the blinking state is related to remaining time for a combat phase, and the blinking parameter comprises at least one of a frequency, brightness, and a color (see par. [0046], The toggle button 218 may in some embodiments flash or blink a particular color to notify the player that he or she has a certain amount of time (e.g., 20 seconds)).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14 and 15 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: None of the references, alone or in combination, teach or suggest obtaining a plurality of sets of battle data of a plurality of sample game accounts, the plurality of sets of battle data and the plurality of sample game accounts being in a one-to-one correspondence, and one set of battle data comprising data of one battle; and training, for one of the plurality of sample game accounts, the chess piece recommendation model based on battle data of the sample game account.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Abecassis (US 11,389,732 B2; teaches an autobattler chess-type game)
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/ALLEN CHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715 7/29/2026
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