DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is in response to the communication filed on October 11, 2024. Claims 1-20 are currently pending in this application. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d) based on application filed in Korea on August 8, 2022 and September 8, 2022 has been acknowledged and considered by Examiner. Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) that are placed on record in the application file.
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 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 of this title, 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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Foreign Patent Publication WO 2020/168965 A1 by Xiong et al. (“Xiong,”) for which the machine language translation is used in the citations below, in view of U.S. Patent Publication 2018/0039408 A1 by Cheong et al. (“Cheong.”)
Regarding claim 1, Xiong teaches an electronic device comprising: a first housing; a second housing rotatable with respect to the first housing (Figs. 1(a)-1(c), screen A housing with respect to screen B housing as shown);
a flexible display comprising a display area, the display area including: a first display area and a second display area, a first display area on the first housing, and a second display area on the second housing, extending from the first display area (Fig. 1(a)-1(b), flexible folding screen was folded along the folding edge to create the A screen 101 and B screen shown in Fig. 1 (b)),
at least one sensor (Page 33, second paragraph, the display screen 194 of the electronic device 100 can be folded to form multiple screens. Each screen may include a gyro sensor 180B for measuring the orientation of the corresponding screen (that is, the direction vector of the orientation));
at least one processor comprising processing circuitry; and memory, storing one or more programs configured to be executed by the at least one processor individually and/or collectively, comprising one or more storage media, the one or more programs including instructions to cause the electronic device to: (Page 20, last paragraph and Page 21, first paragraph, The processor included one or more processing interfaces including with an integrated circuit with a memory that stored instructions and data to execute one or more computer programs, to control the electronic device with a folding screen in Page 10, first paragraph);
display, via the display area, a first window having a first size, while the first window having the first size is displayed,
identify, via the at least one sensor (Page 33, last paragraph, The electronic device can determine the angle between adjacent screens according to the measured orientation of each screen. The change in angle between adjacent screens can be used to determine whether the user had folded the display),
a folding movement starting from a partially folded position and a subsequent unfolding movement returning toward the starting partially folded position (Page 40, first paragraph, the electronic device detects that the angle between the first screen and the second screen first becomes smaller and then becomes larger, it can be determined that the user first folds the folding screen in a forward direction, and then again. Reverse folding is performed (or the user folds and returns to the folding screen. Also, In actual use, the initial state of the folding screen can also be folded, that is, the angle α between the first screen and the second screen can be less than 180° or greater than 180° is described in Page 48, first paragraph), and based on identifying that the folding movement and the subsequent unfolding movement occur within a defined time duration, concurrently display, via the display area, in a split view, the first window having a second size smaller than the first size and a second window associated with the first window (Page 40, first paragraph and Page 51, second paragraph, In other embodiments, when it is determined that the user performs a forward folding and then reverse folding operation, within a first time as in Page 49, last paragraph, as a response to the operation, the electronic device may perform a split screen function, that is, divide the folding screen of the electronic device into two or more display areas, and display different interfaces in different display areas).
Xiong does not teach a hinge structure; second housing rotatable with respect to the first housing via the hinge structure, the second display area rotatable with respect to the first display area according to a rotation of the second housing.
While Xiong teaches in Page 45, first paragraph, it is understandable that the user can realize the folding of the folding screen (such as forward folding, or reverse folding) by rotating the first screen and/or the second screen along the folding edge or the folding axis, Xiong does not teach how the folding was enabled. In the analogous art of folding electronic devices, Cheong teaches the hinge was located at folding axis of a foldable electronic device. Particularly, the hinge was located in the housing corresponding to the lower PCB and display area rotating with respect to housing corresponding to an upper PCB and display area (Cheong Figs. Fig. 1A; 3A-3B; [0070], [0072], [0075]-[0076]). The display areas could have multiple functions including split screens including displaying a first window occupying a whole area of the display, detecting a folding event of the display, and displaying a second window related to context recognition on the first window, corresponding to the folding event (Cheong [0013]). It would have been obvious the folding axis was where a hinge have been located in the foldable electronic device of Xiong. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use a hinge 386 (e.g., a free-stop hinge) to keep the electronic device 301 in the folding state at various angles (Cheong Figs. 1A; 3A-3B; [0076]).
Regarding claim 2, Xiong of the combination of references further teaches the electronic device of claim 1, wherein the one or more programs include instructions to cause the electronic device to: based on identifying that the folding movement and the subsequent unfolding movement do not occur within the defined time duration, maintain displaying the first window having the first size (Page 49, last paragraph, In order to prevent misoperation, θ first increases and then decreases. Specifically, θ stops increasing within the first time after starting to increase, and starts to decrease again from the moment when θ stops increasing, only then the user operation of forward folding and reverse folding is registered as an activation of the split screen function).
Regarding claim 3, Xiong of the combination of references further teaches the electronic device of claim 1, wherein the one or more programs include instructions to cause the electronic device to: based on identifying that the folding movement and the subsequent unfolding movement occur within the defined time duration, recognize, as a user input for entering the split view, the folding movement and the subsequent unfolding movement occurring within the defined time duration (Page 44, last paragraph and Page 45, first paragraph, the electronic device determines that the angle α between the first screen and the second screen becomes smaller, and it stops getting smaller within the first time after it starts to get smaller, and starts from the moment when it stops getting smaller if it becomes larger again, it is considered that the user performs a forward folding operation and then a reverse folding operation on the folding screen of the electronic device, wherein, when within the first time, wherein the value range of the first time may be [500 milliseconds, 2 seconds]), and based on the recognized user input, concurrently display, via the display area, in the split view, the first window having the second size and the second window associated with the first window (Page 51, second paragraph, In other embodiments, when it is determined that the user performs a forward folding and then reverse folding operation, as a response to the operation, the electronic device may perform a split screen function, that is, divide the folding screen of the electronic device into two or more display areas, and display different interfaces in different display areas).
Regarding claim 4, Xiong of the combination of references further teaches the electronic device of claim 3, wherein the one or more programs include instructions to cause the electronic device to: further based on identifying that a posture of the electronic device, being after the folding movement and the subsequent unfolding movement occur within the defined time duration, corresponds to a reference posture, recognize, as the user input, the folding movement and the subsequent unfolding movement occurring within the defined time duration (Page 44, last paragraph, Page 41, last paragraph and Page 42, first paragraph, it is considered that the user performs a forward folding operation and then a reverse folding operation on the folding screen of the electronic device, wherein, when within the first time, wherein the value range of the first time may be [500 milliseconds, 2 seconds] and the electronic device may determine whether the user performs forward folding and then reverse folding on the folding screen of the electronic device by determining whether the change in the angle α between the first screen and the second screen satisfies a preset condition).
Regarding claim 5, Xiong of the combination of references further teaches the electronic device of claim 4, wherein the one or more programs include instructions to cause the electronic device to: based on identifying that the folding movement and the subsequent unfolding movement occur within the defined time duration and that the posture of the electronic device, being after the folding movement and the subsequent unfolding movement occur within the defined time duration, is different from the reference posture, maintain displaying the first window having the first size (Page 41, first paragraph, If the change of the angle α between the first screen and the second screen does not satisfy the preset condition, it means that the user has not performed the operation of forward folding and then reverse folding on the folding screen).
Regarding claim 6, Xiong of the combination of references further teaches the electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first window having the second size is displayed via the first display area, and wherein the second window is displayed via the second display area (Page 51, second paragraph, when it is determined that the user performs a forward folding and then reverse folding operation, as a response to the operation, the electronic device may perform a split screen function, that is, divide the folding screen of the electronic device into two or more display areas, and display different interfaces in different display areas).
Regarding claim 7, Xiong does not teach the electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first window includes text written in a first language, and wherein the second window includes the text translated from the first language to a second language.
In the analogous art of folding electronic devices, Cheong teaches the hinge was located at folding axis of a foldable electronic device. Particularly, the hinge was located in the housing corresponding to the lower PCB and display area rotating with respect to housing corresponding to an upper PCB and display area (Cheong Figs. Fig. 1A; 3A-3B; [0070], [0072], [0075]-[0076]). The display areas could have multiple functions including split screens where a first area could output call-related functions and the second area showed the conversation with a translation made through a translation function (Cheong [0183] and [0188]). It would have been obvious the folding axis was where a hinge have been located in the foldable electronic device of Xiong. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use a hinge 386 (e.g., a free-stop hinge) to keep the electronic device 301 in the folding state at various angles and folded into split screen applications (Cheong Figs. 1A; 3A-3B; [0076], [0183] and [0188]).
Regarding claim 8, Xiong does not teach the electronic device of claim 1, wherein the folding movement or the subsequent unfolding movement is caused in accordance with a change of an angle between the first housing and the second housing being larger than a threshold angle.
In the analogous art of folding electronic devices, Cheong teaches the hinge was located at folding axis of a foldable electronic device. Particularly, the hinge was located in the housing corresponding to the lower PCB and display area rotating with respect to housing corresponding to an upper PCB and display area (Cheong Figs. Fig. 1A; 3A-3B; [0070], [0072], [0075]-[0076]). This included displaying a first window occupying a whole area of the display, detecting a folding event of the display, and displaying a second window related to context recognition on the first window according to a predefined first layout if a folded angle does not reach a first threshold angle, corresponding to the folding event.(Cheong [0013]). It would have been obvious the folding axis was where a hinge have been located in the foldable electronic device of Xiong. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use a hinge 386 (e.g., a free-stop hinge) to keep the electronic device 301 in the folding state at various angles and folded into split screen applications from a first window display(Cheong Figs. 1A; 3A-3B; [0076], [0013]).
Regarding claim 9, Xiong teaches an electronic device comprising: a first housing; a second housing rotatable with respect to the first housing (Figs. 1(a)-1(c), screen A housing with respect to screen B housing as shown);
a flexible display comprising a display area, the display area including: a first display area and a second display area, a first display area on the first housing, and a second display area on the second housing, extending from the first display area (Fig. 1(a)-1(b), flexible folding screen was folded along the folding edge to create the A screen 101 and B screen shown in Fig. 1 (b)),
at least one sensor (Page 33, second paragraph, the display screen 194 of the electronic device 100 can be folded to form multiple screens. Each screen may include a gyro sensor 180B for measuring the orientation of the corresponding screen (that is, the direction vector of the orientation));
at least one processor comprising processing circuitry; and memory, storing one or more programs configured to be executed by the at least one processor individually and/or collectively, comprising one or more storage media, the one or more programs including instructions to cause the electronic device to: (Page 20, last paragraph and Page 21, first paragraph, The processor included one or more processing interfaces including with an integrated circuit with a memory that stored instructions and data to execute one or more computer programs, to control the electronic device with a folding screen in Page 10, first paragraph);
display, via the display area, a first window having a first size, while the first window having the first size is displayed,
identify, via the at least one sensor (Page 33, last paragraph, The electronic device can determine the angle between adjacent screens according to the measured orientation of each screen. The change in angle between adjacent screens can be used to determine whether the user had folded the display), an unfolding movement starting from a partially folded position and a subsequent folding movement returning toward the starting partially folded position (Page 48, last paragraph, the electronic device may also determine whether the user has performed the normal operation on the folding screen according to whether the angle between the direction vector of the orientation of the first screen and the direction vector of the orientation of the second screen becomes larger and then smaller. The operation of folding backward and then reverse folding, which also executes an operation. In response to a user's operation, the electronic device may perform a split screen function as in Page 40, first paragraph), and
based on identifying that the unfolding movement and the subsequent folding movement occur within a defined time duration, concurrently display, via the display area, in a split view, the first window having a second size smaller than the first size and a second window associated with the first window (Page 51, second paragraph, as a response to the operation, the electronic device may perform a split screen function, that is, divide the folding screen of the electronic device into two or more display areas, and display different interfaces in different display areas).
Xiong does not teach a hinge structure; second housing rotatable with respect to the first housing via the hinge structure, the second display area rotatable with respect to the first display area according to a rotation of the second housing.
While Xiong teaches in Page 45, first paragraph, it is understandable that the user can realize the folding of the folding screen (such as forward folding, or reverse folding) by rotating the first screen and/or the second screen along the folding edge or the folding axis, Xiong does not teach how the folding was enabled. In the analogous art of folding electronic devices, Cheong teaches the hinge was located at folding axis of a foldable electronic device. Particularly, the hinge was located in the housing corresponding to the lower PCB and display area rotating with respect to housing corresponding to an upper PCB and display area (Cheong Figs. Fig. 1A; 3A-3B; [0070], [0072], [0075]-[0076]). The display areas could have multiple functions including split screens including displaying a first window occupying a whole area of the display, detecting a folding event of the display, and displaying a second window related to context recognition on the first window, corresponding to the folding event (Cheong [0013]). It would have been obvious the folding axis was where a hinge have been located in the foldable electronic device of Xiong. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use a hinge 386 (e.g., a free-stop hinge) to keep the electronic device 301 in the folding state at various angles (Cheong Figs. 1A; 3A-3B; [0076]).
Regarding claim 10, Xiong in view of Cheong renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 2 above.
Regarding claim 10, Xiong in view of Cheong renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 2 above.
Regarding claim 11, Xiong in view of Cheong renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 3 above.
Regarding claim 12, Xiong in view of Cheong renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 4 above.
Regarding claim 13, Xiong in view of Cheong renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 5 above.
Regarding claim 14, Xiong in view of Cheong renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 6 above.
Regarding claim 15, Xiong in view of Cheong renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 7 above.
Regarding claim 16, Xiong in view of Cheong renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 8 above.
Regarding claim 1, Xiong teaches an electronic device comprising: a first housing; a second housing rotatable with respect to the first housing (Figs. 1(a)-1(c), screen A housing with respect to screen B housing as shown);
a flexible display comprising a display area, the display area including: a first display area and a second display area, a first display area on the first housing, and a second display area on the second housing, extending from the first display area (Fig. 1(a)-1(b), flexible folding screen was folded along the folding edge to create the A screen 101 and B screen shown in Fig. 1 (b)),
at least one sensor (Page 33, second paragraph, the display screen 194 of the electronic device 100 can be folded to form multiple screens. Each screen may include a gyro sensor 180B for measuring the orientation of the corresponding screen (that is, the direction vector of the orientation));
at least one processor comprising processing circuitry; and memory, storing one or more programs configured to be executed by the at least one processor individually and/or collectively, comprising one or more storage media, the one or more programs including instructions to cause the electronic device to: (Page 20, last paragraph and Page 21, first paragraph, The processor included one or more processing interfaces including with an integrated circuit with a memory that stored instructions and data to execute one or more computer programs, to control the electronic device with a folding screen in Page 10, first paragraph);
display, via the display area, a first window having a first size, while the first window having the first size is displayed,
identify, via the at least one sensor (Page 33, last paragraph, The electronic device can determine the angle between adjacent screens according to the measured orientation of each screen. The change in angle between adjacent screens can be used to determine whether the user had folded the display),
change of angle between the first housing and the second housing, based on identifying that change of the angle between the first housing and the second housing is larger than a threshold angle (Page 40, first paragraph, the electronic device detects that the angle between the first screen and the second screen first becomes smaller and then becomes larger, it can be determined that the user first folds the folding screen in a forward direction, and then again. Reverse folding is performed (or the user folds and returns to the folding screen. Also, In actual use, the initial state of the folding screen can also be folded, that is, the angle α between the first screen and the second screen can be less than 180° or greater than 180° is described in Page 48, first paragraph), and that the change occurs during a first time duration longer than a reference time duration (Page 49, last paragraph, In order to prevent misoperation, θ first increases and then decreases. Specifically, θ stops increasing within the first time after starting to increase, and starts to decrease again from the moment when θ stops increasing, only then the user operation of forward folding and reverse folding is registered as an activation of the split screen function. If not within time, it is not registered) maintain displaying the first window having the first size(Page 41, first paragraph, If the change of the angle α between the first screen and the second screen does not satisfy the preset condition, it means that the user has not performed the operation of forward folding and then reverse folding on the folding screen), and based on identifying that change of the angle between the first housing and the second housing is larger than the threshold angle and that the change occurred during a second time duration shorter than the reference time duration, concurrently display, via the display area, in a split view, the first window having a second size smaller than the first size and a second window associated with the first window (Page 40, first paragraph and Page 51, second paragraph, In other embodiments, when it is determined that the user performs a forward folding and then reverse folding operation, as a response to the operation, the electronic device may perform a split screen function, that is, divide the folding screen of the electronic device into two or more display areas, and display different interfaces in different display areas).
Xiong does not teach a hinge structure; second housing rotatable with respect to the first housing via the hinge structure, the second display area rotatable with respect to the first display area according to a rotation of the second housing.
While Xiong teaches in Page 45, first paragraph, it is understandable that the user can realize the folding of the folding screen (such as forward folding, or reverse folding) by rotating the first screen and/or the second screen along the folding edge or the folding axis, Xiong does not teach how the folding was enabled. In the analogous art of folding electronic devices, Cheong teaches the hinge was located at folding axis of a foldable electronic device. Particularly, the hinge was located in the housing corresponding to the lower PCB and display area rotating with respect to housing corresponding to an upper PCB and display area (Cheong Figs. Fig. 1A; 3A-3B; [0070], [0072], [0075]-[0076]). This included displaying a first window occupying a whole area of the display, detecting a folding event of the display, and displaying a second window related to context recognition on the first window according to a predefined first layout if a folded angle does not reach a first threshold angle, corresponding to the folding event.(Cheong [0013]). It would have been obvious the folding axis was where a hinge have been located in the foldable electronic device of Xiong. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use a hinge 386 (e.g., a free-stop hinge) to keep the electronic device 301 in the folding state at various angles (Cheong Figs. 1A; 3A-3B; [0076]).
Regarding claim 18, Xiong in view of Cheong renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 4 above.
Regarding claim 19, Xiong in view of Cheong renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 5 above.
Regarding claim 20, Xiong in view of Cheong renders obvious the claim limitations in consideration of the grounds of rejection of claim 6 above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Foreign Patent Publication WO 2020/145697 A1 by Jung et al. teaches changing how to display an image between first and second displays based on the folding angle.
U.S. Patent Publication 2014/0049464 A1 by Kwak et al. teaches a controller configured to reconstruct the content based on the bending and to display the reconstructed content on multiple screens.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAHEEN I JAVED whose telephone number is (571)272-0825. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 9:00 am-5:00 pm ET.
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, AMR AWAD can be reached on 571-272-7764. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MAHEEN I JAVED/Examiner, Art Unit 2621
/AMR A AWAD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2621