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 is in response to the submission filed January 14, 2025. Claims 1-7 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on January 15, 2025 is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. Claims 1, 6 and 7 are directed a conversion apparatus, method, and non-transitory computer readable mediums. The claims recite limitations for:
converting input information into one or more pieces of character information, which can be achieved by the person, using pen and paper, organizing data into text and vector representations applying mathematical calculations;
selecting target character information to be displayed from the one or more pieces of character information can be achieved selecting desired information that is deemed relevant; and
converting the target character information into coordinates corresponding to a display position of the target character information, can be achieved by the person, using pen and paper, organizing sections of the paper into vertical/horizontal (x/y) sections and rewriting the selected information into desired (x,y) locations applying mathematical calculations.
The recited limitations are directed a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind but for the recitation of the generic apparatus, circuitry, generic computer, medium and generic computer components. If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind but for the recitation of generic computer components, then it falls within the “Mental Processes” grouping of abstract ideas. Accordingly, the claims recite an abstract idea.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the recited generic apparatus, circuitry, generic computer, medium and generic computer components and various modules amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. Accordingly, the elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claims are directed to an abstract idea. The claims are not patent eligible.
The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because, as indicated with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional elements of the generic apparatus, circuitry, generic computer, medium and generic computer components to perform the various steps amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. Mere instructions to apply an exception using generic computer components cannot provide an inventive concept. The claims are not patent eligible.
Dependent claims 2-5 do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application and do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The limitations of the dependent claims are directed to steps of organizing or manipulating functions and commands applying mathematical calculations to character information, data gathering steps for receiving user reaction/feedback, and extra-solution activity for displaying or presenting information.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3 and 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Toyoshiba (US Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0343417).
Regarding claims 1, 6, and 7, Toyoshiba teaches a conversion apparatus, method, and non-transitory computer readable medium [para 0037-0041] comprising: circuitry [para 0041] configured to: convert input information into one or more pieces of character information [para 0019-0020; 0042-0045; 0060-0066 – feature vectors created from text]; select target character information to be displayed from the one or more pieces of character information [para 0019-0020; 0042-0045; 0060-0066; 0121 – feature vectors having similar properties are disposed at positions close to each other, and feature vectors having dissimilar properties are disposed at positions far apart from each other]; and convert the target character information into first coordinates corresponding to a display position of the target character information [Figs 3, 4, 9, 10; para 0019-0020; 0036; 0116-0119; 0121 -- a coordinate position is determined according to a property of information of each of a plurality of feature vectors].
Regarding claim 2, Toyoshiba teaches the conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to: convert the target character information into high-dimensional coordinates, using a conversion model [para 0057-0058; 0116-0119 -- the 2D processing unit 31 replaces multidimensional component information included in each of the plurality of molecule feature vectors with 2D coordinate information including an x-coordinate and a y-coordinate]; and perform dimension reduction on the high-dimensional coordinates to acquire the first coordinates [para 0057-0058; 0016-0019 – PCA/SVD].
Regarding claim 3, Toyoshiba teaches the conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to: convert a topic corresponding to the target character information into second coordinates in association with the topic [2D map/pathway --- para 0019-0020; 0042-0045; 0060-0066; 0121 – feature vectors having similar properties are disposed at positions close to each other, and feature vectors having dissimilar properties are disposed at positions far apart from each other]; and display, on a display device [para 0036 -- The client terminal 20 displays the 2D map provided by the server apparatus 10 on the display apparatus], the topic at the second coordinates in association with the topic, and the target character information at the first coordinates that are obtained by conversion from the target character information [2D map/pathway --- para 0019-0020; 0042-0045; 0060-0066; 0121 – feature vectors having similar properties are disposed at positions close to each other, and feature vectors having dissimilar properties are disposed at positions far apart from each other].
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 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Toyoshiba in view of Erasmus et al (US Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0091949), hereinafter Erasmus.
Regarding claim 4, Toyoshiba fails to teach the circuitry is configured to detect a reaction to the input information from a second person different from a first person who is a source of the input information. Erasmus teaches data realization for virtual collaboration, which monitors participant sentiments, response feedback, and agreement to displayed collaboration information [para 0032; 0038; 0066-0068] and teaches the system allows for the updating of new topics or appending and integrating new data points as expansions of existing topics [para 0038], Therefore, one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention would have recognized the advantages of implementing the collaboration and participant feedback techniques of Erasmus in the system of Toyoshiba, and the results would have been predictable and provided an improved system that would allow for updating and expansion of topics that are relevant to a collaborating group of users.
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Toyoshiba and Erasmus teaches, wherein the circuitry is configured to: convert the reaction into a weight; and select, from the one or more pieces of character information that are weighted, the target character information to be displayed, based on the weight [para 0032; 0038; 0066-0068 -- the presentation layout may be based on user approval or disapproval which can be inferred from user sentiment].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Chandrashekar et al (US Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0058470) disclose associating context to subtitles during live events and displays subtitles and subject summaries overlaid on the video conference display.
Victoroff et al (US Patent No. 10,956,790) teaches receiving a set of text documents, transforming the text document into a vector, and transforming the vector into 2D data.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANGELA A ARMSTRONG whose telephone number is (571)272-7598. The examiner can normally be reached M,T,TH,F 11:30-8:00.
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ANGELA A. ARMSTRONG
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2659
/ANGELA A ARMSTRONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2659
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