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 2 – 10, 15, and 16 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 2 – 10 recite the limitation "at least one processor" in the preamble. It is unclear if each of the at least one processor is the same or different from each other to the cited at least one processor in claim 1.
Claims 5 and 15 recite the limitation “the container”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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, 9 - 17, 19 and 20 is/are rejected under 37 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kwon et al. (US 2018/0329714).
Regarding independent claim 1, Kwon teaches an electronic device (Figure 3c) comprising:
a first housing (Figure 3C: Display Unit 252_2 have a left housing and a right housing of the rollable display device 200_2);
a second housing movable with respect to the first housing (Figure 3C: Display Unit 252_2 have a left housing and a right housing of the rollable display device 200_2, revealing an expanded area 251_2 when the left housing and right housing are moved in opposite directions);
a display including a display area configured to be extended or retracted according to a movement of the second housing (paragraph 40: the deformable display device 200 may be a stretchable display device that is stretched when pulled and reduced to its original state again when released. The stretchable display device is stretched when pulled and fixed in a stretched state when a predetermined time elapses in the stretched state. Additionally, the stretchable display device may be reduced to its original state when reducing force is applied); and
at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry (Figure 1: Control Unit 290), wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to:
identify, while displaying a first portion of a content within the display area (paragraph 178: the control unit 290 may perform a control on the display unit 250 to display, in the expansion area 310 of the display unit 250, a partial image 321a of content obtained by enlarging the original content three times), that a size of the display area visible outside of the first housing is extended (paragraph 179 and Figure 8B: When a force for expanding the display unit 250 in the +x axis direction is applied in FIG. 8B, the control unit 290 may perform a control on the display unit 250 to gradually display the not-displayed remaining images 321b and 321c while expanding the screen size of the display unit 250);
based on identifying that the size of the display area is extended, identify an attribute of the content displayed through the display area (paragraph 178: a partial image 321a of content obtained by enlarging the original content three times); and
control the electronic device to display, based on the attribute, together with the first portion of the content, a second portion connected to the first portion within the content, in the display area having the extended size (paragraph 179 and Figure 8C: when the display unit 250 is expanded by the expansion area 320 corresponding to the expansion distance d3, the control unit 290, as shown in FIG. 8C, may perform a control to display the entire area of the three-times enlarged content 321 in the expansion area 320).
Regarding dependent claim 2, Kwon teaches wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to: identify the attribute based on at least one of an image included in the content (paragraph 178: the size and the scaling of the image content 321), text included in the content, a video included in the content, or a container included in the content (paragraph 178: the control unit 290 may perform a control on the display unit 250 to display, in the expansion area 310 of the display unit 250, a partial image 321a of content obtained by enlarging the original content three times).
Regarding dependent claim 3, Kwon teaches wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to: control the electronic device to display, based on identifying that the first portion of an image included in the content is displayed through the display area based on the attribute, together with the first portion positioned at a center point of the display area having the extended size, the second portion of the image (Figures 8B, 8C: the image content 321b including the non-displayed portion is centered with the viewable portion and centered to the expanded area 310 and is still centered while the expanded area 310 is increased).
Regarding dependent claim 4, Kwon teaches wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to: identify a visual object within the image included in the content based on the attribute; and maintain, based on identifying the visual object, displaying of the visual object within the display area (paragraphs 193 Figures 11A, 11B: Referring to FIG. 11A, the screen of the display unit 250 is in a state of being expanded by the expansion area 510 and an image 511 is displayed in the expansion area 510. The control unit 290 may receive a request for selecting one point 513 of a display image 511. Then, by an additional force for expanding the display unit 250 in the +x axis direction, the screen of the display unit 250, as shown in FIG. 11B, may be expanded by the expansion area 530. The control unit 290 may perform a control on the display unit 250 to display an enlarged image 511 on the basis of the selected one point 513 as expanding the screen size of the display unit 250; paragraph 197 and Figures 11C, 11D: A focus guide 513 may be further displayed in the preview area 510. The focus guide 513 may be a guide for obtaining the proper image 511 of a subject by focusing one area of an image displayed on the preview area 510. When force is applied to the display unit 250 in the +x axis direction in FIG. 11C, the control unit 290, as shown in FIG. 11D, may expand the screen size of the display unit 250 as shown in FIG. 11D. The control unit 290 may perform a control on the display unit 250 to display the enlarged image 511 on the basis of the focus guide 513 as expanding the screen size of the display unit 250).
Regarding dependent claim 5, Kwon teaches wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to control the electronic device to: display the first portion including the container based on at least one container included in the content based on the attribute (paragraph 178: the control unit 290 may perform a control on the display unit 250 to display, in the expansion area 310 of the display unit 250, a partial image 321a of content obtained by enlarging the original content three times); and display, in a state of fixing a position of the first portion within the display area, a second portion different from the first portion and connected to the first portion (paragraph 179 and Figure 8C: when the display unit 250 is expanded by the expansion area 320 corresponding to the expansion distance d3, the control unit 290, as shown in FIG. 8C, may perform a control to display the entire area of the three-times enlarged content 321 in the expansion area 320).
Regarding dependent claim 6, Kwon teaches wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to: identify, based on identifying an image identified based on the attribute, a plurality of visual objects included in the image (paragraph 193 and Figure 11A: User selecting a focus point 513 between a plurality of trees); and control the electronic device to display, by matching to a center point of the display area, a center point of an area including the plurality of visual objects (paragraph 197: A focus guide 513 may be further displayed in the preview area 510. The focus guide 513 may be a guide for obtaining the proper image 511 of a subject by focusing one area of an image displayed on the preview area 510; paragraph 172: When the screen size of the display unit 250 is greater than a reference distance in the +x axis direction, as enlarging and displaying the content 711, the control unit 290 may dispose the content 711 at the center of the second area 720).
Regarding dependent claim 7, Kwon teaches wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to: control the electronic device to display, based on the display area being extended, a first user interface of the content being displayed within the display area by changing to a second user interface (paragraph 212 and Figures 15A, 15B: Referring to FIG. 15A, the screen of the display unit 250 may be in a state of being expanded into the maximum size. The first image 651 may be enlarged and displayed in the area 650 where the screen of the display unit 250 is expanded to the maximum. During this state, if a force for reducing the display unit 250 by a predetermined distance t1 and expanding it again is detected, the control unit 290, as shown in FIG. 15B, may perform a control on the display unit 250 in order to reduce a plurality of images 651 to 655 stored in the storage unit 270 and display them like a film view).
Regarding dependent claim 9, Kwon teaches wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to: control the electronic device to display, in the second user interface, information different from information displayed within the first user interface (paragraph 212 and Figures 12A, 12B: During this state, if a force for reducing the display unit 250 by a predetermined distance t1 and expanding it again is detected, the control unit 290, as shown in FIG. 15B, may perform a control on the display unit 250 in order to reduce a plurality of images 651 to 655 stored in the storage unit 270 and display them like a film view).
Regarding dependent claim 10, Kwon teaches wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively is configured to: move and display, based on the movement of the second housing, the content, in correspondence with a direction to which the second housing moves (Figures 7E, 7F: The content image 711 moves to the right as the display is expanded to the right).
Regarding claims 11 - 17, 19 and 20, claims 11 - 17, 19 and 20 are similar in scope as to claims 1 - 7, 9 and 10, thus the rejections for claims 1 - 7, 9 and 10 hereinabove are applicable to claims 11 - 17, 19 and 20.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 8 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon et al. (US 2018/0329514) and Reid et al. (US 2019/0018568).
Regarding dependent claim 8, Kwon does not expressly disclose wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to: change, based on adjusting of an alpha value of the display area based on changing the first user interface of the content, the first user interface to the second user interface. Reid discloses displaying a spherical content taking up an entire screen 136 (paragraph 30 and Figure 1B) and transition between presentation of the spherical content and the thumbnail content item(s) using a fade transition (paragraph 55). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention (pre-AIA ) or at the time of the effective filing date of the application (AIA ) to achieve a predictable result of fading between the transition of displaying an image at full screen to thumbnail view of a plurality of images by modifying Kwon’s system that transitions from a full screen to thumbnail view by adding a fading transition from a full screen to thumbnail view as taught by Reid, and the result would have been predictable.
Regarding claim 18, claim 18 is similar in scope as to claim 8, thus the rejection for claim 8 hereinabove is applicable to claim 18.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEFFREY J CHOW whose telephone number is (571)272-8078. The examiner can normally be reached 11AM-7PM.
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, Devona Faulk can be reached at 571-272-7515. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JEFFREY J CHOW/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2618