DETAILED ACTION
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-14 and 16-21 are pending. Claim 15 has been canceled. No claims have been withdrawn. No claims have been objected to. Claims 14, 16, and 17 have been amended. No claims are allowable. Claims 1-3, 5-7, 16-19, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102, and claims 4, 8-14, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
Other Prior Art
US 10,404,636 B2 (Google) discloses initiating an embedded application interface within a chat interface displayed by a messaging application and displaying, in the chat conversation, content other than chat messages.
US 10,348,658 B2 (Google) discloses a chat interface generated by a messaging application in which an embedded interface associated with the chat interface displays suggested response items and other non-message content within the chat conversation.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 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.
Claims 1-3, 5-7, 16-19, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Crusson et al. (US 10,469,417 B2; “Crusson”).
Regarding claims 1, 16, and 17, Crusson teaches an information processing method, comprising:
displaying one or more information-bearing containers in a chat interface of a client of a communication system in response to a first preset operation. Crusson teaches displaying one or more dynamic content items (the claimed information-bearing containers) in a chat interface (300) of a client (104) of the communication system (collaboration platform 102): “FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary chat interface 300 in which dynamic content items are displayed. The chat interface 300 is displayed on a display of a client device 116 by a client 104” (col. 13, lines 34-37; fig. 3). The items are displayed in response to a first preset operation, namely the user selecting/opening the room, which causes the client to render the chat interface: “Whenever the user wishes to participate in a particular room …, the user can select that room, which causes the client to render the corresponding chat interface for that room” (col. 4, lines 11-15);
displaying preset information in the one or more information-bearing containers. Crusson teaches that each dynamic content item displays preset information supplied by a content provider, in the form of defined elements such as an icon, a label, and a status/lozenge (col. 14, lines 1-9; fig. 4);
wherein the preset information is not a chat message in a chat corresponding to the chat interface. Crusson expressly distinguishes the displayed information from messages exchanged in the chat: “The dynamic content item is displayed in a manner that makes it distinct from the messages being exchanged in the chat room (e.g. in a dynamic content item area that is separate to/distinct from a messaging area)” (col. 4, lines 43-47).
Regarding claims 2 and 18, Crusson teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein displaying the one or more information-bearing containers in the chat interface of the client of the communication system comprises:
displaying a container display area in the chat interface of the client of the communication system. Crusson teaches displaying a container display area, namely the dynamic content item area (306), in the chat interface (300): “The chat interface 300 includes a messaging area 302 …, an input area 304 …, and a dynamic content item area 306 that displays dynamic content items from content providers 106” (col. 13, lines 37-43; fig. 3);
displaying the one or more information-bearing containers in the container display area. Crusson teaches displaying the dynamic content items within that area: “These example dynamic content items are displayed in the dynamic content item area 306. Dynamic content items 402, 404, 406 and 408 display dynamic summary information” (col. 14, lines 7-10; fig. 4).
Regarding claims 3 and 19, Crusson teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein displaying the preset information in the one or more information-bearing containers comprises:
obtaining, for one information-bearing container, data from a business party associated with the information-bearing container. Crusson teaches obtaining, for a given dynamic content item, data from a business party (the content provider 106) associated with that item: “At 808, the client retrieves dynamic data of the dynamic content item from the content provider 106. … the dynamic content is retrieved directly from the content provider 106 (as defined in the dynamic content item UI extension descriptor)” (col. 20, lines 43-49; fig. 8);
displaying the obtained data in the information-bearing container. Crusson teaches displaying the obtained data in the dynamic content item, in that the client “renders the dynamic content item in the dynamic content item area 306 of the chat interface 300 with the static data and dynamic data” (col. 22, lines 36-39);
wherein in a case where the chat interface comprises a plurality of information-bearing containers, the plurality of information-bearing containers correspond to the same business party or different business parties. Crusson teaches that the chat interface displays a plurality of dynamic content items 402, 404, 406, and 408 sourced from different underlying services, namely a build system and Twitter®, which correspond to the same or different business parties (col. 14, lines 26-27, 48-49; fig. 4).
Regarding claims 5 and 21, Crusson teaches the method according to claim 3, and further teaches there is a preset association between the information-bearing container and a preset information access interface of the business party. Crusson teaches that the dynamic content item descriptor associates the item with a query URL of the content provider that serves as a preset information access interface, in that the descriptor includes “query URL information, defining an endpoint, such as a REST endpoint, exposed by the integration for dynamic content” (col. 16, lines 38-40; fig. 5, item 506).
obtaining the data from the business party associated with the information-bearing container comprises obtaining the data of the business party from the preset information access interface associated with the information-bearing container. Crusson teaches obtaining the data of the business party from that query URL endpoint, in that the client “retrieves the URL of the integration and the REST endpoint of the dynamic content items from the descriptor” and obtains the dynamic data from the endpoint (col. 20, lines 54-58; fig. 8). This limitation is recited in the alternative (“or”); because Crusson teaches this alternative as set forth above, the requirement is satisfied.
Regarding claim 6, Crusson teaches the method according to claim 1, further comprising: updating, in real time and based on changes in the preset information, information displayed in the one or more information-bearing containers. Crusson teaches updating, in real time and based on changes in the underlying information, the information displayed in the dynamic content items: “The dynamic data of a dynamic content item corresponds to events taking place in the underlying service. As relevant changes occur in the underlying service …, the dynamic data of the dynamic content item should also change” (col. 23, lines 60-65); upon receiving a dynamic data update, “the client 104 updates the relevant dynamic content item by rendering the updated data in the dynamic content item (in the dynamic content item area 306 of the chat interface 300)” (col. 25, lines 54-58; fig. 13).
Regarding claim 7, Crusson teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the first preset operation comprises any one of: an operation to open the chat interface; or a second preset operation triggered in the chat interface. Crusson teaches that this first preset operation comprises an operation to open the chat interface, in that selecting a room “causes the client to render the corresponding chat interface for that room,” the rendered chat interface being the chat interface 300 in which the dynamic content items are displayed (col. 4, lines 14-15; fig. 3). This limitation is recited in the alternative (“or”); because Crusson teaches the first alternative as set forth above, the “any one of” requirement is satisfied.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 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.
Claims 4 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Crusson, as applied to claims 3 and 19 above, in further view of Gurtin et al. (US 10,929,155 B2; “Gurtin”).
Regarding claims 4 and 20, Crusson teaches the method according to claim 3, and Crusson further teaches rendering and displaying the obtained data in the information-bearing container. Crusson teaches that the client renders the dynamic content item in the dynamic content item area (306) with the retrieved static and dynamic data (col. 22, lines 36-39).
However, Crusson does not teach rendering and displaying the obtained data in the information-bearing container based on a display template provided by the business party. Nonetheless, Gurtin teaches a content container (a “message UI”) rendered from a customizable block configuration that the external application developer designs, the customizable block configuration serving “as a foundation or a template for an external application developer to build the message UI” (Gurtin, col. 19, lines 19-21).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Crusson so that the obtained data of the business party is rendered and displayed in the dynamic content item based on a display template provided by the business party, because doing so would allow each content provider to control the presentation of its own data within the chat interface, providing a uniform yet provider-customizable rendering of third-party content.
Claims 8-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Crusson, as applied to claim 2 above, in further view of the non-patent literature entitled “Material Components for Android version 1.6.0” (“Bottom Sheet reference”).1
Regarding claim 8, Crusson teaches the method according to claim 2, but does not teach wherein after displaying the container display area in the chat interface of the client of the communication system, the method further comprises: adjusting the container display area from a first display state to a second display state in response to a preset adjustment operation. Nonetheless, the Bottom Sheet reference teaches adjusting a content region from one display state to another in response to a preset adjustment operation. The Bottom Sheet reference describes a content region (a “bottom sheet”) that settles, on release of a drag/swipe gesture, from one stable state into another, its offset “increases as this bottom sheet is moving upward” as it moves “between collapsed and expanded states” (BottomSheetBehavior.java, lines 105-107), thereby adjusting the region from a first display state to a second display state in response to the gesture.
The Bottom Sheet reference further teaches wherein a display area of the container display area in the first display state is different from a display area of the container display area in the second display state. These settled states are of different displayed size: the collapsed “peek” state (STATE_COLLAPSED, “The bottom sheet is collapsed”) exposes only the peek height of the region, whereas the expanded state (STATE_EXPANDED) occupies a larger area, the two being distinct ordered states (BottomSheetBehavior.java, lines 120-130).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Crusson so that the dynamic content item area is adjusted from a first display state to a second display state of different size in response to a preset adjustment operation, as taught by the Bottom Sheet reference, because doing so would allow the user to vary the amount of screen space occupied by the dynamic content item area according to need, balancing the display of dynamic content items against the display of chat messages on a size-constrained screen.
Regarding claim 9, Crusson teaches the method according to claim 2, wherein in a case where the chat interface comprises the plurality of information-bearing containers, and Crusson further teaches displaying, within the container display area, a container among the plurality of information-bearing containers that meets a preset condition. Crusson teaches a chat interface (300) having a container display area (the dynamic content item area 306) in which a plurality of dynamic content items are displayed (col. 13, lines 36-42; fig. 4), and Crusson teaches that a given dynamic content item is displayed within that area only when an associated preset condition is satisfied: “a dynamic content item may have associated conditions which limit when a dynamic content item is rendered and/or who a dynamic content item is rendered for” (col. 15, lines 9-12).
However, Crusson does not teach wherein after displaying, within the container display area, the container among the plurality of information-bearing containers that meets the preset condition, the method further comprises: in response to a first swipe operation triggered for the container display area, increasing a display area of the container display area. Nonetheless, the Bottom Sheet reference teaches increasing a display area in response to a swipe operation. The Bottom Sheet reference describes a content region (a “bottom sheet”) whose drag handler computes a new top from the drag distance and, on an upward drag, offsets the region upward and sets it to the expanded state, branching “if (dy > 0) { // Upward” and then “setStateInternal(STATE_EXPANDED)” (BottomSheetBehavior.java, lines 700-706), so that an upward swipe raises the region from its collapsed “peek” to the expanded state and increases the displayed area of the region.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Crusson so that, after displaying within the dynamic content item area a dynamic content item meeting a preset condition, a first swipe operation triggered for the dynamic content item area increases the size of that area, as taught by the Bottom Sheet reference, because doing so would give the user additional room within the chat interface to view the dynamic content items on a size-constrained screen.
The combination of Crusson and the Bottom Sheet reference teaches displaying, within a newly added space of the container display area, at least one information-bearing container among the plurality of information-bearing containers other than the container that meets the preset condition. Crusson teaches that the dynamic content item area displays a plurality of dynamic content items 402, 404, 406, and 408 (col. 14, lines 8-9; fig. 4), and the Bottom Sheet reference lays the content region out at the full height of its contents and, in the collapsed state, offsets the region to a collapsed offset equal to the parent height less the peek height, so that the contents below the peek fall outside the parent bounds until the region is expanded (BottomSheetBehavior.java, lines 537-563, 1345-1352); applied together, expanding Crusson’s dynamic content item area displays, within the space added by the expansion, at least one of Crusson’s dynamic content items other than the one meeting the preset condition.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the system of Crusson and the Bottom Sheet reference so that at least one dynamic content item other than the dynamic content item meeting the preset condition is displayed within the space added by increasing the dynamic content item area, because doing so would allow the user to view additional dynamic content items without losing sight of the dynamic content item meeting the preset condition.
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Crusson and the Bottom Sheet reference teaches the method according to claim 9, and the Bottom Sheet reference further teaches wherein after increasing the display area of the container display area, the method further comprises: reducing the display area of the container display area in response to a second swipe operation triggered for the container display area, wherein a movement direction of the second swipe operation is opposite to a movement direction of the first swipe operation; or reducing the display area of the container display area in response to a swipe operation triggered for a chat display area in the chat interface, wherein the chat display area is used to display chat messages in the chat corresponding to the chat interface; or reducing the display area of the container display area in response to a trigger operation for an information input control in the chat interface. The Bottom Sheet reference describes that a downward drag/swipe, opposite in direction to the upward drag that expanded the region, settles the region back toward the collapsed state on release (the “Moving Down” branch), reducing the displayed area (BottomSheetBehavior.java, lines 1708-1724). Because the limitation is recited in the alternative (“or”), teaching of the first alternative satisfies the requirement.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the system of Crusson and the Bottom Sheet reference so that the increased dynamic content item area is reduced in response to a second, oppositely-directed swipe operation triggered for that area, because doing so would give the user reciprocal control to collapse the expanded area and reclaim screen space for the messaging area once the additional dynamic content items no longer need to be viewed.
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Crusson and the Bottom Sheet reference teaches the method according to claim 10, and the Bottom Sheet reference further teaches wherein after reducing the display area of the container display area, the method further comprises: upon determining that the display area of the container display area is reduced to a first area threshold, canceling display of some or all of the information-bearing containers displayed within the newly added space. The Bottom Sheet reference describes a content panel (a “bottom sheet”) that is dragged vertically and settles, on release of a drag/swipe gesture, into ordered stable states, including an expanded state (STATE_EXPANDED), a half-expanded state (STATE_HALF_EXPANDED), and a collapsed/‘peek’ state (STATE_COLLAPSED, “The bottom sheet is collapsed”) (BottomSheetBehavior.java, lines 120-130). On release the settled state is selected by comparing the released position against ordered size thresholds; the shouldHide method returns false to collapse rather than hide “if (child.getTop() < collapsedOffset)” (BottomSheetBehavior.java, lines 1387-1398), so that upon reduction to the collapsed threshold the panel settles to a reduced peek in which the content occupying the added space is no longer displayed.
The Bottom Sheet reference further teaches upon determining that the display area of the container display area is reduced to a second area threshold, canceling display of the container that meets the preset condition within the container display area, or canceling display of the container display area on the chat interface, wherein the second area threshold is less than the first area threshold. The Bottom Sheet reference teaches a further, smaller threshold at which the panel is hidden altogether, canceling display of the area: the panel additionally settles to a hidden state (STATE_HIDDEN, “The bottom sheet is hidden”) (BottomSheetBehavior.java, lines 120-130), and shouldHide returns true to hide when the panel’s projected position relative to the collapsed offset, normalized by the peek height, exceeds a hide threshold “return Math.abs(newTop - collapsedOffset) / (float) peek > HIDE_THRESHOLD” (BottomSheetBehavior.java, lines 1387-1398), where HIDE_THRESHOLD is 0.5f (BottomSheetBehavior.java, line 207), the hidden threshold being reached only below the collapsed threshold.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the system of Crusson and the Bottom Sheet reference so that the dynamic content item area progressively cancels its displayed containers across two ordered area thresholds: a first, larger threshold at which the additional dynamic content items in the newly added space cease to be displayed and a second, smaller threshold at which the preset-condition dynamic content item or the entire dynamic content item area is canceled, because doing so would progressively reclaim screen space for the messaging area while preserving the user’s ability to retain a reduced peek view before fully dismissing the area.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Crusson, as applied to claim 2 above, in further view of Holler et al. (US 9,582,135 B2; “Holler”).
Regarding claim 12, Crusson teaches the method according to claim 2, but does not teach wherein the container display area is located within a sidebar area of the chat interface. Nonetheless, Holler teaches that a content area (a “pane”) is located within a side region of the interface, in that “the width 108-B of the list 106 has been decreased with respect to the width 108-A … to make room for the pane 140,” the pane being displayed “with a first side 148 adjacent to the icon 102 and a second, opposite side 150 adjacent to the list 106” (col. 4, line 67; col. 5, lines 1-4; fig. 1B).
Holler further teaches wherein the chat interface comprises a container entry identifier. Holler’s interface includes a container entry identifier: the interface “displays an icon 102 (or, alternatively, any appropriate indicator, such as a link) corresponding to a pane that is not currently displayed”, a user being able to “cause the pane to be displayed by selecting the icon 102” (col. 4, lines 51-53, 57-58; fig. 1A).
Holler further teaches wherein after displaying the container display area in the chat interface of the client of the communication system, the method further comprises: canceling display of the container display area on the chat interface in response to a trigger operation for the container entry identifier. Holler discloses canceling display of the area in response to a trigger operation for that identifier: “the user may close the pane 140 by selecting the icon 102,” in response to which “the displayed user interface reverts to the GUI 100A” (col. 5, lines 27-32; fig. 1B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Crusson so that the dynamic content item area is located within a sidebar area of the chat interface and the chat interface includes a container entry identifier whose selection cancels display of the dynamic content item area, because doing so would afford the user on-demand control to collapse the dynamic content item area and reclaim screen space for the messaging area.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Crusson, as applied to claim 1 above, in further view of LaPier et al. (US 11,269,490 B2; “LaPier”).
Regarding claim 13, Crusson teaches the method according to claim 1, but does not teach further comprising: copying a link address of the preset information in response to a trigger operation for a first control in the information-bearing container, wherein a page corresponding to the link address is used to display the preset information; or displaying a comment input control in response to a trigger operation for a second control in the information-bearing container. Nonetheless, LaPier teaches displaying a comment input control in response to a trigger operation for a control associated with a content item. LaPier discloses a content item presented in a user interface together with an associated control bar (a “share bar”) providing graphical control elements that operate on the content item; upon focusing a comment control element on the content item, “the client application displays a pane 1000 in which the comments are displayed” (col. 7, lines 27-31), the pane including a field (1006) in which the user can directly enter a comment (col. 7, lines 43-45; fig. 10). This limitation is recited in the alternative (“or”); because LaPier teaches the second alternative as set forth above, the requirement is satisfied.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Crusson so that the information-bearing container includes a control that, in response to a trigger operation, displays a comment input control, because doing so would allow a user to comment on the displayed information directly from within the information-bearing container without leaving the chat interface.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Crusson, as applied to claim 1 above, in further view of Rideout et al. (US 10,320,723 B2; “Rideout”).
Regarding claim 14, Crusson teaches the method according to claim 1, but does not teach wherein the information-bearing container is a widget. Nonetheless, Rideout teaches that an information-bearing container displayed in a messaging application’s conversation view is a widget. Rideout discloses a graphical user interface of an electronic messaging application including a conversation thread view in which a widget (410) is displayed and provides for display a representation of the participants (col. 7, lines 4-12; fig. 4), and Rideout defines the displayed container as a widget, explaining that “the widget is a lightweight application for extending the functionality” of the electronic messaging application (col. 7, lines 30-32).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Crusson so that the information-bearing container displayed in the chat interface is a widget, because doing so would implement the information-bearing container as a self-contained, lightweight application within the chat interface, allowing the preset information to be presented and updated as a discrete interface element of the messaging application.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Andrew Georgandellis whose telephone number is 571-270-3991. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday, 7:30-5:00 PM EST. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tonia Dollinger, can be reached on 571-272-4170. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANDREW C GEORGANDELLIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2459
1 The public availability of the Bottom Sheet reference before the effective filing date rests on two independent bases. First, the dated distribution of the released library: Material Components for Android version 1.6.0 was published to and publicly downloadable from Google’s Maven repository on May 4, 2022, and the maintainers’ dated release record for version 1.6.0 (commit 1dbd3dd) bears the same date; the cited BottomSheetBehavior.java source resides at that released version. Second, and independently, the relied-upon multi-state drag-to-settle behavior was described in a dated third-party publication well before the effective filing date: N. Rout, “Hands-on with Material Components for Android: Bottom Sheets,” Over Engineering (Medium), Mar. 25, 2019.
Prosecution Insights