DETAILED ACTION
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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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claim 1, 10, 11, 12, 14, 18 and 19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 – 20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,430,709 in view of Huang et al (US 2019/0138086) and Lutter et al. (US 2025/0111472).
Claim 1 of Instant Application
Claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,430,709
A system for adjusting a display zoom setting, the system comprising:
a processor;
and a memory device that stores program code structured to cause the processor to:
display first content on a display device according to a first zoom value that corresponds to a first lean angle,
the first lean angle based on a position of a user relative to the display device ;
determine a movement of the user in a horizontal direction relative to the display device, the movement comprising a change from the first lean angle to a second lean angle that is beyond a lean angle threshold;
and display second content on the display device according to a second zoom value that corresponds to the second lean angle.
A system for adjusting a display zoom setting, the system comprising:
a processor;
and a memory device that stores program code structured to cause the processor to:
display first content on a display device according to a first zoom profile, the first zoom profile identifying a first zoom value for a first lean angle and a second zoom value for a second lean angle,
the first lean angle and the second lean angle based on a position of a user in a first direction parallel to a display device;
observe zoom behaviors of the user over a period of time, the zoom behaviors based on a detected set of user movements;
calibrate the first zoom profile based on the observed zoom behaviors to generate a second zoom profile; and
display second content on the display device according to the second zoom profile.
Claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,430,709 fails to disclose determining a movement of the user in a horizontal direction relative to the display device, the movement comprising a change from the first lean angle to a second lean angle that is beyond a lean angle threshold; wherein the second zoom value that corresponds to the second lean angle.
In the same filed of endeavor, Huang discloses determining a movement of the user in a horizontal direction relative to the display device (determine horizontal movement as shown in fig. 2A relative to the screen 102 of fig. 1 [0026 - 0028]), the movement comprising a change from the first lean angle to a second lean angle (horizontal movement may result in the change of the lean angle [0027 – 0028], [0044]); wherein the second zoom value that corresponds to the second lean angle (displaying larger view based on the lean angle [0027]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,430,709 and the teachings of Huang such that movement in the horizontal direction was determined as disclosed by Huang, with motivation to provide a method for drivers to control facilities installed in vehicle in safer manners (Huang [0003]).
Claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,430,709 in view of Huang fails to disclose that the movement is determined when the change from the first lean angle to the second lean angle is beyond a lean angle threshold.
In the same filed of endeavor, Lutter discloses a system for adjusting zoom setting (figs. 3G and 3H) wherein the movement is determined when the change from the first lean angle to the second lean angle is beyond a lean angle threshold (when distance between user and display changes from D1 to D2 of fig. 3H [0063], wherein criteria for movement detection is satisfied by lean of more than threshold amount [0044], [0047]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,430,709 in view of Huang and the teachings of Lutter such that the movement was detected when the change from the first lean angle to the second lean angle was beyond a lean angle threshold as disclosed by Lutter, with motivation to change the zoom level of displayed object based on changes in posture of the user (Lutter [0004]).
Claim 10 is similarly rejected over claim 10 of U.S. Patent No. 12,430,709 in view of Huang and Lutter.
Claim 11 is similarly rejected over claim 11 of U.S. Patent No. 12,430,709 in view of Huang and Lutter.
Claim 12 is similarly rejected over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,430,709 in view of Huang and Lutter.
Claim 14 is similarly rejected over claim 12 of U.S. Patent No. 12,430,709 in view of Huang and Lutter.
Claim 18 is similarly rejected over claim 18 of U.S. Patent No. 12,430,709 in view of Huang and Lutter.
Claim 19 is similarly rejected over claim 20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,430,709 in view of Huang and Lutter.
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.
Claim(s) 1 – 9 and 14 – 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang et al (US 2019/0138086) In view of Lutter et al. (US 2025/0111472).
As to claim 1, Huang discloses a system for adjusting a display zoom setting, the system comprising:
a processor (110 of fig. 1);
and a memory (processor 110 of fig. 1 inherently comprises a memory) device that stores program code structured to cause the processor (110 of fig. 1) to:
display first content on a display device (user interface 100 including screen 102 and the sensor 104 of fig. 1 [0018]) according to a first zoom value that corresponds to a first lean angle (initial zoom value shown in 242 of fig. 2B), the first lean angle based on a position of a user relative to the display device (based on lean angle with respect to the screen 102 of fig. 1 [0027]);
determine a movement of the user in a horizontal direction relative to the display device (determine horizontal movement as shown in fig. 2A relative to the screen 102 of fig. 1 [0026 - 0028]), the movement comprising a change from the first lean angle to a second lean angle (horizontal movement may result in the change of the lean angle [0027 – 0028], [0044]);
and display second content on the display device (display second content 244 of fig. 2B on the screen 102 of fig. 1 [0027]) according to a second zoom value that corresponds to the second lean angle (displaying larger view based on the lean angle [0027]), bust fails to disclose that the movement is determined when the change from the first lean angle to the second lean angle is beyond a lean angle threshold.
In the same filed of endeavor, Lutter discloses a system for adjusting zoom setting (figs. 3G and 3H) wherein the movement is determined when the change from the first lean angle to the second lean angle is beyond a lean angle threshold (when distance between user and display changes from D1 to D2 of fig. 3H [0063], wherein criteria for movement detection is satisfied by lean of more than threshold amount [0044], [0047]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Huang and the teachings of Lutter such that the movement was detected when the change from the first lean angle to the second lean angle was beyond a lean angle threshold as disclosed by Lutter, with motivation to change the zoom level of displayed object based on changes in posture of the user (Lutter [0004]).
As to claim 2 (dependent on 1), Huang discloses the system, wherein
the second content displayed on the display device (user interface 100 including screen 102 and the sensor 104 of fig. 1 [0018]) comprises content of a side of the display device (user interface 100 including screen 102 and the sensor 104 of fig. 1 [0018]) corresponding to the movement of the user in the horizontal direction (as shown in fig. 2A, displaying side content based on the horizontal movement [0026 – 0028]).
As to claim 3 (dependent on 1), Lutter discloses the system, wherein
the first zoom value comprises a constant value (zoom by predetermined amount [0063]) that is applied to the first content displayed on the display device (content 302 of fig. 3G) until the determination of the movement of the user in the horizontal direction relative to the display device (until lean as show in fig. 3H).
As to claim 4 (dependent on 1), Lutter discloses the system, wherein
the second zoom value is a maximum zoom value (zoom by a predetermined value [0063], inherently, closes position would correspond to maximum zoom level).
As to claim 5 (dependent on 1), Huang discloses the system, wherein
the program code is structured to cause the processor (110 of fig. 1) to determine the movement of the user in the horizontal direction by determining that the user's head moved in a horizontal direction relative to the display device (determine user’s head relative position using sensor 104 of fig. 1 [0019], the position is relative to the screen 102 of fig. 1 [0019], wherein horizontal movement comprises horizontal head tilt [0044]).
As to claim 6 (dependent on 1), Huang discloses the system, wherein
the program code is further structured to cause the processor (110 of fig. 1) to:
determine a subsequent movement of the user in the horizontal direction resulting in a change from the second lean angle to a third lean angle (use may tilt back and forth the horizontal direction [0027], [0044 – 0045]);
and display third content on the display device according to a third zoom value that corresponds to the third lean angle (the user may zoom in and out of the page based on the corresponding lean angle [0027 - 0028] and [0044 – 0045]).
As to claim 7 (dependent on 6), Lutter discloses the system, wherein
content displayed on the displayed device is zoomed linearly between the second zoom value and the third zoom value (zooming by amounts corresponding to the amount by which the user leans forward [0063]).
As to claim 8 (dependent on 6), Huang discloses the system, wherein
content displayed on the displayed device is zoomed non-linearly between the second zoom value and the third zoom value (zooming by a predetermined amount regardless of the amount by which the user leans forward [0063]).
As to claim 9 (dependent on 1), Huang discloses the system, wherein
the movement of the user is captured by a camera (sensor 104 of fig. 1 comprising a camara [0018]) mounted on the display device (user interface 100 including screen 102 and the sensor 104 of fig. 1 [0018]).
As to claim 14, Huang discloses a method for adjusting a display zoom setting, the method comprising:
displaying first content on a display device (user interface 100 including screen 102 and the sensor 104 of fig. 1 [0018]) according to a first zoom value that corresponds to a first lean angle (initial zoom value shown in 242 of fig. 2B), the first lean angle based on a position of a user relative to the display device (based on lean angle with respect to the screen 102 of fig. 1 [0027]);
determining a movement of the user in a horizontal direction relative to the display device (determine horizontal movement as shown in fig. 2A relative to the screen 102 of fig. 1 [0026 - 0028]), the movement comprising a change from the first lean angle to a second lean angle (horizontal movement may result in the change of the lean angle [0027 – 0028], [0044]);
and displaying second content on the display device (display second content 244 of fig. 2B on the screen 102 of fig. 1 [0027]) according to a second zoom value that corresponds to the second lean angle (displaying larger view based on the lean angle [0027]), bust fails to disclose that the movement is determined when the change from the first lean angle to the second lean angle is beyond a lean angle threshold.
In the same filed of endeavor, Lutter discloses a system for adjusting zoom setting (figs. 3G and 3H) wherein the movement is determined when the change from the first lean angle to the second lean angle is beyond a lean angle threshold (when distance between user and display changes from D1 to D2 of fig. 3H [0063], wherein criteria for movement detection is satisfied by lean of more than threshold amount [0044], [0047]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Huang and the teachings of Lutter such that the movement was detected when the change from the first lean angle to the second lean angle was beyond a lean angle threshold as disclosed by Lutter, with motivation to change the zoom level of displayed object based on changes in posture of the user (Lutter [0004]).
As to claim 15 (dependent in 14), Huang discloses the method, wherein
the second content displayed on the display device (user interface 100 including screen 102 and the sensor 104 of fig. 1 [0018]) comprises content of a side of the display device (user interface 100 including screen 102 and the sensor 104 of fig. 1 [0018]) corresponding to the movement of the user in the horizontal direction (as shown in fig. 2A, displaying side content based on the horizontal movement [0026 – 0028]).
As to claim 16 (dependent in 14), Lutter discloses the method, wherein
the first zoom value comprises a constant value (zoom by predetermined amount [0063]) that is applied to the first content displayed on the display device (content 302 of fig. 3G) until the determination of the movement of the user in the horizontal direction relative to the display device (until lean as show in fig. 3H).
As to claim 17 (dependent in 14), Huang discloses the method, further comprising: determining a subsequent movement of the user in the horizontal direction resulting in a change from the second lean angle to a third lean angle (use may tilt back and forth the horizontal direction [0027], [0044 – 0045]); and displaying third content on the display device according to a third zoom value that corresponds to the third lean angle (the user may zoom in and out of the page based on the corresponding lean angle [0027 - 0028] and [0044 – 0045]).
As to claim 18, Huang discloses a computer-readable storage medium having computer program code recorded thereon that when executed by at least one processor (110 of fig. 1) causes the at least one processor (110 of fig. 1) to perform a method comprising:
displaying first content on a display device (user interface 100 including screen 102 and the sensor 104 of fig. 1 [0018]) according to a first zoom value that corresponds to a first lean angle (initial zoom value shown in 242 of fig. 2B), the first lean angle based on a position of a user relative to the display device (based on lean angle with respect to the screen 102 of fig. 1 [0027]);
determining a movement of the user in a horizontal direction relative to the display device (determine horizontal movement as shown in fig. 2A relative to the screen 102 of fig. 1 [0026 - 0028]), the movement comprising a change from the first lean angle to a second lean angle (horizontal movement may result in the change of the lean angle [0027 – 0028], [0044]);
and displaying second content on the display device (display second content 244 of fig. 2B on the screen 102 of fig. 1 [0027]) according to a second zoom value that corresponds to the second lean angle (displaying larger view based on the lean angle [0027]), bust fails to disclose that the movement is determined when the change from the first lean angle to the second lean angle is beyond a lean angle threshold.
In the same filed of endeavor, Lutter discloses a system for adjusting zoom setting (figs. 3G and 3H) wherein the movement is determined when the change from the first lean angle to the second lean angle is beyond a lean angle threshold (when distance between user and display changes from D1 to D2 of fig. 3H [0063], wherein criteria for movement detection is satisfied by lean of more than threshold amount [0044], [0047]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Huang and the teachings of Lutter such that the movement was detected when the change from the first lean angle to the second lean angle was beyond a lean angle threshold as disclosed by Lutter, with motivation to change the zoom level of displayed object based on changes in posture of the user (Lutter [0004]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13 and 20 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:
As to claim 13 (dependent on 1), The Prior Art of record fails to disclose the system, wherein the first lean angle is based on a resting point position of the user that is horizontally offset relative to a center of the display device. (Emphasis Added.)
As to claim 20 (dependent on 18), The Prior Art of record fails to disclose the computer-readable storage medium, wherein the first lean angle is based on a resting point position of the user that is horizontally offset relative to a center of the display device. (Emphasis Added.)
Conclusion
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/DMITRIY BOLOTIN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2623