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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/26/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim 15 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.
Claim 15 recites the limitation "the multi-window mode". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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) 1-3, 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2022/0385750) in view of Ahn et al. (US 2022/0365562).
As to Claim 1, Kim et al. discloses An electronic device, comprising: a first housing (fig.3, frame 101; para.0098); a second housing configured to be movable with respect to the first housing and overlapping at least a portion of the first housing (fig.3, frame 102, para.0098,0121);
a driving device, comprising a motor and/or a gear, configured to slide in and/or slide out the second housing (fig.3, para.0102- 0103,0114-0115,0119; frame 102 slides in/out relative to first frame 101; fig.8); and
a flexible display at least partially mounted on a surface of the second housing and at least partially visible from an outside of the electronic device (fig.3, para.0126-0127; display unit 151 include display 1513 that may extend out of frame 102 and partially cover frame 102 and display unit 151 also include display region 1511 that is always exposed to front face terminal),
wherein a portion of the flexible display is configured to be inserted into the first housing and/or drawn out from the first housing based on sliding in and/or sliding out of the second housing (fig.3, para.0126-0127, display region 1513 extend out of frame 102 and its movement depends on the movement direction of frame 102),
a trigger button configured to slide in and/or slide out the second housing;
a touchscreen configured to receive a user's touch input (fig.3, para.0073, display unit 151 may be a touch screen);
at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry, operably connected to the first housing, the second housing, the driving device, the flexible display, the trigger button, and the touchscreen (fig.1, controller 180; para.0078-0080); and memory configured to store instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor, individually and/or collectively (fig.1, memory 170, para.0078-0080), to:
when receiving a first input for sliding out the second housing while operating in slide-in state, extend a display screen while maintaining a window mode in the slide-in state (fig.9,15- para.0145,156-157, when knock code 1531 is input by user and selected expandable size {read as first input}, the display is expanded and work performed by user is displayed {read as maintaining window mode in slide-in state}); and
when receiving a second input for sliding out the second housing, terminate a window mode and extend a display screen in a changed window mode while being in the slide-in state (fig.9,15- para.0145,156-157, when knock code 1531 is input by user and selected an expandable size {read as second input, where knock code may be preset and include various code patterns and a selected size may be different}, the display is expanded and work performed by user is displayed in selected expanded size {read as changed window mode}).
Kim et al. does not expressly disclose a driving device, comprising a motor and/or a gear; a trigger button configured to slide in and/or slide out the second housing.
Ahn et al. discloses a driving device, comprising a motor and/or a gear (fig.1-2, para.0065, driving part for controlling a size of the display may be implemented using a motor); a trigger button configured to slide in and/or slide out the second housing (fig.4, para.0081-0082, when input to icon 403 is received, the display may be expanded).
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 device of Kim et al. with the teachings of Ahn et al., the motivation being to stably control the moving direction of the display and provide an icon related to display expansion to further improve user convenience.
As to Claim 2, Kim et al. in view of Ahn et al. disclose wherein the first input includes an input by manipulation of the trigger button (Ahn-fig.4, para.0081-0082), and the second input includes an input through the touchscreen (Kim-fig.15, para.0145,156-157).
As to Claim 3, Kim et al. in view of Ahn et al. disclose wherein the changed window mode includes a mode set so that a first execution screen of a first application and a second execution screen of a second application are displayed in a multi-window view mode (Ahn-fig.4, para.0073-0075, 0083, 0089).
As to Claim 6, Kim et al. in view of Ahn et al. disclose wherein the instructions further include an instruction to, based on detecting that a user gesture is held and then released in the designated area when the electronic device is in a closed state (Kim-para.0145, knock code within a reference set, which may be set the user), draw out the second housing to the outside of the first housing by a designated length while terminating the changed window mode (Kim-fig.15, display is expanded according to knock code input and expandable size input; para.0145,0158).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2022/0385750) in view of Ahn et al. (US 2022/0365562), further in view of Kwon et al. (US 2017/0061932).
As to Claim 4, Kim et al. in view of Ahn et al. do not expressly disclose, but Kwon et al. discloses: wherein the display screen includes a third execution screen of a third application, wherein a user gesture includes a drag gesture starting at a portion of the third execution screen and held and released in a designated area, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured, individually and/or collectively, to scroll the third execution screen based on a drag gesture on the third execution screen (fig.11A- para.0244-extended area d4, a flicking input of touching one point of the home screen 331 and then sliding thereon is received, the control unit 290 may switch the home screen 331 to another menu screen 381).
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 device disclosed by Kim et al. in view of Ahn et al., with the teachings of Kwon et al., the motivation to perform multitasking in an extended area that may be individually controlled.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2022/0385750) in view of Ahn et al. (US 2022/0365562), further in view of Lee et al. (US 2019/0227703).
As to Claim 5, Kim et al. in view of Ahn et al. do not expressly disclose, but Lee et al. discloses: wherein the second input includes a user gesture to move a visual object into a designated area on the touchscreen, and wherein the designated area includes an area around an upper edge of a portion where the touchscreen is exposed and/or visible (fig.6, when user slides the display up, the display is expanded 310; para.0065,0075).
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 device disclosed by Kim et al. in view of Ahn et al., with the teachings of Lee et al., the motivation being to expand the display in a direction according to user input.
Claim(s) 7-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2022/0385750) in view of Ahn et al. (US 2022/0365562), further in view of Oh et al. (US 10963016), further in view of Shim et al. (US 2021/0157366).
As to Claim 7, Kim et al. in view of Ahn et al. do not expressly disclose, but Oh et al. discloses: wherein the instructions further include an instruction to display at least one first icon when the visual object is positioned in a designated area, and wherein the at least one first icon includes a plurality of icons each representing screen [ratios] (fig.9, 15; information area 1503 including icons 902,903,904 representing display size change degree applied to second area; col.20, lines 25-52).
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 device disclosed by Kim et al. in view of Ahn et al., with the teachings of Oh et al., the motivation being to provide selection of provided content or arrangement of the content in the first display area and second display area, thereby providing content with increased ease and efficiency b reflecting a size of the display.
Kim et al. in view of Ahn et al., as modified by Oh et al., do not expressly disclose where the icons represent screen ratios.
Shim et al. discloses where an indicator 1120 may represent a position of the display size information, where the final position of the input applied to the indicator may be displayed, representing screen ratios (fig.11, para.0187-0190).
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 device disclosed by Kim et al. in view of Ahn et al., as modified by Oh et al., with the teachings of Shim et al., the motivation being to control the size of the display to correspond to a final position of an input indicator, thereby more easily and efficiently changing the size of the display and improving usability, and a control method of the electronic apparatus.
As to Claim 8, Kim et al. in view of Ahn et al., as modified by Oh et al. and Shim et al., disclose wherein the instructions further include instructions to: based on a user gesture being held, determine whether the electronic device is in a closed state; and when the electronic device is in the closed state, not display the at least one first icon (Oh-fig.7-9, icons 902-904 are displayed when the display is exposed (expanded), not displayed when not exposed (closed); col.20, lines 24-28).
Claim(s) 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2022/0385750) in view of Ahn et al. (US 2022/0365562), further in view of Shim et al. (US 2021/0157366).
As to Claim 9, Kim et al. in view of Ahn et al. disclose where a user gesture (knock code) input may be within a predetermined time (para.0145), and where a direction of the expanded display based on the direction of a user gesture (Kim -para.0160), but do not expressly disclose based on the user gesture being held, display at least one indicator indicating a drawn-out direction of the touchscreen.
Shim et al. discloses based on user input, a display indicator 1120 corresponding to display expansion direction is displayed, and where the display indicator may have different shapes (fig.11, 18, para.0186,0199).
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 device disclosed by Kim et al. in view of Ahn et al., with the teachings of Shim et al., the motivation being to provide visual indicator corresponding display expansion direction.
As to Claim 10, Kim et al. in view of Ahn et al., as modified by Shim et al., disclose wherein the at least one indicator is not displayed when a user gesture is released (Shim-fig.11b, 18-19b).
Claim(s) 11, 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2022/0385750) in view of Yang (US 2023/0077374)
As to Claim 11, Kim et al. discloses A method, comprising: detecting a user gesture on a first screen displayed on a flexible display of an electronic device (fig15- para.0145,156-157, knock code input 1531 is detected);
based on detecting the user gesture, determining whether the user gesture is held in a designated area of the flexible display for a designated time or more (fig.15; para.0145- the knock code is a touch input of consecutively knocking a prescribed region of a flexible display within a reference time);
based on the determination, displaying, around an area where the user gesture is held, a first icon for inserting a second housing of the electronic device into a first housing of the electronic device and at least one second icon for drawing out the second housing to an outside of the first housing by a designated length (fig.15, selection menu 1522 for selecting an expandable size is displayed);
based on a user input to the first icon and/or the at least one second icon, changing a shape of the electronic device by inserting the second housing into the first housing and/or drawing out the second housing to the outside of the first housing by the designated length (fig.15, para.0158- display is expanded at selected expandable size); and displaying a second screen different from the first screen on the shape-changed electronic device (fig.15, expanded display screen different from first screen (non-expanded)).
Kim et al. does not expressly disclose displaying a first icon for inserting a second housing of the electronic device into a first housing of the electronic device
Yang discloses displaying a first icon for inserting a second housing of the electronic device into a first housing of the electronic device (fig.10-12, para.0034-0040, 0118-0122- control icon is displayed and retracts the display according to a preset operation received by the control icon).
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 device of Kim et al. with the teachings of Yang, such that in response to knock code input (of Kim) a control icon (as disclosed by Yang) may be displayed to control deploy or extract of the display screen, thereby the operability, operation variety, and flexibility of the electronic device to the retractable touch display screen can be improved.
As to Claim 16, Kim et al. in view of Yang disclose based on a user input to the first icon, changing a shape of the electronic device by inserting the second housing into the first housing (Yang- fig.10-12, control icon- para.0034-0040, 0118-0122) and based on a user input to the second icon, drawing out the second housing to the outside of the first housing by the designated length (Kim-fig.15, selection menu 1522, para.0158).
As to Claim 17 has limitations similar to those of Claim 11 and are met by the references as set forth above.
Claim(s) 12-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2022/0385750) in view of Yang (US 2023/0077374), further in view of Hwang et al. (US 2014/0089833).
As to Claim 12, Kim et al. in view Yang do not expressly disclose, but Hwang et al. discloses: wherein the first screen includes a screen where a first execution screen of a first application and a second execution screen of a second application are displayed in a multi-window view mode (fig.2-4,20-21; para.0070,0072, plurality of execution screens of respective applications), and wherein the user gesture includes a drag gesture for a first visual element representing a boundary between the first execution screen and the second execution screen (fig.2-4,20-21; para.0070, 0076, 0113; user moves/drags separator 200 to adjust window size of an execution screen).
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 device disclosed by Kim et al. in view of Yang, with the teachings of Hwang et al., the motivation being to adjust the size the execution screens and allow a user to efficiently use a plurality of applications through the multi-window on one screen.
As to Claim 13, Kim et al. in view of Yang, as modified by Hwang et al. disclose wherein the first screen includes a third execution screen of a third application, wherein the user gesture includes a drag gesture starting at a portion of the third execution screen and held and released in the designated area, and wherein the method further comprises, based on the drag gesture on the third execution screen, scrolling the third execution screen (Hwang-fig.2-4, para.0050,0070, execution regions are independently controlled and receive user input; fig.28-para.0139 user may scroll through the recommendation region 620; fig.31-32- para.0139,0171).
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2022/0385750) in view of Yang (US 2023/0077374), further in view of Lee et al. (US 2019/0227703).
As to Claim 5, Kim et al. in view of Yang do not expressly disclose, but Lee et al. discloses: wherein the designated area includes an area around an upper edge of a portion where the flexible display is exposed and/or visible (fig.6, when user slides the display up, the display is expanded 310; para.0065,0075).
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 device disclosed by Kim et al. in view of Yang, with the teachings of Lee et al., the motivation being to expand the display in a direction according to user input.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2022/0385750) in view of Yang (US 2023/0077374), further in view of Lee et al. (US 20170308346).
As to Claim 15, Kim et al. in view of Yang disclose, wherein the method for controlling the electronic device further comprises, based on detecting that the user gesture is held and then released in the designated area when the electronic device is in a fully closed state (Kim-para.0145, knock code within a reference set, which may be set the user), drawing out the second housing to the outside of the first housing [while terminating the multi-window mode] (Kim-fig.15, display is expanded according to knock code input and expandable size input; para.0145,0158)
Kim et in view of Yang do not expressly disclose, but Lee et al. discloses: drawing out the second housing to the outside of the first housing while terminating the multi-window mode (fig.7-8, para.0078-0079).
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 device disclosed by Kim et al. in view of Yang et al., with the teachings of Lee et al., the motivation being to display execution screens of multiple applications in different display screens when in expanded state.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DISMERY E. MERCEDES whose telephone number is (571)272-7558. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm, EST.
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/DISMERY MERCEDES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2627
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