DETAILED ACTION
The communication is a First Action Non-Final on the merits. Claims 1-15, as originally filed, are currently pending and have been considered below.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 2025 August 26 was/were 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 § 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 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
Step 1: Claims 1-10 are directed towards a system. Claims 11-14 are directed towards a method. Claim 15 is directed towards a manufacture (computer-readable medium). Thus, these claims, on their face, are directed to one of the statutory categories of 35 U.S.C. § 101.
Step 2A - Prong One: As per MPEP 2106.04, Prong One asks does the claim recite an abstract idea, law of nature, or natural phenomenon. In Prong One examiners evaluate whether the claim(s) recites a judicial exception; that is, whether the claim(s) set forth or describe a law of nature, natural phenomenon, or abstract idea.
Claim 1 is presented here as a representative claim for specific analysis (The underlined claim terms here are interpreted as additional elements beyond the abstract idea.):
An electronic apparatus comprising: a communication device configured to communicate with an external device; a memory; and at least one processor configured to:
acquire information related to advertising content via the communication device, and store, in the memory, the advertising content corresponding to the information,
wherein the at least one processor is configured to set a predetermined time at which an operating mode of the electronic apparatus is switched to update the advertising content, based on an expiration time of the advertising content included in the information and the operating mode of the electronic apparatus being switched to a power saving mode.
The claims here are based on the recitation of an abstract idea (i.e. recitation other than the additional elements delineated here with underlining and further addressed per Step 2A - Prong Two and Step 2B). The claims recite the abstract idea of switching a device mode to allow for advertising update upon advertisement expiration which falls within certain methods of organizing human activity.
The phrase "certain methods of organizing human activity" applies to fundamental economic principles or practices including hedging insurance, mitigating risk; commercial or legal interactions including agreements in the form of contracts, legal obligations, advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors business relations; managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people including social activities teaching, and following rules or instructions. Refer to MPEP 2106.04(a)(2) II. A-C.
The Remaining Claims: The additional independent claims fail to recite any additional elements beyond those identified above except: a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium (claim 15). The dependent claims recite fail to recite any additional elements beyond those already identified except: a server (claims 2, 12) ,a microcomputer (claims 4, 5, 14).
The dependent claims further reiterate the same abstract idea with further embellishments: receive new advertisements (claim 2), switch the device’s power mode (claim 3), . Therefore, the identified claims fall within the subject matter groupings of abstract ideas enumerated in MPEP 2106.04(a)(2).
Step 2A - Prong Two: As per MPEP 2106.04.II.A.2, Prong Two determines if the claim(s) recite additional elements that integrate the judicial exception into a practical application.
As for the additional elements of: An electronic apparatus, a communication device, an external device; a memory, at least one processor, a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, a microcomputer. To be patent-eligible, the elements additional to the identified abstract idea must amount to more than "an instruction to apply the abstract idea . . . using some unspecified, generic computer" to render the claim patent-eligible. Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int'l, 573 U.S. 208, 226 (2014). It would have been readily apparent to one having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) at the time the invention was filed that the additional elements represent generic computing devices. Therefore, the claims amount to no more than a mere method, system, and/or computer program product to implement the abstract idea on a generic computer system. See MPEP § 2106.05(f).
As for the additional element(s) of: acquire information related to advertising content via the communication device, and store… the advertising content corresponding to the information. The gathering of data represents insignificant extra-solution activity that comprises mere data gathering. The additional element(s) represent insignificant extra-solution activity incidental to the primary process or product that are merely a nominal or tangential addition to the claim as noted in MPEP 2106.05(g).
The ordered combination of these additional elements amounts to generally linking the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment or field of use (MPEP 2106.05(h)). The ordered combination offers nothing more than employing a generic configuration of computer devices and computer functions. The claims do not amount to a practical application, similar to how limiting the abstract idea in Flook to petrochemical and oil-refining industries was insufficient.
Step 2B: As per MPEP 2106.05, the additional elements are analyzed, both individually and in combination, to determine whether an "inventive concept" is furnished by an element or combination of elements that is recited in the claim in addition to (beyond) the judicial exception, and is sufficient to ensure that the claim, as a whole, amounts to significantly more than the judicial exception itself.
As for the additional element(s):
acquire information related to advertising content via the communication device, and store… the advertising content corresponding to the information represents subject matter similar to receiving or transmitting data over a network, e.g., using the Internet to gather data, Symantec, 838 F.3d at 1321, 120 USPQ2d at 1362 (utilizing an intermediary computer to forward information).
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: Power Saving in Devices when Updating Advertisements with Expiration Times
References of Record but not Applied in the Current Grounds of Rejection
The prior art listed below is made of record as considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and is not relied upon in the grounds of rejection presented in this Office action. Those starred with '*' were added to this list in this Office action. Those without "*" were added in a previous Office action and are not repeated on a PTO-892 Notice of References Cited form, but are maintained herein for informational purposes only.
* Tao et al. (Pub. #: CN 110956487 A) discloses an advertising signboard that has several power saving features.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 9, 11-13, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by
Jung et al. (Pub. #: US 2017 /0076332 A1).
Claim(s) 1:
An electronic apparatus comprising: a communication device configured to communicate with an external device; a memory; and at least one processor configured to:
(Jung discloses a computing system including a "communication module" (120, 130), "RAM" (112), an a "CPU" (111) in at least Figure 3 and 0036-0043.)
acquire information related to advertising content via the communication device, and store, in the memory, the advertising content corresponding to the information,
(Jung discloses an AP, in response to an advertisement request, sending "advertisement information and the update condition information" to the computing system in at least 0064-0066.)
wherein the at least one processor is configured to set a predetermined time at which an operating mode of the electronic apparatus is switched to update the advertising content, based on an expiration time of the advertising content included in the information
(Jung discloses matching the "update condition information", which comprises a "validity term" that "has expired", and subsequently updating the "advertisement information" in at least 0065-0067.)
and the operating mode of the electronic apparatus being switched to a power saving mode.
(Jung discloses that the user device can stay in a "sleep state" when not requesting advertisement updates in at least 0004, 0008, and 0026.)
Claim(s) 2:
wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive new advertising content corresponding to new information received from a server and update the advertising content stored in the memory based on a time point having lapsed subsequent to the operating mode of the electronic apparatus being switched, and switch the operating mode of the electronic apparatus based on the advertising content being updated.
(Jung discloses a device containing "advertisement information and the update condition information" in at least 0064-0066. Jung discloses matching the "update condition information", which comprises a "validity term" that "has expired", and subsequently updating the "advertisement information" in at least 0065-0067. Jung discloses that the user device can stay in a "sleep state" when not requesting advertisement updates in at least 0004, 0008, and 0026.)
Claim(s) 3:
wherein the at least one processor is configured to switch the operating mode of the electronic apparatus based on the predetermined time having lapsed while the operating mode of the electronic apparatus is in the power saving mode.
(Jung discloses updating the "advertisement information" upon a status of "expired" for the information and switching the device out of a "sleep state" (i.e., power saving mode) in at least 0064-0067, 0004, 0008, and 0026.)
Claim(s) 9:
wherein the at least one processor is configured to: generate a first image including the advertising content, generate a second image corresponding to broadcast content after displaying the first image including the advertising content, and acquire advertising information related to new advertising content while generating the second image corresponding to the broadcast content and update the advertising content stored in the memory.
(Jung discloses presenting the advertisement information to the user via the user device in at least 0025, 0028, 0029, and 0060 and presenting broadcast content to the user via the display in at least 0044 and 0045. Jung discloses updating the advertisement information stored on the device with new advertisement information in at least 0064-0066.)
Claim(s) 11:
A method of controlling an electronic apparatus, the method comprising:
(Jung discloses a computing system including a "communication module" (120, 130), "RAM" (112), an a "CPU" (111) in at least Figure 3 and 0036-0043.)
acquiring information related to advertising content; storing the advertising content corresponding to the information;
(Jung discloses an AP, in response to an advertisement request, sending "advertisement information and the update condition information" to the computing system in at least 0064-0066.)
and setting a predetermined time at which an operating mode of the electronic apparatus is switched to update the advertising content based on an expiration time of the advertising content included in the information,
(Jung discloses matching the "update condition information", which comprises a "validity term" that "has expired", and subsequently updating the "advertisement information" in at least 0065-0067.)
and the operating mode of the electronic apparatus being switched to a power saving mode.
(Jung discloses that the user device can stay in a "sleep state" when not requesting advertisement updates in at least 0004, 0008, and 0026.)
Claim(s) 12:
receiving advertising content corresponding to new information received from a server and updating prestored advertising content based on the operating mode of the electronic apparatus being switched after a time point elapses; and switching the operating mode of the electronic apparatus based on the advertising content being updated.
(Jung discloses a device containing "advertisement information and the update condition information" in at least 0064-0066. Jung discloses matching the "update condition information", which comprises a "validity term" that "has expired", and subsequently updating the "advertisement information" in at least 0065-0067. Jung discloses that the user device can stay in a "sleep state" when not requesting advertisement updates in at least 0004, 0008, and 0026.)
Claim(s) 13:
further comprising switching the operating mode of the electronic apparatus based on the predetermined time having lapsed while the operating mode of the electronic apparatus is the power saving mode.
(Jung discloses updating the "advertisement information" upon a status of "expired" for the information and switching the device out of a "sleep state" (i.e., power saving mode) in at least 0064-0067, 0004, 0008, and 0026.)
Claim(s) 15:
A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program to execute a control method of an electronic apparatus, wherein the control method comprising:
(Jung discloses a computing system including a "communication module" (120, 130), "RAM" (112), an a "CPU" (111) in at least Figure 3 and 0036-0043.)
acquiring information related to advertising content, storing the advertising content corresponding to the information,
(Jung discloses an AP, in response to an advertisement request, sending "advertisement information and the update condition information" to the computing system in at least 0064-0066.)
and setting a predetermined time at which an operating mode of the electronic apparatus is switched to update the advertising content, based on an expiration time of the advertising content included in the information
(Jung discloses matching the "update condition information", which comprises a "validity term" that "has expired", and subsequently updating the "advertisement information" in at least 0065-0067.)
and the operating mode of the electronic apparatus being switched to a power saving mode.
(Jung discloses that the user device can stay in a "sleep state" when not requesting advertisement updates in at least 0004, 0008, and 0026.)
Examiner's Note on the Format of the Prior Art Rejections
The prior art rejections below contain underlined markings of the limitations (e.g. sample limitation). The underlined portions of a claim are addressed at the end of the grounds of rejection for that claim. Examiner notes that the underlining of the claim language is not a statement that the primary reference does not teach that language, but simply that said claim language is addressed at the end of the grounds of rejection for that 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) 4, 5, 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over
Jung et al. (Pub. #: US 2017 /0076332 A1) in view of
Hsu et al. (Pub. #: US 2023/0244292 A1).
Claim(s) 4:
a microcomputer, wherein the operating mode of the electronic apparatus includes: a normal mode in which each component of the electronic apparatus is powered, and the power saving mode in which the memory and the at least one processor are not powered and the microcomputer is powered, and wherein the microcomputer switches the operating mode of the electronic apparatus based on the predetermined time while the electronic apparatus is in the power saving mode based on a time corresponding to the expiration time.
As for the underlined claim language: Jung discloses that the user device can stay in a "sleep state" when not requesting advertisement updates in at least 0004, 0008, and 0026. Jung does not appear to specify a separate microcomputer that controls the sleep or normal mode of the computing device. However, Hsu teaches a technique whereby a "peripheral device" with its own "controller" (i.e., microcomputer) controls the power state of a "computing device" to switch between one of several "low-power states" in at least 0033-0036.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the advertisement presentation on a user device system with a "sleep state" of Jung with the technique of a separate microcomputer controlling the power state of the user device as taught by Hsu. Motivation to combine Jung with Hsu derives from the desire of users to save power without significantly impacting usability of the device (Hsu: 0014-0016).
Claim(s) 5:
wherein the power saving mode is a first power saving mode and the operating mode of the electronic apparatus further includes:
a second power saving mode in which the memory and the at least one processor are powered and the electronic apparatus operates at a lower power consumption level than in the normal mode,
(Jung discloses that the user device can stay in a "sleep state" when not requesting advertisement updates in at least 0004, 0008, and 0026.)
and wherein the microcomputer switches the operating mode of the electronic apparatus to the second power saving mode based on the predetermined time while the electronic apparatus is in the first power saving mode based on the time corresponding to the expiration time.
As for, "and wherein the microcomputer switches the operating mode of the electronic apparatus to the second power saving mode based on the predetermined time while the electronic apparatus is in the first power saving mode based on the time corresponding to the expiration time": Jung discloses that the user device can stay in a "sleep state" when not requesting advertisement updates in at least 0004, 0008, and 0026.
Jung does not appear to specify a separate microcomputer that controls the sleep or normal mode of the computing device. However, Hsu teaches a technique whereby a "peripheral device" with its own "controller" (i.e., microcomputer) controls the power state of a "computing device" to switch between one of several "low-power states" in at least 0033-0036. Jung discloses that the low-power states may include a "hibernate" state (which is in addition to the "sleep" state of Jung) whereby the memory and processor are powered down in at least 0037.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the advertisement presentation on a user device system with a "sleep state" of Jung with the technique of a separate microcomputer controlling the power state of the user device as taught by Hsu. Motivation to combine Jung with Hsu derives from the desire of users to save power without significantly impacting usability of the device (Hsu: 0014-0016).
Claim(s) 14:
wherein the operating mode of the electronic apparatus includes a normal mode in which each component of the electronic apparatus is powered, and the power saving mode in which a memory and at least one processor are not powered and a microcomputer is powered, and in the switching, the operating mode of the electronic apparatus is switched based on the predetermined time while the electronic apparatus is in the power saving mode based on a time corresponding to the expiration time.
(Jung discloses a device containing "advertisement information and the update condition information" in at least 0064-0066. Jung discloses matching the "update condition information", which comprises a "validity term" that "has expired", and subsequently updating the "advertisement information" in at least 0065-0067. Jung discloses that the user device can stay in a "sleep state" when not requesting advertisement updates in at least 0004, 0008, and 0026.)
As for, "and the power saving mode in which a memory and at least one processor are not powered and a microcomputer is powered, and in the switching": Jung does not appear to specify a separate microcomputer that controls the sleep or normal mode of the computing device. However, Hsu teaches a technique whereby a "peripheral device" with its own "controller" (i.e., microcomputer) controls the power state of a "computing device" to switch between one of several "low-power states" in at least 0033-0036. Jung discloses that the low-power states may include a "hibernate" state (which is in addition to the "sleep" state of Jung) whereby the memory and processor are powered down in at least 0037.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the advertisement presentation on a user device system with a "sleep state" of Jung with the technique of a separate microcomputer controlling the power state of the user device as taught by Hsu. Motivation to combine Jung with Hsu derives from the desire of users to save power without significantly impacting usability of the device (Hsu: 0014-0016).
Claim(s) 6, 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over
Jung et al. (Pub. #: US 2017 /0076332 A1) in view of
Ben Aston’s article, “Automatically re-populate the cache at expiry time”, https://web.archive.org/web/20151115121736/https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3711378/automatically-re-populate-the-cache-at-expiry-time.
Claim(s) 6:
wherein the at least one processor is configured to set the predetermined time to switch the operating mode of the electronic apparatus to a time point that is earlier than the expiration time of the advertising content.
As for the underlined claim language: Jung discloses exiting a "sleep state" to perform updates of cached advertisements in at least 0004, 0008, and 0026. Jung does not appear to specify exiting and updating at a point that is "earlier" than the expiration time of the advertising content. However, Aston describes a technique of updating cached items "just before" the cached item expires in at least the first five paragraphs therein.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the cached advertisement updating system of Jung with the technique of updating cached items prior to their expiration as taught by Aston. Motivation to combine Jung with Aston derives from the desire to maintain updated cached items to "shield client code from cache misses" (Aston, third paragraph).
Claim(s) 7:
wherein the advertising content is among a plurality of advertising content stored in the memory, and the at least one processor is configured to set the predetermined time to a time point corresponding to the advertising content which has an earliest expiration time among the plurality of advertising content.
As for the underlined claim language: Jung discloses exiting a "sleep state" to perform updates of cached advertisements in at least 0004, 0008, and 0026. Jung does not appear to specify exiting and updating at a point that is "earlier" than the expiration time of the advertising content. However, Aston describes a technique of updating cached items "just before" each of the cached items expires in at least the first five paragraphs therein.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the cached advertisement updating system of Jung with the technique of updating cached items prior to their expiration as taught by Aston. Motivation to combine Jung with Aston derives from the desire to maintain updated cached items to "shield client code from cache misses" (Aston, third paragraph).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over
Jung et al. (Pub. #: US 2017 /0076332 A1) in view of
Richard Balsley, in “Configuring Windows 10 Devices to Wake and Update Outside of Class time”, https://web.archive.org/web/20210220134026/https://richardbalsley.com/configuring-windows-10-devices-to-wake-and-update-outside-of-class-time/.
Claim(s) 8:
wherein the memory stores usage time information of the electronic apparatus, and the at least one processor is configured to set the predetermined time based on the expiration time of the advertising content being within an unused time period of the electronic apparatus based on the usage time information.
As for the underlined claim language: Jung does not appear to specify updating the cached advertisements during an "unused time period" for the device. However, Balsley teaches a technique of scheduling updates for a computing device outside of the device's normal usage time (i.e., "class time") in at least the "Problem" and "Solution" sections.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the cached advertisement updating system of Jung with the technique of updating a computing device during idle time of the device as taught by Balsley. Motivation to combine Jung with Balsley derives from the desire to reduce the amount of disruption derived from updating of a computing device (Balsley: Problem section).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over
Jung et al. (Pub. #: US 2017 /0076332 A1) in view of
Vacek (Pub. #: US 2017/0055143 A1).
Claim(s) 10:
wherein the first image including the advertising content is a home screen of the electronic apparatus, and the advertising content is disposed in a predetermined advertising region of the home screen.
As for the underlined claim language. Jung does not appear to specify advertising on a "home screen" and in a "predetermined advertising region". However, Vacek teaches a technique for presenting advertisements on a mobile device in a specified region of a home screen in at least Figure 5, paragraphs 0024-0026.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the advertisement presentation on a user device system of Jung with the technique of presenting advertisements in a specified region of a home screen as taught by Vacek. Motivation to combine Jung with Vacek derives from both references pertaining to advertising on user devices and in order to "bolster sales" of advertised products (Vacek: 0005).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SCOTT SNIDER whose telephone number is (571)272-9604. The examiner can normally be reached M-W: 9:00-4:30 Mountain (11:00-6:30 Eastern).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Waseem Ashraf can be reached at (571)270-3948. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/S.S/Examiner, Art Unit 3621
/WASEEM ASHRAF/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3621
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