DETAILED ACTION
Status of the Application
1. Claims 1 – 20 are pending and are under examination in this action.
2. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. 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.
4. Claims 1 – 2, 4, 6, 11, and 17 – 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (U.S. Pub. 2012/0256863) in view of in view of Vong (U.S. Pub. 2015/0338939), as evidenced by Klein et al. (U.S. Pub. 2019/0235627).
Regarding claim 1, Zhang teaches: a computing system for gesture processing (FIG. 1; paragraph [0017]; electronic device 100 receives and processes gesture inputs), the system comprising:
one or more processors (FIG. 1; paragraph [0019]; processing module 104 includes a processor); and
one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that collectively store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing system to perform operations (FIG. 1; paragraphs [0012], [0019]; processing module 104 includes a memory element that stores software [instructions] which is executed by a processor to perform disclosed operations and functions), the operations comprising:
obtaining, with an overlay interface a gesture input and display data (FIG. 3; paragraphs [0014], [0022]; free-form input gestures overly displayed objects and associate displayed objects to free-input gestures. Accordingly, the touch and display interface that receives free-form input gestures, displays the free-form input gestures [or any other content in response thereto], and associates the free-form input gestures with displayed objects is an “overlay interface”), wherein the gesture input is obtained via a user computing device, and wherein the display data is descriptive of a plurality of image features of a displayed content item (FIG. 2; paragraphs [0021], [0022]; in task 202, a plurality of objects [display data] are displayed on display device 108. In task 204, a free-form input gesture is received from a user at touch screen 102 of electronic device 100), wherein the overlay interface is configured to obtain and process display data from across a plurality of different applications of the user computing device (FIGS. 3, 5; paragraphs [0021], [0035]; the “overlay interface” obtains and processes displayed objects [data] from different applications and file types, including: an audio file, video file, word processor file, image [FIG. 3], contact [FIG. 5], etc.);
generating a gesture mask based on processing the gesture input and the display data, wherein the gesture mask is descriptive of a region of the displayed content item associated with positions of at least a portion of the gesture input (FIGS. 2, 3; paragraph [0022], [0024]; in task 206, a free-form input gesture is recognized and identified. For example, a first free-form user input 302 [gesture input] is recognized and a graphical representation of this input in the shape of a diamond [gesture mask] is displayed at a location of the first object 304 [display data] to which the first free-form user input 302 has been applied. The displayed diamond [gesture mask] corresponding to input 302 describes a region of displayed content, in this case first object 304, that is associated with the input 302);
generating a content snippet based on the plurality of image features and the gesture mask, wherein the content snippet comprises a graphical representation of a subset of the displayed content item (FIGS. 2, 3; paragraphs [0026], [0028]; in task 208, displayed objects are associated with the gestures applied thereto. For example, first object 304 is associated with first free-form input gesture 302. This association constitutes a content snippet that includes at least one object [subset] of the displayed content);
processing the gesture input to determine a gesture classification, wherein the gesture classification is descriptive of a particular gesture of a plurality of different gestures being recognized (FIGS. 2, 3; paragraphs [0026], [0028]; in task 208, displayed objects are associated with the gestures applied thereto. For example, first free-form input gesture 302 has been applied to first object 304, seventh object 324, ninth object 332, eleventh object 340, twelfth object 344, and fifteenth object 356, thus associating or classifying these objects together);
determining a particular data processing action of a plurality of different data processing actions based on the gesture classification (FIGS. 2, 3; paragraph [0029], [0032]; in task 210, a particular action, operation, or command may be assigned to a particular gesture input, such as free-form input gesture 302. In task 212, the action associated with free-form input gesture 302 is performed / executed); and
performing the particular data processing action on the content snippet (FIGS. 2, 3; paragraph [0029], [0032]; in task 212, the action associated with free-form input gesture 302 is performed / executed).
Zhang fails to explicitly disclose: the content snippet comprises source data associated with the content item and metadata.
However, in a related field of endeavor, Vong discloses a display device that receives freehand gesture inputs corresponding to selection shapes for selecting objects (FIG. 1; paragraphs [0048], [0058]).
With regard to claim 1, Vong teaches: the content snippet comprises source data associated with the content item and metadata (FIG. 13; paragraph [0200]; when particular content 1312 is selected, metadata associated with the content 1312 is also selected).
Additionally, it is well-known and conventional before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention for metadata of graphical content to include a source of such content.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to combine the known teachings of Zhang, Vong, and well-known and conventional teachings in the art to yield predictable results. Specifically, it would have been obvious to incorporate the metadata selection in conjunction with content selection, as taught by Vong, into the content selection of Zhang. Doing so would yield the predictable result of a user’s gesture input that selects content also selecting associated metadata of the source thereof.
Neither Zhang nor Vong to explicitly disclose: wherein the overlay interface is implemented at an operating system level of the user computing device.
However, it was well-known and conventional in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention for an interface that interacts with a touchscreen to be a system-level operating system user interface. For evidence, please see Klein (Abstract).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to combine the known teachings of Zhang, Vong, and well-known and conventional teachings in the art to yield predictable results. Specifically, it would have been obvious to simply implement the “overlay interface” of Zhang as an operating system level user interface, which was well-known and conventional in the art. Such a modification of Zhang requires nothing more than filling in the gaps thereof by relying on the implications therein that the “overlay interface” is an operating system level user interface based on its ability to interact with and apply to many different file types and applications.
Regarding claim 2, Zhang fails to explicitly disclose: wherein generating the gesture mask based on the gesture input and the display data comprises: processing the gesture input and the display data with a masking model to generate the gesture mask, wherein the masking model was trained to generate masks based on silhouettes of freeform inputs.
However, the free-form input gestures of Zhang may have user-defined shapes (paragraph [0022]). By disclosing these as user-defined, Zhang must necessarily have some mechanism for creating user-defined shapes corresponding to particular gestures.
It was well-known and conventional before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to implement user-defined gestures by training a model.
Accordingly, it is suggested by the disclosure of Zhang, in conjunction with the well-known and conventional teachings in the art, that the user-defined gestures are the result of training a model with free-form user inputs.
Regarding claim 4, Zhang teaches: wherein the subset of the displayed content item is generated based on: determining, based on the plurality of image features and the gesture mask, a selected portion of the displayed content item (FIGS. 2, 3; paragraphs [0022], [0024]; in task 206, the free-form input gesture is determined as corresponding with one or more displayed objects. For example, when a first free-form user input 302 [gesture input] is applied, a first object 304 [selected portion of the displayed content item] is associated therewith based on the displayed diamond [gesture mask]).
Regarding claim 6, Zhang teaches: wherein the gesture mask is an irregular shape determined based on a shape of the gesture input (paragraph [0022]; the free-form input gestures may have any user-defined shape which would include irregular shapes).
Regarding claim 11, Zhang fails to explicitly disclose: a computer-implemented method for gesture processing, the method comprising: generating a gesture mask based on processing the gesture input and the display data with a masking model.
However, the free-form input gestures of Zhang may have user-defined shapes (paragraph [0022]). By disclosing these as user-defined, Zhang must necessarily have some mechanism for creating user-defined shapes corresponding to particular gestures.
It was well-known and conventional before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to implement user-defined gestures by training a model.
Accordingly, it is suggested by the disclosure of Zhang, in conjunction with the well-known and conventional teachings in the art, that the user-defined gestures are the result of training a model with free-form user inputs.
The remainder of this claim has the same scope as the subject matter rejected above with regard to claim 1. Accordingly, the remainder of this claim is rejected for at least the same reasons set forth above with regard to claim 1. A duplication of the above rejection is not included in this Office Action for the purpose of brevity.
Regarding claim 17, Zhang teaches: one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that collectively store instructions that, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause the one or more computing devices to perform operations (FIG. 1; paragraphs [0012], [0019]; processing module 104 includes a memory element that stores software [instructions] which is executed by a processor to perform disclosed operations and functions).
Zhang fails to explicitly disclose: the operations comprising: generating a gesture mask based on processing the gesture input and the display data with a masking model.
However, the free-form input gestures of Zhang may have user-defined shapes (paragraph [0022]). By disclosing these as user-defined, Zhang must necessarily have some mechanism for creating user-defined shapes corresponding to particular gestures.
It was well-known and conventional before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to implement user-defined gestures by training a model.
Accordingly, it is suggested by the disclosure of Zhang, in conjunction with the well-known and conventional teachings in the art, that the user-defined gestures are the result of training a model with free-form user inputs.
The remainder of this claim has the same scope as the subject matter rejected above with regard to claim 1. Accordingly, the remainder of this claim is rejected for at least the same reasons set forth above with regard to claim 1. A duplication of the above rejection is not included in this Office Action for the purpose of brevity.
Regarding claim 18, Zhang teaches: wherein the operation further comprise: before obtaining the gesture input and the display data: receiving a user invocation request; and invoking the overlay interface, wherein the overlay interface is configured to receive selections of displayed information for performing the plurality of different data processing actions.
However, it was well-known and conventional before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention for a user to manually initialize particular processes, such as object management process 200 of Zhang (FIG. 2).
This manual initialization of object management process 200 is an invocation request which results in providing a gesture recognition [overlay] interface based on the particular displayed content or application being executed (FIGS. 3, 5).
Accordingly, it is suggested by the disclosure of Zhang that a user may initiate process 200 in order to generate a gesture recognition [overlay] interface (FIGS. 3, 5) for receiving free-form gesture inputs. This reads on the subject matter of this claim.
5. Claims 3, 5, 12, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Vong, as applied to claims 1 and 11 above, in view of Huang et al. (U.S. Pub. 2021/0027539).
Regarding claim 3, neither Zhang nor Vong explicitly disclose: wherein the particular data processing action is performed on a segmented portion of the displayed content item.
However, Zhang discloses that the “action” may include the deletion of objects corresponding to a free-form input gesture (paragraph [0025]).
In a related field of endeavor, Huang discloses: a system that generates a mask in response to a user’s gesture input to indicate that a selected object is to be removed (paragraph [0027]).
With regard to claim 3, Huang teaches: wherein the particular data processing action is performed on a segmented portion of the displayed content item (FIG. 5; paragraphs [0034], [0035]; displayed content of an image is segmented into distinct regions in step 505. In step 515, a particular selected segment is determined. In step 520, the image region of the selected segment is stored for removal / deletion).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to combine the known teachings of Zhang, Vong, and Huang to yield predictable results. Specifically, the teachings of a system that displays content and receives free-form gesture inputs to select some displayed content for deletion or removal, as taught by Zhang, are known. Additionally, the teachings of a system that segments displayed content and receives gesture inputs to select a particular segment of the displayed content for deletion or removal, as taught by Huang, are known as well. The combination of the known teachings of Zhang and Huang would yield the predictable result of a system that segments displayed content and receives free-form gesture inputs to select a particular segment of the displayed content for deletion or removal. In other words, it would have been obvious to incorporate the image segmentation so that only parts of an image of Zhang can be removed instead of just an entire image. This expands the applicability of the free-form input gestures of Zhang using known methods and teachings of Huang in a predictable manner. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to combine the known teachings of Zhang, Vong, and Huang to yield the aforementioned predictable results.
Regarding claim 5, Zhang teaches: wherein determining the selected portion comprises: determining and identifying an object is depicted within the gesture mask (FIGS. 2, 3; paragraphs [0026], [0028]; in task 208, displayed objects are associated with the gestures applied thereto. For example, first free-form input gesture 302 has been applied to first object 304).
Neither Zhang nor Vong explicitly disclose: segmenting the object to generate a segmented portion of the displayed content item.
However, Huang teaches: segmenting the object to generate a segmented portion of the displayed content item (FIG. 5; paragraph [0035]; displayed content of an image is segmented into distinct regions in step 505).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to combine the known teachings of Zhang, Vong, and Huang to yield predictable results for at least the reasons set forth above with regard to claim 3.
Regarding claim 12, Zhang teaches: wherein the gesture input is associated with a region of the displayed content item provided for display (FIGS. 2, 3; paragraphs [0026], [0028]; in task 208, displayed objects are associated with the gestures applied thereto. For example, first free-form input gesture 302 has been applied to first object 304).
Neither Zhang nor Vong explicitly disclose: wherein the method further comprises: processing the region of the displayed content item provided for display to determine the gesture input is associated with a selection of a sub-portion of the content, wherein the sub-portion of the content comprises a set of visual features of interest.
However, Huang teaches: wherein the method further comprises: processing the region of the displayed content item provided for display to determine the gesture input is associated with a selection of a sub-portion of the content, wherein the sub-portion of the content comprises a set of visual features of interest (FIGS. 5, 9A, 9C; paragraphs [0035], [0043], [0045]; displayed content of an image is segmented into distinct regions in step 505. In step 515, a particular selected segment is determined based on a user input gesture. In the examples of FIGS. 9A and 9C, the image is segmented into a region including chair 800 [sub-portion] and a region not including chair 800. The chair 800 [sub-portion] includes four legs, a seat, and a back [set of visual features of interest]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to combine the known teachings of Zhang, Vong, and Huang to yield predictable results for at least the reasons set forth above with regard to claim 3.
Regarding claim 16, neither Zhang nor Vong explicitly disclose: wherein the user computing device comprises a smart wearable.
However, Huang teaches: wherein the user computing device comprises a smart wearable (FIG. 15; paragraph [0060]; machine 1500, i.e., the device on which operations disclosed therein are performed, may be a wearable device such as a smart watch).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to combine the known teachings of Zhang, Vong, and Huang to yield predictable results. Specifically, it would have been obvious to incorporate the teachings of Zhang into any electronic device capable of performing the disclosed operations, including a wearable device such as a smart watch, as taught by Huang. This requires nothing more than a simple substitution of one electronic device with a display that receives touch inputs to select content with another.
6. Claims 7 – 10 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Vong, as applied to claims 1 and 17 above, in view of Devries et al. (U.S. Pub. 2022/0164078).
Regarding claim 7, neither Zhang nor Vong explicitly disclose: wherein the plurality of different data processing actions comprise a search action, a save action, and a share action.
However, Zhang discloses that user-defined input gestures may correspond to a particular action as defined by a user (paragraph [0029]).
With regard to claim 7, Devries teaches: wherein the plurality of different data processing actions comprise a search action (FIG. 7; paragraph [0060]; an image search of the selected content is performed when the selected content is associated with image search interaction zone 742), a save action (FIG. 7; paragraph [0061]; a save function of selected content is performed when the selected content is associated with add to collections interaction zone 744), and a share action (FIG. 7; paragraphs [0027], [0060], [0110]; executable actions may be triggered for selected content is associated with a particular interaction zone).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to combine the known teachings of Zhang, Vong, and Devries to yield predictable results. More specifically, the teachings of a device that receives a gesture input having a user-defined shape that selects content where the shape is associated with a user-defined action to be performed on the selected content, as taught by Zhang, are known. Additionally, the teachings of a device that performs an image search, a save action, and a share action in response to different user inputs, as taught by Devries, are known as well. The combination of the known teachings of Zhang and Devries would yield the predictable result of a device that receives a gesture input having a user-defined shape that selects content where the shape is associated with a user-defined action, where these actions can include an image search, a save action, and a share action to be performed on the selected content win response to the particular user-defined gesture inputs. In other words, it would have been obvious to implement the particular functions and actions, as taught by Devries, as user-defined actions of Zhang. Such a combination merely requires utilizing known functions with regard to selected content, as taught by Devries, and applying these functions to the user-defined actions of Zhang. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to combine the known teachings of Zhang, Vong, and Devries to yield the aforementioned predictable results.
Regarding claim 8, Zhang teaches: wherein the gesture classification comprises a circle classification (paragraphs [0022], [0026]; as set forth above, free-form input gestures may have user-defined shapes. Additionally, it is disclosed that an input gesture may correspond to a circle. Accordingly, a “gesture classification” may correspond to the shape of a circle, as defined by a user).
Neither Zhang nor Vong explicitly disclose: wherein determining, with the overlay interface, the particular data processing action of the plurality of different data processing actions based on the gesture classification comprises determining the circle classification is associated with a search processing action; wherein performing, with the overlay interface, the particular data processing action on the content snippet comprises: transmitting, with the overlay interface, the content snippet to a search engine to determine a plurality of search results; and providing, with the overlay interface, the plurality of search results for display.
However, Zhang discloses that user-defined input gestures may correspond to a particular action as defined by a user (paragraph [0029]).
With regard to claim 8, Devries teaches: wherein determining, with the overlay interface, the particular data processing action of the plurality of different data processing actions based on the gesture classification comprises determining the circle classification is associated with a search processing action (FIG. 7; paragraphs [0027], [0060], [0110]; executable actions may be triggered for selected content is associated with a particular interaction zone. For example, an image search may be performed when selected content is associated with image search interaction zone 742. When applied to Zhang, a user-defined circle gesture may correspond to a search function);
wherein performing, with the overlay interface, the particular data processing action on the content snippet comprises:
transmitting, with the overlay interface, the content snippet to a search engine to determine a plurality of search results (FIG. 7; paragraphs [0051], [0060]; an image search of the selected content is performed, via an image search engine, when the selected content is associated with image search interaction zone 742); and
providing, with the overlay interface, the plurality of search results for display (FIG. 7; paragraph [0055]; search results are presented for display).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to combine the known teachings of Zhang, Vong, and Devries to yield predictable results for at least the reasons set forth above with regard to claim 7.
Regarding claim 9, Zhang teaches: wherein the gesture classification comprises a second classification different from the circle classification (FIG. 4; paragraphs [0022], [0025]; as set forth above, free-form input gestures may have user-defined shapes. Additionally, it is disclosed that an input gesture may be triangular-shaped. Accordingly, a “gesture classification” may correspond to the shape of a triangle, as defined by a user).
Neither Zhang nor Vong explicitly disclose: wherein determining the particular data processing action of the plurality of different data processing actions based on the gesture classification comprises determining the second classification is associated with a share processing action; wherein performing, with the overlay interface, the particular data processing action on the content snippet comprises: transmitting, with the overlay interface, the content snippet to a messaging application on the user computing device.
However, Zhang discloses that user-defined input gestures may correspond to a particular action as defined by a user (paragraph [0029]).
With regard to claim 9, Devries teaches: wherein determining the particular data processing action of the plurality of different data processing actions based on the gesture classification comprises determining the second classification is associated with a share processing action (FIG. 7; paragraphs [0027], [0060], [0110]; executable actions may be triggered for selected content is associated with a particular interaction zone. For example, a function of sharing selected content is associated with share interaction zone 646. When applied to Zhang, a user-defined triangular-shaped gesture may correspond to a share function);
wherein performing, with the overlay interface, the particular data processing action on the content snippet comprises: transmitting, with the overlay interface, the content snippet to a messaging application on the user computing device (FIG. 7; paragraphs [0043], [0060]; a share function of selected content is performed when the selected content is associated with share interaction zone 646. The share function may be implemented via a messaging program).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to combine the known teachings of Zhang, Vong, and Devries to yield predictable results for at least the reasons set forth above with regard to claim 7.
Regarding claim 10, Zhang teaches: wherein the gesture classification comprises a second classification different from the circle classification (FIG. 4; paragraphs [0022], [0025]; as set forth above, free-form input gestures may have user-defined shapes. Additionally, it is disclosed that an input gesture may be triangular-shaped. Accordingly, a “gesture classification” may correspond to the shape of a diamond, as defined by a user).
Neither Zhang nor Vong explicitly disclose: wherein determining the particular data processing action of the plurality of different data processing actions based on the gesture classification comprises determining the second classification is associated with a save processing action; wherein performing, with the overlay interface, the particular data processing action on the content snippet comprises: storing, with the overlay interface, the content snippet on the user computing device.
However, Zhang discloses that user-defined input gestures may correspond to a particular action as defined by a user (paragraph [0029]).
With regard to claim 10, Devries teaches: wherein determining the particular data processing action of the plurality of different data processing actions based on the gesture classification comprises determining the second classification is associated with a save processing action (FIG. 7; paragraphs [0027], [0061], [0110]; executable actions may be triggered for selected content is associated with a particular interaction zone. For example, a function of saving selected content is associated with add to collections interaction zone 744. When applied to Zhang, a user-defined diamond-shaped gesture may correspond to a save function);
wherein performing, with the overlay interface, the particular data processing action on the content snippet comprises: storing, with the overlay interface, the content snippet on the user computing device (FIG. 7; paragraph [0061]; a save function of selected content is performed when the selected content is associated with add to collections interaction zone 744).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to combine the known teachings of Zhang, Vong, and Devries to yield predictable results for at least the reasons set forth above with regard to claim 7.
Regarding claim 19, neither Zhang nor Vong explicitly disclose: wherein the displayed content item comprises a web page.
However, Devries teaches: wherein the displayed content item comprises a web page (paragraph [0028]; displayed content that can be selected by a user input may include content from a webpage).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to combine the known teachings of Zhang, Vong, and Devries to yield predictable results. Specifically, it would have been obvious to apply the teachings of Zhang regarding gesture input to select displayed objects to other user interfaces, such as that of a web browser displaying a webpage, as taught by Devries. Such a modification amounts to nothing more than a simple substitution of one source of display content for another.
7. Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Vong, as applied to claim 11 above, in view of Saripalle et al. (U.S. Pub. 2020/0275271) in view of Huang.
Regarding claim 15, Zhang fails to explicitly disclose: wherein the masking model comprises an object detection model.
However, as set forth above, the free-form input gestures of Zhang may have user-defined shapes (paragraph [0022]). By disclosing these as user-defined, Zhang must necessarily have some mechanism for creating and detecting user-defined shapes corresponding to particular gestures.
It was well-known and conventional before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to implement user-defined gestures by training a model.
Accordingly, it is suggested by the disclosure of Zhang, in conjunction with the well-known and conventional teachings in the art, that the user-defined gestures are the result of training a model with free-form user inputs and that detecting user-defined gestures is performed via an object detection model of some sort.
Neither Zhang nor Vong explicitly disclose: wherein the masking model comprises an input understanding model.
With regard to claim 15, Saripalle teaches: an input understanding model (paragraphs [0047], [0081]; machine learning models are known to predict a certain pattern of gesture inputs to result in high accuracy / verification. This portion of a gesture recognition model is interpreted as an “input understanding model”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to combine the known teachings of Zhang, Vong, and Saripalle to yield predictable results. Specifically, it would have been obvious to incorporate the machine learning models with regard to gesture input patterns, as taught by Saripalle, into the content selection free-form input gestures of Zhang. Doing so would yield the predictable result of recognizing an imperfect user’s free-form gesture input based on the trained machine learning model so that content is selected according to a user’s intentions.
Neither Zhang nor Vong explicitly disclose: wherein the masking model comprises a segmentation model.
With regard to claim 15, Huang teaches: wherein the masking model comprises a segmentation model (FIG. 5; paragraphs [0034], [0035]; displayed content of an image is segmented into distinct regions in step 505 using an image segmentation neural network [model]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s claimed invention to combine the known teachings of Zhang, Vong, Saripalle, and Huang to yield predictable results. Specifically, it would have been obvious to incorporate the segmentation of a displayed image using a model, as taught by Huang, into the device of Zhang, for at least the reasons set forth above with regard to claim 3.
Allowable Subject Matter
8. Claims 13, 14, and 20 are 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.
Conclusion
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/RYAN A LUBIT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2626
