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 .
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.
Claims 1-6 and 9-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Serizawa (US 20150268787).
Regarding claim 1: Serizawa teaches an electronic device (Fig. 1 #100) comprising: a display; an operation button that detects a press operation; a touch sensor that detects a touch operation (Figs. 1-2 and paragraph [0019-0028] teach a display 50; an operation button on pointer 40 that detects a press operation; a touch sensor that detects a touch operation 502); and a processor, wherein when the processor causes the display to display a screen (Figs. 2-3 and paragraph [0027-0037] teach a control section 20 comprising a processor 201 causes the display 50 to display a screen), the processor: acquires setting information on an operation mode that has been associated with the screen in advance; when the acquired setting information is first setting information corresponding to a first mode in which the processor does not receive an operation via the touch sensor but receives an operation via the operation button, operates the electronic device in the first mode (Figs. 3-9 and paragraph [0030-0043] teach HDD comprises a plurality of applications that can be displayed on the display screen and settings for each application are setup in advance; when the acquired setting information is first setting information as shown in Fig. 8 corresponding to a first mode in which an operation via the sensor is invalid but receives an operation via the operation button on the pointer 40, operates the electronic device in the first mode); and when the acquired setting information is second setting information corresponding to a second mode in which the processor receives the operation via the touch sensor, operates the electronic device in the second mode (Figs. 3-9 and paragraph [0030-0043] teach when the acquired setting information is second setting information as shown in Fig. 7 corresponding to a second mode in which the processor receives the operation via the touch sensor, operates the electronic device in the second mode).
Regarding claims 2, 10, & 16: Serizawa teaches wherein in response to a predetermined first switching operation performed by a user in the second mode, the processor switches the operation mode of the electronic device from the second mode to the first mode (Figs. 3, 7-10 and paragraph [0030-0055] teach HDD comprising a plurality of different applications and each application has a corresponding mode of operation and launching the each individual application automatically launches the operating mode associated with that application as shown in Figs. 7-9, and whenever user switches from the Negotiation application (Fig. 7) to Conference application (Fig. 8) the operation mode of the electronic device automatically switched from the second mode to the first mode. A plurality of user operations and/or inputs can be performed to switch between the application screens, which is very well-known and commonly used in the art).
Regarding claims 3, 11, & 17: Serizawa teaches wherein in response to the first switching operation performed while the screen is being displayed, the processor changes the second setting information associated with the screen to the first setting information (Figs. 3, 7-10 and paragraph [0030-0055] teach HDD comprising a plurality of different applications and each application has a corresponding setting screen information as shown in Fig. 7-9, and switching from one application to another also changes the setting information associated with the screen displaying said application respectively).
Regarding claims 4, 12, & 18: Serizawa teaches wherein in response to a predetermined second switching operation performed by a user in the first mode, the processor switches the operation mode of the electronic device from the first mode to the second mode (Figs. 3, 7-10 and paragraph [0030-0055] teach HDD comprising a plurality of different applications and each application has a corresponding mode of operation and launching the each individual application automatically launches the operating mode associated with that application as shown in Figs. 7-9, and user is switches from the Conference application (Fig. 8) to Negotiation application (Fig. 7) the operation mode of the electronic device automatically switching from the first mode to the second mode).
Regarding claims 5, 13, & 19: Serizawa teaches wherein in response to the second switching operation performed while the screen is being displayed, the processor changes the first setting information associated with the screen to the second setting information (Figs. 3, 7-10 and paragraph [0030-0055] teach HDD comprising a plurality of different applications and each application has a corresponding setting screen information as shown in Fig. 7-9, and switching from one application to another also changes the setting information associated with the screen displaying said application respectively).
Regarding claims 6, 14, & 20: Serizawa teaches wherein the processor controls the electronic device such that the electronic device does not receive the operation via the operation button in the second mode (Figs. 7-9 and paragraph [0030-0043] teach in the second mode when the device is showing the Negotiation application screen as shown in Fig. 7 the device does not receive the operation via the operation button of the pointer).
Regarding claim 9: Claim 9 recites similar claim limitations as in claim 1, except claim 9 is a method claim. Thus, all the arguments made above for claim 1 are applicable for claim 9.
Regarding claim 15: Claim 15 recites similar claim limitations as in claim 1. Thus, all the arguments made above for claim 1 are applicable for claim 9. Claim 15 further recites, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium recording a program executable by a computer of an electronic device which is also taught by Serizawa in Figs. 1-3 and paragraph [0028-0030] #20 comprising processor and storage means.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Serizawa (US 20150268787) in the view of Ohsawa (US 20120133582).
Regarding claim 7: Serizawa does not explicitly disclose wherein in the first mode, the processor displays on the display a first operation indicator indicating that the operation via the operation button is possible, and in the second mode, the processor displays on the display a second operation indicator indicating that the operation via the touch sensor is possible.
However, Ohsawa teaches the processor displays on the display a first operation indicator indicating that the operation via the operation button is possible, and in the second mode, the processor displays on the display a second operation indicator indicating that the operation via the second input means is possible (Figs. 10-11 and paragraph [0096-0100, 0160] teach display a first operation mode notification icon and a second operation mode notification icon indicating the operation via either a first input device or the second input device). It would have been obvious for a person skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Serizawa’s invention by including above teachings of Ohsawa, because utilizing the operation indicator notifies the user which input section can be used to enter user input, hence enhancing user experience. The rationale would have been to use a known method or technique to achieve predictable results.
Claims 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Serizawa (US 20150268787) in the view of Han (US 20160209907).
Regarding claim 8: Serizawa does not explicitly disclose further comprising a battery that supplies power to at least the touch sensor, wherein in a case where the processor acquires the second setting information as the setting information associated with the screen, when remaining power of the battery is less than a predetermined reference amount, the processor operates the electronic device in the first mode.
However, Han teaches further comprising a battery that supplies power to at least the touch sensor, wherein in a case where the processor acquires the second setting information as the setting information associated with the screen, when remaining power of the battery is less than a predetermined reference amount, the processor operates the electronic device in the first mode (Figs. 2-4 and paragraph [0074, 0084, 0102] teach a battery that supplies power to at least the touch sensor 190, and based on battery being less than or equal to a threshold switching to a power saving mode (first mode) instead of a normal mode (second mode), also in power saving mode portion of touch screen is disabled. Similarly, Serizawa’s invention can be modified to switch mode from the second mode to the first mode based on the battery capacity). It would have been obvious for a person skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Serizawa’s invention by including above teachings of Han, because switching mode based on the battery capacity allows the device to help conserve more power by deactivating or disabling certain functions of the device, as taught by Han. The rationale would have been to use a known method or technique to achieve predictable results.
Conclusion
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/AMIT CHATLY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2624
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