10888344 (B.P.A.I. Apr. 5, 2010)

Ex Parte Mori

Board of Patent Appeals and InterferencesApr 5, 2010

10888344 (B.P.A.I. Apr. 5, 2010)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ____________ BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS AND INTERFERENCES ____________ Ex parte NOBUYOSHI MORI ____________ Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 Technology Center 2100 ____________ Decided: April 6, 2010 ____________ Before JOHN A. JEFFERY, LEE E. BARRETT, and JOSEPH L. DIXON, Administrative Patent Judges. JEFFERY, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL Appellant appeals under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the Examiner’s rejection of claims 1-21. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We affirm. Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 2 STATEMENT OF THE CASE Appellant’s invention pertains to displaying text according to a particular user’s reading level. Specifically, the amount of received annotation text elements of digital text data is customized and displayed according to the user’s reading level. See generally Abstract; Spec. 2-3; Fig. 4. Claim 1 is illustrative with key disputed limitations emphasized: 1. A computer program product, tangibly embodied in a machine-readable storage device, the computer program product being operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising: receiving digital text data to be displayed for view by a reader, the digital text data including base text and annotation text, the annotation text including one or more annotation text elements, the base text including one or more base text elements, the digital text data associating each annotation text element with a base text element; receiving as input user information about a reader; customizing a presentation of the digital text data according to the user information about the reader, wherein customizing the presentation includes presenting all or less than all of the annotation text elements received as part of the digital text data according to the user information; and displaying the customized presentation of the digital text data. The Examiner relies on the following as evidence of unpatentability: Allam US 2004/0139400 A1 July 15, 2004 (filed Oct. 22, 2003) Taira1 JP 11-39298 A Feb. 12, 1999 1 Although the Examiner and Appellant refer to machine-generated English- language translations of the cited Japanese documents, we nonetheless include copies of published English-language abstracts of these documents Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 3 Yagi JP 2000-187657 A July 4, 2000 THE REJECTIONS 1. The Examiner rejected claims 1-3, 6-13, and 16-21 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over Yagi and Taira. Ans. 3-10.2 2. The Examiner rejected claims 4, 5, 14, and 15 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over Yagi, Taira, and Allam. Ans. 10-14. CLAIM GROUPING Although Appellant argues independent claims 11 and 21 separately from independent claim 1 (Br. 9-10), the arguments are commensurate with those presented for independent claim 1. See Br. 6-10. Accordingly, we group these claims together (and dependent claims 2, 3, 6-10, 12, 13, 16-20 not separately argued) and select claim 1 as representative. We likewise select claim 4 as representative of claims 4, 5, 14, and 15 for the second obviousness rejection. See 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(1)(vii). THE OBVIOUSNESS REJECTION OVER YAGI AND TAIRA Regarding representative claim 1, the Examiner finds that Yagi’s system that adds annotations (i.e., “furigana”3) to base text (i.e., “kanji”) that from the Japanese Patent Office and Derwent databases in an appendix to this opinion for clarity. Unless otherwise indicated, all references to the cited Japanese documents are to their machine-generated translations. 2 Throughout this opinion, we refer to the Appeal Brief filed August 20, 2007 and the Examiner’s Answer mailed February 8, 2008. 3 “Furigana” is a Japanese reference to “ruby text” (i.e., smaller-font annotations printed next to main text (e.g., “kanji”) in East Asian languages). Spec. 1:5-13. See also FF 1 infra. Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 4 the user has not yet mastered effectively customizes the presentation of digital text data according user information about the reader as claimed. Ans. 3-4. Although the Examiner acknowledges that Yagi receives a web page with text from a network as part of this process, the Examiner nonetheless notes that Yagi does not state that this received web page has both annotation text and base text as claimed. Ans. 4; emphasis added. The Examiner, however, cites Taira for teaching (1) receiving base text with furigana information, and (2) dividing that text and furigana for ranking purposes to ultimately prepare a customized document with the appropriate level of furigana based on the user’s reading level. Ans. 4, 5, 14-16. Based on these collective teachings, the Examiner concludes that claim 1 would have been obvious. Id. Appellant argues that Yagi does not present all or less than all of the annotation elements received as part of the digital text data as claimed since Yagi adds furigana from a separate dictionary between the kanji “words.” Br. 6-7. Appellant adds that Taira does not receive digital text data including base and annotation text as claimed, but instead receives base and annotation text separately and combines them. Br. 7-9. The issue before us, then, is as follows: ISSUE Under § 103, has the Examiner erred in rejecting claim 1 by finding that Yagi and Taira collectively would have taught or suggested: (1) receiving digital text data including base text and annotation text, and Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 5 (2) customizing a presentation of the digital text data by presenting all or less than all of the received annotation text elements according to inputted user information about a reader? FINDINGS OF FACT (FF) 1. According to Appellant’s Specification, “furigana” is a Japanese reference to “ruby text” (i.e., smaller-font annotations printed next to main text (e.g., “kanji”) in East Asian languages). Ruby text can also be displayed as “kana” (phonetics) alongside the kanji to help readers recognize the kanji. Spec. 1:5-13. 2. Yagi’s system edits information supplied from a computer network based on a user’s study level. Specifically, Yagi’s system detects kanji that a user has not yet mastered based on a kanji dictionary. A “furigana addition means” then “shakes a furigana” at the detected kanji to improve readability. Yagi, ¶¶ 0010-13. 3. To this end, a user at Yagi’s terminal unit 12 first selects a study level (e.g., a grade) from a list box in a browser. After the user enters a URL address of a desired page, a WWW server 24 acquires the desired page which is then processed by a server 26 that leaves a space between words of the document. Document preparation server 14 (shown as part of document edit equipment 10 in Figure 3) then collates this data with a kanji dictionary 16 that is classified by grade according to the grade entered by the user. Based on this collation, various dictionaries 18 and 20 are associated with the “object which shakes a furigana . . . and a reference dictionary is determined.” Yagi, ¶¶ 0024-27; Fig. 3. Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 6 4. As a result, Yagi’s system can provide a document to a user according to the user’s entered grade level that is displayable on the terminal unit’s browser. For example, Figure 4 shows the display of a requested homepage that has been changed into a document reflecting a fourth-grade (elementary school) study level entered via list box 30. Yagi, ¶¶ 0028-29; Fig. 4. 5. Yagi’s Figure 4 also shows the kanji’s semantics displayed in window 33, as well as displaying other visual elements for emphasis, such as underlining, half-tone dot meshing, browning, etc. Yagi, ¶ 0029; Fig. 4. 6. Taira’s system includes a furigana control unit that adjusts the amount of furigana in displayed text according the user’s level to enhance readability. ¶¶ 0001. 7. Taira’s input 1 is electronically-displayed Japanese text consisting of (1) a “hiragana”; (2) an alphabetic character for a furigana; and (3) a furigana. Taira, ¶ 0013; Fig. 1. 8. Taira’s I/O control unit 2 receives a rank from a user and the input 1. Then, text division section 3 divides the input into (1) “plain text” (i.e., text without furigana information from input 1), and (2) text with furigana information (e.g., in the format shown in Table 2). The plain text is sent to “text generation section” 8 with furigana, and the furigana information is sent to “furigana table creation section” 4 which creates a “furigana table” 6 from the received furigana information. A “furigana rank table” 5 also provides a numerical value indicating the relative difficulty associated with a particular furigana character string. Based on the information contained in these tables, furigana is processed, selected, and adjusted according to the user’s level for display. Taira, ¶¶ 0013-43; Fig. 1. Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 7 ANALYSIS Based on the record before us, we find no error in the Examiner’s obviousness rejection of representative claim 1. Although claim 1 recites “receiving digital text data” that includes “base text” and “annotation text,” the claim does not specify what receives this data or when it is received. As such, the scope and breadth of the term “receiving” digital text data does not preclude, among other things, various components’ receipt of such data in connection with various data transfer, manipulation, and processing functions (e.g., data storage, retrieval, processing, etc.). We therefore agree with the Examiner (Ans. 14-15) that Yagi’s tailoring web pages displayed on a user’s browser according to the user’s grade level (FF 2-4) fully meets customizing a presentation of the digital text data according to user information about the reader, namely the user’s grade level. Notably, this customized presentation includes furigana (i.e., “annotation text”) that is based on kanji (“base text”) (FF 2)—an interpretation that fully comports with Appellant’s description of furigana annotations in the Specification. See FF 1. And Yagi’s customized presentation would, by its very nature, present all or less than all of the received annotation text elements (i.e., furigana) according to the user information as claimed. That is, nothing in claim 1 precludes the data transfer, storage, and retrieval associated with the functionality of Yagi’s document edit equipment (e.g., the document preparation server 14) as at least suggesting receiving the digital text data— including the annotation text elements (i.e., the furigana). Even assuming, without deciding, that the base and annotation text elements in Yagi were Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 8 received at different times and by different components to generate the customized display, they are nonetheless received and therefore fully meet this limitation. We reach the same conclusion even if we assume, without deciding, that Yagi’s displayed annotations are obtained solely from adding them to kanji text as Appellant argues (Br. 7). Here again, this addition would involve data transfer, storage, and retrieval functions associated with Yagi’s system that would, by its very nature, involve receiving this data. See FF 2- 4. We reach the same conclusion regarding the other annotation information (e.g., visual elements, etc.) displayed in the browser associated with the kanji to improve readability. See FF 5. Yagi therefore itself fully meets claim 1. Although we find the Examiner’s reliance on Taira merely cumulative to Yagi in this regard, we nonetheless see no error in the Examiner’s reliance on the collective teachings of Taira and Yagi to arrive at the claimed invention.4 Here again, Taira—like Yagi—has functionality that adjusts the amount of furigana in displayed text according to the user’s level that would involve receiving both base and annotation text elements (e.g., plain text and furigana information). See FF 6-8. Among other things, Taira’s text division section divides an input into plain text and text with furigana information which is processed to ultimately display a document with the appropriate amount of furigana based on the user’s level. See FF 8. This functionality, with its associated data transfer, storage, and retrieval 4 See In re Meyer, 599 F.2d 1026, 1031 (CCPA 1979) (noting that obviousness rejections can be based on references that happen to anticipate the claimed subject matter). Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 9 operations, would involve receiving both base and annotation text elements as claimed. And even assuming, without deciding, that Taira receives base and annotation text separately as Appellant argues (Br. 8), this too would meet the scope and breadth of claim 1 which, as noted previously, does not specify what receives this data or when it is received. We are therefore not persuaded that the Examiner erred in rejecting representative claim 1, and claims 2, 3, 6-13, and 16-21 which fall with claim 1. THE OBVIOUSNESS REJECTION OVER YAGI, TAIRA, AND ALLAM Regarding representative claim 4, the Examiner cites Allam for teaching displaying substitute text elements for base text elements as claimed in concluding the claim would have been obvious. Ans. 10-12. Appellant argues that since Yagi and Taira adapt text to a user’s reading level solely by displaying pronunciation aids, these references do not teach or suggest extending this display to include Allam’s acronym expansion. Br. 10-11. The issue before us, then, is as follows: ISSUE Is the Examiner’s reason to combine the teachings of Allam with Yagi and Taira supported by articulated reasoning with some rational underpinning to justify the Examiner’s obviousness conclusion? Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 10 FINDINGS OF FACT 9. The Examiner’s findings regarding Allam’s disclosure (Ans. 12) are undisputed. We therefore adopt those findings as our own. PRINCIPLES OF LAW To be patentable under § 103, an improvement must be more than the predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions. KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 417 (2007). ANALYSIS We will sustain the Examiner’s rejection of representative claim 4 essentially for the reasons indicated by the Examiner (Ans. 11-12). Appellant does not dispute the Examiner’s findings regarding Allam’s text substitution capability (FF 9), but rather contends that neither Yagi nor Taira teach or suggest extending their display functionality to include Allam’s expansion capability. Br. 10-11. This argument is unavailing. Since the goal of Yagi and Taira is to improve document readability, we see no reason why ordinarily skilled artisans would not have included a text substitution capability such as that disclosed in Allam to enhance Yagi’s and Taira’s document customization capabilities as the Examiner indicates (Ans. 12), particularly for certain terms that some readers may find difficult to understand. In short, Appellant has not shown why such an enhancement would not be a predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions. See KSR, 550 U.S. at 417. We therefore find the Examiner’s reason to combine the teachings of the cited references supported by Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 11 articulated reasoning with some rational underpinning to justify the Examiner’s obviousness conclusion. CONCLUSION The Examiner did not err in rejecting claims 1-21 under § 103. ORDER The Examiner’s decision rejecting claims 1-21 is affirmed. No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with this appeal may be extended under 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a)(1)(iv). AFFIRMED pgc FISH & RICHARDSON, P.C. PO BOX 1022 MINNEAPOLIS MN 55440-1022 Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 12 APPENDIX Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 13 Derwent Abstract of JP2000-187657 A TITLE: Document editor for internet, has addition unit to judge furigana character corresponding to detected Chinese character row which is unfamiliar to user INVENTOR: OTSUKA T; YAGI M PATENT-ASSIGNEE: FUJITSU FIP KK[FUJIN] PRIORITY-DATA: 1998JP-362945 (December 21, 1998) PATENT-FAMILY: PUB-NO PUB-DATE LANGUAGE JP 2000187657 A July 4, 2000 JA APPLICATION-DATA: PUB-NO APPL-DESCRIPTOR APPL-NO APPL- DATE JP2000187657A N/A 1998JP-362945 December 21, 1998 INT-CL-CURRENT: TYPE IPC DATE CIPP G06F17/21 20060101 CIPS G06F17/22 20060101 RELATED-ACC-NO: 2006-335595 ABSTRACTED-PUB-NO: JP 2000187657 A BASIC-ABSTRACT: NOVELTY - A detector detects unfamiliar Chinese character of document supplied from network corresponding to the learning level of the user using the Chinese dictionary. A furigana addition unit has a judgment unit to judge furigana character corresponding to the detected Chinese character. Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 14 DESCRIPTION - An INDEPENDENT CLAIM is also included for document edit processing program. USE - For editing Chinese document depending on reference person's learning level, in data communication e.g. internet, personal computer communication. ADVANTAGE - The document can be edited by the person regardless of his learning level since the unfamiliar Chinese character row can be replaced by furigana character, thus meaning of the Chinese character can be known and thus learning efficiency is improved. JPO Abstract of JP2000-187657 A PAT-NO: JP02000187657A DOCUMENT-IDENTIFIER: JP 2000187657 A TITLE: DOCUMENT EDITING DEVICE AND RECORDING MEDIUM RECORDING DOCUMENT EDITING PROCESSING PROGRAM PUBN-DATE: July 4, 2000 INVENTOR-INFORMATION: NAME COUNTRY YAGI, MAKOTO N/A OTSUKA, TADAHIKO N/A ASSIGNEE-INFORMATION: NAME COUNTRY FUJITSU FIP CORP N/A Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 15 APPL-NO: JP10362945 APPL-DATE: December 21, 1998 INT-CL (IPC): G06F017/22, G06F017/21 ABSTRACT: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a document editing device for editing a document on a computer in accordance with the learning level of a referring person by detecting a Chinese character which the referring person does not learn yet among the characters included in information based on a grade classification Chinese character dictionary and adding KANA (Japanese syllabary) letters to the detected Chinese character. SOLUTION: The unlearned Chinese characters of a user are outputted as KANA letters adding candidate data (S210). A KANA letters adding word and meaning giving word are decided from outputted KANA letters adding candidate data and the KANA letters and word meanings are stored (S230). A page with grade classification KANA letters where the grade classification KANA letters are given to the document part of an original page is created (S250). The word meaning of the meaning giving word is retrieved, an explanation page is created and grade classification meaning link pages including a link to the explanation page are created (S270). A grade classification output page including a grade classification document is created by integrating the original page, the grade classification KANA letters adding page and the grade classification meaning link page (S290). Derwent Abstract of JP11-39298 A TITLE: Furigana level control apparatus for processing Japanese text displays text with furigana chosen from table based on furigana stored Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 16 according to general degree of difficulty and according to degree of difficulty as perceived by user INVENTOR: IIDA T; MATSUSHITA M ; TAIRA H PATENT-ASSIGNEE: NIPPON TELEGRAPH & TELEPHONE CORP[NITE] PRIORITY-DATA: 1997JP-194203 (July 18, 1997) PATENT-FAMILY: PUB-NO PUB-DATE LANGUAGE JP 11039298 A February 12, 1999 JA APPLICATION-DATA: PUB-NO APPL-DESCRIPTOR APPL-NO APPL- DATE JP 11039298A N/A 1997JP-194203 July 18, 1997 INT-CL-CURRENT: TYPE IPC DATE CIPP G06F17/22 20060101 ABSTRACTED-PUB-NO: JP 11039298 A BASIC-ABSTRACT: NOVELTY - The position of each furigana in the text is stored in table (6). Based on tables (5,7) furigana from table (6) are chosen and text is displayed on device (11) with the chosen furigana. DETAILED DESCRIPTION - Depending on the degree of difficulty, a furigana rank table (5) stores the furigana. A user table (7) stored the furigana according to degree of difficulty as perceived by the user. Furigana is separated from the text. USE - For processing Japanese text. Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 17 ADVANTAGE - Since text is displayed taking the level of user into account, therefore text generated is easy to read. DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The drawing shows the block diagram of the furigana level control apparatus. (5-7) Tables; (11) Display device. JPO Abstract of JP11-39298 A PAT-NO: JP411039298A DOCUMENT-IDENTIFIER: JP 11039298 A TITLE: READING KANA CONTROLLER PUBN-DATE: February 12, 1999 INVENTOR-INFORMATION: NAME TAIRA, HIROYORI MATSUSHITA, MITSUNORI IIDA, TOSHIYUKI ASSIGNEE-INFORMATION: NAME COUNTRY NIPPON TELEGR & TELEPH CORP N/A APPL-NO: JP09194203 APPL-DATE: July 18, 1997 INT-CL (IPC): G06F017/22 Appeal 2009-004235 Application 10/888,344 18 ABSTRACT: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reading KANA (Japanese syllabary) controller which can improve the readability of a text by generating reading KANA contained in the text by appropriately adjusting the amount of the KANA in accordance with the level of a user. SOLUTION: A reading KANA controller is provided with a rank table 5 on which reading KANA ranks indicating the unreadability of objective character strings, the reading of which is to be shown by writing KANA at their sides, are stored and a user table 7 on which the unreadability of objective character strings selected by a user as individual ranks are stored and generates a reading KANA table 6 storing the position and reading KANA of each objective character string in a text with reading KANA by dividing the text into a text without reading KANA and reading KANA information. Then the controller prepares a text with reading KANA by selecting objective character strings, the reading of which is to be shown by writing KANA on their sides, from the reading KANA table 6 based on various kinds of information and user ranks stored on the rank table 5 and user table 7 and synthesizing the selected objective character strings and their reading KANA into a text and displays the text on a display device 11.