11301815 (B.P.A.I. Aug. 29, 2012)

Ex Parte Windl

Board of Patent Appeals and InterferencesAug 29, 2012

11301815 (B.P.A.I. Aug. 29, 2012)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 www.uspto.gov APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 11/301,815 12/13/2005 Helmut Windl 2004P18323US 9346 7590 08/30/2012 SIEMENS CORPORATION INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DEPARTMENT 170 WOOD AVENUE, SOUTH ISELIN, NJ 08830 EXAMINER TAKELE, MESEKER ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 2141 MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE 08/30/2012 PAPER Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding. The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication. PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE _____________ BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS AND INTERFERENCES _____________ Ex parte HELMUT WINDL _____________ Appeal 2010-004641 Application 11/301,815 Technology Center 2100 ______________ Before ROBERT E. NAPPI, KALYAN K. DESPANDE, and BRYAN F. MOORE, Administrative Patent Judges. MOORE, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL Appeal 2010-004641 Application 11/301,815 2 This is a decision on appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) of the final rejection of claims 21, 27-29, 32, 33, 37 and 38. Claims 1-20, 22-26, 30, 31, 34-36, 39, and 40 are cancelled. Br. 2. 1 We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We REVERSE the Examiner’s rejection of these claims. INVENTION The invention is directed to a method for the input and display of information, data and/or input elements in drop-down menus of graphical user interfaces. See Spec. p.1, ll. 5-7. Claim 21 is representative of the invention and is reproduced below: 21. A device for setting and displaying information, data and/or input elements on a graphical user interface, comprising: a menu element selected from the group consisting of a first menu element comprising: at least one menu bar comprising a plurality of menu items; and at least one drop-down menu assigned to at least one of the menu items, the at least one drop-down menu arranged to encompass a designated area of the user interface, the drop-down menu 1 Claim 31 depends from canceled claim 30. App. Br. 12. Claim 40 depends from canceled claim 39. App. Br. 14. We deem this to be an oversight by Appellants and consider claims 31 and 39 to be cancelled as well. Appeal 2010-004641 Application 11/301,815 3 configured to include a plurality of layered first menu levels, and a second menu element comprising: at least one context-sensitive drop-down menu, the context- sensitive drop- down menu configured to include a plurality of layered second menu levels, wherein the first respectively second menu element comprises a plurality of first menu items included in the drop- down menu respectively the context-sensitive drop-down menu or a plurality of second menu items included in the layered first respectively second menu levels, wherein at least part of the first respectively second menu items included in the drop-down menu respectively the context- sensitive drop-down menu or in at least one of the layered first respectively second menu levels are configured to be selected and deselected by a user by way of a graphical pointer of a respective input element, wherein at least part of the first respectively second menu items configured to be selected and deselected by the user are mutually exclusive from one another such that the user can only switch between such menu items; and a designating unit configured to assign to each first respectively second menu item individual status change and status description markers included in the respective drop-down menu respectively the context-sensitive drop-down menu and in the respective layered first respectively second menu level, the individual status change and status description markers representing a nature of the first respectively second menu items, wherein the designating unit comprises a display for indicating the individual status change and Appeal 2010-004641 Application 11/301,815 4 status description markers as graphical symbols wherein first respectively second menu items configured to be selected and deselected are further configured to be selected and deselected in any combination by the user, and a graphical symbol for representing each of said menu items consists of a first empty geometrical representation for indicating a deselected state and further consists of said first geometrical representation having a check mark for indicating a selected state, wherein a graphical symbol for representing each of the mutually exclusive menu items consists of a second empty geometrical representation for indicating a deselected state and further consists of said second geometrical representation being at least filled in part for indicating a selected state, and further wherein a graphical symbol for indicating a link between any two layered menu levels consists of a third geometrical representation, wherein the first geometrical representation, the second geometrical representation, and the third geometrical representation are graphically different from one another to convey to the user graphically distinguishing information, wherein the designating unit is configured to close the drop-down menu upon lapse of a delay time after selecting or deselecting the respective menu item by way of the graphical pointer of the respective input element, wherein the delay time is not activated to run so long as the graphical pointer is placed within the designated area of the drop- down menu, and further wherein, when the delay time has been activated to run by placing the graphical pointer outside the designated area of the drop-down menu, the delay time being Appeal 2010-004641 Application 11/301,815 5 resettable by placing again the graphical pointer within the designated area of the drop-down menu. REFERENCES Gong US 6,489,978 B1 Dec. 3, 2002 Kraft US 6,535,229 B1 Mar. 18, 2003 Albrecht US 2005/0235207 A1 Oct. 20, 2005 REJECTION AT ISSUE Claims 21, 27-29, 32, 33, 37 and 38 under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Kraft, Albrecht, and Gong. Ans. 3-9. 2 ISSUE Did the Examiner err in finding that Gong teaches or suggests wherein the designating unit is configured to close the drop- down menu upon lapse of a delay time after selecting or deselecting the respective menu item by way of the graphical pointer of the respective input element, wherein the delay time is not activated to run so long as the graphical pointer is placed within the designated area of the drop-down menu, and further wherein, when the delay time has been activated to run by placing the graphical pointer outside the designated area of the 2 We consider claims 31 and 40 to be canceled, since each depends from a canceled claim. Appeal 2010-004641 Application 11/301,815 6 drop-down menu, the delay time being resettable by placing again the graphical pointer within the designated area of the drop-down menu [,] as recited in Independent Claim 21? 3 ANALYSIS Appellant’s arguments have persuaded us of error in the Examiner’s rejection of claims 21, 27-29, 32, 33, 37 and 38. Independent claim 21 requires “wherein the designating unit is configured to close the drop-down menu upon lapse of a delay time after selecting or deselecting the respective menu item by way of the graphical pointer of the respective input element, wherein the delay time is not activated to run so long as the graphical pointer is placed within the designated area of the drop-down menu, and further wherein, when the delay time has been activated to run by placing the graphical pointer outside the designated area of the drop-down menu, the delay time being resettable by placing again the graphical pointer within the designated area of the drop-down menu.” Independent claim 33, not argued separately, contains a similar limitation. Claims 27-29, and 32, and 37 and 38 which depend from claims 21 and 33 respectively are not argued separately and stand or fall with claim 21. Claim 21 requires a delay time that can be activated by moving the pointer to a location outside a designated area and can be reset by moving the pointer to a location within the designated area. Claim 21. Appellant argues that Gong contemplates a settable delay but that delay is not triggered 3 Appellant make additional arguments regarding claims 21 and 33. App. Br. 7-8. We do not reach these additional issues since this issue is dispositive of the case. Appeal 2010-004641 Application 11/301,815 7 by the same action as the delay recited in the claims. App. Br. 7. Appellant further argues that the delay that occurs in every computer process is not the delay contemplated by the claims. Id. We find these arguments persuasive. The Examiner states that “Gong describes setting a delay value [at] Step 502 [.]” Ans. 10. However, the Examiner does explain how this delay relates to the limitation of claim 21 at issue. See Id. In fact, the delay in Gong relates to “changing the option states on . . . [the] menu” rather than moving the pointer to a designated location. Gong, col. 2 ll. 39-48. The Examiner goes on to acknowledge that, in Gong, when the user clicks outside of the menu panel the graphical display is immediately terminated. Ans. 10. However, the Examiner maintains that “the way computers generally work, there is a delay time in every process so there are lags of at least a few milliseconds after the user clicks outside the menu panel and before the termination of the graphical display [.]” Id. Thus, according to the Examiner this delay of a few milliseconds meets the limitation at issue. Id. The Examiner does not show, however, that this delay is “resettable by placing again the graphical pointer within the designated area of the drop- down menu” as required by claims21 and 33. Thus, we cannot sustain the Examiner’s rejection of claims 21, 27-29, 32, 33, 37 and 38. SUMMARY The Examiner’s decision to reject claims 21, 27-29, 32, 33, 37 and 38 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) is reversed. Appeal 2010-004641 Application 11/301,815 8 REVERSED dw