Ex Parte EIBL

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Jul 13, 2018

12397156 (P.T.A.B. Jul. 13, 2018)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE
12/397, 156 03/03/2009
30671 7590 07/17/2018
DITTHA VONG & STEINER, P.C.
Keth Ditthavong
44 Canal Center Plaza
Suite 305
Alexandria, VA 22314
FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
Joachim EIBL
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
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
01012-1083 7568
EXAMINER
PAN, PHOEBE X
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
2142
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
07/17/2018 ELECTRONIC
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.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address(es):
docket@dcpatent.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte JOACHIM EIBL
Appeal2017-002438
Application 12/397, 156 1
Technology Center 2100
Before IRVINE. BRANCH, JASON J. CHUNG, and
ADAM J. PYONIN, Administrative Patent Judges.
CHUNG, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
This is a decision on appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) of the Final
Rejection of claims 1, 3-9, and 11-16.2 We have jurisdiction under
35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We affirm.
INVENTION
The invention is directed to "a measuring device with adaptable
operation and a method for adapting the operation of a measuring device."
Spec. ,r 1. Claim 9 is illustrative of the invention and is reproduced below:
1 According to Appellant, the real party in interest is Rohde & Schwarz
GmbH & Co. KG. App. Br. 1.
2 Claims 2, 10, and 17-22 have been cancelled. App. Br. 13, 15, and 16.
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Application 12/397, 156
9. A measuring device comprising:
a display device; and
a processing device configured to configure an operation
of the measuring device,
wherein the operation includes input and output of
parameters in dialogs and switching between dialogs,
wherein the display device is configured to display the
dialogs in a graphical user interface,
wherein the graphical user interface is configured to
display several dialogs simultaneously,
wherein the input of given values into given dialogs
effects the opening, closing, or combination thereof, of at
least one respectively associated further dialog,
wherein a content, a position, a form, a linking, or
combination thereof, of the dialogs are configured via a
dialog editor and through the processing device,
wherein the operation of the measuring device is
functional during the configuration,
wherein exclusively the currently-displayed dialogs are
configurable,
wherein the measuring device further includes a
databank, and the processing device stores dialogs in the
databank,
wherein new dialogs are prepared and dialogs that are no
longer needed are removed using the dialog editor,
wherein a dialog element of a specific dialog that
performs a specific functionality is configured and
changed,
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Application 12/397, 156
wherein a selection menu is for choosing possible dialog
elements,
wherein the selection menu used for choosing possible
dialog elements is sorted according to categories,
wherein a dialog is a combination of input fields, output
fields, or combination thereof, within a graphically
enclosed region of the graphical user interface, and a
dialog can contain at least one further subordinate dialog,
wherein the measuring device is an oscilloscope or a
network analyzer, and
wherein two dialogs are displayed on the graphical user
interface superimposed and partially transparent, and
wherein dialog functionality of the dialog element of the
selection menu is retrospectively modified.
REJECTIONS AT ISSUE
Claims 1, 3-7, 9, and 11-15 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § I03(a)
as being unpatentable over the combination of Cifra (US 2005/0039162 Al;
published Feb. 17, 2005), Santori et al. (US 2005/0066285 Al; published
Mar. 24, 2005) (hereinafter, "Santori"), and Alexander (US 5,953,009 Al;
published Sept. 14, 1999). Ans. 2.
Claims 8 and 16 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § I03(a) as being
unpatentable over the combination of Cifra, Santori, Alexander, and Frank et
al. (US 2002/0171682 Al; published Nov. 21, 2002) (hereinafter, "Frank").
Final Act. 14.
We have only considered those arguments that Appellant actually
raised in the Briefs. Arguments Appellant could have made, but chose not to
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Application 12/397, 156
make, in the Briefs have not been considered and are deemed to be waived.
See 37 C.F.R. § 4I.37(c)(l)(iv).
ANALYSIS
The Examiner finds that Cifra teaches a computer device that has a
display device, which the Examiner maps to "a measuring device that has a
display device" as recited in claim 1 (and similarly recited in claim 9). Ans.
2 ( citing inter alia Cifra, Fig. 2A). The Examiner finds that Cifra teaches a
window for changing the configuration output for the measuring device,
which the Examiner maps to "changing a content, a position, a form, a
linking, or a combination thereof, of the dialogs using a dialog editor" as
recited in claims 1 and 9. Ans. 3, Final Act. 6, 11 (citing Cifra, Figs. 8A &
8B, ,r,r 22, 264, 267, 268). The Examiner finds that Cifra teaches the
configuration of a sweep function and the reconfiguration of that same
sweep function during the sweep operation, which the Examiner maps to the
limitation "wherein dialog functionality of the dialog element of the
selection menu is retrospectively modified" recited in claims 1 and 9. Ans.
4--5 (citing Cifra ,r,r 351, 364). 3
Appellant argues that "it would not have been obvious for a person of
ordinary skill in the art to obtain a method for configuring an operation of a
measuring device that has a display device." App. Br. 8. Appellant argues
that the "there is no 'dialog editor,' such as disclosed in Fig. 5 of Appellant's
application, for changing a content, a position, a form, a linking, or
combination thereof, of the dialogs." App. Br. 8-9. Appellant argues that
3 The Examiner cites to paragraph 3 64 of Cifra, for the first time, in the
Examiner's Answer.
4
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Application 12/397, 156
Cifra fails to teach "wherein dialog functionality of the dialog element of the
selecting menu is retrospectively modified." App. Br. 9; Reply Br. 2--4.
We agree with the Examiner's findings. In particular, the cited
portions of Cifra teach a computer device that has a display device, which
maps to "a measuring device that has a display device" as recited in claim 1
(and similarly recited in claim 9). Ans. 2 (citing inter alia Cifra, Fig. 2A).
The cited portions of Cifra teach a window for changing the configuration
output for the measuring device, which maps to "changing a content, a
position, a form, a linking, or a combination thereof, of the dialogs using a
dialog editor" as recited in claim 1 (and similarly recited in claim 9). Ans. 3,
Final Act. 6, 11 ( citing Cifra, Figs. 8A & 8B, ,r,r 22, 264, 267, 268). The
cited portions of Cifra teach the configuration of a sweep function and the
reconfiguration of that same sweep function during the sweep operation,
which maps to the limitation "wherein dialog functionality of the dialog
element of the selection menu is retrospectively modified" recited in claims
1 and 9. Ans. 4--5 (citing Cifra ,r,r 351, 364).4
Because Appellant argues independent claims 1 and 9 together and do
not proffer separate arguments for the dependent claims (App. Br. 6, 10), we
sustain the Examiner's rejections of: (1) independent claims 1 and 9; and
(2) dependent claims 3-9, and 11-15 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a).
DECISION
We affirm the Examiner's decision rejecting claims 1, 3-9, and 11-15
under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a).
4 In its Reply Brief, Appellant does not rebut the Examiner's new citation to
paragraph 364 of Cifra. We, therefore, sustain the Examiner's finding.
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Application 12/397, 156
No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with
this appeal maybe extended under 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a)(l)(iv).
AFFIRMED
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