Obviousness

Obviousness Analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 103 for US Patent 8115731

This analysis considers the obviousness of Claim 1 of US Patent 8115731, given the prior art available before its priority date of July 9, 2001. A person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) in the field of handheld computing and input device design would be motivated to combine existing technologies to address known problems, such as the trade-off between screen size and input device space, mechanical wear of external input devices, and the need for versatile and ergonomic input methods in compact devices, as explicitly articulated in the Background of the Invention section of US8115731 itself.

Claim 1 Breakdown:

Claim 1 describes a handheld computing device comprising:

1. A display.
2. An internally located directional input device providing a directional input signal corresponding to an axis of inclination and indicating an orientation.
3. A second directional input device providing a second directional input signal indicating an amount of displacement.
4. A processor coupled to both input devices, configured to receive and process their signals in conjunction.
5. A memory subsystem storing an operating system (OS) for displaying a graphical user interface (GUI) with a graphical element.
6. The OS includes instructions to move the graphical element by the amount of displacement in a direction substantially parallel or substantially perpendicular to the orientation.

Combination of Prior Art References:

A compelling combination rendering Claim 1 obvious would be the teachings of US5602566A (Hitachi) in view of US5825353A (Will), with an understanding of general knowledge in the art regarding combining input methods, as also implicitly acknowledged by the background of US8115731.

References:

• US5602566A (Hitachi, Ltd.): Titled "Small-sized information processor capable of scrolling screen in accordance with tilt, and scrolling method therefor," this patent, with a priority date of August 24, 1993, and publication date of February 11, 1997, teaches a handheld device that scrolls its display in response to being tilted. This demonstrates an internally located orientation sensor (tilt sensor) for directional input in a handheld device.
• US5825353A (Will; Craig Alexander): Titled "Control of miniature personal digital assistant using menu and thumbwheel," this patent, with a priority date of April 18, 1995, and publication date of October 20, 1998, describes a personal digital assistant (PDA) with a thumbwheel for directional input. A thumbwheel is a common "second directional input device" that provides an "amount of displacement."

Motivation to Combine:

A PHOSITA would be motivated to combine the teachings of US5602566A and US5825353A to address several known problems in the art of handheld device design, as outlined in the background of US8115731. These problems include:

• Space Constraint: The need to maximize screen size on handheld devices often comes at the expense of input device space. US5602566A offers a solution for directional input (scrolling) using an internal tilt sensor, thereby freeing up surface area on the device's face.
• Ergonomics and Versatility: While tilt input provides a general direction, it might lack the precision or speed of a dedicated displacement input for certain tasks. Conversely, a simple thumbwheel (as in US5825353A) typically offers movement in one primary dimension, which can be limiting for multi-directional navigation without additional controls.
• Cost and Wear: Mechanical input devices like thumbwheels are subject to wear and tear and increase manufacturing costs due to required apertures. Integrating a non-mechanical internal sensor mitigates these issues.

Therefore, a PHOSITA would be motivated to combine the space-saving and non-mechanical advantages of tilt-based orientation sensing (from US5602566A) with the precise "amount of displacement" input provided by a compact, traditional input device like a thumbwheel (from US5825353A). The goal would be to create a more versatile, ergonomic, and space-efficient directional input system for handheld devices. The '731 patent itself explicitly suggests that "orientation is used in conjunction with other forms of directional input such as that provided by buttons, a roller, a touch surface or any other sensor capable of providing directional input, on a handheld device. For instance, a thumbwheel can be used to signal a degree of displacement in conjunction with the orientation sensed at the first step 30." This further supports the motivation for such a combination as being known or obvious in the art.

How the Combination Renders Claim 1 Obvious:

1. "a display" and "a handheld computing device": Both US5602566A, which describes a "small-sized information processor" with a "screen," and US5825353A, which describes a "miniature personal digital assistant," disclose a handheld computing device equipped with a display.
2. "an internally located directional input device providing a directional input signal, the directional input signal corresponding to an axis of inclination of the handheld computing device and indicating an orientation": US5602566A teaches scrolling a screen "in accordance with tilt." This inherently requires an internally located sensor to detect the tilt (inclination) of the device, generating a directional signal corresponding to an axis of inclination and indicating the device's orientation.
3. "a second directional input device providing a second directional input signal, the second directional input signal indicating an amount of displacement": US5825353A clearly discloses a "thumbwheel" on a handheld PDA for directional input. A thumbwheel is well-known to provide a signal indicating an amount of displacement (e.g., how much it has been rolled).
4. "a processor coupled to the internally located directional input device and the second directional input device and operable to receive and process the directional input signal in conjunction with the second directional input signal": It would be a routine design choice for a PHOSITA to connect both the tilt sensor (from US5602566A) and the thumbwheel (from US5825353A) to a processor within the handheld device. Processing signals from multiple input devices in conjunction to control a user interface was a known practice in the art to enhance user interaction and device capabilities, as evidenced by the general background discussed in US8115731.
5. "a memory subsystem, the memory storing an operating system executed by the processor to display on the display a graphical user interface for controlling the operation of the handheld computing device, wherein the graphical user interface provides a graphical element": Both US5602566A (scrolling screen content) and US5825353A (controlling a PDA menu) implicitly teach the presence of a memory subsystem, an operating system, and a graphical user interface with graphical elements (such as display content or menu items).
6. "wherein the operating system comprises processor-executable instructions that cause the graphical element to move by the amount of displacement in a direction substantially parallel or substantially perpendicular to the orientation": US5602566A teaches moving a graphical element (the scrolled screen content) based on the device's tilt (orientation). The Background of US8115731 explicitly describes how a single displacement input device, such as a thumbwheel, can be adapted to provide multidirectional input: "a thumbwheel which moves a cursor in one dimension in a native state, but moves the cursor in a perpendicular direction when an 'alt' key is depressed." It would be obvious to a PHOSITA to adapt this known concept of using a "presence-based control" (like an "alt" key) to modify the direction of a displacement input (thumbwheel) by substituting the orientation signal from the tilt sensor of US5602566A. This would lead to a system where the handheld's inclination (orientation) determines a primary axis (parallel or perpendicular), and the thumbwheel's displacement controls the movement along that axis, thus causing the graphical element to move "by the amount of displacement in a direction substantially parallel or substantially perpendicular to the orientation." This functionality is further detailed in the '731 patent's own description as an "axis constraining embodiment" or "axis selecting embodiment," indicating it was a recognized approach.

Therefore, the combination of US5602566A and US5825353A, driven by the motivation to improve input efficiency and space utilization in handheld devices, would have made Claim 1 of US8115731 obvious to a PHOSITA at the time of the invention.