Prior art

As a patent analyst, I have searched the USPTO database (via Google Patents) for US patent 9223487 and identified the following most relevant prior art references. According to 35 U.S.C. § 102, an invention cannot be patented if it was known or used by others, patented, or described in a printed publication before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Anticipation under § 102 means that every element of a claimed invention is present in a single prior art reference.

Here are the details for the most relevant prior art citations:

1. JP 2001-356878 A - ICON CONTROL METHOD

• Full Citation: JP2001356878A - ICON CONTROL METHOD - Google Patents
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: 2001-12-26.
• Brief Description: This Japanese patent application discloses a method for controlling icons where a user touches a touch panel to "take a file icon between user's fingers" to select it for movement. Subsequently, the user can "take a folder icon between user's fingers" to designate it as a destination, moving the file into the folder.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference introduces the concept of using two fingers to select and move icons on a touch panel. While it doesn't explicitly detail the specific mechanisms of US9223487's Claim 1, such as "calculating a distance between the first and second touch positions" and "deciding whether or not the calculated distance...decreases in accordance with the lapse of time" to trigger selection, or the precise definition of a "rectangular area" with initial touch points as corners, it potentially anticipates the general idea of multi-touch object selection (related to Claim 1) and movement (related to Claim 3) using two fingers. The specific implementation details in US9223487 differentiate its claims from this prior art.

2. US6466232B1 - GESTURE INPUT DEVICES AND METHODS

• Full Citation: US6466232B1 - Gesture input devices and methods - Google Patents
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: 2002-10-15.
• Brief Description: This patent describes multi-touch input devices and methods for recognizing gestures, including detecting multiple simultaneous touch points and interpreting their movement for computer control. For example, it discusses changing the scale of a display in response to a changing distance between two detected contacts (e.g., zooming by moving fingers apart or together). It also covers translating displayed objects based on the movement of multiple contact points.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): While US6466232B1 teaches detecting changes in distance between two touch points for scaling/zooming, it does not describe using a decreasing distance as a trigger for selecting objects within a rectangular area defined by initial touch positions, as specified in Claim 1 of US9223487. However, it potentially anticipates aspects of the moving process (Claims 3 and 4) by describing the translation of displayed objects based on the coordinated sliding movement of multiple touch points where their relative distance is substantially constant.

3. US7653883B2 - Multi-touch graphical user interface

• Full Citation: US7653883B2 - Multi-touch graphical user interface - Google Patents
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: 2010-01-26.
• Brief Description: This [Apple Inc.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Apple%20Inc.) patent details methods and apparatuses for multi-touch input, including gestures like pinch (for zooming), rotate, and pan (for scrolling/moving). It specifically describes detecting changes in the distance between two touches for scaling/zooming and detecting rotation for rotating objects.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent is highly relevant due to its focus on common multi-touch gestures. It potentially anticipates elements of Claims 3 and 4 (moving process) of US9223487, as it describes "panning" or "scrolling" by sliding two fingers in the same direction with a substantially constant relative distance. Furthermore, it explicitly teaches "rotating an object" in response to a "rotation gesture" of two contacts, which strongly potentially anticipates the deleting process described in Claims 5 and 6 of US9223487, where rotation in the same direction leads to deletion. It does not, however, appear to anticipate the specific object selection mechanism of Claim 1, particularly the definition of the selection area by initial touch points and the decreasing distance as a trigger for selection.

4. US20100064230A1 - System and method for using multiple contact points on a touch screen interface to facilitate data entry and control of the interface

• Full Citation: US20100064230A1 - System and method for using multiple contact points on a touch screen interface to facilitate data entry and control of the interface - Google Patents
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: 2010-03-11.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes systems and methods for using multiple contact points on a touch screen for data entry and control. It discusses detecting two or more contact points and interpreting their relative movements (e.g., expansion, contraction, rotation, translation) to perform operations like zooming, scrolling, or selecting text. It also mentions defining a selection region based on multiple touch inputs.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This application is relevant for multi-touch interaction and control. It potentially anticipates aspects of the moving process (Claims 3 and 4) as it discusses "translating" content or "scrolling" based on the movement of multiple contact points, which may involve a substantially constant distance between them. While it describes defining selection regions, it does not explicitly disclose the precise mechanism of Claim 1 of US9223487, where selection is triggered by a decreasing distance between two touch points that also define a rectangular area with the initial touch points as opposite corners.