Appeal No. 2006-2225
Application No. 09/815,439
objects related to those interests [answer, page 19]. In Herz, the target objects are then
organized to enable users to navigate among groups of articles with varying degrees of
specificity (i.e., between larger general groups and smaller specific groups). The examiner
further notes that Kiger’s teaching of using depth information (information above or below
an item in a hierarchy) and breadth information (information in the same level in a
hierarchy) in designing user interface menus and tree structures is analogous to the design
of menus and hierarchies in Herz [answer, pages 19 and 20].
Appellant also argues that Herz does not disclose the limitation calling for
“automatically retrieving sub-items from a storage medium, the sub-items representing at
least one of a depth information and breadth information relating to the item, the sub-items
selected dynamically based on at least one predetermined factor” as claimed [brief, page
9]. According to appellant, Herz attempts to identify additional items of interest to the user
based on various item attributes, rather than dynamically selecting sub-items associated
with the item for display as claimed [id.].
The examiner responds that Herz teaches the claimed limitations since target
objects are stored on a network and articles of interest are automatically selected and
hierarchically
organized (i.e., representing depth and breadth information) [answer, page 26].
We will sustain the examiner’s rejection of independent claims 1 and 24. At the
outset, we note that Herz actually anticipates claims 1 and 24 since the reference
discloses, among other things, automatically retrieving sub-items from a storage medium
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