DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-5, 7, 8, 10-12, 14-20, 22, 23, 25-27, 29-52 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Harris et al. (US 20130290234) in view of Rose et al. (US10318586).
Claim 1. Harris et al. (Harris) teaches a computer-implemented method of providing intelligent consumer services, the method comprising:
receiving, by the computer system, a first user input comprising a natural language utterance [0191];
providing, by the computer system, the natural language utterance as an input to a speech recognition engine [0349];
obtaining, by the computer system, one or more words or phrases recognized from the natural language utterance as an output of the speech recognition engine [0207], [0256];
searching, by the computer system, one or more data sources of products or services based on the one or more words or phrases [0243];
selecting, by the computer system, without further user input other than the first user input, a product or service from the data source to be purchased based on the search (“selecting” is done by the search engine servers [0188]);
receiving, by the computer system, a second user input indicating confirmation by a user to initiate a purchase transaction of the selected product or service [0247]; and
automatically initiating, by the computer system, a purchase transaction of the selected product or service based on the confirmation [0247].
Harris does not explicitly teach searching one or more data sources of products or services based on the first user input comprising the natural language utterance.
Rose et al. (Rose) discloses a computer-implemented method for editing and replaying natural language queries. FIG. 2 depicts the user speaking the utterance “show me presentations from Joe about beetles in Maine” into a microphone on the user device, which obtains a transcription of the utterance using local transcription circuitry on the user device, transcription circuitry on the natural language interpreter, or any other transcription service that is capable of translating a spoken utterance into written text (col. 5, lines 31-57).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Harris to include searching one or more data sources of products or services based on the first user input comprising the natural language utterance, as disclosed in Rose, because it would advantageously provide for a system that is easy to use not only for healthy people but also for users with visual impairments.
Claim 2. Harris teaches said method wherein selecting the product or service further comprises: determining, by the computer system, a context based at least on the one or more words or phrases, wherein the product or service is selected based at least on the determined context [0251].
Claim 3. Harris teaches said method wherein initiating the purchase transaction for the selected product or service comprises: obtaining, by the computer system, payment information with which to pay for the selected product or service, wherein the purchase transaction is initiated based on the payment information without receiving confirmation of the payment information by the user [0183], [0205].
Claim 4. Harris teaches said method wherein initiating the purchase transaction for the selected product or service comprises: obtaining, by the computer system, shipping information with which to deliver the selected product or service, wherein the shipping information specifies a name or address of a recipient to which the selected product or service is to be delivered after the selected product or service is purchased, and wherein the purchase transaction is initiated based on the shipping information without receiving confirmation of the shipping information by the user [0193].
Claim 5. Harris teaches said method, the method further comprising: obtaining, by the computer system, seller information describing one or more products or services available from one or more sellers via one or more remote information sources; and storing, by the computer system, the seller information in the one or more databases data sources [0410].
Claim 7. Harris teaches said method wherein the method further comprises: selecting, by the computer system, a seller from which to purchase the selected product or service [0360].
Claim 8. Harris teaches said method wherein the seller information comprises a price at which the one or more sellers will sell the one or more products or services, wherein selecting the seller comprises selecting the seller based on the price at which the seller will sell the selected product or service [0360].
Claim 10. Harris teaches said method, the method further comprising: obtaining, by the computer system, a predetermined set of sellers specified by an administrator of the system that is different than the user, wherein selecting the seller comprises selecting the seller from the predetermined set of administrator-specified sellers [0262].
Claim 11. Harris teaches said method, wherein initiating the purchase transaction of the selected product or service comprises: obtaining, by the computer system, payment information with which to pay for the selected product or service; and obtaining, by the computer system, shipping information with which to deliver the selected product or service, wherein the shipping information specifies a name or address of a recipient to which the selected product or service is to be delivered after the selected product or service is purchased, and wherein the purchase transaction is initiated based on the payment information and the shipping information [0157], [0358].
Claim 12. Harris teaches said method the method further comprising: identifying, by the computer system, an intended recipient of the identified product or service based on the first user input and/or the second user input, and wherein obtaining the shipping information comprises: obtaining, by the computer system, an address of the intended recipient [0157].
Claim 14. Harris teaches said method the method further comprising: initiating by the computer system, the purchase transaction without receiving confirmation of the payment information or the shipping information by the user [0364].
Claim 15. Harris teaches said method the method further comprising: providing, by the computer system, without further user input other than the first user input, a request for user confirmation to initiate the purchase transaction for the selected product or service, wherein the second user input is received responsive to the request; determining, by the computer system, that the user has confirmed the purchase transaction based on the second user input, wherein the purchase transaction of the selected product or service is initiated based on the determination [0247].
Claim 16. Harris teaches a system for providing intelligent consumer services, the system comprising:
one or more physical processors programmed with computer program instructions which, when executed, cause the one or more physical processors [0438] to:
receive a first user input comprising a natural language utterance [0191];
provide the natural language utterance as an input to a speech recognition engine [0349];
obtain one or more words or phrases recognized from the natural language utterance as an output of the speech recognition engine [0207], [0256];
search one or more data sources of products or services based on the one or more words or phrases [0243];
select, without further user input other than the first user input, a product or service from the data source to be purchased based on the search (“selecting” is done by the search engine servers [0188]);
receive a second user input indicating confirmation by a user to initiate a purchase transaction of the selected product or service [0247]; and
automatically initiate a purchase transaction of the selected product or service based on the confirmation [0247].
Harris does not explicitly teach searching one or more data sources of products or services based on the first user input comprising the natural language utterance.
Rose et al. (Rose) discloses a computer-implemented method for editing and replaying natural language queries. FIG. 2 depicts the user speaking the utterance “show me presentations from Joe about beetles in Maine” into a microphone on the user device, which obtains a transcription of the utterance using local transcription circuitry on the user device, transcription circuitry on the natural language interpreter, or any other transcription service that is capable of translating a spoken utterance into written text (col. 5, lines 31-57).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Harris to include searching one or more data sources of products or services based on the first user input comprising the natural language utterance, as disclosed in Rose, because it would advantageously provide for a system that is easy to use not only for healthy people but also for users with visual impairments.
Claim 17. Harris teaches said system wherein to select the product or service, the one or more physical processors are further caused to: determine a context based at least on the one or more words or phrases, wherein the product or service is selected based at least on the determined context [0251].
Claim 18. Harris teaches said system wherein to initiate the purchase transaction for the selected product or service, the one or more physical processors are further caused to: obtain, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, payment information with which to pay for the selected product or service, wherein the purchase transaction is initiated based on the payment information without receiving confirmation of the payment information by the user [0183], [0205].
Claim 19. Harris teaches said system, wherein to initiate the purchase transaction for the selected product or service, the one or more physical processors are further caused to: obtain, shipping information with which to deliver the selected product or service, wherein the shipping information specifies a name or address of a recipient to which the selected product or service is to be delivered after the selected product or service is purchased, and wherein the purchase transaction is initiated based on the shipping information without receiving confirmation of the shipping information by the user [0193].
Claim 20. Harris teaches said system, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to: obtain seller information describing one or more products or services available from one or more sellers via one or more remote information sources; and store the seller information in the one or more data sources [0410].
Claim 22. Harris teaches said system, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to: select a seller from which to purchase the selected product or service [0360].
Claim 23. Harris teaches said system, wherein the seller information comprises a price at which the one or more sellers will sell the one or more products or services, wherein to select the seller, the one or more physical processors are further caused to: select the seller based on the price at which the seller will sell the selected product or service [0360].
Claim 25. Harris teaches said system, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to: obtain a predetermined set of sellers specified by an administrator of the system that is different than the user, wherein selecting the seller comprises selecting the seller from the predetermined set of administrator-specified sellers [0262].
Claim 26. Harris teaches said system, wherein to initiate complete the purchase transaction of the selected product or service, the one or more physical processors are further caused to: obtain payment information with which to pay for the selected product or service; and obtain shipping information with which to deliver the selected product or service, wherein the shipping information specifies a name or address of a recipient to which the selected product or service is to be delivered after the selected product or service is purchased, and wherein the purchase transaction is initiated based on the payment information and the shipping information [0157], [0358].
Claim 27. Harris teaches said system wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to: identify an intended recipient of the identified product or service based on the first user input and/or the second user input, and wherein to obtain the shipping information, the one or more physical processors are further caused to: obtain an address of the intended recipient [0157].
Claim 29. Harris teaches said system, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to: initiate the purchase transaction without receiving confirmation of the payment information or the shipping information by the user [0364].
Claim 30. Harris teaches said system wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to: provide, without further user input other than the first user input, a request for user confirmation to initiated the purchase transaction for the selected product or service, wherein the second user input is received responsive to the request; determine that the user has confirmed the purchase transaction based on the second user input, wherein the purchase transaction of the selected product or service is initiated based on the determination [0247].
Claim 31. Harris teaches a computer-implemented method of providing intelligent consumer services the method comprising:
receiving, by the computer system, a first user input comprising a natural language utterance [0191], [0349];
recognizing, by the computer system, one or more words or phrases from the natural language utterance [0207], [0256];
searching, by the computer system, one or more data sources of products or services based on the one or more recognized words or phrases from the first user input, and without using further user input other than the first user input [0243];
causing, by the computer system, a set of search results to be presented to a user based on the search, the search results indicating one or more products or services from the data source available for purchase (“selecting” is done by the search engine servers [0188]);
receiving, by the computer system, a second user input comprising a selection of at least one of the set of search results, the selection identifying one or more products or services from the data source to be purchased on behalf of the user based on the second user input [0257], [0247];
obtaining, by the computer system, user profile information associated with the user [0183], [0193], [0205];
identifying, by the computer system, payment information and shipping information based on the user profile information [0183], [0193], [0205]; and
automatically initiating completing, by the computer system, a purchase transaction of the identified one or more products or services based on the identification of the payment and shipping information [0247].
Harris does not explicitly teach searching one or more data sources of products or services based on the first user input comprising the natural language utterance.
Rose et al. (Rose) discloses a computer-implemented method for editing and replaying natural language queries. FIG. 2 depicts the user speaking the utterance “show me presentations from Joe about beetles in Maine” into a microphone on the user device, which obtains a transcription of the utterance using local transcription circuitry on the user device, transcription circuitry on the natural language interpreter, or any other transcription service that is capable of translating a spoken utterance into written text (col. 5, lines 31-57).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Harris to include searching one or more data sources of products or services based on the first user input comprising the natural language utterance, as disclosed in Rose, because it would advantageously provide for a system that is easy to use not only for healthy people but also for users with visual impairments.
Claim 32. Harris teaches said method wherein recognizing the one or more words or phrases from the natural language utterance comprises: providing, by the computer system, the natural language utterance as an input to a speech recognition engine; and obtaining, by the computer system, the one or more words or phrases recognized from the natural language utterance as an output of the speech recognition engine [0251].
Claim 33. Harris teaches said method the method further comprising: obtaining, by the computer system, seller information describing one or more products or services available from one or more sellers via one or more remote information sources; and storing, by the computer system, the seller information in the one or more data sources [0410].
Claim 34. Harris teaches said method wherein initiating the purchase transaction without further user input after identifying the payment information and the shipping information comprises: initiating by the computer system, the purchase transaction without receiving confirmation of the payment information or the shipping information by the user [0157], [0358].
Claim 35. Harris teaches a system for providing intelligent consumer services, the system comprising:
one or more physical processors programmed with computer program instructions which, when executed, cause the one or more physical processors [0438] to:
receive a first user input comprising a natural language utterance [0191], [0349];
recognize one or more words or phrases from the natural language utterance [0207], [0256];
search one or more data sources of products or services based on the one or more recognized words or phrases from the first user input, and without using further user input other than the first user input [0243];
cause a set of search results to be presented to a user based on the search, the search results indicating one or more products or services from the data source available for purchase (“selecting” is done by the search engine servers [0188]);
receive a second user input comprising a selection of at least one of the set of search results, the selection identifying one or more products or services from the data source to be purchased on behalf of the user based on the second user input [0257], [0247];
obtain user profile information associated with the user [0183], [0193], [0205];
identify payment information and shipping information based on the user profile information [0183], [0193], [0205]; and
automatically initiate a purchase transaction of the identified one or more products or services based on the identification of the payment and shipping information [0247].
Harris does not explicitly teach searching one or more data sources of products or services based on the first user input comprising the natural language utterance.
Rose et al. (Rose) discloses a computer-implemented method for editing and replaying natural language queries. FIG. 2 depicts the user speaking the utterance “show me presentations from Joe about beetles in Maine” into a microphone on the user device, which obtains a transcription of the utterance using local transcription circuitry on the user device, transcription circuitry on the natural language interpreter, or any other transcription service that is capable of translating a spoken utterance into written text (col. 5, lines 31-57).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Harris to include searching one or more data sources of products or services based on the first user input comprising the natural language utterance, as disclosed in Rose, because it would advantageously provide for a system that is easy to use not only for healthy people but also for users with visual impairments.
Claim 36. Harris teaches said system wherein to recognize the one or more words or phrases from the natural language utterance, the one or more physical processors are further caused to: provide the natural language utterance as an input to a speech recognition engine; and obtain the one or more words or phrases recognized from the natural language utterance as an output of the speech recognition engine [0251].
Claim 37. Harris teaches said system, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to: obtain seller information describing one or more products or services available from one or more sellers via one or more remote information sources; and store the seller information in the one or more data sources [0410].
Claim 38. Harris teaches said system, wherein to initiate the purchase transaction without further user input after identifying the payment information and the shipping information, the one or more physical processors are further caused to: initiate the purchase transaction without receiving confirmation of the payment information or the shipping information by the user [0157], [0358].
Claim 39. Harris teaches said method, the method further comprising: presenting a prompt that identifies the selected product or service, the cost associated with the purchase of the selected product or service, payment information to pay the associated cost, and shipping information specifying where the selected product or service is to be delivered; and soliciting approval of the identified information as the second user input [0403].
Claim 40. Harris teaches said system, wherein the one or more physical processors to are further caused to: present a prompt that identifies the selected product or service, the cost associated with the purchase of the selected product or service, payment information to pay the associated cost, and shipping information specifying where the selected product or service is to be delivered; and solicit approval of the identified information as the second user input [0402].
Claim 41. Harris teaches said method wherein the one or more data sources comprise a database, website, or other source of available products or services accessible via the internet [0187], [0190].
Claim 42. Harris teaches said system, wherein the one or more data sources comprise a database, website, or other source of available products or services accessible via the internet [0185].
Claim 43. Harris teaches said method, wherein the one or more data sources comprise a database, website, or other source of available products or services accessible via the internet [0185].
Claim 44. Harris teaches said system, wherein the one or more data sources comprise a database, website, or other source of available products or services accessible via the internet [0185].
Claim 45. Harris teaches said method, wherein automatically initiating a purchase transaction comprises initiating the purchase transaction without further user input after the receipt of the second user input [0247].
Claim 46. Harris teaches said system, wherein automatically initiate a purchase transaction comprises initiating the purchase transaction without further user input after the receipt of the second user input [0247].
Claim 47. Harris teaches said method, wherein automatically initiating a purchase transaction comprises initiating the purchase transaction without further user input after identifying the payment information and the shipping information [0364].
Claim 48. Harris teaches said system, wherein automatically initiate a purchase transaction initiating comprises initiating the purchase transaction without further user input after identifying the payment information and the shipping information [0364].
Claim 49. Harris teaches said system, wherein the natural language utterance comprises a single spoken word or phrase from a first user at a first time [0349].
Claim 50. Harris teaches said system, wherein the natural language utterance comprises a single spoken word or phrase from a first user at a first time [0349].
Claim 51. Harris teaches said system, wherein the natural language utterance comprises a single spoken word or phrase from a first user at a first time [0349].
Claim 52. Harris teaches said system, wherein the natural language utterance comprises a single spoken word or phrase from a first user at a first time [0349].
Claims 6 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Harris and Rose, as applied to claim 1, in view of Meehan (US 20120310763).
Claim 6. The combination of Harris and Rose teaches all the limitations of claim 6 except that the one or more remote information sources comprise at least a third-party search engine, a third-party retailer, and/or a third-party service provider.
Meehan teaches a computer-implemented method for matching potential buyers and sellers wherein data is collected automatically from third-party data sources. Automated data collectors "crawl" the web or other data repositories and apply heuristics or other rules to discriminate relevant data from the much larger quantity of irrelevant data. Relevant data could be identified by, for example, scanning text for occurrences of particular keywords or groups of keywords, particularly if the groups of keywords are located close together. A crawler utilizes a search engine advantageously to find difficult-to-locate information sources relevant to the task at hand [0027].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to include that the one or more remote information sources comprise at least a third-party search engine, a third-party retailer, and/or a third-party service provider, as taught by Meehan in the systems of Harris and Rose, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable. KSR, 127 S.Ct. at 1740, 82 USPQ2d at 1396.
Claim 21. Same reasoning applied to claim 6.
Claims 9 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Harris and Rose, as applied to claims 1 and 16, in view of Subbarao et al. (US 20120226537).
Claim 9. The combination of Harris and Rose teaches all the limitations of claim 9 except that the user profile information indicates a predetermined set of sellers associated with the user.
Subbarao et al. (Subbarao) teaches a computer-implemented method of providing an ecommerce system wherein the user profile information includes a merchant card number, list of preferred store merchants associated with a user. In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, user profile module 206 stores one or more preferred merchant stores that a user selects through presentation module 212 [0026].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to include that the user profile information indicates a predetermined set of sellers associated with the user, as taught by Subbarao in the systems of Harris and Rose, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable. KSR, 127 S.Ct. at 1740, 82 USPQ2d at 1396.
Claim 24. Same reasoning applied to claim 9.
Claims 13 and 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Harris and Rose, as applied to claims 1 and 16, in view of Allocca et al. (US 20070061222).
Claim 13. The combination of Harris and Rose teaches all the limitations of claim 13 except accessing, by the computer system, an address book of the user, wherein the address book comprises an identification of the intended recipient and the address of the intended recipient.
Allocca et al. (Allocca) teaches a computer-implemented method of placing purchase orders using multiple procurement options wherein an address book of previously defined procurement options is maintained by the server system that generates the Web page or by a third-party server. In alternate embodiments, the client system can provide information about potential recipients, such as by accessing an online Rolodex database or email address book for the user [0083].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to include accessing, by the computer system, an address book of the user, wherein the address book comprises an identification of the intended recipient and the address of the intended recipient as taught by Allocca in the systems of Harris and Rose, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable. KSR, 127 S.Ct. at 1740, 82 USPQ2d at 1396.
Claim 28. Same reasoning applied to claim 13.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-52 have been considered but are persuasive.
Applicant argues that the prior art does not teach or suggests that the selecting a product or service from a data source based on context determined from the natural language utterance without further user input identifying the product or service to be purchased. However, there is no indication that the “selecting” is done with further user input identifying the product or service to be purchased.
Accordingly, the rejection is maintained.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/MILA AIRAPETIAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3625