Response to Amendment
This office action in response to a response received on December 11, 2025.
Claims 1, 12-14, and 20 have been amended.
Claims 11 and 18 have been cancelled.
Claims 1-10, 12-17, and 19-20 are currently pending in this application.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements received December 11, 2025 has been considered.
Response to Arguments
The applicant’s arguments directed towards the 35 U.S.C §103 rejections of claim 1 have been considered, but is not persuasive.
Applicant argues that, independent claim 1 as amended recites a causal relationship between "receiving location information from the wireless-enabled device" and consequently "presenting ... augmented reality component, the presentation ... being based at least in part on the location information."
The system of Traynor is directed to "augmented reality guest recognition" (Traynor, Title, Abstract). In particular, paragraph [0020] of Traynor specifies the purpose of the system disclosed in Traynor, namely, to "enable the guests to be automatically recognized... during their time in the venue, and information related to the guests' experiences within the venue may be automatically presented to the employees of the venue to facilitate the employees enhancing future experiences of the guests within the venue." This disclosure makes clear that Traynor's augmented reality system is used by venue employees who view information about guests to provide better service.
Applicant further argues, Furthermore, the source of AR content is the centralized analysis system, while independent claim 1 as amended recites "the presentation of the augmented reality component being based at least in part on the location information" which is received from the wireless-enabled device (a casual relationship). That is, the AR content presentation adapts based on or coordinates with location information obtained from the paired device - for example, AR content positioned at specific spatial locations that appears correctly based on the spatial relationship between paired devices, or AR content that changes based on proximity between paired devices. Traynor's display of guest metadata about identified guests does not teach presentation that depends on or coordinates with location information from a paired wireless-enabled device.
The examiner has considered the arguments, but respectfully disagrees. Claim 1, may be broadly interpreted as a user device comprising head-wearable apparatus which can display visual content to a user wearing the head-wearable apparatus and presenting, on the displays, visual content comprising an augmented reality component, presentation based at least in part on the location information. BRI of the claim language does not require “presentation that depends on or coordinates with location information” only it is based at least in part on the location information.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C §103 and Legge teaches, a head-wearable apparatus, further comprising one or more image displays configured to display visual content to a user wearing the head-wearable apparatus; (see ¶ [0262], e.g., a head-mounted display that enables the user to see displayed content; ¶ [0272], e.g., eyeglasses 1100 are a wearable heads-up display wherein display-producing components are present within), and
receiving pairing information (see Fig. 8A, e.g., element 800a, 808, Pg. 11, ¶ [0195], e.g., the exchange of connection attempt confirmations and success messages may be referred to as pre-pairing (or in some cases, simply pairing) via the low-power personal area network.) from the NFC-enabled device via the NFC interface; and
receiving location information (see Pg. 21, ¶ [0312], e.g., a current location of the host computing device 1540, which can be provided to a navigation service of the wearable computing device.) from the wireless-enabled device (see Fig. 1, e.g., element 140) via the short- range wireless communication interface (see Fig. 4, e.g., element 441, Pg. 12, ¶ [0204], e.g., a short-range wireless data communications interface 441);
Teachings of Traynor are incorporated to further improve head-wearable apparatus of Legge configured to display visual content to a user to include augmented reality display of the actual and physical real-world environment of the venue or location the guest is passing through. Traynor teaches, presenting, on the one or more image displays, visual content comprising an augmented reality component, presentation of the augmented reality component being based at least in part on the location information (see ¶ [0027], e.g., In certain embodiments, the one or more displays 50 of the wearable augmented reality display devices 28 may each include an opaque or see-through LCD or an opaque or see-through OLED display configured to allow, for example, venue employees 18 to view the guest experience information 46 appearing on the displays 50 while preserving the ability to see through the respective displays 50 to the actual and physical real-world environment of the venue 10 (e.g., to pass-through images of guests 20 to which the guest experience information relates). For example, as described in greater detail herein, guest experience information 46 for a targeted guest 20 (or targeted group of guests 20) may be superimposed on a display 50 of the wearable augmented reality display devices 28 near (e.g., adjacent or within relatively close proximity to) pass-through images of the targeted guest 20 (or targeted group of guests 20)).
Note that Traynor teaches “ability to see through the respective displays 50 to the actual and physical real-world environment of the venue 10” (emphasis added) provides augmented reality component being based at least in part on the location information.
Finally, by incorporating teachings of Traynor, a head-wearable apparatus of Legge may be modified to have enhanced display visual content including augmented reality display of the location or venue (see ¶ [0053], It will be appreciated that the functionality of the wearable augmented reality display devices 28 described herein may be substantially similar to the functionality of the augmented reality display endpoints 26 described herein, with the main difference being that the views of the guest experience information 46 relating to guests 20 of the venue 10 may be hidden from view of the guests 20, thereby enhancing the immersion of the delivery of the guest experience information 46 to the users (e.g., venue employees 18); see ¶ [0002], The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for the creation of an augmented reality environment that facilitates employees of a venue (e.g., an amusement or theme park) to enhance the experiences of guests of the venue; see ¶ [0021], experiences of guests 20 of the venue 10 may be enhanced by the venue employees 18 based at least in part on information relating to previous and current experiences of the guests 20 within the venue 10).
As result, applicant’s arguments are not persuasive and the 35 U.S.C §103 rejections of claims 1 and 14 are maintained.
The 35 U.S.C §103 rejection of claims 2-10, 12-13, 15-17 and 19-20 are maintained for the reasons set forth above.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
Claim(s) 1-2, 6, 8-9, 13-15, 17, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20200110437 A1, Legge et al., (hereinafter Legge) in view of US 20190036903 A1, CHEN et al., (hereinafter CHEN) and in further view of Traynor et al., US 20210271881 A1, also cited as CN 115136174, in previous office action (see the English translated copy) (hereinafter, Traynor)
Regarding claim 1, 14 and 20, Legge teaches, a user device (Fig. 1, e.g., element 110) comprising a near field communication (NFC) interface (Fig. 2, e.g., element 242, Fig. 13A, e.g., element 1301, Pg. 19, [0291], e.g., wireless communication protocol, for example, without limitation: Bluetooth®, Bluetooth® Low-Energy, Bluetooth Smart®, ZigBee®, WiFi®, Near-Field Communication (NFC));
a head-wearable apparatus, further comprising one or more image displays configured to display visual content to a user wearing the head-wearable apparatus; (see ¶ [0262], e.g.,
a head-mounted display that enables the user to see displayed content; ¶ [0272], e.g., eyeglasses 1100 are a wearable heads-up display wherein display-producing components are present within),
a short-range wireless communication interface (see Fig. 2, e.g., element Wireless comm. interface 240) configured to communicate with devices in a local physical space (see Pg. 10, ¶ [0171], e.g., host personal area network service 750 may communicate with a personal area network service 735 of wearable computing device 710 via a general personal area network (e.g., Bluetooth™)); one or more processors (see Fig. 2, e.g., element CPU 205); and
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium (see Fig. 2, e.g., element Storage 225) comprising instructions (see Pg. 5, [0087], e.g., Non-volatile memory 225 stores computer programs (e.g., application programs, service programs, drivers, frameworks, etc.) consisting of computer-executable instructions) that, when executed (see Pg. 5, ¶ [0087], e.g., computer-executable instructions, which may be loaded into volatile memory 220 for execution by processor 205) by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
detecting, via the NFC interface, near field proximity (see Pg. 11, ¶ [0191], e.g., the host computing device may first attempt to determine if a connection strength is above a connection strength threshold (e.g., to determine if the wearable computing device is “close enough”) prior to transmitting the connection attempt packet) between the user device and a NFC-enabled device (see Fig. 1, e.g., element 140);
receiving pairing information (see Fig. 8A, e.g., element 800a, 808, Pg. 11, ¶ [0195], e.g., the exchange of connection attempt confirmations and success messages may be referred to as pre-pairing (or in some cases, simply pairing) via the low-power personal area network.) from the NFC-enabled device via the NFC interface;
receiving location information (see Pg. 21, ¶ [0312], e.g., a current location of the host computing device 1540, which can be provided to a navigation service of the wearable computing device.) from the wireless-enabled device (see Fig. 1, e.g., element 140) via the short- range wireless communication interface (see Fig. 4, e.g., element 441, Pg. 12, ¶ [0204], e.g., a short-range wireless data communications interface 441); and
determining a location (see Pg. 21, ¶ [0312], e.g., wearable computing device can leverage the host computing device's location to determine its own location) of the user device in the local physical space, relative to at least one reference point (see Pg. 21, ¶ [0312], e.g., wearable computing device can leverage the host computing device's location), using the location information (see Pg. 21, ¶ [0312], a current location of the host computing device 1540, which can be provided to a navigation service of the wearable computing device.).
However, it does not explicitly teach the pairing information including short-range wireless pairing information for a wireless-enabled device located in the local physical space; and establishing communication between the system and the wireless-enabled device, via the short-range wireless communication interface, by locally processing the pairing information at the user device without using other information provided by a user or by another device; and
presenting, on the one or more image displays, visual content comprising an augmented reality component, presentation of the augmented reality component being based at least in part on the location information.
CHEN teaches, the pairing information including short-range wireless pairing information for a wireless-enabled device located in the local physical space (¶ [0018], For example, short-range wireless communication may include a Bluetooth, Wi-Fi hotspot, near field communication (NFC), or quick response (QR) code scan. As shown in FIG. 2, communication interface 106 of computing device 102 and communication interface 212 of user device 110 may be connected via short-range wireless communication 220, see ¶ [0035], e.g., At 504, user device may scan the QR code displayed on a user interface of the server. Upon scanning the QR code by the user device, the user device may be enabled to automatically connect to Wi-Fi hotspot of the server by the server application, at 512. At 506, user device may be connected directly to the Wi-Fi hotspot of the server. At 508, user device 110 may be peer-to-peer connected to the NFC reader of the server by taping the NFC reader. At 510, user device may be paired/connected to Bluetooth of the server.); and
establishing communication between the system and the wireless-enabled device, via the short-range wireless communication interface, by locally processing the pairing information at the user device without using other information provided by a user or by another device (see ¶ [0014], e.g., the examples described herein may reduce the complexity and time-consumption of the connection/pairing procedures by automatically configuring the pairing, and connection information on the user device. see ¶ [0024], In this case, when user device 110 (e.g., mobile phone) of user 302 is in reach of computing device 102 (e.g., located inside the seminar room), then the following may be performed by computing device 102: i. establish communication with user device 110 via a short-range wireless communication; ii. receive a request o user device 110 to access wireless devices 306A-306C; iii. authenticate access credentials (e.g., user identifier (ID)) associated with user device 110 to access wireless devices 306A-306C; iv. determine the access rights of user device 110 to access wireless devices 306A-306C; and v. enable storage unit 104 to transmit communication information 308-312 associated with wireless devices 306A-306C to user device 110 when user device 110 has the access rights. ¶ [0025] The following may be performed by client application 210 residing in user device 110: vi. receive and store communication information 12 associated with wireless devices 306A-306C in user device 110; vii. automatically configure communication information 308-312 on user device 110; and viii. enable user device 110 to establish communication with wireless devices 306A-306C.).
Traynor teaches, presenting, on the one or more image displays, visual content comprising an augmented reality component, presentation of the augmented reality component being based at least in part on the location information (see ¶ [0027], e.g., In certain embodiments, the augmented reality display endpoints 26, the wearable augmented reality display devices 28, the wearable devices 30, the mobile devices 32, the themed devices 34, and/or the physical objects 36 may be communicatively coupled to the guest recognition system 22 and/or the guest experience analysis system 24 (e.g., within the venue 10) via a wireless network 42 (e.g., wireless local area networks (WLANs), wireless wide area networks (WWANs), near field communication (NFC) networks, or any other suitable wireless networks); see ¶ [0042], e.g., In certain embodiments, the one or more displays 50 of the wearable augmented reality display devices 28 may each include a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, or other similar display configured to display the guest experience information 46 as augmenting information. In certain embodiments, the one or more displays 50 of the wearable augmented reality display devices 28 may each include an opaque or see-through LCD or an opaque or see-through OLED display configured to allow, for example, venue employees 18 to view the guest experience information 46 appearing on the displays 50 while preserving the ability to see through the respective displays 50 to the actual and physical real-world environment of the venue 10 (e.g., to pass-through images of guests 20 to which the guest experience information relates). For example, as described in greater detail herein, guest experience information 46 for a targeted guest 20 (or targeted group of guests 20) may be superimposed on a display 50 of the wearable augmented reality display devices 28 near (e.g., adjacent or within relatively close proximity to) pass-through images of the targeted guest 20 (or targeted group of guests 20)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pairing information of Legge and to incorporate the teachings of CHEN to include locally processing the pairing information at the user device without using other information provided by a user or by another device and incorporate the teachings of Traynor to include presenting, on the one or more image displays, visual content comprising an augmented reality component, presentation of the augmented reality component being based at least in part on the location information. Doing so would facilitate in achieving no manual intervention needed for connecting/pairing and improved, reliable, and secure transmission of communication information between paired devices as suggested by CHEN (see ¶ [0014], Examples described herein may obviate the manual intervention needed for connecting/pairing the user device to wireless devices. Further, the examples described herein may reduce the complexity and time-consumption of the connection/pairing procedures by automatically configuring the pairing, and connection information on the user device. Furthermore, the examples described may provide an improved, reliable, and secure transmission of communication information of the wireless devices to the user device.) and would facilitate in enhanced customer experience as suggested by Trainor (¶ [0013], e.g., FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an augmented reality guest recognition system for providing an enhanced guest experience for the venue features illustrated in FIG. 1; ¶ [0021], experiences of guests 20 of the venue 10 may be enhanced by the venue employees 18 based at least in part on information relating to previous and current experiences of the guests 20 within the venue 10).
Regarding claim 2, most of limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of
Claim 1.
Legge further teaches, wherein: the at least one reference point comprises a location (Pg. 21, [0312], e.g., wearable computing device can leverage the host computing device's
location to determine its own location.) of the wireless-enabled device.
Regarding claim 6, most of limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of
Claim 1.
Legge further teaches, wherein the operations further comprise: sending user device location information (Pg. 22, [0326], e.g., a location service that interacts with a location microservice to determine an estimated location of the wearable computing device, and to update the location microservice with the estimated location.) to the wireless-enabled device, the user device location information enabling a determination (Pg. 21, [0312], e.g., wearable computing device can leverage the host computing device's location to determine its own location.) of a location of the short-range wireless communication interface by the wireless-enabled device.
Regarding claim 8, most of limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of
Claim 1.
Legge further teaches, wherein: the short-range wireless communication interface comprises a Bluetooth® (Pg. 5, [0089], e.g., the wireless data communication interface 240 is a wireless PAN interface, such as a Bluetooth™ interface) interface,
however, it does not explicitly teach the short-range wireless pairing information comprises a pairing request comprising a device identity
CHEN teaches, the short-range wireless pairing information comprises a pairing request comprising a device identity (see ¶ [0017], e.g., Communication information 208 may include information used to establish communication between wireless devices 112A-112N and user device 110. For example, communication information 208 may include connection and pairing information such as device identifiers and passwords corresponding to wireless devices 112A-112N. see ¶ [0024], e.g., i. establish communication with user device 110 via a short-range wireless communication; ii. receive a request of user device 110 to access wireless devices 306A-306C; iii. authenticate access credentials (e.g., user identifier (ID)) associated with user device 110 to access wireless devices 306A-306C).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pairing information of Legge to incorporate the teachings of CHEN to include pairing request comprising a device identity. Doing so would facilitate in achieving improved, reliable, and secure transmission of communication information between paired devices as suggested by CHEN (see ¶ [0014], the examples described herein may reduce the complexity and time-consumption of the connection/pairing procedures by automatically configuring the pairing, and connection information on the user device. Furthermore, the examples described may provide an improved, reliable, and secure transmission of communication information of the wireless devices to the user device.).
Regarding claim 9, most of limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of
Claim 8.
Legge further teaches, wherein: the Bluetooth® interface (Pg. 4, [0079], e.g., PAN
interface such as Bluetooth™ or BLE, or both) is configured to communicate using a Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) (Pg. 4, [0076], e.g., wearable computing device 110 may use Bluetooth™ for
communication with host device 140 and BLE for communication with controller device 120) protocol.
Regarding claim 12, most of limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of
Claim 1.
Legge further teaches, wherein: the head-wearable apparatus comprises the short-range wireless communication interface (Fig. 2, e.g., element Wireless comm. interface 240).
Regarding claim 13, most of limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of
Claim 1.
Legge as combined with CHEN does not teach but Traynor teaches wherein: the wireless-enabled device is a second head-wearable apparatus (Pg. 5, Paragraph 3, e.g., augmented reality system may include one or more wearable augmented reality display device 28 (e.g., augmented reality glasses, augmented reality goggles, other augmented reality head, etc.)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Legge to incorporate the teachings of Trainor to provide multiple augmented reality display devices as suggested by Trainor (Pg. 5, Paragraph 3, e.g., augmented reality system may include one or more wearable augmented reality display
device 28 (e.g., augmented reality glasses, augmented reality goggles, other augmented reality head, etc.)). Doing so would facilitate in generating enhanced customer
experience information as suggested by Trainor (Pg. 7, Paragraph 2, e.g., generating a display 48 to be respectively via, for example, augmented reality display terminal 26 and/or
wearable augmented reality display device 28 50 and is displayed as enhanced information of the customer experience information 46 (e.g., metadata).).
Regarding claim 15, most of limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of
Claim 14.
Legge further teaches, wherein: the at least one reference point comprises a location (Pg. 21, [0312], e.g., wearable computing device can leverage the host computing device's
location to determine its own location.) of the wireless-enabled device.
Regarding claim 17, most of limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of
Claim 14.
Legge further teaches, wherein: the short-range wireless communication interface comprises a Bluetooth® interface (Pg. 4, [0079], e.g., PAN interface such as Bluetooth™ or BLE, or both) configured to communicate using a Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) (Pg. 4, [0076],
e.g., wearable computing device 110 may use Bluetooth™ for communication with host device 140 and BLE for communication with controller device 120) protocol,
however, it does not explicitly teach the short-range wireless pairing information comprises a pairing request comprising a device identity.
CHEN teaches, the short-range wireless pairing information comprises a pairing request comprising a device identity (see ¶ [0017], e.g., Communication information 208 may include information used to establish communication between wireless devices 112A-112N and user device 110. For example, communication information 208 may include connection and pairing information such as device identifiers and passwords corresponding to wireless devices 112A-112N. see ¶ [0024], e.g., i. establish communication with user device 110 via a short-range wireless communication; ii. receive a request of user device 110 to access wireless devices 306A-306C; iii. authenticate access credentials (e.g., user identifier (ID)) associated with user device 110 to access wireless devices 306A-306C).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pairing information over short-range wireless communication interface of Legge to incorporate the teachings of CHEN to include pairing request comprising a device identity. Doing so would facilitate in achieving improved, reliable, and secure transmission of communication information between paired devices as suggested by CHEN (see ¶ [0014], the examples described herein may reduce the complexity and time- consumption of the connection/pairing procedures by automatically configuring the pairing, and connection information on the user device. Furthermore, the examples described may provide an improved, reliable, and secure transmission of communication information of the wireless devices to the user device.).
Regarding claim 19, most of limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of
Claim 14.
Legge as combined with CHEN does not teach but Traynor teaches wherein: the wireless-enabled device is a second head-wearable apparatus (Pg. 5, Paragraph 3, e.g., augmented reality system may include one or more wearable augmented reality display device 28 (e.g., augmented reality glasses, augmented reality goggles, other augmented reality head, etc.)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Legge to incorporate the teachings of Trainor to provide multiple augmented reality display devices as suggested by Trainor (Pg. 5, Paragraph 3, e.g., augmented reality system may include one or more wearable augmented reality display device 28 (e.g., augmented reality glasses, augmented reality goggles, other augmented reality head, etc.)). Doing so would facilitate in generating enhanced customer experience information as suggested by Trainor (Pg. 7, Paragraph 2, e.g., generating a display 48 to be respectively via, for example, augmented reality display terminal 26 and/or wearable augmented reality display device 28 50 and is displayed as enhanced information of the customer experience information 46 (e.g., metadata).).
Claim(s) 3-5, 10, 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Legge, CHEN and Traynor and in further view of US 10163107 B1 White et al. (hereinafter White).
Regarding claim 3, most of limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of
Claim 1.
Legge as combined with CHEN and Traynor, does not teach but White teaches wherein: the at least one reference point comprises a fixed location (Col. 29, lines 16-17, e.g., thus allowing the PPS 700 to (a) serve as a “beacon” and broadcast data, Col. 11, lines 61-63, e.g., the POS location can correspond to a store or other place of business of the merchant, and thus, can be a fixed location) in the local physical space.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Legge to incorporate the teachings of White to provide a beacon with fixed position as a reference point as suggested by White (Col. 29, lines 24-27, e.g., a beacon is a short range communication device having a known or fixed location that provides a signal that can be detected by mobile devices within proximity of the beacon). Doing so would facilitate in allowing constant, scheduled or random scanning of other Bluetooth peripherals and devices and also allowing persistent or intermittent transmission of data as suggested by White (Col. 29, lines 33-35, e.g., The PPS 700 BLE beacon allows for constant, scheduled or random scanning of other Bluetooth peripherals and devices, lines 41-42, e.g., BLE beacon also allows for persistent or intermittent transmission of data.).
Regarding claim 4, most of limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of
Claim 1.
Legge as combined with CHEN and Traynor, does not teach but White teaches wherein: the at least one reference point comprises one or more Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) beacons (Col. 29, lines 33-35, e.g., The PPS 700 BLE beacon allows for constant, scheduled or random scanning of other Bluetooth peripherals and devices) in the local physical space.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Legge to incorporate the teachings of White to provide a beacon with fixed position as a reference point as suggested by White (Col. 29, lines 24-27, e.g., a beacon is a short range communication device having a known or fixed location that provides a signal that can be detected by mobile devices within proximity of the beacon). Doing so would facilitate in allowing constant, scheduled or random scanning of other Bluetooth peripherals and devices and also allowing persistent or intermittent transmission of data as suggested by White (Col. 29, lines 33-35, e.g., The PPS 700 BLE beacon allows for constant, scheduled or random scanning of other Bluetooth peripherals and devices, lines 41-42, e.g., BLE beacon also allows for persistent or intermittent transmission of data.).
Regarding claim 5, most of limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of
Claim 4.
Legge as combined with CHEN and Traynor, does not teach but White teaches wherein: the one or more BLE beacons (Col. 31, lines 14-15, the reader 700 may be configured to provide and detect a plurality of beacons) comprise the wireless-enabled device (Fig. 7, e.g., element 700, 734).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Legge to incorporate the teachings of White to provide a beacon with fixed position as a reference point as suggested by White (Col. 29, lines 24-27, e.g., a beacon is a short range communication device having a known or fixed location that provides a signal that can be detected by mobile devices within proximity of the beacon). Doing so would facilitate in allowing constant, scheduled or random scanning of other Bluetooth peripherals and devices and also allowing persistent or intermittent transmission of data as suggested by White (Col. 29, lines 33-35, e.g., The PPS 700 BLE beacon allows for constant, scheduled or random scanning of other Bluetooth peripherals and devices, lines 41-42, e.g., BLE beacon also allows for persistent or intermittent transmission of data.).
Regarding claim 10, most of limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of
Claim 9.
Legge as combined with CHEN and Traynor does not teach but White teaches wherein: the Bluetooth® interface (Fig. 7, e.g., element 732) is configured to operate (Col. 29, line 33, e.g., The PPS 700 BLE beacon) as a BLE beacon.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Legge to incorporate the teachings of White to provide a beacon as a reference point as suggested by White (Col. 29, lines 14-17, e.g., BLE interface 732 is capable of being paired with a peripheral device, such as another reader, a payment card, or a client 702B associated with a user 702A, thus allowing the PPS 700 to (a) serve as a “beacon”). Doing so would facilitate in allowing constant, scheduled or random scanning of other Bluetooth peripherals and devices and also allowing persistent or intermittent transmission of data as suggested by White (Col. 29, lines 33-35, e.g., The PPS 700 BLE beacon allows for constant, scheduled or random scanning of other Bluetooth peripherals and devices, lines 41-42, e.g., BLE beacon also allows for persistent or intermittent transmission of data.).
Regarding claim 16, most of limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of
Claim 14.
Legge as combined with CHEN and Traynor does not teach but White teaches wherein: the at least one reference point comprises one or more Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) beacons (Col. 29, lines 33-35, e.g., The PPS 700 BLE beacon allows for constant, scheduled or random scanning of other Bluetooth peripherals and devices) in the local physical space.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Legge as improved by CHEN and Traynor to incorporate the teachings of White to provide a beacon with fixed position as a reference point as suggested by White (Col. 29, lines 24-27, e.g., a beacon is a short range communication device having a known or fixed location that provides a signal that can be detected by mobile devices within proximity of the beacon). Doing so would facilitate in allowing constant, scheduled or random scanning of other Bluetooth peripherals and devices and also allowing persistent or intermittent transmission of data as suggested by White (Col. 29, lines 33-35, e.g., The PPS 700 BLE beacon allows for constant, scheduled or random scanning of other Bluetooth peripherals and devices, lines 41-42, e.g., BLE beacon also allows for persistent or intermittent transmission of data.).
Claim(s) 7, is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Legge in view of CHEN and Traynor and in further view of US 20190258435 A1, SHIRAISHI, (hereinafter SHIRAISHI).
Regarding claim 7, most of limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of
Claim 1.
Legge further teaches, wherein: the short-range wireless communication interface comprises a Wi-Fi interface configured to communicate using an IEEE 802.11 (Pg. 4, [0079], e.g., a wireless data communications interface capable of communication in one or more of
the IEEE 802.11 family of protocols (e.g., “Wi-Fi”).) wireless network protocol,
however, it does not explicitly teach the short-range wireless pairing information comprises a Wi-Fi SSID and a login.
SHIRAISHI teaches, the short-range wireless pairing information comprises a Wi-Fi SSID and a login (see ¶ [0051], e.g., In Act10, the processor 11 transmits pairing data for wireless communication from the short-range communication unit 17 so that the wireless communication is performed through the wireless communication unit 18. The pairing data includes a service set identifier (SSID) and a passphrase if a communication standard to which the wireless communication unit 18 conforms is IEEE802.11g.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pairing information over short-range wireless communication interface of Legge as improved by CHEN and Traynor to incorporate the teachings of SHIRAISHI to include Wi-Fi SSID and a login. Doing so would facilitate in achieving supporting IEEE802.11g communication standard as suggested by SHIRAISHI (see ¶ [0051], e.g., The pairing data includes a service set identifier (SSID) and a passphrase if a communication standard to which the wireless communication unit 18 conforms is IEEE802.11g.).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US20220365351, issued to Woods et al.
US 20240290299 A1, issued to Griswold et al.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to POONAM SHARMA whose telephone number is (571)272-6579. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru 8:30-5:30 pm, ET.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kevin Bates can be reached at (571) 272-3980. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/POONAM SHARMA/Examiner, Art Unit 2472
/KEVIN T BATES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2472