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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/23/2023 was considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 1/9/17 are objected to because of the following informalities:
“…based on the historical performances…” should read “…based on historical performances…”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
Claim 1/9/17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim recites “receiving a request for delivery of a package from an origin to a destination with a desired degree of information disclosure using the Physical Internet; determining a first carrier for a first leg of the delivery based on the origin and an area coverage of the first carrier, wherein the first carrier is not provided destination information as dictated by the desired degree of information disclosure; identifying a candidate list of other carriers for transporting the package along one or more subsequent legs based on the historical performances of each of the other carriers and the desired degree of information disclosure; and determining a final carrier from the candidate list for a final leg of the delivery to which the destination information is disclosed.”
The limitations above, as drafted, is a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers a method of organizing a human activity. That is, the method allows for fundamental economic principles or practices (including hedging, insurance, mitigating risk), commercial or legal interactions (including agreements in the form of contracts; legal obligations; advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors; business relations) and managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions).
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. In particular, the claim only recites “a computer” claim 1, “a processor” and “memory” (claim 9) and “A computer program product, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium” and “computer” (claim 17). Each of the additional limitations is recited at a high level of generality and is no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Accordingly, these additional elements, alone or in combination, do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claim is directed to an abstract idea.
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional elements, alone or in combination, are nothing more than mere instructions to apply the exception on a general computer.
Dependent claims 2-8, 10-16 and 18-19 are also directed to an abstract idea without significantly more because they further narrow the abstract idea described in relation to claim 1 without successfully integrating the exception into a practical application (a sensor of claim 8/16/20 is recited at a high level of recitation which amounts to mere instructions to apply the exception in a computer environment) or providing significantly more limitations.
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 nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sankaran (US 2020/0311670) in view of Loupos (US 20210383325) and Campagna (US 2009/0055000).
As per claim 1/9/17, Sankaran discloses a computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving a request for delivery of a package from an origin to a destination with a desired degree of information disclosure using a logistic network (“[0058] In general, the disclosed technology for securing private information during shipping of an item using shipping information blockchain can limit or control disclosure of private information during shipping of an item. Aspects of the disclosed technology provide for shipping information to be encrypted and selectively released to shippers during shipping and the shipping information released can be limited to information needed for a next leg of a shipping chain.…[0067] In the example of FIG. 1, sender client/server 110 initiates shipping information blockchain 140 by creating genesis block 142A when an item is selected for shipment. In other examples, the shipping information data blocks 142 can be added to an existing blockchain when items are shipped or shipping information modified. A shipping information data block 142 can include methods or function calls that are executed by blockchain platform 160 to obtain access to the shipping information stored for an item or package on blockchain 140. [0068] In the example of FIG. 1, a shipping information data block 142 is generated by sender client/server 110 and the block is secured on shipping information data blockchain 140…[0069] In one example, sender client/server 110 owns and controls the shipping information data blocks 142 in shipping information data blockchain 140. Each shipping information data block 142 includes shipping information, such as sender name and address or recipient name and address, for an item or package selected for shipment. When an item is selected for shipment, the Sender client/server 110 creates a shipping information data block 142 containing the shipping information and links it to shipping information blockchain 140. All or part of the shipping information can be encrypted to prevent unauthorized access. When shipping information is added, modified or deleted, a new shipping information data block 142 is created that incorporates the changes and the new block 142 is signed by sender client/server 110 and linked to the previous shipping information data block in the shipping information blockchain 140. [0070] Although sender client/server 110 maintains control over the shipping information, in this example, the shipping information blockchain 140 can be made accessible to other entities, such as intermediate shipper client/servers 120, so that these entities can obtain, trace or audit the relevant shipping information stored in the blocks 142 in the blockchain 140…[0082] One or more NEXT_addr records store a shipper identifier SHIPPER_ID along with a geolocation for the shipper. This example also includes an optional LOCATION_data field for storing a record of a geolocation of the item during shipping when a shipping block is created.”)
determining a first carrier for a first leg of the delivery based on the origin and an area coverage of the first carrier ([0015] Particular ones of these examples involve receiving a second request for the shipping information that includes a geolocation for the item, determining a second shipping agent based on the geolocation for the item, and providing either an identifier or a geolocation address for the second shipping agent responsive to the second request for the shipping information… [0082] One or more NEXT_addr records store a shipper identifier SHIPPER_ID along with a geolocation for the shipper. This example also includes an optional LOCATION_data field for storing a record of a geolocation of the item during shipping when a shipping block is created… [0083] As noted above, shipping information data block 242 can include methods that can be executed by a blockchain platform. In this example, a Get_next_addr( ) method can be called by a shipper with a location of the item to obtain the next shipping address in the shipping chain. In this example, the location of the item is stored as LOCATION_data and may include current shipping status. ..[0086]… FIG. 2C. In a different example, the shipper identifier and geolocation address can be obtained from the next shipper record stored in the shipping information data block, as illustrated in the example of FIG. 2D. In yet another example, a shipper can be selected based on proximity to the present location of the item. A wide variety of approaches to selecting the next shipper and address can be enabled by the disclosed technology… [0089] Similarly, each time the item arrives at the next address, the shipper can scan the label and request the next shipper information.” Examiner interprets determining the shipper based on the origin (i.e. geolocation) of the item is essentially determining a shipper based on their coverage area because a carrier without coverage of the origin cannot service the first leg);
wherein the first carrier is not provided destination information as dictated by the desired degree of information disclosure (“[0050] Note that for shipping that uses multiple delivery agents, certain examples of the disclosed technology can operate such that each agent is shown only the address of the hand-off or delivery location to the next agent. For example, a pickup agent scans the machine-readable pointer on a package and receives an identifier or address for a bulk shipper to which the package is brought. A bulk shipper transfer agent scans the machine-readable pointer on the package and receives an identifier or address for a destination city and bulk ships the package to the destination city. At the destination city, another bulk shipper transfer agent scans the machine-readable pointer on the package and receives an identifier or address for a local delivery service to which the package is transferred. An agent for the local delivery service scans the machine-readable pointer on the package to obtain a final delivery address, e.g. recipient address, for the package from the blockchain.”);
identifying a candidate list of other carriers for transporting the package along one or more subsequent legs based on the desired degree of information disclosure ([0015] Particular ones of these examples involve receiving a second request for the shipping information that includes a geolocation for the item, determining a second shipping agent based on the geolocation for the item, and providing either an identifier or a geolocation address for the second shipping agent responsive to the second request for the shipping information.…[0051] In another example, authentication of a delivery agent can be required in order to obtain the destination. If the delivery agent is not authorized, then an alternative address, such as a nearest authorized agent, can be shown. Multiple alternative addresses can be stored in the blockchain based on various conditions, e.g. an alternative address is provided if last-mile delivery agent indicates inability to deliver to the primary address…[0052] In still another example of particular aspects of the disclosed technology, the destination address can be changed during shipping and stored in the blockchain in association with the machine-readable pointer printed on the package label. For example, the recipient for the package can modify the destination address on the blockchain. In another example, an alternative intermediate shipper can be substituted for an intermediate shipper in the shipping chain… [0058] In general, the disclosed technology for securing private information during shipping of an item using shipping information blockchain can limit or control disclosure of private information during shipping of an item. Aspects of the disclosed technology provide for shipping information to be encrypted and selectively released to shippers during shipping and the shipping information released can be limited to information needed for a next leg of a shipping chain.” Sankaran teaches that multiple carrier alternatives are stored and maintained in the blockchain for use across subsequent shipping legs. Paragraph cited above teach a set of alternative carriers available for selection across subsequent legs. Additionally, paragraph 15 teaches dynamic determination of a subsequent carrier from available options” which in combination with paragraphs 51 and 52, discloses the candidate list of other carriers that will deliver to the alternate addresses.); and
determining a final carrier from the candidate list for a final leg of the delivery to which the destination information is disclosed ([0050] Note that for shipping that uses multiple delivery agents, certain examples of the disclosed technology can operate such that each agent is shown only the address of the hand-off or delivery location to the next agent. For example, a pickup agent scans the machine-readable pointer on a package and receives an identifier or address for a bulk shipper to which the package is brought. A bulk shipper transfer agent scans the machine-readable pointer on the package and receives an identifier or address for a destination city and bulk ships the package to the destination city. At the destination city, another bulk shipper transfer agent scans the machine-readable pointer on the package and receives an identifier or address for a local delivery service to which the package is transferred. An agent for the local delivery service scans the machine-readable pointer on the package to obtain a final delivery address, e.g. recipient address, for the package from the blockchain… [0087] FIG. 2C is a data architecture diagram showing an illustrative example of shipping information blockchain with shipping data for an item secured in multiple shipping information data blocks 252 in shipping information blockchain 250. In this example, each leg of the shipping chain is defined in a separate shipping information data block 252. [0088] Shipping information data block 252A identifies the next shipper NEXT_ship as shipper_1 and the next geolocation for shipping NEXT_addr as Loc1. Sender client/server 110 could scan a shipping label on the item and obtain shipper_1 and Loc1 from block 252A. When the item arrives at shipper_1, an intermediate shipper using client/server device 120 can scan the label and request the next shipper information, which is shipper_2 and Loc2 from block 252B. [0089] Similarly, each time the item arrives at the next address, the shipper can scan the label and request the next shipper information. Thus, in this example, the item is successively shipped from shipper_2 at Loc2 defined in block 252B to shipper_3 at Loc3 defined in block 252C to shipper_4 at Loc4 defined in block 252D.”)
However, Sankaran does not disclose but Loupos discloses shipping items via the physical Internet ([0005] In supply chain logistics, the Physical Internet or “PI” is an open global logistics system founded on physical, digital, and operational interconnectivity, through encapsulation, interfaces and protocols. More than a decade ago, Professor Benoit Montreuil, a professor in the department of operations and decision systems at the Universite Laval in Quebec and a member of the College-Industry Council on Material Handling Education (CICMHE) conceived of PI as an improvement to distribution and logistics by applying some of the principles of the digital Internet to the physical movement of goods. To that end, the Physical Internet centers around the basic notion that a shipping container, as a package encapsulator, behaves like packets of the well-known Internet Protocol (IP) of the digital Internet, and moves from an origin to a destination along a route according to transport directives akin to the transport control protocol (TCP) of the digital Internet. [0006] In the Physical Internet, the routing of a shipping container is performed in real-time as the container traverses from node to node on a path from an origin to a destination. The path generally is determined at the outset by a centralized administrator, and, during the transport of the container, the administrator may recompute the path to account for unplanned exigencies, such as weather or construction. As such, the model for container routing and re-routing strays from the pure principal of the Physical Internet wherein, like its digital counterpart, the container should establish its own path and coordinate fault handling and re-routing with the intervention of a centralized administrator…[0019]… In this regard, a route is stored in the computing device including an origin node, a destination node and a number of intermediate nodes en route from the origin node to the destination node. A current node is recorded in the computing device along with a next node to which the shipping container is to travel.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to include the limitation above as taught by Loupos in the teaching of Sankaran, 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.
However, Sankaran does not disclose but Campagna discloses identifying a candidate list of carriers for transporting the package based on the historical performances of each of the other carriers ([0030] At operation 215, statistical information, including historical performance data of at least one of carriers 125, is received. The statistical data may be received by information broker 145. The statistical data may be obtained from a variety of sources including, for example, posts, alternate carriers, and other data sources. The statistical data may include rates, previous real-world tracking information, published performance history and guarantees, and other information needed for induction such as, for example, weight, markings, addressing requirements, payment terms, volume requirements, pick-up times and delivery areas… [0037] At operation 220, a determination is made regarding the routing sequence for the mailing based on the received mailer parameter information and the statistical information. The delivery sequence may list more than one of the carriers 130, 135, 145 where there is a choice of carriers 125. The determination may be performed by a selection engine of mail box 105. The determination may include a matching process of the various mailer, carrier, and recipient criteria included in the parameter information and the statistical information to yield at least one transport and delivery option.” The matching process uses historical performance data across more than one of the carriers to yield at least one carrier.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to include the limitation above as taught by Campagna in the teaching of Sankaran, in order to route based on statistical data (Campagna paragraph 1).
As per claim 2/10, Sankaran discloses the request for delivery includes delivery directions relating to the destination; and the delivery directions are disclosed to the final carrier and not to the first carrier ([0050] Note that for shipping that uses multiple delivery agents, certain examples of the disclosed technology can operate such that each agent is shown only the address of the hand-off or delivery location to the next agent. For example, a pickup agent scans the machine-readable pointer on a package and receives an identifier or address for a bulk shipper to which the package is brought. A bulk shipper transfer agent scans the machine-readable pointer on the package and receives an identifier or address for a destination city and bulk ships the package to the destination city. At the destination city, another bulk shipper transfer agent scans the machine-readable pointer on the package and receives an identifier or address for a local delivery service to which the package is transferred. An agent for the local delivery service scans the machine-readable pointer on the package to obtain a final delivery address, e.g. recipient address, for the package from the blockchain.)
As per claim 3/11, Sankaran discloses the package is shipped by at least the first carrier, a second carrier, and the final carrier; and only the final carrier is informed of a location of the destination (([0050] Note that for shipping that uses multiple delivery agents, certain examples of the disclosed technology can operate such that each agent is shown only the address of the hand-off or delivery location to the next agent. For example, a pickup agent scans the machine-readable pointer on a package and receives an identifier or address for a bulk shipper to which the package is brought. A bulk shipper transfer agent scans the machine-readable pointer on the package and receives an identifier or address for a destination city and bulk ships the package to the destination city. At the destination city, another bulk shipper transfer agent scans the machine-readable pointer on the package and receives an identifier or address for a local delivery service to which the package is transferred. An agent for the local delivery service scans the machine-readable pointer on the package to obtain a final delivery address, e.g. recipient address, for the package from the blockchain.)
As per claim 4/12, Sankaran discloses wherein the delivery directions include information on how to access the destination to deliver the package ([0054] Still another example provides for a return address to be stored on the blockchain and revealed if a return is authorized. In yet another example, a recipient mailbox has a scanner and a private key where the machine-readable pointer on the shipping label is scanned and the private key used to enable the mailbox to be opened).
As per claim 5/13, Sankaran discloses wherein identifying the candidate list includes referencing a deny list and a prioritized allow list of potential carriers (deny list: “[0051] In another example, authentication of a delivery agent can be required in order to obtain the destination. If the delivery agent is not authorized, then an alternative address, such as a nearest authorized agent, can be shown. Multiple alternative addresses can be stored in the blockchain based on various conditions, e.g. an alternative address is provided if last-mile delivery agent indicates inability to deliver to the primary address.”, unauthorized agents are denied access. And specific carriers can be pre-approved and prioritized by the recipient at the time of shipment creation “[0053]… In another example, a last-mile driver's public key is known and used to encode a complete recipient delivery address at the start of shipping (e.g. a preferred shipping agent of the recipient can be specified).”).
As per claim 6/14, Sarakan discloses wherein the final leg is a predetermined distance to the destination ([0048] In additional examples, access to the full recipient address, e.g. recipient's name and address, can be made available only upon satisfaction of specified conditions, such as permission being granted by the recipient or authentication of the last-mile delivery agent. For example, the specified condition can require that the geolocation of the shipper's scanning device or the package is close to the delivery destination before the delivery address can be revealed to the last-mile delivery agent…[0084] The Determine( ) function is called to determine the next address for shipment of the item. In this example, the LOCATION_data is used to determine whether the geolocation of the item is within a vicinity threshold of the recipient's geolocation address. A distance( ) function is called to determine the distance between the item and the recipient's address.[0085] If the distance is within the vicinity threshold, then a notify( ) function is invoked to send a message to the recipient notifying them of the shipping status of the item and obtain the next address NEXT_addr for shipping of the item.)
As per claim 7/15, wherein a user that orders the package sets the predetermined distance ([0016] In certain other examples, the first request includes a geolocation for the item and the operation of providing the recipient geolocation address to the first shipping agent responsive to the first request for shipping information involves determining a distance of the geolocation for the item to the recipient geolocation address, notifying the recipient if the distance of the geolocation for the item to the recipient geolocation address is within a vicinity threshold, receiving an authorization to provide the recipient geolocation address, and providing the recipient geolocation address to the first shipping agent responsive to the first request for shipping information if the authorization is received. [0048]… In yet another example, the recipient can be notified when the package is in a selected proximity to the final destination and the recipient provides authorization to reveal the final destination address or provides an alternative destination address.)
As per claim 8/16/20, Sanrakan does not disclose but Loupos discloses verifying delivery of the package to the destination via a sensor ([0025] As another option, upon the shipping container 100 arriving at the contemporaneous one of the nodes 120A, 120B, 120C, 120D, GPS circuitry of the embedded computing device 110 determines a location of the shipping container 100 and whether or not the shipping container 100 is within a threshold distance of the next one of the nodes 120A, 120B, 120C, 120D set forth in the origin token 130. If so, the embedded computing device 110 can conclude that the shipping container 100 had arrived at the next one of the nodes 120A, 120B, 120C, 120D as planned..)(please see claim 1 rejection for combination rationale).
As per claim 18, Sanrakan discloses the request for delivery includes delivery directions relating to the destination; the delivery directions include information on how to access the destination to deliver the package; the package is shipped by at least the first carrier, a second carrier, and the final carrier; and only the final carrier is informed of a location of the destination and the delivery directions (([0050] Note that for shipping that uses multiple delivery agents, certain examples of the disclosed technology can operate such that each agent is shown only the address of the hand-off or delivery location to the next agent. For example, a pickup agent scans the machine-readable pointer on a package and receives an identifier or address for a bulk shipper to which the package is brought. A bulk shipper transfer agent scans the machine-readable pointer on the package and receives an identifier or address for a destination city and bulk ships the package to the destination city. At the destination city, another bulk shipper transfer agent scans the machine-readable pointer on the package and receives an identifier or address for a local delivery service to which the package is transferred. An agent for the local delivery service scans the machine-readable pointer on the package to obtain a final delivery address, e.g. recipient address, for the package from the blockchain)…[0054] Still another example provides for a return address to be stored on the blockchain and revealed if a return is authorized. In yet another example, a recipient mailbox has a scanner and a private key where the machine-readable pointer on the shipping label is scanned and the private key used to enable the mailbox to be opened).
As per claim 19, Sarakan discloses wherein the final leg is a predetermined distance to the destination that is set by a user that orders the package ([0048] In additional examples, access to the full recipient address, e.g. recipient's name and address, can be made available only upon satisfaction of specified conditions, such as permission being granted by the recipient or authentication of the last-mile delivery agent. For example, the specified condition can require that the geolocation of the shipper's scanning device or the package is close to the delivery destination before the delivery address can be revealed to the last-mile delivery agent…[0084] The Determine( ) function is called to determine the next address for shipment of the item. In this example, the LOCATION_data is used to determine whether the geolocation of the item is within a vicinity threshold of the recipient's geolocation address. A distance( ) function is called to determine the distance between the item and the recipient's address.[0085] If the distance is within the vicinity threshold, then a notify( ) function is invoked to send a message to the recipient notifying them of the shipping status of the item and obtain the next address NEXT_addr for shipping of the item…([0016] In certain other examples, the first request includes a geolocation for the item and the operation of providing the recipient geolocation address to the first shipping agent responsive to the first request for shipping information involves determining a distance of the geolocation for the item to the recipient geolocation address, notifying the recipient if the distance of the geolocation for the item to the recipient geolocation address is within a vicinity threshold, receiving an authorization to provide the recipient geolocation address, and providing the recipient geolocation address to the first shipping agent responsive to the first request for shipping information if the authorization is received. [0048]… In yet another example, the recipient can be notified when the package is in a selected proximity to the final destination and the recipient provides authorization to reveal the final destination address or provides an alternative destination address.)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OMAR ZEROUAL whose telephone number is (571)272-7255. The examiner can normally be reached Flex schedule.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Resha Desai can be reached at (571) 270-7792. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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OMAR . ZEROUAL
Examiner
Art Unit 3628
/OMAR ZEROUAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3628