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 .
Status of Claims
This action is reply to the Application Number 18/227,008 filed on 12/03/2025.
Claims 1 – 9 and 11 – 19 are currently pending and have been examined. Claims 1 – 3, 7, 9, 11 – 19 have been amended. Claims 10 and 20 have been cancelled.
This action is made FINAL.
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 – 4, 6 – 10 and 12 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stankoulov et al. (US 20160153796 A1), further in view of Appleton et al. (US 20150130817 A1) and Asahara et al. (US 7522997 B2).
Regarding claim 1, Stankoulov teaches an information processing method in an information processing device that controls a display device (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0062: “FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an in-vehicle system 100 according to an exemplary embodiment the invention. Specifically, this figure shows various conceptual modules that may allow the system to interact with the vehicle, determine range projections, and/or interact with a user (e.g., an operator or passenger of the vehicle).”; Paragraph 0063: “As shown, the system may include one or more input elements 110, fuel source meters 120, location sensors 130, environmental sensors 140, and/or other vehicle sensors 150. In addition, the system may include one or more processors 160, an optional graphics processing unit (GPU) and/or field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), at least one display elements 180, a set of storages 190, and optional communication (or connectivity) module 195.”)
… each tile being assigned with a tile ID, the information processing method comprising: (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0353: “FIG. 35 illustrates a graphical representation of a map area 3500 divided into sections (or “tiles”) 3510 that may be used to facilitate efficient data usage and access.”; Paragraph 0354: “The map area may be divided into sub-sections 3510 by an exemplary set of vertical 3520 and horizontal 3530 lines. Different embodiments may divide the area 3500 such that the tiles 3510 are appropriately sized for evaluation (e.g., the tiles may be sized such that the included data may be loaded into a memory of the device being used, the tiles may be sized based on the dimensions and features of the terrain depicted in the map area 3500, etc.).”; Paragraphs 0364 – 0365: “If the process determines that tiles are, the process may generate (at 3740) tiles. Generation of tiles may include dividing a map area into sections as described above in reference to FIG. 35. Alternatively, if the process determines (at 3730) that tiles are already available, the process may retrieve (at 3750) the set(s) of associated information. After retrieving (at 3750) the information, the process may optimize (at 3760) the retrieved information. Such optimization may be achieved as described above in reference to FIG. 36. In some embodiments, the retrieved information may include a complete section of a map database (e.g., information in a map database associated with a geographic area such as North America)”,
Supplemental Note: the tiles are linked within the map database associated with their geographic area, therefore each tile is interpreted to have a tile ID of their location)
periodically acquiring, via a global positioning system sensor, a current position of a vehicle; (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0066: “The set of location sensors 130 may be able to determine a position of the vehicle in various appropriate ways. Such location sensors may include, for instance, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) sensors (such as GPS, global navigation satellite systems (GLONASS), Galileo, Beidou, etc.),”)
periodically acquiring, via a second sensor, remaining energy information of the vehicle (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0065: “Each fuel source meter 120 may be able to determine an amount (and/or relative amount) of fuel available to vehicle. Such fuel source meters may measure various appropriate elements using various appropriate units, for instance, gasoline levels (e.g., in gallons, as a percentage of a full tank, etc.), battery charge levels (e.g., in Watt-hours (W-h), as a percentage of a full charge, etc.), etc.”)
acquiring a plurality of requests (Stankoulov: Paragraphs 0063 – 0064: “As shown, the system may include one or more input elements 110, fuel source meters 120, location sensors 130, environmental sensors 140, and/or other vehicle sensors 150. In addition, the system may include one or more processors 160, an optional graphics processing unit (GPU) and/or field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), at least one display elements 180, a set of storages 190, and optional communication (or connectivity) module 195. Each input element 110 may allow a user to interact with the system. Such elements may include touch screens, keyboards, steering wheel controls, rotary knobs, Bluetooth or wireless links to external input devices, etc.”; Paragraph 0072: “Each display element 180 may allow a user to view various outputs of the system 100. For instance, the display element 180 may display various maps, range projections, user interfaces, etc., as appropriate. In some embodiments, the display element may be combined with an input element 110 to provide a touch-screen element.”,
Supplemental Note: the user is able to use the input elements of the display to put in requests)
corresponding to each of a plurality of tiles displayed on the display device, (Stankoulov: Paragraphs 0071 – 0072: “Each GPU and/or FPGA 170 may provide various computing and/or display processing functionality that may allow for efficient system operation by offloading some operations that may otherwise be performed by the processor 160. Each display element 180 may allow a user to view various outputs of the system 100. For instance, the display element 180 may display various maps, range projections, user interfaces, etc., as appropriate. In some embodiments, the display element may be combined with an input element 110 to provide a touch-screen element.”; Paragraphs 0353 – 0354: “FIG. 35 illustrates a graphical representation of a map area 3500 divided into sections (or “tiles”) 3510 that may be used to facilitate efficient data usage and access. As shown, the map area 3500 may typically be represented as a rectangle, as it may be displayed to a user (e.g., using a vehicle head unit, a smartphone, etc.). The map area may be divided into sub-sections 3510 by an exemplary set of vertical 3520 and horizontal 3530 lines. Different embodiments may divide the area 3500 such that the tiles 3510 are appropriately sized for evaluation (e.g., the tiles may be sized such that the included data may be loaded into a memory of the device being used, the tiles may be sized based on the dimensions and features of the terrain depicted in the map area 3500, etc.). Different embodiments may include different numbers of dividing lines, different numbers of resulting tiles, differently shaped rectangles (e.g., rectangles with greater width than height, rectangles with grater height than width, or squares).”)
each of the plurality of requests including the tile ID, the current position of the vehicle, and the remaining energy information of the vehicle; and (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0008: “A current position of a vehicle may be identified. A set of links surrounding the current position may be evaluated to determine whether a path (and return path) along the set of links has a summed cost that is less than a target cost. Such a target cost may be associated with the vehicle fuel level.”; Paragraph 0355: “Within each tile 3510, each link 3540 may be defined such that a node 3550 is created at each tile defining line 3520-3530. In this way, each link is completely included in a single tile 3510, as shown. Thus, if a projection algorithm requires some map data, the entire tile may be loaded such that nearby links are available for analysis without reloading data. In addition, some embodiments may automatically load adjacent tiles when data is requested (such “adjacent” tiles may include tiles that are next to the requested tile, tiles within a range of tiles, etc.).”,
Supplemental Note: the links are part of the tiles that are to be displayed when the system determines a best route)
executing, in parallel, a plurality of pieces of response processing corresponding to the plurality of requests that are acquired, and (Stankoulov: Paragraphs 0361 – 0364: “FIG. 37 illustrates a flow chart of a process 3700 used by some embodiments to optimize the retrieval and use of map data. In some embodiments, process 3700 may be implemented using optimized hardware and/or software (e.g., a physical and/or virtual cache may be used to store database information for quick retrieval). Such a process may begin, for instance, when a range finder application of some embodiments is launched. Next, the process may receive (at 3710) a request for information. Such a request may be received in various appropriate ways and may be based on various appropriate criteria (e.g., an application may determine a current position using one or more appropriate elements and then request map information for an area surrounding the current position). The process may then determine (at 3720) whether the requested information has been previously retrieved from storage. For instance, in some embodiments, the process may determine whether the requested information has been previously stored in RAM. If process 3700 determines (at 3720) that the requested information has not been previously retrieved, the process may determine (at 3730) whether there are tiles available to load.”: Paragraph 0368: “One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that while process 3700 has been described with reference to various specific details, the process may be implemented in various different ways without departing from the scope of the disclosure. For instance, various operations may be omitted in some embodiments and/or various other operations may be added in some embodiments. As another example, different embodiments may perform the operations different orders. As yet another example, the process may be divided into a set of sub-processes and/or be included as a sub-process in a macro process. In addition, different embodiments may perform the process based at least partly on various criteria (e.g., at each request received, continuously, at regular intervals, etc.).”)
in each piece of the response processing, extracting planimetric feature information indicating a planimetric feature to be displayed on each tile, (Stankoulov: Abstract: “the map information including multiple links associated with available roadways in the geographic area”; Paragraphs 0369 – 0370: “FIG. 38 illustrates an example GUI 3800 of some embodiments that displays a vehicle range using colored links. Such a GUI may provide an intuitive user interface, where each link is displayed as a color and each color corresponds to a projection (e.g., a first color may be associated with links within a range that is based on twenty-five percent of available fuel, a second color may be associated with links within a range that is based on fifty percent of available fuel, etc.). In this example, map area 3810 is displayed with various links having a first color 3820 (represented as a solid line in this example), various links having a second color 3830 (represented as a line with a first dash type in this example), various links having a third color 3840 (represented as a line with a second dash type in this example), and various links having a fourth color 3850 (represented as a line with a third dash type in this example).”,
Supplemental Note: the links, which are associated to the different roadways, correspond to the tiles which can be displayed in different variations. As stated in the specifications paragraph 0070, a planimetric feature is an object displayed on a map such as roads and building)
the planimetric feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in a request, from a planimetric feature database in which the tile ID is associated with the planimetric feature information; (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0353: “FIG. 35 illustrates a graphical representation of a map area 3500 divided into sections (or “tiles”) 3510 that may be used to facilitate efficient data usage and access.”; Paragraph 0355: “Within each tile 3510, each link 3540 may be defined such that a node 3550 is created at each tile defining line 3520-3530. In this way, each link is completely included in a single tile 3510, as shown. Thus, if a projection algorithm requires some map data, the entire tile may be loaded such that nearby links are available for analysis without reloading data. In addition, some embodiments may automatically load adjacent tiles when data is requested (such “adjacent” tiles may include tiles that are next to the requested tile, tiles within a range of tiles, etc.).” Paragraph 0357: “A map region (e.g., a tile) may include various numbers of links (or no links), each having associated sub-elements.”; Paragraphs 0358 - 0359: “Data element 3620 represents an optimized data element. In this example, each link includes only a cost for the link, and a listing of connected links (and associated cost to transfer to the connected link). In this way, the data associated with each link may be optimized for use in projection or route calculation algorithms of some embodiments. Such optimization may allow larger map areas to be loaded to memory and analyzed in an efficient way with having to delete and reload data as space is required (e.g., random-access memory (RAM), cache, etc.). In some embodiments, the original data element 3610 and the optimized data element 3620 may include a listing of the links associated with a single tile. In this way, when a tile is loaded, all the links associated with the tile may be loaded at once.”; Paragraph 0365: “After retrieving (at 3750) the information, the process may optimize (at 3760) the retrieved information. Such optimization may be achieved as described above in reference to FIG. 36. In some embodiments, the retrieved information may include a complete section of a map database (e.g., information in a map database associated with a geographic area such as North America).”,
Supplemental Note: the map database stores the tiles and the tiles also store link data which are interpreted as planimetric features)
calculating, based on the planimetric feature information that is extracted, a geographic feature amount between the current position of the vehicle and a feature indicated by the planimetric feature information; determining reachability by the vehicle to the planimetric feature based on the geographic feature amount that is calculated and the remaining energy information; and outputting the reachability that is determined and the planimetric feature information that is extracted to the display device (Stankoulov: Paragraphs 0092 – 0094: “As shown, a first GUI 410 may display, in the display area 400, a set of graphical elements. Such elements may represent, for example, a vehicle position 430, a restricted area 440 (i.e., areas the vehicle cannot reach or is restricted from reaching, such as lakes, parks, bays, military bases, etc.), one or more major roadways 450, and/or one or more minor roadways 460. A second GUI 420 may display an indication of an area 470 indicating the range associated with fifty percent of available fuel (or some other threshold and/or parameter), an area 480 indicating the range associated with seventy-five percent of available fuel, and an area 490 indicating the range associated with one hundred percent of available fuel. The displayed areas 470-490 may indicate one-way range or roundtrip range. As described below, various ranges may be displayed in various appropriate ways. For instance, some embodiments may differentiate among the ranges 470-490 using different colors, shading patterns or densities, etc.”,
Supplemental Note: the planimetric feature information may be a road which the system can identify and display on a user GUI the various locations the vehicle can travel based on its remaining energy information. As stated in the specifications paragraph 0030, a geographic feature amount can be distance or elevations differences between the current position and planimetric feature, in this example the distance to a road shown by 490 and 480 of Figure A)
PNG
media_image1.png
672
461
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Figure A – Stankoulov; Fig. 4
wherein in the extracting,
first planimetric feature information that is the planimetric feature information on a first tile that is within a display range of the display device is extracted, and (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0072: “Each display element 180 may allow a user to view various outputs of the system 100. For instance, the display element 180 may display various maps, range projections, user interfaces, etc., as appropriate. In some embodiments, the display element may be combined with an input element 110 to provide a touch-screen element.”; Paragraph 0145: “The map display module 920 may be adapted to receive cost information and associate the information with a section of a map being rendered for display. The range projection module 930 may evaluate data received from other modules (e.g., available fuel, slope, distance, temperature, etc.) and determine ranges along particular paths that may be available to a vehicle.”)
… in the calculating,
a first geographic feature amount that is the geographic feature amount between the current position and a first planimetric feature that is the planimetric feature indicated by the first planimetric feature information is calculated, and (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0103: “FIG. 7 illustrates an x-y plot 700 representing a set of shape points and associated slope of a path 710, as used by some embodiments. The x-y plot 700 shows elevation versus linear distance in this example. As shown, path 710 may begin at point 720 and extend to point 730. Various shape points 740 may be included along the path 710. Each shape point may include an angle of slope at that point and may define the topography of the path 710 from start 720 to finish 730.”: Abstract: “determining a set of roundtrip range projection links from among the links based at least partly on the retrieved map information and the set of parameters associated with the vehicle, by evaluating the links to identify multiple roundtrip paths extending outward from a position of the vehicle,”,
Supplemental Note: a geographic feature is stated within the specification to be a distance between the current position and planimetric feature (Specification: Paragraph 0030). The links or paths are determined based on the current position of the vehicle)
… in the determining,
a first reachability that is the reachability to the first planimetric feature from the current position, and (Stankoulov: Abstract: “determining a set of roundtrip range projection links from among the links based at least partly on the retrieved map information and the set of parameters associated with the vehicle, by evaluating the links to identify multiple roundtrip paths extending outward from a position of the vehicle,”; Paragraph 0145: “The map display module 920 may be adapted to receive cost information and associate the information with a section of a map being rendered for display. The range projection module 930 may evaluate data received from other modules (e.g., available fuel, slope, distance, temperature, etc.) and determine ranges along particular paths that may be available to a vehicle.”)
… the remaining energy information, and in the outputting, (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0093: “A second GUI 420 may display an indication of an area 470 indicating the range associated with fifty percent of available fuel (or some other threshold and/or parameter), an area 480 indicating the range associated with seventy-five percent of available fuel, and an area 490 indicating the range associated with one hundred percent of available fuel. The displayed areas 470-490 may indicate one-way range or roundtrip range.”,
Supplemental Note: the system is able to determine the range in which the vehicle can travel and indicating the amount of available fuel)
the first reachability, the first planimetric feature information, (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0145: “The map display module 920 may be adapted to receive cost information and associate the information with a section of a map being rendered for display. The range projection module 930 may evaluate data received from other modules (e.g., available fuel, slope, distance, temperature, etc.) and determine ranges along particular paths that may be available to a vehicle.”).
In sum, Stankoulov teaches an information processing method in an information processing device that controls a display device each tile being assigned with a tile ID, the information processing method comprising: periodically acquiring, via a global positioning system sensor, a current position of a vehicle; periodically acquiring, via a second sensor, remaining energy information of the vehicle acquiring a plurality of requests corresponding to each of a plurality of tiles displayed on the display device, each of the plurality of requests including the tile ID, the current position of the vehicle, and the remaining energy information of the vehicle; and executing, in parallel, a plurality of pieces of response processing corresponding to the plurality of requests that are acquired, and in each piece of the response processing, extracting planimetric feature information indicating a planimetric feature to be displayed on each tile, the planimetric feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in a request, from a planimetric feature database in which the tile ID is associated with the planimetric feature information; calculating, based on the planimetric feature information that is extracted, a geographic feature amount between the current position of the vehicle and a feature indicated by the planimetric feature information; determining reachability by the vehicle to the planimetric feature based on the geographic feature amount that is calculated and the remaining energy information; and outputting the reachability that is determined and the planimetric feature information that is extracted to the display device wherein in the extracting, first planimetric feature information that is the planimetric feature information on a first tile that is within a display range of the display device is extracted, and in the calculating, a first geographic feature amount that is the geographic feature amount between the current position and a first planimetric feature that is the planimetric feature indicated by the first planimetric feature information is calculated, and in the determining, a first reachability that is the reachability to the first planimetric feature from the current position, and the remaining energy information, and in the outputting, the first reachability, and the first planimetric feature information. Stankoulov however does not teach a device that displays a map image divided into a plurality of tiles according to a zoom level.
Appleton teaches that displays a map image divided into a plurality of tiles according to a zoom level, (Appleton: Abstract: “In an example, a method includes receiving into a processor one or more map tiles for use in displaying a geographic region in a map viewport of the map display interface, where at least one map tile includes one or more depicted map features of the geographic region.”; Paragraph 0004: “Each map tile corresponds to a specific geographical region at a particular zoom level. At higher zoom levels, at which each map tile corresponds to a smaller geographical region, there may be fewer map features within the geographical region depicted by each map tile. Accordingly, at higher zoom levels the geographical region depicted in a given viewport will include relatively fewer map features. Correspondingly, at lower zoom levels, at which each map tile corresponds to a larger geographical region, there may be many more map features within the geographical region depicted by each map tile.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention disclosed by Stankoulov with the teachings of Appleton with a reasonable expectation of success. Both Stankoulov and Appleton teach the ability to display a map utilizing tiles and the ability to show claimed planimetric features on the map. Appleton further teaches the ability to zoom in and out on a requested map location within the display where it can display multiple tiles according to the zoom level. One with knowledge in the art would find this obvious to try as it increases the usability of the display for the user. For example, if the user cannot see a certain planimetric feature properly, zooming in will help distinguish those features. A user is also able to zoom out on the map as to view a wider area if desired. Combining this function increases the usability of the display as a user can view the geographic region on the display with greater flexibility regarding how far they can zoom in and out. Stankoulov in view of Appleton however still do not teach in addition, second planimetric feature information that is the planimetric feature information on a second tile that is positioned around the display range is extracted, and a second geographic feature amount that is the geographic feature amount between the current position and a second planimetric feature that is the planimetric feature indicated by the second planimetric feature information is calculated, a second reachability that is the reachability to the second planimetric feature from the current position are determined based on the first geographic feature amount that is calculated, the second geographic feature that is calculated, and the second reachability, and the second planimetric feature information are output.
Asahara teaches in addition, second planimetric feature information that is the planimetric feature information on a second tile that is positioned around the display range is extracted, and (Asahara: Abstract: “A controller of a navigation terminal (navigation apparatus) is configured to find a plurality of paths from a current position of a vehicle and a destination based on a plurality of different and prioritized path-finding conditions, respectively, and causes a display to show the plurality of paths which includes a navigating path”; Col. 16, lines 4 – 13: “FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a third display example of the navigation screen displayed in the display 105 of the navigation terminal 10 according to the present embodiment. In this example, the display screen of the display 105 is divided into two areas: one for displaying a navigation screen 1401 in which a navigating path is shown on a map in such a manner as known in the art; and the other for displaying a screen 1402 for a simplified map in which navigating and alternative paths are shown diagrammatically.”; Col. 11, lines 25 – 31: “The way of showing an alternative path in the navigation screen 500 as illustrated in FIG. 5 adopts a method by which a branch is displayed in the same screen 500 in which an ordinary map is shown, and thus the navigating path and at least alternative path can be displayed together in a compact fashion even in a limited area of the screen provided in the display 105 of the navigation terminal 10.”,
Supplemental Note: the navigation screen 500 as shown in Figure B is the same as the navigation screen 1401 in Figure C. This navigation screen is a zoomed in version of the full navigational path view as seen in screen 1402 which includes planimetric feature information around the tiles of the navigation map)
PNG
media_image2.png
751
638
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Figure B - Asahara; Fig. 5
PNG
media_image3.png
567
875
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Figure C - Asahara; Fig. 14
… a second geographic feature amount that is the geographic feature amount between the current position and a second planimetric feature that is the planimetric feature indicated by the second planimetric feature information is calculated, (Asahara: Col. 1, lines 19 – 27: “The navigation apparatus for a vehicle is configured to show in a display a map on which a navigating path such as a shortest-time path is designated, and/or relevant information, to suggest a road suitable for a driver of the vehicle to drive along. The driver of the vehicle may make predetermined settings at the navigation apparatus in which he/she can select a preferable type of navigating path among various alternatives such as a shortest-time path, a shortest-distance path, and a freeway-detouring path.”; Col. 12, lines 14 – 15: “The navigation screen 800 which shows navigating and alternative paths in a simplified diagram as shown in FIG. 8”,
Supplemental Note: the distances to the destination can be determined by creating multiple navigation paths from the current location. These paths are shown in Figure D, which shows navigation paths to features not shown in the navigation screens 1401 from Figure C)
PNG
media_image4.png
876
605
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Figure D - Asahara; Fig. 8
… a second reachability that is the reachability to the second planimetric feature from the current position are determined based on the first geographic feature amount that is
calculated, the second geographic feature that is calculated, and (Asahara: Col. 11, lines 56 – 66: “In the navigation screen 800, the freeway junctions and the branch points of the paths may be represented by marks 803 shaped for example like a circle as illustrated. Moreover, the navigation screen 800 includes, as is the case with the example shown in FIG. 5, path information 804 such as a message describing features of each alternative path. Besides the time required (arrival time) and travel expenses (cost) of each alternative path, etc., the path information 804 may include congestion statuses, stores along the path, the number of signals along the path, and the number of branch points at which the vehicle turns right (or left) across the opposite lane along the path.”,
Supplemental Note: as seen in Figure D, cost information about each route and branch points are stated. This captures a full view of the navigational path from the current location to the destination which is showing planimetric information not shown on navigation screen 1401 from Figure C)
… the second reachability, and the second planimetric feature information are output (Asahara: Col. 11, lines 56 – 66: “In the navigation screen 800, the freeway junctions and the branch points of the paths may be represented by marks 803 shaped for example like a circle as illustrated. Moreover, the navigation screen 800 includes, as is the case with the example shown in FIG. 5, path information 804 such as a message describing features of each alternative path. Besides the time required (arrival time) and travel expenses (cost) of each alternative path, etc., the path information 804 may include congestion statuses, stores along the path, the number of signals along the path, and the number of branch points at which the vehicle turns right (or left) across the opposite lane along the path.”,
Supplemental Note: as seen in Figure D, cost information about each route and branch points is stated. This captures a full view of the navigational path from the current location to the destination which is showing planimetric information not shown on navigation screen 1401 from Figure C).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention disclosed by Stankoulov with the teachings of Asahara with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would find the navigational route determination as taught by Asahara to be simple substitution with the navigation system of Stankoulov. Stankoulov teaches the ability in creating a roundtrip range of vehicles within a geographic area by using cost value analysis to determine the paths to traverse. Asahara performs navigation to a destination also utilizing a cost value analysis to determine multiple paths to the destination. Both Stankoulov and Asahara are teaching navigation from a current location to a destination, therefore to one of ordinary skill in the art these navigation systems are merely a simple substitution to obtain predictable results.
Regarding claim 2, Stankoulov, as modified, teaches further comprising: storing the planimetric feature information extracted from the planimetric feature database in a cache memory in association with the tile ID; wherein in the extracting of the planimetric feature information, the planimetric feature information is extracted from the cache memory in a case where the planimetric feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in the request is stored in the cache memory (Stankoulov: Paragraphs 0357 – 0358: “FIG. 36 illustrates a data structure diagram 3600 that may be used to cache map data such that the data requires a smaller amount of memory. As shown, a typical link data element 3610 may include various sub-elements (e.g., length or distance, speed, shape points, a begin node, an end node, street name, etc.). A map region (e.g., a tile) may include various numbers of links (or no links), each having associated sub-elements. Data element 3620 represents an optimized data element. In this example, each link includes only a cost for the link, and a listing of connected links (and associated cost to transfer to the connected link). In this way, the data associated with each link may be optimized for use in projection or route calculation algorithms of some embodiments. Such optimization may allow larger map areas to be loaded to memory and analyzed in an efficient way with having to delete and reload data as space is required (e.g., random-access memory (RAM), cache, etc.).”).
Regarding claim 3, Stankoulov, as modified, teaches wherein the planimetric feature information includes geometry data indicating a topography of the planimetric feature, (Stankoulov: Paragraphs 0190 – 0192: “FIG. 12 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a system 1200 used to generate vehicle emissions estimates in some embodiments. As shown, the system may include map elements 1210, route calculation elements 1220, a route import module 1230, fuel (and/or carbon) range projection elements 1240, an emission calculation engine 1250, and one or more emission estimate elements 1260. Such a system 1200 may be implemented as an on-board system adapted to provide real-time feedback and/or to calculate values based on driver behavior, current engine condition, and/or other relevant real-time factors. The system may be able to assist in meeting reporting standards and/or emissions caps. The map elements 1210 may each include information related to various geographic areas (e.g., elevation, stop/start points, real-time traffic, speed, etc.).”)
… in output to the display device, outputting the geometry data that is extracted by including the geometry data in the planimetric feature information (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0086: “The display interface 350 may allow the system to provide display data to a visual display (e.g., a vehicle head unit, a smartphone screen, etc.). The databases 360 may include various data elements associated with the operation of various system components of some embodiments (e.g., map databases, vehicle profiles, topographic information, etc.).”; Paragraphs 0091 – 0092: “FIG. 4 illustrates a display area 400 capable of displaying various example graphical user interfaces (GUIs) 410-420 provided by some embodiments. The display area 400 may be provided by one or more appropriate visual display elements (e.g., element 180). As shown, a first GUI 410 may display, in the display area 400, a set of graphical elements. Such elements may represent, for example, a vehicle position 430, a restricted area 440 (i.e., areas the vehicle cannot reach or is restricted from reaching, such as lakes, parks, bays, military bases, etc.), one or more major roadways 450, and/or one or more minor roadways 460.”).
In sum, Stankoulov teaches wherein the planimetric feature information includes geometry data indicating a topography of the planimetric feature, in output to the display device, outputting the geometry data that is extracted by including the geometry data that is extracted in the planimetric feature information. Stankoulov however does not teach the information processing method further comprising: extracting the geometry data corresponding to the zoom level from among pieces of the geometry data included in the planimetric feature information extracted by the planimetric feature database.
Appleton teaches the information processing method further comprising: extracting the geometry data corresponding to the zoom level from among pieces of the geometry data included in the planimetric feature information extracted from the planimetric feature database; and (Appleton: Paragraph 0004: “Each map tile corresponds to a specific geographical region at a particular zoom level. At higher zoom levels, at which each map tile corresponds to a smaller geographical region, there may be fewer map features within the geographical region depicted by each map tile. Accordingly, at higher zoom levels the geographical region depicted in a given viewport will include relatively fewer map features. Correspondingly, at lower zoom levels, at which each map tile corresponds to a larger geographical region, there may be many more map features within the geographical region depicted by each map tile.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention disclosed by Stankoulov with the teachings of Appleton with a reasonable expectation of success. As stated for claim 1, both Stankoulov and Appleton teach the ability to display a map utilizing tiles and the ability to show claimed planimetric features on the map. Appleton further teaches the ability to zoom in and out on a requested map location within the display where it can display multiple tiles according to the zoom level. One with knowledge in the art would find this obvious to try as it increases the usability of the display for the user. For example, zooming in on a particular location will allow the user to finely view the individual map features while zooming out will let the user see a wider area with additional map features. This allows the user greater flexibility when viewing a location versus looking for all of the features at a specified default zoom level.
Regarding claim 4, Stankoulov, as modified, teaches further comprising: in calculation of the geographic feature amount, calculating the geographic feature amount with reference to a geographic feature amount database that stores the geographic feature amount between itself and a predetermined reachable planimetric feature for each of a plurality of planimetric features (Stankoulov: Paragraphs 0092 – 0094: “As shown, a first GUI 410 may display, in the display area 400, a set of graphical elements. Such elements may represent, for example, a vehicle position 430, a restricted area 440 (i.e., areas the vehicle cannot reach or is restricted from reaching, such as lakes, parks, bays, military bases, etc.), one or more major roadways 450, and/or one or more minor roadways 460. A second GUI 420 may display an indication of an area 470 indicating the range associated with fifty percent of available fuel (or some other threshold and/or parameter), an area 480 indicating the range associated with seventy-five percent of available fuel, and an area 490 indicating the range associated with one hundred percent of available fuel. The displayed areas 470-490 may indicate one-way range or roundtrip range. As described below, various ranges may be displayed in various appropriate ways. For instance, some embodiments may differentiate among the ranges 470-490 using different colors, shading patterns or densities, etc.”,
Supplemental Note: the planimetric feature information may be a road which the system can identify and display on a user GUI the various locations the vehicle can travel based on its remaining energy information. As stated in the specifications paragraph 0030, a geographic feature amount can be distance or elevations differences between the current position and planimetric feature, in this example the distance to a road shown by 490 and 480 of Figure A).
Regarding claim 6, Stankoulov, as modified, teaches wherein the geographic feature amount includes at least one of a distance between the current position and each planimetric feature, and an elevation difference between the current position and each planimetric feature (Stankoulov: Paragraphs 0105 – 0107: “FIG. 8 illustrates an x-y plot 800 associated with an algorithm used to approximate the slope of a path. The plot depicts distance along the x-axis and elevation along the y-axis. As shown, the plot includes an actual path 810 (and associated slope information), a straight-line approximated path 820, an improved approximated slope path 830 with a maximum inflection point 840 and minimum inflection point 850, a maximum height 860, a minimum height 870, and a current height 880. In some embodiments, the maximum inflection point 840 (represented as a value along the x-axis of plot 800) may be calculated as the product of the link distance (or length) and the difference between the maximum height 860 and the current height 880 divided by the difference between the maximum height 860 and the minimum height 870. Likewise, in some embodiments, the minimum inflection point 850 (represented as a value along the x-axis of plot 800) may be calculated as the product of the link distance and the difference between the current height 880 and the minimum height 870 divided by the difference between the maximum height 860 and the minimum height 870. As shown in FIG. 8, such an approach to approximating slop may yield improved results over a straight-line approximation.”,
Supplemental Note: the system is able to gather distances, x-axis, and elevation, y-axis of a calculated path which is from the current position different planimetric features such as roads as shown In Figure E).
PNG
media_image5.png
604
415
media_image5.png
Greyscale
Figure E - Stankoulov: Fig. 7 and Fig. 8
Regarding claim 7, Stankoulov, as modified, teaches wherein the request includes additional information including at least one of vehicle information, user information, current time, or weather information, the information processing method further comprising: (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0008: “A current position of a vehicle may be identified. A set of links surrounding the current position may be evaluated to determine whether a path (and return path) along the set of links has a summed cost that is less than a target cost. Such a target cost may be associated with the vehicle fuel level.”; Paragraph 0355: “Within each tile 3510, each link 3540 may be defined such that a node 3550 is created at each tile defining line 3520-3530. In this way, each link is completely included in a single tile 3510, as shown. Thus, if a projection algorithm requires some map data, the entire tile may be loaded such that nearby links are available for analysis without reloading data. In addition, some embodiments may automatically load adjacent tiles when data is requested (such “adjacent” tiles may include tiles that are next to the requested tile, tiles within a range of tiles, etc.).”)
in determination of the reachability, determining the reachability by the vehicle to planimetric feature based on the additional information (Stankoulov: Paragraphs 0092 – 0094: “As shown, a first GUI 410 may display, in the display area 400, a set of graphical elements. Such elements may represent, for example, a vehicle position 430, a restricted area 440 (i.e., areas the vehicle cannot reach or is restricted from reaching, such as lakes, parks, bays, military bases, etc.), one or more major roadways 450, and/or one or more minor roadways 460. A second GUI 420 may display an indication of an area 470 indicating the range associated with fifty percent of available fuel (or some other threshold and/or parameter), an area 480 indicating the range associated with seventy-five percent of available fuel, and an area 490 indicating the range associated with one hundred percent of available fuel. The displayed areas 470-490 may indicate one-way range or roundtrip range. As described below, various ranges may be displayed in various appropriate ways. For instance, some embodiments may differentiate among the ranges 470-490 using different colors, shading patterns or densities, etc.”,
Supplemental Note: the planimetric feature information may be a road which the system can identify and display on a user GUI the various locations the vehicle can travel based on its remaining energy information. As stated in the specifications paragraph 0030, a geographic feature amount can be distance or elevations differences between the current position and planimetric feature, in this example the distance to a road shown by 490 and 480 of Figure A).
Regarding claim 8, Stankoulov, as modified, teaches wherein the remaining energy information is a remaining power amount or remaining fuel of the vehicle (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0063: “As shown, the system may include one or more input elements 110, fuel source meters 120, location sensors 130, environmental sensors 140, and/or other vehicle sensors 150. In addition, the system may include one or more processors 160, an optional graphics processing unit (GPU) and/or field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), at least one display elements 180, a set of storages 190, and optional communication (or connectivity) module 195.”; Paragraph 0065: “Each fuel source meter 120 may be able to determine an amount (and/or relative amount) of fuel available to vehicle. Such fuel source meters may measure various appropriate elements using various appropriate units, for instance, gasoline levels (e.g., in gallons, as a percentage of a full tank, etc.), battery charge levels (e.g., in Watt-hours (W-h), as a percentage of a full charge, etc.), etc. Some vehicles may include a single type of fuel source meter (e.g., a gasoline meter in a gasoline-powered vehicle, a battery charge meter in an electric vehicle (EV), gasoline gallon equivalents (GGE) for a compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle, etc.), while other vehicles may include multiple types of fuel source meters (e.g., a gasoline meter and a battery charge meter in a hybrid vehicle).”).
Regarding claim 9, Stankoulov, as modified, teaches wherein the planimetric feature database includes a first table that stores the tile ID and a second table that stores the planimetric feature information, and one piece of the planimetric feature information stored in the second table is associated with one or a plurality of tile IDs among tile IDs stored in the first table (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0353: “FIG. 35 illustrates a graphical representation of a map area 3500 divided into sections (or “tiles”) 3510 that may be used to facilitate efficient data usage and access.”; Paragraph 0355: “Within each tile 3510, each link 3540 may be defined such that a node 3550 is created at each tile defining line 3520-3530. In this way, each link is completely included in a single tile 3510, as shown. Thus, if a projection algorithm requires some map data, the entire tile may be loaded such that nearby links are available for analysis without reloading data. In addition, some embodiments may automatically load adjacent tiles when data is requested (such “adjacent” tiles may include tiles that are next to the requested tile, tiles within a range of tiles, etc.).” Paragraph 0357: “A map region (e.g., a tile) may include various numbers of links (or no links), each having associated sub-elements.”; Paragraphs 0358 - 0359: “Data element 3620 represents an optimized data element. In this example, each link includes only a cost for the link, and a listing of connected links (and associated cost to transfer to the connected link). In this way, the data associated with each link may be optimized for use in projection or route calculation algorithms of some embodiments. Such optimization may allow larger map areas to be loaded to memory and analyzed in an efficient way with having to delete and reload data as space is required (e.g., random-access memory (RAM), cache, etc.). In some embodiments, the original data element 3610 and the optimized data element 3620 may include a listing of the links associated with a single tile. In this way, when a tile is loaded, all the links associated with the tile may be loaded at once.”; Paragraph 0365: “After retrieving (at 3750) the information, the process may optimize (at 3760) the retrieved information. Such optimization may be achieved as described above in reference to FIG. 36. In some embodiments, the retrieved information may include a complete section of a map database (e.g., information in a map database associated with a geographic area such as North America).”,
Supplemental Note: the map database stores the tiles and the tiles also store link data which are interpreted as planimetric features).
Regarding claim 12, Stankoulov, as modified, teaches wherein each request further includes a traveling direction of the vehicle, and the second tile is in the traveling direction of the vehicle (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0046: “FIG. 35 illustrates a graphical representation of a map area divided into sections (or “tiles”) that may be used to facilitate efficient data usage and access;”; Paragraph 0355: “Within each tile 3510, each link 3540 may be defined such that a node 3550 is created at each tile defining line 3520-3530. In this way, each link is completely included in a single tile 3510, as shown. Thus, if a projection algorithm requires some map data, the entire tile may be loaded such that nearby links are available for analysis without reloading data. In addition, some embodiments may automatically load adjacent tiles when data is requested (such “adjacent” tiles may include tiles that are next to the requested tile, tiles within a range of tiles, etc.).”; Paragraph 0007 – 0008: “A geographic area may be represented as a set of links. Each link may have an associated set of costs (e.g., cost to traverse the link in a first direction, cost to traverse the link in a second direction, cost to transition from one link to another, etc.). A current position of a vehicle may be identified. A set of links surrounding the current position may be evaluated to determine whether a path (and return path) along the set of links has a summed cost that is less than a target cost. Such a target cost may be associated with the vehicle fuel level.”,
Supplemental Note: the links represent a direction of travel of the vehicle from the current location to a another location. The links include different tiles or sections of the maps that are to be shown of the map. Please see Figure F).
PNG
media_image6.png
778
1034
media_image6.png
Greyscale
Figure F - Stankoulov; Fig. 35
Regarding claim 13, Stankoulov, as modified, teaches wherein the second tile includes a planimetric feature having the reachability that is substantially zero (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0046: “FIG. 35 illustrates a graphical representation of a map area divided into sections (or “tiles”) that may be used to facilitate efficient data usage and access;”; Paragraph 0355: “Within each tile 3510, each link 3540 may be defined such that a node 3550 is created at each tile defining line 3520-3530. In this way, each link is completely included in a single tile 3510, as shown. Thus, if a projection algorithm requires some map data, the entire tile may be loaded such that nearby links are available for analysis without reloading data. In addition, some embodiments may automatically load adjacent tiles when data is requested (such “adjacent” tiles may include tiles that are next to the requested tile, tiles within a range of tiles, etc.).”; Paragraph 0007 – 0008: “A geographic area may be represented as a set of links. Each link may have an associated set of costs (e.g., cost to traverse the link in a first direction, cost to traverse the link in a second direction, cost to transition from one link to another, etc.). A current position of a vehicle may be identified. A set of links surrounding the current position may be evaluated to determine whether a path (and return path) along the set of links has a summed cost that is less than a target cost. Such a target cost may be associated with the vehicle fuel level.”; Paragraph 0098: “Segments may be defined as uninterrupted stretches of road where the relevant attributes are the same (e.g. speed, road class, etc.) among physical features such as intersections, crosswalks, traffic lights, stop signs, etc. In this example, open circles 530 are used to designate segment nodes (e.g., traffic lights, intersections, etc.).”; Paragraph 0099: “In this example, a first node (or “reference node”) 610 may be a start point for the link. The second node may be an end point for the link. A link may include various attributes (e.g., road class, posted speed limit, average speed, length, number of lanes, direction of travel, etc.). In addition to two nodes 610, the link may include a number of ordered shape points 620, which may include the world coordinates of the shape point (longitude and latitude), elevation, and/or other appropriate shape point attributes such as slope, curvature, heading, etc. In this example, the shape points proceed from left to right (and from ‘A’ to ‘H’, alphabetically). When stored in a database or in memory, the shape point coordinates may be represented as absolute coordinates, relative coordinates (delta), approximated with a curve (e.g. a spline), etc. and may be compressed using standard compression methods.”,
Supplemental Note: the links represent a direction of travel of the vehicle from the current location to a another location. The links include different tiles or sections of the maps that are to be shown of the map. A planimetric feature is interpreted as nodes as they are road features).
Regarding claim 14, Stankoulov, as modified, teaches further comprising: in the output, determining priority order of tiles such that a tile in which the planimetric feature having the reachability that is low is high in display order, and (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0098: “open circles 530 are used to designate segment nodes (e.g., traffic lights, intersections, etc.).”; Paragraphs 0353 – 0356: “FIG. 35 illustrates a graphical representation of a map area 3500 divided into sections (or “tiles”) 3510 that may be used to facilitate efficient data usage and access. As shown, the map area 3500 may typically be represented as a rectangle, as it may be displayed to a user (e.g., using a vehicle head unit, a smartphone, etc.). The map area may be divided into sub-sections 3510 by an exemplary set of vertical 3520 and horizontal 3530 lines. Different embodiments may divide the area 3500 such that the tiles 3510 are appropriately sized for evaluation (e.g., the tiles may be sized such that the included data may be loaded into a memory of the device being used, the tiles may be sized based on the dimensions and features of the terrain depicted in the map area 3500, etc.). Different embodiments may include different numbers of dividing lines, different numbers of resulting tiles, differently shaped rectangles (e.g., rectangles with greater width than height, rectangles with grater height than width, or squares). Within each tile 3510, each link 3540 may be defined such that a node 3550 is created at each tile defining line 3520-3530. In this way, each link is completely included in a single tile 3510, as shown. Thus, if a projection algorithm requires some map data, the entire tile may be loaded such that nearby links are available for analysis without reloading data. In addition, some embodiments may automatically load adjacent tiles when data is requested (such “adjacent” tiles may include tiles that are next to the requested tile, tiles within a range of tiles, etc.). One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the representations of FIG. 35 are conceptual in nature and may be implemented in various different ways without departing from the scope of the disclosure. For instance, different embodiments may divide a map area into different numbers of rows and columns.”,
Supplemental Note: the various tiles are placed based on the requested location. The adjacent tiles are loaded around the current tile thus interpreted as a higher priority than the other tiles. The adjacent tiles are recognized by the route to a location as well, the various links shown in Figure F correspond to their respective tiles and include planimetric information, such as the nodes which represent road features)
outputting preferentially the planimetric feature information and the reachability of the planimetric feature located in the tile that is high in the display order (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0342 – 0344: “As shown, the process may receive (at 3310) map data to be compiled. Next, the process may generate (at 3320) a list of polygons representing restricting areas (e.g., bays, lakes, oceans, military bases, parks, etc.) within the geographic area defined by the received map data. Such a list may be generated based at least partly on various nodes, flags, features, and/or other elements of the received map data, various parameters (e.g., user preferences, precision of the map data, etc.), and/or other appropriate factors (e.g., the list may only include restricted areas greater than a threshold size, may only include certain types of restricted areas, etc.). Next, the process may select (at 3330) the next polygon in the list. Process 3300 may then iteratively, for each vertex in the polygon, find the closest road (as defined by a set of nodes and/or a set of shape points) to the vertex. Such closes roads may be identified, for instance, by performing an initial search using a bounding rectangle associated with each polygon to quickly find the close roads. Then, the closest road to each vertex of the polygon may be identified. The process may then determine (at 3350) whether each identified closest road is within a threshold distance (and/or conforms to other appropriate evaluation criteria). Such a distance may be defined according to a system default value, user preference, and/or other appropriate factors and/or parameters. If the process determines that the road is within the threshold distance the process may mark (at 3360), with a special flag, the node (or links) associated with the road section. After marking the closest road section or after determining (at 3350) that the closest road is outside the threshold, the process may determine (at 3370) whether all restricted areas (or polygons) have been evaluated.”; Paragraphs 0349 – 0350: “FIG. 34 illustrates example GUIs 3400-3410 of some embodiments representing the input and output of process 3300 (and/or other appropriate processes). The first GUI 3400 includes a displayed map section 3420 and a projection polygon 3430 that overlaps a section 3440 of a restricted area (in this example the restricted area may be an ocean inlet or bay). The second GUI 3410 includes the same displayed map section 3420 and a polygon projection 3450 that has been modified such that it no longer overlaps the restricted area”,
Supplemental Note: the planimetric metric features are identified and the ones closest to the vehicle are in shown in the same tile or can be shown in the adjacent tile. Please see Figure G).
PNG
media_image7.png
647
478
media_image7.png
Greyscale
Figure G - Stankoulov; Fig. 34
Regarding claim 15, Stankoulov, as modified, teaches wherein each request further includes a traveling direction of the vehicle, (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0099: “FIG. 6 illustrates a link (or “segment”) 600 having end points (or “nodes”) 610 and multiple ordered shape points 620. In this example, a first node (or “reference node”) 610 may be a start point for the link. The second node may be an end point for the link. A link may include various attributes (e.g., road class, posted speed limit, average speed, length, number of lanes, direction of travel, etc.).”; Paragraph 0200: “In some embodiments, the initial link 1305 and target cost 1310 may be provided when a range projection is requested. Such elements may be included in an appropriate request. The open queue 1315 may include a list of route steps 1320 that is sorted by cost. Each route step may refer to various sub-elements 1325 such as a link (which may itself refer to sets of nodes and/or shape points) or set of links, an accumulated cost associated with a path that includes the route step, a list of successor routes (if any), and/or other sub-elements. Each successor route may refer to various sub-elements 1330 such as a link and a transfer cost (and/or cost to traverse) associated with the link and relative to the link associated with the predecessor route step.”)
the information processing method further comprising: in the output, determining priority order of tiles such that a tile in the traveling direction is high in display order, (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0098: “open circles 530 are used to designate segment nodes (e.g., traffic lights, intersections, etc.).”; Paragraphs 0353 – 0356: “FIG. 35 illustrates a graphical representation of a map area 3500 divided into sections (or “tiles”) 3510 that may be used to facilitate efficient data usage and access. As shown, the map area 3500 may typically be represented as a rectangle, as it may be displayed to a user (e.g., using a vehicle head unit, a smartphone, etc.). The map area may be divided into sub-sections 3510 by an exemplary set of vertical 3520 and horizontal 3530 lines. Different embodiments may divide the area 3500 such that the tiles 3510 are appropriately sized for evaluation (e.g., the tiles may be sized such that the included data may be loaded into a memory of the device being used, the tiles may be sized based on the dimensions and features of the terrain depicted in the map area 3500, etc.). Different embodiments may include different numbers of dividing lines, different numbers of resulting tiles, differently shaped rectangles (e.g., rectangles with greater width than height, rectangles with grater height than width, or squares). Within each tile 3510, each link 3540 may be defined such that a node 3550 is created at each tile defining line 3520-3530. In this way, each link is completely included in a single tile 3510, as shown. Thus, if a projection algorithm requires some map data, the entire tile may be loaded such that nearby links are available for analysis without reloading data. In addition, some embodiments may automatically load adjacent tiles when data is requested (such “adjacent” tiles may include tiles that are next to the requested tile, tiles within a range of tiles, etc.). One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the representations of FIG. 35 are conceptual in nature and may be implemented in various different ways without departing from the scope of the disclosure. For instance, different embodiments may divide a map area into different numbers of rows and columns.”,
Supplemental Note: the various tiles are placed based on the requested location. The adjacent tiles are loaded around the current tile thus interpreted as a higher priority than the other tiles. The adjacent tiles are recognized by the route to a location as well, the various links shown in Figure F correspond to their respective tiles and include planimetric information, such as the nodes which represent road features. The links are also taught to have direction of travel information)
and outputting preferentially the planimetric feature information and the reachability of a planimetric feature located in the tile that is high in the display order (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0342 – 0344: “As shown, the process may receive (at 3310) map data to be compiled. Next, the process may generate (at 3320) a list of polygons representing restricting areas (e.g., bays, lakes, oceans, military bases, parks, etc.) within the geographic area defined by the received map data. Such a list may be generated based at least partly on various nodes, flags, features, and/or other elements of the received map data, various parameters (e.g., user preferences, precision of the map data, etc.), and/or other appropriate factors (e.g., the list may only include restricted areas greater than a threshold size, may only include certain types of restricted areas, etc.). Next, the process may select (at 3330) the next polygon in the list. Process 3300 may then iteratively, for each vertex in the polygon, find the closest road (as defined by a set of nodes and/or a set of shape points) to the vertex. Such closes roads may be identified, for instance, by performing an initial search using a bounding rectangle associated with each polygon to quickly find the close roads. Then, the closest road to each vertex of the polygon may be identified. The process may then determine (at 3350) whether each identified closest road is within a threshold distance (and/or conforms to other appropriate evaluation criteria). Such a distance may be defined according to a system default value, user preference, and/or other appropriate factors and/or parameters. If the process determines that the road is within the threshold distance the process may mark (at 3360), with a special flag, the node (or links) associated with the road section. After marking the closest road section or after determining (at 3350) that the closest road is outside the threshold, the process may determine (at 3370) whether all restricted areas (or polygons) have been evaluated.”; Paragraphs 0349 – 0350: “FIG. 34 illustrates example GUIs 3400-3410 of some embodiments representing the input and output of process 3300 (and/or other appropriate processes). The first GUI 3400 includes a displayed map section 3420 and a projection polygon 3430 that overlaps a section 3440 of a restricted area (in this example the restricted area may be an ocean inlet or bay). The second GUI 3410 includes the same displayed map section 3420 and a polygon projection 3450 that has been modified such that it no longer overlaps the restricted area”,
Supplemental Note: the planimetric metric features are identified and the ones closest to the vehicle are in shown in the same tile or can be shown in the adjacent tile. Please see Figure G).
Regarding claim 16, Stankoulov, as modified, teaches further comprising: in the output, determining a priority order of tiles such that a tile close to the current position is high in display order, (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0098: “open circles 530 are used to designate segment nodes (e.g., traffic lights, intersections, etc.).”; Paragraphs 0353 – 0356: “FIG. 35 illustrates a graphical representation of a map area 3500 divided into sections (or “tiles”) 3510 that may be used to facilitate efficient data usage and access. As shown, the map area 3500 may typically be represented as a rectangle, as it may be displayed to a user (e.g., using a vehicle head unit, a smartphone, etc.). The map area may be divided into sub-sections 3510 by an exemplary set of vertical 3520 and horizontal 3530 lines. Different embodiments may divide the area 3500 such that the tiles 3510 are appropriately sized for evaluation (e.g., the tiles may be sized such that the included data may be loaded into a memory of the device being used, the tiles may be sized based on the dimensions and features of the terrain depicted in the map area 3500, etc.). Different embodiments may include different numbers of dividing lines, different numbers of resulting tiles, differently shaped rectangles (e.g., rectangles with greater width than height, rectangles with grater height than width, or squares). Within each tile 3510, each link 3540 may be defined such that a node 3550 is created at each tile defining line 3520-3530. In this way, each link is completely included in a single tile 3510, as shown. Thus, if a projection algorithm requires some map data, the entire tile may be loaded such that nearby links are available for analysis without reloading data. In addition, some embodiments may automatically load adjacent tiles when data is requested (such “adjacent” tiles may include tiles that are next to the requested tile, tiles within a range of tiles, etc.). One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the representations of FIG. 35 are conceptual in nature and may be implemented in various different ways without departing from the scope of the disclosure. For instance, different embodiments may divide a map area into different numbers of rows and columns.”,
Supplemental Note: the various tiles are placed based on the requested location. The adjacent tiles are loaded around the current tile thus interpreted as a higher priority than the other tiles. The adjacent tiles are recognized by the route to a location as well, the various links shown in Figure F correspond to their respective tiles and include planimetric information, such as the nodes which represent road features. The links are also taught to have direction of travel information)
and outputting preferentially the planimetric feature information and the reachability of a planimetric feature located in the tile that is high in the display order (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0342 – 0344: “As shown, the process may receive (at 3310) map data to be compiled. Next, the process may generate (at 3320) a list of polygons representing restricting areas (e.g., bays, lakes, oceans, military bases, parks, etc.) within the geographic area defined by the received map data. Such a list may be generated based at least partly on various nodes, flags, features, and/or other elements of the received map data, various parameters (e.g., user preferences, precision of the map data, etc.), and/or other appropriate factors (e.g., the list may only include restricted areas greater than a threshold size, may only include certain types of restricted areas, etc.). Next, the process may select (at 3330) the next polygon in the list. Process 3300 may then iteratively, for each vertex in the polygon, find the closest road (as defined by a set of nodes and/or a set of shape points) to the vertex. Such closes roads may be identified, for instance, by performing an initial search using a bounding rectangle associated with each polygon to quickly find the close roads. Then, the closest road to each vertex of the polygon may be identified. The process may then determine (at 3350) whether each identified closest road is within a threshold distance (and/or conforms to other appropriate evaluation criteria). Such a distance may be defined according to a system default value, user preference, and/or other appropriate factors and/or parameters. If the process determines that the road is within the threshold distance the process may mark (at 3360), with a special flag, the node (or links) associated with the road section. After marking the closest road section or after determining (at 3350) that the closest road is outside the threshold, the process may determine (at 3370) whether all restricted areas (or polygons) have been evaluated.”; Paragraphs 0349 – 0350: “FIG. 34 illustrates example GUIs 3400-3410 of some embodiments representing the input and output of process 3300 (and/or other appropriate processes). The first GUI 3400 includes a displayed map section 3420 and a projection polygon 3430 that overlaps a section 3440 of a restricted area (in this example the restricted area may be an ocean inlet or bay). The second GUI 3410 includes the same displayed map section 3420 and a polygon projection 3450 that has been modified such that it no longer overlaps the restricted area”,
Supplemental Note: the planimetric metric features are identified and the ones closest to the vehicle are in shown in the same tile or can be shown in the adjacent tile. Please see Figure G).
Regarding claim 17, Stankoulov, as modified, teaches further comprising: in the output, determining priority order of tiles such that a tile including a road as the planimetric feature is high in display order, (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0098: “open circles 530 are used to designate segment nodes (e.g., traffic lights, intersections, etc.).”; Paragraphs 0353 – 0356: “FIG. 35 illustrates a graphical representation of a map area 3500 divided into sections (or “tiles”) 3510 that may be used to facilitate efficient data usage and access. As shown, the map area 3500 may typically be represented as a rectangle, as it may be displayed to a user (e.g., using a vehicle head unit, a smartphone, etc.). The map area may be divided into sub-sections 3510 by an exemplary set of vertical 3520 and horizontal 3530 lines. Different embodiments may divide the area 3500 such that the tiles 3510 are appropriately sized for evaluation (e.g., the tiles may be sized such that the included data may be loaded into a memory of the device being used, the tiles may be sized based on the dimensions and features of the terrain depicted in the map area 3500, etc.). Different embodiments may include different numbers of dividing lines, different numbers of resulting tiles, differently shaped rectangles (e.g., rectangles with greater width than height, rectangles with grater height than width, or squares). Within each tile 3510, each link 3540 may be defined such that a node 3550 is created at each tile defining line 3520-3530. In this way, each link is completely included in a single tile 3510, as shown. Thus, if a projection algorithm requires some map data, the entire tile may be loaded such that nearby links are available for analysis without reloading data. In addition, some embodiments may automatically load adjacent tiles when data is requested (such “adjacent” tiles may include tiles that are next to the requested tile, tiles within a range of tiles, etc.). One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the representations of FIG. 35 are conceptual in nature and may be implemented in various different ways without departing from the scope of the disclosure. For instance, different embodiments may divide a map area into different numbers of rows and columns.”,
Supplemental Note: the various tiles are placed based on the requested location. The adjacent tiles are loaded around the current tile thus interpreted as a higher priority than the other tiles. The adjacent tiles are recognized by the route to a location as well, the various links shown in Figure F correspond to their respective tiles and include planimetric information, such as the nodes which represent road features. The links are also taught to have direction of travel information)
and outputting preferentially the planimetric feature information and the reachability of the planimetric feature located in the tile that is high in the display order (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0342 – 0344: “As shown, the process may receive (at 3310) map data to be compiled. Next, the process may generate (at 3320) a list of polygons representing restricting areas (e.g., bays, lakes, oceans, military bases, parks, etc.) within the geographic area defined by the received map data. Such a list may be generated based at least partly on various nodes, flags, features, and/or other elements of the received map data, various parameters (e.g., user preferences, precision of the map data, etc.), and/or other appropriate factors (e.g., the list may only include restricted areas greater than a threshold size, may only include certain types of restricted areas, etc.). Next, the process may select (at 3330) the next polygon in the list. Process 3300 may then iteratively, for each vertex in the polygon, find the closest road (as defined by a set of nodes and/or a set of shape points) to the vertex. Such closes roads may be identified, for instance, by performing an initial search using a bounding rectangle associated with each polygon to quickly find the close roads. Then, the closest road to each vertex of the polygon may be identified. The process may then determine (at 3350) whether each identified closest road is within a threshold distance (and/or conforms to other appropriate evaluation criteria). Such a distance may be defined according to a system default value, user preference, and/or other appropriate factors and/or parameters. If the process determines that the road is within the threshold distance the process may mark (at 3360), with a special flag, the node (or links) associated with the road section. After marking the closest road section or after determining (at 3350) that the closest road is outside the threshold, the process may determine (at 3370) whether all restricted areas (or polygons) have been evaluated.”; Paragraphs 0349 – 0350: “FIG. 34 illustrates example GUIs 3400-3410 of some embodiments representing the input and output of process 3300 (and/or other appropriate processes). The first GUI 3400 includes a displayed map section 3420 and a projection polygon 3430 that overlaps a section 3440 of a restricted area (in this example the restricted area may be an ocean inlet or bay). The second GUI 3410 includes the same displayed map section 3420 and a polygon projection 3450 that has been modified such that it no longer overlaps the restricted area”,
Supplemental Note: the planimetric metric features are identified and the ones closest to the vehicle are in shown in the same tile or can be shown in the adjacent tile. See Figure G).
Regarding claim 18, Stankoulov teaches an information processing device that controls a display device (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0062: “FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an in-vehicle system 100 according to an exemplary embodiment the invention. Specifically, this figure shows various conceptual modules that may allow the system to interact with the vehicle, determine range projections, and/or interact with a user (e.g., an operator or passenger of the vehicle).”; Paragraph 0063: “As shown, the system may include one or more input elements 110, fuel source meters 120, location sensors 130, environmental sensors 140, and/or other vehicle sensors 150. In addition, the system may include one or more processors 160, an optional graphics processing unit (GPU) and/or field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), at least one display elements 180, a set of storages 190, and optional communication (or connectivity) module 195.”)
each tile being assigned with a tile ID, the information processing device comprising: (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0353: “FIG. 35 illustrates a graphical representation of a map area 3500 divided into sections (or “tiles”) 3510 that may be used to facilitate efficient data usage and access.”; Paragraph 0354: “The map area may be divided into sub-sections 3510 by an exemplary set of vertical 3520 and horizontal 3530 lines. Different embodiments may divide the area 3500 such that the tiles 3510 are appropriately sized for evaluation (e.g., the tiles may be sized such that the included data may be loaded into a memory of the device being used, the tiles may be sized based on the dimensions and features of the terrain depicted in the map area 3500, etc.).”; Paragraphs 0364 – 0365: “If the process determines that tiles are, the process may generate (at 3740) tiles. Generation of tiles may include dividing a map area into sections as described above in reference to FIG. 35. Alternatively, if the process determines (at 3730) that tiles are already available, the process may retrieve (at 3750) the set(s) of associated information. After retrieving (at 3750) the information, the process may optimize (at 3760) the retrieved information. Such optimization may be achieved as described above in reference to FIG. 36. In some embodiments, the retrieved information may include a complete section of a map database (e.g., information in a map database associated with a geographic area such as North America)”,
Supplemental Note: the tiles are linked within the map database associated with their geographic area, therefore each tile is interpreted to have a tile ID of their location)
a processor; and (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0063: “As shown, the system may include one or more input elements 110, fuel source meters 120, location sensors 130, environmental sensors 140, and/or other vehicle sensors 150. In addition, the system may include one or more processors 160, an optional graphics processing unit (GPU) and/or field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), at least one display elements 180, a set of storages 190, and optional communication (or connectivity) module 195.”)
a memory including a program that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to: (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0070: “Each processor 160 may be able to execute instructions and/or process data in various appropriate ways. The processor may be able to communicate among the other system elements, as appropriate.”; Paragraph 0382: “The processor 4010 may, in order to execute the processes of some embodiments, retrieve instructions to execute and/or data to process from components such as system memory 4015, ROM 4020, and permanent storage device 4025. Such instructions and data may be passed over bus 4005.”)
periodically acquire, via a global positioning system sensor, a current position of a vehicle; (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0066: “The set of location sensors 130 may be able to determine a position of the vehicle in various appropriate ways. Such location sensors may include, for instance, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) sensors (such as GPS, global navigation satellite systems (GLONASS), Galileo, Beidou, etc.),”)
periodically acquire, via a second sensor, remaining energy information of the vehicle; (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0065: “Each fuel source meter 120 may be able to determine an amount (and/or relative amount) of fuel available to vehicle. Such fuel source meters may measure various appropriate elements using various appropriate units, for instance, gasoline levels (e.g., in gallons, as a percentage of a full tank, etc.), battery charge levels (e.g., in Watt-hours (W-h), as a percentage of a full charge, etc.), etc.”)
acquire, from the display device, a plurality of requests (Stankoulov: Paragraphs 0063 – 0064: “As shown, the system may include one or more input elements 110, fuel source meters 120, location sensors 130, environmental sensors 140, and/or other vehicle sensors 150. In addition, the system may include one or more processors 160, an optional graphics processing unit (GPU) and/or field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), at least one display elements 180, a set of storages 190, and optional communication (or connectivity) module 195. Each input element 110 may allow a user to interact with the system. Such elements may include touch screens, keyboards, steering wheel controls, rotary knobs, Bluetooth or wireless links to external input devices, etc.”; Paragraph 0072: “Each display element 180 may allow a user to view various outputs of the system 100. For instance, the display element 180 may display various maps, range projections, user interfaces, etc., as appropriate. In some embodiments, the display element may be combined with an input element 110 to provide a touch-screen element.”,
Supplemental Note: the user is able to use the input elements of the display to input requests)
corresponding to each of a plurality of tiles displayed on the display device, (Stankoulov: Paragraphs 0071 – 0072: “Each GPU and/or FPGA 170 may provide various computing and/or display processing functionality that may allow for efficient system operation by offloading some operations that may otherwise be performed by the processor 160. Each display element 180 may allow a user to view various outputs of the system 100. For instance, the display element 180 may display various maps, range projections, user interfaces, etc., as appropriate. In some embodiments, the display element may be combined with an input element 110 to provide a touch-screen element.”; Paragraphs 0353 – 0354: “FIG. 35 illustrates a graphical representation of a map area 3500 divided into sections (or “tiles”) 3510 that may be used to facilitate efficient data usage and access. As shown, the map area 3500 may typically be represented as a rectangle, as it may be displayed to a user (e.g., using a vehicle head unit, a smartphone, etc.). The map area may be divided into sub-sections 3510 by an exemplary set of vertical 3520 and horizontal 3530 lines. Different embodiments may divide the area 3500 such that the tiles 3510 are appropriately sized for evaluation (e.g., the tiles may be sized such that the included data may be loaded into a memory of the device being used, the tiles may be sized based on the dimensions and features of the terrain depicted in the map area 3500, etc.). Different embodiments may include different numbers of dividing lines, different numbers of resulting tiles, differently shaped rectangles (e.g., rectangles with greater width than height, rectangles with grater height than width, or squares).”)
each of the plurality of requests including the tile ID, the current position of the vehicle, and the remaining energy information of the vehicle; and (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0008: “A current position of a vehicle may be identified. A set of links surrounding the current position may be evaluated to determine whether a path (and return path) along the set of links has a summed cost that is less than a target cost. Such a target cost may be associated with the vehicle fuel level.”; Paragraph 0355: “Within each tile 3510, each link 3540 may be defined such that a node 3550 is created at each tile defining line 3520-3530. In this way, each link is completely included in a single tile 3510, as shown. Thus, if a projection algorithm requires some map data, the entire tile may be loaded such that nearby links are available for analysis without reloading data. In addition, some embodiments may automatically load adjacent tiles when data is requested (such “adjacent” tiles may include tiles that are next to the requested tile, tiles within a range of tiles, etc.).”,
Supplemental Note: the links are part of the tiles that are to be displayed when the system determines a best route)
execute, in parallel, a plurality of pieces of response processing corresponding to the plurality of requests that are acquired, (Stankoulov: Paragraphs 0361 – 0364: “FIG. 37 illustrates a flow chart of a process 3700 used by some embodiments to optimize the retrieval and use of map data. In some embodiments, process 3700 may be implemented using optimized hardware and/or software (e.g., a physical and/or virtual cache may be used to store database information for quick retrieval). Such a process may begin, for instance, when a range finder application of some embodiments is launched. Next, the process may receive (at 3710) a request for information. Such a request may be received in various appropriate ways and may be based on various appropriate criteria (e.g., an application may determine a current position using one or more appropriate elements and then request map information for an area surrounding the current position). The process may then determine (at 3720) whether the requested information has been previously retrieved from storage. For instance, in some embodiments, the process may determine whether the requested information has been previously stored in RAM. If process 3700 determines (at 3720) that the requested information has not been previously retrieved, the process may determine (at 3730) whether there are tiles available to load.”: Paragraph 0368: “One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that while process 3700 has been described with reference to various specific details, the process may be implemented in various different ways without departing from the scope of the disclosure. For instance, various operations may be omitted in some embodiments and/or various other operations may be added in some embodiments. As another example, different embodiments may perform the operations different orders. As yet another example, the process may be divided into a set of sub-processes and/or be included as a sub-process in a macro process. In addition, different embodiments may perform the process based at least partly on various criteria (e.g., at each request received, continuously, at regular intervals, etc.).”)
wherein in each piece of the response processing,
planimetric feature information indicating a planimetric feature to be displayed on each tile, (Stankoulov: Abstract: “the map information including multiple links associated with available roadways in the geographic area”; Paragraphs 0369 – 0370: “FIG. 38 illustrates an example GUI 3800 of some embodiments that displays a vehicle range using colored links. Such a GUI may provide an intuitive user interface, where each link is displayed as a color and each color corresponds to a projection (e.g., a first color may be associated with links within a range that is based on twenty-five percent of available fuel, a second color may be associated with links within a range that is based on fifty percent of available fuel, etc.). In this example, map area 3810 is displayed with various links having a first color 3820 (represented as a solid line in this example), various links having a second color 3830 (represented as a line with a first dash type in this example), various links having a third color 3840 (represented as a line with a second dash type in this example), and various links having a fourth color 3850 (represented as a line with a third dash type in this example).”,
Supplemental Note: the links, which are associated to the different roadways, correspond to the tiles which can be displayed in different variations. As stated in the specifications paragraph 0070, a planimetric feature is an object displayed on a map such as roads and building)
the planimetric feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in a request, is extracted from a planimetric feature database in which the tile ID is associated with the planimetric feature information, (Stankoulov: Abstract: “retrieving a set of parameters associated with the vehicle; retrieving map information regarding a geographic area, the map information including multiple links associated with available roadways in the geographic area”; Paragraph 0099: “FIG. 6 illustrates a link (or “segment”) 600 having end points (or “nodes”) 610 and multiple ordered shape points 620. In this example, a first node (or “reference node”) 610 may be a start point for the link. The second node may be an end point for the link. A link may include various attributes (e.g., road class, posted speed limit, average speed, length, number of lanes, direction of travel, etc.). In addition to two nodes 610, the link may include a number of ordered shape points 620, which may include the world coordinates of the shape point (longitude and latitude), elevation, and/or other appropriate shape point attributes such as slope, curvature, heading, etc.”; Paragraph 0008: “A current position of a vehicle may be identified. A set of links surrounding the current position may be evaluated to determine whether a path (and return path) along the set of links has a summed cost that is less than a target cost. Such a target cost may be associated with the vehicle fuel level.”; Paragraph 0355: “Within each tile 3510, each link 3540 may be defined such that a node 3550 is created at each tile defining line 3520-3530. In this way, each link is completely included in a single tile 3510, as shown. Thus, if a projection algorithm requires some map data, the entire tile may be loaded such that nearby links are available for analysis without reloading data. In addition, some embodiments may automatically load adjacent tiles when data is requested (such “adjacent” tiles may include tiles that are next to the requested tile, tiles within a range of tiles, etc.).”,
Supplemental Note: as stated in the specifications paragraph 0070, a planimetric feature is an object displayed on a map such as roads and building. The links are associated with the different tiles to be displayed. The links also includes nodes that are roadway features which are claimed to be part of that are interpreted as the planimetric features)
based on the planimetric feature information that is extracted, a geographic feature amount between the current position of the vehicle and a feature indicated by the planimetric feature information is calculated,
reachability by the vehicle to the planimetric feature is determined based on the geographic feature amount that is calculated and the remaining energy information, and
the reachability that is determined and the planimetric feature information that is extracted are output to the display device (Stankoulov: Paragraphs 0092 – 0094: “As shown, a first GUI 410 may display, in the display area 400, a set of graphical elements. Such elements may represent, for example, a vehicle position 430, a restricted area 440 (i.e., areas the vehicle cannot reach or is restricted from reaching, such as lakes, parks, bays, military bases, etc.), one or more major roadways 450, and/or one or more minor roadways 460. A second GUI 420 may display an indication of an area 470 indicating the range associated with fifty percent of available fuel (or some other threshold and/or parameter), an area 480 indicating the range associated with seventy-five percent of available fuel, and an area 490 indicating the range associated with one hundred percent of available fuel. The displayed areas 470-490 may indicate one-way range or roundtrip range. As described below, various ranges may be displayed in various appropriate ways. For instance, some embodiments may differentiate among the ranges 470-490 using different colors, shading patterns or densities, etc.”,
Supplemental Note: the planimetric feature information may be a road which the system can identify and display on a user GUI the various locations the vehicle can travel based on its remaining energy information. As stated in the specifications paragraph 0030, a geographic feature amount can be distance or elevations differences between the current position and planimetric feature, in this example the distance to a road shown by 490 and 480 of Figure A)
in extraction of the planimetric feature information,
first planimetric feature information that is the planimetric feature information on a first tile that is within a display range of the display device is extracted, and (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0072: “Each display element 180 may allow a user to view various outputs of the system 100. For instance, the display element 180 may display various maps, range projections, user interfaces, etc., as appropriate. In some embodiments, the display element may be combined with an input element 110 to provide a touch-screen element.”; Paragraph 0145: “The map display module 920 may be adapted to receive cost information and associate the information with a section of a map being rendered for display. The range projection module 930 may evaluate data received from other modules (e.g., available fuel, slope, distance, temperature, etc.) and determine ranges along particular paths that may be available to a vehicle.”)
… in calculation of the geographic feature amount,
a first geographic feature amount that is the geographic feature amount between the current position and a first planimetric feature that is the planimetric feature indicated by the first planimetric feature information is calculated, and (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0103: “FIG. 7 illustrates an x-y plot 700 representing a set of shape points and associated slope of a path 710, as used by some embodiments. The x-y plot 700 shows elevation versus linear distance in this example. As shown, path 710 may begin at point 720 and extend to point 730. Various shape points 740 may be included along the path 710. Each shape point may include an angle of slope at that point and may define the topography of the path 710 from start 720 to finish 730.”: Abstract: “determining a set of roundtrip range projection links from among the links based at least partly on the retrieved map information and the set of parameters associated with the vehicle, by evaluating the links to identify multiple roundtrip paths extending outward from a position of the vehicle,”,
Supplemental Note: a geographic feature is stated within the specification to be a distance between the current position and planimetric feature (Specification: Paragraph 0030). The links or paths are determined based on the current position of the vehicle)
… in determination of the reachability,
a first reachability that is the reachability to the first planimetric feature from the current position, and (Stankoulov: Abstract: “determining a set of roundtrip range projection links from among the links based at least partly on the retrieved map information and the set of parameters associated with the vehicle, by evaluating the links to identify multiple roundtrip paths extending outward from a position of the vehicle,”; Paragraph 0145: “The map display module 920 may be adapted to receive cost information and associate the information with a section of a map being rendered for display. The range projection module 930 may evaluate data received from other modules (e.g., available fuel, slope, distance, temperature, etc.) and determine ranges along particular paths that may be available to a vehicle.”)
… the remaining energy information, and in the output, (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0093: “A second GUI 420 may display an indication of an area 470 indicating the range associated with fifty percent of available fuel (or some other threshold and/or parameter), an area 480 indicating the range associated with seventy-five percent of available fuel, and an area 490 indicating the range associated with one hundred percent of available fuel. The displayed areas 470-490 may indicate one-way range or roundtrip range.”,
Supplemental Note: the system is able to determine the range in which the vehicle can travel and indicating the amount of available fuel)
the first reachability, the first planimetric feature information, (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0145: “The map display module 920 may be adapted to receive cost information and associate the information with a section of a map being rendered for display. The range projection module 930 may evaluate data received from other modules (e.g., available fuel, slope, distance, temperature, etc.) and determine ranges along particular paths that may be available to a vehicle.”).
In sum, Stankoulov teaches an information processing device that controls a display device each tile being assigned with a tile ID, the information processing device comprising: a processor; and a memory including a program that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to: periodically acquire, via a global positioning system sensor, a current position of a vehicle; periodically acquire, via a second sensor, remaining energy information of the vehicle; acquire, from the display device, a plurality of requests corresponding to each of a plurality of tiles displayed on the display device, each of the plurality of requests including the tile ID, the current position of the vehicle, and the remaining energy information of the vehicle; and execute, in parallel, a plurality of pieces of response processing corresponding to the plurality of requests that are acquired, wherein in each piece of the response processing, planimetric feature information indicating a planimetric feature to be displayed on each tile, the planimetric feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in a request, is extracted from a planimetric feature database in which the tile ID is associated with the planimetric feature information, based on the planimetric feature information that is extracted, a geographic feature amount between the current position of the vehicle and a feature indicated by the planimetric feature information is calculated, reachability by the vehicle to the planimetric feature is determined based on the geographic feature amount that is calculated and the remaining energy information, and the reachability that is determined and the planimetric feature information that is extracted are output to the display device in extraction of the planimetric feature information, first planimetric feature information that is the planimetric feature information on a first tile that is within a display range of the display device is extracted, and in calculation of the geographic feature amount, a first geographic feature amount that is the geographic feature amount between the current position and a first planimetric feature that is the planimetric feature indicated by the first planimetric feature information is calculated, and in determination of the reachability, a first reachability that is the reachability to the first planimetric feature from the current position, and the remaining energy information, and in the output, the first reachability, the first planimetric feature information. Stankoulov however does not teach a display that displays a map image divided into a plurality of tiles according to a zoom level.
Appleton teaches that displays a map image divided into a plurality of tiles according to a zoom level, (Appleton: Abstract: “In an example, a method includes receiving into a processor one or more map tiles for use in displaying a geographic region in a map viewport of the map display interface, where at least one map tile includes one or more depicted map features of the geographic region.”; Paragraph 0004: “Each map tile corresponds to a specific geographical region at a particular zoom level. At higher zoom levels, at which each map tile corresponds to a smaller geographical region, there may be fewer map features within the geographical region depicted by each map tile. Accordingly, at higher zoom levels the geographical region depicted in a given viewport will include relatively fewer map features. Correspondingly, at lower zoom levels, at which each map tile corresponds to a larger geographical region, there may be many more map features within the geographical region depicted by each map tile.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention disclosed by Stankoulov with the teachings of Appleton with a reasonable expectation of success. Please refer to the rejection of claim 1 as both state the same claim language and therefore rejected under the same pretenses. Stankoulov in view of Appleton however still do not teach in addition, second planimetric feature information that is the planimetric feature information on a second tile that is positioned around the display range is extracted, and a second geographic feature amount that is the geographic feature amount between the current position and a second planimetric feature that is the planimetric feature indicated by the second planimetric feature information is calculated, a second reachability that is the reachability to the second planimetric feature from the current position are determined based on the first geographic feature amount that is calculated, the second geographic feature that is calculated, and the second reachability, and the second planimetric feature information are output.
Asahara teaches in addition, second planimetric feature information that is the planimetric feature information on a second tile that is positioned around the display range is extracted, (Asahara: Abstract: “A controller of a navigation terminal (navigation apparatus) is configured to find a plurality of paths from a current position of a vehicle and a destination based on a plurality of different and prioritized path-finding conditions, respectively, and causes a display to show the plurality of paths which includes a navigating path”; Col. 16, lines 4 – 13: “FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a third display example of the navigation screen displayed in the display 105 of the navigation terminal 10 according to the present embodiment. In this example, the display screen of the display 105 is divided into two areas: one for displaying a navigation screen 1401 in which a navigating path is shown on a map in such a manner as known in the art; and the other for displaying a screen 1402 for a simplified map in which navigating and alternative paths are shown diagrammatically.”; Col. 11, lines 25 – 31: “The way of showing an alternative path in the navigation screen 500 as illustrated in FIG. 5 adopts a method by which a branch is displayed in the same screen 500 in which an ordinary map is shown, and thus the navigating path and at least alternative path can be displayed together in a compact fashion even in a limited area of the screen provided in the display 105 of the navigation terminal 10.”,
Supplemental Note: the navigation screen 500 as shown in Figure B is the same as the navigation screen 1401 in Figure C. This navigation screen is a zoomed in version of the full navigational path view as seen in screen 1402 which includes planimetric feature information around the tiles of the navigation map)
… a second geographic feature amount that is the geographic feature amount between the current position and a second planimetric feature that is the planimetric feature indicated by the second planimetric feature information is calculated, (Asahara: Col. 1, lines 19 – 27: “The navigation apparatus for a vehicle is configured to show in a display a map on which a navigating path such as a shortest-time path is designated, and/or relevant information, to suggest a road suitable for a driver of the vehicle to drive along. The driver of the vehicle may make predetermined settings at the navigation apparatus in which he/she can select a preferable type of navigating path among various alternatives such as a shortest-time path, a shortest-distance path, and a freeway-detouring path.”; Col. 12, lines 14 – 15: “The navigation screen 800 which shows navigating and alternative paths in a simplified diagram as shown in FIG. 8”,
Supplemental Note: the distances to the destination can be determined by creating multiple navigation paths from the current location. These paths are shown in Figure D, which shows navigation paths to features not shown in the navigation screens 1401 from Figure C)
… a second reachability that is the reachability to the second planimetric feature from the current position are determined based on the first geographic feature amount that is calculated, the second geographic feature that is calculated, and(Asahara: Col. 11, lines 56 – 66: “In the navigation screen 800, the freeway junctions and the branch points of the paths may be represented by marks 803 shaped for example like a circle as illustrated. Moreover, the navigation screen 800 includes, as is the case with the example shown in FIG. 5, path information 804 such as a message describing features of each alternative path. Besides the time required (arrival time) and travel expenses (cost) of each alternative path, etc., the path information 804 may include congestion statuses, stores along the path, the number of signals along the path, and the number of branch points at which the vehicle turns right (or left) across the opposite lane along the path.”,
Supplemental Note: as seen in Figure D, cost information about each route and branch points are stated. This captures a full view of the navigational path from the current location to the destination which is showing planimetric information not shown on navigation screen 1401 from Figure C)
… the second reachability, and the second planimetric feature information are output (Asahara: Col. 11, lines 56 – 66: “In the navigation screen 800, the freeway junctions and the branch points of the paths may be represented by marks 803 shaped for example like a circle as illustrated. Moreover, the navigation screen 800 includes, as is the case with the example shown in FIG. 5, path information 804 such as a message describing features of each alternative path. Besides the time required (arrival time) and travel expenses (cost) of each alternative path, etc., the path information 804 may include congestion statuses, stores along the path, the number of signals along the path, and the number of branch points at which the vehicle turns right (or left) across the opposite lane along the path.”,
Supplemental Note: as seen in Figure D, cost information about each route and branch points is stated. This captures a full view of the navigational path from the current location to the destination which is showing planimetric information not shown on navigation screen 1401 from Figure C).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention disclosed by Stankoulov with the teachings of Asahara with a reasonable expectation of success. Please refer to the rejection of claim 1 as both state the same claim language and therefore rejected under the same pretenses.
Regarding claim 19, Stankoulov teaches a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium recording an information processing program that causes a computer to function as (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0376: “Many of the processes and modules described above may be implemented as software processes that are specified as one or more sets of instructions recorded on a non-transitory storage medium. When these instructions are executed by one or more computational element(s) (e.g., microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.) the instructions cause the computational element(s) to perform actions specified in the instructions.”)
an information processing device that controls a display device (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0062: “FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an in-vehicle system 100 according to an exemplary embodiment the invention. Specifically, this figure shows various conceptual modules that may allow the system to interact with the vehicle, determine range projections, and/or interact with a user (e.g., an operator or passenger of the vehicle).”; Paragraph 0063: “As shown, the system may include one or more input elements 110, fuel source meters 120, location sensors 130, environmental sensors 140, and/or other vehicle sensors 150. In addition, the system may include one or more processors 160, an optional graphics processing unit (GPU) and/or field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), at least one display elements 180, a set of storages 190, and optional communication (or connectivity) module 195.”)
each tile being assigned with a tile ID, the information processing program causing the computer to: (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0353: “FIG. 35 illustrates a graphical representation of a map area 3500 divided into sections (or “tiles”) 3510 that may be used to facilitate efficient data usage and access.”; Paragraph 0354: “The map area may be divided into sub-sections 3510 by an exemplary set of vertical 3520 and horizontal 3530 lines. Different embodiments may divide the area 3500 such that the tiles 3510 are appropriately sized for evaluation (e.g., the tiles may be sized such that the included data may be loaded into a memory of the device being used, the tiles may be sized based on the dimensions and features of the terrain depicted in the map area 3500, etc.).”; Paragraphs 0364 – 0365: “If the process determines that tiles are, the process may generate (at 3740) tiles. Generation of tiles may include dividing a map area into sections as described above in reference to FIG. 35. Alternatively, if the process determines (at 3730) that tiles are already available, the process may retrieve (at 3750) the set(s) of associated information. After retrieving (at 3750) the information, the process may optimize (at 3760) the retrieved information. Such optimization may be achieved as described above in reference to FIG. 36. In some embodiments, the retrieved information may include a complete section of a map database (e.g., information in a map database associated with a geographic area such as North America)”,
Supplemental Note: the tiles are linked within the map database associated with their geographic area, therefore each tile is interpreted to have a tile ID of their location)
periodically acquire, via a global positioning system sensor, a current position of a vehicle; (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0066: “The set of location sensors 130 may be able to determine a position of the vehicle in various appropriate ways. Such location sensors may include, for instance, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) sensors (such as GPS, global navigation satellite systems (GLONASS), Galileo, Beidou, etc.),”)
periodically acquire, via a second sensor, remaining energy information of the vehicle; (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0065: “Each fuel source meter 120 may be able to determine an amount (and/or relative amount) of fuel available to vehicle. Such fuel source meters may measure various appropriate elements using various appropriate units, for instance, gasoline levels (e.g., in gallons, as a percentage of a full tank, etc.), battery charge levels (e.g., in Watt-hours (W-h), as a percentage of a full charge, etc.), etc.”)
acquire, from the display device, a plurality of requests (Stankoulov: Paragraphs 0063 – 0064: “As shown, the system may include one or more input elements 110, fuel source meters 120, location sensors 130, environmental sensors 140, and/or other vehicle sensors 150. In addition, the system may include one or more processors 160, an optional graphics processing unit (GPU) and/or field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), at least one display elements 180, a set of storages 190, and optional communication (or connectivity) module 195. Each input element 110 may allow a user to interact with the system. Such elements may include touch screens, keyboards, steering wheel controls, rotary knobs, Bluetooth or wireless links to external input devices, etc.”; Paragraph 0072: “Each display element 180 may allow a user to view various outputs of the system 100. For instance, the display element 180 may display various maps, range projections, user interfaces, etc., as appropriate. In some embodiments, the display element may be combined with an input element 110 to provide a touch-screen element.”,
Supplemental Note: the user is able to use the input elements of the display to input requests)
corresponding to each of a plurality of tiles displayed on the display device, (Stankoulov: Paragraphs 0071 – 0072: “Each GPU and/or FPGA 170 may provide various computing and/or display processing functionality that may allow for efficient system operation by offloading some operations that may otherwise be performed by the processor 160. Each display element 180 may allow a user to view various outputs of the system 100. For instance, the display element 180 may display various maps, range projections, user interfaces, etc., as appropriate. In some embodiments, the display element may be combined with an input element 110 to provide a touch-screen element.”; Paragraphs 0353 – 0354: “FIG. 35 illustrates a graphical representation of a map area 3500 divided into sections (or “tiles”) 3510 that may be used to facilitate efficient data usage and access. As shown, the map area 3500 may typically be represented as a rectangle, as it may be displayed to a user (e.g., using a vehicle head unit, a smartphone, etc.). The map area may be divided into sub-sections 3510 by an exemplary set of vertical 3520 and horizontal 3530 lines. Different embodiments may divide the area 3500 such that the tiles 3510 are appropriately sized for evaluation (e.g., the tiles may be sized such that the included data may be loaded into a memory of the device being used, the tiles may be sized based on the dimensions and features of the terrain depicted in the map area 3500, etc.). Different embodiments may include different numbers of dividing lines, different numbers of resulting tiles, differently shaped rectangles (e.g., rectangles with greater width than height, rectangles with grater height than width, or squares).”)
each of the plurality of requests including the tile ID, the current position of the vehicle, and the remaining energy information of the vehicle; and (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0008: “A current position of a vehicle may be identified. A set of links surrounding the current position may be evaluated to determine whether a path (and return path) along the set of links has a summed cost that is less than a target cost. Such a target cost may be associated with the vehicle fuel level.”; Paragraph 0355: “Within each tile 3510, each link 3540 may be defined such that a node 3550 is created at each tile defining line 3520-3530. In this way, each link is completely included in a single tile 3510, as shown. Thus, if a projection algorithm requires some map data, the entire tile may be loaded such that nearby links are available for analysis without reloading data. In addition, some embodiments may automatically load adjacent tiles when data is requested (such “adjacent” tiles may include tiles that are next to the requested tile, tiles within a range of tiles, etc.).”,
Supplemental Note: the links are part of the tiles that are to be displayed when the system determines a best route)
execute, in parallel, a plurality of pieces of response processing corresponding to the plurality of requests that are acquired, (Stankoulov: Paragraphs 0361 – 0364: “FIG. 37 illustrates a flow chart of a process 3700 used by some embodiments to optimize the retrieval and use of map data. In some embodiments, process 3700 may be implemented using optimized hardware and/or software (e.g., a physical and/or virtual cache may be used to store database information for quick retrieval). Such a process may begin, for instance, when a range finder application of some embodiments is launched. Next, the process may receive (at 3710) a request for information. Such a request may be received in various appropriate ways and may be based on various appropriate criteria (e.g., an application may determine a current position using one or more appropriate elements and then request map information for an area surrounding the current position). The process may then determine (at 3720) whether the requested information has been previously retrieved from storage. For instance, in some embodiments, the process may determine whether the requested information has been previously stored in RAM. If process 3700 determines (at 3720) that the requested information has not been previously retrieved, the process may determine (at 3730) whether there are tiles available to load.”: Paragraph 0368: “One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that while process 3700 has been described with reference to various specific details, the process may be implemented in various different ways without departing from the scope of the disclosure. For instance, various operations may be omitted in some embodiments and/or various other operations may be added in some embodiments. As another example, different embodiments may perform the operations different orders. As yet another example, the process may be divided into a set of sub-processes and/or be included as a sub-process in a macro process. In addition, different embodiments may perform the process based at least partly on various criteria (e.g., at each request received, continuously, at regular intervals, etc.).”)
wherein in each piece of the response processing,
planimetric feature information indicating a planimetric feature to be displayed on each tile, the planimetric feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in a request, is extracted from a planimetric feature database in which the tile ID is associated with the planimetric feature information, (Stankoulov: Abstract: “retrieving a set of parameters associated with the vehicle; retrieving map information regarding a geographic area, the map information including multiple links associated with available roadways in the geographic area”; Paragraph 0099: “FIG. 6 illustrates a link (or “segment”) 600 having end points (or “nodes”) 610 and multiple ordered shape points 620. In this example, a first node (or “reference node”) 610 may be a start point for the link. The second node may be an end point for the link. A link may include various attributes (e.g., road class, posted speed limit, average speed, length, number of lanes, direction of travel, etc.). In addition to two nodes 610, the link may include a number of ordered shape points 620, which may include the world coordinates of the shape point (longitude and latitude), elevation, and/or other appropriate shape point attributes such as slope, curvature, heading, etc.”; Paragraph 0008: “A current position of a vehicle may be identified. A set of links surrounding the current position may be evaluated to determine whether a path (and return path) along the set of links has a summed cost that is less than a target cost. Such a target cost may be associated with the vehicle fuel level.”; Paragraph 0355: “Within each tile 3510, each link 3540 may be defined such that a node 3550 is created at each tile defining line 3520-3530. In this way, each link is completely included in a single tile 3510, as shown. Thus, if a projection algorithm requires some map data, the entire tile may be loaded such that nearby links are available for analysis without reloading data. In addition, some embodiments may automatically load adjacent tiles when data is requested (such “adjacent” tiles may include tiles that are next to the requested tile, tiles within a range of tiles, etc.).”,
Supplemental Note: as stated in the specifications paragraph 0070, a planimetric feature is an object displayed on a map such as roads and building. The links are associated with the different tiles to be displayed. The links also includes nodes that are roadway features which are claimed to be part of that are interpreted as the planimetric features)
based on the planimetric feature information that is extracted, a geographic feature amount
between the current position of the vehicle and a feature indicated by the planimetric feature information is calculated, reachability by the vehicle to the planimetric feature is determined based on the geographic feature amount that is calculated and the remaining energy information, and
the reachability that is determined and the planimetric feature information that is extracted are output to the display device. (Stankoulov: Paragraphs 0092 – 0094: “As shown, a first GUI 410 may display, in the display area 400, a set of graphical elements. Such elements may represent, for example, a vehicle position 430, a restricted area 440 (i.e., areas the vehicle cannot reach or is restricted from reaching, such as lakes, parks, bays, military bases, etc.), one or more major roadways 450, and/or one or more minor roadways 460. A second GUI 420 may display an indication of an area 470 indicating the range associated with fifty percent of available fuel (or some other threshold and/or parameter), an area 480 indicating the range associated with seventy-five percent of available fuel, and an area 490 indicating the range associated with one hundred percent of available fuel. The displayed areas 470-490 may indicate one-way range or roundtrip range. As described below, various ranges may be displayed in various appropriate ways. For instance, some embodiments may differentiate among the ranges 470-490 using different colors, shading patterns or densities, etc.”,
Supplemental Note: the planimetric feature information may be a road which the system can identify and display on a user GUI the various locations the vehicle can travel based on its remaining energy information. As stated in the specifications paragraph 0030, a geographic feature amount can be distance or elevations differences between the current position and planimetric feature, in this example the distance to a road shown by 490 and 480 of Figure A)
in extraction of the planimetric feature information,
first planimetric feature information that is the planimetric feature information on a first tile that is within a display range of the display device is extracted, and (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0072: “Each display element 180 may allow a user to view various outputs of the system 100. For instance, the display element 180 may display various maps, range projections, user interfaces, etc., as appropriate. In some embodiments, the display element may be combined with an input element 110 to provide a touch-screen element.”; Paragraph 0145: “The map display module 920 may be adapted to receive cost information and associate the information with a section of a map being rendered for display. The range projection module 930 may evaluate data received from other modules (e.g., available fuel, slope, distance, temperature, etc.) and determine ranges along particular paths that may be available to a vehicle.”)
… in calculation of the geographic feature amount,
a first geographic feature amount that is the geographic feature amount between the current position and a first planimetric feature that is the planimetric feature indicated by the first planimetric feature information is calculated, and (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0103: “FIG. 7 illustrates an x-y plot 700 representing a set of shape points and associated slope of a path 710, as used by some embodiments. The x-y plot 700 shows elevation versus linear distance in this example. As shown, path 710 may begin at point 720 and extend to point 730. Various shape points 740 may be included along the path 710. Each shape point may include an angle of slope at that point and may define the topography of the path 710 from start 720 to finish 730.”: Abstract: “determining a set of roundtrip range projection links from among the links based at least partly on the retrieved map information and the set of parameters associated with the vehicle, by evaluating the links to identify multiple roundtrip paths extending outward from a position of the vehicle,”,
Supplemental Note: a geographic feature is stated within the specification to be a distance between the current position and planimetric feature (Specification: Paragraph 0030). The links or paths are determined based on the current position of the vehicle)
… in determination of the reachability,
a first reachability that is the reachability to the first planimetric feature from the current position, and (Stankoulov: Abstract: “determining a set of roundtrip range projection links from among the links based at least partly on the retrieved map information and the set of parameters associated with the vehicle, by evaluating the links to identify multiple roundtrip paths extending outward from a position of the vehicle,”; Paragraph 0145: “The map display module 920 may be adapted to receive cost information and associate the information with a section of a map being rendered for display. The range projection module 930 may evaluate data received from other modules (e.g., available fuel, slope, distance, temperature, etc.) and determine ranges along particular paths that may be available to a vehicle.”)
… the remaining energy information, and in the output, (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0093: “A second GUI 420 may display an indication of an area 470 indicating the range associated with fifty percent of available fuel (or some other threshold and/or parameter), an area 480 indicating the range associated with seventy-five percent of available fuel, and an area 490 indicating the range associated with one hundred percent of available fuel. The displayed areas 470-490 may indicate one-way range or roundtrip range.”,
Supplemental Note: the system is able to determine the range in which the vehicle can travel and indicating the amount of available fuel)
the first reachability, the first planimetric feature information, (Stankoulov: Paragraph 0145: “The map display module 920 may be adapted to receive cost information and associate the information with a section of a map being rendered for display. The range projection module 930 may evaluate data received from other modules (e.g., available fuel, slope, distance, temperature, etc.) and determine ranges along particular paths that may be available to a vehicle.”).
In sum Stankoulov teaches a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium recording an information processing program that causes a computer to function as an information processing device that controls a display device each tile being assigned with a tile ID, the information processing program causing the computer to: periodically acquire, via a global positioning system sensor, a current position of a vehicle; periodically acquire, via a second sensor, remaining energy information of the vehicle; acquire, from the display device, a plurality of requests corresponding to each of a plurality of tiles displayed on the display device, each of the plurality of requests including the tile ID, the current position of the vehicle, and the remaining energy information of the vehicle; and execute, in parallel, a plurality of pieces of response processing corresponding to the plurality of requests that are acquired, wherein in each piece of the response processing, planimetric feature information indicating a planimetric feature to be displayed on each tile, the planimetric feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in a request, is extracted from a planimetric feature database in which the tile ID is associated with the planimetric feature information, based on the planimetric feature information that is extracted, a geographic feature amount between the current position of the vehicle and a feature indicated by the planimetric feature information is calculated, reachability by the vehicle to the planimetric feature is determined based on the geographic feature amount that is calculated and the remaining energy information, and the reachability that is determined and the planimetric feature information that is extracted are output to the display device, in extraction of the planimetric feature information, first planimetric feature information that is the planimetric feature information on a first tile that is within a display range of the display device is extracted, and in calculation of the geographic feature amount, a first geographic feature amount that is the geographic feature amount between the current position and a first planimetric feature that is the planimetric feature indicated by the first planimetric feature information is calculated, and in determination of the reachability, a first reachability that is the reachability to the first planimetric feature from the current position, and the remaining energy information, and in the output, the first reachability, the first planimetric feature information. Stankoulov however does not teach a display that displays a map image divided into a plurality of tiles according to a zoom level.
Appleton teaches that displays a map image divided into a plurality of tiles according to a zoom level, (Appleton: Abstract: “In an example, a method includes receiving into a processor one or more map tiles for use in displaying a geographic region in a map viewport of the map display interface, where at least one map tile includes one or more depicted map features of the geographic region.”; Paragraph 0004: “Each map tile corresponds to a specific geographical region at a particular zoom level. At higher zoom levels, at which each map tile corresponds to a smaller geographical region, there may be fewer map features within the geographical region depicted by each map tile. Accordingly, at higher zoom levels the geographical region depicted in a given viewport will include relatively fewer map features. Correspondingly, at lower zoom levels, at which each map tile corresponds to a larger geographical region, there may be many more map features within the geographical region depicted by each map tile.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention disclosed by Stankoulov with the teachings of Appleton with a reasonable expectation of success. Please refer to the rejection of claim 1 as both state the same claim language and therefore rejected under the same pretenses. Stankoulov in view of Appleton however still do not teach in addition, second planimetric feature information that is the planimetric feature information on a second tile that is positioned around the display range is extracted, and a second geographic feature amount that is the geographic feature amount between the current position and a second planimetric feature that is the planimetric feature indicated by the second planimetric feature information is calculated, a second reachability that is the reachability to the second planimetric feature from the current position are determined based on the first geographic feature amount that is calculated, the second geographic feature that is calculated, and the second reachability, and the second planimetric feature information are output.
Asahara teaches in addition, second planimetric feature information that is the planimetric feature information on a second tile that is positioned around the display range is extracted, (Asahara: Abstract: “A controller of a navigation terminal (navigation apparatus) is configured to find a plurality of paths from a current position of a vehicle and a destination based on a plurality of different and prioritized path-finding conditions, respectively, and causes a display to show the plurality of paths which includes a navigating path”; Col. 16, lines 4 – 13: “FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a third display example of the navigation screen displayed in the display 105 of the navigation terminal 10 according to the present embodiment. In this example, the display screen of the display 105 is divided into two areas: one for displaying a navigation screen 1401 in which a navigating path is shown on a map in such a manner as known in the art; and the other for displaying a screen 1402 for a simplified map in which navigating and alternative paths are shown diagrammatically.”; Col. 11, lines 25 – 31: “The way of showing an alternative path in the navigation screen 500 as illustrated in FIG. 5 adopts a method by which a branch is displayed in the same screen 500 in which an ordinary map is shown, and thus the navigating path and at least alternative path can be displayed together in a compact fashion even in a limited area of the screen provided in the display 105 of the navigation terminal 10.”,
Supplemental Note: the navigation screen 500 as shown in Figure B is the same as the navigation screen 1401 in Figure C. This navigation screen is a zoomed in version of the full navigational path view as seen in screen 1402 which includes planimetric feature information around the tiles of the navigation map)
… a second geographic feature amount that is the geographic feature amount between the current position and a second planimetric feature that is the planimetric feature indicated by the second planimetric feature information is calculated, (Asahara: Col. 1, lines 19 – 27: “The navigation apparatus for a vehicle is configured to show in a display a map on which a navigating path such as a shortest-time path is designated, and/or relevant information, to suggest a road suitable for a driver of the vehicle to drive along. The driver of the vehicle may make predetermined settings at the navigation apparatus in which he/she can select a preferable type of navigating path among various alternatives such as a shortest-time path, a shortest-distance path, and a freeway-detouring path.”; Col. 12, lines 14 – 15: “The navigation screen 800 which shows navigating and alternative paths in a simplified diagram as shown in FIG. 8”,
Supplemental Note: the distances to the destination can be determined by creating multiple navigation paths from the current location. These paths are shown in Figure D, which shows navigation paths to features not shown in the navigation screens 1401 from Figure C)
… a second reachability that is the reachability to the second planimetric feature from the current position are determined based on the first geographic feature amount that is calculated, the second geographic feature that is calculated, and(Asahara: Col. 11, lines 56 – 66: “In the navigation screen 800, the freeway junctions and the branch points of the paths may be represented by marks 803 shaped for example like a circle as illustrated. Moreover, the navigation screen 800 includes, as is the case with the example shown in FIG. 5, path information 804 such as a message describing features of each alternative path. Besides the time required (arrival time) and travel expenses (cost) of each alternative path, etc., the path information 804 may include congestion statuses, stores along the path, the number of signals along the path, and the number of branch points at which the vehicle turns right (or left) across the opposite lane along the path.”,
Supplemental Note: as seen in Figure D, cost information about each route and branch points are stated. This captures a full view of the navigational path from the current location to the destination which is showing planimetric information not shown on navigation screen 1401 from Figure C)
… the second reachability, and the second planimetric feature information are output (Asahara: Col. 11, lines 56 – 66: “In the navigation screen 800, the freeway junctions and the branch points of the paths may be represented by marks 803 shaped for example like a circle as illustrated. Moreover, the navigation screen 800 includes, as is the case with the example shown in FIG. 5, path information 804 such as a message describing features of each alternative path. Besides the time required (arrival time) and travel expenses (cost) of each alternative path, etc., the path information 804 may include congestion statuses, stores along the path, the number of signals along the path, and the number of branch points at which the vehicle turns right (or left) across the opposite lane along the path.”,
Supplemental Note: as seen in Figure D, cost information about each route and branch points is stated. This captures a full view of the navigational path from the current location to the destination which is showing planimetric information not shown on navigation screen 1401 from Figure C).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention disclosed by Stankoulov with the teachings of Asahara with a reasonable expectation of success. Please refer to the rejection of claim 1 as both state the same claim language and therefore rejected under the same pretenses.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stankoulov et al. (US 20160153796 A1) in view of Appleton et al. (US 20150130817 A1) and Asahara et al. (US 7522997 B2) as applied to independent claim 1 above, and further in view of Brown et al. (US 20200394753 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Stankoulov, as modified, does not teach wherein the plurality of planimetric features for which the geographic feature amount is stored in the geographic feature amount database are planimetric features allocated to each tile one by one at a maximum zoom level, and the planimetric feature information stored in the planimetric feature database indicates a planimetric feature allocated to each tile one by one at the maximum zoom level.
Brown teaches wherein the plurality of planimetric features for which the geographic feature amount is stored in the geographic feature amount database are planimetric features allocated to each tile one by one at a maximum zoom level, and the planimetric feature information stored in the planimetric feature database indicates a planimetric feature allocated to each tile one by one at the maximum zoom level (Brown: Paragraph 0019: “In an embodiment, the electronic map data, or digital map, for a geographical region, is divided into a plurality of map tiles. Each map tile is associated with a plurality of sub-region of the geographical region and may correspond to a portion of a geographical map at a particular zoom level. Generating the simplified map data comprises, for each map tile of the plurality of map tiles, a corresponding simplified map tile. When a particular map tile is requested by a client map application, the corresponding simplified map tile may be provided to the client map application instead of the particular map tile.”; Paragraph 0024: “Map tile data that includes details that are not visible at the requested resolution may be removed or reduced. Specifically, these techniques allow the simplification of map tiles at different granularities, such as zoom levels or map contexts,”; Paragraph 0127 – 0131: “In step 200, a server computer receives or retrieves electronic map data comprising a plurality of map tiles, such as electronic map data 122. The electronic map data may be received or retrieved as part of executing an application, program, script, or other program instructions for generating simplified electronic map data, such as mapping application 112. For example, a user may specify electronic map data 122 as a target for generating simplified electronic map data through a user interface of mapping application 112. Additionally or alternatively, the electronic map data may be received or retrieved as part of the server computer importing and storing electronic map data to data storage system 120. Additionally or alternatively, the electronic map data may be received or retrieved in response to the server computer receiving a request for electronic map data from a client map application, such as client map application 104. After the map tile is received, steps 202-210 are performed for each map tile of the plurality of map tiles to generate a corresponding simplified map tile for each map tile. At step 202, the server computer determines whether to exclude one or more map features of a plurality of map features in the map tile. In an embodiment, determining whether to exclude map features comprises determining, for each feature of the plurality of features, a pixel resolution of the feature and determining whether the pixel resolution exceeds a particular threshold value. Additionally or alternatively, determining whether to exclude map features may comprise determining, for each feature of the plurality of features, a value associated with the feature, and determining whether the value falls within a particular range of values. FIG. 4 illustrates an example map tile 400. Map tile 400 comprises a plurality of features, such as features 404 and 402. Each feature 404 is associated with feature value 30, and feature 402 is associated with feature value 5. Additionally, features 404 are a smaller size than feature 402. Assume pixel-resolution feature exclusion is applied to map tile 400, such that the pixel resolution of the features 404 is below the threshold value but the pixel resolution of feature 402 is above the threshold value. In the illustrated example, each of features 404 have been excluded from simplified tile 410 but feature 402 is included in simplified tile 410. If value-based feature exclusion were applied to tile 400, depending on the threshold value, features 404 might not be excluded while feature 402 might be excluded, since the value of feature 402 is smaller than that of features 404.”,
Supplemental Note: the system is able to distinguish how many tile features to show on each map based on the zoom level and map contexts. As shown in Figure H, at a current zoom level, the simplified tile only shows one of the features on the tile).
PNG
media_image8.png
741
1301
media_image8.png
Greyscale
Figure H - Brown; Fig. 4
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention disclosed by Stankoulov with the teachings of Brown with a reasonable expectation of success. Both Stankoulov and Brown teach displaying a map in forms of tiles along with any planimetric features. Brown further teaches the ability to zoom in and out of this map while also configuring the amount of features shown for those zoom levels. For example, a user viewing in a maximum zoom setting will be shown one feature based on its feature size where a zoomed out setting will show multiple features. This increases the usability of the display as the user is not overwhelmed with multiple overlapping features when trying viewing a zoomed in section while also increasing the amount that are shown when zoomed out.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stankoulov et al. (US 20160153796 A1) in view of Appleton et al. (US 20150130817 A1) and Asahara et al. (US 7522997 B2)as applied to independent claim 1 above, and further in view of Yang et al. (US 20160329031 A1).
Regarding claim 11, Stankoulov, as modified, does not teach wherein the second tile surrounds the display range, and is located on an outer side by m tiles from an outer periphery of the display range, with m being an integer of two or more.
Yang teaches wherein the second tile surrounds the display range, and is located on an outer side by m tiles from an outer periphery of the display range, with m being an integer of two or more (Yang: Paragraph 0049: “S502′: obtaining a pixel size of a single tile in the pre-loaded level based on the pre-loaded level of the map. According to the pre-loaded level of the map, the pixel size (e.g., a pixel width and a pixel height) of a single tile in the pre-loaded level can be obtained.”; Paragraphs 0051 – 0052: “S504′: obtaining the serial numbers of the pre-loaded tiles corresponding to the visual region in the pre-loaded level according to the pixel coordinates of two opposite apexes of the visual region of the map and the pixel size of the single tile in the pre-loaded level. The specific method for implementing the step S504′ is similar to steps S401 and S402 as mentioned above, which will not be detailed here. Further, the step S500′ above also comprises an operation of obtaining the serial numbers of tiles surrounding the pre-loaded tiles under the pre-loaded level based on the obtained serial number of the pre-loaded tile, specifically, by appropriately extending the obtained transverse index numbers and longitudinal index numbers.”; Paragraph 0056: “Further, the step S500″ further comprises an operation of obtaining serial numbers of tiles surrounding the pre-loaded tiles under the pre-loaded level according to the obtained serial numbers of the pre-loaded tiles, specifically by appropriately extending the transverse index number and the longitudinal index number as obtained to an appropriate extension.”; Paragraph 0133: “In the present embodiment, by displaying the currently displayed tile by zooming-out, a part of region of the zoomed-out map can be quickly displayed in fussiness, and the surrounding map scope is displayed quickly with a lower definition through steps S830 and S840 below.”,
Supplemental Note: the system is able to identify tile sizes and pre-load surrounding tiles to an appropriate extension, thus identifying the number of tiles to pre-load in the outer periphery of the display range).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention disclosed by Stankoulov with the teachings of Yang with a reasonable expectation of success. Both Stankoulov and Yang teach the ability to display map tiles onto a display region. Yang further teaches the ability to zoom in and out of the display map while also pre-loading in tiles around the display area. One with knowledge in the art would find this obvious to try to combine with the system of Stankoulov. For example, zooming in and out of a display region gives the user more freedom to view the geographic area for additional details. Pre-loading tiles in the surrounding display area allows for a smoother experience for the user as the tiles don’t need be loaded in only when they are shown on the display. This method of Yang reduces the time needed to load tiles only when they are in view of the display or having blank tiles.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see section Objection to the Drawings of the REMARKS, filed 12/03/2025, with respect to the drawing objection of Fig. 7 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The drawing objection of Fig. 7 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see section 35 U.S.C. 101 Claim Rejection of the REMARKS, filed 12/03/2025, with respect to the 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection of claims 1 – 20 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection of claims 1 – 20 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see section Rejection of Claim 1 – 4, 6 – 10, and 12 – 20 under 35 U.S.C. 103 of the REMARKS, filed 12/03/2025, with respect to the 35 U.S.C. 103 prior art rejection of claims 1 – 4, 6 – 10, and 12 – 20 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Applicant states that neither the prior art of Stankoulov or Appleton teach the amended claim limitation finding secondary planimetric information around the display region. Examiner agrees, however through further search and consideration, another prior art of Asahara (US 7522997 B2) is used to teach these amended claim limitations. Please refer to section Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103.
Applicant’s arguments, see section Rejection of Claims 5 and 11 under 35 U.S.C. 103 of the REMARKS, filed 12/03/2025, with respect to the 35 U.S.C. 103 prior art rejection of claims 5 and 11 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Examiner agrees the claim amendments made to claims 1, which claims 5 and 11 are dependent of, are not taught in view of Brown and Yang however through further search and consideration, another prior art of Asahara (US 7522997 B2) is used to teach these amended claim limitations. Please refer to section Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHIVAM SHARMA whose telephone number is (703)756-1726. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00.
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, Erin Bishop can be reached at 571-270-3713. 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.
/SHIVAM SHARMA/ Examiner, Art Unit 3665
/Erin D Bishop/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3665