Detailed Office 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 Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s amendments and remarks filed 07/23/2025. The applicant has amended claims 1 and 5. Applicant has newly added Claims 8-10. Claims 1-10 are presently pending and are presented for examination.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 07/23/2025 has been entered. Claims 1-10 remain pending in the application.
Reply to Applicant’s Remarks
Applicant’s remarks filed 07/23/2025 have been fully considered and are addressed as follows:
Claim Interpretation Under 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
Applicant’s arguments regarding the interpretation of the Claims under 112(f) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Applicant argues that the term “circuitry” is sufficient structure to avoid means-plus-function interpretation as stated in MPEP 2181. Examiner finds this argument persuasive and the previous interpretation of the claims under 112(f) have been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections Under 35 U.S.C. 101:
Applicant’s amendments to the claims filed 07/23/2025 have not overcome the 35 U.S.C 101 rejections previously set forth. Regarding the Applicant’s argument that “the features in amended Claim 1 improve upon existing technology and are evidence that Claim 1 integrates any abstract idea upon which it might tough into a practical application”, the Examiner respectfully disagrees. Claim 1 and Claim 5 as amended merely cite only mental processes and extra solution activities. Because the claims only recite mental processes and insignificant extra solution activities, there are no additional elements that can integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. Further, the claim cannot provide an improvement to the technology as an improved abstract idea is still an abstract idea. (see MPEP 2106.05(a) Section II, “However, it is important to keep in mind that an improvement in the abstract idea…is not an improvement in technology”).
Examiner notes that projecting arrows onto the floor, while not a mental process, is merely the display of data, which is an insignificant extra solution activity. See MPEP § 2106.05(g).
See below for detailed rejection.
Claim Rejections Under 35 U.S.C. 102/103:
Applicant’s arguments, see Arguments/Remarks, filed 07/23/2025, with regard to the rejections of Claims 1, 4, and 5 under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of newly found prior art reference(s).
See below for detailed rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The analysis of the claims’ subject matter eligibility will follow the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50-57 (January 7, 2019) (“2019 PEG”).
101 Analysis - With respect to Claim 1
Claims 1 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
101 Analysis - Step 1:
Claim 1 is directed towards an apparatus which is directed to the statutory category of a machine. Claim 5 is directed towards a method which is directed to the statutory category of a process. Therefore Claims 1 and 5 are within at least one of the four statutory categories.
101 Analysis- Step 2A Prong One:
Regarding Prong One of the Step 2A analysis in the 2019 PEG, the claims are to be analyzed to determine whether they recite subject matter that falls within one of the following groups of abstract ideas: a) mathematical concepts, b) certain methods of organizing human activity, and/or c) mental process.
Independent claim 5 includes limitations that recite an abstract idea (emphasized below) and will be used as a representative claim for the remainder of the 101 rejection.
Claim 5 recites, inter alai:
“A guide display control method comprising:
obtaining a detection signal including identification information of a facility user who has entered a monitoring area from an approach detector that detects entry of the facility user into the monitoring area;
obtaining a plurality of destinations associated with the identification information included in the detection signal obtained;
searching for routes from the monitoring area to the respective destinations obtained, and predicting a travel time of the facility user from the monitoring area to each of the destinations on a basis of a search result of the routes;
generating display data to display a guide diagram including arrows each indicating a corresponding one of the routes to the respective destinations and the predicted travel time to each of the destinations;
calculating, when each of the destinations obtained is a destination with a limited use time, a remaining time until a time limit for use of a corresponding one of the destinations instead of predicting the travel time; and
generating display data to display a guide diagram including the arrows each indicating the corresponding one of the routes to the respective destinations and the calculated remaining time for each of the destinations wherein the guide diagram is displayed on a display device to guide the facility user to the respective destinations by projecting the arrows indicating the routes on a floor surface of the facility at a branch point.”
The examiner submits that the foregoing bolded limitation(s) constitute a “mental process” because under its broadest reasonable interpretation, the claim covers performance of the limitation in the human mind.
For example, “searching” and “calculating” in the context of this claim, all encompass a person looking at available data and forming a simple judgement (determination, analysis, comparison, etc.) either manually or using a pen and paper. Accordingly, the claim recites at least one abstract idea. The examiner notes that under MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III), the courts consider a mental process (thinking) that "can be performed in the human mind, or by a human using a pen and paper" to be an abstract idea. CyberSource Corp. v. Retail Decisions, Inc., 654 F.3d 1366, 1372, 99 USPQ2d 1690, 1695 (Fed. Cir. 2011). As the Federal Circuit explained, "methods which can be performed mentally, or which are the equivalent of human mental work, are unpatentable abstract ideas the ‘basic tools of scientific and technological work’ that are open to all.’" 654 F.3d at 1371, 99 USPQ2d at 1694 (citing Gottschalk v. Benson, 409 U.S. 63, 175 USPQ 673 (1972)). See also Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs. Inc., 566 U.S. 66, 71, 101 USPQ2d 1961, 1965 ("‘[M]ental processes[] and abstract intellectual concepts are not patentable, as they are the basic tools of scientific and technological work’" (quoting Benson, 409 U.S. at 67, 175 USPQ at 675)); Parker v. Flook, 437 U.S. 584, 589, 198 USPQ 193, 197 (1978) (same).
As drafted, the above claims, under their broadest reasonable interpretation, cover mental processes performed in the human mind (including an observation, evaluation, judgement, opinion), that are merely completed via generic computer components. Accordingly, the claims recite an abstract idea.
Step 2A Prong Two Analysis:
Regarding Prong Two of the Step 2A analysis in the 2019 PEG, the claims are to be analyzed to determine whether the claim, as a whole, integrates the abstract idea into a practical application. As noted in the 2019 PEG, it must be determined whether any additional elements in the claim beyond the abstract idea integrate the exception into a practical application in a manner that imposes a meaningful limit on the judicial exception. The courts have indicated that additional elements merely using a computer to implement an abstract idea, adding insignificant extra solution activity, or generally linking use of a judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use do not integrate a judicial exception into a “practical application”.
In the present case, the additional limitations beyond the above-noted abstract idea are as follows (where the underlined portions are the “additional limitations” while the bolded portions continue to represent the “abstract idea”):
Claim 5 recites, inter alai:
“A guide display control method comprising:
obtaining a detection signal including identification information of a facility user who has entered a monitoring area from an approach detector that detects entry of the facility user into the monitoring area;
obtaining a plurality of destinations associated with the identification information included in the detection signal obtained;
searching for routes from the monitoring area to the respective destinations obtained, and predicting a travel time of the facility user from the monitoring area to each of the destinations on a basis of a search result of the routes;
generating display data to display a guide diagram including arrows each indicating a corresponding one of the routes to the respective destinations and the predicted travel time to each of the destinations;
calculating, when each of the destinations obtained is a destination with a limited use time, a remaining time until a time limit for use of a corresponding one of the destinations instead of predicting the travel time; and
generating display data to display a guide diagram including the arrows each indicating the corresponding one of the routes to the respective destinations and the calculated remaining time for each of the destinations wherein the guide diagram is displayed on a display device to guide the facility user to the respective destinations by projecting the arrows indicating the routes on a floor surface of the facility at a branch point.”
For the following reason(s), the examiner submits that the above identified additional limitations do not integrate the above-noted abstract idea into a practical application.
Regarding the additional limitations of “obtaining a detection signal …”, “obtaining a plurality of destinations…”, “generating display data to display a guide diagram…”, and “generating display data to display a guide diagram including the arrows…” these limitations merely describes the sending, receiving, and display of data which are insignificant extra solution activities. See MPEP § 2106.05(g).
Thus, taken alone, the additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. Further, looking at the additional limitation(s) as an ordered combination or as a whole, the limitation(s) add nothing that is not already present when looking at the elements taken individually. Accordingly, the additional limitation(s) do/does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea.
Step 2B Analysis:
The claims do not include additional elements (considered both individually and as an ordered combination) that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception for the same reasons to those discussed above with respect to determining that the claim does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional element of using generic computer components to perform the abstract idea amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept. Further, the act of collecting data and displaying data amounts to no more than merely storing and displaying information of the exception and thus is an extra-solution activity. The claims are not patent eligible.
Regarding dependent claims 2-4 and 6-1, no claim further adds a limitation that introduces any practical applications to the claimed invention, the dependent claims merely add more mental process, mathematical concepts, and post-solution activities and are thus not patent eligible.
Therefore, Claims 1-10 are ineligible under 35 USC §101.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-3, 5-7, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gillen et al (US 20180020333 A1) in view of Zhang (CN 110440810 A). Hereafter referred to as Gillen and Zhang respectively.
Regarding Claim 1, Gillen teaches a guide display control apparatus (see at least Gillen [¶ 49, 100] the recommended route utilized to generate the navigational instructions may be generated for a particular user (e.g., associated with one or more mobile devices) and may be provided to the user to guide the user to the desired destination…the mapping computing entity 110 may include or be in communication with one or more processing elements 305 (also referred to as processors, processing circuitry, and/or similar terms used herein interchangeably) that communicate with other elements within the mapping computing entity 110)
comprising:
detection signal obtaining circuitry to obtain a detection signal including identification information of a facility user who has entered a monitoring area from an approach detector that detects entry of the facility user into the monitoring area (see at least Gillen [¶ 68, 108, 44] one or more location devices 400 located within a facility may be utilized to provide location information/data to one or more mobile devices (e.g., mobile computing entity 105, shipment/item, vehicle 100, and/or the like) located within the facility, and/or to provide internal address information/data indicative of the current location of a particular mobile device user, internal location, and/or the like. For example, the location devices 400 may be associated with and/or define a particular internal location (e.g., a cubicle, a hallway, a floor, a portion of a floor, a portion of a hallway, a department, a store, and/or the like)…. as a device (e.g., mobile computing entity 105) enters the transmission range associated with the location device 400, the device may be configured to determine its location based on the information/data received from the location device 400… a computing entity (e.g., mapping computing entity 110 and/or mobile computing entity 105) may be configured to identify a desired destination location based on information/data identifying a mobile device user, a title, a service, and/or the like…each time an employee of the carrier arrives at a particular facility, the carrier's mapping computing entity 110 may provide the employee with location information/data corresponding to the particular facility)
destination obtaining circuitry to obtain a plurality of destinations associated with the identification information included in the detection signal obtained by the detection signal obtaining circuitry (see at least Gillen [¶ 71, 98, 104] the location devices 400 may be configured to receive information/data transmitted from one or more computing entities, such as one or more mobile computing entities 105 (or other devices such as internal building systems) and to provide navigational and/or other information/data to a user of the mobile computing entity 105… the map display may identify the location of various location devices 400, the location of a mobile computing entity 105, the location of various destinations, the address of various locations, and/or the like…the computing entity (e.g., mobile computing entity 105 and/or mapping computing entity 110) may receive information/data indicative of multiple desired destinations and/or one or more waypoints the mobile device user would like to visit prior to arriving at a desired destination)
travel time predicting circuitry to search for routes from the monitoring area to the respective destinations obtained by the destination obtaining circuitry, and predict a travel time of the facility user from the monitoring area to each of the destinations on a basis of a search result of the routes (see at least Gillen [¶ 5, 110, 102] the mapping computing entity 110 may be configured to monitor the amount of time to move between various areas of a facility along a plurality of routes. Accordingly, the mapping computing entity 110 may be configured to identify a fastest and/or shortest route between points within a facility…the mapping computing entity 110 may be configured to utilize the historical information/data to select a fastest (e.g., least travel time) route between a current location of a mobile device user and a desired destination…the mobile computing entity 105 may be configured to accept a free-form text input indicative of the destination location, a user selection of one or more listed locations)
display data generating circuitry to generate display data to display a guide diagram including arrows each indicating a corresponding one of the routes to the respective destinations searched for by the travel time predicting circuitry and the travel time to each of the destinations predicted by the travel time predicting circuitry (see at least Gillen [¶ 62, 120, 129] upon receipt of information/data identifying the desired destination location, the facility-specific mapping computing entity 110 may identify a recommended route to the desired destination location (e.g., based on current time, distance, and/or the like). The mapping computing entity 110 may additionally generate navigational instructions (e.g., route-based instructions, such as indications regarding when to turn, how far to travel, and/or the like) and may provide the navigational instructions to the mobile device user...the user interface may be an application, browser, user interface, dashboard, webpage, and/or similar words used herein interchangeably executing on and/or accessible via the user computing entity to interact with and/or cause display of information/data from the mapping computing entity 110 and/or the mobile computing entity 105, as described herein…the mobile computing entity 105 may display at least a portion of a map on a display, with overlaid navigational instructions to the mobile device user) The disclosure of “navigation instructions (e.g. route-based instructions, indications where to turn, how far to travel, and the like” is analogous to a guide diagram including arrows
wherein the travel time predicting circuitry calculates, when each of the destinations obtained by the destination obtaining circuitry is a destination with a limited use time, a remaining time until a time limit for use of a corresponding one of the destinations instead of predicting the travel time (see at least Gillen [¶ 103] a desired destination address within the facility may be identified based on information/data stored within the mobile computing entity 105…the mobile computing entity 105 may be configured to utilize information/data indicative of scheduled tasks, meetings, scheduled deliveries of shipments/items, and/or the like occurring at defined locations within the facility to identify a desired destination address. For a particular entry (e.g., calendar entry) stored within the mobile computing entity 105, a start time for an event corresponding to the particular entry and a location corresponding to the event may be identified. The mobile computing entity 105 may be configured to compare the start time for the event against the current time, and may be configured to identify the location for the event as the desired destination address if the start time for the event is less than a configurable threshold amount of time from the current time) The disclosure of the start time of the event being compared against the current time is analogous to calculating a remaining time until a time limit for use corresponding to a destination
and the display data generating circuitry generates display data to display a guide diagram including the arrows each indicating the corresponding one of the routes to the respective destinations searched for by the travel time predicting circuitry and the remaining time for each of the destinations calculated by the travel time predicting circuitry (see at least Gillen [¶ 62, 120, 129] upon receipt of information/data identifying the desired destination location, the facility-specific mapping computing entity 110 may identify a recommended route to the desired destination location (e.g., based on current time, distance, and/or the like). The mapping computing entity 110 may additionally generate navigational instructions (e.g., route-based instructions, such as indications regarding when to turn, how far to travel, and/or the like) and may provide the navigational instructions to the mobile device user...the user interface may be an application, browser, user interface, dashboard, webpage, and/or similar words used herein interchangeably executing on and/or accessible via the user computing entity to interact with and/or cause display of information/data from the mapping computing entity 110 and/or the mobile computing entity 105, as described herein… the mobile computing entity 105 may display at least a portion of a map on a display, with overlaid navigational instructions to the mobile device user) The disclosure of “navigation instructions (e.g. route-based instructions, indications where to turn, how far to travel, and the like” is analogous to a guide diagram including arrows. Further the disclosure of “cause display of information/data from the mapping computing entity 110 and/or the mobile computing entity 105, as described herein” includes displaying the calculated time between the current time and the start time of an event which is analogous to “the remaining time for each of the destinations calculated”.
However, Gillen does not explicitly teach wherein the guide diagram is displayed on a display device to guide the facility user to the respective destination by projecting the arrows indicating the routes on a floor surface of the facility at a branch point.
Zhang, in the same field as the endeavor, teaches the guide diagram is displayed on a display device to guide the facility user to the respective destination by projecting the arrows indicating the routes on a floor surface of the facility at a branch point (see at least Zhang [English Translation pg.6 para.3-4 and pg.8 para.5] According to the yet another embodiment disclosed, the display state of the one or more target light source switching state is the projected guide image to the guide image projected on the ground. wherein the guide image may include an arrow, dotted line, a specific pattern (e.g., circular, triangular), and the like....the user can display on the ground reaches the destination location....the display state of the one or more target light sources switched to the projecting state of guide image to the guide image is projected on to the ground) Because the disclosure in Zhang discusses the indoor navigation device helping a user navigate along a path to a destination, due to the nature of navigating within a building, there will be many branch points along the navigated path, and it follows that the arrows will continue to display on the floor when the device approaches those branch points.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the system set forth in Gillen to contain a system for displaying and projecting arrows onto the floor surface at branch points with reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a modification for benefit of improving the direction giving element of the invention by displaying the arrows in a very obvious and intuitive way to the user.
Regarding Claim 2, Gillen in view of Zhang teaches all limitations of Claim 1 as set forth above. Gillen further teaches further comprising associating circuitry to obtain the identification information and a destination of the facility user, and associate the obtained identification information with the obtained destination (see at least Gillen [¶ 6, 44, 46,105, 108] a computing entity (e.g., mapping computing entity 110 and/or mobile computing entity 105) may be configured to identify a desired destination location based on information/data identifying a mobile device user, a title, a service, and/or the like…each time an employee of the carrier arrives at a particular facility, the carrier's mapping computing entity 110 may provide the employee with location information/data corresponding to the particular facility... the software may be configured to enable all devices of a certain type (e.g., a mobile computing entity 105 type carried by employees of a particular carrier), devices having corresponding specific identifiers (e.g., serial numbers, device names, and/or the like)… a destination internal location may be identified based on a desired internal delivery location for an item...In embodiments in which the computing entity is a mapping computing entity, receiving location information/data may comprise receiving information/data indicative of a current location of a mobile computing entity associated with the user; and receiving destination information/data may comprise receiving information/data indicative of a desired destination for the user from the mobile computing entity associated with the user) The disclosure teaches obtaining identification information and destination information of a user such as a carrier employee, an association between the two information is made when the employee is provided particular location data associated with the carrier’s delivery location for an item.
Regarding Claim 3, Gillen in view of Zhang teaches all limitations of Claim 1 as set forth above. Gillen further teaches wherein the travel time predicting circuitry predicts the travel time, and sets, as a sub destination, a point which is among a plurality of points in a facility and which is different from the destinations obtained by the destination obtaining circuitry, searches for a route from the monitoring area to the sub destination, and predicts a travel time of the facility user from the monitoring area to the sub destination on a basis of a search result of the route to the sub destination (see at least Gillen [¶ 102, 104] the computing entity (e.g., mobile computing entity 105 and/or mapping computing entity 110) may receive information/data indicative of multiple desired destinations and/or one or more waypoints the mobile device user would like to visit prior to arriving at a desired destination…the computing entity (e.g., mobile computing entity 105 and/or mapping computing entity 110) may be configured to determine a most efficient order to visit the plurality of desired destinations and/or waypoints based on one or more configurable characteristics, such as the relative locations of the various desired destinations and/or waypoints, deadlines for arriving at the various destinations and/or waypoints, and/or the like… a mobile computing entity 105 may store information/data indicative of a plurality of shipment/item deliveries for a particular facility, each of which may be identified as a particular waypoint within a facility… the computing entity (e.g., mapping computing entity 110 and/or mobile computing entity 105) may be configured to determine a most efficient route within the facility for delivering the shipments/items, and may generate a route between each of the plurality of shipment/item delivery destinations…the mobile computing entity 105 may be configured to accept a free-form text input indicative of the destination location, a user selection of one or more listed locations) The disclosure teaches calculating the most efficient route between waypoints (that are different than the final destination) based on criteria such as time deadlines, therefore it is analogous to setting sub-destinations and predicting travel time between them
and the display data generating circuitry generates display data to display a guide diagram including the arrows each indicating the corresponding one of the routes to the respective destinations searched for by the travel time predicting circuitry, the travel time to each of the destinations predicted by the travel time predicting circuitry, an arrow indicating the route to the sub destination searched for by the travel time predicting circuitry, and the travel time to the sub destination predicted by the travel time predicting circuitry (see at least Gillen [¶ 62, 120, 129] upon receipt of information/data identifying the desired destination location, the facility-specific mapping computing entity 110 may identify a recommended route to the desired destination location (e.g., based on current time, distance, and/or the like). The mapping computing entity 110 may additionally generate navigational instructions (e.g., route-based instructions, such as indications regarding when to turn, how far to travel, and/or the like) and may provide the navigational instructions to the mobile device user...the user interface may be an application, browser, user interface, dashboard, webpage, and/or similar words used herein interchangeably executing on and/or accessible via the user computing entity to interact with and/or cause display of information/data from the mapping computing entity 110 and/or the mobile computing entity 105, as described herein…the mobile computing entity 105 may display at least a portion of a map on a display, with overlaid navigational instructions to the mobile device user) The disclosure of “navigation instructions (e.g. route-based instructions, indications where to turn, how far to travel, and the like” is analogous to a guide diagram including arrows.
Regarding Claim 5, Gillen teaches a guide display control method (see at least Gillen [¶ 49, 100] the recommended route utilized to generate the navigational instructions may be generated for a particular user (e.g., associated with one or more mobile devices) and may be provided to the user to guide the user to the desired destination…the mapping computing entity 110 may include or be in communication with one or more processing elements 305 (also referred to as processors, processing circuitry, and/or similar terms used herein interchangeably) that communicate with other elements within the mapping computing entity 110)
comprising:
obtaining a detection signal including identification information of a facility user who has entered a monitoring area from an approach detector that detects entry of the facility user into the monitoring area (see at least Gillen [¶ 68, 108, 44] one or more location devices 400 located within a facility may be utilized to provide location information/data to one or more mobile devices (e.g., mobile computing entity 105, shipment/item, vehicle 100, and/or the like) located within the facility, and/or to provide internal address information/data indicative of the current location of a particular mobile device user, internal location, and/or the like. For example, the location devices 400 may be associated with and/or define a particular internal location (e.g., a cubicle, a hallway, a floor, a portion of a floor, a portion of a hallway, a department, a store, and/or the like)…. as a device (e.g., mobile computing entity 105) enters the transmission range associated with the location device 400, the device may be configured to determine its location based on the information/data received from the location device 400… a computing entity (e.g., mapping computing entity 110 and/or mobile computing entity 105) may be configured to identify a desired destination location based on information/data identifying a mobile device user, a title, a service, and/or the like…each time an employee of the carrier arrives at a particular facility, the carrier's mapping computing entity 110 may provide the employee with location information/data corresponding to the particular facility)
obtaining a plurality of destinations associated with the identification information included in the detection signal obtained (see at least Gillen [¶ 71, 98, 104] the location devices 400 may be configured to receive information/data transmitted from one or more computing entities, such as one or more mobile computing entities 105 (or other devices such as internal building systems) and to provide navigational and/or other information/data to a user of the mobile computing entity 105… the map display may identify the location of various location devices 400, the location of a mobile computing entity 105, the location of various destinations, the address of various locations, and/or the like…the computing entity (e.g., mobile computing entity 105 and/or mapping computing entity 110) may receive information/data indicative of multiple desired destinations and/or one or more waypoints the mobile device user would like to visit prior to arriving at a desired destination)
searching for routes from the monitoring area to the respective destinations obtained, and predicting a travel time of the facility user from the monitoring area to each of the destinations on a basis of a search result of the routes (see at least Gillen [¶ 5, 110, 102] the mapping computing entity 110 may be configured to monitor the amount of time to move between various areas of a facility along a plurality of routes. Accordingly, the mapping computing entity 110 may be configured to identify a fastest and/or shortest route between points within a facility…the mapping computing entity 110 may be configured to utilize the historical information/data to select a fastest (e.g., least travel time) route between a current location of a mobile device user and a desired destination…the mobile computing entity 105 may be configured to accept a free-form text input indicative of the destination location, a user selection of one or more listed locations)
generating display data to display a guide diagram including arrows each indicating a corresponding one of the routes to the respective destinations and the predicted travel time to each of the destinations (see at least Gillen [¶ 62, 120, 129] upon receipt of information/data identifying the desired destination location, the facility-specific mapping computing entity 110 may identify a recommended route to the desired destination location (e.g., based on current time, distance, and/or the like). The mapping computing entity 110 may additionally generate navigational instructions (e.g., route-based instructions, such as indications regarding when to turn, how far to travel, and/or the like) and may provide the navigational instructions to the mobile device user...the user interface may be an application, browser, user interface, dashboard, webpage, and/or similar words used herein interchangeably executing on and/or accessible via the user computing entity to interact with and/or cause display of information/data from the mapping computing entity 110 and/or the mobile computing entity 105, as described herein…the mobile computing entity 105 may display at least a portion of a map on a display, with overlaid navigational instructions to the mobile device user) The disclosure of “navigation instructions (e.g. route-based instructions, indications where to turn, how far to travel, and the like” is analogous to a guide diagram including arrows
calculating, when each of the destinations obtained is a destination with a limited use time, a remaining time until a time limit for use of a corresponding one of the destinations instead of predicting the travel time (see at least Gillen [¶ 103] a desired destination address within the facility may be identified based on information/data stored within the mobile computing entity 105…the mobile computing entity 105 may be configured to utilize information/data indicative of scheduled tasks, meetings, scheduled deliveries of shipments/items, and/or the like occurring at defined locations within the facility to identify a desired destination address. For a particular entry (e.g., calendar entry) stored within the mobile computing entity 105, a start time for an event corresponding to the particular entry and a location corresponding to the event may be identified. The mobile computing entity 105 may be configured to compare the start time for the event against the current time, and may be configured to identify the location for the event as the desired destination address if the start time for the event is less than a configurable threshold amount of time from the current time) The disclosure of the start time of the event being compared against the current time is analogous to calculating a remaining time until a time limit for use corresponding to a destination
generating display data to display a guide diagram including the arrows each indicating the corresponding one of the routes to the respective destinations and the calculated remaining time for each of the destinations (see at least Gillen [¶ 62, 120, 129] upon receipt of information/data identifying the desired destination location, the facility-specific mapping computing entity 110 may identify a recommended route to the desired destination location (e.g., based on current time, distance, and/or the like). The mapping computing entity 110 may additionally generate navigational instructions (e.g., route-based instructions, such as indications regarding when to turn, how far to travel, and/or the like) and may provide the navigational instructions to the mobile device user...the user interface may be an application, browser, user interface, dashboard, webpage, and/or similar words used herein interchangeably executing on and/or accessible via the user computing entity to interact with and/or cause display of information/data from the mapping computing entity 110 and/or the mobile computing entity 105, as described herein… the mobile computing entity 105 may display at least a portion of a map on a display, with overlaid navigational instructions to the mobile device user) The disclosure of “navigation instructions (e.g. route-based instructions, indications where to turn, how far to travel, and the like” is analogous to a guide diagram including arrows. Further the disclosure of “cause display of information/data from the mapping computing entity 110 and/or the mobile computing entity 105, as described herein” includes displaying the calculated time between the current time and the start time of an event which is analogous to “the remaining time for each of the destinations”.
However, Gillen does not explicitly teach wherein the guide diagram is displayed on a display device to guide the facility user to the respective destinations by projecting the arrows indicating the routes on a floor surface of the facility at a branch point..
Zhang, in the same field as the endeavor, teaches wherein the guide diagram is displayed on a display device to guide the facility user to the respective destinations by projecting the arrows indicating the routes on a floor surface of the facility at a branch point (see at least Zhang [English Translation pg.6 para.3-4 and pg.8 para.5] According to the yet another embodiment disclosed, the display state of the one or more target light source switching state is the projected guide image to the guide image projected on the ground. wherein the guide image may include an arrow, dotted line, a specific pattern (e.g., circular, triangular), and the like....the user can display on the ground reaches the destination location....the display state of the one or more target light sources switched to the projecting state of guide image to the guide image is projected on to the ground) Because the disclosure in Zhang discusses the indoor navigation device helping a user navigate along a path to a destination, due to the nature of navigating within a building, there will be many branch points along the navigated path, and it follows that the arrows will continue to display on the floor when the device approaches those branch points.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the system set forth in Gillen to contain a system for displaying and projecting arrows onto the floor surface at branch points with reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a modification for benefit of improving the direction giving element of the invention by displaying the arrows in a very obvious and intuitive way to the user.
Regarding Claim 6, Gillen in view of Zhang teaches all limitations of Claim 1 as set forth above. Gillen further teaches a route guiding system (see at least Gillen [¶ 49, 100] the recommended route utilized to generate the navigational instructions may be generated for a particular user (e.g., associated with one or more mobile devices) and may be provided to the user to guide the user to the desired destination…the mapping computing entity 110 may include or be in communication with one or more processing elements 305 (also referred to as processors, processing circuitry, and/or similar terms used herein interchangeably) that communicate with other elements within the mapping computing entity 110)
comprising:
an approach detector to perform entry detection processing of detecting entry of a facility user into a monitoring area, and output a detection signal including identification information of the facility user who has entered the monitoring area (see at least Gillen [¶ 68, 108, 44] one or more location devices 400 located within a facility may be utilized to provide location information/data to one or more mobile devices (e.g., mobile computing entity 105, shipment/item, vehicle 100, and/or the like) located within the facility, and/or to provide internal address information/data indicative of the current location of a particular mobile device user, internal location, and/or the like. For example, the location devices 400 may be associated with and/or define a particular internal location (e.g., a cubicle, a hallway, a floor, a portion of a floor, a portion of a hallway, a department, a store, and/or the like)…. as a device (e.g., mobile computing entity 105) enters the transmission range associated with the location device 400, the device may be configured to determine its location based on the information/data received from the location device 400… a computing entity (e.g., mapping computing entity 110 and/or mobile computing entity 105) may be configured to identify a desired destination location based on information/data identifying a mobile device user, a title, a service, and/or the like…each time an employee of the carrier arrives at a particular facility, the carrier's mapping computing entity 110 may provide the employee with location information/data corresponding to the particular facility)
and a display device to display the guide diagram in accordance with the display data generated by the display data generating circuitry of the guide display control apparatus (see at least Gillen [¶ 62, 120, 129] upon receipt of information/data identifying the desired destination location, the facility-specific mapping computing entity 110 may identify a recommended route to the desired destination location (e.g., based on current time, distance, and/or the like). The mapping computing entity 110 may additionally generate navigational instructions (e.g., route-based instructions, such as indications regarding when to turn, how far to travel, and/or the like) and may provide the navigational instructions to the mobile device user...the user interface may be an application, browser, user interface, dashboard, webpage, and/or similar words used herein interchangeably executing on and/or accessible via the user computing entity to interact with and/or cause display of information/data from the mapping computing entity 110 and/or the mobile computing entity 105, as described herein…the mobile computing entity 105 may display at least a portion of a map on a display, with overlaid navigational instructions to the mobile device user) The disclosure of “navigation instructions (e.g. route-based instructions, indications where to turn, how far to travel, and the like” is analogous to a guide diagram including arrows.
Regarding Claim 7, Gillen in view of Zhang teaches all limitations of Claim 6 as set forth above. Gillen further teaches further comprising: a selection operation detector to detect a selection operation by the facility user to select a route to one of the plurality of destinations from among the routes to the respective destinations after the guide diagram is displayed by the display device (see at least Gillen [¶ 102] a user selection of one or more listed locations)
wherein the display data generating circuitry regenerates display data to display a guide diagram including an arrow indicating the route selected by the selection operation detected by the selection operation detector and a travel time to the one of the destinations which is related to the selected route (see at least Gillen [¶ 62, 120, 129] upon receipt of information/data identifying the desired destination location, the facility-specific mapping computing entity 110 may identify a recommended route to the desired destination location (e.g., based on current time, distance, and/or the like). The mapping computing entity 110 may additionally generate navigational instructions (e.g., route-based instructions, such as indications regarding when to turn, how far to travel, and/or the like) and may provide the navigational instructions to the mobile device user...the user interface may be an application, browser, user interface, dashboard, webpage, and/or similar words used herein interchangeably executing on and/or accessible via the user computing entity to interact with and/or cause display of information/data from the mapping computing entity 110 and/or the mobile computing entity 105, as described herein…the mobile computing entity 105 may display at least a portion of a map on a display, with overlaid navigational instructions to the mobile device user) The disclosure of “navigation instructions (e.g. route-based instructions, indications where to turn, how far to travel, and the like” is analogous to a guide diagram including arrows.
Regarding Claim 10, Gillen in view of Zhang teaches all limitations of Claim 1 as set forth above. Gillen further teaches wherein the travel time predicting circuitry refers to map data stored in a facility information storage to search for the routes to the respective destinations, the map data indicating positions of a plurality of visiting departments and passages in a hospital (see at least Gillen [¶ 15, 45, 103, 64, 153] receiving information/data indicative of a recommended route from a first location within a facility to a second location within the facility, wherein the recommended route comprises information/data identifying the current location of the mobile device and the desired destination associated the mobile device…the provided software may comprise algorithms for generating and/or storing map data…a desired destination address within the facility may be identified based on information/data stored within the mobile computing entity 105...facilities may encompass one or more internal locations having corresponding internal addresses. The internal locations may comprise one or more rooms, hallways, portions of rooms, portions of hallways, cubicles, offices…in a hospital an Emergency Room doctor may have a higher relative priority than a hospital visitor, and accordingly the facility-specific mapping computing entity 110 may be configured to transmit signals to a transportation mechanism such that the ER doctor receives an elevator prior to the hospital visitor).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gillen et al (US 20180020333 A1) in view of Zhang (CN 110440810 A) and Swidersky et al (US 10636207 B1). Hereafter referred to as Gillen, Zhang, and Swidersky respectively.
Regarding Claim 4, Gillen in view of Zhang teaches all limitations of Claim 1 as s