DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to the communication filed on December 09, 2025. Claims 1-20 are currently pending.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on December 09, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive for the following reasons:
Applicant argues that Cronin and Durairaj do not teach or even suggest the features "setting a deterioration occurrence range indicating a position assumed as the occurrence position of deterioration from the reported position from a user to a predetermined range, where the range is set according to the details of the occurrence position of the report", as recited in amended independent claims 1, 8, and 9.
Examiner respectfully disagrees. The cited prior art alone and/or in combination discloses the argued features.
Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query.
Cronin in [0028], [0031], and [0039] discloses user defined reports of pothole location and pothole characteristics generated for use by the user, pothole identification data includes location information and pothole characterization data such as width, shape, contour, and depth, data can include latitude/longitude coordinates, measures relative to a known or provided datum, and data provided by qualitative field reports to include specified distance from street intersections.
Cronin in [0029] and [0042] discloses providing pothole identification such as location and characteristics such as depth and severity, a user can analyze the received data and generate a report identifying the potholes for use by maintenance department to generate specific work orders for repair by a road crew, data stored in a database.
Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location.
Therefore, Cronin discloses "setting a deterioration occurrence range indicating a position assumed as the occurrence position of deterioration from the reported position from a user to a predetermined range, where the range is set according to the details of the occurrence position of the report".
For the above reasons, Examiner states that rejection of the current Office action is proper.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-11, 13-17, 19, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cronin (US Pub 2014/0196529).
With respect to claim 1, Cronin discloses an information management device comprising:
at least one memory storing instructions (Cronin in [0030] and [0068] and Figure 1B discloses computer-executable instructions executed by a computer system and encoded or stored on a computer readable medium, computer processing includes desktop, laptop, mainframe, mobile device, and other computational devices, which include a memory and a processor); and
at least one processor configured to access the at least one memory and execute the instructions (Cronin in [0030] and [0068] and Figure 1B discloses computer-executable instructions executed by a computer system and encoded or stored on a computer readable medium, computer processing includes desktop, laptop, mainframe, mobile device, and other computational devices, which include a memory and a processor) to:
store, in a storage, report information including a report content and position information associated with each other, wherein the report content indicates a deterioration condition of a road, the position information indicates a deterioration occurrence range indicating a range that is separated by a predetermined distance from a position corresponding to an occurrence position of road deterioration reported from a user, and the predetermined distance is set according to details of the occurrence position reported from the user (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query; Cronin in [0028], [0031], and [0039] discloses user defined reports of pothole location and pothole characteristics generated for use by the user, pothole identification data includes location information and pothole characterization data such as width, shape, contour, and depth, data can include latitude/longitude coordinates, measures relative to a known or provided datum, and data provided by qualitative field reports to include specified distance from street intersections; Cronin in [0029] and [0042] discloses providing pothole identification such as location and characteristics such as depth and severity, a user can analyze the received data and generate a report identifying the potholes for use by maintenance department to generate specific work orders for repair by a road crew, data stored in a database; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location);
search the storage for report information including the position information is a search range, the search range indicating a predetermined range to be searched (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query, receiving a query involving one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, correlating and locating the one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, displaying a result of the correlation; Cronin in [0042] and [0049] discloses user can query to identify potholes fitting into defined depth categories in a user-specified region, compare previous or other repairs for a given pothole, user can request analysis for certain types of roadways, user interface functions to enable queries to database and report generation, user can compile data and generate a report; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location); and
generate an output based on the searched report information (Cronin in [0010] and [0044] discloses displaying a result of a correlation between potholes with respect to a roadway map based on receiving a user query, outputting content, such as a search result or reports, to a user on a display of a computer; Cronin in [0059] discloses presenting report to a user in a visual display through a graphical user interface map depicting location of potholes and other roadway details in a graphical fashion).
With respect to claim 2, Cronin discloses the information management device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:
search the storage for the report information including the position information at a search position, the search position indicating a specific position to be searched (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query, receiving a query involving one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, correlating and locating the one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, displaying a result of the correlation; Cronin in [0042] and [0049] discloses user can query to identify potholes fitting into defined depth categories in a user-specified region, compare previous or other repairs for a given pothole, user can request analysis for certain types of roadways, user interface functions to enable queries to database and report generation, user can compile data and generate a report; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location).
With respect to claim 3, Cronin discloses the information management device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:
register, in the storage, the report information including the report content is associated with the deterioration occurrence range, in response to an input from the user (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query; Cronin in [0028] discloses user defined reports of pothole location and pothole characteristics generated for use by the user; Cronin in [0029] and [0042] discloses providing pothole identification such as location and characteristics such as depth and severity, a user can analyze the received data and generate a report identifying the potholes for use by maintenance department to generate specific work orders for repair by a road crew, data stored in a database; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location).
With respect to claim 5, Cronin discloses the information management device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:
store deterioration information including a deterioration content and an occurrence position of the deterioration content associated with each other, the deterioration content indicating a deterioration state of a road determined based on sensor information (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query; Cronin in [0028] discloses user defined reports of pothole location and pothole characteristics generated for use by the user; Cronin in [0029] and [0042] discloses providing pothole identification such as location and characteristics such as depth and severity, a user can analyze the received data and generate a report identifying the potholes for use by maintenance department to generate specific work orders for repair by a road crew, data stored in a database; Cronin in [0036] discloses roadway anomaly data generated from sensor placed within or adjacent to the anomaly; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location).
With respect to claim 6. Cronin discloses the information management device according to claim 5, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:
generate the output based on the deterioration information in addition to the searched report information (Cronin in [0010] and [0044] discloses displaying a result of a correlation between potholes with respect to a roadway map based on receiving a user query, outputting content, such as a search result or reports, to a user on a display of a computer; Cronin in [0059] discloses presenting report to a user in a visual display through a graphical user interface map depicting location of potholes and other roadway details in a graphical fashion).
With respect to claim 7, Cronin discloses the information management device according to claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:
search the report information including a confirmed position in the deterioration occurrence range, the confirmed position included in a confirmation report of road deterioration (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query, receiving a query involving one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, correlating and locating the one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, displaying a result of the correlation; Cronin in [0042] and [0049] discloses user can query to identify potholes fitting into defined depth categories in a user-specified region, compare previous or other repairs for a given pothole, user can request analysis for certain types of roadways, user interface functions to enable queries to database and report generation, user can compile data and generate a report; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location);
receive an input of selection of report information corresponding to the confirmation report from the searched report information (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query; Cronin in [0028] discloses user defined reports of pothole location and pothole characteristics generated for use by the user; Cronin in [0029] and [0042] discloses providing pothole identification such as location and characteristics such as depth and severity, a user can analyze the received data and generate a report identifying the potholes for use by maintenance department to generate specific work orders for repair by a road crew, data stored in a database; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location); and
update position information in the selected report information with the confirmed position as the deterioration occurrence position (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query; Cronin in [0028] discloses user defined reports of pothole location and pothole characteristics generated for use by the user; Cronin in [0029] and [0042] discloses providing pothole identification such as location and characteristics such as depth and severity, a user can analyze the received data and generate a report identifying the potholes for use by maintenance department to generate specific work orders for repair by a road crew, data stored in a database, compare previous or other repair data to determine trends and modifications to repairs; Cronin in [0036] and [0057] discloses change in condition readings used to assess roadway condition and identify any new and/or returning anomalies, time-stamped geospatial data point added to data to create time ordered record of geospatial data that can be used to track changes in roadway condition in areas of interest; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location).
With respect to claim 8, Cronin discloses an information management method comprising:
storing, in a storage, report information including a report content and position information associated with each other, wherein the report content indicates a deterioration condition of a road, the position information indicates a deterioration occurrence range indicating a range that is separated by a predetermined distance from a position corresponding to an occurrence position of road deterioration reported from a user, and the predetermined distance is set according to details of the occurrence position reported from the user (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query; Cronin in [0028], [0031], and [0039] discloses user defined reports of pothole location and pothole characteristics generated for use by the user, pothole identification data includes location information and pothole characterization data such as width, shape, contour, and depth, data can include latitude/longitude coordinates, measures relative to a known or provided datum, and data provided by qualitative field reports to include specified distance from street intersections; Cronin in [0029] and [0042] discloses providing pothole identification such as location and characteristics such as depth and severity, a user can analyze the received data and generate a report identifying the potholes for use by maintenance department to generate specific work orders for repair by a road crew, data stored in a database; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location);
searching the storage for report information including the position information in a search range, the search range indicating a predetermined range to be searched (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query, receiving a query involving one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, correlating and locating the one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, displaying a result of the correlation; Cronin in [0042] and [0049] discloses user can query to identify potholes fitting into defined depth categories in a user-specified region, compare previous or other repairs for a given pothole, user can request analysis for certain types of roadways, user interface functions to enable queries to database and report generation, user can compile data and generate a report; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location); and
generating an output based on the searched report information (Cronin in [0010] and [0044] discloses displaying a result of a correlation between potholes with respect to a roadway map based on receiving a user query, outputting content, such as a search result or reports, to a user on a display of a computer; Cronin in [0059] discloses presenting report to a user in a visual display through a graphical user interface map depicting location of potholes and other roadway details in a graphical fashion).
With respect to claim 9, Cronin discloses a non-transitory storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute (Cronin in [0030] and [0068] and Figure 1B discloses computer-executable instructions executed by a computer system and encoded or stored on a computer readable medium, computer processing includes desktop, laptop, mainframe, mobile device, and other computational devices, which include a memory and a processor):
storing, in a storage, report information including a report content and position information associated with each other, wherein the report content indicating a deterioration condition of a road, the position information indicates a deterioration occurrence range indicating a range that is separated by a predetermined distance from a position corresponding to an occurrence position of road deterioration reported from a user, and the predetermined distance is set according to details of the occurrence position reported from the user (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query; Cronin in [0028], [0031], and [0039] discloses user defined reports of pothole location and pothole characteristics generated for use by the user, pothole identification data includes location information and pothole characterization data such as width, shape, contour, and depth, data can include latitude/longitude coordinates, measures relative to a known or provided datum, and data provided by qualitative field reports to include specified distance from street intersections; Cronin in [0029] and [0042] discloses providing pothole identification such as location and characteristics such as depth and severity, a user can analyze the received data and generate a report identifying the potholes for use by maintenance department to generate specific work orders for repair by a road crew, data stored in a database; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location);
searching the storage for report information including the position information in a search range, the search range indicating a predetermined range to be searched (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query, receiving a query involving one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, correlating and locating the one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, displaying a result of the correlation; Cronin in [0042] and [0049] discloses user can query to identify potholes fitting into defined depth categories in a user-specified region, compare previous or other repairs for a given pothole, user can request analysis for certain types of roadways, user interface functions to enable queries to database and report generation, user can compile data and generate a report; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location); and
generating an output based on the searched report information (Cronin in [0010] and [0044] discloses displaying a result of a correlation between potholes with respect to a roadway map based on receiving a user query, outputting content, such as a search result or reports, to a user on a display of a computer; Cronin in [0059] discloses presenting report to a user in a visual display through a graphical user interface map depicting location of potholes and other roadway details in a graphical fashion).
With respect to claim 10, Cronin discloses the information management method according to claim 8, further comprising:
searching the storage for the report information including the position information at a search position, the search position indicating a specific position to be searched (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query, receiving a query involving one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, correlating and locating the one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, displaying a result of the correlation; Cronin in [0042] and [0049] discloses user can query to identify potholes fitting into defined depth categories in a user-specified region, compare previous or other repairs for a given pothole, user can request analysis for certain types of roadways, user interface functions to enable queries to database and report generation, user can compile data and generate a report; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location).
With respect to claim 11, Cronin discloses the information management method according to claim 8, further comprising:
registering, in the storage, the report information including the report content is associated with the deterioration occurrence range, in response to an input from the user (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query; Cronin in [0028] discloses user defined reports of pothole location and pothole characteristics generated for use by the user; Cronin in [0029] and [0042] discloses providing pothole identification such as location and characteristics such as depth and severity, a user can analyze the received data and generate a report identifying the potholes for use by maintenance department to generate specific work orders for repair by a road crew, data stored in a database; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location).
With respect to claim 13, Cronin discloses the information management method according to claim 8, further comprising:
storing deterioration information including a deterioration content and an occurrence position of the deterioration content associated with each other, the deterioration content indicating a deterioration state of a road determined based on sensor information (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query; Cronin in [0028] discloses user defined reports of pothole location and pothole characteristics generated for use by the user; Cronin in [0029] and [0042] discloses providing pothole identification such as location and characteristics such as depth and severity, a user can analyze the received data and generate a report identifying the potholes for use by maintenance department to generate specific work orders for repair by a road crew, data stored in a database; Cronin in [0036] discloses roadway anomaly data generated from sensor placed within or adjacent to the anomaly; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location).
With respect to claim 14, Cronin discloses the information management method according to claim 13, further comprising:
generating the output based on the deterioration information in addition to the searched report information (Cronin in [0010] and [0044] discloses displaying a result of a correlation between potholes with respect to a roadway map based on receiving a user query, outputting content, such as a search result or reports, to a user on a display of a computer; Cronin in [0059] discloses presenting report to a user in a visual display through a graphical user interface map depicting location of potholes and other roadway details in a graphical fashion).
With respect to claim 15, Cronin discloses the information management method according to claim 11, further comprising:
searching the report information including a confirmed position in the deterioration occurrence range, the confirmed position included in a confirmation report of road deterioration (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query, receiving a query involving one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, correlating and locating the one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, displaying a result of the correlation; Cronin in [0042] and [0049] discloses user can query to identify potholes fitting into defined depth categories in a user-specified region, compare previous or other repairs for a given pothole, user can request analysis for certain types of roadways, user interface functions to enable queries to database and report generation, user can compile data and generate a report; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location);
receiving an input of selection of report information corresponding to the confirmation report from the searched report information (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query, receiving a query involving one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, correlating and locating the one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, displaying a result of the correlation; Cronin in [0042] and [0049] discloses user can query to identify potholes fitting into defined depth categories in a user-specified region, compare previous or other repairs for a given pothole, user can request analysis for certain types of roadways, user interface functions to enable queries to database and report generation, user can compile data and generate a report; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location); and
updating position information in the selected report information with the confirmed position as the deterioration occurrence position (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query; Cronin in [0028] discloses user defined reports of pothole location and pothole characteristics generated for use by the user; Cronin in [0029] and [0042] discloses providing pothole identification such as location and characteristics such as depth and severity, a user can analyze the received data and generate a report identifying the potholes for use by maintenance department to generate specific work orders for repair by a road crew, data stored in a database, compare previous or other repair data to determine trends and modifications to repairs; Cronin in [0036] and [0057] discloses change in condition readings used to assess roadway condition and identify any new and/or returning anomalies, time-stamped geospatial data point added to data to create time ordered record of geospatial data that can be used to track changes in roadway condition in areas of interest; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location).
With respect to claim 16, Cronin discloses the non-transitory recording medium storing the program that causes the computer to perform the processing according to claim 9, the processing further comprising:
searching the storage for the report information including the position information at a search position, the search position indicating a specific position to be searched (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query, receiving a query involving one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, correlating and locating the one or more potholes with respect to the roadway map, displaying a result of the correlation; Cronin in [0042] and [0049] discloses user can query to identify potholes fitting into defined depth categories in a user-specified region, compare previous or other repairs for a given pothole, user can request analysis for certain types of roadways, user interface functions to enable queries to database and report generation, user can compile data and generate a report; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location).
With respect to claim 17, Cronin discloses the non-transitory recording medium storing the program that causes the computer to perform the processing according to claim 9, the processing further comprising:
registering, in the storage, the report information including the report content is associated with the deterioration occurrence range, in response to an input from the user (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query; Cronin in [0028] discloses user defined reports of pothole location and pothole characteristics generated for use by the user; Cronin in [0029] and [0042] discloses providing pothole identification such as location and characteristics such as depth and severity, a user can analyze the received data and generate a report identifying the potholes for use by maintenance department to generate specific work orders for repair by a road crew, data stored in a database; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location).
With respect to claim 19, Cronin discloses the non-transitory recording medium storing the program that causes the computer to perform the processing according to claim 9, the processing further comprising:
storing deterioration information including a deterioration content and an occurrence position of the deterioration content associated with each other, the deterioration content indicating a deterioration state of a road determined based on sensor information (Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map, receiving a user query involving one or more roadway anomalies with respect to the roadway map, receive and respond to the user query, create a report with respect to the user query; Cronin in [0028] discloses user defined reports of pothole location and pothole characteristics generated for use by the user; Cronin in [0029] and [0042] discloses providing pothole identification such as location and characteristics such as depth and severity, a user can analyze the received data and generate a report identifying the potholes for use by maintenance department to generate specific work orders for repair by a road crew, data stored in a database; Cronin in [0036] discloses roadway anomaly data generated from sensor placed within or adjacent to the anomaly; Cronin in [0051] and [0053] discloses a user can define a geographic location or area of interest by giving a range of coordinates, user can define roadways of interest for determining pothole severity and location).
With respect to claim 20, Cronin discloses the non-transitory recording medium storing the program that causes the computer to perform the processing according to claim 19, the processing further comprising:
generating the output based on the deterioration information in addition to the searched report information (Cronin in [0010] and [0044] discloses displaying a result of a correlation between potholes with respect to a roadway map based on receiving a user query, outputting content, such as a search result or reports, to a user on a display of a computer; Cronin in [0059] discloses presenting report to a user in a visual display through a graphical user interface map depicting location of potholes and other roadway details in a graphical fashion).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 4, 12, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable
over Cronin (US Pub 2014/0196529) in view of Durairaj (US Pat 11,592,309).
With respect to claim 4, Cronin discloses the information management device according to claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions (Cronin in [0030] and [0068] and Figure 1B discloses computer-executable instructions executed by a computer system and encoded or stored on a computer readable medium, computer processing includes desktop, laptop, mainframe, mobile device, and other computational devices, which include a memory and a processor) to:
register the report information…(Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map; Cronin in [0029] discloses providing pothole identification such as location and characteristics such as depth and severity, a user can analyze the received data and generate a report identifying the potholes for use by maintenance department to generate specific work orders for repair by a road crew);
Cronin discloses storing or registering report information, however, Cronin does not explicitly disclose:
registering the report information in a case that the report information and existing report information do not overlap each other.
The Durairaj reference discloses registering a report information in a case that the report information and existing report information do not overlap each other (Durairaj in Column 1, lines 40-52 discloses receiving from one or more mobile devices a plurality of reports of anomalies associated with roads in a geographic area, storing the received reports of anomalies in a database and comparing each report of an anomaly to stored reports of previous anomalies in the database; Durairaj in Column 7, lines 9-45 discloses new anomaly or road surface irregularity information received from mobile device compared to previously stored information associated with the same road in database, determine whether the information received is already stored in the database, if the information is not already included in the database creating or generating a new entry in the database that is associated with the information, comparison can determine a situation where multiple anomalies are reported from a same location, and in fact are different anomalies or road surface irregularities that need to be individually resolved).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Cronin and Durairaj, to have combined Cronin and Durairaj. The motivation to combine Cronin and Durairaj would be to report a new anomaly associated with a road in a geographic area that needs to be resolved by generating a new entry in a database associated with the anomaly or road surface irregularity (Durairaj: Column 1, lines 40-52 and Column 7, lines 9-45).
With respect to claim 12, Cronin discloses the information management method according to claim 11, further comprising:
registering the report information…(Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map; Cronin in [0029] discloses providing pothole identification such as location and characteristics such as depth and severity, a user can analyze the received data and generate a report identifying the potholes for use by maintenance department to generate specific work orders for repair by a road crew);
Cronin discloses storing or registering report information, however, Cronin does not explicitly disclose:
registering the report information in a case that the report information and existing report information do not overlap each other.
The Durairaj reference discloses registering a report information in a case that the report information and existing report information do not overlap each other (Durairaj in Column 1, lines 40-52 discloses receiving from one or more mobile devices a plurality of reports of anomalies associated with roads in a geographic area, storing the received reports of anomalies in a database and comparing each report of an anomaly to stored reports of previous anomalies in the database; Durairaj in Column 7, lines 9-45 discloses new anomaly or road surface irregularity information received from mobile device compared to previously stored information associated with the same road in database, determine whether the information received is already stored in the database, if the information is not already included in the database creating or generating a new entry in the database that is associated with the information, comparison can determine a situation where multiple anomalies are reported from a same location, and in fact are different anomalies or road surface irregularities that need to be individually resolved).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Cronin and Durairaj, to have combined Cronin and Durairaj. The motivation to combine Cronin and Durairaj would be to report a new anomaly associated with a road in a geographic area that needs to be resolved by generating a new entry in a database associated with the anomaly or road surface irregularity (Durairaj: Column 1, lines 40-52 and Column 7, lines 9-45).
With respect to claim 18, Cronin discloses the non-transitory recording medium storing the program that causes the computer to perform the processing according to claim 17, the processing (Cronin in [0030] and [0068] and Figure 1B discloses computer-executable instructions executed by a computer system and encoded or stored on a computer readable medium, computer processing includes desktop, laptop, mainframe, mobile device, and other computational devices, which include a memory and a processor) further comprising:
registering the report information…(Cronin in [0009] and [0010] discloses receiving location of a roadway anomaly such as a pothole, storing the anomaly with respect to a roadway map; Cronin in [0029] discloses providing pothole identification such as location and characteristics such as depth and severity, a user can analyze the received data and generate a report identifying the potholes for use by maintenance department to generate specific work orders for repair by a road crew);
Cronin discloses storing or registering report information, however, Cronin does not explicitly disclose:
registering the report information in a case that the report information and existing report information do not overlap each other.
The Durairaj reference discloses registering a report information in a case that the report information and existing report information do not overlap each other (Durairaj in Column 1, lines 40-52 discloses receiving from one or more mobile devices a plurality of reports of anomalies associated with roads in a geographic area, storing the received reports of anomalies in a database and comparing each report of an anomaly to stored reports of previous anomalies in the database; Durairaj in Column 7, lines 9-45 discloses new anomaly or road surface irregularity information received from mobile device compared to previously stored information associated with the same road in database, determine whether the information received is already stored in the database, if the information is not already included in the database creating or generating a new entry in the database that is associated with the information, comparison can determine a situation where multiple anomalies are reported from a same location, and in fact are different anomalies or road surface irregularities that need to be individually resolved).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Cronin and Durairaj, to have combined Cronin and Durairaj. The motivation to combine Cronin and Durairaj would be to report a new anomaly associated with a road in a geographic area that needs to be resolved by generating a new entry in a database associated with the anomaly or road surface irregularity (Durairaj: Column 1, lines 40-52 and Column 7, lines 9-45).
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.
Contact Information
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/R.M/Examiner, Art Unit 2159
/ANN J LO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2159
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