DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 43, 50 and 57 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 43, “the object” lacks clear antecedent basis. Claims 50 and 57 include the same issue.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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, 10, 19, 43, 46, 50, 53, 57 and 60 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kerns (US 6845321 B1).
Regarding claim 1, Kerns discloses a notification providing apparatus comprising:
at least one memory that is configured to store instructions (col. 9, lines 7-10); and
at least one processor (CPU) that is configured to execute the instructions to:
acquire updated user position information indicating a current position of a moving user (col. 5, lines 50-53; col. 11, lines 1-2);
set, based on a reference position associated with a target (area, city or region as point of interest; col. 3, lines 36-60, and col. 4, lines 1 and 38, e.g.), a provision position at which a notification regarding the target is to be delivered to the moving user (“a user-set proximity to the point of interest”, col. 9, lines 15 and 17-20); and
in response to the moving user reaching the provision position, output different notifications (different alerts, such as alert for park, and another alert for museum; col. 9, lines 40-41; also reads on turn-by-turn instructions as discussed on col. 9, lines 51-53 or additional instruction discussed on col. 9, lines 62-65, or about the sub-point of interest as discussed on col. 9, lines 66-67) to the moving user based on a distance between the current position of the moving user and the provision position and based on an attribute type of the target (col. 9, lines 29-31 and 36-39; col. 10, lines 63-67; the claimed “based on a distance … and based on an attribute type of the target” could be simplified as “based on condition A and based on condition B”; first interpretation: Kerns discloses output one notification, such as notification for a park, “based on A and based on B1” and output another notification, such as notification for a museum, “based on A and based on B2”; wherein the distance A is substantially zero, B1 is one attribute type of the target and B2 is another attribute type of the target; second interpretation: Kerns discloses output one notification, such as notification for a park, “based on A1 and based on B” and output another notification, such as sub-point of interest of the park, “based on A2 and based on B”; wherein the distance A1 is zero as the user is at the provision position and far from the point of interest, the distance A2 is non-zero as the user is no longer at the provision position and is reaching the actual point of interest),
wherein the notification comprises content information, and
wherein the content information comprises integrated information comprising both visual and audio components (col. 9, lines 2-3 and lines 41-53).
Regarding claim 43, Kerns shows that the visual information containing an icon image related to the object (claims 17 and 18).
Regarding claim 46, the user terminal reads on (a hand held or integrated with a car discussed in col. 5, lines 24-25; col. 8, lines 41-42 and 44).
Claims 10, 50 and 53 correspond to claims 1, 43 and 46 discussed before.
Most of limitations recited in claims 19, 57 and 60 correspond to those recited in claims 1, 43 and 46 discussed above. Kerns shows the non-transitory computer-readable medium (col. 9, lines 7-11).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 10 and 19 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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/PING LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2695
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