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 .
This communication is in response to application 18/349,839 filed 7/10/2023. Claims 1, 6-7, 13, and 17 are amended and hereby entered. Claims 19-20 are canceled. Claim 21 is added and hereby entered. No Claims are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see applicant’s arguments, filed 12/16/2025, with respect to 35 USC 112 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 35 USC 112 rejection of claims 6-8 has been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments filed 12/16/2025 with respect to 35 USC 101, 102, and 103 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding 35 USC 102 and 103:
The applicant’s amendments necessitate new prior art. The rejection of Claims 1-21 now relies on different prior art rendering the applicant’s arguments moot.
Regarding 35 USC 101:
The applicant submits amended claim 1 is not directed to an abstract idea because there is a specific manner in which dual social network architecture generates recommendations and displays content by using an ephemeral location-based network. However, the use of an ephemeral network simply defines the type of network and data that recommendations are based upon. The claims still recite the abstract idea of mental processes in which a recommendation is presented to the user based on analyzed data.
Further the applicant submits the amended claims 1 and 13 provide a solution to computer technology by using the ephemeral network to increase connections and increase processing speed because the data is stored locally. However, recitation of common social network elements such as location-based data from an ephemeral location-based network merely indicates field of use or technological environment in which the judicial exception is performed. They simply limit the abstract idea by confining the use to a particular technological environment and does not add inventive concept (i.e. the types of social graph data are from both persistent and ephemeral social networks, confining the technological environment to these types of networks.)
Further, the applicant submits that amended claim 13 does not recite a mental process because a human cannot mentally track and calculate real-time geographic positions and distances as recited in the claims. However, the claim 13 explicitly recites, “determine a location of the first user, wherein the location includes specific coordinates and a geographic region” and “determining geographic proximity between the fist user and a plurality of other users based on respective locations of the plurality of other users”. These steps are performed to then filter users that are within a threshold distance of the first user to generate a recommendation. The claim recites a mental process because the determination of proximity is simply based on location data of other users (i.e. collection and analysis of data). A human can look at locations of other users and determine the distance apart. Additionally determining location including specific coordinates and geographic regions merely recites the type of location data that is collected.
Further, the applicant submits amended claim 13 does not recite a mental process because the human mind cannot simultaneously process location data, social graph data, and mobility patterns to identify candidates. However, a computer performs this process, and claims that require a computer can still recite a mental process, see MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III)(C). Additionally, the human mind “feasibility” or “in practicality” simultaneously processing multiple types of data, does not disqualify the claim from a mental process. MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III)(B) states, “The use of a physical aid (e.g., pencil and paper or a slide rule) to help perform a mental step (e.g., a mathematical calculation) does not negate the mental nature of the limitation, but simply accounts for variations in memory capacity from one person to another”. Therefore, the variation in capacity to perform simultaneous processing of data does not negate the mental nature of the limitations described in the claims. Additionally, the independent claim 13 now recites an additional abstract idea of certain methods of organizing human activity (including managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people). Managing social connections between people by filtering and matchmaking users recites an abstract idea consistent with MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II).
Further the applicant submits claim 17 integrates the abstract idea into practical application because it is directed to a technological solution of bandwidth optimization and processing efficiency in networked computing when multiple users share the same location. The applicant states that overlapping activities may be accounted for and only logged and stored one time. However, the claims describe the intended results of the coordinated usage mode being bandwidth optimization resulting from coordinated downloading. There is not a clear technological improvement in the technology itself (computers); rather, the intended results of coordinating downloads could cause differences in bandwidth requirements. For example, in a situation where two users have no overlapping activities, there would be no reduction in bandwidth. Therefore, the technology itself is not providing a technical solution to bandwidth optimization and processing efficiency in computing, but rather the intended results describe a potential change in bandwidth and processing requirements.
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 1-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) with no practical application and without significantly more.
Claims 1-12 are methods, and Claims 13-21 are systems. Thus, each claim on its face is directed to one of the statutory categories of 35 USC 101. However, claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 USC 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
The claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea in that the instant application is directed to a mental process (See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III)). The independent claims (1, 13, and 17) recite a method and systems to evaluate social graph and social networking data to make recommendations and display information. These claim elements are being interpreted as concepts performed in the human mind (including observation, evaluation, judgement, and opinion). Using data to make recommendations can equivalently be achieved by human observation and evaluation of information. The claims recite an abstract idea consistent with the “mental process” grouping set forth in the MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Additionally, the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea in that the instant application is directed to certain methods of organizing human activity (See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II)). The independent claim 13 recites a system to managing social connections between people by filtering and matchmaking users. These claim elements are being interpreted as certain methods of organizing human activity (including managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people) consistent with the grouping set forth in the MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II).
The instant application fails to integrate the judicial exception into a practical application because the instant application merely recites an “apply it” (or an equivalent) with the judicial exception, or merely includes instructions to implement an abstract idea. The instant application is directed towards a method and systems to implement the identified abstract idea of receiving information, processing information, and displaying the result of the analysis (i.e. processing graphical data information to display recommendations and the like) on a general-purpose computer structure. For instance, the additional elements or combination of elements other than the abstract idea itself include the elements such as a “computer” recited at a high level of generality. These elements do not themselves amount to an improvement to the interface or computer, to a technology or another technical field.
Further, the recitation of common social networking elements merely indicates field of use or technological environment in which the judicial exception is performed. Although the use of elements such as “social graphs” and “location” limits the judicial exception, this limitation merely confines the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment, and thus fails to add inventive concept to the claims. See MPEP 2106.05(h).
The claims do not include additional elements that amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The independent claims recite the additional elements “a computer system” and “a non-transitory computer storage medium”. These claim elements are recited at a high level of generality such that it amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a general computer environment. The machines merely act as a modality to implement the abstract idea and are not indicative of integration into a practical application (i.e., the additional elements are simply used as a tool to perform the abstract idea), see MPEP 2106.05(f).
The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed in Step 2A Prong Two analysis, the additional elements in the claims amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. The same analysis applies here in 2B analysis and does not provide an inventive concept.
Regarding the Dependent claims
Regarding claims 3 and 15, the dependent claims introduce “sub-applications including a game server, a local feed, a maps application, and a POI application”. These applications are additional elements that confine the abstract idea to a particular technological environment (e.g., social networks or online games), and are not indicative of integration into a practical application. See MPEP 2106.05(h).
Regarding Claims 4-6, the dependent claims introduce elements that are general computer functions such as determining locations and displaying avatars. These additional elements merely confine the abstract idea to a particular technological environment (e.g., mapping apps) and are not indicative of integration into a practical application. See MPEP 2106.05(h)
Regarding Claim 18, the dependent claim introduces elements that are general computer functions such as displaying local feeds containing content and interactive maps with selectable elements. These additional elements merely confine the abstract idea to a particular technological (e.g., social network features) environment and are not indicative of integration into a practical application. See MPEP 2106.05(h)
Claims 2, 7-12, 14, 16, and 21 introduce no new abstract ideas or new additional elements and do not impact analysis under 35 USC 101.
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.
Claims 1-3, 9-13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lake-Schaal (US 20240335738 A1) in view of Non-Patent Literature: Rahim (Vehicular social networks: A survey).
Regarding Claim 1, Lake-Schaal teaches:
A computer-implemented method comprising: detecting, by a social networking system, a first user of the social networking system; [(Para 0066) “The methods may include using profile data for one or more passengers to select or configure interactive media (e.g., contents and parameters). As used herein, “passenger profile” or “profile data” means data descriptive of a passenger, for example, physical location/city of the passenger, the passenger's surrounding context such as weather and temperature (e.g., sunny, raining, snowing, daytime/nighttime, hot vs. cold, etc.), social trends in general or in the passenger's own social network”]
determining a social graph of the first user, wherein the social graph is part of a first social network of the social networking system that comprises persistent connections, the social graph comprising a plurality of nodes and edges; [(Para 0121) “In some implementations, the passenger profile may include digitally encoded data bits concerning affinity information related to the passenger, such as: the passenger's favorite characters (e.g., cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Tweety, etc.) or amusement rides (e.g., theme park attraction rides such as Justice League 3D, etc.); social graph…” (Para 0185) “In an aspect, the passenger profile data 1010 includes tags, metadata, or other information about fellow passengers with account identifiers in the database of profile data 700 who are “friends.” “Friends” may include friends, colleagues, acquaintances, family members, or anyone whom the passenger designates as a “friend.” For example, Passenger A and Passenger B may be friends or a couple, and they may designate each other as a “friend” in their respective profile data”]
determining a location of the first user; [(Para 0074) “A predictive analytics process may predict an affinity of a passenger traveling in a vehicle or a group of passengers sharing a common conveyance, based at least in part on the profile data and/or trip data of the passenger(s), which may include the preference criteria and geographic location data”]
determining recommendations for activities for the first user based on the social graph and the location of the first user, wherein the recommendations include candidate users from both the first and second social networks; [(Para 0074) “A predictive analytics process may predict an affinity of a passenger traveling in a vehicle or a group of passengers sharing a common conveyance, based at least in part on the profile data and/or trip data of the passenger(s), which may include the preference criteria and geographic location data”, (Para 0121) “In some implementations, the passenger profile may include digitally encoded data bits concerning affinity information related to the passenger, such as: … social graph, status or topic for a meeting or social event preparation (e.g., a Facebook status, etc.); activity level or likes/dislikes for outdoor activity; favorite teams or players (e.g., professional sports teams/players, fictional teams/characters, etc.); favorite artists or songs; preferred merchandise and shopping style (e.g., cartoon character goods, or shopping at a particular retail store, etc.); culture; age; personal interests; and interactive content preferences”(Para 0197) “Likewise, in a karaoke game or video game the one or more processors may select or suggest songs, games, characters or game environments related to the trip, or modulate scoring depending on trip-related factors”]
and displaying, via a display screen of a user device of the first user, an application of the social networking system based on the social graph and location of the first user,
[(Para 0097) “The system may also be used for multi-user applications, for example social networking, group entertainment experiences, instructional environments, video gaming, and so forth. Network communication can also be used for data transfer between the client 300 and other nodes of the network, for purposes including data processing, content delivery, content control, and tracking”, (Para 0121) “In some implementations, the passenger profile may include digitally encoded data bits concerning affinity information related to the passenger, such as: the passenger's favorite characters (e.g., cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Tweety, etc.) or amusement rides (e.g., theme park attraction rides such as Justice League 3D, etc.); social graph, status…”]
wherein the application displays content from both the first and second social network in a unified interface, and [(Para 0002) “The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatus for configuring route-related games customized for a passenger traveling in a vehicle or a group of passengers temporarily sharing a common conveyance, based on trip data and/or passenger profile data”, (Para 0022) “An apparatus may include a computer or set of connected computers installed in a vehicle, or portable devices (e.g., smartphones or notepad computers) coupled to a node or network via an access point in a vehicle or otherwise linked to a vehicle for a specific trip. An interactive media player device may include, for example, a personal computer, mobile phone, notepad computer, projector, haptic interface, scent dispenser, virtual reality device, or augmented reality device. In some implementations, the interactive media player device may include hardware elements or configurations located on or in a vehicle…”]
However, Lake-Schaal does not teach but Rahim does teach:
establishing, based on the location of the first user and the social graph of the first user, a second social network of the social networking system, wherein the second social network is an ephemeral social network localized based on the determined location of the first user and comprises content objects that are temporarily stored locally; [see at least: (Page 98) “Section 2 presents an overview of VSNs formed by the combination of relevant concepts from two different communication networks, i.e., social networks and vehicular networks”, (Page 99) “Temporary communities are established on roads to share data of common interests based on user proximity”]
wherein the first user is a vehicle user, wherein the first user being the vehicle user comprises the vehicle itself as an independent participant in the social networking system separate from any person user located within the vehicle. [see at least: (Page 99) “The way in which these devices can communicate depends on the underlying communication architecture. The communication of these devices/users can be classified as humans to-humans, humans-to-machines, and machines-to-machines… Vehicles/commuters communicate without any centralized infrastructure to facilitate opportunistic data delivery and forwarding using Vehicle to-Vehicle (V2V) contact. The intermediate nodes store the contextual and social data packets until the destination node is found…”]
Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of a vehicle system (Lake-Schaal) with the method of establishing an ephemeral location-based network (Rahim). One of ordinary skill would have recognized that including a local ephemeral network would allow vehicle users to see local trip and user related content.
Regarding Claim 2, the combination of Lake-Schaal and Rahim teach all the limitations of claim 1. Lake-Schaal further teaches:
wherein the recommendations for activities comprise at least one of a friend recommendation, a place of interest (POI) recommendation, and a game recommendation. [(Para 00197) “Likewise, in a karaoke game or video game the one or more processors may select or suggest songs, games, characters or game environments related to the trip”]
Regarding Claim 3, the combination of Lake-Schaal and Rahim teach all the limitations of claim 1. Lake-Schaal further teaches:
wherein the application of the social networking system comprises a plurality of sub-applications including a game server, … a maps application, and a POI application. [(Para 0007) “The interactive media title may be, or may include, a game, a branched narrative, or other content responsive to user input”, (Para 0115) “For example, the duration information may be derived by the processors based on the pick-up time of the passenger, the drop off location, and the estimated time of arrival at the drop off location using a navigation application (e.g., Google Maps) or any other suitable navigation application”, (Para 0204) “FIG. 21 is a concept diagram illustrating a map of example intermediate location(s) or places (e.g., 2110, 2120, 2130) within sight from the common conveyance or visible to the passengers along a route 500 traveled by the common conveyance 106, and times (e.g., 2115, 2125, and 2135) at which the common conveyance passes or estimated to pass said places”]
However, Lake-Schaal does not teach but Rahim does teach:
a local feed [see at least: (Page 101) “As an instance, the vehicles along the roads in morning evening rush hours can form virtual communities or social groups to discuss and share contents of mutual interest, such as weather updates, news, traffic information or entertainment related information sharing”]
Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the vehicle networking system (Lake-Schaal) with a local feed (Rahim). Lake-Schaal discusses the use of social applications (Para 0069) in the vehicle system. It would have been obvious to modify the social applications to include a local feed, so the vehicle users could see local trip related content.
Regarding Claim 9, the combination of Lake-Schaal and Rahim teach all the limitations of claim 1. Lake-Schaal further teaches:
wherein the plurality of nodes of the social graph are content objects including the first user and the edges of the social graph are connections between content objects indicating relationships therebetween. [(Para 0121) “In some implementations, the passenger profile may include digitally encoded data bits concerning affinity information related to the passenger, such as: the passenger's favorite characters (e.g., cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Tweety, etc.) or amusement rides (e.g., theme park attraction rides such as Justice League 3D, etc.); social graph…” (Para 0185) “In an aspect, the passenger profile data 1010 includes tags, metadata, or other information about fellow passengers with account identifiers in the database of profile data 700 who are “friends.” “Friends” may include friends, colleagues, acquaintances, family members, or anyone whom the passenger designates as a “friend.” For example, Passenger A and Passenger B may be friends or a couple, and they may designate each other as a “friend” in their respective profile data”]
Regarding Claim 10, the combination of Lake-Schaal and Rahim teach all the limitations of claim 1. Lake-Schaal further teaches:
further comprising, performing activities according to user inputs from the first user, wherein the activities include at least one of posting a photo, posting a video, posting a comment, interacting with a post, sending a friend request, messaging another user, sending a request to play a game with another user, and playing a game. [(Para 0021) “The method may further include selecting, by the one or more processors, an interactive media title for play by the passenger during the trip. In some embodiments, the interactive media title may include a virtual driving game enabling the passenger to experience an alternative simulated route of the vehicle during the trip.”]
Regarding Claim 11, the combination of Lake-Schaal and Rahim teach all the limitations of claim 1. Lake-Schaal further teaches:
wherein the first user is the vehicle user and the user device is an infotainment system of the vehicle. [(Figures 4a-4c), (Para 0091) “In some aspects, the processor 302 and its coupled auxiliary devices or modules may be housed within or coupled to a housing 301, for example, a housing having a form factor of a dashboard inside an automobile, an onboard infotainment system inside an automobile (e.g., an entertainment system built in or connected to a passenger seat, the ceiling, or any other part of a vehicle), a kiosk, an elevator infotainment display”]
Regarding Claim 12, the combination of Lake-Schaal and Rahim teach all the limitations of claim 1. Lake-Schaal further teaches:
wherein the first user is the person user and the user device is a mobile device. [(Para 0022) “The processor may be local to the apparatus and user, located remotely, or may include a combination of local and remote processors. An apparatus may include a computer or set of connected computers installed in a vehicle, or portable devices (e.g., smartphones or notepad computers) coupled to a node or network via an access point in a vehicle or otherwise linked to a vehicle for a specific trip. An interactive media player device may include, for example, a personal computer, mobile phone”]
Regarding Claim 13, Lake-Schaal further teaches:
A non-transitory computer storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause a computer system to: determine a social graph of a first user, wherein the social graph comprises nodes and edges between the nodes; [(Para 0121) “In some implementations, the passenger profile may include digitally encoded data bits concerning affinity information related to the passenger, such as: the passenger's favorite characters (e.g., cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Tweety, etc.) or amusement rides (e.g., theme park attraction rides such as Justice League 3D, etc.); social graph…”, (Para 0185) “In an aspect, the passenger profile data 1010 includes tags, metadata, or other information about fellow passengers with account identifiers in the database of profile data 700 who are “friends.” “Friends” may include friends, colleagues, acquaintances, family members, or anyone whom the passenger designates as a “friend.” For example, Passenger A and Passenger B may be friends or a couple, and they may designate each other as a “friend” in their respective profile data”]
determine a location of the first user, wherein the location includes specific coordinates and a geographic region; [(Para 0125) “The trip data contains information representing geospatial locations of one or more data targets, and may include, for example, positional coordinates such as the latitude, longitude”]
identify, via a recommendation engine, one or more candidate participants for the first user by: analyzing the social graph to identify existing relationships of the first user; [see at least: (Para 0121) “ the passenger profile may include digitally encoded data bits concerning affinity information related to the passenger, such as: the passenger's favorite characters (e.g., cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Tweety, etc.) or amusement rides (e.g., theme park attraction rides such as Justice League 3D, etc.); social graph, status or topic for a meeting or social event preparation (e.g., a Facebook status, etc.);…”]
determining geographic proximity between the first user and a plurality of other users based on respective locations of the plurality of other users; filtering the plurality of other users to identify the one or more candidate participants located within a threshold distance of the geographic region of the first user; [(Para 0023) “In an aspect, the vehicle may be a connected vehicle or other vehicle coupled to a mobile mesh network. As the connected vehicle travels along a route, it may connect to and exchange data with servers of a mobile mesh network or other network based at least on proximity to the vehicle, quality of wireless connectivity between each prospective mobile mesh network server and a receiver, for example a media player within the connected vehicle, or servers at places of interest. As used in the present disclosure, connected vehicles may be referred to simply as vehicles and may include various suitable types of vehicles, whether driven autonomously or driven by a person. Connection and disconnection of nodes of the mobile mesh network may themselves be geographic location data.”]
and update the one or more sub-applications in response to activities of the first user, wherein the first user is a vehicle itself. [(Para 0172) “Duration until other trip events 1356 will change during travel, and may be updated in the data structure 1350 as travel progresses”, (Para 0197) “Likewise, in a karaoke game or video game the one or more processors may select or suggest songs, games, characters or game environments related to the trip, or modulate scoring depending on trip-related factors”]
However, Lake-Schaal does not teach but Rahim does teach:
generating a recommendation list comprising the one or more candidate participants based on at least one of: shared mobility data between the first user and the one or more candidate participants and common interests derived from the social graph [see at least (Page 101) “However, authenticity and quality recommendation does matter for commuters. In this case, a person could easily accept information shared by his friends or trusted user in his proximity. Thus, vehicles form social groups or communicate directly using V2V communication to share information based on their social affiliation or common interests. As an instance, the vehicles along the roads in morning evening rush hours can form virtual communities or social groups to discuss and share contents of mutual interest, such as weather updates, news, traffic information or entertainment related information sharing”, (Page 102) “ SOR uses a proactive mechanism to recommend friends in the dynamic environment by estimating stable inter-vehicle connections”]
configure one or more sub-applications of an application for the first user based on the social graph, the location of the first user, and the recommendation list; [see at least: (Page 102) “ SOR uses a proactive mechanism to recommend friends in the dynamic environment by estimating stable inter-vehicle connections”, (Page 102-103) “The vehicles in VSNs communicate opportunistically in the distributed architecture and information sharing with neighbors merely happens in given circumstances, such as for a particular social relationship and geographic position... The applications of VSNs demand for reliable and efficient mechanism and protocols for data dissemination which may be achieved considering different network parameters and features.”]
Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of a vehicle system (Lake-Schaal) with the method of generating recommendations using mobility data and social graph data (Rahim). One of ordinary skill would have recognized that generating recommendations based on proximity and social graphs of users would result in more localized and relevant suggestions.
Regarding Claim 15, the combination of Lake-Schaal and Rahim teach all the limitations of claim 13. Lake-Schaal further teaches:
wherein the one or more sub-applications include a game server, … and a maps application. [(Para 0007) “The interactive media title may be, or may include, a game, a branched narrative, or other content responsive to user input”, (Para 0115) “For example, the duration information may be derived by the processors based on the pick-up time of the passenger, the drop off location, and the estimated time of arrival at the drop off location using a navigation application (e.g., Google Maps) or any other suitable navigation application”]
However, Lake-Schaal does not teach but Rahim does teach:
a local feed [see at least: (Page 101) “As an instance, the vehicles along the roads in morning evening rush hours can form virtual communities or social groups to discuss and share contents of mutual interest, such as weather updates, news, traffic information or entertainment related information sharing”]
Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the vehicle networking system (Lake-Schaal) with a local feed (Rahim). Lake-Schaal discusses the use of social applications (Para 0069) in the vehicle system. It would have been obvious to modify the social applications to include a local feed, so the vehicle users could see local trip related content.
Claims 4-6, 14, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lake-Schaal (US 20240335738 A1) in view of Non-Patent Literature: Rahim (Vehicular social networks: A survey) in further view of Non-Patent Literature: “iPhone user Guide” (Locate a Friend in Find My on iPhone, December 19, 2018).
Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Lake-Schaal and Rahim teaches the limitations of claim 3. The combination does not teach but NPL “iPhone user Guide” does teach:
wherein the first user has a user profile comprising an avatar representing the first user, wherein the avatar is displayed within a map in the maps application based on the location of the first user. [(Page 1, Image 1, Locate a friend in Find My on iPhone); see first image of iPhone user Guide, recommended list of people within a distance, and avatars of users on map.]
Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the vehicle computer system (Lake-Schaal and Rahim) with the method of displaying avatars a map application (“iPhone user Guide”). Lake-Schaal discusses the use of map-based applications (Para 0115 and 0125) in the vehicle system. It would have been obvious to combine these methods because it would allow user traveling in a vehicle to see their respective locations on a map.
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Lake-Schaal, Rahim, and NPL “iPhone user Guide” teaches all the limitations of claim 4. Lake-Schaal further teaches:
further comprising detecting a second user of the social networking system and determining a second location of the second user. [(Para 0083) “For example, passengers in two or more vehicles 101 traveling to a popular destination such as a sporting event or theme park may be interested in the same or similar content. Continuing the example, suppose that the first vehicle 103 has already downloaded many media components making up the shared content and its mobile mesh network 136 comes within range of a second vehicle, e.g., one of the vehicles 118 and 120 in a compatible mesh network”]
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Lake-Schaal, Rahim, and NPL “iPhone user Guide” teaches all the limitations of claim 5. Lake-Schaal and Rahim teach a localized vehicular social network. However, they do not teach but NPL “iPhone user Guide” does teach:
wherein the second user has a second user profile comprising a second avatar representing the second user, wherein the second avatar is displayed within the map in the maps application based on the second location of the second user and wherein the avatar of the first user and the second avatar of the second user are displayed at a same time when the location of the first user and the second location of the second user are in a geographic area. [(Page 1, Image 1, Locate a friend in Find My on iPhone); see first image of iPhone user Guide, recommended list of people within a distance, and avatars of users on map.]
Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of displaying a first avatar in a vehicle computer system (Lake-Schaal and Rahim) with the method of displaying a second avatar in a map application (“iPhone user Guide”). Lake-Schaal discusses the use of map-based applications (Para 0115 and 0125) in the vehicle system. One of ordinary skill would have recognized the use of maps and avatars in a vehicle computer to be predictable because it would allow traveling users to see each other on a map.
Regarding Claim 14, The combination of Lake-Schaal and Rahim teach the limitations of claim 13. The combination does not teach but NPL “iPhone user Guide” does teach:
further storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer system to generate a recommendation of a list of candidate participants for the first user, wherein the list of candidate participants includes users within a threshold of the location of the first user. [(Image 1, Locate a friend in Find My on iPhone); see first image of iPhone, recommended list of people within a distance, and avatars of users on map.]
Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of vehicle and user connections (Lake-Schaal and Rahim) with the method of generating a list of candidates (“iPhone user Guide”). Lake-Schaal discusses the use of map-based applications and location services (Para 0115 and 0125) in the vehicle system. One of ordinary skill would have recognized the use of location services in a vehicle computer to be predictable because users could then see available local participants during travel in the vehicle.
Regarding Claim 16, the combination of Lake-Schaal and Rahim teach all the limitations of claim 15. Lake-Schaal further teaches:
wherein the game server comprises one or more games accessible by the first user, [(Para 0182) “At the process 1430, the at least one interactive media player plays the interactive media in the common conveyance enabled for interaction with the passengers during the period, in a manner as described with respect to process 950 in FIG. 9 above. In an aspect, the playing of the interactive media title includes one or more different route-based interactive games,”]
wherein users of the list of users are within a threshold geographic distance from the first user [(Para 0023) “In an aspect, the vehicle may be a connected vehicle or other vehicle coupled to a mobile mesh network. As the connected vehicle travels along a route, it may connect to and exchange data with servers of a mobile mesh network or other network based at least on proximity to the vehicle, quality of wireless connectivity between each prospective mobile mesh network server and a receiver, for example a media player within the connected vehicle, or servers at places of interest. As used in the present disclosure, connected vehicles may be referred to simply as vehicles and may include various suitable types of vehicles, whether driven autonomously or driven by a person. Connection and disconnection of nodes of the mobile mesh network may themselves be geographic location data.”]
However, the combination of Lake-Schaal and Rahim does not teach but NPL “iPhone user Guide” does teach:
the game server further including a list of users with whom the first user may play the one or more games [(Image 1, Locate a friend in Find My on iPhone); see first image of iPhone, recommended list of people within a distance]
Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of vehicle gaming (Lake-Schaal and Rahim) with the method of generating a list of candidates (“iPhone user Guide”). One of ordinary skill would have recognized the use of location services in a vehicle computer to be predictable because it would allow users to find local players to play games with.
Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lake-Schaal (US 20240335738 A1) in view of Non-Patent Literature: Rahim (Vehicular social networks: A survey) in view of Non-Patent Literature: “iPhone user Guide” (Locate a Friend in Find My on iPhone, December 19, 2018) in further view Proctor (20130219480 A1).
Regarding Claim 7, the combination of Lake-Schaal, Rahim, and NPL “iPhone user Guide” teaches the limitations of Claim 5. The combination does not teach but Proctor does teach:
further comprising operating the social networking system in coordinated usage mode when the first and second users are in a same location and belong to the same user profile. [see at least Proctor: (Para 0008) “In one or more embodiments, these events are determined by metadata associated with the video feeds, such as tags, keywords, GPS coordinates, or content analysis of the video and/or audio data. In one or more embodiments, the invention provides user interfaces that combine the video feeds and/or events with the user's other social media sites so that the user may manage all their various social media feeds in one place.”]
Further it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of a vehicle computer system (Lake-Schaal, Rahim, and NPL “iPhone user Guide”) with the method of shared usage (Proctor). One of ordinary skill would have recognized modifying the vehicle computer system with shared profile capabilities would allow for users in the same vehicle to view content together.
Regarding Claim 8, the combination of Lake-Schaal, Rahim, NPL “iPhone user Guide” and Proctor teach the limitations of claim 7. Lake-Schaal further teaches:
wherein the first and second users are in the same location when a geographic distance between the location of the first user and the second location of the second user is within a threshold distance. [(Para 0023) “In an aspect, the vehicle may be a connected vehicle or other vehicle coupled to a mobile mesh network. As the connected vehicle travels along a route, it may connect to and exchange data with servers of a mobile mesh network or other network based at least on proximity to the vehicle, quality of wireless connectivity between each prospective mobile mesh network server and a receiver, for example a media player within the connected vehicle, or servers at places of interest. As used in the present disclosure, connected vehicles may be referred to simply as vehicles and may include various suitable types of vehicles, whether driven autonomously or driven by a person. Connection and disconnection of nodes of the mobile mesh network may themselves be geographic location data.”]
Claims 17 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lake-Schaal (US 20240335738 A1) in view of Non-Patent Literature: Rahim (Vehicular social networks: A survey) in further view of Proctor (US 20150058448 A1)
Regarding Claim 17, Lake-Schaal teaches:
A non-transitory computer storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause a computer system to perform a computer-implemented method comprising: determining a first location of a first user of a user profile of a social networking system, wherein the first user is associated with a first profile within the user profile; [(Para 0066) “As used herein, “passenger profile” or “profile data” means data descriptive of a passenger, for example, physical location/city of the passenger, the passenger's surrounding context such as weather and temperature (e.g., sunny, raining, snowing, daytime/nighttime, hot vs. cold, etc.), social trends in general or in the passenger's own social network…”]
displaying, via respective display screens of user devices… [see at least: (Figure 4A), (Para 0022) “a display screen configuration including one or more displays”, (Para 0105) “The virtual display device 400 may include a light field display 412 including a switchable electric glass screen 412a that transitions from transparent to opaque, paired with a 4K transparent LCD display”]
displaying, via the respective display screens of the user devices an interactive map to the at least one of the first and second users [(Para 0204) “FIG. 21 is a concept diagram illustrating a map of example intermediate location(s) or places (e.g., 2110, 2120, 2130) within sight from the common conveyance or visible to the passengers along a route 500 traveled by the common conveyance 106, and times (e.g., 2115, 2125, and 2135) at which the common conveyance passes or estimated to pass said places, according to one or more embodiments…”] based on the respective determined locations and the respective existing friendships; [(Para 0010) “The one or more processors may base the synchronizing on location data from one or more location sensors”, (Para0187) “In some implementation, the group curating function at the process 1435 may extend beyond a single vehicle 106, such that a fleet of vehicles 101 may be culled to provide the same selected interactive media content for large common interest groups or friends, such that the number of passengers in the group 330 is not necessarily limited by the passenger capacity of any given vehicle.”]
displaying, via the respective display screens of the user devices, a gaming tab to at least one of the first and second users [(Para 0097) “The system may also be used for multi-user applications, for example social networking, group entertainment experiences, instructional environments, video gaming, and so forth”] based on the respective determined locations and the respective existing friendships; [(Para 0010) “The one or more processors may base the synchronizing on location data from one or more location sensors”, (Para0187) “In some implementation, the group curating function at the process 1435 may extend beyond a single vehicle 106, such that a fleet of vehicles 101 may be culled to provide the same selected interactive media content for large common interest groups or friends, such that the number of passengers in the group 330 is not necessarily limited by the passenger capacity of any given vehicle.”]
and performing activities within an application of the social networking system based on user interactions in a coordinated manner; [(Para 0197) “In some implementations, the interactive media title played at the process 1601 is a conversational game 1610a, a karaoke game 1610b, or another game (e.g., video game) 1610c, or a combination thereof”]
wherein the first user is a vehicle user and the second user is a person user. [(Para 0023) “As used herein, “vehicle” is defined as a movable physical body or structure that may house one or more persons including a passenger as defined herein…As used in the present disclosure, connected vehicles may be referred to simply as vehicles and may include various suitable types of vehicles, whether driven autonomously or driven by a person. Connection and disconnection of nodes of the mobile mesh network may themselves be geographic location data.”]
However, Lake-Schaal does not teach but Rahim does teach:
determining a second location of a second user of the user profile of the social networking system, wherein the second user is associated with a second profile within the user profile, wherein the first and second profiles are linked and have separate social graphs; [see at least (Page 97): “VSNs can take advantage of social features along with GPS modules, sensing modules, and various radio communication channels. These features enable VSNs to enhance conventional V2V communication with additional features, such as social-aware location-based communication, socially-aware opportunistic communication, autonomous driving, and social driving among neighbors with common interests, or similar mobility pattern”]
determining that the first location and the second location are the same; [see at least: (Page 102-103) “The vehicles in VSNs communicate opportunistically in the distributed architecture and information sharing with neighbors merely happens in given circumstances, such as for a particular social relationship and geographic position”, (Page 101) “However, authenticity and quality recommendation does matter for commuters. In this case, a person could easily accept information shared by his friends or trusted user in his proximity. Thus, vehicles form social groups or communicate directly using V2V communication to share information based on their social affiliation or common interests. As an instance, the vehicles along the roads in morning evening rush hours can form virtual communities or social groups to discuss and share contents of mutual interest, such as weather updates, news, traffic information or entertainment related information sharing”]
…a local feed to at least one of the first and second users based on the respective determined locations and the respective existing friendships; [see at least: (Page 101) “As an instance, the vehicles along the roads in morning evening rush hours can form virtual communities or social groups to discuss and share contents of mutual interest, such as weather updates, news, traffic information or entertainment related information sharing”]
Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the vehicle networking system (Lake-Schaal) with determining a second location of a user with a separate social graph (Rahim). One of ordinary skill would have recognized determining the location of other users for localized feeds would provide more relevant and localized content.
However, the combination of Lake-Schaal and Rahim does not teach but Proctor does teach:
in response to determining that the first location and the second location are the same, operating the social networking system in a coordinated usage mode wherein content for the first and second users is uploaded and downloaded to and from the social networking system in a coordinated manner; [see at least Proctor: (Para 0008) “In one or more embodiments, these events are determined by metadata associated with the video feeds, such as tags, keywords, GPS coordinates, or content analysis of the video and/or audio data. In one or more embodiments, the invention provides user interfaces that combine the video feeds and/or events with the user's other social media sites so that the user may manage all their various social media feeds in one place.”]
Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the localized vehicle networking system (Lake-Schaal and Rahim) with operating a coordinated usage mode (Proctor). One of ordinary skill would have recognized a coordinated usage mode would be beneficial to those in a vehicle viewing content at the same time.
Regarding Claim 21, the combination of Lake-Schaal, Rahim, and Proctor teach the limitations of claim 17.
Lake-Schaal and Rahim teach a localized vehicular social network. However, they do not teach but Proctor does teach:
wherein, in the coordinated usage mode, the activities performed within the application are associated with one of 1) both the first and second profiles of the first and second users, respectively; and 2) the user profile to which both the first and second profiles belong. [see at least Proctor: (Para 0008) “In one or more embodiments, these events are determined by metadata associated with the video feeds, such as tags, keywords, GPS coordinates, or content analysis of the video and/or audio data. In one or more embodiments, the invention provides user interfaces that combine the video feeds and/or events with the user's other social media sites so that the user may manage all their various social media feeds in one place.”]
Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the localized vehicle networking system (Lake-Schaal and Rahim) with operating a coordinated usage mode (Proctor). One of ordinary skill would have recognized a coordinated usage mode would be beneficial to those in a vehicle viewing content at the same time or beneficial to a user with multiple profiles. Allowing a coordinated usage mode would yield predictable results.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lake-Schaal (US 20240335738 A1) in view of Non-Patent Literature: Rahim (Vehicular social networks: A survey) in view of Proctor (US 20150058448 A1), in further view of Non-Patent Literature: “iPhone user Guide” (Locate a Friend in Find My on iPhone, December 19, 2018)
Regarding Claim 18, the combination of Lake-Schaal and Rahim teaches all the limitations of claim 17. Lake-Schaal further teaches:
the interactive map comprises one or more selectable elements including avatars of users within the geographic region, previews of images of places of interest (POI) within the geographic region; [(Para 204) “virtual interaction with objects outside the vehicle may cause special effects of the outside objects, or game rewards to be awarded to the passenger virtually interacting with the outside objects. In another implementation, the one or more processors via the virtual display device 4100 may display VR/AR/xR avatar image of the Passenger A in the form of a bat, flying over the Bat Bridge, at 2130, providing an alternative viewpoint from the vehicle.”]
and a representation of the geographic region, wherein interactive map is adjustable to show additional geographic regions; [(Para 0114) “Turning to FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a concept diagram that elaborates on the common conveyance concept depicted in FIG. 3B above. FIG. 5 illustrates a map of pick up location(s), drop off location(s), initial location, intermediate location(s), and terminal location that may be involved in a travel”, (Para 0204) “FIG. 21 is a concept diagram illustrating a map of example intermediate location(s) or places (e.g., 2110, 2120, 2130) within sight from the common conveyance or visible to the passengers along a route 500 traveled by the common conveyance 106, and times (e.g., 2115, 2125, and 2135) at which the common conveyance passes or estimated to pass said places, according to one or more embodiments…”]
and the gaming tab comprises a list of a plurality of games [(Para 0197) “In some implementations, the interactive media title played at the process 1601 is a conversational game 1610a, a karaoke game 1610b, or another game (e.g., video game)”]
However, Lake Schaal does not teach but Rahim does teach:
wherein: the local feed of a user comprises stories, posted images, posted videos, and posted comments from users within a geographic region of the user and from users connected to the user via friendships [see at least: (Page 101) “As an instance, the vehicles along the roads in morning evening rush hours can form virtual communities or social groups to discuss and share contents of mutual interest, such as weather updates, news, traffic information or entertainment related information sharing”, (Page 100) “Entertainment-based applications facilitate commuters while driving to share/download music, video, photos or play games”]
Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of vehicle system (Lake-Schaal) with the method of a local social network (Rahim). Lake-Schaal discusses the use of social networking (Para 0097) in the vehicle system. It would have been obvious to modify the social applications to include a local feed, so the vehicle users could see local trip related content.
However, the combination of Lake-Schaal, Rahim, and Proctor does not teach but NPL “iPhone user Guide” does teach:
and a list of available users, wherein the available users are users within the geographic region and users connected to the user via friendships. [(Image 1, Locate a friend in Find My on iPhone); see first image of iPhone, recommended list of people within a distance, and avatars of users on map.]
Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of vehicle system (Lake-Schaal and Rahim and Proctor) with the method of generating a list of candidates (“iPhone user Guide”). Lake-Schaal discusses the use of map-based applications and location services (Para 0115 and 0125) in the vehicle system. One of ordinary skill would have recognized the use of location services in a vehicle computer to be predictable because it would allow traveling friends to see each other on a map.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Examiner Benjamin Truong, whose telephone number is 703-756-5883. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 9 am to 5 pm (EST).
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/B.L.T. /Examiner, Art Unit 3687
/NATHAN C UBER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3626
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