DETAILED ACTION
This action is in reply to the request for continued examination filed June 24th, 2026. Claims 1 and 4-22 are currently pending.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on April 24th, 2026 has been entered.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 6 of claim 1 was amended as “map and hotspot datath, 2025.
Appropriate correction is required.
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, 10, 11, 14, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over previously cited of record Wang et al. (US Pub. No. 20220005364 A1), herein after Wang, in view of previously cited of record Khatwa et al. (US Pub. No. 20220068149 A1), herein after Khatwa, and further in view of previously cited of record Feyereisen et al. (US Pub. No. 20110196599 A1), herein after Feyereisen.
Regarding claim 1, Wang teaches [a] method comprising (Wang: Para. 0006, teaching methods and systems for determining and displaying taxi routes for aircraft): monitoring, by the computing system and based on traffic data, movement of traffic relative to the taxi route (Wang: Para. 0024, teaching that the movements and locations of other aircraft around a host aircraft are monitored); detecting traffic located proximate a hot spot and within a threshold distance from the aircraft (Wang: Para. 0047, teaching that the traffic data is analyzed to detect where other aircraft are in relation to each route segment and the host aircraft); and based on detecting traffic located proximate the hot spot and within the threshold distance from the aircraft, providing an alert via the display interface (Wang: Para. 0043, teaching that traffic indicators are displayed along the route as well as an ownship indicator and range ring for determining if another aircraft is close to the host aircraft).
Wang is silent to providing, by a computing system coupled to an aircraft, location data of the aircraft to an airport mapping system, wherein the airport mapping system uses the location data of the aircraft to identify map and hot spot data for a taxi route for the aircraft; receiving, for the taxi route and at the computing system, the map and hot spot data; displaying, by the computing system and on a display interface, a representation of the taxi route, wherein the representation includes a graphical overlay that conveys a position of each hot spot located along the taxi route and rendered on the display using one or more graphic elements for viewing the hot spots located along the taxi route, and wherein the representation is based on the map and hot spot data; receiving, for a modified taxi route for the aircraft, additional map and hot spot data; and displaying, after receiving the additional map and hot spot data for the modified taxi route, a representation of the modified taxi route on the display interface, wherein the representation of the of the modified taxi route includes a second graphical overlay that conveys the position of each hot spot located along the modified taxi route.
In a similar field, Khatwa teaches providing, by a computing system coupled to an aircraft, location data of the aircraft to an airport mapping system, wherein the airport mapping system uses the location data of the aircraft to identify map and hot spot data for a taxi route for the aircraft (Khatwa: Para. 0019, teaching displaying hotspots and the aircraft along a taxi route; and Para. 0057, teaching that the information on the location of the aircraft and hotspots can be determined using aerodrome mapping data); receiving, for the taxi route and at the computing system, the map and hot spot data; displaying, by the computing system and on a display interface, a representation of the taxi route, wherein the representation includes a graphical overlay that conveys a position of each hot spot located along the taxi route and rendered on the display using one or more graphic elements for viewing the hot spots located along the taxi route, and wherein the representation is based on the map and hot spot data (Khatwa: Para. 0019, teaching displaying hotspots, such as intersections, along a taxi route using graphical inserts; and Para. 0040, teaching that the turns and intersections along a route are displayed using graphical inserts); receiving, for a… taxi route for the aircraft, additional map and hot spot data; and displaying, after receiving the additional map and hot spot data for the… taxi route, a representation of the… taxi route on the display interface, wherein the representation of the of the… taxi route includes a… graphical overlay that conveys the position of each hot spot located along the… taxi route (Khatwa: Para. 0019, teaching displaying hotspots along a taxi route) for the benefit of improving the routing of the airplane during taxiing.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the filing of the application to modify aircraft taxiing based on traffic from Wang with information on the location of hotspots where traffic is most frequent or dangerous, as taught by Khatwa, for the benefit of improving the routing of the airplane during taxiing.
They are silent to displaying a second representation for a modified taxi route.
In a similar field, Feyereisen teaches displaying multiple routes on a display that are modified from an initial route for if the original route could become unavailable (Feyereisen: Para. 0038, teaching that alternative routes can be displayed when a second aircraft may intersect with the taxi path of the host aircraft) for the benefit of creating redundant routes in the event of traffic blocking the original route.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention to modify the aircraft taxiing route generation and display from Wang in view of Khatwa with the multiple other routes the aircraft could take, as taught by Feyereisen, for the benefit of creating redundant routes in the event of traffic blocking the original route.
Regarding claim 10, Wang, Khatwa, and Feyereisen remain as applied as in claim 1, and Wang goes on to further teach [t]he method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving traffic data for the taxi route for the aircraft, wherein the traffic data represents movement patterns for a plurality of aircraft (Wang: Para. 0036, teaching that the invention monitors the movements, past locations, and recency of traffic for patterns as part of its prediction of traffic along the route); and displaying the representation of the taxi route with respective graphic aircraft visuals representing the movement patterns for the plurality of aircraft (Wang: Para. 0043, teaching that traffic indicators are displayed along the route).
Regarding claim 11, Wang, Khatwa, and Feyereisen remain as applied as in claim 1, and Khatwa goes on to further teach [t]he method of claim 1, wherein providing the alert comprises: displaying a text alert along with an audio alert via a navigation system or an electronic flight bag (Khatwa: Para. 0021, teaching that the aircraft pilot is alerted via audio or visual alerts or via an electronic flight bag).
Regarding claim 14, Wang teaches [a] system comprising: an aircraft; an airport mapping system (Wang: Para. 0006, teaching methods and systems for determining and displaying taxi routes for aircraft including an airport mapping database): monitor, based on traffic data, movement of traffic relative to the taxi route (Wang: Para. 0024, teaching that the movements and locations of other aircraft around a host aircraft are monitored); detect traffic located proximate a hot spot and within a threshold distance from the aircraft (Wang: Para. 0047, teaching that the traffic data is analyzed to detect where other aircraft are in relation to each route segment and the host aircraft); and based on detecting traffic located proximate the hot spot and within the threshold distance from the aircraft, provide an alert via the display interface (Wang: Para. 0043, teaching that traffic indicators are displayed along the route as well as an ownship indicator and range ring for determining if another aircraft is close to the host aircraft).
Wang is silent to the airport mapping system being configured to identify map and hot spot data for a taxi route for the aircraft based on location data of the aircraft; a computing system configured to: provide the location data of the aircraft to the airport mapping system; receive, for the taxi route, map and hot spot data; display, on a display interface, a representation of the taxi route, wherein the representation includes a graphical overlay that conveys a position of each hot spot located along the taxi route and rendered on the display interface using one or more graphic elements for viewing the hot spots located along the taxi route, and wherein the representation is based on the map and hot spot data; receive, for a modified taxi route for the aircraft, additional map and hot spot data; and display, after receiving the additional map and hot spot data for the modified taxi route, a representation of the modified taxi route on the display interface, wherein the representation of the of the modified taxi route includes a second graphical overlay that conveys the position of each hot spot located along the modified taxi route.
In a similar field, Khatwa teaches an airport mapping system configured to identify map and hot spot data for a taxi route for the aircraft based on location data of the aircraft (Khatwa: Para. 0019, teaching displaying hotspots and the aircraft along a taxi route; and Para. 0057, teaching that the information on the location of the aircraft and hotspots can be determined using aerodrome mapping data); a computing system configured to: provide the location data of the aircraft to the airport mapping system; receive, for the taxi route, map and hot spot data; display, on a display interface, a representation of the taxi route, wherein the representation includes a graphical overlay that conveys a position of each hot spot located along the taxi route and rendered on the display interface using one or more graphic elements for viewing the hot spots located along the taxi route, and wherein the representation is based on the map and hot spot data (Khatwa: Para. 0019, teaching displaying hotspots, such as intersections, along a taxi route using graphical inserts; and Para. 0040, teaching that the turns and intersections along a route are displayed using graphical inserts); receive, for a… taxi route for the aircraft, additional map and hot spot data; and display, after receiving the additional map and hot spot data for the… taxi route, a representation of the… taxi route on the display interface, wherein the representation of the of the… taxi route includes a… graphical overlay that conveys the position of each hot spot located along the… taxi route (Khatwa: Para. 0019, teaching displaying hotspots along a taxi route) for the benefit of improving the routing of the airplane during taxiing.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the filing of the application to modify aircraft taxiing based on traffic from Wang with information on the location of hotspots where traffic is most frequent or dangerous, as taught by Khatwa, for the benefit of improving the routing of the airplane during taxiing.
They are silent to displaying a second representation for a modified taxi route.
In a similar field, Feyereisen teaches displaying multiple routes on a display that are modified from an initial route for if the original route could become unavailable (Feyereisen: Para. 0038, teaching that alternative routes can be displayed when a second aircraft may intersect with the taxi path of the host aircraft) for the benefit of creating redundant routes in the event of traffic blocking the original route.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention to modify the aircraft taxiing route generation and display from Wang in view of Khatwa with the multiple other routes the aircraft could take, as taught by Feyereisen, for the benefit of creating redundant routes in the event of traffic blocking the original route.
Regarding claim 19, Wang and Khatwa remain as applied as in claim 14, and Khatwa goes on to further teach [t]he system of claim 14, wherein the computing system is an electronic flight bag device (Khatwa: Para. 0021, teaching that the aircraft pilot is alerted via audio or visual alerts or via an electronic flight bag).
Regarding claim 20, Wang teaches [a] non-transitory computer readable medium configured to store instructions, that when executed by a computing system, causes the computing system to perform operations comprising (Wang: Para. 0031, teaching a non-transitory computer memory programmed to perform the processes of the invention): monitoring, based on traffic data, movement of traffic relative to the taxi route (Wang: Para. 0024, teaching that the movements and locations of other aircraft around a host aircraft are monitored); detecting traffic located proximate a hot spot and within a threshold distance from the aircraft (Wang: Para. 0047, teaching that the traffic data is analyzed to detect where other aircraft are in relation to each route segment and the host aircraft); and based on detecting traffic proximate the hot spot and within the threshold distance from the aircraft, providing an alert via the display interface (Wang: Para. 0043, teaching that traffic indicators are displayed along the route as well as an ownship indicator and range ring for determining if another aircraft is close to the host aircraft).
Wang is silent to providing location data of an aircraft to an airport mapping system, wherein the airport mapping system uses the location data of the aircraft to identify map and hot spot data for a taxi route for the aircraft; receiving the map and hot spot data for the taxi route; displaying, on a display interface, a representation of the taxi route, wherein the representation includes a graphical overlay that conveys a position of each hot spot located along the taxi route and rendered on the display interface using one or more graphic elements for viewing the hot spots located along the taxi route, and wherein the representation is based on the map and hot spot data; receiving, for a modified taxi route for the aircraft, additional map and hot spot data; and displaying, after receiving the additional map and hot spot data for the modified taxi route, a representation of the modified taxi route on the display interface, wherein the representation of the of the modified taxi route includes a second graphical overlay that conveys the position of each hot spot located along the modified taxi route.
In a similar field, Khatwa teaches providing location data of an aircraft to an airport mapping system, wherein the airport mapping system uses the location data of the aircraft to identify map and hot spot data for a taxi route for the aircraft (Khatwa: Para. 0019, teaching displaying hotspots and the aircraft along a taxi route; and Para. 0057, teaching that the information on the location of the aircraft and hotspots can be determined using aerodrome mapping data); receiving the map and hot spot data for the taxi route; displaying, on a display interface, a representation of the taxi route, wherein the representation includes a graphical overlay that conveys a position of each hot spot located along the taxi route and rendered on the display interface using one or more graphic elements for viewing the hot spots located along the taxi route, and wherein the representation is based on the map and hot spot data (Khatwa: Para. 0019, teaching displaying hotspots, such as intersections, along a taxi route using graphical inserts; and Para. 0040, teaching that the turns and intersections along a route are displayed using graphical inserts); receiving, for a… taxi route for the aircraft, additional map and hot spot data; and displaying, after receiving the additional map and hot spot data for the… taxi route, a representation of the… taxi route on the display interface, wherein the representation of the of the… taxi route includes a… graphical overlay that conveys the position of each hot spot located along the… taxi route (Khatwa: Para. 0019, teaching displaying hotspots along a taxi route) for the benefit of improving the routing of the airplane during taxiing.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the filing of the application to modify aircraft taxiing based on traffic from Wang with information on the location of hotspots where traffic is most frequent or dangerous, as taught by Khatwa, for the benefit of improving the routing of the airplane during taxiing.
They are silent to displaying a second representation for a modified taxi route.
In a similar field, Feyereisen teaches displaying multiple routes on a display that are modified from an initial route for if the original route could become unavailable (Feyereisen: Para. 0038, teaching that alternative routes can be displayed when a second aircraft may intersect with the taxi path of the host aircraft) for the benefit of creating redundant routes in the event of traffic blocking the original route.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention to modify the aircraft taxiing route generation and display from Wang in view of Khatwa with the multiple other routes the aircraft could take, as taught by Feyereisen, for the benefit of creating redundant routes in the event of traffic blocking the original route.
Claims 4, 6-8, 15-17, 21, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Khatwa in further view of Feyereisen as applied to claims 1, 14, and 20 above, and further in view of previously cited of record Pepitone; David (US Pub. No. 20070067093 A1), herein after Pepitone.
Regarding claim 4, Wang, Khatwa, and Feyereisen remain as applied as in claim 1, however they are silent to [t]he method of claim 1, wherein the graphical overlay that conveys a position of the hot spot comprises: a first inner circle located inside a second outer circle, wherein a diameter of the first inner circle is less than a diameter of the second outer circle, the first inner circle is associated with an alert, and the second outer circle is associated with a less severe alert than the first inner circle.
In a similar field, Pepitone teaches [t]he method of claim 1, wherein the graphical overlay that conveys a position of the hot spot comprises: a first inner circle located inside a second outer circle, wherein a diameter of the first inner circle is less than a diameter of the second outer circle, the first inner circle is associated with an alert, and the second outer circle is associated with a less severe alert than the first inner circle (Pepitone: Para. 0033, teaching that zones of protection can be displayed around aircraft and airfield structures in a runway; and Para. 0041, teaching that the zones of protection can include multiple inner areas that provide more sever warnings the closer an aircraft or other object intrudes on the zones of protection) for the benefit of enhanced warning of incursions for aircraft during taxiing.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention to modify the graphical display of the taxiing of an aircraft from Wang in view of Khatwa with the multiple rings that mark important locations to monitor that have different levels of urgency, as taught by Pepitone, for the benefit of enhanced warning of incursions for aircraft during taxiing.
Regarding claim 6, Wang, Khatwa, Feyereisen, and Pepitone remain as applied as in claim 4, and Pepitone goes on to further teach [t]he method of claim 4, wherein the first inner circle is represented by a first color and the second outer circle is represented by a second color, and wherein the second color differs from the first color (Pepitone: Para. 0041, teaching that the inner zone may be colored green and the outer zone may be color amber).
Regarding claim 7, Wang, Khatwa, Feyereisen, and Pepitone remain as applied as in claim 4, and Pepitone ox goes on to further teach [t]he method of claim 4, wherein detecting traffic located proximate the hot spot and within the threshold distance from the aircraft comprises: detecting traffic located proximate or within the second outer circle of the hot spot and outside the first inner circle when the aircraft is positioned proximate or within the second outer circle of the hot spot (Pepitone: Para. 0041, teaching that the zones of protection can include multiple inner areas that provide more sever warnings the closer an aircraft or other object intrudes on the zones of protection); and Khatwa goes on to further teach providing a first audiovisual alert via a navigation system or an electronic flight bag (Khatwa: Para. 0021, teaching that the aircraft pilot is alerted via audio or visual alerts or via an electronic flight bag).
Regarding claim 8, Wang, Khatwa, and Pepitone remain as applied as in claim 7, and Pepitone goes on to further teach [t]he method of claim 7, further comprising: detecting traffic located proximate or within the first inner circle of the hot spot when the aircraft is positioned proximate or within the first inner circle of the hot spot; and providing a second audiovisual alert via the navigation system or the electronic flight bag, wherein the second audiovisual alert represents a more severe alert than the first audiovisual alert (Pepitone: Para. 0041, teaching that the zones of protection can include multiple inner areas that provide more sever warnings the closer an aircraft or other object intrudes on the zones of protection).
Regarding claim 15, Wang, Khatwa, and Feyereisen remain as applied as in claim 14, however they are silent to [t]he system of claim 14, wherein the graphical overlay that conveys the position of a given hot spot comprises: a first inner circle located inside a second outer circle, wherein a diameter of the first inner circle is less than a diameter of the second outer circle, the first inner circle is associated with an alert, and the second outer circle is associated with a less severe alert than the first inner circle.
In a similar field, Pepitone teaches [t]he system of claim 14, wherein the graphical overlay that conveys the position of a given hot spot comprises: a first inner circle located inside a second outer circle, wherein a diameter of the first inner circle is less than a diameter of the second outer circle (Pepitone: Para. 0033, teaching that zones of protection can be displayed around aircraft and airfield structures in a runway; and Para. 0041, teaching that the zones of protection can include multiple inner areas that provide more sever warnings the closer an aircraft or other object intrudes on the zones of protection) for the benefit of enhanced warning of incursions for aircraft during taxiing.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention to modify the graphical display of the taxiing of an aircraft from Wang in view of Khatwa with the multiple rings that mark important locations to monitor that have different levels of urgency, as taught by Pepitone, for the benefit of enhanced warning of incursions for aircraft during taxiing.
Regarding claim 16, Wang, Khatwa, Feyereisen, and Pepitone remain as applied as in claim 15, and Pepitone goes on to further teach [t]he system of claim 15, wherein the computing system is configured to: based on detecting traffic located within the second outer circle and outside the first inner circle, provide a caution alert that includes text, audio, and applies a color to the second outer circle on the representation of the taxi route (Pepitone: Para. 0041, teaching that the inner zone may be colored green and the outer zone may be color amber).
Regarding claim 17, Wang, Khatwa, Feyereisen, and Pepitone remain as applied as in claim 16, and Pepitone goes on to further teach [t]he system of claim 16, wherein the computing system is configured to: based on detecting traffic located within the first inner circle, provide a warning alert that includes text, audio, and applies a different color to the first inner circle on the representation of the taxi route (Pepitone: Para. 0041, teaching that the inner zone may be colored green and the outer zone may be color amber).
Regarding claim 21, Wang, Khatwa, and Feyereisen remain as applied as in claim 20, however they are silent to [t]he non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 20, wherein the graphical overlay that conveys the position of a given hot spot comprises: a first inner circle located inside a second outer circle, wherein a diameter of the first inner circle is less than a diameter of the second outer circle, the first inner circle is associated with an alert, and the second outer circle is associated with a less severe alert than the first inner circle.
In a similar field, Pepitone teaches [t]he non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 20, wherein the graphical overlay that conveys the position of a given hot spot comprises: a first inner circle located inside a second outer circle, wherein a diameter of the first inner circle is less than a diameter of the second outer circle, the first inner circle is associated with an alert, and the second outer circle is associated with a less severe alert than the first inner circle (Pepitone: Para. 0033, teaching that zones of protection can be displayed around aircraft and airfield structures in a runway; and Para. 0041, teaching that the zones of protection can include multiple inner areas that provide more sever warnings the closer an aircraft or other object intrudes on the zones of protection) for the benefit of enhanced warning of incursions for aircraft during taxiing.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention to modify the graphical display of the taxiing of an aircraft from Wang in view of Khatwa with the multiple rings that mark important locations to monitor that have different levels of urgency, as taught by Pepitone, for the benefit of enhanced warning of incursions for aircraft during taxiing.
Regarding claim 22, Wang, Khatwa, Feyereisen, and Pepitone remain as applied as in claim 21, and Pepitone goes on to further teach [t]he non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions to cause the computing system to perform operations comprising: based on detecting traffic located within the second outer circle and outside the first inner circle, providing a caution alert that… applies a color to the second outer circle on the representation of the taxi route (Pepitone: Para. 0041, teaching that the zones of protection can include multiple inner areas that provide more sever warnings the closer an aircraft or other object intrudes on the zones of protection and that the inner zone may be colored green and the outer zone may be color amber) and Khatwa goes on to further teach that the alert text and audio (Khatwa: Para. 0021, teaching that the aircraft pilot is alerted via audio or visual alerts or via an electronic flight bag).
Claims 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Khatwa in further view of Feyereisen in further view of Pepitone as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of previously cited of record Kathirvel et al. (US Pub. No. 20160063869 A1), herein after Kathirvel.
Regarding claim 5, Wang, Khatwa, Feyereisen, and Pepitone remain as applied as in claim 4, however they are silent to [t]he method of claim 4, wherein the diameter of the first inner circle is based on a wingspan of the aircraft and the diameter of the second outer circle is based on a separation distance between two aircrafts maintained while the two aircrafts are lined up for take-off or waiting for clearance to cross intersection for landing aircraft.
In a similar field, Kathirvel teaches [t]he method of claim 4, wherein the diameter of the first inner circle is based on a wingspan of the aircraft and the diameter of the second outer circle is based on a separation distance between two aircrafts maintained while the two aircrafts are lined up for take-off or waiting for clearance to cross intersection for landing aircraft (Kathirvel: Para. 0041 and 0057, teaching a ring around an aircraft that denotes the wingspan of the aircraft as well as a graphical representation of the separation distance between the aircraft and a second aircraft) for the benefit of conveying important information in an easy to understand manner.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention to modify the two circles representing areas of interest from Wang in view of Khatwa in further view of Pepitone to have one be based on the aircraft’s wingspan and the other to convey the separation distance between the aircraft and another aircraft, as taught by Kathirvel, for the benefit of conveying important information in an easy to understand manner.
Claims 9 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Khatwa in further view of Feyereisen as applied to claims 1 and 14 above, and further in view of previously cited of record Gaertner et al. (US Pub. No. 20110196599 A1), herein after Gaertner.
Regarding claim 9, Wang, Khatwa, and Feyereisen remain as applied as in claim 1, and Wang goes on to further teach [t]he method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving the traffic data representing movement of other aircraft and ground vehicles from Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) (Wang: Para. 0024, teaching the use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Rebroadcast to obtain traffic data of other aircraft) and Khatwa goes on to further teach wherein displaying the representation of the taxi route based on the map and hot spot data comprises: displaying the representation of the taxi route with the traffic data represented along the taxi route (Khatwa: Para. 0019, teaching displaying hotspots along a taxi route).
They are silent to receiving traffic data from an Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE-X).
In a similar field, Gaertner teaches receiving traffic data from an Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE-X) (Gaertner: Para. 0032, teaching the use of Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE-X) to obtain traffic data of other aircraft) for the benefit of improving the accuracy of positioning aircraft on a taxiway.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention to modify the from Wang in view of Khatwa with the Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE-X), as taught by Gaertner, for the benefit of improving the accuracy of positioning aircraft on a taxiway.
Regarding claim 9, Wang, Khatwa, and Feyereisen remain as applied as in claim 1, and Wang goes on to further teach [t]he system of claim 14, wherein the traffic data is received from Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B)…, and wherein the traffic data represents movement of other aircraft and ground vehicles (Wang: Para. 0024, teaching the use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Rebroadcast to obtain traffic data of other aircraft).
They are silent to receiving traffic data from one or more ground-based radars.
In a similar field, Gaertner teaches receiving traffic data from one or more ground-based radars (Gaertner: Para. 0040, teaching the use of radar for tracking the movements of traffic) for the benefit of improving the accuracy of positioning aircraft on a taxiway.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention to modify the from Wang in view of Khatwa with the ground based radars, as taught by Gaertner, for the benefit of improving the accuracy of positioning aircraft on a taxiway.
Claims 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Khatwa in further view of Feyereisen as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of previously cited of record Govindillam et al. (US Pub. No. 20210005095 A1), herein after Govindillam.
Regarding claim 12, Wang, Khatwa, and Feyereisen remain as applied as in claim 1, and Khatwa goes on to further teach wherein displaying the representation of the taxi route based on the map and hot spot data comprises: augmenting the image data to include the graphical overlay that conveys the position of each hot spot located along the taxi route (Khatwa: Para. 0029, teaching displaying hotspots along a taxi route).
They are silent to [t]he method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving image data depicting the taxi route from a camera coupled to the aircraft.
In a similar field, Govindillam teaches [t]he method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving image data depicting the taxi route from a camera coupled to the aircraft (Govindillam: Para. 0037, teaching the use of cameras to monitor hotspots and other locations of interest) for the benefit of improving the display of the area around the aircraft.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention to modify the display of the surrounding of the aircraft from Wang in view of Khatwa to utilize cameras installed on the aircraft for images of the taxi route, as taught by Govindillam, for the benefit of improving the display of the area around the aircraft.
Regarding claim 13, Wang, Khatwa, Feyereisen, and Govindillam remain as applied as in claim 12, and Govindillam goes on to further teach [t]he method of claim 12, wherein detecting traffic located proximate the hot spot and within the threshold distance from the aircraft comprises: detecting another aircraft or ground vehicle is located proximate the hot spot and within the threshold distance from the aircraft based on subsequent image data from the camera during ground navigation by the aircraft (Govindillam: Para. 0041, teaching detecting the location of other aircraft near the hotspot or the host aircraft based on the image data).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed April 24th, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant's arguments filed April 24th, 2026 with respect to the 103 rejection of claims 1, 10, 11, 14, 19, and 20 in view of Wang and in further view of Khatwa in light of the amendments of record have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Wang in further view of Khatwa and in further view of Feyereisen.
Applicant contends (see page 13 lines 17-28, filed April 24th, 2026) that the prior arts of Khatwa and Feyereisen are deficient in teaching the limitation of “receiving, for a modified taxi route for the aircraft, additional map and hot spot data”. The examiner respectfully disagrees. The examiner notes that the receiving limitation is taught by Khatwa in paragraph 0057 which recites “The controller may be further configured to: determine, using the aircraft sensor inputs and the aerodrome mapping data, when the aircraft approaches a location of interest (such as a runway incursion hotspot, a parking stand, or a position reporting location); and provide the visual alert when the aircraft approaches the location of interest”. Khatwa further teaches in at least paragraph 0028 that the aerodome mapping data is received from an aerodome mapping database (AMD) 110, thus satisfying the scope of the claimed limitation.
Applicant contends (see page 13 line 17 through page 15 line 28, filed April 24th, 2026) that the prior arts of Khatwa and Feyereisen are deficient in teaching the limitation of “displaying, after receiving the additional map and hot spot data for the modified taxi route, a representation of the modified taxi route on the display interface”. The examiner respectfully disagrees. The examiner notes in response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986). In this case, the display of the hotspots along the taxi route of the aircraft is taught by paragraph 0019 of Khatwa which recites “allow for voice and visual assisted progressive navigation cues for taxiing per taxi clearance instructions;… and/or provide advisory level visual alerts when approaching runway incursion hotspots or other locations of interest” and paragraph 0038 of Feyereisen was brought in to modify the display of a single taxi route with hotspots marked as Feyereisen teaches in paragraph 0038 a display process that determines multiple taxi routes that an aircraft can take that take into consideration possible points of incursion with other aircraft. The combination of display a taxi route that marks hotspots from Khatwa with the display of multiple aircraft taxi routes from Feyereisen does render obvious the claimed display of a second, modified taxi route that also displays hotspots along the route as claimed.
Applicant contends (see page 15 lines 29-32, filed April 24th, 2026) that independent claims 14 and 20 are allowable over the prior art of record as they have been amended to recite limitations that have rendered independent claim 1 allowable. The examiner respectfully disagrees. The examiner notes that these limitations have not rendered independent claims 14 and 20 allowable over the prior art of record for the same reasons that they have not rendered independent claim 1 allowable.
Applicant contends (see page 15 lines 29-32, filed April 24th, 2026) that the dependent claims are allowable over the prior art of record as they depend upon the independent claims that have been rendered allowable over the prior art of record. The examiner respectfully disagrees. The examiner notes that as the independent claims have not been rendered allowable over the prior art of record the claims that the dependent claims stand to fall with the claims they depend upon.
Conclusion
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/A.K.M./Examiner, Art Unit 3663
/ANGELA Y ORTIZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3663
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