DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 August 18, 2026 has been entered.
Claim 1, 6, and 11 are amended.
Claims 1-21 are pending this application
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-2, 4-7, 9-12, and 14-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iwami et al (US 2006/0114151 A1) in view of Imamura (US 2018/0181800 A) and Uchida (US 2010/0117901 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Iwami teaches an information processing device, comprising [0022 for GPS positioning]:
a positioning operation unit that performs satellite positioning [0022 for GPS satellite and receiver using dilution of position to determine thresholds];
a control unit configured to perform the following [0022 for position calculation means]:
acquiring a positioning result and data of one or more items related to an accuracy of the positioning result from the positioning operation unit [0022 for having a reception level and preset DoP threshold];
judging that the positioning result is valid when the data of the one or more items meet respective predetermined criteria and outputting the positioning result as valid [0022 for positioning-calculation determination means and the DOP value determination means determine that both the thresholds are satisfied],
and causing the positioning result to be output to a user when the positioning result is judged to be valid [0022 and 0052 for output data of the positioning condition may be subjected to appropriate calculation processing in each processor].
Iwami fails to explicitly teach wherein the positioning result has a plurality of different usage types, wherein the one or more items are common among the plurality of different usage types, and the respective predetermined criteria are set in accordance with the usage type of the positioning result, wherein at least part of the predetermined criteria for at least one of the plurality of different usage types.
Imamura has a portable terminal includes an information acquisition unit, an output control unit (abstract) and teaches wherein the positioning result has a plurality of different usage types [0024 for daily behavior of the user or a move due to non-daily behavior and thereby displaying a move locus on a map],
wherein the one or more items are common among the plurality of different usage types [0024 for cycling, surfing, skiing],
and the respective predetermined criteria are set in accordance with the usage type of the positioning result, wherein at least part of the predetermined criteria for at least one of the plurality of different usage types [0032 for positioning interval differs significantly between exercise activities and daily behavior].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the applicant’s invention for modifying the sensor determining position techniques, as disclosed by Iwami, further including the usage type calculations as taught by Imamura for the purpose to move locus formed with position information acquired at the time of the behavior (Imamura, 0024).
Iwami fails to explicitly teach include a criterion value by which the control unit judges that the criterion is met regardless of a content of the data so that the corresponding one or more items are not considered in judging whether the positioning result is valid for said at least one of the plurality of different usage types, and wherein the control unit judges, for each of the plurality of different usage types, whether the positioning result is valid in accordance with a common processing procedure, using the data of the one or more items and the respective predetermined criteria set in accordance with the usage type.
Uchida has a positioning satellite used for position calculation on the basis of at least reliability of satellite orbits in a prediction target period corresponding to a position calculation point (abstract) and teaches a criterion value by which the control unit judges that the criterion is met regardless of a content of the data so that the corresponding one or more items are not considered in judging whether the positioning result is valid for said at least one of the plurality of different usage types [0098 for determines that the reception environment is the weak field environment],
and wherein the control unit judges, for each of the plurality of different usage types, whether the positioning result is valid in accordance with a common processing procedure, using the data of the one or more items and the respective predetermined criteria set in accordance with the usage type [0099-0104 for pen sky environment), the host CPU extracts the acquired satellites, predicted orbit reliabilities of which in the prediction target period are 0 to 5].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the applicant’s invention for modifying the sensor determining position techniques, as disclosed by Iwami, further including the satellite signal calculations as taught by Uchida for the purpose to determine and store candidate satellites (Uchida, 0099).
Regarding Claim 6, Iwami teaches a method executed by a control unit in an information processing device that includes a positioning operation unit that performs satellite positioning, comprising [0022 for GPS positioning]:
acquiring a positioning result and data of one or more items related to an accuracy of the positioning result from the positioning operation unit [0022 for having a reception level and preset DoP threshold];
judging that the positioning result is valid when the data of the one or more items meet respective predetermined criteria and outputting the positioning result as valid [0022 for positioning-calculation determination means and the DOP value determination means determine that both the thresholds are satisfied],
and causing the positioning result to be output to a user when the positioning result is judged to be valid[0022 and 0052 for output data of the positioning condition may be subjected to appropriate calculation processing in each processor].
Iwami fails to explicitly teach wherein the positioning result has a plurality of different usage types, wherein the one or more items are common among the plurality of different usage types, and the respective predetermined criteria are set in accordance with the usage type of the positioning result, wherein at least part of the predetermined criteria for at least one of the plurality of different usage types.
Imamura has a portable terminal includes an information acquisition unit, an output control unit (abstract) and teaches wherein the positioning result has a plurality of different usage types [0024 for daily behavior of the user or a move due to non-daily behavior and thereby displaying a move locus on a map],
wherein the one or more items are common among the plurality of different usage types [0024 for cycling, surfing, skiing],
and the respective predetermined criteria are set in accordance with the usage type of the positioning result, wherein at least part of the predetermined criteria for at least one of the plurality of different usage types [0032 for positioning interval differs significantly between exercise activities and daily behavior].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the applicant’s invention for modifying the sensor determining position techniques, as disclosed by Iwami, further including the usage type calculations as taught by Imamura for the purpose to move locus formed with position information acquired at the time of the behavior (Imamura, 0024).
Iwami fails to explicitly teach include a criterion value by which the control unit judges that the criterion is met regardless of a content of the data so that the corresponding one or more items are not considered in judging whether the positioning result is valid for said at least one of the plurality of different usage types, and wherein for each of the plurality of different usage types, whether the positioning result is valid is judged in accordance with a common processing procedure, using the data of the one or more items and the respective predetermined criteria set in accordance with the usage type.
Uchida has a positioning satellite used for position calculation on the basis of at least reliability of satellite orbits in a prediction target period corresponding to a position calculation point (abstract) and teaches a criterion value by which the control unit judges that the criterion is met regardless of a content of the data so that the corresponding one or more items are not considered in judging whether the positioning result is valid for said at least one of the plurality of different usage types [0098 for determines that the reception environment is the weak field environment],
and wherein the control unit judges, for each of the plurality of different usage types, whether the positioning result is valid in accordance with a common processing procedure, using the data of the one or more items and the respective predetermined criteria set in accordance with the usage type [0099-0104 for pen sky environment), the host CPU extracts the acquired satellites, predicted orbit reliabilities of which in the prediction target period are 0 to 5].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the applicant’s invention for modifying the sensor determining position techniques, as disclosed by Iwami, further including the satellite signal calculations as taught by Uchida for the purpose to determine and store candidate satellites (Uchida, 0099).
Regarding Claim 11, Iwami teaches a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program executable by at least one processor in an information processing device that includes a positioning operation unit that performs satellite positioning [0022 for GPS positioning],
the program causing the at least one processor to perform the following [0020-0022]:
acquiring a positioning result and data of one or more items related to an accuracy of the positioning result from the positioning operation unit [0022 for having a reception level and preset DoP threshold];
judging that the positioning result is valid when the data of the one or more items meet respective predetermined criteria and outputting the positioning result as valid [0022 for positioning-calculation determination means and the DOP value determination means determine that both the thresholds are satisfied],
and causing the positioning result to be output to a user when the positioning result is judged to be valid [0022 and 0052 for output data of the positioning condition may be subjected to appropriate calculation processing in each processor].
Iwami fails to explicitly teach wherein the positioning result has a plurality of different usage types, wherein the one or more items are common among the plurality of different usage types, and the respective predetermined criteria are set in accordance with the usage type of the positioning result, wherein at least part of the predetermined criteria for at least one of the plurality of different usage types.
Imamura has a portable terminal includes an information acquisition unit, an output control unit (abstract) and teaches wherein the positioning result has a plurality of different usage types [0024 for daily behavior of the user or a move due to non-daily behavior and thereby displaying a move locus on a map],
wherein the one or more items are common among the plurality of different usage types [0024 for cycling, surfing, skiing],
and the respective predetermined criteria are set in accordance with the usage type of the positioning result, wherein at least part of the predetermined criteria for at least one of the plurality of different usage types [0032 for positioning interval differs significantly between exercise activities and daily behavior].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the applicant’s invention for modifying the sensor determining position techniques, as disclosed by Iwami, further including the usage type calculations as taught by Imamura for the purpose to move locus formed with position information acquired at the time of the behavior (Imamura, 0024).
Iwami fails to explicitly teach include a criterion value by which the at least one processor judges that the criterion is met regardless of a content of the data so that the corresponding one or more items are not considered in judging whether the positioning result is valid for said at least one of the plurality of different usage types, and wherein for each of the plurality of different usage types, whether the positioning result is valid is judged in accordance with a common processing procedure, using the data of the one or more items and the respective predetermined criteria set in accordance with the usage type.
Uchida has a positioning satellite used for position calculation on the basis of at least reliability of satellite orbits in a prediction target period corresponding to a position calculation point (abstract) and teaches a criterion value by which the control unit judges that the criterion is met regardless of a content of the data so that the corresponding one or more items are not considered in judging whether the positioning result is valid for said at least one of the plurality of different usage types [0098 for determines that the reception environment is the weak field environment],
and wherein the control unit judges, for each of the plurality of different usage types, whether the positioning result is valid in accordance with a common processing procedure, using the data of the one or more items and the respective predetermined criteria set in accordance with the usage type [0099-0104 for pen sky environment, the host CPU extracts the acquired satellites, predicted orbit reliabilities of which in the prediction target period are 0 to 5].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the applicant’s invention for modifying the sensor determining position techniques, as disclosed by Iwami, further including the satellite signal calculations as taught by Uchida for the purpose to determine and store candidate satellites (Uchida, 0099).
Regarding Claim 2, 7, and 12, Iwami fails to explicitly teach the usage type includes at least one of: a user activity type related to a movement of the information processing device due to the user activity type, acquisition of a movement log, correction of a time being displayed on the information processing device, and correction of an altitude calculated from a measurement value of a barometric pressure sensor.
Imamura has a portable terminal includes an information acquisition unit, an output control unit (abstract) and teaches the usage type includes at least one of: a user activity type related to a movement of the information processing device due to the user activity type, acquisition of a movement log, correction of a time being displayed on the information processing device, and correction of an altitude calculated from a measurement value of a barometric pressure sensor [0024 for different cycling, surfing, and skiing, with 0032 for positioning interval differs significantly between exercise activities and daily behavior].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the applicant’s invention for modifying the sensor determining position techniques, as disclosed by Iwami, further including the usage type calculations as taught by Imamura for the purpose to move locus formed with position information acquired at the time of the behavior (Imamura, 0024).
Regarding Claim 4, 9, and 14, Iwami fails to explicitly teach the predetermined criteria are determined in accordance with the usage type and an acquisition status of the positioning result, and wherein the acquisition status includes a continuing status of successful positioning by the positioning operation unit and information on success or failure of previous positioning by the positioning operation unit.
Uchida has a positioning satellite used for position calculation on the basis of at least reliability of satellite orbits in a prediction target period corresponding to a position calculation point (abstract) and teaches the predetermined criteria are determined in accordance with the usage type and an acquisition status of the positioning result [0074 and 0098 for determining that the reception environment is the weak field environment],
and wherein the acquisition status includes a continuing status of successful positioning by the positioning operation unit and information on success or failure of previous positioning by the positioning operation unit [0099-0104 for open sky environment, the host CPU extracts the acquired satellites, predicted orbit reliabilities of which in the prediction target period are 0 to 5].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the applicant’s invention for modifying the sensor determining position techniques, as disclosed by Iwami, further including the satellite signal calculations as taught by Uchida for the purpose to determine and store candidate satellites (Uchida, 0099).
Claim 5, 10, and 15, Iwami fails to explicitly teach a storage unit that stores the predetermined criteria in association with the usage type, wherein the control unit reads out the predetermined criteria from the storage unit in accordance with the usage type and applies the read out predetermined criteria in the judging.
Imamura has a portable terminal includes an information acquisition unit, an output control unit (abstract) and teaches the usage type includes at least one of: a user activity type related to a movement of the information processing device due to the user activity type, acquisition of a movement log, correction of a time being displayed on the information processing device, and correction of an altitude calculated from a measurement value of a barometric pressure sensor [0035 for positioning interval setting table storage unit].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the applicant’s invention for modifying the sensor determining position techniques, as disclosed by Iwami, further including the usage type calculations as taught by Imamura for the purpose to move locus formed with position information acquired at the time of the behavior (Imamura, 0024).
Claim 16, 18, and 20, Iwami fails teaches the one or more items include one or more of PDOP (Position Dilution of Precision), HDOP (Horizontal Dilution of Precision), VDOP (Vertical Dilution of Precision), ground speed of the device, GST 2D, GST altitude, and a positioning OK count that indicates how many successful positioning occurred consecutively [0004 for getting vehicle speed (ground speed) to determine distance travelled].
Claim 17, 19, and 21, Iwami teaches the one or more items include all of PDOP (Position Dilution of Precision), HDOP (Horizontal Dilution of Precision), VDOP (Vertical Dilution of Precision), ground speed of the device, GST 2D, GST altitude, and a positioning OK count that indicates how many successful positioning occurred consecutively [0004 for getting vehicle speed (ground speed) to determine distance travelled].
Claims 3, 8, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iwami et al (US 2006/0114151 A1) in view of Imamura (US 2018/0181800 A) and Uchida (US 2010/0117901 A1) and further in view of Sugiyama (US 2018/0356534 A1).
Regarding Claim 3, 8, and 13, Iwami fails to explicitly teach the user activity type includes swimming, and wherein during swimming, a criterion for determining a validity of horizontal movement determined by the positioning result is set to be stricter than a criterion for determining a validity of horizontal movement for another user activity.
Sugiyama has a running watch which is a wearable device includes a position detection unit (abstract) and teaches the user activity type includes swimming, and wherein during swimming [0083],
a criterion for determining a validity of horizontal movement determined by the positioning result is set to be stricter than a criterion for determining a validity of horizontal movement for another user activity [0083-0085 for determining linear motion and acceleration].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the applicant’s invention for modifying the sensor determining position techniques, as disclosed by Iwami, further including the usage type calculations as taught by Imamura for the purpose to determines a behavior state of the user based on signals from the GPS module (Sugiyama, 0083).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-21 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
In applicant’s arguments page 12, last paragraph of applicant’s arguments, the applicant states that the claims have been amended to address the USC 101 rejection. The examiner appreciates the amendments to the independent claims, the rejection is overcome with the addition of the practical application.
In applicant’s arguments page 14, third paragraph of applicant’s arguments, the applicant states that Sugiyama fails to teach the amended claims. The examiner appreciates the amendments, new reference Imamura teaches the predetermined criteria for the usage types [Imamura, 0024].
In applicant’s arguments page 14, last paragraph of applicant’s arguments, the applicant states that Fukushima does not teach the new features of claims 1, 6, and 11. The examiner respectfully disagrees, Fukushima is used in this action. Primary reference Iwami teaches using dilution of precision to determine speed thresholds for accurate position [Iwami, 0009].
Conclusion
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/SAMARINA MAKHDOOM/
Examiner, Art Unit 3648
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