DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-15 are presented for examination.
Claims 1-15 are rejected.
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ledvina et al. (US Pub. No.: 20200106877 A1: hereinafter “Ledvina”) in view of Voss et al. (US Pat. No.: 11,140,515 B1: hereinafter “Voss”).
Consider claims 1, 8, and 15:
Ledvina teaches a system (Fig. 4 elements 401-422, Fig. 8 elements 801-823, Fig. 13 elements 1311-1355, and Fig. 18 elements 1800-1852), a method for allowing users (Fig. 1 elements 110-120, Mobile devices, smartphones) within a predefined range to discover each other through their user devices (See Ledvina, e.g., “…A mobile device can include ranging circuitry to determine distance to another mobile device. A first wireless protocol can establish an initial communication session to perform authentication and/or exchange ranging settings. A second protocol can perform ranging, and other wireless protocols can transmit content…the distance information can be used to display a relative position of another device on a user interface of a sending device…allow a user to quickly and accurately select the recipient device for sending the data item…the distance information obtained from ranging can be used to trigger a notification…to be output from a first mobile device or used to display a visual indicator on a receiving device. Proximity of a device…used to suggest recipient for a new communication…”, of ¶ [0003]-¶ [0005], ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660), wherein each of the user devices is Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) enabled (Fig. 4 elements 401-422, “…An authentication and setup phase can be implemented using a first wireless protocol (e.g., BLE or other Bluetooth)….”), wherein each user device acts as a central and a peripheral (See Ledvina, e.g., “…At block 310, the mobile devices communicate advertisements using a first wireless protocol, e.g., BLE…transmit advertisements at a particular rate, and scan for advertisements from other mobile devices at a particular rate. The advertisements can include an authorization tag for each of the mobile devices to authenticate each other, e.g., to confirm that they have been registered with a third party, such as a manufacturer of the mobile devise…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660), wherein the method comprises: broadcasting, by a first user device acting as peripheral (See Ledvina, e.g., “…At 401, a BLE antenna 411 of sending device 410 transmits an advertisement signal, and BLE antenna 421 transmits an advertisement signal. The devices can broadcast advertisement signals at a specified duty cycle, without the user having to provide any user input…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660), a BLE service (Fig. 4 elements 401-422) comprising a first service UUID and a second service UUID (See Ledvina, e.g., “…Each device registered with an authentication server can have a unique authentication tag…the authentication tag can involve use of public keys, certificates, and digital signatures…At 404, sending device 410 and receiving device 420 authenticate the other device using an authorization tag. The authentications by the two devices can occur at different times or a same or similar time. The authentication by may occur after later steps, e.g., after transmitting of an advertisement with ranging settings (405) and ranging request messages (407) has begun. At this point, a BLE connection can be considered as created between the two devices…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660), wherein the first service UUID identifies that the first user device is registered with a system (See Ledvina, e.g., “…Each device registered with an authentication server can have a unique authentication tag…At 404, sending device 410 and receiving device 420 authenticate the other device using an authorization tag…The authentication by may occur after later steps, e.g., after transmitting of an advertisement with ranging settings (405) and ranging request messages (407) has begun. At this point, a BLE connection can be considered as created between the two devices…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660), wherein the second service UUID comprises a unique token, the unique token configured for uniquely identifying the first user device in the system (See Ledvina, e.g., “…Each device registered with an authentication server can have a unique authentication tag…At 404, sending device 410 and receiving device 420 authenticate the other device using an authorization tag…an authentication tag are provided herein, e.g., unique identifier, hash, shared secret, digital signature, public certificate, or a cryptographic key, such as a public key or a shared key used by both devices…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660); scanning, periodically, by a second user device acting as central, for peripherals within a predefined range (See Ledvina, e.g., “…At 403, a BLE antenna 411 transmits and scans at a higher duty cycle. The increased advertisement and scanning can be part of a discovery process for the two devices to detect each other, so that a connection can be created…if sending device 410 detects input that a ranging operation has been requested or is likely to be requested, the increased advertisement/scan can provide quicker establishment of a communications session using the first wireless protocol…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660), wherein the predefined range is within a BLE range of the second user device (See Ledvina, e.g., “…At 405, BLE antenna 411 transmits an advertisement signal that includes an action command (e.g., that ranging is being requested) and one or more ranging settings. The advertisement can also include an authentication tag. As shown, the ranging settings include rate, dt_tx, and N. The rate can specify a time (e.g., 300 ms for a default transmit/scan rate or 30 ms for an increased transmit/scan) and N can specify a multiple, thereby providing a time delay between each ranging request message…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660); capturing, by the second user device acting as central, the BLE service broadcasted by the first user device acting as peripheral, by filtering the first service UUID (See Ledvina, e.g., “…At block 720, a second authentication tag of the receiving mobile device is received from the receiving mobile device via the first wireless protocol. The second authentication tag can be of a similar type as the first authentication tag, but can be different. The second authentication tag may be received in response to the advertisement signal sent at block 715…the second authentication tag is received before block 715…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660), wherein the first service UUID is used for verifying that the first user device is registered with the system and open for discovery (See Ledvina, e.g., “…Each device registered with an authentication server can have a unique authentication tag…At 404, sending device 410 and receiving device 420 authenticate the other device using an authorization tag…The authentication by may occur after later steps, e.g., after transmitting of an advertisement with ranging settings (405) and ranging request messages (407) has begun. At this point, a BLE connection can be considered as created between the two devices…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660).
Ledvina further teaches upon verifying the first user device through the first service UUID (See Ledvina, e.g., “…At block 750, the sending mobile device receives, via the user interface, a selection of the receiving mobile device to share the data item. The user interface can include various modes, e.g., an audio interference, a gesture interface, a touch interface, etc. The selection can be made in accordance with the distance information…At block 760, the data item is transmitted in response to the selection of the receiving mobile device. The data item can be transmitted via a third wireless protocol or the first wireless protocol…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660), initiating, by the second user device acting as central, a process to read the second service UUID (See Ledvina, e.g., “…At block 750, the sending mobile device receives, via the user interface, a selection of the receiving mobile device to share the data item. The user interface can include various modes, e.g., an audio interference, a gesture interface, a touch interface, etc. The selection can be made in accordance with the distance information…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660); decoding, by the second user device acting as central, the unique token of the first user device from the second service UUID (See Ledvina, e.g., “…At block 725, the second authentication tag is used to authenticate the receiving mobile device…the receiving mobile device can use the first authentication tag to authenticate the sending mobile device. The authentication process can be performed in various ways…an authentication tag can be a digital signature of a portion of a payload, which can be received with the authentication tag. Then, a public key can be used to decrypt the digital signature to match to the payload…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660). However, Ledvina does not explicitly teach and fetching, by the second user device, from the system, a user profile associated with the unique token of the first user device.
In an analogous field of endeavor, Voss teaches and fetching, by the second user device, from the system, a user profile associated with the unique token of the first user device (See Voss, e.g., “…A friendship profile table 314 stores data regarding friendship profiles, where a friendship profile includes saved information relating to a particular contact (e.g., friend) of a given user. Such information may include message content, such as but not limited to, images, videos, audio files, attachments, and messages (e.g., text-based messages), with any corresponding annotation data, exchanged between the given user and the friend. In some embodiments, a friendship profile provides for the sharing of location information between the given user and friend, and for enabling/disabling such sharing. Moreover, a friendship profile provides for one or more settings that are shared between the given user and friend, such that an update to a shared setting by either user (e.g., the given user or the friend) applies to both users…” of Col. 6:42-67, Col. 10:60-67, Col. 12:60-67, Col. 13:1-51, and Fig. 1 elements 100-122, Fig. 3 elements 300-316, Fig. 6 steps 600-626, Figs. 7-8 elements 700-708).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine “…A mobile device can include ranging circuitry to determine distance to another mobile device. A first wireless protocol can establish an initial communication session to perform authentication and/or exchange ranging settings. A second protocol can perform ranging, and other wireless protocols can transmit content…the distance information can be used to display a relative position of another device on a user interface of a sending device…allow a user to quickly and accurately select the recipient device for sending the data item…the distance information obtained from ranging can be used to trigger a notification…to be output from a first mobile device or used to display a visual indicator on a receiving device. Proximity of a device…used to suggest recipient for a new communication…”, as disclosed in Ledvina with “and fetching, by the second user device, from the system, a user profile associated with the unique token of the first user device”, as taught in Voss with a reasonable expectation of success to yield a method, and a system for facilitating an improved engagement and/or interaction between users.
Consider claims 2, 9:
The combination of Ledvina, Voss teaches everything claimed as implemented above in the rejection of claims 1, 8. In addition, Ledvina teaches wherein the method further comprises: broadcasting, by the second user device acting as peripheral, a BLE service comprising a first service UUID and a second service UUID (See Ledvina, e.g., “…Each device registered with an authentication server can have a unique authentication tag…At 404, sending device 410 and receiving device 420 authenticate the other device using an authorization tag…The authentication by may occur after later steps, e.g., after transmitting of an advertisement with ranging settings (405) and ranging request messages (407) has begun. At this point, a BLE connection can be considered as created between the two devices…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660); and scanning, periodically, by the first user device acting as central, for peripherals within a predefined range (See Ledvina, e.g., “…At 405, BLE antenna 411 transmits an advertisement signal that includes an action command (e.g., that ranging is being requested) and one or more ranging settings. The advertisement can also include an authentication tag. As shown, the ranging settings include rate, dt_tx, and N. The rate can specify a time (e.g., 300 ms for a default transmit/scan rate or 30 ms for an increased transmit/scan) and N can specify a multiple, thereby providing a time delay between each ranging request message…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660), wherein the predefined range is within a BLE range of the first user device (See Ledvina, e.g., “…At block 720, a second authentication tag of the receiving mobile device is received from the receiving mobile device via the first wireless protocol. The second authentication tag can be of a similar type as the first authentication tag, but can be different. The second authentication tag may be received in response to the advertisement signal sent at block 715…the second authentication tag is received before block 715…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660).
Consider claims 3, 10:
The combination of Ledvina, Voss teaches everything claimed as implemented above in the rejection of claims 1, 8. In addition, Ledvina teaches wherein the method further comprises: establishing a temporary BLE connection between the first user device acting as peripheral and the second user device acting as central (See Ledvina, e.g., “…At 401, a BLE antenna 411 of sending device 410 transmits an advertisement signal, and BLE antenna 421 transmits an advertisement signal. The devices can broadcast advertisement signals at a specified duty cycle, without the user having to provide any user input…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660), wherein the second service UUID is read, by the second user device acting as central, from characteristics of the BLE connection (See Ledvina, e.g., “…At block 720, a second authentication tag of the receiving mobile device is received from the receiving mobile device via the first wireless protocol. The second authentication tag can be of a similar type as the first authentication tag, but can be different. The second authentication tag may be received in response to the advertisement signal sent at block 715…the second authentication tag is received before block 715…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660).
Consider claims 4, 11:
The combination of Ledvina, Voss teaches everything claimed as implemented above in the rejection of claims 3, 10. In addition, Ledvina teaches wherein the second service UUID is decoded from the characteristics of the BLE connection (See Ledvina, e.g., “…At 401, a BLE antenna 411 of sending device 410 transmits an advertisement signal, and BLE antenna 421 transmits an advertisement signal. The devices can broadcast advertisement signals at a specified duty cycle, without the user having to provide any user input…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660) when the second service UUID cannot be read from the BLE service due to secure layer or cross-platform incompatibility between the first user device and the second user device (See Ledvina, e.g., “…At block 720, a second authentication tag of the receiving mobile device is received from the receiving mobile device via the first wireless protocol. The second authentication tag can be of a similar type as the first authentication tag, but can be different. The second authentication tag may be received in response to the advertisement signal sent at block 715…the second authentication tag is received before block 715…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660).
Consider claims 5, 12:
The combination of Ledvina, Voss teaches everything claimed as implemented above in the rejection of claims 1, 8. In addition, Ledvina teaches wherein the first service UUID is a Static Service UUID (See Ledvina, e.g., “…Each device registered with an authentication server can have a unique authentication tag…At 404, sending device 410 and receiving device 420 authenticate the other device using an authorization tag…The authentication by may occur after later steps, e.g., after transmitting of an advertisement with ranging settings (405) and ranging request messages (407) has begun. At this point, a BLE connection can be considered as created between the two devices…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660).
Consider claims 6, 13:
The combination of Ledvina, Voss teaches everything claimed as implemented above in the rejection of claims 5, 12. In addition, Ledvina teaches wherein the second service UUID consists of Static Service UUID Prefix and the unique token (See Ledvina, e.g., “…Each device registered with an authentication server can have a unique authentication tag…At 404, sending device 410 and receiving device 420 authenticate the other device using an authorization tag…The authentication by may occur after later steps, e.g., after transmitting of an advertisement with ranging settings (405) and ranging request messages (407) has begun. At this point, a BLE connection can be considered as created between the two devices…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660).
Consider claims 7, 14:
The combination of Ledvina, Voss teaches everything claimed as implemented above in the rejection of claims 1, 8. In addition, Ledvina teaches wherein the method further comprises: presenting a discovery screen on the second user device, by an interface module (See Ledvina, e.g., “…At 403, a BLE antenna 411 transmits and scans at a higher duty cycle. The increased advertisement and scanning can be part of a discovery process for the two devices to detect each other, so that a connection can be created…if sending device 410 detects input that a ranging operation has been requested or is likely to be requested, the increased advertisement/scan can provide quicker establishment of a communications session using the first wireless protocol…”, of ¶ [0026]-¶ [0032], ¶ [0058]-¶ [0066], ¶ [0073]-¶ [0087], ¶ [0109]-¶ [01030], and Figs. 1-4 elements 110-120, 401-422, steps 310-350, Figs. 6-18 elements 610-645, 801-823, 901-925, 1311-1355, 1800-1852, steps 700-755, 1000-1050, 1400-1480, and 1600-1660). Voss teaches and displaying the user profile associated with the unique token of the first user device on the discovery screen (See Voss, e.g., “…A friendship profile table 314 stores data regarding friendship profiles, where a friendship profile includes saved information relating to a particular contact (e.g., friend) of a given user. Such information may include message content, such as but not limited to, images, videos, audio files, attachments, and messages (e.g., text-based messages), with any corresponding annotation data, exchanged between the given user and the friend. In some embodiments, a friendship profile provides for the sharing of location information between the given user and friend, and for enabling/disabling such sharing. Moreover, a friendship profile provides for one or more settings that are shared between the given user and friend, such that an update to a shared setting by either user (e.g., the given user or the friend) applies to both users…” of Col. 6:42-67, Col. 10:60-67, Col. 12:60-67, Col. 13:1-51, and Fig. 1 elements 100-122, Fig. 3 elements 300-316, Fig. 6 steps 600-626, Figs. 7-8 elements 700-708). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ledvina with teachings of Voss with a reasonable expectation of success to yield a method, and a system for facilitating an improved engagement and/or interaction between users.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Gorkin et al. (US Pat. No.: 11,290,851 B2) teaches “Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems and methods for performing operations comprising: storing, on a distributed storage system, one or more front-end (FE) instances and a plurality of real-time graph (RTG) instances; receiving, by a first online device object associated with a given user, an update from a first client device; generating, by the first online device object, a message that includes the update for transmission to a plurality of friends of the given user; storing, on a given one of the plurality of RTG instances, an offline device object for a first friend of the plurality of friends and a second online device object for a second friend of the plurality of friends; and transmitting, by the first online device object, the message that includes the update to the offline device object of the first friend and the second online device object of the second friend.”
Vaccari et al. (US Pub. No.: 2020/0356155 A1) teaches “In one embodiment, a mobile-client system may receive user input from a first user to send a message to a plurality of second users. The user input may include an indication of the first user currently being located at a first geographic location, a time period for which the first geographic location of the first user is visible to the plurality of second users, and one or more content items shared by the first user. The mobile-client system may send the message to one or more second users selected from the plurality of second users. The mobile-client system may receive a notification referencing one or more of the selected second users to whom the message was sent. The notification may include an indication of one or more second geographic locations shared by the one or more of the selected second users.”
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/BABAR SARWAR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3667