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 .
Response to Amendment
The following Office Action is in response to amendments filed on 08/19/2025. Claims 1-14 are pending in the application. Claims 1-14 have been rejected as set forth below.
Claim Objections
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities: the phrase “a starting point” in line 3, needs to be changed to “the starting point”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: the phrase “a starting point” in line 3, needs to be changed to “the starting point”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5, 7-12 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Watterson (US 2012/0237911 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Watterson discloses an outdoor landscape presenting method, comprising:
executing a map program (¶ [123], [125]);
receiving a user operation, wherein the user operation sets a starting point and a destination through the map program (¶ [121]-[123], [125]-[126], [129]);
automatically generating a real-time outdoor exercise route according to the starting point and the destination through the map program (¶ [121]-[123], [125]-[126], [129]);
in response to the generated real-time outdoor exercise route, obtaining a plurality of outdoor landscape images comprising street view images on the generated real-time outdoor exercise route (Fig. 9, ¶ [72]-[73], [117], [127], [129]-[131]);
detecting exercise state information of an exercise equipment (12a, 12b, ¶ [64], [132], [138]); and
presenting the outdoor landscape images comprising the street view images on a display interface sequentially according to the exercise state information (¶ [72]-[73], [75]-[76], [126]-[127], [131]-[135]).
Regarding claim 8, Watterson discloses an exercise assistance system comprising:
an exercise equipment (12a, 12b, Fig. 1, ¶ [64]); and
a control host (14/16), coupled to the exercise equipment (Fig. 1, ¶ [65]-[66], [70]),
wherein the control host is configured to:
execute a map program (¶ [123], [125]);
receive a user operation, wherein the user operation sets a starting point and a destination through the map program (¶ [121]-[123], [125]-[126], [129]);
automatically generate a real-time outdoor exercise route according to the starting point and the destination through the map program (¶ [121]-[123], [125]-[126], [129]);
in response to the generated real-time outdoor exercise route, obtain a plurality of outdoor landscape images comprising street view images on the generated real-time outdoor exercise route (Fig. 9, ¶ [72]-[73], [117], [127], [129]-[131]);
detect exercise state information of the exercise equipment (¶ [132], [138]); and
present the outdoor landscape images comprising the street view images on a display interface sequentially according to the exercise state information (¶ [72]-[73], [75]-[76], [126]-[127], [131]-[135]).
Regarding claims 2 and 9, Watterson discloses wherein obtaining the outdoor landscape images comprising street view images on the generated real-time outdoor exercise route/by the control host comprises: receiving route planning information provided by the map program according to the user operation (¶ 122], [126], [130]); and downloading the outdoor landscape images from an external server according to the route planning information (¶ [71], [125], [127], [131]).
Regarding claims 3 and 10, Watterson discloses wherein downloading the outdoor landscape images from the external server, by the control host, according to the route planning information comprises: obtaining a plurality of reference points on the outdoor exercise route according to the route planning information (¶ [125], [127], [129], [132]); and downloading the outdoor landscape images from the external server according to the reference points, wherein the outdoor landscape images respectively present street views corresponding to the reference points (¶ [127], [133]-[135]).
Regarding claims 4 and 11, Watterson discloses wherein presenting the outdoor landscape images comprising the street view images on the display interface sequentially, by the control host, according to the exercise state information comprises: obtaining a virtual moving distance of the exercise equipment according to the exercise state information (¶ [132], [135], [138]); and presenting the outdoor landscape images on the display interface sequentially according to a change in the virtual moving distance (¶ [127], [133]-[135]).
Regarding claims 5 and 12, Watterson discloses wherein the outdoor landscape images comprise a first outdoor landscape image and a second outdoor landscape image, and the first outdoor landscape image corresponds to a first reference point on the outdoor exercise route, the second outdoor landscape image corresponds to a second reference point on the outdoor exercise route (¶ [132]-[135], [138]), and presenting the outdoor landscape images on the display interface sequentially, by the control host, according to the change in the virtual moving distance comprises: presenting the first outdoor landscape image on the display interface in response to the virtual moving distance being a first distance (¶ [132], [135]); and presenting the second outdoor landscape image on the display interface in response to the virtual moving distance being a second distance, wherein the first distance is different from the second distance (¶ [132], [135]).
Regarding claims 7 and 14, Watterson discloses wherein the map program comprises at least one of an online map and an offline map (¶ [125]-[127], [131], [133]).
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 6 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watterson as applied to claims 1, 4-5, 8 and 11-12 above, and further in view of Crater et al. (US 2009/0209393 A1).
Regarding claims 6 and 13, Watterson teaches recording, by the control host, distances between two or more reference points/locations according to route planning information (¶ [122], [132], [135]). However, Watterson is silent about recording a distance between the first reference point and a starting point of the outdoor exercise route as the first distance according to route planning information; and recording a distance between the second reference point and the starting point of the outdoor exercise route as the second distance according to the route planning information.
Regarding claims 6 and 13, Crater discloses an outdoor landscape presenting method/an exercise assistance system, comprising an exercise equipment (210, Fig. 2) and a control host, coupled to the exercise equipment (¶ [12]-[18]), wherein the control host is configured to/comprising: recording/record a distance between a first reference point (i.e., first waypoint) and a starting point of an outdoor exercise route as a first distance according to route planning information (i.e., at 310, Figs. 3A and 4, ¶ [24]-[26], [39]); and recording/record a distance between a second reference point (i.e., second waypoint) and the starting point of the outdoor exercise route as a second distance according to the route planning information (i.e., at 310, Figs. 3A and 4, ¶ [24]-[26], [39]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Watterson’s invention with recording, by the control host, a distance between the first reference point and a starting point of the outdoor exercise route as the first distance according to route planning information; and recording a distance between the second reference point and the starting point of the outdoor exercise route as the second distance according to the route planning information, as taught by Crater, in order to keep track of the distance the user has traveled at each moment and inform the user of such information and provide various data to the user accordingly.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-14 have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
In response to applicant’s arguments regarding claims 1 and 8 and that Crater fails to teach the newly added limitations of these claims, the Examiner would like to mention that Crater has not been used to teach any of the limitations of claims 1 and 8. Rather Watterson has been used to teach such limitations (see above for details). However, Crater has been used as a teaching/modifying reference (modifying Watterson) for limitations of claims 6 and 13 (see above for details).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHILA JALALZADEH ABYANEH whose telephone number is (571)270-7403. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 8:30 am - 3:00 pm.
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/SHILA JALALZADEH ABYANEH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3784