DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This action is responsive to the Amendment filed on 01/30/2026.
Claims 1-21 are pending in the case.
No claims have been cancelled or added.
Claims 1, 8 and 15 are independent claims.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1, 4-6, 8, 11-13, 15 and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nissen et al. (US 2020/0382911 A1, published 12/03/2020, hereinafter “Nissen”) in view of Kirsch et al. (US 2015/0066356 A1, published 03/05/2015, hereinafter “Kirsch”) and further in view of Jarvinen et al. (US 2013/0332837 A1, published 12/12/2013, hereinafter “Jarvinen”).
Independent Claims 1, 8 and 15:
Nissen discloses a system comprising:
one or more computing processors (Nissen: ¶ [0216]);
one or more non-transitory computer readable media storing a program of instructions that is executable by the one or more computing processors to perform a method comprising (Nissen: ¶ [0216]):
receiving specific user input through an in-vehicle user interface device built in with a vehicle while the in-vehicle user interface device is concurrently displaying a navigation map visually depicting a geographic area in connection with a current position of the vehicle (The user interface can be embedded within the structure of the vehicle, Nissen: Fig. 12B, ¶ [0153]. The user can provide an input through the user interface to select button 1804 to request geo-relevant audio assets, the button 1804 is presented while the current geographic position of the vehicle is displayed, Nissen: Figs. 18 and 20, ¶ [0199], [0202]);
using the specific user input to generate an audio story selection list that includes a plurality of audio story selections, the plurality of audio story selections including one or more specific audio story selections respectively for one or more audio stories relating to one or more geographic locations within the geographic area depicted on the navigation map (Based on the user selecting the button 1804, a list of geo-relevant audio assets are generated and displayed in the user interface, Nissen: Figs. 18 and 20, ¶ [0199]-[0202]. The audio assets are audio stories, Nissen: ¶ [0082].);
receiving second specific user input through the in-vehicle user interface device, the second specific user input indicating a specific audio story selection among the one or more specific audio story selections, the specific audio story selection corresponding to a selection of a specific audio story, among the one or more audio stories, that relates to a specific geographic locations among the one or more geographic locations within the geographic area depicted on the navigation map (Nissen: Fig. 18, ¶ [0200], [0207].);
in response to receiving the second specific user input, causing the specific audio story to be streamed from a specific media content source and rendered through an in-vehicle audio system built in with the vehicle (The audio asset is played in response to the user selection of the audio asset, Nissen: ¶ [0200], [0207]. The audio system can be built into the vehicle, Nissen: Fig. 10C, 12B and 13, ¶ [0134], [0172]. The content can be streamed from the media content source, Nissen: ¶ [0142], [0189].).
Nissen does not explicitly teach a method, medium and system wherein:
the one or more geographic locations to which the one or more audio stories are related are selected within a specific search radius of the current position of the vehicle;
one or more graphic controls respectively for the one or more audio stories are presented at the one or more geographic locations depicted on the navigation map; and
the specific audio story selection corresponding to the selection of the specific audio story is made through user interaction with a specific graphic control of the one or more graphic controls.
However, Kirsch teaches a method, medium and system wherein one or more geographic locations are selected within a specific search radius of the current position of the vehicle (One or more geographic locations associated with one or more points of interest are selected based on a pre-determined radius, Kirsch: ¶ [0033]-[0034], [0039]-[0040].).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, medium and system of Nissen wherein one or more geographic locations are selected within a specific search radius of the current position of the vehicle, as taught by Kirsch.
One would have been motivated to make such a combination in order to provide an effective means for limiting the search to a relevant geographical area (Kirsch: ¶ [0033]-[0034], [0039]-[0040].).
In implementing the search radius feature of Kirsch into the invention of Nissen, the one or more geographic location selected within the search radius (as taught by Kirsch) would be related to one or more audio stories since the list of items associated with geographic locations within a rendered map corresponds to audio stories in the invention of Nissen. Accordingly, in combination, Nissen in view of Kirsch teaches a method wherein the one or more geographic locations to which the one or more audio stories are related are selected within a specific search radius of the current position of the vehicle.
Nissen in view of Kirsch does not appear to expressly teach a system, medium and method wherein:
one or more graphic controls respectively for the one or more audio stories are presented at the one or more geographic locations depicted on the navigation map; and
the specific audio story selection corresponding to the selection of the specific audio story is made through user interaction with a specific graphic control of the one or more graphic controls.
However, Jarvinen teaches a system, medium and method wherein:
one or more graphic controls respectively for the one or more audio stories are presented at the one or more geographic locations depicted on the navigation map (Icons for audio content are displayed in geographic locations within a displayed map, Jarvinen: Figs. 2A-2C, ¶ [0022]. The audio content can be an audio story, Jarvinen: ¶ [0035]); and
the specific audio story selection corresponding to the selection of the specific audio story is made through user interaction with a specific graphic control of the one or more graphic controls (The user can select an audio content by touching a corresponding icon on the geographic map, Jarvinen: Figs. 2A-2C, ¶ [0022]. The audio content can be an audio story, Jarvinen: ¶ [0035]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the system, medium and method of Nissen in view of Kirsch wherein:
one or more graphic controls respectively for the one or more audio stories are presented at the one or more geographic locations depicted on the navigation map; and
the specific audio story selection corresponding to the selection of the specific audio story is made through user interaction with a specific graphic control of the one or more graphic controls, as taught by Jarvinen.
One would have been motivated to make such a combination in order to improve the user’s experience by providing the user with a better visual association between the audio content and the location that it corresponds to (Jarvinen: Figs. 2A-2C, ¶ [0022], [0035].).
Claims 4, 11 and 18:
The rejection of claims 1, 8 and 15 are incorporated. Nissen in view of Kirsch and further in view of Jarvinen further teaches a method, medium and system wherein the audio story selection list is visually rendered in a first portion of an image display of the in-vehicle user interface, while the navigation map is concurrently visually rendered on a second non-overlapping portion of the image display (When a visual asset is displayed along with the audio asset, the navigation map is displayed in the left portion of the image display and the playlist of audio assets are displayed on the right portion of the image display, Nissen: Fig. 21, ¶ [0207].).
Claims 5, 12 and 19:
The rejection of claims 1, 8 and 15 are incorporated. Nissen in view of Kirsch and further in view of Jarvinen further teaches a method, medium and system further comprising: in response to receiving the second specific user input, providing through the in-vehicle user interface one or more user interface controls for performing one or more actions relating to the specific geographic locations (When an item in the playlist is selected, visual assets can be played simultaneously with the audio assets corresponding to the geo-relevant location, Nissen: Fig. 21, ¶ [0207]. The visual assets can include destination information that can include one or more interactive links for performing actions relating to the geo-relevant locations, Nissen: ¶ [0208].).
Claims 6, 13 and 20:
The rejection of claims 1, 8 and 15 are incorporated. Nissen in view of Kirsch and further in view of Jarvinen further teaches a method, medium and system wherein the geographic area visually depicted in the navigation map represents: one of a geographic area surrounding the current position of the vehicle; a geographic area surrounding a geographic location to which the vehicle is destined on a trip; or a geographic area surrounding a route along which the vehicle is specified to be traveling (Nissen: ¶ [0199], [0204].).
Claim(s) 2, 9 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nissen in view of Kirsch, further in view of Jarvinen and further in view of Jonsson (US 2011/0137437 A1, published 06/09/2011, hereinafter “Jonsson”).
Claims 2, 9 and 16:
The rejection of claims 1, 8 and 15 are incorporated. The rejection of claims 1, 8 and 15 are incorporated. Nissen in view of Kirsch and further in view of Jarvinen further teaches a method, medium and system wherein the one or more geographic locations are visually indicated on the navigation map (The geographic locations associated with audio content are indicated on the map via audio icons, the user can select an audio icon to play corresponding audio content, Jarvinen: Figs. 2A-2C, ¶ [0022]. The audio content can be an audio story, Jarvinen: ¶ [0035]).
Nissen in view of Kirsch and further in view of Jarvinen does not appear to expressly teach a method, medium and system comprising: causing the specific geographic location, to which the currently played specific audio story relates to be visually rendered differently from others of the one or more geographic locations on the navigation map.
However, Jonsson teaches a method, medium and system comprising: causing the specific geographic location, to which the currently played specific audio story relates to be visually rendered differently from others of the one or more geographic locations on the navigation map (The geographic locations associated with audio content are indicated on the map via audio icons 1020a-1020e, the user can select an audio icon to play corresponding audio content, Jonsson: Fig. 10, ¶ [0102]-[0104]. Audio icons for audio files that are associated with a play sequence are displayed with numbers, Jonsson: Fig. 10. Accordingly, each indication of a geographic location (audio icons 1020a-1020d) is different from one another.).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, medium and system of Nissen in view of Kirsch and further in view of Jarvinen to comprise: causing the specific geographic location, to which the currently played specific audio story relates to be visually rendered differently from others of the one or more geographic locations on the navigation map, as taught by Jonsson.
One would have been motivated to make such a combination in order to provide a more clear indication of the sequence of audio content (Jonsson: Fig. 10, ¶ [0102]-[0104].).
Claim(s) 3, 10 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nissen in view of Kirsch further in view of Jarvinen and further in view of Graham (US 2015/0345984 A1, published 12/03/2015, hereinafter “Graham”).
Claims 3, 10 and 17:
The rejection of claims 1, 8 and 15 are incorporated. Nissen in view of Kirsch and further in view of Jarvinen does not appear to expressly teach a method, medium and system wherein the same in-vehicle user interface is used by a user to control at least one of: vehicle window operations vehicle seat operations vehicle wiper operations, vehicle sunroof operations, vehicle temperature operations, vehicle light operations, vehicle door operations, vehicle trunk operations, vehicle ventilation operations, or one or more vehicle modules.
However, Graham teaches a method, medium and system wherein the same in-vehicle user interface is used by a user to control at least one of: vehicle window operations vehicle seat operations, vehicle wiper operations, vehicle sunroof operations, vehicle temperature operations, vehicle light operations, vehicle door operations, vehicle trunk operations, vehicle ventilation operations, or one or more vehicle modules (The same user interface is used to provide the navigation map and receive inputs for controlling vehicle operations, Graham: Fig. 1, ¶ [0021]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, medium and system of Nissen in view of Kirsch and further in view of Jarvinen wherein the same in-vehicle user interface is used by a user to control at least one of: vehicle window operations vehicle seat operations, vehicle wiper operations, vehicle sunroof operations, vehicle temperature operations, vehicle light operations, vehicle door operations, vehicle trunk operations, vehicle ventilation operations, or one or more vehicle modules, as taught by Graham.
One would have been motivated to make such a combination in order to provide a more effective user interface for use in an automobile context (Graham: Fig. 1, ¶ [0021]; Nissen: ¶ [0153]).
Claim(s) 7, 14 and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nissen in view of Kirsch, further in view of Jarvinen and further in view of Alonso et al. (US 2016/0097646 A1, published 04/07/2016, hereinafter “Alonso”).
Claims 7, 14 and 21:
The rejection of claims 1, 8 and 15 are incorporated. Nissen in view of Kirsch and further in view of Jarvinen does not appear to expressly teach a method, medium and system wherein the one or more audio stories are selected from a plurality of audio stories sourced from a plurality of different media content sources including the specific media content source.
However, Alonso teaches a method, medium and system wherein the one or more audio stories are selected from a plurality of audio stories sourced from a plurality of different media content sources including the specific media content source (Alonso: Fig. 9, ¶ [0021], [0052], [0068]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, medium and system of Nissen in view of Kirsch and further in view of Jarvinen wherein the one or more audio stories are selected from a plurality of audio stories sourced from a plurality of different media content sources including the specific media content source, as taught by Alonso.
One would have been motivated to make such a combination in order to provide greater flexibility of where content can be retrieved from, thus providing access to a greater amount of content to provide to the user (Alonso: Fig. 9, ¶ [0021], [0052], [0068]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s prior art arguments have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection presented above.
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 DANIEL RODRIGUEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-3633. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 5:30 am - 2:30 pm.
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/DANIEL RODRIGUEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2178