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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: reference numbers "110" and "109" in drawings have both been used to designate the driver interface in paragraphs [0034] and [0047].
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: limitations “the generation”, “the container’s coordinates”, “the dispatcher”, “the placement process”, “the customer”, and “the designated driver” lack of antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: limitations “the map module”, “the space”, and “the map interface” lack of antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities: limitations “the map zoom level” and “the truck-visualization-marker” lack of antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities: limitation “the placement of an open-ended container” lacks of antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities: limitation “the truck-visualization-marker” lacks of antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities: limitation “the map configuration module” lacks of antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities: limitations “the zoom level”, “the container-marker”, and “the map” lack of antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities: limitations “the space”, and “the map interface” lack of antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: limitation “the orientation of container doors” lacks of antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities: limitations “the map interface”, “the heading of the map interface”, “the orientation of the container-marker”, “the truck visualization marker”, “the changed heading of the map interface” lack of antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 15 is objected to because of the following informalities: limitations “the container-marker position, rotation, or orientation” and “the placement process” lack of antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 16 is objected to because of the following informalities: limitations “the container placement process”, “the transmission”, and “the database” lack of antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 17 is objected to because of the following informalities: limitations “the map viewport”, “the steps of adjusting the zoom level”, and “the container placement process” lack of antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 18 is objected to because of the following informalities: limitations “the dispatcher”, “the placement process”, and “the designated driver” lack of antecedent basis. 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.
Claim(s) 10 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bell (US 20170031356 A1).
Regarding Claim 10, Bell discloses A method (¶27 reciting “The subject matter disclosed herein relates to methods and systems for managing vehicles, products, storage, and transportation within and between shipping and receiving facilities of a shipper or a receiver.”) for interactive container placement and visualization, comprising:
initializing a map module on a customer interface; (¶46 reciting “FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate two views of at least a first embodiment of a displayed graphical representation(s) 200 of the S/R facility provided by the system of FIG. 1, e.g., the user device 130 may be configured to display the graphical representation(s) 200 on the display screen 135. The graphical representation may comprise an aerial view (top down view) of the S/R facility. The aerial view may be a map (i.e., map view) of the S/R facility”)
adjusting the zoom level of the map module using a zoom control; (¶52 reciting “The system may be configured for a user to also mark locations in the map view using marker points. A marker point is a point of interest on the map view that is selected by the user, which stays fixed until cleared by the user, and which may act as a reference point in the system for performance of one or more functions of the system. Such functions may include map zoom-in (i.e., generate an enlarged view of the aerial view) and zoom-out (i.e., generate a reduced view of the aerial view)”) and
allowing a customer to drag the container-marker to adjust its position on the map. (¶60 reciting “To place a graphical representation of a vehicle, or multiple vehicles (e.g., a string), in the parking lot area, a user may select the vehicle(s) and drag and drop the vehicle(s) to the parking lot area in the window.” Further, ¶84 reciting “a system includes a controller operable to provide selectable options to a user for managing at least one of products or vehicles within a first shipper/receiver (S/R) facility and to control generation of displayed graphical representations of the first S/R facility, . . . The controller also is operable to receive input from the user to move at least one of the displayed graphical representations of the products or the vehicles to indicate one or more of moving the one or more of the products or the vehicles into storage, moving the one or more of the products or the vehicles out of the storage”)
Regarding Claim 12, Bell discloses The method of claim 10, further comprising: displaying a truck visualization marker feature within the map module, allowing customers to visualize the space needed for container delivery by displaying a virtual representation of a truck or delivery vehicle on the map interface. (FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate embodiments of display screens showing the color coding of vehicles and products in the map view of FIGS. 2A and 2B;)
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 6, 8, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shih et al. (US 20210403024 A1), in view of Bell (US 20170031356 A1), and further in view of Wilson (US 20150332418 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Shih discloses A system for interactive container placement in a map module (ABST reciting “systems and processes”. Fig. 5 showing a system 500. Fig. 7 showing an network architecture 700.), comprising:
a dispatcher interface for inputting information regarding container placement, including the generation and transmitting a customer map module; (¶108 disclosing “Planner 510-A may also receive operator input (topic 408) received from the OCU to generate or adjust the motion.”, thus the generated map 522 is a customer map module. ¶109 reciting “nodes 520 are a set of software nodes at the control module for mapping and localization. Nodes 520 may generate information about the AV's relative position and orientation with respect to the external environment and world. Software nodes 520 may intake localization topic 524 including the AV's position and orientation, which may be determined via GPS, and generate semantic map information (maps topic 522). Maps topic 522 is transmitted to trajectory generator 530, which is a software node that consumes localization and semantic map information to generate reference trajectory for the AV to follow (topic 532). This reference trajectory may then be modified by the planner as necessary based on processed sensor data from perception, prediction and tracking nodes 502.” Further, ¶172 reciting “The real-time perception data is then used by a planner module, such as planner 510-A, to generate an initial motion plan at operation 804. ”)
a customer interface (¶42 disclosing an operator control unit) to open the customer map module, enabling adjustment of a container-marker's position and orientation; (¶108 reciting “Planner 510-A may also receive operator input (topic 408) received from the OCU to generate or adjust the motion. As previously described, wheel subscriber 406 may transmit operator controls (topic 408) to planner 510-A and/or VCU 414 (as CAN).” ¶177 reciting “An operator may provide user input at the OCU via various controls and interfaces at operation 812. The operator may view the provided information to determine whether to adjust the motion plan or to instruct the AV to disregard a particular obstacle. The user input may include one or more of the previously described operator controls such as longitudinal velocity, lateral offset, angular offset, and obstacle override.”)
real-time updating the container's orientation, and heading during customer interaction; (¶177 reciting “An operator may provide user input at the OCU via various controls and interfaces at operation 812. . . The user input may include one or more of the previously described operator controls such as longitudinal velocity, lateral offset, angular offset, and obstacle override. As used herein, user input provided by the operator at the OCU may be referred to as operator controls, operator commands, or operator input. The user input is then transmitted to the planner at the AV.”) and
a driver interface allowing the designated driver to view the container placement as specified by the customer. (¶182 reciting “an operator may switch operation of the AV to direct driving mode to gain full operational control over the AV.” Further, ¶183 reciting “During direct driving mode, a live video feed may be provided to the OCU and user input is transmitted to the AV over a high latency network connection”)
However, Shih does not explicitly disclose real-time updating of a database with the container's coordinates, zoom, during customer interaction; transmission of a notification to the dispatcher upon completion of the placement process by the customer.
Bell teaches “A vehicle control system” in ABST. More specifically, Bell teaches real-time updating of user’s interaction, and recites “when in the “Display Mode”, the system may update automatically or be manually refreshed to provide the up-to-date information to the user. The user may draw and edit tracks and storage areas such that the map view will match the setup of the plant operation.” (¶61). Further, ¶64-66 teach a database storing information associated with vehicles. In addition, ¶52 teaches “Such functions may include map zoom-in (i.e., generate an enlarged view of the aerial view) and zoom-out (i.e., generate a reduced view of the aerial view), e.g., zoom-in or zoom-out is carried out with reference to the marker point, and view indexing, e.g., if the user switches to another view and then returns to the view with the marker point, the view with the marker point is centered on the marker point, . . ., the system is configured so that when a marker point is designated by a user (e.g., a pin is placed), the system zooms in on the “pinned” location where the user desires to work.”
Bell also teaches transmission of a notification to a dispatcher upon completion of the customer task, and recites “The user device may be communicatively linked to the controller, and may receive from the facility management controller a workflow list based on the order. . . The user device may transmit an update to the workflow list based on activity that modifies at least one of an order status or an inventory status, and/or the enterprise resource planning system may schedule a subsequent order based on a fulfillment time associated with the order.” (¶83).
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings from Shih and Bell to real-time update of a database with the container's information (such as coordinates, orientation, zoom, and heading) during customer interaction; and to transmit a notification to the dispatcher upon completion of the placement process by the customer. The suggestions/motivations would have been that “It may be desirable to have a system that controls vehicles within and between facilities better than those systems that are currently available.” (¶4), and to apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
However, Shih in view of Bell does not explicitly disclose the generation and emailing of a hyperlink that opens a customer map module.
It is well known in the art to interact between a managing server and a customer by emailing of a hyperlink. In addition, Wilson teaches “ a real estate management system and method” (¶2). More specifically, ¶55 teaches generation and emailing a hyperlink to a customer, and recites “the user may select a map module 190 or a listing module 192. . . As shown, the map module 190 includes a print listing map control element 194. It is understood that the print listing map control element 194 can be any control element as desired such as a drop-down menu option, a radio button, a hyperlink, a command prompt window, and the like, or any combination thereof, for example. If the user selects the print listing map control element 194, a map 196 is transmitted to the user interface 13 for viewing, printing, emailing, and other means of use by the user. It is understood that any information electronically transmitted may be electronically transmitted via a secured and encrypted email.” In other words, Wilson teaches emailing a hyperlink to a customer for accessing a map.
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the system (taught by Shih in view of Bell) to generate and email a hyperlink to a customer to open a map module (taught by Wilson). The suggestions/motivations would have been to simplify and improve real estate transactions, while minimizing a complexity and cost to the real estate professionals (¶6), and to apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
Regarding Claim 2, Shih in view of Bell and Wilson discloses The system of claim 1, further comprising a control to show/hide a truck-visualization-marker within the map module, enabling customers to visualize the space needed for container delivery by displaying a virtual representation of a truck or delivery vehicle on the map interface. (Bell, ¶61 reciting “the system 100 may be configured for a user to select a “Display Mode” check box to make the parking lot area disappear from the displayed window in the map view. This provides the user with more room to work in the view.” The suggestions/motivations would have been the same as that of Claim 1 rejections.)
Regarding Claim 6, Shih in view of Bell and Wilson discloses The system of claim 1, where the container-marker visually represents a location on the map associated with functions such as storage, refuse disposal, or other activities requiring the placement of an open-ended container. (Bell, FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate embodiments of display screens of a map view of a shipper/receiver facility generated by the system of FIG. 1; FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate embodiments of display screens showing the color coding of vehicles and products in the map view of FIGS. 2A and 2B; The suggestions/motivations would have been the same as that of Claim 1 rejections.)
Regarding Claim 8, Shih in view of Bell and Wilson discloses The system of claim 1, wherein when the truck-visualization-marker is displayed within the map interface, movement of the container-marker by a customer results in synchronous movement of the truck-visualization-marker, and vice versa, ensuring coordinated visualization of container placement and truck space requirements. (Shih, ¶127 reciting “the current offset may be displayed at the visual interface of the OCU, and a direction of motion may determine whether the offset is to the left or right of the path line. Angular offset controls may also be used to adjust the reference path to create desired curvatures or directional changes in the predetermined path.”)
Regarding Claim 18, Shih in view of Bell and Wilson discloses A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations (Shih, ¶164) comprising:
initializing a map module on a customer interface; (Shih, ¶205 reciting “An operator may also view various operational statuses of the AV via the interface. . . A map overlay 912 may also be presented to show the location of the AV with respect to roads and motorways based on GPS or other sensor data.”)
enabling a customer to manipulate a container-marker within the map module;
real-time updating of a database upon manipulation of the container-marker by the customer;
transmission of an email notification to the dispatcher upon completion of the placement process by the customer;
enabling the designated driver to view the container placement as specified by the customer; and
facilitating communication between the dispatcher, customer, and designated driver to ensure efficient and accurate container placement.
(See Claim 1 rejections for detailed analysis)
Claim(s) 3-4 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shih et al. (US 20210403024 A1), in view of Bell (US 20170031356 A1), and further in view of Wilson, and further in view of Lindmeier et al. (US 20220084279 A1).
Regarding Claim 3, Shih in view of Bell and Wilson discloses The system of claim 1.
However, Shih in view of Bell and Wilson does not explicitly disclose further including controls within the map module that allow customers to rotate the container-marker clockwise and counterclockwise in predetermined increments.
Lindmeier teaches “computer systems with a display generation component and one or more input devices that present graphical user interfaces” (¶2). More specifically, ¶71 recites “the CGR map generating unit 346 is configured to generate a CGR map (e.g., a 3D map of the mixed reality scene or a map of the physical environment into which computer generated objects can be placed to generate the computer generated reality) based on media content data.” Further, ¶211 recites “in the rotational embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 9A-9B, when the rotation of cylinder 912 reaches a predetermined increment (e.g., a rotation of 30 degrees, 45 degrees, 60 degrees, and/or 90 degrees, etc. from the original orientation), device 101 generates a tactile output to indicate that the manipulation has reached a predetermined increment. In some embodiments, the predetermined increments include a “snapping” functionality in which the manipulation will snap to the increment when the manipulation approaches to within a threshold distance of the snap point.”
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the system (taught by Shih in view of Bell and Wilson) to rotate the object in predetermined increments (taught by Lindeier). The suggestions/motivations would have been that “there is a need for computer systems with improved methods and interfaces for providing computer generated experiences to users that make interaction with the computer systems more efficient and intuitive for a user.” (¶5), and to apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
Regarding Claim 4, Shih in view of Bell, Wilson and Lindmeier discloses The system of claim 1, further comprising a control within the map module allowing customers to flip the container-marker 180 degrees, ensuring optimal door positioning for efficient container placement. (Lindmeier, ¶298 reciting “if the manipulation is a rotational input, then if rotation of the first virtual object is within a threshold angle from a preset rotation interval (e.g., . . ., 180 degrees, etc.), the first virtual object snaps to the preset rotation”. Thus, Lindmeier teaches flip the object 180 degrees. The suggestions/motivations would have been the same as that of Claim 3 rejections.)
Regarding Claim 9, Shih in view of Bell and Wilson and Lindmeier discloses The system of claim 1, where the dispatcher interface includes:
settings for marker and truck fill and line colors; (Bell, ¶53 reciting “Color coding of the icons, icon shape, and other icon characteristics may be used to indicate various vehicle characteristics including, for example, product type being transported by the vehicles and vehicle container type.”)
options for preset orientation intervals; (Lindmeier, ¶211 reciting “in the rotational embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 9A-9B, when the rotation of cylinder 912 reaches a predetermined increment (e.g., a rotation of 30 degrees, 45 degrees, 60 degrees, and/or 90 degrees, etc. from the original orientation)”. The suggestions/motivations would have been the same as that of Claim 3 rejections.) and
configuration for access rights to the map configuration module. (Shih, ¶79 reciting “the cargo module 110A may be locked or secured. Cargo module 110A may be accessed by a user, such as merchants, couriers, or customers, using authentication information.”)
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shih in view of Bell and Wilson, and further in view of Hsiao (US 20200393952 A1).
Regarding Claim 5, Shih in view of Bell and Wilson discloses The system of claim 1.
However, Shih in view of Bell and Wilson does not explicitly disclose wherein when the map zoom level is adjusted by the customer, both the container-marker and the truck-visualization-marker dynamically scale to reflect their actual sizes relative to the map viewport, ensuring accurate representation of container placement and truck accessibility regardless of the zoom level.
Hsiao teaches “The IoT integration platform and the virtual device are provided for users to control a target device of a real world corresponding to the virtual device, and the virtual device is capable of reflecting the status of the target device timely.” (ABST). ¶39 recites “the normal sized virtual device 23 comes with a size in proportion to the 3D scene map 27”; and further ¶205 recites “. . . the quick building APP tool set is provided for loading a building component or a furniture unit and then operating on it for extension, zoom-out, zoom-in, horizontal flip, vertical flip, rotation, anchorage after moving, so as to facilitate operations including Add a building component, Add a furniture unit”.
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the device (taught by Shih in view of Bell and Wilson) to adjust the virtual object in proportion of the map regardless of the zoom level (taught by Hsiao). The suggestions/motivations would have bee “to provide an IoT target device with a safe, convenient, and user-friendly operating method” (¶5), and to apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shih in view of Bell and Wilson, and further in view of Hsiao (US 20200393952 A1).
Regarding Claim 7, Shih in view of Bell and Wilson The system of claim 1.
However, Shih in view of Bell and Wilson does not explicitly disclose further comprising:
a button within the map interface for adding additional container-markers; and
functionality ensuring marker orientation adjusts synchronously with changes in map heading.
Hsiao teaches “The IoT integration platform and the virtual device are provided for users to control a target device of a real world corresponding to the virtual device, and the virtual device is capable of reflecting the status of the target device timely.” (ABST). ¶205 recites “In the quick building mode, there are a simple sample scene map library provided for a quick download of a sample scene, . . . a furniture unit library . . . the quick building APP tool set is provided for loading a building component or a furniture unit and then operating on it for extension, zoom-out, zoom-in, horizontal flip, vertical flip, rotation, anchorage after moving, so as to facilitate operations including Add a building component, Add a furniture unit”.
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the system (taught by Shih in view of Bell and Wilson) to add addition object and anchorage after moving an object (taught by Hsiao). The suggestions/motivations would have been “to provide an IoT target device with a safe, convenient, and user-friendly operating method” (¶5), and to apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bell (US 20170031356 A1), and in view of Lindmeier et al. (US 20220084279 A1).
Regarding Claim 11, Bell discloses The method of claim 10.
However, Bell does not explicitly disclose further comprising:
enabling the customer to rotate the container-marker in predetermined increments for precise orientation adjustments.
Lindmeier teaches “computer systems with a display generation component and one or more input devices that present graphical user interfaces” (¶2). More specifically, ¶71 recites “the CGR map generating unit 346 is configured to generate a CGR map (e.g., a 3D map of the mixed reality scene or a map of the physical environment into which computer generated objects can be placed to generate the computer generated reality) based on media content data.” Further, ¶211 recites “in the rotational embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 9A-9B, when the rotation of cylinder 912 reaches a predetermined increment (e.g., a rotation of 30 degrees, 45 degrees, 60 degrees, and/or 90 degrees, etc. from the original orientation), device 101 generates a tactile output to indicate that the manipulation has reached a predetermined increment. In some embodiments, the predetermined increments include a “snapping” functionality in which the manipulation will snap to the increment when the manipulation approaches to within a threshold distance of the snap point.”
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method (taught by Bell) to rotate the object in predetermined increments (taught by Lindeier). The suggestions/motivations would have been that “there is a need for computer systems with improved methods and interfaces for providing computer generated experiences to users that make interaction with the computer systems more efficient and intuitive for a user.” (¶5), and to apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bell (US 20170031356 A1), in view of Shih et al. (US 20210403024 A1).
Regarding Claim 15, Bell discloses The method of claim 10.
However, Bell does not explicitly disclose further comprising: allowing the customer to make final adjustments to the container-marker position, rotation, or orientation in any order during the placement process.
Shih teaches “to control systems for autonomous and automated vehicles” (¶1). ¶126 recites “The operator interface for hybrid autonomy may be the same as in direct driving mode. In some embodiments, control inputs for hybrid autonomy operation may include longitudinal velocity, lateral offset, angular offset, and obstacle override, among others.”
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method (taught by Bell) to allow the customer to make adjustments to the vehicle’s position, rotation or orientation (taught by Shih). The suggestions/motivations would have been that “ it is desirable to provide improved mechanisms for automating delivery routes and the handling of orders” (¶3), and to apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bell (US 20170031356 A1).
Regarding Claim 16, Bell discloses The method of claim 10, further comprising enabling the customer to finalize the container placement process by hitting a submit control, triggering the transmission of placement data stored in the database and notification to relevant parties. (Bell, ¶83 reciting “The user device may transmit an update to the workflow list based on activity that modifies at least one of an order status or an inventory status, and/or the enterprise resource planning system may schedule a subsequent order based on a fulfillment time associated with the order.” Bell teaches enabling the customer to finalize a task and update the task status. Using a submit control to transmit a complete notification is well known in the art. The suggestions/motivations would have been to apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results.)
Claim(s) 13-14 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bell, and in view of Hsiao (US 20200393952 A1).
Regarding Claim 13, Bell discloses The method of claim 10.
However, Bell does not explicitly disclose further comprising: providing a toggle control within the map module to flip the container-marker 180 degrees, thereby changing the orientation of container doors if present.
Hsiao teaches “The IoT integration platform and the virtual device are provided for users to control a target device of a real world corresponding to the virtual device, and the virtual device is capable of reflecting the status of the target device timely.” (ABST). ¶205 recites “In the quick building mode, there are a simple sample scene map library provided for a quick download of a sample scene, . . . a furniture unit library . . . the quick building APP tool set is provided for loading a building component or a furniture unit and then operating on it for extension, zoom-out, zoom-in, horizontal flip, vertical flip, rotation, anchorage after moving, so as to facilitate operations including Add a building component, Add a furniture unit”.
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the system (taught by Bell) to provide a control to flip the object (taught by Hsiao). The suggestions/motivations would have been “to provide an IoT target device with a safe, convenient, and user-friendly operating method” (¶5), and to apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
Regarding Claim 14, Bell in view of Hsiao discloses The method of claim 10, further comprising:
providing a control within the map module for the customer to change the heading of the map interface (Hsiao, ¶178 teaching to change the heading of the map to the left or right. See Fig. 14), dynamically adjusting the orientation of the container-marker and the truck visualization marker to synchronize with the changed heading of the map interface. (Hsiao, ¶205 reciting “In the quick building mode, there are a simple sample scene map library provided for a quick download of a sample scene, . . . a furniture unit library . . . the quick building APP tool set is provided for loading a building component or a furniture unit and then operating on it for . . . , anchorage after moving, so as to facilitate operations including Add a building component, Add a furniture unit”. The suggestions/motivations would have been the same as that of Claim 13 rejections.)
Regarding Claim 17, Bell in view of Hsiao discloses The method of claim 10, further comprising:
dynamically scaling a container-marker and a truck visualization marker to reflect their actual sizes relative to the map viewport as the zoom level is adjusted;
allowing the customer to perform the steps of adjusting the zoom level, scaling the container-marker and truck visualization marker, dragging the container-marker, and adding additional container-markers in any order during the container placement process.
(Bell disclosing adjusting zoom level, and reciting “Such functions may include map zoom-in (i.e., generate an enlarged view of the aerial view) and zoom-out (i.e., generate a reduced view of the aerial view)” (¶52). In addition, Hsiao, ¶39 reciting “the normal sized virtual device 23 comes with a size in proportion to the 3D scene map 27”; and further ¶205 reciting “. . . the quick building APP tool set is provided for loading a building component or a furniture unit and then operating on it for extension, zoom-out, zoom-in, horizontal flip, vertical flip, rotation, anchorage after moving, so as to facilitate operations including Add a building component, Add a furniture unit”. The suggestions/motivations would have been the same as that of Claim 13 rejections.)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YI WANG whose telephone number is (571)272-6022. The examiner can normally be reached 9am - 5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jason Chan can be reached at (571)272-3022. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/YI WANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2619