DETAILED ACTION
This is in reference to communication received 03 September 2025. Claims 1 – 10, 12 – 16 and 18 – 20 are pending for examination. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1 – 10, 12 – 16 and 18 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
Independent claims 1, 10 and 15, in part is directed toward a statutory category of invention, the claim appears to be directed toward a judicial exception namely an abstract idea.
Claim 1 recites invention directed to keeping track of presence of a user at a facility (e.g., a brick-and-mortar facility) subsequent to user entering the facility, and when determination is made that the user cannot be tracked, user will be considered as a user who has left the facility, and user is presented with their billing information, and when the bill is settled by the user, confirmation of the bill-payment will be provided to the user, which, pursuant to MPEP 2106.04, is aptly categorized as a method of organizing human activity (i.e. advertising). Therefore, under Step 2A, Prong One, the claims recite a judicial exception.
Claim 10 recites invention directed to keeping track of presence of a user at a facility (e.g., a brick-and-mortar facility) subsequent to user entering the facility, and when determination is made that the user has ended their session (e.g., user deciding to leave the facility) user is presented with their billing information, and when the bill is settled by the user, confirmation of the bill-payment will be provided to the user, which, pursuant to MPEP 2106.04, is aptly categorized as a method of organizing human activity (i.e. advertising). Therefore, under Step 2A, Prong One, the claims recite a judicial exception.
Claim 15 recites invention directed to keeping track of presence of a user at a gym (e.g., a brick-and-mortar facility) subsequent to user entering the gym, and when determination is made that the user cannot be tracked, user will be considered as a user who has left the gym, and user is presented with their billing information, and when the bill is settled by the user, confirmation of the bill-payment will be provided to the user, which, pursuant to MPEP 2106.04, is aptly categorized as a method of organizing human activity (i.e. advertising). Therefore, under Step 2A, Prong One, the claims recite a judicial exception.
Next, the aforementioned claims recite additional functional elements that are associated with the judicial exception, including: establishing a geofence, detecting absence of a mobile device from within the geofence, transmission of data regarding the absence of the mobile device; and transmission of a payment request to complete the transaction related to the party associated with the mobile device. Examiner understands these limitations to be insignificant extrasolution activity. (See Accenture, 728 F.3d 1336, 108 U.S.P.Q.2d 1173 (Fed. Cir. 2013), citing Cf. Diamond v. Diehr, 450 U.S. 175, 191-192 (1981) ("[I]nsignificant post-solution activity will not transform an unpatentable principle in to a patentable process.”).
The aforementioned claims also recite additional technical elements including: “one or more beacons communicatively coupled to the management system”; “mobile device of a party (e.g., a user); “payment transaction platform”; mobile application (a software). In addition, claimed invention using Tokenization” to protect important data. Examiner understands these limitations to be insignificant extrasolution activity. (See Accenture, 728 F.3d 1336, 108 U.S.P.Q.2d 1173 (Fed. Cir. 2013), citing Cf. Diamond v. Diehr, 450 U.S. 175, 191-192 (1981) ("[I]nsignificant post-solution activity will not transform an unpatentable principle in to a patentable process.”). These limitations are recited at a high level of generality, and appear to be nothing more than generic computer components. Claims that amount to nothing more than an instruction to apply the abstract idea using a generic computer do not render an abstract idea eligible. Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. at 2358, 110 USPQ2d at 1983. See also 134 S. Ct. at 2389, 110 USPQ2d at 1984.
Furthermore, looking at the elements individually and in combination, under Step 2A, Prong Two, the claims as a whole do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application because they fail to: improve the functioning of a computer or a technical field, apply the judicial exception in the treatment or prophylaxis of a disease, apply the judicial exception with a particular machine, effect a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing, or apply the judicial exception beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment. Rather, the claims merely use a computer as a tool to perform the abstract idea(s), and/or add insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception, and/or generally link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (e.g. a generic computer).
Next, under Step 2B, the claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the additional elements, when considered both individually and as an ordered combination, do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. Furthermore, looking at the limitations as an ordered combination adds nothing that is not already present when looking at the elements taken individually. Simply put, as noted above, there is no indication that the combination of elements improves the functioning of a computer (or any other technology), and their collective functions merely provide conventional computer implementation.
Additionally, pursuant to the requirement under Berkheimer, the following citations are provided to demonstrate that the additional elements, identified as extra-solution activity, amount to activities that are well-understood, routine, and conventional. See MPEP 2106.05(d).
Storing and retrieving information in memory. Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015); OIP Techs., 788 F.3d at 1363, 115 USPQ2d at 1092-93.
Outputting/Presenting data to a user. Mayo, 566 U.S. at 79, 101 USPQ2d at 1968; OIP Techs., Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 788 F.3d 1359, 1363, 115 USPQ2d 1090, 1092-93 (Fed. Cir. 2015); MPEP 2106.05(g)(3).
Using a machine learning model to determine user segment characteristics for an ad campaign. https://whites.agency/blog/how-to-use-machine-learning-for-customer-segmentation/.
Thus, taken alone and in combination, the additional elements do not amount to significantly more than the above-identified judicial exception (the abstract idea), and are ineligible under 35 USC 101.
Claims 2 – 9, 12 – 14, 16 and 18 – 20 dependent on the aforementioned independent claims, and include all the limitations contained therein. These claims do not recite any additional technical elements, and simply disclose additional limitations that further limit the abstract idea with details regarding type of sensors that will be used to detect presence of a mobile device within a geofence of a facility; determining time of the mobile device within a facility by considering ingress and egress of the mobile device; defining basis for billing that the person associated with the mobile device will be paying; presenting of an invoice (a bill) to the person, and also the payment option to pay the invoice; and payment option will be stored on the mobile device (e.g., using a digital wallet). Thus, the dependent claims merely provide additional non-structural (and predominantly non-functional) details that fail to meaningfully limit the claims or the abstract idea(s).
Therefore, claims 1 – 10, 12 – 16 and 18 – 20 are not drawn to eligible subject matter, as they are directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1 – 10, 14 – 16 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rodriguez et al. US Publication 2020/0126065 in view of Sachin W. Rahate et al. published article “Geo-fencing Infrastructure: Location Based Service” hereinafter referred to as Rahate and Evans US Publication 2016/0092864, US Payments Forum published paper “EMV Payment Tokenization Primer and Lesson Learned” hereinafter referred to as USPF.
Regarding claim 1, Rodriguez teaches improved parking facility ingress and egress (e.g., ingress and egress at a venue, a building, a facility etc.) facility access management system comprising a sensing device communicatively connected to the internet and also to a mechanism for providing access to the facility [Redriguez, 0005]. Rodriguez further teaches using Bluetooth technology, and mobile devices, which include a vehicle's head unit, to detect customers upon entry and exit of a parking facility (e.g., a venue) and verify the customer's access credentials without requiring any action on the customer's part at the time of entry or egress, a credit card on file can be utilized to collect payment [Rodrigues, 0007]. Rodriguez teaches system and method comprising:
detecting, by at least one beacon, a presence of a mobile device of a party within the parking facility (Rodriguez, When the transient parker arrives at the entry gate of one of the available parking facilities, the sensing device communicates with the mobile device through Bluetooth to determine the proximity of the mobile device to the sensing device) [Rodriguez, 0039];
Rodriguez does not explicitly teach geofence, however, Rodriguez recites as the mobile device enters proximity to the sensing device ("sensing device" means an iBeacon, an Eddystone beacon, or any other similar Bluetooth low energy device that broadcasts its identifier to nearby mobile devices [Rodriguez, 0022]). Rahate teaches Geo-fence apps and tools monitor when mobile device or other physical objects enter or exit an established geo-fenced area and provide administrators with alerts or notifications when there’s a change in status for a device [Rahate, page 1095]. Rahate further teaches Geo-fencing is mainly the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite network and/or local radio-frequency identifiers (RFID such as Wi-Fi nodes or Bluetooth beacons)[7] to create geo-fence i.e. virtual boundaries around a location in map [Rahate, page 1096].
Therefore, at the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Rodriguez by adopting teachings of Rahate and setup a virtual boundary within the physical area to detect presence and movement of the Bluetooth enabled devices within the defined area.
Rodriguez in view of Rahate teaches system and method further comprising:
establishing a geofence around one or more regions (Rahate, Geo-fence apps and tools monitor when mobile device or other physical objects enter or exit an established geo-fenced area and provide administrators with alerts or notifications when there’s a change in status for a device) [Rahate, page 1] using one or more beacons communicatively coupled to the management system (Rodriguez, In one embodiment of the present invention is a parking facility access management system comprises a sensing device communicatively connected to the internet and to a mechanism for providing access to a parking facility) [Rodriguez, 0032];
detecting, by at least one beacon, a presence of a mobile device of a party within the geofence (Rodriguez, When the transient parker arrives at the entry gate of one of the available parking facilities, the sensing device communicates with the mobile device through Bluetooth to determine the proximity of the mobile device to the sensing device) [Rodriguez, 0039];
connecting to an application executed on the mobile device to identify an account associated with the mobile device (Rogriguez, As the mobile device enters proximity to the sensing , the mobile device sends a signal to the sensing device to alert the mechanism for providing access to provide access to the parking facility. In some instances, when the mobile device sends a signal to the sensing device, the sensing device will first confirm the mobile device's credentials and, when confirmed, the sensing device alerts) [Rodriguez, 0006];
transmitting, by the at least one beacon, a communication indicating the presence of the mobile device to the management system (Rodriguez, The sensing device then communicates through the internet to the cloud to verify, using the registration information and the terms of the contract, the contract parker' s right to access the facility. Upon verification, the sensing device will open the gate to allow the contract parker access to the parking facility.) [Rodriguez, 0035];
Rodriguez in view of Rahate does not explicitly teach detecting an absence of the mobile device of the party within the geofence. However, Rodriguez teaches When the transient parker leaves the parking facility, the sensing device communicates through the internet to the cloud to provide information regarding the parking fees owed by the transient parker, and that amount is debited from his or her prepaid account [Rodriguez, 0037]. Evans teaches system and method for automated session closing upon location-sensed departure. Some such embodiments may be implemented at retail outlets (e.g., restaurants, salons, stores, etc.) to automatically charge a customer account for ordered items upon an automated detection of a customer retail outlet departure [Evans, 0002].
Therefore, at the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Rodriguez in view of Rahate by adopting teachings of Evans to increase productivity by automatically charge the customer when they leave a facility, without waiting in line to close their transaction.
Rodriguez in view of Rahate and Evans teaches system and method further comprising:
detecting, by the at least one beacon, an absence of the mobile device of the party within the geofence (Rodriguez, When the transient parker leaves the parking facility, the sensing device communicates through the internet to the cloud to provide information regarding the parking fees owed by the transient parker, and that amount is debited from his or her prepaid account [Rodriguez, 0037].
determining, by the at least one beacon, the mobile device has exited the geofence based on the at least one beacon being a last beacon to lose connection with the mobile device (Evans, in some other embodiments, upon determining the location data of the second data is outside the retail outlet the method stores a time value and waits for a period to elapse.) [Evans, 0032];
transmitting, by the at least one beacon, data regarding the absence to the management system (Evans, Upon receipt of the indication the mobile device has departed the retail outlet, the method 200 generates 210, from the stored retail session data, a final bill including an amount payable) [Evans, 0027].
responsive to receiving the detected absence of the mobile device of the party from the at least one beacon (Evans, When the period has elapsed without receiving third data including customer account identifying data and location data associated with a location within the retail outlet, the method then proceeds with the generating 210 of the final bill and the charging 212 to the payment account.) [Evans, 0032],
sending a payment request to a transaction platform from the management system regarding the detected party (Evans, Upon receipt of the indication the mobile device has departed the retail outlet, the method 200 generates 210, from the stored retail session data, a final bill including an amount payable. The amount payable is then charged 212 to a payment account associated with the customer account. In some such embodiments, the data indicating the mobile device has departed the retail outlet may be received by a computing system of the retail outlet and this computing device may generate 210 the final bill and charge 212 the payment account) [Evans, 0027];
processing a payment from the platform (Rodriguez, When the transient parker leaves the parking facility, the sensing device communicates through the internet to the cloud to provide information regarding the parking fees owed by the transient parker, and that amount is debited from his or her prepaid account [Rodriguez, 0037]
entering, by the platform, an integrated session with the management system and the mobile device (Evans, presenting, on a display of the mobile device, a user interface to receive payment data to associate with the customer account; and transmitting, via the network from the mobile device to the backend system, data representative of payment data received within the user interface to associate with the customer account.) [Evans, claim 13];
Rodriguez in view of Rahate and Evans does teach tokenization of the session. However, USPF teaches In payment processing, tokenization is the process of substituting sensitive data (e.g., payment card numbers and other personally identifiable Information [PII]) with a non-sensitive equivalent, referred to as a token, that has no extrinsic or exploitable meaning or value. The purpose of this is to minimize the risk of PII data fraud by rendering it useless.) [USPF, page 6].
Therefore, at the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Rodriguez in view of Rahate and Evans by adopting teachings of USPF to ensure that an unauthorized party cannot mathematically reversed the token value to the original Primary Account Number.
Rodriguez in view or Rahate, Evans and USPF teaches system and method further comprising:
tokenizing the integrated session by using one or more controllers to perform: (USPF, In payment processing, tokenization is the process of substituting sensitive data (e.g., payment card numbers and other personally identifiable Information [PII]) with a non-sensitive equivalent, referred to as a token, that has no extrinsic or exploitable meaning or value. The purpose of this is to minimize the risk of PII data fraud by rendering it useless.) [USPF, page 6]:
controlling an application performance management tool or an authentication protocol to tokenize the integrated session, thereby resulting in a secure tokenized integrated session (USPF, Limited use token keys are generated by the master domain key and stored in a secure area of the mobile operating system, which uses software-based security, such as white box cryptography, to obfuscate the key. Limited use token keys generate cryptograms that are passed with the EMV payment token for each transaction.) [USPF, page 11];
providing, to the mobile device via the secure tokenized integrated session, a presentment layer associated with the session, the presentment layer including a plurality of features of the management system associated with the session (Evans, presenting, on a display of the mobile device, a user interface to receive payment data to associate with the customer account; and transmitting, via the network from the mobile device to the backend system, data representative of payment data received within the user interface to associate with the customer account.) [Evans, claim 13];
receiving, from the mobile device, a request for access to functionalities and sub-systems of the management systems using the one or more features, the functionalities and sub-systems depending on a type of the management system (Evans, the dining session ends and the customer needs to pay their bill. The mobile device 116 app may provide a selectable option to pay the bill before departing the restaurant 102. The bill will be paid via a payment account associated with the customer account. If the customer does not select such an option in the mobile device 116 app, or the mobile device 116 app does not include the option, the mobile device 116 app will sense when it has departed the restaurant 102.) [Evans, 0022]; and
upon completion of an action, confirming the action to the party using the presentment layer (Evans, generate and transmit a receipt of the retail session to an account holder of the customer account) [Evans, 0028].
Regarding claim 2, as combined and under the same rationale as above, Rodriguez in view or Rahate, Evans and USPF teaches system and method, wherein the at least one beacon is configured to detect presence of the mobile device within the geofence (Rodriguez, Bluetooth technology, and mobile devices, which include a vehicle's head unit, to detect customers upon entry and exit of a parking facility and verify the customer's access credentials without requiring any action on the customer's part at the time of entry or egress) [Rodriguez, 0007].
Regarding claim 3, as combined and under the same rationale as above, Rodriguez in view or Rahate, Evans and USPF teaches system and method, wherein the at least one beacon is configured to detect absence of the mobile device within the geofence (Evans, The mobile device 116 app may sense it has departed the restaurant 102 in various ways in different embodiments. In some embodiments, the mobile device 116 app may no longer be receiving signals from one or more of the beacon devices 105, 107, 109, 111, 113, 114. In some other embodiments, the mobile device app may receive a signal from one or more particular beacon devices, such as beacon device 113 located near the restaurant exit or beacon device 114 that is located outside the restaurant) [Evans, 0023].
Regarding claim 4, as combined and under the same rationale as above, Rodriguez in view or Rahate, Evans and USPF teaches system and method, wherein transmitting data regarding the presence and absence of the mobile device includes: transmitting a signal from the at least one beacon to the management system indicating an initiation or termination of a service session by the party (Rodriguez, When the transient parker arrives at the entry gate of one of the available parking facilities, the sensing device communicates with the mobile device through Bluetooth to determine the proximity of the mobile device to the sensing device) [Rodriguez, 0039].
Regarding claim 5, as combined and under the same rationale as above, Rodriguez in view or Rahate, Evans and USPF teaches system and method, wherein the method further comprises calculating a duration of time the party spent within the geofence based on the initiation or termination of a service session; and wherein the payment request is based on the duration of time (Rodriguez, When the transient parker leaves the parking facility, the sensing device communicates through the internet to the cloud to provide information regarding the parking fees owed by the transient parker (e.g., billing information), and that amount is debited from his or her prepaid account) [Rodriguez, 0037].
Regarding claim 6, as combined and under the same rationale as above, Rodriguez in view or Rahate, Evans and USPF teaches system and method further comprising receiving billing information of the party’s personal account prior to sending the request to the platform (Rodriguez, When the transient parker leaves the parking facility, the sensing device communicates through the internet to the cloud to provide information regarding the parking fees owed by the transient parker (e.g., billing information), and that amount is debited from his or her prepaid account) [Rodriguez, 0037; also see Evans 0032 which teaches waiting for a period before proceeding to settling of the bill].
Regarding claim 7, as combined and under the same rationale as above, Rodriguez in view or Rahate, Evans and USPF teaches system and method, wherein the platform is configured to route the request to a payment processing system based on a process selected in the party’s personal account (Rodriguez, When the transient parker leaves the parking facility, the sensing device communicates through the internet to the cloud to provide information regarding the parking fees owed by the transient parker, and that amount is paid using the payment method designated by the parker) [Rodriguez, 0039].
Regarding claim 8, as combined and under the same rationale as above, Rodriguez in view or Rahate, Evans and USPF teaches system and method, wherein the processing system sends a confirmation to the platform upon a successful completion of the action (Rodriguez, as the mobile device enters proximity to the sensing device, the mobile device sends a signal to the sensing device and, if the sensing device can confirm the mobile device's credentials, the sensing device alerts the mechanism for providing access to provide access to the parking facility, or, as the mobile device enters proximity to the sensing device, the mobile device sends a signal to the sensing device and, if the sensing device receives payment information from the mobile device, the sensing device alerts the mechanism for providing access to provide access to the parking facility [Rodriguez, 0032]
Regarding claim 9, as combined and under the same rationale as above, Rodriguez in view or Rahate, Evans and USPF teaches system and method, further comprising providing confirmation of the payment to the party (Evans, generate and transmit a receipt of the retail session to an account holder of the customer account) [Evans, 0028].
Regarding claim 10 Rodriguez teaches improved parking facility ingress and egress (e.g., ingress and egress at a venue, a building, a facility etc.) facility access management system comprising a sensing device communicatively connected to the internet and also to a mechanism for providing access to the facility [Redriguez, 0005]. Rodriguez further teaches using Bluetooth technology, and mobile devices, which include a vehicle's head unit, to detect customers upon entry and exit of a parking facility (e.g., a venue) and verify the customer's access credentials without requiring any action on the customer's part at the time of entry or egress, a credit card on file can be utilized to collect payment [Rodrigues, 0007]. Rodriguez teaches system and method comprising:
using one or more beacons communicatively coupled to the management system (Rodriguez, In one embodiment of the present invention is a parking facility access management system comprises a sensing device communicatively connected to the internet and to a mechanism for providing access to a parking facility) [Rodriguez, 0032];
detecting, by at least one beacon, a presence of a mobile device of a party within the geofence (Rodriguez, When the transient parker arrives at the entry gate of one of the available parking facilities, the sensing device communicates with the mobile device through Bluetooth to determine the proximity of the mobile device to the sensing device) [Rodriguez, 0039];
Rodriguez does not explicitly teach geofence, however, Rodriguez recites as the mobile device enters proximity to the sensing device ("sensing device" means an iBeacon, an Eddystone beacon, or any other similar Bluetooth low energy device that broadcasts its identifier to nearby mobile devices [Rodriguez, 0022]). Rahate teaches Geo-fence apps and tools monitor when mobile device or other physical objects enter or exit an established geo-fenced area and provide administrators with alerts or notifications when there’s a change in status for a device [Rahate, page 1095]. Rahate further teaches Geo-fencing is mainly the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite network and/or local radio-frequency identifiers (RFID such as Wi-Fi nodes or Bluetooth beacons)[7] to create geo-fence i.e. virtual boundaries around a location in map [Rahate, page 1096].
Therefore, at the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Rodriguez by adopting teachings of Rahate and setup a virtual boundary within the physical area to detect presence and movement of the Bluetooth enabled devices within the defined area.
Rodriguez in view of Rahate teaches system and method further comprising:
with a plurality of geofence beacons (Rahate, Geo-fence apps and tools monitor when mobile device or other physical objects enter or exit an established geo-fenced area and provide administrators with alerts or notifications when there’s a change in status for a device) [Rahate, page 1], recognize a mobile device having an application that identifies a person having a personal account associated with the application (Rodriguez, When a parker approaches a sensing device, the mobile device is authenticated based on credentials stored in the cloud. If multiple registered mobile devices are in proximity to a single sensing device, the application may, for example, provide a notice to each of the users requiring them to designate which application is responsible for making the applicable payment) [Rodriguez, 0027];
responsive to each beacon recognizing the mobile device, transmitting a first communication to a management system that indicates that the person has begun a session (Rodriguez, When the transient parker arrives at the entry gate of one of the available parking facilities, the sensing device communicates with the mobile device through Bluetooth to determine the proximity of the mobile device to the sensing device. The sensing device then communicates through the internet to the cloud to verify, using the registration information, the transient parker's right to access the facility. Upon verification, the sensing device will open the gate to allow the transient parker access to the parking facility (e.g., session has begun)) [Rodriguez, 0036];
connecting to an application executed or the mobile device to identify an account associated with the mobile device (Rogriguez, As the mobile device enters proximity to the sensing , the mobile device sends a signal to the sensing device to alert the mechanism for providing access to provide access to the parking facility. In some instances, when the mobile device sends a signal to the sensing device, the sensing device will first confirm the mobile device's credentials and, when confirmed, the sensing device alerts) [Rodriguez, 0006];
Rodriguez in view of Rahate does not explicitly teach detecting an absence of the mobile device of the party within the geofence. However, Rodriguez teaches When the transient parker leaves the parking facility, the sensing device communicates through the internet to the cloud to provide information regarding the parking fees owed by the transient parker, and that amount is debited from his or her prepaid account [Rodriguez, 0037]. However, Evans teaches system and method for automated session closing upon location-sensed departure. Some such embodiments may be implemented at retail outlets (e.g., restaurants, salons, stores, etc.) to automatically charge a customer account for ordered items upon an automated detection of a customer retail outlet departure [Evans, 0002].
Therefore, at the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Rodriguez in view of Rahate by adopting teachings of Evans to increase productivity by automatically charge the customer when they leave a facility, without waiting in line to close their transaction.
Rodriguez in view of Rahate and Evans teaches system and method further comprising:
determining that the person has ended the session based on each of the beacons of the plurality of beacons beginning to and then entirely losing connection with the mobile device (Evans, track goods and services chosen during the retail session, detect when a customer departs the retail outlet (e.g., in Rodriguez teachings modified by Evans teachings, detect that customer has left the parking facility facility), and charges the customer's payment account) [Evans, 0011];
responsive to determining that the person has ended the session, transmitting a second communication to the management system that indicates that the person has ended the session (Evans, Upon receipt of the indication the mobile device has departed the retail outlet, the method 200 generates 210, from the stored retail session data, a final bill including an amount payable) [Evans, 0027; also see Rodriguez, 0036];
sending, with the management system, a request to a transaction platform based on information associated with the personal account (Evans, Upon receipt of the indication the mobile device has departed the retail outlet, the method 200 generates 210, from the stored retail session data, a final bill including an amount payable. The amount payable is then charged 212 to a payment account associated with the customer account. In some such embodiments, the data indicating the mobile device has departed the retail outlet may be received by a computing system of the retail outlet and this computing device may generate 210 the final bill and charge 212 the payment account) [Evans, 0027];
receiving, at the management system and from the transaction platform, a first confirmation associated with the request (Rodriguez, when the mobile device sends a signal to the sensing device, the sensing device will first confirm receipt of payment and, when confirmed, the sensing device alerts the mechanism for providing access to provide access to the parking facility (e.g., when implementing post-paid access, gate at the exit will open after payment is received)) [Rodriguez. 0006] ; and sending a second confirmation to the mobile device (Evans, generate and transmit a receipt of the retail session to an account holder of the customer account) [Evans, 0028];
entering an integrated session with the management system and the mobile device (Evans, presenting, on a display of the mobile device, a user interface to receive payment data to associate with the customer account; and transmitting, via the network from the mobile device to the backend system, data representative of payment data received within the user interface to associate with the customer account.) [Evans, claim 13];
Rodriguez in view of Rahate and Evans does teach tokenization of the session. However, USPF teaches In payment processing, tokenization is the process of substituting sensitive data (e.g., payment card numbers and other personally identifiable Information [PII]) with a non-sensitive equivalent, referred to as a token, that has no extrinsic or exploitable meaning or value. The purpose of this is to minimize the risk of PII data fraud by rendering it useless.) [USPF, page 6].
Therefore, at the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Rodriguez in view of Rahate and Evans by adopting teachings of USPF to ensure that an unauthorized party cannot mathematically reversed the token value to the original Primary Account Number.
Rodriguez in view or Rahate, Evans and USPF teaches system and method further comprising:
tokenizing the integrated session by using one or more controllers to perform (USPF, In payment processing, tokenization is the process of substituting sensitive data (e.g., payment card numbers and other personally identifiable Information [PII]) with a non-sensitive equivalent, referred to as a token, that has no extrinsic or exploitable meaning or value. The purpose of this is to minimize the risk of PII data fraud by rendering it useless.) [USPF, page 6]:
controlling an application performance management tool or an authentication protocol to tokenize the integrated session, thereby resulting in a secure tokenized integrated session (USPF, Limited use token keys are generated by the master domain key and stored in a secure area of the mobile operating system, which uses software-based security, such as white box cryptography, to obfuscate the key. Limited use token keys generate cryptograms that are passed with the EMV payment token for each transaction.) [USPF, page 11];
responsive to each of the beacons of the plurality of beacons entirely losing connection with the mobile device (Evans, in some other embodiments, upon determining the location data of the second data is outside the retail outlet the method stores a time value and waits for a period to elapse.) [Evans, 0032];
providing, to the mobile device via the secure tokenized integrated session, a presentment layer associated with the session, the presentment layer including a plurality of features of the management system associated with the session (Evans, presenting, on a display of the mobile device, a user interface to receive payment data to associate with the customer account; and transmitting, via the network from the mobile device to the backend system, data representative of payment data received within the user interface to associate with the customer account.) [Evans, claim 13];
receiving, from the mobile device, a request for access to functionalities and sub-systems of the management systems using the one or more features, the functionalities and sub-systems depending on a type of the management system (Evans, the dining session ends and the customer needs to pay their bill. The mobile device 116 app may provide a selectable option to pay the bill before departing the restaurant 102. The bill will be paid via a payment account associated with the customer account. If the customer does not select such an option in the mobile device 116 app, or the mobile device 116 app does not include the option, the mobile device 116 app will sense when it has departed the restaurant 102.) [Evans, 0022]; and
sending, via the secure tokenized integrated session, a second confirmation to the mobile device (Evans, generate and transmit a receipt of the retail session to an account holder of the customer account) [Evans, 0028].
Regarding claim 14, as combined and under the same rationale as above, Rodriguez in view or Rahate, Evans and USPF teaches system and method further comprising:
forming a geofence based on a communication range of the plurality of beacons, wherein each beacon recognizing the mobile device corresponds to the mobile device being within the geofence (Rodriguez, In one embodiment of the present invention is a parking facility access management system comprises a sensing device communicatively connected to the internet and to a mechanism for providing access to a parking facility) [Rodriguez, 0029, 0032]; and
wherein each of the beacons of the plurality of beacons beginning to and then entirely losing connection with the mobile device corresponds to the mobile device leaving the geofence (Evans, track goods and services chosen during the retail session, detect when a customer departs the retail outlet (e.g., in Rodriguez teachings modified by Evans teachings, detect that customer has left the parking facility facility), and charges the customer's payment account) [Evans, 0011].
Regarding claim 15, Rodriguez teaches improved parking facility ingress and egress (e.g., ingress and egress at a venue, a building, a facility etc.) facility access management system comprising a sensing device communicatively connected to the internet and also to a mechanism for providing access to the facility [Redriguez, 0005]. Rodriguez further teaches using Bluetooth technology, and mobile devices, which include a vehicle's head unit, to detect customers upon entry and exit of a parking facility (e.g., a venue) and verify the customer's access credentials without requiring any action on the customer's part at the time of entry or egress, a credit card on file can be utilized to collect payment [Rodrigues, 0007]. Rodriguez teaches system and method comprising:
using one or more beacons communicatively coupled to the management system (Rodriguez, In one embodiment of the present invention is a parking facility access management system comprises a sensing device communicatively connected to the internet and to a mechanism for providing access to a parking facility) [Rodriguez, 0032];
detecting, by at least one beacon, a presence of a mobile device of a party within the geofence (Rodriguez, When the transient parker arrives at the entry gate of one of the available parking facilities, the sensing device communicates with the mobile device through Bluetooth to determine the proximity of the mobile device to the sensing device) [Rodriguez, 0039];
Rodriguez does not explicitly teach geofence, however, Rodriguez recites as the mobile device enters proximity to the sensing device ("sensing device" means an iBeacon, an Eddystone beacon, or any other similar Bluetooth low energy device that broadcasts its identifier to nearby mobile devices [Rodriguez, 0022]). Rahate teaches Geo-fence apps and tools monitor when mobile device or other physical objects enter or exit an established geo-fenced area and provide administrators with alerts or notifications when there’s a change in status for a device [Rahate, page 1095]. Rahate further teaches Geo-fencing is mainly the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite network and/or local radio-frequency identifiers (RFID such as Wi-Fi nodes or Bluetooth beacons)[7] to create geo-fence i.e. virtual boundaries around a location in map [Rahate, page 1096].
Therefore, at the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Rodriguez by adopting teachings of Rahate and setup a virtual boundary within the physical area to detect presence and movement of the Bluetooth enabled devices within the defined area.
Rodriguez in view of Rahate teaches system and method further comprising:
a plurality of beacons defining a geofenced area (Rahate, Geo-fence apps and tools monitor when mobile device or other physical objects enter or exit an established geo-fenced area and provide administrators with alerts or notifications when there’s a change in status for a device) [Rahate, page 1];
Rodriguez in view of Rahate and Evans does not explicitly teach the brick-and-mortar facility limited to a gym. However, However, Evans teaches system and method for automated session closing upon location-sensed departure. Some such embodiments may be implemented at retail outlets (e.g., restaurants, salons, stores, etc.) to automatically charge a customer account for ordered items upon an automated detection of a customer retail outlet departure [Evans, 0002].
Therefore, at the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement Rodriguez in view of Bynes teaching and install sensors at ingress and egress locations in a brick-and-mortar facility like a gym to provide a 24/7 access to gym facility without the presence of front-desk personnel and charge the customer when they leave a facility.
Rodriguez in view of Rahate, Evans teaches system and method further comprising:
a gym management system for the gym (as responded to above), wherein the gym management system is configured to:
recognize a mobile device of a member of the gym entering the geofenced area (Rodriguez, When the transient parker (e.g., gym-patron) arrives at the entry gate of one of the available parking facilities (e.g., a gym with sensing devices installed in ingress and egress locations of the gym), the sensing device communicates with the mobile device through Bluetooth to determine the proximity of the mobile device to the sensing device. The sensing device then communicates through the internet to the cloud to verify, using the registration information, the transient parker's (e.g., hym-patron) right to access the facility. Upon verification, the sensing device will open the gate to allow the transient parker (e.g., gym-patron) access to the parking facility (e.g., session has begun at the gym)) [Rodriguez, 0036];
determine that the member of the gym began a session based on the recognizing (Rodriguez, When the transient parker arrives at the entry gate of one of the available parking facilities, the sensing device communicates with the mobile device through Bluetooth to determine the proximity of the mobile device to the sensing device. The sensing device then communicates through the internet to the cloud to verify, using the registration information, the transient parker's right to access the facility. Upon verification, the sensing device will open the gate to allow the transient parker access to the parking facility (e.g., session has begun)) [Rodriguez, 0036];
connecting to an application executed or the mobile device to identify an account associated with the mobile device (Rogriguez, As the mobile device enters proximity to the sensing , the mobile device sends a signal to the sensing device to alert the mechanism for providing access to provide access to the parking facility. In some instances, when the mobile device sends a signal to the sensing device, the sensing device will first confirm the mobile device's credentials and, when confirmed, the sensing device alerts) [Rodriguez, 0006];
receiving, from the at least one beacon, a communication indicating the presence of the mobile device to the management system (Rodriguez, When the transient parker arrives at the entry gate of one of the available parking facilities, the sensing device communicates with the mobile device through Bluetooth to determine the proximity of the mobile device to the sensing device) [Rodriguez, 0039];
determine that the mobile device has left the geofenced area based on the at least one beacon being a last beacon to lose connection with the mobile device (Evans, in some other embodiments, upon determining the location data of the second data is outside the retail outlet the method stores a time value and waits for a period to elapse.) [Evans, 0032];
determine that the member of the gym ended the session based on determining that the mobile device left the geofenced area (Evans, Upon receipt of the indication the mobile device has departed the retail outlet, the method 200 generates 210, from the stored retail session data, a final bill including an amount payable) [Evans, 0027; also see Rodriguez, 0036];
enter an integrated session with the management system and the mobile device (Evans, presenting, on a display of the mobile device, a user interface to receive payment data to associate with the customer account; and transmitting, via the network from the mobile device to the backend system, data representative of payment data received within the user interface to associate with the customer account.) [Evans, claim 13];
Rodriguez in view of Rahate does not explicitly teach detecting an absence of the mobile device of the party within the geofence. However, Rodriguez teaches When the transient parker leaves the parking facility, the sensing device communicates through the internet to the cloud to provide information regarding the parking fees owed by the transient parker, and that amount is debited from his or her prepaid account [Rodriguez, 0037]. Evans teaches system and method for automated session closing upon location-sensed departure. Some such embodiments may be implemented at retail outlets (e.g., restaurants, salons, stores, etc.) to automatically charge a customer account for ordered items upon an automated detection of a customer retail outlet departure [Evans, 0002].
Therefore, at the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Rodriguez in view of Rahate by adopting teachings of Evans to increase productivity by automatically charge the customer when they leave a facility, without waiting in line to close their transaction.
Rodriguez in view of Rahate and Evans teaches system and method further comprising:
tokenize the integrated session by using one or more controllers (USPF, In payment processing, tokenization is the process of substituting sensitive data (e.g., payment card numbers and other personally identifiable Information [PII]) with a non-sensitive equivalent, referred to as a token, that has no extrinsic or exploitable meaning or value. The purpose of this is to minimize the risk of PII data fraud by rendering it useless.) [USPF, page 6] to:
control an application performance management tool or an authentication protocol to tokenize the integrated session, thereby resulting in a secure tokenized integrated session (USPF, Limited use token keys are generated by the master domain key and stored in a secure area of the mobile operating system, which uses software-based security, such as white box cryptography, to obfuscate the key. Limited use token keys generate cryptograms that are passed with the EMV payment token for each transaction.) [USPF, page 11];
responsive to the at least one beacon being a last beacon to lose connection with the mobile device (Evans, in s