DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions. This office action is in response to an application filed on05/29/2024. The applicant submits three Information Disclosure Statements dated 05/29/2024, 08/13/2024, and 05/14/2025. The applicant claims Domestic priority to applications dating back to 12/15/2011. The applicant makes a claim to Foreign priority to applications dating back to 12/15/2010. The application is under a restriction and applicant elected claims 1 – 18 to be examined.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1 – 18 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 - 7 of U.S. Patent No. 9,311,271. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims are directed toward tracking the operation of a vehicle through the use of a mobile device and the adjusting insurance based upon the data collected.
Claims 1 – 18 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 - 13 of U.S. Patent No. 9,633,487. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims are directed toward tracking the operation of a vehicle through the use of a mobile device and the adjusting insurance based upon the data collected.
Claims 1 – 18 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 - 27 of U.S. Patent No. 10,192,369. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims are directed toward tracking the operation of a vehicle through the use of a mobile device and the adjusting insurance based upon the data collected.
Claims 1 – 18 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 - 55 of U.S. Patent No. 10,198,879. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims are directed toward tracking the operation of a vehicle through the use of a mobile device and the adjusting insurance based upon the data collected.
Claims 1 – 18 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 -27 of U.S. Patent No. 10,198,878. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims are directed toward tracking the operation of a vehicle through the use of a mobile device and the adjusting insurance based upon the data collected.
Claims 1 – 18 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1- 21 of U.S. Patent No. 10,950,068. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims are directed toward tracking the operation of a vehicle through the use of a mobile device and the adjusting insurance based upon the data collected.
Claims 1 – 18 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 - 23 of U.S. Patent No. 11,321,970. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims are directed toward tracking the operation of a vehicle through the use of a mobile device and the adjusting insurance based upon the data collected.
Claims 1 – 18 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 - 18 of U.S. Patent No. 11,623,564. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims are directed toward tracking the operation of a vehicle through the use of a mobile device and the adjusting insurance based upon the data collected.
Claims 1 – 18 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 - 23 of U.S. Patent No. 12,002,301. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims are directed toward tracking the operation of a vehicle through the use of a mobile device and the adjusting insurance based upon the data collected.
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 – 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea of mental concept of evaluation and organizing human activity of commercial interactions without significantly more. The claims are evaluated with respect to the MPEP and the 2019 Subject Matter Guidance.
Step 1
The claims recite a mobile telecommunication device configured to log driving information associated with a vehicle, a data logging system for logging driving information, a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions comprising a software application, and a method of using a mobile telecommunications device configured to log driving information associated with a vehicle. The claims are directed to one of the four statutory categories. Therefore, the claims pass Step 1.
Step 2A Prong I
The independent claim 1 is reproduced below with the abstract idea identified in italics and the pre/post solution activity identified in bold. The analysis applies to the other independent claims 16, 17, and 18. The claims do not contain additional operations or structure different than independent claim that warrant a separate analysis.
Claim 1
A mobile telecommunications device configured to log driving information associated with a vehicle, the mobile telecommunications device comprising:
a sensor set comprising at least one of an image sensor, an audio sensor, an accelerometer and a positioning module, or a combination thereof, a processor; and
a memory;
the mobile telecommunications device being configured to:
determine, based at least in part on sensor data from the device's sensor set, a start of a driving period during which the mobile device is present in the vehicle and the vehicle is in use,
process the sensor data from the sensor set during the driving period to derive driving information associated with how the vehicle is driven, mobile telecommunications device being configured to process the sensor data automatically, using a neural network provided in the mobile device, to determine whether the driving information represents an acceptable or unacceptable driving pattern; and
store at least some of the driving information to the memory.
The independent claim does not identify any unique structural features that are required to collect the data or process the data to determine acceptable or unacceptable driving patterns. Furthermore, the claim does not define what constitutes acceptable or unacceptable driving patterns is defined in dependent claim 5 to calculate insurance premiums. The driving pattern data is defined in dependent claim 10. The remaining dependent claims are directed to the operations of data collection and processing to satisfy the inventive concept. Therefore, the overall purpose of the invention pursuant to MPEP 2106.07 is to determine insurance premiums.
With respect to the 2019 Subject Matter Guidance, the invention is an abstract idea of a mental concept able to be performed in the mind of evaluation and commercial interactions. Examples 39 is used as the benchmark for a neural network claim and example 42 is used as the benchmark for commercial interactions. The claims do not define with specify how acceptable and unacceptable driving is identified by a neural network as defined by example 39. The reason is the claims do not define with specificity operations applied to the collected data to allow the determination of acceptable or unacceptable driving patterns identified in dependent claim 10. The claims do not define specific structure or real time access to data that has been transformed and processed to create new data. The driving pattern is not used for the purpose of presenting data of the driving pattern but to correlate to a commercial activity that is an insurance premium.
With respect to the MPEP, the claims fail the requirements established in MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III)(B) where a human can observe the driving patterns of a vehicle operator and assign an insurance premium based upon the patterns. The claims do not define any unique data collected that a human mind is unable to collect through observation. Therefore, the human mind is able to make an evaluation and remember what was evaluated.
With respect to the MPEP, the claims fail the requirements established in MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II)(B) where the organized human activity is a commercial interaction. An insurance premium is a component of an insurance contract. Under American law the premium is the consideration for the agreement to have enforcement and obligation of performance of the insurance company. Therefore, dependent claim 5 explicitly states the invention is for the sole purpose of the organization of human activity of a commercial interaction.
Therefore, the claims fail Step 2A Prong I for two reasons based upon two requirements the 2019 Guidance and the MPEP.
Step 2A Prong II
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claims fail to satisfy the requirements established in the 2019 Subject Matter Guidance and the MPEP. With respect to the 209 Guidance, the claims fail to satisfy the Mental Concept threshold and the organization of human activity threshold established in MPEP 2106.04(d) and 2106.04(d)(1). The claims do not establish an invention and inventive concept that constitutes an evaluation too complex for the human mind to perform. In addition, the claims do not identify features that constitute more than the organization of human activity of a commercial interaction. Thus, the claims fail Step 2A Prong II.
Step 2B
The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the claims fail to satisfy any of the requirements established in MPEP 206.05 (a-h). Therefore, the claims do not include additional elements sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception and fail Step 2B.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 8, 17, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. The claims contain the features of “acceptable” and “unacceptable” without defining the scope of the features. The claims do not identify what constitutes either feature, therefore, one skilled in the art would not be able to determine the limits of the features.
Claims 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. The claims contain the feature “score” without defining the scope of the feature. The claims do not identify what constitutes the feature, therefore, one skilled in the art would not be able to determine the limits of the feature.
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 pre-AIA 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 –
(e) the invention was described in (1) an application for patent, published under section 122(b), by another filed in the United States before the invention by the applicant for patent or (2) a patent granted on an application for patent by another filed in the United States before the invention by the applicant for patent, except that an international application filed under the treaty defined in section 351(a) shall have the effects for purposes of this subsection of an application filed in the United States only if the international application designated the United States and was published under Article 21(2) of such treaty in the English language.
Claims 1 – 18 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e) as being anticipated by Collopy US 2010/0131304.
As per claim 1, A mobile telecommunications device configured to log driving information associated with a vehicle, the mobile telecommunications device comprising:
a sensor set comprising at least one of an image sensor, an audio sensor, an accelerometer and a positioning module, or a combination thereof, a processor; (Collopy paragraph 0042 discloses, “Also, it is understood that while not shown, the on-board monitoring system 125 can include any equipment required to facilitate communication of data, where the equipment can include processor(s), memory, communication components and associated applications and protocols, etc., as necessary.” And paragraph 0104 discloses, “Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the inventive methods can be practiced with other computer system configurations, including single-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associated devices.”) and
a memory; (Collopy paragraph 0042 discloses, “Also, it is understood that while not shown, the on-board monitoring system 125 can include any equipment required to facilitate communication of data, where the equipment can include processor(s), memory, communication components and associated applications and protocols, etc., as necessary.”)
the mobile telecommunications device being configured to:
determine, based at least in part on sensor data from the device's sensor set, a start of a driving period during which the mobile device is present in the vehicle and the vehicle is in use, (Collopy paragraph 0061 discloses, “During start up of the on-board monitoring system 125, which can include associating the mobile device 105 with the on-board monitoring system 125, various methods can be employed to identify and authenticate the user associated with mobile device 105.” And paragraph 0062 discloses, “The respective account information can be stored in the database 350 and retrieved during the initialization of the on-board monitoring system 125, such as when the mobile device 105 is being communicatively associated with the on-board monitoring system 125.”)
process the sensor data from the sensor set during the driving period to derive driving information associated with how the vehicle is driven, mobile telecommunications device being configured to process the sensor data automatically, using a neural network provided in the mobile device, to determine whether the driving information represents an acceptable or unacceptable driving pattern; (Collopy paragraph 0038 discloses, “ By employing such real-time/near real-time gathering, analysis, and rate determination, an insurance premium can be generated that reflects the driver's driving habits more closely than a traditional method such as determining a rate based upon a number of speeding tickets received by a driver in a given time period.” and paragraph 0082 discloses, “Other directed and undirected model classification approaches include, e.g., naive Bayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, neural networks, fuzzy logic models, and probabilistic classification models providing different patterns of independence can be employed. Classification as used herein also is inclusive of statistical regression that is utilized to develop models of priority.”) and
store at least some of the driving information to the memory. (Collopy paragraph 0036 discloses, “Such components can include the on-board monitoring system 125, mobile device 105, the device ID 106, and/or the vehicle operator 110 with the obtained data being forwarded to the driving analysis component 150 and/or the dynamic rate determination component 155. Data can also be obtained from a database 160 which stores information pertaining to the vehicle operator 110, e.g., previous driving history, along with other data as required. Furthermore, the aggregation component 148 can obtain information as required from the insurance provider as well as any third party entities such as other insurance companies, parents of the vehicle operator, and the like. The aggregation component 148 gathers information from as many sources as required to facilitate generation and presentation of insurance rate(s). Data gathered by the aggregation component 148 can also be forwarded from the insurance provider system 135 to the mobile device 105, on-board monitoring system 125, and any other components associated with system 100 to facilitate presentation of any pertinent data, e.g., insurance rates, to an operator 110 or other interested party.” And paragraph 0035 discloses, “The insurance provider 135 employs various analytical methods (by utilizing driving analysis component 150) to facilitate determination of an appropriate insurance rate and any other pertinent information concerning the driving habits of the driver.”)
As per claim 2, A mobile telecommunications device of Claim 1, wherein the driving information is derived without data from the vehicle sensors. (Collopy paragraph 0086 discloses, “The on-board data/diagnostic control units and system(s) can include the vehicles engine control unit/module (ECU/ECM), transmission control unit (TCU), powertrain control unit (PCU), on-board diagnostics (OBD), sensors and processors associated with the transmission system, and other aspects of the vehicle allowing the on-board monitoring system to gather sufficient data from the vehicle for a determination of how the vehicle is being driven to be made.”)
As per claim 3, A mobile telecommunications device of Claim 1, wherein the mobile telecommunications device is configured to detect the occurrence of a predetermined event and in response to take at least one predetermined action. (Collopy paragraph 0052 discloses, “Alerts can be generated if a driver is/has been driving in a dangerous manner, e.g., accelerating or braking excessively, and presented to a person monitoring the driver via the monitoring system 260.” And paragraph 0121 discloses, “and/or user from a set of observations as captured via events and/or data. Inference can be employed to identify a specific context or action, or can generate a probability distribution over states, for example. The inference can be probabilistic-that is, the computation of a probability distribution over states of interest based on a consideration of data and events. Inference can also refer to techniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set of events and/or data. Such inference results in the construction of new events or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored event data, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporal proximity, and whether the events and data come from one or several event and data sources.”)
As per claim 4, A mobile telecommunications device of Claim 1, wherein the mobile telecommunications device is configured to process the driving information to generate a driving score. (Collopy paragraph 0035 discloses, “FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 for real-time monitoring of a driver to facilitate determination of insurance rate(s) based on various aspects as disclosed infra. System 100 includes an insurance policy holder, operator 110, utilizing a mobile device 105 to associate the operator 110 with an on-board monitoring system 125 and a vehicle 130. By employing wireless communications, the mobile device 105 is in communication with an insurance provider system 135 via a transceiver 140 and a communication component 145. As vehicle 130 is being driven by operator 110 the driver's driving habits, skills, route of travel, activity, etc., can be monitored by the on-board monitoring system 125 in conjunction with the mobile device 105. The on-board monitoring system 125 monitors and gathers information regarding driver 110's driving skills, habits, etc. and forwards the information to the insurance provider 135. The communication component 145 can provide communication protocols, data conversion, etc., as necessary, to allow transmission of data and information between the on-board monitoring system 125, the mobile device 105 and the insurance provider system 135. Data received at the insurance provider system 135 can be collected by an aggregation component 148. The aggregation component can compile received data to facilitate processing by the data analysis component 150.”)
As per claim 5, A mobile telecommunications device of Claim 4, wherein the mobile telecommunications device is configured to use the driving score to define an insurance premium for a driver of the vehicle. (Collopy paragraph 0034 discloses, “By gathering real-time data, insurance rates can be determined that are more representative of a driver's driving habits and skills than the conventional system of insurance rate determination based on such factors as number of traffic violations, e.g., speeding tickets, etc.”)
As per claim 6, A mobile telecommunications device of Claim 1, further comprising a user interface and wherein the mobile telecommunications device is configured to determine, based at least in part on the inputs received by the user interface, the start of the driving period. (Collopy paragraph 0044 discloses, “and input device(s) to allow the user to interact with presented information and provide feedback, e.g., such feedback could be acceptance of a new insurance rate or entering of a password for authentication purposes.”)
As per claim 7, A mobile telecommunications device of Claim 1, wherein the mobile telecommunications device is a smartphone. (Collopy paragraph 0037 discloses, “The database 160 which can be employed to store any information gathered or generated by the various components of system 100. Such information can include data gathered by the on-board monitoring system 125, information provided by operator 110, information retrieved from the mobile device 105 or information associated therewith, information collected or generated by the various components of the insurance provider system 135, information provided by third party systems and/or users (not shown), and the like.” And paragraph 0062 discloses, “To enable the correlation of a unique identifier (e.g., IMSI number) to identify an individual, associated with mobile device 105 and driver data stored in database 350 some form of registration process may have previously been performed. The registration process, for example, can involve a driver informing their insurance provider of the IMSI number associated with their personal cell phone (mobile device 105), along with any other pertinent information such as address of the driver, social security number, insurance policy number, etc.”)
As per claim 8, A mobile telecommunications device of Claim 7, wherein the mobile telecommunications device is controlled by a downloaded application to use the neural network to determine whether the driving information represents an acceptable or unacceptable driving pattern. (Collopy paragraph 0082 discloses, “Intuitively, this makes the classification correct for testing data that is near, but not identical to training data. Other directed and undirected model classification approaches include, e.g., naive Bayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, neural networks, fuzzy logic models, and probabilistic classification models providing different patterns of independence can be employed. Classification as used herein also is inclusive of statistical regression that is utilized to develop models of priority.”)
As per claim 9, A mobile telecommunications device of Claim 5, wherein the mobile telecommunications device is removably affixed to the vehicle during the driving period. (Collopy paragraph 0089 discloses, “As a further alternative the updates can be conferred to the mobile device or the on-board monitoring system by means of a plug-in module or the like, which can be left attached to the respective device or the software can be downloaded there from.”)
As per claim 10, A mobile telecommunications device according to Claim 1, wherein the mobile telecommunications device is configured to detect predetermined driving events, the predetermined driving events comprising at least one of a vehicle acceleration event, a vehicle braking event, a vehicle cornering event, a vehicle orientation event and a vehicle swerving event. (Collopy paragraph 0052 discloses, “Accelerometer 220 can be employed to monitor the rate of acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle being driven, with the captured data being employed by the insurance provider system 135 as part of a determination of insurance rate. Alerts can be generated if a driver is/has been driving in a dangerous manner, e.g., accelerating or braking excessively, and presented to a person monitoring the driver via the monitoring system 260.” And paragraph 0035 and 0121)
As per claim 11, A mobile telecommunications device according to Claim 1, wherein the mobile telecommunications device comprises an event detector, configured to detect the occurrence of a predetermined driving event using an event indication model provided in the mobile telecommunications device. (Collopy paragraph 0121 discloses, “and/or user from a set of observations as captured via events and/or data. Inference can be employed to identify a specific context or action, or can generate a probability distribution over states, for example. The inference can be probabilistic-that is, the computation of a probability distribution over states of interest based on a consideration of data and events. Inference can also refer to techniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set of events and/or data. Such inference results in the construction of new events or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored event data, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporal proximity, and whether the events and data come from one or several event and data sources.”)
As per claim 12, A mobile telecommunications device according to Claim 11, wherein the event indication model comprises a pattern of predetermined data values and the event detector is configured to detect the occurrence of an event by carrying out pattern recognition by matching sensor data values to the pattern of predetermined data values of the event indication model. (Collopy paragraph 035 discloses, “As vehicle 130 is being driven by operator 110 the driver's driving habits, skills, route of travel, activity, etc., can be monitored by the on-board monitoring system 125 in conjunction with the mobile device 105. The on-board monitoring system 125 monitors and gathers information regarding driver 110's driving skills, habits, etc. and forwards the information to the insurance provider 135.” And paragraph 0121)
As per claim 13, A mobile telecommunications device of Claim 1, wherein the mobile telecommunications device comprises an event detector, configured to detect the occurrence of a predetermined driving event using an event indication model provided in the mobile telecommunications device and wherein mobile telecommunications device is configured to modify the event indication model in response to determining the benchmark. (Collopy paragraphs 0035, 0052, and 0121)
As per claim 14, The mobile telecommunications device of Claim 1, wherein the mobile telecommunications device comprises a wireless telecommunications module operable to download a controlling application and the processor is configurable by the controlling application. (Collopy paragraph 0048 discloses, “The mobile device 105 and the on-board monitoring system 125 can be updated via hardwire e.g., connecting the mobile device 105 or on-board monitoring system 125 to a computer etc. to install/upgrade software which can be downloaded from the internet.”)
As per claim 15, The mobile telecommunications device of Claim 14, wherein the wireless telecommunications module is configured to transmit at least some of the driving information to a remotely located data logging system. (Collopy paragraph 0050 discloses, “a remote monitoring system 260 can be employed to interact with the insurance provider system 135, the on-board monitoring system 125 and/or the mobile device 105.”)
As per claim 16, A data-logging system for logging driving information, the data logging system comprising:
a database for storing a plurality of accounts, each account having a unique identifier and the database being arranged to store driving information associated with at least one of a vehicle and a driver; (Collopy paragraph 0037 discloses, “The database 160 which can be employed to store any information gathered or generated by the various components of system 100. Such information can include data gathered by the on-board monitoring system 125, information provided by operator 110, information retrieved from the mobile device 105 or information associated therewith, information collected or generated by the various components of the insurance provider system 135, information provided by third party systems and/or users (not shown), and the like. The database 160 can be incorporated into the insurance provider system 135, or reside in a third party system (not shown). It is to be appreciated that a wealth of data and information can be generated by the various components of system 100, and database/memory components (not shown) can be distributed as required across the system 100 to facilitate collection, transmission, generation, evaluation, and determination of a variety of data to facilitate operation of the system.” paragraph And 0087 discloses, “The mobile device provides identification information to the on-board monitoring system to be processed by the on-board monitoring system or forwarded an insurance provider system to enable identification of the driver.”)
a communications interface arranged to communicate with a remote mobile telecommunications device according to Claim 1, and receive therefrom:
a unique identifier for association of the mobile device with a corresponding one of the plurality of accounts; ( Collopy paragraph 0045 discloses, “A range of methods and systems can be utilized to allow a driver to be associated with a vehicle. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a device ID component 160 associated with the mobile device 105 can be employed to identify mobile device 105 and, accordingly, the owner or user of mobile device 105. In one embodiment, the device ID component 160 can be a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card in a driver's cell phone and the information stored thereon can be utilized to identify the driver. A SIM card can store a variety of identification information such as an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) or an integrated circuit card ID (ICC-ID), for example. Other identifiers for other network and communication systems can be employed to identify a device, such as the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number associated with a cell phone. Alternatively, a Willcom-SIM (W-SIM) device or the like could be employed, where the SIM card effectively has its own transceiver located thereon.” and paragraph 0087 discloses, “The mobile device provides identification information to the on-board monitoring system to be processed by the on-board monitoring system or forwarded an insurance provider system to enable identification of the driver.”) and
driving information to be logged to that corresponding account. (Collopy paragraph 0037 discloses, “The database 160 which can be employed to store any information gathered or generated by the various components of system 100. Such information can include data gathered by the on-board monitoring system 125, information provided by operator 110, information retrieved from the mobile device 105 or information associated therewith, information collected or generated by the various components of the insurance provider system 135, information provided by third party systems and/or users (not shown), and the like. The database 160 can be incorporated into the insurance provider system 135, or reside in a third party system (not shown). It is to be appreciated that a wealth of data and information can be generated by the various components of system 100, and database/memory components (not shown) can be distributed as required across the system 100 to facilitate collection, transmission, generation, evaluation, and determination of a variety of data to facilitate operation of the system.”)
As per claim 17, A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions comprising a software application stored thereon, wherein the instructions are configured to be executed on a processor of a mobile telecommunications device to enable the mobile telecommunications device to log driving information associated with a driver of a vehicle, the mobile telecommunications device including a sensor set comprising at least one of an image sensor, an audio sensor, an accelerometer and a positioning module, or a combination thereof;
a processor; (Collopy paragraph 0042 discloses, “Also, it is understood that while not shown, the on-board monitoring system 125 can include any equipment required to facilitate communication of data, where the equipment can include processor(s), memory, communication components and associated applications and protocols, etc., as necessary.” And paragraph 0104 discloses, “Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the inventive methods can be practiced with other computer system configurations, including single-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associated devices.”) and
a memory; the mobile telecommunications device being configured to:
determine, based at least in part on sensor data from the device's sensor set, a start of a driving period during which the mobile device is present in the vehicle and the vehicle is in use, (Collopy paragraph 0061 discloses, “During start up of the on-board monitoring system 125, which can include associating the mobile device 105 with the on-board monitoring system 125, various methods can be employed to identify and authenticate the user associated with mobile device 105.” And paragraph 0062 discloses, “The respective account information can be stored in the database 350 and retrieved during the initialization of the on-board monitoring system 125, such as when the mobile device 105 is being communicatively associated with the on-board monitoring system 125.”)
process the sensor data from the sensor set during the driving period to derive driving information associated with how the vehicle is driven, the processing step processing the sensor data automatically, using a neural network provided in the mobile device, to determine whether the driving information represents an acceptable or unacceptable driving pattern; (Collopy paragraph 0038 discloses, “ By employing such real-time/near real-time gathering, analysis, and rate determination, an insurance premium can be generated that reflects the driver's driving habits more closely than a traditional method such as determining a rate based upon a number of speeding tickets received by a driver in a given time period.” and paragraph 0082 discloses, “Other directed and undirected model classification approaches include, e.g., naive Bayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, neural networks, fuzzy logic models, and probabilistic classification models providing different patterns of independence can be employed. Classification as used herein also is inclusive of statistical regression that is utilized to develop models of priority.”) and
store at least some of the driving information to the memory. (Collopy paragraph 0036 discloses, “Such components can include the on-board monitoring system 125, mobile device 105, the device ID 106, and/or the vehicle operator 110 with the obtained data being forwarded to the driving analysis component 150 and/or the dynamic rate determination component 155. Data can also be obtained from a database 160 which stores information pertaining to the vehicle operator 110, e.g., previous driving history, along with other data as required. Furthermore, the aggregation component 148 can obtain information as required from the insurance provider as well as any third party entities such as other insurance companies, parents of the vehicle operator, and the like. The aggregation component 148 gathers information from as many sources as required to facilitate generation and presentation of insurance rate(s). Data gathered by the aggregation component 148 can also be forwarded from the insurance provider system 135 to the mobile device 105, on-board monitoring system 125, and any other components associated with system 100 to facilitate presentation of any pertinent data, e.g., insurance rates, to an operator 110 or other interested party.” And paragraph 0035 discloses, “The insurance provider 135 employs various analytical methods (by utilizing driving analysis component 150) to facilitate determination of an appropriate insurance rate and any other pertinent information concerning the driving habits of the driver.”)
As per claim 18, A method of using a mobile telecommunications device configured to log driving information associated with a vehicle, the mobile telecommunications device comprising: (Collopy paragraph 0034 discloses, “Traditional methods of determining an insurance rate for a driver involves reviewing the driver's driving history (e.g., traffic violations in a particular period, age, location, and the like), the vehicle to be driven, location of the vehicle, etc., and generating an insurance rate based thereon.”)
a sensor set comprising at least one of an image sensor, an audio sensor, an accelerometer and a positioning module, or a combination thereof, a processor including a neural network; (Collopy paragraph 0042 discloses, “Also, it is understood that while not shown, the on-board monitoring system 125 can include any equipment required to facilitate communication of data, where the equipment can include processor(s), memory, communication components and associated applications and protocols, etc., as necessary.” And paragraph 0104 discloses, “Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the inventive methods can be practiced with other computer system configurations, including single-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associated devices.”) and
a memory; (Collopy paragraph 0042 discloses, “Also, it is understood that while not shown, the on-board monitoring system 125 can include any equipment required to facilitate communication of data, where the equipment can include processor(s), memory, communication components and associated applications and protocols, etc., as necessary.”)
the method comprising the steps of:
determining, based at least in part on sensor data from the device's sensor set, a start of a driving period during which the mobile device is present in the vehicle and the vehicle is in use, (Collopy paragraph 0061 discloses, “During start up of the on-board monitoring system 125, which can include associating the mobile device 105 with the on-board monitoring system 125, various methods can be employed to identify and authenticate the user associated with mobile device 105.” And paragraph 0062 discloses, “The respective account information can be stored in the database 350 and retrieved during the initialization of the on-board monitoring system 125, such as when the mobile device 105 is being communicatively associated with the on-board monitoring system 125.”)
processing the sensor data from the sensor set during the driving period to derive driving information associated with how the vehicle is driven, the processing step processing the sensor data automatically, using the neural network provided in the mobile device, to determine whether the driving information represents an acceptable or unacceptable driving pattern; (Collopy paragraph 0038 discloses, “ By employing such real-time/near real-time gathering, analysis, and rate determination, an insurance premium can be generated that reflects the driver's driving habits more closely than a traditional method such as determining a rate based upon a number of speeding tickets received by a driver in a given time period.” and paragraph 0082 discloses, “Other directed and undirected model classification approaches include, e.g., naive Bayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, neural networks, fuzzy logic models, and probabilistic classification models providing different patterns of independence can be employed. Classification as used herein also is inclusive of statistical regression that is utilized to develop models of priority.”) and
storing at least some of the driving information to the memory. (Collopy paragraph 0036 discloses, “Such components can include the on-board monitoring system 125, mobile device 105, the device ID 106, and/or the vehicle operator 110 with the obtained data being forwarded to the driving analysis component 150 and/or the dynamic rate determination component 155. Data can also be obtained from a database 160 which stores information pertaining to the vehicle operator 110, e.g., previous driving history, along with other data as required. Furthermore, the aggregation component 148 can obtain information as required from the insurance provider as well as any third party entities such as other insurance companies, parents of the vehicle operator, and the like. The aggregation component 148 gathers information from as many sources as required to facilitate generation and presentation of insurance rate(s). Data gathered by the aggregation component 148 can also be forwarded from the insurance provider system 135 to the mobile device 105, on-board monitoring system 125, and any other components associated with system 100 to facilitate presentation of any pertinent data, e.g., insurance rates, to an operator 110 or other interested party.” And paragraph 0035 discloses, “The insurance provider 135 employs various analytical methods (by utilizing driving analysis component 150) to facilitate determination of an appropriate insurance rate and any other pertinent information concerning the driving habits of the driver.”)
Conclusion
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/TYLER D PAIGE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3664