DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2021/0201584 to Ha et al. (“Ha”) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0179313 to Orton et al. (“Orton”).
As to claim 1, Ha discloses a method of providing a digital twin service based on reality verification (Ha: fig 1-17), the method comprising:
receiving, by a first server, workplace information including a workplace location from a first application running on a mobile terminal of a first user who manages a workplace existing in the real world (Ha: fig 1-17, [0010-202]: ... monitoring a field based on augmented reality using a digital twin performed in a computing device of a manager located remotely from a physical space of a field ... outputting a field twin model of a three-dimensional virtual space matched to the physical space of the field and acquiring location of a field user for the physical space based on positioning sensor data and displaying a first virtual content representing location of a field user on the field twin model by matching location information of field user for the physical space to the three-dimensional virtual space (see with [0051] - workplace information including a workplace location from a first application running on a mobile terminal of a first user who manages a workplace existing in the real world) [0013] ... server system 500 performs process which models a virtual three-dimensional scanning of a physical space in the field and reflects information on real objects or field users in the physical space of the field on the modeled field twin model in real time ... relays augmented reality communication data exchange between devices 301 300 600 of remote manager (see with [0013] - workplace information including a workplace location from a first application running on a mobile terminal of a first user who manages a workplace existing in the real world) [0051]).
Ha did not explicitly disclose registering the workplace information newly.
Orton discloses registering the workplace information newly (Orton: fig 1-12, [0003-73]: ... a supervisor may use a fixed INT device and due to integration of mobile devices into fixed networks, a supervisor, provided with respective permission rights, monitors and instructs a non-supervising mobile device ... the supervising station requests location of mobile devices being registered with location server that includes either location and/or identity of particular mobile device (registering the workplace information newly) ... when request includes location, location server returns list of mobile devices located at or around specified location ... after having mobile device(s) and their/its location(s) identified, supervisor executes subsequent workflows [0033] ... invention is not limited to employment at an airport ... possible to implement in many other environments ... travel infrastructure, shopping infrastructure, buildings, hotels, company networks, university campuses, schools and so on [0035]).
Ha and Orton are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor with respect to mobile devices.
Before the effective filing date, for AIA , it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate the strategies by Orton into the method by Ha. The suggestion/motivation would have been to provide for superimposing a virtual representation (i.e. digital twin) of a location information regarding points of interest received from a location server so user can conveniently navigate respective points of interest (Orton: [0040]).
Ha and Orton further disclose forwarding, by the first server, the workplace information newly registered in a database to a second server that online services a metaverse obtained by digitizing the real world so that a virtual workplace for the workplace is implemented at the same location in the metaverse (Orton: fig 1-12, [0003-73]: ... mobile device sends its current location, current orientation and location of at least one fixed IT device identified by a device server to location server and location server responds with map information regarding mobile device and the fixed IT device identified and with this information, mobile device is able to display a map indicating its current location and/or location of the fixed IT device and/or location of other mobile devices at or around a particular location (see with [0033;35] - forwarding, by the first server, the workplace information newly registered in a database to a second server that online services a metaverse obtained by digitizing the real world so that a virtual workplace for the workplace is implemented at the same location in the metaverse) [0037] ... value is added by enhancing representation of information at mobile device ... also referred to as augmented reality ... allows overlaying a virtual layer of information over a picture generated by the mobile device’s camera [0036] ... superimposes a virtual representation of the location information regarding points of interest received from location server (see with [0033;35;37] - forwarding, by the first server, the workplace information newly registered in a database to a second server that online services a metaverse obtained by digitizing the real world so that a virtual workplace for the workplace is implemented at the same location in the metaverse) [0040]).
Same motivation applies as mentioned above to make the proposed modification.
As to claim 2, see similar rejection to claim 1 where the method is taught by the method.
As to claim 2, Ha and Orton further disclose a wherein the workplace information is newly registered only when a location of the mobile terminal of the first user and the workplace location match (Orton: fig 1-12, [0003-73]: ... a supervisor may use a fixed INT device and due to integration of mobile devices into fixed networks, a supervisor, provided with respective permission rights, monitors and instructs a non-supervising mobile device ... the supervising station requests location of mobile devices being registered with location server that includes either location and/or identity of particular mobile device (the workplace information is newly registered only when a location of the mobile terminal of the first user and the workplace location match) ... when request includes location (when a location of the mobile terminal of the first user and the workplace location match ...), location server returns list of mobile devices located at or around specified location ... after having mobile device(s) and their/its location(s) identified, supervisor executes subsequent workflows (the workplace information is newly registered only when a location of the mobile terminal of the first user and the workplace location match) [0033] ... invention is not limited to employment at an airport ... possible to implement in many other environments ... travel infrastructure, shopping infrastructure, buildings, hotels, company networks, university campuses, schools and so on [0035])).
For motivation, see rejection of claim 1.
Claims 3-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2021/0201584 to Ha et al. (“Ha”) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0179313 to Orton et al. (“Orton”) and further in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0173745 to Rjeili et al. (“Rjeili”).
As to claim 3, see similar rejection to claims 1-2.
As to claim 3, Ha and Orton further disclose issuing, by the first server, a workplace code including location data of the workplace to the first user of the workplace newly registered so that the workplace code is provided in the workplace (Orton: fig 1-12, [0003-73]: ... location tracking by location server ... mobile device registering with identification and its current location ... [0032] ... other option is to register fixed IT device using mobile device ... fixed IT device identified ... by electronically reading it e.g. using 2D bar code ... uses location functionality of his/her mobile device to acquire her/his current location ... then sends the fixed IT device ID, location and other data ... thereby registers [0056] ... location server maintains location inventory of mobile devices roaming through the area after activation, boot or login and mobile device registers itself at location server and with this registration message, user and/or device ID and initial current location of mobile device transmitted (issuing, by the first server, a workplace code including location data of the workplace to the first user of the workplace newly registered so that the workplace code is provided in the workplace) [0058]);
obtaining, by the first application, the workplace code provided in the workplace (Orton: fig 1-12, [0003-73]: ... location server may compute position of roaming agents with mobile devices and displays them on a map (obtaining, by the first application) as it keeps position information of agents on the move such as agent ID, role, mobile device ID, current zone, 3D spatial coordinates etc (workplace code provided in the workplace) [0052]);
transmitting, by the first application, business status information of the workplace to the first server when a location of the mobile terminal of the first user and the location data included in the obtained workplace code match (Ha: fig 1-17, [0010-202]: ... ... monitoring a field situation (transmitting, by the first application, business status information of the workplace to the first server) and work status of a worker through a digital twin (when a location of the mobile terminal of the first user and the location data included in the obtained workplace code match) from various viewpoints by a remote manager ...enabling remote manager monitoring field situation and a work status by a digital twin to perform efficient work instruction or work guide in an augmented reality environment to a field worker (transmitting, by the first application, business status information of the workplace to the first server when a location of the mobile terminal of the first user and the location data included in the obtained workplace code match) [0010-11]).
For motivation, see rejection of claim 1.
Ha did not explicitly disclose forwarding, by the first server, the business status information received from the first application to the second server so that a business status of an offline workplace is recognized through the virtual workplace in the metaverse place (emphasis added).
Rjeili discloses forwarding, by the first server, the business status information received from the first application to the second server so that a business status of an offline workplace is recognized through the virtual workplace in the metaverse place (emphasis added) (Rjeili: fig 1-15, [0003-107]: ... mobile device may receive mobile workspace context associated with a location, device or individual, for example, from enterprise server ... mobile device may be configured based on received mobile workspace context (virtual workplace in the metaverse place) (business status of an online/offline workplace is recognized through the virtual workplace in the metaverse place) [0005] ... different authentication methods may be used if a user is online or offline i.e. connected or not connected to a network (see with [0005] - business status of an online/offline workplace is recognized through the virtual workplace in the metaverse place) [0074] ... an offline password may be implemented for offline authentication for those applications 410 for which offline use is permitted ... gateway server 406 may provide policies to control and enforce password standards (see with [0005;74] - forwarding, by the first server, the business status information received from the first application to the second server so that a business status of an offline workplace is recognized through the virtual workplace in the metaverse place) [0083] ... an inactivity timeout may be implemented after a policy-defined period of inactivity and user session terminated [0080] ... computing devices of all types including mobile devices are used widely in consumer world and business world ... many users frequently change both their physical location and work context, for example, between home, workplace office, conference room, offsite work location, commuting environment and other locations and when changing physical locations and/or work contexts, users may switch between different devices, applications, security zones and networks to perform different personal and work-related tasks [0003]).
Ha, Orton and Rjeili are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor with respect to mobile devices.
Before the effective filing date, for AIA , it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate the strategies by Rjeili into the method by Ha and Orton. The suggestion/motivation would have been to provide for use of mobile devices used widely in consumer world and business world ... many users frequently change both their physical location and work context, for example, between home, workplace office, conference room, offsite work location, commuting environment and other locations and when changing physical locations and/or work contexts, users may switch between different devices, applications, security zones and networks to perform different personal and work-related tasks (Rjeili: [0003]).
As to claim 4, see similar rejection to claims 1-3.
As to claim 4, Ha, Orton and Rjeili further disclose making, by the first server when the business status information is not received from the first application for a predetermined period of time, a report to the second server so that the virtual workplace does not operate in the metaverse (Rjeili: fig 1-15, [0003-107]: ... mobile device may receive mobile workspace context associated with a location, device or individual, for example, from enterprise server ... mobile device may be configured based on received mobile workspace context (virtual workplace in the metaverse place) [0005] ... different authentication methods may be used if a user is online or offline i.e. connected or not connected to a network [0074] ... an offline password may be implemented for offline authentication for those applications 410 for which offline use is permitted ... gateway server 406 may provide policies to control and enforce password standards [0083] ... an inactivity timeout may be implemented after a policy-defined period of inactivity and user session terminated (see with [0005] - making, by the first server when the business status information is not received from the first application for a predetermined period of time, a report to the second server so that the virtual workplace does not operate in the metaverse) [0080] ... computing devices of all types including mobile devices are used widely in consumer world and business world ... many users frequently change both their physical location and work context, for example, between home, workplace office, conference room, offsite work location, commuting environment and other locations and when changing physical locations and/or work contexts, users may switch between different devices, applications, security zones and networks to perform different personal and work-related tasks [0003]).
For motivation, see rejection of claim 3.
As to claim 5, see similar rejection to claims 1-4.
As to claim 5, Ha, Orton and Rjeili further disclose wherein the workplace code is a barcode or a quick-response (QR code) (Orton: fig 1-12, [0003-73]: 2D bar code (QR code) [0056]; Rjeili: fig 1-15, [0003-107]:tag, bar code (such as QR code), identification number or the like [0150]).
For motivation, see rejection of claim 3.
As to claim 6, see similar rejection to claims 1-5 where the method is taught by the method.
As to claim 6, Ha, Orton and Rjeili further disclose obtaining, by a second application running on a mobile terminal of a second user who has visited the workplace, the workplace code provided in the workplace (Rjeili: fig 1-15, [0003-107]: ... for example, a user e.g. company employee or visitor may use camera on their mobile device 302 402 to take a picture of an employee’s badge (workplace code provided in the workplace)... for example, a fellow meeting participant or someone the user has encountered on the company premises or scanner to scan employee’s badge (obtaining, by a second application running on a mobile terminal of a second user who has visited the workplace, the workplace code provided in the workplace) [0150]);
granting, by the second application, an evaluation right for the workplace to the second user when a location of the mobile terminal of the second user and the location data of the obtained workplace code match (Rjeili: fig 1-15, [0003-107]: ... the input received in step 1301 need not correspond to an individual, but may represent a location or object having some features or capabilities in an enterprise system, for example, user may scan a room tag such as NFC tag, bar code or other tag located at a company conference room, office or other location within company premises (granting, by the second application, an evaluation right for the workplace to the second user when a location of the mobile terminal of the second user and the location data of the obtained workplace code match) [0151] ... for example, if the input data received represents a conference room, various enterprise resources 304 and services 309 may be used to access room meeting and vacancy schedule, as well as features and capabilities e.g. seating size, projectors, presentation equipment, etc (granting, by the second application, an evaluation right for the workplace to the second user when a location of the mobile terminal of the second user and the location data of the obtained workplace code match) [0154] ... an augmented reality (AR) user experience may be presented by combining a reality view with public and/or private information associated with an entity or object for which user input was received and enterprise data was retrieved ... used to overlay, in real-time, a real-world environment (granting, by the second application, an evaluation right for the workplace to the second user when a location of the mobile terminal of the second user and the location data of the obtained workplace code match) [0156] ... different sets of features/ capabilities for an object or entity may be presented to a mobile device user depending on a level of access determined for the mobile device ... access maintained by the enterprise system for individuals e.g. company employees, visitors etc and objects e.g. conference rooms, etc associated with the company or enterprise system (granting, by the second application, an evaluation right for the workplace to the second user when a location of the mobile terminal of the second user and the location data of the obtained workplace code match) [0157]);
uploading, by the second application, workplace evaluation information input from the second user to which the evaluation right is granted, to the first server; and forwarding, by the first server, the uploaded workplace evaluation information to the second server so that the workplace evaluation information is provided to visitors to the virtual workplace in the metaverse (Rjeili: fig 1-15, [0003-107]: ... different sets of features/ capabilities for an object or entity may be presented to a mobile device user depending on a level of access determined for the mobile device ... access maintained by the enterprise system for individuals e.g. company employees, visitors etc and objects e.g. conference rooms, etc associated with the company or enterprise system (see with [0156] - uploading, by the 1st 2nd ... n application(s), workplace evaluation information input from the 1st 2nd ... n user(s) to which the evaluation right is granted, to the 1st 2nd ... n server(s); and forwarding, by the 1st 2nd ... n server(s), the uploaded workplace evaluation information to the 1st 2nd ... n server(s) so that the workplace evaluation information is provided to visitors to the virtual workplace in the metaverse) [0157] ... ... an augmented reality (AR) user experience may be presented by combining a reality view with public and/or private information associated with an entity or object for which user input was received and enterprise data was retrieved ... used to overlay, in real-time, a real-world environment (see with [0157] - uploading, by the 1st 2nd ... n application(s), workplace evaluation information input from the 1st 2nd ... n user(s) to which the evaluation right is granted, to the 1st 2nd ... n server(s); and forwarding, by the 1st 2nd ... n server(s), the uploaded workplace evaluation information to the 1st 2nd ... n server(s) so that the workplace evaluation information is provided to visitors to the virtual workplace in the metaverse) [0156]).
For motivation, see rejection of claim 3.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2021/0201584 to Ha et al. (“Ha”) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0179313 to Orton et al. (“Orton”), U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0173745 to Rjeili et al. (“Rjeili”) and further in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2020/0090206 to Park et al. (“Park”).
As to claim 7, see similar rejection to claims 1-6 where the method is taught by the method.
For motivation, see rejection of claim 3.
Ha did not explicitly disclose providing, by the first server, a reward to the second user to which the evaluation right is granted and managing the reward (emphasis added).
Park discloses providing, by the first server, a reward to the second user to which the evaluation right is granted and managing the reward (emphasis added) (Park: fig 1-7, [0005-]: ... provide online/offline server using NFC tag which pays reward means such as points or a coupon to a user who has recognized an NFC tag formed in a business site (workplace evaluation information) and guides user to a business site where a reward means optimized to a user’s consumption pattern (providing, by the first server, a reward to the second user to which the evaluation right is granted and managing the reward) [0005]).
Ha, Orton, Rjeili and Park are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor with respect to tags (such as QR codes).
Before the effective filing date, for AIA , it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate the strategies by Park into the method by Ha, Orton and Rjeili. The suggestion/motivation would have been to provide technology for paying a reward means, such as points or a coupon, to users who actually visits offline business sites by recognizing NFC tags (Park: [0001]).
Conclusion
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/JUNE SISON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2455