DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed on 5/7/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-20 remain pending in the application.
Terminal Disclaimer
The terminal disclaimer filed on 5/7/2026 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of U.S. Patent No. 12056827 has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded.
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 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 1-2, 4, 6, 8-9, 11, 14-15, 17 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Murphy U.S. Patent Application 20200404612 in view of Akpinar U.S. Patent Application 20200359216, and further in view of Duckworth U.S. Patent 10380440.
Regarding claim 8, Murphy discloses a computing apparatus for locating a personal mobility system using an augmented reality device, the computing apparatus comprising:
one or more computer processors (physical processor); and
one or more memories (memory) storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more computer processors, configure the computing apparatus to perform operations (paragraph [0168]: a physical processor may execute computer-readable instructions included in one or more of the applications and/or modules stored in the above-described memory devices; paragraph [0043]: The requestor computing device may use the bearing information to provide a user interface on a display device of the requestor computing device that may navigate (direct) the requestor to the exact location of the personal mobility vehicle) comprising:
receiving positional data corresponding to locations of a plurality of personal mobility systems; determining relative positions between the augmented reality device and the locations of the plurality of personal mobility systems (paragraph [0178]: FIG. 28, at step 2806... receive, by the requestor computing device via the wireless connection, bearing information that indicates a bearing of the vehicle computing device relative to the requestor computing device, wherein the bearing information is based on an angle of arrival of the one or more wireless signals received by the antenna; paragraph [0043]: the determined distance between the personal mobility vehicle computing device and the requestor computing device may be displayed in the user interface providing the requestor with additional location information for the personal mobility vehicle; paragraph [0045]: The provider application may assist the user in finding the personal mobility vehicle 104c by providing directions to the personal mobility vehicles 104a-c); and
based on the plurality of personal mobility systems being within a threshold distance of the augmented reality device, causing a display of an augmented reality effect by the augmented reality device for each of the plurality of personal mobility systems based on the relative position between the augmented reality device and the location of the each personal mobility system, wherein each augmented reality effect comprises a graphical representation that is displayed by the augmented reality device in a direction to the location of each of the plurality of the personal mobility system (paragraph [0043]: the determined distance between the personal mobility vehicle computing device and the requestor computing device may be displayed in the user interface providing the requestor with additional location information for the personal mobility vehicle. For example, an augmented-reality display may be used to show the location of the personal mobility vehicle as the requestor travels towards the personal mobility vehicle, paragraph [0202]: use the location data to identify providers who are geographically close to the requestor (e.g., within a certain threshold distance or travel time) and/or who are otherwise a good match with the requestor; paragraph [0045]: The provider application may assist the user in finding the personal mobility vehicle 104c by providing directions to the personal mobility vehicles 104a-c), and
wherein a color of the graphical representation for each of the plurality of personal mobility systems varies (paragraph [0052]: The personal mobility vehicle indicator 404a may be highlighted (e.g., displayed in a different color, circled, bolded) or displayed in such a way that indicates the reserving of the personal mobility vehicle 104a by the requestor 102; paragraph [0043]: an augmented-reality display may be used to show the location of the personal mobility vehicle as the requestor travels towards the personal mobility vehicle; paragraph [0045]: The provider application may assist the user in finding the personal mobility vehicle 104c by providing directions to the personal mobility vehicles 104a-c; see fig. 4).
Murphy discloses all the features with respect to claim 8 as outlined above. However, Murphy fails to disclose a color of the graphical representation for each of the plurality of personal mobility systems varies with a distance between the augmented reality device and the corresponding personal mobility system explicitly.
Akpinar discloses a color of the graphical representation for each of the plurality of personal mobility systems varies with a distance between the augmented reality device and the corresponding personal mobility system (paragraph [0139]: the size/shape/color of the second augmented reality virtual graphic 1904 may be modified to direct the passenger toward the vehicle 1906 when the second computing device 104 of the driver and/or the vehicle 1906 are proximate (e.g., within a certain distance based on location data of the first computing device 102, the second computing device 104, and/or the vehicle 1906) to the first computing device 102; paragraph [0137]: The passenger may be pointing the camera of the computing device 102 at vehicles 1906, 1910, and 1912; paragraph [0144]: when the passenger is walking toward the wrong vehicle 1912, a third augmented reality virtual graphic 2010 may be overlaid on the wrong vehicle 1912 in the streaming image frames to indicate that the passenger is approaching the wrong vehicle. The third augmented reality virtual graphic 2010 may be any suitable indicator capable of providing an indication a wrong target (e.g., vehicle); see fig. 19 and 20).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Murphy’s to change object display color if within distance as taught by Akpinar, to provide verification feature and inform passenger the right vehicle.
Murphy as modified by Akpinar discloses all the features with respect to claim 8 as outlined above. However, Murphy as modified by Akpinar fails to disclose a color of the graphical representation for personal mobility systems varies with a distance explicitly.
Duckworth discloses a color of the graphical representation for personal mobility systems varies with a distance (col. 4 line 21-31: If the user moves closer to or away from the object, the visual display of the user interface can change to notify the user that the distance between the smart device and the object has changed... a change of color, size, pulse, or animation of the reticle can be implemented to indicate a change in the distance).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Murphy and Akpinar’s to change color based on distance as taught by Duckworth, to enhance current perception of distance.
Regarding claim 9, Murphy as modified by Akpinar and Duckworth discloses the computing apparatus of claim 8, wherein each augmented reality effect is selectable by a user of the augmented reality device to provide reservation of the corresponding personal mobility system or navigation to the corresponding personal mobility system (Murphy’s paragraph [0076]: the modules 802 may be used by a requestor computing device (e.g., the requestor computing device 108) to help navigate a requestor (e.g., the requestor 102) to a reserved personal mobility vehicle (e.g., the personal mobility vehicle 104a); paragraph [0052]: The personal mobility vehicle indicator 404a may be highlighted (e.g., displayed in a different color, circled, bolded) or displayed in such a way that indicates the reserving of the personal mobility vehicle 104a by the requestor 102; Akpinar’s paragraph [0137]: The passenger may be pointing the camera of the computing device 102 at vehicles 1906, 1910, and 1912; paragraph [0144]: when the passenger is walking toward the wrong vehicle 1912, a third augmented reality virtual graphic 2010 may be overlaid on the wrong vehicle 1912 in the streaming image frames to indicate that the passenger is approaching the wrong vehicle. The third augmented reality virtual graphic 2010 may be any suitable indicator capable of providing an indication a wrong target (e.g., vehicle); see fig. 19 and 20).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Murphy’s to change object display color if within distance as taught by Akpinar, to provide verification feature and inform passenger the right vehicle; and combine Murphy and Akpinar’s to change color based on distance as taught by Duckworth, to enhance current perception of distance.
Regarding claim 11, Murphy as modified by Akpinar and Duckworth discloses the computing apparatus of claim 8, wherein potentially-available personal mobility systems are identified using a short-range radio-frequency transmission (Murphy’s paragraph [0072]: The array of antennas may be electronically scanned to create a beam of radio waves that may be steered to point in different directions without the need to physically move each antenna in the array... When the requestor computing device 108 is within a short-range communication range of the personal mobility vehicle computing device 701, angle of arrival calculations of the requestor computing device 108 to the personal mobility vehicle computing device 708 may be possible because using the antenna(s) 710 supports such calculations; Akpinar’s paragraph [0139]: the size/shape/color of the second augmented reality virtual graphic 1904 may be modified to direct the passenger toward the vehicle 1906 when the second computing device 104 of the driver and/or the vehicle 1906 are proximate (e.g., within a certain distance based on location data of the first computing device 102, the second computing device 104, and/or the vehicle 1906) to the first computing device 102).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Murphy’s to change object display color if within distance as taught by Akpinar, to provide verification feature and inform passenger the right vehicle; and combine Murphy and Akpinar’s to change color based on distance as taught by Duckworth, to enhance current perception of distance.
Claim 1 recites the functions of the apparatus recited in claim 8 as method steps. Accordingly, the mapping of the prior art to the corresponding functions of the apparatus in claim 8 applies to the method steps of claim 1.
Claim 2 recites the functions of the apparatus recited in claim 9 as method steps. Accordingly, the mapping of the prior art to the corresponding functions of the apparatus in claim 9 applies to the method steps of claim 2.
Claim 4 recites the functions of the apparatus recited in claim 11 as method steps. Accordingly, the mapping of the prior art to the corresponding functions of the apparatus in claim 11 applies to the method steps of claim 4.
Regarding claim 6, Murphy as modified by Akpinar and Duckworth discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving user input selecting the graphical representation of a particular personal mobility system (Murphy’s paragraph [0050]: a requestor (e.g., the requestor 102) may select a nearby button 424. On selection, the provider application may determine one or more personal mobility vehicles available for use by a requestor that are nearby (proximate to) a current location of the requestor... the requestor 102 may select one of the available personal mobility vehicles to be matched with in order to satisfy the request);
in response to receiving user input selecting the graphical representation of the particular personal mobility system, transmitting a request to reserve the particular personal mobility system (Murphy’s paragraph [0039]: use short-range communications and/or angle of arrival calculations of the mobile computing device of the requester (the requestor computing device) to the personal mobility vehicle computing device using antennas included in the personal mobility vehicle computing device that can support such calculations to help a requestor pinpoint a location of the personal mobility vehicle reserved by the requestor when the requestor is within a range of the short-range communication protocol; paragraph [0092]: each antenna element in the array of antennas may include a transmitter/receiver unit controlled by the antenna control module 926. Each antenna element may continually transmit and receive signals);
receiving a confirmation of reservation of the particular personal mobility system; and changing the color of the graphical representation to reflect the reservation of the particular personal mobility system (Murphy’s paragraph [0045]: the provider application may match the requestor 102 with personal mobility vehicle 104c… providing a visual and/or audio indication of which of the personal mobility vehicles 104a-c the requestor 102 has reserved; paragraph [0052]: The personal mobility vehicle indicator 404a may be highlighted (e.g., displayed in a different color, circled, bolded) or displayed in such a way that indicates the reserving of the personal mobility vehicle 104a by the requestor 102).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Murphy’s to change object display color if within distance as taught by Akpinar, to provide verification feature and inform passenger the right vehicle; and combine Murphy and Akpinar’s to change color based on distance as taught by Duckworth, to enhance current perception of distance.
Claim 14 recites the functions of the apparatus recited in claim 8 as medium steps. Accordingly, the mapping of the prior art to the corresponding functions of the apparatus in claim 8 applies to the medium steps of claim 14.
Claim 15 recites the functions of the apparatus recited in claim 9 as medium steps. Accordingly, the mapping of the prior art to the corresponding functions of the apparatus in claim 9 applies to the medium steps of claim 15.
Claim 17 recites the functions of the apparatus recited in claim 11 as medium steps. Accordingly, the mapping of the prior art to the corresponding functions of the apparatus in claim 11 applies to the medium steps of claim 17.
Claim 19 recites the functions of the method recited in claim 6 as medium steps. Accordingly, the mapping of the prior art to the corresponding functions of the method in claim 6 applies to the medium steps of claim 19.
Claim 3, 10 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Murphy U.S. Patent Application 20200404612 in view of Akpinar U.S. Patent Application 20200359216, in view of Duckworth U.S. Patent 10380440, and further in view of Asbun U.S. Patent Application 20190191203.
Regarding claim 10, Murphy as modified by Akpinar and Duckworth discloses all the features with respect to claim 8 as outlined above. However, Murphy as modified by Akpinar and Duckworth fails to disclose the augmented reality effect provides a directional cue if a direction to the location of a particular personal mobility system is outside a field of view of the augmented reality device.
Asbun discloses the augmented reality effect provides a directional cue if a direction to the location of the particular personal mobility system is outside a field of view of the augmented reality device (paragraph [0122]: the user may be alerted in some way (e.g. a sound may be played or a graphical hint may be displayed to alert the user that new content has appeared, or a directional indicator may be displayed to point the user towards the out-of-view secondary content)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Murphy, Akpinar and Duckworth’s to provide directional indicator for out-of-view object as taught by Asbun, to help user locating and tracking vehicle.
Claim 3 recites the functions of the apparatus recited in claim 10 as method steps. Accordingly, the mapping of the prior art to the corresponding functions of the apparatus in claim 10 applies to the method steps of claim 3.
Claim 16 recites the functions of the apparatus recited in claim 3 as medium steps. Accordingly, the mapping of the prior art to the corresponding functions of the apparatus in claim 3 applies to the medium steps of claim 16.
Claim 5, 7, 12-13, 18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Murphy U.S. Patent Application 20200404612 in view of Akpinar U.S. Patent Application 20200359216, in view of Duckworth U.S. Patent 10380440, and further in view of Hochmuth U.S. Patent Application 20140222809.
Regarding claim 12, Murphy as modified by Akpinar and Duckworth discloses personal mobility systems (Murphy’s paragraph [0050]: a requestor (e.g., the requestor 102) may select a nearby button 424. On selection, the provider application may determine one or more personal mobility vehicles available for use by a requestor that are nearby (proximate to) a current location of the requestor... the requestor 102 may select one of the available personal mobility vehicles to be matched with in order to satisfy the request). However, Murphy as modified by Akpinar and Duckworth fails to disclose receiving data indicating that certain objects of the potentially-available objects are not available; and eliminating the certain objects from the potentially-available objects for display purposes.
Hochmuth discloses receiving data indicating that certain objects of the potentially-available objects are not available; and eliminating the certain objects from the potentially-available objects for display purposes (paragraph [0048]: the selected items become available for display on a photo map and can be viewed by other users, and the location information associated with unselected items is removed and the unselected items are unavailable for display on the photo map and cannot be viewed by other users).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Murphy, Akpinar and Duckworth’s to remove unselected items as taught by Hochmuth, to help user identify essential items.
Regarding claim 13, Murphy as modified by Akpinar, Duckworth and Hochmuth discloses computing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:
receiving data indicating that certain personal mobility systems of nearby potentially-available personal mobility systems are not available; eliminating the certain personal mobility systems from the nearby potentially-available personal mobility systems for display purposes (Hochmuth’s paragraph [0048]: the selected items become available for display on a photo map and can be viewed by other users, and the location information associated with unselected items is removed and the unselected items are unavailable for display on the photo map and cannot be viewed by other users); and
causing display of graphical representations of remaining potentially-available scooters by the augmented reality device (Murphy’s paragraph [0040]: The user interface of the requestor computing device may display a map based on GPS coordinates to help the requestor navigate from a location of the requestor to a location of the reserved personal mobility vehicle; paragraph [0144]: A requestor 2502 may request transportation using a personal mobility vehicle such as a scooter 2510 or a bicycle 2512).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Murphy, Akpinar and Duckworth’s to remove unselected items as taught by Hochmuth, to help user identify essential items.
Claim 5 recites the functions of the apparatus recited in claim 12 as method steps. Accordingly, the mapping of the prior art to the corresponding functions of the apparatus in claim 12 applies to the method steps of claim 5.
Claim 7 recites the functions of the apparatus recited in claim 13 as method steps. Accordingly, the mapping of the prior art to the corresponding functions of the apparatus in claim 13 applies to the method steps of claim 7.
Claim 18 recites the functions of the apparatus recited in claim 12 as medium steps. Accordingly, the mapping of the prior art to the corresponding functions of the apparatus in claim 12 applies to the medium steps of claim 18.
Claim 20 recites the functions of the apparatus recited in claim 13 as medium steps. Accordingly, the mapping of the prior art to the corresponding functions of the apparatus in claim 13 applies to the medium steps of claim 20.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/7/2026, page 8 - 10, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 8 and 14 under 103, have been fully considered and are moot upon a new ground(s) of rejection made under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Murphy U.S. Patent Application 20200404612 in view of Akpinar U.S. Patent Application 20200359216, and further in view of Duckworth U.S. Patent 10380440, as outlined above.
Applicant argues on page 8-9 that "Murphy does not disclose causing an AR effect for each of a plurality of vehicles simultaneously, with individualized directional and color properties per vehicle. Furthermore, Murphy displays vehicle locations on a 2D map (Murphy [0040], [0050], FIGs. 4-6, 10, 12, 15, 18, 21). A 2D map showing GPS-derived locations is not an augmented reality effect… Murphy also does not disclose a threshold distance trigger for displaying AR effects for a plurality of systems."
In reply, the rejection is based on Murphy, Akpinar and Duckworth combined. Murphy’s paragraph [0043]: an augmented-reality display may be used to show the location of the personal mobility vehicle as the requestor travels towards the personal mobility vehicle; paragraph [0045]: The provider application may assist the user in finding the personal mobility vehicle 104c by providing directions to the personal mobility vehicles 104a-c (plurality of vehicles); paragraph [0052]: The personal mobility vehicle indicator 404a may be highlighted (e.g., displayed in a different color, circled, bolded) or displayed in such a way that indicates the reserving of the personal mobility vehicle 104a by the requestor 102.
The claim limitation doesn’t say “simultaneously”, “individualized directional and color properties per vehicle” and “trigger”, the argument is much narrower than claimed limitation.
Applicant argues on page 10 that "Akpinar's color change is a binary proximity indicator, not a distance- proportional tool to assist selection from a plurality of reasonably proximate personal mobility systems at varying distances."
In reply, the rejection is based on Murphy, Akpinar and Duckworth combined. Duckworth discloses a color of the graphical representation for personal mobility systems varies with a distance (col. 4 line 21-31: If the user moves closer to or away from the object, the visual display of the user interface can change to notify the user that the distance between the smart device and the object has changed... a change of color, size, pulse, or animation of the reticle can be implemented to indicate a change in the distance).
Again, this argument is also narrower than claimed limitation. “assist selection from a plurality of reasonably proximate personal mobility systems at varying distances” is not disclosed in the claims.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Yi Yang whose telephone number is (571)272-9589. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9:00 AM-6:00 PM EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Daniel Hajnik can be reached on 571-272-7642. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YI YANG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2616
Prosecution Insights