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 .
In response to Applicant’s claims filed on November 5, 2025, claims 1-10, 12, 15, 21-30 are now pending for examination in the application.
Terminal Disclaimer
The terminal disclaimer filed on November 5, 2025 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of U.S. Patent(s) No. 10083244 has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded.
Response to Arguments
This office action is in response to amendment filed 11/05/2025. In this action Claim(s) 1-10, 12, 15, 21-30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wohlstadter (US Pub. No. 20140279793) in view of Chen et al. (US Pub. No. 20150370810). The Chen et al. reference has been added to address the amendment of generating, by the search engine system, a search page that (i) includes one or more input controls including a respective input control for each search parameter of the set of search parameters that are identified from the one or more natural language representations that are included in the uniform resource locator, (ii) configures each of the one or more input controls to present a default value for the input control that is based on the search parameter corresponding to the input control that was identified from the one or more natural language representations that are included in the subfolder names of the uniform resource locator, and (iii) indicates one or more of the search results selected based on the set of identified search parameters.
Applicant’s arguments:
In regards to claim 1 on Pages 10, applicant argues “Applicant respectfully submits that the claims as amended are directed to improvements to search engine technology and do not recite merely mental processes. Withdrawal of the rejection is respectfully requested.,” as recited in claim 1.
Examiner’s Reply:
Natural language processing is not a technological improvement. The claims merely determine how and when to provide search results based on natural language processing. This search results from a query is a computer-implemented abstract mental process.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
There is no support for “subfolders” recited in the limitations of claims 1, 8, and 15. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 1-10, 12, 15, 21-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Claim 1-10, 12, 15, 21-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The eligibility analysis in support of these findings is provided below, in accordance with the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, hereinafter 2019 PEG.
Step 1. in accordance with Step 1 of the eligibility inquiry (as explained in MPEP 2106), it is first noted the claim method (claims 1-7, 9, 21-30), a system (claims 8, 10, 12), and a media (claim 15) are directed to one of the eligible categories of subject matter and therefore satisfies Step 1.
Step 2A. In accordance with Step 2A, prong one of the 2019 PEG, it is noted that the independent claims recite an abstract idea falling within the Mental Processes enumerated groupings of abstract ideas set forth in the 2019 PEG. Examiner is of the position that independent claims 1, 8, and 15 are directed towards the Mental Process Grouping of Abstract Ideas.
Independent claim(s) 1, 8, and 15 recites the following limitations directed towards a Mental Processes:
identifying, by the search engine system, a set of search parameters based on the uniform resource locator, wherein the set of search parameters includes the one or more respective search parameters from each of the one or more natural language representations that are included as subfolder names in the uniform resource locator (The limitation recites a mental process of observation and/or evaluation capable of being performed by the human mind by identifying parameters);
generating, by the search engine system, a search page that (i) includes one or more input controls including a respective input control for each search parameter of the set of search parameters that are identified from the one or more natural language representations that are included in the uniform resource locator, (ii) configures each of the one or more input controls to present a default value for the input control that is based on the search parameter corresponding to the input control that was identified from the one or more natural language representations that are included in the subfolder names of the uniform resource locator, and (iii) indicates one or more of the search results selected based on the set of identified search parameters (The limitation recites a mental process of observation and/or evaluation capable of being performed by the human mind by generating a page).
Step 2A. In accordance with Step 2A, prong two of the 2019 PEG, the judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because of the recitation in claim(s) 1, 8, and 15:
one or more computer processors (i.e., as a generic processor/component performing a generic computer function); and
one or more non-transitory computer-readable media (i.e., as a generic processor/component performing a generic computer function) that store instructions which, when executed by the one or more computer processors, cause the one or more computer processors to perform operations comprising:
receiving, by a search engine system, a request from a client device over a network, wherein the request includes a uniform resource locator that includes multiple subfolders, wherein one or more of the subfolders have a subfolder name that is a natural language representation of one or more respective search parameters (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to data gathering);
obtaining, by the search engine system, search results selected based on the set of identified set of search parameters that are identified based on the uniform resource locator (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to obtaining search results data); and
sending, by the search engine system, the search page to the client device over the network (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to displaying data).
Step 2B. Similar to the analysis under 2A Prong Two, the claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. Because the additional elements of the independent claims amount to insignificant extra solution activity and/or mere instructions, the additional elements do not add significantly more to the judicial exception such that the independent claims as a whole would be patent eligible.
Therefore, independent claims 1, 8, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101.
With respect to claim(s) 2 and 9:
Step 2A, prong one of the 2019 PEG:
a particular natural language representation that is the subfolder name of one of the subfolders of the uniform resource locator includes a particular value (The limitation recites a mental process of observation and/or evaluation capable of being performed by the human mind by identifying parameters);
a particular search parameter that is identified from the particular natural language representation includes the particular value (The limitation recites a mental process of observation and/or evaluation capable of being performed by the human mind by identifying parameters); and
the search page configures a particular input control for the particular search parameter to specify the particular value that was included in the particular natural language representation as the value of the particular input control (The limitation recites a mental process of observation and/or evaluation capable of being performed by the human mind by identifying parameters).
Step 2A Prong Two Analysis:
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because there are no
additional elements to provide practical application.
Step 2B Analysis:
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claim is not patent eligible.
With respect to claim(s) 3 and 10:
Step 2A, prong one of the 2019 PEG:
a particular natural language representation that is the subfolder name of one of the subfolders of the uniform resource locator includes two particular values (The limitation recites a mental process of observation and/or evaluation capable of being performed by the human mind by identifying parameters);
a particular search parameter that is identified from the particular natural language representation includes a range between the two particular values (The limitation recites a mental process of observation and/or evaluation capable of being performed by the human mind by identifying parameters); and
the search page configures a particular input control for the particular search parameter to specify the range between the two particular values that were included in the particular natural language representation as the value of the particular input control (The limitation recites a mental process of observation and/or evaluation capable of being performed by the human mind by identifying parameters).
Step 2A Prong Two Analysis:
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because there are no
additional elements to provide practical application.
Step 2B Analysis:
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claim is not patent eligible.
With respect to claim(s) 4:
Step 2A, prong one of the 2019 PEG:
wherein the one or more input controls comprise one or more dropdown menus, one or more checkboxes, or one or more text entry fields (The limitation recites a mental process of observation and/or evaluation capable of being performed by the human mind by generating a page).
Step 2A Prong Two Analysis:
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because there are no
additional elements to provide practical application.
Step 2B Analysis:
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claim is not patent eligible.
With respect to claim(s) 5 and 12:
Step 2A, prong one of the 2019 PEG:
wherein the one or more of the search results are one or more search results that are identified as a result of a search engine executing a search query that includes the set of search parameters (The limitation recites a mental process of observation and/or evaluation capable of being performed by the human mind by generating a search results).
Step 2A Prong Two Analysis:
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because there are no
additional elements to provide practical application.
Step 2B Analysis:
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claim is not patent eligible.
With respect to claim(s) 6:
Step 2A, prong one of the 2019 PEG:
wherein the natural language representations are included in separate subdirectories of the uniform resource locator (The limitation recites a mental process of observation and/or evaluation capable of being performed by the human mind by identifying a parameter).
Step 2A Prong Two Analysis:
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because there are no
additional elements to provide practical application.
Step 2B Analysis:
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claim is not patent eligible.
With respect to claim(s) 7:
Step 2A, prong one of the 2019 PEG:
Examiner is of the position the dependent claim is directed toward additional elements.
Step 2A Prong Two Analysis:
wherein the uniform resource locator was previously generated by a search engine, and wherein the one or more natural language representations were ordered according to a respective rank assigned to each natural language representation by the search engine (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to mere data gathering).
Step 2B Analysis:
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claim is not patent eligible.
With respect to claim(s) 21:
Step 2A, prong one of the 2019 PEG:
Examiner is of the position the dependent claim is directed toward additional elements.
Step 2A Prong Two Analysis:
wherein the search page configuring the one or more input controls comprises configuring the one or more input controls to a state that indicates the search parameter corresponding to the input control (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to configuring data).
Step 2B Analysis:
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claim is not patent eligible.
With respect to claim(s) 22:
Step 2A, prong one of the 2019 PEG:
the state comprises a specific selection for the drop-down list control that indicates the search parameter identified from the uniform resource locator that corresponds to the drop-down list (The limitation recites a mental process of observation and/or evaluation capable of being performed by the human mind by using computer as a tool to select from a dropdown).
Step 2A Prong Two Analysis:
wherein, for at least one of the one or more input controls: the input control is a drop-down list control (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to mere configuring data).
Step 2B Analysis:
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claim is not patent eligible.
With respect to claim(s) 23:
Step 2A, prong one of the 2019 PEG:
the state comprises a particular setting whether the checkbox control is checked that is determined based on the search parameter identified from the uniform resource locator that corresponds to the checkbox control (The limitation recites a mental process of observation and/or evaluation capable of being performed by the human mind by using computer as a tool to select from a dropdown).
Step 2A Prong Two Analysis:
wherein, for at least one of the one or more input controls: the input control is a checkbox control (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to configuring data).
Step 2B Analysis:
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claim is not patent eligible.
With respect to claim(s) 24:
Step 2A, prong one of the 2019 PEG:
the state of the input control comprises text in the text entry field that indicates the search parameter identified from the uniform resource locator that corresponds to the text entry field (The limitation recites a mental process of observation and/or evaluation capable of being performed by the human mind by using computer as a tool to select from a dropdown).
Step 2A Prong Two Analysis:
wherein, for at least one of the one or more input 24. controls: the input control is a text entry field (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to configuring data).
Step 2B Analysis:
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claim is not patent eligible.
With respect to claim(s) 25:
Step 2A, prong one of the 2019 PEG:
Examiner is of the position the dependent claim is directed toward additional elements.
Step 2A Prong Two Analysis:
wherein the search page configuring the one or more input controls comprises configuring the one or more input controls to be populated with values that specify the search parameters in the set of search parameters identified from the subfolder names of the uniform resource locator (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to configuring data).
Step 2B Analysis:
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claim is not patent eligible.
With respect to claim(s) 26:
Step 2A, prong one of the 2019 PEG:
Examiner is of the position the dependent claim is directed toward additional elements.
Step 2A Prong Two Analysis:
wherein the natural language representations that are subfolder names of the uniform resource locator that encode search parameters of a search query (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to configuring data);
wherein the search page configuring the one or more input controls causes the one or more input controls to indicate the search parameters of the search query (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to configuring data).
Step 2B Analysis:
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claim is not patent eligible.
With respect to claim(s) 27:
Step 2A, prong one of the 2019 PEG:
Examiner is of the position the dependent claim is directed toward additional elements.
Step 2A Prong Two Analysis:
wherein obtaining the search results selected based on the set of identified set of search parameters comprises: performing, the search engine system, a search by comparing records of a search index with the search parameters in the set of search parameters, wherein the records of the search index comprise keyword data derived from multiple sources over the network (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to obtaining search results).
Step 2B Analysis:
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claim is not patent eligible.
With respect to claim(s) 28:
Step 2A, prong one of the 2019 PEG:
identifying the set of search parameters comprises identifying multiple search parameter from the subfolder names (The limitation recites a mental process of observation and/or evaluation capable of being performed by the human mind by using computer as a tool to identify search parameters).
Step 2A Prong Two Analysis:
wherein: the multiple subfolders of the uniform resource locator include multiple subfolders having subfolder names that represent respective search parameters (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to mere data gathering);
the one or more input controls comprise multiple input controls, each of the multiple input controls corresponding to a different identified search parameter and being configured by the search page to display a value representing the corresponding identified search parameter (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to configuring data).
Step 2B Analysis:
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claim is not patent eligible.
With respect to claim(s) 29:
Step 2A, prong one of the 2019 PEG:
identifying, by the search engine system, a second set of search parameters corresponding to the search query (The limitation recites a mental process of observation and/or evaluation capable of being performed by the human mind by using computer as a tool to identify search parameters);
generating, by the search engine system, a second uniform resource locator that includes, as a subfolder name of the second uniform resource locator, a natural language representation of the added or altered search parameter (The limitation recites a mental process of observation and/or evaluation capable of being performed by the human mind by using computer as a tool to generate a URL).
Step 2A Prong Two Analysis:
after sending the search page, receiving, by the search engine system, a search query entered through user input to the one or more input controls, wherein the user input adds or alters a search parameter with respect to the identified set of search parameters (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to mere data gathering);
obtaining, by the search engine system, second search results selected based on the search query (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to obtaining search results); and
sending, by the search engine system, an update to the search page that includes (i) one or more of the second search results and (ii) the second uniform resource locator (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to sending an update).
Step 2B Analysis:
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claim is not patent eligible.
With respect to claim(s) 30:
Step 2A, prong one of the 2019 PEG:
Examiner is of the position the dependent claim is directed toward additional elements.
Step 2A Prong Two Analysis:
wherein the update to the search page is configured to cause a browser of the client device to (i) display the second uniform resource locator in an address bar, (ii) display the one or more of the second search results, and (ii) present the one or more input controls with values that correspond to the search parameters of the query (recites insignificant extra solution activity that amounts to displaying data).
Step 2B Analysis:
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claim is not patent eligible.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-10, 12, 15, 21-30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wohlstadter (US Pub. No. 20140279793) in view of Chen et al. (US Pub. No. 20150370810).
With respect to claim 1, Wohlstadter discloses a computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving, by a search engine system, a request from a client device over a network, wherein the request includes a uniform resource locator that includes multiple subfolders, wherein one or more of the subfolders have a subfolder name that is a natural language representation of one or more respective search parameters (Paragraph 45 discloses collect information relating to the content pages browsed by the user ("content source information"). Examples of the content source information can include the content of a webpage (e.g., analyzed using natural language processing, keyword or phrase recognition, etc.), the URL path of a webpage (e.g., if the URL contains "/politics," it is likely that the webpage is related to a policy topic), link graphs related to a webpage);
in response to receiving the request from the client device over the network:
identifying, by the search engine system, a set of search parameters based on the uniform resource locator, wherein the set of search parameters includes the one or more respective search parameters from each of the one or more natural language representations that are included as subfolder names in the uniform resource locator (Paragraph 45 discloses collect information relating to the content pages browsed by the user ("content source information"). Examples of the content source information can include the content of a webpage (e.g., analyzed using natural language processing, keyword or phrase recognition, etc.), the URL path of a webpage (e.g., if the URL contains "/politics," it is likely that the webpage is related to a policy topic), link graphs related to a webpage). Wohlstadter does not disclose generating, by the search engine system, a search page that (i) includes one or more input controls including a respective input control for each search parameter of the set of search parameters that are identified from the one or more natural language representations that are included in the uniform resource locator, (ii) configures each of the one or more input controls to present a default value for the input control that is based on the search parameter corresponding to the input control that was identified from the one or more natural language representations that are included in the subfolder names of the uniform resource locator, and (iii) indicates one or more of the search results selected based on the set of identified search parameters.
However, Chen et al. discloses obtaining, by the search engine system, search results selected based on the set of identified set of search parameters that are identified based on the uniform resource locator (Paragraph 26 discloses A web resource search result is data generated by the search system 110 that identifies a web resource and provides information that satisfies a particular search query. A web resource search result for a resource can include a web page title, a snippet of text extracted from the resource, and a resource locator for the resource, e.g., the URL of a web page); and
generating, by the search engine system, a search page that (i) includes one or more input controls including a respective input control for each search parameter of the set of search parameters that are identified from the one or more natural language representations that are included in the uniform resource locator, (ii) configures each of the one or more input controls to present a default value for the input control that is based on the search parameter corresponding to the input control that was identified from the one or more natural language representations that are included in the subfolder names of the uniform resource locator, and (iii) indicates one or more of the search results selected based on the set of identified search parameters (Paragraph 26 discloses a web resource search result is data generated by the search system 110 that identifies a web resource and provides information that satisfies a particular search query. A web resource search result for a resource can include a web page title, a snippet of text extracted from the resource, and a resource locator for the resource, e.g., the URL of a web page); and
sending, by the search engine system, the search page to the client device over the network (Paragraph 25 discloses the search results are provided to the user device 106 from which the query was received).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing data of invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Wohlstadter with Chen et al. This would have improved natural language processing for querying urls. See Chen et al. Paragraph(s) 4-9.
The Wohlstadter reference as modified by Chen et al. teaches all the limitations of claim 1. With respect to claim 2, Wohlstadter teaches the method of claim 1, wherein:
a particular natural language representation that is the subfolder name of one of the subfolders of the uniform resource locator includes a particular value (Paragraph 45 discloses collect information relating to the content pages browsed by the user ("content source information"). Examples of the content source information can include the content of a webpage (e.g., analyzed using natural language processing, keyword or phrase recognition, etc.), the URL path of a webpage (e.g., if the URL contains "/politics," it is likely that the webpage is related to a policy topic), link graphs related to a webpage);
a particular search parameter that is identified from the particular natural language representation includes the particular value (Blemaster Paragraph 217 discloses site in which the end-user is starting their search may determine or infer what the end-user may want to see in their search results and so may exclude non-relevant TLDs. The end-user may also have a checkbox or other control for "all TLDs"); and
the search page configures a particular input control for the particular search parameter to specify the particular value that was included in the particular natural language representation as the value of the particular input control (Blemaster Paragraph 217 discloses end-user may also have a checkbox or other control for "all TLDs" with associated keyword directories, to bypass the subject matter relevancy consideration).
The Wohlstadter reference as modified by Chen et al. teaches all the limitations of claim 1. With respect to claim 3, Wohlstadter teaches the method of claim 1, wherein:
a particular natural language representation that is the subfolder name of one of the subfolders of the uniform resource locator includes two particular values (Paragraph 45 discloses collect information relating to the content pages browsed by the user ("content source information"). Examples of the content source information can include the content of a webpage (e.g., analyzed using natural language processing, keyword or phrase recognition, etc.), the URL path of a webpage (e.g., if the URL contains "/politics," it is likely that the webpage is related to a policy topic), link graphs related to a webpage);
a particular search parameter that is identified from the particular natural language representation includes a range between the two particular values (Blemaster Paragraph 217 discloses site in which the end-user is starting their search may determine or infer what the end-user may want to see in their search results and so may exclude non-relevant TLDs. The end-user may also have a checkbox or other control for "all TLDs"); and
the search page configures a particular input control for the particular search parameter to specify the range between the two particular values that were included in the particular natural language representation as the value of the particular input control (Blemaster Paragraph 217 discloses end-user may also have a checkbox or other control for "all TLDs" with associated keyword directories, to bypass the subject matter relevancy consideration).
The Wohlstadter reference as modified by Chen et al. teaches all the limitations of claim 1. With respect to claim 4, Chen et al. teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the one or more input controls comprise one or more dropdown menus, one or more checkboxes, or one or more text entry fields (Paragraph 38 discloses action parameters for each action supported by the resource (206). For example, the indexer 120 processes the action data to identify corresponding action parameters listed for each action type, or, if the action parameters are not listed, then accesses an action data schema to determine the parameter types required for the action. To illustrate, the action parameters may include a URL of an audio file if the “listen” action is an auto play action. Likewise, for a “reserve” action, the parameters may include a URL of a reservation service, a number of people, a name for the reservation, a date, and a time). The motivation to combine statement previously provided in the rejection of independent claim 1 provided above, combining the Wohlstadter reference and the Chen et al. reference is applicable to dependent claim 4.
The Wohlstadter reference as modified by Chen et al. teaches all the limitations of claim 1. With respect to claim 5, Chen et al. teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the one or more of the search results are one or more search results that are identified as a result of a search engine executing a search query that includes the set of search parameters (Paragraph 26 discloses A web resource search result is data generated by the search system 110 that identifies a web resource and provides information that satisfies a particular search query. A web resource search result for a resource can include a web page title, a snippet of text extracted from the resource, and a resource locator for the resource, e.g., the URL of a web page). The motivation to combine statement previously provided in the rejection of independent claim 1 provided above, combining the Wohlstadter reference and the Chen et al. reference is applicable to dependent claim 5.
The Wohlstadter reference as modified by Chen et al. teaches all the limitations of claim 1. With respect to claim 6, Wohlstadter teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the uniform resource locator is a static uniform resource locator, and wherein the natural language representations are included in separate path segments of a path of the static uniform resource locator (Paragraph 45 discloses collect information relating to the content pages browsed by the user ("content source information"). Examples of the content source information can include the content of a webpage (e.g., analyzed using natural language processing, keyword or phrase recognition, etc.), the URL path of a webpage (e.g., if the URL contains "/politics," it is likely that the webpage is related to a policy topic), link graphs related to a webpage).
The Wohlstadter reference as modified by Chen et al. teaches all the limitations of claim 1. With respect to claim 7, Wohlstadter teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the uniform resource locator was previously generated by a search engine, and wherein the one or more natural language representations were ordered according to a respective rank assigned to each natural language representation by the search engine (Paragraph 10 discloses providing the subset of predicted webpages includes ranking, using a ranking model, the webpages that are likely to be of interest to the user, and wherein the subset of predicted webpages comprises webpages that are highly ranked based on the ranking model).
With respect to claim 8, Wohlstadter discloses a system comprising:
one or more computer processors (Paragraph 81 discloses proessors); and
one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that store instructions which, when executed by the one or more computer processors (Paragraph 87 discloses computer storage media including memory storage devices), cause the one or more computer processors to perform operations comprising:
receiving, by a search engine system, a request from a client device over a network, wherein the request includes a uniform resource locator that includes multiple subfolders, wherein one or more of the subfolders have a subfolder name that is a natural language representation of one or more respective search parameters (Paragraph 45 discloses collect information relating to the content pages browsed by the user ("content source information"). Examples of the content source information can include the content of a webpage (e.g., analyzed using natural language processing, keyword or phrase recognition, etc.), the URL path of a webpage (e.g., if the URL contains "/politics," it is likely that the webpage is related to a policy topic), link graphs related to a webpage);
in response to receiving the request from the client device over the network:
identifying, by the search engine system, a set of search parameters based on the uniform resource locator, wherein the set of search parameters includes the one or more respective search parameters from each of the one or more natural language representations that are included as subfolder names in the uniform resource locator (Paragraph 45 discloses collect information relating to the content pages browsed by the user ("content source information"). Examples of the content source information can include the content of a webpage (e.g., analyzed using natural language processing, keyword or phrase recognition, etc.), the URL path of a webpage (e.g., if the URL contains "/politics," it is likely that the webpage is related to a policy topic), link graphs related to a webpage). Wohlstadter does not disclose generating, by the search engine system, a search page that (i) includes one or more input controls including a respective input control for each search parameter of the set of search parameters that are identified from the one or more natural language representations that are included in the uniform resource locator, (ii) configures each of the one or more input controls to present a default value for the input control that is based on the search parameter corresponding to the input control that was identified from the one or more natural language representations that are included in the subfolder names of the uniform resource locator, and (iii) indicates one or more of the search results selected based on the set of identified search parameters.
However, Chen et al. discloses obtaining, by the search engine system, search results selected based on the set of identified set of search parameters that are identified based on the uniform resource locator (Paragraph 26 discloses A web resource search result is data generated by the search system 110 that identifies a web resource and provides information that satisfies a particular search query. A web resource search result for a resource can include a web page title, a snippet of text extracted from the resource, and a resource locator for the resource, e.g., the URL of a web page); and
generating, by the search engine system, a search page that (i) includes one or more input controls including a respective input control for each search parameter of the set of search parameters that are identified from the one or more natural language representations that are included in the uniform resource locator, (ii) configures each of the one or more input controls to present a default value for the input control that is based on the search parameter corresponding to the input control that was identified from the one or more natural language representations that are included in the subfolder names of the uniform resource locator, and (iii) indicates one or more of the search results selected based on the set of identified search parameters (Paragraph 26 discloses a web resource search result is data generated by the search system 110 that identifies a web resource and provides information that satisfies a particular search query. A web resource search result for a resource can include a web page title, a snippet of text extracted from the resource, and a resource locator for the resource, e.g., the URL of a web page); and
sending, by the search engine system, the search page to the client device over the network (Paragraph 25 discloses the search results are provided to the user device 106 from which the query was received).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing data of invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Wohlstadter with Chen et al. This would have improved natural language processing for querying urls. See Chen et al. Paragraph(s) 4-9.
With respect to claim 9, it is rejected on grounds corresponding to above rejected claim 2, because claim 9 is substantially equivalent to claim 2.
With respect to claim 10, it is rejected on grounds corresponding to above rejected claim 3, because claim 10 is substantially equivalent to claim 3.
With respect to claim 12, it is rejected on grounds corresponding to above rejected claim 5, because claim 12 is substantially equivalent to claim 5.
With respect to claim 15, Wohlstadter discloses one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that store instructions which, when executed by one or more computer processors, cause the one or more computer processors to perform operations comprising:
receiving, by a search engine system, a request from a client device over a network, wherein the request includes a uniform resource locator that includes multiple subfolders, wherein one or more of the subfolders have a subfolder name that is a natural language representation of one or more respective search parameters (Paragraph 45 discloses collect information relating to the content pages browsed by the user ("content source information"). Examples of the content source information can include the content of a webpage (e.g., analyzed using natural language processing, keyword or phrase recognition, etc.), the URL path of a webpage (e.g., if the URL contains "/politics," it is likely that the webpage is related to a policy topic), link graphs related to a webpage);
in response to receiving the request from the client device over the network:
identifying, by the search engine system, a set of search parameters based on the uniform resource locator, wherein the set of search parameters includes the one or more respective search parameters from each of the one or more natural language representations that are included as subfolder names in the uniform resource locator (Paragraph 45 discloses collect information relating to the content pages browsed by the user ("content source information"). Examples of the content source information can include the content of a webpage (e.g., analyzed using natural language processing, keyword or phrase recognition, etc.), the URL path of a webpage (e.g., if the URL contains "/politics," it is likely that the webpage is related to a policy topic), link graphs related to a webpage). Wohlstadter does not disclose generating, by the search engine system, a search page that (i) includes one or more input controls including a respective input control for each search parameter of the set of search parameters that are identified from the one or more natural language representations that are included in the uniform resource locator, (ii) configures each of the one or more input controls to present a default value for the input control that is based on the search parameter corresponding to the input control that was identified from the one or more natural language representations that are included in the subfolder names of the uniform resource locator, and (iii) indicates one or more of the search results selected based on the set of identified search parameters.
However, Chen et al. discloses obtaining, by the search engine system, search results selected based on the set of identified set of search parameters that are identified based on the uniform resource locator (Paragraph 26 discloses A web resource search result is data generated by the search system 110 that identifies a web resource and provides information that satisfies a particular search query. A web resource search result for a resource can include a web page title, a snippet of text extracted from the resource, and a resource locator for the resource, e.g., the URL of a web page); and
generating, by the search engine system, a search page that (i) includes one or more input controls including a respective input control for each search parameter of the set of search parameters that are identified from the one or more natural language representations that are included in the uniform resource locator, (ii) configures each of the one or more input controls to present a default value for the input control that is based on the search parameter corresponding to the input control that was identified from the one or more natural language representations that are included in the subfolder names of the uniform resource locator, and (iii) indicates one or more of the search results selected based on the set of identified search parameters (Paragraph 26 discloses a web resource search result is data generated by the search system 110 that identifies a web resource and provides information that satisfies a particular search query. A web resource search result for a resource can include a web page title, a snippet of text extracted from the resource, and a resource locator for the resource, e.g., the URL of a web page); and
sending, by the search engine system, the search page to the client device over the network (Paragraph 25 discloses the search results are provided to the user device 106 from which the query was received).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing data of invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Wohlstadter with Chen et al. This would have improved natural language processing for querying urls. See Chen et al. Paragraph(s) 4-9.
The Wohlstadter reference as modified by Chen et al. teaches all the limitations of claim 1. With respect to claim 21, Chen et al. teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the search page configuring the one or more input controls comprises configuring the one or more input controls to a state that indicates the search parameter corresponding to the input control (Paragraph 38 discloses action parameters for each action supported by the resource (206). For example, the indexer 120 processes the action data to identify corresponding action parameters listed for each action type, or, if the action parameters are not listed, then accesses an action data schema to determine the parameter types required for the action. To illustrate, the action parameters may include a URL of an audio file if the “listen” action is an auto play action. Likewise, for a “reserve” action, the parameters may include a URL of a reservation service, a number of people, a name for the reservation, a date, and a time). The motivation to combine statement previously provided in the rejection of independent claim 1 provided above, combining the Wohlstadter reference and the Chen et al. reference is applicable to dependent claim 21.
The Wohlstadter reference as modified by Chen et al. teaches all the limitations of claim 21. With respect to claim 22, Chen et al. teaches the method of claim 21, wherein, for at least one of the one or more input controls: the input control is a drop-down list control (Paragraph 38 discloses action parameters for each action supported by the resource (206). For example, the indexer 120 processes the action data to identify corresponding action parameters listed for each action type, or, if the action parameters are not listed, then accesses an action data schema to determine the parameter types required for the action. To illustrate, the action parameters may include a URL of an audio file if the “listen” action is an auto play action. Likewise, for a “reserve” action, the parameters may include a URL of a reservation service, a number of people, a name for the reservation, a date, and a time); and the state comprises a specific selection for the drop-down list control that indicates the search parameter identified from the uniform resource locator that corresponds to the drop-down list control (Paragraph 38 discloses action parameters for each action supported by the resource (206). For example, the indexer 120 processes the action data to identify corresponding action parameters listed for each action type, or, if the action parameters are not listed, then accesses an action data schema to determine the parameter types required for the action. To illustrate, the action parameters may include a URL of an audio file if the “listen” action is an auto play action. Likewise, for a “reserve” action, the parameters may include a URL of a reservation service, a number of people, a name for the reservation, a date, and a time). The motivation to combine statement previously provided in the rejection of dependent claim 21 provided above, combining the Wohlstadter reference and the Chen et al. reference is applicable to dependent claim 22.
The Wohlstadter reference as modified by Chen et al. teaches all the limitations of claim 21. With respect to claim 23, Chen et al. teaches the method of claim 21, wherein, for at least one of the one or more input controls: the input control is a checkbox control (Paragraph 38 discloses action parameters for each action supported by the resource (206). For example, the indexer 120 processes the action data to identify corresponding action parameters listed for each action type, or, if the action parameters are not listed, then accesses an action data schema to determine the parameter types required for the action. To illustrate, the action parameters may include a URL of an audio file if the “listen” action is an auto play action. Likewise, for a “reserve” action, the parameters may include a URL of a reservation service, a number of people, a name for the reservation, a date, and a time); and the state comprises a particular setting whether the checkbox control is checked that is determined based on the search parameter identified from the uniform resource locator that corresponds to the checkbox control (Paragraph 38 discloses action parameters for each action supported by the resource (206). For example, the indexer 120 processes the action data to identify corresponding action parameters listed for each action type, or, if the action parameters are not listed, then accesses an action data schema to determine the parameter types required for the action. To illustrate, the action parameters may include a URL of an audio file if the “listen” action is an auto play action. Likewise, for a “reserve” action, the parameters may include a URL of a reservation service, a number of people, a name for the reservation, a date, and a time). The motivation to combine statement previously provided in the rejection of dependent claim 21 provided above, combining the Wohlstadter reference and the Chen et al. reference is applicable to dependent claim 22.
The Wohlstadter reference as modified by Chen et al. teaches all the limitations of claim 21. With respect to claim 24, Chen et al. teaches the method of claim 21, wherein, for at least one of the one or more input controls:
the input control is a text entry field (Paragraph 25 discloses user devices 106 submit search queries to the search system 110. In response to each query, the search system 110 accesses the index 112 to identify resources that are relevant to the query. The search system 110 may, for example, identify the resources in the form of web resource search results and native application search results); and
the state of the input control comprises text in the text entry field that indicates the search parameter identified from the uniform resource locator that corresponds to the text entry field (Paragraph 26 discloses the URL of a web page. A native application search result specifies a native application and may include a “deep link” specifying a particular environment instance of the native application and which is configured to cause the native application to instantiate the specified environmental instance). ). The motivation to combine statement previously provided in the rejection of dependent claim 21 provided above, combining the Wohlstadter reference and the Chen et al. reference is applicable to dependent claim 24.
The Wohlstadter reference as modified by Chen et al. teaches all the limitations of claim 21. With respect to claim 25, Chen et al. teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the search page configuring the one or more input controls comprises configuring the one or more input controls to be populated with values that specify the search parameters in the set of search parameters identified from the subfolder names of the uniform resource locator (Paragraph 21 discloses Web resources may be HTML pages, images files, video files, audio files, and feed sources, to name just a few. The web pages may include embedded information, e.g., meta information and hyperlinks, and/or embedded instructions, e.g., client-side scripts). The motivation to combine statement previously provided in the rejection of dependent claim 21 provided above, combining the Wohlstadter reference and the Chen et al. reference is applicable to dependent claim 25.
The Wohlstadter reference as modified by Chen et al. teaches all the limitations of claim 1. With respect to claim 26, Chen et al. teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the natural language representations that are subfolder names of the uniform resource locator that encode search parameters of a search query (Paragraph 29 discloses the query processor 111 may implement a natural language processor that detects, among other things, action invocations); wherein the search page configuring the one or more input controls causes the one or more input controls to indicate the search parameters of the search query (Paragraph 39 discloses indexes the action data, action types and action parameters for the resource in an index that is searchable by a search engine (208)). The motivation to combine statement previously provided in the rejection of dependent claim 1 provided above, combining the Wohlstadter reference and the Chen et al. reference is applicable to dependent claim 26.
The Wohlstadter reference as modified by Chen et al. teaches all the limitations of claim 21. With respect to claim 27, Chen et al. teaches the method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the search results selected based on the set of identified set of search parameters comprises: performing, the search engine system, a search by comparing records of a search index with the search parameters in the set of search parameters, wherein the records of the search index comprise keyword data derived from multiple sources over the network (Paragraph 57 discloses process 600 determines, from the terms of the query, an action type that is relevant to the search query (602)). The motivation to combine statement previously provided in the rejection of dependent claim 21 provided above, combining the Wohlstadter reference and the Chen et al. reference is applicable to dependent claim 27.
The Wohlstadter reference as modified by Chen et al. teaches all the limitations of claim 1. With respect to claim 28, Wohlstadter teaches the method of claim 1, wherein:
the multiple subfolders of the uniform resource locator include multiple subfolders having subfolder names that represent respective search parameters (Paragraph 45 discloses collect information relating to the content pages browsed by the user ("content source information"). Examples of the content source information can include the content of a webpage (e.g., analyzed using natural language processing, keyword or phrase recognition, etc.), the URL path of a webpage (e.g., if the URL contains "/politics," it is likely that the webpage is related to a policy topic), link graphs related to a webpage);
identifying the set of search parameters comprises identifying multiple search parameters from the subfolder names (Paragraph 45 discloses collect information relating to the content pages browsed by the user ("content source information"). Examples of the content source information can include the content of a webpage (e.g., analyzed using natural language processing, keyword or phrase recognition, etc.), the URL path of a webpage (e.g., if the URL contains "/politics," it is likely that the webpage is related to a policy topic), link graphs related to a webpage);
the one or more input controls comprise multiple input controls, each of the multiple input controls corresponding to a different identified search parameter and being configured by the search page to display a value representing the corresponding identified search parameter (Paragraph 45 discloses collect information relating to the content pages browsed by the user ("content source information"). Examples of the content source information can include the content of a webpage (e.g., analyzed using natural language processing, keyword or phrase recognition, etc.), the URL path of a webpage (e.g., if the URL contains "/politics," it is likely that the webpage is related to a policy topic), link graphs related to a webpage). The motivation to combine statement previously provided in the rejection of independent claim 1 provided above, combining the Wohlstadter reference and the Chen et al. reference is applicable to dependent claim 28.
The Wohlstadter reference as modified by Chen et al. teaches all the limitations of claim 1. With respect to claim 29, Chen et al. teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising:
after sending the search page, receiving, by the search engine system, a search query entered through user input to the one or more input controls, wherein the user input adds or alters a search parameter with respect to the identified set of search parameters (Paragraph 26 discloses A web resource search result is data generated by the search system 110 that identifies a web resource and provides information that satisfies a particular search query. A web resource search result for a resource can include a web page title, a snippet of text extracted from the resource, and a resource locator for the resource, e.g., the URL of a web page);
in response to receiving the search query:
identifying, by the search engine system, a second set of search parameters corresponding to the search query (Paragraph 26 discloses A web resource search result is data generated by the search system 110 that identifies a web resource and provides information that satisfies a particular search query. A web resource search result for a resource can include a web page title, a snippet of text extracted from the resource, and a resource locator for the resource, e.g., the URL of a web page);
obtaining, by the search engine system, second search results selected based on the search query (Paragraph 26 discloses A web resource search result is data generated by the search system 110 that identifies a web resource and provides information that satisfies a particular search query. A web resource search result for a resource can include a web page title, a snippet of text extracted from the resource, and a resource locator for the resource, e.g., the URL of a web page); and
generating, by the search engine system, a second uniform resource locator that includes, as a subfolder name of the second uniform resource locator, a natural language representation of the added or altered search parameter (Paragraph 26 discloses A web resource search result is data generated by the search system 110 that identifies a web resource and provides information that satisfies a particular search query. A web resource search result for a resource can include a web page title, a snippet of text extracted from the resource, and a resource locator for the resource, e.g., the URL of a web page); and
sending, by the search engine system, an update to the search page that includes (i) one or more of the second search results and (ii) the second uniform resource locator (Paragraph 26 discloses A web resource search result is data generated by the search system 110 that identifies a web resource and provides information that satisfies a particular search query. A web resource search result for a resource can include a web page title, a snippet of text extracted from the resource, and a resource locator for the resource, e.g., the URL of a web page). The motivation to combine statement previously provided in the rejection of independent claim 1 provided above, combining the Wohlstadter reference and the Chen et al. reference is applicable to dependent claim 29.
The Wohlstadter reference as modified by Chen et al. teaches all the limitations of claim 1. With respect to claim 30, Chen et al. teaches the method of claim 29, wherein the update to the search page is configured to cause a browser of the client device to (i) display the second uniform resource locator in an address bar, (ii) display the one or more of the second search results, and (ii) present the one or more input controls with values that correspond to the search parameters of the query (Paragraph 38 discloses the action parameters may include a URL of an audio file if the “listen” action is an auto play action. Likewise, for a “reserve” action, the parameters may include a URL of a reservation service, a number of people, a name for the reservation, a date, and a time). The motivation to combine statement previously provided in the rejection of independent claim 1 provided above, combining the Wohlstadter reference and the Chen et al. reference is applicable to dependent claim 30.
Relevant Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US Pub. No. 20150242536 is directed to Advanced Search Page With Dynamic Generation Of A Search Query String: [Paragraph 19] formatted search query string may be generated while search terms and other search parameters are entered into the advanced search form by a user. In addition, the formatted search query string may be displayed as it is generated. Thus, the formatted search query string may be displayed at the same time and on the same page or on the same user interface as a user is formulating the overall search query. By generating the formatted search query string substantially simultaneously with the user's entry of search terms and selection of search parameters, the user may be able to efficiently learn how certain search operations can be specified in the search language format. In other words, the advanced search page may illustrate how to manually enter one or more search operations, such that the user may be able to more quickly enter search queries in the future without using the advanced search option. The user may also be able to efficiently learn how to construct relatively complex search queries in the search language format. Particularly as the number of available advanced search options increase, the ability to learn to construct complex search queries or to at least perform certain specialized search operations may become even more beneficial because it may allow a user to avoid having to visually and/or electronically navigate through large numbers of available search operation fields, particularly for search operations that the user employs on a regular basis.
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS E ALLEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3562. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Thursday 830-630.
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/N.E.A/Examiner, Art Unit 2154
/BORIS GORNEY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2154