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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejection under 35 USC 103 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Applicant’s arguments, see Response under 37 CFR 1.111 (“Response”), filed 2 February 2026, with respect to the rejection under 35 USC 101 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 4-8, 11-15 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over United States Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0012825 A1 to Yahata et al. (“Yahata”) in view of United States Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0380286 A1 to Gabel et al. (“Gabel”).
As per claims 1, 8 and 15, the claimed subject matter that is met by Yahata includes:
A computer-implemented method comprising (Yahata: Abstract):
receiving information about dietary restrictions of a user via a profile in a software application (Yahata: ¶ 0201);
capturing, via an imagery sensor of a device operated by the user, an image of a quick-response (QR) code linked to an online menu, wherein the device is executing the software application (Yahata: ¶ 0198);
loading, based on a hyperlink within the QR code, a webpage including the online menu (Yahata: ¶¶ 0170 and 0198);
extracting, by a processor set, text from a digital version of a menu of a restaurant, wherein the menu of the restaurant being the online menu (Yahata: ¶¶ 0198-0202 and 0259);
identifying one or more ingredients of a first menu item within the extracted text, the first menu item being included in the menu of the restaurant (Yahata: ¶¶ 0202-0214 and 0259);
determining, by the processor set and using natural language processing (NLP), that the identified one or more ingredients of the first menu item include at least one ingredient that does not comply with the dietary restrictions of the user (Yahata: ¶¶ 0202-0214);
identifying one or more ingredients of a second menu item within the extracted text, the second menu item being included in the menu of the restaurant (Yahata: ¶¶ 0202-0214);
determining, by the processor set and using the NLP, that the identified one or more ingredients of the second menu item comply with the dietary restrictions of the user (Yahata: ¶¶ 0202-0214);
based on the at least one ingredient included in the identified one or more ingredients of the first menu item not complying with the dietary restrictions and the one or more ingredients of the second menu item complying with the dietary restrictions, generating, by the processor set, a first digital menu that includes the second menu item, but does not include the first menu item, wherein the generating of the first digital menu comprises modifying the loaded online menu of the webpage to (Yahata: ¶¶ 0204 and 0216 and Fig. 18):
remove the first menu item not complying with the dietary restrictions (Yahata: ¶¶ 0204 and 0216 and Fig. 18), and
display the second menu item complying with the dietary restrictions (Yahata: ¶¶ 0204 and 0216 and Fig. 18); and
controlling display of the first digital menu to the user for ordering one or
more menu items included in the first digital menu, wherein the one or more menu items
comprise the second menu item (Yahata: ¶¶ 0204 and 0216 and Fig. 18).
While Yahata is believed to use natural language processing (NLP), Yahata fails to specifically state natural language processing (NLP). The Examiner provides Gabel to teach and disclose this claimed feature.
The claimed subject matter that is met by Gabel includes:
natural language processing (NLP) (Gabel: ¶¶ 0044-0046)
Yahata teaches a system and method for extracting text from a menu. Gabel teaches a comparable system and method for extracting text from a menu that was improved in the same way as the claimed invention. Gabel offers the embodiment of natural language processing (NLP). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the adaptation of the natural language processing as disclosed by Gabel to the system and method for extracting text from a menu as taught by Yahata for the predicted result of improved systems and methods for extracting text from a menu. No additional findings are seen to be necessary.
As per claims 4, 11 and 18, the claimed subject matter that is met by Yahata and Gabel includes:
determining that the extracted text does not include a list of ingredients for a given menu item (Gabel: ¶¶ 0022, 0054, 0056 and 0081);
based on the determining that the extracted text does not include the list of ingredients for the given menu item, identifying one or more recipes corresponding to the given menu item by generating and executing an online search query by the software application to search for recipes corresponding to the given menu item (Gabel: ¶¶ 0022, 0054, 0056 and 0081);
based on the identified one or more recipes, determining a complete list of ingredients of the given menu item (Gabel: ¶¶ 0022, 0054, 0056 and 0081)
determining, by the processor set and using the NLP, that the complete list of ingredients includes at least one ingredient of the given menu item that does not comply with the dietary restrictions of the user, wherein the generating the first digital menu includes generating the first digital menu that does not include the given menu item (Yahata: ¶¶ 0202-0216 and Fig. 18 and Galli: ¶¶ 0039-0041).
The motivation for combining the teachings of Yahata and Gabel are discussed in the rejection of claims 1, 8 and 15, and are incorporated herein.
As per claims 5, 12 and 19, the claimed subject matter that is met by Yahata and Gabel includes:
determining that the extracted text does not include a list of ingredients for a given menu item (Gabel: ¶¶ 0022, 0054, 0056 and 0081);
based on determining that the extracted text does not include the list of ingredients, identifying one or more recipes corresponding to the given menu item by generating and executing an online search query by the software application to search for recipes corresponding to the given menu item (Gabel: ¶¶ 0022, 0054, 0056 and 0081);
based on the identified one or more recipes, determining a complete list of ingredients of the given menu item (Gabel: ¶¶ 0022, 0054, 0056 and 0081); and
determining, by the processor set and using the NLP, that the complete list of ingredients complies with the dietary restrictions of the user, wherein the generating the first digital menu includes generating the first digital menu that includes the given menu item (Yahata: ¶¶ 0202-0216 and Fig. 18 and Galli: ¶¶ 0039-0041).
The motivation for combining the teachings of Yahata and Gabel are discussed in the rejection of claims 1, 8 and 15, and are incorporated herein.
As per claims 6, 13 and 20, the claimed subject matter that is met by Yahata and Gabel includes:
receiving, from the device operated by the user and executing the software application, an initial selection, wherein the initial selection selects an initial version of the first digital menu selected from the group consisting of a first version of the first digital menu and a second version of the first digital menu, the first version hides non-compliant menu items, and the second version shows the non-compliant menu items; based on the receiving of the initial selection, displaying the selected initial version of the first digital menu to the user on a display of the device; receiving, from the device operated by the user and executing the software application, a subsequent selection, wherein the subsequent selection selects a subsequent version of the first digital menu selected from the group consisting of the first version of the first digital menu and the second version of the first digital menu, and the initial selection is different from the subsequent selection; and based on the receiving of the subsequent selection, removing the initial version of the first digital menu from the display of the device and displaying the subsequent version of the first digital menu on the display of the device for viewing by the user (Yahata: ¶ 0218 and Fig. 18, 1802).
The motivation for combining the teachings of Yahata and Gabel are discussed in the rejection of claims 1, 8 and 15, and are incorporated herein.
As per claims 7 and 14, the claimed subject matter that is met by Yahata and Gabel includes:
determining an occurrence of a triggering event associated with the first menu item; based on the determining of the occurrence of the triggering event, generating an alert; generating, by the processor set, a second digital menu that includes the first menu item, the second menu item, and an icon associated with the first menu item and the alert; displaying the second digital menu on a display of the device operated by the user, wherein the second digital menu includes the first menu item in a proximity with the icon, and the second digital menu does not include the alert; receiving a selection of the icon from the device operated by the user; and based on the receiving of the selection, displaying the alert on the display of the device operated by the user (Yahata: ¶ 0331 and Fig. 36).
The motivation for combining the teachings of Yahata and Gabel are discussed in the rejection of claims 1, 8 and 15, and are incorporated herein.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 Hunter Wilder whose telephone number is (571)270-7948. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30AM-5:30PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Florian Zeender can be reached at (571)272-6790. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/A. Hunter Wilder/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627