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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement submitted on August 14, 2024 has been considered by the Examiner and made of record in the application file.
Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. § 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or
nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 3-4, 6-8, 11, 13-14, 17, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ravichandran (US 20190166244 A1) in view of Edge (US 20190166244 A1).
Consider claim 1, Ravichandran discloses a method, the method comprising:
transmitting, by a wireless device, a text message to a public safety answering point (PSAP) using a wireless network (see Figures 1A and 1B, “the user may execute the emergency services request application 152 on the UE 104 to initiate a chat session. For example, the user may initiate a chat session with the PSAP 112” (see paragraph 0032)) and
transmitting a location response comprising a wireless device location to the PSAP using
the wireless network (see Figures 1A and 1B, “the emergency services request
application 152 may also send the current location of the UE 104 in the form of geodetic
location information (or other location information indicating the current location of the
UE 104) to the PSAP 112” (see paragraph 0035)).
However, Ravichandran fails to disclose wherein the method comprises receiving a location request from the PSAP using the wireless network; and that transmitting the location response is in response to receiving the location request.
In the same field of endeavor, Edge discloses a method comprising receiving a location request from the PSAP using the wireless network (see Figure 3, “At stage 309, the PSAP (either legacy PSAP 160-a or i3 PSAP 160-b) sends a location request for the UE 105” (see
paragraph 0058)); and
in response to receiving the location request, transmitting a location response comprising a wireless device location to the PSAP using the wireless network (see Figure 3, stages 310 and 311 the UE and LRF determine the device location and return it to the PSAP (see paragraphs 0059-0060)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the method disclosed by Ravichandran to incorporate receiving a location request from the PSAP using the wireless network; and in response to receiving the location request, transmitting a location response comprising a wireless device location to the PSAP using the wireless network as taught by Edge in order to only transmit the location when prompted so as to conserve transmission resources in case the PSAP already has or can determine through other means the location of the wireless device.
Consider claim 3, and as applied to claim 1 above, Ravichandran as modified by Edge further discloses a method further comprising determining the wireless device location (“the UE 104 may determine its current location using any of a variety techniques” (see Ravichandran, paragraph 0033)).
Consider claim 4, and as applied to claim 3 above, Ravichandran as modified by Edge further discloses wherein determining the wireless device location comprises using a global positioning system (GPS) (“the UE 104 may determine its current location using any of a variety techniques, including, but not limited to, utilizing a GPS function of the GPS receiver 154” (see Ravichandran, paragraph 0033)).
Consider claim 6, and as applied to claim 3 above, Ravichandran as modified by Edge further discloses wherein determining the wireless device location comprises using a cellular positioning (Cell ID) (“the mobile device may determine its current location using any of a variety techniques, including, but not limited to… utilizing a Cell Global Identity (“CGI”)” (see Ravichandran, paragraph 0010)).
Consider claim 7, and as applied to claim 1 above, Ravichandran as modified by Edge further discloses wherein the location request is a session initiation protocol (SIP) request (“the chat session operates in accordance with Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP) as the core protocols for communication” (see Ravichandran, paragraph 0032)).
Consider claim 8, and as applied to claim 1 above, Ravichandran as modified by Edge further discloses wherein the location response is a session initiation protocol (SIP) response (“the chat session operates in accordance with Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP) as the core protocols for communication” (see Ravichandran, paragraph 0032)).
Consider claim 11, Ravichandran discloses a system, the system comprising:
a wireless network (see Figure 1A, the network 100);
a computing device communicatively connected to the wireless network (see Figure 1A, the UE 104),
wherein the computing device comprises at least one processor configured to (see Figure 1A, the processor(s) 140):
transmit a text message to a public safety answering point (PSAP) using the wireless network (see Figures 1A and 1B, “the user may execute the emergency services request application 152 on the UE 104 to initiate a chat session. For example, the user may initiate a chat session with the PSAP 112” (see paragraph 0032)); and
transmit a location response comprising a wireless device location to the PSAP using the
wireless network (see Figures 1A and 1B, “the emergency services request
application 152 may also send the current location of the UE 104 in the form of geodetic
location information (or other location information indicating the current location of the
UE 104) to the PSAP 112” (see paragraph 0035)).
However, Ravichandran fails to disclose wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive a location request from the PSAP using the wireless network; and that transmit the location response is in response to receiving the location request.
In the same field of endeavor, Edge discloses wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive a location request from the PSAP using the wireless network (see Figure 3, “At stage 309, the PSAP (either legacy PSAP 160-a or i3 PSAP 160-b) sends a location request for the UE 105” (see paragraph 0058)); and
in response to receiving the location request, transmit a location response comprising a wireless device location to the PSAP using the wireless network (see Figure 3, stages 310 and 311 the UE and LRF determine the device location and return it to the PSAP (see paragraphs 0059-0060)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the computing device disclosed by Ravichandran to receive a location request from the PSAP using the wireless network; and in response to receiving the location request, transmit a location response comprising a wireless device location to the PSAP using the wireless network as taught by Edge in order to only transmit the location when prompted so as to conserve transmission resources in case the PSAP already has or can determine through other means the location of the wireless device.
Consider claim 13, and as applied to claim 11 above, Ravichandran as modified by
Edge further discloses wherein the computing device is further configured to determine the wireless device location (“the UE 104 may determine its current location using any of a variety techniques” (see Ravichandran, paragraph 0033)).
Consider claim 14, and as applied to claim 11 above, Ravichandran as modified by Edge further discloses wherein the computing device is further configured to receive the location request and transmit the location response using a session initiation protocol (SIP) (“the chat session operates in accordance with Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP) as the core protocols for communication” (see Ravichandran, paragraph 0032)).
Consider claim 17, Ravichandran discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, when executed by at least one processor, configuring the at least one processor to (see Figure 3, “The processor(s) 312 may be configured to execute instructions, which may be stored in the non-transitory computer-readable media or in other computer-readable media accessible to the processor(s) 312” (see paragraph 0048)):
transmit a text message to a public safety answering point (PSAP) using the wireless network (see Figures 1A and 1B, “the user may execute the emergency services request application 152 on the UE 104 to initiate a chat session. For example, the user may initiate a chat session with the PSAP 112” (see paragraph 0032)); and
transmit a location response comprising a wireless device location to the PSAP using the
wireless network (see Figures 1A and 1B, “the emergency services request
application 152 may also send the current location of the UE 104 in the form of geodetic
location information (or other location information indicating the current location of the
UE 104) to the PSAP 112” (see paragraph 0035)).
However, Ravichandran fails to disclose wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive a location request from the PSAP using the wireless network; and that transmit the location response is in response to receiving the location request.
In the same field of endeavor, Edge discloses wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive a location request from the PSAP using the wireless network (see Figure 3, “At stage 309, the PSAP (either legacy PSAP 160-a or i3 PSAP 160-b) sends a location request for the UE 105” (see paragraph 0058)); and
in response to receiving the location request, transmit a location response comprising a wireless device location to the PSAP using the wireless network (see Figure 3, stages 310 and 311 the UE and LRF determine the device location and return it to the PSAP (see paragraphs 0059-0060)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the non-transitory computer-readable medium instructions disclosed by Ravichandran to receive a location request from the PSAP using the wireless network; and in response to receiving the location request, transmit a location response comprising a wireless device location to the PSAP using the wireless network as taught by Edge in order to only transmit the location when prompted so as to conserve transmission resources in case the PSAP already has or can determine through other means the location of the wireless device.
Consider claim 19, and as applied to claim 17 above, Ravichandran as modified by Edge further discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine the wireless device location (“the UE 104 may determine its current location using any of a variety techniques” (see Ravichandran, paragraph 0033)).
Consider claim 20, and as applied to claim 17 above, Ravichandran as modified by
Edge further discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive the location request and transmit the location response using a session initiation protocol (SIP) (“the chat session operates in accordance with Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP) as the core protocols for communication” (see Ravichandran, paragraph 0032)).
Claims 2, 9-10, 12, 15-16, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ravichandran (US 20190166244 A1) in view of Edge (US 20200252781 A1) and further in view of Boni et al. (US 20130188783 A1).
Consider claim 2, and as applied to claim 1 above, Ravichandran as modified by Edge fails to disclose a method further comprising activating a timer after transmitting the text message to allow the location request from the PSAP.
In the same field of endeavor, Boni et al. disclose a method comprising activating a timer after transmitting the text message to allow the location request from the PSAP (“the communication session is timer-based, where a timestamp is set upon the start of the soft session and the soft session ends when a particular amount of time elapses without a subsequent text message, associated with the soft session, being received. A soft session timer function may be used to determine when the particular amount of time has elapsed from a time value associated with the timestamp” (see paragraph 0048)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the method disclosed by Ravichandran and modified by Edge to activate a timer after transmitting the text message to allow the location request from the PSAP as taught by Boni et al. in order to prevent the messaging session from continuing indefinitely if the PSAP fails to respond.
Consider claim 9, and as applied to claim 1 above, Ravichandran as modified by Edge fails to disclose a method wherein transmitting the location response comprises adding a geolocation-routing header to the location response.
In the same field of endeavor, Boni et al. disclose a method wherein transmitting the location response comprises adding a geolocation-routing header to the location response (see Figure 9, “The IM application, on user device 110, may generate a text message, which may be in the form of a SIP message, based on the text input entered by the user. The SIP message may include a header and a body… The SIP Route header field may be set as the address (e.g., a SIP URI) of emergency services network 130, or ESRP 210, to which the SIP message is to be sent… The SIP Geolocation header field may also include information to indicate that the SIP message includes location information” (see paragraph 0071)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the method disclosed by Ravichandran and modified by Edge to activate a timer after transmitting the text message to allow the location request from the PSAP as taught by Boni et al. in order to align information transmission in the method with existing SIP infrastructure.
Consider claim 10, and as applied to claim 7 above, Ravichandran as modified by Edge
fails to disclose a method wherein the location response is in a presence information data format – location object (PIDF-LO) format.
In the same field of endeavor, Boni et al. disclose a method wherein the location response is in a presence information data format – location object (PIDF-LO) format (“The SIP message may further include information in the body of the SIP message, such as information identifying the geographic location of user device 110. In one implementation, the geographic location information may be included in a particular format, such as in the presence information data format location object (PIDF-LO) format” (see paragraph 0045)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the method disclosed by Ravichandran and modified by Edge to send the location response in a presence information data format – location object (PIDF-LO) format as taught by Boni et al. in order to align information transmission in the method with existing SIP infrastructure.
Consider claim 12, and as applied to claim 11 above, Ravichandran as modified by Edge fails to disclose a system wherein the computing device is further configured to activate a timer after transmitting the text message to allow the location request from the PSAP.
In the same field of endeavor, Boni et al. disclose a system wherein the computing device is further configured to activate a timer after transmitting the text message to allow the location request from the PSAP (“the communication session is timer-based, where a timestamp is set upon the start of the soft session and the soft session ends when a particular amount of time elapses without a subsequent text message, associated with the soft session, being received. A soft session timer function may be used to determine when the particular amount of time has elapsed from a time value associated with the timestamp” (see paragraph 0048)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the computing device disclosed by Ravichandran and modified by Edge to activate a timer after transmitting the text message to allow the location request from the PSAP as taught by Boni et al. in order to prevent the messaging session from continuing indefinitely if the PSAP fails to respond.
Consider claim 15, and as applied to claim 14 above, Ravichandran as modified by Edge fails to disclose a system wherein the computing device is further configured to add a geolocation-routing header to the location response.
In the same field of endeavor, Boni et al. disclose a system wherein the computing device is further configured to add a geolocation-routing header to the location response (see Figure 9, “The IM application, on user device 110, may generate a text message, which may be in the form of a SIP message, based on the text input entered by the user. The SIP message may include a header and a body… The SIP Route header field may be set as the address (e.g., a SIP URI) of emergency services network 130, or ESRP 210, to which the SIP message is to be sent… The SIP Geolocation header field may also include information to indicate that the SIP message includes location information” (see paragraph 0071)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the system disclosed by Ravichandran and modified by Edge to add a geolocation-routing header to the location response as taught by Boni et al. in order to align information transmission in the system with existing SIP infrastructure.
Consider claim 16, and as applied to claim 15 above, Ravichandran as modified by Edge fails to disclose a system wherein the location response is in a presence information data format – location object (PIDF-LO) format.
In the same field of endeavor, Boni et al. disclose a system wherein the location response is in a presence information data format – location object (PIDF-LO) format (“The SIP message may further include information in the body of the SIP message, such as information identifying the geographic location of user device 110. In one implementation, the geographic location information may be included in a particular format, such as in the
presence information data format location object (PIDF-LO) format” (see paragraph 0045)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the system disclosed by Ravichandran and modified by Edge to send the location response in a presence information data format – location object (PIDF-LO) format as taught by Boni et al. in order to align information transmission in the system with existing SIP infrastructure.
Consider claim 18, and as applied to claim 17 above, Ravichandran as modified by Edge fails to disclose a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions wherein the at least one processor is further configured to activate a timer after transmitting the text message to allow the location request from the PSAP.
In the same field of endeavor, Boni et al. disclose a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions wherein the at least one processor is further configured to activate a timer after transmitting the text message to allow the location request from the PSAP (“the communication session is timer-based, where a timestamp is set upon the start of the soft session and the soft session ends when a particular amount of time elapses without a subsequent text message, associated with the soft session, being received. A soft session timer function may be used to determine when the particular amount of time has elapsed from a time value associated with the timestamp” (see paragraph 0048)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions disclosed by Ravichandran and modified by Edge to activate a timer after transmitting the text message to allow the location request from the PSAP as taught by Boni et al. in order to prevent the messaging session from continuing indefinitely if the PSAP fails to respond.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ravichandran (US 20190166244 A1) in view of Edge (US 20200252781 A1) and further in view of Daly (US 20120149324 A1).
Consider claim 5, and as applied to claim 3 above, Ravichandran as modified by Edge fails to disclose a method wherein determining the wireless device location comprises using an assisted global positioning system (A-GPS).
In the same field of endeavor, Daly discloses a method wherein determining the wireless device location comprises using an assisted global positioning system (A-GPS) (“the communications device 40 can determine its own geographical location through any type of location determination system including, for example… assisted GPS (A-GPS)” (see paragraph 0019)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the method disclosed by Ravichandran and modified by Edge to determine the wireless device location comprises using an assisted global positioning system (A-GPS) as taught by Daly in order to enhance the consistency and accuracy of determining the wireless device location.
Conclusion
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/ALEXANDER WU/Examiner, Art Unit 2642
/Rafael Pérez-Gutiérrez/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2642
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