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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-20 were previous pending, claims 7-19 were withdrawn from consideration, and claims 1-6 and 20 were subject to the non-final rejection dated June 12, 2025. In the Response, submitted on October 13, 2025, claim 1 was amended. Therefore, claims 1-20 are pending, claims 7-19 are withdrawn from consideration, and claims 1-6 and 20 are subject to the final rejection below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s Response, on Page 10 of the Response, regarding the previous rejection of the claims under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and 112(b) have been fully considered and are found persuasive in view of the amended claims. However, Examiner notes the deletion of claim language has resulted in new rejections below.
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Applicant has not complied with one or more conditions for receiving the benefit of an earlier filing date under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) as follows: The later-filed application must be an application for a patent for an invention which is also disclosed in the prior application (the parent or original nonprovisional application or provisional application). The disclosure of the invention in the parent application and in the later-filed application must be sufficient to comply with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, except for the best mode requirement. See Transco Products, Inc. v. Performance Contracting, Inc., 38 F.3d 551, 32 USPQ2d 1077 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
The disclosure of the prior-filed application, Application No. 63/604,950 fails to provide adequate support or enablement in the manner provided by 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph for one or more claims of this application. Specifically, Claim 1’s recitation of “automatically configure the user’s electronic device, with artificial intelligence, for authorizing at least one of a ticket and pass via the second ticketing technology by formatting the user’s electronic device to register and handle the second specific data type utilized by the second ticketing technology” and “use artificial intelligence predictive model analysis to find the fastest and cheapest routes”. (emphasis added)
While Para. 207 of the prior-filed application discloses “This system may also integrate AI capabilities and machine learning models to determine both the fastest and cheapest forms of travel using various PTAs”, the specification is silent on “configuring the user’s electronic device, with artificial intelligence, for authorizing at least one of a ticket and pass via the second ticketing technology by formatting the user’s electronic device to register and handle the second specific data type utilized by the second ticketing technology” and “use artificial intelligence predictive model analysis to find the fastest and cheapest routes”. Additionally, claim 20 recites “using artificial intelligence to monitor and calculate carbon consumption by the user”, and no support is found in the prior-filed application. Therefore, claim 1 and dependent claims 2-6 and 20 are given the current application’s filing date of December 2, 2024 as the priority date.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0165096 to Mango (hereinafter “Mango”) in view of "NFC on Android: Creating a prepaid payment system using NDEF tags" by Newton Scavazzini, dated September 19, 2024 (hereinafter “Scavazzini”), and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0328800 to Lewis (hereinafter “Lewis”), and even further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0067906 to Florez et al. (hereinafter “Florez”).
In regard to claim 1, Mango discloses a universal fare payment, fare collection, and smart device integration system, the system comprising one or more storage machines holding instructions executable by one or more logic machines (Abst.; Claim 1) (A universal fare payment and collection system configured to allow users to purchase tickets and/or passes for a plurality of public transport authorities using a single account or device (i.e., a universal fare payment, fare collection, and smart device integration system). A universal fare payment and collection system, the system comprising one or more storage machines holding instructions executable by one or more logic machines…)
Mango discloses via a user’s electronic device, employ an interoperability application to communicate with access control technologies (Paras. 39, 41-42, 57, 61, 63 and 71 )(…a mobile device 600 displaying an example user interface 602 for planning a trip using the mobile app disclosed herein (i.e., via a user’s electronic device, employ an interoperability application). For example, the interface 602 may be used to schedule and plan trips via a plurality of different transport authorities and systems using a single interface or device… The application may be configured to allow communication between a mobile phone (or contactless card) and a device reader. For example, successful communication authorizes a registered user to board a subway, train, or bus anywhere in the world (i.e., employ an interoperability application to communicate with access control technologies)…… in response to a tap and go function of the mobile app or mobile phone, reading a purchased ticket for allowing a user to board selected public transportation (e.g. by activating a contactless reader), and at 224 confirming that the ticket was accepted (i.e., communicate with access control technologies).)
Mango discloses via a user’s electronic device, employ an interoperability application to: schedule, book, plan, and apply applicable discounts to a trip leg by leg via a plurality of different transportation systems (Paras. 39, 42, 57, 61, 63, 71) (The illustrations of FIGS. 6 and 7 show a mobile device 600 displaying an example user interface 602 for planning a trip using the mobile app disclosed herein (i.e., schedule…plan a trip). For example, the interface 602 may be used to schedule and plan trips via a plurality of different transport authorities and systems using a single interface or device (i.e., employ an interoperability application to: schedule… plan…a trip leg by leg via a plurality of different transportation systems)…providing a mobile application (app)… at 212 …displaying a price of a ticket for a selected schedule item, and at 220 purchasing a ticket with the mobile application from the schedule (i.e., book)… at 506 providing, displaying, presenting, or viewing special offers and rewards (i.e., apply applicable discounts) associated with the use of the mobile application for fare payment… Offers and incentives may be pushed to users through web/mobile marketing channels (i.e., applicable discounts)…)
Mango discloses to detect a first ticketing technology of a first nearby transportation system for a first leg of the trip utilizing a first specific data type selected from NFC… Bluetooth technology, BLE technology, GPS, RFID, contactless card technology…; (Abst.; Paras. 14, 57; Claim 3) (The system is configured to detect a first ticketing technology of a first nearby transportation system (i.e., detect a first ticketing technology of a first nearby transportation system)… The illustrations of FIGS. 6 and 7 show a mobile device 600 displaying an example user interface 602 for planning a trip using the mobile app disclosed herein. For example, the interface 602 may be used to schedule and plan trips via a plurality of different transport authorities and systems (i.e., for a first leg of the trip)… first…ticketing technologies are (i.e., utilizing a first specific data type selected from) one of NFC technology, contactless card reader technology, and a Bluetooth technology…)
Mango discloses to configure the user’s electronic device for authorizing payment of at least one of a ticket and pass via the first ticketing technology (Abst.; Claim 1; Fig. 10, Paras. 22-23, 28, 38, 46-48, 55,77) (…configure the traveler's electronic device for authorizing at least one of a ticket and pass via the first ticketing technology… As such, a core feature of the system is that it determines which transportation payment technology is to be used at a user's location, and configure the user's device to communicate with a detected payment technology by formatting the user’s electronic device to register and handle the first specific data type utilized by the first ticketing technology (i.e., configure the user’s electronic device for authorizing…at least one of a ticket and pass via the first ticketing technology)…Figures 3A and 3B schematically present a subprocess component flow method of the universal fare payment and collection… Figure 4 schematically presents a contactless reader subprocess method flow of the universal fare payment and collection method…(i.e., for authorizing payment of)… )
Mango discloses at the user’s electronic device, via the interoperability application, detect a second ticketing technology of a second nearby transportation system for a second leg of the trip utilizing a second specific data type selected from NFC…Bluetooth technology…contactless card technology, the second ticketing technology being different from the first ticketing technology and the second specific data type being the same as or different from the first specific data type (Abst.; Claim 1; Paras. 14, 39) (…at the traveler's electronic device, detect a second ticketing technology of a second nearby transportation system, the second ticketing technology being different from the first ticketing technology… the mobile application for viewing nearest public transportation services using GPS and purchasing a ticket with the mobile application from the schedule (i.e., at the user’s electronic device, via the interoperability application, detect a second ticketing technology of a second nearby transportation system for a second leg of the trip… the second ticketing technology being different from the first ticketing technology)… In another aspect, first and second ticketing technologies are one of NFC technology, contactless card reader technology, and a Bluetooth technology (i.e., the second specific data type being the same as or different from the first specific data type).)
Mango discloses to automatically configure the user’s electronic device for authorizing at least one of a ticket and pass via the second ticketing technology (Abst.; Claim 1; Fig. 2 and 10; Para. 45) (…configure the traveler's electronic device for authorizing at least one of a ticket and a pass via the second ticketing technology..)
Mango discloses to communicate with access control technologies to allow the user to communicate with and open access-controlled doors, gates, and other entryways and exits (Paras. 87-94, 96) (With respect to passenger rails, the universal fare payment and collection system or mobile application will enable rail passengers to use their mobile devices to purchase a railway ticket and use the mobile app as a smart ticket. ….When entry gates are utilized, the existing contactless readers or systems will be integrated with the universal fare payment and collection system or mobile application for these passenger rail configurations. In this case, the universal fare payment and collection system mobile application will integrate with a contactless reader through the use of any of the herein described contactless reader technology systems. This will allow entry to the passenger train in a contactless fashion…The mobile application may require entry and exit readers to be configured at each stop…)
As discussed above, Mango discloses configuring the user’s electronic device for authorizing payment of at least one of a ticket and pass via the first ticketing technology, and automatically configuring the user’s electronic device for authorizing at least one of a ticket and pass via the second ticketing technology. While Mango discloses the flow of NFC data from a terminal to a mobile application for applications in universal payment (See Fig. 10), Mango does not explicitly disclose or teach, however, Scavazzini teaches that the configuring the user’s electronic device for authorizing payment of Mango is by formatting the user's electronic device to register and handle the first specific data type utilized by the first….technology; and that automatically configuring the user’s electronic device for authorizing at least one of a ticket and a pass of Mango is by formatting the user's electronic device to register and handle the second specific data type utilized by the second…technology (Pages 2-5, 10, 15) (…This article will explore how to implement NFC in an Android application by reading and writing data to tags using the NDEF format (i.e., register and handle the… specific data type). We will demonstrate this by implementing a simple prepaid payment system similar to public transport systems, where tags, usually in the format of cards, can be recharged and used for boarding. The Android device will act as a payment terminal (i.e., formatting the user's electronic device to register and handle the first specific data type utilized by the first….technology), and the tags store the balance and a list of acquired products.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include using the NDEF format of Scavazzini with the system of Mango’s flow of NFC data from a terminal to a mobile application for applications in universal payment (See Fig. 10), for a more efficient system.
Mango in view of Scavazzini does not explicitly disclose or teach, however, Lewis teaches at the user's electronic device, use artificial intelligence predictive model analysis to find the fastest and cheapest routes using at least one PTA (Paras. 32, 34, and 41-43) (…customized local journey planner 104 can first resolve the origin and destination into the nearest known nodes on the transport network in order to compute a trip plan over its data set of known public transport journey (i.e., using at least one PTA)…. Front-end interface manager 112 can gather travel requirements from the user and present the proposed travel itineraries back to them, and a back-end journey planning engine which performs the actual computation of the possible trip plans, prioritizing these according to the user's optimization criteria (e.g. fastest ….cheapest, etc.) and returning a subset that best satisfy them (i.e., find the fastest and the cheapest routes)… Machine-learning module 110 can utilize machine learning methods and systems to optimize the various outputs and models used by user profile-based journey planning platform (i.e., use artificial intelligence predictive model analysis).)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include using machine-learning based journey planning of Lewis with the system of Mango in view of Scavazzini to provide more efficient and accurate journey planning.
As discussed above, Mango discloses automatically configuring the user’s electronic device. Mango in view of Scavazzini and further in view of Lewis does not explicitly disclose or teach, however, Florez teaches automatically configuring the user’s electronic device, with artificial intelligence (Abst., Paras. 19 and 23) (An AI system 102 comprises an AI server 112 in signal communication with one or more AI devices 110. Examples of AI devices 110 include, but are not limited to… a computer (e.g. a desktop computer, a laptop computer, and a tablet computer), a mobile phone…. The AI server 112 may be any suitable type of device for communicating data between AI devices 110 and the information service system 101. For example, the AI server 112 may be a server or cloud server. The AI server 112 may comprise a memory or data repository 114 configured to store data (e.g. behavior information 218) from the AI devices 110.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the AI device of Florez with the system of Mango in view of Scavazzini and further in view of Lewis to provide more cost-efficient system by “leveraging information from other AI systems, an AI system can increase its access to information without having to dedicate additional resources or increasing hardware complexity.”
In regard to claim 2, Mango discloses wherein the instructions are executable to determine a mobile device protocol (Claim 15; Para. 45) (…a server determines a mobile-device protocol)
In regard to claim 3, Mango discloses wherein the first and second ticketing technologies are one of NFC technology…contactless card reader technology… B a Bluetooth technology (Para. 14) (..first and second ticketing technologies are one of NFC technology, contactless card reader technology, and a Bluetooth technology.)
In regard to claim 4, Mango discloses wherein the nearby transportation system is determined via a GPS subsystem, wherein a mobile application takes a last known user location, compares it to a database of public transportation authorities (PTAs) and their associated technologies, determines the correct PTA, and sends information regarding the correct communication protocols for that PTA to the user's electronic device (Paras. 39 and 76) (…logging-in a user to the mobile application for viewing nearest public transportation services using GPS… A first step to choosing a correct technology that is needed at a PTA may include determining a location of a user in real time. As a non-limiting example, the disclosed system may make use of native geolocation abilities from an Android device utilizing Google Maps to obtain a “last known location”. Upon obtaining the longitude and latitude of the user when accessing the mobile app, those coordinates will be sent up to a server. Based on a lookup table, the server will send down information related to a particular PTA and what type of communication protocol is required at a given location).
In regard to claim 5, Mango discloses wherein the access control technologies are one of NFC technology (Para. 114) (Any of the above described ticketing technologies (e.g. NFC technology…) may be referred to as an access granting technology or an access control technology).
In regard to claim 6, Mango discloses wherein the user's electronic payment platform is selected from the group comprising Venmo…Zelle (Para. 98) (That payment may include a service such as Venmo or Zelle for electronic transfer of funds, as non-limiting examples).
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mango in view of Scavazzini and further in view Lewis and even further in view Florez, as applied to claim 1, and even further in view of “Reducing Carbon Emissions with AI The Role of Machine Learning in Energy Efficiency” by Datategy dated October 11, 2024 (hereinafter “Datategy”).
In regard to claim 20, Mango in view of Scavazzini and further in view Lewis and even further in view Florez does not explicitly disclose or teach, however, Datategy teaches using artificial intelligence to monitor and calculate carbon consumption by the user (Pages 1, 3-4) (AI and machine learning can help identify patterns and trends in energy usage… Another crucial sector where AI and ML may significantly reduce carbon emissions is transportation. Machine learning algorithms may be used to improve travel routes and save fuel consumption thanks to the development of smart transportation systems and the growing availability of data on travel habits and vehicle performance).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include AI tools for carbon usage determining of Datategy with the system of Mango in view of Scavazzini and further in view of Lewis and even further in view of Florez to more quickly provide carbon reducing measures (See Page 1 of Datategy).
Prior Art
The following prior art, made of record and not relied upon, is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure:
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0144428 to Cantwell et al. (hereinafter “Cantwell”). Cantwell discloses a payment gateway that can protect the transaction account details by encrypting sensitive information such as transaction account numbers to ensure that information passes securely between the customer and the merchant and also between merchant and payment processor. The physical transaction account can be distributed as a financial instrument. The purchase of unauthorized ticket can be prevented. The transactions originating at the web client can pass through the firewall in order to prevent unauthorized access from users of other networks.
“Preventing Fraud in E-tickets Validation Using The 2FA Approach” by Alnuaimi et al., dated November 30, 2023 (hereinafter “Alnuaimi”). Alnuaimi discloses a Ticket_Events application, which combines online registration and the secure generation of QR-coded electronic tickets. The app mandates QR code scanning at the event venue and encourages the use of location services for enhanced verification, preventing ticket swapping and potential fraud. The primary objective is to create a dependable e-ticketing application centered on ownership verification.
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 Rupangini Singh whose telephone number is 571-270-0192. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday – Friday, 9:30 AM – 6:30 PM.
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/RUPANGINI SINGH/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3628