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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 7-8, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 7 recites the limitation "the second 3D view" in line 1, "the first incident location indicator" in line 2 and "the second incident location indicator" in line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 8 is rejected as being dependent on claim 7. Likewise, claim 11 recites the limitation "the one or more user inputs" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
Claims 1-15 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. US 12327311 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the features of instant invention’s claim 1 are present in claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. US 12327311 B2.
As per claim 1 in the instant invention, the following is a claim analysis chart comparison:
Instant Invention, Claim 1
US 12327311 B2, Claim 1
A method comprising: obtaining location information associated with an incident;
A method comprising: obtaining location information associated with an incident;
obtaining one or more portions of three-dimensional (3D) mapping data based on the location information associated with the incident;
obtaining one or more portions of three-dimensional (3D) mapping data based on the location information associated with the incident:
generating a 3D scene associated with the incident, wherein the 3D scene is generated based on the one or more portions of 3D mapping data;
generating a 3D scene associated with the incident, wherein the 3D scene is generated based on the one or more portions of 3D mapping data;
And rendering a first 3D view of the 3D scene, wherein the first 3D view includes one or more incident location indicators representing the location information of the incident relative to the 3D scene.
and rendering a first 3D view of the 3D scene, wherein the first 3D view includes one or more incident location indicators representing the location information of the incident relative to the 3D scene.
rendering a second 3D view of the 3D scene based on and including at least in part on one or more updated dynamic incident location indicators representing updated location information of the incident relative to the 3D scene, wherein the updated location information includes at least a height of the updated dynamic incident location indicators relative to a structure;
obtaining data including at least a height of the structure in the 3D scene; and generating a collapse zone overlay on the first 3D view of the 3D scene, wherein the collapse zone overlay is generated based at least in part of the height of the structure and a factor.
Here is the general claim correspondence between the inventions:
Instant Invention
Claim(s) 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
US 12327311 B2
Claim(s) 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Instant Invention
Claim(s) 10
11
12
13
14
15
16
US 12327311 B2
Claim(s) 10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Instant Invention
Claim(s) 10
-
-
-
-
-
-
US 12327311 B2
Claim(s) 10
17
18
19
20
21
22
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 6, and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by South (Pub No. US 20170311131 A1).
As per claim 1, South anticipates the claimed:
1. A method comprising:
obtaining location information associated with an incident; (South abstract: “Methods for emergency visualization are disclosed. The methods include a computer-implemented method for interactive emergency visualization that includes receiving a notification concerning an incident associated with a multi-floor structure, requesting location information from a user device geographically associated with the multi-floor structure, and receiving, in response to the request, a beacon identifier from the user device, the beacon identifier being associated with a beacon disposed within the multi-floor structure. The method also includes determining on which floor of the multi-floor structure the user device is located based on the beacon identifier and stored information indicating the location of the beacon and displaying a graphical map of the multi-floor structure and information indicating the specific floor on which the user device is located.”).
obtaining one or more portions of three-dimensional (3D) mapping data based on the location information associated with the incident; (South [0073]: “In some embodiments, two-dimensional and three-dimensional (3D) geo-fences may be defined by the processor 210. For example, a number of geo-fences may be defined within a single building. In particular, each floor of the building may include a 3D geo-fence associated with the system 200. In the event of an emergency, the processor 210 may be operable to display the status of each of the geo-fences. This status information, as well as a visualization of the location and physical attributes of the geo-fences may be provided in one or more visualizations which are shown in reference to FIGS. 4A-4D, 6, 7, 8. In particular, three-dimensional geo-fences are discussed in more detail in reference to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8”).
generating a 3D scene associated with the incident, wherein the 3D scene is generated based on the one or more portions of 3D mapping data; (South [0029]-[0030]: “FIG. 5B is a flow chart illustrating a method of generating a three-dimensional visualization of user devices using beacons, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments.
[0030]: FIG. 5C is a flow chart illustrating a method of using a device to report an incident to an interactive emergency visualization system and generate a visualization of an incident, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments.”).
and rendering a first 3D view of the 3D scene, wherein the first 3D view includes one or more incident location indicators representing the location information of the incident relative to the 3D scene.
(South [0201]: “FIGS. 14A and 14B may show visualizations that may be transmitted to user devices 130 by the interactive emergency visualization system 200 and displayed to the individuals associated with the user devices. The visualizations may show different aspects of an incident and may display information differently according to the location and status of the individual. In some instances the visualizations may be rendered and displayed by an app instance 584 executing on the user device. In other instances, the visualizations may be rendered and displayed within the context of a web browser executing on the user device.”)
As per claims 14 and 15, these claims are similar in scope to limitations recited in claim 1, and thus are rejected under the same rationale. South teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium. South [0069]: “In some embodiments, the system 200 performs specific operations by the processor 210 executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions 230 provided by the database 220. The instructions 230 may include one or more algorithms for communication between different systems, registering users and individuals, identifying emergencies, integrating with Application Program Interfaces (APIs) and sensor systems, characterizing and generating one or more geo-fences, sending communications to users, individuals, law enforcement, and emergency response groups, or other functions. The instructions 230 may be stored on non-transitory, computer-readable medium. The term “non-transitory computer-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the machine and that causes the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the present application, or that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures utilized by or associated with such a set of instructions. The term “non-transitory computer-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, optical and magnetic media. Such media may also include, without limitation, hard disks, floppy disks, NAND or NOR flash memory, digital video disks (DVDs), RAM, ROM, and the like.”
As per claim 2, South anticipates the claimed:
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the location information includes at least one set of 3D coordinates associated with the incident. (South [0153]: “At step 562, the method 550 may include detecting the location of user devices, including by floor or z-axis coordinate. It should be understood that the x- and y-coordinates may also be used for horizontal location detection as well.”).
As per claim 3, South anticipates the claimed:
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more incident location indicators include: a first incident location indicator associated with a two-dimensional (2D) location of the incident; and a second incident location indicator associated with a 3D location of the incident, wherein the 3D location of the incident includes height information and the 2D location of the incident does not include height information. (South fig. 4E on the left shows a 2D view of the room being viewed without the height information, while the image on the right shows the height information. South [0124]: “FIG. 4E shows another example of a three-dimensional visualization 490. The visualization 490 shows a 3D depiction of a building 422 with a number of floors. The floors of the building 422 are shown individually. In some embodiments, each floor of the building 422 is shown in a different matter such that the emergency status of each floor may be seen individually. In that regard, in one embodiment, the visual characteristics of a floor in the visualization may correspond to the safety status of the individuals on that floor. For example, a floor depicted in red may indicate that the floor contains individuals who reported a safety status of “in danger.” In some embodiments, a geo-fence may be assigned to each floor or groups of floors and activated by a user of the system 200 or first responder. The status of each geo-fence is shown by the visualization 490. For example, a floor list 492 may include information about the safety status of individuals on each floor, or the status of each floor itself. In the example of FIG. 4E, five individuals with a safety status of “in danger” and seven individuals with a safety status of “unknown” are located on the 54th floor, while one individual with a safety status of “in danger” and one individual with a safety status of “unknown” are located on the 56th floor. Floors which contain individuals with safety statuses may be marked 491 on the building. For example, the 54th and 56th floors are marked 491 on the visualization 490 with dark shading to show that individuals with a safety status of “in danger” are located on them. The floors may be marked 491 with other colors, patterns, or images to show status levels of the floor or the present of individuals with safety status levels. In some embodiments, a user may select any of the marked 491 floors or any of the floors of the floor list 492 to open a floor view window 473 showing a 2D top down view of the floor. In the example of FIG. 4E, the floor view window 473 shows a geo-fence 581 which has been activated on the floor and clusters 474 and 472 of individuals which are clustered around beacons 580 within the geo-fence 581.” The number of floors shows the height information of the building.”).
As per claim 4, South anticipates the claimed:
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: rendering a second 3D view of the 3D scene, wherein the second 3D view of the 3D scene includes at least one of the incident location indicators and is generated based on incident height information included in the location information. (South [0136]: “At step 510, the method 500 may include receiving current location information from devices including geographical information (such as GPS location data) and beacon information in response to the request sent by the system 200. In some embodiments, the location information is received via a wireless communication system forming part of the system 200. At this point, the system 200 may determine both a specific current geographical location and beacon-based location for each device. For example, the system may utilize GPS location data to determine a latitude and longitude of the user device (a “horizontal” location) and may utilize the beacon-based location data to determine on which floor (or a particular location on a floor) of a building a user device is located (a “vertical” location). In one embodiment, the beacon-based information may include a beacon identifier comprising a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID), a major number, and a minor number associated with a multi-floor structure, a particular floor of the multi-floor structure, or even a particular location on the floor, such as a certain room. The system 200 may compare the received beacon identifier with a database of known beacon identifiers, where each beacon identifier is associated with the known location of a beacon. If the received beacon identifier matches a known beacon identifier, the system determines that the user device is physically near the known location of the beacon associated with the known beacon identifier. Further, in some embodiments, when a user device is near multiple beacons, the system may receive a plurality of beacon identifiers and associated proximity indication information from the user device. In such an embodiment, the system may utilize the proximity indication information to determine the beacon to which the user device is physically nearest. In other embodiments, the system may utilize the proximity indication information to more accurately pinpoint the location of a user device at a position between multiple beacons. These locations may be stored within the system 200 and updated periodically.” South [0201]: “FIGS. 14A and 14B may show visualizations that may be transmitted to user devices 130 by the interactive emergency visualization system 200 and displayed to the individuals associated with the user devices. The visualizations may show different aspects of an incident and may display information differently according to the location and status of the individual. In some instances the visualizations may be rendered and displayed by an app instance 584 executing on the user device. In other instances, the visualizations may be rendered and displayed within the context of a web browser executing on the user device.”).
As per claim 6, South anticipates the claimed:
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the 3D scene is generated to include one or more rendered 3D building structures each including a plurality of different floors, each respective floor of the plurality of different floors associated with a different height. (South [0006]: “Provided herein are systems and methods for interactive emergency visualization, including: receiving a notification concerning an incident associated with a multi-floor structure; establishing a geo-fence encompassing at least a portion of the multi-floor structure; determining which of a plurality of user devices were previously within a first distance from the incident based on stored location information received from the plurality of user devices, wherein each user device is associated with an individual; transmitting a request for current location information to each of the user devices determined to have previously been within the first distance; receiving, in response to the request, current location information from at least a subset of the user devices determined to have previously been within the first distance, wherein the current location information includes both geographical location information and beacon information associated with respective beacons disposed within the multi-floor structure; determining, based on the received current location information, which of the plurality of user devices are currently located within the geo-fence; and displaying a graphical map illustrating the multi-floor structure, the geo-fence, and the geographical locations of user devices determined to be within the geo-fence, wherein the displaying includes displaying information associating at least one of the user devices with a specific floor of the multi-floor structure based on the detected beacon information.” The graphic markers at different floors would have different heights.).
As per claim 11, South anticipates the claimed:
11. The method of claim 10, wherein: the collapse zone area comprises a base collapse zone shape coplanar with or parallel to a ground surface of the 3D scene; (South fig. 4B shows geo-fences that are coplanar to the floor plan of the building.).
and the one or more user inputs are further indicative of a maximum building height associated with the base collapse zone shape of the collapse zone area. (South [0113]: “In some embodiments, the visualization 300 may include an individual safety status list 350. This safety status list may include a list of individuals within various areas of the visualization 300. In some embodiments, the safety status list may group individuals by their location within different geo-fences. In other embodiments, the safety status list may group individuals by safety status level. In the example of FIG. 4A, the individual safety status list 350 shows one individual in danger, four individuals whose status is unknown, and one individual that is safe. FIG. 4B shows another example of a three-dimensional (3D) visualization 400. In this example, the 3D visualization 400 is displayed on a web browser 401 that is connected to the Internet-. Although the web browser is shown as connected to the Internet in FIG. 4A, the web browser may also connect to an Intranet or any other type of network to retrieve the data associated with the visualization 400. Also the visualization 400 may additionally be displayed with a stand-alone or proprietary software program. In the example of FIG. 4B, a section of a city is shown on the 3D visualization 400. A geo-fence 430 is represented on the visualization 400 as an area outlined with a dotted line. In other embodiments, geo-fences 430 may be represented with other graphical elements, such as different colors, patterns, or shaded areas. An incident marker 402 is shown within the geo-fence 430. The incident marker 402 may be placed inside a building 422 represented on the visualization in a three-dimensional manner. In some embodiments, the visualization may include other geo-fences 430 that are included within the building 422, such as one or more geo-fences 430 on every floor. Examples of three-dimensional placement of geo-fences 430 are shown in reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. The visualization 400 may also include zoom, pitch, and orbit functions 420 that may allow an operator to visually move about the visualization 400 in a three-dimensional manner.” The zoom, pitch, and orbit functions are user inputs that can indicate the maximum height by allowing the user to view the building from further away. The examiner is interpreting “indicate” to mean “show” the maximum height instead of “input” the maximum height.).
As per claim 12, South anticipates the claimed:
12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: obtaining data indicative of a safety zone area, the safety zone area included in the 3D scene; and generating one or more safety zone overlays on the first 3D view of the 3D scene, wherein the one or more safety zone overlays are each generated based on at least the safety zone area. (South [0124]: “FIG. 4E shows another example of a three-dimensional visualization 490. The visualization 490 shows a 3D depiction of a building 422 with a number of floors. The floors of the building 422 are shown individually. In some embodiments, each floor of the building 422 is shown in a different matter such that the emergency status of each floor may be seen individually. In that regard, in one embodiment, the visual characteristics of a floor in the visualization may correspond to the safety status of the individuals on that floor. For example, a floor depicted in red may indicate that the floor contains individuals who reported a safety status of “in danger.” In some embodiments, a geo-fence may be assigned to each floor or groups of floors and activated by a user of the system 200 or first responder. The status of each geo-fence is shown by the visualization 490. For example, a floor list 492 may include information about the safety status of individuals on each floor, or the status of each floor itself. In the example of FIG. 4E, five individuals with a safety status of “in danger” and seven individuals with a safety status of “unknown” are located on the 54th floor, while one individual with a safety status of “in danger” and one individual with a safety status of “unknown” are located on the 56th floor. Floors which contain individuals with safety statuses may be marked 491 on the building. For example, the 54th and 56th floors are marked 491 on the visualization 490 with dark shading to show that individuals with a safety status of “in danger” are located on them. The floors may be marked 491 with other colors, patterns, or images to show status levels of the floor or the present of individuals with safety status levels. In some embodiments, a user may select any of the marked 491 floors or any of the floors of the floor list 492 to open a floor view window 473 showing a 2D top down view of the floor. In the example of FIG. 4E, the floor view window 473 shows a geo-fence 581 which has been activated on the floor and clusters 474 and 472 of individuals which are clustered around beacons 580 within the geo-fence 581.”).
As per claim 13, South anticipates the claimed:
13. The method of claim 12, where in: the safety zone area comprises a safety zone center point coplanar with a ground surface of the 3D scene or comprises a base safety zone shape coplanar with or parallel to the ground surface of the 3D scene; (South [0120]: “In some embodiments, each floor of the building may be visualized individually by selecting the desired floor in a building view window 421. The building view window 421 may include a title of the building 422, information about each floor, and information about individuals on each floor, including safety status information. For example, the number of users on each floor that are in each safety status category (“safe,” “in danger,” “unknown,” etc.) may be displayed in a visually distinguishable manner. In some embodiments, individuals may be clustered together and represented by cluster markers 472, 474 according to their location on a floor. Although the cluster markers 472, 474 are shown in the floor view window 473, cluster markers 472, 474 may also be displayed in other areas of the visualization 470. The clustering of individuals may allow for simplification of visualizations with many individuals while still representing their locations and statuses. Furthermore, individuals on floors with beacons may be clustered around the beacons. As individuals move throughout the floors of the building 422, they may be clustered in different clusters according to their proximity to a beacon. The cluster markers 472, 474 may include a number of individuals represented by the cluster, as well as the safety status information for each individual in the cluster. Furthermore, cluster markers 472, 474 may include information about the beacon around which they are clustered. For example, the cluster markers 472, 474 may contain a label with the beacon title.” South fig. 4E shows a 2D view of a floor with beacons and marks. These are coplanar with the floor.).
and the data indicative of a safety zone area are further indicative of at least one-dimensional coordinate associated with each safety zone overlay, the at least one dimensional coordinate defined with respect to the safety zone center point or an outer perimeter of the base safety zone shape. (South [0075]: “The processor 210 may inform individuals inside and outside of the geo-fence about the incident via a user interface of the user device 130. Additionally, the user interface may provide individuals with the ability to upload feedback related to the incident to the system 200. The feedback may be received by the processor 210 and may include a request for help, a statement that no help is required, an assessment of the incident, audio information, video information, text information associated with the emergency situation, and so forth. In one embodiment, the system 200 may dynamically alter the size and/or shape of the geo-fence based on the feedback received from the user devices. For instance, an individual may report that a shooter has moved to a second location. The system 200 may then move the center point of the geo-fence to the second location. In some embodiments, two or more of reports of such a change might be required to help ensure the geo-fence is not moved prematurely or erroneously. Such a movement of the geo-fence may trigger the transmission of a new round of emergency information messages to individuals now within the newly-located geo-fence. Such a movement of the center point of the geo-fence may be performed automatically by the system 200 based on incoming information, or may be performed manually by an administrator with appropriate access to the system (based on login credentials, entered passwords, codes, etc.). Individuals that are determined by the system 200 to be outside the geo-fence may also be sent notifications to inform them that they are not in danger.”).
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 5 and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over South in view of Tashakkori (Tashakkori, Hosna, Abbas Rajabifard, and Mohsen Kalantari. "A new 3D indoor/outdoor spatial model for indoor emergency response facilitation." Building and Environment 89 (2015): 170-182.).
As per claim 5, South alone does not explicitly teach the claimed limitations.
However, South in combination with Tashakkori teaches the claimed:
5. The method of claim 4, wherein: the second 3D view of the 3D scene includes the second incident location indicator; the second incident location indicator is generated based on the incident height information included in the location information; (The second incident location indicator corresponds to the 3D view of the scene shown in Tashakkori fig. 16, which includes the heights of the buildings involved.).
and the second 3D view of the 3D scene comprises one or more portions of the 3D scene associated with a height larger than the second incident location indicator, wherein said one or more portions of the 3D scene are rendered as transparent or semi-transparent. (Tashakkori 4.2: “3D visualization and various indoor views
One of the main advantages of the IESM is its integration with IFC entities which allows representing the data classes as separate layers in the GIS platform (Fig. 5(a)). This enables having 3D views of the indoor environment with different levels of detail adjusted to fit the first responder's requirements just by turning on and off the visibility of various layers and adjusting their transparency and zoom extend. First responders and decision makers can either have an overall view of the building and how it interacts with its surrounding (Fig. 5(b)); a general idea of the storeys, floor plans, and egress points such as staircases (Fig. 5(c)); a detailed indoor view of all the elements inside the structure (Fig. 5(d)), or a closed up view of the indoor rooms, corridors, doors, etc. (Fig. 5(e)). Such views will enhance the emergency responders' perception and situational awareness of the indoor areas before physically entering the building.” The overall view of the building and its surroundings is the second 3D view that describes heights larger than the 3D indicators since it depicts the whole building and taller buildings instead of just specific floors of the building in question.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the 3D transparent renderings of the overall shape of the buildings as taught by Tashakkori with the system of South in order to provide visual information about the building in the scene while distinguishing them from the floor information that gives guidance and instruction to the users and first responders.
As per claim 8, South alone does not explicitly teach the claimed limitations.
However, South in combination with Tashakkori teaches the claimed:
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising rendering the second 3D view of the 3D scene by: generating an opaque rendering of the respective floor of the given rendered 3D building structure that is associated with the incident height information,
wherein the second location indicator is rendered above an upper surface of the opaque rendering of the respective floor; (Tashakkori figs. 12 and 15 render transparent versions of of the building which are the 3D indicators involving the height of buildings. The renderings show the number of floors being rendered, which indicate height.).
and generating one or more transparent or semi-transparent renderings of floors included in the given rendered 3D building and not associated with the incident height information. (Tashakkori fig. 10 shows a 2D opaque floor plan with markings to show different paths, along with 3D renderings on top of it.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the semi-transparent renderings of floors in contrast with opaque renderings of the floor plans as taught by Tashakkori with the system of South in order to provide visual information about the building in the scene while distinguishing them from the floor information that gives guidance and instruction to the users and first responders.
As per claim 9, South alone does not explicitly teach the claimed limitations.
However, South in combination with Tashakkori teaches the claimed:
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the 3D mapping data includes Geographic Information System (GIS) data. (Tashakkori abstract: “Increasing size and complexity of indoor structures and increased urbanization has led to much more complication in urban disaster management. Contrary to outdoor environments, first responders and planners have limited information regarding the indoor areas in terms of architectural and semantic information as well as how they interact with their surroundings in case of indoor disasters. Availability of such information could help decision makers interact with building information and thus make more efficient planning prior to entering the disaster site. In addition as the indoor travel times required to reach specific areas in the building could be much longer compared to outdoor, visualizing the exact location of building rooms and utilities in 3D helps in visually communicating the indoor spatial information which could eventually result in decreased routing uncertainty inside the structures and help in more informed navigation strategies. This work aims at overcoming the insufficiencies of existing indoor modelling approaches by proposing a new Indoor Emergency Spatial Model (IESM) based on IFC. The model integrates 3D indoor architectural and semantic information required by first responders during indoor disasters with outdoor geographical information to improve situational awareness about both interiors of buildings as well as their interactions with outdoor components. The model is implemented and tested using the Esri GIS platform. The paper discusses the effectiveness of the model in both decision making and navigation by demonstrating the model's indoor spatial analysis capabilities and how it improves destination travel times.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the GIS data as taught by Tashakkori with the system of South in order to use systematic geographic data being gathered to inform the reaction to the emergency incident and give directions to the participants.
Claims 7 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over South in view of South (US 20150111524 A1) Hereinafter named South ‘524.
As per claim 7, South alone does not explicitly teach the claimed limitations.
However, South in combination with South ‘524 teaches the claimed:
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second 3D view includes: the first incident location indicator, the first incident location indicator rendered at a height that is above the plurality of different floors included in a given rendered 3D building structure associated with the location information of the incident; (South [0015]: “Provided herein is a computer-implemented method for interactive emergency visualization, which may include: receiving a notification concerning an incident associated with a multi-floor structure; requesting current location information from a plurality of user devices geographically associated with the multi-floor structure, each user device being associated with an individual; receiving, in response to the request, current location information from at least a subset of the user devices, wherein the current location information includes beacon information associated with respective beacons disposed within the multi-floor structure; determining, based on the received current location information, which of the plurality of user devices are currently located within the multi-floor structure and on which floors; receiving, from the user devices determined to be located within the multi-floor structure, safety status information about respective individuals associated with the user devices; and displaying a graphical map illustrating the multi-floor structure and information indicating, for each floor of the multi-floor structure, a number of the user devices determined to be on that floor along with the safety status information about the individuals associated with the user devices determined to be on that floor.”).
and the second incident location indicator, the second incident location indicator rendered at a respective floor of the given rendered 3D building structure that is associated with the incident height information. (South ‘524 [0052]: “Additionally, the location information received from the user devices may include information allowing first responders to determine an individual's vertical position in a building or other structure. For instance, received GPS information may include altitude as well as latitude and longitude. Further, a transceiver in the user device, such as a Bluetooth Low Energy transceiver, may detect a user's proximity to various sensors (or beacons) within a building and report such proximity information to the system 200. For instance, a building may include proximity sensor on each floor, enabling a user device to report on which floor it is located. As such, first responders in an emergency situation would not have to spend time searching multiple floors for a victim with a specific longitude and latitude.”
South ‘524 [0053]: “Location information received from the user devices is compared with the boundaries of the geo-fence to determine which of the user devices are located within the geo-fence. The user devices may be carried by or be adjacent to individuals and the locations of user devices may indicate the respective individuals' locations. Based on the location information and the geo-fence, positions of individuals (via their user devices) within the geo-fence may be determined at operation 340. In that regard, if it is determined that a user device is located within a geo-fence, in some embodiments, it is further determined in which proximity zone within the geo-fence the user device is located. The specific proximity zone associated with a user device may indicate the threat level to the individual carrying the device.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the visual marker of height in relation to the floors of a building as taught by South ‘524 with the system of South in order to graphically represent more information about the building in which the emergency happens.
As per claim 10, South alone does not explicitly teach the claimed limitations.
However, South in combination with South ‘524 teaches the claimed:
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: obtaining data indicative of a collapse zone area, the collapse zone area included in the 3D scene; and generating a collapse zone overlay on the first 3D view of the 3D scene, wherein the collapse zone overlay is generated based on at least the collapse zone area (South ‘524 claim 14: “The method of claim 1, wherein the emergency situation includes one or more of a terrorist attack, a shooting event, a bombing event, a building collapse, a natural disaster, an earthquake, a flood, a fire, a hurricane, and an accident.” South ‘524 [0007]: “In one embodiment, the method further includes receiving, by the processor, feedback from at least one of the user devices located within the geo-fence, the feedback being generated in a user interface provided on the user devices. Such feedback may include a request for help and/or a statement that no help is required. Further, the feedback may include textual information related to the emergency situation, audio information related to the emergency situation, and/or video information related to the emergency situation. In another embodiment, wherein the geo-fence includes a plurality of proximity zones representing physical areas of different distances from the location of the emergency situation, and the method further includes determining in which proximity zone each user device located within the geo-fence is respectively located. In yet another embodiment, the method includes transmitting emergency instructions associated with the emergency situation to the user devices located within the geo-fence.” The proximity zones are related to the specific emergency, including collapse.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the overlay of specific zones related to building collapse as taught by South ‘524 with the system of South in order to specify zones related to a pressing emergency situation related to buildings.
Conclusion
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/THOMAS JOHN FOSTER/Examiner, Art Unit 2616
/HAI TAO SUN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2616
