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 .
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, 6-13, and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rademaker (US 20130346237 A1) in view of Meij (WO 2018035578 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Rademaker teaches A computer-implemented method, (Rademaker [0005] a computer-implemented method of managing curbside pickups of products from retailers ) comprising:
receiving, at a merchant, an order associated with a consumer (Rademaker [0045] The order management engine 314 is configured to accept orders associated with customers for products) , wherein the order is to be fulfilled via curbside delivery (Rademaker [0005] curbside pickups of products from retailers);
receiving, at the merchant, a notification from a first computer device associated with the consumer, wherein the notification indicates arrival of the consumer (Rademaker [0029] the follow-through tracking engine 216 monitors the progress of the customer along the predicted path of travel using, for example, a location service provider 110 and/or a location engine 304 of a customer computing device 102 associated with the customer , Rademaker [0041] The arrival prediction engine 306 may then use the location information to predict a time of arrival for the customer at one or more pickup locations) and includes a current location of the consumer (Rademaker [0040] The location engine 304 tracks the location of the customer and reports the location to the logistics management system 104) ;
in response to receiving the notification (Rademaker [0021] the logistics management system 104 determines products desired by a customer, predicts future locations of the customer, generates curbside pickup orders), presenting a set of directions to a second computer device associated with a staff member of the merchant for completing the curbside delivery (Rademaker [0022] The retailer system 106 may also provide an interface that directs employees of the retailer to the pickup location, and/or allows employees of the retailer to communicate with the customer... the retailer system 106 may include one or more mobile employee computing devices, such as smart phones, tablet computers, PDAs, and/or the like, which may execute portions of the retailer interface engine 322), wherein the set of directions indicates a route to the current location of the consumer (Rademaker [0044] the direction management engine 312 may direct an employee of the retailer to a particular parking space, may direct an employee to a pickup location not associated solely with the retailer but instead used by multiple retailers at once, and/or the like).
Rademaker does not teach
receiving a first unique identifier for identity verification of the consumer; and
confirming the curbside delivery based on the first unique identifier.
In a similar endeavor, MEIJ teaches
receiving a first unique identifier for identity verification of the consumer (MEIJ [0037] The verification process will typically be achieved through the provision of a verification code or identifier by the customer); and
confirming the curbside delivery based on the first unique identifier (MEIJ [0043] Once the verification process has been completed, that is the verification code provided to the delivery drone by the customer (preferably via a personal computing device) matches the verification code relating to the particular delivery provided by the ordering software, the deployable portion will deploy allowing the customer to remove the items from the deployable portion).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Rademaker by incorporating MEIJ customer verification to arrive at the invention
The motivation of doing so would have provided delivery to the verified customer.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein confirming the curbside delivery based on the first unique identifier comprises:
confirming the curbside delivery based on an interaction between the first computer device and the second computer device, the interaction being associated with the first unique identifier (MEIJ [0040] the verification code may be transmitted from the mobile or personal computing device of the customer to the delivery drone. The verification code received by the on-board computer of the delivery drone. Note: the first computer device is interpreted as the mobile or personal computing device of the customer, and the second computer device is interpreted as the on-board computer of the drone).
The motivation of doing so would have provided delivery to the verified customer.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the interaction comprises:
obtaining, by the second computer device, a second unique identifier from the first computer device (MEIJ [0043] the verification code provided to the delivery drone by the customer (preferably via a personal computing device). ).
The motivation of doing so would have provided delivery to the verified customer.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein confirming the curbside delivery comprising:
comparing the second unique identifier to the first unique identifier (MEIJ [0040] The verification code received by the on-board computer of the delivery drone can be compared to the verification code created and/or issued upon payment for the order by the customer); and
completing the curbside delivery in response to determining that the first unique identifier and the second unique identifier are the same (MEIJ [0043] Once the verification process has been completed, that is the verification code provided to the delivery drone by the customer (preferably via a personal computing device) matches the verification code relating to the particular delivery provided by the ordering software, the deployable portion will deploy allowing the customer to remove the items from the deployable portion). .
The motivation of doing so would have provided delivery to the verified customer.
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein obtaining the second unique identifier comprises:
receiving, by the second computer device, a wireless signal from the first computer device (MEIJ [0040] one wireless communications module of the delivery drone may be used to communicate with the mobile or personal computing device of the customer).
The motivation of doing so would have provided delivery to the verified customer.
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first unique identifier is generated by the first computer device to identify the order or the consumer (MEIJ [0037] the verification code or identifier is created and/or issued upon payment for the order by the ordering customer and is typically provided to the ordering customer upon payment. This is typically achieved using a personal computing device ), and the first unique identifier comprises at least one of a machine-readable code (MEIJ [0037] the verification code or identifier can be provided directly to the personal computing device of the ordering customer), a passcode, a string of symbols, or a wireless signal.
The motivation of doing so would have provided delivery to the verified customer.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first unique identifier comprises a description of the consumer or a vehicle of the consumer to be used by the staff member for visual inspection (Rademaker [0034] the customer data store 220 may store information associated with each customer that uses the system 100 including, but not limited to, login information, contact information for the customer, payment account information for the customer, a description of a vehicle associated with the customer).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the notification indicates that the current location of the consumer is within a pre-determined area associated with the merchant (Rademaker [0078] a follow-through tracking engine 216 monitors a current location and a direction of travel of the customer. At block 508, if the customer is approaching the retailer).
Regarding claim 10, Rademaker et al. teach A merchant system (Rademaker [0005] A pickup management system) comprising:
at least one processor (Rademaker Fig. 6 PROCESSOR 602)); and
at least one memory (Rademaker Fig. 6 SYSTEM MEMORY 604) coupled to the at least one processor (Rademaker Fig.6 showing COMMUNICATION BUS 606 coupling PROCESSOR 602 to SYSTEM MEMORY 604), wherein the at least one memory stores programming instructions for execution (Rademaker [0083] system memory 604 typically stores data and/or program modules) by the at least one processor to cause the merchant system to perform operations comprising:
receiving, at a merchant, an order associated with a consumer (Rademaker [0045] The order management engine 314 is configured to accept orders associated with customers for products) , wherein the order is to be fulfilled via curbside delivery (Rademaker [0005] curbside pickups of products from retailers);
receiving, at the merchant, a notification from a first computer device associated with the consumer, wherein the notification indicates arrival of the consumer (Rademaker [0029] the follow-through tracking engine 216 monitors the progress of the customer along the predicted path of travel using, for example, a location service provider 110 and/or a location engine 304 of a customer computing device 102 associated with the customer , Rademaker [0041] The arrival prediction engine 306 may then use the location information to predict a time of arrival for the customer at one or more pickup locations) and includes a current location of the consumer (Rademaker [0040] The location engine 304 tracks the location of the customer and reports the location to the logistics management system 104) ;
in response to receiving the notification (Rademaker [0021] the logistics management system 104 determines products desired by a customer, predicts future locations of the customer, generates curbside pickup orders), presenting a set of directions to a second computer device associated with a staff member of the merchant for completing the curbside delivery (Rademaker [0022] The retailer system 106 may also provide an interface that directs employees of the retailer to the pickup location, and/or allows employees of the retailer to communicate with the customer... the retailer system 106 may include one or more mobile employee computing devices, such as smart phones, tablet computers, PDAs, and/or the like, which may execute portions of the retailer interface engine 322), wherein the set of directions indicates a route to the current location of the consumer (Rademaker [0044] the direction management engine 312 may direct an employee of the retailer to a particular parking space, may direct an employee to a pickup location not associated solely with the retailer but instead used by multiple retailers at once, and/or the like).
Rademaker does not teach
receiving a first unique identifier for identity verification of the consumer; and
confirming the curbside delivery based on the first unique identifier.
In a similar endeavor, MEIJ teaches
receiving a first unique identifier for identity verification of the consumer (MEIJ [0037] The verification process will typically be achieved through the provision of a verification code or identifier by the customer); and
confirming the curbside delivery based on the first unique identifier (MEIJ [0043] Once the verification process has been completed, that is the verification code provided to the delivery drone by the customer (preferably via a personal computing device) matches the verification code relating to the particular delivery provided by the ordering software, the deployable portion will deploy allowing the customer to remove the items from the deployable portion).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Rademaker by incorporating MEIJ customer verification to arrive at the invention
The motivation of doing so would have provided delivery to the verified customer.
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ teaches the merchant system of claim 10, wherein confirming the curbside delivery based on the first unique identifier comprises:
confirming the curbside delivery based on an interaction between the first computer device and the second computer device, the interaction being associated with the first unique identifier (MEIJ [0040] the verification code may be transmitted from the mobile or personal computing device of the customer to the delivery drone. The verification code received by the on-board computer of the delivery drone. Note: the first computer device is interpreted as the mobile or personal computing device of the customer, and the second computer device is interpreted as the on-board computer of the drone).
The motivation of doing so would have provided delivery to the verified customer.
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ teaches the merchant system of claim 11, wherein the interaction comprises:
obtaining, by the second computer device, a second unique identifier from the first computer device (MEIJ [0043] the verification code provided to the delivery drone by the customer (preferably via a personal computing device).
The motivation of doing so would have provided delivery to the verified customer.
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ teaches the merchant system of claim 12, wherein confirming the curbside delivery comprising:
comparing the second unique identifier to the first unique identifier (MEIJ [0040] The verification code received by the on-board computer of the delivery drone can be compared to the verification code created and/or issued upon payment for the order by the customer); and
completing the curbside delivery in response to determining that the first unique identifier and the second unique identifier are the same (MEIJ [0043] Once the verification process has been completed, that is the verification code provided to the delivery drone by the customer (preferably via a personal computing device) matches the verification code relating to the particular delivery provided by the ordering software, the deployable portion will deploy allowing the customer to remove the items from the deployable portion). .
The motivation of doing so would have provided delivery to the verified customer.
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ teaches the merchant system of claim 12, wherein obtaining the second unique identifier comprises:
receiving, by the second computer device, a wireless signal from the first computer device receiving, by the second computer device, a wireless signal from the first computer device (MEIJ [0040] one wireless communications module of the delivery drone may be used to communicate with the mobile or personal computing device of the customer).
The motivation of doing so would have provided delivery to the verified customer.
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ teaches the merchant system of claim 10, wherein the first unique identifier is generated by the first computer device to identify the order or the consumer (MEIJ [0037] the verification code or identifier is created and/or issued upon payment for the order by the ordering customer and is typically provided to the ordering customer upon payment. This is typically achieved using a personal computing device ), and the first unique identifier comprises at least one of a machine-readable code (MEIJ [0037] the verification code or identifier can be provided directly to the personal computing device of the ordering customer), a passcode, a string of symbols, or a wireless signal.
The motivation of doing so would have provided delivery to the verified customer.
.
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ teaches the merchant system of claim 10, wherein the first unique identifier comprises a description of the consumer or a vehicle of the consumer to be used by the staff member for visual inspection (Rademaker [0034] the customer data store 220 may store information associated with each customer that uses the system 100 including, but not limited to, login information, contact information for the customer, payment account information for the customer, a description of a vehicle associated with the customer).
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ teaches the merchant system of claim 10, wherein the notification indicates that the current location of the consumer is within a pre-determined area associated with the merchant (Rademaker [0078] a follow-through tracking engine 216 monitors a current location and a direction of travel of the customer. At block 508, if the customer is approaching the retailer)..
Regarding claim 19, Rademaker teaches A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing programming instructions (Rademaker 0083] system memory 604 typically stores data and/or program modules) for execution by a merchant system (Rademaker [0005] pickup management system) to cause the merchant system to perform operations comprising:
receiving, at a merchant, an order associated with a consumer (Rademaker [0045] The order management engine 314 is configured to accept orders associated with customers for products) , wherein the order is to be fulfilled via curbside delivery (Rademaker [0005] curbside pickups of products from retailers);
receiving, at the merchant, a notification from a first computer device associated with the consumer, wherein the notification indicates arrival of the consumer (Rademaker [0029] the follow-through tracking engine 216 monitors the progress of the customer along the predicted path of travel using, for example, a location service provider 110 and/or a location engine 304 of a customer computing device 102 associated with the customer , Rademaker [0041] The arrival prediction engine 306 may then use the location information to predict a time of arrival for the customer at one or more pickup locations) and includes a current location of the consumer (Rademaker [0040] The location engine 304 tracks the location of the customer and reports the location to the logistics management system 104) ;
in response to receiving the notification (Rademaker [0021] the logistics management system 104 determines products desired by a customer, predicts future locations of the customer, generates curbside pickup orders), presenting a set of directions to a second computer device associated with a staff member of the merchant for completing the curbside delivery (Rademaker [0022] The retailer system 106 may also provide an interface that directs employees of the retailer to the pickup location, and/or allows employees of the retailer to communicate with the customer... the retailer system 106 may include one or more mobile employee computing devices, such as smart phones, tablet computers, PDAs, and/or the like, which may execute portions of the retailer interface engine 322), wherein the set of directions indicates a route to the current location of the consumer (Rademaker [0044] the direction management engine 312 may direct an employee of the retailer to a particular parking space, may direct an employee to a pickup location not associated solely with the retailer but instead used by multiple retailers at once, and/or the like).
Rademaker does not teach
receiving a first unique identifier for identity verification of the consumer; and
confirming the curbside delivery based on the first unique identifier.
In a similar endeavor, MEIJ teaches
receiving a first unique identifier for identity verification of the consumer (MEIJ [0037] The verification process will typically be achieved through the provision of a verification code or identifier by the customer); and
confirming the curbside delivery based on the first unique identifier (MEIJ [0043] Once the verification process has been completed, that is the verification code provided to the delivery drone by the customer (preferably via a personal computing device) matches the verification code relating to the particular delivery provided by the ordering software, the deployable portion will deploy allowing the customer to remove the items from the deployable portion).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Rademaker by incorporating MEIJ customer verification to arrive at the invention
The motivation of doing so would have provided delivery to the verified customer.
Regarding claim 20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the first unique identifier is generated by the first computer device to identify the order or the consumer (MEIJ [0037] the verification code or identifier is created and/or issued upon payment for the order by the ordering customer and is typically provided to the ordering customer upon payment. This is typically achieved using a personal computing device ), and the first unique identifier comprises at least one of a machine-readable code (MEIJ [0037] the verification code or identifier can be provided directly to the personal computing device of the ordering customer), a passcode, a string of symbols, or a wireless signal.
The motivation of doing so would have provided delivery to the verified customer.
Claims 5 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rademaker (US 20130346237 A1) in view of Meij (WO 2018035578 A1).and in further view of Ganesh et al. (US 20160068264 A1)
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 3, but does not teach
wherein obtaining the second unique identifier comprises:
scanning a machine-readable code generated by the first computer device by using a camera of the second computer device.
In a similar endeavor, Ganesh et al. teach
scanning a machine-readable code generated by the first computer device by using a camera of the second computer device (Ganesh [0060] The drone 100 may be further equipped with a camera 140 ...The camera 140 may provide additional authentication by scanning an optical code, such as a bar code or QR code that may be displayed or presented from the device 220 by the application).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ by incorporating Ganesh et al. code scanning to arrive at the invention.
The motivation of doing so would have authenticated the customer.
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ teaches the merchant system of claim 12,but does not teach
wherein obtaining the second unique identifier comprises:
scanning a machine-readable code generated by the first computer device by using a camera of the second computer device.
In a similar endeavor, Ganesh et al. teach
wherein obtaining the second unique identifier comprises:
scanning a machine-readable code generated by the first computer device by using a camera of the second computer device (Ganesh [0060] The drone 100 may be further equipped with a camera 140 ...The camera 140 may provide additional authentication by scanning an optical code, such as a bar code or QR code that may be displayed or presented from the device 220 by the application).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified the combination of Rademaker and MEIJ by incorporating Ganesh et al. code scanning to arrive at the invention.
The motivation of doing so would have authenticated the customer
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAID M ELNOUBI whose telephone number is (571)272-9732. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:30AM to 6:00PM ET.
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/SAID M ELNOUBI/ Examiner, Art Unit 2644
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