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 Claims
This action is in reply to the application filed on 02/24/2025.
Claims 1-5 are currently pending and have been examined.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on application JP2024-045223 filed in Japan on 03/21/2024. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because the terminal in Fig. 3B is denoted with character 2A(2B) while corresponding specification Page 10 lines 11-12 recites “Since a configuration of the terminal 2B is similar to that of the terminal 2A, illustration thereof is omitted” (emphasis added). Accordingly, the spec and drawings conflict regarding whether an illustration of 3B is shown. Examiner recommends an amendment to either the spec (removing the sentence stating that 2B is not illustrated) or an amendment to the drawings (removing 2B character from Fig. 3B) to bring the spec and drawings into alignment regarding whether 2B is depicted or not.
Additionally, Fig. 4 displays an arrow with “YES” written next to it that runs between blocks S4 and S5. However, Step S4 does not represent a decision point in the method in wither the drawing or corresponding specification description on Page 15 lines 14-15 (whereas Step S8 is a decision point and is properly labeled with YES and NO arrows based on the outcome of the decision point). Examiner recommends removing the “YES” label from the Step S4 arrow.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 4 recites the limitation “the priorities of the plurality of purpose candidates”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Specifically, claim 3 introduces “a priority” for the purpose candidates, but does not introduce multiple priorities. Accordingly, the scope of claim 4 is unclear as to whether the plural “the priorities” is referring back to the singular “a priority” in claim 3 or is introducing a different set of priorities.
Claim 5 is rejected for similar reasons as discussed above regarding claim 4.
For the purposes of examination, Examiner is interpreting “the priorities” as referring back to “a priority” in claim 3, with the purpose candidates being prioritized based on a single priority and not each having their own priority.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claims recite providing route guidance to a particular destination in a range of a first destination based on a user-provided purpose of travel.
As an initial matter, claims 1-5 fall into at least the machine category of statutory subject matter. Therefore, all claims fall into at least one of the statutory categories. Eligibility analysis proceeds to Step 2A.
In claim 1, the limitation of “acquiring position information indicating a current position of a vehicle”, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind but for the recitation of generic computer components. That is, other than reciting “A navigation apparatus comprising a microprocessor communicatively connected to an input device and an output device, wherein the microprocessor is configured to perform,” nothing in the claim element precludes the step from practically being performed in the mind. Similarly, the limitations of “receiving an input of destination information indicating a destination and an input of purpose information indicating a purpose; referring to map information including road map information and facility information regarding a facility and a parking lot; temporarily setting a predetermined range including the destination as a first destination based on the destination information and the road map information; setting a specific position narrower than a range of the first destination as a second destination based on the purpose information and the facility information; setting a route based on the position information of the vehicle and position information of the second destination; and outputting route guidance information based on the route and the position information of the vehicle”, as drafted, is a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind but for the recitation of generic computer components. If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind but for the recitation of generic computer components, then it falls within the “Mental Processes” grouping of abstract ideas. Accordingly, the claims recite an abstract idea.
Additionally, claim 1 recites the concept of providing navigation instructions to a particular destination based on a user-provided purpose of travel which is a certain method of organizing human activity including managing personal behavior. Acquiring position information indicating a current position of a vehicle; receiving an input of destination information indicating a destination and an input of purpose information indicating a purpose; referring to map information including road map information and facility information regarding a facility and a parking lot; temporarily setting a predetermined range including the destination as a first destination based on the destination information and the road map information; setting a specific position narrower than a range of the first destination as a second destination based on the purpose information and the facility information; setting a route based on the position information of the vehicle and position information of the second destination; and outputting route guidance information based on the route and the position information of the vehicle all, as a whole, fall under the category of managing personal behavior. The claim falls into the “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity” grouping of abstract ideas. Mere recitation of generic computer components does not remove the claim from this grouping. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. In particular, the claim recites the additional elements of a navigation apparatus, a microprocessor communicatively connected to an input device and an output device, an input device, and an output device. The recited additional elements are recited at a high-level of generality such that it amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. Accordingly, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The combination of these additional elements is also no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. Accordingly, even in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claim is directed to an abstract idea.
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional elements of a navigation apparatus, a microprocessor communicatively connected to an input device and an output device, an input device, and an output device amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. The combination of these additional elements is also no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. Mere instructions to apply an exception using generic computer components cannot provide an inventive concept. The claim is not patent eligible.
Claims 2-5 further limit the abstract idea of claim 1 without adding any new additional elements. Therefore, by the analysis of claim 1 above these claims, individually and as an ordered combination, do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application nor amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. The claims are not patent eligible.
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.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fujiwara (U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2007/0225910, hereafter known as Fujiwara).
Regarding claim 1, Fujiwara teaches:
A navigation apparatus comprising a microprocessor communicatively connected to an input device and an output device, wherein the microprocessor is configured to perform (see Fig. 1 and [0025]-[0027] for apparatus generally. See [0030] "In the main body 10...12 represents a system controller configured with a microcomputer and so forth...The system controller 12 executes the following various navigation processes" for a microprocessor in the apparatus executing the navigation processes. See [0026] operating unit 2 for the input device and [0029] display unit 7 for the output device, and [0013] for the controller operationally connected with the input and display devices)
acquiring position information indicating a current position of a vehicle (see [0026] "The symbol 4 represents a GPS receiver that receives GPS signals transmitted from GPS satellites and detects the longitude and latitude of a current position of the vehicle" and [0030] "The system controller 12 executes the following various navigation processes, such as detecting a current position of the vehicle on the basis of the programs stored in the memory 13 and signals received from the GPS receiver 4")
receiving an input of destination information indicating a destination and an input of purpose information indicating a purpose (see [0035] "The first step S1 selects the destination to which a user desires to travel. If the user operates the remote control transmitter (operating unit 2), and points to "menu", for example, the system controller 12 displays the menu screen on the display unit 7 through the image synthesizing unit 18. By following the instructions of this menu screen and appropriately entering a keyword related to an establishment name, a genre, or the like, the user can select a desired destination" for receiving input of a destination and [0037]-[0038] for receiving input of a purpose at the destination)
referring to map information including road map information and facility information regarding a facility and a parking lot (see [0025] "DVD drive 1 stores map data partitioned into the longitude breadth and latitude breadth of an appropriate size in correspondence with each scale level (1/12500, 1/25000, 1/50000, etc.). The map data includes data (various information on locations, addresses, phone numbers, genres, etc.) related to various establishments (convenience stores, supermarkets, discount shops, department stores, airports, gas stations, home centers, etc.) existing on the map, and in addition the map data includes the data of road units required for various processes such as the route search and map matching processes and the like, and the data of intersection units that represent the details of intersections. The road unit includes nodes (points expressed by longitude and latitude) corresponding to the points where plural roads intersect, such as intersections and branches, and links corresponding to the roads and lanes and the like that connect the nodes", [0049] "when any one of the proposed actions is selected from the list, referring to the map information stored in the map database (DVD-ROM 1a) or the map information obtained from the external database to search for the guide point (detailed location at the place) corresponding to the proposed action" for referring to map information and facility information including road map and facility information to determine guide point. See [0039] "If "go to rest room" is selected from the proposed action list APL in FIG. 5(a), for example, the "guide point" here refers to "parking near rest room" (refer to FIG. 3)" and Fig. 3 for guide points including on-site parking at various facilities, for example, the "Park-And-Ride Lot" at the station when a long distance train is selected)
temporarily setting a predetermined range including the destination as a first destination based on the destination information and the road map information (see Fig. 4 and [0035] "The first step S1 selects the destination to which a user desires to travel. If the user operates the remote control transmitter (operating unit 2), and points to "menu", for example, the system controller 12 displays the menu screen on the display unit 7 through the image synthesizing unit 18. By following the instructions of this menu screen and appropriately entering a keyword related to an establishment name, a genre, or the like, the user can select a desired destination" for temporarily setting a predetermined range of a desired destination based on the destination information input by the user and [0025] for the road map data comprising data on establishments on the map and road units required for the route search. See S5 for the first destination being temporary if map information exists for the selected purpose of the user)
setting a specific position narrower than a range of the first destination as a second destination based on the purpose information and the facility information (see S4 and [0038] "The next step S4 judges whether any one of the proposed actions are selected (YES) or not (NO) by means of the system controller 12, among the detailed conditions for the destination that are displayed in a list on the screen of the display unit 7 (proposed action list APL of FIG. 5(a))" and [0039] "Step S5 judges, by means of the system controller 12, whether the on-vehicle database (DB) (DVD-ROM 1a) contains the relevant map information including the guide point corresponding to the selected proposed action (YES) or not (NO). If "go to rest room" is selected from the proposed action list APL in FIG. 5(a), for example, the "guide point" here refers to "parking near rest room" (refer to FIG. 3)" and [0045] for setting a specific guide point at a searched destination as a second destination based on the selected purpose and the facility information in the map information)
setting a route based on the position information of the vehicle and position information of the second destination (see [0046] for the system controller searching for an optimum route based on the detailed destination (second destination) and the current location of the vehicle)
and outputting route guidance information based on the route and the position information of the vehicle (see [0047] "the system controller 12 controls the image synthesizing unit 18 in a manner that the image of the searched guide route is superimposed on the map image displayed on the screen of the display unit 7" and [0029] for both the guide route and the surrounding area of a current position of a vehicle being displayed on the screen)
Regarding claim 2, Fujiwara teaches all of the limitations of claim 1 above. Fujiwara further teaches:
wherein the microprocessor is configured to perform the setting of the second destination including, when the first destination is temporarily set, outputting a plurality of purpose candidates associated in advance with the facility existing in the first destination to the output device (see [0036] "The next step S2 collates the information on the selected destination with the information (proposed action list) registered in the proposed action database 6 by means of the system controller 12" for determining whether any proposed actions are registered in association with the selected first destination. See [0027] " The proposed action database 6 contains information (proposed action list), in which respective places in each of plural establishments may be associated in a list form with proposed actions at each of the establishments, which are appropriately extracted in advance as candidates (places to be searched) for destinations or way points among the establishments contained in the map data stored in the map database (DVD-ROM 1a)" for the proposed action database being registered in advance. See [0037] "In case the selected destination (place) is registered in the proposed action database 6, step S3 extracts the detailed condition (proposed action) from the proposed action database 6 by means of the system controller 12, and displays the extracted information in a list form on the screen of the display unit 7" and Fig. 5(a) for displaying the plurality of purpose candidates)
inputting a signal for selecting one of the plurality of purpose candidates as the destination information via the input device (see [0038] "The next step S4 judges whether any one of the proposed actions are selected (YES) or not (NO) by means of the system controller 12, among the detailed conditions for the destination that are displayed in a list on the screen of the display unit 7 (proposed action list APL of FIG. 5(a)). This selection can be performed by the user operating the remote control transmitter (operating unit 2) and setting the cursor to the position of a desired "proposed action" on the screen. And if the judgment is YES, the process goes to step S5" for receiving an input selecting one of the purpose candidates as a destination)
and setting the specific position matching one purpose candidate as the second destination (see [0039] "Step S5 judges, by means of the system controller 12, whether the on-vehicle database (DB) (DVD-ROM 1a) contains the relevant map information including the guide point corresponding to the selected proposed action (YES) or not (NO). If "go to rest room" is selected from the proposed action list APL in FIG. 5(a), for example, the "guide point" here refers to "parking near rest room" (refer to FIG. 3). If the judgment is YES, process goes to step S6" and [0046] for setting the detailed destination as the second destination and generating a route to the detailed destination)
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 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujiwara in view of Assuncao et al. (U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2014/0357247, hereafter known as Assuncao).
Regarding claim 3, Fujiwara teaches all of the limitations of claim 2 above. Fujiwara further teaches:
wherein the microprocessor is configured to perform the setting of the second destination including outputting the plurality of purpose candidates associated in advance with the facility, to the output device (see [0036] "The next step S2 collates the information on the selected destination with the information (proposed action list) registered in the proposed action database 6 by means of the system controller 12" for determining whether any proposed actions are registered in association with the selected first destination. See [0027] " The proposed action database 6 contains information (proposed action list), in which respective places in each of plural establishments may be associated in a list form with proposed actions at each of the establishments, which are appropriately extracted in advance as candidates (places to be searched) for destinations or way points among the establishments contained in the map data stored in the map database (DVD-ROM 1a)" for the proposed action database being registered in advance. See [0037] "In case the selected destination (place) is registered in the proposed action database 6, step S3 extracts the detailed condition (proposed action) from the proposed action database 6 by means of the system controller 12, and displays the extracted information in a list form on the screen of the display unit 7" and Fig. 5(a) for displaying the plurality of purpose candidates)
While Fujiwara teaches the display of a list of a plurality of proposed actions in Fig. 5(a) and [0038]-[0039] and [0049], Fujiwara does not explicitly teach that the proposed actions are displayed according to a priority set in advance for the facility. Assuncao teaches:
outputting the plurality of purpose candidates associated in advance with the facility, to the output device according to a priority determined in advance for the facility (see [0091] "users have a mechanism by which different physical activities can be ranked, a version of which was shown in FIG. 9. To achieve this ranking, for each physical activity A at a given location, time, and weather condition, the number of times that the activity has been selected is computed. This activity and its occurrence number are then added to a list L, and the list can then be sorted in descending order, as reflecting user preferences for a specific location. This list can then be accessed by first-time users in this specific location" for organizing the list of activities at a location in order based on the number of times the activity has been selected at the location. The priority listing is generated in advance of a first time user for the particular location. Also see [0076]-[0077] and Fig. 9 step 901 for receiving the ranked list determined in advance for the location)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the ranking of activities for a given location and displaying the activities for a location in a ranked order of Assuncao in the system of Fujiwara. As Assuncao states in [0041] “The benefits of this second aspect of the present invention…include the advantage of permitting the defining of a set of rules based on the users' behavior and environments conditions to adjust the content delivery accordingly, as well as the benefit of using information from others' sets of rules under similar conditions, as accessed from a shared computing infrastructure.” In the context of a combination of Assuncao and Fujiwara, the content delivery of proposed actions would adjusted based on the user’s past behavior as well as based on the behavior of other users who have selected the same search destination in the system of Fujiwara.
Additionally, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique of incorporating the ranking of activities for a given location and displaying the activities for a location in a ranked order of Assuncao to the system of Fujiwara would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved system. It would have been recognized that applying the technique of Assuncao to the teaching of Fujiwara would have yielded predictable results because the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate such incorporating the ranking of activities for a given location and displaying the activities for a location in a ranked order. Further, applying incorporating the ranking of activities for a given location and displaying the activities for a location in a ranked order to Fujiwara would have been recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art as resulting in an improved system that would allow more efficient display of potential activities to the user. One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that ordering the potential activities at a location from most to least selected as in Assuncao would allow for a user of the combined system to more quickly find and select popular activities, saving the user from visually searching and/or scrolling through potential activities to find a desired activity.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Fujiwara and Assuncao teaches all of the limitations of claim 3 above. As discussed above, Fujiwara does not explicitly teach priorities for the proposed user activities that are displayed to the user. Accordingly, Fujiwara also does not explicitly teach the priorities being determined by using a weight value based on at least one of a number of times of selection in a past, a day of a week selected in the past, and a time zone selected in the past. Assuncao further teaches:
wherein the priorities of the plurality of purpose candidates are determined by using a weight value based on at least one of a number of times of selection in a past, a day of a week selected in the past, and a time zone selected in the past (see [0091] "users have a mechanism by which different physical activities can be ranked, a version of which was shown in FIG. 9. To achieve this ranking, for each physical activity A at a given location, time, and weather condition, the number of times that the activity has been selected is computed. This activity and its occurrence number are then added to a list L, and the list can then be sorted in descending order, as reflecting user preferences for a specific location. This list can then be accessed by first-time users in this specific location" for organizing the list of activities at a location in order based on the number of times the activity has been selected at the location. The priority listing is generated in advance of a first time user for the particular location. Also see [0077] and Fig. 9 step 901 for receiving the ranked list determined in advance for the location)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the ranking of activities for a given location and displaying the activities for a location in a ranked order of Assuncao in the system of Fujiwara. As Assuncao states in [0041] “The benefits of this second aspect of the present invention…include the advantage of permitting the defining of a set of rules based on the users' behavior and environments conditions to adjust the content delivery accordingly, as well as the benefit of using information from others' sets of rules under similar conditions, as accessed from a shared computing infrastructure.” In the context of a combination of Assuncao and Fujiwara, the content delivery of proposed actions would adjusted based on the user’s past behavior as well as based on the behavior of other users who have selected the same search destination in the system of Fujiwara.
Additionally, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique of incorporating the ranking of activities for a given location and displaying the activities for a location in a ranked order of Assuncao to the system of Fujiwara would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved system. It would have been recognized that applying the technique of Assuncao to the teaching of Fujiwara would have yielded predictable results because the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate such incorporating the ranking of activities for a given location and displaying the activities for a location in a ranked order. Further, applying incorporating the ranking of activities for a given location and displaying the activities for a location in a ranked order to Fujiwara would have been recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art as resulting in an improved system that would allow more efficient display of potential activities to the user. One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that ordering the potential activities at a location from most to least selected as in Assuncao would allow for a user of the combined system to more quickly find and select popular activities, saving the user from visually searching and/or scrolling through potential activities to find a desired activity.
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Fujiwara and Assuncao teaches all of the limitations of claim 3 above. As discussed above, Fujiwara does not explicitly teach priorities for the proposed user activities that are displayed to the user. Accordingly, Fujiwara also does not explicitly teach the priorities being determined such that a purpose candidate having a higher relevance to the facility is given higher priority. Assuncao further teaches:
wherein the priorities of the plurality of purpose candidates are determined such that a purpose candidate having a higher relevance to the facility is given higher priority (see [0091] "users have a mechanism by which different physical activities can be ranked, a version of which was shown in FIG. 9. To achieve this ranking, for each physical activity A at a given location, time, and weather condition, the number of times that the activity has been selected is computed. This activity and its occurrence number are then added to a list L, and the list can then be sorted in descending order, as reflecting user preferences for a specific location. This list can then be accessed by first-time users in this specific location" for organizing the list of activities at a location in order based on the number of times the activity has been selected at the location. Also see [0077] for the priorities being generated based on information from other users. Examiner is interpreting ranking activities selected by other users at a location higher priority as ranking higher relevance activities with higher priority because popularly selected activities at a location are more relevant to the location)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the ranking of activities for a given location and displaying the activities for a location in a ranked order of Assuncao in the system of Fujiwara. As Assuncao states in [0041] “The benefits of this second aspect of the present invention…include the advantage of permitting the defining of a set of rules based on the users' behavior and environments conditions to adjust the content delivery accordingly, as well as the benefit of using information from others' sets of rules under similar conditions, as accessed from a shared computing infrastructure.” In the context of a combination of Assuncao and Fujiwara, the content delivery of proposed actions would adjusted based on the user’s past behavior as well as based on the behavior of other users who have selected the same search destination in the system of Fujiwara.
Additionally, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique of incorporating the ranking of activities for a given location and displaying the activities for a location in a ranked order of Assuncao to the system of Fujiwara would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved system. It would have been recognized that applying the technique of Assuncao to the teaching of Fujiwara would have yielded predictable results because the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate such incorporating the ranking of activities for a given location and displaying the activities for a location in a ranked order. Further, applying incorporating the ranking of activities for a given location and displaying the activities for a location in a ranked order to Fujiwara would have been recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art as resulting in an improved system that would allow more efficient display of potential activities to the user. One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that ordering the potential activities at a location from most to least selected as in Assuncao would allow for a user of the combined system to more quickly find and select popular activities, saving the user from visually searching and/or scrolling through potential activities to find a desired activity.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Hachisuka et al. (U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2019/0050936) teaches determining routing destinations based on an input purpose of traveling
Hagiwara (U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2009/0157297) teaches a user specifying a broad destination before later selecting a specific destination for travel
Lynch et al. (U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2024/0102811) teaches receiving a first level of specificity destination and then querying a user for information to determine a more specific destination
Yamada et al. (U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2005/0149254) teaches assigning specific destinations under a more general destination
Kusano et al. (U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2001/0049580) teaches determining a specific terminal of an airport in response to a user selecting an airport and an airline
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL C MORONEY whose telephone number is (571)272-4403. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:30-5:30.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Resha H. Desai can be reached at (571) 270-7792. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/M.C.M./Examiner, Art Unit 3628
/RESHA DESAI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3628
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