DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/04/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings filed on 06/04/2025 are accepted by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-2, 4-6, 8-12, 14-16, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/00228461 to Domokos et al., in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0032997 to Gordon et al.
With regard to claims 1 and 11, Domokos discloses a method for connecting to a communication network associated with a micro market, the method comprising:
scanning a code associated with an ephemeral app to be downloaded to a mobile communication device, the mobile communication device being coupled to a communication network, the communication network being coupled a plurality of micro markets, each of the micro markets having a catalog of products for sale (paragraphs 176 and 184, an ordering interface for a restaurant may include a menu for the restaurant. the consumer may use its data processing system (e.g., an app running on a mobile phone) to scan a bar code or other unique merchant identifier visible in the location of the merchant (e.g., the consumer may scan a bar code affixed to a door, wall or window in a restaurant, retail store or other merchant facility). Examples of bar codes that could be available at a merchant location to help the consumer uniquely identify the merchant and/or to automatically download the ordering environment of the merchant may include a ID barcode (e.g., UPC code, codebar, interleaved bar, etc.), a 2D barcode (e.g., data matrix code, QR code, etc.).);
associating a web address with a code to find the ephemeral app, the ephemeral app being configured without any user information, including at least one or more of a name, email address, a phone number, or other personal data (paragraphs 174 and 184, merchant data retrieved from the omnichannel layer 302 and/or data management and analytics layer 320 is used at least in part to identify one or more merchants 350 for which an ordering environment is automatically downloaded to the data processing system in possession of a consumer 360 for viewing by the consumer (e.g., within an app running on the data processing system of the consumer 360.);
linking the web address with the mobile device (paragraphs 175-176, In various embodiments, an ordering environment corresponding to a merchant 350 and transmitted to a data processing system in possession of a consumer 360 may be an ordering interface for a restaurant.);
transferring the ephemeral app in a first format using the Internet to a storage location on the mobile communication device (paragraphs 107, 111, 143, and 174 In this exemplary embodiment, the data processing system 200 further includes a storage memory 206, which may be designed to store larger amounts of data. Storage memory 206 may include one or more software applications 208, in whole or in part, stored thereon. Web APIs are a particular class of APIs that provide functionality for interfacing data processing systems, clouds and other servers capable of communicating via the Web or Internet. an ordering environment is automatically downloaded to the data processing system);
initiating the ephemeral app onto the mobile device to open the ephemeral app in a second format (fig. 4, paragraph 192-193 and 198, the consumer app order flow 400 comprises a first step in which a consumer obtains a list of merchants in a mobile app running on the consumer's data processing system. the consumer then accesses a set of food items from the ordering environment of that merchant, whether the full menu of the merchant, a portion of the menu, or a set of specific food items. In one embodiment, the mobile app shopping platform of the merchant may transmit the set of food items.);
sensing for a Bluetooth beacon associated with a spatial area of one of the micro markets (paragraph 168, In various embodiments, a data processing system in possession of consumer 360 detects one or more BlueTooth signals, WiFi networks, and/or other Near Field networks or signals, transmits certain information about such signals or networks (e.g., relative strength, identifiers, IP numbers, protocol types, names of network or device detected, etc.), and receives from the omnichannel commerce platform 300 a positional location and/or a set of merchants in the general vicinity of the consumer 360.);
connecting using the Internet to a server associated with the micro market to transfer the catalog and list of items associated with the micro market, the Bluetooth beacon being associated with a micromarket unique identification for the spatial area of one of the micro markets (paragraphs 176, 184, and 202, an ordering environment corresponding to a merchant 350 and transmitted to a data processing system in possession of a consumer 360 may be an ordering interface for a restaurant. In various embodiments, an ordering interface for a restaurant may include a menu for the restaurant, including a set of foods, beverages, ingredients, food modifiers (e.g., more or less of an ingredient, and/or any combination of the foregoing. a mobile app running on a data processing system of a consumer who approaches or enters a particular merchant location automatically downloads a menu, product and/or services inventory, price list, digital offers, digital coupons, other merchant data, and/or other commerce data relevant to that merchant. In one embodiment, this automatic download occurs in response to the consumer's data processing system being recognized by a WiFi network, BlueTooth network, or other Near Field network or signal present in the merchant's facility, or in proximity to the merchant's facility. In one embodiment, this automatic download occurs in response to the consumer's data processing system requesting the download. For example, a data processing system may request such a download after scanning a bar code in the merchant's facility, after receiving an input from the consumer requesting the download, or after recognizing a WiFi, BlueTooth, or other Near Field network or signal at the merchant's location. Other unique merchant identifier visible in the location of the merchant);
selecting one or more of the items in the catalog in a shopping cart (fig, 4m paragraph 199, the consumer then selects one or more items and places an order,);
checking out of the micro market by paying for the items using an online payment process configured with a wallet associated with the mobile device, the wallet comprising a plurality of payment cards, each of the payment cards being pre-authorized for a user of the mobile communication device (paragraphs 92 and 179, using a particular payment method to make a payment or transfer funds (e.g., choosing to pay using a credit card, cryptocurrency, cryptographic token, cash, or some other form of payment), using a particular payment instrument to make a payment or transfer funds (e.g., choosing a particular credit card, such as a “Wells Fargo” credit card, a VISA credit card, a MasterCard ATM card, etc.), using a particular electronic wallet to make a payment or transfer funds (e.g., an electronic wallet issued by Apple or Google, an electronic wallet holding a cryptocurrency and/or cryptographic token, etc.), using a particular payment method, payment instrument, or electronic wallet to receive a payment or funds transferred by another party. receiving a payment from the data processing system (e.g., through an app or through an electronic wallet));
maintaining privacy of any user information associated with the user of the mobile communication device (paragraph 87, In various embodiments, some types of consumer data collected from a consumer may include a higher degree of confidential content, privacy concern, or consumer sensitivity, in which case such data may be purchased from the consumer for a higher price, or such data may be omitted from the collection (e.g., omitted sometimes depending on certain rules, or never collected).); and
performing the scanning, associating, linking, transferring, initiating, sensing, connecting, selecting, and checking out within a time frame of 45 seconds and less (fig. 4, paragraph 190, In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the flow of the order is illustrated by consumer app order flow 400. Examiner notes that a time frame for processing steps above is based on a user’s activity speed and consideration time period. And in one specific scenario, a user can perform all above steps within 45 seconds).
Domokos does not disclose optionally, displaying a user interface having a shopping icon and a tip icon, the user interface being displayed on the mobile device; selecting the tip icon on the user interface; displaying one or more tip options from the user interface; selecting at least one of the tip options and transferring a payment amount for the tip options using a pay icon on the user interface; and polling activity associated with the ephemeral app, and removing the ephemeral app from the storage location if no activity is detected from checking out after 24 hours or one hour.
However, Gordon teaches optionally, displaying a user interface having a shopping icon and a tip icon, the user interface being displayed on the mobile device (paragraphs 184, 235, and 384, simply displaying one or more icons (similar to the one or more icons that prompted network connection), for downloading and/or executing the feeder application in response to a selection thereof. As an option, a user may initiate the request by launching the application (e.g. by selecting an icon associated with the application, etc.). Once the bill has been presented to the user, the user may be presented with an option to add a tip to the bill.); selecting the tip icon on the user interface (paragraph 384, the tip may be manually entered by the user, or may be selected from a preconfigured amount (e.g. 10%, 15%, 20%, etc.).); displaying one or more tip options from the user interface (paragraph 384, may be selected from a preconfigured amount (e.g. 10%, 15%, 20%, etc.).); selecting at least one of the tip options and transferring a payment amount for the tip options using a pay icon on the user interface (paragraph 384, the user may transfer funds from a personal account (e.g. debit, credit, etc.) to the restaurant to cover the bill and/or tip.); and polling activity associated with the ephemeral app, and removing the ephemeral app from the storage location if no activity is detected from checking out after 24 hours or one hour (For example, in one embodiment, the user may grant a temporary permission to try out a lite app, including permit the lite app to be downloaded and temporarily installed (e.g. temporary cache, etc.) onto the mobile device. In one embodiment, the application and/or lite app may be saved for a predetermined time period (e.g. 30 minutes, etc.) before being automatically deleted from the user's mobile device. Examiner notes that it’s obvious that a predetermined time period can be a day or a hour, paragraph 471).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Domokos to include, optionally, displaying a user interface having a shopping icon and a tip icon, the user interface being displayed on the mobile device; selecting the tip icon on the user interface; displaying one or more tip options from the user interface; selecting at least one of the tip options and transferring a payment amount for the tip options using a pay icon on the user interface; and polling activity associated with the ephemeral app, and removing the ephemeral app from the storage location if no activity is detected from checking out after 24 hours or one hour, as taught in Gordon, in order to prompt an action by the platform in connection with a mobile device (Gordon, paragraph 3).
With regard to claims 2 and 12, Domokos discloses the ephemeral app has a size of 10 MB or less (Examiner notes that download speed is based on network hardware and the size of data package. Therefore, it’s obvious that the downloading time can be less than 10 seconds when the size of package is smaller, e.g., 10 MB or less); wherein the user interface comprising one or more panels displayed alone or together (paragraph 126).
With regard to claims 4 and 14, Domokos discloses the ephemeral application displaces the catalog of the products for sale at the micro market (fig. 4, paragraph 161, an indication of interest in a product or service offered by the merchant (e.g., the merchant's mobile app shopping platform 306 and/or online shopping platform 304 may receive a request from the consumer to transmit a menu of the merchant or some other information related to the merchant).
With regard to claims 5 and 15, Domokos discloses the initiating comprising downloading the ephemeral application automatically without any interaction of a user of the mobile communication device (paragraph 174, automatically downloaded).
With regard to claims 6 and 16, Domokos discloses the downloading is characterized by a time of 10 seconds and less (Examiner notes that download speed is based on network hardware and the size of data package. Therefore, it’s obvious that the downloading time can be less than 10 seconds when the size of package is smaller, e.g., 10 MB or less).
With regard to claims 8 and 18, Domokos discloses the code associated with the ephemeral app is displayed on a physical structure within a vicinity of the micro market (paragraph 184, the consumer may scan a bar code affixed to a door, wall or window in a restaurant, retail store or other merchant facility).
With regard to claims 9 and 19, Domokos discloses the ephemeral app is selected from an App Clip from Apple or a Google Play Instant App from Google Inc (paragraph 92).
With regard to claims 10 and 20, Domokos discloses the on-line payment process is selected from Apple Pay,Google Pay, Samsung Pay, or other mobile pay application (paragraph 92).
Claims 3, 7, 13, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/00228461 to Domokos et al., in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0032997 to Gordon et al., and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0317708 to Eramian et al.
With regard to claims 3 and 13, the combination of references discloses wherein the tip options comprise at least two or more options (Gordon, paragraph 384), the tip options comprise an input region for a staff member (Gordon, paragraph 384). However, the combination of references does not disclose the sensing comprises using a wireless BluetoothTM connection to read the micro market beacon unique identification to determine a presence of a micro market having a transmitter device emitting the micro market beacon unique identification.
However, Eramian teaches the sensing comprises using a wireless BluetoothTM connection to read the micro market beacon unique identification to determine a presence of a micro market having a transmitter device emitting the micro market beacon unique identification (Wireless communications equipment that may be included in a beacon at a location may include Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon communications equipment. A user device may passively monitor for beacon communications such as BLE communications. When a user device detects a beacon signal such as a BLE signal and verifies the identifier as belonging to a particular location such as a merchant location (e.g., a merchant device and/or server), paragraphs 14 and 16).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of references to include, the sensing comprises using a wireless BluetoothTM connection to read the micro market beacon unique identification to determine a presence of a micro market having a transmitter device emitting the micro market beacon unique identification, as taught in Eramian, in order to obtain products to shorten the duration and increase the efficiency of a shopping trip (Eramian, paragraph 2).
With regard to claims 7 and 17, the combination of references discloses the ephemeral application is configured for one of a plurality of micro markets (Domokos, paragraph 184), however, the combination of references does not disclose each of the micro markets having a transmitter capable of emitting a unique identification associated with the micro market.
However, Eramian teaches each of the micro markets having a transmitter capable of emitting a unique identification associated with the micro market (paragraphs 14 and 16).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of references to include, each of the micro markets having a transmitter capable of emitting a unique identification associated with the micro market, as taught in Eramian, in order to obtain products to shorten the duration and increase the efficiency of a shopping trip (Eramian, paragraph 2).
Conclusion
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/ARIEL J YU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627
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