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
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed on September 7, 2026 has been received and entered. Claims 1, 5 and 7-10 have been amended. Claim 6 has been cancelled. Claims 1-5 and 7-11 are pending for examination.
Rejections and/or objections not reiterated from previous office actions are hereby withdrawn. The following rejections and/or objections are either reiterated or newly applied. They constitute the complete set presently being applied to the instant application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 3/16/2026 and 5/11/2026 fail to comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97, 1.98 and MPEP § 609 because there is no application and date information for some of NPL documents and Applicant has not provided a proper copy or list of the references with the same name in the information disclosure statement and English abstract or translation is needed for foreign document. Applicant is advised that the date of any re-submission of any item of information contained in this information disclosure statement or the submission of any missing element(s) will be the date of submission for purposes of determining compliance with the requirements based on the time of filing the statement, including all certification requirements for statements under 37 CFR 1.97(e). See MPEP § 609.05(a).
The IDS list “Japanese Notice of Reasons for Refusal dated June 24, 2025” and “Japanese decision to grant a patent dated August 5, 2025”. It is needed to have application number and filing date.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Japan on February 02 2023. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the PCT/JP2023/003446 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 10 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 1 and 10, line 2, it is suggested to replace “a processor configured to” with “a processor; and a memory to store instructions, the instructions is executed by the processor to”.
Because “[A]pparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does.” Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Bausch & Lomb Inc., 909 F.2d 1464, 1469, 15 USPQ2d 1525, 1528 (Fed. Cir. 1990), see MPEP 2114.II.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chu et al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2015/0050921) in view of Lokesh (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2017/0372390).
Referring to claim 1, Chu et al. teaches an information processing device comprising:
a processor (processor, see Chu et al., Para. 66) configured to:
receive an inquiry including a first location information (a user's current location can be derived by the location identification module 302 from the GPS data or IP address data associated with the user request 102, see Chu et al., Para 44);
store a group information in which a plurality of related locations are associated with each other as one group (A state in which the city is located is at a higher level in the geo-hierarchy while the country including the city will be at a progressively higher level of the geo-hierarchy, see Chu et al., Para. 52);
obtain a first image of a first location identified by the first location information included in the inquiry in response to determining that the first image can be obtained, and determine a second location information which is associated with the first location information based on the group information (modify the definition of the city to cover the county in which the city is located. This facilitates searching over a larger image pool in order to identify a matching image. The search can be gradually expanded to include larger areas so that more images are available for selection, see Chu et al., Para. 42, if the locale initially identified with the request 102 is a town, it may be expanded at 616 to cover a county or a district (a next level in the geo-hierarchy) including the town thereby expanding the image pool available for selection, see Chu et al., Para. 52) and obtain a second image of a second location identified by the second location information in response to determining that the first image cannot be obtained (expand the search of images associated with the locations of interest if an image that matches the current weather conditions is not found in the image collection 120 for one of the locations, see Chu et al., Para. 42);
obtain a situation information for identifying a situation of the location identified by the first location information included in the inquiry (The weather imaging module 100 comprises an input module 202 configured to receive user request 102 and transmit it to the image retrieval module 204. The image retrieval module 204 is configured to identify the locations associated with the user request 102 and retrieve the weather data 104 of the identified locations, see Chu et al., Para 43).
However, Chu et al. does not explicitly teach
generate a screen including the situation information obtained by the situation obtainer based on the first image or the second image; and
transmit the screen to a user terminal.
Lokesh teaches
generate a screen including the situation information obtained by the situation obtainer based on the first image or the second image (generating a weather enhanced graphical preview… The weather enhanced graphical preview may include a digital image of a view from a seating section or from a particular seat that includes weather information, see Lokesh, Para 15); and
transmit the screen to a user terminal (At block 630, the processing logic may send the digital image and the weather data to the client device as a weather enhanced graphical preview, see Lokesh, Para 74).
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 method of Chu et al., to have generate a screen including the situation information obtained by the situation obtainer based on the first image or the second image; and transmit the screen to a user terminal, as taught by Lokesh, to enhance graphical presentation (Lokesh, Para. 1).
As to claim 2, Chu et al. teaches the situation information includes a weather information for identifying a weather (the weather data 104 can be received in a predetermined format which can include specific predetermined terms to describe various weather conditions. By the way of illustration and not limitation, the received weather data 104 can comprise text input describing the weather conditions as, "sunny", "cloudy", "rainy", "windy", "hot", "humid", "cold" or other adjectives, see Chu et al., Para 46).
As to claim 4, Chu et al. teaches the situation information includes a weather information for identifying a weather in a future (provide detailed predictions for a predetermined time period, see Chu et al., Para 41. A list 710 of predicted weather conditions for the next few days is also superimposed on the image 712, see Chu et al., Para 57).
As to claim 5, Chu et al. as modified teaches the inquiry includes the first location information (a user's current location can be derived by the location identification module 302 from the GPS data or IP address data associated with the user request 102, see Chu et al., Para 44), a time information (The information pertaining to the event may include a time element, see Lokesh, Para 16) and the situation information (The weather imaging module 100 comprises an input module 202 configured to receive user request 102 and transmit it to the image retrieval module 204. The image retrieval module 204 is configured to identify the locations associated with the user request 102 and retrieve the weather data 104 of the identified locations, see Chu et al., Para 43), the processor is configured to obtain the image corresponding to the first location information, the time information and the situation information included in the inquiry from an image storing images associated with three or more attribute values including the location information, the time information and the situation information storage (the images can also match the time of the day associated with the weather data, see Chu et al., Para 35. The information regarding the identified locations of interest is communicated to the weather information retrieval module 304 that is configured to communicate with the weather data module 140 to receive the weather data 104, see Chu et al., Para. 45. The locale expansion module 308 alters the unique id associated with the town to another unique id associated with the county level 654 in the geo-hierarchy in order to expand the image pool, see Chu et al., Para. 55).
As to claim 7, Chu et al. as modified teaches the processor is configured to obtain the image of the first location identified by the location information included in the inquiry at a plurality of points in time (preview sun data from the location and at a given time, see Lokesh, Para 31).
As to claim 8, Chu et al. as modified teaches the image at a plurality of points in time includes a current image and a past image of the location identified by the first location information (The digital image may include metadata indicating the location and time, see Lokesh, Para 31. The database may return a position of the sun at the location and at the particular time, see Lokesh, Para 72), and the processor is configured to generate the screen including a plurality of images in time order (Presenting the digital image and the weather data via the display device may include presenting the sun in a first position and presenting a first time associated with the first position,… view the sun at the second time, the processing logic may present the sun at a second position, see Lokesh, Para 66).
Referring to claim 10, Chu et al. teaches a user terminal comprising:
a processor (processor, see Chu et al., Para. 66) configured to:
accept an inquiry including a first location information a user's current location can be derived by the location identification module 302 from the GPS data or IP address data associated with the user request 102, see Chu et al., Para 44);
transmit the inquiry to an information processing device (The information regarding the identified locations of interest is communicated to the weather information retrieval module 304 that is configured to communicate with the weather data module 140 to receive the weather data 104, see Chu et al., Para 45);
a first image of a first location identified by the first location information included in the inquiry in response to determining that the first image can be obtained (if an image that matches the current weather conditions is not found in the image collection 120 for one of the locations, see Chu et al., Para. 42); or
a second image of a second location identified by a second location information associated with the first location information based on group information in which a plurality of related locations are associated with each other as one group, in response to determining that the first image cannot be obtained (expand the search of images associated with the locations of interest if an image that matches the current weather conditions is not found in the image collection 120 for one of the locations, … , modify the definition of the city to cover the county in which the city is located. This facilitates searching over a larger image pool in order to identify a matching image. The search can be gradually expanded to include larger areas so that more images are available for selection, see Chu et al., Para. 42, if the locale initially identified with the request 102 is a town, it may be expanded at 616 to cover a county or a district (a next level in the geo-hierarchy) including the town thereby expanding the image pool available for selection, see Chu et al., Para. 52).
However, Chu et al. does not explicitly teach
receive a screen including a situation information for identifying a situation of a location identified by the first location information;
output the screen.
Lokesh teaches
receive a screen (At block 630, the processing logic may send the digital image and the weather data to the client device as a weather enhanced graphical preview, see Lokesh, Para 74) including a situation information for identifying a situation of a location identified by the first location information (generating a weather enhanced graphical preview… The weather enhanced graphical preview may include a digital image of a view from a seating section or from a particular seat that includes weather information, see Lokesh, Para 15).
output the screen (At block 630, the processing logic may send the digital image and the weather data to the client device as a weather enhanced graphical preview, see Lokesh, Para 74).
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 method of Chu et al., to have receive a screen including a situation information for identifying a situation of a location identified by the first location information; output the screen, as taught by Lokesh, to enhance graphical presentation (Lokesh, Para. 1).
Referring to claim 11, Chu et al. teaches an information processing method for performing all processes performed by the information processing device according to claim 1, which recites the corresponding limitations as set forth in claim 1 above; therefore, it is rejected under the same subject matter.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chu et al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2015/0050921) in view of Lokesh (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2017/0372390) as applied to claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 and 11 above, and in further view of Rapoport et al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2018/0307707).
As to claim 3, Chu et al. as modified does not explicitly teach situation information includes an information indicating brightness and darkness of the image.
However, Rapoport et al. teaches situation information includes an information indicating brightness and darkness of the image (a mostly dark image may depict a night scene of a location as opposed to depicting a day scene, see Rapoport et al., Para. 34).
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 method of Chu et al. as modified, to have situation information includes an information indicating brightness and darkness of the image, as taught by Rapoport et al., to automatically select real-world street level images that are most visually relevant to the current conditions (Rapoport et al., Para. 17).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chu et al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2015/0050921) in view of Lokesh (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2017/0372390) as applied to claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 and 11 above, and in further view of Patton et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 10,261,846).
As to claim 9, Chu et al. as modified does not explicitly teach the processor is configured to accumulate the image at a plurality of points in time or the screen including the image at the plurality of points in time by associating the image with a right holder identifier for identifying a user of the user terminal.
Patton et al. teaches the processor configured to accumulate the image at a plurality of points in time or the screen including the image at the plurality of points in time by associating the image with a right holder identifier for identifying a user of the user terminal (personal information is detected from different parts of a portion of content (e.g., different parts of an image) considered in the aggregate. In other aspects, personal information is detected from parts of different portions of content (e.g., text and an image). The analysis modules can remove detected personal information from signal content or render the personal information, see Patton et al., Col. 16, lines 61-67).
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 method of Chu et al. as modified, to have the processor configured to accumulate the image at a plurality of points in time or the screen including the image at the plurality of points in time by associating the image with a right holder identifier for identifying a user of the user terminal, as taught by Patton et al., to more efficiently and effectively detect events (Patton et al., Col. 9, line 27).
Response to Argument
Applicant’s remarks filed on 9/07/2026 with respect to claims 1, 10 and 11 have been considered but they are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAU SHYA MENG whose telephone number is (571)270-1634. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM EST M-F.
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, Charles Rones can be reached at 571-272-4085. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAU SHYA MENG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2168
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