Prior art

Analysis of Prior Art for US Patent 10,430,015

This section analyzes the prior art references cited by the USPTO examiner during the prosecution of US Patent 10,430,015. The analysis focuses on determining the relevance of each reference and whether it potentially anticipates the independent claims of the '015 patent under 35 U.S.C. § 102. For a reference to anticipate a claim, it must disclose, either expressly or inherently, every limitation of that claim. The focus here is on independent claim 1, as claims 9 and 15 are substantially similar in scope for system and computer program product embodiments, respectively.

Key Elements of Claim 1, US 10,430,015:

1. Search Query: Receiving a query with a start point and an end point for a virtual tour.
2. Boundary: The start and end points define a boundary for the tour.
3. Image Collection: Collecting a non-ordered set of images from different users/sources that fall within the boundary.
4. Subset Selection: Selecting a subset from the collected images based on user-specified image density criteria and filter criteria. The subset must include images from at least two different users.
5. Ordering: Arranging the subset into an ordered sequence based on a temporal or spatial metric relative to the start/end points and to each other.
6. Display: Presenting the final ordered sequence to the user.

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Analysis of Cited References

1. US 2011/0196897 A1 (Koch)

• Full Citation: US Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0196897 A1, "System and method for generating a virtual tour on a display device."
• Publication Date: August 11, 2011 (Filed February 21, 2006).
• Brief Description: Koch describes a system for generating a virtual tour along a user-defined route. The system retrieves images (and other media) that are geographically tagged and located along or near the specified route. It can then display these images in a sequential manner, creating a "virtual tour" of the journey. The user can specify the route by defining a starting point, an ending point, and optional intermediate points.
• Anticipation Analysis:
  • Teaches: Koch clearly teaches receiving a start and end point to define a route (Elements 1, 2), collecting geographically-tagged images along that route (Element 3, in part), ordering them sequentially (Element 5), and displaying them (Element 6).
  • Does Not Teach: Koch does not appear to explicitly disclose selecting a subset of images based on a user-specified image density (e.g., number of images per time unit or mile) or collecting images from verifiably different users and ensuring the final subset contains images from at least two of them. While the images may come from different sources, this specific constraint and selection method is a key limitation in claim 1 of the '015 patent.
  • Conclusion: This reference is highly relevant but likely does not anticipate claim 1 because it fails to teach the specific user-defined density and filter criteria for selecting a subset of images from a larger non-ordered collection sourced from multiple users.

2. US 9,025,810 B1 (Google Inc.)

• Full Citation: US Patent No. 9,025,810 B1, "Interactive geo-referenced source imagery viewing system and method."
• Issue Date: May 5, 2015 (Filed April 5, 2010).
• Brief Description: This patent describes a system, such as Google Street View, where a user can navigate a path and view geo-referenced images. It focuses on allowing a user to view source imagery (e.g., the raw panoramic photos) corresponding to a location on a map and to navigate between different image locations.
• Anticipation Analysis:
  • Teaches: This reference teaches the concept of collecting geo-referenced images and displaying them in an order that corresponds to a geographical path (Elements 5, 6).
  • Does Not Teach: The '810 patent is focused on navigating a pre-compiled, structured database of images (like Street View) rather than the dynamic creation of a tour from a non-ordered collection of images from different users in response to a specific query. It does not teach the key steps of receiving a "start" and "end" point for a one-time tour, collecting images from disparate user sources, and then selecting a subset based on user-defined density or filter criteria.
  • Conclusion: This reference does not anticipate claim 1. It describes a system for browsing an existing, structured image dataset, not for creating a new, customized tour from unstructured, multi-user sources.

3. US 2008/0086686 A1 (Microsoft Corporation)

• Full Citation: US Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0086686 A1, "User interface for displaying images of sights."
• Publication Date: April 10, 2008 (Filed October 10, 2006).
• Brief Description: This publication describes a user interface that displays images associated with specific points of interest or "sights." It discusses grouping images by sight and allowing a user to explore images related to a location. The system can automatically identify sights and cluster photos around them.
• Anticipation Analysis:
  • Teaches: This reference relates to collecting and displaying images based on location.
  • Does Not Teach: The focus of '686 is on clustering images around specific points of interest, not on creating a sequential tour between a start and end point. It does not disclose the concept of a linear virtual tour defined by a boundary, nor does it teach selecting images based on user-defined density or collecting from different users to form the tour.
  • Conclusion: This reference does not anticipate claim 1 as it addresses a different problem (organizing photos around landmarks) rather than creating a sequential journey.

4. US 2010/0251101 A1 (Haussecker)

• Full Citation: US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0251101 A1, "Capture and Display of Digital Images Based on Related Metadata."
• Publication Date: September 30, 2010 (Filed March 31, 2009).
• Brief Description: Haussecker describes a method for displaying images based on metadata, including location and time. It discusses organizing a user's own photos and creating presentations, like slideshows, where images are ordered chronologically or geographically. It also mentions sharing and combining photo collections.
• Anticipation Analysis:
  • Teaches: Haussecker teaches ordering images based on spatial and temporal metadata (Element 5) and displaying them (Element 6).
  • Does Not Teach: The system in Haussecker is primarily described in the context of a user managing their own photo library or collections from known sources. It does not describe the process of receiving a "virtual tour" query with start/end points, dynamically collecting a non-ordered set of images from unknown multiple users from the web, and then applying density/filter criteria to create the tour. The inventive concept of the '015 patent lies in this dynamic, query-based aggregation and filtering from disparate public sources.
  • Conclusion: This reference does not anticipate claim 1.

5. US 8,285,052 B1 (HRL Laboratories, LLC)

• Full Citation: US Patent No. 8,285,052 B1, "Image ordering system optimized via user feedback."
• Issue Date: October 9, 2012 (Filed December 15, 2009).
• Brief Description: This patent describes a system for ordering a set of images based on user feedback. It uses machine learning to learn a user's preferences for image sequences and re-orders images to match those preferences.
• Anticipation Analysis:
  • Teaches: This reference is about ordering images (part of Element 5).
  • Does Not Teach: The '052 patent's ordering criteria is based on learned user preferences for content or aesthetics, not on the geographic or temporal sequence between a defined start and end point of a virtual tour. It does not teach any of the other key elements of claim 1, such as the query format, boundary definition, or selection based on image density.
  • Conclusion: This reference is not relevant to the core claims of the '015 patent and does not anticipate them.

6. US 2011/0044549 A1 (Xerox Corporation)

• Full Citation: US Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0044549 A1, "Generation of video content from image sets."
• Publication Date: February 24, 2011 (Filed August 20, 2009).
• Brief Description: This application describes a method for creating a video summary from a collection of still images. It involves selecting "key images" from a set and ordering them to create a coherent visual narrative, often based on timestamps or other metadata.
• Anticipation Analysis:
  • Teaches: It teaches selecting a subset of images and ordering them based on metadata like time (related to Elements 4 and 5).
  • Does Not Teach: The process in '549 is not initiated by a "virtual tour" query with a start and end point defining a geographic boundary. It is a general method for summarizing an existing image set into a video. It does not mention user-defined image density, collecting from different users based on a spatial query, or the specific concept of a virtual journey between two remote points.
  • Conclusion: This reference does not anticipate claim 1.