Prior art

Analysis of Prior Art for U.S. Patent 10,664,518

As a senior US patent analyst, the following is a technical analysis of the most relevant prior art cited during the prosecution of U.S. Patent 10,664,518. This analysis examines each key reference, its teachings, and its potential impact on the patent's claims under 35 U.S.C. § 102 (novelty).

The references cited against patent 10,664,518 establish a foundational landscape for location-based services and content delivery. While they touch upon key components of the patented system, they were ultimately deemed by the examiner to not fully anticipate the specific combination of elements claimed. The core invention of the '518 patent is described as a multi-step process for managing and delivering AR content by creating a structured, hierarchical mapping of a physical space ("tessellated tiles"), linking these specific micro-locations to relevant AR content, and delivering that content based on a user's precise location and "view of interest."

Below is a breakdown of the key prior art and its relevance to the claims of U.S. Patent 10,664,518.

Key Prior Art References and Analysis

1. U.S. Patent No. 8,519,844 to Richey et al. (the '844 patent)

• Full Citation: US Patent 8,519,844, "Location based services," filed June 30, 2010.
• Brief Description: The '844 patent discloses a system for providing augmented data to a device by accessing both initial and more precise location data. It focuses on refining a user's location to deliver more accurate location-based information.
• Potential Anticipation of Claims: This reference is relevant to the general concept of using location to trigger content delivery, as recited in the independent claims (1, 7, and 14). However, the '844 patent lacks the specific inventive steps of the '518 patent, such as the generation of a tessellated tile map based on "AR experience clusters," and the dynamic delivery of content based on a derived "view of interest." The '844 patent is more concerned with the accuracy of location determination itself, rather than the structured mapping and content association method of the '518 patent.

2. U.S. Patent No. 8,321,527 to Martin, et al. (the '527 patent)

• Full Citation: US Patent 8,321,527, "Method and system for scheduling content distribution," filed September 10, 2009.
• Brief Description: The '527 patent describes a system for scheduling the pre-caching of content to a mobile device based on predicted user locations and anticipated signal strength. It aims to ensure content is available even in areas with poor connectivity.
• Potential Anticipation of Claims: While this patent deals with location-based content delivery, its focus is on the logistics of content pre-loading and not on the real-time, view-specific AR experience. It does not teach the creation of a tiled map linked to AR objects or the concept of instantiating content based on a "view of interest." Therefore, it would not be seen as anticipating the core claims of the '518 patent.

3. International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2013/023705 to Hoffman, et al. (the '705 application)

• Full Citation: WO 2013/023705, "System and method for providing location-based information and services," filed August 18, 2011.
• Brief Description: This application details a system for providing location-based information, which may include AR content, by using a "geofence" to trigger the delivery of data when a user enters a specific area.
• Potential Anticipation of Claims: The '705 application is conceptually similar in its use of defined geographic areas to trigger content. However, the "tessellated tiles" of the '518 patent represent a more granular and structured approach than a simple geofence. The claims of the '518 patent require the generation of these tiles based on "AR experience clusters," a method not disclosed in the '705 application.

4. International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2007/140155 to Leonard, et al. (the '155 application)

• Full Citation: WO 2007/140155, "Location-based augmented reality," filed May 21, 2007.
• Brief Description: The '155 application describes a system where AR information is overlaid on a user's view of the real world, with the content being determined by the user's location and orientation.
• Potential Anticipation of Claims: This reference is highly relevant as it combines location, orientation, and AR content. The "view of interest" in the '518 patent could be seen as analogous to the orientation-based content delivery in the '155 application. However, the '155 application does not describe the specific method of creating a tessellated map from "AR experience clusters" as the foundational structure for content association. It is this structured, pre-processed mapping of the environment that distinguishes the '518 patent.

5. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0124326 to Huang, et al. (the '326 application)

• Full Citation: US 2013/0124326, "Systems and methods for providing location-based offers," filed November 15, 2011.
• Brief Description: This application discloses a system for delivering location-based offers and advertisements to mobile devices. The system may use a user's location to provide relevant promotions.
• Potential Anticipation of Claims: The '326 application is focused on commercial offers and advertising. While it uses location as a trigger, it lacks the technical details of creating a structured AR environment as claimed in the '518 patent. The concepts of tessellated tiles, experience clusters, and views of interest for AR content instantiation are absent.

Conclusion of Analysis

The prior art cited against U.S. Patent 10,664,518 establishes that the general ideas of location-based services, AR content delivery, and even orientation-aware systems were known before the '518 patent's priority date. However, none of the cited references appear to disclose the complete, specific method claimed in the independent claims of the '518 patent. The novelty of the '518 patent, as argued during its prosecution, resides in the specific combination of:

• Generating a map of a real-world area.
• Dividing that map into tessellated tiles.
• Associating these tiles with specific AR content based on AR experience clusters.
• Determining a user's location within a tile and their view of interest.
• Rendering the appropriate AR content based on this combination of factors.

While the individual components may be found in the prior art, their specific integration into the claimed system appears to be what allowed the patent to be granted. It is this combination that the patent examiner would have considered to be a novel and non-obvious invention at the time. However, as noted in the litigation summary, the courts later determined this combination to be an abstract idea lacking a sufficient inventive concept.