Prior art

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 10916138, I will examine the "Prior art references" section on its Google Patents page (https://patents.google.com/patent/[US10916138](/patent/US10916138)/en), which generally aggregates citations found in USPTO records.

Based on the Google Patents page for US10916138, the following U.S. patents are cited as prior art:

1. US6697730B1

   • Full Citation: US6697730B1, "Method and apparatus for dispatching a service vehicle," inventor(s): David F. Slemmer, assigned to United Parcel Service of America, Inc.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Publication: February 24, 2004; Filing: May 23, 2002.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a method and apparatus for dispatching a service vehicle in response to a service request. It involves receiving a request from a customer, determining the location of multiple service vehicles, selecting the most appropriate vehicle based on location and service area, and dispatching it to the customer. The system can optimize routes and manage a fleet of vehicles.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): US6697730B1 potentially anticipates elements of claims 1, 9, and 18 of US10916138, particularly those related to receiving a demand, identifying available transport capacity, and dispatching a vehicle based on location. Claim 1, for instance, involves "receiving a demand for a transport service from a transport user device" and "identifying a transport provider device," which aligns with the concepts in US6697730B1. Claim 9's method of "receiving a demand for transportation from a transport user" and "identifying available transport capacity" also shows overlap. Claim 18, focusing on delivery of goods, also has similarities in the broad concept of dispatching for a request. The key differences in US10916138 may lie in the continuous coordinated proximity monitoring and specific real-time matching of unused capacity from unrelated drivers, as well as the registration of journey start/end via device communication.

2. US7840427B2

   • Full Citation: US7840427B2, "Systems and methods for utilizing a shared transport network for delivery of goods," inventor(s): Sean O'Sullivan, assigned to Carma Technology Ltd.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Publication: November 23, 2010; Filing: February 12, 2008.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for matching transport demand with unused transport capacity in a shared network. It details how personal communication devices and computer networks connect with shared transport vehicles to provide revenue streams for drivers, security through tracking, feeder systems for public transit, and trusted networks. This patent is explicitly mentioned as a parent application (US12/069,656) in the prosecution history of US10916138, meaning it is a direct predecessor and not prior art in the traditional sense for anticipation, but rather part of the patent family and foundational to the current patent.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): As US10916138 is a continuation of US7840427B2, the earlier patent likely describes many of the core concepts and elements present in the later patent. Therefore, US7840427B2 would anticipate all claims of US10916138 that are not patentably distinct over the subject matter disclosed in US7840427B2. In the context of a continuation, the claims of US10916138 would be directed to patentably distinct inventions or refinements, or claim different statutory classes of invention (e.g., system vs. method) that were fully supported by the disclosure of US7840427B2. This would relate more to obviousness or double patenting rejections during examination, rather than a direct anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 in the typical sense of a third-party reference.

3. US20030036935A1

   • Full Citation: US20030036935A1, "System and method for scheduling and coordinating demand response transportation," inventor(s): Adriaan R. Nel.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Publication: February 20, 2003; Filing: August 16, 2002.
   • Brief Description: This application describes a system for providing demand-response transportation, particularly for non-emergency medical transportation. It involves a central system that receives transportation requests, schedules vehicles, and dispatches them. It also includes features for tracking vehicles and riders, and for optimizing routes to serve multiple requests efficiently.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This application potentially anticipates aspects of claims 1, 9, and 18 related to receiving demand, identifying capacity, matching, and managing a transport service. The concepts of scheduling and coordinating demand-response transportation, tracking vehicles, and optimizing routes are directly relevant. Specifically, the "continuous coordinated proximity monitoring" and the device-to-device communication for journey start/end registration in US10916138's claims would need to be carefully compared against the disclosure of US20030036935A1 to determine full anticipation.

4. US20010037174A1

   • Full Citation: US20010037174A1, "Method and apparatus for dispatching vehicles," inventor(s): Gregory P. Dickerson, assigned to United Parcel Service of America, Inc.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Publication: November 1, 2001; Filing: April 30, 2001.
   • Brief Description: This patent application describes a system for dispatching vehicles, particularly for package delivery. It focuses on using a central system to receive delivery requests, determine the optimal vehicle to perform the delivery based on current location and schedule, and transmit dispatch instructions. It also addresses updating routes dynamically.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to US6697730B1, this application potentially anticipates the foundational elements of claims 1, 9, and 18, particularly regarding demand reception, capacity identification, and vehicle dispatching for deliveries. The core idea of matching a request to an available vehicle for transport is present. The distinct features of US10916138, such as the direct device-to-device communication for journey verification and the specific continuous proximity monitoring, would be critical in differentiating from this prior art.

5. US5799263A

   • Full Citation: US5799263A, "Computer assisted dispatch system and method," inventor(s): David P. Culbertson, et al., assigned to Trimble Navigation Limited.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Publication: August 25, 1998; Filing: July 29, 1996.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a computer-assisted dispatch system primarily for service vehicles (e.g., taxis, delivery vans) that uses GPS technology for vehicle location and wireless communication for dispatching. It focuses on efficiently assigning requests to available vehicles and providing navigation assistance.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent lays groundwork for many modern dispatch systems, including the use of GPS and wireless communication for managing a fleet. It would likely anticipate the broad concepts of locating vehicles, receiving requests, and dispatching vehicles, as found in claims 1, 9, and 18. The specific "continuous coordinated proximity monitoring" between user and provider devices, and the explicit registration of journey start/end via communication between these two devices as outlined in US10916138's claims, would be the distinguishing features to analyze for potential anticipation.

It's important to note that the Inter Partes Review (IPR2026-00306) specifically challenges claims 1-4, 9-13, and 18 of US10916138, arguing that certain claims are obvious over Olmi (UK Patent Application No. GB2397683A) in view of Gaspard (Patent 6,411,897). These references are therefore highly relevant for an obviousness challenge under 35 U.S.C. § 103, and potentially for anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102. However, these specific references were not directly listed in the "Prior art references" section on the Google Patents page for US10916138 as directly cited by the examiner/applicant. Their relevance stems from the IPR filing.

Given the prompt's focus on "most relevant prior art" and "each patent citation," I have focused on the cited U.S. patents. The IPR mentions foreign patent application Olmi and U.S. patent Gaspard, which would require a separate search and analysis if a comprehensive prior art landscape beyond direct citations were requested. For this task, I am limiting to those directly cited by the patent itself.Here is an analysis of the most relevant prior art cited for US Patent 10916138, focusing on U.S. patents listed in the "Prior art references" section of its Google Patents page and mentioned within the patent text itself.

Cited Prior Art for US10916138

1. U.S. Patent No. 6,697,730 (Slemmer)

   • Full Citation: US6697730B1, "Method and apparatus for dispatching a service vehicle," invented by David F. Slemmer, assigned to United Parcel Service of America, Inc.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Published: February 24, 2004; Filed: May 23, 2002.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for dispatching a service vehicle in response to a service request. It involves receiving a request from a customer, determining the location of multiple service vehicles, selecting the most appropriate vehicle based on its location relative to the customer and the vehicle's service area, and then dispatching the selected vehicle to perform the service. The system aims to optimize routes and manage a fleet of vehicles efficiently.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): US6697730B1 potentially anticipates elements of independent claims 1, 9, and 18 of US10916138. The broad concepts of receiving a transportation demand (e.g., a service request), identifying an available transport provider (e.g., a service vehicle), and dispatching that provider are present in Slemmer. For instance, Claim 1's steps of "receiving a demand for a transport service from a transport user device" and "identifying a transport provider device" align with Slemmer's dispatching mechanism. Similarly, Claim 9's method for "receiving a demand for transportation from a transport user" and "identifying available transport capacity from a transport provider" finds parallels in Slemmer. Claim 18, relating to goods delivery, also shares the fundamental concept of matching a request with a vehicle. However, the distinct features of US10916138, such as continuous coordinated proximity monitoring for verification and the explicit registration of journey start/end through communication between user and provider devices, would be key areas for differentiation.

2. U.S. Patent No. 7,840,427 (O'Sullivan)

   • Full Citation: US7840427B2, "Systems and methods for utilizing a shared transport network for delivery of goods," invented by Sean O'Sullivan, assigned to Carma Technology Ltd.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Published: November 23, 2010; Filed: February 12, 2008.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a system that matches the supply and demand of transportation services by incorporating unused transportation capacity (e.g., empty seats) with a real-time allocation and matching service. It enables individuals and goods to conveniently utilize this capacity with attractive pricing and improved information availability and security. This patent is a direct predecessor to US10916138, as US10916138 claims priority as a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/069,656, which matured into US7840427.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): As US10916138 is a continuation of US7840427B2, the earlier patent's disclosure would, by definition, encompass much of the subject matter of US10916138. Therefore, US7840427B2 would anticipate any claims in US10916138 that are not patentably distinct over what was disclosed in US7840427B2. In the context of a continuation, new claims are typically added or existing claims refined to cover specific aspects or to claim different statutory classes of invention (e.g., method vs. system) that are fully supported by the parent application's disclosure but were not previously claimed in a way that granted full protection. The core idea of matching unused transport capacity with demand, as well as concepts like real-time allocation, security through tracking, and providing feeder systems for public transit, are central to both patents.

3. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0036935 (Nel)

   • Full Citation: US20030036935A1, "System and method for scheduling and coordinating demand response transportation," invented by Adriaan R. Nel.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Published: February 20, 2003; Filed: August 16, 2002.
   • Brief Description: This application details a system for providing and coordinating demand-response transportation, with a specific focus on non-emergency medical transport. The system involves a central entity that receives transport requests, schedules vehicles, and dispatches them. It also incorporates features for tracking vehicles and riders and for optimizing routes to serve multiple requests efficiently.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This publication potentially anticipates elements of claims 1, 9, and 18 of US10916138, particularly the aspects related to receiving a demand for transport, identifying suitable capacity, and coordinating transport. The system's ability to schedule and dispatch vehicles based on demand, and to track their movements, presents significant overlap with the fundamental operations described in US10916138. The specific methods of verification, such as continuous coordinated proximity monitoring and the precise communication protocols between user and provider devices for journey start/end, would require detailed comparison to ascertain full anticipation.

4. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2001/0037174 (Dickerson)

   • Full Citation: US20010037174A1, "Method and apparatus for dispatching vehicles," invented by Gregory P. Dickerson, assigned to United Parcel Service of America, Inc.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Published: November 1, 2001; Filed: April 30, 2001.
   • Brief Description: This patent application describes a system for dispatching vehicles, primarily in the context of package delivery. It focuses on utilizing a central system to receive delivery requests, determine the most efficient vehicle to fulfill each delivery based on its current location and schedule, and then transmitting dispatch instructions. The system also supports dynamic route updates.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to Slemmer (US6697730B1), Dickerson's application potentially anticipates core elements of claims 1, 9, and 18 related to receiving a request, identifying available capacity, and dispatching vehicles for transport or delivery. The essence of matching a demand with an available vehicle is well-established. Distinguishing features of US10916138, such as the direct device-to-device communication for journey start/end verification and continuous proximity monitoring, would be key points of comparison to determine anticipation.

5. U.S. Patent No. 5,799,263 (Culbertson)

   • Full Citation: US5799263A, "Computer assisted dispatch system and method," invented by David P. Culbertson, et al., assigned to Trimble Navigation Limited.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Published: August 25, 1998; Filed: July 29, 1996.
   • Brief Description: This patent discloses a computer-assisted dispatch system primarily designed for service vehicles like taxis or delivery vehicles. It leverages GPS technology for vehicle location tracking and wireless communication for dispatch operations. The system's primary function is to efficiently assign service requests to the nearest available vehicles and provide navigation assistance to drivers.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Culbertson potentially anticipates the foundational elements of claims 1, 9, and 18 concerning vehicle location, demand reception, and vehicle dispatching. The use of GPS and wireless communication for managing and dispatching a fleet of vehicles is a central teaching. Similar to the other prior art, the unique features of US10916138 regarding continuous coordinated proximity verification between user and provider devices and the explicit triggering of journey start/end via their mutual communication would need to be meticulously compared against Culbertson's disclosure to determine if all elements of US10916138's claims are present in Culbertson.

It is also noteworthy that an Inter Partes Review (IPR2026-00306) has been filed challenging claims 1-4, 9-13, and 18 of US10916138, asserting obviousness over Olmi (UK Patent Application No. GB2397683A) in view of Gaspard (Patent 6,411,897). While this addresses obviousness rather than direct anticipation for this particular task, these references are highly pertinent to the patent's validity.