Prior art

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 5948040, I will search the USPTO database for citations within the patent. The provided Google Patent link for US5948040 (https://patents.google.com/patent/[US5948040](/patent/US5948040)/en) lists "Prior art keywords" and "Priority claimed from" sections, which are useful for identifying prior art. Additionally, the patent text itself explicitly mentions and discusses several prior art systems and patents.

Here's the analysis of the prior art cited within US Patent 5948040, focusing on full citation, publication/filing date, a brief description, and potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102.

Prior Art Identified from the Patent Text and Google Patents Data:

1. DeLorme Publishing Co Inc.'s Prior Systems (Assignee's systems)

• Citation: The patent refers to "the assignee of the present application" having developed "Prior systems for the general purpose of planning and arranging travel from one location to another." It specifically references "the cross-referenced patent and patent applications noted above." These cross-referenced patents include:
  • US08/381,214 (Priority claimed from 1995-01-31)
  • US5559707A (Priority claimed from 1995-01-31)
  • US08/661,600 (Priority claimed from 1996-06-11)
  • US5802492A (Priority claimed from 1996-06-11)
  • U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,319 "ELECTRONIC GLOBAL MAP GENERATING SYSTEM" by David M. DeLorme
  • U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,117 "DIGITAL GLOBAL MAP GENERATING SYSTEM" by David M. DeLorme
  • U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,707 by David M. DeLorme and Keith A. Gray (explicitly mentioned in the "ROUTES under WHERE? 155" section)
• Publication/Filing Date: Varied, as noted above (e.g., 1995-01-31, 1996-06-11 for priority claims).
• Brief Description: These systems involved "computer-based databases combined with software to create map displays of selectable and variable levels of detail." They included the "capability to selectively plan a trip from one location to another, with intermediate 'waypoints' anywhere along the way." Users could "define the route of interest, to observe the location of points of interest and events of interest along the way and within a defined range of the route selected." Other features included retrieving detailed address locations, coordinating between digital and paper maps, and communicating map information between remote devices, including GPS sensors.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): These prior systems likely anticipate aspects of Claim 1, 25, 26, 40, 47, and 53 that relate to displaying electronic maps, defining travel routes with origin, destination, and waypoints, identifying points of interest, and displaying them. Specifically, the capability to create maps with variable levels of detail, plan trips with waypoints, and observe POIs along a route directly relates to fundamental elements of these independent claims. The mention of communicating map information with GPS also touches upon aspects of Claim 47 and 53 regarding integration with GPS. The routing software described in US Pat. No. 5,559,707, specifically mentioned in the patent, directly anticipates elements of route calculation and optimization in Claim 1, 26, 40, and 53.

2. Internet Travel Network (ITN) and Casto Travel

• Citation: "Internet Travel Network located at http://www.itn.net" and "Casto Travel located at http://www.casto.com".
• Publication/Filing Date: Not explicitly stated, but described as "Examples of online systems apparently designed to give users greater flexibility in discovering travel possibilities." These would precede the filing date of US5948040 (1997-02-06).
• Brief Description: These systems provided "access to an online booking system" and gave "browsers the capability to link up with many travel service providers." The booking system also permitted "ticketless travel, but ticketing must still come through a third party provider with separate fees."
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): These systems potentially anticipate elements of Claim 1, 25, 26, 40, 47, and 53 related to online access to travel service providers, booking, and reservation capabilities. The "ticketless travel" feature anticipates aspects of electronic reservations. However, the patent distinguishes itself by noting that ticketing still came through a third party with separate fees, suggesting US5948040's integrated ticketing and map document (e.g., machine-readable) provides a novel improvement.

3. Microsoft™ Expedia

• Citation: "Microsoft™ at http://www.expedia.msn.com"
• Publication/Filing Date: Not explicitly stated, but described as an existing online service before the filing date of US5948040 (1997-02-06).
• Brief Description: Offered a "similar Internet Web Site 'travel agency' to book flights, hotel rooms, and rental cars; to participate in travel forums; and to browse assorted news, weather, currency, multimedia guidebooks, and photographs."
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to ITN and Casto, Expedia anticipates elements of Claim 1, 25, 26, 40, 47, and 53 related to online booking of travel services (flights, hotels, rental cars) and access to travel-related information (multimedia guidebooks). The "multimedia guidebooks" could be seen as anticipating aspects of the multimedia travelog, but the patent asserts that its multimedia travelog is customized to the user-defined route and POIs, unlike pre-assembled guidebooks.

4. Rand McNally TRIPMAKER™ Software

• Citation: "Rand McNally produces a software travel planning product under the trademark TRIPMAKER™."
• Publication/Filing Date: Not explicitly stated, but described as an existing product prior to the filing date of US5948040 (1997-02-06).
• Brief Description: This software was "for planning a trip by car in the United States, Canada, and Mexico." It "calculates quickest, shortest, and preferred scenic routes for the trip planner." It incorporated "a database of many points of interest," but the "multimedia travelog information appears limited to preplanned scenic tours."
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): TRIPMAKER™ directly anticipates elements of Claim 1, 25, 26, 40, and 53 related to calculating and displaying travel routes (shortest, quickest, scenic), and providing a database of points of interest. The multimedia travelog aspect is also present, but the patent differentiates itself by claiming its travelog is customized and not limited to preplanned tours. The lack of integrated reservation and ticketing in TRIPMAKER™ also highlights novelty in US5948040.

5. American Automobile Association (AAA) in cooperation with Compton's NewMedia CD-ROM product

• Citation: "the American Automobile Association in cooperation with Compton's NewMedia also provides travel planning from starting point to destination point with stopping points in between."
• Publication/Filing Date: Not explicitly stated, but described as an existing CD-ROM product prior to the filing date of US5948040 (1997-02-06).
• Brief Description: This "CDROM product contains a database of travel information." However, "multimedia information available from the database appears limited to 'suggested routes of travel,' again limiting user choice." The patent criticizes that "travel information from multimedia sources is preassembled by editors so that the user or trip planner is limited to 'canned' or prepared multimedia travelogs of prescribed, suggested, or preplanned tours."
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This product anticipates aspects of Claim 1, 25, 26, 40, and 53 related to travel planning from a starting point to a destination with intermediate stops, and having a database of travel information including multimedia. The key distinction, as the patent highlights, is the "canned" nature of the multimedia travelogs in the prior art, whereas US5948040 emphasizes a user-customized travelog.

6. U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,499 issued to Garback

• Citation: "U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,499 issued to Garback describes an individual-accessible planning system that permits a user to develop travel arrangements through linkage to service providers and to ticket providers."
• Publication/Filing Date: August 17, 1993 (issue date).
• Brief Description: This system allowed users to develop travel arrangements by linking to service and ticket providers. However, "these travel arrangements tend to be fixed based upon pre-set travel destinations. That is, the user cannot create a customized travel plan and execute that plan through a mix of travel arrangements." The patent also states that Garback "can only provide the materials necessary to travel from point A to point B—if those points are airports—and to get the basic car and hotel that most travelers require."
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Garback 5,237,499 anticipates elements of Claim 1, 25, 26, and 40 related to linking to service providers and ticket providers for travel arrangements. However, US5948040 aims to overcome the limitation of "fixed based upon pre-set travel destinations" and the inability to "create a customized travel plan and execute that plan through a mix of travel arrangements," which supports the novelty of US5948040's "user-customized" and "iterative" planning features.

7. U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,953 issued to Webber et al.

• Citation: "U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,953 issued to Webber et al. describes a system that provides the user with information regarding airline flight options."
• Publication/Filing Date: June 4, 1991 (issue date).
• Brief Description: This system was "directed to weighting various flight options by expense, convenience, and availability, and giving the user travel possibilities on that basis." While "customizable," it was "specifically restricted to making flight arrangements and so the customizing is limited to that part of a trip." For this reason, it "suffers from the same limitations associated with the Garback device."
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Webber et al. 5,021,953 anticipates aspects of Claim 1, 25, 26, and 40 related to providing travel information (specifically flight options), considering factors like expense and availability, and offering some level of customization. However, its limitation to flight arrangements and lack of comprehensive, integrated trip planning across multiple modes of travel and services (as emphasized in US5948040) suggests that US5948040 presents a broader and more integrated solution.

It is important to note that while these prior art references contain elements similar to those in US5948040, the claimed invention often distinguishes itself through the integration, customization, iteration, and comprehensive nature of its travel planning, reservation, and output generation capabilities. The patent consistently highlights that prior art was either too limited in scope (e.g., only flights, only preplanned tours), lacked true user customization, or did not integrate map displays with real-time, transactional reservation and ticketing across diverse services into a single, machine-readable output.