Obviousness

Obviousness Analysis of US Patent 9202191 under 35 U.S.C. § 103

This analysis identifies combinations of prior art references that would render the claims of US Patent 9202191 obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) at the time of the invention (priority date August 26, 2009). The motivation to combine these references stems from the common goal in the field of e-commerce and delivery services to enhance customer experience, improve efficiency, and overcome limitations of traditional online shopping.

1. Combination for Claim 1 (General System for Remote Acquisition and Delivery):

• Primary Reference: US6837436B2 (Symbol Technologies) - "Consumer interactive shopping system".
  • This patent describes a consumer interactive shopping and marketing system with a portable data terminal for communicating information over a network. It mentions improved multimedia support and enhanced video capabilities. It also discusses a portable shopping system and an order selection and fulfillment system. The portable terminal can be used within a shopping establishment or at a user's home and can communicate with a central host over a wide area network. It explicitly states the portable terminal is provided with telephony and enhanced video capabilities.
• Secondary Reference 1: US20080086386A1 (Bell) - "Conducting Remote Shopping Events".
  • This reference teaches a system for remote shopping where a user can conduct shopping events remotely.
• Secondary Reference 2: US7309015B2 (Scanbuy, Inc.) - "Mobile device gateway providing access to instant information".
  • This patent describes mobile devices capable of accessing instant information, which would include location data.
• Secondary Reference 3: US7818399B1 (Amazon) - "Recommendation system".
  • This patent mentions creating and managing multiple shopping carts for different purposes (e.g., work, home, family members). It also discusses generating recommendations based on items in a user's shopping cart.

Motivation for Combination and Obviousness:

A PHOSITA in 2009 would be motivated to combine these references to create a more interactive and efficient remote shopping experience.

• Bell (US20080086386A1) already introduces the concept of remote shopping.
• Symbol Technologies (US6837436B2) provides the foundational elements of a mobile interactive shopping system, including a portable terminal with video and communication capabilities that can be used at a shopping establishment and communicate over a network. It also discusses an "intelligent messaging agent for selecting messages to send to a portable terminal." A PHOSITA would readily understand that the "enhanced video capabilities" mentioned in Symbol Technologies could be adapted to provide real-time video of the shopping environment and products to a remote customer.
• Integrating the real-time video and communication of Symbol Technologies with Bell's remote shopping concept would naturally lead to a system where a customer could "inspect the product remotely using the real-time video device and the communications device" as described in US9202191's abstract. The ability for a customer to "provide a communicated approval for the agent to immediately purchase the one or more goods" (Claim 1) is an obvious extension of direct communication during a shopping event, enabling real-time decision-making.
• Incorporating Scanbuy's mobile device gateway (US7309015B2) would provide the GPS functionality to track the agent's location and provide location data to the server, enhancing the remote shopping experience by allowing customers to monitor agent progress.
• The "selectable widget for a website configured to retrieve data submitted by at least one of the mobile delivery agent systems to the at least one server and generate a view of the one or more goods at the pick-up site associated with a third party vendor together with at least the data submitted to the at least one server by the mobile delivery agent system" (Claim 1) would be an obvious development given existing e-commerce trends. Websites commonly integrate tools for displaying product information from various sources (e.g., product catalogs as seen in US5528490A and US6125388A), and dynamically updating information. The concept of a widget to display information from a third-party vendor is broadly anticipated by systems described in US7818399B1, which discusses commerce syndication and displaying information associated with a commerce object on a host website. Also, US6067525A discusses integrated computerized salesperson support systems with various subsystems that facilitate the sales process and interaction between the salesperson and customer. The "widgets" mentioned in US9202191 are simply a modern implementation of a commonly known web development pattern for integrating functionality from other websites or services, well within the grasp of a PHOSITA.

2. Combination for Claim 11 (Focus on Widget and Display for Remote Acquisition and Delivery):

• Primary Reference: US7124098B2 (The Kroger Company) - "Online shopping system".
  • This patent describes an online shopping system where customers can submit online orders, view available delivery windows, and modify orders. It also mentions presenting identifications of items on a webpage for selection by a customer.
• Secondary Reference 1: US6837436B2 (Symbol Technologies) - "Consumer interactive shopping system".
  • As discussed above, this provides portable data terminals with video and communication for shopping.
• Secondary Reference 2: US7309015B2 (Scanbuy, Inc.) - "Mobile device gateway providing access to instant information".
  • This provides mobile devices with GPS capabilities.
• Secondary Reference 3: US7818399B1 (Amazon) - "Recommendation system".
  • This discusses systems for displaying product information on a website.

Motivation for Combination and Obviousness:

A PHOSITA would combine these references to enhance the interactivity and transparency of online shopping and delivery.

• Kroger's system (US7124098B2) provides a framework for online ordering and delivery. However, it lacks the real-time visual interaction of an agent physically present at the store.
• Integrating Symbol Technologies (US6837436B2) provides the mobile delivery agent with the real-time video and communication capabilities to interact directly with the customer.
• Scanbuy's GPS functionality (US7309015B2) allows for tracking the agent's location, which can then be displayed to the customer.
• The "selectable widget for a third party vendor website configured to retrieve data submitted by the plurality of mobile delivery agent systems to the at least one server and to generate a view of a pick-up site associated with the third party vendor together with at least the data submitted to the at least one server by the plurality of mobile delivery agent systems including current locations of the mobile delivery agent systems" (Claim 11) is an obvious step in improving the online shopping experience. Given the prevalence of embedded content and APIs in web development by 2009, a widget to display real-time information (like agent location and product views) from a third-party vendor's site would be a common design choice. US7818399B1 supports the concept of integrating information from a "commerce object" onto a host website. Also, US6125388A teaches an electronic information transport component which automates distribution of updates and supports "automated electronic catalog shopping with order placement and, optionally, order confirmation." The concept of an online display for an order cutoff time and associated delivery window (US7124098B2) further indicates that displaying real-time updates of an agent's location would be a natural progression.

3. Combination for Claim 14 (Focus on Local Communication Link for Remote Acquisition and Delivery):

• Primary Reference: US20110302014A1 (Bell) - "Exchanging identifiers between wireless communication to determine further information to be exchanged or further services to be provided".
  • This patent describes facilitating the exchange of information and transactions between two wireless devices in close proximity using both short-range (e.g., Wi-Fi or Bluetooth) and long-range (e.g., internet via central server) wireless capabilities. It specifically mentions "mobile social networking" and the incorporation of GPS receivers into phones to add location information. It also discusses using a central server to broker information exchange based on stored content.
• Secondary Reference 1: US6837436B2 (Symbol Technologies) - "Consumer interactive shopping system".
  • This provides the portable data terminal with video and communication capabilities.
• Secondary Reference 2: US20080235038A1 (Szamel) - "Method, system and computer program for enabling live sales support".
  • This reference details systems for enabling live sales support, which inherently involves direct communication.

Motivation for Combination and Obviousness:

A PHOSITA would be motivated to combine these references to create a seamless, real-time, interactive remote shopping experience that leverages both local and wide-area communication.

• Bell (US20110302014A1) explicitly teaches a "local communication link" between wireless devices in close proximity for information exchange and transactions. This directly addresses the "local communication link" element of Claim 14. It also mentions using GPS and a central server to broker information.
• Combining Bell's local communication link with the real-time video and communication capabilities of Symbol Technologies (US6837436B2) allows for direct, real-time visual interaction between the customer and the mobile agent, fulfilling the "means for sending one or more images in real-time to the customer from the mobile agent through the local communication link and providing the customer with progress information via real-time imaging" (Claim 14).
• Szamel's "live sales support" (US20080235038A1) further reinforces the motivation and common practice of providing direct communication between a customer and a sales agent (or, in this case, a delivery agent) to facilitate a transaction.
• The inclusion of a GPS in the mobile agent system (from Symbol Technologies or generally known in mobile devices as per Bell) for providing location data through the local communication link is an obvious integration.
• The "selectable widget for a vendor website configured to retrieve data submitted by at least one of the mobile delivery agent systems through the local communication link and generate a view of the one or more goods at the pick-up site associated with a third party vendor together with at least the data submitted through the local communication link by the mobile delivery agent system" (Claim 14) would be a straightforward implementation for a PHOSITA. Given Bell's teaching of information exchange between devices and a central server to "broker the exchange of information," it's apparent that data from the mobile agent could be made available via a widget on a vendor's website. The use of widgets for displaying dynamic content from external sources was a well-known web development practice by 2009.

In summary, the core inventive concepts of US9202191, particularly the real-time video interaction, direct communication, GPS tracking of agents, and the use of widgets to display agent and product information, are anticipated or rendered obvious by various combinations of the cited prior art, driven by the desire to enhance online shopping convenience and efficiency.