Appeal 2006-3154
Application 09/865,799
Appellant's invention relates to a method to assist in the selection of
travel itineraries. Claim 6 is illustrative of the claimed invention, and it
reads as follows:
6. A method for facilitating selection of travel itineraries,
comprising:
selecting one or more travel criteria;
allowing a traveler to define traveler preferences associated with said
travel criteria and storing said traveler preferences in a traveler profile;
deriving preference factors including a lowest fare multiplier, an
available dates index, a non-stop service index, and an equipment type index
for said travel criteria based on said traveler preferences;
initiating a query of at least one travel information database for
itineraries matching said selected travel criteria using an on-line search
engine;
calculating a travel value index for each itinerary using a travel value
algorithm that subtracts preference factors from, or adds preference factors
to, or both, a fixed optimal value of said travel value index depending on
said criteria matching itineraries; and
returning only itineraries where said travel value index thereof
satisfies a traveler defined travel value index threshold.
The prior art references of record relied upon by the Examiner in
rejecting the appealed claims are:
Ahlstrom US 4,862,357 Aug. 29, 1989
Bunyan EP 1 076 307 A2 Feb. 14, 2001
Claims 6 through 11 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being
unpatentable over Ahlstrom in view of Bunyan.
2
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next
Last modified: September 9, 2013