DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Summary
This Final Office Action in response to the communication received on April 1, 2026.
Claims 1, 9, and 20 have been amended.
Claims 1-20 are pending.
The effective filing date of the claimed invention is May 4, 2023, and claims priority to Provisional Application 63/338,254 dated May 4, 2022.
Response to Amendment
Amendments to Claims 1, 9, and 20 are acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed a judicial exception (i.e., an abstract idea) without significantly more.
Step 1 – Statutory Categories
As indicated in the preamble of the claim, the examiner finds the claim is directed to a process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter.(Claims 1-19 are processes and Claim 20 is a machine). Accordingly, step 1 is satisfied.
Step 2A – Prong 1: was there a Judicial Exception Recited
Claim 1 (and similarly Claim 20) recites the following abstract concepts that are found to include “abstract idea.” Any additional elements will be analyzed under Step 2A-Prong 2 and Step 2B:
A method comprising:
providing, by a computing system to each of a plurality of user devices each corresponding to an employee of a plurality of employees of a fulfillment location, information that, when processed by each of the plurality of user devices, causes each of the plurality of user devices to display a first graphical user interface (GUI), the first GUI including a list of orders for customers for fulfillment at the fulfillment location (See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II)(B) commercial or legal interaction: structuring a sales force or marketing company, which pertains to marketing or sales activities or behaviors, In re Ferguson, 558 F.3d 1359, 1364, 90 USPQ2d 1035, 1038 (Fed. Cir. 2009) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III)(A) Mental Processes, a claim to “collecting information, analyzing it, and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis,” where the data analysis steps are recited at a high level of generality such that they could practically be performed in the human mind, Electric Power Group v. Alstom, S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1353-54, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1741-42 (Fed. Cir. 2016));
receiving, by the computing system and from a first user device of the plurality of user devices, user selection of a first control in the first GUI indicating an intention to prepare an order in the list of orders (See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II)(B) commercial or legal interaction: structuring a sales force or marketing company, which pertains to marketing or sales activities or behaviors, In re Ferguson, 558 F.3d 1359, 1364, 90 USPQ2d 1035, 1038 (Fed. Cir. 2009) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III)(A) Mental Processes, a claim to “collecting information, analyzing it, and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis,” where the data analysis steps are recited at a high level of generality such that they could practically be performed in the human mind, Electric Power Group v. Alstom, S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1353-54, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1741-42 (Fed. Cir. 2016));
providing, by the computing system to at least a subset of the plurality of user devices, instructions to update the first GUI such that the first GUI includes an indication that the order is being prepared (See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II)(B) commercial or legal interaction: structuring a sales force or marketing company, which pertains to marketing or sales activities or behaviors, In re Ferguson, 558 F.3d 1359, 1364, 90 USPQ2d 1035, 1038 (Fed. Cir. 2009) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III)(A) Mental Processes, a claim to “collecting information, analyzing it, and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis,” where the data analysis steps are recited at a high level of generality such that they could practically be performed in the human mind, Electric Power Group v. Alstom, S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1353-54, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1741-42 (Fed. Cir. 2016));
receiving, by the computing system and from the first user device, an indication indicating that the order has been claimed by an employee, the indication including identifying information of the employee (See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II)(B) commercial or legal interaction: structuring a sales force or marketing company, which pertains to marketing or sales activities or behaviors, In re Ferguson, 558 F.3d 1359, 1364, 90 USPQ2d 1035, 1038 (Fed. Cir. 2009) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III)(A) Mental Processes, a claim to “collecting information, analyzing it, and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis,” where the data analysis steps are recited at a high level of generality such that they could practically be performed in the human mind, Electric Power Group v. Alstom, S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1353-54, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1741-42 (Fed. Cir. 2016));
providing, by the computing system to each of the plurality of user devices, instructions to update the first GUI such that the indication that the order has been claimed by the employee is presented in the user interface of each user device of the employees in the fulfillment location such that other employees in the fulfillment location are made aware in real time or near real time that the order has been claimed (See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II)(B) commercial or legal interaction: structuring a sales force or marketing company, which pertains to marketing or sales activities or behaviors, In re Ferguson, 558 F.3d 1359, 1364, 90 USPQ2d 1035, 1038 (Fed. Cir. 2009) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III)(A) Mental Processes, a claim to “collecting information, analyzing it, and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis,” where the data analysis steps are recited at a high level of generality such that they could practically be performed in the human mind, Electric Power Group v. Alstom, S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1353-54, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1741-42 (Fed. Cir. 2016));
providing, by the computing system at the first user device in the plurality of user devices, information that, when processed by the first user device cause the first user device to display a second GUI, the second GUI including indications of one or more order hold locations in the fulfillment location and one or more bags associated with each of the one or more order hold locations for the selected order to be prepared (See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II)(B) commercial or legal interaction: structuring a sales force or marketing company, which pertains to marketing or sales activities or behaviors, In re Ferguson, 558 F.3d 1359, 1364, 90 USPQ2d 1035, 1038 (Fed. Cir. 2009) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III)(A) Mental Processes, a claim to “collecting information, analyzing it, and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis,” where the data analysis steps are recited at a high level of generality such that they could practically be performed in the human mind, Electric Power Group v. Alstom, S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1353-54, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1741-42 (Fed. Cir. 2016));
receiving, by the computing system and form the first user device, a user selection of a bag icon corresponding to one of the one or more bags presented in the second GUI (See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II)(B) commercial or legal interaction: structuring a sales force or marketing company, which pertains to marketing or sales activities or behaviors, In re Ferguson, 558 F.3d 1359, 1364, 90 USPQ2d 1035, 1038 (Fed. Cir. 2009) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III)(A) Mental Processes, a claim to “collecting information, analyzing it, and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis,” where the data analysis steps are recited at a high level of generality such that they could practically be performed in the human mind, Electric Power Group v. Alstom, S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1353-54, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1741-42 (Fed. Cir. 2016));
in response to the user selection of the bag icon, providing instructions to update the second GUI to display a pop-out window including one or more items associated with the selected bag (See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II)(B) commercial or legal interaction: structuring a sales force or marketing company, which pertains to marketing or sales activities or behaviors, In re Ferguson, 558 F.3d 1359, 1364, 90 USPQ2d 1035, 1038 (Fed. Cir. 2009) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III)(A) Mental Processes, a claim to “collecting information, analyzing it, and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis,” where the data analysis steps are recited at a high level of generality such that they could practically be performed in the human mind, Electric Power Group v. Alstom, S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1353-54, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1741-42 (Fed. Cir. 2016));
receiving, by the computing system and from the first user device, information indicating identifying information for one or more of the bags associated with the order, including the selected bag (See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II)(B) commercial or legal interaction: structuring a sales force or marketing company, which pertains to marketing or sales activities or behaviors, In re Ferguson, 558 F.3d 1359, 1364, 90 USPQ2d 1035, 1038 (Fed. Cir. 2009) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III)(A) Mental Processes, a claim to “collecting information, analyzing it, and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis,” where the data analysis steps are recited at a high level of generality such that they could practically be performed in the human mind, Electric Power Group v. Alstom, S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1353-54, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1741-42 (Fed. Cir. 2016));
providing, by the computing system to the first user device, instructions to update the second GUI such that, for each bag associated with the order to be prepared, the indication is updated from a first indicia to a second indicia based on the respective associated bag having been identified by the identifying information and received by the computing system (See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II)(B) commercial or legal interaction: structuring a sales force or marketing company, which pertains to marketing or sales activities or behaviors, In re Ferguson, 558 F.3d 1359, 1364, 90 USPQ2d 1035, 1038 (Fed. Cir. 2009) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III)(A) Mental Processes, a claim to “collecting information, analyzing it, and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis,” where the data analysis steps are recited at a high level of generality such that they could practically be performed in the human mind, Electric Power Group v. Alstom, S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1353-54, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1741-42 (Fed. Cir. 2016)); and
providing, by the computing system to the first user device, instructions to update the second GUI to include a selectable option to complete the preparing of the order based on a determination that the identifying information for each bag associated with the order has been received by the computing system (See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II)(B) commercial or legal interaction: structuring a sales force or marketing company, which pertains to marketing or sales activities or behaviors, In re Ferguson, 558 F.3d 1359, 1364, 90 USPQ2d 1035, 1038 (Fed. Cir. 2009) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III)(A) Mental Processes, a claim to “collecting information, analyzing it, and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis,” where the data analysis steps are recited at a high level of generality such that they could practically be performed in the human mind, Electric Power Group v. Alstom, S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1353-54, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1741-42 (Fed. Cir. 2016)).
Claim 1 (and similarly Claim 20) is directed to a series of steps for facilitating order fulfillment, which is a commercial interaction and thus grouped as a certain method of organizing human interactions and uses mental processes. The mere nominal recitation of a computer system, user devices, and graphical user interfaces does not take the claim out of the method of organizing human interactions nor mental processes. Thus, Claim 1 (and similarly Claim 20) recites an abstract idea.
Step 2A – Prong 2: Can the Judicial Exception Recited be integrated into a practical application
Limitations that are indicative of integration into a practical application:
Improvements to the functioning of a computer, or to any other technology or technical field - see MPEP 2106.05(a)
Applying or using a judicial exception to effect a particular treatment or prophylaxis for a disease or medical condition – see Vanda Memo
Applying the judicial exception with, or by use of, a particular machine - see MPEP 2106.05(b)
Effecting a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing - see MPEP 2106.05(c)
Applying or using the judicial exception in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception - see MPEP 2106.05(e) and Vanda Memo
Limitations that are not indicative of integration into a practical application:
Adding the words “apply it” (or an equivalent) with the judicial exception, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely uses a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea - see MPEP 2106.05(f)
Adding insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception - see MPEP 2106.05(g)
Generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use – see MPEP 2106.05(h)
The identified abstract idea of exemplary Claim 1 (and similarly Claim 20) is not integrated into a practical application. The additional elements are: a computer system, user devices, and graphical user interfaces that implements the underlying abstract idea. These additional elements are broadly recited computer elements that do not add a meaningful limitation to the abstract idea because they amount to merely using a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea - see MPEP 2106.05(f).
Accordingly, alone and in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. Claim 1 (and similarly Claim 20) is directed to an abstract idea.
Step 2B – Significantly More Analysis
Claim 1 (and similarly Claim 20) does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because, when considered separately and in combination, steps a) providing information to display a list of orders for fulfillment, b) receiving user selection of an intention to prepare an order, c) providing an indication that the order is being prepared, d) receiving an indication indicating that an order has been claimed by an employee, e) providing instructions to update the first GUI such that the indication that the order has been claimed is presented, f) providing indications of order hold locations and bags associated with the order, g) receiving a user selection , h) in response to the user selection, providing instructions to update the second GUI, i) receiving identifying information for the bags associated with the order, j) providing indicia based on bags being identified, and k) providing a selection to complete the preparing of the order, do not add significantly more to the exception because they amount to merely using a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea - see MPEP 2106.05(f). Claim 1 (and similarly Claim 20) is ineligible.
Claim 2 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim 3 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim 4 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim 5 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim 6 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim 7 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim 8 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim 9 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim 10 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim 11 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim 12 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim 13 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim 14 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim 15 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim 16 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim 17 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim 18 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim 19 recites the abstract ideas of organizing human activity and mental processes. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II) and MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Pat Pub 2024/0119411 “Francis”, in view of US Pat 11,367,152 “Gau”, in view of US Pat Pub 2005/0022198 “Olapurath”.
As per Claims 1 and 19, Francis discloses a method and system comprising:
providing, by the computing system to at least a subset of the plurality of user devices, instructions to update the first GUI such that the first GUI includes an indication that the order is being prepared (Francis: [0883] In general, packing GUIs may indicate any of the data associated with pickers, packers, orders, items, MSDs, and carriers described herein. In some implementations, the packing GUI may indicate statuses associated with customer orders, such as the pickers/MSDs being used to pick the orders, items that have been picked (e.g., on a whole or per picker basis), items remaining to be picked (e.g., on a whole or per picker basis), an estimated time for picking the complete order (e.g., on a whole or per picker basis), and/or an estimated time at which items may be dropped off in the packing area for packing (e.g., on a whole or per picker basis).);
providing, by the computing system at the first user device in the plurality of user devices, information that, when processed by the first user device cause the first user device to display a second GUI, the second GUI including indications of one or more order hold locations in the fulfillment location and one or more bags associated with each of the one or more order hold locations for the selected order to be prepared (Francis: [1023] In some implementations, the CCS/MSDs may instruct pickers to drop off carriers/items based on item/carrier dimensions and/or weights. For example, the CCS/MSDs may instruct pickers to drop off carriers/items in locations that have large enough dimensions and/or weight capacities to hold the items/carriers. In a specific example, some carriers may be reserved for specific types of locations (e.g., carts may be limited to corrals));
receiving, by the computing system and from the first user device, information indicating identifying information for one or more of the bags associated with the order, including the selected bag (Francis: [0080] Any object that a user may use to hold and transport items may be referred to generally as an “item carrier” or a “carrier.” Example item carriers may include, but are not limited to, carts, totes, tubs, baskets, boxes, bins, bags, and packs. And [0840] The carrier IDs may be automatically read (e.g., by an MSD), manually scanned (e.g., by an MSD), or entered manually by a user. );
providing, by the computing system to the first user device, instructions to update the second GUI such that, for each bag associated with the order to be prepared, the indication is updated from a first indicia to a second indicia based on the respective associated bag having been identified by the identifying information and received by the computing system (Francis: [0833] As another example, an MSD-item association may indicate an MSD that scanned the item. This association may indicate that a user has the MSD and is in control of the scanned item. As another example, an MSD-carrier association may indicate that a user is using an MSD to scan items and place the items into the associated carrier/sub-carrier. As another example, a carrier/sub-carrier association may indicate one or more sub-carriers that are associated with the carrier. An example carrier/sub-carrier association may include a cart that is associated with one or more totes being transported on the cart. In a specific example, during the course of picking items using an MSD, multiple MSD-item associations may be made between the picked items and the MSD used for scanning the picked items. Associations between picked items and users/carriers may indicate which users have picked the items and which carriers may include the items.); and
providing, by the computing system to the first user device, instructions to update the second GUI to include a selectable option to complete the preparing of the order based on a determination that the identifying information for each bag associated with the order has been received by the computing system (Francis: [0879] The CCS/MSDs may notify pickers, packers, and/or drivers when a complete customer order is in the packing area. For example, the CCS/MSDs may notify packers/pickers when items that complete a customer order have been dropped off in the packing area. In some implementations, the CCS may send a message to a packer device (e.g., a packer MSD) that indicates when a complete order is ready to be packed in the packing area. In a specific example, an MSD (e.g., a packer MSD) may generate a GUI that indicates when one or more orders are ready for packing).
Francis fails to disclose a method and system comprising:
providing, by a computing system to each of a plurality of user devices each corresponding to an employee of a plurality of employees of a fulfillment location, information that, when processed by each of the plurality of user devices, causes each of the plurality of user devices to display a first graphical user interface (GUI), the first GUI including a list of orders for customers for fulfillment at the fulfillment location;
receiving, by the computing system and from a first user device of the plurality of user devices, user selection of a first control in the first GUI indicating an intention to prepare an order in the list of orders;
receiving, by the computing system and from the first user device, an indication indicating that the order has been claimed by an employee, the indication including identifying information of the employee;
providing, by the computing system to each of the plurality of user devices, instructions to update the first GUI such that the indication that the order has been claimed by the employee is presented in the user interface of each user device of the employees in the fulfillment location such that other employees in the fulfillment location are made aware in real time or near real time that the order has been claimed;
receiving, by the computing system and form the first user device, a user selection of a bag icon corresponding to one of the one or more bags presented in the second GUI;
in response to the user selection of the bag icon, providing instructions to update the second GUI to display a pop-out window including one or more items associated with the selected bag.
Gau teaches a method and system comprising:
providing, by a computing system to each of a plurality of user devices, information that, when processed by each of the plurality of user devices, causes each of the plurality of user devices to display a first graphical user interface (GUI), the first GUI including a list of orders for customers for fulfillment at a fulfillment location (Gau: Column 3, lines 59-65, Embodiments disclosed herein provide a system and method for aggregating all the online orders coming through different third-party service provider computers and generate a machine-readable file that includes all the orders in one spot.);
receiving, by the computing system and from a first user device of the plurality of user devices, user selection of a first control in the first GUI indicating an intention to prepare an order in the list of orders (Gau: Column 10, lines 37-60 the analytic server may provide interactive components on the GUI to allow the merchant (e.g., the restaurant) to modify and update the status of the online order, such as the status of preparation of the meals. For example, the GUI may include a “start preparing” button and a “finish preparing” button for each of the online order. Cooking members from the restaurant may interact with the buttons to update the status of the preparation of the meals. The statuses of an order may include “not processed,” “preparing,” “ready,” “out for delivery,” and the like.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Francis to include a list of orders to be completed and a selection for to prepare an order as taught by Gau, with the order fulfillment process as taught by Francis with the motivation of to efficiently aggregate electronic requested submitted via different platforms and generate a single GUI that displays the aggregated requests (Gau: Column 2, lines 24-26).
Francis and Gau fail to disclose a method and system comprising:
receiving, by the computing system and from the first user device, an indication indicating that the order has been claimed by an employee, the indication including identifying information of the employee;
providing, by the computing system to each of the plurality of user devices, instructions to update the first GUI such that the indication that the order has been claimed by the employee is presented in the user interface of each user device of the employees in the fulfillment location such that other employees in the fulfillment location are made aware in real time or near real time that the order has been claimed;
receiving, by the computing system and form the first user device, a user selection of a bag icon corresponding to one of the one or more bags presented in the second GUI;
in response to the user selection of the bag icon, providing instructions to update the second GUI to display a pop-out window including one or more items associated with the selected bag.
Olapurath teaches a method and system comprising:
receiving, by the computing system and from the first user device, an indication indicating that the order has been claimed by an employee, the indication including identifying information of the employee (Olapurath: [0057] A task requester requests a task or task group by locating it in his or her Task View and then double clicking it using a "mouse" user input device or performing a corresponding keyboard or action using an alternative user input device. Task Views are created with the Task View Editor. [0064] There are a variety of ways of assigning tasks to humans that present invention supports. An Assignment Type is the way in which a particular task is assigned to a resource, be it a human or a software component (also sometimes referred to herein as `Distribution Type`. [0065] The present invention discloses and supports various assignment or distribution types including: [0067] To Requestor: In this assignment type, the task is assigned to the person who initiated (started) the project or process. [0071] Queued: In this assignment type, the task is not directly assigned to a person. Rather, it is placed in a queue. It is up to the capable performers to take ownership of one or more tasks in the queue and complete them. [0076] When a Requester invokes a Task Group, a number of GUI screens, each representing a component tasks that the group comprises, are displayed in sequence. Tasks that make up a Task Group may have common fields, such as employee name or employee ID );
providing, by the computing system to each of the plurality of user devices, instructions to update the first GUI such that the indication that the order has been claimed by the employee is presented in the user interface of each user device of the employees in the fulfillment location such that other employees in the fulfillment location are made aware in real time or near real time that the order has been claimed (Olapurath: [0044] Another graphical user interface is provided to the TaskServer User Interface Library (TSUI). The TaskServer User Interface Library is a series of graphical process-related components and controls (implemented as software calls) that third-party software developers can use to rapidly create process-based applications with a graphical user interface. For Exemplary purposes, the following controls are typically included: [0045] Task Group (process) Status View Graphical Control Graphical control that shows the current status of a process (task group) [0046] Discussion Forum Graphical Control: Graphical control that displays the discussion forum with its topics. [0047] Assigned Task Fulfillers Graphical Control: Graphical control that displays the current assigned task fulfillers. [0129] The details window 154 includes information related to specific service providers, such as a service unit assigned to perform the specified task, as well as a description of the service unit and the actual Fulfillers who will be responsible for fulfilling an assigned task. Additional Service Providers can be defined using the Service Provider Editor as well.);
receiving, by the computing system and form the first user device, a user selection of a bag icon corresponding to one of the one or more bags presented in the second GUI (Olapurath: [0123] A Sequence Editor Interface 120 is shown in FIG. 8. The Sequence Editor Interface 120 includes a window 122, where tasks are displayed as icons, such as icons 124, 126, 128 and 130. Icons that are connected using arrows 132, represent tasks that must be performed in sequence. The sequence follows the flow path indicated by the arrows.);
in response to the user selection of the bag icon, providing instructions to update the second GUI to display a pop-out window including one or more items associated with the selected bag (Olapurath: [0075] Tasks assigned to a Fulfiller are displayed on another system user (GUI) and in particular a Fulfiller interface 40 (FIG. 3). The Fulfiller Inbox display 40 displays those requested tasks 42, 44, and 46 that have been assigned to the specific task fulfiller. Double clicking or otherwise invoking a task in the Fulfiller interface 40 displays an additional GUI, which contains the information needed by the Fulfiller to fulfill the task. [0134] When a particular View is selected, such as the Human Resources View selected in FIG. 12, all of the View folders, Tasks and Task Groups associated with the selected View are displayed in the View Folder window 174. In a similar fashion, all of the tasks available in the task server are displayed in Task Window 176 as well as all of the task groups that are available in the task server, which are displayed in Task Group Window 178. ).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Francis and Gau to update a GUI with real-time information about claimed and unclaimed orders as taught by Olapurath, with the order fulfillment process as taught by Francis and Gau with the motivation of creating, organizing, managing, monitoring and manipulating tasks, and which can organize and manage dynamic, active task elements (Olapurath: [0005]).
As per Claim 2, Francis discloses a method, wherein the first indicia is a black bag icon and the second indicia is a green bag icon (Francis: [0596]).
As per Claim 3, Francis discloses a method, wherein the indication that the order is being prepared includes an identifier of a user associated with the first user device (Francis: [0834]).
As per Claim 4, Francis discloses a method, further comprising:
receiving, by the computing system and from the first user device, an indication of selecting the option to complete the preparing of the order (Francis: [0827]); and
providing, by the computing system to at least the subset of the plurality of user devices, instructions to update the first GUI by removing the order from the list of orders and adding the order to a second list of orders ready to be delivered (Francis: [0827]).
As per Claim 5, Francis discloses a method, further comprising:
providing, by the computing system to each of at least the subset of the plurality of user devices, information that, when processed by each of the at least the subset of the plurality of user devices, causes each of the at least the subset of the plurality of user devices to display the first GUI with a list of orders ready to be delivered (Francis: [0950]-[0952]);
receiving, by the computing system and from a second user device of the at least the subset of the plurality of user devices, an indication of user selection of a second control of the first GUI indicating an intention to deliver a prepared order in the list of orders ready to be delivered (Francis: [0950]-[0952]); and
providing, by the computing system to each of at least the subset of the plurality of user devices, instructions to update the first GUI to include an indication that the prepared order is being delivered (Francis: [0950]-[0952]).
As per Claim 6, Francis discloses a method, wherein the indication that the prepared order is being delivered includes an identifier for a user associated with the second user device (Francis: [0952]).
As per Claim 7, Francis discloses a method, further comprising:
receiving, by the computing system and from the first user device, an indication of user selection of a third control of the first GUI to cancel the preparing of the order (Francis: [0834]); and
providing, by the computing system to the at least the subset of the plurality of user devices, instructions to update the first GUI by replacing the third control to cancel the preparing of the order with the first control to prepare the order (Francis: [0834]).
As per Claim 8, Francis discloses a method, wherein the indications of each bag include a numeric value graphically displayed in a bag icon, the numeric value indicating a quantity of items in the bag (Francis: [0882]).
As per Claim 9, Francis discloses a method, wherein the pop out window includes information about items in the selected bag, wherein the information includes selectable options for completing a hold on the selected bag, and wherein the method further includes:
receiving, by the computing system and from the first user device, an indication of user selection of an option from the selectable options to complete the hold on the selected bag (Francis: [0834]); and
providing, by the computing system to the first user device, information that, when processed by the first device, causes the first device to display the selectable option to complete the preparing of the order in the second GUI based on the user selection of the option to complete the hold on the selected bag (Francis: [0834]).
As per Claim 10, Francis discloses a method, further comprising providing, by the computing system to the first user device, information that, when processed by the first user device, causes the first user device to display a third indicia partially overlaying an indication of a bag of the one or more bags based on a determination, by the computing system, that an issue exists with an item in the bag (Francis: [0596]).
As per Claim 11, Francis discloses a method, wherein the issue includes at least one of the item being cancelled and the item being recalled (Francis: [0694]-[0695] and [1058]).
As per Claim 12, Francis discloses a method, wherein the third indicia is at least one of hazard symbol, a triangle, and an exclamation point (Francis: [0488]).
As per Claim 13, Francis discloses a method, wherein orders in the list of orders for customers for fulfillment at the fulfillment location are ranked and presented in the first GUI from least amount of time remaining before arrival at the fulfillment location to most amount of time remaining before arrival at the fulfillment location (Francis: [0775]).
As per Claim 14, Francis discloses a method, wherein the list of orders for customers for fulfillment at the fulfillment location includes a first sub-list of at least one order in the list of orders for customers that arrived at the fulfillment location and a second sub-list of at least one order in the list of orders for customers that are on their way to the fulfillment location (Francis: [0775]).
As per Claim 15, Francis discloses a method, wherein the information indicating identifying information for one or more of the bags associated with the order comprises indications for the one or more of the bags that are scanned by the first user device at the fulfillment location (Francis: [0775]).
As per Claim 16, Francis discloses a method, wherein the selectable option to complete the preparing of the order is presented in the second GUI and non-selectable until each bag has been scanned (Francis: [0614]).
As per Claim 17, Francis discloses a method, wherein the information indicating identifying information for one or more of the bags associated with the order comprises indications for the one or more of the bags that are scanned by a scanning device communicably coupled to the first user device at the fulfillment location (Francis: [0080] and [0840]).
As per Claim 18, Francis discloses a method, wherein the information indicating identifying information for one or more of the bags associated with the order comprises indications for the one or more of the bags that are scanned by a scanning device located at the fulfillment location (Francis: [0080] and [0840]).
As per Claim 19, Francis discloses a method, wherein the information indicating identifying information for one or more of the bags associated with the order comprises alphanumeric identifiers for the one or more of the bags that are inputted by a user at the first user device at the fulfillment location (Francis: [0080] and [0840]).
Response to Arguments
35 USC 101
Applicant's arguments filed April 1, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
First, Applicant argues that the limitations of the independent claims define a specific sequence of interface interactions in which user input triggers generation of additional interface elements and subsequent system operations. The Specification describes such interface updates and status changes, including that "the control 220A can be replaced with an indication 222 indicating that the task of delivering John Smith's order has been claimed," and that such indications are updated and presented across devices. See Spec. 69. Accordingly, the claims do not merely recite displaying information, but rather recite how the system generates, updates, and synchronizes graphical user interfaces across multiple devices in response to user inputs and system events. This argument is NOT found to be persuasive. While the interfaces are being updated with current information, the claims are not directed to an improvement or details as to the technical operations of the interface. Instead, the claims are directed to what information will be displayed. The display of information in a user interface is found to be an abstract idea.
Next, Applicant argues that under Step 2A, Prong 2 of the USPTO's 2019 Eligibility Guidance, the additional elements integrate any alleged abstract idea into a practical application, namely "providing ... instructions to update the first GUI" and "providing ... instructions to update the second GUI" across multiple user devices such that employees "are made aware in real time or near real time" of system state changes. Under Step 2B, the claims recite significantly more than any alleged abstract idea because they define a specific, non-conventional arrangement of coordinated graphical user interfaces and device interactions that improves the functioning of distributed computing systems used in fulfillment environments. See Spec. 69.” The steps for updating the GUI is found to be mere automation of manual processes, such as using a generic computer, which the courts have indicated may not be sufficient to show an improvement in computer- functionality. See MPEP 2106.05(a)(I) - Credit Acceptance Corp. v. Westlake Services, 859 F.3d 1044, 1055, 123 USPQ2d 1100, 1108-09 (Fed. Cir. 2017).
35 USC 103
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicant Arguments/Remarks Made in an Amendment, filed April 1, 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-20 under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of US Pat Pub 2024/0119411 “Francis”, in view of US Pat 11,367,152 “Gau”, in view of US Pat Pub 2005/0022198 “Olapurath”.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REVA R MOORE whose telephone number is (571)270-7942. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th: 9:00-6:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Fahd Obeid can be reached at 571-270-3324. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/REVA R MOORE/Examiner, Art Unit 3627
/FAHD A OBEID/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3627
Prosecution Insights