DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims:
Claims 1 – 20 are pending.
Claims 1 – 20 are amended. This rejection is FINAL.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments in the amendments, filed 07/08/2025, have been fully considered.
The claim interpretation and the 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection has been withdrawn based on the applicant’s amendments.
The arguments regarding the 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 are not persuasive. The reasons set forth below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 – 13 and 17 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Rehmann (US 9224133).
As per claim 1, an information processing device comprising:
circuitry configured to
acquire individual identifying information regarding a target user from another information processing device (In an embodiment, the chat server 202 can operate substantially continuously, monitoring the status of each chat client. Each chat client, including the chat clients 210 and 220, is typically associated with a corresponding employee, and can include another software process that is actively executing at an information handling system associated with an employee, such as a desk top personal computer, See Col. 3, Line 60 – Col. 4, Line 8),
select, in a case where the target user has been determined to be able to communicate based on user information regarding the target user identified as an individual, a partner user who is a communication partner of the target user from among one or more other users determined to be able to communicate (The chat server 202 is configured to administer chat services by maintaining a list of employees who are participating and are presently available to engage in a chat with another employee and soliciting pairs of individuals to chat, the pairing based on one or more criterion … Chat clients 210 and 220 also can initiate communication with the chat server 202, See Col. 4, Lines 9 - 40), and
control a start of communicative telecommunication between the target user and the partner user (The client server 211 can activate or otherwise render a chat window 430 at the video display unit associated with both participants in response to an acceptance of a chat invitation by either member of a matched pair of participants. In an embodiment, the chat window can include a text entry window 431 for entering a text message and a scrolling chat log window 432 for displaying a conversation, See Col. 6, Lines 18 - 44),
wherein the circuitry determines whether the target user is able to communicate according to one or more plans of the target user included in the user information (FIG. 5 shows a method 500 for determining whether an employee is available to participate in a chat … If no keyboard activity is detected, the flow proceeds to block 503 where the availability module 213 can access an office automation system to determine if the employee is currently scheduled to attend a meeting or another event, See Col. 6, Line 62 – Col. 7, Line 23).
As per claim 2, the information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the individual identifying information includes information used for processing of identifying the target user (In an embodiment, each icon can include a photograph of the respective individual. In other embodiments, an icon can include a video image, an avatar, a simple text name, or another graphical or text object identifying the prospective chat participant, See Col. 5, Line 50 – Col. 6, Line 6).
As per claim 3, the information processing device according to claim 2, wherein the individual identifying information includes captured image data obtained by capturing an image of the target user, and wherein the circuitry is further configured to identify the target user by performing image processing on the captured image data (A video display unit can include a camera, such as the camera 440 of FIG. 4, that is configured to periodically take a photograph of the employee working at the corresponding work station. The client server 211 can provide the photograph to the chat server 202, which can use the photograph to create invitation icons displayed at the user interface of potential chat partners, See Col. 6, Lines 45 - 61).
As per claim 4, the information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the individual identifying information includes information of a result of identifying the target user (The user interface 400 can display one or more icons, each icon representing an invitation to participate in a chat with a respective individual, the identity of each individual conveyed by the respective icon, See Col. 5, Line 50 – Line 6, Col. 6).
As per claim 5, the information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the user information further includes schedule information regarding the one or more plans of the target user (FIG. 5 shows a method 500 for determining whether an employee is available to participate in a chat in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 500 can be performed by an availability module such as the availability detection module 213 of FIG. 2 in association with the client server 211, See Col. 6, Line 62 – Col. 7, Line 23).
As per claim 6, the information processing device according to claim 5, wherein, in a case where there is a plan among the one or more plans whose start time is set within a predetermined time from a current point of time, the target user is determined to be unable to communicate (If no keyboard activity is detected, the flow proceeds to block 503 where the availability module 213 can access an office automation system to determine if the employee is currently scheduled to attend a meeting or another event, See Col. 6, Line 62 – Col. 7, Line 23).
As per claim 7, the information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the user information further includes posture information regarding the target user (If the employee's calendar is clear, the availability module 213 can acquire a photograph and utilize a face recognition program to determine if the intended employee that is participating in the chat system is in fact sitting at the work station, See Col. 6, Line 62 – Col. 7, Line 23).
As per claim 8, the information processing device according to claim 7, wherein the circuitry determines whether the target user is able to communicate further according to whether a predetermined posture has been detected for the target user (If the employee's calendar is clear, the availability module 213 can acquire a photograph and utilize a face recognition program to determine if the intended employee that is participating in the chat system is in fact sitting at the work station. If the face recognition software identifies that the correct employee is present, the flow proceeds to block 505 where the client server 211 can notify the chat server 202 that the participant is available and can therefore receive invitation to chat, See Col. 6, Line 62 – Col. 7, Line 23).
As per claim 9, the information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the user information further includes information indicating whether or not the target user is in a state of being spoken to by another person, and wherein, in a case where the target user has been determined to be in the state of being spoken to by another person, the target user is determined to be unable to communicate (The method 500 begins at block 501 where the availability module 213 determines whether a prospective chat participant is currently using a telephone. If not, the flow proceeds to block 502 where the availability module 213 monitors the employee's keyboard to determine if the employee is actively typing, See Col. 6, Line 62 – Col. 7, Line 23).
As per claim 10, the information processing device according to claim 1, wherein circuitry selects the partner user on a basis of relationship information between the target user and the other users (In particular, the matching criteria illustrated at the table 600 relate to a mutual relationship between prospective chat participants. The table 600 includes a second column wherein a user of the chat system can supply weighting factors associated with each corresponding matching criterion, See Col. 8, Lines 4 - 25).
As per claim 11, the information processing device according to claim 10, wherein the relationship information includes information regarding a relationship between an organization to which the target user belongs and an organization to which the one or more other users belong (In an embodiment, individual employees or a business administrator can configure matching criteria to determine preferred pairings of available employees. For example, weighting factors can be assigned to potential chat partners based on a degree of separation between prospective employees on an organization chart, job function, and the like, See Col. 3, Lines 24 - 59).
As per claim 12, the information processing device according to claim 10, wherein the relationship information includes information regarding a history of communicative telecommunication between the target user and the one or more other users (The table 600 includes additional matching criteria and corresponding weightings such as “same building” 604, “same geographical location” 605, “degree of separation on an organizational chart” 606, “most recent chat with the other participant” 607, “most recent chat with any other participant” 608, “either participant has the other participant on favor” 609, “either participant has the other participant on ignore” 610, “door is open” 611, either party is a “customer” 612, either party is associated with “sales” 613, and either party is a “manager” 614, See Col. 8, Line 48 – Col. 9, Line 3).
As per claim 13, the information processing device according to claim 1, wherein circuitry is further configured to perfrom processing for allowing the target user to select whether or not to start the communicative telecommunication (The user interface 400 includes a REQUEST button 415, a LEAVE button 416, and a CONFIGURE button 417. An employee can notify a chat server such as the chat server 202 of FIG. 2 that they would like to participate in the chat system by clicking the REQUEST button. The employee can withdraw their request to participate by clicking the LEAVE button, See Col. 5, Line 50 – Col. 6, Line 6).
As per claim 17, the information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry acquires the individual identifying information in a case where the target user is determined to intrude into a specific space (A proximity detection module can be associated with the employee's work station or with a corresponding information handling system, wherein the proximity detection module is configured to detect the presence of an individual. In a specific embodiment, the proximity detection module can include a radio frequency identification device (RFID) receiver configured to determine whether an RFID corresponding to a specific employee is detected within the immediate work area. In other embodiments, the availability module can detect the presence of the user's cell phone, PDA, pager, or another personal electronic device within the proximate area, See Col. 7, Lines 24 - 42).
As per claim 18, the information processing device according to claim 6, wherein, in a case where it is determined that the plan of the target user intends to use communicative telecommunication, the circuitry is further configured to control a start of the intended communicative telecommunication for the plan (The flow proceeds to block 306 where, in response to either of the matched participants accepting the chat invitation, the chat server establishes a chat between the paired individuals, See Col. 54, Lines 18 - 49).
As per claim 19, an information processing method, executed by a computer device, the method comprising:
individual identifying information acquisition processing of acquiring individual identifying information regarding a target user from another information processing device (In an embodiment, the chat server 202 can operate substantially continuously, monitoring the status of each chat client. Each chat client, including the chat clients 210 and 220, is typically associated with a corresponding employee, and can include another software process that is actively executing at an information handling system associated with an employee, such as a desk top personal computer, See Col. 3, Line 60 – Col. 4, Line 8);
partner user selection processing of selecting, in a case where the target user has been determined to be able to communicate based on user information regarding the target user identified as an individual, a partner user who is a communication partner of the target user from among one or more other users determined to be able to communicate (The chat server 202 is configured to administer chat services by maintaining a list of employees who are participating and are presently available to engage in a chat with another employee and soliciting pairs of individuals to chat, the pairing based on one or more criterion … Chat clients 210 and 220 also can initiate communication with the chat server 202, See Col. 4, Lines 9 - 40); and
start control processing of starting communicative telecommunication between the target user and the partner user (The client server 211 can activate or otherwise render a chat window 430 at the video display unit associated with both participants in response to an acceptance of a chat invitation by either member of a matched pair of participants. In an embodiment, the chat window can include a text entry window 431 for entering a text message and a scrolling chat log window 432 for displaying a conversation, See Col. 6, Lines 18 - 44),
wherein whether the target user is able to communicate is determined according to one or more plans of the target user included in the user information (FIG. 5 shows a method 500 for determining whether an employee is available to participate in a chat … If no keyboard activity is detected, the flow proceeds to block 503 where the availability module 213 can access an office automation system to determine if the employee is currently scheduled to attend a meeting or another event, See Col. 6, Line 62 – Col. 7, Line 23).
As per claim 20, A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having embodied thereon a program, which when executed by an arithmetic processing device of a computer causes the computer to execute a method, the method comprising:
acquiring individual identifying information regarding a target user from another information processing device (In an embodiment, the chat server 202 can operate substantially continuously, monitoring the status of each chat client. Each chat client, including the chat clients 210 and 220, is typically associated with a corresponding employee, and can include another software process that is actively executing at an information handling system associated with an employee, such as a desk top personal computer, See Col. 3, Line 60 – Col. 4, Line 8);
selecting, in a case where the target user has been determined to be able to communicate based on user information regarding the target user identified as an individual, a partner user who is a communication partner of the target user from among one or more other users determined to be able to communicate (The chat server 202 is configured to administer chat services by maintaining a list of employees who are participating and are presently available to engage in a chat with another employee and soliciting pairs of individuals to chat, the pairing based on one or more criterion … Chat clients 210 and 220 also can initiate communication with the chat server 202, See Col. 4, Lines 9 - 40); and
starting communicative telecommunication between the target user and the partner user (The client server 211 can activate or otherwise render a chat window 430 at the video display unit associated with both participants in response to an acceptance of a chat invitation by either member of a matched pair of participants. In an embodiment, the chat window can include a text entry window 431 for entering a text message and a scrolling chat log window 432 for displaying a conversation, See Col. 6, Lines 18 - 44),
wherein whether the target user is able to communicate is determined according to one or more plans of the target user included in the user information (FIG. 5 shows a method 500 for determining whether an employee is available to participate in a chat … If no keyboard activity is detected, the flow proceeds to block 503 where the availability module 213 can access an office automation system to determine if the employee is currently scheduled to attend a meeting or another event, See Col. 6, Line 62 – Col. 7, Line 23).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 14 – 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rehmann (US 9224133) and in view of Kwatra (US 11153109).
As per claim 14, Rehmann discloses all limitations of claim 1.
Rehmann however does not expressly disclose:
a termination control unit that terminates the communicative telecommunication for the target user and the partner user.
Kwatra discloses:
the information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to control termination of the communicative telecommunication for the target user and the partner user (The connection/disconnection component 420 may cognitively initiate or terminate a communication connection for a conference call session with one or more users according to one or more parameters associated with a user profile, a schedule of the one or more users, activities of daily living (“ADL”), one or more contextual factors, or a combination thereof, See Col 12, Lines 1 - 14).
It would have been obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill in the art before the Applicant's effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Kwatra’s teaching of a termination control unit that terminates the communicative telecommunication, along with a start control unit that starts communicative telecommunication to improve Rehmann’s system. Both Rehmann and Kwatra disclose systems for scheduling communications between users. Kwatra’s system includes a disconnection component that can terminate a communication between users. The combination is an improvement upon the existing system because a communicative telecommunication can be started via a start control unit, as taught by Rehmann, where the communicative telecommunication can also be terminated via a termination control unit, as taught by Kwatra, to allow users to easily start and end communications based on various different types of determined availability information.
As per claim 15, the information processing device according to claim 14, wherein the user information further includes information indicating whether or not the target user is in a state of being spoken to by another person, and wherein circuitry control the termination of the communicative telecommunication based on the user information (Kwatra, The operations of methods 500 and 600 may automatically terminate the communication connection according to an identified user of the one or more users leaving the conference call session, a selected time period of silence of the conference call session exceeding a threshold, identification of one or more keywords, voice recognition data of the one or more users identified during the conference call, or a combination thereof. Also, a schedule of the one or more users, the ADLs of each user, and one or more contextual factors may be monitored using a machine learning operation, one or more IoT computing devices, or a combination thereof, See Col. 16, Lines 16 – 27).
As per claim 16, the information processing device according to claim 14, wherein circuitry is further configured to control notification that the communicative telecommunication is to be terminated (Kwatra, The machine learning component 418 may learn, identity, behavior, activity, contextual factors, and/or the parameters. Also, machine learning component 418 may identity the presence or absence of a user (terminates when user is absent) (e.g., user 480 and/or 485) … The machine learning component 418 may then issue a notification to user 485, See Col. 13, Line 66 – Col. 14, Line 23).
Remarks
Applicant s arguments, with regards to the 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 rejections filed on 07/08/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The current arguments are based on the 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 rejections which are present in the remarks by the applicant.
With respect to the 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 rejections, regarding independent claims 1, 19, and 20, Applicant argues that Rehmann does not disclose “wherein the circuitry determines whether the target user is able to communicate according to one or more plans of the target user included in the user information.” Examiner responds that Rehmann discloses the claimed limitation by teaching that the availability module can determine if a target user is able to communicate according to one or more plans such as a currently scheduled meeting or event which is included in the user information to determine user availability to participate in a chat (Col. 6, Line 62 – Col. 7, Line 23). Therefore, Rehmann does disclose the claimed limitation.
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 NAZIA NAOREEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7282. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:00 - 6:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Umar Cheema can be reached on 571-270-3037. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NAZIA NAOREEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2458