DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims:
Claims 1 – 7 and 15 – 27 are pending.
Claims 1 and 15 are amended.
Claims 8 – 14 are cancelled.
Claims 21 – 27 are new. 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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was submitted on 07/30/2025 and 11/18/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments in the amendment filed, 11/18/2025, have been fully considered and are persuasive. A new ground(s) of rejection has been made based on the amendments.
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) 1, 6, 15, 17 – 18, 20 – 22, and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jensen (US 12160454) and in view of Nelson (US 10956875).
As per claim 1, Jensen discloses a method for controlling transitions between communication sessions for execution on a system, the method comprising:
…
retrieving one or more properties for upcoming communication sessions having a time gap with the first communication session meeting one or more criteria (A determination is made as to whether the time remaining before the next scheduled conference (e.g., Up-Next) is less than a selected time interval (TI). For example, the time interval can be five minutes or any other desired time interval. In an embodiment, the processor 202 is aware of the user's conference schedule obtained from the user's calendar and determines if the time to the next scheduled conference is less than the selected TI, See Col. 10, Lines 27 - 38);
causing a display of a user interface element describing the one or more properties for upcoming communication sessions having the time gap with the first communication session meeting the one or more criteria (A request for upcoming conference information is made to the conference server … This information is then displayed to the user, for example, as part of the next conference details 124 and the next conference participant images 126), the upcoming communication sessions being ranked based on at least one of user preferences, user attendance history, response status, time proximity, or recurrence status (The processor 202 controls the calendar interface 204 to obtain the user's Up-Next conference information from the user's calendar. For example, the calendar information may describe a first conference scheduled for 1 pm and a second conference scheduled for 2 pm (time proximity). Each conference has an associated start time and identifier. When the user is participating in the first conference, the Up-Next conference is the second conference scheduled for 2 pm, See Col. 12, Line 59 – Col. 13, Line 5);
receiving an input indicating a selection of a second communication session from the display of the upcoming communication sessions (The user has the option to seamlessly transition to the next conference by providing user input, for instance, by selecting the join NEXT selector 128 on the display … When selecting the join NEXT selector 128, the processor 202 receives this user input and generates a join request (e.g., server request 222) that is transmitted to the conference server to allow the user to join the upcoming conference, See Col. 7, Lines 1 - 19); and
in response to receiving the selection of the second communication session, terminating communication of at least one of audio signals or video signals of the first communication session between the client device a first set of client devices and activate communication of at least one of audio signals or video signals between the client device and a second set of computers of the second communication session (When joining the upcoming conference, the user joins the conference using the same client application 228 and current conference state 226, which includes the settings for the audio and video equipment of the user's equipment. The processor 202 maintains the state 226 and the client application 228 in the memory 210 so that these settings/application do not have to be reset or reloaded when joining the new conference. In addition, once the new conference is joined the microphone is placed in a mute mode so that the audio signal 230 is muted, See Col. 7, Lines 1 - 19).
Jensen however does not expressly disclose:
during a first communication session, monitoring the first communication session to determine that the first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user and in response to determining that the first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for the user.
Nelson discloses:
during a first communication session, monitoring the first communication session to determine that the first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user (The end of an attendance time period may be determined in various ways that may vary depending upon a particular implementation … a particular participant was previously detected participating in an electronic meeting via sensor data from sensors 1784-1792, but is later not detected via sensor data, it may be presumed that the particular participant is no longer participating in the electronic meeting, See Col. 76, Lines 15 - 32);
in response to determining that the first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for the user (In response to receiving the second sensor data that indicates that the identified person is no longer attending the electronic meeting, in step 2020, second participation data is generated to specify a time at which the identified person ended participation in the electronic meeting, See Col. 77, Lines 32 - 40):
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 Nelson’s teaching of determining if a first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user, along with retrieving upcoming communication sessions having a time gap with the first communication session to improve Jensen’s system. Both Jensen and Nelson disclose systems for monitoring a user during a communication session. Nelson’s system includes determining an attendance time period of a user during a communication session. The combination is an improvement upon the existing system because if a first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user is determined, as taught by Nelson, where based on the determination, upcoming communication sessions having a time gap with the first communication session can be retrieved, as taught by Jensen, to allow seamless transition from a first communication session to a second communication session.
As per claim 6, the method of claim 1, wherein the system restricts the retrieval and display of one or more properties for upcoming meetings having a time gap with the first communication session that do not meet the meeting one or more criteria (When there is less than five minutes until the start time of the upcoming conference, the processor 202 controls the device interface 206 to output a display signal 214 to display information about the upcoming conference on a user display screen (restricts retrieval and display when time gap is longer than 5 minutes and hence not meeting the criteria), See Col. 6, Lines 47 - 67).
As per claim 15, Jensen discloses a system for controlling transitions between communication sessions, comprising:
one or more processing units; and
a computer-readable storage medium having encoded thereon computer-executable instructions to cause the one or more processing units to:
…
retrieve one or more properties for upcoming communication sessions having a time gap with the first communication session meeting one or more criteria (A determination is made as to whether the time remaining before the next scheduled conference (e.g., Up-Next) is less than a selected time interval (TI). For example, the time interval can be five minutes or any other desired time interval. In an embodiment, the processor 202 is aware of the user's conference schedule obtained from the user's calendar and determines if the time to the next scheduled conference is less than the selected TI, See Col. 10, Lines 27 - 38);
cause a display of a user interface element describing the one or more properties for upcoming communication sessions having the time gap with the first communication session meeting one or more criteria (A request for upcoming conference information is made to the conference server … This information is then displayed to the user, for example, as part of the next conference details 124 and the next conference participant images 126), the upcoming communication sessions being ranked based on at least one of user preferences, user attendance history, response status, time proximity, or recurrence status (The processor 202 controls the calendar interface 204 to obtain the user's Up-Next conference information from the user's calendar. For example, the calendar information may describe a first conference scheduled for 1 pm and a second conference scheduled for 2 pm (time proximity). Each conference has an associated start time and identifier. When the user is participating in the first conference, the Up-Next conference is the second conference scheduled for 2 pm, See Col. 12, Line 59 – Col. 13, Line 5);
receive an input indicating a selection of a second communication session from the display of the upcoming communication sessions (The user has the option to seamlessly transition to the next conference by providing user input, for instance, by selecting the join NEXT selector 128 on the display … When selecting the join NEXT selector 128, the processor 202 receives this user input and generates a join request (e.g., server request 222) that is transmitted to the conference server to allow the user to join the upcoming conference, See Col. 7, Lines 1 - 19); and
in response to receiving the selection of the second communication session, terminate communication of at least one of audio signals or video signals of the first communication session between the client device a first set of client devices and activate communication of at least one of audio signals or video signals between the client device and a second set of computers of the second communication session (Based on the event(s) being tagged according to the time/date of occurrence, the listing may include a chronological list of the events occurring during a certain period of time after the request was made by the user … The generated update may be presented to the user via an audible output, as well as visually via a user interface or display, See Col. 3, Lines 30 - 56 … After each event has been tagged, the content ranker component 214 may rank each event to be included in the update according to their tags. For example, the content ranker component 214 may be configured to rank each event according to the priority with which they should be briefed to the user, See Col. 11, Lines 43 - 62).
Jensen however does not expressly disclose:
during a first communication session, monitoring the first communication session to determine that the first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user and in response to determining that the first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for the user.
Nelson discloses:
during a first communication session, monitoring the first communication session to determine that the first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user (The end of an attendance time period may be determined in various ways that may vary depending upon a particular implementation … a particular participant was previously detected participating in an electronic meeting via sensor data from sensors 1784-1792, but is later not detected via sensor data, it may be presumed that the particular participant is no longer participating in the electronic meeting, See Col. 76, Lines 15 - 32);
in response to determining that the first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for the user (In response to receiving the second sensor data that indicates that the identified person is no longer attending the electronic meeting, in step 2020, second participation data is generated to specify a time at which the identified person ended participation in the electronic meeting, See Col. 77, Lines 32 - 40):
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 Nelson’s teaching of determining if a first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user, along with retrieving upcoming communication sessions having a time gap with the first communication session to improve Jensen’s system. Both Jensen and Nelson disclose systems for monitoring a user during a communication session. Nelson’s system includes determining an attendance time period of a user during a communication session. The combination is an improvement upon the existing system because if a first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user is determined, as taught by Nelson, where based on the determination, upcoming communication sessions having a time gap with the first communication session can be retrieved, as taught by Jensen, to allow seamless transition from a first communication session to a second communication session.
As per claim 17, the method of claim 1, wherein determining that the first communication has ended comprises:
analyzing a calendar item defining the first communication session to determine that a running time of the first communication session is within a threshold time of an end time of the first communication session or a current time has passed the end time (The processor 202 controls the calendar interface 204 to obtain the user's Up-Next conference information from the user's calendar. For example, the calendar information may describe a first conference scheduled for 1 pm and a second conference scheduled for 2 pm (determines running time of conferences within threshold). Each conference has an associated start time and identifier. When the user is participating in the first conference, the Up-Next conference is the second conference scheduled for 2 pm, See Col. 12, Line 59 – Col. 13, Line 5), wherein the display of the user interface element describing the one or more properties for the upcoming communication sessions is displayed in response to determining that the running time of the first communication session is within the threshold time of the end time of the first communication session or the current time has passed the end time (The processor 202 is aware of the start time of the upcoming conference. When there is less than five minutes until the start time of the upcoming conference, the processor 202 controls the device interface 206 to output a display signal 214 to display information about the upcoming conference on a user display screen. For example, the device interface 206 displays information about the current conference on the display screen 118 using display signal 214. The information about the current conference includes images 122 of the current participants, See Col. 6, Lines 47 - 67).
As per claim 18, the method of claim 1, wherein determining that the first communication is terminated comprises:
receiving an input for terminating the first communication session, wherein the display of the user interface element describing the one or more properties for the upcoming communication sessions is displayed in response to receiving the input for terminating the first communication session (The user has the option to seamlessly transition to the next conference by providing user input, for instance, by selecting the join NEXT selector 128 on the display … When selecting the join NEXT selector 128, the processor 202 receives this user input and generates a join request (e.g., server request 222) that is transmitted to the conference server to allow the user to join the upcoming conference, See Col. 7, Lines 1 - 19).
As per claim 20, the system of claim 15, wherein the system restricts the retrieval and display of one or more properties for upcoming meetings having a time gap 401 with the first communication session 141A that do not meet the meeting one or more criteria (When there is less than five minutes until the start time of the upcoming conference, the processor 202 controls the device interface 206 to output a display signal 214 to display information about the upcoming conference on a user display screen (restricts retrieval and display when time gap is longer than 5 minutes and hence not meeting the criteria), See Col. 6, Lines 47 - 67).
As per claim 21, the method of claim 1, wherein determining that the first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded is based on a status of the first communication session for the user or calendar data of the user indicating an end time of the first communication session, and wherein determining that the first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded is not based on one or more properties for the upcoming communication sessions for the for the user, wherein the client device is associated with the user (The participation times are recorded in attendance tracking information 1766 by IWB appliance 1710 as a participant enters and leaves an electronic meeting based upon sensor data from sensors 1784-1792. For example, IWB appliance 1710 may record participation times in step 1816 of FIG. 18 after the person has been identified in step 1804 and determined to be a participant of an electronic meeting scheduled at or near the current time in step 1810. Participation times may specify the actual times that a participant arrived for and departed an electronic meeting, based upon sensor data, even if those times are outside the scheduled time for the electronic meeting, See Col. 75, Line 50 – Col. 76 Line 5).
As per claim 22, Jensen discloses a computing system for controlling transitions between communication sessions for execution on a system, the computing system comprising:
one or more processing units; and
a computer-readable storage medium having encoded thereon computer-executable instructions to cause the one or more processing units to:
…
retrieve one or more properties for upcoming communication sessions having a time gap with the first communication session meeting one or more criteria (A determination is made as to whether the time remaining before the next scheduled conference (e.g., Up-Next) is less than a selected time interval (TI). For example, the time interval can be five minutes or any other desired time interval. In an embodiment, the processor 202 is aware of the user's conference schedule obtained from the user's calendar and determines if the time to the next scheduled conference is less than the selected TI, See Col. 10, Lines 27 - 38),
cause a display of a user interface element describing the one or more properties for upcoming communication sessions having the time gap with the first communication session meeting the one or more criteria (A request for upcoming conference information is made to the conference server … This information is then displayed to the user, for example, as part of the next conference details 124 and the next conference participant images 126), the upcoming communication sessions being ranked based on at least one of user preferences, user attendance history, response status, time proximity, or recurrence status (The processor 202 controls the calendar interface 204 to obtain the user's Up-Next conference information from the user's calendar. For example, the calendar information may describe a first conference scheduled for 1 pm and a second conference scheduled for 2 pm (time proximity). Each conference has an associated start time and identifier. When the user is participating in the first conference, the Up-Next conference is the second conference scheduled for 2 pm, See Col. 12, Line 59 – Col. 13, Line 5);
receive an input indicating a selection of a second communication session from the display of the upcoming communication sessions (The user has the option to seamlessly transition to the next conference by providing user input, for instance, by selecting the join NEXT selector 128 on the display … When selecting the join NEXT selector 128, the processor 202 receives this user input and generates a join request (e.g., server request 222) that is transmitted to the conference server to allow the user to join the upcoming conference, See Col. 7, Lines 1 - 19); and
in response to receiving the selection of the second communication session, terminate communication of at least one of audio signals or video signals of the first communication session between the client device of the user and a first set of client devices and activate communication of at least one of audio signals or video signals between the client device and a second set of computers of the second communication session (Based on the event(s) being tagged according to the time/date of occurrence, the listing may include a chronological list of the events occurring during a certain period of time after the request was made by the user … The generated update may be presented to the user via an audible output, as well as visually via a user interface or display, See Col. 3, Lines 30 - 56 … After each event has been tagged, the content ranker component 214 may rank each event to be included in the update according to their tags. For example, the content ranker component 214 may be configured to rank each event according to the priority with which they should be briefed to the user, See Col. 11, Lines 43 - 62).
Jensen however does not expressly disclose:
during a first communication session, monitoring the first communication session to determine that the first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user and in response to determining that the first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for the user.
Nelson discloses:
during a first communication session, monitoring the first communication session to determine that the first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user (The end of an attendance time period may be determined in various ways that may vary depending upon a particular implementation … a particular participant was previously detected participating in an electronic meeting via sensor data from sensors 1784-1792, but is later not detected via sensor data, it may be presumed that the particular participant is no longer participating in the electronic meeting, See Col. 76, Lines 15 - 32);
in response to determining that the first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for the user (In response to receiving the second sensor data that indicates that the identified person is no longer attending the electronic meeting, in step 2020, second participation data is generated to specify a time at which the identified person ended participation in the electronic meeting, See Col. 77, Lines 32 - 40):
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 Nelson’s teaching of determining if a first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user, along with retrieving upcoming communication sessions having a time gap with the first communication session to improve Jensen’s system. Both Jensen and Nelson disclose systems for monitoring a user during a communication session. Nelson’s system includes determining an attendance time period of a user during a communication session. The combination is an improvement upon the existing system because if a first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user is determined, as taught by Nelson, where based on the determination, upcoming communication sessions having a time gap with the first communication session can be retrieved, as taught by Jensen, to allow seamless transition from a first communication session to a second communication session.
As per claim 27, the computing system of claim 22, wherein the system restricts the retrieval and display of one or more properties for upcoming meetings having a time gap with the first communication session that do not meet the meeting one or more criteria (When there is less than five minutes until the start time of the upcoming conference, the processor 202 controls the device interface 206 to output a display signal 214 to display information about the upcoming conference on a user display screen (restricts retrieval and display when time gap is longer than 5 minutes and hence not meeting the criteria), See Col. 6, Lines 47 - 67).
Claim(s) 2 – 3, 5, 7, 16, 23 – 24, and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jensen (US 12160454), in view of Nelson (US 10956875), and further in view of Srivatsa (US 11495219).
As per claim 2, the combination of Jensen and Nelson discloses all limitations of claim 1,
The combination of Jensen and Nelson however does not expressly disclose:
analyzing the upcoming communication sessions to determine a priority for each of the upcoming communication sessions based on at least one of the user preferences, the user attendance history, the response status, the time proximity, or the recurrence status meeting one or more criteria and configuring the user interface element with a list of the upcoming communication sessions that is ordered according to the determined priority for each of the upcoming communication sessions, wherein the second communication session is one of the upcoming communication sessions.
Srivatsa discloses:
the method of claim 1, further comprising:
analyzing the upcoming communication sessions to determine a priority for each of the upcoming communication sessions based on at least one of the user preferences, the user attendance history, the response status, the time proximity, or the recurrence status meeting one or more criteria (The content service 204 may acquire data associated with the events including, but not limited to, time (e.g., the time the event is set to occur), date (e.g., the date the event is set to occur), duration (e.g., how long the event is scheduled to last), time of scheduling (e.g., when the event was created), cancelation information (e.g., whether the event has been canceled), reply information (e.g., whether the user and/or additional attendees have accepted, declined, or not yet replied to the event), location information (e.g., a location of the event), contact information (e.g., information for joining or attending the event, such as a conference call number), attendance information (e.g., invited persons), and the like … the content tagging component 216 may parse event data, or information included in the event or body of the event element, to determine one or more tags associated with the event(s), See Col. 9, Line 53 – Col. 10, Line 18); and
configuring the user interface element with a list of the upcoming communication sessions that is ordered according to the determined priority for each of the upcoming communication sessions, wherein the second communication session is one of the upcoming communication sessions (Based on the event(s) being tagged according to the time/date of occurrence, the listing may include a chronological list of the events occurring during a certain period of time after the request was made by the user … The generated update may be presented to the user via an audible output, as well as visually via a user interface or display, See Col. 3, Lines 30 - 56 … After each event has been tagged, the content ranker component 214 may rank each event to be included in the update according to their tags. For example, the content ranker component 214 may be configured to rank each event according to the priority with which they should be briefed to the user, See Col. 11, Lines 43 - 62).
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 Srivatsa’s teaching of configuring a list of upcoming communications based on priority and Nelson’s teaching of determining if a first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user, along with retrieving upcoming communication sessions having a time gap with the first communication session to improve Jensen’s system. Jensen, Nelson, and Srivatsa all disclose systems for monitoring a user during a communication session. Srivatsa’s system includes a content ranker component that determines priority of upcoming events. The combination is an improvement upon the existing system because if a first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user is determined, as taught by Nelson, where based on the determination, upcoming communication sessions having a time gap with the first communication session can be retrieved, as taught by Jensen, and the upcoming communication session can further be listed based on priority, as taught by Srivatsa, to allow seamless transition from a first communication session to a second communication session.
As per claim 3, the method of claim 1, further comprising:
analyzing the upcoming communication sessions to select a characteristic of individual communication sessions for display on the user interface element, the selection based on a user attendance history, response status, time proximity, or recurrence status meeting one or more criteria with respect to one or more user preferences (Srivatsa, The events are of the same priority (e.g., have the same tags and/or no tags associated), the content ranker component 214 may rank the events according to their occurrence chronologically. In additional examples, the events may be ranked first according to chronological order (e.g., according to a time/date associated and/or tags indicating a time/date), with the additional tags being considered after the chronological ranking in order to determine a final ranking, See Col. 11, Lines 43 - 62); and
causing a display of the selected characteristics for one or more of the upcoming communication sessions displayed on the user interface element comprising a list of the upcoming communication sessions, wherein second communication session is one of the upcoming communication sessions (Srivatsa, Based on the event(s) being tagged according to the time/date of occurrence, the listing may include a chronological list of the events occurring during a certain period of time after the request was made by the user … The generated update may be presented to the user via an audible output, as well as visually via a user interface or display, See Col. 3, Lines 30 - 56 … if an event was canceled but the user 106 did not remove it from his/her calendar, the meeting status will have a “canceled” tag (display of the selected characteristics) (e.g., tagged as canceled based on the information from the calendar services 206). As such, the update may include a statement such as “<eventTitle> at <startTime> was cancelled.”, See Col. 10, Lines 44 - 62).
As per claim 5, the method of claim 1, further comprising:
generating a query that includes a first set of calendar events that are dated prior to a predetermined date as grounding data for a large language model, the query including a second set of calendar events that are dated after the predetermined date and indicated as upcoming communication sessions, the query including instructions that cause the large language model to identify behavioral patterns of the user from the grounding data and to rank the upcoming communication sessions based on the behavioral patterns of the user (Srivatsa, The system may determine user preferences based on historical user interactions with the system, feedback data (e.g., indications that the user likes or dislikes previous updates), and/or explicit preferences selected by the user. Based on the determined or learned preferences, the system may adjust the ranking of the event(s). For example, if the system determines that the user has indicated that he/she prefers to receive updates associated with events missing information, the system may rank those events tagged as having a conflict above other events. In this way, the system may tailor the updates to the user's preferences and present the user with more effective updates that are more likely to be of value to the user, See Col. 3, Lines 57 – Col. 4, Line 4);
communicating the query to the large language model causing the large language model to rank the upcoming communication sessions based on the behavioral patterns of the user (Srivatsa, The content service 204 may further include at least one of a content ranker component 214 and/or a content tagging component 216. For example, the content tagging component 216 may include a rules database including rules for each domain service of the domain services 118. For example, each of the calendar services 206, email services 208, personal data services 210, and/or other services 212 may be associated with a rule that allows each event from each of the domain services 118 to be tagged according to one or more conditions associated with the events. For example, the content tagging component 216 may parse event data, or information included in the event or body of the event element, to determine one or more tags associated with the event(s), See Col. 10, lines 5 - 18); and
receiving notification parameters from the large language model, the notification parameters defining a rank of the upcoming communication sessions, wherein the notification parameters cause the user interface element to include a list of the upcoming communication sessions that are ranked according to the notification parameters, wherein the upcoming communication sessions includes the second communication session as one of the upcoming communication sessions (Srivatsa, Based on the event(s) being tagged according to the time/date of occurrence, the listing may include a chronological list of the events occurring during a certain period of time after the request was made by the user … The generated update may be presented to the user via an audible output, as well as visually via a user interface or display, See Col. 3, Lines 30 - 56 … After each event has been tagged, the content ranker component 214 may rank each event to be included in the update according to their tags. For example, the content ranker component 214 may be configured to rank each event according to the priority with which they should be briefed to the user, See Col. 11, Lines 43 - 62).
As per claim 7, the method of claim 1, wherein the system restricts an analysis of the upcoming communication sessions to determine a rank for each of the upcoming communication sessions having a time gap with the first communication session that do not meet the meeting one or more criteria (Srivatsa, Based on the tag(s) associated with the event, the update service 114 may rank the event(s) occurring during a time period (restricts ranking before time period) according to their importance, See Col. 14, Lines 12 - 26).
As per claim 16, the system of claim 15, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processing units to:
analyze the upcoming communication sessions to determine a priority for each of the upcoming communication sessions based on at least one of the user preferences, the user attendance history, the response status, the time proximity, or the recurrence status meeting one or more criteria (Srivatsa, The content service 204 may acquire data associated with the events including, but not limited to, time (e.g., the time the event is set to occur), date (e.g., the date the event is set to occur), duration (e.g., how long the event is scheduled to last), time of scheduling (e.g., when the event was created), cancelation information (e.g., whether the event has been canceled), reply information (e.g., whether the user and/or additional attendees have accepted, declined, or not yet replied to the event), location information (e.g., a location of the event), contact information (e.g., information for joining or attending the event, such as a conference call number), attendance information (e.g., invited persons), and the like … the content tagging component 216 may parse event data, or information included in the event or body of the event element, to determine one or more tags associated with the event(s), See Col. 9, Line 53 – Col. 10, Line 18); and
configure the user interface element with a list of the upcoming communication sessions that is ordered according to the determined priority for each of the upcoming communication sessions, wherein the second communication session is one of the upcoming communication sessions (Srivatsa, Based on the event(s) being tagged according to the time/date of occurrence, the listing may include a chronological list of the events occurring during a certain period of time after the request was made by the user … The generated update may be presented to the user via an audible output, as well as visually via a user interface or display, See Col. 3, Lines 30 - 56 … After each event has been tagged, the content ranker component 214 may rank each event to be included in the update according to their tags. For example, the content ranker component 214 may be configured to rank each event according to the priority with which they should be briefed to the user, See Col. 11, Lines 43 - 62).
As per claim 23, the computing system of claim 22, wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the one or more processing units to:
analyze the upcoming communication sessions to determine a priority for each of the upcoming communication sessions based on at least one of the user preferences, the user attendance history, the response status, the time proximity, or the recurrence status meeting one or more criteria (Srivatsa, The content service 204 may acquire data associated with the events including, but not limited to, time (e.g., the time the event is set to occur), date (e.g., the date the event is set to occur), duration (e.g., how long the event is scheduled to last), time of scheduling (e.g., when the event was created), cancelation information (e.g., whether the event has been canceled), reply information (e.g., whether the user and/or additional attendees have accepted, declined, or not yet replied to the event), location information (e.g., a location of the event), contact information (e.g., information for joining or attending the event, such as a conference call number), attendance information (e.g., invited persons), and the like … the content tagging component 216 may parse event data, or information included in the event or body of the event element, to determine one or more tags associated with the event(s), See Col. 9, Line 53 – Col. 10, Line 18); and
configure the user interface element with a list of the upcoming communication sessions that is ordered according to the determined priority for each of the upcoming communication sessions, wherein the second communication session is one of the upcoming communication sessions (Srivatsa, Based on the event(s) being tagged according to the time/date of occurrence, the listing may include a chronological list of the events occurring during a certain period of time after the request was made by the user … The generated update may be presented to the user via an audible output, as well as visually via a user interface or display, See Col. 3, Lines 30 - 56 … After each event has been tagged, the content ranker component 214 may rank each event to be included in the update according to their tags. For example, the content ranker component 214 may be configured to rank each event according to the priority with which they should be briefed to the user, See Col. 11, Lines 43 - 62).
As per claim 24, the computing system of claim 22, wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the one or more processing units to:
analyze the upcoming communication sessions to select a characteristic of individual communication sessions for display on the user interface element, the selection based on a user attendance history, response status, time proximity, or recurrence status meeting one or more criteria with respect to one or more user preferences (Srivatsa, The events are of the same priority (e.g., have the same tags and/or no tags associated), the content ranker component 214 may rank the events according to their occurrence chronologically. In additional examples, the events may be ranked first according to chronological order (e.g., according to a time/date associated and/or tags indicating a time/date), with the additional tags being considered after the chronological ranking in order to determine a final ranking, See Col. 11, Lines 43 - 62); and
cause a display of the selected characteristics for one or more of the upcoming communication sessions displayed on the user interface element comprising a list of the upcoming communication sessions, wherein second communication session is one of the upcoming communication sessions (Srivatsa, Based on the event(s) being tagged according to the time/date of occurrence, the listing may include a chronological list of the events occurring during a certain period of time after the request was made by the user … The generated update may be presented to the user via an audible output, as well as visually via a user interface or display, See Col. 3, Lines 30 - 56 … if an event was canceled but the user 106 did not remove it from his/her calendar, the meeting status will have a “canceled” tag (display of the selected characteristics) (e.g., tagged as canceled based on the information from the calendar services 206). As such, the update may include a statement such as “<eventTitle> at <startTime> was cancelled.”, See Col. 10, Lines 44 - 62).
As per claim 26, the computing system of claim 22, wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the one or more processing units to:
generate a query that includes a first set of calendar events that are dated prior to a predetermined date as grounding data for a large language model, the query including a second set of calendar events that are dated after the predetermined date and indicated as upcoming communication sessions, the query including instructions that cause the large language model to identify behavioral patterns of the user from the grounding data and to rank the upcoming communication sessions based on the behavioral patterns of the user (Srivatsa, The system may determine user preferences based on historical user interactions with the system, feedback data (e.g., indications that the user likes or dislikes previous updates), and/or explicit preferences selected by the user. Based on the determined or learned preferences, the system may adjust the ranking of the event(s). For example, if the system determines that the user has indicated that he/she prefers to receive updates associated with events missing information, the system may rank those events tagged as having a conflict above other events. In this way, the system may tailor the updates to the user's preferences and present the user with more effective updates that are more likely to be of value to the user, See Col. 3, Lines 57 – Col. 4, Line 4);
communicate the query to the large language model causing the large language model to rank the upcoming communication sessions based on the behavioral patterns of the user (Srivatsa, The content service 204 may further include at least one of a content ranker component 214 and/or a content tagging component 216. For example, the content tagging component 216 may include a rules database including rules for each domain service of the domain services 118. For example, each of the calendar services 206, email services 208, personal data services 210, and/or other services 212 may be associated with a rule that allows each event from each of the domain services 118 to be tagged according to one or more conditions associated with the events. For example, the content tagging component 216 may parse event data, or information included in the event or body of the event element, to determine one or more tags associated with the event(s), See Col. 10, lines 5 - 18); and
receive notification parameters from the large language model, the notification parameters defining a rank of the upcoming communication sessions, wherein the notification parameters cause the user interface element to include a list of the upcoming communication sessions that are ranked according to the notification parameters, wherein the upcoming communication sessions includes the second communication session as one of the upcoming communication sessions (Srivatsa, Based on the event(s) being tagged according to the time/date of occurrence, the listing may include a chronological list of the events occurring during a certain period of time after the request was made by the user … The generated update may be presented to the user via an audible output, as well as visually via a user interface or display, See Col. 3, Lines 30 - 56 … After each event has been tagged, the content ranker component 214 may rank each event to be included in the update according to their tags. For example, the content ranker component 214 may be configured to rank each event according to the priority with which they should be briefed to the user, See Col. 11, Lines 43 - 62).
Claim(s) 4 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jensen (US 12160454), in view of Nelson (US 10956875), and further in view of Iyer (US 11627009).
As per claim 4, the combination of Jensen and Nelson discloses all limitations of claim 1.
The combination of Jensen and Nelson however does not expressly disclose:
generating communication switch control data 350 that causes automatic changes between the second communication session and a third communication session, wherein a time of transitions the second communication session and the third communication session is based on a time of an agenda item of at least the second communication session and the third communication session, wherein agenda items are selected by at least one of a rank of the second communication session, the third communication session, or at least one agenda item of the second communication session or the third communication session.
Iyer discloses:
the method of claim 1, further comprising:
generating communication switch control data 350 that causes automatic changes between the second communication session and a third communication session, wherein a time of transitions the second communication session and the third communication session is based on a time of an agenda item of at least the second communication session and the third communication session, wherein agenda items are selected by at least one of a rank of the second communication session, the third communication session, or at least one agenda item of the second communication session or the third communication session (A meeting dependency may identify another asynchronous meeting, past, current, or future, which should be conducted chronological prior to the given asynchronous meeting (284B, 284D, 284F)—i.e., in chronological alignment of tasks, workloads, etc. associated with the collaborative discussion, topic, or focus of the asynchronous meeting series. For example, the given asynchronous meeting (284B, 284D, 284F), which may be directed to the manufacturing of a widget, should be scheduled following another given asynchronous meeting (284B, 284D, 284F) that may be directed to the designing of the widget, as a designing phase is often understood to precede a manufacturing phase, See Col. 9, Lines 27 - 39).
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 Iyer’s teaching of selecting agenda items based on a rank of the upcoming communication session and Nelson’s teaching of determining if a first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user, along with retrieving upcoming communication sessions having a time gap with the first communication session to improve Jensen’s system. Jensen, Nelson, and Iyer all disclose systems for monitoring a user during a communication session. Iyer’s system includes a chronological order of topics associated with each asynchronous meeting to determine precedence. The combination is an improvement upon the existing system because if a first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user is determined, as taught by Nelson, where based on the determination, upcoming communication sessions having a time gap with the first communication session can be retrieved, as taught by Jensen, where the upcoming communication session is ranked based on a selected agenda item, as taught by Iyer, to allow seamless transition from a first communication session to a second communication session.
As per claim 25, computing system of claim 22, wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the one or more processing units to:
generate communication switch control data that causes automatic changes between the second communication session and a third communication session, wherein a time of transitions the second communication session and the third communication session is based on a time of an agenda item of at least the second communication session and the third communication session, wherein agenda items are selected by at least one of a rank of the second communication session, the third communication session, or at least one agenda item of the second communication session or the third communication session (Iyer, A meeting dependency may identify another asynchronous meeting, past, current, or future, which should be conducted chronological prior to the given asynchronous meeting (284B, 284D, 284F)—i.e., in chronological alignment of tasks, workloads, etc. associated with the collaborative discussion, topic, or focus of the asynchronous meeting series. For example, the given asynchronous meeting (284B, 284D, 284F), which may be directed to the manufacturing of a widget, should be scheduled following another given asynchronous meeting (284B, 284D, 284F) that may be directed to the designing of the widget, as a designing phase is often understood to precede a manufacturing phase, See Col. 9, Lines 27 - 39).
Claim(s) 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jensen (US 12160454), in view of Nelson (US 10956875), and in view of van Rensburg (US 10972295).
As per claim 19, the combination of Jensen and Nelson disclose all limitations of claim 1.
The combination of Jensen and Nelson however does not expressly disclose:
wherein determining that the first communication has concluded comprises: analyzing communication data to determine that a threshold number of users have left the first communication session, wherein the display of the user interface element describing the one or more properties for the upcoming communication sessions is displayed in response to determining that the threshold number of users have left the first communication.
van Rensburg discloses:
the method of claim 1, wherein determining that the first communication has concluded comprises: analyzing communication data to determine that a threshold number of users have left the first communication session, wherein the display of the user interface element describing the one or more properties for the upcoming communication sessions is displayed in response to determining that the threshold number of users have left the first communication (The electronic conferencing system 110 may determine that an electronic conferencing session has ended or is about to end by detecting a change in the number of attendees. As a nonlimiting example, it may be determined that an electronic conferencing session has ended or is about to end if the number of attendees drops by a certain predetermined threshold, e.g., 20%, 25%, etc. It is appreciated that the number of attendees may be tracked online (i.e. attendees “leave meeting” and the number decreases), See Col. 8, Lines 39 - 67).
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 van Rensburg’s teaching determining that the first communication has concluded based on a threshold number of users that have left the first communication session and Nelson’s teaching of determining if a first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user, along with displaying the user interface element describing the one or more properties for the upcoming communication sessions to improve Jensen’s system. Jensen, Nelson, and van Rensburg all disclose systems for monitoring a user during a communication session. Van Rensburg’s system includes determining that an electronic conferencing session has ended or is about to end if the number of attendees drops by a certain predetermined threshold. The combination is an improvement upon the existing system because if a first communication session has ended, is terminated, or has concluded for a user is determined, as taught by Nelson, where based on the determination, upcoming communication sessions having a time gap with the first communication session can be retrieved, as taught by Jensen, where the upcoming communication session can be displayed when it is determined that the first communication has concluded based on a threshold number of users that have left the first communication session, as taught by van Rensburg, to allow seamless transition from a first communication session to a second communication session.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
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/NAZIA NAOREEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2458