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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable by McClung et al. (US Patent Application, Pub. No.: US 2008/0112398 A1).
In regards to claims 1, 10, and 16, McClung discloses a communication server system (e.g., communication system 10 or key system 200), a method, and a tangible machine-readable medium (See pg. 2, paragraph [0023]) comprising: one or more processors (e.g., platform 50); and one or more non-transitory, computer-readable media (See pg. 2, paragraph [0023]) storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the communication server system to: detect a call event (i.e., call request) relating to a telephone network identifier; dynamically link one or more active client accounts to a reservable private branch exchange (PBX) system (e.g., PBX 230) identifier based on first details (i.e., calling number/extension) of the call event and second details (i.e., called number/extension) of the one or more active client accounts (See pg. 3, paragraph [0030]), the PBX system employing a session initiation protocol (SIP) (See pg. 2-3, paragraph [0026]); and route call data between one or more devices associated with the active client accounts dynamically linked to the reservable PBX system identifier and a user device associated with the telephone network identifier (See pg. 3, paragraph [0031]).
In regards to claims 2, 11, and 17, McClung discloses the communication server system, method, and tangible machine-readable medium, wherein when the call event comprises an incoming call from the telephone network identifier, execution of the instructions further cause the communication server system to: receive the first details of the call event as part of the incoming call; identify the reservable PBX system identifier from the first details of the call event; retrieve a set of potential client accounts (i.e., calling or called numbers/extensions) that are associated with the reservable PBX system identifier in a database; and select the one or more active client accounts from the set of potential client accounts (See pg. 3, paragraph [0033]).
In regards to claims 3, 12, and 18, McClung discloses the communication server system, method, and tangible machine-readable medium, wherein execution of the instructions further cause the communication server system to: select the one or more active client accounts from the set of potential client accounts by identifying which ones of the set of potential client accounts are associated with currently active users (See pg. 3, paragraph [0033]).
In regards to claim 4, McClung discloses the communication server system, wherein the first details of the call event that identify the reservable PBX system identifier include a telephone extension number (i.e., calling or called number/extension) (See pg. 3, paragraph [0030]).
In regards to claim 5, McClung discloses the communication server system, wherein the first details of the call event that identify the reservable PBX system identifier include a selection from a telephone menu system (i.e., selection of devices 20a-20f) (See pg. 2, paragraph [0025]).
In regards to claims 6, 13, and 19, McClung discloses the communication server system, method, and tangible machine-readable medium, wherein when the call event comprises an outgoing call to the telephone network identifier, execution of the instructions further cause the communication server system to: receive the first details of the call event as part of the outgoing call; identify the one or more active client accounts from the first details of the call event; identify a site assignment for the one or more active client accounts; and identify the reservable PBX system identifier from a list of available telephone network identifiers based on the site assignment (See pg. 3, paragraph [0031]).
In regards to claims 7, 14, and 20, McClung discloses the communication server system, method, and tangible machine-readable medium, wherein execution of the instructions further cause the communication server system to: search all SIP trunks of the PBX system that are associated with the site assignment and a parent region of the site assignment for the list of available telephone network identifiers (See pg. 2-3, paragraph [0026]); select the reservable PBX system identifier as a first available identifier identified from the SIP trunks that are associated with the site assignment (See pg. 3, paragraph [0031]); and select the reservable PBX system identifier as a first available identifier identified from the SIP trunks that are associated with the parent region of the site assignment when the SIP trunks that are associated with the site assignment fail to include any available telephone network identifiers (See pg. 2-3, paragraph [0026] and pg. 4, paragraph [0045]).
In regards to claims 8 and 15, McClung discloses the communication server system and method, wherein execution of the instructions further cause the communication server system to route the call data between the one or more devices associated with the active client accounts dynamically linked to the reservable PBX system identifier and the user device associated with the telephone network identifier by: converting the call data between a first protocol associated with the one or more devices associated with the active client accounts and a second protocol associated with the user device (i.e., selection of devices 20a-20f or converting between audio and/or video) (See pg. 2, paragraph [0025]).
In regards to claim 9, McClung discloses the communication server system, wherein the one or more devices associated with the active client accounts includes a server configured to provide a web based audio/visual conferencing platform through which the call data is routed (See pg. 2, paragraph [0025]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Klein et al. (US Patent Application, Pub. No.: US 2022/0311866 A1) teach a system for cloud-enabling a premise PBX.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THJUAN KNOWLIN ADDY whose telephone number is (571)272-7486. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30AM - 5:00PM Mon-Fri.
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, Ahmad Matar can be reached at (571) 272-7488. 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.
/THJUAN K ADDY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2693