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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 8-16-2024 is acknowledged by the examiner.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the conflicting application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement.
Effective January 1, 1994, a registered attorney or agent of record may sign a terminal disclaimer. A terminal disclaimer signed by the assignee must fully comply with 37 CFR 3.73(b).
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over: claims 1-20 of U.S. Pat. No. 12,095,948 and claims 1-21 of U.S. Pat. No. 11,711,466.
Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the cited patent mentioned above discloses:
‘…transmitting a first indication that a task was assigned to a user of a client device; receiving, from the client device, a second indication that the task was completed; in response to the second indication, updating a task status corresponding to the task and a user status corresponding to the user; and transmitting the updated task status in response to a query…’ along with the other limitations of claim 1 in the instant application;
‘…providing an interactive voice response (IVR) menu extension to a sender device, wherein the IVR menu extension generates information related to the task; receiving the information related to the task from the sender device in response to the IVR menu extension; and generating the task based on the information…’ along with the other limitations of claim 2 in the instant application;
‘…transmitting the task to client devices including the client device; and identifying, prior to transmitting the task to the client devices, the client devices based on membership data associated with a team responsible for the task…’ along with the other limitations of claim 3 in the instant application;
‘…transmitting the task to client devices including the client device; and identifying, prior to transmitting the task, the client devices based on membership in a team responsible for the task and at least one of a geographic location of one or more of the client devices, one or more other tasks accepted by one or more of the client devices, or a status indicator of one or more of the client devices…’ along with the other limitations of claim 4 in the instant application;
‘…receiving, from the client device, a task acceptance corresponding to the task; and identifying the user of the client device by applying voiceprint intelligence to the task acceptance, wherein the task acceptance does not include an indication of the client device transmitting the task acceptance…’ along with the other limitations of claim 5 in the instant application;
‘…using voice-identification technology to identify a user of the client device, wherein the task acceptance does not include an indication of the client device transmitting the task acceptance…’ along with the other limitations of claim 6 in the instant application;
‘…storing the second indication that the task was completed in a data structure associated with the user…’ along with the other limitations of claim 7 in the instant application;
‘…storing a data structure representing a set of tasks including the task and a status of each task…’ along with the other limitations of claim 8 in the instant application;
‘…transmitting the task to client devices including the client device; and identifying the client devices from a set based on one or more tasks previously accepted by users of the client devices, the one or more tasks previously accepted by the users being stored in a data structure in memory…’ along with the other limitations of claim 9 in the instant application;
‘…transmit a first indication that a task was assigned to a user of a client device; receive, from the client device, a second indication that the task was completed; in response to the second indication, update a task status corresponding to the task and a user status corresponding to the user; and transmit the updated task status in response to a query…’ along with the other limitations of claim 10 in the instant application;
‘…provide an interactive voice response (IVR) menu extension to a sender device, wherein the IVR menu extension generates information related to the task; receive the information related to the task from the sender device in response to the IVR menu extension; and generate the task based on the information…’ along with the other limitations of claim 11 in the instant application;
‘…transmit the task to client devices including the client device; and identify, prior to transmitting the task to the client devices, the client devices based on membership data associated with a team responsible for the task…’ along with the other limitations of claim 12 in the instant application;
‘…transmit the task to client devices including the client device; and identify, prior to transmitting the task, the client devices based on membership in a team responsible for the task and at least one of a geographic location of one or more of the client devices, one or more other tasks accepted by one or more of the client devices, or a status indicator of one or more of the client devices…’ along with the other limitations of claim 13 in the instant application;
‘…receive, from the client device, a task acceptance corresponding to a task; and identify the user of the client device by applying voiceprint intelligence to the task acceptance, wherein the task acceptance does not include an indication of the client device transmitting the task acceptance…’ along with the other limitations of claim 14 in the instant application;
‘…use voice-identification technology to identify a user of the client device, wherein the task acceptance does not include an indication of the client device transmitting the task acceptance...’ along with the other limitations of claim 15 in the instant application;
‘…store the second indication that the task was completed in a data structure associated with the user...’ along with the other limitations of claim 16 in the instant application;
‘…transmitting a first indication that a task was assigned to a user of a client device; receiving, from the client device, a second indication that the task was completed; in response to the second indication, updating a task status corresponding to the task and a user status corresponding to the user; and transmitting the updated task status in response to a query...’ along with the other limitations of claim 17 in the instant application;
‘…providing an interactive voice response (IVR) menu extension to a sender device, wherein the IVR menu extension generates information related to the task; receiving the information related to the task from the sender device in response to the IVR menu extension; and generating the task based on the information...’ along with the other limitations of claim 18 in the instant application;
‘…transmitting the task to client devices including the client device; and identifying, prior to transmitting the task, the client devices based on membership data associated with a team responsible for the task...’ along with the other limitations of claim 19 in the instant application; and
‘…transmitting the task to client devices including the client device; and identifying, prior to transmitting the task, the client devices based on membership in a team responsible for the task and at least one of a geographic location of one or more of the client devices, one or more other tasks accepted by one or more of the client devices, or a status indicator of one or more of the client devices...’ along with the other limitations of claim 20 in the instant application.
Claims 1- 20 of U.S. Pat. No. 12,095,948 disclose the claimed invention in the pending claims:
Claim 1: A method comprising: receiving, at one or more servers, a response accepting a task from a client device; transmitting, from the one or more servers, a first indication that the task was assigned to a user of the client device; storing, in memory, a task status and a user status, the task status indicating that the task is assigned to the user, and the user status indicating that the user is performing the task and indicating past tasks assigned to the user; receiving, from the client device, a second indication that the task was completed; in response to the second indication, updating the task status and the user status; transmitting the updated task status in response to a query; and transmitting the updated user status to a manager device of a manager to evaluate the user.
Claim 2: The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing an interactive voice response (IVR) menu extension to a sender device, wherein the IVR menu extension generates information related to the task; receiving the information related to the task from the sender device in response to the IVR menu extension; and generating the task based on the information.
Claim 3: The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting the task to client devices including the client device; and identifying, prior to transmitting the task to the client devices, the client devices based on membership data associated with a team responsible for the task.
Claim 4: The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting the task to client devices including the client device; and identifying, prior to transmitting the task, the client devices based on membership in a team responsible for the task and at least one of a geographic location of one or more of the client devices, one or more other tasks accepted by one or more of the client devices, or a status indicator of one or more of the client devices.
Claim 5: The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying the user of the client device by applying voiceprint intelligence to the response accepting the task, wherein the response does not include an indication of the client device transmitting the response.
Claim 6: The method of claim 1, further comprising: using voice-identification technology to identify a user of the client device, wherein the response does not include an indication of the client device transmitting the response.
Claim 7: The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving an indication that the task was completed; and storing the indication that the task was completed in a data structure associated with the user.
Claim 8: The method of claim 1, further comprising: storing a data structure representing a set of tasks including the task and a status of each task.
Claim 9: The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting the task to client devices including the client device; and identifying the client devices from a set based on one or more tasks previously accepted by users of the client devices, the one or more tasks previously accepted by the users being stored in a data structure in memory.
Claim 10: A system comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors configured to execute instructions stored in the one or more memories to: receive, at one or more servers, a response accepting a task from a client device; transmit, from the one or more servers, a first indication that the task was assigned to a user of the client device; store, in memory, a task status and a user status, the task status indicating that the task is assigned to the user, and the user status indicating that the user is performing the task and indicating past tasks assigned to the user; receive, from the client device, a second indication that the task was completed; in response to the second indication, update the task status and the user status; transmit the updated task status in response to a query; and transmit the updated user status to a manager device of a manager to evaluate the user.
Claim 11: The system of claim 10, the one or more processors being further configured to execute instructions stored in the one or more memories to: provide an interactive voice response (IVR) menu extension to a sender device, wherein the IVR menu extension generates information related to the task; receive the information related to the task from the sender device in response to the IVR menu extension; and generate the task based on the information.
Claim 12: The system of claim 10, the one or more processors being further configured to execute instructions stored in the one or more memories to: transmit the task to client devices including the client device; and identify, prior to transmitting the task to the client devices, the client devices based on membership data associated with a team responsible for the task.
Claim 13: The system of claim 10, the one or more processors being further configured to execute instructions stored in the one or more memories to: transmit the task to client devices including the client device; and identify, prior to transmitting the task, the client devices based on membership in a team responsible for the task and at least one of a geographic location of one or more of the client devices, one or more other tasks accepted by one or more of the client devices, or a status indicator of one or more of the client devices.
Claim 14: The system of claim 10, the one or more processors being further configured to execute instructions stored in the one or more memories to: identify the user of the client device by applying voiceprint intelligence to the response accepting the task, wherein the response does not include an indication of the client device transmitting the response.
Claim 15: The system of claim 10, the one or more processors being further configured to execute instructions stored in the one or more memories to: use voice-identification technology to identify a user of the client device, wherein the response does not include an indication of the client device transmitting the response.
Claim 16: The system of claim 10, the one or more processors being further configured to execute instructions stored in the one or more memories to: receive an indication that the task was completed; and storing the indication that the task was completed in a data structure associated with the user.
Claim 17: One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions operable to cause one or more processors to perform operations comprising: receiving, at one or more servers, a response accepting a task from a client device; transmitting, from the one or more servers, a first indication that the task was assigned to a user of the client device; storing, in memory, a task status and a user status, the task status indicating that the task is assigned to the user, and the user status indicating that the user is performing the task and indicating past tasks assigned to the user; receiving, from the client device, a second indication that the task was completed; in response to the second indication, updating the task status and the user status; transmitting the updated task status in response to a query; and transmitting the updated user status to a manager device of a manager to evaluate the user.
Claim 18: The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17, the operations further comprising: providing an interactive voice response (IVR) menu extension to a sender device, wherein the IVR menu extension generates information related to the task; receiving the information related to the task from the sender device in response to the IVR menu extension; and generating the task based on the information.
Claim 19: The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17, the operations further comprising: transmitting the task to client devices including the client device; and identifying, prior to transmitting the task, the client devices based on membership data associated with a team responsible for the task.
Claim 20: The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17, the operations further comprising: transmitting the task to client devices including the client device; and identifying, prior to transmitting the task, the client devices based on membership in a team responsible for the task and at least one of a geographic location of one or more of the client devices, one or more other tasks accepted by one or more of the client devices, or a status indicator of one or more of the client devices.
Claims 1- 21 of U.S. Pat. No. 11,711,466 disclose the claimed invention in the pending claims:
Claim 1: A method comprising: transmitting a task to client devices using push-to-talk (PTT); receiving, at a server and using PTT, a response accepting the task from a device of the client devices; assigning the task to a user of the device; transmitting, from the server and using PTT, an indication that the task was assigned to the user of the device to at least a subset of the client devices; storing, in memory, a task status and a user status, the task status indicating that the task is assigned to the user, and the user status indicating that the user is performing the task and past tasks assigned to the user; receiving, from the device, an indication that the task was completed; in response to the indication: updating the task status and the user status; transmitting the task status in response to a query about a task; and transmitting the user status to a manager device for evaluation of the user by a manager.
Claim 2: The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing an interactive voice response (IVR) menu extension to a sender device, wherein the IVR menu extension generates information related to the task; receiving the information related to the task from the sender device in response to the IVR menu extension; and generating the task based on the information.
Claim 3: The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying, prior to transmitting the task to the client devices using PTT, the client devices based on membership data associated with a team responsible for the task.
Claim 4: The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying, prior to transmitting the task to the client devices using PTT, the client devices based on membership in a team responsible for the task and at least one of a geographic location of one or more of the client devices, one or more other tasks accepted by one or more of the client devices, or a status indicator of one or more of the client devices.
Claim 5: The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying the user of the device by applying voiceprint intelligence to the response accepting the task, wherein the response does not include an indication of the device transmitting the response.
Claim 6: The method of claim 1, further comprising: using voice-identification technology to identify a user of the device, wherein the response does not include an indication of the device transmitting the response.
Claim 7: The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving an indication that the task was completed; and storing the indication that the task was completed in a data structure associated with the user.
Claim 8: The method of claim 1, further comprising: storing a data structure representing a set of tasks including the task and a status of each task.
Claim 9: The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying the client devices from a set based on one or more tasks previously accepted by users of the client devices, the one or more tasks previously accepted by the users being stored in a data structure in memory.
Claim 10: An apparatus comprising: a memory; and a processor configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: transmit a task to client devices using push-to-talk (PTT); receive, at a server and using PTT, a response accepting the task from a device of the client devices; assign the task to a user of the device; transmit, from the server and using PTT, an indication that the task was assigned to the user of the device to at least a subset of the client devices; store, in memory, a task status and a user status, the task status indicating that the task is assigned to the user, and the user status indicating that the user is performing the task and past tasks assigned to the user; receive, from the device, an indication that the task was completed; in response to the indication: update the task status and the user status; transmit the task status in response to a query about a task; and transmit the user status to a manager device for evaluation of the user by a manager.
Claim 11: The apparatus of claim 10, the processor being further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: provide an interactive voice response (IVR) menu extension to a sender device, wherein the IVR menu extension generates information related to the task; receive the information related to the task from the sender device in response to the IVR menu extension; and generate the task based on the information.
Claim 12: The apparatus of claim 10, the processor being further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: identify, prior to transmitting the task to the client devices using PTT, the client devices based on membership data associated with a team responsible for the task.
Claim 13: The apparatus of claim 10, the processor being further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: identify, prior to transmitting the task to the client devices using PTT, the client devices based on membership in a team responsible for the task and at least one of a geographic location of one or more of the client devices, one or more other tasks accepted by one or more of the client devices, or a status indicator of one or more of the client devices.
Claim 14: The apparatus of claim 10, the processor being further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: identify the user of the device by applying voiceprint intelligence to the response accepting the task, wherein the response does not include an indication of the device transmitting the response.
Claim 15: The apparatus of claim 10, the processor being further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: use voice-identification technology to identify a user of the device, wherein the response does not include an indication of the device transmitting the response.
Claim 16: The apparatus of claim 10, the processor being further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: receive an indication that the task was completed; and storing the indication that the task was completed in a data structure associated with the user.
Claim 17: The apparatus of claim 10, the processor being further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: store a data structure representing a set of tasks including the task and a status of each task.
Claim 18: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more processors to perform operations comprising: transmitting a task to client devices using push-to-talk (PTT); receiving, at a server and using PTT, a response accepting the task from a device of the client devices; assigning the task to a user of the device; transmitting, from the server and using PTT, an indication that the task was assigned to the user of the device to at least a subset of the client devices; storing, in memory, a task status and a user status, the task status indicating that the task is assigned to the user, and the user status indicating that the user is performing the task and past tasks assigned to the user; receiving, from the device, an indication that the task was completed; in response to the indication: updating the task status and the user status; transmitting the task status in response to a query about a task; and transmitting the user status to a manager device for evaluation of the user by a manager.
Claim 19: The computer-readable medium of claim 18, the operations further comprising: providing an interactive voice response (IVR) menu extension to a sender device, wherein the IVR menu extension generates information related to the task; receiving the information related to the task from the sender device in response to the IVR menu extension; and generating the task based on the information.
Claim 20: The computer-readable medium of claim 18, the operations further comprising: identifying, prior to transmitting the task to the client devices using PTT, the client devices based on membership data associated with a team responsible for the task.
Claim 21: The computer-readable medium of claim 18, the operations further comprising: identifying, prior to transmitting the task to the client devices using PTT, the client devices based on membership in a team responsible for the task and at least one of a geographic location of one or more of the client devices, one or more other tasks accepted by one or more of the client devices, or a status indicator of one or more of the client devices.
For these reasons, pending claims 1-20 are rejected. Claims 2-9 depend on claim 1. Claims 11-16 depend on claim 10. Claims 18-20 depend on claim 17.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 Form.
Any response to this action should be mailed to:
Commissioner for Patents
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
Or faxed to:
(571) 273-8300 (for formal communications intended for entry)
Or call:
(571) 272-2600 (for customer service assistance)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LISA HASHEM whose telephone number is 571-272-7542. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday and Thursday 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Fan Tsang can be reached on 571-272-7547.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/LISA HASHEM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2653
Prosecution Insights