DETAILED ACTION
This communication is a Final Office Action rejection on the merits. Claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been addressed below.
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement (IDS)
The information disclosure statement(s) filed on 01/20/2025 comply with the provisions 37 CFR 1.97, 1.98, and MPEP 609 and is considered by the Examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 03/16/2026 (related to the 103 Rejection) have been fully considered but are moot in view of new grounds of rejection. Applicant's amendments necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Rejection based on a newly cited reference(s) follows.
Applicant's arguments filed on 03/16/2026 (related to the 101 Rejection, non-statutory subject matter) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Applicant changed the language in claim 14 to further specify that the computer readable medium is a non-transitory computer readable medium. Therefore, the 101 Rejection directed to non-statutory subject matter has been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments filed on 03/16/2026 (related to the 101 Rejection) have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant states, on pages 1-8, that the system therefore includes a combination of coordinating elements that has physical existence and manifests a discernible physical effect or change (i.e., a clear practical application), namely by utilizing data structures at least in part acquired at a site to determine whether a new action related to scheduling is required and needs approval. That is, the claimed method and system guides an enterprise towards a physical change based on an integration of mobile devices operable on site to manage and, for example, schedule projects to adapt to breached coordination criterion. Not only is the computing system improved but the computing elements, when considered as a whole, clearly effect a physical change to the system. For at least these reasons, Applicant respectfully submits that the claims as amended comply with 35 U.S.C. 101.
Also, Applicant respectfully submits that the combination of features recited in the amended claims integrates any alleged abstract idea into a practical application. In particular, the combined features of "instantiating, on the one or more mobile devices, a real time communication application, to obtain data from the site for a remote system", "acquiring, from the one or more mobile devices at the site, data from one or more data sources", and "transmitting data structures ... ".
Examiner respectfully disagrees with Applicant. These claim elements are considered to be abstract ideas because they are directed to “certain methods of organizing human activity” which include “managing interactions between people.” In this case, generating and providing a new action to a user is a social activity (e.g., providing a new resource allocation plan based on new data). If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers managing interactions between people, then it falls within the “certain methods of organizing human activity” grouping of abstract ideas. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea.
The main functions of the additional elements recited in claim 1 are merely used for: collecting data (e.g. collecting data from one or more mobile devices such as work progress for multiple tasks), analyzing the data (e.g. determining a new action to address adverse outcomes associated with the breached criterion), and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis (e.g. generating and transmitting at least one view of the new action). Those are functions that the courts have described as merely indicating a field of use or technological environment in which to apply a judicial exception (see MPEP 2106.05(h)). Also, the claim fails to recite details of how the action is implemented by a computer (see MPEP 2106.05(f), details of how a solution to a problem is accomplished). Further, the step of “receiving data in real time from the data sources” is considered a well-understood, routing, and conventional function since it’s just “receiving or transmitting data over a network” and “performing repetitive calculations” (MPEP 2106.05(d)).
Lastly, the claim fails to recite any improvements to another technology or technical field, improvements to the functioning of the computer itself, use of a particular machine, effecting a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing, adding unconventional steps that confine the claim to a particular useful application, and/or meaningful limitations beyond generally linking the use of an abstract idea to a particular environment. See 84 Fed. Reg. 55. Viewed individually or as a whole, these additional claim element(s) do not provide meaningful limitation(s) to transform the abstract idea into a patent eligible application of the abstract idea such that the claim(s) amounts to significantly more than the abstract idea itself. The claim is not patent eligible.
Independent claims 14 and 15 recite similar features and therefore are rejected for the same reasons as independent claim 1. Claims 2-13 and 16-20 are rejected for having the same deficiencies as those set forth with respect to the claims that they depend from, independent claims 1 and 15.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., an abstract idea) without reciting significantly more.
Independent Claim 1
Step One - First, pursuant to step 1 in the January 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance (“2019 PEG”) on 84 Fed. Reg. 53, the claim 1 is directed to a method which is a statutory category.
Step 2A, Prong One - Claim 1 recites: A method for performing safety or industrial adjustments, the method comprising: instantiating to obtain data from the site; acquiring data from one or more data sources; transmitting data structures, wherein the data structures are obtained from the data sources and associated with a project; receiving the transmitted data structures; providing one or more additional data structures associated with a project; determining, based on an analysis of the data structures and the one or more additional data structures, that one or more coordination criteria have been breached, the one or more coordination criteria being associated with adverse outcomes for the project; determining a new action associated with one or more of scheduling, allocation of equipment, allocation of worker resources, legal limitations, or safety scores or safety predictions for the project to address adverse outcomes associated with the breached criterion; generating at least one new action for approval; and transmitting to an interested party. These claim elements are considered to be abstract ideas because they are directed to “certain methods of organizing human activity” which include “managing interactions between people.” In this case, generating and providing a new action to a user is a social activity (e.g., providing a new resource allocation plan based on new data). If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers managing interactions between people, then it falls within the “certain methods of organizing human activity” grouping of abstract ideas. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea.
Step 2A Prong 2 - The judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. Claim 1 includes additional elements: one or more mobile devices operate in a site; a real time communication application; a remote system; and at least one view.
The one or more mobile devices is merely used to provide information about the location of the worker and/or work progress (Paragraphs 0054 & 0110). The communication application is merely used to provide data for consumption by various parties, which enables monitoring of the progress towards planned work (Paragraph 0111). The remote system is merely used to receive the transmitted data structures and the one or more additional data structures associated with a project (Paragraph 0006). The view is merely used to display a new action, a new plan, a new environment, a new situation, a revised schedule, etc. (Paragraph 0004). Merely stating that the step is performed by a computer component results in “apply it” on a computer (MPEP 2106.05f). These elements of “one or more mobile devices,” “communication application,” “remote system,” and “view” are recited at a high level of generality such that it amounts no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer element. Also, those elements are considered “field of use” since they’re just used to receive and provide information for an adjustment analysis (e.g., reallocation of resources based on new data), but the technology is not improved (MPEP 2106.05h). Accordingly, alone and in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Therefore, the claim is directed to an abstract idea.
Step 2B - The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the claims describe how to generally “apply” the concept of managing resources (e.g., assigning resources to tasks based one or more coordination criterion). The specification shows that the one or more mobile devices is merely used to provide information about the location of the worker and/or work progress (Paragraphs 0054 & 0110). The communication application is merely used to provide data for consumption by various parties, which enables monitoring of the progress towards planned work (Paragraph 0111). The remote system is merely used to receive the transmitted data structures and the one or more additional data structures associated with a project (Paragraph 0006). The view is merely used to display a new action, a new plan, a new environment, a new situation, a revised schedule, etc. (Paragraph 0004). Also, the step of “generating and transmitting at least one view of the new action” is considered a well-understood, routine, and conventional function since it's just “performing repetitive calculations” and “receiving or transmitting data over a network” (MPEP 2106.05(d)). Thus, nothing in the claim adds significantly more to the abstract idea. The claim is ineligible.
Independent claim 14 is directed to an article of manufacture at step 1, which is a statutory category. Claim 14 recites similar limitations as claim 1 and is rejected for the same reasons at step 2a, prong one; step 2a, prong 2; and step 2b. Claim 14 further recites “non-transitory computer readable medium” – which is treated as just an explicit “processor/computer” for storing and executing the operations and is treated under MPEP 2106.05f in the same manner as claim 1. Accordingly, these limitations are viewed as “apply it on a computer” at step 2a, prong 2 and step 2b.
Independent claim 15 is directed to a system at step 1, which is a statutory category. Claim 15 recites similar limitations as claim 1 and is rejected for the same reasons at step 2a, prong one; step 2a, prong 2; and step 2b. Thus, the claim is not patent eligible.
Dependent claims 2-3, 7-10, and 18-19 are not directed to any additional claim elements. Rather, these claims offer further descriptive limitations of the abstract idea mentioned above - such as wherein the one or more coordination criterion is based on: a misallocation of equipment; misallocated workers; worker compliance with a first allocation; worker time spent at a workface; worker congestion in a zone; and legal limitations. These processes are similar to the abstract idea noted in the independent claim because they further the limitations of the independent claim which are directed to certain methods of organizing human activity which include managing interactions between people. In addition, there are no additional elements to consider at Step 2A Prong 2 and Step 2B. Therefore, the claims still recite an abstract idea that can be grouped into certain methods of organizing human activity.
Dependent claims 4-6, 13, 16-17, and 20 are not directed to any additional claim elements. Rather, these claims offer further descriptive limitations of elements found in the independent claims and addressed above - such as wherein the mobile devices are used to: provide additional data structures such as a location; and receive the second allocation of workers. At Step 2A, Prong 2 - this is still considered “field of use” since it’s just used to transmit data and receive information of the second allocation, but the device is not improved (MPEP 2106.05h). At Step 2B – this is considered a conventional computer function of “receiving and transmitting over a network” (MPEP 2106.05d). Thus, nothing in the claim adds significantly more to the abstract idea. The claim is ineligible.
Dependent claims 11-12 are not directed to any additional claim elements. Rather, these claims offer further descriptive limitations of elements found in the independent claims and addressed above - such as: wherein the at least one view comprises at least one of a heat map of worker movement, a map of tasks performed, or a filter for a specific task; and wherein the at least one view comprises work to be performed in a future timespan, or a safety prediction or safety evaluation, or a congestion assessment of the new action. Merely stating that the step is performed by a computer component results in “apply it” on a computer (MPEP 2106.05f) being applicable at both Step 2A, Prong 2 and Step 2B. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component (e.g., view) cannot provide an inventive concept. Further, instructions to display and/or arrange information in a graphical user interface may not be sufficient to show an improvement in computer-functionality (MPEP 2106.05a). Thus, nothing in the claim adds significantly more to the abstract idea. The claim is ineligible.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-8 and 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Khan et al. (US 2024/0144142 A1).
Regarding claim 1 (Currently Amended), Khan et al. discloses a method for performing safety or industrial adjustments (Paragraph 0001, The present disclosure relates generally to methods and systems to optimize operations in a workplace such as a warehouse, distribution center, airport ground operations, and retail generally; It can be noted that the claim language is written in alternative form. The limitation taught by Khan et al. is based on “industrial adjustments." In this case, Examiner interprets “optimize operations in a workplace” as “industrial adjustments”), wherein one or more mobile devices operate in a site, the method comprising (Paragraph 0084, Module 912 can receive and aggregate data from the sensor devices of the respective job site (e.g., warehouse) as well as area(s) within the job site. Module 912 can also receive and aggregate data from worker the computing devices of or otherwise connected to workers (e.g., worker computing devices such as mobile devices or other personal computing devices, wearable biometric devices, smart badges, etc.)):
instantiating, on the one or more mobile devices, a real time communication application, to obtain data from the site for a remote system; acquiring, from the one or more mobile devices at the site, data from one or more data sources (Paragraph 0056, The system 200 employs a plurality of methods to track the real-time progress of the tasks. The system interfaces with external systems to track the engagement levels of the workers on a real-time basis at any given time. This includes tracking specific task scheduled start times, the progress of the task after it has commenced, and a completion of the task. The warehouse layout may be equipped with motion sensor cameras 260 at strategic locations to monitor the movement of workers and materials in the warehouse. The motion sensing camera's capture the worker and material movement and automatically compute the status of the task based on the position of the worker and the materials. The worker may also be provided with voice or PED based application that tracks and collects information directly from the worker on the progress made; Paragraph 0084, Module 912 can receive and aggregate data from the sensor devices of the respective job site (e.g., warehouse) as well as area(s) within the job site. Module 912 can also receive and aggregate data from worker the computing devices of or otherwise connected to workers (e.g., worker computing devices such as mobile devices or other personal computing devices, wearable biometric devices, smart badges, etc.); As stated in Paragraph 0110 of Applicant’s specification, the data provided in real-time may include work progress events);
transmitting data structures from the one or more mobile devices at the site using real time communication application, wherein the data structures are obtained from the data sources and associated with a project (Paragraph 0056, The system 200 employs a plurality of methods to track the real-time progress of the tasks. The system interfaces with external systems to track the engagement levels of the workers on a real-time basis at any given time. This includes tracking specific task scheduled start times, the progress of the task after it has commenced, and a completion of the task. The warehouse layout may be equipped with motion sensor cameras 260 at strategic locations to monitor the movement of workers and materials in the warehouse; Paragraph 0084, Module 912 can receive and aggregate data from the sensor devices of the respective job site (e.g., warehouse) as well as area(s) within the job site. Module 912 can also receive and aggregate data from worker the computing devices of or otherwise connected to workers (e.g., worker computing devices such as mobile devices or other personal computing devices, wearable biometric devices, smart badges, etc.); Examiner interprets the multiple data received from the mobile devices as the data structures);
receiving, by a remote system, the transmitted data structures (Paragraph 0050, EPM control tower 210a-n and networked warehouse system of record 220a-n can reside in a cloud based computing system 242 (e.g., a cloud computing network, one or more remote servers) and be communicatively coupled to a data transformation and integration layer 230; Paragraph 0084, Module 912 can receive and aggregate data from the sensor devices of the respective job site (e.g., warehouse) as well as area(s) within the job site. Module 912 can also receive and aggregate data from worker the computing devices of or otherwise connected to workers (e.g., worker computing devices such as mobile devices or other personal computing devices, wearable biometric devices, smart badges, etc.);
providing, to the remote system, one or more additional data structures associated with a project (Paragraph 0050, System 200 can also include a networked warehouse system of record 220a-n, including components and databases such as but not limited to sites (e.g., locations, benchmarks, performance service level, etc.), labor (e.g., schedule, shifts, certification, skills, etc.), operations (e.g., plans, equipment, inventory type, throughput, etc.), assets (e.g., sortation, palletizers, robots, etc.), and workers (e.g., trends, profiles, task performance such as sorters, pickers, maintenance works, etc.). EPM control tower 210a-n and networked warehouse system of record 220a-n can reside in a cloud based computing system 242 (e.g., a cloud computing network, one or more remote servers) and be communicatively coupled to a data transformation and integration layer 230; Paragraph 0055, The warehouse system 200 described in FIG. 2A may be used to evaluate the engagement of workers against their assigned tasks using a variety of sources including voice input, scanning, device usage, network activity, location-based events, visual recognition events. The input from these sources may be fed to algorithms that identify cases where workers are not fully engaged or not making expected progress against their assignments or tasks);
determining, based on the analysis of the data structures and the one or more additional data structures (Paragraph 0050, System 200 can also include a networked warehouse system of record 220a-n, including components and databases such as but not limited to sites (e.g., locations, benchmarks, performance service level, etc.), labor (e.g., schedule, shifts, certification, skills, etc.), operations (e.g., plans, equipment, inventory type, throughput, etc.), assets (e.g., sortation, palletizers, robots, etc.), and workers (e.g., trends, profiles, task performance such as sorters, pickers, maintenance works, etc.); Paragraph 0055, The warehouse system 200 described in FIG. 2A may be used to evaluate the engagement of workers against their assigned tasks using a variety of sources including voice input, scanning, device usage, network activity, location-based events, visual recognition events. The input from these sources may be fed to algorithms that identify cases where workers are not fully engaged or not making expected progress against their assignments or tasks; Paragraph 0084, Module 912 can receive and aggregate data from the sensor devices of the respective job site (e.g., warehouse) as well as area(s) within the job site. Module 912 can also receive and aggregate data from worker the computing devices of or otherwise connected to workers (e.g., worker computing devices such as mobile devices or other personal computing devices, wearable biometric devices, smart badges, etc.), that one or more coordination criteria have been breached, the one or more coordination criteria being associated with adverse outcomes for the project (Paragraph 0072, FIG. 6B is an example user interface dashboard 620 associated with the worker performance database of EPM control tower 210a-n. As shown, dashboard 620 can present information related to worker performance. Through dashboard 620, a user can observe real-time performance, how current performance measures against objective planned performance goal(s), object measures of worker engagement, and or the like; In some aspects, one or more alerts can be presented or otherwise pushed onto dashboard 620 instructing a user (e.g., an employee, a manager, etc.) to take one or more corrective actions to improve productivity (e.g., return to a task, improve one criteria of a task that is lacking, improve engagement in an area of engagement, etc.) of one or more operational disruptions. In some aspects, corrective actions can include determining the right worker for a particular task based on the worker's profile and/or preferences, including job location or zone with job location, physical demand, temperature, shift, seniority, performance against the necessary tasks etc. to inform recommendations to move workers from area to another to mitigate attrition and maximize worker satisfaction. In some aspects, the one or more messages include workplace hazard avoidance, employee efficiency, work area efficiency, worker performance metrics, and worker performance safety. In some aspects, messages transmitted in or by dashboard 620, such as triggers and/or alerts, can be configured for transmitting information to remote computing systems, locations, and/or other interested users. Dashboard 620 can also be configured to detect near performance misses, trends, or other performance related events to build a trend model for early detection of anomalies before performance faults or malfunctions occur increasing worker engagement and performance; Paragraph 0073, Other metrics and/or alerts can be presented in dashboard 620, including information related to location or worker area and metrics related thereto as to workers performing below, at, or above standard (e.g., a message can indicate that 10 workers in a location are performing below standard, a message can recommend to move a specific employee to another location, etc.); In this case, Examiner notes that if worker engagement or performance is below a threshold (e.g., standard), then one or more actions may be provided in order to improve engagement or productivity);
determining a new action associated with one or more of scheduling, allocation of equipment, allocation of worker resources, legal limitations, or safety scores or safety predictions for the project to address adverse outcomes associated with the breached criterion (Paragraph 0072, FIG. 6B is an example user interface dashboard 620 associated with the worker performance database of EPM control tower 210a-n. As shown, dashboard 620 can present information related to worker performance. Through dashboard 620, a user can observe real-time performance, how current performance measures against objective planned performance goal(s), object measures of worker engagement, and or the like; In some aspects, one or more alerts can be presented or otherwise pushed onto dashboard 620 instructing a user (e.g., an employee, a manager, etc.) to take one or more corrective actions to improve productivity (e.g., return to a task, improve one criteria of a task that is lacking, improve engagement in an area of engagement, etc.) of one or more operational disruptions. In some aspects, corrective actions can include determining the right worker for a particular task based on the worker's profile and/or preferences, including job location or zone with job location, physical demand, temperature, shift, seniority, performance against the necessary tasks etc. to inform recommendations to move workers from area to another to mitigate attrition and maximize worker satisfaction. In some aspects, the one or more messages include workplace hazard avoidance, employee efficiency, work area efficiency, worker performance metrics, and worker performance safety. In some aspects, messages transmitted in or by dashboard 620, such as triggers and/or alerts, can be configured for transmitting information to remote computing systems, locations, and/or other interested users. Dashboard 620 can also be configured to detect near performance misses, trends, or other performance related events to build a trend model for early detection of anomalies before performance faults or malfunctions occur increasing worker engagement and performance; Paragraph 0073, Other metrics and/or alerts can be presented in dashboard 620, including information related to location or worker area and metrics related thereto as to workers performing below, at, or above standard (e.g., a message can indicate that 10 workers in a location are performing below standard, a message can recommend to move a specific employee to another location, etc.; It can be noted that the claim language is written in alternative form. The limitation taught by Khan et al. is based on “allocation of worker resources” such as to recommend to move a worker to another location when the performance is below the performance threshold);
generating at least one view of the new action for approval; and transmitting the at least one view to an interested party (Paragraph 0072, FIG. 6B is an example user interface dashboard 620 associated with the worker performance database of EPM control tower 210a-n. As shown, dashboard 620 can present information related to worker performance. Through dashboard 620, a user can observe real-time performance, how current performance measures against objective planned performance goal(s), object measures of worker engagement, and or the like; In some aspects, one or more alerts can be presented or otherwise pushed onto dashboard 620 instructing a user (e.g., an employee, a manager, etc.) to take one or more corrective actions to improve productivity (e.g., return to a task, improve one criteria of a task that is lacking, improve engagement in an area of engagement, etc.) of one or more operational disruptions. In some aspects, corrective actions can include determining the right worker for a particular task based on the worker's profile and/or preferences, including job location or zone with job location, physical demand, temperature, shift, seniority, performance against the necessary tasks etc. to inform recommendations to move workers from area to another to mitigate attrition and maximize worker satisfaction. In some aspects, the one or more messages include workplace hazard avoidance, employee efficiency, work area efficiency, worker performance metrics, and worker performance safety. In some aspects, messages transmitted in or by dashboard 620, such as triggers and/or alerts, can be configured for transmitting information to remote computing systems, locations, and/or other interested users. Dashboard 620 can also be configured to detect near performance misses, trends, or other performance related events to build a trend model for early detection of anomalies before performance faults or malfunctions occur increasing worker engagement and performance; Paragraph 0085, The system can analyze the aggregated information and via module 912 present feedback so that the system and/or system user(s) can in real-time monitor task(s) to determine whether tasks at startup are below, at, or exceeding task expectations and corrective action(s) can be promptly taken. For example, a shift manager and/or another worker in a team of workers can be notified, or the respective worker herself can be notified, that startup task performance is below the expected rate and one or more corrective actions of solving problems of the respective worker can be promptly initiated. Corrective actions can include encouraging the respective worker (e.g., with incentivizing compensation, bonuses, etc.), providing a corrective task, inviting another user(s) to help the respective user, and the like. In some aspects, information of module 912 can be transmitted directly to shift managers as well as other managerial users (e.g., shift supervisor, site operations manager, etc.); Paragraph 0090, Upon monitoring and determining that allocation anomalies are present or trending to be present, corrective actions can be recommended and/or taken, including practical allocation adjustments to adapt to allocation variations as they occur; Examiner interprets “corrective actions presented to a manager” as the “one view of the new action for approval.” Also, the view may be transmitted to another other interested party such as users/workers who are part of the action/recommendation).
Regarding claim 15 (Currently Amended), Khan et al. discloses a system for performing safety or industrial adjustments, the system comprising (Paragraph 0001, The present disclosure relates generally to methods and systems to optimize operations in a workplace such as a warehouse, distribution center, airport ground operations, and retail generally; It can be noted that the claim language is written in alternative form. The limitation taught by Khan et al. is based on “industrial adjustments." In this case, Examiner interprets “optimize operations in a workplace” as “industrial adjustments”): one or more mobile devices and a remote system, the system configured to (Paragraph 0050, EPM control tower 210a-n and networked warehouse system of record 220a-n can reside in a cloud based computing system 242 (e.g., a cloud computing network, one or more remote servers) and be communicatively coupled to a data transformation and integration layer 230; Paragraph 0084, Module 912 can receive and aggregate data from the sensor devices of the respective job site (e.g., warehouse) as well as area(s) within the job site. Module 912 can also receive and aggregate data from worker the computing devices of or otherwise connected to workers (e.g., worker computing devices such as mobile devices or other personal computing devices, wearable biometric devices, smart badges, etc.):
instantiating, on the one or more mobile devices, a real time communication application, to obtain data from the site for a remote system; acquiring, from the one or more mobile devices at the site, data from one or more data sources (Paragraph 0056, The system 200 employs a plurality of methods to track the real-time progress of the tasks. The system interfaces with external systems to track the engagement levels of the workers on a real-time basis at any given time. This includes tracking specific task scheduled start times, the progress of the task after it has commenced, and a completion of the task. The warehouse layout may be equipped with motion sensor cameras 260 at strategic locations to monitor the movement of workers and materials in the warehouse. The motion sensing camera's capture the worker and material movement and automatically compute the status of the task based on the position of the worker and the materials. The worker may also be provided with voice or PED based application that tracks and collects information directly from the worker on the progress made; Paragraph 0084, Module 912 can receive and aggregate data from the sensor devices of the respective job site (e.g., warehouse) as well as area(s) within the job site. Module 912 can also receive and aggregate data from worker the computing devices of or otherwise connected to workers (e.g., worker computing devices such as mobile devices or other personal computing devices, wearable biometric devices, smart badges, etc.); As stated in Paragraph 0110 of Applicant’s specification, the data provided in real-time may include work progress events);
transmitting data structures from the one or more mobile devices at the site using real time communication application, wherein the data structures are obtained from the data sources and associated with a project (Paragraph 0056, The system 200 employs a plurality of methods to track the real-time progress of the tasks. The system interfaces with external systems to track the engagement levels of the workers on a real-time basis at any given time. This includes tracking specific task scheduled start times, the progress of the task after it has commenced, and a completion of the task. The warehouse layout may be equipped with motion sensor cameras 260 at strategic locations to monitor the movement of workers and materials in the warehouse; Paragraph 0084, Module 912 can receive and aggregate data from the sensor devices of the respective job site (e.g., warehouse) as well as area(s) within the job site. Module 912 can also receive and aggregate data from worker the computing devices of or otherwise connected to workers (e.g., worker computing devices such as mobile devices or other personal computing devices, wearable biometric devices, smart badges, etc.); Examiner interprets the multiple data received from the mobile devices as the data structures);
receiving, by a remote system, the transmitted data structures (Paragraph 0050, EPM control tower 210a-n and networked warehouse system of record 220a-n can reside in a cloud based computing system 242 (e.g., a cloud computing network, one or more remote servers) and be communicatively coupled to a data transformation and integration layer 230; Paragraph 0084, Module 912 can receive and aggregate data from the sensor devices of the respective job site (e.g., warehouse) as well as area(s) within the job site. Module 912 can also receive and aggregate data from worker the computing devices of or otherwise connected to workers (e.g., worker computing devices such as mobile devices or other personal computing devices, wearable biometric devices, smart badges, etc.);
providing, to the remote system, one or more additional data structures associated with a project (Paragraph 0050, System 200 can also include a networked warehouse system of record 220a-n, including components and databases such as but not limited to sites (e.g., locations, benchmarks, performance service level, etc.), labor (e.g., schedule, shifts, certification, skills, etc.), operations (e.g., plans, equipment, inventory type, throughput, etc.), assets (e.g., sortation, palletizers, robots, etc.), and workers (e.g., trends, profiles, task performance such as sorters, pickers, maintenance works, etc.). EPM control tower 210a-n and networked warehouse system of record 220a-n can reside in a cloud based computing system 242 (e.g., a cloud computing network, one or more remote servers) and be communicatively coupled to a data transformation and integration layer 230; Paragraph 0055, The warehouse system 200 described in FIG. 2A may be used to evaluate the engagement of workers against their assigned tasks using a variety of sources including voice input, scanning, device usage, network activity, location-based events, visual recognition events. The input from these sources may be fed to algorithms that identify cases where workers are not fully engaged or not making expected progress against their assignments or tasks);
determining, based on the analysis of the data structures and the one or more additional data structures (Paragraph 0050, System 200 can also include a networked warehouse system of record 220a-n, including components and databases such as but not limited to sites (e.g., locations, benchmarks, performance service level, etc.), labor (e.g., schedule, shifts, certification, skills, etc.), operations (e.g., plans, equipment, inventory type, throughput, etc.), assets (e.g., sortation, palletizers, robots, etc.), and workers (e.g., trends, profiles, task performance such as sorters, pickers, maintenance works, etc.); Paragraph 0055, The warehouse system 200 described in FIG. 2A may be used to evaluate the engagement of workers against their assigned tasks using a variety of sources including voice input, scanning, device usage, network activity, location-based events, visual recognition events. The input from these sources may be fed to algorithms that identify cases where workers are not fully engaged or not making expected progress against their assignments or tasks; Paragraph 0084, Module 912 can receive and aggregate data from the sensor devices of the respective job site (e.g., warehouse) as well as area(s) within the job site. Module 912 can also receive and aggregate data from worker the computing devices of or otherwise connected to workers (e.g., worker computing devices such as mobile devices or other personal computing devices, wearable biometric devices, smart badges, etc.), that one or more coordination criteria have been breached, the one or more coordination criteria being associated with adverse outcomes for the project (Paragraph 0072, FIG. 6B is an example user interface dashboard 620 associated with the worker performance database of EPM control tower 210a-n. As shown, dashboard 620 can present information related to worker performance. Through dashboard 620, a user can observe real-time performance, how current performance measures against objective planned performance goal(s), object measures of worker engagement, and or the like; In some aspects, one or more alerts can be presented or otherwise pushed onto dashboard 620 instructing a user (e.g., an employee, a manager, etc.) to take one or more corrective actions to improve productivity (e.g., return to a task, improve one criteria of a task that is lacking, improve engagement in an area of engagement, etc.) of one or more operational disruptions. In some aspects, corrective actions can include determining the right worker for a particular task based on the worker's profile and/or preferences, including job location or zone with job location, physical demand, temperature, shift, seniority, performance against the necessary tasks etc. to inform recommendations to move workers from area to another to mitigate attrition and maximize worker satisfaction. In some aspects, the one or more messages include workplace hazard avoidance, employee efficiency, work area efficiency, worker performance metrics, and worker performance safety. In some aspects, messages transmitted in or by dashboard 620, such as triggers and/or alerts, can be configured for transmitting information to remote computing systems, locations, and/or other interested users. Dashboard 620 can also be configured to detect near performance misses, trends, or other performance related events to build a trend model for early detection of anomalies before performance faults or malfunctions occur increasing worker engagement and performance; Paragraph 0073, Other metrics and/or alerts can be presented in dashboard 620, including information related to location or worker area and metrics related thereto as to workers performing below, at, or above standard (e.g., a message can indicate that 10 workers in a location are performing below standard, a message can recommend to move a specific employee to another location, etc.); In this case, Examiner notes that if worker engagement or performance is below a threshold (e.g., standard), then one or more actions may be provided in order to improve engagement or productivity);
determining a new action associated with one or more of scheduling, allocation of equipment, allocation of worker resources, legal limitations, or safety scores or safety predictions for the project to address adverse outcomes associated with the breached criterion (Paragraph 0072, FIG. 6B is an example user interface dashboard 620 associated with the worker performance database of EPM control tower 210a-n. As shown, dashboard 620 can present information related to worker performance. Through dashboard 620, a user can observe real-time performance, how current performance measures against objective planned performance goal(s), object measures of worker engagement, and or the like; In some aspects, one or more alerts can be presented or otherwise pushed onto dashboard 620 instructing a user (e.g., an employee, a manager, etc.) to take one or more corrective actions to improve productivity (e.g., return to a task, improve one criteria of a task that is lacking, improve engagement in an area of engagement, etc.) of one or more operational disruptions. In some aspects, corrective actions can include determining the right worker for a particular task based on the worker's profile and/or preferences, including job location or zone with job location, physical demand, temperature, shift, seniority, performance against the necessary tasks etc. to inform recommendations to move workers from area to another to mitigate attrition and maximize worker satisfaction. In some aspects, the one or more messages include workplace hazard avoidance, employee efficiency, work area efficiency, worker performance metrics, and worker performance safety. In some aspects, messages transmitted in or by dashboard 620, such as triggers and/or alerts, can be configured for transmitting information to remote computing systems, locations, and/or other interested users. Dashboard 620 can also be configured to detect near performance misses, trends, or other performance related events to build a trend model for early detection of anomalies before performance faults or malfunctions occur increasing worker engagement and performance; Paragraph 0073, Other metrics and/or alerts can be presented in dashboard 620, including information related to location or worker area and metrics related thereto as to workers performing below, at, or above standard (e.g., a message can indicate that 10 workers in a location are performing below standard, a message can recommend to move a specific employee to another location, etc.; It can be noted that the claim language is written in alternative form. The limitation taught by Khan et al. is based on “allocation of worker resources” such as to recommend to move a worker to another location when the performance is below the performance threshold);
generating at least one view of the new action for approval; and transmitting the at least one view to an interested party (Paragraph 0072, FIG. 6B is an example user interface dashboard 620 associated with the worker performance database of EPM control tower 210a-n. As shown, dashboard 620 can present information related to worker performance. Through dashboard 620, a user can observe real-time performance, how current performance measures against objective planned performance goal(s), object measures of worker engagement, and or the like; In some aspects, one or more alerts can be presented or otherwise pushed onto dashboard 620 instructing a user (e.g., an employee, a manager, etc.) to take one or more corrective actions to improve productivity (e.g., return to a task, improve one criteria of a task that is lacking, improve engagement in an area of engagement, etc.) of one or more operational disruptions. In some aspects, corrective actions can include determining the right worker for a particular task based on the worker's profile and/or preferences, including job location or zone with job location, physical demand, temperature, shift, seniority, performance against the necessary tasks etc. to inform recommendations to move workers from area to another to mitigate attrition and maximize worker satisfaction. In some aspects, the one or more messages include workplace hazard avoidance, employee efficiency, work area efficiency, worker performance metrics, and worker performance safety. In some aspects, messages transmitted in or by dashboard 620, such as triggers and/or alerts, can be configured for transmitting information to remote computing systems, locations, and/or other interested users. Dashboard 620 can also be configured to detect near performance misses, trends, or other performance related events to build a trend model for early detection of anomalies before performance faults or malfunctions occur increasing worker engagement and performance; Paragraph 0085, The system can analyze the aggregated information and via module 912 present feedback so that the system and/or system user(s) can in real-time monitor task(s) to determine whether tasks at startup are below, at, or exceeding task expectations and corrective action(s) can be promptly taken. For example, a shift manager and/or another worker in a team of workers can be notified, or the respective worker herself can be notified, that startup task performance is below the expected rate and one or more corrective actions of solving problems of the respective worker can be promptly initiated. Corrective actions can include encouraging the respective worker (e.g., with incentivizing compensation, bonuses, etc.), providing a corrective task, inviting another user(s) to help the respective user, and the like. In some aspects, information of module 912 can be transmitted directly to shift managers as well as other managerial users (e.g., shift supervisor, site operations manager, etc.); Paragraph 0090, Upon monitoring and determining that allocation anomalies are present or trending to be present, corrective actions can be recommended and/or taken, including practical allocation adjustments to adapt to allocation variations as they occur; Examiner interprets “corrective actions presented to a manager” as the “one view of the new action for approval.” Also, the view may be transmitted to another other interested party such as users/workers who are part of the action/recommendation).
Regarding claims 2 and 19 (Currently Amended), which are dependent of claims 1 and 15, Khan et al. discloses all the limitations in claims 1 and 15. Khan et al. further discloses wherein the one or more coordination criterion is associated with a misallocation of the equipment (Paragraph 0049, The environment 100 is configured to optimize worker performance by selectively scheduling and assigning tasks and worker equipment, as discussed more particularly below. The term “worker” can be understood as a human, a non-human animal (e.g., a trained animal such as a dog) or any other asset that performs tasks at a job site (e.g., a robotic device)).
Regarding claim 3 (Original), which is dependent of claim 1, Khan et al. discloses all the limitations in claim 1. Khan et al. further discloses wherein the one or more coordination criterion is associated with misallocated workers (Paragraph 0058, FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method 300 for optimizing operations of a job site. In step 310, the method can include providing visibility into real-time workforce productivity. In step 320, the method can include viewing worker productivity by location across functional areas. In step 330, the method can include providing worker recommendations to return to a worker plan. In step 340, the method can include providing tools to reallocate workers, assignment tasks, react to unplanned events. In step 350, the method can include measuring the impact of changes to make persistent improvement and trend to an optimized job site; Paragraph 0090, In certain aspects, scorecard 920 can provide visibility related to which workers have arrived for shifts, how each department of a worksite is performing related to worker allocation and status of arrived workers, and present this information relative to expected worker allocation, expected worker performance, and/or status of related tasks. Upon monitoring and determining that allocation anomalies are present or trending to be present, corrective actions can be recommended and/or taken, including practical allocation adjustments to adapt to allocation variations as they occur).
Regarding claim 4 (Original), which is dependent of claim 1, Khan et al. discloses all the limitations in claim 1. Khan et al. further discloses wherein the additional data structures are data structures from other mobile devices operating in the site of the project (Paragraph 0084, Module 912 can receive and aggregate data from the sensor devices of the respective job site (e.g., warehouse) as well as area(s) within the job site. Module 912 can also receive and aggregate data from worker the computing devices of or otherwise connected to workers (e.g., worker computing devices such as mobile devices or other personal computing devices, wearable biometric devices, smart badges, etc.)).
Regarding claims 5 and 16 (Original), which are dependent of claims 1 and 15, Khan et al. discloses all the limitations in claims 1 and 15. Khan et al. further discloses wherein the project is completed according to a first allocation, the method further comprising: determining a second allocation of workers for a zone in a project (Paragraph 0090, In certain aspects, scorecard 920 can provide visibility related to which workers have arrived for shifts, how each department of a worksite is performing related to worker allocation and status of arrived workers, and present this information relative to expected worker allocation, expected worker performance, and/or status of related tasks. Upon monitoring and determining that allocation anomalies are present or trending to be present, corrective actions can be recommended and/or taken, including practical allocation adjustments to adapt to allocation variations as they occur);
transmitting the second allocation to the one or more mobile devices impacted by the second allocation (Paragraph 0052, Database 232 can be configured for data validation and modification for incoming telemetry or attributes before saving to the database; copy telemetry or attributes from devices to related assets so you can aggregate telemetry, e.g., data from multiple subsystems can be aggregated in related asset; create/update/clear alarms based on defined conditions; trigger actions based on edge life-cycle events, e.g., create alerts if device is online/offline; load additional data required for processing, e.g., load threshold value for a device that is defined in a user, device, and/or employee attribute; raise alarms/alerts when complex event occurs and use attributes of other entities inside email template; and/or consider user preferences during event processing. In some aspects, messages transmitted from database 232, such as triggers and/or alerts, can be configured for transmitting information to an end user (e.g., site lead, crew in the control tower, etc.) for optimization purposes; Paragraph 0076, In some aspects, interface 700 can present summaries of resources against a set of tasks that need to be executed. For example and without limitation, based on the workflow lifecycle, interface 700 can be configured to transmit to connected workers a queue of one of more tasks based on the operations of the overall system. The queue can be available so that when a respective worker successfully completes a task, one or more subsequent tasks are presented).
Regarding claims 6 and 17 (Original), which are dependent of claims 1 and 15, Khan et al. discloses all the limitations in claims 1 and 15. Khan et al. further discloses wherein the project is completed according to a first allocation, the method further comprising (Paragraph 0076, In some aspects, interface 700 can present summaries of resources against a set of tasks that need to be executed. For example and without limitation, based on the workflow lifecycle, interface 700 can be configured to transmit to connected workers a queue of one of more tasks based on the operations of the overall system. The queue can be available so that when a respective worker successfully completes a task, one or more subsequent tasks are presented):
determining a second allocation of equipment for a zone in a project (Paragraph 0049, The environment 100 is configured to optimize worker performance by selectively scheduling and assigning tasks and worker equipment, as discussed more particularly below. The term “worker” can be understood as a human, a non-human animal (e.g., a trained animal such as a dog) or any other asset that performs tasks at a job site (e.g., a robotic device); Paragraph 0090, In certain aspects, scorecard 920 can provide visibility related to which workers have arrived for shifts, how each department of a worksite is performing related to worker allocation and status of arrived workers, and present this information relative to expected worker allocation, expected worker performance, and/or status of related tasks. Upon monitoring and determining that allocation anomalies are present or trending to be present, corrective actions can be recommended and/or taken, including practical allocation adjustments to adapt to allocation variations as they occur);
assigning workers to implement the second allocation (Paragraph 0090, In certain aspects, scorecard 920 can provide visibility related to which workers have arrived for shifts, how each department of a worksite is performing related to worker allocation and status of arrived workers, and present this information relative to expected worker allocation, expected worker performance, and/or status of related tasks. Upon monitoring and determining that allocation anomalies are present or trending to be present, corrective actions can be recommended and/or taken, including practical allocation adjustments to adapt to allocation variations as they occur);
transmitting the second allocation to the one or more mobile devices impacted by the second allocation (Paragraph 0052, Database 232 can be configured for data validation and modification for incoming telemetry or attributes before saving to the database; copy telemetry or attributes from devices to related assets so you can aggregate telemetry, e.g., data from multiple subsystems can be aggregated in related asset; create/update/clear alarms based on defined conditions; trigger actions based on edge life-cycle events, e.g., create alerts if device is online/offline; load additional data required for processing, e.g., load threshold value for a device that is defined in a user, device, and/or employee attribute; raise alarms/alerts when complex event occurs and use attributes of other entities inside email template; and/or consider user preferences during event processing. In some aspects, messages transmitted from database 232, such as triggers and/or alerts, can be configured for transmitting information to an end user (e.g., site lead, crew in the control tower, etc.) for optimization purposes; Paragraph 0076, In some aspects, interface 700 can present summaries of resources against a set of tasks that need to be executed. For example and without limitation, based on the workflow lifecycle, interface 700 can be configured to transmit to connected workers a queue of one of more tasks based on the operations of the overall system. The queue can be available so that when a respective worker successfully completes a task, one or more subsequent tasks are presented).
Regarding claims 7 and 18 (Original), which are dependent of claims 1 and 15, Khan et al. discloses all the limitations in claims 1 and 15. Khan et al. further discloses wherein the one or more coordination criterion is based on worker compliance with a first allocation (Paragraph 0068, By way of example, the first action may be a recommendation for more training, or for a reallocation of the worker to a site or task that is more conducive to their strengths and preferences based on the worker parameters. If the worker score is lower than optimal because the worker is deemed to be overworked, the recommendation may be a reduction in hours or increases in break time; Paragraph 0090, In certain aspects, scorecard 920 can provide visibility related to which workers have arrived for shifts, how each department of a worksite is performing related to worker allocation and status of arrived workers, and present this information relative to expected worker allocation, expected worker performance, and/or status of related tasks. Upon monitoring and determining that allocation anomalies are present or trending to be present, corrective actions can be recommended and/or taken, including practical allocation adjustments to adapt to allocation variations as they occur; Examiner interprets “worker preferences” as the “one or more coordination criterion”).
Regarding claim 8 (Original), which is dependent of claim 7, Khan et al. discloses all the limitations in claim 7. Khan et al. further discloses wherein the one or more coordination criterion is based on worker time spent at a workface (Paragraph 0031, Workers may be working part-time, full-time or as contractors, and may work multiple sites and shifts with a variety of managers and supervisors, such that it is difficult for supervisors to have meaningful engagement with individual workers for purposes of addressing worker need; Paragraph 0059, The worker profile 430 provides parameters such as worker experience, worker training history, worker tasks, worker region, and a plurality of worker preferences such as shifts, location, etc.; Paragraph 0075, Dashboard 635 can include more real-time task-related performance metrics, such as specific metrics (e.g., minutes or percentage of shift time) the respective worker has dedicated doing specific tasks (e.g., picking, shipping, packing, etc.) across a period of time (e.g., a shift, a day, a week, a year, an entirety of the worker's time spent with a company, etc.); Paragraph 0103, A worker performance monitor and/or scorecard dashboard 1126 can also be included, similar to previously discussed scorecard dashboard 1012. Dashboard 1126 can present information such as tracked individual workers task progress against task expectations, task performance, overall performance and the like. Other performance indicators used in dashboard 1126 tracked and used to determine individual performance metrics and related insights include but are not limited to overall performance against a predetermined plan (e.g., time worked versus number of units moved), “on standard”, percent effectiveness, attendance, engagement (e.g., determined objectively from worker computing devices), clicks per hour by the individual worker, time spent with eyes on a display screen, etc. In some aspects, similar scorecard dashboard 1412, scorecard dashboard 1126 includes aspects which are dimensioned by task or rate of a predetermined performance parameter (e.g., frequency of updating worker preferences, frequency that worker checks their performance score, frequency of worker's career trajectory, frequency of worker performing one or more of the same tasks, etc.)).
Regarding claim 11 (Original), which is dependent of claim 1, Khan et al. discloses all the limitations in claim 1. Khan et al. further discloses wherein the at least one view comprises at least one of a heat map of worker movement, a map of tasks performed, or a filter for a specific task (Paragraph 0076, Interface 700 can also include a dashboard directed towards summarizing worker opportunities by area and recommendations for potential workers in respective areas. Interface 700 can also include a notification dashboard with filter options, event logs, and a presentation of notifications compliant with user-selected or system-selected notification filter and/or notification settings. In some aspects, interface 700 can present summaries of resources against a set of tasks that need to be executed; It can be noted that the claim language is written in alternative form. The limitation taught by Khan et al. is based on a filter for a specific task).
Regarding claim 12 (Original), which is dependent of claim 1, Khan et al. discloses all the limitations in claim 1. Khan et al. further discloses wherein the at least one view comprises work to be performed in a future timespan, or a safety prediction or safety evaluation, or a congestion assessment of the new action (Paragraph 0072, n some aspects, the one or more messages include workplace hazard avoidance, employee efficiency, work area efficiency, worker performance metrics, and worker performance safety; Paragraph 0076, Interface 700 can also include a dashboard directed towards summarizing worker opportunities by area and recommendations for potential workers in respective areas. Interface 700 can also include a notification dashboard with filter options, event logs, and a presentation of notifications compliant with user-selected or system-selected notification filter and/or notification settings. In some aspects, interface 700 can present summaries of resources against a set of tasks that need to be executed; Paragraph 0116, The worker performance scores of this disclosure can include numerous scores and sub-scores, including performance scores, environmental scores related to the job site and/or areas of a job site (e.g., utility consumption, carbon footprint, emissions, etc.), health scores, safety scores, maintenance scores, job site asset scores, happiness scores, etc. Such scores are also advantageous for use in using trained machine learning models to predict performance impacts depending on trends of all such scores of this disclosure; It can be noted that the claim language is written in alternative form. The limitation taught by Khan et al. is based on work to be performed in a future timespan and safety evaluations).
Regarding claims 13 and 20 (Original), which are dependent of claims 1 and 15, Khan et al. discloses all the limitations in claims 1 and 15. Khan et al. further discloses wherein the data structures represent a location of the respective mobile device (Paragraph 0055, The warehouse system 200 described in FIG. 2A may be used to evaluate the engagement of workers against their assigned tasks using a variety of sources including voice input, scanning, device usage, network activity, location-based events, visual recognition events. The input from these sources may be fed to algorithms that identify cases where workers are not fully engaged or not making expected progress against their assignments or tasks; Paragraph 0071, As shown, dashboard 610 can present information related to overall worker utilization including utilization from a plurality of locations (e.g., picking location, shipping location, packing location, etc.) of a job site and/or multiple job sites; Paragraph 0084, Module 912 can receive and aggregate data from the sensor devices of the respective job site (e.g., warehouse) as well as area(s) within the job site. Module 912 can also receive and aggregate data from worker the computing devices of or otherwise connected to workers (e.g., worker computing devices such as mobile devices or other personal computing devices, wearable biometric devices, smart badges, etc.).
Regarding claim 14 (Currently Amended), Khan et al. discloses a non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for performing safety or industrial adjustments, the computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions for (Paragraph 0001, The present disclosure relates generally to methods and systems to optimize operations in a workplace such as a warehouse, distribution center, airport ground operations, and retail generally; Paragraph 0110, The removable storage unit may comprise a floppy disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, etc., which is read by and written to by the removable storage drive. As will be appreciated by persons skilled in the relevant art, such a removable storage unit generally includes a computer usable storage medium having stored therein computer software and/or data; It can be noted that the claim language is written in alternative form. The limitation taught by Khan et al. is based on “industrial adjustments." In this case, Examiner interprets “optimize operations in a workplace” as “industrial adjustments”):
instantiating, on the one or more mobile devices, a real time communication application, to obtain data from the site for a remote system; acquiring, from the one or more mobile devices at the site, data from one or more data sources (Paragraph 0056, The system 200 employs a plurality of methods to track the real-time progress of the tasks. The system interfaces with external systems to track the engagement levels of the workers on a real-time basis at any given time. This includes tracking specific task scheduled start times, the progress of the task after it has commenced, and a completion of the task. The warehouse layout may be equipped with motion sensor cameras 260 at strategic locations to monitor the movement of workers and materials in the warehouse. The motion sensing camera's capture the worker and material movement and automatically compute the status of the task based on the position of the worker and the materials. The worker may also be provided with voice or PED based application that tracks and collects information directly from the worker on the progress made; Paragraph 0084, Module 912 can receive and aggregate data from the sensor devices of the respective job site (e.g., warehouse) as well as area(s) within the job site. Module 912 can also receive and aggregate data from worker the computing devices of or otherwise connected to workers (e.g., worker computing devices such as mobile devices or other personal computing devices, wearable biometric devices, smart badges, etc.); As stated in Paragraph 0110 of Applicant’s specification, the data provided in real-time may include work progress events);
transmitting data structures from the one or more mobile devices at the site using real time communication application, wherein the data structures are obtained from the data sources and associated with a project (Paragraph 0056, The system 200 employs a plurality of methods to track the real-time progress of the tasks. The system interfaces with external systems to track the engagement levels of the workers on a real-time basis at any given time. This includes tracking specific task scheduled start times, the progress of the task after it has commenced, and a completion of the task. The warehouse layout may be equipped with motion sensor cameras 260 at strategic locations to monitor the movement of workers and materials in the warehouse; Paragraph 0084, Module 912 can receive and aggregate data from the sensor devices of the respective job site (e.g., warehouse) as well as area(s) within the job site. Module 912 can also receive and aggregate data from worker the computing devices of or otherwise connected to workers (e.g., worker computing devices such as mobile devices or other personal computing devices, wearable biometric devices, smart badges, etc.); Examiner interprets the multiple data received from the mobile devices as the data structures);
receiving, by a remote system, the transmitted data structures (Paragraph 0050, EPM control tower 210a-n and networked warehouse system of record 220a-n can reside in a cloud based computing system 242 (e.g., a cloud computing network, one or more remote servers) and be communicatively coupled to a data transformation and integration layer 230; Paragraph 0084, Module 912 can receive and aggregate data from the sensor devices of the respective job site (e.g., warehouse) as well as area(s) within the job site. Module 912 can also receive and aggregate data from worker the computing devices of or otherwise connected to workers (e.g., worker computing devices such as mobile devices or other personal computing devices, wearable biometric devices, smart badges, etc.);
providing, to the remote system, one or more additional data structures associated with a project (Paragraph 0050, System 200 can also include a networked warehouse system of record 220a-n, including components and databases such as but not limited to sites (e.g., locations, benchmarks, performance service level, etc.), labor (e.g., schedule, shifts, certification, skills, etc.), operations (e.g., plans, equipment, inventory type, throughput, etc.), assets (e.g., sortation, palletizers, robots, etc.), and workers (e.g., trends, profiles, task performance such as sorters, pickers, maintenance works, etc.). EPM control tower 210a-n and networked warehouse system of record 220a-n can reside in a cloud based computing system 242 (e.g., a cloud computing network, one or more remote servers) and be communicatively coupled to a data transformation and integration layer 230; Paragraph 0055, The warehouse system 200 described in FIG. 2A may be used to evaluate the engagement of workers against their assigned tasks using a variety of sources including voice input, scanning, device usage, network activity, location-based events, visual recognition events. The input from these sources may be fed to algorithms that identify cases where workers are not fully engaged or not making expected progress against their assignments or tasks);
determining, based on the analysis of the data structures and the one or more additional data structures (Paragraph 0050, System 200 can also include a networked warehouse system of record 220a-n, including components and databases such as but not limited to sites (e.g., locations, benchmarks, performance service level, etc.), labor (e.g., schedule, shifts, certification, skills, etc.), operations (e.g., plans, equipment, inventory type, throughput, etc.), assets (e.g., sortation, palletizers, robots, etc.), and workers (e.g., trends, profiles, task performance such as sorters, pickers, maintenance works, etc.); Paragraph 0055, The warehouse system 200 described in FIG. 2A may be used to evaluate the engagement of workers against their assigned tasks using a variety of sources including voice input, scanning, device usage, network activity, location-based events, visual recognition events. The input from these sources may be fed to algorithms that identify cases where workers are not fully engaged or not making expected progress against their assignments or tasks; Paragraph 0084, Module 912 can receive and aggregate data from the sensor devices of the respective job site (e.g., warehouse) as well as area(s) within the job site. Module 912 can also receive and aggregate data from worker the computing devices of or otherwise connected to workers (e.g., worker computing devices such as mobile devices or other personal computing devices, wearable biometric devices, smart badges, etc.), that one or more coordination criteria have been breached, the one or more coordination criteria being associated with adverse outcomes for the project (Paragraph 0072, FIG. 6B is an example user interface dashboard 620 associated with the worker performance database of EPM control tower 210a-n. As shown, dashboard 620 can present information related to worker performance. Through dashboard 620, a user can observe real-time performance, how current performance measures against objective planned performance goal(s), object measures of worker engagement, and or the like; In some aspects, one or more alerts can be presented or otherwise pushed onto dashboard 620 instructing a user (e.g., an employee, a manager, etc.) to take one or more corrective actions to improve productivity (e.g., return to a task, improve one criteria of a task that is lacking, improve engagement in an area of engagement, etc.) of one or more operational disruptions. In some aspects, corrective actions can include determining the right worker for a particular task based on the worker's profile and/or preferences, including job location or zone with job location, physical demand, temperature, shift, seniority, performance against the necessary tasks etc. to inform recommendations to move workers from area to another to mitigate attrition and maximize worker satisfaction. In some aspects, the one or more messages include workplace hazard avoidance, employee efficiency, work area efficiency, worker performance metrics, and worker performance safety. In some aspects, messages transmitted in or by dashboard 620, such as triggers and/or alerts, can be configured for transmitting information to remote computing systems, locations, and/or other interested users. Dashboard 620 can also be configured to detect near performance misses, trends, or other performance related events to build a trend model for early detection of anomalies before performance faults or malfunctions occur increasing worker engagement and performance; Paragraph 0073, Other metrics and/or alerts can be presented in dashboard 620, including information related to location or worker area and metrics related thereto as to workers performing below, at, or above standard (e.g., a message can indicate that 10 workers in a location are performing below standard, a message can recommend to move a specific employee to another location, etc.); In this case, Examiner notes that if worker engagement or performance is below a threshold (e.g., standard), then one or more actions may be provided in order to improve engagement or productivity);
determining a new action associated with one or more of scheduling, allocation of equipment, allocation of worker resources, legal limitations, or safety scores or safety predictions for the project to address adverse outcomes associated with the breached criterion (Paragraph 0072, FIG. 6B is an example user interface dashboard 620 associated with the worker performance database of EPM control tower 210a-n. As shown, dashboard 620 can present information related to worker performance. Through dashboard 620, a user can observe real-time performance, how current performance measures against objective planned performance goal(s), object measures of worker engagement, and or the like; In some aspects, one or more alerts can be presented or otherwise pushed onto dashboard 620 instructing a user (e.g., an employee, a manager, etc.) to take one or more corrective actions to improve productivity (e.g., return to a task, improve one criteria of a task that is lacking, improve engagement in an area of engagement, etc.) of one or more operational disruptions. In some aspects, corrective actions can include determining the right worker for a particular task based on the worker's profile and/or preferences, including job location or zone with job location, physical demand, temperature, shift, seniority, performance against the necessary tasks etc. to inform recommendations to move workers from area to another to mitigate attrition and maximize worker satisfaction. In some aspects, the one or more messages include workplace hazard avoidance, employee efficiency, work area efficiency, worker performance metrics, and worker performance safety. In some aspects, messages transmitted in or by dashboard 620, such as triggers and/or alerts, can be configured for transmitting information to remote computing systems, locations, and/or other interested users. Dashboard 620 can also be configured to detect near performance misses, trends, or other performance related events to build a trend model for early detection of anomalies before performance faults or malfunctions occur increasing worker engagement and performance; Paragraph 0073, Other metrics and/or alerts can be presented in dashboard 620, including information related to location or worker area and metrics related thereto as to workers performing below, at, or above standard (e.g., a message can indicate that 10 workers in a location are performing below standard, a message can recommend to move a specific employee to another location, etc.; It can be noted that the claim language is written in alternative form. The limitation taught by Khan et al. is based on “allocation of worker resources” such as to recommend to move a worker to another location when the performance is below the performance threshold);
generating at least one view of the new action for approval; and transmitting the at least one view to an interested party (Paragraph 0072, FIG. 6B is an example user interface dashboard 620 associated with the worker performance database of EPM control tower 210a-n. As shown, dashboard 620 can present information related to worker performance. Through dashboard 620, a user can observe real-time performance, how current performance measures against objective planned performance goal(s), object measures of worker engagement, and or the like; In some aspects, one or more alerts can be presented or otherwise pushed onto dashboard 620 instructing a user (e.g., an employee, a manager, etc.) to take one or more corrective actions to improve productivity (e.g., return to a task, improve one criteria of a task that is lacking, improve engagement in an area of engagement, etc.) of one or more operational disruptions. In some aspects, corrective actions can include determining the right worker for a particular task based on the worker's profile and/or preferences, including job location or zone with job location, physical demand, temperature, shift, seniority, performance against the necessary tasks etc. to inform recommendations to move workers from area to another to mitigate attrition and maximize worker satisfaction. In some aspects, the one or more messages include workplace hazard avoidance, employee efficiency, work area efficiency, worker performance metrics, and worker performance safety. In some aspects, messages transmitted in or by dashboard 620, such as triggers and/or alerts, can be configured for transmitting information to remote computing systems, locations, and/or other interested users. Dashboard 620 can also be configured to detect near performance misses, trends, or other performance related events to build a trend model for early detection of anomalies before performance faults or malfunctions occur increasing worker engagement and performance; Paragraph 0085, The system can analyze the aggregated information and via module 912 present feedback so that the system and/or system user(s) can in real-time monitor task(s) to determine whether tasks at startup are below, at, or exceeding task expectations and corrective action(s) can be promptly taken. For example, a shift manager and/or another worker in a team of workers can be notified, or the respective worker herself can be notified, that startup task performance is below the expected rate and one or more corrective actions of solving problems of the respective worker can be promptly initiated. Corrective actions can include encouraging the respective worker (e.g., with incentivizing compensation, bonuses, etc.), providing a corrective task, inviting another user(s) to help the respective user, and the like. In some aspects, information of module 912 can be transmitted directly to shift managers as well as other managerial users (e.g., shift supervisor, site operations manager, etc.); Paragraph 0090, Upon monitoring and determining that allocation anomalies are present or trending to be present, corrective actions can be recommended and/or taken, including practical allocation adjustments to adapt to allocation variations as they occur; Examiner interprets “corrective actions presented to a manager” as the “one view of the new action for approval.” Also, the view may be transmitted to another other interested party such as users/workers who are part of the action/recommendation).
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khan et al. (US 2024/0144142 A1), in view of Neal et al. (US 2025/0028305 A1).
Regarding claim 9 (Original), which is dependent of claim 7, Khan et al. discloses all the limitations in claim 7. Although Khan et al. discloses one or more coordination criterion is based on worker performance and/or operation disruptions, Khan et al. does not specifically disclose wherein the one or more coordination criterion is based on worker congestion in a zone.
However, Neal et al. discloses wherein the one or more coordination criterion is based on worker congestion in a zone (Paragraph 0024, In each of these situations, different variables, parameters, constraints, policies, and/or the like exist that play a role in executing movements of items. For example, each of the facilities has a limited (set) number of resources, e.g., equipment, personnel, and/or the like, to carry out the movements at any given time. In addition, certain resources may only be able to perform certain types of movements. For example, equipment may only be configured to perform movements of certain types of items, or personnel may need to be licensed to drive certain routes. Further, each facility has a unique geographical configuration that must be navigated to perform movements of items. The various routes that are required to be navigated through the facility may be subject to certain policies and constraints. For example, a particular route may have several required stops (e.g., stop signs, stop lights, etc.) that hinder (slow down) traversing the route. In another example, a particular route may be subject to a policy in which the route may only be used at certain times of the day due to significant foot traffic that traverses the route at other times of the day; Paragraph 0028, As discussed further herein, the intelligent computing system in various embodiments leverages a combination of geographical data and detailed parameters, constraints, policies, and/or the like that are specific to a facility. The intelligent computing system may leverage the combination of geographical data, parameters, constraints, policies, and/or the like in determining the specific (e.g., optimal) resource assignments to movements. In particular embodiments, the intelligent computing system may do so in real time considering the current state of the facility and factors of the facility that can affect movements. For example, the intelligent computing system may consider the current state of the facility that involves the current locations of resources, the current locations of the items to be moved, the destinations of the items, the current time of day, and/or the like. In addition, the intelligent computing system may consider factors of the facility that can affect movements that involve obstacles that may be present in travel paths such as stop signs, walk paths, congestion points, and/or the like; Paragraph 0029, Further, the intelligent computing system obtains state data for the facility that includes current locations of a plurality of resources available to execute the set of requests. In addition, the state data may include information on factors that may affect movements such as whether the facility (portion thereof) is currently experiencing congestion, a portion of the facility has been temporary closed down to an emergency, certain personnel is currently on break, and/or the like. Accordingly, the intelligent computing system then uses the geographical data and state data in generating a movement plan that identifies a specific resource to execute each request found in the set of requests; Paragraph 0039, The route may involve other aspects that may be dynamic in nature. For example, the route may cross a walk path for a personnel parking lot that has a significant amount of foot traffic at various times of the day such as a shift change. These particular aspects may be viewed as constraints (e.g., penalties) in using the route because they potentially increase the amount of time and/or distance it takes for a tractor to traverse the route; See provisional application # 63/527,480, Paragraphs 0023, 0027-0028, and 0038).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method for providing a new action to address adverse outcomes in response to determining that one or more coordination criterion have been breached (e.g., worker performance deviations and/or operation disruptions) of the invention of Khan et al. to further incorporate wherein the one or more coordination criterion is based on worker congestion in a zone of the invention of Neal et al. because doing so would allow the method to leverage the combination of geographical data, parameters, constraints, policies, and/or the like in determining the specific (e.g., optimal) resource assignments to movements (see Neal et al., Paragraph 0028). Further, the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in combination each element would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khan et al. (US 2024/0144142 A1), in view of Rahimi et al. (US 2025/0094896 A1).
Regarding claim 10 (Currently Amended), which is dependent of claim 7, Khan et al. discloses all the limitations in claim 7. Khan et al. further discloses wherein the one or more coordination criterion is based on the … limitations (Paragraph 0068, By way of example, the first action may be a recommendation for more training, or for a reallocation of the worker to a site or task that is more conducive to their strengths and preferences based on the worker parameters. If the worker score is lower than optimal because the worker is deemed to be overworked, the recommendation may be a reduction in hours or increases in break time; Paragraph 0072, In some aspects, one or more alerts can be presented or otherwise pushed onto dashboard 620 instructing a user (e.g., an employee, a manager, etc.) to take one or more corrective actions to improve productivity (e.g., return to a task, improve one criteria of a task that is lacking, improve engagement in an area of engagement, etc.) of one or more operational disruptions. in some aspects, corrective actions can include determining the right worker for a particular task based on the worker's profile and/or preferences, including job location or zone with job location, physical demand, temperature, shift, seniority, performance against the necessary tasks etc. to inform recommendations to move workers from area to another to mitigate attrition and maximize worker satisfaction).
Although Khan et al. discloses wherein the one or more coordination criteria is based on the worker’s limitations (e.g., worker’s preferences), Khan et al. does not specifically disclose wherein the one or more coordination criteria is based on legal limitations.
However, Rahimi et al. discloses wherein the one or more coordination criterion is based on legal limitations (Paragraph 0093, The entity computing device 130 may determine the minimum and maximum weekly hours based on the minimum number of hours individual personnel must work in a week and the maximum number of hours the individual personnel can work in a week to ensure a balanced workload. The entity computing device 130 may determine the maximum overtime hours based on the maximum number of hours personnel may work overtime, thereby helping to control labor costs and employee well-being; Paragraph 0094, By considering these time-related constraints, the entity computing device 130 may generate optimized schedules 214 that respect employee availability, legal requirements, and company policies. In this manner, the optimized schedules 214 output by the entity computing device 130 may ensure efficient and effective operations).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the method for providing a new action to address adverse outcomes in response to determining that one or more coordination criterion have been breached (e.g., worker performance deviations and/or worker preferences) of the invention of Khan et al. to further incorporate wherein the one or more coordination criterion is based on legal limitations of the invention of Rahimi et al. because doing so would allow the method to generate optimized schedules that respect employee availability, legal requirements, and company policies (see Rahimi et al., Paragraph 0094). Further, the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in combination each element would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
Mohtasi et al. (US 2025/0068996 A1) – discloses that facilities can have a wide variety of physical layouts and sizes, and may have tens, hundreds, or thousands of workers deployed therein at a given time. The tasks to be performed in the facility can vary in urgency, expected duration, skills required by the worker performing the tasks, and the like. Further, a number of tasks to be allocated and/or performed concurrently in a facility can also vary widely. In a retail facility such as a grocer, hundreds or thousands of tasks may be generated to be allocated and performed amongst a pool of workers over the course of a time period of several hours. Allocating the tasks to workers can be a complex undertaking, involving balancing numerous factors (e.g., task duration, a length of time a task has been awaiting allocation, task priority, task and worker locations, worker availability, and the like) to optimize the use of worker time, e.g., by minimizing worker travel distance and/or other factors project (see at least Paragraph 0020).
Xie (CN 118313802 A) – discloses real-time position information tracks the geographical position of the user in real time through GPS or Big Dipper positioning technology. This is critical to emergency response and resource optimization scheduling, ensuring the rapid deployment of human resources closest to the location of the event (see at least Page 5, Paragraph 0005).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARJORIE PUJOLS-CRUZ whose telephone number is (571)272-4668. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thru 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
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, Patricia H Munson can be reached at (571)270-5396. 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.
/M.P./Examiner, Art Unit 3624 /PATRICIA H MUNSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3624
Prosecution Insights