DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status
2. This communication is in response to the Preliminary Amendment application filed on 03.31.2025. Claims 15-16 have been cancelled. Therefore, claims 1-14 and 17-20 are pending in this application.
Oath/Declaration
3. The Applicants’ oath/declaration has been reviewed by the Examiner and is found to conform to the requirements prescribed in 37 C.F.R. 1.63.
Information Disclosure Statement
4. As required by M.P.E.P. 609(C), the Applicant’s submission of the Information Disclosure Statements (IDS) are acknowledged by the Examiner. The cited references have been considered in the examination of the claims. As required by M.P.E.P 609 C (2), a copy of the PTOL-1449 initialed, signed and dated by the Examiner is attached to the instant Office action.
Priority / Filing Date
5. Applicant’s claim for priority of US Application filed on 07.13.2015 is acknowledged. The Examiner takes the US Application date of 07.13.2015 into consideration.
Claim Objections
6. Claims 15 and 16 are objected to because of the following informalities: claims 15 and 16 have been canceled, they are still appearing in the claim set submitted on 03.31.2025.
Appropriate correction is required.
Double Patenting
7. The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
8. Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of non-statutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 11,803,922. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the clams are directed to the same invention.
The mapping of claim 1 of the immediate application to claim 1 of the patent follows:
Immediate Application
US Patent Number
11,803,922
Claim 1. A system for ordering in a restaurant, the system comprising: ….: receive input information pertaining to an order, the input information comprising: at least one menu item, pricing, order size, customer identification, desired order completion time, order type, preparation time, productive capacity at a given time interval, order status, or some combination thereof; based at least on the input information, apply order timing logic to generate timing information related to the order, wherein the timing information comprises a wait time associated with the order; store the timing information in the data storage device; transmitting, by the data processor via a cloud network system, the timing information to a plurality of interconnected restaurant location servers that uses a feedback loop to update an overall order queue used for selecting a restaurant location, wherein each restaurant location comprises at least one processor to process the order; cause the wait time to be displayed on a display.
Claim 1. A method comprising the steps of: receiving, by a device, over a network, an order from a device of a user, the order comprising information related to a menu selection from a menu of a restaurant, the order further comprising information indicating a current location of the user; analyzing, by the device, the current location of the user based on a location of the restaurant; determining, by the device, a geographical relationship between the current location and the restaurant location; determining, by the device, a future pick-up time for the order based on the determined geographical relationship; monitoring, by the device, a current time respective to the future pick-up time; determining, by the device, based on the monitoring, that the current time is within a threshold time period to the future pick-up time; and causing, by the device, a notification to be delivered to the restaurant, the notification comprising an indication that the received order is to be prepared, the notification further comprising information related to the future pick-up time and identity of the user.
Conclusion
9. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The PTO-1449 forms have been reviewed and considered.
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Garcia Ade whose telephone number is (571)272-5586. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday.
11. 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, Florian Zeender can be reached on 517-272-6790. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
12. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Garcia Ade/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627
GARCIA ADE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3687
/GA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627
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