Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 19/051,598

INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Feb 12, 2025
Priority
Mar 08, 2024 — JP 2024-036045 +1 more
Examiner
PENDLETON, DIONNE
Art Unit
2689
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Ricoh Company, Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
70%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 1m
Est. Remaining
85%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 70% — above average
70%
Career Allowance Rate
611 granted / 878 resolved
+7.6% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+15.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
27 currently pending
Career history
903
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.7%
-38.3% vs TC avg
§103
79.8%
+39.8% vs TC avg
§102
8.7%
-31.3% vs TC avg
§112
1.6%
-38.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 878 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
CTNF 19/051,598 CTNF 76275 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Status Claims 1-18 are currently pending. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02-12-2025 has been considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-12-aia AIA (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. 07-15-03-aia AIA Claim(s) 1, 17 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Saunkeah (US 2024/0289860) . Regarding claims 1, 17 and 18, Saunkeah teaches an information processing system and associated method of operation, the system comprising: a user terminal (112, fig. 1) ; and an information processing apparatus (102 and 110 in fig. 2) communicably connected to the user terminal, the information processing apparatus including first circuitry configured to: manage location information indicating a current location of a user who goes to a specific place where a locker is present repeatedly ([0034] teaches that if the user knows that the recipient often visits the same point-of-sale location 118 ... the user may define an object parameter which may indicate, to the recipient, that an object is available to the recipient at the often frequented location 118 , and further teaches"…a surprise gift object storage device 122 implemented at a point-of-sale location 118; [0035] teaches that the surprise gift object storage device 122 can include one or more secure lockers or other container that may be used to store different items; [0107] and [0126] teaches that the object request submitted by a user may define a set of parameters and other information that may be used to determine when and how the surprise gift object is to be disbursed to a particular recipient. A user may define a parameter whereby the object is to be provided to the recipient at a particular location or other location that the recipient may often frequent.) ; acquire information of the user who is a recipient of a parcel stored in the locker from a locker management system that manages a usage status of the locker ([ 0107] teaches that the machine learning system 208 may use, as input to the recommendation algorithm 210, identifying information associated with the recipient 450 (as obtained from the recipient device and/or from an existing recipient profile stored within the recipient information datastore 212)) ; acquire the location information of the user who is the recipient ([0146] teaches "...configured to automatically prompt users for identifying information that may be used to uniquely identify these users... the point-of-sale system may prompt the recipient to provide their electronic mailing address. ") ; and issue a notification that prompts the user who is the recipient to go to the specific place when the location information indicates that the user who is the recipient is not at the specific place ([0107] teaches at step 432, the gift recommendation algorithm 210 may provide the recipient 450 with the one or more recommendations that may be available at the point-of-sale location 118 or at a different location); the user terminal (112, fig. 1) including second circuitry configured to: receive the notification from the information processing apparatus; and display the notification ([0029] teaches computing device 112 of the request comprises presentation means) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 2-5 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saunkeah (US 2024/0289860) in view of Schenken (US Patent 9,798,999) . Regarding claim 2, Saunkeah teaches the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, but fails to expressly teach that the location information further indicates a work status of the user, the specific place is a place where the user goes to work, the information of the user who is the recipient includes the work status of the user, and the notification prompts the user to go to the place where the user goes to work, when the work status of the user who is the recipient is a status other than the status of working at the place where the user goes to work. Schenken teaches a system and methods for ranking potential attended delivery/pickup locations wherein the location information further indicates a work status of the user, the specific place is a place where the user goes to work, the information of the user who is the recipient includes the work status of the user, and the notification prompts the user to go to the place where the user goes to work, when the work status of the user who is the recipient is a status other than the status of working at the place where the user goes to work ( col 4:40-47 teaches that the system may be configured to present users with attended delivery/pickup location options based at least in part. col. 13:62-67 teaches the second individual may then travel to the particular attended delivery/pickup location and, after providing identification (e.g., in the form of an ID card or a code displayed on the individual's mobile computing device) to a representative of the attended delivery/pickup location. col. 17:1-7 teaches various techniques may be used to facilitate the pickup of parcels or other items from an attended delivery/pickup location - a user may be provided with an electronic ID card or other device that may be used to quickly identify the individual and any parcels that are to be picked up by the individual at a particular attended delivery/pickup location. Furthermore col. 18:7-10 teaches that the user may be provided with an application on the user's mobile computing device that facilitates identification of the user via near field communications) . Before the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to modify the apparatus of Saunkeah such that the location information comprises a work status i.e., a work location that the individual visits frequently, for the purpose of choosing the best place to set up a staffed parcel delivery/pickup point for an individual wherein the pickup point may include a plurality of candidate locations including a work location and further wherein the system is also capable of checking the storage capacity of a location as well as initiating further actions when a parcel’s storage exceeds a threshold time period. Regarding claim 3, Schenken teaches that the circuitry determines whether the locker stores a parcel of which a recipient is the user whose work status has been updated to the working at the place where the user goes to work, and issues the notification prompting the user to pick up the parcel when a determination result indicates that the locker stores the parcel of which the recipient is the user (col. 4:40-47 teaches that the system may be configured to present users with attended delivery/pickup location options based on a location of the user's place of work; col. 13:31-38 teaches that in response to determining that the location at which the parcel was scanned at least generally corresponds to the geolocation of a particular attended delivery/pickup location, verify that the parcel has been delivered to the particular attended delivery/pickup location; and (5) save an indication to the system's memory indicating that the parcel has been delivered to the particular attended delivery/pickup location. ) Regarding claim 4, Schenken teaches that the circuitry periodically determines whether the locker stores a parcel of which a recipient is the user whose work status is the working at the place where the user goes to work (col. 15:45-46 teaches the system automatically generates recommendations), and issues the notification prompting the user to pick up the parcel when a determination result indicates that the locker stores the parcel of which the recipient is the user (Schenken teaches in col. 16:3-4 informing the recipient of a parcel location). Regarding claim 5, Schenken teaches that the circuitry is further configured to: manage information on a member who picks up the parcel on behalf of the user; and issue another notification requesting the member to pick up the parcel on behalf of the user when the work status of the user who is a recipient of the parcel is a status other than the working at the place where the user goes to work (col. 18:16-28 teaches "... the system may be adapted to facilitate the pickup of a parcel by an individual other than the intended recipient of the parcel ... ") . Regarding claim 8, Schenken teaches that the circuitry issues the notification prompting the user who is the recipient of the parcel to come to the place where the user goes to work, when a usage rate of the locker exceeds a threshold value (col. 20:61-col. 21:7 teaches "the system is configured to determine a suitability of a particular location to serve as a location for an attended delivery/pickup location. In particular embodiments, the determination is based on, for example: (1) a number of returns that occur at the particular location ...(2) a number of complaints about the location ... (4) third party commercially available data (e.g., a volume of sales at a business associated with the particular location, an average number of customers that patronize a business associated with the particular location, etc.); and (5) any other suitable factor.", any of which are interpreted as corresponding to "usage rate" as broadly recited.) Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 6, 7 and 9-16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIONNE PENDLETON whose telephone number is (571)272-7497. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9a-5pm. 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, Davetta Goins can be reached at 571-272-2957. 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. /DIONNE PENDLETON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2689 Application/Control Number: 19/051,598 Page 2 Art Unit: 2689 Application/Control Number: 19/051,598 Page 3 Art Unit: 2689 Application/Control Number: 19/051,598 Page 4 Art Unit: 2689
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 12, 2025
Application Filed
Jun 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
70%
Grant Probability
85%
With Interview (+15.7%)
2y 6m (~1y 1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 878 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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