DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Notice to Applicant
This is the first Non-Final Office Action in response to Application Serial Number: 19/150,803, filed on July 24, 2025. Claim 1 is pending in this application and is rejected below.
Priority
The Examiner has noted this Application is claiming priority from PCT Application No. PCT/US2023/085917 filed December 26, 2023 which claims Priority from Provisional Application No. 63/293,253 filed December 23, 2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) filed on October 03, 2025 complies with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97, 1.98 and MPEP § 609 and is considered by the Examiner.
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.
Step 1: The claimed subject matter falls within the four statutory categories of patentable subject matter.
Claim 1 is directed towards a method, which is among the statutory categories of invention.
Step 2A – Prong One: The claim recites an abstract idea.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim recites managing task workflows in defined work locations.
Claim 1 recites limitations directed to an abstract idea based on certain methods of organizing human activity and mental processes. Specifically, configuring work locations and associated personnel, wherein said configuring comprises defining spatial parameters and assigning personnel to respective work locations; configuring tasks specific to active work locations, wherein said configuring comprises creating, categorizing, and assigning tasks to the defined work locations; managing and validating workflows for tasks associated with a work location, wherein said managing comprises tracking task progress, verifying task completion according to predefined criteria, and ensuring adherence to established workflows; and closing tasks upon completion of their respective workflows, wherein said closing comprises updating task status, archiving task-related data, and releasing associated resources constitutes methods based on managing personal behavior, as well as, methods based on observations, evaluations, judgements and/or opinion that can be performed mentally by a combination of the human mind and a human using pen and paper. The recitation of a computer-based system does not take the claim out of the certain methods of organizing human activity and mental processes groupings. Thus the claim recites an abstract idea.
Step 2A – Prong Two: The judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application.
The judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. In particular, claim 1 recites a computer-based system at a high-level of generality such that it amounts to no more than generic computer components used as tools to apply the instructions of the abstract idea; see MPEP 2106.05(f). Thus, the additional element does not integrate the abstract idea into practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limitations on practicing the abstract idea. Claim 1 as a whole, looking at the additional elements individually and in combination, does not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application and therefore is directed to an abstract idea.
Step 2B: The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception.
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The additional elements in the claim other than the abstract idea per se, including computer-based system amount to no more than a recitation of generic computer elements utilized to perform generic computer functions, such as receiving or transmitting data over a network, e.g., using the Internet to gather data, buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355, 112 USPQ2d 1093, 1096 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (computer receives and sends information over a network); and electronic recordkeeping, Ultramercial, 772 F.3d at 716, 112 USPQ2d at 1755 (updating an activity log). Viewed as a whole, these additional claim elements do not provide meaningful limitations to transform the abstract idea into a patent eligible application of the abstract idea such that the claim amounts to significantly more than the abstract idea itself. Therefore, since there are no limitations in the claim that transform the abstract idea into a patent eligible application such that the claim amounts to significantly more than the abstract idea itself, the claim is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipating by Morkos, U.S. Publication No. 2014/0277666 [hereinafter Morkos].
Referring to Claim 1, Morkos teaches:
A method for managing work locations, comprising:
a. configuring work locations and associated personnel within a computer-based system, wherein said configuring comprises defining spatial parameters and assigning personnel to respective work locations (Morkos, [0033]), “A process for generating at least one schedule by determining space and resource requirements in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 2. The process 200 includes generating (202) a list of construction operations for creating an end product (The TODO list). In various embodiments, the list of construction operations can be generated using a three dimensional (3D) computer aided design (CAD) model as described further below. The process further includes determining (204) the space and resources required for each construction operation. In many embodiments of the invention, the resource requirements include work crews skilled to perform a particular construction operation. In several embodiments, the specific space requirements can be designated by X, Y, and Z coordinates on the construction site that can be utilized to define one or more specific spaces within the construction site or any other technique for defining specific spaces within a construction site including (but not limited to) planar or volumetric coordinates. The definition of a specific space should be understood as being distinct from definition of generalized space requirement, for example, a particular job requiring 50 m.sup.2 (generalized space requirement) as opposed to requiring a specific 50 m.sup.2 within a job site (specific space requirement)”; (Morkos, [0027]; [0031]);
b. configuring tasks specific to active work locations within the computer-based system, wherein said configuring comprises creating, categorizing, and assigning tasks to the defined work locations (Morkos, [0036]), “construction operations can be considered the tasks and/or activities that utilize construction components to implement a construction method. A process for generating a list of construction operations… the construction components can be identified by determining the materials that make up the architectural elements… The process further includes selecting (306) a construction method. In several embodiments, a user can select the construction method from a list of various construction methods. Using the selected construction method and identified construction components, a list of construction operations is generated”; (Morkos, [0049]), “The crew stacks include currently available work crews and the crew stacks are classified based on the skill sets. A pertinent crew stack to a particular construction operation is a crew stack that includes work crews that can perform a particular type of construction operation”; (Morkos, [0028]; [0033]);
c. managing and validating workflows for tasks associated with a work location within the computer-based system, wherein said managing comprises tracking task progress, verifying task completion according to predefined criteria, and ensuring adherence to established workflows (Morkos, [0034]), “During construction, actual progress relative to the construction schedule can be routinely updated (212) until the project completes. As the project progresses, determinations (216) can be made concerning actual space and resource availability. When the actual construction schedule meets project objectives (218), then the process 200 continues to monitor construction progress. When the actual construction schedule no longer meets the project objectives (218), then a new schedule can be generated (206, 208) for use during the remainder of the project. In this way, the schedule can be updated based upon the extent to which work crews are actually able to meet the generated schedule”; (Morkos, [0060]), “A prediction (805) can then be made concerning the performance of the construction project. The prediction can include such factors as (but not limited to) time to completion and estimated cost of completion. Based upon the prediction, a determination (806) can be made concerning whether predetermined construction project objectives are being met, which can be specified in terms of any of a variety of criteria including (but not limited to) duration and cost criteria. In the event that the projective objectives are being met, the process 800 continues to use the existing schedule and the current state of the project can be subsequently updated to continue to monitor the progress of the construction project. In the event that the construction project objectives are not being met, a new schedule can be generated (801) that meets the predetermined project objectives in a manner similar to that described above with respect to FIGS. 5A-5C. In several embodiments, new project objectives can be provided accommodating for the divergence of the construction project from the originally selected schedule”; and
d. closing tasks upon completion of their respective workflows within the computer-based system, wherein said closing comprises updating task status, archiving task-related data, and releasing associated resources (Morkos, [0014]), “identify at least one construction operation on the DOING list that is completed at the current job progress time and move at least one construction operation to a DONE list, where moving the construction operation to the doing list further comprises updating the time remaining for completion for each construction operation on the DOING list and releasing allocated resources”; (Morkos, [0029]; [0051]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Uchiyama et al. (US 20060047558 A1) - A personnel assignment system is connected to a project management system and a personnel management system The project management system retains information on tasks to which personnel have already been assigned as task data. Task data is associated with identification data of the assigned personnel. The identification data, which is also included in the personnel management system, is used as record retrieval keys. The personnel assignment system automatically extracts related assigned tasks from the identification data when changes occur in the personnel data, and automatically executes reassignment of replacements.
Powell et al. (WO 2021080558 A1) - The system may also include a worksite analysis engine comprising processing circuitry configured to receive the image data of the worksite captured by the autonomous vehicle and generate a virtual layout of the worksite based on the image data. The worksite analysis engine may also receive equipment data and crew data, and generate a workflow based on the virtual layout, the equipment data, and the crew data. The workflow may include workflow assignments for each crew member at the worksite, each workflow assignment indicating a task, equipment to perform the task, and an equipment path for the task.
Taghaddos et al. (Enhanced Resource Scheduling Framework For Industrial Construction Projects) - This study introduces an automated, simulation-based scheduling method to enhance, accelerate, and facilitate variable resource allocation in industrial construction. The proposed framework links a time-stepped simulation engine to an integrated database management system containing project information and historical data. The developed system auto-generates an efficient schedule respecting project constraints and uncertainties, such as limited resource availability and variable labor resources based on historical data, calendars, and shifts. Graph theory algorithms are used to optimize variable resource allocation in the time-stepped simulation, resulting in the leveling of resource histograms and, consequently, the generation of an efficient project schedule. Applying the proposed framework to an illustrative example demonstrated its capabilities in generating efficient schedules based on variable resource allocation constraints.
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/CRYSTOL STEWART/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3624
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