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 .
DETAILED ACTION
1.This action is response to application filed on 05/07/2025. Claims 05-05 are pending.
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.
2. Claims 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 101 as directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Regarding claim 1:
The use of the word system in the claim does not inherently mean that the claim is directed to a machine; the system is directed to statutory subject matter only if at least one of the claimed elements of the system is a physical part of a device.
Because the specification fails to provide clear description for the claimed feature ‘unified communication interface’ is a hardware interface, so ‘unified communication interface’ could be broadly interpreted as either hardware interface or program interface. Therefore claim 1 lacks the necessary structure element, which fails to fall within one of the four statutory categories of invention recited in 35 U.S.C. § 101 process, machine, manufacture, and composition of matter.
Claims 2-13 are rejected under rationales of claim 1.
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.
3. Claims 1-2, 5-8 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Henry et al. (US 20250193132) in view of Wetherell et al. (US 20110179126) and further in view of Wu (CN-101159730-A)
Regarding claim 1:
A system for facilitating seamless communication handoff between Short Message Service (SMS), email, and phone channels, comprising:
a unified communication interface configured to: receive communication requests from a resident: (the unified multichannel communication (UMC) service receive a request for a UMC session involving a first participant and a second participant: Henry, [0135]);
a resident communication preference module configured to store and manage resident preferences for receiving communication from a property manager: (Henry teaches a UMC service can initialize a UMC thread for a UMC session involving the digital assistant and a user. The UMC service can attach, to the UMC thread, a first communication channel having a first data type and a second communication channel having a second data type different than the first data type. Attaching the communication channels to the UMC thread can include retrieving, based on a thread identifier of the UMC thread, a thread metadata record for the UMC thread; storing, in the thread metadata record for the UMC thread, a first communication channel identifier for the first communication channel; and storing, in the thread metadata record for the UMC thread, a second communication channel identifier for the second communication channel. Attaching the communication channels to the UMC thread can also include storing, in the thread metadata record for the UMC thread, at least one identifier for the user and at least one user identifier for the digital assistant: Henry [0006]);
store communication history across all channels for the resident: (storing, in the thread metadata record for the UMC thread includes at least one identifier for the user and at least one user identifier for the digital assistant, a first communication channel identifier for the first communication channel; and storing, in the thread metadata record for the UMC thread, a second communication channel identifier for the second communication channel: Henry, [0112]; [0147]; [0006]-[0007]];
at least one communication channel module configured to: send communication to the resident through the designated communication channel (SMS, email, or phone): (channel management component manages communications over different designated channels (SMS, email, or phone): Henry: [0069]-[0070]);
receive communication responses from the resident through the designated communication channel: (the UMC service receives a request for a UMC session and, responsive to the request, initializes a UMC thread for the UMC session: Henry: [0123]; [0199]).
However, Henry does not explicitly teach identify a preferred communication channel based on resident preferences.
In similar art, Wetherell teaches selecting communication channel for the received communication request (see, Wetherell abstract);
route the communication requests to a designated communication channel based on the preferred communication channel: (electronically sending, to each recipient with a stored identifier, the message via the selected communication channel: Wetherell abstract).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Wetherell’s ideas into Henry’s system in order to provide an efficient messages distribution network, (Wetherell [0006]).
However, Henry-Wetherell does not teach identify communication channel based on communication history.
In similar art, Wu teaches identify primary communication channel via searching through communication history (Wu, page 4).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Wu’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell’s system in order to save resources and development time by implying Wu’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell’s system.
Regarding claim 2:
In addition to the rejection claim 1, Henry-Wetherell-Wu further teaches learn and update resident preferences based on resident interaction patterns across communication channels: (anytime a participant and/or a communication channel is added or attached to the UMC thread, the thread metadata record for the UMC thread is updated to include the corresponding communication channel identifier and/or participant channel identifier: Henry, [0089]).
Regarding claim 5:
In addition to the rejection claim 1, Henry-Wetherell-Wu further teaches at least one communication channel module further comprises an SMS communication module configured to send and receive text messages with residents: (channel management component manages communications over different designated channels (SMS, email, or phone): Henry: [0069]-[0070]).
Regarding claim 6:
In addition to the rejection claim 1, Henry-Wetherell-Wu further teaches the at least one communication channel module further comprises an email communication module configured to send and receive emails with residents: (: (channel management component manages communications over different designated channels (SMS, email, or phone): Henry: [0069]-[0070]).
Regarding claim 7:
In addition to the rejection claim 1, Henry-Wetherell-Wu further teaches at least one communication channel module further comprises a phone communication module configured to connect residents with property management representatives via phone calls: (channel management component manages communications over different designated channels (SMS, email, or phone): Henry: [0069]-[0070]).
Regarding claim 8:
In addition to the rejection claim 1, Henry-Wetherell-Wu further teaches comprising a resident communication history module configured to store and manage all communication interactions between a resident and property management across all communication channels (SMS, email, and phone): (channel management component manages communications over different designated channels (SMS, email, or phone): Henry: [0069]-[0070]).
Regarding claim 14:
A method for facilitating seamless communication handoff between Short Message Service (SMS), email, and phone channels for resident communication within a real estate rental domain, the method comprising:
receiving a communication request from a resident: (the unified multichannel communication (UMC) service receive a request for a UMC session involving a first participant and a second participant: Henry, [0135]);
routing the communication request to a designated communication channel (SMS, email, or phone) based on the preferred communication channel: (channel management component manages communications over different designated channels (SMS, email, or phone): Henry: [0069]-[0070]);
storing the communication request and any responses within a resident communication history: (storing, in the thread metadata record for the UMC thread includes at least one identifier for the user and at least one user identifier for the digital assistant, a first communication channel identifier for the first communication channel; and storing, in the thread metadata record for the UMC thread, a second communication channel identifier for the second communication channel: Henry et al. (US 20250193132): [0112]; [0147]; [0006]-[0007]];
learning and updating resident communication preferences based on resident interaction patterns across communication channels: (anytime a participant and/or a communication channel is added or attached to the UMC thread, the thread metadata record for the UMC thread is updated to include the corresponding communication channel identifier and/or participant channel identifier: Henry, [0089]).
However, Henry does not explicitly teach identifying a preferred communication channel for the resident based on resident preferences.
In similar art, Wetherell teaches selecting communication channel for the received communication request (see, Wetherell abstract).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Wetherell’s ideas into Henry’s system in order to provide an efficient messages distribution network (Wetherell [0006]).
However, Henry-Wetherell does not explicitly teach identifying a preferred communication channel for the resident based on communication history.
In similar art, Wetherell teaches selecting communication channel for the received communication request (see, Wetherell abstract).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Wu’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell’s system in order to save resources and development time by implying Wu’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell’s system.
4. Claims 3, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Henry-Wetherell-Wu in view of SHIRAHATTI et al. (US 20220086282 A1)
Regarding claim 3:
Henry-Wetherell-Wu discloses the invention substantially as disclosed in claim 1, but does not explicitly teach prioritizes routing communication requests based on urgency and a nature of the communication requests.
In similar art, SHIRAHATTI teaches mechanisms to provide priority levels for call connection requests and/or messages from a sending device to a receiving device. The receiving device is configured to allow prioritized notification alerts for incoming call connection requests and/or for incoming messages from a sending device to override a silent or do not disturb mode for one or more contacts based on i) a priority level provided with the call connection request or message and ii) a priority setting for the sending device or a set of devices associated with a user of the sending device (abstract).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify SHIRAHATTI’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system in order to save resources and development time by implying SHIRAHATTI’s ideas into Henry-Wetherel-Wu’s system.
Regarding claim 15:
Henry-Wetherell-Wu discloses the invention substantially as disclosed in claim 14, but does not explicitly teach prioritizes routing communication requests based on urgency and a nature of the communication requests.
In similar art, SHIRAHATTI teaches mechanisms to provide priority levels for call connection requests and/or messages from a sending device to a receiving device. The receiving device is configured to allow prioritized notification alerts for incoming call connection requests and/or for incoming messages from a sending device to override a silent or do not disturb mode for one or more contacts based on i) a priority level provided with the call connection request or message and ii) a priority setting for the sending device or a set of devices associated with a user of the sending device (abstract).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify SHIRAHATTI’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system in order to save resources and development time by implying SHIRAHATTI’s ideas into Henry-Wetherel-Wu’s system.
5. Claims 4 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Henry-Wetherell-Wu-SHIRAHATTI in view of David et al. (US 20120143013 A1)
Regarding claim 4:
Henry-Wetherell-Wu-SHIRAHATTI discloses the invention substantially as disclosed in claim 3, but does not explicitly teach prioritizes routing urgent communication requests, such as maintenance emergencies, through phone calls.
In similar art, David teaches sending priority message via one or more modalities (e.g., text, voices, image, etc.) (see, David [0039]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify David’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu-SHIRAHATTI’s system in order to save resources and development time by implying David’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu-SHIRAHATTI’s system.
Regarding claim 16:
Henry-Wetherell-Wu-SHIRAHATTI discloses the invention substantially as disclosed in claim 15, but does not explicitly teach prioritizes routing urgent communication requests, such as maintenance emergencies, through phone calls.
In similar art, David teaches sending priority message via one or more modalities (e.g., text, voices, image, etc.) (see, David [0039]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify David’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu-SHIRAHATTI’s system in order to save resources and development time by implying David’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu-SHIRAHATTI’s system.
6. Claims 9-10, 12-13, 17-18 and 20-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Henry-Wetherell-Wu in view of Inbal (US 12,652,265)
Regarding claim 9:
Henry-Wetherell-Wu discloses the invention substantially as disclosed in claim 1, but does not explicitly teach a contextual handover logic engine configured to analyze the communication history and resident preferences to determine a most effective communication channel for future outreach.
In similar art, Inbal teaches Multi-VPN Management Unit, which handles multiple VPN connections using different protocols simultaneously, selecting the most effective pathway routing for communication (Inbal column 14, lines 7-11).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Inbal’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system in order to save resources and development time by implying Inbal’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system.
Regarding claim 10:
Henry-Wetherell-Wu discloses the invention substantially as disclosed in claim 1, but does not explicitly teach a real-time channel adaptability module configured to dynamically adjust the designated communication channel based on real-time resident behavior and preferences.
In similar art, Inbal teaches a Dynamic Routing Engine, which dynamically determines the most efficient paths for data packets to travel through the VPN, adjusting routes in real time based on network congestion and link health, and/or based on modifications to NAT services being employed or modified (Inbal column 14, lines 7-11).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Inbal’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system in order to save resources and development time by implying Inbal’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system.
Regarding claim 12:
Henry-Wetherell-Wu discloses the invention substantially as disclosed in claim 1, but does not explicitly teach an automated response generator configured to generate predefined responses to common resident inquiries.
In similar art, Inbal teaches an automated method or automated process, or a machine-implemented method or process, or as a semi-automated or partially-automated method or process, or as a set of steps or operations which may be executed or performed by a computer or machine or system or other device (column 35, lines 60-67).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Inbal’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system in order to save resources and development time by implying Inbal’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system.
Regarding claim 13:
Henry-Wetherell-Wu discloses the invention substantially as disclosed in claim 1, but does not explicitly teach the communication interface and the at least one communication channel module comply with relevant data security protocols and utilize encryption techniques to safeguard resident communication data.
In similar art, Inbal teaches automated Network Condition Adaptation, as the system monitors network conditions continuously, automatically adjusting VPN settings, including encryption and compression, to maintain optimal performance and minimize latency and packet loss (column 30, lines 19-23).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Inbal’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system in order to save resources and development time by implying Inbal’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system.
Regarding claim 17:
Henry-Wetherell-Wu discloses the invention substantially as disclosed in claim 14, but does not explicitly teach
In similar art, Inbal teaches Multi-VPN Management Unit, which handles multiple VPN connections using different protocols simultaneously, selecting the most effective pathway routing for communication (Inbal column 14, lines 7-11).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Inbal’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system in order to save resources and development time by implying Inbal’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system.
Regarding claim 18:
Henry-Wetherell-Wu discloses the invention substantially as disclosed in claim 14, but does not explicitly teach a real-time channel adaptability module configured to dynamically adjust the designated communication channel based on real-time resident behavior and preferences.
In similar art, Inbal teaches a Dynamic Routing Engine, which dynamically determines the most efficient paths for data packets to travel through the VPN, adjusting routes in real time based on network congestion and link health, and/or based on modifications to NAT services being employed or modified (Inbal column 14, lines 7-11).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Inbal’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system in order to save resources and development time by implying Inbal’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system.
Regarding claim 20:
Henry-Wetherell-Wu discloses the invention substantially as disclosed in claim 14, but does not explicitly teach an automated response generator configured to generate predefined responses to common resident inquiries.
In similar art, Inbal teaches an automated method or automated process, or a machine-implemented method or process, or as a semi- automated or partially-automated method or process, or as a set of steps or operations which may be executed or performed by a computer or machine or system or other device (column 35, lines 60-67).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Inbal’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system in order to save resources and development time by implying Inbal’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system.
Regarding claim 21:
Henry-Wetherell-Wu discloses the invention substantially as disclosed in claim 14, but does not explicitly teach the communication interface and the at least one communication channel module comply with relevant data security protocols and utilize encryption techniques to safeguard resident communication data.
In similar art, Inbal teaches automated Network Condition Adaptation, as the system monitors network conditions continuously, automatically adjusting VPN settings, including encryption and compression, to maintain optimal performance and minimize latency and packet loss (column 30, lines 19-23).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Inbal’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system in order to save resources and development time by implying Inbal’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system.
7. Claims 11 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Henry-Wetherell-Wu in view of Zhou et al. (CN 117073147 A)
Regarding claim 11:
Henry-Wetherell-Wu discloses the invention substantially as disclosed in claim 1, but does not explicitly teach a feedback and analytics engine configured to: collect resident feedback regarding communication preferences; and analyze the resident feedback to refine communication strategies and optimize resident engagement.
In similar art, Zhou teaches performing control adjustment according to the monitoring result and the feedback result (abstract).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Zhou’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system in order to save resources and development time by implying Zhou’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system.
Regarding claim 19:
Henry-Wetherell-Wu discloses the invention substantially as disclosed in claim 14, but does not explicitly teach a feedback and analytics engine configured to: collect resident feedback regarding communication preferences; and analyze the resident feedback to refine communication strategies and optimize resident engagement.
In similar art, Zhou teaches performing control adjustment according to the monitoring result and the feedback result (abstract).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Zhou’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system in order to save resources and development time by implying Zhou’s ideas into Henry-Wetherell-Wu’s system.
Conclusions
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAN DAI T TRUONG whose telephone number is (571)272-7959. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:00 Am to 3:00 PM.
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/LAN DAI T TRUONG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2444
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