Application Programming Interfaces For Fulfilment Services
Patent No. US11010819 (titled "Application Programming Interfaces For Fulfilment Services") was filed by Doordash Inc on May 9, 2018.
What is this patent about?
’819 is related to the field of delivery services , specifically the integration of courier services into merchant and buyer applications. The background involves buyers purchasing items online from merchants, with courier services facilitating deliveries. However, merchants are often required to register with each courier service, providing extensive data and potentially disrupting their existing online presence.
The underlying idea behind ’819 is to provide a unified API that allows merchants to easily integrate with a delivery service without needing to directly manage couriers or disrupt their existing systems. This involves a service provider exposing APIs to merchant computing devices, enabling them to request delivery proposals, accept them, and track the delivery status of orders.
The claims of ’819 focus on a system that exposes a plurality of APIs to a merchant computing device for accessing a delivery service. The system receives delivery proposal requests from the merchant, sends delivery proposals, receives acceptance indications, and then communicates with couriers to fulfill the delivery. The system also receives requests for delivery statuses of multiple orders via a first API and sends the delivery status back to the merchant. Upon selection of a specific order, the system receives a request via a second API and sends additional information regarding the delivery status of that specific order.
In practice, a merchant integrates the provided APIs into their existing application. When a customer places an order, the merchant's application uses the APIs to request a delivery proposal from the service provider. Once the merchant (or customer) accepts the proposal, the service provider dispatches a courier. The merchant can then use the APIs to track the delivery status of the order, with a high-level overview of all orders and detailed information for selected orders displayed in the application's user interface.
This approach differentiates itself from prior solutions by providing a seamless integration of courier services into merchant applications. Instead of requiring merchants to build their own delivery infrastructure or register with multiple courier services, ’819 offers a single point of access through a set of APIs. This simplifies the process for merchants, reduces development effort, and allows them to focus on their core business while leveraging a reliable delivery service.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the mid-2010s when ’819 was filed, application programming interfaces (APIs) were commonly used to enable communication and data exchange between different software systems, at a time when mobile computing devices were increasingly equipped with location sensors, and when systems commonly relied on location data to provide various services.
Novelty and Inventive Step
The examiner allowed the claims because the applicant successfully distinguished the claimed invention from the prior art by amendment and argument. The examiner stated that the prior art, including Phillips, Ramadge, Bjerre, Williams, and Lutnick, either did not teach all the claimed features or did not fairly and reasonably render obvious the claimed combination of features. The examiner specifically noted that the applicant's arguments regarding the rejection of claims 8 and 10-13 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) were persuasive, leading to the withdrawal of that rejection. The examiner also noted that the applicant overcame an earlier objection to the specification by providing proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter.
Claims
There are 10 claims in total. Claims 1 and 6 are independent. The independent claims focus on a system and a server computing device, respectively, both configured to manage delivery services through APIs exposed to merchant computing devices. The dependent claims generally elaborate on specific aspects and functionalities of the system and server, such as user interface configurations, delivery proposal details, and acceptance criteria.
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Date
Description
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US11010819
- Application Number
- US15974729
- Filing Date
- May 9, 2018
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- May 14, 2037
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents