Prior art

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 10380873B1, I will examine the patent's cited references. The USPTO and other patent databases typically list "backward citations" or "references cited" which are prior art documents considered by the patent examiner during prosecution.

Here is an analysis of the prior art cited in US patent 10380873B1:

References Cited (U.S. Patent Documents):

• US9305450B2 (Halverson; April 5, 2016):

  • Publication/Filing Date: Priority date of September 12, 2012, filed August 26, 2014.
  • Brief Description: This patent is titled "Interactive wireless life safety communications system," the same as US10380873B1. It appears to be a parent application in the same patent family, as US10380873B1 explicitly states it is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/299,080, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/058,002, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/468,837 (US9305450B2). Therefore, it discloses much of the same core system and method for interactive life safety communications with a central server, resident devices, and caregiver devices, including the concept of action status responses.
  • Potential Anticipation: Since US9305450B2 is a direct parent application and shares a significant amount of disclosure, it would likely anticipate many of the fundamental elements of independent claims 1, 14, and 15 of US10380873B1 under 35 U.S.C. § 102. However, as a parent application, it also serves as a priority document, meaning its filing date can provide prior art benefits for the claims of US10380873B1 if there is a proper chain of priority. Anticipation would typically only apply if there are new claim elements in US10380873B1 that are not fully supported by the parent application's earliest priority date.

• US10311707B2 (Halverson; July 2, 2019):

  • Publication/Filing Date: Priority date of September 12, 2012, filed October 20, 2016.
  • Brief Description: This patent is also titled "Interactive wireless life safety communications system" and is another continuation patent in the same family as US10380873B1 (US10380873B1 is a continuation of US15/299,080, which became US10311707B2). It describes similar aspects of the interactive system, including a central server, resident life safety devices, caregiver communications devices, and the transmission of alarm signals and action status responses.
  • Potential Anticipation: Similar to US9305450B2, this patent is a direct family member and would likely anticipate many elements of independent claims 1, 14, and 15 of US10380873B1 under 35 U.S.C. § 102. Its shared priority date (September 12, 2012) means it also functions as a priority document for common subject matter.

General Notes on Prior Art and 35 U.S.C. § 102:
Under 35 U.S.C. § 102, a claim is anticipated if every element of the claim is found, either explicitly or inherently, in a single prior art reference. Given that US10380873B1 is a continuation patent of US9305450B2 and related to US10311707B2, the core inventive concepts would likely have been disclosed in these earlier applications. The examination would focus on whether any new claim limitations in US10380873B1 are not fully supported by the earliest priority date (September 12, 2012). If there are such new limitations, then intervening prior art (published between the earliest priority date and the filing date of the specific application for US10380873B1) could potentially anticipate those new aspects. The USPTO's duty of disclosure means that applicants must submit all known relevant prior art.