U.S. Patent Position Review — 19/476,586
DATA COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING TASK SCHEDULES TO SERVICE PROVIDERS
Published international application: PCT/AU2024/050370 / WO2024216337A1
Section 09 — TR-09
Provider Availability
How provider calendar data, available time blocks and customer timing preference combine to determine which providers and which windows are offered.
Executive Finding
Provider-declared availability is reconciled against existing commitments and the customer's requested date and time before options are presented, making this one of the strongest observed alignment areas in the review.
Observed Workflow
- Provider Calendar
- Available Time Blocks
- Search Eligibility
- Customer Date / Time
- Appointment Window
- Scheduled Task
Patent Question
Does Taskrabbit's Tasker calendar architecture correspond to the patent's available/preferred time and date input to provider suitability and schedule construction?
Patent Architecture Sequence
- Available / Preferred Time and Date
- Provider Suitability
- Schedule Construction
Patent Position
United States Patent Application No. 19/476,586 — "DATA COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING TASK SCHEDULES TO SERVICE PROVIDERS"
Claimed Patent Element
- Provider records include time and date availability, and a task schedule is generated consistent with that availability and transmitted to the provider.
Specification / Embodiment Disclosure
- The specification describes availability expressed as recurring windows and as specific dates, reconciled against existing commitments.
- Embodiments contemplate availability being consumed as schedules are generated, so that the calendar remains current.
Potential Future Patent Evolution
Potential Future Patent Development — Subject to Patent Attorney Review.
- Predictive availability, dynamic release of capacity based on demand, and availability reshaped automatically after cancellation.
Taskrabbit Position
- Taskers set a calendar with multiple availability blocks per day and can adjust it, with public material describing availability as affecting eligibility for work.
- Customers filter by date and time, and same-day or next-available options are presented where local availability supports them.
- Booking a confirmed window removes that time from the provider's presented availability.
Public Evidence
Each record below opens the full source entry — extract, publication and access dates, direct URL and archived URL where available — without leaving this analysis.
Technical Alignment
- Declared availability is reconciled against existing commitments before an option is offered — reconciliation, not calendar display.
- Customer timing preference and provider availability are matched system-side, which is the architecture's availability function.
- Availability additionally affects whether a provider appears at all, corresponding to its role as an identification constraint.
Difference / Gap
- Public material evidences availability at the level of a single engagement; the architecture contemplates availability as a resource consumed across a constructed schedule.
- Whether buffers for travel or preparation are applied when computing available windows is not described publicly.
Where Public Evidence Is Incomplete
- Whether presented windows account for the provider's other bookings' locations is not publicly established.
- Whether availability is inferred or predicted in any way, rather than purely declared, is not disclosed.
Patent \u2194 Taskrabbit Mapping
| Patent element | Taskrabbit position | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Provider availability data | Tasker app calendar blocks, multiple blocks per day, same-day preferences | Strong Observed Correspondence |
| Availability affecting the candidate population | Unavailable Taskers do not appear in client search and receive no invitations | Strong Observed Correspondence |
| Availability affecting appointment selection | Customer selects a day and time within Tasker availability | Strong Observed Correspondence |
| Availability + AI duration → schedule construction | Not established from public material | Not Publicly Established |
Platform Requirement
- Taskrabbit's Schedule Availability Policy states that Taskers must ensure their in-app schedule accurately reflects their real availability.
- Taskrabbit states that a Tasker marked unavailable will not appear in client search results and will not receive task invitations.
- Taskrabbit further indicates that a period of consecutive availability is generally required to appear in search.
Patent Architecture Beyond Publicly Observed Functionality
The following matters are contemplated by the patent architecture and have not been established from Taskrabbit's public material. Absence of public evidence is not evidence that the functionality is absent from the company's internal technology stack.
- Availability as an optimisation resource — allocated to maximise utilisation across a provider's day — is not publicly established.
Evidence Confidence
Provider help documentation describes calendar and availability-block configuration, and the effect on presented options is directly observable in the customer flow.
Strategic Interpretation
- Availability reconciliation is the operational core of any scheduling system and the point at which a marketplace becomes a scheduler.
- Because it is strongly evidenced, it anchors the alignment position while the optimisation layer above it remains differentiating.