DETAILED ACTION
Amendments/remarks submitted on November 25, 2025 for Application No. 17/831353 are presented for examination by the examiner.
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 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.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed November 25, 2025 have been considered but they are not persuasive. In the remarks applicant argues:
I) On pages 1-5, Applicant argues that the cited prior art of Watters in view of Wang does not teach “wherein the vehicle stores user biometrics and confirming that the biometric data in the radio signal match the stored user biometrics”.
Applicant’s arguments are considered moot based on the new grounds of rejection as set forth below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2, 9, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claims 2, 9, and 16 recite the radio signal including user biometrics, the vehicle storing user biometrics, and comparing the radio signal biometrics with the vehicle biometrics. However, independent claims 1, 8, and 15 also recite the radio signal including user biometrics, the vehicle storing user biometrics, and comparing the radio signal biometrics with the vehicle biometrics. Therefore, it is unclear if dependent claims 2, 9, and 16 recite duplicate steps or if they recite performing a second biometric comparison. For the purpose of examination, the Examiner will interpret claims 2, 9, and 16 as reciting the same duplicate steps as in claims 1, 8, and 15.
The examiner has cited particular examples of 35 U.S.C. 112 rejections above. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant check the claims for further 35 U.S.C. 112 rejections in the event that it was inadvertently missed by the examiner to advance prosecution.
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 may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 7-8, 14-15, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watters (US 2017/0309098) in view of Wang (US 2002/0023215) and further in view of Ragunathan (US 2021/0309182).
As per claims 1, 8, and 15, Watters discloses A method comprising:
receiving a radio signal by a wireless transceiver installed in a vehicle (Watters, paragraphs 12, 16, and 18-21, teaches a PAAK unit in the vehicle that receives a signal from the PAAK app installed on a mobile phone that is acting as a key fob.);
determining that the radio signal was generated by and received from a legitimate user based on a biometric data of the legitimate user and a unique device identifier (UDI) included in the radio signal, wherein the biometric data and the UDI are transmitted in a single … radio signal (Watters, paragraph 19, teaches determining if the PAAK app and mobile device are authorized to access the vehicle. The PAAK app generates an authorization token based on a hash of the user fingerprint (biometric data) and a unique numeric value stored by the PAAK app (unique device identifier). The authorization token is sent from the PAAK app to the vehicle. As the user fingerprint and the unique numeric value are transmitted in a single token they are transmitted in a single radio signal.);
enabling access to the vehicle (Watters, paragraphs 18-21, teaches unlocking the vehicle using key fob commands from the PAAK app if the mobile device executing the PAAK app has been authorized.);
and enabling ignition of the vehicle based on the biometric data and the UDI (Watters, paragraphs 18-21, teaches allowing ignition of the vehicle when an authorized device is present inside of the vehicle. The authorization is based on the user fingerprint and unique numeric value stored by the PAAK app.)
However, Watters does not specifically teach that the biometric data and the UDI are transmitted in an encrypted radio signal.
Wang discloses an encrypted radio signal (Wang, paragraph 108, teaches encrypting the authorization token.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have combined the teachings of Wang with the teachings of Watters. Watters teaches authenticating a user before granting access to a vehicle by sending an authorization token containing a hash of the user’s fingerprint and a device ID from a mobile device (or key fob) to the vehicle. Wang teaches encrypting an authorization token. Therefore, it would have been obvious to have improved upon the teachings of Watters by adding the encryption of the authorization token of Wang as this would have prevented unauthorized access to the authorization token.
However, Watters in view of Wang does not specifically teach “wherein the vehicle stores user biometrics and confirming that the biometric data in the radio signal match the stored user biometrics”.
Ragunathan discloses wherein the vehicle stores user biometrics and confirming that the biometric data in the radio signal match the stored user biometrics (Ragunathan, paragraphs 11-13, teaches the key fob scanning a user’s fingerprint and transmitting the fingerprint to the ECU of the vehicle for authentication. Ragunathan, paragraph 14, teaches when the biometric data matches the stored biometric data of an authorized user that the requesting user is authenticated. The stored biometric data can be stored at the vehicle as shown in paragraph 14. The ECU can also be located within the vehicle as also shown in paragraph 14.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have combined the teachings of Ragunathan with the teachings of Watters in view of Wang. Watters in view of Wang teaches authenticating a user before granting access to a vehicle by sending a hash of the user’s fingerprint from a mobile device (or key fob) to the vehicle, but is silent regarding comparing or authenticating the user’s fingerprint. Ragunathan teaches authenticating a user before granting access to the vehicle, but additionally recites the specifics of comparing the received biometric data with stored biometric data of an authorized user. Therefore, it would have been obvious to have compared the user fingerprint (of Watters) with a known fingerprint of an authorized user (as in Ragunathan) as this would have been a simple substitution of one known form of authorization using a fingerprint for another to yield the predictable results of comparing a user fingerprint to ensure the user is an authorized user before granting the user access to the vehicle.
Claim 8 recites the additional limitations of “A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for tangibly storing computer program instructions capable of being executed by a computer processor, the computer program instructions defining steps of …” (Watters, paragraphs 30-31, teaches a medium storing instructions to be executed by a processor.)
Claim 15 recites the additional limitations of “A device comprising: a wireless transceiver; and a processor configured to …” (Watters, paragraphs 30-31, teaches a medium storing instructions to be executed by a processor. Watters, paragraphs 12, 16, and 18-21, teaches a PAAK unit in the vehicle that receives a signal from the PAAK app installed on a mobile phone that is acting as a key fob.)
As per claims 7, 14, and 20, Watters in view of Wang and Ragunathan discloses wherein determining that the radio signal was generated by and received from a legitimate user further comprises determining a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) of the radio signal meets a threshold (Watters, paragraphs 20 and 35, teaches using the RSSI signal strength value to determine if the key fob is approaching the vehicle and is also authorized before going into operational power mode to allow the key fob to perform functions of the vehicle such as keyless entry or remote starting of the vehicle.)
Claims 2, 4-5, 9, 11-12, 16, and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watters in view of Wang, Ragunathan, and further in view of Wagner (US 2020/0220870).
As per claims 2, 9, and 16, Watters in view of Wang and Ragunathan discloses wherein the radio signal includes first user biometrics stored at a key fob (Watters, paragraph 19, teaches determining if the PAAK app and mobile device are authorized to access the vehicle. The PAAK app generates an authorization token based on a user fingerprint (biometric data) and a unique numeric value stored by the PAAK app (unique device identifier). Ragunathan, paragraphs 11-13, teaches the key fob scanning a user’s fingerprint and transmitting the fingerprint to the ECU of the vehicle for authentication.),
and the vehicle further stores second user biometrics and the method further comprises: confirming that the first user biometrics match the second user biometrics (Ragunathan, paragraphs 11-13, teaches the key fob scanning a user’s fingerprint and transmitting the fingerprint to the ECU of the vehicle for authentication. Ragunathan, paragraph 14, teaches when the biometric data matches the stored biometric data of an authorized user that the requesting user is authenticated. The stored biometric data can be stored at the vehicle as shown in paragraph 14. The ECU can also be located within the vehicle as also shown in paragraph 14.)
and writing the UDI to a … memory in the vehicle (Watters, paragraph 19, teaches determining if the PAAK app and mobile device are authorized to access the vehicle. The PAAK app generates an authorization token based on a user fingerprint (biometric data) and a unique numeric value stored by the PAAK app (unique device identifier). As the unique device identifier is transmitted to the vehicle it must, at least temporarily, be stored in memory.)
However, Watters in view of Wang and Ragunathan does not specifically teach storing the UDI or second user biometrics (as in claim 16) to a secure memory.
Wagner discloses a secure memory (Wagner, paragraph 43, teaches storing data such as biometrics, identifiers, “and any other relevant data” in a secure memory.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have combined the teachings of Wagner with the teachings of Watters in view of Wang and Ragunathan. Watters in view of Wang and Ragunathan teaches storing the user biometrics and the unique identifier. Wagner teaches storing biometrics, identifiers, and other relevant data in a secure memory. Therefore, it would have been obvious to have stored the user biometrics and unique identifier in a secure memory in order to protect the stored data.
As per claims 4, 11, and 18, Watters in view of Wang, Ragunathan, and Wagner discloses wherein transmitting the first user biometrics and the UDI of the key fob to the vehicle comprises transmitting the first user biometrics and the UDI of the key fob to the vehicle via a short-range wireless network (Watters, paragraphs 12, 16, and 18-21, teaches a PAAK unit in the vehicle that receives a signal from the PAAK app installed on a mobile phone that is acting as a key fob. The PAAK app generates an authorization token based on a user fingerprint (biometric data) and transmits the authorization token to the PAAK unit in the vehicle for authorization. Watters, paragraph 14, teaches using the Bluetooth protocol for transmission.)
As per claims 5, 12, and 19, Watters in view of Wang, Ragunathan, and Wagner discloses wherein confirming that the first user biometrics match the second user biometrics comprises determining if the first user biometrics are similar to the second user biometrics based on a threshold (Ragunathan, paragraphs 11-13, teaches the key fob scanning a user’s fingerprint and transmitting the fingerprint to the ECU of the vehicle for authentication. Ragunathan, paragraph 14, teaches when the biometric data matches the stored biometric data of an authorized user that the requesting user is authenticated. The Examiner would note that it is inherent that biometric/fingerprint comparisons must use some threshold in order to determine a match as shown in related prior art Allyn, Tussy, and Arora as listed below in the Related Prior Art section.)
Claims 3, 6, 10, 13, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watters in view of Wang, Ragunathan, Wagner, and further in view of Peeters (US 2014/0025950).
As per claims 3, 10, and 17, Watters in view of Wang, Ragunathan, and Wagner discloses wherein the UDI of the key fob comprises a [unique value] (Watters, paragraph 19, teaches determining if the PAAK app and mobile device are authorized to access the vehicle. The PAAK app generates an authorization token based on a user fingerprint (biometric data) and a unique numeric value stored by the PAAK app (unique device identifier).)
However, Watters in view of Wang, Ragunathan, and Wagner does not specifically teach that the UDI is a public key.
Peeters discloses wherein the UDI of the key fob comprises a public key of an asymmetric key pair (Peeters, Figure 3 and associated texts, teaches the key fob sending its public key and certificate to a pairing device of the vehicle in step 1a.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have combined the teachings of Peeters with the teachings of Watters in view of Wang, Ragunathan, and Wagner. Watters in view of Wang, Ragunathan, and Wagner teaches sending a unique identifier from the key fob to the vehicle for authentication. Peeters similarly teaches sending a public key from the key fob to the vehicle for authentication, but further teaches the vehicle sending a key back to the key fob. Therefore, it would have been obvious for both the key fob to send a key to the vehicle and also for the vehicle to send a key back to the key fob in order to perform mutual authentication between the key fob and the vehicle.
As per claims 6 and 13, Watters in view Wang, Ragunathan, and Wagner does not specifically teach but Peeters discloses further comprising transmitting a second UDI of the vehicle to the key fob after writing the UDI to the secure memory (Peeters, Figure 3 and associated texts, teaches the key fob sending its public key and certificate to a pairing device of the vehicle in step 1a. Later, the vehicle sends its Opkey to the key fob in step 4b to provide mutual authentication of the key fob and the vehicle.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have combined the teachings of Peeters with the teachings of Watters in view of Wang, Ragunathan, and Wagner. Watters in view of Wang, Ragunathan, and Wagner teaches sending a unique identifier from the key fob to the vehicle for authentication. Peeters similarly teaches sending a public key from the key fob to the vehicle for authentication, but further teaches the vehicle sending a key back to the key fob. Therefore, it would have been obvious for both the key fob to send a key to the vehicle and also for the vehicle to send a key back to the key fob in order to perform mutual authentication between the key fob and the vehicle.
Related Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure includes:
Jacob (US 2014/0329513) – teaches capturing a drivers fingerprint to transmit from a key fob to a vehicle to be compared to a second fingerprint to authenticate a user prior to allowing access to a wireless communications device of the vehicle.
Ragunathan (US 2021/0309182) – teaches a key fob scanning a user’s fingerprint and transmitting the raw biometric data to the ECU of the vehicle for authentication before unlocking the doors or remotely starting the vehicle.
Alsina (US 2018/0262494) – teaches storing biometric data in a secure memory.
Jergess (US 2018/0053360) – teaches using the RSSI signal strength value to determine if the key fob is within range of the vehicle and authorized before activating the keyless entry. Jergess also teaches transmitting data from the key fob to the vehicle using short-range communications.
Der Ghazarian (US 2002/0084130) – teaches using a voice recognition breathalyzer in a key fob to transmit a signal to the vehicle before starting the vehicle.
Allyn (US 2016/0283703) – teaches comparing fingerprints using a threshold.
Tussy (US 2019/0213311) – teaches comparing biometrics using a threshold.
Arora (US 2020/0250679) – teaches comparing biometrics, such as facial recognition, using a threshold.
McNelley (US 2007/0233614) – teaches a financial institution transmitting raw biometric data.
Bhatt (US 2019/0087825) – teaches optionally transmitting biometric data as encrypted biometric data, non-encrypted biometric data, raw biometric data, or a representation of the biometric data.
Weight (US 2019/0220859) – teaches optionally transmitting raw biometric data or processed biometric data.
Johnsgard (US 2012/0252411) – teaches sending user biometric data and a device ID in a single message via a secure channel.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN B KING whose telephone number is (571)270-7310. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 10AM-6PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yin-Chen Shaw can be reached on 5712728878. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/John B King/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2498