DETAILED ACTION
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 .
This Office Action is in response to amendment filed on March 12, 2026 and wherein 19,20- 28, 31, 33, 34 and 35 being currently amended, claim 30 being cancelled and claims 36-39 being currently added.
In virtue of this communication, claims 19-29, 31-39 are currently pending in this Office Action.
The Office appreciates the explanation of the amendment and analyses of the prior arts, and however, although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993) and MPEP 2145.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 03/12/2026 (Remarks, pages 11 - 13) with respect to the prior art rejection of claim 19 has been fully considered and but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection necessitated by the applicant amendment. The Office has thoroughly reviewed Applicants' arguments but firmly believes that the cited references to reasonably and properly meet the claimed limitations.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
Claims 19-29, 31-39 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 19 recite “ … performing control, based on the determination result that there is no external access point with which the information processing device is currently connected, such that an internal access point of the information processing device is activated by tethering with the encryption method supported by the communication device; performing control in DPP configuration based on the determination result that there is no external access point with which the information processing device is currently connected, such that connection information of the internal access point of the information processing device is transmitted to the communication device … ” is not disclosed in neither specification nor claims at the timing of filing.
Claims 20-29, 31-33 and 36-39 fail to remedy the deficiencies of the claim 19 and therefore, are rejected.
Claims 34 and 35 have similar issues with “there is no external access point” as recited in claim 19. Thus, are rejected.
Claim Interpretation
MPEP §2111.04 recites “The broadest reasonable interpretation of a method (or process) claim having contingent limitations requires only those steps that must be performed and does not include steps that are not required to be performed because the condition(s) precedent are not met. For example, assume a method claim requires step A if a first condition happens and step B if a second condition happens. If the claimed invention may be practiced without either the first or second condition happening, then neither step A or B is required by the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim. If the claimed invention requires the first condition to occur, then the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim requires step A. If the claimed invention requires both the first and second conditions to occur, then the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim requires both steps A and B.”.
Claim 37 is a method claim and contains contingent limitations. For method claims with contingent limitations, the broadest reasonable interpretation of a method (or process) claim having contingent limitations requires only those steps that must be performed and does not include steps that are not required to be performed because the condition(s) precedent are not met. The limitation starting with “… wherein in a case where the plurality of encryption methods supported by the predetermined setup function are WPA2 and WPA3, …” (in line 1-2). See MPEP 2111.04 subsection II.
The similar “in a case” is also applied to claim 20. The limitation starting with “… in the past, wherein in a case where the information processing device is not currently connected with the external…”.
The similar “in a case” is also applied to claim 21. The limitation starting with “… wherein in a case where a first operation is performed on the screen … and in a case where a second operation is performed on the screen the internal access point of the information processing device is not activated by the tethering”.
Since this are contingent limitations not required to occur, they are not required by the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim. Applicant is encouraged to require the conditions of the limitation to occur within the claim language or otherwise rewrite the claim language to avoid using contingent claiming. The prior art mapping was mapped to address the claim language, including the contingent limitations, however the contingent limitations are not included in the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim scope, so they cannot be relied upon distinguish the claim scope from the prior art.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 19-20, 23, 25-36, 38-39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeuchi et al. (US 20210037382 A1, hereinafter Takeuchi) in view of Bang et al. (US 20230362711 A1, hereinafter Bang).
Claim 19: Takeuchi teaches a method of controlling an information processing device (Fig.2, element 10) which is able to communicate with a communication device (Fig. 2, elements 100) and supports a predetermined function of transmitting information of an access point (Fig. 2, elements 6) to the communication apparatus by a Device Provisioning Protocol ( DPP) (Fig.2, [0009], “a schematic sequence diagram of a process for establishing a Wi-Fi connection according to a DPP between a printer and an access point”, [0035], “the DPP connection between the printer 100 and the AP 6 is established by each of the devices 6, 10, 100 executing communications according to the DPP”), the method comprising (abstract, “A terminal device may determine whether the terminal device has been established a wireless connection with an access point”):
obtaining Bootstrapping information from the communication device, performing DPP authentication using the Bootstrapping information (Fig. 2, element T25, T30, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, [0040], “the terminal 10 executes BS according to the DPP with the printer 100 in T25. The BS is a process of providing information that is to be used in Auth of T30”, [0041], “the terminal 10 executes Auth according to the DPP with the printer 100 by using the information obtained in the BS of T25” [0037], “the terminal 10 executes Auth according to the DPP with the AP 6 by using the information obtained in the BS of T5”, [0048], “The terminal 10 activates the camera 20 in response to the app 38 being activated, and captures the QR Code displayed on the printer 100 by using the camera 20 in T120. Further, in T122, the terminal 10 decodes the captured QR Code and obtains the public key PPM and the MAC address “macpr””), and obtaining in the DPP authentication information of the communication device including an encryption method supported by the communication device (Fig. 3, element T122, [0048], “ in T122, the terminal 10 decodes the captured QR Code and obtains the public key PPM and the MAC address “macpr”, FIG. 4, element T210, T220, [0050], “the terminal 10 generates a public key TPK1 and a private key tsk1 of the terminal 10. Next, in T202, the terminal 10 generates a shared key SK1 according to Elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman key exchange (ECDH) by using the generated private key tsk1 and the public key PPK1 of the printer 100 obtained in T122 of FIG. 3”, [0056], “the printer 100 sends an Authentication Response (hereinafter abbreviated to “ARes”) to the terminal 10 via the Wi-Fi I/F 116. This ARes includes the public key PPK2 of the printer 100 generated in T216, the encrypted data ED2 generated in T218, and a capability of the printer 100. This capability includes the value indicating that the printer 100 is capable of operating only as the Enrollee”, [0106], “the printer 100 may send the DPP information including the public key PPK1 and the MAC address via the BT of the printer 100 instead of displaying the QR Code in T100 of FIG. 3. In this case, the terminal 10 can receive the DPP information via the BT I/F of the terminal 10 … the printer 100 may send the DPP information via the NFC I/F of the printer 100. In this case, the terminal 10 can receive the DPP information via the NFC I/F of the terminal 10”);
determining, after the DPP authentication, whether there is an external access point with which the information processing device is currently connected ([0100], “ the terminal 10 does not send the printer-CO including the information to the printer 100 for establishing the AP connection in the ease of determining that the terminal 10 has not been established any AP connection, and instead sends the printer-CO to the printer 100 for establishing the WM connection with the terminal 10”, Fig. 4, element T210, [0054], “The capability is information that is pre-designated in a device supporting the DPP, … the terminal 10 generates … printer-CO and sends … the printer 100”, Fig. 7, element S12, [0110], “The determination of S12 of FIG. 7 may be executed before the BS with the printer 100 or may be executed after the Auth with the printer 100. In general terms, a timing to “determine whether the terminal device has been established a wireless connection with an access point” is not particularly limited”), wherein the external access point is external to the information processing device and is external to the communication device (Fig 2, illustrate Terminal, Printer and AP are external to each other. Fig. 6, [0066-0070], disclose the method of Printer determining identical AP for establishing DPP connection);
However, Takeuchi does not explicitly teach
performing control, based on the determination result that there is no external access point with which the information processing device is currently connected, such that an internal access point of the information processing device is activated by tethering with the encryption method supported by the communication device;
performing control in DPP configuration based on the determination result that there is no external access point with which the information processing device is currently connected, such that connection information of the internal access point of the information processing device is transmitted to the communication device.
Bang, from the same or similar field of endeavor, teaches
performing control, based on the determination result that there is no external access point with which the information processing device is currently connected, such that an internal access point of the information processing device is activated by tethering with the encryption method supported by the communication device (Fig. 9. Fig. 11, Fig. 13, [0161], “in operation 1105, the processor 120 may activate a mobile hotspot mode and provide a tethering service to an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 410
of FIG. 4B) in the mobile hotspot mode”, [0166], “the processor 120 may perform the DPP authentication procedure (operations 921 to 931) and the DPP configuration procedure (operations 933 to 937) illustrated in FIG. 9 on the external electronic device 410”, [0098], “Both of the configurator and the enrollee may have bootstrapping keys from the same elliptic curve before initiating the DPP authentication protocol … the elliptic curve may be an algorithm used to generate an encryption key, and the method of generating an encryption key may not be limited to an elliptic curve”);
performing control in DPP configuration based on the determination result that there is no external access point with which the information processing device is currently connected, such that connection information of the internal access point of the information processing device is transmitted to the communication device (Fig. 13, Fig. 14, Yes of 1315, No of 1410, No of1420, Yes of 1430 serving the similar as no external access point, and connect to internet through tethering service of hotspot when no suitable AP is available. [0083], “when a signal from a neighboring AP detectable by the external electronic device 410 becomes weak or when there is no neighboring AP, the electronic device 405 may activate a mobile hotspot mode … While providing the tethering service, the electronic device 405 may continuously search for a neighboring AP”, [0175], “When determining that the QoS information is not suitable, the processor 120 may activate the mobile hotspot mode of the electronic device 405 in operation 1330 … the hotspot request may be transmitted from the external electronic device 410 to the electronic device 405 by the DPP. When the hotspot request has been received from the external electronic device 410, the mobile hotspot mode of the electronic device 405 may be activated”, [0176], “the processor 120 may activate a hotspot of the communication module 302, when receiving the hotspot request from the external electronic device 410 or as a result of monitoring the connection state of the AP 415”. Fig. 4B, [0085], “a Wi-Fi DPP may be used to transmit the configuration information 405a of the AP 415 to the external electronic device 410. The electronic device 405 may serve as a DPP configurator and perform DPP provisioning with the external electronic device 410.”, [0081], “ the hotspot request may be received from the external electronic device through a DPP presence announcement frame of a Wi-Fi DPP”,[0090], “The DPP technology may provide a Wi-Fi device configuration method that may connect a Wi-Fi device to a Wi-Fi network in a simple and efficient manner”).
Takeuchi and Bang are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of wireless communication. Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Takeuchi and the features of activating a second access point inside the information processing device by tethering as taught by Bang, for the benefit for allowing the information processing device to replace a tethering service and is suitable for serving an external electronic device (paragraph [0162]).
Claim 34 is analyzed and rejected according to Claim 19 and Takeuchi further teaches a memory (Fig. 1, element 34) containing instructions and at least one processor (Fig. 1, element 32) to execute the instructions (Fig. 1, [0029], “The CPU 32 is configured to execute various processes according to a program 36 and 38 stored in the memory 34”).
Claim 35 is analyzed and rejected according to Claim 19 and Takeuchi further teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a program configured to control an information processing device (Fig. 1, [0029], “The CPU 32 is configured to execute various processes according to a program 36 and 38 stored in the memory 34. The memory 34 is constituted of a volatile memory, a nonvolatile memory and/or the like and stores the OS program 36 and application 38”).
Claim 20: The combination of Takeuchi and Bang teaches the method according to claim 19, Bang additionally teaches furthering comprising determining, based on the information processing device is not being currently-connected with the first external access point, whether a list of access points neighboring the information processing device includes the first access point with which the information processing device had been connected in the past, wherein in a case where the information processing device is not currently connected with the external access point and it is determined that the list does not include the access point with which the information processing device had been connected in the past, the internal access point is controlled to be activated by the tethering with the encryption method supported by the communication device (Fig. 11, [0161], “the processor 120 may search for a neighboring AP capable of providing the tethering service to the external electronic device 410. For example, the specified condition may include a specified time, a tethering service request from the external electronic device 410, and/or movement of the electronic device 101”, [0175], “When determining that the QoS information is not suitable, the processor 120 may activate the mobile hotspot mode of the electronic device 405 in operation 1330 … the hotspot request may be transmitted from the external electronic device 410 to the electronic device 405 by the DPP. When the hotspot request has been received from the external electronic device 410, the mobile hotspot mode of the electronic device 405 may be activated”, [0176], “the processor 120 may activate a hotspot of the communication module 302, when receiving the hotspot request from the external electronic device 410 or as a result of monitoring the connection state of the AP 415”, [0146], “ the configurator 910 which has received the DPP authentication response frame from the enrollee 900 may transmit a DPP authentication confirm frame to the enrollee 900 …and ke may represent an encryption key”, [0180], “in a mobile hotspot mode …using the DPP while using the tethering service” );
and performing control in the DPP configuration, based on the information processing device not being currently connected with the external access point and a determination that the list includes the first access point with which the information processing device had been connected in the past, such that connection information for connecting with the first access point with which the information processing device had been connected in the past is transmitted to the communication device (Fig. 9, [0142], “the enrollee 900 may perform a listening operation on a specified channel during the DPP bootstrapping operation … the enrollee 900 may transmit the DPP presence announcement frame to advertise the existence of the enrollee 900 for assisting the configurator 910 in discovering the enrollee 900 in operation 917”, [0139], “the client enrollee may search for the enrollee AP based on the network information … the advantage of using connector information is that each enrollee connected to an AP may have a unique secure credential”, [0148], “When a configuration based on the configuration object is successfully applied, the enrollee 900 may search for an AP using the configuration object and attempt a connection to the AP”, [0161], “the processor 120 may scan a signal from the AP 415, and when the received signal strength of the signal is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (for a specified time) as a result of the scan”).
The motivation for further combining Takeuchi and Bang is the same as claim 19.
Claim 23: Takeuchi teaches the method according to claim 19, further comprising executing, based on the communication device not supporting the predetermined setup function, another setup function for transmitting information of the external access point to the communication device by another protocol different from the DPP (Fig.7, elements S24,S26,S28, [0078], “the CPU 32 determines that the AP connection is the DPP connection (“DPP connection” in S24) in a case where the terminal-CO including the terminal-SC is stored in the memory 34 and proceeds to S26. On the other hand, the CPU 32 determines that the AP connection is the certain Wi-Fi connection (“certain Wi-Fi connection” in S24) in a case where the SSID and the password of the wireless network formed by the AP 6 are stored in the memory 34 and proceeds to S28”).
Claim 25: Takeuchi teaches the method according to claim 23, further comprising obtaining, via a communication by another protocol, information to be used in a communication by the DPP, wherein the predetermined function is executed by the obtained information to be used in the communication by the DPP (Fig. 7, element S24, [0078], “the CPU 32 determines that the AP connection is the DPP connection (“DPP connection” in S24) in a case where the terminal-CO including the terminal-SC is stored in the memory 34 and proceeds to S26. On the other hand, the CPU 32 determines that the AP connection is the certain Wi-Fi connection (“certain Wi-Fi connection” in S24) in a case where the SSID and the password of the wireless network formed by the AP 6 are stored in the memory 34 and proceeds to S28”, Fig. 2).
Claim 26: The combination of Takeuchi and Bang teaches the method according to claim 19, further comprising: performing control in the DPP configuration based on the information processing device is connected with the external access point connection information for connecting with the external access point is transmitted to the communication device by the predetermined setup function (Takeuchi, Fig. 2, [0035-0038], disclose terminal 10 establish DPP connection with external AP).
Claim 27: The combination of Takeuchi and Bang teaches The method according to claim 26, Bang additionally teaches comprising performing control, based on the information processing device being currently connected with the external access point so as not to connect with the external access point that cannot execute Internet communication ([0007], “ When the electronic device moves out of the coverage area of an access point (AP), it may lose the connection to the AP and no longer maintain the Wi-Fi communication service. When there is an adjacent electronic device in a hotspot mode (which may be referred to as a hotspot electronic device) in which a tethering service is provided, the external electronic device may connect to the hotspot electronic device and share the Internet connection of the hotspot electronic device”).
The motivation for further combining Takeuchi and Bang is the same as claims 19.
Claim 28: Takeuchi teaches the method according to claim 19, wherein the information of the communication device is obtained in the DPP authentication by a communication between the communication device and the information processing device (Fig. 2, element T25, T30, T35,[0040], “the terminal 10 executes BS according to the DPP with the printer
100 in T25”, [0041], “the terminal 10 executes Auth according to the DPP with the printer 100 by using the information obtained in the BS of T25. The Auth is a process for the terminal 10 and the printer 100 to authenticate each other”).
Claim 29: Takeuchi teaches the method according to claim 19, wherein the information of the communication device is capability information of the communication device ([0033], “the printer 100 is capable of establishing the DPP connection with the AP 6 and capable of establishing the WFD connection with the terminal 10. Further, the printer 100 is also capable of establishing the certain Wi-Fi connection with the AP 6”).
Claim 31: Takeuchi teaches the method according to claim 19, wherein the internal access point of the information processing device is activated in a timing which is after the information processing device accepts a predetermined operation for a network setup by the predetermined setup function (Fig. 7, [0110], “The determination of S12 of FIG. 7 may be executed before the BS with the printer 100 or may be executed after the Auth with the printer 100. In general terms, a timing to “determine whether the terminal device has been established a wireless connection with an access point” is not particularly limited”).
Claim 32: Takeuchi teaches the method according to claim 19, wherein the connection information includes a SSID and a password (Fig. 7, element S28, [0080], “the CPU 32
obtains the SSID “IDap” and the password “PWap” of the wireless network formed by the AP 6 from the memory 34, generates the printer-CO including the obtained SSID
“Map” and password PWap”).
Claim 33: The combination of Takeuchi and Bang teaches the method according to claim 19, Bang additionally teaches wherein the internal access point of the information processing device, which is set to use the encryption method from among a plurality of encryption methods that are supported by the predetermined setup function is activated by the tethering with the encryption method supported by the communication device (Fig. 9, [0144], “the enrollee 900 may identify that a hash function value, H(BR) for BR matches the SHA256 hash in the received DPP authentication request frame. In operation 929, the enrollee 900 may transmit a DPP authentication response frame to the Configurator 910
in response to the DPP authentication request frame. In an embodiment, the DPP authentication response frame may include a DPP status field, SHA256(BR), [SHA256(BI)], PR, and/or {R-nonce, I-nonce, R-capabilities, {R-auth}ke}k2. PR may represent the public protocol key of the enrollee 900 … [SHA256(BI)] may be included in the DPP authentication response frame, when a specific condition is satisfied or selectively” , wherein Hash function and SHA256 is reading as encryption method. [0146], “the configurator 910 which has received the DPP authentication response frame from the enrollee 900 may transmit a DPP authentication confirm frame to the enrollee 900 … and {I-auth}ke. I-auth may represent an authenticating tag of the configurator 910, and ke may represent an encryption key”, [0098], “Both of the configurator and the enrollee may have bootstrapping keys from the same elliptic curve before initiating the DPP authentication protocol … the elliptic curve may be an algorithm used to generate an encryption key, and the method of generating an encryption key may not be limited to an elliptic curve”, wherein elliptic curve is reading as one encryption method).
The motivation for combining Takeuchi and Bang regarding to the claim 19 is also applied to claim 33.
Claim 36: The combination of Takeuchi and Bang teaches the method according to claim 27, wherein the information of the communication device includes information indicating whether it is necessary for a function of the communication device to connect to the Internet (Takeuchi, Fig. 8, [0082], “In S40, the CPU 32 determines whether or not the Wi-Fi I/F 16 is ON. The CPU 32 determines that the Wi-Fi I/F 16 is ON (YES in S40) in a case where a Wi-Fi state flag (not shown) in the memory 34 indicates ON and proceeds to S50.” ).
Claim 38: The combination of Takeuchi and Bang teaches the method according to claim 19, wherein the method is performed by setting application for performing a network setup of the communication device, and the communication device is a printer (Takeuchi, Fig. 6, Fig. 5, Fig. 4, [0013], “FIG. 6 shows a sequence diagram of a Network Access process”, [0033], “The Wi-Fi I/F 116 supports both the DPP and the WFD. Due to this, the printer 100 is capable of establishing the DPP connection with the AP 6 and capable of establishing the WFD connection with the terminal 10.”).
Claim 39: The combination of Takeuchi and Bang teaches the method according to claim 38, wherein the setting application has a function of causing the printer to perform printing ([0031], “The printer 100 is a peripheral device (e.g., a peripheral device working with the terminal 10) that is capable of executing a print function”).
Claims 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeuchi et al. (US 20210037382 A1, hereinafter Takeuchi) in view of Bang et al. (US 20230362711 A1, hereinafter Bang), and further in view of Ario et al. (US 20180359369 A1, hereinafter Ario).
Claim 21: The combination of Takeuchi and Bang teaches the method according to claim 20, further comprising displaying, based on the information processing device not being connected with the external access point (Bang, Fig. 12, [0161], “the processor 120 may scan a signal from the AP 415, and when the received signal strength of the signal is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (for a specified time) as a result of the scan”, Takeuchi, Fig. 7, element S12, ),the internal access point of the information processing device is activated by the tethering with the encryption method supported by the communication device (Bang, [0175], “When determining that the QoS information is not suitable, the processor 120 may activate the mobile hotspot mode of the electronic device 405 in operation 1330 … the hotspot request may be transmitted from the external electronic device 410 to the electronic device 405 by the DPP. When the hotspot request has been received from the external electronic device 410, the mobile hotspot mode of the electronic device 405 may be activated”, [0138], “The group attribute information may be used to determine whether the enrollee is capable of establishing a network connection … the connector information includes a public key rather than a passphrase”, [0154], “Each of the enrollee AP and the client enrollees may derive a pairwise master key (PMK) based on a public connector key”, [0171], “when a special authentication procedure (e.g., defined by a communication service provider) is required for connection to the AP 415, and the external electronic device 410 does not support the special authentication procedure, the processor 120 120 may determine that the external electronic device 410 is not connectable to the AP 415. When the external electronic device 410 is connectable to the AP 415, the processor 120 may determine that the AP 410 is capable of replacing the tethering service of the electronic device 405 in operation 1235”).
However, Takeuchi does not explicitly teach displaying a screen for activating the internal access point of the information processing device by the tethering, wherein in a case where a first operation is performed on the screen, the internal access point of the information processing device is activated by the tethering with the encryption method supported by the communication device, and in a case where a second operation is performed on the screen the internal access point is not activated by the tethering.
Ario, from the same or similar field of endeavor, teaches displaying a screen for activating the internal access point of the information processing device by the tethering, wherein in a case where a first operation is performed on the screen, the internal access point of the information processing device is activated by the tethering with the encryption method supported by the communication device, and in a case where a second operation is performed on the screen the internal access point is not activated by the tethering (Fig. 11A,11B, 11C, [0096], “a new tethered connection when a current tethered connection is lost. A refresh button 53 is provided to allow the user to manually command the system to search for providers and display a resulting list of proximal providers”, [0097], “a connection screen that is displayed while the system attempts to establish the tethered connection via the selected provider”, [0098], “a connected screen that is displayed when the tethered connection has been established by the selected provider. The email address of the selected provider is displayed in panel 57, and the connected screen further includes panels 58 that present the duration of the current transaction session, the amount of data that has been transferred via the tethered connection”).
Takeuchi and Ario are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of wireless communication. Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Takeuchi and the features of performing operations on the screen as taught by Ario, for the benefit for generating a graphical user interface (GUI) that presents information to the user and accepts input from the user (paragraph [0060]).
Claim 22: The combination of Takeuchi and Bang and Ario teaches the method according to claim 21, comprising: displaying, based on the second operation being performed on the screen (Ario, Fig. 4, element 48A), the list ( Ario, Fig. 11A,11B, 11C, [0096], “A refresh button 53 is provided to allow the user to manually command the system to search for providers and display a resulting list of proximal providers”); accepting an input of a password for connecting with the external access point selected in the list (Ario, Fig.4, Fig. 5, element 504, [0060], “At least part of the I/O subsystem 48 may be operated to generate a graphical user interface (GUI) that presents information to the user and accepts input from the user”,[0068], “step 504 may cause the provider 20 to set up a secure WAP, and the authentication data may include credentials of the secure WAP, such as a password to the secure WAP and an identifier (e.g. SSID) of the secure WAP”); and performing control in the DPP configuration such that the connection information (Takeuchi, [0021], “The operation unit 12 includes plurality of keys. The operation unit 12 enables the user to input various instructions to the terminal 10. The display unit 14 is a display configured to display various types of information. The display unit 14 may also include a touchscreen function (i.e. operation unit) which receives instructions from the user”, [0033], “The Wi-Fi I/F 116 supports both the DPP and the WFD. Due to this, the printer 100 is capable of establishing the DPP connection with the AP 6 and capable of establishing the WFD connection with the terminal 10. Further, the printer 100 is also capable of establishing the certain Wi-Fi connection with the AP 6”, [0025], “ the terminal 10 can establish the Wi-Fi connection with the AP 6 in accordance with a certain Wi-Fi protocol which is different from both the DPP and the WFD”), including the password, for connecting with the access point selected in the list is transmitted to the communication device by the predetermined function (Ario, [0084], “ for enabling the acquirer 10 to connect to the proximal provider 20 that is selected in step 503. All of the example embodiments involve distribution of authentication data in the form of credentials (<CRED>) that allows only the specific acquirer 10 to connect and tether to the WWAN 40A via the selected provider 20. The credentials may be predefined or generated on-demand in the system. The credentials may include a password or the like”).
The motivation for further combining Takeuchi and Ario is the same as claims 21.
Claim 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeuchi et al. (US 20210037382 A1, hereinafter Takeuchi) in view of Bang et al. (US 20230362711 A1, hereinafter Bang), and further in view of Shibata et al. (US 20210378034 A1, hereinafter Shibata).
Claim 24: Takeuchi does not explicitly teach the method according to claim 23, wherein another protocol is Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).
However, Shibata, from the same or similar field of endeavor, teaches wherein the another protocol is Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) ([0063], “The search signal is a signal according to Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and requests sending of information indicating whether the DPP scheme is supported, information indicating whether a Wi-Fi connection with the AP 80 has already been established, and a node name of the recipient printer”).
Takeuchi and Shibata are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of wireless communication. Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Takeuchi and the features of another protocol is Simple Network Management Protocol as taught by Shibata, for the benefit for using simple frame structure via sending a broadcast signal when a specific IP address of recipient address is not required (paragraph [0063]).
Claim 37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeuchi et al. (US 20210037382 A1, hereinafter Takeuchi) in view of Bang et al. (US 20230362711 A1, hereinafter Bang), and further in view of Nix et al. (US 20190356482 A1, hereinafter Nix).
Claim 37: The combination of Takeuchi and Bang does not explicitly teach the method according to claim 33, wherein in a case where the plurality of encryption methods supported by the predetermined setup function are WPA2 and WPA3, and the encryption method supported by the communication device is WPA2, WPA2 is selected to activate the internal access point of the information processing device by the tethering.
However, Nix, from the same or similar field of endeavor, teaches wherein in a case where the plurality of encryption methods supported by the predetermined setup function are WPA2 and WPA3, and the encryption method supported by the communication device is WPA2, WPA2 is selected to activate the internal access point of the information processing device by the tethering (Fig. 1A, Fig. 3B, 3D, [0240-0243], disclose DPP bootstrap/authentication, and encrypted WiFi connection using network credentials and standards such as WPA2, WPA3, [0225], “for legacy WiFi connections that utilize
WPA2 and similar or earlier standards”, [0235], “The configuration values of config.network-AP 109c in a configuration object could also include a passphrase or pre-shared key values of PSK for legacy WPA2 networks”, [0399], “The WiFi connection setup step 803 could use the series of steps and messages as specified by standards such as WPA2 and WPA3 with credentials 109”) .
Takeuchi and Nix are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of wireless communication. Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to understand WIFI protected access support WPA2, WPA3, and selected WPA2 based on capability of the equipment, as taught by Nix.
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.
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/Y.Z./Examiner, Art Unit 2472
/NICHOLAS A JENSEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2472
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