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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the application 18/142,246 in response to the Remarks filed on 01/06/2026.
Claims 1-15 have been examined and are pending in this application.
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ arguments in the instant Amendment, filed on 01/06/2026, have been fully considered and are persuasive with respect to the arguments on page 8 of the remarks. In light applicants’ remarks, a new rejection under 35 USC § 103 is present below.
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 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.
Claim 1, 5-7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Lu (US20150337587A1), in view of Krishnan (US20180065598A1), in view of Van Wiemeersch (US20110215899A1), and in further view of Kim (US20160241698A1).
Regarding Claim 1
Lu discloses a vehicle (Lu: [0030]: vehicle 100), comprising: one or more wireless transceivers (Lu: [0036]: wireless network connections 154 including Bluetooth LE and WiFi on computing device 110);
one or more controllers (Lu: [0030]-[0034]: computing device 110 with one or more processors 120 and memory 130), programmed to
responsive to receiving, via the one or more wireless transceivers, from a server, a mission payload message that identifies a user to schedule a ride (Lu: [0066]: server computing devices dispatch a vehicle by sending information to the vehicle identifying the user and/or the user's client device, the pickup location, and the destination location; [0069]: the server computing devices provide the vehicle's computing device with authentication information as part of the dispatch), the mission payload message including Lu: [0070]: the one or more server computing devices send the encryption key to the assigned vehicle as part of the dispatch information for authenticating the client computing device to the vehicle); store the Lu: [0031]-[0033]: memory 130 stores data 134 retrieved, stored, or modified by processor 120; Lu: [70]: server also send the encryption key to the assigned vehicle.);
authenticate the mobile device over the wireless connection using the encryption key (Lu: [0070]-[0071]: the vehicle's computing device actively listens for and detects the client computing device via the encryption key, the keys are matched and the assigned vehicle pairs with the client computing device to authenticate it; [0085]/FIG. 10 block 1020: the encryption key is used to authenticate the client computing device to the vehicle); and
responsive to successfully authenticating with the mobile device, start driving the vehicle to perform the ride (Lu: [0006]: after unlocking the vehicle, the vehicle autonomously maneuvers to the destination location; [0078]: once the user is authenticated and enters the vehicle, the computing device initiates the necessary systems to control the vehicle autonomously to the destination location).
Lu does not explicitly disclose a keypad external to the vehicle, the mission payload message including a passcode, storing the passcode and encryption key as an associated pair in a storage of the vehicle, or responsive to receiving an input entered via the keypad matching the passcode, forming a wireless connection between a mobile device and the one or more wireless transceivers and unlocking a vehicle door to allow the user to enter the vehicle. Krishnan discloses a keypad external to the vehicle and a passcode triggered door unlock sequence. Specifically, Krishnan discloses a keyless vehicle having a security system including a user input device such as a touch pad on an exterior of the vehicle (Krishnan: [0016]: touch pad 54 having a plurality of discrete inputs positioned on an exterior of keyless vehicle 2). Krishnan further discloses that responsive to a user entering an authorization code via the exterior touch pad, the powered latch system unlocks and/or unlatches the vehicle doors to permit the user to enter the vehicle (Krishnan: [0017]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the claimed invention to incorporate the external keypad and authorization code entry sequence of Krishnan into the autonomous ride dispatch system of Lu. Both references operate in the vehicle access and authentication context, and Lu itself acknowledges at [0028] that wireless authentication can fail, noting that if authentication fails the ride may be automatically cancelled. Krishnan's external keypad and server provided authorization code mechanism provides a reliable entry method that directly addresses this acknowledged failure mode. It would have been obvious to incorporate Krishnan's keypad entry system into Lu's autonomous vehicle dispatch system to provide a reliable alternative entry mechanism, as both systems involve wireless device authentication for vehicle access and the combination involves nothing more than the use of a known technique to improve a similar device in the same way.
Lu and Krishnan combined do not explicitly disclose the server transmitting the passcode directly to the vehicle as part of the dispatch message, storing the passcode and encryption key as an associated pair, or the keypad match triggering formation of a wireless connection with the mobile device. Van Wiemeersch discloses that a server transmits an authorization code directly to both the user's nomadic device and to the vehicle as part of a dispatch message (Van Wiemeersch: [0045]: the server(s) 101 transmits an authorization code to both the nomadic device 103 and to the vehicle 121; [0070]: one or more codes are transmitted to the nomadic device and one or more second codes are transmitted to the vehicle, and the codes may be encrypted using a public/private key encryption system; [0078]: the server transmits the initialization command and the randomly generated codes together to the vehicle as a unit). Van Wiemeersch further discloses that the codes are received and stored in memory at the vehicle (Van Wiemeersch: [0080]: the random code(s) and the initialization command signal are received and stored in memory at the vehicle). Van Wiemeersch further discloses that the two codes function as an associated pair, wherein authorization requires both the user-input code to match the vehicle-stored code and the encrypted code to be received and recognized by the vehicle authorization system (Van Wiemeersch: [0070]: codes are paired to form the authorization code; [0073]-[0075]: authorization is given only if the user authorization code input by the user corresponds to the vehicle driveaway authorization code and the 12-digit encrypted code is received and recognized by the vehicle authorization system). It would further have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the combined Lu-Krishnan system in view of Van Wiemeersch to have the server transmit the authorization code directly to the vehicle as part of the dispatch message and store the passcode and encryption key as an associated pair in the vehicle's memory. Van Wiemeersch expressly teaches that transmitting the authorization code to both the user's device and directly to the vehicle allows the vehicle to independently verify the user-input code without relying solely on the user's device as an intermediary (Van Wiemeersch: [0045], [0080], [0085]). It would have been obvious to apply this same server to vehicle code delivery approach to the Lu-Krishnan system to enable the vehicle to independently verify keypad input against a server provided passcode, with a reasonable expectation of success given that Lu already establishes a server to vehicle communication channel for delivering the encryption key (Lu: [0070]), making the addition of a passcode to that same dispatch message a straightforward and predictable modification. Furthermore, Lu discloses that the server's storage system maintains user account credentials including passwords and random identifiers associated with users (Lu: [0053]), confirming that the server in Lu's system already possesses user credential information that a POSITA would have been motivated to include in the dispatch message sent to the vehicle in view of Van Wiemeersch's teaching of transmitting such codes directly to the vehicle.
Lu, Krishnan and Van Wiemeersch does not explicitly disclose the keypad match triggering formation of a wireless connection between the mobile device and the vehicle's wireless transceivers. Kim discloses that a vehicle head unit automatically initiates a Bluetooth wireless connection with a mobile device responsive to a door unlock event. Specifically, Kim discloses that when the doors of the vehicle are opened or closed, the door open or closed signal triggers the head unit to scan for and establish Bluetooth connection with the mobile device (Kim: [0021]: a door unlock step for transmitting a door open or closed signal to the head unit when doors of a vehicle are opened or closed, followed by a mobile device detection step for transmitting a preset pin number to the mobile device, and a detection result checking step for inputting the pin number to the mobile device to establish Bluetooth connection with the head unit; [0052]: Bluetooth connection is established between the head unit and the mobile device by transmitting a preset pin number from the head unit to the mobile device to authenticate the mobile device; [0058]-[0062]: the door unlock step triggers the head unit to execute the Bluetooth on request step, whereby the head unit scans for and establishes Bluetooth connection with the mobile device). It would further have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the combined Lu-Krishnan-Van Wiemeersch system in view of Kim to have the vehicle automatically initiate a wireless Bluetooth connection with the mobile device responsive to the door unlock event triggered by the keypad passcode match. Kim expressly teaches that a vehicle head unit automatically scans for and establishes Bluetooth connection with a mobile device upon a door unlock event, using a preset pin number to authenticate the mobile device and establish the connection (Kim: [0021], [0052], [0058]-[0062]). It would have been obvious to apply Kim's automatic Bluetooth connection initiation upon door unlock to the combined system, as Kim operates in the same vehicle-mobile device wireless communication context and teaches that automatically triggering the wireless connection upon door unlock improves user experience by eliminating the need for manual pairing steps. The combination involves nothing more than applying a known technique to a similar vehicle access and authentication system, yielding the predictable result of a seamless wireless connection between the vehicle and the user's mobile device immediately upon door unlock.
Regarding Claim 5
Van Wiemeersch further discloses that the mission payload message further includes additional authentication information of the user, and the additional authentication information includes a security question associated with the user, and the one or more controllers are further programmed to responsive to detecting the matching passcode, prompt a message inviting the user to enter an answer to the additional authentication information to verify an identity of the user (Van Wiemeersch: [0070]: non-limiting examples of codes transmitted from the server to both the nomadic device and the vehicle include numbers, colors, icons, pictures, a question and answer combination, or a series of user maneuvers, wherein the codes are transmitted as part of the server's authorization dispatch; [0045]: the server transmits the authorization code to both the nomadic device and to the vehicle for input by the authorized user at the vehicle; [0073]: if the security level is set to HIGH, two codes may be required to be input, wherein the user code entry triggers the requirement for the additional authentication input, thereby prompting the user to provide the additional authentication information to verify identity).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the claimed invention to incorporate Van Wiemeersch's question and answer combination as the additional authentication information into the combined Lu-Krishnan-Kim system. Van Wiemeersch expressly teaches that a question and answer combination is a non-limiting example of an authorization code that may be transmitted from the server to the vehicle as part of the dispatch message and used to verify the identity of the user at the vehicle (Van Wiemeersch: [0070]). A person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized the desirability of using a security question and answer combination as the additional authentication information in the combined system, as Van Wiemeersch teaches that such question and answer combinations serve the same identity verification purpose as other authorization codes and are explicitly listed as an equivalent alternative to numerical codes for vehicle access authorization.
Regarding Claim 6
Krishnan further discloses that responsive to a completion of the ride as scheduled, the passcode and encryption key are deleted from the storage of the vehicle (Krishnan: [0028]: upon completion of the rental, the rental company sends a wireless signal to the keyless vehicle to deactivate the security system such that the digital key provided to the customer's smartphone is no longer authorized to permit operation of the vehicle, and the security system is reset to require a different access code, thereby rendering the prior passcode and encryption key invalid and effectively removing them from authorized use in the vehicle's storage).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Krishnan's credential deactivation and reset mechanism into the combined Lu-Van Wiemeersch-Kim system upon ride completion, as deleting or deactivating per-ride credentials after use is a well-known security practice that prevents unauthorized re-entry by a prior user, and Krishnan itself teaches this exact rationale at [0028].
Regarding Claim 7
Kim further discloses that the one or more wireless transceivers include a telematics control unit (Kim: [0014], [0021], [0049]: the head unit of the vehicle is connected to a remote control center via vehicle telematics means including at least one of LTE communication, 3G communication, and CDMA communication, wherein the head unit transmits vehicle signals to the remote control center using said vehicle telematics means).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the vehicle telematics means disclosed to incorporate Kim’s telematics control unit, into the combined Lu-Krishnan-Van Wiemeersch system as a telematics control unit is the conventional vehicle module for enabling cellular network communication between a vehicle and a remote server, and Kim expressly teaches LTE/3G/CDMA cellular connectivity in the vehicle's head unit for this exact purpose.
Claims 2 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu (US20150337587A1), in view of Krishnan (US20180065598A1), in view of Van Wiemeersch (US20110215899A1), in view of Kim (US20160241698A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and in further view of Kyungyang (WO 2015/199501 A1).
Regarding Claim 2
Lu-Krishnan-Van Wiemeersch-Kim do not disclose the following limitation "further comprising a biometric information sensor, wherein the mission payload message further includes biometric information of the user, and the one or more controllers are further programmed to: responsive to the input entered via the keypad matching the passcode, activate the biometric information sensor to collect user biometric data, and verify the user biometric data collected by the biometric information sensor matches the biometric information received in the mission payload message". However, in an analogous art, Kyungyang discloses a biometric system/method that includes: a biometric information sensor, wherein the mission payload message further includes biometric information of the user, and the one or more controllers are further programmed to: responsive to the input entered via the keypad matching the passcode, activate the biometric information sensor to collect user biometric data, and verify the user biometric data collected by the biometric information sensor matches the biometric information received in the mission payload message (Kyungyang Page 4: describes a system where a user enters a passcode via a variable keypad, and upon successful entry, a biometric sensor is activated to collect biometric data such as a fingerprint or iris scan. The collected biometric information is then compared with stored authentication data (pre-registered biometric information of the user) to verify the user's identity before granting access.).
Given the teachings of Kyungyang, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the desirability of modifying the teachings of Lu-Krishnan-Van Wiemeersch-Kim by authentication a process to include biometric verification triggered by keypad input. Kyungyang discloses a system where an authentication performing unit stores location information, input order, and biometric information associated with a variable keypad and performs authentication by comparing received biometric data with stored biometric data. Since Kyungyang's system ensures that biometric verification is linked to the authentication process, it states activating a biometric sensor after receiving input via a keypad and verifying the collected biometric data against pre-stored biometric information. Thus, it would have been obvious to use Kyungyang's method to implement biometric authentication triggered by keypad input, ensuring secure identity verification based on stored biometric information in the mission payload message (Kyungyang Page 4).
Regarding Claim 4
Kyungyang further discloses a biometric system/method that includes: wherein the biometric information sensor includes at least one of: a fingerprint reader, or a camera (Kyungyang Page 4 and 5: discloses that biometric information includes fingerprints and facial images. Specifically, it states that the authentication performing unit compares fingerprint images received from a terminal device with stored fingerprint data for authentication. Additionally, it mentions that biometric information can be used to identify a face, confirming the inclusion of facial images as a form of biometric data.).
Given the teachings of Kyungyang, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the desirability of modifying the teachings of Lu-Krishnan-Van Wiemeersch-Kim by utilizing biometric information that includes at least one of a fingerprint or a facial image for authentication. Kyungyang discloses that the authentication performing unit compares the position of feature points of a fingerprint image received from a terminal device with stored fingerprint data for verification. Additionally, Kyungyang teaches that biometric information can be used to identify a face, along with other biometric characteristics, to authenticate a user. Thus, it would have been obvious to include at least one of a fingerprint or a facial image as biometric information for authentication, leveraging Kyungyang's teaching of using fingerprints and facial images as valid biometric identifiers (Kyungyang Page 4 and 5).
Claims 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu (US20150337587A1), in view of Krishnan (US20180065598A1), in view of Van Wiemeersch (US20110215899A1), in view of Kim (US20160241698A1), in view of Kyungyang (WO 2015/199501 A1) as applied to claim 2 above, and in further view of Larson (US 10,693,872 B2).
Regarding Claim 3
Lu-Krishnan-Van Wiemeersch-Kim-Kyungyang do not disclose the following limitation "upload the user biometric data collected by the biometric information sensor to the server to update the biometric information of the user" However, in an analogous art, Larson discloses a biometric system/method that includes: wherein the one or more controllers are further programmed to: upload the user biometric data collected by the biometric information sensor to the server to update the biometric information of the user (Larson Column 2, Line 54- Column 3, Line 10: Describes a system where users can upload updated biometric data (e.g., facial data, hand/palm data, voice data) to a secure enrollment portal, allowing the system to update their biometric profile over time. The system enables users to modify their biometric records as their appearance changes (e.g., aging, new tattoos, scars) and integrates new biometric capture technologies for continuous identity verification and authentication. Additionally, biometric data collected during live video interviews is uploaded to the server and cross-checked with previously stored biometric records for validation.).
Given the teachings of Larson, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the desirability of modifying the teachings of Lu-Krishnan-Van Wiemeersch-Kim-Kyungyang by uploading user biometric data to a server to update the stored biometric information of the user. Larson discloses that users may provide updated biometric data as their appearance changes (e.g., aging, new tattoos, scars, piercings) and that the system allows users to submit new biometric data as biometric capture technologies evolve. Additionally, Larson teaches that biometric data collected during a live interview, including facial, hand/palm, and voice data, may be compared with previously collected biometric data for identity validation and authentication. Thus, it would have been obvious to upload user biometric data collected by a biometric information sensor to a server for updating the stored biometric information of the user, leveraging Larson's teaching of dynamically updating biometric records to maintain accurate and complete identity profiles for seamless verification (Larson, Column 2, Line 54 - Column 3, Line 10).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Lu (US20150337587A1), in view of Krishnan (US20180065598A1), in view of Van Wiemeersch (US20110215899A1), in view of Kim (US20160241698A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and in further view of Peirce (US20140270172A1).
Regarding Claim 8
Lu-Krishnan-Van Wiemeersch-Kim-Kyungyang do not disclose the following limitation wherein the encryption key includes an identification of a mobile device associated with the user, and the one or more controllers are further programmed to form a wireless connection between the mobile device and the one or more wireless transceivers using the identification. However, Peirce discloses a vehicle system wherein the encryption key includes an identification of a mobile device associated with the user, and a wireless connection is formed between the mobile device and the vehicle's wireless transceivers using the identification. Specifically, Peirce discloses a vehicle having a telematics unit 30 and a mobile device 96, wherein the mobile device includes a subscriber identity module (SIM) having one or more unique identifiers unique to the device including an IMSI and/or ICCID (Peirce: [0033]: "the mobile device 96 may also include a subscriber identity module (SIM) having one or more unique identifiers unique to the device 96 (e.g., such as its IMSI, ICCID, etc.)"). Peirce further discloses that the mobile device's unique identifier (IMSI-1/MIN) is used as the basis for generating a private encryption key, wherein the call center may combine the mobile device unique identifier with other data to generate the private key, thereby embedding the mobile device identification within the encryption key (Peirce: [0038]: "the secret key data may be the telematics unit identifier(s) together with one or more unique identifier(s) associated with the mobile device... they may include a mobile identity number (MIN) or the IMSI-1"; [0039]: "the WSP may create the first key pair associated with the IMSI-1 (and/or any other unique mobile device identifier that was provided)"; [0041]: "the call center may combine the two identifiers from the telematics unit and the mobile device and generate the private key 1′"). Peirce further discloses that the vehicle's telematics unit forms a wireless connection with the mobile device using the identification-based private key, wherein the telematics unit receives the second private key associated with the mobile device identifier and uses it to establish secure wireless communication with the mobile device and perform vehicle functions including unlocking the vehicle door (Peirce: [0040]: a second private key associated with the mobile device identifier is transmitted to the telematics unit; [0045]-[0048]: the telematics unit uses the identification-based key to establish a secure wireless connection with the mobile device and upon validating the response initiates the vehicle function including unlocking the vehicle door).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the claimed invention to modify the combined Lu-Krishnan-Van Wiemeersch-Kim system in view of Peirce to have the encryption key include an identification of the mobile device associated with the user and to form the wireless connection using that identification. Peirce operates in the same vehicle-mobile device wireless authentication context and teaches that incorporating the mobile device's unique identifier into the encryption key provides enhanced security by binding the key to a specific device, thereby preventing unauthorized devices from establishing a connection with the vehicle (Peirce: [0037]-[0041]). A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to apply Peirce's teaching of embedding the mobile device identifier within the encryption key into the Lu-Krishnan-Van Wiemeersch-Kim system to enable the vehicle to identify and connect specifically to the authorized user's mobile device using the identification embedded in the encryption key, with a reasonable expectation of success given that Lu already teaches the vehicle using an encryption key to detect and pair with the correct client computing device.
Claim 9-10 and 14-156 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Lu (US20150337587A1), in view of Krishnan (US20180065598A1), in view of Van Wiemeersch (US20110215899A1), in view of Kim (US20160241698A1), and Peirce (US20140270172A1).
Regarding Claim 9
Lu discloses a method for a vehicle, comprising:
responsive to receiving, via one or more wireless transceivers, from a server, a mission payload message that identifies a user to schedule a ride, the mission payload message including (Lu: [0066]: server computing devices dispatch a vehicle by sending information to the vehicle identifying the user and/or the user's client device, the pickup location, and the destination location; [0069]: the server computing devices provide the vehicle's computing device with authentication information as part of the dispatch; [0070]: the one or more server computing devices send the encryption key to the assigned vehicle as part of the dispatch information; [0031]-[0033]: memory 130 stores data 134 retrieved, stored, or modified by processor 120); and authenticating the mobile device over the wireless connection using the encryption key (Lu: [0070]-[0071]: the vehicle's computing device actively listens for and detects the client computing device via the encryption key, the keys are matched and the assigned vehicle pairs with the client computing device to authenticate it; [0085]/FIG. 10 block 1020: the encryption key is used to authenticate the client computing device to the vehicle).
Lu does not explicitly disclose the mission payload message including a passcode, storing the passcode and encryption key as an associated pair, a keypad external to the vehicle, responsive to receiving an input entered via the keypad matching the passcode forming a wireless connection between a mobile device and the one or more wireless transceivers, or wherein the encryption key includes an identification of a mobile device. Krishnan discloses a keypad external to the vehicle and a passcode-triggered entry sequence. Specifically, Krishnan discloses a keyless vehicle having a security system including a user input device such as a touch pad on an exterior of the vehicle (Krishnan: [0016]: touch pad 54 having a plurality of discrete inputs positioned on an exterior of keyless vehicle 2). Krishnan further discloses that responsive to a user entering an authorization code via the exterior touch pad, the powered latch system unlocks and/or unlatches the vehicle doors to permit the user to enter the vehicle (Krishnan: [0017]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the claimed invention to incorporate the external keypad and authorization code entry sequence of Krishnan into the autonomous ride dispatch system of Lu. Both references operate in the vehicle access and authentication context, and Lu itself acknowledges at [0028] that wireless authentication can fail, noting that if authentication fails the ride may be automatically cancelled. Krishnan's external keypad and server-provided authorization code mechanism provides a reliable entry method that directly addresses this acknowledged failure mode. It would have been obvious to incorporate Krishnan's keypad entry system into Lu's autonomous vehicle dispatch system to provide a reliable alternative entry mechanism, as both systems involve wireless device authentication for vehicle access and the combination involves nothing more than the use of a known technique to improve a similar device in the same way.
Lu and Krishnan combined do not explicitly disclose the server transmitting the passcode directly to the vehicle as part of the dispatch message, storing the passcode and encryption key as an associated pair, or the keypad match triggering formation of a wireless connection with the mobile device. Van Wiemeersch discloses that a server transmits an authorization code directly to both the user's nomadic device and to the vehicle as part of a dispatch message (Van Wiemeersch: [0045]: the server(s) 101 transmits an authorization code to both the nomadic device 103 and to the vehicle 121; [0070]: one or more codes are transmitted to the nomadic device and one or more second codes are transmitted to the vehicle, and the codes may be encrypted using a public/private key encryption system; [0078]: the server transmits the initialization command and the randomly generated codes together to the vehicle as a unit). Van Wiemeersch further discloses that the codes are received and stored in memory at the vehicle (Van Wiemeersch: [0080]: the random code(s) and the initialization command signal are received and stored in memory at the vehicle). Van Wiemeersch further discloses that the two codes function as an associated pair, wherein authorization requires both the user-input code to match the vehicle-stored code and the encrypted code to be received and recognized by the vehicle authorization system (Van Wiemeersch: [0070]: codes are paired to form the authorization code; [0073]-[0075]: authorization is given only if the user authorization code input by the user corresponds to the vehicle driveaway authorization code and the 12-digit encrypted code is received and recognized by the vehicle authorization system). It would further have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the combined Lu-Krishnan system in view of Van Wiemeersch to have the server transmit the authorization code directly to the vehicle as part of the dispatch message and store the passcode and encryption key as an associated pair in the vehicle's memory. Van Wiemeersch expressly teaches that transmitting the authorization code to both the user's device and directly to the vehicle allows the vehicle to independently verify the user-input code without relying solely on the user's device as an intermediary (Van Wiemeersch: [0045], [0080], [0085]). It would have been obvious to apply this same server-to-vehicle code delivery approach to the Lu-Krishnan system to enable the vehicle to independently verify keypad input against a server-provided passcode, with a reasonable expectation of success given that Lu already establishes a server-to-vehicle communication channel for delivering the encryption key (Lu: [0070]), making the addition of a passcode to that same dispatch message a straightforward and predictable modification. Furthermore, Lu discloses that the server's storage system maintains user account credentials including passwords and random identifiers associated with users (Lu: [0053]), confirming that the server in Lu's system already possesses user credential information that a POSITA would have been motivated to include in the dispatch message sent to the vehicle in view of Van Wiemeersch's teaching of transmitting such codes directly to the vehicle.
Lu, Krishnan, and Van Wiemeersch combined do not explicitly disclose the keypad match triggering formation of a wireless connection between the mobile device and the vehicle's wireless transceivers. Kim discloses that a vehicle head unit automatically initiates a Bluetooth wireless connection with a mobile device responsive to a door unlock event (Kim: [0021]: a door unlock step for transmitting a door open or closed signal to the head unit when doors of a vehicle are opened or closed, followed by a mobile device detection step for transmitting a preset pin number to the mobile device, and a detection result checking step for inputting the pin number to the mobile device to establish Bluetooth connection with the head unit; [0052]: Bluetooth connection is established between the head unit and the mobile device by transmitting a preset pin number from the head unit to the mobile device to authenticate the mobile device; [0058]-[0062]: the door unlock step triggers the head unit to execute the Bluetooth on request step, whereby the head unit scans for and establishes Bluetooth connection with the mobile device).
It would further have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the combined Lu-Krishnan-Van Wiemeersch system in view of Kim to have the vehicle automatically initiate a wireless Bluetooth connection with the mobile device responsive to the door unlock event triggered by the keypad passcode match. Kim expressly teaches that a vehicle head unit automatically scans for and establishes Bluetooth connection with a mobile device upon a door unlock event, using a preset pin number to authenticate the mobile device and establish the connection (Kim: [0021], [0052], [0058]-[0062]). It would have been obvious to apply Kim's automatic Bluetooth connection initiation upon door unlock to the combined system, as Kim operates in the same vehicle-mobile device wireless communication context and teaches that automatically triggering the wireless connection upon door unlock improves user experience by eliminating the need for manual pairing steps. The combination involves nothing more than applying a known technique to a similar vehicle access and authentication system, yielding the predictable result of a seamless wireless connection between the vehicle and the user's mobile device immediately upon door unlock.
Lu, Krishnan, Van Wiemeersch, and Kim combined do not explicitly disclose wherein the encryption key includes an identification of a mobile device associated with the user and forming a wireless connection between the mobile device and the one or more wireless transceivers using the identification. However, in an analogous art, Peirce discloses a vehicle system/method that includes: wherein the encryption key includes an identification of a mobile device associated with the user, and a wireless connection is formed between the mobile device and the vehicle's wireless transceivers using the identification (Peirce: [0033]: the mobile device includes a subscriber identity module having one or more unique identifiers unique to the device including an IMSI and/or ICCID; [0038]: the secret key data includes one or more unique identifier(s) associated with the mobile device including a mobile identity number (MIN) or IMSI-1; [0039]: the WSP creates the first key pair associated with the IMSI-1 and/or any other unique mobile device identifier that was provided; [0041]: the call center combines the mobile device identifier with other data to generate the private key 1′, thereby embedding the mobile device identification within the encryption key; [0040], [0045]-[0048]: the telematics unit receives the identification-based private key and uses it to establish a secure wireless connection with the mobile device and perform vehicle functions including unlocking the vehicle door).
Given the teachings of Peirce, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the desirability of modifying the combined Lu-Krishnan-Van Wiemeersch-Kim system to incorporate a mobile device identification within the encryption key and to form the wireless connection using that identification. Peirce teaches that incorporating the mobile device's unique identifier into the encryption key provides enhanced security by binding the key to a specific device, thereby preventing unauthorized devices from establishing a connection with the vehicle. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to apply Peirce's teaching of embedding the mobile device identifier within the encryption key into the combined system to enable the vehicle to identify and connect specifically to the authorized user's mobile device using the identification embedded in the encryption key, with a reasonable expectation of success given that Lu already teaches the vehicle using an encryption key to detect and pair with the correct client computing device (Lu: [0071]-[0073]), leveraging Peirce's teaching of using a mobile device identifier as the basis for generating an encryption key for vehicle-mobile device wireless connection formation (Peirce: [0038]-[0041]).
Regarding Claim 10
Krishnan discloses a vehicle system/method that includes:
The method of claim 9, further comprising responsive to receiving the input entered via the keypad, unlocking a vehicle door to allow the user to enter the vehicle (Krishnan: [0017]: after the user enters the security code using the touch pad, the powered latch system unlocks and/or unlatches the vehicle doors to permit the user to enter the vehicle. The powered latch system may include electrically powered latches that both unlock and unlatch the vehicle doors to permit user entry).
Lu further discloses a vehicle system/method that includes:
responsive to successfully authenticating with the mobile device, performing the ride by starting to drive (Lu: [0006]: after unlocking the vehicle, the vehicle autonomously maneuvers to the destination location; [0078]: once the user is authenticated and enters the vehicle, the computing device initiates the necessary systems to control the vehicle autonomously to the destination location).
Given the teachings of Krishnan and Lu, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the desirability of modifying the teachings of Van Wiemeersch, Kim, and Peirce by unlocking the vehicle door upon keypad entry of the correct passcode and initiating autonomous driving after successful mobile device authentication. Krishnan discloses that a touchpad is located on a vehicle door or other exterior surfaces accessible to a user (Krishnan: [0016]). Further, Krishnan teaches that upon entering the correct keypad input, the system unlocks the vehicle door to allow user entry (Krishnan: [0017]). Thus, it would have been obvious to implement a method that, upon receiving a keypad input matching a passcode, unlocks the vehicle door to allow the user to enter, leveraging Krishnan's teaching of keypad-triggered door unlock for vehicle access control. Lu teaches that after successful authentication of the mobile device, the vehicle autonomously maneuvers to the destination location (Lu: [0006], [0078]). Thus, it would have been obvious to initiate autonomous driving to perform the ride after successfully authenticating the mobile device, leveraging Lu's teaching of authentication triggered autonomous vehicle operation to the destination location.
Regarding Claim 14
Van Wiemeersch further discloses that the mission payload message further includes additional authentication information of the user, and the additional authentication information includes a security question associated with the user, the one or more controllers are further programmed to: responsive detecting the matching passcode, prompt a message inviting the user to enter an answer to the additional authentication information to verify an identity of the user (Van Wiemeersch: [0070]: non-limiting examples of codes transmitted from the server to both the nomadic device and the vehicle include numbers, colors, icons, pictures, a question and answer combination, or a series of user maneuvers, wherein the codes are transmitted as part of the server's authorization dispatch; [0045]: the server transmits the authorization code to both the nomadic device and to the vehicle for input by the authorized user at the vehicle; [0073]: if the security level is set to HIGH, two codes may be required to be input, wherein the user code entry triggers the requirement for the additional authentication input, thereby prompting the user to provide the additional authentication information to verify identity).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the claimed invention to incorporate Van Wiemeersch's question and answer combination as the additional authentication information into the combined Lu-Krishnan-Kim-Peirce system. Van Wiemeersch expressly teaches that a question and answer combination is a non-limiting example of an authorization code that may be transmitted from the server to the vehicle as part of the dispatch message and used to verify the identity of the user at the vehicle (Van Wiemeersch: [0070]). A person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized the desirability of using a security question and answer combination as the additional authentication information in the combined system, as Van Wiemeersch teaches that such question and answer combinations serve the same identity verification purpose as other authorization codes and are explicitly listed as an equivalent alternative to numerical codes for vehicle access authorization.
Regarding Claim 15
Krishnan further discloses that responsive to a completion of the ride as scheduled, the passcode and encryption key are deleted from the storage of the vehicle (Krishnan: [0028]: upon completion of the rental, the rental company sends a wireless signal to the keyless vehicle to deactivate the security system such that the digital key provided to the customer's smartphone is no longer authorized to permit operation of the vehicle, and the security system is reset to require a different access code, thereby rendering the prior passcode and encryption key invalid and effectively removing them from authorized use in the vehicle's storage).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Krishnan's credential deactivation and reset mechanism into the combined Lu-Van Wiemeersch-Kim-Peirce system upon ride completion, as deleting or deactivating per-ride credentials after use is a well-known security practice that prevents unauthorized re-entry by a prior user, and Krishnan itself teaches this exact rationale at [0028].
Claims 11 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Lu (US20150337587A1), in view of Krishnan (US20180065598A1), in view of Van Wiemeersch (US20110215899A1), Kim (US20160241698A1), Peirce (US20140270172A1) as applied to claim 10 above, and in further view of Kyungyang (WO 2015/199501 A1).
Regarding Claim 11
Lu, Krishnan, Kim, Van Wiemeersch, and Peirce as applied to claim 10 above do not explicitly disclose the following limitation "wherein the mission payload message further includes biometric information of the user, the method further comprising: responsive to the input entered via the keypad matching the passcode, activating a biometric information sensor to collect user biometric data, and verifying the user biometric data collected by the biometric information sensor matches the biometric information received in the mission payload message". However, in an analogous art, Kyungyang discloses a biometric system/method that includes: a biometric information sensor, wherein the mission payload message further includes biometric information of the user, and the one or more controllers are further programmed to: responsive to the input entered via the keypad matching the passcode, activate the biometric information sensor to collect user biometric data, and verify the user biometric data collected by the biometric information sensor matches the biometric information received in the mission payload message (Kyungyang Page 4: describes a system where a user enters a passcode via a variable keypad, and upon successful entry, a biometric sensor is activated to collect biometric data such as a fingerprint or iris scan. The collected biometric information is then compared with stored authentication data (pre-registered biometric information of the user) to verify the user's identity before granting access.).
Given the teachings of Kyungyang, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the desirability of modifying the teachings of Lu-Krishnan-Van Wiemeersch-Kim-Peirce by authentication a process to include biometric verification triggered by keypad input. Kyungyang discloses a system where an authentication performing unit stores location information, input order, and biometric information associated with a variable keypad and performs authentication by comparing received biometric data with stored biometric data. Since Kyungyang's system ensures that biometric verification is linked to the authentication process, it states activating a biometric sensor after receiving input via a keypad and verifying the collected biometric data against pre-stored biometric information. Thus, it would have been obvious to use Kyungyang's method to implement biometric authentication triggered by keypad input, ensuring secure identity verification based on stored biometric information in the mission payload message (Kyungyang Page 4).
Regarding Claim 13
Kyungyang further discloses a biometric system/method that includes: wherein the biometric information sensor includes at least one of: a fingerprint reader, or a camera (Kyungyang Page 4 and 5: discloses that biometric information includes fingerprints and facial images. Specifically, it states that the authentication performing unit compares fingerprint images received from a terminal device with stored fingerprint data for authentication. Additionally, it mentions that biometric information can be used to identify a face, confirming the inclusion of facial images as a form of biometric data.).
Given the teachings of Kyungyang, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the desirability of modifying the teachings of Lu-Krishnan-Kim-Van Wiemeersch-Peirce by utilizing biometric information that includes at least one of a fingerprint or a facial image for authentication. Kyungyang discloses that the authentication performing unit compares the position of feature points of a fingerprint image received from a terminal device with stored fingerprint data for verification. Additionally, Kyungyang teaches that biometric information can be used to identify a face, along with other biometric characteristics, to authenticate a user. Thus, it would have been obvious to include at least one of a fingerprint or a facial image as biometric information for authentication, leveraging Kyungyang's teaching of using fingerprints and facial images as valid biometric identifiers (Kyungyang Page 4 and 5).
Claims 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu (US20150337587A1), in view of Krishnan (US20180065598A1), in view of Van Wiemeersch (US20110215899A1), Kim (US20160241698A1), Peirce (US20140270172A1) in view of Kyungyang (WO 2015/199501 A1) as applied to claim 11 above, and in further view of Larson (US 10,693,872 B2).
Regarding Claim 12
Lu-Krishnan-Van Wiemeersch-Kim-Peirce-Kyungyang do not disclose the following limitation "uploading the user biometric data collected by the biometric information sensor to the server to update the biometric information of the user." However, in an analogous art, Larson discloses a biometric system/method that includes: wherein the one or more controllers are further programmed to: upload the user biometric data collected by the biometric information sensor to the server to update the biometric information of the user (Larson Column 2, Line 54- Column 3, Line 10: Describes a system where users can upload updated biometric data (e.g., facial data, hand/palm data, voice data) to a secure enrollment portal, allowing the system to update their biometric profile over time. The system enables users to modify their biometric records as their appearance changes (e.g., aging, new tattoos, scars) and integrates new biometric capture technologies for continuous identity verification and authentication. Additionally, biometric data collected during live video interviews is uploaded to the server and cross-checked with previously stored biometric records for validation.).
Given the teachings of Larson, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the desirability of modifying the teachings of Lu-Krishnan-Van Wiemeersch-Kim-Peirce-Kyungyang by uploading user biometric data to a server to update the stored biometric information of the user. Larson discloses that users may provide updated biometric data as their appearance changes (e.g., aging, new tattoos, scars, piercings) and that the system allows users to submit new biometric data as biometric capture technologies evolve. Additionally, Larson teaches that biometric data collected during a live interview, including facial, hand/palm, and voice data, may be compared with previously collected biometric data for identity validation and authentication. Thus, it would have been obvious to upload user biometric data collected by a biometric information sensor to a server for updating the stored biometric information of the user, leveraging Larson's teaching of dynamically updating biometric records to maintain accurate and complete identity profiles for seamless verification (Larson, Column 2, Line 54 - Column 3, Line 10).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
examiner should be directed to SAAD ABDULLAH whose telephone number is 571-272-1531.
The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9am-5pm EST. If attempts to reach
the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, LYNN FIELD can be
reached on 571-272-2092.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent
Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications
may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished
applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR
system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR
system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would
like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated
information system, call 800- 786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SAAD AHMAD ABDULLAH/Examiner, Art Unit 2431
/LYNN D FEILD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2431
Prosecution Insights