Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 2/2/2026 have been fully considered but they are moot in light of the new grounds of rejection for newly added limitations highlighted below in the rejections of independent claims 1, 9 and 13.
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.
Claims 1-5, 7-17, 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kelly (US 20080214293 A1) in view of Lipert (US 20160224837 A1).
Regarding Claims 1, 9, 13, Kelly teaches a slot machine interface board and method (Kelly, Figs. 1 and 2) comprising:
an interface (Kelly, Fig. 2 network interface);
a processor supported by a housing of an electronic gaming machine (Kelly, Fig. 1 processors of the entire system, Fig. 2 paragraph [0115] game management units GMUs 126 can be optionally located both outside of and within individual gaming devices 10); and
a memory device that stores a plurality of instructions that, when executed by the processor (Kelly, Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 memory of the entire system), cause the processor to:
receive, via the interface, slot accounting system data from a master game controller of an electronic gaming machine (Kelly, Fig. 2 elements 10 and 126 within each individual gaming machine has a master game controller equivalent to the GMU, said GMUs will operate the functionality of the gaming system including slot accounting system data broadly interpreted to be any gaming/transaction related data, Fig. 1),
communicate, via the interface, at least part of the received slot accounting system data to a processor of a gaming establishment management system (Kelly, Fig. 2 element 112 116 & 118 is the backend casino database equivalent to the gaming establishment management system specifically in contact with the GMUs in order to process said data), and
responsive to an occurrence of a user identification event (Kelly, Fig. 2 paragraphs 0057 and 0074 general user identification initialization, proximity, biometrics, card insertion, etc):
obtain/receive first biometric captured data associated an identification of the user at the electronic gaming machine in communication with the processor (Kelly, Fig. 2 paragraphs [0005, 0057, 0074] disables money transfer based on loss limit [equivalent to buy-in limit], time limit, player identification, including biometrics but not specifically detailing images),
communicate, via the interface and to a component of a security system, the captured data associated with the identification of the user (Kelly, Fig. 2 paragraphs [0005, 0074] ID of user, balance, loss limit data and time period are all tracked by security system), and
responsive to a receipt, via the interface and from the component of the security system, of data associated with a determination that the captured data associated with the identification of the user corresponds to stored data associated with an identification of an individual that has exceeded a cash buy-in limit, communicate data that results in a modification of the electronic gaming machine (Kelly, Fig. 2 paragraphs [0005, 0057, 0074] disables money transfer based on loss limit [equivalent to buy-in limit], time limit, player identification, including biometrics but not specifically detailing images).
Kelly fails to teach but Lipert teaches :
receive, from an image capture device, captured data associated with an image of a user (Lipert paragraph [0018] Fig. 4),
communicate, via the interface and to a component of a security system, the captured data associated with the image of the user (Lipert paragraph [0018] Fig. 4), and
responsive to a receipt, via the interface and from the component of the security system, of data associated with a determination that the captured data associated with the image of the user corresponds to stored data associated with an image of an individual that has exceeded a cash buy-in limit, communicate data that results in a modification of the electronic gaming machine (Lipert paragraph [0018] Fig. 4 elements 632 634 636 matching captured image to a user’s profile in multiple databases, gambling or otherwise).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to add the facial biometric identification of Lipert to the loss limiting slot machine system of Kelly in order to give more varied and intuitive options for player identification.
Regarding Claims 2, 3, 10, 14, 15, Kelly further teaches wherein the modification of the electronic gaming machine comprises a payment acceptor of the electronic gaming machine and/or disabling the electronic gaming machine (Kelly, paragraph [0057, 0067 and 0068] monetary transactions are disabled gradually as the different buy-in limits are reached, once the loss limit is reached, the machine will inherently be disabled because bets can no longer be made).
Regarding Claims 4, 11, 16, communicate data that results in a notification to gaming establishment personnel (Lipert paragraph [0018] Fig. 4 users can be identified through a number of biometric detectors including facial, and notification of security can occur either constantly or with specific triggers according to already established databases).
Regarding Claims 5, 17, Kelly teaches wherein the cash buy-in limit comprises a timed limit, giving an example of a session, however said time limit can be set for any amount of time. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to set a daily limit yielding a predictable result of the loss limit having a 24h reset cycle.
Regarding Claims 7, 8, 12, 19, 20, Kelly in view of Lipert further teaches communicating, via the interface and to a live streaming platform, the captured data associated with the image of the user and data associated with a play of a wagering game being displayed by the electronic gaming machine (Lipert paragraph [0018], Fig. 4 elements 630, 632, 634, 636, live feed of user face gaming machine interface and casino floor are fed and streamed live).
Claims 6 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kelly (US 20080214293 A1) in view of Lipert (US 20160224837 A1) as applied to Claims 1-5, 7-17, 19 and 20 above, and further in view of Rutherford (US 20200302742 A1).
Regarding Claims 6, 18, Kelly in view of Lipert fails to teach however Rutherford teaches wherein the component of the security system comprises a component of an anti-money laundering system (Rutherford, paragraph [0018]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to add the anti-money laundering system of Rutherford to the digital loss limit and identification system of Kelly in view of Lipert in order to provide additional security for the purposes of preventing illicit activities.
Conclusion
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/KE XIAO/
SPE, Art Unit 2627
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