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 .
Status of Claims
2. This Office Action is issued in response to the Amendment filed on 11/12/2025.
Claims 1-9 are pending in this Office Action.
Claims 1, 3, and 5-8 have been amended.
Claim 9 is new.
Response to Arguments
3. a. Drawings filed on 07/24/2025 have been reviewed and accepted.
b. Applicants’ arguments regarding 35 U.S.C. § 103 Claim Rejections have been fully considered but they are moot in view of new grounds of rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
5. Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Trikha et al. (US 20230152652 A1), hereinafter “Trikha” in view of Burke (US 20210286864 A1), hereinafter “Burke”.
Regarding claim 1, Trikha discloses an entry management system for managing entry of a user into a management target area, the entry management system comprising:
a user terminal that is possessed by the user and is capable of notifying information to the user (paragraphs [0143]-[0144] and [0212]: informing user through personal computers (e.g., portable PC), slate or tablet PC's (e.g., Apple® iPad, Samsung® Galaxy Tab), telephones, Smart phones (e.g., Apple® iPhone, Android-enabled device, Blackberry®), or personal digital assistants); and
an access control apparatus (Fig. 24 with associated text, system 2400),
wherein the user terminal is configured to:
[detect first biological information associated with the user, and
transmit the first biological information to the access control apparatus],
wherein the access control apparatus comprises:
at least one memory configured to store instructions (Fig. 24 with associated text, memory 2402); and
at least one processor configured to execute the instructions (Fig. 24 with associated text, processor 2406) to:
acquire the first biological information [from the user terminal] (Fig.7 with associated text, box 732, paragraph [0143]: checking bodily characteristics including temperature or cough of an employee),
determine, based on the first biological information, whether or not to permit entry of the user into the management target area (Fig.7 with associated text, paragraph [0143]: the employee is permitted into the facility at box 742- management target area -or not based on the bodily characteristics), and
in a case where it is determined that entry of the user into the management target area is not permitted, output determination result information related to a result of determination to the user terminal (Fig.7 with associated text, paragraph [0143]: the employee is notified of abnormal bodily characteristics which would result in the employee is sent away or the employee leaves the facility when the result is abnormal), and wherein the user terminal is further configured to notify the received determination result information to the user (paragraphs [0143]- [0144]: notifying the employee through email, phone, text, sound, image, or print).
Trikha does not explicitly disclose the user terminal is configured to detect first biological information associated with the user and transmit the first biological information to the access control apparatus. However, a user terminal configured to detect biological information associated with a user and transmit the biological information to an access control apparatus is known in the art and Burke’s teaching is an example (Fig.5B with associated text: a user holds a mobile device to his ear to take temperature- biological information. Fig.14, steps 1403-1404 with associated text: user health measurements- biological information- are sent to an access device- access control apparatus- that grants access to the user to a product of service based upon the sent health measurements.) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Trikha’s teaching of managing entry of a user into a management target area by acquiring the user’s biological information with Burke’s teaching of obtaining a user’s biological information using the user’s mobile phone and transmitting the biological information to an access device and the motivation to do so would be for the user’s convenience and cost saving (saving money to implement devices to measure/take user biological information).
Regarding claim 2, Trikha and Burke disclose the entry management system according to claim 1. Trikha further discloses wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute instructions to:
acquire second biological information after the user enters a management target area (Trikha, paragraphs [0191]-[0192]: continuing monitoring individuals’ bodily characteristics in the facility to detect abnormal bodily characteristic),
determine, based on the second biological information, whether or not to permit stay of the user in the management target area after the user enters the management target area, and in a case where it is determined that stay of the user in the management target area is not permitted, output, to the user terminal, information related to a result of determination that stay of the user in the management target area is not permitted, as the determination result information (Trikha, a. Fig.7 with associated text, paragraph [0143]: the employee is notified of abnormal bodily characteristics which would result in the employee is sent away or the employee leaves the facility when the result is abnormal. B. paragraph [0192]: notifying the affected individual or others of an illness/bodily abnormality. The combination of (a) and (b) would have obvious and predictable results to notify and send away an employee detected of illness while in the facility).
Regarding claim 3, Trikha and Burke disclose the entry management system according to claim 2. Trikha further discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to, in a case where it is determined that stay of the user in the management target area is not permitted, output, to the user terminal, route information related to an exit route that the user should follow in order to exit the management target area, and the user terminal is further configured to notify the received route information to the user (Trikha, a).paragraph [0143]: notifying the employee of abnormal bodily characteristics which would result in the employee is not permitted to enter the facility and the employee is sent away or the employee leaves/exits the facility when the result is abnormal. b). Figs 18-19 with associated text: suggesting an optimal route to reach a destination to aid in maintenance of physical distances between occupants. The combination of a) and b) would have an obvious and predictable result of when it is determined that stay of the user in the management target area is not permitted, output, to the user terminal, route information related to an exit route that the user should follow in order to exit the management target area, and the user terminal is configured to notify the received route information to the user).
Regarding claim 4, Trikha and Burke disclose the entry management system according to claim 3. Trikha further discloses wherein the exit route includes a route that goes through at least one partial area where the number of other users staying therein is small, as compared to other partial areas, in the management target area (Trikha, Figs 18-19 with associated text: optimal route with least crowded route).
Regarding claim 5, Trikha and Burke disclose the entry management system according to claim 1. Trikha further discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to output, to the user terminal, action information related to an action that the user who is denied entry into the management target area is recommended to take, in addition to the determination result information, and the user terminal is further configured to notify the received action information to the user (Trikha, paragraph [0143]: notifying the employee of abnormal bodily characteristics and various options that the employee could consider).
Claims 6-8 claim similar subject matters to claim 1; therefore, claims 6-8 are rejected at least for the same reasons as claim 1 (Note: Claim 6 is directed to the access control apparatus; therefore, limitation “wherein the user terminal is capable of detecting the first biological information and is capable of notifying information to the user” does not have patentable weight because it is not positively recited and is outside of the scope of the access control apparatus. Limitation “wherein the user terminal is capable of detecting the first biological information and is capable of notifying information to the user” in claims 7 and 8 are also not positively recited and do not have patentable weight).
6. Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Trikha et al. (US 20230152652 A1), hereinafter “Trikha”, in view of Burke (US 20210286864 A1), hereinafter “Burke”, and in view of Takashima et al. (US 20190180017 A1), hereinafter “Takashima”.
Regarding claim 5, Trikha and Burke disclose the entry management system according to claim 1. Trikha discloses notifying the employee through email, phone, text, sound, image, or print (paragraphs [0143]- [0144]). Burke discloses utilizing a mobile phone in user validation and health check (Figs. 1A-1D, 2A-2C, 3, 5) and the user terminal is further configured to: detect a body temperature of the user as the first biological information (Burke, Fig. 5A with associated text). Trikha and Burke do not explicitly disclose the user terminal comprises an earphone and notifying the received determination result information to the user by using voice. However, a user terminal comprises a headphone and notifying information to a user by using voice are known in the art and Takashima”s teaching is an example (paragraphs [0034] and [0089]). Therefore, it is obvious to combine Trikha and Burke’s teachings of utilizing user’s mobile phone in user validation and health check with user terminal comprising a headphone and notifying information to a user by using voice to have obvious and predictable results of the user terminal comprises an earphone and notifying the received determination result information to the user by using voice and the motivation to do so would be for user’s convenience.
Prior Art of Record
7. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure: see attached PTO-892 Notice of References Cited.
Conclusion
8. 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THANH T. LE whose telephone number is (571)270-0279. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Farid Homayounmehr can be reached on 571-272-3739. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THANH T LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2495