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 .
In response to the restriction requirement, Applicant elected claims 1-4, 17, 19, 21, 23, and 25-27 for further examination. As a result, claims 5-9, 18, 20, 22, and 24 are withdrawn from further prosecution.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because:
The claim recites the sequence of steps of instructing to output a data identified by a user, designating the identified data from among a plurality of data, and formatting the designated data to output. This step sequence as analyzed can “practically be performed in the Human Mind” with/without sketching on paper. As stated in MPEP 2106.04(a)(2), III. Mental Processes, “A claim that encompasses a Human Performing the step(s) mentally with or without a physical aid recites a mental process”; as a result, the claim recites a mental process that falls within at least one of the abstract idea groupings (MPEP 2106.04(a) Abstract Ideas: The enumerated groupings of abstract ideas: Mathematical concepts, Certain methods of organizing human activity, Mental processes). As a result, the claim recites a judicial exception.
The claim, in addition, does not contain additional steps or actions to integrate the judicial exception into a practical application or amount significant more to add an inventive concept to the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 17, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wu (US 2019/0052697).
Regarding to claim 1:
Wu discloses an analysis device comprising:
an export instruction unit for issuing an export instruction of a user to “export measurement data to a destination electronic device” (FIG. 3A, step 302: Receive Request to Access File);
a data designation unit for designating specific measurement data to be exported among a plurality of types of the measurement data stored in a memory according to the instruction from the export instruction unit (FIG. 3A, step 304: Retrieve File Specified in Request);
a format conversion unit for converting the specific measurement data designated by the data designation unit to a data format suitable for a relay medium used for relaying to the destination electronic device (FIG. 3A, steps 306-314: Encoding the file to string for further converting into QR code image); and
an output unit for outputting the format-converted measurement data (FIG. 3A, step 316: Display QR Code Image).
Regarding to claim 17: wherein the relay medium for relaying the data to the destination electronic device is a two-dimensional code, and the output unit is a display for displaying the two-dimensional code (FIG. 3A: The QR code image (steps 310, 312, 314, 316) are in the format of two-dimensional code).
Regarding to claim 19: wherein the relay medium for relaying the data to the destination electronic device is a contactless IC chip, and the output unit is a writer for writing the data into the IC chip (FIG. 3A: The scanner (step 318, 320) for reading and interpreting the QR image code reads on the contactless IC chip).
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(s) 2-4, 21, 23, 25-27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (US 2019/0052697) in view of Yamaguchi et al. (EP 1355258).
Regarding to claims 2-3, 27:
Wu discloses the claimed invention as discussed above and also teaches a repeater comprising an import unit for importing an output from the output unit of the analysis device (FIGs. 2A, 3A: The scanner (255) reads the displayed QR code image in step 318). Wu however is silent wherein the repeater comprises a transmission unit for transmitting the format-converted measurement data imported by the import unit to a destination electronic device via communication; and wherein the destination electronic device comprises a receiving unit for receiving the transmission from the repeater; and a decoding unit for decoding the received format-converted measurement data to the measurement data in an original format.
Yamaguchi et al. a data communication system comprising a repeater (FIG. 3: The cellular phone) for importing data in a barcode image (FIG. 3: The camera imports the barcode image) and transmitting the barcode image data to a destination device (FIG. 3: Image processing device) via communication (FIG. 3: Communication line), wherein the destination device comprises a receiving unit (FIG. 10, element 26: Image data receiving unit) for receiving the barcode image data and a decoding unit for decoding the received barcode image data (FIG. 10, element 27: Data processing unit comprises the decoding process).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wu’s system to transmit the data to the processing unit in the QR code/barcode image format because the format can carry a large amount of information with a small amount of corresponding data needed for transmitting as taught Yamaguchi (paragraph [0015]).
Regarding to claim 4: wherein the destination electronic device is an other analysis device (Yamaguchi: FIG. 10, element 27).
Regarding to claim 21: wherein the relay medium used for relaying the data to the destination electronic device is a two-dimensional code, the output unit of the analysis device is a display for displaying the two-dimensional code, and the import unit of the repeater is a camera (Yamaguchi: FIG. 3: The camera reads the barcode image).
Regarding to claim 23: wherein the relay medium for relaying the data to the destination electronic device is an IC chip, the output unit of the analysis device is a writer for writing the data into the IC chip, and the import unit of the repeater is a reader for reading the data of the IC chip (Yamaguchi: FIG. 3: The cell phone has an IC chip and a camera to read the barcode image).
Regarding to claim 25: wherein the relay medium for relaying the data to the destination electronic device is a two-dimensional code, the output unit of the analysis device is a display for displaying the two-dimensional code (Yamaguchi: FIG. 3: The barcode image is two-dimensional code. Wu: FIG. 3A, step 316: QR code image is displayed), the import unit of the repeater is a camera, the output unit of the repeater is the display, and the import unit of the destination electronic device is a camera (Yamaguchi: FIG. 3: The camera imports the barcode image).
Regarding to claim 26: wherein the relay medium for relaying the data to the destination electronic device is an IC chip, the output unit of the analysis device is a writer for writing the data into the IC chip, the import unit of the repeater is a reader for reading the data in the IC chip, the output unit of the repeater is the writer, and the import unit of the destination electronic device is the reader (Wu: FIG. 2A: The media device writes data into the IC chip (260) and the image scanner (255) is reader for reading the QR code image and writing the file downloader as the IC chip).
CONTACT INFORMATION
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAM S NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2151.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, DOUGLAS RODRIGUEZ, can be reached on 571-431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAM S NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853