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 filed on or reply to the remarks of 3/9/2026. The instant application has claims 1-14, 16-18, 20-32, 34-36 pending. The system, method and medium for authenticating used based on confidence of the authentication data. There a total of 33 claims.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 3/9/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-14, 16-18, 20-32, 34-36 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) 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 1-14, 16-18, 20-32, 34-36 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Pub 2023/0205857 to Sato in view of US Patent 11632368 to Paeschke
Regarding claim 1, 18, 22, Sato discloses A method for authenticating the identity of a user for granting resource access, the method comprising: producing, by at least one sensor of a user device, a first and second electronic representation of respective first and second characteristics of the user, wherein the first and second characteristics of the user are multi-dimensional(Abstract & Fig. 3 item S110, the biometric information about user collected for authentication); obtaining, by the user device, a personal user profile of the user including a record of the first and second characteristics of the user previously produced by the at least one sensor of the user device(Fig.7 item S310-S350, the coefficient and compared for similarity & Par. 0047-0049 & Par. 0045); creating, by the user device, digital user authentication data (UAD) from said electronic representations, the UAD including authorized user identification data (AUAD), when the user is an authorized user, the AUAD characterizing a correlation between the previously produced first and second characteristics of the user over time(Par. 0045, the various biometric information is captured); and current user authentication data (CUAD) characterizing at least a correlation between the first and second characteristics of the user represented by the first and second electronic representations(Par. 0047-0048 & Par. 0059, the behavior and sensor data is collected for authentication & Par. 0064-0065); comparing, by the user device, the CUAD with the AUAD(Par. 0080-0084, comparing with stored profile);
Sato does not disclose the confidence index.
In the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention, Paeschke discloses calculating, by the user device or device under user control of the user, a confidence index based upon the comparison of the AUAD with the CUAD, the
confidence index reflecting a confidence level that the current user is the authorized
user(Fig. 2 item S22 & Fig. 3B & Col 4 Ln 14-48); and making, by the user device, the confidence index available to a resource provider to grant access to a resource if the confidence index is above a predetermined threshold associated with the resource of the resource provider(Fig. 2 item S22 & Fig. 3B & Col 4 Ln 14-48).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify Sato invention to incorporate confidence index for the advantage of providing an numerical value for match and certainty as taught in Paeschke see Fig. 4.
Regarding claim 2. the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Sato discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the confidence index is a function of the degree of similarity between the AUAD and CUAD(Fig. 7 & Fig. 14 ).
Regarding claim 3, 20, the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Sato discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the confidence index is updated Iteratively(par. 0065-0066, calculations for user).
Regarding claim 4. the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Sato discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined threshold is Adjustable(Fig. 7 )
Regarding claim 5, 22, the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Sato discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the first characteristic of
the user is movement of the user device in 4-dimensional space provided by a first
sensor and the second characteristic is a geographic location of the user device
provided by a second sensor, and wherein comparing the CUAD with the AUAD is by
way of multimodal analysis that comprises:
calculating, for each characteristic, a pattern of changes over at least a first
and second time duration, the first time duration associated with CUAD being less
than the second time duration associated with AUAD(Par. 0062-0066, the duration of period for behavior); comparing, for each characteristic, a mean and variance during the first time duration and second time duration to determine whether the user device is being used by one user during the first and second time(Par. 0062-0066, the duration of period for behavior); and analyzing the first and second characteristics, for each time duration, to determine correlation between movement of the user device and the geographic location of the user device, wherein the correlation of the CUAD associated with the first time duration is compared with the correlation of the AUAD associated with the second time duration to determine whether movement of the user device corresponds to the geographic location of the user device(Par. 0062-0066, the duration of period for behavior).
Regarding claim 6, 23, the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Sato discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said access to the resource is
provided to an auxiliary user device(Fig. 6, the worker access to equipment).
Regarding claim 7, 24, the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Sato discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said access to the
resource is provided to a user terminal, distinct from the user device or device under
user control, by the resource device coupled to the user terminal by way of a router
in a closed network(Fig. 6, the equipment in workplace only).
Regarding claim 8, 25, the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Sato discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising certifying the
identity of the user device or device under user control(Fig. 6, the equipment in workplace only).
Regarding claim 9, 26, the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Sato discloses the method of claim 8, wherein certifying the identity of
the user device or device under user control comprises generating and exchanging a
certification code corresponding to the user device or device under user control(Par. 0092-0094)
Regarding claim 10, 28, the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Sato discloses the method of claim 9, wherein the user device or device
under user control is one of multiple user devices in a peer-to-peer network
configured in a mutual certification arrangement control(Par. 0092-0094).
Regarding claim 11, 29 the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Sato discloses the method of claim 8, wherein certifying the identity of
the user device or device under user control comprises reporting a user device
identification code control(Par. 0092-0094)
.
Regarding claim 12, 30, the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Sato discloses the method of claim 8, wherein access is granted
through the resource device and certifying is performed by a validation device
separate from the resource device(Par. 0044-0046).
Regarding claim 13, 31, the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Sato discloses the method of claim 12, wherein the validation device serves
multiple resource devices(par. 0087-0088).
Regarding claim 14, 32, the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Paeschke discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the user device is one
of multiple user devices in a peer-to-peer network configured in a mutual certification
arrangement, the at least one characteristic of the user device is location, the
resource is a first resource, and the method further comprises:
granting access to the first resource by the resource provider in response to
receiving the confidence index for the user device and determining that the
confidence index is above the predetermined threshold durations (Fig. 2 item S22 & Fig. 3B & Col 4 Ln 14-48); updating the confidence index for the user device in response to receiving an updated electronic representation of the location for the user device; and
denying, by the resource provider, access to a second resource in response to
determining that the confidence index is below the predetermined threshold durations (Fig. 2 item S22 & Fig. 3B & Col 4 Ln 14-48).
Regarding claim 16, 34, the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Sato discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the CUAD and AUAD
include data transmitted to the user device or device under user control from an
external source(Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 17. 35, the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Sato discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the CUAD and AUAD
include data input through a user interface of the user device or device under user
control by the current user and the authorized user, respectively(par. 0045, the sensor data is collected).
Regarding claim 21. the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Paeschke discloses the machine-readable storage The machine-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the predetermined threshold is determined by the resource provider((Fig. 2 item S22 & Fig. 3B & Col 4 Ln 14-48).
Regarding claim 27. the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Sato discloses the machine-readable storage The machine-readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein said generating and exchanging a certification code corresponding to the user device or device under user control is performed each time the user device connects to the resource provider, whereby a new certification code is created and exchanged with initiation of each connection(Par. 0044-0048).
Regarding claim 32. the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Sato discloses the machine-readable storage The machine-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the user device or device under user control is one of multiple user devices in a peer-to-peer network configured in a mutual certification arrangement(Par. 0084-0085).
Regarding claim 36. (the combined method/medium of Sato and Paeschke, mutatis mutandis, Sato discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the first electronic representation of the first characteristic is produced by a first sensor and the second electronic representation of the second characteristic is produced by a second sensor(par. 0064-0065 & Par. 0045, behavior & sensor data is collected).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Venkat Perungavoor whose telephone number is (571)272-7213. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5.
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, Rupal Dharia can be reached at 571-272-3880. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/VENKAT PERUNGAVOOR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2492 Email: venkatanarayan.perungavoor@uspto.gov
Prosecution Insights