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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I (claims 24-36 and 49) in the reply filed on 02/02/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the grounds that the subject matter of claims 24-50 is sufficiently related such that restriction should not be required. This is not found persuasive because “sufficient relatedness” is not the applicable legal standard. Under 35 U.S.C. § 121 and MPEP § 806.05(j), the relevant inquiry is whether the claimed inventions are distinct. Examiner respectfully submits that they are distinct inventions.
Group I (claims 24-36 and 49) claims are directed solely to operations performed by the pairing device, which receiving a shared key from a server and initiating a connection.
Group II (claims 37-48 and 50) claims are directed solely to operations performed by the communication device, which receiving a shared key upon a pairing device's request and accepting the connection.
Each group recites a complete, self-contained method and apparatus performed by a different entity with a different functional role. Notably, a manufacturer could independently make, use, or sell a pairing device practicing Group I claims without any involvement in the communication device of Group II, and vice versa. Simply because the two devices work together to form a connection does not mean they are directed to the same invention. Each device independently carries out its own distinct set of operations that stand alone as a separate claimed method. Furthermore, the inventions as claimed do not encompass overlapping subject matter and there is nothing of record to show them to be obvious variants. Therefore, there would be serious search and examination burden if restriction were not required because the inventions require a different field of search (for example, searching different classes/subclasses or electronic resources, or employing different search queries) and the prior art applicable to one invention would not likely be applicable to another invention.
Examiner also respectfully submits that Applicant's reliance on the specification's unified description does not control the restriction analysis, which is based on the claims as presented, not the specification narrative.
Accordingly, the restriction requirement is proper and hereby maintained and made FINAL.
Double Patenting
The non-statutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A non-statutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on non-statutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a non-statutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 24-36 and 49 are rejected on the ground of non-statutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 10136246. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the claims in the pending applications are transparently found in US 10136246 with obvious wording variations. See the table below for comparisons:
Pending Application 18407703
US 10136246
24. A computer-implemented method, comprising: receiving, by at least one pairing device, a shared key from at least one server, wherein the shared key being transmitted by the at least one server to at least one communication device; and connecting, by the at least one pairing device, with the at least one communication device using the shared key.
25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the connecting includes connecting, by the at least one pairing device, with the at least one communication device upon at least one of: the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device being authenticated by the at least one server.
49. A pairing device, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory storage media storing instructions, that when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations including receiving, by at least one pairing device, a shared key from at least one server, wherein the shared key being transmitted by the at least one server to at least one communication device; and connecting, by the at least one pairing device, with the at least one communication device using the shared key.
1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: scanning, by a pairing device, using a shared key, prior to connecting with a communication device, for an advertising packet transmitted by the communication device, the communication device not being provisioned by the pairing device; checking, by the pairing device, each scanned advertising packet for the shared key; and responding, by the pairing device, to the scanned advertising packet only when the advertising packet contains the shared key, the responding including connecting, by the pairing device, with the communication device, and the responding further including initiating data transmission between the pairing device and the communication device, wherein the connection includes at least one of the following: a wireless connection and a wired connection; wherein the shared key is provided to the communication device using at least one of the following: the shared key is stored by the communication device, the shared key is shared between a server and/or a storage location and the communication device, the server and/or the storage location are communicatively coupled to at least one of the pairing device and the communication device, the shared key is generated by a server and/or a storage location communicatively coupled to at least one of the pairing device and the communication device and transmitted to the communication device, and any combination thereof.
26. The method according to claim 24, wherein the shared key provided by the at least one server to the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device has same bit/byte form between the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the shared key is in a same bit/byte form between the pairing device and the communication device.
27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the shared key is at least one of: same or different for each connection of the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device.
30. The method according to claim 24, wherein the shared key is a shared key specific to a connection resulting from the connecting of the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device.
1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: scanning, by a pairing device, using a shared key, prior to connecting with a communication device, for an advertising packet transmitted by the communication device, the communication device not being provisioned by the pairing device; checking, by the pairing device, each scanned advertising packet for the shared key; and responding, by the pairing device, to the scanned advertising packet only when the advertising packet contains the shared key, the responding including connecting, by the pairing device, with the communication device, and the responding further including initiating data transmission between the pairing device and the communication device, wherein the connection includes at least one of the following: a wireless connection and a wired connection; wherein the shared key is provided to the communication device using at least one of the following: the shared key is stored by the communication device, the shared key is shared between a server and/or a storage location and the communication device, the server and/or the storage location are communicatively coupled to at least one of the pairing device and the communication device, the shared key is generated by a server and/or a storage location communicatively coupled to at least one of the pairing device and the communication device and transmitted to the communication device, and any combination thereof.
28. The method according to claim 24, wherein the connecting includes connecting via BLUETOOTH® technology.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the advertising packet is transmitted via Bluetooth technology.
29. The method according to claim 24, wherein the shared key is at least one of: a global shared key, a user-specific shared key associated with a particular user, and any combination thereof.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the shared key is a global shared key.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the shared key is a user-specific shared key associated with a particular user.
31. The method according to claim 24, wherein the at least one server transmits a respective shared key in a plurality of shared keys to each pairing device in a plurality of pairing device and transmits the plurality of shared keys to the at least one communication device; wherein the connecting includes connecting each pairing device and the at least one communication device using respective shared key.
6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising scanning, by the pairing device, for a plurality of advertising packets, each advertising packet in the plurality of advertising packets containing a portion of the shared key; checking, by the pairing device, each scanned advertising packet for the respective portion of the shared key; and responding, by the pairing device, to the plurality of scanned advertising packet only when the entire shared key is found.
32. The method according to claim 24, wherein the connecting includes transmitting one or more of data attributes, name, serial number, MAC address to at least one of: the at least one communication device, the at least one server, and any combination thereof.
8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the responding further comprises transmitting one or more of data attributes, name, serial number, MAC address to a communication device or a server.
33. The method according to claim 24, wherein the connecting includes transmitting at least one of: the shared key, a text added to the shared key, an encrypted shared key, an encrypted combination of a shared key and the text, and any combination thereof.
9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the advertising packet is encrypted, the advertising packet comprising the shared key and an additional data added to the shared key before the shared key and the additional data are encrypted.
34. The method according to claim 24, wherein the receiving includes scanning, by the at least one pairing device, an identification code; and triggering, based on the scanning, the receiving, by the at least one pairing device, the shared key from the at least one server.
35. The method according to claim 34, wherein the identification code includes at least one of the following: a product name, a product identifier, and any combination thereof.
36. The method according to claim 34, wherein the identification code is associated with the at least one communication device.
6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising scanning, by the pairing device, for a plurality of advertising packets, each advertising packet in the plurality of advertising packets containing a portion of the shared key; checking, by the pairing device, each scanned advertising packet for the respective portion of the shared key; and responding, by the pairing device, to the plurality of scanned advertising packet only when the entire shared key is found.
Claims 24-36 and 49 are rejected on the ground of non-statutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1-38 of U.S. Patent No. 11206521. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the claims in the pending applications are transparently found in US 11206521 with obvious wording variations. See the table below for comparisons:
Pending Application 18407703
US 11206521
24. A computer-implemented method, comprising: receiving, by at least one pairing device, a shared key from at least one server, wherein the shared key being transmitted by the at least one server to at least one communication device; and connecting, by the at least one pairing device, with the at least one communication device using the shared key.
30. The method according to claim 24, wherein the shared key is a shared key specific to a connection resulting from the connecting of the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device.
49. A pairing device, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory storage media storing instructions, that when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations including receiving, by at least one pairing device, a shared key from at least one server, wherein the shared key being transmitted by the at least one server to at least one communication device; and connecting, by the at least one pairing device, with the at least one communication device using the shared key.
2. A computer-implemented method, comprising: scanning for a shared key in a plurality of shared keys, each shared key in the plurality of shared keys is configured to be shared with and used for establishing one or more connections between one or more pairing devices in a plurality of pairing devices and one or more communication devices in a plurality of communication devices, one or more shared keys in the plurality of shared keys being transmitted by respective one or more communication devices; checking the scanned shared key by comparing the scanned shared key with a shared key stored by the pairing device; transmitting a connection request to at least one of the one or more pairing devices and the one or more communication devices upon determination that the scanned shared key matches the stored shared key; and establishing, based on the determination that the scanned shared key matches the stored shared key, a connection between respective one or more pairing devices and one or more communication devices.
25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the connecting includes connecting, by the at least one pairing device, with the at least one communication device upon at least one of: the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device being authenticated by the at least one server.
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the checking further comprises determining at least one of the following: that the scanned shared key is associated with a pairing enabled one or more communication devices, that the scanned shared key is associated with a user account for connecting the pairing device, and the one or more communication devices, and any combination thereof.
26. The method according to claim 24, wherein the shared key provided by the at least one server to the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device has same bit/byte form between the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device.
4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the comparing further comprises comparing a bit/byte form of the scanned shared key and the stored shared key.
27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the shared key is at least one of: same or different for each connection of the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device.
2. A computer-implemented method, comprising: scanning for a shared key in a plurality of shared keys, each shared key in the plurality of shared keys is configured to be shared with and used for establishing one or more connections between one or more pairing devices in a plurality of pairing devices and one or more communication devices in a plurality of communication devices, one or more shared keys in the plurality of shared keys being transmitted by respective one or more communication devices; checking the scanned shared key by comparing the scanned shared key with a shared key stored by the pairing device; transmitting a connection request to at least one of the one or more pairing devices and the one or more communication devices upon determination that the scanned shared key matches the stored shared key; and establishing, based on the determination that the scanned shared key matches the stored shared key, a connection between respective one or more pairing devices and one or more communication devices.
28. The method according to claim 24, wherein the connecting includes connecting via BLUETOOTH® technology.
5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the shared key is transmitted using BLUETOOTH® technology.
29. The method according to claim 24, wherein the shared key is at least one of: a global shared key, a user-specific shared key associated with a particular user, and any combination thereof.
6. The method according to claim 2, wherein the shared key includes at least one of the following: a global shared key, a user-specific shared key associated with a user, and any combination thereof.
31. The method according to claim 24, wherein the at least one server transmits a respective shared key in a plurality of shared keys to each pairing device in a plurality of pairing device and transmits the plurality of shared keys to the at least one communication device; wherein the connecting includes connecting each pairing device and the at least one communication device using respective shared key.
8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the establishing further comprises establishing one or more connections between at least a portion of the plurality of the pairing devices and the one or more communication devices upon matching scanned shared keys with respective shared keys stored by each pairing device in the at least the portion of the plurality of the pairing devices.
32. The method according to claim 24, wherein the connecting includes transmitting one or more of data attributes, name, serial number, MAC address to at least one of: the at least one communication device, the at least one server, and any combination thereof.
38. A computer-implemented method, comprising: scanning, by a pairing device, using a shared key, for an advertising packet transmitted from a communication device; checking, by the pairing device, each scanned advertising packet for the shared key; responding, by the pairing device, to the scanned advertising packet only when the advertising packet contains the shared key; and establishing, using the shared key, a connection between the pairing device and the communication device; wherein each advertising packet advertised by the communication device includes a payload containing a shared key, in a plurality of shared keys, disposed in different addresses in the payload for each advertising by the communication device, the plurality of shared keys includes the shared key.
33. The method according to claim 24, wherein the connecting includes transmitting at least one of: the shared key, a text added to the shared key, an encrypted shared key, an encrypted combination of a shared key and the text, and any combination thereof.
9. The method according to claim 2, wherein one or more shared keys are included in one or more advertising packets, wherein the one or more advertising packets include additional data for encryption of the one or more shared keys.
34. The method according to claim 24, wherein the receiving includes scanning, by the at least one pairing device, an identification code; and triggering, based on the scanning, the receiving, by the at least one pairing device, the shared key from the at least one server.
35. The method according to claim 34, wherein the identification code includes at least one of the following: a product name, a product identifier, and any combination thereof.
36. The method according to claim 34, wherein the identification code is associated with the at least one communication device.
2. A computer-implemented method, comprising: scanning for a shared key in a plurality of shared keys, each shared key in the plurality of shared keys is configured to be shared with and used for establishing one or more connections between one or more pairing devices in a plurality of pairing devices and one or more communication devices in a plurality of communication devices, one or more shared keys in the plurality of shared keys being transmitted by respective one or more communication devices; checking the scanned shared key by comparing the scanned shared key with a shared key stored by the pairing device; transmitting a connection request to at least one of the one or more pairing devices and the one or more communication devices upon determination that the scanned shared key matches the stored shared key; and establishing, based on the determination that the scanned shared key matches the stored shared key, a connection between respective one or more pairing devices and one or more communication devices.
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.
Claims 24, 28, 30, 32 and 49 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Willis (US 20120108208, hereinafter “Willis”).
Regarding claim 24, Willis discloses, A computer-implemented method (The present invention relates to a Bluetooth authentication system and method, [0001]), comprising:
receiving, by at least one pairing device (i.e., the authorization device 104, Fig. 1), a shared key (i.e., the control parameter 105, which is generated at the central control device 101 and then forwarded or communicated to one or more specific authorization devices 104, [0020]), wherein the shared key (i.e., Bluetooth compatible pin) (the central control device generating a Bluetooth compatible PIN based on the control parameter 105 [0010]) which being transmitted by the at least one server to at least one communication device (The central control device 101 is shown to have a PIN generating module 20, which generates the pin and is communicated to the mobile communication device using the communication module 103, [0026]); and
connecting, by the at least one pairing device, with the at least one communication device using the shared key (The authorization device 104 forwards a Bluetooth connection authentication request to the mobile communication device. The mobile communication device returns a Bluetooth authentication response back to the authorization device in the form of a PIN entered on the keyboard of the mobile communication device. The PIN entered by the user should be the same PIN that was previously forwarded to the user by the central control device 101, [0039]).
Regarding claim 28, Willis discloses,
wherein the connecting includes connecting via BLUETOOTH® technology (FIG. 2 shows the authorization system at the next stage of authentication. The central control device 101 is shown to have a PIN generating module 201. The PIN generated by this module is a Bluetooth compatible PIN for use when discovering Bluetooth communication devices, [0026]).
Regarding claim 30, Willis discloses,
wherein the shared key is a shared key specific to a connection resulting from the connecting of the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device (The PIN generating module may therefore generate a PIN that is unique based on one or more of the time of the request, the location of the request, the mobile communication device making the requested and private information … the PIN is only valid on the authorization device for the specific combination of control parameters from which it was generated, [0034]-[0035]).
Regarding claim 32, Willis discloses,
wherein the connecting includes transmitting one or more of data attributes, name, serial number, MAC address to at least one of: the at least one communication device, the at least one server, and any combination thereof (the Bluetooth address (i.e., MAC type identifier) of the mobile communication device is retrieved from a database 211 that is used to store the parameters discussed above. That is, the administrator of the system has a database record of all Bluetooth addresses of all mobile communication devices for users of the system, [0031]).
Regarding claim 49, Willis discloses, A pairing device (i.e., the authorization device 104, Fig. 3), comprising:
at least one processor (i.e., an inherent feature for the authorization device 104, which includes a communication module, [0037]); and at least one non-transitory storage media storing instructions (inherent feature for the authorization device 104), that when executed by the at least one processor (The authorization device 104 includes a communication module, which also includes a Bluetooth address reading module 303. Also included are a response module 305, a control parameter storage module 307 for storing the control parameter received from the central control device 101, [0037]), cause the at least one processor to perform operations including, comprising:
receiving, by at least one pairing device (i.e., the authorization device 104, Fig. 1), a shared key (the control parameter 105 is generated at the central control device and then forwarded or communicated to one or more specific authorization devices 104, [0020]), wherein the shared key being transmitted by the at least one server to at least one communication device (The central control device 101 is shown to have a PIN generating module 20, which generates the pin and is communicated to the mobile communication device using the communication module 103, [0026].. the central control device generating a Bluetooth compatible PIN based on the control parameter [0010]); and
connecting, by the at least one pairing device, with the at least one communication device using the shared key (The authorization device forwards a Bluetooth connection authentication request to the mobile communication device. The mobile communication device returns a Bluetooth authentication response back to the authorization device in the form of a PIN entered on the keyboard of the mobile communication device. The PIN entered by the user should be the same PIN that was previously forwarded to the user by the central control device 101, [0039]).
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 35 U.S.C. 103 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.
Claim 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Willis, and further in view of George (US 20160295349, hereinafter “George”).
Regarding claim 25, Willis discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 24), however the Willis does not explicitly disclose, wherein the connecting includes connecting, by the at least one pairing device, with the at least one communication device upon at least one of: the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device being authenticated by the at least one server.
In the same field of endeavor, George discloses, wherein the connecting includes connecting, by the at least one pairing device, with the at least one communication device upon at least one of: the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device being authenticated by the at least one server (As shown, a method 500 begins at step 502, where enrollment module 118 obtains enrollment credentials from mobile device 106. These enrollment credentials are associated with a particular using entity, such as an individual user, a group of users, an organization, or the like, and serve to verify the identity of the using entity of the mobile device 106 to the MDM server 102, [0065]-[0066]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Willis by specifically providing wherein the connecting includes connecting, by the at least one pairing device, with the at least one communication device upon at least one of: the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device being authenticated by the at least one server, as taught by George for the purpose of improves the speed and security of authenticating communication between fixed and mobile devices (abstract). Claim 26, 27, 29 and 33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Willis, and further in view of Dent et al. (US 20020178385, hereinafter “Dent”).
Regarding claim 26, Willis discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 24), however Willis does not explicitly disclose, wherein the shared key provided by the at least one server to the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device has same bit/byte form between the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device.
In the same field of endeavor, Dent discloses, wherein the shared key provided by the at least one server to the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device has same bit/byte form between the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device (The central controller 40 communicates with the wireless communication device 100 via a wireless interface, such as a BLUETOOTH interface, to supply authorization codes to the wireless communication device 100 [0014]… The wireless communication device 100 combines selected portions of the authentication challenge, including the random bitstring, with the stored authorization code using a predetermined combining algorithm to generate an authentication response and transmits the authentication response to the electronic door lock 20. The electronic door lock 20 computes an expected authentication response using the same combining algorithm. If the received authentication response matches the expected authentication response, the door is unlocked to permit access to the hotel room [0012]-[0013]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Willis by specifically providing wherein the shared key provided by the at least one server to the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device has same bit/byte form between the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device, as taught by Dent for the purpose of mutually establishing the identity of two communicating devices and establishing a temporary session key more efficiently, thereby securing communication between the devices [0019].
Regarding claim 27, the combination of Willis and Dent discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 26), in addition Dent discloses,
wherein the shared key is at least one of: same or different for each connection of the at least one pairing device and the at least one communication device ( The time indication in the authentication challenge (if present) may be used by the wireless communication device 100 to select the appropriate authorization code from a plurality of codes, or the wireless communication device 100 may use a time indication provided by an internal clock. Wireless communication device 100 transmits the authentication response to the electronic door lock 20…The electronic door lock 20 compares the received authentication response with an expected authentication response calculated by the electronic door lock 20 or supplied by the central controller 40, [0028]-[0029]).
Regarding claim 29, Willis discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 24), however the Willis does not explicitly disclose, wherein the shared key is at least one of: a global shared key, a user-specific shared key associated with a particular user, and any combination thereof.
In the same field of endeavor, Dent discloses, wherein the shared key is at least one of: a global shared key (the electronic door lock 20 can be programmed with a secret master code that is used to compute authorization codes for different time periods. With knowledge of this master code and a device number associated with the electronic door lock 20, the central controller 40 can compute, at any given time, the valid authorization code of the electronic door lock 20, [0014]), a user-specific shared key associated with a particular user (The authorization code can be supplied to the electronic door lock 20, for example, when the hotel guest checks in. The authorization codes are customized to a particular door or doors and to particular dates or times. Typically, one code is issued for each door for each authorized time period (e.g., day, week). However, the same code may be issued for multiple doors. The central controller 40 may also provide the electronic door lock 20 with a time indication to indicate the period during which the authorization code is valid, [0023]), and any combination thereof.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Willis by specifically providing wherein the shared key is at least one of: a global shared key, a user-specific shared key associated with a particular user, and any combination thereof, as taught by Dent for the purpose of mutually establishing the identity of two communicating devices and establishing a temporary session key more efficiently, thereby securing communication between the devices [0019].
Regarding claim 33, Willis discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 24), however the Willis does not explicitly disclose, wherein the connecting includes transmitting at least one of: the shared key, a text added to the shared key, an encrypted shared key, an encrypted combination of a shared key and the text, and any combination thereof.
In the same field of endeavor, Dent discloses, wherein the connecting includes transmitting at least one of: the shared key, a text added to the shared key, an encrypted shared key, an encrypted combination of a shared key and the text, and any combination thereof (FIG. 3. Security module 110 may store secret information used to derive authorization codes as hereinafter described, as well as public and private keys used for encryption and decryption….. The central controller 40 may use an enciphered communication channel based on a secret, symmetric key to communicate with the electronic door lock 20 to secure communications against interception. The cipher key may be a symmetric key known only to the hotel or, alternatively, a public/private key pair may be used for encryption and decryption, [0022]-[0023]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Willis by specifically providing wherein the connecting includes transmitting at least one of: the shared key, a text added to the shared key, an encrypted shared key, an encrypted combination of a shared key and the text, and any combination thereof, as taught by Dent for the purpose of mutually establishing the identity of two communicating devices and establishing a temporary session key more efficiently, thereby securing communication between the devices [0019].
Claim 31 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Willis, and further in view of Nielsen (US 20020180582, hereinafter “Nielsen”)
Regarding claim 31, Willis discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 24), however the Willis does not explicitly disclose, wherein the at least one server transmits a respective shared key in a plurality of shared keys to each pairing device in a plurality of pairing device and transmits the plurality of shared keys to the at least one communication device; wherein the connecting includes connecting each pairing device and the at least one communication device using respective shared key.
In the same field of endeavor, Nielsen discloses, wherein the at least one server transmits a respective shared key in a plurality of shared keys to each pairing device in a plurality of pairing device (A plurality of valid access codes may be stored in the electronic key device 701 and the lock control unit 721, respectively. During the actual access control session, the electronic key device 701, transmits a selected access code to the lock control unit 721, where a verification is performed, [0170]) and transmits the plurality of shared keys to the at least one communication device (The access code management system 211 transmits access codes to the electronic key device 201 and/or the lock control unit 221, [0128]); wherein the connecting includes connecting each pairing device and the at least one communication device using respective shared key (During the actual access control session, the electronic key device 701, transmits a selected access code to the lock control unit 721, where a verification is performed, [0170]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Willis by specifically providing wherein the at least one server transmits a respective shared key in a plurality of shared keys to each pairing device in a plurality of pairing device and transmits the plurality of shared keys to the at least one communication device, wherein the connecting includes connecting each pairing device and the at least one communication device using respective shared key, as taught by Nielsen for the purpose of controlling access to a location, where access to the location is restricted by a lock mechanism [0001].
Claims 34-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Willis, and further in view of Prakash et al. (US 20140230039, hereinafter “Prakash”).
Regarding claim 34, Willis discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 24), however the Willis does not explicitly disclose, wherein the receiving includes scanning, by the at least one pairing device, an identification code; and triggering, based on the scanning, the receiving, by the at least one pairing device, the shared key from the at least one server.
In the same field of endeavor, Prakash discloses, wherein the receiving includes scanning, by the at least one pairing device, an identification code (the mobile device may comprise a camera and a token extractor. The token extractor may be coupled to the camera and configured to analyze an image, captured by the camera, [0013]); and triggering, based on the scanning, the receiving, by the at least one pairing device, the shared key from the at least one server (Once the barcode has been decoded and the token extracted, mobile device 106 may output the extracted token to client device 104. In block 510 client device 104 may receive the token as input. As discussed above in reference to FIG. 1, the token may be manually entered into client device 104 or it may be transmitted through a wired or wireless data connection between mobile device 106 and client device 104. Client device 104 may then transmit the input token to server 102 in block 512, Fig. 5 and [0048]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Willis by specifically providing wherein the receiving includes scanning, by the at least one pairing device, an identification code; and triggering, based on the scanning, the receiving, by the at least one pairing device, the shared key from the at least one server, as taught by Prakash for the purpose of efficiently decode the barcode for authenticating the user of mobile device as having authorization to access the requested resource [0019].
Regarding claim 35, the combination of Willis and Prakash discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 34), in addition Prakash discloses, wherein the identification code includes at least one of the following: a product name, a product identifier, and any combination thereof (the barcode may be encoded in a manner specific to both mobile device 106 and the requested resource. In some embodiments, the barcode may be encoded in a manner identified by utilizing both the identifier of the requested resource and the identifier of the user and/or mobile device 106 to arrive at a unique identifier to use in the encoding method, [0024]-[0025]).
Regarding claim 36, the combination of Willis and Prakash discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 34), in addition Prakash discloses, wherein the identification code is associated with the at least one communication device the barcode may be encoded in a manner specific to both mobile device 106 and the requested resource. In some embodiments, the barcode may be encoded in a manner identified by utilizing both the identifier of the requested resource and the identifier of the user and/or mobile device 106 to arrive at a unique identifier to use in the encoding method, [0024]-[0025]).
Prior Art of the Record:
The prior art made of record not relied upon and considered pertinent to
Applicant’s disclosure:
US 20160358389: The invention relates to a mobile telephone containing an authentication code (ID) for enabling a motor vehicle to be locked/unlocked and/or started via a Bluetooth™ Low Energy (BLE) protocol, characterized in that said mobile telephone comprises: a pairing code (AP) for enabling the mobile telephone to be registered automatically with said motor vehicle; and/or an identification code (VIN) for enabling the mobile telephone to be recognized automatically in said motor vehicle.
US 20140064488: The key fob is capable of transmitting only (not receiving) and is paired with a control unit in a vehicle or with any other control device. Use of the key fob and control unit IDs prevents unauthorized pairing and access to the operation key (OpKey) that is later used for communications between the devices. Elliptical curve cryptography (ECC) is used for strong security and efficient implementation. In the pairing process, device IDs are used for entity authentication and public key cryptography is used for easy key management.
US 20140025950: A key fob-control unit pairing device that includes a transceiver to transmit and receive signals, a memory to store a certificate of authenticity (CertVD) associated with the pairing device and a public key (PKVM), and a processor coupled to said transceiver and memory. The processor is to receive a public key (PKKF) from a key fob and associated with the key fob and a certificate of authenticity (CertKF) associated with the key fob, verify the CertKF with the PKVM, and transmit an encrypted PKKF to a control unit.
Conclusion
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/GOLAM SOROWAR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2641