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 argues that the prior art combination “teaches away” but does not cite any support or rationale for this argument. Examiner does not find the argument persuasive.
Applicant argues that the prior art fails to teach the amendments made to the claims regarding transmission of activation information from a first terminal to a second terminal and setting up an account.
Examiner finds this argument persuasive and has incorporated Tsay US 2020/0311801 to teach the claims as amended regarding sharing registration information and QR codes.
Applicant has included in the amendment that the first occupant and second occupant “belong to a same community” and further to “separate the second personal information from the community”.
Examiner argues that the term “community” is not linked to the invention at issue in any meaningful technical way. For example, the claim says “separate the second personal information from the community”. It is unclear what Applicant’s intent is. No community information or account is included in the claims. Only the generic concept that 2 users are a part of a “community” is present.
Examiner has incorporated Hietanen US 2018/0060989 to meet new claim 8. Examiner asserts that Tiziani US 2019/0291719 teaches a user account associated with a profile with identifier, password, and usage history. Heinrich US 2018/0229674 teaches an account with usage history and biometrics. Arguably these references in combination would teach claim 8. Examiner has incorporated Hietanen US 2018/0060989 to be more explicit.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being incomplete for omitting essential structural cooperative relationships of elements, such omission amounting to a gap between the necessary structural connections. See MPEP § 2172.01. The omitted structural cooperative relationships are: The claims state belonging to a “community” but the community has no relevance to the invention in a technical sense in any fashion. The claims state separating a second personal information from a community but the second personal information appears to never have been part of a community in any technical sense.
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) 1-4, 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heinrich US 2018/0229674 in view of Tiziani US 2019/0291719 in view of Tsay US 2020/0311801.
As per claim 1, Heinrich teaches A personal information system configured to utilize personal information, the personal information system comprising: an acquisition unit configured to identify an occupant of a vehicle and acquire a state of the occupant; [0005]-[0008][0018][0019][0020] (teaches vehicle identifies user and physiological data)
Heinrich teaches identification based on a facial image. [0035] (camera identification)
Heinrich teaches a storage unit configured to store usage history information of a vehicle device and state information of the occupant acquired by the acquisition unit; [0005]-[0008][0011][0031][0035][0054] (teaches stored user and occupant predefined settings or a learning machine that learns user preferences over time, additionally teaches retrieving user “history”, and user identification)
Heinrich teaches a personal storage unit configured to be set for each occupant, and configured to retrieve, as the personal information, the usage history information and the state information from the storage unit for each occupant and sequentially store the usage history information and the state information; [0005]-[0008][0011][0031][0035][0054] (teaches stored user and occupant predefined settings or a learning machine that learns user preferences over time, additionally teaches retrieving user “history”)
Heinrich teaches and a control unit configured to perform control that utilizes the personal information stored in the personal storage unit to provide a service in a manner matching characteristics of each occupant when the vehicle device is operated, [0031][0035][0067]-[0072] (teaches a vehicle control unit to use parameters of each occupant to adjust vehicle parameters/settings based on stored data and preferences)
Heinrich teaches a first and second account or profile may be part of a community of users in the vehicle but separated as a driver and passenger [0006]-[0009]
Heinrich teaches user profiles but does not explicitly state “an account”.
Tiziani teaches wherein the control unit is configured to associate an account, which is set for each occupant when the vehicle device is operated, with the personal information and identify a target person for providing the service based on the account. [0019][0021][0022][0024][0028] (teaches vehicle configuration according to a user profile which is associated with a user account)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to use the teaching of Tiziani with the prior art because it allows for user convenience.
Tiziani teaches the personal storage is configured to store first personal information and second personal information respectively for a first occupant and a second occupant, who belong to a same community. [0019][0021][0022][0024][0028] (teaches accounts of a plurality of users in order to operate a vehicle)
Tiziani teaches the control unit is configured to perform control that utilizes the second personal information to provide a service in a manner matching characteristics of the second occupant when the vehicle device is operated. [0019][0021][0022][0024][0028]
Tiziani teaches a first and second account may be part of a community [0037] (family)
Tsay teaches a first portable terminal of the first occupant is configured to transmit activation information, which is for activating the second personal information, to a second portable terminal of the second occupant, the second portable terminal is configured to, when receiving the activation information, separate the second personal information from the community, the second portable terminal is configured to, by setting up own account of the second occupant for the separated second personal information, associate the second personal account with the second personal information and activate the second personal account, [0024]-[0026] (teaches a first user transmitting a QR activation code to a second user terminal for registering their own account with the service)
Examiner argues that by creating a personal second account that this account is “separate from the community”. Examiner points to the rejections above as examples of separate accounts, including users, drivers and passengers, which are examples of separation.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to use the teaching of Tsay with the prior art because it promotes use of the service.
As per claim 2. Heinrich teaches the personal information system of claim 1, wherein the storage unit includes a cloud storage unit on an Internet, a terminal storage unit of a terminal of the occupant, and a vehicle storage unit of the vehicle device, and the personal information is formed by joining information in the cloud storage unit, information in the terminal storage unit, and information in the vehicle storage unit. [0031][0035] (teaches locally and or remotely stored including vehicle storage, cloud or a personal device, or a combination, stored user preferences and settings)
As per claim 3. Heinrich teaches the personal information system of claim 1, wherein the personal information in the personal storage unit for each occupant is configured to be sharable by transmission and reception among portable terminals carried by occupants. [0018][0023]-[0025][0036] (teaches that information is sharable between portable terminals of the occupants, a vehicle, and the cloud)
As per claim 4. Heinrich teaches A personal information system comprising: a personal storage device configured to be set for each occupant; a storage device; at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions configured to, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: identify an occupant of a vehicle and acquire a state of the occupant; cause the storage device to store usage history information of a vehicle device and state information; [0005]-[0008][0018][0019][0020] (teaches vehicle identifies user and physiological data) [0011][0031][0035][0054] (teaches stored user and occupant predefined settings or a learning machine that learns user preferences over time, additionally teaches retrieving user “history”)
Heinrich teaches cause the personal storage device to retrieve, as personal information, the usage history information and the state information from the storage device for each occupant and sequentially store the usage history information and the state information;
[0005]-[0008][0011][0031][0035][0054] (teaches stored user and occupant predefined settings or a learning machine that learns user preferences over time, additionally teaches retrieving user “history”) [0031][0035][0067]-[0072] (teaches a vehicle control unit to use parameters of each occupant to adjust vehicle parameters/settings based on stored data and preferences)
Heinrich teaches user profiles but does not explicitly state “an account”.
Tiziani teaches associate an account, which is set for each occupant when the vehicle device is operated, with the personal information; and identify a target person for providing the service based on the account. [0019][0021][0022][0024][0028] (teaches vehicle configuration according to a user profile which is associated with a user account)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to use the teaching of Tiziani with the prior art because it allows for user convenience.
As per claim 6, Heinrich teaches the control unit is configured to provide the service in a manner matching preference of the target person as identified based on the account. [0031][0035][0067]-[0072] (teaches a vehicle control unit to use parameters of each occupant to adjust vehicle parameters/settings based on stored data and preferences)
As per claim 7, the personal information system of claim 1, Tsay teaches the activation information is a QR code. [0024]-[0026] (teaches transmitting a QR code from a first user terminal to a second user terminal in order to register a second user account for the second user)
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heinrich US 2018/0229674 in view of Tiziani US 2019/0291719 in view of Tsay US 2020/0311801 in view of Hietanen US 2018/0060989.
As per claim 8, the personal information system of claim 1, Hietanen teaches the account corresponds to an occupant identification ID and a password and the control unit is configured to when the account is generated, associate the occupant identification ID, the password, the facial image, stored identification information of the occupant based on the facial image, and the usage history information together. [0015][0153][0154] (teaches establishing a user account including ID, history, password, biometric information and billing information)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to use the teaching of Hietanen with the prior art because it provides increased account data useful for the user.
Heinrich supplementally teaches a user profile including user history, and using biometric information to identify a user [0006]-[0009][0054].
Tiziani supplementally teaches an account with identification, history, and credentials. [0020][0021][0027][0028]
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heinrich US 2018/0229674 in view of Tiziani US 2019/0291719 in view of Tsay US 2020/0311801 in view of Penilla US 2020/0152197.
As per claim 5, Heinrich teaches the state information of the occupant includes identification of the occupant which is based on a prestored facial image of the occupant and satisfaction level and dissatisfaction level which is based on a facial expression and posture of the occupant. [0007] (settings based on posture) [0029] (facial expression, mood, stress) [0031][0035] (user identification, based on stored parameters, including the camera, facial features, )
Penilla teaches the state information of the occupant includes identification of the occupant which is based on a prestored facial image of the occupant and satisfaction level and dissatisfaction level which is based on a facial expression and posture of the occupant. [0011][0050] (mood based on camera and facial expression, used to determine settings) [0136][0137] (facial expressions, body posture and gestures, emotional cues and stress) [0154] (biometric user facial identification) [0141][0165] (biometric prestored facial image)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to use the teaching of Penilla with the prior art because it customizes a beneficial interface for the user based on their emotions.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER BROWN whose telephone number is (571)272-3833. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Luu Pham can be reached at (571) 270-5002. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER J BROWN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2439