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 .
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed July 29, 2025, has been entered. Claims 1 – 9 are pending in the application. Applicant’s amendments to the Drawings and Specification have overcome each and every objection previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed May 6, 2025.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed July 29, 2025, regarding the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections of claims 1 – 9 have been considered but they are not persuasive.
On page 11 of Applicant’s response, Applicant argues “Claim 1 recites (in part): ...informing of the user an instruction for implementing a first biometric authentication based on the ear acoustic feature and a second biometric authentication based on the talker feature continuously, wherein the instruction includes requesting the user to speak a password for the second biometric authentication after hearing an audible sound... Applicant respectfully submits that the cited references, and any combination thereof, fail to teach or suggest the above features and, therefore, claim 1 is patentable for at least these reasons.”.
However, Kao (US Patent No. 10,063,542) recites, in column 6, lines 1-3, "FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of an exemplary computing environment 200 for performing simultaneous voice and sound multifactor authentication." and recites, in column 9, lines 49-61, "The first client computing device prompts (315) the user to vocalize a pass phrase upon hearing a verification sound played by the first client computing device. For example, based on data and files obtained from the one or more databases of sound data 205 (e.g., trigger sounds database 206), authentication prompt generator 229 can cause primary authentication device 105 to play audio voice prompts instructing user 115 on the expected authentication input and timing (e.g., “Say ‘OK’ after you hear a car horn.”). In some embodiments, primary authentication device 105 can play an audio file prompting user 115 to vocalize a sound or pass phrase that user 115 has selected in advance (e.g., “Say your secret pass phrase after you hear a car horn.”).", disclosing “informing of the user an instruction for implementing a first biometric authentication based on the ear acoustic feature and a second biometric authentication based on the talker feature continuously, wherein the instruction includes requesting the user to speak a password for the second biometric authentication after hearing an audible sound”, where playing an audio voice prompt instructing the user to vocalize a pass phrase upon hearing a verification sound reads on requesting the user to speak a password for the second biometric authentication after hearing an audible sound. In the example “Say your secret pass phrase after you hear a car horn.”, the sound of a car horn is the verification sound and reads on an audible sound. Kao is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of biometric authentication. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lesso et al. (US Patent No. 10,984,083), hereinafter Lesso '083, to incorporate the teachings of Kao to provide an acoustic probing signal for ear biometric authentication as disclosed by Lesso '083, where an audio voice prompt instructs the user to vocalize a pass phrase for voice authentication upon hearing a verification sound as taught by Kao, where the verification sound is the acoustic probing signal of Lesso '083.
Therefore, the rejections of claims 1 – 9 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lesso '083 in view of Kao are maintained.
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.
Claims 1 – 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lesso et al. (US Patent No. 10,984,083), hereinafter Lesso '083, in view of Kao (US Patent No. 10,063,542).
Regarding claim 1, Lesso '083 discloses:
a biometric authentication device (Column 1, lines 6-9, "Embodiments of the disclosure relate to methods, apparatus and systems for authentication of a user, and particularly to methods, apparatus and systems for authentication of a user based on ear biometric data.") comprising:
a memory configured to store instructions (Column 7, lines 27-29, "The one or more processors may perform methods as described herein on the basis of data and program instructions stored in memory 324.");
and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions (Column 7, lines 27-29, "The one or more processors may perform methods as described herein on the basis of data and program instructions stored in memory 324.") to perform:
inputting a prove signal into an ear of a user (Column 10, lines 50-54, "One or more loudspeakers or similar transducers positioned close to or within the ear generate an acoustic stimulus, and one or more microphones similarly positioned close to or within the ear detect the acoustic response of the ear to the acoustic stimulus."; An acoustic stimulus reads on a prove signal.);
extracting an ear acoustic feature of the user from a reverberation sound of the prove signal outputted from the ear of the user (Column 7, lines 54-60, "As noted above, the audio signal may be output to all or a part of the user's ear (i.e. the auricle or the ear canal). The audio signal is reflected off the ear, and the reflected signal (or echo signal) is detected and received by a microphone 308. The reflected signal thus comprises data which is characteristic of the individual's ear, and suitable for use as a biometric."; Column 10, lines 50-56, "One or more loudspeakers or similar transducers positioned close to or within the ear generate an acoustic stimulus, and one or more microphones similarly positioned close to or within the ear detect the acoustic response of the ear to the acoustic stimulus. One or more features may be extracted from the response signal, and used to characterize the individual."; The acoustic response of the ear to the acoustic stimulus reads on a reverberation sound of the prove signal outputted from the ear of the user.),
extracting a talker feature of the user from user's voice record (Column 9, lines 1-9, "The additional authentication mechanism 320 may be configured to provide one or more authentication algorithms in addition to the ear biometric algorithm described above. For example, the additional authentication mechanism 320 may comprise a voice biometric authentication module, configured to perform a biometric authentication algorithm on a voice signal, e.g. received via the microphone 308 or via another microphone such as a dedicated voice microphone"; Column 11, lines 45-55, "If the answer is correct, the method proceeds to step 510, in which a voice biometric algorithm is performed on the voice signal (i.e. the response to the question posed in step 506). (In alternative embodiments, steps 508 and 510 may be carried out simultaneously with each other.) The voice biometric algorithm may comprise a comparison of one or more features extracted from the voice signal to a stored voice model (i.e. a voice print) of the authorised user identified in step 502. A voice biometric score may be generated, indicating the level of similarity between the voice signal and the stored voice model."; One or more features extracted from the voice signal reads on extracting a talker feature of the user from user's voice record.);
authenticating the user based on each of the ear acoustic feature and the talker feature (Column 9, lines 51-62, "In step 400, ear biometric data is acquired from a user seeking authentication. For example, the biometric system may acquire ear model data from a personal audio device, which generates an acoustic stimulus for application to the user's ear, and extract one or more features from the measured response to that acoustic stimulus (e.g. as detected with a microphone in the personal audio device). In step 402, additional authentication data is obtained from the user. For example, the additional authentication data may comprise voice biometric data. e.g. received via the microphone 308 or via another microphone such as a dedicated voice microphone (not illustrated)."; Column 10, lines 61-67, "In step 502, a biometric algorithm is performed on the acquired data to determine whether the user is an authorised user. For example, the one or more extracted features may be compared to one or more stored ear models (i.e. ear prints), and a biometric score generated, indicating the level of similarity or closeness between the acquired data and the stored ear models."; Column 11, line 65 - Column 12, line 2, "In an alternative embodiment, the voice biometric score is combined with the ear biometric score (i.e. obtained in step 502) to generate an overall score, and the overall score compared to an overall threshold value. The biometric scores may be combined by simply summing."; Determine whether the user is an authorized user reads on authenticating the user, and combining the voice biometric score with the ear biometric score to generate an overall score reads on authenticating the user based on each of the ear acoustic feature and the talker feature.);
identifying the user with a first biometric authentication result based on the ear acoustic feature and a second biometric authentication result based on the talker feature (Column 10, lines 50-56, "One or more loudspeakers or similar transducers positioned close to or within the ear generate an acoustic stimulus, and one or more microphones similarly positioned close to or within the ear detect the acoustic response of the ear to the acoustic stimulus. One or more features may be extracted from the response signal, and used to characterize the individual."; Column 11, lines 9-13, "If the acquired data matches one of the stored ear models to a sufficient degree (e.g. the biometric score is greater than or equal to a threshold value), the user may be identified as the authorised user associated with that stored ear model and the method proceeds to step 506."; Column 11, lines 49-55, "The voice biometric algorithm may comprise a comparison of one or more features extracted from the voice signal to a stored voice model (i.e. a voice print) of the authorised user identified in step 502. A voice biometric score may be generated, indicating the level of similarity between the voice signal and the stored voice model."; Identifying the user as the authorized user associated with a stored ear model reads on identifying the user with a first biometric authentication result based on the ear acoustic feature, and generating a voice biometric score by comparing features extracted from the voice signal to a stored voice model of the authorized user reads on identifying the user with a second biometric authentication result based on the talker feature.),
informing of the user [an instruction] for implementing a first biometric authentication based on the ear acoustic feature and a second biometric authentication based on the talker feature continuously (Column 5, lines 17-27, “All of the personal audio devices described above thus provide audio playback to substantially a single user in use. Each device comprises one or more loudspeakers and one or more microphones, which may be utilized to generate biometric data related to the frequency response of the user's ear. The loudspeaker is operable to generate an acoustic stimulus, or acoustic probing wave, towards the user's ear, and the microphone is operable to detect and measure a response of the user's ear to the acoustic stimulus, e.g. to measure acoustic waves reflected from the ear canal or the pinna.”; Column 9, lines 51-62, "In step 400, ear biometric data is acquired from a user seeking authentication. For example, the biometric system may acquire ear model data from a personal audio device, which generates an acoustic stimulus for application to the user's ear, and extract one or more features from the measured response to that acoustic stimulus (e.g. as detected with a microphone in the personal audio device). In step 402, additional authentication data is obtained from the user. For example, the additional authentication data may comprise voice biometric data. e.g. received via the microphone 308 or via another microphone such as a dedicated voice microphone (not illustrated)."; A loudspeaker generating an acoustic probing wave towards the user's ear reads on informing the user of the ear authentication, and obtaining the additional authentication data of voice biometric data from the user in the step after detecting and measuring a response of the user's ear to the acoustic stimulus, where the acoustic probing wave notifies the user of the operation start of the authentication sequence, reads on informing the user of a first biometric authentication based on the ear acoustic feature and a second biometric authentication based on the talker feature continuously. Examiner’s Note: The term “continuously” is being interpreted to mean that the second biometric authentication occurs consecutively after the first biometric authentication, based on the specification. The specification recites, in paragraph 0061, lines 1-7, “First, in step T1, when the interaction control unit 201 receives the fact that biometric authentication is required due to a request or the like from the user, the simultaneous notification unit 202 of the interaction control unit 201 instructs the replay unit 111 to reproduce, by voice, a prompt for letting the user perform ear authentication and voice authentication consecutively, such as "please say your password after the beep sound".” The term “continuously” is not used in the specification.);
and making use of an audible sound [informing the user a timing to speak] as the prove signal for the first biometric authentication based on the ear acoustic feature (Column 5, lines 17-27, “All of the personal audio devices described above thus provide audio playback to substantially a single user in use. Each device comprises one or more loudspeakers and one or more microphones, which may be utilized to generate biometric data related to the frequency response of the user's ear. The loudspeaker is operable to generate an acoustic stimulus, or acoustic probing wave, towards the user's ear, and the microphone is operable to detect and measure a response of the user's ear to the acoustic stimulus, e.g. to measure acoustic waves reflected from the ear canal or the pinna.”).
Lesso '083 does not specifically disclose: informing of the user an instruction for implementing a first biometric authentication based on the ear acoustic feature and a second biometric authentication based on the talker feature continuously, wherein the instruction includes requesting the user to speak a password for the second biometric authentication after hearing an audible sound; and making use of the audible sound informing of the user a timing to speak as the prove signal for the first biometric authentication based on the ear acoustic feature.
Kao teaches:
informing of the user an instruction for implementing a first biometric authentication based on the ear acoustic feature and a second biometric authentication based on the talker feature continuously, wherein the instruction includes requesting the user to speak a password for the second biometric authentication after hearing an audible sound (Column 6, lines 1-3, "FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of an exemplary computing environment 200 for performing simultaneous voice and sound multifactor authentication."; Column 9, lines 49-61, "The first client computing device prompts (315) the user to vocalize a pass phrase upon hearing a verification sound played by the first client computing device. For example, based on data and files obtained from the one or more databases of sound data 205 (e.g., trigger sounds database 206), authentication prompt generator 229 can cause primary authentication device 105 to play audio voice prompts instructing user 115 on the expected authentication input and timing (e.g., “Say ‘OK’ after you hear a car horn.”). In some embodiments, primary authentication device 105 can play an audio file prompting user 115 to vocalize a sound or pass phrase that user 115 has selected in advance (e.g., “Say your secret pass phrase after you hear a car horn.”)."; Playing an audio voice prompt instructing the user to vocalize a pass phrase upon hearing a verification sound, where the verification sound is used for sound authentication and the pass phrase is used for voice verification, reads on informing the user an instruction for implementing a first biometric authentication based on the ear acoustic feature and a second biometric authentication based on the talker feature continuously, wherein the instruction includes requesting the user to speak a password for the second biometric authentication after hearing an audible sound. Examiner’s Note: The term “continuously” is being interpreted to mean that the second biometric authentication occurs consecutively after the first biometric authentication, based on the specification. The specification recites, in paragraph 0061, lines 1-7, “First, in step T1, when the interaction control unit 201 receives the fact that biometric authentication is required due to a request or the like from the user, the simultaneous notification unit 202 of the interaction control unit 201 instructs the replay unit 111 to reproduce, by voice, a prompt for letting the user perform ear authentication and voice authentication consecutively, such as "please say your password after the beep sound".” The term “continuously” is not used in the specification.);
and making use of the audible sound informing of the user a timing to speak as the prove signal for the first biometric authentication based on the ear acoustic feature (Column 6, lines 1-3, "FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of an exemplary computing environment 200 for performing simultaneous voice and sound multifactor authentication."; Column 9, lines 49-61, "The first client computing device prompts (315) the user to vocalize a pass phrase upon hearing a verification sound played by the first client computing device. For example, based on data and files obtained from the one or more databases of sound data 205 (e.g., trigger sounds database 206), authentication prompt generator 229 can cause primary authentication device 105 to play audio voice prompts instructing user 115 on the expected authentication input and timing (e.g., “Say ‘OK’ after you hear a car horn.”). In some embodiments, primary authentication device 105 can play an audio file prompting user 115 to vocalize a sound or pass phrase that user 115 has selected in advance (e.g., “Say your secret pass phrase after you hear a car horn.”)."; Column 12, lines 44-51, "Upon capturing the second verification sound, primary authentication device 105 can transmit an audio file representing the second verification sound to server computing device 120 for processing as part of the authentication method. For example, components of device sound verification engine 220 can determine whether the second verification sound matches an expected predetermined verification sound as part of the authentication protocol."; Playing an audio voice prompt instructing the user to vocalize a pass phrase upon hearing a verification sound, where the verification sound is used for sound authentication and the pass phrase is used for voice verification, reads on making use of an audible sound informing the user a timing to speak as the prove signal for the first biometric authentication based on the ear acoustic feature.).
Kao is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of biometric authentication. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lesso '083 to incorporate the teachings of Kao to provide an acoustic probing signal for ear biometric authentication as disclosed by Lesso '083, where an audio voice prompt instructs the user to vocalize a pass phrase for voice authentication upon hearing a verification sound as taught by Kao, where the verification sound is the acoustic probing signal of Lesso '083. Doing so would allow for providing a simpler and more robust method of authenticating a user over existing technologies (Kao; Column 14, lines 1-10).
Regarding claim 2, Lesso '083 in view of Kao discloses the biometric authentication device as claimed in claim 1.
Lesso '083 further discloses:
wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to perform: causing an earphone worn by the user to output the prove signal (Column 4, lines 56-65, "FIG. 1d shows a further alternative personal audio device 50, comprising an in-ear headphone (or earphone), insert headphone, or ear bud. This headphone is configured to be partially or totally inserted within the ear canal 12b, and may provide a relatively tight seal between the ear canal 12b and the external environment (i.e. it may be acoustically closed or sealed). The headphone may comprise one or more loudspeakers 52 and one or more microphones 54, as with the others devices described above, and these components may form part of an active noise cancellation system."; Column 10, lines 50-54, "One or more loudspeakers or similar transducers positioned close to or within the ear generate an acoustic stimulus, and one or more microphones similarly positioned close to or within the ear detect the acoustic response of the ear to the acoustic stimulus."; An earphone comprising a loudspeaker generating an acoustic stimulus reads on causing an earphone worn by the user to output the prove signal.).
Regarding claim 3, Lesso '083 in view of Kao discloses the biometric authentication device as claimed in claim 1.
Lesso '083 further discloses:
wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to perform: recording the user's voice using a microphone (Column 9, lines 58-62, "In step 402, additional authentication data is obtained from the user. For example, the additional authentication data may comprise voice biometric data. e.g. received via the microphone 308 or via another microphone such as a dedicated voice microphone (not illustrated)."; Receiving voice biometric data via a microphone reads on recording the user's voice using a microphone.).
Regarding claim 4, arguments analogous to claim 1 are applicable.
Regarding claim 5, Lesso '083 in view of Kao discloses the biometric authentication method as claimed in claim 4.
Lesso '083 further discloses:
wherein the biometric authentication method comprises: causing an earphone worn by the user to output the prove signal (Column 4, lines 56-65, "FIG. 1d shows a further alternative personal audio device 50, comprising an in-ear headphone (or earphone), insert headphone, or ear bud. This headphone is configured to be partially or totally inserted within the ear canal 12b, and may provide a relatively tight seal between the ear canal 12b and the external environment (i.e. it may be acoustically closed or sealed). The headphone may comprise one or more loudspeakers 52 and one or more microphones 54, as with the others devices described above, and these components may form part of an active noise cancellation system."; Column 10, lines 50-54, "One or more loudspeakers or similar transducers positioned close to or within the ear generate an acoustic stimulus, and one or more microphones similarly positioned close to or within the ear detect the acoustic response of the ear to the acoustic stimulus."; An earphone comprising a loudspeaker generating an acoustic stimulus reads on causing an earphone worn by the user to output the prove signal.);
and inputting the prove signal outputted from the earphone into an ear of the user (Column 10, lines 50-54, "One or more loudspeakers or similar transducers positioned close to or within the ear generate an acoustic stimulus, and one or more microphones similarly positioned close to or within the ear detect the acoustic response of the ear to the acoustic stimulus."; A loudspeaker positioned within the ear generating an acoustic stimulus and detecting the acoustic response of the ear to the acoustic stimulus reads on the prove signal being outputted from the earphone into an ear of the user.).
Regarding claim 6, arguments analogous to claim 3 are applicable.
Regarding claim 7, arguments analogous to claim 1 are applicable. In addition, Lesso '083 discloses: a non-transitory recording medium having a biometric authentication program stored thereon (Column 3, lines 17-18, "A further aspect provides a non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions"), the biometric authentication program causing a computer (Column 7, lines 27-29, "The one or more processors may perform methods as described herein on the basis of data and program instructions stored in memory 324.") to perform the steps of claim 1.
Regarding claim 8, arguments analogous to claim 5 are applicable.
Regarding claim 9, arguments analogous to claim 3 are applicable.
Conclusion
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
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/JAMES BOGGS/Examiner, Art Unit 2657
/DANIEL C WASHBURN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2657