Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/490,307

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATICALLY LOCKING A CONTACTLESS CARD

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Oct 19, 2023
Examiner
MAI, THIEN T
Art Unit
2876
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Capital One Services LLC
OA Round
5 (Non-Final)
59%
Grant Probability
Moderate
5-6
OA Rounds
3m
Est. Remaining
79%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 59% of resolved cases
59%
Career Allowance Rate
412 granted / 696 resolved
-8.8% vs TC avg
Strong +20% interview lift
Without
With
+20.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
37 currently pending
Career history
736
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
10.1%
-29.9% vs TC avg
§103
60.0%
+20.0% vs TC avg
§102
22.8%
-17.2% vs TC avg
§112
1.8%
-38.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 696 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 4/27/26 has been entered. 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) 1-8, 10-17, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bankeria (US 20210342816) in view of Adams (US 20070152035) 1. A method comprising: identifying when a timer associated with a contactless card expires (par. 48); after the timer has expired, locking the contactless card (i.e. par. 48-50: a re-lock setting in which the card is re-locked (or transition to a default state (e.g., a complete or a partial lock for some transactions) after an unlock duration, such as after one of the foregoing user preference time settings, after a default time setting, after the number of transaction or another setting); receiving, via a short-range communication antenna of a mobile device, a cryptogram from the contactless card when a user of the contactless card is logged into a mobile application associated with the contactless card (par. 20-21: account authentication app 143 is considered as the mobile application associated with the card; user must authenticate using authentication credentials to access the account authentication application 143. For example, the authentication credentials may include a username and password, biometric credentials), the short-range communication antenna of the mobile device being disabled from receiving the cryptogram from the contactless card unless the user of the contactless card is logged into the mobile application associated with the contactless card (Bankeria discloses authentication-enabled app 143 in chipsets 502 allows users to perform various account related operations, such as viewing account balances, purchasing items, and processing payments, and to receive encrypted data 190 to authenticate and unlock the card; par. 20-21; Bankeria is unclear with respect to the short-range communication antenna of the mobile is disabled from receiving the cryptogram when the user is not logged into the mobile application; Adams discloses [0046] If the device is locked, the user is prompted to enter the password 340 using, for example, the keyboard 532 of the device 500. As described above, the user may be prompted by any number of methods, such as, for example, vibration of the device, emission of a tone by the device, display of a message on the device screen, a message on the contactless payment reader, etc. If the correct password is entered 350, then the device 500 enables use of the payment functionality of the embedded contactless payment chip 110 to complete the transaction 320. On the other hand, if the incorrect password is entered 350, the device 500 disables use of the contactless payment functions 360. Disabling use of the payment functionality of the chip 110 may be achieved by any number of acceptable means, such as, for example, and without limitation, disabling the antenna 130 so that transmission of payment related data from the chip to the payment terminal 140, smart card reader 770, or the like. Adams further discloses that claims 30-32 (which does not require a smart card reader) recite that the mobile electronic device has a function to authenticate and enable restriction of the use of the mobile device itself by a user and the payment circuit card is enabled to provide payment functionality based on the restriction status. Moreover in par. 52: “As set forth above, security features of the mobile wireless communication device 780 may be used to control the transmission of consumer account information 710 [in the card 700]”; therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Adams for preventing usage of the card of the mobile user by possible unauthorized user; it would have also been obvious that the disablement of the antenna would also prevent the cryptogram from the card being received; the combined teachings would result in disabling the antenna of Bankeria as per Adams’s teachings would prevent communication between the mobile device and card and prevent any data including the cryptogram and payment data to be communicated) successfully decrypting the cryptogram to authenticate the contactless card (par. 31); and when the contactless card has been authenticated, unlocking the contactless card (par. 48-49: card is unlocked by the mobile and/or or server), wherein the contactless card is unusable for initiating any transaction while the contactless card is locked (par. 14, 48-49). 2.1 further comprising: starting the timer responsive to user input that identifies a time value for the timer (par. 48-50). 3.1 further comprising: starting the timer responsive to user input that includes the cryptogram received from the contactless card (Fig. 2, par. 48-49: the card is unlocked to start a transaction duration once the cryptogram is authenticated/verified). 4.1 further comprising: starting the timer at a predetermined time of day (par. 48-49). 5.1 further comprising: starting the timer after processing a transaction associated with the contactless card (par. 48-49). 6.1 wherein all transactions initiated in connection with the contactless card are denied while the contactless card is locked (par. 14, 48-49). 7.1 further comprising: identifying a customer account associated with the contactless card to authenticate the contactless card (par. 20-21, 25-29, 33, 44-45, 59). 8.7 further comprising: decrypting protected data in the cryptogram; comparing the protected data to stored record data associated with the customer account; and authenticating the contactless card based on a match between the protected data and the stored record data (par. 33, 35, 48). Re claims 10-17, 19, see discussion regarding claims above. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Adams fails to make up for the above-identified deficiencies of Bankreira because Adams does not teach that the antenna 130 is disabled from receiving a cryptogram or any other data from a contactless card. Indeed, disabling transmitting capabilities is not tantamount to disabling receiving capabilities. However, as also discussed above, Bankeria discloses in par. 20-21: account authentication app 143 is considered as the mobile application associated with the card; user must authenticate using authentication credentials to access the account authentication application 143. For example, the authentication credentials may include a username and password, biometric credentials. Bankeria further discloses authentication-enabled app 143 in chipsets 502 allows users to perform various account related operations, such as viewing account balances, purchasing items, and processing payments, and to receive encrypted data 190 to authenticate and unlock the card; par. 20-21. As can be seen, Bankeria has a desire to protect payment account data of the user by requiring the authentication credentials to unlock the account authentication app 143 in the chipset 503 of the mobile device. Similarly, Adams’s disabling the mobile device’s antenna 130 when incorrect password is entered would disable the payment functionality in the mobile and the card unless a correct password is provided when being prompted (par. 46, 52, claims 30-32). Therefore, the combined teachings would result in disabling the antenna of Bankeria as per Adams’s teachings would prevent communication between the mobile device and card and prevent any data including the cryptogram and payment data to be communicated. Applicant further argues that in Adams, the use of the contactless payment functionality of the contactless payment chip 710 may be disabled via the smart card reader 770. However, Adams in claims 30-32 (which does not require a smart card reader) recite that the mobile electronic device has a function to authenticate and enable restriction of the use of the mobile device itself by a user and the payment circuit card is enabled to provide payment functionality based on the restriction status. Moreover in par. 52: “As set forth above, security features of the mobile wireless communication device 780 may be used to control the transmission of consumer account information 710 [in the card 700]. For these reasons, the previous rejection(s) is/are respectfully maintained. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THIEN MAI whose telephone number is (571)272-8283. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5pm. 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, Steven Paik can be reached at 571-272-2404. 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. /THIEN T MAI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 9 earlier events
Nov 17, 2025
Response Filed
Feb 03, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Mar 12, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Mar 12, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Mar 31, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Apr 27, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Apr 29, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jun 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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METHOD FOR BINDING CARD, TERMINAL DEVICE, AUTHENTICATION SERVER AND STORAGE MEDIUM
3y 8m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
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CARD READER
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Patent 12688746
MONEY HANDLING SYSTEM, MONEY HANDLING METHOD, AND MONEY HANDLING APPARATUS
4y 4m to grant Granted Jul 21, 2026
Patent 12674890
AIMER LOCALIZATION AND TRIANGULATION IN MULTI-SENSOR SCANNER
5y 7m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
59%
Grant Probability
79%
With Interview (+20.0%)
3y 1m (~3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 696 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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