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 .
Priority
The instant application claims the benefit of foreign priority to KR10-2023-0078302 filed 19 June 2023. The priority claim complies with all applicable rules and regulations. Therefore, the claims will be examined using an effective filing date of 19 June 2023.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 16 June 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant’s arguments that “[t]his outcome would frustrate the intended purpose of Penilla, which is notification of restriction violations after vehicle use has first been authorized for that child driver” stated on page 8, and “one skilled in the art would fail to arrive at "when the input password coincides with a pre-registered password, sending, by the processor, a request to approve access to the user interface with a warning indicating the attempt to access the user interface to a pre-registered user terminal and when approval is received from the pre-registered user terminal in response to the warning, allowing, by the processor, access to the user interface”, stated on page 9, the examiner respectfully disagrees.
Penilla discloses a vehicle system where a user may utilize a vehicle login system and then, based on a successful login settings may be applied and remotely administered such as entertainment system settings, comfort and HVAC settings, and camera/video recording guidelines (Para. 135, 138, 149).
Penilla further disclose a situation in which restricted vehicle use is provided to a child of driving age. If a restriction is not followed, then a notification is provided to the administrator user (Para. 126).
Penilla further discloses in figure 4 a set of vehicle settings for a child login profile that are restricted from being modified by the child, such as location and time-based restrictions.
Penilla further discloses in figure 5 a set of vehicle settings for a child login profile that are restricted from being modified by the child. Figure 5 shows a tracking & metrics section that includes vehicle cameras and vehicle event recording that the child is not able to change, but is able to be changed by the administrator. Paragraph 154 also indicates that any type of user profile may be set with defined privileges and/or restrictions.
Matute discloses a system wherein a first user inputs a correct password for an account and a notification is pushed to a smartphone of a second user in response. The second user is expected to respond to the notification—a request to approve access to the user interface with a warning indicating the attempt--. If the response is an approval, then the process may proceed.
See MPEP 2143.01(V)—"If a proposed modification would render the prior art invention being modified unsatisfactory for its intended purpose, there may be no suggestion or motivation to make the proposed modification.”
The test for obviousness is not whether the features of a secondary reference may be bodily incorporated into the structure of the primary reference; nor is it that the claimed invention must be expressly suggested in any one or all of the references. Rather, the test is what the combined teachings of the references would have suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981).
Applicant states “[i]f the teaching of Matute were applied to modify Penilla as proposed by the Office Action, authorization of the child driver’s vehicle use would first be withheld and a notification would instead be sent to the vehicle owner” on page 8. The examiner disagrees with this characterization of the combination. Penilla discloses that the user may interact directly with the vehicle login system. The user may enter a correct password, but still be restricted from some type of vehicle use based on the login settings and restrictions. When a restriction is not followed a notification is sent to the administrator device. The administrator has the ability to change the login settings/restrictions for the user. Matute discloses that a correct password is entered with a request to access restricted data, a notification is sent to a user device, where the notification includes an expectation of a response, and the user of the user device approves. The combination discloses a system where the notification (that expects a response) is sent to the administrator based on the user not following a restriction and in response to the inputting of a correct password with a request to access restricted data. The combination further discloses that a correct password is required when access to a restricted resource is requested. Therefore, the notification with the request and the warning will be sent in response to an initial access attempt for restricted resources and subsequent access attempts for restricted resources.
Also see the 112(a) section below that details that the language of each independent claim that states “a request to approve access to the user interface” was not included in the original disclosure and is therefore, considered to be new matter.
Using the Broadest Reasonable Interpretation (BRI) of “a user interface of the drive video record system”, the phrase may be interpreted to be anything that allows a user to interact with a system that has drive video recording capabilities. The examiner suggests clarifying the meaning of the “user interface” language in the independent claims.
Note Ricci (US 2016/0059865 A1) cited in the Relevant Prior Art section—Ricci discloses if someone tries to the use the vehicle, the vehicle, cooperating with the vehicle reporting module 2208, could contact one or more of the user's smart phone and remote access device 2224 and ask the owner whether permission is granted for someone to use the vehicle. Moreover, and in cooperation with the camera application module 2224, the vehicle reporting module 2208 could send an image of the vehicle occupant(s) along to the owner with the request for permission to use the vehicle (Para. 532).
Note Luong (US 2011/0283311 A1) cited in the Relevant Prior Art section—Luong discloses restricted users may request access to blocked or filtered content. The requests may be transmitted to a user for approval or denial (Para. 97).
Claim Objections
Claims 6 and 16 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 6, line 1—“a case” appears to be referring to “a case” of claim 1. Therefore, line 1 should be amended to state --the case-- in order to correctly refer to the previous instance.
Claim 16 includes similar language is similarly analyzed.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-6, 10-16, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 1, lines 14-15—“when the input password coincides with a pre-registered password, sending, by the processor, a request to approve access to the user interface with a warning indicating the attempt to access the user interface to a pre-registered user terminal”, the original disclosure does not disclose sending a request to approve access to the user interface with a warning indicating the attempt to access the user interface to a pre-registered user terminal. The specification, at paragraph 128 states “[u]pon determining that the password coincides with the number in step 5280, a warning is sent to a pre-registered user terminal (for example, smartphone) in step 5290.” Paragraph 129 states “[f]or example, the built-in cam controller BCC may send a text message to the user terminal to warn that the stored file of the built-in cam BCS is being accessed.” Paragraph 130 states “[i]n step 5300, when the user receives such a warning, the user may transmit information indicating whether access to the file is approved to the built-in cam controller.” These sections do not indicate that the text message includes anything other than a warning. They indicate that the user may perform an additional action to provide approval, but not that the message includes a request for approval. It is also not an inherent limitation since the administrator may see the warning and then access a user profile and change the permissions in the user profile, where the new permissions may be sent to the system. Therefore, the claim language is new matter.
Claim 11 includes similar language and is similarly analyzed.
Claims 2-6, 10, 12-16, and 20 are additionally rejected for being dependent on at least one rejected base claim.
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 1-3, 5, 6, 10-13, 15, 16, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hodge et al. (US 2018/0220189 A1) in view of Penilla et al. (US 2018/0024725 A1) and further in view of Matute (US 2022/0116386 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Hodge teaches a method of controlling a drive video record system, e.g., vehicular video-based data capture and analysis system 100 (Fig. 1, el. 100), the method comprising:
providing a camera module, e.g., client device 101 (Figs. 1, 2, el. 101) includes two cameras 214a and 214b (Fig. 2, el. 214a, 214b), configured to monitor an area around a vehicle, e.g., client device 101 includes two or more cameras 214 including a second “OUT” camera 214b is directed at the road in front of the vehicle, wherein additional cameras 214 may be used, for example facing the back and/or sides of the vehicle, multiple interior areas of the vehicle, one or more top camera with a wide-angle lens providing a 360° view around the vehicle, or the like (Fig. 2, el. 214a, 214b; Para. 49),
a first memory configured to store video transmitted from the camera module, e.g., the video recorded by the cameras 214 is buffered in the memory device 203 (Para. 50), and
a controller, e.g., client device 101 (Figs. 1, 2, el. 101), including a second memory and a processor, e.g., microprocessor 201 (Fig. 2, el. 201), e.g., the microprocessor 201 executes operating system software, firmware, drivers, and application software (Para. 29); one or more processors in association with software in a computer-based system may be used to implement methods of video data collection, cloud-based data collection and analysis of event-based data, generating event-based video clips, sharing event-based video, verifying authenticity of event-based video data files, and setting up client devices according to various embodiments, as well as data models for capturing metadata associated with a given video data object or file or for capturing metadata associated with a given event-based video clip according to various embodiments (Para. 119),
the method comprising:
acquiring, by the processor, password information of a user, e.g., processor 201 receives image processing inputs from video module 207 (e.g., face recognition, human body recognition, etc.)—password--, and the like, wherein the inputs are used to determine the relevant features affecting the operation mode of the vehicle, such as for example, motion or lack of motion, presence of a user, presence of a person but not the user, or the like (Para. 52); an encryption key is provided for each driver authorized to drive the vehicle, wherein a biometric input—password-- from the driver is required to operate the system, such as, a fingerprint recognition, a voice recognition, or a face recognition based identification is used to identify the authorized driver, and for each authorized driver, a corresponding randomly generated encryption key is maintained in a data table, and subsequently, in order to provide privacy, only the authorized driver can access the encrypted video using biometric identification (Para. 62);
acquiring, by the processor, the video or audio according to a set condition, e.g., once the camera settings have been changed, recording of the video is done 506 using the camera settings (Fig. 5, el. 506; Para. 55), wherein based on the determined operational mode, the camera settings (e.g., resolution and frame rate) are changed 505 (Fig. 5, el. 504, 505; Para. 54); the video data is received 602 (Fig. 6, el. 602; Para. 61); and
encrypting and storing, by the processor, the video or the audio based on the password information, e.g., the encrypted video data and associated metadata for the given time period are stored 606 in the buffer (Fig. 6, el. 606; Para. 65); once the camera settings have been changed, recording of the video is done 506 using the camera settings (Fig. 5, el. 506; Para. 55), wherein based on the determined operational mode, the camera settings (e.g., resolution and frame rate) are changed 505 (Fig. 5, el. 504, 505; Para. 54), wherein the inputs are used to determine the relevant features affecting the operation mode of the vehicle, such as for example, motion or lack of motion, presence of a user, presence of a person but not the user, or the like (Para. 52); an encryption key is provided for each driver authorized to drive the vehicle, wherein a biometric input—password-- from the driver is required to operate the system, such as, a fingerprint recognition, a voice recognition, or a face recognition based identification is used to identify the authorized driver, and for each authorized driver, a corresponding randomly generated encryption key is maintained in a data table, and subsequently, in order to provide privacy, only the authorized driver can access the encrypted video using biometric identification (Para. 62);
in a case of entering and starting the vehicle…, requesting, by the processor, input of a password…, e.g., processor 201 receives image processing inputs from video module 207 (e.g., face recognition, human body recognition, etc.)—password--, and the like, wherein the inputs are used to determine the relevant features affecting the operation mode of the vehicle, such as for example, motion or lack of motion, presence of a user, presence of a person but not the user, or the like (Para. 52), and
determining, by the processor, whether to restrict or allow access to the user interface, e.g., touchscreen 211 (Fig. 2, el. 211), according to the password…, e.g., an encryption key is provided for each driver authorized to drive the vehicle, wherein a biometric input—password-- from the driver is required to operate the system, such as, a fingerprint recognition, a voice recognition, or a face recognition based identification is used to identify the authorized driver, and for each authorized driver, a corresponding randomly generated encryption key is maintained in a data table, and subsequently, in order to provide privacy, only the authorized driver can access the encrypted video using biometric identification (Para. 62);
when the input password coincides with a pre-registered password, e.g., an encryption key is provided for each driver authorized to drive the vehicle, wherein a biometric input—password-- from the driver is required to operate the system, such as, a fingerprint recognition, a voice recognition, or a face recognition based identification is used to identify the authorized driver, and for each authorized driver, a corresponding randomly generated encryption key is maintained in a data table, and subsequently, in order to provide privacy, only the authorized driver can access the encrypted video using biometric identification (Para. 62),
sending, by the processor,…a warning…to a pre-registered user terminal, e.g., every time a clip is generated by a client device 101, client device causes a clip alert—warning-- to be displayed to the user's mobile device 104 (Hodge-Fig. 1, el. 104; Para. 42);
when approval is received from the pre-registered user terminal…, e.g., a user may prompt the camera device to pair with the user's mobile device 104, wherein the camera device displays a unique pattern that is captured by the mobile device and sent back to the camera device via the connection to the could system 103—received approval-- (Para. 108),
allowing, by the processor, access to the user interface, e.g., an encryption key is provided for each driver authorized to drive the vehicle, wherein a biometric input from the driver is required to operate the system, such as, a fingerprint recognition, a voice recognition, or a face recognition based identification is used to identify the authorized driver, and for each authorized driver, a corresponding randomly generated encryption key is maintained in a data table, and subsequently, in order to provide privacy, only the authorized driver can access the encrypted video using biometric identification (Para. 62).
Hodge does not clearly teach in a case of entering and starting the vehicle using a smart key, requesting, by the processor, input of a password in response to an attempt to access a user interface of the drive video record system and determining, by the processor, whether to restrict or allow access to the user interface according to the password when there is the attempt to access the user interface of the drive video record system;
when the password coincides with a pre-registered password, sending, by the processor, a request to approve access to the user interface with a warning indicating the attempt to access the user interface to a pre-registered user terminal; and
when approval is received from the pre-registered user terminal in response to the warning, allowing, by the processor, access to the user interface.
Penilla teaches in a case of entering and starting the vehicle using a smart key, e.g., FIG. 10 illustrates a user (Bob) entering the vehicle (Fig. 10; Para. 176);
auto-engine start/shut-off remotely via smart devices—smart key-- (Para. 303),
requesting, by the processor, e.g., processing logic (Para. 149); the vehicle computer can include any number of electronic systems, such as a processor (Para. 270), input of a password in response to an attempt to access a user interface of the drive video record system, e.g., the user may also interact with the vehicle login system directly on the vehicle, wherein the user supplies login credentials to a vehicle login interface which are sent to the onboard vehicle authentication system, and the processing logic receiving the login credentials processes the data and returns an authentication response to the user attempting to log in (Para. 149);
Login settings that can be set and remotely administered include entertainment system settings (radio memory settings, internet access or restriction, streaming services settings), comfort & HVAC settings (climate control, seat positions, seat heater/cooler, suspension/ride settings, entry lighting, remote start, remote stop etc.), and tracking/metric settings (camera/video recording guidelines) (Para. 138);
the vehicle 200 may also include a plurality of cameras, such as cameras 404, 408, 410, 412, 402, etc. (Fig. 10; Para. 176);
allow each user to apply his or her settings to any vehicle based on their login information in which they provide their login and password, wherein when a user logs into a vehicle, the vehicle will determine locally on board to determine the validity of the login presented to the system, wherein if the user's login is recognized, the system will apply settings and use privileges to the vehicle prescribed by the login (Para. 135);
a dealership may also grant a “demo” login for instance, which showcases the vehicle's capabilities, available APPS, features and benefits (Para. 142);
a valet can be given a password to login only as “Valet” which will impose restrictions on trunk operation, vehicle speed operation, vehicle location notification settings etc., and a recording option can be provided, which can set a recording within and around the vehicle when in the valet mode (Para. 143), and
determining, by the processor, whether to restrict or allow access to the user interface according to the password when there is the attempt to access the user interface of the drive video record system, e.g., the user supplies login credentials to a vehicle login interface which are sent to the onboard vehicle authentication system, and the processing logic receiving the login credentials processes the data and returns an authentication response to the user attempting to log in, wherein if the authentication is a success, the vehicle the user attempted to log into has vehicle settings applied to it and the user is allowed to operate the vehicle, wherein if the authentication is a failure, the user is presented with a failed access notification on the login interface (Para. 149);
a dealership may also grant a “demo” login for instance, which showcases the vehicle's capabilities, available APPS, features and benefits (Para. 142);
a valet can be given a password to login only as “Valet” which will impose restrictions on trunk operation, vehicle speed operation, vehicle location notification settings etc., and a recording option can be provided, which can set a recording within and around the vehicle when in the valet mode (Para. 143);
when the password coincides with a pre-registered password, sending, by the processor,…a warning…to a pre-registered user terminal, e.g., the vehicle can be loaned to a child of driving age, and the child can be provided with restricted use of the vehicle, and when the child exceeds or does not follow the restrictions of the vehicle, automatic notifications can be provided to the user that is the administrator of the vehicle, wherein the notifications can be by cell phone, smartphone, tablet computer, mobile device, text messages, phone calls, commendations of phone calls and text, audio messages, audible sounds, vibrations, and commendations thereof (Para. 126);
restrictions can be placed on the vehicle speed, location of driving, and automatic notifications for the user or the master user of the vehicle (Para. 125); and
….
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hodge to include in a case of entering and starting the vehicle using a smart key, requesting, by the processor, input of a password in response to an attempt to access a user interface of the drive video record system and determining, by the processor, whether to restrict or allow access to the user interface according to the password when there is an attempt to access the user interface of the drive video record system; and when the password coincides with a pre-registered password, sending, by the processor, a warning to a pre-registered user terminal, using the known method of restricting access to the vehicle user interface based on which profile is logged on and sending notifications to the owner’s device when a restricted function is attempted, as taught by Penilla, in combination with the video access control system of Hodge, for the purpose of providing granular access to specific sharable vehicle systems (Penilla-Para. 12).
Hodge in view of Penilla does not clearly teach when the password coincides with a pre-registered password, sending, by the processor, a request to approve access to the user interface with a warning indicating the attempt to access the user interface to a pre-registered user terminal; and
when approval is received from the pre-registered user terminal in response to the warning, allowing, by the processor, access to the user interface.
Matute teaches when the password coincides with a pre-registered password, sending, by the processor, a request to approve access to the user interface with a warning indicating the attempt to access the user interface to a pre-registered user terminal, e.g., smartphone 207 (Fig. 2, el. 207);
user 201 logs into the bank 208 webpage by entering bank card information in plain text into an unsecure bank webpage via computer 202, and next user 201 enters a password, and a request to access the user 201 bank data is sent from computer 202 to bank server 204 via WAN 203, and upon receiving the request, server 204 verifies the username and password combination, and when the combination is correct, the server transmits or causes to be transmitted a push notification to the application executing on smartphone 207 (Fig. 2; Para. 23);
User 201 downloads an application from bank 208 to smartphone 207 and registers smartphone 207 with the bank 208 (Fig. 2; Para. 22); and
when approval is received from the pre-registered user terminal in response to the warning, allowing, by the processor, access to the user interface, e.g., a response is expected for the transaction to continue, wherein user 201 responds to the push notification acknowledging that user 201 is attempting to access the bank data, and the reply is transmitted by smartphone 207 to bank server 204 via WAN 204, and bank server 204 verifies the bankcard information, password provided, the reply and that it is known to have been received from smartphone 207 (Para. 23).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hodge in view of Penilla to include when the password coincides with a pre-registered password, sending, by the processor, a request to approve access to the user interface with a warning indicating the attempt to access the user interface to a pre-registered user terminal; and when approval is received from the pre-registered user terminal in response to the warning, allowing, by the processor, access to the user interface, using the known method of providing a notification to a user’s smartphone when an attempt has been made to access the user’s bank data, wherein the attempt included the correct password, and providing an approval response to the notification, as taught by Matute, in combination with the video access control system of Hodge in view of Penilla, for the purpose of providing two levels of security—the password and the notification—to protect secured data (Matute-Para. 23).
Regarding claim 2, Hodge in view of Penilla in view of Matute teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the password information comprises at least one of a password including a letter or a number, fingerprint recognition information, or face recognition information, e.g., processor 201 receives image processing inputs from video module 207 (e.g., face recognition, human body recognition, etc.) (Hodge-Para. 52).
Regarding claim 3, Hodge teaches the method according to claim 1.
Hodge does not clearly teach further comprising restricting, by the processor, access to the user interface of the drive video record system in a case of a valet mode.
Penilla teaches restricting, by the processor, access to a user interface of the drive video record system in a case of a valet mode, e.g., a valet can be given a password to login only as “Valet” which will impose restrictions on trunk operation, vehicle speed operation, vehicle location notification settings etc., and a recording option can be provided, which can set a recording within and around the vehicle when in the valet mode (Para. 143);
Login settings that can be set and remotely administered include entertainment system settings (radio memory settings, internet access or restriction, streaming services settings), comfort & HVAC settings (climate control, seat positions, seat heater/cooler, suspension/ride settings, entry lighting, remote start, remote stop etc.), and tracking/metric settings (camera/video recording guidelines) (Para. 138).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hodge to include restricting, by the processor, access to the user interface of the drive video record system in a case of a valet mode, using the known method of enabling an administrator to restrict entertainment system settings, comfort and HVAC settings, and camera/video recording guidelines for a valet driver, as taught by Penilla, in combination with the video access control system of Hodge, using the same motivation as in claim 1.
Regarding claim 5, Hodge in view of Penilla in view of Matute teaches the method according to claim 1, further comprising allowing access to the user interface of the drive video record system in a case of entering and starting the vehicle through biometric authentication, e.g., client device 101 also includes a touchscreen 211, wherein touchscreen 211 may be a capacitive touch array controlled by touchscreen module 208 to receive touch input from a user (Hodge-Fig. 2, el. 211; Para. 36); Based on the inputs received, an operational mode is determined 503, wherein the possible operational modes of a vehicle incorporating client device 101 according to one embodiment may include: default, driving, recently parked, parked, armed, low battery, and very low battery (Hodge-Fig. 5, el. 503; Para. 53); an encryption key is provided for each driver authorized to drive the vehicle, wherein a biometric input from the driver is required to operate the system, such as, a fingerprint recognition, a voice recognition, or a face recognition based identification is used to identify the authorized driver, and for each authorized driver, a corresponding randomly generated encryption key is maintained in a data table, and subsequently, in order to provide privacy, only the authorized driver can access the encrypted video using biometric identification (Hodge-Para. 62);
Also note Penilla discloses the user can be detected using biometrics, login credentials, image detection of the face, fingerprint detection, retina scans, etc. In some embodiments, biometrics can include data used to identify the user, such as face recognition, fingerprint reading, retina scans, voice detection, or combinations thereof. Still further, the custom configuration can be transferred to other vehicles (Para. 124).
Note: claim 5, lines 1-3—“allowing access to the user interface…in a case of entering and starting the vehicle through biometric authentication” includes a contingent limitation. In other words, the “allowing access” is contingent on “starting the vehicle through biometric authentication”.
Claim 1 states “a case of entering and starting the vehicle using a smart key” and then performing the subsequent steps.
In the context of claim 5, if the vehicle is started through biometric authentication and not using the smart key, then the steps in the smart key case will not be required.
See MPEP 2111.04(II)—"The broadest reasonable interpretation of a method (or process) claim having contingent limitations requires only those steps that must be performed and does not include steps that are not required to be performed because the condition(s) precedent are not met. For example, assume a method claim requires step A if a first condition happens and step B if a second condition happens. If the claimed invention may be practiced without either the first or second condition happening, then neither step A or B is required by the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim. If the claimed invention requires the first condition to occur, then the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim requires step A. If the claimed invention requires both the first and second conditions to occur, then the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim requires both steps A and B” (emphasis added).
Regarding claim 6, Hodge teaches the method according to claim 1.
Hodge further teaches in a case of entering and starting the vehicle…, requesting input of biometric information, e.g., processor 201 receives image processing inputs from video module 207 (e.g., face recognition, human body recognition, etc.)—password--, and the like, wherein the inputs are used to determine the relevant features affecting the operation mode of the vehicle, such as for example, motion or lack of motion, presence of a user, presence of a person but not the user, or the like (Para. 52), and
determine whether to restrict or allow access to the user interface, e.g., touchscreen 211 (Fig. 2, el. 211), according to the biometric information…, e.g., an encryption key is provided for each driver authorized to drive the vehicle, wherein a biometric input—password-- from the driver is required to operate the system, such as, a fingerprint recognition, a voice recognition, or a face recognition based identification is used to identify the authorized driver, and for each authorized driver, a corresponding randomly generated encryption key is maintained in a data table, and subsequently, in order to provide privacy, only the authorized driver can access the encrypted video using biometric identification (Para. 62);
Hodge does not clearly teach further comprising, in a case of entering and starting the vehicle using the smart key, requesting input of biometric information and determine whether to restrict or allow access to the user interface according to the biometric information when there is the attempt to access the user interface of the drive video record system.
Penilla further teaches in a case of entering and starting the vehicle using the smart key, e.g., FIG. 10 illustrates a user (Bob) entering the vehicle (Fig. 10; Para. 176);
auto-engine start/shut-off remotely via smart devices—smart key-- (Para. 303),
requesting input of biometric information and determine whether to restrict or allow access to the user interface according to the biometric information when there is the attempt to access the user interface of the drive video record system, e.g., the user may also interact with the vehicle login system directly on the vehicle, wherein the user supplies login credentials to a vehicle login interface which are sent to the onboard vehicle authentication system, and the processing logic receiving the login credentials processes the data and returns an authentication response to the user attempting to log in (Para. 149);
Login settings that can be set and remotely administered include entertainment system settings (radio memory settings, internet access or restriction, streaming services settings), comfort & HVAC settings (climate control, seat positions, seat heater/cooler, suspension/ride settings, entry lighting, remote start, remote stop etc.), and tracking/metric settings (camera/video recording guidelines) (Para. 138);
the vehicle 200 may also include a plurality of cameras, such as cameras 404, 408, 410, 412, 402, etc. (Fig. 10; Para. 176);
allow each user to apply his or her settings to any vehicle based on their login information in which they provide their login and password, wherein when a user logs into a vehicle, the vehicle will determine locally on board to determine the validity of the login presented to the system, wherein if the user's login is recognized, the system will apply settings and use privileges to the vehicle prescribed by the login (Para. 135);
the custom configuration can be automatically turned on when the user is detected, wherein the user can be detected using biometrics, login credentials, image detection of the face, fingerprint detection, retina scans, etc., wherein biometrics can include data used to identify the user, such as face recognition, fingerprint reading, retina scans, voice detection, or combinations thereof (Para. 24);
the user has been identified by the vehicle, such as using a camera 402, wherein the camera 402 may use face detection 406 to automatically identify the user, and set the users preferences and settings for the vehicle automatically (Fig. 10; Para. 176).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hodge to include in a case of entering and starting the vehicle using the smart key, requesting input of biometric information and determine whether to restrict or allow access to the user interface according to the biometric information when there is the attempt to access the user interface of the drive video record system, using the known method of enabling an administrator to restrict entertainment system settings, comfort and HVAC settings, and camera/video recording guidelines and utilizing biometric authentication to identify the driver, as taught by Penilla, in combination with the video access control system of Hodge, using the same motivation as in claim 1.
Regarding claim 10, Hodge in view of Penilla in view of Matute teaches a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a computer program for executing the method of controlling the drive video record system according to claim 1, e.g., the microprocessor 201 executes operating system software, firmware, drivers, and application software (Hodge-Para. 29); one or more processors in association with software in a computer-based system may be used to implement methods of video data collection, cloud-based data collection and analysis of event-based data, generating event-based video clips, sharing event-based video, verifying authenticity of event-based video data files, and setting up client devices according to various embodiments, as well as data models for capturing metadata associated with a given video data object or file or for capturing metadata associated with a given event-based video clip according to various embodiments (Hodge-Para. 119).
Regarding claim 11, Hodge teaches a drive video record system, e.g., vehicular video-based data capture and analysis system 100 (Fig. 1, el. 100), comprising:
a camera module, e.g., client device 101 (Figs. 1, 2, el. 101) includes two cameras 214a and 214b (Fig. 2, el. 214a, 214b), configured to monitor an area around a vehicle, e.g., client device 101 includes two or more cameras 214 including a second “OUT” camera 214b is directed at the road in front of the vehicle, wherein additional cameras 214 may be used, for example facing the back and/or sides of the vehicle, multiple interior areas of the vehicle, one or more top camera with a wide-angle lens providing a 360° view around the vehicle, or the like (Fig. 2, el. 214a, 214b; Para. 49);
a first memory configured to store video transmitted from the camera module, e.g., the video recorded by the cameras 214 is buffered in the memory device 203 (Para. 50), and
a controller, e.g., client device 101 (Figs. 1, 2, el. 101), including a second memory and a processor, e.g., microprocessor 201 (Fig. 2, el. 201), configured to, e.g., the microprocessor 201 executes operating system software, firmware, drivers, and application software (Para. 29); one or more processors in association with software in a computer-based system may be used to implement methods of video data collection, cloud-based data collection and analysis of event-based data, generating event-based video clips, sharing event-based video, verifying authenticity of event-based video data files, and setting up client devices according to various embodiments, as well as data models for capturing metadata associated with a given video data object or file or for capturing metadata associated with a given event-based video clip according to various embodiments (Para. 119):
acquire password information of a user, e.g., processor 201 receives image processing inputs from video module 207 (e.g., face recognition, human body recognition, etc.)—password--, and the like, wherein the inputs are used to determine the relevant features affecting the operation mode of the vehicle, such as for example, motion or lack of motion, presence of a user, presence of a person but not the user, or the like (Para. 52); an encryption key is provided for each driver authorized to drive the vehicle, wherein a biometric input—password-- from the driver is required to operate the system, such as, a fingerprint recognition, a voice recognition, or a face recognition based identification is used to identify the authorized driver, and for each authorized driver, a corresponding randomly generated encryption key is maintained in a data table, and subsequently, in order to provide privacy, only the authorized driver can access the encrypted video using biometric identification (Para. 62);
acquire video or audio according to a set condition, e.g., once the camera settings have been changed, recording of the video is done 506 using the camera settings (Fig. 5, el. 506; Para. 55), wherein based on the determined operational mode, the camera settings (e.g., resolution and frame rate) are changed 505 (Fig. 5, el. 504, 505; Para. 54); the video data is received 602 (Fig. 6, el. 602; Para. 61);
encrypt and store the video or audio based on the password information, e.g., the encrypted video data and associated metadata for the given time period are stored 606 in the buffer (Fig. 6, el. 606; Para. 65); once the camera settings have been changed, recording of the video is done 506 using the camera settings (Fig. 5, el. 506; Para. 55), wherein based on the determined operational mode, the camera settings (e.g., resolution and frame rate) are changed 505 (Fig. 5, el. 504, 505; Para. 54), wherein the inputs are used to determine the relevant features affecting the operation mode of the vehicle, such as for example, motion or lack of motion, presence of a user, presence of a person but not the user, or the like (Para. 52); an encryption key is provided for each driver authorized to drive the vehicle, wherein a biometric input—password-- from the driver is required to operate the system, such as, a fingerprint recognition, a voice recognition, or a face recognition based identification is used to identify the authorized driver, and for each authorized driver, a corresponding randomly generated encryption key is maintained in a data table, and subsequently, in order to provide privacy, only the authorized driver can access the encrypted video using biometric identification (Para. 62);
in a case of entering and starting the vehicle…, request input of a password…, e.g., processor 201 receives image processing inputs from video module 207 (e.g., face recognition, human body recognition, etc.)—password--, and the like, wherein the inputs are used to determine the relevant features affecting the operation mode of the vehicle, such as for example, motion or lack of motion, presence of a user, presence of a person but not the user, or the like (Para. 52), and
determine whether to restrict or allow access to the user interface, e.g., touchscreen 211 (Fig. 2, el. 211), according to the password…, e.g., an encryption key is provided for each driver authorized to drive the vehicle, wherein a biometric input—password-- from the driver is required to operate the system, such as, a fingerprint recognition, a voice recognition, or a face recognition based identification is used to identify the authorized driver, and for each authorized driver, a corresponding randomly generated encryption key is maintained in a data table, and subsequently, in order to provide privacy, only the authorized driver can access the encrypted video using biometric identification (Para. 62);
when the input password coincides with a pre-registered password, e.g., an encryption key is provided for each driver authorized to drive the vehicle, wherein a biometric input—password-- from the driver is required to operate the system, such as, a fingerprint recognition, a voice recognition, or a face recognition based identification is used to identify the authorized driver, and for each authorized driver, a corresponding randomly generated encryption key is maintained in a data table, and subsequently, in order to provide privacy, only the authorized driver can access the encrypted video using biometric identification (Para. 62),
send…a warning…to a pre-registered user terminal, e.g., every time a clip is generated by a client device 101, client device causes a clip alert—warning-- to be displayed to the user's mobile device 104 (Hodge-Fig. 1, el. 104; Para. 42);
when approval is received from the pre-registered user terminal…, e.g., a user may prompt the camera device to pair with the user's mobile device 104, wherein the camera device displays a unique pattern that is captured by the mobile device and sent back to the camera device via the connection to the could system 103—received approval-- (Para. 108),
allow access to the user interface, e.g., an encryption key is provided for each driver authorized to drive the vehicle, wherein a biometric input from the driver is required to operate the system, such as, a fingerprint recognition, a voice recognition, or a face recognition based identification is used to identify the authorized driver, and for each authorized driver, a corresponding randomly generated encryption key is maintained in a data table, and subsequently, in order to provide privacy, only the authorized driver can access the encrypted video using biometric identification (Para. 62).
Hodge does not clearly teach to: in a case of entering and starting the vehicle using a smart key, request input of a password in response to an attempt to access a user interface of the drive video record system, and determine whether to restrict or allow access to the user interface according to the password when there is the attempt to access the user interface of the drive video record system;
when the password coincides with a pre-registered password, send a request to approve access to the user interface with a warning indicating the attempt to access the user interface to a pre-registered user terminal; and
when approval is received from the pre-registered user terminal in response to the warning, allow access to the user interface.
Penilla teaches to: in a case of entering and starting the vehicle using a smart key, e.g., FIG. 10 illustrates a user (Bob) entering the vehicle (Fig. 10; Para. 176);
auto-engine start/shut-off remotely via smart devices—smart key-- (Para. 303),
request input of a password in response to an attempt to access a user interface of the drive video record system, e.g., the user may also interact with the vehicle login system directly on the vehicle, wherein the user supplies login credentials to a vehicle login interface which are sent to the onboard vehicle authentication system, and the processing logic receiving the login credentials processes the data and returns an authentication response to the user attempting to log in (Para. 149);
Login settings that can be set and remotely administered include entertainment system settings (radio memory settings, internet access or restriction, streaming services settings), comfort & HVAC settings (climate control, seat positions, seat heater/cooler, suspension/ride settings, entry lighting, remote start, remote stop etc.), and tracking/metric settings (camera/video recording guidelines) (Para. 138);
the vehicle 200 may also include a plurality of cameras, such as cameras 404, 408, 410, 412, 402, etc. (Fig. 10; Para. 176);
allow each user to apply his or her settings to any vehicle based on their login information in which they provide their login and password, wherein when a user logs into a vehicle, the vehicle will determine locally on board to determine the validity of the login presented to the system, wherein if the user's login is recognized, the system will apply settings and use privileges to the vehicle prescribed by the login (Para. 135);
a dealership may also grant a “demo” login for instance, which showcases the vehicle's capabilities, available APPS, features and benefits (Para. 142);
a valet can be given a password to login only as “Valet” which will impose restrictions on trunk operation, vehicle speed operation, vehicle location notification settings etc., and a recording option can be provided, which can set a recording within and around the vehicle when in the valet mode (Para. 143), and
determine whether to restrict or allow access to the user interface according to the password when there is the attempt to access the user interface of the drive video record system, e.g., the user supplies login credentials to a vehicle login interface which are sent to the onboard vehicle authentication system, and the processing logic receiving the login credentials processes the data and returns an authentication response to the user attempting to log in, wherein if the authentication is a success, the vehicle the user attempted to log into has vehicle settings applied to it and the user is allowed to operate the vehicle, wherein if the authentication is a failure, the user is presented with a failed access notification on the login interface (Para. 149);
a dealership may also grant a “demo” login for instance, which showcases the vehicle's capabilities, available APPS, features and benefits (Para. 142);
a valet can be given a password to login only as “Valet” which will impose restrictions on trunk operation, vehicle speed operation, vehicle location notification settings etc., and a recording option can be provided, which can set a recording within and around the vehicle when in the valet mode (Para. 143);
when the password coincides with a pre-registered password, send…a warning…to a pre-registered user terminal, e.g., the vehicle can be loaned to a child of driving age, and the child can be provided with restricted use of the vehicle, and when the child exceeds or does not follow the restrictions of the vehicle, automatic notifications can be provided to the user that is the administrator of the vehicle, wherein the notifications can be by cell phone, smartphone, tablet computer, mobile device, text messages, phone calls, commendations of phone calls and text, audio messages, audible sounds, vibrations, and commendations thereof (Para. 126);
restrictions can be placed on the vehicle speed, location of driving, and automatic notifications for the user or the master user of the vehicle (Para. 125); and
….
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hodge to include to: in a case of entering and starting the vehicle using a smart key, request input of a password in response to an attempt to access a user interface of the drive video record system, and determine whether to restrict or allow access to the user interface according to the password when there is the attempt to access the user interface of the drive video record system; and when the password coincides with a pre-registered password, send a request to approve access to the user interface with a warning to a pre-registered user terminal, using the known method of restricting access to the vehicle user interface based on which profile is logged on and sending notifications to the owner’s device when a restricted function is attempted, as taught by Penilla, in combination with the video access control system of Hodge, for the purpose of providing granular access to specific sharable vehicle systems (Penilla-Para. 12).
Hodge in view of Penilla does not clearly teach to: when the password coincides with a pre-registered password, send a request to approve access to the user interface with a warning indicating the attempt to access the user interface to a pre-registered user terminal; and
when approval is received from the pre-registered user terminal in response to the warning, allow access to the user interface.
Matute teaches to: when the password coincides with a pre-registered password, send a request to approve access to the user interface with a warning indicating the attempt to access the user interface to a pre-registered user terminal, e.g., smartphone 207 (Fig. 2, el. 207);
user 201 logs into the bank 208 webpage by entering bank card information in plain text into an unsecure bank webpage via computer 202, and next user 201 enters a password, and a request to access the user 201 bank data is sent from computer 202 to bank server 204 via WAN 203, and upon receiving the request, server 204 verifies the username and password combination, and when the combination is correct, the server transmits or causes to be transmitted a push notification to the application executing on smartphone 207 (Fig. 2; Para. 23);
User 201 downloads an application from bank 208 to smartphone 207 and registers smartphone 207 with the bank 208 (Fig. 2; Para. 22); and
when approval is received from the pre-registered user terminal in response to the warning, allow access to the user interface, e.g., a response is expected for the transaction to continue, wherein user 201 responds to the push notification acknowledging that user 201 is attempting to access the bank data, and the reply is transmitted by smartphone 207 to bank server 204 via WAN 204, and bank server 204 verifies the bankcard information, password provided, the reply and that it is known to have been received from smartphone 207 (Para. 23).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hodge in view of Penilla to include to: when the password coincides with a pre-registered password, send a request to approve access to the user interface with a warning indicating the attempt to access the user interface to a pre-registered user terminal; and when approval is received from the pre-registered user terminal in response to the warning, allow access to the user interface, using the known method of providing a notification to a user’s smartphone when an attempt has been made to access the user’s bank data, wherein the attempt included the correct password, and providing an approval response to the notification, as taught by Matute, in combination with the video access control system of Hodge in view of Penilla, for the purpose of providing two levels of security—the password and the notification—to protect secured data (Matute-Para. 23).
Regarding claim 12, Hodge in view of Penilla in view of Matute teaches the drive video record system according to claim 11, wherein the password information comprises at least one of a password including a letter or a number, fingerprint recognition information, or face recognition information, e.g., processor 201 receives image processing inputs from video module 207 (e.g., face recognition, human body recognition, etc.) (Hodge-Para. 52).
Regarding claim 13, the claim is analyzed with respect to claim 3.
Regarding claim 15, Hodge in view of Penilla in view of Matute teaches the drive video record system according to claim 11, wherein, in a case of entering and starting the vehicle through biometric authentication, the processor is further configured to allow access to the user interface of the drive video record system, e.g., client device 101 also includes a touchscreen 211, wherein touchscreen 211 may be a capacitive touch array controlled by touchscreen module 208 to receive touch input from a user (Hodge-Fig. 2, el. 211; Para. 36); Based on the inputs received, an operational mode is determined 503, wherein the possible operational modes of a vehicle incorporating client device 101 according to one embodiment may include: default, driving, recently parked, parked, armed, low battery, and very low battery (Hodge-Fig. 5, el. 503; Para. 53); an encryption key is provided for each driver authorized to drive the vehicle, wherein a biometric input from the driver is required to operate the system, such as, a fingerprint recognition, a voice recognition, or a face recognition based identification is used to identify the authorized driver, and for each authorized driver, a corresponding randomly generated encryption key is maintained in a data table, and subsequently, in order to provide privacy, only the authorized driver can access the encrypted video using biometric identification (Hodge-Para. 62);
Also note Penilla discloses the custom configuration can be automatically turned on when the user is detected, wherein the user can be detected using biometrics, login credentials, image detection of the face, fingerprint detection, retina scans, etc., wherein biometrics can include data used to identify the user, such as face recognition, fingerprint reading, retina scans, voice detection, or combinations thereof (Para. 24). Furthermore, the user has been identified by the vehicle, such as using a camera 402, wherein the camera 402 may use face detection 406 to automatically identify the user, and set the users preferences and settings for the vehicle automatically (Fig. 10; Para. 176).
Regarding claim 16, the claim is analyzed with respect to claim 6.
Regarding claim 20, Hodge in view of Penilla in view of Matute teaches a vehicle comprising the drive video recording system of claim 11, e.g., vehicular video-based data capture and analysis system 100 (Hodge-Fig. 1, el. 100).
Claims 4 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hodge in view of Penilla in view of Matute and further in view of Kim et al. (US 2019/0313257 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Hodge in view of Penilla in view of Matute teaches the method according to claim 3.
Hodge in view of Penilla in view of Matute does not clearly teach wherein restricting the access comprises deactivating a menu of the user interface or hiding the menu.
Kim teaches wherein restricting the access comprises deactivating a menu of the user interface or hiding the menu, e.g., in the operation S330, when the pairing is not established between the navigation terminal 130 and the communication terminal 140 of the vehicle owner, an operation mode blocking block 202 is performed to block execution of the operation mode (Fig. 3, el. 201; S330; Para. 64); when the image information controller 120 receives the operation permission message from the navigation terminal 130, an operation mode is executed (S350), wherein that is, in this operation mode, the driver may perform a system environment setting, a file playback, a file deletion, a file download, and a file search by receiving access authority with respect to image information (Fig. 3, el. S350; Para. 63).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hodge in view of Penilla in view of Matute to include wherein restricting the access comprises deactivating a menu of the user interface or hiding the menu, using the known method of blocking execution of the operation mode with respect to the access authority, as taught by Kim, in combination with the video access control system of Hodge in view of Penilla in view of Matute, for the purpose of preventing damage and/or extortion of an accident record (Kim-Para. 78).
Regarding claim 14, the claim is analyzed with respect to claim 4.
Relevant Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ricci (US 2016/0059865 A1)—Ricci discloses if someone tries to the use the vehicle, the vehicle, cooperating with the vehicle reporting module 2208, could contact one or more of the user's smart phone and remote access device 2224 and ask the owner whether permission is granted for someone to use the vehicle. Moreover, and in cooperation with the camera application module 2224, the vehicle reporting module 2208 could send an image of the vehicle occupant(s) along to the owner with the request for permission to use the vehicle (Para. 532).
Luong (US 2011/0283311 A1)—Luong discloses restricted users may request access to blocked or filtered content. The requests may be transmitted to a user for approval or denial (Para. 97).
Jeong et al. (US 2020/0334929 A1)—Jeong discloses the image data access control apparatus for a vehicle includes storage that stores image data of the vehicle, a communicator that communicates with a user device, an authentication processor that authenticates the user device, and a controller that determines whether the user device can have access to the image data based on an authentication result of the authentication processor (Abstract).
Paul et al. (US 2022/0237274 A1)—Paul discloses as illustrated in FIG. 7K, because the passcode is determined to be valid, computer system 700 displays notification 724a, which overlays a user interface that was previously restricted from display (Para. 276).
Drake et al. (US 2006/0083374 A1)—Drake discloses if the password does not match, the password matching component 214 communicates with the access control module 212 to disallow the presentation of user interface screens to the operator 202 (Para. 24).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEREMY DUFFIELD whose telephone number is (571)270-1643. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM (ET).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yin-Chen Shaw can be reached at (571) 272-8878. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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02 July 2026
/Jeremy S Duffield/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2498
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