Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/565,205

DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MONITORING AT LEAST ONE VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER

Non-Final OA §103§112
Filed
Nov 29, 2023
Examiner
LEE, BRANDON DONGPA
Art Unit
3662
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Nagravision Sarl
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 3m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allow Rate
545 granted / 703 resolved
+25.5% vs TC avg
Strong +23% interview lift
Without
With
+23.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
725
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.3%
-32.7% vs TC avg
§103
39.0%
-1.0% vs TC avg
§102
20.0%
-20.0% vs TC avg
§112
26.8%
-13.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 703 resolved cases

Office Action

§103 §112
DETAILED ACTION 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/31/2025 has been entered. This office action is in response to the amendment filed on 12/21/2025. In the amendment, claims 1-2, 6 and 16 have been amended, claim 3 is now canceled and claim 21 has been newly added. Overall, claims 1-2 and 4-21 are pending in this application. 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 . Specification The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required: “processing circuity configured to obtain the at least one vehicle identification number sent by the dongle connected to the OBD port by capturing the at least one vehicle identification number transmitted by the dongle independent of the device requesting the dongle transmit the at least one vehicle identification number” is not disclosed in the specification. 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 1-2 and 4-21 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. The added material which is not supported by the original disclosure is as follows: “processing circuity configured to obtain the at least one vehicle identification number sent by the dongle connected to the OBD port by capturing the at least one vehicle identification number transmitted by the dongle independent of the device requesting the dongle transmit the at least one vehicle identification number” and “wherein the obtaining obtains the at least one vehicle identification number sent by the dongle connected to the OBD port by capturing the at least one vehicle identification number transmitted by the dongle independent of the device requesting the dongle transmit the at least one vehicle identification number” recited in claims 1, 6 and 16. Applicants are required to cancel the new matter in the reply to this Office Action and “monitoring” can be passive and active implementation and the specification do not explicitly discloses as passive or active. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claim(s) 1-2 and 4-10, 14 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pub No. US 2020/0372583 A1 to Yang (Yang). In Reference to Claim 1 A device (110) for obtaining at least one vehicle identification number sent by a dongle (130) connected to an on-board diagnostics (OBD) port of a vehicle (see at least Yang Fig. 1 and paragraph [0035]), comprising: wireless circuitry configured to wirelessly communicate with the dongle (130) connected to the OBD port of the vehicle and a backend server (120, 140) through a communication network (Yang teaches at least in Fig.1 and paragraph [0035]) (“Referring to FIG. 1, the system according to an embodiment of the inventive concept includes an OBD dongle 130, a mobile device 110, a first server 120, and a second server 140. At this time, the OBD dongle 130 and the mobile device 110 may be capable of short-range wireless communication using Bluetooth; the mobile device 110 and the servers 120 and 140 may be capable of wireless data communication connection such as Ethernet/3G, 4G, and 5G. Also, The OBD dongle 130 may comprise a communication module (ex. MODEM) to directly communicate with the server 120”); a battery providing power for the device (110) (Yang teaches at least in Fig.1 and paragraph [0042] that “the mobile device 110 is a mobile terminal device possessed by a driver who drives and owns the vehicle; for example, the mobile device 110 may be PC, a mobile communication terminal, a smartphone, a notepad, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a tablet PC and may be an electronic device equipped with a wired/wireless communication module. Furthermore, the mobile device 110 may be installed with an application associated with the inventive concept; the mobile device 110 may use data associated with autonomous driving and the driver's intervention provided by the inventive concept, through an application” therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that mobile device such as smartphone, notepad, PDA or tablet PC as taught by Yang must include a battery within the device in order to operate normally as intended); and processing circuity configured to obtain the at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number) sent by the dongle (130) connected to the OBD port by capturing the at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number) transmitted by the dongle (130) independent of the device (110) requesting the dongle (130) transmit the at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number) (Yang at least teaches in Figs.1 and 3 and paragraphs [0037]. [0039] “The OBD dongle 130 provides OBD data (or vehicle data) collected from the OBD interface of an autonomous vehicle, to the mobile device 110 via short-range wireless communication”, “According to an embodiment, among the collected OBD data, the vehicle data may be preset or may be selected by the OBD dongle 130 depending on a driver's selection input received via the mobile device 110. For example, the OBD dongle 130 may collect only the OBD data depending on the preset data or the selection input of the driver from the OBD data of whether the vehicle is driven, vehicle speed, visibility information, RPM of an engine, an acceleration position, a brake pedal position, an engine coolant temperature, a vehicle voltage, a battery voltage, an idling time, a fuel level, fuel efficiency, a chassis number, a gear position, a turn signal, whether a safety belt is present, the steering angle of a steering wheel, and a mileage, which are capable of being collected from the OBD interface and may provide the mobile device 110 with the OBD data through short-range wireless communication”, Yang teaches that dongle (130) sends data including the chassis number to the device (110) independent of the device (110) requesting the dongle (130) to transmit since the dongle (130) is sending information is preset and not requested by the device (110) and the device (110) must have a processing circuity that only receives information and further Yang does not teach that the driver selection of the data is being requested to the dongle (130) directly therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in at time of the claimed invention that a processing circuitry of the device (110) is configured to obtain the at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number) sent by the dongle (130) connected to the OBD port by capturing the at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number) transmitted by the dongle (130) independent of the device (110) requesting the dongle (130) transmit the at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number). In Reference to Claim 2 The device according to claim 1 (see rejection to claim 1 above), wherein said wireless circuitry further includes a short-range or long-range communications transceiver for communicating with said dongle (Yang teaches at least in Fig.1 and paragraph [0035]) (“Referring to FIG. 1, the system according to an embodiment of the inventive concept includes an OBD dongle 130, a mobile device 110, a first server 120, and a second server 140. At this time, the OBD dongle 130 and the mobile device 110 may be capable of short-range wireless communication using Bluetooth; the mobile device 110 and the servers 120 and 140 may be capable of wireless data communication connection such as Ethernet/3G, 4G, and 5G. Also, The OBD dongle 130 may comprise a communication module (ex. MODEM) to directly communicate with the server 120”). In Reference to Claim 4 The device according to claim 1 (see rejection to claim 1 above), further comprising a Global Navigation Satellite System receiver (Yang teaches at least in Fig.1 and paragraph [0066]) (“Also, in other embodiments, the mobile device 110 and the first server 120 may include more components than those shown in FIG. 2. However, there is no need to clearly illustrate most conventional components. For example, the mobile device 110 may be implemented to include at least some of components of the above-mentioned input/output device 215 or may further include other components such as a transceiver, a global positioning system (GPS) module, a camera, various sensors, and a database. More specifically, it may be seen that various components, such as an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a camera, various physical buttons, buttons using a touch panel, input/output ports, a vibrator for vibration, and the like, which are generally included in a smartphone, may be implemented to be further included in the mobile device 110 when the mobile device 110 is a smartphone”). In Reference to Claim 5 The device according claim 1 (see rejection to claim 1 above), wherein said device (110) is not electrically wired connected to said vehicle, and said wireless circuitry is configured for communicating with at least one dongle (130) connected to the OBD port of said vehicle (Yang teaches at least in Fig.1 and paragraph [0035] and [0045]) (“Referring to FIG. 1, the system according to an embodiment of the inventive concept includes an OBD dongle 130, a mobile device 110, a first server 120, and a second server 140. At this time, the OBD dongle 130 and the mobile device 110 may be capable of short-range wireless communication using Bluetooth; the mobile device 110 and the servers 120 and 140 may be capable of wireless data communication connection such as Ethernet/3G, 4G, and 5G. Also, The OBD dongle 130 may comprise a communication module (ex. MODEM) to directly communicate with the server 120” and “At this time, the mobile device 110 is a mobile terminal device possessed by a driver who drives and owns the vehicle; for example, the mobile device 110 may be PC, a mobile communication terminal, a smartphone, a notepad, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a tablet PC and may be an electronic device equipped with a wired/wireless communication module. Furthermore, the mobile device 110 may be installed with an application associated with the inventive concept; the mobile device 110 may use data associated with autonomous driving and the driver's intervention provided by the inventive concept, through an application”). In Reference to Claim 6 A method for monitoring at least one vehicle identification number, comprising: obtaining, using a device (110), said at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number) sent by a dongle (130) connected to an on-board diagnostics (OBD)port of a vehicle (Yang at least teaches in Figs.1 and 3 and paragraphs [0037]. [0039] “The OBD dongle 130 provides OBD data (or vehicle data) collected from the OBD interface of an autonomous vehicle, to the mobile device 110 via short-range wireless communication”, “According to an embodiment, among the collected OBD data, the vehicle data may be preset or may be selected by the OBD dongle 130 depending on a driver's selection input received via the mobile device 110. For example, the OBD dongle 130 may collect only the OBD data depending on the preset data or the selection input of the driver from the OBD data of whether the vehicle is driven, vehicle speed, visibility information, RPM of an engine, an acceleration position, a brake pedal position, an engine coolant temperature, a vehicle voltage, a battery voltage, an idling time, a fuel level, fuel efficiency, a chassis number, a gear position, a turn signal, whether a safety belt is present, the steering angle of a steering wheel, and a mileage, which are capable of being collected from the OBD interface and may provide the mobile device 110 with the OBD data through short-range wireless communication”) wherein the device (110) includes wireless circuitry configured to wirelessly communicate with the dongle (130) connected to the OBD port of the vehicle and a backend server (120, 140) through a communication network, and a battery providing power for the device (Yang teaches at least in Fig.1 and paragraph [0035] and [0042]) (“Referring to FIG. 1, the system according to an embodiment of the inventive concept includes an OBD dongle 130, a mobile device 110, a first server 120, and a second server 140. At this time, the OBD dongle 130 and the mobile device 110 may be capable of short-range wireless communication using Bluetooth; the mobile device 110 and the servers 120 and 140 may be capable of wireless data communication connection such as Ethernet/3G, 4G, and 5G. Also, The OBD dongle 130 may comprise a communication module (ex. MODEM) to directly communicate with the server 120” and “the mobile device 110 is a mobile terminal device possessed by a driver who drives and owns the vehicle; for example, the mobile device 110 may be PC, a mobile communication terminal, a smartphone, a notepad, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a tablet PC and may be an electronic device equipped with a wired/wireless communication module. Furthermore, the mobile device 110 may be installed with an application associated with the inventive concept; the mobile device 110 may use data associated with autonomous driving and the driver's intervention provided by the inventive concept, through an application” therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that mobile device such as smartphone, notepad, PDA or tablet PC as taught by Yang must include a battery within the device in order to operate normally as intended), and wherein the obtaining obtains the at least one vehicle identification number sent by the dongle (130) connected to the OBD port by capturing the at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number) transmitted by the dongle (130) independent of the device (110) requesting the dongle transmit the at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number) (Yang at least teaches in Figs.1 and 3 and paragraphs [0037]. [0039] “The OBD dongle 130 provides OBD data (or vehicle data) collected from the OBD interface of an autonomous vehicle, to the mobile device 110 via short-range wireless communication”, “According to an embodiment, among the collected OBD data, the vehicle data may be preset or may be selected by the OBD dongle 130 depending on a driver's selection input received via the mobile device 110. For example, the OBD dongle 130 may collect only the OBD data depending on the preset data or the selection input of the driver from the OBD data of whether the vehicle is driven, vehicle speed, visibility information, RPM of an engine, an acceleration position, a brake pedal position, an engine coolant temperature, a vehicle voltage, a battery voltage, an idling time, a fuel level, fuel efficiency, a chassis number, a gear position, a turn signal, whether a safety belt is present, the steering angle of a steering wheel, and a mileage, which are capable of being collected from the OBD interface and may provide the mobile device 110 with the OBD data through short-range wireless communication”, Yang teaches that dongle (130) sends data including the chassis number to the device (110) independent of the device (110) requesting the dongle (130) to transmit since the dongle (130) is sending information is preset and not requested by the device (110) and the device (110) must have a processing circuity that only receives information and further Yang does not teach that the driver selection of the data is being requested to the dongle (130) directly therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in at time of the claimed invention that a processing circuitry of the device (110) is configured to obtain the at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number) sent by the dongle (130) connected to the OBD port by capturing the at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number) transmitted by the dongle (130) independent of the device (110) requesting the dongle (130) transmit the at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number). In Reference to Claim 7 The method according to claim 6 (see rejection to claim 6 above), wherein said obtaining is implemented responsive to receiving, by said device (110), a request sent by said backend server (120, 140) for discovering vehicle identification number (chassis number) (see at least Yang in Figs.1-3 and paragraphs 48-53). In Reference to Claim 8 The method according to claim 6 (see rejection to claim 6 above), wherein said device (110) sends to the backend server (120, 140) said at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number) received, during said obtaining, from the dongle (130) connected to the OBD port of the vehicle (see at least Yang in Figs.1-3 and paragraphs 38-39 and 48-53). In Reference to Claim 9 The method according to claim 8 (see rejection to claim 8 above), wherein said device (110) sends to the backend server (120, 140) additional data received from said dongle (130) during said obtaining (see at least Yang in Figs.1-3 and paragraphs 38-39 and 48-53). In Reference to Claim 10 The method according to claim 8 (see rejection to claim 8 above), wherein said device (110) receives back said vehicle identification number (chassis number) sent from said backend server (120, 140) for pairing the device (110) to the vehicle (see at least Yang in Figs.1-3 and paragraphs 38-48). In Reference to Claim 14 The method according to claim 6 (see rejection to claim 6 above), wherein said circuitry of the device (110) is further configured to, during said obtaining, establish a dedicated communication link with said dongle (130) for receiving the vehicle identification number and/or additional data sent by said dongle (130) (see at least Yang in Figs.1-3 and paragraphs 38-48). In Reference to Claim 16 A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a program that when executed by a computer causes the computer to implement a method for monitoring at least one vehicle identification number, comprising: obtaining, using a device (110), said at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number) sent by a dongle (130) connected to an on-board diagnostics (OBD)port of a vehicle (Yang at least teaches in Figs.1 and 3 and paragraphs [0037]. [0039] “The OBD dongle 130 provides OBD data (or vehicle data) collected from the OBD interface of an autonomous vehicle, to the mobile device 110 via short-range wireless communication”, “According to an embodiment, among the collected OBD data, the vehicle data may be preset or may be selected by the OBD dongle 130 depending on a driver's selection input received via the mobile device 110. For example, the OBD dongle 130 may collect only the OBD data depending on the preset data or the selection input of the driver from the OBD data of whether the vehicle is driven, vehicle speed, visibility information, RPM of an engine, an acceleration position, a brake pedal position, an engine coolant temperature, a vehicle voltage, a battery voltage, an idling time, a fuel level, fuel efficiency, a chassis number, a gear position, a turn signal, whether a safety belt is present, the steering angle of a steering wheel, and a mileage, which are capable of being collected from the OBD interface and may provide the mobile device 110 with the OBD data through short-range wireless communication”) wherein the device (110) includes wireless circuitry configured to wirelessly communicate with the dongle (130) connected to the OBD port of the vehicle and a backend server (120, 140) through a communication network, and a battery providing power for the device (Yang teaches at least in Fig.1 and paragraph [0035] and [0042]) (“Referring to FIG. 1, the system according to an embodiment of the inventive concept includes an OBD dongle 130, a mobile device 110, a first server 120, and a second server 140. At this time, the OBD dongle 130 and the mobile device 110 may be capable of short-range wireless communication using Bluetooth; the mobile device 110 and the servers 120 and 140 may be capable of wireless data communication connection such as Ethernet/3G, 4G, and 5G. Also, The OBD dongle 130 may comprise a communication module (ex. MODEM) to directly communicate with the server 120” and “the mobile device 110 is a mobile terminal device possessed by a driver who drives and owns the vehicle; for example, the mobile device 110 may be PC, a mobile communication terminal, a smartphone, a notepad, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a tablet PC and may be an electronic device equipped with a wired/wireless communication module. Furthermore, the mobile device 110 may be installed with an application associated with the inventive concept; the mobile device 110 may use data associated with autonomous driving and the driver's intervention provided by the inventive concept, through an application” therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that mobile device such as smartphone, notepad, PDA or tablet PC as taught by Yang must include a battery within the device in order to operate normally as intended), and wherein the obtaining obtains the at least one vehicle identification number sent by the dongle (130) connected to the OBD port by capturing the at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number) transmitted by the dongle (130) independent of the device (110) requesting the dongle transmit the at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number) (Yang at least teaches in Figs.1 and 3 and paragraphs [0037]. [0039] “The OBD dongle 130 provides OBD data (or vehicle data) collected from the OBD interface of an autonomous vehicle, to the mobile device 110 via short-range wireless communication”, “According to an embodiment, among the collected OBD data, the vehicle data may be preset or may be selected by the OBD dongle 130 depending on a driver's selection input received via the mobile device 110. For example, the OBD dongle 130 may collect only the OBD data depending on the preset data or the selection input of the driver from the OBD data of whether the vehicle is driven, vehicle speed, visibility information, RPM of an engine, an acceleration position, a brake pedal position, an engine coolant temperature, a vehicle voltage, a battery voltage, an idling time, a fuel level, fuel efficiency, a chassis number, a gear position, a turn signal, whether a safety belt is present, the steering angle of a steering wheel, and a mileage, which are capable of being collected from the OBD interface and may provide the mobile device 110 with the OBD data through short-range wireless communication”, Yang teaches that dongle (130) sends data including the chassis number to the device (110) independent of the device (110) requesting the dongle (130) to transmit since the dongle (130) is sending information is preset and not requested by the device (110) and the device (110) must have a processing circuity that only receives information and further Yang does not teach that the driver selection of the data is being requested to the dongle (130) directly therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in at time of the claimed invention that a processing circuitry of the device (110) is configured to obtain the at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number) sent by the dongle (130) connected to the OBD port by capturing the at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number) transmitted by the dongle (130) independent of the device (110) requesting the dongle (130) transmit the at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number). In Reference to Claim 17 The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 16 (see rejection to claim 16 above), wherein said obtaining is implemented responsive to receiving, by said device (110), a request sent by said backend server (120, 140) for discovering vehicle identification number (chassis number) (see at least Yang in Figs.1-3 and paragraphs 48-53). In Reference to Claim 18 The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 16 (see rejection to claim 16 above), wherein said device (110) sends to the backend server (120, 140) said at least one vehicle identification number (chassis number) received, during said obtaining, from the dongle (130) connected to the OBD port of the vehicle (see at least Yang in Figs.1-3 and paragraphs 38-39 and 48-53). In Reference to Claim 19 The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 18 (see rejection to claim 18 above), wherein said device (110) sends to the backend server (120, 140) additional data received from said dongle (130) during said obtaining (see at least Yang in Figs.1-3 and paragraphs 38-39 and 48-53). In Reference to Claim 20 The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 18 (see rejection to claim 18 above), wherein said device (110) receives back said vehicle identification number (chassis number) sent from said backend server (120, 140) for pairing the device (110) to the vehicle (see at least Yang in Figs.1-3 and paragraphs 38-48). Claim(s) 11-13 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang in view of Pub No. US 2019/0206005 A1 to Liu et. al. (Liu). In Reference to Claim 11 Yang teaches (except for the bolded and italic recitations below): The method according to claim 6 (see rejection to claim 6 above), wherein said device further includes circuitry configured to: receive a given vehicle identification number sent from said backend server (120, 140); receive, by said obtaining, the vehicle identification number from the dongle (130) connected to the OBD port of the vehicle; and compare said given vehicle identification number and said vehicle identification number (see at least Yang in Figs.1-3 and paragraphs 38-48). Yang does not explicit teaches (bolded and italic recitations above) to receiving a given vehicle identification number sent from said backend server (120, 140) and comparing said given vehicle identification number and said vehicle identification number. However, it is known in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to receiving a given vehicle identification number sent from said backend server and comparing said given vehicle identification number and said vehicle identification number. For example, Liu teaches to receiving a given vehicle information sent from said backend server and comparing said given vehicle information (from the server) and said vehicle identification number (given from the user) (in step 203) (see at least Liu Figs. 2-3 and paragraphs 48-57). Thus, it would have been recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art that applying the known technique taught by Liu to the mobile phone of Yang would have yielded predicable results and resulted in an improved system, namely, a system that would determine if the VIN numbers gathered from the server and the dongle matches and provide an additional layer of security for vehicles. In Reference to Claim 12 The method according to claim 11 (see rejection to claim 11 above), wherein said circuitry of the device is further configured to send an alarm to said backend server when said given vehicle identification number and said vehicle identification number are different vehicle identification numbers (step 204) (see at least Liu Figs. 2-3 and paragraphs 48-57, 74-75). In Reference to Claim 13 The method according to claim 11 (see rejection to claim 11 above), wherein said circuitry of the device (110) is further configured to send to the backend server (120, 140) additional data received from said dongle (130) during said obtaining (see at least Yang in Figs.1-3 and paragraphs 38-48). In Reference to Claim 21 Yang teaches (except for the bolded and italic recitations below): The device according to claim 1 (see rejection to claim 1 above), wherein the processing circuity (within #110) is further configured to periodically check whether the obtained at least one vehicle identification number matches a vehicle identification number of the vehicle previously stored by the device (110) in a pairing process (see at least Yang in Figs.1-3 and paragraphs 38-48). Yang does not explicit teaches (bolded and italic recitations above) to the obtained at least one vehicle identification number matches a vehicle identification number of the vehicle previously stored by the device (110) in a pairing process. However, it is known in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to obtained at least one vehicle identification number matches a vehicle identification number of the vehicle previously stored by the device in a pairing process. For example, Liu teaches to the obtained at least one vehicle identification number matches a vehicle identification number of the vehicle previously stored by the device in a pairing process (in step 102) (see at least Liu Fig. 1 and paragraphs 32-42). Thus, it would have been recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art that applying the known technique taught by Liu to the mobile phone of Yang would have yielded predicable results and resulted in an improved system, namely, a system that would determine if the VIN numbers gathered matches and provide an additional layer of security for vehicles. Claim 15 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Misson in view of Pub No. JP 2005086749 A to Kanari et. al. (Kanari). In Reference to Claim 15 Yang teaches (except for the bolded and italic recitations below): The method according to claim 14 (see rejection to claim 14 above), wherein said circuitry of the device (110) is further configured to send an alarm to said backend server (120, 140) responsive to detecting that said dedicated communication link is broken (see at least Yang in Figs.1-3 and paragraphs 38-48). Yang does not teach (bolded and italic recitations above) as to implements sending an alarm to said backend server (185) responsive to detecting that said dedicated communication link is broken. However, it is known in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to sending an alarm to said backend server responsive to detecting that said dedicated communication link is broken. For example, Kanari teaches sending an alarm to said backend server (phone management station) responsive to detecting that said dedicated communication link is broken (when the communication has failed or connection failure). Kanari further teaches that performing such step provides identifying the cause of the failure of the mobile phone device (see at least Kanari Figs. 1-4 and paragraphs 20-43). 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 the system of Yang with the step of implements sending an alarm to said backend server responsive to detecting that said dedicated communication link is broken as taught by Kanari in order to provides identifying the cause of the failure of the mobile phone device. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-2 and 4-21 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on all references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Pub No. US 2020/0369295 A1 to Yang et. al. (Yang) teaches a dongle connected to OBD and wireless device and monitors the vehicle data. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRANDON DONGPA LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-3525. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. 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, Aniss Chad can be reached at (571) 270-3832. 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. /BRANDON D LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3662 February 4, 2026
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Prosecution Timeline

Nov 29, 2023
Application Filed
Jun 04, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103, §112
Sep 05, 2025
Response Filed
Oct 30, 2025
Final Rejection — §103, §112
Dec 31, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Jan 15, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Jan 25, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Feb 04, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103, §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12601216
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING VEHICLE COMPONENT OPERATION BASED ON USER DEVICE MOVEMENT PATTERN
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12594515
PARTICULATE FILTER
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12583613
CONTROLLING AIRCRAFT INERTING SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12579851
METHOD AND DIAGNOSTIC DEVICE FOR PERFORMING VEHICLE DIAGNOSTICS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12577896
METHOD FOR OPERATING A DRIVE DEVICE AND CORRESPONDING DRIVE DEVICE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
78%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+23.2%)
2y 3m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 703 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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