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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 2/26/2024 and 1/09/2026 was filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2021/0360382 A1 by Kwan et al. (hereafter referred to as Kwan).
Regarding claim 1, Kwan teaches an information processing device (see at least Figs. 1a, 1b) comprising:
a storage unit that stores authentication information used for connection to a first communication system (see at least Figs. 1a,1b and ¶ [0048]; “An eSIM may represent a SIM profile. The SIM profile may be derived from a remote eSIM subscription management server based on the information provided by a wireless carrier network. A SIM profile contains information which provides access to a specific wireless carrier network for wireless communication.”);
a first Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card (eUICC) that holds profile information used for connection to a first carrier network that is selected and for which a contract is made by a user as an access network (see at least Figs. 1a, 1b and ¶ [0048]; “eUICCs 116 may be built into the WCD and are not removable. Each of the eUICCs 116 is configurable to implement one or more electronic SIMs (eSIMs). For illustration purposes, one eSIM is described herein for each of the eUICCs. For example, eUICC 116a is used to implement eSIM 111a and eSIM 111c; and eUICC 116b is used to implement eSIM 111b and eSIM 111d. An eSIM may represent a SIM profile. The SIM profile may be derived from a remote eSIM subscription management server based on the information provided by a wireless carrier network. A SIM profile contains information which provides access to a specific wireless carrier network for wireless communication”); and
a control unit that executes establishing the connection with the first carrier network in response to authentication in the first carrier network using the profile information, establishing a logical tunnel with a gateway device in the first communication system, on the first carrier network after connection establishment, establishing the connection with the first communication system in response to authentication in the first communication system using the authentication information through the logical tunnel , and after establishing the connection with the first communication system, performing communication with an external network through the logical tunnel and the first communication system (see at least ¶ [0048]-[0060]; “WCD 100 may be connected with one or more local hosts directly or through a connected local area network (LAN). For illustration purposes, WCD 100 is connected to local host Laptop 206 directly and to local host IoT 204 through LAN 202. Each of the local hosts 204 and 206 may connect to interconnected network 217 through WCD 100. Thus, WCD 100 acts as a gateway to allow data packets to be routed through one or more wireless carrier connection(s) established through wireless carrier networks 201a-201c.”).
Regarding claim 2, Kwan teaches the information processing device according to claim 1.
In addition, Kwan teaches wherein: the authentication information is profile information issued by the first communication system and used for the connection to the first communication system; and the storage unit is a second eUICC (see at least Figs. 1a, 1b and ¶ [0048]; “eUICCs 116 may be built into the WCD and are not removable. Each of the eUICCs 116 is configurable to implement one or more electronic SIMs (eSIMs). For illustration purposes, one eSIM is described herein for each of the eUICCs. For example, eUICC 116a is used to implement eSIM 111a and eSIM 111c; and eUICC 116b is used to implement eSIM 111b and eSIM 111d. An eSIM may represent a SIM profile. The SIM profile may be derived from a remote eSIM subscription management server based on the information provided by a wireless carrier network. A SIM profile contains information which provides access to a specific wireless carrier network for wireless communication”).
As to claim 5, which is the corresponding method of the system as recited in claim 1, the rejection and analysis made for claim 1 also applies for claim 5.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
Claim(s) 3 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwan as applied to claim 1 above, in view of US 2013/0157673 A1 by Brulilovsky et al. (hereafter referred to as Brulilovsky).
Regarding claim 3, Kwan teaches the information processing device according to claim 1.
Kwan does not appear to specifically disclose wherein the authentication information is an electronic certificate issued by a predetermined certificate authority when identity confirmation of an owner of the information processing device is performed with respect to key information used in the authentication in the first communication system, and the key information.
In the same field of endeavor, Brusilovsky teaches wherein the authentication information is an electronic certificate issued by a predetermined certificate authority when identity confirmation of an owner of the information processing device is performed with respect to key information used in the authentication in the first communication system, and the key information (see at least ¶ [0035]; “Embodiments of the invention allow devices with initially neutral eSIMs/eUICCs to obtain network connectivity for bootstrapping security sessions to load their initial or subsequent subscription profiles. This can allow the manufacturers of the network elements with eSIMs/eUICCs to be able to lower the initial cost of the devices by using economy of scale to produce operator/locale-neutral devices. The mobile device may thus subsequently be provided with identification and security information. For example, the identification data can be a unique identifier (id) for the specific eSIM/eUICC (e.g., UICC id) and the security information can include shared secrets, certificates, and/or other types of security data (e.g., authentication and key generation functions, etc.). The identification information can also include an IMSI or parts thereof.”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the eUICC of Kwan with the eUICC taught by Brusilovsky in order to allows devices produced with eSIMs/eUICCs to be produced at lower costs (Brusilovsky ¶ [0079]).
Regarding claim 4, Kwan teaches the information processing device according to claim 1.
Kwan does not appear to specifically teach wherein: the information processing device is an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle; and the first communication system is a communication system managed by a manufacturer of the vehicle.
In the same field of endeavor, Brulilovsky teaches wherein: the information processing device is an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle; and the first communication system is a communication system managed by a manufacturer of the vehicle (see at least ¶ [0032], [0039], and [0042]; “In the architecture 100 of FIG. 1, M2M device 108 contains eSIM 110 stored on an eUICC (not expressly shown in FIG. 1). This eUICC can contain multiple eSIMs, each with its own profile. For instance, there could be profiles for multiple MNOs (112-1, 112-2), banks, golf course memberships, vehicle manufacturers, utilities, etc., associated with the same multi-purpose M2M device.”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the eUICC of Kwan with the eUICC taught by Brusilovsky in order to allows devices produced with eSIMs/eUICCs to be produced at lower costs (Brusilovsky ¶ [0079]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATASHA W COSME whose telephone number is (571)270-7225. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4. 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, Ayman Abaza can be reached at 571-270-0422. 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.
/NATASHA W COSME/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465