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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Specifically, the wording of the last limitation of independent claim 1 is unclear. The claim recites “a notification unit that notifies temporary a user of the portable terminal device”. Appropriate correct is required.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 4-5, and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Luke et al., US Patent Application Publication Number 2014/0253021 (hereinafter Luke).
Regarding claim 1, Luke discloses an electric mobile vehicle [paragraph 0052] to which a power storage pack is attached, the electric mobile vehicle comprising:
a controller that obtains a verification code from the power storage pack via wired or wireless communication, the verification code being to be used in a process of exchanging an encryption key that is to be used for short-range wireless communication between the power storage pack and a portable terminal device [paragraphs 0086, 0092]; and
a notification unit that notifies a user of the portable terminal device of the verification code obtained from the power storage pack [paragraphs 0087, 0091].
Regarding claim 4, Luke discloses wherein when the controller obtains, from the power storage pack, a notification indicating that the process of exchanging the encryption key that is to be used for the short-range wireless communication between the power storage pack and the portable terminal device has been completed[paragraph 0092], the controller permits the electric mobile vehicle to travel [paragraph 0052].
Regarding claim 5, Luke discloses a portable terminal device comprising:
a wireless communication unit configured to perform short-range wireless communication [paragraph 0086];
an obtainment unit that obtains a verification code notified from the electric mobile vehicle according to claim 1, as triggered by an operation performed by a user [paragraph 0086]; and
a controller that performs a process of exchanging an encryption key with a power storage pack using the verification code, the encryption key being used for the short-range wireless communication with the power storage pack [paragraphs 0091-0092], the power storage pack being attached to the electric mobile vehicle [paragraph 0052].
Regarding claim 9, Luke discloses a non-transitory machine-readable recording medium that stores a wireless communication program that causes a computer to execute the processes of:
obtaining a verification code notified from the electric mobile vehicle according to claim 1, as triggered by an operation performed by a user [paragraph 0086]; and
performing a process of exchanging an encryption key with a power storage pack using the verification code, the encryption key being used for short-range wireless communication with the power storage pack [paragraphs 0091-0002], the power storage pack being attached to the electric mobile vehicle [paragraph 0052].
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.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luke.
Regarding claim 2, Luke does not specifically disclose wherein the notification unit includes a display unit configured to display the verification code. However, the Examiner takes Official Notice that including a display unit is well known in the art. Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Luke to include this feature. The motivation for this modification would have been to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 6-8 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Luke et al., CN 103843225., disclose security and control of a power storage device based on a user profile for authentication.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIKA WASHINGTON whose telephone number is (571)272-7841. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kathy Wang-Hurst can be reached at 571-270-5371. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/EAW/
March 3, 2026
/ERIKA A WASHINGTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2644