DETAILED ACTION
Status of Application
The following is a Non-Final Office Action. In response to Examiner's Advisory Action on 02/27/2026, Applicant on 03/02/2026, filed an RCE amending Claims 1, 11 and adding new Claims 25-26. Claims 1-2, 5-11, 14-18, 25-26 are now pending in this application and have been rejected below.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 03/02/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicants’ amendments render moot the 35 USC 103 rejections set forth in the previous action in view of new and updated grounds for rejection necessitated by Applicants’ amendments. Therefore, these rejections are withdrawn in view of the new grounds for rejection necessitated by Applicants’ amendments, as set forth below.
Response to Arguments – 35 USC § 103
Applicant' s arguments with respect to the rejection of Claims 5,13 over Klausner in view of Davis, and independent Claims 1,10 by analogous reasoning, have been considered but are moot in light of new grounds of rejections necessitated by applicant’s amendments.
Applicant’s arguments are wholly directed towards alleged deficiencies in the prior art of record in teaching newly amended limitations. As new grounds of rejection are necessitated by these amendments, these arguments are rendered moot, and Examiner respectfully notes the upgraded grounds of rejection as outlined below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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.
Claim 26 is 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.
Dependent Claim 26, a method claim, claims dependency from independent Claim 1, a system claim. While it is contextually clear that Applicant intended to claim dependency from Claim 11, appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-2, 5, 11, 14, 25, 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable over Perez(US 20130332291 A1) in view of Aoyanagi(US 20210224016 A1) in further view of Lee(US 20180026980 A1).
Claims 1, 11
Perez teaches:
A system for identifying a specific item, the system comprising: a user interface on a screen … said system executes a method comprising the steps of:(a) providing a listing of multiple items on said user interface of said specific item:(b) receiving input indicating a single selected item selected from said listing
In [0083], “Upon receiving the brand reply, the application program displays an item selection page on the display of the computing device 48. FIG. 5 shows the item selection page, which is generally referred to using reference numeral 360. The item selection page 360 comprises a header region 362 in which the selected sub-sub-category is displayed”. In [0084], “Upon selection of one of the retail products listed in the display area 366, the application program displays an item display page. FIG. 6 shows the item display page, which is generally referred to using reference numeral 460”.
said relevant … code representing an index to a database location, and said database location storing at least a manufacturer name and a model name that are associated with said single selected item:
In [0055], “The retail product information stored in the retail product database comprises, for each retail product: product categorizing information, a product code number, a product description, and a graphical image. In this embodiment, for each retail product, the product categorizing information comprises a category, a sub-category, a sub-sub-category, and a brand. For example, for a category of "dairy", there may be retail products in the retail product database having values of sub-category of "milk", "cheese", "butter & margarine", "yogurt" and "ice cream". For the sub-category of "milk", for example, there may be retail products in the retail product database having values of sub-sub-category of "skim", "partly skim 1%", "partly skim 2%", "whole" and "lactose free". Each value of brand comprises a brand name and size information of the retail product. For example, for the sub-sub-category of "skim", there may be retail products in the retail product database having values of brand of "Beatrice.TM. 1 L carton", "Beatrice.TM. 4 L bags", "Natrel.TM. 1 L carton", "Natrel.TM. 4 L bags", and "Nelson.TM. 4 L bags". Each value of product description comprises a concise text description of the retail product”.
said identification being obtained from said database location by way of said index represented by said relevant … code and said identification comprising at least said manufacturer name and said model name
See [0055] above for storage of product information. Note the mapping of bar code information to associated details in [0097], “Turning again to FIG. 11, upon selection of the price check button 986, the application program displays a message (not shown) on the active purchase list page 960 prompting the user to point the computing device 48 toward a "product barcode", and directs the computing device 48 to capture one or more images using its imaging device. During image capture, the application program displays the one or more captured images on a display page (not shown) in real-time, and processes the one or more captured images to extract a product code number from any retail product barcode existing therein”.
Perez does not expressly disclose the remaining limitations.
However, Aoyanagi teaches:
a user interface on a screen of said specific item;and a machine readable indicia displayed on said user interface, wherein said machine readable indicia comprises a QR code, … QR code
Note the displays represent the items. In [0040], “The display pattern generation unit 16 (an example of a pattern generation unit) generates a recognition number pattern, which is a display pattern representing the recognition number, on the basis of control of the display control unit 13. For example, the display pattern generation unit 16 generates a bar code which is a one-dimensional code or a QR code (registered trademark) which is a two-dimensional code from the recognition number stored in the recognition number storage unit 15. The display pattern generation unit 16 outputs the generated recognition number pattern to the display switching unit 18’.
(c) determining a relevant QR code that is associated with said single selected item (d) generating said relevant QR code;
Regarding the usage of QR codes, in [0040] “The display pattern generation unit 16 (an example of a pattern generation unit) generates a recognition number pattern, which is a display pattern representing the recognition number, on the basis of control of the display control unit 13. For example, the display pattern generation unit 16 generates a bar code which is a one-dimensional code or a QR code (registered trademark) which is a two-dimensional code from the recognition number stored in the recognition number storage unit 15”. This is done in the bounds of the display device, in [0036], “ As shown in FIG. 2, the display device 10 includes the display unit 11, a recognition number generation unit 12, a display control unit 13, the remote control signal reception unit 14, a recognition number storage unit 15, a display pattern generation unit 16, a video processing unit 17, and a display switching unit 18”.
and(e) displaying said relevant QR code on said user interface of said specific item, said relevant QR code is configured to be scanned by a device different from said specific item, responsive to said relevant QR code being scanned by said device,a display of said device displays an identification of said specific item … represented by said relevant QR code …
In [0042], “On the basis of the control of the display control unit 13, the display switching unit 18 switches between the recognition number pattern output by the display pattern generation unit 16 and the video output by the video processing unit 17 and outputs the recognition number pattern or the video to the display unit 11”. In [0073], “The recognition number detection unit 222 detects a recognition number identifying each of the plurality of display devices 10 on the basis of the recognition number pattern included in the image captured by the imaging unit 21 and associates the detected recognition number with the position of each of the plurality of display devices 10. That is, for example, the recognition number detection unit 222 acquires an image G1 as shown in FIG. 5 from the imaging unit 21 and detects the recognition number identifying each of the plurality of display devices 10 on the basis of the recognition number pattern included in the image”.
Perez discloses a system for accessing and retrieving inventory and information on items for a store, as well as means for the access and retrieval of said information. Aoyanagi discloses a system meant to facilitate the management of digital displays. Extending the self-display as recorded in Aoyanagi to the system of Perez is applicable as the digital display access and management is reasonably pertinent to the problem of accessing and retrieving inventory and stockpile information on items for a store .
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to apply the digital self-display of Aoyanagi and apply that to the system as taught in Perez. Motivation to do so comes from the fact that the claim is plainly directed to the predictable result of combining known items in the prior art, with the expected benefit that the self-display would enable digital devices to serve as their own digital tag.
Aoyanagi combined with Perez does not expressly disclose the remaining limitation.
However, Lee teaches:
and wherein the method includes storing said relevant QR code in a memory of said specific item.
In [0010], “The present invention further discloses an authentication method for use in a mobile device. The mobile device comprises a display panel, a wireless transceiver, a storage and a processor. The storage stores a quick response code (QR code) for being captured by an authentication device.”.
Perez combined with Aoyanagi discloses a system meant to facilitate consumer access to information embedded in a QR code on digital displays. Lee discloses a system for mobile device authentication with QR codes. Extending the inventory management as recorded in Perez to the system of Aoyanagi is applicable as the storage and access of item information is reasonably pertinent to the problem of interfacing with individual units of digital displays.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to apply the QR code self-storage as taught in Lee and apply that to the system as taught in Perez combined with Aoyanagi. Motivation to do so comes from the fact that the claim is plainly directed to the predictable result of combining known items in the prior art, with the expected benefit that the self-storage would facilitate easy access of a digital device’s identification downstream from code generation.
Claim 11 is rejected as disclosing substantially similar limitations as Claim 1.
Claim 2
As to Claim 2, Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee teaches all the limitations of Claim 1.
Perez teaches:
The system according to claim 1, further comprising a database from which said listing of multiple items is derived.
The information in [0055] is maintained by a database in [0054], “The shopping information application is also configured to maintain within the application server 22 a retail product database of retail product information relating to commercially available retail products. In this embodiment, the retail products are grocery products, however it will be understood that in other embodiments, the retail products may be other kinds of products”.Claim 5
As to Claim 5, Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee teaches all the limitations of Claim 1 as outlined above.
Perez does not expressly disclose the remaining limitations.
However, Aoyanagi teaches:
The system according to claim 1, wherein said relevant QR code is generated by said specific item in step (d).
Regarding the usage of QR codes, in [0040] “The display pattern generation unit 16 (an example of a pattern generation unit) generates a recognition number pattern, which is a display pattern representing the recognition number, on the basis of control of the display control unit 13. For example, the display pattern generation unit 16 generates a bar code which is a one-dimensional code or a QR code (registered trademark) which is a two-dimensional code from the recognition number stored in the recognition number storage unit 15”. This is done in the bounds of the display device, in [0036], “ As shown in FIG. 2, the display device 10 includes the display unit 11, a recognition number generation unit 12, a display control unit 13, the remote control signal reception unit 14, a recognition number storage unit 15, a display pattern generation unit 16, a video processing unit 17, and a display switching unit 18”.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply the native indicia generation of Aoyanagi and apply that to the system of Perez. Motivation to do some is as outlined above in Claim 1.
Claim 14
As to Claim 14, Klausner combined with Aoyanagi and Davis teaches all the limitations of Claim 11.
Klausner combined with Aoyanagi does not expressly disclose the remaining limitations.
However, Perez teaches:
The method according to claim 11, wherein said listing is retrieved from a database.
See [0054] for the product database and [0055] for information extracted from it.
Claims 25, 26
As to Claim 25, Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee teaches all the limitations of Claim 1.
Perez does not expressly disclose the remaining limitations.
However, Aoyanagi teaches:
The system according to claim 1, wherein, when said relevant QR code is scanned by said device different from said specific item, said scanning comprises a user taking a picture of multiple devices, wherein each of at least two devices of said multiple devices displays a specific QR code that corresponds to said each of at least two devices,
In [0073], “The recognition number detection unit 222 detects a recognition number identifying each of the plurality of display devices 10 on the basis of the recognition number pattern included in the image captured by the imaging unit 21 and associates the detected recognition number with the position of each of the plurality of display devices 10. That is, for example, the recognition number detection unit 222 acquires an image G1 as shown in FIG. 5 from the imaging unit 21 and detects the recognition number identifying each of the plurality of display devices 10 on the basis of the recognition number pattern included in the image”.
and wherein said display of said device displays identifications for all of said each of at least two devices after processing each specific QR code,
The identifications being the corresponding GUI elements in [0076], “The button control unit 223 controls a display process of the portable device display unit 241 and an operation detection process of the touch coordinate detection unit 242. The button control unit 223 causes the portable device display unit 241 to display a selection area where each of the plurality of display devices 10 is selected so that the selection area is displayed in accordance with an arrangement of the plurality of display devices 10 on the basis of the recognition number and the position of each of the plurality of display devices 10 associated by the recognition number detection unit 222. That is, the button control unit 223 causes the arrangement of the plurality of display devices 10 to match an arrangement of selection buttons, for example, as in a selection button area BT1 shown in FIG. 6, on the basis of the recognition number list stored in the recognition number list storage unit 232 and causes the portable device display unit 241 to display selection buttons. Also, coordinates of the display area of the selection button and the selection area identifying each display device 10 are set on the basis of the “detected coordinates” stored in the recognition number list storage unit 232”.
each of said identifications being based on information stored in database locations represented by said specific QR code.
Note that the relative position of the buttons is derivative from their entry in the database’s indices, in [0076], “That is, the button control unit 223 causes the arrangement of the plurality of display devices 10 to match an arrangement of selection buttons, for example, as in a selection button area BT1 shown in FIG. 6, on the basis of the recognition number list stored in the recognition number list storage unit 232 and causes the portable device display unit 241 to display selection buttons. Also, coordinates of the display area of the selection button and the selection area identifying each display device 10 are set on the basis of the “detected coordinates” stored in the recognition number list storage unit 232”. Note that information is keyed to the recognition number, represented by the recognition number pattern/QR code, in [0075], “For example, the recognition number detection unit 222 associates the detected recognition number with the position of each of the plurality of display devices 10 and causes the recognition number list storage unit 232 to store an association result as shown in FIG. 4. Also, in a process of setting a recognition number (which may be hereinafter referred to as a recognition number setting process), the recognition number detection unit 222 causes the recognition number list storage unit 232 to store “selection states” identifying all the recognition numbers as a “non-selected” state’.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to apply the digital self-display of Aoyanagi and apply that to the system as taught in Perez. Motivation to do so comes from the same rationale as outlined above with respect to Claim 1.
Claim 26 is rejected as disclosing substantially similar limitations as Claim 25.
Claims 6-10, 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Perez(US 20130332291 A1) in view of Aoyanagi(US 20210224016 A1) in further view of Lee(US 20180026980 A1) in further view of Davis(US 20200279084 A1).
Claims 6, 15
As to Claim 6, Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee teaches all the limitations of Claim 2 as outlined above.
Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee does not expressly disclose the remaining limitations.
However, Davis teaches:
The system according to claim 2, wherein said database is remote from a location of said specific item.
Note it is implicit that the application server that maintains the product database can be located at a distance from a plurality of stores, and thereby be remote from the items within the stores in [0089], “Upon receiving the replies, the application server 22 processes the current price information, the coupon information, the current inventory information, and the store location information, and calculates a total cost, a product matching ratio, and a store proximity for each store within the threshold distance’.
Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee discloses a system meant to facilitate consumer access to information embedded in a QR code on digital displays. Davis discloses a system meant to streamline user access to store inventory and database information. Extending the inventory management as recorded in Davis to the system of Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee is applicable as the inventory management of Davis is reasonably pertinent to the problem of providing consumer access to information in digital displays.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to apply the inventory management as taught in Davis and apply that to the system as taught in Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee. Motivation to do so comes from the fact that the claim is plainly directed to the predictable result of combining known items in the prior art, with the expected benefit that said database management would streamline and regulate user experiences in accessing and retrieving relevant information.
Claim 15 is rejected as presenting substantially similar limitations as Claim 6.
Claims 7, 16
As to Claim 7, Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee teaches all the limitations of Claim 2 as outlined above.
Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee does not expressly disclose the remaining limitations.
However, Davis teaches:
The system according to claim 2, wherein said database is stored in said memory of said specific item.
In [0532], “ In like fashion, data can be stored anywhere: in a local device, in a networked, remote device, in the cloud, distributed between such devices, etc.)”. In accordance with the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim, we consider the teaching of local storage, as opposed to the also disclosed networked, remote device to disclose this limitation.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to apply the inventory management as taught in Davis and apply that to the system as taught in Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee. Motivation to do so comes from the same rationale as outlined above with respect to Claim 6.
Claim 16 is rejected as presenting substantially similar limitations as Claim 7.
Claim 8
As to Claim 8, Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee teaches all the limitations of Claim 1 as outlined above.
Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee does not expressly disclose the remaining limitations.
However, Davis teaches:
The system according to Claim 1, wherein said user is required to login to access said database.
In [0206], “The data may be collected on a per-cashier basis (or per-customer, for self-serve checkouts), to account for the different habits of different users. (Cashiers typically “sign-in” to POS systems, e.g., entering an employee ID and password on a keypad or similar device. Customers may identify themselves by loyalty card”.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to apply the inventory management as taught in Davis and apply that to the system as taught in Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee. Motivation to do so comes from the same rationale as outlined above with respect to Claim 6.
Claim 9
As to Claim 9, Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee teaches all the limitations of Claim 1 as discussed above.
Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee does not expressly disclose the remaining limitations.
However, Davis teaches:
The system according to claim 1, wherein contents of said listing are based on an identification of a facility where said specific item is located.
In [0335], “As described above, outputs from plural such components are provided to a decision module that determines which product identification is most probably correct, giving the ensemble of input information. This module can rely on reference information about products in the store's inventory, stored in a database or other data structure”. In [0412-0413], “The clerk touches the tile corresponding to the correct item, without having to browse a listing that includes bananas, oranges, etc. If the produce manager sells out of a particular type of apple, the POS system is alerted to this fact, and the tile for that type of apple is not thereafter presented to the clerk (until the item is restocked). Such arrangement can similarly be employed for self-checkout, by the shopper”.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to apply the inventory management as taught in Davis and apply that to the system as taught in Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee. Motivation to do so comes from the same rationale as outlined above with respect to Claim 6.
Claim 10
As to Claim 10, Perez combined with Aoyanagi, Lee and Davis all the limitations of Claim 9 as discussed above.
Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee does not expressly disclose the remaining limitations.
However, Davis teaches:
The system according to claim 9, wherein said listing is based on which items are available at said facility.
In [0302], “A related class of evidence comes from inventory sensors. Cameras, weight transducers, near field chip readers, or other sensors can be positioned to monitor the removal of stock from shelves”. As outlined above, [0335] teaches the maintenance of store inventory data in a database. In [0412-0413], “The clerk touches the tile corresponding to the correct item, without having to browse a listing that includes bananas, oranges, etc. If the produce manager sells out of a particular type of apple, the POS system is alerted to this fact, and the tile for that type of apple is not thereafter presented to the clerk (until the item is restocked). Such arrangement can similarly be employed for self-checkout, by the shopper”.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to apply the inventory management as taught in Davis and apply that to the system as taught in Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee. Motivation to do so comes from the same rationale as outlined above with respect to Claim 6.
Claim 17
As to Claim 17, Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee teaches all the limitations of Claim 11 as discussed above.
Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee does not expressly disclose the remaining limitations.
However, Davis teaches:
The method according to claim 11, wherein contents of said listing are dependent on a location of said specific item.
In [0335], “As described above, outputs from plural such components are provided to a decision module that determines which product identification is most probably correct, giving the ensemble of input information. This module can rely on reference information about products in the store's inventory, stored in a database or other data structure”. In [0412-0413], “The clerk touches the tile corresponding to the correct item, without having to browse a listing that includes bananas, oranges, etc. If the produce manager sells out of a particular type of apple, the POS system is alerted to this fact, and the tile for that type of apple is not thereafter presented to the clerk (until the item is restocked). Such arrangement can similarly be employed for self-checkout, by the shopper”.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to apply the inventory management as taught in Davis and apply that to the system as taught in Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee. Motivation to do so comes from the same rationale as outlined above with respect to Claim 6.
Claim 18
As to Claim 18, Perez combined with Aoyanagi, Lee and Davis teaches all the limitations of Claim 17 as discussed above.
Klausner combined with Aoyanagi and Lee does not expressly disclose the remaining limitations.
However, Davis teaches:
The method according to claim 17, wherein contents of said listing are dependent on which items are available for a location where said item is located.
In [0335], “As described above, outputs from plural such components are provided to a decision module that determines which product identification is most probably correct, giving the ensemble of input information. This module can rely on reference information about products in the store's inventory, stored in a database or other data structure”. In [0412-0413], “The clerk touches the tile corresponding to the correct item, without having to browse a listing that includes bananas, oranges, etc. If the produce manager sells out of a particular type of apple, the POS system is alerted to this fact, and the tile for that type of apple is not thereafter presented to the clerk (until the item is restocked). Such arrangement can similarly be employed for self-checkout, by the shopper”.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to apply the inventory management as taught in Davis and apply that to the system as taught in Perez combined with Aoyanagi and Lee. Motivation to do so comes from the same rationale as outlined above with respect to Claim 6.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THEODORE L XIE whose telephone number is (571)272-7102. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Rutao Wu can be reached at 571-272-6045. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THEODORE XIE/ Examiner, Art Unit 3623
/CHARLES GUILIANO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3623
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