DETAILED ACTION
Acknowledgements
The amendment filed on 02/04/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 1, 3-11, 13-16 and 18-20 are pending.
Claims 1, 3-11, 13-16 and 18-20 have been examined.
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 Objections
Claim 20 depends from a cancelled claim 17. For the purpose of the examination, claim 20 is interpreted depending from claim 13.
Response to Amendment/Arguments
Claims 1, 3-11, 13-16 and 18-19 are amended.
Regarding applicant’s arguments on Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. §101, the arguments have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
It is the applicant’s position that the claims “improve payments efficiency while optimizing resource utilization, thus qualifying for protection under 35 U.S.C 101.” The examiner respectfully disagrees.
The claim(s) recite(s) payment transaction. Specifically, the claims recite “determining, by a ..., transaction information of a current digital currency transaction based on an instruction sent by a...; obtaining, by the ..., the transaction information through a local..., and sending the transaction information to the ... for verification, wherein the transaction information comprises a digital currency or identification information, and the identification information is configured to identify a wallet account or a digital currency of the...; and updating, by the ..., a digital currency balance after determining that the transaction information passes the verification; wherein determining, by the..., transaction information of the current digital currency transaction based on the instruction sent by the... comprises: based on the instruction sent by the ..., determining, by the .., the transaction information of the current digital currency transaction according to a preset corresponding relationship between an instruction and a transaction information type, wherein the instruction sent by the ... is related to network status and/or device forms of the ... and the...; wherein when the ... is a non-networked device, the transaction information is one of the following: a local wallet account identifier, a digital currency identifier, and the digital currency.”, which is “commercial or legal interactions” within the “certain methods of organizing human activity” grouping of abstract ideas in prong one of step 2A of the Alice/Mayo test (See MPEP 2106) because the claims involve a series of steps for payment transaction. Accordingly, the claims recite an abstract idea.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because, when analyzed under prong two of step 2A of the Alice/Mayo test (See MPEP 2106), the additional element(s) of the claim(s) such as the use of payment device, security chip, collection device, processors, memory and computer-readable medium merely use(s) a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea. The processors and memories are recited at a high-level of generality (i.e., as a generic processor performing a generic computer function of processing payment transaction by using a generic computer components. Accordingly, the additional elements do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea, and the claims are directed to an abstract idea.
Examiner notes “preset corresponding relationship between an instruction and a transaction information type,” is interpreted as instructions for determining transaction information type such as based on network status. (see Specs ¶0009 and ¶0064). For instance, instructions that in the event of if collection device offline, or payment device offline, or both devices offline, which wallet/account should be selected for the transaction. This is a business rule.
The rejection is maintained.
Regarding applicant’s arguments on Claim Rejections - 35 U.S. C. § 112(b), the amendment overcomes the rejection. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.
Regarding applicant’s arguments on Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. §103, the arguments have been fully considered. However, the examiner respectfully disagrees.
It is the applicant’s position that Li does not disclose amended claim 1 limitation “wherein determining, by the payment device, transaction information of the current digital currency transaction based on the instruction sent by the collection device comprises: based on the instruction sent by the collection device, determining, by the payment device, the transaction information of the current digital currency transaction according to a preset corresponding relationship between an instruction and a transaction information type, wherein the instruction sent by the collection device is related to network status and/or device forms of the payment device and the collection device;” The examiner respectfully disagrees.
Li page 6 the 7th para discloses “payment wallet generating double-offline transaction information in double-offline transaction. wherein the double-offline transaction information comprises digital currency and amount of account, payer account, payee account number, transaction time and the payer signature private key.” A transaction information is generated for a double offline transaction, the payment device (payment wallet) received information on network status (which is offline) of the collection device, and it generated the transaction information by following preset instructions. Therefore, Li teaches the limitation.
The applicant argues that the “motivation is lacking to combine Liu and Li”. The examiner respectfully disagrees.
In response to applicant’s argument that there is no teaching, suggestion, or motivation to combine the references, the examiner recognizes that obviousness may be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so found either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 5 USPQ2d 1596 (Fed. Cir. 1988), In re Jones, 958 F.2d 347, 21 USPQ2d 1941 (Fed. Cir. 1992), and KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007). In this case, Li discloses digital currency payment method that including offline scenarios (Li, Abs). Liu discloses digital currency payment method. Liu further discloses that payment terminal comprises a security chip. (Liu, Abs). 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 A Digital Currency Wallet and Digital Currency Double-offline Payment Method of Li et al. by including a security chip in the payment terminal in accordance with the teaching of Liu et al.. This modification enables the system to store sensitive data in the security chip. Hence, it enhances the security of the system.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC §101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1, 3-11, 13-16 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Analysis
In the instant case, claims 1, 3-11 and 15-16 are directed to a method, claims 13 and 18-20 are directed to an electronic device, claim 14 is directed to a CRM. Therefore, these claims fall within the four statutory categories of invention.
The claim(s) recite(s) payment transaction. Specifically, the claims recite “determining, by a ..., transaction information of a current digital currency transaction based on an instruction sent by a...; obtaining, by the ..., the transaction information through a local..., and sending the transaction information to the ... for verification, wherein the transaction information comprises a digital currency or identification information, and the identification information is configured to identify a wallet account or a digital currency of the...; and updating, by the ..., a digital currency balance after determining that the transaction information passes the verification; wherein determining, by the..., transaction information of the current digital currency transaction based on the instruction sent by the... comprises: based on the instruction sent by the ..., determining, by the .., the transaction information of the current digital currency transaction according to a preset corresponding relationship between an instruction and a transaction information type, wherein the instruction sent by the ... is related to network status and/or device forms of the ... and the...; wherein when the ... is a non-networked device, the transaction information is one of the following: a local wallet account identifier, a digital currency identifier, and the digital currency.”, which is “commercial or legal interactions” within the “certain methods of organizing human activity” grouping of abstract ideas in prong one of step 2A of the Alice/Mayo test (See MPEP 2106) because the claims involve a series of steps for payment transaction. Accordingly, the claims recite an abstract idea.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because, when analyzed under prong two of step 2A of the Alice/Mayo test (See MPEP 2106), the additional element(s) of the claim(s) such as the use of payment device, security chip, collection device, processors, memory and computer-readable medium merely use(s) a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea. The processors and memories are recited at a high-level of generality (i.e., as a generic processor performing a generic computer function of processing payment transaction by using a generic computer components. Accordingly, the additional elements do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea, and the claims are directed to an abstract idea.
The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional element of using payment device, security chip, collection device, processors, memory and computer-readable medium to perform payment transaction steps amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer components. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer components cannot provide an inventive concept. The claim is not patent eligible.
Dependent claims 2, 17 and 21 describe determining transaction information. Dependent claims 3 and 18 describe obtaining transaction information. Dependent claim 4 describes recharging digital currency. Dependent claims 5, 8, 11 and 15 describe updating balance. Dependent claims 6-7 and 19 describe wallet account identifier. Dependent claims 9 and 16 describes updating parent wallet or online wallet balance. Dependent claims 10 and 20 describes obtaining digital currency when collection device is offline. These claims further recite the abstract idea of certain methods of organizing human activity. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the additional element(s) of the claim(s) such as the use of payment device, security chip, collection device, processors, memory and computer-readable medium merely use(s) a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea. The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claims are not patent eligible.
Viewed as a whole, the combination of elements recited in the claims simply recite the concept of payment transaction. The claims do not, for example, purport to improve the functioning of the computer itself. Nor do they effect an improvement in any other technology or technical field.
The use of a payment device, security chip, collection device, processors, memory and computer-readable medium as tools to implement the abstract idea does not render the claim patent eligible because it does not provide meaningful limitations beyond generally linking the use of an abstract idea to a particular technological environment and requires no more than a computer performing functions that correspond to acts required to carry out the abstract idea.
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, 9-11, 13-14 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over China Application Publication CN111340469A (“Li et al. ”) in view of CN112581108A (“Liu et al.”).
Regarding claims 1 and 13-14, Li et al. discloses:
determining, by a payment device, transaction information of a current digital currency transaction based on an instruction sent by a collection device; (page 6 para 7)
obtaining, by the payment device, the transaction information through a local storage, and sending the transaction information to the collection device for verification, wherein the transaction information comprises a digital currency or identification information, and the identification information is configured to identify a wallet account or a digital currency of the payment device; and (page 6 paras 7-9)
updating, by the payment device, a digital currency balance after determining that the transaction information passes the verification. (page 7 para 1)
wherein determining, by the payment device, transaction information of the current digital currency transaction based on the instruction sent by the collection device comprises: based on the instruction sent by the collection device, determining, by the payment device, the transaction information of the current digital currency transaction according to a preset corresponding relationship between an instruction and a transaction information type, wherein the instruction sent by the collection device is related to network status and/or device forms of the payment device and the collection device; (page 6 paras 7-9)
wherein when the payment device is a non-networked device, (abs) the transaction information is one of the following: a local wallet account identifier, a digital currency identifier, and the digital currency. (abs; page 6 paras 7; page 8 claim 5)
Li et al. does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the local storage is a local security chip;
However, Liu et al. discloses:
wherein the local storage is a local security chip (page 1 abs)
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 A Digital Currency Wallet and Digital Currency Double-offline Payment Method of Li et al. by including a security chip in the payment terminal in accordance with the teaching of Liu et al.. This modification enables the system to store sensitive data in the security chip. Hence, it enhances the security of the system.
Regarding claims 3 and 18, Li et al. in view of Liu et al. discloses all limitations as described above. Li et al. further discloses:
wherein in a case that the collection device is a device with a networking capability in device form and is in an online network status, the transaction information comprises one of a wallet account identifier, a digital currency identifier, and the digital currency; and
the obtaining, by the payment device, the transaction information through the local security chip comprises:
obtaining, by the payment device, one of the wallet account identifier, the digital currency identifier, and the digital currency from the local security chip so as to generate the transaction information. (page 6 paras 7; page 8 claim 5)
Regarding claim 5, Li et al. in view of Liu et al. discloses all limitations as described above. Li et al. further discloses:
wherein in a case that the transaction information is generated based on the digital currency identifier, the updating, by the payment device, the digital currency balance after determining that the transaction information passes the verification comprises:
performing, by the operating institution backend system of the digital currency, a deduction operation after the payment device determines that the transaction information passes the verification, and updating, by the payment device, a local digital currency balance after receiving a deduction completing instruction returned by the operating institution backend system. (page 7 para 1)
Regarding claims 6 and 19, Li et al. in view of Liu et al. discloses all limitations as described above. Li et al. further discloses:
wherein in a case that the payment device is a device with a networking capability in device form, the wallet account identifier is one of a parent wallet account identifier, an another online wallet account identifier, and the local wallet account identifier of the payment device; and in a case that the payment device is a device without a networking capability in device form, the wallet account identifier is the local wallet account identifier of the payment device. (page 6 para 7)
Regarding claim 9, Li et al. in view of Liu et al. discloses all limitations as described above. Li et al. further discloses:
wherein in a case that the transaction information is generated based on the parent wallet account identifier or another online wallet account identifier, the updating, by the payment device, the digital currency balance after determining that the transaction information passes the verification comprises:
after the payment device determines that the transaction information passes the verification, performing, by the operating institution backend system, a deduction operation, updating the digital currency balance in a corresponding parent wallet application or online wallet application without updating the digital currency balance of the local wallet account. (page 7 para 1).
Examiner note, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that an account balance update only occur on the accounts that are involved in the transaction. All other accounts that are not part of the transaction should not have any account balance update. Since the transaction is based on the parent wallet account identifier or another online wallet account identifier (not local wallet account), therefore, the updating account balance applies to the parent wallet account or online wallet account but not the local wallet account.
Regarding claim 10 and 20, Li et al. in view of Liu et al. discloses all limitations as described above. Li et al. further discloses:
wherein in a case that the collection device is a device without a networking capability in device form, or the collection device is a device with a networking capability in device form but is in an offline network status, the transaction information comprises the digital currency; and
the obtaining, by the payment device, the transaction information through a local security chip comprises:
obtaining, by the payment device, the digital currency from the local security chip so as to generate the transaction information. (page 6 para 7)
Regarding claim 11, Li et al. in view of Liu et al. discloses all limitations as described above. XXX further discloses:
wherein in a case that the transaction information is generated based on the digital currency, the updating, by the payment device, the digital currency balance after determining that the transaction information passes the verification comprises:
updating, by the payment device, the local digital currency balance after determining that the transaction information passes the verification. (page 7 paras 1 and 2)
Claims 4, 7-8 and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over China Application Publication CN111340469A (“Li et al. ”) in view of CN112581108A (“Liu et al.”), and in further view of China Application Publication CN111144879A (“Wang”).
Regarding claim 4, Li et al. in view of Liu et al. discloses all limitations as described above. Li et al. and Liu et al. do not explicitly disclose:
wherein before the determining, by the payment device, transaction information of the current digital currency transaction based on the instruction sent by the collection device, the method comprises:
obtaining, by the payment device, the digital currency issued by an operating institution backend system of the digital currency during a recharge operation, and storing a corresponding digital currency identifier in the local security chip.
However, Wang discloses:
wherein before the determining, by the payment device, transaction information of the current digital currency transaction based on the instruction sent by the collection device, the method comprises:
obtaining, by the payment device, the digital currency issued by an operating institution backend system of the digital currency during a recharge operation, and storing a corresponding digital currency identifier in the local security chip. (Fig. 3; page 3 paras 1-7)
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 combined system of Li et al. and Liu et al. by including a recharging operation in accordance with the teaching of Wang. This modification ensures the wallet has adequate funds for the transaction.
Regarding claim 7, Li et al. in view of Liu et al. discloses all limitations as described above. Li et al. and Liu et al. do not explicitly disclose:
wherein before the determining, by a payment device, transaction information of the current digital currency transaction based on the instruction sent by the collection device, the method comprises:
receiving, by the payment device, the wallet account identifier issued by the operating institution backend system of the digital currency during a creation of a wallet account, and storing the wallet account identifier in the local security chip, and in a case that the wallet account identifier is the local wallet account identifier, recording, by the operating institution backend system, a mapping relationship between the digital currency for recharge and the local wallet account identifier when the payment device performs a recharge operation.
However, Wang discloses:
wherein before the determining, by the payment device, transaction information of the current digital currency transaction based on the instruction sent by the collection device, the method comprises:
receiving, by the payment device, the wallet account identifier issued by the operating institution backend system of the digital currency during a creation of a wallet account, and storing the wallet account identifier in the local security chip, and in a case that the wallet account identifier is the local wallet account identifier, recording, by the operating institution backend system, a mapping relationship between the digital currency for recharge and the local wallet account identifier when the payment device performs a recharge operation. (Fig. 3; page 3 paras 1-7)
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 combined system of Li et al. and Liu et al. by including a recharging operation in accordance with the teaching of Wang. This modification ensures the wallet has adequate funds for the transaction.
Regarding claim 8, Li et al. in view of Liu et al., and in further view of Wang discloses all limitations as described above. Li et al. further discloses:
wherein in a case that the transaction information is generated based on the local wallet account identifier, the updating, by the payment device, the digital currency balance after determining that the transaction information passes the verification comprises:
after the payment device determines that the transaction information passes the verification, performing, by the operating institution backend system, a deduction operation, and updating, by the payment device, the digital currency balance of the local wallet account based on a deduction completing instruction returned by the operating institution backend system. (page 7 para 1)
Regarding claim 15, Li et al. in view of Liu et al., and in further view of Wang discloses all limitations as described above. Li et al. further discloses:
wherein in a case that the transaction information is generated based on the digital currency identifier, the updating, by the payment device, the digital currency balance after determining that the transaction information passes the verification comprises:
performing, by the operating institution backend system of the digital currency, a deduction operation after the payment device determines that the transaction information passes the verification, and updating, by the payment device, a local digital currency balance after receiving a deduction completing instruction returned by the operating institution backend system. (page 7 para 1)
Regarding claim 16, Li et al. in view of Liu et al., and in further view of Wang discloses all limitations as described above. Li et al. further discloses:
wherein in a case that the transaction information is generated based on the parent wallet account identifier or another online wallet account identifier, the updating, by the payment device, the digital currency balance after determining that the transaction information passes the verification comprises:
after the payment device determines that the transaction information passes the verification, performing, by the operating institution backend system, a deduction operation, updating the digital currency balance in a corresponding parent wallet application or online wallet application without updating the digital currency balance of the local wallet account. (page 7 para 1).
Examiner note, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that an account balance update only occur on the accounts that are involved in the transaction. All other accounts that are not part of the transaction should not have any account balance update. Since the transaction is based on the parent wallet account identifier or another online wallet account identifier (not local wallet account), therefore, the updating account balance applies to the parent wallet account or online wallet account but not the local wallet account.
Conclusion
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
CN112950195A (“Li et al.”) discloses a system and method for providing digital currency off-line payment. It comprises the following steps: establishing off-line payment connection with a money receiving terminal in an off-line state; sending the transaction amount to the collection terminal, and negotiating with the collection terminal to establish a payment change making matching scheme; based on the payment change matching scheme, sending signed payment digital currency information to the money receiving terminal, and receiving signed change digital currency information sent by the money receiving terminal; and generating a transaction record based on the signed payment digital currency information and the signed change digital currency information, carrying out payment signature, sending the transaction record to the collection terminal, receiving the signed transaction record sent by the collection terminal, and carrying out digital currency payment. The digital currency offline payment method, the digital currency offline payment system, the storage medium and the payment terminal can meet the payment scene requirements of digital currency safety and convenience, and are not influenced by network coverage.
CN112232790A (“Hu et al.”) discloses a data transfer processing method, apparatus, device and medium. The method includes: the resource transfer terminal provides resource transfer information to the resource transfer terminal; the resource transfer terminal determines that the acquired resource transfer value is not greater than the maximum offline transfer value of digital resources in the resource transfer account of the resource transfer terminal. , the first information package is generated based on the full resource transfer element and the first key pair corresponding to the resource transfer account; the resource transfer terminal is based on the first information package and the second key corresponding to the resource transfer account in the resource transfer terminal Generating a second information packet; the resource transfer-in terminal sends the second information packet to the resource-transfer-out terminal; wherein the first information packet and the second information packet are used when the resource transfer-in terminal is in a networked state or the resource transfer-out terminal is in a networked state In the case of the state, the resource transfer is completed. According to the embodiments of the present application, offline resource transfer can be realized.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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/YINGYING ZHOU/Examiner, Art Unit 3697