CTNF 18/750,354 CTNF 84203 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 21 June, 2024, 5 August, 2024, and 5 February, 2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. It is noted Japanese search reports obtained via Global Dossier as these were not directly provided. Drawings 06-37 AIA The drawings were received on 21 June, 2024 . These drawings are accepted . Double Patenting 08-33 AIA The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg , 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman , 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi , 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum , 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel , 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington , 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969). A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b). The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13. The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA/25, or PTO/AIA/26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer. 08-34 AIA Claim 1 (and by dependency claims 2-9) are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12620259 . Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims are the same with the exception the current application is a broader version of the claims in US 12620259 B2. Otherwise the labeling of “first face authentication” “first threshold” is not functionally different to “second face authentication” “second threshold” and is just seen as an insignificant change to the labeling of first and second . Current Application 1. A face authentication apparatus comprising: a memory containing program instructions; and a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute the program instructions to: acquire, as a first face image, a face image of a person who moves from a first area to a second area via a gate provided between the first area and the second area, and acquire, as a second face image, a face image of a person who moves from the second area to the first area via the gate; perform first face authentication for the first face image based on a first threshold; perform second face authentication for the second face image based on a second threshold; determine a security level of the first area and a security level of the second area based on at least one of a number of times of success in the first face authentication and a number of times of success in the second face authentication; wherein the first face authentication is further performed on the first face image by calculating similarity between the first face image and a reference face image for each registered person and comparing the similarity with the first threshold, and the first threshold is changed in an increasing or decreasing direction that is opposite to the increasing or decreasing direction of changing the second threshold . US 12620259 B2 1. A face authentication apparatus comprising: a memory containing program instructions; and a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute the program instructions to: acquire, as a first face image, a face image of a person who moves from a first area to a second area via a gate provided between the first area and the second area, and acquire, as a second face image, a face image of a person who moves from the second area to the first area via the gate; perform first face authentication for the first face image based on a first threshold; perform second face authentication for the second face image based on a second threshold; determine a security level of the first area and a security level of the second area based on at least one of a number of times of success in the first face authentication and a number of times of success in the second face authentication; and change the first threshold and the second threshold according to the determined security level of the first area and the determined security level of the second area, wherein: the second face authentication is further performed on the second face image by calculating similarity between the second face image and a reference face image for each registered person and comparing the similarity with the second threshold, and the second threshold is changed in an increasing or decreasing direction that is opposite to the increasing or decreasing direction of changing the first threshold . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure : EP 1840795 A1 (a first image capture unit (101) configured to capture an area where the moving person enters from a first direction;a second image capture unit (102) configured to capture the area where the moving person enters from a second direction;a first detector unit (103) configured to detect the face region of the moving person from an image captured by the first image capture unit;a second detector unit (111) configured to detect whether the number of face regions detected by the first detector unit is one or more; anda switching control unit (111) configured to, according to the result of detection by the second detector unit, switch between a first process based on an image captured by the first image capture unit and a second process based on images captured by the first and second image capture units. PNG media_image1.png 428 422 media_image1.png Greyscale US 20190087464 A1 : The access control module 40 is configured to determine whether the first entrance-exit person is authorized according to the card swiping information and the image recognition information. When the access control module 40 determines that the first entrance- exit person is authorized, the access control module 40 opens a current entrance guard to allow the first entrance-exit person to get through. When the access control module 40 determines that the first entrance-exit person is not authorized, the access control module 40 does not open the current entrance guard. In one embodiment, when a total number of successful matches of the card swiping information and the image recognition information is greater than a predetermined value (e.g. 50 times), the first entrance-exit person can be upgraded in authority. The access control module 40 determines that the first entrance-exit person can be authorized only by the image recognition information (no card swiping information is required). US 20150347734 A1 : MatchesRequested designates the minimum number of successful authentication matches done in sequence to allow access. That is 88 in the Figures. Once the value of the number of successful matches, 87 reaches this value, access is granted. See Section 4.2.5 for more details. There may also be other thresholds based on the description of Section 4.2.6. This database also includes other information such as several timestamps depicting the last attempt and last successful attempt, number of failures in a row, etc. This information is kept as a snapshot in the database for immediate access. However, all these details are also logged into log files which show all the activity of the system. A transaction authority (TA) 76 is any authority which has control over the transaction of interest. For example, this may be a credit card company for charge transactions, a financial institution for performing a financial transaction, an office authority for providing access to a building, a government organization for providing passport access, an airport or any other transportation authority for allowing entrance credentials to a terminal, a bank for allowing access to a vault, etc. US 20170004354 A1: A determination device includes an receiver that receives a face image of a user from a camera whose direction of optical axis is predetermined with respect to a reference direction and a determiner that determines the face direction of the user depending on whether or not the reliability of a face direction calculated based on the face image and a learning model. The determiner determines the face direction depending on whether or not the reliability is greater than a first threshold value if the optical axis of the camera faces in a first direction and determines the face direction depending on whether or not the reliability is greater than a second threshold value different from the first threshold value if the optical axis faces in a second direction different from the first direction. US 20250175581 A1 : There is provided a gate system including: a first image capturing device capable of capturing an image of a face of a person moving in a first direction; a second image capturing device capable of capturing an image of a face of a person moving in a second direction; a first display device having a screen visible to the person moving in the first direction; and a second display device having a screen visible to the person moving in the second direction, each of the first image capturing device and the second image capturing device captures a face image of the person moving through a passage, the first display device displays a collation result of the face image of the person moving in the first direction, and the second display device displays a collation result of the face image of the person moving in the second direction. PNG media_image2.png 390 512 media_image2.png Greyscale Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHELLE M ENTEZARI HAUSMANN whose telephone number is (571)270-5084. The examiner can normally be reached 10-7 M-F. 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, Vincent M Rudolph can be reached at (571) 272-8243. 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. /MICHELLE M ENTEZARI HAUSMANN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2671 Application/Control Number: 18/750,354 Page 2 Art Unit: 2671 Application/Control Number: 18/750,354 Page 3 Art Unit: 2671 Application/Control Number: 18/750,354 Page 4 Art Unit: 2671 Application/Control Number: 18/750,354 Page 5 Art Unit: 2671 Application/Control Number: 18/750,354 Page 6 Art Unit: 2671 Application/Control Number: 18/750,354 Page 7 Art Unit: 2671 Application/Control Number: 18/750,354 Page 8 Art Unit: 2671 Application/Control Number: 18/750,354 Page 9 Art Unit: 2671 Application/Control Number: 18/750,354 Page 10 Art Unit: 2671 Application/Control Number: 18/750,354 Page 11 Art Unit: 2671
Prosecution Insights