Detail Action
This office action is a response to an amendment submitted on 03/01/2026.
Claims 1, 7-11 are pending for examination.
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 .
Drawings
The drawings were received on 06/25/2024. These drawings are acceptable for examination proceedings.
Response to Amendment
Claims 1 and 8 have been amended.
Claims 2-6 have been canceled.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 03/01/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments are summarized a following;
Applicant argued that the combined Talty in view of Strohbach does not teaches “BLUETOOTH system is off, not hidden, until the drive activates it”. [See Arguments/Remarks Pg. 5].
In response to applicant’s argument, the examiner respectfully disagrees with the current above argument.
In response to applicant's argument that the examiner's conclusion of obviousness on “BLUETOOTH system is off, not hidden” is based upon improper hindsight reasoning, it must be recognized that any judgment on obviousness is in a sense necessarily a reconstruction based upon hindsight reasoning. But so long as it takes into account only knowledge which was within the level of ordinary skill at the time the claimed invention was made, and does not include knowledge gleaned only from the applicant's disclosure, such a reconstruction is proper. See In re McLaughlin, 443 F.2d 1392, 170 USPQ 209 (CCPA 1971).
In this case, the combined Prior Arts Talty in view of Strohbach expressly teaches the argued limitation. Talty teaches vehicle-based NFC to BLUETOOTH paring workflow in which mobile device is brought into proximity within vehicle to enable pairing. Strohbach teaches tracking known wireless devices within a network using tracking. Talty disclosed vehicle-device pairing systems and methods described that the vehicle's Bluetooth-enabled device, by default, is in a silent mode [Talty: Par. 26] which is non-discoverable rather than completely off (as per argument). This workflow implies the Bluetooth system of Talty remains capable of accepting connections from known devices. Hence, each reference teaches corresponding limitations of the claims, and the combination of Talty and Strohbach teaches the argued reasoning of BLUETOOTH system is off, not hidden.
Therefore, applicant’s arguments are not persuasive.
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) 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.
Claims 1, and 7-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Talty et al. (US 20110210830 A1), hereinafter “Talty”; and in further view of Strohbach et al. (US 20120021760 A1), hereinafter “Strohbach”.
Regarding claim 1, Talty teaches A method for finding a specific vehicle in a vehicle depot, the method comprising [Talty: abstract]:
broadcasting a low energy wireless connection signal in the 2.4 gigaHertz (gHz) band having an advertisement comprising a MAC address from the specific vehicle in the vehicle depot [Talty: Fig. 4; par. 28- 33 teaches of electronic embedded system/device of the vehicle connect over Bluetooth with electronic devices] ,
searching at a mobile device for the low energy wireless connection signal having the advertisement, the mobile device previously paired to the vehicle [Talty: Fig. 6; Par. 30- 35 teaches the process of pairing Bluetooth devices on the vehicle’s Bluetooth system]; and
connecting the mobile device with a single access point in the vehicle which allows an operator to find the specific vehicle at the vehicle depot [Talty: Fig. 7; Par. 33 teaches paired and used shared encryption data at very close distances];
Wherein the vehicle comprise the on-board computer with a memory having a vehicle identification number (VIN), a connector plug, and an motorized engine; and wherein the mobile device comprises a graphical user interface, a processor, a WIFI radio, a BLUETOOTH radio, and a cellular network interface [Talty: Fig. 1; Par. 24].
However, Talty does not teach of wherein the wireless connection is only viewable to a previously paired mobile device, wherein the vehicle depot comprises a plurality of vehicles.
Nevertheless, Strohbach, in the similar filed of endeavor, wherein the wireless connection is only viewable to a previously paired mobile device, wherein the vehicle depot comprises a plurality of vehicles [Strohbach: Par. 115- 122 teaches 0115] Advantages of the Embodiment of the Present Invention are: [0116] Tracking Management System or Unit: allows scheduling the individual tracking stations. Through that the capacity and speed of the tracking system can be increased, users can be kept in "hidden" mode, the energy consumption--on the mobile devices--can be reduced, and the QoS can be adapted to the need of the services using the tracking system. [0117] User Opt-In through registration and activation: opt-in feature with additional benefit to use multiple identities, multiple devices, and QoS parameters [0118] Mash-Up with other services [0119] Privacy Preserving through allowing devices to stay in non-discover mode and through opt-in (tracking system can track objects in "invisible/non-discoverable" mode) [0120] Speed: for some of the supported technologies, the ping mode is faster than the discovery mode thus enabling better quality of service [0121] Useable with existing technologies: no changes needed on an Bluetooth enabled device [0122] Tracking system can utilize future wireless technologies with changing MAC addresses].
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time the invention was made to utilize the teachings of Strohbach for paring in hidden mode. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Strohbach in the Talty system in order to utilize paring in tracking system [Strohbach: Par. 115].
Regarding claim 8, Talty teaches A system for truck to mobile device secure wireless communications, the system comprising: [Talty: abstract]:
a plurality of trucks, each of the plurality of trucks comprising a connected vehicle device (CVD) comprising a processor, a Wi-Fi___33 radio, a BLUETOOTH radio, and a memory [Talty: Fig. 1],
a mobile device comprising a graphical user interface, a processor, a Wi-Fi___33 radio, a BLUETOOTH radio, and a cellular network interface [Talty: Fig. 1]
wherein the mobile device is configured to search for a wireless network of a previously paired with CVD for a truck wherein the previously paired with CVD continuously broadcasts an advertisement in a BLUETOOTH or BLUETOOTH low energy communication protocol [Talty: Fig. 4; par. 26- 33 teaches of electronic embedded system/device of the vehicle connect over Bluetooth with electronic devices; Fig. 7; Par. 33 teaches paired and used shared encryption data at very close distances].
However, Talty does not teach wherein each CVD of the plurality of trucks is configured to broadcast a BLUETOOTH or BLUETOOTH low energy connection in a hidden mode.
Nevertheless, Strohbach, in the similar filed of endeavor, wherein each CVD of the plurality of trucks is configured to broadcast a BLUETOOTH or BLUETOOTH low energy connection in a hidden mode [Strohbach: Par. 115- 122 teaches 0115] Advantages of the Embodiment of the Present Invention are: [0116] Tracking Management System or Unit: allows scheduling the individual tracking stations. Through that the capacity and speed of the tracking system can be increased, users can be kept in "hidden" mode, the energy consumption--on the mobile devices--can be reduced, and the QoS can be adapted to the need of the services using the tracking system. [0117] User Opt-In through registration and activation: opt-in feature with additional benefit to use multiple identities, multiple devices, and QoS parameters [0118] Mash-Up with other services [0119] Privacy Preserving through allowing devices to stay in non-discover mode and through opt-in (tracking system can track objects in "invisible/non-discoverable" mode) [0120] Speed: for some of the supported technologies, the ping mode is faster than the discovery mode thus enabling better quality of service [0121] Useable with existing technologies: no changes needed on an Bluetooth enabled device [0122] Tracking system can utilize future wireless technologies with changing MAC addresses].
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time the invention was made to utilize the teachings of Strohbach for paring in hidden mode. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Strohbach in the Talty system in order to utilize paring in tracking system [Strohbach: Par. 115].
Regarding claim 9, Talty in view of Strohbach further teaches wherein the mobile device is a tablet computer [Talty: Fig. 1].
Regarding claim 10, Talty in view of Strohbach further teaches comprising a server for validating a pairing of the mobile device with the CVD [Talty: Fig. 8 illustrates of activating/ paring process of devices to vehicle’s system].
Regarding claim 11, Talty in view of Strohbach further teaches wherein the CVD obtains a vehicle identification number (VIN) from an on-board computer of the vehicle [Talty: Par. 38 teaches system include embedded electronic system]. Response Date
Conclusion
The prior art made of record (see attached PTO-892) and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KYAW Z SOE whose telephone number is (571)270-0304. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles C Jiang can be reached at 5712707191. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KYAW Z SOE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2412
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