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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on July 08, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,073,839 B1. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because at least one claim of the instant application is being taught by the claims of the U.S. Patent.
Patented claim 1 recites a system which perform the feature of authenticate a user based on the first sequence of numbers.
The pending claim 1 recites a system which perform the similar feature of authenticate a user based on the first sequence of numbers.
Therefore, the patented claim 1 anticipates the pending 1.
Pending claims 2-20 have similar limitations comparing the patented claims 2-20 as shown on the table below.
Pending claims
Patented claims
1. A system, comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to: provide, for display by a front-end device, a plurality of images corresponding to integers zero through nine, wherein each image, of the plurality of images, has a property that indicates a corresponding integer, of the integers zero through nine, for the image; receive audio data that includes a sequence of words that describe a subset of the plurality of images to indicate a first sequence of numbers corresponding to a subset of the integers zero through nine; and authenticate a user based on the first sequence of numbers.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: authenticate the user based on the first sequence of numbers and a second sequence of numbers associated with the user.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the second sequence of numbers corresponds to a personal identification number (PIN), or other numerical representation, associated with the user.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein one or more images, of the plurality of images, are non-numerical images.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein one or more images of the plurality of images include a distorted visual representation of the corresponding integer.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein one or more images of the plurality of images include a representation of the corresponding integer blended into a portion of the one or more images.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: map portions of the sequence of words to corresponding images in the subset of the plurality of images, wherein the portions of the sequence of words indicate non-numeric words.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: provide, for display, visual representations of the integers zero through nine adjacent to corresponding images of the plurality of images; provide, for display, the plurality of images in a pattern associated with a shape of a numeric keypad; or provide, for display, the plurality of images in a sequence that corresponds to the integers zero through nine.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: decode the sequence of words using a speech-to-text algorithm and a language associated with the sequence of words.
10. A method, comprising: providing, for display on a front-end device, a plurality of images, wherein each image, of the plurality of images, indicates a corresponding integer of integers zero through nine; receiving audio data that includes a sequence of words that describe a subset of the plurality of images to indicate a first sequence of numbers corresponding to a subset of the integers zero through nine; and authenticating a user based on the first sequence of numbers.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein one or more images of the plurality of images are non-numerical images.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein one or more images of the plurality of images include a distorted visual representation of the corresponding integer.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein one or more images of the plurality of images include a representation of the corresponding integer blended into a portion of the one or more images.
14. The method of claim 10, further comprising: mapping portions of the sequence of words to corresponding images in the subset of the plurality of images, wherein the portions of the sequence of words indicate non-numeric words.
15. The method of claim 10, further comprising: providing, for display, visual representations of the integers zero through nine adjacent to corresponding images of the plurality of images; providing, for display, the plurality of images in a pattern associated with a shape of a numeric keypad; or providing, for display, the plurality of images in a sequence that corresponds to the integers zero through nine.
16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions, comprising: one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to: provide, for display, a plurality of images corresponding to integers zero through nine, wherein each image, of the plurality of images, has a property that indicates a corresponding integer, of the integers zero through nine, for the image; receive audio data that includes a sequence of words that describe a subset of the plurality of images to indicate a first sequence of numbers corresponding to a subset of the integers zero through nine; and authenticate a user based on the first sequence of numbers.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein one or more images of the plurality of images are non-numerical images.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein one or more images of the plurality of images include a distorted visual representation of the corresponding integer.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein one or more images of the plurality of images include a representation of the corresponding integer blended into a portion of the one or more images.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein portions of the sequence of words, that indicate the subset of the integers zero through nine, indicate non-numeric words.
1. A system for authenticating a user by speech, the system comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, communicatively coupled to the one or more memories, configured to: receive, at a front-end device, a physical identifier associated with the user; display, by the front-end device, a plurality of images corresponding to integers zero through nine, wherein each image, of the plurality of images, has a property that indicates a corresponding integer, of the integers zero through nine, for the image; receive audio that includes a sequence of words that describe a subset of the plurality of images to indicate a first sequence of numbers corresponding to a subset of the integers zero through nine; determine the first sequence of numbers based on the sequence of words; and authenticate the user based on the first sequence of numbers and a second sequence of numbers associated with the user.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first sequence of numbers is associated with a first hash of a sequence of numbers corresponding to the subset of the plurality of images, and wherein the second sequence of numbers is associated with a second hash of a sequence of numbers associated with the user.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: filter the audio to generate a filtered audio signal; identify a language associated with the audio; decode the sequence of words using a speech-to-text algorithm and the language; and map different portions of the sequence of words to different images in the subset of the plurality of images.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors, are further configured to: receive, for each image of the plurality of images, a plurality of words or phrases describing the image; and identify, for each image in the subset of the plurality of images, one of the plurality of words or phrases describing the image in the sequence of words.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: verify data associated with the physical identifier by contacting a remote server.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: modify the property of each image to indicate the corresponding integer for the image.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: display the plurality of images in a randomized order.
8. A method of authenticating a user by speech, comprising: receiving, at a front-end device, a physical identifier associated with the user; selecting, at the front-end device, a plurality of images, wherein each image, of the plurality of images, corresponds to a unique integer of integers zero through nine; showing, on a display of the front-end device, the plurality of images in association with the integers zero through nine; receiving audio that includes a sequence of words that describe a subset of the plurality of images to indicate a first sequence of numbers corresponding to a subset of the integers zero through nine; determining the first sequence of numbers based on the sequence of words; and authenticating the user based on the first sequence of numbers and a second sequence of numbers associated with the user.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: selecting a new plurality of images corresponding to new integers zero through nine based on the first sequence of numbers not matching the second sequence of numbers; showing, on the display of the front-end device, the new plurality of images in association with the new integers zero through nine; receiving new audio that includes a new sequence of words that describe a subset of the new plurality of images; mapping the new sequence of words to the subset of the new plurality of images; determining a third sequence of numbers corresponding to the subset of the new plurality of images; and authenticating the user based on the third sequence of numbers matching the second sequence of numbers.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein showing the plurality of images in association with the integers zero through nine comprises: showing the plurality of images organized in a pattern that indicates the integers zero through nine.
11. The method of claim 8, wherein showing the plurality of images in association with the integers zero through nine comprises: showing each image of the plurality of images adjacent to a corresponding integer for the image.
12. The method of claim 8, further comprising: receiving the first sequence of numbers from a remote server; or receiving the first sequence of numbers in connection with the physical identifier.
13. The method of claim 8, further comprising: contacting a remote server to perform an action based on authenticating the user.
14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for authenticating a user by speech, the set of instructions comprising: one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to: receive, from a user device, a request for an identifier associated with the user of the user device; indicate, to the user device, a sequence of objects based on a generated identifier associated with the user; receive, from a front-end device, a request to authenticate the user; indicate, to the front-end device, the sequence of objects based on the generated identifier; and receive, from the front-end device, a request to perform an action based on authenticating the user using: the sequence of objects, and audio that includes a sequence of words that describe a subset of the sequence of objects to indicate a sequence of numbers corresponding to the subset of the objects.
15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the device to: verify, before indicating the sequence of objects to the front-end device, that the generated identifier has not expired, wherein the generated identifier expires based on a time window associated with the generated identifier or based on a quantity of uses of the generated identifier.
16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the device to: receive a location associated with the front-end device; and verify, before indicating the sequence of objects to the front-end device, that the location satisfies a geographic threshold.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the one or more instructions, to receive the request for the identifier associated with the user, cause the device to: receive the request from the user device with at least one credential associated with the user; and verify the at least one credential before indicating the sequence of objects to the user device.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the one or more instructions, to indicate to the front-end device the sequence of objects, cause the device to: transmit, to the front-end device, identifiers associated with a subset of data structures, of a set of data structures, stored at the device and encoding images of the sequence of objects.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the one or more instructions, to receive the request to authenticate the user, cause the device to: receive the request from the front-end device with an account identifier associated with the user; and verify the account identifier before indicating the sequence of objects to the front-end device.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the device to: receive the sequence of objects to indicate to the front-end device based on the account identifier.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 form.
Hennig et al. (US 2022/0328050 A1) discloses an authenticator component can determine characteristics of voice information received in connection with a user account based on analysis of the voice information.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GERALD GAUTHIER whose telephone number is (571)272-7539. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.
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, CAROLYN R EDWARDS can be reached at (571) 270-7136. 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.
/GERALD GAUTHIER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2692
March 3, 2026
/CAROLYN R EDWARDS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2692