DETAILED ACTION
Notice of 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 .
The present office action is responsive to communications received on 7/30/2024. Claims 1-13 are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 7/30/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 8 and 13 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 8 recites “the at least one service application is mounted on at least one of a center placed outside the vehicle and configured to communicate data with the first electronic control unit or a second electronic control unit mounted on the vehicle and configured to communicate data with the first electronic control unit.” Since “service application” is program/software according to Spec [0055], the word “mounted” is not suitable here.
Claim 13 recites limitation “a service manager configured to acquire the vehicle information stored in an electronic control unit of the vehicle;” twice, which should be corrected to avoid possible antecedent issue.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-7 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claims do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because they can be considered software per se. Please refer to the following for detail analysis. Note that claim 8-10 comprise hardware limitation such as ECU and storage; therefor, they are considered patent eligible subject matter.
service application, service manager. service bus - software; Spec [0055] discloses that “The second virtual machine 33 includes functional blocks implemented by the CPU 21 executing a program stored in the ROM 22, such as a service application 51, a service application 52, an authentication authorization system 53, a first service manager 54, a second service manager 55, a third service manager 56, and a second service bus 57.”
authorization confirmation unit - software because of “wherein the authorization confirmation unit is installed in the at least one service bus or in the service manager”.
user consent confirmation unit - software; Spec [0124 , 0057] discloses that “the authentication authorization system 53 corresponds to a user consent confirmation unit,…The authentication authorization system 53 is an application that authenticates the vehicle user and authorizes access from the service applications 41 and 42 and the service applications 51 and 52.”
electronic control unit (ECU) - hardware ; Spec [0043] discloses that “The controller 11 is an electronic control unit mainly including a microcomputer with a CPU 21, a ROM 22, a RAM 23, and the like.”
confidential setting storage, user consent storage - hardware; Spec [0125] discloses that “the privacy information table 71 corresponds to a confidential setting memory storage, and the user consent database 73 corresponds to a user consent memory storage.”
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.
Claim 1-5 and 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koji (JP 2020113065 A) in view of Jun (WO 2022172578 A1, listed in IDS).
Regarding claim 1, Koji teaches an authentication system comprising:
at least one service application configured to utilize vehicle information related to a vehicle to provide a service to the vehicle; ([0009] When the specifying unit (123) specifying the driver in the vehicle and the driver specified by the specifying unit are the users stored in the vehicle storage unit, access to the user information corresponding to the specified user is performed.)
a service manager configured to acquire the vehicle information stored in an electronic control unit of the vehicle; ([0009] The information management system disclosed herein is an information management system (10) for managing access right to information stored in a vehicle, and is installed in the vehicle and corresponds to a plurality of users of the vehicle. A vehicle storage unit (130) in which user information related to the user is stored for each user;)
at least one service bus configured to manage transmission and reception of data between the at least one service application and the service manager; and ([0027] The authentication ECU 110 is an ECU that cooperates with another electronic device, determines the position of the electronic key 200, and implements vehicle control according to the determination result in cooperation with another ECU. The authentication ECU 110 is realized by using a computer. The authentication ECU 110 is mainly configured by a microcomputer including a processor, a vehicle storage unit 130, an I/O, and a bus connecting these, and executes a control program stored in the vehicle storage unit 130 to perform processing related to the authentication function.)
an authorization confirmation unit configured to, when the at least one service application makes a vehicle information acquisition request that requests provision of confidential information among the vehicle information, confirm whether to authorize the vehicle information acquisition request of the confidential information wherein the authorization confirmation unit is installed in the at least one service bus or in the service manager. ([0009] An information management system including a permission unit (125) for controlling a permission mode to permit. [0050-0053] Next, another process of the permission unit 125 will be described. The process starts, and in step S21, it is determined whether or not there is a transmission request for the owner information. If there is a transmission request, the process proceeds to step S22, In step S22, since there is a transmission request, it is determined whether or not the mode is the permission mode. If the mode is the permission mode, the process proceeds to step S23, In step S23, since the permission mode is set, the owner information requested to be transmitted is read from the vehicle storage unit 130, and the process proceeds to step S24. In step S24, the read vehicle storage unit 130 is controlled to be transmitted to the outside, and the present flow ends.)
Koji teaches an information management system capable of accessing information of a vehicle owner stored in a vehicle, but does not explicitly teach an authorization confirmation unit configured to, when the at least one service application makes a vehicle information acquisition request that requests provision of confidential information among the vehicle information, confirm whether to authorize the vehicle information acquisition request of the confidential information based on whether a user has consented. This aspect of the claim is identified as a difference.
However, Jun an analogous art explicitly teaches
an authorization confirmation unit configured to, when the at least one service application makes a vehicle information acquisition request that requests provision of confidential information among the vehicle information, confirm whether to authorize the vehicle information acquisition request of the confidential information based on whether a user has consented. ([0104] describes an in-vehicle system 10 (corresponding to the "authentication system") in which a user (corresponding to the "user") sets setting information (corresponding to the "consent or lack thereof") indicating whether the use of personal information (corresponding to the "private information") by an application (corresponding to the "service application") is permitted, a first access control unit 111 (corresponding to the "service manager") reads the setting information, and if the setting information indicates that the use of the personal information is not permitted, for example, the first access control unit 111 prohibits the provision of resources (corresponding to the feature of "confirming whether to approve an acquisition request for the private information on the basis of user consent or the lack thereof"))
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the “information management system” concept of Koji, and the “user sets setting information” approach of Jun. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to improve safety by indicating whether or not personal information can be used by the application with setting information (Jun [0104]).
Regarding claim 2, Koji in view of Jun teaches all the features with respect to claim 1, as outlined above. The combination further teaches wherein
the at least one service bus accepts the vehicle information acquisition request from the at least one service application, the service manager receives the vehicle information acquisition request from the at least one service bus, and ([Koji 0009] The information management system disclosed herein is an information management system (10) for managing access right to information stored in a vehicle, and is installed in the vehicle and corresponds to a plurality of users of the vehicle. A vehicle storage unit (130) in which user information related to the user is stored for each user; When the specifying unit (123) specifying the driver in the vehicle and the driver specified by the specifying unit are the users stored in the vehicle storage unit, access to the user information corresponding to the specified user is performed. An information management system including a permission unit (125) for controlling a permission mode to permit.)
the authorization confirmation unit confirms whether to authorize the vehicle information acquisition request of the confidential information based on whether the user has consented when receiving the vehicle information acquisition request from the at least one service application or when receiving the vehicle information acquisition request from the at least one service bus. ([Jun 0104] In the above embodiment, the first access control unit 111 permits or prohibits the provision of resources based on the respective determination results of the environmental authority determination unit 113 the environmental state determination unit 114, and the resource state determination unit 115. However, the first access control unit 111 may also permit or prohibit the provision of resources based on the settings of the user of the vehicle V. For example, a resource, a vehicle database, may contain personal information about users. The user sets, in the in-vehicle system 10, setting information indicating whether or not the application is permitted to use the personal information. Then, the first access control unit 111 reads out the setting information, and if the setting information indicates, for example, that the use of personal information is not permitted, the first access control unit 111 prohibits the provision of resources regardless of the judgment result of the environmental authority judgment unit 113 or the like. Alternatively, the first access control unit 111 may inquire of the user as to whether or not the provision of personal information is permitted. Even in this case, when the first access control unit 111 receives, for example, a response to a user inquiry indicating that the use of personal information is not permitted, it prohibits the provision of resources regardless of the judgment result of the environmental authority judgment unit 113 or the like.)
Regarding claim 3, Koji in view of Jun teaches all the features with respect to claim 1, as outlined above. The combination further teaches
a user consent confirmation unit configured to confirm whether the user has consented to the vehicle information acquisition request, wherein the authorization confirmation unit confirms with the user consent confirmation unit whether the user has consented to the vehicle information acquisition request when the at least one service application makes the vehicle information acquisition request, the authorization confirmation unit authorizes the acquisition request when the user has consented, ([Jun 0104] In the above embodiment, the first access control unit 111 permits or prohibits the provision of resources based on the respective determination results of the environmental authority determination unit 113 the environmental state determination unit 114, and the resource state determination unit 115. However, the first access control unit 111 may also permit or prohibit the provision of resources based on the settings of the user of the vehicle V. For example, a resource, a vehicle database, may contain personal information about users. The user sets, in the in-vehicle system 10, setting information indicating whether or not the application is permitted to use the personal information. Then, the first access control unit 111 reads out the setting information, and if the setting information indicates, for example, that the use of personal information is not permitted, the first access control unit 111 prohibits the provision of resources regardless of the judgment result of the environmental authority judgment unit 113 or the like. Alternatively, the first access control unit 111 may inquire of the user as to whether or not the provision of personal information is permitted. Even in this case, when the first access control unit 111 receives, for example, a response to a user inquiry indicating that the use of personal information is not permitted, it prohibits the provision of resources regardless of the judgment result of the environmental authority judgment unit 113 or the like.)
the authorization confirmation unit is installed in the at least one service bus. ([Koji 0027] The authentication ECU 110 is an ECU that cooperates with another electronic device, determines the position of the electronic key 200, and implements vehicle control according to the determination result in cooperation with another ECU. The authentication ECU 110 is realized by using a computer. The authentication ECU 110 is mainly configured by a microcomputer including a processor, a vehicle storage unit 130, an I/O, and a bus connecting these, and executes a control program stored in the vehicle storage unit 130 to perform processing related to the authentication function.)
Regarding claim 4, Koji in view of Jun teaches all the features with respect to claim 3, as outlined above. The combination further teaches wherein
the authorization confirmation unit and the user consent confirmation unit are installed in the at least one service bus. ([Koji 0027] The authentication ECU 110 is an ECU that cooperates with another electronic device, determines the position of the electronic key 200, and implements vehicle control according to the determination result in cooperation with another ECU. The authentication ECU 110 is realized by using a computer. The authentication ECU 110 is mainly configured by a microcomputer including a processor, a vehicle storage unit 130, an I/O, and a bus connecting these, and executes a control program stored in the vehicle storage unit 130 to perform processing related to the authentication function.)
Regarding claim 5, Koji in view of Jun teaches all the features with respect to claim 1, as outlined above. The combination further teaches
a user consent confirmation unit configured to confirm with the user whether the user has consented to the vehicle information acquisition request, wherein the authorization confirmation unit confirms with the user consent confirmation unit whether the user has consented to the vehicle information acquisition request when the at least one service application makes the vehicle information acquisition request, the authorization confirmation unit authorizes the acquisition request when the user has consented, ([Jun 0104] In the above embodiment, the first access control unit 111 permits or prohibits the provision of resources based on the respective determination results of the environmental authority determination unit 113 the environmental state determination unit 114, and the resource state determination unit 115. However, the first access control unit 111 may also permit or prohibit the provision of resources based on the settings of the user of the vehicle V. For example, a resource, a vehicle database, may contain personal information about users. The user sets, in the in-vehicle system 10, setting information indicating whether or not the application is permitted to use the personal information. Then, the first access control unit 111 reads out the setting information, and if the setting information indicates, for example, that the use of personal information is not permitted, the first access control unit 111 prohibits the provision of resources regardless of the judgment result of the environmental authority judgment unit 113 or the like. Alternatively, the first access control unit 111 may inquire of the user as to whether or not the provision of personal information is permitted. Even in this case, when the first access control unit 111 receives, for example, a response to a user inquiry indicating that the use of personal information is not permitted, it prohibits the provision of resources regardless of the judgment result of the environmental authority judgment unit 113 or the like.)
the authorization confirmation unit is installed in the service manager. ([Koji 0009] The information management system disclosed herein is an information management system (10) for managing access right to information stored in a vehicle, and is installed in the vehicle and corresponds to a plurality of users of the vehicle. A vehicle storage unit (130) in which user information related to the user is stored for each user; When the specifying unit (123) specifying the driver in the vehicle and the driver specified by the specifying unit are the users stored in the vehicle storage unit, access to the user information corresponding to the specified user is performed. An information management system including a permission unit (125) for controlling a permission mode to permit.)
Regarding claim 11-13, the scope of the claims is similar to that of claim 1, respectively. Accordingly, the claims are rejected using a similar rationale.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6-10 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
JP 2017151942 A, "Communication system, terminal device, privacy protection device, privacy protection method, and program" by Hirabayashi Tatsuhiko.
US 20250181773 A1, "In-vehicle system, electronic control device, access authorization policy update method, and storage medium storing program" by Hideyuki Honya.
US 20100097201 A1, "Method and system for acquiring integrated operational and support data for a vehicle" by Pradeep Mahalingaiah.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAN YANG whose telephone number is (408)918-7638. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday, 9:00-5:00.
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/HAN YANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2493