DETAILED ACTION
The instant application having Application No. 18/795057 filed on 08/05/2024 is presented for examination by the examiner.
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 . 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 for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection.
Response to Argument
In Applicant’s remark, Applicant argues that Tang does not disclose “establishing a device-to-device communication with a point of interaction (POI) device based on a distance between the user device and the POI device being within a reference distance”. In response, Examiner respectfully disagree. The scope of the limitation “….distance” ……within a “reference distance” can be broadly interpreted to cover a determination regarding whether two devices are within an effective “range” or “proximity” which allow the two devices to establish a communication.
As such, in view of the scope of the limitation at issue, Tang’s disclosure covers the limitation “establishing a device-to-device communication with a point of interaction (POI) device based on a distance between the user device and the POI device being within a reference distance”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3-8, 10-11, 13-21are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tang et al. (US 2016/0155109 A1).
As per claim 1, Tang discloses “A method of wireless communication performed by a user device, the method comprising:” as [(fig. 7)] “establishing a device-to-device communication with a point of interaction (POI) device based on a distance between the user device and the POI device being within a reference distance;” as [(claim 28), a mobile device determining that a payment terminal is within an effective wireless communication range therewith; after the determining, the mobile device initiating a mutual authentication process to authenticate the mobile device and the payment termina.] “engaging in an authentication procedure with the POI device via the device-to-device communication to verify authenticity of the POI device;” [(claim 28), a mobile device determining that a payment terminal is within an effective wireless communication range therewith; after the determining, the mobile device initiating a mutual authentication process to authenticate the mobile device and the payment termina.] “sending transaction data to the POI device via the device-to-device communication after the authenticity of the POI device is verified;” [(par. 0082), in step 702, the mobile device 104 initiates and completes a mutual authentication process with a payment terminal 102 that is in range. 1n particular, the authentication module 502 of the mobile device 104 cooperates with the authentication module 402 of the payment terminal 102 to complete a mutual authentication process. In step 704, the user information transmitting module 504 encrypts user information stored in the user information data store 506 of the mobile device 104 using a session key generated in step 702. The user information transmitting module 504 sends the encrypted user information to the user information receiving module 404 of the payment terminal 102 in step 706. (par. 0082), In step 716, the validation module 510 of the mobile device 104 compares the received authorization information to stored authorization information for the indicated payment or loyalty type. If a match is found, the validation module 510 of the mobile device 104 sends a positive validation result to the validation module 416 of the payment terminal 102 in step 718.] “and terminating the device-to-device communication after the transaction data is sent to the POI device” [(pat. 0082), When a transaction is successfully completed, or in any other situation in which a receipt is generated, the receipt can be received by the receipt module 512 of the mobile device 104 in step 720 and displayed to the user in step 722.]
As per claim 3, Tang discloses “The method of claim 1,” as [see rejection of claim 1.] “further comprising: receiving receipt data corresponding to processing of the transaction data from the POI device via the device-to-device communication.” [(pat. 0082), When a transaction is successfully completed, or in any other situation in which a receipt is generated, the receipt can be received by the receipt module 512 of the mobile device 104 in step 720 and displayed to the user in step 722.]
As per claim 4, Tang discloses “The method of claim 1,” as [see rejection of claim 1.] “further comprising: detecting, based on a first monitoring interval, whether the user device enters a proximity area defined based on a location of the POI device; and detecting, after detection of the user device entering the proximity area and based on a second monitoring interval, whether the distance between the user device and the POI device is within the reference distance, wherein the second monitoring interval is equal to or less than the first monitoring interval.” [(par. 0082), in step 702, the mobile device 104 initiates and completes a mutual authentication process with a payment terminal 102 that is in range. 1n particular, the authentication module 502 of the mobile device 104 cooperates with the authentication module 402 of the payment terminal 102 to complete a mutual authentication process. In step 704, the user information transmitting module 504 encrypts user information stored in the user information data store 506 of the mobile device 104 using a session key generated in step 702. The user information transmitting module 504 sends the encrypted user information to the user information receiving module 404 of the payment terminal 102 in step 706. (par. 0082), In step 716, the validation module 510 of the mobile device 104 compares the received authorization information to stored authorization information for the indicated payment or loyalty type. If a match is found, the validation module 510 of the mobile device 104 sends a positive validation result to the validation module 416 of the payment terminal 102 in step 718.]
As per claim 5, Tang discloses “The method of claim 1,” as [see rejection of claim 1.] “further comprising: receiving a transaction acknowledgement indication from the POI device via the device-to-device communication,” [(par. 0086), Any of a variety of mutual authentication processes can be used to obtain this result. The mutual authentication process can, in some embodiments, involve only a single exchange between the payment terminal 102 and the mobile device 104 (e.g., an authentication request transmitted from the mobile device 104 to the payment terminal 102 and an authentication response transmitted from the payment terminal 102 to the mobile device 104).] “wherein the sending the transaction data to the POI device is performed after the transaction acknowledgement indication is received.” [(par. 0087), The payment terminal 102 can then send an authentication response to the mobile device 104 that includes an encrypted, device-specific public key of the payment terminal 102 and the encrypted session key S1 and checksum CHKS1. (par. 0082), in step 702, the mobile device 104 initiates and completes a mutual authentication process with a payment terminal 102 that is in range. 1n particular, the authentication module 502 of the mobile device 104 cooperates with the authentication module 402 of the payment terminal 102 to complete a mutual authentication process. In step 704, the user information transmitting module 504 encrypts user information stored in the user information data store 506 of the mobile device 104 using a session key generated in step 702. The user information transmitting module 504 sends the encrypted user information to the user information receiving module 404 of the payment terminal 102 in step 706.]
As per claim 6, Tang discloses “The method of claim 1,” as [see rejection of claim 1.] “further comprising: sending user data to the POI device via the device-to-device communication after the authenticity of the POI device is verified.” [(par. 0087), The payment terminal 102 can then send an authentication response to the mobile device 104 that includes an encrypted, device-specific public key of the payment terminal 102 and the encrypted session key S1 and checksum CHKS1. (par. 0082), in step 702, the mobile device 104 initiates and completes a mutual authentication process with a payment terminal 102 that is in range. 1n particular, the authentication module 502 of the mobile device 104 cooperates with the authentication module 402 of the payment terminal 102 to complete a mutual authentication process. In step 704, the user information transmitting module 504 encrypts user information stored in the user information data store 506 of the mobile device 104 using a session key generated in step 702. The user information transmitting module 504 sends the encrypted user information to the user information receiving module 404 of the payment terminal 102 in step 706.]
As per claim 7, Tang discloses “The method of claim 1,” as [see rejection of claim 1.] “wherein the device-to-device communication is based on: BLUETOOTH® low energy (BLE) technology, ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, wireless local area network (WLAN) technology, or sidelink communication technology.” [(par. 0045), FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary architecture of a computer system 200 which can be used to implement the payment terminal 102 or mobile device 104. (par. 0054), The computer system 200 can also include a secure communication interface 218 through which the computer system 200 can conduct mutual authentication procedures and communicate with other computer systems. The secure communication interface 218 can be wireless (e.g., near-field communication (NFC), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, ZigBee, and the like).]
As per claim 8, as [see rejection of claim 1.]
As per claims 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, as [see rejections of claims 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.]
As per claim 20, as [see rejection of claim 1.]
As per claim 21, as [see rejection of claim 4.]
As per claim 13, Tang discloses “The user device of claim 11,” as [see rejection of claim 11.] “wherein: the proximity area corresponds to within a five-meter radius from the POI device, and the reference distance corresponds to one meter.” [(par. 0054), The secure communication interfaces 218 of the payment terminal 102 and the mobile device 104 can be selected to provide the desired communication range. In some embodiments, Bluetooth (e.g., class 2 Bluetooth having a range of 5-10 meters) can be used for the secure communication interface 218 to allow the mobile device 104 to remain somewhat distant from the payment terminal 102 (e.g., in a user's pocket, purse, or vehicle).]
As per claim 17, Tang discloses “The user device of claim 8,” as [see rejection of claim 8.] “wherein the authentication procedure is a mutual authentication procedure based on exchange of encrypted authentication information.” [(par. 0086), Any of a variety of mutual authentication processes can be used to obtain this result. The mutual authentication process can, in some embodiments, involve only a single exchange between the payment terminal 102 and the mobile device 104 (e.g., an authentication request transmitted from the mobile device 104 to the payment terminal 102 and an authentication response transmitted from the payment terminal 102 to the mobile device 104).]
As per claim 19, Tang discloses “The user device of claim 8,” as [see rejection of claim 8.] “wherein the user device is a mobile device, a user equipment (UE), or a processing device onboard a vehicle.” [(claim 28), a mobile device determining that a payment terminal is within an effective wireless communication range therewith; after the determining, the mobile device initiating a mutual authentication process to authenticate the mobile device and the payment termina.]
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 of this title, 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 2, 9, 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang et al. (US 2016/0155109 A1) in view of Zhang et al. (US 2022/0392337 A1).
As per claim 2, Tang discloses “The method of claim 1,” as [see rejection of claim 1.]
Tang does not explicitly disclose “further comprising: sending a location of the user device to the POI device via the device-to-device communication.”
However, Zhang discloses “further comprising: sending a location of the user device to the POI device via the device-to-device communication” as [(par. 0118), determining the location of the UE based on the traffic control indication source location indicated in the NFC (e.g., with information regarding the NFC received by the UE 600 transmitted to the server 400 from the UE 600).]
Tang et al. (US 2016/0155109 A1) and Zhang et al. (US 2022/0392337 A1) are analogous art because they are the same field of endeavor of network communication. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Zhang’s teaching into Tang’s teaching. The motivation for making the above modification would be to improve accuracy for measuring the UE’s location.
As per claim 12, Tang discloses “The user device of claim 11,” as [see rejection of claim 11.]
Tang does not explicitly disclose “wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: obtain a location of the user device; and configure the proximity area based on an identifier of the POI device in association with the location of the user device.”
However, Zhang discloses “wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: obtain a location of the user device; and configure the proximity area based on an identifier of the POI device in association with the location of the user device.” as [(par. 0118), determining the location of the UE based on the traffic control indication source location indicated in the NFC (e.g., with information regarding the NFC received by the UE 600 transmitted to the server 400 from the UE 600).]
Tang et al. (US 2016/0155109 A1) and Zhang et al. (US 2022/0392337 A1) are analogous art because they are the same field of endeavor of network communication. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Zhang’s teaching into Tang’s teaching. The motivation for making the above modification would be to improve accuracy for measuring the UE’s location.
As per claim 9, as [see rejection of claim 2.]
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mang Hang Yeung whose telephone number is (571)-270-7319 The examiner can normally be reached on Mon through Th (9:00 am to 4:00pm EST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Rebecca Song can be reached on (571) 270-3667. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MANG HANG YEUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2417
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