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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim to priority to JP2023-159261, filed 9/22/2023, has been acknowledged by the examiner.
Information Disclosure Statement
The 8/26/2024 IDS document has been acknowledged by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 1 recites “a first terminal of the first target and a second terminal of the second target,” where a first and second target were not previously specified. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-10 and 15-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim (US 2022/0138747 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Kim discloses: A system comprising:
a first server (owner and owner terminal as in [0053] of Kim);
a second server (lessee and leesee terminal as in [0087] of Kim); and
a third server (time slot-based shared resource transaction system as in FIG. 1 and [0024] of Kim),
wherein the first server is configured to:
issue a first time limit certificate in relation to a first identifier (e.g., owner profile as in [0055] of Kim; profiles contain unique identifiers as in [0022] and [0064] of Kim); and
Refer to at least [0015] and [0075] of Kim with respect to generating and issuing an owner certificate.
notify the issued first time limit certificate to the third server,
Refer to at least [0015], [0024], and [0076]-[0078] of Kim with respect to the owner disclosing the owner certificate to the shared resource transaction system. The certificate is associated with a time slot and a sharing period of time (e.g., [0017] of Kim).
the second server is configured to:
issue a second time limit certificate in relation to a second identifier (e.g., lessee profile as in [0061] of Kim; profiles contain unique identifiers as in [0022] and [0064] of Kim); and
Refer to at least [0015], [0026]-[0029] and [0082] of Kim with respect to generating and issuing a time slot-based lessee certificate.
notify the issued second time limit certificate to the third server,
Refer to at least [0031] and [0086] of Kim with respect to the lessee disclosing the lessee certificate to the shared resource transaction system. The certificate is associated with a time slot and a sharing period of time as in [0017] and [0028]-[0029] of Kim.
the third server is configured to:
receive a first certificate corresponding to the first time limit certificate and a second certificate corresponding to the second time limit certificate from at least a first terminal of the first target and a second terminal of the second target;
Refer to at least the abstract, FIG. 2, and [0081]-[0087] of Kim with respect to the shared resource system obtaining owner and lessee certificates corresponding to the owner and the lessee (e.g., for the first time or for a renewed certificate—e.g., [0015], [0027], and [0081] of Kim.
collate the received first certificate and the received second certificate and the first time limit certificate and the second time limit certificate notified from the first server and the second server; and activate a correspondence relation between the first identifier and the second identifier when the collation is successful, and
Refer to at least [0088]-[0089] of Kim with respect to comparing lessee and owner profiles respectively associated with the owner and lessee certificates for allowing use of a shared resource.
the first time limit certificate and the second time limit certificate are configured to expire when an expiration date elapses.
Refer to at least [0015] and [0026]-[0027] of Kim with respect to an expiration time associated with the certificates and sharing periods of time.
Regarding independent claim 2, it is substantially similar to independent claim 1 above, but further comprises the system being a management system having a management server as the third server. As such, it is rejected for substantially the same reasons as claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 3, Kim discloses: The management system according to claim 2, wherein the management server is further configured to release the correspondence relation according to reception of a release request from at least one of the first terminal and the second terminal or satisfaction of a predetermined release condition.
Refer to at least [0090] of Kim with respect to blocking access of the lessee in response to an expiration of the sharing period of time as a predetermined release condition. ‘
Regarding claim 4, Kim discloses: The management system according to claim 2, wherein the receiving the first certificate and the second certificate from at least one of the first terminal and the second terminal includes receiving the first identifier and the second identifier from at least one of the first terminal and the second terminal.
Refer to at least [0028]-[0029] of Kim with respect to the certificates having included profiles; at least [0078] and [0086] of Kim with respect to sending respective profiles with the owner and lessee certificates.
Regarding claim 8, Kim discloses: The management system according to claim 2, wherein the receiving the first certificate and the second certificate from at least one of the first terminal and the second terminal is configured by receiving the first certificate and the second certificate from one of the first terminal and the second terminal.
Refer to at least [0015] and [0086] of Kim with respect to the lessee disclosing the owner certificate and the lessee certificate.
Regarding claim 9, Kim discloses: The management system according to claim 2, wherein one of the first target and the second target is a user, of the first terminal and the second terminal, one terminal corresponding to the user is a user terminal relating to the user,
Refer to at least [0004]-[0005] and [0075] of Kim with respect to resource sharing and user registration for sharing the resource.
another of the first target and the second target is an object to be used by the user, and of the first terminal and the second terminal, one terminal corresponding to the object to be used is a loading terminal loaded on the object to be used.
Refer to at least [0003] and [0019] of Kim with respect to the resource being, e.g., a vehicle.
Regarding claim 10, it is rejected for substantially the same reasons as claim 9 above (i.e., the citations concerning a shared vehicle resource).
Regarding independent claim 15, it is substantially similar to independent claim 1 above, and is therefore likewise rejected for the same reasons (i.e., the citations).
Regarding claims 17-19, they are substantially similar to claims 5-7 above, and are therefore likewise rejected.
Regarding claim 20, it is substantially similar to claim 9 above, and is therefore likewise rejected.
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(s) 11-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim as applied to claims 1-10 and 15-20 above, and further in view of Penilla (US 9,365,188 B1).
Regarding claim 11, Kim does not specify: wherein the user terminal relating to the user is a proxy user terminal carried by a proxy user who represents the user. However, Kim in view of Penilla discloses: wherein the user terminal relating to the user is a proxy user terminal carried by a proxy user who represents the user.
Refer to at least Col. 4, Ll. 15-36, Col. 4, Ll. 66-Col. 5, Ll. 4, and Col. 39, Ll. 48-60 of Penilla with respect to a guest user such as a valet or mechanic being provided with access (e.g., via their mobile device using e-keys) on behalf of a user.
The teachings of Kim and Penilla both concern sharing resource access (e.g., vehicle access), and are considered to be within the same field of endeavor and combinable as such.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of Applicant’s invention to modify the teachings of Kim to further implement guest access for the shared resource because design incentives or market forces provided a reason to make an adaptation, and the invention resulted from application of the prior knowledge in a predictable manner (e.g., taking a resource for servicing where the servicer needs access).
Regarding claim 12, Kim-Penilla discloses: The management system according to claim 11, wherein the use relation between the first target and the second target occurs through data communication between a target user terminal carried by the user and the proxy user terminal and data communication between the proxy user terminal and the loading terminal.
Refer to at least Col. 4, Ll. 66-Col. 5, Ll. 4, and Col. 39, Ll. 48-60 of Penilla with respect to the guest user using their mobile device for obtaining access to the resource.
This claim would have been obvious for substantially the same reasons as claim 11 above.
Regarding claims 13-14, they are rejected for substantially the same reasons as claims 11-12 above (i.e., the citations and obviousness rationale concerning a user and their mobile device providing e-keys to a guest device for negotiating resource access).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VADIM SAVENKOV whose telephone number is (571)270-5751. The examiner can normally be reached 12PM-8PM.
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, Jeffrey L Nickerson can be reached at (469) 295-9235. 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.
/Jeffrey Nickerson/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2432
/V.S/Examiner, Art Unit 2432
Prosecution Insights