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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Acknowledgement
The preliminary amendment filed 08/29/2024 amending claims 3-8 and 10 are acknowledged.
Status of Claims
Claims 3-8 and 10 are amended.
Claims 1-17 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08/29/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 8-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Claim 1, from which claim 8 depends, recites “output to the display device an inquiry as to whether or not there is an unprocessed product.” However, claim 8 recites “when the controller estimates that there are no unprocessed products, perform a payment processing to pay the product price based on the recognition result stored without outputting to the user the inquiry as to whether or not there is an unprocessed product in the second processing.” As a result, claim 8 does not include every limitation of claim 1. Claims 9-15 depend from claim 8 and should be rejected by virtue of their dependency.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
The claims recite limitations whose BRI falls within the “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity” grouping of abstract ideas in that they recite commercial interactions. The claims merely invoke additional elements, e.g., an input unit, controller, display device, storage device, as tools to perform the abstract idea and generally link the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment or field of use. See MPEP 2106.05(f) and MPEP 2106.05(h).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kakino (US 2018/0204200) checkout apparatus and checkout method
O’Herlihy et al (US 2022/0414632) discloses operation of self-check out surface are of a retail store
Farrow et al (US 11,482,082) discloses non scan loss verification at self check-out
Adato et al (WO 2020/181066) discloses methods and systems for monitoring products
Scott et al (WO 2020/156108) discloses system and methods for monitoring real transactions
Scott et al (US 2020/0242392) discloses mislabeled product detection.
Buibas et al (US 10,282,720) discloses camera-based authorization extension system
Sawada et al (US 10,192,136) discloses image processing apparatus and image processing method
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL S FELTEN whose telephone number is (571)272-6742. The examiner can normally be reached Flex.
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, Ryan D Donlon can be reached at 5712703602. 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.
DANIEL S. FELTEN
Examiner
Art Unit 3692
/DANIEL S FELTEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3692