DETAILED ACTION
Claims 21-23 are new.
Claims 1, 4-14, and 16-23 are pending.
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 08/05/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 08/05/2026 have been fully considered.
Regarding Applicant’s argument that independent claim 1 and dependent claims 4-13, 21, and 22 is allowable, Examiner agrees that the claims would be allowable if the 112(b) rejection is overcome.
Regarding Applicant’s argument that independent claim 14 and dependent claims 16-18, and 23 are allowable because the allowable subject matter of claim 3 has been incorporated into claim 14, Examiner respectfully disagrees. The corresponding embodiments of claims 14, 16-18, and 23 cannot be combined with the allowable subject matter. Claims 14, 16-18 and 23 are directed to an embodiment that uses a preset password to generate a second key. The allowable subject matter uses a subset of a subset of pixels to generate a second key.
Regarding Applicant’s argument that independent claim 19 and dependent claim 20 is allowable, Examiner agrees that the claims would be allowable if the 112(b) rejection is overcome.
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.
Claims 1, 4-14, and 16-23 are 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.
Regarding claims 1, 14, and 19, the claims recite “a second subset of the plurality of pixels in the selected first subset”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for the term “the plurality of pixels”, therefore, the claim is rendered indefinite. For the purpose of examination, claims 1 and 14 will be interpreted as “wherein the random number generator circuit selects a second subset of a plurality of pixels from the selected first subset according to a second selection mechanism different from the first selection mechanism to obtain the second key” and claim 19 will be interpreted as “utilizing the random number generator circuit to select a second subset of a plurality of pixels from the selected first subset according to a second selection mechanism to obtain a second key.” Claims 4-13, 16-18, and 20-23 inherit this rejection.
Regarding claim 7, the claim recites “generated by the respective latch to generate…”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for the term “the respective latch”, therefore, the claim is rendered indefinite. For the purpose of examination, the claim will be interpreted as “generated by respective latches to generate an output digital image signal.”
Regarding claims 21 and 23, the claims recite “a second NOR gate, having a first input terminal… a second input terminal… and an output terminal”. It is unclear if the first input terminal, second input terminal, and an output terminal are the same of different from the first input terminal, second input terminal, and an output terminal of the first NOR gate, therefore, the claim is rendered indefinite. For the purpose of examination, the claims will be interpreted as “a second NOR gate, having a third input terminal coupled to the output terminal of the first NOR gate, a fourth input terminal receiving the data bit of each pixel in the digital image signal, and a second output terminal coupled to the second input terminal of the first NOR gate.”
Regarding claim 22, the claim recite “a second NAND gate, having a first input terminal… a second input terminal… and an output terminal”. It is unclear if the first input terminal, second input terminal, and an output terminal are the same of different from the first input terminal, second input terminal, and an output terminal of the first NAND gate, therefore, the claim is rendered indefinite. For the purpose of examination, the claims will be interpreted as “a second NAND gate, having a third input terminal coupled to the output terminal of the first NAND gate, a fourth input terminal receiving the data bit of each pixel in the digital image signal, and a second output terminal coupled to the second input terminal of the first NAND gate.”
Regarding claim 14, the claim recites “obtain a second key based on a preset password” and “selects a second subset of the plurality of pixels in the selected first subset… to obtain the second key”. It is unclear if the second key is based on a preset password or based on a second subset of the plurality of pixels in the selected first subset, therefore, the claim is rendered indefinite. Claims 16-18 and 23 inherit this rejection.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 4-13, and 19-22 would be allowable if the 112(b) rejections are overcome.
Claims 14, 16-18, and 23 would be allowable if Applicant can clarify how the allowable subject matter would be incorporated into the corresponding embodiment. Claims 14, 16-18 and 23 are directed to an embodiment that uses a preset password to generate a second key. The allowable subject matter uses a subset of a subset of pixels to generate a second key.
Reasons for allowance will be provide at the time of allowance.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAWRENCE TRUONG whose telephone number is (571)272-6973. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4 pm ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ali Shayanfar can be reached at (571) 270-1050. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAWRENCE TRUONG/Examiner, Art Unit 2434
/ALI SHAYANFAR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2434
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