DETAILED ACTION
Amendment received on July 21, 2026, has been acknowledged. Claims 1, 2, 11, 12, 18, and 19 have been amended and entered. Therefore, claims 1-20 are pending.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendments are sufficient to overcome 35 USC 101 rejection.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 11 and 18 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 11 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, as based on a disclosure which is not enabling. The disclosure does not enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention without receiving payment information from a customer, which is critical or essential to the practice of the invention but not included in the claim(s). See In re Mayhew, 527 F.2d 1229, 188 USPQ 356 (CCPA 1976).
Claims 1, 11 and 18 recite in part:
determine whether the acquired information from the storage device includes a member ID and settlement medium information;
when the acquired information from the storage device includes the member ID and the settlement medium information, settle a transaction of the user without additional authentication;
and
when the acquired information from the storage device does not include the member ID and the settlement medium information, request input of a PIN of the user and settle the transaction of the user after the PIN is entered.
In summary the claims are directed toward utilizing a customer’s biometric input to match with a customer record that has a linked payment method. If no payment method or customer account is located the transaction is completed with the input of a customer PIN.
The specification provides multiple examples of completing a transaction at a POS when the status is “0”. In each example status “0” provides different meanings. In the instant case applicant appears to combining two separate scenarios of when status is “0”.
In the applicant submitted specification ¶ [0073] follows a self-service POS transaction process that states:
when status is “0” neither the membership identification information nor the settlement medium information is acquired. in which membership information is acquired along with the number of registered settlement media.
In this process no accumulated points are displayed, and the customer is given multiple options to complete the transaction as depicted in figure 12.
During the Point settlement process figure 7, when status is “0” membership information was not acquired during the biometric authentication and allows a customer to enter membership identification information to settle the transaction using accumulated points.
In this case the claims to include the step of failing to identify a customer through biometric authentication yet has the ability to utilize a membership identification to access accumulated points. The specifications lack support for a system that checks both the membership ID and the settlement medium information.
In the credit settlement process when status is “0” settlement medium information was not acquired through the biometric authentication, and the system waits for the information about a credit card to be used by the user and the input of the personal identification number. In this case the claims fail to include the step of providing credit card information.
The newly amended claims describe a customer executing a transaction without providing payment information and completing the transaction by merely entering a personal identification number. The claims are missing the essential step of submitting another credit card to be used by a user along with a personal identification number. Appropriate clarification is requested.
Claims 1, 8 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 8 and 18 recite:
when the acquired information from the storage device does not include the member ID and the settlement medium information, request input of a PIN of the user and settle the transaction of the user after the PIN is entered.
The specification fails to provide sufficient support for the scenario when the member ID and the settlement medium are not acquired, and a PIN is utilized to settle the transaction. The specification does provide support in the claimed scenario in which a customer is offered multiple payment options to settle the transaction. Examiner will interpret the claims as detailed in the applicant submitted specifications.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Hawkins U.S. Patent Application Publication 2007/0162337 in view of Tagawa U.S. Patent Application Publication 2025/0086632 further in view of Denimarck et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0018522.
As per Claim 1, Hawkins discloses a transaction processing system, comprising:
a storage device configured to store membership identification information of a member and settlement medium information of the member in association with biometric information of the member (Figure 2, Incentive Management System 165);
a reading device configured to read biometric information from a user (Figure 1, Biometric access point 120); and
a transaction processing device (Figure 1, ECR 110) configured to:
receive the biometric information of the user read by the reading device (pg.6, ¶ [0030] discusses the customer places his finger on the BAP 120 which then captures and produces a representation of the image of the customer's fingerprint);
acquire information from the storage device when the received biometric information of the user matches biometric information of the member stored in the storage device (pg.5, ¶ [0027] discusses at step 310, the biometric authentication server 275 receives the customer's biometric information (and personal number) and interacts with the biometric database 280 using known methods of comparing biometric in formation (and utilizing personal numbers) to confirm a successful biometric comparison and obtain a customer identifier (e.g., user identification number used internally in the IMS 165, etc.); and
when the acquired information from the storage device includes a member ID and settlement medium information settle a transaction of the user without additional authentication 445 is transmitted to a payment processor such as 155 and 160 for final payment authorization).
Hawkins teaches an incentive management system coupled to a merchant loyalty program that includes a customer segmentation database 220 that provides spending level information for each of the merchant's customers as identified by their merchant loyalty and authorizing a customer biometrically for a payment transaction at the merchant POS 105.
However, Hawkins fails to explicitly state a storage device configured to store membership identification information of a member and settlement medium information of the member in association with biometric information of the member.
Tagawa teaches a storage device configured to store membership identification information of a member and settlement medium information of the member in association with biometric information of the member (pg.6, ¶ [0092] discusses the biometric information and the member information are associated with the user ID, and are managed, for each store, by the member DB 112 of the server 10 and the face information DB 41 of the authentication apparatus 40).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary still in the art to include in Hawkins reference the ability to store biometric, membership and payment information together as taught by Tagawa since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Hawkins teaches a system and method for delivering and redeeming targeted offers to customers who have enrolled in merchant loyalty programs.
Tagawa teaches a system and method that stores biometric information of a user and member information in association with each other.
However, the Hawkins-Tagawa combination fails to disclose determine whether the acquired information from the storage device includes a member ID and settlement medium information;
when the acquired information from the storage device includes the member ID and the settlement medium information, settle a transaction of the user without additional authentication;
and
when the acquired information from the storage device does not include the member ID and the settlement medium information, request input of a PIN of the user and settle the transaction of the user after the PIN is entered.
Denimarck et al. teaches determine whether the acquired information from the storage device includes a member ID and settlement medium information (pg.7, ¶[0074] discusses a processor 540 (FIG. 5) of the self-checkout computer 260 may query memory 76, 510, 520, and/or 530 to obtain payment information associated with a matching stored fingerprint recognition profile of the customer 58);
when the acquired information from the storage device includes the member ID and the settlement medium information, settle a transaction of the user without additional authentication (pg.7, ¶ [0074] discusses If a matching fingerprint recognition profile and associated payment information for the customer 58 is successfully retrieved, the system 100 may acknowledge this with a distinctive audible beep from the speakers 150 or some other sign, and the retrieved payment information may be used for payment processing);
and
when the acquired information from the storage device does not include the member ID and the settlement medium information, request input of a PIN of the user and settle the transaction of the user after the PIN is entered (pg.7, ¶ [0074] discusses f the customer 58 was not identified at the customer identification station 56, the customer 58 may be prompted to enter a pin code in addition to the biometric characteristic to facilitate retrieving customer information…¶ [0075] discusses f the biometric sensing device 210 is unable to obtain a clear reading of the customer's fingerprint, a positive fingerprint recognition match is not made, if the customer's biometric and payment information has not been registered, or the customer prefers to usual more traditional form of payment, the self-checkout system 100 may accept more traditional types of payment such as cash payment via the bill acceptor 160, credit card or cash card payment via the Electronic Funds Transfer ("EFT")/magnetic strip card reader 210, or check payment via the check reader/writer (MICR) 220).
The cited portion of Denimarck et al. teaches a system and method capable of retrieving a customer account using a fingerprint and utilizing the payment method stored with the account. Denimarck further teaches where the customer can retrieve customer account data and settle the transaction by entering a PIN or conducting a transaction using a traditional form of payment.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have the ability to retrieve a customer account utilizing PIN entry as in the improvement discussed in Denimarck et al., in the system executing the method of Hawkins-Tagwa. As in Denimarck et al. it is within the capabilities of one of ordinary skill in the art for a customer to enter a PIN to access a customer account in order to settle a transaction to the Hawkins-Tagwa combination with the predicted result of settling transactions when biometric information is not found as needed in the Hawkins-Tagwa combination.
As per Claim 2, Hawkins discloses the transaction processing system according to claim 1, wherein the transaction processing device is further configured to:
store a value indicating a first state in a state storage unit if the acquired information from the storage device includes the member ID and the settlement medium information (pg.6, ¶ [0030] discusses the PIN pad 115 may forward the payment information and loyalty information to the ECR 110…when the merchant employee scans a product into the ECR 110, the ECR 110 may transmit the customer's loyalty information (e.g., loyalty identification number) and product information (e.g., UPC code) to the incentive redemption controller 140 which then determines whether such a product is eligible for a discount under the customer's activated targeted offers);
The cited portion discloses the payment information and member ID allows for targeted offers to be presented.
store a value indicating a second state in the state storage unit if the acquired information from the storage device includes just the member ID (pg.6, ¶ [0031] discusses the communication staging server 255 may submit the customer's merchant loyalty identification number as received directly from the merchant POS 105 to the targeted offers server 245 to obtain the customer's targeted offers from the customer targeted offers database 250 which it then forwards to the incentive redemption controller 140 in step 430);
The cited portion discloses where the stored loyalty number is stored to retrieve offers.
and
store a value indicating a third state in the state storage unit if the acquired information included neither the member ID nor the settlement medium information (pg.6, ¶ [0031] discusses a customer may slide or scan his merchant loyalty card through the payment terminal 115 and/or ECR 110 (or enter his loyalty member or other identification member such as a phone number into the payment terminal 115 and/or ECR 110) which will transmit the customer's merchant loyalty number directly to the communication staging server 255 of the IMS 165, thereby obviating the need for biometric authentication and extraction of the electronic wallet).
The cited portion discloses where the membership number is entered and the electronic wallet information is not stored.
As per Claim 3, Hawkins discloses the transaction processing system according to claim 2, wherein the transaction processing device performs a different process depending on the value stored in the state storage unit (pg.6, ¶ [0030] discusses the incentive redemption controller 140 identifies that a product is eligible for a discount, it transmits the discount information to ECR 110 for deduction off the price charged to the customer).
The cited portion of Hawkins teaches a system and method that conducts a discount for an eligible product, which is different from the process when biometric information is not captured/stored and the merchant loyalty card is read instead. See pg.6, ¶ [0031]
As per Claim 4, Hawkins discloses the transaction processing system according to claim 3. Hawkins is directed toward a biometrically enhanced infrastructure architecture for activating and redeeming personal incentives and conducting biometric payment transactions at a merchant location.
However, Hawkins fails to disclose wherein the transaction processing device is further configured to receive a selection of a credit card payment as a payment method for settling the transaction with the user.
Tagawa teaches wherein the transaction processing device is further configured to receive a selection of a credit card payment as a payment method for settling the transaction with the user (pg.5, ¶ [0081] discusses when the payment information having a higher priority is electronic money and the electronic money is insufficient in balance, the processing control unit 363 can output information for causing a user to select whether to pay by electronic money by charging or to use the payment information having a next high priority).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of point-of-sale transactions before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Hawkins to include the ability to select a payment vehicle as taught by Tagawa to provide a processing apparatus that includes a managing unit that manages, for each store, biometric information of a user and member information in association with each other. Abstract
As per Claim 5, Hawkins discloses the transaction processing system according to claim 1, wherein the settlement medium information is information about a pre-registered credit card of the user associated with the member ID (pg.4, ¶ [0026] discusses personal information may be submitted to the IMS 165 by the customer in order to create an electronic wallet to facilitate the purchasing of goods through biometric authentication at the merchant POS 105. Such further personal information may include, in addition to the merchant loyalty identification number, financial account information (e.g., credit account data, debit account data, checking account data).
As per Claim 6, Hawkins discloses the transaction processing system according to claim 1. Hawkins further teaches an electronic wallet server that provides access to customer electronic wallets stored in electronic wallet database.
However, Hawkins fails to disclose wherein the settlement medium information is information about an electronic money account of the user associated with the member ID.
Tagawa teaches wherein the settlement medium information is information about an electronic money account of the user associated with the member ID (pg.5, ¶ [0080] discusses payment information such as a valid credit card that can be used for payment and electronic money can be registered in advance at a time of member registration).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of point of sale transactions before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Hawkins to include the ability to store electronic money with a membership as taught by Tagawa to provide a processing apparatus that includes a managing unit that manages, for each store, biometric information of a user and member information in association with each other. Abstract
As per Claim 7, Hawkins discloses the transaction processing system according to claim 1. Hawkins teaches a customer segment profile (e.g. spend of a customer, frequency of visits of a customer, etc.) which customers must satisfy to be offered such personal incentive.
However, Hawkins fails to disclose wherein the acquired information includes an accumulated point total associated with the member ID.
Tagawa teaches wherein the acquired information includes an accumulated point total associated with the member ID (pg.5, ¶ [0078] discusses the information desired to be notified to a user is a point given in current shopping, a cumulative value of the points given in a predetermined period, a coupon usable for next shopping, or the like).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of point-of-sale transactions before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Hawkins to include the ability to track membership points as taught by Tagawa to provide a processing apparatus that includes a managing unit that manages, for each store, biometric information of a user and member information in association with each other. Abstract
As per Claim 8, Hawkins discloses the transaction processing system according to claim 1, wherein the reading device is a fingerprint reader (pg.5, ¶ [0027] discusses The customer may place his finger on the biometric scanner on the loyalty kiosk 170 which then captures and produces a representation of the image of the customer's fingerprint).
As per Claim 9, Hawkins discloses he transaction processing system according to claim 1, wherein the storage device is a customer management server connected via a network to a plurality of transaction processing devices (pg.2, ¶ [0018] discusses both the ECR 110 and the BAP 120 (and the other SAP and ECRs for other POS stations if the merchant has multiple checkout lanes, such as in a supermarket) may be further coupled through a hub 130 to the merchant's specific store controller 135 and an incentive redemption controller 140).
As per Claim 10, the Hawkins-Tagawa combination discloses the transaction processing system according to claim 1.
Hawkins teaches an electronic cash register coupled to a biometric access point. pg.2, ¶ [0018]
Tagawa pgs. 5-4 ¶ [0071] teaches the store terminal 30 is a POS terminal including an authentication terminal 30a and a payment terminal 30b. The store terminal 30 uses a result of biometric authentication of a user, and thereby performs registration processing of a product, payment processing of a price, and the like for sales of the product in a store, or the like.
However, the Hawkins-Tagawa combination fails to disclose wherein the transaction processing device is a self-service point-of-sale terminal.
Denimarck et al. teaches wherein the transaction processing device is a self-service point-of-sale terminal (Figure 5, depicts self-checkout computer 260 having biometric sensing device 205).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary still in the art to include in the Hawkins-Tagawa combination the ability to utilize a self-checkout terminal having a biometric sensing as taught by Denimarck et al. since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
As per Claim 11, Hawkins discloses a transaction processing device, comprising:
a communication interface configured to connect to a storage device that stores membership identification information of a member and settlement medium information of the member in association with biometric information of the member (Figure 2, Incentive Management System 165);
a device interface configured to connect to a reading device that reads biometric information from a user (Figure 1, Biometric access point 120);
a processor configured to:
receive, via the device interface, the biometric information of the user read by the reading device (pg.6, ¶ [0030] discusses the customer places his finger on the BAP 120 which then captures and produces a representation of the image of the customer's fingerprint);
acquire, via the communication interface, information from the storage device when the received biometric information of the user matches biometric information of the member stored in the storage device (pg.5, ¶ [0027] discusses at step 310, the biometric authentication server 275 receives the customer's biometric information (and personal number) and interacts with the biometric database 280 using known methods of comparing biometric in formation (and utilizing personal numbers) to confirm a successful biometric comparison and obtain a customer identifier (e.g., user identification number used internally in the IMS 165, etc.); and
settle a transaction of the user without additional authentication if the acquired information from the storage device includes a member ID and settlement medium information (pg.6, ¶ [0030] discusses the biometric authentication server 275 may return a representation of the customer's electronic wallet that includes the customer's loyalty identification information and payment information ( e.g., credit cards, debit cards, checking account, etc.) to the BAP 120…payment information received by the ECR in step 445 is transmitted to a payment processor such as 155 and 160 for final payment authorization).
Hawkins teaches an incentive management system coupled to a merchant loyalty program that includes a customer segmentation database 220 that provides spending level information for each of the merchant's customers as identified by their merchant loyalty and authorizing a customer biometrically for a payment transaction at the merchant POS 105.
However, Hawkins fails to explicitly state a storage device configured to store membership identification information of a member and settlement medium information of the member in association with biometric information of the member.
Tagawa teaches a storage device configured to store membership identification information of a member and settlement medium information of the member in association with biometric information of the member (pg.6, ¶ [0092] discusses the biometric information and the member information are associated with the user ID, and are managed, for each store, by the member DB 112 of the server 10 and the face information DB 41 of the authentication apparatus 40).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary still in the art to include in Hawkins reference the ability to store biometric, membership and payment information together as taught by Tagawa since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Hawkins teaches a system and method for delivering and redeeming targeted offers to customers who have enrolled in merchant loyalty programs.
Tagawa teaches a system and method that stores biometric information of a user and member information in association with each other.
However, the Hawkins-Tagawa combination fails to disclose determine whether the acquired information from the storage device includes a member ID and settlement medium information;
when the acquired information from the storage device includes the member ID and the settlement medium information, settle a transaction of the user without additional authentication;
and
when the acquired information from the storage device does not include the member ID and the settlement medium information, request input of a PIN of the user and settle the transaction of the user after the PIN is entered.
Denimarck et al. teaches determine whether the acquired information from the storage device includes a member ID and settlement medium information (pg.7, ¶[0074] discusses a processor 540 (FIG. 5) of the self-checkout computer 260 may query memory 76, 510, 520, and/or 530 to obtain payment information associated with a matching stored fingerprint recognition profile of the customer 58);
when the acquired information from the storage device includes the member ID and the settlement medium information, settle a transaction of the user without additional authentication (pg.7, ¶ [0074] discusses If a matching fingerprint recognition profile and associated payment information for the customer 58 is successfully retrieved, the system 100 may acknowledge this with a distinctive audible beep from the speakers 150 or some other sign, and the retrieved payment information may be used for payment processing);
and
when the acquired information from the storage device does not include the member ID and the settlement medium information, request input of a PIN of the user and settle the transaction of the user after the PIN is entered (pg.7, ¶ [0074] discusses f the customer 58 was not identified at the customer identification station 56, the customer 58 may be prompted to enter a pin code in addition to the biometric characteristic to facilitate retrieving customer information…¶ [0075] discusses f the biometric sensing device 210 is unable to obtain a clear reading of the customer's fingerprint, a positive fingerprint recognition match is not made, if the customer's biometric and payment information has not been registered, or the customer prefers to usual more traditional form of payment, the self-checkout system 100 may accept more traditional types of payment such as cash payment via the bill acceptor 160, credit card or cash card payment via the Electronic Funds Transfer ("EFT")/magnetic strip card reader 210, or check payment via the check reader/writer (MICR) 220).
The cited portion of Denimarck et al. teaches a system and method capable of retrieving a customer account using a fingerprint and utilizing the payment method stored with the account. Denimarck further teaches where the customer can retrieve customer account data and settle the transaction by entering a PIN or conducting a transaction using a traditional form of payment.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have the ability to retrieve a customer account utilizing PIN entry as in the improvement discussed in Denimarck et al., in the system executing the method of Hawkins-Tagwa. As in Denimarck et al. it is within the capabilities of one of ordinary skill in the art for a customer to enter a PIN to access a customer account in order to settle a transaction to the Hawkins-Tagwa combination with the predicted result of settling transactions when biometric information is not found as needed in the Hawkins-Tagwa combination.
As per Claim 12, Hawkins discloses the transaction processing device according to claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to: store a value indicating a first state in a state storage unit if the acquired information from the storage device includes the member ID and the settlement medium information (pg.6, ¶ [0030] discusses the PIN pad 115 may forward the payment information and loyalty information to the ECR 110…when the merchant employee scans a product into the ECR 110, the ECR 110 may transmit the customer's loyalty information (e.g., loyalty identification number) and product information (e.g., UPC code) to the incentive redemption controller 140 which then determines whether such a product is eligible for a discount under the customer's activated targeted offers);
The cited portion discloses the payment information and member ID allows for targeted offers to be presented.
store a value indicating a second state in the state storage unit if the acquired information from the storage device includes just the member ID (pg.6, ¶ [0031] discusses the communication staging server 255 may submit the customer's merchant loyalty identification number as received directly from the merchant POS 105 to the targeted offers server 245 to obtain the customer's targeted offers from the customer targeted offers database 250 which it then forwards to the incentive redemption controller 140 in step 430);
The cited portion discloses where the stored loyalty number is stored to retrieve offers.
and
store a value indicating a third state in the state storage unit if the acquired information included neither the member ID nor the settlement medium information (pg.6, ¶ [0031] discusses example those with ordinary skill in the art will recognize that a customer may slide or scan his merchant loyalty card through the payment terminal 115 and/or ECR 110 (or enter his loyalty member or other identification m1mber such as a phone number into the payment terminal 115 and/or ECR 110) which will transmit the customer's merchant loyalty number directly to the communication staging server 255 of the IMS 165, thereby obviating the need for biometric authentication and extraction of the electronic wallet).
The cited portion discloses where the membership number is entered and the electronic wallet information is not stored.
As per Claim 13, Hawkins discloses the transaction processing device according to claim 12, wherein the processor performs a different process depending on the value stored in the state storage unit (pg.6, ¶ [0030] discusses the incentive redemption controller 140 identifies that a product is eligible for a discount, it transmits the discount information to ECR 110 for deduction off the price charged to the customer).
The cited portion of Hawkins teaches a system and method that conducts a discount for an eligible product, which is different from the process when biometric information is not captured/stored and the merchant loyalty card is read instead. See pg.6, ¶ [0031]
As per Claim 14, Hawkins discloses the transaction processing device according to claim 12.
Hawkins is directed toward a biometrically enhanced infrastructure architecture for activating and redeeming personal incentives and conducting biometric payment transactions at a merchant location.
However, Hawkins fails to disclose wherein the processor is further configured to receive, via a user input device, a selection of a credit card payment as a payment method for settling the transaction with the user.
Tagawa teaches wherein the processor is further configured to receive, via a user input device, a selection of a credit card payment as a payment method for settling the transaction with the user (pg.5, ¶ [0081] discusses when the payment information having a higher priority is electronic money and the electronic money is insufficient in balance, the processing control unit 363 can output information for causing a user to select whether to pay by electronic money by charging or to use the payment information having a next high priority).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of point of sale transactions before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Hawkins to include the ability to select a payment vehicle as taught by Tagawa to provide a processing apparatus that includes a managing unit that manages, for each store, biometric information of a user and member information in association with each other. Abstract
As per Claim 15, Hawkins discloses the transaction processing device according to claim 11, wherein the settlement medium information is information about a pre-registered credit card of the user associated with the member ID (pg.4, ¶ [0026] discusses personal information may be submitted to the IMS 165 by the customer in order to create an electronic wallet to facilitate the purchasing of goods through biometric authentication at the merchant POS 105. Such further personal information may include, in addition to the merchant loyalty identification number, financial account information (e.g., credit account data, debit account data, checking account data).
As per Claim 16, Hawkins teaches the transaction processing device according to claim 11.
Hawkins further teaches an electronic wallet server that provides access to customer electronic wallets stored in electronic wallet database.
However, Hawkins fails to disclose wherein the settlement medium information is information about an electronic money account of the user associated with the member ID.
Tagawa teaches wherein the settlement medium information is information about an electronic money account of the user associated with the member ID (pg.5, ¶ [0080] discusses payment information such as a valid credit card that can be used for payment and electronic money can be registered in advance at a time of member registration).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of point of sale transactions before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Hawkins to include the ability to store electronic money with a membership as taught by Tagawa to provide a processing apparatus that includes a managing unit that manages, for each store, biometric information of a user and member information in association with each other. Abstract
As per Claim 17, Hawkins teaches the transaction processing device according to claim 11. Hawkins teaches a customer segment profile (e.g., spend of a customer, frequency of visits of a customer, etc.) which customers must satisfy to be offered such personal incentive.
However, Hawkins fails to disclose wherein the acquired information includes an accumulated point total associated with the member ID.
Tagawa teaches wherein the acquired information includes an accumulated point total associated with the member ID (pg.5, ¶ [0078] discusses the information desired to be notified to a user is a point given in current shopping, a cumulative value of the points given in a predetermined period, a coupon usable for next shopping, or the like).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of point of sale transactions before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Hawkins to include the ability to track membership points as taught by Tagawa to provide a processing apparatus that includes a managing unit that manages, for each store, biometric information of a user and member information in association with each other. Abstract
As per Claim 18, Hawkins discloses a non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing program instructions which when executed by a transaction processing device of transaction processing system causes the transaction processing device to perform a method comprising:
receive, via a device interface, biometric information of a user read by a reading device (pg.6, ¶ [0030] discusses the customer places his finger on the BAP 120 which then captures and produces a representation of the image of the customer's fingerprint);
acquire, via a communication interface, information from a storage device when the received biometric information of the user matches biometric information of a member stored in the storage device (pg.5, ¶ [0027] discusses at step 310, the biometric authentication server 275 receives the customer's biometric information (and personal number) and interacts with the biometric database 280 using known methods of comparing biometric in formation (and utilizing personal numbers) to confirm a successful biometric comparison and obtain a customer identifier (e.g., user identification number used internally in the IMS 165, etc.);; and
settle a transaction of the user without additional authentication if the acquired information from the storage device includes a member ID and settlement medium information (pg.6, ¶ [0030] discusses the biometric authentication server 275 may return a representation of the customer's electronic wallet that includes the customer's loyalty identification information and payment information ( e.g., credit cards, debit cards, checking account, etc.) to the BAP 120…payment information received by the ECR in step 445 is transmitted to a payment processor such as 155 and 160 for final payment authorization).
Hawkins teaches an incentive management system coupled to a merchant loyalty program that includes a customer segmentation database 220 that provides spending level information for each of the merchant's customers as identified by their merchant loyalty and authorizing a customer biometrically for a payment transaction at the merchant POS 105.
However, Hawkins fails to explicitly state a storage device configured to store membership identification information of a member and settlement medium information of the member in association with biometric information of the member.
Tagawa teaches a storage device configured to store membership identification information of a member and settlement medium information of the member in association with biometric information of the member (pg.6, ¶ [0092] discusses the biometric information and the member information are associated with the user ID, and are managed, for each store, by the member DB 112 of the server 10 and the face information DB 41 of the authentication apparatus 40).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary still in the art to include in Hawkins reference the ability to store biometric, membership and payment information together as taught by Tagawa since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Hawkins teaches a system and method for delivering and redeeming targeted offers to customers who have enrolled in merchant loyalty programs.
Tagawa teaches a system and method that stores biometric information of a user and member information in association with each other.
However, the Hawkins-Tagawa combination fails to disclose determine whether the acquired information from the storage device includes a member ID and settlement medium information;
when the acquired information from the storage device includes the member ID and the settlement medium information, settle a transaction of the user without additional authentication;
and
when the acquired information from the storage device does not include the member ID and the settlement medium information, request input of a PIN of the user and settle the transaction of the user after the PIN is entered.
Denimarck et al. teaches determine whether the acquired information from the storage device includes a member ID and settlement medium information (pg.7, ¶[0074] discusses a processor 540 (FIG. 5) of the self-checkout computer 260 may query memory 76, 510, 520, and/or 530 to obtain payment information associated with a matching stored fingerprint recognition profile of the customer 58);
when the acquired information from the storage device includes the member ID and the settlement medium information, settle a transaction of the user without additional authentication (pg.7, ¶ [0074] discusses If a matching fingerprint recognition profile and associated payment information for the customer 58 is successfully retrieved, the system 100 may acknowledge this with a distinctive audible beep from the speakers 150 or some other sign, and the retrieved payment information may be used for payment processing);
and
when the acquired information from the storage device does not include the member ID and the settlement medium information, request input of a PIN of the user and settle the transaction of the user after the PIN is entered (pg.7, ¶ [0074] discusses f the customer 58 was not identified at the customer identification station 56, the customer 58 may be prompted to enter a pin code in addition to the biometric characteristic to facilitate retrieving customer information…¶ [0075] discusses f the biometric sensing device 210 is unable to obtain a clear reading of the customer's fingerprint, a positive fingerprint recognition match is not made, if
the customer's biometric and payment information has not been registered, or the customer prefers to usual more traditional form of payment, the self-checkout system 100 may accept more traditional types of payment such as cash payment via the bill acceptor 160, credit card or cash card payment via the Electronic Funds Transfer ("EFT")/magnetic strip card reader 210, or check payment via the check reader/writer (MICR) 220).
The cited portion of Denimarck et al. teaches a system and method capable of retrieving a customer account using a fingerprint and utilizing the payment method stored with the account. Denimarck further teaches where the customer can retrieve customer account data and settle the transaction by entering a PIN or conducting a transaction using a traditional form of payment.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have the ability to retrieve a customer account utilizing PIN entry as in the improvement discussed in Denimarck et al., in the system executing the method of Hawkins-Tagwa. As in Denimarck et al. it is within the capabilities of one of ordinary skill in the art for a customer to enter a PIN to access a customer account in order to settle a transaction to the Hawkins-Tagwa combination with the predicted result of settling transactions when biometric information is not found as needed in the Hawkins-Tagwa combination.
As per Claim 19, Hawkins discloses the non-transitory, computer-readable medium according to claim 18, wherein the method further includes:
store a value indicating a first state in a state storage unit if the acquired information from the storage device includes the member ID and the settlement medium information (pg.6, ¶ [0030] discusses the PIN pad 115 may forward the payment information and loyalty information to the ECR 110…when the merchant employee scans a product into the ECR 110, the ECR 110 may transmit the customer's loyalty information (e.g., loyalty identification number) and product information (e.g., UPC code) to the incentive redemption controller 140 which then determines whether such a product is eligible for a discount under the customer's activated targeted offers);
The cited portion discloses the payment information and member ID allows for targeted offers to be presented.
store a value indicating a second state in the state storage unit if the acquired information from the storage device includes just the member ID (pg.6, ¶ [0031] discusses the communication staging server 255 may submit the customer's merchant loyalty identification number as received directly from the merchant POS 105 to the targeted offers server 245 to obtain the customer's targeted offers from the customer targeted offers database 250 which it then forwards to the incentive redemption controller 140 in step 430);
The cited portion discloses where the stored loyalty number is stored to retrieve offers.
and
store a value indicating a third state in the state storage unit if the acquired information included neither the member ID nor the settlement medium information (pg.6, ¶ [0031] discusses example those with ordinary skill in the art will recognize that a customer may slide or scan his merchant loyalty card through the payment terminal 115 and/or ECR 110 (or enter his loyalty member or other identification m1mber such as a phone number into the payment terminal 115 and/or ECR 110) which will transmit the customer's merchant loyalty number directly to the communication staging server 255 of the IMS 165, thereby obviating the need for biometric authentication and extraction of the electronic wallet).
The cited portion discloses where the membership number is entered and the electronic wallet information is not stored.
As per Claim 20, Hawkins discloses the non-transitory, computer-readable medium according to claim 18.
Hawkins further teaches a biometrically enhanced infrastructure architecture for activating and redeeming personal incentives and conducting biometric payment transactions at a merchant location.
However, Hawkins fails to disclose wherein the method further includes: receive, via a user input device, a selection of a credit card payment as a payment method for settling the transaction with the user.
Tagawa teaches wherein the method further includes: receive, via a user input device, a selection of a credit card payment as a payment method for settling the transaction with the user (pg.5, ¶ [0081] discusses when the payment information having a higher priority is electronic money and the electronic money is insufficient in balance, the processing control unit 363 can output information for causing a user to select whether to pay by electronic money by charging or to use the payment information having a next high priority).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of point of sale transactions before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Hawkins to include the ability to select a payment vehicle as taught by Tagawa to provide a processing apparatus that includes a managing unit that manages, for each store, biometric information of a user and member information in association with each other. Abstract
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ASHFORD S HAYLES whose telephone number is (571)270-5106. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6AM-4PM with Flex.
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/ASHFORD S HAYLES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627
