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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-6, 8, 9, 10-15, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hotes et al. (hereinafter Hotes)(US 2020/0228646).
Regarding claim 1, Hotes teaches a method for controlling devices, comprising: determining that a state of a connection between a first device (Fig. 1, mobile device, item 109; an OBD device) and a second device(Fig. 1, in vehicle system 102) has changed(abstract);
determining that the first device is in a target state, wherein in the target state, the first device is connected to the second device through a first connection(P[0092], Bluetooth connection; the device has been unlocked), and based on the first connection, the first device maintains an unlocked screen state; and performing a first operation, the first operation being used to make the first device exit the target state(P[0092], detecting the device has been unlocked; locking the screen).
Regarding claim 2, Hotes teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the state of the connection between the first device and the second device has changed includes: the connection between the first device and the second device having changed from a first state of the connection to a second state of the connection, wherein in the first state of the connection, the first device receives and displays display data from the second device(P[0087], banner(if the device is unlocked), while the second device is in a locked screen state(P[0092], on-screen keyboard of the device will no longer appear); and in the second state of the connection, the first device receives keyboard input data from the second device and displays its own display data(P[0092], Bluetooth device can send keyboard shorten command for locking the device).
Regarding claim 3, Hotes teaches the method according to claim 2, further comprising: determining that the first device and the second device have switched from a third state of the connection to the second state of the connection, wherein in the third state of the connection, the first device receives and displays display data from the second device, while the second device is in the unlocked screen state; and performing a second operation, wherein the second operation is used to make the first device enter the target state(P[0087], notifications will not appear on the lock screen (if the device is locked) or as a banner(if the device is unlocked); also P[0092]).
Regarding claim 4, Hotes teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the state of the connection between the first device and the second device has changed includes: the connection between the first device and the second device having changed from a fourth state of the connection to a fifth state of the connection, wherein in the fourth state of the connection, the first device and the second device are connected through both the first connection and a second connection, and in the fifth state of the connection, the first connection is maintained, and the second connection is disconnected(P[0092], Bluetooth device (an OBD-II device) can be paired to the driver’s device; sending the device to lock screen and thus preventing interaction with any apps on the phone).
Regarding claim 5, Hotes teaches the method according to claim 4, wherein the first connection is a wireless connection and the second connection is a direct physical connection(P[0049], plug in adapter or Bluetooth beacon; Fig 2).
Regarding claim 6, Hotes teaches the method according to claim 4, wherein the first connection is a wireless connection, and the second connection is a wireless connection, the first connection and the second connection being different, the maximum connection range of the second connection being shorter than that of the first connection(P[0049], Bluetooth and cellular).
Regarding claim 8, Hotes teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the process of performing the first operation includes: disconnecting the first connection(P[0085-0086], disable the screen lock and allow unrestricted usage in case of emergency and ignition turned off).
Claims 9, 10-15, 17 are rejected for the same reason as set forth in claims 1, 1-6, 8 respectively.
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) 7, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hotes et al. (hereinafter Hotes)(US 2020/0228646) in view of Jafar et al. (hereinafter Jafar)(US 11,947,655).
Regarding claim 7, Hotes teaches all the particulars of the claim except the method according to claim 1, wherein performing the first operation includes: removing the device information of the second device from a trusted device list of the first device, wherein the first device maintains the unlocked screen state if it establishes a connection with a device on the trusted device list. However, Jafar teaches in an analogous art wherein performing the first operation includes: removing the device information of the second device from a trusted device list of the first device, wherein the first device maintains the unlocked state if it establishes a connection with a device on the trusted device list(col. 15, lines53-67; identifiers stored in the companion data store; abstract, authentication to enable devices to transition from locked to unlocked state). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use the method wherein performing the first operation includes: removing the device information of the second device from a trusted device list of the first device, wherein the first device maintains the unlocked screen state if it establishes a connection with a device on the trusted device list in order to have improved security.
Claim 16 is rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 7.
Conclusion
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/MUTHUSWAMY G MANOHARAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647
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