DETAILED ACTION
Notice of 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 .
The present office action is responsive to communications received on 1/17/2025. Claims 1-6 are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 4/11/2025 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 § 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 1-2 and 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagai (US 20250238500 A1) in view of Yasue (US 20040213237 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Nagai teaches a vehicle access control system provided in a vehicle, the vehicle access control system comprising:
memory storing a program: and ([0052] memory)
processor, wherein ([0052] processor)
by executing the program, the processor is configured to operate as:
a first access controller that controls communication in a first area of a segment including a plurality of areas; a second access controller that controls communication in a second area of the segment; and a third access controller that controls communication in a third area different from the first area and the second area and ([0010] A vehicle security system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle security system in a vehicle. The vehicle security system includes a plurality of groups into which a plurality of software areas are separated for each virtual machine or each container, and includes a first communication controller, a second communication controller, and a third communication controller. The first communication controller manages first communication related to a software area belonging to a first group of the plurality of groups. The second communication controller manages second communication related to a software area belonging to a second group of the plurality of groups. The third communication controller manages communication between the software area belonging to the first group and the software area belonging to the second group, separately from the first communication and the second communication.) Here FIG. 24 shows “area c”/“area γ”/“area β” and corresponding communication controllers.
Nagai teaches vehicle security system including a plurality of groups into which a plurality of software areas and corresponding communication controllers, but does not explicitly teach a function to convert a communication protocol and wherein the first access controller causes the third area to relay a message transmitted from the first area to the second area. This aspect of the claim is identified as a difference.
However, Yasue in an analogous art explicitly teaches
a function to convert a communication protocol and wherein the first access controller causes the third area to relay a message transmitted from the first area to the second area. ([0049] The network interface units a 121 to e 125 are connected to different terminal devices, servers or networks, respectively, and transmit and receive packets. When a packet is received, the packet relay unit 110 [analogous to “third area”] refers to the address table 160 on the basis of the destination of the packet and transmits the packet via the network interface units a 121 to e 125 indicated by the address table 160. [0051] In the filtering table 520, information for judging whether to relay or discard a packet is stored. For example, the destination MAC address, source MAC address and/or source IPv6 address and/or interface ID of the source IPv6 address (hereinafter referred to as IPv6 interface ID), and information indicating relay or discard of the packet are associated with each other and stored. The filtering table 520 is connected with the filter change instruction processing unit 140, and the content of the table is changed by the filter change instruction processing unit 140. For example, in an initial state, a filter table is constructed so as to discard packets except for packets addressed to the authentication server 200. Later, the content of the table is suitable changed so as to relay packets from a terminal device authenticated by the authentication server 200.) Here changing content of the table is analogous to “convert a communication protocol” limitation.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the “vehicle security with plurality of groups/areas/communication controllers” concept of Nagai, and the “relaying received packet” approach of Yasue. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to perform such a modification to improve security strength [Yasue 0061].
Regarding claim 2, Nagai in view of Yasue teaches all the features with respect to claim 1, as outlined above. The combination further teaches wherein each of the first access controller, the second access controller, and the third access controller has a policy including a rule related to the message received, and determines whether to transmit the message received, based on the policy. ([Yasue 0013] a network authentication apparatus having a filtering processing unit for judging whether to relay a received packet to a packet relay unit or discard the received packet, on the basis of two or more of a destination MADC address, destination IPv6 address, source MAC address, source IPv6 address and source IPv6 interface ID included in the received packet. [0051] In the filtering table 520, information for judging whether to relay or discard a packet is stored. For example, the destination MAC address, source MAC address and/or source IPv6 address and/or interface ID of the source IPv6 address (hereinafter referred to as IPv6 interface ID), and information indicating relay or discard of the packet are associated with each other and stored. The filtering table 520 is connected with the filter change instruction processing unit 140, and the content of the table is changed by the filter change instruction processing unit 140. For example, in an initial state, a filter table is constructed so as to discard packets except for packets addressed to the authentication server 200. Later, the content of the table is suitable changed so as to relay packets from a terminal device authenticated by the authentication server 200.) It is obvious that “filtering table storing information for judging whether to relay or discard a packet” can be implemented in transmitting/receiving side as well.
Regarding claim 4, Nagai in view of Yasue teaches all the features with respect to claim 2, as outlined above. The combination further teaches wherein each access controller among the first access controller, the second access controller, and the third access controller encrypts the message to be transmitted from the segment to which the access controller belongs, to another segment. ([Yasue 0154] FIG. 22 shows an example in which a corporation or the like constructs an in-house intranet using an Internet connection service provided by a communication service provider. Each site performs communication, for example, using a tunneling technique with IPsec. This enables each site to perform communication in such a manner as if the sites were connected with each other via leased lines. At each site, packets are encrypted and then transmitted/received.)
Regarding claim 5, Nagai in view of Yasue teaches all the features with respect to claim 2, as outlined above. The combination further teaches a trigger detector that detects a trigger related to the vehicle; and a policy manager that manages the policy of each of the first access controller, the second access controller, and the third access controller, wherein the policy manager changes the policy when the trigger detector detects the trigger. ([Yasue 0051] In the filtering table 520, information for judging whether to relay or discard a packet is stored. For example, the destination MAC address, source MAC address and/or source IPv6 address and/or interface ID of the source IPv6 address (hereinafter referred to as IPv6 interface ID), and information indicating relay or discard of the packet are associated with each other and stored. The filtering table 520 is connected with the filter change instruction processing unit 140, and the content of the table is changed by the filter change instruction processing unit 140. For example, in an initial state, a filter table is constructed so as to discard packets except for packets addressed to the authentication server 200. Later, the content of the table is suitable changed so as to relay packets from a terminal device authenticated by the authentication server 200.)
Regarding claim 6, the scope of the claim is similar to that of claim 1, respectively. Accordingly, the claim is rejected using a similar rationale.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagai (US 20250238500 A1) in view of Yasue (US 20040213237 A1) and Ogura (US 20080155657 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Nagai in view of Yasue teaches all the features with respect to claim 2, as outlined above. But the combination does not teach wherein the third access controller adds, to the message, communication data for use in communication with a destination of the message, and transmits the message. This aspect of the claim is identified as a difference.
However, Ogura in an analogous art explicitly teaches
wherein the third access controller adds, to the message, communication data for use in communication with a destination of the message, and transmits the message. ([0011] ] An address-authentication-information adding apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives an address to be assigned to a user and authentication information that verifies the address, from a network; a storage unit that stores the authentication information; an adding unit that adds the authentication information stored in the storage unit to data transmitted from the user; and a transmitting unit that transmits the data to which the authentication information is added, to the network.)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the “vehicle security with plurality of groups/areas/communication controllers” concept of Nagai, and the “adding authentication information” approach of Ogura. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to perform such a modification to eliminate malignant threats and provide suitable information management [Ogura 0005, 0008].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20210398364 A1, "Method for executing one or more vehicle applications using a vehicle computation unit of a vehicle, vehicle computation unit, method for providing a permission information manifest for a vehicle application, permission information manifest for a vehicle application and computer program" by Tschache (relate to 1st ref).
US 12519864 B2, "Device, apparatus, method and computer programs for a network gateway, server, server apparatus, server method, system, router, mobile device, vehicular gateway and cloud server" by Omar (relate to 1st ref).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAN YANG whose telephone number is (408)918-7638. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday, 9:00-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Carl Colin can be reached on (571)272-3862. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HAN YANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2493
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