DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to Applicant’s submission filed on 2/7/2025. Claims 1-15 are pending in the application of which Claims 1, 6, and 15 are independent and have been examined.
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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. KR10-2024-0019974, filed on 2/8/2024.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s)(IDS) submitted on 5/1/2025, 5/1/2025, 6/30/2025, and 5/11/2026 have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Listed claims are objected to for the informalities shown and may be addressed with suggested amendments:
Claims 4, 9, 10 recite: … the plurality of pieces of text …”. It is recommended to change it to … the predetermined number of pieces of text …”.
Claim 13 recites: “… stores the mapped signal in the database …”. It is recommended to change it to … stores the mapped speech signal in the database …”.
Applicant is advised to review all claims for any potential claim objection issues.
Note: “Claims not mentioned above but are dependent upon an indefinite base claim are further rejected.”
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 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, 5, 6, 13, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (US20200357414A1)(herein "Park"), and in further view of Lewis et al. (US 20030167169A1)(herein " Lewis ").
Regarding claim 1, Park teaches An electronic device comprising: a display; an external device interface configured to communicate with a remote control device; (Park, Par. 0104:” … the display apparatus may obtain one or more of information on surrounding environment of the display apparatus and information on authenticated user (S502). The user input for user voice registration may refer to cognitive intervention of the user such as voice input, gesture input, touch input, and menu selection through a remote controller.”, and Par. 0042:” … For example, an electronic apparatus such as a server and a set-top may be coupled with a separate display and collectively perform an operation of the display apparatus 100.”)
a network interface configured to communicate with a server; (Park, Par. 0149:”… generating an utterance sentence when not connected to a network. … when a user instruction is input even when user instruction for user voice registration is input, as the display apparatus is not connected to the network.”, and Par. 0086:” The communication interface 160 may be a configuration for performing communication with an external apparatus. The communication interface 160 being communication connected with the external device may include communicating through a third device (e.g., a relay device, a hub, an access point, a server or a gateway, etc.).”)
a user input interface configured to transmit a signal related to a user input; and (Park, Par. 0087:” The processor 140 may, based on the user input for user voice registration being received, obtain information on an external apparatus from the external apparatus coupled through the communication interface 160 or information sensed by the external apparatus. For example, the external apparatus coupled with the display apparatus 100 may be a set-top box, a personal computer (PC), … The information on the external apparatus may be information on a type of external apparatus connected to the display apparatus 100.”)
a controller, wherein the controller is configured to: display a preset text related to registration of identification information through the display while performing a process of registering the identification information related to speech for a user account logged in to the server; (Park, Par. 0057:” The processor 140 may be electrically coupled with a display 110, a voice input receiver 120 and memory 130 and control the overall operations and functions of the display apparatus 100. The processor 140 may perform user account authentication by executing at least one instruction stored in the memory 130. For example, the processor 140 may display a login screen, and may either authenticate user account through user identification (ID) and password input through the login screen or authenticate user account through an operation of recognizing fingerprint input through a remote controller, or the like.”, and Par. 0108:”When an utterance voice of the user corresponding to the displayed utterance sentence [preset text] is input, the display apparatus may obtain voice information of user based on input utterance voice (S505). For example, the display apparatus may identify user voice input after displaying the utterance sentence as voice of the authenticated user, and analyze the input voice to obtain a characteristic of frequency such as frequency form as voice information.”, and Par. 0109:” The display apparatus may then store, by matching the voice information to the authenticated user account of the user, the voice information (S506).”, and Par. 0118:” … the display apparatus may, as illustrated in FIG. 6D, display a fourth UI screen 640 including an utterance sentences such as “login to my account.”)
upon receiving a speech signal related to the preset text through the user input interface, transmit data including the speech signal to the server; (Park, Par. 0061:” … The processor 140 may generate an utterance sentence based on the obtained information or transmit the obtained information to the external apparatus through the communication interface (reference numeral 160 of FIG. 3), and receive an utterance sentence corresponding to information transmitted from the external apparatus.”, and Par. 0091:” … the processor 140 may transmit obtained information on the surrounding environment of the display apparatus 100 and information on the authenticated user to the external server through the communication interface 160, and receive an utterance sentence corresponding to information transmitted from the external server.”, and Par. 0136:” … The user may, by inputting the same voice command with the utterance sentence displayed abler user voice registration, control the external apparatus 200.”)
complete the process of registering the identification information based on processing of the speech signal related to the preset text by the server; and (Park, Par. 0009:” According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a control method of a display apparatus includes performing a user account authentication of a user of the display apparatus, based on a control instruction for a user voice registration of the user being input, obtaining at least one of information on a surrounding environment of the display apparatus and information on the user, generating an utterance sentence [preset text] based on the at least one of the information on the surrounding environment of the display apparatus and the information on the user, displaying the utterance sentence, based on an utterance voice of a user corresponding to the utterance sentence being received, obtaining voice information on the user based on the utterance voice of the user, and storing, by matching the voice information to the authenticated user account of the user, the voice information.”, and Par. 0039:” … the display apparatus 100 may generate an utterance sentence to register voice of an authenticated user 10. The display apparatus 100 according to the disclosure may at this time generate an utterance sentence according to circumstance when user input for user voice registration is received.”, and Par. 0091:” … For example, the processor 140 may transmit obtained information on the surrounding environment of the display apparatus 100 and information on the authenticated user to the external server through the communication interface 160, … The utterance sentence received from the external server …”).
Park, does not teach, however, Lewis teaches interrupt the process of registering the identification information upon receiving a predetermined input related to speech recognition from the remote control device during the process of registering the identification information. (Lewis, Par. 0008:” … method of enrolling a user in a SRS using an audio-only interface. The method can include playing an audio representation of an enrollment script. For example, a recording of a human voice dictating the enrollment script can be played or the enrollment script can be played using a text-to-speech system. As the enrollment script plays, shadowed speech can be received from a user. … Additionally, as the enrollment script plays, the playback can be paused and/or resumed responsive to a user input [predetermined input].”, and Par. 0025:” … a determination can be made as to whether the user has requested that the playback of the enrollment script be interrupted or paused. … If the user has requested that the playback of the enrollment script be paused, the method can continue to step 225 where the method can continuously loop until the user requests that the playback of the enrollment script be resumed.”)
Lewis is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of endeavor. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Park further in view of Lewis to interrupt the process of registering the identification information upon receiving a predetermined input related to speech recognition from the remote control device during the process of registering the identification information. Motivation to do so would allow a user to correct, or update the personal data before it becomes permanent.
Regarding claim 5, Park, as modified above, teaches the electronic device of claim 1.
Park, as modified above, further teaches display a notification regarding [[interruption of the process of registering the identification information]] through the display [[based on termination of the operation related to the predetermined input]], and (Park, par. 0113:” … the display apparatus may display a second UI screen 620 displaying an object 612 indicating that user voice registration is in in progress. The object 612 indicating that the user voice registration is in progress may move continuously and indicate that the user voice recognition operation is in progress.”)
Park, as modified above, does not teach, however, Lewis further teaches [[display a notification regarding]] interruption of the process of registering the identification information [[through the display]] based on termination of the operation related to the predetermined input, and (Lewis, Par. 0025:” In step 215, a determination can be made as to whether the user has requested that the playback of the enrollment script be interrupted or paused. For example, the user can press a designated key such as the space key on a standard keyboard or an alphanumeric key, the “*” key, or the “#” key on a telephone, to pause the playback of the enrollment script. If the user has requested that the playback of the enrollment script be paused, …”).
determine whether to start the process of registering the identification information based on the user input received through the user input interface. (Lewis, Par. 0025:” In step 215, a determination can be made as to whether the user has requested that the playback of the enrollment script be interrupted or paused. For example, the user can press a designated key such as the space key on a standard keyboard or an alphanumeric key, the “*” key, or the “#” key on a telephone, to pause the playback of the enrollment script. If the user has requested that the playback of the enrollment script be paused, the method can continue to step 225 where the method can continuously loop until the user requests that the playback of the enrollment script be resumed. For example, the user can activate another key or the same key that initiated the pause of the enrollment script playback. Once the user resumes playback of the enrollment script, the method can continue to step 205 to continue playing the enrollment script to the user and to repeat the method 200 as necessary.”)
Regarding claim 6, Park teaches A server comprising: a communication interface configured to communicate with an electronic device; (Park, Par. 0087:” … obtain information on an external apparatus from the external apparatus coupled through the communication interface 160 or information sensed by the external apparatus. For example, the external apparatus coupled with the display apparatus 100 may be a set-top box, a personal computer (PC), … The information on the external apparatus may be information on a type of external apparatus connected to the display apparatus 100.”)
a database; and a controller, (Park, Par. 0054:” The memory 130 may include a knowledge database trained by the user using the display apparatus 100. The knowledge database may store the relationship between knowledge information in an ontology form.”, and Par. 0104:” … The user input for user voice registration may refer to cognitive intervention of the user such as voice input, gesture input, touch input, and menu selection through a remote controller.”)
wherein the controller is configured to: convert a speech signal included in data received from the electronic device into text while performing a process of registering identification information related to speech for a user account logged in to the server; (Park, Par. 0071:” … The processor 140 may input the obtained information to the artificial intelligence model, and obtain a text output from the artificial intelligence model as an utterance sentence.”, and Par. 0112:” When a user utters a voice such as “register my voice,” the display apparatus may identify that the user input for user voice registration has been received based on the results of voice recognition. Further, the display apparatus may display a text 612 corresponding to the recognized voice in a first UI screen 610. The authentication on the user account may be in a completed state.”, and Par. 0155:” … by providing an utterance sentence according to circumstance at the time of user voice registration, user concentration may be raised and time required for obtaining the user's speech may be reduced in the speaker registration process for speaker recognition. “)
generate identification information related to the speech signal based on the converted text being related to preset text related to registration of the identification information; (Park, Par. 0075:”… when an utterance voice of the user corresponding to the utterance sentence displayed through the voice input receiver 120 is input, voice information [identification information] of the user based on the input utterance voice may be obtained. For example, the processor 140 may identify the user voice input after displaying the utterance sentence as the voice of the authenticated user, analyze the input voice, and obtain a characteristic of frequency as voice information. The characteristic of frequency may be a frequency form of the input voice. Further, the obtained voice information may be matched to an authenticated user account and stored in the memory 130.”, and Par. 0108:”… For example, the display apparatus may identify user voice input after displaying the utterance sentence as voice of the authenticated user, and analyze the input voice to obtain a characteristic of frequency such as frequency form as voice information.”)
map the generated identification information to user identification information related to the user account and store the mapped information in the database; and (Park, Par. 0008:” … perform a user account authentication of a user of the display apparatus, based a user input for user voice registration of the user being received, obtain at least one of information on a surrounding environment of the display apparatus and information on the authenticated user, obtain an utterance sentence based on the at least one of the information on the surrounding environment of the display apparatus and the information on the user, control the display to display the utterance sentence, based on an utterance voice of a user corresponding to the utterance sentence being received through the voice input receiver, obtain voice information of the user based on the utterance voice of the user, and store, by matching [mapping] the voice information to the authenticated user account of the user, the voice information in the memory.”, and Par. 0044:”… may identify the user account matching the input user voice from the stored plurality of user accounts.”, and Par. 0123:” The display apparatus may analyze the input user voice according to the above-described plurality of utterance sentences and obtain information on the user voice, match the obtained voice information to the authenticated user account and store the matched information, and display a ninth UI screen 690 indicating that user voice registration has been completed as in FIG. 6I.”)
Park, does not teach, however Lewis teaches maintain or delete the identification information mapped to the user identification information upon receiving a notification regarding interruption of the process of registering the identification information from the electronic device during the process of registering the identification information. (Lewis, Par. 0008:” … as the enrollment script plays, the playback can be paused and/or resumed responsive to a user input.”, and Par. 0025:” In step 215, a determination can be made as to whether the user has requested that the playback of the enrollment script be interrupted or paused. … If the user has requested that the playback of the enrollment script be paused, the method can continue to step 225 where the method can continuously loop until the user requests that the playback of the enrollment script be resumed. … Once the user resumes playback of the enrollment script, the method can continue to step 205 to continue playing the enrollment script to the user and to repeat the method 200 as necessary.”) Note: resumption of enrollment reads on maintain the information.
Lewis is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of endeavor. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Park further in view of Lewis to maintain or delete the identification information mapped to the user identification information upon receiving a notification regarding interruption of the process of registering the identification information from the electronic device during the process of registering the identification information. Motivation to do so would allow a user to correct, or update the personal data before it becomes permanent.
Regarding claim 13, Park, as modified above, teaches the server of claim 6.
Park, as modified above, further teaches wherein the controller is configured to map the speech signal to the user identification information and stores the mapped signal in the database based on the converted text and the preset text being related to each other. (Park, Par. 0058:” Based on user input for user voice registration being received, the processor 140 may then identify the circumstance at the time of receiving user input. The user input for user voice registration may refer to cognitive intervention of the user such as voice input, gesture input, touch input, and select menu through remote controller.”) Note: modern remote controllers do implement a local processor and memory and run wireless protocols. As such mapping the identification information to the user ID and subsequently store it in the database, is merely a design choice.
Regarding claim 15, Park teaches A system comprising: an electronic device; and a server, (Park, Par. 0149:”… generating an utterance sentence when not connected to a network. … when a user instruction is input even when user instruction for user voice registration is input, as the display apparatus is not connected to the network.”, and Par. 0086:” The communication interface 160 may be a configuration for performing communication with an external apparatus. The communication interface 160 being communication connected with the external device may include communicating through a third device (e.g., a relay device, a hub, an access point, a server or a gateway, etc.).”)
wherein the electronic device is configured to: display a preset text related to registration of identification information while performing a process of registering the identification information related to speech for a user account logged in to the server; (Park, Par. 0057:” The processor 140 may be electrically coupled with a display 110, a voice input receiver 120 and memory 130 and control the overall operations and functions of the display apparatus 100. The processor 140 may perform user account authentication by executing at least one instruction stored in the memory 130. For example, the processor 140 may display a login screen, and may either authenticate user account through user identification (ID) and password input through the login screen or authenticate user account through an operation of recognizing fingerprint input through a remote controller, or the like.”, and Par. 0108:”When an utterance voice of the user corresponding to the displayed utterance sentence [preset text] is input, the display apparatus may obtain voice information of user based on input utterance voice (S505). For example, the display apparatus may identify user voice input after displaying the utterance sentence as voice of the authenticated user, and analyze the input voice to obtain a characteristic of frequency such as frequency form as voice information.”, and Par. 0109:” The display apparatus may then store, by matching the voice information to the authenticated user account of the user, the voice information (S506).”, and Par. 0118:” … the display apparatus may, as illustrated in FIG. 6D, display a fourth UI screen 640 including an utterance sentences such as “login to my account.”)
upon receiving a speech signal related to the preset text, transmit data including the speech signal to the server; (Park, Par. 0061:” … The processor 140 may generate an utterance sentence based on the obtained information or transmit the obtained information to the external apparatus through the communication interface (reference numeral 160 of FIG. 3), and receive an utterance sentence corresponding to information transmitted from the external apparatus.”, and Par. 0091:” … the processor 140 may transmit obtained information on the surrounding environment of the display apparatus 100 and information on the authenticated user to the external server through the communication interface 160, and receive an utterance sentence corresponding to information transmitted from the external server.”, and Par. 0136:” … The user may, by inputting the same voice command with the utterance sentence displayed abler user voice registration, control the external apparatus 200.”)
complete the process of registering the identification information based on processing of the speech signal related to the preset text by the server; and (Park, Par. 0009:” According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a control method of a display apparatus includes performing a user account authentication of a user of the display apparatus, based on a control instruction for a user voice registration of the user being input, obtaining at least one of information on a surrounding environment of the display apparatus and information on the user, generating an utterance sentence [preset text] based on the at least one of the information on the surrounding environment of the display apparatus and the information on the user, displaying the utterance sentence, based on an utterance voice of a user corresponding to the utterance sentence being received, obtaining voice information on the user based on the utterance voice of the user, and storing, by matching the voice information to the authenticated user account of the user, the voice information.”, and Par. 0039:” … the display apparatus 100 may generate an utterance sentence to register voice of an authenticated user 10. The display apparatus 100 according to the disclosure may at this time generate an utterance sentence according to circumstance when user input for user voice registration is received.”, and Par. 0091:” … For example, the processor 140 may transmit obtained information on the surrounding environment of the display apparatus 100 and information on the authenticated user to the external server through the communication interface 160, … The utterance sentence received from the external server …”).
the server is configured to: convert the speech signal included in the data received from the electronic device into text; (Park, Par. 0071:” … The processor 140 may input the obtained information to the artificial intelligence model, and obtain a text output from the artificial intelligence model as an utterance sentence.”, and Par. 0112:” When a user utters a voice such as “register my voice,” the display apparatus may identify that the user input for user voice registration has been received based on the results of voice recognition. Further, the display apparatus may display a text 612 corresponding to the recognized voice in a first UI screen 610. The authentication on the user account may be in a completed state.”, and Par. 0155:” … by providing an utterance sentence according to circumstance at the time of user voice registration, user concentration may be raised and time required for obtaining the user's speech may be reduced in the speaker registration process for speaker recognition. “)
generate identification information related to the speech signal based on the converted text and the preset text being related to each other; (Park, Par. 0075:”… when an utterance voice of the user corresponding to the utterance sentence displayed through the voice input receiver 120 is input, voice information [identification information] of the user based on the input utterance voice may be obtained. For example, the processor 140 may identify the user voice input after displaying the utterance sentence as the voice of the authenticated user, analyze the input voice, and obtain a characteristic of frequency as voice information. The characteristic of frequency may be a frequency form of the input voice. Further, the obtained voice information may be matched to an authenticated user account and stored in the memory 130.”, and Par. 0108:”… For example, the display apparatus may identify user voice input after displaying the utterance sentence as voice of the authenticated user, and analyze the input voice to obtain a characteristic of frequency such as frequency form as voice information.”)
map the generated identification information to user identification information related to the user account and store the mapped information in a database; and (Park, Par. 0008:” … perform a user account authentication of a user of the display apparatus, based a user input for user voice registration of the user being received, obtain at least one of information on a surrounding environment of the display apparatus and information on the authenticated user, obtain an utterance sentence based on the at least one of the information on the surrounding environment of the display apparatus and the information on the user, control the display to display the utterance sentence, based on an utterance voice of a user corresponding to the utterance sentence being received through the voice input receiver, obtain voice information of the user based on the utterance voice of the user, and store, by matching [mapping] the voice information to the authenticated user account of the user, the voice information in the memory.”, and Par. 0044:”… may identify the user account matching the input user voice from the stored plurality of user accounts.”, and Par. 0123:” The display apparatus may analyze the input user voice according to the above-described plurality of utterance sentences and obtain information on the user voice, match the obtained voice information to the authenticated user account and store the matched information, and display a ninth UI screen 690 indicating that user voice registration has been completed as in FIG. 6I.”)
Park, does not teach, however, Lewis teaches stop the process of registering the identification information upon receiving a predetermined input related to speech recognition from a remote control device during the process of registering the identification information, and (Lewis, Par. 0008:” … method of enrolling a user in a SRS using an audio-only interface. The method can include playing an audio representation of an enrollment script. For example, a recording of a human voice dictating the enrollment script can be played or the enrollment script can be played using a text-to-speech system. As the enrollment script plays, shadowed speech can be received from a user. … Additionally, as the enrollment script plays, the playback can be paused and/or resumed responsive to a user input [predetermined input].”, and Par. 0025:” … a determination can be made as to whether the user has requested that the playback of the enrollment script be interrupted or paused. … If the user has requested that the playback of the enrollment script be paused, the method can continue to step 225 where the method can continuously loop until the user requests that the playback of the enrollment script be resumed.”)
maintain or delete the identification information mapped to the user identification information upon receiving a notification regarding interruption of the process of registering the identification information from the electronic device during the process of registering the identification information. (Lewis, Par. 0008:” … as the enrollment script plays, the playback can be paused and/or resumed responsive to a user input.”, and Par. 0025:” In step 215, a determination can be made as to whether the user has requested that the playback of the enrollment script be interrupted or paused. … If the user has requested that the playback of the enrollment script be paused, the method can continue to step 225 where the method can continuously loop until the user requests that the playback of the enrollment script be resumed. … Once the user resumes playback of the enrollment script, the method can continue to step 205 to continue playing the enrollment script to the user and to repeat the method 200 as necessary.”) Note: resumption of enrollment reads on maintain the information.
Lewis is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of endeavor. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Park further in view of Lewis to stop the process of registering the identification information upon receiving a predetermined input related to speech recognition from a remote control device during the process of registering the identification information, and maintain or delete the identification information mapped to the user identification information upon receiving a notification regarding interruption of the process of registering the identification information from the electronic device during the process of registering the identification information. Motivation to do so would allow a user to correct, or update the personal data before it becomes permanent.
Claims 2, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park, and Lewis, and in further view of Michael Moniz (US10482885B1)(herein " Moniz ").
Regarding claims 2 and 7, Park, as modified above, teaches the electronic device, and the server of claims 1, and 6, respectively.
Park, as modified above, does not teach, however, Moniz teaches wherein the identification information includes a feature vector with respect to a voiceprint of the speech. (Moniz, Col. 5, ll. 56-66:” The server 120 may also determine (132) that the first audio data is associated with a first speaker ID. For example, the server 120 may determine that the user 1 spoke the first utterance. This determination may be done by performing speaker identification on the first audio data to determine that the first audio data corresponds to user 1. For example, the system may process the first audio data to determine a correspondence between the first audio data and stored data (such as feature vectors corresponding to the user, a voice signature of the user, or the like) corresponding to user 1.”)
Moniz is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of endeavor. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Park, as modified above, further in view of Moniz to wherein the identification information includes a feature vector with respect to a voiceprint of the speech. Motivation to do so would provide a high biometric uniqueness and stability which allows reliably verify identity of a speaker from short audio clips.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park, and Lewis, and in further view of Maddox et al. (US 20170359334 A1)(herein " Maddox ").
Regarding claim 3, Park, as modified above, teaches the electronic device of claim 1.
Park, as modified above, does not teach, however, Maddox teaches wherein the controller is configured to: transmit, to the server, data including a speech signal related to the predetermined input and received from the remote control device after receiving the predetermined input, and (Maddox, Par. 0028:” … In one example, the authentication phrase includes the request for sensitive information for a specific web service, i.e., “What is the balance to my Bank of America account”. The phrase is captured by the communication device 104 and is transmitted to the server, which detects that the request is for access to a web service that requires authentication.”)
perform an operation related to the predetermined input based on processing of the speech signal related to the predetermined input by the server. (Maddox, Par. 0028:”… The central voice authentication server 110 analyzes the authentication phrase by comparing the voice pattern in the authentication phrase to the stored voice pattern in the user's account in the first database 114 (606). If there is a match with the stored voice pattern, the voice authentication is successful and the user's stored password for the specific web-service is used (608).”)
Maddox is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of endeavor. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Park, as modified above, further in view of Maddox to wherein the controller is configured to: transmit, to the server, data including a speech signal related to the predetermined input and received from the remote control device after receiving the predetermined input, and perform an operation related to the predetermined input based on processing of the speech signal related to the predetermined input by the server. Motivation to do so would ensure a consistent and uniform processing model across different user devices.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park, and Lewis, and in further view of Ernie F. Brickell (US 7051209 B1)(herein " Brickell ").
Regarding claim 4, Park, as modified above, teaches the electronic device of claim 1.
Park, as modified above, does not teach, however, Brickell teaches wherein the controller is configured to: determine whether the identification information has been temporarily stored in the server upon starting the process of registering the identification information for the user account, (Brickell, Col. 1, ll. 36-44:” Besides the user identification and password combination, questions and answers combination is also used for authentication and protection purpose. Instead of entering a secret password associated with a user identification, a user is presented with a series of questions and asked to provide answers to the questions. These questions are pre-stored on a remote server, with which the user has previously registered and created the questions and answers corresponding to the questions.”)
display a predetermined number of pieces of text in stages based on the identification information having not been temporarily stored in the server, and (Brickell, Col. 1, ll. 39-41:” a user is presented with a series of questions and asked to provide answers to the questions.”)
display some of the plurality of pieces of text in stages excluding text related to the identification information temporarily stored in the server based on the identification information having been temporarily stored in the server. (Brickell, Col. 1, ll. 36-41:” Besides the user identification and password combination, questions and answers combination is also used for authentication and protection purpose. Instead of entering a secret password associated with a user identification, a user is presented with a series of questions and asked to provide answers to the questions.”) Note: user ID and password is excluded from being displayed.
Brickell is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of endeavor. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Park, as modified above, further in view of Brickell to determine whether the identification information has been temporarily stored in the server upon starting the process of registering the identification information for the user account, display a predetermined number of pieces of text in stages based on the identification information having not been temporarily stored in the server, and display some of the plurality of pieces of text in stages excluding text related to the identification information temporarily stored in the server based on the identification information having been temporarily stored in the server. Motivation to do so would improve security and performance, and limits sensitive data exposure in logs.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park, and Lewis, and in further view of Selvaraj et al. (US 20250126118 A1)(herein " Selvaraj ").
Regarding claim 8, Park, as modified above, teaches the server of claim 6.
Park, as modified above, does not teach, however, Selvaraj teaches maintain the identification information mapped to the user identification information based on a number of pieces of identification information mapped to the user identification information being equal to or greater than a preset minimum number, and (Selvaraj, claim 1:” … and in response to the verifying, authenticating the first node; and at a pre-communication phase following the authentication phase: … when the data privacy level is less [greater] than the pre-determined threshold, store [maintain] the data in the RCN database …”).
delete the identification information mapped to the user identification information based on the number of pieces of identification information mapped to the user identification information being less than the preset minimum number. (Selvaraj, claim 1:” … and in response to the verifying, authenticating the first node; and at a pre-communication phase following the authentication phase: … when the data privacy level is greater[less] than a pre-determined threshold, delete the data from the RCN database; …”).
Selvaraj is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of endeavor. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Park, as modified above, further in view of Selvaraj to maintain the identification information mapped to the user identification information based on a number of pieces of identification information mapped to the user identification information being equal to or greater than a preset minimum number, and delete the identification information mapped to the user identification information based on the number of pieces of identification information mapped to the user identification information being less than the preset minimum number. Motivation to do so would allow a system to transition from rough or fast estimations to high-precision or verified mapping.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park, and Lewis, and in further view of Floyd Yager (US 10623401 B1)(herein " Yager ").
Regarding claim 9, Park, as modified above, teaches the server of claim 6.
Park, as modified above, does not teach, however, Yager teaches determine whether the identification information is mapped to the user identification information based on the process of registering the identification information being started for the user account, (Yager, Col. 1, ll. 15-20:” Authentication refers to verifying an identity of an individual. One type of authentication procedure often employed involves authenticating individuals based on username and password combinations. Despite advice to the contrary, individuals often use the same or similar passwords for different user accounts.”, and Col. 1, ll. 41-43:” to authenticate the identity of the individual or authorize the individual to access a computing resource, such as a secured device, application, account, or the like.”, and Col. 1, ll. 54-55:” generate one or more questions for authenticating the user ...”) Note: generating question implies the identification info is not mapped to the user identification.
transmit a predetermined number of pieces of text to the electronic device in stages based on the identification information not being mapped to the user identification information, and (Yager, Col. 1, ll. 56-61:” … transmit, to the mobile device, the one or more questions [pieces of text] for presentation to the user, receive, from the mobile device, one or more answers to the one or more questions, and transmit, to the mobile device, an indication of whether the user is authenticated based on the one or more answers.”) Note: question implies not being mapped.
transmit some of the plurality of pieces of text excluding text related to the identification information mapped to the user identification information to the electronic device in stages based on the identification information being mapped to the user identification information. (Yager, Col. 1, ll. 56-61:” … transmit, to the mobile device, the one or more questions [pieces of text] for presentation to the user, receive, from the mobile device, one or more answers to the one or more questions, and transmit, to the mobile device, an indication of whether the user is authenticated based on the one or more answers.”) Note: answer is excluded from being sent.
Yager is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of endeavor. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Park, as modified above, further in view of Yager to determine whether the identification information is mapped to the user identification information based on the process of registering the identification information being started for the user account, transmit a predetermined number of pieces of text to the electronic device in stages based on the identification information not being mapped to the user identification information, and transmit some of the plurality of pieces of text excluding text related to the identification information mapped to the user identification information to the electronic device in stages based on the identification information being mapped to the user identification information. Motivation to do so would ensure anonymous sessions receive safe general content in chunks, while authenticated sessions are selectively filtered to exclude restricted or personalized data.
Claims 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park, Lewis and Yager, and in further view of Takahiro Aoki (US 20150178581 A1)(herein " Aoki ").
Regarding claim 10, Park, as modified above, teaches the server of claim 6.
Park, as modified above, further teaches generate identification information on a first speech signal related to the first text and included in data received from the electronic device, (Park, Par. 0108:”When an utterance voice of the user corresponding to the displayed utterance sentence [first text] is input, the display apparatus may obtain voice information of user based on input utterance voice (S505).", and Par. 0109:” The display apparatus may then store, by matching the voice information to the authenticated user account of the user, the voice information (S506).”)
Park, as modified above, does not teach, however, Yager further teaches determine whether the identification information is mapped to the user identification information based on the process of registering the identification information being started for the user account, (Yager, Col. 1, ll. 15-20:” Authentication refers to verifying an identity of an individual. One type of authentication procedure often employed involves authenticating individuals based on username and password combinations. Despite advice to the contrary, individuals often use the same or similar passwords for different user accounts.”, and Col. 1, ll. 41-43:” to authenticate the identity of the individual or authorize the individual to access a computing resource, such as a secured device, application, account, or the like.”, and Col. 1, ll. 54-55:” generate one or more questions for authenticating the user ...”) Note: generating question implies the identification info is not mapped to the user identification.
transmit first text excluding the text related to the identification information mapped to the user identification information among the plurality of pieces of text to the electronic device based on the identification information being mapped to the user identification information (Yager, Col. 1, ll. 56-61:” … transmit, to the mobile device, the one or more questions [pieces of text] for presentation to the user, receive, from the mobile device, one or more answers to the one or more questions, and transmit, to the mobile device, an indication of whether the user is authenticated based on the one or more answers.”) Note: answer is excluded from being sent.
maintain the identification information mapped to the user identification information based on the identification information on the first speech signal being related to at least one piece of the identification information mapped to the user identification information, and (Yager, Col. 9, ll. 65-67:” … provide authentication services to a user based on collecting and analyzing the user's telematics data.”) Note: providing authentication services based on collecting and analyzing user’s data reads on maintaining the information.
Park, as modified above, does not teach, however, Aoki teaches delete the identification information mapped to the user identification information based on the identification information on the first speech signal not being related to at least one piece of the identification information mapped to the user identification information. (Aoki, Par. 0079:” … the verification unit 16 sends warning information indicating that reference data has been erroneously registered, together with user identification information of the registered user, to, for example, a device used by an administrator via the communication unit 5. Thus, since the administrator can recognize that erroneous registration of reference data has occurred, deletion of the reference data erroneously registered and ... “).
Aoki is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of endeavor. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Park, as modified above, further in view of Aoki to delete the identification information mapped to the user identification information based on the identification information on the first speech signal not being related to at least one piece of the identification information mapped to the user identification information. Motivation to do so would protect user privacy, reduces data leaks, prevents unauthorized access, and keeps personal data clean by removing unlinked or irrelevant speech records.
Regarding claim 11, Park, as modified above, teaches the server of claim 10.
Park, as modified above, further teaches wherein the controller is configured to map the identification information on the first speech signal to the user identification information and store the mapped information in the database. (Park, Par. 0058:” Based on user input for user voice registration being received, the processor 140 may then identify the circumstance at the time of receiving user input. The user input for user voice registration may refer to cognitive intervention of the user such as voice input, gesture input, touch input, and select menu through remote controller.”) Note: modern remote controllers do implement a local processor and memory and run wireless protocols. As such mapping the identification information to the user ID and subsequently store it in the database, is merely a design choice.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park, Lewis, Yager and Aoki and in further view of Jin et al. (US 20170262838 A1)(herein "Jin").
Regarding claim 12, Park, as modified above, teaches the server of claim 10.
Park, as modified above, does not teach, however, Jin teaches transmit, to the electronic device, a result of determining that a current user is the same as a previous user based on the identification information on the first speech signal being related to at least one piece of the identification information mapped to the user identification information, and (Jin, Par. 0124:” At step 529, the payment service server 200 transmits a verification response message to the electronic device 100 based on whether the current login user 11 is the same as the previous login user. For instance, when the current login user 11 is the same as the previous login user, the payment service server 200 maintains the user account information without changing the user account information. When the current login user 11 is different from the previous login user, the payment service server 200 matches the user account information of the current login user 11 with the identification information of the electronic device 100 and stores the matched information in the payment service server 200. In this case, the electronic device 100 deletes the previous user account information and replaces it with user account information of the current login user 11.”)
transmit, to the electronic device, a result of determining that the current user is different from the previous user based on the identification information on the first speech signal not being related to at least one piece of the identification information mapped to the user identification information. (Jin, Par. 0124:” At step 529, the payment service server 200 transmits a verification response message to the electronic device 100 based on whether the current login user 11 is the same as the previous login user. For instance, when the current login user 11 is the same as the previous login user, the payment service server 200 maintains the user account information without changing the user account information. When the current login user 11 is different from the previous login user, the payment service server 200 matches the user account information of the current login user 11 with the identification information of the electronic device 100 and stores the matched information in the payment service server 200. In this case, the electronic device 100 deletes the previous user account information and replaces it with user account information of the current login user 11.”)
Jin is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of endeavor. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Park, as modified above, further in view of Jin to transmit, to the electronic device, a result of determining that a current user is the same as a previous user based on the identification information on the first speech signal being related to at least one piece of the identification information mapped to the user identification information, and transmit, to the electronic device, a result of determining that the current user is different from the previous user based on the identification information on the first speech signal not being related to at least one piece of the identification information mapped to the user identification information. Motivation to do so would allow a system to instantly merge tracking data or preserve context for returning users, while immediately triggering re-authentication or isolation protocols if an unexpected user switch occurs.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park, and Lewis, and in further view of Levin et al. (US 20130325454 A1)(herein "Levin").
Regarding claim 14, Park, as modified above, teaches the server of claim 13.
Park, as modified above, does not teach, however, Levin teaches generate identification information related to the speech signal mapped to the user identification information using a first algorithm, and (Levin, Par. 0133:” … For example, FIG. 1, e.g., FIG. 1B, shows speech adaptation data related to at least one aspect of a particular party regulating module 152 managing (e.g., storing, tracking, monitoring, authorizing, changing the permissions of, providing access, allocating storage for, retrieving, receiving, processing, altering, comparing, or otherwise performing one or more operations on adaptation data), wherein the adaptation data (e.g., a phrase completion algorithm used to assist in interpreting spoken words based on context) is correlated to at least one aspect of speech of a particular party (e.g., the user previously conducted a …”).
change the identification information mapped to the user identification information and generated using a second algorithm to the identification information generated using the first algorithm. (Levin, Par. 0127:” … In some embodiments, module 498 may include one or more of parameter of algorithm of speech adaptation data potential modification application at least partly based on acquired result of the particular portion of speech-facilitated transaction module 401 and different algorithm of speech adaptation data selecting at least partly based on acquired result of the particular portion of speech-facilitated transaction module 403 …”).
Levin is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of endeavor. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Park, as modified above, further in view of Levin to generate identification information related to the speech signal mapped to the user identification information using a first algorithm, and change the identification information mapped to the user identification information and generated using a second algorithm to the identification information generated using the first algorithm. Motivation to do so would offer better biometric matching for speech patterns than the preliminary algorithm.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. Fukuda et al. (US 20250028757 A1) teaches in Par. 0103:” … the processor 210 determines whether a control command of requesting to continue the registration processing is received.”, and Par. 0215:” … in a case where it is determined in the process of step St43 that the control command of requesting to continue the registration processing is not received (that is, a control command of requesting to stop or end the registration processing is received) on the basis of a control command based on an operation of the operator OP transmitted from the operator-side communication terminal OP1 (NO in St43), the processor 212 stops the registration processing of the acquired utterance voice signal in the registered speaker database DB (that is, the registration fails)”.
Examiner's Note: Examiner has cited particular columns and line numbers and/or paragraph numbers in the references applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner.
In the case of amending the Claimed invention, Applicant is respectfully requested to indicate the portion(s) of the specification which dictate(s) the structure relied on for proper interpretation and also to verify and ascertain the metes and bounds of the claimed invention.
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DARIOUSH AGAHI, P.E.
Primary Examiner
/DARIOUSH AGAHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2656
Prosecution Insights