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 .
Applicant's arguments do not comply with 37 CFR 1.111(c) because they do not clearly point out the patentable novelty which he or she thinks the claims present in view of the state of the art disclosed by the references cited or the objections made. Further, they do not show how the amendments avoid such references or objections.
DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to applicant’s original submittal made on 02/19/2025. Claims 1-20 are pending.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Specification (Title)
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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) 1-7, 10-12, 14, 15 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Przybylski et al. (US Patent Publication No. 2023/0356677 and Przybylski hereinafter) in view PRZYBYLSKI_2 (DE 102017128922 A1 and PRZYBYLSKI_2 hereinafter).
As to claims 1, 10 and 14, Przybylski teaches a method comprising: detecting, by a battery-powered portable computing device having a digital key for providing access to an external secure system (i.e., …teaches in par. 0005 the following: “automate tracking of user device battery charge to ensure continued virtual key functionality.” …teaches in par. 0036 the following: “Upon detection of the smartphone 13 device, e.g., when detected within proximity of the vehicle 10 (NFC) or within the vehicle's passenger compartment (BLUETOOTH, cable, WiFi, etc.),”),
that a remaining battery energy of the battery- powered portable computing device has reduced to a second predefined level higher than a first predefined level (i.e., …teaches in par. 0007 the following: “for automated battery charge tracking and low-charge feedback of a user's virtual key-compatible device. …teaches in par. 0007 the following; “a battery charge level of a PED battery of the wireless-enabled PED; determining if the battery charge level is less than a preset minimum charge level;” …teaches in par. 0011 the following: “the preset minimum charge may be set equal to the modified minimum charge level prior to determining if the battery charge level is less than the preset minimum charge level.”),
responsive to detecting that the remaining battery energy has reduced to the second predefined level (i.e., ……teaches in par. 0011 the following: “the preset minimum charge may be set equal to the modified minimum charge level prior to determining if the battery charge level is less than the preset minimum charge level),
and wherein, while operating in the second operational state, the battery-powered portable computing device allows use of the digital key when the at least a portion of the battery-powered portable computing device has shut down (i.e., …teaches in par. 0032 the following: “Stored within or retrievable by the mobile app is a calibratable minimum battery charge level (e.g., 10±3% SoC) that is needed to ensure the PED battery will have a sufficient charge to complete a subsequent virtual key operation for accessing and operating the vehicle 10.” …teaches in par. 0044 the following: “[0044] Upon confirming that the host vehicle's powertrain is off or being turned off (block 113=YES), method 100 will execute CONTROL OPERATION process block 115 to automate a remediating action for the depleted PED battery to ensure continued virtual key functionality.”).
Przybylski does not expressly teach:
wherein at least a portion of the battery-powered portable computing device is programmed to shut down when the remaining battery energy drops to the first predefined level;
outputting, by the portable computing device, a prompt to select a configuration of the battery-powered portable computing to allow use of the digital key when the at least a portion of the battery-powered portable computing device has shut down;
and responsive to receiving input selecting the configuration to allow use of the digital key when the at least a portion of the battery-powered portable computing device has shut down,
transitioning, by the battery-powered portable computing device, from operating in a first operational state to operating in a second operational state,
wherein, while operating in the first operation state, the battery-powered portable computing device prevents use of the digital key when the at least a portion of the battery-powered portable computing device has shut down.
In this instance the examiner notes the teachings of prior art reference PRZYBYLSKI_2.
With regards to applicant’s claim limitation element of, “wherein at least a portion of the battery-powered portable computing device is programmed to shut down when the remaining battery energy drops to the first predefined level”, teaches in par. 0026 the following: “…turned off the mobile device 104 the battery has gone out…”.
With regards to applicant’s claim limitation of, “outputting, by the portable computing device, a prompt to select a configuration of the battery-powered portable computing to allow use of the digital key when the at least a portion of the battery-powered portable computing device has shut down”, BIANCHI teaches in par. 0051 the following: “At block 406 determines the key access procedure 214 the mobile device 104, whether the application for accessing digital keys is turned off. When the application is shut down, the key access procedure switches 214 the application using the signal associated with the vehicle as a request (block 408). If the application at block 406 is turned on and / or when turning on the application at block 408 , accesses the key access procedure 214 from a database to the key 112 to. ”.
With regards to applicant’s claim limitation of, “and responsive to receiving input selecting the configuration to allow use of the digital key when the at least a portion of the battery-powered portable computing device has shut down”, teaches in par. 0040 the following: “ mobile device is in a locked mode.”.
With regards to applicant’s claim limitation of, “transitioning, by the battery-powered portable computing device, from operating in a first operational state to operating in a second operational state”, teaches in par. 0040 the following: “ mobile device is in a locked mode.”.
With regards to applicant’s claim limitation of, “wherein, while operating in the first operation state, the battery-powered portable computing device prevents use of the digital key when the at least a portion of the battery-powered portable computing device has shut down”, teaches in par. 0013 the following: “The mobile device includes memory that includes an application for accessing digital keys (eg, encryption keys). The mobile device also includes a key access method that determines whether the application is powered on and, in response to determining that the application is powered off, turns on the application using the signal as a request. Further, the key access method accesses a key through the application and sends the key to the vehicle via a communication module of the mobile device.”. Teaches in par. 0026 the following: “Whether an application for accessing securely stored digital keys on the mobile device 104 is turned on. The application can be turned off when the user 102 the vehicle 100 approaching, for example, if the user 102 the mobile device has turned off the mobile device 104 the battery has gone out, the user 102 the application has closed, etc., without subsequently turning the application back on.”.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the of the claimed invention was made to implement the teachings of Przybylski with the teachings of PRZYBYLSKI_2 by having their system comprise an enhanced access process. One would have been motivated to do so to provide a simple and effective means to control data access, wherein the enhanced access process helps facilitate data security within the network and makes it easier to provide data integrity.
As to claims 2, 11 and 15, the system of Przybylski and PRZYBYLSKI_2 teaches power management, specifically Przybylski teaches a method of claim 1, further comprising authenticating a user prior to transitioning the battery-powered portable computing device from the first operational state to the second operational state in response to the user selecting the configuration (i.e., …teaches in par. 0014 the following: “a "locked mode" refers to a mode of a mobile device in which a user must unlock the mobile device (eg, via a password, fingerprint, and / or other user acknowledgment means) to communicate with an application of the mobile device mobile device to interact.”).
As to claims 3 and 18, the system of Przybylski and PRZYBYLSKI_2 teaches power management, specifically Przybylski teaches a method of claim 1, wherein the battery-powered portable computing device provides access to the digital key using short-range wireless communication between the battery-powered portable computing device and the external secure system (i.e., ..teaches in par. 0037 the following: “Using this app, the driver 11 is able to create a user account, identify their vehicle, and retrieve a unique virtual key code for enabling virtual key functionality on the vehicle 10. Device recognition and authentication may be performed by the telematics unit 14 during a first pairing of the smartphone 13 with the vehicle 10, which may include the smartphone 13 transmitting the virtual key code to the vehicle 10 to enable use of the vehicle's RKE system. …teaches in par. 0030 the following: “Wireless LRC functionality may enable the user to access the vehicle from a remote location and transmit the virtual key to the vehicle's virtual key module for authentication and user access. ”).
As to claims 4, 12 and 19, the system of Przybylski and PRZYBYLSKI_2 teaches power management, specifically Przybylski teaches a method of claim 3, further comprising providing access to the digital key when the battery-powered portable computing device is in the second operational state and the battery-powered portable computing device is in close enough proximity to the external secure system (i.e., …teaches in par. 0036 the following: “Upon detection of the smartphone 13 device, e.g., when detected within proximity of the vehicle 10 (NFC) or within the vehicle's passenger compartment (BLUETOOTH, cable, WiFi, etc.), the telematics unit 14 and/or smartphone 13 may initialize method 100” …).
As to claims 5 and 20, the system of Przybylski and PRZYBYLSKI_2 teaches power management, specifically Przybylski teaches a method of claim 3, wherein the short-range wireless communication comprises Near Field Communication (i.e., …teaches in par. 0029 the following, “…near field communication (NFC)”).
As to claim 6, the system of Przybylski and PRZYBYLSKI_2 teaches power management, specifically Przybylski teaches a method of claim 1, wherein providing access to the external secure system by the digital key of the battery-powered portable computing device comprises unlocking the external secure system (i.e., …teaches in par. 003 the following: “A virtual key—also referred to as a “digital car key” or “digital key”—is a unique and authenticatable code that is assigned to a particular vehicle and is transmittable to provide a user with vehicle access and, if desired, other predefined functionality (e.g., remote start/stop, in-vehicle start/stop, remote door lock/unlock, remote cabin thermal management, etc.). The virtual key may be stored within and wirelessly transmitted to the vehicle by a handheld PED or a dedicated mobile software application (“app”) operating on the PED.”).
As to claims 7 and 17, the system of Przybylski and PRZYBYLSKI_2 teaches power management, specifically Przybylski teaches a method of claim 1, wherein the battery-powered portable computing device comprises one of a wearable computing device and the external secure system comprises one of a vehicle and a building (i.e., …teaches in par. 0029 the following: “…users may communicate with any number of vehicles with a variety of distinct device types that are suitably equipped for short-range exchanges of information and data. In this regard, the user's smartphone 13 may communicate directly with the telematics unit 14 of motor vehicle 10 using a short-range communication (SRC) device…”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8 and 13 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: a secure element programmed to implement the digital key, wherein the secure element maintains a user authentication flag associated with the digital key, the user authentication flag having one of a user authentication-required state and a user authentication-not-required state, and wherein, when the battery-powered portable computing device has shut down due to the remaining battery energy being reduced to the first predefined level, the secure element allows use of the digital key when the user authentication flag is in the user authentication-required state and the user is authenticated, and allows use of the digital key when the user authentication flag is in the user authentication-not-required state.
Dependent claim 9 is allowable by way of its dependency on dependent claim 8.
Dependent claim 16 is allowable by way of its dependency on dependent claim 13.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRYAN F WRIGHT whose telephone number is (571)270-3826.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eleni Shiferaw can be reached on (571)272-3867. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRYAN F WRIGHT/ Examiner, Art Unit 2497
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