Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Claim Objection
Claim 1 line 7: change “amount is” to --amount are--.
Claim 1 line 8: change “amount is” to --amount are--.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 4 line 3: “said processor” lacks antecedent basis as there are at least two instances of “a processor” being claimed beforehand.
Claim 5 line 3: “said processor” lacks antecedent basis as there are at least two instances of “a processor” being claimed beforehand. Dependent claims 6-13 are also rejected for inheriting the flaws from the parent claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 1-9, 12-13 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Lessin (US 4,868,376) in view of Whitney (US 7975927 B1).
Lessin discloses
1. A card comprising:
a dynamic magnetic stripe communications device (Fig. 22-25, c19: 35-61, c18: lines 42-56: emulated magnetic stripe can be written);
a processor (1100; Figs. 20, 23);
a battery (Lessin, c18: 5-10); and
a memory,
wherein a value threshold and a top-up amount is determined via receiving manual input (Lessin, Figs. 16, c16: 33-60: top-up amount as fund that is added to the card via inputting a unique deposit code, which becomes part of the balance or value threshold; c14: 23-47: when the cardholder wishes to make a purchase by inputting a “YES” key, an amount of purchase is input manually which is compared to a balance as a value threshold for determining whether the balance is sufficient for the purchase amount; thus, the value and top-up amount are determined via the manual input),
said value threshold and top-up amount is operable to be communicated through said magnetic stripe communications device with an account number, said top- up amount is added to said account for a transaction that causes the amount of said account to fall below said value threshold (Lessin is silent to the value threshold and top-up amount being communicated through the stripe;
Whitney discloses it is well known for a balance (as value threshold that also includes the top-up amount) to be electronically recorded on a card’s magnetic stripe using a COB microprocessor such that when the card is used at a retailer, the stripe is read by a reader and the microprocessor 105 deducts the amount purchased from the remaining recorded balance to calculate a new remaining balance. The new remaining balance is rewritten onto both the magnetic strip and the microprocessor memory.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Whitney by encoding the balance or value threshold in the dynamic magnetic stripe so that it can be read by readers that require its presence in the stripe.
2.1, further comprising a read-head detector, wherein said value threshold and said top-up amount are communicated when a read-head (1240) is detected by said read-head detector (Lessin, Figs. 20, 23, c20: 18-25: card’s inductor 1300 representing read-read detector receives data from a magnetic head of a transmitting device when detecting by reading the data generated by the magnetic write head of the transmitting device)
3.1, further comprising a processor (1100; Figs. 20, 23).
4.1, further comprising: a processor (1100; Figs. 20, 23); and a button operable to provide inputs to said processor (Fig. 2, 16, 22, summary).
5.1, further comprising: a processor; a button operable to provide inputs to said processor (Fig. 2, 22); and a display (Figs. 2, 16, 22, summary).
6.5, wherein said value threshold is operable to be selected utilizing said button and said display (Lessin, Fig. 16, c14: 57-65: the card holder can view and at least mentally select the balance).
7.5, wherein said top-up amount is operable to be selected utilizing said button and said display (Lessin, c14-15: 66-18, c16: 33-45: deposit is selected using button and display).
8.5, wherein said processor is operable to provide a warning message on said display when said account falls below said value threshold (Lessin, c14: 58-66, c16: 20-25: balance available or remaining is a warning message that the account falls below the value threshold).
9.8, wherein said processor is operable to accept one or more inputs via said button to select an increased value amount for said account (Lessin, c14-15: 66-18, c16: 33-45).
12.5, further comprising: memory; wherein said card is operable to store a plurality of accounts in memory and said processor is operable to select one account from said plurality of accounts based on an input received from said button (Lessin, Figs. 16-17, c10: 24-34, c14: 5-15, : the card includes multiple applications including purchase application and transportation application, each of which is associated with an account which can be selected as “CREDIT” or “TRANSPORTATION”).
13.12, further comprising: a read-head detector; wherein said card is operable to communicate said selected one account to a read-head when said read head is detected by said read-head detector.
Claim 10-11 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Lessin (US 4,868,376) /Whitney (US 7975927 B1) in view of Granucci (US 20090314840)
Re claim 10.9, Lessin discloses that the emulated magnetic stripe is capable of transmitting to as well as receiving data from a writing device which is then stored for later use (Lessin, c20: 18-27)
Lessin is silent to further comprising wherein said dynamic communications device is operable to communicate a request for said increased value amount to a payment processor when a read-head detector detects a read-head.
Granucci discloses [0067] At block 7012, card point-of-sale read/writer 3210 requests the re-presentation of the card 2000. During the presentation, the new balance of the prepaid card is written to the card 2000. The amount of the new balance may be received as data from payment processor 3400, issuer 3500 or calculated by the merchant 3200 using information received from issuer 3500 or payment processor 3400. In card embodiments that use a magnetic strip, the presentation may be accomplished as a swipe of the card 2000. During the card swipe, the remaining balance of the credit card 2000 is written to the magnetic strip. In some embodiments, the card balance is written to track 3 of the magnetic strip. In other embodiments, the card balance may be written to a non-volatile programmable storage media 1014.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Granucci so that the funding for the card may also come from an available external reader, thereby minimizing the need for a trip to the bank to obtain a deposit code.
11.10, wherein said value threshold is operable to be selected utilizing said button and said display (Lessin, Fig. 16, c14: 57-65: the card holder can view and at least mentally select the balance).
Conclusion
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/THIEN T MAI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876