- DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Claims
This is the first office action on the merits in response to the application filed on
01/09/2026.
Claims 20-39 are currently pending and have been examined.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 20-23, 25-30, 32-37, and 39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Konanur et al. (US 20140080411 A1), in view of ) Royston et al. (US 20150229362 A1).
5. Regarding claims 20, 27, and 34, Konanur discloses a computer-implemented method for outputting an indication to a user for positioning a payment instrument relative to an electronic device (an electronic device, and a non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of an electronic device, cause the processor to perform operations, (Para. 0015; and Para. 0029)),
the method comprising: determining, by an application executing on a processor of the electronic device, identifying information of the electronic device, (Para. 0021, As an example of present implementation herein, the example device 100 may include, but are not limited to, Ultrabooks, a tablet computer, a netbook, a notebook computer, a laptop computer, mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant, a multimedia playback device, a digital music player, a digital video player, a navigational device, a digital camera, and the like. In this example, the example device 100 may contain the coil antenna 102 that is utilized for near field coupling functions..; and Para. 0040, In at least one implementation, computing device 600 typically includes at least one processing unit 602 and system memory 604. Depending on the exact configuration and type of computing device, system memory 604 may be volatile (such as RAM), non-volatile (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.) or some combination thereof. System memory 604 may include an operating system 606, one or more program modules 608 that implement the long delay echo algorithm, and may include program data 610. A basic implementation of the computing device 600 is demarcated by a dashed line 614.)
determining, by the application, a location of a near-field communication (NFC) antenna within the electronic device based on the identifying information, (Para. 0023, As an example of present implementation herein, the coil antenna 102 may be positioned in between the screen display 104 and a chassis (not shown) that holds the screen display 104. In this example, a location of the coil antenna 102 may be anywhere within an area that is covered by the screen display 104. This configuration is implemented in order for context-based software logo (not shown) to clearly display or illustrates the exact tapping area during near field coupling functions. For example, if the coil antenna 102 is positioned at middle-top portion/location of the screen display 104, then the context-based software logo may be able to display an imaginary picture to show the exact tapping location for the coil antenna 102. In this example, the coil antenna 102 may be inserted in between the screen display 104 and the chassis, or the coil antenna 102 may be directly integrated to composite materials or components (not shown) that make up the screen display 104.; and Para. 0029, For example, FIG. 2A shows a convertible tablet 200 with a context based software logo 202 and a credit card 204 that is tapped by a user 206 to the screen display 104. In an implementation, the context based software logo 202 may display an image (e.g., star logo) to guide the user 206 into exact tapping location (i.e., optimum location) for the coil antenna 102. In this implementation, the context based software logo 202 may be configured to display the image that corresponds to current transaction. For example, the star logo may indicate NFC communications. In another example, another image (not shown) at the same exact location may indicate EMV transaction or Microsoft® Proximity communications.
generating, by the application, an indication corresponding to a read zone of the NFC antenna based on the location, (Para. 0018, As an example of present implementation herein, the context based software logo is configured to display at the screen display a guide for the tapping area location. For example, if the coil antenna is positioned at a top left portion of the screen display due to absence of electromagnetic interference (EMI) or Eddy current in that particular area, then the context based software logo may display at the top left portion a shadow or a picture of the coil antenna to show its exact location. Furthermore, the context based software logo may be configured to display the current type of transaction (e.g., NFC, WPT, etc.), indication of a successful read, indication of maximum power transfer during WPT, and the like.; and Para. 0030, As an example of present implementation herein, the context based software logo 202 may indicate the current program that is running in the system that utilizes the coil antenna 102. For example, during WPT operations, the context based software logo 202 may display if maximum power is transferred by computing coupling coefficients between mutual inductive coils. In another example, during NFC communications, the context based software logo 202 may display if NFC communication transaction is completed or positioning of the credit card 204 is not within a threshold for near field coupling. In this example, the threshold may contain a minimum amount of coupling between the coil antenna 102 and the credit card 204 to engage in NFC related functions.)
Konanur does not explicitly disclose providing, by the application, the indication to an output device of the electronic device.
However, Royston teaches providing, by the application, the indication to an output device of the electronic device, (Para. 0036-0037, Methods and apparatus in accordance with the present invention provide for NFC-enabled devices that determine the signal strength received from an NFC reader's field, and to take one or more actions based on that measured signal strength. More particularly, in illustrative embodiments wherein the NFC-enabled device is operating in tag emulation mode, in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components of the received signal in the demodulator of the reader receiver are measured, and one or more outputs are generated, based at least in part on the measured I and Q. These one or more outputs are typically designed to be user perceivable. User perceivable outputs can inform a user of the strength of the incoming signal. In some embodiments, the user perceivable outputs can direct a user regarding how to spatially orient the NFC-enabled device to improve the received signal strength. FIG. 2 shows a high-level block diagram of a near-field communication arrangement 200 that includes a NFC-enabled device 202 having both tag 204 and reader 206 functional blocks, the NFC-enabled device 202 being disposed adjacent to a second NFC-enable device such as a computational platform 210 having NFC tag reader 212 functionality. The circuitry block that implements NFC Tag 204 includes an NFC antenna 203 and a reader receiver 205. NFC-enabled device 202 further includes device specific resources 208. In typical embodiments, device specific resources 208 are coupled to both the NFC Tag 204 and the NFC reader 206.)
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique of Royston to the known invention of Konanur would have been recognized that the application of the technique would have yielded predictable results because the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate such NFC features into a similar invention. Further, it would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that modifying the system to include providing, by the application, the indication to an output device of the electronic device results in an improved invention because applying said technique gives the user feedback through visual, haptic, or sound outputs so the user can make proper adjustments, thus improving the overall performance of the invention.
6. Regarding claims 21, 28, and 35, Konanur does not explicitly disclose wherein the indication is one or more of a display element, haptic output, and sound output.
However, Royston teaches wherein the indication is one or more of a display element, haptic output, and sound output, (Para. 0036, Methods and apparatus in accordance with the present invention provide for NFC-enabled devices that determine the signal strength received from an NFC reader's field, and to take one or more actions based on that measured signal strength. More particularly, in illustrative embodiments wherein the NFC-enabled device is operating in tag emulation mode, in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components of the received signal in the demodulator of the reader receiver are measured, and one or more outputs are generated, based at least in part on the measured I and Q. These one or more outputs are typically designed to be user perceivable. User perceivable outputs can inform a user of the strength of the incoming signal. In some embodiments, the user perceivable outputs can direct a user regarding how to spatially orient the NFC-enabled device to improve the received signal strength.; and Claim 2. The NFC-enabled mobile device of claim 1, wherein the user perceivable output comprises a visual display.)
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique of Royston to the known invention of Konanur would have been recognized that the application of the technique would have yielded predictable results because the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate such NFC features into a similar invention. Further, it would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that modifying the system to include wherein the indication is one or more of a display element, haptic output, and sound output results in an improved invention because applying said technique gives the user feedback through visual, haptic, or sound outputs so the user can make proper adjustments, thus improving the overall performance of the invention.
7. Regarding claims 22, 29, and 36, Konanur discloses wherein determining the location of the NFC antenna further comprises: identifying, by the application, the location of the NFC antenna based on a data file associated with the electronic device , (Para. 0023-0025, As an example of present implementation herein, the coil antenna 102 may be positioned in between the screen display 104 and a chassis (not shown) that holds the screen display 104. In this example, a location of the coil antenna 102 may be anywhere within an area that is covered by the screen display 104. This configuration is implemented in order for context-based software logo (not shown) to clearly display or illustrates the exact tapping area during near field coupling functions. For example, if the coil antenna 102 is positioned at middle-top portion/location of the screen display 104, then the context-based software logo may be able to display an imaginary picture to show the exact tapping location for the coil antenna 102. In this example, the coil antenna 102 may be inserted in between the screen display 104 and the chassis, or the coil antenna 102 may be directly integrated to composite materials or components (not shown) that make up the screen display 104. When the coil antenna 102 is inserted in between the screen display 104 and a metallic or a carbon fiber chassis, a ferrite material may be provided in between the coil antenna 102 and the metallic or carbon fiber chassis to isolate the coil antenna 102 from any detrimental effects of Eddy currents that may be induced on the metallic or carbon fiber chassis. However, in case of a plastic chassis, the display 104 and the plastic chassis may not hinder NFC communications that may be implemented at front side of the screen display 104, or at backside through the chassis. As an example of present implementation herein, the screen display 104 may be implemented using standard LCD panels or other types of screen displays, including screen displays with touch panels. Example screen display 104 may include in-plane switching (IPS), twist nematic (TN), fringe field switching (FFS), vertical alignment (VA) and optically compensated bend-mode (OCB) screen displays. In other implementations, the screen display 104 is fused to the chassis of the device 100.)
8. Regarding claims 23, 30, and 37, Konanur discloses providing the indication to an output device of the electronic device further comprises: providing, by the application, a visual indication to a display of the electronic device, wherein the visual indication indicates an extent of the read zone, (Para. 0015, Described herein are architectures, platforms and methods for integrating near field communication (NFC) coil antenna behind a screen display of devices and more particularly, to improve near field coupling capabilities of the devices by configuring the screen display to implement a context based software logo to guide a user. For example, the context based software logo displays a tapping area location during NFC related functions. The NFC related functions include (by way of illustration and not limitation) wireless power transfer (WPT) and/or near field communications (NFC) capabilities of the devices (e.g., portable devices).; and Para. 0029, For example, FIG. 2A shows a convertible tablet 200 with a context based software logo 202 and a credit card 204 that is tapped by a user 206 to the screen display 104. In an implementation, the context based software logo 202 may display an image (e.g., star logo) to guide the user 206 into exact tapping location (i.e., optimum location) for the coil antenna 102. In this implementation, the context based software logo 202 may be configured to display the image that corresponds to current transaction. For example, the star logo may indicate NFC communications. In another example, another image (not shown) at the same exact location may indicate EMV transaction or Microsoft® Proximity communications.)
8. Regarding claims 25, 32, and 39, Konanur does not explicitly disclose further comprising: detecting, by the application, a strength of signal or a change in strength of signal between the NFC antenna and the payment instrument; updating, by the application, the indication based on the detected strength of signal or change in strength of signal and based on a current location of the payment instrument relative to the read zone; and providing, by the application, the updated indication to the output device of the electronic device.
However, Royston teaches further comprising: detecting, by the application, a strength of signal or a change in strength of signal between the NFC antenna and the payment instrument; updating, by the application, the indication based on the detected strength of signal or change in strength of signal and based on a current location of the payment instrument relative to the read zone; and providing, by the application, the updated indication to the output device of the electronic device, (Para. 0036, Methods and apparatus in accordance with the present invention provide for NFC-enabled devices that determine the signal strength received from an NFC reader's field, and to take one or more actions based on that measured signal strength. More particularly, in illustrative embodiments wherein the NFC-enabled device is operating in tag emulation mode, in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components of the received signal in the demodulator of the reader receiver are measured, and one or more outputs are generated, based at least in part on the measured I and Q. These one or more outputs are typically designed to be user perceivable. User perceivable outputs can inform a user of the strength of the incoming signal. In some embodiments, the user perceivable outputs can direct a user regarding how to spatially orient the NFC-enabled device to improve the received signal strength.; and Para. 0043, when an NFC antenna of the NFC-enabled device comes within the near-field region of an NFC reader, the reader field induces a current in the NFC antenna. Illustrative method 400 includes detecting 402 the NFC reader field based, at least in part, on the current in the NFC antenna. In this illustrative embodiment, a field detector circuit disposed within the NFC-enabled device is responsible for detecting the presence of the reader field and providing one or more signals to “wake” portions of the NFC-enabled device that are in a power-saving state or a powered-down state. These portions of the NFC-enabled device typically include the ones required to demodulate the incoming signal and process the information obtained therefrom. Method 400 continues by operating 404 reader receiver circuitry so as to at least determine the strength of the signal received from the reader field. It is noted that the reader receiver circuitry also demodulates the incoming signal. As part of that demodulation process, the reader receiver converts the measured antenna current to digital format and generates the I and Q versions of the signal. Since the levels of the I and Q signals are proportional to the current in the antenna, these signals are used as the basis for the signal strength meter function in accordance with the present invention.)
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique of Royston to the known invention of Konanur would have been recognized that the application of the technique would have yielded predictable results because the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate such NFC features into a similar invention. Further, it would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that modifying the system to include further comprising: detecting, by the application, a strength of signal or a change in strength of signal between the NFC antenna and the payment instrument; updating, by the application, the indication based on the detected strength of signal or change in strength of signal and based on a current location of the payment instrument relative to the read zone; and providing, by the application, the updated indication to the output device of the electronic device results in an improved invention because applying said technique ensures for real-time feedback that helps the user maintain proper communication, thus improving the overall performance of the invention.
9. Regarding claims 26 and 33, Konanur does not explicitly disclose further comprising: detecting, by the application, a change in a location of the payment instrument relative to the NFC antenna of the electronic device; and updating, by the application, the indication provided to the output device based on the detected change in location of the payment instrument relative to the NFC antenna of the electronic device, wherein updating the indication comprises one or more of: changing a pitch, volume, or frequency of sound emitted by the electronic device; changing a color, size, shape, or position of a display icon displayed by the electronic device; or generating or changing textual data displayed by the electronic device, (Para. 0028-0030, FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C are example implementations of the coil antenna integration into the screen display of different types of devices. For example, FIG. 2A shows a convertible tablet 200 with a context based software logo 202 and a credit card 204 that is tapped by a user 206 to the screen display 104. In an implementation, the context based software logo 202 may display an image (e.g., star logo) to guide the user 206 into exact tapping location (i.e., optimum location) for the coil antenna 102. In this implementation, the context based software logo 202 may be configured to display the image that corresponds to current transaction. For example, the star logo may indicate NFC communications. In another example, another image (not shown) at the same exact location may indicate EMV transaction or Microsoft® Proximity communications. As an example of present implementation herein, the context based software logo 202 may indicate the current program that is running in the system that utilizes the coil antenna 102. For example, during WPT operations, the context based software logo 202 may display if maximum power is transferred by computing coupling coefficients between mutual inductive coils. In another example, during NFC communications, the context based software logo 202 may display if NFC communication transaction is completed or positioning of the credit card 204 is not within a threshold for near field coupling. In this example, the threshold may contain a minimum amount of coupling between the coil antenna 102 and the credit card 204 to engage in NFC related functions.; and Para. 0018, As an example of present implementation herein, the context based software logo is configured to display at the screen display a guide for the tapping area location. For example, if the coil antenna is positioned at a top left portion of the screen display due to absence of electromagnetic interference (EMI) or Eddy current in that particular area, then the context based software logo may display at the top left portion a shadow or a picture of the coil antenna to show its exact location. Furthermore, the context based software logo may be configured to display the current type of transaction (e.g., NFC, WPT, etc.), indication of a successful read, indication of maximum power transfer during WPT, and the like.; and Para. 0035-0037, As an example of present implementation herein, the screen display 104 such as, a thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT LCD) contains a sandwich-like structure that includes a front polarizer 302 and a color filter glass 304 that is separated by a space or gap 306. In this example, the coil antenna 102 may be embedded between the front polarizer 302 and the color filter glass 304 without affecting the operations of the TFT LCD and without detrimental effects to the NFC related functions operations.
In an implementation, the front polarizer 302 is a component of the screen display 104 that changes direction of light that is provided by the color filter glass 304. In this implementation, the color filter glass 304 generates the light (i.e., as color representations) according to amount of the light that is supplied by a back light component (not shown). The supplied light may be utilized to project an image to be displayed at the screen display 104. FIG. 4 is an example coil antenna integration 400 in which the coil antenna 102 is integrated with the components of the screen display 104. In an implementation, the coil antenna 102 is positioned in between the color filter glass 304 and a TFT glass polarizer 402. For example, the TFT glass polarizer 402 is a glass substrate on which a special optical coating is applied. This glass substrate may either be a plate that is inserted into a beam at a particular angle. In an implementation, the integration of the coil antenna 102 within these composite materials that make up the screen display 104 does not affect its regular operation to project desired images such as, multimedia, information, and the like. Furthermore, this configuration may provide a relatively thin structure for the screen display 104. For example, this configuration has no metal shielding path between NFC reader and NFC receiver and as such, it will eliminate any interference in path of NFC sensing.)
Claims 24, 31, and 38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Konanur et al. (US 20140080411 A1), in view of ) Royston et al. (US 20150229362 A1), and further in view of Forster et al. (US 20160283759 A1).
11. Regarding claims 24, 31, and 38, Konanur as modified does not explicitly disclose wherein the visual indication is a dashed line.
However, Forster teaches wherein the visual indication is a dashed line, (Para. 0019-0020, FIG. 2 can provide an exemplary view of a display 200 with a display frame 202 that may incorporate a poster 206 having visual information 208 and an authorized NFC tag 214. Additionally, in such an exemplary embodiment, an NFC reading zone indicated by a visual guide 216 may also be provided. Further, the display 202 can incorporate an NFC security system (described in more detail with respect to exemplary FIG. 3 below) which can protect the display 200 from vandal tag 204, or any number of other vandal tags. The security system can include a security controller 210, one or more sub-assembly circuit boards 212 associated with the security controller 210, and an NFC antenna 218. For example, the sub-assembly circuit board or boards 212 of the security controller 210 can provide functionality for the operation of the security system. Additionally, NFC antenna 218 can provide an interrogation area which may be substantially equivalent to the entire surface of the display 200. The scanning area can thus include the poster 206, the NFC indicated reading zone 216 and all other surfaces of the display frame 202, as well as some areas located near or proximate the display 200, as desired. Still referring to exemplary FIG. 2, an unauthorized tag 204 may be shown as affixed to a portion of the poster 206. The security system, as described in more detail below, may periodically energize the NFC antenna 218 to scan for any and all NFC tags affixed to the display 202. The security system could then detect the vandal tag 204 (or some other unauthorized device) and select an appropriate or desired action or set of actions to perform. In one exemplary embodiment, the security system may first scan the memory contents of the vandal tag 204. Then, depending on the persistent states of the vandal tag 204 the security system may attempt to overwrite the memory contents of the vandal tag 204 or otherwise disable the functionality of the vandal tag 204 using a “kill” command commonly found with most NFC tags. Additional or alternative steps which could be performed by the security controller 210 may include jamming the communication channel with noise, sounding an alarm, or turning off display lights associated with display 200 to indicate an out of order state, or signaling an alert using network connections incorporated into the system. Such steps are described in more detail as follows.)
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique of Forster to the known invention of Konanur as modified would have been recognized that the application of the technique would have yielded predictable results because the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate such payment instrument features into a similar invention. Further, it would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that modifying the system to include wherein the visual indication is a dashed line results in an improved invention because applying said technique ensures there is a clear visual guide for the payment instrument, thus improving the overall user convenience of the invention.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
User Equipment fort Reverse NFC Payment, NFC Payment Terminal, Reverse NFC Payment System comprising the same, Control Method Thereof and Non-Transitory Computer Readable Storage Medium having Computer Program Recorded Thereon (US 20160364719 A1) teaches a user equipment for reverse NFC payment, an NFC payment terminal, a reverse NFC payment system including the same, a control method thereof, and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having a computer program recorded thereon. That is, according to the present invention, since a user equipment operates as a reader/writer and an NFC payment terminal (or POS terminal) operates as a card so as to execute a payment function, it is possible to simplify a payment process and thus possible to improve satisfaction of a user. Further, it is possible to autonomously provide a mobile card service without making an alliance or settling costs with a mobile carrier or mobile phone manufacturer. Thus, it is possible to unify customer management and also reduce costs required to issue cards.
In addition to the foregoing, other aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Davida L. King whose telephone number is (571) 272-4724. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Neha Patel can be reached on (571) 270-1492. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/D.L.K./Examiner, Art Unit 3699
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