DETAILED ACTION
The present Office action is in response to the application filing on 21 NOVEMBER 2025 and the Information Disclosure Statements.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statements (IDS) submitted on 11/21/2025, 08/10/2026, and 09/16/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the Information Disclosure Statements are being considered by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the claim recites a method for manufacturing an information processing system member, yet only requires a single output without describing the manufacturing steps thereof and therefore does not fall in the definition of a method. See MPEP § 2106.03(I), “[a] process defines "actions", i.e., an invention that is claimed as an act or step, or a series of acts or steps. As explained by the Supreme Court, a "process" is "a mode of treatment of certain materials to produce a given result. It is an act, or a series of acts, performed upon the subject-matter to be transformed and reduced to a different state or thing." Gottschalk v. Benson, 409 U.S. 63, 70, 175 USPQ 673, 676 (1972) (italics added).” The limitation “forming an area formation member” describes the output of the “area formation member” and not the “treatment of certain materials to produce a given result.” Additionally, under the broadest reasonable interpretation, the “area formation member” may be construed as a mere hallway or a user placing stanchions, which may present additional problems if the claim is found to pass Step 1 of the Alice/Mayo test, when the claim is analyzed under Step 2A.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 7, 9, and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2021/130871 A1 (hereinafter “Otani”).
The U.S. publication of the WIPO document WO/ 2021/130871 A will be used as the English translation. See U.S. Publication No. 2022/0279095 A1.
Regarding claim 1, Otani teaches an information processing system (¶ [0046], “The face authentication apparatus 50 is connected to the gate apparatus 100 via a communication network 3. The face authentication apparatus 50 collates a feature value of a face image of a person registered in advance with a feature value extracted from a face image acquired by the gate apparatus 100 and thereby performs authentication processing of the person”) comprising:
a passage part through which a user passes (¶ [0055], “a person passing through the passage 12 in the traveling direction D1.” ¶ [0056], “An entrance 12a side of the passage 12 is open. An opening and closing flap door 16 is provided on an exit 12b side of the passage 12 in such a way as to be openable and closable”); and
a camera that captures an image of an iris of the user passing through the passage part (¶ [0055], “The camera unit 20 accommodating the image capturing unit 102 is provided on a side of the passage 12, and captures an image of a person who enters the passage 12.” ¶ [0048], “The biometric authentication information includes, for example, at least one feature value such as an iris”), wherein
the passage part is formed such that a central area through which the user passes is lower than surrounding areas around the central area (¶ [0045], “The gate apparatus 100 includes a housing 14.” FIG. 2 depicts gate apparatus 10 with housing 14 elevated at either side of the passage 12. ¶ [0055], “a person passing through the passage 12 in the traveling direction D1”).
Regarding claim 2, Otani discloses every limitation of claim 1, as outlined above. Additionally, Otani discloses wherein the passage part is formed such that the surrounding areas are inclined relative to the central area, or such that the central area and the surrounding areas and the surrounding areas are integrally curved (FIGS. 2 and 3 depict the housing 14 located at either side of 12 is vertical, which represents an inclination of 90°).
Regarding claim 7, Otani discloses an information processing system member to be used as an information processing system (¶ [0046], “The face authentication apparatus 50 is connected to the gate apparatus 100 via a communication network 3. The face authentication apparatus 50 collates a feature value of a face image of a person registered in advance with a feature value extracted from a face image acquired by the gate apparatus 100 and thereby performs authentication processing of the person”) including a camera that captures an image of an iris of a user passing through a passage part (¶ [0055], “The camera unit 20 accommodating the image capturing unit 102 is provided on a side of the passage 12, and captures an image of a person who enters the passage 12.” ¶ [0048], “The biometric authentication information includes, for example, at least one feature value such as an iris”), the information processing system member comprising:
an area formation member that forms the passage part such that a central area through which the user passes is lower than surrounding areas around the central area (¶ [0045], “The gate apparatus 100 includes a housing 14.” FIG. 2 depicts gate apparatus 10 with housing 14 elevated at either side of the passage 12. ¶ [0055], “a person passing through the passage 12 in the traveling direction D1”).
Regarding claim 9, Otani discloses every limitation of claim 7, as outlined above. Additionally, Otani discloses wherein the area formation member includes surrounding members that form the surrounding areas around the central area such that a floor surface at an installation location is the central area (FIG. 2 depicts the gate apparatus 10 with housing 14 and no flooring construct in passage 12. ¶ [0088], “a floor surface of the passage 12 to be passed.”).
Regarding claim 10, Otani discloses every limitation of claim 7, as outlined above. Additionally, Otani discloses a method for manufacturing an information processing system member to be used in an information processing system (¶ [0046], “The face authentication apparatus 50 is connected to the gate apparatus 100 via a communication network 3. The face authentication apparatus 50 collates a feature value of a face image of a person registered in advance with a feature value extracted from a face image acquired by the gate apparatus 100 and thereby performs authentication processing of the person”) including a camera that captures an image of an iris of a user passing through a passage part (¶ [0055], “The camera unit 20 accommodating the image capturing unit 102 is provided on a side of the passage 12, and captures an image of a person who enters the passage 12.” ¶ [0048], “The biometric authentication information includes, for example, at least one feature value such as an iris”), the method comprising:
forming an area formation member that forms the passage part such that a central area through which the user passes is lower than surrounding areas around the central area (¶ [0045], “The gate apparatus 100 includes a housing 14.” FIG. 2 depicts gate apparatus 10 with housing 14 elevated at either side of the passage 12. ¶ [0055], “a person passing through the passage 12 in the traveling direction D1”).
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.
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.
Claim(s) 3 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2021/130871 A1 (hereinafter “Otani”) in view of U.S. Publication No. 2021/0026940 A1 (hereinafter “Zhou”).
Regarding claim 3, Otani discloses every limitation of claim 1, as outlined above. Otani fails to expressly disclose wherein the passage part is formed such that the central area becomes narrower as it is closer to the camera.
However, Zhou teaches wherein the passage part is formed such that the central area becomes narrower as it is closer to the camera (FIG. 5 depicts a gate with facial recognition and the area before the gate is wider. Note, the beginning of the gate includes a beveled wall facing the queue, which forces a funnel type narrowing into the center of the gate where the field-of-view of the camera is).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have a central area of a gate become narrower, as taught by Zhou (FIG. 5), in Otani’s disclosure. One would have been motivated to modify Otani’s disclosure, by incorporating Zhou’s disclosure, because it is necessary for controlling the path where the passenger passes through the gate for properly positioning a single user (Zhou: ¶ [0066]).
Regarding claim 4, Otani and Zhou disclose every limitation of claim 3, as outlined above. Additionally, Zhou discloses wherein the passage part is formed to have a narrowest width at an image capture position where the camera captures the image of the user (FIG. 5 depicts a gate with facial recognition and the area before the gate is wider. Note, the beginning of the gate includes a beveled wall facing the queue, which forces a funnel type narrowing into the center of the gate where the field-of-view of the camera is). The same motivation of claim 3 applies equally to claim 4.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2021/130871 A1 (hereinafter “Otani”) in view of U.S. Publication No. 2021/0166512 A1 (hereinafter “Kunieda”).
Regarding claim 5, Otani discloses every limitation of claim 1, as outlined above. Otani fails to expressly disclose wherein the surrounding area has a baggage passage area for allowing baggage carried by the user to pass through.
However, Kunieda teaches wherein the surrounding area has a baggage passage area for allowing baggage carried by the user to pass through (FIG. 3 depicts gate apparatus 100 with inspection tables provided on the left or the right of the gate apparatus 100).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have a baggage passage area, as taught by Kunieda (FIG. 3), in Otani’s disclosure. One would have been motivated to modify Otani’s disclosure, by incorporating Kunieda’s disclosure, for improving the security at a gate (Kunieda: ¶ [0010]).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2021/130871 A1 (hereinafter “Otani”) in view of U.S. Publication No. 2020/0118368 A1 (hereinafter “Tagawa”).
Regarding claim 6, Otani discloses every limitation of claim 1, as outlined above. Otani fails to expressly disclose wherein the surrounding areas are formed such that vibrations are generated in response to the user passing through it.
However, Tagawa teaches wherein the surrounding areas are formed such that vibrations are generated in response to the user passing through it (¶ [0272], “The CPU 402 can guide the user U by display on the display 408, voice from a speaker or the like.” FIG. 11 illustrates the exit terminal 40 and FIG. 40 depicts the elements comprising the exit terminal 40).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have a speaker for generating audio (i.e., vibrations) for guiding a user, as taught by Tagawa (FIG. 11), in Otani’s disclosure. One would have been motivated to modify Otani’s disclosure, by incorporating Tagawa’s disclosure, for providing auditory assistance in guiding users (Tagawa: ¶ [0272]).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2021/130871 A1 (hereinafter “Otani”) in view of U.S. Publication No. 2017/0053435 A1 (hereinafter “Reymann”).
Regarding claim 8, Otani discloses every limitation of claim 7, as outlined above. Otani fails to expressly disclose wherein the area formation member includes a first member that forms the central area, and
second members that form the surrounding areas, the second members having a height that is greater than that of the first member.
However, Reymann teaches wherein the area formation member includes a first member that forms the central area (FIG. 3 depicts an elevated flooring as part of the fare access gates 300), and
second members that form the surrounding areas, the second members having a height that is greater than that of the first member (FIG. 3 depicts partitioning walls that create a passage for a user to walk through, where the passage consists of the elevated flooring).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have a flooring that is part of a gate, as taught by Reymann (FIG. 3), in Otani’s disclosure. One would have been motivated to modify Otani’s disclosure, by incorporating Reymann’s disclosure, because it is an obvious combination of prior-art elements (i.e., wall separators with a flooring) according to known methods to yield predictable results. See MPEP § 2143(I)(A).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
U.S. Publication No. 2021/0110625 A1 – Discloses an entrance/exit gate with facial recognition, see FIG. 3B.
U.S. Publication No. 2021/0375083 A1 – Discloses gateline stanchions capable of determining whether a patron is carrying malicious objects on their person or in luggage, see ¶ [0034].
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/STUART D BENNETT/Examiner, Art Unit 2481
