Office Action 3: Non-Final Rejection (2024-07-05)
Rejection types: 103 - Obviousness, 112 - Written Description/Enablement

CLAIMS:
Amendments to the Claims

This listing of claims will replace all prior versions, and listings, of claims in the application:

CLAIMS CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

Supplemental Reply to Final Office Action of January 25, 2024

1\. (Currently amended) A method of authenticating an identity of an individual, the method comprising:receiving an assertion of user location from the individual;
automatically identifying a first smart device, from a collection of preregistered user devices, based on the asserted user location;
providing a recommendation to the user to move to a room or space in which the first smart device is located;
transmitting, at a first time, a first audio signal to the first smart device located in a first space;
obtaining first audio data captured by a first computing device associated with the individual, the first audio data including a recording of a second audio signal;
determining that the first audio signal and the second audio signal are sufficiently similar to be classified as a match;
determining, in response to classifying the first audio signal as matching the second audio signal, that the individual has a first user identity; and
thereby authenticating the individual for access to a secured resource for which the first user identity is authorized.

2\. (Original) The method of claim 1, wherein the second audio signal is produced by the first smart device in response to the transmission of the first audio signal.

Supplemental Reply to Final Office Action of January 25, 2024

3\. (Original) The method of claim 1, wherein the first audio data includes also includes ambient sounds for the first space.

4\. (Original) The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving access information for the first smart device at a second time earlier than the first time;
storing the access information in a first record linked to the first user identity; and
using the access information to cause the first smart device to produce the second audio signal.

5\. (Original) The method of claim 1, wherein the secured resource includes one of a service, feature, and information for which access is restricted to one or more authorized persons.

6\. (Original) The method of claim 1, wherein the first audio data is obtained during a telephone or videoconferencing session between the first user and a service representative associated with the secured resource.

7\. (Original) The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving location data for the first user corresponding to the first space;
and selecting the first smart device based on a tag associated with the first smart device indicating the first smart device is located in the first space.

Supplemental Reply to Final Office Action of January 25, 2024

8\. (Currently amended) A method of authenticating an identity of an individual, the method comprising:receiving access information for a first smart device located in a first space;
registering the first smart device with the access information in a first record linked to a first user identity;
receiving a request for access to a secured resource from a first user purporting to have the first user identity, the request for access including an assertion of user location from the individual;
automatically identifying the first smart device, from a collection of preregistered user devices, based on the asserted user location;
providing a recommendation to the user to move to a room or space in which the first smart device is located;
retrieving, in response to the request for access, the first record;
transmitting a first audio signal to the first smart device using the access information;
receiving data including a second audio signal from a first user device of the individual; and
permitting the individual access to the secured resource when the first audio signal and the second audio signal are deemed sufficiently similar to be classified as a match.

9\. (Original) The method of claim 8, further comprising registering a second smart device in a second record linked to the first user identity, the second record including a first tag indicating the second smart device is located in a second space.

Supplemental Reply to Final Office Action of January 25, 2024

10\. (Original) The method of claim 9, further comprising adding a second tag to the first record indicating the first smart device is located in the first space.

11\. (Original) The method of claim 10, further comprising:receiving, from the first user device, information indicating that the first user device is in the first space; and
selecting the first smart device based on the second tag.

12\. (Original) The method of claim 8, wherein the first audio signal and second audio signal are classified as a positive match when the first user device is also near or in the first space.

13\. (Original) The method of claim 8, wherein the second audio signal is produced by the first smart device in response to the transmission of the first audio signal.

14\. (Original) The method of claim 13, wherein the second audio signal is captured by a microphone associated with the first user device.

Supplemental Reply to Final Office Action of January 25, 2024

15\. (Currently amended) A system for authenticating an identity of an individual, the system comprising a processor and machine-readable media including instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:receiving an assertion of user location from the individual;
automatically identifying a first smart device, from a collection of preregistered user devices, based on the asserted user location;
providing a recommendation to the user to move to a room or space in which the first smart device is located;
transmit, at a first time, a first audio signal to the first smart device located in a first space;
obtain first audio data captured by a first computing device associated with the individual, the first audio data including a recording of a second audio signal;
determine that the first audio signal and the second audio signal are sufficiently similar to be classified as a match;
determine, in response to classifying the first audio signal as matching the second audio signal, that the individual has a first user identity; and
authenticate the individual for access to a secured resource for which the first user identity is authorized.

16\. (Original) The system of claim 15, wherein the second audio signal is produced by the first smart device in response to the transmission of the first audio signal.

17\. (Original) The system of claim 15, wherein the first audio data includes also includes ambient sounds for the first space.

Supplemental Reply to Final Office Action of January 25, 2024

18\. (Original) The system of claim 15, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:receive access information for the first smart device at a second time earlier than the first time;
store the access information in a first record linked to the first user identity;
and use the access information to cause the first smart device to produce the second audio signal.

19\. (Original) The system of claim 15, wherein the secured resource includes one of a service, feature, and information for which access is restricted to one or more authorized persons.

20\. (Original) The system of claim 15, wherein the first audio data is obtained during a telephone or videoconferencing session between the first user and a service representative associated with the secured resource.

OFFICE ACTION:
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection.  Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.  Applicant's submission filed on 4/25/24 has been entered.
Claims 1-20 are pending.  Claims 1, 8, and 15 have been amended.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendments to claims 1, 8, and 15 have been considered and are accepted.  The Examiner finds that applicant's amendments do have support in applicant's as-filed disclosure.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 04/25/2024 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments regarding the rejections of the claims under the prior art have been fully considered.  However, those arguments are rendered moot in light of the new grounds of rejection outlined below, which were necessitated by the applicant's amendment.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b)  CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA  35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.  Independent claims 1, 8 and 15 have now been amended to include the limitation: “providing a recommendation to the user to move to a room or space in which the first smart device is located”.  However, claims 1, 8 and 15 also recite a first smart device located in ‘a first space’.  It is unclear if ‘a first space’ is the same or different from either a room (which is a space) or the recited space.  This ambiguity also applies other claim references that recite a/the first/second space (see claims 3, 7, 9-12, 17).  Thus, due to these ambiguities, a person of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention rendering the claims indefinite.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 7-16, 18, 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wolosewicz (US Pub. 20200059468 A1) and further in view of Pratt et al. (US Pub. 20200335106 A1).
Regarding claim 1 (currently amended), Wolosewicz discloses a method of authenticating an identity of an individual, the method comprising:
transmitting, at a first time, a first audio signal to a first smart device located in a first space (para. 23- provide a one-time password (OTP) via tone, token, or other type of data element. The smart speaker server, 104 may then transmit the tone which may be played by smart speaker 102.);
obtaining first audio data captured by a first computing device associated with the individual, the first audio data including a recording of a second audio signal (para. 23- The tone may be received and decoded by the mobile app residing on mobile device 110 belonging to user 112);
determining that the first audio signal and the second audio signal are sufficiently similar to be classified as a match (para. 30- Once the OTP is received by the ASRV via an SSL link to complete an authentication cycle, the received OTP is compared to the OTP originally sent by ASRV and is accepted as a match,);
determining, in response to classifying the first audio signal as matching the second audio signal, that the individual has a first user identity (para. 23- The user is identified and the user identifying information is sent to smart speaker server 104 to confirm that an authorized user has been identified.); and
thereby authenticating the individual for access to a secured resource for which the first user is authorized (para. 30- the user authentication is successful whereupon the method continues to a step 408 to allow the user to execute secure transactions over the smart speaker.).
Wolosewicz does not specifically teach receiving an assertion of user location from the individual and automatically identifying a first smart device from a collection of preregistered user devices based on the assert user location, providing a recommendation to the user to move to a room or space in which the first smart device is located.  However, in the related art of using smart speakers/agents to process audio requests for authorized users, Pratt teaches receiving an assertion of user location from the individual and automatically identifying a first smart device from a collection of preregistered user devices based on the assert user location, providing a recommendation to the user to move to a room or space in which the first smart device is located (Pratt teaches receiving assertions of a user location from the individual -para. 28- Determining location context or person interaction context can include identification of individuals within the relevant space. Determining location context can also include triangulation and network features such as GPS, echolocation, visual identification and voiceprint recognition. Location context can also include detecting user groups that may be participating in a multi-player social experience; note- per para. 62 of Applicant's specification, an assertion of a user location includes GPS signal.) Pratt also teaches automatically identifying a first smart device from a collection of preregistered devices bases on the assertion (fig. 4 and para. 29- after the context(s) are determined, an agent (i.e. first smart device from a collection of pre-registered devices is selected- At block 416, processor 204 executes the agent response coordinator 308 to determine at which agent (or agents) to actively process a selected audio request.).; Pratt, para. 25- An agent can metaphorically grab an attention token to cue a user as to which agent is expecting to act on a request by displaying an indication such as a flashing LED. The user can then move nearer to another smart device if a correction is needed. i.e. a recommendation to the user to move to a different space in light of para. 30- spatial usage restrictions for agents.).  Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to use this teaching of Pratt with the disclosure of Wolosewicz as a known way ensuring that the closest/most appropriate smart device is user for user authentication.
Regarding claim 2, Wolosewics discloses in the method of claim 1, wherein the second audio signal is produced by the first smart device in response to the transmission of the first audio signal. (para. 23- provide a one-time password (OTP) via tone, token, or other type of data element. The smart speaker server, 104 may then transmit the tone which may be played by smart speaker 102.)
Regarding claim 4, Wolosewics discloses in the method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving access information for the first smart device at a second time earlier than the first time; storing the access information in a first record linked to the first user identity; and using the access information to cause the first smart device to produce the second audio signal. (para. 24- At a first step 202, the method registers a client. A client is an entity that subscribes to the authentication system to provide authenticated users with goods or services or both. At a next step 204, the method registers a user. Notably, registering a user may occur regardless of whether there are registered clients as the steps 202 and 204 are independent of one another. Registering a user requires a user to download and run an application on their mobile device (i.e. mobile app) that will enable communication between the user's mobile device and an ASRV. Once registration is completed, the method enables authenticated users to execute secure transactions at a step 206, which will be discussed in further detail below for FIGS. 3 and 4.)
Regarding claim 5, Wolosewics discloses in the method of claim 1, wherein the secured resource includes one of a service, feature, and information for which access is restricted to one or more authorized persons. (para. 30- the user authentication is successful whereupon the method continues to a step 408 to allow the user to execute secure transactions over the smart speaker.)
Regarding claim 7, Wolosewics discloses in the method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving location data for the first user corresponding to the first space; and selecting the first smart device based on a tag associated with the first smart device indicating the first smart device is located in the first space. (para. 40- user authentication for voice-controlled systems with added security provided by checking IP based geo-location of the smart speaker and comparing it to the GPS based location of the user's mobile device.; IP geo-location = tag)
Regarding claim 8 (currently amended), the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated herein. Wolosewics discloses a method of authenticating an identity of an individual, the method comprising:
receiving access information for a first smart device located in a first space; registering the first smart device with the access information in a first record linked to a first user identity (para. 24- At a first step 202, the method registers a client. A client is an entity that subscribes to the authentication system to provide authenticated users with goods or services or both. At a next step 204, the method registers a user. Notably, registering a user may occur regardless of whether there are registered clients as the steps 202 and 204 are independent of one another. Registering a user requires a user to download and run an application on their mobile device (i.e. mobile app) that will enable communication between the user's mobile device and an ASRV. Once registration is completed, the method enables authenticated users to execute secure transactions at a step 206, which will be discussed in further detail below for FIGS. 3 and 4.);
receiving a request for access to a secured resource from a first user purporting to have the first user identity (para. 25- At a first step 302, the method requires the authentication app to be activated by a user desiring to conduct a secure transaction. The authentication app may be run in background or may be started and stopped as desired by a user. At a next step 304, the user invokes the smart speaker to open an authentication session. Thus, in one embodiment, a user may use a voice command such as, “authenticate me,” directed to a smart speaker.);
retrieving, in response to the request for access, the first record (para. 25- In practice, the smart speaker, upon receiving the voice command forwards the request to a smart speaker server (see FIG. 1, 104). The smart speaker server interprets the voice command and makes a request to an ASRV (FIG. 1, 106) to authenticate the user. At a next step 308, the method generates and sends a sonic one-time password (OTP) to the smart speaker. In this implementation, the ASRV generates a sonic OTP.);
transmitting a first audio signal to the first smart device using the access information (para. 23- provide a one-time password (OTP) via tone, token, or other type of data element. The smart speaker server, 104 may then transmit the tone which may be played by smart speaker 102.);
receiving data including a second audio signal from a first user device of the individual (para. 23- The tone may be received and decoded by the mobile app residing on mobile device 110 belonging to user 112); and
permitting the individual access to the secured resource when the first audio signal and the second audio signal are deemed sufficiently similar to be classified as a match. (para. 30- Once the OTP is received by the ASRV via an SSL link to complete an authentication cycle, the received OTP is compared to the OTP originally sent by ASRV and is accepted as a match)
Wolosewicz does not specifically teach receiving an assertion of user location from the individual and automatically identifying a first smart device from a collection of preregistered user devices based on the assert user location, providing a recommendation to the user to move to a room or space in which the first smart device is located.  However, in the related art of using smart speakers/agents to process audio requests for authorized users, Pratt teaches receiving an assertion of user location from the individual and automatically identifying a first smart device from a collection of preregistered user devices based on the assert user location, providing a recommendation to the user to move to a room or space in which the first smart device is located (Pratt teaches receiving assertions of a user location from the individual -para. 28- Determining location context or person interaction context can include identification of individuals within the relevant space. Determining location context can also include triangulation and network features such as GPS, echolocation, visual identification and voiceprint recognition. Location context can also include detecting user groups that may be participating in a multi-player social experience; note- per para. 62 of Applicant's specification, an assertion of a user location includes GPS signal.) Pratt also teaches automatically identifying a first smart device from a collection of preregistered devices bases on the assertion (fig. 4 and para. 29- after the context(s) are determined, an agent (i.e. first smart device from a collection of pre-registered devices is selected- At block 416, processor 204 executes the agent response coordinator 308 to determine at which agent (or agents) to actively process a selected audio request.).; Pratt, para. 25- An agent can metaphorically grab an attention token to cue a user as to which agent is expecting to act on a request by displaying an indication such as a flashing LED. The user can then move nearer to another smart device if a correction is needed. i.e. a recommendation to the user to move to a different space in light of para. 30- spatial usage restrictions for agents.).  Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to use this teaching of Pratt with the disclosure of Wolosewicz as a known way ensuring that the closest/most appropriate smart device is user for user authentication.
Regarding claim 9, Wolosewics discloses in the method of claim 8, further comprising registering a second smart device in a second record linked to the first user identity, the second record including a first tag indicating the second smart device is located in a second space. (para. 32- It may be desirable to authenticate a user's guest to execute secure transactions over the user's smart speaker system. In this example, a user may wish to give limited access to a guest for a limited period of time. Thus, at a step 502, a user authentication server interface is opened by a user using the mobile device authentication app. At a step 504, the user sets guest conditions such as access duration and access limitations. The guest may then register their device at a step 506 whereupon the method closes the user authentication server interface at a step 508.)
Regarding claim 10 Wolosewics discloses in the method of claim 9, further comprising adding a second tag to the first record indicating the first smart device is located in the first space. (para. 40- user authentication for voice-controlled systems with added security provided by checking IP based geo-location of the smart speaker and comparing it to the GPS based location of the user's mobile device.; GPS = second tag)
Regarding claim 11 Wolosewics discloses in the method of claim 10, further comprising: receiving, from the first user device, information indicating that the first user device is in the first space; and selecting the first smart device based on the second tag. (para. 40- user authentication for voice-controlled systems with added security provided by checking IP based geo-location of the smart speaker and comparing it to the GPS based location of the user's mobile device.; GPS = second tag)
Regarding claim 12 Wolosewics discloses in the method of claim 8, wherein the first audio signal and second audio signal are classified as a positive match when the first user device is also near or in the first space. (para. 33- Additional proximity confirmation may be provided by checking IP based geo-location of the smart speaker to the GPS based location of the user's mobile device.)
Regarding claim 13 Wolosewics discloses in the method of claim 8, wherein the second audio signal is produced by the first smart device in response to the transmission of the first audio signal. (para. 44- sonic OTP would be transmitted from the user's authentication app to the smart speaker. The microphone contained in the smart speaker would receive the sonic OTP, transmit it to the smart speaker server, which would then transmit it to the ASRV to decode the sonic OTP and extract the OTP for OTP match verification as in previous embodiments. In this embodiment, the OTP transmission cycle is reversed, as the OTP generated by the ASRV is sent to the authentication app and then received by the smart speaker. In this embodiment, the OTP may be sent to the authentication app as a sonic OTP in audio format such a .WAV or MP3 or in its unencoded, raw format, in which case the OTP would be encoded into a sonic OTP by the app prior to sonic transmission from the user's cell phone speaker.)
Regarding claim 14 Wolosewics discloses in the method of claim 13, wherein the second audio signal is captured by a microphone associated with the first user device. (para. 44- sonic OTP would be transmitted from the user's authentication app to the smart speaker. The microphone contained in the smart speaker would receive the sonic OTP, transmit it to the smart speaker server, which would then transmit it to the ASRV to decode the sonic OTP and extract the OTP for OTP match verification as in previous embodiments. In this embodiment, the OTP transmission cycle is reversed, as the OTP generated by the ASRV is sent to the authentication app and then received by the smart speaker. In this embodiment, the OTP may be sent to the authentication app as a sonic OTP in audio format such a .WAV or MP3 or in its unencoded, raw format, in which case the OTP would be encoded into a sonic OTP by the app prior to sonic transmission from the user's cell phone speaker.)
Claims 3 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wolosewicz and Pratt and further in view of Dunjic et al. (US Pub. 20210385205 A1).
Regarding claim 3, although Wolosewicz teaches using a microphone picking up an audio OTP (mp3) being played from a speaker, the microphone would pick up any surrounding sounds (see Fig. 1, para. 44), Wolosewicz does not specifically teach the first audio data includes also includes ambient sounds for the first space. However, in the related art of using an audio signal to authenticate based on two devices in proximity of each other, Dunjic teaches the first audio data also includes ambient sounds for the first space (see para. 100).  Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to use this teaching Dunjic with the disclosure of Wolosewicz as a known factor of recorded audio data where a portion of the recorded audio data is the OTP and the remainder of the recorded sound would be background noise from which the OTP audio signal would be extracted using error correction as suggested by Dunjic,
Claims 6 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wolosewicz and Pratt and further in view of Burch et al. (US Pub. 20150215299 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Wolosewicz does not specifically teach wherein the first audio data is obtained during a telephone or videoconferencing session between the first user and a service representative associated with the secured resource.  However, in the related art of using an audio signal to authenticate based on two devices in proximity of teach other, Burch teaches the first audio data is obtained during a telephone or videoconferencing session between the first user and a service representative associated with the secured resource (see paras. 49-57; 67).  Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to use this teaching of Burch with the disclosure of Wolosewicz as a known way of performing the proximity authentication with a fixed landline phone as suggested by Burch (see para. 71)
Regarding claims 15-20, they are rejected as applied to claims 1-6 because a corresponding system would have been necessitated to carry forth the method steps of claims 1-6.  The applied prior art also discloses the corresponding architecture.  (See Wolosewics, Fig. 1 and associated paras.)
Conclusion

APPLICANT REBUTTAL: REMARKS
This Amendment is submitted in response to the Office Action mailed on July 5, 2024. The claims have been amended to clarify the invention. Upon entry of this Amendment, claims 1-20 will be pending in this application, with claims 1, 8, and 15 being independent. Support for the amendments above is provided in the original disclosure, including the original drawings, specification, and claims. No new matter has been added.
Examiner Interview
The Applicant thanks Examiner William Corum Jr. for the courtesies
extended to the Applicant's representative, Jeremy Thissell, during the telephone interview conducted on September 23, 2024. During the September 23 interview, the cited references were discussed as well as their application to the independent claims.
It was agreed that amending the recommendation step to provide further clarity could advance prosecution, although no agreement was reached as to precise claim language for such an amendment. In addition, it was also agreed that amendments to clarify the term "first space" are warranted to overcome the rejection under 112(b). Applicant respectfully submits that the amendments above and the remarks below are consistent with the topics discussed during the September 23 interview. Applicant understands that a further search may be conducted after the amendment has been formally presented.
Response to Claim Re
l
ections under 35 USC 112
b
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112b as being indefinite. The
Office Action asserts that the recitations in independent claims 1, 8, and 15 about the first smart device being located in a "first space" are unclear in view of prior
recitations of the first smart device being located in a "room or space." Applicant has incorporated amendments throughout the claims to provide proper antecedent basis. In particular, Applicant now refers to the "first room or space" throughout the claims. Accordingly, Applicant respectfully submits that the rejection under 35 USC 112b has been overcome.
Response to Claim Re
l
ections under 35
USC
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 7-16, 18, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wolosewicz (US 2020/0059468) in view of Pratt et al. (US 2020/0335106). Claims 3 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wolosewicz in view of Pratt and Dunjic et al. (US 2021/0385205). Claims 6 and 20 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Wolosewicz in view of Pratt and Burch et al. (US 2015/0215299).
Amended Independent claim 1 specifies the step of "automatically
providing a recommendation, with a virtual agent,
to a mobile device of the user
to move to a first room or space in which the first smart device is located." (Emphasis added.) Applicant respectfully submits that none of the applied references disclose or suggest making such a recommendation to the user's mobile device. The Pratt reference teaches that the system can light an LED on the smart device that will be used to respond to the user. However, Applicant respectfully submits that this is not a recommendation for the user to relocate. At best, this LED system facilitates trial and error on the part of the user to check and see which smart device will be used to respond to their request. Further, this system of Pratt sends the signal for illuminating the LED to the smart device, not to the mobile device of the user as claimed. Accordingly, Applicant respectfully submits that the prior art fails to disclose or suggest all of the limitations of independent claim 1.
Independent claims 8 and 15 have been amended to include limitations
similar to those of independent claim 1 quoted above. Accordingly, Applicant respectfully submits that independent claims 8 and 15 are distinguishable over the cited art for at least similar reasons to those discussed above with respect to independent claim 1.
In addition, each of claims 2-7, 9-14, and 16-20 is dependent on one of
independent claims 1, 8, and 15. Accordingly, each of claims 2-7, 9-14, and 16- 20 is allowable for at least the same reasons that the independent claim from
which it respectively depends is allowable.
Conclusion

NEXT OFFICE ACTION: 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 .
Reasons for Allowance
Claims 1-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
In light of applicant’s claim amendments, the rejection under 35 USC § 112  is withdrawn.
The primary reason for allowance is that the prior art of record fails to teach or render obvious the following subject matter in combination with other elements of the independent claims as well as Applicant’s arguments of record as to the distinguishing features over the applied prior art: “automatically identifying a first smart device, from a collection of preregistered user devices, based on the asserted user location; automatically providing a recommendation, with a virtual agent, to a mobile device of the user to move to a first room or space in which the first smart device is located; transmitting, at a first time, a first audio signal to the first smart device located in a first space; obtaining first audio data captured by a first computing device associated with the individual, the first audio data including a recording of a second audio signal”
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee.  Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion

CITED REFERENCE SUMMARIES: Ref US20200059468A1: Claims:
A method for authenticating a user utilizing a smart speaker system, the method comprising: requesting a user authentication session by issuing a voice command to a smart speaker by the user; playing a sonic one-time password (OTP) on the smart speaker received from an authentication server in response to the requesting the user authentication session; receiving the sonic OTP by a mobile device of the user; transmitting a decoded OTP decoded from the sonic OTP to the authentication server by the mobile device; and authorizing the user by the authentication server to execute a secure transaction using the smart speaker system.
requesting a user authentication session by issuing a voice command to a smart speaker by the user;
playing a sonic one-time password (OTP) on the smart speaker received from an authentication server in response to the requesting the user authentication session;
receiving the sonic OTP by a mobile device of the user;
transmitting a decoded OTP decoded from the sonic OTP to the authentication server by the mobile device; and
authorizing the user by the authentication server to execute a secure transaction using the smart speaker system.
The method of claim 2 , further comprising: in response to the requesting the user authentication session, generating an OTP by the authentication server; encoding the OTP into a sonic OTP by the authentication server; and sending the sonic OTP to the smart speaker system.
in response to the requesting the user authentication session,
generating an OTP by the authentication server;
encoding the OTP into a sonic OTP by the authentication server; and
sending the sonic OTP to the smart speaker system.
The method of claim 3 , wherein the sonic OTP encoding requires that each OTP bit is coded in a narrow band spread spectrum audio signal centered at a far end of a decodable audio spectrum.
The method of claim 4 , wherein each OTP bit is represented by a 63-chip Pseudo Noise (PN) sequence symbol that is correlated to securely store a PN pattern in a DSP codec algorithm.
The method of claim 3 , wherein the sonic OTP is an MP3 file.
The method of claim 3 , wherein the sending is accomplished over an SSL channel established by a mutual authentication of a plurality of SSL certificates.
The method of claim 2 , further comprising: in response to receiving the sonic OTP by the mobile device of the user, decoding the sonic OTP by a mobile application on the mobile device.
in response to receiving the sonic OTP by the mobile device of the user, decoding the sonic OTP by a mobile application on the mobile device.
The method of claim 2 , wherein the authorizing the user by the authentication server comprises: determining whether a timeout is required; and if the timeout is required, terminating the user authentication session.
determining whether a timeout is required; and
if the timeout is required, terminating the user authentication session.
The method of claim 2 , wherein the authorizing the user by the authentication server further comprises: determining whether the decoded OTP matches the OTP encoded by the authentication server; and if the decoded OTP and the OTP do not match, terminating the user authentication session.
determining whether the decoded OTP matches the OTP encoded by the authentication server; and
if the decoded OTP and the OTP do not match, terminating the user authentication session.
The method of claim 9 , wherein the timeout comprises a process window of less than approximately 0.5 seconds.
The method of claim 2 , wherein the mobile device and the smart speaker are required to be located within close proximity.
The method of claim 12 , wherein close proximity is determined by comparing a GPS based location of the mobile device and an IP geo-location of the smart speaker.
The method of claim 2 , further comprising: registering a guest on the smart speaker, wherein the registering comprises: opening a user authentication server interface by the user; setting a plurality of guest conditions for the guest; and closing the user authentication server interface.
registering a guest on the smart speaker, wherein the registering comprises: opening a user authentication server interface by the user; setting a plurality of guest conditions for the guest; and closing the user authentication server interface.
opening a user authentication server interface by the user;
setting a plurality of guest conditions for the guest; and
closing the user authentication server interface.
A system for authenticating a user comprising: an authentication server configured to manage a user authentication session; a smart speaker system in electronic communication with the authentication server, the smart speaker system configured to manage user data corresponding with the user authentication session; and a mobile device in wireless communication with the authentication server and the smart speaker system, the mobile device configured to manage passwords corresponding with the user authentication session.
an authentication server configured to manage a user authentication session;
a smart speaker system in electronic communication with the authentication server, the smart speaker system configured to manage user data corresponding with the user authentication session; and
a mobile device in wireless communication with the authentication server and the smart speaker system, the mobile device configured to manage passwords corresponding with the user authentication session.
The system of claim 15 , wherein the authentication server comprises: a one-time-password (OTP) generator for generating an OTP; and an OTP encoder for generating a sonic OTP from the OTP.
a one-time-password (OTP) generator for generating an OTP; and
an OTP encoder for generating a sonic OTP from the OTP.
The system of claim 16 , wherein the smart speaker system comprises: a smart speaker for receiving vocal commands from a user and for playing the sonic OTP; and a smart speaker server for handling electronic communication between the smart speaker and the authorization server.
a smart speaker for receiving vocal commands from a user and for playing the sonic OTP; and
a smart speaker server for handling electronic communication between the smart speaker and the authorization server.
The system of claim 16 , wherein the mobile device comprises: a mobile application for decoding the sonic OPT to a decoded OTP.
a mobile application for decoding the sonic OPT to a decoded OTP.
The system of claim 18 , wherein the authentication server further comprises: a password comparator for comparing the OTP with the decoded OTP.
a password comparator for comparing the OTP with the decoded OTP.
Ref US20200335106A1: Claims:
A system comprising: a wireless communication interface; a processor communicatively coupled to the wireless communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to perform operations comprising: identifying at least one audio request received through a plurality of agents in a network; and determining at which agent of the plurality of agents to actively process a selected audio request of the at least one audio request using at least one of location context, person interaction context, or secondary trait analysis; wherein the at least one audio request includes at least one of simultaneous audio requests received through at least two agents of the plurality of agents or at least two differing audio requests received from different requesters.
a wireless communication interface;
a processor communicatively coupled to the wireless communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to perform operations comprising: identifying at least one audio request received through a plurality of agents in a network; and determining at which agent of the plurality of agents to actively process a selected audio request of the at least one audio request using at least one of location context, person interaction context, or secondary trait analysis; wherein the at least one audio request includes at least one of simultaneous audio requests received through at least two agents of the plurality of agents or at least two differing audio requests received from different requesters.
identifying at least one audio request received through a plurality of agents in a network; and
determining at which agent of the plurality of agents to actively process a selected audio request of the at least one audio request using at least one of location context, person interaction context, or secondary trait analysis;
wherein the at least one audio request includes at least one of simultaneous audio requests received through at least two agents of the plurality of agents or at least two differing audio requests received from different requesters.
The system of claim 1 wherein the secondary trait analysis includes at least one of footstep recognition, non-language-sound cadence, habit pattern analysis, or tonal context.
The system of claim 1 wherein the location context includes at least one of localization, movement, or spatial usage restrictions.
The system of claim 1 , the operations further comprising: activating an attention token at one agent of the plurality of agents at which the selected audio request is to be actively processed; and displaying an indication of the attention token at the one agent of the plurality of agents at which the selected audio request is to be actively processed.
activating an attention token at one agent of the plurality of agents at which the selected audio request is to be actively processed; and
displaying an indication of the attention token at the one agent of the plurality of agents at which the selected audio request is to be actively processed.
The system of claim 1 , the operations further comprising: automatically sorting ambient sounds into sound categories; and using the sound categories to provide location context for determining at which agent of the plurality of agents to actively process the selected audio request.
automatically sorting ambient sounds into sound categories; and
using the sound categories to provide location context for determining at which agent of the plurality of agents to actively process the selected audio request.
The system of claim 1 wherein the operations further comprise running a state machine, the system further comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium communicatively coupled to the processor, the non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a state of the state machine based on at least one of a previous audio request and a previous action.
The system of claim 6 wherein the operations further comprise taking an action based on both the selected audio request and the state.
A method comprising: identifying, by a processor, at least one audio request received through a plurality of agents in a network; and determining, by the processor, at which agent of the plurality of agents to actively process a selected audio request of the at least one audio request using at least one of location context, person interaction context, or secondary trait analysis; wherein the at least one audio request includes at least one of simultaneous audio requests received through at least two agents of the plurality of agents or at least two differing audio requests received from different requesters.
identifying, by a processor, at least one audio request received through a plurality of agents in a network; and
determining, by the processor, at which agent of the plurality of agents to actively process a selected audio request of the at least one audio request using at least one of location context, person interaction context, or secondary trait analysis;
The method of claim 8 wherein the secondary trait analysis includes at least one of footstep recognition, non-language-sound cadence, habit pattern analysis, or tonal context.
The method of claim 8 wherein the location context includes at least one of localization, movement, or spatial usage restrictions.
The method of claim 8 further comprising: activating an attention token at one agent of the plurality of agents at which the selected audio request is to be actively processed; and displaying an indication of the attention token at the one agent of the plurality of agents at which the selected audio request is to be actively processed.
The method of claim 8 further comprising: automatically sorting ambient sounds into sound categories; and using the sound categories to provide location context for determining at which agent of the plurality of agents to actively process the selected audio request.
The method of claim 8 further comprising: running a state machine; and storing a state of the state machine based on at least one of a previous audio request and a previous action.
running a state machine; and
storing a state of the state machine based on at least one of a previous audio request and a previous action.
The method of claim 13 further comprising taking an action based on both the selected audio request and the state.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium that includes instructions that are executable by a computing device for causing the computing device to perform operations for multi-agent input coordination, the operations comprising: identifying at least one audio request received through a plurality of agents in a network; and determining at which agent of the plurality of agents to actively process a selected audio request of the at least one audio request using at least one of location context, person interaction context, or secondary trait analysis; wherein the at least one audio request includes at least one of simultaneous audio requests received through at least two agents of the plurality of agents or at least two differing audio requests received from different requesters.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the secondary trait analysis includes at least one of footstep recognition, non-language-sound cadence, habit pattern analysis, or tonal context.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the location context includes at least one of localization, movement, or spatial usage restrictions.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , the operations further comprising: activating an attention token at one agent of the plurality of agents at which the selected audio request is to be actively processed; and displaying an indication of the attention token at the one agent of the plurality of agents at which the selected audio request is to be actively processed.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , the operations further comprising: automatically sorting ambient sounds into sound categories; and using the sound categories to provide location context for determining at which agent of the plurality of agents to actively process the selected audio request.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 the operations further comprising: running a state machine; storing a state of the state machine based on at least one of a previous audio request and a previous action; and taking an action based on both the selected audio request and the state.
running a state machine;
storing a state of the state machine based on at least one of a previous audio request and a previous action; and
taking an action based on both the selected audio request and the state.
Ref US20210385205A1: Claims:
A computer server system comprising: a processor; a communications module coupled to the processor; a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computer server system to: share an indication of at least a portion of a session token with a first electronic device, wherein the first electronic device is configured to acoustically signal the at least a portion of the session token; receive, by the computer server system using the communications module from a computing device, an indication based on at least a portion of the session token as reconstructed by the computing device based on an acoustic signal of the at least a portion of the session token as signalled by the first electronic device and captured by the computing device; confirm, by the processor, that the indication corresponds to the session token; and after confirming that the indication corresponds to the session token, establishing a trusted session between the first electronic device and the computer server system.
a communications module coupled to the processor;
a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computer server system to:
share an indication of at least a portion of a session token with a first electronic device, wherein the first electronic device is configured to acoustically signal the at least a portion of the session token;
receive, by the computer server system using the communications module from a computing device, an indication based on at least a portion of the session token as reconstructed by the computing device based on an acoustic signal of the at least a portion of the session token as signalled by the first electronic device and captured by the computing device;
confirm, by the processor, that the indication corresponds to the session token; and
after confirming that the indication corresponds to the session token, establishing a trusted session between the first electronic device and the computer server system.
The computer server system of claim 1 , wherein the session token is divided into a first portion and a second portion and wherein the at least a portion of the session token is the first portion of the session token, and wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the computer server system to: send, to the computing device using the communications module, an indication of the second portion of the session token, wherein the computing device reconstructs the session token by combining the second portion of the session token with at least a portion of the session token as reconstructed by the computing device to yield the session token.
send, to the computing device using the communications module, an indication of the second portion of the session token, wherein the computing device reconstructs the session token by combining the second portion of the session token with at least a portion of the session token as reconstructed by the computing device to yield the session token.
The computer server system of claim 1 , wherein the at least a portion of the session token sent to the first electronic device includes the entirety of the session token.
The computer server system of claim 1 , wherein the indication based on identifying information for the computing device and on the session token as reconstructed by the computing device includes an authentication cryptogram generated by the computing device based on the session token as reconstructed by the computing device and the identifying information for the computing device.
The computer server system of claim 4 , wherein the authentication cryptogram is generated and verified using a pre-determined encryption algorithm and based on a pre-determined encryption key, and wherein the pre-determined encryption key is associated with the account linking token.
The computer server system of claim 5 , wherein the pre-determined encryption algorithm is 3 DES.
The computer server system of claim 1 , wherein the at least a portion of the session token is acoustically signalled by the first electronic device ultrasonically.
The computer server system of claim 1 , wherein the indication of at least a portion of the session token includes an encoded audio signal indicating the at least a portion of the session token.
A computer-implemented method comprising: share, by a computer server system and with a 
[Truncated to input limit]