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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 04/15/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 8, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-22 under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Claims 1, 8 and 15 have been amended to remove the feature of a “bus protocol.” The rejection has been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments, see pages 8-14, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-4, 6-11, 13-18 and 20-21 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Jeffries (US Patent Application Publication 2016/0297398) discloses configuration information that configures the telematics device for issuing vehicle control command codes, which are specific digital commands for operating electromechanical functions such as locking and unlocking vehicle doors, popping open the trunk, illuminating lights, sounding horns, etc. Applicant specifically argues that information for enabling communications between the telematics device and one or more components of the vehicle, as claimed, is different from information for performing these functions. While it is possible for information for enabling communications to be different from information for performing the command functions disclosed by Jeffries, the claims are silent on what the information is and rather define the information by what it does. Since the structure of the information is not provided in the instant specification and drawings for comparison with the prior art, it is the language of the claims that defines the meets and bounds of the instant invention. In this case, the communications between the telematics device and the vehicle components, such as the trunk, lights, horns or doors, are enabled by control commands that control each of these components. Applicant’s discussion of Ban (CN 107817786 A) is moot because the reference is no longer relied upon in the current ground of rejection. Applicant argues that McClellan (US Patent Application Publication 2008/0294690) does not disclose “reporting, to the management server, hours of service data in response to configuring the one or more parameters of the telematics device based on the configuration information” as claimed. Applicant reasons that the hours of service data are supplied based on one of a substantial list of triggers such as predetermined time intervals and random time intervals, none of which are suggested as following configuration of the telematics device based on the configuration information. In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986). In this case, the triggers disclosed by McClellan occur only after communications have been enabled between the telematics device and the vehicle [se e for example Figure 9 of McClellan where the telematics or monitoring device must first be installed in the vehicle and connected to the on-board diagnostic system before data col lection can be performed]. Jeffries is relied upon for disclosure of configuring the one or more parameters of the telematics device based on the configuration information for the purpose of enabling communications. It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to perform the step of reporting the data disclosed by McClellan after the step of enabling communications based on received configuration information disclosed by Jeffries, because as discus sed in the outstanding rejection, the data disclosed by McClellan is valuable data normally collected by vehicle telematics units and to collect the data requires communications between the telematics device and the vehicle. Rationally, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art not to establish communications until the configuration information was received in order to uniquely identify whether the vehicle is compatible with an aftermarket telematics device. Applicant argues that combining the Jeffries’ cloud pairing into Berkobin (US Patent Application Publication 2014/0343751) would change the principle of operation of Berkobin whose telematics device is self-contained and doesn’t rely on remote tables. Applicant’s argument regarding modifying Berkobin with Jeffries is not persuasive because Berkobin teaches that the on-board database can be remote from the device and receive updates remotely [see Berkobin paragraph 0011].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6-11, 13-18 and 20-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Berkobin (US Patent Application Publication 2014/0343751) in view of Hering (US Patent Application Publication 2008/0071882) in view of Jefferies (US Patent Application Publication 2016/0297398) and further in view of McClellan (US Patent Application Publication 2008/0294690).
Regarding claims 1 and 21, Berkobin discloses a method of vehicle location tracking by a telematics device [0008], comprising:
detecting an activation of a vehicle [0013] [0028-0029] [0076];
receiving vehicle data including a vehicle identification number (VIN) and sensor data associated with the vehicle in response to the detecting the activation of the vehicle [0023, 0052, 0054-0055];
correlating the VIN to the sensor data [0023] [0052];
determining whether a change of VIN condition occurred for the telematics device based on a comparison of the VIN with a previously recorded VIN [0057];
in response to the change of VIN condition occurring,
transmitting, to the management server, an indication of the change of VIN condition with the VIN [0008-0009] [0034-0035] [0057].
Berkobin does not disclose receiving from the management server in response to the indication and the VIN being transmitted, configuration information generated based on a make and model of the vehicle determined from the VIN to configure one more parameters of the telematics device for communicating with one or more components of the vehicle.
Hering discloses a method for a telematics device (32) for a vehicle that includes, in response to a change of VIN condition occurring, transmitting, to a management server (20), an indication of the change of VIN condition with the VIN [0015-0016] [0021] [0024-0030].
Hering teaches that VIN and the indication can be used to determine if the VIN has been illegally installed in a vehicle [0028]. In this situation, Hering teaches that known telematics devices can be configured to establish communications with one or more additional third parties, such as a police department or vehicle owner [0016] [0028], thereby for example preventing thieves from imitating a non-stolen vehicle [0004].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the configuration step disclosed by Hering with the known telematics device disclosed by Berkobin in response to receiving the indication and the VIN being transmitted because these steps can be used to notify a third party of a stolen vehicle.
Berkobin, as modified by Hering, does not disclose receiving, from the management server in response to the indication and the VIN being transmitted, configuration information generated based on a make and model of the vehicle determined from the VIN to configure one or more parameters of the telematics device for enabling communications between the telematics device and one or more components of the vehicle.
Jefferies discloses receiving from a management server (970) in response to an indication of a change of VIN condition and a VIN being transmitted, configuration information generated based on a make and model of the vehicle determined from the VIN to configure one or more parameters of a telematics device (“control module”) for enabling communications between the telematics device and one or more components of a vehicle (303) via a vehicle data bus (513) [0008, the control module includes at least a processor, modem, antennas and transceivers connected with the processor] [0050, 0054, where the VIN is transmitted to the management server] [0056, 0066 where the server contains a number of tables or associations between vehicles and control modules, and an indication of a change of VIN condition is sent to the server when a control module is installed in a different vehicle and the association is updated by pairing the control module to the new vehicle and unpairing the control module from the old vehicle] [0071, where association or pairing the control module with the new vehicle enables communications between the control module and one or more components, such as the doors, of the new vehicle] [0082-0083, where the make and model of the vehicle is determined from the VIN and used to configure the control module to enable communications between the control module and the vehicle so that the commands are sent from the control module to the vehicle].
Jefferies teaches that receiving the configuration from the management server allows the telematics device to be correctly associated with a new vehicle when the telematics device is transferred between vehicles [0056]. Jefferies suggests that transferring telematics devices between vehicles would be useful in the context of a fleet of vehicles which are compatible with interchangeable telematics devices, such as a rental car share or agency [0003] [0057]. Jefferies teaches that enabling communications between the telematics device and components of the vehicle is response to information from the management server allows billing to take place based on a number of vehicles the telematics device is installed in, how long the device is installed, etc. [0056, 0058, 0067].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable communications between a telematics device an one or more components of a vehicle in response to receiving configuration information from a remote management server as disclosed by Jefferies using the telematics device in the vehicle disclosed by Berkobin, as modified by Hering, in order to enable vehicle functions when the telematics device is transferred between vehicles of fleet, such as a rental car share, or to enable billing based on a number of vehicles the telematics device is used in or an amount of time the telematics device is used.
Berkobin, as modified by Hering and Jeffries, does not disclose reporting, to the management server, hours of service data or vehicle location data in response to the configuring the one or more parameters of the telematics device based on the configuration information to enable communications. As discussed above, Jeffries discloses receiving configuration information from the management server to enable communications between the telematics device and one or more components of the vehicle.
McClellan discloses reporting to a management server (105) hours of service data in response to enabled communications [0077, where McClellan defines a plurality of conditions in which communications are enabled]; and
reporting, to the management server, vehicle location data in response to the enabled communications [0029, 0042, 0055, 0057, 0091, as shown in Figure 3].
McClellan teaches that hours of service data is information that is normally contained in reporting to federal entities to ensure that drivers do not exceed regulated limits of on the duration of vehicle operation [0013, 0016, 0053]. McClellan teaches that reporting the vehicle location to the server when communications are enabled may allow help to be dispatched to the vehicle [0055], for example in the case of accidents or unauthorized vehicle movement such as theft [0059].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to report to the management server disclosed by Berkobin, as modified by Hering and Jeffries, the hours of service data and vehicle location in response to communications being enabled between a telematics device on the vehicle and the server as disclosed by McClellan, where the communications are enabled based on configuration information received from the server, as disclosed by Jeffries, because hours of service data is a form of data normally transmitted to a management server from fleet vehicles to comply with federal regulations and because the vehicle location can be used to dispatch assistance to the vehicle at the time of an event or exception.
Regarding claim 2, Berkobin further discloses transmitting, in response to the change of VIN condition occurring, a notification to a computing device indicating the change of VIN condition [0014] [0057].
Regarding claim 3, Berkobin further discloses wherein the sensor data includes data from one or more of an odometer, a location determining system, or an engine hours tracker [0012-0013].
Regarding claim 4, Berkobin further discloses receiving the vehicle data from an engine control module (ECM) of the vehicle [0008] [0076] [0081].
Regarding claim 6, Berkobin further discloses wherein receiving the vehicle data including the VIN and the sensor data associated with the vehicle includes receiving vehicle location information from a location determining system, and wherein correlating the VIN to the sensor data includes correlating the VIN to the vehicle location information [0055-0057].
Regarding claim 7, Berkobin further discloses configuring the one or more parameters of the telematics device for communicating with the one or more components of the vehicle, based on the configuration information [0008-0009] [0034-0035] [0057].
Regarding claim 8, Berkobin discloses a telematics device for a vehicle [0008], comprising:
a memory storing instructions [0017] [0020]; and
one or more processors coupled with the memory [0017] [0020] and configured to:
detect an activation of a vehicle [0013] [0028-0029] [0076];
receive vehicle data including a vehicle identification number (VIN) and sensor data associated with the vehicle in response to the activation of the vehicle being detected [0023, 0052, 0054-0055];
correlate the VIN to the sensor data [0023] [0052];
determine whether a change of VIN condition occurred for the telematics device based on a comparison of the VIN with a previously recorded VIN [0057];
in response to the change of VIN condition occurring,
transmit, to the management server, an indication of the change of VIN condition with the VIN [0008-0009] [0034-0035] [0057].
Berkobin does not disclose in response to the change of VIN condition occurring,
receive from the management server in response to the indication and the VIN being transmitted, configuration information generated based on a make and model of the vehicle determined from the VIN to configure one more parameters of the telematics device for communicating with one or more components of the vehicle.
As discussed above, the telematics device disclosed by Berkobin is configured to transmit the indication to the management server when the change of VIN condition occurs.
Hering discloses a method for a telematics device (32) for a vehicle that includes, in response to a change of VIN condition occurring, transmitting, to a management server (20), an indication of the change of VIN condition with the VIN [0015-0016] [0021] [0024-0030].
Hering teaches that VIN and the indication can be used to determine if the VIN has been illegally installed in a vehicle [0028]. In this situation, Hering teaches that known telematics devices can be configured to establish communications with one or more additional third parties, such as a police department or vehicle owner [0016] [0028], thereby for example preventing thieves from imitating a non-stolen vehicle [0004].
Berkobin, as modified by Hering, does not disclose the one or more processors configured to receive, from the management server in response to the indication and the VIN being transmitted, configuration information generated based on a make and a model of the vehicle determined from the VIN to configure one or more parameters of the telematics device for enabling communications between the telematics device and one or more components of the vehicle.
Jefferies discloses receiving from a management server (970) in response to an indication of a change of VIN condition and a VIN being transmitted, configuration information generated based on a make and model of the vehicle determined from the VIN to configure one or more parameters of a telematics device (“control module”) for enabling communications between the telematics device and one or more components of a vehicle (303) via a vehicle data bus (513) [0008, the control module includes at least a processor, modem, antennas and transceivers connected with the processor] [0050, 0054, where the VIN is transmitted to the management server] [0056, 0066 where the server contains a number of tables or associations between vehicles and control modules, and an indication of a change of VIN condition is sent to the server when a control module is installed in a different vehicle and the association is updated by pairing the control module to the new vehicle and unpairing the control module from the old vehicle] [0071, where association or pairing the control module with the new vehicle enables communications between the control module and one or more components, such as the doors, of the new vehicle] [0082-0083, where the make and model of the vehicle is determined from the VIN and used to configure the control module to enable communications between the control module and the vehicle so that the commands are sent from the control module to the vehicle].
Jefferies teaches that receiving the configuration from the management server allows the telematics device to be correctly associated with a new vehicle when the telematics device is transferred between vehicles [0056]. Jefferies suggests that transferring telematics devices between vehicles would be useful in the context of a fleet of vehicles which are compatible with interchangeable telematics devices, such as a rental car share or agency [0003] [0057]. Jefferies teaches that enabling communications between the telematics device and components of the vehicle is response to information from the management server allows billing to take place based on a number of vehicles the telematics device is installed in, how long the device is installed, etc. [0056, 0058, 0067].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable communications between a telematics device an one or more components of a vehicle in response to receiving configuration information from a remote management server as disclosed by Jefferies using the telematics device in the vehicle disclosed by Berkobin, as modified by Hering, in order to enable vehicle functions when the telematics device is transferred between vehicles of fleet, such as a rental car share, or to enable billing based on a number of vehicles the telematics device is used in or an amount of time the telematics device is used.
Berkobin, as modified by Hering and Jeffries, does not disclose reporting, to the management server, hours of service data or vehicle location data in response to the configuring the one or more parameters of the telematics device based on the configuration information to enable communications. As discussed above, Jeffries discloses receiving configuration information from the management server to enable communications between the telematics device and one or more components of the vehicle.
McClellan discloses reporting to a management server (105) hours of service data in response to enabled communications [0077, where McClellan defines a plurality of conditions in which communications are enabled]; and
reporting, to the management server, vehicle location data in response to the enabled communications [0029, 0042, 0055, 0057, 0091, as shown in Figure 3].
McClellan teaches that hours of service data is information that is normally contained in reporting to federal entities to ensure that drivers do not exceed regulated limits of on the duration of vehicle operation [0013, 0016, 0053]. McClellan teaches that reporting the vehicle location to the server when communications are enabled may allow help to be dispatched to the vehicle [0055], for example in the case of accidents or unauthorized vehicle movement such as theft [0059].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to report to the management server disclosed by Berkobin, as modified by Hering and Jeffries, the hours of service data and vehicle location in response to communications being enabled between a telematics device on the vehicle and the server as disclosed by McClellan, where the communications are enabled based on configuration information received from the server, as disclosed by Jeffries, because hours of service data is a form of data normally transmitted to a management server from fleet vehicles to comply with federal regulations and because the vehicle location can be used to dispatch assistance to the vehicle at the time of an event or exception.
Regarding claim 9, Berkobin further discloses wherein the one or more processors is further configured to: transmit, in response to the change of VIN condition occurring, a notification to a computing device indicating the change of VIN condition [0014] [0057].
Regarding claim 10, Berkobin further discloses wherein the sensor data includes data from one or more of an odometer, a location determining system, or an engine hours tracker [0012-0013].
Regarding claim 11, Berkobin further discloses wherein the one or more processors is further configured to: receive the vehicle data from an engine control module (ECM) of the vehicle [0008] [0076] [0081].
Regarding claim 13, Berkobin further discloses wherein the one or more processors is further configured to: receive the vehicle data including the VIN and the sensor data associated with the vehicle includes receiving vehicle location information from a location determining system, and correlate the VIN to the sensor data includes correlating the VIN to the vehicle location information [0055-0057].
Regarding claim 14, Berkobin further discloses wherein the one or more processors is further configured to: configure the one or more parameters of the telematics device for communicating with the one or more components of the vehicle, based on the configuration information [0008-0009] [0034-0035] [0057].
Regarding claim 15, Berkobin discloses a computer-readable medium for a telematics device [0008], comprising computer executable instructions to:
detect an activation of a vehicle [0013] [0028-0029] [0076];
receive vehicle data including a vehicle identification number (VIN) and sensor data associated with the vehicle in response to the activation of the vehicle being detected [0023, 0052, 0054-0055];
correlate the VIN to the sensor data [0023] [0052];
determine whether a change of VIN condition occurred for the telematics device based on a comparison of the VIN with a previously recorded VIN [0057];
in response to the change of VIN condition occurring,
transmit, to the management server, an indication of the change of VIN condition with the VIN [0008-0009] [0034-0035] [0057].
Berkobin does not disclose receiving from the management server in response to the indication and the VIN being transmitted, configuration information generated based on a make and model of the vehicle determined from the VIN to configure one more parameters of the telematics device for communicating with one or more components of the vehicle. Berkobin does not disclose the computer-readable medium is non-transitory.
Hering discloses a method for a telematics device (32) for a vehicle that includes, in response to a change of VIN condition occurring, transmitting, to a management server (20), an indication of the change of VIN condition with the VIN [0015-0016] [0021] [0024-0030].
Hering teaches that VIN and the indication can be used to determine if the VIN has been illegally installed in a vehicle [0028]. In this situation, Hering teaches that known telematics devices can be configured to establish communications with one or more additional third parties, such as a police department or vehicle owner [0016] [0028], thereby for example preventing thieves from imitating a non-stolen vehicle [0004].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the configuration step disclosed by Hering with the known telematics device disclosed by Berkobin in response to receiving the indication and the VIN being transmitted because these steps can be used to notify a third party of a stolen vehicle.
Berkobin, as modified by Hering, does not disclose the one or more processors configured to receive, from the management server in response to the indication and the VIN being transmitted, configuration information generated based on a make and model of the vehicle determined from the VIN to configure one or more parameters of the telematics device for enabling communications between the telematics device and one or more components of the vehicle. Berkobin, as modified by Hering, does not disclose the computer-readable medium is non-transitory.
Jefferies discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer executable instructions to receive from a management server (970) in response to an indication of a change of VIN condition and a VIN being transmitted, configuration information generated based on a make and model of the vehicle determined from the VIN to configure one or more parameters of a telematics device (“control module”) for enabling communications between the telematics device and one or more components of a vehicle (303) via a vehicle data bus (513) [0121, where the computer-readable medium is non-transitory] [0008, the control module includes at least a processor, modem, antennas and transceivers connected with the processor] [0050, 0054, where the VIN is transmitted to the management server] [0056, 0066 where the server contains a number of tables or associations between vehicles and control modules, and an indication of a change of VIN condition is sent to the server when a control module is installed in a different vehicle and the association is updated by pairing the control module to the new vehicle and unpairing the control module from the old vehicle] [0071, where association or pairing the control module with the new vehicle enables communications between the control module and one or more components, such as the doors, of the new vehicle] [0082-0083, where the make and model of the vehicle is determined from the VIN and used to configure the control module to enable communications between the control module and the vehicle so that the commands are sent from the control module to the vehicle].
Jefferies teaches that receiving the configuration from the management server allows the telematics device to be correctly associated with a new vehicle when the telematics device is transferred between vehicles [0056]. Jefferies suggests that transferring telematics devices between vehicles would be useful in the context of a fleet of vehicles which are compatible with interchangeable telematics devices, such as a rental car share or agency [0003] [0057]. Jefferies teaches that enabling communications between the telematics device and components of the vehicle is response to information from the management server allows billing to take place based on a number of vehicles the telematics device is installed in, how long the device is installed, etc. [0056, 0058, 0067]. Jeffries teaches that the instructions to enable communications between the telematics device and vehicle components may be executed on any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium or by transmitted data signals [0121].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable communications between a telematics device an one or more components of a vehicle in response to receiving configuration information from a remote management server as disclosed by Jefferies using the telematics device in the vehicle disclosed by Berkobin, as modified by Hering, in order to enable vehicle functions when the telematics device is transferred between vehicles of fleet, such as a rental car share, or to enable billing based on a number of vehicles the telematics device is used in or an amount of time the telematics device is used. Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to embody the computer executable instructions disclosed by Berkobin, as modified by Hering, on a non-transitory computer readable medium as disclosed by Jeffries because a non-transitory computer readable medium or transmission of control signals are equally effective to enable communications between the telematics device and vehicle components.
Berkobin, as modified by Hering and Jeffries, does not disclose reporting, to the management server, hours of service data or vehicle location data in response to the configuring the one or more parameters of the telematics device based on the configuration information to enable communications. As discussed above, Jeffries discloses receiving configuration information from the management server to enable communications between the telematics device and one or more components of the vehicle.
McClellan discloses reporting to a management server (105) hours of service data in response to enabled communications [0077, where McClellan defines a plurality of conditions in which communications are enabled]; and
reporting, to the management server, vehicle location data in response to the enabled communications [0029, 0042, 0055, 0057, 0091, as shown in Figure 3].
McClellan teaches that hours of service data is information that is normally contained in reporting to federal entities to ensure that drivers do not exceed regulated limits of on the duration of vehicle operation [0013, 0016, 0053]. McClellan teaches that reporting the vehicle location to the server when communications are enabled may allow help to be dispatched to the vehicle [0055], for example in the case of accidents or unauthorized vehicle movement such as theft [0059].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to report to the management server disclosed by Berkobin, as modified by Hering and Jeffries, the hours of service data and vehicle location in response to communications being enabled between a telematics device on the vehicle and the server as disclosed by McClellan, where the communications are enabled based on configuration information received from the server, as disclosed by Jeffries, because hours of service data is a form of data normally transmitted to a management server from fleet vehicles to comply with federal regulations and because the vehicle location can be used to dispatch assistance to the vehicle at the time of an event or exception.
Regarding claim 16, Berkobin further discloses computer executable instructions to: transmit, in response to the change of VIN condition occurring, a notification to a computing device indicating the change of VIN condition [0014] [0057].
Regarding claim 17, Berkobin further discloses wherein the sensor data includes data from one or more of an odometer, a location determining system, or an engine hours tracker [0012-0013].
Regarding claim 18, Berkobin further discloses wherein the one or more processors is further configured to: receive the vehicle data from an engine control module (ECM) of the vehicle [0008] [0076] [0081].
Regarding claim 20, Berkobin further discloses computer executable instructions to: configure the one or more parameters of the telematics device for communicating with the one or more components of the vehicle, based on the configuration information [0008-0009] [0034-0035] [0057].
Claim(s) 5, 12 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Berkobin (US Patent Application Publication 2014/0343751) in view of Hering (US Patent Application Publication 2008/0071882) in view of Jefferies (US Patent Application Publication 2016/0297398) in view of McClellan (US Patent Application Publication 2008/0294690) and further in view of Hassib (US Patent Application Publication 2013/0190967).
Regarding claim 5, Berkobin, as modified by Hering and Jeffries, discloses the method of claim 1 as discussed above but does not disclose maintaining a database of vehicle information including previously stored vehicle data; and adding the vehicle data to the database.
Hassib discloses systems and methods for telematics monitoring and communications (Title) including maintaining a database of vehicle information including previously stored vehicle data, and adding the vehicle data to the database [0050] [0056] [0118].
Hassib teaches that it may be desirable to store a database of vehicle information for actuarial purposes in determining insurance rates and for consumer protection applications related to a vehicle’s operational background [0008] [0041]. A database may provide desired information in an easy to understand format [0056].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the step or function of maintaining the database disclosed by Hassib with the method disclosed by Berkobin to facilitate storage of insurance information and information for consumer protection applications.
Regarding claim 12, Berkobin, as modified by Hering and Jeffries, discloses the device of claim 8 as discussed above but does not disclose wherein the one or more processors is further configured to: maintain a database of vehicle information including previously stored vehicle data; and add the vehicle data to the database.
Hassib discloses systems and methods for telematics monitoring and communications (Title) including maintaining a database of vehicle information including previously stored vehicle data, and adding the vehicle data to the database [0050] [0056] [0118].
Hassib teaches that it may be desirable to store a database of vehicle information for actuarial purposes in determining insurance rates and for consumer protection applications related to a vehicle’s operational background [0008] [0041]. A database may provide desired information in an easy to understand format [0056].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the step or function of maintaining the database disclosed by Hassib with the device disclosed by Berkobin to facilitate storage of insurance information and information for consumer protection applications.
Regarding claim 19, Berkobin, as modified by Hering and Jeffries, discloses the medium of claim 15 as discussed above but does not disclose computer executable instructions to: maintain a database of vehicle information including previously stored vehicle data; and add the vehicle data to the database.
Hassib discloses systems and methods for telematics monitoring and communications (Title) including maintaining a database of vehicle information including previously stored vehicle data, and adding the vehicle data to the database [0050] [0056] [0118].
Hassib teaches that it may be desirable to store a database of vehicle information for actuarial purposes in determining insurance rates and for consumer protection applications related to a vehicle’s operational background [0008] [0041]. A database may provide desired information in an easy to understand format [0056].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the step or function of maintaining the database disclosed by Hassib with the device disclosed by Berkobin to facilitate storage of insurance information and information for consumer protection applications.
Claim(s) 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Berkobin (US Patent Application Publication 2014/0343751) in view of Hering (US Patent Application Publication 2008/0071882) in view of Jefferies (US Patent Application Publication 2016/0297398) in view of McClellan (US Patent Application Publication 2008/0294690) and further in view of Hines (US Patent Application Publication 2007/0236342).
Regarding claim 22, Berkobin, as modified by Hering, Jeffries and McClellan, discloses the method of claim 1 as discussed above but does not disclose wherein the telematics device is further configured to alert a driver when one or more vehicle parameters are not within a threshold.
Hines discloses a telematics device (115) that is configured to alert a driver when one or more vehicle parameters are not within a threshold [0030]. Hines teaches that there has been a need in the art to monitor vehicle speed and notify a driver when a speed limit is exceeded since modern cars use improved suspension and noise cancellation techniques that eliminate common passive speed indicators, leading to drivers inadvertently driving with excess speed [0005]. Hines teaches that excess speed can lead to hazardous and up to deadly situations for the driver, other vehicles and pedestrians on the same or adjacent roadways [0004].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the telematics device disclosed by Berkobin to alert the driver when a vehicle speed is not within a threshold as disclosed by Hines to allow a driver to avoid inadvertently driving with excess speed, thereby preventing speeding violations and hazardous driving situations.
Claim(s) 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Berkobin (US Patent Application Publication 2014/0343751) in view of Hering (US Patent Application Publication 2008/0071882) in view of Jefferies (US Patent Application Publication 2016/0297398) in view of McClellan (US Patent Application Publication 2008/0294690) and further in view of Rude (US Patent Application Publication 2015/0052226).
Regarding claim 23, Berkobin, as modified by Hering, Jeffries and McClellan discloses the method of claim 1 as discussed above but does not disclose wherein the configuration information based on the make and model of the vehicle further comprises information to configure the telematics device to interpret data from one or more sensors of the vehicle.
Rude discloses a telematics device (102) that receives configuration information from a management server (108) based on a make and model of a vehicle (104), the configuration information comprising information to configure the telematics device to interpret data from one or more sensors (212) of the vehicle [0016-0017, 0019, 0025-0026].
Rude teaches that to enable a single vehicle telematics device to be used with a variety of vehicles, it is necessary to configure the device to operate within a defined communication profile [0016]. Rude teaches that once configured, a single aftermarket telematics device can monitor vehicle sensors and control components for the vehicle [0002].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the configuration information disclosed by Berkobin, as modified by Hering, Jeffires and McClellan, information to configure the telematics device to interpret data from one or more sensors of the vehicle if the telematics device is an aftermarket device not produced by the vehicle manufacturer and designed to be used with vehicles of different makes and models having different sensors or sensor arrangements to allow collection of data from the sensors and thus to control vehicle components.
Conclusion
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/JOSHUA CAMPBELL/
Examiner, Art Unit 3747
/CARL C STAUBACH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747
Prosecution Insights