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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 2/20/26 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Claim 24 is amended.
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) 24, 30-32 and 36 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 5,949,591 to Whitehead in view of US 7,137,715 to Schuurmans et al. and US 10,220,788 to Peterson et al.
Regarding claim 24, Whitehead ‘591 discloses a quick swap sensor pod for a truck, the quick swap sensor pod comprising: a housing 10; a sensor pod arm 46 extending from the housing 10 along an arm central longitudinal axis and having a sensor pod arm protrusion 48 with a lower surface, wherein the sensor pod arm protrusion 48 is entirely offset from the arm central longitudinal axis (entirely offset vertically from the axis of arm 46); and a bracket 22 extending along a bracket central longitudinal axis and having a bracket protrusion 24 with an upper surface, wherein the bracket protrusion 24 is entirely horizontally offset from the bracket central longitudinal axis (fig. 3), and wherein the bracket protrusion 24 is configured to support the weight of the sensor pod arm 46 and the housing 10 when the lower surface rests on the upper surface.
Schuurmans '715 teaches a housing having one or more sensors therein. Noting that Schuurmans '715 teaches that "[i]t would also be possible to incorporate other components with the mirror base (mounting bracket) and or mirror head." (col. 11, lines 17-22)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the housing taught in Whitehead '591 with the sensors taught in Schuurmans '715 in order to enhance the overall safety and driving experience.
Peterson ‘788 teaches a sensor pod arm 22 extending from the housing 14 along an arm central longitudinal axis and having a sensor pod protrusion 20 that is entirely horizontally offset from the arm central longitudinal axis (figs 2-4 – col. 3, lines 25-30).
PNG
media_image1.png
421
703
media_image1.png
Greyscale
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the sensor pod protrusion 48 taught in Whitehead ‘591 to be horizontally offset as taught in Peterson ‘788 in order to position the sensor pod protrusion away from the supporting structure, thereby improving field of view and reducing obstruction. Noting that a certain positioning of a sensor pod protrusion relative to a support structure represents a predictable variation of known elements according to their established function, as mentioned above.
Regarding claim 30, Whitehead '591, as modified, discloses wherein the sensor pod arm includes a pin receiving opening 40 extending through the sensor pod arm protrusion 48 to the lower surface such that the pin receiving opening is entirely offset from the arm 46 central longitudinal axis, as so modified.
Regarding claim 31, Whitehead '591, as modified, discloses wherein the sensor pod arm protrusion 48 further comprises an upper surface and the pin receiving opening 40 extends through the sensor pod arm protrusion 48 from the upper surface to the lower surface (fig. 5).
Regarding claim 32, Whitehead '591, as modified, discloses further comprising a fastener 37 inserted in the pin receiving opening 40 through the upper surface to secure the quick swap sensor pod to the truck (fig. 5).
Regarding claim 36, Whitehead '591, as modified, discloses, further comprising one or more openings 58/60 for receiving one or more fasteners 52/54 configured to secure the sensor pod arm 46 to the bracket 22.
Claim(s) 37-39 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 5,949,591 to Whitehead in view of US 7,137,715 to Schuurmans et al. and US 10,220,788 to Peterson et al. as applied to claim 24 above, and further in view of WO 2021/204635 to Gough.
Regarding claim 37, Whitehead '591 as modified by Schuurmans '715 teach a sensor pod head including sensors. Gough '635 teaches a sensor pod head with sensors and conduit connectors within a sensor pod arm (fig. 5 and page 4, 2ⁿᵈ para; page 10, 2nd para and claim 7).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the housing taught in Whitehead '591 with the sensors and conduit connection(s) taught in Gough '635 in order to improve viewing of potential hazards, meeting safety regulations and providing an overall safe and enjoyable user experience.
Regarding claim 38, Whitehead '591 as modified, where Gough '635 discloses wherein the conduit connector comprises at least one of a water connection, a power connection, or an air connection (fig. 5 and page 4, 2nd para; page 10, 2nd para and claim 7).
Regarding claim 39, Whitehead '591 as modified, wherein the conduit (taught in Gough '635) could be routed so as to be offset from an axis of the bracket protrusion 24, as modified.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-8 and 40-42 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: note the amendments to claim 1 and the interview summary record mailed 10/9/25.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MONICA E MILLNER whose telephone number is (571)270-7507. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-4:00pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Terrell McKinnon can be reached at 571-272-4797. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MONICA E MILLNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3632