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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/1/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendments
The Examiner acknowledges the amendments. The 112 rejections are withdrawn.
Please note, not all amendments have been annotated. For Example, in claim 7 “a sensor” went to “an accumulation sensor”. The a to an should have proper annotations. Since the missing annotations appear to be minimal, a non compliance response will not be sent out. The Examiner has done their best to fully address the claims, but Applicant should be more cautious going forward.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 2, 7, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Saito (US 2020/0180566).
Regarding claim 1, Saito discloses a cleaning device for at least one vehicle sensor (Item 1 or 2), comprising
an air stream generator (Item AP),
an air stream transport duct (Items H1, H2, H3, and 3-5) for conveying an air stream over a first sensor (Item 2) from a discharge orifice (Item 4a) of the air stream generator, the first sensor being a camera connected to a data acquisition system (Paragraph 19),
the air stream duct being a first duct (depending on interpretation, Item H1, 5 or H3) having at least one inlet opening (H1 to AP or 5a) for the air stream and at least one outlet orifice for the air stream (Item 4 to Item 2),
wherein a cross section of the inlet opening of the first duct is larger than a cross section of the outlet orifice of the first duct (Paragraph 23-25 and 36-39);
a second sensor (Item 1; Paragraph 19)
and a second duct (Item H3) configured to bring the air stream to the second sensor from an second discharge orifice of the air stream generator.
Regarding claim 2 (as best understood), Saito discloses the cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the air steam transport duct includes a channel connecting the inlet opening to an outlet opening (Item H3) for the air stream of the channel, and a nozzle (Item 4) connecting the outlet orifice (Item 4a or 3a) to an inlet orifice (H3 to 4), of the nozzle, the inlet orifice of the nozzle facing the outlet opening of the channel (Figure 2).
Regarding claim 7, Saito discloses a driving assistance module for a vehicle, comprising
An accumulation sensor (Item 2) and a cleaning device (Figure 2-8), with the cleaning device including an air stream generator (Item AP),
an air stream transport duct (Items H1, H2, H3, and 3-5) for conveying the air stream over a first sensor from a discharge orifice of the air stream generator,
the air stream duct having at least one inlet opening (H1 to AP) for the air stream and at least one outlet orifice for the air stream (Item 4 to Item 2),
wherein a cross section of the inlet opening of the duct is larger than a cross section of the outlet orifice of the duct (Paragraph 23-25 and 36-39)
a second sensor (Item 1); and
a second duct configured to bring the air stream to the second sensor from an exhaust vent of the air stream generator.
Regarding claim 9, Saito discloses the driving assistance module as claimed in claim 7, wherein the outlet orifice of a nozzle is configured such that the air stream sweeps a receiving and/or transmitting outer surface of the accumulation sensor (Paragraph 21).
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 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito (US 2020/0180566) in view of Karasik (US2018/0079392).
Regarding claim 3, Saito discloses the cleaning device of claim 2. Saito fails to explicitly disclose wherein the first duct includes a sleeve for holding the nozzle at the channel.
Karasik teaches a sensor cleaning device wherein the duct includes a sleeve (Fig 5, Items 102 and 118) for holding the nozzle at the channel. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Saito to include the sleeve of Karasik. Such a modification would allow for the nozzle of Saito to easily connect to the sensor without the need for extra tools.
Regarding claim 4, Saito in view of Karasik disclose the cleaning device of claim 3. As currently modified, Saito fails to explicitly disclose wherein an internal cross section of the nozzle decreases from the inlet orifice to the outlet orifice.
Karasik further teaches wherein an internal cross section of the nozzle decreases from the inlet orifice to the outlet orifice (best shown in Figure 13b, the nozzle decreases from diameter 852 to 866a/b). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Saito with the plurality of small nozzles as taught by Karasik. Creating a plurality of fluid pathways from several different angles increases the cleaning ability (Karasik Paragraph 11).
Regarding claim 5, Saito in view of Karasik disclose the cleaning device of claim 4, wherein the nozzle includes a ventilation grille extending in a plane perpendicular to an overall flow direction of the air stream in the nozzle (Karasik Item 104).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito (US 2020/0180566)
Regarding claim 6, Saito discloses a cleaning system, comprising
a cleaning devices (Paragraphs 2-5 discusses the need for multiple sensors for the front, rear and sides), with each cleaning device including
an air stream generator (Item AP),
an air stream transport duct (Items H3) for conveying an air stream over a first sensor (Item 2) from a discharge orifice of the air stream generator,
the air stream transport duct, being a first duct, having an inlet opening for the air stream and an outlet orifice for the air stream, wherein a cross section of the inlet opening of the duct is larger than a cross section of the outlet orifice of the first duct (Paragraph 23-25 and 36-39 , near Item 4),
wherein a channel of one of the cleaning devices has an identical shape to a channel of at least one other one of the cleaning devices (Figure 2 Items 5b and 5c appear the same diameter), and
in a nozzle of one of the cleaning devices has a different shape to another nozzle of the other of the cleaning devices (Item 4 in figure 2 is different than the nozzle of Item 3)
a second sensor (Item 1); and
a second duct (Item h2) configured to bring the air stream to the second sensor from an exhaust port of the air stream generator.
Saito fails to disclose at least two cleaning devices with each cleaning device including
an air stream generator. Paragraphs 2-5 discusses the need for multiple sensors for the front, rear and sides. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Saito to have multiple cleaning devices for the different sensors located on the front, side, rear, or roof of the car. Such a modification is viewed as a duplication of parts, which has been held to be of routine by one skilled in the art (see MPEP 2144.04). Such a modification would allow for each of the sensors to have their own air generator which would allow for the right amount of air to be generated and keep pneumatic lines from being ran across all of the car, which would reduce the risk of an air leak over time.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito (US 2020/0180566) in view of Hattori (US 2011/0073142).
Regarding claim 8, Saito discloses the driving assistance module of claim 7. Saito fails to explicitly disclose wherein the accumulation sensor is configured to command the cleaning device to start up.
Hattori teaches a driving assistance module with a sensor cleaner wherein the sensor is configured to command the cleaning device to start up (Paragraph 73). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Saito to include the start cleaning process as taught by Hattori. Allowing the sensor to detect dirt, and clean itself would allow for the sensor to remain clean without the user needing to pay attention to the quality of the lends. Further with self-driving cars, and sensors handling more functions in an automobile, it would be obvious to one skilled in the art to automatically maintain the sensor to be clean. That way the input data isn’t skewed by the presence of dirt/debris.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/1/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues Saito is directed to an in vehicle sensor. The Examiner respectfully disagrees. The claims do not discuss interior or exterior aspects to the vehicle, thus this is viewed as a non issue.
Applicant argues Saito shows the duct work but is silent about the inlets or outlets of the duct work. The Examiner respectfully disagrees. Saito shows a plurality of pieces of ducts and one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that each branch would have an inherent inlet and outlet. Further Saito discusses how the branches can change in diameter leaving the when and how much change being a matter of design choice to one skilled in the art.
Applicant argues Karasik doesn’t appear to clearly describe “wherein a cross section of the inlet opening of the duct is larger than a cross section of the outlet orifice of the first duct”. The Examiner respectfully disagrees. The rejection relies on Saito for this feature. Saito In Paragraph 23-25, and 36-39 and Figures 2-5 and 7-8 discuss how the diameters can change from an inlet to an outlet. Please note the examiner interprets a “duct” as any pathway that has a length and a change in shape or diameter.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TOM R RODGERS whose telephone number is (313)446-4849. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday 8AM-5PM EST.
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/TOM RODGERS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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