DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to Applicant’s Amendments and Remarks filed on 07/22/2025.
Claims 1-10 are pending for examination.
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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 2022-073768, filed on 04/27/2022.
Should applicant desire to obtain the benefit of foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) prior to declaration of an interference, a certified English translation of the foreign application must be submitted in reply to this action. 37 CFR 41.154(b) and 41.202(e). Failure to provide a certified translation may result in no benefit being accorded for the non-English application.
Response to Amendment
With regards to the objection to the title of the specification. The amended title is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. Therefore, the objection to the specification is withdrawn.
With regards to the objections made to claims 7-10. The amendments made to claim 7 clarify the claimed limitation. Therefore, the objection made to claim 7 as well as depend claims 8-10 have been withdrawn.
With regards to the claim interpretations made in claims 1-4, 7, 8, and 10. The amendments made to these claims clarify the structure of the limitations that were being interpreted. Therefore, claims 1-4, 7, 8, and 10 do not invoke 112(f).
Response to Argument
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 2-5, filed 07/22/2025, with respect to the rejections of claims 1-10 under U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made in view of Bang (US 20230116572 Al) as evidenced by Niikuni (US 20200264617 A1), Ichinose (US 2022/0089003 Al), and Johann et al. (WO2021185908A1; hereafter Johann).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious in view of Bang as evidenced by Niikuni, Ichinose, and Johann.
Bang and Ichinose were cited in the previous Office Action.
Regarding claim 1, Bang discloses:
An autonomous vehicle (Fig. 1, item 10), comprising a central processing unit (Fig. 1, item 140) configured to:
upon determination that the autonomous vehicle is stopped at a stopping point, acquire an image of a stop prohibition area that is set in a vicinity of a door; ([0099] “The door device 170 may provide a door surrounding image, door surrounding object information, door jamming determination information, or the like to the autonomous driving control apparatus 100.”)
Although Bang is an autonomous vehicle capable of opening and closing the doors of the vehicle. Bang does not teach confirming whether the vehicle is in autonomous mode and confirming whether the vehicle is still.
However, Niikuni in the same field of endeavor teaches:
determine whether the autonomous vehicle is in autonomous driving mode; ([0064]; “At step S100 in FIG. 7, the CPU 40A determines whether or not the vehicle 10 is in an autonomous driving mode in which the vehicle 10 travels by autonomous driving.”)
upon determination that the autonomous vehicle is in autonomous driving mode, determine whether the autonomous vehicle is stopped at a stopping point;
([0071] Namely, the vehicle 10 starts to decelerate as it approaches the destination. Processing then proceeds to step S107.”
[0072]; “At step S107, the CPU 40A determines whether or not the speed of the vehicle 10 is 0 km/h, namely, whether or not the vehicle 10 has stopped.”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Bang with Niikuni. This modification would have been obvious as both Bang and Niikuni cover subject matter within the same field of endeavor (automatic door opening/closing systems) and it would have been beneficial to confirm the current mode of the vehicle for vehicles that are capable of switching between manual and autonomous driving. In addition, it would have been beneficial to have confirmed that the vehicle is completely still before operating the doors to prevent accidents for any occupants.
Although Bang does teach capturing images of its surroundings and autonomous operation of the doors of the vehicle, Bang does not explicitly teach analyzing the images to confirm whether the vehicle is safe to open/close the doors as well as a switch for manual operation of the doors.
However, Ichinose in the same field of endeavor teaches:
analyze the image to determine whether the door is automatically openable and closable
([0043]; “Next, the control unit 70 detects an obstacle existing on the road surface on the periphery of the door 2 by use of the image acquired (step S3). The detection method for detecting a difference in level as an obstacle and the detection method for detecting a portion formed of a different material locally in the asphalted road surface that are described above are used. Hereinafter, the door opening process will be described by taking a case where a difference in level is detected as an example.)
upon determination that the door is automatically openable and closable, determine whether a door opening and closing switch that is provided in the vicinity of the door is operated; ([0042]; “Firstly, the control unit 70 determines whether the vehicle 1 has stopped based on a vehicle speed signal input thereinto from the vehicle speed sensor 80, starts the door opening process on condition that the vehicle 1 is at halt, and receives a door opening operation input for the operation unit 50.”)
upon determination that the door opening and closing switch is operated, output a command for opening or closing the door based on a signal received from the door opening and closing switch ([0042]; “Firstly, the control unit 70 determines whether the vehicle 1 has stopped based on a vehicle speed signal input thereinto from the vehicle speed sensor 80, starts the door opening process on condition that the vehicle 1 is at halt, and receives a door opening operation input for the operation unit 50.”);
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Bang and Niikuni with Ichinose. This modification would have been obvious as both Bang, Niikuni and Ichinose cover subject matter within the same field of endeavor (automatic door opening/closing systems) and it would have been beneficial to analyze the images captured by the vehicle to ensure that the vehicle would be able to safely operate the doors without any obstructions. In addition, it would have been beneficial to include a physical switch to the door in order to allow the occupant to manually open and close the door instead of solely relying on the automatic features disclosed in Bang.
Although Bang in combination with Ichinose does teach the use of a physical switch to operate the doors of a vehicle. Bang in combination with Ichinose does not explicitly teach operating the doors of the vehicle when it is confirmed that the switch is not being operated.
However, Johann in the same field of endeavor teaches:
upon determination that the door opening and closing switch is not operated, perform automatic opening and closing of the door. ([0029]; “According to one embodiment, the contactless sensor device 115 is designed to provide the further opening signal 125 before the button unit 100 is touched. Thus, the further opening signal 125 can be provided even if the button unit 100 is not touched at all.”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Ichinose with Johann. This modification would have been obvious as both Bang, Niikuni, Ichinose, and Johann cover subject matter within the same field of endeavor (automatic door opening/closing systems) and it would have been beneficial to utilize the teachings of Johann to operate the doors when there is an intention for an occupant to enter/exit the vehicle without the manual operation of the switch as taught in Ichinose.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Ichinose and Johann disclose and teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Additionally, Bang discloses the central processing unit analyzes the image to detect whether a target enters the stop prohibition area
([0071]; “The processor 140 may transmit the vehicle exterior image data and the object detection information to the control system 200 when a situation where there is an obstacle in the space between the door and the stop (e.g., bus stop) of the autonomous bus 10 continues and a door opening remote control request is required during the door opening operation. The vehicle external image data may be obtained from an omnidirectional monitoring camera 151, and the object detection information may be obtained from an omnidirectional object sensor 152.”
determines that the door is automatically openable and closable and performs the automatic opening and closing of the door in a case where the target does not enter the stop prohibition area
([0090]; “The autonomous driving controller 141 may receive a vehicle surrounding image from an omnidirectional monitoring camera set 1511, vehicle surrounding object information from a omnidirectional object detection sensor set 1512, and a vehicle interior image from an interior monitoring camera set 1513;… and may receive door surrounding image, door surrounding object information, and door jamming determination information from a door set ( door device 170) and transmit a door opening/closing command signal to the door set 170.”),
[0128]; “As such, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the autonomous bus automatically determines and controls the opening and closing of the door, in this case, when automatic control of opening and closing the door is impossible, may determine it as a situation that remote control is required and request the remote control to the control system, thereby enabling occupants to get on or off the autonomous bus and it to re-start safely.
determines that the door is not automatically openable and closable and does not perform the automatic opening and closing of the door in a case where the target enters the stop prohibition area
([0128]; “As such, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the autonomous bus automatically determines and controls the opening and closing of the door, in this case, when automatic control of opening and closing the door is impossible, may determine it as a situation that remote control is required and request the remote control to the control system, thereby enabling occupants to get on or off the autonomous bus and it to re-start safely.
The prior art relies on a remote operator in cases where the autonomous vehicle is unable to automatically open/close doors due to various reasons including an obstacle blocking the door.)
Although Bang does teach autonomous operation of the doors of the vehicle, Bang does not teach a switch for an optional manual operation of the doors.
However, Ichinose in the same field of endeavor teaches:
the opening and closing of the door based on the operation of the door opening and closing switch in a case where it is determined that the door is not automatically openable and closable and the operation of the door opening and closing switch is performed.
([0042]; “starts the door opening process on condition that the vehicle 1 is at halt, and receives a door opening operation input for the operation unit 50. Then, when the door opening operation is input into the operation unit 50 (step S1), the control unit 70 causes the image capture unit 20 to capture an image to thereby acquire an image of a road surface on the periphery of the door 2 (step S2).”
[0036]; “Incidentally, a clutch mechanism (not shown) may be provided between the motor 41 and the output shaft 42. In the case where the door 2 is manually opened and closed, the clutch mechanism cuts out a transmission of power between the motor 41 and the output shaft 42. As a result, the effort with which the door 2 is manually opened and closed becomes light.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Johann with Ichinose. This modification would have been obvious as both Bang, Niikuni, Johann and Ichinose cover subject matter within the same field of endeavor (automatic door opening/closing systems) and it would have been beneficial to incorporate the manual opening and closing of the door as an alternate means to open and close the door of the automated vehicle rather than solely relying on the automatic opening/closing of the door or the remote-control operator. Manual control provides a fail-safe which would ensure occupants of the automated vehicle will be able to exit the vehicle in case the methods disclosed in Bang are not operable.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Ichinose, and Johann discloses and teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Additionally, Ichinose teaches the central processing unit stops the automatic opening and closing of the door and performs the opening and closing of the door based on the operation of the door opening and closing switch in a case where the operation of the door opening and closing switch is performed during the automatic opening and closing of the door.
([0036]; “Incidentally, a clutch mechanism (not shown) may be provided between the motor 41 and the output shaft 42. In the case where the door 2 is manually opened and closed, the clutch mechanism cuts out a transmission of power between the motor 41 and the output shaft 42. As a result, the effort with which the door 2 is manually opened and closed becomes light.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Johann with Ichinose. This modification would have been obvious as both Bang, Niikuni, Johann and Ichinose cover subject matter within the same field of endeavor (automatic door opening/closing systems) and it would have been beneficial to incorporate the manual opening and closing of the door as an alternate means to open and close the door of the automated vehicle rather than solely relying on the automatic opening/closing of the door or the remote-control operator. Manual control provides a fail-safe which would ensure occupants of the automated vehicle will be able to exit the vehicle in case the methods disclosed in Bang are not operable.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Ichinose, and Johann discloses and teaches all the limitations of claim 2. Additionally, Ichinose teaches the central processing unit stops the automatic opening and closing of the door and performs the opening and closing of the door based on the operation of the door opening and closing switch in a case where the operation of the door opening and closing switch is performed during the automatic opening and closing of the door.
([0036]; “Incidentally, a clutch mechanism (not shown) may be provided between the motor 41 and the output shaft 42. In the case where the door 2 is manually opened and closed, the clutch mechanism cuts out a transmission of power between the motor 41 and the output shaft 42. As a result, the effort with which the door 2 is manually opened and closed becomes light.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Johann with Ichinose. This modification would have been obvious as both Bang, Niikuni, Johann and Ichinose cover subject matter within the same field of endeavor (automatic door opening/closing systems) and it would have been beneficial to incorporate the manual opening and closing of the door as an alternate means to open and close the door of the automated vehicle rather than solely relying on the automatic opening/closing of the door or the remote-control operator. Manual control provides a fail-safe which would ensure occupants of the automated vehicle will be able to exit the vehicle in case the methods disclosed in Bang are not operable.
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Ichinose, and Johann discloses and teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Additionally, Bang discloses the stop prohibition area is set in a vehicle interior, and an imaging device and the door opening and closing switch are provided in the vehicle interior. ([0097]; “The interior monitor 153 may capture an interior of the vehicle and transmits interior image data to the processor 140. The interior monitor 153 may include one or more cameras installed inside the vehicle. The processor 140 may determine whether or not occupants get on or off a bus,
safety of occupants, etc. by using interior image data. In addition, the interior monitor 153 may include a camera for monitoring an interior around the door, an interior object sensor around the door, or the like.”)
However Bang does not teach the door opening and closing switch are provided in the vehicle interior.
However, Ichinose in the same field of endeavor teaches the door opening and closing switch are provided in the vehicle interior.
([0027]; “The operation unit 50 is provided at an inner side, that is, a side facing an interior of a passenger compartment, of the door 2 that is automatically opened and closed. The operation unit 50 may be made up of a switch such as a touch switch or a depression switch.”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Johann with Ichinose. This modification would have been obvious as both Bang, Niikuni, Johann and Ichinose cover subject matter within the same field of endeavor (automatic door opening/closing systems) and it would have been beneficial to incorporate the manual switch into the interior portion of the autonomous vehicle as an alternative means of opening/closing the door. In cases such as emergencies this alternative method of exiting an automated vehicle is an improvement to the invention taught in Bang.
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Ichinose, and Johann discloses and teaches all the limitations of claim 2. Additionally, Bang discloses the stop prohibition area is set in a vehicle interior, and an imaging device
([0097]; “The interior monitor 153 may capture an interior of the vehicle and transmits interior image data to the processor 140. The interior monitor 153 may include one or more cameras installed inside the vehicle. The processor 140 may determine whether or not occupants get on or off a bus,
safety of occupants, etc. by using interior image data. In addition, the interior monitor 153 may include a camera for monitoring an interior around the door, an interior object sensor around the door, or the like.”)
However, Bang does not teach the door opening and closing switch are provided in the vehicle interior.
However, Ichinose in the same field of endeavor teaches the door opening and closing switch are provided in the vehicle interior.
([0027]; “The operation unit 50 is provided at an inner side, that is, a side facing an interior of a passenger compartment, of the door 2 that is automatically opened and closed. The operation unit 50 may be made up of a switch such as a touch switch or a depression switch.”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Johann with Ichinose. This modification would have been obvious as both Bang, Niikuni, Johann and Ichinose cover subject matter within the same field of endeavor (automatic door opening/closing systems) and it would have been beneficial to incorporate the manual switch into the interior portion of the autonomous vehicle as an alternative means of opening/closing the door. In cases such as emergencies this alternative method of exiting an automated vehicle is an improvement to the invention taught in Bang.
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Ichinose, and Johann discloses and teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Additionally, Bang discloses the stop prohibition area includes a vehicle interior stop prohibition area set in a vehicle interior and a vehicle exterior stop prohibition area set in a vehicle exterior,
([0071]; “The processor 140 may transmit the vehicle exterior image data and the object detection information to the control system 200 when a situation where there is an obstacle in the space between the door and the stop ( e.g., bus stop) of the autonomous bus 10 continues and a door opening remote control request is required during the door opening operation. The vehicle external image data may be obtained from an onmidirectional monitoring camera 151, and the object detection information may be obtained from an omnidirectional object sensor 152.”
[0097]; “The interior monitor 153 may capture an interior of the vehicle and transmits interior image data to the processor 140. The interior monitor 153 may include one or more cameras installed inside the vehicle. The processor 140 may determine whether or not occupants get on or off a bus, safety of occupants, etc. by using interior image data. In addition, the interior monitor 153 may include a camera for monitoring an interior around the door, an interior object sensor around the door, or the like.”)
an imaging device includes a vehicle interior imaging device that captures a vehicle interior image of a vehicle interior area including the vehicle interior stop prohibition area, and a vehicle exterior imaging device that captures a vehicle exterior image of a vehicle exterior area including the vehicle exterior stop prohibition area,
([0099]; “The door device 170 may include a door surrounding interior monitoring camera, a door surrounding exterior monitoring camera, a door surrounding interior object sensor, a door surrounding exterior object sensor, a door motor driven to open and close a door, and a controller for controlling the operation of the components in the door device 170. The door device 170 may provide a door surrounding image, door surrounding object information, door jamming determination information, or the like to the autonomous driving control apparatus 100.”)
However, Bang does not teach the door opening and closing switch is individually provided at the vehicle interior and the vehicle exterior, the central processing unit analyzes the vehicle interior image and the vehicle exterior image to determine whether the door is automatically openable and closable, and performs automatic opening and closing of the door in a case where it is determined that the door is automatically openable and closable, and
when the operation of the door opening and closing switch is performed, the opening and closing of the door based on the operation of the one door opening and closing switch is executed in preference to the automatic opening and closing of the door based on the determination on the vehicle interior image and the vehicle exterior image.
However, Ichinose in the same field of endeavor teaches:
the door opening and closing switch is individually provided at the vehicle interior and the vehicle exterior, the central processing unit analyzes the vehicle interior image and the vehicle exterior image to determine whether the door is automatically openable and closable, and performs automatic opening and closing of the door in a case where it is determined that the door is automatically openable and closable, and
([0020]; “Alternatively, the door to be automatically opened and closed by the automatic door opening and closing system may be any one or all of a driver's seat-side door, a front passenger's seat-side door, and rear side doors of a vehicle.”)
when the operation of the door opening and closing switch is performed, the opening and closing of the door based on the operation of the one door opening and closing switch is executed in preference to the automatic opening and closing of the door based on the determination on the vehicle interior image and the vehicle exterior image.
([0042]; “starts the door opening process on condition that the vehicle 1 is at halt, and receives a door opening operation input for the operation unit 50. Then, when the door opening operation is input into the operation unit 50 (step S1), the control unit 70 causes the image capture unit 20 to capture an image to thereby acquire an image of a road surface on the periphery of the door 2 (step S2).”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Johann with Ichinose. This modification would have been obvious as both Bang, Niikuni, Johann and Ichinose cover subject matter within the same field of endeavor (automatic door opening/closing systems) and it would have been beneficial to incorporate the manual switch into the interior portion of the autonomous vehicle as an alternative means of opening/closing the plurality of doors. In cases such as emergencies this alternative method of exiting an automated vehicle is an improvement to the invention taught in Bang.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Ichinose, and Johann discloses and teaches all the limitations of claim 7. Additionally, Bang discloses the central processing unit analyzes the vehicle interior image and the vehicle exterior image to detect whether a target enters the vehicle interior stop prohibition area or the vehicle exterior stop prohibition area,
([0071]; “The processor 140 may transmit the vehicle exterior image data and the object detection information to the control system 200 when a situation where there is an obstacle in the space between the door and the stop ( e.g., bus stop) of the autonomous bus 10 continues and a door opening remote control request is required during the door opening operation. The vehicle external image data may be obtained from an onmidirectional monitoring camera 151, and the object detection information may be obtained from an omnidirectional object sensor 152.”
[0090]; “Referring to FIG. 2, the processor 140 may include an autonomous driving controller 141 and a remote control determiner 142. The autonomous driving controller 141 may receive a vehicle surrounding image from an omnidirectional monitoring camera set 1511, vehicle surrounding object information from a omnidirectional object detection sensor set 1512, and a vehicle interior image from an interior monitoring camera set 1513; may receive occupant voice data from a voice communication device 160 and transmit voice data of a control manager of the control system to the voice communication device 160; and may receive door surrounding image, door surrounding object information, and door jamming determination information from a door set ( door device 170) and transmit a door opening/closing command signal to the door set 170.”
[0097]; “The interior monitor 153 may capture an interior of the vehicle and transmits interior image data to the processor 140. The interior monitor 153 may include one or more cameras installed inside the vehicle. The processor 140 may determine whether or not occupants get on or off a bus, safety of occupants, etc. by using interior image data. In addition, the interior monitor 153 may include a camera for monitoring an interior around the door, an interior object sensor around the door, or the like.”)
determines that the door is automatically openable and closable and performs the automatic opening and closing of the door in a case where the target does not enter the vehicle interior stop prohibition area or the vehicle exterior stop prohibition area,
([0090]; “Referring to FIG. 2, the processor 140 may include an autonomous driving controller 141 and a remote control determiner 142. The autonomous driving controller 141 may receive a vehicle surrounding image from an omnidirectional monitoring camera set 1511, vehicle surrounding object information from a omnidirectional object detection sensor set 1512, and a vehicle interior image from an interior monitoring camera set 1513; may receive occupant voice data from a voice communication device 160 and transmit voice data of a control manager of the control system to the voice communication device 160; and may receive door surrounding image, door surrounding object information, and door jamming determination information from a door set ( door device 170) and transmit a door opening/closing command signal to the door set 170.”)
determines that the door is not automatically openable and closable and does not perform the automatic opening and closing of the door in a case where the target enters the vehicle interior stop prohibition area or the vehicle exterior stop prohibition area ([0071] & [0097];
[0071]; “The processor 140 may transmit the vehicle exterior image data and the object detection information to the control system 200 when a situation where there is an obstacle in the space between the door and the stop ( e.g., bus stop) of the autonomous bus 10 continues and a door opening remote control request is required during the door opening operation. The vehicle external image data may be obtained from an onmidirectional monitoring camera 151, and the object detection information may be obtained from an omnidirectional object sensor 152.”
[0097]; “The interior monitor 153 may capture an interior of the vehicle and transmits interior image data to the processor 140. The interior monitor 153 may include one or more cameras installed inside the vehicle. The processor 140 may determine whether or not occupants get on or off a bus, safety of occupants, etc. by using interior image data. In addition, the interior monitor 153 may include a camera for monitoring an interior around the door, an interior object sensor around the door, or the like.”)
However, Bang does not teach performs the opening and closing of the door based on an operation of the door opening and closing switch in a case where it is determined that the door is not automatically openable and closable and the operation of the one door opening and closing switch is performed.
However, Ichinose in the same field of endeavor teaches:
performs the opening and closing of the door based on an operation of the door opening and closing switch in a case where it is determined that the door is not automatically openable and closable and the operation of the one door opening and closing switch is performed.
([0036]; “Incidentally, a clutch mechanism (not shown) may be provided between the motor 41 and the output shaft 42. In the case where the door 2 is manually opened and closed, the clutch mechanism cuts out a transmission of power between the motor 41 and the output shaft 42. As a result, the effort with which the door 2 is manually opened and closed becomes light.”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Johann with Ichinose. This modification would have been obvious as both Bang, Niikuni, Johann and Ichinose cover subject matter within the same field of endeavor (automatic door opening/closing systems) and it would have been beneficial to incorporate the manual opening/closing of the door in situation when the door is unable to be automatically opened via the automatic opening/closing system disclosed in Bang.
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Ichinose, and Johann discloses and teaches all the limitations of claim 7. Additionally, Ichinose in the same field of endeavor teaches the central processing unit stops the automatic opening and closing of the door and performs the opening and closing of the door based on an operation of the door opening and closing switch in a case where the operation of the one door opening and closing switch is performed during the automatic opening and closing of the door.
([0036]; “Incidentally, a clutch mechanism (not shown) may be provided between the motor 41 and the output shaft 42. In the case where the door 2 is manually opened and closed, the clutch mechanism cuts out a transmission of power between the motor 41 and the output shaft 42. As a result, the effort with which the door 2 is manually opened and closed becomes light.”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Johann with Ichinose. This modification would have been obvious as both Bang, Niikuni, Johann and Ichinose cover subject matter within the same field of endeavor (automatic door opening/closing systems) and it would have been beneficial to allow the occupant to override the automatic opening/closing operation disclosed in Bang for various situations such as emergencies. One particular scenario could be that the opening and closing of the doors is too slow. In this scenario the occupant would be able to open/close the door quicker since the clutch mechanism taught in Ichinose makes the maneuvering of the door light.
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Ichinose, and Johann discloses and teaches all the limitations of claim 8. Additionally, Ichinose in the same field of endeavor teaches the central processing unit stops the automatic opening and closing of the door and performs the opening and closing of the door based on an operation of the door opening and closing switch in a case where the operation of the one door opening and closing switch is performed during the automatic opening and closing of the door.
([0036]; “Incidentally, a clutch mechanism (not shown) may be provided between the motor 41 and the output shaft 42. In the case where the door 2 is manually opened and closed, the clutch mechanism cuts out a transmission of power between the motor 41 and the output shaft 42. As a result, the effort with which the door 2 is manually opened and closed becomes light.”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Bang, Niikuni, Johann with Ichinose. This modification would have been obvious as both Bang, Niikuni, Johann and Ichinose cover subject matter within the same field of endeavor (automatic door opening/closing systems) and it would have been beneficial to allow the occupant to override the automatic opening/closing operation disclosed in Bang for various situations such as emergencies. One particular scenario could be that the opening and closing of the doors is too slow. In this scenario the occupant would be able to open/close the door quicker since the clutch mechanism taught in Ichinose makes the maneuvering of the door light.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRANDON SUNG EUN LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-5684. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, James Lee can be reached on (571) 270-5965. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/B.S.L./Examiner, Art Unit 3668
/JAMES J LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3668