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 .
This is a Final Office Action on the merits. Claims 1 and 3-9 are currently pending and are addressed below.
Examiner notes that the fundamentals of the rejection are based on the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim language. Applicant is kindly invited to consider the reference as a whole. References are to be interpreted as by one of ordinary skill in the art rather than as by a novice. See MPEP 2141. Therefore, the relevant inquiry when interpreting a reference is not what the reference expressly discloses on its face but what the reference would teach or suggest to one of ordinary skill in the art.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 06/01/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments and/or arguments with respect to the rejection of claims 1 and 3-9 under 35 USC 102 as set forth in the office action of 12/31/2025 have been considered but are moot because the new ground(s) of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
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 1,3 and 6-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ribeiro (US20190356885A1) in view of Breed US2015/0175161.
Regarding Claims 1 and 6, Ribeiro discloses a method and a system for tracking a rollover of a recreational vehicle, the system comprising: (see at least RIBEIRO, [¶ 0275], “According to yet another embodiment, the video processing system 100, 1400 may be used to detect and report a rollover or other sudden impact to a vehicle monitored by the video processing system 100, 1400.”)
a tracker configured for installation on a vehicle and including an accelerometer and a processor; and (see at least RIBEIRO, [¶ 0177], " The motion-sensing subsystem 1401 may include one or more types of motion sensors, such as two-axis or three-axis accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, GPS units, and/or composite inertial measurement units. "; [¶ 0275], "the motion-sensing subsystem 1401 may be incorporated into a camera 101, 502, 1807 or may be installed elsewhere in the vehicle."; [¶ 0221], “Each camera 1807-1809 may further include a variety of sensors (e.g., an accelerometer, gyroscope, inertial measurement unit, magnetometer, GPS, etc.) providing outputs to the central or video processor to enable the processor to detect various inertial and locational changes affecting the camera 1807-1809 and/or the police car 1803 incorporating it.”)
a camera configured for installation on the vehicle; (see at least RIBEIRO, [¶ 0052], "Another one or more cameras 102-104 may be mounted at predetermined locations on a vehicle (e.g., truck, car, boat, bus, motorcycle, and so forth) that transported the person to his or her current location or that is otherwise positioned near the person under surveillance. The positioning of the cameras 102-104 on the vehicle may be such that the cameras 102-104 captures images of the person and his surroundings at locations where the person is expected to be after stopping the vehicle.")
wherein the tracker is configured to communicate with the camera; (see at least RIBEIRO, ¶ 0275, "The sensor data may indicate changes in inertia and other movement of the motion-sensing subsystem 1401. Responsive to receiving sensor data indicating a rapid change in inertia of the video camera 101, 502, 1807, the motor vehicle 1803, 522 in which a person under surveillance (e.g., police officer, guard, messenger, courier, etc.) is travelling, or both, the video processing system may determine an orientation of the motor vehicle based upon such sensor data.")
wherein the tracker is configured to use data output from the accelerometer to determine whether the vehicle has rolled over; (see at least RIBEIRO, [¶ 0275], "The sensor data may indicate changes in inertia and other movement of the motion-sensing subsystem 1401. Responsive to receiving sensor data indicating a rapid change in inertia of the video camera 101, 502, 1807, the motor vehicle 1803, 522 in which a person under surveillance (e.g., police officer, guard, messenger, courier, etc.) is travelling, or both, the video processing system may determine an orientation of the motor vehicle based upon such sensor data. In other words, depending on the configuration of the motion-sensing subsystem 1401, the sensor data supplied by the motion-sensing subsystem 1401 may enable to determine whether the vehicle rolled over and now remains upright, on its side, or upside down. The processor 110, 1410 may then communicate an emergency message to an emergency management system responsive to determining that the orientation of the motor vehicle is abnormal (e.g., on its side or upside down) or that the change in inertia indicates a rollover has occurred. ")
wherein the tracker is configured so that, when it determines that the vehicle has rolled over, the tracker causes the camera to capture an image and send a notice of the rollover to a server. (see at least RIBEIRO, [¶ 0275], "The processor 110, 1410 may then communicate an emergency message to an emergency management system responsive to determining that the orientation of the motor vehicle is abnormal (e.g., on its side or upside down) or that the change in inertia indicates a rollover has occurred. Therefore, the video processing system 100, 1400 may include or interact with a motion-sensing subsystem 1401 to monitor for accidents or other incidents involving a vehicle that includes one or more cameras 502, 1807-1809 forming part of the video processing system 100, 1400. Upon detecting such an incident, an emergency message may be sent to emergency management authorities to facilitate expedited action to be taken."; [¶ 0276], "According to yet another embodiment, the video processing system 100, 1400 may, through operation of its processor 110, 1410, insert and store a digital marker in video data received from a camera 101-104, 502, 1807-1809 responsive to receiving sensor data indicating a rapid change in inertia of the video camera 101, 502, 1807-1809, the motor vehicle 1803, 522 in which a person under surveillance (e.g., police officer, guard, messenger, courier, etc.) is travelling, or both. In other words, the video processor 110, 1410 may insert and store a digital marker in video data received by a camera 101, 502, 1807-1809 so as to identify the time at which the processor 110, 1410 received sensor data from a motion-sensing subsystem 1401, which sensor data indicated a rapid change in inertia of the video camera 101, 502, 1807-1809, the motor vehicle 1803, 522, or both. Marking the video in such a manner enables a person later investigating the accident or other incident to quickly view stored video from the time at which the incident occurred.")
wherein the tracker is configured to calculate a plurality of orientation values over a preset period of time based on the data output from the accelerometer and (see at least RIBEIRO, [¶ 0177], “The motion-sensing subsystem 1401 may include one or more types of motion sensors, such as two-axis or three-axis accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, GPS units, and/or composite inertial measurement units.”; ¶ 0236, "For example, the processor 1410 may determine the reference longitudinal axis as the direction in which the vehicle (and the video camera system 1901, 2001) is currently traveling based on the output of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) or other motion sensors within the motion-sensing subsystem 1401. The processor 1410 may also determine a current orientation of the camera lens' optical axis by adjusting a factory present orientation by a change in orientation as detected by the IMU or other motion sensors within the motion-sensing subsystem 1401."; [¶ 0275], “The sensor data may indicate changes in inertia and other movement of the motion-sensing subsystem 1401. Responsive to receiving sensor data indicating a rapid change in inertia of the video camera 101, 502, 1807, the motor vehicle 1803, 522 in which a person under surveillance (e.g., police officer, guard, messenger, courier, etc.) is travelling, or both, the video processing system may determine an orientation of the motor vehicle based upon such sensor data. In other words, depending on the configuration of the motion-sensing subsystem 1401, the sensor data supplied by the motion-sensing subsystem 1401 may enable to determine whether the vehicle rolled over and now remains upright, on its side, or upside down.”)
to determine that the vehicle has rolled over if the plurality of orientation values reflect a change in the orientation values greater than a preset threshold amount. (see at least RIBEIRO, ¶ 0275, " The sensor data may indicate changes in inertia and other movement of the motion-sensing subsystem 1401. Responsive to receiving sensor data indicating a rapid change in inertia of the video camera 101, 502, 1807, the motor vehicle 1803, 522 in which a person under surveillance (e.g., police officer, guard, messenger, courier, etc.) is travelling, or both, the video processing system may determine an orientation of the motor vehicle based upon such sensor data. In other words, depending on the configuration of the motion-sensing subsystem 1401, the sensor data supplied by the motion-sensing subsystem 1401 may enable to determine whether the vehicle rolled over and now remains upright, on its side, or upside down. ")
NOTE: The Ribeiro reference does not explicitly state that the camera system is used in a recreational vehicle, however, Ribeiro states that the camera system can be used in a vehicle (Ribeiro: Abstract) and the Office takes the position that one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize a recreational vehicle as a type of vehicle.
Ribeiro does not explicitly disclose wherein the tracker does not require calibration to a standard stationary orientation to operate.
However, Breed is vehicle monitoring system for objects and rollover. Breed discloses the vehicle includes accident avoidance system that includes Inertial unit that includes plurality of accelerometers and other sensors where the system determine accident/rollover based on inertial unit, furthermore, Breed discloses that the “the extensive calibration process carried on by other suppliers of inertial sensors is not required since the system periodically corrects the errors in the sensors and revises the calibration equation” that means the tracker does not need to calibration to standard orientation since sensor unit periodically corrects the errors (see at least [¶ 246-247 & 248] and Fig. 5A).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify, with a reasonable expectation of success, the motion sensing subsystem within RIBEIRO to include tracker/sensor unit that does not require calibration to a standard stationary orientation to operate similar that of the teaching of Breed in order to enhance the accuracy of detect data.
6. Regarding Claims 3, 7 and 8, Ribeiro discloses the limitations within claim 1 and further discloses the system of claim 1, re-claim 3 & 7) wherein the tracker is configured to communicate wirelessly with the camera to cause the camera to capture the image; and re-claim 8) causing the tracker to send the captured image to server (see at least RIBEIRO, [¶ 0043 & 084], "Where the cameras 101-104 are positioned apart from the video processing apparatus 106, the cameras 101-104 may further include communication circuitry sufficient to communicate video data and optional motion data (e.g., sensor data) over wireless and/or wired networks to the video processing apparatus 106. Where a camera 101-104 is collocated with the video processing apparatus 106, the camera 101-104 may include one or more data buses or other communication paths to communicate video data and optional motion data (e.g., sensor data) to the video processing apparatus 106.") and all data is sent to a server.
7. Regarding claim 9, Ribeiro discloses the limitations within claim 7 and further discloses the method of claim 7 wherein the step of capturing an image comprises capturing a still image or a video. (see at least Ribeiro, [¶ 0054], “The video processing apparatus 106 receives (201) a video data stream from each camera 101-104 in real time or near real time via the apparatus' communication interface 108. In other words, each camera 101-104 captures images, encodes the images into video data containing time-sequenced video frames, and communicates the video data to the video processing apparatus 106 as a stream of video frames in accordance with a video streaming protocol, without intentionally delaying the flow of video data any more than is necessary.”).
8. Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ribeiro in view of Breed further in view of Zeng (US20210347293A1).
9. Regarding claim 4, Ribiero discloses the limitations within claim 1 and further discloses the system of claim 1 wherein the tracker (see at least Ribiero, [¶ 0177], " The motion-sensing subsystem 1401 may include one or more types of motion sensors, such as two-axis or three-axis accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, GPS units, and/or composite inertial measurement units. "; [¶ 0275], "the motion-sensing subsystem 1401 may be incorporated into a camera 101, 502, 1807 or may be installed elsewhere in the vehicle.")
Ribiero does not explicitly disclose, however, Zeng teaches tracker is powered by a rechargeable battery (see at least Zeng [¶ 0054], "The camera unit 100 may include a rechargeable battery (not shown) mounted in the housing 120 which powers the camera 130 but not the lamp 110. The battery may also provide power to the PLC interface 140, enabling the PLC interface to transmit data to the trailer 10 even when there is no DC current flowing (i.e., 0 V). Power from the trailer 10 and supplied to the camera unit 100 charges the battery. The battery may be a lithium-ion rechargeable battery.", [¶ 0075], "Besides cameras, other data-generating devices could be included in the camera unit such as a proximity sensor (to detect people and objects, lane change assistance), odor detector (e.g., to detect smoking tire or brakes), IR/heat sensor (for imaging or object detection), global positioning satellite (GPS) tracker, sensors to detect open doors, wet or dry temperature sensors to detect the temperature inside of a tanker or cargo container. Other sensors that could be included in the camera unit include a millimeter radar sensor and/or an ultra-sonic sensors."). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify, with a reasonable expectation of success, the motion sensing subsystem within Ribeiro to include the rechargeable battery of Zeng as it would yield an effective system to install additional sensors without "the need for another power source may prevent the camera unit 100 from being covert and/or easily installed, thereby impairing advantages of the video system" (Zeng, [¶ 0053]).
NOTE: Even though Ribiero does not directly disclose the use of batteries on the motion sensing subsystem, RIBEIRO does anticipate the deployment of portable motion sensing systems that would be implemented with battery powered devices such as a phone or body cam (Ribiero, ¶ 0101, “For example, the motion data may be received from the employee's body camera 501, such as from one or more motion sensors (e.g., accelerometer, gyroscope, global positioning system (GPS), or other sensors) embedded within the camera 501, or from a mobile device 530 carried by the employee 512 (e.g., from a smartphone running a mobile application that is time-synchronized with the employee's body camera 501).”)
10. Regarding claim 5, Ribiero discloses the limitations within claim 1 and further discloses the system of claim 1 wherein the camera (see at least Ribiero, ¶ 0278, "For example, where the system cameras include a body camera 501 secured to the body of a person, which may be the person under surveillance, and a data message from the body camera 501 does not indicate that the body camera has been activated, the video processor 110, 1410 may communicate a control message to the body camera 501 causing the body camera 501 to activate and begin communicating video data to the video processor 110, 1410. Such a procedure may be used to keep the body camera 501 from transmitting video until instructed to do so in order to conserve the body cam's battery or to delay body cam transmissions until one or more other cameras are also transmitting, such as the vehicle-mounted cameras 1807-1809.")
Ribiero does not explicitly disclose but Zeng discloses camera is powered by a rechargeable battery. (see at least Zeng, ¶ 0054, "The camera unit 100 may include a rechargeable battery (not shown) mounted in the housing 120 which powers the camera 130 but not the lamp 110. The battery may also provide power to the PLC interface 140, enabling the PLC interface to transmit data to the trailer 10 even when there is no DC current flowing (i.e., 0 V). Power from the trailer 10 and supplied to the camera unit 100 charges the battery. The battery may be a lithium-ion rechargeable battery."). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify, with a reasonable expectation of success, the camera system within Ribiero to include the rechargeable battery of Zeng as it would yield an effective system to install the camera without "the need for another power source may prevent the camera unit 100 from being covert and/or easily installed, thereby impairing advantages of the video system" (Zeng, ¶ 0053).
NOTE: Even though Ribiero does not directly discuss the use of batteries on vehicle cameras, Ribiero does anticipate the deployment of portable camera systems such as body cameras that would require a portable power system such as a battery.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RACHID BENDIDI whose telephone number is (571)272-4896. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8AM-4PM.
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/RACHID BENDIDI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3664
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