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 .
STATUS OF CLAIMS
This action is in response to the Applicant’s arguments and amendments filed on 5/06/2026. Applicant amended claims 1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 17 and 18; and added claims 21-26. Claims 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9-12, 15-19 and 21-26 are pending and are examined below.
RESPONSE TO REMARKS AND ARGUMENTS
In regard to the claim rejections under § 103, Applicant’s amendments and arguments have been fully considered.
As to amended claim 1, Applicant argues that the cited references neither disclose nor suggest the following limitations:
“(c) presenting the mobile software application to a user on an in-vehicle display of the vehicle by displaying icons representing said climate control function and said plurality of other vehicle functions as well as a music application of the smartphone,”
“(d) receiving from the user with a single icon press a selection of a wellness mode using the mobile software application presented on the in-vehicle display;” and
“(f) in response to selection of the wellness mode via the mobile software application, transmitting a first control request via the CAN to adjust the climate control function of the vehicle functions, and, at a same time, transmitting a second control request to the music application of the smartphone to play an audio soundtrack on a sound system of the vehicle.”
Applicant characterizes Gerlach as describing the mirroring of a smartphone on a display of a vehicle, and characterizes Baalu as describing the process of using a smartphone as a main computer of a vehicle to control various systems of a vehicle (e.g., HVAC) and displaying those systems on a display of the vehicle via a smartphone. Turning to Maleitzke, Applicant argues that Maleitzke’s taught “Meditation” smart mode does not encompass the specificities of claim limitation (f).
As to new claim 21, Applicant argues that the cited references neither disclose nor suggest the claim. Applicant argues that the software application is an in-vehicle software application as opposed to a mobile application. In contrast, Baalu’s smartphone controls functions of the vehicle while bypassing in-vehicle processors.
Addressing the argument pertaining to limitation (c) of claim 1, Applicant’s arguments and amendments have been fully considered but are moot because the new ground 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.
Addressing the argument pertaining to limitation (d) of claim 1, Examiner respectfully disagrees that the cited prior art does not read on the claim limitation. Specifically, Maleitzke teaches: receiving from the user with a single icon press a selection of a wellness mode, wherein in response to selection of the wellness mode, controlling the climate control function of the vehicle functions and playing an audio soundtrack on a sound system of the vehicle (“In some implementations, the smart mode focus is the ambiance of the vehicle. For instance, the driver can desire to meditate prior to returning to work after lunch. A ‘Meditation’ smart mode can set therapeutic temperatures, play relaxing music, recline the seat, or more. If properly equipped, the smart mode can utilize methods of aromatherapy to help relax the driver.” Emphasis added; col. 10, ll. 20-26. “The vehicle can present a subset of the ranked smart modes 510. The ranked smart modes can be displayed to the user on a display screen in the center of the dashboard of the vehicle and selected with a touch screen input.” Col. 11, ll. 51-54; see also FIG. 1.).
Addressing the argument pertaining to limitation (f) of claim 1, Examiner respectfully disagrees that the cited prior art does not read on the claim limitation.
Establishing the foundation of the rejection, Gerlach discloses: playing an audio soundtrack on a sound system of the vehicle via a music application of the smartphone through selection of a function through a mobile software application presented on an in-vehicle display (“A mobile audio streaming application (e.g. SPOTIFY™) could send information about a currently streamed song …. This additional information could be placed in an in-vehicle application context associated with the in-vehicle media application 210 a. Thus, for example, ‘Spotify’ could be an audio source alongside in-vehicle audio sources.” ¶ 72. “When the deep link is followed, the mobile device 202 can select a mobile music player application to perform the necessary actions as to arrive at an application context in which the requested music is played.” ¶ 102. See also ¶ 45 which discloses how the deep link functions.).
Continuing, Baalu teaches: transmitting a first control request via the CAN to adjust the climate control function of the vehicle functions (“The input provided by the user may be transmitted to the interface system (e.g., via a CAN bus or other interconnect) and passed along to the mobile device if the mobile device is connected and active. The mobile device may interpret the user input, generate a control signal for adjusting a vehicle climate control system, and send the control signal to the interface system. The interface system may pass the control signal to the climate control system (e.g., via the CAN bus or other interconnect), and the climate control system may change an operating state in accordance with the control signal.” ¶ 43.)
Finally, Maleitzke teaches: in response to selection of the wellness mode, controlling the climate control function of the vehicle functions and playing an audio soundtrack on a sound system of the vehicle (“In some implementations, the smart mode focus is the ambiance of the vehicle. For instance, the driver can desire to meditate prior to returning to work after lunch. A ‘Meditation’ smart mode can set therapeutic temperatures, play relaxing music, recline the seat, or more. If properly equipped, the smart mode can utilize methods of aromatherapy to help relax the driver.” Emphasis added; col. 10, ll. 20-26. “The vehicle can present a subset of the ranked smart modes 510. The ranked smart modes can be displayed to the user on a display screen in the center of the dashboard of the vehicle and selected with a touch screen input.” Col. 11, ll. 51-54; see also FIG. 1.).
While Maleitzke does not explicitly disclose that its wellness mode transmits a control request via CAN to adjust a climate control function of vehicle functions or plays an audio soundtrack on a sound system of the vehicle via a music application of the smartphone, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to arrive at the claim limitation at issue in light of the combination of Gerlach, Baalu and Maleitzke. Namely, a skilled artisan would have understood that Baalu’s CAN would be the natural choice for implementing Maleitzke’s adjusting of a climate control function given the ordinary understanding of how climate is controlled within a vehicle. That is, a skilled artisan would have understood that electrical vehicle components typically communicate with each other (e.g., transmit control requests) via CAN as CAN is the standard network protocol in vehicles to facilitate said communication. Furthermore, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to configure Gerlach’s music application to perform Maleitzke’s playing of music because Gerlach’s music application represents a well-known source of audio in a vehicular environment. Hence, with a reasonable expectation of success it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to arrive at the predictable result of a wellness mode that, in addition to controlling cabin climate via CAN, reproduces audio sourced from a smartphone music application.
Addressing the argument pertaining to claim 21, Applicant’s arguments and amendments have been fully considered but are moot because the new ground 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 OBJECTIONS
Claim(s) 21 is/are objected to because of claim informalities.
As to claim 21, “the software application” in limitations (b)-(d) and (f) lack antecedent basis and are inconsistent with the established antecedent of “an in-vehicle software application” in limitation (a). Examiner suggests amending the identified elements in limitations (b)-(d) and (f) to “the in-vehicle software application”.
Appropriate correction is required.
CLAIM REJECTIONS—35 U.S.C. § 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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 9, 11, 12 and 17-19 is/are rejected under § 103 as being unpatentable over Gerlach et al. (US20160034238A1; “Gerlach '238”) in view of Baalu et al. (US20170174228A1; “Baalu”), in view of Maleitzke (US11945445B1; “Maleitzke”) and in view of Dellinger (US20230391194A1; “Dellinger”).
As to independent claim 1, Gerlach '238 discloses a computer-implemented method comprising the steps of:
(a) securely connecting a mobile software application on a smartphone to an in-vehicle network of the vehicle (“FIG. 2A shows that the system 200 has a head unit 201 and a mobile device 202 that is communicatively coupled to the head unit 201.” ¶ 39 and FIG. 2A. Continuing, a user may press a button to invoke “an application context provided by a mobile application stored on the mobile device 202,” and “upon selection of the button 237, the system 200 will initiate a connection using mirroring technology (e.g., MIRRORLINK™) to the mobile device 202, and follow a deep link … to a specific application context 236” of a mobile software application. ¶ 45.);
(b) establishing communications between the mobile software application and the in-vehicle network and enabling the mobile software application to monitor and control a plurality of vehicle functions (A user may press a button to invoke “an application context provided by a mobile application stored on the mobile device 202,” and “upon selection of the button 237, the system 200 will initiate a connection using mirroring technology (e.g., MIRRORLINK™) to the mobile device 202, and follow a deep link … to a specific application context 236” of a mobile software application. ¶ 45. See also ¶ 40 which discusses “mobile music application” and “mobile review and recommendation application” which meet the BRI of vehicle functions as music playing and displaying information are vehicle functions.);
(c) presenting the mobile software application to a user on an in-vehicle display by displaying icons representing said plurality of vehicle functions as well as a music application of the smartphone (Various icons associated with mobile applications may be displayed on a head unit 201 – see at least ¶ 39 and FIG. 2a. Mobile applications may include “a mobile audio streaming application” – see ¶ 72.);
(d) receiving from the user a selection of a vehicle function using the mobile software application presented on the in-vehicle display (“[U]pon selection of the button 237, the system 200 will initiate a connection using mirroring technology (e.g., MIRRORLINK™) to the mobile device 202, and follow a deep link … to a specific application context 236” of a mobile software application. ¶ 45.);
(e) presenting to the user the information about the selected vehicle function (“FIG. 2D shows that the mobile device 202 has rendered the application context 236, and that the application context 236 has been mirrored onto the head unit 201.” ¶ 46 and FIG. 2D.); and
(f) in response to selection of the vehicle function via the mobile software application, controlling the selected vehicle function (“By selecting the state indicator 245, a deep link may be followed such that the mobile music application 244 a may be invoked on the mobile device 202 and may navigate directly to an application context in which a user may change the state of the mobile music application 244 a from ‘Playing’ to a different state.” ¶ 47.).
Gerlach '238 fails to explicitly disclose:
securely connecting a mobile software application on a smartphone to an in-vehicle controller area network (CAN) of a vehicle;
enabling the mobile software application to monitor and control a plurality of vehicle functions including a climate control function; and
transmitting a first control request via the CAN to adjust the climate control function of the vehicle functions.
Nevertheless, Baalu teaches:
securely connecting a mobile software application on a smartphone to an in-vehicle controller area network (CAN) of a vehicle (“The input provided by the user may be transmitted to the interface system (e.g., via a CAN bus or other interconnect) and passed along to the mobile device if the mobile device is connected and active. The mobile device may interpret the user input, generate a control signal for adjusting a vehicle climate control system, and send the control signal to the interface system. The interface system may pass the control signal to the climate control system (e.g., via the CAN bus or other interconnect), and the climate control system may change an operating state in accordance with the control signal.” ¶ 43.);
enabling the mobile software application to monitor and control a plurality of vehicle functions including a climate control function (See at least ¶ 43.); and
transmitting a first control request via the CAN to adjust the climate control function of the vehicle functions (See at least ¶ 43.).
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 invention of Gerlach to include the features of: securely connecting a mobile software application on a smartphone to an in-vehicle controller area network (CAN) of a vehicle; enabling the mobile software application to monitor and control a plurality of vehicle functions including a climate control function; and transmitting a first control request via the CAN to adjust the climate control function of the vehicle functions, as taught by Baalu, with a reasonable expectation of success because these features are useful as “[b]y utilizing the computing resources of the mobile device to provide a user interface for controlling vehicle systems, the cost and complexity of an in-vehicle computing system may be reduced.” (Baalu, ¶ 54.) Additionally, adding in Baalu’s climate control is a natural and obvious extension to Gerlach ‘238’s disclosed vehicle functions as climate control is a common and frequently adjusted vehicle function that a driver interacts with.
The combination of Gerlach ‘238 and Baalu fails to explicitly disclose:
receiving from the user with a single icon press a selection of a wellness mode;
presenting to the user the information about the selected wellness mode; and
in response to selection of the wellness mode, transmitting a first control request via the CAN to adjust the climate control function of the vehicle functions, and, at a same time, transmitting a second control request to the music application of the smartphone to play an audio soundtrack on a sound system of the vehicle.
Nevertheless, Maleitzke teaches:
receiving from the user with a single icon press a selection of a wellness mode, wherein in response to selection of the wellness mode, controlling the climate control function of the vehicle functions and playing an audio soundtrack on a sound system of the vehicle (“In some implementations, the smart mode focus is the ambiance of the vehicle. For instance, the driver can desire to meditate prior to returning to work after lunch. A ‘Meditation’ smart mode can set therapeutic temperatures, play relaxing music, recline the seat, or more. If properly equipped, the smart mode can utilize methods of aromatherapy to help relax the driver.” Emphasis added; col. 10, ll. 20-26. “The vehicle can present a subset of the ranked smart modes 510. The ranked smart modes can be displayed to the user on a display screen in the center of the dashboard of the vehicle and selected with a touch screen input.” Col. 11, ll. 51-54; see also FIG. 1.); and
presenting to the user the information about the selected wellness mode (“A display screen 110 is depicted in the center of the dashboard. The dashboard screen displays selections of different smart modes 100.” See col. 4, ll. 33-38 and FIG. 1.).
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 combination of Gerlach ‘238 and Baalu to include the features of: receiving from the user with a single icon press a selection of a wellness mode, wherein in response to selection of the wellness mode, controlling the climate control function of the vehicle functions and playing an audio soundtrack on a sound system of the vehicle; and presenting to the user the information about the selected wellness mode, as taught by Maleitzke, with a reasonable expectation of success because these features are useful to “improve the safety of the vehicle and comfort of the driver, and can reduce pollution and energy waste while a driver or other vehicle occupant is operating a vehicle.” (Maleitzke, col. 1, ll. 29-33.)
While Maleitzke does not explicitly disclose that its wellness mode transmits a control request via CAN to adjust a climate control function of vehicle functions or plays an audio soundtrack on a sound system of the vehicle via a music application of the smartphone, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to arrive at the claim limitation at issue in light of the combination of Gerlach ‘238, Baalu and Maleitzke. Namely, a skilled artisan would have understood that Baalu’s CAN (discussed supra) would be the natural choice for implementing Maleitzke’s adjusting of a climate control function given the ordinary understanding of how climate is controlled within a vehicle. That is, a skilled artisan would have understood that electrical vehicle components typically communicate with each other (e.g., transmit control requests) via CAN as CAN is the standard network protocol in vehicles to facilitate said communication. Furthermore, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to configure Gerlach ‘238’s music application (discussed supra) to perform Maleitzke’s playing of music because Gerlach ‘238’s music application represents a well-known source of audio in a vehicular environment. Hence, with a reasonable expectation of success it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to arrive at the predictable result of a wellness mode that, in addition to controlling cabin climate via CAN, reproduces audio sourced from a smartphone music application.
The combination of Gerlach ‘238, Baalu and Maleitzke fails to explicitly disclose: presenting the mobile software application to a user on an in-vehicle display of the vehicle displaying icons representing said climate control function.
Nevertheless, Dellinger teaches: displaying an icon representing a climate control function (“Display 602 includes user interface 610A of an audio application and user interface 610B of a maps application. At the bottom of display 602, various options are displayed, including application icons 608, driver temperature options 604A-604C, and passenger temperature options 606A-606C.” ¶ 207 and FIG. 6A.).
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 combination of Gerlach ‘238, Baalu and Maleitzke to include the feature of: displaying an icon representing a climate control function, as taught by Dellinger, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful for displaying critical vehicle function features (e.g., climate control) on a user interface. (See Dellinger, ¶¶ 3-5.) In fact, a skilled artisan would have found it obvious to implement a climate control icon in view of the fact that Gerlach ‘238 discloses displaying icons pertaining to vehicle functions of a mobile software application and Baalu teaches that climate control is a vehicle function controllable by a mobile software application. Hence, Dellinger provides the explicit teaching of a predictable and desirable addition of a climate control icon to Gerlach ‘238’s display, such being useful to facilitate Baalu’s climate control.
Independent claim 18 is rejected for at least the same reasons as claim 1 as the claims recite similar subject matter but for minor differences.
As to claim 9, the combination of Gerlach ‘238 and Baalu fails to explicitly disclose: wherein step (f) further comprises at least one of changing ambient lighting to a color selected by the user, activating seat massage, and activating seat ventilation.
Nevertheless, Maleitzke teaches: activating seat ventilation (“A smart mode can control one or more features of the vehicle including … air conditioned or heated seats.” Col. 5, ll. 14-22.).
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 combination of Gerlach ‘238 and Baalu to include the feature of: activating seat ventilation, as taught by Maleitzke, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful to “improve the safety of the vehicle and comfort of the driver, and can reduce pollution and energy waste while a driver or other vehicle occupant is operating a vehicle.” (Maleitzke, col. 1, ll. 29-33.)
As to claim 11, the combination of Gerlach ‘238 and Baalu fails to explicitly disclose: wherein, once selected by the user, the wellness mode is configured to remain active for a predetermined period of time.
Nevertheless, Maleitzke teaches: wherein, once selected by the user, the wellness mode is configured to remain active for a predetermined period of time (“A user can exit a smart mode at any time by several methods. A driver can select “Exit” on the user interface, a driver can shift a vehicle out of park, a smart mode can have a timer associated with it, or more.” Emphasis added; col. 10, ll. 33-36.).
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 combination of Gerlach ‘238 and Baalu to include the feature of: wherein, once selected by the user, the wellness mode is configured to remain active for a predetermined period of time, as taught by Maleitzke, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful to “improve the safety of the vehicle and comfort of the driver, and can reduce pollution and energy waste while a driver or other vehicle occupant is operating a vehicle.” (Maleitzke, col. 1, ll. 29-33.)
As to claim 12, Gerlach ‘238 discloses: a step (g) of synchronizing the software application with a vehicle state (“By selecting the state indicator 245, a deep link may be followed such that the mobile music application 244 a may be invoked on the mobile device 202 and may navigate directly to an application context in which a user may change the state of the mobile music application 244 a from ‘Playing’ to a different state.” ¶ 47.).
As to claim 17, Gerlach ‘238 fails to explicitly disclose: presenting to the user the information about the selected wellness mode comprises accessing the in-vehicle network and obtaining vehicle data related to the selected wellness mode.
Nevertheless Baalu teaches: presenting to the user the information about a selected vehicle function comprises accessing the in-vehicle network and obtaining vehicle data related to the selected vehicle function (“The interface system 202 may pass information from the CAN bus to an external mobile device 208 in order to leverage the processor and other computing resources of the mobile device 208 for controlling a display 210 …. The display 210 may display images to provide visual feedback related to navigation, media playback, telephone, vehicle system control (e.g., cabin temperature control, cruise control settings, odometer output/settings, vehicle diagnostics control, vehicle operating mode control, etc.), and/or other vehicle-related functions.” ¶ 24.)
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 invention of Gerlach ‘238 to include the feature of: presenting to the user the information about the selected vehicle function comprises accessing the in-vehicle network and obtaining vehicle data related to the selected vehicle function, as taught by Baalu, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful as “[b]y utilizing the computing resources of the mobile device to provide a user interface for controlling vehicle systems, the cost and complexity of an in-vehicle computing system may be reduced.” (Baalu, ¶ 54.)
The combination of Gerlach ‘238 and Baalu fails to explicitly disclose performing the above in relation to a wellness mode.
Nevertheless, Maleitzke teaches: presenting to the user the information about the selected wellness mode (“A display screen 110 is depicted in the center of the dashboard. The dashboard screen displays selections of different smart modes 100.” See col. 4, ll. 33-38 and FIG. 1.).
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 combination of Gerlach ‘238 and Baalu to include the feature of: presenting to the user the information about a selected vehicle function comprises accessing the in-vehicle network and obtaining vehicle data related to the selected vehicle function, as taught by Maleitzke, to yield the claim limitation at issue with a reasonable expectation of success because one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that presenting Maleitzke’s wellness mode would constitute a natural and obvious extension of Baalu’s presenting of a vehicle function via vehicle data obtained through an in-vehicle network.
As to claim 19, Gerlach ‘238 discloses: a vehicle comprising the computer program product of claim 18 (System 100 is illustrated as part of a vehicle – see ¶ 27 and FIG. 1a.).
As to claim 26, the combination of Gerlach ‘238 and Baalu fails to explicitly disclose: wherein the wellness mode is a selectable icon on the in-vehicle display.
Nevertheless, Maleitzke teaches: wherein the wellness mode is a selectable icon on the in-vehicle display (“A display screen 110 is depicted in the center of the dashboard. The dashboard screen displays selections of different smart modes 100.” See col. 4, ll. 33-38 and FIG. 1.).
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 combination of Gerlach ‘238 and Baalu to include the feature of: wherein the wellness mode is a selectable icon on the in-vehicle display , as taught by Maleitzke, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful for enabling a user to select a wellness mode.
Claims 2 and 15 are rejected under § 103 as being unpatentable over Gerlach ‘238 in view of Baalu, in view of Maleitzke and in view of Dellinger as applied to claim 1 – further in view of Graney (US20180265094A1; “Graney”).
As to claim 2, the combination of Gerlach ‘238, Baalu, Maleitzke and Dellinger fails to explicitly disclose: wherein the plurality of vehicle functions further comprise a plurality of radio favorites, a plurality of sound profiles and a plurality of climate control modes.
Nevertheless, Graney teaches: wherein a plurality of vehicle functions comprise a plurality of radio favorites (“user preferences 500” may comprise “radio preferences 523” – see at least ¶¶ 44, 56 and FIG. 5.), a plurality of sound profiles (“user preferences 500” may comprise “streaming preferences 524 refer to preferred sources of streaming audio and/or video content (e.g., music, movies, videos, and/or other audio and/or visual content) for the user” – see at least ¶¶ 44, 57 and FIG. 5.) and a plurality of climate control modes (“user preferences 500” may comprise “climate preferences 510” – see at least ¶¶ 44, 52 and FIG. 5.).
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 combination of Gerlach ‘238, Baalu, Maleitzke and Dellinger to include the feature of: wherein a plurality of vehicle functions comprise a plurality of radio favorites, a plurality of sound profiles, and a plurality of climate control modes, as taught by Graney, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful “for improved implementation of user preferences, for example with respect to climate and entertainment options.” (Graney, ¶ 4.)
As to claim 15, the combination of Gerlach ‘238, Baalu, Maleitzke and Dellinger fails to explicitly disclose: creating at least one space associated with a specific user of the vehicle, wherein the at least one space comprises a plurality of personalized features associated with the specific user of the vehicle.
Nevertheless, Graney teaches: creating at least one space associated with a specific user of the vehicle, wherein the at least one space comprises a plurality of personalized features associated with the specific user of the vehicle (“The user preference implementation system … 100 receives a user's preferences for various settings (e.g., including for climate and entertainment systems) for a plurality of vehicles, including the vehicle 10, and implements the user's preferences for the vehicle 100.” ¶ 17. Note: A user’s preferences meets the BRI of a space associated with a specific user because such provides a plurality of personalized features associated with the specific user of the vehicle.).
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 combination of Gerlach ‘238, Baalu, Maleitzke and Dellinger to include the feature of: creating at least one space associated with a specific user of the vehicle, wherein the at least one space comprises a plurality of personalized features associated with the specific user of the vehicle, as taught by Graney, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful “for improved implementation of user preferences, for example with respect to climate and entertainment options.” (Graney, ¶ 4.)
Claim 4 is rejected under § 103 as being unpatentable over Gerlach ‘238 in view of Baalu, in view of Maleitzke, in view of Dellinger and in view of Graney as applied to claim 2 — further in view of Kuenzner (US20100194691A1; “Kuenzner”).
As to claim 4, the combination of Gerlach ‘238, Baalu, Maleitzke, Dellinger and Graney fails to explicitly disclose: wherein each of the plurality of sound profiles is configured to update vehicle sound settings including treble, bass, fader, or surround, with one icon press on a dashboard or a touchscreen of the vehicle.
Nevertheless, Kuenzner teaches: wherein each of the plurality of sound profiles is configured to update vehicle sound settings including treble, bass, fader, or surround, with one icon press on a dashboard or a touchscreen of the vehicle (“The sound profile may comprise up to five setting values (volume, bass, treble, balance, fade).” ¶ 7. The operator can access the control key “with the touch of a button” – see at least ¶ 15.).
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 combination of Gerlach ‘238, Baalu, Maleitzke, Dellinger and Graney to include the feature of: wherein each of the plurality of sound profiles is configured to update vehicle sound settings including treble, bass, fader, or surround, with one icon press on a dashboard or a touchscreen of the vehicle, as taught by Kuenzner, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful for enabling a user to control ordinary volume features with enhanced functionality. Indeed, Kuenzner’s teaching represents a natural and obvious extension of Maleitzke’s smart mode, wherein multiple vehicle functions are changed through one icon press — that is, the claimed sound settings are common vehicle settings which a driver typically interacts with; in view of Kuenzner, it would have been obvious to configure a smart mode of Maleitzke to configure said sound settings.
Claims 6, 7 and 10 are rejected under § 103 as being unpatentable over Gerlach ‘238 in view of Baalu, in view of Maleitzke and in view of Dellinger as applied to claim 1 — further in view of Berlitz et al. (DE102006030300C5; “Berlitz”).
As to claim 6, Gerlach ‘238 fails to explicitly disclose: wherein said controlling step further comprises lowering a cabin temperature.
Nevertheless Baalu teaches: wherein said controlling step further comprises lowering a cabin temperature (“The mobile device may receive sensed data via the interface system regarding the current temperature in the cabin and the state of the climate control system in order to generate a control signal defining a particular action to be performed by the climate control system to achieve the desired cabin temperature indicated by the user input.” ¶ 44. Note: Achieving a desired cabin temperature necessarily entails lower a cabin temperature as lowering a cabin temperature is the only way to achieve a desired cabin temperature when said desired cabin temperature is lower than an actual cabin temperature.).
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 invention of Gerlach ‘238 to include the feature of: wherein said controlling step further comprises lowering a cabin temperature, as taught by Baalu, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful as “[b]y utilizing the computing resources of the mobile device to provide a user interface for controlling vehicle systems, the cost and complexity of an in-vehicle computing system may be reduced.” (Baalu, ¶ 54.)
The combination of Gerlach ‘238 and Baalu fails to explicitly disclose: turning on seat ventilation.
Nevertheless, Maleitzke teaches: turning on seat ventilation (“A smart mode can control one or more features of the vehicle including … air conditioned or heated seats.” Col. 5, ll. 14-22.).
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 combination of Gerlach ‘238 and Baalu to include the feature of: activating seat ventilation, as taught by Maleitzke, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful to “improve the safety of the vehicle and comfort of the driver, and can reduce pollution and energy waste while a driver or other vehicle occupant is operating a vehicle.” (Maleitzke, col. 1, ll. 29-33.)
The combination of Gerlach ‘238, Baalu, Maleitzke and Dellinger fails to explicitly disclose: changing ambient light to blue.
Nevertheless, Berlitz teaches: turning on ambient light to blue (“If cooling is to be provided by the air conditioning, the interior or ambient lighting would be changed more towards blue to visually support this cooling operation, since blue is interpreted as a rather cool color.” ¶ 12.).
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 combination of Gerlach ‘238, Baalu, Maleitzke and Dellinger to include the feature of: turning on ambient light to blue, as taught by Berlitz, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful for providing further features to a user who wishes to cool down, thereby enhancing user comfort.
As to claim 7, Gerlach ‘238 fails to explicitly disclose: wherein said controlling step further comprises lowering a cabin temperature.
Nevertheless Baalu teaches: wherein said controlling step further comprises increasing a cabin temperature (“The mobile device may receive sensed data via the interface system regarding the current temperature in the cabin and the state of the climate control system in order to generate a control signal defining a particular action to be performed by the climate control system to achieve the desired cabin temperature indicated by the user input.” ¶ 44. Note: Achieving a desired cabin temperature necessarily entails increasing a cabin temperature as increasing a cabin temperature is the only way to achieve a desired cabin temperature when said desired cabin temperature is higher than an actual cabin temperature.).
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 invention of Gerlach ‘238 to include the feature of: wherein said controlling step further comprises lowering a cabin temperature, as taught by Baalu, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful as “[b]y utilizing the computing resources of the mobile device to provide a user interface for controlling vehicle systems, the cost and complexity of an in-vehicle computing system may be reduced.” (Baalu, ¶ 54.)
The combination of Gerlach ‘238 and Baalu fails to explicitly disclose: turning on seat heating.
Nevertheless, Maleitzke teaches: turning on seat heating (“A smart mode can control one or more features of the vehicle including … air conditioned or heated seats.” Col. 5, ll. 14-22.).
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 combination of Gerlach ‘238 and Baalu to include the feature of: activating seat heating, as taught by Maleitzke, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful to “improve the safety of the vehicle and comfort of the driver, and can reduce pollution and energy waste while a driver or other vehicle occupant is operating a vehicle.” (Maleitzke, col. 1, ll. 29-33.)
The combination of Gerlach ‘238, Baalu, Maleitzke and Dellinger fails to explicitly disclose: changing ambient light to red.
Nevertheless, Berlitz teaches: turning on ambient light to blue (“If the driver sets the air conditioning to heat the interior, the interior lighting is set to red to visually support this heating operation, as people interpret red as a warm, pleasant color.” ¶ 12.).
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 combination of Gerlach ‘238, Baalu, Maleitzke and Dellinger to include the feature of: turning on ambient light to red, as taught by Berlitz, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful for providing further features to a user who wishes to warm up, thereby enhancing user comfort.
As to claim 10, the combination of Gerlach ‘238, Baalu, Maleitzke and Dellinger fails to explicitly disclose: changing ambient light within the vehicle.
Nevertheless, Berlitz teaches: changing ambient light within the vehicle (“If cooling is to be provided by the air conditioning, the interior or ambient lighting would be changed more towards blue to visually support this cooling operation, since blue is interpreted as a rather cool color.” ¶ 12.).
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 combination of Gerlach ‘238, Baalu, Maleitzke and Dellinger to include the feature of: changing ambient light within the vehicle, as taught by Berlitz, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful for enhancing user comfort.
Claim 16 is rejected under § 103 as being unpatentable over Gerlach ‘238 in view of Baalu, in view of Maleitzke, in view of Dellinger and in view of Graney as applied to claim 15 — further in view of Wu et al. (US20210316711A1; “Wu”).
As to claim 16, the combination of Gerlach ‘238, Baalu, Maleitzke, Dellinger and Graney fails to explicitly disclose: switching between a plurality of spaces associated with multiple users of the vehicle.
Nevertheless, Wu teaches: switching between a plurality of spaces associated with multiple users of the vehicle (“The memory 310 can store one or more user profiles 255 for users of the vehicle 100.” ¶ 19.).
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 combination of Gerlach ‘238, Baalu, Maleitzke, Dellinger and Graney with the feature of: switching between a plurality of spaces associated with multiple users of the vehicle, as taught by Wu, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful for accounting for more than one user, thereby enhancing user satisfaction. In fact, one of ordinary skill in the art would have understood that Graney’s invention would account for multiple users – in this regard, Wu provides the explicit teaching that such is known in the prior art.
Claim(s) 21-24 is/are rejected under § 103 as being unpatentable over Gerlach (US20160263996A1; “Gerlach '996”) in view of Baalu, in view of Gerlach '238, in view of Maleitzke and in view of Dellinger.
As to independent claim 21, Gerlach ‘996 discloses a computer-implemented method for controlling an in-vehicle climate control system and a music application on a smartphone, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) connecting a smartphone to an in-vehicle software application of the vehicle (“In the step S1, a communications link is established between a mobile device and a vehicle. Then the step S2 displays video signals from the mobile device on a screen of the vehicle (a process also known as mirroring) and transfers inputs captured via controls in the vehicle to the mobile device. In the step S3, as part of the standard mirroring-technology handshake, not only is the screen resolution agreed but also a list of vehicle applications that can be used to control or configure functions of the vehicle is transmitted to the mobile device.” ¶ 39 and FIG. 1.);
(b) establishing communications between the software application and an in-vehicle network of the vehicle, thereby enabling the software application to monitor and control in-vehicle functions (“If, in the step S4, one of these vehicle applications is now launched via the mobile device, in the step S5 a message or notification is sent from the mobile device to the vehicle (the vehicle infotainment system) to notify the vehicle that a vehicle application is meant to be launched and which vehicle application to launch. After receiving this message, the vehicle launches the relevant vehicle application in the step S6. Thereupon, in the step S7, the vehicle terminates the mirroring-technology video streaming and essentially assumes control of the display by generating its own video signal and displaying same on a display of the vehicle. In addition, in accordance with the step S7, operator inputs at controls in the vehicle are no longer transferred to the mobile device but are processed by the vehicle itself (more precisely by the vehicle application running in the vehicle). ¶ 40 and FIG. 1.);
(c) presenting the software application to the user on an in-vehicle display by displaying icons (“[I]cons of the launched or executed vehicle application can be displayed on the vehicle screen to allow the vehicle application to be operated using the controls in the vehicle.” ¶ 26. “[T]he applications of the mobile device are not integrated into a menu of the vehicle (e.g. of the vehicle infotainment system) but rather the vehicle applications are integrated into the existing menu of the mobile device. This menu of the mobile device can be displayed … on the screen of the vehicle.” ¶ 34.);
(d) receiving from the suer with a single icon press a selection of a vehicle function using the software application presented on the in-vehicle display (“In this process, information comprising an icon, an identification and a name of the vehicle application concerned is transmitted for each vehicle application in the list. This information can be used to display on the mobile device every vehicle application as previously transmitted icons. This information can also be used to create a message to notify the vehicle, when the relevant icon is pressed, which icon was pressed, in other words which vehicle application to launch in the vehicle.” ¶ 39 and FIG. 1. See also ¶ 34 which discloses that the menu of the mobile device can also be displayed on a screen of the vehicle.);
(e) presenting to the user the information about the selected function (“[I]cons of the launched or executed vehicle application can be displayed on the vehicle screen to allow the vehicle application to be operated using the controls in the vehicle.” ¶ 26.); and
(f) in response to selection of the vehicle function, execute the vehicle function (“If, in the step S4, one of these vehicle applications is now launched via the mobile device, in the step S5 a message or notification is sent from the mobile device to the vehicle (the vehicle infotainment system) to notify the vehicle that a vehicle application is meant to be launched and which vehicle application to launch. After receiving this message, the vehicle launches the relevant vehicle application in the step S6.” ¶ 40.).
Gerlach '996 fails to explicitly disclose:
establishing communications between the software application and an in-vehicle controller area network (CAN) of the vehicle; and
transmitting a first control request via the CAN to adjust the climate control function.
Nevertheless, Baalu teaches:
establishing communications between a software application and an in-vehicle controller area network (CAN) of the vehicle (“[T]he input provided by the user may be transmitted to the interface system (e.g., via a CAN bus or other interconnect) and passed along to the mobile device if the mobile device is connected and active. The mobile device may interpret the user input, generate a control signal for adjusting a vehicle climate control system, and send the control signal to the interface system. The interface system may pass the control signal to the climate control system (e.g., via the CAN bus or other interconnect), and the climate control system may change an operating state in accordance with the control signal.” ¶ 43.); and
transmitting a first control request via the CAN to adjust the climate control function (See at least ¶ 43.).
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 invention of Gerlach '996 to include the features of: establishing communications between a software application and an in-vehicle controller area network (CAN) of the vehicle; and transmitting a first control request via the CAN to adjust the climate control function, as taught by Baalu, with a reasonable expectation of success because these features are useful as “[b]y utilizing the computing resources of the mobile device to provide a user interface for controlling vehicle systems, the cost and complexity of an in-vehicle computing system may be reduced.” (Baalu, ¶ 54.) Additionally, adding in Baalu’s climate control is a natural and obvious extension to Gerlach '996’s disclosed vehicle functions as climate control is a common and frequently adjusted vehicle function that a driver interacts with.
The combination of Gerlach '996 and Baalu fails to explicitly disclose:
presenting the software application to the user on an in-vehicle display by displaying icons representing a music application of the smartphone; and
transmitting a second control request to the music application of the smartphone to play an audio soundtrack on a sound system of the vehicle.
Nevertheless, Gerlach '238 teaches:
presenting the software application to the user on an in-vehicle display by displaying icons representing a music application of the smartphone (Various icons associated with mobile applications may be displayed on a head unit 201 – see at least ¶ 39 and FIG. 2a. Mobile applications may include “a mobile audio streaming application” – see ¶ 72.); and
transmitting a second control request to the music application of the smartphone to play an audio soundtrack on a sound system of the vehicle (“A mobile audio streaming application (e.g. SPOTIFY™) could send information about a currently streamed song …. This additional information could be placed in an in-vehicle application context associated with the in-vehicle media application 210 a. Thus, for example, ‘Spotify’ could be an audio source alongside in-vehicle audio sources.” ¶ 72. “When the deep link is followed, the mobile device 202 can select a mobile music player application to perform the necessary actions as to arrive at an application context in which the requested music is played.” ¶ 102. See also ¶ 45 which discloses how the deep link functions.).
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 combination of combination of Gerlach '996 and Baalu with the features of: presenting the software application to the user on an in-vehicle display by displaying icons representing a music application of the smartphone; and transmitting a second control request to the music application of the smartphone to play an audio soundtrack on a sound system of the vehicle, as taught by Gerlach '238, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful for “making the functionality of mobile software applications available in an in-vehicle head unit.” (Gerlach '238, ¶ 2.)
The combination of Gerlach '996, Baalu and Gerlach '238 fails to explicitly disclose:
receiving from the user with a single icon press a selection of a wellness mode;
presenting to the user the information about the selected wellness mode; and
in response to selection of the wellness mode, transmitting a first control request via the CAN to adjust the climate control function of the vehicle functions, and, at a same time, transmitting a second control request to the music application of the smartphone to play an audio soundtrack on a sound system of the vehicle.
Nevertheless, Maleitzke teaches:
receiving from the user with a single icon press a selection of a wellness mode, wherein in response to selection of the wellness mode, controlling the climate control function of the vehicle functions and playing an audio soundtrack on a sound system of the vehicle (“In some implementations, the smart mode focus is the ambiance of the vehicle. For instance, the driver can desire to meditate prior to returning to work after lunch. A ‘Meditation’ smart mode can set therapeutic temperatures, play relaxing music, recline the seat, or more. If properly equipped, the smart mode can utilize methods of aromatherapy to help relax the driver.” Emphasis added; col. 10, ll. 20-26. “The vehicle can present a subset of the ranked smart modes 510. The ranked smart modes can be displayed to the user on a display screen in the center of the dashboard of the vehicle and selected with a touch screen input.” Col. 11, ll. 51-54; see also FIG. 1.); and
presenting to the user the information about the selected wellness mode (“A display screen 110 is depicted in the center of the dashboard. The dashboard screen displays selections of different smart modes 100.” See col. 4, ll. 33-38 and FIG. 1.).
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 combination of Gerlach '996, Baalu and Gerlach '238 to include the features of: receiving from the user with a single icon press a selection of a wellness mode, wherein in response to selection of the wellness mode, controlling the climate control function of the vehicle functions and playing an audio soundtrack on a sound system of the vehicle; and presenting to the user the information about the selected wellness mode, as taught by Maleitzke, with a reasonable expectation of success because these features are useful to “improve the safety of the vehicle and comfort of the driver, and can reduce pollution and energy waste while a driver or other vehicle occupant is operating a vehicle.” (Maleitzke, col. 1, ll. 29-33.)
While Maleitzke does not explicitly disclose that its wellness mode transmits a control request via CAN to adjust a climate control function of vehicle functions or plays an audio soundtrack on a sound system of the vehicle via a music application of the smartphone, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to arrive at the claim limitation at issue in light of the combination of cited prior art. Namely, a skilled artisan would have understood that Baalu’s CAN (discussed supra) would be the natural choice for implementing Maleitzke’s adjusting of a climate control function given the ordinary understanding of how climate is controlled within a vehicle. That is, a skilled artisan would have understood that electrical vehicle components typically communicate with each other (e.g., transmit control requests) via CAN as CAN is the standard network protocol in vehicles to facilitate said communication. Furthermore, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to configure Gerlach '238’s music application (discussed supra) to perform Maleitzke’s playing of music because Gerlach '238’s music application represents a well-known source of audio in a vehicular environment. Hence, with a reasonable expectation of success it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to arrive at the predictable result of a wellness mode that, in addition to controlling cabin climate via CAN, reproduces audio sourced from a smartphone music application.
The combination of Gerlach '996, Baalu, Gerlach '238 and Maleitzke fails to explicitly disclose: presenting the mobile software application to a user on an in-vehicle display of the vehicle displaying icons representing said climate control function.
Nevertheless, Dellinger teaches: displaying an icon representing a climate control function (“Display 602 includes user interface 610A of an audio application and user interface 610B of a maps application. At the bottom of display 602, various options are displayed, including application icons 608, driver temperature options 604A-604C, and passenger temperature options 606A-606C.” ¶ 207 and FIG. 6A.).
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 combination of Gerlach '996, Baalu, Gerlach '238 and Maleitzke to include the feature of: displaying an icon representing a climate control function, as taught by Dellinger, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful for displaying critical vehicle function features (e.g., climate control) on a user interface. (See Dellinger, ¶¶ 3-5.) In fact, a skilled artisan would have found it obvious to implement a climate control icon in view of the fact that Gerlach '996 discloses displaying icons pertaining to vehicle functions of a mobile software application and Baalu teaches that climate control is a vehicle function controllable by a mobile software application. Hence, Dellinger provides the explicit teaching of a predictable and desirable addition of a climate control icon to Gerlach '996’s display, such being useful to facilitate Baalu’s climate control.
As to claim 22, the combination of Gerlach '996 and Baalu fails to explicitly disclose: wherein the icons representing at least the music application of the smartphone are displayed together on the in-vehicle display.
Nevertheless, Gerlach '238 teaches: wherein the icons representing at least the music application of the smartphone are displayed together on the in-vehicle display (“the head unit 201 displays a home screen 205 that includes not only icons for in-vehicle applications, but also icons for mobile applications,” including “a mobile music application icon 244b” - ¶ 40 and FIGS. 1A-1D.).
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 combination of combination of Gerlach '996 and Baalu with the features of: presenting the software application to the user on an in-vehicle display by displaying icons representing a music application of the smartphone; and transmitting a second control request to the music application of the smartphone to play an audio soundtrack on a sound system of the vehicle, as taught by Gerlach '238, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful for “making the functionality of mobile software applications available in an in-vehicle head unit.” (Gerlach '238, ¶ 2.)
The combination of Gerlach '996, Baalu, Gerlach '238 and Maleitzke fails to explicitly disclose: displaying an icon representing a climate control function.
Nevertheless, Dellinger teaches: displaying an icon representing a climate control function (“Display 602 includes user interface 610A of an audio application and user interface 610B of a maps application. At the bottom of display 602, various options are displayed, including application icons 608, driver temperature options 604A-604C, and passenger temperature options 606A-606C.” ¶ 207 and FIG. 6A.).
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 combination of Gerlach '996, Baalu, Gerlach '238 and Maleitzke to include the feature of: displaying an icon representing a climate control function, as taught by Dellinger, to yield the claim limitation at issue with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful for displaying critical vehicle function features (e.g., climate control) on a user interface. (See Dellinger, ¶¶ 3-5.)
As to claim 23, Gerlach '996 discloses: wherein icons are also displayed together on the smartphone (“On the basis of the data transmitted from the vehicle, the smartphone (mobile device) can integrate the vehicle application(s) into the set of applications that already exist on the mobile device, and, for instance, display the application(s) on the start screen. Examples of vehicle applications include configuring a driver assistance system in the vehicle, reading out data (relating to the vehicle status) or setting certain parameters of a sound system in the vehicle.” ¶ 11.).
The combination of Gerlach '996 and Baalu fails to explicitly disclose: wherein the icons representing at least the music application of the smartphone are displayed together.
Nevertheless, Gerlach '238 teaches: wherein the icons representing at least the music application of the smartphone are displayed together (“the head unit 201 displays a home screen 205 that includes not only icons for in-vehicle applications, but also icons for mobile applications,” including “a mobile music application icon 244b” - ¶ 40 and FIGS. 1A-1D.).
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 combination of combination of Gerlach '996 and Baalu with the features of: wherein the icons representing at least the music application of the smartphone are displayed together, as taught by Gerlach '238, to yield the claim limitation at issue with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful for “making the functionality of mobile software applications available in an in-vehicle head unit.” (Gerlach '238, ¶ 2.)
The combination of Gerlach '996, Baalu, Gerlach '238 and Maleitzke fails to explicitly disclose: displaying an icon representing a climate control function.
Nevertheless, Dellinger teaches: displaying an icon representing a climate control function (“Display 602 includes user interface 610A of an audio application and user interface 610B of a maps application. At the bottom of display 602, various options are displayed, including application icons 608, driver temperature options 604A-604C, and passenger temperature options 606A-606C.” ¶ 207 and FIG. 6A.).
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 combination of Gerlach '996, Baalu, Gerlach '238 and Maleitzke to include the feature of: displaying an icon representing a climate control function, as taught by Dellinger, to yield the claim limitation at issue with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful for displaying critical vehicle function features (e.g., climate control) on a user interface. (See Dellinger, ¶¶ 3-5.)
As to claim 24, the combination of Gerlach '996, Baalu, Gerlach '238 fails to explicitly disclose: wherein the wellness mode is a selectable icon on the in-vehicle display.
Nevertheless, Maleitzke teaches: wherein the wellness mode is a selectable icon on the in-vehicle display (“A display screen 110 is depicted in the center of the dashboard. The dashboard screen displays selections of different smart modes 100.” See col. 4, ll. 33-38 and FIG. 1.).
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 combination of Gerlach '996, Baalu, Gerlach '238 to include the feature of: wherein the wellness mode is a selectable icon on the in-vehicle display , as taught by Maleitzke, with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful for enabling a user to select a wellness mode.
Claim 25 is rejected under § 103 as being unpatentable over Gerlach ‘238 in view of Baalu, in view of Maleitzke, in view of Dellinger as applied to claim 1 — further in view of Gerlach '996.
As to claim 25, the combination of Gerlach '238, Baalu, Maleitzke and Dellinger fails to explicitly disclose: wherein the icons representing said in-vehicle climate control system and the music application of the smartphone are also displayed together on the smartphone as a part of step (c).
Nevertheless, Gerlach '996 discloses: wherein icons are also displayed together on the smartphone (“On the basis of the data transmitted from the vehicle, the smartphone (mobile device) can integrate the vehicle application(s) into the set of applications that already exist on the mobile device, and, for instance, display the application(s) on the start screen. Examples of vehicle applications include configuring a driver assistance system in the vehicle, reading out data (relating to the vehicle status) or setting certain parameters of a sound system in the vehicle.” ¶ 11.).
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 combination of Gerlach '238, Baalu, Maleitzke and Dellinger with the feature of: wherein icons are also displayed together on the smartphone, as taught by Gerlach '996, to yield the claim limitation at issue with a reasonable expectation of success because this feature is useful for integrating vehicle applications on a mobile device. (See Gerlach '996, ¶ 2.)
CONCLUSION
Applicant’s amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, this action is final. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to Mario C. Gonzalez whose telephone number is (571) 272-5633. The Examiner can normally be reached M–F, 10:00–6:00 ET.
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, Fadey S. Jabr, can be reached on (571) 272-1516. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/M.C.G./Examiner, Art Unit 3668
/Fadey S. Jabr/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3668
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