DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
The following is a final Office action in response to the petition decision dated 1/29/2026, and the request for reconsideration received 11/18/2025.
Claims 7 and 9-17, received 9/25/2025, are currently pending and have been examined.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s associated arguments, filed 11/18/2025, with respect to the rejection of the claims under 35 U.S.C. §103 have been considered but are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Stam specifically teaches away from suppressing these types of error messages and there is nothing in the record supporting the conclusion that one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to suppress Stam's error messages when in an urban environment and then display the error message a predetermined time after leaving. Examiner respectfully disagrees and initially notes that one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986). Stam discloses an exterior light control system that provides a convenience function for drivers. Secondary reference, Kynast, teaches the suppression of messages in high-stress urban environments for safety reasons. One of ordinary skill would appreciate that a notification associated with a convenience system could be suppressed temporarily so as to not distract a driver in a high-stress situation. Examiner further notes that a message associated with a convenience system may be unimportant relative to other potential generated messages (e.g., collision warning) when driving in a high-stress environment.
Applicant additionally argues Kynast does not disclose or suggest that error messages of sensor blockages of automated systems, such as an automated lighting system, are unimportant and can be suppressed. Examiner respectfully disagrees and initially notes that one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986). Examiner additionally notes that the automated lighting system, and messages associated therewith are disclosed by Stam and that Kynast teaches the suppression of said messages in high-stress urban environments. As noted above, a message associated with a convenience system may be unimportant relative to other potential generated messages (e.g., collision warning) when driving in a high-stress environment.
Applicant further argues that the Okamoto does not disclose or suggest that error messages of sensor blockages of automated systems, such as an automated lighting system, can be suppressed and then output at a subsequent time. Examiner respectfully disagrees and initially notes that one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986). Examiner additionally notes that the automated lighting system, and messages associated therewith are disclosed by Stam and that Kynast teaches the suppression of said messages in high-stress urban environments. Examiner further notes that Okamoto discloses the suppression of messages until after a stressful situation has passed to ensure that the driver actually catches the message, which would be important for uncommon messages or ones that are not frequently presented to the driver.
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 7, 10-13 and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stam et al. (US-2004/0201483) in view of Kynast et al. (US 20060015219) and further in view of Okamoto et al. (US 20020032518).
Regarding claim 7, Stam discloses:
A method for operating a lighting assistance system for a vehicle equipped with a camera that at least records oncoming traffic participants or traffic participants driving ahead (see Stam at least Fig 1 and [0025]-[0027]), the method comprising:
recognizing that the vehicle is in an urban environment, wherein, responsive to recognizing that the vehicle is in an urban environment a full beam of the vehicle is prevented from being switched on (see Stam at least [0011] and [0102]-[0103]), [generating] error messages relating to a limited view of the camera (see Stam at least [0099]); and
recognizing that the vehicle leaves the urban environment (Stam [0103] disclosing disabling high beam activation while in a town, which would be reenabled following removal of the condition (see also 0068)), wherein … when the limited view of the camera continues to be present, the error message is displayed. (see Stam at least [0099] "Upon detection of a blockage the above invention could be used to activate a cleaning or contamination removal system such a wiper, washer, defroster, heater or combination thereof designed to remove contamination from a surface in the path of the view of the image sensor... Finally, a warning light or message may be automatically displayed to the driver of the controlled vehicle indicating that automatic exterior light control is disabled or cleaning of the windshield is advised.")
Stam discloses the presentation of a warning message upon detecting a blockage of an image sensor, Stam does not explicitly disclose the following:
…wherein when driving in the urban environment, error messages … are suppressed; and
… wherein responsive to recognizing that the vehicle leaves the urban environment … the … message is displayed a predetermined period of time after leaving the urban environment.
Kynast, in the same field of endeavor, teaches the following:
…wherein when driving in the urban environment, error messages … are suppressed (Kynast 0009/027, 0018/0021 disclosing suppressing unimportant information during high stress situations which, per 0009/0027 includes urban environments); and
… wherein responsive to recognizing that the vehicle leaves the urban environment … the error message is displayed (Kynast 0009, 0027, 0018, 021 disclosing the suppression of unimportant message during high stress which, per 0009,00027 includes urban environments, and subsequent display of said unimportant message to the driver in response to subsequent analysis associated with lower driver strain, as shown in Fig. 1/2)
One of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing would have recognized that applying the suppression of unimportant messages in high strain environments, as taught by Kynast, in the communication interface of Stam, would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved system that prevents distraction of the driver (Kynast [0021]).
Kynast discloses the display of a message after leaving the urban environment, but does not explicitly state that the message is displayed a predetermined period of time after leaving the urban environment.
Okamoto, in the same field of endeavor, teaches the following:
…the … message is displayed a predetermined period of time after leaving the urban environment (Okamoto [0022] disclosing after stress returns to normal, delay until information is displayed)
One of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing would have recognized that applying the delay of messaging until the psychological burden returns to normal, as taught by Okamoto, in the communication interface of Stam and Kynast, would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved system that ensures that the driver can catch the information in said message (Okamoto [0022]).
Regarding claim 10, Stam in view of Kynast and Okamoto teach the method of claim 7, and further disclose wherein the camera arranged behind a windscreen of the vehicle with a view through the windscreen in a direction of travel (see Stam at least Fig 8).
Regarding claim 11, Stam in view of Kynast and Okamoto teach the method of claim 7, and further disclose wherein the recognition that the vehicle is in the urban environment comprises evaluating at least street lighting, a brightness, a vehicle speed, or a position of the vehicle recorded via a satellite navigate system in relation to a map of the urban environment (see Stam at least [0103] "…Alternatively, a GPS or other navigation system may be used to identify the geographical location of the controlled vehicle and disable automatic control when the vehicle is located in a town. Since towns are typically lit with municipal lighting, high beam activation may be disabled when the ambient light exceeds a threshold or by the combination of low speed and high ambient lighting threshold… The number of streetlamps per distance traveled may also be computed and used as a determination of town conditions…").
Regarding claim 12, Stam in view of Kynast and Okamoto teach the method of claim 11, and further disclose wherein the urban environment is recognized using the street lighting by counting a number of recognized street lamps and a distance unit inferring an urban environment upwards of a pre-determined absolute number of street lamps or a pre-determined number of street lamps (see Stam at least [0103] "…Finally, the ability to detect AC streetlamps, described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,994, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, enables the computation of the density of streetlamps. The number of streetlamps per distance traveled may also be computed and used as a determination of town conditions. If the number of streetlamps detected in a given time or distance exceeds a threshold, automatic high beam headlight activation is inhibited. Additionally, town lighting can be activated when the controlled vehicle is determined to be operating within a town.").
Regarding claim 13, Stam discloses:
A method comprising:
activating a lighting assistance system of a motor vehicle equipped with a camera that at least records oncoming traffic participants or traffic participants driving ahead (Stam, Figs. 1/3, [0025]-[0027], [0096], disclosing lighting assistance utilizing a camera which, as per 0104, records traffic participants), wherein the motor vehicle includes headlights controllable by the lighting assistance system between a low beam and a high beam (Stam [0068], [0103], [0104]);
determining, while the lighting assistance system is activated, that the camera is impaired (Stam [0096]-[0099] disclosing detection of camera status);
determining, while the lighting assistance system is activated, that the vehicle is in an urban environment (Stam [0103] disclosing association of lighting assistance control based on location, such as a town);
maintaining the headlights in the low beam … responsive to the determination that … the vehicle is in the urban environment (Stam [0102]-[0103])
[generating] error messages related to the camera being impaired responsive to the determination that the camera is impaired (Stam at least [0099]);
determining, while the lighting assistance system is activated, that the vehicle is no longer in the urban environment (Stam [103] disclosing disabling high beam activation while in a town, which would be reenabled following removal of the condition (see also 0068)) and that the camera is still impaired (Stam at least [0099]); and displaying…the error messages related to the camera being impaired (Stam at least [0099] "Upon detection of a blockage the above invention could be used to activate a cleaning or contamination removal system such a wiper, washer, defroster, heater or combination thereof designed to remove contamination from a surface in the path of the view of the image sensor... Finally, a warning light or message may be automatically displayed to the driver of the controlled vehicle indicating that automatic exterior light control is disabled or cleaning of the windshield is advised.")
Stam discloses the maintenance of the headlights in low beam responsive to the determination that the vehicle is in the urban environment and the presentation of a warning message upon detecting a blockage of an image sensor, but Stam does not explicitly disclose the following:
suppressing error messages … responsive to the determination that the vehicle is in the urban environment;
displaying, a predetermined period of time after the vehicle leaves the urban environment, the error messages
Kynast, in the same field of endeavor, teaches the following:
suppressing error messages … responsive to the determination that the vehicle is in the urban environment (Kynast [0009]/[027], [0018]/[0021] disclosing suppressing unimportant information during high stress situations which, per [0009]/[0027] includes urban environments); and
displaying, … after the vehicle leaves the urban environment, the messages … (Kynast [0009], [002]7, [0018], [0021] disclosing the suppression of unimportant message during high stress which, per [0009],[0027] includes urban environments, and subsequent display of said unimportant message to the driver in response to subsequent analysis associated with lower driver strain, as shown in Fig. 1/2)
See claim 7 for rationale to combine.
Kynast discloses the display of a message after leaving the urban environment, but does not explicitly state that the message is displayed a predetermined period of time after leaving the urban environment.
Okamoto, in the same field of endeavor, teaches the following:
displaying, a predetermined period of time after the vehicle leaves the urban environment, the messages (Okamoto [0022] disclosing after stress returns to normal, delay until information is displayed).
See claim 7 for rationale to combine.
Regarding claim 15, Stam in view of Kynast and Okamoto teach the method of claim 13, and further disclose wherein the camera arranged behind a windscreen of the vehicle with a view through the windscreen in a direction of travel (see Stam at least Fig 8).
Regarding claim 16, Stam in view of Kynast and Okamoto teach the method of claim 13, and further disclose wherein the recognition that the vehicle is in the urban environment comprises evaluating at least street lighting, a brightness, a vehicle speed, or a position of the vehicle recorded via a satellite navigate system in relation to a map of the urban environment (see Stam at least [0103] "…Alternatively, a GPS or other navigation system may be used to identify the geographical location of the controlled vehicle and disable automatic control when the vehicle is located in a town. Since towns are typically lit with municipal lighting, high beam activation may be disabled when the ambient light exceeds a threshold or by the combination of low speed and high ambient lighting threshold… The number of streetlamps per distance traveled may also be computed and used as a determination of town conditions…").
Regarding claim 17, Stam in view of Kynast and Okamoto teach the method of claim 16, and further disclose wherein the urban environment is recognized using the street lighting by counting a number of recognized street lamps and a distance unit inferring an urban environment upwards of a pre-determined absolute number of street lamps or a pre-determined number of street lamps (see Stam at least [0103] "…Finally, the ability to detect AC streetlamps, described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,994, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, enables the computation of the density of streetlamps. The number of streetlamps per distance traveled may also be computed and used as a determination of town conditions. If the number of streetlamps detected in a given time or distance exceeds a threshold, automatic high beam headlight activation is inhibited. Additionally, town lighting can be activated when the controlled vehicle is determined to be operating within a town.").
Claims 9 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stam et al. (US-2004/0201483) in view of Kynast et al. (US 20060015219) in view of Okamoto et al. (US 20020032518) and further in view of Prakah-Asante (US 20180281806 A1).
Regarding claim 9, Stam in view of Kynast and Okamoto teach the method of claim 7. Kynast further discloses the use of a user profile (see at least [0007]-[0008]) and Okamoto discloses, as shown above, the delay of messaging to ensure proper capture by the driver.
Prakah-Asante discloses: wherein the predetermined period of time is user-configurable (see Prakah-Asante, [0005] [0018] disclosing a user profile for a driver with settings that may be customized to assist with maintaining driver focus, wherein the time at which warning message is provided to the driver may be modified as well as delaying connectivity of certain devices such as phones and other messaging devices, see also claim 13)
One of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing would have recognized that allowing users to generate profiles establishing periods of delay for receipt of messages in driving scenarios, as taught by Prakah-Asante, in the communication interface of Stam, Kynast and Okamoto would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved system that further prevents distraction of the driver (Prakah-Asante [0004]).
Regarding claim 14, Stam in view of Kynast and Okamoto teach the method of claim 13. Kynast further discloses the use of a user profile (see at least [0007]-[0008]) and Okamoto discloses, as shown above, the delay of messaging to ensure proper capture by the driver.
Prakah-Asante discloses: wherein the predetermined period of time is user- configurable (see Prakah-Asante, [0005] [0018] disclosing a user profile for a driver with settings that may be customized to assist with maintaining driver focus, wherein the time at which warning message is provided to the driver may be modified as well as delaying connectivity of certain devices such as phones and other messaging devices, see also claim 13).
See claim 9 for rationale to combine.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Mohan (US-20200180500-A1), disclosing detecting the leaving of an urban area) and Dobler (US-20200180500-A1), disclosing saving lower priority messages for dissemination at a later time.
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 ABBY J FLYNN whose telephone number is (571)272-9855. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, James Trammell can be reached at (571) 272-6712. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ABBY J FLYNN/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3663
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