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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 11/2/2023 and 11/21/2023 were filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 11-30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Soh et al. [Soh] (US PGPub 2017/0322760) in view of Ferren et al. [Ferren] (US Patent No. 7,852,622).
As to claim 11
Soh discloses a motor vehicle (vehicle; see paragraph 0067, line 1) comprising:
a display device (display unit 151, see Fig. 1) on a dashboard (dashboard; see paragraph 0115, line 4) of the motor vehicle (see paragraph 0115, lines 1-4), the display device comprising at least two screens (first and second displays 210 and 220, see Figs. 2, 3, 5-10, and 13-16), each of the at least two screens being rimless and connected to the dashboard by a respective adjustment element (guides 230, see Fig. 2/guides 1130, see Fig. 11/guides 1230, see Fig. 12), each respective adjustment element to move a respective screen of the at least two screens into a plurality of adjustment positions (see paragraph 0132, lines 1-5 and paragraph 0134, lines 1-4),
wherein,
in a combined adjustment position, the at least two screens are arranged as a combined display surface and the at least two screens to display a uniform display image on the combined display surface (see Fig. 6A and paragraph 0135, lines 1-4; first and second displays coupled/connected/combined), and
in at least one separated adjustment position, a first screen (first display 210) of the at least two screens is assigned to a driver's position (center fascia area A; see paragraph 0165, line 1) and a second screen (second display 220) of the at least two screens is assigned to a passenger's position (passenger seat area B/rear seat area C; see paragraph 0165, line 2) (see Fig. 6B and paragraph 0135, lines 1-4; first and second displays separated from each other).
Though Soh discloses the motor vehicle comprising a display device where respective screens move into a plurality of adjustment positions; Soh fails to specifically disclose the plurality of adjustment positions in all spatial directions.
Ferren discloses a motor vehicle (motor vehicle; see column 6, line 46) comprising a display device (deployable display apparatus 100, see Fig. 1) where respective screens (plurality of visual display units 328, see Figs. 3 and 5) move into a plurality of adjustment positions in all spatial directions (see column 6, lines 15-44).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Soh’s invention with Ferren’s in order to spatially displace Soh’s displays 210 and 220, since doing so would allow the operator and/or passengers to selectively utilize the display units (see Ferren column 6, lines 30-32).
As to claim 12
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 11, wherein the respective adjustment element to move the respective screen of the at least two screens electromotively into the respective adjustment positions (see paragraph 0144 and 0145; controller controls movement of the display units based on an event).
As to claim 13
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 12, wherein the motor vehicle to determine a seat occupancy of the passenger's position, wherein the display device to move the at least two screens into the combined adjustment position and to the driver's position when the passenger's position is not occupied (see paragraphs 0222 – 0226).
As to claim 14
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 12, wherein the display device to determine whether the motor vehicle is operated in a manual or an autonomous driving mode (autonomous driving mode; see paragraph 0147, lines 5-6) and to adjust the at least two screens on the basis of the determined driving mode (see paragraph 0006, lines 1-6).
As to claim 15
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 13, wherein the display device to determine whether the motor vehicle is operated in a manual or an autonomous driving mode and to adjust the at least two screens on the basis of the determined driving mode (see paragraph 0006, lines 1-6).
As to claim 16
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 14, wherein the display device to block at least the first screen in the separated adjustment position for entertainment displays when the motor vehicle is operated in the manual driving mode (see paragraph 0011, lines 1-10; driver is only provided with information that won’t interfere with driving).
As to claim 17
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 15, wherein the display device to block at least the first screen in the separated adjustment position for entertainment displays when the motor vehicle is operated in the manual driving mode (see paragraph 0011, lines 1-10; driver is only provided with information that won’t interfere with driving).
As to claim 18
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 14, wherein the display device, in the separated adjustment position, to position the first screen in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle to the driver's position such that a viewing angle of the second screen from the driver's position is substantially obscured by the first screen when an entertainment display is displayed on the second screen and the motor vehicle is operated in the manual driving mode (see paragraphs 0160 - 0162).
As to claim 19
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 15, wherein the display device, in the separated adjustment position, to position the first screen in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle to the driver's position such that a viewing angle of the second screen from the driver's position is substantially obscured by the first screen when an entertainment display is displayed on the second screen and the motor vehicle is operated in the manual driving mode (see paragraphs 0160 - 0162).
As to claim 20
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 16, wherein the display device, in the separated adjustment position, to position the first screen in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle to the driver's position such that a viewing angle of the second screen from the driver's position is substantially obscured by the first screen when an entertainment display is displayed on the second screen and the motor vehicle is operated in the manual driving mode (see paragraphs 0160 - 0162).
As to claim 21
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 17, wherein the display device, in the separated adjustment position, to position the first screen in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle to the driver's position such that a viewing angle of the second screen from the driver's position is substantially obscured by the first screen when an entertainment display is displayed on the second screen and the motor vehicle is operated in the manual driving mode (see paragraphs 0160 - 0162).
As to claim 22
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 14, wherein the display device to move the at least two screens into the combined adjustment position when the motor vehicle is operated in the autonomous driving mode (see paragraph 0135, lines 1-4 and paragraphs 0137-0139).
As to claim 23
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 15, wherein the display device to move the at least two screens into the combined adjustment position when the motor vehicle is operated in the autonomous driving mode (see paragraph 0135, lines 1-4 and paragraphs 0137-0139).
As to claim 24
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 16, wherein the display device to move the at least two screens into the combined adjustment position when the motor vehicle is operated in the autonomous driving mode (see paragraph 0135, lines 1-4 and paragraphs 0137-0139).
As to claim 25
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 18, wherein the display device to move the at least two screens into the combined adjustment position when the motor vehicle is operated in the autonomous driving mode (see paragraph 0135, lines 1-4 and paragraphs 0137-0139).
As to claim 26
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 11, wherein at least the second screen has a visual protection function to prevent a display image from being displayed from the direction of the driver's position on the second screen when the second screen is assigned to the passenger's position (see paragraph 0272, lines 1-7).
As to claim 27
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 12, wherein at least the second screen has a visual protection function to prevent a display image from being displayed from the direction of the driver's position on the second screen when the second screen is assigned to the passenger's position (see paragraph 0272, lines 1-7).
As to claim 28
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 11, wherein the at least two screens are micro-LED screens (see paragraph 0118, lines 3-7).
As to claim 29
Soh discloses the motor vehicle as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least two screens are micro-LED screens (see paragraph 0118, lines 3-7).
As to claim 30
Soh discloses a method for adjusting a display device (display unit 151, see Fig. 1), with a motor vehicle (vehicle; see paragraph 0067, line 1) as claimed in claim 11, the method comprising:
determining a seat occupancy of the passenger's position (presence or absence of a passenger; see paragraph 0223, lines 3-4);
determining whether the motor vehicle is operated in a manual or an autonomous driving mode (ON/OFF of autonomous driving mode; see paragraph 0147, lines 5-6); and
moving a respective screen of the at least two screens of the display device electromotively into predefined adjustment positions by a respective adjustment element on the basis of the determined seat occupancy and on the basis of the determined driving mode (see paragraphs 0144, 0145, and 0223; controller controls movement of the display units based on an event).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Michael J. Brown whose telephone number is (571)272-5932. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday from 5:30am-4:00pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Lee can be reached at (571)272-3667. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Michael J Brown/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2115