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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 5, line 5, “through the connection lines” should be deleted.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sagou et al. (20170080779). Regarding claim 1, Sagou et al. discloses an integrated warmer control system, the system comprising: a plurality of warmers 1,20,22 disposed in and around a seat 30, a main controller 7 configured to derive a command signal according to a temperature of an operation stage 6 (paragraph [0058]) or a plurality of operation stage-specific operation temperatures of each of the warmers based on situation-specific information, and a plurality of sub-controllers 100, 200, 220 configured to receive the command signal according to the temperature of the operation stage or the plurality of operation stage-specific operation temperatures derived through communication with the main controller 7 (Fig. 3), and control the warmers to operate in response to the command signal (paragraph [0045]).
Regarding claim 2, Sagou et al. discloses that each sub-controller 100,200,220 is associated with a respective one of the warmers 1,20,22.
Regarding claim 4, Sagou et al. discloses that in response to receiving a command input by a user through an integrated switch 70,71,72, the main controller 7 is configured to derive the temperature of the operation stage or the plurality of operation stage-specific operation temperatures of each of the warmers; and transmit the command signal according to the derived temperature of the operation stage or the plurality of operation stage-specific operation temperatures to a corresponding one of the sub-controllers 1,20,22. See Sagou et al. paragraphs [0060]-[0061].
Regarding claim 19, Sagou et al. discloses an integrated warmer control method comprising reviewing, by a main controller 7, situation-specific information according to a situation of a mobility vehicle and an occupant of a seat of the mobility vehicle (temperature of occupant detected by temperature detector 6, paragraph [0061]), the mobility vehicle comprising warmers 1,20,22 disposed in and around the seat 30, deriving, by the main controller 7, a temperature of an operation stage or a plurality of operation stage-specific operation temperatures of each of the warmers based on the situation-specific information (paragraph [0061]), transmitting the temperature of the operation stage or the plurality of operation stage-specific operation temperatures of each of the warmers 1,20,22 derived by the main controller 7 to a plurality of sub-controllers 100,200,220, and operating, by the sub-controllers 100,200,220, the warmers 1,20,22, each sub-controller 100,200,220 controlling one or more of the warmers 1,20,22.
Regarding claim 20, Sagou et al. discloses receiving, by the main controller 7, a command 70,71,72 for operating the warmers 1,20,22 from the occupant before reviewing the situation-specific information.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sagou et al., as applied to claim 1, above in view of Hoshi et al. (20190111813). Sagou et al. discloses all of the claimed subject matter except that each sub-controller is associated with a group of the warmers.
Hoshi et al. teaches for an integrated warmer control system, the system comprising a plurality of warmers 10,20 disposed in and around a seat S, a main controller 3 configured to derive a command signal, and a sub-controller 100 configured to receive the command signal derived through communication with the main controller 3, and control the warmers 10,20 to operate in response to the command signal and that (claim 3) the sub-controller is associated with a group of the warmers 10,20 for the purposes of quickly heating the whole seat. See Hoshi et al. paragraph [0007].
Since Sagou et al. and Hoshi et al. are both in the same field of endeavor the purpose disclosed by Hoshi et al. would have been recognized in the pertinent art of Sagou et al. It would have been obvious at a time before the invention was effectively filed to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the system of Sagou et al. such that each sub-controller is associated with a group of the warmers for the purposes of quickly heating the whole seat.
Prior Art
Prior art made of record but not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure for showing other integrated warmer control systems with warmers for seats, controllers, and temperature sensors.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The improvements comprise (claim 5) that the sub-controllers are configured to receive the power from an external source and wirelessly communicate with the main controller, (claim 6) the main controller is configured to receive information regarding a position of the seat and a posture of an occupant of the seat, and derive the temperature of the operation stage or the plurality of operation stage-specific operation temperatures of each of the warmers based on the information regarding the position of the seat and the posture of the occupant, (claim 7) the main controller is configured to receive information indicating whether or not an air conditioning system is on or off, and adjust the temperature of the operation stage or the plurality of operation stage-specific operation temperatures of each of the warmers according to whether or not the air conditioning system is on or off, (claim 10) the main controller is configured to receive information indicating whether or not a door is opened, and in response to the information indicating the door is opened, adjust the temperature of the operation stage or the plurality of operation stage-specific operation temperatures of each of the warmers to a lower temperature, and (claim 12) the main controller is configured to: receive information indicating whether or not a mobility vehicle has had a collision; and in response to the information indicating that the mobility vehicle has had the collision, control all of the warmers to be off.
Claims 13-18 are allowed. The improvement comprises that in response to a determination that one of the warmers does not operate at the temperature of the operation stage or the plurality of operation stage-specific operation temperatures, the corresponding sub-controller is configured to transmit an abnormality signal to the main controller; and wherein, in response to the abnormality signal, the main controller is configured to provide a notification of an abnormal operation of the one of the warmers using a warning system.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communication from the examiner should be directed to Thomas Lazo whose telephone number is (571) 272-4818. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor Nathaniel Wiehe, can be reached on (571) 272-8648. The fax phone number for this Group is (571) 273-8300.
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/THOMAS E LAZO/Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 3745
September 18, 2026
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