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 arguments filed 12/28/2025 have been fully considered.
In regards to independent claims 1, 10, and 20, Applicant argues the cited reference does not teach each and every feature of the claims. Applicant argues Olsen (US 20060015233) instead teaches location monitoring is strictly limited to the location of the vehicle itself via GPS to determine if the vehicle has crossed a pre-defined geofence boundary and the contextual event in Olsen is simply the binary event of crossing one of these boundaries. Applicant argues Olsen does not disclose or suggest determining the location of the external device relative to the vehicle and does not teach communication between a communication receiver of an external device and a telematics system of the ECU to share location of the external device relative to the vehicle. Therefore, Applicant concludes Olsen fails to disclose at least a telematics system configured to receive updated location information with respect to the detected external device relative to the vehicle. Applicant argues, Olsen further fails to disclose the telematics system receives a connectivity status as a distinct parameter and that the mere act of establishing a link to send a command is not equivalent to the claimed feature where the ability to receive a connectivity status utilizes a level of awareness and monitoring of a connection state that is absent from the reference. Therefore, Applicant concludes the independent claims are allowable.
Indeed, Oslen is not found to teach each and every feature of the newly amended language and therefore new reference Alba (US 20210350638) has been necessitated. Alba teaches, in brief, determining the position of a trailer particularly using GPS information, which when combined with Olsen, provides the position of the trailer with lock, thereby giving a relative spatial relationship between the position of the vehicle and trailer with lock, which is the external device, which is received by a telematics system consisting of at least some combination of the driver terminal and server of Olsen. As such, this portion of arguments are moot.
Further, Olsen does teach receiving the connectivity status of the external device at least by establishing wireless communication, which receives a connectivity status of whether wireless connectivity is established or not established, which is precisely what is required by the claims. At no point within the claims is there any explanation of the connectivity status being a distinct parameter, nor the argued utilized level of awareness and monitoring, and as such, a considerably broader interpretation of the recited claim language is more than appropriate, including wireless communication connectivity status of broad types such as status of established connectivity or unestablished connectivity comfortably reading upon the claim language. As such, this portion of arguments are unpersuasive.
Applicant argues the dependent claims are allowable by virtue of their dependency.
This argument is unpersuasive as each independent claim has been fully rejected and for the reasons as given above.
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Olsen et al. (US 20060015233) in view of Alba (US 20210350638).
In regards to claim 1, Olsen teaches a contextual communication system comprising: (Fig 2, 5.)
an external device including a communication receiver; ([0060], [0090] locking device through communications link is activated either automatically or through driver input when exiting particular geofence. Locking device is located within trailer attached to tractor. Locking device is an external device that performs Bluetooth communication or equivalent with the driver’s terminal located within the tractor.) and
an electronic control unit (ECU) including data processing hardware and memory hardware storing actions and action settings, the data processing hardware including a contextual communication feature having a telematics system configured to monitor a location of a vehicle equipped with the ECU, detect the external device and a contextual event, and the telematics system configured to receive a connectivity status of the external device, the contextual communication feature being configured to selectively issue a contextual alert based on the detected external device and in response to the contextual event. ([0060]-[0063], [0065], [0079], [0085], [0090] locking device through communications link is activated either automatically or through driver input based on exiting a particular geofence, which is determined by GPS system associated with driver terminal in vehicle. This requires data processing hardware within the driver terminal that is linked to the instructions of manual and automatic actions and communicates with the lock as an external device, where the driver terminal using the GPS system detects the vehicle leaves or enters a particular geofence boundary and selectively locks or unlocks the lock using automatic or manual actions. [0088] when crossing a particular geofence an alert may be sent establishing rules based on passing that geofence, which is a contextual alert. [0059] wireless communication with the lock may be initiated which is a determination of the connectivity status of the external device, at least as being connected or not being connected. This acts as a telematics system)
Olsen does not teach: receive updated location information with respect to the detected external device relative to the vehicle,
However, Alba teaches determining real time location information of a trailer equipped with a GPS sensor to determine the location of the trailer ([0041]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to modify the vehicle control system of Olsen, by incorporating the teachings of Alba, such that the trailer with lock of Olsen is equipped with its own GPS device which determines the position of the trailer, where as both the position of the vehicle and the position of the trailer are determined, updated location information with respect to the detected external device relative to the vehicle is also given as the relation between the locations.
The motivation to do so is that, as acknowledged by Alba, this allows for better understanding of the trailer’s movement ([0041]).
In regards to claim 2, Olsen, as modified by Alba, teaches the contextual communication system of Claim 1, wherein the actions are associated with the external device and the contextual communication feature is configured to execute the actions based on contextual event data corresponding to the detected contextual event. ([0060], [0090] locking device is either automatically or manually locked or unlocked when passing a particular geofence using communication from the driver’s terminal to the lock based on a contextual event of passing the particular geofence.)
In regards to claim 3, Olsen, as modified by Alba, teaches the contextual communication system of Claim 1, wherein the action settings stored in the memory hardware include automatic settings and manual settings, each action being configured with one of the automatic settings and the manual settings. ([0060]-[0063], [0066], [0090] when entering or exiting particular geofence, the lock may be automatically locked, automatically unlocked, manually locked by emulated keystrokes, or manually unlocked by emulated keystrokes or other driver operation. Each of these actions includes configurations for manual or automatic settings.)
In regards to claim 4, Olsen, as modified by Alba, teaches the contextual communication system of Claim 3, wherein the contextual communication feature is configured to automatically execute the actions configured with the automatic settings in response to the detected contextual event. ([0060]-[0063], [0066], [0090] when entering or exiting particular geofence, the lock may be automatically locked or unlocked depending on the direction and configuration, which is performed based on the contextual event of exiting or entering the geofence.)
In regards to claim 5, Olsen, as modified by Alba, teaches the contextual communication system of Claim 3, wherein the contextual communication feature is configured to issue an action notification associated with actions configured with the manual settings. ([0090], [0091] upon crossing a particular geofence the lock may be automatically locked or unlocked or manually locked or unlocked based on configurations, when manually locked or unlocked, the information management system may be advised of the locking of the device, which is an action notification associated with the manual setting actions.)
In regards to claim 6, Olsen, as modified by Alba, teaches the contextual communication system of Claim 1, wherein the telematics system includes a geographic application and a geofence, the contextual communication feature being configured to detect the communication receiver of the external device using at least one of the geographic application and the geofence. ([0085], [0090] upon crossing a particular geofence, the driver’s terminal is configured to initiate communication with the lock and communication is established, where crossing position and direction of the geofence are determined by GPS system. This used the GPS system which is a geographic application and the geofence to detect the lock by initiating communication.)
In regards to claim 7, Olsen, as modified by Alba, teaches the contextual communication system of Claim 1, wherein the ECU is configured with direct access to the external device to execute at least one of the actions in response to the detected contextual event. ([0090] the driver’s terminal may be connected to the lock by either a wireless Bluetooth connection, equivalent wireless connections, or a hard wire communication connection, which may be direct access, to execute the selective locking and unlocking of the lock.)
In regards to claim 8, Olsen, as modified by Alba, teaches the contextual communication system of Claim 1, wherein the telematics system is configured to detect the external device via the communication receiver, the contextual communication feature being configured to utilize contextual event data corresponding to the contextual event to execute at least one action associated with the detected external device. ([0060], [0090] locking device is either automatically or manually locked or unlocked when passing a particular geofence using communication from the driver’s terminal to the lock based on a contextual event of passing the particular geofence.)
In regards to claim 9, Olsen, as modified by Alba, teaches a vehicle including the contextual communication system of Claim 1. (Fig 5, [0060] vehicle includes relevant system.)
In regards to claim 10, Olsen teaches a contextual communication system for a vehicle, the contextual communication system comprising: (Fig 2, 5.)
an external device including a communication receiver configured to share a connectivity status of the external device; ([0060], [0090] locking device through communications link is activated either automatically or through driver input when exiting particular geofence. Locking device is located within trailer attached to tractor. Locking device is an external device that performs Bluetooth communication or equivalent with the driver’s terminal located within the tractor. The locking device is an external device that shares its connectivity status and receives information through Bluetooth or the like.)
memory hardware storing actions and action settings including at least one of automatic settings and manual settings; ([0060]-[0063], [0065], [0090] manual locks and unlocks and automatic locks and unlocks are stored within instructions, where instructions are necessarily stored on memory hardware. These are actions of locks and unlocks with automatic and manual settings.)
a geographic application configured to detect a location of the vehicle; ([0079], [0085] driver’s terminal includes or interfaces with GPS to determine geographic positioning of the vehicle. This is a geographic application that detects location of the vehicle.) and
data processing hardware communicatively coupled with the memory hardware and the geographic application and including a contextual communication feature configured to receive, from the geographic application, the detected location of the vehicle, detect a contextual event and including a telematics system communicatively coupled with the geographic application and configured to detect the connection status of the external device, and the telematics system configured to receive the connectivity status of the external device from the communication receiver, the contextual communication feature being configured to selectively execute one or more of the actions in response to the detected connectivity status of the external device and the contextual event. ([0060]-[0063], [0065], [0079], [0085], [0090] locking device through communications link is activated either automatically or through driver input based on exiting a particular geofence, which is determined by GPS system associated with driver terminal in vehicle. This requires data processing hardware within the driver terminal that is linked to the instructions of manual and automatic actions and communicates with the lock as an external device, where the driver terminal using the GPS system detects the vehicle leaves or enters a particular geofence boundary and selectively locks or unlocks the lock using automatic or manual actions. [0088] when crossing a particular geofence an alert may be sent establishing rules based on passing that geofence, which is a contextual alert. [0059] wireless communication with the lock may be initiated which is a determination of the connectivity status of the external device, at least as being connected or not being connected. This acts as a telematics system.)
Olsen does not teach: receive updated location information with respect to the detected external device relative to the vehicle,
However, Alba teaches determining real time location information of a trailer equipped with a GPS sensor to determine the location of the trailer ([0041]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to modify the vehicle control system of Olsen, by incorporating the teachings of Alba, such that the trailer with lock of Olsen is equipped with its own GPS device which determines the position of the trailer, where as both the position of the vehicle and the position of the trailer are determined, updated location information with respect to the detected external device relative to the vehicle is also given as the relation between the locations.
The motivation to do so is that, as acknowledged by Alba, this allows for better understanding of the trailer’s movement ([0041]).
In regards to claim 11, Olsen, as modified by Alba, teaches the contextual communication system of Claim 10.
Claim 11 recites a system having substantially the same features of claim 2 above, therefore claim 11 is rejected for the same reasons as claim 2.
In regards to claim 12, Olsen, as modified by Alba, teaches the contextual communication system of Claim 11, wherein the contextual event data includes one or more of a time of day, the location of the vehicle, a heading of the vehicle, and a speed of the vehicle. ([0085] GPS system monitors position and heading of vehicle to determine direction and location vehicle crosses geofence.)
In regards to claim 13, Olsen, as modified by Alba, teaches the contextual communication system of Claim 12, wherein the contextual communication feature is configured to issue an action notification associated with the actions configured with the manual settings and is configured to execute the one or more actions in response to an input at the action notification. ([0062], [0090], [0091] locking may occur by one or more keystrokes input by the driver, which is manual setting of a locking action, when manually locked or unlocked, the information management system may be advised of the locking of the device, which may be an action notification associated with the manual setting actions which are logged, and also serves as an action notification. The driver’s input to manually lock or unlock the lock is an input at the action notification.)
In regards to claim 14, Olsen, as modified by Alba, teaches the contextual communication system of Claim 12, wherein the contextual communication feature is configured to issue a reminder associated with the automatic settings in response to the detected contextual event. ([00901], [0091] information management system may be advised of locking of the lock in particular embodiments, including when the locking is performed automatically, which is a reminder associated with the automatic settings in response to the detected contextual event.)
In regards to claim 15, Olsen, as modified by Alba, teaches the contextual communication system of Claim 10, wherein the contextual communication feature is configured to automatically execute at least one of the one or more actions based on the location of the vehicle from the geographic application. ([0066], [0085], [0090] when the vehicle crosses the particular geofence, the lock may be automatically locked, depending on configuration.)
In regards to claim 16, Olsen, as modified by Alba, teaches the contextual communication system of Claim 10.
Claim 16 recites a system having substantially the same features of claim 7 above, therefore claim 16 is rejected for the same reasons as claim 7.
In regards to claim 17, Olsen, as modified by Alba, teaches the contextual communication system of Claim 10, wherein the external device is configured with a multi-function use and the contextual communication feature is configured to utilize contextual event data corresponding to the detected contextual event to execute at least one of the one or more actions based on the multi-function use of the external device. ([0067] lock may be configured with locking actions or unlocking actions which is multi-function use of the external device. [0085], [0090] driver terminal may communicate with the lock to selectively lock or unlock the lock depending on whether the vehicle is entering or exiting a particular geofence. This is contextual event data of either entering or exiting the geofence which causes either locking or unlocking.)
In regards to claim 18, Olsen, as modified by Alba, teaches the contextual communication system of Claim 17, wherein the contextual communication feature is configured to utilize the telematics system to cooperate with the geographic application to identify an action associated with the multi-function use. ([0067] lock may be configured with locking actions or unlocking actions which is multi-function use of the external device. [0085], [0090] driver terminal may communicate with the lock to selectively lock or unlock the lock depending on whether the vehicle is entering or exiting a particular geofence using GPS system. This is contextual event data of either entering or exiting the geofence which causes either locking or unlocking.)
In regards to claim 19, Olsen, as modified by Alba, teaches the contextual communication system of Claim 10.
Claim 19 recites a system having substantially the same features of claim 9 above, therefore claim 19 is rejected for the same reasons as claim 9.
In regards to claim 20, Olsen teaches a system comprising: (Fig 2, 5.)
at least one external device including a communication receiver configured for sharing data of the at least one external device; ([0060], [0090] locking device through communications link is activated either automatically or through driver input when exiting particular geofence. Locking device is located within trailer attached to tractor. Locking device is an external device that performs Bluetooth communication or equivalent with the driver’s terminal located within the tractor. The locking device is an external device that shares its connectivity status and receives information through Bluetooth or the like.)
a user device; ([0088] an information management system may serve as a user device and/or [0053] driver’s terminal may be portable device which is a user device.) and
a vehicle including an electronic control unit (ECU) communicatively coupled to the communication receiver of the at least one external device and the user device, the ECU including a contextual communication feature including a telematics system configured to receive, from a geographic application, the detected location of the vehicle, detect a contextual event, and configured to execute an action in response to the detected contextual event, the telematics system configured to receive a connectivity status of the external device, the user device being configured to receive a contextual alert from the contextual communication feature in response to the contextual event associated with the action. ([0060]-[0063], [0065], [0079], [0085], [0090] locking device through communications link is activated either automatically or through driver input based on exiting a particular geofence, which is determined by GPS system associated with driver terminal in vehicle. This requires data processing hardware within the driver terminal that is linked to the instructions of manual and automatic actions and communicates with the lock as an external device, where the driver terminal using the GPS system detects the vehicle leaves or enters a particular geofence boundary and selectively locks or unlocks the lock using automatic or manual actions. [0088] when crossing a particular geofence an alert may be sent from the driver’s terminal establishing rules based on passing that geofence, which is a contextual alert. [0088] when crossing a particular geofence an alert may be sent establishing rules based on passing that geofence, which is a contextual alert. [0059] wireless communication with the lock may be initiated which is a determination of the connectivity status of the external device, at least as being connected or not being connected. This acts as a telematics system.)
Olsen does not teach: receive updated location information with respect to the detected external device relative to the vehicle and
However, Alba teaches determining real time location information of a trailer equipped with a GPS sensor to determine the location of the trailer ([0041]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to modify the vehicle control system of Olsen, by incorporating the teachings of Alba, such that the trailer with lock of Olsen is equipped with its own GPS device which determines the position of the trailer, where as both the position of the vehicle and the position of the trailer are determined, updated location information with respect to the detected external device relative to the vehicle is also given as the relation between the locations.
The motivation to do so is that, as acknowledged by Alba, this allows for better understanding of the trailer’s movement ([0041]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Alba (US 20240321020) teaches receiving notifications when a trailer is moved out of a geofence.
Alba (US 20210350638) teaches receiving notifications when a trailer is moved out of a geofence.
Arena (US 20180300675) teaches determining a trailer status including trailer location and generating alerts for a user device.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE 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 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.
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/MATTHIAS S WEISFELD/Examiner, Art Unit 3661