DETAILED ACTION
Remarks
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claims 2-10 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 2-10 recite “The computer-implemented method” of claim 11 or 13. However, claim 11 and 13 are directed to a computer system, not a method. Appropriate correction is required.
For the purposes of examination, claims 2-10 are interpreted as dependent on the method of claims 1 or 3, respectively.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 1, 11, and 20, and the dependent claims thereof, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Each of claims 1, 11, and 20 recite the limitation “the indicated physical vehicle”. This limitation lacks sufficient antecedent basis in the claims.
Claim Rejections – 35 USC 102 (AIA )
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, 6, 9, 11, 12, 16, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2017/213157 A1 to TOKUDA.
Regarding claim 1, TOKUDA teaches A computer-implemented method for simulating a vehicle seat in a vehicle using virtual reality (VR)(par. 0007: a fitting method for a vehicle attachment article and a fitting attachment system for a vehicle attachment article in which fittings of a vehicle attachment article can be tried on a screen; par. 0016: virtual vehicle image in which a vehicle-mounted article (e.g., a child seat or the like) is mounted on a user's vehicle and display the virtual vehicle image on a screen of a portable terminal or the like; par. 0019: defining the invention as computer-implemented (e.g., an imaging unit 20, an input unit 30, a storage unit 40, a control unit 50, an image synthesis processing unit 60, a display unit 70, a communication unit 80, and a database 90); vehicle-mounted article, e.g., child seat; par. 0022: vehicle image (a vehicle image represented by … three-dimensional (3D model)) in which … a vehicle-mounted item is mounted on a vehicle image; par. 0024: Such a fitting and attaching system 10 for a vehicle-mounted article according to the present invention can be realized in the form of using a software program, application software, or in the form of a personal computer or a mobile terminal in which these software is installed; par. 0042-0043: using a child seat as a vehicle-mounted article is performed similarly to the case where the roof box is mounted on the vehicle – Examiner notes that the term article is described by TOKUDA as either a roof box or child seat, and thus instances of TOKUDA referring to a roof box also apply to a child seat as the terms are interchangeable), comprising:
receiving, by one or more processors, a vehicle indicator; and obtaining, by the one or more processors, a virtual vehicle model associated with the indicated physical vehicle (par. 0016: selected vehicle; par. 0027: Input vehicle information; par. 0036: The vehicle image stored in the storage unit 40 is selected; par. 0038: Registered vehicle information is input… user inputs the manufacturer of the vehicle and the type of the vehicle);
receiving, by the one or more processors, a physical vehicle seat indicator; and obtaining, by the one or more processors, a virtual vehicle seat model associated with the physical vehicle seat indicator (par. 0027, 0036, 0039: a roof box is selected; par. 0016: selected vehicle-mounted article; par. 0027: A roof box adaptable to the vehicle is displayed on the basis of the vehicle information and the matching information; par. 0039: A roof box adaptable to the vehicle is displayed based on the registered vehicle information; par. 0037: saved vehicle image; par. 0039: previously registered vehicle image);
generating, by the one or more processors, a virtual configuration of the virtual vehicle seat model and the virtual vehicle model; and presenting, via a display of a viewer device, the virtual configuration (par. 0016: based on previously registered vehicle information and vehicle-mounted article information, it is possible to create a virtual vehicle image on which an arbitrarily selected vehicle-mounted article is mounted for an arbitrarily selected vehicle; par. 0022: display unit 70 is a display for displaying vehicle information, a vehicle image, a composite image obtained by virtually combining a vehicle-mounted article with a vehicle; par. 0036: A roof box adaptable to the vehicle is displayed based on the stored vehicle information; par. 0037, 0039: An image synthesizing processing unit 60 generates an image obtained by combining a previously registered vehicle image with a scaled roof box and displays it on the display screen; par. 0041: a virtual vehicle image in which a roof box is mounted on a vehicle can be easily created and displayed on a screen of a portable terminal or the like; par. 0043: create a virtual vehicle image and display it on a screen of a portable terminal or the like, similarly to the case where the roof box is mounted on the vehicle).
Regarding claim 11, TOKUDA teaches A computer system for simulating a vehicle seat in a vehicle using virtual reality (VR), comprising: one or more processors; and one or more non-transitory memories storing processor-executable instructions (par. 0007: a fitting method for a vehicle attachment article and a fitting attachment system for a vehicle attachment article in which fittings of a vehicle attachment article can be tried on a screen; par. 0016: virtual vehicle image in which a vehicle-mounted article (e.g., a child seat or the like) is mounted on a user's vehicle and display the virtual vehicle image on a screen of a portable terminal or the like; par. 0019: defining the invention as computer-implemented (e.g., an imaging unit 20, an input unit 30, a storage unit 40, a control unit 50, an image synthesis processing unit 60, a display unit 70, a communication unit 80, and a database 90); vehicle-mounted article, e.g., child seat; par. 0022: vehicle image (a vehicle image represented by … three-dimensional (3D model)) in which … a vehicle-mounted item is mounted on a vehicle image; par. 0024: Such a fitting and attaching system 10 for a vehicle-mounted article according to the present invention can be realized in the form of using a software program, application software, or in the form of a personal computer or a mobile terminal in which these software is installed; par. 0042-0043: using a child seat as a vehicle-mounted article is performed similarly to the case where the roof box is mounted on the vehicle – Examiner notes that the term article is described by TOKUDA as either a roof box or child seat, and thus instances of TOKUDA referring to a roof box also apply to a child seat as the terms are interchangeable) that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to:
receive a vehicle indicator; and obtain a virtual vehicle model associated with the indicated physical vehicle (par. 0016: selected vehicle; par. 0027: Input vehicle information; par. 0036: The vehicle image stored in the storage unit 40 is selected; par. 0038: Registered vehicle information is input… user inputs the manufacturer of the vehicle and the type of the vehicle);
receive a physical vehicle seat indicator; and obtain a virtual vehicle seat model associated with the physical vehicle seat indicator (par. 0027, 0036, 0039: a roof box is selected; par. 0016: selected vehicle-mounted article; par. 0027: A roof box adaptable to the vehicle is displayed on the basis of the vehicle information and the matching information; par. 0039: A roof box adaptable to the vehicle is displayed based on the registered vehicle information; par. 0037: saved vehicle image; par. 0039: previously registered vehicle image);
generate a virtual configuration of the virtual vehicle seat model and the virtual vehicle model; and present via a display of a viewer device, the virtual configuration (par. 0016: based on previously registered vehicle information and vehicle-mounted article information, it is possible to create a virtual vehicle image on which an arbitrarily selected vehicle-mounted article is mounted for an arbitrarily selected vehicle; par. 0022: display unit 70 is a display for displaying vehicle information, a vehicle image, a composite image obtained by virtually combining a vehicle-mounted article with a vehicle; par. 0036: A roof box adaptable to the vehicle is displayed based on the stored vehicle information; par. 0037, 0039: An image synthesizing processing unit 60 generates an image obtained by combining a previously registered vehicle image with a scaled roof box and displays it on the display screen; par. 0041: a virtual vehicle image in which a roof box is mounted on a vehicle can be easily created and displayed on a screen of a portable terminal or the like; par. 0043: create a virtual vehicle image and display it on a screen of a portable terminal or the like, similarly to the case where the roof box is mounted on the vehicle).
Regarding claim 20, TOKUDA teaches A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing processor-executable instructions (par. 0007: a fitting method for a vehicle attachment article and a fitting attachment system for a vehicle attachment article in which fittings of a vehicle attachment article can be tried on a screen; par. 0016: virtual vehicle image in which a vehicle-mounted article (e.g., a child seat or the like) is mounted on a user's vehicle and display the virtual vehicle image on a screen of a portable terminal or the like; par. 0019: defining the invention as computer-implemented (e.g., an imaging unit 20, an input unit 30, a storage unit 40, a control unit 50, an image synthesis processing unit 60, a display unit 70, a communication unit 80, and a database 90); vehicle-mounted article, e.g., child seat; par. 0022: vehicle image (a vehicle image represented by … three-dimensional (3D model)) in which … a vehicle-mounted item is mounted on a vehicle image; par. 0024: Such a fitting and attaching system 10 for a vehicle-mounted article according to the present invention can be realized in the form of using a software program, application software, or in the form of a personal computer or a mobile terminal in which these software is installed; par. 0042-0043: using a child seat as a vehicle-mounted article is performed similarly to the case where the roof box is mounted on the vehicle – Examiner notes that the term article is described by TOKUDA as either a roof box or child seat, and thus instances of TOKUDA referring to a roof box also apply to a child seat as the terms are interchangeable) that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
receive a vehicle indicator; and obtain a virtual vehicle model associated with the indicated physical vehicle (par. 0016: selected vehicle; par. 0027: Input vehicle information; par. 0036: The vehicle image stored in the storage unit 40 is selected; par. 0038: Registered vehicle information is input… user inputs the manufacturer of the vehicle and the type of the vehicle);
receive a physical vehicle seat indicator; and obtain a virtual vehicle seat model associated with the physical vehicle seat indicator (par. 0027, 0036, 0039: a roof box is selected; par. 0016: selected vehicle-mounted article; par. 0027: A roof box adaptable to the vehicle is displayed on the basis of the vehicle information and the matching information; par. 0039: A roof box adaptable to the vehicle is displayed based on the registered vehicle information; par. 0037: saved vehicle image; par. 0039: previously registered vehicle image);
generate a virtual configuration of the virtual vehicle seat model and the virtual vehicle model; and present via a display of a viewer device, the virtual configuration (par. 0016: based on previously registered vehicle information and vehicle-mounted article information, it is possible to create a virtual vehicle image on which an arbitrarily selected vehicle-mounted article is mounted for an arbitrarily selected vehicle; par. 0022: display unit 70 is a display for displaying vehicle information, a vehicle image, a composite image obtained by virtually combining a vehicle-mounted article with a vehicle; par. 0036: A roof box adaptable to the vehicle is displayed based on the stored vehicle information; par. 0037, 0039: An image synthesizing processing unit 60 generates an image obtained by combining a previously registered vehicle image with a scaled roof box and displays it on the display screen; par. 0041: a virtual vehicle image in which a roof box is mounted on a vehicle can be easily created and displayed on a screen of a portable terminal or the like; par. 0043: create a virtual vehicle image and display it on a screen of a portable terminal or the like, similarly to the case where the roof box is mounted on the vehicle).
Regarding claim 2 and 12, TOKUDA further teaches wherein the vehicle indicator includes one or more of a vehicle make, a vehicle model, or one and/or more vehicle images (par. 0027: Vehicle information includes manufacturer, vehicle type, year, type, and the like; par. 0038: user inputs the manufacturer of the vehicle and the type of the vehicle) .
Regarding claim 6 and 16, TOKUDA further teaches
obtaining, by the one or more processors, physical seat model data that indicates physical characteristics of a physical vehicle seat (par. 0027: the item name, product number, product image, detail information, etc. … are displayed.); and
generating, by the one or more processors, the virtual vehicle seat model based upon the physical seat model data (par. 0027: roof box adaptable to the vehicle is displayed on the basis of the vehicle information and the matching information.).
Regarding claim 9, TOKUDA further teaches wherein presenting the virtual configuration comprises: generating, by the one or more processors, fit information corresponding to the fit of the physical vehicle seat in the physical vehicle based upon the virtual configuration of the virtual vehicle seat model and the virtual vehicle model; and presenting, by the one or more processors, the fit information and the virtual configuration via the display of the viewer device (par. 0019: [Vehicle Mounted Accessory Training System 10] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a fitting and attaching system for a vehicle fitting article of the present invention; par. 0033: After automatic or manual recognition of the vehicle, trial fitting of the roof box is performed… As shown in FIG. 3 (4), the image synthesizing processing unit 60 adjusts the scale of the vehicle image and compares the attachment reference position of the roof box and the roof box based on the feature points (an image in two or three dimensions) And displays it on the display screen).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 (AIA )
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 3-5, 10, 13-15, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over TOKUDA, as applied to claim 1 and 11, respectively, in view of US 2015/0091348 A1 to JUCHNIEWICZ.
Regarding claim 3 and 13, TOKUDA teaches the elements above, but does not expressly disclose:
obtaining, by the one or more processors, one or more virtual installation instructions associated with the indicated physical vehicle seat; and
presenting, via the display of the viewer device, the one or more virtual installation instructions.
Regarding claim 4 and 14, TOKUDA teaches the elements above, but does not expressly disclose:
wherein presenting the one or more virtual installation instructions comprises:
receiving, by the one or more processors, a playback command indicating one or more of pause, fast-forward, rewind, skip-step, previous step, a playback speed, video scrubbing, forward 10 seconds, backward 10 seconds, and/or a camera POV; and
implementing, by the one or more processors, the playback command with respect to the presentation of the one or more installation instructions.
Regarding claim 5 and 15, TOKUDA teaches the elements above, but does not expressly disclose:
wherein obtaining the one or more virtual installation instructions associated with the indicated physical vehicle seat comprises:
obtaining, using one or more processors, one or more installation instructions associated with the indicated physical vehicle seat from one or more of an online resource, a product manual, specification data, one or more images, and/or a machine learning model trained to generate installation instructions associated with the indicated physical vehicle seat; and
generating, by the one or more processors, the one or more virtual installation instructions based upon the one or more installation instructions.
However, regarding the limitations of claims 3-5 and 13-15, JUCHNIEWICZ teaches a child seat or child restraining system for securing a child to a vehicle seat, and method of installing the car seat that can be more effectively achieved by automation, with less user error or inconvenience and greater safety (Abstract) comprising an installation user interface for guiding a user through the installation process configured to be interactive with the user (par. 0151), wherein the system is configured to connect and transmit and receive information about the car seat, wherein the system is configured to show the user a video of how to attach the restraint belts to the vehicle seat, and wherein the system is configured to receive manual input by a user to advance to the next instruction video by performing an action, such as pressing a button or tapping a portion of a touch screen (par. 0152-0157). JUCHNIEWICZ further teaches the installation process may include soliciting metadata from the user such as the child's age, height, or weight, or the vehicle in which the seat is being installed in order to recommend that the seat be installed in a particular manner, and also includes relying on recommended NHTSA CRS installation criteria (i.e., specification data) or the recommendation of other scientific board (par. 0136; 0142-0143). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the method of installing a car seat including the manner of providing installation instructions to the end user including manual video control and instructions based on stored installation criteria/specification data, as taught by JUCHNIEWICZ, into the car seat fitting method of TOKUDA, in order to apply a known manner of providing an end user with tailored installation instructions of a child seat using known methods ready for improvement to yield predictable results. Further, doing so would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention in order to guide the end user through the installation process, thereby inspiring confidence in users concerning the safety of the CRS (par. 0154).
Regarding claim 10 and 19, TOKUDA teaches the elements above, but does not expressly disclose:
wherein generating the virtual configuration comprises:
identifying, by the one or more processors, one or more physical vehicle seat configurations based upon the vehicle indicator;
receiving, by the one or more processors, a physical vehicle seat configuration indicator from the one or more physical vehicle seat configurations; and
generating, by the one or more processors, the virtual configuration based upon the indicated physical vehicle seat configuration.
However, regarding the limitations of claims 10 and 19, JUCHNIEWICZ further teaches the CRS control system can simplify the installation process by soliciting metadata from the user such as the child's age, height, or weight, or the vehicle in which the seat is being installed in order to recommend that the seat be installed forward facing or rear-facing, where the shoulder straps need to be positioned, or the safest place to install the seat in this model of vehicle (par. 0136). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the method of installing a car seat including the manner of providing installation instructions to the end user including a configuration recommendation for the installation of the car seat, as taught by JUCHNIEWICZ, into the car seat fitting method of TOKUDA, in order to apply a known manner of providing an end user with tailored installation instructions of a child seat using known methods ready for improvement to yield predictable results. Further, doing so would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention in order to guide the end user through the installation process, thereby inspiring confidence in users concerning the safety of the CRS (par. 0154).
Claims 7 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over TOKUDA, as applied to claim 1 and 11, in view of US 2023/0237293 A1 to KAROLAK.
Regarding claim 7 and 17, TOKUDA teaches the elements above, but does not expressly disclose:
wherein receiving the physical vehicle seat indicator comprises:
receiving, by the one or more processors, the physical vehicle seat indicator as an output of a trained machine learning model, wherein the trained machine learning model is trained using a set of characteristics of recommended vehicle seats.
However, regarding the limitations of claims 7-8, KAROLAK teaches a method and system for installing a car seat, wherein a car seat is identified using a trained machine learning, the machine learning trained using training image sets, and the training image sets containing images of the items in various conditions (e.g., different portions of the items obscured, etc.), images from various angles/orientations, images of various models, images using various sensors, etc., for example, in order to identify the seat in various states (or conditions) and in various vehicles (par. 0031). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the use of a trained machine learning for identifying a car seat based on training images containing characteristics, as taught by KAROLAK, into the invention of TOKUDA, in order to allow for automatic identification of each registered car seat in various states or conditions or vehicles, thereby preventing human error and ensuring the correct installation instructions are provided for each car seat.
Claims 8 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over TOKUDA, as applied to claim 1 and 11, in view of US 2021/0142376 A1 to GUY.
Regarding claim 8 and 18, TOKUDA teaches the elements above, but does not expressly disclose: wherein receiving the physical vehicle seat indicator comprises: receiving, by one or more processors, a request for a recommendation of one or more physical vehicle seats; and processing, by the one or more processors, the vehicle indicator and user seat preferences by a trained machine learning model to generate the recommendation of one or more physical vehicle seats, wherein: the trained machine learning model is trained using a set of characteristics of one or more physical vehicle seats; and the physical vehicle seat indicator is based upon the one or more physical vehicle seat recommendations.
However, regarding the limitations of claims 8 and 18, GUY teaches a system and method related to improving the functioning of a computer system by implementing compatible model determination and recommendation (Abstract) wherein a trained machine learning model, which is trained using training data including stored records of users responses to recommendations (e.g., whether or not the user accepted or rejected a recommendation of a compatible model), wherein the compatibility system is configured to determine and recommend accurate and relevant compatible models based on text entered by a user as part of a search for item listings, e.g., Toyota and brake pads (par. 0050; 0063). GUY further discloses as a result of the user having entered this text into the search field and having requested that a search be performed on the entered text (e.g., by selecting a “Search” button or the like), the compatibility system receives the request, and performs a search for item listings that are relevant to the search query, such as item listings that correspond to brake pads that are compatible for Toyota vehicles, and based on the search, the compatibility system displays a plurality of search results (par. 0050). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the system and method of recommending compatible products, including products for a vehicle, using a trained machine learning model, as taught by GUY, into the fitting method for a vehicle attachment article of TOKUDA, in order to recommend accurate and relevant compatible models, thereby ensuring that the end user purchases the correct product for their application.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to James Hull whose telephone number is 571-272-0996. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm MST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Xuan Thai, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-7147. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAMES B HULL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
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