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 Amendment
This is in response to applicant's amendment which was filed on 3/26/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-3, 9-12, 15-17, 23-26, and 29 have been amended. No claims have been cancelled. No claims have been added. Claims 1-29 are still pending in this application, with claims 1, 15, and 29 being independent.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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.
Claim(s) 15-17, 20, and 27-29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kanagaraj (US 2018/0167044).
Regarding claim 15, Kanagaraj teaches A method of reproducing a soundfield based on audio data within a vehicle (Kanagaraj figure 1, speakers 22 and 24), the method comprising: obtaining, from an occupant monitoring system (Kanagaraj figure 1, rear occupant monitoring camera 16, front occupant monitoring camera 12, microphones 14), a state of an occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle (Kanagaraj ¶0016, “Rear seat passengers 32 may be monitored by rear occupant monitoring camera 16 and rear seat microphone 28. Rear seat passengers 32 may hear rear occupant loudspeakers 24 primarily”); modifying, based on the state of the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle, playback of the audio data within at least a portion of the cabin of the vehicle to obtain modified playback data for the audio data that reduces a volume of the playback of the audio data in the first zone of the cabin (Kanagaraj ¶0017, “Based upon the images received from cameras 12, 16, infotainment system 18 may reduce or increase the volume of the sound emitted by loudspeakers 22, 24 due to the images indicating that one or more passengers 32, 34 are falling asleep or waking up”) while maintaining the volume of the playback of the audio data in a second zone of the cabin (Kanagaraj ¶0018, “If only a rear seat occupant 32 is falling asleep, then volume may be turned down on either all speakers 22, 24, or only on rear speakers 24”) and reproducing, based on the modified playback data, the soundfield (Kanagaraj ¶0017, “infotainment system 18 may reduce or increase the volume of the sound emitted by loudspeakers 22, 24 due to the images indicating that one or more passengers 32, 34 are falling asleep or waking up”. See also ¶0018, which teaches selectively adjusting the volume or specific loudspeakers).
Regarding claim 16, Kanagaraj teaches wherein obtaining the state of the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle comprises obtaining a state of a rear occupant residing within a rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle (Kanagaraj figure 1, rear occupant monitoring camera 16).
Regarding claim 17, Kanagaraj teaches wherein the state of the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle includes a sleeping state of the occupant residing within a rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle (Kanagaraj ¶0017, “changing sleep states or awake states of the vehicle’s occupants”).
Regarding claim 20, Kanagaraj teaches wherein modifying the playback of the audio data comprises replacing, responsive to the sleeping state indicating that the occupant residing within the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle is sleeping, portions of the audio data with soothing audio data to facilitate the sleeping state of the occupant residing within the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle (Kanagaraj ¶0005, “in response to detecting that non-driver occupants are falling asleep, to change the audio source into soothing sound/music in order to lull children to sleep”).
Regarding claim 27, Kanagaraj teaches wherein reproducing the soundfield comprises outputting the modified playback data to one or more loudspeakers (Kanagaraj figure 1, speakers 22 and 24).
Regarding claim 28, Kanagaraj teaches wherein obtaining comprises obtaining, by a vehicle head unit (Kanagaraj figure 1, infotainment system 18), modifying comprises modifying, by the vehicle head unit (Kanagaraj figure 1, infotainment system 18 contains microprocessor 20), and reproducing comprises reproducing, by the vehicle head unit (Kanagaraj figure 1 and ¶0015, “an infotainment system 18 having a microprocessor 20, front occupant loudspeakers 22, and rear occupant loudspeakers 24”).
Regarding claim 29, Kanagaraj teaches A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause one or more processors of a vehicle head unit (Kanagaraj figure 1, infotainment system 18) to: obtain, from an occupant monitoring system (Kanagaraj figure 1, rear occupant monitoring camera 16, front occupant monitoring camera 12, microphones 14), a state of an occupant residing within a cabin of a vehicle including the vehicle head unit (Kanagaraj ¶0016, “Rear seat passengers 32 may be monitored by rear occupant monitoring camera 16 and rear seat microphone 28. Rear seat passengers 32 may hear rear occupant loudspeakers 24 primarily”); modify, based on the state of the occupant residing within a first zone of the cabin of the vehicle, playback of audio data representative of a soundfield within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle to obtain modified playback data for the audio data that reduces a volume of the playback of the audio data in the first zone of the cabin (Kanagaraj ¶0017, “Based upon the images received from cameras 12, 16, infotainment system 18 may reduce or increase the volume of the sound emitted by loudspeakers 22, 24 due to the images indicating that one or more passengers 32, 34 are falling asleep or waking up”) while maintaining the volume of the playback of the audio data in a second zone of the cabin (Kanagaraj ¶0018, “If only a rear seat occupant 32 is falling asleep, then volume may be turned down on either all speakers 22, 24, or only on rear speakers 24”); and reproducing, based on the modified playback data and the audio data, the soundfield (Kanagaraj ¶0017, “infotainment system 18 may reduce or increase the volume of the sound emitted by loudspeakers 22, 24 due to the images indicating that one or more passengers 32, 34 are falling asleep or waking up”. See also ¶0018, which teaches selectively adjusting the volume or specific loudspeakers).
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(s) 1-3, 6, and 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanagaraj (US 2018/0167044) in view of Lee (KR 20040095123).
Regarding claim 1, Kanagaraj teaches A device configured to reproduce a soundfield based on audio data within a vehicle, the device comprising: and processing circuitry coupled to the memory (Kanagaraj figure 1, microprocessor 20), and configured to: obtain, from an occupant monitoring system (Kanagaraj figure 1, rear occupant monitoring camera 16, front occupant monitoring camera 12, microphones 14), a state of an occupant residing within a first zone of cabin of the vehicle (Kanagaraj ¶0016, “Rear seat passengers 32 may be monitored by rear occupant monitoring camera 16 and rear seat microphone 28. Rear seat passengers 32 may hear rear occupant loudspeakers 24 primarily”); modify, based on the state of the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle, playback of the audio data within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle to obtain modified playback data for the audio data that reduces a volume of the playback of the audio data in the first zone of the cabin (Kanagaraj ¶0017, “Based upon the images received from cameras 12, 16, infotainment system 18 may reduce or increase the volume of the sound emitted by loudspeakers 22, 24 due to the images indicating that one or more passengers 32, 34 are falling asleep or waking up”) while maintaining the volume of the playback of the audio data in a second zone of the cabin (Kanagaraj ¶0018, “If only a rear seat occupant 32 is falling asleep, then volume may be turned down on either all speakers 22, 24, or only on rear speakers 24”); and reproduce, based on the modified playback data, the soundfield (Kanagaraj ¶0017, “infotainment system 18 may reduce or increase the volume of the sound emitted by loudspeakers 22, 24 due to the images indicating that one or more passengers 32, 34 are falling asleep or waking up”. See also ¶0018, which teaches selectively adjusting the volume or specific loudspeakers), however does not explicitly teach the device comprising a memory configured to store the audio data.
Lee teaches the device comprising a memory configured to store the audio data ( Lee ¶35 discloses a vehicle audio set 100 comprising a storage unit 12 that can store music files downloaded through the communication unit 11).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the known technique of Lee to improve the known device of Kanagaraj to achieve the predictable result of access to audio data when wireless capabilities are limited.
Regarding claim 2, Kanagaraj in view of Lee teaches wherein the processing circuitry, when configured to obtain the state of the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle, is configured to obtain a state of a rear occupant residing within a rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle (Kanagaraj figure 1, rear occupant monitoring camera 16).
Regarding claim 3, Kanagaraj in view of Lee teaches wherein the state of the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle includes a sleeping state of the occupant residing within a rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle (Kanagaraj ¶0017, “changing sleep states or awake states of the vehicle’s occupants”).
Regarding claim 6, Kanagaraj in view of Lee teaches wherein the processing circuitry, when configured to modify the playback of the audio data, is configured to replace, responsive to the sleeping state indicating that the occupant residing within the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle is sleeping, portions of the audio data with soothing audio data to facilitate the sleeping state of the occupant residing within the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle (Kanagaraj ¶0005, “in response to detecting that non-driver occupants are falling asleep, to change the audio source into soothing sound/music in order to lull children to sleep”).
Regarding claim 13, Kanagaraj in view of Lee teaches wherein the processing circuitry is coupled to one or more loudspeakers (Kanagaraj figure 1, speakers 22 and 24), wherein the processing circuitry, when configured to reproduce the soundfield, is configured to output the modified playback data to the one or more loudspeakers, and wherein the one or more loudspeakers are configured to reproduce, based on the modified playback data and the audio data, the soundfield (Kanagaraj ¶0017, “infotainment system 18 may reduce or increase the volume of the sound emitted by loudspeakers 22, 24 due to the images indicating that one or more passengers 32, 34 are falling asleep or waking up”).
Regarding claim 14, Kanagaraj in view of Lee teaches wherein the device comprises a vehicle head unit (Kanagaraj figure 1, infotainment system 18).
Claim(s) 4 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanagaraj (US 2018/0167044) in view of Lee (KR 20040095123) in further view of Kim (US 2020/0400784).
Regarding claim 4, Kanagaraj in view of Lee teaches wherein the processing circuitry, when configured to modify the playback of the audio data, is configured to decrease the volume, responsive to the sleeping state indicating that the occupant residing within the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle is sleeping, audio playback in the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle (Kanagaraj ¶0018), however does not explicitly teach mute the audio playback.
Kim teaches mute the audio playback (Kim ¶0054, “The speaker control device 400 may be configured to enter all speakers installed within the vehicle 10 in a silent mode to change all the speakers into a mute state”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the known technique of Kim to improve the known device of Kanagaraj in view of Lee to achieve the predictable result of a more controlled sound environment.
Regarding claim 8, Kanagaraj in view of Lee in further view of Kim teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to adjust, responsive to detecting the state of the occupant in the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle, a heating, air conditioning, and ventilation setting for the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle (Kim figure 8).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanagaraj (US 2018/0167044) in view of Lee (KR 20040095123) in further view of Hiraiwa (US 2020/0133626).
Regarding claim 5, Kanagaraj in view of Lee does not explicitly teach when configured to modify the playback of the audio data, is configured to perform, responsive to the sleeping state indicating that the occupant residing within the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle is sleeping, active noise cancellation with respect to the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle that includes modifying the audio data prior to playback within the rear passenger zone to limit the soundfield from being reproduced in the rear passenger zone.
Hiraiwa teaches when configured to modify the playback of the audio data, is configured to perform, responsive to the sleeping state indicating that the occupant residing within the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle is sleeping, active noise cancellation with respect to the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle that includes modifying the audio data prior to playback within the rear passenger zone to limit the soundfield from being reproduced in the rear passenger zone (Hiraiwa ¶0065-0066“The output control section 56 may cause reverse phase sound to be outputted to the vehicle occupant P who is judged by the awakeness degree judging section 50 to have a degree of awakeness that is lower than the predetermined value”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the known technique of Hiraiwa to improve the known device of Kanagaraj in view of Lee to achieve the predictable result of less noise disturbance for a sleeping occupant (Hiraiwa ¶0066 “cannot hear noise”).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanagaraj (US 2018/0167044) in view of Lee (KR 20040095123) in further view of Saban (US 2010/0302022).
Regarding claim 7, Kanagaraj in view of Lee does not explicitly teach wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to alert, responsive to detecting the state of the occupant in the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle, an operator of the vehicle that the occupant in the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle is a child.
Saban teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to alert, responsive to detecting the state of the occupant in the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle, an operator of the vehicle that the occupant in the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle is a child (Saban ¶0070, “the alert system 26 may emit signals to the interior of the vehicle including dedicated vehicle warning lights such as for indicating the presence of a child, a smoking forbidding signal in the presence of a child, operation of the interior lights of the vehicle, audible alerts, such as chimes, buzzes, vocally recorded messages, screen readable messages, screen displayed images, warning labels and messages, operation of the audio system, and prevention of removal of the ignition key. Other alert signals such as tactile signals and vibration emitting signals are also practical”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the known technique of Saban to improve the known device of Kanagaraj in view of Lee to achieve the predictable result of increased awareness of children and their safety in the car.
Claim(s) 9-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanagaraj (US 2018/0167044) in view of Lee (KR 20040095123) in further view of Lan (US 2018/0065504).
Regarding claim 9, Kanagaraj in view of Lee does not explicitly teach wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: obtain an operational state of the vehicle; and perform, based on the state of the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle and the operational state of the vehicle, a safety action to facilitate safety with respect to the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle.
Lan teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: obtain an operational state of the vehicle; and perform, based on the state of the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle and the operational state of the vehicle, a safety action to facilitate safety with respect to the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle (Lan figure 7 and ¶0041-0043, see also sensors of figures 2-3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the known technique of Lan to improve the known device of Kanagaraj in view of Lee to achieve the predictable result of increased awareness and safety of a child in the car.
Regarding claim 10, Kanagaraj in view of Lee in further view of Lan teaches wherein the operational state of the vehicle indicates that the vehicle is locked without access to heating, air conditioning, and ventilation (Lan figure 7, and ¶0042 “status of the vehicle has changed to ‘off’ (step 707)”), wherein the state of the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle indicates that the occupant is still residing within the vehicle (Lan figure 7, step 709), and wherein the processing circuitry, when configured to perform the safety action, initiates, responsive to the operational state of the vehicle indicating that the occupant is still residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle and the state of the occupant indicating that the occupant is still residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle, a phone call to one or more of an owner of the vehicle, an operator of the vehicle, a preferred contact for the vehicle, and emergency services (Lan ¶0045, “The audible or textual message may also be sent via an application on the user's phone or other device. Alternately or in conjunction with the pre-recorded audible message and/or preset text alert, controller 101 may transmit a picture or video captured using an in-cabin camera 123, where the picture or video is of the inside of the passenger cabin in general, and preferably of the detected child or pet in particular” and “eCall”).
Regarding claim 11, Kanagaraj in view of Lee in further view of Lan teaches wherein the operational state of the vehicle indicates that the vehicle is locked without access to heating, air conditioning, and ventilation (Lan figure 7, and ¶0042 “status of the vehicle has changed to ‘off’ (step 707)”), wherein the state of the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle indicates that the occupant is still residing within the vehicle (Lan figure 7, step 709), and wherein the processing circuitry, when configured to perform the safety action, initiates, responsive to the operational state of the vehicle indicating that the occupant is still residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle and the state of the occupant indicating that the occupant is still residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle, a text message to one or more of an owner of the vehicle, an operator of the vehicle, a preferred contact for the vehicle, and emergency services (Lan ¶0045, “The audible or textual message may also be sent via an application on the user's phone or other device. Alternately or in conjunction with the pre-recorded audible message and/or preset text alert, controller 101 may transmit a picture or video captured using an in-cabin camera 123, where the picture or video is of the inside of the passenger cabin in general, and preferably of the detected child or pet in particular”).
Regarding claim 12, Kanagaraj in view of Lee in further view of Lan teaches wherein the operational state of the vehicle indicates that the vehicle is locked without access to heating, air conditioning, and ventilation (Lan figure 7, and ¶0042 “status of the vehicle has changed to ‘off’ (step 707)”), wherein the state of the occupant residing within the vehicle indicates that the occupant is still residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle (Lan figure 7, step 709), and wherein the processing circuitry, when configured to perform the safety action, initiates, responsive to the operational state of the vehicle indicating that the occupant is still residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle and the state of the occupant indicating that the occupant is still residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle, a safety alarm to alert people nearby of the occupant within the vehicle (Lan ¶0045, “Examples of alarms that may be used by controller 101 to alert a nearby person of the unattended child or pet include both externally audible alarms 117 (e.g., car horn, on-board siren) and externally visible alarms 119 (e.g., internal and/or external car lights)”).
Claim(s) 18 and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanagaraj (US 2018/0167044) in view of Kim (US 2020/0400784).
Regarding claim 18, Kanagaraj teaches wherein modifying the playback of the audio data comprises decreasing the volume level (Kanagaraj ¶0018), responsive to the sleeping state indicating that the occupant residing within the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle is sleeping, audio playback in the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle (Kanagaraj ¶0018), however does not explicitly teach muting the audio.
Kim teaches muting the audio playback (Kim ¶0054, “The speaker control device 400 may be configured to enter all speakers installed within the vehicle 10 in a silent mode to change all the speakers into a mute state”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the known technique of Kim to improve the known device of Kanagaraj to achieve the predictable result of a more controlled sound environment.
Regarding claim 22, Kanagaraj in view of Kim teaches adjusting, responsive to detecting the state of the occupant in the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle, a heating, air conditioning, and ventilation setting for the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle (Kim figure 8).
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanagaraj (US 2018/0167044) in view of Hiraiwa (US 2020/0133626).
Regarding claim 19, Kanagaraj teaches wherein modifying the playback of the audio data comprises performing, responsive to the sleeping state indicating that the occupant residing within the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle is sleeping, active noise cancellation with respect to the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle that includes modifying the audio data prior to playback within the rear passenger zone to limit the soundfield from being reproduced in the rear passenger zone.
Hiraiwa teaches modifying the playback of the audio data comprises performing, responsive to the sleeping state indicating that the occupant residing within the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle is sleeping, active noise cancellation with respect to the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle that includes modifying the audio data prior to playback within the rear passenger zone to limit the soundfield from being reproduced in the rear passenger zone (Hiraiwa ¶0065-0066“The output control section 56 may cause reverse phase sound to be outputted to the vehicle occupant P who is judged by the awakeness degree judging section 50 to have a degree of awakeness that is lower than the predetermined value”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the known technique of Hiraiwa to improve the known device of Kanagaraj to achieve the predictable result of less noise disturbance for a sleeping occupant (Hiraiwa ¶0066 “cannot hear noise”).
Claim(s) 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanagaraj (US 2018/0167044) in view of Saban (US 2010/0302022).
Regarding claim 21, Kanagaraj does not explicitly teach alerting, responsive to detecting the state of the occupant in the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle, an operator of the vehicle that the occupant in the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle is a child.
Saban teaches alerting, responsive to detecting the state of the occupant in the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle, an operator of the vehicle that the occupant in the rear passenger zone of the cabin of the vehicle is a child (Saban ¶0070, “the alert system 26 may emit signals to the interior of the vehicle including dedicated vehicle warning lights such as for indicating the presence of a child, a smoking forbidding signal in the presence of a child, operation of the interior lights of the vehicle, audible alerts, such as chimes, buzzes, vocally recorded messages, screen readable messages, screen displayed images, warning labels and messages, operation of the audio system, and prevention of removal of the ignition key. Other alert signals such as tactile signals and vibration emitting signals are also practical”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the known technique of Saban to improve the known device of Kanagaraj to achieve the predictable result of increased awareness of children and their safety in the car.
Claim(s) 23-26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanagaraj (US 2018/0167044) in view of Lan (US 2018/0065504).
Regarding claim 23, Kanagaraj does not explicitly teach obtaining an operational state of the vehicle; and performing, based on the state of the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle and the operational state of the vehicle, a safety action to facilitate safety with respect to the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle.
Lan teaches obtaining an operational state of the vehicle; and performing, based on the state of the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle and the operational state of the vehicle, a safety action to facilitate safety with respect to the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle (Lan figure 7 and ¶0042-0043).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the known technique of Lan to improve the known device of Kanagaraj to achieve the predictable result of increased awareness and safety of a child in the car.
Regarding claim 24 Kanagaraj in view of Lan teaches wherein the operational state of the vehicle indicates that the vehicle is locked without access to heating, air conditioning, and ventilation (Lan figure 7, and ¶0042 “status of the vehicle has changed to ‘off’ (step 707)”), wherein the state of the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle indicates that the occupant is still residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle (Lan figure 7, step 709), and wherein performing the safety action comprises initiating, responsive to the operational state of the vehicle indicating that the vehicle is locked without access to the heating, air conditioning, and ventilation and the state of the occupant indicating that the occupant is still residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle, a phone call to one or more of an owner of the vehicle, an operator of the vehicle, a preferred contact for the vehicle, or emergency services (Lan ¶0045, “The audible or textual message may also be sent via an application on the user's phone or other device. Alternately or in conjunction with the pre-recorded audible message and/or preset text alert, controller 101 may transmit a picture or video captured using an in-cabin camera 123, where the picture or video is of the inside of the passenger cabin in general, and preferably of the detected child or pet in particular” and “eCall”).
Regarding claim 25, Kanagaraj in view of Lan teaches wherein the operational state of the vehicle indicates that the vehicle is locked without access to heating, air conditioning, and ventilation (Lan figure 7, and ¶0042 “status of the vehicle has changed to ‘off’ (step 707)”), wherein the state of the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle indicates that the occupant is still residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle (Lan figure 7, step 709), and wherein performing the safety action comprises initiating, responsive to the operational state of the vehicle indicating that the occupant is still residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle and the state of the occupant indicating that the vehicle is locked without access to heating, air conditioning, and ventilation, a text message to one or more of an owner of the vehicle, an operator of the vehicle, a preferred contact for the vehicle, or emergency services (Lan ¶0045, “The audible or textual message may also be sent via an application on the user's phone or other device. Alternately or in conjunction with the pre-recorded audible message and/or preset text alert, controller 101 may transmit a picture or video captured using an in-cabin camera 123, where the picture or video is of the inside of the passenger cabin in general, and preferably of the detected child or pet in particular”).
Regarding claim 26, Kanagaraj in view of Lan teaches wherein the operational state of the vehicle indicates that the vehicle is locked without access to heating, air conditioning, and ventilation (Lan figure 7, and ¶0042 “status of the vehicle has changed to ‘off’ (step 707)”), wherein the state of the occupant residing within the vehicle indicates that the occupant is still residing within the vehicle (Lan figure 7, step 709), and wherein performing the safety action comprises initiating, responsive to the operational state of the vehicle indicating that the vehicle is locked without access to hearing, air conditioning, and ventilation and the state of the occupant indicating that the occupant is still residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle, a safety alarm to alert people nearby of the occupant within the vehicle (Lan ¶0045, “Examples of alarms that may be used by controller 101 to alert a nearby person of the unattended child or pet include both externally audible alarms 117 (e.g., car horn, on-board siren) and externally visible alarms 119 (e.g., internal and/or external car lights)”).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/26/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding claims 1, 15, and 29 Applicant argues on pages 10-12 of Remarks that cited reference Kanagaraj does not teach the amended limitations directed to “obtaining the state of an occupant in a first zone, and subsequently reducing the volume of the audio playback in that first zone while actively maintaining the volume of the playback in a second zone” because Kanagaraj only discloses making global volume adjustments across the entire vehicle cabin. Examiner respectfully disagrees. Kanagaraj does not only teach global volume adjustments and clearly teaches a state of an occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle (Kanagaraj ¶0016, “Rear seat passengers 32 may be monitored by rear occupant monitoring camera 16 and rear seat microphone 28. Rear seat passengers 32 may hear rear occupant loudspeakers 24 primarily”); modifying, based on the state of the occupant residing within the first zone of the cabin of the vehicle, playback of the audio data within at least a portion of the cabin of the vehicle to obtain modified playback data for the audio data that reduces a volume of the playback of the audio data in the first zone of the cabin (Kanagaraj ¶0017, “Based upon the images received from cameras 12, 16, infotainment system 18 may reduce or increase the volume of the sound emitted by loudspeakers 22, 24 due to the images indicating that one or more passengers 32, 34 are falling asleep or waking up”) while maintaining the volume of the playback of the audio data in a second zone of the cabin (Kanagaraj ¶0018, “If only a rear seat occupant 32 is falling asleep, then volume may be turned down on either all speakers 22, 24, or only on rear speakers 24”).
Applicant also argues regarding claims 4 and 18, that combining reference Kanagaraj with cited reference Kim is impermissible hindsight and teaches away from the claimed invention. Examiner respectfully disagrees. In response to applicant's argument that the examiner's conclusion of obviousness is based upon improper hindsight reasoning, it must be recognized that any judgment on obviousness is in a sense necessarily a reconstruction based upon hindsight reasoning. But so long as it takes into account only knowledge which was within the level of ordinary skill at the time the claimed invention was made, and does not include knowledge gleaned only from the applicant's disclosure, such a reconstruction is proper. See In re McLaughlin, 443 F.2d 1392, 170 USPQ 209 (CCPA 1971). Firstly, reference Kanagaraj does teach modification of the audio level in a specific zone based on the state of a passenger in a specific zone (see current rejection above), and relied on Kim for adjusting the audio level to 0 or a mute level. Therefore, the combination with Kim would not yield muting all speakers in the entire vehicle because Examiner did not rely on the mute all function of Kim. The test for obviousness is not whether the features of a secondary reference may be bodily incorporated into the structure of the primary reference; nor is it that the claimed invention must be expressly suggested in any one or all of the references. Rather, the test is what the combined teachings of the references would have suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981). Therefore, the arguments are not persuasive and the claims stand rejected.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
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/NORMAN YU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2693
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