DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
In the present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, claims 1, 5-6, 8, and 10-13 have been considered and examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Respond to Applicant’s Arguments/Remarks
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 04/06/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claims 1, 4-8, and 10-13, based solely on the limitations as amended, has been fully considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to the new combination of references including prior art being used in the current rejection (see below for detail) under new grounds of rejection, necessitated by amendment.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 06/18/2026 are in compliance with the provision of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 6, 8, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yasui et al. (Yasui – US 2020/0143940 A1) in view of Lu et al. (Lu – CN 210300979 U), Hart et al. (Hart – US 2016/0103338 A1), Mori et al. (Mori – US 2015/0203121 A1) and Yanagidaira et al. (Yanagidaira – US 2003/0073886 A1).The rejections in this instant application are based on the English translation of CN 210300979 U publication by computer.
As to claim 1, Yasui discloses an information provision system comprising:
a driver information detection device (Yasui: FIG. 3 the biometric information acquirer 240) that is configured to detect driver information (Yasui: [0047], [0055], [0060]-[0062], [0154], and FIG. 3: the biometric information acquirer 240 acquires the biometric information of the user. For example, the biometric information acquirer 240 is a camera that is mounted in the automated driving vehicle and images the user, a microphone, or a wearable sensor worn by the user. Examples of biometric information of the user that the biometric information acquirer 240 operates and acquires include a heart rate, a pulse rate, a body temperature, a respiratory rate, a degree of pupil opening, a respiratory sound, an electrocardiogram, an electromyogram, a change (displacement) in the electrocardiogram or the electromyogram, a blood glucose level, and a blood oxygen concentration. For measurement of these items, for example, a dedicated measurement device for each item such as an electrocardiograph, an electromyograph, a blood glucose level meter, and a blood oxygen concentration measurement instrument may be used), which is information including biological information of a driver who drives a vehicle (Yasui: [0047], [0055], [0060]-[0062], [0154], and FIG. 3: Further, although the user of which the biometric information is acquired is a driver of the automated driving vehicle 200 or an occupant (a fellow occupant) other than the driver in the embodiments, the user may be one of the driver and the fellow occupant or may be both. Further, there are two modes including a mode in which biometric information of the driver is acquired and a mode in which biometric information of the fellow occupant is acquired);
a communication device (Yasui: FIG. 3 the communication device 220) that is configured to transmit information acquired inside the vehicle to a user terminal provided outside the vehicle (Yasui: [0073], FIG. 1 the external terminal 100, FIG. 3 the communication device 220 within the automated driving vehicle 200, and FIG. 8: the biometric information processor 242 transmits the biometric information output by the biometric information acquirer 240 and the current location information acquired from the navigation device 230 to the controller 130 of the external terminal 100 via the communication device 220);
a driver information acquisition unit (Yasui: FIG. 3 the biometric information processor 242) that is configured to acquire the driver information detected by the driver information detection device (Yasui: [0051], [0055], [0057], [0061]-[0062], [0065], [0074],-[0075], [0077], and FIG. 5: The biometric information acquirer 240 detects the biometric information of the user according to the biometric information detection instruction output by the biometric information processor 242. Further, the biometric information processor 242 outputs a deceleration instruction to the automated driving controller 250 when the biometric information processor 242 outputs the biometric information detection instruction to the biometric information acquirer 240).
Yasui does not explicitly disclose an information generation unit that is configured to extract information necessary for grasping health condition of the driver from the driver information acquired by the driver information acquisition unit to generate health-related information;
an information communication unit that is configured to transmit the health-related information generated by the information generation unit from the communication device to the user terminal;
a travel information detection device that is configured to detect travel information of the vehicle;
a travel information acquisition unit that is configured to acquire the travel information detected by the travel information detection device; and
a travel determination unit that is configured to determine. based on the travel information acquired by the travel information acquisition unit, whether a traveling state is in a normal state in which driving is performed normally or in an abnormal state in which driving is performed abnormally,
wherein the driver information detection device irradiates a specific visible light toward the driver when the vehicle is stopped and subsequently capturing a movement of eyes of the driver in response to the irradiated visible light to detect a pupil reflection as the driver information,
the abnormal state is a period during which the vehicle is rapidly accelerating, and
the information generation unit is configured to exclude, from the health-related information, any driver information acquired during the period determined to be the abnormal state by the travel determination unit.
However, it has been known in the art of monitor information of vehicle occupants to implement an information generation unit that is configured to extract information necessary for grasping health condition of the driver from the driver information acquired by the driver information acquisition unit to generate health-related information; and
an information communication unit that is configured to transmit the health-related information generated by the information generation unit from the communication device to the user terminal, as suggested by Lu, which discloses an information generation unit that is configured to extract information necessary for grasping health condition of the driver from the driver information acquired by the driver information acquisition unit to generate health-related information (Lu: Abstract, page 2 lines 23-page 3 lines 5, page 3 lines 13-30, page 6 lines 6-29, page 7 lines 3-5, FIG. 1 the Vehicle-mounted data processing device, and FIG. 7: In addition, in some embodiments, vehicle data processing device capable of processing the data, or combined deep learning for big data analysis, so as to establish the corresponding personal health file in the different vehicle personnel, and diagnosing the body condition); and
an information communication unit that is configured to transmit the health- related information generated by the information generation unit from the communication device to the user terminal (Lu: Abstract, page 2 lines 23-page 3 lines 5, page 3 lines 13-30, page 6 lines 6-29, page 7 lines 3-5, FIG. 1 the Vehicle-mounted data processing device, and FIG. 7: In addition, in some embodiments, the vehicle data processing device can according to the received current data, establishing the health record of the corresponding vehicle, the health file can transmission for people in the vehicle to view to the display device through the data transmission device or element. In addition, health file can also be transmitted to the server by data transmission device or element storage, and only allow a person to access view (e.g., people in the vehicle after authorizing, open to the hospital authority, thus allowing a doctor in the hospital transferring data to check) has authority, the process can be realized by of data transmission, encryption, or decryption techniques in the prior art, therefore, omitted here).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Yasui and Lu, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the vehicle management system of Yasui to include an information generation unit that is configured to extract information necessary for grasping health condition of the driver from the driver information acquired by the driver information acquisition unit to generate health-related information; and
an information communication unit that is configured to transmit the health- related information generated by the information generation unit from the communication device to the user terminal, as suggested by Lu. The motivation for this is to process sensing information for transmitting health information to determine a condition of a vehicle occupant.
The combination of Yasui and Lu does not explicitly disclose wherein the driver information detection device irradiates a specific visible light toward the driver when the vehicle is stopped and subsequently capturing a movement of eyes of the driver in response to the irradiated visible light to detect a pupil reflection as the driver information.
However, it has been known in the art of monitoring condition of a driver to implement wherein the driver information detection device irradiates a specific visible light toward the driver when the vehicle is stopped and subsequently capturing a movement of eyes of the driver in response to the irradiated visible light to detect a pupil reflection as the driver information, as suggested by Hart, which discloses wherein the driver information detection device irradiates a specific visible light toward the driver when the vehicle is stopped (Hart: Abstract, [0059], [0116], and FIG. 1-4: Should the driver not respond to the alerts and become alert the eyewear pupilometer initiates automatically activating automated vehicle pullover vehicle modules 120. The automated vehicle pullover vehicle modules override the driver's control of the vehicle and monitor surrounding traffic to safely pull the vehicle over to the shoulder of the road and stop the vehicle. The vehicle will not restart until the driver's pupillary assessments being performed by the eyewear pupilometer reaches an alert status. Should the driver remove the eyewear pupilometer the alertness signal will not be sent and the vehicle will remain in a locked-out restart condition of one embodiment) and subsequently capturing a movement of eyes of the driver in response to the irradiated visible light (Hart: [0095], [0101], [0103], [0106], [0111], [0118], and FIG. 17-18: FIG. 18 shows a retinal image captured with projected visible light into the eye. The visible light image shows the optic nerve 580, retina 560, and retinal blood vessels 1610, vitreous 590 and macular degeneration 1800. The eyewear pupilometer performs frequent image captures including a number of images per minute, hour, day and over periods of weeks and months provides numerous before and after images for observing changes in the retina) to detect a pupil reflection as the driver information (Hart: [0056]-[0059], [0062]-[0063], [0095], [0103]-[0106], [0116], and FIG. 1-4: The eyewear pupilometer can be configured to include pupil movement and size in visible light and can be configured to include pupil movement and size in infrared wavelengths using the present invention).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Yasui, Lu, and Hart, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the vehicle management system of Yasui and Lu to include wherein the driver information detection device irradiates a specific visible light toward the driver when the vehicle is stopped and subsequently capturing a movement of eyes of the driver in response to the irradiated visible light to detect a pupil reflection as the driver information, as suggested by Hart. The motivation for this is to determine a driver condition before allowing a driver to operate a vehicle.
While the combination of Yasui, Lu, and Hart discloses a vehicle system comprising a plurality different types of sensors for monitoring driving conditions of a vehicle driver (Yasui: [0056], [0058], and FIG. 3 the outside world monitor 210 and the navigation device 230, Lu: page 6 lines 30-34: the GPS module, and Hart: FIG. 21and FIG. 25-28) including health-related information (Yasui: [0051], [0055], [0057], [0061]-[0062], [0065], [0074],-[0075], [0077], and FIG. 5, Lu: Abstract, page 2 lines 23-page 3 lines 5, page 3 lines 13-30, page 6 lines 6-29, page 7 lines 3-5, FIG. 1 the Vehicle-mounted data processing device, and FIG. 7, and Hart: [0056]-[0059], [0062]-[0063], [0095], [0103]-[0106], [0116], and FIG. 1-4), the combination of Yasui, Lu, and Hart does not explicitly disclose a travel information detection device that is configured to detect travel information of the vehicle;
a travel information acquisition unit that is configured to acquire the travel information detected by the travel information detection device; and
a travel determination unit that is configured to determine. based on the travel information acquired by the travel information acquisition unit, whether a traveling state is in a normal state in which driving is performed normally or in an abnormal state in which driving is performed abnormally, and
the information generation unit is configured to exclude, from the health-related information, any driver information acquired during the period determined to be the abnormal state by the travel determination unit.
However, it has been known in the art of monitoring vehicle operation to implement a travel information detection device that is configured to detect travel information of the vehicle;
a travel information acquisition unit that is configured to acquire the travel information detected by the travel information detection device; and
a travel determination unit that is configured to determine. based on the travel information acquired by the travel information acquisition unit, whether a traveling state is in a normal state in which driving is performed normally or in an abnormal state in which driving is performed abnormally, and
the information generation unit is configured to exclude, from the health-related information, any driver information acquired during the period determined to be the abnormal state by the travel determination unit, as suggested by Mori, which discloses
a travel information detection device that is configured to detect travel information of the vehicle (Mori: FIG. 1 the vehicle speed sensor 13, the brake switch 14, the acceleration sensor 15, and the navigation system 16);
a travel information acquisition unit that is configured to acquire the travel information detected by the travel information detection device (Mori: [0026], [0030]-[0033], FIG. 1 the vehicle speed sensor 13, the brake switch 14, the acceleration sensor 15, and the navigation system 16); and
a travel determination unit that is configured to determine. based on the travel information acquired by the travel information acquisition unit, whether a traveling state is in a normal state in which driving is performed normally or in an abnormal state in which driving is performed abnormally (Mori: [0027]-[0029], [0038], [0042]-[0051], and FIG. 4: What is described above is the extraction processing of the pre-deceleration heart rate Rb and the post-deceleration heart rate Ra by the biological information extraction unit 23. [0051] The driver's state estimation unit 24 is configured to compare the pre-deceleration heart rate Rb and the post-deceleration heart rate Ra extracted by the biological information extraction unit 23 to estimate the steady state of the driver after the deceleration), and
the information generation unit is configured to exclude, from the health-related information, any driver information acquired during the period determined to be the abnormal state by the travel determination unit (Mori: [0027]-[0029], [0038], [0042]-[0051], and FIG. 4: What is described above is the extraction processing of the pre-deceleration heart rate Rb and the post-deceleration heart rate Ra by the biological information extraction unit 23. [0051] The driver's state estimation unit 24 is configured to compare the pre-deceleration heart rate Rb and the post-deceleration heart rate Ra extracted by the biological information extraction unit 23 to estimate the steady state of the driver after the deceleration).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Yasui, Lu, Hart, and Mori, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the vehicle management system of Yasui, Lu, and Hart, to include a travel information detection device that is configured to detect travel information of the vehicle;
a travel information acquisition unit that is configured to acquire the travel information detected by the travel information detection device; and
a travel determination unit that is configured to determine. based on the travel information acquired by the travel information acquisition unit, whether a traveling state is in a normal state in which driving is performed normally or in an abnormal state in which driving is performed abnormally, and
the information generation unit is configured to exclude, from the health-related information, any driver information acquired during the period determined to be the abnormal state by the travel determination unit, as suggested by Mori. The motivation for this is to determine a driver state based on sensing information surrounding a deceleration period of a vehicle.
The combination of Yasui, Lu, Hart, and Mori does not explicitly disclose the abnormal state is a period during which the vehicle is rapidly accelerating.
However, it has been known in the art of monitoring vehicle operation to implement the abnormal state is a period during which the vehicle is rapidly accelerating, as suggested by Yanagidaira, which discloses the abnormal state is a period during which the vehicle is rapidly accelerating (Yanagidaira: Abstract, [0075]-[0078], [0082]-[0083], [0085]-[0090], [0093]-[0095], and FIG. 1-4: Usually, considering a vehicle as the mobile unit, the transition time t.sub.2 is long as compared with the transition time t.sub.1. Therefore, if the vehicle is placed in a stable state, the biological state of the driver is transient and the biological information at this time is not that in a steady state. Therefore, if it is not considered that the biological condition of the driver is stabilized in addition to the fact that the vehicle behavior is stabilized, appropriate biological information as vehicle control information cannot be provided. Thus, as the time for which the biological condition is stabilized, time T.sub.0 longer than the transition time t.sub.2 is set as the time to the actual measurement start of the biological condition, and after the expiration of the time T.sub.0, data is input at sample time t.sub.s . If data is input two or more times, biological information in time periods t.sub.s (B), t.sub.s (C), t.sub.s (D), . . . is input in order as the data. In time period t.sub.s (A), whether or not the biological condition is stabilized is unknown and the biological information in time period is not used as the data).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Yasui, Lu, Hart, Mori, and Yanagidaira it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the vehicle management system of Yasui, Lu, Hart, and Mori to include the abnormal state is a period during which the vehicle is rapidly accelerating, as suggested by Yanagidaira. The motivation for this is to determine a driver state based on valid sensing information corresponding to a stable state of a vehicle.
As to claim 6, Yasui, Lu, Hart, Mori, and Yanagidaira disclose the limitations of claim 1 further comprising the information provision system according to claim 1, wherein the information generation unit does not include in the health-related information the driver information detected during a period between an end of a period when the travel determination unit determines to be the abnormal state and an elapse of a grace period (Mori: [0027]-[0029], [0038], [0042]-[0051], and FIG. 4: What is described above is the extraction processing of the pre-deceleration heart rate Rb and the post-deceleration heart rate Ra by the biological information extraction unit 23. [0051] The driver's state estimation unit 24 is configured to compare the pre-deceleration heart rate Rb and the post-deceleration heart rate Ra extracted by the biological information extraction unit 23 to estimate the steady state of the driver after the deceleration and Yanagidaira: Abstract, [0075]-[0078], [0082]-[0083], [0085]-[0090], [0093]-[0095], and FIG. 1-4: Usually, considering a vehicle as the mobile unit, the transition time t.sub.2 is long as compared with the transition time t.sub.1. Therefore, if the vehicle is placed in a stable state, the biological state of the driver is transient and the biological information at this time is not that in a steady state. Therefore, if it is not considered that the biological condition of the driver is stabilized in addition to the fact that the vehicle behavior is stabilized, appropriate biological information as vehicle control information cannot be provided. Thus, as the time for which the biological condition is stabilized, time T.sub.0 longer than the transition time t.sub.2 is set as the time to the actual measurement start of the biological condition, and after the expiration of the time T.sub.0, data is input at sample time t.sub.s . If data is input two or more times, biological information in time periods t.sub.s (B), t.sub.s (C), t.sub.s (D), . . . is input in order as the data. In time period t.sub.s (A), whether or not the biological condition is stabilized is unknown and the biological information in time period is not used as the data).
As to claim 8, Yasui, Lu, Hart, Mori, and Yanagidaira disclose the limitations of claim 1 further comprising the information provision system according to claim 1, wherein the information generation unit generates, as the health-related information (Yanagidaira: Abstract, [0075]-[0078], [0082]-[0083], [0085]-[0090], [0093]-[0095], and FIG. 1-4: Usually, considering a vehicle as the mobile unit, the transition time t.sub.2 is long as compared with the transition time t.sub.1. Therefore, if the vehicle is placed in a stable state, the biological state of the driver is transient and the biological information at this time is not that in a steady state. Therefore, if it is not considered that the biological condition of the driver is stabilized in addition to the fact that the vehicle behavior is stabilized, appropriate biological information as vehicle control information cannot be provided. Thus, as the time for which the biological condition is stabilized, time T.sub.0 longer than the transition time t.sub.2 is set as the time to the actual measurement start of the biological condition, and after the expiration of the time T.sub.0, data is input at sample time t.sub.s . If data is input two or more times, biological information in time periods t.sub.s (B), t.sub.s (C), t.sub.s (D), . . . is input in order as the data. In time period t.sub.s (A), whether or not the biological condition is stabilized is unknown and the biological information in time period is not used as the data), diagnostic information that is used for medical examination by a doctor (Yasui: [0048]-[0049], [0051]-[0053], [0057], [0069], [0087], and FIG. 1 the doctor terminal 300: The communication device 220 outputs information transmitted by the external terminal 100 to the biometric information processor 242. The communication device 220 transmits information output by the navigation device 230 and the biometric information processor 242 to the external terminal 100 and the doctor terminal 300 via the network NW, Lu: Abstract, page 2 lines 23-page 3 lines 5, page 3 lines 13-30, page 6 lines 6-29, page 7 lines 3-5, FIG. 1 the Vehicle-mounted data processing device, and FIG. 7: In addition, health file can also be transmitted to the server by data transmission device or element storage, and only allow a person to access view (e.g., people in the vehicle after authorizing, open to the hospital authority, thus allowing a doctor in the hospital transferring data to check) has authority, the process can be realized by of data transmission, encryption, or decryption techniques in the prior art, therefore, omitted here and Hart: [0056]-[0059], [0062]-[0065], [0095], [0103]-[0106], [0116], and FIG. 1-4: the eyewear pupilometer modules may be used for performing pupillary and retinal condition automated pre-diagnostic screening to aid medical providers in determining a person general and optic health condition 230).
As to claim 10, Yasui, Lu, Hart, Mori, and Yanagidaira disclose the limitations of claim 1 further comprising the information provision system according to claim 1, wherein the information generation unit generates, as the health-related information, fatigue level information indicating a fatigue level of the driver (Hart: [0056]-[0065], [0095], [0103]-[0106], [0116], and FIG. 1-4: The analysis detecting and measuring the eye conditions may be used for determining fatigue and tiredness, level of awakeness, drowsiness and attentiveness. The analysis can also be used to help diagnose health conditions, a person's interest level in something or someone being seen by the person of one embodiment).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yasui et al. (Yasui – US 2020/0143940 A1) in view of Lu et al. (Lu – CN 210300979 U), Mori et al. (Mori – US 2015/0203121 A1), and Yanagidaira et al. (Yanagidaira – US 2003/0073886 A1).
As to claim 5, Yasui discloses an information provision system comprising:
a driver information detection device (Yasui: FIG. 3 the biometric information acquirer 240) that is configured to detect driver information (Yasui: [0047], [0055], [0060]-[0062], [0154], and FIG. 3: the biometric information acquirer 240 acquires the biometric information of the user. For example, the biometric information acquirer 240 is a camera that is mounted in the automated driving vehicle and images the user, a microphone, or a wearable sensor worn by the user. Examples of biometric information of the user that the biometric information acquirer 240 operates and acquires include a heart rate, a pulse rate, a body temperature, a respiratory rate, a degree of pupil opening, a respiratory sound, an electrocardiogram, an electromyogram, a change (displacement) in the electrocardiogram or the electromyogram, a blood glucose level, and a blood oxygen concentration. For measurement of these items, for example, a dedicated measurement device for each item such as an electrocardiograph, an electromyograph, a blood glucose level meter, and a blood oxygen concentration measurement instrument may be used), which is information including biological information of a driver who drives a vehicle (Yasui: [0047], [0055], [0060]-[0062], [0154], and FIG. 3: Further, although the user of which the biometric information is acquired is a driver of the automated driving vehicle 200 or an occupant (a fellow occupant) other than the driver in the embodiments, the user may be one of the driver and the fellow occupant or may be both. Further, there are two modes including a mode in which biometric information of the driver is acquired and a mode in which biometric information of the fellow occupant is acquired);
a communication device (Yasui: FIG. 3 the communication device 220) that is configured to transmit information acquired inside the vehicle to a user terminal provided outside the vehicle (Yasui: [0073], FIG. 1 the external terminal 100, FIG. 3 the communication device 220 within the automated driving vehicle 200, and FIG. 8: the biometric information processor 242 transmits the biometric information output by the biometric information acquirer 240 and the current location information acquired from the navigation device 230 to the controller 130 of the external terminal 100 via the communication device 220);
a driver information acquisition unit (Yasui: FIG. 3 the biometric information processor 242) that is configured to acquire the driver information detected by the driver information detection device (Yasui: [0051], [0055], [0057], [0061]-[0062], [0065], [0074],-[0075], [0077], and FIG. 5: The biometric information acquirer 240 detects the biometric information of the user according to the biometric information detection instruction output by the biometric information processor 242. Further, the biometric information processor 242 outputs a deceleration instruction to the automated driving controller 250 when the biometric information processor 242 outputs the biometric information detection instruction to the biometric information acquirer 240).
Yasui does not explicitly disclose
an information generation unit that is configured to extract information necessary for grasping health condition of the driver from the driver information acquired by the driver information acquisition unit to generate health-related information;
an information communication unit that is configured to transmit the health-related information generated by the information generation unit from the communication device to the user terminal;
a travel information detection device that is configured to detect travel information of the vehicle;
a travel information acquisition unit that is configured to acquire the travel information detected by the travel information detection device; and
a travel determination unit that is configured to determine whether a traveling state is in a normal state in which driving is performed normally or in an abnormal state in which driving is performed abnormally, based on the travel information acquired by the travel information acquisition unit,
wherein
the abnormal state is a period during which the vehicle is in a traffic jam, and
the information generation unit is configured to exclude, from the health-related information, any driver information acquired during the period determined to be the abnormal state by the travel determination unit.
However, it has been known in the art of monitor information of vehicle occupants to implement an information generation unit that is configured to extract information necessary for grasping health condition of the driver from the driver information acquired by the driver information acquisition unit to generate health-related information; and
an information communication unit that is configured to transmit the health-related information generated by the information generation unit from the communication device to the user terminal, as suggested by Lu, which discloses an information generation unit that is configured to extract information necessary for grasping health condition of the driver from the driver information acquired by the driver information acquisition unit to generate health-related information (Lu: Abstract, page 2 lines 23-page 3 lines 5, page 3 lines 13-30, page 6 lines 6-29, page 7 lines 3-5, FIG. 1 the Vehicle-mounted data processing device, and FIG. 7: In addition, in some embodiments, vehicle data processing device capable of processing the data, or combined deep learning for big data analysis, so as to establish the corresponding personal health file in the different vehicle personnel, and diagnosing the body condition); and
an information communication unit that is configured to transmit the health- related information generated by the information generation unit from the communication device to the user terminal (Lu: Abstract, page 2 lines 23-page 3 lines 5, page 3 lines 13-30, page 6 lines 6-29, page 7 lines 3-5, FIG. 1 the Vehicle-mounted data processing device, and FIG. 7: In addition, in some embodiments, the vehicle data processing device can according to the received current data, establishing the health record of the corresponding vehicle, the health file can transmission for people in the vehicle to view to the display device through the data transmission device or element. In addition, health file can also be transmitted to the server by data transmission device or element storage, and only allow a person to access view (e.g., people in the vehicle after authorizing, open to the hospital authority, thus allowing a doctor in the hospital transferring data to check) has authority, the process can be realized by of data transmission, encryption, or decryption techniques in the prior art, therefore, omitted here).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Yasui and Lu, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the vehicle management system of Yasui to include an information generation unit that is configured to extract information necessary for grasping health condition of the driver from the driver information acquired by the driver information acquisition unit to generate health-related information;
an information communication unit that is configured to transmit the health- related information generated by the information generation unit from the communication device to the user terminal, as suggested by Lu. The motivation for this is to process sensing information for transmitting health information to determine a condition of a vehicle occupant.
While the combination of Yasui and Lu discloses a vehicle system comprising a plurality different types of sensors for monitoring driving conditions of a vehicle driver (Yasui: [0056], [0058], and FIG. 3 the outside world monitor 210 and the navigation device 230 and Lu: page 6 lines 30-34: the GPS module) including health-related information (Yasui: [0051], [0055], [0057], [0061]-[0062], [0065], [0074],-[0075], [0077], and FIG. 5, Lu: Abstract, page 2 lines 23-page 3 lines 5, page 3 lines 13-30, page 6 lines 6-29, page 7 lines 3-5, FIG. 1 the Vehicle-mounted data processing device, and FIG. 7), the combination of Yasui and Lu does not explicitly disclose a travel information detection device that is configured to detect travel information of the vehicle;
a travel information acquisition unit that is configured to acquire the travel information detected by the travel information detection device; and
a travel determination unit that is configured to determine whether a traveling state is in a normal state in which driving is performed normally or in an abnormal state in which driving is performed abnormally, based on the travel information acquired by the travel information acquisition unit, and
the information generation unit is configured to exclude, from the health-related information, any driver information acquired during the period determined to be the abnormal state by the travel determination unit.
However, it has been known in the art of monitoring vehicle operation to implement a travel information detection device that is configured to detect travel information of the vehicle;
a travel information acquisition unit that is configured to acquire the travel information detected by the travel information detection device; and
a travel determination unit that is configured to determine whether a traveling state is in a normal state in which driving is performed normally or in an abnormal state in which driving is performed abnormally, based on the travel information acquired by the travel information acquisition unit, and
the information generation unit is configured to exclude, from the health-related information, any driver information acquired during the period determined to be the abnormal state by the travel determination unit, as suggested by Mori, which discloses
a travel information detection device that is configured to detect travel information of the vehicle (Mori: FIG. 1 the vehicle speed sensor 13, the brake switch 14, the acceleration sensor 15, and the navigation system 16);
a travel information acquisition unit that is configured to acquire the travel information detected by the travel information detection device (Mori: [0026], [0030]-[0033], FIG. 1 the vehicle speed sensor 13, the brake switch 14, the acceleration sensor 15, and the navigation system 16); and
a travel determination unit that is configured to determine whether a traveling state is in a normal state in which driving is performed normally or in an abnormal state in which driving is performed abnormally, based on the travel information acquired by the travel information acquisition unit (Mori: [0027]-[0029], [0038], [0042]-[0051], and FIG. 4: What is described above is the extraction processing of the pre-deceleration heart rate Rb and the post-deceleration heart rate Ra by the biological information extraction unit 23. [0051] The driver's state estimation unit 24 is configured to compare the pre-deceleration heart rate Rb and the post-deceleration heart rate Ra extracted by the biological information extraction unit 23 to estimate the steady state of the driver after the deceleration), and
the information generation unit is configured to exclude, from the health-related information, any driver information acquired during the period determined to be the abnormal state by the travel determination unit (Mori: [0027]-[0029], [0038], [0042]-[0051], and FIG. 4: What is described above is the extraction processing of the pre-deceleration heart rate Rb and the post-deceleration heart rate Ra by the biological information extraction unit 23. [0051] The driver's state estimation unit 24 is configured to compare the pre-deceleration heart rate Rb and the post-deceleration heart rate Ra extracted by the biological information extraction unit 23 to estimate the steady state of the driver after the deceleration).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Yasui, Lu, and Mori, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the a travel information detection device that is configured to detect travel information of the vehicle;
a travel information acquisition unit that is configured to acquire the travel information detected by the travel information detection device; and
a travel determination unit that is configured to determine whether a traveling state is in a normal state in which driving is performed normally or in an abnormal state in which driving is performed abnormally, based on the travel information acquired by the travel information acquisition unit, and
the information generation unit is configured to exclude, from the health-related information, any driver information acquired during the period determined to be the abnormal state by the travel determination unit, as suggested by Mori. The motivation for this is to determine a driver state based on sensing information surrounding a deceleration period of a vehicle.
While the combination of Yasui, Lu, and Mori discloses the information generation unit is configured to exclude, from the health-related information, any driver information acquired during the period determined to be the abnormal state by the travel determination unit (Mori: [0027]-[0029], [0038], [0042]-[0051], and FIG. 4: What is described above is the extraction processing of the pre-deceleration heart rate Rb and the post-deceleration heart rate Ra by the biological information extraction unit 23. [0051] The driver's state estimation unit 24 is configured to compare the pre-deceleration heart rate Rb and the post-deceleration heart rate Ra extracted by the biological information extraction unit 23 to estimate the steady state of the driver after the deceleration), the combination of Yasui, Lu, and Mori does not explicitly disclose wherein the abnormal state is a period during which the vehicle is in a traffic jam.
However, it has been known in the art of monitoring vehicle operation to implement wherein the abnormal state is a period during which the vehicle is in a traffic jam, as suggested by Yanagidaira, which discloses wherein the abnormal state (Yanagidaira: [0004], [0044], and [0125]-0132]: As an example of the operation environment, in the case where traffic congestion is encountered during running on a road where the vehicle follows a low-speed vehicle on a mountain path, etc., physical and mental anxiety of the driver increases and the fear of jeopardizing safety occurs. The possibility of passing is automatically examined based on the biological condition of the driver and the possibility of passing including the passing condition can be presented for the driver and it is made possible to secure the safety of driving. If immediate passing is not allowed, information for allowing passing can be presented, so that the driver can be convinced and can be prevented from performing dangerous operation. Further, if passing is not allowed, the reason why passing is not allowed is presented, so that the driver can be convinced and can be made calm) is a period during which the vehicle is in a traffic jam (Yanagidaira: Abstract, [0075]-[0078], [0082]-[0083], [0085]-[0090], [0093]-[0095], and FIG. 1-4: Usually, considering a vehicle as the mobile unit, the transition time t.sub.2 is long as compared with the transition time t.sub.1. Therefore, if the vehicle is placed in a stable state, the biological state of the driver is transient and the biological information at this time is not that in a steady state. Therefore, if it is not considered that the biological condition of the driver is stabilized in addition to the fact that the vehicle behavior is stabilized, appropriate biological information as vehicle control information cannot be provided. Thus, as the time for which the biological condition is stabilized, time T.sub.0 longer than the transition time t.sub.2 is set as the time to the actual measurement start of the biological condition, and after the expiration of the time T.sub.0, data is input at sample time t.sub.s . If data is input two or more times, biological information in time periods t.sub.s (B), t.sub.s (C), t.sub.s (D), . . . is input in order as the data. In time period t.sub.s (A), whether or not the biological condition is stabilized is unknown and the biological information in time period is not used as the data).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Yasui, Lu, Mori, and Yanagidaira it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the vehicle management system of Yasui, Lu, and Mori to include wherein the abnormal state is a period during which the vehicle is in a traffic jam, as suggested by Yanagidaira. The motivation for this is to determine a driver state based on valid sensing information corresponding to a stable state of a vehicle.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yasui et al. (Yasui – US 2020/0143940 A1) in view of Lu et al. (Lu – CN 210300979 U), Hart et al. (Hart – US 2016/0103338 A1), Mori et al. (Mori – US 2015/0203121 A1), and Yanagidaira et al. (Yanagidaira – US 2003/0073886 A1), and further in view of Park et al. (Park – US 2023/0074858 A1).
As to claim 11, Yasui, Lu, Hart, Mori, and Yanagidaira disclose the limitations of claim 1 further comprising the information provision system according to claim 1, wherein the detected pupil reflection is utilized by a doctor at the user terminal to grasp the health condition of the driver (Yasui: [0048]-[0049], [0051]-[0053], [0057], [0069], [0087], and FIG. 1 the doctor terminal 300: The communication device 220 outputs information transmitted by the external terminal 100 to the biometric information processor 242. The communication device 220 transmits information output by the navigation device 230 and the biometric information processor 242 to the external terminal 100 and the doctor terminal 300 via the network NW, Lu: Abstract, page 2 lines 23-page 3 lines 5, page 3 lines 13-30, page 6 lines 6-29, page 7 lines 3-5, FIG. 1 the Vehicle-mounted data processing device, and FIG. 7: In addition, health file can also be transmitted to the server by data transmission device or element storage, and only allow a person to access view (e.g., people in the vehicle after authorizing, open to the hospital authority, thus allowing a doctor in the hospital transferring data to check) has authority, the process can be realized by of data transmission, encryption, or decryption techniques in the prior art, therefore, omitted here and Hart: [0056]-[0059], [0062]-[0065], [0095], [0103]-[0106], [0116], and FIG. 1-4: the eyewear pupilometer modules may be used for performing pupillary and retinal condition automated pre-diagnostic screening to aid medical providers in determining a person general and optic health condition 230), except for the claimed limitations of the detected pupil reflection is not utilized for generation of fatigue level information indicating a fatigue level of the driver by the information generation unit.
However, it has been known in the art of monitoring a condition of a user to implement the detected pupil reflection is not utilized for generation of fatigue level information indicating a fatigue level of the driver by the information generation unit, as suggested by Park which discloses the detected pupil reflection is not utilized for generation of fatigue level information indicating a fatigue level of the driver by the information generation unit (Park: Abstract, [0005]-[0006], [0014]-[0015], [0052], [0081], [0085], and FIG. 2: the processing unit generates the image signal according to the image and transmits the image signal to the control unit, the control unit receives an image signal according to an image including a movement of the pupil corresponding to a case where the user is in an abnormal health state and transmits the image signal to the expert terminal, and the expert terminal outputs the image according to the transmitted image signal, and receives a comment according to the output image, and generates the comment signal according to the comment and transmits the generated comment signal to the control unit ).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Yasui, Lu, Hart, Mori, Yanagidaira, and Park it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the vehicle management system of Yasui, Lu, Hart, Mori, and Yanagidaira to include the detected pupil reflection is not utilized for generation of fatigue level information indicating a fatigue level of the driver by the information generation unit, as suggested by Park. The motivation for this is to determine a user health condition based on pupil detected information as a known alternative application for determining the user condition.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yasui et al. (Yasui – US 2020/0143940 A1) in view of Lu et al. (Lu – CN 210300979 U), Hart et al. (Hart – US 2016/0103338 A1), Mori et al. (Mori – US 2015/0203121 A1), and Yanagidaira et al. (Yanagidaira – US 2003/0073886 A1), and further in view of Ikegami et al. (Ikegami – US 2022/0315011 A1).
As to claim 12, Yasui, Lu, Hart, Mori, and Yanagidaira disclose the limitations of claim 1 further comprising the information provision system according to claim 1, wherein the driver information detection device detects the pupil reflection as the driver information (Hart: Abstract, [0059], [0116], and FIG. 1-4: Should the driver not respond to the alerts and become alert the eyewear pupilometer initiates automatically activating automated vehicle pullover vehicle modules 120. The automated vehicle pullover vehicle modules override the driver's control of the vehicle and monitor surrounding traffic to safely pull the vehicle over to the shoulder of the road and stop the vehicle. The vehicle will not restart until the driver's pupillary assessments being performed by the eyewear pupilometer reaches an alert status. Should the driver remove the eyewear pupilometer the alertness signal will not be sent and the vehicle will remain in a locked-out restart condition of one embodiment) except for the claimed limitations of when the vehicle is not driving and after the vehicle is started.
However, it has been known in the art of monitoring condition of a driver to implement wherein the driver information detection device detects the driver information when the vehicle is not driving and after the vehicle is started, as suggested by Ikegami, which discloses wherein the driver information detection device detects the driver information when the vehicle is not driving and after the vehicle is started (Ikegami: Abstract, [0016]-[0018], [0021]-[0025], [0031]-[0042], and FIG. 1-3 the information collection unit 11: If the predetermined time th has elapsed while the vehicle speed remains equal to or lower than the first predetermined speed (“YES” in step ST14), the information collection unit 11 determines, in step ST15, the start point (the time t0 in FIG. 2) at which the driving operation contributing to the stop of the vehicle 1 is performed, on the basis of the information collected in step ST11. In addition, the information collection unit 11 determines the time point at which it is determined as the stop state in step ST13, as the stop start point (the time t1 in FIG. 2) in the stop state of the vehicle 1. On the other hand, if the predetermined time (the time th in FIG. 2) has not elapsed (“NO” in step ST14), in step ST18, the information collection unit 11 determines whether or not the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the first predetermined speed. If the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the first predetermined speed (“YES” in step ST18), the processing performed by the information collection unit 11 returns to step ST14, and if the vehicle speed is not equal to or lower than the first predetermined speed (“NO” in step ST18), the processing performed by the information collection unit 11 returns to step ST12).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Yasui, Lu, Hart, Mori, Yanagidaira, and Ikegami, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the vehicle management system of Yasui, Lu, Hart, Mori, and Yanagidaira to include wherein the driver information detection device detects the driver information when the vehicle is not driving and after the vehicle is started, as suggested by Ikegami. The motivation for this is to selectively choose an appropriate vehicle speed of a vehicle for determining a driver conditions during travel of the vehicle as known alternative criteria for estimating the driver conditions.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yasui et al. (Yasui – US 2020/0143940 A1) in view of Lu et al. (Lu – CN 210300979 U), Mori et al. (Mori – US 2015/0203121 A1), and Yanagidaira et al. (Yanagidaira – US 2003/0073886 A1), and further in view of Teshima et al. (Teshima – US 2017/0322558 A1).
As to claim 13, Yasui, Lu, Mori, and Yanagidaira disclose the limitations of claim 5 further comprising the information provision system according to claim 5, wherein the travel determination unit determines the abnormal state to additionally include at least one of the vehicle rapidly accelerating (Yanagidaira: Abstract, [0075]-[0078], [0082]-[0083], [0085]-[0090], [0093]-[0095], and FIG. 1-4: Usually, considering a vehicle as the mobile unit, the transition time t.sub.2 is long as compared with the transition time t.sub.1. Therefore, if the vehicle is placed in a stable state, the biological state of the driver is transient and the biological information at this time is not that in a steady state. Therefore, if it is not considered that the biological condition of the driver is stabilized in addition to the fact that the vehicle behavior is stabilized, appropriate biological information as vehicle control information cannot be provided. Thus, as the time for which the biological condition is stabilized, time T.sub.0 longer than the transition time t.sub.2 is set as the time to the actual measurement start of the biological condition, and after the expiration of the time T.sub.0, data is input at sample time t.sub.s . If data is input two or more times, biological information in time periods t.sub.s (B), t.sub.s (C), t.sub.s (D), . . . is input in order as the data. In time period t.sub.s (A), whether or not the biological condition is stabilized is unknown and the biological information in time period is not used as the data), the vehicle rapidly decelerating (Mori: [0027]-[0029], [0038], [0042]-[0051], and FIG. 4: What is described above is the extraction processing of the pre-deceleration heart rate Rb and the post-deceleration heart rate Ra by the biological information extraction unit 23. [0051] The driver's state estimation unit 24 is configured to compare the pre-deceleration heart rate Rb and the post-deceleration heart rate Ra extracted by the biological information extraction unit 23 to estimate the steady state of the driver after the deceleration), except for the claimed limitations of wherein the travel determination unit determines the abnormal state to additionally include at least one of the vehicle rapidly accelerating, the vehicle rapidly decelerating and a sudden steering change.
However, it has been known in the art of monitoring driving conditions of a driver to implement wherein the travel determination unit determines the abnormal state to additionally include at least one of the vehicle rapidly accelerating, the vehicle rapidly decelerating and a sudden steering change, as suggested by Teshima, which discloses wherein the travel determination unit determines the abnormal state to additionally include at least one of the vehicle rapidly accelerating, the vehicle rapidly decelerating and a sudden steering change (Teshima: Abstract, [0047], and FIG. 1: The emergency control circuit 22 moreover determines that the state of the driver is abnormal when determining that the vehicle 1 is suddenly accelerated, based on the speed of the vehicle 1 acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 133. The emergency control circuit 22 furthermore determines that the state of the driver is abnormal when determining that the steering wheel is suddenly manipulated, based on a steering wheel angle acquired from the steering angle sensor 134. A sudden acceleration is assumed to occur when the driver inadvertently steps on the accelerator. A sudden change in the steering angle is assumed to occur when the driver leans against the steering wheel).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Yasui, Lu, Mori, Yanagidaira, and it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the vehicle management system of Yasui, Lu, Mori, and Yanagidaira to include wherein the travel determination unit determines the abnormal state to additionally include at least one of the vehicle rapidly accelerating, the vehicle rapidly decelerating and a sudden steering change, as suggested by Teshima. The motivation for this is to determine driving conditions of a vehicle.
Citation of Pertinent Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
Tamori, US 11,873,007 B2, discloses information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program.
Ucar et al., US 2023/0073151 A1, discloses early detection of abnormal driving behavior.
Elwart et al., US 11,377,114 B2, discloses configuration of in-vehicle entertainment based on driver attention.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QUANG PHAM whose telephone number is (571)-270-3668. The examiner can normally be reached 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, QUAN-ZHEN WANG can be reached at (571)-272-3114. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/QUANG PHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2685
Prosecution Insights