DETAILED ACTION
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 .
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Simsek was previously relied upon for disclosing the WLAN entering a standby mode “drawing as little power as possible” after parking the vehicle (see for example, Fig. 3, paragraph 66) until a “wake up” command is received to begin usage of the available WLAN for transmission (paragraph 66).
Jones et al. (US 10,009,814) is now relied upon for explicitly disclosing “cutting off power supply to the short-range communication unit”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-4, 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Simsek (US 2018/0213420) (of record) in view of Jones et al. (Jones) (US 10,009,814).
As to claim 1, Simsek discloses a communication device (Fig. 1) configured to be used for a vehicle as an interface for data communication between at least one in-vehicle device and an information processor present outside the vehicle (Fig. 1-2; paragraph 21-23), the communication device comprising:
at least one processor with a memory storing computer program code, the at least one processor with the memory being configured to cause the communication device (control modules 14/110; Fig. 1, paragraph 46-48, 52) to:
control an operation of a short-range communication unit that is configured to execute short-range communication (paragraph 52, 64)
detect that the vehicle is parked based on a signal from an in-vehicle sensor (paragraph 63-66);
determine whether the data communication using the short-range communication is available at a point where the vehicle is detected to be parked, and store a determination result in a predetermined memory (check wlan availability when parked; Fig. 3, 302; paragraph 23, 58, 63, 66); and
receive a communication start request from the at least one in-vehicle device or the information processor, the communication start request being a message requesting start of the data communication with the at least one in-vehicle device or the information processor (Fig. 3, 304; paragraph 50, 56-58, 63, 66),
stop the operation of the short-range communication unit by reducing power to the short range communication unit (quiescent/standby mode; paragraph 59, 66) based on detecting that the vehicle is parked (disabling wlan unit when parked and not in use to save battery power; paragraph 35, 53, 59, 60, 65) even when the data communication using the short-range communication is available (when parked, determine if WLAN connection is available if needed at a later point, before switching WLAN off; Fig. 3, 302-304; paragraph 63, 66; “For example, when parking, the vehicle reports its final state and informs the back end (network component 200) whether a WLAN connection, or generally a connection to the second radio system 220, is available, and, for example, that it is switching off.” [0063]); and
restart the operation of the short-range communication unit by executing power supply to the short range communication unit (wake-up mode providing sufficient power to fully activate the WLAN; paragraph 20, 55, 65-66) for the data communication between the at least one in-vehicle device and the information processor using the short-range communication when receiving the communication start request (restarting the wlan unit when parked periodically or in response to a new message request; paragraph 35, 50, 53, 56-60, 63, 65-66) in a state where the predetermined memory holds data indicating that the vehicle is parked and that the data communication using the short-range communication is available (stored information about local WLAN availability; paragraph 24, 60, 63, 65-66).
While Simsek discloses that the short- range communication unit is switched into a quiescent or standby mode to draw as little energy as possible from the vehicle battery while parking (paragraph 66), Simsek fails to explicitly disclose cutting off power supply to the short-range communication unit.
In an analogous art, Jones discloses a communication device utilizing multiple communication interfaces and modes (16, Fig. 1; column 3, line 41-54) which will cut off the power supply to the second short-range communication unit (WLAN; column 11, line 66-column 12, line 17) when the first communication unit is in use (second interface is “completely off” instead of low-power or sleep mode; column 9, line 61-column 1, line 24) so as to further reduce power consumption by turning the communication interface completely off (column 9, line 65-column 10, line 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Simsek’s system to include cutting off power supply to the short-range communication unit, as taught in combination with Jones, for the typical benefit of further reducing power consumption by turning the communication interface completely off (column 9, line 65-column 10, line 1) by applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results, which in this case results in a fully powered off WLAN as opposed to one in a low power standby mode.
As to claim 10, Simsek discloses a communication control method for executing data communication between at least one in-vehicle device and an information processor present outside a vehicle, the method comprising:
detecting that the vehicle on which the at least one in-vehicle device is mounted is parked based on a signal from an in-vehicle sensor (paragraph 63-66);
determining whether the data communication using short-range communication is available at a point where the vehicle is parked, and storing a determination result in a predetermined memory based on detection of the vehicle being parked (check wlan availability when parked; Fig. 3, 302; paragraph 23, 58, 63, 66);
receiving a communication start request from the at least one in-vehicle device or the information processor, the communication start request being a message requesting start of the data communication with the at least one in-vehicle device and the information processor (Fig. 3, 304; paragraph 50, 56-58, 63, 66), wherein
stopping an operation of the short-range communication unit by reducing power to the short range communication unit (quiescent/standby mode; paragraph 59, 66) based on detection of the vehicle being parked (disabling wlan unit when parked and not in use to save battery power; paragraph 35, 53, 59, 60, 65) even when the data communication using the short-range communication is available (when parked, determine if WLAN connection is available if needed at a later point, before switching WLAN off; Fig. 3, 302-304; paragraph 63, 66; “For example, when parking, the vehicle reports its final state and informs the back end (network component 200) whether a WLAN connection, or generally a connection to the second radio system 220, is available, and, for example, that it is switching off.” [0063]); and
restarting the operation of the short-range communication unit by executing power supply to the short range communication unit (wake-up mode providing sufficient power to fully activate the WLAN; paragraph 20, 55, 65-66) for the data communication between the at least one in-vehicle device and the information processor using the short-range communication based on receiving the communication start request (restarting the wlan unit when parked periodically or in response to a new message request; paragraph 35, 50, 53, 56-60, 63, 65-66) in a state where the predetermined memory holds data indicating that the vehicle is parked and that the data communication using the short-range communication is available (stored information about local WLAN availability; paragraph 24, 60, 63, 65-66).
While Simsek discloses that the short- range communication unit is switched into a quiescent or standby mode to draw as little energy as possible from the vehicle battery while parking (paragraph 66), Simsek fails to explicitly disclose cutting off power supply to the short-range communication unit.
In an analogous art, Jones discloses a communication device utilizing multiple communication interfaces and modes (16, Fig. 1; column 3, line 41-54) which will cut off the power supply to the second short-range communication unit (WLAN; column 11, line 66-column 12, line 17) when the first communication unit is in use (second interface is “completely off” instead of low-power or sleep mode; column 9, line 61-column 1, line 24) so as to further reduce power consumption by turning the communication interface completely off (column 9, line 65-column 10, line 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Simsek’s system to include cutting off power supply to the short-range communication unit, as taught in combination with Jones, for the typical benefit of further reducing power consumption by turning the communication interface completely off (column 9, line 65-column 10, line 1) by applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results, which in this case results in a fully powered off WLAN as opposed to one in a low power standby mode.
As to claim 2, Simsek and Jones disclose wherein the at least one processor with the memory is further configured to cause the communication device to determine whether the data communication using the short-range communication is available by actually transmitting and receiving a predetermined message to and from the information processor or another device on a network (see Simsek at paragraph 23-25).
As to claim 3, Simsek and Jones disclose wherein the at least one processor with the memory is further configured to cause the communication device to
control an operation of a cellular communication unit that is configured to execute cellular communication (see Simsek at paragraph 39-41),
continue the operation of the cellular communication unit when the vehicle is parked (see Simsek at Fig. 3, 304; paragraph 66), and
receive the communication start request from the information processor through the cellular communication (cellular SMS message to trigger WLAN data communication; see Simsek at paragraph 23, 56-59, 66).
As to claim 4, Simsek and Jones disclose wherein the at least one processor with the memory is further configured to cause the communication device to
communicate with the information processor via a relay server configured to be capable of mutual communication with the information processor (see Simsek at Fig. 1, 200; paragraph 49), and
transmit the determination result to the relay server (vehicle reporting WLAN availability to 200; see Simsek at paragraph 63).
Claims 5-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Simsek and Jones and further in view of Lei et al. (Lei) (US 2017/0302774) (of record).
As to claim 5, while Simsek discloses wherein the at least one processor with the memory is further configured to cause the communication device to intermittently operate the short-range communication unit at a predetermined polling interval during a parked state of the vehicle at the point where the vehicle is parked (see Simsek at paragraph 65), they fail to specifically disclose operating the short-range communication unit when the cellular communication is unavailable.
In an analogous art, Lei discloses a vehicle communication system (Fig. 1, paragraph 14-17) which will monitor cellular communication and operate a short-range communication unit when the cellular communication is unavailable (Fig. 2, paragraph 37-43) so as to continue providing vehicle communications through an alternative connection when the cellular communication is unavailable (paragraph 3-4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Simsek’s system to include operating the short-range communication unit when the cellular communication is unavailable, as taught in combination with Lei, for the typical benefit of continuing to provide vehicle communications through an alternative connection when the cellular communication is unavailable (paragraph 3-4).
As to claim 6, Simsek discloses a communication processing system (Fig. 1) comprising:
a communication device (10) configured to be used for a vehicle as an interface for data communication between an in-vehicle device and an information processor present outside the vehicle (Fig. 1-2; paragraph 21-23); and
a relay server configured to relay communication between the communication device and the information processor (Fig. 1, 200; paragraph 49), wherein
the communication device includes at least one processor with a memory storing computer program code, the at least one processor with the memory being configured to cause the communication device (control modules 14/110; Fig. 1, paragraph 46-48, 52) to:
control an operation of a short-range communication unit that is configured to execute short-range communication (paragraph 52, 64),
control an operation of a cellular communication unit that is configured to execute cellular communication (paragraph 39-41),
detect that the vehicle is parked based on a signal from an in-vehicle sensor (paragraph 63-66);
determine whether the data communication using the short-range communication is available at a point wherein the vehicle is detected to be parked, and store a determination result in a predetermined memory (check wlan availability when parked; Fig. 3, 302; paragraph 23, 58, 63, 66); and
receive a communication start request from the in-vehicle device or the information processor, the communication start request being a message requesting start of the data communication with the in-vehicle device or the information processor (Fig. 3, 304; paragraph 50, 56-58, 63, 66), wherein
transmit the determination result to the relay server (vehicle reporting WLAN availability to 200; paragraph 63),
stop the operation of the short-range communication unit by reducing power to the short range communication unit (quiescent/standby mode; paragraph 59, 66) based on detecting that the vehicle is parked (disabling wlan unit when parked and not in use to save battery power; paragraph 35, 53, 59, 60, 65) even when the data communication using the short-range communication is available (when parked, determine if WLAN connection is available if needed at a later point, before switching WLAN off; Fig. 3, 302-304; paragraph 63, 66; “For example, when parking, the vehicle reports its final state and informs the back end (network component 200) whether a WLAN connection, or generally a connection to the second radio system 220, is available, and, for example, that it is switching off.” [0063]); and
intermittently operate the short-range communication unit at a predetermined polling interval (restarting the wlan unit when parked periodically or in response to a new message request; paragraph 35, 50, 53, 56-60, 63, 65-66) by executing power supply to the short range communication unit (wake-up mode providing sufficient power to fully activate the WLAN; paragraph 20, 55, 65-66) when the data communication using the short range communication is available at the point where the vehicle is detected to be parked (based on stored information about local WLAN availability; paragraph 24, 60, 63, 65-66).
the relay server is configured to
determine whether the data communication using the short-range communication is available for the communication device on the basis of at least one of a report from the communication device and a result of communication confirmation with the communication device (paragraph 63-66), and
change a response to the communication start request transmitted from the information processor based on a combination of and whether the data communication using the short-range communication is available for the communication device (paragraph 63-66),
While Simsek discloses that the short- range communication unit is switched into a quiescent or standby mode to draw as little energy as possible from the vehicle battery while parking (paragraph 66), Simsek fails to explicitly disclose cutting off power supply to the short-range communication unit, and determining whether the cellular communication is unavailable for the communication device, the relay server changing a response to the communication start request transmitted from the information processor based on a combination of whether the cellular communication is unavailable for the communication device and whether the data communication using the short-range communication is available for the communication device.
In an analogous art, Jones discloses a communication device utilizing multiple communication interfaces and modes (16, Fig. 1; column 3, line 41-54) which will cut off the power supply to the second short-range communication unit (WLAN; column 11, line 66-column 12, line 17) when the first communication unit is in use (second interface is “completely off” instead of low-power or sleep mode; column 9, line 61-column 1, line 24) so as to further reduce power consumption by turning the communication interface completely off (column 9, line 65-column 10, line 1).
Additionally, in an analogous art, Lei discloses a vehicle communication system (Fig. 1, paragraph 14-17) which will determine whether cellular communication is unavailable for the communication device and whether data communication using short-range communication is available for the communication device (Fig. 2, paragraph 37-44) and a relay server changing a response to a communication request transmitted from an information processor based on a combination of whether the cellular communication is unavailable for the communication device and whether the data communication using the short-range communication is available for the communication device (routing data traffic based upon the available type of wireless connection; paragraph 42-43) so as to continue providing vehicle communications through an alternative connection when the cellular communication is unavailable (paragraph 3-4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Simsek’s system to include cutting off power supply to the short-range communication unit, as taught in combination with Jones, for the typical benefit of further reducing power consumption by turning the communication interface completely off (column 9, line 65-column 10, line 1) by applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results, which in this case results in a fully powered off WLAN as opposed to one in a low power standby mode.
Additionally, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Simsek and Jones’ system to include determining whether the cellular communication is unavailable for the communication device, the relay server changing a response to the communication start request transmitted from the information processor based on a combination of whether the cellular communication is unavailable for the communication device and whether the data communication using the short-range communication is available for the communication device, as taught in combination with Lei, for the typical benefit of continuing to provide vehicle communications through an alternative connection when the cellular communication is unavailable (paragraph 3-4).
As to claim 7, Simsek, Jones and Lei disclose wherein the relay server is configured to hold the communication start request for a time corresponding to the polling interval and transmit the communication start request to the communication device based on receiving an inquiry from the communication device when the relay server receives the communication start request associated with the communication device from the information processor in a state where the cellular communication is unavailable for the communication device and the data communication using the short-range communication is available for the communication device (see Simsek at paragraph 25, 54-55, 63, 65-66 and Lei at paragraph 37-43, 46, 50).
As to claim 8, Simsek, Jones and Lei disclose wherein the relay server is configured to return a message indicating that communication cannot be immediately started to a transmission source of the communication start request when the relay server receives the communication start request associated with the communication device from the information processor in a state where the cellular communication is unavailable for the communication device and the data communication using the short-range communication is available for the communication device (see Simsek at paragraph 25, 54-55, 63, 65-66 and Lei at paragraph 37-43, 46, 50).
As to claim 9, Simsek, Jones and Lei disclose wherein the relay server is configured to determine that the communication device is in an environment in which neither the cellular communication nor the data communication using the short-range communication is available based on a fact that a state in which communication with the communication device is impossible has continued for a time period corresponding to the polling interval or longer, and return a message indicating that communication cannot be started to a transmission source of the communication start request when the relay server receives the communication start request from the information processor, the communication start request being associated with the communication device that is in the environment in which neither the cellular communication nor the data communication using the short-range communication are available (error message if neither cellular or DSRC are available; see Lei at paragraph 33, 37-40, 46, 50-53).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to James R Sheleheda whose telephone number is (571)272-7357. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 am-5 pm CST.
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/James R Sheleheda/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2424