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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 10/17/2023 is/are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
“vehicle specifying unit”, “parking time calculation unit”, and “left vehicle determination unit” in claim 1
“failed vehicle determination unit” in claim 2
“license plate specifying unit”, “number acquisition unit”, and “vehicle information acquisition unit” in claim 3
The corresponding structure for each of the units is given in paragraph [0061] of the published application as being a processor running a program.
NOTE: The “satellite image acquisition unit” of claim 1 and the “signal transmitting unit” of claim 2 will not be considered to invoke 112(f) because they have well-known structural definitions in the art.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by High et al, U.S. Publication No. 2017/0124378.
Regarding claim 1, High teaches a vehicle monitoring system comprising:
a satellite image acquisition unit that acquires a satellite image captured by an artificial satellite (see High Figure 1, satellite 122 to satellite image database 120 and paragraph [0023]);
a vehicle specifying unit (see Figure 1, control circuit 110 and paragraph [0022]) that specifies a vehicle based on the satellite image (see paragraph [0032]);
a parking time calculation unit (see Figure 1, control circuit 110 and paragraph [0022]) that calculates a parking time of the specified vehicle based on the satellite image over time (see paragraph [0039]); and
a left vehicle determination unit (see Figure 1, control circuit 110 and paragraph [0022]) that determines that the vehicle is a left vehicle when the parking time exceeds a predetermined threshold value (see paragraph [0039]).
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) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over High et al, U.S. Publication No. 2017/0124378 in view of Liu et al, CN109801486A (see attached machine translation).
Regarding claim 3, High teaches all the limitations of claim 1, but does not expressively teach a license plate specifying unit that specifies a license plate based on the satellite image; a number acquisition unit that acquires the number of the specified license plate; and a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires information about the vehicle based on the acquired number.
However, Liu in a similar invention in the same field of endeavor teaches a vehicle monitoring system (see Liu paragraph [0006]) comprising satellite image acquisition unit that acquires a satellite image captured by an artificial satellite (see paragraph [0050]) as taught in High further comprising
a license plate specifying unit (see paragraph [0022]) that specifies a license plate based on the satellite image (see paragraphs [0073]-[0074]);
a number acquisition unit that acquires the number of the specified license plate; and a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires information about the vehicle based on the acquired number (see paragraph [0092]).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention would have found it obvious to combine the teaching of identifying a vehicle in a satellite image based on license plate number as taught in Liu with the system taught in High, the motivation being to allow owners of left vehicles to be identified and contacted directly via said license plate number.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Tanaka et al, U.S. Publication No. 2024/0169772 generally teaches a system (see Tanaka Figure 1, device 3) for checking a status of a vehicle that has been left for a certain amount of time (see Figure 2A, fault diagnosis S30 and paragraph [0022]). However, this is done by comparing diagnostic signals withing to car to those of a faulty vehicle
Choi et al, U.S. Publication No. 2019/0047537 generally teaches a system (see Choi Figure 2) for sending an ON signal to a parked vehicle to determine if it has failed (see Figure 6). However, this is not due to a parking time exceeding a threshold
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CASEY L KRETZER whose telephone number is (571)272-5639. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00-7:00 PM Pacific Time.
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/CASEY L KRETZER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2635