DETAILED ACTION
Response to Arguments
The amendments filed 6/11/2026 have been entered and made of record.
Applicant's amendments and arguments filed 6/11/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive:
2.1, Rejections of Claims 1-7 and 9-15 Under 35 U.S.C. § 101
2.1.1, In the Applicant’s Remarks (on pages 6-9), regarding to amended claim limitation “determining, by at least one sensor of the vehicle, an entry and/or an exit of one or more persons into or from the vehicle”;
Applicant also asserts that by adding “by at least one sensor of the vehicle” would overcome the, otherwise, abstract idea of Mental processes of determining, an entry and/or an exit of one or more persons into or from the vehicle;
However, the Examiner disagrees, because:
herein, “one sensor of the vehicle” is considered as a generic device, because it does not specifically limit what signal, and what type of senor it is, or what signal is sensed by the sensor, and further how to apply the senor, which is generally regarded as a device to receive signal, rather than to determine; therefore, reciting such a senor as a generic device does not provide any particular algorithms or improvements; and it can not be additional elements amount to significantly more than the recited judicial exception itself;
2.1.2, similarly, regarding to amended claim limitation “detecting, by at least one processor of the vehicle, the end of the journey of the vehicle when it is determined that the movement of the vehicle is equal to zero, and when the closing of at least the one door of the vehicle is determined, and when the entry and/or the exit of the one or more persons into or from the vehicle is determined”
herein, “at least one processor of the vehicle”, is considered as a generic device, or a generic computer, applied on the abstract idea of Mental processes, without any particular algorithms or improvements; and it can not be additional elements amount to significantly more than the recited judicial exception itself;
It is particularly pointed out that Applicant’s arguments (in the last lines of page 8 of Applicant’s Arguments/Remarks” “the amended claims here are not directed to abstract mental processes: they require at least one physical sensor of the vehicle to determine the entry/exit of persons, and at least one processor of the vehicle to apply the AND-logic combination of three sensor-based criteria to detect journey end. No human could mentally monitor accelerometer signals, process interior camera observation data using video-based person recognition, and simultaneously evaluate all three criteria in real time, the steps are inherently physical and computational.”
However, the Examiner disagrees, because:
first, claim does not limit “AND-logic”, or “AND -operation” as physical component of the processor, thus, that does not render the processor to be any specific. And, as discussed above, claim does not limit “accelerometer signals, process interior camera observation data using video-based person recognition”; Therefore, Applicant’s arguments can not be established, without relying on many elements outside the claimed limitation.
Human could mentally detect the journey end by mentally combine the perception and observation including determining the movement of the vehicle is equal to zero (vehicle is in stop state), and closing of at least one door of the vehicle, and determining the entry and/or the exist of the one or more persons into or from the vehicle; a human is capable to make a determination based on the combination of multiple aspects and conditions.
Therefore, it is proper to maintain that amended claims 1-7, and 9-15 are still subject to the claim rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 as directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
2.2 Rejections of Claims 1-7 and 9-15 Under 35 U.S.C. § 103
2.2.1, In the Applicant’s Remarks (on pages 10-12), Applicant states (in page 10) that “In contrast, the present invention uses interior sensors of a vehicle to determine persons entering or exiting from the same vehicle.”;
However, the Examiner disagrees, because
The amended claim limitation "determining, by at least one sensor of the vehicle, an entry and/or an exit of one or more persons into or from the vehicle." does not limit “uses interior sensors of a vehicle”;
2.2.2, Applicant also states that Pink describes a scan carried out for entering or exiting persons. However, Dulin as modified Pink do not disclose “determining, by at least one sensor of the vehicle, an entry and/or an exit of one or more persons into or from the vehicle.”
However, the Examiner disagrees, because
Above amended limitation is still rejected in view of new grounds as
Dulin discloses "sensing, by at least one sensor of the vehicle, an entry and/or an exit of one or more persons into or from the vehicle" (see Dulin: e.g., --(23) so that upon stopping of the vehicle, upon opening of a door by the driver and/or other able passenger, a warning to not leave non-abled persons (as defined below) unattended in the vehicle is activated. In the absence of an external temperature sensor, a driver or able passenger-activatable switch may be provided on the dashboard, or at any other convenient place within easy reach of the driver and attending passenger. In this latter embodiment, when the driver/able passenger enters the vehicle, the switch is turned on by one of them (or automatically upon the door driver door being opened) so that upon exit, the alert/warning will remind the driver/passenger to not leave a child or other non-abled person in the vehicle.--, in lines 47-60, col. 4: {so that the driver/able passenger enters/or exit the vehicle, is detected and determined by a sensor of the vehicle, and sensor which senses {in aligned with “automatically upon the door driver door being opened” the driver door being opened/closed};
also see: -- for the following sensed conditions and activity sequences: vehicle stopped; external temperature 80.degree. F.; trigger "ON" when any door, trunk lid, or load compartment door sequence of: open/close occurs; sense interior temperature; optionally sense occupancy;--, in lines 5-6, col. 5; and, -- such as a door being opened or the vehicle started. Where doors open without the vehicle being started, a door open sensor --, in lines 33-34, col. 5);
Dulin however does not explicitly disclose determining an entry and/or an exit of one or more persons into or from the vehicle;
PINK discloses determining an entry and/or an exit of one or more persons into or from the vehicle (see PINK: e.g., -- a scan is carried out for entering or exiting persons. Exiting or entering persons are generally a strong indication that the vehicle will not restart. This applies in particular if the driver of the stopped vehicle was able to be detected or observed while exiting.--, in [0040]-[0042]);
Dulin and PINK are combinable as they are in the same field of endeavor: monitoring vehicle and person/passenger/driver etc., Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to further modify Dulin’s method using PINK’s teachings by including determining an entry and/or an exit of one or more persons into or from the vehicle to Dulin’s {“when the driver/able passenger enters the vehicle, the switch is turned on by one of them (or automatically upon the door driver door being opened) so that upon exit, the alert/warning will remind the driver/passenger to not leave a child or other non-abled person in the vehicle” in lines 55-60, col.4} in order to monitor/track entering or exiting persons (see PINK: e.g., at [0040]-[0042]);
2.2.3 Applicant further states (in page 11 of Applicant’s Remarks) that Dulin as modified Pink do not disclose Dulin does not disclose "determining, by at least one sensor of the vehicle, an entry and/or an exit of one or more persons into or from the vehicle." The present invention requires that the end of journey is detected when three requirements are met: "1) the movement of the vehicle is equal to zero, and 2) when the closing of at least the one door of the vehicle is determined, and 3) when the entry and/or the exit of the one or more persons into or from the vehicle is determined." Dulin does not disclose an end of journey detection which takes into account all three requirements, as Dulin does not disclose determining "the entry and/or the exit of the one or more persons into or from the vehicle."
However, the Examiner disagrees, because:
As discussed above; Dulin as modified by PINK disclose determining "the entry and/or the exit of the one or more persons into or from the vehicle." (see Dulin: e.g., --(23) so that upon stopping of the vehicle, upon opening of a door by the driver and/or other able passenger, a warning to not leave non-abled persons (as defined below) unattended in the vehicle is activated. In the absence of an external temperature sensor, a driver or able passenger-activatable switch may be provided on the dashboard, or at any other convenient place within easy reach of the driver and attending passenger. In this latter embodiment, when the driver/able passenger enters the vehicle, the switch is turned on by one of them (or automatically upon the door driver door being opened) so that upon exit, the alert/warning will remind the driver/passenger to not leave a child or other non-abled person in the vehicle.--, in lines 47-60, col. 4: {so that the driver/able passenger enters/or exit the vehicle, is detected and determined by a sensor of the vehicle, and sensor which senses {in aligned with “automatically upon the door driver door being opened” the driver door being opened/closed};
also see: -- for the following sensed conditions and activity sequences: vehicle stopped; external temperature 80.degree. F.; trigger "ON" when any door, trunk lid, or load compartment door sequence of: open/close occurs; sense interior temperature; optionally sense occupancy;--, in lines 5-6, col. 5; and, -- such as a door being opened or the vehicle started. Where doors open without the vehicle being started, a door open sensor --, in lines 33-34, col. 5);
Apparently, Dulin discloses determining the driver/able passenger enters the vehicle, by sensing driver door being opened), and as the results, herein “automatically turn on the switch” is the evidence that Dulin discloses that above determining step is carried out by the control system/processor of the vehicle; and, “upon exit, the alert/warning will remind the driver/passenger to not leave a child or other non-abled person in the vehicle”, is the clear evidence that Dulin discloses that “detecting the end of the journey”, because, “the alert/warning will remind the driver/passenger to not leave a child or other non-abled person in the vehicle”, is based on the “detecting the end of the journey”, which is further based on upon 1) vehicle stopped, and 2) sensing driver door being opened, and/or closed; and 3) upon the driver/able passenger enters the vehicle, and/or “upon exit”;
Regarding the newly added claims 16-19 respectively recite limitations of a door open/close sensor, vehicle movement sensor and censoring, which are still rejected based on new grounds.
Therefore, claims 1-19 are still not patentably distinguishable over the prior art reference(s). Further discussions are addressed in the prior art rejection section below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-7, and 9-15 are subject to the claim rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the each claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more:
According to the 2024 Guidance Update on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility, Step 1 analysis: claims 1-7, and 9-11 are identified as identified as directed to a process, and claims 12-15 are directed to a machine, and manufacture of mater respectively;
In Step 2A, Prong One Analysis evaluates whether the claim recites a
judicial exception:
each independent each of claims 1, 12 and 15 similarly recites “determining a movement of the vehicle”, “determining an entry and/or an exit of one or more persons into or from the vehicle”; and “detecting the end of the journey of the vehicle when it is determined that the movement of the vehicle is equal to zero, and when the closing of at least the one door of the vehicle is determined, and when the entry and/or the exit of the one or more persons into or from the vehicle is detected”; which are as abstract idea of Mental processes, that can be mentally carried out solely by human, and without any particular algorithms or improvements,
Step (2) Analysis, each of independent claims 1, 12 and 15 recites abstract idea of Mental processes, those steps are human perception and mental processes. There is no limitation, or combination of another element, and there is no additional element.
Amend claim 1 although is amended by reciting that "determining, by at least one sensor of the vehicle, an entry and/or an exit of one or more persons into or from the vehicle"
herein, “one sensor of the vehicle” is considered as a generic device, because it does not specifically limit what signal, and what type of senor it is, or what signal is sensed by the sensor, and further how to apply the senor, which is generally regarded as a device to receive signal, rather than to determine; therefore, reciting such a senor as a generic device does not provide any particular algorithms or improvements; and it can not be additional elements amount to significantly more than the recited judicial exception itself;
Similarly, regarding to amended claim limitation “detecting, by at least one processor of the vehicle, the end of the journey of the vehicle when it is determined that the movement of the vehicle is equal to zero, and when the closing of at least the one door of the vehicle is determined, and when the entry and/or the exit of the one or more persons into or from the vehicle is determined”
herein, “at least one processor of the vehicle”, is considered as a generic device, or a generic computer, applied on the abstract idea of Mental processes, without any particular algorithms or improvements; and it can not be additional elements amount to significantly more than the recited judicial exception itself;
Each of claims 12, and 15 recites “a device” to perform these abstract idea, but claims 12-15 do not particularly define, or specify the features, algorithms, or particular components, or any modification or improvement of the device to achieve the desired result or the stated purpose. Thus, the claimed “a device” is considered as a generic computer applied to the idea abstract.
In Step 2B, Prong Two Analysis to evaluate whether the claimed additional elements amount to significantly more than the recited judicial exception itself:
There are no any additional elements recited in claim beyond the Mental processes, neither any practical application that above mentioned step as Mental processes can be integrated into has been recited in each of independent claims 1, 12 and 15. As no particular computer function, algorithm or configuration is practically improved, or any particular application, or specific utility, or improvement is defined, or to be brought into certain solution, or improvement in any meaningful practice. Therefore, independent claims 1, 12 and 15 do not have additional elements amount to significantly more than the recited judicial exception itself.
Overall, Claims 1-7, and 9-15 do not limit what’s specialty, algorithms and characteristics of a method, or a device with any specific algorithms or improvements. Therefore, Claims 1-7, and 9-15 are considered as human mental processing, and a conventional operation of device, and would be conventional practice of human observation and mental processing. Therefore above mentioned steps are considered as an abstract idea of Mental processes.
On the other hands, claim 8 recites specific implementation of “using a neural network” learning “an evaluation of observation data to determine the entry and/or the exit of the one or more people into or from the vehicle”; which is considered as an additional element require a neural network to learn the evaluation of observation data. Thus, claim 8 is eligible in Patent Subject Matter Eligibility analysis.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-7, and 9-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Dulin et al. (US 6922622 B2), and in view of PINK (US 20140336912 A1).
Re Claim 1, Dulin et al. discloses a method for detecting an end of a journey of a vehicle (see Dulin: e.g. -- determines if the vehicle is stopped. This condition can be determined in any convenient way, e.g.: input from the vehicle accelerometer (typically in the airbag control module) and/or GPS location updates; monitoring odometer activity, vehicle electrical system activity, engine activity, braking; or external motion sensing (e.g., near object detection by radar or ultrasound).--, in lines 6-12, col. 4), comprising the following steps:
determining a movement of the vehicle (see Dulin: e.g.; --as when the vehicle is moving, the ultrasound sensor has a power requirement on the order of 500 miliwatts. The return signals from the ultrasound pings include a substantial amount of extraneous noise from road irregularities causing interior surfaces of the vehicle to be in vibratory motion.--, in lines 20-46, col. 6; and, --the system looks for vehicle moving signal 88--, in lines 13-61, col. 12);
determining a closing of at least one door of the vehicle (see Dulin: e.g.; -- trigger "ON" when any door, trunk lid, or load compartment door sequence of: open/close occurs;--, in lines 3-5, col. 5; and, -- to ultimate stoppage and the "ending" open/close of the corresponding doors.--, in lines 4-5, col. 9, and, “door open/close condition sensor(s) 64… each door can be monitored, tracked and reported separately.--, in lines 42-50, col. 9);
Dulin discloses "sensing, by at least one sensor of the vehicle, an entry and/or an exit of one or more persons into or from the vehicle" (see Dulin: e.g., --(23) so that upon stopping of the vehicle, upon opening of a door by the driver and/or other able passenger, a warning to not leave non-abled persons (as defined below) unattended in the vehicle is activated. In the absence of an external temperature sensor, a driver or able passenger-activatable switch may be provided on the dashboard, or at any other convenient place within easy reach of the driver and attending passenger. In this latter embodiment, when the driver/able passenger enters the vehicle, the switch is turned on by one of them (or automatically upon the door driver door being opened) so that upon exit, the alert/warning will remind the driver/passenger to not leave a child or other non-abled person in the vehicle.--, in lines 47-60, col. 4: {so that the driver/able passenger enters/or exit the vehicle, is detected and determined by a sensor of the vehicle, and sensor which senses {in aligned with “automatically upon the door driver door being opened” the driver door being opened/closed};
also see: -- for the following sensed conditions and activity sequences: vehicle stopped; external temperature 80.degree. F.; trigger "ON" when any door, trunk lid, or load compartment door sequence of: open/close occurs; sense interior temperature; optionally sense occupancy;--, in lines 5-6, col. 5; and, -- such as a door being opened or the vehicle started. Where doors open without the vehicle being started, a door open sensor --, in lines 33-34, col. 5);
Dulin however does not explicitly disclose determining an entry and/or an exit of one or more persons into or from the vehicle;
PINK discloses determining an entry and/or an exit of one or more persons into or from the vehicle (see PINK: e.g., -- a scan is carried out for entering or exiting persons. Exiting or entering persons are generally a strong indication that the vehicle will not restart. This applies in particular if the driver of the stopped vehicle was able to be detected or observed while exiting.--, in [0040]-[0042]);
Dulin and PINK are combinable as they are in the same field of endeavor: monitoring vehicle and person/passenger/driver etc., Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to further modify Dulin’s method using PINK’s teachings by including determining an entry and/or an exit of one or more persons into or from the vehicle to Dulin’s {“when the driver/able passenger enters the vehicle, the switch is turned on by one of them (or automatically upon the door driver door being opened) so that upon exit, the alert/warning will remind the driver/passenger to not leave a child or other non-abled person in the vehicle” in lines 55-60, col.4} in order to monitor/track entering or exiting persons (see PINK: e.g., at [0040]-[0042]);
Dulin as modified by PINK further disclose detecting, by at least one processor of the vehicle, the end of the journey of the vehicle when it is determined that the movement of the vehicle is equal to zero, and when the closing of at least the one door of the vehicle is determined, and when the entry and/or the exit of the one or more persons into or from the vehicle is determined (see Dulin: e.g.; -- determines if the vehicle is stopped. This condition can be determined in any convenient way, e.g.: input from the vehicle accelerometer (typically in the airbag control module) and/or GPS location updates; monitoring odometer activity, vehicle electrical system activity, engine activity, braking; or external motion sensing (e.g., near object detection by radar or ultrasound).--, in lines 6-12, col. 4; and, --when the driver/able passenger enters the vehicle, the switch is turned on by one of them (or automatically upon the door driver door being opened) so that upon exit, the alert/warning will remind the driver/passenger to not leave a child or other non-abled person in the vehicle--, in lines 55-60, col.4; and, -- trigger "ON" when any door, trunk lid, or load compartment door sequence of: open/close occurs;--, in lines 3-5, col. 5; and, -- to ultimate stoppage and the "ending" open/close of the corresponding doors.--, in lines 4-5, col. 9, and, “door open/close condition sensor(s) 64… each door can be monitored, tracked and reported separately.--, in lines 42-50, col. 9; also see PINK: e.g., -- a scan is carried out for entering or exiting persons. Exiting or entering persons are generally a strong indication that the vehicle will not restart. This applies in particular if the driver of the stopped vehicle was able to be detected or observed while exiting.--, in [0040]-[0042]).
Re Claim 2, Dulin as modified by PINK further disclose
receiving movement data of the vehicle (see Dulin: e.g.; --as when the vehicle is moving, the ultrasound sensor has a power requirement on the order of 500 miliwatts. The return signals from the ultrasound pings include a substantial amount of extraneous noise from road irregularities causing interior surfaces of the vehicle to be in vibratory motion.--, in lines 20-46, col. 6; and, --the system looks for vehicle moving signal 88--, in lines 13-61, col. 12);
receiving monitoring data of the closing of the at least one door of the vehicle (see Dulin: e.g.; -- trigger "ON" when any door, trunk lid, or load compartment door sequence of: open/close occurs;--, in lines 3-5, col. 5; and, -- to ultimate stoppage and the "ending" open/close of the corresponding doors.--, in lines 4-5, col. 9, and, “door open/close condition sensor(s) 64… each door can be monitored, tracked and reported separately.--, in lines 42-50, col. 9); and
receiving observation data of a vehicle interior (see Dulin: e.g., --use of one or more systems to sense the occupancy state and temperature inside the vehicle passenger or load space, and provide one or more outputs which can selectively be employed to provide interior and exterior warning of a trapped passenger in a dangerously hot car to permit rescue, and/or to activate vehicle electro-mechanical systems to relieve the heat, such as rolling down windows, unlatching seat belts, unlocking doors, starting the car and/or fans or air conditioning systems and the like.--, abstract).
Re Claim 3, Dulin as modified by PINK further disclose observing a vehicle interior to generate observation data for the determining of the entry and/or the exit of the one or more persons into or from the vehicle and/or to determine a movement of the vehicle (see Dulin: e.g., --use of one or more systems to sense the occupancy state and temperature inside the vehicle passenger or load space, and provide one or more outputs which can selectively be employed to provide interior and exterior warning of a trapped passenger in a dangerously hot car to permit rescue, and/or to activate vehicle electro-mechanical systems to relieve the heat, such as rolling down windows, unlatching seat belts, unlocking doors, starting the car and/or fans or air conditioning systems and the like.--, abstract).
Re Claim 4, Dulin as modified by PINK further disclose measuring acceleration data and determining an orientation of the vehicle to determine the movement of the vehicle and/or in to determine the closing of the at least the one door of the vehicle (see Dulin: e.g., --determines if the vehicle is stopped. This condition can be determined in any convenient way, e.g.: input from the vehicle accelerometer (typically in the airbag control module) and/or GPS location updates; monitoring odometer activity, vehicle electrical system activity, engine activity, braking; or external motion sensing (e.g., near object detection by radar or ultrasound). By way of example, the vehicle at rest (stopped) condition and interior temperature can be extracted by the AOS from the ultrasound return, as described in more detail below. Monitoring ignition interior switch state (On vs. Off) or history is also a simple way to determine if the stopped-vehicle condition is met.
When the stopped vehicle condition is met, after a pre-set delay period, say 5-10 minutes, the occupancy sensor system is polled or the occupancy history database is checked to determine if an occupant is present.--, in lines 5-40, col. 4).
Re Claim 5, Dulin as modified by PINK further disclose the movement of the vehicle is determined: (i) using acceleration data and an orientation of the vehicle, and/or (ii) using data of a navigation system, and/or (iii) using observation data (see Dulin: e.g., --determines if the vehicle is stopped. This condition can be determined in any convenient way, e.g.: input from the vehicle accelerometer (typically in the airbag control module) and/or GPS location updates; monitoring odometer activity, vehicle electrical system activity, engine activity, braking; or external motion sensing (e.g., near object detection by radar or ultrasound). By way of example, the vehicle at rest (stopped) condition and interior temperature can be extracted by the AOS from the ultrasound return, as described in more detail below. Monitoring ignition interior switch state (On vs. Off) or history is also a simple way to determine if the stopped-vehicle condition is met.
When the stopped vehicle condition is met, after a pre-set delay period, say 5-10 minutes, the occupancy sensor system is polled or the occupancy history database is checked to determine if an occupant is present.--, in lines 5-40, col. 4; and, --as when the vehicle is moving, the ultrasound sensor has a power requirement on the order of 500 miliwatts. The return signals from the ultrasound pings include a substantial amount of extraneous noise from road irregularities causing interior surfaces of the vehicle to be in vibratory motion.--, in lines 20-46, col. 6; and, --the system looks for vehicle moving signal 88--, in lines 13-61, col. 12).
.
Re Claim 6, Dulin as modified by PINK further disclose wherein the closing of the at least the one door of the vehicle is determined: (i) using acceleration data of the vehicle, and/or (ii) using audio data, and/or (iii) using observation data (see Dulin: e.g., --determines if the vehicle is stopped. This condition can be determined in any convenient way, e.g.: input from the vehicle accelerometer (typically in the airbag control module) and/or GPS location updates; monitoring odometer activity, vehicle electrical system activity, engine activity, braking; or external motion sensing (e.g., near object detection by radar or ultrasound). By way of example, the vehicle at rest (stopped) condition and interior temperature can be extracted by the AOS from the ultrasound return, as described in more detail below. Monitoring ignition interior switch state (On vs. Off) or history is also a simple way to determine if the stopped-vehicle condition is met.
When the stopped vehicle condition is met, after a pre-set delay period, say 5-10 minutes, the occupancy sensor system is polled or the occupancy history database is checked to determine if an occupant is present.--, in lines 5-40, col. 4; and, --as when the vehicle is moving, the ultrasound sensor has a power requirement on the order of 500 miliwatts. The return signals from the ultrasound pings include a substantial amount of extraneous noise from road irregularities causing interior surfaces of the vehicle to be in vibratory motion.--, in lines 20-46, col. 6; and, --the system looks for vehicle moving signal 88--, in lines 13-61, col. 12).
Re Claim 7, Dulin as modified by PINK further disclose wherein the entry and/or the exit of the one or more persons into or from the vehicle is determined using video-based person recognition (see PINK: e.g., --a scan is carried out for stopped vehicles. This means in particular that a scan is carried out for stopped vehicles in the surroundings of the host vehicle. If a stopped vehicle is detected or recognized, a starting intention criterion is ascertained. Decision data are formed based on the starting intention criterion. These decision data include in particular a piece of information on whether or not the stopped vehicle will start.--, in [0019], and, --0051] Surroundings sensors may include LIDAR sensors, video sensors, infrared sensors, ultrasonic sensors and/or radar sensors, for example. The surroundings sensors may be identical, for example, or preferably different. This means in particular that it may be provided according to one specific embodiment that one such surroundings sensor is provided, or such surroundings sensors are provided. This means in particular that the device and/or the driver assistance system may include such sensors.
[0052] For example, in the vicinity of intersections, crosswalks, in particular when pedestrians are present, and/or stop lights, also referred to as traffic signals, in particular with red stop lights, a restarting of the stopped vehicle is more likely to be expected than on an open road.--, in [0051]-[0052]).
Re Claim 9, Dulin as modified by PINK further disclose wherein a start of the journey is determined after it has been determined that the movement of the vehicle is equal to zero, and after a closing of the door of the vehicle has been determined and after it has been detected that one or more persons have exited and/or entered the vehicle (see Dulin: e.g., --determines if the vehicle is stopped. This condition can be determined in any convenient way, e.g.: input from the vehicle accelerometer (typically in the airbag control module) and/or GPS location updates; monitoring odometer activity, vehicle electrical system activity, engine activity, braking; or external motion sensing (e.g., near object detection by radar or ultrasound). By way of example, the vehicle at rest (stopped) condition and interior temperature can be extracted by the AOS from the ultrasound return, as described in more detail below. Monitoring ignition interior switch state (On vs. Off) or history is also a simple way to determine if the stopped-vehicle condition is met.
When the stopped vehicle condition is met, after a pre-set delay period, say 5-10 minutes, the occupancy sensor system is polled or the occupancy history database is checked to determine if an occupant is present.--, in lines 5-40, col. 4; and, --as when the vehicle is moving, the ultrasound sensor has a power requirement on the order of 500 miliwatts. The return signals from the ultrasound pings include a substantial amount of extraneous noise from road irregularities causing interior surfaces of the vehicle to be in vibratory motion.--, in lines 20-46, col. 6; and, --the system looks for vehicle moving signal 88--, in lines 13-61, col. 12; and, --when the driver/able passenger enters the vehicle, the switch is turned on by one of them (or automatically upon the door driver door being opened) so that upon exit, the alert/warning will remind the driver/passenger to not leave a child or other non-abled person in the vehicle--, in lines 55-60, col.4; and, -- trigger "ON" when any door, trunk lid, or load compartment door sequence of: open/close occurs;--, in lines 3-5, col. 5; and, -- to ultimate stoppage and the "ending" open/close of the corresponding doors.--, in lines 4-5, col. 9, and, “door open/close condition sensor(s) 64… each door can be monitored, tracked and reported separately.--, in lines 42-50, col. 9; also see PINK: e.g., -- a scan is carried out for entering or exiting persons. Exiting or entering persons are generally a strong indication that the vehicle will not restart. This applies in particular if the driver of the stopped vehicle was able to be detected or observed while exiting.--, in [0040]-[0042], and, --a scan is carried out for stopped vehicles. This means in particular that a scan is carried out for stopped vehicles in the surroundings of the host vehicle. If a stopped vehicle is detected or recognized, a starting intention criterion is ascertained. Decision data are formed based on the starting intention criterion. These decision data include in particular a piece of information on whether or not the stopped vehicle will start.--, in [0019], and, --[0051] Surroundings sensors may include LIDAR sensors, video sensors, infrared sensors, ultrasonic sensors and/or radar sensors, for example. The surroundings sensors may be identical, for example, or preferably different. This means in particular that it may be provided according to one specific embodiment that one such surroundings sensor is provided, or such surroundings sensors are provided. This means in particular that the device and/or the driver assistance system may include such sensors.
[0052] For example, in the vicinity of intersections, crosswalks, in particular when pedestrians are present, and/or stop lights, also referred to as traffic signals, in particular with red stop lights, a restarting of the stopped vehicle is more likely to be expected than on an open road.--, in [0051]-[0052]).
Re Claim 10, Dulin as modified by PINK further disclose wherein, after the end of the journey has been detected, a start of a further journey of the vehicle is determined (see PINK: e.g., --a scan is carried out for stopped vehicles. This means in particular that a scan is carried out for stopped vehicles in the surroundings of the host vehicle. If a stopped vehicle is detected or recognized, a starting intention criterion is ascertained. Decision data are formed based on the starting intention criterion. These decision data include in particular a piece of information on whether or not the stopped vehicle will start.--, in [0019], and, --[0051] Surroundings sensors may include LIDAR sensors, video sensors, infrared sensors, ultrasonic sensors and/or radar sensors, for example. The surroundings sensors may be identical, for example, or preferably different. This means in particular that it may be provided according to one specific embodiment that one such surroundings sensor is provided, or such surroundings sensors are provided. This means in particular that the device and/or the driver assistance system may include such sensors.
[0052] For example, in the vicinity of intersections, crosswalks, in particular when pedestrians are present, and/or stop lights, also referred to as traffic signals, in particular with red stop lights, a restarting of the stopped vehicle is more likely to be expected than on an open road.--, in [0051]-[0052]).
Re Claim 11, Dulin as modified by PINK further disclose wherein an end of the further journey is determined when it is determined again that a movement of the vehicle is equal to zero, and a closing of at least one door of the vehicle is determined again, and an entry and/or an exit of one or more persons into or from the vehicle is determined again (see Dulin: e.g., --determines if the vehicle is stopped. This condition can be determined in any convenient way, e.g.: input from the vehicle accelerometer (typically in the airbag control module) and/or GPS location updates; monitoring odometer activity, vehicle electrical system activity, engine activity, braking; or external motion sensing (e.g., near object detection by radar or ultrasound). By way of example, the vehicle at rest (stopped) condition and interior temperature can be extracted by the AOS from the ultrasound return, as described in more detail below. Monitoring ignition interior switch state (On vs. Off) or history is also a simple way to determine if the stopped-vehicle condition is met.
When the stopped vehicle condition is met, after a pre-set delay period, say 5-10 minutes, the occupancy sensor system is polled or the occupancy history database is checked to determine if an occupant is present.--, in lines 5-40, col. 4; and, --as when the vehicle is moving, the ultrasound sensor has a power requirement on the order of 500 miliwatts. The return signals from the ultrasound pings include a substantial amount of extraneous noise from road irregularities causing interior surfaces of the vehicle to be in vibratory motion.--, in lines 20-46, col. 6; and, --the system looks for vehicle moving signal 88--, in lines 13-61, col. 12; and, --when the driver/able passenger enters the vehicle, the switch is turned on by one of them (or automatically upon the door driver door being opened) so that upon exit, the alert/warning will remind the driver/passenger to not leave a child or other non-abled person in the vehicle--, in lines 55-60, col.4; and, -- trigger "ON" when any door, trunk lid, or load compartment door sequence of: open/close occurs;--, in lines 3-5, col. 5; and, -- to ultimate stoppage and the "ending" open/close of the corresponding doors.--, in lines 4-5, col. 9, and, “door open/close condition sensor(s) 64… each door can be monitored, tracked and reported separately.--, in lines 42-50, col. 9; also see PINK: e.g., -- a scan is carried out for entering or exiting persons. Exiting or entering persons are generally a strong indication that the vehicle will not restart. This applies in particular if the driver of the stopped vehicle was able to be detected or observed while exiting.--, in [0040]-[0042]).
Re Claims 12-14, claims 12-14 are the corresponding device claims to claims 1-4 respectively. Therefore, claims 12-14 are rejected by the similar reasons as for the rejections of claims 1-4 respectively. Furthermore, Dulin as modified by PINK further disclose device configured to detect an end of a journey of a vehicle (see Dulin: e.g. -- determines if the vehicle is stopped. This condition can be determined in any convenient way, e.g.: input from the vehicle accelerometer (typically in the airbag control module) and/or GPS location updates; monitoring odometer activity, vehicle electrical system activity, engine activity, braking; or external motion sensing (e.g., near object detection by radar or ultrasound).--, in lines 6-12, col. 4).
Re Claim 15, claim 15 is the corresponding device claims to claim 1 respectively. Therefore, claim 15 is rejected by the similar reasons as for the rejections of claim 1 respectively. Furthermore, Dulin as modified by PINK further disclose a vehicle, comprising: device configured to detect an end of a journey of a vehicle (see Dulin: e.g. -- determines if the vehicle is stopped. This condition can be determined in any convenient way, e.g.: input from the vehicle accelerometer (typically in the airbag control module) and/or GPS location updates; monitoring odometer activity, vehicle electrical system activity, engine activity, braking; or external motion sensing (e.g., near object detection by radar or ultrasound).--, in lines 6-12, col. 4).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Dulin as modified by PINK, and further in view of MAI (US 20200406860 A1).
Re Claim 8, Dulin as modified by PINK however still do not explicitly disclose that
an evaluation of observation data to determine the entry and/or the exit of the
one or more people into or from the vehicle is learned using a neural network;
Mai discloses an evaluation of observation data to determine the entry and/or the exit of the one or more people into or from the vehicle is learned using a neural network (see Mai: e.g., -- The current event may be associated with at least one of: the known event, the unknown event and/or the another event, based on the mismatch cost and additional mismatch cost associated with at least one additional section of the first TSCI and at least one additional section of the second TSCI. The known events may comprise at least one of: a door closed event, door open event, window closed event, window open event, multi-state event, on-state event, off-state event, intermediate state event, continuous state event, discrete state event, human-present event, human-absent event, sign-of-life-present event, and/or a sign-of-life-absent event.
[0102] A projection for each CI may be trained using a dimension reduction method based on the training TSCI. The dimension reduction method may comprise at least one of: principal component analysis (PCA), PCA with different kernel, independent component analysis (ICA), Fisher linear discriminant, vector quantization, supervised learning, unsupervised learning, self-organizing maps, auto-encoder, neural network, deep neural network, and/or another method. The projection may be applied to at least one of: the training TSCI associated with the at least one event, and/or the current TSCI, for the classifier. The classifier of the at least one event may be trained based on the projection and the training TSCI associated with the at least one event.--, in [0101]-[0102]);
Dulin (as modified by PINK) and MAI are combinable as they are in the same field of endeavor: monitoring vehicle and person/passenger/driver etc., Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to further modify Dulin (as modified by PINK)’s method using MAI’s teachings by including an evaluation of observation data to determine the entry and/or the exit of the one or more people into or from the vehicle is learned using a neural network to Dulin(as modified by PINK) ’s {“when the driver/able passenger enters the vehicle, the switch is turned on by one of them (or automatically upon the door driver door being opened) so that upon exit, the alert/warning will remind the driver/passenger to not leave a child or other non-abled person in the vehicle” in lines 55-60, col.4} in order to determining the event (see PINK: e.g., at [0101]-[0102]).
Claims 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Dulin as modified by PINK, and further in view of 김기태 (KR 102327677 B1).
Re Claim 16, Dulin as modified by PINK further disclose wherein the closing of at least one door of the vehicle is determined by means of data from an inertial measurement unit (see Dulin: e.g., --(23) so that upon stopping of the vehicle, upon opening of a door by the driver and/or other able passenger, a warning to not leave non-abled persons (as defined below) unattended in the vehicle is activated. In the absence of an external temperature sensor, a driver or able passenger-activatable switch may be provided on the dashboard, or at any other convenient place within easy reach of the driver and attending passenger. In this latter embodiment, when the driver/able passenger enters the vehicle, the switch is turned on by one of them (or automatically upon the door driver door being opened) so that upon exit, the alert/warning will remind the driver/passenger to not leave a child or other non-abled person in the vehicle.--, in lines 47-60, col. 4: {so that the driver/able passenger enters/or exit the vehicle, is detected and determined by a sensor of the vehicle, and sensor which senses {in aligned with “automatically upon the door driver door being opened” the driver door being opened/closed};
also see: -- for the following sensed conditions and activity sequences: vehicle stopped; external temperature 80.degree. F.; trigger "ON" when any door, trunk lid, or load compartment door sequence of: open/close occurs; sense interior temperature; optionally sense occupancy;--, in lines 5-6, col. 5; and, -- such as a door being opened or the vehicle started. Where doors open without the vehicle being started, a door open sensor --, in lines 33-34, col. 5);
Dulin as modified by PINK however do not explicitly disclose above door open/close sensor as the inertial measurement unit including wherein a vibration, which is triggered in particular by closing the door, creates a characteristic acceleration of the stationary vehicle;
김기태 discloses door open/close sensor as the inertial measurement unit including wherein a vibration, which is triggered in particular by closing the door, creates a characteristic acceleration of the stationary vehicle (see 김기태: e.g., -- The motion sensor 30 is a sensor for detecting the movement of the vehicle, and is built into the main body (A), so it is preferable to fix the main body (A) to the inside of the vehicle so that it does not move. The motion sensor 30 may be configured by selecting, for example, sensors known as an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, and the like. The motion detection sensor 30 may detect vibration by increasing the sensitivity to movement or may include a vibration sensor to detect an impact when the door is opened or closed.--, in page 3/10 of English version of KR 102327677 B1 as provided with the Office Action);
Dulin (as modified by PINK) and 김기태 are combinable as they are in the same field of endeavor: monitoring vehicle and person/passenger/driver etc., Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to further modify Dulin (as modified by PINK)’s method using 김기태’s teachings by including door open/close sensor as the inertial measurement unit including wherein a vibration, which is triggered in particular by closing the door, creates a characteristic acceleration of the stationary vehicle to Dulin (as modified by PINK) ’s door open/close sensor to perform {“when the driver/able passenger enters the vehicle, the switch is turned on by one of them (or automatically upon the door driver door being opened) so that upon exit, the alert/warning will remind the driver/passenger to not leave a child or other non-abled person in the vehicle” in lines 55-60, col.4} in order to determining the event (see Dulin, and PINK: e.g., at [0101]-[0102]).
Re Claim 17, Dulin as modified by PINK and 김기태 wherein the closing of at least one door of the vehicle is determined using an audio signal recorded by a microphone (see 김기태: e.g., -- The control unit 10 includes a parking state monitoring mode execution unit 10a that monitors whether a parking state is a state in which a dangerous situation can occur using the motion detection sensor 30 or the microphone 20, and a dangerous situation It is executed when it is determined as a possible parking state, and the sound generated inside the vehicle is detected and analyzed using the microphone 20,--, in pages 3-4/10 of English version of KR 102327677 B1 as provided with the Office Action;
And, -- Referring to FIG. 5(a) , the sound when the door is opened (2-1) and the sound when the door is closed (2-2) respectively show specific patterns, and are compared with the patterns shown in the graph of 5(b). When the engine is started, it shows a pattern distinctly different from the sound detected when the engine is started (3-1), and the clapping sound (3-2, 3) that was expected to show a pattern similar to the sound when the door is opened and closed -3) shows a markedly different pattern. Accordingly, when the door is opened or closed, information on a sound pattern sensed in the vehicle interior is stored in advance, and the door opening/closing can be recognized by comparing it with the sound pattern sensed through the microphone 20 .--, in page 5 of English version of KR 102327677 B1 as provided with the Office Action). See the similar obviousness and motivation statement as addressed above in the discussions regarding claim 16.
Re Claim 18, Dulin as modified by PINK and 김기태 further disclose wherein the movement of the vehicle is determined by means of data from an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and/or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) or GPS data (see Dulin: e.g. -- determines if the vehicle is stopped. This condition can be determined in any convenient way, e.g.: input from the vehicle accelerometer (typically in the airbag control module) and/or GPS location updates; monitoring odometer activity, vehicle electrical system activity, engine activity, braking; or external motion sensing (e.g., near object detection by radar or ultrasound).--, in lines 6-12, col. 4; and also see 김기태: e.g., -- The monitoring stop signal is a signal that makes it possible to know that there is a person riding in the vehicle while monitoring the interior of the vehicle by whether or not a dangerous situation sound is detected in the dangerous situation monitoring step (S20), and is detected through the microphone 20 It may include a door opening/closing sound, an engine starting sound detected through the microphone 20 , and a vehicle movement detected by the motion sensor 30 .
Specifically, as described with reference to FIG. 5 that the sound of door opening/closing can be identified, if the waveform of the sound generated when the car door is opened or closed is detected through the microphone 20, riding It is judged that there is one person, so it stops the dangerous situation monitoring mode and switches to the parking status monitoring mode. On the other hand, according to the vibration or shock sensed by the motion sensor 30, it is also possible to check whether the door is opened or closed.--, in page 5 of English version of KR 102327677 B1 as provided with the Office Action). See the similar obviousness and motivation statement as addressed above in the discussions regarding claim 16.
Re Claim 19, Dulin as modified by PINK and 김기태 further disclose wherein vehicle movement detection is carried out on a video basis, in that a window region of the vehicle is detected and a movement of the vehicle is deduced from the movement in the window region (see PINK: e.g., --a scan is carried out for stopped vehicles. This means in particular that a scan is carried out for stopped vehicles in the surroundings of the host vehicle. If a stopped vehicle is detected or recognized, a starting intention criterion is ascertained. Decision data are formed based on the starting intention criterion. These decision data include in particular a piece of information on whether or not the stopped vehicle will start.--, in [0019], and, --[0051] Surroundings sensors may include LIDAR sensors, video sensors, infrared sensors, ultrasonic sensors and/or radar sensors, for example. The surroundings sensors may be identical, for example, or preferably different. This means in particular that it may be provided according to one specific embodiment that one such surroundings sensor is provided, or such surroundings sensors are provided. This means in particular that the device and/or the driver assistance system may include such sensors.
[0052] For example, in the vicinity of intersections, crosswalks, in particular when pedestrians are present, and/or stop lights, also referred to as traffic signals, in particular with red stop lights, a restarting of the stopped vehicle is more likely to be expected than on an open road.--, in [0051]-[0052]; also see 김기태: e.g., --The graph of FIG. 4 is a graph in decibels (dB) of a change in the power of a sound detected when the engine is turned off in a state in which the engine is started in a vehicle interior with the door and window closed. Referring to FIG. 4 , the power (1-1) of the sound detected when the engine is started maintains a predetermined power or more, and the power (1-2) of the sound detected when the engine is turned off is the noise other than the engine. , but has a relatively lower average value than when the engine is started.--, page 4 of English version of KR 102327677 B1 as provided with the Office Action; and, -- Here, the sound of the dangerous situation is a sound of continuous or repeated sound having a power greater than the preset silent power indicating a quiet state by a predetermined power.
Infants, the physically weak, and companion animals express themselves to others by continuously or repeatedly making loud noises in dangerous situations where they feel life-threatening, especially by making a cry. However, even if an infant, physically weak, or companion animal that is left in a car with doors and windows closed for a long time makes a cry, people around the outside of the car often do not recognize the cry. It is difficult to recognize unless you pay attention and listen.
Accordingly, in the embodiment of the present invention, when a sound in which a cry pattern appears in the interior of the vehicle is detected, an alarm sound is generated by the vibrating speaker 40 so that people around the outside of the vehicle can hear it loudly.--, in page 6 of English version of KR 102327677 B1 as provided with the Office Action). See the similar obviousness and motivation statement as addressed above in the discussions regarding claim 16.
Conclusion
Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WEI WEN YANG whose telephone number is (571)270-5670. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:00 - 5:00 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amandeep Saini can be reached on 571-272-3382. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WEI WEN YANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2662
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