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 .
Status of Claims
This Office Action is in response to the application filed on 27 October 2025. Claims 12-26 are presently pending and are presented for examination. Claims 1-11 were previously cancelled.
Priority
Acknowledgement is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority based on an application DE10 2021 202 101.8 filed in Federal Republic of Germany on 04 March 2021 and PCT/EP2022/052521 filed on 03 February 2022.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Response to Amendments
In response to Applicant’s amendments dated 27 October 2025, Examiner withdraws the previous claim objections, and maintains the previous prior art rejections.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments, see Remarks, filed 27 October 2025, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues, see Remarks, pg. 5, that US-20190184774-A1 (“Okada”) does not teach the feature of “prior to a change to the stationary mode, operating the monitoring device in a first intermediate mode, a passive search for wireless connection signals from the external device being performed in the first intermediate mode.” Examiner respectfully disagrees. Okada discloses at least three “modes” of a monitoring device, one in which a sensor transceiver receives a burst signal on RF waves from the vehicle-body system, a first state capable of intermittently receiving RF waves and a second state capable of continuously receiving RF waves (see Okada, para. 0010 and 0043-0044).
The remaining arguments are essentially the same as those addressed above and/or below and are unpersuasive for at least the same reasons. Therefore, examiner is unpersuaded and maintains the corresponding rejections.
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) 12-14, 16-21, and 23-26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US-20190184774-A1, hereinafter “Okada”.
Regarding claim 12, and analogous claims 23 and 26, Okada discloses A method for operating a monitoring device for at least one vehicle parameter of a vehicle (Okada, para. 0002: “The present disclosure relates to a tire pressure monitoring system (hereinafter referred to as TPMS: Tire Pressure Monitoring System) [i.e., a monitoring device for at least one vehicle parameter of a vehicle].”; para. 0045: “Specifically, the microcomputer 33 includes a transmission unit 33 a, a reception unit 33 b, and a control unit 33 c; the microcomputer 33 performs various processes related to the tire pressure monitoring [i.e., A method] in accordance with programs stored in a built-in memory of the control unit 33 c.”), the method comprising:
Regarding analogous claims 23 and 26, Okada also discloses a monitoring device for at least one vehicle parameter of a vehicle (Okada, para. 0008: “It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a TPMS [i.e., a monitoring device] capable of detecting a tire pressure [i.e., at least one vehicle parameter of a vehicle] earlier when there is a possibility that a vehicle starts to run, while suppressing an increase in current consumption without need of an antenna for transmitting LF waves arranged adjacent to each wheel of the vehicle.”) and a vehicle (Okada, para. 0009: “According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a TPMS is provided to include (i) a plurality of sensor transceivers provided to and respectively corresponding to a plurality of wheels of a vehicle and (ii) a vehicle-body system provided in a vehicle body of the vehicle.”).
operating the monitoring device in a drive mode or in a stationary mode as a function of a velocity of the vehicle (Okada, para. 0034: “Also, after the IG transitions into ON state, the control unit 22 a performs different operations depending on whether or not the vehicle 1 is traveling [i.e., in a drive mode or in a stationary mode as a function of a velocity of the vehicle]. That is, the detection of a tire pressure [i.e., operating the monitoring device] is desired during traveling of the vehicle 1. During traveling of the vehicle 1, the control unit 22 a thus causes the sensing unit 21 to detect a tire pressure and an inside temperature of a tire every predetermined transmission cycle and prepares a data on tire pressure based on the tire pressure and the inside temperature and transmits the data on tire pressure to the transmission unit 22 b.”);
emitting connection signals for wireless connection to an external device in the stationary mode (Okada, para. 0009: “Herein, in the vehicle-body system, in response to detecting that there is a possibility that the vehicle starts to run [i.e., external device in the stationary mode], the second control unit outputs a burst signal on RF waves and then a request signal on RF waves to each of the sensor transceivers. The burst signal causes the first reception unit of each of the sensor transceivers to transition into a state that is capable of continuously receiving RF waves. The request signal requests each of the sensor transceivers to transmit the frame. Further, in each of the sensor transceivers, (i) the second control unit sets the first reception unit to a standby state that is capable of intermittently receiving RF waves, (ii) in response to that the first reception unit receives the burst signal under the standby state, the second control unit causes the first reception unit to transition into the state capable of continuously receiving RF waves to receive the request signal, and (iii) in response to that the first reception unit receives the request signal, the second control unit transmits the frame as a response to the request signal [i.e., emitting connection signals for wireless connection to an external device].”);
prior to a change to the stationary mode, operating the monitoring device in a first intermediate mode, a passive search for wireless connection signals from the external device being performed in the first intermediate mode (Okada, para. 0010: “In this way, the sensor transceiver is caused to be under a first state capable of intermittently receiving RF waves. Further, when receiving a burst signal on RF waves from the vehicle-body system [i.e., operating the monitoring device in a first intermediate mode, passive search for wireless connection signals from the external device] under the first state, the sensor transceiver is then caused to transition into a second state capable of continuously receiving RF waves.”; para. 0043: “The transceiver 30 [i.e., external device] includes an antenna 32 and a microcomputer 33.”; para. 0044: “The antenna 32 outputs a burst signal or a request signal on RF waves to each sensor transceiver 2 while receiving a frame transmitted on RF waves from each sensor transceiver 2; the antenna 32 is arranged to be fixed to the vehicle body 5.”).
Regarding claim 13, and analogous claim 24, Okada discloses The method as recited in claim 12,
wherein the monitoring device is an air-pressure sensor for a tire-pressure vehicle parameter (Okada, para. 0002: “The present disclosure relates to a tire pressure monitoring system (hereinafter referred to as TPMS: Tire Pressure Monitoring System).”; para. 0024: “As shown in FIG. 1, the sensor transceiver 2 (i.e., each of the sensor transceivers 2) is attached one by one to each of the wheels 4 a to 4 d of the vehicle 1. The sensor transceiver 2 [i.e., the monitoring device] functions primarily as a transmitter; the transmitter detects a tire pressure of a tire [i.e., is an air- pressure sensor for a tire-pressure vehicle parameter] attached to each of the wheels 4 a to 4 d and an inside temperature of the tire while the vehicle 1 is traveling, and the transmitter then transmits a frame that stores the data of a detection signal indicating a detection result.”).
Regarding claim 14, and analogous claim 25, Okada discloses The method as recited in claim 12,
wherein the external device is a configuration device for the monitoring device (Okada, para. 0010: “In this way, the sensor transceiver is caused to be under a first state capable of intermittently receiving RF waves. Further, when receiving a burst signal on RF waves from the vehicle-body system [i.e., the external device] under the first state, the sensor transceiver [i.e., the monitoring device] is then caused to transition into a second state [i.e., a configuration device for the monitoring device] capable of continuously receiving RF waves. Upon receiving a request signal on RF waves from the vehicle-body system under the second state, the sensor transceiver transmits the data on tire pressure to the vehicle-body system. This configuration enables the tire pressure to be detected earlier.”).
Regarding claim 16, Okada discloses The method as recited in claim 12,
wherein a change from the first intermediate mode to the stationary mode takes place after a predefined time interval has elapsed, when no external device was detected during the predefined time interval (Okada, para. 0032: “It is therefore preferable that the control unit 22a employs a timeout condition. That is, if any request signal does not arrive for a predetermined period of time, the control unit 22a may release the reception unit 22c from the state capable of continuously receiving RF waves to return to the standby state where the RF signal can be intermittently received.”).
Regarding claim 17, Okada discloses The method as recited in claim 12,
wherein when the external device is detected in the first intermediate mode, a change to a second intermediate mode is implemented, and the monitoring device outputs connection signals for establishing a wireless connection to the detected external device (Okada, para. 0033: “Then, upon receiving a request signal including the ID information-item of its own, the control unit 22a performs processing for transmitting the data on tire pressure to the vehicle-body system 3 as a response to the request signal. Specifically, the control unit 22a performs as follows: receiving a detection signal on tire pressure from the sensing unit 21; performing signal processing on the detection signal while processing the detection signal as needed; storing a detection result as data on tire pressure onto the frame along with the ID information-item of each sensor transceiver 2; and transmitting the frame to the transmission unit 22b [i.e., monitoring device outputs connection signals for establishing a wireless connection to the detected external device].”).
Regarding claim 18, Okada discloses The method as recited in claim 17,
wherein when no wireless connection to the detected external device has taken place in the second intermediate mode after a predefined time interval has elapsed, a change from the second intermediate mode to the first intermediate mode is implemented (Okada, para. 0032: “It is therefore preferable that the control unit 22a employs a timeout condition. That is, if any request signal does not arrive for a predetermined period of time, the control unit 22a may release the reception unit 22c from the state capable of continuously receiving RF waves to return to the standby state where the RF signal can be intermittently received.”).
Regarding claim 19, Okada discloses The method as recited in claim 12,
wherein when an established wireless connection of the monitoring device to the external device is interrupted and/or terminated, following a predefined time interval during which no further data were transmitted between the external device and the monitoring device, a change to the stationary mode takes place (Okada, FIG. 4B; para. 0060: “In contrast, when the negative determinations are made in steps S120, S130, S140, and S150, the process proceeds to, respectively, steps S160, S170, S180, and S190. Then, in each step, it is determined whether an abnormal response is received. When an abnormal response is received [i.e., wireless connection of the monitoring device to the external device is interrupted and/or terminated], any tire pressure cannot be detected; thus, the process is ended as it is. In this case, for example, a signal indicating that the tire pressure cannot be detected may be sent to the notification apparatus 31; the notification apparatus 31 may be used to notify the user that the tire pressure cannot be detected.”; para. 0061: “When any abnormal response is received, the process proceeds to, respectively, steps S165, S175, S185, and S195. In each step, it is determined whether TIMEOUT has been made after a lapse of a predetermined period of time with no response. When an affirmative determination is made here, the process is also ended [i.e., following a predefined time interval during which no further data were transmitted between the external device and the monitoring device, a change to the stationary mode takes place]. When a negative determination is made here, the process returns to steps S120, S130, S140, and S150, respectively, and the process is repeated.”).
Regarding claim 20, Okada discloses The method as recited in claim 17,
wherein in the second intermediate mode, transmission power of the monitoring device is at least intermittently reduced when connection signals are emitted for a connection to the external device (Okada, para. 0011: “Further, before receiving a burst signal [i.e., connection signals are emitted for a connection to the external device], the sensor transceiver [i.e., monitoring device] is under a standby state capable of receiving RF waves but capable of receiving the RF waves just only intermittently [i.e., at least intermittently reduced]. The current consumption [i.e., transmission power] can thus be reduced.”).
Regarding claim 21, Okada discloses The method as recited in claim 17,
wherein in the first intermediate mode, identification data of a detected external device including a Media Access Control Identifier (MAC-ID), are stored and utilized in the second intermediate mode when the wireless connection to the external device is initiated (Okada, para. 0032: “That is, upon receiving a burst signal, the control unit 22 a causes the reception unit 22 c to be maintained in a state capable of continuously receiving RF waves until the request signal is received [i.e., when the wireless connection to the external device is initiated]. The request signal stores [i.e., are stored and utilized] a unique identification information-item (hereinafter referred to as an ID information-item) [i.e., identification data of a detected external device including a Media Access Control Identifier (MAC-ID)] of each sensor transceiver 2. More specifically, the vehicle-body system 3 outputs or transmits the request signals storing the ID information-items of the respective sensor transceivers 2 sequentially with the transmission time frames shifted therebetween. For this reason, the control unit 22 a of each sensor transceiver 2 sets the reception unit 22 c in a standby state capable of continuously receiving the RF waves until a request signal including its own ID information-item is received, and releases the standby state of the reception unit 22 c in response to that the request signal is received.”).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okada, as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of US-20190208451-A1, hereinafter “Lei”.
Regarding claim 15, Okada discloses The method as recited in claim 12,
…a change from the drive mode to the first intermediate mode being implemented at a standstill of the vehicle (Okada, para. 0030: “The control unit 22 a, which corresponds to a first control unit, causes the reception unit 22 c to be in a standby state enabling the sensor transceiver 2 to receive RF waves while the IG of the vehicle 1 is in OFF state and the vehicle 1 is thus stopped [i.e., implemented at a standstill of the vehicle]. The sensor transceiver 2 under the standby state is thereby ready to receive RF waves, which will be transmitted from the vehicle-body system 3 in response to that the IG will transition from OFF state into ON state.”), and…
Okada does not appear to explicitly disclose the following:
wherein a change from a drive mode to the first intermediate mode takes place when a drop below a first velocity threshold value occurs…
…a change from the first intermediate mode to the drive mode being implemented when a second velocity threshold value is exceeded, the first and second velocity threshold values differing from one another, and the second velocity threshold value being greater than the first velocity threshold value.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Lei teaches:
wherein a change from a drive mode to the first intermediate mode takes place when a drop below a first velocity threshold value occurs (Lei, para. 0040: “At 406, the vehicle 102 allows first and second network protocol connections. In an example, as the vehicle 102 is traveling at a speed below the threshold [i.e., when a drop below a first velocity threshold value occurs], the vehicle 102 may allow for use of connections using the first network protocol [i.e., a change from a drive mode to the first intermediate mode].”)…
…a change from the first intermediate mode to the drive mode being implemented when a second velocity threshold value is exceeded (Lei, para. 0039: “The vehicle 102 determines whether the vehicle speed exceeds a threshold speed for a first network protocol at 404. In an example, the speed provider application 222 may direct the telematics controller 202 to retrieve the threshold speed from the storage 206, and compare the threshold speed to the current vehicle speed. As one possibility, the first network protocol may be 5G, and the storage 206 may maintain a maximum vehicle speed for use of 5G. If the vehicle speed exceeds the threshold, control passes to operation 408. Otherwise, control passes to operation 406.”),
the first and second velocity threshold values differing from one another, and the second velocity threshold value being greater than the first velocity threshold value (Lei, para. 0062: “Variations on the processes 400, 500, and 600 are possible. As one possibility, the storage 206 may maintain different threshold speeds [i.e., first and second velocity threshold values differing from one another] for multiple possible network protocol that the vehicle 102 is compatible with using via the cellular tower 106. For instance, the storage 206 may maintain a maximum speed for use of 4G/LTE low frequency, and a maximum speed for use of 5G in mmWave, and comparisons for each of these speeds may be performed. In such an example, if the vehicle speed exceeds any of these thresholds, then control may pass to operation 408 to identify which protocols may not be used, and may pass to operation 410 to indicate what application specific to the disallowed protocols that may be unavailable.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention and with a reasonable likelihood of success to modify the invention disclosed by Okada, with the concept of implementing more than one vehicle speed-based thresholds that determine a mode of wireless communication, taught by Lei, in order to optimize the reliability of a wireless communication network implemented on/with a vehicle (Lei, para. 0013: “3G and 4G networking standards typically use low-frequency RF spectrum, e.g., 600 MHz ˜2.6 GHz. Such low frequency bands are suitable for vehicles in motion. Currently, these low bands have limited bandwidth, such as 10 MHz or up to 20 MHz. Due to the limited bandwidth, packet throughput is slow and may be limited to on the order of 5˜40 Mbps.”; para. 0014: “5G networks are expected to provide greater bandwidth and fast packet throughput. An aspect of 5G network communications standards is use of millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies. At vehicle speeds, such frequencies may be more subject to RF Doppler effect and rapid path loss in small cell range compared to previous technologies operating at lower radio frequencies. Thus, packet throughput for vehicle communications may be affected while a vehicle is in motion at higher speeds. As a result, there may be speeds where use of 5G connectivity may be less optimal than use of other technologies, as 5G transmission may cause lower speeds than prior technologies or cause radio noise on the cellular network.”).
Claim(s) 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okada, as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of US-20120209634-A1, hereinafter “Ling”.
Regarding claim 22, Okada discloses The method as recited in claim 12, but does not appear to explicitly disclose the following:
wherein the wireless connection is based on a Bluetooth® low-energy radio technology.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Ling teaches:
wherein the wireless connection is based on a Bluetooth® low-energy radio technology (Ling, para. 0064: “In some systems, the transceivers may be compliant with a low-cost, low-power, wireless mesh network, such as Zigbee (e.g., 868 MHz in Europe, 915 MHz in countries such as USA and Australia, and 2.4 GHz in other jurisdictions), or a short range protocol, such as Bluetooth®. The Bluetooth word mark and logos may be owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. Bluetooth may encompass the wireless specification defined by IEEE 802.15, 802.15.4 (TG4), 802.15.3 (TG3), or other standards. The standard may include multiple sub-layers including an RF layer that may be based on an antenna power range starting at about 0 dBm up to a range of about 20 dBm in the abut 2.4 GHz band and having a link range from about 10 centimeters to about 10 meters.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention and with a reasonable likelihood of success to modify the invention disclosed by Okada, with the concept of using low-energy radio technology to create a wireless connection between a monitoring device and an external device implemented on a vehicle, taught by Ling, in order to reduce the cost and energy demand of implementing a wireless communication system on a vehicle (Ling, para. 0064: “In some systems, the transceivers may be compliant with a low-cost, low-power, wireless mesh network, such as Zigbee (e.g., 868 MHz in Europe, 915 MHz in countries such as USA and Australia, and 2.4 GHz in other jurisdictions), or a short range protocol, such as Bluetooth®.”).
Additional Relevant Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US-20140095013-A1 (2014-04-03) | "A method for operating a tire pressure monitoring unit for monitoring pneumatic tires of a vehicle includes where a pressure measurement is taken at regular intervals using a pressure sensor and the pressure information is transmitted wirelessly at larger intervals by a transmitter. A control unit checks whether a pressure change exceeding a threshold value has occurred, and, if so, pressure measurements are taken at shortened intervals and the transmission activity is increased. The control unit uses a first threshold value for the pressure change in the case of a stationary vehicle and uses a second threshold value, which differs from the first threshold value, for the pressure change in the case of a moving vehicle. The control unit, by evaluating a signal of an acceleration sensor of the tire pressure monitoring unit, establishes whether the first threshold value or the second threshold value is used."
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 Leah N Miller whose telephone number is (703)756-1933. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 8:30am - 5:30pm ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abby Flynn can be reached at (571) 272-9855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/L.N.M./Examiner, Art Unit 3663 /ABBY J FLYNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3663
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