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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1-3, 5 and 7-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mannheim Astete et al. (US 9,365,161).
As to claim 1, Mannheim Astete discloses a method for controlling variable opacity glazing (89) for a motor vehicle, at least a portion of the glazing (89) comprising a plurality of slates (24), the level of opacity of each slate being controlled individually so as to change between a minimum value and a maximum value, the plurality of slates (24) being arranged by serial number i increasing in a first direction, the method comprising: increasing the opacity of the glazing, wherein the level of opacity of each slate is increased incrementally with time, the increments being initiated slate after slate according to the increasing or decreasing serial numbers i thereof, with a time lag between each slate; and/or decreasing the opacity of the glazing, wherein the level of opacity of each slate is decreased incrementally with time, the decrements being initiated slate after slate according to the increasing or decreasing serial numbers i thereof, with a time lag between each slate. See column 11, lines 23-29.
As to claim 2, Mannheim Astete discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Mannheim Astete further discloses in column 11, line 33, a user interface (19) to the controlling means (17). This implies a step of detecting a user command to change the opacity of the glazing.
As to claim 3, Mannheim Astete discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 2. Mannheim Astete further discloses in column 11, lines 33-35, the user interface (19) to the controlling means (17) can allow the user to program any desired sequence. Therefore, the controlling means (17) determines a control orientation either in the first direction or in the second direction, opposite to the first direction, based on user programming, to control the sequence in which the slates have their opacity either increased or decreased.
As to claim 5, Mannheim Astete discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Mannheim Astete further discloses in column 11, lines 33-35, the user interface (19) to the controlling means (17) can allow the user to program how each slate is switched. Therefore, the increasing or decreasing functions of time of the opacity of the slates may be linear or non-linear based on user programming.
As to claim 7, Mannheim Astete discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Mannheim Astete further discloses in column 11, lines 23-25, that to emulate a traditional blind, the slates (24) are switched one at a time, from end to end. Therefore, a second order causes a phase of implementation of the method applied to the whole of the glazing.
As to claim 8, Mannheim Astete discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Mannheim Astete further discloses a user interface (19), which is a software element implementing the method, and a controlling means (17), which is a programmable logic controller (column 11, lines 15-16) and is therefore a hardware element implementing the method.
As to claim 9, Mannheim Astete discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 8. Mannheim Astete further discloses in figure 5, a motor vehicle equipped with a glazing device (89).
As to claim 10, Mannheim Astete discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Mannheim Astete further discloses a user interface (19), which is a computer program product comprising program code instructions recorded on a computer readable medium (e.g. flash memory) for implementing the method steps. Mannheim Astete further discloses a controlling means (17) (programmable logic controller), which is a computer on which the user interface 19 (program code instructions) is operating.
As to claim 11, Mannheim Astete discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Furthermore, the controlling means (17) would inherently include a data recording medium (e.g. flash memory) on which is recorded a computer program comprising program code instructions for the user interface (19), in order to operate the user interface (19).
As to claim 12, Mannheim Astete discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 10. Furthermore, the data medium (e.g. flash memory) would inherently send a signal to the programmable logic controller, wherein the signal comprises the program code instructions of the user interface 19.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mannheim Astete et al. (US 9,365,161).
As to claim 4, Mannheim Astete discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 3, but does not disclose detecting a direction of control indicated by a location of pressing. However, Mannheim Astete states in column 11, lines 33-35, that the user interface (19) to the controlling means (17) can allow the user to program any desired sequence. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mannheim Astete by detecting a direction of control indicated by a location of pressing (such as providing different buttons on a touchscreen), in order to allow the user to control the switching sequence.
As to claim 6, Mannheim Astete discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1, but does not disclose automatic control of the glazing using data from a set of sensors. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mannheim Astete by providing automatic control of the glazing using data from a set of sensors in order to control the amount of light inside the vehicle based on the amount of ambient light (e.g. sunlight).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to David Chung whose telephone number is (571)272-2288. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm.
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/DAVID Y CHUNG/Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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