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 .
Response to Amendment and Arguments
The amendment filed 10/1/2025 has been entered. Claims 1-20 remain pending in the application.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejection(s) under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of US20150096733A1 Kakade et al ("Kakade").
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-4, 10-11, 14, 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US20070131782A1 Ziehr et al ("Ziehr") in view of US20150096733A1 Kakade et al ("Kakade") and US20010020777A1 Johnson et al ("Johnson").
As per claims 1, 10, and 19, Ziehr teaches the limitations of the systems and method:
A heating, ventilation and air conditioning system comprising: a location sensor for detecting a current time of day, a vehicle location and a vehicle orientation; a light sensor for detecting a light intensity; a processor for calculating a sun position with respect to the vehicle location and the vehicle orientation, determining a solar heat gain location in response to the sun position and a vehicle occupant position, and generating a control signal indicative of the solar heat gain location; (Ziehr at least the abstract, [0005-0006]: “position of the sun relative to the current location and heading of the vehicle…obtaining location data for the vehicle…obtaining solar intensity data from an onboard solar sensor; obtaining vehicle configuration data; and normalizing the solar intensity data based on the sun correction data and the vehicle configuration data, to generate at least one solar load value for the vehicle”, [0045]: “adjusts the zoned operation of the HVAC system in response to the individual positional solar load values … influence one or more functions of the HVAC system, including, without limitation: fan speed; output air temperature; airflow mode (e.g., upper vents, lower vents, defrost); selection of fresh versus recirculating air”)
Ziehr does not disclose:
determining a solar heat gain location on a vehicle occupant by employing a ray tracing method in response to the sun position, a vehicle cabin geometry, a vehicle occupant position, and the occupancy state of the seat being indicative of the vehicle occupant within the seat, the seat recline angle and the seat position, and generating a control signal indicative of the solar heat gain location; and a vent controller for positioning an air conditioning vent in response to the control signal such that an air conditioning airflow is directed towards the solar heat gain location.
Kakade teaches the aforementioned limitation (Kakade at least [0024]: "the seats could be brought forwards or backward, raised or lowered. An angle of the seat back relative to the seat bottom may also be variable. The seats could be adjusted manually or electronically via a power seat system (not illustrated). In one embodiment, for example, the position of the various components of the seat may be tracked by the power seat system. In other embodiments, for example, position sensors or cameras could track the position of the vehicle seats. The position of the seats could be reported to the controller 140 directly, or stored in the memory", FIG. 8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ziehr with the aforementioned limitations taught by Kakade with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to combine these references in order to accurately control the temperature of a vehicle interior (Kakade [0002]).
Ziehr does not disclose:
determining a solar heat gain location on a vehicle occupant in response to a vehicle occupant position and seat occupancy
Johnson teaches the aforementioned limitation (Johnson at least [0013]: “a climate control system tailored to each occupant, for example, or the system can be turned off for certain seat locations if there are no occupants present at those locations”, abstract: “occupant position sensing”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ziehr with the aforementioned limitations taught by Johnson with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to combine these references in order to improve a vehicle air conditioning system (Johnson [0013]).
Regarding claim 2, Ziehr in combination with the other references teaches the invention as described above. Ziehr additionally teaches:
the vent controller is further configured to control a flow rate of the air conditioning airflow in response to the light intensity. (Ziehr at least [0045])
Regarding claim 3, Ziehr in combination with the other references teaches the invention as described above. Ziehr additionally teaches:
the vehicle orientation is determined in response to the vehicle location and a prior vehicle location. (Ziehr at least [0006]: “normalizing the solar intensity data based on the sun correction data”) *Examiner’s note: normalizing time based data uses at least an average of a distribution of data over time which could include at least the current and prior vehicle location data.
Regarding claim 4, Ziehr in combination with the other references teaches the invention as described above. Ziehr additionally teaches:
the sun position is determined in response to a current time of day, a current date and the vehicle location. (Ziehr at least [0006])
Regarding claims 11 and 20, Ziehr in combination with the other references teaches the invention as described above. Ziehr additionally teaches:
detecting a sunlight intensity, determining a solar heat load at the solar heat gain location and controlling a flow rate of the airflow and a temperature of the airflow in response to the solar heat load. (Ziehr at least [0028], [0030], [0045])
Regarding claim 14, Ziehr in combination with the other references teaches the invention as described above. Ziehr additionally teaches:
the vehicle location is determined in response to a current data from a global positioning system and wherein the vehicle orientation is determined in response to the current data and a previous data from the global positioning system. (Ziehr at least the abstract, [0006])
Regarding claim 18, Ziehr in combination with the other references teaches the invention as described above. Ziehr additionally teaches:
the solar heat gain location is defined by a position within a coordinate system centered within the vehicle cabin. (Ziehr at least FIG. 1, [0019]) *Examiner’s note: sun intensities and solar heat locations are depicted in FIG. 1 in azimuth angles around the cabin, with granularity of the locations being further refined in quadrants of the seat positions.
Claim(s) 5-9, 12-13, 15-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US20070131782A1 Ziehr et al ("Ziehr") in view of US20150096733A1 Kakade et al ("Kakade") and US20010020777A1 Johnson et al ("Johnson") and US20240424863A1 Bechtel et al ("Bechtel").
Regarding claim 5, Ziehr in combination with the other references teaches the invention as described above. Ziehr additionally teaches:
the vehicle orientation is determined in response to the light intensity and the sun position. (Ziehr at least [0019], FIG. 1)
Ziehr does not disclose:
the light sensor is a camera having a known field of view with respect to the vehicle orientation
Bechtel teaches the aforementioned limitation (Bechtel at least FIGs. 4A-4E).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ziehr with the aforementioned limitations taught by Bechtel with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to combine these references in order to increase driver comfort (Bechtel [0005]).
Regarding claim 6, Ziehr in combination with the other references teaches the invention as described above. Ziehr additionally teaches:
the air conditioning airflow has a flow rate determined in response to the light intensity, a vehicle cabin temperature. (Ziehr at least FIG. 6, 606)
Ziehr does not disclose:
the air conditioning airflow has a flow rate determined in response to the light intensity, a vehicle cabin temperature and a user preference.
Bechtel teaches the aforementioned limitation (Bechtel at least [0035]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ziehr with the aforementioned limitations taught by Bechtel with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to combine these reference is the same as above in claim 5.
Regarding claim 7, Ziehr in combination with the other references teaches the invention as described above. Ziehr does not disclose:
a user interface and wherein the sun position is determined in response to a user input requesting an activation of an automatic air conditioning vent directional control algorithm.
Bechtel teaches the aforementioned limitation (Bechtel at least [0035], FIG. 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ziehr with the aforementioned limitations taught by Bechtel with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to combine these reference is the same as above in claim 5.
Regarding claim 8, Ziehr in combination with the other references teaches the invention as described above. Ziehr does not disclose:
determine a solar heat load at the solar heat gain location in response to the light intensity and a vehicle glass light transmission percentage.
Bechtel teaches the aforementioned limitation (Bechtel at least [0042]). *Examiner’s note: although Bechtel teaches the glass light transmission as a lowered transmission of 200 watts per square meter going through tinted glass as opposed to the full 500 watts per square meter of sunlight hitting the glass exterior, one of ordinary skill in the art could easily translate such a mathematical relationship into a percentage.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ziehr with the aforementioned limitations taught by Bechtel with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to combine these reference is the same as above in claim 5.
Regarding claims 9 and 15, Ziehr in combination with the other references teaches the invention as described above. Ziehr does not disclose:
wherein the air conditioning vent comprises one or more electrically actuated vent flaps and deflector vanes, and wherein the vent controller positions the air conditioning vent by sending control signals to motors coupled to said vent flaps and deflector vanes
Bechtel teaches the aforementioned limitation (Bechtel at least [0034]: “vents 42 may have louvers 62 that are movable in an upward and downward position as well as in a rightward or leftward direction as illustrated by arrows 64A, 64B, respectively. That is, the actuator 60 may move the louvers 62 into various positions including a closed position as illustrated in FIG. 1C. By opening and closing the louvers 62, directing the louvers 62, controlling the fan speed, controlling the air temperature within the ducts 38, occupant comfort can be controlled precisely. Of course, multiple actuators 60 and multiple vents 42 may be located at various positions around the occupants 52.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ziehr with the aforementioned limitations taught by Bechtel with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to combine these reference is the same as above in claim 5.
Regarding claim 12, Ziehr in combination with the other references teaches the invention as described above. Ziehr does not disclose:
the control signal is generated in response to an air conditioning control mode being set to an automatic mode.
Bechtel teaches the aforementioned limitation (Bechtel at least [0037], FIG. 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ziehr with the aforementioned limitations taught by Bechtel with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to combine these reference is the same as above in claim 5.
Regarding claim 13, Ziehr in combination with the other references teaches the invention as described above. Ziehr does not disclose:
the air conditioning vent is positioned by controlling a position of at least one vent flap and at least one deflector vane.
Bechtel teaches the aforementioned limitation (Bechtel at least FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C, [0029]: " the air conditioning vent is positioned by controlling a position of at least one vent flap and at least one deflector vane."). *Examiner’s note: here the vent flap and deflector vane are embodied as vents which can be controlled in at least 3 directions.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ziehr with the aforementioned limitations taught by Bechtel with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to combine these reference is the same as above in claim 5.
Regarding claim 16, Ziehr in combination with the other references teaches the invention as described above. Ziehr does not disclose:
detecting a first light intensity by a first vehicle camera having a first field of view and a second light intensity by a second vehicle camera having a second field of view and wherein the sun position is determined in response to the first light intensity being greater than the second light intensity.
Bechtel teaches the aforementioned limitation (Bechtel at least FIG. 4C, [0020]: "sun/shade lines", [0036], [0038], [0032]: “multiple cameras”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ziehr with the aforementioned limitations taught by Bechtel with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to combine these reference is the same as above in claim 5.
Regarding claim 17, Ziehr in combination with the other references teaches the invention as described above. Ziehr additionally teaches: estimating a solar heat load at the solar heat gain location and controlling a flow rate of the airflow and a temperature of the airflow in response to the solar heat load (Ziehr at least the abstract, [0045]). Ziehr does not disclose:
controlling a flow rate of the airflow and a temperature of the airflow in response to the solar heat load and a user preference.
Bechtel teaches the aforementioned limitation (Bechtel at least [0037]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ziehr with the aforementioned limitations taught by Bechtel with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to combine these reference is the same as above in claim 5.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. 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 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 OLIVER TAN whose telephone number is (703)756-4728. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-7.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Navid Mehdizadeh can be reached at (571) 272-7691. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/O.T./Examiner, Art Unit 3669
/NAVID Z. MEHDIZADEH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3669
Prosecution Insights