DETAILED ACTION
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 § 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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suwa (US 20240239260) in view of Salter (US 20220185170)
Regarding claim 1, Suwa teaches a system comprising: one or more perception sensor devices configured to obtain environmental condition information for an environment near a vehicle; (Suwa [0040] “The surrounding environment information acquisition unit 20 acquires environment information (hereinafter referred to also as “surrounding environment information”) indicating a surrounding environment around an illumination region formed by the headlight device 100”.) and a vehicle control system having one or more processors configured to control brightness or wavelength characteristics for one (Suwa [0042] “The control unit 30 controls the spectral distribution of each of the first, second, third and fourth LEDs 11, 12, 13 and 14 (e.g., spectral distributions S11, S12, S13 and S14 shown in FIG. 7 which will be explained later) based on the surrounding environment information acquired by the surrounding environment information acquisition unit 20”.)
Suwa does not specifically teach a vehicle control system having one or more processors configured to control brightness or wavelength characteristics for one or more exterior lights of the vehicle based on the environmental condition information.
However, Salter discloses a system for a motor vehicle including a plurality of lights to illuminate an area adjacent the motor vehicle, a plurality of sensors, and a controller configured to selectively activate and deactivate the lights based on signals from the sensors. The system teaches a vehicle control system having one or more processors configured to control brightness or wavelength characteristics for one or more exterior lights of the vehicle based on the environmental condition information. (Salter [0044] “Another aspect of this disclosure pertains to adjusting the intensity of the light emitted by the exterior lighting system 12. In particular, the controller 48 is configured to command each of the lights within the first, second, and third sets 14, 16, 18 to adjust their intensity, including brightness”.)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the headlight device disclosed in Suwa with the exterior lighting system taught in Salter with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have improved the user or driving experience by adjusting the light intensity or brightness to an ideal level based on the environment and situation. (Suwa para [0007]).
Regarding claim 2, Suwa as modified by Salter teaches the system of claim 1, wherein: the exterior lights include an array of multi-wavelength light emitters; and each multi-wavelength light emitter has adjustable brightness or wavelength characteristics. (Suwa [0043] “the headlight control module 31 generates a control signal for controlling the output power (i.e., intensity) of light L11, L12, L13, L14 emitted from each of the first, second, third and fourth LEDs 11, 12, 13 and 14. The headlight control module 31 outputs the generated control signal to the light source control unit 32. As above, the headlight control module 31 is a control signal generation unit that generates the control signal”.)
Regarding claim 3, Suwa as modified by Salter teaches the system of claim 2, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to control two or more subsets of the array of multi-wavelength light emitters to emit light with different brightness or wavelength characteristics from one another. (Suwa [0043] “the headlight control module 31 generates a control signal for controlling the output power (i.e., intensity) of light L11, L12, L13, L14 emitted from each of the first, second, third and fourth LEDs 11, 12, 13 and 14. The headlight control module 31 outputs the generated control signal to the light source control unit 32. As above, the headlight control module 31 is a control signal generation unit that generates the control signal”.)
Regarding claim 4, Suwa as modified by Salter teaches the system of claim 2, wherein the array of multi-wavelength light emitters is located on at least one of a rear, front, corner, side, or bottom of the vehicle. (Suwa [0040] “The surrounding environment information acquisition unit 20 acquires information for quantitatively evaluating a glare amount representing the level of the glare given to the driver of the vehicle provided with the headlight device 100 when the illuminating light L1 is emitted from the headlight device 100 as the surrounding environment information”.)
Regarding claim 5, Suwa as modified by Salter teaches the system of claim 4, wherein: the array of multi-wavelength light emitters is located on the front of the vehicle; and the one or more processors are further configured to control multiple subsets of the array of multi-wavelength light emitters to emit light with different brightness or wavelength characteristics at different longitudinal distances in front of the vehicle. (Salter [0031] “the exterior lighting system 12 includes a first set of lights 14 configured to illuminate a portion of the area A on the driver side of the vehicle 10, a second set of lights 16 configured to illuminate a portion of the area A on the passenger side of the vehicle 10, and a third set of lights 18 configured to illuminate a portion of the area A adjacent a rear of the vehicle 10”.)
Regarding claim 6, Suwa as modified by Salter teaches the system of claim 4, wherein: the array of multi-wavelength light emitters is located on the side of the vehicle; and the one or more processors are further configured to control a subset of the array of multi-wavelength light sources to emit a light trail extending away from the side of the vehicle, provide ambient lighting, or display an advertisement on a ground surface near the vehicle. (Salter [0031] “the exterior lighting system 12 includes a first set of lights 14 configured to illuminate a portion of the area A on the driver side of the vehicle 10, a second set of lights 16 configured to illuminate a portion of the area A on the passenger side of the vehicle 10, and a third set of lights 18 configured to illuminate a portion of the area A adjacent a rear of the vehicle 10”.)
Regarding claim 7, Suwa as modified by Salter teaches the system of claim 4, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to control a subset of the array of multi-wavelength light emitters to emit a light strip on a surface near the vehicle in response to the vehicle being placed in drive or reverse, the light strip configured to provide a warning to nearby pedestrians, vehicles, or other objects that the vehicle is prepared to move. (Salter [0031] “the exterior lighting system 12 includes a first set of lights 14 configured to illuminate a portion of the area A on the driver side of the vehicle 10, a second set of lights 16 configured to illuminate a portion of the area A on the passenger side of the vehicle 10, and a third set of lights 18 configured to illuminate a portion of the area A adjacent a rear of the vehicle 10”.)
Regarding claim 8, Suwa as modified by Salter teaches the system of claim 2, wherein the multi-wavelength light emitters are configured to emit light within at least two of a visible light spectrum, an ultraviolet light spectrum, or an infrared light spectrum. (Suwa [0035] “The light respectively emitted from the first, second, third and fourth LEDs 11, 12, 13 and 14 is incident upon an incidence surface 15a of the light guide member 15 and thereafter repeats undergoing total reflection inside the light guide member 15 and thereby turns into uniform white light. The white light is emitted from an emission surface 15b. Accordingly, the illuminating light L1 emitted from the headlight device 100 can be emitted in the forward direction as uniform white light with no color irregularity”.)
Regarding claim 9, Suwa as modified by Salter teaches the system of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to control at least a subset of the multi-wavelength light emitters to emit ultraviolet light or infrared light to communicate information to nearby vehicles regarding at least one of a status of the vehicle, an upcoming driving maneuver of the vehicle, or an obstacle in a roadway. (Salter 0018] “n a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, the controller is configured to adjust the intensity of the lights in locations corresponding to no detected motion such that the lights are either deactivated or emit ambient light”. See also Salter [0044] “Another aspect of this disclosure pertains to adjusting the intensity of the light emitted by the exterior lighting system 12. In particular, the controller 48 is configured to command each of the lights within the first, second, and third sets 14, 16, 18 to adjust their intensity, including brightness, in proportion to the speed of detected motion”.)
Regarding claim 10, Suwa as modified by Salter teaches the system of claim 2, wherein each multi-wavelength light emitter is a light emitting diode. (Salter [0032] “The first set of lights 14 includes a first array of lights 20 arranged adjacent a roof rack 22 of the vehicle 10. The first array of lights 20 may include a plurality of spaced-apart lights, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), mounted along a relatively flat, outer side of a rail of the roof rack 22. Each light within the first array of lights 20 is individually controllable”.)
Regarding claim 11, Suwa as modified by Salter teaches the system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: obtain an objective for the vehicle, including a driving objective from an autonomous- or semi-autonomous-driving system or a user interaction objective from one or more data platforms; and control the brightness or wavelength characteristics for the one or more exterior lights based on the environmental condition information and the objective. (Salter [0045] “In FIG. 4, a group of recognized users 58 are tailgating within the area A on a driver side of the vehicle 10 with the first set of lights 14 activated. The controller 48 is configured to activate lights corresponding to locations of recognized users. In a particular example, the controller 48 can track the location(s) of recognized users as they move within the area A and illuminate those locations to provide light where it is needed by the recognized users”.)
Regarding claim 12, Suwa as modified by Salter teaches the system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: obtain feedback data from at least one of the one or more perception sensor devices, the feedback data indicating a perception quality of recent data collections; and control the brightness or wavelength characteristics for the one or more exterior lights based on the environmental condition information and the feedback data. (Salter [0045] “. The controller 48 is configured to activate lights corresponding to locations of recognized users. In a particular example, the controller 48 can track the location(s) of recognized users as they move within the area A and illuminate those locations to provide light where it is needed by the recognized users”.)
Regarding claim 13, Suwa as modified by Salter teaches the system of claim 1, wherein the environmental condition information includes at least one of ambient light information, weather condition information, road surface conditions, or information regarding nearby objects. (Suwa [0040] “The surrounding environment information includes weather information indicating the weather, for example. The weather information includes at least one of rain, snow and fog. The surrounding environment information may include not only the weather information but also brightness information indicating the brightness of the surrounding environment around the illumination region formed by the headlight device 100. Further, the surrounding environment information may include traffic information indicating the volume of traffic of other vehicles”.)
Regarding claim 14, Suwa as modified by Salter teaches the system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: in response to detecting a pedestrian crossing in front of the vehicle and an autonomous-driving subsystem determining to not proceed driving, control the one or more exterior lights to emit a light strip indicating that the vehicle notices the pedestrian and will not proceed; (Salter [0037] “Each of the sensors 42A-42E, 44A, 44B, 46A-46D is configured to generate signals corresponding to detected motion, for example, within a respective sensing area. The sensing areas covered by the sensors 42A-42E, 44A, 44B, 46A-46D may overlap. A controller 48 is configured to correlate the sensing areas to locations that can be illuminated by the first, second, and third sets of lights 14, 16, 18”. See also Salter [0040] “The controller 48 is configured to selectively activate and deactivate each of the lights within the first, second, and third set of lights 14, 16, 18. Further, the controller 48 is configured to receive information from each of the sensors 42A-42E, 44A, 44B, 46A-46D, analyze that information, and to issue one or more commands based on that information. The controller 48 includes electronics, software, or both, to perform the necessary control functions for operating the vehicle 10 and executing various functions of the exterior lighting system 12”.) and in response to detecting the pedestrian has finished crossing in front of the vehicle and the autonomous-driving subsystem determining to proceed driving, control the one or more exterior lights to emit another light strip indicating that the vehicle will proceed driving. (Salter [0040] “The controller 48 is configured to selectively activate and deactivate each of the lights within the first, second, and third set of lights 14, 16, 18. Further, the controller 48 is configured to receive information from each of the sensors 42A-42E, 44A, 44B, 46A-46D, analyze that information, and to issue one or more commands based on that information”.)
Regarding claims 15-19, the claims are directed toward a vehicle control system that is configured to the system as claimed in claims 1-7. The cited portions of Suwa & Salter used in the rejection of claims 1-7 disclose where the system performs the claimed method similar to the vehicle control system as cited in claims 15-19. Therefore claims 15-19 are rejected under the same rational as claims 1-7.
Regarding claim 20, the claim is directed toward a computer readable storage medium that is configured to the system as claimed in claim 1. The cited portions of Suwa & Salter used in the rejection of claim 1 disclose where the computer readable storage medium performs the claimed method similar to the system as cited in claim 20. Therefore claim 20 is rejected under the same rational as claim 1.
Prior Art
The prior art made of record not relied upon is pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. See the PTO-892 regarding references that are directed toward enhanced human interface lighting for autonomous machines.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MIKKO OKECHUKWU OBIOHA whose telephone number is (313)446-6532. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8-5.
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/MIKKO OKECHUKWU OBIOHA/Examiner, Art Unit 3661B
/PETER D NOLAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3661