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 1-5, 7-12, 14-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being unpatentable by Shuman (US 20220060957).
Regarding claim 1, Shuman teaches, an electronic device (Paragraph 17: a mobile device (e.g., a mobile telephone or so-called “smart phone” or mobile device a wearable device, an extended reality device (e.g., a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, or a mixed reality (MR) device), a personal computer, a laptop computer, a server computer, or other device) comprising:
an emergency call controller configured to receive an emergency call service request (Paragraph 40: one or more emergency functions (e.g., emergency-call services) and Paragraph 82: conducting emergency-calling (eCall) functions, eCall for making emergency calls in the event of a car accident or other emergency. For instance, eCall can include a service that automatically dials an emergency number (e.g., “9-1-1” in the United States, “1-1-2” in Europe, etc.) in the event of a vehicle accident and communicates a location of the vehicle to the emergency services, such as a police department, fire department, etc.);
a controller configured to operate the electronic device in one of a normal mode (Paragraph 40, 91, 108) and
an emergency control mode based on the emergency call service request (Paragraph 162: transitioning the emergency services (e.g., e Call) from the vehicle to the user device can allow the emergency services to continue using the user device even in high temperature situations (e.g., in a hot environment, when an accident occurs, among other situations). For instance, eCall is an important safety feature and it can be critical to provide uninterrupted eCall support. In certain situations (e.g., in extreme heat situations, when a serious accident occurs, and/or other situations when the power management system is shut down), a modem used for emergency services can be shut down and the eCall service will not be available. Transitioning the eCall service and/or other emergency services from the communication unit of the vehicle to the communication unit of the user phone can provide the necessary redundancy so that the emergency services can continue);
a temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of a measurement target (Paragraph 17: one or more sensors, which can be used for determining a location of the apparatuses, a state of the apparatuses (e.g., a temperature, 8-9, 11: The at least one processor is configured to: obtain a temperature associated with a vehicle); and
at least one memory that stores temperature information about the temperature of the measurement target, wherein the controller is configured to, when the electronic device is operated in the emergency control mode (Paragraph 40, 165: temperature thresholds in addition to those shown in FIG. 6 can be used to determine when to perform certain operations. For instance, one or more additional temperature thresholds can be associated with one or more thermal levels between the thermal level 616 and the thermal level 618. In one illustrative example, the thermal level 616 can be used as a temperature threshold to determine when to reduce V2X functionality and/or to stop using certain systems of the vehicle (e.g., one or more systems associated with the infotainment system 454, such as one or more displays, a navigation system, and/or other systems). An additional temperature threshold (not shown in FIG. 6) can be associated with a thermal level between the thermal level 616 and the thermal level 618. The additional temperature threshold can be used to trigger a transition of the V2X functionality from the communication unit of the vehicle to the communication unit of the user device),
perform a temperature control operation based on the temperature information (Paragraph 80: perform certain functions based on detecting a certain temperature level, such as causing a cooling system (e.g., one or more fans, an air conditioning system, etc.) to cool certain components of the vehicle computing system).
Regarding claim 2, Shuman teaches, wherein the temperature control operation is performed when the temperature of the measurement target is equal to or greater than a reference temperature (Paragraph 80, 110).
Regarding claim 3, Shuman teaches, wherein the temperature control operation includes controlling a temperature of the electronic device by operating the electronic device in a limiting control mode in which operation of the electronic device is limited compared to operation of the electronic device in a normal control mode (Paragraph 161-162, 134).
Regarding claim 4, Shuman teaches, wherein the electronic device comprises a memory that stores data related to a specific operation, wherein, in the limiting control mode, the controller reduces a frequency of accessing the memory that stores data related to a specific operation (Paragraph 108: continuing to perform the functions that are less of a priority, a vehicle communication unit may not be able to perform the higher priority functions due to extreme temperatures preventing performance all of the functions. In such cases, the modem can deprioritize certain lower-priority functions, such as wireless access functions for the user device (e.g., using the user SIM and modem), V2X functions, among others. In one example, a vehicle communication unit can stop performing wireless network access functions and/or V2X functions (e.g., performed using the user SIM), and can continue performing emergency services such as eCall) and Paragraph 39: utilize one or more temperature thresholds (also referred to as thermal levels) in order to perform various operations, such as reducing certain functionalities).
Regarding claim 5, Shuman teaches, wherein, in the limiting control mode, the controller reduces a maximum operating frequency of the controller (Paragraph 94: based on a temperature of the vehicle computing system 450 (or component thereof) exceeding or approaching one or more thermal levels. Transitioning the one or more functionalities can reduce the computational load on the vehicle 404, helping to reduce the temperature of the components) and Paragraph 117, 119).
Regarding claim 7, Shuman teaches, wherein the at least one memory stores data related to a specific operation, the data being used by to perform the specific operation, wherein the controller includes a plurality of sub-controllers related to the specific operation, and in the limiting control mode, the controller reduces a number of sub-controllers that are able to access the data related to the specific operation stored in the at least one memory (Paragraph 40: reduce functionality of different components and functions).
Regarding claim 8, see claim 1 rejection.
Regarding claim 9, see claims 1 and 2 rejections.
Regarding claim 10, see claim 3 rejections.
Regarding claim 11, see claim 4 rejections.
Regarding claim 12, see claim 5 rejections.
Regarding claim 14, see claim 7 rejections.
Regarding claim 15, see claim 1 rejection.
Regarding claim 16, see claims 1 and 2 rejections.
Regarding claim 17, see claim 3 rejections.
Regarding claim 18, see claim 4 rejections.
Regarding claim 19, see claim 5 rejections.
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 6, 13, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shuman (US 20220060957) in view of Yasuda (US 20180090980).
Regarding claim 6, Shuman teaches, limiting control mode.
Shuman does not teach wherein, in the limiting control mode, the controller reduces a voltage value or a current value supplied to the controller.
Yasuda teaches the limiting control mode, the controller reduces a voltage value or a current value supplied to the controller (in a mobile, Paragraph 100: when the temperature of the battery 41 detected by the temperature sensor 42 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the controller 30 reduces the supply current It from 800 mA set upon start of charging to 200 mA).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art to modify Shuman with Yasuda in order to enhance the system capabilities and increase its life time.
Regarding claim 13, see claim 6 rejections.
Regarding claim 20, see claim 6 rejections.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARIA EL-ZOOBI whose telephone number is (571)270-3434. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7-4.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Carolyn Edward can be reached at (571)270-7136. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARIA EL-ZOOBI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2692
/CAROLYN R EDWARDS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2692