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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention II, corresponding to claims 11-15 and newly added claims 21-26, in reply filed on June 15, 2026 is acknowledged. Claims 1-10 and 16-20 are withdrawn from further consideration.
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.
Claims 11, 13, 15, 21 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wendel (US 2021/0034067 A1).
Regarding claim 11, Wendel discloses a child monitoring system (see at least Figures 8-9 | [0062] note a notification may be played to indicate that a trip will not start until the child is placed in an appropriate seat, such as in a middle seat, in an appropriate restraint, such as a booster or a child’s car seat, and that the child is properly buckled into the seat), comprising:
one or more input devices to identify a plurality of fiducial markers (see at least Figures 8-9, items 850 and 860 | [0056] note cameras are used to determine the state of the vehicle | [0059] note markers may be placed within the vehicle in order to determine or assist in determining the state of the vehicle, such as circles 850 on the seat back 810 and seat base 812 of a first seat 802, and/or zig-zags 860 on the seat back 820 and seat base 822 of a second seat 804 | [0060] note markers on the seatbelt); and
one or more processors (see at least [0005] note one or more processors are configured to receive and process images of the interior of a vehicle captured by at least one camera) to:
determine, using the plurality of fiducial markers, one or more position values, wherein the one or more position values include at least one of: a child head position, a buckle position, and a harness tightness (see at least [0058] note determining whether or not the passenger is wearing their seatbelt and if they are sitting properly in their seat | [0061] note if markers located on a seatbelt are not visible in front of an occupied seat, it is likely that the passenger occupying that seat is not wearing his or her seatbelt | [0062] note determining whether or not the child is properly buckled into the seat, booster or child’s car seat | [0072-0073] note the markers can determine the passenger is under five feet tall because of marker 956 located adjacent their shoulder/head); and
communicate an alert to a separate device indicating that an adjustment of at least one of the one or more position values is required (see at least [0062] note the concierge and/or account holder is notified | [0079] note the account holder/parent may be notified via their client device | claims 4-6).
Regarding claim 13, Wendel discloses wherein the one or more input devices comprises a camera device (see at least [0056] | [0066-0067]).
Regarding claim 15, Wendel discloses wherein the alert is one or more of an audible alert and a visual alert (see at least [0062] | claim 6).
Regarding claim 21, Wendel discloses wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the one or more position values based on relative positions between at least two of the plurality of fiducial markers (see at least Figure 9 | [0072] note a classifier or other vision algorithms may be used to detect the edge of a passenger’s shoulder and compare that location to known seatbelt marker positions as well as the relative position of those seatbelt marker positions with respect to the seat in the image, and in addition it may detect the locations of different body features and compare the locations of those features to where the seatbelt marker or makers are positioned | [0073] note the location of marker 956 on the seatbelt 830 and relative to the other markers 950 of the seatbelt as well as to the seat 810 may be used to determine that passenger 902 is under five feet tall).
Regarding claim 26, Wendel discloses where the plurality of fiducial markers are associated with one or more selected from: a back portion of a car seat, a head rest of the car seat, an inner headrest of the car seat, a shoulder strap, a chest clip, and a crotch belt (see at least Figures 8-9 | [0059-0060] | [0073]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 12, 14, 24 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wendel (US 2021/0034067 A1) in view of Appukutty (US 9,994,150 B2).
Regarding claim 12, Wendel does not specifically disclose wherein the one or more processors are further configured to provide a graphic overlay to guide the adjustment of the at least one of the one or more position values.
It is known for a notification to provide various types of information. For example, Appukutty teaches a system wherein the one or more processors are further configured to provide a graphic overlay to guide the adjustment of the at least one of the one or more position values (see at least Figures 6A-6D | col. 3, lines 29-39, note inputs used to determine position values | col. 4, lines 59-65, note displayed until the alarm condition is removed | col. 10, lines 46-67, note sensors | col. 14, lines 25-32, note the VCS 400 may communicate notifications generated by the child seat monitoring module 12 to the user via the display 419 and/or the instrument panel 414, for example, by displaying the icons 52-58 as one of the vehicle indicators or by displaying the image captured by the in-vehicle camera 308 to alert the vehicle operator | col. 18, lines 26-33 | col. 19, lines 15-29 | col. 21, lines 1-21).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features of Appukutty into Wendel. This provides Wendel’s concierge and/or account holder with feedback as to the correct way to properly buckle the child within the booster/car seat, thus improving safety.
Regarding claim 14, Wendel in view of Appukutty teach wherein the one or more input devices comprises a car seat buckle (see at least col. 3, lines 32-33 of Appukutty).
Regarding claim 24, Wendel discloses wherein a harness position is determined based on a position of a fiducial marker associated with a harness belt relative to at least one other fiducial marker (see at least [0062] note determining whether or not a child is properly buckled into the seat, and further note that a child’s car seat has a harness and clip/buckles | [0060] note the seatbelt and seats include fiducial markers | [0061] note the fiducial markers on the seat are used to determine if the seat is occupied, and the fiducial markers on the seatbelt are used to determine that the fiducial markers on a seatbelt are not visible in front of an occupied seat, then the passenger is not wearing their seatbelt | [0068]).
However, Wendel does not specifically disclose the buckle position and a chest clip.
It is known to monitor a child monitoring system in different ways. For example, Appukutty teaches a system that monitors the buckle position and a chest clip (see at least Figure 2, items 14a, 14b and 16a | col. 7, lines 11-32, note proximity sensors, infrared sensors, camera, magnetic sensor, etc., and further note that Appukutty’s infrared sensor or camera can be used to detect an IR-reflective material, see [0059] of Wendel, at the buckle 14a and chest clip 14b | col. 10, lines 46-51, note the infrared camera could detect Wendel’s IR-reflective material located on the buckle and chest clip to determine whether or not they are properly fastened/attached | col. 11, lines 1-12, note a camera can be used to determine whether or not the buckle and chest clip are properly connected).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features of Appukutty into Wendel. This provides the ability to sense the various parts of Wendel’s child restraint to determine whether or not the child is properly buckled.
Regarding claim 25, Wendel in view of Appukutty teach wherein the one or more position values include at least one of a position of a headrest and a position of a chest clip (see at least (see at least Figure 2, items 14a, 14b and 16a of Appukutty | col. 7, lines 11-32 of Appukutty, note proximity sensors, infrared sensors, camera, magnetic sensor, etc., and further note that Appukutty’s infrared sensor or camera can be used to detect an IR-reflective material, see [0059] of Wendel, at the buckle 14a and chest clip 14b | col. 10, lines 46-51 of Appukutty, note the infrared camera could detect Wendel’s IR-reflective material located on the buckle and chest clip to determine whether or not they are properly fastened/attached | col. 11, lines 1-12 of Appukutty, note a camera can be used to determine whether or not the buckle and chest clip are properly connected).
Claims 22 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wendel (US 2021/0034067 A1) in view of Glazman (US 2021/0179117 A1).
Regarding claim 22, Wendel does not specifically disclose wherein the one or more position values comprise a position of the child’s head.
It is known to monitor various positions of a child monitoring system. For example, Glazman teaches a monitoring system wherein the one or more position values comprise a position of the child’s head (see at least [0003] note adjusting vehicle subsystems based on sensed conditions of the internal passenger compartment | [0015] note the height and/or weight and/or posture and/or gesture of the passengers are computed based on an analysis of the point cloud, and sub-systems of the vehicle may be adjusted for each passenger, such as the height of the head rest, the angle of the seat, etc. | [0025] note computing an average head position and an average head angle, and adjusting at least one vehicle sub-system are according to the average head position and average head angle | [0096] note seatbelt tension can be adjusted, and further note identifying a child | [0223] note determining a baby or small child is within the vehicle based on a point cloud | [0386] note age and body pose classifications | [0053] note adjustment based on a small child’s body pose | [0188] note strapped within a car seat).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features of Glazman into Wendel. This provides the ability to adjust the head rest, the angle of the seat and/or restraint tension of Wendel’s seat, booster or car seat based on physical parameters associated with a child’s body, thus improving safety.
Regarding claim 23, Wendel in view of Glazman teach wherein the one or more position values comprise a head angle of the child (see at least [0025] of Glazman, note computing an average head position and an average head angle, and adjusting at least one vehicle sub-system are according to the average head position and average head angle).
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure: Hu (US 2021/0394710 A1).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN WILSON whose telephone number is 571-270-5884. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00-5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, DAVETTA GOINS can be reached at 571-272-2957. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRIAN WILSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2689
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