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 Objections
Claims 1-8 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Re. Claim 1, the limitation should recite: “A camera arrangement …”, instead of: “Camera arrangement …”.
Re. Claims 2-6, the claims should recite: “The camera arrangement … according to claim 1 …”.
Re. Claim 7, the limitation should recite: “The vehicle with [[a]] the camera arrangement …”.
Re. Claim 8, the limitation should recite: “The vehicle according to claim 7 …”.
Appropriate correction is required for grammatical and sufficient antecedent basis.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2 & 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claims 2 & 5 recite the limitation "… saturation and/or loading …" (emphasis added).
According to the U.S. publication specification (US 2025/0003870 A1), paragraph [0038] states: “On the basis of the determined colour of the drying agent 6, the state thereof is specified and when saturation, i.e. loading, of the drying agent 6 is recorded …”.
Based on this description, the saturation and loading are the same, therefore the limitation according to claims 2 & 5 is interpreted as the following:
“… saturation
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 1-4, 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Margavio et al., hereinafter referred to as Margavio (US 2021/0138386 A1) in view of Pretat et al., hereinafter referred to as Pretat (US 5,610,878 A).
As per claim 1, Margavio discloses [a] camera arrangement (102) for a vehicle (100) with at least one camera (110) arranged in a housing (Margavio: Fig. 1 & Para. [0020] disclose a sensor assembly 102 with electro-optic sensor 110 arranged within the assembly.), wherein the housing has at least one
a container (204) which is arranged in the housing (within 102) and has a moisture-adsorbing drying agent (Fig. 1, 108 or Fig. 2B, desiccant material 210), wherein the container (204) has a permeable membrane (Fig. 2A, apertures 212) on at least one side, such that an air exchange takes place between an interior of the housing and the drying agent (Margavio: Figs. 1, 2A-2B & Paras. [0025]-[0026] disclose desiccant container 204 arranged within assembly 102 and has a desiccant material 210. The container 204 further includes apertures 212 to enable air flow into the container 204 for adsorbing moisture within the desiccated volume.), and
a detection unit (208) coupled to the container (204) for detecting a state of the drying agent (Margavio: Fig. 2A, 206, 208 & Para. [0025] disclose portion 206 that includes a sensor system 208 to obtain moisture saturation information of a desiccant material 210.).
However, Margavio does not explicitly disclose “… at least one transparent region …”.
Further, Pretat is in the same field of endeavor and teaches at least one transparent region (Pretat: Cols. 7-8, ll. 48-3 disclose a camera monitoring the transparent wall 29 of the desiccation capsule 20.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, and having the teachings of Margavio and Pretat before him or her, to modify the housing of Margavio to include the transparent region feature as described in Pretat. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve moisture detection by providing a configuration that enables extended functionality of the camera monitoring.
As per claim 2, Margavio-Pretat disclose [the] camera arrangement according to claim 1,
characterised in that the detection unit (208) is designed to record a saturation and/or loading of the drying agent (210) as a state (Margavio: Fig. 2A, 206, 208 & Paras. [0025], [0030] disclose portion 206 that includes a sensor system 208 to obtain moisture saturation information of a desiccant material 210. The result is that the sensor takes irradiance measurements in independent spectral bands, e.g., colors. The relative response between the spectral band measurements provide an accurate assessment of the color of the observed object.).
As per claim 3, Margavio-Pretat disclose [the] camera arrangement according to claim 1,
characterised in that the drying agent (210) is designed to change colour depending on its loading (saturation) and the detection unit (208) is designed to record the state of the drying agent (210) on the basis of its colour change (Margavio: Fig. 2A, 206, 208 & Paras. [0025], [0029]-[0030] disclose portion 206 that includes a sensor system 208 to obtain moisture saturation information of a desiccant material 210. The result is that the sensor takes irradiance measurements in independent spectral bands, e.g., colors. The relative response between the spectral band measurements provide an accurate assessment of the color of the observed object. The color change is based upon a level of moisture saturation.).
As per claim 4, Margavio-Pretat disclose [the] camera arrangement according to claim 1,
characterised in that the detection unit (208) has at least one light source (306) emitting white light, at least one colour sensor (photosensor comprises an RGB sensor) and an analysis unit (220/404) coupled to the colour sensor (Margavio: Figs. 2-4 & Paras. [0005], [0029], [0032]-[0034], [0038] disclose the sensor system has at least one light source emitting white light, at least one photosensor that comprises an RGB sensor and a signal processing module coupled to the sensor.).
As per claim 6, Margavio-Pretat disclose [the] camera arrangement according to claim 1,
characterised in that the housing has an opening which can be closed by means of a closure element (Pretat: 37) for removal and replacement of the container (Pretat: Col. 4, ll. 51-60 disclose the housing having an opening that can be closed by a groove 37 to permit replacement of the capsule [container].).
As per claim 7, Margavio-Pretat disclose [the] vehicle with a camera arrangement according to claim 1 (Margavio: Fig. 1, 100 & Para. [0020] disclose a sensor assembly 102 with vehicle 100.).
As per claim 8, Margavio-Pretat disclose [the] vehicle according to claim 7,
characterised in that the vehicle is a self-driving lorry (Margavio: Paras. [0023]-[0024] disclose the invention applicable to autonomous vehicles [includes self-driving trucks].).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Margavio in view of Pretat in further view of Geyer (DE-102012008089-A1).
As per claim 5, Margavio-Pretat disclose [the] camera arrangement according to claim 1,
characterised in that the detection unit (208) is designed to output a warning in the vehicle and/or to transmit a warning to a diagnostic module of the vehicle and/or to a (210) is recorded on the basis of the colour change (Margavio: Figs. 2-4 & Paras. [0030], [0034]-[0035], [0047] disclose based on the present spectral response data (measurements in independent spectral bands, e.g., colors), the current desiccant saturation level can be determined and provided to a saturation level output module, which can output a desiccant saturation level signal, serving as a flag that the desiccant material should be replaced.).
However, Margavio-Pretat do not explicitly disclose transmitting a warning “… to a diagnostic module of the vehicle and/or to a computing unit coupled to the vehicle …”.
Furthermore, Geyer is in the same field of endeavor and teaches transmitting a warning to a diagnostic module of the vehicle and/or to a computing unit coupled to the vehicle (Geyer: Para. [0031] discloses motor vehicle K including a display device 8 is arranged, which illuminates as soon as a desiccant in the headlights 1 has to be replaced.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, and having the teachings of Margavio-Pretat and Geyer before him or her, to modify the desiccant monitoring system of Margavio-Pretat to include the transmitting warning to computing unit coupled to vehicle feature as described in Geyer. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve driver/user experience by providing a maintenance-friendly configuration that enables the driver of the vehicle to be informed of a pending or necessary change of the desiccant.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
U.S. Patent 10,621,851 B1, titled “Humidity Control System”, describes a system and method for preventing condensation build-up in the sensor housings of autonomous vehicles.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0212555 A1, details anti-fogging systems and methods for endoscopic cameras, designed to increase the lifespan of endoscopic camera couplers by preventing fogging on optical components, thereby maintaining high image quality during surgical procedures.
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/PEET DHILLON/Primary Examiner
Art Unit: 2488
Date: 12-22-2025