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 .
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.
Joint Inventors
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on June 11th, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) / (a)(2) as being anticipated by Oishi et al. (US Patent Pub. No. 2023/0133086 A1), herein “Oishi”, published May 4th, 2023.
Regarding Claim 1, Oishi discloses a display control device provided in a vehicle (See Fig. 1 shown below and 0008, “[…] provides a display control device […]”), wherein:
the vehicle includes an autonomous driving mode or a manual driving mode as a traveling mode (See 0009, “[…] obtains switching information indicating that switching between driving modes including an autonomous driving mode and a manual driving mode is to be performed in the vehicle.”), and
includes a display unit that displays information to an occupant (See Fig. 1 shown below and 0146, “[…] a display unit […]”); and
the display control device controls the display unit (See 0009, “[…] performs display control on the first display and the second display of a vehicle […] includes an obtainer and a display controller […] The display controller causes, before completion of first switching, (i) the first display to display first information and third information […]”),
includes a plurality of categories of display modes including a first category of display mode in which a state of the vehicle at a timing of display is displayed and a second category of display mode in which the state of the vehicle at the timing of display is not displayed (See 0042, “[…] the display controller may change the display style of at least one of the first information, the second information, and the third information from a first display style to a second display style.” See also 0051, “[…] by displaying the two information items, the first information and the third information, on the first display […]” See also 0096, “[…] display controller 120 causes display 510 to display image 613 showing the results of detecting objects and causes display 520 to display image 623 generated by changing the display style of image […] information may be an image showing at least a part of the surroundings of vehicle 10, an image in which the results of identifying the objects are superimposed on the above image, information indicating that a pedestrian or a vehicle is approaching vehicle 10, information indicating the driving state of vehicle 10, or traffic jam information regarding the scheduled driving route for vehicle 10. The information indicating the driving state may be the driving speed of vehicle 10, the traveling direction of vehicle 10, a steering angle, or remaining fuel or energy.” See also 0135-0136, “[…] display control device 100 may identify an image displayed in the area at which the user's gaze is directed, according to the user's gaze indicated by the gaze information and cause the display to hide the identified image. The notices do not have to be images which are simultaneously displayed or hidden […] the display status of the notice presumably looked at and checked by the user is changed to hide […]” Examiner notes the display(s) within the vehicle display first, second, third and fourth information regarding vehicle states that are different from each other, with the controller able to alter the display style, thus being a plurality of display categories. Furthermore, the display status may be “hidden”, which is the same as the state of the vehicle not being displayed), and
when a predetermined first condition is satisfied including that the traveling mode is switched from the manual driving mode in which display in the first category of display mode is performed on the display unit, to the autonomous driving mode, performs display in the second category of display mode on the display unit at a timing of display in the autonomous driving mode (See 0010, “[…] display control method includes obtaining switching information indicating that switching between driving modes including an autonomous driving mode and a manual driving mode is to be performed in the vehicle and causing, before completion of first switching, (i) the first display to display first information and third information […]” See also 0044, “[…] before the completion of the first switching, new switching information indicating that second switching is to be performed, the display controller may cause, before completion of the second switching, the first display to display fourth information indicating that the second switching is to be performed, the second switching being switching from the manual driving mode to the autonomous driving mode.”).
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Regarding Claim 2, Oishi further discloses the display control device according to claim 1, wherein the second category of display mode is a mode in which a statistic of a state of the vehicle before the timing of display is displayed (See 0044 and 0096 as referenced above. See also 0064-0065, “Autonomous-driving determination unit 210 may determine whether vehicle 10 can drive in the autonomous driving mode, according to, for example, the driving state of vehicle 10 and the situation surrounding vehicle 10 which are predicted to appear after a predetermined time period […] repeatedly determines whether vehicle 10 can drive in the autonomous driving mode at predetermined time intervals and outputs determination results to driving switching unit […] when a transition is made from a result showing that vehicle 10 cannot drive in the autonomous driving mode to a result showing that vehicle 10 can drive in the autonomous driving mode, driving switching unit 220 switches the driving mode of vehicle 10 from the manual driving mode to the autonomous driving mode after a predetermined time period.”).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oishi et al. (US Patent Pub. No. 2023/0133086 A1) in view of Takano et al. (US Patent Pub. No. 2020/0001891 A1), herein “Takano”.
Regarding Claim 3, Oishi discloses the display control device according to claim 2, but does not explicitly disclose wherein:
the vehicle further includes a plurality of drive wheels as wheels to which a driving force is transmitted, and
a driving force adjusting device that adjusts the driving force of each of the drive wheels; and
the first category of display mode includes a driving force distribution display mode in which the driving force of each of the drive wheels is indicated.
Takano, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches the vehicle further includes a plurality of drive wheels as wheels to which a driving force is transmitted (See 0017, “[…] engine 1 and the transmission 2 configure a driving force generation unit 3 for generating a driving force (travel driving force). The driving force (torque) generated by the driving force generation unit 3 is transmitted to left and right front wheels FW through a front differential unit 4 and drive shafts 5. The driving force generated by the driving force generation unit 3 can be also transmitted to left and right rear wheels […]”), and
a driving force adjusting device that adjusts the driving force of each of the drive wheels (See 0031, “[…] a driving force distribution actuator for changing a driving force distribution rate to the front wheels FW and rear wheels RW.”); and
the first category of display mode includes a driving force distribution display mode in which the driving force of each of the drive wheels is indicated (See 0024, “[…] a display for presenting information to the driver via displayed images […]”).
In view of Takano’s teachings, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include, with the display and display control device presenting a variety of vehicle states and information as disclosed by Oishi, one of the types of information comprising the driving force transmitted to the vehicle’s wheels, with a reasonable expectation of success, since this would allow the driver or occupants to more comprehensively understand the state of the vehicle and how the driver’s behaviors or environment affect it, and increasing the amount of information available to the driver further improves vehicle safety and efficiency metrics.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oishi et al. (US Patent Pub. No. 2023/0133086 A1) in view of Fan (WO Patent Pub. No. 2024/027273 A9), filed May 15th, 2023.
Regarding Claim 4, Oishi discloses the display control device according to claim 1, wherein the display control device further stores information on frequency that each display mode of the second category of display mode is displayed in a first predetermined period, and
when the first condition is satisfied, displays a display mode with highest displayed frequency among the second category of display modes based on the information on the frequency.
Fan, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches the display control device further stores information on frequency that each display mode of the second category of display mode is displayed in a first predetermined period (See 00116, “During this output time, the takeover prompt information can be output continuously or periodically. The output period can be determined according to actual conditions […] correlated with the frequency of outputting the takeover prompt information. That is, the shorter the distance between the vehicle and the first state switching point, the higher the frequency […]” Examiner notes the outputted prompt functions the same as a message/image on a display, and the period and frequency of the output can be determined and measured), and
when the first condition is satisfied, displays a display mode with highest displayed frequency among the second category of display modes based on the information on the frequency (See 00118, “[…] the frequency of outputting the takeover prompt information is controlled […] the takeover prompt information is output at a slower frequency. When the distance between the vehicle and the first state switching point is short, the takeover prompt information is output at a faster frequency […] the takeover prompt information is output at a faster frequency, so that the vehicle can switch from the automatic driving state to the manual driving state […]”).
In view of Fan’s teachings, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include, with display and display control device presenting a variety of vehicle states and information as disclosed by Oishi, the ability to determine and track the frequency of each display information or type of display, with a reasonable expectation of success, since this increases user convenience by displaying the most prominent and relevant information based on display history or user preferences.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oishi et al. (US Patent Pub. No. 2023/0133086 A1) in view of Official Notice.
Regarding Claim 5, Oishi discloses the display control device according to claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the display control device further stores information on time during which each display mode of the second category of display mode is displayed in a first predetermined period (Office take Official Notice that it is undeniably old and well known in the art for a display device in a vehicle to store the amount of time a display mode is displayed, and that the controller in the ECU includes memory and can store this information), and
when the first condition is satisfied, displays a display mode with longest displayed time among the second category of display modes based on the information on the time (Examiner notes it is an obvious design choice to display a display mode based on the longest displayed time, since it has been held within ordinary skill in the art to determine a display to be displayed based on a common, finite number of options regarding information that is displayed in a vehicle).
Additionally, per KSR, something is “obvious to try” when there are a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success. There are only a finite number of information types regarding display timing to be shown on a display in a vehicle. A driver or occupant (or even autonomously) can select from a predetermined set of display modes to be displayed. For example, if a display and controller in a vehicle includes five different modes or types of information to display, one of them will inevitably have been displayed for the “longest time”, thus presenting a finite number of potential solutions.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Miyazaki et al. (JP Patent Pub. No. 2024-151205A)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Bryant Tang whose telephone number is (571)270-0145. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5 CST.
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/BRYANT TANG/Examiner, Art Unit 3658 /JASON HOLLOWAY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3658