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 .
Status of Claims
This Office action is in response to the amendments filed on August 17, 2026. Claims 1-18 and 52-53 are currently pending, with Claims 1 and 18 being amended, Claims 19-20 being canceled, and Claims 52-53 being newly added.
Response to Amendments
In response to Applicant’s amendments, filed August 17, 2026, the Examiner withdraws the previous objections to the drawings, and withdraws the previous 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 rejections.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed August 17, 2026, with respect to the rejections of Claims 1-20 under Mangin, in view of Krasadakis, Olleon, and Divine, have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new grounds of rejection Claims 1-18 and 52-53 is made in view of Mangin, in view of Olleon, Krasadakis, and Divine.
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.
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.
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.
Claims 1-4, 7, 10-12, 18, and 53 are rejected under 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2017/0293355 A1, to Mangin (hereinafter referred to as Mangin; previously of record), in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0030811 A1, to Olleon, et al (hereinafter referred to as Olleon; previously of record).
As per Claim 1, Mangin discloses the features of a method of controlling vehicle components (e.g. Paragraph [0031]; where an apparatus (110) assigns control instructions to a vehicle) comprising:
monitoring, using one or more optical sensors and control circuitry (e.g. Paragraph [0029]; where an optical sensor (106) of a camera (108) of an occupant detection device is directed toward a head of an occupant in order to monitor the occupant),
a first gaze of a first vehicle occupant to identify a first settled gaze (e.g. Paragraph [0029]; where the driver monitoring camera (108) is configured to detect a gaze direction and/or head posture of occupant (104)); ‘…’
determining ‘…’ using the control circuitry, a first gaze context occurring contemporaneously with a first settled gaze (e.g. Paragraph [0033]; where the occupant (104) is gazing toward the device (112) of the vehicle (100) with the intention of controlling device (112) (i.e. settled gaze)), ‘…’
identifying, using the control circuitry, a first vehicle component based on the first settled gaze and the first gaze context (e.g. Paragraphs [0034]; where the occupant detection device (102) generates an occupant gaze datum (120) using a gaze direction datum, and furnishes the datum to a suitable interface to apparatus (110)); and
generating, at input/output circuitry, a control signal to control the first vehicle component in a manner determined based at least in part on the first gaze context (e.g. Paragraphs [0037], [0055]-[0056]; where the apparatus (110) allows occupant (104) to apply control via first control device (114) based on the gaze detection; and where the climate control region can be regulated upward or downward based on a detected gaze toward the climate control region).
Mangin fails to disclose every feature of detecting an environmental condition internal or external to the vehicle based at least in part on data collected by one or more context sensors, wherein the one or more context sensors are distinct from one or more optical sensors; and determining, based at least in part on the detected environmental condition, using the control circuitry, a first gaze context occurring contemporaneously with a first settled gaze.
However, Olleon, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches the features of a method for providing an interface for querying about external objects using gestures and eye gaze, where the vehicle can use environmental sensors to gather data about objects external to the vehicle; and where the system include internal and external sensors to capture information about and around the vehicle, and where the sensors include gesture sensors (20) and camera sensors (14) and microphones for detecting speech of the user; and where the query generation processor (54) can issue control commands to various electronic components located within the vehicle based on the user’s speech, gesture, and posture input matched where the user looked (i.e., eye gaze) (e.g. Paragraphs [0018], [0034], [0038]-[0042]; Figures 7-9).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to modify the method for assigning control instructions in a vehicle in the system of Mangin, with the feature of determining the context using various sensors in the system of Olleon, in order to correlate the driver activity data with the visual data and vehicle location data (see at least Paragraphs [0021], [0027] of Olleon).
As per Claim 2, Mangin, in view of Olleon, teaches the features Claim 1, and Mangin further discloses the features of further comprising determining that the first settled gaze is directed towards the first vehicle component (e.g. Paragraph [0033]; where the occupant is gazing toward device (112) of vehicle (100) with the intention of controlling device (112) or modifying a current setting of device (112)).
As per Claim 3, Mangin, in view of Olleon, teaches the features Claim 1, and Mangin further discloses the features of further comprising determining that the first settled gaze is directed towards a second vehicle component associated with the first vehicle component (e.g. Paragraph [0038]; where the apparatus (110) assigns a control instruction of the first control device (114) to a further device (116) in order to control the further device (116) with the first control device (114)).
As per Claim 4, Mangin, in view of Olleon, teaches the features Claim 1, and Mangin further discloses the features of further comprising determining that the first settled gaze is directed towards a predetermined direction (e.g. Paragraphs [0029], [0034]; where the driver monitoring camera (108) is configured to detect a gaze direction of the occupant (104), and the detected data are processed in a computation unit of the occupant detection device (102) in order to establish the direction in which the driver (104) is gazing).
As per Claim 7, Mangin, in view of Olleon, teaches the features Claim 1, and Mangin further discloses the features of further comprising determining the first gaze context based on an event detected by the one or more context sensors (e.g. Paragraphs [0029], [0034]; where the driver monitoring camera (108) is configured to detect a gaze direction of the occupant (104), and the detected data are processed in a computation unit of the occupant detection device (102) in order to establish the direction in which the driver (104) is gazing, and determine if the driver’s (104) attention is directed toward the road or is diverted (i.e. context)).
As per Claim 10, Mangin, in view of Olleon, teaches the features Claim 1, and Mangin further discloses the features of further comprising determining the first gaze context based on a vehicle sub-system status (e.g. Paragraph [0038]; where the apparatus (110) assigns a control instruction of the first device (114) to further device (116) using a second occupant gaze datum (128) that represents a gaze (130) toward further device (116) (i.e. subsystem)).
As per Claim 11, Mangin, in view of Olleon, teaches the features of Claim 1, and Olleon further teaches the features of further comprising determining the first gaze context based on one or more objects detected external to the vehicle using the one or more context sensors.
Olleon teaches a method for providing an interface for querying about external objects using gestures and eye gaze, where the user can gaze and point toward a restaurant and request information about the restaurant or ask for more information about a road sign, and the vehicle can use environmental sensors to gather data about objects external to the vehicle (i.e. detected objects external to the vehicle) (e.g. Paragraphs [0041]-[0042]; Figures 7-9).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to modify the method for assigning control instructions in a vehicle in the system of Mangin, with the feature of determining context based on external objects in the system of Olleon, in order to increase accuracy of the speech recognition and query accuracy (see at least Paragraphs [0025], [0027] of Olleon).
As per Claim 12, Mangin, in view of Olleon, teaches the features Claim 1, and Mangin further discloses the features of further comprising determining the first gaze context based on a second gaze by the first vehicle occupant, the second gaze preceding the first settled gaze (e.g. Paragraph [0038]; where the apparatus (110) assigns a control instruction of the first device (114) to further device (116) using a second occupant gaze datum (128) that represents a gaze (130) toward further device (116)).
As per Claim 18, Mangin discloses the features of a system to control vehicle components (e.g. Paragraph [0031]; where an apparatus (110) assigns control instructions to a vehicle) comprising:
input/output circuitry (e.g. Paragraph [0017]; where the apparatus has a computation unit for processing data, receiving and outputting data);
one or more optical sensors (e.g. Paragraph [0029]; where an optical sensor (106) of a camera (108) of an occupant detection device is directed toward a head of an occupant in order to monitor the occupant);
one or more context sensors (e.g. Paragraph [0029]; where the driver monitoring camera (108) is configured to detect a gaze direction and/or head posture of occupant (104)); control circuitry configured to
monitor, using the one or more optical sensors, a gaze of a first vehicle occupant to determine a first settled gaze (e.g. Paragraph [0029]; where the driver monitoring camera (108) is configured to detect a gaze direction and/or head posture of occupant (104)); ‘…’
identify a first vehicle component based on the first settled gaze and the first gaze context (e.g. Paragraphs [0034]; where the occupant detection device (102) generates an occupant gaze datum (120) using a gaze direction datum, and furnishes the datum to a suitable interface to apparatus (110)); and
generating, at input/output circuitry, a control signal to control the first vehicle component in a manner determined based at least in part on the first gaze context (e.g. Paragraphs [0037], [0055]-[0056]; where the apparatus (110) allows occupant (104) to apply control via first control device (114) based on the gaze detection; and where the climate control region can be regulated upward or downward based on a detected gaze toward the climate control region).
Mangin fails to disclose every feature of detect an environmental condition internal or external to the vehicle based at least in part on data collected by one or more context sensors; and determine, based at least in part on the detected environmental condition, a first gaze context occurring contemporaneously with a first settled gaze.
However, Olleon, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches the features of a method for providing an interface for querying about external objects using gestures and eye gaze, where the vehicle can use environmental sensors to gather data about objects external to the vehicle; and where the system include internal and external sensors to capture information about and around the vehicle, and where the sensors include gesture sensors (20) and camera sensors (14) and microphones for detecting speech of the user; and where the query generation processor (54) can issue control commands to various electronic components located within the vehicle based on the user’s speech, gesture, and posture input matched where the user looked (i.e., eye gaze) (e.g. Paragraphs [0018], [0034], [0038]-[0042]; Figures 7-9).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to modify the method for assigning control instructions in a vehicle in the system of Mangin, with the feature of determining the context using various sensors in the system of Olleon, in order to correlate the driver activity data with the visual data and vehicle location data (see at least Paragraphs [0021], [0027] of Olleon).
As per Claim 53, Mangin, in view of Olleon, teaches the features Claim 1, and Olleon further teaches the features of wherein the one or more optical sensors comprises a first optical sensor and the one or more context sensors comprises a second optical sensor.
Olleon teaches the features of a method for providing an interface for querying about external objects using gestures and eye gaze, where the vehicle can use environmental sensors to gather data about objects external to the vehicle; and where the system include internal and external sensors to capture information about and around the vehicle, and where the sensors include gesture sensors (20) and camera sensors (14) and microphones for detecting speech of the user; and where the vehicle has a camera to monitor physical activity of the driver (i.e., a first optical sensor), and where the vehicle may receive visual data from a camera array pointing outwardly from the vehicle to capture information about conditions external to the vehicle (e.g. Paragraphs [0015], [0018], [0034]; Figures 7-9).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to modify the method for assigning control instructions in a vehicle in the system of Mangin, with the feature of using various sensors in the system of Olleon, in order to correlate the driver activity data with the visual data and vehicle location data (see at least Paragraphs [0021], [0027] of Olleon).
Claims 5-6, 8-9, and 52 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mangin in view of Olleon, as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2017/0212583 A1, to Krasadakis (hereinafter referred to as Krasadakis; previously of record).
As per Claim 5, Mangin, in view of Olleon, teaches the features of Claim 1, but Mangin, in view of Olleon, fails to teach every feature of further comprising determining the first gaze context based on a first occupant profile associated with the first vehicle occupant.
However, Krasadakis, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches a method for allowing a user to navigate various content through the use of gaze tracking, where application (226) on server (222) may build a user profile based on the activity of the user, including the eye gaze and movement of the user, which may be added to a user’s profile (e.g. Paragraph [0043]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for assigning control instructions in a vehicle in the system of Mangin, in view of Olleon, with the feature of determining a user profile in the system of Krasadakis, in order to increase the ability to communicate more accurately with other devices (see at least Paragraph [0024] of Krasadakis).
As per Claim 6, Mangin, in view of Olleon and Krasadakis, teaches the features of Claim 5, and Krasadakis further teaches the features of wherein the first occupant profile comprises occupant habits data based on historical actions of the first vehicle occupant.
However, Krasadakis, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches a method for allowing a user to navigate various content through the use of gaze tracking, where historical data may be used to build a profile of a user’s interests, past sessions, and current viewing habits (e.g. Paragraph [0018]-[0020]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for assigning control instructions in a vehicle in the system of Mangin, in view of Olleon, with the feature of determining a user profile based on user habits in the system of Krasadakis, in order to increase the ability to communicate more accurately with other devices (see at least Paragraph [0024] of Krasadakis).
As per Claim 8, Mangin, in view of Olleon, teaches the features of Claim 1, but Mangin, in view of Olleon, fails to teach every feature of further comprising determining the first gaze context based on a sound detected by the one or more context sensors.
However, Krasadakis, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches a method for allowing a user to navigate various content through the use of gaze tracking, where the microphone captures audio from the user (102); and where gaze tracking may be utilized in combination with voice commands, which may be implemented via natural language processing (NLP) (e.g. Paragraphs [0024], [0029], [0062]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for assigning control instructions in a vehicle in the system of Mangin, in view of Olleon, with the feature of determining a context based on sound in the system of Krasadakis, in order to increase the ability to communicate more accurately with other devices, and adapt in real-time (see at least Paragraphs [0020], [0024] of Krasadakis).
As per Claim 9, Mangin, in view of Olleon, teaches the features of Claim 1, but Mangin, in view of Olleon, fails to teach every feature of further comprising determining the first gaze context based on one or more spoken words detected by the one or more context sensors.
However, Krasadakis, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches a method for allowing a user to navigate various content through the use of gaze tracking, where the microphone captures audio from the user (102); and where gaze tracking may be utilized in combination with voice commands, which may be implemented via natural language processing (NLP); and where gaze tracking may be utilized in combination with voice commands; and where particular passages or words may be associated with the user (e.g. Paragraphs [0021], [0024], [0029], [0062]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for assigning control instructions in a vehicle in the system of Mangin, in view of Olleon, with the feature of determining a context based on spoken words in the system of Krasadakis, in order to increase the ability to communicate more accurately with other devices, and adapt in real-time (see at least Paragraphs [0020], [0024] of Krasadakis).
As per Claim 52, Mangin, in view of Olleon, teaches the features Claim 1, but Mangin, in view of Olleon, fails to teach every feature of further comprising: determining the first settled gaze based at least in part on determining that a gaze of the first vehicle occupant is directed towards an object for greater than a threshold amount of time.
However, Krasadakis, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches a method for allowing a user to navigate various content through the use of gaze tracking, the user’s gaze is tracked by the gaze detector (134), which checks whether a gaze has been received, and when the gaze is received, the gaze detector (134) checks whether a threshold amount of time has elapsed to perform an action (e.g. Paragraphs [0069]-[0070]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for assigning control instructions in a vehicle in the system of Mangin, in view of Olleon, with the feature of determining a threshold time for a gaze in the system of Krasadakis, in order to activate the UI window (see at least Paragraph [0070] of Krasadakis).
Claims 13-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mangin, in view of Olleon, as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0030645 A1, to Divine, et al (hereinafter referred to as Divine; previously of record).
As per Claim 13, Mangin, in view of Olleon, teaches the features of Claim 1, but Mangin, in view of Olleon, fails to teach every feature of further comprising: determining, using the optical sensor and the control circuitry, a first occupant profile of the first vehicle occupant; and determining, using the optical sensor and the control circuitry, a second occupant profile of a second vehicle occupant.
However, Divine, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches a method for auto-control of an infotainment system based on characteristics of vehicle occupants, where the computer memory (15) stores content usage history and passenger profile information; and where use profiles for each of the vehicle occupants can be generated (e.g. Paragraphs [0026], [0037], [0038]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for assigning control instructions in a vehicle in the system of Mangin, in view of Olleon, with the feature of determining a user profile of each occupant in the system of Divine, in order to provide allowable content to each occupant (see at least Paragraph [0055] of Divine).
As per Claim 14, Mangin, in view of Olleon and Divine, teaches the features of Claim 13, and Divine further teaches the features of further comprising identifying one of the first vehicle occupant and the second vehicle occupant as a driver occupant, and the other of the first vehicle occupant and the second vehicle occupant as a passenger occupant.
Divine teaches a method for auto-control of an infotainment system based on characteristics of vehicle occupants, where the computer memory (15) stores content usage history and passenger profile information; and where use profiles for each of the vehicle occupants can be generated; and where for each seat position in the vehicle, an occupant map may include occupant status in relation to the vehicle driver, and the system may apply different rules when the occupant is identified as the driver; and where the system may support a dual view display for tracking the eye movements of the occupant and the driver (e.g. Paragraphs [0039], [0044], [0061], [0071], [0073]; Figures 2, 3).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for assigning control instructions in a vehicle in the system of Mangin, in view of Olleon, with the feature of determining a identifying each occupant in the system of Divine, in order to provide allowable content to each occupant and increase safety (see at least Paragraph [0055] of Divine).
As per Claim 15, Mangin, in view of Olleon and Divine, teaches the features of Claim 13, and Divine further teaches the features of wherein one of the first occupant profile and the second occupant profile comprises a default occupant profile.
Divine teaches a method for auto-control of an infotainment system based on characteristics of vehicle occupants, where priority may be given to the driver for providing content recommendations; and where a default mode is implemented based on content recommendation (e.g. Paragraph [0068]; Figure 10).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for assigning control instructions in a vehicle in the system of Mangin, in view of Olleon, with the feature of identifying a default profile in the system of Divine, in order to provide allowable content to each occupant and increase safety (see at least Paragraph [0055] of Divine).
As per Claim 16, Mangin, in view of Olleon and Divine, teaches the features of Claim 13, and Divine further teaches the features of wherein the first gaze context is based on the first occupant profile and the second occupant profile.
Divine teaches a method for auto-control of an infotainment system based on characteristics of vehicle occupants, where combined context information is provided based on comparison of points of interest and selection of input from the occupants (e.g. Figures 8, 12B, 13A-B).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for assigning control instructions in a vehicle in the system of Mangin, in view of Olleon, with the feature of identifying the context in the system of Divine, in order to provide allowable content to each occupant and increase safety (see at least Paragraph [0055] of Divine).
As per Claim 17, Mangin, in view of Olleon and Divine, teaches the features of Claim 13, and Divine further teaches the features of further comprising determining the first gaze context based on an authorization priorities indicator between the first occupant profile and the second occupant profile.
Divine teaches a method for auto-control of an infotainment system based on characteristics of vehicle occupants, where priority may be given to the driver for providing content recommendations regardless of the seat location (e.g. Paragraph [0068]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for assigning control instructions in a vehicle in the system of Mangin, in view of Olleon, with the feature of identifying the priority of a user profile in the system of Divine, in order to provide allowable content to each occupant and increase safety (see at least Paragraph [0055] of Divine).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MERRITT LEVY whose telephone number is (571)270-5595. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 0630-1600.
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/MERRITT LEVY/Examiner, Art Unit 3663
/ABBY J FLYNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3663
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