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 the Claims
This action is in response to the applicant’s filing on September 8, 2026. Claims 1, 2, 4, 11, 12, and 14 have been amended. Claims 5-7, and 15-17 have been canceled. Claims 1-4, 8-14, and 18-20 are pending and examined below.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on September 8, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Remarks/Arguments
Applicant’s arguments and amendments filed September 8, 2026 with respect to the previous 35 U.S.C. 112 rejections have been fully considered. The present amendments incorporate subject matter from previously rejected claims 5 and 15 rendering the previous rejections of those claims moot, however, raising new grounds of rejection for claims 1 and 11 discussed below.
Applicant’s arguments and amendments filed September 8, 2026 with respect to the previous 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections have been fully considered and render moot the previous rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103.
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 1-4, and 8-14, and 18-20 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
As to claims 1 and 11, the recitation “identifying first reference data and second reference data having the first current state from the mapping table when coordinate data corresponding to the first current state is not identified from the mapping table, wherein the first current state is located between the first reference data and the second reference data” is vague and indefinite. Similar to the previous rejections regarding claims 5 and 15, it is unclear how to perform the claimed identifying of reference data because the identifying of first and second reference data appears to occur when coordinate data corresponding to a first current state is not identified, however, the claim requires identifying the first current state exists within the first and second reference data. It is unclear how to determine whether the first current state is located between first and second reference data when coordinate data for the first current state cannot be identified because coordinate data appears to be how seat states are expressed. Applicant’s Specification offers no further clarification (See at least ¶67, 68, and 82 of Applicant’s PGPUB). Therefore, it is unclear what is being claimed in light of Applicant’s original disclosure.
Claims 2-4, 8-10, depend from claim 1, and claims 12-14, and 18-20 depend from claim 11.
Appropriate correction is required.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Lail Kleinman whose telephone number is (571)272-6286. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00.
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/LAIL A KLEINMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3668
