DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
1. Applicant's amendment filed on 03/03/26 has been received and entered in the case. The amendments to the claims do not distinguish patentably over the previously applied Lotz reference, for the reasons set forth below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
2. 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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lotz, U.S. Patent No. 11,203,287.
As to claims 1 and 8, Lotz discloses, in figures 1 and 2,
a turn signal control system, comprising:
one or more sensors (video cameras 218) coupled to a tractor-trailer (tractor-trailer 100 in figure 1 or tractor-trailer 200 and figure 2), wherein:
the tractor-trailer comprises a tractor portion (102) and a trailer portion (114), and
the one or more sensors are coupled to the trailer portion (note figures 1A and 1B of Lotz which show that the cameras 108, 110 are coupled to tractor 102 and that trailer 114 is coupled to tractor 102 via coupling device 112, i.e., cameras 108, 110 are coupled to the trailer portion 114 via coupling device 112 and therefore the cameras 108, 110 are also coupled to the trailer portion, i.e., they are indirectly coupled to the trailer portion in Lotz's figures 1A and 1B--note that if two elements A and C are coupled to each other through an intervening element B, then using the test of broadest reasonable interpretation, elements A and C can be interpreted as being coupled to each other, i.e., they are coupled to each other indirectly via element B) and configured to detect one or more data points pertaining to a position of the tractor portion in relation to the trailer portion (note that the inherent function of the above-noted video cameras 218 is to detect data points pertaining to the position of the tractor portion in relation to the trailer portion);
one or more computing devices (angle determination module 208), each comprising a processor and memory (note that Lotz's angle determination module 208 inherently includes a processor and memory), configured to analyze the one or more data points to determine an angle between the tractor portion and the trailer portion (note that the inherent function of Lotz's angle determination module 208 is to analyze the data points received from the above-noted video cameras 218 in order to determine the angle between the tractor portion and the trailer portion of Lotz's tractor-trailer); and
a controller (signal deactivation module 210) configured to automatically cancel a turn signal based on one or more factors,
wherein the one or more factors comprise the angle between the tractor portion and the trailer portion (note what is indicated in column 2, lines 53-55, of Lotz).
As to claim 2, note what is indicated in column 6, lines 33-42, of Lotz.
As to claim 3, note that the claimed manual turn signal actuator and its function will be inherent in the tractor-trailer of Lotz.
As to claim 4, note that angle determination module 208 shown in figure 2 of Lotz will inherently determine whether the angle between the tractor portion and the trailer portion is less than 180°, i.e., this will be the inherent operation in Lotz during the time that the tractor-trailer is turning around a corner.
As to claim 5, note that the signal deactivation module shown in figure 2 of Lotz will inherently maintain an on status of the turn signal when the angle between the tractor portion and the trailer portion is less than 180°, i.e., this will also be the inherent operation in Lotz during the time that the tractor-trailer is turning around a corner.
As to claim 6, note that when the angle between the tractor portion and the trailer portion is not less than 180°, angle determination module 208 will determine whether the angle between the tractor portion and the trailer portion equals 180°, i.e., this will also be the inherent operation in Lotz during the time that the tractor-trailer is not turning around a corner.
As to claim 7, inherently in Lotz when the angle between the tractor portion and the trailer portion is equal to 180°, i.e., when the tractor-trailer has completed turning around a corner and the tractor and trailer are realigned with each other, for a set amount of time, signal deactivation module 210 will function to cancel the turn signal, thereby causing the blinking turn signal to have an off status, note what is indicated in column 8, lines 42-45, of Lotz.
As to claim 9, the claimed left and right turn signal indicators read on left turn signal indicator 106 and right turn signal indicator 104, respectively, shown in figures 1A and 1B of Lotz.
As to claim 10, note what is indicated in column 2, lines 55-57, of Lotz.
As to claims 11-20, the limitations of these method claims are rejected using the same analysis as set forth above with regard to system claims 1-10.
Response to Arguments
3. Applicant's arguments filed on 03/03/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Lotz fails to teach a steering angle sensor configured to detect a steering angle of the steering component, and the one or more factors further comprise the angle of the steering component. This argument is not persuasive because the portion of Lotz relied upon by the examiner to meet this limitation, i.e., column 6, lines 33-42 of Lotz, is clearly part of the description of figures 4A-4B of this reference, note lines 16-19 of column 6 in Lotz which indicate that figures 4A-4B are a flowchart of the camera-based automatic turn signal deactivation method of Lotz, i.e., column 6, lines 16-42 of this reference is clearly a description of Lotz's method of camera-based automatic turn signal deactivation, and therefore the portion relied upon the examiner in the rejection (i.e., Lotz at column 6, lines 33-42) is clearly also part of Lotz's method of camera-based automatic turn signal deactivation.
Action is Final
4. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Conclusion
5. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENNETH B WELLS whose telephone number is (571)272-1757. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm.
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/KENNETH B WELLS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2842 March 11, 2026