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 .
Inventorship
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 8, 10-13, 17, 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bradley et al (2016/0059888).
Bradley et al teaches receiving, from a device 9, 10, 11 located in a vehicle, an angle and an orientation of a trailer relative to the vehicle [0062], wherein the trailer is coupled to a rear of the vehicle; receiving a video from a camera located on the vehicle; and causing a monitor 41 to display a position of the trailer based on the angle and the orientation and based on the video 43 [0087], [0088].
For claim 2 see [0084] – [0086].
For claim 3 see [0086].
For claim 4 see [0030].
For claim 8 see [0030].
For claim 10 see claim 1 as rejected above.
For claim 11 see [0084] – [0086].
For claim 12 see [0086].
For claim 13 see [0030].
For claim 17 see [0030].
For claim 19 see claim 1 as rejected above.
For claim 20 see [0084] – [0086].
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.
Claim(s) 7, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bradley et al (2016/0059888) in view of Dodd et al 2018/0057052.
Bradley et al teaches the claimed inventions except for a rotary encoder. Dodd et al teaches a rotary encoder 66. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to employ the rotary encoder on the trailer of Bradley et al as taught by Dodd et al in order to improve the accuracy of angular measurement of the trailer vehicle system.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6, 9, 14-15, 18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Record et al 11,927,676 teaches a system for determining a trailer angle.
Itoh 11,457,181 teaches a vehicle assist with surrounding image.
Stabel et al 11,338,852 teaches a vehicle trailer backing system.
Falb et al 20210178986 teaches a system for capturing and displaying images from a vehicle and trailer cameras.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAI H HUYNH whose telephone number is (571)272-4844. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 AM-4:00 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Lindsay M Low can be reached at 571-272-1196. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/HAI H HUYNH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747
Prosecution Insights