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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDSs) submitted on 07/31/2024 and 12/09/2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 7 and 8 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 7, lines 1-2, it is suggested that the limitation recites “A vehicle lighting control method comprising: by a processor of a vehicle lighting device that includes…” should be changed to --A vehicle lighting control method executed by a processor of a vehicle lighting device including…, the method comprising:-- to make it clearer.
In claim 8, lines 1-4, it is suggested that the limitation recites “A non-transitory computer storage medium that has stored a program for causing a processor of a vehicle lighting device that includes… to execute:” should be changed to --A non-transitory computer storage medium that has stored a program for causing a processor of a vehicle lighting device that includes…, to execute:-- to make it clearer.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 6 is 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.
Regarding claim 6, the limitation recites “wherein the control unit changes a form of lighting the second exterior light according to a positional relationship of the vehicle and each of the plurality of objects” is unclear and leaves the reader in doubt as to the meaning of the technical feature to which it refers. It is unclear that what is a form of lighting the second exterior light? And what is a positional relationship of the vehicle and each of the plurality of objects?
The claim fails to recite sufficiently definite structure, material or acts for achieving the functional result recited in the claim to reasonably apprise one of ordinary
skill in the art of the scope of the claim.
Note: for compact prosecution purposes the examiner interprets the claim
above as best understood in the rejection below.
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.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Omura (JP 2009040227 A, with English translation attached) in view of Uchida (JP 2018069800 A, with English translation attached).
Regarding claim 1, Omura discloses a vehicle lighting device (which is a vehicular headlight control device, see fig. 1-5) comprising:
a first exterior light (which is a UV light 80 is separate from the headlamp 130 having a visible light 110 that irradiates visible light, see fig. 1b and 1c) that is provided on an exterior portion of the vehicle (1), (see fig. 1b, and paragraph [0027]);
a second exterior light (which is maybe a visible light 110, see fig. 1b);
a recognition unit (via a radar 10 and camera 20) configured to recognize an object present on a travel route of the vehicle (1), (which is a radar 10 for detecting objects such as pedestrians and oncoming vehicles 3 in front of the vehicle is located near the front grille at the front of the vehicle, and a camera 20 as road gradient detection means for detecting the gradient of the road along which the vehicle 1 is traveling is located at the front end of the roof inside the vehicle cabin, see fig. 1, paragraph [0027]);
a detection unit (via an eye camera 30) configured to detect a visual recognition direction of a driver of the vehicle (which is the image captured by the eye camera 30 is used to detect the driver's line of sight vector EV (line of sight direction), see fig. 1, paragraph [0027]); and
a control unit (which is a headlamp control device 2) configured to operate the first exterior light according to the visual recognition direction detected by the detection unit (30), (which is a headlamp control device 2 is configured to irradiate the visible light 110 and the UV light 80 along the line of sight vector EV detected by the eye camera 30, see fig. 1, paragraph [0032]).
Omura does not explicitly disclose a control unit configured to operate the second exterior light when the object is recognized by the recognition unit.
Uchida, on the other hand, discloses a vehicular lighting fixture system) comprising a second exterior light (which is lamp unit 15L, 15R) provided on the exterior of the vehicle, a recognition unit (which is an image processing unit 11) that recognizes objects present on the travel path (the image processing unit 11 detects oncoming vehicles and pedestrians that are passing in front of the host vehicle based on an image of the space ahead of the vehicle captured by the camera 10C, see fig. 1, paragraph [0011]), and a control unit (which is a control unit 12) that operates the second exterior light (15L, 15R) when the recognition unit recognizes the object (when the vehicle turns right or left at an intersection, the control unit 12 sets the light irradiation conditions for selectively irradiating light from the lamp unit 15L or the lamp unit 15R depending on the presence or absence of an oncoming vehicle passing by, a vehicle waiting perpendicularly, and a pedestrian crossing, as detected by the image processing unit 11, see fig. 1, paragraph [0012]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify the vehicle lighting device as taught by Omura with the vehicle lighting device as taught by Uchida having a second exterior light that is provided on the exterior portion of the vehicle, and a control unit configured to operate the second exterior light when the object is recognized by the recognition unit in order for improving visibility to the sides of a vehicle when turning right or left at an intersection particularly at night, and to provide a light irradiation technology that can achieve both avoidance of glare to pedestrians and the like and improvement of visibility to the sides of the vehicle (see paragraph [0001] and [0005] by Uchida).
Regarding claim 2, Omura in view of Uchida discloses the vehicle lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit (12) operates the second exterior light (15L, 15R) when the vehicle stops in front of an intersection or a crosswalk, and the recognition unit (11) recognizes the object, and operates the first exterior light according to the visual recognition direction detected by the detection unit (see paragraph [0012] and paragraph [0020]-[0021] by Uchida).
Regarding claim 3, Omura in view of Uchida discloses the vehicle lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the first exterior light is provided along an outer edge of a side of the vehicle, and the second exterior light is provided at a right front of the vehicle in a vehicle width direction (see fig. 1b and 1c by Omura, and fig. 1 by Uchida), which is also considered as an obvious matter of design choice based upon an actual design requirement so that the various designs of circuit may be satisfied.
Regarding claim 4, Omura in view of Uchida discloses the vehicle lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit turns on the second exterior light to follow the object (see paragraph [0012], [0047]-[0048] and [0052]-[0054] by Uchida).
Regarding claim 5, Omura in view Uchida discloses the vehicle lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit turns on positions of the second exterior light corresponding to a plurality of objects when the plurality of objects are recognized (When the vehicle turns right or left at an intersection, the control unit 12 sets the light irradiation conditions for selectively irradiating light from the lamp unit 15L or the lamp unit 15R depending on the presence or absence of an oncoming vehicle passing by, a vehicle waiting perpendicularly, and a pedestrian crossing, as detected by the image processing unit 11, see paragraph [0012] by Uchida)
Regarding claim 6, Omura in view of Uchida discloses the vehicle lighting device according to claim 1, except for specifying that wherein the control unit changes a form of lighting the second exterior light according to a positional relationship of the vehicle and each of the plurality of objects (Uchida discloses the light distribution control unit 22 generates a light distribution control signal for forming a light distribution pattern based on the light irradiation conditions set by the light irradiation condition setting unit 21, and outputs the signal to the lamp unit 15L or the lamp unit 15R (see paragraph [0022]). If the vehicle is turning right or left at an intersection (step S13; YES), the light illumination condition setting unit 21 sets the light illumination conditions to turn on the lamp unit corresponding to the direction in which the vehicle is changing course (in this case, lamp unit 15R, since the vehicle is turning right). Based on the set light irradiation conditions, the light distribution control section 22 generates a light distribution control signal and outputs it to the lamp unit 15R. This causes the lamp unit 15R to light up (step S14). Here, for example, the lamp unit 15R is controlled so that light is irradiated onto the entire area that can be irradiated with light, see paragraph [0049]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that Omura in view of Uchida having the control unit changes a form of lighting the second exterior light according to a positional relationship of the vehicle and each of the plurality of objects, which is considered as an obvious matter of design choice based upon an actual design requirement so that the various designs of circuit may be satisfied.
Regarding claims 7 and 8, Omura discloses a vehicle lighting control method (which is a vehicular headlight control device method, see fig. 1-5) comprising: by a processor of a vehicle lighting device and a non-transitory computer storage medium that has stored a program for causing a processor of a vehicle lighting device that (via an ECU 50 is a computer that performs various calculation processes for driving assistance) that includes a first exterior light (which is a UV light 80 is separate from the headlamp 130 having a visible light 110 that irradiates visible light, see fig. 1b and 1c) that is provided on an exterior portion of the vehicle (1), (see fig. 1b, and paragraph [0027]), and a second exterior light (which is maybe a visible light 110, see fig. 1b);
processing of recognizing (via a radar 10 and camera 20) an object present on a travel route of the vehicle (which is a radar 10 for detecting objects such as pedestrians and oncoming vehicles 3 in front of the vehicle is located near the front grille at the front of the vehicle, and a camera 20 as road gradient detection means for detecting the gradient of the road along which the vehicle 1 is traveling is located at the front end of the roof inside the vehicle cabin, see fig. 1, paragraph [0027]);
processing of detecting (via an eye camera 30) a visual recognition direction of a driver of the vehicle (which is the image captured by the eye camera 30 is used to detect the driver's line of sight vector EV (line of sight direction), see fig. 1, paragraph [0027]); and
processing of operating (via ECU 50 and headlamp control device 2) the first exterior light according to the detected visual recognition direction (which is a headlamp control device 2 is configured to irradiate the visible light 110 and the UV light 80 along the line of sight vector EV detected by the eye camera 30, see fig. 1, paragraph [0032]).
Omura does not explicitly disclose processing of operating the second exterior light when the object is recognized.
Uchida, on the other hand, discloses a vehicular lighting fixture system and having the control unit 12 is configured by executing a predetermined operating program in a computer system equipped with, for example, a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc.,) comprising a second exterior light (which is lamp unit 15L, 15R) provided on the exterior of the vehicle, a recognition unit (which is an image processing unit 11) that recognizes objects present on the travel path (the image processing unit 11 detects oncoming vehicles and pedestrians that are passing in front of the host vehicle based on an image of the space ahead of the vehicle captured by the camera 10C, see fig. 1, paragraph [0011]), and a control unit (which is a control unit 12) that operates the second exterior light (15L, 15R) when the recognition unit recognizes the object (when the vehicle turns right or left at an intersection, the control unit 12 sets the light irradiation conditions for selectively irradiating light from the lamp unit 15L or the lamp unit 15R depending on the presence or absence of an oncoming vehicle passing by, a vehicle waiting perpendicularly, and a pedestrian crossing, as detected by the image processing unit 11, see fig. 1, paragraph [0012]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify the vehicle lighting device as taught by Omura with the vehicle lighting device as taught by Uchida by processing of operating the second exterior light when the object is recognized in order for improving visibility to the sides of a vehicle when turning right or left at an intersection particularly at night, and to provide a light irradiation technology that can achieve both avoidance of glare to pedestrians and the like and improvement of visibility to the sides of the vehicle (see paragraph [0001] and [0005] by Uchida).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THAI N PHAM whose telephone number is (571)270-5518. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 am-5:00 pm.
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/Thai Pham/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2844 12/23/2025