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 .
Claims 1 and 31 have been amended. Claims 5-10, 16-30, and 34-35 are cancelled. Claims 1-4, 11-15, and 20-33 are currently under review.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) June 15, 2026 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 31 are objected to because of the following informalities: typographic errors. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1, line 7: “circuitry, and a video display screen;”
Claim 31, line 7: “circuitry, and a video display screen;”
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 1-4, 12, and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kasarla et al. (Pub. No.: US 2021/0291739 A1) hereinafter referred to as Kasarla as cited on the IDS dated June 5, 2025, in view of Anderson et al. (Pub. No.: US 2024/0367587 A1) hereinafter referred to as Anderson, in view of Uhlig et al. (Pub. No.: US 2024/0019929 A1) hereinafter referred to as Uhlig, in view of Weindorf (Pub. No.: US 2023/0186818 A1), and in view of Batten et al. (Pub. No.: US 2018/0186309 A1) hereinafter referred to as Batten.
With respect to Claim 1, Kasarla teaches a vehicular driver monitoring system (fig. 1); ¶25, the vehicular driver monitoring system comprising: an interior rearview mirror assembly (¶25, “the ECU and display device and forward viewing camera module are incorporated in or at an interior rearview mirror assembly 20 of the vehicle. In addition, a driver monitoring system 22 (having a camera 22a that captures image data of the driver region of the vehicle for the driver monitoring system, which determines attentiveness of the driver of the vehicle) and/or an occupant monitoring system 24 (having a camera 24a that captures image data of the passenger region of the vehicle for the occupant monitoring system, which determines presence of an occupant in the vehicle) are also incorporated in or at the interior rearview mirror assembly 20”) comprising a mirror head adjustable about a mounting structure (fig. 8), wherein the mounting structure is configured to mount the interior rearview mirror assembly at an interior portion of an interior cabin of a vehicle (fig. 8); wherein the mirror head accommodates a mirror reflective element (¶28, “the driver and monitoring devices may otherwise be disposed at the mirror assembly, such as behind and viewing through a transflective mirror reflector of the mirror reflective element of the mirror head”; ¶34; claims 10-11), electronic circuitry (¶30), and a video display screen (¶30; ¶60; claim 11); wherein, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle (fig. 8), the video display screen is electrically operable to display video images for viewing by a driver of the vehicle (¶30; claim 11); a driver monitoring camera (¶30) accommodated by the mirror head, wherein the driver monitoring camera moves together and in tandem with the mirror head (¶28, “However, the driver and monitoring devices may otherwise be disposed at the mirror assembly, such as behind and viewing through a transflective mirror reflector of the mirror reflective element of the mirror head” – therefore they move in tandem with the mirror head), the driver monitoring camera views at least a driver's head region of the interior cabin of the vehicle (¶35, “the electrochromic element may be activated responsive to activation of a near infrared light emitter (such as an emitter disposed at the mirror assembly) that emits near infrared light into the cabin of the vehicle (such as to illuminate the driver region and/or occupant region in the cabin of the vehicle with near infrared light), so that the emitted near infrared light reflects off of the driver and is allowed to pass through the electrochromic element so as to be imaged by the driver monitoring camera”; ¶49, “the camera may detect a presence of an occupant of the vehicle (e.g., via face detection, eye detection, etc.)” – therefore at least a driver’s head region is captured); wherein the driver monitoring camera is operable to capture image data (¶35; ¶49); an electronic control unit (ECU) (¶4; ¶26); wherein image data captured by the driver monitoring camera is transferred to the ECU (¶27; ¶30); wherein the ECU comprises electronic circuitry and associated software (¶25; claim 1), and wherein the electronic circuitry of the ECU comprises an image processor operable to process image data captured by the driver monitoring camera and transferred to the ECU (¶25; claim 1); wherein, based at least in part on processing at the ECU of image data captured by the driver monitoring camera, the vehicular driver monitoring system determines eye detection of the driver of the vehicle (¶49).
Kasarla does not mention eye detection as a gaze direction nor does Kasarla mention wherein the driver monitoring camera moves together and in tandem with the mirror head when, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle, the mirror head is adjusted about the mounting structure to set a rearward view for the driver of the vehicle; wherein, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle, and with the mirror head adjusted about the mounting structure to set the rearward view for the driver of the vehicle, the driver monitoring camera views at least a driver's head region of the interior cabin of the vehicle.
Anderson teaches an interior rearview mirror assembly (figs. 1-9; ¶26, “an interior rearview mirror assembly 12 of an automotive vehicle”) comprising a mirror head adjustable about a mounting structure (see figs. 6-7), wherein the mounting structure is configured to mount the interior rearview mirror assembly at an interior portion of an interior cabin of a vehicle (figs. 6-7); wherein a driver monitoring camera (figs. 1-5, item 28; ¶39, “the imager 28 may be disposed inside the housing 16 and may be located in a generally central location behind the mirror element 14”) is accommodated by the mirror head, wherein the driver monitoring camera moves together and in tandem with the mirror head when, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle (figs. 6-7), the mirror head is adjusted about the mounting structure to set a rearward view for the driver of the vehicle (¶64, “With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 more particularly, the imaging system 10 may leverage a mounting angle β to capture images of varying ranges of the cabin 24. The mounting angle β of the mirror assembly 12 may be manually adjusted to attain an image of the driver's eyes 26”); wherein, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle (figs. 6-7), and with the mirror head adjusted about the mounting structure to set the rearward view for the driver of the vehicle, the driver monitoring camera views at least a driver's head region of the interior cabin of the vehicle (¶64, “the imaging system 10 may leverage a mounting angle β to capture images of varying ranges of the cabin 24. The mounting angle β of the mirror assembly 12 may be manually adjusted to attain an image of the driver's eyes 26”); wherein the driver monitoring camera captures a gaze direction (¶54).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla, such that eye detection comprises gaze direction and wherein the driver monitoring camera moves together and in tandem with the mirror head when, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle, the mirror head is adjusted about the mounting structure to set a rearward view for the driver of the vehicle; wherein, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle, and with the mirror head adjusted about the mounting structure to set the rearward view for the driver of the vehicle, the driver monitoring camera views at least a driver's head region of the interior cabin of the vehicle, as taught by Anderson so as to capture image data related to passenger status, drowsiness of occupants, etc and to capture biometric data of the driver (¶78).
Kasarla and Anderson combined do not teach wherein, based at least in part on at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed toward the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness; and wherein, based at least in part on at least one selected from the group consisting of (ii) the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed away from the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness.
Uhlig teaches an interior rearview mirror assembly (¶59, “the vehicle may include more than one display (e.g., a dash display, a center console display, a side mirror display, a rear mirror display). In some embodiments, the gaze of the operator may be defined as a label or category of the area of interest of the operator, such as the display, the road, a rearview mirror, a side mirror, or other areas”) wherein, based at least in part on a gaze direction of a driver of a vehicle being directed toward a mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, a video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness (¶60, “where a gaze of the operator is directed to the display (e.g., where it is determined that an area of interest of the operator includes the display, where an angle of the gaze of the operator relative to the display falls below a threshold) the brightness of the display may be increased to increase the viewability of the display”); and wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed away from the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness (¶60, “where the gaze of the operator is not directed to the display, the brightness of the display may be reduced in order to save power during periods where the display is not actively viewed”).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla and Anderson, wherein, based at least in part on at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed toward the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness; and wherein, based at least in part on at least one selected from the group consisting of (ii) the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed away from the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness, as taught by Uhlig, so as to save power (¶60).
Kasarla, Anderson, and Uhlig combined do not teach wherein, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle, the electronic circuitry of the ECU is disposed at the vehicle remote from the interior rearview mirror assembly; wherein brightness of the displayed video images is adjustable based at least in part on a determined level of ambient light level within the interior cabin of the vehicle; wherein, as the video display screen electrically operates to display video images at the first brightness, brightness of the displayed video images is adjusted based at least in part on the determined level of ambient light according to a full-power profile of operation; and wherein, as the video display screen electrically operates to display video images at the second brightness, brightness of the displayed video images is adjusted based at least in part on the determined level of ambient light according to a reduced-power profile of operation different from the full-power profile of operation, and wherein a maximum brightness of the displayed video images along the full-power profile of operation is greater than a maximum brightness of the displayed video images along the reduced-power profile of operation.
Weindorf teaches a vehicular system (fig. 2; ¶47), the vehicular system comprising: a video display screen (fig. 1, items 100a, 100b, and 100c; fig. 2, item 100x; ¶47) mounted at an interior portion of an interior of a vehicle; an electronic mirror (¶68, “an electronic mirror (not shown)”) mounted at an interior portion of an interior of a vehicle; and an electronic control unit (ECU) (fig. 2, item 94; ¶47; ¶51); wherein, with the electronic mirror mounted at the interior portion of the interior of the cabin, the electronic circuitry of the ECU is disposed at the vehicle remote from the electronic mirror (fig. 1, item 94; ¶42-43); wherein the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness (¶51) and at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness (¶51); wherein brightness of the displayed video images is adjustable based at least in part on a determined level of ambient light level within the interior cabin of the vehicle (fig. 2, item 108; fig. 9, item 188b; ¶50-51; ¶71); wherein, as the video display screen electrically operates to display video images at the first brightness, brightness of the displayed video images is adjusted based at least in part on the determined level of ambient light according to a full-power profile of operation (¶51, “Under bright conditions while the pupils of the driver 98 are narrow, the electronic control unit 94 increases the overall brightness of the display 100x (e.g., increases a projection light source within the display) to prevent images on the display 100x from being washed out” – bright conditions = full-power profile); and wherein, as the video display screen electrically operates to display video images at the second brightness, brightness of the displayed video images is adjusted based at least in part on the determined level of ambient light according to a reduced-power profile of operation different from the full-power profile of operation (¶51, “Under dark conditions while the pupils of the driver 98 are wide, the electronic control unit 94 decreases the overall brightness of the display 100x (e.g., decreases the projection light source) to keep the images on the display 100x from becoming a distraction. Lowering the brightness of the display 100x also helps reduce an electrical power consumption of the display 100x” – dark conditions = reduced-power profile), and wherein a maximum brightness of the displayed video images along the full-power profile of operation is greater than a maximum brightness of the displayed video images along the reduced-power profile of operation (fig. 4, item 156 corresponds to the full-power profile and item 158 corresponds to the reduced-power profile).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla, Anderson, and Uhlig, such that the electronic mirror corresponds to the interior rearview mirror assembly, resulting in wherein, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle, the electronic circuitry of the ECU is disposed at the vehicle remote from the interior rearview mirror assembly; wherein brightness of the displayed video images is adjustable based at least in part on a determined level of ambient light level within the interior cabin of the vehicle; wherein, as the video display screen electrically operates to display video images at the first brightness, brightness of the displayed video images is adjusted based at least in part on the determined level of ambient light according to a full-power profile of operation; and wherein, as the video display screen electrically operates to display video images at the second brightness, brightness of the displayed video images is adjusted based at least in part on the determined level of ambient light according to a reduced-power profile of operation different from the full-power profile of operation, and wherein a maximum brightness of the displayed video images along the full-power profile of operation is greater than a maximum brightness of the displayed video images along the reduced-power profile of operation, as taught by Weindorf so as to provide a new product class that provides visibility of entire images under various ambient lighting conditions, while at the same time reduces an overall power consumption (¶40).
Anderson teaches receiving thermal data corresponding to thermal energy of the interior rearview mirror assembly and controlling first and second light sources (¶79) however Kasarla, Anderson, Uhlig, and Weindorf combined do not teach wherein brightness of the video display screen is adjusted based at least in part on thermal load at the interior rearview mirror assembly over an operating time of the video display screen; wherein, based at least in part on at least one selected from the group consisting of (ii) thermal load at the interior rearview mirror assembly being less than a threshold thermal load, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness; wherein, based at least in part on at least one selected from the group consisting of (ii) thermal load at the interior rearview mirror assembly being greater than the threshold thermal load, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness.
Batten teaches a video display screen (fig. 1, item 110; ¶31), wherein a brightness of the video display screen is adjusted based at least in part on the thermal load over an operating time of the video display screen (¶83); wherein, based at least in part on at least one selected from the group consisting of (ii) thermal load at the video display screen being less than a threshold thermal load (fig. 10, item 1008, yes), the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness (¶83-84); wherein, based at least in part on at least one selected from the group consisting of (ii) thermal load at the video display screen assembly being greater than the threshold thermal load (fig. 10, item 1008 – no, item 1004 yes), the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness (fig. 10, item 1006; ¶83-84).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla, Anderson, Uhlig, and Weindorf, such that the video display screen of Batten corresponds to the video display screen of the mirror head of Kasarla, resulting in wherein brightness of the video display screen is adjusted based at least in part on thermal load at the interior rearview mirror assembly over an operating time of the video display screen; wherein, based at least in part on at least one selected from the group consisting of (ii) thermal load at the interior rearview mirror assembly being less than a threshold thermal load, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness; wherein, based at least in part on at least one selected from the group consisting of (ii) thermal load at the interior rearview mirror assembly being greater than the threshold thermal load, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness, as taught by Batten so as to prevent the system from overheating (¶82).
Kasarla, Anderson, Uhlig, Weindorf, and Batten combined do not mention thermal load at the interior rearview mirror assembly over an operating time of the video display screen corresponds to power usage by the electronic circuitry accommodated at the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly over an operating time of the video display screen, such that a threshold thermal load corresponds to a threshold power usage level.
Chien teaches a display device having a thermal load (¶3 – thermal load = temperature rise) at the display device over an operating time of the video display screen corresponds to power usage by the electronic circuitry accommodated at the display device (¶3 – power usage = power consumption) over an operating time of the video display screen, such that a threshold thermal load corresponds to a threshold power usage level (¶3).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla, Anderson, Uhlig, Weindorf, and Batten such that thermal load at the interior rearview mirror assembly over an operating time of the video display screen corresponds to power usage by the electronic circuitry accommodated at the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly over an operating time of the video display screen, such that a threshold thermal load corresponds to a threshold power usage level, as taught by Chien so to provide alternative corresponding related common issues associated with device usage.
With respect to Claim 2, claim 1 is incorporated, Kasarla and Anderson combined do not teach wherein a second display screen is disposed within the interior cabin of the vehicle remote from the interior rearview mirror assembly, and wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed toward the second display screen, the second display screen is electrically operated to display images at the first brightness, and wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction of the driver being directed away from the second display screen, the second display screen Is electrically operated to display images at the second brightness that is less than the first brightness.
Uhlig teaches an interior rearview mirror assembly (¶59, “the vehicle may include more than one display (e.g., a dash display, a center console display, a side mirror display, a rear mirror display). In some embodiments, the gaze of the operator may be defined as a label or category of the area of interest of the operator, such as the display, the road, a rearview mirror, a side mirror, or other areas”) wherein, based at least in part on a gaze direction of a driver of a vehicle being directed toward a mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness (¶60, “where a gaze of the operator is directed to the display (e.g., where it is determined that an area of interest of the operator includes the display, where an angle of the gaze of the operator relative to the display falls below a threshold) the brightness of the display may be increased to increase the viewability of the display”); and wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed away from the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness (¶60, “where the gaze of the operator is not directed to the display, the brightness of the display may be reduced in order to save power during periods where the display is not actively viewed”); wherein a second display screen is disposed within the interior cabin of the vehicle remote from the interior rearview mirror assembly (¶59, “the vehicle may include more than one display (e.g., a dash display, a center console display, a side mirror display, a rear mirror display)”), and wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed toward the second display screen, the second display screen is electrically operated to display images at the first brightness (¶60), and wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction being directed away from the second display screen, the second display screen is electrically operated to display images at the second brightness that is less than the first brightness (¶60).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla, Anderson, and Weindorf, wherein a second display screen is disposed within the interior cabin of the vehicle remote from the interior rearview mirror assembly, and wherein, based at least in part on determination that the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed toward the second display screen, the second display screen is electrically operated to display images at the first brightness, and wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction being directed away from the second display screen, the second display screen Is electrically operated to display images at the second brightness that is less than the first brightness, as taught by Uhlig, so as to save power (¶60).
With respect to Claim 3, claim 2 is incorporated, Kasarla and Anderson combined do not teach wherein the second display screen comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) an infotainment display screen and (il) a gauge cluster display screen.
Uhlig teaches an interior rearview mirror assembly (¶59, “the vehicle may include more than one display (e.g., a dash display, a center console display, a side mirror display, a rear mirror display). In some embodiments, the gaze of the operator may be defined as a label or category of the area of interest of the operator, such as the display, the road, a rearview mirror, a side mirror, or other areas”) wherein, based at least in part on determination that a gaze direction of a driver of a vehicle is directed toward a mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, a video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness (¶60, “where a gaze of the operator is directed to the display (e.g., where it is determined that an area of interest of the operator includes the display, where an angle of the gaze of the operator relative to the display falls below a threshold) the brightness of the display may be increased to increase the viewability of the display”); and wherein, based at least in part on determination that the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle is not directed toward the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness (¶60, “where the gaze of the operator is not directed to the display, the brightness of the display may be reduced in order to save power during periods where the display is not actively viewed”); wherein a second display screen is disposed within the interior cabin of the vehicle remote from the interior rearview mirror assembly (¶59, “the vehicle may include more than one display (e.g., a dash display, a center console display, a side mirror display, a rear mirror display)”), and wherein, based at least in part on determination that the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle is directed toward the second display screen, the second display screen is electrically operated to display images at a first brightness (¶60), and wherein, based at least in part on determination that the gaze direction is not directed toward the second display screen, the second display screen is electrically operated to display images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness (¶60); wherein the second display screen comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) an infotainment display screen and (il) a gauge cluster display screen (¶59, “the vehicle may include more than one display (e.g., a dash display, a center console display, a side mirror display, a rear mirror display)” – a center console display = infotainment display screen and a dash display = gauge cluster display screen).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla, Anderson, and Weindorf, wherein the second display screen comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) an infotainment display screen and (il) a gauge cluster display screen, as taught by Uhlig, so as to save power (¶60).
With respect to Claim 4, claim 2 is incorporated, Kasarla and Anderson combined do not teach wherein the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at the second brightness based at least in part on the second display screen being electrically operated to display images at the first brightness.
Uhlig teaches an interior rearview mirror assembly (¶59, “the vehicle may include more than one display (e.g., a dash display, a center console display, a side mirror display, a rear mirror display). In some embodiments, the gaze of the operator may be defined as a label or category of the area of interest of the operator, such as the display, the road, a rearview mirror, a side mirror, or other areas”) wherein, based at least in part on determination that a gaze direction of a driver of a vehicle is directed toward a mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, a video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness (¶60, “where a gaze of the operator is directed to the display (e.g., where it is determined that an area of interest of the operator includes the display, where an angle of the gaze of the operator relative to the display falls below a threshold) the brightness of the display may be increased to increase the viewability of the display”); and wherein, based at least in part on determination that the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle is not directed toward the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness (¶60, “where the gaze of the operator is not directed to the display, the brightness of the display may be reduced in order to save power during periods where the display is not actively viewed”); wherein a second display screen is disposed within the interior cabin of the vehicle remote from the interior rearview mirror assembly (¶59, “the vehicle may include more than one display (e.g., a dash display, a center console display, a side mirror display, a rear mirror display)”), and wherein, based at least in part on determination that the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle is directed toward the second display screen, the second display screen is electrically operated to display images at a first brightness (¶60), and wherein, based at least in part on determination that the gaze direction is not directed toward the second display screen, the second display screen is electrically operated to display images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness (¶60); wherein the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at the second brightness based at least in part on the second display screen being electrically operated to display images at the first brightness (¶60; ¶67-69; ¶81; therefore if neither the operator or the occupants are viewing the video display screen, the video display screen will be operated to display video images at the second brightness (reduced brightness) when either the operator or occupants or both are viewing the second display screen at the first brightness).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla, Anderson, and Weindorf, wherein the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at the second brightness based at least in part on the second display screen being electrically operated to display images at the first brightness, as taught by Uhlig, so as to save power (¶60).
With respect to Claim 12, claim 1 is incorporated, Kasarla teaches further comprising a light emitter (figs. 1-6, items 22b/24b) accommodated by the mirror head and operable to emit light to illuminate the driver’s head (¶27; ¶38; ¶48).
With respect to Claim 14, claim 1 is incorporated, Kasarla teaches wherein the video display screen is accommodated in the mirror head behind the mirror reflective element, and wherein, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle (fig. 8), the video display screen is electrically operable to display video images for viewing by the driver of the vehicle through the mirror reflective element (¶28; claim 11).
With respect to Claim 15, claim 14 is incorporated, Kasarla teaches wherein the interior rearview mirror assembly comprises a dual-mode mirror (¶60), and wherein, when the dual-mode mirror operates in a reflection mode, the driver of the vehicle, when viewing the mirror reflective element, views reflections off a mirror reflector of the mirror reflective element (¶60, “a dual-mode interior rearview video mirror that can switch from a traditional reflection mode to a live-video display mode”), and wherein, when the dual-mode mirror operates in a video display mode, the driver of the vehicle, when viewing the mirror reflective element, views video images displayed by the video display screen (¶60, “a dual-mode interior rearview video mirror that can switch from a traditional reflection mode to a live-video display mode”).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kasarla, Anderson, Uhlig, Weindorf, and Batten as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Koon (Pub. No.: US 2017/0103712 A1).
With respect to Claim 11, claim 1 is incorporated, Kasarla, Anderson, Uhlig, Weindorf, and Batten combined do not teach wherein, based at least in part on processing at the ECU of image data captured by the driver monitoring camera, the vehicular driver monitoring system determines light emanating from a trailing vehicle that is rearward of the vehicle by detecting light reflecting off one selected from the group consisting of (i) eyes of the driver of the vehicle and (ii) eyeglasses worn by the driver of the vehicle.
Koon teaches an interior rearview mirror assembly (figs. 1A, 1B, and 2) comprising a mirror head (figs. 1A and 1B, item 15; ¶20), wherein the mirror head accommodates a mirror reflective element and a video display screen (figs. 1A, 1B, and 2, item 30; ¶17), and a processor (fig. 2, item 25; ¶17); wherein, based at least in part on processing at the processor of image data captured by a camera (¶21), the vehicular driver monitoring system determines light emanating from a trailing vehicle that is rearward of the vehicle by detecting light reflecting off one selected from the group consisting of (i) eyes of the driver of the vehicle and (ii) eyeglasses worn by the driver of the vehicle (¶15, the light reflects off the rearview mirror and into the eyes of the driver or thru the driver’s eyeglasses).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla, Anderson, Uhlig, Weindorf, and Batten, such that the processor corresponds to an ECU resulting in wherein, based at least in part on processing at the ECU of image data captured by the driver monitoring camera, the vehicular driver monitoring system determines light emanating from a trailing vehicle that is rearward of the vehicle by detecting light reflecting off one selected from the group consisting of (i) eyes of the driver of the vehicle and (ii) eyeglasses worn by the driver of the vehicle, as taught by Koon so as to reduce excessive glare that may be caused by, for example, bright headlamps of a trailing vehicle at nighttime.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kasarla, Anderson, Uhlig, Weindorf, and Batten as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Chundrlik, JR. et al. (Pub. No.: US 2013/0141578 A1) hereinafter referred to as Chundrlik.
With respect to Claim 13, claim 12 is incorporated, Kasarla teaches wherein, based at least in part on processing at the ECU of image data captured by the driver monitoring camera (¶30), the vehicular driver monitoring system determines that light emitted by the light emitter illuminates the driver’s head (¶49).
Kasarla, Anderson, Uhlig, Weindorf, and Batten combined do not mention the vehicular driver monitoring system determines orientation of a sun visor at a driver side of the vehicle and determines that the sun visor at least partially blocks light emitted by the light emitter from illuminating the driver’s head.
Chundrlik teaches a vision system comprising a video display device disposed at or in the interior rearview mirror assembly of the vehicle (¶54); wherein, based at least in part on processing at a control system (fig. 3, item 14) of image data captured by cameras, the control system determines orientation of a sun visor (fig. 3, item 30: sun visor) at a driver side of the vehicle and determines that the sun visor will not be of much or any help and therefore returns the sun visor to a stowed position (¶28, “the sun visor 30 may be returned back to its stowage or raised position by the control system 14 upon determining that it is no longer needed (such as upon determining that the sun 34 is no longer hindering the driver's view and/or upon determining that the use of or lowering of the sun visor 30 will not be of much or any help, such as if it is determined that the sun 34 is too low in the sky for the sun visor, when lowered, to block the sunlight from the driver's eyes)”).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla, Anderson, Uhlig, Weindorf, and Batten, such that the teaching of the sun visor, will not be of much or any help, by Chundrlik corresponds to at least partially blocks light resulting in the vehicular driver monitoring system determines orientation of a sun visor at a driver side of the vehicle and determines that the sun visor at least partially blocks light emitted by the light emitter from illuminating the driver’s head, so as to return the sun visor to its stowed position to optimize visibility through the vehicle (¶28).
Claims 31-33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kasarla, Anderson, Uhlig, Zhang, Weindorf, and Batten.
With respect to Claim 31, Kasarla teaches a vehicular driver monitoring system (fig. 1); ¶25, the vehicular driver monitoring system comprising: an interior rearview mirror assembly (¶25, “the ECU and display device and forward viewing camera module are incorporated in or at an interior rearview mirror assembly 20 of the vehicle. In addition, a driver monitoring system 22 (having a camera 22a that captures image data of the driver region of the vehicle for the driver monitoring system, which determines attentiveness of the driver of the vehicle) and/or an occupant monitoring system 24 (having a camera 24a that captures image data of the passenger region of the vehicle for the occupant monitoring system, which determines presence of an occupant in the vehicle) are also incorporated in or at the interior rearview mirror assembly 20”) comprising a mirror head adjustable about a mounting structure (fig. 8), wherein the mounting structure is configured to mount the interior rearview mirror assembly at an interior portion of an interior cabin of a vehicle (fig. 8); wherein the mirror head accommodates a mirror reflective element (¶28, “the driver and monitoring devices may otherwise be disposed at the mirror assembly, such as behind and viewing through a transflective mirror reflector of the mirror reflective element of the mirror head”; ¶34; claims 10-11), electronic circuitry (¶30), and a video display screen (¶30; ¶60; claim 11); wherein the video display screen is accommodated in the mirror head behind the mirror reflective element (¶28; claim 11); wherein, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle (fig. 8), the video display screen is electrically operable to display video images for viewing by a driver of the vehicle (¶30; claim 11) through the mirror reflective element (¶28; claim 11); wherein the interior rearview mirror assembly comprises a dual-mode mirror (¶60), and wherein, when the dual-mode mirror operates in a reflection mode, the driver of the vehicle, when viewing the mirror reflective element, views reflections off a mirror reflector of the mirror reflective element (¶60, “a dual-mode interior rearview video mirror that can switch from a traditional reflection mode to a live-video display mode”), and wherein, when the dual-mode mirror operates in a video display mode, the driver of the vehicle, when viewing the mirror reflective element, views video images displayed by the video display screen (¶60, “a dual-mode interior rearview video mirror that can switch from a traditional reflection mode to a live-video display mode”); a driver monitoring camera (¶30) accommodated by the mirror head, wherein the driver monitoring camera moves together and in tandem with the mirror head (¶28, “However, the driver and monitoring devices may otherwise be disposed at the mirror assembly, such as behind and viewing through a transflective mirror reflector of the mirror reflective element of the mirror head” – therefore they move in tandem with the mirror head), the driver monitoring camera views at least a driver's head region of the interior cabin of the vehicle (¶35, “he electrochromic element may be activated responsive to activation of a near infrared light emitter (such as an emitter disposed at the mirror assembly) that emits near infrared light into the cabin of the vehicle (such as to illuminate the driver region and/or occupant region in the cabin of the vehicle with near infrared light), so that the emitted near infrared light reflects off of the driver and is allowed to pass through the electrochromic element so as to be imaged by the driver monitoring camera”; ¶49, “the camera may detect a presence of an occupant of the vehicle (e.g., via face detection, eye detection, etc.)” – therefore at least a driver’s head region is captured); wherein the driver monitoring camera is operable to capture image data (¶35; ¶49); an electronic control unit (ECU) (¶4; ¶26); wherein image data captured by the driver monitoring camera is transferred to the ECU (¶27; ¶30); wherein the ECU comprises electronic circuitry and associated software (¶25; claim 1), and wherein the electronic circuitry of the ECU comprises an image processor operable to process image data captured by the driver monitoring camera and transferred to the ECU (¶25; claim 1); wherein, based at least in part on processing at the ECU of image data captured by the driver monitoring camera, the vehicular driver monitoring system determines eye detection of the driver of the vehicle (¶49).
Kasarla does not mention eye detection as a gaze direction nor does Kasarla mention wherein the driver monitoring camera moves together and in tandem with the mirror head when, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle, the mirror head is adjusted about the mounting structure to set a rearward view for the driver of the vehicle; wherein, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle, and with the mirror head adjusted about the mounting structure to set the rearward view for the driver of the vehicle, the driver monitoring camera views at least a driver's head region of the interior cabin of the vehicle.
Anderson teaches an interior rearview mirror assembly (figs. 1-9; ¶26, “an interior rearview mirror assembly 12 of an automotive vehicle”) comprising a mirror head adjustable about a mounting structure (see figs. 6-7), wherein the mounting structure is configured to mount the interior rearview mirror assembly at an interior portion of an interior cabin of a vehicle (figs. 6-7); wherein a driver monitoring camera (figs. 1-5, item 28; ¶39, “the imager 28 may be disposed inside the housing 16 and may be located in a generally central location behind the mirror element 14”) is accommodated by the mirror head, wherein the driver monitoring camera moves together and in tandem with the mirror head when, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle (figs. 6-7), the mirror head is adjusted about the mounting structure to set a rearward view for the driver of the vehicle (¶64, “With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 more particularly, the imaging system 10 may leverage a mounting angle β to capture images of varying ranges of the cabin 24. The mounting angle β of the mirror assembly 12 may be manually adjusted to attain an image of the driver's eyes 26”); wherein, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle (figs. 6-7), and with the mirror head adjusted about the mounting structure to set the rearward view for the driver of the vehicle, the driver monitoring camera views at least a driver's head region of the interior cabin of the vehicle (¶64, “the imaging system 10 may leverage a mounting angle β to capture images of varying ranges of the cabin 24. The mounting angle β of the mirror assembly 12 may be manually adjusted to attain an image of the driver's eyes 26”); wherein the driver monitoring camera captures a gaze direction (¶54).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla, such that eye detection comprises gaze direction and wherein the driver monitoring camera moves together and in tandem with the mirror head when, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle, the mirror head is adjusted about the mounting structure to set a rearward view for the driver of the vehicle; wherein, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle, and with the mirror head adjusted about the mounting structure to set the rearward view for the driver of the vehicle, the driver monitoring camera views at least a driver's head region of the interior cabin of the vehicle, as taught by Anderson so as to capture image data related to passenger status, drowsiness of occupants, etc and to capture biometric data of the driver (¶78).
Kasarla and Anderson combined do not teach wherein, based at least in part on (i) the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed toward the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness; and wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed away from the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness.
Uhlig teaches an interior rearview mirror assembly (¶59, “the vehicle may include more than one display (e.g., a dash display, a center console display, a side mirror display, a rear mirror display). In some embodiments, the gaze of the operator may be defined as a label or category of the area of interest of the operator, such as the display, the road, a rearview mirror, a side mirror, or other areas”) wherein, based at least in part on (i) the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed toward the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness (¶60, “where a gaze of the operator is directed to the display (e.g., where it is determined that an area of interest of the operator includes the display, where an angle of the gaze of the operator relative to the display falls below a threshold) the brightness of the display may be increased to increase the viewability of the display”); and wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed away from the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness (¶60, “where the gaze of the operator is not directed to the display, the brightness of the display may be reduced in order to save power during periods where the display is not actively viewed”).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla and Anderson, wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed toward the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness; and wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed away from the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness, as taught by Uhlig, so as to save power (¶60).
Kasarla, Anderson, and Uglig combined do not teach wherein brightness of the displayed video images is adjustable based at least in part on a determined level of ambient light level within the interior cabin of the vehicle.
Zhang teaches an interior rearview mirror assembly (figs. 1-2, item 220) comprising: a video display screen (¶39, “the interior rearview mirror module 220 is located in the vehicle cabin, the interior rearview mirror module 220 includes an inner rearview display screen 221”), wherein brightness of displayed video images is adjustable based at least in part on a determined level of ambient light level within an interior cabin of a vehicle (¶47-48).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla, Anderson, and Uhlig, wherein brightness of the displayed video images is adjustable based at least in part on a determined level of ambient light level within the interior cabin of the vehicle, as taught by Chau so as to reduce power consumption (¶47).
Kasarla, Anderson, Uhlig, and Zhang combined do not teach wherein, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle, the electronic circuitry of the ECU is disposed at the vehicle remote from the interior rearview mirror assembly; wherein, as the video display screen electrically operates to display video images at the first brightness, brightness of the displayed video images is adjusted based at least in part on the determined level of ambient light according to a full-power profile of operation; and wherein, as the video display screen electrically operates to display video images at the second brightness, brightness of the displayed video images is adjusted based at least in part on the determined level of ambient light according to a reduced-power profile of operation different from the full-power profile of operation, and wherein a maximum brightness of the displayed video images along the full-power profile of operation is greater than a maximum brightness of the displayed video images along the reduced-power profile of operation.
Weindorf teaches a vehicular system (fig. 2; ¶47), the vehicular system comprising: at least one video display screen (fig. 1, items 100a, 100b, and 100c; fig. 2, item 100x; ¶47) mounted at an interior portion of an interior of a vehicle; and an electronic control unit (ECU) (fig. 2, item 94; ¶47; ¶51); wherein, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle, the electronic circuitry of the ECU is disposed at the vehicle remote from the interior rearview mirror assembly (fig. 1, item 94; ¶42-43); wherein the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness (¶51) and at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness (¶51); wherein brightness of the displayed video images is adjustable based at least in part on a determined level of ambient light level within the interior cabin of the vehicle (fig. 2, item 108; fig. 9, item 188b; ¶50-51; ¶71); wherein, as the video display screen electrically operates to display video images at the first brightness, brightness of the displayed video images is adjusted based at least in part on the determined level of ambient light according to a full-power profile of operation (¶51, “Under bright conditions while the pupils of the driver 98 are narrow, the electronic control unit 94 increases the overall brightness of the display 100x (e.g., increases a projection light source within the display) to prevent images on the display 100x from being washed out” – bright conditions = full-power profile); and wherein, as the video display screen electrically operates to display video images at the second brightness, brightness of the displayed video images is adjusted based at least in part on the determined level of ambient light according to a reduced-power profile of operation different from the full-power profile of operation (¶51, “Under dark conditions while the pupils of the driver 98 are wide, the electronic control unit 94 decreases the overall brightness of the display 100x (e.g., decreases the projection light source) to keep the images on the display 100x from becoming a distraction. Lowering the brightness of the display 100x also helps reduce an electrical power consumption of the display 100x” – dark conditions = reduced-power profile), and wherein a maximum brightness of the displayed video images along the full-power profile of operation is greater than a maximum brightness of the displayed video images along the reduced-power profile of operation (fig. 4, item 156 corresponds to the full-power profile and item 158 corresponds to the reduced-power profile).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla, Anderson, Uhlig, and Zhang, wherein, with the interior rearview mirror assembly mounted at the interior portion of the interior cabin of the vehicle, the electronic circuitry of the ECU is disposed at the vehicle remote from the interior rearview mirror assembly; wherein brightness of the displayed video images is adjustable based at least in part on a determined level of ambient light level within the interior cabin of the vehicle; wherein, as the video display screen electrically operates to display video images at the first brightness, brightness of the displayed video images is adjusted based at least in part on the determined level of ambient light according to a full-power profile of operation; and wherein, as the video display screen electrically operates to display video images at the second brightness, brightness of the displayed video images is adjusted based at least in part on the determined level of ambient light according to a reduced-power profile of operation different from the full-power profile of operation, and wherein a maximum brightness of the displayed video images along the full-power profile of operation is greater than a maximum brightness of the displayed video images along the reduced-power profile of operation, as taught by Weindorf so as to provide a new product class that provides visibility of entire images under various ambient lighting conditions, while at the same time reduces an overall power consumption (¶40).
Anderson teaches receiving thermal data corresponding to thermal energy of the interior rearview mirror assembly and controlling first and second light sources (¶79) however Kasarla, Anderson, Uhlig, Zhang, and Weindorf combined do not teach wherein brightness of the video display screen is adjusted based at least in part on thermal load at the interior rearview mirror assembly over an operating time of the video display screen; wherein, based at least in part on (ii) thermal load at the interior rearview mirror assembly being less than a threshold thermal load, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness; wherein, based at least in part on (ii) thermal load at the interior rearview mirror assembly being greater than the threshold thermal load, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness.
Batten teaches a video display screen (fig. 1, item 110; ¶31), wherein a brightness of the video display screen is adjusted based at least in part on the thermal load over an operating time of the video display screen (¶83); wherein, based at least in part on (ii) thermal load at the video display screen being less than a threshold thermal load (fig. 10, item 1008, yes), the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness (¶83-84); wherein, based at least in part on (ii) thermal load at the video display screen assembly being greater than the threshold thermal load (fig. 10, item 1008 – no, item 1004 yes), the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness (fig. 10, item 1006; ¶83-84).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla, Anderson, Uhlig, Zhang, and Weindorf, such that the video display screen of Batten corresponds to the video display screen of the mirror head of Kasarla, resulting in wherein brightness of the video display screen is adjusted based at least in part on thermal load at the interior rearview mirror assembly over an operating time of the video display screen; wherein, based at least in part on (ii) thermal load at the interior rearview mirror assembly being less than a threshold thermal load, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness; wherein, based at least in part on (ii) thermal load at the interior rearview mirror assembly being greater than the threshold thermal load, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness, as taught by Batten so as to prevent the system from overheating (¶82).
Kasarla, Anderson, Uhlig, Weindorf, and Batten combined do not mention thermal load at the interior rearview mirror assembly over an operating time of the video display screen corresponds to power usage by the electronic circuitry accommodated at the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly over an operating time of the video display screen, such that a threshold thermal load corresponds to a threshold power usage level.
Chien teaches a display device having a thermal load (¶3 – thermal load = temperature rise) at the display device over an operating time of the video display screen corresponds to power usage by the electronic circuitry accommodated at the display device (¶3 – power usage = power consumption) over an operating time of the video display screen, such that a threshold thermal load corresponds to a threshold power usage level (¶3).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla, Anderson, Uhlig, Weindorf, and Batten such that thermal load at the interior rearview mirror assembly over an operating time of the video display screen corresponds to power usage by the electronic circuitry accommodated at the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly over an operating time of the video display screen, such that a threshold thermal load corresponds to a threshold power usage level, as taught by Chien so to provide alternative corresponding related common issues associated with device usage.
With respect to Claim 32, claim 31 is incorporated, Kasarla, Anderson, Zhang, Weindorf, and Batten combined do not teach wherein a second display screen is disposed within the interior cabin of the vehicle remote from the interior rearview mirror assembly, and wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed toward the second display screen, the second display screen is electrically operated to display images at the first brightness, and wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction being directed away from the second display screen, the second display screen Is electrically operated to display images at the second brightness that is less than the first brightness.
Uhlig teaches an interior rearview mirror assembly (¶59, “the vehicle may include more than one display (e.g., a dash display, a center console display, a side mirror display, a rear mirror display). In some embodiments, the gaze of the operator may be defined as a label or category of the area of interest of the operator, such as the display, the road, a rearview mirror, a side mirror, or other areas”) wherein, based at least in part on a gaze direction of a driver of a vehicle being directed toward a mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, a video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness (¶60, “where a gaze of the operator is directed to the display (e.g., where it is determined that an area of interest of the operator includes the display, where an angle of the gaze of the operator relative to the display falls below a threshold) the brightness of the display may be increased to increase the viewability of the display”); and wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed away from the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness (¶60, “where the gaze of the operator is not directed to the display, the brightness of the display may be reduced in order to save power during periods where the display is not actively viewed”); wherein a second display screen is disposed within the interior cabin of the vehicle remote from the interior rearview mirror assembly (¶59, “the vehicle may include more than one display (e.g., a dash display, a center console display, a side mirror display, a rear mirror display)”), and wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed toward the second display screen, the second display screen is electrically operated to display images at the first brightness (¶60), and wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction being directed away from the second display screen, the second display screen is electrically operated to display images at the second brightness that is less than the first brightness (¶60).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla, Anderson, Zhang, Weindorf, and Batten, wherein a second display screen is disposed within the interior cabin of the vehicle remote from the interior rearview mirror assembly, and wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle being directed toward the second display screen, the second display screen is electrically operated to display images at a first brightness, and wherein, based at least in part on the gaze direction being directed away from the second display screen, the second display screen Is electrically operated to display images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness, as taught by Uhlig, so as to save power (¶60).
With respect to Claim 33, claim 32 is incorporated, Kasarla, Anderson, Zhang, Weindorf, and Batten combined do not teach wherein the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at the second brightness based at least in part on the second display screen being electrically operated to display images at the first brightness.
Uhlig teaches an interior rearview mirror assembly (¶59, “the vehicle may include more than one display (e.g., a dash display, a center console display, a side mirror display, a rear mirror display). In some embodiments, the gaze of the operator may be defined as a label or category of the area of interest of the operator, such as the display, the road, a rearview mirror, a side mirror, or other areas”) wherein, based at least in part on determination that a gaze direction of a driver of a vehicle is directed toward a mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, a video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a first brightness (¶60, “where a gaze of the operator is directed to the display (e.g., where it is determined that an area of interest of the operator includes the display, where an angle of the gaze of the operator relative to the display falls below a threshold) the brightness of the display may be increased to increase the viewability of the display”); and wherein, based at least in part on determination that the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle is not directed toward the mirror head of the interior rearview mirror assembly, the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness (¶60, “where the gaze of the operator is not directed to the display, the brightness of the display may be reduced in order to save power during periods where the display is not actively viewed”); wherein a second display screen is disposed within the interior cabin of the vehicle remote from the interior rearview mirror assembly (¶59, “the vehicle may include more than one display (e.g., a dash display, a center console display, a side mirror display, a rear mirror display)”), and wherein, based at least in part on determination that the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle is directed toward the second display screen, the second display screen is electrically operated to display images at a first brightness (¶60), and wherein, based at least in part on determination that the gaze direction is not directed toward the second display screen, the second display screen is electrically operated to display images at a second brightness that is less than the first brightness (¶60); wherein the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at the second brightness based at least in part on the second display screen being electrically operated to display images at the first brightness (¶60; ¶67-69; ¶81; therefore if neither the operator or the occupants are viewing the video display screen, the video display screen will be operated to display video images at the second brightness (reduced brightness) when either the operator or occupants or both are viewing the second display screen at the first brightness).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combined vehicular driver monitoring system of Kasarla, Anderson, Zhang, Weindorf, and Batten, wherein the video display screen is electrically operated to display video images at the second brightness based at least in part on the second display screen being electrically operated to display images at the first brightness, as taught by Uhlig, so as to save power (¶60).
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.
/DONNA V Bocar/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2621
