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 .
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s communication filed on August 28, 2024. In virtue of this communication, claims 1-6 are currently presented in the instant application.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08/28/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagaoka et al. (US 2013/0343071) in view of Baba et al. (US 2015/0178577).
PNG
media_image1.png
545
693
media_image1.png
Greyscale
With respect to claim 1, Nagaoka discloses in figures 1-2 a headlight control device comprising: a headlight (13-14, e.g., headlights) that emits light toward an area (having a front area of the vehicle 10) in front of a host vehicle (10, e.g., a vehicle); an external sensor (2, e.g., an infrared camera or an external sensor) that detects an external environment of the host vehicle (paragraph 0023, e.g., “an image processing unit 8 which detects a monitored object such as a pedestrian ahead of the vehicle on the basis of an image obtained from the infrared camera 2”); a pedestrian recognizer (21, e.g., a pedestrian detection unit as a pedestrian recognizer thereof) that recognizes a pedestrian area including a pedestrian located in front of the host vehicle based on a detection result of the external sensor (paragraph 0032, e.g., “the pedestrian detection unit 21 detects a pedestrian in a predetermined area ahead of the vehicle 10 on the basis of an image captured using the infrared camera 2”); a headlight controller (24, e.g., an illumination controller) that reduces brightness of the light with which a dimming area including an upper end of the pedestrian area in the pedestrian area is irradiated (paragraph 0033-0034, e.g., the controller 24 to adjust light distribution patterns of the headlights 13-14 based on the image captured by the camera 2 thereof); and a change determination unit (23, e.g., a determination unit) that determines, based on a detection result of the external sensor, whether a height of the pedestrian area has changed (paragraphs 0032-0033 and 0077, e.g., “the determination unit 23 determines whether or not the driver is aware of a pedestrian in the predetermined area when the pedestrian detection unit 21 has detected the pedestrian in the predetermined area” such that the changing distance between the camera 2 to the object is to change the height of the height of the object thereof).
Nagaoka does not explicitly disclose that wherein the headlight controller changes an occupancy ratio of the dimming area to the pedestrian area when the height of the pedestrian area has changed.
Baba discloses in figures 2 and 5 a headlight of a vehicle (see paragraph 0027) comprising a controller (150, e.g., a controller), wherein the controller changes an occupancy ratio of the dimming area to the pedestrian area when the height of the pedestrian area has changed (see figure 5 and paragraph 0051, e.g., “the detection unit 152 calculates the ratio of the area of the high brightness region 21b to the area of the detection region 21a”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the device of Nagaoka with an occupancy ratio as taught by Baba for the purpose of improving a desired brightness level of the pedestrian region to avoid a collision with each other and changing the distance between the high brightness region and the camera thereof since this configuration for the stated purpose would have been obvious as evidenced by the teaching of Baba (see paragraph 0081).
With respect to claims 2-3, the combination of Nagaoka and Baba disclose that wherein the headlight controller increases the ratio when the height of the pedestrian area decreases and wherein the headlight controller reduces the ratio when the height of the pedestrian area increases (see paragraph 0051 of Baba, e.g., such that a ratio is varying based on the changing distance between the camera and the object thereof).
With respect to claim 4, the combination of Nagaoka and Baba disclose that wherein the headlight controller reduces the ratio with a predetermined threshold value set as a lower limit value of the ratio (see paragraphs 0051-0052 of Baba).
With respect to claim 5, Nagaoka discloses in figures 1-2 a headlight control method for a headlight control device that controls a headlight (13-14, e.g., headlights) for emitting light toward an area (having a front area of the vehicle 10) in front of a host vehicle (10, e.g., a vehicle), the method comprising: emitting the light by the headlight (figure 1 shows the headlights 13-14 to emit the light thereof); recognizing a pedestrian area including a pedestrian (40, e.g., a pedestrian) located in front of the host vehicle based on a detection result (see figure 6) of an external sensor (2, e.g., an infrared camera or an external sensor) of the host vehicle (paragraph 0023, e.g., “an image processing unit 8 which detects a monitored object such as a pedestrian ahead of the vehicle on the basis of an image obtained from the infrared camera 2”); reducing brightness of the light with which a dimming area including an upper end of the pedestrian area in the pedestrian area is irradiated (paragraph 0033-0034, e.g., the controller 24 to adjust light distribution patterns of the headlights 13-14 based on the image captured by the camera 2 thereof); determining, based on a detection result of the external sensor, whether a height of the pedestrian area has changed (paragraphs 0032-0033 and 0077, e.g., “the determination unit 23 determines whether or not the driver is aware of a pedestrian in the predetermined area when the pedestrian detection unit 21 has detected the pedestrian in the predetermined area” such that the changing distance between the camera 2 to the object is to change the height of the height of the object thereof).
Nagaoka does not explicitly disclose that wherein the headlight controller changes an occupancy ratio of the dimming area to the pedestrian area when the height of the pedestrian area has changed.
Baba discloses in figures 2 and 5 a headlight of a vehicle (see paragraph 0027) comprising a controller (150, e.g., a controller), wherein the controller changes an occupancy ratio of the dimming area to the pedestrian area when the height of the pedestrian area has changed (see figure 5 and paragraph 0051, e.g., “the detection unit 152 calculates the ratio of the area of the high brightness region 21b to the area of the detection region 21a”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the device of Nagaoka with an occupancy ratio as taught by Baba for the purpose of improving a desired brightness level of the pedestrian region to avoid a collision with each other and changing the distance between the high brightness region and the camera thereof since this configuration for the stated purpose would have been obvious as evidenced by the teaching of Baba (see paragraph 0081).
With respect to claim 6, Nagaoka discloses in figures 1-2 a non-transitory storage medium storing a headlight control program for operating an ECU (8, e.g., a processing unit or an ECU) of a headlight (13-14, e.g., headlights) that emits light toward an area (having a front area of the vehicle 10) in front of a host vehicle (10, e.g., a vehicle), the program causing the ECU to operate as a pedestrian recognizer (21, e.g., a pedestrian detection unit as a pedestrian recognizer thereof) that recognizes a pedestrian area including a pedestrian (40, e.g., a pedestrian) located in front of the host vehicle (see figure 6) based on a detection result of an external sensor (2, e.g., an infrared camera or an external sensor) of the host vehicle (see figure 1), a headlight controller (24, e.g., an illumination controller) that reduces brightness of the light with which a dimming area including an upper end of the pedestrian area in the pedestrian area is irradiated (paragraph 0033-0034, e.g., the controller 24 to adjust light distribution patterns of the headlights 13-14 based on the image captured by the camera 2 thereof), and a change determination unit that determines, based on a detection result of the external sensor, whether a height of the pedestrian area has changed (paragraphs 0032-0033 and 0077, e.g., “the determination unit 23 determines whether or not the driver is aware of a pedestrian in the predetermined area when the pedestrian detection unit 21 has detected the pedestrian in the predetermined area” such that the changing distance between the camera 2 to the object is to change the height of the height of the object thereof).
Nagaoka does not explicitly disclose that wherein the headlight controller changes an occupancy ratio of the dimming area to the pedestrian area when the height of the pedestrian area has changed.
Baba discloses in figures 2 and 5 a headlight of a vehicle (see paragraph 0027) comprising a controller (150, e.g., a controller), wherein the controller changes an occupancy ratio of the dimming area to the pedestrian area when the height of the pedestrian area has changed (see figure 5 and paragraph 0051, e.g., “the detection unit 152 calculates the ratio of the area of the high brightness region 21b to the area of the detection region 21a”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the device of Nagaoka with an occupancy ratio as taught by Baba for the purpose of improving a desired brightness level of the pedestrian region to avoid a collision with each other and changing the distance between the high brightness region and the camera thereof since this configuration for the stated purpose would have been obvious as evidenced by the teaching of Baba (see paragraph 0081).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Prior art Watano et al. – US 2023/0382289
Prior art Masuda et al. – US 2017/0337821
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TUNG X LE whose telephone number is (571)272-6010. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday from 10am to 6pm.
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, Regis Betsch can be reached at 571-270-7101. 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.
/TUNG X LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2844 November 21, 2025
Prosecution Insights