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 .
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.
Claims 1-20 are 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.
Claim 1 and 15 recites the limitation "the transportation vehicles" in lines 9-10. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The claims previously recite “a transportation vehicle” but not multiple.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the display control signal" in line 12. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 and 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being unclear as to which transportation vehicle in line 14 receives the display control signal. Examiner suggest amending the claims to recite --and when any one of the transportation vehicles satisfies a predetermined condition, the central control system issuing the display control signal to the transportation vehicle which satisfies the predetermined condition according to the respective positioned location, and the respective smart display device of the transportation vehicle which satisfies the predetermined condition automatically receiving the display control signal--.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the plurality of transportation vehicles" in lines 2-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 3 recites the limitation “gathering range at this point” in lines 7-8. The term “this point” may be unclear; is it the point it in the method steps or the point in the position location of the particular transportation vehicle?
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 15, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Otsaka et al. (US 2020/0167825 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 15, and 20, Otsaka discloses an apparatus performing a method via CRM for collectively changing display contents of a transportation vehicle [Otsaka: Abstract: An information processing apparatus for outputting an advertisement using one or more vehicles each provided with an advertisement display unit on the outside includes a controller configured to execute the processing of organizing a file of vehicles including a plurality of vehicles on the basis of location information obtained from the vehicles], a shell body of the transportation vehicle comprising a display element [Otsaka: FIG. 6], the changing of the display contents performed by a smart display device [Otsaka: ¶ [0032]: The controller may be configured to reorganize the file when a change in the configuration of the organized file occurs]; the display method comprising: setting first display contents of the display element for the display element to normally display the first display contents [Otsaka: ¶ [0042]: The server apparatus 20 is a server that manages the vehicles 10 and advertisement contents to be displayed by the vehicles 10. The server apparatus 20 has data relating to advertisement contents displayed by the vehicles 10 and data about the vehicles 10 provided with display units. The server apparatus 20 determines advertisement contents to be distributed to the vehicles 10 and distributes advertisement contents to the vehicles 10. Moreover, the server apparatus 20 manages the locations of travelling vehicles 10, records of travel of the vehicles 10, and identification data of the advertisements displayed by the vehicles 10]; setting second display contents of the display element, the second display contents being different from the first display contents [Otsaka: ¶ [0043]: The server apparatus 20 according to the embodiment picks up a plurality of vehicles 10 located close to each other within a certain range to organize a file, based on location information received from the vehicles 10. In this specification, the term “file” is used to refer to a group of a plurality of vehicles 10 travelling one behind another. The server apparatus 20 sends to the vehicles 10 included in the file organized as above an advertisement content that can be displayed by the display units of the vehicles 10 in a cooperative manner]; obtaining positioned locations of a plurality of the transportation vehicles by a central control system [Otsaka: FIG. 1; and ¶ [0063]: The location information acquisition unit 105 is a unit configured to acquire location information of the vehicle 10. The location information acquisition unit 105 includes, for example, a GPS module and acquires location information (e.g. latitude and longitude) of the vehicle 10]; and when any one of the transportation vehicles satisfies a predetermined condition, the central control system issuing the display control signal to the transportation vehicle according to the positioned location, and the smart display device of the transportation vehicle automatically receiving the display control signal for the display element to change the first display contents to the second display contents [Otsaka: ¶ [0008]: According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an information processing method for outputting an advertisement using one or more vehicles each provided with an advertisement display unit on the outside, comprising organizing a file of vehicles including a plurality of vehicles on the basis of location information obtained from the vehicles, selecting an advertisement including a plurality of scenes with a prescribed order of display on the basis of the number of vehicles included in the file, and causing the advertisement displaying units of the plurality of vehicles included in the file to respectively display the plurality of scenes included in the advertisement], so that one or more of the transportation vehicles can collectively change the display contents [Otsaka: ¶ [0043].
Regarding Claim 2, Otsaka discloses all the limitations of Claim 1, and is analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Otsaka discloses wherein the first display contents or the second display contents are one or a combination of two or more of a color, a sign, a text and a pattern, and at least one of the color, the sign, the text and the pattern of the second display contents is different from the first display contents [Otsaka: FIG. 6].
Regarding Claim 3, Otsaka discloses all the limitations of Claim 2, and is analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Otsaka discloses wherein the plurality of transportation vehicles set a gathering range according to the positioned location of at least one of the transportation vehicles, the predetermined condition is satisfied by any one of the plurality of transportation vehicles entering the gathering range, and the display element of the transportation vehicle receiving the display control signal within the gathering range at this point individually changes the first display contents to the same second display contents [Otsaka: ¶ [0043]].
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 4-5 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Otsaka as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Koo (US 2023/0259975 A1).
Regarding Claim 4, Otsaka disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 3, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Otsaka discloses wherein when any one of the transportation vehicles within the gathering range automatically receives the display control signal [Otsaka:¶ [0043]].
Otsaka may not explicitly disclose a user of the transportation vehicle performs a confirmation for allowing display contents change via an operating interface, and the display element of the transportation vehicle then changes the first display contents to the second display contents.
However, Koo discloses wherein a user of the transportation vehicle performs a confirmation for allowing display contents change via an operating interface, and the display element of the transportation vehicle then changes the first display contents to the second display contents [Koo: ¶ [0060]: FIG. 4 is a screen for selecting an advertisement display vehicle 110 to be controlled. As shown in FIG. 4, the user may confirm a list (advertisement display vehicles 1 to 3) of the advertisement display vehicle 110 currently connected to the advertisement providing device 100, and select the advertisement display vehicle 110 to be controlled; and ¶[0061]: FIG. 5 is a screen showing a list of advertisement contents to be provided to the selected advertisement display vehicle 110. The advertisement content list shown in FIG. 5 may be advertisement contents generated by the control unit 102. The advertisement contents generated by the control unit 102 may be automatically transmitted to the advertisement display vehicle 110, but may also be transmitted after the user's final confirmation through the user terminal 130. The user can check the advertisement contents by executing the advertisements shown in FIG. 5, and finally determine the advertisement content to be output through the advertisement display vehicle 110].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the confirmation of a user with the processing of Otsaka in order to prohibit unauthorized use.
Regarding Claim 5, Otsaka disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 2, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Otsaka may not explicitly disclose wherein the plurality of transportation vehicles are currently traveling, an accident location is defined by the positioned location of at least one of the plurality of transportation vehicles, the predetermined condition is satisfied by one of the plurality of transportation vehicles that travels in a direction away from the accident location, and the display element of the transportation vehicle changes the first display contents to the second display contents, so as to display the second display contents to the transportation vehicle traveling in a direction approaching the accident location.
However, Koo discloses wherein the plurality of transportation vehicles are currently traveling, an accident location is defined by the positioned location of at least one of the plurality of transportation vehicles, the predetermined condition is satisfied by one of the plurality of transportation vehicles that travels in a direction away from the accident location, and the display element of the transportation vehicle changes the first display contents to the second display contents, so as to display the second display contents to the transportation vehicle traveling in a direction approaching the accident location [Koo: ¶ [0071]: The detection sensor 115 of the advertisement display vehicle 110 may further detect the vehicle state of the advertisement display vehicle 110. That is, the detection sensor 115 may further determine whether or not the advertisement display vehicle 110 is in a normal operating state. For example, the detection sensor 115 may generate abnormal operation information by checking whether the advertisement display vehicle 110 has a troubled major component, a fire, or an accident. The display controller 113 may notify the surroundings of the abnormal operation state of the advertisement display vehicle 110 through the display device 111 and the sound output unit 117 in response to the abnormal operation information. In other words, the failure state of the advertisement display vehicle 110 may be transferred to consumers located in the vicinity of the advertisement display vehicle 110 to request help from nearby consumers or to request consumers to evacuate from a dangerous situation].
Regarding Claim 9, Otsaka disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 2, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Otsaka may not explicitly disclose wherein each of the transportation vehicles is arranged with an impact sensor on a body shell thereof, each of the transportation vehicles generates an impact signal triggered by an impact against the impact sensor, and the smart display device receives the impact signal and displays the second display contents by the display element thereof, wherein the second display contents are in significant contrast with the first display contents.
However, Koo discloses wherein each of the transportation vehicles is arranged with an impact sensor on a body shell thereof, each of the transportation vehicles generates an impact signal triggered by an impact against the impact sensor, and the smart display device receives the impact signal and displays the second display contents by the display element thereof, wherein the second display contents are in significant contrast with the first display contents [Koo: ¶ [0071]].
Claim(s) 6, 12, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Otsaka as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Breed et al. (US 2015/0197248 A1).
Regarding Claim 6, Otsaka disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 2, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Otsaka may not explicitly disclose wherein the plurality of transportation vehicles are traveling or still, the predetermined condition is satisfied by the plurality of transportation vehicles located at a geographic location with an occurrence of a disaster, the central control system sends the display control signal to any one of the transportation vehicles at the geographic location, and the display element of the transportation vehicle that receives the display control signal individually changes the first display contents to the same second display contents.
However, Breed discloses wherein the plurality of transportation vehicles are traveling or still, the predetermined condition is satisfied by the plurality of transportation vehicles located at a geographic location with an occurrence of a disaster, the central control system sends the display control signal to any one of the transportation vehicles at the geographic location, and the display element of the transportation vehicle that receives the display control signal individually changes the first display contents to the same second display contents [Breed: ¶ [0387]: [0387] Additional services that could be enabled by the ubiquitous network include… text messages between vehicles or other locations for display and/or audio transmission, emergency in-vehicle signage including a terrorist attack, tornado, cyclone, hurricane, tsunami, or similar warnings].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the warning system of Breed with the communication system of Otsaka in order to provide more critical information to more people, improving public safety.
Regarding Claims 12 and 18, Otsaka disclose(s) all the limitations of Claims 2 and 15, respectively, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to those claims.
Otsaka may not explicitly disclose wherein each of the transportation vehicles is provided with an identity identification element operable to identify identity information of a user, the predetermined condition is satisfied by a user with a designation provided by an authorized administrator according to the identity information, and the central control system displays the second display contents at the transportation vehicle where the user is located according to the designation.
However, Breed discloses wherein each of the transportation vehicles is provided with an identity identification element operable to identify identity information of a user, the predetermined condition is satisfied by a user with a designation provided by an authorized administrator according to the identity information, and the central control system displays the second display contents at the transportation vehicle where the user is located according to the designation [Breed: ¶ [0390]: The device can have proper security safeguards such as a biometric ID feature to prevent unauthorized user].
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Otsaka as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Dimitrov (AU 2009201486 A1).
Regarding Claim 7, Otsaka disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 2, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Otsaka discloses wherein the predetermined condition is satisfied by the plurality of transportation vehicles traveling sequentially toward a same path [Otsaka: FIG. 2], the plurality of transportation vehicles receive the control signal according to a speed of travel [Otsaka: ¶ [0040]].
Otsaka may not explicitly disclose wherein the display elements of the plurality of transportation vehicles change the first display contents to the second display contents capable of displaying the speed of travel.
However, Dimitrov discloses wherein the display elements of the plurality of transportation vehicles change the first display contents to the second display contents capable of displaying the speed of travel [Dimitrov: Title: Seven-segment Display Device For Determining Road Speeding Infringements, Displays Measured Vehicle Speed Such That Speed May Be Seen From Outside From Other Vehicles On Road Or Anyone Staying On Road].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the speed displayed of Dimitrov with the display of Otsaka in order to provide surround persons more information, improving situational awareness and safety.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Otsaka in view of Dimitrov as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Salter et al. (US 2020/0262377 A1).
Regarding Claim 8, Otsaka in view of Dimitrov disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 2, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Otsaka in view of Dimitrov discloses wherein when the plurality of transportation vehicles display the second display contents, each of the plurality of transportation vehicles displays the speed of travel [Otsaka: ¶ [0040]].
Otsaka in view of Dimitrov may not explicitly disclose displays the speed of travel in a color gradient according to a speed thereof.
However, Salter discloses displays the speed of travel in a color gradient according to a speed thereof [Salter: ¶ [0064]: Embodiments of at least one aspect can include any one or a combination of the following features: [0065] a controller selectively activates at least one light source to display a message on the grille assembly; [0066] a message includes a circular symbol with a moving gradient; [0067] a controller adjusts an intensity of emitted light of at least one light source based on a vehicle velocity].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the gradient of Salter with the display of Otsaka in view of Dimitrov in order to provide intuitive information to other persons, improving situational awareness and safety.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Otsaka in view of Breed as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Tatara et al. (US 2022/0410795 A1).
Regarding Claim 13, Otsaka disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 12, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Otsaka in view of Breed may not explicitly disclose wherein the identity identification element is an image identification element operable to capture and identify an image of the user so as to generate the identification information.
However, Tatara discloses wherein the identity identification element is an image identification element operable to capture and identify an image of the user so as to generate the identification information [Tatara: ¶ [0148]: Information pertaining to the person may be, for example, a name or a nickname of the person or a facial image of the person. In the case of car-sharing, a taxi, or the like, this information may be the user ID or a reservation number. In a case where the person 920 is the owner of the vehicle 906, the controller 130 may have information pertaining to the person pre-registered therein. In a case where the person 920 is the user of car-sharing, a taxi, or the like, information pertaining to the person may be pre-registered with the car-sharing service, the taxi service, or the like, and the controller 130 may receive this information in advance].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the user ID of Tatara with the processing of Otsaka in view of Breed in order to provide usable information for confirmation or authorization.
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Otsaka in view of Breed as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Tran (US 10783559 B1).
Regarding Claim 14, Otsaka in view of Breed disclose(s) all the limitations of Claim 12, and is/are analyzed as previously discussed with respect to that claim.
Furthermore, Otsaka in view of Breed disclose wherein the second display contents are bound to advertising information [Otsaka: ¶ [0043]].
Otsaka in view of Breed may not explicitly disclose wherein advertising information paid by a partner merchant, the advertising information is at least one of advertisement broadcast, brand promotion and commercial promotion, and the transportation vehicle displays the second display contents when the positioned location of any one of the transportation vehicles obtained by the central control system is within an advertising region of the partner merchant.
However, Tran discloses wherein advertising information paid by a partner merchant [Tran: Col. 6, l. 67 - Col. 7, l. 2: The advertiser 110 may use an online merchant solution and/or direct credit card payment to fund their account used to pay for advertising], the advertising information is at least one of advertisement broadcast, brand promotion and commercial promotion, and the transportation vehicle displays the second display contents when the positioned location of any one of the transportation vehicles obtained by the central control system is within an advertising region of the partner merchant [Tran: Col. 9, ll. 1-10: (36) Other inputs to the scoring may include categories, such as having advertisements classified into different business types such as restaurant, beauty salon, department store, etc. The location of the mobile advertising display panel may also be compared against a region/zone business catalog information database that ranks each zone by business type. A similarity score index may be run against the advertisement category and the region zone catalog. Advertisements with high similarity index may have higher score than those with lower similarity index].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the pad advertisement based on location of Tran with the processing of Otsaka in view of Breed in order to provide precision advertisement, improving results.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-11 and 16-17 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: While determining damage to areas of displays in order to correct display content control is known in the prior art, determining a single vehicle has display damage and adjusting every other vehicle in a system to correct display content control based on the single vehicle damage has not been found in the prior art.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN R MESSMORE whose telephone number is (571)272-2773. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9-5 EST/EDT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Chris Kelley can be reached at 571-272-7331. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JONATHAN R MESSMORE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2482