DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of the Application
2. Pursuant to a pre-examination amendment filed October 28, 2024, claims 1-7 are pending in the application. The applicant added claim 7. The applicant amended claims 1 and 3-6.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
4. Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mori et al. (US 2019/0241198 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Mori discloses:
a display control device ([0086]; FIG. 1: 7) comprising:
a switch ([0085]; FIG. 1: 51; Mori discloses a touch panel, which is a type of switching apparatus)
Mori does not explicitly disclose that the switch is operated in a preparatory operation and outputs an operating command to an operation target device in response to a confirmatory operation after the preparatory operation, but Mori does disclose a touch panel that displays a menu of icons that represent commands to the controller that a user selects by touching an icon ([0124], [0128], [0144]; FIG. 2: 92); and Mori does disclose that after selecting a command by touching an icon, the controller executes the selected command to control the vehicle according to the selected icon ([0128], [0144]), all of which suggests that the method of Mori comprises that the switch is operated in a preparatory operation and outputs an operating command to an operation target device in response to a confirmatory operation after the preparatory operation for the benefit of enabling the controller to executed a selected command to control the vehicle according to the selected icon;
it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to have configured the method of Mori in the foregoing manner because that would have enabled the method to execute a selected command to control a vehicle according to a selected icon;
a controller for controlling a display device ([0153]) and an autonomous driving ([0273]), wherein the controller:
obtains vehicle state information indicating at least one of a current state of a vehicle and a state of a surrounding environment of the vehicle ([0086]);
specifies, on a basis of the vehicle state information, a detail of control of the operation target device and deactivation of autonomous driving when the switch is operated in the preparatory operation, the control being to be executed in response to the operating command ([0098], [0124], [0125], [0144]); and
causes before the confirmatory operation, the display device to display the deactivation of autonomous driving ([0124], [0125]; FIG. 2: 92: 29g).
Regarding claim 2, Mori discloses that the display device includes at least one of a head-up display, a display installed in a dashboard, and a display included in a navigation system, the head-up display displaying an image on a glass or a projection plate positioned at a front part of the vehicle. ([0115]; FIG. 1: 9: 92)
Regarding claim 3, Mori discloses that an operating method for the preparatory operation and an operating method for the confirmatory operation are different from each other. ([0142], [0145])
Regarding claim 4, Mori disclose that the switch detects a touch operation as the preparatory operation and detects, as the confirmatory operation, any one of a touch operation that takes a longer contact time than a contact time of the touch operation for the preparatory operation and an operation of pushing in a part touched in the preparatory operation. ([0197], [0202], [0202])
Regarding claim 5, Mori discloses that the switch is a switch to operate an operation target device ([0083], [0084]), and the controller causes, before the confirmatory operation, the display device to display the detail of the control of a device out of an onboard device other than the operation target device ([0119]; FIG. 2: 92), the control being to be executed in response to the operating command. ([0144] )
Regarding claim 6, Mori discloses a method ([0002]) and a controller ([0098]; FIG. 1: 7), which operates by a processor ([0540]); otherwise, claim 6 is rejected as claim 1.
Regarding claim 7, Mori discloses that the controller: causes the display device to display reason of the deactivation of the autonomous driving. ([0152], [0153], [0157]; FIG. 7)
Conclusion
5. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN F MORTELL whose telephone number is (571)270-1873. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10-7 ET.
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, Davetta Goins can be reached at 571-272-2957. 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.
/JOHN F MORTELL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2689
Prosecution Insights