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 § 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) 1-5 and 7-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Prasad et al (US 2017/0363727)
Claim 1
Prasad discloses a surroundings monitoring device for a vehicle to which a towed vehicle is attachable, comprising: a turn information acquisition unit configured to, when a subject vehicle is turning with the towed vehicle attached to a rear of the subject vehicle, acquire turn information related to the subject vehicle and the towed vehicle, the subject vehicle being a vehicle that the surroundings monitoring device is applied to; a zone setting unit configured to set warning zones to left and right, behind the subject vehicle, and extend, based on the turn information acquired by the turn information acquisition unit, the warning zones further rearward when the towed vehicle is attached to the rear of the subject vehicle than when there is no towed vehicle attached; and a control unit configured to, when an object is detected by a detection device in any of the warning zones set by the zone setting unit, trigger a collision-inhibiting operation for inhibiting a collision with the object to be performed (see Figures 1, 3 and 4 and paragraphs [0011], [0012] and [0018]-[0034]).
Claim 2
Prasad discloses a surroundings monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the turn information acquisition unit is configured to acquire, as the turn information, a position of the towed vehicle that changes as the subject vehicle turns (paragraph [0028], trailer angle change), and the zone setting unit is configured to set the warning zones to the left and right, behind the subject vehicle based on the position of the towed vehicle acquired by the turn information acquisition unit (see Figs. 3 and 4 and paragraphs [0021]-[0034]).
Claim 3
Prasad discloses a surroundings monitoring device according to claim 2, wherein the turn information acquisition unit is configured to acquire, in addition to the position of the towed vehicle that changes as the subject vehicle turns, a travel trajectory of the subject vehicle during a turn of the subject vehicle, and the zone setting unit is configured to, when the position of the towed vehicle has not been acquired as the turn information, set the warning zones to extend in a direction along the travel trajectory of the subject vehicle acquired by the turn information acquisition unit (see Figures 1, 3 and 4 and paragraphs [0011], [0012], [0018] and [0021]-[0034]).
The examiner notes that Prasad discloses a system configured to “determine a presence and size of a trailer” (paragraph [0011]). The examiner sets forth that this wording inherently suggests that Prasad determines whether or not a trailer vehicle is attached at all. Furthermore, Prasad’s method steps disclosed in Fig. 4 disclose the first step 110 being “determine trailer-angle”, and it is reasonable to assume based on the operation of the system that if a trailer angle is not detected (because a trailer is not attached), then the angle value will return a zero. In addition to that, the determination of the length and width of the trailer in step 130 (see paragraph [0026]) should also return zero if a trailer is not detected or attached. Therefore Prasad inherently discloses a system that sets the warning zones to extend in a direction along the travel trajectory of the subject vehicle acquired by the turn information acquisition unit when the position of the towed vehicle has not been acquired, as in a case where a trailer is not attached at all, the determined trailer angle would be zero (which would result in the system behaving as if the longitudinal axis of the non-existent trailer and subject vehicle are aligned), and the length and width would also be zero (which would result in the system behaving as if a trailer of negligible size were attached to the subject vehicle), so the warning zones would naturally extend in a direction along the travel trajectory of the subject vehicle.
Claim 4
The surroundings monitoring device according to claim 3, wherein the zone setting unit is configured to, when neither the position of the towed vehicle nor the travel trajectory of the subject vehicle has been acquired as the turn information, truncate a rear end portion of each of the warning zones unit (see Figures 1, 3 and 4 and paragraphs [0011], [0012], [0018] and [0021]-[0034] and the rejection of claim 3 above, zero values return a non-existent/truncated warning zone).
Claim 5
The surroundings monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the turn information acquisition unit is configured to acquire, as the turn information, a travel trajectory of the subject vehicle during a turn of the subject vehicle, and the zone setting unit is configured to set the warning zones so as to extend in a direction along the travel trajectory of the subject vehicle acquired by the turn information acquisition unit (see Figures 1, 3 and 4 and paragraphs [0011], [0012] and [0018]-[0034]).
Claim 7
The surroundings monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the zone setting unit is further configured to set a towed-vehicle zone(trailer boundary 56) including an area occupied by the towed vehicle, and the control unit is configured to, even when the object is detected in an area of any of the warning zones, overlapping the towed-vehicle zone while the subject vehicle is turning with the towed vehicle attached to the rear of the subject vehicle, restrict the collision-inhibiting operation from being performed (Paragraphs [0018] and [0034]).
Claim 8
The surroundings monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the subject vehicle is equipped with, as the detection device, a ranging sensor (radar sensor 38) configured to transmit a probe wave and receive its reflected wave, the zone setting unit is further configured to set a towed-vehicle zone including an area occupied by the towed vehicle, and the control unit is further configured to, when recognizing that the object detected by the ranging sensor has moved from the towed-vehicle zone to an area outside the towed-vehicle zone and within any of the warning zones, restrict the collision-inhibiting operation from being performed (see paragraphs [0013], [0018]-[0022], and [0034]).
Claim 9
The surroundings monitoring device according to claim 8, wherein the control unit is configured to, when the object detected by the ranging sensor, recognized as having moved from the towed-vehicle zone to the area outside the towed-vehicle zone and within any of the warning zones, remains outside the towed-vehicle zone for a predefined period of time or longer, trigger the collision-inhibiting operation to be performed (see paragraphs [0013], [0018]-[0022], and [0034]).
Claim 10
A surroundings monitoring device for a vehicle to which a towed vehicle is attachable, comprising: a zone setting unit configured to set warning zones to left and right, behind a subject vehicle and a towed-vehicle zone including an area occupied by the towed vehicle, and extend the warning zones further rearward when the towed vehicle is attached to the rear of the subject vehicle than when there is no towed vehicle attached, the subject vehicle being a vehicle that the surroundings monitoring device is applied to; and a control unit configured to, when an object is detected by a detection device in any of the warning zones set by the zone setting unit, trigger a collision-inhibiting operation for inhibiting a collision with the object to be performed, the control unit being further configured to, even when the object is detected in an area of any of the warning zones, overlapping the towed-vehicle zone while the subject vehicle is turning with the towed vehicle attached to the rear of the subject vehicle, restrict the collision-inhibiting operation from being performed (see Figures 1, 3 and 4 and paragraphs [0011], [0012] and [0018]-[0034]).
Claim 11
The surroundings monitoring device according to claim 10, wherein the subject vehicle is equipped with, as the detection device, a ranging sensor configured to transmit a probe wave and receive its reflected wave, and the control unit is further configured to, when recognizing that the object detected by the ranging sensor has moved from the towed-vehicle zone to an area outside the towed-vehicle zone and within any of the warning zones, restrict the collision-inhibiting operation from being performed (see paragraphs [0013], [0018]-[0022], and [0034]).
Claim 12
The surroundings monitoring device according to claim 11, wherein the control unit is configured to, when the object detected by the ranging sensor, recognized as having moved from the towed-vehicle zone to the area outside the towed-vehicle zone and within any of the warning zones, remains outside the towed-vehicle zone for a predefined period of time or longer, trigger the collision-inhibiting operation to be performed (see paragraphs [0013], [0018]-[0022], and [0034]).
Claim 13
A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions executable by a computer to cause the computer to perform a surroundings monitoring method for a vehicle to which a towed vehicle is attachable, the surroundings monitoring method comprising: when a subject vehicle is turning with the towed vehicle attached to a rear of the subject vehicle, acquiring turn information related to the subject vehicle and the towed vehicle, the subject vehicle being a vehicle that the surroundings monitoring device is applied to; setting warning zones to left and right, behind the subject vehicle, and extending, based on the turn information acquired, the warning zones further rearward when the towed vehicle is attached to the rear of the subject vehicle than when there is no towed vehicle attached; and when an object is detected by a detection device in any of the warning zones, triggering a collision-inhibiting operation for inhibiting a collision with the object to be performed (see Figures 1, 3 and 4 and paragraphs [0011], [0012] and [0018]-[0034]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 is 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the limitations “a lane information acquisition unit configured to acquire lane information related to a road including a subject-vehicle's lane that is a lane in which the subject vehicle is traveling, wherein the zone setting unit is configured to recognize an adjacent lane to the subject-vehicle's lane based on the lane information, and set an area of any of the warning zones, on an opposite side of the adjacent lane from the subject-vehicle's lane, as a restriction area where implementation of the collision-inhibiting operation is restricted” are not anticipated or made obvious by the prior art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SIZO BINDA VILAKAZI whose telephone number is (571)270-3926. The examiner can normally be reached 10am-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Phutthiwat Wongwian can be reached at 571-270-5426. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SIZO B VILAKAZI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747