CTNF 18/887,095 CTNF 87081 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Priority 02-26 AIA Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 17 September 2024 is being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-20-02-aia AIA This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-7 and 12-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tokunaga, et al. (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2015/0112510) . For claim 1, Tokunaga discloses management device, wherein: the management device is of a network system for a vehicle (see Fig. 1A), the network system including electronic control units that form groups (see Fig. 1A, 10a-10c), the groups each including at least one of the electronic control units, the groups including a first group and a second group (see Fig. 1A, 10a-10c). Tokunaga does not explicitly disclose that the first group is different from the second group. However, Tokunaga teaches that the functions of the groups are different (see para. 0035). It would have been obvious at the effective date of filing to one of ordinary skill in the art that groups would be different based on the teachings of Tokunaga and the motivation to improve network management techniques for reducing power consumption of a vehicle-mounted network system (see para. 0007). Continuing with the claim, Tokunaga further discloses when a state of the vehicle is a first state, the management device is configured to supply power to the at least one of the electronic control units included in the first group, and not supply power to one or more of the electronic control units not included in the first group (see paras. 0029-0031, 0035-0036); and when the state of the vehicle is a second state differing from the first state, the management device is configured to supply power to the at least one of the electronic control units included in the second group, and not supply power to one or more of the electronic control units not included in the second group (see paras. 0029-0031, 0035-0036). Referring to claim 2, Tokunaga further teaches the management device is further configured to selectively shift a first electronic control unit of the electronic control units to a standby state and an operation state (see paras. 0029-0031, 0035-0036); when the first electronic control unit is in the standby state, the first electronic control unit is supplied with power and is inactive (see paras. 0029-0031, 0035-0036); and when the first electronic control unit is in the operation state, the first electronic control unit is supplied with power and is permitted to perform processing (see paras. 0029-0031, 0035-0036). With regards to claim 3, Tokunaga further teaches wherein: the management device is connected to the electronic control units in a manner allowing for communication (see para. 0035); and the management device is further configured to shift the first electronic control unit from the standby state to the operation state by communicating with the first electronic control unit (see paras. 0029-0031, 0035-0036). Pertaining to claim 4, Tokunaga does not explicitly disclose the claimed limitations. However, the functionality defined is interpreted to be the same functionality described in Tokunaga (see paras. 0029-0031, 0035-0036), but with an additional set of a management ECU and associated control units of Fig. 1A. Accordingly, if the system of 1A of Tokunaga was duplicated, one of ordinary skill in the art would have the requisite skill to group the ECUS of each unit for carrying out specific functions. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective date of filing, based on obviousness of Element Duplication, to form additional groups and clusters with the additional assembly depicted in Fig. 1A based on a reasonable expectation of success and the motivation to improve network management techniques for reducing power consumption of a vehicle-mounted network system (see para. 0007). With reference to claim 5, Tokunaga does not explicitly teach the functionality related to operationalizing two functions instead of one. However, one of ordinary skill in the art has the requisite knowledge that a modern vehicle carries out many functions simultaneously while in operation. One of ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious that additional ECUs would need to be active to carry out multiple functions given the number of functions carried out simultaneously in a vehicle and based on the motivation to improve network management techniques for reducing power consumption of a vehicle-mounted network system (see para. 0007). For claims 6 and 7, Tokunaga teaches putting ECUs not in use in standby mode (see para. 0010, “not in use” equivalent to “finishes providing” and “not included”). Pertaining to claim 11, Tokunaga further discloses wherein the first state is a state in which the vehicle is at a standstill, and the second state is a state in which the vehicle is traveling (see para. 0029). Claims 12 and 16 define elements and subject matter that is substantially similar to the claimed elements and subject matter defined in claim 1. Accordingly, claims 12 and 16 are rejected based on the citations and reasoning provided above for claim 1. Claims 13 and 17 define elements and subject matter that is substantially similar to the claimed elements and subject matter defined in claim 2. Accordingly, claims 13 and 13 are rejected based on the citations and reasoning provided above for claim 2. Claims 14 and 18 define elements and subject matter that is substantially similar to the claimed elements and subject matter defined in claim 3. Accordingly, claims 14 and 18 are rejected based on the citations and reasoning provided above for claim 3. Claims 15 and 19 define elements and subject matter that is substantially similar to the claimed elements and subject matter defined in claim 4. Accordingly, claims 15 and 19 are rejected based on the citations and reasoning provided above for claim 4 . 07-22-aia AIA Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tokunaga, et al. (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2015/0112510) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Golov (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2020/0319894) . Pertaining to claim 10, Tokunaga does not explicitly disclose the claimed limitation. A teaching from Golov discloses monitoring if the vehicle is being charged or not charged (see paras. 0041-0042). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective date of filing to modify Tokunaga to include the teachings of Golov based on based on a reasonable expectation of success and the motivation to improve network management techniques for reducing power consumption of a vehicle-mounted network system (see para. 0007) . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 8 and 9 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. Conclusion Examiner would like to point out that any reference/citation to specific figures, columns and lines should not be considered limiting in any way. The entire cited reference, as well as any secondary teaching reference(s), are to be included in considerations of relevant disclosure relating to the claimed invention. Applicant is herein considered to have implicit knowledge of all cited teachings of the prior art of record. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADAM D TISSOT whose telephone number is (571)270-3439. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-4:30. 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, Angela Ortiz can be reached at (571) 272-1206. 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. /ADAM D TISSOT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3663 Application/Control Number: 18/887,095 Page 2 Art Unit: 3663 Application/Control Number: 18/887,095 Page 3 Art Unit: 3663 Application/Control Number: 18/887,095 Page 4 Art Unit: 3663 Application/Control Number: 18/887,095 Page 5 Art Unit: 3663 Application/Control Number: 18/887,095 Page 6 Art Unit: 3663 Application/Control Number: 18/887,095 Page 7 Art Unit: 3663
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