CTNF 18/898,924 CTNF 95611 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. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 27 September 2024 is/are being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claim 18 is 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. Regarding claim 18, the limitation “cause a computer to function as the voice recognition apparatus” is unclear. Claim 18 recites “non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program configured to cause a computer to function as the voice recognition apparatus according to claim 1,” referred to hereinafter as the “CRM.” Claim 1 comprises a controller which is described functionally as being configured to perform a series of steps. However, the components of claim 1 which are incorporated by reference into the CRM of claim 18 are unclear. The CRM of claim 18 includes the limitation of “cause a computer to function as the voice recognition apparatus” which lacks clarity as to what limitations are actually being incorporated. Regarding the incorporation by reference, the voice recognition apparatus of claim 1 is categorized as a machine, for purposes of 101 analysis, and the structure for the apparatus in claim 1 is limited to a controller (though disclosing a screen, the apparatus does not comprise the screen, per the claim limitations). Claim 1 does not indicate a computer or a computing device, either with relation to the controller or any particular functionality of claim 1. As such, even if performing all the functions described with reference to the voice recognition apparatus/controller of claim 1, one skilled in the art cannot be sure that the “computer” of claim 18 is “functioning as…” the voice recognition apparatus of claim 1. We do not know, based on the language of claim 1, whether the listed functions are necessary and/or sufficient for a computer to function as the voice recognition apparatus of claim 1. Therefore, claim 18 discloses a limitation which doesn’t necessarily require the performance of the disclosed steps and may encompass numerous undisclosed steps, such that one skilled in the art knows the metes and bounds of the limitations being incorporated by reference. Though the limitations of claim 1 detail how the applicant envisions the voice recognition apparatus functions according to the claimed embodiment, “a program configured to cause a computer to function as the voice recognition apparatus” may be entirely different than the functions performed by “the voice recognition apparatus” of claim 1. It is entirely possible that the method steps required to “cause a computer to function as the voice recognition apparatus of claim 1” include limitations derived from the functions of the controller of claim 1, limitations not listed in the claims at all, or combinations thereof. As such, it would not be clear to one having ordinary skill in the art what method steps are envisioned by the applicant to be encompassed by the phrase “cause a computer to function as,” as recited in claim 18. Therefore, claim 18 is indefinite and is rejected under 35. U.S.C. 112(b). Of note, it is believed that applicant intended to present a computer readable media claim which performs the steps of a method, such as the method described with reference to claim 19. With consideration of this possibility, the following proposed amendment, if acceptable to the applicant, would overcome the above rejection: Amend “configured to cause a computer to : function as the voice recognition apparatus according to claim 1 control a specific function in response to voice input from an occupant of a vehicle; sequentially transition to each of multiple states within a transition period from accepting the voice input until at least finishing controlling the specific function; and display, on a screen, which of the multiple states the computer is in.” The above amendment is drafted to incorporate all limitations of method claim 19 into the CRM of claim 18, as rewritten in independent form. As claim 18 is interpreted as an independent claim, this would not affect the number of independent claims in the application. Other appropriate corrections are possible and the choice of amendment remains at the applicant’s discretion. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim 1-4, 6, 8-9, 11-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsubara (U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2005/0125233, hereinafter Matsubara ) in view of Fan (WO 2023/160087 A1, hereinafter Fan ) . Regarding claim 1, Matsubara discloses A voice recognition apparatus comprising (Systems and methods described with reference to “a vehicle mounted control apparatus”; Matsubara, ¶ [0020]) a controller configured to control a specific function in response to voice input from an occupant of a vehicle (The vehicle mounted control apparatus comprises “a main device 1 includ[ing] a control section 2” and “a voice recognition section 5 that recognizes voice signals entered from a microphone 8 (voice input device),” and “user inputs voice to the apparatus,” and since the device is vehicle mounted, the user is also an occupant of the vehicle, and “the voice recognition section 5 recognizes a voice command from the user and the control section 2 executes a processing corresponding to the voice command,” where, in some embodiments, “the control section 2 has a function that controls a display device 6 connected to the main device 1 and displays route information and road information necessary for navigation on the display device 6.{control a specific function}”; Matsubara, ¶ [0020], [0027]), the controller being configured to sequentially transition to each of multiple states within a transition period from accepting the voice input until at least finishing controlling the specific function (The transition period is established by the processing of the voice input, as shown and described with reference to FIG. 3. “When the user inputs voice to the microphone 8, the voice recognition section 5 recognizes the input voice... reads a recognition parameter for the user... and recognizes the voice by the use of this parameter... [then] identifies which command of a plurality of voice commands that can be acceptable to the apparatus...” and determines if “the state of voice of voice command is good or bad. If good, the system “executes a processing corresponding to the identified voice command” if bad, the system “analyzes the reason of the state of voice not good (step ST8).” where, the steps of the states for processing the voice input, as shown in FIG 3 are sequential.; Matsubara, ¶ [0032]-[0036], FIG. 3), and display, on a screen, which of…[one or more] states the controller is in (“the control section 2 waits for...the input of voice command... and at the same time, as shown in FIG. 4A, displays on the screen a ‘voice reception state icon’ 13... to show a state of reception of voice command,” and “changes display on the screen of display device 6” based on the “state of voice,” where changes can include “displaying an icon corresponding to the state of voice, changing the color of an icon or the whole screen..., blinking the icon or the whole screen..., displaying the state of voice as character information, and further using these operations in combination” as “any display method can be employed as far as the user can visually recognize the state of voice when the user looks at the screen of display device 6.” See also FIG. 7 for exemplary states, which are displayed on the screen.; Matsubara, ¶ [0036]-[0037]; FIG. 7). However, Matsubara fails to expressly recite display, on a screen, which of the multiple states the controller is in. Fan teaches systems and methods for presenting the state of voice command responses. ( Fan , ¶ pg. 1, lines 6-10). Regarding claim 1, Fan teaches the controller being configured to sequentially transition to each of multiple states within a transition period from accepting the voice input until at least finishing controlling the specific function (“the display device can simultaneously prompt the real-time response status of the voice command 1 on the current user interface.” where, as explained with reference to an example, “in FIG. 7, when the user inputs the voice command 1, it is prompted to be in the listening state, and the listening state is used to indicate that the sound collector is collecting the voice command that the user is inputting.”; Fan, ¶ pg. 7, lines 8-14; FIG. 7), and display, on a screen, which of the multiple states the controller is in (“A state prompt control 700 is displayed on the user interface, and a state effect mark 701 and state information 702 matching the current voice response state are loaded and displayed in the state prompt control 700” and can be “visualized by rendering effects such as animation and color”, where “real-time response status of the voice command 1” includes all states, such as the “thinking state”, and the “answering state”, at least with relation to voice command 1.; Fan, ¶ pg. 7, lines 8-27; FIG. 7). It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle control system of Matsubara to incorporate the teachings of Fan to include display, on a screen, which of the multiple states the controller is in. Matsubara discloses sophisticated vehicle control systems which keep the occupant apprised of voice processing status information, but Matsubara fails to recite real-time and sequential updating of voice processing state. Though Matsubara describes disclosing status information about the voice processing, the usefulness of such information is limited by the well-known problem in real-time systems of information staleness, which refers to data or knowledge that has become outdated, inaccurate, or irrelevant because the real-world conditions it represents have changed over time. In real-time systems, once actionable information is quickly rendered useless if delivered too late or not at all, as the time for action has quickly passed. Fan discloses a display device which displays “real-time response status of the voice command 1 on the current user interface.” A person having ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine the vehicle control system of Matsubara with the real-time status updating of Fan to achieve the known benefit providing more detailed information, and providing time sensitive information the moment it is available, such that the occupant of the vehicle can respond accordingly to said information when it is most useful and relevant, as recognized in light of the disclosure of Fan . ( Fan , ¶ pg. 1, lines 19-24). Regarding claim 2, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. Matsubara and Fan disclose all of the elements of the current invention as stated above. Matsubara further discloses wherein the transition period is a period from accepting the voice input until notifying the occupant of a result of controlling the specific function (Though not expressly recited as a “transition period”, the period of time for showing the “voice reception state icon” or other indicators, as described above, is from the point of receiving “the input of the voice command {accepting the voice input…}” until after the determination of “good” or “not good” and “perform[ing] the operation of finishing.” Where, if good, the transition period end at ST 12 {where the system notifies the occupant of the control result (e.g., “control section 2 determines that the state of voice of voice command is good and executes a processing corresponding to the identified voice command”); Matsubara, ¶ [0034], [0036]-[0038]; FIG. 3).. Regarding claim 3, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. Matsubara and Fan disclose all of the elements of the current invention as stated above. Matsubara further discloses wherein the transition period is a period from accepting the voice input until notifying the occupant that the specific function has been controlled (Though not expressly recited as a “transition period”, the period of time for showing the “voice reception state icon” or other indicators, as described above, is from the point of receiving “the input of the voice command {accepting the voice input…}” until after the determination of “good” or “not good” and “perform[ing] the operation of finishing.” Otherwise “the control section 2 repeats the processing following step ST3”; Matsubara, ¶ [0036]-[0038]). Regarding claim 4, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. Matsubara and Fan disclose all of the elements of the current invention as stated above. Matsubara further discloses wherein when displaying, on the screen, which of the multiple states the controller is in, the controller uses an image to represent which of the multiple states the controller is in (changes in the display can include “displaying an icon corresponding to the state of voice, changing the color of an icon or the whole screen..., blinking the icon or the whole screen..., displaying the state of voice as character information, and further using these operations in combination” as “any display method can be employed as far as the user can visually recognize the state of voice when the user looks at the screen of display device 6,” where an icon is an image and the changed color in combination with the icon represents the current state of the controller with respect to the voice input.; Matsubara, ¶ [0036]-[0037]). Regarding claim 6, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. Matsubara and Fan disclose all of the elements of the current invention as stated above. Matsubara further discloses wherein when displaying, on the screen, which of the multiple states the controller is in, the controller outputs a voice message indicating which of the multiple states the controller is in (Discloses “ control section 2 waits for an input signal from the input device 11 and/or the input of voice command from the microphone 8 (step ST4) and at the same time, as shown in FIG. 4A, displays on the screen a “voice reception state icon” 13 of “VOICE” to show a state of reception of voice command,” where “it is also recommended that the displayed sentence is output as voice from the speaker 9 to make the user recognize the sentence as voice,”; Matsubara, ¶ [0021], [0032], [0043]). Regarding claim 8, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. Matsubara and Fan disclose all of the elements of the current invention as stated above. However, Matsubara fail(s) to expressly recite wherein whenever transitioning from any one state of the multiple states to another state, the controller displays, on the screen, which of the multiple states the controller is in. The relevance of Fan is described above with relation to claim 1. Regarding claim 8, Fan teaches wherein whenever transitioning from any one state of the multiple states to another state, the controller displays, on the screen, which of the multiple states the controller is in (“the display device can simultaneously prompt the real-time response status of the voice command 1 on the current user interface.” where, “A state prompt control 700 is displayed on the user interface, and a state effect mark 701 and state information 702 matching the current voice response state are loaded and displayed in the state prompt control 700,” where real-time, as understood in the context of displaying a “response status”, includes presentation of the active state at the transition point between states, as well as the active state both before and after the transition point.; Fan, ¶ pg. 7, lines 8-14; FIG. 7). It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle control system of Matsubara to incorporate the teachings of Fan to include wherein whenever transitioning from any one state of the multiple states to another state, the controller displays, on the screen, which of the multiple states the controller is in. Matsubara discloses sophisticated vehicle control systems which keep the occupant apprised of voice processing status information, but Matsubara fails to recite real-time and sequential updating of voice processing state as required by the limitations as read in light of the broadest reasonable interpretation of claim 1. Though Matsubara describes disclosing status information about the voice processing, the usefulness of such information is limited by the well-known problem in real-time systems of information staleness, which refers to data or knowledge that has become outdated, inaccurate, or irrelevant because the real-world conditions it represents have changed over time. In real-time systems, once actionable information is quickly rendered useless if delivered too late or not at all, as the time for action has quickly passed. Fan discloses a display device which displays “real-time response status of the voice command 1 on the current user interface.” A person having ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine the vehicle control system of Matsubara with the real-time status updating of Fan to achieve the known benefit providing more detailed information, and providing time sensitive information the moment it is available, such that the occupant of the vehicle can respond accordingly to said information when it is most useful and relevant, as recognized in light of the disclosure of Fan . ( Fan , ¶ pg. 1, lines 19-24). Regarding claim 9, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. Matsubara disclose all of the elements of the current invention as stated above. However, Matsubara fail(s) to expressly recite wherein the controller is configured to continuously display, on the screen during the transition period, which of the multiple states the controller is in. The relevance of Fan is described above with relation to claim 1. Regarding claim 9, Fan teaches wherein the controller is configured to continuously display, on the screen during the transition period, which of the multiple states the controller is in (“the display device can simultaneously prompt the real-time response status of the voice command 1 on the current user interface.” where, “A state prompt control 700 is displayed on the user interface, and a state effect mark 701 and state information 702 matching the current voice response state are loaded and displayed in the state prompt control 700,” where real-time, as understood in the context of displaying a “response status”, includes presentation of the active state at all time points during the transition period, and real-time further includes continuous display (such that the information provided is relevant for all “time” which is covered by the “real-time” event).; Fan, ¶ pg. 7, lines 8-14; FIG. 7). It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle control system of Matsubara to incorporate the teachings of Fan to include wherein the controller is configured to continuously display, on the screen during the transition period, which of the multiple states the controller is in. Matsubara discloses sophisticated vehicle control systems which keep the occupant apprised of voice processing status information, but Matsubara fails to recite real-time and sequential updating of voice processing state. Though Matsubara describes disclosing status information about the voice processing, the usefulness of such information is limited by the well-known problem in real-time systems of information staleness, which refers to data or knowledge that has become outdated, inaccurate, or irrelevant because the real-world conditions it represents have changed over time. In real-time systems, once actionable information is quickly rendered useless if delivered too late or not at all, as the time for action has quickly passed. Fan discloses a display device which displays “real-time response status of the voice command 1 on the current user interface.” A person having ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine the vehicle control system of Matsubara with the real-time status updating of Fan to achieve the known benefit providing more detailed information, and providing time sensitive information the moment it is available, such that the occupant of the vehicle can respond accordingly to said information when it is most useful and relevant, as recognized in light of the disclosure of Fan . ( Fan , ¶ pg. 1, lines 19-24). Regarding claim 11, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. Matsubara and Fan disclose all of the elements of the current invention as stated above. Matsubara further discloses wherein the multiple states include a state in which the controller is accepting the voice input (The transition period is established by the processing of the voice input, as shown and described with reference to FIG. 3. “When the user inputs voice to the microphone 8, the voice recognition section 5 recognizes the input voice... reads a recognition parameter for the user... and recognizes the voice by the use of this parameter... [then] identifies which command of a plurality of voice commands that can be acceptable to the apparatus...” and determines if “the state of voice of voice command is good or bad. If good, the system “executes a processing corresponding to the identified voice command” if bad, the system “analyzes the reason of the state of voice not good (step ST8).” where, the steps of the states for processing the voice input, as shown in FIG 3 are sequential.; Matsubara, ¶ [0032]-[0036], FIG. 3). Regarding claim 12, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. Matsubara and Fan disclose all of the elements of the current invention as stated above. Matsubara further discloses wherein the multiple states include a state in which the controller is recognizing the voice input (The multiple states include both receipt of the voice command and recognition of the voice command (e.g., “If the control section 2 can identify the voice command input, the control section 2 determines that the state of voice of voice command is good”); Matsubara, ¶ [0033]-[0034]). Regarding claim 13, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. Matsubara and Fan disclose all of the elements of the current invention as stated above. Matsubara further discloses wherein the multiple states include a state in which the controller is searching in relation to controlling the specific function (Disclosed with regards to the example input of “Near gas station” as “the voice command” the system “retrieves a near gas station” where “the state of operation to the user, ‘Near gas station is now being retrieved’ is displayed during the operation.”; Matsubara, ¶ [0035]). Regarding claim 14, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. Matsubara and Fan disclose all of the elements of the current invention as stated above. Matsubara further discloses wherein the multiple states include a state in which the controller is communicating with a server apparatus in relation to controlling the specific function (Specifically contemplates “a control apparatus for controlling electronic devices outside of the vehicle” and such devices can include a server, where a state of retrieving information, such as information about a gas station, in an embodiment which includes a server, is understood to include retrieving information about the gas station, from the server.; Matsubara, ¶ [0035], [0066]). Regarding claim 15, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. Matsubara and Fan disclose all of the elements of the current invention as stated above. Matsubara further discloses wherein the multiple states include a state in which the controller is notifying the occupant of a result of controlling the specific function (“‘Near gas station’ is input by the user as the voice command, so the vehicle mounted apparatus recognizes the voice command and hence retrieves a near gas station and displays the result of retrieval” including “Near gas station is now being retrieved” being displayed during the operation, where retrieval is understood both in the context of information retrieval {a retrieval state} and presentation of the results of an operation {notifying the occupant of a result of a specific function}; Matsubara, ¶ [0035]). Regarding claim 16, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. Matsubara and Fan disclose all of the elements of the current invention as stated above. Matsubara further discloses wherein the specific function is a function of the vehicle or a device mounted on the vehicle (“the vehicle mounted control apparatus” for controlling a GPS navigation device, as the primary disclosed embodiment and alternative embodiments of “a control apparatus for controlling vehicle mounted electronic devices, for example, an air conditioner, an audio unit and the like.”; Matsubara, ¶ [0066]). Regarding claim 17, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. Matsubara and Fan disclose all of the elements of the current invention as stated above. Matsubara further discloses A vehicle comprising the voice recognition apparatus (The systems and methods described with reference to a “vehicle mounted control apparatus” which “may be integrated with the main device 1 or may be integrally embedded in a portion of interior surface of a vehicle.”; Matsubara, ¶ [0020]) according to claim 1 (See previous mapping of claim 1, detailed above with relation to the rejection of claim 1, in light of Matsubara and Fan ). Regarding claim 18, Matsubara and Fan disclose A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program configured to cause a computer to function as the voice recognition apparatus (The systems and methods described with reference to a “vehicle mounted control system” as implemented using “a main device 1” including “a control section 2 constructed of a microprocessor or the like, a memory 3 {non-transitory computer readable media} that is connected to the control section 2 and stores programs and various kinds of data {storing a program configured to cause a computer to function as the voice recognition apparatus}”; Matsubara, ¶ [0020]) according to claim 1 (See previous mapping of claim 1, detailed above with relation to the rejection of claim 1, in light of Matsubara and Fan ). Regarding claim 19, Matsubara discloses A control method comprising (Systems and methods described with reference to “a vehicle mounted control apparatus”; Matsubara, ¶ [0020]): controlling, by a computer, a specific function in response to voice input from an occupant of a vehicle (The vehicle mounted control apparatus comprises “a main device 1 includ[ing] a control section 2” and “a voice recognition section 5 that recognizes voice signals entered from a microphone 8 (voice input device),” and “user inputs voice to the apparatus,” and since the device is vehicle mounted, the user is also an occupant of the vehicle, and “the voice recognition section 5 recognizes a voice command from the user and the control section 2 executes a processing corresponding to the voice command,” where, in some embodiments, “the control section 2 has a function that controls a display device 6 connected to the main device 1 and displays route information and road information necessary for navigation on the display device 6.{control a specific function}”; Matsubara, ¶ [0020], [0027]); sequentially transitioning, by the computer, to each of multiple states within a transition period from accepting the voice input until at least finishing controlling the specific function (The transition period is established by the processing of the voice input, as shown and described with reference to FIG. 3. “When the user inputs voice to the microphone 8, the voice recognition section 5 recognizes the input voice... reads a recognition parameter for the user... and recognizes the voice by the use of this parameter... [then] identifies which command of a plurality of voice commands that can be acceptable to the apparatus...” and determines if “the state of voice of voice command is good or bad. If good, the system “executes a processing corresponding to the identified voice command” if bad, the system “analyzes the reason of the state of voice not good (step ST8).” where, the steps of the states for processing the voice input, as shown in FIG 3 are sequential.; Matsubara, ¶ [0032]-[0036], FIG. 3); and displaying, by the computer on a screen, which of …[one or more] states the computer is in (“the control section 2 waits for...the input of voice command... and at the same time, as shown in FIG. 4A, displays on the screen a ‘voice reception state icon’ 13... to show a state of reception of voice command,” and “changes display on the screen of display device 6” based on the “state of voice,” where changes can include “displaying an icon corresponding to the state of voice, changing the color of an icon or the whole screen..., blinking the icon or the whole screen..., displaying the state of voice as character information, and further using these operations in combination” as “any display method can be employed as far as the user can visually recognize the state of voice when the user looks at the screen of display device 6.” See also FIG. 7 for exemplary states, which are displayed on the screen.; Matsubara, ¶ [0036]-[0037]; FIG. 7). However, Matsubara fails to expressly recite displaying, by the computer on a screen, which of the multiple states the controller is in. The relevance of Fan is described above with relation to claim 1. Regarding claim 19, Fan teaches sequentially transitioning, by the computer, to each of multiple states within a transition period from accepting the voice input until at least finishing controlling the specific function (“the display device can simultaneously prompt the real-time response status of the voice command 1 on the current user interface.” where, as explained with reference to an example, “in FIG. 7, when the user inputs the voice command 1, it is prompted to be in the listening state, and the listening state is used to indicate that the sound collector is collecting the voice command that the user is inputting.”; Fan, ¶ pg. 7, lines 8-14; FIG. 7); and displaying, by the computer on a screen, which of the multiple states the computer is in (“A state prompt control 700 is displayed on the user interface, and a state effect mark 701 and state information 702 matching the current voice response state are loaded and displayed in the state prompt control 700” and can be “visualized by rendering effects such as animation and color”, where “real-time response status of the voice command 1” includes all states, such as the “thinking state”, and the “answering state”, at least with relation to voice command 1.; Fan, ¶ pg. 7, lines 8-27; FIG. 7). It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle control system of Matsubara to incorporate the teachings of Fan to include displaying, by the computer on a screen, which of the multiple states the controller is in. Matsubara discloses sophisticated vehicle control systems which keep the occupant apprised of voice processing status information, but Matsubara fails to recite real-time and sequential updating of the voice processing state. Though Matsubara describes disclosing status information about the voice processing, the usefulness of such information is limited by the well-known problem in real-time systems of information staleness, which refers to data or knowledge that has become outdated, inaccurate, or irrelevant because the real-world conditions it represents have changed over time. In real-time systems, once actionable information is quickly rendered useless if delivered too late or not at all, as the time for action has quickly passed. Fan discloses a display device which displays “real-time response status of the voice command 1 on the current user interface.” A person having ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine the vehicle control system of Matsubara with the real-time status updating of Fan to achieve the known benefit providing more detailed information, and providing time sensitive information the moment it is available, such that the occupant of the vehicle can respond accordingly to said information when it is most useful and relevant, as recognized in light of the disclosure of Fan . ( Fan , ¶ pg. 1, lines 19-24). Regarding claim 20 the rejection of claim 19 is incorporated. Matsubara and Fan disclose all of the elements of the current invention as stated above. Matsubara further discloses wherein the multiple states include one or more states, among a state in which the computer is accepting the voice input, a state in which the computer is recognizing the voice input, a state in which the computer is searching in relation to controlling the specific function, a state in which the computer is communicating with a server apparatus in relation to controlling the specific function, and a state in which the computer is notifying the occupant of a result of controlling the specific function (The transition period is established by the processing of the voice input, as shown and described with reference to FIG. 3. “When the user inputs voice to the microphone 8, the voice recognition section 5 recognizes the input voice... reads a recognition parameter for the user... and recognizes the voice by the use of this parameter... [then] identifies which command of a plurality of voice commands that can be acceptable to the apparatus...” and determines if “the state of voice of voice command is good or bad. If good, the system “executes a processing corresponding to the identified voice command” if bad, the system “analyzes the reason of the state of voice not good (step ST8).” where, the steps of the states for processing the voice input, as shown in FIG 3 are sequential.; Matsubara, ¶ [0032]-[0036], FIG. 3) . 07-22-aia AIA Claim 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsubara and Fan as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of MacNeille (U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2011/0083075, hereinafter MacNeille) . Regarding claim 5, the rejection of claim 4 is incorporated. Matsubara and Fan disclose all of the elements of the current invention as stated above. However, Matsubara fails to expressly recite wherein the image includes a gesture or a facial expression. The relevance of Fan is described above with relation to claim 1. Regarding claim 19, Fan teaches wherein the image includes… [an animation] (“A state prompt control 700 is displayed on the user interface, and a state effect mark 701 and state information 702 matching the current voice response state are loaded and displayed in the state prompt control 700” and can be “visualized by rendering effects such as animation and color”, where “real-time response status of the voice command 1” includes all states, such as the “thinking state”, and the “answering state”, at least with relation to voice command 1.; Fan, ¶ pg. 7, lines 8-27; FIG. 7). It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle control system of Matsubara to incorporate the teachings of Fan to include wherein the image includes… [an animation] . Matsubara discloses sophisticated vehicle control systems which keep the occupant apprised of voice processing status information, but Matsubara fails to recite real-time and sequential updating of the voice processing state. Though Matsubara describes disclosing status information about the voice processing, the usefulness of such information is limited by the well-known problem in real-time systems of information staleness, which refers to data or knowledge that has become outdated, inaccurate, or irrelevant because the real-world conditions it represents have changed over time. In real-time systems, once actionable information is quickly rendered useless if delivered too late or not at all, as the time for action has quickly passed. Fan discloses a display device which displays “real-time response status of the voice command 1 on the current user interface.” A person having ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine the vehicle control system of Matsubara with the real-time status updating of Fan to achieve the known benefit providing more detailed information, and providing time sensitive information the moment it is available, such that the occupant of the vehicle can respond accordingly to said information when it is most useful and relevant, as recognized in light of the disclosure of Fan . ( Fan , ¶ pg. 1, lines 19-24). However, Matsubara and Fan fail to expressly recite wherein the image includes a gesture or a facial expression. MacNeille teaches systems and methods related to “an emotive advisory system (EAS) for use by one or more occupants of an automotive vehicle.” ( MacNeille , ¶ [0002]). Regarding claim 5, MacNeille teaches wherein the image includes a gesture or a facial expression (“the actuators/outputs 24 include a screen that selectively displays an avatar” which “may be a graphical representation of human, animal, machine, plant, vehicle, etc. and may include features, for example, a face, etc., that are capable of visually conveying emotion” which, in one example, is displayed with relation to a voice command processing state (e.g., emotional expression via the avatar, based on “having trouble establishing a remote communication link”) and further, as shown with relation to FIG. 2, includes a full body depiction of a humanoid avatar, thus including gestures as part of the visual conveyance of emotion responsive to the voice command processing state; MacNeille, ¶ [0031]-[0032]; FIG. 2). It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle control system of Matsubara , as modified by the real-time response status presentation of Fan to incorporate the teachings of MacNeille to include wherein the image includes a gesture or a facial expression. The combination of Matsubara and Fan disclose the use of animations or imagery for the presentation of real-time information regarding the status of processing a voice command in a vehicle. However, Matsubara and Fan fail to expressly recite the types and kinds of animation as including faces and gestures. MacNeille discloses an emotionally capable system for presentation of vehicle related information, specifically including voice command processing information. One skilled in the art would be motivated to combine MacNeille with the described combination of Matsubara and Fan , to “develop dialog that assumes the avatar is human, causing the occupants to treat the avatar with politeness and speak to it in a natural voice…[which], in turn, increases the recognition rate and helps to develop an emotional bond between the avatar and the vehicle occupants,” which would provide the obvious benefit of reducing anger and mitigating “road rage” situations in drivers and occupants of a vehicle, reducing both distractions and danger on the road, as recognized in light of the disclosure of MacNeille . ( MacNeille , ¶ [0008], [0032]) . 07-22-aia AIA Claim 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsubara and Fan as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Krishnakumar (U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2026/0004617, hereinafter Krishnakumar) . Regarding claim 7, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. Matsubara and Fan disclose all of the elements of the current invention as stated above. Matsubara further discloses wherein when displaying, on the screen, which of the multiple states the controller is in, the controller outputs different sound effects… [based on input from the controller] (Discloses “ control section 2 waits for an input signal from the input device 11 and/or the input of voice command from the microphone 8 (step ST4) and at the same time, as shown in FIG. 4A, displays on the screen a “voice reception state icon” 13 of “VOICE” to show a state of reception of voice command,” where “it is also recommended that the displayed sentence is output as voice from the speaker 9 to make the user recognize the sentence as voice,” and where, “the speaker 9 outputs voices, effect sounds, and sounds of music on the basis of the control of control section 2.”; Matsubara, ¶ [0021], [0032], [0043]). However, Matsubara and Fan fail to expressly recite that the different sound effects depend on which of the multiple states the controller is in. Krishnakumar teaches “systems and methods for communicating the status of a vehicle to a user of the vehicle.” ( Krishnakumar , ¶ [0001]). Regarding claim 7, Krishnakumar teaches wherein when displaying, on the screen, which of the multiple states the controller is in, the controller outputs different sound effects depending on which of the multiple states the controller is in (Discloses “receiving the vehicle information from the vehicle” and “generating a vehicle behaviour signal based upon the analysis” where the status of a voice command for control of vehicle-related systems or devices, such as a vehicle mounted/integrated control apparatus, is understood as “vehicle information,” in the context of the combination of Matsubara and Krishnakumar , and “choosing and playing the specific predefined audio sound based upon the vehicle behaviour signal received.”; Krishnakumar, ¶ [0030]). It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle control system of Matsubara , as modified by the real-time response status presentation of Fan to incorporate the teachings of Krishnakumar to include that the different sound effects depend on which of the multiple states the controller is in. The combination of Matsubara and Fan disclose the use of voice, animations or imagery for the presentation of real-time information regarding the status of processing a voice command in a vehicle for each state. Matsubara further discloses the use of “effect sounds” which is understood as the different sound effects, “on the basis of the control of control section 2.” However, Matsubara and Fan fail to expressly recite that the different sound effects are provided by the “control section 2,” as corresponding to the states. Krishnakumar discloses a personalized system which allows for specific user selected sounds to correspond to the states of vehicle systems. One skilled in the art would be motivated to combine Krishnakumar with the described combination of Matsubara and Fan , to allow for the communication of “information pertaining to the working and functionality of [vehicle] sub-systems,” which would provide the obvious benefit of communicating important information to drivers and occupants of a vehicle, while minimizing production cost, and reducing occupant discomfort and distraction, as recognized in light of the disclosure of Krishnakumar . ( Krishnakumar , ¶ [0002], [0007]-[0008]) . 07-22-aia AIA Claim 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsubara and Fan as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Clark (U.S. Pat. No. 12,361,941, hereinafter Clark) . Regarding claim 10, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated. Matsubara and Fan disclose all of the elements of the current invention as stated above. However, Matsubara and Fan fail to expressly recite wherein upon receiving a cancellation instruction from the occupant, during the transition period, the controller discontinues controlling the specific function. Clark teaches systems and methods for “device state reversion” for use in a vehicle environment and corresponding to “one or more electronic devices that may… be utilized to detect conditions associated with the environments” ( Clark , ¶ col. 1, lines 65-67). Regarding claim 10, Clark teaches wherein upon receiving a cancellation instruction from the occupant, during the transition period, the controller discontinues controlling the specific function (discloses “a speech processing system may be configured to receive audio data representing the speech input and may determine that the speech input includes an undo intent” where the speech input “may simply be “undo,” “stop,” “I don’t want that,” etc.” and “may query the state reversion component to perform operations based at least in part on identifying the undo intent” and “determining the requested device state to revert” for a “device” that “recently transitioned states due to multiple triggers, some of which were correctly executed.”; Clark, ¶ Col. 4, lines 11-34; Col. 5, lines 39-45). It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle control system of Matsubara , as modified by the real-time response status presentation of Fan to incorporate the teachings of Clark to include wherein upon receiving a cancellation instruction from the occupant, during the transition period, the controller discontinues controlling the specific function. The combination of Matsubara and Fan discloses a vehicle control system which keep the occupant apprised of voice processing status information in real-time based on a variety of output types which correspond to the voice processing state. Though disclosing the generation and delivery of the real-time voice processing information, Matsubara and Fan fail to expressly recite the system response due to barge in including response to a cancellation instruction during the described transition period. Fan discloses a display device which displays “real-time response status of the voice command 1 on the current user interface.” One skilled in the art would be motivated to combine the device state reversion of Clark with the real-time vehicle-based voice processing status information of Matsubara and Fan , to provide the known benefit of terminating a response in the event that the originally expected output is determined by the user to not be useful or otherwise no longer desired based on delay and/or error, as indicated in the real-time vehicle voice processing information taught by Matsubara and Fan , as recognized in light of the disclosure of Clark . ( Clark , ¶ col. 3, lines 18-45) . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Koyama (U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 20070265844) discloses an audio device control device including environmental data indicating a circumstance of an environment under which the audio device is used, and/or operational status data indicating an operational status of the audio device, and controls the audio device to apply the specified operation. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Sean E. Serraguard whose telephone number is (313)446-6627. The examiner can normally be reached 07:00-17:00 M-F. 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, Daniel C. Washburn can be reached at (571) 272-5551. 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. /Sean E Serraguard/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 2 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 3 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 4 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 5 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 6 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 7 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 8 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 9 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 10 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 12 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 13 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 14 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 15 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 16 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 17 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 18 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 19 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 20 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 21 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 22 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 23 Art Unit: 2657 Application/Control Number: 18/898,924 Page 24 Art Unit: 2657
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