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 § 103
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over macneille (US 2018/0288232), in view of Martinez (US 2015/0346834).
Claims 1 and 11 , recites “a method performed by a positioning entity in a wireless network in a vehicle for relative positioning a user equipment (UE) worn by a driver of the vehicle.” MacNeille teaches this limitation, stating: para [0019] “Mobile devices 16 may also include wearables, such as trackers, smart watches… knowing the location of the mobile device 16 generally identifies the location of the user or vehicle occupant.” MacNeille further teaches determining device location within a vehicle, stating: para [0023] “the vehicle computing environment 10 may be configured to utilize the antenna unit 28 to determine a location of each mobile device 16 within or around the vehicle 12.”
obtaining round trip time (RTT) ranging or angular measurements of signals having a bandwidth of at least 500 MHz —para [0059] “the detection module 106 may determine one or more device angles… based on an angle of the mobile device beacon received…” and high-bandwidth signals, stating: para [0038] “the antenna unit 28 and the mobile devices 16 may be configured to operate within… the 60 GHz band… millimeter waves.”
wherein the signals are transmitted between the UE and one or more wireless transceivers in the wireless network — MacNeille teaches this, stating: para [0033] “the antenna unit 28 may include… a plurality of receiver/transmitter circuits 66 and a plurality of antenna elements 68,” and para [0057] “the mobile device 16 may advertise a mobile device beacon… that is received by the phased array antenna 64.”
the signals being transmitted based on a trigger message from the UE… indicating that the UE has detected a change in position, orientation, or state of the UE — MacNeille does not explicitly disclose this limitation, however, Martinez teaches this limitation, stating: para [0028] “the control unit is additionally configured to detect a trigger signal executed by the user prior to the command gesture being carried out and, from said detection, start identification of the command gesture.” Martinez further teaches motion/state detection via sensors, stating: para [0004] “they are provided with GPS and motion detectors (accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer).” Martinez also teaches that such trigger/gesture information is used to generate commands, stating: para [0032] “the control unit may be configured to obtain the order from the command gesture and said additional information included in the trigger signal.”
determining a relative position of the UE worn by the driver of the vehicle with respect to the one or more wireless transceivers using the RTT ranging or angular measurements —para [0059] “the detection module 106 may determine one or more device angles…” and para [0047] “determine that the mobile device 16 is located in the matching seat zone.”
the one or more wireless transceivers having a known position relative to a steering wheel in the vehicle —para [0042] “the phased array antenna 64… may be mounted… above each seat of the vehicle,” and para [0044] “seat zone 92a… associated with the driver (i.e., a driver’s seat zone/location).”
determining if the UE worn by the driver is located within a threshold distance to the steering wheel —para [0047] “Any mobile device 16… matching the location-related properties… may be considered as being within the seat zone.”
determining whether to restrict autonomous operation of the vehicle if the UE is determined to be outside the threshold distance —para [0071] “a rule 112 may indicate that a display of a mobile device 16… should be disabled while the vehicle 12 is on or in motion,” and para [0024] “the ACS 14 may control a function of each mobile device 16 based on the mobile device’s determined location.”, thus, It would have been obvious to incorporate Martinez’s trigger-based gesture signaling into MacNeille to enable event-driven communication based on user motion/state, improving responsiveness and reducing unnecessary transmissions.
Claims 2 and 12, restricting autonomous operation… and permitting autonomous operation… based on threshold distance — MacNeille teaches this, stating: para [0024] “the ACS 14 may control a function of each mobile device 16 based on the mobile device’s determined location,” and para [0071] “a rule 112 may indicate that a display… should be disabled…”
Claims 3 and 13, the UE is worn on a wrist of the driver — MacNeille teaches this, stating: para [0019] “Mobile devices 16 may also include wearables, such as trackers, smart watches…”
Claims 4 and 14, autonomous operation comprises ADAS features — MacNeille teaches this, stating: para [0020] “vehicle systems 18 include a navigation system 20… HVAC system 22… hotspot system 24.”
Claims 5 and 15, the positioning entity is a server in the wireless network in the vehicle — MacNeille teaches this, stating: para [0025] “the ACS 14… may be implemented by one or more computing systems… computer system 30.”
Claims 6 and 16, restricting autonomous operation… comprises sending a message… and permitting… comprises not sending the message — MacNeille teaches communication, stating: para [0057] “the mobile device 16 may advertise a mobile device beacon…” and Martinez teaches control signaling based on gesture/trigger, stating: para [0033] “the control unit is configured to wirelessly send the order to an external device for it to be executed.”
Claims 7 and 17, angular measurements comprise angle of arrival (AOA) or angle of departure (AOD) — MacNeille teaches this, stating: para [0059] “the detection module 106 may determine one or more device angles… based on an angle…”
Claims 8 and 18, signals are transmitted by the UE and received by the wireless transceivers —para [0057] “the mobile device 16 may advertise a mobile device beacon… that is received by the phased array antenna 64.”
Claims 9 and 19, signals are transmitted by the wireless transceivers and received by the UE —: para [0055] “the detection module 106 may broadcast a reference signal… received by any mobile device 16…”
Claims 10 and 20, at least one wireless transceiver is mounted on the steering wheel —para [0042] “the phased array antenna 64 may be mounted… above each seat…”
Conclusion
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MASUD . AHMED
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3657A
/MASUD AHMED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3657
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