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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In paragraph [0062], “senor” should be amended to –sensor–.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 9 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 9, the claimed, “the horizontal tray sections” lack antecedent basis in the claims. It appears as though claim 9 should depend from claim 8 to correct the improper antecedent basis.
Further regarding claim 9, the claimed, “are to the rib sections” is unclear. The claim should be amended to clarify what is meant.
Regarding claim 20, the claimed, “the horizontal tray sections” and “the vertical blade sections” each lack antecedent basis in the claims.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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, 2, 4–14, 16, and 17–22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jackson et al. (US Pub. # 20200215988), hereinafter referred to as Jackson.
Regarding claim 1, Jackson teaches, “An external sensor array housing for a forestry vehicle, comprising: a pyramidal-shaped housing (Fig. 1–3, 17; para. [0034, 0035, 0040]) having a chamber in a lower section and a sensor bay portion in an upper section for housing at least one sensor of a sensor array, wherein the upper section is narrower than the lower section (see Fig. 1–3); rib sections disposed on at least the exterior edges of the pyramid-shaped housing and extending from above the sensor bay to a base section of the pyramidal-shaped housing (Fig. 17, 18; ribs are represented by frame 350) to deflect tree strikes from the sensor bay portion and spread the load of tree strikes; and side panels around at least the lower section (see Fig. 1–3, 17) to deflect tree debris (italicized language throughout claims is “intended use functional language” not required to anticipate the claims).”
Regarding claims 2 and 14, Jackson teaches, “an attachment mechanism (see para. [0033, 0041]) to detachably attach a lower surface of the pyramidal-shaped housing onto an exterior portion of roof of a cab of a forestry vehicle with 1) a force sufficient to restrain the pyramidal shaped housing during ordinary use of the forestry vehicle; and 2) detach the pyramidal shaped housing during a forestry vehicle rollover event (italicized language throughout claims is “intended use functional language” not required to anticipate the claims).”
Regarding claims 4 and 16, Jackson teaches, “where the sensor bay is configured to house a sensor module including at least one of a camera and a LIDAR (para. [0035]).”
Regarding claims 5 and 17, Jackson teaches, “wherein the chamber of the lower section is configured to house a compute unit with a signal bus connecting the sensor bay and the chamber (see Fig. 1–3, 17, 18, para. [0035]; lower section chamber is configured to house control units with signal busses connecting throughout housing).”
Regarding claims 6 and 19, Jackson teaches, “wherein a pitch of the ribs is selected based at least in part on sensor bay size consideration and a sensor view consideration (taught by details of Fig. 17, 18; ribs are represented by frame 350).”
Regarding claim 7, Jackson teaches, “wherein the sensor array housing is shaped to deflect tree debris around side panels (housing as shown in Fig. 1–3).”
Regarding claim 8, Jackson teaches, “interior horizontal tray sections (see Fig. 17–18 showing internal horizontal trays).”
Regarding claim 9, Jackson teaches, “wherein the horizontal tray sections are to the rib sections (internal horizontal trays shown in Fig. 17, 18 extending to rib sections).”
Regarding claim 10, Jackson teaches, “wherein the rib sections are tapered to have a reduced width near the sensor bay (Fig. 17 shows ribs with reduced/tapering width where sensors reside, compared to other areas, see below).”
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Regarding claim 11, Jackson teaches, “wherein the rib sections have a blade-shape including a portion protruding from the edges of the pyramidal shaped housing (see portions of housing as shown in Fig. 1–3, 17, 18).”
Regarding claim 12, Jackson teaches, “where the external sensor array housing is cantilevered (see housing of Fig. 1–3, 17, 18).”
Regarding claim 13, Jackson teaches, “An external sensor system for a forestry vehicle, comprising: a pyramidal shaped housing (Fig. 1–3, 17; para. [0034, 0035, 0040]) having a chamber in a lower section and a sensor bay portion in an upper section housing at least one sensor of a sensor array (see [0035]) requiring a line-of-sight view for a forestry vehicle, wherein the upper section is narrower than the lower section (see Fig. 1–3); protruding ribs forming exterior edges of the pyramidal shaped housing (Fig. 17, 18; ribs are represented by frame 350) to deflect tree strikes from the sensor bay portion and dissipate the energy of tree strikes; side panels around at least the lower section (Fig. 17, 18) to deflect tree debris; electronics in the chamber to receive information from the at least one sensor and support communication with a compute unit in a cab (electronics implicitly present in lidar sensor and communicating detection results to a control unit of the vehicle) of the forestry vehicle (italicized language throughout claims is “intended use functional language” not required to anticipate the claims).”
Regarding claim 18, Jackson teaches, “wherein the lower section is configured to house non-line-of-sights sensors (see Fig. 1–3, 17, 18, para. [0035]; lower section chamber is configured to house non-line-of-sight sensors).”
Regarding claim 20, Jackson teaches, “wherein the horizontal tray sections are attached to the vertical blade sections (see horizontal trays attached to vertical blade sections shown in Fig. 17, 18).”
Regarding claim 21, Jackson teaches, “A safety external sensor array housing for a forestry vehicle, comprising: a pyramidal-shaped housing (Fig. 1–3, 17; para. [0034, 0035, 0040]) having a chamber in a lower section and a sensor bay portion in an upper section for housing at least one sensor of a sensor array (see [0035]) requiring a line-of-sight view for a forestry vehicle, wherein the upper section is narrower than the lower section (see Fig. 1–3); protruding ribs forming exterior edges of the pyramidal-shaped housing (Fig. 17, 18; ribs are represented by frame 350) to deflect tree strikes from the sensor bay portion and dissipate the energy of tree strikes; side panels around at least the lower section (Fig. 17, 18) to deflect tree debris; a roof section projecting the sensor bay portion; and an attachment mechanism (see para. [0033, 0041]) to attach a lower surface of the pyramidal-shaped housing onto an exterior portion of roof of a cab of a forestry vehicle during normal use but automatically detach during a forestry vehicle rollover event (italicized language throughout claims is “intended use functional language” not required to anticipate the claims).”
Regarding claim 22, Jackson teaches, “A safety external sensor array housing for a forestry vehicle, comprising: a housing (Fig. 1–3, 17; para. [0034, 0035, 0040]) having a chamber in a lower section and a sensor bay portion in an upper section for housing at least one sensor of a sensor array (see [0035]) requiring a line-of-sight view for a forestry vehicle, wherein the upper section is narrower than the lower section (see Fig. 1–3); an attachment mechanism (see para. [0033, 0041]) to attach a lower surface of the housing onto an exterior portion of roof of a cab of a forestry vehicle during normal use but automatically detach during a forestry vehicle rollover event (italicized language throughout claims is “intended use functional language” not required to anticipate the claims).”
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) 3 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jackson (US Pub. # 20200215988) in view of Kim et al. (US Pat. # 9221397), hereinafter referred to as Kim.
Regarding claims 3 and 15, Jackson does not appear to teach, “wherein the attachment mechanism comprises a magnetic attachment mechanism that is switchable on and off.” However, Kim teaches the deficiencies of Jackson (see at least Fig. 3, ref. # 218; col. 7, ln. 48–61). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Jackson’s invention to include wherein the attachment mechanism comprises a magnetic attachment mechanism that is switchable on and off.
The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Jackson’s invention for at least the purpose of ensuring the housing enclosing the sensor devices is automatically released from a vehicle when an accident occurs, preventing further damage to the vehicle or potentially preventing irreparable damage to the sensing device, if it were left permanently attached during an accident.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO–892 form. The references cited herewith teach vehicle sensor mounting devices with configurations similar to the present application.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN D WALSH whose telephone number is (571)272-2726. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 8:30am-6:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Walter Lindsay can be reached at 571-272-1674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RYAN D WALSH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
