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
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) 1-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Pryor (US 2009/0267921).
Regarding claim 1:
Pryor discloses:
A system for controlling at least one of a set of functions in a vehicle interior (abstract: “applications in a vehicle”),
comprising a display screen (paragraph 153: “display screen”) and at least one image sensor (paragraph 155: “camera 117),
comprising a physical element mechanically linked to said display screen (paragraph 155: “knob 115”) and movable by a user between at least two distinct positions (paragraph 155: “rotatable thereon to various positions”),
wjereom the physical element not electrically connected to said display screen, said at least one image sensor being configured to capture images of said physical element and of at least part of the display screen (paragraph 155: “camera 117 which looks at points on the back of the knobs,” where from Fig. 1d the field of view includes the whole display), the system further comprising an electronic control unit connected to said image sensor, the electronic control unit being configured to:
assign a function to said physical element (many such functions are disclosed, but for example, paragraph 199-200),
detect in at least one image captured by said sensor, a position of said physical element following manipulation by the user (paragraph 200: “camera…senses the position”),
determine an action associated with said function, the action being variable depending on the position of the physical element (paragraph 200: “controls the heating…”), and
control the implementation of the action corresponding to the position of the physical element (paragraph 200: “controls the heating…”).
Regarding claim 2:
Pryor discloses:
wherein said physical element is a knob, a change in the position of said knob being affected by rotation of the knob (paragraph 155).
Regarding claim 3:
Pryor discloses:
wherein said physical element is a slider, a modification of the position of said slider being affected by a translation of said slider (paragraph 158).
Regarding claim 4:
Pryor discloses:
The system according to claim 1, configured to display, on said display screen, a menu relating to the function assigned to said physical element, the menu comprising sections arranged in such a way that the selected position of the physical element indicates one of said sections (paragraphs 199-200).
Regarding claim 5:
Pryor discloses:
The system according to claim 1, configured to display, on said display screen, a main menu of functions of said set of functions (e.g., Fig. 2f-2g, where knob 277 switches between functions).
Regarding claim 6:
Pryor discloses:
a module for detecting a direction of gaze of one of the vehicle users, and wherein the assignment of a function to said physical element is performed according to the detected direction of gaze, the main menu function towards which the gaze direction is oriented being assigned to said physical element (paragraph 273).
Regarding claim 7:
Pryor discloses:
wherein the assignment of a function to said physical element is effected by implementing a manipulation of the physical element to indicate a function displayed in the main menu, and detecting, in an image captured by said sensor, the position of said physical element (e.g., paragraph 202).
Regarding claim 8:
Pryor discloses:
The system according to claim 1, further comprising a voice recognition module, wherein the assignment of a function to said physical element is performed by voice command (paragraph 164).
Regarding claim 9:
This is a claim to the method performed by the system of the earlier claims. All elements positively recited have already been identified with respect to those claims. No further elaboration is necessary.
Regarding claim 10:
Pryor discloses:
A non-transitory, computer-readable medium having stored thereon a computer program comprising executable code instructions which, when executed by a programmable electronic device, implement the control method according to claim 9 (paragraph 197: “display and vehicle control computer 215,” where the computer has a memory as per, e.g., paragraph 233).
Regarding claim 11:
Pryor discloses:
wherein said physical element is not electrically connected to any other element in the system (Pryor does not show any electrical connections whatsoever, and in the description of how it works in, e.g., paragraph 155, it is clear none are needed).
Regarding claim 12:
Pryor discloses:
wherein said physical element has no electrical connection table (as seen in, e.g., Fig. 1f, there is no cable).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 04 February 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s argument (really page 2) is that Pryor does not disclose “the physical element is not electrically connected to said display screen.”
This is a puzzling statement. Pryor shows the physical element – see, e.g., Fig. 1f, where it is element 165. There is no electrical connection shown there.
Pyror describes how it works (e.g., paragraph 155), where the computer uses a camera to look at the position of the knob. Again, there is no electrical connection described there. It functions entirely without any electrical connection.
Pryor does not need to explicitly state that there it is not electrically connected when it thoroughly describes it and how it works and it is clear from this description that there is no electrical connection.
But Pryor discloses that it would be possible to have “electrical” means (paragraph 196) but that preferably it uses optical means. So it certainly follows from Pryor that there could be no electrical connection.
Therefore applicant’s arguments are not persuasive.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER RAY LAMB whose telephone number is (571)272-5264. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30-5:00 PM.
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/CHRISTOPHER R LAMB/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2622