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.
Claims 1, 3-9, 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over , Luo et al., Pub. No.: US 20060140446 A1 in view of Lota`511, Pub. No.: US 20180111511 A1.
Regarding claims 1, 17, 19 & 20, Luo et al. discloses a computer system & a vehicle & a computer-implemented method & a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which when executed by processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform a method; comprising a computer system, comprising processing circuitry configured to:
(a) receive first imaging media of a seat in a vehicle from a camera ([0024] “The camera controller 80 … to provide data relating to various image characteristics of the occupant seating area, which can range from an empty seat, an object on the seat, a human occupant, etc.” & [0030] “each of the seat models represents a contour of the seat back in a different possible position of the seat along one or more ranges of motion associated with the seat. When a match is found with a given contour model, the seat can be presumed to be in the position associated with the contour model.”);
(b) receive user input indicative that the seat is in the target seat position ([0030] “The model selector 106 searches the provided contour image for a contour corresponding to one of a plurality of seat back contour models. … each of the seat models represents a contour of the seat back in a different possible position of the seat along one or more ranges of motion associated with the seat. When a match is found with a given contour model, the seat can be presumed to be in the position associated with the contour model.” & [0037] “a set of two hundred thirty-one contour models would be utilized for determining the position of the seat.”);
(c) capture the first image in the first imaging media of the seat in the target seat position in response to receiving the user input ([0042] “the position of the seat can be determined to be the associated seat position of the selected contour model. ... The contour models can be compared to the contour image at a number of positions within the search window to determine an optimal position, for example, the position that produces a minimum distance score. The optimal score for each model is determined, and the model having the lowest overall score is selected, along with determined optimal position.” );
(d) store the captured first image as target seat position data in a non-transitory computer readable medium ([0073] The computer system 400 ... The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of data, data structures, and computer-executable instructions for the computer system 400.”);
(e) receive a target seat position data indicating the target seat position of the seat in the vehicle, wherein the target seat position data comprises the first image of the seat in the target seat position and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive the captured first image from the non-transitory computer readable medium as the target seat position data indicating the target seat position of the seat in the vehicle ([0024] The camera controller 80 can take any of several forms such as a microcomputer, discrete circuitry, ASIC, etc. The camera controller 80 … to provide data relating to various image characteristics of the occupant seating area, … image data of the seating area”);
(f) receive second imaging media ([0023] “a first camera 70 and a second camera 72, both connected to a camera controller 80”) comprising a second image of the seat from the camera indicative of a current seat position of the seat ([0035] The image produced at the edge detector 164 is provided as a second input to the contour enhancer 162. The contour enhancer 162 combines the intensity data from the edge detector 164 output and the depth information from the stereo disparity map to produce a contour image. In one implementation of the invention, the output of the edge detector 164 is overlaid onto the stereo disparity map and all depth values not corresponding to an edge are set to zero. Accordingly, the contour image includes a three-dimensional contour, comprising its two dimensional position on the plane of the original image and the added depth information. );
(g) process the second imaging media to determine the current seat position relative to the target seat position indicated by the target seat position data ([0042] “the position of the seat can be determined to be the associated seat position of the selected contour model. … The contour models can be compared to the contour image at a number of positions within the search window to determine an optimal position”).
Luo et al. is not explicit on “threshold orientation displacement”, however, Lota`511, US 20180111511 A1, teaches VEHICLE SEAT ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM and discloses; and
(h) control a seat position actuator to move the seat to a new seat position towards the target seat position, in response to the current seat position differing from the target seat position by more than a threshold orientation displacement ([0042] “the processors 102 may control the operation of the actuator 124 of the corresponding seat based on the received signals. For example, the processors 102 may instruct the actuator 124 to limit or reduce the movement of the first row seat 210, the second row seat 220, or the third row seat 230 when the pressure sensor 118 detects a pressure, or the proximity sensor 116 detects an object within a predetermined distance.” & See also para. [0068] –[0069] “limit the (longitudinal movement) operation of the actuator”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these above mentioned features disclosed by Lota`511 with the system disclosed by Luo et al. in order to provide vehicle seat adjustment systems with an actuator communicatively coupled to the input device and configured to adjust positions of the one or more seats. And a controller communicatively coupled to the camera, the screen, the input device and the actuator. The controller receives the input from the input device and instruct the actuator to adjust the positions of the one or more seats based on the input from the user (see Abstract & para. [0004]-[0005] & [0001]).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over , Luo et al., Pub. No.: US 20060140446 A1 in view of Lota`511, Pub. No.: US 20180111511 A1, further in view of Legh et al., US 20240067052 A1.
Regarding claim 2, Luo et al. discloses the computer system of claim 1,
Luo et al. is not explicit on “overlay images”, however, Legh et al., US 20240067052 A1, teaches SEAT ASSEMBLY and discloses; wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:
(g) process the second imaging media by being configured to: overlay the second image of the seat from the second imaging media of the current seat position of the seat with the captured first image to determine a current orientation displacement that indicates the current seat position relative to the target seat position indicated by the target seat position data ([0017] “FIGS. 7-9 depict the seat assembly 20 when the seat 22 is in the first seat position. FIGS. 1-6 depict the seat assembly 20 when the seat 22 is in the second seat position. FIGS. 10 and 11 depict overlayed images of the seat 22 in the first seat position (solid lines) and the seat 22 in the second seat position (dotted lines).” & [0018] “FIGS. 15, 16, and 18 depict the seat assembly 20′ when the seat 22′ is in the first seat position. FIGS. 13, 14, and 19 depict the seat assembly 20′ when the seat 22′ is in the second seat position. FIG. 17 depicts overlayed images of the seat 22′ in the first seat position (solid lines) and the seat 22′ in the second seat position (dotted lines).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these above mentioned features disclosed by Legh et al. with the system disclosed by Luo et al. in order to provide a seat assembly with a seat adjuster to adjust the seat to a first seat position and to a second seat position, as depicted each overlayed side views (see Abstract & para. [0007], [0011]).
Further, Luo et al. is not explicit on “threshold orientation displacement”, however, Lota`511, US 20180111511 A1, teaches VEHICLE SEAT ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM and discloses; and
determine whether the current orientation displacement is more than the threshold orientation displacement ([0042] “the processors 102 may control the operation of the actuator 124 of the corresponding seat based on the received signals. For example, the processors 102 may instruct the actuator 124 to limit or reduce the movement of the first row seat 210, the second row seat 220, or the third row seat 230 when the pressure sensor 118 detects a pressure, or the proximity sensor 116 detects an object within a predetermined distance.” & See also para. [0068] –[0069] “limit the (longitudinal movement) operation of the actuator”), and
(h) control the seat position actuator to move the seat to the new seat position towards the target seat position, in response to current orientation displacement being greater than the threshold orientation displacement ([0042] “the processors 102 may control the operation of the actuator 124 of the corresponding seat based on the received signals. For example, the processors 102 may instruct the actuator 124 to limit or reduce the movement of the first row seat 210, the second row seat 220, or the third row seat 230 when the pressure sensor 118 detects a pressure, or the proximity sensor 116 detects an object within a predetermined distance.” & See also para. [0068] –[0069] “limit the (longitudinal movement) operation of the actuator”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these above mentioned features disclosed by Lota`511 with the system disclosed by Luo et al. in order to provide vehicle seat adjustment systems with an actuator communicatively coupled to the input device and configured to adjust positions of the one or more seats. And a controller communicatively coupled to the camera, the screen, the input device and the actuator. The controller receives the input from the input device and instruct the actuator to adjust the positions of the one or more seats based on the input from the user (see Abstract & para. [0004]-[0005] & [0001]).
Regarding claim 3, Luo et al. discloses the computer system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:
(e) receive the target seat position data indicating the target feature position of the seat feature of the seat, wherein the target feature position indicates the target seat position of the seat in the vehicle ([0039] “a feature or contour having a known shape and orientation can be located within an image.” & [0044] The edited image is provided to a feature extractor 172, where the image is analyzed to produce a feature vector for classification. A feature vector represents an image as a plurality of elements, where each element represents an image feature. ... In addition, the seat position determined from the selected contour model can be utilized to produce one or more feature values.” & [0045] The extracted feature vector is then provided to the classifier 174.”);
(g) process the second imaging media by being configured to: extract a representation of the seat feature in the second imaging media ([0048] “feature data is extracted from the input image in the form of a feature vector. A feature vector represents an image as a plurality of elements corresponding to features of interest within the image. Each element can assume a value corresponding to a quantifiable image feature. … the determined seat position can itself be utilized to provide one or more features for classification.); and
determine a current feature position data indicating a current feature position of the seat feature based on the extracted representation of the seat feature ([0044] “the seat position determined from the selected contour model can be utilized to produce one or more feature values.)
Luo et al. is not explicit on “threshold orientation displacement”, however, Lota`511, US 20180111511 A1, teaches VEHICLE SEAT ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM and discloses; and
(h) control the seat position actuator to move the seat to the new seat position towards the target seat position, in response to the current feature position differing from the target feature position by more than the threshold orientation displacement ([0042] “the processors 102 may control the operation of the actuator 124 of the corresponding seat based on the received signals. For example, the processors 102 may instruct the actuator 124 to limit or reduce the movement of the first row seat 210, the second row seat 220, or the third row seat 230 when the pressure sensor 118 detects a pressure, or the proximity sensor 116 detects an object within a predetermined distance.” & See also para. [0068] –[0069] “limit the (longitudinal movement) operation of the actuator”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these above mentioned features disclosed by Lota`511 with the system disclosed by Luo et al. in order to provide vehicle seat adjustment systems with an actuator communicatively coupled to the input device and configured to adjust positions of the one or more seats. And a controller communicatively coupled to the camera, the screen, the input device and the actuator. The controller receives the input from the input device and instruct the actuator to adjust the positions of the one or more seats based on the input from the user (see Abstract & para. [0004]-[0005] & [0001]).
Regarding claim 4, Luo et al. discloses the computer system of claim 1, wherein the seat feature is a seat portion that is part of the seat and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:
(e) receive the target seat position data indicating the target seat portion position of the seat, wherein the target seat portion position indicates the target seat position of the seat in the vehicle ((Note: The “seat position” interpreted as includes “a seat portion position”), see [0039] In a generalized Hough transform, a feature or contour having a known shape and orientation can be located within an image. The generalized Hough transform can be utilized to located features that cannot be described by a simple analytical equation. First, an arbitrary reference point within the image can be selected, from which the shape of the feature can be defined according to a series of normal lines between the points in the line and the reference point. The parameters for each line (e.g., the slope and normal distance from the reference point) can be inputted into a lookup table representing the contour model.);
(g) process the second imaging media by being configured to:
extract a representation of the seat portion in the second imaging media ([0048] “feature data is extracted from the input image in the form of a feature vector. A feature vector represents an image as a plurality of elements corresponding to features of interest within the image. Each element can assume a value corresponding to a quantifiable image feature. … the determined seat position can itself be utilized to provide one or more features for classification.); and
determine a current seat portion position data indicating a current seat portion position of the seat feature based on the extracted representation of the seat portion ([0044] “the seat position determined from the selected contour model can be utilized to produce one or more feature values.).
Luo et al. is not explicit on “threshold orientation displacement”, however, Lota`511, US 20180111511 A1, teaches VEHICLE SEAT ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM and discloses; and
(h) control the seat position actuator to move the seat to the new seat position towards the target seat position, in response to the current seat portion position differing from the target seat portion position by more than the threshold orientation displacement ([0042] “the processors 102 may control the operation of the actuator 124 of the corresponding seat based on the received signals. For example, the processors 102 may instruct the actuator 124 to limit or reduce the movement of the first row seat 210, the second row seat 220, or the third row seat 230 when the pressure sensor 118 detects a pressure, or the proximity sensor 116 detects an object within a predetermined distance.” & See also para. [0068] –[0069] “limit the (longitudinal movement) operation of the actuator”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these above mentioned features disclosed by Lota`511 with the system disclosed by Luo et al. in order to provide vehicle seat adjustment systems with an actuator communicatively coupled to the input device and configured to adjust positions of the one or more seats. And a controller communicatively coupled to the camera, the screen, the input device and the actuator. The controller receives the input from the input device and instruct the actuator to adjust the positions of the one or more seats based on the input from the user (see Abstract & para. [0004]-[0005] & [0001]).
Regarding claim 5, Luo et al. discloses the computer system of claim 3, wherein: the seat feature comprises a marker connected to the seat; and the processing circuitry is configured to:
(e) receive the target seat position data indicating a target marker position of the marker connected to the seat, wherein the target marker position indicates the target seat position of the seat in the vehicle ([0039] “a feature or contour having a known shape and orientation can be located within an image.” & [0044] The edited image is provided to a feature extractor 172, where the image is analyzed to produce a feature vector for classification. A feature vector represents an image as a plurality of elements, where each element represents an image feature. ... In addition, the seat position determined from the selected contour model can be utilized to produce one or more feature values.” & [0045] The extracted feature vector is then provided to the classifier 174.”);
(g) process the second imaging media by being configured to: extract a representation of the marker in the second imaging media ([0048] “feature data is extracted from the input image in the form of a feature vector. A feature vector represents an image as a plurality of elements corresponding to features of interest within the image. Each element can assume a value corresponding to a quantifiable image feature. … the determined seat position can itself be utilized to provide one or more features for classification.); and
determine a current marker position data indicating a current marker position of the seat feature based on the extracted representation of the marker ([0044] “the seat position determined from the selected contour model can be utilized to produce one or more feature values.); and
Luo et al. is not explicit on “threshold orientation displacement”, however, Lota`511, US 20180111511 A1, teaches VEHICLE SEAT ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM and discloses; and
(h) control the seat position actuator to move the seat to the new seat position towards the target seat position, in response to the current marker position differing from the target marker position by more than the threshold orientation displacement ([0042] “the processors 102 may control the operation of the actuator 124 of the corresponding seat based on the received signals. For example, the processors 102 may instruct the actuator 124 to limit or reduce the movement of the first row seat 210, the second row seat 220, or the third row seat 230 when the pressure sensor 118 detects a pressure, or the proximity sensor 116 detects an object within a predetermined distance.” & See also para. [0068] –[0069] “limit the (longitudinal movement) operation of the actuator”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these above mentioned features disclosed by Lota`511 with the system disclosed by Luo et al. in order to provide vehicle seat adjustment systems with an actuator communicatively coupled to the input device and configured to adjust positions of the one or more seats. And a controller communicatively coupled to the camera, the screen, the input device and the actuator. The controller receives the input from the input device and instruct the actuator to adjust the positions of the one or more seats based on the input from the user (see Abstract & para. [0004]-[0005] & [0001]).
Regarding claim 6, Luo et al. discloses the computer system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:
Note: the “seat position” interpreted as including “seat tilt position” as well (see. [0030] The output of the image generator 102 is provided to a contour generator 104. The contour generator 104 produces a contour image from the image generator output containing an outline or contour of the provided images. For example, the contour generator 104 can comprise a Canny edge detector that produces a contour image from the output of the sensors. The contour image is then provided to a model selector 106. The model selector 106 searches the provided contour image for a contour corresponding to one of a plurality of seat back contour models. … each of the seat models represents a contour of the seat back in a different possible position of the seat along one or more ranges of motion associated with the seat. When a match is found with a given contour model, the seat can be presumed to be in the position associated with the contour model.):
(e) receive the target seat position data indicating a target tilt position of a seatback of the seat ([0039] “a feature or contour having a known shape and orientation can be located within an image.” & [0044] The edited image is provided to a feature extractor 172, where the image is analyzed to produce a feature vector for classification. A feature vector represents an image as a plurality of elements, where each element represents an image feature. ... In addition, the seat position determined from the selected contour model can be utilized to produce one or more feature values.” & [0045] The extracted feature vector is then provided to the classifier 174.”);
(g) process the second imaging media by being configured to determine a current tilt position data indicating a current tilt position of the seat feature based on the second image of the second imaging media ([0042] “the position of the seat can be determined to be the associated seat position of the selected contour model. … The contour models can be compared to the contour image at a number of positions within the search window to determine an optimal position” & see also para. [0048] ““feature data is extracted from the input image in the form of a feature vector.”).
Luo et al. is not explicit on “threshold orientation/tilt displacement”, however, Lota`511, US 20180111511 A1, teaches VEHICLE SEAT ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM and discloses; and
(h) control the seat position actuator to move the seatback of the seat to the new tilt position, in response to the current tilt position differing from the target tilt position by more than a threshold tilt displacement ([0042] “the processors 102 may control the operation of the actuator 124 of the corresponding seat based on the received signals. For example, the processors 102 may instruct the actuator 124 to limit or reduce the movement of the first row seat 210, the second row seat 220, or the third row seat 230 when the pressure sensor 118 detects a pressure, or the proximity sensor 116 detects an object within a predetermined distance.” & See also para. [0068] –[0069] “limit the (longitudinal movement) operation of the actuator”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these above mentioned features disclosed by Lota`511 with the system disclosed by Luo et al. in order to provide vehicle seat adjustment systems with an actuator communicatively coupled to the input device and configured to adjust positions of the one or more seats. And a controller communicatively coupled to the camera, the screen, the input device and the actuator. The controller receives the input from the input device and instruct the actuator to adjust the positions of the one or more seats based on the input from the user (see Abstract & para. [0004]-[0005] & [0001]).
Regarding claim 7, Luo et al. discloses the computer system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:
(Note: The “seat position” interpreted as includes “a front/back position of the seat”).
(e) receive the target seat position data indicating a front/back position of the seat ([0039] “a feature or contour having a known shape and orientation can be located within an image.” & [0044] The edited image is provided to a feature extractor 172, where the image is analyzed to produce a feature vector for classification. A feature vector represents an image as a plurality of elements, where each element represents an image feature. ... In addition, the seat position determined from the selected contour model can be utilized to produce one or more feature values.” & [0045] The extracted feature vector is then provided to the classifier 174.”);
(g) process the second imaging media by being configured to determine a current front/back position data indicating a current front/back position of the seat feature based on the second image of the second imaging media ([0042] “the position of the seat can be determined to be the associated seat position of the selected contour model. … The contour models can be compared to the contour image at a number of positions within the search window to determine an optimal position” & see also para. [0048] ““feature data is extracted from the input image in the form of a feature vector.”)
Luo et al. is not explicit on “threshold orientation/front/back position displacement”, however, Lota`511, US 20180111511 A1, teaches VEHICLE SEAT ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM and discloses; and
(h) control the seat position actuator to move the seat to the new front/back position, in response to the current front/back position differing from the target front/back position by more than a threshold front/back position displacement ([0042] “the processors 102 may control the operation of the actuator 124 of the corresponding seat based on the received signals. For example, the processors 102 may instruct the actuator 124 to limit or reduce the movement of the first row seat 210, the second row seat 220, or the third row seat 230 when the pressure sensor 118 detects a pressure, or the proximity sensor 116 detects an object within a predetermined distance.” & See also para. [0068] –[0069] “limit the (longitudinal movement) operation of the actuator”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these above mentioned features disclosed by Lota`511 with the system disclosed by Luo et al. in order to provide vehicle seat adjustment systems with an actuator communicatively coupled to the input device and configured to adjust positions of the one or more seats. And a controller communicatively coupled to the camera, the screen, the input device and the actuator. The controller receives the input from the input device and instruct the actuator to adjust the positions of the one or more seats based on the input from the user (see Abstract & para. [0004]-[0005] & [0001]).
Regarding claim 8, Luo et al. discloses the computer system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:
Note: The “seat position” interpreted as including “vertical position of the seat” as well (see. [0067] FIG. 9 illustrates a methodology 350 for generating a set of contour models … the seat and headrest are arranged in a desired position relative to one or more ranges of motion. In the illustrated example, a given seat can have four ranges of motion, a horizontal range of motion toward the front or rear of the vehicle, a radial reclining of the seat back relative to the seat bottom, a vertical motion of the frontward potion of the seat bottom, and a vertical motion of the rearward portion of the seat bottom.”)
(e) receive the target seat position data indicating a vertical position of the seat ([0039] “a feature or contour having a known shape and orientation can be located within an image.” & [0044] The edited image is provided to a feature extractor 172, where the image is analyzed to produce a feature vector for classification. A feature vector represents an image as a plurality of elements, where each element represents an image feature. ... In addition, the seat position determined from the selected contour model can be utilized to produce one or more feature values.” & [0045] The extracted feature vector is then provided to the classifier 174.”);;
(g) process the second imaging media by being configured to determine a current vertical position data indicating a current vertical position of the seat feature based on the second image of the second imaging media ([0042] “the position of the seat can be determined to be the associated seat position of the selected contour model. … The contour models can be compared to the contour image at a number of positions within the search window to determine an optimal position” & see also para. [0048] ““feature data is extracted from the input image in the form of a feature vector.”).
Luo et al. is not explicit on “threshold orientation/vertical position displacement”, however, Lota`511, US 20180111511 A1, teaches VEHICLE SEAT ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM and discloses; and
(h) control the seat position actuator to move the seat to the new tilt position, in response to the current vertical position differing from the target vertical position by more than a threshold vertical position displacement ([0042] “the processors 102 may control the operation of the actuator 124 of the corresponding seat based on the received signals. For example, the processors 102 may instruct the actuator 124 to limit or reduce the movement of the first row seat 210, the second row seat 220, or the third row seat 230 when the pressure sensor 118 detects a pressure, or the proximity sensor 116 detects an object within a predetermined distance.” & See also para. [0068] –[0069] “limit the (longitudinal movement) operation of the actuator”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these above mentioned features disclosed by Lota`511 with the system disclosed by Luo et al. in order to provide vehicle seat adjustment systems with an actuator communicatively coupled to the input device and configured to adjust positions of the one or more seats. And a controller communicatively coupled to the camera, the screen, the input device and the actuator. The controller receives the input from the input device and instruct the actuator to adjust the positions of the one or more seats based on the input from the user (see Abstract & para. [0004]-[0005] & [0001]).
Regarding claim 9, Luo et al. discloses the computer system of claim 1.
Luo et al. is not explicit on “threshold orientation displacement”, however, Lota`511, US 20180111511 A1, teaches VEHICLE SEAT ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM and discloses; wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:
(h) control the seat position actuator to move the seat to the new seat position in response to the current seat position differing from the target seat position by more than a threshold orientation displacement such that in the new seat position the new position is within the threshold orientation displacement of the target seat position ([0042] “the processors 102 may control the operation of the actuator 124 of the corresponding seat based on the received signals. For example, the processors 102 may instruct the actuator 124 to limit or reduce the movement of the first row seat 210, the second row seat 220, or the third row seat 230 when the pressure sensor 118 detects a pressure, or the proximity sensor 116 detects an object within a predetermined distance.” & See also para. [0068] –[0069] “limit the (longitudinal movement) operation of the actuator”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these above mentioned features disclosed by Lota`511 with the system disclosed by Luo et al. in order to provide vehicle seat adjustment systems with an actuator communicatively coupled to the input device and configured to adjust positions of the one or more seats. And a controller communicatively coupled to the camera, the screen, the input device and the actuator. The controller receives the input from the input device and instruct the actuator to adjust the positions of the one or more seats based on the input from the user (see Abstract & para. [0004]-[0005] & [0001]).
Claims 10-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over , Luo et al., Pub. No.: US 20060140446 A1 in view of Lota`511, Pub. No.: US 20180111511 A1, further in view of Yetukuri et al., Pub. No.: US 20200171979 A1.
Regarding claim 10, Luo et al. discloses the computer system of claim 1,
Luo et al. is not explicit on “iteratively perform steps”, however, Yetukuri et al., US 20200171979 A1, teaches SEAT ASSEMBLY and discloses;
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to iteratively perform steps (f)-(h) until the current seat position does not differ from the target seat position by more than the threshold orientation displacement ([0040] “If the movement path is not clear, the ECU 40 may (i) determine a new/second movement path (e.g., iteratively) (step 112); (ii) move the other seats (30.sub.2, 30.sub.3, 30.sub.4) out of the way of the desired movement path (step 114), and/or (iii) determine a new/second movement path and move at least one of the other seats (30.sub.2, 30.sub.3, 30.sub.4) to a second position (steps 112 and 114).”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these above mentioned features disclosed by Yetukuri et al., with the system disclosed by Luo et al. in order to provide an electronic control unit to automatically move the seat to the second position without contacting other objects to automatically move the second seat from a first second seat position to a second second seat position., to determine a movement path (e.g., iteratively) of the seat according to information from the one or more sensor assemblies (see Abstract & para. [0004]-[0005]).
Regarding claim 11, Luo et al. discloses the computer system of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:
(Note: The “seat position” interpreted as includes “a front/back/ a vertical/a tilt position of the seat”).
(e) receive the target seat position data identifying a target front/back position of the seat, a target vertical position of the seat, and a target tilt of a seat back of the seat ([0039] “a feature or contour having a known shape and orientation can be located within an image.” & [0044] The edited image is provided to a feature extractor 172, where the image is analyzed to produce a feature vector for classification. A feature vector represents an image as a plurality of elements, where each element represents an image feature. ... In addition, the seat position determined from the selected contour model can be utilized to produce one or more feature values.” & [0045] The extracted feature vector is then provided to the classifier 174.”);
wherein in a first iteration of steps (f)-(h), the processing circuitry is configured to:
(f) receive the second imaging media ([0023] “a first camera 70 and a second camera 72, both connected to a camera controller 80”) comprising the second image of the seat from the camera indicative of a current front/back position of the seat ([0042] “the position of the seat can be determined to be the associated seat position of the selected contour model. … The contour models can be compared to the contour image at a number of positions within the search window to determine an optimal position” & see also para. [0048] ““feature data is extracted from the input image in the form of a feature vector.”);
(g) process the second imaging media by being configured to determine a current front/back position data indicating the current front/back position of the seat based on the first image of the second imaging media ([0042] “the position of the seat can be determined to be the associated seat position of the selected contour model. … The contour models can be compared to the contour image at a number of positions within the search window to determine an optimal position” & see also para. [0048] ““feature data is extracted from the input image in the form of a feature vector.”).
Luo et al. is not explicit on “threshold orientation/front/back position displacement”, however, Lota`511, US 20180111511 A1, teaches VEHICLE SEAT ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM and discloses; and
(h) control the seat position actuator to move the seat to the new front/back position, in response to the current front/back position differing from the target front/back position by more than a threshold front/back position displacement such that the new front/back position of the seat is within the threshold front/back position displacement ([0042] “the processors 102 may control the operation of the actuator 124 of the corresponding seat based on the received signals. For example, the processors 102 may instruct the actuator 124 to limit or reduce the movement of the first row seat 210, the second row seat 220, or the third row seat 230 when the pressure sensor 118 detects a pressure, or the proximity sensor 116 detects an object within a predetermined distance.” & See also para. [0068] –[0069] “limit the (longitudinal movement) operation of the actuator”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these above mentioned features disclosed by Lota`511 with the system disclosed by Luo et al. in order to provide vehicle seat adjustment systems with an actuator communicatively coupled to the input device and configured to adjust positions of the one or more seats. And a controller communicatively coupled to the camera, the screen, the input device and the actuator. The controller receives the input from the input device and instruct the actuator to adjust the positions of the one or more seats based on the input from the user (see Abstract & para. [0004]-[0005] & [0001]).
Further, Lou et al. discloses; and
wherein in a second iteration of steps (f)-(h), the processing circuitry is configured to:
(f) receive the second imaging media comprising a third image of the seat from a camera indicative of a current vertical position of the seat ([0025] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the cameras 70 and 72 of the imaging device.” & [0026] “To get a proper disparity between the images for performing triangulation, it is desirable for the cameras 70 and 72 to be positioned so that the object 94 to be monitored is within the horopter of the cameras.” & [0029] Referring to FIG. 3, an imaging system 100 utilizing an automated passenger seat detection and removal is shown. It will be appreciated that one or more portions of the system 100 can be implemented as computer software on a general purpose processor. … the image or images from the one or more sensors can be preprocessed to increase the associated dynamic range of the images and to remove static background elements. In an exemplary embodiment, the image generator 102 can produce a stereo disparity map from the outputs of two or more sensors.);
(g) process the second imaging media by being configured to determine a current vertical position data indicating the current vertical position of the seat based on the second image of the second imaging media ([0042] “the position of the seat can be determined to be the associated seat position of the selected contour model. … The contour models can be compared to the contour image at a number of positions within the search window to determine an optimal position” & see also para. [0048] ““feature data is extracted from the input image in the form of a feature vector.”).
Luo et al. is not explicit on “threshold orientation/ vertical position displacement”, however, Lota`511, US 20180111511 A1, teaches VEHICLE SEAT ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM and discloses; and
(h) control the seat position actuator to move the seat to the new vertical position, in response to the current vertical position differing from the target vertical position by more than a threshold vertical position displacement such that the new vertical position of the seat is within the threshold vertical position displacement ([0042] “the processors 102 may control the operation of the actuator 124 of the corresponding seat based on the received signals. For example, the processors 102 may instruct the actuator 124 to limit or reduce the movement of the first row seat 210, the second row seat 220, or the third row seat 230 when the pressure sensor 118 detects a pressure, or the proximity sensor 116 detects an object within a predetermined distance.” & See also para. [0068] –[0069] “limit the (longitudinal movement) operation of the actuator”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these above mentioned features disclosed by Lota`511 with the system disclosed by Luo et al. in order to provide vehicle seat adjustment systems with an actuator communicatively coupled to the input device and configured to adjust positions of the one or more seats. And a controller communicatively coupled to the camera, the screen, the input device and the actuator. The controller receives the input from the input device and instruct the actuator to adjust the positions of the one or more seats based on the input from the user (see Abstract & para. [0004]-[0005] & [0001]).
Regarding claim 12, Luo et al. discloses the computer system of claim 11, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform the second iteration in response to performing the first iteration (Implicitly disclosing the “iterative” process due to “circuitry/computer system”, see para. [0022] “a microcomputer, discrete circuitry, an application-specific-integrated-circuit ("ASIC")”).” & [0024] The camera controller 80 can take any of several forms such as a microcomputer, discrete circuitry, ASIC, etc.” & [0029] “one or more portions of the system 100 can be implemented as computer software on a general purpose processor. The system 100 includes an image generator 102 that obtains an image of a subject of interest.” & see also para. [0071]).
Regarding claim 13, Luo et al. discloses the computer system of claim 11, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform the first iteration in response to performing the second iteration (Implicitly disclosing the “iterative” process due to “circuitry/computer system”, see para. [0022] “a microcomputer, discrete circuitry, an application-specific-integrated-circuit ("ASIC")”).” & [0024] The camera controller 80 can take any of several forms such as a microcomputer, discrete circuitry, ASIC, etc.” & [0029] “one or more portions of the system 100 can be implemented as computer software on a general purpose processor. The system 100 includes an image generator 102 that obtains an image of a subject of interest.” & see also para. [0071]).
Regarding claim 14, Luo et al. discloses the computer system of claim 11, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
(e) receive the target seat position data further indicating a target tilt of a seat back of the seat, a target front/back position of the seat, and a target vertical position of the seat ([0039] “a feature or contour having a known shape and orientation can be located within an image.” & [0044] The edited image is provided to a feature extractor 172, where the image is analyzed to produce a feature vector for classification. A feature vector represents an image as a plurality of elements, where each element represents an image feature. ... In addition, the seat position determined from the selected contour model can be utilized to produce one or more feature values.” & [0045] The extracted feature vector is then provided to the classifier 174.”); and
in a third iteration of steps (b)-(d), the processing circuitry is further configured to:
(f) receive the second imaging media ([0023] “a first camera 70 and a second camera 72, both connected to a camera controller 80”) comprising a fourth image of the seat from the camera indicative of a current tilt position of the seat (implicit + for capability see para. [0035] The image produced at the edge detector 164 is provided as a second input to the contour enhancer 162. The contour enhancer 162 combines the intensity data from the edge detector 164 output and the depth information from the stereo disparity map to produce a contour image. In one implementation of the invention, the output of the edge detector 164 is overlaid onto the stereo disparity map and all depth values not corresponding to an edge are set to zero. Accordingly, the contour image includes a three-dimensional contour, comprising its two dimensional position on the plane of the original image and the added depth information. );
(g) process the second imaging media by being configured to determine a current tilt position data indicating the current tilt position of the seat based on the fourth image of the second imaging media ([0042] “the position of the seat can be determined to be the associated seat position of the selected contour model. … The contour models can be compared to the contour image at a number of positions within the search window to determine an optimal position” & see also para. [0048] ““feature data is extracted from the input image in the form of a feature vector.”).
Luo et al. is not explicit on “threshold orientation/tilt displacement”, however, Lota`511, US 20180111511 A1, teaches VEHICLE SEAT ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM and discloses; and
(h) control the seat position actuator to move the seatback of the seat to the new tilt position, in response to the current tilt position differing from the target tilt position by more than a threshold tilt displacement such that the new tilt position of the seatback is within the threshold tilt displacement ([0042] “the processors 102 may control the operation of the actuator 124 of the corresponding seat based on the received signals. For example, the processors 102 may instruct the actuator 124 to limit or reduce the movement of the first row seat 210, the second row seat 220, or the third row seat 230 when the pressure sensor 118 detects a pressure, or the proximity sensor 116 detects an object within a predetermined distance.” & See also para. [0068] –[0069] “limit the (longitudinal movement) operation of the actuator”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these above mentioned features disclosed by Lota`511 with the system disclosed by Luo et al. in order to provide vehicle seat adjustment systems with an actuator communicatively coupled to the input device and configured to adjust positions of the one or more seats. And a controller communicatively coupled to the camera, the screen, the input device and the actuator. The controller receives the input from the input device and instruct the actuator to adjust the positions of the one or more seats based on the input from the user (see Abstract & para. [0004]-[0005] & [0001]).
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over , Luo et al., Pub. No.: US 20060140446 A1 in view of Lota`511, Pub. No.: US 20180111511 A1, further in view of Yetukuri et al., Pub. No.: US 20200171979 A1, and further in view of TIAN et al., Pub. No.: US 20220207744 A1.
Regarding claim 15, Luo et al. discloses the computer system of claim 14.
Luo et al. is not explicit on “perform … iteration”, however, TIAN et al., US 20220207744 A1, teaches IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD AND APPARATUS and discloses;
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform the first iteration in response to performing the third iteration and is configured to perform the second iteration in response to performing the first iteration ([0045] “an image processing method. … iterative expansion is performed on each of the annotation points in the target image to obtain an iterative expansion region corresponding to the annotation point, and a first loss result between the iterative expansion region and the division region and a second loss result between the iterative expansion region and the annotation point are determined respectively. …the number of iterations can be adjusted according to a size difference of a target segmentation object in the target image, and the size of the formed iterative expansion region is closer to the size of the target segmentation object through multiple iterative expansions, so that the target segmentation object can be segmented accurately.” & see also para. [0048], [0077]-[0079] ).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these above mentioned features disclosed by TIAN et al. with the system disclosed by Luo et al. in order to provide vehicle seat adjustment systems with an actuator communicatively coupled to the input device and configured to adjust positions of the one or more seats. And a controller communicatively coupled to the camera, the screen, the input device and the actuator. The controller receives the input from the input device and instruct the actuator to adjust the positions of the one or more seats based on the input from the user (see Abstract & para. [0004]-[0005] & [0001]).
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over , Luo et al., Pub. No.: US 20060140446 A1 in view of Lota`511, Pub. No.: US 20180111511 A1, further in view of Yetukuri et al., Pub. No.: US 20200171979 A1, and further in view of ISLAM`621, Pub. No.: US 20240130621 A1.
Regarding claim 16, Luo et al. discloses the computer system of claim 14, wherein:
the seat in the vehicle is a driver’s seat ([0021] “FIG. 1 , "a vehicle passenger seat, it is applicable to a vehicle driver seat and back seats and their associated actuatable restraining systems.”).
Luo et al. is not explicit on “driver monitoring system (DMS)”, however, ISLAM`621, US 20240130621 A1, teaches CAMERA BASED SYSTEM WITH PROCESSING USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR DETECTING ANOMALOUS OCCURRENCES AND IMPROVING PERFORMANCE and discloses;
the vehicle comprises a driver monitoring system (DMS) comprising the camera ([0455] “involving the application in driver monitoring systems, camera-based eye-tracking systems may be used unobtrusively and remotely in real-time to detect drivers' eye movements.”);
the second imaging media includes a stream of images of a driver sitting in the seat of the vehicle; the processing circuitry is further configured to: detecting one or more facial representations in the stream of images of a face of the driver; determining a drive presence of the driver based on the one or more facial representations ([0021] “FIG. 1 , "a vehicle passenger seat, it is applicable to a vehicle driver seat and back seats and their associated actuatable restraining systems.” & [0443] “a technique that is often used for drowsy driving detection in driver monitoring systems in vehicles. In a particular embodiment, eye blink and PERCLOS detection may be performed using facial landmark detectors that can capture many of the characteristic points on a human face, including eye corners and eyelids. Many of the landmark detection methods formulate a regression problem, where a mapping from an image into landmark positions or into other landmark parametrization is learned. By training many of these state-of-the-art landmark detectors on so-called in-the-wild datasets, the detectors may be robust to varying illumination, various facial expressions, and moderate non-frontal head rotations.” & [0483] “ Driver monitoring system already use infrared cameras to look at the head pose and eye gaze of the driver, so that the advance driver assistance systems—ADAS—can determine that the driver is looking at the road and is able to resume control of the vehicle at any moment.”).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these above mentioned features disclosed by ISLAM`621 with the system disclosed by Luo et al. in order to provide an advanced driver monitoring system that is examining the state of the driver or occupants. For example, in a driver monitoring system, when the driver sits in the seat, may use face recognition to identify the driver and then the data processing will be used for that particular participant (see Abstract & para. [0540] & [0592]).
Regarding claim 18, Luo et al. discloses the vehicle of claim 17, wherein the vehicle comprises a dashboard and the camera is attached to or integrated into the dashboard ([0046] “multiple cameras can be utilized to generate images of a common subject from multiple perspectives, as to facilitate the generation of a stereo disparity map from the generated images.” & [0075] “One or more output device(s) 444, such as a visual display device or printer, can also be connected to the system bus 406 via an interface or adapter 446. ).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See Notice of References Cited.
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/Jalal C CODUROGLU/Examiner, Art Unit 3665
/DONALD J WALLACE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3665