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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDSs) submitted on 11/18/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 6-8 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 6, lines 6-7, it is suggested that the limitation recites “control the performance of at least one lighting unit” should be changed to --control the performance of the at least one lighting unit-- to avoid antecedence basis.
In claim 6, lines 6-7, it is suggested that the limitation recites “control the performance of at least one lighting unit based on these temperature parameters and/or control parameters” should be changed to --control the performance of the at least one lighting unit based on the at least one temperature parameter or the at least one control parameter-- to avoid antecedence basis.
In claim 7, lines 1-2, it is suggested that the limitation recites “wherein at least one lighting unit contains power electronics” should be changed to --wherein the at least one lighting unit contains power electronics-- to avoid antecedence basis.
In claim 8, line , it is suggested that the limitation recites “wherein the lighting units each contain numerous light sources” should be changed to --wherein the at least one lighting unit, each contains numerous light sources-- to avoid antecedence basis.
Please review the claims carefully and check for antecedence basis.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102/103
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, 3-5 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a2) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Huester et al. (U.S Publication No. 20230341103 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Huester discloses a vehicle exterior lighting system (which is a headlamp assembly for illuminating surroundings of a vehicle, see fig. 1-3) comprising:
at least one lighting unit (which is a multiplicity of light sources 107, which are divided into a first group 109 for illuminating a front area, a second group 111, a third group 113, and fourth group 115, see fig. 1, paragraph [0051] and [0053]), and
a control system (via a control device 105) to which at least one temperature detected by a vehicle temperature sensor (which is a temperature sensor 103) is sent when in use (see fig. 1, paragraph [0050] and [0052]), wherein the control system (via the control device 105) is configured to control performance of the at least one lighting unit (via light sources 107 from groups 109, 111, 113, 115, 117) based on the at least one temperature (see fig. 1, paragraph [0054]-[0056]).
Huester silently discloses wherein the control system includes a temperature modeling unit provided with a temperature model for each lighting unit, the temperature modeling unit being configured to determine at least one current temperature for each lighting unit based on the at least one temperature provided by the respective temperature model.
However, Huester further discloses that it may furthermore be provided that the control device is configured to predict a future operating situation of the vehicle, based on a topography of a route currently being driven, and to deactivate a function for increasing the power of the first group or the at least one second group if, based on the current temperature of the at least one headlamp, a temperature to be expected for the future operating situation in the at least one headlamp is above a threshold value predefined for the future operating situation, the control device being configured to ascertain the temperature to be expected, based on a temperature model of the at least one headlamp (see paragraph [0038]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made that the vehicle exterior lighting system as taught by Huester having the control device includes a temperature modeling unit provided with a temperature model for each lighting unit in order to determine at least one current temperature for each lighting unit based on the at least one temperature provided by the respective temperature model.
With the aid of a temperature model of a headlamp which mathematically represents a thermal behavior of the headlamp, a thermal window for an operating point of the headlamp in the future may be provided at a current point in time, in that the headlamp is prepared for the operating point in the future, for example by reducing a power of a selected group of light sources. For this purpose, a prediction threshold value may be determined, which designates a temperature at which a sufficiently large thermal window for the operating point in the future or sufficiently high reserves for heating the headlamp is/are present (see paragraph [0036]).
Regarding claim 3, Huester discloses the vehicle exterior lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the temperature modeling unit is sent at least one current electrical operating parameter for each lighting unit when in use, wherein the temperature modeling unit is also configured to determine the at least one current temperature for each lighting unit based on the at least one current electrical operating parameter for the respective lighting unit (see paragraph [0036]-[0038]).
Regarding claim 4, Huester discloses the vehicle exterior lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the temperature modeling unit is sent a current vehicle speed and/or at least one datum regarding current airflow when in use, wherein the temperature modeling unit is also configured to determine the at least one current lighting device temperature for each lighting unit based on the vehicle speed and/or this airflow data (see paragraph [0022], [0034], and [0056]-[0057]).
Regarding claim 5, Huester discloses the vehicle exterior lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the temperature modeling unit is sent at least one route datum when in use, wherein the temperature modeling unit is also configured to determine at least one anticipated temperature for each lighting unit based on the at least one route datum using the respective temperature model, wherein the control system is configured to control the performances of these lighting units based on their anticipated temperatures (see paragraph [0034]-[0035] and [0038]).
Regarding claim 7, Huester discloses the vehicle exterior lighting system according to claim 1, wherein at least one lighting unit contains power electronics, wherein the temperature modeling unit is configured to determine a current temperature for each lighting unit using the temperature model, which indicates a temperature of the power electronics (see paragraph [0054]-[0056]).
Regarding claim 8, Huester discloses the vehicle exterior lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the lighting units each contain numerous light sources (which is a multiplicity of light sources 107, see fig. 1, paragraph [0051]), wherein the temperature modeling unit is configured to individually determine current temperatures of the numerous light sources using the temperature model for each lighting unit, wherein the control system is configured to control the performances of the numerous light sources based on the current temperatures of the respective light sources (see paragraph [0038] and [0054]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huester et al. (U.S Publication No. 20230341103 A1) in view of Takeda et al. (U.S Publication No. 20040178737 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Huester discloses all the limitations of the vehicle exterior lighting system according to claim 1, except for specifying that wherein the control system is only sent temperatures from vehicle temperature sensors outside the vehicle exterior lighting system.
Takeda, on the other hand, discloses a vehicular lamp 10 is coupled electrically to a control panel 52, an engine controlling unit 54, an external temperature detecting unit 56, a light detecting unit 58, and a battery 60, which are provided outside the vehicular lamp 10, via the cables 26. The external temperature detecting unit 56, which is a thermometer provided, e.g. outside the vehicle, detects the temperature outside the vehicle (see fig. 3, paragraph [0044]). The temperature signal outputting unit 106 outputs a temperature signal based on the temperature of the vehicular lamp 10. In the present embodiment, the temperature signal outputting unit 106 receives a signal indicating the temperature of the vehicular lamp 10 from the lamp chamber temperature detecting unit 110. And, the temperature signal outputting unit 106 compares the temperature of the vehicular lamp 10 with a predetermined threshold temperature, and outputs the temperature signal indicating the result of the comparison. In this case, the temperature signal outputting unit 106 may set the threshold temperature based on, e.g. at least one of the temperature outside the vehicle, the speed of the vehicle and the brightness around the vehicle. The temperature signal outputting unit 106 may receive the signals indicating those respectively from the external temperature detecting unit 56, the speed signal outputting unit 104 and the illumination signal outputting unit 108 respectively (see fig. 3, paragraph [0048]-[0049]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to modify the headlamp for vehicle as taught by Huester with the vehicular lamp as taught by Takeda having the external temperature detecting unit detects the temperature outside the vehicle the lamp chamber, and the temperature detecting unit and the current controlling unit may be provided outside the lamp chamber of the vehicular lamp in order to send temperatures from vehicle temperature sensors outside the vehicle exterior lighting system (see paragraph [0044] and [0045] by Takeda).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. And also the objections above should be fixed in order to place application in allowance condition.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THAI N PHAM whose telephone number is (571)270-5518. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 am-5:00 pm.
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/Thai Pham/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2844 03/27/2026