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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 06 has been entered. Claims 1-3, 5-15, and remain pending in the application. Claims 4 and 16 have been cancelled, and new claims 21-22 have been added.
Response to Arguments
Applicant argues that the combination of Penilla and Sobhany fails to meet the amended claim limitations. Specifically, Applicant indicates that Penilla lacks teaching or suggestion of “a second plurality of settings that are stored in the vehicle control apparatus and obtained via a user interface, with the user being provided information about the second setting. This is indicated in the Non-Final Office Action, and Applicant argues that Sobhany also fails to teach or suggest the amended limitation in light of the automatic settings configurations of Sobhany. The idea that the configurations of Sobhany are “reactive, automatic responses to trigger criteria detected by sensors” is true in part, as this is a main functionality of Sobhany.
However, this argument does not reflect the full disclosure of Sobhany, and Applicant ignores the various references that indicate settings can in fact be user-selected settings obtained from a user interface from a locally stored plurality of settings. Additionally, the distinction between “a plurality of settings” and a “second plurality of settings” is rejected below for indefiniteness under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), as it is unclear what distinguishes the plurality of settings and the second plurality of settings, given that the control output of each setting is defined by the claim as the same.
Applicant additionally argues that dependent claim 11 is allowable in view of the amendment based on characterization of Penilla’s categorization as manual. This particular indication is not correct based on the disclosure of P [0029] which categorizes users based on “regions of the world, age associated similarities, demographics of the users, social connections of the users, social graph intersections, comments made by many users, crowed sourced data, etc.”. The amendment additionally includes an indication of frequency of use being evaluated to determine a recommended setting. The argument is not persuasive, as Penilla teaches in P [0028] tracking “repeat pattern of the changes” as a frequency of use, and this is factored into the patter similarities collected in P [0029].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 1 recite the limitation "second plurality of settings" in regards to vehicle settings to be controlled. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim, as the claims only initially recite “a plurality of settings” and not a first set of settings.
Claims 2-3, 5-7, 9-15, and 17-22 are rejected for their dependency on a rejected base claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-11, 12-15, and 17-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Penilla et al., hereinafter Penilla (Document ID: US 20160173568 A1) in view of Sobhany (Document ID: US 20210261050 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 13, Penilla teaches a vehicle control apparatus and a vehicle control method comprising:
a memory storing at least one instruction (memory 1912); and
a processor (central processing unit 1914) configured to execute the at least one instruction to:
obtain, from a server and among a plurality of settings for controlling an interior environment of a vehicle, a setting specified by an input of a user of the vehicle, wherein the plurality of settings comprise at least one of an image, a sound, or a lighting state (see at least P [0035]: “receiving, by the server, a plurality of settings for the profile of a vehicle having the vehicle type… receiving, by the server, communication from the vehicle regarding inputs made to systems or functions (i.e., interfaces) of the vehicle, and the inputs occurring over time and communicated to the server from time to time”, as well as P [0080]: “The user profile may contain settings, such as selections of the user interface components associated with the system of the vehicle”. Finally, see P [0088] which details settings corresponding to an image, sound, and lighting state); and
control, based on the setting, at least one of:
a display of the vehicle to provide the image,
a speaker of the vehicle to provide the sound, or
a light source of the vehicle to provide lighting according to the lighting state (see at least P [0099] wherein once the user input is successful, “the vehicle the user attempted to log into has vehicle settings applied to it and the user is allowed to operate the vehicle”).
Penilla further teaches in P [0145] that the user is provided information about updates to settings, and known methods of a plurality of settings stored in a vehicle control apparatus in at least P [0106]. Penilla explicitly states that a user own vehicle can store settings locally, but the server implementation can help with sharing a vehicle. But Penilla does not explicitly teach that the processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to:
obtain, via a user interface and among a second plurality of settings for controlling the interior environment, a second setting, wherein the second plurality of settings are stored in the vehicle control apparatus;
control, based on the second setting, at least one of the display, the speaker, or the light source; and
provide the user with information about the second setting.
Instead, Sobhany, whose invention pertains to improving the comfort and enjoyment of people riding in a vehicle, teaches in at least P [0062] the concept of trigger criteria/conditions that can obtain a second setting among a second plurality of settings, and control the light source and speaker based on the second setting. As in the claim language, the second setting relates to controlling a display, speaker, or light source. Although not the most thoroughly discussed embodiment, in P [0030] Sobhany begins to make it clear that data collected includes user interaction with a “multimedia interface”. P [0052] establishes as well that a user of the vehicle defines rules for the trigger conditions, and in P [0072] “In various implementations, the trigger criterion, the second lighting configuration, or both can be… input by a user”. The user is necessarily provided with information about the second setting based on the context it is applied to and the reason for the change.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the user custom settings of Penilla with the secondary setting adjustment of Sobhany in order to improve the comfort and enjoyment of people riding in a vehicle as in P [0003] of Sobhany. It is important to note that the comfort and convenience systems and settings of Penilla are primarily directed towards a car that is configured for manual driving. Though Penilla discloses in P [0140] future forward car sharing methods and the use of an EV, Penilla does not teach the same sort of actions and flexibility as Sobhany, since the user is likely actively focused on driving. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to adapt the user preference settings of Penilla with a partially or fully autonomous vehicle as taught by Sobhany, as Sobhany specifically indicates that "partially or fully autonomous vehicles" are growing "in popularity", as reflected by the later publishing date of Sobhany. Therefore, such an embodiment involving a second setting would indicate potentially autonomous driving, but it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that adapting the system of Penilla with Sobhany would ultimately revolve around providing convenience, comfort, and support to the preferences of a vehicle driver or occupant, whether driving manually or autonomously.
Regarding claims 2 and 14, Penilla teaches the vehicle control apparatus of claim 1, and the vehicle control method of claim 13, and Penilla further teaches that the setting further comprises at least one of:
a seat position of a seat of the vehicle,
an interior temperature of the vehicle, or
a window position of a window of the vehicle (see at least P [0012]: “temperature settings… seat settings”), and
wherein the processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to control, based on the setting, at least one of:
the seat according to the seat position,
an air conditioner of the vehicle according to the interior temperature of the vehicle, or
the window according to the window position (see at least P [0088] which describes adjustment to seat positions or HVAC settings, and P [0090] which moves the seat according to other profile types).
Regarding claims 3 and 15, modified Penilla teaches the vehicle control apparatus of claim 1, and the vehicle control method of claim 13, and Penilla further teaches that
the setting is recommended based on at least one user category of the user (see at least P [0100] wherein a user is categorized into different types: “FIG. 2 shows two different types of users and an example of how the user is organized”), and wherein the processor is configured to obtain the setting by:
obtaining the setting from the server via a communication device, of the vehicle, configured to perform wireless or wired communication (see at least P [0105]: “the user may access particular active settings managed by cloud services 120”, therefore the profile settings are set based on the user category from a cloud service through wireless communication).
Regarding claims 5 and 17, modified Penilla teaches the vehicle control apparatus of claim 1, and the vehicle control method of claim 13, and in view of the modification, Penilla further teaches that the processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to:
obtain, among the second plurality of settings for controlling the interior environment, a third setting corresponding to driving information associated with the vehicle (see at least P [0109] wherein “the user may approach the vehicle so as to utilize the vehicle 200. In one embodiment, when the user approaches the vehicle, and comes in close proximity to the vehicle as detected by the geo-location of the user's mobile device, a pairing request can be detected.” See also P [0112]-[0113] wherein the user profile is added to the vehicle, which pertains to settings stored in the vehicle); and
control, based on the third setting, at least one of the display, the speaker, or the light source (See at least P [0113] wherein the pairing is initiated to pair “settings to the specific vehicle 200” See also P [0121] which specifies that “The settings can include, for example, temperature, radio settings, seat settings, meter settings, air settings, etc.”).
Regarding claims 6 and 18, modified Penilla teaches the vehicle control apparatus of claim 1, and the vehicle control method of claim 13, but Penilla does not explicitly teach that
at least one of the image, the sound, or the lighting state is associated with a media content.
Instead, Sobhany teaches in at least P [0061] the use of media content to adjust lighting.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the user custom settings of Penilla with the media content responsiveness of Sobhany in order to improve the comfort and enjoyment of people riding in a vehicle as in P [0003] of Sobhany. It is important to note that the comfort and convenience systems and settings of Penilla are primarily directed towards a car that is configured for manual driving. Though Penilla discloses in P [0140] future forward car sharing methods and the use of an EV, Penilla does not teach that a user would be consuming media content, since the user is likely actively focused on driving. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to adapt the user preference settings of Penilla with a partially or fully autonomous vehicle as taught by Sobhany, as Sobhany specifically indicates that "partially or fully autonomous vehicles" are growing "in popularity", as reflected by the later publishing date of Sobhany. Therefore, such an embodiment involving the consumption of media content would indicate potentially autonomous driving, but it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that adapting the system of Penilla with Sobhany would ultimately revolve around providing convenience, comfort, and support to the preferences of a vehicle driver or occupant.
Regarding claims 7 and 19, modified Penilla teaches the vehicle control apparatus of claim 1, and the vehicle control method of claim 13, but Penilla does not explicitly teach that the processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to:
obtain, among the second plurality of settings for controlling the interior environment, a third setting corresponding to context information indicating an activity performed by the user; and
control, based on the third setting, at least one of the display, the speaker, or the light source.
Instead, Sobhany teaches in P [0062] determining “whether the user is performing a specified activity inside the vehicle” and controlling light and sound settings accordingly, in addition to the general settings and controls.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the user custom settings of Penilla with the user activity responsiveness of Sobhany in order to improve the comfort and enjoyment of people riding in a vehicle as in P [0003] of Sobhany. It is important to note that the comfort and convenience systems and settings of Penilla are primarily directed towards a car that is configured for manual driving. Though Penilla discloses in P [0140] future forward car sharing methods and the use of an EV, Penilla does not teach that a user would be performing an activity aside from driving, since the user is likely actively focused on driving. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to adapt the user preference settings of Penilla with a partially or fully autonomous vehicle as taught by Sobhany, as reflected by the later publishing date of Sobhany. Sobhany specifically indicates that "partially or fully autonomous vehicles" are growing "in popularity". Therefore, such an embodiment involving the performance of an activity would indicate potentially autonomous driving, but it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that adapting the system of Penilla with Sobhany would ultimately revolve around providing convenience, comfort, and support to the preferences of a vehicle driver or occupant.
Regarding claim 8, Penilla teaches a system for providing a vehicle control service, the system comprising:
a vehicle control apparatus (controller 1804); and
a terminal of a user of a vehicle (see at least P [0080]: “user interface is provided by third-party applications”, wherein the user interface acts as a terminal of a user of a vehicle),
wherein the terminal is configured to:
transmit, to a server, a request to send, to the vehicle control apparatus and among a plurality of settings for controlling an interior environment of the vehicle, a setting specified by an input of the user (see at least P [0080]: “The user profile may contain settings, such as selections of the user interface components associated with the system of the vehicle”), wherein the plurality of settings comprise at least one of an image, a sound, or a lighting state (see at least P [0088] which details settings corresponding to an image, sound, and lighting state), and wherein the vehicle control apparatus is configured to:
receive, from the server, the setting (see at least P [0035]: “receiving, by the server, a plurality of settings for the profile of a vehicle having the vehicle type… receiving, by the server, communication from the vehicle regarding inputs made to systems or functions (i.e., interfaces) of the vehicle, and the inputs occurring over time and communicated to the server from time to time”); and
control, based on the setting, at least one of:
a display of the vehicle to provide the image,
a speaker of the vehicle to provide the sound, or
a light source of the vehicle to provide lighting according to the lighting state (see at least P [0099] wherein once the user input is successful, “the vehicle the user attempted to log into has vehicle settings applied to it and the user is allowed to operate the vehicle”).
Penilla further teaches in P [0145] that the user is provided information about updates to settings and known methods of a plurality of settings stored in a vehicle control apparatus in at least P [0106]. Penilla explicitly states that a user own vehicle can store settings locally, but the server implementation can help with sharing a vehicle. But Penilla does not explicitly teach that the processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to:
obtain, via a user interface and among a second plurality of settings for controlling the interior environment, a second setting, wherein the second plurality of settings are stored in the vehicle control apparatus;
control, based on the second setting, at least one of the display, the speaker, or the light source; and
provide the user with information about the second setting.
Instead, Sobhany, whose invention pertains to improving the comfort and enjoyment of people riding in a vehicle, teaches in at least P [0062] the concept of trigger criteria/conditions that can obtain a second setting among a second plurality of settings, and control the light source and speaker based on the second setting. As in the claim language, the second setting relates to controlling a display, speaker, or light source. Although not the most thoroughly discussed embodiment, in P [0030] Sobhany begins to make it clear that data collected includes user interaction with a “multimedia interface”. P [0052] establishes as well that a user of the vehicle defines rules for the trigger conditions, and in P [0072] “In various implementations, the trigger criterion, the second lighting configuration, or both can be… input by a user”. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 make it clear that settings are stored in the vehicle control apparatus through the settings module 220. The user is necessarily provided with information about the second setting based on the context it is applied to and the reason for the change.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the user custom settings of Penilla with the secondary setting adjustment of Sobhany in order to improve the comfort and enjoyment of people riding in a vehicle as in P [0003] of Sobhany. It is important to note that the comfort and convenience systems and settings of Penilla are primarily directed towards a car that is configured for manual driving. Though Penilla discloses in P [0140] future forward car sharing methods and the use of an EV, Penilla does not teach the same sort of actions and flexibility as Sobhany, since the user is likely actively focused on driving. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to adapt the user preference settings of Penilla with a partially or fully autonomous vehicle as taught by Sobhany, as Sobhany specifically indicates that "partially or fully autonomous vehicles" are growing "in popularity", as reflected by the later publishing date of Sobhany. Therefore, such an embodiment involving a second setting would indicate potentially autonomous driving, but it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that adapting the system of Penilla with Sobhany would ultimately revolve around providing convenience, comfort, and support to the preferences of a vehicle driver or occupant, whether driving manually or autonomously.
Regarding claim 9, modified Penilla teaches the system of claim 8, and Penilla further teaches that the terminal is further configured to:
present, to the user via an application executing on the terminal, the plurality of settings (see at least P [0144]: “Depending on the app presented to the user 121, the input may trigger stored routines or functions on APP software or operating system level restricted stored routines or functions.” The user is thus presented with the plurality of settings which can change depending on the ap presented to the user).
Regarding claim 10, modified Penilla teaches the system of claim 8, and Penilla further teaches that the terminal is further configured to:
transmit a request for an authorization for a transaction associated with the setting (see at least P [0088]-[0089] which detail purchase settings and “requests from the vehicle” including for a transaction, and in conjunction with “comfort & HVAC settings (climate control, seat positions, seat heater/cooler, suspension/ride settings, entry lighting”).
Regarding claim 11, modified Penilla teaches the system of claim 8, and Penilla further teaches that at least one of the vehicle control apparatus or the server is further configured to:
automatically classify, based on personal information of the user, the user into at least one category (see at least P [0029] wherein classification can take place based on “regions of the world, age associated similarities, demographics of the users, social connections of the users, social graph intersections, comments made by many users, crowed sourced data, etc.”); and
generate, for the user and based on a preference of other users in the at least one category, at least one recommended setting for controlling the interior environment (see at least P [0029] wherein “pattern similarities” allows for the “a method” that “provides a suggested setting to the user account of the profile”),
wherein the at least one recommended setting is recommended based on a frequency at which the other users included in the at least one category obtain a setting for controlling an interior environment of another vehicle (see at least P [0028] which tracks frequency through a “repeat pattern of the changes”, and included in the pattern similarities of different users as well. The recommended setting therefore comes in part from a frequency of use from other users in the category), and
wherein the terminal is further configured to:
provide, to the user, the at least one recommended setting (see at least P [0087]: “Logins can control all aspects of a vehicle's behavior and can be attributed to individuals or roles. These settings can be toggled via a network connected device such as a computer, web application, smart-phone or directly on the vehicle” P [0088] also establishes the number of interior settings that are changed and applied through the settings).
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Penilla in view of Sobhany, and further in view of Ricci (Document ID: US 20140309892 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Penilla teaches the system of claim 8, and Penilla further teaches in at least P [0084] the ability to cater to multiple user preferences through different roles and preferences, but Penilla and Sobhany do not explicitly teach that the terminal is further configured to:
receive, from a second terminal associated with a second user, first information about at least one setting customized by the second user, wherein the setting specified by the input of the user is based on the first information;
transmit, to the second terminal, second information about at least one setting customized by the user to control the interior environment; and
transmit, to the server, the at least one setting customized by the user to control the interior environment.
Instead, Ricci, whose invention pertains to a vehicle ecosystem for provided enhanced comfort, teaches in at least P [0456] that user profiles are accessed from a device such as 212, which is a user interface device as a terminal. Then in P [0019] there is a process for “determining a second access priority of a second user associated with the infotainment system; and comparing the access priority of the user to the second access priority of the second user, wherein the adjustment is allowed when the access priority of the user is greater than the second access priority of the second user”. P [0458] further describes how this is implemented as a first user having essentially the final say over the settings of an infotainment system, and the second user, in this example a child, is denied access. The setting is thus adjusted accordingly.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the user custom settings of Penilla and Sobhany with the multiple user evaluation and setting modification system of Ricci in order to resolve conflicts between different passenger preferences in a vehicle comfort adjustment system, as in P [0458] of Ricci.
Regarding claim 20, modified Penilla the vehicle control method of claim 13, and Penilla further teaches that the settings further comprise:
one or more settings shared by a second user and customized by the second user (see at least P [0084]: “logins for his or her vehicle(s) for additional users such as his or her children, spouse, mechanic, and valet driver among other applications. Logins can be created for individuals or for roles such as the role of “child” where all users with the role “child” would have the same vehicle specifications applied to the vehicle they will be logging into. Similarly, the role of valet can be given and shared by any valet driver.” The second user has access to the same settings, but can customize them according to their preferences).
Regarding claim 21, modified Penilla teaches the vehicle control apparatus of claim 1, but Penilla does not explicitly teach that the input of the user indicates at least one of: an autonomous driving level of the vehicle, or an autonomous driving operation of the vehicle,
wherein the setting is configured based on a theme, and wherein the theme comprises at least one of a concentration theme, a rest theme, or a meditation theme, and
wherein the processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to: display information about the setting by displaying, via the user interface, a state indicator included in a user interface provider of the vehicle control apparatus.
Instead, Sobhany teaches in P [0062] “information about an operating mode of the vehicle or status of the user, such as whether the vehicle is operated in self-driving mode or manual mode”, and in P [0065]-[0066] the ability to implement a theme such as “a lighting configuration determined to calm the driver.” In P [0020] Sobhany teaches that the user interface as a display screen is “used to display information about the state of the vehicle”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the user custom settings of Penilla with the theme based adjustment of Sobhany in order to improve the comfort and enjoyment of people riding in a vehicle as in P [0003] of Sobhany.
Regarding claim 22, modified Penilla teaches the vehicle control apparatus of claim 1, and Penilla teaches combining settings in at least P [0090]. But Penilla does not explicitly teach that
the setting comprises a combination of the image, the sound, and the lighting state, and wherein the processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to: vary and store the combination among elements constituting the interior environment.
Instead, Sobhany teaches in P [0066] the ability to use multiple factors as inputs to change a setting and to aim to calm or energize a user. In P [0060] energizing the driver involves lighting configuration and in P [0035] energizing the driver involves changing sound settings, such as radio station and volume changes.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the ability to combine settings of Penilla with the multiple condition based adjustment to sound or to lighting of Sobhany in order to implement combined settings that improve the comfort and enjoyment of people riding in a vehicle as in P [0003] of Sobhany.
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.
Additional art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/D.E./Examiner, Art Unit 3656
/KHOI H TRAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3656
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