DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/26/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-3, 9, 11, 13, and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Molinska et al. (US 2024/0115176 A1), in view of Ji (US 2023/0234618 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Molinska teaches:
A vehicle control apparatus (Fig. 2; [0022] “an in vehicle computing system 109”), comprising:
a memory storing a program instruction (Fig. 2; [0025] “Non-transitory storage devices, such as non-volatile storage device 208 and/or non-volatile memory 219B, may store instructions”); and
a processor configured to execute the program instruction to cause the vehicle control apparatus ([0025] “Non-transitory storage devices, such as non-volatile storage device 208 and/or non-volatile memory 219B, may store instructions and/or code that, when executed by a processor (e.g., operating system processor 214 and/or interface processor 220), causes the in vehicle computing system 109 to perform one or more of the actions described in the disclosure.”) to:
during driving of a vehicle, detect, based on sensing data received from at least one sensor of the vehicle ([0072] “At 312, the method 300 includes receiving input from the monitoring devices via the in vehicle computing system at a pre-determined time after vehicle operator initiates driving ... As described above, the monitoring devices may be worn by a vehicle operator and may include one or more sensors such as the heart rate sensor, the forehand temperature sensor, the blood pressure sensor, the blood glucose sensor, the nose area temperature sensor, the blood oxygenation sensor, the brain wave sensor, the perspiration level sensor, and the like. Other examples of monitoring device may include the camera that monitors muscular activity and pupil activity or pupil diameter of the vehicle operator.”), a satisfaction of a temperature adjustment condition of at least one warmer installed in the vehicle ([0075] “The input may be processed to determine the cognitive state of the vehicle operator after the vehicle is in operation. The cognitive state may be compared to the baseline of the cognitive state of the vehicle operator prior to the vehicle operator entering the vehicle. Specifically, the input may be processed and compared to the baseline cognitive state prior to entering the vehicle to determine whether the stress level of the vehicle operator after entering the vehicle increased or decreased. In particular, the in vehicle computing system may determine whether the input values correlate to physiological indicators of stress.”; [0076] “ Determining whether the input values correlate to physiological indicators of stress may be based on a threshold for the physiological indicators. Input values exceeding the threshold may correlate to higher stress levels of the vehicle driver.” – The satisfaction of the temperature adjustment condition corresponds with whether a stress level of the driver exceeding a threshold), wherein the satisfaction of the temperature adjustment condition of the at least one warmer is detected based on at least one of:
a traffic event detected while the vehicle is driving ([0046] “Stress due to operating a vehicle may be referred to herein as vehicle stress. Vehicle stress may be related to road conditions, traffic, road construction and detours, and the like.”; [0052] “In this way, parameter sets may be determined wherein the physiological indicators of stress are more closely related to vehicle stress instead of other external sources of stress or internal sources of stress that are unrelated to stress involved with operating a vehicle. Accordingly, the method 300 may utilize historical information, location data, medical records, and the like to identify particular stressors that individually affect a particular vehicle operator”; [0079] “However, after entering the vehicle and initiating driving, the vehicle operator may encounter heavy traffic and may experience an elevated vehicle cabin noise level due to an infant. Under the aforementioned conditions, the vehicle operator may experience higher levels of stress that may be alleviated by implementing remediation measures.”); and
control, based on the detected satisfaction of the temperature adjustment condition ([0080] “At 318, the method includes, determining remediation measures based on cognitive state via the in vehicle computing system. To establish a normal cognitive state of the vehicle operator, a plurality of vehicle settings may be adjusted to alleviate stressors.”), a temperature of the at least one warmer ([0057] “The vehicle settings may include, for example, a climate control system setting to adjust a cabin temperature”; [0058] “The climate control system setting may be adjusted in response to selecting air conditioner, heater, and vent settings to adjust a cabin temperature so as to provide a selected level of cooling/heating and/or rate of cooling/heating. Accordingly, air conditioner settings may be selected to provide the determined temperature setting to a determined section of the cabin (e.g., entire cabin or driver area)”), wherein the at least one warmer is configured to transfer heat to an inside of the vehicle ([0039] “ Climate control system 234 may be configured to provide a comfortable environment within the cabin or passenger compartment of vehicle 102. Climate control system 234 includes components enabling controlled ventilation such as air vents, a heater, an air conditioner, an integrated heater and air-conditioner system, etc.”).
Molinska does not specifically teach autonomous driving.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Ji teaches autonomous driving of a vehicle ([0047] “First, a structure and function of an autonomous driving control system (e.g., an autonomous driving vehicle) to which an autonomous driving apparatus according to the present embodiments is applicable will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Molinska to configure an autonomous driving of the vehicle, as taught by Ji, in order to facilitate autonomous driving without a need for the driver to constantly operate the vehicle, thus improving convenience of the driver who rides in the vehicle.
Regarding claim 2, Molinska further teaches:
controlling the temperature of the at least one warmer ([0080] “At 318, the method includes, determining remediation measures based on cognitive state via the in vehicle computing system. To establish a normal cognitive state of the vehicle operator, a plurality of vehicle settings may be adjusted to alleviate stressors.”; [0057] “The vehicle settings may include, for example, a climate control system setting to adjust a cabin temperature”; [0058] “The climate control system setting may be adjusted in response to selecting air conditioner, heater, and vent settings to adjust a cabin temperature so as to provide a selected level of cooling/heating and/or rate of cooling/heating. Accordingly, air conditioner settings may be selected to provide the determined temperature setting to a determined section of the cabin (e.g., entire cabin or driver area)”), based on traffic event ([0046] “Stress due to operating a vehicle may be referred to herein as vehicle stress. Vehicle stress may be related to road conditions, traffic, road construction and detours, and the like.”; [0052] “In this way, parameter sets may be determined wherein the physiological indicators of stress are more closely related to vehicle stress instead of other external sources of stress or internal sources of stress that are unrelated to stress involved with operating a vehicle. Accordingly, the method 300 may utilize historical information, location data, medical records, and the like to identify particular stressors that individually affect a particular vehicle operator”).
Molinska does not specifically teach the traffic event being a traffic event associated with one of a plurality of risk levels, wherein the plurality of risk levels are classified according to different risk levels of an expected accident.
However, Ji teaches:
a traffic event associated with one of a plurality of risk levels ([0129] “the autonomous vehicle considering the external environment, etc. may determine the risk level according to the weather condition, may determine the risk level according to the road condition”), wherein the plurality of risk levels are classified according to different risk levels of an expected accident (Table 8 shows an example of risk levels for a traffic event indicating weather conditions; [0084] “The weather condition analysis module 310 may analyze weather conditions interfering with vehicle driving, for example, rain (rainfall), snow (snowfall), fog, etc., and may analyze road frozen state information according to temperature (the degrees above/below zero). Based on the analyzed result, the degree of risk according to weather conditions may be determined to be ‘high’ corresponding to, for example, heavy snow, heavy rain, typhoon, fog, strong wind, natural disaster, or temperature below zero (when a frozen road caused by snow/rain before vehicle driving is expected), or the degree of risk according to weather conditions may be determined to be ‘low’ corresponding to, for example, clear, cloudy, temperature above zero (when a frozen road is not expected).”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Molinska, in view of Ji, to associate the traffic event with one of a plurality of risk levels, wherein the plurality of risk levels are classified according to different risk levels of an expected accident, as taught by Ji, in order to allocate a control authority of the autonomous vehicle to the driver or to the autonomous vehicle according to a result of a determination of the risk levels.
Regarding claim 3, Molinska further teaches:
detecting the traffic event based on at least one of:
a detection result of monitoring the user ([0029] “As one example, the external devices 150 may include a plurality of monitoring devices that identify and detect physiological indicators of stress of the vehicle operator.”).
Regarding claim 9, Molinska further teaches:
wherein the processor is configured to control the temperature of the at least one warmer by:
controlling the temperature of the at least one warmer, using at least one of a cooling fan ([0039] “ Climate control system 234 may be configured to provide a comfortable environment within the cabin or passenger compartment of vehicle 102. Climate control system 234 includes components enabling controlled ventilation such as air vents, a heater, an air conditioner, an integrated heater and air-conditioner system, etc.”).
Regarding claim 11, Molinska further teaches:
wherein the processor is configured to:
set the temperature of the at least one warmer, based on a database ([0025] “The storage device 208 may store application data, including prerecorded sounds, to enable the in vehicle computing system 109 to run an application for connecting to a cloud-based server and/or collecting information for transmission to the cloud-based server.”) in which information about a temperature preferred by the user is registered ([0039] “User interface 218 may include a graphical user interface presented on a touch screen, such as touch screen 108 of FIG. 1, and/or user-actuated buttons, switches, knobs, dials, sliders, etc. For example, user-actuated elements may include ... climate control system settings, and the like”).
Regarding claim 13, Molinska does not specifically teach wherein the processor is configured to: identify an automation level of the vehicle among a plurality of automation levels, based on at least one of the need for the user to intervene in the driving of the vehicle or the driving function of automatically controlled in the vehicle.
However, Ji teaches:
wherein the processor is configured to:
identify an automation level of the vehicle among a plurality of automation levels ([0074] “In addition, referring to the plurality of databases 390, it is determined whether the control authority of the autonomous vehicle is maintained in the vehicle or assigned to the driver.”), based on at least one of the need for the user to intervene in the driving of the vehicle ([0121] “ when the driver wants to transfer the control authority for each function of the vehicle or when the driver's reaction (for example, when there is no manipulation such as steering, acceleration/deceleration, etc.) does not occur for a predetermined time period, the control authority is designed to be immediately granted to the autonomous vehicle, resulting in an increase in driving safety.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Molinska, in view of Ji, to identify an automation level of the vehicle among a plurality of automation levels, based on at least one of the allow the system to actively determine the vehicle control authority to improve convenience of the driver who rides in the vehicle and reduce the possibility of traffic accidents.
Regarding claim 15, Molinska teaches:
A vehicle control method performed by an apparatus of a vehicle, the method comprising:
determining a driving state of the vehicle ([0016] “sensors may be positioned in an engine compartment, on an external surface of the vehicle, and/or in other suitable locations for providing information regarding the operation of the vehicle, ambient conditions of the vehicle, a vehicle operator of the vehicle, etc. Information regarding ambient conditions of the vehicle, vehicle status, or vehicle driver may also be received from sensors external to/separate from the vehicle”);
during driving of the vehicle, detecting, based on sensing data received from at least one sensor of the vehicle ([0072] “At 312, the method 300 includes receiving input from the monitoring devices via the in vehicle computing system at a pre-determined time after vehicle operator initiates driving ... As described above, the monitoring devices may be worn by a vehicle operator and may include one or more sensors such as the heart rate sensor, the forehand temperature sensor, the blood pressure sensor, the blood glucose sensor, the nose area temperature sensor, the blood oxygenation sensor, the brain wave sensor, the perspiration level sensor, and the like. Other examples of monitoring device may include the camera that monitors muscular activity and pupil activity or pupil diameter of the vehicle operator.”), a satisfaction of a temperature adjustment condition of at least one warmer installed in the vehicle ([0075] “The input may be processed to determine the cognitive state of the vehicle operator after the vehicle is in operation. The cognitive state may be compared to the baseline of the cognitive state of the vehicle operator prior to the vehicle operator entering the vehicle. Specifically, the input may be processed and compared to the baseline cognitive state prior to entering the vehicle to determine whether the stress level of the vehicle operator after entering the vehicle increased or decreased. In particular, the in vehicle computing system may determine whether the input values correlate to physiological indicators of stress.”; [0076] “ Determining whether the input values correlate to physiological indicators of stress may be based on a threshold for the physiological indicators. Input values exceeding the threshold may correlate to higher stress levels of the vehicle driver.” – The satisfaction of the temperature adjustment condition corresponds with whether a stress level of the driver exceeding a threshold), wherein the satisfaction of the temperature adjustment condition of the at least one warmer is detected based on at least a traffic event detected while the vehicle is driving ([0046] “Stress due to operating a vehicle may be referred to herein as vehicle stress. Vehicle stress may be related to road conditions, traffic, road construction and detours, and the like.”; [0052] “In this way, parameter sets may be determined wherein the physiological indicators of stress are more closely related to vehicle stress instead of other external sources of stress or internal sources of stress that are unrelated to stress involved with operating a vehicle. Accordingly, the method 300 may utilize historical information, location data, medical records, and the like to identify particular stressors that individually affect a particular vehicle operator”; [0079] “However, after entering the vehicle and initiating driving, the vehicle operator may encounter heavy traffic and may experience an elevated vehicle cabin noise level due to an infant. Under the aforementioned conditions, the vehicle operator may experience higher levels of stress that may be alleviated by implementing remediation measures.”); and
controlling, based on the detected satisfaction of the temperature adjustment condition ([0080] “At 318, the method includes, determining remediation measures based on cognitive state via the in vehicle computing system. To establish a normal cognitive state of the vehicle operator, a plurality of vehicle settings may be adjusted to alleviate stressors.”), a temperature of the at least one warmer ([0057] “The vehicle settings may include, for example, a climate control system setting to adjust a cabin temperature”; [0058] “The climate control system setting may be adjusted in response to selecting air conditioner, heater, and vent settings to adjust a cabin temperature so as to provide a selected level of cooling/heating and/or rate of cooling/heating. Accordingly, air conditioner settings may be selected to provide the determined temperature setting to a determined section of the cabin (e.g., entire cabin or driver area)”), wherein the at least one warmer is configured to transfer heat to an inside of the vehicle ([0039] “ Climate control system 234 may be configured to provide a comfortable environment within the cabin or passenger compartment of vehicle 102. Climate control system 234 includes components enabling controlled ventilation such as air vents, a heater, an air conditioner, an integrated heater and air-conditioner system, etc.”).
Molinska does not specifically teach autonomous driving.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Ji teaches autonomous driving of a vehicle ([0047] “First, a structure and function of an autonomous driving control system (e.g., an autonomous driving vehicle) to which an autonomous driving apparatus according to the present embodiments is applicable will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Molinska to configure an autonomous driving of the vehicle, as taught by Ji, in order to facilitate autonomous driving without a need for the driver to constantly operate the vehicle, thus improving convenience of the driver who rides in the vehicle.
Regarding claim 16, Molinska further teaches:
controlling the temperature of the at least one warmer ([0080] “At 318, the method includes, determining remediation measures based on cognitive state via the in vehicle computing system. To establish a normal cognitive state of the vehicle operator, a plurality of vehicle settings may be adjusted to alleviate stressors.”; [0057] “The vehicle settings may include, for example, a climate control system setting to adjust a cabin temperature”; [0058] “The climate control system setting may be adjusted in response to selecting air conditioner, heater, and vent settings to adjust a cabin temperature so as to provide a selected level of cooling/heating and/or rate of cooling/heating. Accordingly, air conditioner settings may be selected to provide the determined temperature setting to a determined section of the cabin (e.g., entire cabin or driver area)”), based on traffic event ([0046] “Stress due to operating a vehicle may be referred to herein as vehicle stress. Vehicle stress may be related to road conditions, traffic, road construction and detours, and the like.”; [0052] “In this way, parameter sets may be determined wherein the physiological indicators of stress are more closely related to vehicle stress instead of other external sources of stress or internal sources of stress that are unrelated to stress involved with operating a vehicle. Accordingly, the method 300 may utilize historical information, location data, medical records, and the like to identify particular stressors that individually affect a particular vehicle operator”).
Molinska does not specifically teach the traffic event being a traffic event associated with one of a plurality of risk levels, wherein the plurality of risk levels are classified according to different risk levels of an expected accident.
However, Ji teaches:
a traffic event associated with one of a plurality of risk levels ([0129] “the autonomous vehicle considering the external environment, etc. may determine the risk level according to the weather condition, may determine the risk level according to the road condition”), wherein the plurality of risk levels are classified according to different risk levels of an expected accident (Table 8 shows an example of risk levels for a traffic event indicating weather conditions; [0084] “The weather condition analysis module 310 may analyze weather conditions interfering with vehicle driving, for example, rain (rainfall), snow (snowfall), fog, etc., and may analyze road frozen state information according to temperature (the degrees above/below zero). Based on the analyzed result, the degree of risk according to weather conditions may be determined to be ‘high’ corresponding to, for example, heavy snow, heavy rain, typhoon, fog, strong wind, natural disaster, or temperature below zero (when a frozen road caused by snow/rain before vehicle driving is expected), or the degree of risk according to weather conditions may be determined to be ‘low’ corresponding to, for example, clear, cloudy, temperature above zero (when a frozen road is not expected).”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Molinska, in view of Ji, to associate the traffic event with one of a plurality of risk levels, wherein the plurality of risk levels are classified according to different risk levels of an expected accident, as taught by Ji, in order to allocate a control authority of the autonomous vehicle to the driver or to the autonomous vehicle according to a result of a determination of the risk levels.
Regarding claim 17, Molinska further teaches:
detecting the traffic event based on at least one of:
a detection result of monitoring the user ([0029] “As one example, the external devices 150 may include a plurality of monitoring devices that identify and detect physiological indicators of stress of the vehicle operator.”).
Claims 6 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Molinska et al. (US 2024/0115176 A1), in view of Ji (US 2023/0234618 A1), and further in view of Aoun (FR 3030384 A1).
Regarding claim 6, the teachings of Molinska in view of Ji have been discussed above in claim 2 with respect to the limitation “the traffic event correspond to at least one risk level of the plurality of risk levels.” Neither Molinska nor Ji specifically teach wherein the processor is configured to: after controlling the temperature of the at least one warmer, adjust the temperature of the at least one warmer back to a temperature before controlling the temperature of the at least one warmer, based on the traffic event corresponding to at least one risk level of the plurality of risk levels being no longer detected.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Aoun teaches:
wherein the processor is configured to: after controlling the temperature of the at least one warmer, adjust the temperature of the at least one warmer back to a temperature before controlling the temperature of the at least one warmer, based on the traffic event being no longer detected (page 3 first paragraph “According to a first non-limiting embodiment, if the setting of the heating and air-conditioning device has been modified, said processing unit is further adapted to restore the heating and air-conditioning device to its initial configuration after a predetermined time. According to a second non-limiting embodiment, if the setting of the heating and air-conditioning device has been modified, said processing unit is further adapted to restore the heating and air-conditioning device to its initial configuration if said information indicates that the state of alertness of the driver corresponds to an awake phase.” – The traffic event corresponds to an alert level of the driver).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Molinska, in view of Ji, to after controlling the temperature of the at least one warmer, adjust the temperature of at least one warmer back to a temperature before controlling the temperature of the at least one warmer, based on the traffic event being no longer detected, as taught by Aoun, in order to maintain an alertness of the driver to avoid any accident.
Regarding claim 12, neither Molinska nor Ji specifically teaches wherein the processor is configured to set the temperature of the at least one warmer, based on at least one of: information of a high-definition map, driving environment information, or weather information.
However, Aoun teaches:
wherein the processor is configured to set the temperature of the at least one warmer, based on at least weather information (page 5, 4th paragraph starting with “It will be noted that if in the initial configuration CGO ... In a non-limiting embodiment, the setting of the heating and air-conditioning device CLIM relative to an initial configuration CGO as a function of the temperature T 2 outside the passenger compartment H is modified so as to modify the temperature of the passenger compartment Ti of the motor vehicle V. Thus, if the heating and air-conditioning device CLIM is positioned in the heating mode El or E 2 for a sufficiently long time, then an increase in the temperature of the passenger compartment Ti (case a) or a decrease in the temperature of the passenger compartment Ti (case b) is observed. Thus, the pulsed air A is heated or cooled so that the temperature of the passenger compartment Ti is higher (case a)) or lower (case b)) than the external temperature T 2.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Molinska, in view of Ji, to set the temperature of the at least one warmer based on weather information, as taught by Aoun, in order to maintain alertness of the driver while driving.
Claims 7-8, 14, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Molinska et al. (US 2024/0115176 A1), in view of Ji (US 2023/0234618 A1), and further in view of Sakane (US 2018/0201095 A1).
Regarding claim 7 and similarly cited claim 20, neither Molinska nor Ji specifically teaches wherein the processor is configured to: maintain the temperature of the at least one warmer at a third temperature, based on at least one of determining that a body of the user comes into contact with the at least one warmer depending on a body type of the user or determining that the user touches the body of the user with the at least one warmer; or temporarily adjust the temperature of the at least one warmer to a fourth temperature or temporarily turn off a system for controlling the temperature of the at least one warmer, based on determining that the body of the user temporarily comes into contact with the at least one warmer.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Sakane teaches:
wherein the processor is configured to:
temporarily turn off a system for controlling the temperature of the at least one warmer, based on determining that the body of the user temporarily comes into contact with the at least one warmer ([0051] “When an object is in contact with the contact detection region ST over a period as long as or longer than a predetermined period, the determination unit 42 determines that the contact by the object on the contact detection region ST is a continuous contact, that is, a spontaneous contact by the occupant.”; [0052] “When the determination unit 42 determines that the contact by the object on the heater unit 10 is a continuous contact, the control unit 43 stops energization of the heat generation units 13.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Molinska, in view of Ji, to temporarily turn off a system for controlling the temperature of the at least one warmer, based on determining that the body of the user temporarily comes into contact with the at least one warmer, as taught by Sakane, in order to allow the system to determine whether the driver wants to switch between a start and a stop of heat generation, thus eliminating a need to secure a space to mount a dedicated operation switch and ensuring flexibility in vehicle layout for the heater device while enabling a heater control in response to a heater operation, as stated by Sakane in [0010].
Regarding claim 8, neither Molinska nor Ji specifically teaches wherein the processor is configured to control the temperature of the at least one warmer by: controlling a temperature of a warmer with which a body of the user comes into contact among the at least one warmer.
However, Sakane teaches:
wherein the processor is configured to control the temperature of the at least one warmer by:
controlling a temperature of a warmer with which a body of the user comes into contact among the at least one warmer ([0037] “The control unit 43 is capable of controlling an output, a temperature, a heating value, and the like of the heat generation unit 13 by controlling a voltage value and a current value applied to the heat generation unit 13 . Hence, the control unit 43 controls an amount of radiation heat to be given to the occupant 61 variably. When energization of the heater device 1 is started by the control unit 43, a surface temperature of the heater device 1 rises rapidly to a predetermined radiation temperature as a controlled target temperature.”; [0054] “When the determination unit 42 determines that the contact by the object on the heater unit 10 is a contact made for a switching operation to switch between a start and a stop of energization of the heat generation units 13 , the control unit 43 switches between a start and a stop of energization of the heat generation units 13.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Molinska, in view of Ji, to control a temperature of a warmer with which a body of the user comes into contact among the at least one warmer, as taught by Sakane, in order to allow the system to determine whether the driver wants to switch between a start and a stop of heat generation, thus eliminating a need to secure a space to mount a dedicated operation switch and ensuring flexibility in vehicle layout for the heater device while enabling a heater control in response to a heater operation, as stated by Sakane in [0010].
Regarding claim 14, neither Molinska nor Ji specifically teaches wherein the processor is configured to: control the temperature of the at least one warmer to be turned off, based on at least one of a need for a user to intervene in driving of the vehicle, a driving function of automatically controlled in the vehicle, a traffic event detected while the vehicle is driving, or pose information of the user.
However, Sakane teaches:
wherein the processor is configured to:
control the temperature of the at least one warmer to be turned off, based on at least pose information of the user ([0051] “When an object is in contact with the contact detection region ST over a period as long as or longer than a predetermined period, the determination unit 42 determines that the contact by the object on the contact detection region ST is a continuous contact, that is, a spontaneous contact by the occupant.”; [0052] “When the determination unit 42 determines that the contact by the object on the heater unit 10 is a continuous contact, the control unit 43 stops energization of the heat generation units 13.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Molinska, in view of Ji, control the temperature of the at least one warmer to be turned off, based on pose information of the user, based on determining that the body of the user temporarily comes into contact with the at least one warmer, as taught by Sakane, in order to allow the system to determine whether the driver wants to switch between a start and a stop of heat generation, thus eliminating a need to secure a space to mount a dedicated operation switch and ensuring flexibility in vehicle layout for the heater device while enabling a heater control in response to a heater operation, as stated by Sakane in [0010].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-5, 10, and 18-19 are 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ghannam et al. (US 2022/0105944 A1) teaches adjusting temperature of the cabin of the vehicle to mitigate user’s stress level due to detection of snow.
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