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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This is a non-final Office Action on the merits in response to communications filed by Applicant on December 04, 2024. Claims 1-20 are currently pending and examined below.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
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 1, 9, 17 are 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. The claims appear to determining “the door” open/close state; however, there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim since the preamble has two doors (e.g. vehicle door and a door of a cargo compartment).
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 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 of this title, 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-6, 8-14, 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bean et al. US2018/0099712 (“Bean”) in view of Jeong US2022/0072991 (“Jeong”) and further in view of Oya et al. US2023/0182671 (“Oya”).
Regarding claim(s) 1, 9, 17. Bean discloses a vehicle door control method of controlling a door of a cargo compartment mounted at a rear of a cab for loading cargo, the vehicle door control method comprising (abstract, A smart trailer system coupled to a trailer of a vehicle includes a sensor configured to measure a parameter of the trailer, a sensor interface board electrically coupled to the sensor and configured to retrieve the measured parameter, and a master controller communicatively coupled to the sensor interface board via a data bus.):
a mobile device used by a user of the vehicle as a digital key; setting a flag value when the digital key is detected as away from the vehicle by the predetermined distance or more (para. 80. A user must verify he/she is authorized to tow the equipment with Bluetooth® credentials (e.g., delivered via a mobile device), security key, RFID proximity detection, FOB access key, fingerprint/iris detection, and/or the like to unlock the trailer 20.);
determining whether the cargo compartment is mounted at the rear of the cab; when the cargo compartment is determined as mounted at the rear of the cab ([0030] The PMU 128 may receive a DC voltage (e.g., a fixed DC voltage) from the tractor 10 (e.g., the tractor power 142 as shown in FIG. 1) via an electrical cable (e.g., a 7-way or 15-way tractor connector), and may utilize it to generate the regulated voltage(s) (e.g., the regulated DC voltage(s)) used by the master controller 104 and the other components in the STS 100. The PMU 128 may include protection circuits for preventing damage to the STS 100 in the event of power surges (e.g., a load dump), over current, over voltage, reverse battery connection, and/or the like.),
and notifying the user, via the mobile device, whether the door is closed (para. 44, 65, 68, 89, [0065] The analytics server 36 may provide trailer status information related to data collected from sensors and systems located on the STS 100 of the trailer itself. This information may provide a dynamic image of the critical systems on a given trailer such as tire pressure, brakes, cargo temperature, door/lock status, etc. When the STS 100 is in lock-down mode, sensors at the trailer door, motion/heat sensors within the trailer 20, and/or the like may be activated to continuously or periodically monitor the opened/closed state of the door, the presence or motion of a body within the trailer, and/or the like. If, for example, it is detected that the doors have been forced open, or that a person has somehow entered the interior of the trailer, the master controller 104 may send an alert to the user (e.g., to the user's mobile device 50),).
Bean does not explicitly teach detecting whether a digital key is away from the vehicle by a predetermined distance or more via communication between a short range communication terminal provided in the vehicle.
Jeong teaches another vehicle system and method that detecting whether a digital key is away from the vehicle by a predetermined distance or more via communication between a short range communication terminal provided in the vehicle (abstract, para. 133-136, When the predetermined point has passed in the first mode (YES in 1013), the controller 110 may determine the reference range based on the RSSI of the signal received during the preset time in the first mode (1014). In the instant case, the controller 110 may store the reference range in the memory 130.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system and method of Bean by incorporating the applied teaching of Jeong above to improve the vehicle accessed using a digital key device and one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that the results of the combination would have been predictable.
Bean further silent to determining whether the vehicle is stopped, whether the door is in an open state, and whether the flag value is set ; when the vehicle is determined to be stopped, when the door is in the open state, and when the flag value is set, closing the door.
Oya teaches another vehicle system and method that specifically determining whether the vehicle is stopped, whether the door is in an open state, and whether the flag value is set ; when the vehicle is determined to be stopped, when the door is in the open state, and when the flag value is set, closing the door (abstract, [0075-0078] For example, in a state that the door opening/closing flag is set to 1, when a signal indicating that the vehicle 10 has stopped at a stop is received from an operation control ECU (not shown) of the vehicle 10 or from a remote control center, the door control section 54 outputs an opening command to the door opening/closing motor 49 to open the closed doors 12, 12. In a state that the door opening/closing flag is set to 1, when a signal indicating that the vehicle 10 starts from the stop is received from the operation control ECU (not shown) of the vehicle 10 or from the remote control center, the door control section 54 outputs a closing command to the door opening/closing motor 49 to close the doors 12, 12 which are in the opened state. ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the system and method of Bean by incorporating the applied teaching of Oya above to improve the safety of vehicle operation by notifying the driver the door open/close status and one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that the results of the combination would have been predictable.
Regarding claim(s) 2, 10, 18. Bean in view Jeong and Oya further teaches wherein determining whether the cargo compartment is mounted at the rear of the cab includes: when a voltage value of a connector pin provided on the cargo compartment falls within a first range, determining that the cargo compartment is mounted at the rear of the cab (Bean:[0030] The PMU 128 may receive a DC voltage (e.g., a fixed DC voltage) from the tractor 10 (e.g., the tractor power 142 as shown in FIG. 1) via an electrical cable (e.g., a 7-way or 15-way tractor connector), and may utilize it to generate the regulated voltage(s) (e.g., the regulated DC voltage(s))); and when a voltage value of a connector pin provided on the cargo compartment falls in a second range different from the first range, determining that the cargo compartment is not mounted at the rear of the cab (Bean: para. 32-34, [0033] According to some embodiments, the PMU 128 provides status information including solar panel voltage, the output voltage (e.g., the 24 VDC output voltage including overvoltage, overcurrent, etc.), battery charge level, battery charge status, battery charge source, battery current draw, present source of system power, and/or the like to the master controller 104. The PMU 128 may generate an alert when any of the above power parameters are outside of normal operating ranges).
Regarding claim(s) 3, 11. Bean in view Jeong and Oya further teaches wherein detecting whether the digital key is away from the vehicle by the predetermined distance or mor (Bean: para. 80. A user must verify he/she is authorized to tow the equipment with Bluetooth® credentials (e.g., delivered via a mobile device), security key, RFID proximity detection, FOB access key, fingerprint/iris detection, and/or the like to unlock the trailer 20.) e includes estimating a distance between the digital key and the short range communication terminal by using a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) value; and detecting whether the estimated distance is equal to or more than the predetermined distance (Jeong: abstract, para. 133-136, When the predetermined point has passed in the first mode (YES in 1013), the controller 110 may determine the reference range based on the RSSI of the signal received during the preset time in the first mode (1014). In the instant case, the controller 110 may store the reference range in the memory 130.).
Regarding claim(s) 4, 12, 19. Bean in view Jeong and Oya further teaches wherein notifying the user whether the door is closed includes: monitoring an opening and closing state of the door after transmitting a request to close the door (Bean: para. 80. A user must verify he/she is authorized to tow the equipment with Bluetooth® credentials (e.g., delivered via a mobile device), security key, RFID proximity detection, FOB access key, fingerprint/iris detection, and/or the like to unlock the trailer 20.); when the monitoring indicates that the door has changed to a closed state within a predetermined first time period, determining that the door is closed; and when the monitoring indicates that the door has not changed to the closed state within the predetermined first time period, determining that the door is not closed. ((Jeong: abstract, para. 133-136, When the predetermined point has passed in the first mode (YES in 1013), the controller 110 may determine the reference range based on the RSSI of the signal received during the preset time in the first mode (1014). In the instant case, the controller 110 may store the reference range in the memory 130.).
Regarding claim(s) 5, 13, 20. Bean in view Jeong and Oya further teaches wherein notifying the user, whether the door is closed includes: notifying the mobile device, via the short range communication terminal, whether the door is closed (Bean: [0041] In some embodiments, the master controller 104 is coupled to an access terminal (e.g., an external keypad/keyboard) 136, which allows authorized users, such as drivers and maintenance personnel, to gain access to the STS 100. For example, by entering an authentication code the master controller 104 may perform the functions associated with the code, such as unlock the trailer door or put the trailer in lockdown mode. The master controller 104 may include an RS-232 transceiver for interfacing with the access terminal 136. The access terminal 136 may be attached to an outside body of the trailer 20.).
Regarding claim(s) 6, 14. Bean in view Jeong and Oya further teaches when the door is closed, determining whether the digital key is located within the vehicle; when the digital key is located within the vehicle, locking the door; and notifying the user, via the mobile device, whether the door is locked (Bean: [0041] In some embodiments, the master controller 104 is coupled to an access terminal (e.g., an external keypad/keyboard) 136, which allows authorized users, such as drivers and maintenance personnel, to gain access to the STS 100. For example, by entering an authentication code the master controller 104 may perform the functions associated with the code, such as unlock the trailer door or put the trailer in lockdown mode. The master controller 104 may include an RS-232 transceiver for interfacing with the access terminal 136. The access terminal 136 may be attached to an outside body of the trailer 20.).
Regarding claim(s) 8, 16. Bean in view Jeong and Oya further teaches wherein notifying the user, whether the door is locked includes: notifying the mobile device, via the short range communication terminal, whether the door is locked (Bean: [0041] In some embodiments, the master controller 104 is coupled to an access terminal (e.g., an external keypad/keyboard) 136, which allows authorized users, such as drivers and maintenance personnel, to gain access to the STS 100. For example, by entering an authentication code the master controller 104 may perform the functions associated with the code, such as unlock the trailer door or put the trailer in lockdown mode. The master controller 104 may include an RS-232 transceiver for interfacing with the access terminal 136. The access terminal 136 may be attached to an outside body of the trailer 20.).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7 and 15 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.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRUC M DO whose telephone number is (571)270-5962. The examiner can normally be reached on 9AM-6PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ramón Mercado, Ph.D. can be reached on (571) 270-5744. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TRUC M DO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3658