DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
2. Claims 1-6 are pending.
Drawings
3. Applicant’s Drawings submitted December 9, 2024 are acceptable.
Priority
4. No Foreign Priority has been asserted by Applicant.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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.
The factual inquiries 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
6. Claims 1 and 3-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hiroma et al., US 9,792,822.
Hiroma discloses, e.g. Figs. 1-24 and related text, from Figs. 14 and 15, cols. 6-8, lines 32-41, cols. 6-27 a plurality of communication vehicles, e.g. mobile body 1, a microphone, e.g. 23, having a control portion, e.g. 70, a communication processing device, e.g. 30, a presentation portion, e.g. 80, that determines a movement plan of the vehicles and output display, processing circuitry that comprises an operation input portion, e.g. 90, that may be a display screen that may be performed by a driver (who may be driving a convoy vehicle) and/or passengers, where a storage portion, e.g. 95, a convoy control apparatus, e.g. 72,
Hiroma does not disclose the term service.
However, a service, e.g. a change of speed request, has been common knowledge in the autonomous vehicle art. Official Notice of such is taken. To have provided a service for Hiroma would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, as to modify Hiroma to include this system/step with a reasonable expectation of success as the motivation for doing such is to provide a workable vehicle management system/method to avoid collisions.
Allowable Subject Matter
7. Claim 2 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. Also, claim 6 would be allowable if the subject matter of claim 2 were incorporated therein.
Note the Examiner Interview Summary.
8. Pertinent references of interest are noted on the attached PTO-892.
Watanabe, US 2025/0076887, discloses a mobile body in a target area, but does not disclose and form of gesture communication.
Ushio et al., US 2023/0123723, discloses an occupant where a gesture, e.g. face image, as a form of communication in order to determine one’s seat position.
Yuzawa et al., US 2020/0117217, discloses, e.g. Fig. 9, where a delivery system comprises two mobile bodies are joined to each other for the ability of an occupant to enter one of the bodies, but does not disclose any form of gesture communication.
9. Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) submitted December 9, 2024 has been reviewed. Note the attached IDS.
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW JOSEPH RUDY whose telephone number is
571-272-6789. The examiner can generally be reached on Monday thru Friday from about 10am-6pm EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful the examiner’s supervisor, Fadey Jabr, can be reached on 571-272-1516. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ANDREW JOSEPH RUDY/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3668
571-272-6789
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