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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 6-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable by Izumikawa (US 2019/0218754 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Izumikawa teaches:
A surrounding monitoring device for a work machine, the surrounding monitoring device (Abstract: “A surroundings monitoring system for a work machine includes a display device in a cabin of the work machine, an image capturing unit configured to capture an image of the surroundings of the work machine, and a processor configured to generate a surrounding image of the work machine and to cause a monitoring image to be displayed on the display device.”) comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory ([0043], “The controller 30 executes main control processing in the surroundings monitoring system 100. The functions of the controller 30 may be implemented by any hardware, any software, or their combination, and is composed mainly of a microcomputer including a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and an I/O, for example. The controller 30 includes a person detecting part 301 and the display control part 302 as function parts that are implemented by running various programs stored in the ROM on the CPU.”) and configured to display a first part and a second part included in shape information of the work machine such that the first part is displayed in a display mode that is different from a display mode in which the second part is displayed, the first part being closer to an object than is the second part, ([0086], “For example, when the person detecting part 301 detects a person within a predetermined area around the shovel, the display control part 302 generates a magnified image of a partial area of a surrounding image that includes the detected person (hereinafter referred to as “magnified monitoring image”), and causes the magnified image to be displayed on the display device 50. Hereinafter, to distinguish from the magnified monitoring image, a monitoring image in the case where no person is detected within a predetermined area around the shovel by the person detecting part 301 (see FIG. 3) is referred to as “normal monitoring image.” For example, the display control part 302 generates a magnified monitoring image magnifying a partial area of a surrounding image in a normal monitoring image, centered on a position closer to a detected person included in the surrounding image than to a shovel image and including the person. Furthermore, for example, the display control part 302 generates a magnified monitoring image magnifying the shovel image as well together with the partial area of the surrounding image. By thus magnifying a partial area of a monitoring image which is placed to be centered on a position close to a detected person and includes the position of the detected person, the display control part 302 can cause the monitoring image of a display mode that stresses the position of a detected person compared with other positions to be displayed on the display device 50.”) and the object being detected around the work machine by a detector.([0085], “When the person detecting part 301 detects a person within a predetermined area around the shovel, the display control part 302 changes the display mode of a monitoring image so that the detected person is easily viewable by the operator.”)
Regarding claim 6, Izumikawa teaches:
The surrounding monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to differ the display mode of the first part in accordance with a distance between the object and the first part. ([0088], “Furthermore, according to this example, the display control part 302 may change the specifications of a change in the display mode of a monitoring image in accordance with the distance D between a person detected by the person detecting part 301 and the shovel. For example, the display control part 302 may increase the magnification ratio of a magnified monitoring image to a normal monitoring image as the distance D between a person detected by the person detecting part 301 and the shovel decreases. Specifically, when the distance D between a person detected within a predetermined area around the shovel by the person detecting part 301 and the shovel is less than or equal to the predetermined distance D2 (where D1>D2), the display control part 302 may cause the ratio of magnification to be higher than in the case where the distance D is not less than or equal to the predetermined distance D2.”)
Regarding claim 7, Izumikawa teaches:
The surrounding monitoring device according to claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to display, in a case in which the distance between the object and the first part is less than a first threshold, the first part in the display mode that is different from the display mode in which the second part is displayed, or display, in a case in which the distance between the object and the first part is greater than the first threshold, the first part in the display mode that is same as the display mode in which the second part is displayed. ([0088], “Furthermore, according to this example, the display control part 302 may change the specifications of a change in the display mode of a monitoring image in accordance with the distance D between a person detected by the person detecting part 301 and the shovel. For example, the display control part 302 may increase the magnification ratio of a magnified monitoring image to a normal monitoring image as the distance D between a person detected by the person detecting part 301 and the shovel decreases. Specifically, when the distance D between a person detected within a predetermined area around the shovel by the person detecting part 301 and the shovel is less than or equal to the predetermined distance D2 (where D1>D2), the display control part 302 may cause the ratio of magnification to be higher than in the case where the distance D is not less than or equal to the predetermined distance D2.”)
Regarding claim 8, Izumikawa teaches:
The surrounding monitoring device according to claim 6, wherein in a case in which the distance between the object and the first part is less than a second threshold, the processor is configured to change the display mode of a screen on which the first part is expressed, from a display mode of the screen before the distance between the object and the first part is less than the second threshold. ([0088], “Furthermore, according to this example, the display control part 302 may change the specifications of a change in the display mode of a monitoring image in accordance with the distance D between a person detected by the person detecting part 301 and the shovel. For example, the display control part 302 may increase the magnification ratio of a magnified monitoring image to a normal monitoring image as the distance D between a person detected by the person detecting part 301 and the shovel decreases. Specifically, when the distance D between a person detected within a predetermined area around the shovel by the person detecting part 301 and the shovel is less than or equal to the predetermined distance D2 (where D1>D2), the display control part 302 may cause the ratio of magnification to be higher than in the case where the distance D is not less than or equal to the predetermined distance D2.”)
Regarding claim 9, Izumikawa teaches:
The surrounding monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein in response to receiving an input of information of a configuration of the work machine, the processor is configured to display at least a part of the shape information of the work machine generated in accordance with the information whose input is received.([0044]-[0046], “As described above, the image capturing unit 40 includes the back camera 40B, the left side camera 40L, and the right side camera 40R. The back camera 40B, the left side camera 40L, and the right side camera 40R are attached to the top of the upper turning body 3 such that their optical axes point obliquely downward, and have respective vertical imaging ranges (angles of view) covering the ground near the shovel to an area far from the shovel. While the shovel is in operation, the back camera 40B, the left side camera 40L, and the right side camera 40R output captured images to the controller 30 at regular intervals (for example, every 1/30 seconds), and the captured images are fed into the controller 30. While the shovel is in operation, the object detecting sensors 42 output the results of detection around the upper turning body 3 (specifically, on the back side, the left side, and the right side of the upper turning body 3) to the controller 30 at regular intervals, and the results of detection are fed into the controller 30. The display device 50 displays a captured image (a through-the-lens image) of the image capturing unit 40, a surrounding image that the controller 30 (the image control part 302) generates based on a captured image of the image capturing unit 40 (for example, a viewpoint transformed image as described below), etc.”)
Regarding claim 10, Izumikawa teaches:
A work machine, comprising: the surrounding monitoring device of claim 1. (Abstract: “A surroundings monitoring system for a work machine includes a display device in a cabin of the work machine, an image capturing unit configured to capture an image of the surroundings of the work machine, and a processor configured to generate a surrounding image of the work machine and to cause a monitoring image to be displayed on the display device.” See claim 1)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
none of the references along or in combination teaches the limitations of “wherein the processor is configured to display a third part and a fourth part included in the object such that the third part is displayed in a display mode that is different from a display mode in which the fourth part is displayed, the third part being closer to the first part of the work machine than is the fourth part.” Recited in claim 2.
none of the references along or in combination teaches the limitations of “wherein the object detected by the detector includes a first object having a height equal to or more than a predetermined height, and a second object having a height less than the predetermined height, and the processor is configured to display the first part closer to the first object than is the second part in the display mode that is different from the display mode in which the second part is displayed, or display the first part closer to the second object than is the second part in the display mode that is same as the display mode in which the second part is displayed.” Recited in claim 4.
Conclusion
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/YANNA WU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2615
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