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 § 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 (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 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 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Perkins (Pub. No.: 2011/0199199 A1) in view of Omote (Pub. No.: 2012/0130580 A1).
1) In regard to claim 1, Perkins discloses the claimed vehicle management system applied to a vehicle (fig. 3: 10), the vehicle management system comprising
one or more processors (fig. 3: 50),
wherein the one or more processors are configured to
generate a simulated sound that simulates a sound of virtual mobility (¶0012),
output the simulated sound through a speaker mounted in the vehicle (¶0012), and
output level of the simulated sound over a transition period when turning ON or OFF an output of the simulated sound (¶0012 and ¶0017).
Perkins does not explicitly disclose gradually change an output level.
However, Omote discloses it is known for a vehicle system to gradually change an output level of a simulated sound (¶0062).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the claimed invention was filed to allow the system of Perkins to gradually output the simulated sound, as taught by Omote.
One skilled in the art would be motivated to modify Perkins as described above in order to output an artificial sound which depends on the car speed, as taught by Omote (¶0006).
2) In regard to claim 2 (dependent on claim 1), Perkins and Omote further disclose the vehicle management system according to claim 1, wherein, in a switching period in which the simulated sound output from the speaker is switched from a first simulated sound to a second simulated sound, the one or more processors are configured to gradually decrease an output level of the first simulated sound and gradually increase an output level of the second simulated sound (Perkins ¶0017).
3) In regard to claim 3 (dependent on claim 2), Perkins and Omote further disclose the vehicle management system according to claim 2, wherein the switching period includes a first transition period in which the output level of the first simulated sound gradually decreases to zero, and a second transition period in which the output level of the second simulated sound gradually increases from zero (Perkins ¶0017).
4) In regard to claim 4 (dependent on claim 3), Perkins and Omote further disclose the vehicle management system according to claim 3, wherein the first transition period and the second transition period at least partially overlap (fig. 8 & ( and ¶0062).
5) In regard to claim 5 (dependent on claim 4), Perkins and Omote further disclose the vehicle management system according to claim 4, wherein the first transition period and the second transition period coincide with each other (Omote figs. 8 and fig. 9).
6) In regard to claim 6 (dependent on claim 5), Perkins and Omote further disclose the vehicle management system according to claim 5, wherein the one or more processors are configured to gradually change the output level of the first simulated sound and the output level of the second simulated sound such that an output level of a combined sound of the first simulated sound and the second simulated sound is constant over the switching period (Omote ¶0100).
7) In regard to claim 7 (dependent on claim 3), Perkins and Omote further disclose the vehicle management system according to claim 3, wherein the second transition period follows the first transition period and does not overlap with the first transition period (Omote figs. 8 and fig. 9).
8) In regard to claim 8 (dependent on claim 2), Perkins and Omote further disclose the vehicle management system according to claim 2, wherein the one or more processors are configured to gradually change the output level of the first simulated sound and the output level of the second simulated sound such that a combined sound of the first simulated sound and the second simulated sound is output from the speaker during at least a part of the switching period (Omote ¶0062).
9) In regard to claim 9 (dependent on claim 8), Perkins and Omote further disclose the vehicle management system according to claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are configured to gradually change the output level of the first simulated sound and the output level of the second simulated sound such that an output level of the combined sound is constant over the switching period (Omote ¶0062).
10) In regard to claim 10 (dependent on claim 1), Perkins and Omote further disclose the vehicle management system according to claim 1, wherein: the vehicle is a battery electric vehicle that uses an electric motor as a power device for traveling; and the battery electric vehicle includes a simulation mode in which the virtual mobility is simulated in the vehicle (Omote ¶0052).
11) In regard to claim 11 (dependent on claim 10), Perkins and Omote further disclose the vehicle management system according to claim 10, wherein: the virtual mobility is an engine vehicle; and the simulated sound is a pseudo engine sound that simulates an engine sound of the engine vehicle (Omote ¶0052).
12) In regard to claim 12 (dependent on claim 10), Perkins and Omote further disclose the vehicle management system according to claim 10, wherein: the virtual mobility is a manual transmission vehicle; and the simulation mode includes a manual mode in which driving characteristics of the manual transmission vehicle are simulated (Omote ¶0052).
13) In regard to claim 13 (dependent on claim 12), Perkins and Omote further disclose the vehicle management system according to claim 12, wherein: the battery electric vehicle includes an accelerator pedal and a sequential shifter; and in the manual mode, the battery electric vehicle is configured to change output characteristics of the electric motor with respect to an operation of the accelerator pedal in response to a shift operation of the sequential shifter (Perkins ¶0016).
14) In regard to claim 14 (dependent on claim 12), Perkins and Omote further disclose the vehicle management system according to claim 12, wherein the battery electric vehicle includes an accelerator pedal and a pseudo shift device (¶0072).
Perkins and Omote do not explicitly disclose the battery electric vehicle includes a pseudo clutch pedal, the pseudo clutch pedal is configured to operate when the pseudo shift device is operated, and in the manual mode, the battery electric vehicle is configured to change an output of the electric motor with respect to an operation of the accelerator pedal in response to an operation of the pseudo clutch pedal and an operation of the pseudo shift device.
However, official notice is taken by the examiner that both the concept and advantage is known for a vehicle system to have a clutch pedal used to change the shifting device of the electric vehicle.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the claimed invention was filed to allow the vehicle system of Perkins to include a clutch pedal and the clutch pedal is used to operate the shift device.
One skilled in the art would be motivated to modify Perkins as described above in order to use a known technique for shifting the gears in a vehicle.
15) In regard to claim 15, claim 15 is rejected and analyzed with respect to claim 1 and the references applied.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CURTIS J KING whose telephone number is (571)270-5160. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 6:00 - 2:00 EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Quan-Zhen Wang can be reached at 571-272-3114. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CURTIS J KING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2685