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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The references listed on the IDS filed 1/10/2025 have been considered by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2 and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yasuda et al. (US 20230264697 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Yasuda teaches: A content output control device comprising:
a biological information acquisition unit configured to acquire biological information of a user aboard a movable body; (See Yasuda [0042] for response time sensors including biometric readings)
a degree-of-immersion reduction state recognition unit configured to recognize, based on the biological information, that the user is in a degree-of-immersion reduction state indicating that a degree of immersion with respect to content output from a content output device used in the movable body is reduced; and (See Yasuda [0050]-[0055] for attentiveness modules for determining driver attention, [0052] for determination that the driver is looking at a display)
an output content switching unit configured to execute content switching processing of switching, while first content is output from the content output device, when the degree-of-immersion reduction state recognition unit recognizes that the user is in the degree-of-immersion reduction state, the content output from the content output device to second content that is different from the first content. (See Yasuda [0067]-[0068] for changes is level of augmentation based on driver attentiveness level, reducing augmentation in response to lower attentiveness)
Regarding claim 2, Yasuda teaches: The content output control device according to claim 1, wherein the output content switching unit is configured to switch, while the first content being video is output from the content output device, when the degree-of-immersion reduction state recognition unit recognizes that the user is in the degree-of-immersion reduction state, the first content to the second content that outputs only audio without outputting video by the content switching processing. (See Yasuda [0047] that the output device may include earphones or speakers, [0054] for requesting driver control when the driver’s eyes are closed, both suggesting the ability to provide audio media through the output unit in addition to video. See [0084] where XR (video) content may be completely removed in the event that the driver attentiveness is low)
Regarding claims 8-9, the claims are directed to a method and a computer program for operating the device of claim 1 and are rejected under the same rationale.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-7 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACOB KENT BESTEMAN-STREET whose telephone number is (571)272-2501. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 8:00-5:00. 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, Peter Nolan can be reached on 571-270-7016. 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.
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/JACOB KENT BESTEMAN-STREET/
Examiner, Art Unit 3661
/PETER D NOLAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3661
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