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
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 1-3, 5 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of USPNs 2016/0210504 to Kim, 2013/0271574 to Dorrance et al.
With regard to claim 1, Kim discloses an [inspection device] that executes an [inspection] function needed for an [inspection of] an apparatus of a vehicle, the [inspection] device comprising a processor (Fig. 3,controller 110), the processor is configured to:
determine whether a predetermined authentication condition is satisfied, based on a detection result by a detection device provided in the vehicle (paragraphs [0020]-[0021], [0027], [0048] and Figs. 15A-15B, The driver is authenticated based on a vein pattern of the driver’s hand obtained from the intra-vehicle camera);
recognize a gesture of a passenger of the vehicle which is included in an image captured by an intra-vehicle camera that captures an inside of the vehicle (paragraphs [0099]-[0101], Gesture recognition is performed by analyzing images of the driver’s hand in order to perform driver control instructions associated with the recognized gesture); and
execute the [inspection] function corresponding to the gesture of the passenger which is recognized by the recognition unit when the authentication unit determines that the authentication condition is satisfied (paragraphs [0020]-[0021], [0027], [0048] and [0099]-[0101], and Figs. 15A-15B, The driver is authenticated based on a vein pattern of the driver’s hand obtained from the intra-vehicle camera. Gesture recognition is performed by analyzing images of the driver’s hand in order to perform driver control instructions/functions associated with the corresponding recognized gesture).
Kim does not explicitly disclose that the device is an inspection device and that the function executed corresponding to the gesture is an inspection function. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that any function can be assigned to any recognized gesture as a matter of design choice.
Dorrance discloses a hand gesture recognition system similar to that of Kim and teaches that the recognized hand gestures can correspond to several service/inspection related commands relating to a vehicle such as servicing/inspecting elements of the vehicle such as wheel alignments and the like (Figs. 8-11, and paragraphs [0009], [0016], [0041]-[0042] and [0048]-[0050]). Dorrance teaches that the gesture recognition is used to enable easier interaction, for example, paragraph [0009]: “…It would be further advantageous to enable the vehicle service system to observe the facial features, gestures, postures, actions, and location of an operator relative to a vehicle undergoing a service procedure in order to improved operator interface functionality and to enhance safety features of the vehicle service system.”
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before time of filing to enable the hand gesture recognition of Dorrance to be used in combination with the handle gesture recognition of Kim in order to perform vehicle service/inspection commands without having to interact with a screen/keyboard interface for improved efficiency by the operator.
With regard to claim 2, Kim discloses wherein the authentication condition does not include a condition related to a gesture of the passenger (paragraphs [0020]-[0021], [0027], [0048] and Figs. 15A-15B, The driver is authenticated based on a vein pattern of the driver’s hand obtained from the intra-vehicle camera. The vein pattern is considered unrelated to a gesture of the passenger).
With regard to claim 3, Kim discloses wherein the processor is configured to control a motion of the vehicle other than the inspection function (paragraphs [0106]-[0107], The vehicle has processors that perform control of the vehicle in addition to the gesture recognition functions. The AVN processor 200, for example performs brake control operations and the like that control a motion of the vehicle), and
the processor is configured not to perform control of a motion of the vehicle, based on a gesture of a passenger of the vehicle which is included in an image captured by the intra-vehicle camera (paragraphs [0105]-[0106], The AVN device also performs functions such as collision prevention, brake control and lane deviation notification that are not based gesture recognition).
With regard to claim 5, Kim discloses wherein the detection device includes an intra-vehicle camera that captures the inside of the vehicle, and the authentication condition includes a condition that a predetermined image is included in an image captured by the intra-vehicle camera (paragraphs [0020]-[0021], [0027], [0048] and Figs. 15A-15B, The driver is authenticated based on a vein pattern of the driver’s hand obtained from the intra-vehicle camera. The vein pattern is compared to known vein patterns which are considered predetermined images).
With regard to claim 7, the discussion of claim 1 applies. The method of claim 7 is disclosed in the operation of the device of claim 1.
With regard to claim 8, the discussion of claim 1 applies. Kim and Dorrance both disclose computer programs for performing the steps of claim 7 with the device of claim 1 (Kim, paragraph [0089], and Dorrance, paragraphs [0057]-[0058]).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of USPNs 2016/0210504 to Kim, 2013/0271574 to Dorrance et al. and 9,772,193 to Mendelson.
With regard to claim 4, Kim and Dorrance disclose the inspection device according to claim 1, but do not explicitly disclose wherein the detection device includes a positioning sensor that detects a self- position of the vehicle, and
the authentication condition includes a condition that a self-position detected by the positioning sensor is located in a predetermined designated region.
Mendelson discloses a Location Based Services application that can be used in a vehicle that is enabled according to detected location (column 13, lines 59-64, column 62, lines 30-40, column 66, lines 30-51, column 67, lines 4-27, column 69, lines 58-67). Mendeleson give the example of detecting an RF signal from the vehicle and an RF signal from a gate at a certain location, and according the vehicle identity such as a VIN number, the gate is unlocked and allows access. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before time of filing to allow for a location based position sensor such as the RF tag in Mendelson in order to authenticate the user/vehicle to perform a location based service such as unlocking/opening a gate in combination with the authentication function of Dorrance in order to identify a driver/vehicle.
Claims 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of USPNs 2016/0210504 to Kim, 2013/0271574 to Dorrance et al. and 2023/0356728 to Jain et al.
With regard to claim 6, the combination of Kim and Dorrance discloses the inspection device according to claim 1, but does not disclose wherein the processor is configured to work even when an ignition switch of the vehicle is OFF.
Jain discloses a gesture recognition system for recognizing gestures of the driver inside the vehicle similar to those of Kim and Dorrance, and further teaches that a gesture can be recognized to start the vehicle’s ignition (paragraph [0229]). Therefore the gesture recognition is accordingly configured to work when the ignition switch is off. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before time of filing to use the gesture recognition that is active while the ignition switch is off as taught by Jain in combination with the gesture monitoring and recognition systems of Kim and Dorrance in order to allow the driver to conveniently interact with the vehicle system when the vehicle is stationary and not expending fuel/energy.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WESLEY J TUCKER whose telephone number is (571)272-7427. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM Monday-Friday.
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, JOHN VILLECCO can be reached at 571-272-7319. 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.
/WESLEY J TUCKER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2661
Prosecution Insights