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 . This office action is in response to amendment/argument submitted on 08/21/2026. The applicant submits two Information Disclosure Statements dated 06/24/2026 and 09/16/2026. The section 112 rejection is withdrawn.
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)(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 - 6, 8 - 16, 18 - 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Pal US 2017/0053461.
As per claim 1, A method, comprising:
detecting an impact using an acceleration sensor in a user device of a user; (Pal paragraph 0020 discloses, "the technology can leverage non-generic location data (e.g., GPS data) and/or motion data (e.g., accelerometer data, gyroscope data) to conveniently and unobtrusively detect vehicular accident events." and paragraph 0055 discloses, "S121 preferably includes collecting audio data that can be used to detect that an accident has occurred and/or the severity of an accident (e.g., by analyzing recorded audio for sounds related to or resulting from impacts)." And paragraph 0059 discloses, "Block S122 preferably includes collecting video data that can be used to detect that an accident has occurred and/or the severity of an accident (e.g., by analyzing video to determine how far the mobile computing device was moved during an accident).")
sending a notification on the detected impact from the user device to a computing device via a network, the notification indicating the impact detected by the user device; ( Pal paragraph 0023 discloses, “the technology can detect vehicular accident events in real-time. Prompt transmission of time-sensitive information (e.g., GPS coordinates, vehicular accident characteristics, etc.) to the appropriate entities (e.g., emergency services)”) and paragraph 0020 discloses, "the technology can leverage non-generic location data (e.g., GPS data) and/or motion data (e.g., accelerometer data, gyroscope data) to conveniently and unobtrusively detect vehicular accident events." and paragraph 0055 discloses, "S121 preferably includes collecting audio data that can be used to detect that an accident has occurred and/or the severity of an accident (e.g., by analyzing recorded audio for sounds related to or resulting from impacts)." And paragraph 0059 discloses, "Block S122 preferably includes collecting video data that can be used to detect that an accident has occurred and/or the severity of an accident (e.g., by analyzing video to determine how far the mobile computing device was moved during an accident).")
presenting a message to the user indicating detection of the impact responsive to detecting the impact; (Pal paragraph 0119 discloses, "accident-related notifications can be in the form of any one or more of: a phone call, a text message, an e-mail message, a printed message, a human notifier, and/or any other suitable form.")
responsive to not detecting an action to cancel an automated emergency operation within a predetermined amount of time from the user after detecting the impact, (Pal paragraph 0116 discloses, “Types of accident response actions to perform can be selected based on one or more: movement datasets, supplemental datasets, features (e.g., movement features, supplemental features), accident characteristics (e.g., determined in Block S160), user preferences (e.g., preferred type of action response actions, number of action response actions, preferences received at an application executing on the mobile computing device, etc.), and/or any other suitable data. For example, Block S150 can include automatically contacting emergency services (e.g., rather than only notifying selected user contacts) in response to a vehicular speed movement feature exceeding a threshold vehicular speed.”)
causing the computing device to proceed with the automated emergency operation to be taken by the computing device by having the computing device transmit an emergency notification that includes at least one of a location of the user device or a type of the impact to an emergency contact or an emergency agency; (Pal paragraph 0117 discloses, “automatically initiating an accident response action of transmitting the accident confidence metric to the third-party service for initiating a third-party accident response action.” And paragraph 0143 discloses, “determining accident characteristics is preferably performed substantially concurrently with detecting a vehicular accident event. Additionally or alternatively, determining accident characteristics can be performed after a vehicular accident event (e.g., in response to a user manually inputting accident-related information at the mobile computing device), and/or at any suitable time. Block S160 can be performed at a mobile computing device, remote server (e.g., in response to the remote server receiving accident-related information from multiple mobile computing devices), and/or at any suitable component”) and (Pal paragraph 0125 discloses, "initiating communication with one or more emergency services can include, presenting, at the mobile computing device, a countdown to initiating a phone call with an emergency service (e.g., 911); providing, at the mobile computing device, a cancellation option to stop the countdown; and preventing the phone call in response to user selection of the cancellation option.") and
responsive to detecting the action to cancel the automated emergency operation within the predetermined time, sending a cancellation request to the computing device to terminate the automated emergency operation. (Pal paragraph 0125 discloses, "initiating communication with one or more emergency services can include, presenting, at the mobile computing device, a countdown to initiating a phone call with an emergency service (e.g., 911); providing, at the mobile computing device, a cancellation option to stop the countdown; and preventing the phone call in response to user selection of the cancellation option.")
As per claim 2, The method of claim 1, wherein the automated emergency operation comprises sending an emergency notification to an emergency contact or an emergency agency by the computing device, the emergency notification including at least one of a time of the impact or a speed of a vehicle before the impact. (Pal paragraph 0062 discloses, “vehicle sensor data can provide information on the status of a vehicle before/during/after an accident” and paragraph 0125 discloses, "initiating communication with one or more emergency services can include, presenting, at the mobile computing device, a countdown to initiating a phone call with an emergency service (e.g., 911); providing, at the mobile computing device, a cancellation option to stop the countdown; and preventing the phone call in response to user selection of the cancellation option.")
As per claim 3, The method of claim 1, wherein the message includes instructions on how to cancel the automated emergency operation by the user. (Pal paragraph 0125 discloses, "initiating communication with one or more emergency services can include, presenting, at the mobile computing device, a countdown to initiating a phone call with an emergency service (e.g., 911); providing, at the mobile computing device, a cancellation option to stop the countdown; and preventing the phone call in response to user selection of the cancellation option.")
As per claim 4, The method of claim 3, wherein the message includes a countdown before initiating the automated emergency operation. (Pal paragraph 0125 discloses, "initiating communication with one or more emergency services can include, presenting, at the mobile computing device, a countdown to initiating a phone call with an emergency service (e.g., 911); providing, at the mobile computing device, a cancellation option to stop the countdown; and preventing the phone call in response to user selection of the cancellation option.")
As per claim 5, The method of claim 1, wherein the notification to the computing device comprises an identification of the user device, the identification enabling the computing device to identify the user. (Pal paragraph 0077 discloses, "Block S120 can optionally include Block S128, which recites: collecting contextual data. Contextual data can include any one or more of: temporal data (e.g., time of day, date, etc.), driver data, mobile electronic device usage (e.g., driver texting, usage of smartphone while driving, etc.), vehicle model data (e.g., model, age, accident history, mileage, repair history, etc.), light sensor data (e.g., associated with a user's mobile electronic device, etc.), and/or any other suitable contextual data." and paragraph 0144 discloses, "Accident meta-information can include any one or more of: driver data (e.g., driver identifier, driver behavior, etc.), accident location (e.g., GPS coordinates), temporal indicators (e.g., timestamp, duration of accident, duration of driving session, etc.), driving session identifier, tracking identifier, accident identifier,")
As per claim 6, The method of claim 5, wherein the notification further comprises at least one of a location of the impact, or a peak acceleration value. (Pal paragraph 0082 discloses, "In another example, Block S130 can include measuring sensor data oscillation periods; in many cases, measurement 'ringing' (i.e., oscillation around some value) can be higher magnitude or sustained for a longer period of time for larger impacts. Therefore, measurements of ringing magnitude and/or duration can be used to generate impact estimates." And paragraph 0146 discloses, "An accident severity score preferably provides an indication of how severe an accident might be (e.g., as measured with respect to vehicle damage, property damage, and/or injury to vehicle occupants or others), but can be otherwise defined. Accident severity scores are preferably generated based on movement data (e.g., measured acceleration magnitude, acceleration direction, pre-impact speed, etc.), but can additionally or alternatively be based on supplemental data, other accident characteristics, and/or any suitable data.")
As per claim 7, The method of claim 5, wherein the impact is associated with an event occurring while the user is in a vehicle, and wherein the event comprises one or more of collision, fall or rollover of the vehicle. (Pal paragraph 0155 discloses, "identification of entities involved in the accident (e.g., pedestrians, other vehicles, other drivers, passengers, etc.), driver behavior, and/or any other suitable potential cause of a vehicular accident event." And paragraph 0126 discloses, "emergency services equipped with information regarding the number of passengers can appropriately allocate resources according to characteristics of the accident (e.g., multiple ambulance vehicles for a multi-passenger accident of high severity, etc.)." and paragraph 0152 discloses, "determining an accident type of the vehicular accident event. Accident types can include any one or more of: single-vehicle accident, multi-vehicle accident, rear-end collision, head-on accident, side-impact, T-bone collision, pedestrian collision, hit and run, parking lot accident, major collision, minor collision, fender bender, vehicle damage characteristics, and/or any other suitable accident type.")
As per claim 8, The method of claim 7, further comprising sending periodic data from the user device to the computing device. (Pal paragraph 0033 discloses, "can be include collecting movement data continuously, at specified time intervals (e.g., every minute, every 15 minutes, every half hour, every hour, etc.), in response to satisfaction of conditions (e.g., movement thresholds, supplementary data conditions, etc.) and/or at any suitable time.")
As per claim 10, The method of claim 9, wherein the vehicle is determined to be operated without the emergency event responsive to a speed of the vehicle exceeding a predetermined speed for a frame of time after the impact, the frame of time shorter than the predetermined amount of time. (Pal paragraph 0062 discloses, “vehicle sensor data can provide information on the status of a vehicle before/during/after an accident….Vehicle sensor data can include any one or more of: proximity sensor data (e.g., radar, electromagnetic sensor data, ultrasonic sensor data, light detection and ranging, light amplification for detection and ranging, line laser scanner, laser detection and ranging, airborne laser swath mapping, laser altimetry, sonar, etc.), vehicle camera data (e.g., in-car cameras, exterior cameras, back-up cameras, dashboard cameras, front-view cameras, side-view cameras, image recognition data, infrared camera, 3D stereo camera, monocular camera, etc.), car speed, RPM data, odometer, altimeter, location sensor data (e.g., GPS data, compass data, etc.), motion sensor data (e.g., from an accelerometer, gyroscope, etc.), environmental data (e.g., pressure, temperature, etc.),”)
As per claim 11, The method of claim 1, wherein the impact is detected responsive to an acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor exceeding a predetermined limit. (Pal paragraph 0082 discloses, "In another example, Block S130 can include measuring sensor data oscillation periods; in many cases, measurement 'ringing' (i.e., oscillation around some value) can be higher magnitude or sustained for a longer period of time for larger impacts. Therefore, measurements of ringing magnitude and/or duration can be used to generate impact estimates." And paragraph 0146 discloses, "An accident severity score preferably provides an indication of how severe an accident might be (e.g., as measured with respect to vehicle damage, property damage, and/or injury to vehicle occupants or others), but can be otherwise defined. Accident severity scores are preferably generated based on movement data (e.g., measured acceleration magnitude, acceleration direction, pre-impact speed, etc.), but can additionally or alternatively be based on supplemental data, other accident characteristics, and/or any suitable data.")
As per claim 12, An electronic device comprising:
one or more sensors configured to sense an acceleration of a user; (Pal paragraph 0044 discloses, "Block S114 preferably includes collecting movement data using one or more accelerometers (i.e., collecting accelerometer data). Accelerometer data is preferably used as a source of acceleration data.")
an input interface circuit configured to receive input from the user; (Pal paragraph 0172 discloses, "interface, hardware/firmware/software elements of a patient computer or mobile device," and paragraph 0167 discloses, "Device components used with the method 100 can include an input (e.g., keyboard, touchscreen, etc.), an output (e.g., a display),")
an output interface circuit configured to present information to the user; (Pal paragraph 0167 discloses, "Device components used with the method 100 can include an input (e.g., keyboard, touchscreen, etc.), an output (e.g., a display),")
a communication circuit configured to communicate with a computing device via a network; one or more processors; (Pal paragraph 0170 discloses, "one or more mobile computing devices, vehicles, remote servers, and/or other suitable computing systems can be communicably connected (e.g., wired, wirelessly) through any suitable communication networks.") and
memory storing instructions thereon, the instructions when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to:
detect an impact based at least on the acceleration sensed by the one or more sensors, (Pal paragraph 0020 discloses, "the technology can leverage non-generic location data (e.g., GPS data) and/or motion data (e.g., accelerometer data, gyroscope data) to conveniently and unobtrusively detect vehicular accident events." and paragraph 0055 discloses, "S121 preferably includes collecting audio data that can be used to detect that an accident has occurred and/or the severity of an accident (e.g., by analyzing recorded audio for sounds related to or resulting from impacts)." And paragraph 0059 discloses, "Block S122 preferably includes collecting video data that can be used to detect that an accident has occurred and/or the severity of an accident (e.g., by analyzing video to determine how far the mobile computing device was moved during an accident).")
send a notification on the detected impact to the computing device via the communication circuit, the notification indicating the impact detected by the electronic device, ( Pal paragraph 0023 discloses, “the technology can detect vehicular accident events in real-time. Prompt transmission of time-sensitive information (e.g., GPS coordinates, vehicular accident characteristics, etc.) to the appropriate entities (e.g., emergency services)”) and paragraph 0020 discloses, "the technology can leverage non-generic location data (e.g., GPS data) and/or motion data (e.g., accelerometer data, gyroscope data) to conveniently and unobtrusively detect vehicular accident events." and paragraph 0055 discloses, "S121 preferably includes collecting audio data that can be used to detect that an accident has occurred and/or the severity of an accident (e.g., by analyzing recorded audio for sounds related to or resulting from impacts)." And paragraph 0059 discloses, "Block S122 preferably includes collecting video data that can be used to detect that an accident has occurred and/or the severity of an accident (e.g., by analyzing video to determine how far the mobile computing device was moved during an accident).")
present, using the output interface, a message to the user indicating detection of the impact responsive to detecting the impact, (Pal paragraph 0119 discloses, "accident-related notifications can be in the form of any one or more of: a phone call, a text message, an e-mail message, a printed message, a human notifier, and/or any other suitable form.")
cause the computing device to proceed with an automated emergency operation by having the computing device transmit an emergency notification that includes at least one of a location of the electronic device or a type of the impact to an emergency contact or an emergency agency, responsive to not receiving an action to cancel the automated emergency operation to be taken by the computing device from the user via the input interface within a predetermined amount of time after detecting the impact, (Pal paragraph 0117 discloses, “automatically initiating an accident response action of transmitting the accident confidence metric to the third-party service for initiating a third-party accident response action.” And paragraph 0143 discloses, “determining accident characteristics is preferably performed substantially concurrently with detecting a vehicular accident event. Additionally or alternatively, determining accident characteristics can be performed after a vehicular accident event (e.g., in response to a user manually inputting accident-related information at the mobile computing device), and/or at any suitable time. Block S160 can be performed at a mobile computing device, remote server (e.g., in response to the remote server receiving accident-related information from multiple mobile computing devices), and/or at any suitable component”) and (Pal paragraph 0125 discloses, "initiating communication with one or more emergency services can include, presenting, at the mobile computing device, a countdown to initiating a phone call with an emergency service (e.g., 911); providing, at the mobile computing device, a cancellation option to stop the countdown; and preventing the phone call in response to user selection of the cancellation option.") and
send a cancellation request to the computing device to cancel the automated emergency operation to be taken by the computing device via the communication circuit, responsive to receiving the action to cancel the automated emergency operation within the predetermined time from the user via the input interface. (Pal paragraph 0125 discloses, "initiating communication with one or more emergency services can include, presenting, at the mobile computing device, a countdown to initiating a phone call with an emergency service (e.g., 911); providing, at the mobile computing device, a cancellation option to stop the countdown; and preventing the phone call in response to user selection of the cancellation option.")
As per claim 13, The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the automated emergency operation comprises sending an emergency notification to an emergency contact or an emergency agency by the computing device, the emergency notification including at least one of a time of the impact or a speed of a vehicle before the impact. (Pal paragraph 0062 discloses, “vehicle sensor data can provide information on the status of a vehicle before/during/after an accident” and paragraph 0125 discloses, "initiating communication with one or more emergency services can include, presenting, at the mobile computing device, a countdown to initiating a phone call with an emergency service (e.g., 911); providing, at the mobile computing device, a cancellation option to stop the countdown; and preventing the phone call in response to user selection of the cancellation option.")
As per claim 14, The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the message includes instructions on how to cancel the automated emergency operation by the user, and a countdown before initiating the automated emergency operation. (Pal paragraph 0125 discloses, "initiating communication with one or more emergency services can include, presenting, at the mobile computing device, a countdown to initiating a phone call with an emergency service (e.g., 911); providing, at the mobile computing device, a cancellation option to stop the countdown; and preventing the phone call in response to user selection of the cancellation option.")
As per claim 15, The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the notification to the computing device comprises an identification of the electronic device. (Pal paragraph 0077 discloses, "Block S120 can optionally include Block S128, which recites: collecting contextual data. Contextual data can include any one or more of: temporal data (e.g., time of day, date, etc.), driver data, mobile electronic device usage (e.g., driver texting, usage of smartphone while driving, etc.), vehicle model data (e.g., model, age, accident history, mileage, repair history, etc.), light sensor data (e.g., associated with a user's mobile electronic device, etc.), and/or any other suitable contextual data." and paragraph 0144 discloses, "Accident meta-information can include any one or more of: driver data (e.g., driver identifier, driver behavior, etc.), accident location (e.g., GPS coordinates), temporal indicators (e.g., timestamp, duration of accident, duration of driving session, etc.), driving session identifier, tracking identifier, accident identifier,")
As per claim 16, The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the impact is associated with an event occurring while the user is in a vehicle, and wherein the event comprises one or more of collision, fall or rollover of the vehicle. (Pal paragraph 0155 discloses, "identification of entities involved in the accident (e.g., pedestrians, other vehicles, other drivers, passengers, etc.), driver behavior, and/or any other suitable potential cause of a vehicular accident event." And paragraph 0126 discloses, "emergency services equipped with information regarding the number of passengers can appropriately allocate resources according to characteristics of the accident (e.g., multiple ambulance vehicles for a multi-passenger accident of high severity, etc.)." and paragraph 0152 discloses, "determining an accident type of the vehicular accident event. Accident types can include any one or more of: single-vehicle accident, multi-vehicle accident, rear-end collision, head-on accident, side-impact, T-bone collision, pedestrian collision, hit and run, parking lot accident, major collision, minor collision, fender bender, vehicle damage characteristics, and/or any other suitable accident type.")
As per claim 18, The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors determine that the vehicle is operated without the emergency event responsive to a speed of the vehicle exceeding a predetermined speed for a time frame after the impact, the time frame shorter than the predetermined amount of time. (Pal paragraph 0033 discloses, "can be include collecting movement data continuously, at specified time intervals (e.g., every minute, every 15 minutes, every half hour, every hour, etc.), in response to satisfaction of conditions (e.g., movement thresholds, supplementary data conditions, etc.) and/or at any suitable time.") and (Pal paragraph 0125 discloses, "initiating communication with one or more emergency services can include, presenting, at the mobile computing device, a countdown to initiating a phone call with an emergency service (e.g., 911); providing, at the mobile computing device, a cancellation option to stop the countdown; and preventing the phone call in response to user selection of the cancellation option.")
As per claim 19, The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the impact is detected responsive to an acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor exceeding a predetermined limit. (Pal paragraph 0043 discloses, "a motion dataset can include any one or more of: accelerometer data (e.g., single-axis data, multi-axis data), gyroscope data (e.g., single-axis data, multi-axis data), velocity data (e.g., speed, instantaneous velocity, average velocity, change in velocity, velocity variability over time, maximum velocity, minimum velocity, etc.), acceleration data (e.g., instantaneous acceleration, gravitational acceleration, average acceleration, change in acceleration, acceleration variability over time, maximum acceleration, minimum acceleration, etc.), displacement data, orientation data, rotation data, turning data, and/or any other suitable motion-related data.")
As per claim 20, A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions thereon, the instructions when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to:
detect an impact using an acceleration sensor in a user device of a user; (Pal paragraph 0020 discloses, "the technology can leverage non-generic location data (e.g., GPS data) and/or motion data (e.g., accelerometer data, gyroscope data) to conveniently and unobtrusively detect vehicular accident events." and paragraph 0055 discloses, "S121 preferably includes collecting audio data that can be used to detect that an accident has occurred and/or the severity of an accident (e.g., by analyzing recorded audio for sounds related to or resulting from impacts)." And paragraph 0059 discloses, "Block S122 preferably includes collecting video data that can be used to detect that an accident has occurred and/or the severity of an accident (e.g., by analyzing video to determine how far the mobile computing device was moved during an accident).")
send a notification on the detected impact from the user device to a computing device via a network, the notification indicating the impact detected by the user device; ( Pal paragraph 0023 discloses, “the technology can detect vehicular accident events in real-time. Prompt transmission of time-sensitive information (e.g., GPS coordinates, vehicular accident characteristics, etc.) to the appropriate entities (e.g., emergency services)”) and paragraph 0020 discloses, "the technology can leverage non-generic location data (e.g., GPS data) and/or motion data (e.g., accelerometer data, gyroscope data) to conveniently and unobtrusively detect vehicular accident events." and paragraph 0055 discloses, "S121 preferably includes collecting audio data that can be used to detect that an accident has occurred and/or the severity of an accident (e.g., by analyzing recorded audio for sounds related to or resulting from impacts)." And paragraph 0059 discloses, "Block S122 preferably includes collecting video data that can be used to detect that an accident has occurred and/or the severity of an accident (e.g., by analyzing video to determine how far the mobile computing device was moved during an accident).")
present a message to the user indicating detection of the impact responsive to detecting the impact; (Pal paragraph 0119 discloses, "accident-related notifications can be in the form of any one or more of: a phone call, a text message, an e-mail message, a printed message, a human notifier, and/or any other suitable form.")
responsive to not detecting an action to cancel an automated emergency operation within a predetermined amount of time from the user after detecting the impact, cause the computing device to proceed with the automated emergency operation to be taken by the computing device by having the computing device transmit an emergency notification that includes at least one of a location of the user device or a type of the impact to an emergency contact or an emergency agency; (Pal paragraph 0117 discloses, “automatically initiating an accident response action of transmitting the accident confidence metric to the third-party service for initiating a third-party accident response action.” And paragraph 0143 discloses, “determining accident characteristics is preferably performed substantially concurrently with detecting a vehicular accident event. Additionally or alternatively, determining accident characteristics can be performed after a vehicular accident event (e.g., in response to a user manually inputting accident-related information at the mobile computing device), and/or at any suitable time. Block S160 can be performed at a mobile computing device, remote server (e.g., in response to the remote server receiving accident-related information from multiple mobile computing devices), and/or at any suitable component”) and (Pal paragraph 0125 discloses, "initiating communication with one or more emergency services can include, presenting, at the mobile computing device, a countdown to initiating a phone call with an emergency service (e.g., 911); providing, at the mobile computing device, a cancellation option to stop the countdown; and preventing the phone call in response to user selection of the cancellation option.") and
responsive to detecting the action to cancel the automated emergency operation within the predetermined time, send a cancellation request to the computing device to terminate the automated emergency operation. (Pal paragraph 0125 discloses, "initiating communication with one or more emergency services can include, presenting, at the mobile computing device, a countdown to initiating a phone call with an emergency service (e.g., 911); providing, at the mobile computing device, a cancellation option to stop the countdown; and preventing the phone call in response to user selection of the cancellation option.")
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.
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.
Claims 9 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pal US 2017/0053461 in view of Hanson US 9,659,331.
As per claim 9, The method of claim 7, further comprising: determining whether the vehicle is being operated without an emergency event after the impact; (Hanson Col 2 lines 26 - 28) and
responsive to determining that the vehicle is being operated without the emergency event, sending the cancellation request to the computing device. (Hanson Col 2 lines 26 - 28) and (Pal paragraph 0125 discloses, "initiating communication with one or more emergency services can include, presenting, at the mobile computing device, a countdown to initiating a phone call with an emergency service (e.g., 911); providing, at the mobile computing device, a cancellation option to stop the countdown; and preventing the phone call in response to user selection of the cancellation option.")
Pal discloses a smartphone-based termination of a potential or actual vehicle event. Pal does not disclose whether a vehicle is operated after the event. Hanson teaches determining whether a vehicle is operated after an event. Therefore, at the time of filing it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate the teachings of Hanson et.al. into the invention of Pal. Such incorporation is motivated by the need to verify the severity of a potential event or an actual event.
As per claim 17, The electronic device of claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:
determine whether the vehicle is being operated without an emergency event for a frame of time after detecting the impact, the time frame shorter than the predetermined amount of time; (Hanson Col 2 lines 26 - 28) and (Pal paragraph 0125 discloses, "initiating communication with one or more emergency services can include, presenting, at the mobile computing device, a countdown to initiating a phone call with an emergency service (e.g., 911); providing, at the mobile computing device, a cancellation option to stop the countdown; and preventing the phone call in response to user selection of the cancellation option.") and
responsive to determining that the vehicle is being operated without the emergency event, send the cancellation request to the computing device. (Hanson Col 2 lines 26 - 28) and (Pal paragraph 0125 discloses, "initiating communication with one or more emergency services can include, presenting, at the mobile computing device, a countdown to initiating a phone call with an emergency service (e.g., 911); providing, at the mobile computing device, a cancellation option to stop the countdown; and preventing the phone call in response to user selection of the cancellation option.")
Pal discloses a smartphone-based termination of a potential or actual vehicle event. Pal does not disclose whether a vehicle is operated after the event. Hanson teaches determining whether a vehicle is operated after an event. Therefore, at the time of filing it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate the teachings of Hanson et.al. into the invention of Pal. Such incorporation is motivated by the need to verify the severity of a potential event or an actual event.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 08/21/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The applicant alleges the amend to the claims are not anticipated in the art of record. The art of record does not before the operations in two distinct and separate operations of one in the mobile device and a second in at the remote server. The operations happen concurrently as disclosed in paragraph 0143 and the notification of emergency response in paragraph 0117. The other features are identified in the action. The features of the operation are functional operations and are identified in the art of record.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TYLER D PAIGE whose telephone number is (571)270-5425. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00am - 6:00pm (mst).
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/TYLER D PAIGE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3664
