DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
2. A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 11 August 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
3. Applicant’s contention (see pages 5-6 filed 11 August 2026) with respect to the rejection of the independent claims under 35 U.S.C. 102 has been fully considered and is persuasive in view of the amendments provided. Therefore, the rejection of the independent claims under 35 U.S.C. 102 has been withdrawn.
Subsequently, the prior art rejections of all claims dependent therefrom are withdrawn.
However, upon further consideration, new grounds of rejection are warranted (see below).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
4a. Claims 1-3 and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujio, as applied above, and further in view of Komatsu (US 2024/0294115).
Regarding claims 1, 7, and 8, Fujio discloses a display control device, method, and associated non-transitory medium (computerized image processing apparatus and method; Fujio at Fig. 1, 0032, 0140) comprising:
A memory (memory 25; Fujio at 0044).
A processor coupled to the memory and to a display section (controller contains CPU; Fujio at 0043), the processor being configured to:
On the basis of peripheral information relating to a peripheral situation of an own vehicle, display, on the display section, images showing the own vehicle and the peripheral situation that are viewed from a virtual viewpoint (composite image of the vehicle’s surroundings displayed in overhead view including own vehicle; Fujio at Figs. 4-6, 0058, 0059).
Due to establishment of a predetermined condition, change an image of a background that is displayed as an image showing the peripheral situation, wherein the image of the background is changed among different types of environmental representations (background of display and indicators changed according traveling condition and mode; Fujio at 0061).
Fujio is silent as to the changed image of the background includes at least one of a scenery image or a panoramic environmental image representing the peripheral situation.
Ravuri, in a similar invention in the same field of endeavor, teaches switching over to a panoramic view of the scenery triggered by a predetermined condition (Ravuri at 0032, 0039-0042).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of the claimed invention to augment the display change of Fujio with the panoramic view as taught by Ravuri. Doing so would provide greater situational awareness and protect the vehicle from damage.
Regarding claim 2, Fujio discloses wherein the processor is further configured to: due to establishment of the predetermined condition that is based on at least one of a traveling place or a state of the own vehicle, change the image of a background that is displayed on the display section (background of display and indicators changed according traveling condition and mode; Fujio at 0061), and change the virtual viewpoint in accordance with the changed image of a background (viewpoint is switched with changed background perspective; Fujio at 0092).
Regarding claim 3, Fujio discloses wherein the processor is further configured to: due to establishment of the predetermined condition that is based on a selection by a passenger of the own vehicle (via operation button/display; Fujio at 0037), change the image of a background that is displayed on the display section (display content altered; Fujio at 0037), and switch displaying/non-displaying of images of individual targets that are displayed as images showing the peripheral situation (virtual viewpoint changed to include most pertinent data; Fujio at 0094, 0096).
Regarding claim 9, the combination teaches wherein the processor is further configured to, after changing the image of the background, continuously update the image of the background in accordance with changes in a present location of the own vehicle while the own vehicle is traveling (display provides real-time updated video of traveling environment; Ravuri at 0032, 0033).
4b. Claims 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Fujio and Ravuri, as applied above, and further in view of Komatsu (US 2024/0294115).
Regarding claim 4, the combination teaches wherein the processor being configured to a displayed target have been switched to non-display (virtual surroundings displayed switches to most pertinent area to be displayed; Fujio at Fig. 13).
The combination is silent as to displaying, on the display section, caution information expressing that the images of the specific target are not displayed as images showing the peripheral situation.
Komatsu, in a similar invention in the same field of endeavor, teaches optically hidden but LIDAR sensed or out of site targets will be highlighted or their direction with respect to the vehicle displayed; Komatsu at 0276-0280.
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of the claimed invention to augment environmental display with the annunciation functions of the combination with that of Komatsu. Doing so would provide the driver with situational awareness of objects not displayed but still of concern.
Regarding claim 5, the combination teaches wherein the processor being configured to, in
a case in which a plurality of targets of a same type that exist within a predetermined range
are detected, display on the display section only an image of a target, whose risk to the own
vehicle exceeds a predetermined standard, among the plurality of targets (probable collision risk annunciated via framing or other visual effect; Komatsu at 0208, 0280, 0528, 0679, 0697, Fig. 49).
4c. Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Fujio and Ravuri, as applied above, and further in view of Takabatake (US 2022/0063407).
Regarding claim 6, the combination is silent as to wherein the display section is a meter display provided at a vehicle front side of a driver's seat of the own vehicle.
Takabatake, in a similar invention in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein the peripheral condition is displayed on a driver’s meter display (Takabatake at abstract, 0054, 0055).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill before the time of the claimed invention to utilize the display as taught by Takabatake onto the combination of Fujio and Ravuri. Doing so would provide for a display of the immediate traveling situation with the instrument cluster and provide the driver with greater awareness of the traveling context.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN M DAGER whose telephone number is (571)270-1332. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 0830-1730.
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/JONATHAN M DAGER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3663 21 August 2026
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