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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) submitted on 1/28/2025 and 7/7/2025 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 6 is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 6 is suggested to be amended as “The vehicle interior monitoring system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the processor is designed and configured so as to decompose and prepare a single item of received image information into individual images such that at least one first single image has information about a driver and at least one second single image has information about a second vehicle occupant or the vehicle interior.” for a better claim form.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 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)(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.
Claim(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Martin (DE-102021114995-A1; IDS).
Regarding claim 1, Martin teaches A vehicle interior monitoring device (Figs. 1-4), comprising:
a body (fiber-optic elements 10) transparent to a visible wavelength range, which has a plurality of surfaces and a plurality of edges, wherein surfaces of the body arranged adjacent are each at angles to one another (Figs. 1-4), and
a camera (camera 12), which operates in the visible wavelength range, having an objective and an image sensor (page 2, line 22: “The sensor can include a camera and a two-dimensional entry surface for entry of light rays into the camera”; a camera comprises a lens and an image sensor), wherein the objective is designed to project images on the image sensor, wherein the body transparent to the visible wavelength range is arranged on the objective, and wherein the body transparent to the visible wavelength range and objective are designed and arranged in relation to one another such that light incident on the objective passes a plurality of the surfaces of the body placed at angles to one another (Figs. 2-4).
Regarding claim 2, Martin teaches the vehicle interior monitoring device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body transparent to the visible wavelength range has the form of a crystal or a diamond (Figs. 2-4).
Regarding claim 3, Martin teaches the vehicle interior monitoring device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body transparent to the visible wavelength range has a cavity, in which at least the objective is arranged (Figs. 2-4).
Claim(s) 1-3, 5 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Furuta (US 5756988 A).
Regarding claim 1, Furuta teaches A vehicle interior monitoring device, comprising:
a body (transparent housing 31) transparent to a visible wavelength range, which has a plurality of surfaces and a plurality of edges, wherein surfaces of the body arranged adjacent are each at angles to one another, and a camera (lens 21 and image sensor 20), which operates in the visible wavelength range, having an objective (lens 21) and an image sensor (20), wherein the objective is designed to project images on the image sensor (Figs. 2-6), wherein the body transparent to the visible wavelength range is arranged on the objective, and wherein the body transparent to the visible wavelength range and objective are designed and arranged in relation to one another such that light incident on the objective passes a plurality of the surfaces of the body placed at angles to one another (Figs. 2-6).
Regarding claim 2, Furuta teaches the vehicle interior monitoring device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body transparent to the visible wavelength range has the form of a crystal or a diamond (Figs. 5a, b).
Regarding claim 3, Furuta teaches the vehicle interior monitoring device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body transparent to the visible wavelength range has a cavity, in which at least the objective is arranged (Figs. 5a, b).
Regarding claim 5, Furuta teaches A vehicle interior monitoring system (Figs. 1-6) comprising:
a vehicle interior monitoring device (30), comprising:
a body (transparent housing 31) transparent to a visible wavelength range, which has a plurality of surfaces and a plurality of edges, wherein surfaces of the body arranged adjacent are each at angles to one another, and a camera (lens 21 and image sensor 20), which operates in the visible wavelength range, having an objective (21) and an image sensor (20), wherein the objective is designed to project images on the image sensor, wherein the body transparent to the visible wavelength range is arranged on the objective, wherein the body transparent to the visible wavelength range and objective are designed and arranged in relation to one another such that light incident on the objective passes a plurality of the surfaces of the body placed at angles to one another (Figs. 2-6), and
a processor (display unit 40 or circuit board 23) which is designed to receive information from the image sensor and process it (Figs. 1-6).
Regarding claim 7, Furuta teaches A display (Figs. 1-6; display 40), comprising:
a vehicle interior monitoring device, comprising:
a body (transparent housing 31) transparent to a visible wavelength range, which has a plurality of surfaces and a plurality of edges, wherein surfaces of the body arranged adjacent are each at angles to one another, and a camera (lens 21 and image sensor 20), which operates in the visible wavelength range, having an objective (21) and an image sensor (20), wherein the objective is designed to project images on the image sensor, wherein the body transparent to the visible wavelength range is arranged on the objective (Figs. 2-6), and wherein the body transparent to the visible wavelength range and objective are designed and arranged in relation to one another such that light incident on the objective passes a plurality of the surfaces of the body placed at angles to one another (Figs. 2-6).
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 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.
Claim(s) 4 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Furuta (US 5756988 A) in view of Bao et al (WO-2024051636-A1).
Regarding claim 4, Furuta teaches everything as claimed in claim 1, but fails to teach
wherein the body transparent to the visible wavelength range and the objective are designed and arranged in relation to one another such that at least one of the plurality of surfaces is aligned in the direction of at least one vehicle occupant.
However, in the same field of endeavor Bao teaches
wherein the body transparent to the visible wavelength range and the objective are designed and arranged in relation to one another such that at least one of the plurality of surfaces is aligned in the direction of at least one vehicle occupant (page 17, lines 31-56; “For example, for camera 1 (i.e., the first camera), it is set on the rearview mirror and is mainly used to collect video images corresponding to the main driver's seat and the passenger seat in the car. When cropping, the left and right cropping methods can be used. , retaining the video picture on the main driver's seat or the passenger's seat side, that is, the cropped picture is the main driver's seat picture or the passenger's seat picture. Here, for example, as shown in (c) in Figure 5, the cropped picture is the main Driver's seat screen”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Bao in Furuta to have wherein the body transparent to the visible wavelength range and the objective are designed and arranged in relation to one another such that at least one of the plurality of surfaces is aligned in the direction of at least one vehicle occupant for obtaining interior images of occupants inside the vehicle for improving safety and convenient operations while driving yielding a predicted result.
Regarding claim 6, Furuta teaches everything as claimed in claim 5, but fails to teach
wherein the processor is designed and configured so as to decompose and prepare a single item of received image information into individual images such that at least one first single image has information about the driver and at least one second single image has information about a second vehicle occupant or the vehicle interior.
However, in the same field of endeavor Bao teaches
wherein the processor is designed and configured so as to decompose and prepare a single item of received image information into individual images such that at least one first single image has information about the driver and at least one second single image has information about a second vehicle occupant or the vehicle interior (page 17, lines 31-56; “For example, for camera 1 (i.e., the first camera), it is set on the rearview mirror and is mainly used to collect video images corresponding to the main driver's seat and the passenger seat in the car. When cropping, the left and right cropping methods can be used. , retaining the video picture on the main driver's seat or the passenger's seat side, that is, the cropped picture is the main driver's seat picture or the passenger's seat picture. Here, for example, as shown in (c) in Figure 5, the cropped picture is the main Driver's seat screen”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Bao in Furuta to have wherein the processor is designed and configured so as to decompose and prepare a single item of received image information into individual images such that at least one first single image has information about the driver and at least one second single image has information about a second vehicle occupant or the vehicle interior for obtaining interior images of occupants inside the vehicle for improving safety and convenient operations while driving yielding a predicted result.
Prior arts made of record for Additional/Alternative Rejections
Baek (US 20030059217 A1): figs. 4ab show transparent cover bracket 12 that also teach claims 1-3.
Sakata (US 6166764 A): figs. 1-12 show transparent body 4 or 1 that also teach claims 1-3 and 5 (a processing unit for carrying out an operation of flipping an image from side to side may be used as the signal conversion means. Furthermore, drivers may observe the screens of ordinary monitor televisions by causing the mirrors to reflect the image displayed on the screen of the monitor television) and 7 (a camera 18 is mounted on the front cover thereof and images of the left-side and right-side blind spots are simultaneously taken by the aforesaid camera 18 and thus the images of the blind spots are displayed on the screen of a monitor television 8 as shown in FIG. 12).
Imoto (US 7359001 B2): transparent body 50 or transparent body [30LR and 58] which teach claims 1-3 (Fig. 3) and claims 5 and 7 (figs. 1, 5).
Peterson et al (US 11465561 B2): FIGS. 25 and 26 shows that an interior rearview mirror assembly 310 may comprise a full mirror video display screen 328 and inward camera 318 that can be used to combined with Furuta to expressly teach A display 310, comprising: a vehicle interior monitoring device 318 for obtaining interior images of occupants inside the vehicle for improving safety and convenient operations while driving yielding a predicted result.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Quan Pham whose telephone number is (571)272-4438. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9am-7pm.
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/Quan Pham/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2637
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