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 .
2. Claims 1-20 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/13/2025 and 06/30/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
5. Claims 1-3 and 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gino et al. (US Pub. No. 2017/0005828 A1 hereinafter “Gino” – IDS Submission) in view of Jaguar Land Rover Limited (WO 2021/176053 A1 hereinafter “Jaguar” – IDS Submission).
Referring to claim 1, Gino discloses a method for transitioning an add-on controller area network enabled device (CAN- enabled device) from a low-power listen-only mode to a fully functional mode, the method comprising:
connecting a CAN-enabled device to a CAN bus on a vehicle (Gino – Claim 1 discloses “wherein each of the CAN listeners is configured to be coupled to a respective CAN bus”.);
initializing the CAN-enabled device to a low-power listen-only mode (Gino – Par. [0009] discloses “when the system is in its deepest hibernation state and only the CAN listeners in the first ‘always-on’ power domain are available, the CAN transceivers can automatically be set in their lowest power state as well.”);
monitoring the CAN bus while in the low-power listen-only mode to detect whether communications traffic is present on the CAN bus; if no communications traffic is detected on the CAN bus, remaining in the low-power listen-only mode and continuing to monitor the CAN bus (Gino – power consumption is further reduced by the fact that only the CAN listeners 118, the power controller 120, (at least some of) the CAN controllers 122 and the CAN scheduler 124, i.e., a minimal set of resources required to react to incoming CAN messages, are located in the always-on power domain 112, 114 and that additional resources can be sequentially powered up if and as required, and this minimal subset typically works with a low clock (without any PLL) resulting in a very low power consumption (see paragraph [0037]; and figure l); and detecting CAN activity on the CAN bus to which it is coupled and controlling the power state of the microcontroller in case at least one relevant incoming CAN message is detected by the selected CAN controller (see claims 1, 13).”); and
returning to monitoring the CAN bus while in the low-power listen-only mode to detect whether communications traffic is present on the CAN bus (Gino – Claim 11 discloses “detecting CAN activity on a CAN bus by means of one of the CAN listeners; in response to detecting CAN activity on the CAN bus, sending a control signal from the CAN listener detecting the CAN activity to the power controller; in response to receiving the power control signal, controlling the activity state of at least one of the CAN controllers by means of said power controller", and see par. [0038] & figure 3: "the CAN listener 118 looks for transitions on the CAN bus (both edges) and triggers the power controller 120 to wake up the CAN controller 122.").
Gino fails to explicitly disclose if communications traffic is detected on the CAN bus, inputting a signal representing a condition of the vehicle to determine whether the condition is active; if the condition is not active when communications traffic is detected on the CAN bus, returning to monitoring the CAN bus in the low-power listen-only mode; if the condition is active when communications traffic is detected on the CAN bus, transitioning the CAN-enabled device from the low-power listen-only mode to a fully functional mode to enable the CAN-enabled device to transmit and receive communications on the CAN bus; and reinitializing the CAN-enabled device to a low-power listen-only mode when the CAN- enabled device is no longer transmitting and receiving communications on the CAN bus.
Jaguar discloses if communications traffic is detected on the CAN bus, inputting a signal representing a condition of the vehicle to determine whether the condition is active (Jaguar – Page 10, lines 33-35 disclose “It is noted that the vehicle controller 14 may have a number of global power states (in the table below these are “normal”, “low power”, “listen” and “sleep”) and for each of these global power states the virtual machines may be in different states (i.e. different local power states).”);
if the condition is not active when communications traffic is detected on the CAN bus, returning to monitoring the CAN bus in the low-power listen-only mode (Jaguar – Page 2, lines 10-13 disclose “provides a vehicle control system having a global power state (e g normal, lower power, sleep) and at least two virtual machines each of which has a local power state. Upon receiving a vehicle parameter power signal which could be a signal indicating the state of a vehicle CAN bus, vehicle battery voltage, an input from one of the virtual machines or a signal from outside the vehicle received via a modem”.);
if the condition is active when communications traffic is detected on the CAN bus, transitioning the CAN-enabled device from the low-power listen-only mode to a fully functional mode to enable the CAN-enabled device to transmit and receive communications on the CAN bus (Jaguar – Page 5, lines 16-19 disclose “The hypervisor may be configured to receive a shut-down request signal to change the power state of the vehicle controller from an ON state to a reduced power state and wherein the hypervisor is configured to output a power state control signal to transition the vehicle controller from the ON state to the reduced power state when the hypervisor determines that none of the virtual machines require power.”);
reinitializing the CAN-enabled device to a low-power listen-only mode when the CAN- enabled device is no longer transmitting and receiving communications on the CAN bus (Jaguar – Page 11, lines 6-8 disclose “The power manager 48 is arranged to monitor for several inputs or vehicle parameter signals such as the CAN bus state, the vehicle battery voltage, modem communication, input from the virtual machines.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include Jaguar’s teachings with Gino’s techniques for the benefit of providing a vehicle control system, to a vehicle, and to a method of changing a global power state of a vehicle control system (Jaguar – Page 2, lines 1-2).
Referring to claim 2, Gino and Jaguar disclose the method as defined in claim 1, wherein the method returns directly to the monitoring the CAN bus after reinitializing the CAN-enabled device to a low-power listen-only mode (Gino – Par. [0009] discloses "Preferably, when the system is in its deepest hibernation state and only the CAN listeners in the first 'always-on' power domain are available, the CAN transceivers can automatically be set in their lowest power state as well"; Par. [0037] & fig. 1 disclose "In addition, power consumption is further reduced by the fact that only the CAN listeners 118, the power controller 120, (at least some of) the CAN controllers 122 and the CAN scheduler 124, i.e., a minimal set of resources required to react to incoming CAN messages, are located in the always-on power domain 112, 114 and that additional resources can be sequentially powered up if and as required".).
Referring to claim 3, Gino and Jaguar disclose the method as defined in claim 1, wherein the method delays for a selected duration before returning to the monitoring the CAN bus after reinitializing the CAN-enabled device to a low- power listen-only mode (Gino – Par. [0009] discloses "Preferably, when the system is in its deepest hibernation state and only the CAN listeners in the first 'always-on' power domain are available, the CAN transceivers can automatically be set in their lowest power state as well"; Par. [0037] & fig. 1 disclose "In addition, power consumption is further reduced by the fact that only the CAN listeners 118, the power controller 120, (at least some of) the CAN controllers 122 and the CAN scheduler 124, i.e., a minimal set of resources required to react to incoming CAN messages, are located in the always-on power domain 112, 114 and that additional resources can be sequentially powered up if and as required"; Par. [0032] discloses "However, the CAN protocol and the specific architecture according to this embodiment of the invention ensure that the 'missed' CAN messages will eventually arrive/be responded to, potentially with a certain delay, e.g., after handling error packets on the CAN bus (the CAN protocol includes re-transmission of unanswered messages).").
Referring to claims 9 and 10, note the rejections of claim 1 above. The Instant Claims recite substantially same limitations as the above-rejected and is therefore rejected under same prior-art teachings.
Referring to claim 11, note the rejections of claim 2 above. The Instant Claim recites substantially same limitations as the above-rejected and is therefore rejected under same prior-art teachings.
Referring to claim 12, note the rejections of claim 3 above. The Instant Claim recites substantially same limitations as the above-rejected and is therefore rejected under same prior-art teachings.
6. Claims 4-8 and 13-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gino in view of Jaguar, and further in view of Tran (US Pub. No. 2023/0319140 A1 hereinafter “Tran” – IDS Submission).
Referring to claim 4, Gino and Jaguar disclose the method as defined in claim 1, however, fail to explicitly disclose wherein the condition of the vehicle is a motion of the vehicle.
Tran discloses wherein the condition of the vehicle is a motion of the vehicle (Tran – Par. [0066] & fig. 2A disclose "The processor 202 is connected with an inertial system (INS) 204 and a global positioning system (GPS) receiver 206 that generate navigation information"; Par. [0204]: "A GPS receiver provides location information. The CDR, XLM, or accelerometers provide information regarding the vehicle's movement and driving conditions").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include Tran’s teachings with Gino and Jaguar’s techniques for the benefit of enabling improvements in cost, profitability, performance, efficiency, and utility of use in the field of smart cars (Tran – Par. [0003]).
Referring to claim 5, Gino and Jaguar disclose the method as defined in claim 4, however, fail to explicitly disclose wherein the motion of the vehicle is detected by a global positioning system (GPS) device or other navigation device coupled to the CAN-enabled device.
Tran discloses wherein the motion of the vehicle is detected by a global positioning system (GPS) device or other navigation device coupled to the CAN-enabled device (Tran – Par. [0066] & fig. 2A disclose "The processor 202 is connected with an inertial system (INS) 204 and a global positioning system (GPS) receiver 206 that generate navigation information"; Par. [0204]: "A GPS receiver provides location information. The CDR, XLM, or accelerometers provide information regarding the vehicle's movement and driving conditions").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include Tran’s teachings with Gino and Jaguar’s techniques for the benefit of enabling improvements in cost, profitability, performance, efficiency, and utility of use in the field of smart cars (Tran – Par. [0003]).
Referring to claim 6, Gino and Jaguar disclose the method as defined in claim 4, however, fail to explicitly disclose wherein the motion of the vehicle is detected by an accelerometer or other motion sensor coupled to the CAN-enabled device.
Tran discloses wherein the motion of the vehicle is detected by an accelerometer or other motion sensor coupled to the CAN-enabled device (Tran – Par. [0066] & fig. 2A disclose "The processor 202 is connected with an inertial system (INS) 204 and a global positioning system (GPS) receiver 206 that generate navigation information"; Par. [0204]: "A GPS receiver provides location information. The CDR, XLM, or accelerometers provide information regarding the vehicle's movement and driving conditions").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include Tran’s teachings with Gino and Jaguar’s techniques for the benefit of enabling improvements in cost, profitability, performance, efficiency, and utility of use in the field of smart cars (Tran – Par. [0003]).
Referring to claim 7, Gino and Jaguar disclose the method as defined in claim 1, wherein the condition is the presence of power from an accessory port (Gino - Claim 11 discloses "detecting CAN activity on a CAN bus by means of one of the CAN listeners; in response to detecting CAN activity on the CAN bus, sending a control signal from the CAN listener detecting the CAN activity to the power controller; in response to receiving the power control signal, controlling the activity state of at least one of the CAN controllers by means of said power controller"; and Par. [0038] & fig. 3 disclose "the CAN listener 118 looks for transitions on the CAN bus (both edges) and triggers the power controller 120 to wake up the CAN controller 122".), however, fail to explicitly disclose wherein the condition is the presence of a voltage from an accessory port.
Tran discloses wherein the condition is the presence of a voltage from an accessory port (Tran – Par. [0152] discloses deposited charge or diode voltages.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include Tran’s teachings with Gino and Jaguar’s techniques for the benefit of enabling improvements in cost, profitability, performance, efficiency, and utility of use in the field of smart cars (Tran – Par. [0003]).
Referring to claim 8, Gino and Jaguar disclose the method as defined in claim 1, however, fail to explicitly disclose wherein the condition is the receipt of a signal from a Bluetooth® or other wireless communication system in the vehicle.
Tran discloses wherein the condition is the receipt of a signal from a Bluetooth® or other wireless communication system in the vehicle (Tran – Par. [0250] discloses "The travel routes can be transmitted over a vehicular Wi-Fi system that sends protected information to nearby vehicles equipped with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth or ZigBee nodes”.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include Tran’s teachings with Gino and Jaguar’s techniques for the benefit of enabling improvements in cost, profitability, performance, efficiency, and utility of use in the field of smart cars (Tran – Par. [0003]).
Referring to claim 13, note the rejections of claim 4 above. The Instant Claim recites substantially same limitations as the above-rejected and is therefore rejected under same prior-art teachings.
Referring to claim 14, note the rejections of claim 5 above. The Instant Claim recites substantially same limitations as the above-rejected and is therefore rejected under same prior-art teachings.
Referring to claim 15, note the rejections of claim 6 above. The Instant Claim recites substantially same limitations as the above-rejected and is therefore rejected under same prior-art teachings.
Referring to claim 16, note the rejections of claim 7 above. The Instant Claim recites substantially same limitations as the above-rejected and is therefore rejected under same prior-art teachings.
Referring to claim 17, note the rejections of claim 8 above. The Instant Claim recites substantially same limitations as the above-rejected and is therefore rejected under same prior-art teachings.
Related Prior Art
7. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
a. Gudapati (US Pub. No. 2025/0306887 A1 hereinafter “Gudapati”) discloses firmware over-the-air (FOTA) flash update control techniques include receiving, by a FOTA supervisor module connected to a controller area network (CAN) of an electrified vehicle, a FOTA flash update via a wireless communication medium and determine a set of controllers on the CAN that are intended to be flashed by the FOTA flash update, transmitting, by the FOTA supervisor module via the CAN, a FOTA applicability signal indicative of the set of controllers on the CAN that will be flashed by the FOTA flash update and a maximum FOTA time for performing the FOTA flash update, and controlling, by a propulsion supervisory controller connected to the CAN, a propulsion system of the electrified vehicle, based on the FOTA applicability signal, to overcome a conflict between the propulsion system and the performing of the FOTA flash update.
b. Koch et al. (US Pub. No. 2024/0096146 A1 hereinafter “Koch”) discloses methods and systems of enabling a non-interfering mode in a telematics device are provided. The method may be used to prevent interference between a telematics device and a diagnostic tool connected to the same vehicle communications bus. When a diagnostic tool is detected, the telematics device enables a non-interfering mode. Advantageously, the operation of diagnostic tools such as emissions testing diagnostic tools, is not disrupted.
c. Van Dijk (US Pub. No. 2020/0403823 A1 hereinafter “Van Dijk”) discloses a Controller Area Network (CAN) transceiver is disclosed. The CAN transceiver includes a CAN bus interface including CANH and CANL inputs, a TXDC interface, RXDC interface and a CAN bus diagnostics module coupled with the CAN bus interface. The CAN bus diagnostics module is configured to analyze the CAN bus interface to detect and error on the CANH and CANL inputs and send a diagnostics code predefined for the detected error to one of the TXDC interface and the RXDC interface.
d. Kim et al. (US Pub. No. 2019/0313446 A1 hereinafter “Kim”) discloses vehicle communication systems, in particular, toward contention resolution on a shared medium in vehicle communication systems. The present disclosure can provide a modified version of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.3 standard to handle physical layer (PHY), and data link layer's (DLL) media access control (MAC) of the wired communication links in the vehicle communication subsystem utilizing a shared medium and half-duplex mode. As a result, the modified MAC and PHY may provide fair access and deterministic latency for shared access to the medium of vehicle communication systems independent of the offered network load.
Conclusion
The examiner requests, in response to this office action, support be shown for language added to any original claims on amendment and any new claims. That is, indicate support for newly added claim language by specifically pointing to page(s) and line number(s) in the specification and/or drawing figure(s). This will assist the examiner in prosecuting the application. When responding to this office action, applicant is advised to clearly point out the patentable novelty which he or she thinks the claims present, in view of the state of art disclosed by the references cited or the objections made. He or she must also show how the amendments avoid such references or objections. See 37 C.F.R.I .Ill(c).
In amending in reply to a rejection of claims in an application or patent under reexamination, the applicant or patent owner must clearly point out the patentable novelty which he or she thinks the claims present in view the state of the art disclosed by the references cited or the objections made. The applicant or patent owner must also show how the amendments avoid such references or objections.
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/Dayton Lewis-Taylor/
Examiner, Art Unit 2181
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