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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to 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.
Status of Claims
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s Response dated 7/15/2026. Claims 1, 4-9, 11, and 13-20 are presently pending and are presented for examination.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55, however the request for foreign priority cannot yet be approved due to the lack of certified English copies, per requirements of 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d), specifically 35 U.S.C. 119 (b)(3), see below.
(3) The Director may require a certified copy of the original foreign application, specification, and drawings upon which it is based, a translation if not in the English language, and such other information as the Director considers necessary. Any such certification shall be made by the foreign intellectual property authority in which the foreign application was filed and show the date of the application and of the filing of the specification and other papers.
Should applicant desire to obtain the benefit of foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) prior to declaration of an interference, a certified English translation of the foreign application must be submitted in reply to this action. 37 CFR 41.154(b) and 41.202(e).
Failure to provide a certified translation may result in no benefit being accorded for the non-English application.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendments, see pages 8-9 of 15, filed 7/15/2026, with respect to specification objections, drawing objections, claim objections, and 112(b) rejections have been fully considered and are persuasive. The specification objections, drawing objections, claim objections, and 112(b) rejections of record have been withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 10-13 of 15, filed 7/15/2026, with respect to amended claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Claim 1 is now rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sharma (US-2017/0069194) in view of Kondo et al. (US-2023/0008853; hereinafter Kondo; already of record) and further in view of Rezvani et al. (US-2023/0168359; hereinafter Rezvani; already of record).
A detailed rejection follows below.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 11, and 15 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 as currently presented states “…a transmission signal…a transmission signal…” to which the Examiner recommends updating to instead state “…a transmission signal…[ [ a ] ] the transmission signal…” or the like, so as to avoid potential misinterpretation.
Claim 1 as currently presented states “…a reflected signal…a reflected signal…” to which the Examiner recommends updating to instead state “…a reflected signal…[ [ a ] ] the reflected signal…” or the like, so as to avoid potential misinterpretation.
Claim 1 as currently presented states “…the passenger…a passenger…” to which the Examiner recommends updating to instead state “…a passenger…[ [ a ] ] the passenger…” so as to avoid potential misinterpretation.
Claim 11 as currently presented states “…a respiratory rate…” to which the Examiner recommends updating to instead state “…[ [ a ] ] the respiratory rate…” so as to avoid potential misinterpretation.
Claim 15 as currently presented states “…the physiological indicator…” to which the Examiner recommends updating to instead state “…a physiological indicator…” so as to avoid potential misinterpretation.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 11 depends from claim 10, which has been cancelled. Assuming claim 11 depends upon independent claim 1, claim 1 recites the detection of a physiological indicator that is a respiratory rate; dependent claim 11 recites the same information and does not further limit claim 1. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
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 1, 4-9, 11, 13-15, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sharma (US-2017/0069194) in view of Kondo et al. (US-2023/0008853; hereinafter Kondo; already of record) and further in view of Rezvani et al. (US-2023/0168359; hereinafter Rezvani; already of record).
Regarding claim 1, Sharma discloses a system (see Sharma at least [0003] "Aircraft manufacturers, airlines and other operators of commercial and other aircraft may recognize the desirability of being able to cater to the health, safety and comfort of aircraft occupants. As a result, aircraft may be designed to include various systems and aircraft operators may also provide various services that are intended to support the health, safety and comfort of aircraft occupants.") comprising:
a signal transmission and reflection detection sub-system (see Sharma at least [0017] "Referring now to FIG. 1, which is a block diagram 100 illustrating an exemplary aircraft occupant seat 110 including an aircraft occupant health, safety and comfort management system 120 for managing health, safety and comfort of an aircraft occupant seated in the aircraft occupant seat 110 in an aircraft 105... Further as shown in FIG. 1, the aircraft occupant health safety and comfort management system 120 includes a processor 140 coupled to the network interface 130, a storage device 150 coupled to the processor 140, contact-free sensors 160 coupled to the processor 140, and a display 145 coupled to the processor 140. Also as shown in FIG. 1, contact-free sensors 160 include background electrical noise and vibration measurement sensors 165 and non-intrusive health, safety, comfort, and movement measurement sensors 170.") comprising:
… a passenger environment (see Sharma at least [0020] “In operation, aircraft occupant health, safety and comfort management module (AOHSCMM) 152 monitors an aircraft occupant, seated in the aircraft occupant seat 110 in the aircraft 105, for health, safety and comfort information using at least one sensor 160 disposed in the aircraft occupant seat 110…”); and
… the passenger environment (see Sharma at least [0020] “In operation, aircraft occupant health, safety and comfort management module (AOHSCMM) 152 monitors an aircraft occupant, seated in the aircraft occupant seat 110 in the aircraft 105, for health, safety and comfort information using at least one sensor 160 disposed in the aircraft occupant seat 110…”);
…
…
…
…
determine a movement of a passenger via reflected signal data, and, upon a detection of the movement of the passenger (see Sharma at least [0021] "In one example embodiment, the non-intrusive health, safety, comfort, and movement sensor 170 is used for measuring vital signs of the aircraft occupant. Further in example embodiment, non-intrusive health, safety, comfort, and movement sensor 170 is used for measuring chest muscle movement (i.e., for measuring breathing rate), sense pulse via ballistocardiogram (BCG), and wakefulness/sleep level, of the aircraft occupant. For example, the non-intrusive health, safety, comfort, and movement sensor 470 disposed in the bottom of the aircraft occupant seat may be configured to sense heart rate and breathing rate by body recoil (i.e., ballistogcardiagram) without having to measure chest wall movement. For example, measuring total body movement and then filtering the combined frequency signal into heat and breathing rates.")…
… increase reflected signals associated with a heartbeat of the passenger (see Sharma at least [0020]-[0021] "In operation, aircraft occupant health, safety and comfort management module (AOHSCMM) 152 monitors an aircraft occupant, seated in the aircraft occupant seat 110 in the aircraft 105, for health, safety and comfort information using at least one sensor 160 disposed in the aircraft occupant seat 110. Example at least one sensor is a contact-free sensor and/or a non-intrusive sensor. Further example, at least one sensor is a piezoelectric sensor, electrometer (electric potential measurement sensor), and/or optical fiber bragg grating optical sensor... Further in example embodiment, non-intrusive health, safety, comfort, and movement sensor 170 is used for measuring chest muscle movement (i.e., for measuring breathing rate), sense pulse via ballistocardiogram (BCG), and wakefulness/sleep level, of the aircraft occupant. For example, the non-intrusive health, safety, comfort, and movement sensor 470 disposed in the bottom of the aircraft occupant seat may be configured to sense heart rate and breathing rate by body recoil (i.e., ballistogcardiagram) without having to measure chest wall movement. For example, measuring total body movement and then filtering the combined frequency signal into heat and breathing rates.");
process the reflected signal data to determine a heart rate and a respiratory rate of the passenger (see Sharma at least [0021] "In one example embodiment, the non-intrusive health, safety, comfort, and movement sensor 170 is used for measuring vital signs of the aircraft occupant. Further in example embodiment, non-intrusive health, safety, comfort, and movement sensor 170 is used for measuring chest muscle movement (i.e., for measuring breathing rate), sense pulse via ballistocardiogram (BCG), and wakefulness/sleep level, of the aircraft occupant. For example, the non-intrusive health, safety, comfort, and movement sensor 470 disposed in the bottom of the aircraft occupant seat may be configured to sense heart rate and breathing rate by body recoil (i.e., ballistogcardiagram) without having to measure chest wall movement. For example, measuring total body movement and then filtering the combined frequency signal into heat and breathing rates.");
determine based on the heart rate and the respiratory rate a sleep state and a comfort state of the passenger (see Sharma at least [0021] "…Further in example embodiment, non-intrusive health, safety, comfort, and movement sensor 170 is used for measuring chest muscle movement (i.e., for measuring breathing rate), sense pulse via ballistocardiogram (BCG), and wakefulness/sleep level, of the aircraft occupant..."); and
transmit an instruction to the one or more environmental control sub-systems to change an environmental operating parameter based on at least one of the sleep state or the comfort state of the passenger (see Sharma at least [0023] "In addition in operation, the AOHCMM 152 manages health, safety and comfort of the aircraft occupant based on the obtained health, safety and comfort information. Example health, safety and comfort management of the aircraft occupant includes adjusting airflow vent/air conditioner temperature substantially around the occupant seat based, providing ability to obtain waiting position number for the washroom and informing the aircraft occupant about availability of washroom upon reaching the obtained waiting position number, notifying seat belt condition to the aircraft cabin crew, providing blue/green light to awake the aircraft occupant, providing an optimized seating position to the aircraft occupant, providing seat presence or absence signal to cabin crew, providing appropriate audio level to the aircraft occupant, providing ambient noise cancellation or white noise to the occupant, providing appropriate refreshments to the aircraft occupant, providing emergency equipment condition information to the cabin crew, and/or providing condition of personal electronic equipment connected to the aircraft occupant based on the obtained health, safety and comfort information.").
However, while the sensors of Sharma monitor an occupant, the specific concepts below are not explicitly detailed by Sharma:
…a mmWave radar transmitter configured to transmit a transmission signal…
…a mmWave radar receiver configured to receive a reflected signal…
…a motorized mount for the signal transmission and reflection detection sub-system communicatively coupled to a controller and configured to change an angle of transmission of the transmission signal relative to the passenger based on an instruction by one or more processors…
…the controller comprising the one or more processors and memory communicatively coupled to the transmitter, the receiver, and one or more environmental control sub-systems, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute a set of program instructions stored in memory, the set of program instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to…
…send an instruction to the transmitter to transmit a transmission signal…
…receive reflected signal data from a reflected signal from the receiver…
…instruct the motorized mount to change the angle of transmission based on the movement…
…cause the motorized mount to adjust the angle of transmission to increase reflected signals…
Kondo, in the same field of endeavor, teaches the following:
…a mmWave radar transmitter configured to transmit a transmission signal (see Kondo at least [0052] "The radar device 3 may be a millimeter-wave radar that uses an electromagnetic wave in a millimeter-wave band as a radar wave, a laser radar that uses a laser beam as a radar wave, or a sonar that uses a sound wave as a radar wave. In any case, in the radar device 3, an antenna unit for transmitting and receiving a radar wave is configured to be able to detect the arrival direction of a reflected wave both in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction. The antenna unit may include array antennas arranged in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.")…
…a mmWave radar receiver configured to receive a reflected signal (see Kondo at least [0052] "The radar device 3 may be a millimeter-wave radar that uses an electromagnetic wave in a millimeter-wave band as a radar wave, a laser radar that uses a laser beam as a radar wave, or a sonar that uses a sound wave as a radar wave. In any case, in the radar device 3, an antenna unit for transmitting and receiving a radar wave is configured to be able to detect the arrival direction of a reflected wave both in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction. The antenna unit may include array antennas arranged in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.")…
…a motorized mount for the signal transmission and reflection detection sub-system communicatively coupled to a controller and configured to change an angle of transmission of the transmission signal relative to the passenger based on an instruction by one or more processors (see Kondo at least [0058] "The mounting angle adjustment device 7 includes a motor, and a gear attached to the radar device 3. The mounting angle adjustment device 7 rotates the motor based on a driving signal output from the control device 5. This causes a rotational force of the motor to be transmitted to the gear, allowing the radar device 3 to be rotated about a horizontal axis along the horizontal direction and a vertical axis along the vertical direction.")…
…the controller comprising the one or more processors and memory communicatively coupled to the transmitter, the receiver, and one or more environmental control sub-systems, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute a set of program instructions stored in memory (see Kondo at least Fig 1 and [0332] "Alternatively, the control device and the method thereof described in the present disclosure may be implemented by one or more dedicated computers configured by combining a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions and a processor configured by one or more hardware logic circuits."), the set of program instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to…
…
…
…instruct the motorized mount to change the angle of transmission based on the movement (see Kondo at least [0058] "The mounting angle adjustment device 7 includes a motor, and a gear attached to the radar device 3. The mounting angle adjustment device 7 rotates the motor based on a driving signal output from the control device 5. This causes a rotational force of the motor to be transmitted to the gear, allowing the radar device 3 to be rotated about a horizontal axis along the horizontal direction and a vertical axis along the vertical direction.")…
…cause the motorized mount to adjust the angle of transmission to increase reflected signals (see Kondo at least [0143]-[0147] “In subsequent S160, it is determined whether the final vertical axis deviation angle θpz estimated in S150 needs to be adjusted by the mounting angle adjustment device 7. In this step, in response to an affirmative determination, control proceeds to S170, and in response to a negative determination, control proceeds to S195... In S170, it is determined whether the vertical axis deviation angle θpz is in an adjustable range that can be adjusted by the mounting angle adjustment device 7. In this step, in response to an affirmative determination, control proceeds to S190, and in response to a negative determination, control proceeds to S180. In S190, since the vertical axis deviation angle θpz is in the adjustable range, an axis deviation adjustment process is performed. Thus, the mounting angle adjustment device 7 is controlled to adjust the vertical axis deviation angle θpz to be zero. Specifically, the vertical axis deviation angle θpz is adjusted by rotating the radar device 3 about the lateral axis Ys of the radar device 3 by the vertical axis deviation angle θpz to cause the direction of the radar device 3 to be the reference mounting direction, and control proceeds to S195.”)…
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the occupant monitoring system including a sensor as disclosed by Sharma with a radar device including a transmitter and receiver capable of having its operating range adjusted such as taught by Kondo with a reasonable expectation of success since the simple substitution of one known element for another produces predictable results of monitoring. Furthermore, the range adjustability facilitated by the adjustable operating range allows for angle adjustments according to a desired monitoring range (see Kondo at least [0059]) and would result in improved monitoring system.
However, neither Sharma nor Kondo explicitly disclose or teach the following:
…send an instruction to the transmitter to transmit a transmission signal…
…receive reflected signal data from a reflected signal from the receiver…
Rezvani, in the same field of endeavor, teaches the following:
…send an instruction to the transmitter to transmit a transmission signal (see Rezvani at least [0084] "...In other words, at least one processor 114/128 may be configured to coordinate and manage the system 100's transmit and receive operations…" and [0167] "The at least one processor 114 is configured to execute at least one machine-executable instruction that, when executed, causes the at least one processor 114 to collect a plurality of reflected signals (e.g., reflected signals 148) detected by the sparse array 160, and, based at least in part on the plurality of reflected signals, estimate a position (e.g., range and/or angle (e.g., azimuth or elevation)) of at least one target 130 in the scene...")…
…receive reflected signal data from a reflected signal from the receiver (see Rezvani at least [0172] "At block 204, a plurality of reflected signals (e.g., reflected signals 148) is collected (e.g., received by a radar subsystem 170)…")…
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the occupant monitoring as disclosed by Sharma with a transmitter and receiver such as taught by Rezvani with a reasonable expectation of success for the sake of acquiring accurate detections (see Rezvani at least [0036]-[0039]).
Regarding claim 4, Sharma in view of Kondo and Rezvani teach the system of claim 1 further including a sensor configured to sense another signal corresponding another physiological indicator of the passenger and send sensor data to the controller, wherein the sensor data is fused with the reflected signal data (see Rezvani at least [0047] "In some embodiments, a radar subsystem augments and synchronizes with a LiDAR subsystem, camera subsystem, and/or other information sources (e.g., GPS, maps, etc.). Some embodiments have access to at least two sources of information (e.g., radar, LiDAR, cameras, GPS coordinates, etc.), and the information obtained from the multiple sources is fused together to improve performance. The combining or merging of information about a scene from different sensing technologies is referred to herein as “sensor fusion.”").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the occupant monitoring as disclosed by Sharma with sensor fusion such as further taught by Rezvani with a reasonable expectation of success for reasons similar to those provided above in claim 1.
Regarding claim 5, Sharma in view of Kondo and Rezvani teach the system of claim 4, wherein the sensor is a lidar sensor (see Rezvani at least [0047] "In some embodiments, a radar subsystem augments and synchronizes with a LiDAR subsystem, camera subsystem, and/or other information sources (e.g., GPS, maps, etc.). Some embodiments have access to at least two sources of information (e.g., radar, LiDAR, cameras, GPS coordinates, etc.), and the information obtained from the multiple sources is fused together to improve performance. The combining or merging of information about a scene from different sensing technologies is referred to herein as “sensor fusion.”").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the occupant monitoring as disclosed by Sharma with a lidar sensor such as further taught by Rezvani with a reasonable expectation of success for reasons similar to those provided above in claim 1.
Regarding claim 6, Sharma in view of Kondo and Rezvani teach the system of claim 1, wherein the signal transmission and reflection detection sub-system is a radar system (see Rezvani at least [0088] "In the automotive industry, millimeter-wave radar systems in the 77-81 GHz range have recently been introduced to augment LiDAR…").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the occupant monitoring as disclosed by Sharma with a radar system such as further taught by Rezvani with a reasonable expectation of success for reasons similar to those provided above in claim 1.
Regarding claim 7, Sharma in view of Kondo and Rezvani teach the system of claim 6, wherein the radar system operates within a frequency domain of 10 GHz to 1000 GHz (see Rezvani at least [0088] "In the automotive industry, millimeter-wave radar systems in the 77-81 GHz range have recently been introduced to augment LiDAR…").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the occupant monitoring as disclosed by Sharma with a radar system with a specific frequency domain such as further taught by Rezvani with a reasonable expectation of success for reasons similar to those provided above in claim 1.
Regarding claim 8, Sharma in view of Kondo and Rezvani teach the system of claim 7, wherein the radar system operates with a frequency domain of 30 GHz to 300 GHz (see Rezvani at least [0088] "In the automotive industry, millimeter-wave radar systems in the 77-81 GHz range have recently been introduced to augment LiDAR…").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the occupant monitoring as disclosed by Sharma with a radar system with a specific frequency domain such as further taught by Rezvani with a reasonable expectation of success for reasons similar to those provided above in claim 1.
Regarding claim 9, Sharma in view of Kondo and Rezvani teach the system of claim 1, wherein the one or more environmental control sub-systems are configured to control a seat heater of a passenger seat (see Sharma at least [0004] “…In some aircraft, equipment may be provided that allows passengers to adjust environmental conditions at their own seats in the aircraft cabin to some degree. Airlines may also provide various services for supporting the health, safety and comfort of occupants of an aircraft. For example, an airline may provide an in-flight food service, seat/headrest position and temperature control and so on…”).
Regarding claim 11, Sharma in view of Kondo and Rezvani teach the system of claim 10, wherein the one or more processors are configured to process the reflected signal data to determine another physiological indicator of the passenger, wherein the another physiological indicator comprises a respiratory rate (see Sharma at least [0021] "In one example embodiment, the non-intrusive health, safety, comfort, and movement sensor 170 is used for measuring vital signs of the aircraft occupant. Further in example embodiment, non-intrusive health, safety, comfort, and movement sensor 170 is used for measuring chest muscle movement (i.e., for measuring breathing rate), sense pulse via ballistocardiogram (BCG), and wakefulness/sleep level, of the aircraft occupant. For example, the non-intrusive health, safety, comfort, and movement sensor 470 disposed in the bottom of the aircraft occupant seat may be configured to sense heart rate and breathing rate by body recoil (i.e., ballistogcardiagram) without having to measure chest wall movement. For example, measuring total body movement and then filtering the combined frequency signal into heat and breathing rates.").
Regarding claim 13, Sharma in view of Kondo and Rezvani teach the system of claim 1, wherein the sleep state comprises rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep (see Sharma at least [0020] "...One can envision, that the electro-potential sensors can be disposed in the aircraft occupant seat headrest to measure alpha/beta brain wake to check sleep level (i.e., rapid eye movement (REM)/Non REM sleep). For example, REM may occur when a person is dreaming, and in such a scenario coordinating the blue/green light at the end of REM phase may be very effective to the aircraft occupant.").
Regarding claim 14, Sharma in view of Kondo and Rezvani teach the system of claim 1, wherein the passenger environment comprises a plurality of zones, wherein the system is configured to receive reflected signal data from one or more zones of the plurality of zones (see Sharma at least [0017] “Referring now to FIG. 1, which is a block diagram 100 illustrating an exemplary aircraft occupant seat 110 including an aircraft occupant health, safety and comfort management system 120 for managing health, safety and comfort of an aircraft occupant seated in the aircraft occupant seat 110 in an aircraft 105. The term “aircraft occupant” refers to anyone seated in the aircraft, such as pilot, passenger, cabin-crew and the like...”).
Regarding claim 15, Sharma in view of Kondo and Rezvani teach the system of claim 14, wherein a first zone of the plurality of zones corresponds to a seat back of a passenger seat and a second zone corresponds to a seat pan of the passenger seat, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the physiological indicator of the passenger based on received reflected signal data for each of the first zone and the second zone (see Sharma at least Figs 3-5 and [0020] "...It can be seen that the contact-free sensor 160 may be disposed in the aircraft occupant seat 110 to accommodate varying sizes and positions of the aircraft occupant. In the example shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the piezoelectric sensor is disposed below or behind the seat cushion of the aircraft occupant seat 110. Further in the example shown in FIG. 5, the electro-potential sensors are disposed on the surface and/or integrated as part of the aircraft occupant seat cover. One can envision, that the electro-potential sensors can be disposed in the aircraft occupant seat headrest to measure alpha/beta brain wake to check sleep level (i.e., rapid eye movement (REM)/Non REM sleep). For example, REM may occur when a person is dreaming, and in such a scenario coordinating the blue/green light at the end of REM phase may be very effective to the aircraft occupant.").
Regarding claim 19, Sharma in view of Kondo and Rezvani teach the system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are instructed to process the reflected signal data to identify a personal item of the passenger (see Sharma at least [0024] "...Further in operation, one can envision configuring AOHCMM 152 to provide the ability to warn about removal of flight safety equipment from aircraft occupant seat 110 to cabin crew (For example, removal of oxygen mask or life jacket) so cabin-crew can prevent removal at disembarkation). Furthermore in operation, configuring AOHCMM 152 to provide ability to decide where to route the alerts during different flight phases. For example, if a passenger is ill before takeoff, both the pilot and the cabin crew may be alerted. Further for example, if during takeoff and/or landing only cabin crew may be alerted. Also for example, during flight displaying the seat belt or tray table alert/reminder to occupant or cabin crew when not complied.").
Regarding claim 20, Sharma in view of Kondo and Rezvani teach the analogous material of that in claim 1 as recited in the instant claim and is rejected for similar reasons.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sharma in view of Kondo and Rezvani as applied to claim 15, and further in view of Crego et al. (US-11,648,962; hereinafter Crego; already of record).
Regarding claim 16, Sharma in view of Kondo and Rezvani teach the system of claim 15. However, neither Sharma nor Kondo nor Rezvani explicitly disclose or teach the following:
the one or more processors are configured to train an object detection model based on the reflected signal data.
Crego, in the same field of endeavor, teaches the following:
the one or more processors are configured to train an object detection model based on the reflected signal data (see Crego at least col 16 lines 12-18 "In some examples, the training system 202 may refine the predicted safety metric 210 output by the machine-learned model 204 using a variety of additional inputs. For instance, the training system 202 may use log data comprising previously generated sensor data, vehicle parameters, and/or object parameters to refine predictions made by the machine-learned model 204.").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the occupant monitoring as disclosed by Sharma with a trained model such as taught by Crego with a reasonable expectation of success so as to improve the accuracy of computing determinations (see Crego at least col 4 line 59 to col 5 line 12).
Claims 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sharma in view of Kondo and Rezvani and Crego as applied to claim 16, and further in view of Ferguson (US-9,600,768; already of record).
Regarding claim 17, Sharma in view of Kondo and Rezvani and Crego teach the system of claim 16. While Sharma discloses the detection of items around a passenger, and Crego teaches a model capable of providing likelihoods of specific occurrences, neither Sharma nor Kondo nor Rezvani nor Crego explicitly disclose or teach the following:
the one or more processors are configured to infer, based on the object detection model, probability of a presence of a personal object of the passenger.
Ferguson, in the same field of endeavor, teaches the following:
the one or more processors are configured to infer, based on the object detection model, probability of a presence of a personal object of the passenger (see Ferguson at least col 16 lines 14-31 "In summary, the autonomous vehicle 102 may detect various objects in the driving environment and determine characteristics associated with those objects, determine corresponding object models for the detected objects based on the determined object characteristics, determine and/or obtain one or more probability values based on the determined object models and the locations for the one or more detected objects, aggregate the probability values corresponding to the detected objects into an overall probability value, and then compare the overall probability value with a probability threshold to determine whether the driving environment has probably changed. The autonomous driving computer system 104 may also take a more nuanced or granular approach, such as by comparing object-specific probability values (e.g., a probability value for passenger vehicles, a probability vehicle for pedestrians, etc.) with one or more object-specific probability thresholds.").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the detection of items as disclosed by Sharma with a probability of item detection such as taught by Ferguson with a reasonable expectation of success for the sake of assisting with validating estimations made by a model (see Ferguson at least col 1 line 61 to col 2 line 2).
Regarding claim 18, Sharma in view of Kondo and Rezvani and Crego and Ferguson teach the system of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are configured to, based on an inferred probability of the presence of the personal object of the passenger, a determined sleep status of the passenger, an activity the passenger (see Ferguson at least col 11 lines 35-48 "The autonomous driving computer system 104 may include all of the components normally used in connection with a computer, such as a central processing unit (“CPU”), a memory (e.g., RAM and internal hard drives) storing data 124 and instructions 126 such as an Internet browser or other software application, an electronic display 126 (e.g., a monitor having a screen, a small liquid crystal display (“LCD”) touch-screen or any other electrical device that is operable to display information), one or more user input devices 124 (e.g., a mouse, keyboard, touch screen and/or microphone), as well as various sensors (e.g., a video camera) for gathering the explicit (e.g., a gesture) or implicit (e.g., “the person is asleep”) information about the states and desires of a person.").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the detection of items as disclosed by Sharma with determinations indicative of passenger status such as taught by Ferguson with a reasonable expectation of success for the sake of tracking and monitoring passenger movements and behaviors (see Ferguson at least col 1 line 61 to col 2 line 2).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Migneco et al. (US-2025/0222741) teaches a climate control and comfort adjustment system for a passenger seat.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
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/S.P.R./Examiner, Art Unit 3663
/ABBY J FLYNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3663
