DETAILED ACTION
This is a first Office Action on the merits and is responsive to the originally filed application papers. Claims filed on 04/21/2025 are being examined. Claims 2-21 are being considered and further pending examination.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS(s)) submitted on 04/02/2025 is/are 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 § 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)(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) 2-4, 12, and 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Williams et al (US 20170088039 A1) henceforth referred to as Williams.
Regarding Claim 2, Williams teaches A method comprising (para [0029] : “Referring initially to FIG. 1, a vehicle 10 equipped with a vehicle state indication system 12 in accordance with a first embodiment is illustrated.”):
determining a status of a vehicle, wherein the vehicle is divided into two portions by an axis (para [0029] : “The vehicle state indication system 12 has a plurality of modes (or on modes) that indicate the state of the vehicle to external objects P (such as pedestrians and remote vehicles).”, para [0048] “FIGS. 9A-9C illustrate the procedure in which the vehicle state indication system 12 determines the state of the vehicle 10 and the manner of communication to an external object P, such as a pedestrian or remote vehicle.”, Fig. 1, Fig. 1 shows a vehicle which can be divided into two portions along a center axis of the vehicle);
causing indicator lights located on an exterior of the vehicle and disposed in respective portions of the two portions to illuminate in a first mode based at least in part on determining the status of the vehicle is a first status (para [0048] : “First in step S1, the vehicle is in an advancing state. Thus, the lighting device 38 displays a red light and the display 18 displays the text “ADVANCING”.”, Fig. 3, Fig. 3 shows display 18 in the middle of the vehicle where a left side and right side of the display on either side of an axis dividing the vehicle laterally from the front to the rear comprises individual lights.); and
causing a specific light of the indicator lights to illuminate in a second mode based at least in part on determining the status of the vehicle is a second status, wherein the specific light illuminates differently than remaining indicator lights to indicate a corresponding specific portion of the two portions (para [0043] : “For example, in one mode, as shown in FIG. 3, the display 18 can display “ADVANCING” indicating that the vehicle 10 is in an advancing state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is not advised. In another mode, as shown in FIG. 4, the display 18 can display “YIELDING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a transitioning state (i.e., a more passive state relative to the advancing state). Such an indication may occur as the vehicle 10 is slowing or yielding to pedestrians or other vehicles. As shown in FIG. 5, the display 18 can display “STOPPING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a stopping state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is encouraged. As shown in FIGS. 6-8, the display 18 can display “WAITING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a waiting state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is encouraged.”, as the display 18 displays the word “YIELDING” when the vehicle is in a second mode, as the display is centered on the vehicle (fig. 4) the a specific light is illuminated differently that the remaining indicator lights on the other side of the axis as the word “YIELDING” is not symmetrical).
Regarding Claim 3, Williams teaches The method of claim 2, further Williams teaches wherein the axis extends along a length of the vehicle from a first end to a second end of the vehicle (Fig. 1, Fig. 3, Figs. 1 and 3 show a vehicle where an axis can be drawn laterally from the front of the vehicle to the rear of the vehicle with lights of display 18 in both a left and right portion of the vehicle distal from the central axis.).
Regarding Claim 4, Williams teaches The method of claim 2, further Williams teaches wherein the axis extends laterally across a center of the vehicle (Fig. 1, Fig. 3, Figs. 1 and 3 show a vehicle where an axis can be drawn laterally from the front of the vehicle to the rear of the vehicle with lights of display 18 in both a left and right portion of the vehicle distal from the central axis.).
Regarding Claim 10, Williams teaches The method of claim 2, further Williams teaches wherein the first mode comprises a first illumination color or a first pattern and the second mode comprises a second illumination color or a second pattern, the second illumination color being different from the first illumination color and the second pattern being different from the first pattern (para [0043] : “For example, in one mode, as shown in FIG. 3, the display 18 can display “ADVANCING” indicating that the vehicle 10 is in an advancing state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is not advised. In another mode, as shown in FIG. 4, the display 18 can display “YIELDING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a transitioning state (i.e., a more passive state relative to the advancing state). Such an indication may occur as the vehicle 10 is slowing or yielding to pedestrians or other vehicles. As shown in FIG. 5, the display 18 can display “STOPPING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a stopping state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is encouraged. As shown in FIGS. 6-8, the display 18 can display “WAITING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a waiting state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is encouraged.”.
Regarding Claim 12, Williams teaches A vehicle system, comprising (para [0029] : “Referring initially to FIG. 1, a vehicle 10 equipped with a vehicle state indication system 12 in accordance with a first embodiment is illustrated.”):
an autonomous vehicle comprising a vehicle body comprising multiple portions, the multiple portions including at least a first body portion and a second body portion (Fig. 1, Fig. 1 shows a vehicle with multiple vehicle portions at least as a left port and a right portion of the vehicle);
multiple indicator lights disposed on an exterior of the vehicle body, the multiple indicator lights including at least a first indicator light disposed on the first body portion and a second indicator light disposed on the second body portion (para [0048] : “Additionally, the vehicle state indication system 12 includes a display 18. The display 18 is preferably a text display that is disposed on the vehicle 10 (e.g., the dashboard 44) so as to be capable of selectively externally indicating a first state of the vehicle 10 and a second state of the vehicle 10 in a forward direction of the vehicle 10.”, Fig. 3, Fig. 3 shows display 18, which is composed of multiple lights, centered on the vehicle and thus there are lights on the left portion and the right portion of the vehicle); and
non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the vehicle system to perform acts comprising (Fig. 2):
determining that the vehicle system is in a first status (para [0029] : “The vehicle state indication system 12 has a plurality of modes (or on modes) that indicate the state of the vehicle to external objects P (such as pedestrians and remote vehicles).”, para [0048] “FIGS. 9A-9C illustrate the procedure in which the vehicle state indication system 12 determines the state of the vehicle 10 and the manner of communication to an external object P, such as a pedestrian or remote vehicle.”);
causing the multiple indicator lights to illuminate in a first mode based at least in part on determining that the vehicle system is in the first status (para [0048] : “First in step S1, the vehicle is in an advancing state. Thus, the lighting device 38 displays a red light and the display 18 displays the text “ADVANCING”.”); and
causing the multiple indicator lights to illuminate in a second mode, different than the first mode, based at least in part on determining that the vehicle system is in a second status (para [0043] : “For example, in one mode, as shown in FIG. 3, the display 18 can display “ADVANCING” indicating that the vehicle 10 is in an advancing state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is not advised. In another mode, as shown in FIG. 4, the display 18 can display “YIELDING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a transitioning state (i.e., a more passive state relative to the advancing state). Such an indication may occur as the vehicle 10 is slowing or yielding to pedestrians or other vehicles. As shown in FIG. 5, the display 18 can display “STOPPING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a stopping state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is encouraged. As shown in FIGS. 6-8, the display 18 can display “WAITING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a waiting state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is encouraged.”),
wherein the second mode comprises illuminating a specific indicator light of the multiple indicator lights using at least one of a color or pattern that is different than remaining indicator lights of the multiple indicator lights (para [0043] : “For example, in one mode, as shown in FIG. 3, the display 18 can display “ADVANCING” indicating that the vehicle 10 is in an advancing state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is not advised. In another mode, as shown in FIG. 4, the display 18 can display “YIELDING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a transitioning state (i.e., a more passive state relative to the advancing state). Such an indication may occur as the vehicle 10 is slowing or yielding to pedestrians or other vehicles. As shown in FIG. 5, the display 18 can display “STOPPING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a stopping state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is encouraged. As shown in FIGS. 6-8, the display 18 can display “WAITING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a waiting state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is encouraged.”, as the display 18 displays the word “YIELDING” when the vehicle is in a second mode, as the display is centered on the vehicle (fig. 4) the specific light is illuminated differently that the remaining indicator lights on the other side of the axis as the word “YIELDING” is not symmetrical).
Regarding Claim 16, Williams teaches A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising (Fig. 2):
determining a status of a vehicle, wherein the vehicle is divided into a first pairing of two portions by a first axis and divided into a second pairing of two portions by a second axis (para [0029] : “The vehicle state indication system 12 has a plurality of modes (or on modes) that indicate the state of the vehicle to external objects P (such as pedestrians and remote vehicles).”, para [0048] “FIGS. 9A-9C illustrate the procedure in which the vehicle state indication system 12 determines the state of the vehicle 10 and the manner of communication to an external object P, such as a pedestrian or remote vehicle.”, Fig. 1, Fig. 1 shows a vehicle which can be divided into two portions along a center axis of the vehicle);
causing indicator lights located on an exterior of the vehicle to illuminate in a first mode based on determining the status of the vehicle is a first status, wherein in the first mode a light of the indicator lights illuminates in a first color and a first pattern (para [0029] : “The vehicle state indication system 12 has a plurality of modes (or on modes) that indicate the state of the vehicle to external objects P (such as pedestrians and remote vehicles).”, para [0048] “FIGS. 9A-9C illustrate the procedure in which the vehicle state indication system 12 determines the state of the vehicle 10 and the manner of communication to an external object P, such as a pedestrian or remote vehicle.”, para [0048] : “First in step S1, the vehicle is in an advancing state. Thus, the lighting device 38 displays a red light and the display 18 displays the text “ADVANCING”.”) ;
determining a light of the indicator lights to illuminate in a second mode based on determining the status of the vehicle is a second status (para [0043] : “For example, in one mode, as shown in FIG. 3, the display 18 can display “ADVANCING” indicating that the vehicle 10 is in an advancing state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is not advised. In another mode, as shown in FIG. 4, the display 18 can display “YIELDING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a transitioning state (i.e., a more passive state relative to the advancing state). Such an indication may occur as the vehicle 10 is slowing or yielding to pedestrians or other vehicles. As shown in FIG. 5, the display 18 can display “STOPPING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a stopping state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is encouraged. As shown in FIGS. 6-8, the display 18 can display “WAITING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a waiting state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is encouraged.”); and
causing the light to illuminate in the second mode, wherein in the second mode the light illuminates in at least one of a second pattern or a second color different from remaining indicator lights (para [0043] : “For example, in one mode, as shown in FIG. 3, the display 18 can display “ADVANCING” indicating that the vehicle 10 is in an advancing state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is not advised. In another mode, as shown in FIG. 4, the display 18 can display “YIELDING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a transitioning state (i.e., a more passive state relative to the advancing state). Such an indication may occur as the vehicle 10 is slowing or yielding to pedestrians or other vehicles. As shown in FIG. 5, the display 18 can display “STOPPING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a stopping state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is encouraged. As shown in FIGS. 6-8, the display 18 can display “WAITING”, indicating that the vehicle 10 is in a waiting state, and thus crossing in front of the vehicle 10 is encouraged.”, as the display 18 displays the word “YIELDING” when the vehicle is in a second mode, as the display is centered on the vehicle (fig. 4) the specific light is illuminated differently that the remaining indicator lights on the other side of the axis as the word “YIELDING” is not symmetrical).
Regarding Claim 17, Williams teaches The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, further Williams teaches wherein each indicator light is disposed in a region of the vehicle defined by being associated with both a portion of the first pairing of two portions and a portion of the second pairing of two portions (Fig. 3, Fig. 3 shows the display 18 in the front of the vehicle (one portion) and half of the display is then in the right/front portion and the other half is in the left/front portion and therefore the display has lights each in a region of a vehicle associated with a pairing to two portions).
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.
Claims 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Williams and further in view of Hotta et al (US 20210197863 A1) henceforth referred to as Hotta.
Regarding Claim 5, Williams teaches The method of claim 2, however Williams does not explicitly teach wherein the first mode comprises an indication of whether the vehicle is in an autonomous mode or a manual mode.
However, in a similar field of endeavor (vehicle exterior display systems), Hotta teaches wherein the first mode comprises an indication of whether the vehicle is in an autonomous mode or a manual mode (para [0127] : “The display control unit 171 controls display on the interior display device 61 and the exterior display device 83. Specifically, for example, when the driving mode executed by the vehicle control device 100 is an autonomous driving mode with a high degree of autonomy, the display control unit 171 performs control that causes the interior display device 61 and/or the exterior display device 83 to display information such as a reminder, warning, or driving assistance to traffic participants present around the host vehicle M. This is described below in detail.”).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to modify the system of Williams with the autonomous mode indication of Hotta to increase the safety of road users and people in the environment by indicating operations in an autonomous mode so that individuals can better predict vehicle behavior.
Claims 8, 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Williams and further in view of Nix et al (US 20190221058 A1) henceforth referred to as Nix
Regarding Claim 8, Williams teaches The method of claim 2, however Williams does not explicitly teach further comprising determining a service code indicating an error within a component of the vehicle, and wherein the second mode comprises a light pattern based at least in part on the service code.
However, in a similar field of endeavor (error code based displaying of information), Nix teaches further comprising determining a service code indicating an error within a component of the vehicle, and wherein the second mode comprises a light pattern based at least in part on the service code (para [0005] : “The method can include depicting, via a display device affixed to an exterior of the autonomous vehicle and configured to display information associated with the plurality of different systems such that the information is visible to an observer located outside the autonomous vehicle, at least one of the one or more maintenance statuses.”, para [0018] : “In some embodiments, determining the maintenance status(es) can include determining a vehicle operational status (e.g., whether the vehicle is ready to operate, and/or the like), a vehicle health status (e.g., an indication or metric of the vehicle's condition, and/or the like), an energy level (e.g., a voltage, shore-power level, battery charge level, and/or the like), a fuel level (e.g., an amount of fuel onboard the vehicle, and/or the like), an available range (e.g., a distance or amount of time the vehicle can operate without maintenance, refueling, recharging, and/or the like), an available operating time (e.g., a time at which the vehicle will be ready to operate, an amount of time until the vehicle will be ready to operate, an amount of time the vehicle can operate without maintenance, refueling, recharging, and/or the like), a tire pressure (e.g., of a tire mounted to a wheel of the vehicle, and/or the like), a status of a software update (e.g., an amount or percentage of an update downloaded or uploaded, an amount of time remaining to complete an upload or download, and/or the like), a status of a data update (e.g., an amount or percentage of an update downloaded or uploaded, an amount of time remaining to complete an upload or download, and/or the like), an error code (e.g., identifying an issue with a vehicle component, system, and/or the like), an identifier associated with a system fault (e.g., identifying a system failure, and/or the like), an identifier of the autonomous vehicle (e.g., an owner of the vehicle, a vehicle identifier assigned by a manufacturer or operator of the vehicle, and/or the like), an identifier of an individual associated with the autonomous vehicle (e.g., a technician servicing the vehicle, and/or the like), an identifier associated with a known problem (e.g., identifying a problem known to occur with vehicles of the vehicle type, and/or the like), an identifier associated with a known solution (e.g., identifying a solution to a problem known to occur with vehicles of the vehicle type, and/or the like), a status of an access-control system (e.g., whether a door or hatch is locked, ajar, and/or the like), whether the autonomous vehicle is physically connected to an external system (e.g., a power source, a diagnostic system, and/or the like), and/or an operational role of the autonomous vehicle within a fleet of autonomous vehicles (e.g., whether the vehicle is assigned to service customers, test software or hardware, gather data about a geographic location, and/or the like).”).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to modify the system of Williams with status display of Nix to improve ease of performing maintenance and/or service on a vehicle by displaying an indication of a maintenance error code to the exterior of the vehicle.
Regarding Claim 13, Williams teaches The vehicle system of claim 12, further Williams teaches wherein the first status is an operating status (para [0048] : “First in step S1, the vehicle is in an advancing state. Thus, the lighting device 38 displays a red light and the display 18 displays the text “ADVANCING”.”). However Williams does not explicitly teach and the second status is a service status.
However, in a similar field of endeavor (display of vehicle status), Nix teaches and the second status is a service status (para [0005] : “The method can include depicting, via a display device affixed to an exterior of the autonomous vehicle and configured to display information associated with the plurality of different systems such that the information is visible to an observer located outside the autonomous vehicle, at least one of the one or more maintenance statuses.”).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to modify the system of Williams with status display of Nix to improve ease of performing maintenance and/or service on a vehicle by displaying an indication of a maintenance error code to the exterior of the vehicle.
Regarding Claim 18, it recites a non-transitory computer readable medium with limitations substantially the same as claim 8 above, therefore it is rejected for the same reason.
Claims 9 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Williams and further in view of Kanemitsu et al (US 20210082282 A1) henceforth referred to as Kanemitsu.
Regarding Claim 9, Williams teaches The method of claim 2, however Williams does not explicitly teach further comprising causing an audio device of the vehicle to emit a tone associated with the specific light illuminating in the second mode.
However, in a similar field of endeavor (notification systems for vehicles), Kanemitsu teaches further comprising causing an audio device of the vehicle to emit a tone associated with the specific light illuminating in the second mode (para [0044] : “As will be described later, as a notification mode, the notification device 100 in the present embodiment can select a notification mode from four notification modes of the sound by a vehicle-external speaker 41, the vibration by an ultrasound device 42, the light by a light emitting device 43, and the air by an air blowing device 44.”).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to modify the system of Williams with the sound notification of Kanemitsu to increase the safety of nearby pedestrians by giving an audible notification of vehicle operation.
Regarding Claim 19, it recites a non-transitory computer readable medium with limitations substantially the same as claim 9 above, therefore it is rejected for the same reason.
Claim(s) 11 and 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Williams.
Regarding Claim 11, Williams teaches The method of claim 2, further Williams renders obvious further comprising determining the specific light of the indicator lights by determining a first quadrant based on a standardized fleetwide quadrant labeling scheme (para [0038] : “As shown in FIGS. 4-8, the light band 40 can have portions 40a, 40b and 40c thereof light up. Thus, when an external object P, such as a pedestrian or remote vehicle, is sensed or detected by the detection system 20, the light band 40 can indicate the direction of the external object P. The light band 40 is generally connected to the sides 38a and 38b of the lighting device 38 at the front of the vehicle 10 and extends around (i.e., surrounds) or substantially around the vehicle 10.”, where it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the system of Williams could be applied to a fleet of vehicles ) .
Regarding Claim 14, Williams teaches The vehicle system of claim 12, wherein the vehicle system further comprises:
a first light controller configured to control illumination of a first pair of lights of the multiple indicator lights located at a first end of a body of the autonomous vehicle (para [0043] : “The display 18 is preferably a text display that is disposed on the vehicle 10 (e.g., the dashboard 44) so as to be capable of selectively externally indicating a first state of the vehicle 10 and a second state of the vehicle 10 in a forward direction of the vehicle 10.”, para [0048] : “First in step S1, the vehicle is in an advancing state. Thus, the lighting device 38 displays a red light and the display 18 displays the text “ADVANCING”.”, it would be required a text display contain at least a pair of lights in order to display text and controlled by a controller ). However Williams does not explicitly teach a second light controller configured to control illumination of a second pair of lights of the multiple indicator lights located at a second end of the body, and wherein the first light controller and the second light controller are each communicatively coupled with the at least one processor and configured to cause illumination of the multiple indicator lights based on instructions from the at least one processor.
However, Williams renders obvious a second light controller configured to control illumination of a second pair of lights of the multiple indicator lights located at a second end of the body, and wherein the first light controller and the second light controller are each communicatively coupled with the at least one processor and configured to cause illumination of the multiple indicator lights based on instructions from the at least one processor (para [0038] : “As shown in FIGS. 4-8, the light band 40 can have portions 40a, 40b and 40c thereof light up. Thus, when an external object P, such as a pedestrian or remote vehicle, is sensed or detected by the detection system 20, the light band 40 can indicate the direction of the external object P. The light band 40 is generally connected to the sides 38a and 38b of the lighting device 38 at the front of the vehicle 10 and extends around (i.e., surrounds) or substantially around the vehicle 10.”, where the indication that it would be beneficial to extend around the vehicle renders obvious a second controller at the rear end of the vehicle to display to the rearward side of the vehicle the status.).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to modify the system of Williams with a second display positioned at the rear of the vehicle in order to increase visibility of the displayed status of the vehicle and therefore increase the safety of any people in the environment of the vehicle.
Regarding Claim 15, Williams teaches The vehicle system of claim 12, wherein:
individual lights of a first pair of lights are located at first diagonally opposite positions on the vehicle body of the autonomous vehicle (para [0043] : “The display 18 is preferably a text display that is disposed on the vehicle 10 (e.g., the dashboard 44) so as to be capable of selectively externally indicating a first state of the vehicle 10 and a second state of the vehicle 10 in a forward direction of the vehicle 10.”, a text display is required to have many lights in an array necessitating that there is a pair located diagonally opposite in at least some direction on the vehicle body). However, Williams does not explicitly teach individual lights of a second pair of lights are located at second diagonally opposite positions on the vehicle body of the autonomous vehicle.
However, Williams renders obvious individual lights of a second pair of lights are located at second diagonally opposite positions on the vehicle body of the autonomous vehicle (para [0038] : “As shown in FIGS. 4-8, the light band 40 can have portions 40a, 40b and 40c thereof light up. Thus, when an external object P, such as a pedestrian or remote vehicle, is sensed or detected by the detection system 20, the light band 40 can indicate the direction of the external object P. The light band 40 is generally connected to the sides 38a and 38b of the lighting device 38 at the front of the vehicle 10 and extends around (i.e., surrounds) or substantially around the vehicle 10.”, where the indication that it would be beneficial to extend around the vehicle renders obvious a second controller at the rear end of the vehicle to display to the rearward side of the vehicle the status and a second display would necessitate at least a second pair of0light located diagonally in at least some direction on the vehicle body.).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to modify the system of Williams with a second display positioned at the rear of the vehicle in order to increase visibility of the displayed status of the vehicle and therefore increase the safety of any people in the environment of the vehicle.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-7 and 20-21 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID HATCH whose telephone number is (571)272-4518. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, James J Lee can be reached on 571-270-5965. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/D.H./Examiner, Art Unit 3668
/IMRAN K MUSTAFA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3668
6/27/2026
Prosecution Insights