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 .
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.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 4/9/2025 was in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The examiner notes that the current available drawings are shown in the filed “WIPO” Publication. However, the examiner recommends to file an independent drawing for the current application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Martin (US 20210213873 A1).
Examiner note: the recitation that an element "can be" perform a function is not a positive limitation but only requires the ability to so perform. It does not constitute a limitation in any patentable sense. Also, the limitation “and/or” only requires one of items separated by such limitation “and/or”
With regards to claim 1. Martin disclose(s):
(Currently Amended) A method for illuminating a surrounding area (see figs 1-21d) in which at least one motor vehicle (100a/100b; figs 5a-13b) that includes at least one motor vehicle lighting device (160 of each of 100a/100b; fig 1a/1b) is located, wherein a motor vehicle light distribution that is variable with regard to an emission-angle-dependent brightness (see angle of beam emission in 160a; fig 5a) can be generated by way of the at least one motor vehicle lighting device (160 of each of 100a/100b; fig 1a/1b), wherein an additional vehicle light distribution (see angle of beam emission in 160a; fig 5a) can be generated by way of at least one additional vehicle lighting device (100b) of at least one additional vehicle (100b) located in the surrounding area (see figs 5a/5b), wherein at least one item of illumination information that relates to a currently (see beams 160a/160b; figs 5a/5b) and/or prospectively generated (see beams 160a/160b; figs 5a/5b) and/or generatable additional vehicle light distribution (160b), is transmitted from the at least one additional vehicle (100b) to the at least one motor vehicle (100a) via a communication link (602; fig 6a; [0164]) formed between the at least one motor vehicle (100a) and the at least one additional vehicle (100b), the method comprising:
determining an overall illumination pattern (fig 6b) in the surrounding area (figs 5a/5b) based on the at least one item of illumination information (lighting plan [0092]);
modifying the motor vehicle light distribution (see modification of beam 160a in figs 5a/5b) and/or the additional vehicle light distribution (160b) such that a motor vehicle illumination pattern (160a/160b) generated by way of the motor vehicle light distribution (160a) and an additional vehicle illumination pattern (160b) generated by way of the additional vehicle light distribution (100a) produce the overall illumination pattern;
providing each of the at least one motor vehicle (100a) and the at least one additional vehicle (100b) with at least one activatable light distribution that can only be generated when the at least one motor vehicle has been activated (see 100a being active/operating in figs 5a/5b), wherein the at least one item of illumination information relates to at least one additional vehicle light distribution that is enabled and/or not enabled by the at least one additional vehicle (see lighting plan sent from 100b; [0120]), wherein the overall illumination pattern corresponds to an additional vehicle light distribution that is enabled by the at least one motor vehicle (see target area [0165]), and corresponds to an additional vehicle light distribution(area away from road [0165]) that is not enabled by the at least one additional vehicle (see vehicles 100a/100b where illumination of areas where the other vehicle is not enabling illumination in fig 5b; and/or
gathering at least one additional vehicle item of information (ID [0119]) that relates to at least one manufacturer of the at least one additional vehicle ([0121]) or to an additional vehicle technology set up for the operation of the at least one additional vehicle lighting device by the at least one additional vehicle ([0120]), wherein a determination of the overall illumination pattern and a change in the motor vehicle light distribution and/or the additional vehicle light distribution only occurs if a generation condition is fulfilled when the at least one additional vehicle item of information indicates that the at least one manufacturer of the at least one additional vehicle is included in a predefined list of manufacturers and/or if the additional vehicle technology has a predefined minimum standard (see vehicle ID that facilitates collaboration [0120]); and/or
With regards to claim 2. Martin disclose(s):
(Currently Amended) The method according to claim 1,
wherein the at least one item of illumination information relates to an emission-angle- dependent brightness of the additional vehicle light distribution and/or an extension (see lateral extension of beam of vehicle 100a in fig 10a) and/or a brightness distribution of the additional vehicle illumination pattern.
With regards to claim 3. Martin disclose(s):
(Currently Amended) The method according to Claim 1,
wherein the additional vehicle light distribution is static with regard to the emission-angle-dependent brightness, wherein only the motor vehicle light distribution is changed to generate the overall illumination pattern (see only emission of light of vehicle of 100a being changed in fig 10a), or
wherein the additional vehicle light distribution can be changed with regard to the emission-angle-dependent brightness (see fig 10a; [0162-0163]), and
wherein the method further comprises changing the motor vehicle light distribution and the additional vehicle light distribution to generate the overall illumination pattern (see fig 5b).
With regards to claim 4. Martin disclose(s):
(Currently Amended) Method The method according to claim 1,
wherein the determining of the overall illumination pattern and the change in the motor vehicle light distribution and/or the additional vehicle light distribution (10) only occurs if the release condition is fulfilled, and
wherein the method further comprises outputting request information to the occupant of the at least one motor vehicle way of the at least one interface, or by at least one further interface, with the occupant automatically or when a request signal generated by an occupant of the at least one additional vehicle is present, and wherein the release signal can be generated by the occupant of the at least one motor vehicle when the request information is output.
Examiner note: Claim 4 depends on Claim 1. Also, claim 1 has a conditional limitation regarding the “release condition” which is not being positively claimed in claim 1. Therefore, limitations of claim 4 are not being addressed due dependency on a conditional limitation.
With regards to claim 5. Martin disclose(s):
(Currently Amended) The method according to claim 1,
wherein at least one light function can be realized by way of the motor vehicle light distribution by way of the activatable light distribution (see 100a; fig 5b), and
wherein the light function is a dipped beam function and/or a high beam function (high beam [0041]) and/or a cornering light function and/or a traffic light function and/or a lane marking light function and/or a lane change light function and/or an orientation light function (see fig 5b) and/or a gamification function.
With regards to claim 6. Martin disclose(s):
(Currently Amended) Method The method according to claim 1,
further comprising:
gathering at least one additional vehicle driving operation item of information that relates to a position or a speed or an acceleration or an intended direction of travel of the at least one additional vehicle, wherein the determining of the overall illumination pattern and the change in the motor vehicle light distribution and/or the additional vehicle light distribution occurs as a function of the at least one additional vehicle driving operation item of information (see [0072-0073]).
With regards to claim 7. Martin disclose(s):
(Currently Amended) Method The method according to claim 1,
further comprising:
gathering at least one motor vehicle driving operation item of information is gathered by the motor vehicle ([0072-0073]), which that relates to a position or a speed [0072] or an acceleration [0072] or a steering angle or navigation item of information [0072] or a gear lever position or an intended direction of travel or a brightness of the surrounding area, wherein the determination determining of the overall illumination pattern and change of the motor vehicle light distribution and/or the additional vehicle light distribution only occurs as a function of the at least one motor vehicle driving operation item of information ([0073]).
With regards to claim 8. Martin disclose(s):
(Currently Amended) The method according to claim 6,
wherein the determination of the overall illumination pattern and change of the motor vehicle light distribution and/or the additional vehicle light distribution only occurs if an initiation condition is fulfilled, which is then fulfilled when determined or gathered relative position information relating to a relative position between the at least one additional motor vehicle and the at least one motor vehicle indicates that the generation of the overall illumination pattern is possible (see determination of position in [0072-0073]).
With regards to claim 9. Martin disclose(s):
(Currently Amended) A method for illuminating a surrounding area (see figs 1-21d) in which at least one motor vehicle (100a/100b; figs 5a-13b) that includes at least one motor vehicle lighting device (160 of each of 100a/100b; fig 1a/1b) is located, wherein a motor vehicle light distribution that is variable with regard to an emission-angle-dependent brightness (see angle of beam emission in 160a; fig 5a), can be generated by way of the at least one motor vehicle lighting device (160 of each of 100a/100b; fig 1a/1b), wherein an additional vehicle light distribution (160b) can be generated by way of at least one additional vehicle lighting device (headlamp of 100b) of at least one additional vehicle (100b) located in the surrounding area (figs 5a/5b), wherein at least one item of illumination information, that relates to a currently (see beams 160a/160b; figs 5a/5b) and/or prospectively generated (see beams 160a/160b; figs 5a/5b) and/or generatable additional vehicle light distribution (160b), is transmitted from the at least one additional vehicle (100b) to the at least one motor vehicle (100a) via a communication link (602; fig 6a; [0164]) formed between the at least one motor vehicle (100a) and the at least one additional vehicle (100b), the method comprising:
determining an overall illumination pattern (fig 6b) in the surrounding area (figs 5a/5b) based on the at least one item of illumination information (lighting plan [0092]);
modifying the motor vehicle light distribution (see modification of beam 160a in figs 5a/5b) and/or the additional vehicle light distribution (160b) such that a motor vehicle illumination pattern (160a/160b) generated by way of the motor vehicle light distribution (160a) and an additional vehicle illumination pattern (160b) generated by way of the additional vehicle light distribution (100a) produce the overall illumination pattern;
gathering at least one additional vehicle (110b) driving operation item of information (ID [0119]) that relates to a position or a speed [0072] or an acceleration or an intended direction of travel [0072] of the at least one additional vehicle (110b), wherein the determining of the overall illumination pattern and a change in the motor vehicle light distribution and/or the additional vehicle light distribution occurs as a function of the at least one additional vehicle driving operation item of information (see vehicle ID that facilitates collaboration [0120]);
gathering at least one motor vehicle driving operation item of information that relates to a position or a speed (see [0072-0073]) or an acceleration or a steering angle (see [0072-0073]) or navigation item of information or a gear lever position or an intended direction of travel or a brightness of the surrounding area, wherein the determining of the overall illumination pattern and the change in the motor vehicle light distribution and/or the additional vehicle light distribution only occurs as a function of the motor vehicle driving operation item of information ([0073]),
wherein the determining of the overall illumination pattern and the change in the motor vehicle light distribution and/or the additional vehicle light distribution only occurs if an initiation condition is fulfilled when determined or gathered relative position information relating to a relative position between the at least one additional vehicle and the at least one motor vehicle indicates that generation of the overall illumination pattern is possible (see determination of position in [0072-0073]).
With regards to claim 10. Martin disclose(s):
(Currently Amended) A motor vehicle, comprising:
at least one motor vehicle lighting device (1600a) that, in operation, changes a motor vehicle light distribution (160a in figs 5a/5b) with regard to an emission- angle-dependent brightness;
a communication device (172; fig 1c) that, in operation, forms a communication link (192; fig 5a [0056]) between the motor vehicle (10) and at least one additional vehicle (100B) with at least one additional vehicle lighting device (160B) and via which at least one item of illumination information that relates to an additional vehicle light distribution (160B) which is currently generated (see beams 160a/160b; figs 5a/5b)and/or can prospectively be generated (see beams 160a/160b; figs 5a/5b)by way of the at least one additional vehicle lighting device (160B), can be transmitted from the additional vehicle (100b) to the motor vehicle ([0120]); and
a control device (164; fig 1c) that, in operation, uses the at least one item of illumination information to determine an overall illumination pattern in a surrounding area in which the motor vehicle and the additional vehicle are located (figs 6a-6c; [0126]), and generates a control signal that is transmitted to the motor vehicle lighting device and by way of which the motor vehicle light distribution is changed such that the motor vehicle light distribution and the additional vehicle light distribution produce the overall illumination pattern (see fig 5b; see 608 in fig 6a),
wherein the motor vehicle (100a) and the additional vehicle (100b) are each provided with at least one activatable light distribution (160a/160b) that can only be generated when the vehicle has been activated (see 100a being active/operating in figs 5a/5b; see 604; fig 6b), wherein the at least one item of illumination information relates to at least one additional vehicle light distribution that is enabled and/or not enabled by the additional vehicle (see lighting plan sent from 100b; [0120]), wherein the control device is configured such that the overall illumination pattern corresponds to an additional vehicle light distribution (160a; fig 10a) that is enabled by the motor vehicle, and corresponds to an additional vehicle light distribution that is not enabled by the additional vehicle (see lateral extension of beam of vehicle 100a in fig 10a), and/or
wherein the control device is configured in such a way that the a determination of the overall illumination pattern and the a change in the motor vehicle light distribution (160a) and/or the additional vehicle light distribution (160b) only occurs if a generation condition is fulfilled when a gathered additional vehicle item of information, that relates to a manufacturer of the additional vehicle (see vehicle ID that facilitates collaboration [0120]) or operation of an additional vehicle technology set up for the operation of the at least one additional vehicle lighting device by the additional vehicle, indicates that the manufacturer of the additional vehicle is comprised in a predefined list of manufacturers and/or if the additional vehicle technology has a predefined minimum standard [0120], and/or
the control device is configured such that the determination of the overall illumination pattern and the change in the motor vehicle light distribution and/or the additional vehicle light distribution occurs as a function of the additional vehicle driving operation item of information (see [0072-0073]), that relates to a position or a speed [0072] or an acceleration or an intended driving direction of the additional vehicle, and as a function of a gathered motor vehicle driving operation item of information that relates to a position or a speed [0072] or an acceleration or a steering angle or navigation item of information or a gear lever position or an intended driving direction or a surrounding area brightness, wherein the control device is configured such that the determination of the overall illumination pattern and change of the motor vehicle light distribution and/or the additional vehicle light distribution only occurs if an initiation condition is fulfilled when determined or gathered relative position information relating to a relative position between the at least one additional vehicle and the motor vehicle indicates that the generation of the overall illumination pattern is possible (see determination of position in [0072-0073]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kawamata (US 20170253177 A1) discloses:
[0056] In the reference example in FIG. 3, there is the pedestrian 30 who is going to cross the roadway and another vehicle 40 that is traveling in the oncoming lane. In this case, if the other vehicle 40 has the vehicle lighting system 10 similar to that of the host vehicle 20, it is assumed that the other vehicle 40 also projects the projection pattern 50b to alert the pedestrian 30.
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Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Renan Luque whose telephone number is (571)270-1044. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30AM-5:30PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alexander Taningco can be reached at (571) 272-8048. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RENAN LUQUE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
