DETAILED ACTION
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claims 1-20 are presented for examination on the merits.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
2. 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.
3. 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 of this title, 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.
4. Claim 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sivak (US 20170291538 A1) in view of Jones 柳 拓良 (hereinafter Liu JP 6500909 B2).
As to claim 1, Sivak discloses in universal motion sickness countermeasure system having claimed:
a. a visual signal generation method comprising detecting an acceleration of a vehicle by a sensor read on ¶ 0031, (to this end, in some embodiments, controller 16 can be coupled to the power source 18, such as the vehicle power source or a portable or renewable power source. Controller 16 can comprise one or more sensors or transducers 22 (e.g. gyroscopes, accelerometers, and similar sensors) for measuring velocity, acceleration, lateral movement, vertical movement, yaw rate, roll rate, pitch rate, or any other parameter relating to motion. It should be understood that sensors or transducers 22 can be incorporated directly into universal motion sickness countermeasure system 10 or can be obtained from the existing systems of vehicle 100). Sivak further discloses ¶ 0006, ¶ 0029 & ¶ 0033, (a universal solution to motion sickness is provided as it remains constantly in the field-of-view of the person. It involves presenting, in the visual periphery, lights or similar visual stimuli that are timed in such a way that the apparent movement of the stimuli mimics (in terms of velocity, acceleration, lateral movement, vertical movement, yaw rate, roll rate, pitch rate, or any other parameter relating to motion) the visual input one would receive if one were to look outside the vehicle. In addition to the specific vehicle motion, simulation of reference points outside the vehicle, such as an artificial horizon, may also be presented with this array of stimuli. light array system 12 can comprise a plurality of light elements 14 disposed in a linear pattern along a singular axis (e.g. x-axis as illustrated in FIGS. 1-2, y-axis as illustrated in FIG. 3). This arrangement is particularly well suited for use in simulating motion in a singular direction. However, in some embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 5, light array system 12 can comprise a plurality of light elements 14 disposed in a multi-dimensional pattern defining multiple axes of orientation (e.g. both x-axis and y-axis). This arrangement is particularly well suited for use in simulating motion in multiple directions and/or yaw. Moreover, light elements 14 can be sequentially activated to illuminate from top to bottom (or vice versa) to simulate acceleration and/or pitch. Still further, light elements 14 can be activated to illuminate a horizon line, which rotation of the line about an axis into the light array system 12 can simulate roll and/or yaw. Such depiction, irrespective of using a linear or multi-directional array, can produce perceived motion that is directly representative of vehicle 100 and/or the perceived corresponding vestibular motion). Sivak does not explicitly disclose outputting based on the acceleration, controlling an indicator to output a visual signal flowing in a flow direction opposite a direction of an inertial acceleration acting on a passenger of the vehicle, the indicator being arranged to be visually recognizable by the passenger.
However, Liu in stereoscopically displaying an image around a moving object cures this deficiency by teaching that it may be beneficial wherein:
a. outputting based on the acceleration, controlling an indicator to output a visual signal flowing in a flow direction opposite a direction of an inertial acceleration acting on a passenger of the vehicle, the indicator being arranged to be visually recognizable by the passenger read on Page 21, Para. 8, (the information acquisition means acquires an acceleration in the traveling direction of the moving body, when it is determined from the acquired acceleration that the moving body is in an accelerating state, the image generation unit sets the position of the virtual light source that emits light to the moving body to the opposite side of the traveling direction of the moving body The display apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-8 which shifts).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the display device and display method of Liu into Sivak in order to provide a predictable use of known display positioning techniques applied to a vehicle light array to ensure that the visual cues accurately match inertial forces, yielding predictable functional results without changing the basic principles of either reference.
As to claim 2, Sivak further discloses:
a. wherein the controlling the indicator includes causing a speed at which the visual signal flows to be proportional to a magnitude of the acceleration read on ¶ 0031, (controller 16 can be coupled to the power source 18, such as the vehicle power source or a portable or renewable power source. Controller 16 can comprise one or more sensors or transducers 22 (e.g. gyroscopes, accelerometers, and similar sensors) for measuring velocity, acceleration, lateral movement, vertical movement, yaw rate, roll rate, pitch rate, or any other parameter relating to motion. It should be understood that sensors or transducers 22 can be incorporated directly into universal motion sickness countermeasure system 10 or can be obtained from the existing systems of vehicle 100).
As to claim 3, Sivak further discloses:
a. wherein the flow direction of the visual signal is forward in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle when the vehicle accelerates and rearward in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle when the vehicle decelerates read on ¶ 0029, (light array system 12 can comprise one or more light elements 14 disposed in a panel, a strip, an array, or other arrangement. Light elements 14 can include LEDs, LCDs, diodes, lasers, luminescence sources, or any other light outputting source. As illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, in some embodiments, light array system 12 can comprise a plurality of light elements 14 disposed in a linear pattern along a singular axis (e.g. x-axis as illustrated in FIGS. 1-2, y-axis as illustrated in FIG. 3). This arrangement is particularly well suited for use in simulating motion in a singular direction. However, in some embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 5, light array system 12 can comprise a plurality of light elements 14 disposed in a multi-dimensional pattern defining multiple axes of orientation (e.g. both x-axis and y-axis). This arrangement is particularly well suited for use in simulating motion in multiple directions and/or yaw).
As to claim 4, Sivak further discloses:
a. wherein the flow direction of the visual signal ward in a vehicle width direction of the vehicle when the vehicle turns right and leftward in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle when the vehicle turns left read on ¶ 0029, (light array system 12 can comprise one or more light elements 14 disposed in a panel, a strip, an array, or other arrangement. Light elements 14 can include LEDs, LCDs, diodes, lasers, luminescence sources, or any other light outputting source. As illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, in some embodiments, light array system 12 can comprise a plurality of light elements 14 disposed in a linear pattern along a singular axis (e.g. x-axis as illustrated in FIGS. 1-2, y-axis as illustrated in FIG. 3). This arrangement is particularly well suited for use in simulating motion in a singular direction. However, in some embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 5, light array system 12 can comprise a plurality of light elements 14 disposed in a multi-dimensional pattern defining multiple axes of orientation (e.g. both x-axis and y-axis). This arrangement is particularly well suited for use in simulating motion in multiple directions and/or yaw).
As to claim 5, Sivak further discloses:
a. vehicle comprising: a sensor configured to detect an acceleration of the vehicle; and an indicator configured to output a visual signal flowing in a flow direction based on the acceleration, the flow direction being opposite a direction of an inertial acceleration acting on a passenger of the vehicle, the indicator being arranged at a position at which the indicator is visually recognizable by the passenger read on ¶ 0029 & ¶ 0031, (light array system 12 can comprise one or more light elements 14 disposed in a panel, a strip, an array, or other arrangement. Light elements 14 can include LEDs, LCDs, diodes, lasers, luminescence sources, or any other light outputting source. As illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, in some embodiments, light array system 12 can comprise a plurality of light elements 14 disposed in a linear pattern along a singular axis (e.g. x-axis as illustrated in FIGS. 1-2, y-axis as illustrated in FIG. 3). This arrangement is particularly well suited for use in simulating motion in a singular direction. However, in some embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 5, light array system 12 can comprise a plurality of light elements 14 disposed in a multi-dimensional pattern defining multiple axes of orientation (e.g. both x-axis and y-axis). This arrangement is particularly well suited for use in simulating motion in multiple directions and/or yaw. Controller 16 can comprise one or more sensors or transducers 22 (e.g. gyroscopes, accelerometers, and similar sensors) for measuring velocity, acceleration, lateral movement, vertical movement, yaw rate, roll rate, pitch rate, or any other parameter relating to motion. It should be understood that sensors or transducers 22 can be incorporated directly into universal motion sickness countermeasure system 10 or can be obtained from the existing systems of vehicle 100. It should also be understood that the parameters used for determining the resultant light pattern of light array system 12 can be calculated or otherwise indirectly deduced from measured and non-measured parameters, such as via mathematical computation of position, velocity, and/or acceleration or other control algorithm. In response to such, controller 16 can computationally or otherwise determine a desired resultant light pattern and output a control signal to each of the plurality of light elements 14 of light array system 12. Accordingly, each of the plurality of light elements 14 can define a unique, discrete position and/or signature to ensure proper activation and display of the resultant light pattern).
As to claim 6, Sivak further discloses:
a. wherein the visual signal is an optical flow flowing the flow direction read on ¶ 0033, (FIG. 5, light array system 12 can comprise a plurality of rows and columns of light elements 14 for displaying movement of vehicle 100. As discussed herein, light array system 12 can simulate velocity, acceleration, lateral movement, vertical movement, yaw rate, roll rate, pitch rate, or any other parameter relating to motion. For example, assuming travel of vehicle 100 to the left (in FIG. 5), light elements 14 can be sequentially activated to illuminate from left to right to simulate linear movement. The rate of and duration of illumination of light elements 14 can affect the perceived motion by the user. Moreover, light elements 14 can be sequentially activated to illuminate from top to bottom (or vice versa) to simulate acceleration and/or pitch. Still further, light elements 14 can be activated to illuminate a horizon line, which rotation of the line about an axis into the light array system 12 can simulate roll and/or yaw. Such depiction, irrespective of using a linear or multi-directional array, can produce perceived motion that is directly representative of vehicle 100 and/or the perceived corresponding vestibular motion).
As to claim 7, Sivak further discloses:
a. wherein the indicator is configured to output the visual signal as an optical flow flowing in the flow direction read on ¶ 0033, (FIG. 5, light array system 12 can comprise a plurality of rows and columns of light elements 14 for displaying movement of vehicle 100. As discussed herein, light array system 12 can simulate velo
city, acceleration, lateral movement, vertical movement, yaw rate, roll rate, pitch rate, or any other parameter relating to motion. For example, assuming travel of vehicle 100 to the left (in FIG. 5), light elements 14 can be sequentially activated to illuminate from left to right to simulate linear movement. The rate of and duration of illumination of light elements 14 can affect the perceived motion by the user. Moreover, light elements 14 can be sequentially activated to illuminate from top to bottom (or vice versa) to simulate acceleration and/or pitch. Still further, light elements 14 can be activated to illuminate a horizon line, which rotation of the line about an axis into the light array system 12 can simulate roll and/or yaw. Such depiction, irrespective of using a linear or multi-directional array, can produce perceived motion that is directly representative of vehicle 100 and/or the perceived corresponding vestibular motion).
Response to Arguments
5. Applicant's arguments with respect to claims 1-5 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection that was necessitated by Applicant's amendment.
Citation of pertinent Prior Arts
6. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
i. Misawa (US 11709369 B2) discloses in a head up display apparatus includes: an image display apparatus having a light source and a display element and forming an image; an image-light projecting means displaying a virtual image onto a forward part of a vehicle by projecting the image light emitted from the image display apparatus to be reflected on a windshield 3; and a point-of-view detecting system 6 sensing a point of view of the driver. In the head up display apparatus, the image-light projecting means includes a means generating illumination light entirely made of single-color visible light emitted to a face of the driver in a predetermined state of the vehicle, and
ii. Corrodi (US 20220292841 A1) discloses in a vehicle display system according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure includes a camera configured to record images of an area outside a vehicle; a display configured to display a video feed of the recorded images to an occupant of the vehicle (e.g., on a display disposed within a vehicle cabin of the vehicle); and a processor operatively connected to the camera and display. The processor is configured to detect one or more objects in the recorded images; receive a selection of a particular one of the one or more objects from a vehicle occupant; and adjust the video feed based on the selection to keep the particular one of the one or more objects in a field of view of the video feed as the object moves relative to the vehicle.
Conclusion
7. 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Fekadeselassie Girma whose telephone number is (571) 270-5886. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday thru Friday, 8:30 – 5:00. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Davetta Goins, can be reached on (571) 272-2957. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Fekadeselassie Girma/
Primary Examiner Art Unit 2689
Prosecution Insights