CTNF 19/132,521 CTNF 77421 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 has been examined. Claims 1-16 are pending. The prior art submitted on 5/23/25 has been considered. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-4, 8. 12-13, and 16, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Teramura et al. (6226588) in view of Hirayama Shigeru et al. (JP 11005456 A, applicant’s IDS document) . As per claim 1, Teramura et al. disclose a displaying control device comprising an electronic control unit, which wherein the electronic control unit is configured to: displays display an image of a target speed range by a displaying device of an own vehicle while a travel speed control is executed to automatically accelerate or decelerate the own vehicle such that a travel speed of the own vehicle is maintained within the target speed range (see at least columns 10-12, lines 54-14, disclose display an image of a target speed range, the lower limit vehicle speed Vmin and upper limit vehicle speed Vmax, and a travel speed control to automatically accelerate or decelerate the own vehicle such that a travel speed of the own vehicle is maintained within the target speed range); and display a target inter-vehicle distance and an inter-vehicle distance control is executed to automatically accelerate or decelerate the own vehicle such that an inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and a surrounding vehicle which is present around the own vehicle and travels in the same direction as the own vehicle is maintained within the target inter-vehicle distance (see at least columns 9-10, lines 11-27). Teramura et al. do not explicitly disclose target distance range. However, a second reference to Hirayama Shigeru et al. disclose display an image of a target distance range by the displaying device while an inter-vehicle distance control is executed to automatically accelerate or decelerate the own vehicle such that an inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and a surrounding vehicle which is present around the own vehicle and travels in the same direction as the own vehicle is maintained within the target distance range (see at least para. [0014-0017], [0022], [0044-0045], and [0047-0048], all para. disclose increasing or decreasing the fuel injection amount so that the inter-vehicle distance L is maintained within the range between an upper limit set value LU and a lower limit set value LL of the inter-vehicle distance shown in figure 12 (specifically in para. [0044-0045]). It 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 to modify the teach of Teramura et al. by combining display an image of a target distance range by the displaying device while an inter-vehicle distance control is executed to automatically accelerate or decelerate the own vehicle such that an inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and a surrounding vehicle which is present around the own vehicle and travels in the same direction as the own vehicle is maintained within the target distance range, in order safely control vehicle to avoid collision. As per claim 2, Teramura et al. do not explicitly disclose the distance range. However, the second reference to Hirayama Shigeru et al. disclose the target distance range is a range defined by an upper limit value which is greater than a target distance by a first value, which target distance is a value obtained by multiplying a target value of the time required for the own vehicle to travel the inter-vehicle distance at the travel speed of the own vehicle, and a lower limit value which is smaller than the target distance by a second value (see at least [0044-0045] inter-vehicle distance L is maintained within the range between an upper limit set value LU and a lower limit set value LL of the inter-vehicle distance; and para. [0050-0051]). It 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 to modify the teach of Teramura et al. by combining the target distance range is a range defined by an upper limit value which is greater than a target distance by a first value, which target distance is a value obtained by multiplying a target value of the time required for the own vehicle to travel the inter-vehicle distance at the travel speed of the own vehicle, and a lower limit value which is smaller than the target distance by a second value, in order safely control vehicle to avoid collision. As per claim 3, Teramura et al. disclose while the travel speed control is executed, the electronic control unit is configured to display, as the image of the target speed range by the displaying device, an image of a movement range of the own vehicle automatically accelerated or decelerated such that the travel speed of the own vehicle is maintained at a speed within the target speed range (see at least columns 10-12, lines 54-14, disclose display an image of a target speed range, the lower limit vehicle speed Vmin and upper limit vehicle speed Vmax, and a travel speed control to automatically accelerate or decelerate the own vehicle such that a travel speed of the own vehicle is maintained within the target speed range). As per claim 4, Teramura et al. disclose while the travel speed control is executed, the electronic control unit is configured to display, as the image of the target speed range by the displaying device, an image of an upper limit speed and an image of a lower limit speed of the target speed range (see at least columns 10-11, lines 54-42, disclose the setting vehicle speed Vmin and Vmax). As per claim 8, Teramura et al. do not explicitly disclose the target distance range. However, the second reference to Hirayama Shigeru et al. disclose while the inter-vehicle distance control is executed, the electronic control unit is configured to display, as the image of the target distance range by the displaying device, an image of an upper limit distance and an image of a lower limit distance of the target distance range (see at least [0044-0045] inter-vehicle distance L is maintained within the range between an upper limit set value LU and a lower limit set value LL of the inter-vehicle distance; and para. [0050-0051]). It 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 to modify the teach of Teramura et al. by combining display, as the image of the target distance range by the displaying device, an image of an upper limit distance and an image of a lower limit distance of the target distance range, in order safely control vehicle to avoid collision. As per claim 12, Teramura et al. disclose the electronic control unit is configured to display, by the displaying device, an image of a current travel speed of the own vehicle on the image of the target speed range displayed by the displaying device while the travel speed control is executed, and display, by the displaying device, an image of the surrounding vehicle on the image of the target distance displayed by the displaying device while the inter-vehicle distance control is executed (see at least columns 5-6, lines 33-9; columns 9-10, lines 11-27, all para. disclose the target speed range Vmin and Vmax and target inter-vehicle distance). Teramura et al. do not explicitly disclose the target distance range. However, the second reference to Hirayama Shigeru et al. disclose the target distance range (see at least [0044-0045] inter-vehicle distance L is maintained within the range between an upper limit set value LU and a lower limit set value LL of the inter-vehicle distance; and para. [0050-0051]). It 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 to modify the teach of Teramura et al. by combining the target distance range in order safely control vehicle to avoid collision. As per claim 13, Teramura et al. do not explicitly disclose the target distance range. However, Hirayama Shigeru et al. disclose while the inter-vehicle distance control is executed, the electronic control unit is configured to display, by the displaying device, the image of the surrounding vehicle such that a position of the image of the surrounding vehicle corresponds to an actual position of the surrounding vehicle relative to the own vehicle on the image of the target distance range displayed by the displaying device (see at least [0050-0051]). It 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 to modify the teach of Teramura et al. by combining the target distance range in order safely control vehicle to avoid collision. As per claim 16, Hirayama Shigeru et al. disclose the target speed range and the target distance range can be changed by an operator of the own vehicle (see at least [0047-0048]) . 07-22-aia AIA Claim s 7 and 11, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Teramura et al. (6226588), and Hirayama Shigeru et al. (JP 11005456 A, applicant’s IDS document) , as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Jia (US 2020/0031349 A1) . As per claims 7, and 11, Teramura et al. do not explicitly disclose an energy efficiency. However, Jia discloses wherein the travel speed control, and the inter-vehicle distance control, is a control of accelerating the own vehicle by operating a driving device of the own vehicle such that an energy efficiency of the driving device is maintained at or above a predetermined efficiency, and decelerating the own vehicle by operating the driving device such that the own vehicle coasts (see at least [0015-0018], and [0052-0059], all para. disclose the vehicle travel speed control and accelerating and decelerating control such that an energy efficiency of the driving device is maintained at a predetermined efficiency). It 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 to modify the teach of Teramura et al. by combining the travel speed control, and the inter-vehicle distance control, is a control of accelerating the own vehicle by operating a driving device of the own vehicle such that an energy efficiency of the driving device is maintained at or above a predetermined efficiency, and decelerating the own vehicle by operating the driving device such that the own vehicle coasts, in order to reduce the fuel consumption and increase the driving range . 07-22-aia AIA Claim 14, is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Teramura et al. (6226588), and Hirayama Shigeru et al. (JP 11005456 A, applicant’s IDS document) , as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Fukutaka et al. (US 2022/0306151 A1) . As per claim 14, Teramura et al. disclose the displaying device is a device which displays images of the own vehicle, and wherein when the surrounding vehicle is a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the own vehicle, the electronic control unit is configured to display the image of the target distance on the vehicle by the displaying device such that a positional relationship between the image of the target distance displayed by the displaying device and the preceding vehicle corresponds to an actual positional relationship between the target distance and the preceding vehicle while the inter-vehicle distance control is executed (see at least column 8, lines 21-40; and columns 10-12, lines 54-14). Teramura et al. do not explicitly disclose displays images on a windshield of the vehicle. However, Fukutaka et al. disclose the displaying device is a device which displays images on a windshield of the own vehicle (see at least [0038], and [0105-0108]). It 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 to modify the teach of Teramura et al. by combining display images on a windshield of the vehicle for the driver visually recognizes the image information easily and accurately . 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 5-6, 9-10, and 15, are 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 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure : . Peters et al. (12304496) . Pankov (12286011) . Suzuki et al. (11292340) . Kitamura et al. (10773593) Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DALENA TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-6968. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /DALENA TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3657 Application/Control Number: 19/132,521 Page 2 Art Unit: 3657 Application/Control Number: 19/132,521 Page 3 Art Unit: 3657 Application/Control Number: 19/132,521 Page 4 Art Unit: 3657 Application/Control Number: 19/132,521 Page 5 Art Unit: 3657 Application/Control Number: 19/132,521 Page 6 Art Unit: 3657 Application/Control Number: 19/132,521 Page 7 Art Unit: 3657 Application/Control Number: 19/132,521 Page 8 Art Unit: 3657 Application/Control Number: 19/132,521 Page 9 Art Unit: 3657 Application/Control Number: 19/132,521 Page 10 Art Unit: 3657 Application/Control Number: 19/132,521 Page 11 Art Unit: 3657 Application/Control Number: 19/132,521 Page 12 Art Unit: 3657
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