DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Claims
2. This office action is in response to application number 19/242,400 filed on 06/18/2025, in
which claims 1-20 are presented for examination.
Priority
3. Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119
(a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in priority Application No. DE10 2023 000 462.6, filed
on 02/13/2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
4. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08/12/2025 has been received
and considered.
Specification
5. The use of the term Bluetooth, WiFi, and Zigbee which is a trade name or a mark used in commerce, has been noted in this application. The term should be accompanied by the generic terminology; furthermore the term should be capitalized wherever it appears or, where appropriate, include a proper symbol indicating use in commerce such as ™, SM , or ® following the term.
Although the use of trade names and marks used in commerce (i.e., trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and collective marks) are permissible in patent applications, the proprietary nature of the marks should be respected and every effort made to prevent their use in any manner which might adversely affect their validity as commercial marks.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
6. Claim(s) 9-11 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Adolphs (DE 102018007437 A1).
Regarding claim 9, Adolphs discloses A method comprising: determining, by a vehicle, at least one status of the vehicle; (Adolphs Page 1, Paragraph 5: “The invention has for its object to provide a comparison with the prior art improved method for determining at least one status of a vehicle.”) determining, by the vehicle, that an existing wireless communication link between a vehicle-internal telecommunications unit and a vehicle-external central computing unit is interrupted; (Adolphs Page 2, Paragraph 2: “By applying the method, the vehicle user is informed of the current status of the vehicle even if the mobile radio connection between the vehicle and the central computer unit does not exist.”) (Adolphs Page 2, Paragraph 3: “For example, there is no mobile connection between the vehicle and the central computer unit, since the vehicle is in an underground car park, in a car park and / or in a so-called radio hole.”) transmitting, by the vehicle to a mobile end device communicatively coupled to the vehicle and when it is determined that the existing wireless communication link is interrupted, the determined at least one status of the vehicle; (Adolphs Page 1, Paragraph 7:“An inventive method for determining at least one status of a vehicle provides that a current status of the vehicle is transmitted to the mobile terminal by means of a direct connection between the vehicle and a mobile terminal of a vehicle user, if no mobile connection between the vehicle and a vehicle-external central processing unit consists.”) (Adolphs Page 2, Paragraph 12: “Is determined in particular on the vehicle side, that between the vehicle 1 and the central computer unit 4 no mobile connection M exists, the current status of the vehicle 1 by means of a radio link, for example for data transmission over comparatively short distances from the vehicle 1 directly to the mobile device 3 transmitted.”) temporarily caching, by the mobile end device, the at least one status of the vehicle received from the vehicle; (Adolphs Page 2, Paragraph 13: “Once a cellular connection between the mobile device 3 and the central computer unit 4 is the last current status of the vehicle 1 to the central computer unit 4 transmitted.”) (Note: The last current status is cached in order for it to be transmitted when the mobile device and central computer unit have a connection.) determining, by the mobile end device that a wireless communication link is available between the mobile end device and the vehicle-external central computing unit; and transmitting, by the mobile end device to the vehicle-external central computing unit based on the determination that the wireless communication link between the mobile end device and the vehicle-external central computing unit is available, the at least one status of the vehicle, (Adolphs Page 2, Paragraph 12: “Is determined in particular on the vehicle side, that between the vehicle 1 and the central computer unit 4 no mobile connection M exists, the current status of the vehicle 1 by means of a radio link, for example for data transmission over comparatively short distances from the vehicle 1 directly to the mobile device 3 transmitted.”) (Adolphs Page 2, Paragraph 13: “Once a cellular connection between the mobile device 3 and the central computer unit 4 is the last current status of the vehicle 1 to the central computer unit 4 transmitted.”) wherein, when it is determined that the existing wireless communication link between the vehicle-internal telecommunications unit and the vehicle-external central computing unit is interrupted, the vehicle only determines the at least one status of the vehicle when doors of the vehicle are locked, and then the vehicle transmits the at least one status of the vehicle to the mobile end device. (Adolphs Page 2, Paragraph 2: “By applying the method, the vehicle user is informed of the current status of the vehicle even if the mobile radio connection between the vehicle and the central computer unit does not exist.”) (Adolphs Page 2, Paragraph 8: “Will the vehicle 1 parked in a parking garage, in an underground car park or in an area of a radio hole, exists between the vehicle 1 and the central computer unit 4 no mobile connection M , This allows a current status of the vehicle 1 For example, if the vehicle is locked or if vehicle windows are closed, not to the central computer unit 4 be transmitted.”)
Regarding claim 10, Adolphs discloses The method of claim 9, further comprising: retrieving, by third parties from the central computing unit, the at least one status of the vehicle. (Adolphs Page 1, Paragraph 8: “An inventive method for determining at least one status of a vehicle provides that a current status of the vehicle is transmitted to the mobile terminal by means of a direct connection between the vehicle and a mobile terminal of a vehicle user”) (Note: Third party = vehicle user)
Regarding claim 11, Adolphs discloses The method of claim 9, further comprising: determining, by the central computing unit, that the existing wireless communication link between a vehicle-internal telecommunications unit and a vehicle-external central computing unit is interrupted; and integrating, by the central computing unit, a status indication into the at least one status of the vehicle stored on the central computing unit, wherein the status indication describes that the at least one status of the vehicle stored on the central computing unit may be flawed. (Adolphs Page 2, Paragraph 10: “There is no mobile connection M between the vehicle 1 and the central computer unit 4 will be on the mobile device 3 an incorrect status displayed by the vehicle user 2 Confusion can cause. For example, on the mobile terminal 3 indicated that the vehicle 1 is not locked or a vehicle window is not closed.”) (Note: incorrect status = status of the vehicle stored on the central computing unit may be flawed)
Regarding claim 16, Adolphs discloses An information technology system comprising: a vehicle; (Adolphs Page 1, Paragraph 5: “The invention has for its object to provide a comparison with the prior art improved method for determining at least one status of a vehicle.”) a central computing unit; and a mobile end device, wherein the vehicle is configured to determine at least one status of the vehicle, wherein the vehicle is configured to determine that an existing wireless communication link between a vehicle-internal telecommunications unit and a vehicle- external central computing unit is interrupted, (Adolphs Page 2, Paragraph 2: “By applying the method, the vehicle user is informed of the current status of the vehicle even if the mobile radio connection between the vehicle and the central computer unit does not exist.”) (Adolphs Page 2, Paragraph 3: “For example, there is no mobile connection between the vehicle and the central computer unit, since the vehicle is in an underground car park, in a car park and / or in a so-called radio hole.”) wherein the vehicle is configured to transmit, to a mobile end device communicatively coupled to the vehicle and when it is determined that the existing wireless communication link is interrupted, the determined at least one status of the vehicle, (Adolphs Page 1, Paragraph 7:“An inventive method for determining at least one status of a vehicle provides that a current status of the vehicle is transmitted to the mobile terminal by means of a direct connection between the vehicle and a mobile terminal of a vehicle user, if no mobile connection between the vehicle and a vehicle-external central processing unit consists.”) (Adolphs Page 2, Paragraph 12: “Is determined in particular on the vehicle side, that between the vehicle 1 and the central computer unit 4 no mobile connection M exists, the current status of the vehicle 1 by means of a radio link, for example for data transmission over comparatively short distances from the vehicle 1 directly to the mobile device 3 transmitted.”) wherein the mobile end device is configured to temporarily cache the at least one status of the vehicle received from the vehicle, (Adolphs Page 2, Paragraph 13: “Once a cellular connection between the mobile device 3 and the central computer unit 4 is the last current status of the vehicle 1 to the central computer unit 4 transmitted.”) (Note: The last current status is cached in order for it to be transmitted when the mobile device and central computer unit have a connection.) wherein the mobile end device is configured to determine that a wireless communication link is available between the mobile end device and the vehicle-external central computing unit, wherein the mobile end device is configured to transmit, to the vehicle-external central computing unit based on the determination that the wireless communication link between the mobile end device and the vehicle-external central computing unit is available, the at least one status of the vehicle, (Adolphs Page 2, Paragraph 12: “Is determined in particular on the vehicle side, that between the vehicle 1 and the central computer unit 4 no mobile connection M exists, the current status of the vehicle 1 by means of a radio link, for example for data transmission over comparatively short distances from the vehicle 1 directly to the mobile device 3 transmitted.”) (Adolphs Page 2, Paragraph 13: “Once a cellular connection between the mobile device 3 and the central computer unit 4 is the last current status of the vehicle 1 to the central computer unit 4 transmitted.”) wherein, when it is determined that the existing wireless communication link between the vehicle-internal telecommunications unit and the vehicle-external central computing unit is interrupted, the vehicle is configured to only determine the at least one status of the vehicle when doors of the vehicle are locked, and then the vehicle is configured to transmit the at least one status of the vehicle to the mobile end device. (Adolphs Page 2, Paragraph 2: “By applying the method, the vehicle user is informed of the current status of the vehicle even if the mobile radio connection between the vehicle and the central computer unit does not exist.”) (Adolphs Page 2, Paragraph 8: “Will the vehicle 1 parked in a parking garage, in an underground car park or in an area of a radio hole, exists between the vehicle 1 and the central computer unit 4 no mobile connection M , This allows a current status of the vehicle 1 For example, if the vehicle is locked or if vehicle windows are closed, not to the central computer unit 4 be transmitted.”)
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 for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
7. Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adolphs (DE 102018007437 A1) in view of Bekan (DE 102018202272 A1) and further in view of (US 20220108609 A1) to Qian et al. (hereinafter Qian).
Regarding claim 12, Adolphs discloses claim 11, accordingly, the rejection of claim 11 is incorporated above.
Adolphs does not disclose The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving, by the central computing unit subsequent to the central computing unit determining that the existing wireless communication link between a vehicle-internal telecommunications unit and a vehicle-external central computing unit is interrupted, a new at least one status of the vehicle, wherein the new at least one status of the vehicle is received by the central computing unit from the vehicle-internal telecommunications unit of the vehicle or from the mobile end device; and deleting, by the central computing unit responsive to the central computing receiving the new at least one status of the vehicle.
However, Bekan does teach The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving, by the central computing unit subsequent to the central computing unit determining that the existing wireless communication link between a vehicle-internal telecommunications unit and a vehicle-external central computing unit is interrupted, a new at least one status of the vehicle, wherein the new at least one status of the vehicle is received by the central computing unit from the vehicle-internal telecommunications unit of the vehicle or from the mobile end device; (Bekan Page 7, Paragraph 3: “After the communication link is restored or classified as stable, the vehicle may 110 be set up, the missing or not transmitted vehicle data 146 That is, the vehicle data not transmitted due to the interruption of the communication connection 146 - in addition to current vehicle data 142 to the backend server 120 to convey. The backend server 120 can be from the vehicle 110 received, missing vehicle data 146 use the data model 126 to train with them. For example, the machine learning model may include the predicted vehicle data 144 with the missing or not transmitted due to the interruption of the communication connection vehicle data 146 compare, and from the deviations the model 126 adapt and future forecast vehicle data 144 to improve continuously.”) (Bekan Page 7, Paragraph 7: “The procedure 200 includes a received continuously 210 , on a backend server 120 , vehicle data of a vehicle 110 ; Recognize 220 an interruption of the communication link to the vehicle 110 ; and Create 230 predicted vehicle data 144 for the vehicle 110 ,”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Adolphs to include The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving, by the central computing unit subsequent to the central computing unit determining that the existing wireless communication link between a vehicle-internal telecommunications unit and a vehicle-external central computing unit is interrupted, a new at least one status of the vehicle, wherein the new at least one status of the vehicle is received by the central computing unit from the vehicle-internal telecommunications unit of the vehicle or from the mobile end device; taught by Bekan. This would have been for the benefit to provide a system for robustly providing vehicle data, comprising at least one backend server is set up to receive vehicle data from a vehicle in order to detect an interruption of the communication link to the vehicle and if an interruption of the communication connection is detected, to create predicted vehicle data for the vehicle. [Bekan Page 2, Paragraph 1]
Bekan does not teach […] and deleting, by the central computing unit responsive to the central computing receiving the new at least one status of the vehicle.
However, Qian does teach […] and deleting, by the central computing unit responsive to the central computing receiving the new at least one status of the vehicle. (Qian Paragraph 0065: “According to an embodiment of the invention, at step 608, responsive to a detection that a new operating status data has been received for the same vehicle, those operating status data of the same vehicle that were previous received are determined as expired. And at step 610, the expired operating status data are removed.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Adolphs in view of Bekan to include […] and deleting, by the central computing unit responsive to the central computing receiving the new at least one status of the vehicle taught by Qian. This would have been for the benefit to provide a more efficient Geohash-based traffic management method that has respective operating status data of one or more vehicles travelling within a Geohash cell and providing, by one or more processing units, at least one of the one or more service messages responsive to a request from a vehicle travelling within the Geohash cell. [Bekan Paragraph 0004]
8. Claim(s) 13 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adolphs (DE 102018007437 A1) in view of Fricke (WO 2010115557 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Adolphs discloses claim 9, accordingly, the rejection of claim 9 is incorporated above.
Adolphs does not disclose The method of claim 9, wherein the vehicle transmits the at least one status of the vehicle as a data packet to the mobile end device and the mobile end device checks the data packet for completeness.
However, Fricke does teach The method of claim 9, wherein the vehicle transmits the at least one status of the vehicle as a data packet to the mobile end device and the mobile end device checks the data packet for completeness. (Fricke Page 6, Paragraph 7: “For example, it is conceivable to use the present invention for checking and monitoring status data of an aircraft, a ship or a track-bound vehicle.”) (Fricke Page 7, Paragraph 9: “When a push instruction is received E11, in step S11 the mobile accepts the incoming push connection, completes the connection to the vehicle 10, and informs the vehicle 10 of what data the vehicle 10 has to send to the mobile telephone 1. If the connection E12 is successful, the process branches to step S12 and if E13 the procedure ends.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Adolphs to include The method of claim 9, wherein the vehicle transmits the at least one status of the vehicle as a data packet to the mobile end device and the mobile end device checks the data packet for completeness taught by Fricke. This would have been for the benefit to improve or facilitate a synchronization or interaction between the vehicle and the mobile device on the basis of the previously described prior art. [Fricke Page 2, Paragraph 5]
Regarding claim 14, Adolphs in view of Fricke teaches claim 13, accordingly, the rejection of claim 13 is incorporated above.
Adolphs does not disclose The method of claim 13, wherein the data packet comprises an information part and a useful part, wherein the useful part contains the at least one status and the information part describes a scope of the useful part.
However, Fricke does teach The method of claim 13, wherein the data packet comprises an information part and a useful part, wherein the useful part contains the at least one status and the information part describes a scope of the useful part. (Fricke Page 3, Paragraph 3: “Data on critical conditions of the vehicle, such as a low-tank-amount warning, a low-tire-pressure warning, or a too-low-amount-of-wiper-water warning, may be transmitted to the mobile device at a time when the critical condition occurs which the critical state is detected by the method according to the invention.”) (Fricke Page 6, Paragraph 14: “The transmitting / receiving device 7, data by means of a Bluetooth communication link 2 between the device 3 and a exchanged mobile phone 1. The detection means 8 are able to determine a time at which the mobile phone 1 leaves the vehicle 10, then to communicate this time by means of the transceiver 7 the mobile phone 1.”) (Note: vehicle not yet locked=useful part and time when data is transmitted=information part)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Adolphs to include The method of claim 13, wherein the data packet comprises an information part and a useful part, wherein the useful part contains the at least one status and the information part describes a scope of the useful part taught by Fricke. This would have been for the benefit to improve or facilitate a synchronization or interaction between the vehicle and the mobile device on the basis of the previously described prior art. [Fricke Page 2, Paragraph 5]
9. Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adolphs (DE 102018007437 A1) in view of Fricke (WO 2010115557 A1) and further in view of Gruber (WO 2020260339 A2).
Regarding claim 15, Adolphs in view of Fricke teaches claim 13, accordingly, the rejection of claim 13 is incorporated above.
Adolphs in view of Fricke does not teach The method of claim 13, further comprising: determining, by the mobile end device, that the data packet is incompletely transmitted; and outputting, by the mobile end device responsive to the determining that the data packet is incompletely transmitted, a warning indication.
However, Gruber does teach The method of claim 13, further comprising: determining, by the mobile end device, that the data packet is incompletely transmitted; and outputting, by the mobile end device responsive to the determining that the data packet is incompletely transmitted, a warning indication. (Gruber Paragraph 00155: In case no status reports are received from one or more vehicles 27 over a period of multiple transfer cycles, an error or warning signal may be issued to report that the concerned vehicles 27 are not receiving any data to the central controller 200. Alternatively or in addition, it may be established that a vehicle 27 is unable to receive data of the central controller 200 when it does transmit status reports but fails to react to instructions transmitted by the central controller 200.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Adolphs in view of Fricke to include The method of claim 13, further comprising: determining, by the mobile end device, that the data packet is incompletely transmitted; and outputting, by the mobile end device responsive to the determining that the data packet is incompletely transmitted, a warning indication taught by Gruber. This would have been for the benefit to provide an interactive system at the road surface of a track for human-driven vehicles, for example a racetrack, the interactive system providing with interactive elements while mitigating or avoiding requiring positioning a large number of cameras and position determining equipment along racetracks that require high bandwidth communication between the racetracks and vehicles. [Gruber Paragraph 0006 and 0009]
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN J HARVEY whose telephone number is 571-272-5327. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00AM-5:00PM M-Th, 8:00AM-4:00PM F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kito Robinson can be reached at 571-270-3921. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/K.J.H./Junior Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3664
/KITO R ROBINSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3664
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