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 .
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)(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.
Claims 1, 4, 6-10 and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Johnson (US 12,655,608 B2).
Regarding claim 1, Johnson discloses a working vehicle remote operation assistance system (see at least Figures 1 and 4, items 110 and 30 of Johnson | col. 10, lines 4-7 of Johnson, note one or more video feeds 30 from a machine 200 shown on the display 116 of the remote control station 110), comprising:
a detector to detect an attitude of a working vehicle (see at least Figure 5 of Johnson | col. 16, lines 20-37 of Johnson, note sensed pitch, yaw and roll of the machine can be received via telematics);
a first imager to perform imaging of a surrounding area around a working implement coupled to the working vehicle (see at least Figures 4, items 201a and 201b of Johnson | col. 6, lines 29-37 of Johnson, note front-facing camera 205a and rear-facing camera 205b | col. 10, lines 4-28 of Johnson, note first front video feed 31);
a second imager to perform imaging of a surrounding area around the working vehicle, different from the surrounding area around the working implement imaging of which the first imager is configured to perform (see at least Figures 4, items 201a and 201b of Johnson | col. 6, lines 29-37 of Johnson, note front-facing camera 205a and rear-facing camera 205b | col. 10, lines 4-28 of Johnson, note second rear video feed 32); and
a remote control apparatus (see at least Figure 1, items 50, 110, 116, 118 of Johnson | col. 5, lines 1-19 of Johnson) including:
a display to display a plurality of captured images obtained by the first imager and the second imager (see at least Figures 1, item 116 of Johnson | Figure 4 of Johnson | col. 5, lines 3-9 of Johnson | col. 10, lines 4-28 of Johnson); and
a controller configured or programmed to control the display and command that a first attitude object indicating the attitude of the working vehicle detected by the detector be displayed in a superimposed manner on the plurality of captured images displayed on the display (see at least Figure 1, items 114 and 116 of Johnson | col. 4, line 66 – col. 5, line 5 of Johnson | Figures 5-7 of Johnson | col. 11, lines 7-21 of Johnson, note machine pitch and roll indicators | col. 13, line 59 – col. 14, line 5 of Johnson, note the machine pitch indicator 560 and/or the machine roll indicator 550 can have any other suitable position relative to the first video feed 31 (e.g., top left corner, off-center, etc.), be positioned in any other suitable video feed of any side of the machine (e.g., the second video feed 32 of the back side 201b of the machine 200), and/or have any other suitable configuration).
Regarding claim 4, Johnson discloses wherein the controller is configured or programmed to command that the first attitude object be displayed in a superimposed manner at center regions of the plurality of captured images (see at least Figure 6A of Johnson | col. 13, line 59 – col. 14, line 5 of Johnson, note the machine pitch indicator 560 and/or the machine roll indicator 550 can have any other suitable position relative to the first video feed 31 (e.g., top left corner, off-center, etc.), be positioned in any other suitable video feed of any side of the machine (e.g., the second video feed 32 of the back side 201b of the machine 200), and/or have any other suitable configuration).
Regarding claim 6, Johnson discloses wherein the controller is configured or programmed to: command that a horizontal reference object corresponding to a horizontal attitude of the working vehicle and an index object indicating an angle of inclination of the working vehicle, detected by the detector, be displayed in a superimposed manner, as the first attitude object, on at least any one of the plurality of captured images (see at least Figures 5 and 6B, items 560, 562, 551a, 564c, 672a and 676 of Johnson | col. 11, lines 11-16 of Johnson, note machine reference indicators | col. 12, lines 34-64 of Johnson, note pitch indicators and pitch values | col. 14, line 43 – col. 15, line 11 of Johnson); and command that the index object be inclined with respect to the horizontal reference object in accordance with the angle of inclination of the working vehicle (see at least Figure 6A, item 560 showing 4% of Johnson).
Regarding claim 7, Johnson discloses wherein the controller is configured or programmed to command that a numerical value of the angle of inclination of the working vehicle be displayed in a superimposed manner, as the first attitude object together with the horizontal reference object and the index object, on at least any one of the plurality of captured images (see at least Figures 5-6B, items 560, 564a = 4%, 562a, 551a, 551b of Johnson).
Regarding claim 8, Johnson discloses wherein the controller is configured or programmed to command that a scale object for reading an angle of inclination of the working vehicle in a predetermined direction and an index object indicating the angle of inclination of the working vehicle in the predetermined direction, detected by the detector, in relation to the scale object be displayed in a superimposed manner, as the first attitude object, on at least any one of the plurality of captured images (see at least Figures 5-6B, items 560, 562a-562d, 564a-564d of Johnson).
Regarding claim 9, Johnson discloses wherein the controller is configured or programmed to command that the scale object and the index object be inclined in accordance with an angle of inclination of the working vehicle in a direction different from the predetermined direction, detected by the detector (see at least Figures 5-6B, items 560, 562a-56d, 564a-564d of Johnson).
Regarding claim 10, Johnson discloses wherein the controller is configured or programmed to: command that a plurality of scale lines and a plurality of numerical values corresponding to the plurality of scale lines respectively be displayed as the scale object; and command that the plurality of scale lines and the plurality of numerical values be displayed such that a captured subject visually contained in at least any one of the plurality of captured images at a display position of the scale object is viewable (see at least Figures 5-6B, items 560, 562a-56d, 564a-564d of Johnson).
Regarding claim 12, Johnson discloses wherein the controller is configured or programmed to command that a second attitude object indicating an attitude of the working implement be displayed in a superimposed manner on, among the plurality of captured images, a captured image visually containing the working implement (see at least Figure 7, items 780 and 782 of Johnson | col. 15, lines 12-56 of Johnson).
Regarding claim 13, Johnson discloses wherein the controller is configured or programmed to command that the second attitude object indicating the attitude of the working implement after a change, in a case where the attitude of the working implement has been changed by an attitude changer provided on the working vehicle, be displayed in a superimposed manner on the captured image visually containing the working implement (see at least Figure 7, items 780 and 782 of Johnson | col. 15, lines 12-56 of Johnson).
Regarding claim 14, Johnson discloses wherein the controller is configured or programmed to command that the first attitude object and the second attitude object be displayed in a superimposed manner on a portion of the working vehicle or the working implement visually contained in the plurality of captured images (see at least Figures 4-7 of Johnson | col. 16, lines 20-54 of Johnson).
Regarding claim 15, Johnson discloses a remote control apparatus provided in the working vehicle remote operation assistance system according to claim 1 (see at least Figure 1, items 110 and 50 of Johnson | col. 4, line 48 – col. 5, line 19 of Johnson).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 2, 3, 5 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsumura (US 2023/0304265 A1) in view of Aizawa (US 2025/0034841 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Johnson discloses wherein: the first imager is configured to perform imaging in a direction from the working vehicle to the working implement coupled to the working vehicle; the second imager is configured to perform imaging in a direction toward which the working vehicle travels in a reverse direction; and the controller is configured or programmed to cause the display to display a first captured image obtained by the first imager and a second captured image obtained by the second imager and to superimpose the first attitude object on the displayed first captured image and the displayed second captured image (see at least Figure 4, item 201a and 201b | Figures 5-7 | col. 13, line 59 – col. 14, line 5, note the machine pitch indicator 560 and/or the machine roll indicator 550 can have any other suitable position relative to the first video feed 31 (e.g., top left corner, off-center, etc.), be positioned in any other suitable video feed of any side of the machine (e.g., the second video feed 32 of the back side 201b of the machine 200), and/or have any other suitable configuration).
However, Tsumura does not specifically disclose performing imaging in a direction toward which the working vehicle travels.
It is known to capture images of implements attached to the front or rear of a machine. For example, Aizawa teaches a system with a second imager is configured to perform imaging in a direction toward which the working vehicle travels (see at least Figure 2, item 16 | Figure 5, item 28 | [0073] | [0048] | [0154] note the work machine 1 is a loading excavator, or the work machine 1 may be a backhoe, and further note that backhoes have front loaders and the backhoe).
Note Aizawa is used to show that a first attitude object indicating the attitude of a working machine can be displayed in superimposed manner on an image associated with a working implement (the backhoe) on the rear of a loader.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features of Aizawa into Johnson. This provides the ability for a remote operator to track the attitude of a working vehicle in association with a rear working implement (see at least col. 4, lines 23-26 of Tsumura, note the machine 100 can be a truck, a tracked-type tractor, an excavator, a wheel loader, a front-end loader, a motor grader, a vehicle, an industrial machine, and/or any other suitable machine).
Regarding claim 3, Johnson in view of Aizawa teach wherein: the first imager is configured to perform imaging of a rear area behind the working vehicle where there is the working implement coupled thereto; the second imager is configured to perform imaging of a front area in front of the working vehicle; and the controller is configured or programmed to cause the display to display a rearward captured image of the working vehicle obtained by the first imager and a forward captured image of the working vehicle obtained by the second imager and to superimpose the first attitude object on the displayed rearward captured image and the displayed forward captured image (see at least Figure 4, item 201a and 201b of Johnson | Figures 5-7 of Johnson | col. 13, line 59 – col. 14, line 5 of Johnson, note the machine pitch indicator 560 and/or the machine roll indicator 550 can have any other suitable position relative to the first video feed 31 (e.g., top left corner, off-center, etc.), be positioned in any other suitable video feed of any side of the machine (e.g., the second video feed 32 of the back side 201b of the machine 200), and/or have any other suitable configuration | Figure 2, item 16 of Aizawa | Figure 5, item 28 of Aizawa, note this would correspond to the backhoe | [0073] of Aizawa | [0048] of Aizawa | [0154] of Aizawa, note the work machine 1 is a loading excavator, or the work machine 1 may be a backhoe, and further note that backhoes have front loaders and the backhoe).
Regarding claim 5, Johnson in view of Aizawa teach wherein the controller is configured or programmed to command that the first attitude object be displayed such that a captured subject visually contained in each of the plurality of captured images at a display position of the first attitude object is viewable (see at least Figure 6A-6B of Johnson, note centered first attitude object on the captured object, and further note that there would be another centered first attitude object on Johnson in view of Aizawa’s backhoe shown in Figure 2 of Aizawa | Figure 4, item 201a and 201b of Johnson | Figures 5-7 of Johnson | col. 13, line 59 – col. 14, line 5 of Johnson, note the machine pitch indicator 560 and/or the machine roll indicator 550 can have any other suitable position relative to the first video feed 31 (e.g., top left corner, off-center, etc.), be positioned in any other suitable video feed of any side of the machine (e.g., the second video feed 32 of the back side 201b of the machine 200), and/or have any other suitable configuration | Figure 2, item 16 of Aizawa | Figure 5, item 28 of Aizawa, note this would correspond to the backhoe | [0073] of Aizawa | [0048] of Aizawa | [0154] of Aizawa, note the work machine 1 is a loading excavator, or the work machine 1 may be a backhoe, and further note that backhoes have front loaders and the backhoe).
Regarding claim 11, Johnson in view of Aizawa teach wherein the controller is configured or programmed to command that the first attitude object indicating either one or both of a pitch angle and a roll angle of the working vehicle detected by the detector be displayed in a superimposed manner on the plurality of captured images (see at least Figures 5-6B, items 560 and 550 of Johnson | col. 11, lines 7-21 of Johnson | col. 13, line 59 – col. 14, line 5 of Johnson, note the machine pitch indicator 560 and/or the machine roll indicator 550 can have any other suitable position relative to the first video feed 31 (e.g., top left corner, off-center, etc.), be positioned in any other suitable video feed of any side of the machine (e.g., the second video feed 32 of the back side 201b of the machine 200), and/or have any other suitable configuration | Figure 2, item 16 of Aizawa | Figure 5, item 28 of Aizawa, note this would correspond to the backhoe | [0073] of Aizawa | [0048] of Aizawa | [0154] of Aizawa, note the work machine 1 is a loading excavator, or the work machine 1 may be a backhoe, and further note that backhoes have front loaders and the backhoe).
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure: Tsumura (US 2023/0304265 A1).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN WILSON whose telephone number is 571-270-5884. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00-5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, DAVETTA GOINS can be reached at 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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/BRIAN WILSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2689
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