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 Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s communication filed on April 24, 2025. In virtue of this communication, claims 1-15 are currently presented in the instant application.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 7/11/2025 and 8/13/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In line 3, “a vehicle” should be changed to --the vehicle--
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Endo et al. (US 2020/0369200).
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With respect to claims 1 and 14, Endo discloses in figure 1 a vehicle detection device and a method thereof that performs detection of a vehicle (paragraph 0031, e.g., a vehicle lamp system) in front within a processing region set in an image based on an imaging device (12, e.g., an image capturing device) that captures an image of an area in front (Abstract, e.g., “”a vehicle detecting device includes a region setting unit that sets a plurality of regions of interest having different ranges on image data acquired from an image capturing device that captures an image of a space in front of a host vehicle”), and that displaces or transforms the processing region based on a change in shape of a road in front (paragraph 0025, e.g., “the vehicle detecting device may further include a region adjusting unit that moves or changes a shape of the side region in response to a change in an traveling environment” such that displacing or transforming the processing region based on a change in shape of a road in front is always when the vehicle is moving).
With respect to claim 2, Endo discloses that that detects the change in shape of the road based on transformation of a lane demarcation line (see figure 5A and paragraph 0056, e.g., “traveling on a road with multiple lanes”).
With respect to claim 3, Endo discloses that that detects the change in shape of the road based on displacement of a vanishing point (C, e.g., an imaginary vanishing point) in the image (see figure 2 and paragraph 0043).
With respect to claim 4, Endo discloses that detects the change in shape of the road based on displacement of a vanishing point (C) in the image (see figure 2 and paragraph 0043).
With respect to claim 5, Endo discloses that that displaces the processing region in a direction in which the road bends, based on a change in road curvature (figure 7 and paragraph 0080, e.g., “the host vehicle changes from a straight route to a curved route”).
With respect to claim 6, Endo discloses that displaces the processing region in a direction in which the road bends, based on a change in road curvature (figure 7 and paragraph 0080, e.g., “the host vehicle changes from a straight route to a curved route”).
With respect to claims 7-8, Endo discloses that expands the processing region in a direction in which the road slopes, based on a change in road slope (paragraph 0047, e.g., “5.5 degrees upward and 5.5 degrees downward for the center C in the vertical direction …”).
With respect to claims 9-10, Endo discloses that changes at least one of a region range of the processing region in a vehicle's vertical direction or a region angle of the processing region, based on a change in tilt angle of the vehicle's lateral axis (see figures 2-3 and paragraph 0047).
With respect to claims 11-12, Endo discloses that wherein, when the shape of the road is a straight line, the processing region is set on the opposite traffic lane side with respect to the middle in a vehicle width direction of the subject vehicle and is used to detect an oncoming vehicle (see figures 2-3 and paragraphs 0043-0044).
With respect to claim 13, Endo discloses that a light distribution control device (10, 14, 16, e.g., a light distribution device) that determines a light distribution pattern including a shading part (having a shaded portion thereof) in a region corresponding to a vehicle in front, based on a detection result from the vehicle detection device according to Claim 1 (see figures 1 and 10).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 15 is allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Prior art of record fails to disclose or fairly suggest the following limitations:
A light distribution control device … “wherein, when the shape of a road in front is a predetermined first shape, the light distribution control device sets the shading part for a light spot included in a first region of the image and does not set the shading part for a light spot included in a second region different from the first region, and wherein, when the shape of the road is a second shape different from the first shape, the light distribution control device sets or does not set the shading part for a light spot included in the first region and sets the shading part for a light spot included in the second region”, in combination with the remaining claimed limitations as claimed in independent claim 15.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Prior art Shalev et al. – US 2019/0329768
Prior art Nakayama – US 2018/0139368
Prior art Takemura et al. – US 2013/0027511
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/TUNG X LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845 October 3, 2026
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