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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6, 8-11, 13 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.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 7, 12, 14, 16, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nomura et al. (US pub No. 2018/0156916) and Takeshi (Japan Pub No. 07-333332).
Regarding claim 1, Nomura teaches an autonomous moving apparatus comprising:
a vehicle body (See abstract and Fig. 1);
a first speaker that is attached to the vehicle body and transmits an acoustic wave toward an area including a front direction of the vehicle body (See Fig. 1 and [0018] which teach four ultrasonic sensors that emit and receive 20 to 100kHz transmission waves. The sensors are attached the front bumper of the vehicle.);
a first microphone that is attached to the vehicle body, receives an acoustic wave reflected by an object, and converts the acoustic wave into an electric signal (See Fig. 1 and [0018] which teach four ultrasonic sensors that emit and receive 20 to 100kHz transmission waves. The sensors are attached the front bumper of the vehicle. [0021] teaches that the reflected wave is processed into a voltage level.); and
a second microphone that is attached to the vehicle body, receives an acoustic wave reflected by the object, and converts the acoustic wave into an electric signal (See Fig. 1 and [0018] which teach four ultrasonic sensors that emit and receive 20 to 100kHz transmission waves. The sensors are attached the front bumper of the vehicle. [0021] teaches that the reflected wave is processed into a voltage level.), wherein
when viewed from a vertical direction, the first speaker, the first microphone, and the second microphone are located on an outside or an outer periphery of the vehicle body (See abstract and Fig. 1),
Nomura does not teach that the first speaker is interposed between the first microphone and the second microphone in a left-right direction perpendicular to the front direction, and distances from the first speaker or a center of gravity of a plurality of speakers including the first speaker, to each of the first microphone and the second microphone in the left-right direction are equal.
Takeshi teaches that the first speaker is interposed between the first microphone and the second microphone in a left-right direction perpendicular to the front direction, and distances from the first speaker or a center of gravity of a plurality of speakers including the first speaker, to each of the first microphone and the second microphone in the left-right direction are equal (See Fig. 1, abstract and [0008]).
One of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed would have been motivated to modify Nomura to include Takeshi’s teachings in order to increase accuracy and improve position detection of object (See [0015]). Therefore, the invention as a whole would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made.
Regarding claim 2, Nomura teaches the first speaker is disposed at a front end of the vehicle body (See abstract and Fig. 1, 21 & 23).
Regarding claim 7, Nomura teaches orientations of the first microphone and the second microphone are inclined from the front direction to an outside of the vehicle body in the left-right direction (See abstract and Fig. 1, 21 & 23).
Regarding claim 12, Nomura teaches a portion of the first microphone that receives an acoustic wave and a portion of the second microphone that receives an acoustic wave are visible from the outside of the vehicle body in at least one of the front direction and the left-right direction (See abstract and Fig. 1, 21 & 23).
Regarding claim 14, Nomura teaches a second speaker that is attached to the vehicle body and transmits an acoustic wave in the front direction; and a third microphone that is attached to the vehicle body, receives an acoustic wave reflected by the object, and converts the acoustic wave into an electric signal, wherein the first speaker, the second speaker, the first microphone, the second microphone, and the third microphone are disposed plane symmetrically relative to a single target plane (See Fig. 1 and [0018] which teach four ultrasonic sensors that emit and receive 20 to 100kHz transmission waves. The sensors are attached the front bumper of the vehicle.).
Regarding claims 16 and 17, Nomura teaches composite unit of a speaker-microphone for an autonomous moving apparatus that is a composite unit used in an autonomous moving apparatus, the composite unit comprising: a casing (See abstract and Fig. 1);
a first speaker that is attached to the vehicle body and transmits an acoustic wave toward an area including a front direction of the vehicle body (See Fig. 1 and [0018] which teach four ultrasonic sensors that emit and receive 20 to 100kHz transmission waves. The sensors are attached the front bumper of the vehicle.);
a first microphone that is attached to the vehicle body, receives an acoustic wave reflected by an object, and converts the acoustic wave into an electric signal (See Fig. 1 and [0018] which teach four ultrasonic sensors that emit and receive 20 to 100kHz transmission waves. The sensors are attached the front bumper of the vehicle. [0021] teaches that the reflected wave is processed into a voltage level.); and
a second microphone that is attached to the vehicle body, receives an acoustic wave reflected by the object, and converts the acoustic wave into an electric signal (See Fig. 1 and [0018] which teach four ultrasonic sensors that emit and receive 20 to 100kHz transmission waves. The sensors are attached the front bumper of the vehicle. [0021] teaches that the reflected wave is processed into a voltage level.), wherein
when viewed from a vertical direction, the first speaker, the first microphone, and the second microphone are located on an outside or an outer periphery of the vehicle body (See abstract and Fig. 1),
Nomura does not teach that the first speaker is interposed between the first microphone and the second microphone in a left-right direction perpendicular to the front direction, and distances from the first speaker or a center of gravity of a plurality of speakers including the first speaker, to each of the first microphone and the second microphone in the left-right direction are equal.
Takeshi teaches that the first speaker is interposed between the first microphone and the second microphone in a left-right direction perpendicular to the front direction, and distances from the first speaker or a center of gravity of a plurality of speakers including the first speaker, to each of the first microphone and the second microphone in the left-right direction are equal (See Fig. 1, abstract and [0008]).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nomura and Takeshi as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Gray et al. (US pat No. 12,505,487).
Regarding claim 3, Nomura does not explicitly teach a contact detection sensor.
Gray teaches a contact detection sensor (See Col. 3 lines 13-20).
One of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed would have been motivated to modify Nomura to include Gray’s contact detection teachings in order to better alert emergency services in cases of vehicle collision. Therefore, the invention as a whole would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made.
Conclusion
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/THOMAS S MCCORMACK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2686
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