Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 19/213,249

DRIVING ASSISTANCE APPARATUS AND DRIVING ASSISTANCE METHOD

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
May 20, 2025
Priority
May 28, 2024 — JP 2024-086201
Examiner
ALIZADA, OMEED
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Denso Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allowance Rate
453 granted / 584 resolved
+17.6% vs TC avg
Strong +33% interview lift
Without
With
+32.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 2m
Avg Prosecution
23 currently pending
Career history
604
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.9%
-39.1% vs TC avg
§103
90.6%
+50.6% vs TC avg
§102
4.0%
-36.0% vs TC avg
§112
2.0%
-38.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 584 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
CTNF 19/213,249 CTNF 87166 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. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-2 and 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Calmer et al (US 2023/0219592) in view of Tanizawa et al. (US 2022/0292889) . Regarding claim 1, Calmer teaches a driving assistance apparatus comprising a driving assistance unit configured to execute driving assistance for a vehicle when a target of the driving assistance is detected around the vehicle. Calmer teaches an artificial intelligence dash cam system that detects safety events using vehicle camera data and provides real-time driver alerts, including following distance, lane keeping, and possible collision events (paras. 0021, 0027, 0052, Fig. 3). For example, Calmer teaches that when a vehicle in front of the vehicle is determined to be within a threshold distance, an in-cab alert may be triggered (para. 0052). Calmer teaches a first storage unit configured to store a content of the driving assistance. Calmer teaches storing event data/metadata for detected safety events, including event type, time, location/GPS information, severity information, and other sensor data associated with the safety event (paras. 0031-0038, 0068-0071). Calmer teaches a second storage unit configured to store an image captured by a camera of the vehicle. Calmer teaches vehicle cameras/dash cam sensors that capture video and still images, and further teaches storing image/video data associated with detected safety events (paras. 0034-0038, 0054-0057). Calmer teaches a display control unit configured to display the content of the driving assistance and the image captured at a position where the driving assistance was executed on a display of the vehicle. Calmer teaches displaying a safety dashboard/event analysis interface including camera video of the detected event, event information, GPS/map/location information, and event-related data (paras. 0071-0076, Figs. 4-6). Calmer further teaches that the vehicle device/dash cam may include a display, and the system provides event review information including video and event details (paras. 0054-0057, 0071-0076). Calmer teaches wherein the display control unit is configured to perform highlight display control to highlight the target of the driving assistance in the image. Calmer teaches displaying the detected object/vehicle in the camera image using visual indicia such as a bounding box/annotation around the lead vehicle, as shown in the event dashboard images of Figs. 4-6, thereby highlighting the detected target associated with the safety event. To the extent Calmer does not expressly teach displaying the driving assistance content and image as an activation-history explanation of vehicle driving assistance, Tanizawa teaches an information processing apparatus for explaining the activation situation of a driving assistance system in an understandable manner. Tanizawa teaches acquiring “activation history information of driving assistance by a driving assistance system on the vehicle” and causing a display device to display “behavior information indicating chronological behavior of the vehicle in a situation in which the driving assistance was activated” (Abstract; paras. 0006-0007, 0037-0039, 0072). Tanizawa further teaches that the vehicle driving assistance includes automatic braking, automatic steering, and/or notification to a driver (paras. 0032-0034, 0088), and that the display includes information indicating the type of driving assistance at the activation timing, such as an alarm to a preceding vehicle and automatic braking (paras. 0047-0049, 0084-0085). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Calmer’s event video/dashboard display to display driving assistance activation-history information as taught by Tanizawa, including the type/content of the assistance and the image/video corresponding to the activation situation, because Tanizawa expressly teaches that displaying such behavior/activation information allows the activation situation of the driving assistance system to be explained in a more easily understandable manner and helps clear up misunderstanding of malfunction or failure (paras. 0004-0007, 0051, 0073). The combination would merely apply Tanizawa’s known ADAS activation-history explanation display to Calmer’s known safety-event video and object-highlight dashboard to improve user understanding of why the driving assistance/safety alert was executed. Regarding claim 2, Calmer in view of Tanizawa teaches the driving assistance apparatus of claim 1, as discussed above. Calmer further teaches a notification control unit configured to perform a notification for recording an operation history of the driving assistance after execution of the driving assistance. Calmer teaches that, after a safety event is detected, event data including sensor/video data is recorded and transmitted for analysis, and notifications/alerts may be provided regarding the detected event (paras. 0068-0071, 0077-0080, Figs. 6-8). For example, Calmer shows a notification indicating that a safety event such as a distracted-driving/fire alert has been detected, and provides access to event details/video corresponding to the recorded event (Figs. 6-8). Tanizawa further teaches storing activation history information of driving assistance in a vehicle storage device, including information related to the driving assistance such as activation trigger, activation timing, and control amount, and displaying an activation history viewer to explain the activation situation of the driving assistance after the driving assistance was activated (paras. 0034, 0037-0039, Figs. 4-8). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide Calmer’s post-event notification/alert in connection with Tanizawa’s stored driving-assistance activation history so that a user is informed that the driving-assistance operation history/event has been recorded and is available for review. The motivation would be to allow the driver/owner to more easily recognize and review the recorded activation situation of the driving assistance, consistent with Tanizawa’s stated purpose of explaining the activation situation in a more understandable manner and clearing up misunderstanding of malfunction or failure (paras. 0004-0007, 0051). Regarding claim 4, Calmer in view of Tanizawa teaches the driving assistance apparatus of claim 2, as discussed above. Tanizawa teaches wherein the display control unit is configured to display, as the notification for recording the operation history of the driving assistance, a list in chronological order of the driving assistance executed on the display. Tanizawa teaches displaying behavior information for explaining the situation where driving assistance was activated, including a “total travel distance display area 22” that displays a list of travel distances while driving assistance was activated so that information of past driving assistance can be selected from the list (paras. 0039-0041, Fig. 4). Tanizawa further teaches that the behavior information includes an “assistance content display area 25” in which information indicating the type of driving assistance that has been activated is displayed at a timing corresponding to the actual activation timing in synchronization with the reproduced video (para. 0044). Tanizawa also displays assistance content such as “alarm activated” and “automatic brake activated” during the activation-history reproduction (paras. 0048-0049, Figs. 6-7). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to display the recorded driving-assistance operation history of Calmer in a chronological list, as taught by Tanizawa, so that the user can select and review past driving-assistance events in the order in which they occurred. The motivation would have been to make the activation history easier to review and to explain the activation situation of the driving assistance system in a more understandable manner, as expressly taught by Tanizawa (paras. 0004-0007, 0051). Regarding claim 5, see rejection of claim 1 as claim 5 is a method of claim 1 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Calmer et al. (US 2023/0219592) in view of Tanizawa et al. (US 2022/0292889), and further in view of Farnham, IV et al. (US 2022/0114894) . Regarding claim 3, Calmer in view of Tanizawa teaches the driving assistance apparatus of claim 2, as discussed above. Farnham teaches wherein the display control unit is configured to, as the notification for recording the operation history of the driving assistance, display on a map on the display an icon corresponding to the driving assistance at a position corresponding to a position where the driving assistance is executed. Farnham teaches a mapping engine for displaying “an icon indicative of the incident on a map,” wherein the icon is located on the map at “a location corresponding to an incident location” (para. 0007). Farnham further teaches receiving incident information from a vehicle-tracking device and sending the incident information to the mapping engine (paras. 0059-0060), creating an icon on the map at the incident location (paras. 0064, Fig. 5), and displaying incident icons 62 that depict the geographic location associated with the incident (para. 0077, Fig. 7). Farnham also teaches that the incident icon may indicate the type and/or severity of the incident and whether the icon has associated video (para. 0077). Farnham further teaches associating video data with the incident icon. Specifically, Farnham teaches receiving video data from a video repository engine, associating the video data with the icon, and allowing the user to select the icon to review the incident video (paras. 0065, 0074, 0078-0080, Figs. 7-8). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the recorded driving-assistance activation history of Calmer and Tanizawa to display a map icon corresponding to the recorded driving-assistance event at the location where the event occurred, as taught by Farnham. The motivation would have been to allow the user to quickly identify the location of the recorded driving-assistance event and select the map icon to review the associated event information/video, thereby improving review and understanding of the recorded vehicle event. This is consistent with Tanizawa’s stated purpose of explaining the activation situation of the driving assistance system in a more easily understandable manner . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Nakada et al (US 2023/0303109) abstract and Fig. 6 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OMEED ALIZADA whose telephone number is (571)270-5907. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:30 am until 5:30 pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brian Zimmerman can be reached at 571-272-3059. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /OMEED ALIZADA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2686 Application/Control Number: 19/213,249 Page 2 Art Unit: 2686
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 20, 2025
Application Filed
Jun 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
78%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+32.6%)
2y 2m (~1y 0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 584 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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