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 .
The present Office Action is in response to Applicants’ filing of June 27, 2025. Claims 1-4 are presented for examination, with Claim 1 being the only one in independent form.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on June 27, 2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Terminal Disclaimer
The terminal disclaimer filed on April 16, 2026 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of 12,358,586 has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded.
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 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2023/0001846 (“Hori”) in view of EP 2 792 585 A1 (“Kosugi”).
Regarding Claim 1, Hori discloses a headlight device (1 in Fig. 1; [0024]) to be employed in a leaning vehicle that has a vehicle body leaning leftward when turning left and leaning rightward when turning right (100; [0023]), the headlight device comprising:
a headlight including a plurality of light sources, which is configured to respectively light a plurality of areas (1 in Fig. 1; [0024]; irradiates a plurality of areas shown in Figs. 5-6; [0036]) that include:
a single left oblique area that are located in an ahead-driving direction, and on the left, with respect to the headlight of the leaning vehicle (PCL1-3; [0041]), the left oblique area having a maximum luminous intensity point thereof above a horizontal reference line (H-H, L-L),
a single right oblique area that are located in the ahead-driving direction, and on the right, with respect to the headlight of the leaning vehicle (PCR1-3; [0041]), the right oblique area each having a maximum luminous intensity point thereof above the horizontal reference line (H-H, L-L), and
one or more lower areas that are located in the ahead-driving direction with respect to the headlight of the leaning vehicle (PL; [0038]), the one or more lower areas each having a maximum luminous intensity point thereof below the horizontal reference line (H-H, L-L); and
a control device (5 in Fig. 2; [0025]) that controls the headlight to light at least the left oblique area and the right oblique area based on adaptive lighting control ([0028]; Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB) mode; [0034]), such that when an oncoming vehicle or a vehicle ahead is in one of the areas lit by the headlight, the light for the one area is reduced or turned off (as shown in Figs. 5-6; [0052]; [0057]), wherein:
when the leaning vehicle is upright (Fig. 5), the control device instructs the headlight to light the left oblique areas (PCL1-3), the right oblique area (PCR1-3), and at least one of the one or more lower areas (PL), each of the left oblique area and the right oblique area being lit based on the adaptive lighting control ([0028]; Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB) mode; [0034]) and spreading more outwardly in a left-right direction than any of said at least one lower area ([0044]; [0048]; [0052]), and
wherein when the leaning vehicle is upright (Fig. 5), the horizontal reference line (H-H, L-L) extends in the left-right direction through an upper edge of a low-beam area (PL), the low-beam area being one of the one or more lower areas that is at a center with respect to the left-right direction ([0038]).
Hori fails to specifically disclose that “an uppermost point of the left oblique area is positioned further leftward than a leftmost point of each of the one or more lower areas, and an uppermost point of the right oblique area is positioned further rightward than a rightmost point of each of the one or more lower areas.”
However, Kosugi, in the same field of endeavor teaches an uppermost point of the left oblique area is positioned further leftward than a leftmost point of each of the one or more lower areas, and an uppermost point of the right oblique area is positioned further rightward than a rightmost point of each of the one or more lower areas (Figs. 5-8; [0107]-[0109]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have provided the headlight device as disclosed by Hori with the oblique areas as taught by Kosugi, in order to ensure visibility over a road surface at a long distance, as evidenced by Kosugi ([0114]).
Regarding Claim 2, the combination of Hori in view of Kosugi further teaches wherein: each of the leftmost point of the left oblique area (PCL1-3 of Hori) and the rightmost point of the right oblique area (PCR1-3 of Hori) is positioned above the horizontal reference line (H-H, L-L of Hori).
Regarding Claim 3, the combination of Hori in view of Kosugi further teaches wherein: the left oblique area has a lower edge, a left end of which extends upwardly while extending leftward (PCL1-3 in Figs. 5-6; [0041] of Hori), and the right oblique area has a lower edge, a right end of which extends upwardly while extending rightward (PCR1-3 in Figs. 5-6; [0041] of Hori).
Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Hori in view of Kosugi further teaches a leaning vehicle comprising the headlight device according to claim 1 (Fig. 1; [0024] of Hori).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
EP 3 000 700 A1 (“Kosugi ‘700”) relates to a headlamp and straddled vehicle. See Fig. 5, in particular.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PEDRO C FERNANDEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-7050. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alexander H Taningco can be reached at 1-(571) 272-8048. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PEDRO C FERNANDEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2845
/ALEXANDER H TANINGCO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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