DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/10/2026. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: VEHICLE HEADS UP DISPLAY DEVICE IMPROVING DISPLAY OF VIRTUAL IMAGES OVERLAPPING VIEW OUTSIDE A VEHICLE
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 10, 18 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
As per claim 1, the limitation “a second area including, in the whole display area” should be “a second area [[including,]] included in the whole display area”.
As per claim 10, the limitation “the first display device to display, in the first virtual display image, second guide information for encouraging guiding of eyes to the front of the vehicle” should be “the first display device to display, in the first virtual display image, second guide information for encouraging the guiding of the eyes to the front of the vehicle”.
As per claim 18, the limitation “wherein the first display device further includes:
a display element that generates the video light that serves as the first virtual display image; and
an optical system that reflects the video light emitted from the display element to form the first virtual display image,
the optical system includes a final reflective surface that is a concave mirror, and
in the concave mirror, a first mirror height in a central mirror area in the vehicle transverse direction is different from a second mirror height in a one-end mirror area and an other-end mirror area in the vehicle transverse direction” should be
“wherein the first display device further includes:
[[a]] the display element that generates the video light that serves as the first virtual display image; and
an optical system that reflects the video light emitted from the display element to form the first virtual display image[[,]];
wherein the optical system includes a final reflective surface that is a concave mirror[[,]]; and
wherein in the concave mirror, a first mirror height in a central mirror area in the vehicle transverse direction is different from a second mirror height in a one-end mirror area and an other-end mirror area in the vehicle transverse direction”.
As per claim 20, the limitation “wherein the first display device further includes:
a display element that generates the video light that serves as the first virtual display image; and
an optical system that reflects the video light emitted from the display element to form the first virtual display image, and the display element is divided into:
a central element corresponding to the central area in the first virtual display image; and
a pair of end elements corresponding to the one-end area and the other-end area in the first virtual display image” should be
“wherein the first display device further includes:
[[a]] the display element that generates the video light that serves as the first virtual display image; and
an optical system that reflects the video light emitted from the display element to form the first virtual display image[[,]]; and
wherein the display element is divided into:
a central element corresponding to the central area in the first virtual display image; and
a pair of end elements corresponding to the one-end area and the other-end area in the first virtual display image”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation of “a first area as a reference in the whole display area”. However, the specification provides not disclosure and it is not known what is the meaning of “reference in the whole display area”.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "the front of the vehicle". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 1-5, 8-9, 15-17 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakai (US 20210232028) in view of Cho (US 20150015479).
As per claim 1, Sakai discloses a display system (Fig. 1) comprising:
a first display device (#10) that displays a first virtual display image (#IM1) in front of a user (#5) in a vehicle (#1; [0025]-[0026]); and
a controller (#16) that controls the first display device (#10; [0038]), wherein the first display device (#10) includes:
a display element (#11) that emits video light that serves as the first virtual display image ([0028]-[0029]); and
a reflector (#121) that forms the first virtual display image (#IM1) by reflecting the video light from the display element (#11) toward the user ([0035]; [0039]), the display element (#11) includes:
a whole display area (Fig. 4A, #111) wider than a display area corresponding to a field of view of the reflector (#121; [0030]; [0043]);
a first area (#DA1) as a reference in the whole display area (#111); and
a second area (#DA2) including, in the whole display area (#111);
a superimposed section (i.e., superimposed section of #111 overlapping with #DA1) at least partially overlapping the first area (#DA1); and
a non-superimposed section (i.e., non-superimposed section outside of #DA1) extending beyond the first area (#DA1), and the controller causes the first display device (#10) to be switched between:
a first state to form the first virtual display image only in the first area (#DA1; [0030]-[0031]).
However, Sakai does not teach a second state to form the first virtual display image in the first area and the second area, or only in the second area.
Cho teaches a second state to form the first display image in the first area (Figs. 7A-B, #610) and the second area (#620; [0174]-[0177]), or only in the second area.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have included the method of obtaining external images of the vehicle disclosed by Cho to the display system of Sakai so that even when the driver views a rear viewing angle, while keeping his eyes on the front side while driving the vehicle, he or she may know a situation of the front side in real time (Cho: [0159]).
As per claim 2, Sakai in view of Cho discloses the display system according to claim 1, wherein (Sakai: Fig. 4A discloses) the second area (Sakai: #DA2) extends beyond the first area (Sakai: #DA1) in at least one of an upward, downward, right, or left direction.
As per claims 3, 9 and 15, Sakai in view of Cho discloses the display system according to claim 1 (claim 4) except for the controller causes the first display device to display a speedometer in the first area in each of the first state and the second state, wherein in the first virtual display image, a first height in a central area in a vehicle transverse direction of the vehicle is different from a second height in a one-end area and an other-end area in the vehicle transverse direction, wherein the controller causes the first display device to display, in the second area, a guide mark for guiding eyes of the user toward a target of attention included in the rear image. Official Notice is taken that no disclosure has been made with respect to the unique nature or unexpected results provided by the aforementioned limitations. As no specific advantage, efficiency, optimization, or unexpected results are disclosed regarding the specific, but apparently an arbitrary design choice, no patentable weight or consideration regarding novelty is given to it.
As per claim 4, Sakai in view of Cho discloses the display system according to claim 1, wherein the controller causes the first display device to display, in the second state:
a frame image showing a side mirror frame of the vehicle in the second area (Cho: #620; [0174]-[0177]); and
a rear image showing a rear of the vehicle in an area corresponding to a mirror in the frame image in the second area (Cho: #620; [0176]-[0177]).
As per claim 5, Sakai in view of Choi discloses the display system according to claim 1, wherein the controller causes the first display device to display, in the second state, a front image (Cho: #610”) showing a front of the vehicle in the second area (Cho: [0176]-[0177]).
As per claim 8, Sakai in view of Cho discloses the display system according to claim 1, further comprising:
a viewpoint detector (Cho: Fig. 3, #123) that detects a point of view of the user ([0100]),
wherein the controller causes the first display device to operate in:
the second state, when the point of view detected by the viewpoint detector is within a predetermined area (Cho: Fig. 7B; [0176]-[0177]); and
the first state, when the point of view detected by the viewpoint detector is out of the predetermined area (Cho: [0171]; [0176]).
As per claim 16, Sakai in view of Cho discloses the display system according to claim 15, wherein the controller causes the first display device to display a side image showing a side of the vehicle in each of the one-end area (Cho: Figs. 7A-B, #201b) and the other-end area (Cho: #201c) in the first virtual display image (Sakai: [0026]-[0027]) (Cho: [0176]-[0177]).
As per claim 17, Sakai in view of Cho discloses the display system according to claim 15 except for the second height is greater than the first height. Official Notice is taken that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the second height is greater than the first height since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
As per claim 20, Sakai in view of Cho discloses the display system according to claim 15, wherein the first display device (Sakai: #10) further includes:
a display element (Sakai: #11) that generates the video light that serves as the first virtual display image (Sakai: #IM1; [0025]-[0026]); and
an optical system (Sakai: #12) that reflects the video light emitted from the display element (Sakai: #11) to form the first virtual display image (Sakai: #IM1; [0029]; [0043] ), and
the display element (Sakai #11) is divided into:
a central element (Sakai: Figs. 4A-B, #DA1) corresponding to the central area (Sakai: i.e., the central area of #DA1) in the first virtual display image (Sakai: #IM1); and
a pair of end elements corresponding to the one-end area (Sakai: i.e., left side area of #DA1) and the other-end area (Sakai: i.e., right side area of #DA1) in the first virtual display image (Sakai: #IM1).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakai in view of Cho in view of Park (US 20200013225).
As per claim 6, Sakai in view of Cho discloses the display system according to claim 1.
However, Sakai in view of Cho do not teach the controller causes the first display device to display, in the second state, a pillar image overlapping a surrounding image in the second area, the pillar image showing a pillar of the vehicle, the surrounding image being an image captured by a camera outside the pillar.
Park teaches the controller causes the first display device to display, in the second state, a pillar image overlapping a surrounding image in the second area, the pillar image showing a pillar of the vehicle, the surrounding image being an image captured by a camera outside the pillar (Fig. 12; [0225]-[0227]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have included the acquiring of vehicle external information disclosed by Park to the display system of Sakai in view of Cho so as to provide a driver with an external image relating to a visual field blocked by a vehicle body (Park: [0009]).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakai in view of Cho in view of Choi (US 20200183161).
As per claim 7, Sakai in view of Cho discloses the display system according to claim 1, further comprising:
a second display device that displays a second virtual display image (Sakai: #IM2) in front of the user (Sakai: #5) and above or below the first virtual display image (Sakai: #IM1; [0027]; [0029]).
However, Sakai in view of Cho do not teach the controller causes the first display device and the second display device to display an arrow extending across the first virtual display image and the second virtual display image.
Choi teaches the controller causes the first display device and the second display device to display an arrow (Fig. 36, #3601) extending across the first virtual display image (#2201) and the second virtual display image (#2202; [0503]-[0504]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the display system of Sakai in view of Cho configured according to Choi so as to allow a driver to view the first turn-by-turn image displayed on the first virtual image and the second turn-by-turn image displayed on the second virtual image in a three dimensional perspective (Choi: [0504]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-14 and 18-19 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of a display system comprising a first display device that displays a first virtual display image in front of a user in a vehicle; wherein the first display device includes: a display element that emits video light that serves as the first virtual display image; and a reflector that forms the first virtual display image by reflecting the video light from the display element toward the user does not teach or fairly suggest an image capturer that captures an image of surroundings of the vehicle, wherein the controller controls the second display device and the image capturer, and the controller causes: the first display device to display, in the first virtual display image, vehicle surrounding information obtained by the image capturer; and the second display device to display, in the second virtual display image, first guide information for encouraging guiding of eyes to the first virtual display image, and the controller subsequently causes: the first display device to display, in the first virtual display image, second guide information for encouraging guiding of eyes to the front of the vehicle, wherein the first display device further includes: an optical system that reflects the video light emitted from the display element to form the first virtual display image, the optical system includes a final reflective surface that is a concave mirror, and in the concave mirror, a first mirror height in a central mirror area in the vehicle transverse direction is different from a second mirror height in a one-end mirror area and an other-end mirror area in the vehicle transverse direction.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Nelson Lam whose telephone number is (571)272-8044. The examiner can normally be reached 1pm-9pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ke Xiao can be reached at 571 272-7776. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Nelson Lam/Examiner, Art Unit 2627
/KE XIAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2627
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