UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`
`
`UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and Trademark Office
`Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
`PO. Box 1450
`Alexandria, Virginia 2231371450
`www.uspto.gov
`
`15/809,848
`
`11/10/2017
`
`NAGANORI SHIRAKATA
`
`731456.455
`
`1478
`
`Seed IP Law Group LLP/Panason1e (PIPCA)
`701 5th Avenue, Suite 5400
`Seattle, WA 98104
`
`KHATIB' RAMI
`
`PAPER NUMBER
`
`ART UNIT
`
`3669
`
`NOTIFICATION DATE
`
`DELIVERY MODE
`
`04/ 1 3/2020
`
`ELECTRONIC
`
`Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
`
`The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
`
`Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above—indicated "Notification Date" to the
`
`following e—mail address(es):
`US PTOeACtion @ SeedIP .Com
`
`pairlinkdktg @ seedip .eom
`
`PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
`
`

`

`017/09 A0170” Summary
`
`Application No.
`15/809,848
`Examiner
`RAMI KHATIB
`
`Applicant(s)
`SHIRAKATA et al.
`Art Unit
`AIA (FITF) Status
`3669
`Yes
`
`- The MAILING DA TE of this communication appears on the cover sheet wit/7 the correspondence address -
`Period for Reply
`
`A SHORTENED STATUTORY PERIOD FOR REPLY IS SET TO EXPIRE g MONTHS FROM THE MAILING
`DATE OF THIS COMMUNICATION.
`Extensions of time may be available under the provisions of 37 CFR 1.136(a). In no event, however, may a reply be timely filed after SIX (6) MONTHS from the mailing
`date of this communication.
`|f NO period for reply is specified above, the maximum statutory period will apply and will expire SIX (6) MONTHS from the mailing date of this communication.
`-
`- Failure to reply within the set or extended period for reply will, by statute, cause the application to become ABANDONED (35 U.S.C. § 133).
`Any reply received by the Office later than three months after the mailing date of this communication, even if timely filed, may reduce any earned patent term
`adjustment. See 37 CFR 1.704(b).
`
`Status
`
`1). Responsive to communication(s) filed on 12/26/2019.
`CI A declaration(s)/affidavit(s) under 37 CFR 1.130(b) was/were filed on
`
`2a). This action is FINAL.
`
`2b) D This action is non-final.
`
`3)[:] An election was made by the applicant in response to a restriction requirement set forth during the interview
`on
`; the restriction requirement and election have been incorporated into this action.
`
`4):] Since this application is in condition for allowance except for formal matters, prosecution as to the merits is
`closed in accordance with the practice under Expade Quay/e, 1935 CD. 11, 453 O.G. 213.
`
`Disposition of Claims*
`
`5)
`
`Claim(s) fl is/are pending in the application.
`
`5a) Of the above Claim(s)
`
`is/are withdrawn from consideration.
`
`
`
`[:1 Claim(ss)
`
`is/are allowed.
`
`8)
`Claim(s 113Is/are rejected
`
`D Claim(ss_) is/are objected to.
`
`) ) ) )
`
`S)
`are subject to restriction and/or election requirement
`[:1 Claim(s
`* If any claims have been determined aflowable. you may be eligible to benefit from the Patent Prosecution Highway program at a
`
`participating intellectual property office for the corresponding application. For more information, please see
`
`http://www.uspto.gov/patents/init events/pph/index.jsp or send an inquiry to PPeredback@uspto.gov.
`
`Application Papers
`
`10)|:l The specification is objected to by the Examiner.
`
`11). The drawing(s) filed on 11/10/2017 is/are: a). accepted or b)(j objected to by the Examiner.
`Applicant may not request that any objection to the drawing(s) be held in abeyance. See 37 CFR 1.85(a).
`Replacement drawing sheet(s) including the correction is required if the drawing(s) is objected to. See 37 CFR 1.121 (d).
`
`Priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119
`
`12). Acknowledgment is made of a claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d) or (f).
`Certified copies:
`
`a). All
`
`b)C] Some**
`
`c)C] None of the:
`
`1.. Certified copies of the priority documents have been received.
`
`2C] Certified copies of the priority documents have been received in Application No.
`
`SD Copies of the certified copies of the priority documents have been received in this National Stage
`application from the International Bureau (PCT Rule 17.2(a)).
`
`** See the attached detailed Office action for a list of the certified copies not received.
`
`Attachment(s)
`
`1)
`
`Notice of References Cited (PTO-892)
`
`2) C] Information Disclosure Statement(s) (PTO/SB/08a and/or PTO/SB/08b)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date_
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
`
`3) E] Interview Summary (PTO-413)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date
`4) CI Other-
`
`PTOL-326 (Rev. 11-13)
`
`Office Action Summary
`
`Part of Paper No./Mai| Date 20200408
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 15/809,848
`Art Unit: 3669
`
`Page 2
`
`DETAILED ACTION
`
`Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
`
`1.
`
`The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined
`
`under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA.
`
`2.
`
`This office action is in response to applicant’s arguments/remarks received on
`
`12/26/2019. Claims 1-6 have been amended. No claims have been cancelled. Claims 7-
`
`13 have been added. Accordingly, claims 1-13 are now pending.
`
`Response to Arguments
`
`3.
`
`Applicant’s arguments, see applicant’s arguments/remarks, filed 12/26/2019, with
`
`respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 3-4, and 6 have been fully considered and are
`
`persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further
`
`consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Yuda US 2010/0315215
`
`A1 (hence Yuda) in view of Va et al US 2017/0299689 A1 (hence Va) as detailed below.
`
`Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
`
`4.
`
`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 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.
`
`5.
`
`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:
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 15/809,848
`Art Unit: 3669
`
`Page 3
`
`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.
`
`6.
`
`Claims 1-6, 9-11, and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being
`
`unpatentable over Yuda US 2010/0315215 A1 (hence Yuda) in view of Va et al US
`
`2017/0299689 A1 (hence Va).
`
`7.
`
`In re claims 1, 4 and 9, Yuda discloses a blind spot display apparatus that
`
`presents a situation at a blind spot occurring at an intersection from a driver's viewpoint
`
`(Abstract) and teaches the following:
`
`.
`
`capturing devices configured to capture images in and around an
`
`intersection, the capturing devices selected out of video cameras, radars, or
`
`sensors (Fig.3, #302-#305, and Paragraphs 0111-0112); one or more first
`
`wireless transceivers configured to perform directional communication with a
`
`second wireless transceiver mounted on a vehicle (Fig.1, and Paragraph 0110);
`
`a circuit configured to estimate a position of the vehicle in and around the
`
`intersection (Fig.1, #104, #106, and Paragraphs 0114-0115); select a piece of
`
`data from among pieces of data corresponding to the images captured by the
`
`capturing devices on a basis of the estimated position of the vehicle (Paragraph
`
`0110), wherein the one or more first wireless transceivers transmit the selected
`
`piece of data to the second wireless transceiver mounted on the vehicle (Fig.1,
`
`Fig.3, and Paragraph 0110)
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 15/809,848
`Art Unit: 3669
`
`Page 4
`
`8.
`
`Yuda doesn’t explicitly teach using a directional beam and estimating a position
`
`of the vehicle in and around the intersection on a basis of a communication state of the
`
`directional beam used in the directional communication
`
`9.
`
`Nevertheless, Va discloses implementations for determining a position of a
`
`vehicle using millimeter wave narrow beamforming (Abstract), and teaches the
`
`following:
`
`.
`
`using a directional beam and estimating a position of the vehicle in and
`
`around the intersection on a basis of a communication state of the directional
`
`beam used in the directional communication (Abstract, 0038, Fig.1 B, 0047, and
`
`0058-0060)
`
`10.
`
`It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art at the time the
`
`invention was filed to have modified the communication system of the Yuda reference to
`
`include the implementations for determining a position of a vehicle using millimeter
`
`wave narrow beamforming, as taught by Va, in order to provide location data that
`
`describes the precise position of a vehicle such as a lane level accuracy (Va,
`
`Paragraphs 0002 and 0061 ).
`
`11.
`
`In re claims 2, 5, and 10, Va teaches the following:
`
`0
`
`wherein circuit is configured to estimate the position of the vehicle on a
`
`basis of a direction of the directional beam used in the directional communication
`
`(Fig.1 B and Paragraphs 0065-0070)
`
`12.
`
`In re claims 3, 6 and 11, Yuda teaches the following:
`
`0
`
`wherein the capturing devices capture images of different areas in and
`
`around the intersection (Fig.3, #302—#305, and Paragraphs 0111-0112)
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 15/809,848
`Art Unit: 3669
`
`13.
`
`In re claim 13, Va teaches the following:
`
`Page 5
`
`.
`
`wherein the circuitry is configured to estimate the position of the vehicle in
`
`and around the intersection based on at least one of a strength, a signal-to-noise
`
`ratio (SN R), or a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the direction
`
`beam (Paragraphs 0049, 0064, 0070, and 0101 -0102)
`
`Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
`
`14.
`
`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.
`
`15.
`
`Claims 7, 8, and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable
`
`over Yuda in view of Va as recited above and further in view of Karabed US
`
`2017/0327038 A1 (hence Karabed).
`
`16.
`
`In re claims 7, 8, and 12, the combination of Yuda in view of Va discloses the
`
`claimed invention as discussed above but doesn’t explicitly teach the following:
`
`0
`
`wherein in a case where the estimated position of the vehicle is in a corner
`
`of the intersection for making a left-hand turn, the selected piece of data
`
`corresponds to an area in a left rear of the vehicle and to an area in a right rear
`
`of the vehicle, and in a case where the estimated position of the vehicle is at a
`
`center of the intersection for making a right-hand turn, the selected piece of data
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 15/809,848
`Art Unit: 3669
`
`Page 6
`
`corresponds to an area behind another vehicle in an opposite lane of the vehicle
`
`and to an area right of the vehicle
`
`17.
`
`Nevertheless, Karabed discloses dynamically adjusting surveillance systems that
`
`can, for example, assist a driver when crossing intersections (Abstract) and teaches the
`
`following:
`
`.
`
`wherein in a case where the estimated position of the vehicle is in a corner
`
`of the intersection for making a left-hand turn, the selected piece of data
`
`corresponds to an area in a left rear of the vehicle and to an area in a right rear
`
`of the vehicle (Fig.9 and Paragraph 0175), and in a case where the estimated
`
`position of the vehicle is at a center of the intersection for making a right-hand
`
`turn, the selected piece of data corresponds to an area behind another vehicle in
`
`an opposite lane of the vehicle and to an area right of the vehicle (Fig.5, and
`
`Paragraph 0113)
`
`18.
`
`It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art at the time the
`
`invention was filed to have modified the Yuda reference with dynamically adjusting
`
`surveillance systems, as taught by Karabed, in order to assist a driver when crossing
`
`intersections (Karabed, Paragraph 0002).
`
`Conclusion
`
`19.
`
`Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in
`
`this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP
`
`§ 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37
`
`CFR1.136(a).
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 15/809,848
`Art Unit: 3669
`
`Page 7
`
`A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE
`
`MONTHS from the mailing date of this action.
`
`In the event a first reply is filed within
`
`TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not
`
`mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the
`
`shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any
`
`extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of
`
`the advisory action.
`
`In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later
`
`than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
`
`20.
`
`Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
`
`examiner should be directed to RAMI KHATIB whose telephone number is (571 )270-
`
`1165. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 7:00am-7:30pm.
`
`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.
`
`lf attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s
`
`supervisor, John Olszewski can be reached on 571-272 2706. The fax phone number
`
`for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
`
`Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the
`
`Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for
`
`published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR.
`
`Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only.
`
`For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 15/809,848
`Art Unit: 3669
`
`Page 8
`
`you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic
`
`Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a
`
`USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information
`
`system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571 -272-1 000.
`
`/RAM| KHATIB/
`
`Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3669
`
`