UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and Trademark Office
`Address: COMIVHSSIONER FOR PATENTS
`P.O. Box 1450
`Alexandria1 Virginia 22313-1450
`www.uspto.gov
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`14/387,705
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`09/24/2014
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`Koichi Nishimura
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`OHNOB—53283
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`5400
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`03/23/2016 —PEARNE & GORDON LLP m
`7590
`52054
`1801 EAST 9TH STREET
`YANG, NAN'YING
`SUITE 1200
`CLEVELAND, OH 441 14-3108
`
`PAPER NUMBER
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`2697
`
`NOTIFICATION DATE
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`DELIVERY MODE
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`03/23/2016
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`ELECTRONIC
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`Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
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`The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
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`Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above—indicated "Notification Date" to the
`following e—mail address(es):
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`patdocket @ pearne.c0m
`jcholley @pearne.c0m
`
`PTOL—90A (Rev. 04/07)
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`

`

`
`
`Applicant(s)
`Application No.
` 14/387,705 NISHIMURA, KOICHI
`
`
`AIA (First Inventor to File)
`Art Unit
`Examiner
`Office Action Summary
`
`
`NAN-YING YANG its“ 2697
`-- The MAILING DA TE of this communication appears on the cover sheet with the correspondence address --
`Period for Reply
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`
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`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 CFR1. 136( a).
`after SIX () MONTHS from the mailing date of this communication.
`If 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).
`
`In no event, however, may a reply be timely filed
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`Status
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`1)IZI Responsive to communication(s) filed on 09/24/2014.
`El A declaration(s)/affidavit(s) under 37 CFR 1.130(b) was/were filed on
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`2b)|ZI This action is non-final.
`2a)|:l This action is FINAL.
`3)I:I An election was made by the applicant in response to a restriction requirement set forth during the interview on
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`; the restriction requirement and election have been incorporated into this action.
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`4)|:| Since this application is in condition for allowance except for formal matters, prosecution as to the merits is
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`closed in accordance with the practice under Exparte Quay/e, 1935 CD. 11, 453 O.G. 213.
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`Disposition of Claims*
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`5)IZI Claim(s) fiis/are pending in the application.
`5a) Of the above claim(s)
`is/are withdrawn from consideration.
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`is/are allowed.
`6)I:I Claim(s)
`7)|Z| Claim(s)_4- 7is/are rejected.
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`8)|:I Claim(s)_ is/are objected to.
`* If any)claims have been determined allowable, you may be eligible to benefit from the Patent Prosecution Highway program at a
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`()
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`are subject to restriction and/or election requirement.
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`participating intellectual property office for the corresponding application. For more information, please see
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`:/'I’vaIW.usnI‘.0. ovI’ atentS/init events/
`iindex.‘s orsend an inquiry to PPI-iieedback{®usgtc.00v.
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`hit
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`Application Papers
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`10)I:l The specification is objected to by the Examiner.
`11)|Xl The drawing(s) filed on 09/24/2014 is/are: a)IXI accepted or b)|:l 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).
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`Replacement drawing sheet(s) including the correction is required if the drawing(s) is objected to. See 37 CFR 1.121 (d).
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`Priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119
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`12)IXI Acknowledgment is made of a claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d) or (f).
`Certified copies:
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`a)IZl All
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`b)|:l Some” c)I:l None of the:
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`1.IXI Certified copies of the priority documents have been received.
`2.|:l Certified copies of the priority documents have been received in Application No.
`3.|:| Copies of the certified copies of the priority documents have been received in this National Stage
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`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.
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`Attachment(s)
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`3) D Interview Summary (PTO-413)
`1) E Notice of References Cited (PTO-892)
`Paper No(s)/Mai| Date.
`.
`.
`4) I:I Other'
`2) E InformatIon DIsclosure Statement(s) (PTO/SB/08a and/or PTO/SB/08b)
`Paper No(s)/Mai| Date
`US. Patent and Trademark Office
`PTOL—326 (Rev. 11-13)
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`Office Action Summary
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`Part of Paper No./Mai| Date 20151113
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 14/387,705
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`Art Unit: 2697
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`Page 2
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`DETAILED ACTION
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`1.
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`The present application is being examined under the pre—AIA first to invent provisions.
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`Information Disclosure Statement
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`2.
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`The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 09/24/2014 and 11/03/2014
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`have been considered by the examiner.
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`Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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`3.
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`The following is a quotation of pre—AIA 35 USC. 103(a) which forms the basis for all
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`obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
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`(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or
`described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject
`matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole
`would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary
`skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived
`by the manner in which the invention was made.
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`4.
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`Claim 4 is rejected under pre—AIA 35 USC. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Kim et
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`al. (US. Pub. No. 2002/0113876, hereinafter “Kim”) in view of Harter et al. (US. Pub. No.
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`2006/0006988, hereinafter “Harter”).
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`As to claim 4, (Previously Presented) Kim discloses a vehicle—mounted electronic
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`equipment operation device [figure 1] comprising:
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`a display unit [figure 1, “20”];
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`a control unit [figure 1, “40”] connected to the display unit; and
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 14/387,705
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`Art Unit: 2697
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`Page 3
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`a camera [figure 1, “10”] and a display select switch [figure 4, switches “7l”—“76" on the
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`operation controller “70”, paragraph 31] connected to the control unit,
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`wherein the control unit has a function of displaying an operating unit [figure 7, “3 1”—
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`“36”] at at least part of an outer peripheral portion of the display unit [figure 7, “31”—“36” are
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`displayed at an outer peripheral portion of the display unit “20”] and displaying an image from
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`the camera at a central portion of the display unit [figure 7, images from cameras “21” are
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`displayed at a central portion of the display unit “20”], and
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`when the control unit displays the operating unit at at least part of the outer peripheral
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`portion of the display unit by way of operation of the display select switch [paragraphs 44—48],
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`the control unit also displays the image from the camera at the central portion of the display unit
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`[paragraph 48, the image photographed by the digital cameras “10” are displayed at the central
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`portion “21” of the display unit as shown in figure 7].
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`Kim does not disclose lowering brightness of the camera image at an initial stage of
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`display of the camera image and increasing the brightness afterward.
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`Harter teaches the concept of lowing brightness of an image at an initial stage [figure 6,
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`“1 02”] .
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`Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the
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`invention to modify the control unit to display an image with low brightness at an initial stage, as
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`taught by Harter, in order not to distract the driver of the vehicle by the brightness of the flicker
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`(Harter, paragraph 40).
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`Kim, as modified by Harter discloses the claimed invention except for increasing the
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`brightness afterward. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill I the art at the time
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 14/387,705
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`Art Unit: 2697
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`Page 4
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`the invention was made to increase the brightness afterward, since it has been held that where the
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`general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable
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`ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re aller, 105 USPQ 233.
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`5.
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`Claim 5 is rejected under pre—AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Kim in
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`view of Harter, as applied to claim 4 above, further in view of Nishio et al. (US. Pub. No.
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`2004/0145663, hereinafter “Nishio”).
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`As to claim 5, (Currently Amended) Kim, as modified by Harter, discloses the vehicle—
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`mounted electronic equipment operation device according to claim fi-l.
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`Kim, as modified by Harter, does not disclose the brightness of display of the operating
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`unit at the outer peripheral portion of the display unit is made substantially constant.
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`Nishio teaches the brightness of icons of a display of an operating unit is made
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`substantially constant [paragraph 72, “the brightness set as constant”].
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`Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the
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`invention to modify the brightness of the operating unit to be made substantially constant, as
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`taught by Nishio, since it is a use of known technique to improve display devices in the same
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`way.
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`6.
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`Claim 6 is rejected under pre—AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Kim in
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`view of Harter, as applied to claim 4 above, further in view of Hein et al. (US. Pub. No.
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`2006/0017326, hereinafter “Hein”).
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`As to claim 6, (Currently Amended) Kim, as modified by Harter discloses the vehicle—
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`mounted electronic equipment operation device according to claim 44-, wherein the brightness of
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`Application/Control Number: 14/387,705
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`Art Unit: 2697
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`Page 5
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`the camera image to be displayed at the central portion of the display unit is lowered [Harter,
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`figure 6, “102”]. In addition, the same rationale is used as in rejection for claim 4.
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`Kim, as modified by Harter, does not disclose the control unit displays a navigation
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`image at the display unit, and, when the navigation image is switched to an image of the
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`operating unit, the brightness of the camera image to be displayed at the central portion of the
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`display unit is increased afterward.
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`Hein teaches to display a navigation image at a display unit [figure 3, a navigation
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`display screen “23”] and the navigation image is switched to an image of an operating unit
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`[figure 3, the navigation image can be switched to an image of an operating unit such as menu
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`"44", paragraph 26].
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`Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the
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`invention to modify the control unit to display a navigation image at a display unit and the
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`navigation image can be switched to an image of an operating unit, as taught by Hein, in order
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`provide a first set of switch functions or a second set of switch functions (Hein, paragraph 80).
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`Kim, as modified by Harter and Hein, discloses the claimed invention except for the
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`brightness of the display unit is increased afterward. It would have been obvious to one having
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`ordinary skill I the art at the time the invention was made to increase the brightness afterward,
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`since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art,
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`discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re aller, 105
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`USPQ 233.
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`Application/Control Number: 14/387,705
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`Art Unit: 2697
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`Page 6
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`7.
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`Claim 7 is rejected under pre—AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Kim in
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`view of Harter, as applied to claim 4 above, further in view of Hein, as applied to claim 6, and
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`further in view of Nishio.
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`As to claim 7, (Currently Amended) Kim, as modified by Harter, discloses the vehicle—
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`mounted electronic equipment operation device according to claim fig.
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`Kim, as modified by Harter and Hein, does not disclose the brightness of display of the
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`operating unit at the outer peripheral portion of the display unit is made substantially constant.
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`Nishio teaches the brightness of icons of a display of an operating unit is made
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`substantially constant [paragraph 72, “the brightness set as constant”].
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`Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the
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`invention to modify the brightness of the operating unit to be made substantially constant, as
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`taught by Nishio, since it is a use of known technique to improve display devices in the same
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`way.
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`Conclusion
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`Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
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`examiner should be directed to NAN—YING YANG whose telephone number is (571)272—2211.
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`The examiner can normally be reached on Monday—Friday, 8:00am—5:30pm.
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`If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s
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`supervisor, Alexander Eisen can be reached on 571—272—7687. The fax phone number for the
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`organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571—273—8300.
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 14/387,705
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`Art Unit: 2697
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`Page 7
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`
`/NAN—YING YANG/
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`Examiner, Art Unit 2697
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`Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2697
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`/ALEXANDER EISEN/
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`