Appeal No. 2003-1531 Page 3
Application No. 09/772,274
OPINION
In reaching our decision in this appeal, we have given careful consideration to
the appellant's specification and claims, to the applied prior art references, and to the
respective positions articulated by the appellant and the examiner. As a consequence
of our review, we make the determinations which follow.
We turn first to the examiner’s rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103 of claims 19 to 21
under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Kawakami in view of Saitoh. It is the
examiner’s view that Kawakami discloses an apparatus and method for alerting a
drowsy driver which comprises a tactile warning, a visual warning, and an auditory
warning in connection with a determination that the driver is drowsy. The examiner
finds that Kawakami fails to disclose lowering a temperature in a vehicle cab in
response to an increase in the level of drowsiness. The examiner relies on Saitoh for
the disclosure of a driving mental condition detecting apparatus which includes an air
conditioner system for lowering the temperature in the vehicle cab in response to the
determination of an increase in the level of drowsiness of the driver. The examiner
concludes:
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007