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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-20 filed on 11/19/2020 and Amendments filed on 01/18/2024, 07/29/2024, 12/27/2024, and 07/21/2025 have been examined.
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s amendments and remarks filed on 11/26/2025. Claims 1, 10-13, 18, and 37 have been amended. Claims 2-3, 6-9, 16-17, 19-35, and 39 have been previously canceled by the Applicant. Claims 1, 4-5, 10-15, 18, and 36-38 are currently pending and addressed below.
Response to Remarks/Arguments
Applicant’s accompanying amendments and arguments, on pages 9-22 of the Applicant Arguments/Remarks (hereinafter referred to as the “Remarks”), filed 11/26/2025, with respect to the rejection of claims independent claims 1, 12, and 18 and their corresponding dependent claims under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 stating “… Applicant respectfully submits that Tsuda fails to disclose at least the following features of amended claim 1… (a) translating the vehicle condition data into identified conditions, wherein the translating' comprises: identifying' a vehicle condition using' the vehicle sensor network, wherein the vehicle condition comprises: the vehicle not being in traffic, and not being at a stop signal, wherein not being in traffic and not being at a stop signal are identified based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle, and not being in traffic means that the vehicle is not in a roadway, wherein the roadway is a road where the vehicle drives; identifying weather conditions for an environment of the vehicle; identifying a component functioning state for components of the vehicle; and extracting values from the vehicle condition data, performing various analyses on the vehicle condition data, and identifying conditions from network data or other external source data in the vehicle condition data… (b) wherein the actions comprise: automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling' a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises brakes, anti-lock braking' systems, steering, windshield wipers, seat position configurations, mirror position configurations, automated driving modes, and the automated driving modes comprise sport mode, eco mode and poor weather mode; (c) wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: component functionality sensors, pressure sensors, contact sensors, laser emitters, reflection detectors, weather sensors, speed sensors, acceleration sensors, steering wheel position, tire direction sensors, and transceivers for network connections… Independent amended claims 12 and 18 include similar features corresponding to independent amended claim 1… In summary, based on Tsuda, in view of Zhu, Motoyama, Howell, LV and Fischer, there is no motivation for the skilled person to obtain the technical solutions as described by amended claim 1. Consequently, amended claim 1 is non-obvious and patentable over Tsuda, in view of Zhu, Motoyama, Howell, LV and Fischer. Amended claims 12 and 18 are non-obvious and patentable over Tsuda, in view of Zhu, Motoyama, Howell, LV and Fischer, for at least the reasons discussed with respect to amended claim 1. Other dependent claims depend from and further limit amended claims 1, 12, and 18, and thus they are also non-obvious and patentable over Tsuda, in view of Zhu, Motoyama, Howell, LV and Fischer. Accordingly, reconsideration and withdrawal of the rejection of claims under 35 U.S.C. 103 are respectfully requested…” have been considered but are moot due to the amendments and added limitations provided above. Upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Okada US 20130271276 A1 (“Okada”), Konishi et al. US 20190202297 A1 (“Konishi”), Shoda et al. US 10196043 B2 (“Shoda”), Oyama et al. US 20160090100 A1 (“Oyama”), Gleeson-May et al. US 20180012092 A1 (“Gleeson-May”), and Taffin et al. US 6266603 B1 (“Taffin”).
Examiner note to help applicant overcome the prior art of record: in order to overcome the prior art of record, applicant can amend claims 1, 12, and 18 as follows:
1. “wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network, wherein the vehicle condition comprises: the vehicle being on a road, being below a specified speed, not being in traffic, and not being at a stop signal, wherein not being in traffic and not being at a stop signal are identified based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle, and not being in traffic means that the vehicle is not in a roadway, wherein the roadway is a road where the vehicle drives
wherein the mappings are:
a second mapping of (A) a second key for a particular vehicle condition of the vehicle being on the road, being below the specified speed, not being in traffic, and not being at a stop signal to (B) an action for emergency lights, such as automatically enabling them or providing a notification to a driver to enable them”
12. “wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network, wherein the vehicle condition comprises: the vehicle being on a road, being below a specified speed, not being in traffic, and not being at a stop signal, wherein not being in traffic and not being at a stop signal are identified based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle, and not being in traffic means that the vehicle is not in a roadway, wherein the roadway is a road where the vehicle drives
wherein the mappings are:
a second mapping of (A) a second key for a particular vehicle condition of the vehicle being on the road, being below the specified speed, not being in traffic, and not being at a stop signal to (B) an action for emergency lights, such as automatically enabling them or providing a notification to a driver to enable them”
18. “wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network, wherein the vehicle condition comprises: the vehicle being on a road, being below a specified speed, not being in traffic, and not being at a stop signal, wherein not being in traffic and not being at a stop signal are identified based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle, and not being in traffic means that the vehicle is not in a roadway, wherein the roadway is a road where the vehicle drives
wherein the mappings are:
a second mapping of (A) a second key for a particular vehicle condition of the vehicle being on the road, being below the specified speed, not being in traffic, and not being at a stop signal to (B) an action for emergency lights, such as automatically enabling them or providing a notification to a driver to enable them”
Examiner also suggests to the Applicant to provide an argument for the amended feature suggested above reciting “a second mapping of (A) a second key for a particular vehicle condition of the vehicle being on the road, being below the specified speed, not being in traffic, and not being at a stop signal to (B) an action for emergency lights, such as automatically enabling them or providing a notification to a driver to enable them” being analogous to Example 42 of the Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Examples (i.e., the standardizing of information allowing sharing of information in a standardized format regardless of the format of input information, under step 2A – Prong 2: Integrated into a Practical Application of the 35 U.S.C. 101 analysis), which provides that sharing information in standardized format regardless of the format in which information was input is eligible under 35 U.S.C. 101 because such claim limitations are not directed to the judicial exception.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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, 10-12, 15, 18, and 37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsuda US 20080243337 (“Tsuda”) in view of Okada US 20130271276 A1 (“Okada”), Konishi et al. US 20190202297 A1 (“Konishi”), Shoda et al. US 10196043 B2 (“Shoda”), Oyama et al. US 20160090100 A1 (“Oyama”), Gleeson-May et al. US 20180012092 A1 (“Gleeson-May”), and Taffin et al. US 6266603 B1 (“Taffin”).
For claim 1, Tsuda discloses a method for automating vehicle actions, the method is executed by a vehicle computing system (See at least [0018] of Tsuda – “… Referring initially to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram of a host vehicle 10 is illustrated that is equipped with a lane departure avoidance system 12 … the lane departure countermeasure component preferably includes at least one automatic vehicle corrective action as the lane departure countermeasure … includes a braking corrective action and/or a steering corrective action as the lane departure countermeasure…”), the method comprising:
interfacing with a vehicle sensor network of a vehicle to obtain vehicle condition data (See at least [0019]-[0020] of Tsuda – “In the diagram of FIG. 1… The lane departure avoidance controller 24 is operatively connected to a rumble strip sensing component … to detect an input that is indicative of a rumble strip engagement… the lane departure avoidance controller 24 receiving signals indicative of contact of a rumble strip with respective tires of the vehicle…”);
translating the vehicle condition data into identified conditions (See at least [0025] of Tsuda – “… the function of a vibration sensor … will now be described. Input frequencies of rumble strips can be predetermined … for various vehicle speeds… if the vehicle is driving at 55 miles per hour, the rumble strip input frequency might be 80 hertz… The lane departure avoidance controller 24 then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map… the processor may consider vibrations between 70 hertz and 90 hertz to be indicative of contact with a rumble strip, but if the processor receives a signal of only 65 hertz, the processor may consider this to not be indicative of contact with a rumble strip…”), wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network (See at least [0025]-[0031] of Tsuda – “… the function of a vibration sensor … will now be described. Input frequencies of rumble strips can be predetermined … for various vehicle speeds… if the vehicle is driving at 55 miles per hour, the rumble strip input frequency might be 80 hertz… The lane departure avoidance controller 24 then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map… the processor may consider vibrations between 70 hertz and 90 hertz to be indicative of contact with a rumble strip, but if the processor receives a signal of only 65 hertz, the processor may consider this to not be indicative of contact with a rumble strip… In the case of wheel rotational speed sensors being used as the rumble strip sensing devices 28FL, 28FR, 28RL and 28RR, the wheel rotational speed sensors can also be configured to output a signal indicative of the state of rotation of at least a portion of the wheel… controller 24 may determine, based on the vehicle speed, that this change in rotation of the rotating portion of the wheel assembly is indicative of contact with rumble strips… By measuring the lateral rate of increase in the signal strength S, the lateral rate of lane departure can be derived…”);
identifying a component functioning state for components of the vehicle (See at least [0028] – “… the wheel rotational speed sensors can also be configured to output a signal indicative of the state of rotation of at least a portion of the wheel…” and [0068] of Tsuda – “… Many of the above devices and/or methods may utilize piezoelectric devices to determine the state of various components … a piezoelectric device may be utilized to determine the state of pressure in a shock absorber…”);
extracting values from the vehicle condition data, performing various analyses on the vehicle condition data (See at least [0025]-[0027] of Tsuda – “… the vibration sensor would output a signal indicating that the sensor is sensing vibration at 80 hertz… lane departure avoidance controller 24, receives this signal… then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map, that are indicative of vehicle tire contact with a rumble strip for a given speed… the processor may consider vibrations between 70 hertz and 90 hertz to be indicative of contact with a rumble strip, but if the processor receives a signal of only 65 hertz, the processor may consider this to not be indicative of contact with a rumble strip… the processor can analyze the signal and determine that the frequency of vibration is of a frequency that is indicative of tire contact with the rumble strip…”), and identifying conditions from network data (See at least [0019] of Tsuda – “…A controller area network CAN is provided to operatively connect the steering system 16, the braking system 18, and the electronic control unit ECU to carry out the present invention…controller 24 is operatively connected to a rumble strip sensing component that is configured to detect an input that is indicative of a rumble strip engagement amount from the rumble strip RS by the host vehicle 10…”) or other external source data in the vehicle condition data;
causing the vehicle to take actions specified by mappings, wherein each particular mapping, of the mappings, is selected based on a match between the identified conditions and a key from the particular mapping, and wherein each particular mapping maps (A) the key for the particular mapping to (B) action for the particular mapping (See at least [0025] – “The lane departure avoidance controller 24… determines that the vibration sensor is sensing the vibration at 80 hertz. The lane departure avoidance controller 24 then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map, that are indicative of vehicle tire contact with a rumble strip for a given speed”, [0031] – “By measuring the lateral rate of increase in the signal strength S, the lateral rate of lane departure can be derived. If the lateral rate of lane departure is low, then moderate countermeasures such as an audible warning or a haptic warning can be initiated. For faster lateral rates of lane departure, a steering torque can be applied to assist the driver in preventing the vehicle from departing from the lane”, and [0035] of Tsuda – “The lane departure avoidance controller 24 issues vehicle control commands to the lane departure countermeasure components (the steering system 16 and/or the braking system 18) after a determination has been made that the vehicle is deviating from a lane or beginning to deviate from a driving lane, based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip RS… passive safety system may be implemented when it has been determined that the vehicle is coming into contact with rumble strips… can include an auditory warning device 58, such as a buzzer, audio speaker, etc., a visual warning, such as an indicator and/or a blinking light, a tactile warning…”);
wherein the mappings are:
a second mapping of (A) a second key for a particular vehicle condition to (B) an action (See at least [0025] – “….The lane departure avoidance controller 24 then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map, that are indicative of vehicle tire contact with a rumble strip for a given speed” and [0035] of Tsuda – “The lane departure avoidance controller 24 issues vehicle control commands to the lane departure countermeasure components (the steering system 16 and/or the braking system 18) after a determination has been made that the vehicle is deviating from a lane or beginning to deviate from a driving lane, based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip RS… passive safety system may be implemented when it has been determined that the vehicle is coming into contact with rumble strips… can include an auditory warning device 58, such as a buzzer, audio speaker, etc., a visual warning, such as an indicator and/or a blinking light, a tactile warning…”);
wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises brakes (See at least [0018] of Tsuda – “… the lane departure countermeasure component preferably includes at least one automatic vehicle corrective action as the lane departure countermeasure when the rumble strip engagement amount is large and the lateral rate of lane departure is high… includes a braking corrective action …”), anti-lock braking systems (See at least [0035] of Tsuda – “…controller 24 issues vehicle control commands to the lane departure countermeasure components … utilizing brake controls… a brake actuator of an antilock brake system…”), steering systems (See at least [0035] of Tsuda – “… The lane departure avoidance controller 24 issues vehicle control commands to the lane departure countermeasure components (the steering system 16…”), and automated driving modes (See at least [0035] of Tsuda – “… The lane departure avoidance controller 24 issues vehicle control commands to the lane departure countermeasure components … Vehicle yaw control or lateral control may be accomplished by utilizing … automatic cruise control, engine control and/or an automatic transmission control…”);
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: component functionality sensors (See at least [0028] – “… the wheel rotational speed sensors can also be configured to output a signal indicative of the state of rotation of at least a portion of the wheel…” and [0068] of Tsuda – “… Many of the above devices and/or methods may utilize piezoelectric devices to determine the state of various components … a piezoelectric device may be utilized to determine the state of pressure in a shock absorber…”), pressure sensors (See at least [0068] of Tsuda – “… Many of the above devices and/or methods may utilize piezoelectric devices …. to determine the state of pressure in a shock absorber…”), contact sensors (See at least [0025] of Tsuda – “…lane departure avoidance controller 24… determines that the vibration sensor is sensing the vibration … the processor may consider vibrations between 70 hertz and 90 hertz to be indicative of contact with a rumble strip…”), speed sensors (See at least [0028] of Tsuda – “… wheel rotational speed sensors can also be configured to output a signal indicative of the state of rotation of at least a portion of the wheel…”), acceleration sensors (See at least [0026] of Tsuda – “… In some embodiments of the invention, a gravity sensor can be a device that senses a vertical acceleration and/or an up-down acceleration…”), steering wheel position (See at least [0033] of Tsuda – “… The steering system 16 preferably includes… a steering angle sensor 34…”), and tire direction sensors (See at least [0057] of Tsuda – “… the lane departure avoidance controller 24 utilizes the same information as described above, plus the tire width T and the longitudinal vehicle speed v, to determine the vehicle's heading …”).
Tsuda fails to specifically disclose wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network, wherein the vehicle condition comprises: the vehicle not being in traffic, wherein not being in traffic is identified based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle, and not being in traffic means that the vehicle is not in a roadway, wherein the roadway is a road where the vehicle drives;
extracting values from the vehicle condition data, performing various analyses on the vehicle condition data, and identifying conditions from network data or other external source data in the vehicle condition data;
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: transceivers for network connections.
However, Okada, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network, wherein the vehicle condition comprises: the vehicle not being in traffic, wherein not being in traffic is identified based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle, and not being in traffic means that the vehicle is not in a roadway, wherein the roadway is a road where the vehicle drives (See at least [0053]-[0056] of Okada – “… with reference to a flowchart in FIG. 6… the control portion 10 obtains the vehicle present location (stop location) data based on the detection result of the position detector 11. It is noted that the control portion 10 determines which part of the road, such as a traffic lane, a road shoulder and a side strip, the vehicle is stopped, utilizing white line recognition with an in-vehicle camera … control portion 10 obtains probe data (position and velocity) regarding other vehicles traveling around the own vehicle. The control portion 10 obtains the probe data, which is uploaded from the probe car to the database 33 of the center device 3, through the radio communication portion 19. Alternatively the control portion 10 may directly obtain the data of the position and velocity from surrounding vehicles through a vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The control portion 10 may obtain the data of the position and velocity of surrounding vehicles by detecting the surrounding vehicles through the surrounding vehicle detector 17… the control portion 10 compares traffic flow around the own vehicle with a movement of the own vehicle. Traffic flow is estimated by the probe data and the like obtained at S402. As a result of the comparison, the control portion 10 determines whether the vehicle is stopped on the road shoulder or the side strip…”);
extracting values from the vehicle condition data, performing various analyses on the vehicle condition data, and identifying conditions from network data or other external source data in the vehicle condition data (See at least [0055]-[0056] of Okada – “… the control portion 10 may directly obtain the data of the position and velocity from surrounding vehicles through a vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The control portion 10 may obtain the data of the position and velocity of surrounding vehicles by detecting the surrounding vehicles through the surrounding vehicle detector 17… the control portion 10 compares traffic flow around the own vehicle with a movement of the own vehicle … As a result of the comparison, the control portion 10 determines whether the vehicle is stopped on the road shoulder or the side strip…”);
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: transceivers for network connections See at least [0055] of Okada – “… The control portion 10 obtains the probe data, which is uploaded from the probe car to the database 33 of the center device 3, through the radio communication portion 19…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Okada teaches a system that uses a vehicle’s current location, sensors and a network to obtain traffic data around the vehicle in order to make an assessment of weather the vehicle is stopped on a shoulder of the road.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of identifying that a vehicle is not being in traffic based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle as taught by Okada, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to determine whether the vehicle is stopped on the road shoulder or the side strip as specified in at least [0056] of Okada.
Tsuda also fails to specifically disclose wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network, wherein the vehicle condition comprises: the vehicle not being at a stop signal, wherein not being at a stop signal is identified based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle;
extracting values from the vehicle condition data, performing various analyses on the vehicle condition data, and identifying conditions from network data or other external source data in the vehicle condition data.
However, Konishi, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network, wherein the vehicle condition comprises: the vehicle not being at a stop signal, wherein not being at a stop signal is identified based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle (See at least [0018]-[0021] – “… vehicle 1 includes a sensor S, a camera CAM, and a computer COM (ECU)… a radar S1, a LIDAR S2… the camera CAM acquire information of the vehicle 1 (self-vehicle) and a preceding vehicle, and information of a traffic light ahead, and input them to the computer … Based on the information of the preceding vehicle input from the sensor S (radar S1 and LIDAR S2) and the camera CAM, the CPU … determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops following the preceding vehicle… determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops before the traffic light when … the camera CAM indicates that the traffic light is red… communication unit C3 is connected to a network NT… for providing road traffic information… can acquire, for example, signal information provided from an optical beacon, and the CPU C1 can determine, based on the signal information acquired by the communication unit C3, whether the traffic light ahead is red. If it is determined, based on the signal information acquired by the communication unit C3, that the traffic light is red, or by obtaining a timing at which the traffic light turns red, the CPU C1 of the computer COM can determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops before the traffic light… based on the map information acquired by the communication unit C3, whether the self-vehicle temporarily stops ahead on a traveling road. The communication unit C3 can acquire traffic congestion information provided from a road traffic information communication system, and the CPU C1 can determine, based on the traffic congestion information acquired by the communication unit C3, whether the road where the self-vehicle travels is congested ahead…” and [0042] of Konishi – “… The GPS sensor 24b detects the current position of the vehicle 1…”);
extracting values from the vehicle condition data, performing various analyses on the vehicle condition data, and identifying conditions from network data or other external source data in the vehicle condition data (See at least [0019]-[0021] of Konishi – “… Based on the information of the preceding vehicle input from the sensor S (radar S1 and LIDAR S2) and the camera CAM, the CPU … determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops following the preceding vehicle… determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops before the traffic light when … the camera CAM indicates that the traffic light is red… communication unit C3 is connected to a network NT… for providing road traffic information… can acquire, for example, signal information provided from an optical beacon, and the CPU C1 can determine, based on the signal information acquired by the communication unit C3, whether the traffic light ahead is red… the CPU C1 of the computer COM can determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops before the traffic light… the CPU C1 can determine, based on the traffic congestion information acquired by the communication unit C3, whether the road where the self-vehicle travels is congested ahead… ”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Konishi teaches a system that uses vehicle sensors and network data providing traffic information in order to determine the position of the own vehicle and whether or not a vehicle needs to stop at a position away from a traffic light and whether the vehicle is traveling on a congested road.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of identifying that a vehicle is not at a stop signal based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle as taught by Konishi, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to determine whether the vehicle is approaching a traffic signal or travelling in a congested road as specified in at least [0020]-[0021] of Konishi.
Furthermore, Tsuda also fails to specifically disclose wherein the translating comprises:
identifying weather conditions for an environment of the vehicle;
wherein the mappings are:
a third mapping of (A) a third key for the vehicle being in a particular weather condition to (B) an action;
wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises windshield wipers;
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: weather sensors.
However, Shoda, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the translating comprises:
identifying weather conditions for an environment of the vehicle (See at least Abstract of Shoda – “… A wiper system according to the present invention includes …a raindrop sensor (9) that detects the current amount of rainfall based on water droplets adhering to the windshield …”);
wherein the mappings are:
a third mapping of (A) a third key for the vehicle being in a particular weather condition to (B) an action (See at least Col. 2 lines 26-32 of Shoda – “… when rainfall more than or equal to the predetermined amount is detected by the raindrop sensor, the wiper blade arranged on a driver's side may be activated in the high speed activation state (Hi) within a heavy rain time wiping area narrower than a normal wiping operation range set near a forward field of view of the drive…”);
wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises windshield wipers (See at least Col. 4 lines 46-67 of Shoda – “… The raindrop sensor 9 for detecting the amount of rain is attached to a center portion of the windshield 3… The wiper control devices 10 determine the current state of rainfall from a change in the output of the raindrop sensor 9, and automatically controls the activation/stop and the operation (Lo, Hi, or INT) of the wipers…”);
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: weather sensors (See at least Col. 4 lines 46-67 of Shoda – “… The raindrop sensor 9 for detecting the amount of rain is attached to a center portion of the windshield…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Shoda teaches a wiper system for a vehicle that detects rainfall information and automatically actuates wiper blades of the system according to the amount of rainfall detected.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of identifying weather conditions for an environment of the vehicle as taught by Shoda, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to automatically control the operation of wipers according to an amount of rainfall detected as specified in at least Col. 4 lines 46-67 of Shoda.
Tsuda also fails to specifically disclose wherein the mappings are:
a fourth mapping of (A) a fourth key for a failure condition in specified components of the vehicle to (B) an action;
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: laser emitters and reflection detectors.
However, Oyama, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the mappings are:
a fourth mapping of (A) a fourth key for a failure condition in specified components of the vehicle to (B) an action (See at least [0008] of Oyama – “…a driving control apparatus for a vehicle is provided… The apparatus includes an environment information acquisition failure detector that detects an acquisition failure of the traveling environment information acquirer, a steering system failure detector that detects a failure of a steering system of the vehicle, and a brake controller that sets an evacuation course along which the vehicle is to travel safely within the traveling environment, based on the traveling environment information detected last time before the acquisition failure traveling environment information acquirer when an acquisition failure of the traveling environment information acquirer is detected and the failure of the steering system is detected, during the self-driving control, and executes a deceleration of the vehicle and a yaw brake control that applies a yaw moment to the vehicle based on the evacuation course…”);
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: laser emitters and reflection detectors (See at least [0018] of Oyama – “… peripheral environment recognition device 11 is comprised of … a radar device (e.g., a laser radar, a millimeter wave radar, and/or an ultrasonic radar: not illustrated) which receives reflected waves from solid objects existing around the vehicle…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Oyama teaches a driving control apparatus for a vehicle that detects failures of vehicle components and executes an evacuation maneuver due to the failures detected.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of a fourth mapping of a fourth key for a failure condition in specified components of the vehicle to an action as taught by Oyama, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to perform an evacuation maneuver for a vehicle due to component failures as specified in at least [0008] of Oyama.
Moreover, Tsuda fails to specifically disclose wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises seat position configurations, mirror position configurations, automated driving modes, and the automated driving modes comprise sport mode, eco mode.
However, Gleeson-May, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises seat position configurations, mirror position configurations, automated driving modes, and the automated driving modes comprise sport mode, eco mode (See at least [0103] of Gleeson-May – “… modifying vehicle-driver interfaces can include adjusting … automatically adjusting the seat position, mirror positions, control behaviors (e.g., a sport mode vs. regular driving mode governing accelerator sensitivity and handling…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Gleeson-May teaches a system that adjusts seating positions, mirror position, and driving control behaviors for a vehicle.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of controlling a vehicle system including seat position configurations, mirror position configurations, automated driving modes, and the automated driving modes comprise sport mode, eco mode as taught by Gleeson-May, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to adjust vehicle system parameters according to a driver as specified in at least [0103] of Gleeson-May.
Finally, Tsuda also fails to specifically disclose wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises automated driving modes, and the automated driving modes comprise poor weather mode.
However, Taffin, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises automated driving modes, and the automated driving modes comprise poor weather mode (See at least Col. 2 lines 37-40 of Taffin – “… automatic switching to "snow" mode allows the driver to obtain optimized management of the automatic transmission ratios for the running conditions encountered on slippery ground…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Taffin teaches an automatic transmission system for a vehicle that automatically adjusts the transmission ratios for a vehicle to a snow mode for detected slippery roads.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of the automated driving modes comprising poor weather mode as taught by Taffin, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to automatically switch automatic transmission ratios associated with a snow mode when slippery roads are detected as specified in at least Col. 2 lines 37-40 of Taffin.
For claim 4, Tsuda discloses wherein the identified conditions comprise identifications of one or more objects depicted in one or more images of the vehicle condition data from the vehicle sensor network (See at least [0038] of Tsuda – “… the host vehicle 10 is provided with an imaging unit 52 … for detecting the position of the host vehicle 10 within a driving lane in order to evaluate the avoidance of driving lane departure by the host vehicle…”).
For claim 10, Tsuda discloses wherein the mappings comprise the first mapping (See at least [0025] of Tsuda – “…The lane departure avoidance controller 24 then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map, that are indicative of vehicle tire contact with a rumble strip for a given speed”);
wherein the vehicle comprises a lane deviation warning system (LDWS) (See at least [0031] of Tsuda – “…moderate countermeasures such as an audible warning or a haptic warning can be initiated. For faster lateral rates of lane departure, a steering torque can be applied to assist the driver in preventing the vehicle from departing from the lane.”); and
wherein causing the vehicle to take the actions is based on a combination of (a) the match between the identified conditions and the first key for the particular vibration pattern and (b) a lane deviation determination by the LDWS (See at least [0025] – “The lane departure avoidance controller 24… determines that the vibration sensor is sensing the vibration at 80 hertz. The lane departure avoidance controller 24 then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map, that are indicative of vehicle tire contact with a rumble strip for a given speed” and [0035] of Tsuda – “The lane departure avoidance controller 24 issues vehicle control commands to the lane departure countermeasure components (the steering system 16 and/or the braking system 18) after a determination has been made that the vehicle is deviating from a lane or beginning to deviate from a driving lane, based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip RS… passive safety system may be implemented when it has been determined that the vehicle is coming into contact with rumble strips… can include an auditory warning device 58, such as a buzzer, audio speaker, etc., a visual warning, such as an indicator and/or a blinking light, a tactile warning…”).
For claim 11, Tsuda discloses wherein the combination is performed in part by weighting (i) either or both of a value produced for the LDWS lane deviation determination and a value produced for the match between the identified conditions and the first key (See at least [0025] – “The lane departure avoidance controller 24 then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map…” and [0027] of Tsuda – “….the processor can analyze the signal and determine that the frequency of vibration is of a frequency that is indicative of tire contact with the rumble strip RS”) by (ii) either or both of a reliability factor and a confidence score (See at least [0025] of Tsuda – “For example, at 55 miles per hour, the processor may consider vibrations between 70 hertz and 90 hertz to be indicative of contact with a rumble strip, but if the processor receives a signal of only 65 hertz, the processor may consider this to not be indicative of contact with a rumble strip”).
For claim 12, Tsuda discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform operations for automating vehicle actions (See at least [0042] of Tsuda – “Referring to FIG. 6, a computational processing procedure performed by the lane departure avoidance controller 24 for avoiding lane departure will now be described below… required information is read out from the random access memory when required…”), the operations comprising:
interfacing with a vehicle sensor network of a vehicle to obtain vehicle condition data (See at least [0019]-[0020] of Tsuda – “In the diagram of FIG. 1… The lane departure avoidance controller 24 is operatively connected to a rumble strip sensing component … to detect an input that is indicative of a rumble strip engagement… the lane departure avoidance controller 24 receiving signals indicative of contact of a rumble strip with respective tires of the vehicle…”);
translating the vehicle condition data into identified conditions (See at least [0025] of Tsuda – “… the function of a vibration sensor … will now be described. Input frequencies of rumble strips can be predetermined … for various vehicle speeds… if the vehicle is driving at 55 miles per hour, the rumble strip input frequency might be 80 hertz… The lane departure avoidance controller 24 then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map… the processor may consider vibrations between 70 hertz and 90 hertz to be indicative of contact with a rumble strip, but if the processor receives a signal of only 65 hertz, the processor may consider this to not be indicative of contact with a rumble strip…”), wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network (See at least [0025]-[0031] of Tsuda – “… the function of a vibration sensor … will now be described. Input frequencies of rumble strips can be predetermined … for various vehicle speeds… if the vehicle is driving at 55 miles per hour, the rumble strip input frequency might be 80 hertz… The lane departure avoidance controller 24 then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map… the processor may consider vibrations between 70 hertz and 90 hertz to be indicative of contact with a rumble strip, but if the processor receives a signal of only 65 hertz, the processor may consider this to not be indicative of contact with a rumble strip… In the case of wheel rotational speed sensors being used as the rumble strip sensing devices 28FL, 28FR, 28RL and 28RR, the wheel rotational speed sensors can also be configured to output a signal indicative of the state of rotation of at least a portion of the wheel… controller 24 may determine, based on the vehicle speed, that this change in rotation of the rotating portion of the wheel assembly is indicative of contact with rumble strips… By measuring the lateral rate of increase in the signal strength S, the lateral rate of lane departure can be derived…”);
identifying a component functioning state for components of the vehicle (See at least [0028] – “… the wheel rotational speed sensors can also be configured to output a signal indicative of the state of rotation of at least a portion of the wheel…” and [0068] of Tsuda – “… Many of the above devices and/or methods may utilize piezoelectric devices to determine the state of various components … a piezoelectric device may be utilized to determine the state of pressure in a shock absorber…”);
extracting values from the vehicle condition data, performing various analyses on the vehicle condition data (See at least [0025]-[0027] of Tsuda – “… the vibration sensor would output a signal indicating that the sensor is sensing vibration at 80 hertz… lane departure avoidance controller 24, receives this signal… then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map, that are indicative of vehicle tire contact with a rumble strip for a given speed… the processor may consider vibrations between 70 hertz and 90 hertz to be indicative of contact with a rumble strip, but if the processor receives a signal of only 65 hertz, the processor may consider this to not be indicative of contact with a rumble strip… the processor can analyze the signal and determine that the frequency of vibration is of a frequency that is indicative of tire contact with the rumble strip…”), and identifying conditions from network data (See at least [0019] of Tsuda – “…A controller area network CAN is provided to operatively connect the steering system 16, the braking system 18, and the electronic control unit ECU to carry out the present invention…controller 24 is operatively connected to a rumble strip sensing component that is configured to detect an input that is indicative of a rumble strip engagement amount from the rumble strip RS by the host vehicle 10…”) or other external source data in the vehicle condition data;
causing the vehicle to take actions specified by mappings, wherein each particular mapping, of the mappings, is selected based on a match between the identified conditions and a key from the particular mapping, and wherein each particular mapping maps (A) the key for the particular mapping to (B) action for the particular mapping (See at least [0025] – “The lane departure avoidance controller 24… determines that the vibration sensor is sensing the vibration at 80 hertz. The lane departure avoidance controller 24 then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map, that are indicative of vehicle tire contact with a rumble strip for a given speed”, [0031] – “By measuring the lateral rate of increase in the signal strength S, the lateral rate of lane departure can be derived. If the lateral rate of lane departure is low, then moderate countermeasures such as an audible warning or a haptic warning can be initiated. For faster lateral rates of lane departure, a steering torque can be applied to assist the driver in preventing the vehicle from departing from the lane”, and [0035] of Tsuda – “The lane departure avoidance controller 24 issues vehicle control commands to the lane departure countermeasure components (the steering system 16 and/or the braking system 18) after a determination has been made that the vehicle is deviating from a lane or beginning to deviate from a driving lane, based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip RS… passive safety system may be implemented when it has been determined that the vehicle is coming into contact with rumble strips… can include an auditory warning device 58, such as a buzzer, audio speaker, etc., a visual warning, such as an indicator and/or a blinking light, a tactile warning…”);
wherein the mappings are:
a second mapping of (A) a second key for a particular vehicle condition to (B) an action (See at least [0025] – “….The lane departure avoidance controller 24 then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map, that are indicative of vehicle tire contact with a rumble strip for a given speed” and [0035] of Tsuda – “The lane departure avoidance controller 24 issues vehicle control commands to the lane departure countermeasure components (the steering system 16 and/or the braking system 18) after a determination has been made that the vehicle is deviating from a lane or beginning to deviate from a driving lane, based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip RS… passive safety system may be implemented when it has been determined that the vehicle is coming into contact with rumble strips… can include an auditory warning device 58, such as a buzzer, audio speaker, etc., a visual warning, such as an indicator and/or a blinking light, a tactile warning…”);
wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises brakes (See at least [0018] of Tsuda – “… the lane departure countermeasure component preferably includes at least one automatic vehicle corrective action as the lane departure countermeasure when the rumble strip engagement amount is large and the lateral rate of lane departure is high… includes a braking corrective action …”), anti-lock braking systems (See at least [0035] of Tsuda – “…controller 24 issues vehicle control commands to the lane departure countermeasure components … utilizing brake controls… a brake actuator of an antilock brake system…”), steering systems (See at least [0035] of Tsuda – “… The lane departure avoidance controller 24 issues vehicle control commands to the lane departure countermeasure components (the steering system 16…”), and automated driving modes (See at least [0035] of Tsuda – “… The lane departure avoidance controller 24 issues vehicle control commands to the lane departure countermeasure components … Vehicle yaw control or lateral control may be accomplished by utilizing … automatic cruise control, engine control and/or an automatic transmission control…”);
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: component functionality sensors (See at least [0028] – “… the wheel rotational speed sensors can also be configured to output a signal indicative of the state of rotation of at least a portion of the wheel…” and [0068] of Tsuda – “… Many of the above devices and/or methods may utilize piezoelectric devices to determine the state of various components … a piezoelectric device may be utilized to determine the state of pressure in a shock absorber…”), pressure sensors (See at least [0068] of Tsuda – “… Many of the above devices and/or methods may utilize piezoelectric devices …. to determine the state of pressure in a shock absorber…”), contact sensors (See at least [0025] of Tsuda – “…lane departure avoidance controller 24… determines that the vibration sensor is sensing the vibration … the processor may consider vibrations between 70 hertz and 90 hertz to be indicative of contact with a rumble strip…”), speed sensors (See at least [0028] of Tsuda – “… wheel rotational speed sensors can also be configured to output a signal indicative of the state of rotation of at least a portion of the wheel…”), acceleration sensors (See at least [0026] of Tsuda – “… In some embodiments of the invention, a gravity sensor can be a device that senses a vertical acceleration and/or an up-down acceleration…”), steering wheel position (See at least [0033] of Tsuda – “… The steering system 16 preferably includes… a steering angle sensor 34…”), and tire direction sensors (See at least [0057] of Tsuda – “… the lane departure avoidance controller 24 utilizes the same information as described above, plus the tire width T and the longitudinal vehicle speed v, to determine the vehicle's heading …”).
Tsuda fails to specifically disclose wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network, wherein the vehicle condition comprises: the vehicle not being in traffic, wherein not being in traffic is identified based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle, and not being in traffic means that the vehicle is not in a roadway, wherein the roadway is a road where the vehicle drives;
extracting values from the vehicle condition data, performing various analyses on the vehicle condition data, and identifying conditions from network data or other external source data in the vehicle condition data;
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: transceivers for network connections.
However, Okada, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network, wherein the vehicle condition comprises: the vehicle not being in traffic, wherein not being in traffic is identified based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle, and not being in traffic means that the vehicle is not in a roadway, wherein the roadway is a road where the vehicle drives (See at least [0053]-[0056] of Okada – “… with reference to a flowchart in FIG. 6… the control portion 10 obtains the vehicle present location (stop location) data based on the detection result of the position detector 11. It is noted that the control portion 10 determines which part of the road, such as a traffic lane, a road shoulder and a side strip, the vehicle is stopped, utilizing white line recognition with an in-vehicle camera … control portion 10 obtains probe data (position and velocity) regarding other vehicles traveling around the own vehicle. The control portion 10 obtains the probe data, which is uploaded from the probe car to the database 33 of the center device 3, through the radio communication portion 19. Alternatively the control portion 10 may directly obtain the data of the position and velocity from surrounding vehicles through a vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The control portion 10 may obtain the data of the position and velocity of surrounding vehicles by detecting the surrounding vehicles through the surrounding vehicle detector 17… the control portion 10 compares traffic flow around the own vehicle with a movement of the own vehicle. Traffic flow is estimated by the probe data and the like obtained at S402. As a result of the comparison, the control portion 10 determines whether the vehicle is stopped on the road shoulder or the side strip…”);
extracting values from the vehicle condition data, performing various analyses on the vehicle condition data, and identifying conditions from network data or other external source data in the vehicle condition data (See at least [0055]-[0056] of Okada – “… the control portion 10 may directly obtain the data of the position and velocity from surrounding vehicles through a vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The control portion 10 may obtain the data of the position and velocity of surrounding vehicles by detecting the surrounding vehicles through the surrounding vehicle detector 17… the control portion 10 compares traffic flow around the own vehicle with a movement of the own vehicle … As a result of the comparison, the control portion 10 determines whether the vehicle is stopped on the road shoulder or the side strip…”);
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: transceivers for network connections See at least [0055] of Okada – “… The control portion 10 obtains the probe data, which is uploaded from the probe car to the database 33 of the center device 3, through the radio communication portion 19…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Okada teaches a system that uses a vehicle’s current location, sensors and a network to obtain traffic data around the vehicle in order to make an assessment of weather the vehicle is stopped on a shoulder of the road.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of identifying that a vehicle is not being in traffic based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle as taught by Okada, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to determine whether the vehicle is stopped on the road shoulder or the side strip as specified in at least [0056] of Okada.
Tsuda also fails to specifically disclose wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network, wherein the vehicle condition comprises: the vehicle not being at a stop signal, wherein not being at a stop signal is identified based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle;
extracting values from the vehicle condition data, performing various analyses on the vehicle condition data, and identifying conditions from network data or other external source data in the vehicle condition data.
However, Konishi, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network, wherein the vehicle condition comprises: the vehicle not being at a stop signal, wherein not being at a stop signal is identified based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle (See at least [0018]-[0021] – “… vehicle 1 includes a sensor S, a camera CAM, and a computer COM (ECU)… a radar S1, a LIDAR S2… the camera CAM acquire information of the vehicle 1 (self-vehicle) and a preceding vehicle, and information of a traffic light ahead, and input them to the computer … Based on the information of the preceding vehicle input from the sensor S (radar S1 and LIDAR S2) and the camera CAM, the CPU … determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops following the preceding vehicle… determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops before the traffic light when … the camera CAM indicates that the traffic light is red… communication unit C3 is connected to a network NT… for providing road traffic information… can acquire, for example, signal information provided from an optical beacon, and the CPU C1 can determine, based on the signal information acquired by the communication unit C3, whether the traffic light ahead is red. If it is determined, based on the signal information acquired by the communication unit C3, that the traffic light is red, or by obtaining a timing at which the traffic light turns red, the CPU C1 of the computer COM can determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops before the traffic light… based on the map information acquired by the communication unit C3, whether the self-vehicle temporarily stops ahead on a traveling road. The communication unit C3 can acquire traffic congestion information provided from a road traffic information communication system, and the CPU C1 can determine, based on the traffic congestion information acquired by the communication unit C3, whether the road where the self-vehicle travels is congested ahead…” and [0042] of Konishi – “… The GPS sensor 24b detects the current position of the vehicle 1…”);
extracting values from the vehicle condition data, performing various analyses on the vehicle condition data, and identifying conditions from network data or other external source data in the vehicle condition data (See at least [0019]-[0021] of Konishi – “… Based on the information of the preceding vehicle input from the sensor S (radar S1 and LIDAR S2) and the camera CAM, the CPU … determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops following the preceding vehicle… determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops before the traffic light when … the camera CAM indicates that the traffic light is red… communication unit C3 is connected to a network NT… for providing road traffic information… can acquire, for example, signal information provided from an optical beacon, and the CPU C1 can determine, based on the signal information acquired by the communication unit C3, whether the traffic light ahead is red… the CPU C1 of the computer COM can determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops before the traffic light… the CPU C1 can determine, based on the traffic congestion information acquired by the communication unit C3, whether the road where the self-vehicle travels is congested ahead… ”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Konishi teaches a system that uses vehicle sensors and network data providing traffic information in order to determine the position of the own vehicle and whether or not a vehicle needs to stop at a position away from a traffic light and whether the vehicle is traveling on a congested road.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of identifying that a vehicle is not at a stop signal based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle as taught by Konishi, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to determine whether the vehicle is approaching a traffic signal or travelling in a congested road as specified in at least [0020]-[0021] of Konishi.
Furthermore, Tsuda also fails to specifically disclose wherein the translating comprises:
identifying weather conditions for an environment of the vehicle;
wherein the mappings are:
a third mapping of (A) a third key for the vehicle being in a particular weather condition to (B) an action;
wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises windshield wipers;
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: weather sensors.
However, Shoda, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the translating comprises:
identifying weather conditions for an environment of the vehicle (See at least Abstract of Shoda – “… A wiper system according to the present invention includes …a raindrop sensor (9) that detects the current amount of rainfall based on water droplets adhering to the windshield …”);
wherein the mappings are:
a third mapping of (A) a third key for the vehicle being in a particular weather condition to (B) an action (See at least Col. 2 lines 26-32 of Shoda – “… when rainfall more than or equal to the predetermined amount is detected by the raindrop sensor, the wiper blade arranged on a driver's side may be activated in the high speed activation state (Hi) within a heavy rain time wiping area narrower than a normal wiping operation range set near a forward field of view of the drive…”);
wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises windshield wipers (See at least Col. 4 lines 46-67 of Shoda – “… The raindrop sensor 9 for detecting the amount of rain is attached to a center portion of the windshield 3… The wiper control devices 10 determine the current state of rainfall from a change in the output of the raindrop sensor 9, and automatically controls the activation/stop and the operation (Lo, Hi, or INT) of the wipers…”);
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: weather sensors (See at least Col. 4 lines 46-67 of Shoda – “… The raindrop sensor 9 for detecting the amount of rain is attached to a center portion of the windshield…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Shoda teaches a wiper system for a vehicle that detects rainfall information and automatically actuates wiper blades of the system according to the amount of rainfall detected.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of identifying weather conditions for an environment of the vehicle as taught by Shoda, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to automatically control the operation of wipers according to an amount of rainfall detected as specified in at least Col. 4 lines 46-67 of Shoda.
Tsuda also fails to specifically disclose wherein the mappings are:
a fourth mapping of (A) a fourth key for a failure condition in specified components of the vehicle to (B) an action;
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: laser emitters and reflection detectors.
However, Oyama, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the mappings are:
a fourth mapping of (A) a fourth key for a failure condition in specified components of the vehicle to (B) an action (See at least [0008] of Oyama – “…a driving control apparatus for a vehicle is provided… The apparatus includes an environment information acquisition failure detector that detects an acquisition failure of the traveling environment information acquirer, a steering system failure detector that detects a failure of a steering system of the vehicle, and a brake controller that sets an evacuation course along which the vehicle is to travel safely within the traveling environment, based on the traveling environment information detected last time before the acquisition failure traveling environment information acquirer when an acquisition failure of the traveling environment information acquirer is detected and the failure of the steering system is detected, during the self-driving control, and executes a deceleration of the vehicle and a yaw brake control that applies a yaw moment to the vehicle based on the evacuation course…”);
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: laser emitters and reflection detectors (See at least [0018] of Oyama – “… peripheral environment recognition device 11 is comprised of … a radar device (e.g., a laser radar, a millimeter wave radar, and/or an ultrasonic radar: not illustrated) which receives reflected waves from solid objects existing around the vehicle…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Oyama teaches a driving control apparatus for a vehicle that detects failures of vehicle components and executes an evacuation maneuver due to the failures detected.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of a fourth mapping of a fourth key for a failure condition in specified components of the vehicle to an action as taught by Oyama, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to perform an evacuation maneuver for a vehicle due to component failures as specified in at least [0008] of Oyama.
Moreover, Tsuda fails to specifically disclose wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises seat position configurations, mirror position configurations, automated driving modes, and the automated driving modes comprise sport mode, eco mode.
However, Gleeson-May, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises seat position configurations, mirror position configurations, automated driving modes, and the automated driving modes comprise sport mode, eco mode (See at least [0103] of Gleeson-May – “… modifying vehicle-driver interfaces can include adjusting … automatically adjusting the seat position, mirror positions, control behaviors (e.g., a sport mode vs. regular driving mode governing accelerator sensitivity and handling…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Gleeson-May teaches a system that adjusts seating positions, mirror position, and driving control behaviors for a vehicle.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of controlling a vehicle system including seat position configurations, mirror position configurations, automated driving modes, and the automated driving modes comprise sport mode, eco mode as taught by Gleeson-May, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to adjust vehicle system parameters according to a driver as specified in at least [0103] of Gleeson-May.
Finally, Tsuda also fails to specifically disclose wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises automated driving modes, and the automated driving modes comprise poor weather mode.
However, Taffin, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises automated driving modes, and the automated driving modes comprise poor weather mode (See at least Col. 2 lines 37-40 of Taffin – “… automatic switching to "snow" mode allows the driver to obtain optimized management of the automatic transmission ratios for the running conditions encountered on slippery ground…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Taffin teaches an automatic transmission system for a vehicle that automatically adjusts the transmission ratios for a vehicle to a snow mode for detected slippery roads.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of the automated driving modes comprising poor weather mode as taught by Taffin, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to automatically switch automatic transmission ratios associated with a snow mode when slippery roads are detected as specified in at least Col. 2 lines 37-40 of Taffin.
For claim 15, Tsuda discloses wherein the key for at least one of the particular mappings defines a value or value range for a condition type which is matched when an identified value from the vehicle condition data for a corresponding condition type is equal to the value or falls within the value range (See at least [0025] of Tsuda – “… if the vehicle is driving at 55 miles per hour, the rumble strip input frequency might be 80 hertz… The lane departure avoidance controller 24, receives this signal, and determines that the vibration sensor is sensing the vibration at 80 hertz. The lane departure avoidance controller 24 then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map, that are indicative of vehicle tire contact with a rumble strip for a given speed. For example, at 55 miles per hour, the processor may consider vibrations between 70 hertz and 90 hertz to be indicative of contact with a rumble strip, but if the processor receives a signal of only 65 hertz, the processor may consider this to not be indicative of contact with a rumble strip…”).
For claim 18, Tsuda discloses a system for automating vehicle actions of a vehicle (See at least [0018] of Tsuda – “… Referring initially to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram of a host vehicle 10 is illustrated that is equipped with a lane departure avoidance system 12 … the lane departure countermeasure component preferably includes at least one automatic vehicle corrective action as the lane departure countermeasure … includes a braking corrective action and/or a steering corrective action as the lane departure countermeasure…”), the system comprising:
a vehicle sensor network that provides vehicle condition data (See at least [0019]-[0020] of Tsuda – “In the diagram of FIG. 1… The lane departure avoidance controller 24 is operatively connected to a rumble strip sensing component … to detect an input that is indicative of a rumble strip engagement… the lane departure avoidance controller 24 receiving signals indicative of contact of a rumble strip with respective tires of the vehicle…”);
one or more processors (See at least Fig. 1 of Tsuda – Electronic Control Unit); and
a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations (See at least [0042] of Tsuda – “Referring to FIG. 6, a computational processing procedure performed by the lane departure avoidance controller 24 for avoiding lane departure will now be described below… required information is read out from the random access memory when required…”) comprising:
translating the vehicle condition data into identified conditions (See at least [0025] of Tsuda – “… the function of a vibration sensor … will now be described. Input frequencies of rumble strips can be predetermined … for various vehicle speeds… if the vehicle is driving at 55 miles per hour, the rumble strip input frequency might be 80 hertz… The lane departure avoidance controller 24 then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map… the processor may consider vibrations between 70 hertz and 90 hertz to be indicative of contact with a rumble strip, but if the processor receives a signal of only 65 hertz, the processor may consider this to not be indicative of contact with a rumble strip…”), wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network (See at least [0025]-[0031] of Tsuda – “… the function of a vibration sensor … will now be described. Input frequencies of rumble strips can be predetermined … for various vehicle speeds… if the vehicle is driving at 55 miles per hour, the rumble strip input frequency might be 80 hertz… The lane departure avoidance controller 24 then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map… the processor may consider vibrations between 70 hertz and 90 hertz to be indicative of contact with a rumble strip, but if the processor receives a signal of only 65 hertz, the processor may consider this to not be indicative of contact with a rumble strip… In the case of wheel rotational speed sensors being used as the rumble strip sensing devices 28FL, 28FR, 28RL and 28RR, the wheel rotational speed sensors can also be configured to output a signal indicative of the state of rotation of at least a portion of the wheel… controller 24 may determine, based on the vehicle speed, that this change in rotation of the rotating portion of the wheel assembly is indicative of contact with rumble strips… By measuring the lateral rate of increase in the signal strength S, the lateral rate of lane departure can be derived…”);
identifying a component functioning state for components of the vehicle (See at least [0028] – “… the wheel rotational speed sensors can also be configured to output a signal indicative of the state of rotation of at least a portion of the wheel…” and [0068] of Tsuda – “… Many of the above devices and/or methods may utilize piezoelectric devices to determine the state of various components … a piezoelectric device may be utilized to determine the state of pressure in a shock absorber…”);
extracting values from the vehicle condition data, performing various analyses on the vehicle condition data (See at least [0025]-[0027] of Tsuda – “… the vibration sensor would output a signal indicating that the sensor is sensing vibration at 80 hertz… lane departure avoidance controller 24, receives this signal… then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map, that are indicative of vehicle tire contact with a rumble strip for a given speed… the processor may consider vibrations between 70 hertz and 90 hertz to be indicative of contact with a rumble strip, but if the processor receives a signal of only 65 hertz, the processor may consider this to not be indicative of contact with a rumble strip… the processor can analyze the signal and determine that the frequency of vibration is of a frequency that is indicative of tire contact with the rumble strip…”), and identifying conditions from network data (See at least [0019] of Tsuda – “…A controller area network CAN is provided to operatively connect the steering system 16, the braking system 18, and the electronic control unit ECU to carry out the present invention…controller 24 is operatively connected to a rumble strip sensing component that is configured to detect an input that is indicative of a rumble strip engagement amount from the rumble strip RS by the host vehicle 10…”) or other external source data in the vehicle condition data;
causing the vehicle to take actions specified by mappings, wherein each particular mapping, of the mappings, is selected based on a match between the identified conditions and a key from the particular mapping, and wherein each particular mapping maps (A) the key for the particular mapping to (B) action for the particular mapping (See at least [0025] – “The lane departure avoidance controller 24… determines that the vibration sensor is sensing the vibration at 80 hertz. The lane departure avoidance controller 24 then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map, that are indicative of vehicle tire contact with a rumble strip for a given speed”, [0031] – “By measuring the lateral rate of increase in the signal strength S, the lateral rate of lane departure can be derived. If the lateral rate of lane departure is low, then moderate countermeasures such as an audible warning or a haptic warning can be initiated. For faster lateral rates of lane departure, a steering torque can be applied to assist the driver in preventing the vehicle from departing from the lane”, and [0035] of Tsuda – “The lane departure avoidance controller 24 issues vehicle control commands to the lane departure countermeasure components (the steering system 16 and/or the braking system 18) after a determination has been made that the vehicle is deviating from a lane or beginning to deviate from a driving lane, based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip RS… passive safety system may be implemented when it has been determined that the vehicle is coming into contact with rumble strips… can include an auditory warning device 58, such as a buzzer, audio speaker, etc., a visual warning, such as an indicator and/or a blinking light, a tactile warning…”);
wherein the mappings are:
a second mapping of (A) a second key for a particular vehicle condition to (B) an action (See at least [0025] – “….The lane departure avoidance controller 24 then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map, that are indicative of vehicle tire contact with a rumble strip for a given speed” and [0035] of Tsuda – “The lane departure avoidance controller 24 issues vehicle control commands to the lane departure countermeasure components (the steering system 16 and/or the braking system 18) after a determination has been made that the vehicle is deviating from a lane or beginning to deviate from a driving lane, based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip RS… passive safety system may be implemented when it has been determined that the vehicle is coming into contact with rumble strips… can include an auditory warning device 58, such as a buzzer, audio speaker, etc., a visual warning, such as an indicator and/or a blinking light, a tactile warning…”);
wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises brakes (See at least [0018] of Tsuda – “… the lane departure countermeasure component preferably includes at least one automatic vehicle corrective action as the lane departure countermeasure when the rumble strip engagement amount is large and the lateral rate of lane departure is high… includes a braking corrective action …”), anti-lock braking systems (See at least [0035] of Tsuda – “…controller 24 issues vehicle control commands to the lane departure countermeasure components … utilizing brake controls… a brake actuator of an antilock brake system…”), steering systems (See at least [0035] of Tsuda – “… The lane departure avoidance controller 24 issues vehicle control commands to the lane departure countermeasure components (the steering system 16…”), and automated driving modes (See at least [0035] of Tsuda – “… The lane departure avoidance controller 24 issues vehicle control commands to the lane departure countermeasure components … Vehicle yaw control or lateral control may be accomplished by utilizing … automatic cruise control, engine control and/or an automatic transmission control…”);
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: component functionality sensors (See at least [0028] – “… the wheel rotational speed sensors can also be configured to output a signal indicative of the state of rotation of at least a portion of the wheel…” and [0068] of Tsuda – “… Many of the above devices and/or methods may utilize piezoelectric devices to determine the state of various components … a piezoelectric device may be utilized to determine the state of pressure in a shock absorber…”), pressure sensors (See at least [0068] of Tsuda – “… Many of the above devices and/or methods may utilize piezoelectric devices …. to determine the state of pressure in a shock absorber…”), contact sensors (See at least [0025] of Tsuda – “…lane departure avoidance controller 24… determines that the vibration sensor is sensing the vibration … the processor may consider vibrations between 70 hertz and 90 hertz to be indicative of contact with a rumble strip…”), speed sensors (See at least [0028] of Tsuda – “… wheel rotational speed sensors can also be configured to output a signal indicative of the state of rotation of at least a portion of the wheel…”), acceleration sensors (See at least [0026] of Tsuda – “… In some embodiments of the invention, a gravity sensor can be a device that senses a vertical acceleration and/or an up-down acceleration…”), steering wheel position (See at least [0033] of Tsuda – “… The steering system 16 preferably includes… a steering angle sensor 34…”), and tire direction sensors (See at least [0057] of Tsuda – “… the lane departure avoidance controller 24 utilizes the same information as described above, plus the tire width T and the longitudinal vehicle speed v, to determine the vehicle's heading …”).
Tsuda fails to specifically disclose wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network, wherein the vehicle condition comprises: the vehicle not being in traffic, wherein not being in traffic is identified based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle, and not being in traffic means that the vehicle is not in a roadway, wherein the roadway is a road where the vehicle drives;
extracting values from the vehicle condition data, performing various analyses on the vehicle condition data, and identifying conditions from network data or other external source data in the vehicle condition data;
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: transceivers for network connections.
However, Okada, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network, wherein the vehicle condition comprises: the vehicle not being in traffic, wherein not being in traffic is identified based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle, and not being in traffic means that the vehicle is not in a roadway, wherein the roadway is a road where the vehicle drives (See at least [0053]-[0056] of Okada – “… with reference to a flowchart in FIG. 6… the control portion 10 obtains the vehicle present location (stop location) data based on the detection result of the position detector 11. It is noted that the control portion 10 determines which part of the road, such as a traffic lane, a road shoulder and a side strip, the vehicle is stopped, utilizing white line recognition with an in-vehicle camera … control portion 10 obtains probe data (position and velocity) regarding other vehicles traveling around the own vehicle. The control portion 10 obtains the probe data, which is uploaded from the probe car to the database 33 of the center device 3, through the radio communication portion 19. Alternatively the control portion 10 may directly obtain the data of the position and velocity from surrounding vehicles through a vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The control portion 10 may obtain the data of the position and velocity of surrounding vehicles by detecting the surrounding vehicles through the surrounding vehicle detector 17… the control portion 10 compares traffic flow around the own vehicle with a movement of the own vehicle. Traffic flow is estimated by the probe data and the like obtained at S402. As a result of the comparison, the control portion 10 determines whether the vehicle is stopped on the road shoulder or the side strip…”);
extracting values from the vehicle condition data, performing various analyses on the vehicle condition data, and identifying conditions from network data or other external source data in the vehicle condition data (See at least [0055]-[0056] of Okada – “… the control portion 10 may directly obtain the data of the position and velocity from surrounding vehicles through a vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The control portion 10 may obtain the data of the position and velocity of surrounding vehicles by detecting the surrounding vehicles through the surrounding vehicle detector 17… the control portion 10 compares traffic flow around the own vehicle with a movement of the own vehicle … As a result of the comparison, the control portion 10 determines whether the vehicle is stopped on the road shoulder or the side strip…”);
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: transceivers for network connections See at least [0055] of Okada – “… The control portion 10 obtains the probe data, which is uploaded from the probe car to the database 33 of the center device 3, through the radio communication portion 19…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Okada teaches a system that uses a vehicle’s current location, sensors and a network to obtain traffic data around the vehicle in order to make an assessment of weather the vehicle is stopped on a shoulder of the road.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of identifying that a vehicle is not being in traffic based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle as taught by Okada, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to determine whether the vehicle is stopped on the road shoulder or the side strip as specified in at least [0056] of Okada.
Tsuda also fails to specifically disclose wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network, wherein the vehicle condition comprises: the vehicle not being at a stop signal, wherein not being at a stop signal is identified based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle;
extracting values from the vehicle condition data, performing various analyses on the vehicle condition data, and identifying conditions from network data or other external source data in the vehicle condition data.
However, Konishi, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the translating comprises:
identifying a vehicle condition using the vehicle sensor network, wherein the vehicle condition comprises: the vehicle not being at a stop signal, wherein not being at a stop signal is identified based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle (See at least [0018]-[0021] – “… vehicle 1 includes a sensor S, a camera CAM, and a computer COM (ECU)… a radar S1, a LIDAR S2… the camera CAM acquire information of the vehicle 1 (self-vehicle) and a preceding vehicle, and information of a traffic light ahead, and input them to the computer … Based on the information of the preceding vehicle input from the sensor S (radar S1 and LIDAR S2) and the camera CAM, the CPU … determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops following the preceding vehicle… determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops before the traffic light when … the camera CAM indicates that the traffic light is red… communication unit C3 is connected to a network NT… for providing road traffic information… can acquire, for example, signal information provided from an optical beacon, and the CPU C1 can determine, based on the signal information acquired by the communication unit C3, whether the traffic light ahead is red. If it is determined, based on the signal information acquired by the communication unit C3, that the traffic light is red, or by obtaining a timing at which the traffic light turns red, the CPU C1 of the computer COM can determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops before the traffic light… based on the map information acquired by the communication unit C3, whether the self-vehicle temporarily stops ahead on a traveling road. The communication unit C3 can acquire traffic congestion information provided from a road traffic information communication system, and the CPU C1 can determine, based on the traffic congestion information acquired by the communication unit C3, whether the road where the self-vehicle travels is congested ahead…” and [0042] of Konishi – “… The GPS sensor 24b detects the current position of the vehicle 1…”);
extracting values from the vehicle condition data, performing various analyses on the vehicle condition data, and identifying conditions from network data or other external source data in the vehicle condition data (See at least [0019]-[0021] of Konishi – “… Based on the information of the preceding vehicle input from the sensor S (radar S1 and LIDAR S2) and the camera CAM, the CPU … determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops following the preceding vehicle… determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops before the traffic light when … the camera CAM indicates that the traffic light is red… communication unit C3 is connected to a network NT… for providing road traffic information… can acquire, for example, signal information provided from an optical beacon, and the CPU C1 can determine, based on the signal information acquired by the communication unit C3, whether the traffic light ahead is red… the CPU C1 of the computer COM can determine the stop position of the self-vehicle which stops before the traffic light… the CPU C1 can determine, based on the traffic congestion information acquired by the communication unit C3, whether the road where the self-vehicle travels is congested ahead… ”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Konishi teaches a system that uses vehicle sensors and network data providing traffic information in order to determine the position of the own vehicle and whether or not a vehicle needs to stop at a position away from a traffic light and whether the vehicle is traveling on a congested road.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of identifying that a vehicle is not at a stop signal based on a determined location of the vehicle and traffic data obtained for the determined location from a network source external to the vehicle as taught by Konishi, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to determine whether the vehicle is approaching a traffic signal or travelling in a congested road as specified in at least [0020]-[0021] of Konishi.
Furthermore, Tsuda also fails to specifically disclose wherein the translating comprises:
identifying weather conditions for an environment of the vehicle;
wherein the mappings are:
a third mapping of (A) a third key for the vehicle being in a particular weather condition to (B) an action;
wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises windshield wipers;
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: weather sensors.
However, Shoda, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the translating comprises:
identifying weather conditions for an environment of the vehicle (See at least Abstract of Shoda – “… A wiper system according to the present invention includes …a raindrop sensor (9) that detects the current amount of rainfall based on water droplets adhering to the windshield …”);
wherein the mappings are:
a third mapping of (A) a third key for the vehicle being in a particular weather condition to (B) an action (See at least Col. 2 lines 26-32 of Shoda – “… when rainfall more than or equal to the predetermined amount is detected by the raindrop sensor, the wiper blade arranged on a driver's side may be activated in the high speed activation state (Hi) within a heavy rain time wiping area narrower than a normal wiping operation range set near a forward field of view of the drive…”);
wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises windshield wipers (See at least Col. 4 lines 46-67 of Shoda – “… The raindrop sensor 9 for detecting the amount of rain is attached to a center portion of the windshield 3… The wiper control devices 10 determine the current state of rainfall from a change in the output of the raindrop sensor 9, and automatically controls the activation/stop and the operation (Lo, Hi, or INT) of the wipers…”);
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: weather sensors (See at least Col. 4 lines 46-67 of Shoda – “… The raindrop sensor 9 for detecting the amount of rain is attached to a center portion of the windshield…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Shoda teaches a wiper system for a vehicle that detects rainfall information and automatically actuates wiper blades of the system according to the amount of rainfall detected.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of identifying weather conditions for an environment of the vehicle as taught by Shoda, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to automatically control the operation of wipers according to an amount of rainfall detected as specified in at least Col. 4 lines 46-67 of Shoda.
Tsuda also fails to specifically disclose wherein the mappings are:
a fourth mapping of (A) a fourth key for a failure condition in specified components of the vehicle to (B) an action;
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: laser emitters and reflection detectors.
However, Oyama, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the mappings are:
a fourth mapping of (A) a fourth key for a failure condition in specified components of the vehicle to (B) an action (See at least [0008] of Oyama – “…a driving control apparatus for a vehicle is provided… The apparatus includes an environment information acquisition failure detector that detects an acquisition failure of the traveling environment information acquirer, a steering system failure detector that detects a failure of a steering system of the vehicle, and a brake controller that sets an evacuation course along which the vehicle is to travel safely within the traveling environment, based on the traveling environment information detected last time before the acquisition failure traveling environment information acquirer when an acquisition failure of the traveling environment information acquirer is detected and the failure of the steering system is detected, during the self-driving control, and executes a deceleration of the vehicle and a yaw brake control that applies a yaw moment to the vehicle based on the evacuation course…”);
wherein the vehicle sensor network comprises: laser emitters and reflection detectors (See at least [0018] of Oyama – “… peripheral environment recognition device 11 is comprised of … a radar device (e.g., a laser radar, a millimeter wave radar, and/or an ultrasonic radar: not illustrated) which receives reflected waves from solid objects existing around the vehicle…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Oyama teaches a driving control apparatus for a vehicle that detects failures of vehicle components and executes an evacuation maneuver due to the failures detected.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of a fourth mapping of a fourth key for a failure condition in specified components of the vehicle to an action as taught by Oyama, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to perform an evacuation maneuver for a vehicle due to component failures as specified in at least [0008] of Oyama.
Moreover, Tsuda fails to specifically disclose wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises seat position configurations, mirror position configurations, automated driving modes, and the automated driving modes comprise sport mode, eco mode.
However, Gleeson-May, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises seat position configurations, mirror position configurations, automated driving modes, and the automated driving modes comprise sport mode, eco mode (See at least [0103] of Gleeson-May – “… modifying vehicle-driver interfaces can include adjusting … automatically adjusting the seat position, mirror positions, control behaviors (e.g., a sport mode vs. regular driving mode governing accelerator sensitivity and handling…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Gleeson-May teaches a system that adjusts seating positions, mirror position, and driving control behaviors for a vehicle.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of controlling a vehicle system including seat position configurations, mirror position configurations, automated driving modes, and the automated driving modes comprise sport mode, eco mode as taught by Gleeson-May, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to adjust vehicle system parameters according to a driver as specified in at least [0103] of Gleeson-May.
Finally, Tsuda also fails to specifically disclose wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises automated driving modes, and the automated driving modes comprise poor weather mode.
However, Taffin, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the actions comprise:
automatically enabling, disabling, or controlling a vehicle system to affect vehicle movement, wherein the vehicle system comprises automated driving modes, and the automated driving modes comprise poor weather mode (See at least Col. 2 lines 37-40 of Taffin – “… automatic switching to "snow" mode allows the driver to obtain optimized management of the automatic transmission ratios for the running conditions encountered on slippery ground…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Taffin teaches an automatic transmission system for a vehicle that automatically adjusts the transmission ratios for a vehicle to a snow mode for detected slippery roads.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of the automated driving modes comprising poor weather mode as taught by Taffin, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to automatically switch automatic transmission ratios associated with a snow mode when slippery roads are detected as specified in at least Col. 2 lines 37-40 of Taffin.
For claim 37, Tsuda discloses wherein the translating the vehicle condition data into identified conditions further comprises: comparing values from the vehicle condition data to threshold (See at least [0025] of Tsuda – “… The lane departure avoidance controller 24, receives this signal, and determines that the vibration sensor is sensing the vibration at 80 hertz. The lane departure avoidance controller 24 then compares this to the predetermined stored values of vibrations in for example, a lookup table or map, that are indicative of vehicle tire contact with a rumble strip …”).
Claims 5 and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsuda US 20080243337 (“Tsuda”) in view of Okada, Konishi, Shoda, Oyama, Gleeson-May, and Taffin, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Zhu US 20180201182 (“Zhu”).
For claim 5, Tsuda fails to specifically disclose wherein the vehicle condition data further comprises data, obtained from a network interface of the vehicle, comprising weather data or traffic data.
However, Zhu, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the vehicle condition data further comprises data, obtained from a network interface of the vehicle, comprising weather data or traffic data (See at least [0027] of Zhu – “While autonomous vehicle 101 is moving along the route, perception and planning system 110 may also obtain real-time traffic information from a traffic information system or server (TIS)….as well as real-time local environment data detected or sensed by sensor system 115 (e.g., obstacles, objects, nearby vehicles), perception and planning system 110 can plan an optimal route and drive vehicle 101, for example, via control system 111, according to the planned route to reach the specified destination safely and efficiently”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Zhu teaches an autonomous vehicle that uses real-time traffic data to plan an optimal route for the vehicle.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of the vehicle condition data further comprising traffic data obtained from a network interface of the vehicle as taught by Zhu, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to plan an optimal route for the vehicle and reach a specified destination safely and efficiently as specified in at least [0027] of Zhu.
For claim 13, Tsuda fails to specifically disclose wherein the mappings comprise the second mapping; wherein the specified speed is zero.
However, Zhu, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the mappings comprise the second mapping (See at least [0046] of Zhu – “… for each of the driving scenarios 501 and distance threshold 502, optional light pattern 503 may be specified… the brake lights of the ADV may be turned on according to a light pattern 503 specified in the mapping entry… the brake lights of the ADV may be turned on for a longer period of time or flash more frequently. Such a pattern typically signals an urgent situation to the driver of the following vehicle…”); wherein the specified speed is zero (See at least [0023] – “Throttle unit 202 is to … control the speed and acceleration of the vehicle”, and [0036] of Zhu – “decision module 303 decides how to encounter the object (e.g. … stop…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Zhu teaches an autonomous vehicle that actuates braking light signals during various circumstances when distances between the own vehicle and a following behind fall below a specified threshold.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of the one or more mappings comprising the second mapping as taught by Zhu, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to develop and maintain appropriate distance thresholds between an own vehicle and a following vehicle for the turning on the brake lights of the own vehicle in certain driving scenarios as specified in at least [0045]-[0046] of Zhu.
For claim 14, Tsuda fails to specifically disclose wherein at least one key for a particular one of the mappings is specified as an expression that connects multiple conditions by one or more operators;
wherein each condition specifies a value or value range; and
wherein the at least one key is matched when the expression, when applied with the identified conditions, evaluates to true.
However, Zhu, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein at least one key for a particular one of the mappings is specified as an expression that connects multiple conditions by one or more operators (See at least [0046] of Zhu – “With light pattern mapping table 500, different thresholds may be maintained for different driving scenarios. In one embodiment, for each of the driving scenarios 501 and distance threshold 502, optional light pattern 503 may be specified. That is, under a specific driving scenario (e.g., road condition, speed, weather), if the distance between two vehicles falls below corresponding threshold 502, the brake lights of the ADV may be turned on according to a light pattern 503 specified in the mapping entry.”);
wherein each condition specifies a value or value range (See at least [0046] of Zhu – “… if the distance between two vehicles falls below corresponding threshold 502….”); and
wherein the at least one key is matched when the expression, when applied with the identified conditions, evaluates to true (See at least [0046] of Zhu – “… if the distance between two vehicles falls below corresponding threshold 502, the brake lights of the ADV may be turned on according to a light pattern 503 specified in the mapping entry…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Zhu teaches an autonomous vehicle that actuates braking light signals during various circumstances when distances between the own vehicle and a following behind fall below a specified threshold.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of at least one key for a particular one of the one or more mappings is specified as an expression that connects multiple conditions by one or more operators as taught by Zhu, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to develop and maintain appropriate distance thresholds between an own vehicle and a following vehicle for the turning on the brake lights of the own vehicle in certain driving scenarios and the appropriate light patterns/flash frequencies for each scenario and distance threshold as specified in at least [0045]-[0046] of Zhu.
Claim 36 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsuda US 20080243337 (“Tsuda”) in view of Okada, Konishi, Shoda, Oyama, Gleeson-May, and Taffin, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Motoyama US 11860640 B2 (“Motoyama”) and Howell et. al. US 20090295559 A1 (“Howell”).
For claim 36, Tsuda discloses wherein the vehicle condition data further comprises vibration readings (See at least [0023] of Tsuda – “the rumble strip sensing devices 28FL, 28FR, 28RL and 28RR of the rumble strip sensing device is configured to detect vibrations inputted from the rumble strip RS to one or more of the wheels 26FL, 26FR, 26RL and 26RR of the host vehicle 10”, images or video (See at least [0038] of Tsuda – “The imaging unit 52 is configured to pick up an image with a monocular (single-lens) camera”), speed or acceleration data (See at least [0026] of Tsuda – “A vibration sensor according to the present embodiment can include a gravity sensor. In some embodiments of the invention, a gravity sensor can be a device that senses a vertical acceleration and/or an up-down acceleration…”), data accessed through a network (See at least [0019] of Tsuda – “A controller area network CAN is provided to operatively connect the steering system 16, the braking system 18, and the electronic control unit ECU to carry out the present invention”).
Tsuda fails to specifically disclose wherein the vehicle condition data further comprises laser reflection readings, moisture readings, temperature, angles of tires or of a steering wheel.
However, Motoyama, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the vehicle condition data further comprises laser reflection readings (See at least Col. 6 lines 15-27 of Motoyama – “… the depth sensor 12 projects a laser beam in each of radial light projecting directions L1 to L8, receives reflected lights …to thereby measure distances and directions to the obstacles 41 and 42….”), moisture readings, temperature (See at least Col. 12 lines 52-67 of Motoyama – “The surrounding environment as a detection target includes, for example, weather, temperature, humidity, brightness, and road surface conditions, and the like”), angles of tires or of a steering wheel (See at least Col. 13 lines 26-27 of Motoyama – “The state of the own vehicle to be detected includes, for example, speed, acceleration, steering angle”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Motoyama teaches a vehicle system that uses sensors to detect an environment outside of the own vehicle.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of the vehicle condition data further comprising laser reflection readings, moisture readings, temperature, angles of tires or of a steering wheel as taught by Motoyama, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to detect the surrounding environment of the own vehicle as specified in at least Col. 12 lines 52-67 of Motoyama.
Furthermore, Tsuda also fails to specifically disclose wherein the vehicle condition data further comprises indications of whether components are able to function, indications of a level at which components are functioning, status of other vehicle systems.
However, Howell, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the vehicle condition data further comprises indications of whether components are able to function, indications of a level at which components are functioning, status of other vehicle systems (See at least [0013]-[0017] of Howell – “a system and method for identifying a confidence estimate of whether a vehicle sub-system or component is the root cause of a particular fault … the system 14,16 and 18 will know whether one of the components 32-42 is faulty in its system hierarchical path, and can also determine whether a particular sub-system 20-30 includes a fault with some level of confidence…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Howell teaches a system for a vehicle that determines a confidence estimate of whether failure at a component level component affects other systems at higher sub-system and main system levels.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of the vehicle condition data further comprising indications of whether components are able to function, indications of a level at which components are functioning, status of other vehicle systems as taught by Howell, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to use the information to replace components that are weakening the overall vehicle health as specified in at least [0015] of Howell.
Claim 38 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsuda US 20080243337 (“Tsuda”) in view of Okada, Konishi, Shoda, Oyama, Gleeson-May, and Taffin, as applied to claim 37 above, and further in view of LV et al. US 20180209202 A1 (“LV”) and Fischer US 20170313250 A1 (“Fischer”).
For claim 38, Tsuda discloses the process of translating by extracting values comprises recording a value from the vehicle condition data, the value comprises a current speed, an angle of a steering wheel position, or whether a vehicle component is functioning properly (See at least [0043] of Tsuda – “… the following types of data are read: the signal strengths from the rumble strip sensing devices 28FL, 28FR, 28RL and … the wheel velocity; the steering angle…”).
Tsuda fails to specifically disclose wherein a "raining" condition can be set when a moisture reading is above a corresponding threshold.
However, LV, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein a "raining" condition can be set when a moisture reading is above a corresponding threshold (See at least [0059] of LV – “…when the acquired rainfall or snowfall probability is 70% which is greater than the second threshold 60%, the humidity sensor may be started so as to measure the humidity value. When the third threshold is 75% and the measured humidity value is greater than 75%, i.e., the precipitation probability is relatively large, the control device 3 may start the driving device 4, so as to close the sunroof 5…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while LV teaches a control device for closing a sunroof of a vehicle when a likelihood of rainfall based on an exceeded humidity reading is determined.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of a raining condition being set when a moisture reading is above a corresponding threshold as taught by LV, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to close a vehicle sunroof when a detection reading of a rainfall sensor reaches a certain threshold as specified in at least [0040] of LV.
Furthermore, Tsuda also fails to specifically disclose wherein a "nighttime" condition can be set when a brightness reading is below a corresponding threshold.
However, Fischer, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein a "nighttime" condition can be set when a brightness reading is below a corresponding threshold (See at least [0024] of Fischer – “…one or more sensors in the vehicle (e.g., ambient light sensors, clocks, other information sources) can be used to determine whether it is nighttime (or any time when a level of ambient light in the vehicle's surroundings is below a threshold level…”). Thus, Tsuda discloses a lane departure warning system for a vehicle that determines whether vibration frequencies sensed at each tire of the vehicle are indicative of contact with a rumble strip and initiates commands to lane departure countermeasure components after a determination has been made that a vehicle is deviating from a lane based on the determination of contact with the rumble strip, while Fischer teaches a vehicle system that determines whether it is nighttime when a level of lighting in the vehicles surroundings is below a threshold level.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and system for automating vehicle actions as disclosed in Tsuda to include the feature of a nighttime condition being set when a brightness reading is below a corresponding threshold as taught by Fischer, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to make adjustments to one or more mirrors and/or displays as specified in at least [0024] of Fischer.
Conclusion
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 CFR 1.136(a).
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
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/M.J.H./Examiner, Art Unit 3668
/Fadey S. Jabr/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3668