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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 06/02/2026 has been considered. The most recent claims are dated 01/14/2026, and claims 1, 3-10, 12, 14, and 16 are currently pending and have been examined.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 06/02/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Status of Claims
The indicated allowability of claims 1, 3-10, 12, 14, and 16 is withdrawn in view of the new analytical insights provided by the First Notification of Office Action for CN 202211100345.5 dated January 10, 2025 and European Search Report for EP22194451.5 dated February 10, 2023, which were provided in the IDS dated 06/02/2026. Rejections that follow incorporate these insights but are based on art that was already of record during the previous round of examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 3-9, 12, 14, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Avram et al. (US-11493922-B1; hereinafter, Avram) in view of Wodrich et al. (US-20180059236-A1; hereinafter Wodrich) and Li (Li Wei, Yang Tinghua, and Liu Qiang, "Environmental Perception Technology for Intelligent Connected Vehicles," Tianjin Science and Technology Press, May 2021, 12 pages, cited in the IDS dated 1/14/2026).
Regarding claim 1, Avram discloses:
A vehicle (see at least Fig. 1A, passenger vehicle 100) including a parking sensor system (see at least col. 12, lines 55-63; “By varying the placement on the vehicle, a suitable field of view can be obtained for the sensors in each housing. This can be very important for detecting objects immediately adjacent to the vehicle (e.g., within 1-2 meters or no more than 3 meters from the vehicle), as well as for objects farther from the vehicle. There may be requirements for detecting adjacent and remote objects in various scenarios, such as checking the immediate vicinity before pulling out of a parking space”), the vehicle comprising:
(see at least Fig. 1A, sensor housings 104, 106, 108 and 110),
wherein the peripheral surfaces are those surfaces that define an outer perimeter of a footprint of the vehicle when viewed from above (above-cited sensor housings in Fig. 1 are all above the plane defined by the front and rear bumpers),
wherein some or all of the sensor assemblies include
a RADAR sensor (see at least Fig. 7B, radar unit 706 and col. 5 lines 1-21) (see at least col. 1, lines 34-36; “Generally, sensors are used to detect objects in the environment around the vehicle. These can include lidar, radar, cameras, sonar and/or other sensors.”) (see again col. 12, lines 55-63), and
a parking camera having a downwardly facing field of view configured to view objects below the respective elevated mounting location (see at least col. 17, lines 8-15; “Because the close sensing camera assembly is configured to supplement the perception information obtained by the lidar sensor and is angled downward, it is able to mitigate the lidar sensor's occlusion region 802. For instance, if there is an object adjacent to the front tire, the camera of the close sensing camera assembly is configured to detect it, as shown by the linear elements 804 within the shaded area.”) during the parking operation (see again col. 12, lines 55-63), and
wherein the (see at least col. 13, lines 53-61; “In one example, each camera of the close sensing system is co-located with a companion lidar sensor. For instance, the camera may be no more than 1 foot or 0.3 meters from the lidar sensor, such as to avoid parallax. The camera may be mounted to the vehicle using the same bracket or housing as the lidar, or they may be mounted separately. In general operation, the system FOV should provide a 360° view around the vehicle up to 3 meters away.”).
However, Avram does not teach the radar having a downwardly-facing field of view: the radar taught by Avram in Figs. 7A and 7B is shown to have an outwardly-facing field of view (see radar unit 706). Furthermore, Avram does not explicitly teach an embodiment with four sensor assemblies each having a camera and a radar.
Avram teaches a vehicle exterior sensor system, and Wodrich is directed to vehicle sensors with integrated image and radar sensors. Wodrich discloses:
a vehicle including a parking sensor system (paragraph 0017: “A vehicle sensing system, such as a driver or driving assist system, object detection system, parking assist system and/or alert system, operates to capture sensing data exterior of the vehicle and may process the captured data to detect objects at or near the vehicle and in the predicted path of the vehicle, such as to assist a driver of the vehicle in maneuvering the vehicle in a forward or rearward direction or to assist the driver in parking the vehicle in a parking space.”), the vehicle comprising:
wherein the peripheral surfaces are those surfaces that define an outer perimeter of a footprint of the vehicle when viewed from above (see figure 5, sensors are shown mounted above the periphery),
wherein
a RADAR sensor having a downwardly facing field of view for detecting objects below the respective elevated mounting location during a parking operation (see figures 3 and 4 and paragraph 0024: “The radar sensor is used for object detection and object localization, with a vertical opening angle of about 150 degrees, a range of about 30 m, and range resolution of about 7.5 cm.”, and see paragraph 0026: “The pitch of the radar sensor mounting (see FIG. 4) is selected to maximize the coverage close to the vehicle, with the vertical field of view/sensing ideally intersecting the vehicle.” See also paragraph 0017, “parking assist system”), and
a parking camera having a downwardly facing field of view configured to view objects below the respective elevated mounting location during parking operation (see figure 4 and paragraph 0004: “The present invention provides a driver assistance system or sensing system for a vehicle that utilizes a sensor module disposed at the vehicle to sense a respective region exterior of the vehicle, with the sensor module comprising one or more radar sensors and at least one camera disposed in a common housing. A field of sensing of the radar sensor(s) is encompassed by a portion of a field of view of the at least one camera.” See also paragraph 0017, “parking assist system”), and
wherein the (see paragraph 0017: “The system includes a processor that is operable to receive sensing data from multiple sensors and to provide an output to a control that, responsive to the output, generates an alert or controls an accessory or system of the vehicle, or highlights or overlays an alert on a display screen (that may be displaying video images captured by a single rearward viewing camera or multiple cameras providing forward, side or 360 degree surround views of the area surrounding the vehicle during a reversing or low speed maneuver of the vehicle).”).
Both Avram and Wodrich teach vehicle sensor assemblies with co-located radar and camera sensors. 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 radar sensors of Avram to have a downward facing field of view, as taught by Wodrich. One of ordinary skill would be motivated use downward facing radars to detect objects close to the vehicle, as shown by Wodrich (see again [0024]; “The radar sensor is used for object detection and object localization…” and [0026], “The pitch of the radar sensor mounting (see FIG. 4) is selected to maximize the coverage close to the vehicle, with the vertical field of view/sensing ideally intersecting the vehicle.”).
However, neither Avram nor Wodrich teach using exactly four sensor assemblies to provide a 360-degree view around the vehicle.
Li (Li Wei, Yang Tinghua, and Liu Qiang, "Environmental Perception Technology for Intelligent Connected Vehicles," Tianjin Science and Technology Press, May 2021, 12 pages), cited in the IDS dated 01/14/2026, teaches using four downward-facing cameras to provide a 360-degree view around a vehicle.
Avram teaches using multiple sensor assemblies to provide a 360-degree view around a vehicle, and Li teaches using exactly four wide-angle cameras to provide such a view. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ exactly four sensor assemblies to provide a 360-degree view around the vehicle in light of Li’s teaching.
Regarding claim 3, Avram in view of Wodrich and Li discloses the vehicle of claim 1. Avram further teaches:
wherein (see at least Fig. 7B, radar 706 is mounted adjacent to close sensing camera assembly 704).
Avram does not explicitly teach this configuration for each of four sensor assemblies. It would have been obvious to use four sensor assemblies in light of the teaching of Li, as discussed regarding claim 1.
Regarding claim 4, Avram in view of Wodrich and Li discloses the vehicle of claim 1. Avram further teaches:
wherein each of the four sensor assemblies includes a housing for enclosing the RADAR sensor and the parking camera (see at least Figs. 7A and 7B, where housing 700 encloses radar 706 and close sensing camera assembly 704).
Avram does not explicitly teach this configuration for each of four sensor assemblies. It would have been obvious to use four sensor assemblies in light of the teaching of Li, as discussed regarding claim 1.
Regarding claim 5, Avram in view of Wodrich and Li discloses the vehicle of claim 1. Wodrich further teaches:
wherein each RADAR sensor is configured to generate a RADAR output for determining a distance between a detected object and a periphery of the vehicle (see paragraph 0026: “Optionally, the system may integrate radar sensor(s) in stereo three dimensional (3D) configuration and a camera into a common housing. The radar sensors are positioned such that their horizontal and vertical azimuths are intersecting. It is envisioned that the radar sensors have common horizontal and vertical fields of view or fields of sensing and common azimuth resolution. Each radar sensor is used for object detection and object localization, with a vertical opening angle of about 150 degrees, a range of about 30+m, and a range resolution of 7.5 cm. The radar sensor allows measuring of the height of objects and creation of a terrain map. The pitch of the radar sensor mounting (see FIG. 4) is selected to maximize the coverage close to the vehicle, with the vertical field of view/sensing ideally intersecting the vehicle. The roll (FIG. 5) and yaw (FIG. 6) of the radar sensors is selected to balance depth measurement across the entire combined field of sensing of all of the radar sensors.”).
Wodrich does not explicitly teach this configuration for each of four sensor assemblies. It would have been obvious to use four sensor assemblies in light of the teaching of Li, as discussed regarding claim 1. It would have been obvious to combine Wodrich and Avram for the reasons given in claim 1.
Regarding claim 6, Avram in view of Wodrich and Li discloses the vehicle of claim 5. Wodrich further teaches:
further comprising a processor for receiving RADAR outputs from the RADAR sensors and calculating distances between detected objects and the periphery of the vehicle (see paragraph 0018: “The sensing system 12 includes a control or electronic control unit (ECU) or processor that is operable to process data captured by the sensor or sensors and may detect objects or the like. The data transfer or signal communication from the sensor to the ECU may comprise any suitable data or communication link, such as a vehicle network bus or the like of the equipped vehicle.” and paragraph 0026: “Optionally, the system may integrate radar sensor(s) in stereo three dimensional (3D) configuration and a camera into a common housing. The radar sensors are positioned such that their horizontal and vertical azimuths are intersecting. It is envisioned that the radar sensors have common horizontal and vertical fields of view or fields of sensing and common azimuth resolution. Each radar sensor is used for object detection and object localization, with a vertical opening angle of about 150 degrees, a range of about 30+m, and a range resolution of 7.5 cm. The radar sensor allows measuring of the height of objects and creation of a terrain map. The pitch of the radar sensor mounting (see FIG. 4) is selected to maximize the coverage close to the vehicle, with the vertical field of view/sensing ideally intersecting the vehicle. The roll (FIG. 5) and yaw (FIG. 6) of the radar sensors is selected to balance depth measurement across the entire combined field of sensing of all of the radar sensors.”).
It would have been obvious to combine Wodrich and Avram for the reasons given in claim 1.
Regarding claim 7, Avram in view of Wodrich and Li discloses the vehicle of claim 6. Wodrich further teaches:
wherein the processor is configured to generate a representation of the distances between detected objects and the periphery of the vehicle (see paragraph 0026: “Each radar sensor is used for object detection and object localization, with a vertical opening angle of about 150 degrees, a range of about 30+m, and a range resolution of 7.5 cm. The radar sensor allows measuring of the height of objects and creation of a terrain map. The pitch of the radar sensor mounting (see FIG. 4) is selected to maximize the coverage close to the vehicle, with the vertical field of view/sensing ideally intersecting the vehicle.” See also paragraph 0017; “A vehicle sensing system, such as a driver or driving assist system, object detection system, parking assist system and/or alert system, operates to capture sensing data exterior of the vehicle and may process the captured data to detect objects at or near the vehicle and in the predicted path of the vehicle, such as to assist a driver of the vehicle in maneuvering the vehicle in a forward or rearward direction or to assist the driver in parking the vehicle in a parking space. The system includes a processor that is operable to receive sensing data from multiple sensors and to provide an output to a control that, responsive to the output, generates an alert or controls an accessory or system of the vehicle, or highlights or overlays an alert on a display screen (that may be displaying video images captured by a single rearward viewing camera or multiple cameras providing forward, side or 360 degree surround views of the area surrounding the vehicle during a reversing or low speed maneuver of the vehicle).”).
It would have been obvious to combine Wodrich and Avram for the reasons given in claim 1.
Regarding claim 8, Avram in view of Wodrich and Li discloses the vehicle of claim 7. Wodrich further teaches:
wherein the representation is at least one of an audible signal and a visual indicator (see at least [0017]; “A vehicle sensing system, such as a driver or driving assist system, object detection system, parking assist system and/or alert system, operates to capture sensing data exterior of the vehicle and may process the captured data to detect objects at or near the vehicle and in the predicted path of the vehicle, such as to assist a driver of the vehicle in maneuvering the vehicle in a forward or rearward direction or to assist the driver in parking the vehicle in a parking space. The system includes a processor that is operable to receive sensing data from multiple sensors and to provide an output to a control that, responsive to the output, generates an alert or controls an accessory or system of the vehicle, or highlights or overlays an alert on a display screen (that may be displaying video images captured by a single rearward viewing camera or multiple cameras providing forward, side or 360 degree surround views of the area surrounding the vehicle during a reversing or low speed maneuver of the vehicle).”).
It would have been obvious to combine Wodrich and Avram for the reasons given in claim 1.
Regarding claim 9, Avram in view of Wodrich and Li discloses the vehicle of claim 6. Wodrich further teaches:
wherein each parking camera is configured to generate a video output and the processor is configured to receive the video outputs and process these in combination with the RADAR outputs (paragraphs 0017-0018: “The system includes a processor that is operable to receive sensing data from multiple sensors and to provide an output to a control that, responsive to the output, generates an alert or controls an accessory or system of the vehicle, or highlights or overlays an alert on a display screen (that may be displaying video images captured by a single rearward viewing camera or multiple cameras providing forward, side or 360 degree surround views of the area surrounding the vehicle during a reversing or low speed maneuver of the vehicle). [0018] Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depicted therein, a vehicle 10 includes an driver assistance system or sensing system 12 that includes at least one radar sensor unit, such as a forward facing radar sensor unit 14 (and the system may optionally include multiple exterior facing sensors, such as cameras or other sensors, such as a rearward facing sensor at the rear of the vehicle, and a sideward/rearward facing sensor at respective sides of the vehicle), which sense regions exterior of the vehicle.”).
It would have been obvious to combine Wodrich and Avram for the reasons given in claim 1.
Regarding claim 12, Avram in view of Wodrich and Li discloses the vehicle of claim 1. Wodrich further teaches:
wherein the RADAR sensor in each of the (see at least Fig. 4, boresight of radar sensor is directed to detect objects a distance away from the vehicle periphery).
Wodrich does not explicitly teach this configuration for each of four sensor assemblies. It would have been obvious to use four sensor assemblies in light of the teaching of Li, as discussed regarding claim 1. It would have been obvious to combine Wodrich and Avram for the reasons given in claim 1.
Regarding claim 14, Avram in view of Wodrich and Li discloses the vehicle of claim 1. Avram further teaches:
wherein, for each parking camera, the field of view covers an area adjacent to a periphery of the vehicle associated with the respective elevated mounting location (see at least Fig. 8 and col. 17, lines 12-20; “For instance, if there is an object adjacent to the front tire, the camera of the close sensing camera assembly is configured to detect it, as shown by the linear elements 804 within the shaded area. While it may not be feasible for the camera to see within a few centimeters to the side of the vehicle, the camera is positioned so that an object that close to the vehicle is at least 50% visible. In one example, the camera may have an azimuth field of view on the order of 170°-200°.”).
Regarding claim 16, Avram discloses:
A parking sensor system (see at least col. 12, lines 55-63; “By varying the placement on the vehicle, a suitable field of view can be obtained for the sensors in each housing. This can be very important for detecting objects immediately adjacent to the vehicle (e.g., within 1-2 meters or no more than 3 meters from the vehicle), as well as for objects farther from the vehicle. There may be requirements for detecting adjacent and remote objects in various scenarios, such as checking the immediate vicinity before pulling out of a parking space”) comprising:
(see at least Fig. 1A, sensor housings 104, 106, 108 and 110 and vehicle 100),
wherein the peripheral surfaces are those surfaces that define an outer perimeter of a footprint of the vehicle when viewed from above (above-cited sensor housings in Fig. 1 are all above the plane defined by the front and rear bumpers),
wherein some or all of the parking sensor assemblies include
a RADAR sensor (see at least Fig. 7B, radar unit 706 and col. 5 lines 1-21) (see at least col. 1, lines 34-36; “Generally, sensors are used to detect objects in the environment around the vehicle. These can include lidar, radar, cameras, sonar and/or other sensors.”) (see again col. 12, lines 55-63), and
a parking camera having a downwardly facing field of view configured to view objects below the respective elevated mounting location (see at least col. 17, lines 8-15; “Because the close sensing camera assembly is configured to supplement the perception information obtained by the lidar sensor and is angled downward, it is able to mitigate the lidar sensor's occlusion region 802. For instance, if there is an object adjacent to the front tire, the camera of the close sensing camera assembly is configured to detect it, as shown by the linear elements 804 within the shaded area.”) during the parking operation (see again col. 12, lines 55-63), and
wherein the (see at least col. 13, lines 53-61; “In one example, each camera of the close sensing system is co-located with a companion lidar sensor. For instance, the camera may be no more than 1 foot or 0.3 meters from the lidar sensor, such as to avoid parallax. The camera may be mounted to the vehicle using the same bracket or housing as the lidar, or they may be mounted separately. In general operation, the system FOV should provide a 360° view around the vehicle up to 3 meters away.”).
However, Avram does not teach the radar having a downwardly-facing field of view: the radar taught by Avram in Figs. 7A and 7B is shown to have an outwardly-facing field of view (see radar unit 706). Furthermore, Avram does not explicitly teach an embodiment with four sensor assemblies each having a camera and a radar.
Avram teaches a vehicle exterior sensor system, and Wodrich is directed to vehicle sensors with integrated image and radar sensors. Wodrich discloses:
a parking sensor system (paragraph 0017: “A vehicle sensing system, such as a driver or driving assist system, object detection system, parking assist system and/or alert system, operates to capture sensing data exterior of the vehicle and may process the captured data to detect objects at or near the vehicle and in the predicted path of the vehicle, such as to assist a driver of the vehicle in maneuvering the vehicle in a forward or rearward direction or to assist the driver in parking the vehicle in a parking space.”) comprising:
wherein the peripheral surfaces are those surfaces that define an outer perimeter of a footprint of the vehicle when viewed from above (see figure 5, sensors are shown mounted above the periphery of the vehicle),
wherein
a RADAR sensor having a downwardly facing field of view for detecting objects below the respective elevated mounting location during a parking operation (see figures 3 and 4 and paragraph 0024: “The radar sensor is used for object detection and object localization, with a vertical opening angle of about 150 degrees, a range of about 30 m, and range resolution of about 7.5 cm.”, and see paragraph 0026: “The pitch of the radar sensor mounting (see FIG. 4) is selected to maximize the coverage close to the vehicle, with the vertical field of view/sensing ideally intersecting the vehicle.” See also paragraph 0017, “parking assist system”), and
a parking camera having a downwardly facing field of view configured to view objects below the respective elevated mounting location during parking operation (see figure 4 and paragraph 0004: “The present invention provides a driver assistance system or sensing system for a vehicle that utilizes a sensor module disposed at the vehicle to sense a respective region exterior of the vehicle, with the sensor module comprising one or more radar sensors and at least one camera disposed in a common housing. A field of sensing of the radar sensor(s) is encompassed by a portion of a field of view of the at least one camera.” See also paragraph 0017, “parking assist system”), and
wherein the (see paragraph 0017: “The system includes a processor that is operable to receive sensing data from multiple sensors and to provide an output to a control that, responsive to the output, generates an alert or controls an accessory or system of the vehicle, or highlights or overlays an alert on a display screen (that may be displaying video images captured by a single rearward viewing camera or multiple cameras providing forward, side or 360 degree surround views of the area surrounding the vehicle during a reversing or low speed maneuver of the vehicle).”).
Both Avram and Wodrich teach vehicle sensor assemblies with co-located radar and camera sensors. 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 radar sensors of Avram to have a downward facing field of view, as taught by Wodrich. One of ordinary skill would be motivated use downward facing radars to detect objects close to the vehicle, as shown by Wodrich (see again [0024]; “The radar sensor is used for object detection and object localization…” and [0026], “The pitch of the radar sensor mounting (see FIG. 4) is selected to maximize the coverage close to the vehicle, with the vertical field of view/sensing ideally intersecting the vehicle.”).
However, neither Avram nor Wodrich teach using exactly four sensor assemblies to provide a 360-degree view around the vehicle.
Li (Li Wei, Yang Tinghua, and Liu Qiang, "Environmental Perception Technology for Intelligent Connected Vehicles," Tianjin Science and Technology Press, May 2021, 12 pages), cited in the IDS dated 01/14/2026, teaches using four downward-facing cameras to provide a 360-degree view around a vehicle.
Avram teaches using multiple sensor assemblies to provide a 360-degree view around a vehicle, and Li teaches using exactly four wide-angle cameras to provide such a view. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ exactly four sensor assemblies to provide a 360-degree view around the vehicle in light of Li’s teaching.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Avram in view of Wodrich and Li, further in view of Hsu et al. (WO-9847022-A1; hereinafter, Hsu).
Regarding claim 10, Avram in view of Wodrich and Li discloses the vehicle of claim 9. However, these references do not explicitly teach the processor is configured to generate an augmented video output combining the video outputs with visual indicators representing the distances between detected objects and the periphery of the vehicle.
Avram and Wodrich disclose vehicle sensor assemblies with radar and camera, and Hsu is directed to a radar and camera warning system with embodiments implemented on a vehicle. Hsu teaches:
the processor is configured to generate an augmented video output combining the video outputs with visual indicators representing the distances between detected objects and the periphery of the vehicle (see at least Fig. 25 and page 36, lines 22-28; “As shown in Figure 25, the sensor 360 provides visual and range data regarding the person 376 to the digital processing unit 380. The output of the digital processing unit 380 is transmitted via antenna 382 to the receiving antenna 384 of the video phone 378. Video information may be shown on display 386 and range information shown on display 388.” See also page 35, lines 17-20; “As with other embodiments, it is preferred that each sensing unit include a visual sensing device, such as a video camera or digital camera and a range sensing device such as a sonar device or a Doppler radar device.”).
Avram, Wodrich and Hsu all teach vehicle sensing assemblies comprising radar and camera. 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 sensor assembly used in Avram to include a visual display representing the distances between detected objects and the vehicle, as taught by Hsu. One of ordinary skill would be motivated to include this visual display to alert the system user to objects in their vicinity, and inform them of where the objects are in the vicinity.
Conclusion
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/ASHLEY BROWN RAYNAL/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/OLUMIDE AJIBADE AKONAI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3648
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