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 .
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed February 23rd, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1-4, 5-13, 15-18, and 20 remain pending in the application. Applicant's amendments to the Specification and Claims have overcome each and every objection and 101 rejection previously set forth in the Non-Final office Action mailed December 4th, 2025.
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.
Claim 1-3, 6-11, 13, 15-17, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin in view of Hao et al. (United States Patent Application Publication 20220011417 A1), hereinafter Hao.
Regarding claim 1, Jin teaches an arrangement for hitch-angle estimation for a tractor-trailer combination ([0034] As shown in FIG. 2, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for trailer angle measurement,), comprising:
one or more sensors to provide ([0034] On each of two sides (such as the left and right sides) of a rear part of the tractor 201, at least one LiDAR 203 is provided)
one or more point clouds comprising a representation for the trailer as seen from one or more measurement positions at the tractor ([0037] At step 302, each of the LiDARs is controlled to receive a corresponding laser point cloud reflected by the reflector.; [0038] At step 303, a trailer angle is calculated based on the corresponding laser point clouds received by the respective LiDARs.),
a first measurement for the speed of the tractor ([0050] Therefore, the first distance L1 and the second distance L2 can be predetermined, and the predetermined area range S can be obtained with the rotation shaft O as the center and the first distance L1 and the second distance L2 as the radii, respectively.), and
a second measurement for an orientation of the tractor ([0038] At step 303, a trailer angle is calculated based on the corresponding laser point clouds received by the respective LiDARs.); and
a processor; and a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that are executable by the processor to cause the processor ([0075] The apparatus includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored on the memory and executable by the processor. The processor is configured to, when executing the computer program, the above method corresponding to FIG. 2 or 8.) to,
obtain one or more first values indicating the hitch angle between the tractor and the trailer, determined from the one or more point clouds ([0038] At step 303, a trailer angle is calculated based on the corresponding laser point clouds received by the respective LiDARs.),
obtain a second value indicating the rate of change for the hitch angle, determined from the first and the second measurement ([0050] Therefore, the first distance L1 and the second distance L2 can be predetermined, and the predetermined area range S can be obtained with the rotation shaft O as the center and the first distance L1 and the second distance L2 as the radii, respectively.),
fuse the one or more first values and the second value using a stationary Kalman filter to provide an estimate for the hitch angle between the tractor and the trailer; ([0056] At step 407, the initial trailer angle corresponding to each of the LiDARs is calculated based on the straight line equation of the longest straight line segment corresponding to the LiDAR.; [0072] At step 410, Kalman filter is performed on the angle data to be processed to obtain a trailer angle of the current period.)
Jin fails to teach the arrangement comprising updating the one or more first values with a first frequency; and updating the second value with a second frequency, which is larger than the first frequency.
However, Hao teaches the arrangement comprising updating the one or more first values with a first frequency; and updating the second value with a second frequency, which is larger than the first frequency ([0102] At 608, during a subsequent frame of the two consecutive frames, a second transmit signal for the same initial pixel is transmitted. The second transmit signal has a second waveform that comprises a second frequency modulation, a second amplitude modulation, or a combination thereof. At least one of the second frequency modulation and the second amplitude modulation is different than the first frequency modulation and the first amplitude modulation, respectively.; [0123] Example 17: The frequency-modulated continuous-wave lidar system of example 16, wherein: the first transmit signal has a first waveform duration; the second transmit signal has a second waveform duration; and the second frequency slope is less than the first frequency slope and the second waveform duration is greater than the first waveform duration; or the second frequency slope is greater than the first frequency slope and the second waveform duration is less than the first waveform duration.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this invention to modify the invention of Jin to comprise the frequency update of values, wherein the second is greater than the first, similar to Hao, with a reasonable expectation of success. This would have the predictable result of generating a frequency range for more clear real time data in a faster scan time.
Regarding claim 2, Jin, as modified above, teaches the arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors comprise two LIDARs or RGB-D cameras ([0037] At step 302, each of the LiDARs is controlled to receive a corresponding laser point cloud reflected by the reflector.; [0038] At step 303, a trailer angle is calculated based on the corresponding laser point clouds received by the respective LiDARs.).
Regarding claim 3, Jin, as modified above, teaches the arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the two LIDARs or RGB-D cameras comprise: a first side-looking LIDAR or RGB-D camera for providing a first point cloud of the one or more point clouds comprising a representation for a left side of the trailer; and a second side-looking LIDAR or RGB-D camera for providing a second point cloud of the one or more point clouds comprising a representation for a right side of the trailer ([0034] On each of two sides (such as the left and right sides) of a rear part of the tractor 201, at least one LiDAR 203 is provided (for example, one, two, or more LiDARs can be provided on each of the left and right sides, as shown in FIG. 3, which only shows one LiDAR on each of the left and right sides for the purpose of illustration)).
Regarding claim 6, Jin, as modified above, teaches the arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the instructions to cause the processor to estimate the hitch angle comprises instructions to cause the processor to estimate the hitch angle using an outlier rejection for the one or more first values ([0052] Here, the noise filtering can be used to filter out outliers, so as to obtain a more accurate laser point cloud.).
Regarding claim 7, Jin, as modified above, teaches the arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the instructions comprise instructions to cause the processor to update the one or more first values upon receiving an updated point cloud replacing one or more of the one or more point clouds ([0063] The initial trailer angle corresponding to any LiDAR having the number of points in the laser point cloud of the longest straight line segment smaller than the predetermined number threshold can be discarded, and the initial trailer angle corresponding to each LiDAR having the number of points in the laser point cloud of the longest straight line segment greater than or equal to the predetermined number threshold can be retained.).
Regarding claim 8, Jin, as modified above, teaches the arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the orientation of the tractor is a heading of the tractor ([Fig. 3]).
Regarding claim 9, Jin, as modified above, teaches the arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the one or more first values comprises two or more different first values ([0047] In addition, in order to sort initial trailer angles corresponding to the respective LiDARs based on collecting time in a current period at step 409 later, the collecting time of the respective LiDARs is preferably different, so as to avoid two or more initial trailer angles being collected at the same time and difficult to be distinguished from one another.).
Regarding claim 10, Jin teaches a method for hitch-angle estimation for a tractor-trailer combination ([0034] As shown in FIG. 2, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for trailer angle measurement,), the method comprising:
receiving one or more point clouds comprising a representation for the trailer as seen from one or more measurement positions at the tractor ([0037] At step 302, each of the LiDARs is controlled to receive a corresponding laser point cloud reflected by the reflector.; [0038] At step 303, a trailer angle is calculated based on the corresponding laser point clouds received by the respective LiDARs.);
receiving a first measurement for the speed of the tractor ([0050] Therefore, the first distance L1 and the second distance L2 can be predetermined, and the predetermined area range S can be obtained with the rotation shaft O as the center and the first distance L1 and the second distance L2 as the radii, respectively.);
receiving a second measurement for an orientation of the tractor ([0038] At step 303, a trailer angle is calculated based on the corresponding laser point clouds received by the respective LiDARs.);
determining, from the one or more point clouds, one or more first values indicating the hitch angle between the tractor and the trailer ([0038] At step 303, a trailer angle is calculated based on the corresponding laser point clouds received by the respective LiDARs.);
determining, from the first and the second measurement, a second value indicating the rate of change for the hitch angle ([0050] Therefore, the first distance L1 and the second distance L2 can be predetermined, and the predetermined area range S can be obtained with the rotation shaft O as the center and the first distance L1 and the second distance L2 as the radii, respectively.);
fusing the one or more first values and the second value using a stationary Kalman filter to provide an estimate for the hitch angle between the tractor and the trailer; ([0056] At step 407, the initial trailer angle corresponding to each of the LiDARs is calculated based on the straight line equation of the longest straight line segment corresponding to the LiDAR.; [0072] At step 410, Kalman filter is performed on the angle data to be processed to obtain a trailer angle of the current period.)
Jin fails to teach the method comprising updating the one or more first values with a first frequency; and updating the second value with a second frequency, which is larger than the first frequency.
However, Hao teaches the method comprising updating the one or more first values with a first frequency; and updating the second value with a second frequency, which is larger than the first frequency ([0102] At 608, during a subsequent frame of the two consecutive frames, a second transmit signal for the same initial pixel is transmitted. The second transmit signal has a second waveform that comprises a second frequency modulation, a second amplitude modulation, or a combination thereof. At least one of the second frequency modulation and the second amplitude modulation is different than the first frequency modulation and the first amplitude modulation, respectively.; [0123] Example 17: The frequency-modulated continuous-wave lidar system of example 16, wherein: the first transmit signal has a first waveform duration; the second transmit signal has a second waveform duration; and the second frequency slope is less than the first frequency slope and the second waveform duration is greater than the first waveform duration; or the second frequency slope is greater than the first frequency slope and the second waveform duration is less than the first waveform duration.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this invention to modify the invention of Jin to comprise the frequency update of values, wherein the second is greater than the first, similar to Hao, with a reasonable expectation of success. This would have the predictable result of generating a frequency range for more clear real time data in a faster scan time.
Regarding claim 11, Jin, as modified above, teaches the method according to claim 10, wherein receiving the one or more point clouds comprises receiving a first point cloud comprising a representation for a left side of the trailer and/or receiving a second point cloud comprising a representation for a right side of the trailer ([0034] On each of two sides (such as the left and right sides) of a rear part of the tractor 201, at least one LiDAR 203 is provided).
Regarding claim 13, Jin, as modified above, teaches the method according to claim 10, wherein the one or more first values are obtained based on a rigid transformation between the one or more point clouds and one or more reference point clouds comprising a reference representation for the trailer ([0054] Since the noise filtered laser point cloud corresponding to each of the LiDARs does not necessarily contain only the laser point cloud reflected by the reflector, but may also contain laser point clouds reflected from other positions (such as bumps on the left and right sides of the reflector), it is desired to obtain one or more straight line segments formed by laser point clouds corresponding to the LiDAR using the RANSAC algorithm, and determine the longest straight line segment corresponding to the LiDAR from the one or more straight line segments formed by laser point clouds.).
Regarding claim 15, Jin teaches a system comprising:
a tractor ([0034] a tractor 201);
one or more sensors configured to provide ([0034] On each of two sides (such as the left and right sides) of a rear part of the tractor 201, at least one LiDAR 203 is provided),
one or more point clouds comprising a representation for a trailer as seen from one or more measurement positions at the tractor ([0037] At step 302, each of the LiDARs is controlled to receive a corresponding laser point cloud reflected by the reflector.; [0038] At step 303, a trailer angle is calculated based on the corresponding laser point clouds received by the respective LiDARs.),
a first measurement for the speed of the tractor ([0050] Therefore, the first distance L1 and the second distance L2 can be predetermined, and the predetermined area range S can be obtained with the rotation shaft O as the center and the first distance L1 and the second distance L2 as the radii, respectively.), and
a second measurement for an orientation of the tractor ([0038] At step 303, a trailer angle is calculated based on the corresponding laser point clouds received by the respective LiDARs.);
a processor; and a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that are executable by the processor to cause the processor to ([0075] The apparatus includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored on the memory and executable by the processor. The processor is configured to, when executing the computer program, the above method corresponding to FIG. 2 or 8.),
determine one or more first values indicating the hitch angle between the tractor and the trailer, determined from the one or more point clouds ([0038] At step 303, a trailer angle is calculated based on the corresponding laser point clouds received by the respective LiDARs.),
determine a second value indicating the rate of change for the hitch angle, determined from the first and the second measurement ([0050] Therefore, the first distance L1 and the second distance L2 can be predetermined, and the predetermined area range S can be obtained with the rotation shaft O as the center and the first distance L1 and the second distance L2 as the radii, respectively.), and
fuse the one or more first values and the second value using a stationary Kalman filter to provide an estimate for the hitch angle between the tractor and the trailer; ([0056] At step 407, the initial trailer angle corresponding to each of the LiDARs is calculated based on the straight line equation of the longest straight line segment corresponding to the LiDAR.; [0072] At step 410, Kalman filter is performed on the angle data to be processed to obtain a trailer angle of the current period.).
Jin fails to teach the system comprising updating the one or more first values with a first frequency; and updating the second value is updated with a second frequency, which is larger than the first frequency.
However Hao teaches the system comprising updating the one or more first values with a first frequency; and updating the second value is updated with a second frequency, which is larger than the first frequency ([0102] At 608, during a subsequent frame of the two consecutive frames, a second transmit signal for the same initial pixel is transmitted. The second transmit signal has a second waveform that comprises a second frequency modulation, a second amplitude modulation, or a combination thereof. At least one of the second frequency modulation and the second amplitude modulation is different than the first frequency modulation and the first amplitude modulation, respectively.; [0123] Example 17: The frequency-modulated continuous-wave lidar system of example 16, wherein: the first transmit signal has a first waveform duration; the second transmit signal has a second waveform duration; and the second frequency slope is less than the first frequency slope and the second waveform duration is greater than the first waveform duration; or the second frequency slope is greater than the first frequency slope and the second waveform duration is less than the first waveform duration.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this invention to modify the invention of Jin to comprise the frequency update of values, wherein the second is greater than the first, similar to Hao, with a reasonable expectation of success. This would have the predictable result of generating a frequency range for more clear real time data in a faster scan time.
Regarding claim 16, Jin, as modified above, teaches the system according to claim 15, wherein the one or more sensors comprise two LIDARs or RGB-D cameras ([0037] At step 302, each of the LiDARs is controlled to receive a corresponding laser point cloud reflected by the reflector.; [0038] At step 303, a trailer angle is calculated based on the corresponding laser point clouds received by the respective LiDARs.).
Regarding claim 17, Jin, as modified above, teaches the system according to claim 16, wherein the two LIDARs or RGB-D cameras comprise: a first side-looking LIDAR or RGB-D camera to provide a first point cloud of the one or more point clouds comprising a representation for a left side of the trailer; and a second side-looking LIDAR or RGB-D camera to provide a second point cloud of the one or more point clouds comprising a representation for a right side of the trailer ([0034] On each of two sides (such as the left and right sides) of a rear part of the tractor 201, at least one LiDAR 203 is provided (for example, one, two, or more LiDARs can be provided on each of the left and right sides, as shown in FIG. 3, which only shows one LiDAR on each of the left and right sides for the purpose of illustration).).
Regarding claim 20, Jin, as modified above, teaches the system according to claim 15, further comprising the trailer ([0034] The semi-trailer 20 includes a tractor 201 and a trailer 202.).
Claims 4, 12, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin in view Hao, further in view of Carter et al. (United States Patent Application Publication 20190235504), hereinafter Carter.
Regarding claim 4, Jin, as modified above, teaches the arrangement according to claim 1,
Jin fails to teach the arrangement wherein the one or more measurement positions comprise two measurement positions between a cabin and a fifth wheel of the tractor, of which one is on the left and one is on the right side of the cabin.
However, Carter teaches the arrangement wherein the one or more measurement positions comprise two measurement positions between a cabin and a fifth wheel of the tractor, of which one is on the left and one is on the right side of the cabin ([0029] In certain implementations, the sensors mounted to the tractor 230 can further include one or more rearward facing cameras 234. In certain aspects, the rearward facing camera(s) 234 can be utilized to provide sensor data encompassing the rear of the tractor 230 when a cargo trailer 240 is not hitched to the fifth wheel of the tractor 230. Additionally or alternatively, the rearward facing camera(s) 234 can provide sensor data of the forward surface and edges of the cargo trailer 240, which can be utilized the control system to dynamically determine the angle or orientation of the trailer 240 with respect to the tractor 230, as discussed below.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this invention to modify the invention of Jin to comprise the arrangement of the sensors placed between the cabin and the firth wheel of the tractor similar to Carter, with a reasonable expectation of success. This would have the predictable result of better visualizing the full length of a trailer with or without a tractor attached.
Regarding claim 12, Jin, as modified above, teaches the method according to claim 10,
Jin fails to teach the method wherein the one or more measurement positions comprise two measurement positions between the cabin and the fifth wheel of the tractor, of which one is on the left and one is on the right side of the cabin.
However, Carter teaches the method wherein the one or more measurement positions comprise two measurement positions between the cabin and the fifth wheel of the tractor, of which one is on the left and one is on the right side of the cabin ([0029] In certain implementations, the sensors mounted to the tractor 230 can further include one or more rearward facing cameras 234. In certain aspects, the rearward facing camera(s) 234 can be utilized to provide sensor data encompassing the rear of the tractor 230 when a cargo trailer 240 is not hitched to the fifth wheel of the tractor 230. Additionally or alternatively, the rearward facing camera(s) 234 can provide sensor data of the forward surface and edges of the cargo trailer 240, which can be utilized the control system to dynamically determine the angle or orientation of the trailer 240 with respect to the tractor 230, as discussed below.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this invention to modify the invention of Jin to comprise the arrangement of the sensors placed between the cabin and the firth wheel of the tractor similar to Carter, with a reasonable expectation of success. This would have the predictable result of better visualizing the full length of a trailer with or without a tractor attached.
Regarding claim 18, Jin, as modified above, teaches the system according to claim 15,
Jin fails to teach the system wherein the one or more measurement positions comprise two measurement positions between a cabin and a fifth wheel of the tractor, of which one is on the left and one is on the right side of the cabin.
However, Carter teaches the system wherein the one or more measurement positions comprise two measurement positions between a cabin and a fifth wheel of the tractor, of which one is on the left and one is on the right side of the cabin ([0029] In certain implementations, the sensors mounted to the tractor 230 can further include one or more rearward facing cameras 234. In certain aspects, the rearward facing camera(s) 234 can be utilized to provide sensor data encompassing the rear of the tractor 230 when a cargo trailer 240 is not hitched to the fifth wheel of the tractor 230. Additionally or alternatively, the rearward facing camera(s) 234 can provide sensor data of the forward surface and edges of the cargo trailer 240, which can be utilized the control system to dynamically determine the angle or orientation of the trailer 240 with respect to the tractor 230, as discussed below.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this invention to modify the invention of Jin to comprise the arrangement of the sensors placed between the cabin and the firth wheel of the tractor similar to Carter, with a reasonable expectation of success. This would have the predictable result of better visualizing the full length of a trailer with or without a tractor attached.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed February 23rd, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to the argument that the Kilman filter described in the immediate application is different from that described in the prior art of Jin, that being that the immediate application references a stationary Kilman filter, it is noted by the examiner that while application specifies the Kilman filter is a stationary one, no further limitation is given to the operation of this filter. As such, the Kilman filter of the prior art, being one with a pre-set noise tolerance, seems to read on the broadest reasonable interpretation to one of reasonable skill in the art of a stationary Kilman filter as described in the claims. As such the rejection is maintained as was previously set forth in the now cancelled dependent claims.
Furter, in regards to the method in which the frequencies are updated, the applicant argues that the method by which the frequencies are updated in the application, that being via a live update, differs from that of the prior art of Hao, which updates over repeated scans, however, the claims do not specify further how the frequencies are updated. Claims are examined based on the limitations as written, and under the broadest reasonable interpretation to one of reasonable skill in the art. As such, the previous rejection set forth under 35 United States Code 103 are maintained in this Final Office Action.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT WILLIAM VASQUEZ JR whose telephone number is (571)272-3745. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Thursday, Flex Friday, 8:00-5:00 PST.
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/ROBERT W VASQUEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/HELAL A ALGAHAIM/SPE , Art Unit 3645
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