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 .
The current application filed on Dec. 13, 2022 related to a foreign priority data JP2021-204035 filed on Dec. 16, 2021.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/15/2025 have been fully considered but are not persuasive to overcome the rejection. Examiner responds to the Applicant’s argument as the following reasons:
Regarding to Claim Rejection under 112: Applicant amended claims (e.g., claim 1) but still raises new issue. See below the updated rejection.
Regarding to Claim Rejection under 103: At page 7-8, Applicant argues that Kaino and Austin do not teach “cause a mode that varies depending on whether said traveling control selected to be perform includes the autonomous driving control as one of the at least two controls being performed. Examiner disagrees to the Applicant’s argument.
Austin teaches at [0078], in a situation, when the autonomous vehicle detects the gaze direction of a road user not be directed towards the autonomous vehicle, the eHMI generates an audible signal through a speaker to alert the road user. On another situation, when the autonomous vehicle is entering an intersection, and detects the gaze direction of the road user directed towards the vehicle, the vehicle’s eHMI module, notification left turn signal, and alert the road user with “entering intersection’, and etc. which meets the scope of “cause said notification device to perform said surround notification in a mode that varies depending on whether said traveling control selected to be performed includes the autonomous driving control”. The Claim Rejection still remains (see the updated 103 rejection).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 is indefinite because it is redundant. The claim recites a repetitive series of “traveling control” (in-lane stop, road shoulder stop, and autonomous driving) across multiple clauses, which unnecessarily repeats functional limitation and creates a circular description of the control unit’s selection processes.
Specifically, the phase “perform said traveling control that is selected based the surrounding of said vehicle from among said in-lane stop control, said road shoulder stop control, and said autonomous driving control” repeats the exact list already defined in the selection step.
Also, the phase “in a mode that varies depending on whether said traveling control selected to be performed includes the autonomous driving control as one of the at least two controls being performed” is wordy and lack of conciseness.
Claim 4 has same issue above.
Claims 2-3 & 5-7 depend upon rejected claim above.
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.
Claim(s) 1-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaino (20210323568) in view of Austin (20210394793).
With regard to claim 1, Kaino discloses a vehicle includes a control system 100 as shown in Fig.1 & Fig. apparatus comprising:
a control unit that performs a traveling control regarding a travel of a vehicle, when a driver of said vehicle has fallen into an inappropriate state where a condition of said driver is not appropriate for driving said vehicle (the vehicle control system 100 includes a controller unit 10 controls vehicle’s actuators for traveling, see [0035]-[0036], a in-vehicle camera 20 detects the driver’s status (abnormal) which the driver is in a state where it is difficult to drive the vehicle, see [0037] & [0051]+) ; and
a notification device that performs a surround notification to notify a person around said vehicle of an execution of said traveling control when said traveling control is performed (Fig. 4a-4C notifies of driver abnormality, vehicle’s autonomous performance, and etc., see [0053]-[0055]+, and an audio output device 44 outputs a message “the vehicle is stopped. Please check the safety around the vehicle when you get out”, see [0068]+ or the controller 10 turns on a hazard warning lamp of the vehicle 1, blows a horn, and blinks a brake lamp to notify vehicles around the vehicle 1, and etc., see [0057]+), wherein, said control unit is configured to:
select, as said traveling control, at least two controls of: an in-lane stop control to stop said vehicle in a traveling lane in which said vehicle is traveling, a road shoulder stop control to stop said vehicle on a road shoulder of a road that includes said traveling lane, and an autonomous driving control to autonomously drive said vehicle to a predetermined destination (Fig.3 shows a processing chart that the vehicle control unit selects automatically decelerating the vehicle, lane changing if needed or moving to road shoulder and stop when the driver unresponsive (determining specified time elapsed at step s13), see [0049]-[0055]+, wherein lane change or should stop are predetermined destination when the operator (driver) is abnormal, see [0023]-[0024]+)
perform said traveling control that is selected based on a surrounding of said vehicle from among said in-lane stop control, said road shoulder stop control, and said autonomous driving control, when said driver has fallen into said inappropriate state (determine whether the vehicle has to change the lane in order to stop the vehicle at the safe location, or a road shoulder or autonomous driving control, and etc., see [0040] & [0062]); and
cause said notification device to perform said surround notification depending on whether said traveling control selected to be performed includes the autonomous driving control as one of the at least two controls being performed (in the case where an elapsed time from initiation of the automatic stop control approaches the specified time, the controller can notify of such a circumstance and then stopped in an own lane, see [0026] or in one or more embodiments, the controller causes the notification device to notify that the second operation (automated lance change) is performed in the case where the vehicle is temporally stopped according to a surrounding situation after the first operation and thereafter to perform the second operation so as to stop the vehicle according to the surrounding situation, see [0029], wherein the vehicle’s controller 10 turns on a hazard warning lamp of the vehicle, blows a horn and blinks a brake lamp to notify vehicles around the vehicle 1 that the vehicle 1 is under the automatic stop control, see [0057]+).
Kaino is silent about cause said notification device to perform said surround notification in a mode that varies depending on whether said traveling control selected to be performed includes the autonomous driving control.
Austin discloses an autonomous vehicle includes an eHMI display which capable of performing the surround notification in a mode that varies depending on the traveling control causes the eHMI displaying different icons or text (horning, “left turn” signal, “right turn” signal, and etc.), see [0048]+.
When the autonomous vehicle detects the gaze direction of a road user not be directed towards the autonomous vehicle which autonomous controlling driving on a road, the eHMI generates an audible signal through a speaker to alert the road user. On another situation, when the autonomous vehicle is entering an intersection, and detects the gaze direction of the road user directed towards the vehicle, the vehicle’s eHMI module, notification left turn signal, and alert the road user with “entering intersection’, and etc. which meets the scope of (see [0078]+ ) which meets the scope of “cause said notification device to perform said surround notification in a mode that varies depending on whether said traveling control selected to be performed includes the autonomous driving control.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Kaino by including performing surround notification in a mode that varies depending on whether the traveling control selected to be performed includes the autonomous driving control as taught by Austin. The combination of Kaino in view of Austin is an adapted the vehicle’s system for causing said notification device to perform said surround notification in a mode that varies depending on whether said traveling control selected to be performed includes the autonomous driving control as one of the at least two control being performed.
With regard to claim 2, Kaino teaches that the vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, said control unit is configured to: perform at least one of said road shoulder stop control and said autonomous driving control; and start causing said notification device to perform said surround notification before said vehicle deviates from said traveling lane due to a course change of said vehicle, when performing one of said road shoulder stop control and said autonomous driving control (the controller 10 causes the audio output device to output advanced driver assistance system warning sound several times, and controlling vehicle stop, stop at shoulder lane, or autonomous driving when detecting the diver in abnormal state, see [0049], [0052]-[0053]+) .
With regard to claim 3, Kaino vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, said control unit is configured to:
perform said autonomous driving control; perform at least one of said in-lane stop control and said road shoulder stop control (the controller 10 executes automated driving of the vehicle more specifically, the automatic stop control for automatically stopping the vehicle emergently, see [0040] & performing change lane to stop the vehicle at the safe location or on a road shoulder, see [0062]+),
wherein, said notification device includes a specific notification device that performs said surround notification of when said autonomous driving control is performed (central display show messages to the occupants (people in the vehicle) when the vehicle performs autonomous driving control, see [0053]-[0055]+), and
wherein, said control unit is configured to: cause said specific notification device to perform said surround notification of when said autonomous driving control is performed, when performing said autonomous driving control, so that a mode of said surround notification of when said autonomous driving control is performed is different from a mode of said surround notification of when said in-lane stop control or said road shoulder stop control is performed (the controller 10 causes the audio output device to output advanced driver assistance system warning sound several times, and controlling vehicle stop, stop at shoulder lane, or autonomous driving when detecting the diver in abnormal state, see [0049], [0052]-[0053]+) .
.
With regard to claim 4, Kaino discloses a vehicle control apparatus comprising:
a control unit that performs a traveling control regarding a travel of a vehicle, when a driver of said vehicle has fallen into an inappropriate state where a condition of said driver is not appropriate for driving said vehicle (the vehicle control system 100 includes a controller unit 10 controls vehicle’s actuators for traveling, see [0035]-[0036], a in-vehicle camera 20 detects the driver’s status (abnormal) which the driver is in a state where it is difficult to drive the vehicle, see [0037] & [0051]+) ; and
a notification device that performs a surround notification to notify a person outside of said vehicle of an execution of said traveling control when said traveling control is performed (the controller 10 causes the audio output device to output advanced driver assistance system warning sound several times, and controlling vehicle stop, stop at shoulder lane, or autonomous driving when detecting the diver in abnormal state, see [0049], [0052]-[0053]+),
wherein, said control unit is configured to: perform, as said traveling control, one of an in-lane stop control to stop said vehicle in a traveling lane in which said vehicle is traveling, a road shoulder stop control to stop said vehicle on a road shoulder of a road that includes said traveling lane, depending on a surrounding of said vehicle, when said driver has fallen into said inappropriate state (determine whether the vehicle has to change the lane in order to stop the vehicle at the safe location, or a road shoulder or autonomous driving control, and etc., see [0040] & [0062]); and
Kaino is silent about cause said notification device to perform said surround notification in a mode that varies depending on whether said traveling control selected to be performed includes the autonomous driving control.
Austin discloses an autonomous vehicle includes an eHMI display which capable of performing the surround notification in a mode that varies depending on the traveling control causes the eHMI displaying different icons or text (horning, “left turn” signal, “right turn” signal, and etc.), see [0048]+.
When the autonomous vehicle detects the gaze direction of a road user not be directed towards the autonomous vehicle which autonomous controlling driving on a road, the eHMI generates an audible signal through a speaker to alert the road user. On another situation, when the autonomous vehicle is entering an intersection, and detects the gaze direction of the road user directed towards the vehicle, the vehicle’s eHMI module, notification left turn signal, and alert the road user with “entering intersection’, and etc. which meets the scope of (see [0078]+ ) which meets the scope of “cause said notification device to perform said surround notification in a mode that varies depending on whether said traveling control selected to be performed includes the autonomous driving control.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Kaino by including performing surround notification in a mode that varies depending on whether the traveling control selected to be performed includes the autonomous driving control as taught by Austin. The combination of Kaino in view of Austin is an adapted the vehicle’s system for causing said notification device to perform said surround notification in a mode that varies depending on whether said traveling control selected to be performed includes the autonomous driving control as one of the at least two control being performed.
With regard to claim 5, Kaino teaches that the vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification device that performs the surround notification is configured to notify the person around said vehicle while the vehicle is traveling and the person is outside of the vehicle (notify other vehicles around vehicle 1 that the vehicle 1 is under the automatic stop control, see [0057]+).
With regard to claim 6, Kaino teaches that the vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mode of the surround notification includes at least one of blinking hazard lamps on an exterior of the vehicle and activating a horn of the vehicle, depending on said traveling control selected to be performed (the controller 10 keeps turning on of the hazard warning lamp, keeps blowing the horn and keeps blinking, see [0057]+).
With regard to claim 7, Kaino teaches that the vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the autonomous driving control is performed along a traveling route, from a current position to the destination, until the vehicle reaches the destination (vehicle’s control system includes a controller 10, a position system 30 which determines the vehicle’s current position, a navigation system 31 which stores map information therein and provide the map information to the controller for performing traveling to any desired destination, see [0042]-[0043]+).
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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/NGA X NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3662