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 October 10 2025 has been entered and considered. Claims 1, 4, 11, 12, and 13 have been amended. Claim 3 has been canceled. In light of the amendment the prior art rejections of claims 1, 11, and 20 are withdrawn as moot. The new grounds of rejection set forth in the present action were necessitated by Applicants’ claim amendments; accordingly, this action is made final.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks Pgs. 7-8, filed 10/10/25, with respect to claim 1 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claim 1 has been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments filed 10/10/25 with regard to claim 11 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that the prior art does not disclose the newly added amendments to independent claim 11. Remarks of 10/10/25 at Pg. 8.
Applicant argues (Pg. 8):
For example, Applicant submits that Hendricks does not teach or suggest an ability to take position and orientation of the imagery into account or utilize a cost function for addressing the located cracks.
Examiner responds:
Hendricks teaches to utilize a location translator “configured to relay the location, the orientation, and the measurements of the crack from the optical mapping module to the multi-axis robot.” (Para. 63), wherein the optical mapping module are images taken of the road. Hendricks further discloses the use of a cost function in Para. 84, “In a further example, the autonomous control system 304 may use the computer program, AI, or combinations thereof to assign values based on the width of the crack… Both the computer program and the AI may contain logic to connect nearby segments. The logic may preferably have a decreased connection distance variable to reduce aberrations in the composite image, which may conserve sealant or promote efficiency. In particular examples, using the computer program in tandem with the AI may optimize the operation of the sealant distal arm tool 336.”. The usage of a computer program or AI assigning values to the cracks and containing logic to connect nearby segments, with a preference to decrease connection distance, inherently makes use of a cost function to promote efficiency of the sealing procedure. See also Para. 65, “As a non-limiting example, the control system may be configured to instruct the multi-axis robot to fill cracks greater than ¾″ wide and greater than ¾″ deep. With continued reference to the non-limiting example, the control system may be configured to instruct the multi-axis robot to not fill cracks greater than 1″ wide and 1″ deep. It should be appreciated that a skilled artisan may select other suitable units of measurements or ways of selectively filling cracks, within the scope of the present disclosure.”, where cracks are given a priority based on their size.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 11 and 14-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hendricks et al. (US Patent Pub. No. 2022/0349132, published 11/03/2022, previously cited).
Regarding claim 11, Hendricks teaches a method for identifying and sealing cracks of a paved surface, comprising: capturing images of the paved surface with a camera coupled to a vehicle (Para. 59, “The optical system may include a digital camera”); determining, for each captured image using image recognition, that a plurality of pixels meets or surpasses a similarity threshold of a crack (Para. 63, “The road feature identified by the optical system may include a crack in a surface of the road.”; Para. 64, “The composite image and the representations of distances from the camera may be processed by a computer program, AI, or combinations thereof to detect cracks and or objects to avoid on a ground surface”, AI is used to detect cracks, indicating the usage of a similarity threshold by the model to detect cracks based on training data.); calculating a position and an orientation of the images relative to the vehicle (Para. 63, “The location translator may be configured to relay the location, the orientation, and the measurements of the crack from the optical mapping module to the multi-axis robot.”, the optical mapping module comprises a camera); generating a priority list of the plurality of pixels based on a cost function (Para. 65, “As a non-limiting example, the control system may be configured to instruct the multi-axis robot to fill cracks greater than ¾″ wide and greater than ¾″ deep. With continued reference to the non-limiting example, the control system may be configured to instruct the multi-axis robot to not fill cracks greater than 1″ wide and 1″ deep.”; Para. 84, “In a further example, the autonomous control system 304 may use the computer program, AI, or combinations thereof to assign values based on the width of the crack… Both the computer program and the AI may contain logic to connect nearby segments. The logic may preferably have a decreased connection distance variable to reduce aberrations in the composite image, which may conserve sealant or promote efficiency. In particular examples, using the computer program in tandem with the AI may optimize the operation of the sealant distal arm tool 336.”); actuating one or more motors of a robotic arm including a distal sealant applicator such that the distal sealant applicator is proximate to a location of the paved surface corresponding to the plurality of pixels based on the priority list (Para. 64, “The logic may preferably have a decreased connection distance variable to reduce aberrations in the composite image, which may conserve sealant or promote efficiency. In particular examples, using the computer program in tandem with the AI may optimize the operation of the sealant distal arm tool.”); applying sealant to the location via the distal sealant applicator (Para. 64, “The computer program, AI, or combinations thereof may assign values based on the width of the segment, allowing the crack sealer or sealant distal arm tool to dispense a corresponding volume of sealant.”).
Regarding claim 14, Hendricks teaches all of the elements of claim 11, as stated above, as well as wherein control of the robotic arm is implemented across two- dimensions (Para. 59, “The work area of the multi-axis robot may be a three-dimensional volume of a predetermined space surrounding the multi-axis robot.”, two-dimensional control is included within a three-dimensional control space).
Regarding claim 15, Hendricks teaches all of the elements of claim 11, as stated above, as well as wherein the processor is further configured to determine a crack width based on the plurality of pixels (Para. 63, “Non-limiting examples of the measurements may include a width of the crack”).
Regarding claim 16, Hendricks teaches all of the elements of claim 15, as stated above, as well as wherein a quantity of sealant applied to each location varies according to the determined crack width (Para. 84, “The autonomous control system 304 can allow the crack sealer or sealant distal arm tool 336 to dispense a corresponding volume of sealant based on the value based on the width of the crack received the computer program”).
Regarding claim 17, Hendricks teaches all of the elements of claim 11, as stated above, as well as wherein the cost function is based on one or more of effective reach of the robotic arm, velocity of the vehicle (Para. 64, “The computer program, AI, or combinations thereof may assign values based on the width of the segment, allowing the crack sealer or sealant distal arm tool to dispense a corresponding volume of sealant. The volume of sealant may be changed by altering the rate of material flow or varying the speed of the RMV 100”), a relative position of a pixel of the plurality of pixels, and an estimated time to move the sealant applicator from one point to another (Para. 64, “Both the computer program and the AI may contain logic to connect nearby segments. The logic may preferably have a decreased connection distance variable to reduce aberrations in the composite image, which may conserve sealant or promote efficiency”, a preferably decreased connection distance variable to promote sealant efficiency is analogous to prioritizing a point due to an estimated time to move the sealant applicator).
Regarding claim 18, Hendricks teaches all of the elements of claim 11, as stated above, as well as a user interface configured to provide real-time data including optimal driving speed, one or more of the captured images, robotic arm status, sealant applied, or road information (Para. 95, “The composite image and representations of distances may be displayed on a graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI may display the processed information from computer program, the AI, and combinations thereof, allowing the user to control and view the optical inputs of the RMV 300. The GUI may also display the progress and actions of the computer program and/or the AI through a wireless interface 344 or physical interface 350. The user may view the GUI remotely through the wireless interface 344 and control the RMV 300 through the use of a remote controller 348.”, remote control of a vehicle indicates real-time data.).
Regarding claim 19, Hendricks as modified teaches all of the elements of claim 11, as stated above, as well as wherein the robotic arm further includes one or more of a saw, a spindle, or a rotary blade as a routing tool wherein the processor is further configured to: command the robotic arm to deploy the routing tool to the paved surface (Para. 7, “The multi-axis robot may be configured to convey the road maintenance material from either the maintenance module to the road, the road to the maintenance module, or both. The multi-axis robot may be configured to be selectively coupled to a distal arm tool. Non-limiting examples, of the distal arm tool may include a sealant dispenser, a cone picker, a saw, a grinder, a chisel, and a scanner.”).
Regarding claim 20, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium (Para. 60, “The memory may include a tangible, non-transitory computer readable memory with processor-executable instructions stored thereon”) recites variably the same function as the method of claim 11. It is rejected under the same analysis.
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 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hendricks in view of Norpix (NPL, previously cited) further in view of Pelapur et al. (NPL, “Vehicle Detection and Orientation Estimation Using the Radon Transform”, published 2013).
Regarding claim 12, Hendricks teaches all of the elements of claim 11, as stated above, as well as triggering a camera (Para. 63, “The recording may be obtained through photograph”) and using an encoder for position information (Para. 82, “The location translator 314 may include a linear encoder”).
Hendricks does not explicitly disclose triggering the camera based on distance traveled and orientation by one of a radio detection and ranging equipment, or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS).
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Norpix teaches selectively triggering the camera is based on distance traveled by the vehicle as determined by one or more of a wheel encoder (Fig. 1, reprinted below, shows the use of a pulse distance interval signal (the output of an encoder) to synchronize camera capture rates; Pg. 1, “The Distance Measuring Interval Module is capable of controlling image capture rates for multiple cameras based on the received information from a Pulse Distance Interval signal (PDI).”; Pg. 5, “Adjusting the Trigger camera every N Pulses value allows to define the camera capture rate according travel distance.”).
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Pelapur teaches wherein the position of the capturing images is based on orientation by one of a radio detection and ranging equipment, or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) (Fig. 2, reprinted below, shows orientation being found through satellite imagery).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hendricks to incorporate the teachings of Norpix and Pelapur to include selectively triggering the camera based on distance traveled by the vehicle as determined by one or more of a wheel encoder, and orientation by one of a radio detection and ranging equipment, or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). Hendricks discloses performing image capture during motion of a vehicle as well as a sensor that provides positional information, however they do not disclose a particular trigger for the image capturing. Utilizing the linear encoder disclosed by Hendricks as the input to Norpix’s method for camera synchronization provides the ability to obtain consistent image data at known intervals while reducing unnecessary and redundant data. Hendricks further discloses utilizing orientation information to determine where a crack is in relation to the multi-axis robot, but they do not provide specific detail on how this orientation information is calculated. Pelapur provides a robust method for determining orientation of a vehicle using satellite imagery. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that implementing the method of Pelapur into the system of Hendricks would be a routine improvement using known techniques, increasing the accuracy of the position and orientation calculations performed by Hendricks.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-10 are allowed.
Claim 13 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Pertinent Prior Art: US Patent Number 6001181 A, “Automated Sealant Applicator”, Bullen. Discloses a gantry system for automated sealant application, similar to the linear rail and stroke actuator disclosed in claim 1.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID A WAMBST whose telephone number is (703)756-1750. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-6:30 EST.
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/DAVID ALEXANDER WAMBST/Examiner, Art Unit 2663
/GREGORY A MORSE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2698