DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This is a Final Office Action on the merits. Claims 1-9 are currently pending and are addressed below.
Response to Amendment
The specification was objected to due to a non-descriptive title. Applicant amended the title accordingly; as such, the objection has been withdrawn.
Claims 8 was objected to for a minor informality. Applicant amended the claim(s) accordingly; as such, the objection has been withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments on pgs. 8-10 with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-4 and 6-9 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and the rejection(s) of claim(s) 5 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Mills.
Claim Objections
Claim 9 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 9 recites “…exists…”, which appears to be a typographical error. For examination purposes, the term will be interpreted as “exits” based on similar claims 1 and 8.
Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1-4 and 6-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakamura of US 20180348758 A1, filed 05/31/2018, hereinafter “Nakamura”, in view of Mills of US 20180319402 A1, filed 05/05/2017, hereinafter “Mills”.
Regarding claim 1, Nakamura teaches:
A vehicle control device, comprising: a first input device that is operable by a user; a second input device that is operable by the user; and (See at least Fig. 6 & [0115]: “For example, the first operation unit 410 includes a main switch 412 and an automatic switch 414. The main switch 412 is a switch for setting a state in which the driving support may be started (a standby state). In other words, the main switch 412 is a switch for starting a process (an internal process) in a preparation step before executing the driving support, that will be described later, or a switch for determining whether or not it is possible to start the driving support.”)
a processor configured to: determine whether or not a vehicle is entering a highway based on map information; (See at least Fig. 12, [0066-0067]: “For example, the MPU 60 functions as a recommended lane determination unit (recommended lane determiner) 61 and holds second map information 62 in the storage device such as an HDD or a flash memory…The second map information 62 is map information with precision higher than that of the first map information 54. For example, the second map information 62 includes information on the center of the lane or information on a boundary of the lane. The second map information 62 may include road information, traffic regulation information, address information (an address and a postal code), facility information, telephone number information, and the like. The road information includes information indicating a type of a road such as an expressway, a toll road, a national highway, a prefectural road, or information on the number of lanes on the road, the area of an emergency parking zone, the width of each lane, a gradient of the road, the position of the road (three-dimensional coordinates including the longitude, the latitude, and the height), the curvature of a curve of the lane, the positions of junction and branch points of the lane, a sign provided on the road, and the like…” & [0077]: “For example, in the driving support of the second degree (automatic driving control), the setting vehicle speed (lower limit speed and upper limit speed) of the subject vehicle M is set to a reference speed such as a legal speed. For example, in a case where the subject vehicle M travels on an expressway, the upper limit speed is set to about 80 [km/h] or about 100 [km/h] and the lower limit speed is set to about 50 [km/h] according to the legal speed of the expressway.” See also [0011] & [0080].)
when the first input device is operated and the vehicle is entering the highway, determine a driving mode of the vehicle as a first mode, and (See at least Fig. 10, [0115]: “…The main switch 412 is a switch for setting a state in which the driving support may be started (a standby state)…” & [0136]: “In the scene (2), the subject vehicle M enters the expressway. In a case where the main switch 412 is operated by the occupant, the HMI control unit 120 changes the screens to be displayed on the first display unit 450 and the HUD 460. The screen after the change is shown in FIG. 12.”)
when the second input device is operated in the first mode, switch the driving mode from the first mode to a second mode; (See at least [0116]: “…After the main switch 412 is operated and thus the state is in the standby state (that is, a certain time has elapsed after the operation), when the automatic switch 414 is further operated, the driving support of the first degree of the smallest degree is started. That is, the automatic switch 414 is a switch for switching the driving from the manual driving to the driving support control.”)
control at least one of a steering and speed of the vehicle, (See at least [0075]: “…For example, the switching control unit 110 may switch the degree of the driving support from the first degree or more to the state of the manual driving on the basis of an operation instructing the acceleration, the deceleration, the steering, or the like of the driving operation element 80 such as the acceleration pedal, the brake pedal, the steering wheel, or the like.”)
wherein the processor is configured to not perform an auto lane change when the driving mode is the first mode, (See at least [0116]: “In a case where the main switch 412 is operated, the driving support is not immediately started, the state is in the standby state under the manual driving, and a preliminary process for executing the driving support is performed. For example, the preliminary process is a process for causing the object recognition device 16 to continuously perform the process of the object recognition for a predetermined time in advance (specifically, a sequential recognition process of a target using a Kalman filter or the like).”)
the auto lane change being a lane change by the vehicle that does not require driving operation by the user, (See at least [0130]: “FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating various scenes in which the switch from the manual driving to the driving support is performed and then the lane change by the driving support is executed.”)
wherein the processor is configured to allow the auto lane change to be performed when the driving mode is the second mode, (See at least Fig. 10, [0146]: “…In an example of FIG. 12, in the driving support start operation guide area 640-1, the start of the driving support is guided by the occupant operating the automatic switch 414” & [0178]: “In the scene (3), at the time of the driving support of the second degree, the automatic driving control unit 300 changes the lane of the subject vehicle M by the automatic driving control...”)
wherein the second input device is configured to enable an operation of the user on itself when the vehicle enters the highway and the driving mode is switched to the first mode in response to the first input device being operated, and (See at least Fig. 10, [0115]: “…After the main switch 412 is operated and thus the state is in the standby state (that is, a certain time has elapsed after the operation), when the automatic switch 414 is further operated, the driving support of the first degree of the smallest degree is started. That is, the automatic switch 414 is a switch for switching the driving from the manual driving to the driving support control” & [0136]: “In the scene (2), the subject vehicle M enters the expressway. In a case where the main switch 412 is operated by the occupant, the HMI control unit 120 changes the screens to be displayed on the first display unit 450 and the HUD 460. The screen after the change is shown in FIG. 12.”)
wherein the second input device is configured to disable the operation of the user on itself when (See at least Fig. 12, [0115]: “For example, the first operation unit 410 includes a main switch 412 and an automatic switch 414. The main switch 412 is a switch for setting a state in which the driving support may be started (a standby state). In other words, the main switch 412 is a switch for starting a process (an internal process) in a preparation step before executing the driving support, that will be described later, or a switch for determining whether or not it is possible to start the driving support. In a case where the main switch 412 is operated, the driving support is not immediately started, the state is in the standby state under the manual driving, and a preliminary process for executing the driving support is performed…” & [0138]: “The third screen IM3-1 includes a surroundings detection information display area 600-1, a driving support state display area 620-1, and a driving support start operation guide area 640-1 as areas for displaying the state in which the start of the driving support is possible (the standby state)”)
However, Nakamura does not explicitly teach that the second input device disables an operation of the user on itself when the vehicle exits a highway.
Mills, however, teaches deactivating an automated feature when the preset driving conditions are no longer satisfied, such as when the vehicle exits a highway (See at least [0023], [0026] & [0070]). Since the automated feature in Mills is only active when the vehicle is on the highway, and not when the vehicle is not on the highway, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to perform the teachings of Nakamura under the condition of the vehicle exiting the highway, as taught by Mills, with the benefit of “so that the automated driver assistance feature can be re-activated once conditions stabilize” (See [0026] of Mills).
One having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Nakamura’s device with Mills’s technique of deactivating an automated feature when the vehicle exits a highway. Doing so would be obvious “so that the automated driver assistance feature can be re-activated once conditions stabilize” (See [0026] of Mills).
Regarding claim 2, Nakamura and Mills in combination teach all the limitations of claim 1 as discussed above.
Nakamura additionally teaches:
further comprising: a third input device that is operable by the user; and (See at least [0118]: “For example, the third operation unit 440 includes a rotation operation unit (rotation operator) 442 that is protruded to a front side from a view of the occupant and a switch operation unit (switch operator) 444. The rotation operation unit 442 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and may be rotated around an axis line. The switch operation unit 444 is provided in a surroundings of the rotation operation unit 442 or a top surface of the rotation operation unit 442. The third operation unit 440 includes a rotation sensor (not shown) such as an encoder that detects the rotation angle and the rotation speed of the rotation operation unit 442, and a displacement sensor (not shown) that detects the displacement of the switch operation unit 444. The third operation unit 440 outputs values output from each of the sensors to the master control unit 100…”)
wherein the processor is configured to determine whether the auto lane change is necessary according to the surrounding situation of the vehicle, (See at least [0094]: “The action plan generation unit 323 generates the action plan for the subject vehicle M to execute the automatic driving with respect to the destination or the like. For example, the action plan generation unit 323 determines events to be sequentially executed in the automatic driving control so that the subject vehicle M travels on the recommended lane determined by the recommended lane determination unit 61 and cope with a surroundings situation of the subject vehicle M. The event is information that prescribes a travel manner of the subject vehicle M. For example, the event includes a constant speed travel event for traveling on the same travel lane at a constant speed, a low speed following event for following the preceding traveling vehicle in a condition of a low speed (for example, 60 [km/h] or less), a lane change event for changing the travel lane of the subject vehicle M, an overtaking event for overtaking the preceding traveling vehicle, a merge event for merging vehicles at a merge point, a branch event for causing the subject vehicle M to travel in a target direction at a branch point of the road, an emergency stop event for emergently stopping the subject vehicle M, and the like. In some cases, during the execution of the such events, an action for avoiding may be planned on the basis of a surroundings situation (presence of the surroundings vehicle or the pedestrian, a lane narrowness due to a road construction, or the like) of the subject vehicle M.”)
wherein the processor is configured to allow the auto lane change to be performed when a first condition or a second condition is satisfied, the first condition being that the driving mode is the second mode and an instruction to change a lane of the vehicle is input to the third input device, the second condition being a condition that it is determined that the auto lane change is necessary. (See at least [0097]: “FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a manner in which the target trajectory is generated on the basis of the recommended lane. As shown in the drawing, the recommended lane is set so that the travel to the destination along the route is convenient. When reaching a position that is a position before a switch point of the recommended lane by a predetermined distance, the action plan generation unit 323 starts the lane change event, the branch event, the merge event, and the like. The predetermined distance may be determined according to a kind of the event. During the execution of each event, in a case where it is necessary to avoid an obstacle, a target trajectory for avoiding the obstacle is generated as shown in the drawings.”)
Regarding claim 3, Nakamura and Mills in combination teach all the limitations of claim 2 as discussed above.
Nakamura additionally teaches:
wherein the second mode includes a third mode and a fourth mode, (See at least [0055]: “In the present embodiment, for example, a degree of a driving support includes a first degree, a second degree of which a control degree (an automation rate) is higher than that of the first degree, and a third degree of which a control degree is higher than that of the second degree…”)
wherein, when a first predetermined condition is satisfied after the second input device is operated in the first mode, the processor is configured to determine the driving mode as the third mode, and (See at least [0162]: “The switching control unit 110 of the master control unit 100 maintains the first degree as the degree of the driving support until it is determined that the occupant is in the hands off state by the operation element state determination unit 130, after the operation of the automatic switch 414 is received and the degree of the driving support is switched to the first degree. On the other hand, in a case where conditions for transiting the driving support to the driving support of the second degree are satisfied and it is determined that the occupant is in the hands on state by the operation element state determination unit 130, the switching control unit 110 switches the degree of the driving support from the first degree to the second degree. By such a control, the driving support control unit 200 performs the driving support until the occupant is in the hands off state, and in a case where the occupant is in the hands off state, a control authority is transferred from the driving support control unit 200 to the automatic driving control unit 300 and the automatic driving control unit 300 starts the automatic driving control.”)
until the first predetermined condition is satisfied from when the second input device is operated in the first mode, the processor is configured to determine the driving mode as the fourth mode, (See at least [0196]: “Next, the operation element state determination unit 130 determines whether or not the occupant is in the hands off state (step S118). In a case where it is determined that the occupant is in the hands on state by the operation element state determination unit 130, the switching control unit 110 returns to the process of S112 and maintains the first degree as the degree of the driving support.”)
wherein the processor is configured to allow the auto lane change to be performed when a third condition or the second condition is satisfied, the third condition being a condition that the driving mode is the third mode and the instruction to change the lane of the vehicle is input to the third input device, the second condition being the condition that it is determined that the auto lane change is necessary, (See at least [0097]: “FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a manner in which the target trajectory is generated on the basis of the recommended lane. As shown in the drawing, the recommended lane is set so that the travel to the destination along the route is convenient. When reaching a position that is a position before a switch point of the recommended lane by a predetermined distance, the action plan generation unit 323 starts the lane change event, the branch event, the merge event, and the like. The predetermined distance may be determined according to a kind of the event. During the execution of each event, in a case where it is necessary to avoid an obstacle, a target trajectory for avoiding the obstacle is generated as shown in the drawings.”)
wherein the processor is configured to not perform the auto lane change when the driving mode is the fourth mode. (See at least [0178]: “In the scene (3), at the time of the driving support of the second degree, the automatic driving control unit 300 changes the lane of the subject vehicle M by the automatic driving control. In this case, the HMI control unit 120 displays a screen corresponding to the automatic driving control of the lane change on the first display unit 450 and the HUD 460.”)
Regarding claim 4, Nakamura and Mills in combination teach all the limitations of claim 1 as discussed above.
Nakamura additionally teaches:
wherein the second input device is configured to enable the operation of the user when the driving mode is a mode in which a duty to grip at least a steering handler is not imposed on the user, and (See at least Fig. 13 & [0153]: “For example, in a case where the driving support of the first degree is being executed and the driving support of the second degree is executable, the HMI control unit 120 displays the request action notification image 622 schematically indicating an operation content of the occupant for a state in which the hand of the occupant is separated from the steering wheel 82 in the driving support state display area 620-2 of the third screen IM3-2. The request action notification image 622 is an image including the operation to be performed by the occupant in order to switch the driving support to the driving support of the second degree”. See also [0162].)
wherein the second input device is configured to disable the operation of the user when the driving mode is a mode in which the duty is imposed on the user. (See at least Fig. 27 & [0241]: “FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating an example of a third screen IM3-10 and a fourth screen IM4-10 displayed at the time of the request for switching the subject vehicle to the manual driving. Since an exit of the expressway is approaching, the HMI control unit 120 displays a request action notification image 628 for requesting for the occupant to perform the eyes on (the operation of the steering wheel 82) in a surroundings detection information display area 600-10 of the third screen IM3-10. The HMI control unit 120 may display an animation in which the image indicating the hand of the occupant is approaching from the image indicating the steering wheel 82 as the request action notification image 628.” See also [0162].)
Regarding claim 6, Nakamura and Mills in combination teach all the limitations of claim 1 as discussed above.
Nakamura additionally teaches:
wherein the processor is configured to switch the driving mode from the second mode to another mode when a second predetermined condition is satisfied in the second mode, and (See at least [0241]: “FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating an example of a third screen IM3-10 and a fourth screen IM4-10 displayed at the time of the request for switching the subject vehicle to the manual driving. Since an exit of the expressway is approaching, the HMI control unit 120 displays a request action notification image 628 for requesting for the occupant to perform the eyes on (the operation of the steering wheel 82) in a surroundings detection information display area 600-10 of the third screen IM3-10. The HMI control unit 120 may display an animation in which the image indicating the hand of the occupant is approaching from the image indicating the steering wheel 82 as the request action notification image 628.”)
wherein the processor is configured to not perform the auto lane change when the driving mode is switched from the second mode to another mode. (See at least [0241]: “FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating an example of a third screen IM3-10 and a fourth screen IM4-10 displayed at the time of the request for switching the subject vehicle to the manual driving. Since an exit of the expressway is approaching, the HMI control unit 120 displays a request action notification image 628 for requesting for the occupant to perform the eyes on (the operation of the steering wheel 82) in a surroundings detection information display area 600-10 of the third screen IM3-10. The HMI control unit 120 may display an animation in which the image indicating the hand of the occupant is approaching from the image indicating the steering wheel 82 as the request action notification image 628.”)
Regarding claim 7, Nakamura and Mills in combination teach all the limitations of claim 6 as discussed above.
Nakamura additionally teaches:
wherein the second predetermined condition includes at least one of a condition that the second input device is operated, a condition that a direction indicator is operated, and a condition that the vehicle exits a section in which automated driving is allowed. (See at least [0241]: “FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating an example of a third screen IM3-10 and a fourth screen IM4-10 displayed at the time of the request for switching the subject vehicle to the manual driving. Since an exit of the expressway is approaching, the HMI control unit 120 displays a request action notification image 628 for requesting for the occupant to perform the eyes on (the operation of the steering wheel 82) in a surroundings detection information display area 600-10 of the third screen IM3-10. The HMI control unit 120 may display an animation in which the image indicating the hand of the occupant is approaching from the image indicating the steering wheel 82 as the request action notification image 628.”)
Regarding claim 8, Nakamura discloses:
A vehicle control method using a computer mounted in a vehicle including a first input device that is operable by a user and a second input device that is operable by the user to perform: (See at least Fig. 6 & [0115]: “For example, the first operation unit 410 includes a main switch 412 and an automatic switch 414. The main switch 412 is a switch for setting a state in which the driving support may be started (a standby state). In other words, the main switch 412 is a switch for starting a process (an internal process) in a preparation step before executing the driving support, that will be described later, or a switch for determining whether or not it is possible to start the driving support.”)
determining whether or not the vehicle is entering a highway based on map information; (See at least Fig. 12, [0066-0067]: “For example, the MPU 60 functions as a recommended lane determination unit (recommended lane determiner) 61 and holds second map information 62 in the storage device such as an HDD or a flash memory…The second map information 62 is map information with precision higher than that of the first map information 54. For example, the second map information 62 includes information on the center of the lane or information on a boundary of the lane. The second map information 62 may include road information, traffic regulation information, address information (an address and a postal code), facility information, telephone number information, and the like. The road information includes information indicating a type of a road such as an expressway, a toll road, a national highway, a prefectural road, or information on the number of lanes on the road, the area of an emergency parking zone, the width of each lane, a gradient of the road, the position of the road (three-dimensional coordinates including the longitude, the latitude, and the height), the curvature of a curve of the lane, the positions of junction and branch points of the lane, a sign provided on the road, and the like…” & [0077]: “For example, in the driving support of the second degree (automatic driving control), the setting vehicle speed (lower limit speed and upper limit speed) of the subject vehicle M is set to a reference speed such as a legal speed. For example, in a case where the subject vehicle M travels on an expressway, the upper limit speed is set to about 80 [km/h] or about 100 [km/h] and the lower limit speed is set to about 50 [km/h] according to the legal speed of the expressway.” See also [0011] & [0080].)
determining a driving mode of the vehicle as a first mode when the first input device is operated and the vehicle is entering the highway; (See at least Fig. 10, [0115]: “…The main switch 412 is a switch for setting a state in which the driving support may be started (a standby state)…” & [0136]: “In the scene (2), the subject vehicle M enters the expressway. In a case where the main switch 412 is operated by the occupant, the HMI control unit 120 changes the screens to be displayed on the first display unit 450 and the HUD 460. The screen after the change is shown in FIG. 12.”)
switching the driving mode from the first mode to a second mode when the second input device is operated in the first mode; (See at least [0116]: “…After the main switch 412 is operated and thus the state is in the standby state (that is, a certain time has elapsed after the operation), when the automatic switch 414 is further operated, the driving support of the first degree of the smallest degree is started. That is, the automatic switch 414 is a switch for switching the driving from the manual driving to the driving support control.”)
controlling at least one of a steering and speed of the vehicle; (See at least [0075]: “…For example, the switching control unit 110 may switch the degree of the driving support from the first degree or more to the state of the manual driving on the basis of an operation instructing the acceleration, the deceleration, the steering, or the like of the driving operation element 80 such as the acceleration pedal, the brake pedal, the steering wheel, or the like.”)
does not perform an auto lane change when the driving mode is the first mode, (See at least [0116]: “In a case where the main switch 412 is operated, the driving support is not immediately started, the state is in the standby state under the manual driving, and a preliminary process for executing the driving support is performed. For example, the preliminary process is a process for causing the object recognition device 16 to continuously perform the process of the object recognition for a predetermined time in advance (specifically, a sequential recognition process of a target using a Kalman filter or the like).”)
the auto lane change being a lane change by the vehicle that does not require driving operation by the user; and (See at least [0130]: “FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating various scenes in which the switch from the manual driving to the driving support is performed and then the lane change by the driving support is executed.”)
allowing the auto lane change to be performed when the driving mode is the second mode, (See at least Fig. 10, [0146]: “…In an example of FIG. 12, in the driving support start operation guide area 640-1, the start of the driving support is guided by the occupant operating the automatic switch 414” & [0178]: “In the scene (3), at the time of the driving support of the second degree, the automatic driving control unit 300 changes the lane of the subject vehicle M by the automatic driving control...”)
wherein the second input device is configured to enable an operation of the user on itself when the vehicle enters the highway and the driving mode is switched to the first mode in response to the first input device being operated, and (See at least Fig. 10, [0115]: “…After the main switch 412 is operated and thus the state is in the standby state (that is, a certain time has elapsed after the operation), when the automatic switch 414 is further operated, the driving support of the first degree of the smallest degree is started. That is, the automatic switch 414 is a switch for switching the driving from the manual driving to the driving support control” & [0136]: “In the scene (2), the subject vehicle M enters the expressway. In a case where the main switch 412 is operated by the occupant, the HMI control unit 120 changes the screens to be displayed on the first display unit 450 and the HUD 460. The screen after the change is shown in FIG. 12.”)
wherein the second input device is configured to disable the operation of the user on itself when (See at least Fig. 12, [0115]: “For example, the first operation unit 410 includes a main switch 412 and an automatic switch 414. The main switch 412 is a switch for setting a state in which the driving support may be started (a standby state). In other words, the main switch 412 is a switch for starting a process (an internal process) in a preparation step before executing the driving support, that will be described later, or a switch for determining whether or not it is possible to start the driving support. In a case where the main switch 412 is operated, the driving support is not immediately started, the state is in the standby state under the manual driving, and a preliminary process for executing the driving support is performed…” & [0138]: “The third screen IM3-1 includes a surroundings detection information display area 600-1, a driving support state display area 620-1, and a driving support start operation guide area 640-1 as areas for displaying the state in which the start of the driving support is possible (the standby state)”)
However, Nakamura does not explicitly teach that the second input device disables an operation of the user on itself when the vehicle exits a highway.
Mills, however, teaches deactivating an automated feature when the preset driving conditions are no longer satisfied, such as when the vehicle exits a highway (See at least [0023], [0026] & [0070]). Since the automated feature in Mills is only active when the vehicle is on the highway, and not when the vehicle is not on the highway, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to perform the teachings of Nakamura under the condition of the vehicle exiting the highway, as taught by Mills, with the benefit of “so that the automated driver assistance feature can be re-activated once conditions stabilize” (See [0026] of Mills).
One having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Nakamura’s method with Mills’s technique of deactivating an automated feature when the vehicle exits a highway. Doing so would be obvious “so that the automated driver assistance feature can be re-activated once conditions stabilize” (See [0026] of Mills).
NOTE: Claim 8 recites the following contingent limitations: (1) “…determining a driving mode of the vehicle as a first mode…”, (2) “…switching the driving mode from the first mode to a second mode…”, (3) “…does not perform an auto lane change…”, (4) “…allowing the auto lane change to be performed…”, (5) “wherein the second input device is configured to enable an operation of the user on itself…”, and (6) “…wherein the second input device is configured to disable the operation of the user on itself…”. These limitations are contingent because they recite steps that are only required to be performed if their conditions are met. Limitation (1) only needs to be performed “when the first input device is operated and the vehicle is entering the highway”. Limitation (2) only needs to be performed “when the second input device is operated in the first mode”. Limitation (3) only needs to be performed “when the driving mode is the first mode”. Limitation (4) only needs to be performed “when the driving mode is the second mode”. Limitation (5) only needs to be performed “when the vehicle enters the highway and the driving mode is switched to the first mode in response to the first input device being operated”. Limitation (6) only needs to be performed “when the vehicle exits the highway and the driving mode is not switched to the first mode”. Therefore, the BRI of claim 1 only requires limitations (1)-(6) if it is determined that the vehicle is entering a highway.
Regarding claim 9, Nakamura teaches:
A computer readable non-transitory storage medium storing a program causing a computer mounted in a vehicle including a first input device that is operable by a user and a second input device that is operable by the user to execute: (See at least Fig. 6 & [0115]: “For example, the first operation unit 410 includes a main switch 412 and an automatic switch 414. The main switch 412 is a switch for setting a state in which the driving support may be started (a standby state). In other words, the main switch 412 is a switch for starting a process (an internal process) in a preparation step before executing the driving support, that will be described later, or a switch for determining whether or not it is possible to start the driving support.”)
determining whether or not the vehicle is entering a highway based on map information; (See at least Fig. 12, [0066-0067]: “For example, the MPU 60 functions as a recommended lane determination unit (recommended lane determiner) 61 and holds second map information 62 in the storage device such as an HDD or a flash memory…The second map information 62 is map information with precision higher than that of the first map information 54. For example, the second map information 62 includes information on the center of the lane or information on a boundary of the lane. The second map information 62 may include road information, traffic regulation information, address information (an address and a postal code), facility information, telephone number information, and the like. The road information includes information indicating a type of a road such as an expressway, a toll road, a national highway, a prefectural road, or information on the number of lanes on the road, the area of an emergency parking zone, the width of each lane, a gradient of the road, the position of the road (three-dimensional coordinates including the longitude, the latitude, and the height), the curvature of a curve of the lane, the positions of junction and branch points of the lane, a sign provided on the road, and the like…” & [0077]: “For example, in the driving support of the second degree (automatic driving control), the setting vehicle speed (lower limit speed and upper limit speed) of the subject vehicle M is set to a reference speed such as a legal speed. For example, in a case where the subject vehicle M travels on an expressway, the upper limit speed is set to about 80 [km/h] or about 100 [km/h] and the lower limit speed is set to about 50 [km/h] according to the legal speed of the expressway.” See also [0011] & [0080].)
determining a driving mode of the vehicle as a first mode when the first input device is operated and the vehicle is entering the highway; (See at least Fig. 10, [0115]: “…The main switch 412 is a switch for setting a state in which the driving support may be started (a standby state)…” & [0136]: “In the scene (2), the subject vehicle M enters the expressway. In a case where the main switch 412 is operated by the occupant, the HMI control unit 120 changes the screens to be displayed on the first display unit 450 and the HUD 460. The screen after the change is shown in FIG. 12.”)
switching the driving mode from the first mode to a second mode when the second input device is operated in the first mode; (See at least [0116]: “…After the main switch 412 is operated and thus the state is in the standby state (that is, a certain time has elapsed after the operation), when the automatic switch 414 is further operated, the driving support of the first degree of the smallest degree is started. That is, the automatic switch 414 is a switch for switching the driving from the manual driving to the driving support control.”)
controlling at least one of a steering and speed of the vehicle; (See at least [0075]: “…For example, the switching control unit 110 may switch the degree of the driving support from the first degree or more to the state of the manual driving on the basis of an operation instructing the acceleration, the deceleration, the steering, or the like of the driving operation element 80 such as the acceleration pedal, the brake pedal, the steering wheel, or the like.”)
does not perform an auto lane change when the driving mode is the first mode, (See at least [0116]: “In a case where the main switch 412 is operated, the driving support is not immediately started, the state is in the standby state under the manual driving, and a preliminary process for executing the driving support is performed. For example, the preliminary process is a process for causing the object recognition device 16 to continuously perform the process of the object recognition for a predetermined time in advance (specifically, a sequential recognition process of a target using a Kalman filter or the like).”)
the auto lane change being a lane change by the vehicle that does not require driving operation by the user; and (See at least [0130]: “FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating various scenes in which the switch from the manual driving to the driving support is performed and then the lane change by the driving support is executed.”)
allowing the auto lane change to be performed when the driving mode is the second mode, (See at least Fig. 10, [0146]: “…In an example of FIG. 12, in the driving support start operation guide area 640-1, the start of the driving support is guided by the occupant operating the automatic switch 414” & [0178]: “In the scene (3), at the time of the driving support of the second degree, the automatic driving control unit 300 changes the lane of the subject vehicle M by the automatic driving control...”)
wherein the second input device is configured to enable an operation of the user on itself when the vehicle enters the highway and the driving mode is switched to the first mode in response to the first input device being operated, and (See at least Fig. 10, [0115]: “…After the main switch 412 is operated and thus the state is in the standby state (that is, a certain time has elapsed after the operation), when the automatic switch 414 is further operated, the driving support of the first degree of the smallest degree is started. That is, the automatic switch 414 is a switch for switching the driving from the manual driving to the driving support control” & [0136]: “In the scene (2), the subject vehicle M enters the expressway. In a case where the main switch 412 is operated by the occupant, the HMI control unit 120 changes the screens to be displayed on the first display unit 450 and the HUD 460. The screen after the change is shown in FIG. 12.”)
wherein the second input device is configured to disable the operation of the user on itself when (See at least Fig. 12, [0115]: “For example, the first operation unit 410 includes a main switch 412 and an automatic switch 414. The main switch 412 is a switch for setting a state in which the driving support may be started (a standby state). In other words, the main switch 412 is a switch for starting a process (an internal process) in a preparation step before executing the driving support, that will be described later, or a switch for determining whether or not it is possible to start the driving support. In a case where the main switch 412 is operated, the driving support is not immediately started, the state is in the standby state under the manual driving, and a preliminary process for executing the driving support is performed…” & [0138]: “The third screen IM3-1 includes a surroundings detection information display area 600-1, a driving support state display area 620-1, and a driving support start operation guide area 640-1 as areas for displaying the state in which the start of the driving support is possible (the standby state)”)
However, Nakamura does not explicitly teach that the second input device disables an operation of the user on itself when the vehicle exits a highway.
Mills, however, teaches deactivating an automated feature when the preset driving conditions are no longer satisfied, such as when the vehicle exits a highway (See at least [0023], [0026] & [0070]). Since the automated feature in Mills is only active when the vehicle is on the highway, and not when the vehicle is not on the highway, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to perform the teachings of Nakamura under the condition of the vehicle exiting the highway, as taught by Mills, with the benefit of “so that the automated driver assistance feature can be re-activated once conditions stabilize” (See [0026] of Mills).
One having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Nakamura’s system with Mills’s technique of deactivating an automated feature when the vehicle exits a highway. Doing so would be obvious “so that the automated driver assistance feature can be re-activated once conditions stabilize” (See [0026] of Mills).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakamura in view of Mills and further in view of Taniguchi of US 20210155242 A1, filed 06/26/2018, hereinafter “Taniguchi”.
Regarding claim 5, Nakamura and Mills in combination teach all the limitations of claim 3 as discussed above.
Nakamura additionally teaches:
further comprising an output device configured to output information; and (See at least Fig. 6 & [0107]: “The HMI 400 suggests various pieces of information to the occupant in the vehicle and is operated by the occupant. For example, the HMI 400 includes a part or all of various display devices, a light emitting unit, a speaker, a buzzer, a touch panel, various operation switches, a key, and the like. The HMI 400 may include a part of a seat belt device that holds the occupant setting on the seat by a seat belt. Details of a function of the HMI 400 will be described later.”)
Nakamura and Mills in combination do not explicitly teach:
the processor is configured to cause the output device to output information indicating that the auto lane change is in a restricted state when the driving mode is the fourth mode.
Taniguchi teaches:
the processor is configured to cause the output device to output information indicating that the auto lane change is in a restricted state when the driving mode is the fourth mode. (See at least [0165]: “Furthermore, when the post-change lane after execution of a “lane change in a direction toward the set location due to the driver's operation” is not the “first lane,” it is sufficient merely to issue a notification prompting the driver to make a lane return while a lane change assist (e.g., an autonomous lane change) in a direction away from the set location S is restricted. In other words, a lane change assist can continue to be restricted in a direction away from the set location S while the lane-return-encouraging information remains displayed. In this situation, the driver can be made aware that the post-change lane is not the “first lane” while respect is given to the driver's intention in the event that a “lane change in a direction toward the set location as a result of the driver's operation” is executed.”)
NOTE: The limitation “…when the driving mode is the fourth mode” is considered to be intended use since it merely indicates a scenario in which to output information indicating that auto lane change is restricted and does not impose any structural or functional limitations on the claimed invention.
One having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Nakamura and Mills’s device with Taniguchi’s technique of outputting information indicating that auto lane change is in a restricted state when the driving mode is the fourth mode. Doing so would have been obvious so that “unpleasant sensations for the driver can be prevented and a lane change assist that does not conform to the drivers’ intention can be prevented” (See [0160] of Taniguchi).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NIKKI MARIE M MOLINA whose telephone number is (571)272-5180. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9am-6pm PT.
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/NIKKI MARIE M MOLINA/ Examiner, Art Unit 3662
/ANISS CHAD/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3662