Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 2/5/26 has been entered.
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) 1-5, 7, 9-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Patton et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2019/0286793 A1) in view of ZHANG et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2021/0272452 A1).
1, Patton teaches a computer-implemented method comprising: determining a transit- impacting event category for a transit-impacting event [abstract, a method and/or system for facilitating event-based vehicle operation can include determining a vehicle route; determining geographic regions for the vehicle route; monitoring the determined geographic regions for events; determining an event of interest from the detected
events; and/or dynamically facilitating modification of vehicular operation of the vehicle based on the event of interest];
computing downlink communication priority scores for a plurality of vehicles connected via a wireless communication network using a set of parameters specific to the transit-impacting event category [par 0043, 0122, Communication by and/or between any components of the system 200 can include wireless communication (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth, radiofrequency, Zigbee, Z-wave, etc.), wired communication, and/or any other suitable types of communication. Additionally or alternatively, parameters, metrics, inputs, outputs, and/or other suitable data can be associated with value types including: scores (e.g., indicating a relevance level of an event to a vehicle and/or vehicle parameter, such as for identifying events of interest; describing a characteristic of an event, such as a danger score; etc.), binary values (e.g., whether or not an event exists, etc.), classifications (e.g., event categories, vehicle classes, geographic region types, etc.), confidence levels (e.g., probability values for detection of an event and/or for event parameter determination, etc.), values along a spectrum, values with any suitable units of measurement (e.g., metric system units, US customary units, etc.), geometric descriptors (e.g., geographic region radius, aggregate region area, event area, route descriptions, etc.)];
Patton fail show wherein a respective downlink communication score for a respective vehicle indicates a level of urgency for the respective vehicle to receive a wireless communication from a higher level of the wireless communication network regarding the transit-impacting event; determining a downlink communication priority order for the plurality of vehicles according to the downlink communication priority scores, wherein the downlink communication priority order comprises a sequential priority order for transmitting wireless communications regarding the transmit-impacting event from the higher level of the wireless communication network to the plurality of vehicles; and transmitting the downlink communication priority order to a transit-related service.
In an analogous art ZHANG show impacting event category [par 0090, 0091, The determination of the target object is described in detail below. In some embodiments, the central device 301 may determine the target object based on the category of traffic information. As used herein, the term “category” may refer to the type of traffic information described above or a subclass thereof. In some embodiments, the central device 301 determines a category of traffic information and determines a target object from at least one external server subscribing to traffic information of this category from the central device 301],
wherein a respective downlink communication score for a respective vehicle indicates a level of urgency for the respective vehicle to receive a wireless communication from a higher level of the wireless communication network regarding the transit-impacting event [par 0036, 0106, The system 110 for issuing traffic information for the transportation means 130 is also deployed in the environment 100, and may also be referred to as a vehicle-road-cloud collaboration system. The system 110 for issuing traffic information is configured to acquire at least traffic information of an area in which the transportation means 130 is located and to provide the traffic information to the transportation means 130 and/or to control travel of the transportation means. When there are multiple types of traffic information to be provided at the central device 301, the traffic information to be provided may be ranked, e.g., divided into different priorities. The central device 301 may then provide traffic information according to the determined ratings. For example, the central device 301 may determine the priority of the traffic information based on the traffic status, traffic event, or traffic signal indicated by the received traffic information],
determining a downlink communication priority order for the plurality of vehicles according to the downlink communication priority scores[par 0107, The ranking of the traffic information or its priority may be based on factors such as the traffic status indicated by the traffic information, the importance or degree of danger of the traffic event or traffic signal, etc. The category of traffic information (e.g., the six types mentioned above and their subclasses) may be based on. The fineness of the ranking may be determined based on actual requirements. As an example of coarse ranking, the traffic event information may have a higher priority than the signal lamp information. As an example of a fine ranking, traffic event information indicating a converse running event may have a higher priority than traffic event information indicating occupancy of an emergency lane; the meteorological information indicating the freezing of the road may have a higher priority than the infrastructure information indicating the road crack],
wherein the downlink communication priority order comprises a sequential priority order for transmitting wireless communications regarding the transmit-impacting event from the higher level of the wireless communication network to the plurality of vehicles [par 0106, 0107, 0122, For example, the central device 301 may determine the priority of the traffic information based on the traffic status, traffic event, or traffic signal indicated by the received traffic information. The order for providing is then determined based on the priority of the traffic information and the priority of other traffic information to be provided, and the traffic information is provided in this order. The central device 301 may provide traffic information to the corresponding target object in order from high priority to low priority. In some embodiments, the providing traffic information to the target object includes: determining a priority of the traffic information; determining an order for providing the traffic information based on the priority of the traffic information and the priority of the other traffic information; and providing the traffic information to the target object in the order],
and transmitting the downlink communication priority order to a transit-related service [par 0109, 0114, 0122, In the process described above, traffic information within a certain geographic range may be extended to a lager range as desired by processing, forwarding or sharing of the central platform subsystem 210. In this way, the transportation means can master the traffic conditions over a larger range, thereby more reasonably planning the travel path and the like. In addition, by sharing the traffic information with the third-party platform, it is possible to enable a transportation means not installed with the OBU to obtain the traffic information by means of the third-party service].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Patton and ZHANG because to provide different services for different types of vehicles, including high-level autonomous vehicles, communication-capable networked vehicles, and existing mass transit vehicles. As a result, the safety and the passing efficiency of driving are improved. [Zhang para 0003]
2, Patton and ZHANG demonstrate the computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein computing the downlink communication priority scores for the plurality of vehicles using the set of parameters specific to the transit-impacting event category comprises: applying, to the set of parameters specific to the transit-impacting event category, geographical locations of the plurality of vehicles and characteristics of the plurality of vehicles [Patton, par 0122, Additionally or alternatively, parameters, metrics, inputs, outputs, and/or other suitable data can be associated with value types including: scores (e.g., indicating a relevance level of an event to a vehicle and/or vehicle parameter, such as for identifying events of interest; describing a characteristic of an event, such as a danger score; etc.), binary values (e.g., whether or not an event exists, etc.), classifications (e.g., event categories, vehicle classes, geographic region types, etc.), confidence levels (e.g., probability values for detection of an event and/or for event parameter determination, etc.), values along a spectrum, values with any suitable units of measurement (e.g., metric system units, US customary units, etc.), geometric descriptors (€.g., geographic region radius, aggregate region area, event area, route descriptions, etc.), and/or any other suitable types of values].
3, Patton and ZHANG demonstrate the computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising: applying a geographical location associated with the transit- impacting event to the set of parameters specific to the transit-impacting event category [Patton, par 0052, The event system 230 of the vehicle operation system can function to detect events based on external signals and/or other suitable signals. In particular, the event system 230 can monitor a plurality of geographic regions for external signals indicative of occurrence of one or more events. Each geographic region can include (e.g., encompass fully or partially, etc.) one or more geographic locations (e.g., base unit of physical location measurement; location referenced by geographic coordinates; etc.). The event system 230 can be remote from the vehicle 210 (e.g., be included in a remote processing system), remote from the deployment system 220]
4, Patton and ZHANG displays the computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a transit-related service category for the transit-related service[par 0101, The event parameters can be determined before, after, or during event detection. Event parameters can include: whether an event is occurring (€.g., a binary classification, a probability, etc.), the event category (e.g., traffic, sports, games, accidents, fire, natural disasters, entertainment, concerts, no-fly zones, wireless signal dead-zones, etc.), event severity, event truthfulness, event content (e.g., event title, event description, etc.), event time (e.g., estimated and/or anticipated start time, end time, duration, etc.), event location (e.g., center; nexus), event extent or volume (e.g., event geofence, geographic region, physical dimensions effected, etc.), event entities (e.g., users proximal the event or otherwise related to the event), associated confidence levels (e.g., for other event parameters, etc.) and/or any other suitable event parameters];
wherein the set of parameters specific to the transit-impacting event category are also specific to the transit-related service category[par 0030, In general categories and elements allow characteristics and performance of a vehicle, driver, and/or user to be measured or scored, while weightings allow categories or elements to be emphasized relative to one another under certain conditions, for example by road, area, or zone, and/or time of day or day of week].
Patton fail to show further comprising: receiving, from the transit-related service, a request to provide the downlink communication priority order for transmitting downlink communications related to the transit-impacting event.
In an analogous art ZHANG show further comprising: receiving, from the transit-related service, a request to provide the downlink communication priority order for transmitting downlink communications related to the transit-impacting event [par 0084, 0087, 0088, At 315, the field device 302 provides the traffic information to the central device 301 serving the field device 302, e.g., to facilitate sharing of the traffic information to more objects via the central device 301. For example, the roadside computing unit 240 transmits traffic information to the roadside service node 212 of the central platform subsystem 210. The field device 302 may provide traffic information in any suitable manner. Transmission of traffic information from roadside subsystem 220 or edge computing subsystem 230 to the central platform subsystem 210 may be based on any suitable communication protocol, the central device 301 provides traffic information to the determined target object, for example, to facilitate issuing of traffic information to more transportation means via the target object].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Patton and ZHANG because to provide different services for different types of vehicles, including high-level autonomous vehicles, communication-capable networked vehicles, and existing mass transit vehicles. As a result, the safety and the passing efficiency of driving are improved. [Zhang para 0003]
5, Patton and ZHANG demonstrate the computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the set of parameters specific to the transit-impacting event category are also specific to the transit-related service [Patton, par 0101, In a fourth example, determining event parameters for a set of events can include, for each event of the set of events: determining a category probability for an event category based on signals of the external signals, the signals associated with the event (e.g., signals assigned to geographic regions corresponding to the event; etc.); in response to the category probability exceeding a category probability threshold, categorizing the event with the event category, where determining the event of interest from the set of events can be based on the event category (and/or the vehicle parameter associated with the vehicle, and/or other suitable data, etc.)].
7, Patton and ZHANG convey the computer-implemented method of claim 1, Patton fail to show wherein the transit-related service comprises a cloud-based service that provides information to vehicles via downlink communication.
In an analogous art ZHANG show wherein the transit-related service comprises a cloud-based service that provides information to vehicles via downlink communication [par 0036, The system 110 for issuing traffic information for the transportation means 130 is also deployed in the environment 100, and may also be referred to as a vehicle-road-cloud collaboration system. The system 110 for issuing traffic information is configured to acquire at least traffic information of an area in which the transportation means 130 is located and to provide the traffic information to the transportation means 130 and/or to control travel of the transportation means 130. Each of the transportation means].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Patton and ZHANG because to provide different services for different types of vehicles, including high-level autonomous vehicles, communication-capable networked vehicles, and existing mass transit vehicles. As a result, the safety and the passing efficiency of driving are improved. [Zhang para 0003]
9, Patton and ZHANG discloses the computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the transit-impacting event category comprises at least one of: a road closure event category; a traffic jam event category; a vehicle accident event category; an unsafe road condition event category; and a weather-related event category [Patton, par 0032, 0033, For example, vehicles may wish to avoid event locations that could have adverse effects on vehicle operation (e.g., UAVs may wish to avoid areas with fire, to avoid heat
damage or smoke screening; terrestrial vehicles may wish to avoid areas with roadblocks; vehicles may wish to avoid locations associated with natural disasters; etc.), and treat event locations as dynamic no-fly zones. The nature of such events can make route prediction and planning a challenge, since an adverse event can occur along the vehicle route while the vehicle is already en route (e.g., weather-related adverse events, traffic-related adverse events, etc.). Furthermore, events can be difficult to predict, and can be difficult to detect with sufficient speed, certainty, and/or fidelity to be actionable by a vehicle (and/or associated vehicle entity such as a pilot of the vehicle etc.)].
10, Patton and ZHANG provide the computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the determined transit impacting event category comprises an unsafe road collision category and the set of parameters specific to the unsafe road condition category comprise at least one of: type of unsafe road condition; vehicle distance to a geographical location of an unsafe road condition vehicle navigation route; vehicle type; and vehicle capabilities [Patton, par 0101, In a fifth example, events can be categorized into different categories (e.g., fire, police response, mass shooting, traffic accident, natural disaster, storm, active shooter, concerts, protests, etc.) based on the context of signals used to detect the events. Event severity can indicate how severe an event Is (e.g., what degree of badness, what degree of damage, etc. is associated with the event), was, and/or will be. In a specific example, severity can range from less severe (é€.9., a single vehicle accident without injuries) to more severe (e.g., multi vehicle accident with multiple injuries and a possible fatality)].
11, Patton describes a system comprising: one or more processing resources; and a non-transitory computer-readable medium, coupled to the one or more processing resources [par 0127, The system and method 100 and embodiments thereof can be embodied and/or implemented at least in part as a machine configured to receive a computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions. The instructions are preferably executed by computer-executable components preferably integrated with the system. The computer-readable medium can be stored on any suitable computer- readable media such as RAMs, ROMs, flash memory, EEPROMs],
having stored therein instructions that when executed by the one or more processing resources cause the system to perform a method comprising: determining a transit-impacting event category for a transit-impacting event[abstract, a method and/or system for facilitating event-based vehicle operation can include determining a vehicle route; determining geographic regions for the vehicle route; monitoring the determined geographic regions for events; determining an event of interest from the detected events; and/or dynamically facilitating modification of vehicular operation of the vehicle based on the event of interest];
computing downlink communication priority scores for a plurality of vehicles connected via a wireless communication network using a set of parameters specific to the transit-impacting event category [par 0043, 0122, Communication by and/or between any components of the system 200 can include wireless communication (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth, radiofrequency, Zigbee, Z-wave, etc.), wired communication, and/or any other suitable types of communication. Additionally or alternatively, parameters, metrics, inputs, outputs, and/or other suitable data can be associated with value types including: scores (e.g., indicating a relevance level of an event to a vehicle and/or vehicle parameter, such as for identifying events of interest; describing a characteristic of an event, such as a danger score; etc.), binary values (e.g., whether or not an event exists, etc.), classifications (e.g., event categories, vehicle classes, geographic region types, etc.), confidence levels (e.g., probability values for detection of an event and/or for event parameter determination, etc.), values along a spectrum, values with any suitable units of measurement (e.g., metric system units, US customary units, etc.), geometric descriptors (e.g., geographic region radius, aggregate region area, event area, route descriptions, etc.)];
Patton fail show wherein a respective downlink communication score for a respective vehicle indicates a level of urgency for the respective vehicle to receive a wireless communication from a higher level of the wireless communication network regarding the transit-impacting event; determining a downlink communication priority order for the plurality of vehicles according to the downlink communication priority scores, wherein the downlink communication priority order comprises a sequential priority order for transmitting wireless communications regarding the transmit-impacting event from the higher level of the wireless communication network to the plurality of vehicles; and transmitting, according to the downlink communication priority order, downlink communications related to the transit-impacting event to the plurality of vehicles.
In an analogous art ZHANG show impacting event category [par 0090, 0091, The determination of the target object is described in detail below. In some embodiments, the central device 301 may determine the target object based on the category of traffic information. As used herein, the term “category” may refer to the type of traffic information described above or a subclass thereof. In some embodiments, the central device 301 determines a category of traffic information and determines a target object from at least one external server subscribing to traffic information of this category from the central device 301],
wherein a respective downlink communication score for a respective vehicle indicates a level of urgency for the respective vehicle to receive a wireless communication from a higher level of the wireless communication network regarding the transit-impacting event [par 0036, 0106, The system 110 for issuing traffic information for the transportation means 130 is also deployed in the environment 100, and may also be referred to as a vehicle-road-cloud collaboration system. The system 110 for issuing traffic information is configured to acquire at least traffic information of an area in which the transportation means 130 is located and to provide the traffic information to the transportation means 130 and/or to control travel of the transportation means. When there are multiple types of traffic information to be provided at the central device 301, the traffic information to be provided may be ranked, e.g., divided into different priorities. The central device 301 may then provide traffic information according to the determined ratings. For example, the central device 301 may determine the priority of the traffic information based on the traffic status, traffic event, or traffic signal indicated by the received traffic information],
determining a downlink communication priority order for the plurality of vehicles according to the downlink communication priority scores[par 0107, The ranking of the traffic information or its priority may be based on factors such as the traffic status indicated by the traffic information, the importance or degree of danger of the traffic event or traffic signal, etc. The category of traffic information (e.g., the six types mentioned above and their subclasses) may be based on. The fineness of the ranking may be determined based on actual requirements. As an example of coarse ranking, the traffic event information may have a higher priority than the signal lamp information. As an example of a fine ranking, traffic event information indicating a converse running event may have a higher priority than traffic event information indicating occupancy of an emergency lane; the meteorological information indicating the freezing of the road may have a higher priority than the infrastructure information indicating the road crack],
wherein the downlink communication priority order comprises a sequential priority order for transmitting wireless communications regarding the transmit-impacting event from the higher level of the wireless communication network to the plurality of vehicles [par 0106, 0107, 0122, For example, the central device 301 may determine the priority of the traffic information based on the traffic status, traffic event, or traffic signal indicated by the received traffic information. The order for providing is then determined based on the priority of the traffic information and the priority of other traffic information to be provided, and the traffic information is provided in this order. The central device 301 may provide traffic information to the corresponding target object in order from high priority to low priority. In some embodiments, the providing traffic information to the target object includes: determining a priority of the traffic information; determining an order for providing the traffic information based on the priority of the traffic information and the priority of the other traffic information; and providing the traffic information to the target object in the order],
and transmitting, according to the downlink communication priority order, downlink communications related to the transit-impacting event to the plurality of vehicles [par 0109, 0114, 0122, In the process described above, traffic information within a certain geographic range may be extended to a lager range as desired by processing, forwarding or sharing of the central platform subsystem 210. In this way, the transportation means can master the traffic conditions over a larger range, thereby more reasonably planning the travel path and the like. In addition, by sharing the traffic information with the third-party platform, it is possible to enable a transportation means not installed with the OBU to obtain the traffic information by means of the third-party service].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Patton and ZHANG because to provide different services for different types of vehicles, including high-level autonomous vehicles, communication-capable networked vehicles, and existing mass transit vehicles. As a result, the safety and the passing efficiency of driving are improved. [Zhang para 0003]
12. Patton and ZHANG display the system of claim 11, Patton fail to show wherein the system comprises a cloud-based system.
In an analogous art ZHANG show wherein the system comprises a cloud-based system[par 0036, The system 110 for issuing traffic information for the transportation means 130 is also deployed in the environment 100, and may also be referred to as a vehicle-road-cloud collaboration system. The system 110 for issuing traffic information is configured to acquire at least traffic information of an area in which the transportation means 130 is located and to provide the traffic information to the transportation means 130 and/or to control travel of the transportation means 130. Each of the transportation means].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Patton and ZHANG because to provide different services for different types of vehicles, including high-level autonomous vehicles, communication-capable networked vehicles, and existing mass transit vehicles. As a result, the safety and the passing efficiency of driving are improved. [Zhang para 0003]
13.Patton and ZHANG provide the system of claim 11, Patton fail to show wherein the system is implemented in roadside infrastructure.
In an analogous art ZHANG show wherein the system is implemented in roadside infrastructure [par 0040, The central platform subsystem 210 may include one or more of: a roadside service node 212, a roadside unit (RSU) service node 214, an edge computing service node 216, a core service node 217, or a third-party docking service node 218].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Patton and ZHANG because to provide different services for different types of vehicles, including high-level autonomous vehicles, communication-capable networked vehicles, and existing mass transit vehicles. As a result, the safety and the passing efficiency of driving are improved. [Zhang para 0003]
14. Patton and ZHANG disclose the system of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises: receiving, from a transit-related service, information associated with the transit- impacting event [Patton, par 0068, The monitoring system 240 preferably receives event information (e.g., event parameters, etc.) from the event system 230, but can additionally or alternatively receive deployment information from the deployment system 220 (e.g., route information), and/or receive any other suitable information from any other suitable source. The monitoring system 240 preferably provides information to the deployment system (e.g., control instructions, notifications, etc.), but can additionally or alternatively provide information to any other suitable source].
15. Patton and ZHANG disclose the system of claim 14, Patton fail to show wherein the transit-related service is a cloud-based service.
In an analogous art Nguyen show wherein the transit-related service is a cloud- based service[par 0036, The system 110 for issuing traffic information for the transportation means 130 is also deployed in the environment 100, and may also be referred to as a vehicle-road-cloud collaboration system. The system 110 for issuing traffic information is configured to acquire at least traffic information of an area in which the transportation means 130 is located and to provide the traffic information to the transportation means 130 and/or to control travel of the transportation means 130. Each of the transportation means].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Patton and ZHANG because to provide different services for different types of vehicles, including high-level autonomous vehicles, communication-capable networked vehicles, and existing mass transit vehicles. As a result, the safety and the passing efficiency of driving are improved. [Zhang para 0003]
16. Patton and ZHANG demonstrate the system of claim 11, wherein the transit- impacting event category comprises at least one of: a road closure event category; a traffic jam event category; a vehicle accident event category; an unsafe road condition event category; and a weather-related event category[Patton, par 0032, 0033, For example, vehicles may wish to avoid event locations that could have adverse effects on vehicle operation (e.g., UAVs may wish to avoid areas with fire, to avoid heat damage or smoke screening; terrestrial vehicles may wish to avoid areas with roadblocks; vehicles may wish to avoid locations associated with natural disasters; etc.), and treat event locations as dynamic no-fly zones. The nature of such events can make route prediction and planning a challenge, since an adverse event can occur along the vehicle route while the vehicle is already en route (e.g., weather-related adverse events, traffic- related adverse events, etc.). Furthermore, events can be difficult to predict, and can be difficult to detect with sufficient speed, certainty, and/or fidelity to be actionable by a vehicle (and/or associated vehicle entity such as a pilot of the vehicle etc.)].
17. Patton and ZHANG discloses the system of claim 16, wherein the determined transit-impacting event category comprises a traffic jam event category and the set of parameters specific to the traffic jam event category comprise at least one of: vehicle distance to a geographical location of a traffic jam; vehicle navigation route; vehicle
type; and level of travel urgency[Patton, par 0101, In a fifth example, events can be categorized into different categories (e.g., fire, police response, mass shooting, traffic accident, natural disaster, storm, active shooter, concerts, protests, etc.) based on the context of signals used to detect the events. Event severity can indicate how severe an event is (e.g., what degree of badness, what degree of damage, etc. is associated with the event), was, and/or will be. In a specific example, severity can range from less severe (e€.g., a single vehicle accident without injuries) to more severe (e.g., Multi vehicle accident with multiple injuries and a possible fatality)].
18, Patton discloses a cloud-based system comprising: one or more processing resources; and a non-transitory computer-readable medium, coupled to the one or more processing resources[par 0127, The system and method 100 and embodiments thereof can be embodied and/or implemented at least in part as a machine configured to receive a computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions. The instructions are preferably executed by computer-executable components preferably integrated with the system. The computer-readable medium can be stored on any suitable computer-readable media such as RAMs, ROMs, flash memory, EEPROMs],
having stored therein instructions that when executed by the one or more processing resources cause the device to perform a method comprising: determining a transit-impacting event category for a transit-impacting event[abstract, a method and/or system for facilitating event-based vehicle operation can include determining a vehicle route; determining geographic regions for the vehicle route; monitoring the determined
geographic regions for events; determining an event of interest from the detected events; and/or dynamically facilitating modification of vehicular operation of the vehicle based on the event of interest];
computing downlink communication priority scores for a plurality of vehicles by applying geographic locations associated with the plurality of vehicles [par 0122, Additionally or alternatively, parameters, metrics, inputs, outputs, and/or other suitable data can be associated with value types including: scores (e.g., indicating a relevance level of an event to a vehicle and/or vehicle parameter, such as for identifying events of interest; describing a characteristic of an event, such as a danger score; etc.), binary values (e.g., whether or not an event exists, etc.), classifications (e.g., event categories, vehicle classes, geographic region types, etc.), confidence levels (e.g., probability values for detection of an event and/or for event parameter determination, etc.), values along a spectrum, values with any suitable units of measurement (e.g., metric system units, US customary units, etc.), geometric descriptors (e.g., geographic region radius, aggregate region area, event area, route descriptions, etc.)];
and characteristics associated with the plurality of vehicles to a set of parameters specific to the transit-impacting event category [par 0047, Vehicular operation corresponding with one or more vehicles 210 can be associated with any one or more of: movement (e.g., along a vehicle route; movement in relation to geographic regions, event locations, other locations; location of the vehicle 210; etc.), durability (e.9., lifespan, vehicle component status, maintenance-related statuses, vehicle damager characteristics such as damage location, mechanical damage characteristics, electrical damage characteristics, etc.), data collection (e.g., by vehicle sensors), battery (e.g., battery life, efficiency, etc.)];
Patton fail show a cloud-based system, wherein a respective downlink communication score for a respective vehicle indicates a level of urgency for the respective vehicle to receive a wireless communication from a higher level of the wireless communication network regarding the transit-impacting event; determining a downlink communication priority order for the plurality of vehicles according to the downlink communication priority scores, wherein the downlink communication priority order comprises a sequential priority order for transmitting wireless communications regarding the transmit-impacting event from the higher level of the wireless communication network to the plurality of vehicles; and transmitting the downlink communication priority order to a transit-related service.
In an analogous art ZHANG show a cloud-based system par 0036, The system 110 for issuing traffic information for the transportation means 130 is also deployed in the environment 100, and may also be referred to as a vehicle-road-cloud collaboration system. The system 110 for issuing traffic information is configured to acquire at least traffic information of an area in which the transportation means 130 is located and to provide the traffic information to the transportation means 130 and/or to control travel of the transportation means 130. Each of the transportation means],
impacting event category [par 0090, 0091, The determination of the target object is described in detail below. In some embodiments, the central device 301 may determine the target object based on the category of traffic information. As used herein, the term “category” may refer to the type of traffic information described above or a subclass thereof. In some embodiments, the central device 301 determines a category of traffic information and determines a target object from at least one external server subscribing to traffic information of this category from the central device 301],
wherein a respective downlink communication score for a respective vehicle indicates a level of urgency for the respective vehicle to receive a wireless communication from a higher level of the wireless communication network regarding the transit-impacting event [par 0036, 0106, The system 110 for issuing traffic information for the transportation means 130 is also deployed in the environment 100, and may also be referred to as a vehicle-road-cloud collaboration system. The system 110 for issuing traffic information is configured to acquire at least traffic information of an area in which the transportation means 130 is located and to provide the traffic information to the transportation means 130 and/or to control travel of the transportation means. When there are multiple types of traffic information to be provided at the central device 301, the traffic information to be provided may be ranked, e.g., divided into different priorities. The central device 301 may then provide traffic information according to the determined ratings. For example, the central device 301 may determine the priority of the traffic information based on the traffic status, traffic event, or traffic signal indicated by the received traffic information],
determining a downlink communication priority order for the plurality of vehicles according to the downlink communication priority scores[par 0107, The ranking of the traffic information or its priority may be based on factors such as the traffic status indicated by the traffic information, the importance or degree of danger of the traffic event or traffic signal, etc. The category of traffic information (e.g., the six types mentioned above and their subclasses) may be based on. The fineness of the ranking may be determined based on actual requirements. As an example of coarse ranking, the traffic event information may have a higher priority than the signal lamp information. As an example of a fine ranking, traffic event information indicating a converse running event may have a higher priority than traffic event information indicating occupancy of an emergency lane; the meteorological information indicating the freezing of the road may have a higher priority than the infrastructure information indicating the road crack],
wherein the downlink communication priority order comprises a sequential priority order for transmitting wireless communications regarding the transmit-impacting event from the higher level of the wireless communication network to the plurality of vehicles [par 0106, 0107, 0122, For example, the central device 301 may determine the priority of the traffic information based on the traffic status, traffic event, or traffic signal indicated by the received traffic information. The order for providing is then determined based on the priority of the traffic information and the priority of other traffic information to be provided, and the traffic information is provided in this order. The central device 301 may provide traffic information to the corresponding target object in order from high priority to low priority. In some embodiments, the providing traffic information to the target object includes: determining a priority of the traffic information; determining an order for providing the traffic information based on the priority of the traffic information and the priority of the other traffic information; and providing the traffic information to the target object in the order],
and transmitting the downlink communication priority order to a transit-related service [par 0109, 0114, 0122, In the process described above, traffic information within a certain geographic range may be extended to a lager range as desired by processing, forwarding or sharing of the central platform subsystem 210. In this way, the transportation means can master the traffic conditions over a larger range, thereby more reasonably planning the travel path and the like. In addition, by sharing the traffic information with the third-party platform, it is possible to enable a transportation means not installed with the OBU to obtain the traffic information by means of the third-party service].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Patton and ZHANG because to provide different services for different types of vehicles, including high-level autonomous vehicles, communication-capable networked vehicles, and existing mass transit vehicles. As a result, the safety and the passing efficiency of driving are improved. [Zhang para 0003]
19, Patton and ZHANG displays the cloud-based system of claim 18, further comprising: determining a transit-related service category for the transit-related service[par 0101, The event parameters can be determined before, after, or during event detection. Event parameters can include: whether an event is occurring (€.g., a binary classification, a probability, etc.), the event category (e.g., traffic, sports, games, accidents, fire, natural disasters, entertainment, concerts, no-fly zones, wireless signal dead-zones, etc.), event severity, event truthfulness, event content (e.g., event title, event description, etc.), event time (e.g., estimated and/or anticipated start time, end time, duration, etc.), event location (e.g., center; nexus), event extent or volume (e.g., event geofence, geographic region, physical dimensions effected, etc.), event entities (e.g., users proximal the event or otherwise related to the event), associated confidence levels (e.g., for other event parameters, etc.) and/or any other suitable event parameters];
wherein the set of parameters specific to the transit-impacting event category are also specific to the transit-related service category[par 0030, In general categories and elements allow characteristics and performance of a vehicle, driver, and/or user to be measured or scored, while weightings allow categories or elements to be emphasized relative to one another under certain conditions, for example by road, area, or zone, and/or time of day or day of week].
Patton fail to show further comprising: receiving, from the transit-related service, a request to provide the downlink communication priority order for transmitting downlink communications related to the transit-impacting event.
In an analogous art ZHANG show further comprising: receiving, from the transit-related service, a request to provide the downlink communication priority order for transmitting downlink communications related to the transit-impacting event [par 0084, 0087, 0088, At 315, the field device 302 provides the traffic information to the central device 301 serving the field device 302, e.g., to facilitate sharing of the traffic information to more objects via the central device 301. For example, the roadside computing unit 240 transmits traffic information to the roadside service node 212 of the central platform subsystem 210. The field device 302 may provide traffic information in any suitable manner. Transmission of traffic information from roadside subsystem 220 or edge computing subsystem 230 to the central platform subsystem 210 may be based on any suitable communication protocol, the central device 301 provides traffic information to the determined target object, for example, to facilitate issuing of traffic information to more transportation means via the target object].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Patton and ZHANG because to provide different services for different types of vehicles, including high-level autonomous vehicles, communication-capable networked vehicles, and existing mass transit vehicles. As a result, the safety and the passing efficiency of driving are improved. [Zhang para 0003]
20. Patton and ZHANG provide the cloud-based system of claim 19, wherein the set of parameters specific to the transit-impacting event category are also specific to the
transit-related service[Patton, par 0122, Additionally or alternatively, parameters, metrics, inputs, outputs, and/or other suitable data can be associated with value types including: scores (e.g., indicating a relevance level of an event to a vehicle and/or vehicle parameter, such as for identifying events of interest; describing a characteristic of an event, such as a danger score; etc.), binary values (e.g., whether or not an event exists, etc.), classifications (e.g., event categories, vehicle classes, geographic region types, etc.), confidence levels (e.g., probability values for detection of an event and/or for event parameter determination, etc.), values along a spectrum, values with any suitable units of measurement (e.g., metric system units, US customary units, etc.), geometric descriptors (e.g., geographic region radius, aggregate region area, event area, route descriptions, etc.), and/or any other suitable types of values].
21. Patton and ZHANG creates the cloud-based system of claim 18, wherein the transit-impacting event category comprises at least one of: a road closure event category; a traffic jam event category; a vehicle accident event category; an unsafe road condition event category; and a weather-related event category [Patton par 0101, in response to the category probability exceeding a category probability threshold, categorizing the event with the event category, where determining the event of interest from the set of events can be based on the event category (and/or the vehicle parameter associated with the vehicle, and/or other suitable data, etc.). In a fifth example, events can be categorized into different categories (e.g., fire, police response, mass shooting, traffic accident, natural disaster, storm, active shooter, concerts, protests, etc.) based on the context of signals used to detect the events. In a sixth example, an event truthfulness can be determined for an event (e.g., by an event system 230 and/or monitoring system 240, etc.)].
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Patton et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2019/0286793 A1) in view of ZHANG et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2021/0272452 A1) in further view of Nguyen (U.S. Pub No. 2018/017449 A1)
8. Patton and ZHANG reveals the computer-implemented method of claim 1,Patton and ZHANG fail to show wherein the set of parameters specific to the transit-impacting event category have weights that are also specific to the transit-impacting event category.
In an analogous art Nguyen show wherein the set of parameters specific to the transit-impacting event category have weights that are also specific to the transit- impacting event category[par 0271, Further, the VSS of vehicles in an area may be used to consolidate routes. Vehicles with higher VSS may have more weighting or higher priority, resulting in their routes being altered less, if at all, and vehicles with lower VSS having less weighting, resulting in their routes being altered more to share common route segments with those of the higher VSS vehicles in certain cases. A degree to which a route of a vehicle may be altered may depend, in part, on a range of VSS between vehicles in an area, in a zone, and/or in a group. Estimated distances, travel times, and/or a number of anticipated stops or junctions and junction weightings on routes may also be considered before routes are assigned to each vehicle],
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Patton, ZHANG, and Nguyen because and perks from governments, organizations and businesses that benefit from a user's usage of the TMS 101, such as by having the ability to anticipate arrival and travel times with a greater degree of confidence. [Nguyen, par 0362].
Response to Arguments
Namely, the cited references fail to disclose any one or combination of the following limitations of amended independent claim 1: (1) "computing downlink communication priority scores for a plurality of vehicles connected via a wireless communication network using a set of parameters specific to the transit-impacting event category, wherein a respective downlink communication score for a respective vehicle measures a level of urgency for the respective vehicle to receive a wireless communication from a higher level of the wireless communication network regarding the transit-impacting event;" (2) "determining a downlink communication priority order for the plurality of vehicles according to the downlink communication priority scores, wherein the downlink communication priority order comprises a sequential priority order for transmitting wireless communications regarding the transit-impacting event from the higher level of the wireless communication network to the plurality of vehicles;" and (3) "transmitting the downlink communication priority order to a transit-related service."
The applicant’s argument is moot in view of newly rejected claims
More generally, the cited references fail to disclose at least "systems and methods for sequentially prioritizing downlink vehicle communication." Present application, [0020]. (emphasis added).
The applicant’s argument is moot in view of newly rejected claims
For example, Patton discloses systems and methods for "rout[ing]" vehicles to the scene of an "event of interest" (e.g., the site of an accident or natural disaster) to "assist[] in remediating the event (or an impact thereof)." See e.g., Patton, abstract and claim 1. Thus, neither Patton's disclosed solution, nor the technical problem Patton is looking to solve, has anything to do with determining "a sequential priority order for transmitting wireless communications regarding [a] transmit-impacting event from [a] higher level of [a] wireless communication network to [a] plurality of vehicles [accordingly to a level of urgency the plurality of vehicles require]" - as claimed.
The applicant’s argument is moot in view of newly rejected claims
Nguyen cannot cure the deficiencies of Patton because neither Nguyen's disclosed solution, nor the technical problem Nguyen is looking to solve, relates to determining "a sequential priority order for transmitting wireless communications regarding [a] transmit-impacting event from a higher level of a wireless communication network to [a] plurality of vehicles [accordingly to a level of urgency the plurality of vehicles require]" - as claimed.
As discussed above for independent claim 1, the cited references fail to disclose the above-referenced limitations. For at least the reasons above, Applicant respectfully requests withdrawal of the 103 rejection to independent claim 11.
The applicant’s argument is moot in view of newly rejected claims
As discussed above for independent claim 1, the cited references fail to disclose the above-referenced limitations. For at least the reasons above, Applicant respectfully requests withdrawal of the 103 rejection to independent claim 18.
The applicant’s argument is moot in view of newly rejected claims
Conclusion
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/JASON A HARLEY/Examiner, Art Unit 2468