DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to Applicant Arguments and Remarks Made in an Amendment filed on 03/24/2026.
Status of Claims
This office action is in response to application number 18/181,139 filed on 4/26/2023, in which claims 1-20 are presented for examination. Claims 1-7, & 14-20 are withdrawn, claims 8-13 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/24/2026 have been fully considered and are addressed as follows:
Regarding the claim(s) rejections under 35 USC §112(b): Applicant’s arguments, see Pg. 7, with respect to claims 8 & 12-13 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of 8 & 12-13 has been withdrawn.
Regarding the claim(s) rejections under 35 USC §103: Applicant’s arguments, see Pg. 7-8, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 8-13 under USC 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 Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.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 Takama et al. US 20190225265 A1 and Borras et al. US 20210183169 A1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 8 & 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takama et al. US 20190225265 A1 (hereinafter Takama) in view of Borras et al. US 20210183169 A1 (hereinafter Borras).
Claim 8: Takama discloses a vehicle comprising: one or more vehicle sensors; and one or more processors [[0016]; The sensor array 110 is a collection of various sensors, among which includes a road sensor 112, a location sensor 114, and a passenger sensor 116. Each of these sensors may be physically mounted in different locations of the subject vehicle 1. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the sensor array 110 is coupled to the ECU 100 through the vehicle LAN 10. In an alternative embodiment, the sensor array 110 may be directly connected to the ECU 100], configured to: determine that a vehicle is entering a metered lane to which a predefined occupancy discount applies, based at least on first GPS coordinates of the vehicle [[0024] & [0027]; The location sensor 114 includes a GPS receiver and a memory device that has stored thereon road information describing the road on which the subject vehicle 1 is travelling. In particular, in the present embodiment, the road information stored on the memory device of the location sensor 114 includes information describing the presence of an HOV lane as well as local regulations associated with the HOV lanes. (...) in response to a lane change request for the subject vehicle 1 to enter or exit an HOV lane, the ECU 100 is configured to determine whether an entrance or exit of the HOV lane is present]: utilizing the at least one exterior sensor to gather first environmental data indicative of at least which lane the vehicle is traveling within, responsive to the determination that the vehicle is entering the metered lane [[0021], [0023], & [0027]; the road sensor 112 of the sensor array 110 may be a front camera physically mounted on the front of the subject vehicle 1, while the location sensor 114 of the sensor array 110 may be physically mounted inside the dashboard of the subject vehicle 1 (…) The road sensor 112 detects an HOV lane of a road on which the subject vehicle 1 is travelling. (...) FIG. 3A illustrates a lane change request for the subject vehicle 1 to enter the HOV lane 34 from the traffic lane 32]; utilize the at least one interior sensor to determine an occupancy of the vehicle [[0025]; The passenger sensor 116 is configured to detect a number of passengers in the subject vehicle 1]; (...) determined based at least on second GPS coordinates of the vehicle [[0024]; The location sensor 114 detects the current location of the subject vehicle 1 with the GPS receiver and outputs this data to the ECU 100 along with the road information stored on the memory device. In other words, the location sensor 114 outputs information about an HOV lane, similar to the road sensor 112]; utilizing the at least one exterior sensor to gather second environmental data indicative of at least which lane the vehicle is traveling within responsive to the determination that the vehicle is exiting the metered lane [[0023], & [0030]; The road sensor 112 detects an HOV lane of a road on which the subject vehicle 1 is travelling. (...) FIG. 4A illustrates a lane change request for the subject vehicle 1 to exit the HOV lane 34 into the traffic lane 32]; (…).
Takama does not explicitly disclose track travel of the vehicle within the metered lane to determine usage of the metered lane, the usage determined from a first location of entry into the metered lane until a second location of exit, (…) determine a charge for usage of the metered lane based on a cost predefined for usage of the metered lane applied to the determined usage; and adjust the charge in accordance with the predefined occupancy discount based on the determined occupancy of the vehicle.
Borras teaches track travel of the vehicle within the metered lane to determine usage of the metered lane, the usage determined from a first location of entry into the metered lane until a second location of exit [[0041] & [0046]; travel along specific lanes of multi-lane roadways can be determined and tracked. This allows, for example, toll charges for using high occupancy vehicle lanes, as well as assessing whether the vehicle has violated the HOV lane boundaries by improperly entering or exiting the HOV lane. (...) The cellular phone device 116 can further include a location system for determining its location, such as GPS. Use of GPS by mobile devices is widespread and common around the world, and is used for a variety of location-based applications, including navigation, trip routing, mapping, and numerous other applications. In order to verify that the vehicle 112 is within the HOV lane 104, the tolling system defines location polygons defined by location coordinates], (…) determine a charge for usage of the metered lane based on a cost predefined for usage of the metered lane applied to the determined usage [[0048]; A charge based on the distance driven while in the toll lane 104 can be assessed like a toll. To enable the toll lane 104, a series of location polygons can be defined along the portion of toll lane 104 that is to be used as a toll lane]; and adjust the charge in accordance with the predefined occupancy discount based on the determined occupancy of the vehicle [[0043]; A HOV lane is generally reserved for vehicles which have two or more occupants (including the driver), and in some applications a discount can correspond to the number of occupants. For example, in some locales, if there are four or more occupants then the toll is discounted 100%].
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Takama in view of Borras with a reasonable expectation of success, as both inventions are directed to the same field of endeavor – HOV monitoring. The combination would improve automated tolling accuracy [Borras; [0110]; In some embodiments of the inventive disclosure there is provided a method for improving tolling accuracy in an automated location-based tolling system that includes defining at least one geofenced toll region corresponding to a toll portion of a roadway for which a toll is charged, and defining an associated geofence region corresponding to a non-toll portion of a roadway, wherein the toll roadway and non-toll roadway are geographically proximate to each other].
Claim 11: The combination of Takama and Borras teach the apparatus of claim 8, accordingly, the rejection of claim 8 above is incorporated.
Takama discloses the vehicle of claim 8, wherein the at least one interior sensor includes a vehicle camera or a seat-occupancy sensor [[0025]; The passenger sensor 116 is configured to detect a number of passengers in the subject vehicle 1. In the present embodiment, the passenger sensor 116 is an optical camera configured to acquire an optical signal of the interior of the subject vehicle 1, and based on this optical signal, the number of passengers in the subject vehicle 1 may be determined. The passenger sensor 116 outputs a signal representing the number of passengers (i.e., either the raw optical signal, or the number itself) to the ECU 100. In alternative embodiments, the passenger sensor 116 may be implemented as a seatbelt sensor that determines the number of passengers based on a number of seatbelts in the subject vehicle 1 which are engaged, or a weight sensor that determines the number of passengers by detecting a weight applied to each seat in the subject vehicle 1].
Claim(s) 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takama in view of Borras, further in view of Zafiroglu et al. US 20140180773 A1 (hereinafter Zafiroglu).
Claim 9: The combination of Takama and Borras teach the system of claim 8, accordingly, the rejection of claim 8 above is incorporated. Takama does not explicitly disclose the limitations of claim 9.
Zafiroglu discloses the vehicle of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: utilize the at least one interior sensor to recalculate the occupancy of the vehicle at one or more predefined or random intervals while the vehicle travels within the metered lane; and responsive to the recalculated occupancy deviating from a prior calculated occupancy during the same instance of travel within the metered lane, present a query via a display of the vehicle asking for confirmation of occupancy [[0076]; discloses if it is determined, at block 704, that an occupancy determination condition exists, the method 700 may again proceed to block 702 where the number of vehicle occupants may be re-determined based on sensor data indicative of a current state of the vehicle. On the other hand, if it is determined, at block 704, that an occupancy determination condition does not exist, the method 700 may proceed to block 706 wherein vehicle occupancy information indicative of a current number of vehicle occupants may be presented via an interface (e.g., a display) associated with the IVI system 202].
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Takama in view of Zafiroglu with a reasonable expectation of success, as both inventions are directed to the same field of endeavor – Vehicle monitoring. The combination would reduce the cost of metered roads based on occupancy of the vehicle [Zafiroglu; [0014]; This disclosure relates to systems, methods, computer-readable media, techniques and methodologies for providing various incentives based on increased vehicle occupancy. In certain embodiments, a fee associated with operation of a vehicle may be reduced based on vehicle occupancy information indicative of a number of vehicle occupants occupying a vehicle for a given period of time. The amount of the reduction in the fee may be determined based on the number of vehicle occupants].
Claim 10: The combination of Takama, Borras, and Zafiroglu teach the system of claim 9, accordingly, the rejection of claim 9 above is incorporated. Takama does not explicitly disclose the limitations of claim 10.
Zafiroglu discloses the vehicle of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to send data, gathered via the at least one interior sensor, to an entity responsible for charging a user for use of the metered lane [[0021]; discloses the vehicle occupancy information may be transmitted to a tolling infrastructure to determine a toll amount based on the information, to a government agency associated with regulating the operation and use of motor vehicles, to one or more remote servers that store information received from the IVI system of a vehicle, to a private entity (e.g., private business) that may provide incentives (e.g., a discount on a product or service offering) based on the information, and so forth], in response to an occupant answer to the query indicating that occupancy is greater than a lowest occupancy represented by either the prior calculated occupancy or the recalculated occupancy [[0043]; discloses the vehicle occupancy information may further include historical vehicle occupancy information determined based on various instances of sensor data received from the sensor(s) 204. The historical vehicle occupancy information may be indicative of a number of vehicle occupants during different time periods of operation of the vehicle].
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Takama in view of Zafiroglu with a reasonable expectation of success, as both inventions are directed to the same field of endeavor – Vehicle monitoring. The combination would reduce the cost of metered roads based on occupancy of the vehicle [Zafiroglu; [0014]; This disclosure relates to systems, methods, computer-readable media, techniques and methodologies for providing various incentives based on increased vehicle occupancy. In certain embodiments, a fee associated with operation of a vehicle may be reduced based on vehicle occupancy information indicative of a number of vehicle occupants occupying a vehicle for a given period of time. The amount of the reduction in the fee may be determined based on the number of vehicle occupants].
Claim(s) 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takama in view of Borras, further in view of Koh et al. US 20240223888 A1 (hereinafter Koh).
Claim 12: The combination of Takama and Borras teach the system of claim 8, accordingly, the rejection of claim 8 above is incorporated. Takama does not explicitly disclose the limitations of claim 12.
Koh teaches the vehicle of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: provide a selectable option on a display of the vehicle, the option selectable to view at least one of the first or second environmental data; receive selection of the selectable option; and responsive to selection of the selectable option, display at least the first or second environmental data, based on whether selection of the selectable option corresponds to the first or second environmental data [Abstract & [0018]; A vehicle includes multiple cameras that capture images or videos from a variety of perspectives with respect to the vehicle. A user interface within the vehicle provides a visual display of one or more camera views that is selectable and configurable by the user. Swiping on the user interface while a first camera view is displayed modifies the display by accessing and displaying a second camera view. Multiple camera view windows may be displayed side-by-side, with the display of each of the camera view windows capable of modification by user swiping of the user interface. (...) FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of components of a system of a vehicle configured to view and monitor the surrounding area of the vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure].
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Zafiroglu in view of Koh with a reasonable expectation of success, as both inventions are directed to the same field of endeavor – Vehicle monitoring. The combination would improve accuracy of tasks related to monitoring [Koh; [0035]; VLMs generally have a more accurate world model than traditional detection pipelines, so replacing conventional (e.g., interior and/or exterior) detection functions with VLM(s) should improve the accuracy of corresponding tasks].
Claim 13: The combination of Takama, Borras, and Koh teach the system of claim 12, accordingly, the rejection of claim 12 above is incorporated.
Takama teaches the vehicle of claim 12, wherein the at least one exterior sensor includes at least a camera capturing visual data as the first and second environmental data [[0023]; the road sensor 112 is implemented as an optical camera which captures an optical signal of the road on which the subject vehicle 1 is travelling. The road sensor 112 outputs the optical signal of the road to the ECU 100. The road sensor 112 may be implemented as a front camera that acquires an optical signal of the road in front of the subject vehicle 1, or a surround view camera that acquires an optical signal of the road around the subject vehicle 1. In the case of a surround view camera, the road in front of the subject vehicle 1 is still captured].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892.
Ofek et al. (US 20130006517 A1) discloses providing directions from point A to point B may be treated as an information retrieval problem. In one example, actual routes that are traveled by people are received, and are stored in a database. When a person requests directions from point A to point B, a system searches the database to determine whether a route from A to B exists. If the route does exist, then the route may be provided as directions in response to the request. If no such route exists, then the system looks in the database for routes that have some amount of overlap with each other, and attempts to construct a route from A to B by joining known routes that overlap with each other. Rules may govern the degree of overlap that routes are to have before they can be joined.
Miwa (US 20120262482 A1) discloses map image display systems, devices, methods, and programs divide a display target area into a plurality of division areas with parts of neighboring ones of the division areas overlapping each other, and generate a map image for each of the division areas, each map image being based on a different layer of stored map data. In an area where two or more of the generated map images overlap, a transmittance of a first one of the overlapped map images is gradually changed so that a transmittance of an outer portion becomes higher than a transmittance of an inner portion. The systems, devices, methods, and programs display a second one of the overlapped map images on the display device, and then display the first map image on the display device so that the first map image is overlapped on the displayed second map image.
Ashby (US 20100161392 A1) discloses methods, including service methods, articles of manufacture, systems, articles and programmable devices are provided for charging travel fees or awarding benefits as a function of vehicle occupancy. Variable travel fee schedules include a plurality of different rate values, each rate value associated with ride-sharing service points of a vehicle infrastructure and vehicle occupancy counts. Occupants within a vehicle traveling via a vehicle infrastructure are counted, the counting generating discrete occupant counts correlated with the ride-sharing service points. Subsets of variable travel fee schedule rate values are selected as a function of association with discrete occupant counts and correlated ride-sharing service points. Owners, occupants or other parties associated with the vehicle are accordingly charged a travel fee or awarded a benefit as a function of the rate value subset and an amount of the vehicle traveling.
Kimura (US 20110029230 A1) discloses a traffic jam guide image showing traffic jam conditions of a plurality of road sections ahead of a current location of a vehicle is displayed together with a map image during a guidance of a guide route from the current location to a destination. Based on a user operation performed on a touch screen, an object road section in which a search condition is to be changed and the search condition in the object road section are set. A second guide route from the current location to the destination is searched for based on the search condition set for the object road section such that the user has only to perform a simple operation through a touch screen to automatically change the search condition and set the road section to which the changed search condition is applied.
Mahlawat et al. (US 20230267516 A1) discloses a method performed by a server for providing incentives on toll prices to one or more users of a plurality of users. The method includes receiving a first plurality of traffic inputs, a second plurality of toll inputs, and a third plurality of user associated inputs. The method further includes identifying one or more decision areas on the road network based on the first plurality of traffic inputs and second plurality of toll inputs. Thereafter, the method includes determining one or more users approaching the one or more decision areas, based on the geo-locations of the plurality of users, and then determining a probability of the one or more users taking the at least one toll road. In response to the determination, the method includes calculating incentives on the toll prices, and transmitting the incentive to the one or more users at respective one or more decision areas.
Mintz (US 20220319312 A1) discloses some demonstrative embodiments include an apparatus, system and/or method related to system and method to optimize citywide traffic flow by privacy preserving scalable predictive citywide traffic load-balancing supporting, and being supported by, optimal zone to zone demand-control planning and predictive parking management.
Papineau et al. (US 20200250445 A1) discloses the present invention is a method and system to verify carpool occupancy compliance for access to High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes, High Occupancy or Toll (HOT) lanes, or other vehicle-occupancy contingent rewards. The present invention uses software and hardware devices with radio-frequency transmitter modules to permit “matchmaking” between suitable drivers and riders while using GPS coordinates to confirm passenger proximity to a driver. This driver-rider co-location is performed via push notification and server analysis of driver and rider GPS data. Alternatively, co-location is performed using a combination of GPS data analysis and photographic analysis. In an embodiment, biometric data analysis aids user validation. Occupancy compliance rewards can be communicated directly to an appropriate regulatory body.
Kim (US 11256254 B2) discloses an apparatus for controlling a vehicle includes a processor and a storage storing information determined by the processor. The processor determines whether a vehicle enters a tollgate, in advance based on driving situation information, and determine whether a current driving lane of the vehicle is a high-pass lane or a general lane, when the vehicle is scheduled to enter the tollgate. In particular, to the processor may automatically switch a driving mode depending on whether the current driving lane of the vehicle is the high-pass lane or the general lane to control the vehicle.
Geist et al. (US 9911169 B1) discloses a method for apportioning a vehicular toll among toll service subscribers in a vehicle can include determining a number of occupants in the vehicle in order to determine a toll amount, and dividing the toll amount among the toll service subscribers in the vehicle. The method can also detect the number of occupants and/or toll service subscribers in the vehicle automatically, or by prompting toll service subscribers to enter the number of occupants.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Anthony G Mora whose telephone number is (571)272-2306. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Thursday 8am-5pm PST, Alternating Friday 8am-4pm PST.
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/ANTHONY GABRIEL MORA/Examiner, Art Unit 3664 /TYLER D PAIGE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3664
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