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 .
Remarks
This final office action is a response to the amendments received on 10/28/2025. Claims 1-20 are pending. Independent Claims 1, 8, and 15 have been amended.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s additional arguments with respect to Claims 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claims 1-6, 8-13, and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sugano et. al. (US 20220355790 A1) in view of Hawley et. al. (US 20220375350 A1), Dudar et. al. (US 20220292970 A1), and Higashitani et. al. (US 20190168747 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Sugano Discloses:
A method of parking an autonomous vehicle (AV), comprising: (See at least ¶0009 via "a method for controlling an automated valet parking system including a parking place control server that instructs each automated driving vehicle in a parking place including a plurality of parking areas, in each of which a plurality of parking spaces is aligned at least in a parallel-parking direction, and that thus causes an automated-parking-target vehicle to park in one of the parking spaces")
receiving a notification that the AV needs to be parked in a physical parking area; (See at least ¶0073 via "For example, when the parking plan generation section 17 receives an entry request from an automated driving vehicle 2 that has entered the parking place, the parking plan generation section 17 starts generating the parking plan to cause the automated driving vehicle 2 to park in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16")
defining a first parking polygon (See at least Fig. 4-5 via defined parking polygons, also see ¶0075 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target route from a current position of the automated driving vehicle 2 to the target parking space, based on the position information on the automated driving vehicle 2 acquired by the vehicle information acquisition section 11, the position information on the target parking space in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16, and the parking place map information in the parking place map database 4" and ¶0108 via "for each of a plurality of parking areas each having a rectangular shape as in FIGS. 4 and 5")
wherein the first parking polygon (See at least Fig. 4-5 and ¶0075 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target route from a current position of the automated driving vehicle 2 to the target parking space" for the "first parking polygon)
assigning the first parking polygon to the AV; and (See at least ¶0074 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target parking space, based on the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16, and the availability status of each parking frame in the parking area of interest in the parking place recognized from the result of detection by the parking place sensor 3. The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target parking space, for example, by selecting any one of the preset parking frames in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16")
instructing the AV to navigate to the first parking polygon and assume the parking pose within the first parking polygon (See at least ¶0079 via "The vehicle instruction section 18 instructs the automated driving vehicle 2 on which automated valet parking is performed. The vehicle instruction section 18 preferentially parks an automated driving vehicle 2 (automated-parking-target vehicle) in a parking frame in a parking area with a higher priority")
PNG
media_image1.png
957
1401
media_image1.png
Greyscale
However, Sugano does not explicitly disclose the un-striped available area.
Nevertheless, Hawley--who is directed towards projecting virtual parking lines--discloses: parking polygon is dynamically generated in real-time from an un-striped available area of the physical parking area (See at least ¶0034 via "Thus, when actual parking lines do not exist, parking line prediction module 220 may generate virtual parking lines based on data indicative of nearby physical structures such as the curb and/or other parked vehicles, as well as the localization of vehicle 101 relative to the physical structures, and project the virtual parking lines on the ground to facilitate parking of vehicle 101." as well as ¶0035 via “FIG. 7B illustrates virtual parking lines 108 projected by vehicle 101 on a ground comprising gravel G”)
the first parking polygon being dimensioned based on a geometric polygon associated with the AV and a clearance margin, and (See at least ¶0014 via "The minimum length in the front of a vehicle to successfully depart from a parking spot also may be calculated based on, e.g., the vehicle size, turning radius, and closures to ensure minimal space requirements" and also ¶0034 via "Projecting virtual parking lines from vehicle 101 parked in parallel may assist the driver of vehicle 101 as well as other drivers in parking to allow for the appropriate amount of space for other vehicles to enter and leave parking spaces as well as maximize the number of parking spaces available")
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the given invention to modify Sugano in view of Hawley's consideration of clearance margins, characteristics of the vehicle (such as size/turn radius), and areas where parking stripes might not exist-or in cases where they might be covered-in order to improve the vehicle parking and expand the areas that a vehicle can park in to include those that might be congested or cramped and do not have explicit physical markings: "In a parking area with no marked parking stalls or degraded lane stripes, drivers may be frustrated by the risk of damage or inconvenience associated with cramped, unmarked parking. Particularly, in urban areas with congested street parking, a vehicle easily may become trapped by other vehicles in the front and back." [Hawley ¶0001].
However, Modified Sugano does not explicitly disclose the parking polygon including two opposed portals.
Nevertheless, Dudar--who is directed towards methods for determining and improving a parking position--discloses: wherein the first parking polygon includes two opposed portals that allow the AV to enter and exit the parking polygon, and (See at least ¶0007 via " Referring to FIG. 1, a vehicle 100 may initially determine if there is an open parking space in a parking environment 102 that allows the vehicle 100 pull forward into the parking space and to exit the parking space in a forward direction (e.g., two aligned open parking spaces where the vehicle 100 can pull through).").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the given invention to modify Modified Sugano in view of Dudar's parking space that allows the vehicle to pull through the space in order to expand the types of parking areas considered, while being able to avoid more complex maneuvers such as reversing, when possible: "For larger vehicles, such as sport utility vehicles and trucks, parking in a designated parking space may be difficult. In particular, reversing from a parking space can be difficult because of the space required" [Dudar ¶0001].
However, Modified Sugano does not explicitly disclose the charging port or parking "pose".
Nevertheless, Higashitani--who is directed towards assisted parking with respect to a charging port--discloses: a parking pose in a virtual model that corresponds to the physical parking area; (See at least ¶0045 and the listed figures via "More specifically, maps as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4I, FIGS. 5A to 5I, FIGS. 6A to 6I, FIG. 7A to 7I, FIG. 8A to 8I, and FIG. 9A to 9I are pre-stored in the nonvolatile memory of the parking assistance controller 152. These maps show which one of forward parking and reverse parking vehicle 20 should be selected as a parking direction to reduce a distance between the charging port 24 and the electrical supply equipment 30 at completion of parking of the vehicle 20. That is, these maps show an optimal parking direction for the vehicle 20 in response to locations of the charging port 24 on the vehicle 20, the parking slot F, and the electrical supply equipment 30.")
wherein the parking pose comprises a position, orientation, and separation of the AV within the first parking polygon defined with respect to a location of a charging port of the AV; (See at least ¶0047 via " FIGS. 4A to 4I illustrate maps used to determine a parking direction for the vehicle 20 in cases where the charging port 24 is mounted at a forward location of the vehicle 20. FIGS. 5A to 5I illustrate maps used to determine a parking direction for the vehicle 20 in cases where the charging port 24 is mounted at a leftward forward location of the vehicle 20…" and also ¶0049 via "For example, the target parking location of the vehicle 20 may be set to the center of the parking slot F." and also ¶0052 via "This configuration can obviate a situation where the charging cable 31 is too short to reach the charging port 24 at completion of parking of the vehicle 20, thus causing the vehicle to be reparked." as well as Figure 10 which illustrates the length of the charging cable (separation) being accounted for.)
PNG
media_image2.png
471
674
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the method for automated vehicle parking of Modified Sugano in view of Higashitani's parking with respect to the location of a charging port/electric vehicle charger in order to increase the efficiency of the automated vehicle parking by accounting for electric vehicles that require charging, and also to improve the initial positioning of the vehicle within the parking spot to avoid it needing to be reparked/adjusted: "enables parking the vehicle in an optimal parking direction responsive to locations of the charging port on the vehicle and the electrical supply equipment, which can prevent a situation where the vehicle must be reparked." [Higashitani ¶0009].
Regarding Claim 2: Modified Sugano discloses the method of Claim 1.
Furthermore, Sugano discloses: wherein the physical parking area comprises a plurality of predetermined parking spaces, and (See at least ¶0009 via "a method for controlling an automated valet parking system including a parking place control server that instructs each automated driving vehicle in a parking place including a plurality of parking areas, in each of which a plurality of parking spaces is aligned at least in a parallel-parking direction")
the virtual model comprises a plurality of predetermined parking polygons that are respectively associated with the plurality of predetermined parking spaces, and (See at least ¶0036 via "The parking place map database 4 is a database that stores parking place map information. The parking place map information includes position information on the parking frames in the parking place and information on driving lanes in the parking place" *Wherein the parking frames correspond to the parking spaces*)
wherein defining the first parking polygon further comprises selecting one of the plurality of predetermined parking polygons (See at least ¶0074 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target parking space, for example, by selecting any one of the preset parking frames in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16").
Regarding Claim 3: Modified Sugano discloses the method of Claim 2.
Furthermore, Sugano discloses: wherein the virtual model comprises a travel path that provides vehicular access from a current location of the AV in the virtual model to a portion of the predetermined parking polygons (See at least ¶0075 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target route from a current position of the automated driving vehicle 2 to the target parking space, based on the position information on the automated driving vehicle 2 acquired by the vehicle information acquisition section 11, the position information on the target parking space in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16, and the parking place map information in the parking place map database 4").
Regarding Claim 4: Modified Sugano discloses the method of Claim 1.
Furthermore, Sugano discloses: wherein the parking area comprises an available area that is suitable for parking the AV, and (See at least ¶0053 via "The vacancy number acquisition section 13 acquires, for each of the parking areas, a vacancy number that is the number of vacant parking frames. The vacancy number acquisition section 13 acquires the vacancy number, for example, based on availability status of each parking frame in the parking place recognized from a result of detection by the parking place sensor 3." and ¶0062 via "The priorities here are used for priorities, based on which the parking area determination section 16 determines a parking area in which an automated driving vehicle 2 (automated-parking-target vehicle) is to be parked.)
wherein defining the first parking polygon comprises selecting a portion of the available area (See at least ¶0074 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target parking space, based on the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16, and the availability status of each parking frame in the parking area of interest in the parking place recognized from the result of detection by the parking place sensor 3. The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target parking space, for example, by selecting any one of the preset parking frames in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16").
Regarding Claim 5: Modified Sugano discloses the method of Claim 4.
Furthermore, Sugano discloses: wherein the virtual model comprises one or more second parking polygons, and wherein the second parking polygons each have an AV currently parked therein (See at least ¶0080 via "For example, the parking area determination section 16 may determine that the automated driving vehicle 2X is to be parked in the vacant parking frame P1d in the parking area A1, as indicated by a broken line in FIG. 4" *Wherein P1d represents the first parking polygon* and see Figure 4 which illustrates a plurality of second parking polygons that have an AV parked within them).
PNG
media_image3.png
1186
1632
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Regarding Claim 6: Modified Sugano discloses disclose the method of Claim 5.
Furthermore, Sugano discloses: wherein defining the first parking polygon further comprises: identifying a travel path in the virtual model from a current location of the AV to the first parking polygon; and (See at least ¶0074 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target parking space, for example, by selecting any one of the preset parking frames in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16" and also ¶0075 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target route from a current position of the automated driving vehicle 2 to the target parking space, based on the position information on the automated driving vehicle 2 acquired by the vehicle information acquisition section 11, the position information on the target parking space in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16, and the parking place map information in the parking place map database 4")
instructing the AV comprises providing the travel path to the AV (See at least ¶0079 via "The vehicle instruction section 18 delivers, to the automated driving vehicle 2 (automated-parking-target vehicle), the target route, the target vehicle speed, and the like for the automated driving vehicle 2 to arrive at the target parking space in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16, in accordance with the parking plan generated by the parking plan generation section 17").
Regarding Claim 8, Sugano discloses:
A system for managing parking of an autonomous vehicle (AV), the system comprising: (See at least ¶0005 via "One aspect of the present disclosure is an automated valet parking system including a parking place control server that instructs each automated driving vehicle in a parking place including a plurality of parking areas, in each of which a plurality of parking spaces is aligned at least in a parallel-parking direction, and that thus causes an automated-parking-target vehicle to park in one of the parking spaces")
a processor; and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor and comprising instructions that, when loaded into the processor and executed, causes the processor to: (See at least Figure 2 and ¶0038 via "The processor 10a controls the parking place control server 10 by causing various operating systems to operate…The processor 10a comprehensively controls the storage unit 10b…The storage unit 10b is, for example, a recording medium including at least one of a read-only memory (ROM), a random-access memory (RAM), a hard disk drive (HDD), and a solid state drive (SSD)")
(Regarding the instructions, see Claim 1 Rejection as the steps are the same).
Regarding Claim 9: Modified Sugano discloses the system of Claim 8.
Furthermore, Sugano discloses: wherein the virtual model comprises a plurality of predetermined parking polygons that are respectively associated with a plurality of predetermined parking spaces, and (See at least ¶0036 via "The parking place map database 4 is a database that stores parking place map information. The parking place map information includes position information on the parking frames in the parking place and information on driving lanes in the parking place" *Wherein the parking frames correspond to the parking spaces*)
to define the first parking polygon, the processor is further configured to: select one of the plurality of predetermined parking polygons (See at least ¶0074 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target parking space, for example, by selecting any one of the preset parking frames in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16").
Regarding Claim 10: Modified Sugano discloses the system of Claim 9.
Furthermore, Sugano discloses: wherein the virtual model comprises a travel path that provides vehicular access from a current location of the AV in the virtual model to a portion of the predetermined parking polygons (See at least ¶0075 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target route from a current position of the automated driving vehicle 2 to the target parking space, based on the position information on the automated driving vehicle 2 acquired by the vehicle information acquisition section 11, the position information on the target parking space in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16, and the parking place map information in the parking place map database 4").
Regarding Claim 11: Modified Sugano discloses the system of Claim 8.
Furthermore, Sugano discloses: wherein the parking area comprises an available area that is suitable for parking the AV, and (See at least ¶0053 via "The vacancy number acquisition section 13 acquires, for each of the parking areas, a vacancy number that is the number of vacant parking frames. The vacancy number acquisition section 13 acquires the vacancy number, for example, based on availability status of each parking frame in the parking place recognized from a result of detection by the parking place sensor 3." and ¶0062 via "The priorities here are used for priorities, based on which the parking area determination section 16 determines a parking area in which an automated driving vehicle 2 (automated-parking-target vehicle) is to be parked.)
wherein defining the first parking polygon comprises selecting a portion of the available area (See at least ¶0074 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target parking space, based on the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16, and the availability status of each parking frame in the parking area of interest in the parking place recognized from the result of detection by the parking place sensor 3. The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target parking space, for example, by selecting any one of the preset parking frames in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16").
Regarding Claim 12: Modified Sugano discloses the system of Claim 11.
Furthermore, Sugano discloses: wherein the virtual model comprises one or more second parking polygons, and wherein the second parking polygons each have an AV currently parked therein (See at least ¶0080 via "For example, the parking area determination section 16 may determine that the automated driving vehicle 2X is to be parked in the vacant parking frame P1d in the parking area A1, as indicated by a broken line in FIG. 4" *Wherein P1d represents the first parking polygon* and see Figure 4 which illustrates a plurality of second parking polygons that have an AV parked within them).
PNG
media_image3.png
1186
1632
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Regarding Claim 13: Modified Sugano discloses the system of Claim 12.
Furthermore, Sugano discloses: wherein defining the first parking polygon further comprises: identifying a travel path in the virtual model from a current location of the AV to the first parking polygon; and (See at least ¶0074 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target parking space, for example, by selecting any one of the preset parking frames in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16" and also ¶0075 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target route from a current position of the automated driving vehicle 2 to the target parking space, based on the position information on the automated driving vehicle 2 acquired by the vehicle information acquisition section 11, the position information on the target parking space in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16, and the parking place map information in the parking place map database 4")
instructing the AV comprises providing the travel path to the AV (See at least ¶0079 via "The vehicle instruction section 18 delivers, to the automated driving vehicle 2 (automated-parking-target vehicle), the target route, the target vehicle speed, and the like for the automated driving vehicle 2 to arrive at the target parking space in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16, in accordance with the parking plan generated by the parking plan generation section 17").
Regarding Claim 15, Sugano discloses:
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions for causing a processor to: (See at least ¶0038 via "The processor 10a controls the parking place control server 10 by causing various operating systems to operate. The processor 10a is a computing unit such as a central processing unit (CPU) including a control device, an arithmetic device, a register, and the like. The processor 10a comprehensively controls the storage unit 10b, the communication unit 10c, and the user interface 10d. The storage unit 10b is, for example, a recording medium including at least one of a read-only memory (ROM), a random-access memory (RAM), a hard disk drive (HDD), and a solid state drive (SSD).")
(Regarding the instructions, see Claim 1 Rejection as the steps are the same).
Regarding Claim 16: Modified Sugano discloses the storage medium of Claim 15.
Furthermore, Sugano discloses: wherein the physical parking area comprises a plurality of predetermined parking spaces, (See at least ¶0009 via "a method for controlling an automated valet parking system including a parking place control server that instructs each automated driving vehicle in a parking place including a plurality of parking areas, in each of which a plurality of parking spaces is aligned at least in a parallel-parking direction")
and the virtual model comprises a plurality of predetermined parking polygons that are respectively associated with the plurality of predetermined parking spaces, and (See at least ¶0036 via "The parking place map database 4 is a database that stores parking place map information. The parking place map information includes position information on the parking frames in the parking place and information on driving lanes in the parking place" *Wherein the parking frames correspond to the parking spaces*)
to define the first parking polygon, the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to: select one of the plurality of predetermined parking polygons (See at least ¶0074 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target parking space, for example, by selecting any one of the preset parking frames in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16").
Regarding Claim 17: Modified Sugano discloses the storage medium of Claim 16.
Furthermore, Sugano discloses: wherein the virtual model comprises a travel path that provides vehicular access from a current location of the AV in the virtual model to a portion of the predetermined parking polygons (See at least ¶0075 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target route from a current position of the automated driving vehicle 2 to the target parking space, based on the position information on the automated driving vehicle 2 acquired by the vehicle information acquisition section 11, the position information on the target parking space in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16, and the parking place map information in the parking place map database 4").
Regarding Claim 18: Modified Sugano discloses the storage medium of Claim 15.
Furthermore, Sugano discloses: wherein the parking area comprises an available area that is suitable for parking the AV, and (See at least ¶0053 via "The vacancy number acquisition section 13 acquires, for each of the parking areas, a vacancy number that is the number of vacant parking frames. The vacancy number acquisition section 13 acquires the vacancy number, for example, based on availability status of each parking frame in the parking place recognized from a result of detection by the parking place sensor 3." and ¶0062 via "The priorities here are used for priorities, based on which the parking area determination section 16 determines a parking area in which an automated driving vehicle 2 (automated-parking-target vehicle) is to be parked.)
defining the first parking polygon comprises selecting a portion of the available area (See at least ¶0074 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target parking space, based on the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16, and the availability status of each parking frame in the parking area of interest in the parking place recognized from the result of detection by the parking place sensor 3. The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target parking space, for example, by selecting any one of the preset parking frames in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16").
Regarding Claim 19: Modified Sugano discloses the storage medium of Claim 18.
Furthermore, Sugano discloses: wherein the virtual model comprises one or more second parking polygons, and wherein the second parking polygons each have an AV currently parked therein (See at least ¶0080 via "For example, the parking area determination section 16 may determine that the automated driving vehicle 2X is to be parked in the vacant parking frame P1d in the parking area A1, as indicated by a broken line in FIG. 4" *Wherein P1d represents the first parking polygon* and see Figure 4 which illustrates a plurality of second parking polygons that have an AV parked within them).
PNG
media_image3.png
1186
1632
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Regarding Claim 20: Modified Sugano discloses the storage medium of Claim 19.
Furthermore, Sugano discloses: wherein to define the first parking polygon, the instructions are further configured to cause the processors to: identify a travel path in the virtual model from a current location of the AV to the first parking polygon; and (See at least ¶0074 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target parking space, for example, by selecting any one of the preset parking frames in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16" and also ¶0075 via "The parking plan generation section 17 sets the target route from a current position of the automated driving vehicle 2 to the target parking space, based on the position information on the automated driving vehicle 2 acquired by the vehicle information acquisition section 11, the position information on the target parking space in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16, and the parking place map information in the parking place map database 4")
instruct the AV comprises providing the travel path to the AV (See at least ¶0079 via "The vehicle instruction section 18 delivers, to the automated driving vehicle 2 (automated-parking-target vehicle), the target route, the target vehicle speed, and the like for the automated driving vehicle 2 to arrive at the target parking space in the parking area determined by the parking area determination section 16, in accordance with the parking plan generated by the parking plan generation section 17").
Claims 7 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sugano et. al. (US 20220355790 A1), Hawley et. al. (US 20220375350 A1), Dudar et. al. (US 20220292970 A1), and Higashitani et. al. (US 20190168747 A1) in view of Heikal et. al. (US 20220189305 A1).
Regarding Claim 7: Modified Sugano discloses the method of Claim 1.
However, although modified Sugano discloses sending instructions to navigate to a parking space, modified Sugano does not explicitly disclose the portion of the virtual model being sent to the AV.
Nevertheless, Heikal--who is in the same field of endeavor--discloses: wherein instructing the AV to navigate to the first parking polygon and assume the parking pose within the first parking polygon, further comprises: providing a portion of the virtual model to the AV (See at least Figure 4 and ¶0034 via "As a vehicle 42 approaches the parking lot 12, a wireless controller 56 component of the controller 28 may detect the presence of the vehicle 42, and initiate a predetermined wireless communication with the vehicle 42 to determine if the vehicle 42 is capable of receiving information from the controller 28. If the wireless controller 56 receives a wireless communication from the vehicle 42 that indicates the vehicle 42 can receive information, the controller 28 generates, based on the parking lot digital map 36 and the availability information 54, an availability map 58 that contains information that identifies a set of the parking spots 14 that are available, and causes the wireless controller 56 to send the availability map 58 to the vehicle 42").
PNG
media_image4.png
506
681
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the given invention to further modify Modified Sugano in view of including Heikal's availability map which is a portion of the virtual model as an alternative method to communicating the parking space availability/occupancy data to the vehicle, which enables the vehicle to have updated information regarding space availability in order to navigate to an available spot: "The controller 28 maintains and updates, upon the arrivals and departures of vehicles, availability information 54 that identifies, at any instance in time, what parking spots 14 are available" [Heikal ¶0036].
Regarding Claim 14: Modified Sugano discloses the system of Claim 8.
However, although modified Sugano discloses sending instructions to navigate to a parking space, modified Sugano does not explicitly disclose the portion of the virtual model being sent to the AV.
Nevertheless, Heikal--who is in the same field of endeavor--discloses: wherein to instruct the AV to navigate to the first parking polygon the processor is further configured to: provide a portion of the virtual model to the AV (See at least Figure 4 and ¶0034 via "As a vehicle 42 approaches the parking lot 12, a wireless controller 56 component of the controller 28 may detect the presence of the vehicle 42, and initiate a predetermined wireless communication with the vehicle 42 to determine if the vehicle 42 is capable of receiving information from the controller 28. If the wireless controller 56 receives a wireless communication from the vehicle 42 that indicates the vehicle 42 can receive information, the controller 28 generates, based on the parking lot digital map 36 and the availability information 54, an availability map 58 that contains information that identifies a set of the parking spots 14 that are available, and causes the wireless controller 56 to send the availability map 58 to the vehicle 42").
PNG
media_image4.png
506
681
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the given invention to further modify Modified Sugano in view of including Heikal's availability map which is a portion of the virtual model as an alternative method to communicating the parking space availability/occupancy data to the vehicle, which enables the vehicle to have updated information regarding space availability in order to navigate to an available spot: "The controller 28 maintains and updates, upon the arrivals and departures of vehicles, availability information 54 that identifies, at any instance in time, what parking spots 14 are available" [Heikal ¶0036].
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 KAYLA RENEE DOROS whose telephone number is (703)756-1415. The examiner can normally be reached Generally: M-F (8-5) EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abby Lin can be reached on (571) 270-3976. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/K.R.D./Examiner, Art Unit 3657 /ABBY LIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3657