Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendments
This action is in response to amendments and remarks filed on 12/24/2025.
Claims 1-8, 10-11, and 13 are pending. Claims 1, 10, and 11 have been amended. Claims 9 and 12 are cancelled. Claim 13 is new. Applicant's amendment necessitated new grounds of rejection rendering claims 1-8, 10-11, and 13 rejected.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/24/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant presents the following arguments regarding the previous office action:
Prior art references fail to disclose amended claim 1 feature of acquiring a distance from a reference point of the turning route to an edge of the work area, wherein the reference point is a turning center point of the turning route
Prior art needs to calculate the distance from the turning point to the edge of the field for the purpose of setting the vehicle speed to the appropriate safe speed. Shinkai's center turning point VC is not used to calculate the speed of the vehicle or calculate the distance to the edge of the field, it is instead used to generate the turning route. While Ikenori's points are used for having a reference point for a parallel path and for speed control. So combining them is not obvious.
Regarding the Applicant’s argument A. The argument has been fully considered and is moot in light of new grounds for rejection below.
Regarding the Applicant’s argument B. Shinkai already has a turning route defined by a turning circle. Ikenori and new reference August et al. (US20140012418A1) teach the known safety principle of reducing turning speed as the vehicle gets closure to the work area boundary during a turn. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to apply that same boundary based turn speed control to Shinkai’s circular turn route to improve turning safety to avoid overshooting beyond the field edge. The distinction of Shinkai's center turning point not being directly used to calculate the speed of the vehicle or calculate the distance to the edge of the field is not convincing to overturn the logic of the combination. Obviousness does not require that the prior art element be used for the identical purpose, only that the prior art would have suggested applying known boundary based speed reduction techniques to a known circular turning route. Shinkai gives the circular turning route and Ikenori gives the reason to slow the vehicle on an arc as the boundary clearance decreases. Therefore, the argument has been fully considered and is not convincing.
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.
Claims 1, 6-7 10-11, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ikenori et al (JP2020028243A), in view of August et al. (US20140012418A1).
Regarding claim 1, Ikenori discloses, an autonomous travel method comprising: causing a work vehicle to perform an autonomous travel following a target route including a turning route in a work area (Ikenori, Description Paragraph 8-9, an automatic travel control unit that automatically travels the work vehicle according to the target route using a satellite positioning system, The target path includes a plurality of parallel paths arranged in parallel in the traveling area, and a plurality of turning paths arranged at an outer edge of the traveling area and connecting the plurality of parallel paths in the traveling order. Yes, The automatic traveling control unit is configured to measure a separation distance from the work vehicle to an outer peripheral edge of the work place in a traveling direction of the work vehicle when the work vehicle is automatically traveling on the parallel path); and where the distance from the reference point to the edge of the work area is less than or equal to a predetermined distance to a predetermined speed which is less than a vehicle speed of the work vehicle on a second turning route where the distance from the reference point to the edge of the work area is greater than the predetermined distance (Ikenori, Description Paragraph 10, while the work vehicle traveling on the reciprocating route is far away from the outer edge of the work site located in the traveling direction, the separation distance measured by the separation distance measurement unit is long, so the vehicle speed limiting unit is The speed limit of the work vehicle on the reciprocating route is increased according to the separation distance. That is, it is possible to improve work efficiency by increasing the vehicle speed of the work vehicle). However, Ikenori does not explicitly disclose, acquiring a distance from a reference point of the turning route to an edge of the work area wherein the reference point is a turning center point of the turning route and setting a vehicle speed of the work vehicle on a first turning route.
Nevertheless, August who is in the same field of endeavor of automatic turning based on field boundaries discloses, acquiring a distance from a reference point of the turning route to an edge of the work area (0092, this distance at which the mower starts to turn is designated as distance d. The distance d may, for example, be composed of a desired turn radius plus a blade radius so that the mower blades tangentially reach the boundary wire 103 during a turn); wherein the reference point is a turning center point of the turning route (0092, the distance d may, for example, be composed of a desired turn radius plus a blade radius so that the mower blades tangentially reach the boundary wire 103 during a turn); and setting a vehicle speed of the work vehicle on a first turning route (0099l, the desired speed vdes may be a preset value or depend on the distance D from the boundary wire).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ikenori’s disclosure to incorporate aspects of August teachings. This would serve to have a reference point on a circular turning route that is based on the desired turn radius plus the blade radius so that the blades reach the boundary. In August the controller is implicitly using the turn geometry because the turn initiation distance (d) is based on the desired turn radius plus the blade radius so that the blades cut up the point of the boundary ensuring full coverage and no overstepping past the boundary. This geometry is anchored by the center of the turning arc inherently.
Further justification for combining Ikenori’s disclosure to incorporate aspects of August teachings not only comes from the state of the art but from August (August, 0100, Many variations of these concepts are within the scope of the present invention including combinations of the above considerations and additional variables influencing the turn behavior of the mower).
Regarding claim 6, Ikenori and August disclose, the autonomous travel method according to claim 1 as discussed supra. Additionally, Ikenori discloses, setting the vehicle speed of the work vehicle on a straight advancing route to a speed greater than the predetermined speed when the straight advancing route following the first turning route is along the edge of the work area and a length of the straight advancing route is greater than a predetermined length (Ikenori, Description Paragraph 8, the automatic traveling control unit is configured to measure a separation distance from the work vehicle to an outer peripheral edge of the work place in a traveling direction of the work vehicle when the work vehicle is automatically traveling on the parallel path. The vehicle speed control unit has a vehicle speed limiting unit that limits the vehicle speed of the work vehicle according to the separation distance) … (Ikenori, Description Paragraph 10, specifically, while the work vehicle traveling on the reciprocating route is far away from the outer edge of the work site located in the traveling direction, the separation distance measured by the separation distance measurement unit is long, so the vehicle speed limiting unit is The speed limit of the work vehicle on the reciprocating route is increased according to the separation distance. That is, it is possible to improve work efficiency by increasing the vehicle speed of the work vehicle).
Regarding claim 7, Ikenori and August disclose, the autonomous travel method according to claim 6 as discussed supra. Additionally, Ikenori discloses setting the vehicle speed of the work vehicle on the straight advancing route to a speed corresponding to the length of the straight advancing route when the length of the straight advancing route is greater than the predetermined length (Ikenori, Description Paragraph 10, while the work vehicle traveling on the reciprocating route is far away from the outer edge of the work site located in the traveling direction, the separation distance measured by the separation distance measurement unit is long, so the vehicle speed limiting unit is The speed limit of the work vehicle on the reciprocating route is increased according to the separation distance).
Regarding claim 10 Ikenori discloses, an autonomous travel system comprising: a traveling processor configured to cause a work vehicle to perform an autonomous travel following a target route including a turning route in a work area (Ikenori, Description Paragraph 8-9, an automatic travel control unit that automatically travels the work vehicle according to the target route using a satellite positioning system, The target path includes a plurality of parallel paths arranged in parallel in the traveling area, and a plurality of turning paths arranged at an outer edge of the traveling area and connecting the plurality of parallel paths in the traveling order. Yes, The automatic traveling control unit is configured to measure a separation distance from the work vehicle to an outer peripheral edge of the work place in a traveling direction of the work vehicle when the work vehicle is automatically traveling on the parallel path); and a setting processor configured to set a vehicle speed of the work vehicle on a first turning route where the distance from the reference point to the edge of the work area is less than or equal to a predetermined distance to a predetermined speed which is less than a vehicle speed of the work vehicle on a second turning route where the distance from the reference point to the edge of the work area is greater than the predetermined distance (Ikenori, Description Paragraph 10, specifically, while the work vehicle traveling on the reciprocating route is far away from the outer edge of the work site located in the traveling direction, the separation distance measured by the separation distance measurement unit is long, so the vehicle speed limiting unit is The speed limit of the work vehicle on the reciprocating route is increased according to the separation distance. That is, it is possible to improve work efficiency by increasing the vehicle speed of the work vehicle). However, Ikenori does not explicitly disclose, an acquisition processor configured to acquire a distance from a reference point of the turning route to an edge of the work area wherein the reference point is a turning center point of the turning route.
Nevertheless, August discloses, an acquisition processor configured to acquire a distance from a reference point of the turning route to an edge of the work area (0092, this distance at which the mower starts to turn is designated as distance d. The distance d may, for example, be composed of a desired turn radius plus a blade radius so that the mower blades tangentially reach the boundary wire 103 during a turn); wherein the reference point is a turning center point of the turning route (0092, the distance d may, for example, be composed of a desired turn radius plus a blade radius so that the mower blades tangentially reach the boundary wire 103 during a turn).
Regarding claim 11, Ikenori discloses, an autonomous travel program to cause one or more processors to perform operations comprising: causing a work vehicle to perform an autonomous travel following a target route including a turning route in a work area (Ikenori, Description Paragraph 8-9, an automatic travel control unit that automatically travels the work vehicle according to the target route using a satellite positioning system, The target path includes a plurality of parallel paths arranged in parallel in the traveling area, and a plurality of turning paths arranged at an outer edge of the traveling area and connecting the plurality of parallel paths in the traveling order. Yes, The automatic traveling control unit is configured to measure a separation distance from the work vehicle to an outer peripheral edge of the work place in a traveling direction of the work vehicle when the work vehicle is automatically traveling on the parallel path); and setting a vehicle speed of the work vehicle on a first turning route where the distance from the reference point to the edge of the work area is less than or equal to a predetermined distance to a predetermined speed which is less than a vehicle speed of the work vehicle on a second turning route where the distance from the reference point to the edge of the work area is greater than the predetermined distance (Ikenori, Description Paragraph 10, while the work vehicle traveling on the reciprocating route is far away from the outer edge of the work site located in the traveling direction, the separation distance measured by the separation distance measurement unit is long, so the vehicle speed limiting unit is The speed limit of the work vehicle on the reciprocating route is increased according to the separation distance. That is, it is possible to improve work efficiency by increasing the vehicle speed of the work vehicle).
Furthermore, August discloses, acquiring a distance from a reference point of the turning route to an edge of the work area (0092, this distance at which the mower starts to turn is designated as distance d. The distance d may, for example, be composed of a desired turn radius plus a blade radius so that the mower blades tangentially reach the boundary wire 103 during a turn); wherein the reference point is a turning center point of the turning route (0092, the distance d may, for example, be composed of a desired turn radius plus a blade radius so that the mower blades tangentially reach the boundary wire 103 during a turn).
Regarding claim 13, Ikenori and August disclose, the autonomous travel method according to claim 1 as discussed supra. Additionally, Ikenori discloses the target route further includes a first advancing route (0042, the start point p3 of each work path P1b is a work start point at which the tractor 1 starts tillage work), and a second advancing route in the work area (0042, each of the non-work paths P1a includes a work stop point p4 before the tractor 1 turns on the turning path P2 and a work start point p3 after the tractor 1 turns on the turning path P2), further comprising: causing the work vehicle to stop traveling when the work vehicle reaches a first end of the second advancing route (0072, when the automatic traveling control unit 46 stops traveling of the tractor 1 near the outer peripheral edge of the field A according to the parallel path P1), the first end being situated farther from the turning route than a second end of the second advancing route (0009, specifically, while the work vehicle traveling on the reciprocating route is far away from the outer edge of the work site located in the traveling direction, the separation distance measured by the separation distance measurement unit is long).
Claims 2-5, and 8 are all rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ikenori et al (JP2020028243A) in view of August et al. (US20140012418A1), further in view of Yuasa et al (US12137625B2).
Regarding claim 2, Ikenori and August disclose, the autonomous travel method according to claim 1 as discussed supra. However Yuasa who is in the same field of endeavor of agricultural vehicle autonomous steering for turns with respect to work field boundaries discloses, setting a virtual point at a predetermined position in an advancing direction of the work vehicle and causing the work vehicle to stop traveling when the virtual point is outside the work area (Yuasa, Preferred Embodiment 4, Paragraph 4, Lines 15-20, if the speed of the work vehicle 100 exceeds the threshold, the controller 180 cancels the automatic steering mode, and switches to the manual steering mode. If the speed of the work vehicle 100 does not exceed the threshold, the controller 180 continues the automatic steering mode, and controls steering of the work vehicle 100 so that the work vehicle 100 turns along the turning path); setting the virtual point at a position far from the work vehicle based on an increase of the vehicle speed of the work vehicle (Yuasa, Preferred Embodiment 4, Paragraph 5, Lines 4-6, the distance d2 may be set to different values depending on the speed, e.g., a distance that is traveled in a predetermined time (e.g. 5 seconds) by the work vehicle 100); and setting the predetermined speed to a speed at which the virtual point is within the work area on the first turning route (Yuasa, Preferred Embodiment 1, Paragraph 64, Lines 4-6, in addition to such an operation, when the work vehicle 100 has a high likelihood of deviating greatly from the target path, the controller 180 may decelerate the work vehicle 100 and/or notify the user. For example, before causing the alarming device to output the aforementioned alarm, the controller 180 may perform an operation of causing the alarming device to output another alarm and/or an operation of decelerating the work vehicle 100, if at least one of the following has exceeded its respective threshold: a change rate over time of the deviation between the position of the work vehicle 100 and the turning path during a turn; the magnitude of an acceleration of the work vehicle 100).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Ikenori and August disclosure to incorporate aspects of Yuasa’s teachings. This would serve to allow for further speed control of the vehicle based on distance thresholds. If the distance threshold is exceeded the vehicle will cease autonomous operations and give control to a manual operator. This along with Ikenori’s teaching of field boundary thresholds. It would be obvious to one in the art to incorporate both of these teachings in order to prevent accidents where the vehicle crosses outside of the work fields boundaries.
Further justification for combining the combination of Ikenori and August disclosure to incorporate aspects of Yuasa’s teachings not only comes from the state of the art but from Yuasa (Yuasa, DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS, Paragraph 2, any one implementation may be combined with another so long as it makes technological sense to do so).
Regarding claim 3, Ikenori, August and Yuasa disclose, the autonomous travel method according to claim 2 as discussed supra. Additionally, Ikenori discloses, setting the virtual point at the predetermined position far from a vehicle body of the work vehicle by a braking distance of the work vehicle in the advancing direction (Ikenori, Description Paragraph 11, the speed limit at which the work vehicle can be stopped by braking is set to reduce the vehicle speed of the work vehicle. This prevents the automatic traveling control unit from protruding from the work place when the work vehicle stops traveling near the outer peripheral edge of the work place according to the parallel path or when the work vehicle is turned along the turning path. The work vehicle can be prevented from contacting another object such as a ridge due to the protrusion). The justification and reasoning for combining these disclosures is the same as stated in regard to claim 2.
Regarding claim 4, Ikenori and August disclose the autonomous travel method according to claim 1 as discussed supra. Additionally, Yuasa discloses, accepting operation to change the vehicle speed of the work vehicle during the autonomous travel from a predetermined set speed (Yuasa, Preferred Embodiment 2, Paragraph 15, Lines 1-6, the controller 180 may perform the aforementioned speed control in accordance with the path curvature only while the cruise control function is enabled. Alternatively, even while the cruise control function is disabled, i.e., while the user is performing their own accelerating operations, the controller 180 may perform the aforementioned speed control in accordance with the path curvature); permitting on the first turning route the operation to change the vehicle speed of the work vehicle within a range of the predetermined speed that is less than the set speed (Yuasa, Preferred Embodiment 2, Paragraph 8, even while the user is performing accelerating operations, the controller 180 may forcibly decelerate the work vehicle 100); and permitting on the second turning route the operation to change the vehicle speed of the work vehicle within a range of the set speed (Yuasa, Preferred Embodiment 3 Paragraph 9, in one arrangement, with respect to during a turn and after a turn separately, an ability to set whether or not to enable the auto-cruise control function and change the vehicle speed when the function is enabled may be provided). The justification and reasoning for combining these disclosures is the same as stated in regard to claim 2.
Regarding claim 5, Ikenori and August disclose the autonomous travel method according to claim 1 as discussed supra. Additionally, Yuasa discloses, further comprising setting the vehicle speed of the work vehicle on a straight advancing route to the vehicle speed of the work vehicle on the first turning route when the straight advancing route following the first turning route is a route along the edge of the work area (Yuasa, Preferred Embodiment 2, Paragraph 16, the controller 180 may set the speed of the work vehicle 100 back to the reference speed, and continue cruise control. In other words, after turning, the controller 180 may cause the work vehicle 100 to travel at the reference speed along another main path P1 that is connected to the turning path P2). The justification and reasoning for combining these disclosures is the same as stated in regard to claim 2.
Regarding claim 8, Ikenori and August disclose the autonomous travel method according to claim 1 as discussed supra. Additionally, Ikenori discloses causing the work vehicle to travel at a second vehicle speed that is less than or equal to the first vehicle speed when, in the first turning route, the distance from the current position of the work vehicle to the edge of the work area is less than or equal to the threshold value (Ikenori, Description Paragraph 11, when the work vehicle traveling on the reciprocating route approaches the outer peripheral edge of the work site located in the traveling direction, the separation distance measured by the separation distance measurement unit becomes short. Accordingly, the speed limit of the work vehicle in the reciprocating path is reduced so that the braking distance of the work vehicle is shorter than the separation distance).
Moreover, Yuasa discloses, causing the work vehicle to travel at a first vehicle speed that is less than or equal to the predetermined speed when, in the first turning route, the distance from a current position of the work vehicle to the edge of the work area is greater than a threshold value (Yuasa, Preferred Embodiment 2, Paragraph 16, the controller 180 may set the speed of the work vehicle 100 back to the reference speed, and continue cruise control. In other words, after turning, the controller 180 may cause the work vehicle 100 to travel at the reference speed along another main path P1 that is connected to the turning path P2). The justification and reasoning for combining these disclosures is the same as stated in regard to claim 2.
Conclusion
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/S.E.D./
Examiner, Art Unit 3665
/CHRISTIAN CHACE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3665