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 .
Priority
Acknowledgement is made of applicants claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) and (f). The certified copy has been filed in parent application KR10-2022-0091160 filed on 07/22/2022.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 07/01/2025 has been entered, claims 1, 3-4, 6-7, 10-13 remain pending in the application. the amendment overcomes the 101 rejection on record.
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 4, 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Dulberg (US20200242922) in view of and Bernhardt (US20190251838) and Zhang (US20220013010) and Cooper (US11164453).
Regarding claim 4, Dulberg teaches a signal control system for reducing intersection accidents on mixed roads with autonomous vehicle, the signal control system comprising:
an autonomous vehicle ([0020] disclosing an autonomous vehicle);
an unexpected situation detection device installed on a road in a specific area and detecting a collision possibility situation of a nearby vehicle ([0111]-[0112] disclosing the receivers detecting the vehicles at the intersection to generate a live dynamic map and fed into the controller to initiate traffic management actions. [0133], [0137], [0151] disclosing determining speed, direction location of a road user. disclosing the receivers determine real time coordinates of the vehicles. [0156] disclosing the local system “unexpected situation detection detects a collision possibility with nearby vehicles, the receivers that detect the abnormal locations of vehicles may also be the unexpected situation detection device that provides the information for determining collision possibility);
a signal device installed on the road in the specific area and changing a signal display when collision possibility information is received from the unexpected situation detection device ([0156] disclosing the control of the signal based on a possible collision between two vehicles. [0157] disclosing the signal device is controlled based on the collision possibility to change light information via the system 100 “unexpected situation detection device”);
a roadside device installed around the road in the specific area and transmitting and receiving data to and from at least one of the unexpected situation detection device, the autonomous vehicle, and the signal device ([0157] disclosing the communication between the communication module 402 “roadside device” which communicates with the traffic signal light and the autonomous vehicle. [0129] disclosing the communication module receiving and sending data); and
an integrated control server transmitting and receiving data to and from the roadside unit ([0128]-[0129] disclosing the control module is accessible by the controller or main server and relays the messages received by the system. [0212] disclosing the controller accesses the control module. [0157] discloses the communication module conveys the control signal which is generated by a controller as taught in at least [0112]).
when the collision possibility information is received from the unexpected situation detection device, the signal device changes the signal display (Dulberg [0157] disclosing the communication between the communication module 402 “roadside device” which communicates with the traffic signal light and the autonomous vehicle to change a light and a control of the vehicle. [0129] disclosing the communication module receiving and sending data).
the roadside unit transmits information of the unexpected situation detection device to the integrated control server ([0123]-[0124], [0172] disclosing information used by the unexpected situation device are transmitted to the main server via roadside units).
The integrated control server transmits collision possibility information to at least one of the signal device and the autonomous vehicle ([0157] disclosing the communication signal which is controlled by the server and alarm information indicating the collision, see [0129.);
Upon receiving at least one of the collision possibility information and the changed signal display information, the autonomous vehicle performs control comprising at least one of lane change, acceleration, deceleration, or stop according to conditions set according to situations and based on nearby vehicle information ([0157] disclosing the vehicle stops based on the received signal and further the control message includes a description of the situation, i.e., collision possibility and information on situation around the vehicle including other vehicles to determine optimal trajectory);
Dulberg does not teach and transmits changed signal display information to at least one of the autonomous vehicle and the integrated control server.
Bernhardt teaches and transmits changed signal display information to at least one of the autonomous vehicle and the integrated control server ([0027]-[0043] disclosing notification of the change of the state of the traffic light to the vehicle).
It would have been obvious to modify the teaching of Dulberg to incorporate the teaching of Bernhardt of signal device transmits the signal display information to the autonomous vehicle in order to inform vehicles of the status of the light to improve driving safety and provide map update, driving instructions as taught by Bernhardt [0027]-[0043]. The combination of the induced changed light with the informing a light change of Bernhardt to a vehicle is obvious to warn the vehicle and avoiding collision yielding predictable results and to improve safety of vehicles.
Zhang further teaches and the roadside device transmits information of the changed signal display information to the integrated control server, i.e., “status of the light transmitted to the server through the roadside unit” ([0041] disclosing server receives the roadside related information including traffic signal indicating).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Dulberg as modified by Kobayshi to incorporate the teaching of Zhang of wherein the signal device transmits the changed signal display information to the roadside device in order to generate navigation based on the status as taught by Zhang [0041]. Using a server to generate the navigation is an obvious combination to reduce the load on the vehicles and provide timely vehicle control yielding predictable results.
Cooper teaches Controlling by the integrated control server the signal device of another area to correct the signal display (summary and Col. 12 lines 1-40 disclosing the controller changing another traffic light at another location intersection).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Sharma as modified by Kobayashi and Zhang to incorporate the teaching of Dulberg of Controlling by the integrated control server the signal device of another area to correct the signal display in order to keep the traffic flowing and coordinated as taught by Cooper col. 12. The combination is obvious in order to allow the traffic to keep flowing by controlling different lights if an accident happens thus avoiding collisions or traffic jam yielding predictable results.
Regarding claim 6, Dulberg as modified by Bernhardt and Zhang and Cooper teaches the signal control system of claim 4, Dulberg as modified by Bernhardt does not teach wherein the signal device transmits the changed signal display information to the integrated control server through the roadside device. However, Bernhardt teaches the transmit of the changed signal display information.
Zhang further teaches and the roadside device transmits the changed signal display information to the integrated control server, i.e., “status of the light transmitted to the server through the roadside unit” ([0041] disclosing server receives the roadside related information including traffic signal indicating).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Dulberg as modified by Kobayshi to incorporate the teaching of Zhang of wherein the signal device transmits the changed signal display information to the roadside device in order to generate navigation based on the status as taught by Zhang [0041]. Using a server to generate the navigation is an obvious combination to reduce the load on the vehicles and provide timely vehicle control yielding predictable results.
Claims 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Dulberg (US20200242922) in view of Bernhardt (US20190251838) and Cooper (US11164453).
Regarding claim 7, Dulberg teaches a signal control system for reducing intersection accidents on mixed roads with autonomous vehicle, the signal control system comprising:
an autonomous vehicle ([0020] disclosing an autonomous vehicle);
an unexpected situation detection device collecting road conditions in a specific area ([0111]-[0112] disclosing the receivers detecting the vehicles at the intersection to generate a live dynamic map and fed into the controller to initiate traffic management actions. [0133], [0137], [0151] disclosing determining speed, direction location of a road user. disclosing the receivers determine real time coordinates of the vehicles. [0156] disclosing the local system “unexpected situation detection detects a collision possibility with nearby vehicles, the receivers that detect the abnormal locations of vehicles may also be the unexpected situation detection device that provides the information for determining collision possibility);
a signal device installed on the road in the specific area to change a signal display ([0157] disclosing the signal device is controlled based on the collision possibility to change light information via the system 100 “unexpected situation detection device”);
a roadside device installed around the road in the specific area and transmitting and receiving data to and from at least one of the unexpected situation detection device, the autonomous vehicle, and the signal device ([0157] disclosing the communication between the communication module 402 “roadside device” which communicates with the traffic signal light and the autonomous vehicle. [0129] disclosing the communication module receiving and sending data); and
an integrated control server collecting road information through the roadside device in the specific area in real time, detecting a collision possibility situation, and transmitting the collision possibility information to at least one of the signal device and the autonomous vehicle ([0112] disclosing the controller “server” that receives the information from the receivers “road side unit” and detect collision possibility and transmits a signal to the traffic light. [0159] disclosing the information received at the vehicle to warn the driver).
Wherein, when the collision possibility information is received from the integrated control server, the signal device changes the signal display (Dulberg [0112] disclosing the integrated server controls the light to change status).
And Upon receiving the collision possibility information, the autonomous vehicle performs control comprising at least one of lane change, acceleration, deceleration, or stop according to conditions set according to situations and based on nearby vehicle information ([0157] disclosing the vehicle stops based on the received signal and further the control message includes a description of the situation, i.e., collision possibility and information on situation around the vehicle including other vehicles to determine optimal trajectory);
Dulberg does not teach transmits changed signal display information to at least one of the autonomous vehicle and the integrated control server.
Bernhardt teaches and transmits changed signal display information to at least one of the autonomous vehicle and the integrated control server ([0027]-[0043] disclosing notification of the change of the state of the traffic light to the vehicle).
Upon receiving the changed signal display information, the autonomous vehicle performs avoidance control comprising at least one of lane change, acceleration, deceleration, or stop ([0029]-[0041] disclosing the control of the vehicle based on the instruction such as changing a route based on the display information).
It would have been obvious to modify the teaching of Dulberg to incorporate the teaching of Bernhardt of signal device transmits the signal display information to the autonomous vehicle in order to inform vehicles of the status of the light to improve driving safety as taught by Bernhardt [0027]-[0043]. The combination of the induced changed light with the informing a light change of Bernhardt to a vehicle is obvious to warn the vehicle and avoiding collision yielding predictable results and to improve safety of vehicles.
Cooper teaches and in response Controlling by the integrated control server the signal device of another area to correct the signal display to prevent traffic congestion (summary and Col. 12 lines 1-40 disclosing the controller changing another traffic light at another location intersection, to prevent traffic congestion. See abstract disclosing also another light is controlled based on the changed light).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Sharma as modified by Kobayashi and Zhang to incorporate the teaching of Dulberg of Controlling by the integrated control server the signal device of another area to correct the signal display in order to keep the traffic flowing and coordinated as taught by Cooper col. 12. The combination is obvious in order to allow the traffic to keep flowing by controlling different lights if an accident happens thus avoiding collisions or traffic jam yielding predictable results.
Claims 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Dulberg (US20200242922) in view of and Bernhardt (US20190251838) and Alazraki (US20150095251).
Regarding claim 10, Dulberg teaches the signal control system of claim 7, Dulberg does not teach further comprising: A display device installed around the road in the specific area, receiving collision possibility information from the integrated control server and outputting a warning message.
Alazraki teaches A display device installed around the road in the specific area, receiving collision possibility information from the integrated control server and outputting a warning message ([0012]-[0013] disclosing receiving a signal indicating a collision potential and changing a display to warn vehicles based on the warning).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Dulberg to incorporate the teaching of Alazraki of display device installed around the road in the specific area, receiving collision possibility information from the integrated control server and outputting a warning message in order to warn other vehicles as taught by Alazraki [0013]. The combination and or substitution of the flashing of light to warn users with the display is obvious to warn users and provide more visual indicators and texts of the danger yielding predictable results and improving driving safety.
Claims 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Sharma (WO2021118675 from IDS) in view of Kobayashi (US20210053566) Bernhardt (US20190251838) and Zhang (US20220013010) and Cooper (US11164453) and Dulberg (US20200242922).
Regarding claim 11, Sharma teaches a method for reducing intersection accidents on mixed roads with autonomous vehicle, the signal control method comprising:
Determining by the autonomous vehicle whether there is a possibility of collision based on nearby vehicle information ([0105] disclosing the vehicle 110 tracks nearby vehicles. [0108] disclosing the vehicle 110 receiving a vulnerable road user VRU such as motorcycles trajectory via R-ITS “road side unit”, and tracks the VRU heading, speed direction and behavior. [0113]-[0114] disclosing the vehicle 110 determines possible breach for its planned trajectory based on the distance between the vehicle 110 and the VRU, i.e., possible collision);
Transmitting, by the autonomous vehicle, a collision possibility information to a signal device when there is a possibility of collision ([0119] disclosing the vehicle 110 communicates with the roadside unit which has a signal light that flashes when the threat of collision is determined by the autonomous vehicle).
When the signal device receives a collision possibility notification message from the autonomous vehicle changing a signal display ([0119] disclosing the roadside changes to a flashing signal based on the threat assessment by the autonomous vehicle of a possible collision).
Sharma does not teach transmitting change signal display to the autonomous vehicle; transmitting by the signal device the changed signal display information to the roadside device; transmitting by the roadside device the changed display information to an integrated control server. Controlling by the integrated control server the signal device of another area to correct the signal display.
Kobayashi further teaches transmitting by the signal device the signal display information to the roadside device and the autonomous vehicle ([0019] disclosing the signal device provides the roadside device with the color of the light which is provided then to the autonomous vehicle).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Sharma to incorporate the teaching of Kobayashi of wherein the signal device transmits the signal display information to the roadside device in order to transmit the status to the vehicles and thus improve safety and providing vehicle control based on the changed light. The substitution of transmitting the signal to the vehicle directly as taught by Bernhardt with using a roadside unit to transmit the signal to the vehicle is obvious yielding predictable results. it is also obvious to make separable for the purpose of redundancy.
Bernhardt teaches transmits the changed signal information ([0027]-[0043] disclosing notification of the change of the state of the traffic light to the vehicle.
When the autonomous vehicle receives the changed signal display information, the autonomous vehicle performs avoidance control comprising at least one of lane change, acceleration, deceleration, or stop ([0029]-[0041] disclosing the control of the vehicle based on the instruction such as changing a route based on the display information).
It would have been obvious to modify the teaching of Dulberg to incorporate the teaching of Bernhardt of signal device transmits the signal display information to the autonomous vehicle in order to inform vehicles of the status of the light to improve driving safety as taught by Bernhardt [0027]-[0043]. The combination of the induced changed light with the informing a light change of Bernhardt to a vehicle is obvious to warn the vehicle and avoiding collision yielding predictable results and to improve safety of vehicles.
Sharma as modified by Kobayashi and Bernhardt does not teach transmitting by the roadside device the changed display information to an integrated control server. Controlling by the integrated control server the signal device of another area to correct the signal display.
Zhang further teaches and the roadside device transmitting by the roadside device the changed display information to an integrated control server, i.e., “status of the light transmitted to the server through the roadside unit” ([0041] disclosing server receives the roadside related information including traffic signal indicating).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Sharma as modified by Kobayashi and Bernhardt to incorporate the teaching of Zhang of wherein the signal device transmits the changed signal display information to the roadside device in order to generate navigation based on the status as taught by Zhang [0041]. Using a server to generate the navigation is an obvious combination to reduce the load on the vehicles and provide timely vehicle control yielding predictable results.
Sharma as modified by Kobayashi and Bernhardt and Zhang does not teach Controlling by the integrated control server the signal device of another area to correct the signal display.
Cooper teaches Controlling by the integrated control server the signal device of another area to correct the signal display (summary and Col. 12 lines 1-40 disclosing the controller changing another traffic light at another location intersection).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Sharma as modified by Kobayashi and Zhang to incorporate the teaching of Dulberg of Controlling by the integrated control server the signal device of another area to correct the signal display in order to keep the traffic flowing and coordinated as taught by Cooper col. 12. The combination is obvious in order to allow the traffic to keep flowing by controlling different lights if an accident happens thus avoiding collisions or traffic jam yielding predictable results.
Dulberg teaches the integrated control server determines collision possibility information based on information collected in real time and transmitting the collision possibility information to at least one of the signal device and the autonomous vehicle ([0112] disclosing the controller “server” that receives the information from the receivers “road side unit” and detect collision possibility and transmits a signal to the traffic light. [0159] disclosing the information received at the vehicle to warn the driver).
And Upon receiving the collision possibility information, the autonomous vehicle performs control comprising at least one of lane change, acceleration, deceleration, or stop according to conditions set according to situations and based on nearby vehicle information ([0157] disclosing the vehicle stops based on the received signal and further the control message includes a description of the situation, i.e., collision possibility and information on situation around the vehicle including other vehicles to determine optimal trajectory);
It would have been obvious to combine the teaching of Dulberg yielding predictable results in order to allow the control of the vehicle based on information provided by other units outside the vehicle thus separation of parts in order to increase redundancy and reduce computation load on the vehicle which improves safety ensuring vehicle avoids collisions via information provided from external sources that cannot be detected by own vehicle.
Claims 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Dulberg (US20200242922) in view of Kobayashi (US20210053566) Bernhardt (US20190251838) and Zhang (US20220013010) and Cooper (US11164453) and Sharma (WO2021118675 from IDS).
Regarding claim 12, Dulberg teaches a signal control method for reducing intersection accidents on mixed roads with autonomous vehicle, the signal control method comprising:
Detecting, by an unexpected situation detection device including at least one of a collision possibility of a nearby vehicle ([0111]-[0112] disclosing the receivers “unexpected situation detection device” detecting the vehicles at the intersection to generate a live dynamic map and fed into the controller to initiate traffic management actions. [0133], [0137], [0151] disclosing determining speed, direction location of a road user. disclosing the receivers determine real time coordinates of the vehicles. [0156] disclosing the local system detects a collision possibility with nearby vehicles via the receiver data, the receivers that detect the abnormal locations of vehicles may also be the unexpected situation detection device that provides the information for determining collision possibility. [0156] disclosing the control of the signal based on a possible collision between two vehicles. [0157] disclosing the signal device is controlled based on the collision possibility to change light information via the system 100 “unexpected situation detection device”);
Transmitting by the unexpected situation device, collision possibility information to a signal device ([0111]-[0112] disclosing the receivers “unexpected situation detection device” detecting the vehicles at the intersection to generate a live dynamic map and fed into the controller to initiate traffic management actions. [0133], [0137], [0151] disclosing determining speed, direction location of a road user. disclosing the receivers determine real time coordinates of the vehicles. [0156] disclosing the local system detects a collision possibility with nearby vehicles via the receiver data, the receivers that detect the abnormal locations of vehicles may also be the unexpected situation detection device that provides the information for determining collision possibility. [0156] disclosing the control of the signal based on a possible collision between two vehicles. [0157] disclosing the signal device is controlled based on the collision possibility to change light information via the system 100 “unexpected situation detection device”);
When the signal device receives a collision possibility notification changing a signal display, ([0156] disclosing the control of the signal based on a possible collision between two vehicles. [0157] disclosing the signal device is controlled based on the collision possibility to change light information via the system 100 “unexpected situation detection device”);
Dulberg teaches the integrated control server determines collision possibility information based on information collected in real time and transmitting the collision possibility information to at least one of the signal device and the autonomous vehicle ([0112] disclosing the controller “server” that receives the information from the receivers “road side unit” and detect collision possibility and transmits a signal to the traffic light. [0159] disclosing the information received at the vehicle to warn the driver).
And Upon receiving the collision possibility information, the autonomous vehicle performs control comprising at least one of lane change, acceleration, deceleration, or stop according to conditions set according to situations and based on nearby vehicle information ([0157] disclosing the vehicle stops based on the received signal and further the control message includes a description of the situation, i.e., collision possibility and information on situation around the vehicle including other vehicles to determine optimal trajectory);
Dulberg further teaches the detection device is a Lidar [0245]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Dulberg to incorporate the Lidar for detection in order to detect the speeds of the vehicles at the intersection as taught by Dulberg [0245].
Dulberg does not teach transmitting by the signal device the changed signal display information to the roadside device; transmitting by the roadside device the changed display information to an integrated control server. Controlling by the integrated control server the signal device of another area to correct the signal display.
Kobayashi further teaches transmitting by the signal device the signal display information to the roadside device and the autonomous vehicle ([0019] disclosing the signal device provides the roadside device with the color of the light which is provided then to the autonomous vehicle).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Dulberg to incorporate the teaching of Kobayashi of wherein the signal device transmits the changed signal display information to the roadside device in order to transmit the status to the vehicles and improve safety. The substitution of transmitting the signal to the vehicle directly as taught by Bernhardt with using a roadside unit to transmit the signal to the vehicle is obvious yielding predictable results. it is also obvious to make separable for the purpose of redundancy.
Bernhardt teaches transmits the changed signal display information ([0027]-[0043] disclosing notification of the change of the state of the traffic light to the vehicle.
When the autonomous vehicle receives the changed signal display information, the autonomous vehicle performs avoidance control comprising at least one of lane change, acceleration, deceleration, or stop ([0029]-[0041] disclosing the control of the vehicle based on the instruction such as changing a route based on the display information).
It would have been obvious to modify the teaching of Sharma as modified by An and Pittman to incorporate the teaching of Bernhardt of signal device transmits the signal display information to the autonomous vehicle in order to inform vehicles of the status of the light to improve driving safety as taught by Bernhardt [0027]-[0043]. The combination of the induced changed light with the informing a light change of Bernhardt to a vehicle is obvious to warn the vehicle and avoiding collision yielding predictable results and to improve safety of vehicles.
Dulberg as modified by Kobayashi and Bernhardt does not teach transmitting by the roadside device the changed display information to an integrated control server. Controlling by the integrated control server the signal device of another area to correct the signal display.
Zhang further teaches and the roadside device transmitting by the roadside device the changed display information to an integrated control server, i.e., “status of the light transmitted to the server through the roadside unit” ([0041] disclosing server receives the roadside related information including traffic signal indicating).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Dulberg as modified by Kobayashi and Bernhardt to incorporate the teaching of Zhang of wherein the signal device transmits the changed signal display information to the roadside device in order to generate navigation based on the status as taught by Zhang [0041]. Using a server to generate the navigation is an obvious combination to reduce the load on the vehicles and provide timely vehicle control yielding predictable results.
Dulberg as modified by Kobayashi and Bernhardt and Zhang does not teach Controlling by the integrated control server the signal device of another area to correct the signal display.
Cooper teaches Controlling by the integrated control server the signal device of another area to correct the signal display (summary and Col. 12 lines 1-40 disclosing the controller changing another traffic light at another location intersection).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Dulberg as modified by Kobayashi and Bernhardt and Zhang to incorporate the teaching of Dulberg of Controlling by the integrated control server the signal device of another area to correct the signal display in order to keep the traffic flowing and coordinated as taught by Cooper col. 12. The combination is obvious in order to allow the traffic to keep flowing by controlling different lights if an accident happens thus avoiding collisions or traffic jam yielding predictable results.
Sharma teaches the notification message received from the autonomous vehicle to change the signal device ([0119] disclosing the changing to flashing light in response to the received threat of collision from the autonomous vehicle).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Dulberg as modified by Kobayashi and Bernhardt and Zhang and Cooper to incorporate the teaching of Sharma in order to warn road users about a possible collision as taught by Sharma [0119]. It is obvious to combine the message received from Sharma with the change of light to induce the change based on the accident prediction which enhances safety and produces predictable results since Dulberg is intended to solve the same problem of avoiding collisions at intersections.
Claims 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Dulberg (US20200242922) in view of Herson (US20200388150) and Cooper (US11164453).
Regarding claim 13, Dulberg teaches a signal control method for reducing intersection accidents on mixed roads with autonomous vehicle, the signal control method comprising:
Collecting by an integrated control server, information detected from a road in a specific area in real time, ([0112] disclosing the controller “server” that receives the information from the receivers “road side unit” and detect collision possibility and transmits a signal to the traffic light. [0159] disclosing the information received at the vehicle to warn the driver).
Detecting, by the integrated control server, whether there is a collision possibility of nearby vehicle based on the information collected in real time ([0112] disclosing the controller “server” that receives the information from the receivers “road side unit” and detect collision possibility and transmits a signal to the traffic light. [0159] disclosing the information received at the vehicle to warn the driver).
When a collision possibility situation of the nearby vehicle is detected based on the information collected by the integrated control server, transmitting collision possibility information to at least one of a signal device, an autonomous vehicle and a display device ([0156] disclosing the control of the signal based on a possible collision between two vehicles. [0157] disclosing the signal device is controlled based on the collision possibility to change light information via the system 100).
Performing a collision avoidance process by at least one of the signal device, the autonomous vehicle and the display device upon receiving the collision possibility situation information from the integrated control server ([0112] disclosing the controller to manage the traffic. [0156] disclosing the control of the signal based on a possible collision between two vehicles. [0157] disclosing the signal device is controlled based on the collision possibility to change light information via the system, i.e., managing the traffic signal to avoid collision is collision avoidance process).
Outputting by the integrated control server, signal display to at least one of a signal device and a display device of an area other than the specific area ([0157] disclosing changing the color of the display, i.e., signal display to the signal device).
Wherein the operation of performing collision avoidance process, the signal device corrects the signal display ([0157] disclosing changing the color of the display, i.e., signal display to the signal device).
The autonomous vehicle operates with a vehicle avoidance action set as one of lane change, acceleration and deceleration ([0231] disclosing stopping the vehicle, i.e., deceleration).
A display device outputs a collision possibility message to a nearby car ([0207] disclosing the warning message on the vehicle display).
the autonomous vehicle performs control comprising at least one of lane change, acceleration, deceleration, or stop according to conditions set according to situations and based on nearby vehicle information ([0157] disclosing the vehicle stops based on the received signal and further the control message includes a description of the situation, i.e., collision possibility and information on situation around the vehicle including other vehicles to determine optimal trajectory);
Herson teaches traffic information to the signal device ([0045] disclosing the traffic light to display traffic information at an upcoming location).
it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teaching of Dulberg to incorporate the teaching of Herson of traffic information to the signal device in order to warn vehicles about an upcoming collision at another intersection as taught by Herson [0045] preventing any secondary damage if a collision has happened at another intersection.
Cooper teaches and in response Controlling by the integrated control server the signal device of another area to correct the signal display to prevent traffic congestion (summary and Col. 12 lines 1-40 disclosing the controller changing another traffic light at another location intersection, to prevent traffic congestion. See abstract disclosing also another light is controlled based on the changed light).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Sharma as modified by Kobayashi and Zhang to incorporate the teaching of Dulberg of Controlling by the integrated control server the signal device of another area to correct the signal display in order to keep the traffic flowing and coordinated as taught by Cooper col. 12. The combination is obvious in order to allow the traffic to keep flowing by controlling different lights if an accident happens thus avoiding collisions or traffic jam yielding predictable results.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 11/17/2025 have been fully considered but they are not fully persuasive.
With respect to applicant’s arguments regarding the 101 rejection, the rejection has been withdrawn.
With respect to applicant’s arguments regarding the 103 obviousness rejection of claims 1 and 3, the rejection has been withdrawn based on the amended claims and the claims are indicated as allowable.
With respect to applicant’s arguments regarding claims 4 and 6, that none of the devices teaches an independent on road detection device, transmits changed signal display information, executes avoidance control, cross area signal correction by integrated signal. One device does not need to perform all those functions, in addition, the device in the claim is a system that includes a plurality of devices, the combination of parts does not provide novelty to the claims. The rejection teaches detecting possibility of collision “Dulberg”, transmission of changed signal to vehicles and integrated server: Bernhardt and Zhang, execution of control avoidance taught by Dulberg, cross area signal correction taught by Cooper, the combination is obvious for providing safety for vehicles based on detected data where vehicle sensors cannot detect and for providing redundant controls for the vehicle so if one unit fails the other are still operational thus improving safety and efficiency and functionality and reducing loads on the vehicle.
In addition the combination is obvious to solve the problem of regulating an intersection passage yielding predictable results of avoiding collisions at intersections and when collision possibility is present. Also since Sharma already teaches the RSU flashing the light based on a alert from the vehicle, thus An shows that the signal device can be separable, solving the same problem of regulating intersections and avoiding collisions, having a separable signal device than the RSU is obvious as it is desirable to provide the light change to vehicles at an intersection via traffic lights as taught by An to avoid any collisions improving driving safety allowing for a broader range of area that can be controlled to change the light.
With respect to applicant’s arguments regarding claim 7, the cited arts teaches all the limitation, see full rejection above, the combination is obvious for providing safety for vehicles based on detected data where vehicle sensors cannot detect and for providing redundant controls for the vehicle so if one unit fails the other are still operational thus improving safety and efficiency and functionality and reducing loads on the vehicle.
With respect to applicant’s arguments regarding claims 11, 12 and 13, the rejection above covers every limitation of the claims, the combination is obvious for providing safety for vehicles based on detected data where vehicle sensors cannot detect and for providing redundant controls for the vehicle so if one unit fails the other are still operational thus improving safety and efficiency and functionality and reducing loads on the vehicle.
.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1 is allowable.
Claim 3 is allowable for depending on claim 1.
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.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to
applicant's disclosure. The prior art cited in PTO-892 and not mentioned above disclose related devices and methods.
US10334906 discloses changing a light status to avoid a collision.
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/MOHAMAD O EL SAYAH/Examiner, Art Unit 3658B