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 .
Status of Claims
This action is in reply to the amendments filed on 02/09/2026 for Application No. 18/231,260
Claims 1, 3, 5 – 9 and 11 are currently pending and have been examined. Claims 1, 5, 9 and 11 have been amended. Claims 2, 4, 10 and 12 have been cancelled.
This action is made NON-FINAL
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 02/09/2026 has been entered.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 3, 5 – 9 and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Lines 20 and 21 of claim 1 mention “the two first partition lines” and “the two second partition lines” respectively. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Appropriate correction is required.
Lines 19 and 20 of claim 9 mention “the two first partition lines” and “the two second partition lines” respectively. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Appropriate correction is required.
Lines 19 and 20 of claim 11 mention “the two first partition lines” and “the two second partition lines” respectively. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 3 and 5 – 8 are objected per their dependency on the objected claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 1, 3, 5 – 9 and 11 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 1, 9 and 11 recite: “giving priority to the first partition line or driving control giving priority to the second partition line on the basis of an angle formed by the first partition line and the second partition line in a case in which the first partition line does not match the second partition line … giving priority to the first partition line over the second partition line when an angle formed by a first direction in which the first partition line extends and a second direction in which the second partition line extends is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle … determine [determining (only stated for claim 9)] … whether the angle is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle using the first partition line on the side in which the lane changes among the two first partition lines, and the second partition line present at a position away from the host vehicle among the two second partition lines.”, however it is indefinite if the extended lines of the first/second partition lines or the first/second partition lines themselves are being compared in determining which partition line gets priority. For example, if the first and second partition lines match but the first and second partition lines extending out in their own directions are lower than the predetermined angle, does the priority still go to the first partition line?
Claims 3 and 5 – 8 are rejected per their dependency on the rejected claims.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 3, 5 – 9 and 11 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kumano et al. (US 20230086589 A1) – teaches estimating a vehicle position based on acquiring sensor data and comparing it with the map data.
St. Romain et al. (US 11841239 B2) – teaches about updating a host map by sensor data from a vehicle.
Yang et al. (US 20210312194 A1) – teaches comparing and matching lane lines detected from the vehicle sensors with the map data.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHIVAM SHARMA whose telephone number is (703)756-1726. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00.
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, Erin Bishop can be reached at 571-270-3713. 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.
/SHIVAM SHARMA/ Examiner, Art Unit 3665
/Erin D Bishop/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3665
Prosecution Insights