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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to the applicant’s filing on December 23, 2025. Claims 1-8, 11, 13, are pending.
Response to Amendment and Arguments
In response to applicant's amendments, claims rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 is hereby withdrawn.
In respond to applicant's arguments based on the filed amendment with respect to 35 U.S.C. 102 rejections of said previous office action have been fully considered; however, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-8, 11 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Caminiti et al. US2010/0100324 (“Caminiti”) in view of Kaiser et al. US2019/0108753 (“Kaiser”).
Regarding claim(s) 1, 11, 13. Caminiti discloses a safe driving assistance system comprising: at least one memory configured to store instructions (abstract, A system and method for detecting a collision is provided. The system includes a system vehicle equipped with onboard equipment directed towards gathering vehicle information necessary to predict the path of the vehicle, a roadside infrastructure having a plurality of roadside sensors selectively distributed throughout the infrastructure so as to detect objects and gather information about the detected objects necessary to predict the path of the detected objects.); and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to:
detect a person or an animal crossing or likely to cross a road based on an image acquired from a camera capable of photographing the road ([0018] Specifically, the system 10 includes a system vehicle 18 equipped with onboard equipment 14. The onboard equipment 14 detects information which can be used to predict the path of a vehicle. For example the system vehicle 18 may be equipped with a camera 20 or a global positioning system 10. The system vehicle 18 may also be equipped with a velocity sensor 22 and/or acceleration sensor 24, a wheel sensor 26 to measure the angular orientation of the vehicle wheels. [0022] With reference now to FIG. 2, a preferred embodiment of the roadside infrastructure 30 is provided. As shown, the sensors are consolidated onto pedestrian detection system 37. The pedestrian detection system 37 includes a mast 50, and mounted on the mast 50 are sensors such as a GPS antenna 52, a thermal camera 54, a high-resolution camera 56, a programmable audio siren 58, a pedestrian warning light 60, a radio with an integrated directional antenna 62, and a Dedicated Short Range Communication antenna 64.);
determine whether a crossing position of the detected person or animal is within a pedestrian crossing; and output result of the determination ([0027] The pedestrian detection system 37 gathers information from its nested sensors 22, 24, 26 and cameras 20, and processes the information so as to be independent of the system vehicle 18. Specifically, objects and pedestrians are identified by the pedestrian detection system 37 using the camera 20. The information is processed so as to predict the path of the pedestrian or object. The predicted path may be transmitted to the system vehicle 18 using the DSRC so as to warn the driver of a possible collision. Possible collision information transmitted by the system vehicle 18 may be processed by the pedestrian detection system 37 so as to warn the pedestrian of a possible collision.).
Caminiti does not explicitly disclose information indicating the person or animal crossing outside of the pedestrian crossing in order to notify a presence of the person or animal outside of the pedestrian crossing with priority over a presence of the person or animal within the pedestrian crossing, according to a result of the determination (e.g. information data that separate when pedestrian is crossing inside the crosswalk and outside crosswalk).
Kaiser teaches a method, apparatus, and computer program product are described herein for determining pedestrian behavior profiles for road segments of a road network, from those pedestrian behavior profiles, determining the likelihood that an adverse pedestrian event will occur, and determining the action to be taken in response. Kaiser further teaches information indicating the person or animal crossing outside of the pedestrian crossing in order to notify a presence of the person or animal outside of the pedestrian crossing with priority over a presence of the person or animal within the pedestrian crossing, according to a result of the determination (para. 18, para. 47-49, probe data that is considered in establishing pedestrian behavior profiles is pedestrian traffic across roadways between intersections. A pedestrian path that crosses a road segment outside of a crosswalk may be considered an adverse pedestrian event. Para. 57-59, a subsection of a road segment that is near a specific point-of-interest may have a relatively higher likelihood of an adverse pedestrian event such as crossing as it may be relatively common for pedestrians to cross the road segment in front of the point-of-interest to reach the point-of-interest. Points-of-interest such as a restaurant or donut shop, for example, may have an increased likelihood of an adverse pedestrian event or crossing proximate the point-of-interest during normal hours of operation, while when the point-of-interest is closed, the likelihood of an adverse pedestrian event or crossing may decrease.).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system and method of Caminiti with Kaiser’s teaching above to reduce the risk of vehicle to pedestrian collision and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination would have been predictable with a reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding claim(s) 2. Caminiti in view of Kaiser further teaches wherein the camera is a camera installed near a traffic light at an intersection (fig. 1).
Regarding claim(s) 3. Caminiti in view of Kaiser further teaches wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to: output the result of the determination to a vehicle located near the intersection (fig. 1).
Regarding claim(s) 4. Caminiti in view of Kaiser further teaches wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to: acquire information indicating a state of lighting of the traffic light at the intersection; and output information indicating a state of lighting of the traffic light at the intersection in addition to result of the determination ([0036-0037] With reference now to FIG. 3c, it is also anticipated that the conditions of each traffic signal may also be communicated to the system 10. For instance, the traffic signals may communicate to the system 10 that they are presenting a green light, red light, or a "walk" sign. This information may be used by the path collision circuit 29 to generate warnings.).
Regarding claim(s) 5. Caminiti in view of Kaiser further teaches wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to: c acquire information indicating a state of lighting of the traffic light at the intersection; and output result of the determination to a vehicle having a possibility of crossing the person or the animal based on the information indicating the state of lighting of a traffic light at the intersection ([0041-0043] As stated above, the roadside infrastructure 30 uses its sensors 22, 24, 26 to detect the presence of the system vehicle 18, and other objects within a predetermined range. FIGS. 1 and 4 shows the system vehicle 18 approaching a four-way intersection on a two-lane road. The four-way intersection is regulated by traffic lights 38, and cross-walk lights 42. Cameras 20 are selectively stationed throughout the intersection to detect pedestrians and other objects surrounding the cross-walk. The cameras 20 may be fused with radar 32 or sonar 34 so as to detect the movement and speed of pedestrians and other objects in the manner discussed above).
Regarding claim(s) 6. Caminiti in view of Kaiser further teaches wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to: analyze at least one of a moving direction and a moving speed of the person or the animal; and output at least one of the moving direction and the moving speed of the person or the animal in addition to the result of the determination ([0041] As stated above, the roadside infrastructure 30 uses its sensors 22, 24, 26 to detect the presence of the system vehicle 18, and other objects within a predetermined range. FIGS. 1 and 4 shows the system vehicle 18 approaching a four-way intersection on a two-lane road. The four-way intersection is regulated by traffic lights 38, and cross-walk lights 42. Cameras 20 are selectively stationed throughout the intersection to detect pedestrians and other objects surrounding the cross-walk. The cameras 20 may be fused with radar 32 or sonar 34 so as to detect the movement and speed of pedestrians and other objects in the manner discussed above.)
Regarding claim(s) 7. Caminiti in view of Kaiser further teaches wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to: detect a person or an animal likely to cross a road connected to the intersection from an image shown in an image captured by the camera ([0021, 0026] The speed and direction of the detected objects may be mapped onto the camera 20 image and processed so as to help predict the path of the detected object. Alternatively, the fused data may be transmitted to the path predicting circuit 28 which is in communication with the roadside infrastructure 30. The path predicting circuit 28 predicts the path of the system vehicle 18 and the path of the detected objects using the information gathered by the roadside infrastructure 30.).
Regarding claim(s) 8. Caminiti in view of Kaiser further teaches wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to: determine whether a crossing position of the person or the animal is within a pedestrian crossing based on a position in the image of the image shown in the image captured by the camera ([0021, 0026] The speed and direction of the detected objects may be mapped onto the camera 20 image and processed so as to help predict the path of the detected object. Alternatively, the fused data may be transmitted to the path predicting circuit 28 which is in communication with the roadside infrastructure 30. The path predicting circuit 28 predicts the path of the system vehicle 18 and the path of the detected objects using the information gathered by the roadside infrastructure 30.).
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRUC M DO whose telephone number is (571)270-5962. The examiner can normally be reached on 9AM-6PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ramón Mercado, Ph.D. can be reached on (571) 270-5744. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TRUC M DO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3658