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 .
This action is in response to the request for continued examination filed on 12/29/2025, in which claims 1-20 are currently pending and addressed below.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/29/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicant has amended the claims to overcome the 35 U.S.C. 101 rejections. Accordingly, the 35 U.S.C. 101 rejections have been withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/29/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
With respect to the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections:
Applicant argues on page 18 of the remarks that “Ferguson’s generic consideration of multiple parameters in an optimization algorithm does not constitute the specific capability-mismatch analysis as recited in amended claim 1” and “Ferguson does not disclose analyzing service requirements against AV capabilities as a distinct operation to identify mismatches.”
In response to applicant’s arguments that Ferguson fails to identify a mismatch between AV capabilities, the examiner respectfully disagrees. Ferguson discloses selecting a vehicle from the fleet of mixed vehicles based on the parameters to perform a service. Ferguson discloses that “these parameters may be related to the order details (e.g., what the customer requires), the capabilities of the vehicles in the fleet (e.g., what types of conditions the vehicles can handle), and additional considerations by the system (e.g., some vehicles in fleet may be more cost-effective to operate).” (Ferguson [0091]). Furthermore, Ferguson discloses that the system will not deploy a vehicle if it does not have the required capabilities, such as operating in a requested road or area (Ferguson [0091]). Therefore, Ferguson discloses determining whether a service is suitable for execution by a vehicle based on a mismatch between service requirements and AV capabilities because Ferguson discloses selecting a vehicle to satisfy service parameters including order details (i.e., service requirements) and the capabilities of the vehicles. Additionally, Ferguson discloses not assigning a vehicle to complete a service if it is determined that the vehicle capabilities cannot handle the requested service (i.e., a mismatch between AV capabilities).
Applicant’s arguments have been fully considered and have been found not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to Kuhara disclosing limitations in the independent claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on Kuhara for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Objections
Claim 20 is objected to because of the following informalities: “wherein the AV state corresponds to service parameters based on with AV capabilities” should read “wherein the AV state corresponds to service parameters based on AV capabilities.”
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
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.
Claims 1-3, 5-6, 9, 12-14, and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ferguson et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0050807 A1 (hereinafter Ferguson), in view of Matthiesen et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0188731 A1 (hereinafter Matthiesen).
Regarding claim 1, Ferguson teaches a system for managing a mixed fleet of vehicles to execute transportation services (Ferguson Fig. 11), the system comprising:
at least one processor programmed to perform operations comprising (see at least Ferguson [0014]: “The system includes one or more processors”):
accessing first transportation service request data describing a first transportation service requested by a first user via a first user computing device (see at least Ferguson [0089]: “In block 1402, the fleet management module 120 receives a request for a service either directly from the customer 202 or from the customer 202 via the central server 110.”);
analyzing the first transportation service request data against AV capability data for a plurality of autonomous vehicles (AVs) of the mixed fleet of vehicles to identify a mismatch between one or more service requirements and one or more AV capabilities (see at least Ferguson [0091]: “In block 1406, a vehicle is selected from a fleet of mixed vehicles based on the determined parameters, to perform at least a portion of the service…In various embodiments, these parameters may be related to the order details (e.g., what the customer requires), the capabilities of the vehicles in the fleet (e.g., what types of conditions the vehicles can handle), and additional considerations by the system (e.g., some vehicles in fleet may be more cost-effective to operate).”);
determining, based on the mismatch, that the first transportation service is not suitable for execution by at least one of a plurality of AVs based on the mismatch between service requirements and AV capabilities (see at least Ferguson [0091]: “In block 1406, a vehicle is selected from a fleet of mixed vehicles based on the determined parameters, to perform at least a portion of the service. In various embodiments, the mixed fleet includes combinations of fully-autonomous vehicles, semi-autonomous vehicles, vehicles driven by a local human driver, and vehicles driven by a remote human driver, such as combinations of two or more such vehicle types. In various embodiments, these parameters may be related to the order details (e.g., what the customer requires), the capabilities of the vehicles in the fleet (e.g., what types of conditions the vehicles can handle), and additional considerations by the system (e.g., some vehicles in fleet may be more cost-effective to operate)…In a further example, if the system is making a delivery near a busy area, the system may decide that using vehicles driven by a remote human driver or using semi-autonomous vehicles are safer or easier than fully autonomy vehicles for that situation.”),
the mixed fleet of vehicles comprising a plurality of human-driven vehicles and the plurality of AVs (see at least Ferguson [0091]: “In various embodiments, the mixed fleet includes combinations of fully-autonomous vehicles, semi-autonomous vehicles, vehicles driven by a local human driver, and vehicles driven by a remote human driver, such as combinations of two or more such vehicle types.”);
and instructing the first vehicle to begin executing the first transportation service (see at least Ferguson [0092]: “In block 1408, the system transmits a message to the selected vehicle to perform a portion of the service or all of the service.”).
Ferguson fails to expressly disclose making a modification to a transportation service to make it suitable for execution by at least one AV. However, Matthiesen teaches
prior to assigning the first transportation service to a vehicle from the mixed fleet, prompting the first user via the first user computing device to make a modification to the first transportation service to make it suitable for execution by the at least one of the plurality of AVs (see at least Matthiesen [0047]: “In some embodiments, it can be determined whether at least one autonomous route exists between the pickup location and the drop-off location. If an autonomous ride is not available between the locations, at step 906 alternative ride types or locations may be recommended. If an autonomous ride is available between the locations, at step 908 the ride request can be matched to an autonomous vehicle.”);
selecting a first vehicle of the mixed fleet of vehicles to execute the first transportation service based on the first transportation service request data and the modification to the first transportation service (see at least Matthiesen [0047]: “In some embodiments, it can be determined whether at least one autonomous route exists between the pickup location and the drop-off location. If an autonomous ride is not available between the locations, at step 906 alternative ride types or locations may be recommended. If an autonomous ride is available between the locations, at step 908 the ride request can be matched to an autonomous vehicle. In some embodiments, at step 910 a route between the pickup location and drop-off location can be mapped. The route can then be sent to the autonomous vehicle.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the system taught by Ferguson with the modification taught by Matthiesen with reasonable expectation of success. Matthiesen is directed towards the related field of autonomous vehicle pickup and drop-off management. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine Ferguson with the modification taught by Matthiesen to improve conveying instructions and information for a mixed autonomous and human-operated environment (see at least Matthiesen [0001]: “Traditionally, transportation and related services have been provided by a human-operated vehicle. Improvements in computer processing have led to increasing efforts to automate more of these services, using autonomous vehicles that do not require a human operator. However, integrating these autonomously-provided services into a mixed autonomous and human-operated environment has many challenges. Riders are accustomed to interacting with human drivers to provide information and instructions in addition to the information received from a ride matching service. In the absence of a human driver, these instructions may not be so easily conveyed.”).
Regarding claim 2, Ferguson in combination with Matthiesen teach all elements of the system according to claim 1 as explained above. Ferguson further teaches
wherein the first vehicle is the at least one of the plurality of AVs (see at least Ferguson [0091]: “In block 1406, a vehicle is selected from a fleet of mixed vehicles based on the determined parameters, to perform at least a portion of the service. In various embodiments, the mixed fleet includes combinations of fully-autonomous vehicles, semi-autonomous vehicles, vehicles driven by a local human driver, and vehicles driven by a remote human driver, such as combinations of two or more such vehicle types…In yet another example, a customer, based on preferences or due to differences in price, may specifically request a fully-autonomous vehicle.”).
Regarding claim 3, Ferguson in combination with Matthiesen teach all elements of the system according to claim 1 as explained above. Ferguson further teaches
the determining that the first transportation service is suitable for execution by at least one of the plurality of AVs being based at least in part on first user preference data describing a first user preference of the first user (see at least Ferguson [0091]: “In block 1406, a vehicle is selected from a fleet of mixed vehicles based on the determined parameters, to perform at least a portion of the service…In yet another example, a customer, based on preferences or due to differences in price, may specifically request a fully-autonomous vehicle.”).
Regarding claim 5, Ferguson in combination with Matthiesen teach all elements of the system according to claim 1 as explained above. Matthiesen further teaches
the modification to the first transportation service comprising a modification to the first transportation service request data (see at least Matthiesen [0047]: “In some embodiments, it can be determined whether at least one autonomous route exists between the pickup location and the drop-off location. If an autonomous ride is not available between the locations, at step 906 alternative ride types or locations may be recommended. If an autonomous ride is available between the locations, at step 908 the ride request can be matched to an autonomous vehicle.”; Matthiesen teaches a modification to the first transportation service request data because the user selects an alternative ride type or location).
Regarding claim 6, Ferguson in combination with Matthiesen teach all elements of the system according to claim 1 as explained above. Matthiesen further teaches
before prompting the first user to make the modification to the first transportation service, determining that the first transportation service can be modified to make it suitable for execution by the at least one AV (see at least Matthiesen [0047]: “In some embodiments, it can be determined whether at least one autonomous route exists between the pickup location and the drop-off location. If an autonomous ride is not available between the locations, at step 906 alternative ride types or locations may be recommended. If an autonomous ride is available between the locations, at step 908 the ride request can be matched to an autonomous vehicle.”),
wherein the prompting the first user to make the modification to the first transportation service comprises prompting the first user to make a modification to the first transportation service (see at least Matthiesen [0047]: “In some embodiments, it can be determined whether at least one autonomous route exists between the pickup location and the drop-off location. If an autonomous ride is not available between the locations, at step 906 alternative ride types or locations may be recommended. If an autonomous ride is available between the locations, at step 908 the ride request can be matched to an autonomous vehicle.”).
Regarding claim 9, Ferguson in combination with Matthiesen teach all elements of the system according to claim 1 as explained above. Ferguson further teaches
wherein instructing the first vehicle to begin executing the first transportation service comprises instructing a human or third-party system associated with the first vehicle to begin executing the first transportation service using the first vehicle (see at least Ferguson [0092]: “In block 1408, the system transmits a message to the selected vehicle to perform a portion of the service or all of the service.”; [0042]: “Provided herein is a mixed robot fleet having robot vehicles operating fully-autonomously, semi-autonomously, with a local human driver, and/or with a remote human driver, and a fleet management module for coordination of the mixed robot fleet, where each robot within the fleet is configured for retrieving, transporting, or delivering goods or services and is capable of operating in an unstructured open or closed environment.”).
Regarding claim 12, this claim recites a method for the system of claim 1. The combination of Ferguson in view of Matthiesen also teaches a method of the system of claim 1 as outlined in the rejection to claim 1 above. Therefore, claim 12 is rejected for the same rationale as claim 1.
Regarding claim 13, this claim recites a method for the system of claim 2 as explained above. Therefore, claim 13 is rejected for the same rationale as claim 2.
Regarding claim 14, this claim recites a method for the system of claim 3 as explained above. Therefore, claim 14 is rejected for the same rationale as claim 3.
Regarding claim 16, this claim recites a method for the system of claim 5 as explained above. Therefore, claim 16 is rejected for the same rationale as claim 5.
Regarding claim 17, this claim recites a method for the system of claim 6 as explained above. Therefore, claim 17 is rejected for the same rationale as claim 6.
Claims 4, 8, 15, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ferguson in view of Matthiesen, and further in view of Kuhara, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0217598 A1.
Regarding claim 4, Ferguson in combination with Matthiesen teach all elements of the system according to claim 1 as explained above. Ferguson in view of Matthiesen fail to expressly disclose a modification to at least one user preference of the first user. However, Kuhara teaches
the modification to the first transportation service comprising a modification to at least one user preference of the first user (see at least Kuhara [0202]: “The reason is that the place designated as the delivery destination is not necessarily optimum for the customer as the location of the delivery using the self-driving vehicle 50. For example, in a case in which there is a plurality of doorways, such as a case of a large-scale multi-unit residential complex, the position that the front door of the building faces is not necessarily optimum as the location of the delivery using the self-driving vehicle 50. It can also be thought that some customers desire to have the self-driving vehicle 50 to be parked or stopped near another doorway, not the front door. Thus, the display unit 22 of the customer terminal 2 may have a configuration in which a button with which changing the location of the delivery can be designated is displayed so that the location of the delivery using the self-driving vehicle 50 can be changed even when the delivery using the self-driving vehicle 50 is possible, which allows the customer to change the location of the delivery.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the system taught by Ferguson in view of Matthiesen with the modification taught by Kuhara with reasonable expectation of success. Kuhara is directed towards the related field of a management apparatus for a delivery system. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine Ferguson in view of Matthiesen with the modification taught by Kuhara to prevent violating road traffic laws (see at least Kuhara [0008]: “In such a case, there is a possibility that when the self-driving vehicle is parked or stopped at the delivery destination, the road traffic law is violated.”).
Regarding claim 8, Ferguson in combination with Matthiesen teach all elements of the system according to claim 1 as explained above. Ferguson in view of Matthiesen fail to expressly disclose excluding a AV from being eligible to execute the transportation service if the user does not make the modification. However, Kuhara further teaches
excluding the at least one AV from being eligible to execute the first transportation service if the first user does not make the modification (see at least Kuhara [0141]: “In the example illustrated in FIG. 15, a message box 43b indicating “Delivery to the designated delivery destination by using a self-driving vehicle is not available.” is displayed in the input area 42 on the delivery-destination-information entry screen 40 as the notification information indicating that the delivery to the delivery destination by using the self-driving vehicle 50 is not possible. In this case, when the customer clicks the “drop-down arrow” button in the option entry field “Delivery method” in the input area 42 on the delivery-destination-information entry screen 40, only the delivery method using a vehicle driven by a driver is displayed as a delivery method that can be designated.”; Kuhara [0193]-[0194] teaches self-driving vehicle is not possible unless an alternative candidate area is selected).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the system taught by Ferguson in view of Matthiesen with Kuhara with reasonable expectation of success. Kuhara is directed towards the related field of a management apparatus for a delivery system. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine Ferguson in view of Matthiesen with Kuhara to prevent violating road traffic laws (see at least Kuhara [0008]: “In such a case, there is a possibility that when the self-driving vehicle is parked or stopped at the delivery destination, the road traffic law is violated.”).
Regarding claim 15, this claim recites a method for the system of claim 4 as explained above. Therefore, claim 15 is rejected for the same rationale as claim 4.
Regarding claim 19, this claim recites a method for the system of claim 8 as explained above. Therefore, claim 19 is rejected for the same rationale as claim 8.
Claims 7, 11, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ferguson in view of Matthiesen, and further in view of Okabe et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0037532 A1 (hereinafter Okabe).
Regarding claim 7, Ferguson in combination with Matthiesen teach all elements of the system according to claim 1 as explained above. Ferguson in view of Matthiesen fail to expressly disclose a conditional user preference having an AV state and a non-AV state. However, Okabe teaches
the modification to the first transportation service comprises a conditional user preference for the first user, the conditional user preference having an AV state and a non-AV state (see at least Okabe [0055]: “According to the delivery management system 1 according to the present embodiment, the first vehicle V1 is assigned as a delivery vehicle to a user who requests a requested item to be performed at a delivery destination. That is, when it is necessary for a person (a driver) to perform a requested item other than delivery of a product to a user at a delivery destination, the product is delivered by the first vehicle V1. On the other hand, for a user who does not request a requested item to be performed at a delivery destination, the second vehicle V2 is assigned as a delivery vehicle. That is, when it is necessary only to hand over a product to a user at a delivery destination, the product is delivered by the second vehicle V2. Therefore, it is possible to more favorably use the first vehicle V1 driven by a driver or the second vehicle V2, which is an autonomous vehicle, as a delivery vehicle.”);
and the instructing the first vehicle to begin executing the first transportation service comprises: instructing, if the first vehicle is an AV, to begin executing the first transportation service using the AV state (see at least Okabe [0043]: “Further, when no requested item is inputted in the requested item field of the user information about the one user, the selection unit 221 selects the second vehicle V2 as the delivery vehicle to deliver the product to the one user.”; [0053]: “Next, at S204, the delivery plan generated at S203 is transmitted to the driver terminal 300 or the second vehicle V2. At this time, the delivery plan with the first vehicle V1 is transmitted to the driver terminal 300. On the other hand, the delivery plan with the second vehicle V2 is transmitted to the second vehicle V2.”; Okabe [0018] teaches the second vehicle is an autonomous vehicle);
and instructing, if the first vehicle is not an AV, to begin executing the first transportation service using the non-AV state (see at least Okabe [0043]: “Therefore, when some requested item is inputted in the requested item field of the user information about the one user, the selection unit 221 selects the first vehicle V1 as the delivery vehicle to deliver the product to the one user. As described above, a driver is in the first vehicle V1. Therefore, by delivering the product to the one user by the first vehicle V1, it becomes possible to perform the requested item by the driver of the first vehicle V1 at the delivery destination.”; [0053]: “Next, at S204, the delivery plan generated at S203 is transmitted to the driver terminal 300 or the second vehicle V2. At this time, the delivery plan with the first vehicle V1 is transmitted to the driver terminal 300. On the other hand, the delivery plan with the second vehicle V2 is transmitted to the second vehicle V2.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the system taught by Ferguson in view of Matthiesen with the conditional preference taught by Okabe with reasonable expectation of success. Okabe is directed towards the related field of managing delivery of goods by a vehicle. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine Ferguson in view of Matthiesen with Okabe to prevent difficulties in performing a requested service (see at least Okabe [0019]: “It is possible to hand over the goods to the user no matter which of the first vehicle and the second vehicle is the delivery vehicle. However, it may be requested to perform a predetermined event other than handing over the goods to the user at the time of delivering the goods to a delivery destination. The predetermined event is, for example, placement of the goods or collection of an article other than the goods. At this time, when the goods are delivered by the second vehicle, which is an autonomous vehicle, it may be difficult to perform the predetermined event at the delivery destination because a driver is not in the second vehicle.”).
Regarding claim 11, Ferguson in combination with Matthiesen teach all elements of the system according to claim 1 as explained above. Ferguson further teaches
accessing user preference data describing preferences of the first user (see at least Ferguson [0090]: “In block 1404, the parameters for the service are determined. In various embodiments, the parameters may include the customer's 202 preference for service providers”),
selecting a plurality of candidate AVs from the mixed fleet of vehicles using the AV transportation service description (see at least Ferguson [0072]-[0073]: “In some embodiments of the robot fleet, the autonomous robots within the fleet are further configured to be part of a sub-fleet of autonomous robots, and each sub-fleet is configured to operate independently or in tandem with multiple sub-fleets having two or more sub-fleets (100-a, 100-b). For example, a package delivery service is configured to offer multiple levels of service such as “immediate dedicated rush service,” “guaranteed morning/ afternoon delivery service,” or “general delivery service.” A service provider could then have a dedicated sub-fleet of delivery vehicles for each type of service within their overall fleet of vehicles.”);
selecting a plurality of candidate human-driven vehicles from the mixed fleet of vehicles (see at least Ferguson [0091]: “In a further example, if the system is making a delivery near a busy area, the system may decide that using vehicles driven by a remote human driver or using semi-autonomous vehicles are safer or easier than fully autonomy vehicles for that situation. In yet a further example, the system may decide that it may not have the capabilities yet to operate on certain roads/areas and therefore may deploy a remotely-operated vehicle or human-driven vehicle.”; [0006]: “The fleet of mixed vehicles includes at least two of: a semi-autonomous vehicle, a fully-autonomous vehicle, a vehicle remotely operated by a human, or a human-driven vehicle.”);
and selecting the first vehicle from the plurality of candidate AVs or from the plurality of human-driven vehicles, the first vehicle being an AV (see at least Ferguson [0091]: “In block 1406, a vehicle is selected from a fleet of mixed vehicles based on the determined parameters, to perform at least a portion of the service. In various embodiments, the mixed fleet includes combinations of fully-autonomous vehicles, semi-autonomous vehicles, vehicles driven by a local human driver, and vehicles driven by a remote human driver, such as combinations of two or more such vehicle types. In various embodiments, these parameters may be related to the order details (e.g., what the customer requires), the capabilities of the vehicles in the fleet (e.g., what types of conditions the vehicles can handle), and additional considerations by the system (e.g., some vehicles in fleet may be more cost-effective to operate)...In yet another example, a customer, based on preferences or due to differences in price, may specifically request a fully-autonomous vehicle.”).
Ferguson in view of Matthiesen fail to expressly disclose a conditional user preference having an AV state and a non-AV state. However, Okabe teaches
the user preference data indicating a conditional user preference having an autonomous vehicle (AV) state and a non-AV state (see at least Okabe [0055]: “According to the delivery management system 1 according to the present embodiment, the first vehicle V1 is assigned as a delivery vehicle to a user who requests a requested item to be performed at a delivery destination. That is, when it is necessary for a person (a driver) to perform a requested item other than delivery of a product to a user at a delivery destination, the product is delivered by the first vehicle V1. On the other hand, for a user who does not request a requested item to be performed at a delivery destination, the second vehicle V2 is assigned as a delivery vehicle. That is, when it is necessary only to hand over a product to a user at a delivery destination, the product is delivered by the second vehicle V2. Therefore, it is possible to more favorably use the first vehicle V1 driven by a driver or the second vehicle V2, which is an autonomous vehicle, as a delivery vehicle.”);
generating an AV transportation service description for the first transportation service using the AV state of the conditional user preference (see at least Okabe [0043]: “Further, when no requested item is inputted in the requested item field of the user information about the one user, the selection unit 221 selects the second vehicle V2 as the delivery vehicle to deliver the product to the one user.”; [0053]: “Next, at S204, the delivery plan generated at S203 is transmitted to the driver terminal 300 or the second vehicle V2. At this time, the delivery plan with the first vehicle V1 is transmitted to the driver terminal 300. On the other hand, the delivery plan with the second vehicle V2 is transmitted to the second vehicle V2.”; Okabe [0018] teaches the second vehicle is an autonomous vehicle);
generating a non-AV transportation service description for the first transportation service using the non-AV state of the conditional user preference (see at least Okabe [0043]: “Therefore, when some requested item is inputted in the requested item field of the user information about the one user, the selection unit 221 selects the first vehicle V1 as the delivery vehicle to deliver the product to the one user. As described above, a driver is in the first vehicle V1. Therefore, by delivering the product to the one user by the first vehicle V1, it becomes possible to perform the requested item by the driver of the first vehicle V1 at the delivery destination.”; [0053]: “Next, at S204, the delivery plan generated at S203 is transmitted to the driver terminal 300 or the second vehicle V2. At this time, the delivery plan with the first vehicle V1 is transmitted to the driver terminal 300. On the other hand, the delivery plan with the second vehicle V2 is transmitted to the second vehicle V2.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the system taught by Ferguson in view of Matthiesen with the conditional preference taught by Okabe with reasonable expectation of success. Okabe is directed towards the related field of managing delivery of goods by a vehicle. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine Ferguson in view of Matthiesen with Okabe to prevent difficulties in performing a requested service (see at least Okabe [0019]: “It is possible to hand over the goods to the user no matter which of the first vehicle and the second vehicle is the delivery vehicle. However, it may be requested to perform a predetermined event other than handing over the goods to the user at the time of delivering the goods to a delivery destination. The predetermined event is, for example, placement of the goods or collection of an article other than the goods. At this time, when the goods are delivered by the second vehicle, which is an autonomous vehicle, it may be difficult to perform the predetermined event at the delivery destination because a driver is not in the second vehicle.”).
Regarding claim 18, this claim recites a method for the system of claim 7 as explained above. Therefore, claim 18 is rejected for the same rationale as claim 7.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ferguson in view of Matthiesen, and further in view of Blume et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0107650 A1 (hereinafter Blume).
Regarding claim 10, Ferguson in combination with Matthiesen teach all elements of the system according to claim 1 as explained above. Ferguson further teaches
accessing second transportation service request data describing a second transportation service requested by a second user via a second user computing device (see at least Ferguson [0092]: “In various embodiments, the system can determine requests for services from multiple customers located near each other, and can determine a path to deliver the services to the multiple customers using the selected vehicle.”);
determining that the second transportation service is suitable for execution by at least one of the plurality of AVs of the mixed fleet of vehicles (see at least Ferguson [0091]: “In block 1406, a vehicle is selected from a fleet of mixed vehicles based on the determined parameters, to perform at least a portion of the service. In various embodiments, the mixed fleet includes combinations of fully-autonomous vehicles, semi-autonomous vehicles, vehicles driven by a local human driver, and vehicles driven by a remote human driver, such as combinations of two or more such vehicle types. In various embodiments, these parameters may be related to the order details (e.g., what the customer requires), the capabilities of the vehicles in the fleet (e.g., what types of conditions the vehicles can handle), and additional considerations by the system (e.g., some vehicles in fleet may be more cost-effective to operate)…In yet another example, a customer, based on preferences or due to differences in price, may specifically request a fully-autonomous vehicle.”);
and instructing at least one of the plurality of AVs to execute the second transportation service (see at least Ferguson [0092]: “In block 1408, the system transmits a message to the selected vehicle to perform a portion of the service or all of the service…In various embodiments, the system can determine requests for services from multiple customers located near each other, and can determine a path to deliver the services to the multiple customers using the selected vehicle.”).
Ferguson in view of Matthiesen fail to expressly disclose a user confirming an AV for the transportation service. However, Blume teaches
prompting the second user to confirm acceptance of an AV for the second transportation service (see at least Blume [0060]: “In addition or alternatively, the operator 432 may also select a “ready” option, for example, via the application or website or a button of the autonomous vehicle (such as user input 150), to confirm that the autonomous vehicle is ready to begin a trip to the delivery location.”);
receiving, from the second user, a confirmation in response to the prompting (see at least Blume [0060]: “In addition or alternatively, the operator 432 may also select a “ready” option, for example, via the application or website or a button of the autonomous vehicle (such as user input 150), to confirm that the autonomous vehicle is ready to begin a trip to the delivery location. Selecting this option may dispatch or cause the autonomous vehicle to travel from the loading location to the delivery location. In response, if using the client computing device 430, the application or website may send a notification indicating the same to the retail computing system 440 confirming that the autonomous vehicle has been dispatched to the delivery location. Alternatively, if a button within the autonomous vehicle is used, the autonomous vehicle may send a signal to the dispatching computing system 410 indicating that the autonomous vehicle is now traveling from the loading location to the delivery location.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the system taught by Ferguson in view of Matthiesen with the confirmation taught by Blume with reasonable expectation of success. Blume is directed towards the related field of delivery of goods by autonomous vehicles. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine Ferguson in view of Matthiesen with the confirmation taught by Blume to improve efficiency (see at least Blume [0015]: “The features described herein may provide a practical and efficient way to deliver goods to a user using autonomous vehicles.”).
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ferguson in view of Cooper, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0356823 A1.
Regarding claim 20, Ferguson teaches a method of managing a mixed fleet of vehicles to execute transportation services (Ferguson Fig. 14), the method comprising:
accessing user preference data describing preferences of a user (see at least Ferguson [0090]: “In block 1404, the parameters for the service are determined. In various embodiments, the parameters may include the customer's 202 preference for service providers”),
accessing first transportation service request data describing a first transportation service requested by the user via a user computing device (see at least Ferguson [0089]: “In block 1402, the fleet management module 120 receives a request for a service either directly from the customer 202 or from the customer 202 via the central server 110.”);
analyzing the first transportation service request data against AV capability data for a plurality of AVs of the mixed fleet of vehicle (see at least Ferguson [0091]: “In block 1406, a vehicle is selected from a fleet of mixed vehicles based on the determined parameters, to perform at least a portion of the service…In various embodiments, these parameters may be related to the order details (e.g., what the customer requires), the capabilities of the vehicles in the fleet (e.g., what types of conditions the vehicles can handle), and additional considerations by the system (e.g., some vehicles in fleet may be more cost-effective to operate).”);
selecting a plurality of candidate AVs from the mixed fleet of vehicles using the AV transportation service description (see at least Ferguson [0072]-[0073]: “In some embodiments of the robot fleet, the autonomous robots within the fleet are further configured to be part of a sub-fleet of autonomous robots, and each sub-fleet is configured to operate independently or in tandem with multiple sub-fleets having two or more sub-fleets (100-a, 100-b). For example, a package delivery service is configured to offer multiple levels of service such as “immediate dedicated rush service,” “guaranteed morning/ afternoon delivery service,” or “general delivery service.” A service provider could then have a dedicated sub-fleet of delivery vehicles for each type of service within their overall fleet of vehicles.”);
selecting a plurality of candidate human-driven vehicles from the mixed fleet of vehicles (see at least Ferguson [0091]: “In a further example, if the system is making a delivery near a busy area, the system may decide that using vehicles driven by a remote human driver or using semi-autonomous vehicles are safer or easier than fully autonomy vehicles for that situation. In yet a further example, the system may decide that it may not have the capabilities yet to operate on certain roads/areas and therefore may deploy a remotely-operated vehicle or human-driven vehicle.”; [0006]: “The fleet of mixed vehicles includes at least two of: a semi-autonomous vehicle, a fully-autonomous vehicle, a vehicle remotely operated by a human, or a human-driven vehicle.”);
selecting a first vehicle from the plurality of candidate AVs or from the plurality of candidate human-driven vehicles, the first vehicle being an AV (see at least Ferguson [0091]: “In block 1406, a vehicle is selected from a fleet of mixed vehicles based on the determined parameters, to perform at least a portion of the service. In various embodiments, the mixed fleet includes combinations of fully-autonomous vehicles, semi-autonomous vehicles, vehicles driven by a local human driver, and vehicles driven by a remote human driver, such as combinations of two or more such vehicle types. In various embodiments, these parameters may be related to the order details (e.g., what the customer requires), the capabilities of the vehicles in the fleet (e.g., what types of conditions the vehicles can handle), and additional considerations by the system (e.g., some vehicles in fleet may be more cost-effective to operate)...In yet another example, a customer, based on preferences or due to differences in price, may specifically request a fully-autonomous vehicle.”);
and instructing the first vehicle to begin executing the first transportation service (see at least Ferguson [0092]: “In block 1408, the system transmits a message to the selected vehicle to perform a portion of the service or all of the service.”).
Ferguson fails to expressly disclose a user preference having an AV state and a non-AV state. However, Cooper teaches
the user preference data indicating a conditional user preference having an autonomous vehicle (AV) state and a non-AV state, the conditional user preference relating to at least one of payload delivery location, walking distance tolerance, or service interaction requirements that differ between the AV state and the non-AV state (see at least Cooper [0091]: “As a specific example, a serviceable point profile may identify one or more preferred delivery locations for shipments/items to be delivered to a particular delivery address (e.g., a geocode accurately identifying the location of the front porch of a particular residence). In various embodiments, the serviceable point profile may identify a first delivery location at the corresponding delivery address for manual deliveries (e.g., deliveries made by a carrier employee should be placed on a front porch of the address) and/or may identify a second delivery location at the corresponding delivery address for autonomous deliveries (e.g., deliveries made by an autonomous UAV should be deposited on a second-story balcony of the address).”; Cooper teaches at least the conditional user preference relating to a payload delivery location);
generating an AV transportation service description for the first transportation service using the AV state of the conditional user preference (see at least Cooper [0173]: “Simultaneously, the autonomous vehicle 140 navigates to an assigned destination serviceable point for an autonomous delivery shipment/item, utilizing onboard location determining devices, onboard sensors, and/or the like to travel to the desired destination serviceable point while avoiding obstacles along the way. Once at the destination serviceable point, the autonomous vehicle 140 locates the appropriate delivery location (e.g., via onboard sensors), and deposits the shipment/item at the appropriate delivery serviceable point (e.g., on a front porch, on a balcony, on a printed delivery target, and/or the like).”; [0171]: “In certain embodiments, the final delivery route may be stored in a memory associated with the mapping computing entity 110, and/or may be transmitted to an onboard computing entity for the manual delivery vehicle 100, a user computing entity 105 carried by the manual delivery vehicle operator, the onboard control system of the autonomous vehicles 140, and/or the like.”),
wherein the AV state corresponds to service parameters based on with AV capabilities (see at least Cooper [0087]: “Similarly, the mapping computing entity 110 may compare the weight of the item against weight criteria for autonomous delivery to determine whether the shipment/item is within an appropriate weight range to enable autonomous delivery. For example, the weight criteria may specify a maximum and/or a minimum weight for items to be delivered via an autonomous vehicle 140. The weight criteria may be established based on a weight limit of an autonomous vehicle 140, such that items are only eligible for autonomous delivery if the propulsion mechanisms of the autonomous vehicle 140 are capable of maneuvering the combined weight of the autonomous vehicle 140 and the shipment/item. Finally, the mapping computing entity 110 may compare the contents of the shipment/item against a listing of permitted and/or excluded item contents to determine whether the contents of the shipment/item are eligible for autonomous delivery.”);
generating a non-AV transportation service description for the first transportation service using the non-AV state of the conditional user preference (see at least Cooper [0172]: “As noted, the manual delivery vehicle operator may be informed of the assigned manual delivery vehicle route via one or more computing entities onboard the manual delivery vehicle 100 and/or carried by the manual delivery vehicle operator. The manual delivery vehicle 100 may then traverse the assigned delivery route to proceed to various manual delivery serviceable points.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the method taught by Ferguson with the AV and non-AV states taught by Cooper with reasonable expectation of success. Cooper is directed towards the related field of performing a delivery manually or autonomously based on the delivery location. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine Ferguson with the AV and non-AV states taught by Cooper to improve delivery efficiency (see at least Cooper [0002]: “For example, selecting an appropriate delivery time and delivery route may significantly impact delivery efficiency, and accordingly additional innovation is needed to enable autonomous vehicles to efficiently deliver items to various locations.”).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH J SLOWIK whose telephone number is (571)270-5608. The examiner can normally be reached MON - FRI: 0900-1700.
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, ANISS CHAD can be reached on (571)270-3832. 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.
/ELIZABETH J SLOWIK/Examiner, Art Unit 3662
/ANISS CHAD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3662