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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 06/11/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-27 and 29-30 remain pending in the application and claim 28 is cancelled.
Examiner Withdrawal of the § 101 Rejection
Examiner withdrew of the § 101 rejection for abstract ideas in response to the applicant’s persuasive arguments and amendments.
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.
Claims 1, 8, 12 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over AHN et al. US 20200260239 in view of Sato US 20130144516.
Regarding claim 1, AHN et al. teach A server comprising: a memory storing processor-readable code; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: receive, from a first mobile entity, first information of the first mobile entity; (AHN et al. US 20200260239 abstract; paragraphs [0009]-[0013]; [0034]-[0038]; [0041]-[0042]; [0047]; [0057]-[0074]; [0098]; [0136]-[0139]; [0141]; [0146]; [0157]; [0172]; figures 1-15;)
Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a computer program stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium and a including computer-executable instructions for causing, when executed in a processor, the processor to perform a method of operating a V2V message service apparatus in a V2V communication system, including when a first vehicle equipped with the V2V message service apparatus enters a particular road link, subscribing the first vehicle to a V2V message server with the particular road link as a topic, and receiving an event message including an event-situated road link as a topic from the V2V message server, and making a determination of a preceding and trailing relationship between the first vehicle and a second vehicle that published the event message, and determining whether to issue an alarm corresponding to the event message based on the determination made on the preceding and trailing relationship (AHN et al. par. 10).
As show in the figure 1, examiner interpret plurality of vehicles as a mobile entity and one of the vehicle in a group can be treat as the first mobile entity.
transmit, to the first mobile entity, group configuration information, the group configuration information is generated based on map information and indicates a group that includes the first mobile entity and a second mobile entity, and transmit alert information to the group based on the group configuration information.
Whether the vehicle enters a particular road link is confirmed from the vehicle location information and information on the road link (e.g., a road link identifier) obtained in real time. Specifically, a particular road link entered by the vehicle may be identified by mapping the vehicle location information to information on the road link. Here, the road link information may be obtained in real time through a road map providing server, through a pre-download, or through a cloud server, and the vehicle location information may be obtained through a GPS module or the like (AHN et al. par. 98). On the other hand, when an event occurs at one vehicle 1024 in the subscriber group 1020 of the road link ‘link0004up’ to publish an event message, the event message is transmitted to vehicles 1022, 1024, and 1026 in the subscriber group 1020 through the V2V message server built in the B-site. Among the vehicles 1022, 1024, and 1026 in receipt of the event message, the trailing vehicle 1026 of the message publishing vehicle 1024 may issue an alarm corresponding to the received event message (AHN et al. par. 138).
AHN et al. do not explicitly teach wherein the group configuration information indicates that the first mobile entity is designated as a group leader of the group based on a population density, a traffic density, or the combination thereof indicated by the map information.
Sato teach wherein the group configuration information indicates that the first mobile entity is designated as a group leader of the group based on a population density, a traffic density, or the combination thereof indicated by the map information; (Sato US 20130144516 abstract; paragraphs [0009]-[0015]; [0018]-[0020]; [0030]-[0038]; [0040]-[0048]; [0066]; [0076]; figures 1-6)
The infrastructure device 12 determines a vehicle group 100 passing the measurement spot 51 and a vehicle running at the head of the vehicle group, on the basis of the information sent from the traffic volume measuring device 11. The infrastructure device 12 determines the vehicle group 100 on the basis of, for example, the vehicle-to-vehicle time intervals measured by the traffic volume measuring device 11. For example, when the vehicle-to-vehicle time interval between a vehicle 101 and another vehicle 102 running immediately behind the vehicle 101 is shorter than a predetermined vehicle-to-vehicle time interval set in advance, it is possible to determine that the vehicle 101 and the vehicle 102 constitute the same vehicle group 100. By the same token, when a vehicle-to-vehicle time interval between the vehicle 102 and another vehicle 103, a vehicle-to-vehicle time interval between the vehicle 103 and another vehicle 104, and a vehicle-to-vehicle time interval between the vehicle 104 and another vehicle 105 are shorter than the predetermined vehicle-to-vehicle time interval respectively, the infrastructure device 12 can determine that the vehicles 103, 104, and 105 constitute the same vehicle group 100 as the vehicles 101 and 102. That is, the infrastructure device 12 recognizes a group of vehicles successively running in a longitudinal direction at a vehicle-to-vehicle time interval shorter than the predetermined vehicle-to-vehicle time interval, as the vehicle group 100 (Sato par. 40). The infrastructure device 12 transmits to the leading vehicle 101 the information with which the driver is to be provided, through road-to-vehicle communication. It should be noted that the leading vehicle 101 can be identified in road-to-vehicle communication on the basis of a time when the passage of the leading vehicle of the vehicle group 100 is measured by the traffic volume measuring device 11 and a time when the vehicle 101 passes the measurement spot 51, which is acquired through road-to-vehicle communication (Sato par. 44).
According to the cited passages and figures, examiner interprets vehicle 101 as the first mobile entity and designated as the group leader and the traffic volume as the traffic density.
Therefore, it would have been obviously to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to substitute the measure device that identify the leading vehicle of the vehicle group is measured by the traffic volume as taught by Sacto reference into the system of AHN et al. reference in order to identify a leader of the group of the vehicles.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of AHN et al. and Sacto disclose The server of claim 1, wherein the group configuration information indicates a transmission scheme of one or more mobile entities of the group with the server.
Whether the vehicle enters a particular road link is confirmed from the vehicle location information and information on the road link (e.g., a road link identifier) obtained in real time. Specifically, a particular road link entered by the vehicle may be identified by mapping the vehicle location information to information on the road link. Here, the road link information may be obtained in real time through a road map providing server, through a pre-download, or through a cloud server, and the vehicle location information may be obtained through a GPS module or the like (AHN et al. par. 98). On the other hand, when an event occurs at one vehicle 1024 in the subscriber group 1020 of the road link ‘link0004up’ to publish an event message, the event message is transmitted to vehicles 1022, 1024, and 1026 in the subscriber group 1020 through the V2V message server built in the B-site. Among the vehicles 1022, 1024, and 1026 in receipt of the event message, the trailing vehicle 1026 of the message publishing vehicle 1024 may issue an alarm corresponding to the received event message (AHN et al. par. 138).
Regarding claim 12, AHN et al. teach A mobile entity comprising: a memory storing processor-readable code; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: transmit, to a server, first information of the mobile entity; receive, from the server, group configuration information, the group configuration information based on map information and indicates a group that includes the mobile entity and another mobile entity, and communicate, based on the group configuration information, with the other mobile entity of the group. (AHN et al. US 20200260239 abstract; paragraphs [0009]-[0013]; [0034]-[0038]; [0041]-[0042]; [0047]; [0057]-[0074]; [0098]; [0136]-[0139]; [0141]; [0146]; [0157]; [0172]; figures 1-15;)
Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a computer program stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium and a including computer-executable instructions for causing, when executed in a processor, the processor to perform a method of operating a V2V message service apparatus in a V2V communication system, including when a first vehicle equipped with the V2V message service apparatus enters a particular road link, subscribing the first vehicle to a V2V message server with the particular road link as a topic, and receiving an event message including an event-situated road link as a topic from the V2V message server, and making a determination of a preceding and trailing relationship between the first vehicle and a second vehicle that published the event message, and determining whether to issue an alarm corresponding to the event message based on the determination made on the preceding and trailing relationship (AHN et al. par. 10). Whether the vehicle enters a particular road link is confirmed from the vehicle location information and information on the road link (e.g., a road link identifier) obtained in real time. Specifically, a particular road link entered by the vehicle may be identified by mapping the vehicle location information to information on the road link. Here, the road link information may be obtained in real time through a road map providing server, through a pre-download, or through a cloud server, and the vehicle location information may be obtained through a GPS module or the like (AHN et al. par. 98). On the other hand, when an event occurs at one vehicle 1024 in the subscriber group 1020 of the road link ‘link0004up’ to publish an event message, the event message is transmitted to vehicles 1022, 1024, and 1026 in the subscriber group 1020 through the V2V message server built in the B-site. Among the vehicles 1022, 1024, and 1026 in receipt of the event message, the trailing vehicle 1026 of the message publishing vehicle 1024 may issue an alarm corresponding to the received event message (AHN et al. par. 138).
As show in the figure 1, examiner interpret plurality of vehicles as a mobile entity and one of the vehicle in a group can be treat as the first mobile entity.
AHN et al. do not explicitly teach wherein the group configuration information indicates that the mobile entity is designated as a group leader of the group based on a population density, a traffic density, or the combination thereof indicated by the map information.
Sato teach wherein the group configuration information indicates that the mobile entity is designated as a group leader of the group based on a population density, a traffic density, or the combination thereof indicated by the map information; (Sato US 20130144516 abstract; paragraphs [0009]-[0015]; [0018]-[0020]; [0030]-[0038]; [0040]-[0048]; [0066]; [0076]; figures 1-6)
The infrastructure device 12 determines a vehicle group 100 passing the measurement spot 51 and a vehicle running at the head of the vehicle group, on the basis of the information sent from the traffic volume measuring device 11. The infrastructure device 12 determines the vehicle group 100 on the basis of, for example, the vehicle-to-vehicle time intervals measured by the traffic volume measuring device 11. For example, when the vehicle-to-vehicle time interval between a vehicle 101 and another vehicle 102 running immediately behind the vehicle 101 is shorter than a predetermined vehicle-to-vehicle time interval set in advance, it is possible to determine that the vehicle 101 and the vehicle 102 constitute the same vehicle group 100. By the same token, when a vehicle-to-vehicle time interval between the vehicle 102 and another vehicle 103, a vehicle-to-vehicle time interval between the vehicle 103 and another vehicle 104, and a vehicle-to-vehicle time interval between the vehicle 104 and another vehicle 105 are shorter than the predetermined vehicle-to-vehicle time interval respectively, the infrastructure device 12 can determine that the vehicles 103, 104, and 105 constitute the same vehicle group 100 as the vehicles 101 and 102. That is, the infrastructure device 12 recognizes a group of vehicles successively running in a longitudinal direction at a vehicle-to-vehicle time interval shorter than the predetermined vehicle-to-vehicle time interval, as the vehicle group 100 (Sato par. 40). The infrastructure device 12 transmits to the leading vehicle 101 the information with which the driver is to be provided, through road-to-vehicle communication. It should be noted that the leading vehicle 101 can be identified in road-to-vehicle communication on the basis of a time when the passage of the leading vehicle of the vehicle group 100 is measured by the traffic volume measuring device 11 and a time when the vehicle 101 passes the measurement spot 51, which is acquired through road-to-vehicle communication (Sato par. 44).
According to the cited passages and figures, examiner interprets vehicle 101 as the first mobile entity and designated as the group leader and the traffic volume as the traffic density.
Therefore, it would have been obviously to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to substitute the measure device that identify the leading vehicle of the vehicle group is measured by the traffic volume as taught by Sacto reference into the system of AHN et al. reference in order to identify a leader of the group of the vehicles.
Regarding claim 17, the combination of AHN et al. and Sacto disclose The mobile entity of claim 12, wherein the group configuration information indicates: a transmission scheme of one or more mobile entities of the group with the server; the group is included in a combined group of multiple groups; or a combination thereof.
Whether the vehicle enters a particular road link is confirmed from the vehicle location information and information on the road link (e.g., a road link identifier) obtained in real time. Specifically, a particular road link entered by the vehicle may be identified by mapping the vehicle location information to information on the road link. Here, the road link information may be obtained in real time through a road map providing server, through a pre-download, or through a cloud server, and the vehicle location information may be obtained through a GPS module or the like (AHN et al. par. 98). On the other hand, when an event occurs at one vehicle 1024 in the subscriber group 1020 of the road link ‘link0004up’ to publish an event message, the event message is transmitted to vehicles 1022, 1024, and 1026 in the subscriber group 1020 through the V2V message server built in the B-site. Among the vehicles 1022, 1024, and 1026 in receipt of the event message, the trailing vehicle 1026 of the message publishing vehicle 1024 may issue an alarm corresponding to the received event message (AHN et al. par. 138).
Claims 2 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over AHN et al. US 20200260239, in view of Sato US 20130144516, in view of JHA et al. US 20220332350, in view of Beaurepaire et al. US 20230052733 and further in view of Lakshminarayanan et al. US 20210158233.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of AHN et al. and Sacto teach all the limitation in the claim 1.
The combination of AHN et al. and Sacto do not explicitly teach The server of claim 1, wherein: the alert information is generated based on the map information, the population density corresponds to rural, semi-rural, urban, suburban, city center, or any combination thereof, and the traffic density comprises recurring congestion, non-recurring congestion, gridlock traffic, emergency, traffic level less than a threshold, traffic level greater than a threshold, or a combination thereof.
JHA et al. teach The server of claim 1, wherein: the alert information is generated based on the map information, (JHA et al. US 20220332350 abstract; paragraphs [0003]-[0005]; [0028]-[0036]; [0039]-[0040]; [0044]-[0054]; [0056]-[0067]; [0069]-[0073]; [0146]; [0165]; [0198]; [0232]; [0275]-[0278]; [0323]; [0335]; [0387]; [0400]; figures 1-24)
Various embodiments herein may (i) identify group of proximate vehicles which need to coordinate in order to handle detected USCS, (ii) select a leader (a V-ITS-S 110 or an R-ITS-S 130) for Short-Lived Emergency Maneuver Coordination Group (EMCG), (iii) negotiate and agree among the group a common GMP coordinated by group leader, (iv) select common GMP by leader in case of no consensus among the group members within a time bound, and (v) execute agreed or selected common GMP. The GMPs comprise one or more coordinated and sequential maneuver tasks/actions taken by various group members. The embodiments herein also enable EGMC in a distributed manner for the case when no leader is selected. Embodiments include various content/information for the MCMs, which are exchanged among members of short-lived EMCGs (JHA et al. par. 63). In the example of FIG. 2, the Vehicle V5 would serve as the Leader ITS-S 301 since it is the first V-ITS-S 110 to detect the USCS 201 and as the Leader for the SL-EMCG (JHA et al. par. 70). The leader 301 may use any suitable V2X message such as a DENM, BSM, CAM, CPM, MCM, and/or the like. Some or all of the neighboring ITS-Ss 110, 130, 117 may constitute the Coordination Group 302 (JHA et al. par. 72). This use case may operate as follows: (1) Both ITS-Ss constantly, periodically, and/or in response to an event or trigger, broadcast their planned maneuver(s) (e.g., Information about planned and/or requested maneuvers; Vehicles state information (including position); and/or Map information) (JHA et al. par. 198).
According to the cite passages and figures, examiner interpret the vehicle V5 as the leader vehicle and broadcast the hazard detection 201 show in the figure 2 to the group of vehicles equip with intelligent transport systems (ITS) 110.
Therefore, it would have been obviously to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to apply message sharing among a group of vehicle as taught by JHA et al. reference into the modified system of AHN et al. and Sacto reference in order to avoid collision with the hazard event within the nearby area.
The combination of AHN et al., Sacto and JHA et al. do not explicitly teach the population density corresponds to rural, semi-rural, urban, suburban, city center, or any combination thereof, and the traffic density comprises recurring congestion, non-recurring congestion, gridlock traffic, emergency, traffic level less than a threshold, traffic level greater than a threshold, or a combination thereof.
Beaurepaire et al. teach the population density corresponds to rural, semi-rural, urban, suburban, city center, or any combination thereof, (Beaurepaire et al. US 20230052733 abstract; paragraphs [0008]-[0018]; [0060]-[0061]; [0064]-[0068]; [0079]; [0082]-[0088]; [0090]; [0093]; [0098]; figures 1-8;)
The static map features of some embodiments associated with the candidate location and the dynamic features associated with the candidate location form a candidate location vector, where the candidate location vector is input to the machine learning model. The static map features of the candidate location include, in some embodiments, one or more of: point-of-interest (POI) categories proximity to the candidate location, POI categories density relative to the candidate location, functional class of road proximate the candidate location, or population density proximate the candidate location. Dynamic map features of the candidate location include, in some embodiments, one or more of: traffic density proximate the candidate location, weather proximate the candidate location, population estimates proximate the candidate location, event information, time of day, day of week, or season of year (Beaurepaire et al. par. 8). Embodiments provided herein determine the information inputs in static map data or features and dynamic data or features are liked to and affect the performance (utilization) of an EV charge point, and those information inputs are used to predict the utilization of an EV charge point at a given location. These locations can be scored and/or ranked to determine the most effective location for an EV charge point where it will benefit from the highest utilization. While EV charge points can presently be selected based on access to the electrical grid, the volume of car traffic, and historical information related to other EV charge points, embodiments described herein learn the key inputs that determine a predicted utilization of an EV charge point, and use those inputs to assess locations for installation of an EV charge point. Further, these inputs can vary based on the location, where a subset of inputs (static and dynamic information) deemed highly relevant to the utilization of an EV charge point in one region (e.g., rural areas) may be different than a subset of inputs deemed highly relevant to the utilization of an EV charge point in an urban or suburban region (Beaurepaire et al. par. 79).
Therefore, it would have been obviously to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to apply the dynamic map feature of the candidate location as taught by Beaurepaire et al. reference into the modified system of AHN et al., Sacto and JHA et al. reference in order for user to be aware of the traffic density in the difference area in the proximate with the candidate location.
The combination of AHN et al., Sacto, JHA et al. and Beaurepaire et al. do not explicitly teach the traffic density comprises recurring congestion, non-recurring congestion, gridlock traffic, emergency, traffic level less than a threshold, traffic level greater than a threshold, or a combination thereof.
Lakshminarayanan et al. teach the traffic density comprises recurring congestion, non-recurring congestion, gridlock traffic, emergency, traffic level less than a threshold, traffic level greater than a threshold, or a combination thereof. (Lakshminarayanan et al. US 20210158233 abstract; paragraphs [0035]-[0038]; [0042]; [0050]-[0057]; figures 1-8;)
The traffic congestion database 178 includes data associated with, and without limitation, a traffic capacity of each thoroughfare that users of the routing and navigation system 100 may use to transit from the emergency location to the emergency haven, historical traffic conditions including traffic densities expected for similar days and times without an emergency for establishing baseline conditions, historical optimized traffic routing in previous similar emergency conditions along the associated thoroughfares, historical traffic and traffic density for each emergency recorded locally and more broadly associated with other geographic locations with similar conditions using similarly configured geographies, the predicted traffic and traffic densities and the expected changes between the affected areas and the emergency havens at least partially as a function of the users routed by the routing and navigation system 100, real-time feedback of the number of in transit users directed toward the respective emergency havens, and actual real-time changes in the population at each emergency haven through feedback from an arrival at each second location of the in transit users, and those users that have not started but will be routed through the associated thoroughfares. The use of the aforementioned data is discussed further herein with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 (Lakshminarayanan et al. par. 36).
Therefore, it would have been obviously to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to substitute traffic density for each emergency recorded locally and traffic congestion database as taught by Lakshminarayanan et al. reference into the modified system AHN et al., Sacto, JHA et al. and Beaurepaire et al. reference in order for user to be aware of the traffic condition in the area and travel safety through the area.
Regarding claim 13, the combination of AHN et al., Sacto, JHA et al., Beaurepaire et al. and Lakshminarayanan et al. disclose The mobile entity of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: communicate via a sidelink established between the mobile entity and the other mobile entity;
IVS 101, on its own or in response to user interactions, communicates or interacts with one or more vehicles 110 via interface 153, which may be, for example, 3GPP-based direct links or IEEE-based direct links. The 3GPP (e.g., LTE or 5G/NR) direct links may be sidelinks, Proximity Services (ProSe) links, and/or PC5 interfaces/links, IEEE (WiFi) based direct links or a personal area network (PAN) based links may be, for example, WiFi-direct links, IEEE 802.11p links, IEEE 802.11bd links, IEEE 802.15.4 links (e.g., ZigBee, IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks (6LoWPAN), WirelessHART, MiWi, Thread, etc.). Other technologies could be used, such as Bluetooth/Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) or the like. In various embodiments, the vehicles 110 may exchange ITS protocol data units (PDUs) or other messages of the example embodiments with one another over the interface 153 (JHA et al. par. 39).
and transmit group information to the server, the group information associated with the group that includes the mobile entity and the other mobile entity,
Various embodiments herein may (i) identify group of proximate vehicles which need to coordinate in order to handle detected USCS, (ii) select a leader (a V-ITS-S 110 or an R-ITS-S 130) for Short-Lived Emergency Maneuver Coordination Group (EMCG), (iii) negotiate and agree among the group a common GMP coordinated by group leader, (iv) select common GMP by leader in case of no consensus among the group members within a time bound, and (v) execute agreed or selected common GMP. The GMPs comprise one or more coordinated and sequential maneuver tasks/actions taken by various group members. The embodiments herein also enable EGMC in a distributed manner for the case when no leader is selected. Embodiments include various content/information for the MCMs, which are exchanged among members of short-lived EMCGs (JHA et al. par. 63). In the example of FIG. 2, the Vehicle V5 would serve as the Leader ITS-S 301 since it is the first V-ITS-S 110 to detect the USCS 201 and as the Leader for the SL-EMCG (JHA et al. par. 70). The leader 301 may use any suitable V2X message such as a DENM, BSM, CAM, CPM, MCM, and/or the like. Some or all of the neighboring ITS-Ss 110, 130, 117 may constitute the Coordination Group 302 (JHA et al. par. 72). This use case may operate as follows: (1) Both ITS-Ss constantly, periodically, and/or in response to an event or trigger, broadcast their planned maneuver(s) (e.g., Information about planned and/or requested maneuvers; Vehicles state information (including position); and/or Map information) (JHA et al. par. 198).
According to the cite passages and figures, examiner interpret the vehicle V5 as the leader vehicle and broadcast the hazard detection 201 show in the figure 2 to the group of vehicles equip with intelligent transport systems (ITS) 110.
and wherein: the population density corresponds to rural, semi-rural, urban, suburban, city center, or a combination thereof,
The static map features of some embodiments associated with the candidate location and the dynamic features associated with the candidate location form a candidate location vector, where the candidate location vector is input to the machine learning model. The static map features of the candidate location include, in some embodiments, one or more of: point-of-interest (POI) categories proximity to the candidate location, POI categories density relative to the candidate location, functional class of road proximate the candidate location, or population density proximate the candidate location. Dynamic map features of the candidate location include, in some embodiments, one or more of: traffic density proximate the candidate location, weather proximate the candidate location, population estimates proximate the candidate location, event information, time of day, day of week, or season of year (Beaurepaire et al. par. 8). Embodiments provided herein determine the information inputs in static map data or features and dynamic data or features are liked to and affect the performance (utilization) of an EV charge point, and those information inputs are used to predict the utilization of an EV charge point at a given location. These locations can be scored and/or ranked to determine the most effective location for an EV charge point where it will benefit from the highest utilization. While EV charge points can presently be selected based on access to the electrical grid, the volume of car traffic, and historical information related to other EV charge points, embodiments described herein learn the key inputs that determine a predicted utilization of an EV charge point, and use those inputs to assess locations for installation of an EV charge point. Further, these inputs can vary based on the location, where a subset of inputs (static and dynamic information) deemed highly relevant to the utilization of an EV charge point in one region (e.g., rural areas) may be different than a subset of inputs deemed highly relevant to the utilization of an EV charge point in an urban or suburban region (Beaurepaire et al. par. 79).
and the traffic density comprises recurring congestion, non-recurring congestion, gridlock traffic, emergency, traffic level less than a threshold, or traffic level greater than a threshold, or a combination thereof.
The traffic congestion database 178 includes data associated with, and without limitation, a traffic capacity of each thoroughfare that users of the routing and navigation system 100 may use to transit from the emergency location to the emergency haven, historical traffic conditions including traffic densities expected for similar days and times without an emergency for establishing baseline conditions, historical optimized traffic routing in previous similar emergency conditions along the associated thoroughfares, historical traffic and traffic density for each emergency recorded locally and more broadly associated with other geographic locations with similar conditions using similarly configured geographies, the predicted traffic and traffic densities and the expected changes between the affected areas and the emergency havens at least partially as a function of the users routed by the routing and navigation system 100, real-time feedback of the number of in transit users directed toward the respective emergency havens, and actual real-time changes in the population at each emergency haven through feedback from an arrival at each second location of the in transit users, and those users that have not started but will be routed through the associated thoroughfares. The use of the aforementioned data is discussed further herein with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 (Lakshminarayanan et al. par. 36).
Claims 3-7 and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over AHN et al. US 20200260239, in view of Sato US 20130144516 and further in view of JHA et al. US 20220332350.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of AHN et al. and Sacto teach all the limitation in the claim 1.
The combination of AHN et al. and Sacto do not explicitly teach The server of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: receive, from the second mobile entity, second information of the second mobile entity; select multiple mobile entities to be included in the group based on the first information, the second information, the map information, or a combination thereof; and generate the group configuration information that indicates the multiple mobile entities.
JHA et al. teach The server of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: receive, from the second mobile entity, second information of the second mobile entity; select multiple mobile entities to be included in the group based on the first information, the second information, the map information, or a combination thereof; and generate the group configuration information that indicates the multiple mobile entities. (JHA et al. US 20220332350 abstract; paragraphs [0003]-[0005]; [0028]-[0036]; [0039]-[0040]; [0044]-[0054]; [0056]-[0067]; [0069]-[0073]; [0146]; [0165]; [0198]; [0232]; [0275]-[0278]; [0323]; [0335]; [0387]; [0400]; figures 1-24)
As show in the figure 4 and paragraphs 91-99 of JHA et al. reference, all the vehicles in the group response to the information broadcast from vehicle 5 regarding USCS (unexpected safety-critical situations) 401 like at T1, vehicle V1,V2, V3, V4, V5, V6 and V8 deaccelerate and V9 accelerate; at T2, V7 accelerate and move to the left lane after safe gap; at T3, V5 moves to middle lane after safe gap; at T4 V2 and V6 accelerate; at T5 V1 and V4 move to the middle lane after safe gap and at T6, vehicle 5 disbands the coordination group 402.
Therefore, it would have been obviously to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to apply the broadcast information to all the vehicle in the group as taught by JHA et al. reference into the modified system of AHN et al. and Sacto reference in order to avoid collision with the hazard event within the nearby area.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of AHN et al., Sacto and JHA et al. disclose The server of claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: receive, from the first mobile entity, group information; and receive, from a user equipment (UE), third information of the UE, and wherein: the first information includes a first safety message; the second information includes a second safety message; the group information includes a third safety message associated with the group; the alert information is further generated based on the third information; or a combination thereof.
FIG. 2 shows an example scenario 200 of detection of a USCS 201 (also referred to as a “Emergency Maneuver Coordination Event”). In such USCS 201 cases, several vehicles 110 in one or more lanes (e.g., vehicles V1 through V9) need to re-calculate urgent maneuver change without conflicting with other vehicles' 110 maneuvers. A collective maneuver plan among these vehicles 110 can be used for this purpose, but such a collective maneuver plan would need to be agreed-to within very short time to avoid the USCS 201. Message contents and specific protocol details with proper message exchanges for group negation and consensus for maneuver planning in urgency can be used to avoid the USCS 201 (JHA et al. par. 66). As show in the figure 4 and paragraphs 91-99 of JHA et al. reference, all the vehicles in the group response to the information broadcast from vehicle 5 regarding USCS (unexpected safety-critical situations) 401 like at T1, vehicle V1,V2, V3, V4, V5, V6 and V8 deaccelerate and V9 accelerate; at T2, V7 accelerate and move to the left lane after safe gap; at T3, V5 moves to middle lane after safe gap; at T4 V2 and V6 accelerate; at T5 V1 and V4 move to the middle lane after safe gap and at T6, vehicle 5 disbands the coordination group 402.
Regarding claim 5, the combination of AHN et al., Sacto and JHA et al. disclose The server of claim 3, wherein: the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to receive, from the first mobile entity, group information; and the group information includes: a first basic safety message (BSM) of the first mobile entity; a portion of a second BSM of the second mobile entity; a collective perception message (CPM); or a combination thereof.
The first embodiment is related to scenarios where there is no R-ITS-S 130 in the proximity of detected Unexpected Safety Critical Situation (USCS) and a V-ITS-S serves as the leader for a Short-Lived Emergency Maneuver Coordination Group. In the first embodiment, each V-ITS-S 110 exchanges periodic V2X messages such as, for example, Decentralized Environmental Notification Messages (DENMs), Basic Safety Messages (BSMs), Cooperative Awareness Messages (CAMs), Collective Perception Messages (CPMs), and/or other like messages with proximate V-ITS-Ss 110, R-ITS-S 130 (and VRU ITS-Ss 117). Additionally or alternatively, each V-ITS-S 110 may also share planned maneuver (e.g., its maneuver intentions, planned trajectory, detected traffic situations) periodically by broadcasting Maneuver Coordination Messages (MCMs). An MCM can have several containers such as (i) a container to share ego V-ITS-S 110's intention and planned trajectory—Maneuver sharing container, (ii) a container to share—Detected situations/maneuvers container, (iii) a container to enable coordination/negotiation among V-ITS-Ss 110 such as the Maneuver Coordination/Negotiation Container, and other containers as shown by FIG. 9 (JHA et al. par. 67).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of AHN et al., Sacto and JHA et al. disclose The server of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: estimate, based on the group information, an entry time of the group into a zone, the zone associated with the map information; and estimate an exit time of the group from the zone, the exit time estimated based on the first information, the second information, the map information, the group information, the entry time, or a combination thereof.
FIG. 2 shows an example scenario 200 of detection of a USCS 201 (also referred to as a “Emergency Maneuver Coordination Event”). In such USCS 201 cases, several vehicles 110 in one or more lanes (e.g., vehicles V1 through V9) need to re-calculate urgent maneuver change without conflicting with other vehicles' 110 maneuvers. A collective maneuver plan among these vehicles 110 can be used for this purpose, but such a collective maneuver plan would need to be agreed-to within very short time to avoid the USCS 201. Message contents and specific protocol details with proper message exchanges for group negation and consensus for maneuver planning in urgency can be used to avoid the USCS 201 (JHA et al. par. 66). As show in the figure 4 and paragraphs 91-99 of JHA et al. reference, all the vehicles in the group response to the information broadcast from vehicle 5 regarding USCS (unexpected safety-critical situations) 401 like at T1, vehicle V1,V2, V3, V4, V5, V6 and V8 deaccelerate and V9 accelerate; at T2, V7 accelerate and move to the left lane after safe gap; at T3, V5 moves to middle lane after safe gap; at T4 V2 and V6 accelerate; at T5 V1 and V4 move to the middle lane after safe gap and at T6, vehicle 5 disbands the coordination group 402.
According to the cited passages and figures, examiner interpreted an initiated message exchange among a group of the vehicles as an entry time and the exit time as the time the leader vehicle disband a group.
Regarding claim 7, the combination of AHN et al., Sacto and JHA et al. disclose The server of claim 1, wherein: the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: determine a potential collision within a zone, the potential collision between at least one mobile entity of the group and an object within the zone; and generate the alert information based on the determined potential collision, and the alert information is transmitted to: the group leader of the group; the at least one mobile entity; a mobile entity of the group other than the group leader and the at least one mobile entity; or a combination thereof.
FIG. 2 shows an example scenario 200 of detection of a USCS 201 (also referred to as a “Emergency Maneuver Coordination Event”). In such USCS 201 cases, several vehicles 110 in one or more lanes (e.g., vehicles V1 through V9) need to re-calculate urgent maneuver change without conflicting with other vehicles' 110 maneuvers. A collective maneuver plan among these vehicles 110 can be used for this purpose, but such a collective maneuver plan would need to be agreed-to within very short time to avoid the USCS 201. Message contents and specific protocol details with proper message exchanges for group negation and consensus for maneuver planning in urgency can be used to avoid the USCS 201 (JHA et al. par. 66). At step 6, the leader 301 evaluates whether an individual maneuver change is sufficient without coordination, and if yes, the leader 301 executes (or triggers) the individual maneuver change accordingly. Otherwise, the leader 301 initiates Group Coordination, where the leader 301 calculates a maximum time available for negotiation/execution for one or more GMPs (also referred to as “maneuver coordination strategies” or the like), identifies ITS-Ss 302 to be included in group, elects itself as the leader 301 of the Coordination Group, etc. At step 7, the leader 301 informs the Coordination Group 302 (or the neighboring ITS-Ss 302, 110, 130, 117) about initiation of EGMC with Coordination Group Info and self selection of the leader 301. In embodiments, the leader 301 may use a suitable V2X message (msg), for example, an Event-Triggered (ET) MCM or any other V2X msg such as those discussed herein (JHA et al. par. 73). As show in the figure 4 and paragraphs 91-99 of JHA et al. reference, all the vehicles in the group response to the information broadcast from vehicle 5 regarding USCS (unexpected safety-critical situations) 401 like at T1, vehicle V1,V2, V3, V4, V5, V6 and V8 deaccelerate and V9 accelerate; at T2, V7 accelerate and move to the left lane after safe gap; at T3, V5 moves to middle lane after safe gap; at T4 V2 and V6 accelerate; at T5 V1 and V4 move to the middle lane after safe gap and at T6, vehicle 5 disbands the coordination group 402.
Regarding claim 14, the combination of AHN et al., Sacto and JHA et al. disclose The mobile entity of claim 12, wherein: the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to receive alert information from the server; and the alert information indicates: a potential collision of the mobile entity; a potential collision of another mobile entity of the group; a potential change in travel of the other mobile entity; or a combination thereof.
FIG. 2 shows an example scenario 200 of detection of a USCS 201 (also referred to as a “Emergency Maneuver Coordination Event”). In such USCS 201 cases, several vehicles 110 in one or more lanes (e.g., vehicles V1 through V9) need to re-calculate urgent maneuver change without conflicting with other vehicles' 110 maneuvers. A collective maneuver plan among these vehicles 110 can be used for this purpose, but such a collective maneuver plan would need to be agreed-to within very short time to avoid the USCS 201. Message contents and specific protocol details with proper message exchanges for group negation and consensus for maneuver planning in urgency can be used to avoid the USCS 201 (JHA et al. par. 66). As show in the figure 4 and paragraphs 91-99 of JHA et al. reference, all the vehicles in the group response to the information broadcast from vehicle 5 regarding USCS (unexpected safety-critical situations) 401 like at T1, vehicle V1,V2, V3, V4, V5, V6 and V8 deaccelerate and V9 accelerate; at T2, V7 accelerate and move to the left lane after safe gap; at T3, V5 moves to middle lane after safe gap; at T4 V2 and V6 accelerate; at T5 V1 and V4 move to the middle lane after safe gap and at T6, vehicle 5 disbands the coordination group 402.
Regarding claim 15, the combination of AHN et al., Sacto and JHA et al. disclose The mobile entity of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: receive, from the other mobile entity, second information of the other mobile entity; generate, based on the second information, third information of the mobile entity, or a combination thereof, a safety message; and transmit the safety message to the server.
FIG. 2 shows an example scenario 200 of detection of a USCS 201 (also referred to as a “Emergency Maneuver Coordination Event”). In such USCS 201 cases, several vehicles 110 in one or more lanes (e.g., vehicles V1 through V9) need to re-calculate urgent maneuver change without conflicting with other vehicles' 110 maneuvers. A collective maneuver plan among these vehicles 110 can be used for this purpose, but such a collective maneuver plan would need to be agreed-to within very short time to avoid the USCS 201. Message contents and specific protocol details with proper message exchanges for group negation and consensus for maneuver planning in urgency can be used to avoid the USCS 201 (JHA et al. par. 66). As show in the figure 4 and paragraphs 91-99 of JHA et al. reference, all the vehicles in the group response to the information broadcast from vehicle 5 regarding USCS (unexpected safety-critical situations) 401 like at T1, vehicle V1,V2, V3, V4, V5, V6 and V8 deaccelerate and V9 accelerate; at T2, V7 accelerate and move to the left lane after safe gap; at T3, V5 moves to middle lane after safe gap; at T4 V2 and V6 accelerate; at T5 V1 and V4 move to the middle lane after safe gap and at T6, vehicle 5 disbands the coordination group 402.
Regarding claim 16, the combination of AHN et al., Sacto and JHA et al. disclose The mobile entity of claim 15, wherein: the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to transmit group information to the server, the group information associated with the group that includes the mobile entity and the other mobile entity; and the group information includes :a first basic safety message (BSM) of the mobile entity; a portion of a second BSM of the other mobile entity; a collective perception message (CPM); or a combination thereof.
The first embodiment is related to scenarios where there is no R-ITS-S 130 in the proximity of detected Unexpected Safety Critical Situation (USCS) and a V-ITS-S serves as the leader for a Short-Lived Emergency Maneuver Coordination Group. In the first embodiment, each V-ITS-S 110 exchanges periodic V2X messages such as, for example, Decentralized Environmental Notification Messages (DENMs), Basic Safety Messages (BSMs), Cooperative Awareness Messages (CAMs), Collective Perception Messages (CPMs), and/or other like messages with proximate V-ITS-Ss 110, R-ITS-S 130 (and VRU ITS-Ss 117). Additionally or alternatively, each V-ITS-S 110 may also share planned maneuver (e.g., its maneuver intentions, planned trajectory, detected traffic situations) periodically by broadcasting Maneuver Coordination Messages (MCMs). An MCM can have several containers such as (i) a container to share ego V-ITS-S 110's intention and planned trajectory—Maneuver sharing container, (ii) a container to share—Detected situations/maneuvers container, (iii) a container to enable coordination/negotiation among V-ITS-Ss 110 such as the Maneuver Coordination/Negotiation Container, and other containers as shown by FIG. 9 (JHA et al. par. 67).
Claims 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over AHN et al. US 20200260239, in view of Sato US 20130144516 and further in view of Tijink et al. US 20210058737.
Regarding claim 9, the combination of AHN et al. and Sacto teach all the limitation in the claim 1.
The combination of AHN et al. and Sacto do not explicitly teach The server of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: determine, based on the map information, a first subgroup and a second subgroup of the group, wherein the group configuration information indicates the first subgroup and the second subgroup, the first subgroup including the first mobile entity, and the second subgroup including the second mobile entity; receive a first group message from the first mobile entity included in the first subgroup; and receive a second group message from the second mobile entity.
Tijink et al. teach The server of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: determine, based on the map information, a first subgroup and a second subgroup of the group, wherein the group configuration information indicates the first subgroup and the second subgroup, the first subgroup including the first mobile entity, and the second subgroup including the second mobile entity; receive a first group message from the first mobile entity included in the first subgroup; and receive a second group message from the second mobile entity. (Tijink et al. US 20210058737 abstract; paragraphs [0011]-[0021]; [0026]-[0027]; [0034]; [0040]; [0042]-[0049]; [0065]-[0067]; figures 1-2;)
It is advantageous when said service message comprises an identifier of at least one ITS station in the subset. The service message may be a multicast message comprising the identifiers of several ITS stations in the subset; alternatively, the service message is a unicast message comprising only the identifier of a single ITS station in the subset. However, each ITS station in the subset can be directly addressed. In this case, the ITS service station may designate one or a few of the ITS stations in the subset which shall continue transmitting status messages, such that the identifier(s) comprised in the service message merely identify the remaining ITS stations in the subset. Thereby, a further evaluation in the ITS stations can be avoided and the total energy required in the ITS is minimized (Tijink et al. par. 19).
Therefore, it would have been obviously to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to apply a subset associated with ITS station to continue transmitting status message as taught by Tijink et al. reference into the modified system of AHN et al. and Sacto reference in order to continue to exchange information in an area to enhance the travel safety.
Regarding claim 10. The combination of AHN et al., Sacto and Tijink et al. disclose The server of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: determine, based on the map information, to combine another group of one or more mobile entities and the group to form a combined group; transmit additional group configuration information to the group that indicates the combined group; and receive group information from at least one mobile entity of the combined group.
The ITS service station S.sub.R further comprises a transmitter 14 which is connected to the controller 13 and, when the controller 13 has determined at least one subset T.sub.Sk of two or more ITS stations S.sub.Uj, transmits a service message M.sub.S which is indicative of the (at least one) determined subset T.sub.Sk to the ITS stations S.sub.Uj in the subset T.sub.Sk. In case the controller 13 has determined more than one subset T.sub.Sk, the transmitter 14 of the ITS service station SR may transmit a service message MS indicative of all subsets T.sub.Sk to the ITS stations S.sub.Uj of all subsets T.sub.Sk, or separate service messages MS each being indicative of a separate one of the subsets T.sub.Sk to the ITS stations S.sub.Uj of the respective subset T.sub.Sk. In any of these cases, the service message M.sub.S may either be a multicast message addressing multiple ITS stations S.sub.Uj of the one or more subsets T.sub.Sk, or one or more unicast message(s) each addressing a single one of the ITS stations S.sub.Uj comprised in a subset T.sub.Sk. To this end, the service message MS may be of any suitable format; in the present example, the service message MS is a Collective Perception Messages (CPM) according to the ETSI Technical Specification TS 103 324 (Tijink et al. par. 46).
Claims 11 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over AHN et al. US 20200260239, in view of Sato US 20130144516, in view of Coutinho et al. US 20180014351 and further in view of JHA et al. US 20220332350.
Regarding claim 11, the combination of AHN et al. and Sacto teach all the limitation in the claim 1.
The combination of AHN et al. and Sacto do not explicitly teach The server of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: receive group information from the group, the group information comprising an indicator that indicates position accuracy information based on dilution of precision (DOP) information and associated with a position estimate of the first mobile entity based on a signal received from a non-terrestrial entity; and generate the alert information based on the position accuracy information.
Coutinho et al. teach The server of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: receive group information from the group, the group information comprising an indicator that indicates position accuracy information based on dilution of precision (DOP) information and associated with a position estimate of the first mobile entity based on a signal received from a non-terrestrial entity; (Coutinho et al. US 20180014351 abstract; paragraphs [0067]-[0070]; [0163]-[0167]; [0181]-[0188]; figures 1-14;)
The second phase may be referred to herein as an “online phase” during which one or more network elements (e.g., nodes, network units, mobile APs), which may be mobile and may be located in one or more vehicles, may each take what may be referred to herein as a “wireless snapshot” of their respective wireless environments (i.e., a current “wireless fingerprint sample” taken by a network element for the purpose of requesting a location estimate) and may each request a cloud-based system (e.g., the “search server”) to perform a search for the respective positions of each vehicle using the respective “wireless snapshot.” This “wireless snapshot”/wireless fingerprinting sample may include, for example, information identifying a set of terrestrial wireless signal sources such as access points (e.g., mobile and/or fixed APs) within their reach/range of reception and the respective radio frequency and signal strength (e.g., RSSI) of each such signal source. An example wireless finger print sample is shown in and discussed below with regard to FIGS. 14A-14B. In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, signals from additional terrestrial wireless (e.g., radio frequency) signal sources may also be evaluated by, for example, a mobile AP including, by way of example and not limitation, commercial radio frequency signal sources such as commercial business communication and broadcast radio and television systems, cellular base stations, and both public and private radio frequency signal sources such as, e.g., residential, business, and public Wi-Fi “Hotspots.” The system(s) of vehicles carrying mobile APs and/or a network unit/on-board unit (OBU)/mobile AP may provide location information, identifier(s) of visible satellite(s) and satellite signal strength(s), and other parameters (e.g., quality indications such as dilution of precision information) from an onboard GNSS/GPS receiver. It should be noted that certain infrastructure elements of a network according to the present disclosure such as, for example, fixed APs, may know their own geographic locations (e.g., latitude and longitude) very accurately (e.g., to within three inches, to within a foot, to within a yard, to within ten feet) and may wirelessly broadcast such location information along with other parameters (e.g., type of access point, a unique access point identifier) to receivers within wireless communication range on a regular, intermittent, or periodic basis. Further, some network elements such as network units (NUs) and mobile APs may know their own geographic locations because they may have clear views to satellites of a GNSS constellation or have determined their own geographic locations using other techniques, and may wirelessly broadcast/share their respective geographic locations and identity to other network elements (e.g., to NUs, fixed APs, mobile APs, etc.) (Coutinho et al. par. 167). Next, at block 1108, a determination is made as to whether any terrestrial wireless signal sources were found that met the defined criteria. If, at block 1108, it is determined that no terrestrial wireless signal sources were found during the scan of the wireless environment of the network element, the method then continues at block 1116, described below. If, however, it is determined, at block 1108, that one or more terrestrial wireless signal sources were found during the scan of the wireless environment of the network element, then the method continues at block 1109, where the method determines whether an estimated location of the network element performing the method is available. Such a location estimate may, for example, be available from a receiver of signals of a satellite-based navigation system (e.g., GNSS, GPS), or may be available from other navigational techniques (e.g., inertial, time-of-arrival using signals from other network elements at known locations, etc.) (Coutinho et al. par. 182).
Therefore, it would have been obviously to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to apply dilution of precision information as taught by Coutinho et al. reference into the modified system of AHN et al. and Sacto reference in order to determine the accuracy of a position for reduce the traffic collision.
The combination of AHN et al., Sacto and Coutinho et al. do not explicitly teach generate the alert information based on the position accuracy information.
JHA et al. teach generate the alert information based on the position accuracy information. (JHA et al. US 20220332350 abstract; paragraphs [0003]-[0005]; [0028]-[0036]; [0039]-[0040]; [0044]-[0054]; [0056]-[0067]; [0069]-[0073]; [0146]; [0165]; [0198]; [0232]; [0275]-[0278]; [0323]; [0335]; [0387]; [0400]; figures 1-24)
In addition, the accuracy of the trajectory representation can be selected based on the underlying driving conditions. In these embodiments, a tradeoff between efficiency and accuracy may be made. As examples, the following conditions or criteria can trigger different reported points per trajectory: current speed and/or neighboring station speed (e.g., the higher the speed, the larger the number of points per trajectory to improve the accuracy); situation intensity which may indicate a probability of having a collision (e.g., higher the probability of collision due to the current situation may require an increase in the accuracy of the trajectory for better maneuver coordination); and station type such as CA/AD vehicles 110, VRU ITS-S(s) 117, UAVs, normal (non-V2X) vehicles, R-ITS-S 130, and/or other station types (e.g., VRU(s) 116 can elect to send larger number of points per trajectory to offer better accuracy) (JHA et al. par. 165).
Therefore, it would have been obviously to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to apply message sharing among a group of vehicle as taught by JHA et al. reference into the modified system of AHN et al., Sacto and Coutinho et al. reference in order to avoid collision with the hazard event within the nearby area.
Regarding claim 18, the combination of AHN et al., Sacto, Coutinho et al. and JHA et al. disclose The mobile entity of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: receive a signal from a non-terrestrial entity; determine a position estimate of the mobile entity based on the received signal;
The second phase may be referred to herein as an “online phase” during which one or more network elements (e.g., nodes, network units, mobile APs), which may be mobile and may be located in one or more vehicles, may each take what may be referred to herein as a “wireless snapshot” of their respective wireless environments (i.e., a current “wireless fingerprint sample” taken by a network element for the purpose of requesting a location estimate) and may each request a cloud-based system (e.g., the “search server”) to perform a search for the respective positions of each vehicle using the respective “wireless snapshot.” This “wireless snapshot”/wireless fingerprinting sample may include, for example, information identifying a set of terrestrial wireless signal sources such as access points (e.g., mobile and/or fixed APs) within their reach/range of reception and the respective radio frequency and signal strength (e.g., RSSI) of each such signal source. An example wireless finger print sample is shown in and discussed below with regard to FIGS. 14A-14B. In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, signals from additional terrestrial wireless (e.g., radio frequency) signal sources may also be evaluated by, for example, a mobile AP including, by way of example and not limitation, commercial radio frequency signal sources such as commercial business communication and broadcast radio and television systems, cellular base stations, and both public and private radio frequency signal sources such as, e.g., residential, business, and public Wi-Fi “Hotspots.” The system(s) of vehicles carrying mobile APs and/or a network unit/on-board unit (OBU)/mobile AP may provide location information, identifier(s) of visible satellite(s) and satellite signal strength(s), and other parameters (e.g., quality indications such as dilution of precision information) from an onboard GNSS/GPS receiver. It should be noted that certain infrastructure elements of a network according to the present disclosure such as, for example, fixed APs, may know their own geographic locations (e.g., latitude and longitude) very accurately (e.g., to within three inches, to within a foot, to within a yard, to within ten feet) and may wirelessly broadcast such location information along with other parameters (e.g., type of access point, a unique access point identifier) to receivers within wireless communication range on a regular, intermittent, or periodic basis. Further, some network elements such as network units (NUs) and mobile APs may know their own geographic locations because they may have clear views to satellites of a GNSS constellation or have determined their own geographic locations using other techniques, and may wirelessly broadcast/share their respective geographic locations and identity to other network elements (e.g., to NUs, fixed APs, mobile APs, etc.) (Coutinho et al. par. 167). Next, at block 1108, a determination is made as to whether any terrestrial wireless signal sources were found that met the defined criteria. If, at block 1108, it is determined that no terrestrial wireless signal sources were found during the scan of the wireless environment of the network element, the method then continues at block 1116, described below. If, however, it is determined, at block 1108, that one or more terrestrial wireless signal sources were found during the scan of the wireless environment of the network element, then the method continues at block 1109, where the method determines whether an estimated location of the network element performing the method is available. Such a location estimate may, for example, be available from a receiver of signals of a satellite-based navigation system (e.g., GNSS, GPS), or may be available from other navigational techniques (e.g., inertial, time-of-arrival using signals from other network elements at known locations, etc.) (Coutinho et al. par. 182).
generate an indicator that indicates position accuracy information associated with the position estimate; and transmit the indicator.
In addition, the accuracy of the trajectory representation can be selected based on the underlying driving conditions. In these embodiments, a tradeoff between efficiency and accuracy may be made. As examples, the following conditions or criteria can trigger different reported points per trajectory: current speed and/or neighboring station speed (e.g., the higher the speed, the larger the number of points per trajectory to improve the accuracy); situation intensity which may indicate a probability of having a collision (e.g., higher the probability of collision due to the current situation may require an increase in the accuracy of the trajectory for better maneuver coordination); and station type such as CA/AD vehicles 110, VRU ITS-S(s) 117, UAVs, normal (non-V2X) vehicles, R-ITS-S 130, and/or other station types (e.g., VRU(s) 116 can elect to send larger number of points per trajectory to offer better accuracy) (JHA et al. par. 165).
Claims 19-27 and 29-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Coutinho et al. US 20180014351, in view of Breed US 20090048750 and further in view of JHA et al. US 20220332350.
Regarding claim 19, Coutinho et al. teach A mobile entity comprising: a memory storing processor-readable code; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: receive a signal from a non-terrestrial entity; (Coutinho et al. US 20180014351 abstract; paragraphs [0067]-[0070]; [0163]-[0167]; [0181]-[0188]; figures 1-14;)
The second phase may be referred to herein as an “online phase” during which one or more network elements (e.g., nodes, network units, mobile APs), which may be mobile and may be located in one or more vehicles, may each take what may be referred to herein as a “wireless snapshot” of their respective wireless environments (i.e., a current “wireless fingerprint sample” taken by a network element for the purpose of requesting a location estimate) and may each request a cloud-based system (e.g., the “search server”) to perform a search for the respective positions of each vehicle using the respective “wireless snapshot.” This “wireless snapshot”/wireless fingerprinting sample may include, for example, information identifying a set of terrestrial wireless signal sources such as access points (e.g., mobile and/or fixed APs) within their reach/range of reception and the respective radio frequency and signal strength (e.g., RSSI) of each such signal source. An example wireless finger print sample is shown in and discussed below with regard to FIGS. 14A-14B. In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, signals from additional terrestrial wireless (e.g., radio frequency) signal sources may also be evaluated by, for example, a mobile AP including, by way of example and not limitation, commercial radio frequency signal sources such as commercial business communication and broadcast radio and television systems, cellular base stations, and both public and private radio frequency signal sources such as, e.g., residential, business, and public Wi-Fi “Hotspots.” The system(s) of vehicles carrying mobile APs and/or a network unit/on-board unit (OBU)/mobile AP may provide location information, identifier(s) of visible satellite(s) and satellite signal strength(s), and other parameters (e.g., quality indications such as dilution of precision information) from an onboard GNSS/GPS receiver. It should be noted that certain infrastructure elements of a network according to the present disclosure such as, for example, fixed APs, may know their own geographic locations (e.g., latitude and longitude) very accurately (e.g., to within three inches, to within a foot, to within a yard, to within ten feet) and may wirelessly broadcast such location information along with other parameters (e.g., type of access point, a unique access point identifier) to receivers within wireless communication range on a regular, intermittent, or periodic basis. Further, some network elements such as network units (NUs) and mobile APs may know their own geographic locations because they may have clear views to satellites of a GNSS constellation or have determined their own geographic locations using other techniques, and may wirelessly broadcast/share their respective geographic locations and identity to other network elements (e.g., to NUs, fixed APs, mobile APs, etc.) (Coutinho et al. par. 167). Next, at block 1108, a determination is made as to whether any terrestrial wireless signal sources were found that met the defined criteria. If, at block 1108, it is determined that no terrestrial wireless signal sources were found during the scan of the wireless environment of the network element, the method then continues at block 1116, described below. If, however, it is determined, at block 1108, that one or more terrestrial wireless signal sources were found during the scan of the wireless environment of the network element, then the method continues at block 1109, where the method determines whether an estimated location of the network element performing the method is available. Such a location estimate may, for example, be available from a receiver of signals of a satellite-based navigation system (e.g., GNSS, GPS), or may be available from other navigational techniques (e.g., inertial, time-of-arrival using signals from other network elements at known locations, etc.) (Coutinho et al. par. 182).
According to the cited passages and figures, examiner interpret the signal received at an on board GNSS/GPS receiver via satellites as a non-terrestrial signal.
Coutinho et al. do not explicitly teach determine a position estimate of the mobile entity based on the received signal; generate an indicator that indicates position accuracy information associated with the position estimate; transmit the indicator; and receive alert information associated with a potential collision between an object and the mobile entity based at least in part on the indicator and an accuracy metric.
Breed teaches determine a position estimate of the mobile entity based on the received signal; generate an indicator that indicates position accuracy information associated with the position estimate; and an accuracy metric.
(Breed US 20090048750 abstract; paragraphs [0022]-[0026]; [0101]-[0107]; [0114]; [0161]; [0174]-[0175] [0180]-[0181]; [0203]-[0204]; [0233]-[0237]; [0323]-[0326]; [0436]; [0539]; figures 1-29)
FIG. 2 shows an arrangement of four satellites 2 designated SV.sub.1, SV.sub.2, SV.sub.3 and SV.sub.4 of the GPS satellite system shown in FIG. 1 transmitting position information to receiver means of a base station 20, such as an antenna 22, which in turn transmits a differential correction signal via transmitter means associated with that base station, such as a second antenna 16, to a vehicle 18 (Breed par. 101). FIG. 3 shows an arrangement of four satellites 2 designated SV.sub.1, SV.sub.2, SV.sub.3 and SV.sub.4 of the GPS satellite system as in FIG. 2 transmitting position information to receivers of base stations 20 and 21, such as an antenna 22, which in turn transmit a differential correction signal via transmitters associated with that base stations, such as a second antenna 16, to a geocentric or low earth orbiting (LEO) satellite 30 which in turn transmits the differential correction signals to vehicle 18. In this case, one or more of the base stations 20,21 receives and performs a mathematical analysis on all of the signals received from a number of base stations that cover the area under consideration and forms a mathematical model of the errors in the GPS signals over the entire area. For the CONUS, for example, a group of 13 base stations are operated by OmniStar that are distributed around the country. By considering data from the entire group of such stations, the errors in the GPS signals for the entire area can be estimated resulting in a position accuracy of about 6-10 cm over the entire area. The corrections are then uploaded to the geocentric or low earth orbiting satellite 30 for retransmission to vehicles on the roadways. In this way, such vehicles are able to determine their absolute position to within about 6-10 centimeters. This is known as Wide Area Deferential GPS or WADGPS. The wide area corrections can be further corrected when there are additional local stations that are not part of the WADGPS system (Breed par. 103).
According to the cited passages and figures, examiner interprets the vehicle receive the GPS signal to indicate their position withing 6-10 cm accuracy (accuracy metric).
Therefore, it would have been obviously to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to apply the estimated resulting in a position accuracy as taught by Breed reference into the system of Coutinho et al. reference in order to determine a position of the vehicle for improve the traffic safety.
The combination of Coutinho et al. and Breed do not explicitly teach transmit the indicator; and receive alert information associated with a potential collision between an object and the mobile entity based at least in part on the indicator.
JHA et al. teach transmit the indicator; and receive alert information associated with a potential collision between an object and the mobile entity based at least in part on the indicator (JHA et al. US 20220332350 abstract; paragraphs [0003]-[0005]; [0028]-[0036]; [0039]-[0040]; [0044]-[0054]; [0056]-[0067]; [0069]-[0073]; [0146]; [0165]; [0198]; [0221]-[0226]; [0232]; [0275]-[0278]; [0323]; [0335]; [0387]; [0400]; figures 1-24;)
In the I2V case, the R-ITS-S 130 gives advice (e.g., digital information/instructions on possible places where vehicles can yield or drive at the emergency/cycling lane) to a V-ITS-S 110 in order to ensure safe passing of the vehicles. For I2V, both vehicles 110 broadcast trajectory in MCM. The R-ITS-S 130 detects a potential collision and calculates the free passing path, which is transmitted as MCM to the vehicles 110. After a risk analysis of the local situation, the R-ITS-S 130 selects a maneuver coordination strategy among the following ones: In case there is a free emergency lane (or freecycling lane) at the side of the road, one of the vehicle moves to the free lane. One of the vehicles stops at a safe spot at the side of the road—(Return of control to the driver) (JHA et al. par. 221). In the V2V case, the vehicles make their assessment of a safe passing path and share this information through the MCS service. Vehicles 110 assess whether they can fulfill the demands of the other vehicles. In the I2V case, the vehicles assess the advice provided by the R-ITS-S 130, and fulfill these advices when suitable. For V2V, one of the vehicles 110 detects potential collision, calculates safe path including, for example, stopping at the side of the road (planned trajectory), and builds MCM including safe path and original trajectory (desired trajectory); the other vehicle 110 assesses if the desired trajectory can be achieved, and informs the decision to first vehicle 110, and the first vehicle 110 selects the safe path or the original trajectory based on the decision of the other vehicle 110 (JHA et al. par. 222).
Therefore, it would have been obviously to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to apply the larger number of points per trajectory include the current speed and/or neighboring station speed as taught by JHA et al. reference into the modified system of Coutinho et al. and Breed reference in order to avoid collision.
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Coutinho et al., Breed and JHA et al. disclose The mobile entity of claim 19, wherein the alert information is based on the indicator.
In addition, the accuracy of the trajectory representation can be selected based on the underlying driving conditions. In these embodiments, a tradeoff between efficiency and accuracy may be made. As examples, the following conditions or criteria can trigger different reported points per trajectory: current speed and/or neighboring station speed (e.g., the higher the speed, the larger the number of points per trajectory to improve the accuracy); situation intensity which may indicate a probability of having a collision (e.g., higher the probability of collision due to the current situation may require an increase in the accuracy of the trajectory for better maneuver coordination); and station type such as CA/AD vehicles 110, VRU ITS-S(s) 117, UAVs, normal (non-V2X) vehicles, R-ITS-S 130, and/or other station types (e.g., VRU(s) 116 can elect to send larger number of points per trajectory to offer better accuracy) (JHA et al. par. 165).
Regarding claim 21, the combination of Coutinho et al., Breed and JHA et al. disclose The mobile entity of claim 19, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to generate a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) sensors report that indicates dilution of precision (DOP) scalars.
The second phase may be referred to herein as an “online phase” during which one or more network elements (e.g., nodes, network units, mobile APs), which may be mobile and may be located in one or more vehicles, may each take what may be referred to herein as a “wireless snapshot” of their respective wireless environments (i.e., a current “wireless fingerprint sample” taken by a network element for the purpose of requesting a location estimate) and may each request a cloud-based system (e.g., the “search server”) to perform a search for the respective positions of each vehicle using the respective “wireless snapshot.” This “wireless snapshot”/wireless fingerprinting sample may include, for example, information identifying a set of terrestrial wireless signal sources such as access points (e.g., mobile and/or fixed APs) within their reach/range of reception and the respective radio frequency and signal strength (e.g., RSSI) of each such signal source. An example wireless finger print sample is shown in and discussed below with regard to FIGS. 14A-14B. In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, signals from additional terrestrial wireless (e.g., radio frequency) signal sources may also be evaluated by, for example, a mobile AP including, by way of example and not limitation, commercial radio frequency signal sources such as commercial business communication and broadcast radio and television systems, cellular base stations, and both public and private radio frequency signal sources such as, e.g., residential, business, and public Wi-Fi “Hotspots.” The system(s) of vehicles carrying mobile APs and/or a network unit/on-board unit (OBU)/mobile AP may provide location information, identifier(s) of visible satellite(s) and satellite signal strength(s), and other parameters (e.g., quality indications such as dilution of precision information) from an onboard GNSS/GPS receiver. It should be noted that certain infrastructure elements of a network according to the present disclosure such as, for example, fixed APs, may know their own geographic locations (e.g., latitude and longitude) very accurately (e.g., to within three inches, to within a foot, to within a yard, to within ten feet) and may wirelessly broadcast such location information along with other parameters (e.g., type of access point, a unique access point identifier) to receivers within wireless communication range on a regular, intermittent, or periodic basis. Further, some network elements such as network units (NUs) and mobile APs may know their own geographic locations because they may have clear views to satellites of a GNSS constellation or have determined their own geographic locations using other techniques, and may wirelessly broadcast/share their respective geographic locations and identity to other network elements (e.g., to NUs, fixed APs, mobile APs, etc.) (Coutinho et al. par. 167). Next, at block 1108, a determination is made as to whether any terrestrial wireless signal sources were found that met the defined criteria. If, at block 1108, it is determined that no terrestrial wireless signal sources were found during the scan of the wireless environment of the network element, the method then continues at block 1116, described below. If, however, it is determined, at block 1108, that one or more terrestrial wireless signal sources were found during the scan of the wireless environment of the network element, then the method continues at block 1109, where the method determines whether an estimated location of the network element performing the method is available. Such a location estimate may, for example, be available from a receiver of signals of a satellite-based navigation system (e.g., GNSS, GPS), or may be available from other navigational techniques (e.g., inertial, time-of-arrival using signals from other network elements at known locations, etc.) (Coutinho et al. par. 182).
Regarding claim 22, the combination of Coutinho et al., Breed and JHA et al. disclose The mobile entity of claim 19, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: generate a sensor measurement that includes dilution of precision (DOP) scalars, the DOP scalars include a horizontal DOP, a position DOP, or a combination thereof.
The second phase may be referred to herein as an “online phase” during which one or more network elements (e.g., nodes, network units, mobile APs), which may be mobile and may be located in one or more vehicles, may each take what may be referred to herein as a “wireless snapshot” of their respective wireless environments (i.e., a current “wireless fingerprint sample” taken by a network element for the purpose of requesting a location estimate) and may each request a cloud-based system (e.g., the “search server”) to perform a search for the respective positions of each vehicle using the respective “wireless snapshot.” This “wireless snapshot”/wireless fingerprinting sample may include, for example, information identifying a set of terrestrial wireless signal sources such as access points (e.g., mobile and/or fixed APs) within their reach/range of reception and the respective radio frequency and signal strength (e.g., RSSI) of each such signal source. An example wireless finger print sample is shown in and discussed below with regard to FIGS. 14A-14B. In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, signals from additional terrestrial wireless (e.g., radio frequency) signal sources may also be evaluated by, for example, a mobile AP including, by way of example and not limitation, commercial radio frequency signal sources such as commercial business communication and broadcast radio and television systems, cellular base stations, and both public and private radio frequency signal sources such as, e.g., residential, business, and public Wi-Fi “Hotspots.” The system(s) of vehicles carrying mobile APs and/or a network unit/on-board unit (OBU)/mobile AP may provide location information, identifier(s) of visible satellite(s) and satellite signal strength(s), and other parameters (e.g., quality indications such as dilution of precision information) from an onboard GNSS/GPS receiver. It should be noted that certain infrastructure elements of a network according to the present disclosure such as, for example, fixed APs, may know their own geographic locations (e.g., latitude and longitude) very accurately (e.g., to within three inches, to within a foot, to within a yard, to within ten feet) and may wirelessly broadcast such location information along with other parameters (e.g., type of access point, a unique access point identifier) to receivers within wireless communication range on a regular, intermittent, or periodic basis. Further, some network elements such as network units (NUs) and mobile APs may know their own geographic locations because they may have clear views to satellites of a GNSS constellation or have determined their own geographic locations using other techniques, and may wirelessly broadcast/share their respective geographic locations and identity to other network elements (e.g., to NUs, fixed APs, mobile APs, etc.) (Coutinho et al. par. 167).
Regarding claim 23, the combination of Coutinho et al., Breed and JHA et al. disclose The mobile entity of claim 22, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: determine a level of accuracy based on the DOP scalars,
The second phase may be referred to herein as an “online phase” during which one or more network elements (e.g., nodes, network units, mobile APs), which may be mobile and may be located in one or more vehicles, may each take what may be referred to herein as a “wireless snapshot” of their respective wireless environments (i.e., a current “wireless fingerprint sample” taken by a network element for the purpose of requesting a location estimate) and may each request a cloud-based system (e.g., the “search server”) to perform a search for the respective positions of each vehicle using the respective “wireless snapshot.” This “wireless snapshot”/wireless fingerprinting sample may include, for example, information identifying a set of terrestrial wireless signal sources such as access points (e.g., mobile and/or fixed APs) within their reach/range of reception and the respective radio frequency and signal strength (e.g., RSSI) of each such signal source. An example wireless finger print sample is shown in and discussed below with regard to FIGS. 14A-14B. In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, signals from additional terrestrial wireless (e.g., radio frequency) signal sources may also be evaluated by, for example, a mobile AP including, by way of example and not limitation, commercial radio frequency signal sources such as commercial business communication and broadcast radio and television systems, cellular base stations, and both public and private radio frequency signal sources such as, e.g., residential, business, and public Wi-Fi “Hotspots.” The system(s) of vehicles carrying mobile APs and/or a network unit/on-board unit (OBU)/mobile AP may provide location information, identifier(s) of visible satellite(s) and satellite signal strength(s), and other parameters (e.g., quality indications such as dilution of precision information) from an onboard GNSS/GPS receiver. It should be noted that certain infrastructure elements of a network according to the present disclosure such as, for example, fixed APs, may know their own geographic locations (e.g., latitude and longitude) very accurately (e.g., to within three inches, to within a foot, to within a yard, to within ten feet) and may wirelessly broadcast such location information along with other parameters (e.g., type of access point, a unique access point identifier) to receivers within wireless communication range on a regular, intermittent, or periodic basis. Further, some network elements such as network units (NUs) and mobile APs may know their own geographic locations because they may have clear views to satellites of a GNSS constellation or have determined their own geographic locations using other techniques, and may wirelessly broadcast/share their respective geographic locations and identity to other network elements (e.g., to NUs, fixed APs, mobile APs, etc.) (Coutinho et al. par. 167). Next, at block 1108, a determination is made as to whether any terrestrial wireless signal sources were found that met the defined criteria. If, at block 1108, it is determined that no terrestrial wireless signal sources were found during the scan of the wireless environment of the network element, the method then continues at block 1116, described below. If, however, it is determined, at block 1108, that one or more terrestrial wireless signal sources were found during the scan of the wireless environment of the network element, then the method continues at block 1109, where the method determines whether an estimated location of the network element performing the method is available. Such a location estimate may, for example, be available from a receiver of signals of a satellite-based navigation system (e.g., GNSS, GPS), or may be available from other navigational techniques (e.g., inertial, time-of-arrival using signals from other network elements at known locations, etc.) (Coutinho et al. par. 182).
wherein the position accuracy information includes the determined level of accuracy; generate a safety message that includes the indicator that indicates a level of accuracy; and transmit the safety message.
In addition, the accuracy of the trajectory representation can be selected based on the underlying driving conditions. In these embodiments, a tradeoff between efficiency and accuracy may be made. As examples, the following conditions or criteria can trigger different reported points per trajectory: current speed and/or neighboring station speed (e.g., the higher the speed, the larger the number of points per trajectory to improve the accuracy); situation intensity which may indicate a probability of having a collision (e.g., higher the probability of collision due to the current situation may require an increase in the accuracy of the trajectory for better maneuver coordination); and station type such as CA/AD vehicles 110, VRU ITS-S(s) 117, UAVs, normal (non-V2X) vehicles, R-ITS-S 130, and/or other station types (e.g., VRU(s) 116 can elect to send larger number of points per trajectory to offer better accuracy) (JHA et al. par. 165).
Regarding claim 24, the combination of Coutinho et al., Breed and JHA et al. disclose The mobile entity of claim 23, wherein the safety message includes a basic safety message or a personal safety message.
The first embodiment is related to scenarios where there is no R-ITS-S 130 in the proximity of detected Unexpected Safety Critical Situation (USCS) and a V-ITS-S serves as the leader for a Short-Lived Emergency Maneuver Coordination Group. In the first embodiment, each V-ITS-S 110 exchanges periodic V2X messages such as, for example, Decentralized Environmental Notification Messages (DENMs), Basic Safety Messages (BSMs), Cooperative Awareness Messages (CAMs), Collective Perception Messages (CPMs), and/or other like messages with proximate V-ITS-Ss 110, R-ITS-S 130 (and VRU ITS-Ss 117). Additionally or alternatively, each V-ITS-S 110 may also share planned maneuver (e.g., its maneuver intentions, planned trajectory, detected traffic situations) periodically by broadcasting Maneuver Coordination Messages (MCMs). An MCM can have several containers such as (i) a container to share ego V-ITS-S 110's intention and planned trajectory—Maneuver sharing container, (ii) a container to share—Detected situations/maneuvers container, (iii) a container to enable coordination/negotiation among V-ITS-Ss 110 such as the Maneuver Coordination/Negotiation Container, and other containers as shown by FIG. 9 (JHA et al. par. 67).
Regarding claim 25, Coutinho et al. teach A server comprising: a memory storing processor-readable code; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to: receive, from a first mobile entity, an indicator that indicates position accuracy information associated with a position estimate of the first mobile entity based on a signal received from a non-terrestrial entity; (Coutinho et al. US 20180014351 abstract; paragraphs [0067]-[0070]; [0163]-[0167]; [0181]-[0188]; figures 1-14;)
The second phase may be referred to herein as an “online phase” during which one or more network elements (e.g., nodes, network units, mobile APs), which may be mobile and may be located in one or more vehicles, may each take what may be referred to herein as a “wireless snapshot” of their respective wireless environments (i.e., a current “wireless fingerprint sample” taken by a network element for the purpose of requesting a location estimate) and may each request a cloud-based system (e.g., the “search server”) to perform a search for the respective positions of each vehicle using the respective “wireless snapshot.” This “wireless snapshot”/wireless fingerprinting sample may include, for example, information identifying a set of terrestrial wireless signal sources such as access points (e.g., mobile and/or fixed APs) within their reach/range of reception and the respective radio frequency and signal strength (e.g., RSSI) of each such signal source. An example wireless finger print sample is shown in and discussed below with regard to FIGS. 14A-14B. In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, signals from additional terrestrial wireless (e.g., radio frequency) signal sources may also be evaluated by, for example, a mobile AP including, by way of example and not limitation, commercial radio frequency signal sources such as commercial business communication and broadcast radio and television systems, cellular base stations, and both public and private radio frequency signal sources such as, e.g., residential, business, and public Wi-Fi “Hotspots.” The system(s) of vehicles carrying mobile APs and/or a network unit/on-board unit (OBU)/mobile AP may provide location information, identifier(s) of visible satellite(s) and satellite signal strength(s), and other parameters (e.g., quality indications such as dilution of precision information) from an onboard GNSS/GPS receiver. It should be noted that certain infrastructure elements of a network according to the present disclosure such as, for example, fixed APs, may know their own geographic locations (e.g., latitude and longitude) very accurately (e.g., to within three inches, to within a foot, to within a yard, to within ten feet) and may wirelessly broadcast such location information along with other parameters (e.g., type of access point, a unique access point identifier) to receivers within wireless communication range on a regular, intermittent, or periodic basis. Further, some network elements such as network units (NUs) and mobile APs may know their own geographic locations because they may have clear views to satellites of a GNSS constellation or have determined their own geographic locations using other techniques, and may wirelessly broadcast/share their respective geographic locations and identity to other network elements (e.g., to NUs, fixed APs, mobile APs, etc.) (Coutinho et al. par. 167). Next, at block 1108, a determination is made as to whether any terrestrial wireless signal sources were found that met the defined criteria. If, at block 1108, it is determined that no terrestrial wireless signal sources were found during the scan of the wireless environment of the network element, the method then continues at block 1116, described below. If, however, it is determined, at block 1108, that one or more terrestrial wireless signal sources were found during the scan of the wireless environment of the network element, then the method continues at block 1109, where the method determines whether an estimated location of the network element performing the method is available. Such a location estimate may, for example, be available from a receiver of signals of a satellite-based navigation system (e.g., GNSS, GPS), or may be available from other navigational techniques (e.g., inertial, time-of-arrival using signals from other network elements at known locations, etc.) (Coutinho et al. par. 182).
According to the cited passages and figures, examiner interpret the signal received at an on board GNSS/GPS receiver via satellites as a non-terrestrial signal.
Coutinho et al. do not explicitly teach select, based on the indicator, an accuracy value that includes a horizontal estimated position error based on historic tracking information or the position accuracy information; generate a location value of the first mobile entity based on the accuracy value; determine a potential collision based on the location value; and transmit alert information to one or more mobile entities, including the first mobile entity, the alert information associated with the potential collision between an object and the one or more mobile entities.
Breed teaches select, based on the indicator, an accuracy value that includes a horizontal estimated position error based on historic tracking information or the position accuracy information; generate a location value of the first mobile entity based on the accuracy value; (Breed US 20090048750 abstract; paragraphs [0022]-[0026]; [0101]-[0107]; [0114]; [0161]; [0174]-[0175] [0180]-[0181]; [0203]-[0204]; [0233]-[0237]; [0322]-[0326];; [0436]; [0539]; figures 1-29)
FIG. 2 shows an arrangement of four satellites 2 designated SV.sub.1, SV.sub.2, SV.sub.3 and SV.sub.4 of the GPS satellite system shown in FIG. 1 transmitting position information to receiver means of a base station 20, such as an antenna 22, which in turn transmits a differential correction signal via transmitter means associated with that base station, such as a second antenna 16, to a vehicle 18 (Breed par. 101). FIG. 3 shows an arrangement of four satellites 2 designated SV.sub.1, SV.sub.2, SV.sub.3 and SV.sub.4 of the GPS satellite system as in FIG. 2 transmitting position information to receivers of base stations 20 and 21, such as an antenna 22, which in turn transmit a differential correction signal via transmitters associated with that base stations, such as a second antenna 16, to a geocentric or low earth orbiting (LEO) satellite 30 which in turn transmits the differential correction signals to vehicle 18. In this case, one or more of the base stations 20,21 receives and performs a mathematical analysis on all of the signals received from a number of base stations that cover the area under consideration and forms a mathematical model of the errors in the GPS signals over the entire area. For the CONUS, for example, a group of 13 base stations are operated by OmniStar that are distributed around the country. By considering data from the entire group of such stations, the errors in the GPS signals for the entire area can be estimated resulting in a position accuracy of about 6-10 cm over the entire area. The corrections are then uploaded to the geocentric or low earth orbiting satellite 30 for retransmission to vehicles on the roadways. In this way, such vehicles are able to determine their absolute position to within about 6-10 centimeters. This is known as Wide Area Deferential GPS or WADGPS. The wide area corrections can be further corrected when there are additional local stations that are not part of the WADGPS system (Breed par. 103). For example, a vehicle can have a 64 bit code which can be a combination of a vehicle identification number and the GPS coordinates of the vehicle location. The vehicle would continuously transmit this 64 bit code using frequencies within the selected band. The 64 bit code could include both positive and negative bits in addition to 0 bits. When identifying the vehicle, the receiver could rectify the bits resulting in a 64 bit code of 0's and I's. The information which the transmitting vehicle wishes to send could be represented by the choice of polarity of each of the code bits (Breed par. 323).
According to the cited passages and figures, examiner interprets the vehicle receive the GPS signal to indicate their position withing 6-10 cm accuracy (accuracy metric).
Therefore, it would have been obviously to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to apply the estimated resulting in a position accuracy as taught by Breed reference into the system of Coutinho et al. reference in order to determine a position of the vehicle for improve the traffic safety.
The combination of Coutinho et al. and Breed do not explicitly teach determine a potential collision based on the location value; and transmit alert information to one or more mobile entities, including the first mobile entity, the alert information associated with the potential collision between an object and the one or more mobile entities.
JHA et al. teach determine a potential collision based on the location value; and transmit alert information to one or more mobile entities, including the first mobile entity, the alert information associated with the potential collision between an object and the one or more mobile entities. (JHA et al. US 20220332350 abstract; paragraphs [0003]-[0005]; [0028]-[0036]; [0039]-[0040]; [0044]-[0054]; [0056]-[0067]; [0069]-[0073]; [0146]; [0165]; [0198]; [0221]-[0226]; [0232]; [0275]-[0278]; [0323]; [0335]; [0387]; [0400]; figures 1-24;)
In the I2V case, the R-ITS-S 130 gives advice (e.g., digital information/instructions on possible places where vehicles can yield or drive at the emergency/cycling lane) to a V-ITS-S 110 in order to ensure safe passing of the vehicles. For I2V, both vehicles 110 broadcast trajectory in MCM. The R-ITS-S 130 detects a potential collision and calculates the free passing path, which is transmitted as MCM to the vehicles 110. After a risk analysis of the local situation, the R-ITS-S 130 selects a maneuver coordination strategy among the following ones: In case there is a free emergency lane (or freecycling lane) at the side of the road, one of the vehicle moves to the free lane. One of the vehicles stops at a safe spot at the side of the road—(Return of control to the driver) (JHA et al. par. 221). In the V2V case, the vehicles make their assessment of a safe passing path and share this information through the MCS service. Vehicles 110 assess whether they can fulfill the demands of the other vehicles. In the I2V case, the vehicles assess the advice provided by the R-ITS-S 130, and fulfill these advices when suitable. For V2V, one of the vehicles 110 detects potential collision, calculates safe path including, for example, stopping at the side of the road (planned trajectory), and builds MCM including safe path and original trajectory (desired trajectory); the other vehicle 110 assesses if the desired trajectory can be achieved, and informs the decision to first vehicle 110, and the first vehicle 110 selects the safe path or the original trajectory based on the decision of the other vehicle 110 (JHA et al. par. 222).
Therefore, it would have been obviously to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to apply the larger number of points per trajectory include the current speed and/or neighboring station speed as taught by JHA et al. reference into the modified system of Coutinho et al. and Breed reference in order to avoid collision.
Regarding claim 26, the combination of Coutinho et al., Breed and JHA et al. disclose The server of claim 25, wherein the position accuracy information includes a level of accuracy determined based on dilution of precision (DOP) scalars indicated by a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) sensors report.
The second phase may be referred to herein as an “online phase” during which one or more network elements (e.g., nodes, network units, mobile APs), which may be mobile and may be located in one or more vehicles, may each take what may be referred to herein as a “wireless snapshot” of their respective wireless environments (i.e., a current “wireless fingerprint sample” taken by a network element for the purpose of requesting a location estimate) and may each request a cloud-based system (e.g., the “search server”) to perform a search for the respective positions of each vehicle using the respective “wireless snapshot.” This “wireless snapshot”/wireless fingerprinting sample may include, for example, information identifying a set of terrestrial wireless signal sources such as access points (e.g., mobile and/or fixed APs) within their reach/range of reception and the respective radio frequency and signal strength (e.g., RSSI) of each such signal source. An example wireless finger print sample is shown in and discussed below with regard to FIGS. 14A-14B. In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, signals from additional terrestrial wireless (e.g., radio frequency) signal sources may also be evaluated by, for example, a mobile AP including, by way of example and not limitation, commercial radio frequency signal sources such as commercial business communication and broadcast radio and television systems, cellular base stations, and both public and private radio frequency signal sources such as, e.g., residential, business, and public Wi-Fi “Hotspots.” The system(s) of vehicles carrying mobile APs and/or a network unit/on-board unit (OBU)/mobile AP may provide location information, identifier(s) of visible satellite(s) and satellite signal strength(s), and other parameters (e.g., quality indications such as dilution of precision information) from an onboard GNSS/GPS receiver. It should be noted that certain infrastructure elements of a network according to the present disclosure such as, for example, fixed APs, may know their own geographic locations (e.g., latitude and longitude) very accurately (e.g., to within three inches, to within a foot, to within a yard, to within ten feet) and may wirelessly broadcast such location information along with other parameters (e.g., type of access point, a unique access point identifier) to receivers within wireless communication range on a regular, intermittent, or periodic basis. Further, some network elements such as network units (NUs) and mobile APs may know their own geographic locations because they may have clear views to satellites of a GNSS constellation or have determined their own geographic locations using other techniques, and may wirelessly broadcast/share their respective geographic locations and identity to other network elements (e.g., to NUs, fixed APs, mobile APs, etc.) (Coutinho et al. par. 167). Next, at block 1108, a determination is made as to whether any terrestrial wireless signal sources were found that met the defined criteria. If, at block 1108, it is determined that no terrestrial wireless signal sources were found during the scan of the wireless environment of the network element, the method then continues at block 1116, described below. If, however, it is determined, at block 1108, that one or more terrestrial wireless signal sources were found during the scan of the wireless environment of the network element, then the method continues at block 1109, where the method determines whether an estimated location of the network element performing the method is available. Such a location estimate may, for example, be available from a receiver of signals of a satellite-based navigation system (e.g., GNSS, GPS), or may be available from other navigational techniques (e.g., inertial, time-of-arrival using signals from other network elements at known locations, etc.) (Coutinho et al. par. 182).
Regarding claim 27, the combination of Coutinho et al., Breed and JHA et al. disclose The server of claim 26, wherein: the DOP scalars include a horizontal DOP, a position DOP, or a combination thereof; the DOP scalars is generated based on a sensor measurement based on the signal received from the non-terrestrial entity; or a combination thereof.
The second phase may be referred to herein as an “online phase” during which one or more network elements (e.g., nodes, network units, mobile APs), which may be mobile and may be located in one or more vehicles, may each take what may be referred to herein as a “wireless snapshot” of their respective wireless environments (i.e., a current “wireless fingerprint sample” taken by a network element for the purpose of requesting a location estimate) and may each request a cloud-based system (e.g., the “search server”) to perform a search for the respective positions of each vehicle using the respective “wireless snapshot.” This “wireless snapshot”/wireless fingerprinting sample may include, for example, information identifying a set of terrestrial wireless signal sources such as access points (e.g., mobile and/or fixed APs) within their reach/range of reception and the respective radio frequency and signal strength (e.g., RSSI) of each such signal source. An example wireless finger print sample is shown in and discussed below with regard to FIGS. 14A-14B. In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, signals from additional terrestrial wireless (e.g., radio frequency) signal sources may also be evaluated by, for example, a mobile AP including, by way of example and not limitation, commercial radio frequency signal sources such as commercial business communication and broadcast radio and television systems, cellular base stations, and both public and private radio frequency signal sources such as, e.g., residential, business, and public Wi-Fi “Hotspots.” The system(s) of vehicles carrying mobile APs and/or a network unit/on-board unit (OBU)/mobile AP may provide location information, identifier(s) of visible satellite(s) and satellite signal strength(s), and other parameters (e.g., quality indications such as dilution of precision information) from an onboard GNSS/GPS receiver. It should be noted that certain infrastructure elements of a network according to the present disclosure such as, for example, fixed APs, may know their own geographic locations (e.g., latitude and longitude) very accurately (e.g., to within three inches, to within a foot, to within a yard, to within ten feet) and may wirelessly broadcast such location information along with other parameters (e.g., type of access point, a unique access point identifier) to receivers within wireless communication range on a regular, intermittent, or periodic basis. Further, some network elements such as network units (NUs) and mobile APs may know their own geographic locations because they may have clear views to satellites of a GNSS constellation or have determined their own geographic locations using other techniques, and may wirelessly broadcast/share their respective geographic locations and identity to other network elements (e.g., to NUs, fixed APs, mobile APs, etc.) (Coutinho et al. par. 167). Next, at block 1108, a determination is made as to whether any terrestrial wireless signal sources were found that met the defined criteria. If, at block 1108, it is determined that no terrestrial wireless signal sources were found during the scan of the wireless environment of the network element, the method then continues at block 1116, described below. If, however, it is determined, at block 1108, that one or more terrestrial wireless signal sources were found during the scan of the wireless environment of the network element, then the method continues at block 1109, where the method determines whether an estimated location of the network element performing the method is available. Such a location estimate may, for example, be available from a receiver of signals of a satellite-based navigation system (e.g., GNSS, GPS), or may be available from other navigational techniques (e.g., inertial, time-of-arrival using signals from other network elements at known locations, etc.) (Coutinho et al. par. 182).
Regarding claim 29, the combination of Coutinho et al., Breed and JHA et al. disclose The server of claim 25, wherein: the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to receive a safety message that includes the indicator; and the safety message includes a basic safety message or a pedestrian safety message.
The first embodiment is related to scenarios where there is no R-ITS-S 130 in the proximity of detected Unexpected Safety Critical Situation (USCS) and a V-ITS-S serves as the leader for a Short-Lived Emergency Maneuver Coordination Group. In the first embodiment, each V-ITS-S 110 exchanges periodic V2X messages such as, for example, Decentralized Environmental Notification Messages (DENMs), Basic Safety Messages (BSMs), Cooperative Awareness Messages (CAMs), Collective Perception Messages (CPMs), and/or other like messages with proximate V-ITS-Ss 110, R-ITS-S 130 (and VRU ITS-Ss 117). Additionally or alternatively, each V-ITS-S 110 may also share planned maneuver (e.g., its maneuver intentions, planned trajectory, detected traffic situations) periodically by broadcasting Maneuver Coordination Messages (MCMs). An MCM can have several containers such as (i) a container to share ego V-ITS-S 110's intention and planned trajectory—Maneuver sharing container, (ii) a container to share—Detected situations/maneuvers container, (iii) a container to enable coordination/negotiation among V-ITS-Ss 110 such as the Maneuver Coordination/Negotiation Container, and other containers as shown by FIG. 9 (JHA et al. par. 67).
Regarding claim 30, the combination of Coutinho et al., Breed and JHA et al. disclose The server of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to generate the alert information based on based on map information.
The Position and Time management entity (PoTi) manages the position and time information for ITS applications, facility, network, management, and security layers. For this purpose, the PoTi gets information from sub-system entities such as GNSS, sensors, and other subsystems of the ITS-S. The PoTi ensures ITS time synchronicity between ITS-Ss in an ITS constellation, maintains the data quality (e.g., by monitoring time deviation), and manages updates of the position (e.g., kinematic and attitude state) and time. An ITS constellation is a group of ITS-S's that are exchanging ITS data among themselves. The PoTi entity may include augmentation services to improve the position and time accuracy, integrity, and reliability. Among these methods, communication technologies may be used to provide positioning assistance from mobile to mobile ITS-Ss and infrastructure to mobile ITS-Ss. Given the ITS application requirements in terms of position and time accuracy, PoTi may use augmentation services to improve the position and time accuracy. Various augmentation methods may be applied. PoTi may support these augmentation services by providing messages services broadcasting augmentation data. For instance, an R-ITS-S 130 may broadcast correction information for GNSS to oncoming V-ITS-S 110; ITS-Ss may exchange raw GPS data or may exchange terrestrial radio position and time relevant information. PoTi maintains and provides the position and time reference information according to the application and facility and other layer service requirements in the ITS-S. In the context of ITS, the “position” includes attitude and movement parameters, including velocity, heading, horizontal speed and optionally others. The kinematic and attitude state of a rigid body contained in the ITS-S included position, velocity, acceleration, orientation, angular velocity, and possible other motion-related information. The position information at a specific moment in time is referred to as the kinematic and attitude state, including time, of the rigid body. In addition to the kinematic and attitude state, PoTi should also maintain information on the confidence of the kinematic and attitude state variables (JHA et al. par. 232).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 06/11/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In the remark applicant argues in substance:
Applicant argument: Applicant argues that arts of record Ahn et al., Liu et al., Beaurepaire et al. and Jha et al. failed to teach or suggest the amendment as recited in the independent claims 1 and 12 and of Coutinho et al., JHA et al. and Beard failed to teach or suggest the amendment as recited in the independent claims 19 and 25.
Examiner response: The presented arguments are rendered moot in view of the new ground rejection necessitated by amendments initiated by applicant. Please see above rejections.
Conclusion
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/THANG D TRAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2686
/BRIAN A ZIMMERMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2686
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