DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been examined in this application.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This action is made FINAL in response to the “amendment” and “remarks” filed 02/26/2026.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “control module” in claim 3 and repeated throughout.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof. As such, “control module” will be understood to be any hardware suitable for the claimed functionality (See Spec Para 0067).
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-6, 9-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nabbe (US10328897) in view of Foucard (US20250029277).
Claim 1:
Nabbe explicitly teaches:
A system for controlling a vehicle, comprising: a vehicle;
(Nabbe) – “FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a vehicle 100 which comprises a vehicle navigation system (VNS) which is configured to control various control elements of the vehicle to navigate the vehicle through an environment, according to some embodiments. The VNS can control various control elements based on driving control commands generated at one or more user interfaces, navigation control modules, remote control systems, etc. The VNS, in some embodiments, includes an autonomous navigation system (ANS) which is configured to autonomously generate autonomous driving control commands which control various control elements of the vehicle to autonomously navigate the vehicle along one or more driving routes.” (Col 4 Ln 12-24)
one or more sensors, coupled to the vehicle, configured to generate one or more data points pertaining to one or more of: an environment of the vehicle; and one or more system component measurements of the vehicle;
(Nabbe) – “Vehicle 100 includes a set of one or more external sensor devices 113, also referred to as external sensors 113, which can monitor one or more aspects of an external environment relative to the vehicle 100. Such sensors can include camera devices, video recording devices, infrared sensor devices, radar devices, depth camera devices which can include one or more light-scanning devices including LIDAR devices, precipitation sensor devices, ambient wind sensor devices, ambient temperature sensor devices, position-monitoring devices which can include one or more global navigation satellite system devices (e.g., GPS, BeiDou, DORIS, Galileo, GLONASS, etc.), some combination thereof, or the like. One or more of external sensor devices 113 can generate sensor data associated with an environment as the vehicle 100 navigates through the environment. Sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices 113 can be communicated to VNS 110 as input data, where the input data can be used by the VNS 100, when operating in autonomous driving control mode, to generate driving control signals which, when executed by control elements 112, cause the vehicle 100 to be navigated along a particular driving route through the environment. In some embodiments, VNS 110 communicates at least some sensor data generated by one or more sensors 113 to one or more remote systems, services, etc. via one or more interfaces 116.” (Col 5 Ln 43-67)
“Vehicle 100 includes a set of one or more internal sensors 114, also referred to as sensor devices 114, which can monitor one or more aspects of the vehicle 100 interior. Such sensors can include camera devices, including one or more visible light cameras, infrared cameras, near-infrared cameras, depth cameras which can include one or more light-scanning devices including LIDAR devices, some combination thereof, etc. configured to collect image data of one or more occupants in the vehicle interior, control element sensors which monitor operating states of various driving control interfaces 115 of the vehicle, chemical sensors which monitor the atmosphere of the vehicle interior for the presence of one or more chemical substances, some combination thereof, etc. One or more of internal sensor devices 114 can generate sensor data. Sensor data generated by one or more internal sensor devices 114 can be communicated to VNS 110” (Col 6 Ln 1-17)
one or more actuation controls configured to enable the vehicle to perform one or more driving actions;
(Nabbe) – “FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a vehicle 100 which comprises a vehicle navigation system (VNS) which is configured to control various control elements of the vehicle to navigate the vehicle through an environment, according to some embodiments. The VNS can control various control elements based on driving control commands generated at one or more user interfaces, navigation control modules, remote control systems, etc. The VNS, in some embodiments, includes an autonomous navigation system (ANS) which is configured to autonomously generate autonomous driving control commands which control various control elements of the vehicle to autonomously navigate the vehicle along one or more driving routes.” (Col 4 Ln 12-24)
an automatic trajectory control system, comprising a processor, configured to perform automatic trajectory control,
(Nabbe) – “FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a vehicle 100 which comprises a vehicle navigation system (VNS) which is configured to control various control elements of the vehicle to navigate the vehicle through an environment, according to some embodiments. The VNS can control various control elements based on driving control commands generated at one or more user interfaces, navigation control modules, remote control systems, etc. The VNS, in some embodiments, includes an autonomous navigation system (ANS) which is configured to autonomously generate autonomous driving control commands which control various control elements of the vehicle to autonomously navigate the vehicle along one or more driving routes.” (Col 4 Ln 12-24)
“Various embodiments of a vehicle navigation system (VNS), a remotely-controlled vehicle navigation system, a remote navigation control system, etc. as described herein, may be executed in one or more computer systems 900, which may interact with various other devices. Note that any component, action, or functionality described above with respect to FIG. 1 through 8 may be implemented on one or more computers configured as computer system 900 of FIG. 9, according to various embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, computer system 900 includes one or more processors 910 coupled to a system memory 920 via an input/output (I/O) interface 930.” (Col 28 Ln 6-18)
wherein, in the performing the automatic trajectory control, the automatic trajectory control system is configured to: receive the one or more data points generated by the one or more sensors;
(Nabbe) – “Vehicle 100 includes a set of one or more external sensor devices 113, also referred to as external sensors 113, which can monitor one or more aspects of an external environment relative to the vehicle 100. Such sensors can include camera devices, video recording devices, infrared sensor devices, radar devices, depth camera devices which can include one or more light-scanning devices including LIDAR devices, precipitation sensor devices, ambient wind sensor devices, ambient temperature sensor devices, position-monitoring devices which can include one or more global navigation satellite system devices (e.g., GPS, BeiDou, DORIS, Galileo, GLONASS, etc.), some combination thereof, or the like. One or more of external sensor devices 113 can generate sensor data associated with an environment as the vehicle 100 navigates through the environment. Sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices 113 can be communicated to VNS 110 as input data, where the input data can be used by the VNS 100, when operating in autonomous driving control mode, to generate driving control signals which, when executed by control elements 112, cause the vehicle 100 to be navigated along a particular driving route through the environment. In some embodiments, VNS 110 communicates at least some sensor data generated by one or more sensors 113 to one or more remote systems, services, etc. via one or more interfaces 116.” (Col 5 Ln 43-67)
analyze the one or more data points to detect one or more obstacles within the environment of the vehicle;
(Nabbe) – “Vehicle 100 includes a set of one or more external sensor devices 113, also referred to as external sensors 113, which can monitor one or more aspects of an external environment relative to the vehicle 100. Such sensors can include camera devices, video recording devices, infrared sensor devices, radar devices, depth camera devices which can include one or more light-scanning devices including LIDAR devices, precipitation sensor devices, ambient wind sensor devices, ambient temperature sensor devices, position-monitoring devices which can include one or more global navigation satellite system devices (e.g., GPS, BeiDou, DORIS, Galileo, GLONASS, etc.), some combination thereof, or the like. One or more of external sensor devices 113 can generate sensor data associated with an environment as the vehicle 100 navigates through the environment. Sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices 113 can be communicated to VNS 110 as input data, where the input data can be used by the VNS 100, when operating in autonomous driving control mode, to generate driving control signals which, when executed by control elements 112, cause the vehicle 100 to be navigated along a particular driving route through the environment. In some embodiments, VNS 110 communicates at least some sensor data generated by one or more sensors 113 to one or more remote systems, services, etc. via one or more interfaces 116.” (Col 5 Ln 43-67)
“For example, where the vehicle is being remotely navigated along a roadway, and the VNS determines that the present driving route of the vehicle is approaching within a threshold proximity to a static object in the roadway, the VNS can cause the vehicle to be navigated along a driving route which avoids intersection with the static element” (Col 25 Ln 3-9)
automatically generate an automatic trajectory command based on the analysis of the one or more data points generated from the one or more sensors, wherein:
(Nabbe) – “Vehicle 100 includes a set of one or more external sensor devices 113, also referred to as external sensors 113, which can monitor one or more aspects of an external environment relative to the vehicle 100. Such sensors can include camera devices, video recording devices, infrared sensor devices, radar devices, depth camera devices which can include one or more light-scanning devices including LIDAR devices, precipitation sensor devices, ambient wind sensor devices, ambient temperature sensor devices, position-monitoring devices which can include one or more global navigation satellite system devices (e.g., GPS, BeiDou, DORIS, Galileo, GLONASS, etc.), some combination thereof, or the like. One or more of external sensor devices 113 can generate sensor data associated with an environment as the vehicle 100 navigates through the environment. Sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices 113 can be communicated to VNS 110 as input data, where the input data can be used by the VNS 100, when operating in autonomous driving control mode, to generate driving control signals which, when executed by control elements 112, cause the vehicle 100 to be navigated along a particular driving route through the environment. In some embodiments, VNS 110 communicates at least some sensor data generated by one or more sensors 113 to one or more remote systems, services, etc. via one or more interfaces 116.” (Col 5 Ln 43-67)
“For example, where the vehicle is being remotely navigated along a roadway, and the VNS determines that the present driving route of the vehicle is approaching within a threshold proximity to a static object in the roadway, the VNS can cause the vehicle to be navigated along a driving route which avoids intersection with the static element” (Col 25 Ln 3-9)
the automatic trajectory command comprises automatic trajectory instructions which comprise one or more automatic trajectory plot points, and [each automatic trajectory plot point, of the one or more automatic trajectory plot points, comprises position coordinates for the vehicle to be at a specific time]; and
(Nabbe) – “FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a vehicle 100 which comprises a vehicle navigation system (VNS) which is configured to control various control elements of the vehicle to navigate the vehicle through an environment, according to some embodiments. The VNS can control various control elements based on driving control commands generated at one or more user interfaces, navigation control modules, remote control systems, etc. The VNS, in some embodiments, includes an autonomous navigation system (ANS) which is configured to autonomously generate autonomous driving control commands which control various control elements of the vehicle to autonomously navigate the vehicle along one or more driving routes.” (Col 4 Ln 12-24)
Examiner Note: Bracketed text not explicitly taught by primary reference, but is taught by non-primary reference later in the rejection.
transmit the automatic trajectory command to a remote station system; and
(Nabbe) – “Module 224 can, in response to receiving a remote driving control initiation command, generate sensor data signals which include sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices included in the environment and are communicated to system 260 via link 341. The control interface 268 included in system 260 can process the sensor data included in the sensor data signals and can generate a representation of the vehicle 200, the surrounding environment in which the vehicle is located, and one or more various parameters associated with the vehicle (e.g., velocity, acceleration, proximity to various elements in the environment, etc. which is provided to an operator via one or more interfaces. Control system 266 can generate remote driving commands based on operator interaction with one or more portions of the interface 268.” (Col 17 Ln 14-28)
the remote station system, configured to: receive the one or more data points generated by the one or more sensors; display the automatic trajectory command; and generate one or more driving actions,
(Nabbe) – “Module 224 can, in response to receiving a remote driving control initiation command, generate sensor data signals which include sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices included in the environment and are communicated to system 260 via link 341. The control interface 268 included in system 260 can process the sensor data included in the sensor data signals and can generate a representation of the vehicle 200, the surrounding environment in which the vehicle is located, and one or more various parameters associated with the vehicle (e.g., velocity, acceleration, proximity to various elements in the environment, etc. which is provided to an operator via one or more interfaces. Control system 266 can generate remote driving commands based on operator interaction with one or more portions of the interface 268.” (Col 17 Ln 14-28)
“In some embodiments, module 224 communicates sensor data generated by one or more sensors 216 to system 260 over network 250. System 260 includes a control interface 268 which can provide sensor data generated at one or more sensors 216, and communicated to system 260 via network 250, to one or more operators 270. In some embodiments, control interface 268 includes a display interface which provides one or more graphical representations of the vehicle 200 in an external environment, where the graphical representation is generated at system 260 based on the sensor data received from vehicle 200 over network 250. Interface 268 can include one or more sets of driving control interfaces via which an operator 270 can interact to generate one or more driving commands. System 266 can process the driving commands and, based on the processing, generate one or more sets of remote driving commands which are communicated to VNS 210 over network 250.” (Col 12 Ln 41-57)
wherein the one or more driving actions correlate to one or more actuator commands configured to cause the vehicle to perform the one or more driving actions.
(Nabbe) – “Module 224 can, in response to receiving a remote driving control initiation command, generate sensor data signals which include sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices included in the environment and are communicated to system 260 via link 341. The control interface 268 included in system 260 can process the sensor data included in the sensor data signals and can generate a representation of the vehicle 200, the surrounding environment in which the vehicle is located, and one or more various parameters associated with the vehicle (e.g., velocity, acceleration, proximity to various elements in the environment, etc. which is provided to an operator via one or more interfaces. Control system 266 can generate remote driving commands based on operator interaction with one or more portions of the interface 268.” (Col 17 Ln 14-28)
“The remote control system is configured to generate a set of remote driving commands which, when executed at a vehicle navigation system of the vehicle, cause the vehicle to be navigated through an environment, based at least in part upon a determination that remote driving control of the vehicle is authorized by one or more of the vehicle or an authorized end user supported by a separate user device.” (Col 2 Ln 2-9)
Nabbe does not explicitly teach:
each automatic trajectory plot point, of the one or more automatic trajectory plot points, comprises position coordinates for the vehicle to be at a specific time
Foucard, in the same field of endeavor of vehicle navigation, teaches:
each automatic trajectory plot point, of the one or more automatic trajectory plot points, comprises position coordinates for the vehicle to be at a specific time
(Foucard) – “The autonomy system 200 can include the planning system 250, which can be configured to determine how the autonomous platform is to interact with and move within its environment. The planning system 250 can determine one or more motion plans for an autonomous platform. A motion plan can include one or more trajectories (e.g., motion trajectories) that indicate a path for an autonomous platform to follow. A trajectory can be of a certain length or time range. The length or time range can be defined by the computational planning horizon of the planning system 250. A motion trajectory can be defined by one or more waypoints (with associated coordinates). The waypoint(s) can be future location(s) for the autonomous platform. The motion plans can be continuously generated, updated, and considered by the planning system 250.” (Para 0054)
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the moving robot of Jung with the autonomous platform of Foucard. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make these modifications, with a reasonable expectation of success, because “By simplifying the detection task in this manner, a perception system can achieve better detection outputs with limited sensor data.” (Foucard Para 0005)
Claim 2:
Nabbe in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 1 teach those respective limitations. Nabbe further teaches:
wherein the remote station system is further configured to transmit the one or more driving actions to the vehicle.
(Nabbe) – “Control system can generate a remote driving control initiation command which is communicated to vehicle 200 over link 341 and, when received at module 224, is executed by module 224 and causes the module 224 to establish the driving control mode of vehicle 200 as the remote driving control mode, which includes commanding the module 224 to selectively generate control element commands based on remote driving commands received from system 266 via link 241.” (Col 16 Ln 59-68)
Claim 3:
Nabbe in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 2 teach those respective limitations. Nabbe further teaches:
wherein: the vehicle comprises a control module configured to receive the one or more driving actions, and
(Nabbe) – “Control system can generate a remote driving control initiation command which is communicated to vehicle 200 over link 341 and, when received at module 224, is executed by module 224 and causes the module 224 to establish the driving control mode of vehicle 200 as the remote driving control mode, which includes commanding the module 224 to selectively generate control element commands based on remote driving commands received from system 266 via link 241.” (Col 16 Ln 59-68)
the processor is further configured to perform the remote station system control,
(Nabbe) – “Control system can generate a remote driving control initiation command which is communicated to vehicle 200 over link 341 and, when received at module 224, is executed by module 224 and causes the module 224 to establish the driving control mode of vehicle 200 as the remote driving control mode, which includes commanding the module 224 to selectively generate control element commands based on remote driving commands received from system 266 via link 241.” (Col 16 Ln 59-68)
wherein, in the performing the remote station system control, the processor is configured to:
receive, via the control module, the one or more driving actions; and cause the vehicle, via the one or more actuation controls, to perform the one or more driving actions.
(Nabbe) – “Control system can generate a remote driving control initiation command which is communicated to vehicle 200 over link 341 and, when received at module 224, is executed by module 224 and causes the module 224 to establish the driving control mode of vehicle 200 as the remote driving control mode, which includes commanding the module 224 to selectively generate control element commands based on remote driving commands received from system 266 via link 241.” (Col 16 Ln 59-68)
Claim 4:
Nabbe in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 2 teach those respective limitations. Nabbe further teaches:
wherein the remote station system comprises one or more remote actuation controls configured generate the one or more driving actions.
(Nabbe) – “In some embodiments, module 224 communicates sensor data generated by one or more sensors 216 to system 260 over network 250. System 260 includes a control interface 268 which can provide sensor data generated at one or more sensors 216, and communicated to system 260 via network 250, to one or more operators 270. In some embodiments, control interface 268 includes a display interface which provides one or more graphical representations of the vehicle 200 in an external environment, where the graphical representation is generated at system 260 based on the sensor data received from vehicle 200 over network 250. Interface 268 can include one or more sets of driving control interfaces via which an operator 270 can interact to generate one or more driving commands. System 266 can process the driving commands and, based on the processing, generate one or more sets of remote driving commands which are communicated to VNS 210 over network 250.” (Col 12 Ln 41-57)
Claim 5:
Nabbe in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 2 teach those respective limitations. Nabbe further teaches:
wherein: the one or more sensors comprise one or more cameras configured to generate one or more images of the environment of the vehicle, and
(Nabbe) – “In some embodiments, module 224 communicates sensor data generated by one or more sensors 216 to system 260 over network 250. System 260 includes a control interface 268 which can provide sensor data generated at one or more sensors 216, and communicated to system 260 via network 250, to one or more operators 270. In some embodiments, control interface 268 includes a display interface which provides one or more graphical representations of the vehicle 200 in an external environment, where the graphical representation is generated at system 260 based on the sensor data received from vehicle 200 over network 250. Interface 268 can include one or more sets of driving control interfaces via which an operator 270 can interact to generate one or more driving commands. System 266 can process the driving commands and, based on the processing, generate one or more sets of remote driving commands which are communicated to VNS 210 over network 250.” (Col 12 Ln 41-57)
“Vehicle 100 includes a set of one or more external sensor devices 113, also referred to as external sensors 113, which can monitor one or more aspects of an external environment relative to the vehicle 100. Such sensors can include camera devices, video recording devices, infrared sensor devices, radar devices, depth camera devices which can include one or more light-scanning devices including LIDAR devices, precipitation sensor devices, ambient wind sensor devices, ambient temperature sensor devices, position-monitoring devices which can include one or more global navigation satellite system devices (e.g., GPS, BeiDou, DORIS, Galileo, GLONASS, etc.), some combination thereof, or the like. One or more of external sensor devices 113 can generate sensor data associated with an environment as the vehicle 100 navigates through the environment. Sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices 113 can be communicated to VNS 110 as input data, where the input data can be used by the VNS 100, when operating in autonomous driving control mode, to generate driving control signals which, when executed by control elements 112, cause the vehicle 100 to be navigated along a particular driving route through the environment. In some embodiments, VNS 110 communicates at least some sensor data generated by one or more sensors 113 to one or more remote systems, services, etc. via one or more interfaces 116.” (Col 5 Ln 43-67)
the remote station system comprises one or more displays configured to display the one or more images of the environment of the vehicle.
(Nabbe) – “In some embodiments, module 224 communicates sensor data generated by one or more sensors 216 to system 260 over network 250. System 260 includes a control interface 268 which can provide sensor data generated at one or more sensors 216, and communicated to system 260 via network 250, to one or more operators 270. In some embodiments, control interface 268 includes a display interface which provides one or more graphical representations of the vehicle 200 in an external environment, where the graphical representation is generated at system 260 based on the sensor data received from vehicle 200 over network 250. Interface 268 can include one or more sets of driving control interfaces via which an operator 270 can interact to generate one or more driving commands. System 266 can process the driving commands and, based on the processing, generate one or more sets of remote driving commands which are communicated to VNS 210 over network 250.” (Col 12 Ln 41-57)
Claim 6:
Nabbe in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 2 teach those respective limitations. Nabbe further teaches:
wherein: the remote station system is configured to generate a remote trajectory command,
the remote trajectory command comprises trajectory instructions which comprise one or more trajectory plot points, and
(Nabbe) – “As shown in FIG. 4, vehicle can be navigated, via remote driving control, to one or more of a selection of driving destinations. The selection can be provided to an operator at system 490, via one or more interfaces, and a particular selected destination 480 can be determined, and a driving route along which vehicle 401 can be navigated to destination 480, based on operator-initiated selection of the particular destination 480 from the selection of driving destinations.” (Col 19 Ln 15-23)
“the VNS included in vehicle 401 can respond to the remote driving command by generating a set of control element signals which cause control elements of the vehicle to accelerate the vehicle along a set of pathways 470A-B which result in the vehicle 401 being navigated through roadway 420 and into lane 433 of roadway 430. Similarly, VNS can generate sets of control element signals which cause vehicle 401 to be navigated along various portions 470C-F of the driving route according to general remote driving commands received from system 490.” (Col 19 Ln 58-67)
the generating the one or more driving actions is based on the one or more trajectory plot points, and
(Nabbe) – “As shown in FIG. 4, vehicle can be navigated, via remote driving control, to one or more of a selection of driving destinations. The selection can be provided to an operator at system 490, via one or more interfaces, and a particular selected destination 480 can be determined, and a driving route along which vehicle 401 can be navigated to destination 480, based on operator-initiated selection of the particular destination 480 from the selection of driving destinations.” (Col 19 Ln 15-23)
“the VNS included in vehicle 401 can respond to the remote driving command by generating a set of control element signals which cause control elements of the vehicle to accelerate the vehicle along a set of pathways 470A-B which result in the vehicle 401 being navigated through roadway 420 and into lane 433 of roadway 430. Similarly, VNS can generate sets of control element signals which cause vehicle 401 to be navigated along various portions 470C-F of the driving route according to general remote driving commands received from system 490.” (Col 19 Ln 58-67)
the vehicle comprises a control module configured to receive the remote trajectory command.
(Nabbe) – “As shown in FIG. 4, vehicle can be navigated, via remote driving control, to one or more of a selection of driving destinations. The selection can be provided to an operator at system 490, via one or more interfaces, and a particular selected destination 480 can be determined, and a driving route along which vehicle 401 can be navigated to destination 480, based on operator-initiated selection of the particular destination 480 from the selection of driving destinations.” (Col 19 Ln 15-23)
“the VNS included in vehicle 401 can respond to the remote driving command by generating a set of control element signals which cause control elements of the vehicle to accelerate the vehicle along a set of pathways 470A-B which result in the vehicle 401 being navigated through roadway 420 and into lane 433 of roadway 430. Similarly, VNS can generate sets of control element signals which cause vehicle 401 to be navigated along various portions 470C-F of the driving route according to general remote driving commands received from system 490.” (Col 19 Ln 58-67)
Nabbe does not explicitly teach:
each trajectory plot point, of the one or more trajectory plot points, comprises position coordinates for the vehicle to be at a designated time
Foucard, in the same field of endeavor of vehicle navigation, teaches::
each trajectory plot point, of the one or more trajectory plot points, comprises position coordinates for the vehicle to be at a designated time
(Foucard) – “The autonomy system 200 can include the planning system 250, which can be configured to determine how the autonomous platform is to interact with and move within its environment. The planning system 250 can determine one or more motion plans for an autonomous platform. A motion plan can include one or more trajectories (e.g., motion trajectories) that indicate a path for an autonomous platform to follow. A trajectory can be of a certain length or time range. The length or time range can be defined by the computational planning horizon of the planning system 250. A motion trajectory can be defined by one or more waypoints (with associated coordinates). The waypoint(s) can be future location(s) for the autonomous platform. The motion plans can be continuously generated, updated, and considered by the planning system 250.” (Para 0054)
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the moving robot of Jung with the autonomous platform of Foucard. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make these modifications, with a reasonable expectation of success, because “By simplifying the detection task in this manner, a perception system can achieve better detection outputs with limited sensor data.” (Foucard Para 0005)
Claim 9:
Nabbe in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 1 teach those respective limitations. Nabbe further teaches:
further comprising a switch configured to switch command of the vehicle between automatic trajectory control and a remote station system control, wherein, when command of the vehicle is switched to automatic trajectory control,
(Nabbe) – “In some embodiments, module 124 selectively switches the VNS 110 between remote driving control mode and one or more other driving control modes based on a remote control switching command received at VNS 110 from a remote control system via one or more interfaces 116. A remote control switch command can include authorization information which identifies the remote control system and includes password information which is processed by module 125 to determine that remote control driving mode is authorized and confirmed at the remote control system.” (Col 8 Ln 12-21)
“Module 224, upon receiving the reset control signal, can disable remote driving control mode of the vehicle 200, which can include switching the driving control mode of the vehicle to autonomous driving control and engaging in autonomously navigating the vehicle along a selected driving route to a selected location, including a proximate parking space.” (Col 17 Ln 55-61)
the automatic trajectory control system is further configured to: generate, based on the one or more automatic trajectory plot points, one or more driving actions,
(Nabbe) – “FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a vehicle 100 which comprises a vehicle navigation system (VNS) which is configured to control various control elements of the vehicle to navigate the vehicle through an environment, according to some embodiments. The VNS can control various control elements based on driving control commands generated at one or more user interfaces, navigation control modules, remote control systems, etc. The VNS, in some embodiments, includes an autonomous navigation system (ANS) which is configured to autonomously generate autonomous driving control commands which control various control elements of the vehicle to autonomously navigate the vehicle along one or more driving routes.” (Col 4 Ln 12-24)
wherein the one or more driving actions correlate to one or more actuator commands configured to cause the vehicle to be positioned in accordance with the one or more automatic trajectory plot points; and
(Nabbe) – “FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a vehicle 100 which comprises a vehicle navigation system (VNS) which is configured to control various control elements of the vehicle to navigate the vehicle through an environment, according to some embodiments. The VNS can control various control elements based on driving control commands generated at one or more user interfaces, navigation control modules, remote control systems, etc. The VNS, in some embodiments, includes an autonomous navigation system (ANS) which is configured to autonomously generate autonomous driving control commands which control various control elements of the vehicle to autonomously navigate the vehicle along one or more driving routes.” (Col 4 Ln 12-24)
cause the vehicle, via the one or more actuation controls, to perform the one or more driving actions in accordance with the automatic trajectory command.
(Nabbe) – “FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a vehicle 100 which comprises a vehicle navigation system (VNS) which is configured to control various control elements of the vehicle to navigate the vehicle through an environment, according to some embodiments. The VNS can control various control elements based on driving control commands generated at one or more user interfaces, navigation control modules, remote control systems, etc. The VNS, in some embodiments, includes an autonomous navigation system (ANS) which is configured to autonomously generate autonomous driving control commands which control various control elements of the vehicle to autonomously navigate the vehicle along one or more driving routes.” (Col 4 Ln 12-24)
Claim 10:
Nabbe in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 9 teach those respective limitations. Nabbe further teaches:
wherein the processor is further configured to cause the switch to switch control of the vehicle between the automatic trajectory control and the remote station system control.
(Nabbe) – “In some embodiments, module 124 selectively switches the VNS 110 between remote driving control mode and one or more other driving control modes based on a remote control switching command received at VNS 110 from a remote control system via one or more interfaces 116. A remote control switch command can include authorization information which identifies the remote control system and includes password information which is processed by module 125 to determine that remote control driving mode is authorized and confirmed at the remote control system.” (Col 8 Ln 12-21)
“Module 224, upon receiving the reset control signal, can disable remote driving control mode of the vehicle 200, which can include switching the driving control mode of the vehicle to autonomous driving control and engaging in autonomously navigating the vehicle along a selected driving route to a selected location, including a proximate parking space.” (Col 17 Ln 55-61)
“Various embodiments of a vehicle navigation system (VNS), a remotely-controlled vehicle navigation system, a remote navigation control system, etc. as described herein, may be executed in one or more computer systems 900, which may interact with various other devices. Note that any component, action, or functionality described above with respect to FIG. 1 through 8 may be implemented on one or more computers configured as computer system 900 of FIG. 9, according to various embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, computer system 900 includes one or more processors 910 coupled to a system memory 920 via an input/output (I/O) interface 930.” (Col 28 Ln 6-18)
Claim 11:
Nabbe in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 1 teach those respective limitations. Nabbe further teaches:
wherein: the one or more sensors comprise: a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor; and a camera, and the one or more data points comprise: [a LiDAR point cloud generated by the LiDAR sensor]; and an image captured by the camera.
(Nabbe) – “Vehicle 100 includes a set of one or more external sensor devices 113, also referred to as external sensors 113, which can monitor one or more aspects of an external environment relative to the vehicle 100. Such sensors can include camera devices, video recording devices, infrared sensor devices, radar devices, depth camera devices which can include one or more light-scanning devices including LIDAR devices, precipitation sensor devices, ambient wind sensor devices, ambient temperature sensor devices, position-monitoring devices which can include one or more global navigation satellite system devices (e.g., GPS, BeiDou, DORIS, Galileo, GLONASS, etc.), some combination thereof, or the like. One or more of external sensor devices 113 can generate sensor data associated with an environment as the vehicle 100 navigates through the environment. Sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices 113 can be communicated to VNS 110 as input data, where the input data can be used by the VNS 100, when operating in autonomous driving control mode, to generate driving control signals which, when executed by control elements 112, cause the vehicle 100 to be navigated along a particular driving route through the environment. In some embodiments, VNS 110 communicates at least some sensor data generated by one or more sensors 113 to one or more remote systems, services, etc. via one or more interfaces 116.” (Col 5 Ln 43-67)
Examiner Note: Bracketed text not explicitly taught by primary reference, but is taught by non-primary reference later in the rejection.
Nabbe does not explicitly teach:
a LiDAR point cloud generated by the LiDAR sensor
Foucard, in the same field of endeavor of vehicle navigation, teaches::
a LiDAR point cloud generated by the LiDAR sensor
(Foucard) – “The sensor(s) 202 can be located onboard the autonomous platform. In some implementations, the sensor(s) 202 can include one or more types of sensor(s). For instance, one or more sensors can include image capturing device(s) (e.g., visible spectrum cameras, infrared cameras, etc.). Additionally, or alternatively, the sensor(s) 202 can include one or more depth capturing device(s). For example, the sensor(s) 202 can include one or more Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor(s) or Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR) sensor(s). The sensor(s) 202 can be configured to generate point data descriptive of at least a portion of a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of the surrounding environment. The point data can be point cloud data (e.g., three-dimensional LIDAR point cloud data, RADAR point cloud data).” (Para 0044)
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the moving robot of Jung with the autonomous platform of Foucard. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make these modifications, with a reasonable expectation of success, because “By simplifying the detection task in this manner, a perception system can achieve better detection outputs with limited sensor data.” (Foucard Para 0005)
Claim 12:
Nabbe in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 1 teach those respective limitations. Nabbe further teaches:
wherein the one or more actuation controls comprise one or more of: a brake pedal; an acceleration pedal; a gear shift control; and a steering wheel.
(Nabbe) – “Vehicle 100 will be understood to encompass one or more vehicles of one or more various configurations which can accommodate one or more occupants, including, without limitation, one or more automobiles, trucks, vans, etc. Vehicle 100 can include one or more interior cabins (“vehicle interiors”) configured to accommodate one or more human occupants (e.g., passengers, drivers, etc.), which are collectively referred to herein as vehicle “occupants”. A vehicle interior can include one or more user interfaces 115, including one or more manual driving control interfaces (e.g., steering device, throttle control device, brake control device), display interfaces, multimedia interfaces, climate control interfaces, some combination thereof, or the like.” (Col 4 Ln 25-37)
Claim 13:
Nabbe explicitly teaches:
A method for controlling a vehicle, comprising:
(Nabbe) – “FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a vehicle 100 which comprises a vehicle navigation system (VNS) which is configured to control various control elements of the vehicle to navigate the vehicle through an environment, according to some embodiments. The VNS can control various control elements based on driving control commands generated at one or more user interfaces, navigation control modules, remote control systems, etc. The VNS, in some embodiments, includes an autonomous navigation system (ANS) which is configured to autonomously generate autonomous driving control commands which control various control elements of the vehicle to autonomously navigate the vehicle along one or more driving routes.” (Col 4 Ln 12-24)
generating one or more data points from one or more sensors coupled to a vehicle, wherein the one or more data points pertain to one or more of: an environment of the vehicle; and one or more system component measurements of the vehicle;
(Nabbe) – “Vehicle 100 includes a set of one or more external sensor devices 113, also referred to as external sensors 113, which can monitor one or more aspects of an external environment relative to the vehicle 100. Such sensors can include camera devices, video recording devices, infrared sensor devices, radar devices, depth camera devices which can include one or more light-scanning devices including LIDAR devices, precipitation sensor devices, ambient wind sensor devices, ambient temperature sensor devices, position-monitoring devices which can include one or more global navigation satellite system devices (e.g., GPS, BeiDou, DORIS, Galileo, GLONASS, etc.), some combination thereof, or the like. One or more of external sensor devices 113 can generate sensor data associated with an environment as the vehicle 100 navigates through the environment. Sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices 113 can be communicated to VNS 110 as input data, where the input data can be used by the VNS 100, when operating in autonomous driving control mode, to generate driving control signals which, when executed by control elements 112, cause the vehicle 100 to be navigated along a particular driving route through the environment. In some embodiments, VNS 110 communicates at least some sensor data generated by one or more sensors 113 to one or more remote systems, services, etc. via one or more interfaces 116.” (Col 5 Ln 43-67)
“Vehicle 100 includes a set of one or more internal sensors 114, also referred to as sensor devices 114, which can monitor one or more aspects of the vehicle 100 interior. Such sensors can include camera devices, including one or more visible light cameras, infrared cameras, near-infrared cameras, depth cameras which can include one or more light-scanning devices including LIDAR devices, some combination thereof, etc. configured to collect image data of one or more occupants in the vehicle interior, control element sensors which monitor operating states of various driving control interfaces 115 of the vehicle, chemical sensors which monitor the atmosphere of the vehicle interior for the presence of one or more chemical substances, some combination thereof, etc. One or more of internal sensor devices 114 can generate sensor data. Sensor data generated by one or more internal sensor devices 114 can be communicated to VNS 110” (Col 6 Ln 1-17)
performing, using a processor, an automatic trajectory control,
(Nabbe) – “FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a vehicle 100 which comprises a vehicle navigation system (VNS) which is configured to control various control elements of the vehicle to navigate the vehicle through an environment, according to some embodiments. The VNS can control various control elements based on driving control commands generated at one or more user interfaces, navigation control modules, remote control systems, etc. The VNS, in some embodiments, includes an autonomous navigation system (ANS) which is configured to autonomously generate autonomous driving control commands which control various control elements of the vehicle to autonomously navigate the vehicle along one or more driving routes.” (Col 4 Ln 12-24)
“Various embodiments of a vehicle navigation system (VNS), a remotely-controlled vehicle navigation system, a remote navigation control system, etc. as described herein, may be executed in one or more computer systems 900, which may interact with various other devices. Note that any component, action, or functionality described above with respect to FIG. 1 through 8 may be implemented on one or more computers configured as computer system 900 of FIG. 9, according to various embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, computer system 900 includes one or more processors 910 coupled to a system memory 920 via an input/output (I/O) interface 930.” (Col 28 Ln 6-18)
wherein the performing the automatic trajectory control comprises: receiving the one or more data points generated by the one or more sensors;
(Nabbe) – “Vehicle 100 includes a set of one or more external sensor devices 113, also referred to as external sensors 113, which can monitor one or more aspects of an external environment relative to the vehicle 100. Such sensors can include camera devices, video recording devices, infrared sensor devices, radar devices, depth camera devices which can include one or more light-scanning devices including LIDAR devices, precipitation sensor devices, ambient wind sensor devices, ambient temperature sensor devices, position-monitoring devices which can include one or more global navigation satellite system devices (e.g., GPS, BeiDou, DORIS, Galileo, GLONASS, etc.), some combination thereof, or the like. One or more of external sensor devices 113 can generate sensor data associated with an environment as the vehicle 100 navigates through the environment. Sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices 113 can be communicated to VNS 110 as input data, where the input data can be used by the VNS 100, when operating in autonomous driving control mode, to generate driving control signals which, when executed by control elements 112, cause the vehicle 100 to be navigated along a particular driving route through the environment. In some embodiments, VNS 110 communicates at least some sensor data generated by one or more sensors 113 to one or more remote systems, services, etc. via one or more interfaces 116.” (Col 5 Ln 43-67)
analyzing the one or more data points to detect one or more obstacles within an environment of the vehicle;
(Nabbe) – “Vehicle 100 includes a set of one or more external sensor devices 113, also referred to as external sensors 113, which can monitor one or more aspects of an external environment relative to the vehicle 100. Such sensors can include camera devices, video recording devices, infrared sensor devices, radar devices, depth camera devices which can include one or more light-scanning devices including LIDAR devices, precipitation sensor devices, ambient wind sensor devices, ambient temperature sensor devices, position-monitoring devices which can include one or more global navigation satellite system devices (e.g., GPS, BeiDou, DORIS, Galileo, GLONASS, etc.), some combination thereof, or the like. One or more of external sensor devices 113 can generate sensor data associated with an environment as the vehicle 100 navigates through the environment. Sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices 113 can be communicated to VNS 110 as input data, where the input data can be used by the VNS 100, when operating in autonomous driving control mode, to generate driving control signals which, when executed by control elements 112, cause the vehicle 100 to be navigated along a particular driving route through the environment. In some embodiments, VNS 110 communicates at least some sensor data generated by one or more sensors 113 to one or more remote systems, services, etc. via one or more interfaces 116.” (Col 5 Ln 43-67)
“For example, where the vehicle is being remotely navigated along a roadway, and the VNS determines that the present driving route of the vehicle is approaching within a threshold proximity to a static object in the roadway, the VNS can cause the vehicle to be navigated along a driving route which avoids intersection with the static element” (Col 25 Ln 3-9)
automatically generating an automatic trajectory command based on the analysis of the one or more data points generated from the one or more sensors, wherein:
(Nabbe) – “Vehicle 100 includes a set of one or more external sensor devices 113, also referred to as external sensors 113, which can monitor one or more aspects of an external environment relative to the vehicle 100. Such sensors can include camera devices, video recording devices, infrared sensor devices, radar devices, depth camera devices which can include one or more light-scanning devices including LIDAR devices, precipitation sensor devices, ambient wind sensor devices, ambient temperature sensor devices, position-monitoring devices which can include one or more global navigation satellite system devices (e.g., GPS, BeiDou, DORIS, Galileo, GLONASS, etc.), some combination thereof, or the like. One or more of external sensor devices 113 can generate sensor data associated with an environment as the vehicle 100 navigates through the environment. Sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices 113 can be communicated to VNS 110 as input data, where the input data can be used by the VNS 100, when operating in autonomous driving control mode, to generate driving control signals which, when executed by control elements 112, cause the vehicle 100 to be navigated along a particular driving route through the environment. In some embodiments, VNS 110 communicates at least some sensor data generated by one or more sensors 113 to one or more remote systems, services, etc. via one or more interfaces 116.” (Col 5 Ln 43-67)
“For example, where the vehicle is being remotely navigated along a roadway, and the VNS determines that the present driving route of the vehicle is approaching within a threshold proximity to a static object in the roadway, the VNS can cause the vehicle to be navigated along a driving route which avoids intersection with the static element” (Col 25 Ln 3-9)
the automatic trajectory command comprises automatic trajectory instructions which comprise one or more automatic trajectory plot points, and [each automatic trajectory plot point, of the one or more automatic trajectory plot points, comprises position coordinates for the vehicle to be at a specific time]; and
(Nabbe) – “FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a vehicle 100 which comprises a vehicle navigation system (VNS) which is configured to control various control elements of the vehicle to navigate the vehicle through an environment, according to some embodiments. The VNS can control various control elements based on driving control commands generated at one or more user interfaces, navigation control modules, remote control systems, etc. The VNS, in some embodiments, includes an autonomous navigation system (ANS) which is configured to autonomously generate autonomous driving control commands which control various control elements of the vehicle to autonomously navigate the vehicle along one or more driving routes.” (Col 4 Ln 12-24)
Examiner Note: Bracketed text not explicitly taught by primary reference, but is taught by non-primary reference later in the rejection.
transmitting the automatic trajectory command to a remote station system; and
(Nabbe) – “Module 224 can, in response to receiving a remote driving control initiation command, generate sensor data signals which include sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices included in the environment and are communicated to system 260 via link 341. The control interface 268 included in system 260 can process the sensor data included in the sensor data signals and can generate a representation of the vehicle 200, the surrounding environment in which the vehicle is located, and one or more various parameters associated with the vehicle (e.g., velocity, acceleration, proximity to various elements in the environment, etc. which is provided to an operator via one or more interfaces. Control system 266 can generate remote driving commands based on operator interaction with one or more portions of the interface 268.” (Col 17 Ln 14-28)
using the remote station system: displaying the automatic trajectory command;
(Nabbe) – “Module 224 can, in response to receiving a remote driving control initiation command, generate sensor data signals which include sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices included in the environment and are communicated to system 260 via link 341. The control interface 268 included in system 260 can process the sensor data included in the sensor data signals and can generate a representation of the vehicle 200, the surrounding environment in which the vehicle is located, and one or more various parameters associated with the vehicle (e.g., velocity, acceleration, proximity to various elements in the environment, etc. which is provided to an operator via one or more interfaces. Control system 266 can generate remote driving commands based on operator interaction with one or more portions of the interface 268.” (Col 17 Ln 14-28)
“In some embodiments, module 224 communicates sensor data generated by one or more sensors 216 to system 260 over network 250. System 260 includes a control interface 268 which can provide sensor data generated at one or more sensors 216, and communicated to system 260 via network 250, to one or more operators 270. In some embodiments, control interface 268 includes a display interface which provides one or more graphical representations of the vehicle 200 in an external environment, where the graphical representation is generated at system 260 based on the sensor data received from vehicle 200 over network 250. Interface 268 can include one or more sets of driving control interfaces via which an operator 270 can interact to generate one or more driving commands. System 266 can process the driving commands and, based on the processing, generate one or more sets of remote driving commands which are communicated to VNS 210 over network 250.” (Col 12 Ln 41-57)
receiving the one or more data points generated by the one or more sensors; and generating one or more driving actions,
(Nabbe) – “Module 224 can, in response to receiving a remote driving control initiation command, generate sensor data signals which include sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices included in the environment and are communicated to system 260 via link 341. The control interface 268 included in system 260 can process the sensor data included in the sensor data signals and can generate a representation of the vehicle 200, the surrounding environment in which the vehicle is located, and one or more various parameters associated with the vehicle (e.g., velocity, acceleration, proximity to various elements in the environment, etc. which is provided to an operator via one or more interfaces. Control system 266 can generate remote driving commands based on operator interaction with one or more portions of the interface 268.” (Col 17 Ln 14-28)
wherein the one or more driving actions correlate to one or more actuator commands configured to cause the vehicle to perform the one or more driving actions.
(Nabbe) – “Module 224 can, in response to receiving a remote driving control initiation command, generate sensor data signals which include sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices included in the environment and are communicated to system 260 via link 341. The control interface 268 included in system 260 can process the sensor data included in the sensor data signals and can generate a representation of the vehicle 200, the surrounding environment in which the vehicle is located, and one or more various parameters associated with the vehicle (e.g., velocity, acceleration, proximity to various elements in the environment, etc. which is provided to an operator via one or more interfaces. Control system 266 can generate remote driving commands based on operator interaction with one or more portions of the interface 268.” (Col 17 Ln 14-28)
“The remote control system is configured to generate a set of remote driving commands which, when executed at a vehicle navigation system of the vehicle, cause the vehicle to be navigated through an environment, based at least in part upon a determination that remote driving control of the vehicle is authorized by one or more of the vehicle or an authorized end user supported by a separate user device.” (Col 2 Ln 2-9)
Nabbe does not explicitly teach:
each automatic trajectory plot point, of the one or more automatic trajectory plot points, comprises position coordinates for the vehicle to be at a specific time
Foucard, in the same field of endeavor of vehicle navigation, teaches:
each automatic trajectory plot point, of the one or more automatic trajectory plot points, comprises position coordinates for the vehicle to be at a specific time
(Foucard) – “The autonomy system 200 can include the planning system 250, which can be configured to determine how the autonomous platform is to interact with and move within its environment. The planning system 250 can determine one or more motion plans for an autonomous platform. A motion plan can include one or more trajectories (e.g., motion trajectories) that indicate a path for an autonomous platform to follow. A trajectory can be of a certain length or time range. The length or time range can be defined by the computational planning horizon of the planning system 250. A motion trajectory can be defined by one or more waypoints (with associated coordinates). The waypoint(s) can be future location(s) for the autonomous platform. The motion plans can be continuously generated, updated, and considered by the planning system 250.” (Para 0054)
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the moving robot of Jung with the autonomous platform of Foucard. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make these modifications, with a reasonable expectation of success, because “By simplifying the detection task in this manner, a perception system can achieve better detection outputs with limited sensor data.” (Foucard Para 0005)
Claim 14:
Rejected using the same rationale as Claim 2
Claim 15:
Nabbe in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 13 teach those respective limitations. Nabbe further teaches:
wherein the vehicle comprises a control module configured to receive the remote trajectory command.
(Nabbe) – “Control system can generate a remote driving control initiation command which is communicated to vehicle 200 over link 341 and, when received at module 224, is executed by module 224 and causes the module 224 to establish the driving control mode of vehicle 200 as the remote driving control mode, which includes commanding the module 224 to selectively generate control element commands based on remote driving commands received from system 266 via link 241.” (Col 16 Ln 59-68)
Claim 16:
Nabbe in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 15 teach those respective limitations. Nabbe further teaches:
wherein: the performing the remote station system control comprises: receiving, via the control module, the one or more driving actions; and causing the vehicle, via one or more actuation controls, to perform the one or more driving actions.
(Nabbe) – “Control system can generate a remote driving control initiation command which is communicated to vehicle 200 over link 341 and, when received at module 224, is executed by module 224 and causes the module 224 to establish the driving control mode of vehicle 200 as the remote driving control mode, which includes commanding the module 224 to selectively generate control element commands based on remote driving commands received from system 266 via link 241.” (Col 16 Ln 59-68)
Claim 17:
Nabbe in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 13 teach those respective limitations. Nabbe further teaches:
wherein: the one or more sensors comprise one or more cameras configured to generate one or more images of the environment of the vehicle,
(Nabbe) – “In some embodiments, module 224 communicates sensor data generated by one or more sensors 216 to system 260 over network 250. System 260 includes a control interface 268 which can provide sensor data generated at one or more sensors 216, and communicated to system 260 via network 250, to one or more operators 270. In some embodiments, control interface 268 includes a display interface which provides one or more graphical representations of the vehicle 200 in an external environment, where the graphical representation is generated at system 260 based on the sensor data received from vehicle 200 over network 250. Interface 268 can include one or more sets of driving control interfaces via which an operator 270 can interact to generate one or more driving commands. System 266 can process the driving commands and, based on the processing, generate one or more sets of remote driving commands which are communicated to VNS 210 over network 250.” (Col 12 Ln 41-57)
“Vehicle 100 includes a set of one or more external sensor devices 113, also referred to as external sensors 113, which can monitor one or more aspects of an external environment relative to the vehicle 100. Such sensors can include camera devices, video recording devices, infrared sensor devices, radar devices, depth camera devices which can include one or more light-scanning devices including LIDAR devices, precipitation sensor devices, ambient wind sensor devices, ambient temperature sensor devices, position-monitoring devices which can include one or more global navigation satellite system devices (e.g., GPS, BeiDou, DORIS, Galileo, GLONASS, etc.), some combination thereof, or the like. One or more of external sensor devices 113 can generate sensor data associated with an environment as the vehicle 100 navigates through the environment. Sensor data generated by one or more sensor devices 113 can be communicated to VNS 110 as input data, where the input data can be used by the VNS 100, when operating in autonomous driving control mode, to generate driving control signals which, when executed by control elements 112, cause the vehicle 100 to be navigated along a particular driving route through the environment. In some embodiments, VNS 110 communicates at least some sensor data generated by one or more sensors 113 to one or more remote systems, services, etc. via one or more interfaces 116.” (Col 5 Ln 43-67)
the remote station system comprises one or more displays configured to display the one or more images of the environment of the vehicle, and
(Nabbe) – “In some embodiments, module 224 communicates sensor data generated by one or more sensors 216 to system 260 over network 250. System 260 includes a control interface 268 which can provide sensor data generated at one or more sensors 216, and communicated to system 260 via network 250, to one or more operators 270. In some embodiments, control interface 268 includes a display interface which provides one or more graphical representations of the vehicle 200 in an external environment, where the graphical representation is generated at system 260 based on the sensor data received from vehicle 200 over network 250. Interface 268 can include one or more sets of driving control interfaces via which an operator 270 can interact to generate one or more driving commands. System 266 can process the driving commands and, based on the processing, generate one or more sets of remote driving commands which are communicated to VNS 210 over network 250.” (Col 12 Ln 41-57)
the performing the remote station system control comprises displaying the one or more images of the environment of the vehicle, using the one or more displays.
(Nabbe) – “In some embodiments, module 224 communicates sensor data generated by one or more sensors 216 to system 260 over network 250. System 260 includes a control interface 268 which can provide sensor data generated at one or more sensors 216, and communicated to system 260 via network 250, to one or more operators 270. In some embodiments, control interface 268 includes a display interface which provides one or more graphical representations of the vehicle 200 in an external environment, where the graphical representation is generated at system 260 based on the sensor data received from vehicle 200 over network 250. Interface 268 can include one or more sets of driving control interfaces via which an operator 270 can interact to generate one or more driving commands. System 266 can process the driving commands and, based on the processing, generate one or more sets of remote driving commands which are communicated to VNS 210 over network 250.” (Col 12 Ln 41-57)
Claim 18:
Nabbe in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 13 teach those respective limitations. Nabbe further teaches:
further comprising switching, using a switch, command of the vehicle between automatic trajectory control and remote station system control.
(Nabbe) – “In some embodiments, module 124 selectively switches the VNS 110 between remote driving control mode and one or more other driving control modes based on a remote control switching command received at VNS 110 from a remote control system via one or more interfaces 116. A remote control switch command can include authorization information which identifies the remote control system and includes password information which is processed by module 125 to determine that remote control driving mode is authorized and confirmed at the remote control system.” (Col 8 Ln 12-21)
“Module 224, upon receiving the reset control signal, can disable remote driving control mode of the vehicle 200, which can include switching the driving control mode of the vehicle to autonomous driving control and engaging in autonomously navigating the vehicle along a selected driving route to a selected location, including a proximate parking space.” (Col 17 Ln 55-61)
“Various embodiments of a vehicle navigation system (VNS), a remotely-controlled vehicle navigation system, a remote navigation control system, etc. as described herein, may be executed in one or more computer systems 900, which may interact with various other devices. Note that any component, action, or functionality described above with respect to FIG. 1 through 8 may be implemented on one or more computers configured as computer system 900 of FIG. 9, according to various embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, computer system 900 includes one or more processors 910 coupled to a system memory 920 via an input/output (I/O) interface 930.” (Col 28 Ln 6-18)
Claim 19:
Nabbe in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 13 teach those respective limitations. Nabbe further teaches:
wherein the one or more obstacles comprises one or more pavement markings.
(Nabbe) – “In some embodiments, the VNS included in vehicle 401 can navigate vehicle 401 along one or more various portions of a driving route based on remote driving commands which specify general navigation actions. For example, in the illustrated embodiments, the VNS included in vehicle 401, when stopped at location 412, can receive a remote driving command which generally specifies that the vehicle is to be navigated out of location 410 and into lane 433 of roadway 430, and the VNS included in vehicle 401 can respond to the remote driving command by generating a set of control element signals which cause control elements of the vehicle to accelerate the vehicle along a set of pathways 470A-B which result in the vehicle 401 being navigated through roadway 420 and into lane 433 of roadway 430. Similarly, VNS can generate sets of control element signals which cause vehicle 401 to be navigated along various portions 470C-F of the driving route according to general remote driving commands received from system 490.” (Col 19 Ln 50-67)
Examiner Note: Lanes are defined by pavement markings.
Claim 20:
Rejected based on the same rationale as Claim 12
Claim(s) 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nabbe (US10328897) in view of Foucard (US20250029277) further in view of Tam (US20250002049).
Claim 7:
Nabbe in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 6 teach those respective limitations. Nabbe does not fully, explicitly teach the following limitations. Tam, in the same field of endeavor of vehicle navigation teaches:
wherein the one or more trajectory plot points comprise trajectory plot points generated in 0.1 second intervals.
(Tam) – “The dynamic object constraint module 432 can determine (e.g., predict) the locations of the vehicle 702 at different discrete points in time. For example, at time t (e.g., in one second), the vehicle 702 is predicted to be at a location 706; at time t+1 (e.g., in two seconds), the vehicle 702 is predicted to be at a location 708; and at time t+2 (e.g., in three seconds), the vehicle 702 is predicted to be at a location 710. While locations at 3 seconds into the future (i.e., a time window of 3 seconds) are shown with respect to the scenario 700 (and the later scenario 800 described below), more or fewer locations can be determined, predicted, calculated, etc. Other time windows are possible, and the frequency of predicted locations within a window can also vary. In an example, the time window is six seconds, and a location can be determined at every half second.” (Para 0144)
Examiner Note: Tam teaches that the time window and frequency can be set as desired.
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the moving robot of Jung with the vehicle location prediction of Tam. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make these modifications, with a reasonable expectation of success, to accomplish “proactive risk mitigation” (Tam Para 0004)
Claim 8:
Nabbe in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 7 teach those respective limitations. Nabbe does not fully, explicitly teach the following limitations. Tam, in the same field of endeavor of vehicle navigation teaches:
wherein the trajectory instructions comprise trajectory plot points generated over a 15 second period of time.
(Tam) – “The dynamic object constraint module 432 can determine (e.g., predict) the locations of the vehicle 702 at different discrete points in time. For example, at time t (e.g., in one second), the vehicle 702 is predicted to be at a location 706; at time t+1 (e.g., in two seconds), the vehicle 702 is predicted to be at a location 708; and at time t+2 (e.g., in three seconds), the vehicle 702 is predicted to be at a location 710. While locations at 3 seconds into the future (i.e., a time window of 3 seconds) are shown with respect to the scenario 700 (and the later scenario 800 described below), more or fewer locations can be determined, predicted, calculated, etc. Other time windows are possible, and the frequency of predicted locations within a window can also vary. In an example, the time window is six seconds, and a location can be determined at every half second.” (Para 0144)
Examiner Note: Tam teaches that the time window and frequency can be set as desired.
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the moving robot of Jung with the vehicle location prediction of Tam. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make these modifications, with a reasonable expectation of success, to accomplish “proactive risk mitigation” (Tam Para 0004)
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections mailed 11/26/2025 have been fully considered but are not convincing.
Specifically, Applicant asserts:
“In the present Office Action, the Examiner acknowledges that Nabbe does not explicitly teach "each automatic trajectory plot point, of the one or more automatic trajectory plot points, comprises position coordinates for the vehicle to be at a designated specific time." (Office Action, p. 13.) The Examiner relies on Foucard, paragraph [0054], to cure this deficiency.
In the Response to Arguments section, the Examiner responded to Applicant's arguments by stating that Applicant "merely asserts a difference without any explanation of why this should be so." (Office Action, p. 47.) Applicant respectfully disagrees with the Examiner's assessment and provides the following detailed explanation of why Foucard's teachings are meaningfully different from the recited claim limitations.
Foucard, at paragraph [0054], describes a planning system that determines "one or more motion plans for an autonomous platform." A motion plan "can include one or more trajectories (e.g., motion trajectories) that indicate a path for an autonomous platform to follow." Foucard then states: "[a] trajectory can be of a certain length or time range. The length or time range can be defined by the computational planning horizon of the planning system 250." Foucard further states: "[a] motion trajectory can be defined by one or more waypoints (with associated coordinates). The waypoint(s) can be future location(s) for the autonomous platform."
Contrary to the present claims, Foucard describes (i) a trajectory having a "length or time range," and (ii) waypoints with "associated coordinates." These are two separate attributes. The "time range" is a property of the trajectory as a whole, defining the duration or span of the trajectory as determined by the computational planning horizon. The "associated coordinates" of the waypoints are spatial coordinates defining future locations for the platform. Foucard does not teach or suggest that each individual waypoint has its own specific time at which the vehicle is to be positioned at that waypoint's coordinates. There is no teaching in Foucard of a one-to- one pairing between a specific time and specific position coordinates at each individual waypoint.
In other words, Foucard teaches waypoints that define where the platform should go (spatial coordinates) and a time range that defines how long the trajectory spans in total. This is not the same as, and does not teach or suggest, trajectory plot points where each individual plot point specifies both position coordinates and a specific time at which the vehicle is to be at those position coordinates.
By contrast, as recited in amended claim 1 (and as supported by the specification), each automatic trajectory plot point comprises position coordinates for the vehicle to be at a specific time, where each individual plot point is a paired set of data (specific position coordinates and a specific time) such that the vehicle is to be at the specified position coordinates at the specified time. As described in paragraph [0079] of the present specification, the "control module 270 may be configured to calculate the values of these signals based upon the physical coordinates and the times generated in the planning module 250."
Furthermore, as described in paragraph [0078], "the trajectory may be projected for the next 15 seconds, so that the trajectory sent to the control module 270 may receive coordinates for where the trajectory planner 256 wants the truck to be for the next 15 seconds." These passages make clear that there are trajectory plot points provided in which specific position coordinates are paired with specific times, which is a feature absent from Foucard.
This temporal specificity at the individual plot point level is not merely a semantic distinction. It is a functional and structural difference that enables precise, time-synchronized vehicle control. By specifying both where the vehicle should be and when it should be there at each plot point, the claimed system enables precise temporal coordination between the autonomous trajectory generation and the remote station system, which is central to the claimed invention's ability to integrate autonomous and remote vehicle control.
For at least these reasons, Foucard does not teach or suggest the claim limitation requiring "each automatic trajectory plot point, of the one or more automatic trajectory plot points, comprises position coordinates for the vehicle to be at a specific time."
However, these arguments are not convincing. Specifically, the description of the invention provided by the applicant does not accurately reflect the claims. This argument relies upon the concept of many trajectory plot points with many specific locations corresponding to many specific times. This is explicitly not what is claimed. The claim merely requires “one or more automatic trajectory plot points.” As such, even a basic trajectory with a defined end and time would correspond with this limitation. Foucard goes beyond this minimum requirement in teaching “A motion plan can include one or more trajectories (e.g., motion trajectories) that indicate a path for an autonomous platform to follow. A trajectory can be of a certain length or time range. The length or time range can be defined by the computational planning horizon of the planning system 250. A motion trajectory can be defined by one or more waypoints (with associated coordinates). The waypoint(s) can be future location(s) for the autonomous platform.” (Para 0054). The recitation of a motion plan comprising trajectories over a specific time range alone would correspond with the BRI of this limitation. The recitation of waypoints at future locations further improves upon this teaching. The assertion that a trajectory having a "length or time range," and (ii) waypoints with "associated coordinates" being “separate attributes” is false as Foucard Para 0054 explicitly teaches direct connection between trajectories and waypoints in the way required by the claims. The Applicant’s recitation of examples from the instant specification does not negate the broad recitation of the limitation in the claims.
Applicant further asserts:
“In addition to the foregoing, the rejection does not adequately address the claim requirement that the automatic trajectory command, which is an autonomously generated command comprising trajectory plot points with position coordinates for specific times, is transmitted to and displayed at the remote station system.
Nabbe teaches a remote control system in which sensor data generated by vehicle sensors is communicated to the remote system for display to an operator, and the operator generates remote driving commands based on interaction with a control interface. (See Nabbe, Col. 17, Ln. 14-28). In Nabbe, the flow of trajectory-type information is from the remote operator to the vehicle, where the operator generates driving commands that are sent to the vehicle. Nabbe does not teach the reverse (where the vehicle's autonomous system generates an automatic trajectory command comprising plot points with position coordinates for specific times, and then transmits that automatically generated trajectory command to the remote station system for display).
Foucard is directed to map-anchored object detection and does not address remote station systems, the display of trajectory commands at remote stations, or remote vehicle operation at all.
As amended, claim 1 recites that the remote station system is configured to "display the automatic trajectory command." This recitation, in combination with the requirement that the automatic trajectory control system "transmit the automatic trajectory command to a remote station system," defines a system architecture in which an autonomously generated trajectory command, with trajectory plot points each comprising position coordinates for a specific time, is communicated from the vehicle's autonomous system to a remote station and displayed there. This architecture is fundamentally different from Nabbe's system, in which sensor data flows to the remote station and driving commands flow back. Neither Nabbe nor Foucard, taken singly or in combination, teaches or suggests this aspect of the claimed system.”
However, these arguments are not convincing. Specifically, the paraphrasing used in this argument takes the teachings of Nabbe out of context and reads improper limitations into the claim. The statement that “defines a system architecture in which an autonomously generated trajectory command, with trajectory plot points each comprising position coordinates for a specific time, is communicated from the vehicle's autonomous system to a remote station and displayed there” adds unclaimed limitations in equating the “automatic trajectory control system” with a “vehicle's autonomous system,” thereby implying that the autonomous system is located on the vehicle. At no point is this relationship recited in the claims. Therefore the allegation of the specific architecture with clearly defined “flows” is not reflected in the claims. Indeed, the automatic trajectory control system and remote station system, as claimed, are broadly recited in terms of architecture and location. Per the BRI, as claimed, Nabbe teaches all of the limitations as shown above and in Nabbe Col 17 Ln 14-28 & Col 12 Ln 41-57.
As such, and for the above reasons, all outstanding claims remain rejected in view of the prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Mohta (US12007728) teaches trajectories which includes waypoints, including coordinates over a time range.
Tiwari (US20180154899) teaches generated trajectories can be two-dimensional trajectories plotted from the current position of the vehicle to a desired future position wherein a generated trajectory can correspond to the path designated for the vehicle to follow over a suitable time period.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID RUBEN PEDERSEN whose telephone number is (571)272-9696. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th: 07:00 -16:00 Eastern.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ramon Mercado can be reached at (571) 270-5744. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAVID RUBEN PEDERSEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3658
/Ramon A. Mercado/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3658
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