DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
ART REJECTION:
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang(USPat. 11,453,348 B2).
-- In considering claim 19, the claimed subject matter that is met by Wang includes:
1) ving vehicle, comprising a camera, a LIDAR sensor,and a processing unit, wherein the camera and the LIDAR sensor are calibrated with respect to one another in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein the LIDAR sensor is configured to continuously monitor the road in front of the vehicle for obstacles, wherein the processing unit is configured to compare at least one object in the data of the LIDAR sensor that is smaller than a threshold value with the data of the camera in order, in the event that: a) the object poses a risk of collision, to brake the vehicle and/or to initiate a steering movement and/or to issue a warning;B) the object does not pose a risk of collision, not to intervene in the driving movement of the vehicle and/or not to issue a warning is met by the autonomous vehicle(102) which includes LIDAR sensor system(see: Wang, column 4, lines 6-29), and wherein the calibration parameters include routines that test for reasonably small targets to be performed(see: Wang, column 35, lnes 17-23), and wherein a alarm is provided to human passenger via user interface service for instruction on autonomous vehicle operation if threshold is reached(see: Wang, column 5, lines 50-59).
With regards to claim 20, the autonomously driving vehicle of claim 19, wherein the vehicle is a forklift truck would have been inherent to the system, since a forklift would have readily been constituted as an autonomous vehicle.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-17 are allowed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DARYL C POPE whose telephone number is (571)272-2959. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM - 5PM M-F.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, BRIAN ZIMMERMAN can be reached at 571-272-3059. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DARYL C POPE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2686