Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restriction
Restriction to one of the following inventions is required under 35 U.S.C. 121:
I. Claim1-15, drawn to a system and method for processing a high definition map, classified in USPC G01S17/89.
II. Claim16-20, drawn to creating multiple high definition maps and the comparison to each other, classified in B60W2556/40.
The inventions are independent or distinct, each from the other because:
Inventions I and II are related as subcombinations disclosed as usable together in a single combination. The subcombinations are distinct if they do not overlap in scope and are not obvious variants, and if it is shown that at least one subcombination is separately usable. In the instant case, subcombination II has separate utility such as being able to compare and edit multiple different maps . See MPEP § 806.05(d).
The examiner has required restriction between subcombinations usable together. Where applicant elects a subcombination and claims thereto are subsequently found allowable, any claim(s) depending from or otherwise requiring all the limitations of the allowable subcombination will be examined for patentability in accordance with 37 CFR 1.104. See MPEP § 821.04(a). Applicant is advised that if any claim presented in a divisional application is anticipated by, or includes all the limitations of, a claim that is allowable in the present application, such claim may be subject to provisional statutory and/or nonstatutory double patenting rejections over the claims of the instant application.
The election of an invention may be made with or without traverse. To reserve a right to petition, the election must be made with traverse. If the reply does not distinctly and specifically point out supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election shall be treated as an election without traverse. Traversal must be presented at the time of election in order to be considered timely. Failure to timely traverse the requirement will result in the loss of right to petition under 37 CFR 1.144. If claims are added after the election, applicant must indicate which of these claims are readable upon the elected invention.
Should applicant traverse on the ground that the inventions are not patentably distinct, applicant should submit evidence or identify such evidence now of record showing the inventions to be obvious variants or clearly admit on the record that this is the case. In either instance, if the examiner finds one of the inventions unpatentable over the prior art, the evidence or admission may be used in a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) of the other invention.
During a telephone conversation with Nicholaus Rericha on 08/11/2026 a provisional election was made without traverse to prosecute the invention of Group 1, claims 1-15. Affirmation of this election must be made by applicant in replying to this Office action. Claims 16-20 withdrawn from further consideration by the examiner, 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a non-elected invention.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2, 7, 10, and 15 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The term “comparing the attribute with a vector attribute of an individual feature” is unclear. It is unclear how a scalar value is to be compared to a vector value. Because it is unclear and it is not defined in applicant’s disclosure and based on the claim construction a definition cannot be derived, therefor unable to determine the metes and bounds of the claim.
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.
(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.
Claims 1, 3-6, 8-9, and 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen et al.(US 20200217964 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Chen teaches
A method for processing a high definition map, the method comprising: (This disclosure relates generally to maps for autonomous vehicles, and more particularly to removing dynamic objects from point clouds to generate a point cloud representation for a high-definition map. (paragraph 0002))
scanning an environment with a lidar scanner to generate lidar data; (The system receives a plurality of lidar samples captured by a lidar sensor (paragraph 0007))
generating the high definition map from the lidar data, wherein the high definition map further comprises a plurality of features defined by vector data derived from the lidar data; (Embodiments of the invention provide the necessary portion of an HD map to an autonomous vehicle that allows the vehicle to determine its current location in the HD map, determine the features on the road relative to the vehicle's position (paragraph 0030)
applying a plurality of buckets to the high definition map, wherein each bucket of the plurality of buckets comprises a plurality of lidar points of the lidar data; (The ray tracing module 470 may use one or more ray tracing algorithms to filter noise (e.g., ephemeral points) of a HD map generated using the lidar samples. (paragraph 0060))
for each bucket of the plurality of buckets, determining an attribute from the plurality of lidar points; (The HD map 510 of a geographical region comprises a landmark map (LMap) 520 and an occupancy map (OMap) 530. The landmark map comprises information describing lanes including spatial location of lanes and semantic information about each lane. The spatial location of a lane comprises the geometric location in latitude, longitude and elevation at high prevision, (paragraph 0061))
and adjusting one or more features of the plurality of features based at least in part on attributes of the plurality of buckets. (This ray tracing module 470 may use one or more calibration parameters including, for example, rotation correction (hc), vertical correction (pitch), distance correction (dc), vertical offset correction (v), horizontal offset correction (h), among other types of parameters. (paragraph 0095))
Regarding claim 3, Chen teaches
The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute is elevation. (The HD map 510 of a geographical region comprises a landmark map (LMap) 520 and an occupancy map (OMap) 530. The landmark map comprises information describing lanes including spatial location of lanes and semantic information about each lane. The spatial location of a lane comprises the geometric location in latitude, longitude and elevation at high prevision, (paragraph 0061))
Regarding claim 4, Chen teaches
The method of claim 1, wherein the adjusting of the one or more features is changing an elevation of the one or more features. (This ray tracing module 470 may use one or more calibration parameters including, for example, rotation correction (hc), vertical correction (pitch), distance correction (dc), vertical offset correction (v), horizontal offset correction (h), among other types of parameters. (paragraph 0095))
Regarding claim 5, Chen teaches
The method of claim 1, wherein the adjusting of the one or more features is the removal of at least one of the one or more features from the high definition map. (The ray tracing module 470 of the HD Map System 110 may identify and remove one or more ephemeral points from an occupancy map generated using sensor data from the lidar scan. (paragraph 0074))
Regarding claim 6, Chen teaches
The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the high definition map and the plurality of buckets on an electronic display. (displaying HD maps for vehicles with drivers, for displaying HD maps on displays of client devices such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, or any computing device with a display screen. (paragraph 0106))
Regarding claim 8, Chen teaches
The method of claim 1, further comprising generating the plurality of buckets by applying a uniform grid comprising an array of control points over the high definition map, and from each control point, generating a polygon from lidar points surrounding the control point, wherein the polygon defines the bucket. (In one embodiment, the occupancy map 530 is represented as a 3D mesh geometry (collection of triangles) which covers the surfaces. (paragraph 0062))
Regarding claim 9, Chen teaches
A system for processing a high definition map, the system comprising: (This disclosure relates generally to maps for autonomous vehicles, and more particularly to removing dynamic objects from point clouds to generate a point cloud representation for a high-definition map. (paragraph 0002))
one or more processors; (the online HD map system 110 may be a distributed system comprising a plurality of processors (paragraph 0058))
and a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: (computer program may be stored in a tangible computer readable storage medium or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions (paragraph 0109))
receive lidar data of an environment; (The system receives a plurality of lidar samples captured by a lidar sensor (paragraph 0007))
generate the high definition map from the lidar data, wherein the high definition map further comprises a plurality of features defined by vector data derived from the lidar data; (Embodiments of the invention provide the necessary portion of an HD map to an autonomous vehicle that allows the vehicle to determine its current location in the HD map, determine the features on the road relative to the vehicle's position (paragraph 0030))
apply a plurality of buckets to the high definition map, wherein each bucket of the plurality of buckets comprises a plurality of lidar points of the lidar data; (The ray tracing module 470 may use one or more ray tracing algorithms to filter noise (e.g., ephemeral points) of a HD map generated using the lidar samples. (paragraph 0060))
for each bucket of the plurality of buckets, determine an attribute from the plurality of lidar points; (The HD map 510 of a geographical region comprises a landmark map (LMap) 520 and an occupancy map (OMap) 530. The landmark map comprises information describing lanes including spatial location of lanes and semantic information about each lane. The spatial location of a lane comprises the geometric location in latitude, longitude and elevation at high prevision, (paragraph 0061))
and adjusting one or more features of the plurality of features based at least in part on attributes of the plurality of buckets. (This ray tracing module 470 may use one or more calibration parameters including, for example, rotation correction (hc), vertical correction (pitch), distance correction (dc), vertical offset correction (v), horizontal offset correction (h), among other types of parameters. (paragraph 0095))
Regarding claim 11, Chen teaches
The system of claim 9, wherein the attribute is elevation. (The HD map 510 of a geographical region comprises a landmark map (LMap) 520 and an occupancy map (OMap) 530. The landmark map comprises information describing lanes including spatial location of lanes and semantic information about each lane. The spatial location of a lane comprises the geometric location in latitude, longitude and elevation at high prevision, (paragraph 0061))
Regarding claim 12, Chen teaches
The system of claim 9, wherein the adjusting of the one or more features is changing an elevation of the one or more features. (This ray tracing module 470 may use one or more calibration parameters including, for example, rotation correction (hc), vertical correction (pitch), distance correction (dc), vertical offset correction (v), horizontal offset correction (h), among other types of parameters. (paragraph 0095))
Regarding claim 13, Chen teaches
The system of claim 9, wherein the adjusting of the one or more features is the removal of at least one of the one or more features from the high definition map. (The ray tracing module 470 of the HD Map System 110 may identify and remove one or more ephemeral points from an occupancy map generated using sensor data from the lidar scan. (paragraph 0074))
Regarding claim 14, Chen teaches
The system of claim 9, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to display the high definition map and the plurality of buckets on an electronic display. (displaying HD maps for vehicles with drivers, for displaying HD maps on displays of client devices such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, or any computing device with a display screen. (paragraph 0106))
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ETHAN J SLAUGHTER whose telephone number is (571)388-3021. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30-5:00.
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, Vladimir Magloire can be reached at (571) 270-5144. 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.
/ETHAN JAKOB SLAUGHTER/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/VLADIMIR MAGLOIRE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3648
Prosecution Insights