DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
This Office action is in response to the application filed 3/19/2024, with claims 1-12 pending.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 02/01/2024 complies with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-7, 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipate by Kanashige Yuzo, JP 2017-2442 hereinafter, “Kanashige”.
Claims 1, 11 and 12. Kanashige teaches moving body having a plurality of travel modes with different travel characteristics, the moving body comprising:
a control device (pg. 2, para 4 “control device”), wherein the control device comprises:
a setting unit configured to set any one of the plurality of travel modes (pg. 2, para 3—teaches the driver is in one mode and set the transfer to off-road mode, which implies a plurality of travel modes);
an acquisition unit configured to acquire information indicating a behavior state of the moving body or an environment state around the moving body (pg. 2, para. teach an acquisition unit); and
a driving assist controller configured to execute driving assist control for assisting driving of the moving body (“ECU 10” see pg. 2, para. 7), and
the driving assist controller executes the driving assist control when a first travel mode is set by the setting unit (“ECU 30” see pg. 2, para. 7),
the driving assist controller is configured to execute driving assist limitation control for limiting execution of the driving assist control more than when the first travel mode is set, when a second travel mode different from the first travel mode is set (pg. 2, para. 6 reads on this element as such—“When the acquired travel mode is the off-road travel mode, the support prohibiting unit prohibits the execution of the collision avoidance support control by the collision avoidance support control unit. Therefore, the malfunction of the collision avoidance assistance control when traveling on a rough road can be suppressed.” The second travel mode is different from the first because the driver uses the transfer to change from one mode to the off-road mode.),
the driving assist controller executes the driving assist limitation control when the second travel mode is set and the behavior state or the environment state indicated by the information acquired by the acquisition unit is a first state (pg. 2, para. 6 reads on this element as such—“When the acquired travel mode is the off-road travel mode, the support prohibiting unit prohibits the execution of the collision avoidance support control by the collision avoidance support control unit. Therefore, the malfunction of the collision avoidance assistance control when traveling on a rough road can be suppressed.”), and
the driving assist controller does not execute the driving assist limitation control when the second travel mode is set and the behavior state or the environment state indicated by the information acquired by the acquisition unit is a second state different from the first state (pg. 8, para. 4 reads on this element as such—“The collision avoidance assistance ECU 40 always reads the permission flag when executing the collision avoidance assistance control, and starts the collision avoidance assistance control only when the permission flag is set to ON. Therefore, the collision avoidance support ECU 40 is prohibited from performing the collision avoidance support control when the permission flag is off”).
Claim 2. Kanashige teaches the moving body according to claim 1 and further teaches, wherein the driving assist controller ends the driving assist limitation control when the second travel mode is set and the behavior state or the environment state transitions from the first state to the second state (pg. 8, para. 3 reads on this element as such—“ On the other hand, when the state of the transfer 13 is not "L4" (S11 : No), the collision avoidance assistance ECU 40 sets the permission flag to ON in step S13. When the collision avoidance assistance control ECU 40 sets the permission flag in step S12 or step S13, the collision avoidance assistance control restriction routine is repeated once in a predetermined calculation cycle after ending the collision avoidance assistance control restriction routine.”).
Claim 3. Kanashige teaches the moving body according to claim 1 and further teaches,
wherein the driving assist controller executes, as the driving assist control, collision prevention control for preventing the moving body from colliding with a target around the moving body (pg. 4, second from last para. along with pg. 7, para. 3 reads on this element as such—“The vehicle control device includes obstacle detection means, collision avoidance support control means, travel mode acquisition means, and support prohibition means. The obstacle detection means detects an obstacle present in front of the host vehicle. The collision avoidance support control means activates an automatic brake to assist the driver to avoid a collision between the own vehicle and the obstacle when the own vehicle is likely to collide with the obstacle. Implement control…. Further, when the predicted collision time TTC is shorter than the automatic brake threshold value tb (<tw), the collision avoidance assistance ECU 40 transmits a brake command to the brake ECU 30 to generate a braking force on the left and right front and rear wheels, Assist the driver to avoid the collision of the vehicle with an obstacle.”).
Claim 4. Kanashige teaches the moving body according to claim 1 and further teaches, wherein in the driving assist limitation control, the driving assist controller prohibits execution of the driving assist control or reduces an execution frequency of the driving assist control compared to when the driving assist limitation control is not executed (pg. 7, second to last para. reads on this element as such—“Therefore, the collision avoidance assistance ECU 40 is provided with a restriction that the collision avoidance assistance control is not performed during the off-road traveling. FIG. 2 shows a collision avoidance assistance control restriction routine. The collision avoidance assistance ECU 40 repeatedly executes this collision avoidance assistance control restriction routine at a predetermined calculation period
while the ignition switch is on.”).
Claim 5. Kanashige teaches the moving body according to claim 1 and further teaches, wherein when the second travel mode is set, the control device notifies, via a notification unit mounted on the moving body, a user of the moving body that the driving assist limitation control is to be executed, and the driving assist controller executes the driving assist limitation control when there is an input to allow execution of the driving assist limitation control in response to the notification (pg. 3, para. 8-11 read on this element as such—“When the collision avoidance support control restriction routine starts, the collision avoidance support ECU 40 reads the transfer selection signal St transmitted from the engine ECU 10 via the CAN 70 in step S11, and whether the state of the transfer 13 is "L4". That is, it is determined whether or not the L4 mode (low speed 4WD mode) is set. The driver sets the transfer selection switch 53 to the L4 position in advance when driving the vehicle off-road, particularly when driving on an off-road where the road surface is greatly undulated as shown in FIG. Set to L4 mode. Therefore, when the driver intentionally sets the transfer selection switch 53 to the L4 position, the collision avoidance assistance ECU 40 may erroneously determine that the road surface ahead of the host vehicle is an obstacle. When the state of the transfer 13 is "L4" (S11: Yes), the collision avoidance assistance ECU 40 sets the permission flag indicating whether or not the collision avoidance assistance control may be executed to off in step S12. To do. On the other hand, when the state of the transfer 13 is not "L4" (S11 : No), the collision avoidance assistance ECU 40 sets the permission flag to ON in step S13. When the collision avoidance assistance control ECU 40 sets the permission flag in step S12 or step S13, the collision avoidance assistance control restriction routine is repeated once in a predetermined calculation cycle after ending the collision avoidance assistance control restriction routine. The collision avoidance assistance ECU 40 always reads the permission flag when executing the collision avoidance assistance control, and starts the collision avoidance assistance control only when the permission flag is set to ON. Therefore, the collision avoidance support ECU 40 is prohibited from performing the collision avoidance support control when the permission flag is off”.).
Claim 6. Kanashige teaches the moving body according to claim 1 and further teaches, wherein
the moving body has a non-off-road mode as the first travel mode and an off-road mode as the second travel mode (pg. 2, para. 6 teaches “normal driving mode” and “an off-road driving mode”),
the acquisition unit acquires information indicating a travel speed of the moving body as the information indicating the behavior state (pg. 2, para. last para. reads on this element as such—“The brake ECU 30 calculates the vehicle speed (body speed) based on the wheel speed w detected by each wheel speed sensor 55 and provides vehicle speed information to the in-vehicle ECU via the CAN 70.”),
the driving assist controller executes the driving assist limitation control, when the off-road mode is set and the moving body is in the first state where the travel speed indicated by the information acquired by the acquisition unit is smaller than a predetermined threshold (pg. 7, para. 3 reads on element as such—“The collision avoidance assistance ECU 40 activates the alarm 43 and prompts the driver to perform a brake operation when the collision prediction time TTC becomes shorter than the warning threshold tw based on the collision prediction time TTC. Further, when the predicted collision time TTC is shorter than the automatic brake threshold value tb (<tw), the collision avoidance assistance ECU 40 transmits a brake command to the brake ECU 30 to generate a braking force on the left and right front and rear wheels, Assist the driver to avoid the collision of the vehicle with an obstacle. In this way, when the possibility that the host vehicle collides with an obstacle becomes high, control in which the collision avoidance assist ECU 40 generates braking force on the left and right front and rear wheels via the brake ECU 30 is referred to as collision avoidance assist control. Hereinafter, generating a desired braking force on the left and right front and rear wheels
regardless of whether or not the driver operates the brake pedal may be referred to as automatic braking”), and
the driving assist controller does not execute the driving assist limitation control, when the off-road mode is set and the moving body is in the second state where the travel speed indicated by the information acquired by the acquisition unit is equal to or greater than the threshold (pg. 5, para. 1 reads on this element as such—“Therefore, in the present invention, the travel mode acquisition means acquires the travel mode selected by the driver. When the acquired travel mode is the off-road travel mode, the support prohibiting unit prohibits the execution of the collision avoidance support control by the collision avoidance support control unit. Therefore, the malfunction of the collision avoidance assistance control when traveling on a rough road can be suppressed.”).
Claim 7. Kanashige teaches the moving body according to claim 6 and further teaches, wherein the control device further includes a display controller configured to display, on a display unit provided in the moving body, an image based on imaging data obtained by imaging a periphery of the moving body when the off-road mode is set and the vehicle is in the first state (pg. 3, para. 3 read on this element as such—“The camera sensor 42 images the front of the host vehicle, analyzes the image obtained by capturing, identifies the type of obstacle (type of vehicle, pedestrian, etc.), and assists collision avoidance with the identification information. It outputs to ECU40. The alarm device 43 includes a buzzer and a display, and alerts the driver when the buzzer sounds, and displays the operating status of the collision avoidance support control using the display.”).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanashige in view Fairgrieve et al., hereinafter “Fairgrieve”.
Claim 8. Kanashige teaches the moving body according to claim 1. Kanashige further teaches the driving assist controller does not execute the driving assist limitation control, when the snow mode is set and the vehicle is in the second state where the outside temperature indicated by the information acquired by the acquisition unit is higher than the threshold in the second state (pg. 8, para. 4 reads on this element as such—“The collision avoidance assistance ECU 40 always reads the permission flag when executing the collision avoidance assistance control, and starts the collision avoidance assistance control only when the permission flag is set to ON. Therefore, the collision avoidance support ECU 40 is prohibited from performing the collision avoidance support control when the permission flag is off”). Kanashige also teaches the acquisition unit acquires information indicating an outside temperature around the moving body as the information indicating the environment state (pg. 2, para. teach an acquisition unit).
However, Kanashige does not teaches the term snow mode. Yet, Fairgrieve teaches wherein the moving body has a non-snow mode as the first travel mode and a snow mode as the second travel mode (fig. 3 illustrates a snow mode),
the driving assist controller executes the driving assist limitation control, when the snow mode is set and the vehicle is the first state where the outside temperature indicated by the information acquired by the acquisition unit is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold ([0110] teaches the vehicle driving in deep soft snow which implies a predetermined threshold), and
the driving assist controller does not execute the driving assist limitation control, when the snow mode is set and the vehicle is in the second state where the outside temperature indicated by the information acquired by the acquisition unit is higher than the threshold in the second state (K: temperature sensor is taught [0089], while ambient temperature is taught in [0108]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Fairgrieve with the invention of Kanashige because such combination would provide a vehicle having a plurality of subsystems which can be operated in different configurations to suit different driving conditions (see [0003], Fairgrieve).
Claim 9. Kanashige teaches the moving body according to claim 1. Kanashige further teaches the driving assist controller does not execute the driving assist limitation control, when the sand mode is set and the vehicle is in the second state where the information acquired by the acquisition unit indicates that no slip occurs or there is no difference in the number of rotations (pg. 8, para. 4 reads on this element as such—“The collision avoidance assistance ECU 40 always reads the permission flag when executing the collision avoidance assistance control, and starts the collision avoidance assistance control only when the permission flag is set to ON. Therefore, the collision avoidance support ECU 40 is prohibited from performing the collision avoidance support control when the permission flag is off”),
the acquisition unit acquires, as the information indicating the behavior state, information indicating whether a slip occurs in a wheel of the moving body or whether there is a difference in a number of rotations between a pair of left and right wheels of the moving body (K: pg. 5, third para. from bottom reads on this element as such—“In addition, the transfer 13 allows a rotational difference between the center differential and the center differential (not shown) for allowing the rotational difference between the front wheel drive shaft 15 and the rear wheel drive shaft 16 to distribute the power. A differential lock device (not shown) is provided for restricting the operation (restricting the rotational differential between the front wheel drive shaft 15 and the rear wheel drive shaft 16 to bring it into a center differential lock state). The engine ECU 10 switches the locked state/ unlocked state of the center differential based on the differential lock signal Sd output from the center differential lock switch 54 operated by the driver”),
the driving assist controller executes the driving assist limitation control, when the sand mode is set and the vehicle is in the first mode where the information acquired by the acquisition unit indicates that the slip occurs or there is the difference in the number of rotations (K: pg. 5, second para. from bottom reads on this element as such—“The drive torque of the front wheel drive shaft 15 is transmitted to the left front wheel axle 17L and the right front wheel axle 17R via the front wheel differential gear 17. As a result, the left front wheel 20FL and the right front wheel 20FR are rotationally driven. Similarly, the drive torque of the rear wheel drive shaft 16 is transmitted to the left rear wheel axle 18L and the right rear wheel axle 18R via the rear wheel differential gear 18. Thereby, the left rear wheel 20RL and the right rear wheel 20RR are rotationally driven.”).
However Kanashige does not teaches a sand mode. Yet Fairgrieve teaches, wherein the moving body has a non-sand mode as the first travel mode and a sand mode as the second travel mode ([0121]—“sand mode” along with fig. 3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Fairgrieve with the invention of Kanashige because such combination would provide a vehicle having a plurality of subsystems which can be operated in different configurations to suit different driving conditions (see [0003], Fairgrieve).
Claim 10. Kanashige the moving body according to claim 1. Kanashige teaches further the driving assist controller does not execute the driving assist limitation control, when the track mode is set and the vehicle is in the second state where the travel speed or the acceleration indicated by the information acquired by the acquisition unit is smaller than the threshold (pg. 8, para. 4 reads on this element as such—“The collision avoidance assistance ECU 40 always reads the permission flag when executing the collision avoidance assistance control, and starts the collision avoidance assistance control only when the permission flag is set to ON. Therefore, the collision avoidance support ECU 40 is prohibited from performing the collision avoidance support control when the permission flag is off”). Kanashige also teaches the acquisition unit acquires information indicating a travel speed or an acceleration of the moving body as the information indicating the behavior state (pg. 2, para. teach an acquisition unit),
However Kanashige does not teaches a track mode. Yet Fairgrieve teaches, wherein the moving body has a non-track mode as the first travel mode and a track mode as the second travel mode ([0118] along with fig. 3teaches a dirt track mode),
the driving assist controller executes the driving assist limitation control, when the track mode is set and the vehicle is in the first state where the travel speed or the acceleration indicated by the information acquired by the acquisition unit is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold ([0055] reads on this element as such— “….providing a variable threshold for change, dependent on different driving condition indicators, that the speed of response with which the control mode is selected can be varied according to the nature of the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling. This ensures that less control mode changes will be implemented in certain conditions (e.g. on-road terrain) compared to others (e.g. off-road terrain”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Fairgrieve with the invention of Kanashige because such combination would provide a vehicle having a plurality of subsystems which can be operated in different configurations to suit different driving conditions (see [0003], Fairgrieve).
Conclusion
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/A.D.T/Examiner, Art Unit 3661
/RUSSELL FREJD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3661