DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant’s submission filed on 05/12/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 05/12/2026 is being entered. Claims 1-5, 7-11, and 13-17 are amended. Claim 6, 12, and 18 are canceled. Claims 1-5, 7-11, and 13-17 are pending, and rejected as detailed below.
Response to Arguments
Prior Art Rejection
Applicant argues that the present invention enables a vehicle, which performs independent autonomous driving within an Operational Design Domain (ODD), to switch to platoon driving by calling a nearby vehicle as a leader when a situation occurs in which Level 4 autonomous driving is not possible, thereby achieving fully autonomous driving corresponding to Level 5, which requires no human monitoring or control, using only Level 4 autonomous driving technology. Accordingly, the autonomous vehicle of the present invention corresponds to a vehicle capable of performing both platoon autonomous driving in which the vehicle follows a leader vehicle and independent autonomous driving in which the vehicle drives alone without a leader vehicle, and can selectively perform independent autonomous driving and platoon driving depending on the situation. By way of this reply, independent claim 1 has been amended to more clearly reflect the above features. Specifically, claim 1 is amended to recite an "autonomous vehicle" capable of performing not only platoon autonomous driving but also independent autonomous driving, and has been further amended to clarify that the autonomous driving performed in the (n+1)-th section, which corresponds to an ODD section, is independent autonomous driving in which the vehicle drives alone without association with a leader vehicle. The Action contends that Ucar discloses the various features of independent claim 1 as pending prior to the amendments made herein. However, Applicant respectfully asserts that Ucar fails to disclose the features of amended independent claim 1. Ucar discloses a platooning vehicle in which, upon occurrence of a specific event during platoon driving, a leader vehicle is replaced with another vehicle that has experience in handling the specific event. In other words, Ucar relates to a technology for replacing a leader vehicle within an existing platoon, and does not presuppose a state in which a vehicle performs autonomous driving independently without association with a leader vehicle. Applicant respectfully asserts that Ucar fails to disclose or suggest any relevant technique or structure for switching between independent autonomous driving and platoon driving, much less "performing first platoon driving in association with the first leader vehicle at the n-th section", then "performing independent autonomous driving of the autonomous vehicle during the (n+1)- th section, and then later "performing second platoon driving in association with the second leader vehicle during the (n+2)-th section". Said another way, Ucar is clearly distinguished from the present invention, as a core feature of the present invention lies in control for switching between "independent autonomous driving" and "platoon autonomous driving." Therefore, Applicant respectfully asserts that Ucar fails to disclose the features of amended independent claim 1. For at least the reasons discussed above, Ucar fails to disclose, at least, the features of amended independent claim 1, and therefore cannot anticipate amended independent claim 1. Thus, Applicant respectfully asserts that independent claim 1 is allowable. Applicant further respectfully asserts that amended independent claims 7 and 13 are allowable for at least the same reasons as those discussed above with regards to claim 1. The remaining claims depend from and add further features to one of the independent claims. It is respectfully submitted that these dependent claims are allowable by reason of depending from an allowable claim, as well as for adding new features, and that it is not necessary to separately address these dependent claims at this time.
Applicant’s arguments, as amended herein, with respect to the rejections of claims 1 under 35 U.S.C. §102 have been fully considered and persuasive as Ucar does not explicitly teach that the participating vehicle can implement independent autonomous driving in which the participating vehicle drives alone without a leader vehicle. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection for claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. §103 is made in view of previously applied reference Ucar, and further in view of newly found reference Stenneth (US 10353387 B2). In particular, the amendments to claim 1 are addressed in the instant office action thus teaching independent autonomous driving of the participating vehicle. Furthermore, applicant’s arguments, as amended herein, with respect to the rejections of claims 7 and 13 have been fully considered and not persuasive as the combination of Ucar and Stenneth anticipates claims 7 and 13. Furthermore, applicant’s arguments, as amended herein, with respect to the remaining dependent claims have been fully considered and not persuasive as the combination of Ucar and Stenneth anticipates the independent claims.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7-11, and 13-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ucar (US 20210350707 A1) and further in view of Stenneth (US 10353387 B2).
Regarding claim 1, Ucar teaches (Currently Amended) A method of controlling an autonomous vehicle (Ucar, at least one para. 0030; “As used herein, a “vehicle” is any form of powered transport. In one or more implementations, the vehicle 102 is a pod, an automobile, e.g., a hybrid/electric automobile, an autonomous/semi-autonomous automobile, a combination thereof, etc.”) for driving on a traveling path including an n-th section, an (n+1)-th section, and an (n+2)-th section, where n is integer (Ucar, at least one para. 0001; “The subject matter described herein relates, in general, to a system and method for leading vehicle platoons, and, more particularly, to providing and maintaining a leadership-as-a-service system for vehicle platoons.”), the method comprising:
receiving, from a server, first information of a first leader vehicle capable of leading the autonomous vehicle (Ucar, at least one para. 0029; “Referring to FIG. 1, the disclosed leader-as-a-service system 100 can include a regional server 101 that can communicate with a vehicle 102, which may be a leader candidate, and a platoon leader vehicle 103 of a platoon 104. For example, in or more embodiments the leader-as-a-service system 100 can communicate with an onboard unit 105 of the vehicle 102 and an onboard unit 106 of the platoon leader vehicle 103.”) during the n-th section (Ucar, FIG. 6; wherein the n-th section is the current positioning of the platoon 104 as shown below);
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performing first platoon driving in association with the first leader vehicle at the n-th section (Ucar, at least one para. 0057; “The platoon manager module 470 generally includes instructions that function to control the processor(s) 410 to assign the new leader to the platoon, coordinate a rendezvous between the new leader and the platoon when necessary, and cause the new leader to assume a lead position in the platoon.”);
performing autonomous driving of the autonomous vehicle (Ucar, at least one para. 0070; “The regional server 101 can analyze regional map data 480 to determine a pick-up location 640 for the platoon 104 and the new leader 102. The regional server 101 can coordinate a rendezvous between the platoon 104 and the new leader 102 and transmit instructions for integrating the new leader 102 into the platoon 104 as the platoon leader.”) during the (n+1)-th section (Ucar, FIG. 6; wherein the n-th section is the current positioning of the platoon 104 and the (n+1)-th section area from 640 to the end of the area 610 as shown below), the independent autonomous driving being autonomous driving performed out of association with the first leader vehicle (Ucar, at least one para. 0070; “FIG. 6 shows an example scene 600 in which the disclosed embodiments may be applied. In the example scene 600, a vehicle platoon 104 is approaching a situation area 610 (e.g., a construction zone) that the current platoon leader 103 has no experience in leading a platoon through. The current platoon leader 103 sends a request for a new platoon leader to the regional server 101.”);
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receiving, from the server, second information of a second leader vehicle capable of leading the autonomous vehicle during the (n+2)-th section (Ucar, at least one para. 0087; “At operation 760, the assignment is complete, the new leader exits the platoon, and the method ends. However, it should be understood that the method can be dynamically applied and thus initiated at any time as needed, even by a platoon that has already benefited from a new leader assignment. For example, a platoon may receive a new leader via the disclosed leader-as-a-service system 100, surpass one situation class area, and subsequently encounter a second situation class that the new leader does not have experience in. In this case, the method may begin again at operation 710, i.e., the platoon can once again transmit a request to the regional server 101 for another new leader having experience traversing the second situation class, etc.”) and (Ucar, FIG. 6; wherein the n-th section is the current positioning of the platoon 104, the (n+1)-th section is the area from 640 to the end of the area 610, and (n+2)-th section is the area after 610 as shown below); and
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performing second platoon driving in association with the second leader vehicle during the (n+2)-th section (Ucar, at least one para. 0071; “After the new leader 102 has guided the platoon 104 past the situation area 610 and arrived at the short-term destination, the new leader 102 can exit the platoon.”) and (Ucar, at least one para. 0057; “The platoon manager module 470 generally includes instructions that function to control the processor(s) 410 to assign the new leader to the platoon, coordinate a rendezvous between the new leader and the platoon when necessary, and cause the new leader to assume a lead position in the platoon.”, wherein second platoon driving in association with the second leader vehicle during the (n+2)-th section takes place after operation 760 and it is inherent that the platoon 104 will have a new leader for (n+2)-th section once the leader 102 of the (n+1)-th section exits the platoon 104),
wherein: the autonomous vehicle is an unmanned vehicle (Ucar, at least one para. 0092; ““autonomous mode” refers to navigating and/or maneuvering the vehicle 102 along a travel route using one or more computing systems to control the vehicle 102 with minimal or no input from a human driver.”), and
performing the independent autonomous driving during the (n+1)-th section comprises switching from the independent autonomous driving to temporary platoon driving (Ucar, at least one para. 0071; “The regional server 101 can further analyze the regional map data 480 to determine a short-term destination for the platoon 104 under the leadership of the new leader 102. The short-term destination may be a location beyond the situation area 610. In some circumstances, the final destination of the platoon 104 can be set as the short-term destination. After the new leader 102 has guided the platoon 104 past the situation area 610 and arrived at the short-term destination, the new leader 102 can exit the platoon.”) in response to an event situation occurring (Ucar, at least one para. 0040; “The classifier module 350 generally includes instructions that function to control the processor 110 to determine a situation class for an environment the vehicle is traveling through. In one or more embodiments the situation class can be a pre-defined event, such as entering a type of zone or area (e.g., a construction zone or school zone), a pre-defined driving condition, such as driving on a highway in inclement weather, or a pre-defined action, such as leading a platoon through a U-turn maneuver.”).
Even though Ucar teaches about “the participating vehicle performed out of association with the first leader vehicle and the autonomous driving of the autonomous vehicle around the (n+1)-th section”, Ucar does not explicitly teach such that the autonomous vehicle drives independently and alone without platooning, so that the participating vehicle is able to drive without a leader vehicle.
Stenneth, in the same field of endeavor (Stenneth, col. 1, lines 15-20; “Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to a method, apparatus, and computer program product for grouping and monitoring a plurality of vehicles into a platoon, and more particularly, to navigation related data to facilitate the grouping of vehicles into a platoon in an efficient manner.”) teaches such that the autonomous vehicle drives independently and alone without platooning, (Stenneth, col. 10, lines 8-27; “According to some embodiments described herein, a vehicle may be grouped into multiple platoons along a route. For example, a platoon may be heading east to west and a vehicle may be joined to that platoon by the platoon matching exchange during a westbound portion of that vehicle's trip. The vehicle may exit that platoon as instructed by the platoon matching exchange at a predefined exit point, and may join a northbound platoon as instructed by the platoon matching exchange. The vehicle may be instructed to await the northbound platoon or travel at an increased speed to meet up with the northbound platoon if the northbound platoon is not ideally timed. Further, vehicles may be instructed to travel without being grouped into a platoon for a portion of their trip at the beginning of the trip, the end of the trip, or along a portion in the middle of their trip between two different platoons. The platoon matching exchange may establish the most efficient route and one or more platoons for a vehicle to join along their route to maximize the vehicle travel within a platoon”)
Ucar and Stenneth are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both of them are in the same field as an automated platooning system as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified the second platooning of the participating vehicle for the Ucar with teaching of Stenneth. One of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the claim would have been obvious because the substitution of one known element (platooning of a vehicle for a route section ) for another (allowing autonomous vehicle individually drive within a route section without a leader vehicle) would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification when the experience rating of the vehicle is higher than an experience rating of any leader vehicles within the region.
Regarding claim 2, Ucar teaches (Currently Amended) The method of claim 1, wherein performing the independent autonomous driving during the (n+1)-th section further comprises transmitting a request for subscriber leader vehicle information of at least one subscriber leader vehicle traveling around the traveling path to the server in response to the event situation occurring (Ucar, at least one para. 0065-0067; “FIG. 6 shows an example scene 600 in which the disclosed embodiments may be applied. In the example scene 600, a vehicle platoon 104 is approaching a situation area 610 (e.g., a construction zone) that the current platoon leader 103 has no experience in leading a platoon through. The current platoon leader 103 sends a request for a new platoon leader to the regional server 101. The request can include the current location and current destination of the platoon, and information indicating the situation class that the platoon 104 is requesting aid in traversing. In response, the regional server 101 defines a region 605 based on the location of the platoon 104 and broadcasts a search query to vehicles in the region 605. The search query can include, for example, information indicating the situation class that the platoon 104 is seeking a leader for aid in traversing. Multiple vehicles (e.g., vehicle 620, vehicle 630 and vehicle 102) may respond affirmatively to the search query. Each of the vehicles 620, 630, 102 can be equipped and/or configured to track experience in handling various situation classes.”).
Regarding claim 3, Ucar teaches (Currently Amended) The method of claim 2, wherein performing the independent autonomous driving during the (n+1)-th section further comprises performing the temporary platoon driving in association with a particular subscriber leader vehicle in response to receiving the subscriber leader vehicle information from the server (Ucar, at least one para. 0070; “The regional server 101 can analyze regional map data 480 to determine a pick-up location 640 for the platoon 104 and the new leader 102. The regional server 101 can coordinate a rendezvous between the platoon 104 and the new leader 102 and transmit instructions for integrating the new leader 102 into the platoon 104 as the platoon leader.”).
Regarding claim 4, Ucar teaches (Currently Amended) The method of claim 3, wherein performing the independent autonomous driving during the (n+1)-th section further comprises autonomously driving again the autonomous vehicle out of association with the particular subscriber leader vehicle in response to the event situation being terminated (Ucar, at least one para. 0071; “After the new leader 102 has guided the platoon 104 past the situation area 610 and arrived at the short-term destination, the new leader 102 can exit the platoon.”).
Regarding claim 5, Ucar teaches (Currently Amended) The method of claim 3, wherein performing the independent autonomous driving during the (n+1)-th section further comprises selecting the particular subscriber leader vehicle from among the at least one subscriber leader vehicle based on the subscriber leader vehicle information received from the server (Ucar, at least one para. 0069; “Based at least in part on the determined match scores, the regional server 101 can a select a vehicle (e.g., vehicle 102) as the new leader for the platoon 104. For example, the regional server 101 can determine that vehicle 102 has the best match score (e.g., best combination of experience level, profile rating, current route, and proximity to platoon 104) compared to vehicles 620 and 630.”).
Regarding claim 7, Ucar teaches (Currently Amended) A method of operating a platooning service for an autonomous vehicle (Ucar, at least one para. 0030; “As used herein, a “vehicle” is any form of powered transport. In one or more implementations, the vehicle 102 is a pod, an automobile, e.g., a hybrid/electric automobile, an autonomous/semi-autonomous automobile, a combination thereof, etc.”) traveling on a traveling path including n-th section, an (n+1)-th section, and an (n+2)-th section, where n is integer (Ucar, at least one para. 0001; “The subject matter described herein relates, in general, to a system and method for leading vehicle platoons, and, more particularly, to providing and maintaining a leadership-as-a-service system for vehicle platoons.”), the method comprising:
calling, by a server, a first leader vehicle capable of leading the autonomous vehicle (Ucar, at least one para. 0029; “Referring to FIG. 1, the disclosed leader-as-a-service system 100 can include a regional server 101 that can communicate with a vehicle 102, which may be a leader candidate, and a platoon leader vehicle 103 of a platoon 104. For example, in or more embodiments the leader-as-a-service system 100 can communicate with an onboard unit 105 of the vehicle 102 and an onboard unit 106 of the platoon leader vehicle 103.”) during the n-th section (Ucar, FIG. 6; wherein the n-th section is the current positioning of the platoon 104 as shown below);
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performing, by the autonomous vehicle, first platoon driving in association with the first leader vehicle (Ucar, at least one para. 0057; “The platoon manager module 470 generally includes instructions that function to control the processor(s) 410 to assign the new leader to the platoon, coordinate a rendezvous between the new leader and the platoon when necessary, and cause the new leader to assume a lead position in the platoon.”);
performing, by the autonomous vehicle, autonomous driving out of association with the first leader vehicle (Ucar, at least one para. 0070; “The regional server 101 can analyze regional map data 480 to determine a pick-up location 640 for the platoon 104 and the new leader 102. The regional server 101 can coordinate a rendezvous between the platoon 104 and the new leader 102 and transmit instructions for integrating the new leader 102 into the platoon 104 as the platoon leader.”) during the (n+1)-th section (Ucar, FIG. 6; wherein the n-th section is the current positioning of the platoon 104 and the (n+1)-th section area from 640 to the end of the area 610 as shown below), the independent autonomous driving being autonomous driving performed out of association with the first leader vehicle (Ucar, at least one para. 0070; “FIG. 6 shows an example scene 600 in which the disclosed embodiments may be applied. In the example scene 600, a vehicle platoon 104 is approaching a situation area 610 (e.g., a construction zone) that the current platoon leader 103 has no experience in leading a platoon through. The current platoon leader 103 sends a request for a new platoon leader to the regional server 101.”);
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calling, by the server, a second leader vehicle capable of leading the autonomous vehicle during the (n+2)-th section (Ucar, at least one para. 0087; “At operation 760, the assignment is complete, the new leader exits the platoon, and the method ends. However, it should be understood that the method can be dynamically applied and thus initiated at any time as needed, even by a platoon that has already benefited from a new leader assignment. For example, a platoon may receive a new leader via the disclosed leader-as-a-service system 100, surpass one situation class area, and subsequently encounter a second situation class that the new leader does not have experience in. In this case, the method may begin again at operation 710, i.e., the platoon can once again transmit a request to the regional server 101 for another new leader having experience traversing the second situation class, etc.”) and (Ucar, FIG. 6; wherein the n-th section is the current positioning of the platoon 104, the (n+1)-th section is the area from 640 to the end of the area 610, and (n+2)-th section is the area after 610 as shown below); and
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performing, by the autonomous vehicle, second platoon driving in association with the second leader vehicle during the (n+2)-th section (Ucar, at least one para. 0071; “After the new leader 102 has guided the platoon 104 past the situation area 610 and arrived at the short-term destination, the new leader 102 can exit the platoon.”) and (Ucar, at least one para. 0057; “The platoon manager module 470 generally includes instructions that function to control the processor(s) 410 to assign the new leader to the platoon, coordinate a rendezvous between the new leader and the platoon when necessary, and cause the new leader to assume a lead position in the platoon.”, wherein second platoon driving in association with the second leader vehicle during the (n+2)-th section takes place after operation 760 and it is inherent that the platoon 104 will have a new leader for (n+2)-th section once the leader 102 of the (n+1)-th section exits the platoon 104),
wherein: the autonomous vehicle is an unmanned vehicle (Ucar, at least one para. 0092; ““autonomous mode” refers to navigating and/or maneuvering the vehicle 102 along a travel route using one or more computing systems to control the vehicle 102 with minimal or no input from a human driver.”), and
performing the independent autonomous driving during the (n+1)-th section comprises switching, by the autonomous vehicle, from the independent autonomous driving to temporary platoon driving (Ucar, at least one para. 0071; “The regional server 101 can further analyze the regional map data 480 to determine a short-term destination for the platoon 104 under the leadership of the new leader 102. The short-term destination may be a location beyond the situation area 610. In some circumstances, the final destination of the platoon 104 can be set as the short-term destination. After the new leader 102 has guided the platoon 104 past the situation area 610 and arrived at the short-term destination, the new leader 102 can exit the platoon.”) in response to an event situation occurring (Ucar, at least one para. 0040; “The classifier module 350 generally includes instructions that function to control the processor 110 to determine a situation class for an environment the vehicle is traveling through. In one or more embodiments the situation class can be a pre-defined event, such as entering a type of zone or area (e.g., a construction zone or school zone), a pre-defined driving condition, such as driving on a highway in inclement weather, or a pre-defined action, such as leading a platoon through a U-turn maneuver.”).
Even though Ucar teaches about “the participating vehicle performed out of association with the first leader vehicle and the autonomous driving of the autonomous vehicle around the (n+1)-th section”, Ucar does not explicitly teach such that the autonomous vehicle drives independently and alone without platooning, so that the participating vehicle is able to drive without a leader vehicle.
Stenneth, in the same field of endeavor (Stenneth, col. 1, lines 15-20; “Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to a method, apparatus, and computer program product for grouping and monitoring a plurality of vehicles into a platoon, and more particularly, to navigation related data to facilitate the grouping of vehicles into a platoon in an efficient manner.”) teaches such that the autonomous vehicle drives independently and alone without platooning, (Stenneth, col. 10, lines 8-27; “According to some embodiments described herein, a vehicle may be grouped into multiple platoons along a route. For example, a platoon may be heading east to west and a vehicle may be joined to that platoon by the platoon matching exchange during a westbound portion of that vehicle's trip. The vehicle may exit that platoon as instructed by the platoon matching exchange at a predefined exit point, and may join a northbound platoon as instructed by the platoon matching exchange. The vehicle may be instructed to await the northbound platoon or travel at an increased speed to meet up with the northbound platoon if the northbound platoon is not ideally timed. Further, vehicles may be instructed to travel without being grouped into a platoon for a portion of their trip at the beginning of the trip, the end of the trip, or along a portion in the middle of their trip between two different platoons. The platoon matching exchange may establish the most efficient route and one or more platoons for a vehicle to join along their route to maximize the vehicle travel within a platoon”)
Ucar and Stenneth are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both of them are in the same field as an automated platooning system as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified the second platooning of the participating vehicle for the Ucar with teaching of Stenneth. One of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the claim would have been obvious because the substitution of one known element (platooning of a vehicle for a route section ) for another (allowing autonomous vehicle individually drive within a route section without a leader vehicle) would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification when the experience rating of the vehicle is higher than an experience rating of any leader vehicles within the region.
Regarding claim 8, Ucar teaches (Currently Amended) The method of claim 7, wherein performing the independent autonomous driving during the (n+1)-th section further comprises: transmitting, by the autonomous vehicle, a request for subscriber leader vehicle information of at least one subscriber leader vehicle traveling around the traveling path to the server when the event situation occurs (Ucar, at least one para. 0065-0067; “FIG. 6 shows an example scene 600 in which the disclosed embodiments may be applied. In the example scene 600, a vehicle platoon 104 is approaching a situation area 610 (e.g., a construction zone) that the current platoon leader 103 has no experience in leading a platoon through. The current platoon leader 103 sends a request for a new platoon leader to the regional server 101. The request can include the current location and current destination of the platoon, and information indicating the situation class that the platoon 104 is requesting aid in traversing. In response, the regional server 101 defines a region 605 based on the location of the platoon 104 and broadcasts a search query to vehicles in the region 605. The search query can include, for example, information indicating the situation class that the platoon 104 is seeking a leader for aid in traversing. Multiple vehicles (e.g., vehicle 620, vehicle 630 and vehicle 102) may respond affirmatively to the search query. Each of the vehicles 620, 630, 102 can be equipped and/or configured to track experience in handling various situation classes.”).
Regarding claim 9, Ucar teaches (Currently Amended) The method of claim 8, wherein performing the independent autonomous driving further comprises performing, by the autonomous vehicle, the temporary platoon driving in association with a particular subscriber leader vehicle in response to receiving the subscriber leader vehicle information from the server (Ucar, at least one para. 0070; “The regional server 101 can analyze regional map data 480 to determine a pick-up location 640 for the platoon 104 and the new leader 102. The regional server 101 can coordinate a rendezvous between the platoon 104 and the new leader 102 and transmit instructions for integrating the new leader 102 into the platoon 104 as the platoon leader.”).
Regarding claim 10, Ucar teaches (Currently Amended) The method of claim 9, wherein performing the independent autonomous driving during the (n+1)-th section further comprises autonomously driving again by the autonomous vehicle out of association with the particular subscriber leader vehicle when the event situation is terminated (Ucar, at least one para. 0071; “After the new leader 102 has guided the platoon 104 past the situation area 610 and arrived at the short-term destination, the new leader 102 can exit the platoon.”).
Regarding claim 11, Ucar teaches (Currently Amended) The method of claim 9, wherein performing the independent autonomous driving during the (n+1)-th section further comprises selecting, by the autonomous vehicle, the particular subscriber leader vehicle from among the at least one subscriber leader vehicle based on the subscriber leader vehicle information received from the server (Ucar, at least one para. 0069; “Based at least in part on the determined match scores, the regional server 101 can a select a vehicle (e.g., vehicle 102) as the new leader for the platoon 104. For example, the regional server 101 can determine that vehicle 102 has the best match score (e.g., best combination of experience level, profile rating, current route, and proximity to platoon 104) compared to vehicles 620 and 630.”).
Regarding claim 13, Ucar teaches (Currently Amended) An autonomous vehicle (Ucar, at least one para. 0030; “As used herein, a “vehicle” is any form of powered transport. In one or more implementations, the vehicle 102 is a pod, an automobile, e.g., a hybrid/electric automobile, an autonomous/semi-autonomous automobile, a combination thereof, etc.”) configured to communicatively connect to a server at a time while traveling a traveling path including an n-th section, an (n+1)-th section, and an (n+2)-th section, where n is integer (Ucar, at least one para. 0001; “The subject matter described herein relates, in general, to a system and method for leading vehicle platoons, and, more particularly, to providing and maintaining a leadership-as-a-service system for vehicle platoons.”), the autonomous vehicle comprising:
a processor (Ucar, at least one para. 0106; “a processor 110”); and
a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium connected to the processor and storing a computer program, which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to (Ucar, at least one para. 0106; “The vehicle 102 can include one or more modules, at least some of which are described herein. The modules can be implemented as computer-readable program code that, when executed by a processor 110, implement one or more of the various processes described herein. One or more of the modules can be a component of the processor(s) 110, or one or more of the modules can be executed on and/or distributed among other processing systems to which the processor(s) 110 is operatively connected. The modules can include instructions (e.g., program logic) executable by one or more processor(s) 110. Alternatively, or in addition, one or more data store 115 may contain such instructions”):
receive, from the server, first information of a first leader vehicle capable of leading the autonomous vehicle (Ucar, at least one para. 0029; “Referring to FIG. 1, the disclosed leader-as-a-service system 100 can include a regional server 101 that can communicate with a vehicle 102, which may be a leader candidate, and a platoon leader vehicle 103 of a platoon 104. For example, in or more embodiments the leader-as-a-service system 100 can communicate with an onboard unit 105 of the vehicle 102 and an onboard unit 106 of the platoon leader vehicle 103.”) during the n-th section (Ucar, FIG. 6; wherein the n-th section is the current positioning of the platoon 104 as shown below);
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perform first platoon driving in association with the first leader vehicle at the n-th section (Ucar, at least one para. 0057; “The platoon manager module 470 generally includes instructions that function to control the processor(s) 410 to assign the new leader to the platoon, coordinate a rendezvous between the new leader and the platoon when necessary, and cause the new leader to assume a lead position in the platoon.”);
perform autonomous driving of the autonomous vehicle (Ucar, at least one para. 0070; “The regional server 101 can analyze regional map data 480 to determine a pick-up location 640 for the platoon 104 and the new leader 102. The regional server 101 can coordinate a rendezvous between the platoon 104 and the new leader 102 and transmit instructions for integrating the new leader 102 into the platoon 104 as the platoon leader.”) during the (n+1)-th section (Ucar, FIG. 6; wherein the n-th section is the current positioning of the platoon 104 and the (n+1)-th section area from 640 to the end of the area 610 as shown below), the independent autonomous driving being autonomous driving performed out of association with the first leader vehicle (Ucar, at least one para. 0070; “FIG. 6 shows an example scene 600 in which the disclosed embodiments may be applied. In the example scene 600, a vehicle platoon 104 is approaching a situation area 610 (e.g., a construction zone) that the current platoon leader 103 has no experience in leading a platoon through. The current platoon leader 103 sends a request for a new platoon leader to the regional server 101.”);
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receive, from the server, second information of a second leader vehicle capable of leading the autonomous vehicle during the (n+2)-th section (Ucar, at least one para. 0087; “At operation 760, the assignment is complete, the new leader exits the platoon, and the method ends. However, it should be understood that the method can be dynamically applied and thus initiated at any time as needed, even by a platoon that has already benefited from a new leader assignment. For example, a platoon may receive a new leader via the disclosed leader-as-a-service system 100, surpass one situation class area, and subsequently encounter a second situation class that the new leader does not have experience in. In this case, the method may begin again at operation 710, i.e., the platoon can once again transmit a request to the regional server 101 for another new leader having experience traversing the second situation class, etc.”) and (Ucar, FIG. 6; wherein the n-th section is the current positioning of the platoon 104, the (n+1)-th section is the area from 640 to the end of the area 610, and (n+2)-th section is the area after 610 as shown below); and
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perform second platoon driving in association with the second leader vehicle during the (n+2)-th section (Ucar, at least one para. 0071; “After the new leader 102 has guided the platoon 104 past the situation area 610 and arrived at the short-term destination, the new leader 102 can exit the platoon.”) and (Ucar, at least one para. 0057; “The platoon manager module 470 generally includes instructions that function to control the processor(s) 410 to assign the new leader to the platoon, coordinate a rendezvous between the new leader and the platoon when necessary, and cause the new leader to assume a lead position in the platoon.”, wherein second platoon driving in association with the second leader vehicle during the (n+2)-th section takes place after operation 760 and it is inherent that the platoon 104 will have a new leader for (n+2)-th section once the leader 102 of the (n+1)-th section exits the platoon 104),
wherein: the autonomous vehicle is an unmanned vehicle (Ucar, at least one para. 0092; ““autonomous mode” refers to navigating and/or maneuvering the vehicle 102 along a travel route using one or more computing systems to control the vehicle 102 with minimal or no input from a human driver.”), and
performing the independent autonomous driving during the (n+1)-th section comprises switching from the independent autonomous driving to temporary platoon driving (Ucar, at least one para. 0071; “The regional server 101 can further analyze the regional map data 480 to determine a short-term destination for the platoon 104 under the leadership of the new leader 102. The short-term destination may be a location beyond the situation area 610. In some circumstances, the final destination of the platoon 104 can be set as the short-term destination. After the new leader 102 has guided the platoon 104 past the situation area 610 and arrived at the short-term destination, the new leader 102 can exit the platoon.”) in response to an event situation occurring (Ucar, at least one para. 0040; “The classifier module 350 generally includes instructions that function to control the processor 110 to determine a situation class for an environment the vehicle is traveling through. In one or more embodiments the situation class can be a pre-defined event, such as entering a type of zone or area (e.g., a construction zone or school zone), a pre-defined driving condition, such as driving on a highway in inclement weather, or a pre-defined action, such as leading a platoon through a U-turn maneuver.”).
Even though Ucar teaches about “the participating vehicle performed out of association with the first leader vehicle and the autonomous driving of the autonomous vehicle around the (n+1)-th section”, Ucar does not explicitly teach such that the autonomous vehicle drives independently and alone without platooning, so that the participating vehicle is able to drive without a leader vehicle.
Stenneth, in the same field of endeavor (Stenneth, col. 1, lines 15-20; “Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to a method, apparatus, and computer program product for grouping and monitoring a plurality of vehicles into a platoon, and more particularly, to navigation related data to facilitate the grouping of vehicles into a platoon in an efficient manner.”) teaches such that the autonomous vehicle drives independently and alone without platooning, (Stenneth, col. 10, lines 8-27; “According to some embodiments described herein, a vehicle may be grouped into multiple platoons along a route. For example, a platoon may be heading east to west and a vehicle may be joined to that platoon by the platoon matching exchange during a westbound portion of that vehicle's trip. The vehicle may exit that platoon as instructed by the platoon matching exchange at a predefined exit point, and may join a northbound platoon as instructed by the platoon matching exchange. The vehicle may be instructed to await the northbound platoon or travel at an increased speed to meet up with the northbound platoon if the northbound platoon is not ideally timed. Further, vehicles may be instructed to travel without being grouped into a platoon for a portion of their trip at the beginning of the trip, the end of the trip, or along a portion in the middle of their trip between two different platoons. The platoon matching exchange may establish the most efficient route and one or more platoons for a vehicle to join along their route to maximize the vehicle travel within a platoon”)
Ucar and Stenneth are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both of them are in the same field as an automated platooning system as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified the second platooning of the participating vehicle for the Ucar with teaching of Stenneth. One of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the claim would have been obvious because the substitution of one known element (platooning of a vehicle for a route section ) for another (allowing autonomous vehicle individually drive within a route section without a leader vehicle) would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification when the experience rating of the vehicle is higher than an experience rating of any leader vehicles within the region.
Regarding claim 14, Ucar teaches (Currently Amended) The autonomous vehicle of claim 13, wherein performing the independent autonomous driving during the (n+1)-th section further comprises transmitting a request for subscriber leader vehicle information of at least one subscriber leader vehicle traveling around the traveling path to the server in response to the event situation occurring (Ucar, at least one para. 0065-0067; “FIG. 6 shows an example scene 600 in which the disclosed embodiments may be applied. In the example scene 600, a vehicle platoon 104 is approaching a situation area 610 (e.g., a construction zone) that the current platoon leader 103 has no experience in leading a platoon through. The current platoon leader 103 sends a request for a new platoon leader to the regional server 101. The request can include the current location and current destination of the platoon, and information indicating the situation class that the platoon 104 is requesting aid in traversing. In response, the regional server 101 defines a region 605 based on the location of the platoon 104 and broadcasts a search query to vehicles in the region 605. The search query can include, for example, information indicating the situation class that the platoon 104 is seeking a leader for aid in traversing. Multiple vehicles (e.g., vehicle 620, vehicle 630 and vehicle 102) may respond affirmatively to the search query. Each of the vehicles 620, 630, 102 can be equipped and/or configured to track experience in handling various situation classes.”).
Regarding claim 15, Ucar teaches (Currently Amended) The autonomous vehicle of claim 14, wherein performing the independent autonomous driving during the (n+1)-th section further comprises performing the temporary platoon driving in association with a particular subscriber leader vehicle in response to receiving the subscriber leader vehicle information from the server (Ucar, at least one para. 0070; “The regional server 101 can analyze regional map data 480 to determine a pick-up location 640 for the platoon 104 and the new leader 102. The regional server 101 can coordinate a rendezvous between the platoon 104 and the new leader 102 and transmit instructions for integrating the new leader 102 into the platoon 104 as the platoon leader.”).
Regarding claim 16, Ucar teaches (Currently Amended) The autonomous vehicle of claim 15,wherein performing the independent autonomous driving at the (n+1)-th section further comprises autonomously driving again the autonomous vehicle out of association with the particular subscriber leader vehicle in response to the event situation being terminated (Ucar, at least one para. 0071; “After the new leader 102 has guided the platoon 104 past the situation area 610 and arrived at the short-term destination, the new leader 102 can exit the platoon.”).
Regarding claim 17, Ucar teaches (Currently Amended) The autonomous vehicle of claim 15, wherein performing the independent autonomous driving during the (n+1)-th section further comprises selecting the particular subscriber leader vehicle from among the at least one subscriber leader vehicle based on the subscriber leader vehicle information received from the server (Ucar, at least one para. 0069; “Based at least in part on the determined match scores, the regional server 101 can a select a vehicle (e.g., vehicle 102) as the new leader for the platoon 104. For example, the regional server 101 can determine that vehicle 102 has the best match score (e.g., best combination of experience level, profile rating, current route, and proximity to platoon 104) compared to vehicles 620 and 630.”).
Conclusion
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/U.P.C./Examiner, Art Unit 3665 /CHRISTIAN CHACE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3665
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