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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments and remarks filed on 02/23/2026 with respect to previous claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and unpersuasive.
With respect to the previous 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections of claim 1 Applicant argue the cited art of record, Kim (US 2019/0337513 A1) in further view of Kuramochi et al (US 2003/0171857 A1) in further view of Yu et al (US 2020/0079380 A1), fails to explicitly disclose all of the recited features of the amended claim 1 (see response pages 7-10), specifically “the processor determines that the traffic in the own traveling lane is congested when the acquired information indicates a number of vehicles traveling within a predetermined distance in front of and behind the host vehicle in the own traveling lane exceeds a threshold value".
However, Examiner respectfully disagrees. As Yu teaches “the processor determines that the traffic in the own traveling lane is congested when the acquired information indicates a number of vehicles traveling within a predetermined distance in front of and behind the host vehicle in the own traveling lane exceeds a threshold value”, as understood in at least (see Yu ¶ 16, 25, 153, 228 and 260-263) “determine a number of vehicles which show a cutting-in tendency through a deep learning artificial neural network using the extracted time and space feature vector, and when the number of determined vehicles exceeds a predetermined threshold number, determine that the expected driving lane is congested”, “The congested situation determiner 1210 may detect the surrounding vehicles from the surrounding image, extract a time and space feature vector from an image frame including the detected surrounding vehicles, determine a number of vehicles which show a cutting-in tendency through a deep learning artificial neural network (DNN) using the extracted time and space feature vector, and when the number of determined vehicles exceeds a predetermined threshold number, determine that the expected driving lane is congested”, “The lane change determiner 1220 may analyze driving patterns of the vehicles at the front and rear of the searched available spaces, that is, the first space and the second space, and predict a securable space”, “The radar may be disposed at an appropriate position outside the vehicle for sensing an object disposed at the front, back, or side of the vehicle” and “When implemented as a driven type, the lidar may be rotated by a motor, and detect objects near the vehicle 1000. When implemented as a non-driven type, the lidar may detect objects within a predetermined range” regarding determining that traffic in the own travelling lane is congested when acquired information indicates a number of vehicle traveling within a predetermined distance in front of and behind the host vehicle in the own traveling lane exceeds a threshold value in order to control the host vehicle to move from a highly congested lane to a less-congested lane.
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 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.
Claims 1 and 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable in view of Kim (US 2019/0337513 A1) in further view of Kuramochi et al (US 2003/0171857 A1) in further view of Yu (US 2020/0079380 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Kim discloses a vehicle control device comprising: (see Kim para “0010” “an electronic control unit (ECU) configured to control a traveling direction of the host vehicle”),
an in-vehicle sensor configured to acquire information on an object present around a host vehicle and information on a traveling state of the host vehicle (see Kim para “0010” “performing lane keeping using information about a lane and peripheral vehicle includes a lane and preceding vehicle sensor configured to detect a forward lane and a preceding vehicle with respect to a host vehicle, a vehicle dynamics sensor configured to detect a driving speed, a steering angle, and a yaw rate of the host vehicle”),
and a processor configured to execute a first trace control to recognize a traveling lane in which the host vehicle is traveling and to control the host vehicle to move along the traveling lane (see Kim paras “0010-0011” “an electronic control unit (ECU) configured to control a traveling direction of the host vehicle in a manner that the host vehicle follows a traveling route within the detected lane” and “The electronic control unit (ECU) includes a lane and preceding vehicle recognition module configured to recognize lane information and preceding vehicle information by acquiring lane and preceding vehicle detection information from the lane and preceding vehicle sensor, a route generation module configured to generate a route in a manner that the host vehicle travels in a center part based on the recognized lane information”),
the first trace control being executed based on the acquired information, a second trace control the acquired information indicates a preceding vehicle is traveling in front of the host vehicle and no traveling lane is recognized in the execution of the first trace control, the second trace control controlling the host vehicle move along a trajectory of the preceding vehicle (see Kim paras “0010-0011” and “0040” “generate a new route based on the recognized preceding vehicle information when the lane information is not recognized” and “when a lane capable of being temporarily recognized is not present or deterioration in lane recognition performance occurs (for example, when a vehicle enters a lane disappearance section such as a crossroad, crosswalk, etc.), the route generation module 22 may generate a new route along which the host vehicle follows the preceding vehicle based on preceding vehicle recognition information recognized by the preceding vehicle recognition module 21.”),
But Kim fails to explicitly disclose wherein the processor is configured not to execute the second trace control when the processor determines that the host vehicle is traveling in congested traffic.
However, Kuramochi teaches wherein the processor is configured not to execute the second trace control when the processor determines that traffic in the own traveling lane is congested (see Kuramochi paras “0046”, “0084” and “0089-0092 “determined in step 32 that the vehicle speed is 0, it can be determined that vehicles ahead are stationary because of traffic congestion and the host vehicle follows a motion of the preceding vehicle to stop” and “If it is determined in step 32 that the vehicle speed is 0, it can then be determined that the preceding vehicle stops in congested traffic and the host vehicle follows it to stop”),
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Kim for lane keeping assist system and method to follow a preceding vehicle by adjusting the headway distance to an appropriate value and to provide a headway control system that is capable of starting a traffic congestion processing using the same operation as an ordinary driving operation, as taught by Kuramochi (para. [0046] – [0089-0092]) in order to provide an easy traveling while following the vehicle ahead or not depending on the traffic congestion.
But modified Kim fails to explicitly disclose the processor determines that the traffic in the own traveling lane is congested when the acquired information indicates a number of vehicles traveling within a predetermined distance in front of and behind the host vehicle in the own traveling lane exceeds a threshold value.
However, Yu teaches the processor determines that the traffic in the own traveling lane is congested when the acquired information indicates a number of vehicles traveling within a predetermined distance in front of and behind the host vehicle in the own traveling lane exceeds a threshold value (see Yu paras “0016”, “0025”, “0154” and “0223-0230” “the controller may detect surrounding vehicles from the surrounding image, extract a time and space feature vector from an image frame including the detected surrounding vehicles, determine a number of vehicles which show a cutting-in tendency through a deep learning artificial neural network using the extracted time and space feature vector, and when the number of determined vehicles exceeds a predetermined threshold number, determine that the expected driving lane is congested”, “the possibility of a congested situation is high, the congested situation determiner 1210 may determine that the lane is congested when the number of vehicles cutting into the expected driving lane is larger than the predetermined number” and “The lane change determiner 1220 may analyze driving patterns of the vehicles at the front and rear of the searched available spaces, that is, the first space and the second space, and predict a securable space”),
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of modified Kim for lane keeping assist system and method for improving safety in preceding vehicle follower longitudinal control to determine whether an expected driving lane is congested based on driving information, as taught by Yu (paras. [0025] – [0154]) in order to control the host vehicle to move from a highly congested lane to a less-congested lane.
Regarding claim 5, Kim teaches wherein the processor stops control executing driving support controls of the host vehicle and no traveling lane is recognized in the execution of the first trace control (see Kim paras “0010-0011” and “0040” “generate a new route based on the recognized preceding vehicle information when the lane information is not recognized” and “when a lane capable of being temporarily recognized is not present or deterioration in lane recognition performance occurs (for example, when a vehicle enters a lane disappearance section such as a crossroad, crosswalk, etc.), the route generation module 22 may generate a new route along which the host vehicle follows the preceding vehicle based on preceding vehicle recognition information recognized by the preceding vehicle recognition module 21.”),
but Kim fails to explicitly disclose wherein the processor stops control executing driving support controls of the host vehicle, when determination is made that the host vehicle is traveling in congested traffic.
However, Kuramochi teaches wherein the processor stops control executing driving support controls of the host vehicle, when determination is made that the host vehicle is traveling in congested traffic (see Kuramochi paras “0046”, “0084” and “0089-0092 “determined in step 32 that the vehicle speed is 0, it can be determined that vehicles ahead are stationary because of traffic congestion and the host vehicle follows a motion of the preceding vehicle to stop” and “If it is determined in step 32 that the vehicle speed is 0, it can then be determined that the preceding vehicle stops in congested traffic and the host vehicle follows it to stop”),
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Kim for lane keeping assist system and method to follow a preceding vehicle by adjusting the headway distance to an appropriate value and to provide a headway control system that is capable of starting a traffic congestion processing using the same operation as an ordinary driving operation, as taught by Kuramochi (para. [0046] – [0089-0092]) in order to provide an easy traveling while following the vehicle ahead or not depending on the traffic congestion.
Regarding claim 6, Kim teaches wherein the driving support controls include at least one of a vehicle speed control or a steering angle control (see Kim at least para “0044”).
Claims 2-4 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable in view of Kim (US 2019/0337513 A1) in further view of Kuramochi et al (US 2003/0171857 A1) in further view of Yu (US 2020/0079380 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, in further view of Oh et al (US 2020/0180637 A1) (hereinafter Oh).
Regarding claim 2, Modified Kim fails to explicitly disclose Wherein the processor determines whether another vehicle is present within a predetermined range including a lateral side of the host vehicle based on the acquired information, and the processor determines that the host vehicle is traveling in congested traffic in response to the determination that the other vehicle is present within the predetermined range including a lateral side of the host vehicle.
However, Oh teaches Wherein the processor determines whether another vehicle is present within a predetermined range including a lateral side of the host vehicle based on the acquired information, and the processor determines that the host vehicle is traveling in congested traffic in response to the determination that the other vehicle is present within the predetermined range including a lateral side of the host vehicle (see Oh paras “0045-0046” and “0052-0053” “The sensor unit 120 may acquire information about vehicles around a host vehicle, and may recognize one or more adjacent vehicles located within a detection range RF” and “The sensor unit 120 may sense one or more adjacent vehicles located ahead of, beside, and behind the host vehicle, and may detect the position, the velocity, and the acceleration of each of the adjacent vehicles” and “Here, the vehicle information may include the position, the velocity, and the acceleration of each of the adjacent vehicles. The vehicle running control apparatus 130 may determine whether the traveling lane and a junction section lane are congested based on the vehicle information of the adjacent vehicles received from the sensor unit 120.”),
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of modified Kim for lane keeping assist system and method for improving safety in preceding vehicle follower longitudinal control for identifying vehicles in the adjacent lanes, as taught by Oh (paras. [0045-0046]) in order to allow the host vehicle to adjust its behavior accordingly to allow the adjacent vehicles to change lanes and also to reduce the risk of collision and improving overall traffic flow.
Regarding claim 3, Modified Kim fails to explicitly disclose the processor determines whether another vehicle traveling side by side with respect to the host vehicle is present based on the acquired information, and the processor determines that the host vehicle is traveling in congested traffic in response to the determination that the acquired information indicates the other vehicle is traveling side by side with respect to the host vehicle.
However, Oh teaches the processor determines whether another vehicle traveling side by side with respect to the host vehicle is present based on the acquired information, and the processor determines that the host vehicle is traveling in congested traffic in response to the determination that the acquired information indicates the other vehicle is traveling side by side with respect to the host vehicle (see Oh paras “0052-0053” and “0057-0058” “The vehicle running control apparatus 130 may receive vehicle information of one or more adjacent vehicles located within the detection range FR from the sensor unit 120. Here, the vehicle information may include the position, the velocity, and the acceleration of each of the adjacent vehicles. The vehicle running control apparatus 130 may determine whether the traveling lane and a junction section lane are congested based on the vehicle information of the adjacent vehicles received from the sensor unit 120.” and “and may control at least one of the traveling path or the traveling velocity of the host vehicle according to the result of the determination in order to display the intention to yield.”),
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of modified Kim for lane keeping assist system and method for improving safety in preceding vehicle follower longitudinal control to determine the congestion state of the road on which the host vehicle is traveling and also the on the adjacent lane, as taught by Oh (paras. [0052-0053]) in order to allow the host vehicle to adjust its behavior accordingly to allow the adjacent vehicles to change lanes and also to reduce the risk of collision and improving overall traffic flow.
Regarding claim 4, Modified Kim fails to explicitly disclose wherein the processor determines that the host vehicle is traveling in congested traffic when the host vehicle is traveling on a road having two or more lanes in a traveling direction of the host vehicle.
However, Oh teaches wherein the processor determines that the host vehicle is traveling in congested traffic when the host vehicle is traveling on a road having two or more lanes in a traveling direction of the host vehicle (see Oh figures 2 & 3 and paras “0052-0053”, “0055-0057” and “0080” “The vehicle running control apparatus 130 may receive vehicle information of one or more adjacent vehicles located within the detection range FR from the sensor unit 120. Here, the vehicle information may include the position, the velocity, and the acceleration of each of the adjacent vehicles. The vehicle running control apparatus 130 may determine whether the traveling lane and a junction section lane are congested based on the vehicle information of the adjacent vehicles received from the sensor unit 120.”),
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of modified Kim for lane keeping assist system and method for improving safety in preceding vehicle follower longitudinal control to detect adjacent vehicles on a multi-lane road traveling in the same direction, as taught by Oh (paras. [0052-0053]) in order to allow the host vehicle to adjust its behavior accordingly to allow the adjacent vehicles to change lanes and also to reduce the risk of collision and improving overall traffic flow.
Regarding claim 7, Modified Kim fails to explicitly disclose wherein the processor receives traffic condition information from a server, the traffic condition information including first traffic information regarding traffic conditions of the traveling lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, and the processor determines whether the host vehicle is traveling in congested traffic based on the received traffic condition information.
However, Oh teaches wherein the processor receives traffic condition information from a server, the traffic condition information including first traffic information regarding traffic conditions of the traveling lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, and the processor determines whether the host vehicle is traveling in congested traffic based on the received traffic condition information (see Oh figures 2 & 3 and paras “0052-0053”, “0055-0057”, “0061” and “0101” “The vehicle running control apparatus 130 may determine whether the traveling lane and a junction section lane are congested based on the vehicle information of the adjacent vehicles received from the sensor unit 120.”),
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of modified Kim for lane keeping assist system and method for improving safety in preceding vehicle follower longitudinal control to detect adjacent vehicles on a multi-lane road traveling in the same direction, as taught by Oh (paras. [0052-0053]) in order to allow the host vehicle to adjust its behavior accordingly to allow the adjacent vehicles to change lanes and also to reduce the risk of collision and improving overall traffic flow.
Regarding claim 8, Modified Kim fails to explicitly disclose whereinthe traffic condition information further includes second traffic condition information regarding traffic conditions of a second traveling lane adjoining the traveling lane in which the host vehicle is traveling.
However, Oh teaches wherein the traffic condition information further includes second traffic condition information regarding traffic conditions of a second traveling lane adjoining the traveling lane in which the host vehicle is traveling (see Oh figures 2 & 3 and paras “0052-0053”, “0055-0057”, “0061” and “0101” “The vehicle running control apparatus 130 may determine whether the traveling lane and a junction section lane are congested based on the vehicle information of the adjacent vehicles received from the sensor unit 120.”),
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of modified Kim for lane keeping assist system and method for improving safety in preceding vehicle follower longitudinal control to detect adjacent vehicles on a multi-lane road traveling in the same direction, as taught by Oh (paras. [0052-0053]) in order to allow the host vehicle to adjust its behavior accordingly to allow the adjacent vehicles to change lanes and also to reduce the risk of collision and improving overall traffic flow.
Regarding claim 9, Modified Kim fails to explicitly disclose wherein the processor determines that the host vehicle is traveling in congested traffic when the received traffic condition information indicates a number of vehicles traveling within a predetermined distance in front of and behind the host vehicle exceeds a threshold value.
However, Yu teaches wherein the processor determines that the host vehicle is traveling in congested traffic when the received traffic condition information indicates a number of vehicles traveling within a predetermined distance in front of and behind the host vehicle exceeds a threshold value (see Yu paras “0025”, “0051” and “0153” “The congested situation determiner 1210 may detect the surrounding vehicles from the surrounding image, extract a time and space feature vector from an image frame including the detected surrounding vehicles, determine a number of vehicles which show a cutting-in tendency through a deep learning artificial neural network (DNN) using the extracted time and space feature vector, and when the number of determined vehicles exceeds a predetermined threshold number, determine that the expected driving lane is congested.”),
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of modified Kim for lane keeping assist system and method for improving safety in preceding vehicle follower longitudinal control to determine whether an expected driving lane is congested based on driving information, as taught by Yu (paras. [0025] – [0153]) in order to control the host vehicle to move from a highly congested lane to a less-congested lane.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable in view of Kim (US 2019/0337513 A1) in further view of Kuramochi et al (US 2003/0171857 A1) in further view of Yu et al (US 2020/0079380 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, in further view of Hirasago (US 2002/0133285 A1).
Regarding claim 11, Modified Kim fails to explicitly disclose wherein the processor is further configured to control a display device to notify a user of the host vehicle that the second trace control cannot be executed when the processor determines that traffic in the own traveling lane is congested.
However, Hirasago teaches wherein the processor is further configured to control a display device to notify a user of the host vehicle that the second trace control cannot be executed when the processor determines that traffic in the own traveling lane is congested (see Hirasago paras “0271-0273”, “0282” and “0289” “which is arranged such that the point corresponding to 0 km/h is displayed when automatic stop mode 30-4 is executed, the driver can easily recognize that the vehicle is stopped in reply to the stop of the preceding vehicle and this stop of the host vehicle is inherent in the control state of the traffic-congestion following control system” ),
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of modified Kim for lane keeping assist system and method to notify the driver when the preceding vehicle following control mode is stopped, as taught by Hirasago (paras. [0271-0273] – [0289]) in order to improve driver awareness.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOSSAM M ABDELLATIF whose telephone number is (571)272-5869. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8 am-5 pm EST.
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/HOSSAM M ABD EL LATIF/Examiner, Art Unit 3664
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