DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Claims
2. This office action is in response to application number 18/494,080 filed on 10/25/2023, in which the amendments and arguments filed on 06/15/2026.
No claims have been amended.
No claims have been added.
Claim 20 have been cancelled.
Priority
3. Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119
(a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. CN202110448544.4, filed on 04/25/2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
4. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/09/2024 and 01/06/2025 has been received and considered.
Response to Amendment
5. Applicant’s arguments/remarks made in amendment (See Pages 8-12, filed 06/15/2026) have been fully considered and are not persuasive.
Applicant argues, “such interpretation (i.e., the “location of the error is used as the center for the warning function” based on Ibrahim) is not factually supported by Ibrahim”
Examiner respectfully disagrees. The claim language “wherein the positioning quality information is adaptively generated by using one of the plurality of location points with lowest quality as a center for a warning function;”, defined in applicant’s specification page 0021, states “In the foregoing implementation, the road or the lane in the positioning quality indication information is adaptively generated by using the location point with lowest quality as a center, so that a road or a lane with poor positioning quality in the positioning quality indication information is quickly determined, and a relatively good warning function can be provided for a user of the positioning quality indication information.”. Under the broadest interpretation, the examiner is interpreting this as the positioning quality information is adaptively generated when the location point with the lowest quality is used as the center for a warning function.
Under this interpretation, prior art Ibrahim teaches in Paragraph 0079 “The map database generally also represents the center of the road and therefore when the road divides or shifts from divided to undivided, the center of the road may suddenly shift and the split may result in curvature values that are not representative of the road's actual curvature. This system is configured to identify these instances in the map database”. Ibrahim also teaches in Paragraph 0080 “To work properly, the system must also detect map errors that occur randomly and errors where they are not expected. By storing the location of the error in the database in the system generally including the direction of travel along the particular segment, the system will only give the error such as a warning the first time that it is encountered and thereafter with suppressed warnings at that location.”
In other words, the prior art teaches when errors are encountered which will be interpreted as the lowest quality in a road these will be used as the center and the location of the lowest quality error of the center of the road is stored on the map when the road shifts or divides and the error of the center is used as the warning function. For the above reasons, applicant’s arguments are not persuasive.
Applicant also argues “MPEP 2142 provides that "To reach a proper determination under 35 U.S.C. 103, the examiner must step backward in time and into the shoes worn by the hypothetical 'person of ordinary skill in the art'. That time is 'before the effective filing date of the claimed invention' for 35 U.S.C. 103 or 'at the time the invention was made' for pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103." "In view of all factual information, the examiner must then make a determination whether the claimed invention 'as a whole' would have been obvious at that time to a hypothetical person of ordinary skill in the art." MPEP 2142 further provides: " 'To support the conclusion that the claimed invention is directed to obvious subject matter, either the references must expressly or impliedly suggest the claimed invention or the examiner must present a convincing line of reasoning as to why the artisan would have found the claimed invention to have been obvious in light of the teachings of the references.”
However, the rationale for combining the references in the independent claims are apparent to combine Buchholz in view of Schilling because it would have been for the benefit to provide a minimum cost path between regions at the travel time that is identified relative to using data that does not identify more than one minimum cost path between a pair of regions if different minimum cost path exist between the pair of regions at different times. Also the reason to combine Buchholz in view of Schilling further in view of Ibrahim would have been for the benefit to providing any predictive system to identify and predict such errors to eliminate false negative as well as to be able to determine potential instances of false negatives before the vehicle encounters areas.
Regarding claim 7 as claim 7 depends from claim 1 Applicant argues, “The mere “preset error in the matching of the midpoint” of Rolf would include more than a “worst” location points in view of the express tolerance taught by Rolf (“network version of the digital map is tolerated.” Paragraph [0140] of Rolf).”
Examiner respectfully disagrees. The claim language “and a midpoint of the lane in the positioning quality indication information is a location point with worst positioning quality in the second group of the plurality of location points.”, defined in applicant’s specification page 0020, states “In an embodiment of the first aspect, the target geographic range is a road in the positioning quality indication information, and a midpoint of the road in the positioning quality indication information is a location point with worst positioning quality in the second group of the plurality of location points;”. Under the broadest interpretation, the examiner is interpreting this as a midpoint of the lane is a location point with worst position quality than that of the second group of location points.
Under this interpretation, prior art Rolf teaches in Paragraph 0140 “In various embodiments, the information/data identifying the starting location, target location, and/or stop location(s) may be map-matched to the network version of the digital map such that an error up to a preset error in the matching of the midpoint corresponding to the starting/target/stop location to the midpoint of the corresponding TME of the network version of the digital map is tolerated. The z-level corresponding to the starting location, target location, and/or stop location(s) may be used for tie breaking in the case where the starting location, target location, and/or stop location(s) corresponds to a tunnel, bridge, stacked roads, and/or the like. If the network apparatus cannot exactly match (e.g., within the preset error) a network version origin TME, network version target TME, and/or network version waypoint TME(s) to the information/data identifying the starting location, target location, and/or stop location(s), the multiple stop route response may include a flag indicating such.”.
In other words, the prior art teaches matching of a midpoint in the information are matched with the network version of the digital map, when the maps do not match then a flag is indicated as an error in the network version of the map. The error will be interpreted as the position with the lowest quality. The claims specifically mentions … a midpoint of the road in the positioning quality indication information is a location point with worst positioning quality and can be more than one midpoint of the road in the positioning quality indication information is a location point with worst positioning quality. The claim does not specifically mention …a midpoint of the road in the positioning quality indication information is a location point with worst positioning quality as one specific point. For the above reasons, applicant’s arguments are not persuasive.
Applicant respectfully also disagrees that claim 21 is patentable, and therefore is rejected for the reasons similar to claim 1. Thus claims 2-19 are also rejected upon dependency to the independent claims. For the reasons explained above the entire rejection has been maintained.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
6. Claim(s) 1-6, 8-19 and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US 20170016994 A1) to Buchholz et al. (hereinafter Buchholz) in view of (US 20120158301 A1) to Schilling et al. (hereinafter Schilling) and further in view of Ibrahim (US 20110098922 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Buchholz discloses An apparatus for improving accuracy of navigation path planning based on positioning quality indicating map precision, the apparatus comprising: (Buchholz Paragraph 0010: “To achieve this object, according to the invention, a method is provided for determining a spatially resolved extent of error for position finding with a global navigation satellite system for a target area of interest using field data from a plurality of field apparatuses, particularly motor vehicles, each having a receiver for the global navigation satellite system and which are at least intermittently situated in the target area, comprising the following steps:”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0013: “ascertainment and updating of an error map containing the extents of error for various positions and/or subareas of the target area, by statistical evaluation of the field data records in the central computation device.”) a memory configured to store instructions; (Buchholz Paragraph 0024: “The central computation device can be a server comprising one or more computers, and which is connected via the Internet and/or via a mobile radio network to the field apparatuses, in particular to the motor vehicles.”) and a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the instructions cause the processor to be configured to: (Buchholz Paragraph 0024: “The central computation device can be a server comprising one or more computers, and which is connected via the Internet and/or via a mobile radio network to the field apparatuses, in particular to the motor vehicles.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0033: “In the central computation device 12, the field data records 5 are collected.”) obtain positioning location information of a first group of a plurality of location points, (Buchholz Paragraph 0014: “The target area can be subdivided, for example, by an indication in grid form of positions that stand representatively for conceivably more precise position indications in their environment, so that GNSS positions of the field data records can be associated with this position;”) positioning quality reference information of the first group of the plurality of location points, (Buchholz Paragraph 0013: “ascertainment and updating of an error map containing the extents of error for various positions and/or subareas of the target area, by statistical evaluation of the field data records in the central computation device.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0017: “as error value, an error value determined internally in the receiver, in particular, a dilution of precision (DOP), is used”) (Note: Positions indicates the first group of the plurality of location points) and location information of a map element in a map; (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “FIG. 3 shows, for example and only to illustrate the principle, a section 13 of an error map 14, which can be obtained by the described method. Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”) generate positioning quality indication information based on the positioning location information of the first group of the plurality of location points, (Buchholz Paragraph 0014: “The target area can be subdivided, for example, by an indication in grid form of positions that stand representatively for conceivably more precise position indications in their environment, so that GNSS positions of the field data records can be associated with this position;”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0015: “ For a defined target area or concretely corresponding subareas, the error values obtained, which are contained in the field data records, are merged by means of a statistical evaluation, so that it becomes possible to establish whether, in a subarea or at certain positions in the target area, poor conditions for the achievable GNSS precision exist constantly.”) the positioning quality reference information of the first group of the plurality of location points, (Buchholz Paragraph 0013: “ascertainment and updating of an error map containing the extents of error for various positions and/or subareas of the target area, by statistical evaluation of the field data records in the central computation device.) (Buchholz Paragraph 0015: “a defined target area or concretely corresponding subareas, the error values obtained, which are contained in the field data records, are merged by means of a statistical evaluation, so that it becomes possible to establish whether, in a subarea or at certain positions in the target area, poor conditions for the achievable GNSS precision exist constantly.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0017: “as error value, an error value determined internally in the receiver, in particular, a dilution of precision (DOP), is used”)(Note: Positions indicates a first group of the plurality of location points) and the location information of the map element in the map, (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “map 14, which can be obtained by the described method. Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”) wherein: the positioning quality indication information indicates positioning quality in a target geographic range (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area”) […] and the positioning quality of each of the […] is obtained through statistics on quality information of the location points corresponding to each of the […] (Buchholz Paragraph 0015: “For a defined target area or concretely corresponding subareas, the error values obtained, which are contained in the field data records, are merged by means of a statistical evaluation, so that it becomes possible to establish whether, in a subarea or at certain positions in the target area, poor conditions for the achievable GNSS precision exist constantly.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0017: “an error value determined internally in the receiver, in particular, a dilution of precision (DOP), is used”) the first group of the plurality of location points comprise a second group of a plurality of location points in the target geographic range, (Buchholz Paragraph 0024: “stock of data an error map containing the extents of error for different positions and/or subareas of the target area, by statistical evaluation of the field data records and for updating it on the basis of newly received field data records.”) (Note: The different positions includes multiple sets of a plurality of points.) and the positioning quality in the target geographic range is a statistical value obtained based on positioning quality reference information of the second group of the plurality of location points; (Buchholz Paragraph 0015: “For a defined target area or concretely corresponding subareas, the error values obtained, which are contained in the field data records, are merged by means of a statistical evaluation, so that it becomes possible to establish whether, in a subarea or at certain positions in the target area, poor conditions for the achievable GNSS precision exist constantly.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0017: “an error value determined internally in the receiver, in particular, a dilution of precision (DOP), is used”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0024: “stock of data an error map containing the extents of error for different positions and/or subareas of the target area, by statistical evaluation of the field data records and for updating it on the basis of newly received field data records.”) add the positioning quality indication information to the map, […] and provide the positioning quality indication information in the map for computing, by a processor, (Buchholz Paragraph 0013: “ascertainment and updating of an error map containing the extents of error for various positions and/or subareas of the target area, by statistical evaluation of the field data records in the central computation device.)
Buchholz does not disclose and comprises a first region identifier (ID) is in correspondence with a second region ID in the map […] first region IDs […] first region IDs, […] wherein the positioning quality information is adaptively generated by using one of the plurality of location points with lowest quality as a center for a warning function; […] a navigation route.
However, Schilling does teach […] and comprises a first region identifier (ID) is in correspondence with a second region ID in the map (Schilling Paragraph 0142: “The methods outlined herein divide the map to comprise a number of regions which are not based upon an area of the map but which are based upon the number of nodes contained within a region”) (Schilling paragraph 0335: “stores all possible overlapping lists of regions in pages. Lists of region are consecutive region IDs in that array. Lists can (and do) overlap”) (Schilling Paragraph 0457: “Huffman Trees of Local Region IDs Since list of regions are stored by frequency in each page, we can see that storing local region ID 0 takes less bits (in fact only 1 bit) than other location region IDs.”) […] first region IDs […] first region IDs (Schilling Paragraph 0142: “The methods outlined herein divide the map to comprise a number of regions which are not based upon an area of the map but which are based upon the number of nodes contained within a region”) (Schilling Paragraph 0457: “Huffman Trees of Local Region IDs Since list of regions are stored by frequency in each page, we can see that storing local region ID 0 takes less bits (in fact only 1 bit) than other location region IDs.”) […] a navigation route. (Schilling paragraph 0001: “The present invention relates to a computerised method of determining a route using map data”)page, we can see that storing local region ID 0 takes less bits (in fact only 1 bit) than other location region IDs.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Buchholz to include […] and comprises a first region identifier (ID) is in correspondence with a second region ID in the map […] first region IDs […] first region IDS […] a navigation route taught by Schilling. This would have been for the benefit of providing a minimum cost path between regions at the travel time is identified relative to using data that does not identify more than one minimum cost path between a pair of the regions if different minimum cost paths exist between the pair of regions at different times. [Schilling Paragraph 0007]
Schilling does not teach […] wherein the positioning quality information is adaptively generated by using one of the plurality of location points with lowest quality as a center for a warning function;
However, Ibrahim does teach […] wherein the positioning quality information is adaptively generated by using one of the plurality of location points with lowest quality as a center for a warning function; (Ibrahim Paragraph 0007: “ One problem with using a map database for predictive warnings and corrections is that maps contains errors such as curves, jogs, and other features that do not exactly mirror actual road conditions and therefore may trigger unnecessary corrective actions and warnings or miss conditions when a warning is needed for a system that attempts to use the map database as a predictive tool.”) (Ibrahim Paragraph 0080: “To work properly, the system must also detect map errors that occur randomly and errors where they are not expected. By storing the location of the error in the database in the system generally including the direction of travel along the particular segment, the system will only give the error such as a warning the first time that it is encountered and thereafter with suppressed warnings at that location.”) (Note: The location of the error is used as the center for the warning function)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Buchholz in view of Schilling to include […] wherein the positioning quality information is adaptively generated by using one of the plurality of location points with lowest quality as a center for a warning function; taught by Ibrahim. This would have been for the benefit of providing any predictive system to identify and predict such errors to eliminate false negatives as well as to be able to determine potential instances of false negatives before the vehicle encounters such areas. It would also be helpful if the system is capable of learning where false negatives exist and preventing unnecessary warnings after the first encounter. [Ibrahim Paragraph 0007]
Regarding claim 2, Buchholz discloses The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the target geographic range is a region, a road, or a lane in the positioning quality indication information. (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Note: Partial area is a region which comprises other subareas.)
Regarding claim 3, Buchholz discloses The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the map element comprises at least one of a region, a road, a lane, an intersection, a toll station, a ramp, a tunnel, or a bridge in the map. (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “an error map 14, which can be obtained by the described method. Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”)
Regarding claim 4, Buchholz discloses he apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the target geographic range is a road in the positioning quality indication information, and the road in the positioning quality indication information [...] (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”)
Buccholz does not disclose comprises a plurality of roads in the map, or the road in the map comprises a plurality of roads in the positioning quality indication information; or the target geographic range is a lane in the positioning quality indication information, that comprises a plurality of lanes in the map, or the lane in the map comprises a plurality of lanes in the positioning quality indication information.
However, Schilling does teach comprises a plurality of roads in the map, (Schilling Paragraph 0102: “For example, the node 302 has four such road segments 304a,b,c,d.”) (Schilling Paragraph 0102: “ the map as shown in FIG. 7 shows to a user thereof a plurality of road segments, each of which represents a portion of a navigable route in the area covered by the map.”) or the road in the map comprises a plurality of roads in the positioning quality indication information; or the target geographic range is a lane in the positioning quality indication information, that comprises a plurality of lanes in the map, or the lane in the map comprises a plurality of lanes in the positioning quality indication information.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Buchholz to include […] comprises a plurality of roads in the map, or the road in the map comprises a plurality of roads in the positioning quality indication information; or the target geographic range is a lane in the positioning quality indication information, that comprises a plurality of lanes in the map, or the lane in the map comprises a plurality of lanes in the positioning quality indication information taught by Schilling. This would have been for the benefit of providing a minimum cost path between regions at the travel time is identified relative to using data that does not identify more than one minimum cost path between a pair of the regions if different minimum cost paths exist between the pair of regions at different times. [Schilling Paragraph 0007]
Regarding claim 5, Buchholz discloses The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the target geographic range is a road in the positioning quality indication information, that has a fixed length; or the target geographic range is a lane in the positioning quality indication information, that has a fixed length. (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”) (Note: A fixed length of a lane is indicated in the picture below.)
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Regarding claim 6, Buchholz discloses The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the target geographic range is a road in the positioning quality indication information, and an endpoint of the road in the positioning quality indication information is the map element, […] (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”)
Buchholz does not disclose […] an endpoint of the map element, or a corner point of the map element; or the target geographic range is a lane in the positioning quality indication information, and an endpoint of the lane in the positioning quality indication information is the map element, an endpoint of the map element, or a corner point of the map element.
However, Schilling does teach an endpoint of the map element, (Schilling paragraph 0010: “A node is a point on the map where navigable paths intersect/diverge or an end point of a navigable path.”)or a corner point of the map element; or the target geographic range is a lane in the positioning quality indication information, and an endpoint of the lane in the positioning quality indication information is the map element, an endpoint of the map element, or a corner point of the map element.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Buchholz to include an endpoint of the map element, or a corner point of the map element; or the target geographic range is a lane in the positioning quality indication information, and an endpoint of the lane in the positioning quality indication information is the map element, an endpoint of the map element, or a corner point of the map element taught by Schilling, This would have been for the benefit of providing a minimum cost path between regions at the travel time is identified relative to using data that does not identify more than one minimum cost path between a pair of the regions if different minimum cost paths exist between the pair of regions at different times. [Schilling Paragraph 0007]
Regarding claim 8, Buchholz discloses The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the processor to be configured to: (Buchholz Paragraph 0024: “The central computation device can be a server comprising one or more computers, and which is connected via the Internet and/or via a mobile radio network to the field apparatuses, in particular to the motor vehicles.”) determine the target geographic range and the second group of the plurality of location points based on the positioning location information of the first group of the plurality of location points and the location information of the map element in the map; (Buchholz Paragraph 0024: “stock of data an error map containing the extents of error for different positions and/or subareas of the target area, by statistical evaluation of the field data records and for updating it on the basis of newly received field data records.”) obtain the statistical value based on the positioning quality reference information of the second group of the plurality of location points; (Buchholz Paragraph 0015: “For a defined target area or concretely corresponding subareas, the error values obtained, which are contained in the field data records, are merged by means of a statistical evaluation, so that it becomes possible to establish whether, in a subarea or at certain positions in the target area, poor conditions for the achievable GNSS precision exist constantly.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0017: “an error value determined internally in the receiver, in particular, a dilution of precision (DOP), is used”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0024: “stock of data an error map containing the extents of error for different positions and/or subareas of the target area, by statistical evaluation of the field data records and for updating it on the basis of newly received field data records.”) and generate the positioning quality indication information based on the target geographic range and the statistical value. (Buchholz Paragraph 0015: “For a defined target area or concretely corresponding subareas, the error values obtained, which are contained in the field data records, are merged by means of a statistical evaluation, so that it becomes possible to establish whether, in a subarea or at certain positions in the target area, poor conditions for the achievable GNSS precision exist constantly.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0017: “an error value determined internally in the receiver, in particular, a dilution of precision (DOP), is used”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0024: “stock of data an error map containing the extents of error for different positions and/or subareas of the target area, by statistical evaluation of the field data records and for updating it on the basis of newly received field data records.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”)(Note: Partial area is a region which comprises other subareas.)
Regarding claim 9, Buchholz discloses The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the positioning quality indication information further indicates a correspondence between the target geographic range and a road, a lane, or a region in the map. (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”)
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Regarding claim 10, Buchholz discloses The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the positioning quality indication information comprises time information, and the time information indicates a valid time of the positioning quality in the target geographic range. (Buchholz Paragraph 0022: “In concrete terms, it can be provided that, for example, for a limited time period, in particular time period of less than one day, error values at a position and/or in a subarea that deviate from a mean value of another longer time period outside of a tolerance interval are rejected.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”) (Note: Partial area is a region which comprises other subareas.)
Regarding claim 11, Buchholz discloses The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the positioning quality reference information comprises positioning precision of the location point, a precision factor DOP value of the location point, a quantity of satellites observed at the location point, or information indicating whether positioning location information of the location point is a fixed solution. (Buchholz Paragraph 0015: “For a defined target area or concretely corresponding subareas, the error values obtained, which are contained in the field data records, are merged by means of a statistical evaluation, so that it becomes possible to establish whether, in a subarea or at certain positions in the target area, poor conditions for the achievable GNSS precision exist constantly.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0017: “an error value determined internally in the receiver, in particular, a dilution of precision (DOP), is used”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0024: “stock of data an error map containing the extents of error for different positions and/or subareas of the target area, by statistical evaluation of the field data records and for updating it on the basis of newly received field data records.”)
Regarding claim 12, Buchholz discloses A map using apparatus, comprising: (Buchholz Paragraph 0010: “To achieve this object, according to the invention, a method is provided for determining a spatially resolved extent of error for position finding with a global navigation satellite system for a target area of interest using field data from a plurality of field apparatuses, particularly motor vehicles, each having a receiver for the global navigation satellite system and which are at least intermittently situated in the target area, comprising the following steps:”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0013: “ascertainment and updating of an error map containing the extents of error for various positions and/or subareas of the target area, by statistical evaluation of the field data records in the central computation device.”) a memory configured to store instructions; (Buchholz Paragraph 0024: “The central computation device can be a server comprising one or more computers, and which is connected via the Internet and/or via a mobile radio network to the field apparatuses, in particular to the motor vehicles.”) and a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the instructions cause the processor to be configured to: (Buchholz Paragraph 0024: “The central computation device can be a server comprising one or more computers, and which is connected via the Internet and/or via a mobile radio network to the field apparatuses, in particular to the motor vehicles.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0033: “In the central computation device 12, the field data records 5 are collected.”) obtain positioning location information of a first group of a plurality of location points, (Buchholz Paragraph 0014: “The target area can be subdivided, for example, by an indication in grid form of positions that stand representatively for conceivably more precise position indications in their environment, so that GNSS positions of the field data records can be associated with this position;”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0033: “In the central computation device 12, the field data records 5 are collected.”) receive map information, wherein the map information comprises positioning quality indication information and map topology information, wherein: (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”) the positioning quality indication information indicates a statistical value of positioning quality in a target geographic range […] and the positioning quality of each of the […] is obtained through statistics on quality information of the location points corresponding to each of the […] (Buchholz Paragraph 0015: “For a defined target area or concretely corresponding subareas, the error values obtained, which are contained in the field data records, are merged by means of a statistical evaluation, so that it becomes possible to establish whether, in a subarea or at certain positions in the target area, poor conditions for the achievable GNSS precision exist constantly.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0017: “an error value determined internally in the receiver, in particular, a dilution of precision (DOP), is used”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0024: “stock of data an error map containing the extents of error for different positions and/or subareas of the target area, by statistical evaluation of the field data records and for updating it on the basis of newly received field data records.”) the map topology information indicates a location of a map element in a map, the map element comprises at least one of a region, a road, a lane, an intersection, a toll station, a ramp, a tunnel, and or a bridge in the map, (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “FIG. 3 shows, for example and only to illustrate the principle, a section 13 of an error map 14, which can be obtained by the described method. Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”) and the target geographic range is a region, a road, or a lane in the positioning quality indication information; (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”) and perform, based on the positioning quality indication information and the map topology information, at least one of: path planning, driving decision making, or vehicle control. (Buchholz Paragraph 0015: “As a result, the achievable GNSS precision in these areas is greatly improved, if, for the determination of the GNSS position, the landmarks are taken into consideration additionally, which in turn enables the implementation of functions in vehicle systems of a motor vehicle that rely on a comprehensive high position precision.”) (Note: The implementation of functions in vehicle systems can help with path planning)
Buchholz does not disclose […] and comprises a first region identifier (ID) is in correspondence with a second region ID in the map […] first region IDs […] first region IDs, and the positioning quality information is adaptively generated by using one of the plurality of location points with lowest quality as a center for a warning function,
However, Schilling does teach […] and comprises a first region identifier (ID) is in correspondence with a second region ID in the map (Schilling Paragraph 0142: “The methods outlined herein divide the map to comprise a number of regions which are not based upon an area of the map but which are based upon the number of nodes contained within a region”) (Schilling paragraph 0335: “stores all possible overlapping lists of regions in pages. Lists of region are consecutive region IDs in that array. Lists can (and do) overlap”) (Schilling Paragraph 0457: “Huffman Trees of Local Region IDs Since list of regions are stored by frequency in each page, we can see that storing local region ID 0 takes less bits (in fact only 1 bit) than other location region IDs.”) […] first region IDs […] first region IDs (Schilling Paragraph 0142: “The methods outlined herein divide the map to comprise a number of regions which are not based upon an area of the map but which are based upon the number of nodes contained within a region”) (Schilling Paragraph 0457: “Huffman Trees of Local Region IDs Since list of regions are stored by frequency in each page, we can see that storing local region ID 0 takes less bits (in fact only 1 bit) than other location region IDs.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Buchholz to include […] and comprises a first region identifier (ID) is in correspondence with a second region ID in the map […] first region IDs […] first region IDS taught by Schilling. This would have been for the benefit of providing a minimum cost path between regions at the travel time is identified relative to using data that does not identify more than one minimum cost path between a pair of the regions if different minimum cost paths exist between the pair of regions at different times. [Schilling Paragraph 0007]
Schilling does not teach […] and the positioning quality information is adaptively generated by using one of the plurality of location points with lowest quality as a center for a warning function,
However, Ibrahim does teach […] and the positioning quality information is adaptively generated by using one of the plurality of location points with lowest quality as a center for a warning function, (Ibrahim Paragraph 0007: “ One problem with using a map database for predictive warnings and corrections is that maps contains errors such as curves, jogs, and other features that do not exactly mirror actual road conditions and therefore may trigger unnecessary corrective actions and warnings or miss conditions when a warning is needed for a system that attempts to use the map database as a predictive tool.”) (Ibrahim Paragraph 0080: “To work properly, the system must also detect map errors that occur randomly and errors where they are not expected. By storing the location of the error in the database in the system generally including the direction of travel along the particular segment, the system will only give the error such as a warning the first time that it is encountered and thereafter with suppressed warnings at that location.”) (Note: The location of the error is used as the center for the warning function)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Buchholz in view of Schilling to include and the positioning quality information is adaptively generated by using one of the plurality of location points with lowest quality as a center for a warning function, taught by Ibrahim. This would have been for the benefit of providing any predictive system to identify and predict such errors to eliminate false negatives as well as to be able to determine potential instances of false negatives before the vehicle encounters such areas. It would also be helpful if the system is capable of learning where false negatives exist and preventing unnecessary warnings after the first encounter. [Ibrahim Paragraph 0007]
Regarding claim 13, Buchholz discloses The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the target geographic range is a road in the positioning quality indication information, [...] (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”)
Buchholz does not disclose that comprises a plurality of roads in the map, or the road in the map comprises a plurality of roads in the positioning quality indication information; or the target geographic range is a lane in the positioning quality indication information, that comprises a plurality of lanes in the map, or the lane in the map comprises a plurality of lanes in the positioning quality indication information.
However, Schilling does teach that comprises a plurality of roads in the map, (Schilling Paragraph 0102: “For example, the node 302 has four such road segments 304a,b,c,d.”) (Schilling Paragraph 0102: “ the map as shown in FIG. 7 shows to a user thereof a plurality of road segments, each of which represents a portion of a navigable route in the area covered by the map.”) or the road in the map comprises a plurality of roads in the positioning quality indication information; or the target geographic range is a lane in the positioning quality indication information, that comprises a plurality of lanes in the map, or the lane in the map comprises a plurality of lanes in the positioning quality indication information.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Buchholz to include […] that comprises a plurality of roads in the map, or the road in the map comprises a plurality of roads in the positioning quality indication information; or the target geographic range is a lane in the positioning quality indication information, that comprises a plurality of lanes in the map, or the lane in the map comprises a plurality of lanes in the positioning quality indication information taught by Schilling. This would have been for the benefit of providing a minimum cost path between regions at the travel time is identified relative to using data that does not identify more than one minimum cost path between a pair of the regions if different minimum cost paths exist between the pair of regions at different times. [Schilling Paragraph 0007]
Regarding claim 14, Buchholz discloses The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the target geographic range is a road in the positioning quality indication information, that has a
fixed length; or the target geographic range is a lane in the positioning quality indication information, that has a fixed length. (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”) (Note: The highway is a fixed length there is no highway that is infinite.)
Regarding claim 15, Buchholz discloses The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the target geographic range is a road in the positioning quality indication information, and an endpoint of the road in the positioning quality indication information is the map element, […] (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”)
Buchholz does not disclose […] an endpoint of the map element, or a corner point of the map element; or the target geographic range is a lane in the positioning quality indication information, and an endpoint of the lane in the positioning quality indication information is the map element, an endpoint of the map element, or a corner point of the map element.
However, Schilling does teach […] an endpoint of the map element, (Schilling paragraph 0010: “A node is a point on the map where navigable paths intersect/diverge or an end point of a navigable path.”) or a corner point of the map element; or the target geographic range is a lane in the positioning quality indication information, and an endpoint of the lane in the positioning quality indication information is the map element, an endpoint of the map element, or a corner point of the map element.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Buchholz to include […] an endpoint of the map element, or a corner point of the map element; or the target geographic range is a lane in the positioning quality indication information, and an endpoint of the lane in the positioning quality indication information is the map element, an endpoint of the map element, or a corner point of the map element taught by Schilling. This would have been for the benefit of providing a minimum cost path between regions at the travel time is identified relative to using data that does not identify more than one minimum cost path between a pair of the regions if different minimum cost paths exist between the pair of regions at different times. [Schilling Paragraph 0007]
Regarding claim 16, Buchholz discloses The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the target geographic range is a road in the positioning quality indication information, (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”) […] or the target geographic range is a lane in the positioning quality indication information, the lane in the positioning quality indication information comprises a fourth group of a plurality of location points, and a midpoint of the lane in the positioning quality indication information is a location point with worst positioning quality in the fourth group of the plurality of location points.
Buchholz in view of Schilling does not teach […] the road in the positioning quality indication information comprises a third group of a plurality of location points, and a midpoint of the road in the positioning quality indication information is a location point with worst positioning quality in the third group of the plurality of location points; […]
However, Ibrahim does teach […] the road in the positioning quality indication information comprises a third group of a plurality of location points, a midpoint of the road in the positioning quality indication information is a location point with worst positioning quality in the second group of the plurality of location points ((Ibrahim Paragraph 0007: “ One problem with using a map database for predictive warnings and corrections is that maps contains errors such as curves, jogs, and other features that do not exactly mirror actual road conditions and therefore may trigger unnecessary corrective actions and warnings or miss conditions when a warning is needed for a system that attempts to use the map database as a predictive tool.”) (Ibrahim Paragraph 0080: “To work properly, the system must also detect map errors that occur randomly and errors where they are not expected. By storing the location of the error in the database in the system generally including the direction of travel along the particular segment,”) (Note: The location of the error is used as the midpoint)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Buchholz in view of Schilling to include […] the road in the positioning quality indication information comprises a third group of a plurality of location points, a midpoint of the road in the positioning quality indication information is a location point with worst positioning quality in the second group of the plurality of location points taught by Ibrahim. This would have been for the benefit of providing any predictive system to identify and predict such errors to eliminate false negatives as well as to be able to determine potential instances of false negatives before the vehicle encounters such areas. It would also be helpful if the system is capable of learning where false negatives exist and preventing unnecessary warnings after the first encounter. [Ibrahim Paragraph 0007]
Regarding claim 17, Buchholz discloses The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the positioning quality indication information further indicates a correspondence between the
target geographic range and a road in the map, or indicates a correspondence between the target geographic range and a lane in the map, or indicates a correspondence between the target geographic range and a region in the map. (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”)
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Regarding claim 18, Buchholz discloses The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the positioning quality indication information comprises time information, and the time information indicates a valid time of the positioning quality in the target geographic range. (Buchholz Paragraph 0022: “for example, for a limited time period, in particular time period of less than one day, error values at a position and/or in a subarea that deviate from a mean value of another longer time period outside of a tolerance interval are rejected.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”)
Regarding claim 19, Buchholz discloses The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the positioning quality indication information comprises average positioning precision of a plurality of location points, an average precision factor DOP value of the plurality of location points, an average quantity of satellites observed at the plurality of location points, or a statistics status indicating whether positioning locations of the plurality of location points are fixed solutions. (Buchholz Paragraph 0015: “For a defined target area or concretely corresponding subareas, the error values obtained, which are contained in the field data records, are merged by means of a statistical evaluation, so that it becomes possible to establish whether, in a subarea or at certain positions in the target area, poor conditions for the achievable GNSS precision exist constantly.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0017: “In a particularly advantageous design of the invention, as error value, an error value determined internally in the receiver, in particular, a dilution of precision (DOP), is used”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0024: “stock of data an error map containing the extents of error for different positions and/or subareas of the target area, by statistical evaluation of the field data records and for updating it on the basis of newly received field data records.”)
Regarding claim 21, Buchholz A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processing device, cause the processing device to: (Buchholz Paragraph 0024: “The central computation device can be a server comprising one or more computers, and which is connected via the Internet and/or via a mobile radio network to the field apparatuses, in particular to the motor vehicles.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0033: “In the central computation device 12, the field data records 5 are collected.”) receive map information, wherein the map information comprises positioning quality indication information and map topology information, wherein: (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”) the positioning quality indication information indicates a statistical value of positioning quality in a target geographic range and comprises a […] and the positioning quality of each of the […] is obtained through statistics on quality information of the location points corresponding to each of the […] (Buchholz Paragraph 0015: “For a defined target area or concretely corresponding subareas, the error values obtained, which are contained in the field data records, are merged by means of a statistical evaluation, so that it becomes possible to establish whether, in a subarea or at certain positions in the target area, poor conditions for the achievable GNSS precision exist constantly.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0017: “an error value determined internally in the receiver, in particular, a dilution of precision (DOP), is used”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0024: “stock of data an error map containing the extents of error for different positions and/or subareas of the target area, by statistical evaluation of the field data records and for updating it on the basis of newly received field data records.”) the map topology information indicates a location of a map element in a map, the map element comprises at least one of a region, a road, a lane, an intersection, a toll station, a ramp, a tunnel, or a bridge in the map, (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “FIG. 3 shows, for example and only to illustrate the principle, a section 13 of an error map 14, which can be obtained by the described method. Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”) and the target geographic range is a region, a road, or a lane in the positioning quality indication information; (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”) and perform, based on the positioning quality indication information and the map topology information, at least one of: path planning, driving decision making, or vehicle control. (Buchholz Paragraph 0015: “As a result, the achievable GNSS precision in these areas is greatly improved, if, for the determination of the GNSS position, the landmarks are taken into consideration additionally, which in turn enables the implementation of functions in vehicle systems of a motor vehicle that rely on a comprehensive high position precision.”) (Note: The implementation of functions in vehicle systems can help with path planning)
Buchholz does not disclose […] first region identifier (ID) is in correspondence with a second region ID in the map […] first region IDs […] first region IDs […] and the positioning quality information is adaptively generated by using one of the plurality of location points with lowest quality as a center for a warning function,
However, Schilling does teach […] first region identifier (ID) is in correspondence with a second region ID in the map (Schilling Paragraph 0142: “The methods outlined herein divide the map to comprise a number of regions which are not based upon an area of the map but which are based upon the number of nodes contained within a region”) (Schilling paragraph 0335: “stores all possible overlapping lists of regions in pages. Lists of region are consecutive region IDs in that array. Lists can (and do) overlap”) (Schilling Paragraph 0457: “Huffman Trees of Local Region IDs Since list of regions are stored by frequency in each page, we can see that storing local region ID 0 takes less bits (in fact only 1 bit) than other location region IDs.”) […] first region IDs […] first region IDs […]. (Schilling Paragraph 0142: “The methods outlined herein divide the map to comprise a number of regions which are not based upon an area of the map but which are based upon the number of nodes contained within a region”) (Schilling Paragraph 0457: “Huffman Trees of Local Region IDs Since list of regions are stored by frequency in each page, we can see that storing local region ID 0 takes less bits (in fact only 1 bit) than other location region IDs.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Buchholz to include […] first region identifier (ID) is in correspondence with a second region ID in the map […] first region IDs […] first region IDs […] taught by Schilling. This would have been for the benefit of providing a minimum cost path between regions at the travel time is identified relative to using data that does not identify more than one minimum cost path between a pair of the regions if different minimum cost paths exist between the pair of regions at different times. [Schilling Paragraph 0007]
Schilling does not teach […] and the positioning quality information is adaptively generated by using one of the plurality of location points with lowest quality as a center for a warning function,
However, Ibrahim does teach […] and the positioning quality information is adaptively generated by using one of the plurality of location points with lowest quality as a center for a warning function, (Ibrahim Paragraph 0007: “ One problem with using a map database for predictive warnings and corrections is that maps contains errors such as curves, jogs, and other features that do not exactly mirror actual road conditions and therefore may trigger unnecessary corrective actions and warnings or miss conditions when a warning is needed for a system that attempts to use the map database as a predictive tool.”) (Ibrahim Paragraph 0080: “To work properly, the system must also detect map errors that occur randomly and errors where they are not expected. By storing the location of the error in the database in the system generally including the direction of travel along the particular segment, the system will only give the error such as a warning the first time that it is encountered and thereafter with suppressed warnings at that location.”) (Note: The location of the error is used as the center for the warning function)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Buchholz in view of Schilling to include […] and the positioning quality information is adaptively generated by using one of the plurality of location points with lowest quality as a center for a warning function, taught by Ibrahim. This would have been for the benefit of providing any predictive system to identify and predict such errors to eliminate false negatives as well as to be able to determine potential instances of false negatives before the vehicle encounters such areas. It would also be helpful if the system is capable of learning where false negatives exist and preventing unnecessary warnings after the first encounter. [Ibrahim Paragraph 0007]
7. Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Buchholz (US 20170016994 A1) in view of Schilling (US 20120158301 A1) further in view of Ibrahim (US 20110098922 A1) and further in view of (US 20210364318 A1) to Rolf et al. (hereinafter Rolf).
Regarding claim 7, Buchholz discloses The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the target geographic range is a road in the positioning quality indication information, (Buchholz Paragraph 0036: “Therein, three partial areas 15, 16, 17 of the target area can be seen, which are highlighted with different crosshatchings, therefore comprising extents of error in different precision ranges. Such partial areas 15, 16, 17 are usually composed of several subareas that can be defined, for example, and in which a grid is placed over the target area or the like.”) (Buchholz Paragraph 0037: “In the partial area 15, a highway 18 leads through open terrain,”) […] or the target geographic range is a lane in the positioning quality indication information, the lane in the positioning quality indication information comprises a fourth group of a plurality of location points, and a midpoint of the lane in the positioning quality indication information is a location point with worst positioning quality in the fourth group of the plurality of location points.
Buchholz in view of Schilling further in view of Ibrahim does not teach […] and a midpoint of the road in the positioning quality indication information is a location point with worst positioning quality in the second group of the plurality of location points; […]
However, Rolf does teach […] a midpoint of the road in the positioning quality indication information is a location point with worst positioning quality in the second group of the plurality of location points (Rolf Paragraph 0140: “In various embodiments, the information/data identifying the starting location, target location, and/or stop location(s) may be map-matched to the network version of the digital map such that an error up to a preset error in the matching of the midpoint corresponding to the starting/target/stop location to the midpoint of the corresponding TME of the network version of the digital map is tolerated. The z-level corresponding to the starting location, target location, and/or stop location(s) may be used for tie breaking in the case where the starting location, target location, and/or stop location(s) corresponds to a tunnel, bridge, stacked roads, and/or the like. If the network apparatus cannot exactly match (e.g., within the preset error) a network version origin TME, network version target TME, and/or network version waypoint TME(s) to the information/data identifying the starting location, target location, and/or stop location(s), the multiple stop route response may include a flag indicating such.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Buchholz in view of Schilling further in view of Ibrahim to include […] a midpoint of the road in the positioning quality indication information is a location point with worst positioning quality in the second group of the plurality of location points taught by Rolf. This would have been for the benefit of providing a more efficient route response that comprises information identifying a starting location and a target location of a route and an encoding data structure encoding the route. The encoding data structure is a probabilistic data structure configured to not provide false negatives. The apparatus comprises means for using the information identifying the starting location and the target location to identify a decoded origin TME of the mobile version of the digital map for the route and a decoded target TME of the mobile version of the digital map for the route. [Rolf Paragraph 0018]
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN J HARVEY whose telephone number is (571)272-5327. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00AM-5:00PM M-Th, 8:00AM-4:00PM F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kito Robinson can be reached at 571-270-3921. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/K.J.H./Junior Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3664
/KITO R ROBINSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3664
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