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 .
Application status
This office action is in response to application filed on 10/27/2023 and Preliminary Amendment filed on 10/27/2023. Claims 1-15 are canceled. Claims 16-30 are pending. Claims 16-30 are rejected.
Priority
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 the parent Application No. DE10 2021 204 372.0 filed on 04/30/2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/27/2023. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 22, line 5; “…orientation (0(s)) of the rail vehicle with reference data (Oref(s)); and” should read as “…orientation (0(s)) of the rail vehicle with reference data (Oref(s));”
Claim 11, 13, and 16 are objected as improper dependent claim numbering according to MPEP 608.01(n)
608.01(n) Dependent Claims
IV. CLAIM FORM AND ARRANGEMENT
A series of singular dependent claims is permissible in which a dependent claim refers to a preceding claim which, in turn, refers to another preceding claim.
A claim which depends from a dependent claim should not be separated therefrom by any claim which does not also depend from said "dependent claim." It should be kept in mind that a dependent claim may refer back to any preceding independent claim. These are the only restrictions with respect to the sequence of claims and, in general, applicant’s sequence should not be changed. Following list indicates how the claims should have been numbered.
claim 16-26 are correct
claim 29 should have been numbered as claim 27
claim 30 should have been numbered as claim 28
claim 27 should have been numbered as claim 29
claim 28 should have been numbered as claim 30
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 16, 20-21, 24-28, and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kull (US 5740547 A).
Regarding claim 16, Kull teaches (new). A method for orientation-based localization of a rail vehicle (Kull, col. 1, lines 66-67; “In a second aspect, this invention provides a navigation system for a railway vehicle travelling on a track system.”), the method comprising the following steps:
capturing sensor data correlated with a change of orientation (dO/dt) of the rail vehicle (Kull, col. 3, lines 24-28; “A GPS receiver 30 provides a signal over a communication path 32 to an input port 34 of the computer 20. This signal provides relevant information concerning the geographical position of the railway vehicle or another railway vehicle, and it may also supply heading information.”);
determining a time-dependent change of orientation (dO/dt) of the rail vehicle based on the sensor data (Kull, col. 4, lines 13-18; “The navigation system 10 may, also, use an odometer 40 for determining the position of the railway vehicle when it is on a straight portion of track remote from curves and switches of the track system, and to generate a signal indicating this position to an operator display and/or to a control means for the railway vehicle.”, wherein different track sections, straight and curve portion, teaches the how the orientation changes in reference to the time);
determining an estimated velocity (Vloc) of the rail vehicle at least one of based on the captured sensor data or based on additionally captured sensor data (Kull, col. 3, lines 56-60; “The navigation system 10, additionally, uses a turn rate indicator 50 and an odometer 40. The odometer 40 may include a wheel revolution sensing means. The signal originating from the odometer 40 may be differentiated in time to obtain the speed of the railway vehicle.”, it is inherent that velocity can be calculated from the speed and heading indicator) and (Kull, col. 6, lines 57-58; “track curvature can be obtained from turn rate information and the velocity of the train.”);
determining a distance-dependent orientation (O(s)) of the rail vehicle based on the estimated velocity (Vloc) and the time-dependent change of orientation (dO/dt) of the rail vehicle (Kull, col. 4, lines 40-47; “Navigation system 10 may further include a means for obtaining a signal which is a calibration signal for the wheel diameter, to make the distance measuring function of the odometer 40 more accurate. This would be accomplished, for example, by establishing two positions on the track, either by GPS receiver reference data, or by obtaining the relation of the railway vehicle to curves or switches disposed in the track system.”); and
determining an absolute position (pabs(t)) of the rail vehicle by comparing the determined distance-dependent orientation (O(s)) of the rail vehicle with reference data (Oref(s)) of a distance-dependent orientation (Kull, col. 5, lines 35-42; “The method of the invention may further include the step of determining a position of the railway vehicle operating on the track system using signals indicative of odometer information, or signals indicative of speed. Signals indicating position may be updated based on heading information obtained when the railway vehicle is passing over switches or curves located in the track system.”).
Regarding claim 20, Kull teaches (new). The method according to claim 16, which further comprises capturing the sensor data correlated with the change of orientation (dO/dt) of the rail vehicle by using one of a plurality of sensor systems as follows: a radar system, or an inertial measuring unit, or a satellite navigation system, or an acceleration sensor system, or a magnetic field sensor system, or an ultrasound sensor system, or a laser-based measuring system, or a measuring system based on the modulation of radioactive radiation, or a camera-based measuring system (Kull, col. 3, lines 24-28; “A GPS receiver 30 provides a signal over a communication path 32 to an input port 34 of the computer 20. This signal provides relevant information concerning the geographical position of the railway vehicle or another railway vehicle, and it may also supply heading information.”).
Regarding claim 21, Kull teaches (new). The method according to claim 16, which further comprises:
determining a scalar velocity (v(t)) of the rail vehicle based on the estimated velocity (Vloc) (Kull, col. 3, lines 56-60; “The navigation system 10, additionally, uses a turn rate indicator 50 and an odometer 40. The odometer 40 may include a wheel revolution sensing means. The signal originating from the odometer 40 may be differentiated in time to obtain the speed of the railway vehicle.”);
determining a covered distance of the rail vehicle based on the scalar velocity (v(t)) of the rail vehicle (Kull, col. 3, lines 60-67; “By combining the speed with the turn rate, a value is obtained for the curvature of the track on which the vehicle moves. This curvature data is compared with data in the track database to determine the position of the railway vehicle in relation to curves and switches of the track system. This data may, also, be used to obtain a track identifier for the track on which the railway vehicle is moving.”); and
carrying out a calibration between the determined distance-dependent orientation (O(s)) and the reference data (Oref(s)) of the distance-dependent orientation based on the covered distance (Kull, col. 6, lines 21-29; “The odometer 40, in present art, is a device which generates pulses, a known number for each revolution of a wheel of the train. From this information, the computer system 20 can calculate the distance travelled by multiplying the number of pulses counted by a calibration parameter. The calibration parameter depends on the diameter of the wheel. The computer system 20 should initially have an initial value for the calibration parameter.”).
Regarding claim 24, Kull teaches (new). The method according to claim 16, which further comprises carrying out a calibration of a sensor orientation of sensors of the rail vehicle by correlation of uncalibrated measurement data (O(s)) with reference data (Oref(s)) (Kull, col. 1, lines 37-44; “It is equally well known that some navigation systems have been developed, prior to the instant invention, for roadway type vehicles which use a GPS system for determining the approximate location of the vehicle in relation to a street database. By relating the approximate location of the vehicle with information concerning its direction of travel, it is sometimes possible to locate the vehicle on the database.”).
Regarding claim 25, Kull teaches (new). The method according to claim 24, which further comprises based on at least one of the localization or the calibration, carrying out at least one of:
status monitoring or asset monitoring (Kull, col. 1, lines 37-44; “It is equally well known that some navigation systems have been developed, prior to the instant invention, for roadway type vehicles which use a GPS system for determining the approximate location of the vehicle in relation to a street database. By relating the approximate location of the vehicle with information concerning its direction of travel, it is sometimes possible to locate the vehicle on the database.”, wherein the approximate location of the vehicle is asset monitoring).
Regarding claim 26, Kull teaches (new). The method according to claim 25, which further comprises at least one of:
identifying at least one of a yawing or a side motion of the rail vehicle (Kull, col. 2, lines 1-16; “the system uses a GPS receiver to generate a signal indicating a position of the vehicle which may be an approximate position. The system also uses an odometer to generate another signal indicating position, and a signal indicating speed, and a turn indicator to generate a signal indicating position in relation to turns and/or switches disposed in the track system. The system has an onboard computer system which includes a database for the track system disposed therein. The on board computer combines the information from the GPS receiver, the odometer and the turn indicator or heading indicator to generate a signal indicating the position of the vehicle. This final position may be more accurate than the position obtained from the GPS receiver, and a value for this position can be obtained for points on the track system which are remote from turns and switches.”); or
Regarding claim 27, Kull teaches (new). A localization facility (Kull, col. 1, lines 29-36; “Experiments have been performed with a global positioning system (GPS) as the sole means of location. In such experiments it was determined that the GPS system requires such a high level of accuracy that it is necessary to make periodic corrections to the position obtained by the GPS system. These corrections were obtained in these systems from a ground station which transmits correction signals to a receiver on the train.”), comprising:
an orientation sensor unit for capturing sensor data correlated with a change of orientation (dO/dt) of a rail vehicle (Kull, col. 3, lines 24-28; “A GPS receiver 30 provides a signal over a communication path 32 to an input port 34 of the computer 20. This signal provides relevant information concerning the geographical position of the railway vehicle or another railway vehicle, and it may also supply heading information.”);
a change of orientation determining unit for determining a time-dependent change of orientation (dO/dt) of the rail vehicle based on the sensor data (Kull, col. 4, lines 13-18; “The navigation system 10 may, also, use an odometer 40 for determining the position of the railway vehicle when it is on a straight portion of track remote from curves and switches of the track system, and to generate a signal indicating this position to an operator display and/or to a control means for the railway vehicle.”, wherein different track sections, straight and curve portion, teaches the how the orientation changes in reference to the time);
a velocity determining unit for determining an estimated velocity (Vloc) of the rail vehicle based on at least one of the captured sensor data or additionally captured sensor data (Kull, col. 3, lines 56-60; “The navigation system 10, additionally, uses a turn rate indicator 50 and an odometer 40. The odometer 40 may include a wheel revolution sensing means. The signal originating from the odometer 40 may be differentiated in time to obtain the speed of the railway vehicle.”, it is inherent that velocity can be calculated from the speed and heading indicator) and (Kull, col. 6, lines 57-58; “track curvature can be obtained from turn rate information and the velocity of the train.”);
an orientation determining unit for determining a distance-dependent orientation (O(s)) of the rail vehicle based on the estimated velocity (Vloc) and the determined time-dependent change of orientation (dO/dt) of the rail vehicle (Kull, col. 4, lines 40-47; “Navigation system 10 may further include a means for obtaining a signal which is a calibration signal for the wheel diameter, to make the distance measuring function of the odometer 40 more accurate. This would be accomplished, for example, by establishing two positions on the track, either by GPS receiver reference data, or by obtaining the relation of the railway vehicle to curves or switches disposed in the track system.”); and
a localization unit for determining an absolute position (pabs(t) of the rail vehicle by comparing the determined distance-dependent orientation (O(s)) of the rail vehicle with reference data (Oref(s)) of the distance-dependent orientation (Kull, col. 5, lines 35-42; “The method of the invention may further include the step of determining a position of the railway vehicle operating on the track system using signals indicative of odometer information, or signals indicative of speed. Signals indicating position may be updated based on heading information obtained when the railway vehicle is passing over switches or curves located in the track system.”).
Regarding claim 28, Kull teaches (new). A rail vehicle (Kull, col. 1, lines 50-52; “the instant invention provides a navigation system for a railway vehicle travelling on a track system.”), comprising:
the localization facility according to claim 27 (Kull, col. 1, lines 29-36; “Experiments have been performed with a global positioning system (GPS) as the sole means of location. In such experiments it was determined that the GPS system requires such a high level of accuracy that it is necessary to make periodic corrections to the position obtained by the GPS system. These corrections were obtained in these systems from a ground station which transmits correction signals to a receiver on the train.”);
a control unit for controlling a journey of the rail vehicle based on a position of the rail vehicle determined by the localization facility (Kull, col. 1, lines 29-36; “Experiments have been performed with a global positioning system (GPS) as the sole means of location. In such experiments it was determined that the GPS system requires such a high level of accuracy that it is necessary to make periodic corrections to the position obtained by the GPS system. These corrections were obtained in these systems from a ground station which transmits correction signals to a receiver on the train.”); and
a drive unit for driving the rail vehicle based on control commands of the control unit (Kull, col. 6, lines 1-7; “It is preferred that the GPS system 30 supply position coordinates such as latitude and longitude, and also supply data representing speed and heading of the locomotive. Present global positioning systems are able to supply speed and heading data for a moving vehicle based on a Doppler shift measurement which is independent of "selective availability" position error factors in the satellite signals.”).
Regarding claim 30, Kull teaches (new). A non-transitory computer-readable medium on which program segments which can be executed by a computer unit are stored in order to carry out all steps of the method according to claim 16 when the program segments are executed by the computer unit (Kull, col. 3, lines 17-23; “Reference is now made more particularly to FIG. 1. Illustrated therein is a presently preferred embodiment of a rail navigation system, generally designated 10. This rail navigation system 10 is disposed on a railway vehicle in a train consist. The system 10 includes a computer, generally designated 20. The computer 20 includes a central processor unit 22, a track database, and instructions 25”).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kull (US 5740547 A) as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of TAWARA (JP 2011158383 A).
Regarding claim 17, Kull teaches (new). The method according to claim 16, which further comprises carrying out the comparison Kull, col. 6, lines 21-29; “The odometer 40, in present art, is a device which generates pulses, a known number for each revolution of a wheel of the train. From this information, the computer system 20 can calculate the distance travelled by multiplying the number of pulses counted by a calibration parameter. The calibration parameter depends on the diameter of the wheel. The computer system 20 should initially have an initial value for the calibration parameter.”).
Even though the Kull teaches about comparison of data, Kull does not explicitly teach by determining a cross-correlation function (r(k)).
TAWARA, in the same field of endeavor (TAWARA, translated copy, page 3, para. 5; “The positional deviation measurement method using the correlation can be considered as a problem of searching for the positional deviation that maximizes the value of the evaluation criterion based on the correlation. On the other hand, in measurement and signal processing, measurement accuracy and estimation accuracy can be improved by using the phase of a signal and the phase difference between signals.”) teaches by determining a cross-correlation function (r(k)) (TAWARA, translated copy, page 10, para. 1; “That is, the noise component included in each pattern signal is removed or suppressed in advance by filtering each pattern signal with the filter unit 30 before obtaining the cross-correlation between the pattern signals.”)
Kull and TAWARA are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both of them are in the same field as sensor data analysis for improve measurement accuracy of positional deviation as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified the data comparison of the Kull with teaching of TAWARA. One of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification as all the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
Regarding claim 18, TAWARA teaches (new). The method according to claim 17, which further comprises providing the cross-correlation function (r(k)) with a complex cross-correlation function (rc(s)) (TAWARA, translated copy, page 10, para. 5; “When the filter (coefficient) h .sub.R (p, q) is a complex number, the cross-correlation function is also a complex function. In this case, the maximum value search unit 32 can obtain the absolute value or the maximum value of the real part of the cross-correlation function φ .sub.f, g and set the position as a rough estimated value of the positional deviation.”).
Regarding claim 19, TAWARA teaches (new). The method according to claim 17, which further comprises providing the cross-correlation function (r(k)) with a real cross-correlation function (rr(s)) (TAWARA, translated copy, page 10, para. 5; “When the filter (coefficient) h .sub.R (p, q) is a complex number, the cross-correlation function is also a complex function. In this case, the maximum value search unit 32 can obtain the absolute value or the maximum value of the real part of the cross-correlation function φ .sub.f, g and set the position as a rough estimated value of the positional deviation.”).
Claim(s) 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kull (US 5740547 A) as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Aoyama (JP 7534651 B2).
Regarding claim 22, Kull teaches (new). The method according to claim 16 (Kull, col. 5, lines 35-42; “The method of the invention may further include the step of determining a position of the railway vehicle operating on the track system using signals indicative of odometer information, or signals indicative of speed. Signals indicating position may be updated based on heading information obtained when the railway vehicle is passing over switches or curves located in the track system.”), which further comprises:
Kull does not explicitly teach initially determining a starting point for the captured orientation data (O(s)) in the reference data (Oref(s)) corresponding to a starting point of a route traveled in the reference data (Oref(s)), by comparing the determined distance-dependent orientation (0(s)) of the rail vehicle with reference data (Oref(s)); and
determining an absolute start position (pabsO) of the rail vehicle by an absolute position in a map allocated to the starting point in the reference data (Oref(s)); and
determining a dynamic absolute position (pabs(t)) of the rail vehicle (2) by determining a covered path (s(t)) based on the correlated reference data (Oref(s)) and a projection of a length of the covered path (s(t)) on a course of a route indicated in the map.
Aoyama, in the same field of endeavor (Aoyama, translated copy, page 2, para. 1; “This mapping system uses a laser scanner that measures the distance to an object by using the reflection time of laser light, and a camera that captures images of the vehicle's surroundings. A vehicle equipped with the mobile mapping system can acquire a combination of three-dimensional point cloud data and a forward image while traveling on the road.”) teaches initially determining a starting point for the captured orientation data (O(s)) in the reference data (Oref(s)) corresponding to a starting point of a route traveled in the reference data (Oref(s)), by comparing the determined distance-dependent orientation (0(s)) of the rail vehicle with reference data (Oref(s)) (Aoyama, translated copy, page 3, para. 7; “The IMU 22 (Figure 4) incorporated in the sensor unit 2 is an inertial navigation unit that executes a process to estimate the motion of the data collection vehicle 5 by inertial navigation. The IMU 22 is equipped with a two-axis magnetic sensor 221, which is an electronic compass that measures orientation, a two-axis acceleration sensor 222 that measures acceleration, and a two-axis gyro sensor 223 that measures angular velocity. The IMU 22 estimates motion (movement) using measured values such as acceleration, angular velocity, and orientation, and estimates the relative position of the data collection vehicle 5 after movement (after movement) from a specific position where it was previously located as the starting point (reference).”); and
determining an absolute start position (pabsO) of the rail vehicle by an absolute position in a map allocated to the starting point in the reference data (Oref(s)) (Aoyama, translated copy, page 4, para. 4; “The distance measurement unit 31 can determine the distance to each point of features that make up the driving environment, such as road shoulders, guard rails, signs, and traffic lights. Furthermore, the coordinate positions in the distance image represent the direction. In other words, the distance image acquired by the point cloud data generation unit 3 is point cloud data that represents the direction and distance to the features that make up the driving environment.”); and
determining a dynamic absolute position (pabs(t)) of the rail vehicle (2) by determining a covered path (s(t)) based on the correlated reference data (Oref(s)) and a projection of a length of the covered path (s(t)) on a course of a route indicated in the map (Aoyama, translated copy, from page 5, para. 6 to page 6, para. 1-2; “If a magnetic marker 10 is detected (S101: YES), the tag reader 34 executes a tag ID reading process P2 under the control of the control unit 13. The control unit 13 generates marker reference data (S102) including the tag ID read by the tag ID reading process P2, which is an example of a unique information acquisition process, and the lateral deviation (relative position information) measured in the marker detection process P1. The marker reference data generated in this way is written in a specified write area and is updated to the latest data as needed (S103). On the other hand, if the magnetic marker 10 is not detected (S101: NO), the control unit 13 uses the relative position estimated by the IMU 22 based on the vehicle position when the magnetic marker was last detected, and performs an estimation process of the vehicle's relative position based on the magnetic marker (S112).”).
Kull and Aoyama are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both of them are in generating an accurate mapping system as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified the data comparison of the Kull with teaching of Aoyama. One of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification as all the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
Claim(s) 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kull (US 5740547 A) as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Riewe (US 20030216865 A1).
Regarding claim 23, Kull teaches (new). The method according to claim 16, which further comprises checking a reliability of the determined absolute position (pabs(t)) of the rail vehicle by (Kull, col. 5, lines 35-42; “The method of the invention may further include the step of determining a position of the railway vehicle operating on the track system using signals indicative of odometer information, or signals indicative of speed. Signals indicating position may be updated based on heading information obtained when the railway vehicle is passing over switches or curves located in the track system.”):
determining confidence values based on the determination of the orientation values (O(s), Oref(s)), or determining, based on a curve shape of the cross-correlation function (r(k)), whether a distinct comparison is possible between the determined distance- dependent orientation (O(s)) of the rail vehicle and the reference data (Oref(s)).
Kull does not explicitly teach determining confidence values based on the determination of the orientation values (O(s), Oref(s)), or determining, based on a curve shape of the cross-correlation function (r(k)), whether a distinct comparison is possible between the determined distance- dependent orientation (O(s)) of the rail vehicle and the reference data (Oref(s)).
Riewe, in the same field of endeavor (Riewe, at least one para. 0003; “The present invention is directed to an inertial navigation system for mobile objects such as vehicles and the like. In particular, the present invention is directed to such an inertial navigation system for mobile objects having constraints.”) teaches determining confidence values based on the determination of the orientation values (O(s), Oref(s)), or determining, based on a curve shape of the cross-correlation function (r(k)), whether a distinct comparison is possible between the determined distance- dependent orientation (O(s)) of the rail vehicle and the reference data (Oref(s)) (Riewe, at least one para. 0040; “As explained in detail below, navigation is improved by the AINS of the present invention by the use of auxiliary input data such as the speed-sensor data which determines the motion along the path, while map information is used to determine the position in the direction perpendicular to the path. Navigation may be further improved by restricting lateral motion and by including additional auxiliary input data, including discrete data inputs, such as transponder data and wheel angle data. In addition to the usual three-dimensional output of a navigation system that typically includes location, velocity and attitude, the AINS in accordance with the present invention also provides one-dimensional information such as distance, speed, as well as accuracy measures such as confidence interval, confidence circle, or confidence ellipse.”).
Kull and Riewe are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both of them are related to vehicle navigation system as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified the reliability of the determined absolute position for the rail vehicle of the Kull with teaching of Riewe. One of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification as all the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention. Furthermore, accurate navigational data can be provided for the vehicle (Riewe; 0040).
Claim(s) 29 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kull (US 5740547 A) as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of ZHONG (CN 110536822 A).
Regarding claim 29, Kull teaches (new). A non-transitory computer program product having a computer program which can be loaded directly into a memory unit of a control facility of a rail vehicle, having segments for carrying out all steps of the method according to claim 16 when the computer program is executed in the control facility (Kull, col. 5, lines 35-42; “Col .3, lines 17-23; Reference is now made more particularly to FIG. 1. Illustrated therein is a presently preferred embodiment of a rail navigation system, generally designated 10. This rail navigation system 10 is disposed on a railway vehicle in a train consist. The system 10 includes a computer, generally designated 20. The computer 20 includes a central processor unit 22, a track database, and instructions 25”, however, not all steps are carried out from a facility).
ZHONG, in the same field of endeavor (ZHONG, translated copy, technical field; “The invention claims a train control and, in particular, to using train control device or unit and a system and method of RFID device in the track (track way).”) teaches the control facility (ZHONG, translated copy, Specific implementation methods; “positive train control system 10 comprises a central control facility 70, the operation actively to train on the rail 60 of the operation of the system 50, via the communication system 90 receiving data at each train 60 the positive train control unit 100 from the mounting and the data transmitted to positive train control unit 100, the communication system 90 link rail 60 of all or substantially all of the location and along the track 60.”).
Kull and ZHONG are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both of them are related to vehicle navigation system as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified computer program that is implemented within the rail vehicle of the Kull with teaching of ZHONG. One of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification as all the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention. It is obvious that the same computer unit that controls the rail vehicle can be implemented into the rail vehicle from the control facility.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to UPUL P CHANDRASIRI whose telephone number is (703)756-5823. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8.30 am to 5pm.
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/U.P.C./Examiner, Art Unit 3665 /CHRISTIAN CHACE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3665
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