DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
With respect to the previous 35 U.S.C. 101 rejections. Applicant's remarks filed on 09/25/2025 with respect to previous claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. 101 have been fully considered and persuasive and thus withdraw the 101 rejections.
With respect to the previous 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections. Applicant's remarks filed on 09/25/2025 with respect to previous claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and persuasive and the Examiner relies upon newly cited reference Hashimoto et al (US 2019/0143982 A1) and Park et al (US 2019/0061819 A1).
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.
Claims 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable in view of Ichinokawa (US 2020/0080864 A1) (hereinafter Ichinokawa) in further view of Yamada et al (US 2017/0210394 A1) (Hereinafter Yamada) in view of Kato et al (US 2020/0307594 A1), (hereinafter Kato).
Regarding claim 8, Ichinokawa teaches an image control method causing a controller to execute processing comprising: (see Ichinokawa para “0007” “A display system according to one aspect of the present invention includes: a recognizer configured to recognize a surrounding situation of a vehicle; a display configured to display images; and a display controller configured to cause the display to display an image representing a road shape around the vehicle recognized by the recognizer”),
generating a road image representing an own lane, the own lane being a lane in which an own vehicle travels, and one or more other lanes existing on at least one lateral side of the own lane and including at least an adjacent lane, the adjacent lane being adjacent to the own lane (see Ichinokawa figs 5 & 6 and paras “0072-0074” and “0082” “an image IM4 generated by the image generator 155 in a situation at the time t4. In the example of FIG. 8, an image in which a plurality of lanes L1 to L4 included in a surrounding road shape are arranged such that the center line CL3 of the lane L3 is overlaid on the center C of the display area 82A (image IM4) in the width direction is generated because the vehicle M(t4) is traveling in the lane L3” regarding showing as shown in figures 5, 6 and 8 an image showing the adjacent lane and also the destination lane at which the driver is selecting to reach to at the end of the lane change),
superimposing a course display representing a course in which a lane change to a target lane determined as a destination lane of a lane change is performed on the road image (see Ichinokawa figs 6-9 and paras “0057-0062” and “0082” “FIG. 4 is a diagram for describing processing of the display mode controller 153. It is assumed that the vehicle M travels on a road formed by four lanes L1 to L4 in the example of FIG. 4. The lanes L1 to L3 are lanes in which vehicles can travel in the same direction as the progress direction of the lanes and the lane L4 is a lane merging into the lanes L1 to L3 at a merging point Pm and branching from the lanes L1 to L3 at a branch point Pb. The lane L4 is an added lane when viewed from the lanes L1 to L3”),
receiving an acceptance input of the proposals of the multiple lane changes; and executing the lane change of the own vehicle to the target lane by autonomous travel control of the own vehicle in response to the received acceptance input (see Ichinokawa figs 5 & 6 and paras “0057-0062”, “0072-0074” and “0082” “an image IM4 generated by the image generator 155 in a situation at the time t4. In the example of FIG. 8, an image in which a plurality of lanes L1 to L4 included in a surrounding road shape are arranged such that the center line CL3 of the lane L3 is overlaid on the center C of the display area 82A (image IM4) in the width direction is generated because the vehicle M(t4) is traveling in the lane L3” regarding showing as shown in figures 5, 6 and 8 an image showing the adjacent lane and also the destination lane at which the driver is selecting to reach to at the end of the lane change),
but Ichinokawa fails to explicitly teach generating a lane change image by, in a case where the own vehicle is caused to perform a lane change by autonomous travel control, and displaying the lane change image on a display device before lane a change from the own lane to the adjacent lane as a first lane change included in the multiple lane changes, wherein the lane change image represents a range of lane change that are performed based on a single acceptance action according to which of the collective acceptance mode and the individual acceptance mode is set.
However, Yamada teaches when presenting a proposal for a lane change of the own vehicle by autonomous travel control, generating a lane change image (see Yamada para “0007” “The driving support device includes a command output unit that outputs, to an automatic driving control unit that controls automatic driving, a command for instructing the change of a traveling traffic lane of the own vehicle from the first traffic lane to the second traffic lane when the operation is received”),
and displaying the lane change image on a display device before lane a change from the own lane to the adjacent lane as a first lane change included in the multiple lane changes, wherein the lane change image represents a range of lane change that are performed based on a single acceptance action according to which of the collective acceptance mode and the individual acceptance mode is set (see Yamada fig. 17 & fig. 21 and paras “0096” and “0102” “a trajectory T1 through which the own vehicle passes in a case where the own vehicle icon V1 being moved is dropped onto the current position, is displayed. In a case where a driver wants the own vehicle to turn right at an intersection, as illustrated in (c) of FIG. 17, a driver drags the own vehicle icon V1. As illustrated in (d) of FIG. 17, a trajectory T1 through which the own vehicle passes in a case where the own vehicle icon V1 being moved is dropped onto the current position, is displayed. The detailed description of the display of the trajectory will be described later.”),
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Ichinokawa for display system, display control method, and storage medium “to provide a technique that allows a driver to intuitively and conveniently instruct a specific driving operation to a vehicle to reach to a destination by changing lanes, as taught by Yamada (paras. [0096] – [0102]) in order to guide the vehicle to reach to the destination while also showing to the driver multiple options to be taken to reach to the destination and to allow the driver to get a clear and better visualization of where the vehicle will go.
But Ichinokawa fails to explicitly teach storing a setting by a passenger for selecting one of a collective acceptance mode in which proposals for multiple lane changes are collectively accepted when a lane change to the target lane includes the multiple lane changes successively performed and an individual acceptance mode in which the proposals for the multiple lane changes are individually accepted.
However, Kato teaches storing a setting by a passenger for selecting one of a collective acceptance mode in which proposals for multiple lane changes are collectively accepted when a lane change to the target lane includes the multiple lane changes successively performed and an individual acceptance mode in which the proposals for the multiple lane changes are individually accepted (see Kato paras “0167-0171” “A vehicle control device has a configuration including a display device, an inputter to which a user's operation is input, a storage in which a program is stored, and a processor”, “wherein the processor causes the program to execute”, “controlling at least one of a speed and steering of a vehicle”, “determining a lane in which the vehicle is present when a first operation that allows a lane change by the vehicle is input to the inputter as a reference lane” and “causing the display to display a first image depicting a road on which the vehicle is present and a second image depicting the reference lane which are superimposed”),
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Ichinokawa for display system, display control method, and storage medium “to determine a lane in which the vehicle is present when a first operation that allows a lane change by the vehicle is input to the inputter as a reference lane”, as taught by Kato (paras. [0167-0171]) in order to perform automated driving in which a sense of security is imparted to an occupant.
Regarding claim 9, Ichinokawa teaches an image control device comprising a controller configured to execute processing including: (see Ichinokawa para “0007” “A display system according to one aspect of the present invention includes: a recognizer configured to recognize a surrounding situation of a vehicle; a display configured to display images; and a display controller configured to cause the display to display an image representing a road shape around the vehicle recognized by the recognizer”),
generating a road image representing an own lane, the own lane being a lane in which an own vehicle travels, and one or more other lanes existing on at least one lateral side of the own lane and including at least an adjacent lane, the adjacent lane being adjacent to the own lane (see Ichinokawa figs 5 & 6 and paras “0072-0074” and “0082” “an image IM4 generated by the image generator 155 in a situation at the time t4. In the example of FIG. 8, an image in which a plurality of lanes L1 to L4 included in a surrounding road shape are arranged such that the center line CL3 of the lane L3 is overlaid on the center C of the display area 82A (image IM4) in the width direction is generated because the vehicle M(t4) is traveling in the lane L3” regarding showing as shown in figures 5, 6 and 8 an image showing the adjacent lane and also the destination lane at which the driver is selecting to reach to at the end of the lane change),
superimposing a course display representing a course in which a lane change to a target lane determined as a destination lane of a lane change is performed on the road image (see Ichinokawa figs 6-9 and paras “0057-0062” and “0082” “FIG. 4 is a diagram for describing processing of the display mode controller 153. It is assumed that the vehicle M travels on a road formed by four lanes L1 to L4 in the example of FIG. 4. The lanes L1 to L3 are lanes in which vehicles can travel in the same direction as the progress direction of the lanes and the lane L4 is a lane merging into the lanes L1 to L3 at a merging point Pm and branching from the lanes L1 to L3 at a branch point Pb. The lane L4 is an added lane when viewed from the lanes L1 to L3”),
receiving an acceptance input of the proposals of the multiple lane changes; and executing the lane change of the own vehicle to the target lane by autonomous travel control of the own vehicle in response to the received acceptance input (see Ichinokawa figs 5 & 6 and paras “0057-0062”, “0072-0074” and “0082” “an image IM4 generated by the image generator 155 in a situation at the time t4. In the example of FIG. 8, an image in which a plurality of lanes L1 to L4 included in a surrounding road shape are arranged such that the center line CL3 of the lane L3 is overlaid on the center C of the display area 82A (image IM4) in the width direction is generated because the vehicle M(t4) is traveling in the lane L3” regarding showing as shown in figures 5, 6 and 8 an image showing the adjacent lane and also the destination lane at which the driver is selecting to reach to at the end of the lane change),
but Ichinokawa fails to explicitly teach generating a lane change image by, in a case where the own vehicle is caused to perform a lane change by autonomous travel control, storing a setting by a passenger for selecting one of a collective acceptance mode in which multiple lane changes are collectively accepted when a lane change to the target lane includes the multiple lane changes successively performed and an individual acceptance mode in which the multiple lane changes are individually accepted; and displaying the lane change image on a display device before lane a change from the own lane to the adjacent lane as a first lane change included in the multiple lane changes, wherein the lane change image represents a range of lane change that are performed based on a single acceptance action according to which of the collective acceptance mode and the individual acceptance mode is set.
However, Yamada teaches when presenting a proposal for a lane change of the own vehicle by autonomous travel control, generating a lane change image (see Yamada para “0007” “The driving support device includes a command output unit that outputs, to an automatic driving control unit that controls automatic driving, a command for instructing the change of a traveling traffic lane of the own vehicle from the first traffic lane to the second traffic lane when the operation is received”),
and displaying the lane change image on a display device before lane a change from the own lane to the adjacent lane as a first lane change included in the multiple lane changes, wherein the lane change image represents a range of lane change that are performed based on a single acceptance action according to which of the collective acceptance mode and the individual acceptance mode is set (see Yamada fig. 17 & fig. 21 and paras “0096” and “0102” “a trajectory T1 through which the own vehicle passes in a case where the own vehicle icon V1 being moved is dropped onto the current position, is displayed. In a case where a driver wants the own vehicle to turn right at an intersection, as illustrated in (c) of FIG. 17, a driver drags the own vehicle icon V1. As illustrated in (d) of FIG. 17, a trajectory T1 through which the own vehicle passes in a case where the own vehicle icon V1 being moved is dropped onto the current position, is displayed. The detailed description of the display of the trajectory will be described later.”),
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Ichinokawa for display system, display control method, and storage medium “to provide a technique that allows a driver to intuitively and conveniently instruct a specific driving operation to a vehicle to reach to a destination by changing lanes, as taught by Yamada (paras. [0096] – [0102]) in order to guide the vehicle to reach to the destination while also showing to the driver multiple options to be taken to reach to the destination and to allow the driver to get a clear and better visualization of where the vehicle will go.
But Ichinokawa fails to explicitly teach storing a setting by a passenger for selecting one of a collective acceptance mode in which proposals for multiple lane changes are collectively accepted when a lane change to the target lane includes the multiple lane changes successively performed and an individual acceptance mode in which the proposals for the multiple lane changes are individually accepted.
However, Kato teaches storing a setting by a passenger for selecting one of a collective acceptance mode in which proposals for multiple lane changes are collectively accepted when a lane change to the target lane includes the multiple lane changes successively performed and an individual acceptance mode in which the proposals for the multiple lane changes are individually accepted (see Kato paras “0167-0171” “A vehicle control device has a configuration including a display device, an inputter to which a user's operation is input, a storage in which a program is stored, and a processor”, “wherein the processor causes the program to execute”, “controlling at least one of a speed and steering of a vehicle”, “determining a lane in which the vehicle is present when a first operation that allows a lane change by the vehicle is input to the inputter as a reference lane” and “causing the display to display a first image depicting a road on which the vehicle is present and a second image depicting the reference lane which are superimposed”),
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Ichinokawa for display system, display control method, and storage medium “to determine a lane in which the vehicle is present when a first operation that allows a lane change by the vehicle is input to the inputter as a reference lane”, as taught by Kato (paras. [0167-0171]) in order to perform automated driving in which a sense of security is imparted to an occupant.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-2 and 5 -7 are allowed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOSSAM M ABD EL LATIF whose telephone number is (571)272-5869. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 am-5 pm EST.
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/HOSSAM M ABD EL LATIF/Examiner, Art Unit 3664