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 .
Status of claims
This office action is in response to Applicant Amendments and Remarks filed on 11/25/2025 for application number 18/582,686 filed on 02/21/2024.
Claims 1, 2,6,7,9,12,20 are amended.
Claims 21-23 are newly added.
Claims 1-2,6-9, 12-13, 19-23 are pending.
Response to arguments
Applicant Amendments and Remarks filed on 11/25/2025 in response to the Non-Final office action mailed on 08/26/2025 have been fully considered and are addressed as follows:
Regarding the Claim Rejections under 35 USC §§ 102 and 103: with respect to the previous claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103, applicant has amended the independent claims and these amendments have changed the scope of the original application. Therefore, the Office has supplied new grounds of rejection attached below in the FINAL office action and therefore the prior arguments are considered moot.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2, 6-7, 9, 19-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 2023072230A to Nishikawa (herein after “Nishikawa”).
Regarding claim 1, Nishikawa teaches an information processing apparatus (See the information processing device 30) comprising a processor configured to:
acquire a coefficient (See Nishikawa claim 5 wherein the update unit calculates a coefficient to be multiplied by the difference value so that when the difference value of the received power in a first area included in the difference distribution and the value of the received power in the first area included in the first received power distribution are added, the sum approaches the measured value in the first area, and updates the first received power distribution by adding a value obtained by multiplying all the difference values included in the difference distribution by the coefficient to the first received power distribution, para[0062]) which associates first received power with presence or absence of a radio wave shielding object (See Nishikawa para[0017] The detection unit 11 detects the presence of an obstacle using the measured value of the received power measured by the measuring device that received the radio wave.), the first received power being measured by receiving a first signal at first positions on a first route;(See Nishikawa para[0046] The measuring device 20 repeats measurement of received power and storage of position information every second, and circulates a predetermined route within an area that generates a received power distribution.) and
acquire second received power measured by a moving vehicle which receives a second signal at second positions which include at least one of the first positions on the first route, wherein (See Nishikawa para[0024] Furthermore, the measuring device 20 may be attached to a moving object. The mobile object may be, for example, a vehicle, paras[0026]-[0027], figure 4 predetermined area)
at least a part of the first route is located between a first area and an antenna which transmits the first and second signals,(See Nishikawa figure 4, para[0005] calculates the propagation loss from the received power when the receiver receives a radio signal, and uses the propagation loss to determine the number of shields between the transmitter and the receiver), Antenna is transmitter and 1st and second signal received by the receiver)
the first received power includes received power measured in a state where the radio wave shielding object is present in the first area and received power measured in a state where the radio wave shielding object is absent in the first area (See Nishikawa para[0009] a detection unit that detects the presence of an obstacle using a measurement value of received power measured by a measuring device that receives radio waves, and detects the presence of the obstacle), , and
the processor (See Nishikawa para[0016] a processor executing a program stored in memory) is configured to estimate presence or absence of the radio wave shielding object based on the coefficient and the second received power (See Nishikawa claim 5, update unit calculate a coefficient which used to calculate measured value in the first area, detection unit detect obstacle presence or absence using the measured value that received radio wave(receiver, moving vehicle, second signal)).
Regarding claim 2, Nishikawa teaches wherein the processor is configured to generate a received power map in which positions on a route along which the moving vehicle moves are associated with received power measured by the moving vehicle(See Nishikawa Para[0047]-[0048]and figure 9, received power distribution in figure 9 generated by the distribution generation unit 31 corresponds to the received power map in which a plurality of positions on the route where the moving body moves and the received power measured by the mobile body are associated with each other) , para[0035] the distribution generator 31 hold in advance a map indicating the position of the obstacle in the area, and after receiving power and position information to generate received power distribution , generator 31 generate the power distribution reflecting the received power value on the map), and
acquire the first received power measured at the first positions from the generated received power map (see Nishikawa Distribution generation unit 31 acquires the measured value shown in figure 9).
Regarding claim 6, Nishikawa teaches wherein, the first received power is represented by linear values (see Nishikawa para[0060]-[0061] received power distribution is a linear equation)
Regarding claim 7, Nishikawa teaches wherein the processor is configured to acquire the first received power measured at the first positions from the generated received power map(see Nishikawa Distribution generation unit 31 acquires the measured value shown in figure 9). , the first positions being located within a predetermined range based on reference positions set in advance (See Nishikawa para[0053] The distribution generator 31 holds in advance a map indicating the positions of obstacles and the like in the area shown in FIG. 4, and generates a received power distribution by reflecting the received power values on the map.).
Regarding claim 9, Nishikawa teaches the information processing apparatus of wherein the processor is configured to control the moving vehicle based on a result of estimating the presence or absence of the of the radio wave shielding object. (See Nishikawa para[0024] the mobile object may be an air vehicle controlled using radio signals.)
Regarding claim 19, Nishikawa teaches the information processing apparatus of claim 1; and a moving vehicle communicably connected to the information processing apparatus. (See Nishikawa para[0004] For example, a situation is assumed in which a sensor is installed on a moving body such as a person or a vehicle, and the position where the received power is observed and the received power are collected on the trajectory of the moving body.)
Regarding claim 20, Nishikawa teaches A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a program stored thereon which is executable by a computer, to control the computer to execute functions comprising:
acquiring a coefficient (See Nishikawa claim 5 wherein the update unit calculates a coefficient to be multiplied by the difference value so that when the difference value of the received power in a first area included in the difference distribution and the value of the received power in the first area included in the first received power distribution are added, the sum approaches the measured value in the first area, and updates the first received power distribution by adding a value obtained by multiplying all the difference values included in the difference distribution by the coefficient to the first received power distribution, para[0062]) which associates first received power with presence or absence of a radio wave shielding object(See Nishikawa para[0017] The detection unit 11 detects the presence of an obstacle using the measured value of the received power measured by the measuring device that received the radio wave.),, the first received power beinq measured by receiving a first signal at first positions on a first route;(See Nishikawa para[0046] The measuring device 20 repeats measurement of received power and storage of position information every second, and circulates a predetermined route within an area that generates a received power distribution.) and
acquiring second received power measured by a moving vehicle which receives a second signal at second positions which include at least one of the first positions on the first route(See Nishikawa para[0024] Furthermore, the measuring device 20 may be attached to a moving object. The mobile object may be, for example, a vehicle, paras[0026]-[0027], figure 4 predetermined area),wherein:
at least a part of the first route is located between a first area and an antenna which transmits the first and second signals,(See Nishikawa figure 4, para[0005] calculates the propagation loss from the received power when the receiver receives a radio signal, and uses the propagation loss to determine the number of shields between the transmitter and the receiver), Antenna is transmitter and 1st and second signal received by the receiver)
the first received power includes received power measured in a state where the radio wave shieldinq object is present in the first area and received power measured in a state where the radio wave shieldinq object is absent in the first area(See Nishikawa para[0009] a detection unit that detects the presence of an obstacle using a measurement value of received power measured by a measuring device that receives radio waves, and detects the presence of the obstacle),, and
the processor(See Nishikawa para[0016] a processor executing a program stored in memory) is configured to estimate presence or absence of the radio wave shieldinq object based on the coefficient and the second received power(See Nishikawa claim 5, update unit calculate a coefficient which used to calculate measured value in the first area, detection unit detect obstacle presence or absence using the measured value that received radio wave(receiver, moving vehicle, second signal)).
Regarding claim 21, Nishikawa teaches wherein: the coefficient is calculated by using a value relating to presence or absence of the radio wave shielding object, and the value is based on a product of the coefficient and the first received power. (see Nishikawa paras, [0058][0060]-[0062])
Regarding claim 22, Nishikawa teaches wherein the coefficient is calculated such that the value becomes 1 when the radio wave shielding object is present, and becomes 0 when the radio wave shielding object is absent. (See Nishikawa para[0018] The detection unit 11 detects an obstacle between the transmitter and the receiver, for example, using the position of the transmitter transmitting the radio signal, the measurement position of the received power, and the attenuation rate of the radio waves of the radio signal received at the measurement position. The attenuation rate may be rephrased as propagation loss. For example, the detection unit 11 may detect an obstacle by comparing the attenuation rate at the measurement position estimated when no obstacle is present with the attenuation rate of the actual received power at the measurement position. The detection unit 11 may detect an obstacle using the amount of attenuation instead of the attenuation rate)
Regarding claim 23, Nishikawa teach wherein the coefficient corresponding to a position near the radio wave shielding object among the first positions is a positive value. (See Nishikawa paras[0058] ,[0018] The attenuation rate may be rephrased as propagation loss.; Pm=Pr+aPd where a=coefficient (positive value) which is similar to the attenuation rate(negative slope of linear regression), the less the attenuation rate (more the coefficient) the wave shielding object is near).
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.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatented over JP 2023072230A to Nishikawa (herein after “Nishikawa”) in view of JP2019216377A to Miyatake et al. (herein after “Miyatake”).
Regarding claim 12, Nishikawa remain applied as claims 1 and 9. However, Nishikawa does not disclose or otherwise teach wherein the processor is configured to control the moving vehicle such that the moving vehicle moves along the first route in a state where the radio wave shielding object is estimated to be present and control the moving vehicle such that the moving vehicle moves along a second route a position behind the first area when viewed from the antenna, in a state where the radio wave shielding object is estimated to be absent. Nevertheless, Miyatake same field of endeavor teaches wherein the processor is configured to control the moving vehicle such that the moving vehicle moves along the first route in a state where the radio wave shielding object is estimated to be present and control the moving vehicle such that the moving vehicle moves along a second route a position behind the first area when viewed from the antenna, in a state where the radio wave shielding object is estimated to be absent (See Miyatake para [0023] The self-propelled route control unit 14 calculates a self-propelled route that avoids an obstacle based on the information recorded in the measurement data / coordinate recording unit 13 and outputs control information for running the calculated self-propelled route to the driving unit 15.).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to combine Nishikawa’s information processing device and method with Miyataka’s shelf-propelled route control unit which calculate route that has more than one obstacle based on the information of the recorded data in order to allow to control communication resources such as switching of a frequency band to be used and change of a communication method(see para[0003]).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatented over JP 2023072230A to Nishikawa (herein after “Nishikawa”) in view of JP2019216377A to Miyatake et al. (herein after “Miyatake”) and WO 2019171633 A1 to Miyamoto et al. (herein after “Miyamoto”).
Regarding claim 13, Nishikawa and Miyatake remain applied as claim 12. However, Nishikawa does not disclose or otherwise teach wherein the processor is configured to control the moving vehicle such that the moving vehicle moves along the second route, when the radio wave shielding object is estimated to be absent more than once. Nevertheless, Miyamoto same field of endeavor teaches wherein the processor is configured to control the moving vehicle such that the moving vehicle moves along the second route, when the radio wave shielding object is estimated to be absent more than once (see Miyamoto para[0059] In addition, what is necessary is just to identify the shielding range by each shielding object, when there are two or more shielding objects. At this time, the image data acquisition unit 103A may specify the final shielding range by superimposing the shielding ranges by the shielding objects.para[0146] the multipath detection unit 121 performs both multipath determination using a shielding range specified from image data and map data ).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to combine Nishikawa’s information processing device and method with Miyamoto’s moving along the route where one or more shielding obstacle presents in order to allow to increase the accuracy of satellite positioning. (see para[0003]).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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/NAZIA AFRIN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3666
/SCOTT A BROWNE/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3666