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 .
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 Amendment
This action is in response to amendments and remarks filed on 09/26/2025. Claims 1-5 are considered in this office action. Claim 1 has been amended. Claims 1-5 are pending examination. Applicant's amendment necessitated new grounds of rejection therefore, claims 1 and 4-6 are rejected.
Response to Arguments
Applicant presents the following arguments regarding the previous office action:
Regarding amended claim 1, Draayer et al. fails to disclose, remote driving, a support terminal selection for remote driving, and a tilt action using tilt-angle sensors in phones to dictate remote control actions of vehicle.
Applicant’s argument A with respect to the independent claim has been fully considered and is moot in light of new grounds for rejection below.
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.
Claims 1-4 are rejected as being unpatentable over Draayer et al. (US20220070616A1) in view of Ganz et al. (US20140172197A1), further in view of Urano et al. (EP4102324A1).
Regarding claim 1, Draayer discloses, a control device (0036, the MV system 110 may be further configured to take one or more protective actions in response to detection of a pedestrian. The protective actions may include, for example, alerting the vehicle operator or pedestrian (e.g., emitting an audible alarm), asserting control over the vehicle 102-1 (e.g., slowing the vehicle 102-1), and/or the like), mounted on a moving body (0036, an MV system 110 may be deployed on or within a machine 102. In the FIG. 1 example, the vehicle 102-1 may comprise and/or incorporate an MV system), selecting one of the plurality of mobile terminals as a support terminal in accordance with priority based on a parameter of each of the plurality of mobile terminals, (0069, as disclosed in further detail herein, the MV system 110 may use the first proximity threshold 425 to identify operators of the vehicle 102-1 and, as such, may be referred to as a first operator (OP) threshold 425, an OP proximity threshold 425, or the like). However, Draayer does not explicitly disclose, a communication device that performs wireless communication with the plurality of mobile terminals respectively operated by a plurality of operators to perform remote driving of the moving body and one or more processors that when receiving a control signal for the moving body based on an operator's tilting action of a mobile terminal from each of the plurality of mobile terminals wherein the support terminal performs the remote driving.
Nevertheless, Urano who is in the same field of endeavor of a remote control request system discloses, a communication device that performs wireless communication with the plurality of mobile terminals (0029, a server 32, a remote assistance terminal 34, and a remote driving terminal 36 are installed in the remote control center 30. The vehicle 20 is connected to the server 32 via a communication network 10 including the fourth-generation mobile communication system (4G) and the fifth-generation mobile communication system (5G). The number of vehicles 20 communicable with the server 32 is one or more, preferably plural); respectively operated by a plurality of operators to perform remote driving of the moving body (0030, similarly, at least one remote driving terminal 36, preferably a plurality of remote driving terminals 36, is provided. The remote control center 30 has as many remote assistants 35 as the remote assistance terminals 34. The remote control center 30 also has as many remote drivers 37 as the remote driving terminals 36), and one or more processors (0035, FIG. 7 shows a preferred smartphone screen that allows the user to receive and process sensor data from networking module 8, GPS module 9, and accelerator/compass sensor 7. FIG. 8 shows a preferred smartphone screen that allows the user to drive and steer vehicle 1), wherein the support terminal performs the remote driving (0030, similarly, at least one remote driving terminal 36, preferably a plurality of remote driving terminals 36, is provided).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Draayer’s disclosure to incorporate Urano’s teachings. This would serve to have remote control over the vehicle based on parameters.
Justification for combining Draayer and Urano not only comes from the state of the art but from Draayer (0118, the foregoing specification has been described with reference to various embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure). However even the combination of Draayer and Urano does not explicitly disclose, receiving a control signal for the moving body based on an operator's tilting action of a mobile terminal from each of the plurality of mobile terminals.
Nevertheless, Ganz who is in the same field of endeavor of controlling a vehicle with a smartphone discloses, receiving a control signal for the moving body based on an operator's tilting action of a mobile terminal from each of the plurality of mobile terminals (0026, applicants uses tilt detection from the accelerometer data to determine if the user is tilting the iPhone for steering purposes).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Draayer and Urano to incorporate Ganz. This would serve to give users portable and covenant control over vehicles using their mobile device.
Justification for combining the combination of Draayer and Urano with Ganz not only comes from the state of the art but from Draayer (0118, the foregoing specification has been described with reference to various embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure).
Regarding claim 2, Draayer, Urano and Ganz disclose, the control device according to claim 1, wherein the parameter is distance from the moving body to each of the plurality of mobile terminals (0006, first logic configured to designate a first portable device as an operator device based, at least in part, on a first distance determined by the communication module) and the one or more processors select, as the support terminal, a mobile terminal with a shortest distance among the plurality of mobile terminals (0073, the MV system 110 may be configured to distinguish operators from pedestrians based on relative proximities of the portable devices 120. For example, the MV system 110 may identify the portable device 120 that is nearest to the frame of reference 108 during startup and, in response, designate the identified portable device 120 as an operator).
Regarding claim 3, Draayer, Urano and Ganz disclose, the control device according to claim 1, wherein the parameter is communication intensity between the moving body and each of the plurality of mobile terminals, and the one or more processors select, as the support terminal, a mobile terminal with a highest communication intensity among the plurality of mobile terminals. (0039, the MV system 110 may be configured to determine the distance 25 to a portable device 120 by any suitable mean, technique, or algorithm, including, but not limited to … signal strength).
Regarding claim 4, Draayer, Urano and Ganz disclose, the control device according to claim 1, wherein when the priority changes during travel of the moving body, (0094, in some implementations, the MV system 110 may block the portable device 120B from being designated as an operator during the current operation cycle 500 of the vehicle 102-1 (and/or MV system 110). Accordingly, even if the portable device 120B remains within the first proximity threshold), the one or more processors do not change the support terminal until the moving body stops traveling (0095, redesignating the portable device 120B as an operator may involve restarting the operation cycle 500 of the vehicle).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Draayer et al. (US20220070616A1) in view of Williams (US20180233007A1), further in view of Ganz et al. (US20140172197A1), further in view of Urano et al. (EP4102324A1)
Regarding claim 5, Draayer, Urano and Ganz disclose, a remote support system, comprising: the moving body including the control device according to claim 1, as discussed supra. Additionally, Draayer discloses, the plurality of mobile terminals (0038, the MV system 110 may be configured to detect and/or communicate with portable devices); and when the specific mobile terminal is selected as the support terminal (0006, first logic configured to designate a first portable device as an operator device based, at least in part, on a first distance determined by the communication module). However, Draayer does not explicitly disclose, a sub communication terminal configured to display an image viewed by an operator of a specific mobile terminal being one of the plurality of mobile terminals, wherein the specific mobile terminal includes: first communication circuitry configured to perform the wireless communication using a global communication network; and second communication circuitry configured to perform the wireless communication using a local communication network, the sub communication terminal includes communication circuitry connectable to a first local area network formed by the second communication circuitry, or a second local area network formed by a wireless router configured to wirelessly communicate with the moving body and to which the second communication circuitry belongs, the moving body includes an imaging device configured to capture an image around the moving body, the control device of the moving body transmits the image of the imaging device to the second communication circuitry or the wireless router via the communication device.
Nevertheless, Williams who is in the same field of endeavor of wireless communication remote control discloses, the plurality of mobile terminals; (0086, the smart device or computer of the end user), a sub communication terminal configured to display an image (0097, a view of a live video feed 1008 is also provided in GUI 1002 selectable from the available cameras on drone 102 (visible Camera 1010 and infrared Camera 1012)). viewed by an operator of a specific mobile terminal being one of the plurality of mobile terminals (0100, the user sees real-time data from the drone base 202 sensors 204 and monitoring capabilities. The user is able to see real-time data from drone 102 camera 110), wherein the specific mobile terminal includes: first communication circuitry (0028, the processor 112 may communicate wirelessly with a device, such as a smart phone, computer, tablet, or drone base, through a radio module. The processor 112 may also communicate with a network node, such as a WiFi access point or hotspot, a cellular network infrastructure component, or a server), configured to perform the wireless communication using a global communication network (0028, communications may be direct or through intermediate communication links, such as one or more network nodes or other communication devices. The radio module 108 may be configured to switch between cellular and WiFi connections and even maintain multiple connections); and second communication circuitry configured to perform the wireless communication using a local communication network (0028, the radio module 108 may be configured to switch between cellular and WiFi connections and even maintain multiple connections), the sub communication terminal includes communication circuitry connectable to a first local area network formed by the second communication circuitry (0090, the transceiver 412 enables the smart device to communicate via WiFi/Bluetooth/cellular (i.e. 3G, 4G, GSM) with a network or cloud), or a second local area network formed by a wireless router configured to wirelessly communicate with the moving body (0028, the processor 112 may also communicate with a network node, such as a WiFi access point or hotspot, a cellular network infrastructure component, or a server. Communications may be direct or through intermediate communication links, such as one or more network nodes or other communication devices), and to which the second communication circuitry belongs (0090, the transceiver 412 enables the smart device to communicate via WiFi/Bluetooth/cellular (i.e. 3G, 4G, GSM) with a network or cloud), the moving body includes an imaging device configured to capture an image around the moving body (0100, the user is able to see real-time data from drone 102 camera), the control device of the moving body transmits the image of the imaging device to the second communication circuitry (0113, if an event occurs at a check point or along the path, an alert, video and audio is transmitted from the drone 102 to the smart device 402 or computer either directly or via the drone base) … (2, where a camera captures a video image and transmits it via the radio module), or the wireless router via the communication device (0090, the transceiver 412 enables the smart device to communicate via WiFi/Bluetooth/cellular (i.e. 3G, 4G, GSM) with a network or cloud).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Draayer, Urano, and Ganz to incorporate William’s teachings. This would serve to transmit images and live video to a remote device enabling remote monitoring and situational awareness for controlling a vehicle with preference parameters for distance and signal strength.
Justification for combining the combination of Draayer, Urano, and Ganz with Williams disclosures not only comes from the state of the art but from Draayer (0118, the foregoing specification has been described with reference to various embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure).
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.
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/S.E.D./Examiner, Art Unit 3665
/CHRISTIAN CHACE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3665