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 .
This is a Final Office Action on the merits. Claims 1-15 are currently pending and are addressed below.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
1. A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 04/09/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
2. Applicant’s amendments/arguments filed 04/09/2026 with respect to 35 USC 103,
have been fully considered but are moot because of the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statements (IDS) filed on 02/13/2026 and 06/25/2026 are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
4. Claim 3 is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 3, the phrase “a The vehicle control device according…” should be replaced with “The vehicle control device according…” or similar language to remove the extra “a” at the beginning of the claim.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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 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.
6. Claims 1-4, 6-7, and 12-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 20180147988, hereinafter Lee) in view of Kim et al. (US 20180373936, hereinafter Kim 936’).
Regarding claim 1, Lee teaches a vehicle control device comprising one or more processors (see at least Fig. 7) configured to:
on a travel route of an autonomous driving vehicle configured to travel toward a desired drop-off position associated with a destination of a user of the autonomous driving vehicle (see at least [0045]: “The vehicle 100 may be an autonomous vehicle. The vehicle 100 may travel autonomously under the control of the controller 170. The vehicle 100 may travel autonomously based on vehicle driving information.”; [0048]: “For example, the vehicle driving information may include at least one of the following: object information acquired by the object detection device 300, information received by the communication device 400, and a user input received by the user interface device 200 or the driving manipulation device 500.”; [0244]: “Based on destination information and location information of the vehicle 100, the controller 170 may determine whether the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination. The set distance may be a value stored in the memory 140 and may be set by the user.”), set a predetermined travel route range from a point behind the desired drop-off position to the desired drop-off position, as a permissible intermediate drop-off range in which drop-off from the autonomous driving vehicle is permitted (see at least [0046]: “When the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination or receives a stop request while travelling, the vehicle 100 may search for at least one available stopping area or a recommended area based on acquired vehicle driving information, and then display information about the found available stopping area or the recommended area on the display unit 251 or transmit such information to a terminal, e.g., a preset terminal. Detailed description thereof will be provided later with reference with FIG. 8 and following drawings.”; [0048]: “For example, the vehicle driving information may include at least one of the following: object information acquired by the object detection device 300, information received by the communication device 400, and a user input received by the user interface device 200 or the driving manipulation device 500.”; [0244]: “Based on destination information and location information of the vehicle 100, the controller 170 may determine whether the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination. The set distance may be a value stored in the memory 140 and may be set by the user.”; [0397]: “The search condition may be a condition that is preset to search for an available stopping area. For example, the controller 170 may search for an available stopping area within a set distance from the vehicle 100. In this case, a search condition may be the set distance that limits a search range. The set distance may be set by a user.”; [0398]: “The controller 170 may search for an available stopping area again after increasing a search range included in a search condition. For example, if an existing search range is 100 meter from the vehicle 100, the controller 170 may adjust the search range to 400 meter from the vehicle 100 and then search for an available stopping area. The controller 170 may display, on the display unit 251c implemented in a windshield, a notification indicating that a search for an available stopping area is being performed in a wider range.”);
receive a setting about an intermediate drop-off position in the permissible intermediate drop-off range, the setting being made by the user in the autonomous driving vehicle configured to travel toward the desired drop-off position (see at least [0244]: “Based on destination information and location information of the vehicle 100, the controller 170 may determine whether the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination. The set distance may be a value stored in the memory 140 and may be set by the user.”; [0245]: “The controller 170 may sense a user command, received in the user interface device 200 or the communication device 400, to determine whether a stop request has been received.”; [0302]: “The controller 170 may display, on the display unit 251, the recommended area 1400 closest to the preset destination 1500. If a user input which selects the recommended area 1400 is received through the user interface device 300, the controller 170 may control the vehicle to move to the recommended area 1400. In this case, the vehicle 100 may move to the recommended area 1400 by going straight and then making a U-turn.”; [0303]: “If a user selects a different area other than the recommended area 1400 in the available stopping area 1100a, the controller 170 may control the vehicle 100 to stop at the selected area.”);
display, on a display screen disposed in the autonomous driving vehicle, various information (see at least [0088]: “The display unit 251 may display graphic objects corresponding to various types of information.”; [0240]: “When the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination or receives a stop request while travelling, the controller 170 may search for at least one available stopping area based on acquired vehicle driving information, and then display information about the found available stopping area on the display unit 251 or transmit such information to a preset terminal.”); and
stop the autonomous driving vehicle at the intermediate drop-off position set by the user such that the user drops off the autonomous driving vehicle (see at least Fig. 16 and [0302]: “The controller 170 may display, on the display unit 251, the recommended area 1400 closest to the preset destination 1500. If a user input which selects the recommended area 1400 is received through the user interface device 300, the controller 170 may control the vehicle to move to the recommended area 1400. In this case, the vehicle 100 may move to the recommended area 1400 by going straight and then making a U-turn.”; [0303]: “If a user selects a different area other than the recommended area 1400 in the available stopping area 1100a, the controller 170 may control the vehicle 100 to stop at the selected area.” [0304]: “FIG. 16 illustrates an example vehicle that determines whether a particular area is a recommended area that is the closest to a destination by time.”).
Lee fails to explicitly teach the autonomous vehicle as an autonomous driving taxi and displays a time remaining until a departure time of a scheduled transportation system that the user rides after the autonomous driving taxi and that departs from the destination at a predetermined departure time.
However, Kim 936’ teaches a method and apparatus for a transportation system that utilizes an autonomous driving taxi (see at least [0244]: “The driver's vehicle may operate as an unmanned taxi during the taxi use time. The server 210 may take the control of the vehicle during a taxi use time according to the passenger condition to move the vehicle to the departure point of the client terminal 220, and move the vehicle to the destination point when the passenger is boarding.”) and displays a time remaining until a departure time of a scheduled transportation system that a user rides after an autonomous driving taxi and that departs from a destination at a predetermined departure time (see at least Figs. 20A-20D and [0374]: “Each graphic object may be displayed at a position corresponding to a departure point of each carsharing schedule. Moreover, a travel path and a time taken from the current location 2010 of the mobile terminal to each departure point may be displayed on the display 2000. For example, it takes 15 minutes to the departure point of the first carsharing schedule 2020, and 12 minutes to the departure point of the second carsharing schedule 2030.”; [0383]: “For example, when a touch is applied to a graphic object of the third carsharing schedule 2040 as illustrated in FIG. 20C, the map image may disappear and the detailed information of the third carsharing schedule 2040 may be displayed on the display 2000 as illustrated in FIG. 20D.”; [0384]: “The detailed information may include at least one of a departure point, a departure time, a first destination point, a first estimated arrival time, a first travel path from the first departure point to the first arrival point, a maximum number of carsharing numbers, and an estimated fare.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the teachings of Kim 936’ and provide an autonomous driving taxi and displays a time remaining until a departure time of a scheduled transportation system that a user rides after an autonomous driving taxi and that departs from a destination at a predetermined departure time, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide ride services to a number of different users while informing the users with up to date traveling information.
Regarding claim 2, modified Lee teaches the limitations of claim 1, Lee further teaches wherein the permissible intermediate drop-off range is a travel route range in which a walk is recommended over movement by the autonomous driving vehicle (see at least Fig. 16 and [0304]: “FIG. 16 illustrates an example vehicle that determines whether a particular area is a recommended area that is the closest to a destination by time.”; [0306]: “In a case where the vehicle 100 plans to stop at a point closest to a destination in the available stopping area 1100a, if it takes a long time for the vehicle 100 to reach the point, a user is better to get off the vehicle 100 and walk to the destination in order to arrive there more quickly. In such a case, the autonomous vehicle 100 according to the present invention determines that a point having the smallest sum of the first time, required for the vehicle 100 to reach a desired stopping location, and the second time, required for a user to get off the vehicle 100 and walk to the destination 1500, is a recommended area, and therefore, it is possible to reduce the time for the user to reach the destination 1500.”).
Lee fails to explicitly teach the autonomous vehicle as an autonomous driving taxi.
However, Kim 936’ teaches a method and apparatus for a transportation system that utilizes an autonomous driving taxi (see at least [0244]: “The driver's vehicle may operate as an unmanned taxi during the taxi use time. The server 210 may take the control of the vehicle during a taxi use time according to the passenger condition to move the vehicle to the departure point of the client terminal 220, and move the vehicle to the destination point when the passenger is boarding.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the teachings of Kim 936’ and provide an autonomous driving taxi, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide ride services to a number of different users.
Regarding claim 3, modified Lee teaches the limitations of claim 1, Lee further teaches wherein the one or more processors are configured to set a predetermined travel route range from a point behind the permissible intermediate drop-off range to the permissible intermediate drop- off range as an intermediate drop-off position settable range (see at least [0306]: “In a case where the vehicle 100 plans to stop at a point closest to a destination in the available stopping area 1100a, if it takes a long time for the vehicle 100 to reach the point, a user is better to get off the vehicle 100 and walk to the destination in order to arrive there more quickly. In such a case, the autonomous vehicle 100 according to the present invention determines that a point having the smallest sum of the first time, required for the vehicle 100 to reach a desired stopping location, and the second time, required for a user to get off the vehicle 100 and walk to the destination 1500, is a recommended area, and therefore, it is possible to reduce the time for the user to reach the destination 1500.”), the intermediate drop-off position settable range being a range in which the setting of the intermediate drop-off position in the permissible intermediate drop-off range is received in advance (see at least [0046]: “When the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination or receives a stop request while travelling, the vehicle 100 may search for at least one available stopping area or a recommended area based on acquired vehicle driving information, and then display information about the found available stopping area or the recommended area on the display unit 251 or transmit such information to a terminal, e.g., a preset terminal. Detailed description thereof will be provided later with reference with FIG. 8 and following drawings.”; [0224]: “The navigation system 770 may provide navigation information. The navigation information may include at least one selected from among map information, information on a set destination, information on a route to the set destination, information on various objects along the route, lane information, and information on a current location of the vehicle.”; [0262]: “In some implementations, the controller 170 may determine that an area where the broken yellow line 1000d or the solid white line 1000c exists on the road is an available stopping area. However, if a stop period of the vehicle 100 is set in advance to less than 5 minutes, the controller 170 may determine that an area where only the solid white line 1000c exists is an available stopping area. If the broken yellow line 1000a is detected and it is determined that hours during which the vehicle 100 will be stopped corresponds to stopping allowed hours of the solid yellow line 1000a, the controller 170 may determine that an area outlined by the solid yellow line 1000a is an available stopping area.”).
Regarding claim 4, modified Lee teaches the limitations of claim 3, Lee further teaches wherein the autonomous driving vehicle is configured to, in at least the permissible intermediate drop- off range, perform autonomous driving at a vehicle speed lower than a vehicle speed during normal driving on the travel route before arrival at the intermediate drop-off position settable range (see at least [0190]: “The brake drive unit 622 may perform electronic control of a brake apparatus provided inside the vehicle 100. For example, the brake drive unit 622 may reduce the speed of the vehicle 100 by controlling the operation of a brake located at a wheel.”; [0306]: “In a case where the vehicle 100 plans to stop at a point closest to a destination in the available stopping area 1100a, if it takes a long time for the vehicle 100 to reach the point, a user is better to get off the vehicle 100 and walk to the destination in order to arrive there more quickly. In such a case, the autonomous vehicle 100 according to the present invention determines that a point having the smallest sum of the first time, required for the vehicle 100 to reach a desired stopping location, and the second time, required for a user to get off the vehicle 100 and walk to the destination 1500, is a recommended area, and therefore, it is possible to reduce the time for the user to reach the destination 1500.” Lee teaches the autonomous vehicle reducing speed and stopping at the desired stopping location set by the user which is slower speed than during normal driving on the travel route.).
Lee fails to explicitly teach the autonomous vehicle as an autonomous driving taxi.
However, Kim 936’ teaches a method and apparatus for a transportation system that utilizes an autonomous driving taxi (see at least [0244]: “The driver's vehicle may operate as an unmanned taxi during the taxi use time. The server 210 may take the control of the vehicle during a taxi use time according to the passenger condition to move the vehicle to the departure point of the client terminal 220, and move the vehicle to the destination point when the passenger is boarding.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the teachings of Kim 936’ and provide an autonomous driving taxi, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide ride services to a number of different users.
Regarding claim 6, modified Lee teaches the limitations of claim 3, Lee further teaches wherein when the autonomous driving vehicle enters the intermediate drop-off position settable range along a travel route from current position to the desired drop-off position, a setting operation screen for the setting of the intermediate drop-off position is displayed on the display screen disposed in the autonomous driving vehicle (see at least Fig. 9a and [0046]: “When the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination or receives a stop request while travelling, the vehicle 100 may search for at least one available stopping area or a recommended area based on acquired vehicle driving information, and then display information about the found available stopping area or the recommended area on the display unit 251 or transmit such information to a terminal, e.g., a preset terminal.”; [0078]: “In some implementations, the touch input unit 210 may be formed integral with a display unit 251 to implement a touch screen. The touch screen may provide an input interface and an output interface between the vehicle 100 and the user.” [0088]: “The display unit 251 may display graphic objects corresponding to various types of information.”; [0251]: “FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate an example display unit and an example terminal displaying an available stopping area.”; [0253]: “Referring to FIG. 9A, the controller 170 may display a top-view image, which shows a found available stopping area 1000, on the CID 251b. In addition, the controller 170 may transmit a top view image, which shows the available stopping area 1000, to a preset terminal 10.”).
Lee fails to explicitly teach the autonomous vehicle as an autonomous driving taxi.
However, Kim 936’ teaches a method and apparatus for a transportation system that utilizes an autonomous driving taxi (see at least [0244]: “The driver's vehicle may operate as an unmanned taxi during the taxi use time. The server 210 may take the control of the vehicle during a taxi use time according to the passenger condition to move the vehicle to the departure point of the client terminal 220, and move the vehicle to the destination point when the passenger is boarding.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the teachings of Kim 936’ and provide an autonomous driving taxi, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide ride services to a number of different users.
Regarding claim 7, modified Lee teaches the limitations of claim 1, Lee further teaches wherein the permissible intermediate drop-off range is set to change depending on a traffic condition (see at least [0305]: “Based on at least one of map information, traffic information, and location information, the controller 170 may determine that an area having the smallest sum of a first time and a second time within the found available stopping area 1100a is a recommended area. The first time is a time required for the vehicle 100 to completely stop in the found available stopping area 1100a, and the second time is a time required for a user to reach a destination 1500 from a location at which the vehicle 100 is stopped.”; [0306]: “In a case where the vehicle 100 plans to stop at a point closest to a destination in the available stopping area 1100a, if it takes a long time for the vehicle 100 to reach the point, a user is better to get off the vehicle 100 and walk to the destination in order to arrive there more quickly. In such a case, the autonomous vehicle 100 according to the present invention determines that a point having the smallest sum of the first time, required for the vehicle 100 to reach a desired stopping location, and the second time, required for a user to get off the vehicle 100 and walk to the destination 1500, is a recommended area, and therefore, it is possible to reduce the time for the user to reach the destination 1500.”; [0308]: “The traffic information may include signal information of a traffic light and information about a real-time amount of traffic. The traffic information may be information received from a server that provides real-time traffic information. Accordingly, the more number of vehicles around the available stopping area 1100a, the longer the first time can be.”; [0310]; “The controller 170 may calculate the second time, which is required for a user to reach the destination 1500 from a location at which the vehicle 100 will stop, based on map information, traffic information, and location information.”).
Regarding claim 12, Lee teaches a vehicle control method (see at least Fig. 8) comprising:
on a travel route of an autonomous driving vehicle configured to travel toward a desired drop-off position associated with a destination of a user of the autonomous driving vehicle (see at least [0045]: “The vehicle 100 may be an autonomous vehicle. The vehicle 100 may travel autonomously under the control of the controller 170. The vehicle 100 may travel autonomously based on vehicle driving information.”; [0048]: “For example, the vehicle driving information may include at least one of the following: object information acquired by the object detection device 300, information received by the communication device 400, and a user input received by the user interface device 200 or the driving manipulation device 500.”; [0244]: “Based on destination information and location information of the vehicle 100, the controller 170 may determine whether the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination. The set distance may be a value stored in the memory 140 and may be set by the user.”), setting a predetermined travel route range from a point behind the desired drop-off position to the desired drop-off position, as a permissible intermediate drop-off range in which drop-off from the autonomous driving vehicle is permitted (see at least [0046]: “When the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination or receives a stop request while travelling, the vehicle 100 may search for at least one available stopping area or a recommended area based on acquired vehicle driving information, and then display information about the found available stopping area or the recommended area on the display unit 251 or transmit such information to a terminal, e.g., a preset terminal. Detailed description thereof will be provided later with reference with FIG. 8 and following drawings.”; [0048]: “For example, the vehicle driving information may include at least one of the following: object information acquired by the object detection device 300, information received by the communication device 400, and a user input received by the user interface device 200 or the driving manipulation device 500.”; [0244]: “Based on destination information and location information of the vehicle 100, the controller 170 may determine whether the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination. The set distance may be a value stored in the memory 140 and may be set by the user.”; [0397]: “The search condition may be a condition that is preset to search for an available stopping area. For example, the controller 170 may search for an available stopping area within a set distance from the vehicle 100. In this case, a search condition may be the set distance that limits a search range. The set distance may be set by a user.”; [0398]: “The controller 170 may search for an available stopping area again after increasing a search range included in a search condition. For example, if an existing search range is 100 meter from the vehicle 100, the controller 170 may adjust the search range to 400 meter from the vehicle 100 and then search for an available stopping area. The controller 170 may display, on the display unit 251c implemented in a windshield, a notification indicating that a search for an available stopping area is being performed in a wider range.”);
receiving a setting about an intermediate drop-off position in the permissible intermediate drop-off range, the setting being made by the user in the autonomous driving vehicle configured to travel toward the desired drop-off position (see at least [0244]: “Based on destination information and location information of the vehicle 100, the controller 170 may determine whether the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination. The set distance may be a value stored in the memory 140 and may be set by the user.”; [0245]: “The controller 170 may sense a user command, received in the user interface device 200 or the communication device 400, to determine whether a stop request has been received.”; [0302]: “The controller 170 may display, on the display unit 251, the recommended area 1400 closest to the preset destination 1500. If a user input which selects the recommended area 1400 is received through the user interface device 300, the controller 170 may control the vehicle to move to the recommended area 1400. In this case, the vehicle 100 may move to the recommended area 1400 by going straight and then making a U-turn.”; [0303]: “If a user selects a different area other than the recommended area 1400 in the available stopping area 1100a, the controller 170 may control the vehicle 100 to stop at the selected area.”);
displaying, on a display screen disposed in the autonomous driving vehicle, various information (see at least [0088]: “The display unit 251 may display graphic objects corresponding to various types of information.”; [0240]: “When the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination or receives a stop request while travelling, the controller 170 may search for at least one available stopping area based on acquired vehicle driving information, and then display information about the found available stopping area on the display unit 251 or transmit such information to a preset terminal.”) and
stopping the autonomous driving vehicle at the intermediate drop-off position set by the user such that the user drops off the autonomous driving vehicle (see at least Fig. 16 and [0302]: “The controller 170 may display, on the display unit 251, the recommended area 1400 closest to the preset destination 1500. If a user input which selects the recommended area 1400 is received through the user interface device 300, the controller 170 may control the vehicle to move to the recommended area 1400. In this case, the vehicle 100 may move to the recommended area 1400 by going straight and then making a U-turn.”; [0303]: “If a user selects a different area other than the recommended area 1400 in the available stopping area 1100a, the controller 170 may control the vehicle 100 to stop at the selected area.” [0304]: “FIG. 16 illustrates an example vehicle that determines whether a particular area is a recommended area that is the closest to a destination by time.”).
Lee fails to explicitly teach the autonomous vehicle as an autonomous driving taxi and displays a time remaining until a departure time of a scheduled transportation system that the user rides after the autonomous driving taxi and that departs from the destination at a predetermined departure time.
However, Kim 936’ teaches a method and apparatus for a transportation system that utilizes an autonomous driving taxi (see at least [0244]: “The driver's vehicle may operate as an unmanned taxi during the taxi use time. The server 210 may take the control of the vehicle during a taxi use time according to the passenger condition to move the vehicle to the departure point of the client terminal 220, and move the vehicle to the destination point when the passenger is boarding.”) and displays a time remaining until a departure time of a scheduled transportation system that a user rides after an autonomous driving taxi and that departs from a destination at a predetermined departure time (see at least Figs. 20A-20D and [0374]: “Each graphic object may be displayed at a position corresponding to a departure point of each carsharing schedule. Moreover, a travel path and a time taken from the current location 2010 of the mobile terminal to each departure point may be displayed on the display 2000. For example, it takes 15 minutes to the departure point of the first carsharing schedule 2020, and 12 minutes to the departure point of the second carsharing schedule 2030.”; [0383]: “For example, when a touch is applied to a graphic object of the third carsharing schedule 2040 as illustrated in FIG. 20C, the map image may disappear and the detailed information of the third carsharing schedule 2040 may be displayed on the display 2000 as illustrated in FIG. 20D.”; [0384]: “The detailed information may include at least one of a departure point, a departure time, a first destination point, a first estimated arrival time, a first travel path from the first departure point to the first arrival point, a maximum number of carsharing numbers, and an estimated fare.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the teachings of Kim 936’ and provide an autonomous driving taxi and displays a time remaining until a departure time of a scheduled transportation system that a user rides after an autonomous driving taxi and that departs from a destination at a predetermined departure time, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide ride services to a number of different users while informing the users with up to date traveling information.
Regarding claim 13, Lee teaches a non-transitory storage medium storing instructions that are executable by one or more processors and that cause the one or more processors to perform functions (see at least Fig. 7) comprising:
on a travel route of an autonomous driving vehicle configured to travel toward a desired drop-off position associated with a destination of a user of the autonomous driving vehicle (see at least [0045]: “The vehicle 100 may be an autonomous vehicle. The vehicle 100 may travel autonomously under the control of the controller 170. The vehicle 100 may travel autonomously based on vehicle driving information.”; [0048]: “For example, the vehicle driving information may include at least one of the following: object information acquired by the object detection device 300, information received by the communication device 400, and a user input received by the user interface device 200 or the driving manipulation device 500.”; [0244]: “Based on destination information and location information of the vehicle 100, the controller 170 may determine whether the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination. The set distance may be a value stored in the memory 140 and may be set by the user.”), setting a predetermined travel route range from a point behind the desired drop-off position, to the desired drop-off position as a permissible intermediate drop-off range in which drop-off from the autonomous driving vehicle is permitted (see at least [0046]: “When the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination or receives a stop request while travelling, the vehicle 100 may search for at least one available stopping area or a recommended area based on acquired vehicle driving information, and then display information about the found available stopping area or the recommended area on the display unit 251 or transmit such information to a terminal, e.g., a preset terminal. Detailed description thereof will be provided later with reference with FIG. 8 and following drawings.”; [0048]: “For example, the vehicle driving information may include at least one of the following: object information acquired by the object detection device 300, information received by the communication device 400, and a user input received by the user interface device 200 or the driving manipulation device 500.”; [0244]: “Based on destination information and location information of the vehicle 100, the controller 170 may determine whether the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination. The set distance may be a value stored in the memory 140 and may be set by the user.”; [0397]: “The search condition may be a condition that is preset to search for an available stopping area. For example, the controller 170 may search for an available stopping area within a set distance from the vehicle 100. In this case, a search condition may be the set distance that limits a search range. The set distance may be set by a user.”; [0398]: “The controller 170 may search for an available stopping area again after increasing a search range included in a search condition. For example, if an existing search range is 100 meter from the vehicle 100, the controller 170 may adjust the search range to 400 meter from the vehicle 100 and then search for an available stopping area. The controller 170 may display, on the display unit 251c implemented in a windshield, a notification indicating that a search for an available stopping area is being performed in a wider range.”);
receiving a setting about an intermediate drop-off position in the permissible intermediate drop-off range, the setting being made by the user in the autonomous driving vehicle configured to travel toward the desired drop-off position (see at least [0244]: “Based on destination information and location information of the vehicle 100, the controller 170 may determine whether the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination. The set distance may be a value stored in the memory 140 and may be set by the user.”; [0245]: “The controller 170 may sense a user command, received in the user interface device 200 or the communication device 400, to determine whether a stop request has been received.”; [0302]: “The controller 170 may display, on the display unit 251, the recommended area 1400 closest to the preset destination 1500. If a user input which selects the recommended area 1400 is received through the user interface device 300, the controller 170 may control the vehicle to move to the recommended area 1400. In this case, the vehicle 100 may move to the recommended area 1400 by going straight and then making a U-turn.”; [0303]: “If a user selects a different area other than the recommended area 1400 in the available stopping area 1100a, the controller 170 may control the vehicle 100 to stop at the selected area.”);
displaying, on a display screen disposed in the autonomous driving vehicle, various information (see at least [0088]: “The display unit 251 may display graphic objects corresponding to various types of information.”; [0240]: “When the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination or receives a stop request while travelling, the controller 170 may search for at least one available stopping area based on acquired vehicle driving information, and then display information about the found available stopping area on the display unit 251 or transmit such information to a preset terminal.”) and
stopping the autonomous driving vehicle at the intermediate drop-off position set by the user such that the user drops off the autonomous driving vehicle (see at least Fig. 16 and [0302]: “The controller 170 may display, on the display unit 251, the recommended area 1400 closest to the preset destination 1500. If a user input which selects the recommended area 1400 is received through the user interface device 300, the controller 170 may control the vehicle to move to the recommended area 1400. In this case, the vehicle 100 may move to the recommended area 1400 by going straight and then making a U-turn.”; [0303]: “If a user selects a different area other than the recommended area 1400 in the available stopping area 1100a, the controller 170 may control the vehicle 100 to stop at the selected area.” [0304]: “FIG. 16 illustrates an example vehicle that determines whether a particular area is a recommended area that is the closest to a destination by time.”).
Lee fails to explicitly teach the autonomous vehicle as an autonomous driving taxi and displays a time remaining until a departure time of a scheduled transportation system that the user rides after the autonomous driving taxi and that departs from the destination at a predetermined departure time.
However, Kim 936’ teaches a method and apparatus for a transportation system that utilizes an autonomous driving taxi (see at least [0244]: “The driver's vehicle may operate as an unmanned taxi during the taxi use time. The server 210 may take the control of the vehicle during a taxi use time according to the passenger condition to move the vehicle to the departure point of the client terminal 220, and move the vehicle to the destination point when the passenger is boarding.”) and displays a time remaining until a departure time of a scheduled transportation system that a user rides after an autonomous driving taxi and that departs from a destination at a predetermined departure time (see at least Figs. 20A-20D and [0374]: “Each graphic object may be displayed at a position corresponding to a departure point of each carsharing schedule. Moreover, a travel path and a time taken from the current location 2010 of the mobile terminal to each departure point may be displayed on the display 2000. For example, it takes 15 minutes to the departure point of the first carsharing schedule 2020, and 12 minutes to the departure point of the second carsharing schedule 2030.”; [0383]: “For example, when a touch is applied to a graphic object of the third carsharing schedule 2040 as illustrated in FIG. 20C, the map image may disappear and the detailed information of the third carsharing schedule 2040 may be displayed on the display 2000 as illustrated in FIG. 20D.”; [0384]: “The detailed information may include at least one of a departure point, a departure time, a first destination point, a first estimated arrival time, a first travel path from the first departure point to the first arrival point, a maximum number of carsharing numbers, and an estimated fare.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the teachings of Kim 936’ and provide an autonomous driving taxi and displays a time remaining until a departure time of a scheduled transportation system that a user rides after an autonomous driving taxi and that departs from a destination at a predetermined departure time, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide ride services to a number of different users while informing the users with up to date traveling information.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
7. Claim 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 20180147988, hereinafter Lee) and Kim et al. (US 20180373936, hereinafter Kim 936’) in view of Isaacs et al. (US 20190383621, hereinafter Isaacs).
Regarding claim 5, modified Lee teaches the limitations of claim 3, Lee further teaches wherein the one or more processors are configured to, when the autonomous driving vehicle is located outside the intermediate drop-off position settable range, reject the intermediate drop-off position in the permissible intermediate drop-off range (see at least Fig. 23 and [0357]: “The controller 170 may transmit information about the point 2200 in a broadcasting manner. In this case, a communication device within a specific distance from the vehicle 100 may receive the information about the point 2200.”; [0358]: “FIG. 23 illustrates an example vehicle that provides a notification to a user in a state in which the vehicle is not allowed to stop at a specific point selected by the user.”; [0359]: “If it is determined during travelling of the vehicle 100 to a specific point selected by a user, based on vehicle driving information, that the vehicle 100 is not allowed to stop at the specific point, the controller 170 may output a stopping menu 2300b through the user interface device 200.” Lee teaches rejecting the stopping position initially selected by the user when the vehicle is not allowed to stop.).
Lee fails to explicitly teach the autonomous vehicle as an autonomous driving taxi.
However, Kim 936’ teaches a method and apparatus for a transportation system that utilizes an autonomous driving taxi (see at least [0244]: “The driver's vehicle may operate as an unmanned taxi during the taxi use time. The server 210 may take the control of the vehicle during a taxi use time according to the passenger condition to move the vehicle to the departure point of the client terminal 220, and move the vehicle to the destination point when the passenger is boarding.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the teachings of Kim 936’ and provide an autonomous driving taxi, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide ride services to a number of different users.
The combination of Lee and Kim 936’ fails to explicitly teach reject reception when the autonomous vehicle is located outside the permissible range.
However, Isaacs teaches a method and system for providing transportation between specific locations that rejects reception from a user when an autonomous vehicle is located outside a permissible range (see at least [0061]: “As mentioned, in some embodiments users can either suggest route information or provide information that corresponds to a route that would be desired by the user. This can include, for example, an origination location, a destination location, a desired pickup time, and a desired drop-off time. Other values can be provided as well, as may relate to a maximum duration or trip length, maximum number of stops, allowable deviations, and the like. In some embodiments at least some of these values may have maximum or minimum values, or allowable ranges, specified by one or more route criteria. There can also be various rules or policies in place that dictate how these values are allowed to change with various circumstances or situations, such as for specific types of users or locations. The route manager 714 can receive several such requests, and can attempt to determine the best selection of routes to satisfy the various requests. In this example the route manager can work with a route generation module 718 that can take the inputs from the various requests and provide a set of route options that can satisfy those requests. This can include options with different numbers of vehicles, different vehicle selections or placements, different modes of transportation, different segment options, and different options for getting the various customers to their approximate destinations at or near the desired times. It should be understood that in some embodiments customers may also request for specific locations and times where deviation is not permissible, and the route manager may need to either determine an acceptable routing option or deny that request if minimum criteria are not met. In some embodiments an option can be provided for each request, and a pricing manager 722 can determine the cost for a specific request using pricing data and guidelines from a price repository 724, which the user can then accept or reject.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee and Kim 936’ to incorporate the teachings of Isaacs and provide a means to reject reception from a user when an autonomous vehicle is located outside a permissible range, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to deny a request if minimum criteria such as range is not met.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
8. Claim 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 20180147988, hereinafter Lee) and Kim et al. (US 20180373936, hereinafter Kim 936’) in view of Yatagai et al. (US 20210339746, hereinafter Yatagai).
Regarding claim 8, modified Lee teaches the limitations of claim 1, Lee further teaches intermediate drop-off from the autonomous driving vehicle on the travel route within a predetermined range is prohibited even though the autonomous driving vehicle is in the permissible intermediate drop-off range (see at least [0306]: “In a case where the vehicle 100 plans to stop at a point closest to a destination in the available stopping area 1100a, if it takes a long time for the vehicle 100 to reach the point, a user is better to get off the vehicle 100 and walk to the destination in order to arrive there more quickly. In such a case, the autonomous vehicle 100 according to the present invention determines that a point having the smallest sum of the first time, required for the vehicle 100 to reach a desired stopping location, and the second time, required for a user to get off the vehicle 100 and walk to the destination 1500, is a recommended area, and therefore, it is possible to reduce the time for the user to reach the destination 1500.”; [0308] The traffic information may include signal information of a traffic light and information about a real-time amount of traffic. The traffic information may be information received from a server that provides real-time traffic information. Accordingly, the more number of vehicles around the available stopping area 1100a, the longer the first time can be.”; [0309]: “Based on traffic information, the controller 170 may determine a signal transition time of a traffic light. Based on an amount of traffic and the signal transition time of the traffic light, the controller 170 may determine the first time.”; [0310]: “The controller 170 may calculate the second time, which is required for a user to reach the destination 1500 from a location at which the vehicle 100 will stop, based on map information, traffic information, and location information.” [0363]: “In an example (a) shown in FIG. 23, the controller 170 may display the stopping menu 2300b on a display unit implemented in the windshield 251c. The controller 170 may further display a notification 2300a indicating that the vehicle 100 cannot stop at a selected point. The stopping menu 2300b may include a button for searching for a stopping location again, and a button for selecting a passive designation mode which allows a user to designate a desired stopping location.”; [0364]: “In an example (b) shown in FIG. 23, the controller 170 may display, on the display unit 251 provided inside the vehicle 100, a button for searching a stopping location again and a button for designating a desired stopping location. The controller 170 may further display, on the display unit 251b, a notification indicating that the vehicle 100 cannot stop at a selected point.” Lee teaches navigating the autonomous vehicle based on traffic information such as traffic lights and prohibiting stopping of the vehicle if the vehicle is unable to stop at the previously user selected location.).
Lee fails to explicitly teach the autonomous vehicle as an autonomous driving taxi.
However, Kim 936’ teaches a method and apparatus for a transportation system that utilizes an autonomous driving taxi (see at least [0244]: “The driver's vehicle may operate as an unmanned taxi during the taxi use time. The server 210 may take the control of the vehicle during a taxi use time according to the passenger condition to move the vehicle to the departure point of the client terminal 220, and move the vehicle to the destination point when the passenger is boarding.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the teachings of Kim 936’ and provide an autonomous driving taxi, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide ride services to a number of different users.
The combination of Lee and Kim 936’ fails to explicitly teach prohibiting intermediate drop-off from the autonomous driving vehicle when traffic lights in a traveling direction of the autonomous driving vehicle are green at an intersection on the travel route.
However, Yatagai teaches an apparatus and method for prohibiting intermediate drop-off from an autonomous driving vehicle when traffic lights in a traveling direction of the autonomous driving vehicle are green at an intersection on a travel route (see at least [0153]: “In normal case, temporary stop in the intersection and on the crosswalk is basically prohibited. Therefore, as described above, in a situation where space for the vehicle M1 to enter is not present in the range away from the intersection 41 on the road in the traveling direction, even when the traffic signal 41aa ahead indicates a green light, it is recommended to check the surrounding situation, and maintain a temporary stop state of the vehicle M1 at the position (the first checkpoint A) before the stop line 41b without causing the vehicle M1 to enter the intersection 41 until space for the vehicle M1 to enter is found in the range away from the intersection 41.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee and Kim 936’ to incorporate the teachings of Yatagai and provide a means to prohibit intermediate drop-off from an autonomous driving vehicle when traffic lights in a traveling direction of the autonomous driving vehicle are green at an intersection on a travel route, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to follow driving rules and avoid collision at the intersection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
9. Claims 9-11 and 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 20180147988, hereinafter Lee) and Kim et al. (US 20180373936, hereinafter Kim 936’) in view of Ramot et al. (US 20200104965, hereinafter Ramot) and in further view of Newlin et al. (US 20160298974, hereinafter Newlin).
Regarding claim 9, modified Lee teaches the limitations of claim 1, Lee further teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured to display, on the display screen disposed in the autonomous driving vehicle (see at least [0088]: “The display unit 251 may display graphic objects corresponding to various types of information.”; [0240]: “When the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination or receives a stop request while travelling, the controller 170 may search for at least one available stopping area based on acquired vehicle driving information, and then display information about the found available stopping area on the display unit 251 or transmit such information to a preset terminal.”).
Lee fails to explicitly teach the autonomous vehicle as an autonomous driving taxi and displaying a period required by car and a taxi fare.
However, Kim 936’ teaches a method and apparatus for a transportation system that utilizes an autonomous driving taxi (see at least [0244]: “The driver's vehicle may operate as an unmanned taxi during the taxi use time. The server 210 may take the control of the vehicle during a taxi use time according to the passenger condition to move the vehicle to the departure point of the client terminal 220, and move the vehicle to the destination point when the passenger is boarding.”) and display a period required by car (see at least Figs. 20A-20D and [0374]: “Each graphic object may be displayed at a position corresponding to a departure point of each carsharing schedule. Moreover, a travel path and a time taken from the current location 2010 of the mobile terminal to each departure point may be displayed on the display 2000. For example, it takes 15 minutes to the departure point of the first carsharing schedule 2020, and 12 minutes to the departure point of the second carsharing schedule 2030.”) and a taxi fare (see at least [0363]: “The graphic object may be displayed at a position corresponding to the departure place of the carsharing schedule, and may include an estimated fare to be charged at the time of carsharing. Moreover, the graphic object may further include a comparison fare to be charged when using the same vehicle alone without carsharing. For example, an estimated fare for carsharing use and a comparative fare for single use may be displayed at the same time. As a result, a passenger who uses a carsharing service may select whether to use the vehicle alone or for carsharing through price comparison.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the teachings of Kim 936’ and provide an autonomous driving taxi and displaying a period required by car and taxi fare, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide ride services to a number of different users and provide the user with cost information.
The combination of Lee and Kim 936’ fails to explicitly teach displaying walking distance.
However, Ramot teaches a system and method for managing ridesharing vehicles that displays a walking distance (see at least [0110]: “Ridesharing management server 150 may further provide a navigation option which may be displayed on a user interface. A selection of the navigation option may then provide walking directions the user to the assigned pick-up location for pick-up. The message may further cause a display of an indication of an estimated walking distance from the starting point to the assigned pick-up location. In addition, the message may include an estimated walking distance from the assigned drop-off location to the desired destination. The assigned drop-off location may be a location close to the desired destination, within the maximum walking distance parameters set by the first user. For example, the drop-off location may be at a location half a block away or further from the desired destination, and may be along a main street where the vehicle may easily locate and access. For another example, the drop-off location may be determined based on a route towards the next pick-up location, such that the vehicle may easily drop off the first user on its way to the next pick-up location, thereby avoiding an extra detour.”; [0271]: “For example, in one embodiment, ride restriction module 1820 may provide to the user based on the received shared-ride request, at least one offer that accounts for the at least one restriction. Characteristics of the offer may be displayed to the use. The characteristics may include the pick-up location, the drop-off location, the ride restriction, and an estimated for engaging with the shared-ride. In other embodiments, multiple offers may be provided to the user, and the multiple offers may differ by at least one of a cost, pick-up location, a pick-up time, and a type of service. For example, a first offer presented to the user may include a pick-up location within ten meters of a present location of the user, an estimated pick up time of three minutes from the time that the request was sent by the user for an estimated cost of thirty dollars.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee and Kim 936’ to incorporate the teachings of Ramot and provide a means to display, on a display screen, a walking distance, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide the user with walking distance information.
The combination of Lee, Kim 936’, and Ramot fails to explicitly teach displaying a walking period.
However, Newlin teaches a method and system for learning and displaying geographical navigational options that displays a walking period (see at least Fig. 2 and [0026]: “For example, if it is determined that modes of transportation that take less than 30 minutes are favorable (based on the rules/factors as described with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5) any option less than 30 minutes may be displayed. For example, several driving routes and/or car share cars may be displayed. Similarly, if it is determined that modes of transportation involving driving are unfavorable (e.g., the departure time is in the middle of rush hour), one or more options for driving, car share, and/or ride share may be displayed, while multiple options for non-driving modes may be displayed (e.g., routes for walking and/or biking, forms of subways transportation, multiple bike share locations, etc.)”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee, Kim 936’, and Ramot to incorporate the teachings of Newlin and provide a means to display a walking period, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to display different time information for various modes of transportation to find the most favorable mode.
Regarding claim 10, modified Lee teaches the limitations of claim 9, Lee further teaches wherein the one or more processors are configured to display, on the display screen disposed in the autonomous driving vehicle, a suggestion to drop off the autonomous driving vehicle based on at least the period required by the car (see at least [0088]: “The display unit 251 may display graphic objects corresponding to various types of information.”; [0292]: “In the example illustrated in FIG. 14, based on vehicle driving information, the controller 170 may determine a recommended area in a found available stopping area. The controller 170 may display information about the recommended area on the display unit 251 or transmit such information a preset terminal.”; [0302]: “The controller 170 may display, on the display unit 251, the recommended area 1400 closest to the preset destination 1500. If a user input which selects the recommended area 1400 is received through the user interface device 300, the controller 170 may control the vehicle to move to the recommended area 1400. In this case, the vehicle 100 may move to the recommended area 1400 by going straight and then making a U-turn.”; [0306]: “In a case where the vehicle 100 plans to stop at a point closest to a destination in the available stopping area 1100a, if it takes a long time for the vehicle 100 to reach the point, a user is better to get off the vehicle 100 and walk to the destination in order to arrive there more quickly. In such a case, the autonomous vehicle 100 according to the present invention determines that a point having the smallest sum of the first time, required for the vehicle 100 to reach a desired stopping location, and the second time, required for a user to get off the vehicle 100 and walk to the destination 1500, is a recommended area, and therefore, it is possible to reduce the time for the user to reach the destination 1500.”).
However, Kim 936’ teaches a method and apparatus for a transportation system that utilizes an autonomous driving taxi (see at least [0244]: “The driver's vehicle may operate as an unmanned taxi during the taxi use time. The server 210 may take the control of the vehicle during a taxi use time according to the passenger condition to move the vehicle to the departure point of the client terminal 220, and move the vehicle to the destination point when the passenger is boarding.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the teachings of Kim 936’ and provide an autonomous driving taxi, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide ride services to a number of different users.
Regarding claim 11, modified Lee teaches the limitations of claim 9, Lee further teaches wherein the one or more processors are configured to, when the autonomous driving vehicle is located within the permissible intermediate drop-off range or an intermediate drop-off position settable range, display a plurality of candidates for the intermediate drop-off position in the permissible intermediate drop-off range (see at least [0088]: “The display unit 251 may display graphic objects corresponding to various types of information.”; [0240]: “When the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination or receives a stop request while travelling, the controller 170 may search for at least one available stopping area based on acquired vehicle driving information, and then display information about the found available stopping area on the display unit 251 or transmit such information to a preset terminal.” [0295] The controller 170 may determine not just an available stopping area but a recommended area, and display information about the recommended area through the display unit 251 or a terminal, thereby helping a user to decide where to stop the vehicle 100. In this case, the user may select the recommended area or a different space in the available stopping area.”; [0302]: “The controller 170 may display, on the display unit 251, the recommended area 1400 closest to the preset destination 1500. If a user input which selects the recommended area 1400 is received through the user interface device 300, the controller 170 may control the vehicle to move to the recommended area 1400. In this case, the vehicle 100 may move to the recommended area 1400 by going straight and then making a U-turn.”), the intermediate drop-off position settable range being a range in which the setting of the intermediate drop-off position in the permissible intermediate drop-off range is received in advance (see at least [0046]: “When the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination or receives a stop request while travelling, the vehicle 100 may search for at least one available stopping area or a recommended area based on acquired vehicle driving information, and then display information about the found available stopping area or the recommended area on the display unit 251 or transmit such information to a terminal, e.g., a preset terminal. Detailed description thereof will be provided later with reference with FIG. 8 and following drawings.”; [0262]: “However, if a stop period of the vehicle 100 is set in advance to less than 5 minutes, the controller 170 may determine that an area where only the solid white line 1000c exists is an available stopping area. If the broken yellow line 1000a is detected and it is determined that hours during which the vehicle 100 will be stopped corresponds to stopping allowed hours of the solid yellow line 1000a, the controller 170 may determine that an area outlined by the solid yellow line 1000a is an available stopping area.”).
Lee fails to explicitly teach the autonomous vehicle as an autonomous driving taxi and displaying the period required by the car for each candidate, the time remaining until the departure time of the scheduled transportation system, and the taxi fare for each candidate.
However, Kim 936’ teaches a method and apparatus for a transportation system that utilizes an autonomous driving taxi (see at least [0244]: “The driver's vehicle may operate as an unmanned taxi during the taxi use time. The server 210 may take the control of the vehicle during a taxi use time according to the passenger condition to move the vehicle to the departure point of the client terminal 220, and move the vehicle to the destination point when the passenger is boarding.”) and display a period required by a car for each candidate, a time remaining until a departure time of a scheduled transportation system (see at least Figs. 20A-20D and [0374]: “Each graphic object may be displayed at a position corresponding to a departure point of each carsharing schedule. Moreover, a travel path and a time taken from the current location 2010 of the mobile terminal to each departure point may be displayed on the display 2000. For example, it takes 15 minutes to the departure point of the first carsharing schedule 2020, and 12 minutes to the departure point of the second carsharing schedule 2030.”), and a taxi fare for each candidate (see at least [0363]: “The graphic object may be displayed at a position corresponding to the departure place of the carsharing schedule, and may include an estimated fare to be charged at the time of carsharing. Moreover, the graphic object may further include a comparison fare to be charged when using the same vehicle alone without carsharing. For example, an estimated fare for carsharing use and a comparative fare for single use may be displayed at the same time. As a result, a passenger who uses a carsharing service may select whether to use the vehicle alone or for carsharing through price comparison.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the teachings of Kim 936’ and provide an autonomous driving taxi and display a period required by a car for each candidate, a time remaining until a departure time of a scheduled transportation system, and a taxi fare for each candidate, in order to provide ride services to a number of different users while informing the users with up to date traveling information.
The combination of Lee and Kim 936’ fails to explicitly teach displaying the walking distance for each candidate.
However, Ramot teaches a system and method for managing ridesharing vehicles that displays a walking distance for each candidate (see at least [0110]: “Ridesharing management server 150 may further provide a navigation option which may be displayed on a user interface. A selection of the navigation option may then provide walking directions the user to the assigned pick-up location for pick-up. The message may further cause a display of an indication of an estimated walking distance from the starting point to the assigned pick-up location. In addition, the message may include an estimated walking distance from the assigned drop-off location to the desired destination. The assigned drop-off location may be a location close to the desired destination, within the maximum walking distance parameters set by the first user. For example, the drop-off location may be at a location half a block away or further from the desired destination, and may be along a main street where the vehicle may easily locate and access. For another example, the drop-off location may be determined based on a route towards the next pick-up location, such that the vehicle may easily drop off the first user on its way to the next pick-up location, thereby avoiding an extra detour.”; [0271]: “For example, in one embodiment, ride restriction module 1820 may provide to the user based on the received shared-ride request, at least one offer that accounts for the at least one restriction. Characteristics of the offer may be displayed to the use. The characteristics may include the pick-up location, the drop-off location, the ride restriction, and an estimated for engaging with the shared-ride. In other embodiments, multiple offers may be provided to the user, and the multiple offers may differ by at least one of a cost, pick-up location, a pick-up time, and a type of service. For example, a first offer presented to the user may include a pick-up location within ten meters of a present location of the user, an estimated pick up time of three minutes from the time that the request was sent by the user for an estimated cost of thirty dollars.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee and Kim 936’ to incorporate the teachings of Ramot and provide a means to display, on a display screen, a walking distance for each candidate, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide the user with walking distance information.
The combination of Lee, Kim 936’, and Ramot fails to explicitly teach displaying the walking period.
However, Newlin teaches a method and system for learning and displaying geographical navigational options that displays a walking period (see at least Fig. 2 and [0026]: “For example, if it is determined that modes of transportation that take less than 30 minutes are favorable (based on the rules/factors as described with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5) any option less than 30 minutes may be displayed. For example, several driving routes and/or car share cars may be displayed. Similarly, if it is determined that modes of transportation involving driving are unfavorable (e.g., the departure time is in the middle of rush hour), one or more options for driving, car share, and/or ride share may be displayed, while multiple options for non-driving modes may be displayed (e.g., routes for walking and/or biking, forms of subways transportation, multiple bike share locations, etc.)”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee, Kim 936’, and Ramot to incorporate the teachings of Newlin and provide a means to display a walking period, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to display different time information for various modes of transportation to find the most favorable mode.
Regarding claim 14, modified Lee teaches the limitations of claim 9. Lee further teaches displaying various information on the autonomous vehicle (see at least [0088]: “The display unit 251 may display graphic objects corresponding to various types of information.”; [0240]: “When the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination or receives a stop request while travelling, the controller 170 may search for at least one available stopping area based on acquired vehicle driving information, and then display information about the found available stopping area on the display unit 251 or transmit such information to a preset terminal.”).
Lee fails to explicitly teach displaying information regarding the walking period that is a time period to walk from one position to the desired position.
However, Newlin teaches a method and system for learning and displaying geographical navigational options that displays information regarding a walking period that is a time period to walk from one position to a desired position (see at least Fig. 2 and [0026]: “For example, if it is determined that modes of transportation that take less than 30 minutes are favorable (based on the rules/factors as described with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5) any option less than 30 minutes may be displayed. For example, several driving routes and/or car share cars may be displayed. Similarly, if it is determined that modes of transportation involving driving are unfavorable (e.g., the departure time is in the middle of rush hour), one or more options for driving, car share, and/or ride share may be displayed, while multiple options for non-driving modes may be displayed (e.g., routes for walking and/or biking, forms of subways transportation, multiple bike share locations, etc.)”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the teachings of Newlin and provide a means to display a walking period that is a time period to walk from one position to a desired position, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to display different time information for various modes of transportation to find the most favorable mode.
Regarding claim 15, modified Lee teaches the limitations of claim 9. Lee further teaches displaying various information on the autonomous vehicle (see at least [0088]: “The display unit 251 may display graphic objects corresponding to various types of information.”; [0240]: “When the vehicle 100 enters a set distance from a preset destination or receives a stop request while travelling, the controller 170 may search for at least one available stopping area based on acquired vehicle driving information, and then display information about the found available stopping area on the display unit 251 or transmit such information to a preset terminal.”).
Lee fails to explicitly teach displaying information regarding the period required by the car is a time period to drive from one position to the desired position.
However, Newlin teaches a method and system for learning and displaying geographical navigational options that displays information regarding a period required by a car that is a time period to drive from one position to a desired drop-off position (see at least Fig. 2 and [0026]: “For example, if it is determined that modes of transportation that take less than 30 minutes are favorable (based on the rules/factors as described with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5) any option less than 30 minutes may be displayed. For example, several driving routes and/or car share cars may be displayed. Similarly, if it is determined that modes of transportation involving driving are unfavorable (e.g., the departure time is in the middle of rush hour), one or more options for driving, car share, and/or ride share may be displayed, while multiple options for non-driving modes may be displayed (e.g., routes for walking and/or biking, forms of subways transportation, multiple bike share locations, etc.)”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the teachings of Newlin and provide a means to display information regarding a period required by a car that is a time period to drive from one position to a desired drop-off position, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to display different time information for various modes of transportation to find the most favorable mode.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIEN MINH LE whose telephone number is (571)272-3903. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday (8:30am-5:30pm eastern time).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Khoi Tran can be reached on (571)272-6919. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/T.M.L./Examiner, Art Unit 3656
/KHOI H TRAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3656
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