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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/04/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). Receipt is acknowledged of a certified copy of foreign application JP2023-102929, as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: Paragraph [0107] is difficult to read because of confusing punctuation and capitalization and possible partial sentences. It is unclear whether paragraph [0107] is intended to be one sentence or multiple sentences.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 2, 8, 12, 13, and 14 are objected to because of the following informalities:
"Estimating a band prediction value" should read "estimating [[a]] the band prediction value" (claim 2)
“a predetermined threshold value” should read “[[a]] the predetermined threshold value” (claim 6)
"whether an self-driving function" should read "whether [[an]] a self-driving function" (claim 8)
“stop of an self-driving function” should read “stop of [[an]] a self-driving function” (claim 9)
"the number of communication" should read "a [[the]] number of communications" (claim 12)
"the number of communication" should read "the number of communications" (claim 13)
Claim 12 recites "use frequency band" but claim 14 recites "used frequency band." Please either correct claim 12 to recite “used frequency band” or correct claim 14 to recite “use frequency band” so claims 12 and 14 recite matching claim language. (claims 12 and 14)
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20190200274 A1 LAUTENSCHLAEGER; Stefan (hereinafter Lautenschlaeger) in view of WO 2020008857 A1 IZUMI AKIHIKO et al. (hereinafter Izumi).
Regarding claim 1, Lautenschlaeger discloses: An information processing method (see Lautenschlaeger at least [0074] In the method according to the present invention the system can automatically decide which carrier or company can provide the highest bandwidth at the current location of the mobile communication device) comprising:
acquiring a communication band map indicating a communication band of wireless communication with one of base stations (see Lautenschlaeger at least [0070] information concerning the available bandwidth in the surrounding area is available, e.g. via the mentioned map data);
estimating a position of a vehicle performing wireless communication with the one of base stations (see Lautenschlaeger at least [0073] The current location of the mobile communication device, e.g. the location of an ambulance containing the mobile communication device, can be determined by a position determination system); and
estimating a band prediction value indicating a communication band predicted for wireless communication to be performed with the one of base stations, the band prediction value being estimated on the basis of the position of the vehicle and the communication band map (see Lautenschlaeger at least [0095] The communication location can therefore be selected in such a way that a bandwidth condition is satisfied for the communication location, wherein the bandwidth condition is fulfilled for a location 2, 13, 14, 15, if a predicted useable bandwidth for at least one of the radio networks for that location reaches or exceeds a threshold value. A predicted useable bandwidth can be directly given by the map data or determined from the bandwidth value or values provided by the map data).
Lautenschlaeger does not teach: controlling a vehicle behavior of the vehicle according to the band prediction value.
However, Izumi teaches: controlling a vehicle behavior of the vehicle according to the band prediction value (see Izumi at least [pg. 8, para. 2, beginning with “The operation control”] The operation of the vehicle 101 is controlled based on the prediction result of the behavior of the vehicle 101, the prediction result of the communication quality by the communication quality prediction unit 214, and the like and [pg. 8, para. 9, beginning with “The communication quality”] The communication quality data includes, for example, data relating to communication quality such as communication bands around the route of the vehicle 101).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the communication band prediction method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger to include the communication quality-dependent vehicle control of Izumi. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the vehicle user can have a more enjoyable experience if their non-driving vehicle activities are uninterrupted by communication quality issues, as suggested by Izumi (see Izumi at least [pg. 18, para. 4, beginning with “For example, when the vehicle”] by selecting a route based on the communication quality, the user can enjoy the moving image content in the moving vehicle with high quality without stress).
Claim(s) 2, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lautenschlaeger, in view of Izumi, further in view of JP 2022097187 A KOJIMA YUTO et al. (hereinafter Kojima), and further in view of WO 2023021898 A1 YAMAUCHI NAOKI et al. (hereinafter Yamauchi).
Regarding claim 2, Lautenschlaeger and Izumi disclose: The information processing method according to claim 1.
Lautenschlaeger and Izumi do not teach: further comprising: acquiring a band actual measurement value indicating a current communication band in wireless communication between the one of base stations and the vehicle.
However, Kojima teaches: acquiring a band actual measurement value indicating a current communication band in wireless communication between the one of base stations and the vehicle (see Kojima at least [0110] The throughput measuring unit 210 measures the communication throughput between the communication unit 202 and the external device 30. The throughput measurement unit 210 calculates the current communication throughput based on the amount of communication data notified from the communication control unit 230).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger and Izumi to include the communication throughput acquisition of Kojima. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because throughput information must be acquired in order to manipulate system parameters for desirable communication outcomes, as suggested by Kojima (see Kojima at least [0087] When future communication throughput falls below a predetermined threshold, communication control unit 230 limits the communication throughput of data communication with a low priority set by priority setting unit 250 compared to data communication with a high priority set by priority setting unit 250.).
Lautenschlaeger, Izumi, and Kojima do not teach: estimating the band prediction value by correcting the communication band map on the basis of the position of the vehicle and the band actual measurement value.
However, Yamauchi teaches: estimating the band prediction value by correcting the communication band map on the basis of the position of the vehicle and the band actual measurement value (see Yamauchi at least [pg. 8, para. 2, beginning with “FIG. 6 is”] Such a heat map can be generated from, for example, the output of the base station 10, the antenna sensitivity of a plurality of mobile bodies 20, the simulation from three-dimensional geographical information such as buildings, etc., and the actual measurement values observed at a plurality of mobile bodies 20… In particular, when using actual measurements, the communication heat map may be updated at regular time intervals and [pg. 7, para. 8, beginning with “The first communication”] The first communication speed estimation data and the second communication speed estimation data regarding communication with the base station 10 can be obtained using a communication heat map centered on the base station 10).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger, Izumi, and Kojima to include the map-based communication speed estimation of Yamauchi. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the speed of communication changes as vehicles move, and the speed predictions allow for a better educated decision of communication routing, as suggested by Yamauchi (see Yamauchi at least [pg. 3, para. 2, beginning with “In this communication route selection method”] speed estimation data between mobile units and between a mobile unit and a base station is obtained according to the constantly changing position of the mobile unit, and a communication route is selected in consideration of the amount of transmission data).
Regarding claim 15, Lautenschlaeger and Izumi disclose: The information processing method according to claim 1, further comprising:
wirelessly communicating with the one of base stations while moving the vehicle (see Izumi at least [Fig. 1] Fig. 1 shows vehicle 101 comprising communication unit 152 and [pg. 4, para. 6, beginning with “The communication”] The communication unit 152 includes a general-purpose communication I / F 161 and [pg. 5, para. 1, beginning on pg. 4 with “The general-purpose”] The general-purpose communication I / F 161 connects to a device (for example, an application server or a control server) existing on an external network (for example, the Internet, a cloud network, or a company-specific network) via a base station or an access point and [pg. 16, para. 10, beginning with “FIG. 11”] the transition of the usable bandwidth and the amount of communication data of the entertainment system data when the automatic driving of the vehicle 101 is started during the reception of the entertainment system real-time data).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger and Izumi to include the vehicle-to-base station communication of Izumi. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because communicating with base stations is necessary for enjoyable passenger experiences such as streaming content, as suggested by Izumi (see Izumi at least [pg. 18, para. 4, beginning with “For example, when the vehicle”] by selecting a route based on the communication quality, the user can enjoy the moving image content in the moving vehicle with high quality without stress).
Lautenschlaeger and Izumi do not teach: acquiring a band actual measurement value indicating a current communication band in wireless communication between the one of base stations and the vehicle.
However, Kojima teaches: acquiring a band actual measurement value indicating a current communication band in wireless communication between the one of base stations and the vehicle (see Kojima at least [0110] The throughput measuring unit 210 measures the communication throughput between the communication unit 202 and the external device 30. The throughput measurement unit 210 calculates the current communication throughput based on the amount of communication data notified from the communication control unit 230).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger and Izumi to include the communication throughput acquisition of Kojima. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because throughput information must be acquired in order to manipulate system parameters for desirable communication outcomes, as suggested by Kojima (see Kojima at least [0087] When future communication throughput falls below a predetermined threshold, communication control unit 230 limits the communication throughput of data communication with a low priority set by priority setting unit 250 compared to data communication with a high priority set by priority setting unit 250.).
Lautenschlaeger, Izumi, and Kojima do not teach: generating or updating the communication band map on the basis of the position of the vehicle and the band actual measurement value
However, Yamauchi teaches: generating or updating the communication band map on the basis of the position of the vehicle and the band actual measurement value (see Yamauchi at least [pg. 8, para. 2, beginning with “FIG. 6 is”] Such a heat map can be generated from, for example, the output of the base station 10, the antenna sensitivity of a plurality of mobile bodies 20, the simulation from three-dimensional geographical information such as buildings, etc., and the actual measurement values observed at a plurality of mobile bodies 20… In particular, when using actual measurements, the communication heat map may be updated at regular time intervals and [pg. 7, para. 8, beginning with “The first communication”] The first communication speed estimation data and the second communication speed estimation data regarding communication with the base station 10 can be obtained using a communication heat map centered on the base station 10).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger, Izumi, and Kojima to include the map-based communication speed estimation of Yamauchi. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the speed of communication changes as vehicles move, and the speed predictions allow for a better educated decision of communication routing, as suggested by Yamauchi (see Yamauchi at least [pg. 3, para. 2, beginning with “In this communication route selection method”] speed estimation data between mobile units and between a mobile unit and a base station is obtained according to the constantly changing position of the mobile unit, and a communication route is selected in consideration of the amount of transmission data).
Claim(s) 3, 4, 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lautenschlaeger, in view of Izumi, and further in view of US 20220196426 A1 Xu; Jingwei et al. (hereinafter Xu).
Regarding claim 3, Lautenschlaeger and Izumi disclose: The information processing method according to claim 1.
Lautenschlaeger and Izumi do not teach: wherein the controlling of the vehicle behavior according to the band prediction value includes, when there is an area in which congestion of a communication band is predicted on the basis of the band prediction value, changing or guiding at least either one of a driving route and a vehicle speed of the vehicle such that the number of vehicles in the area is limited.
However, Xu teaches: wherein the controlling of the vehicle behavior according to the band prediction value includes, when there is an area in which congestion of a communication band is predicted on the basis of the band prediction value, changing or guiding at least either one of a driving route and a vehicle speed of the vehicle such that the number of vehicles in the area is limited (see Xu at least [0012] Based on updated wireless performance data reflecting the change in available bandwidth (or another performance datum of the wireless performance data), the route may be adjusted or revised, e.g. to avoid path segments with low wireless performance. In another example, wireless performance may change over time or throughout the day. Rush hour traffic, for example, may reduce available bandwidth. If, while traversing the route, rush hour traffic or other congestion is present on a path segment of the route, a revised route may be received excluding or routing around the congested route).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger and Izumi to include the revising of a vehicle route if the original route was too congested of Xu. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because changing to a different, less congested route may allow certain features of a vehicle to become available which would be unavailable on the original route due to decreased bandwidth from congestion, as suggested by Xu (see Xu at least [0012] to ensure enablement of the driving assistance features (e.g. which may be disabled on the congested route because of reduced wireless network performance), or to lessen the duration of the route).
Regarding claim 4¸ Lautenschlaeger and Izumi disclose: The information processing method according to claim 1.
Lautenschlaeger and Izumi do not teach: wherein the controlling of the vehicle behavior according to the band prediction value includes, when the band prediction value is predicted to be equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, changing or guiding a driving zone of the vehicle to a driving zone corresponding to a higher band prediction value.
However, Xu teaches: wherein the controlling of the vehicle behavior according to the band prediction value includes, when the band prediction value is predicted to be equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, changing or guiding a driving zone of the vehicle to a driving zone corresponding to a higher band prediction value (see Xu at least [0112] For example, a detour may suddenly increase traffic on a path segment, thereby reducing the available wireless bandwidth and limiting the driving assistance features enabled on the path segment. Based on updated wireless performance data reflecting the change in available bandwidth (or another performance datum of the wireless performance data), the route may be adjusted or revised, e.g. to avoid path segments with low wireless performance).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger and Izumi to include the revising of a vehicle route if the original route was too congested of Xu. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because changing to a different, less congested route may allow certain features of a vehicle to become available which would be unavailable on the original route due to decreased bandwidth, as suggested by Xu (see Xu at least [0012] to ensure enablement of the driving assistance features (e.g. which may be disabled on the congested route because of reduced wireless network performance), or to lessen the duration of the route).
Regarding claim 8, Lautenschlaeger and Izumi disclose: The information processing method according to claim 1, further comprising setting a driving route of the vehicle on the basis of an input of a user (see Lautenschlaeger at least [0084] For example the driver of the vehicle can push a button of the navigation system or the communication device or perform some other simple user input to trigger the steps of… providing directions to the driver to the communication location).
Lautenschlaeger and Izumi do not teach: wherein the controlling of the vehicle behavior according to the band prediction value includes determining in advance whether a self-driving function is executable over the entire driving route, the determining being performed on the basis of whether the band prediction value is higher than a predetermined threshold value required for wireless communication with the one of base stations related to the self-driving function over the entire set driving route.
However, Xu teaches: wherein the controlling of the vehicle behavior according to the band prediction value includes determining in advance whether a self-driving function is executable over the entire driving route, the determining being performed on the basis of whether the band prediction value is higher than a predetermined threshold value required for wireless communication with the one of base stations related to the self-driving function over the entire set driving route (see Xu at least [0056] Each set or level of driver assistance features may have a network performance threshold to enable the features. For example, fully autonomous driving (e.g. SAE level 5) may require a 5G wireless connection with a minimum download/upload speed, bandwidth, and/or latency. If the wireless performance data 201 meets or exceeds the required performance, the driver assistance features may be enabled and [0036] To increase safety, routes may be planned that have or enable a high level of driving assistance features. For example, a route may be planned to have 5G wireless coverage (or wireless coverage required to enable driving assistance features) along all or many of the paths/nodes of the route. Green Autonomous Vehicle Driving (GAVD) refers to adjusting a vehicles route and planning to ensure the vehicle is able to travel through a route without requiring the disabling of autonomous driving features).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger and Izumi to include the consideration whether or not the predicted band value over the travel route is sufficient for execution of driving assistance features of Xu. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because seeking routes with higher availability of self-driving functions may yield the safest driving conditions for vehicle users, as suggested by Xu (see Xu at least [0036] In this way, safety may be increased by ensuring that vehicles are routed along paths that enable the highest possible level of driving assistance features).
Claim(s) 5, 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lautenschlaeger, in view of Izumi, and further in view of Kojima.
Regarding claim 5, Lautenschlaeger and Izumi disclose: The information processing method according to claim 1.
Lautenschlaeger and Izumi do not teach: wherein the controlling of the vehicle behavior according to the band prediction value includes, when the band prediction value is predicted to be equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, giving priority to a function related to predetermined driving and limiting a communication band related to other functions in wireless communication with the one of base stations.
However, Kojima teaches: wherein the controlling of the vehicle behavior according to the band prediction value includes, when the band prediction value is predicted to be equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, giving priority to a function related to predetermined driving and limiting a communication band related to other functions in wireless communication with the one of base stations (see Kojima at least [0088] The communication control unit 230 may limit the communication throughput for data communication having a low priority when the time when the future communication throughput falls below the predetermined threshold value exceeds the predetermined time and [0177] The future throughput predicted by the prediction unit 220 is compared with a predetermined first threshold value and [0178] On the other hand, when the future throughput predicted by the communication state prediction unit 220 is smaller than the first threshold value (Yes in S1532), in S1534, the control signal output unit 274 determines the vehicle speed of the vehicle 50 and [0179] when the vehicle speed of the vehicle 50 is higher than the predetermined second threshold value (Yes in S1534), in S1536, the control signal output unit 274 is a control signal for stopping the reproduction of the content, or the content).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger and Izumi to include the pausing of entertainment functions during periods of low communication throughput of Kojima. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because then the higher priority, safety-related communications can occur even when bandwidth is limited, as suggested by Kojima (see Kojima at least [0025] In this way, the information processing apparatus 200 can increase the possibility of continuing high-priority data communication by limiting the communication of low-priority data).
Regarding claim 6, Lautenschlaeger, Izumi, and Kojima disclose: The information processing method according to claim 5, wherein the controlling of the vehicle behavior according to the band prediction value includes, when the band prediction value becomes larger than the predetermined threshold value, releasing the limitation of the communication band related to the other functions (see Kojima at least [0088] The communication control unit 230 may limit the communication throughput for data communication having a low priority when the time when the future communication throughput falls below the predetermined threshold value exceeds the predetermined time and [0177] The future throughput predicted by the prediction unit 220 is compared with a predetermined first threshold value. When the future throughput predicted by the communication state prediction unit 220 is larger than the first threshold value (No in S1532), the process of S1522 is repeated and [0175] in step 1522 (step may be abbreviated as S), the information processing apparatus 200 is a streaming moving image content distributed by the external device 30a based on a user's instruction).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger, Izumi, and Kojima to include the resuming of non-essential entertainment functions of the vehicle when bandwidth is available of Kojima. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because safety functions are thus always enabled, and entertainment functions are enabled when the communication throughput can support both safety- and entertainment-focused vehicle functions, as suggested by Kojima (see Kojima at least [0025] In this way, the information processing apparatus 200 can increase the possibility of continuing high-priority data communication by limiting the communication of low-priority data).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lautenschlaeger, in view of Izumi, and further in view of US 20200045687 A1 LEE; Yonghwan et al. (hereinafter Lee).
Regarding claim 7, Lautenschlaeger and Izumi disclose: The information processing method according to claim 1.
Lautenschlaeger and Izumi do not teach: wherein the controlling of the vehicle behavior according to the band prediction value includes, when the band prediction value is predicted to be equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, changing a communication mode of wireless communication with the one of base stations.
However, Lee teaches: wherein the controlling of the vehicle behavior according to the band prediction value includes, when the band prediction value is predicted to be equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, changing a communication mode of wireless communication with the one of base stations (see Lee at least [0168] When it is determined in the step S1020 that the total bandwidth necessary for the plurality of applications exceeds the bandwidth available in the first area, the terminal 800 may make an adjustment such that a bandwidth to be allocated to the first application is reduced by changing a service level of the first application in the first area in step S1030. Specifically, since a bandwidth necessary for the first application may vary depending on the service level of the first application, the terminal 800 may make an adjustment such that a bandwidth to be allocated to the first application is reduced by changing the service level of the first application. For example, the first application may be an application for providing a conference call service and resolution of an image may be changed in phase, and therefore, a bandwidth necessary for the first application may vary depending on the resolution of the image).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger and Izumi to include the communication mode adjustment in response to a too-low communication availability of Lee. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because changing the communication method according to the known communication state along a driving route allows for minimal interruption of application services, as suggested by Lee (see Lee at least [0011] the terminal is allowed to control driving of a vehicle based on information on a communication state of the scheduled driving route, and therefore, latency or interruption of a service provided through an application may be prevented).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lautenschlaeger, in view of Izumi, and further in view of WO 2022219753 A1 SASAKI, Motoharu et al. (hereinafter Sasaki).
Regarding claim 9, Lautenschlaeger and Izumi disclose: The information processing method according to claim 1, further comprising setting a driving route of the vehicle on the basis of an input of a user (see Lautenschlaeger at least [0084] For example the driver of the vehicle can push a button of the navigation system or the communication device or perform some other simple user input to trigger the steps of… providing directions to the driver to the communication location).
Lautenschlaeger and Izumi do not teach: wherein the controlling of the vehicle behavior according to the band prediction value includes, when the band prediction value is predicted to be equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value in at least part of the driving route, executing in advance one of stop of a self-driving function, change of a communication mode of wireless communication with the one of base stations, limitation of a vehicle speed of the vehicle, and notification to the user.
However, Sasaki teaches: wherein the controlling of the vehicle behavior according to the band prediction value includes, when the band prediction value is predicted to be equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value in at least part of the driving route, executing in advance one of stop of a self-driving function, change of a communication mode of wireless communication with the one of base stations, limitation of a vehicle speed of the vehicle, and notification to the user (see Sasaki at least [pg. 8, paragraph 1, beginning on bottom of pg. 7 with “The prediction/estimation function”] as driving control based on prediction/estimation results, for example, when the wireless quality is lower than a predetermined standard, the driving speed is reduced or the driving route is changed).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger and Izumi to include the reduction of vehicle speed in response to insufficient communication quality of Sasaki. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because such automatic adjustments of vehicle functions in response to variations in communication quality allow users to have more seamless experiences with their communication needs, as suggested by Sasaki (see Sasaki at least [pg. 2, paragraph 1, beginning on bottom of pg. 1 with “In recent years”] it would be ideal if the appropriate wireless communication standard could be used at any time with a natural feeling of use without the user being aware of it).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lautenschlaeger, in view of Izumi, further in view of Sasaki, and further in view of CN 110546958 A ALTMAN, B Y (hereinafter Altman).
Regarding claim 10, Lautenschlaeger, Izumi, and Sasaki disclose: The information processing method according to claim 9.
Lautenschlaeger, Izumi, and Sasaki do not teach: wherein the setting of the driving route includes displaying either the communication band map of driving route candidates or information on the band prediction value.
However, Altman teaches: wherein the setting of the driving route includes displaying either the communication band map of driving route candidates or information on the band prediction value (see Altman at least [pg. 28, para. 1, beginning with “Referring to FIG. 3”] communication map 300 shows positive display may be also take may arrive at the destination in order to substitute path by vehicular travel of the current route (CR) 311 and (AR) 312, optionally also indicates using an alternative route instead of difference of travel time and/or travel distance under the condition of the current route and [pg. 28, para. 2, beginning with “311, the communication”] 311, the communication along the current route map 300 indicating a plurality of travel section, such as section 311A, which can be shown as green or have other legend or indicator or remark to the user indicated in the road are expected to be present in combination or excellent for binding communication link bandwidth (e.g., 9 MBPS) that allows stably stream HD stream video multimedia system of the vehicle, a road 311B can be shown as yellow).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger, Izumi, and Sasaki to include the communication information in the route planning display of Altman. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because allowing the driver to see the communication constraints may influence their decision on which route to choose, as suggested by Altman (see Altman at least [pg. 28, para. 5, beginning with “It should be”] For example, the driver can use the communication map 300 to avoid using route has black section, or using only has "yellow or better" section of the route (and avoid black or red road), or autonomous vehicles or autonomous travel management system may select predefined at any point in time to provide continuous communication or has the lowest limit of allowed communication interruption or low performance and so on of the traveling road).
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lautenschlaeger, in view of Izumi, further in view of Sasaki, further in view of US 20230262575 A1 KOBAYASHI; Kosei et al. (hereinafter Kobayashi), and further in view of JP 2008215860 A ASAHARA AKINORI et al. (hereinafter Asahara).
Regarding claim 11, Lautenschlaeger, Izumi, and Sasaki disclose: The information processing method according to claim 9.
Lautenschlaeger, Izumi, and Sasaki do not teach: wherein the setting of the driving route includes receiving, from the user, an input of a search condition specifying which one of a time, a distance, a communication band,
However, Kobayashi teaches: wherein the setting of the driving route includes receiving, from the user, an input of a search condition specifying which one of a time, a distance, a communication band, (see Kobayashi at least [0069] For example, the route determination unit 115 may cause a user to select “communication priority”, “time priority”, or “distance priority”. When a user selects “communication priority”, the route determination unit 115 may determine, as the movement route, a route having the shortest movement time or a route having the shortest movement distance while the communication stability satisfies a predetermined condition).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger, Izumi, and Sasaki to include the prioritization of various driving considerations in the route setting of Kobayashi. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the user may desire to choose their route based on their own priority, not necessarily the default prioritization, before beginning navigation along the route, as suggested by Kobayashi (see Kobayashi at least [0070] The navigation apparatus 205 may display the candidate route and the evaluation result for the candidate route on the display screen, and prompt a user to select the route. When a user selects a route, the navigation apparatus 205 starts navigation).
Lautenschlaeger, Izumi, Sasaki, and Kobayashi do not teach: wherein the setting of the driving route includes receiving, from the user, an input of a search condition specifying which one of… a toll is to be prioritized to generate a driving route candidate.
However, Asahara teaches: wherein the setting of the driving route includes receiving, from the user, an input of a search condition specifying which one of… a toll is to be prioritized to generate a driving route candidate (see Asahara at least [] In the multiple route search process S112, for example, a plurality of routes are searched based on search conditions having different evaluation parameters to be prioritized, such as a shortest distance route, a shortest time route, and a route not using a toll road).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger, Izumi, Sasaki, and Kobayashi to include the prioritization of various driving considerations in the route setting of Asahara. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because users desire for candidate routes to be prioritized based on their personal preferences in driving parameters, as suggested by Asahara (see Asahara at least [] the route search condition with the highest priority is referred to as “top priority search condition”, the optimum route searched under the top priority search condition is referred to as “guide route”, and the other routes are referred to as “alternative routes”).
Claim(s) 12, 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lautenschlaeger, in view of Izumi, and further in view of Altman.
Regarding claim 12, Lautenschlaeger and Izumi disclose: The information processing method according to claim 1, further comprising:
wirelessly communicating with the one of base stations while moving the vehicle (see Izumi at least [Fig. 1] Fig. 1 shows vehicle 101 comprising communication unit 152 and [pg. 4, para. 6, beginning with “The communication”] The communication unit 152 includes a general-purpose communication I / F 161 and [pg. 5, para. 1, beginning on pg. 4 with “The general-purpose”] The general-purpose communication I / F 161 connects to a device (for example, an application server or a control server) existing on an external network (for example, the Internet, a cloud network, or a company-specific network) via a base station or an access point and [pg. 16, para. 10, beginning with “FIG. 11”] the transition of the usable bandwidth and the amount of communication data of the entertainment system data when the automatic driving of the vehicle 101 is started during the reception of the entertainment system real-time data);
estimating a base station bandwidth indicating a bandwidth of a communication band per base station of a communication destination, the estimating being performed on the basis of communication frequency information indicating a bandwidth of a used frequency band of wireless communication with the base station of the communication destination among the base stations (see Lautenschlaeger at least [0092] The different networks can be operated by different companies and are schematically represented in FIG. 1 by respective base stations 10, 11, 12 and [0070] Alternatively the available bandwidth or an information that allows to predict the available bandwidth can be provided, e.g. in the form of map data, for the network or networks and [0095] A predicted useable bandwidth can be directly given by the map data or determined from the bandwidth value or values provided by the map data).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger and Izumi to include the vehicle-to-base station communication of Izumi. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because communicating with base stations is necessary for enjoyable passenger experiences such as streaming content, as suggested by Izumi (see Izumi at least [pg. 18, para. 4, beginning with “For example, when the vehicle”] by selecting a route based on the communication quality, the user can enjoy the moving image content in the moving vehicle with high quality without stress).
Lautenschlaeger and Izumi do not teach: generating or updating the communication band map on the basis of the base station bandwidth and a number of communications performed by the base station of the communication destination for each time zone.
However, Altman teaches: generating or updating the communication band map on the basis of the base station bandwidth and a number of communications performed by the base station of the communication destination for each time zone (see Altman at least [pg. 33, para. 6, beginning with "In some embodiments, the same"] the same or with another vehicle approaching the vehicle in the same physical route of moving link either in the same direction or in the opposite direction or through route, can real-time update the vehicle (or remote server) the actual communication conditions they encounter… to modify or update its own communication map or communication reliability estimation or prediction).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger and Izumi to include the communication performance-based map generation of Altman. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because sharing the information regarding communication performance allows better educated map generation across vehicles, as suggested by Altman (see Altman at least [pg. 33, para. 6, beginning with "In some embodiments, the same"] so as to notify the application and/or associated with it or the user use it about one or more or the predicted communication performance of all links).
Regarding claim 13¸ Lautenschlaeger, Izumi, and Altman disclose: The information processing method according to claim 12, further comprising estimating the number of communications on the basis of a band actual measurement value and radio field intensity indicating a current communication band in wireless communication with the base station of the communication destination (see Izumi at least [pg. 2, para. 2, beginning with "Conventionally, a mobile"] a mobile router collects a current position, a moving speed, a communication media type, a radio field intensity, a communication speed, and a network delay between the mobile device and a counterpart device, holds the collected information as statistical information, and moves based on the statistical information. It has been proposed that the fluctuation of the communication band occurring due to the above is predicted and the amount of user traffic transmitted from the IP terminal is controlled), a position of the base station of the communication destination (see Lautenschlaeger at least [0073] The bandwidth information concerning the available bandwidth at the current position of the mobile communication device and/or in other locations that might be used as communication locations can be extracted from location coded data and used), and the base station bandwidth (see Lautenschlaeger at least [0092] The different networks can be operated by different companies and are schematically represented in FIG. 1 by respective base stations 10, 11, 12 and [0070] Alternatively the available bandwidth or an information that allows to predict the available bandwidth can be provided, e.g. in the form of map data, for the network or networks and [0095] A predicted useable bandwidth can be directly given by the map data or determined from the bandwidth value or values provided by the map data).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the band mapping and communication-dependent vehicle control method disclosed by Lautenschlaeger, Izumi, and Altman to include the communication band traffic determination of Izumi. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the direct link between the bandwidth and the traffic of the communication bands affects users’ driving experience, as suggested by Izumi (see Izumi at least [] the predicted bandwidth at each predicted point becomes narrower as the amount of communication traffic near the predicted point increases, the difference from the effective communication band increases, and the smaller the traffic volume near the predicted point becomes, the wider the predicted bandwidth becomes).
Regarding claim 14, Lautenschlaeger, Izumi, and Altman disclose: The information processing method according to claim 13, further comprising estimating the position of the base station of the communication destination on the basis of base station information for uniquely identifying the base station of the communication destination (see Lautenschlaeger at least [0075] It is also possible to provide multiple bandwidth values for each location that each describe a respective factor influencing the local available bandwidth), the used frequency band (see Lautenschlaeger at least [0073] The bandwidth information concerning the available bandwidth at the current position of the mobile communication device and/or in other locations that might be used as communication locations can be extracted from location coded data and used), and the radio field intensity acquired in wireless communication between a moving route of the vehicle and the base station of the communication destination (see Izumi at least [pg. 8, para. 9, beginning with "The communication quality"] The communication quality data includes, for example, data relating to communication quality such as communication bands around the route of the vehicle 101. For example, the communication quality data includes positions (for example, latitude and longitu