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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 4/22/2026 has been entered.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. JP2023-049333, filed on 03/27/2023.
Response to Amendment
This action is in response to amendments and remarks filed on 4/22/2026. The examiner notes the following adjustments to the claims by the applicant:
Claims 1, 10-12, 14 and 15 are amended;
No claims have been added or cancelled.
Therefore, Claims 1-18 are pending examination, in which Claims 1, 14 and 15 are independent claims.
In light of the instant amendments and arguments:
Further examination resulted in a new rejection of Claims 1-18 under 35 U.S.C. § 103, as detailed below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant presents the following arguments regarding the previous office action:
To overcome the 35 U.S.C. § 102/103 rejection of the independent claims, the applicant has amended each independent claim to include the additional underlined limitations: "the disabling instruction circuitry determining a disable timing at which the remote control is disabled based on the transit point information, the disable timing including a timing corresponding to completion of remote control at all transit points at which remote control is executable";
“Applicant respectfully submits that Diamond and Nix, either individually or in combination, fail to disclose or suggest at least the aforementioned features recited in amended independent claims 1, 14 and 15.”;
“Diamond discloses determining whether a vehicle is to be moved and instructing the vehicle accordingly, and at most, stopping movement of the vehicle or terminating communication (e.g., by removal of a dongle). Such operations merely suspend or prevent execution of movement, and do not constitute processing that causes a loss of a function of the driving control circuitry itself for executing driving control according to remote control. Accordingly, Applicant respectfully submits that Diamond fails to disclose the "disabling processing" feature recited in claims 1, 14 and 15.”;
“Nix, either individually or in combination with Diamond, likewise fails to disclose or suggest at least the aforementioned features recited in claims 1, 14 and 15, and as such, fails to make up for the deficiencies of Diamond.”.
Applicants’ arguments A., B., C. and D. appear to be directed to the instantly amended subject matter. Accordingly, they have been addressed in the rejections below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Diamond et al. (US 11,628,831 B2, henceforth Diamond) and Nix (US 2018/0339703 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Diamond teaches the limitations: a system {Fig. 1} comprising: a remote control unit {central control system: “the vehicles 80 are equipped with a V2X module 84 for establishing a communication link with the central control system 70-1”, Col. 4, Lns. 32-34} that causes a moving object {80-1, 80-2, Fig. 1} to move by remote control {remotely controlling vehicle, Col. 2, Lns. 64-67}, the moving object being able to move by the remote control in a manufacturing process in a factory that manufactures the moving object {manufacturing environment 5-1, Fig. 1}, and in a conveyance process outside the factory {vehicles remotely moved as instructed by the central control system inside and outside production facility (e.g., 30, 40, 50, 60, Fig. 1), Col. 4, Lns. 21-28}, the conveyance process shipping the moving object after manufacturing from the factory and conveying the moving object to a destination {with respect to Fig. 1, central control module 70-1 sends instructions to fully-autonomous vehicles 80 to guide them through the production process/environment 20 to one of the post-production locations 30, 40, 50 & 60, see at least, Col. 4, Ln. 65 - Col. 5, Ln. 1}, the moving object including a communication circuitry {internal vehicle circuitry or dongle, Col. 2, Lns. 29-56} and a driving control circuitry {vehicle 80 in Fig. 1 inherently include locomotive means}, the communication circuitry having a communication function, the driving control circuitry executing driving control of the moving object {remote guidance of vehicle described in, at least, Col. 4, Lns. 29-38 and Col. 2, Lns. 29-56}; and transit points {the examiner interprets a transit point to be any location the vehicle passes through while under remote control; Col. 6, Lns. 8-23, a transportation module in conjunction with a transportation scheduling database determines location of vehicle, and whether it has reached an outer-most point 30, 40, 50 , 60, Fig. 1}.
Diamond does not appear to explicitly recite the limitations: a disabling execution circuitry that executes disabling processing for disabling the remote control, the disabling processing causes a loss of a function of the driving control circuitry of the moving object to execute the driving control according to the remote control; and a disabling instruction circuitry determining whether or not to execute the disabling processing using transit point information related to the remote control at, at least, one transit point at which the moving object transits in the conveyance process, the disabling instruction circuitry determining a disable timing at which the remote control is disabled based on the transit point information, the disable timing including a timing corresponding to completion of remote control at all transit points at which remote control is executable, and the disabling instruction circuitry instructing the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing when determining to execute the disabling processing.
However, Nix explicitly recites the limitation: a disabling execution circuitry {vehicle processing module 301, ¶46} that executes disabling processing for disabling {¶103, remote control operations mode} the remote control {¶17, operating vehicle in a remote control mode, via an automated vehicle processing module (¶94)}, the disabling processing causes a loss of a function of the driving control circuitry of the moving object to execute the driving control according to the remote control {¶101, deactivation conditions leads to change from a remote-controlled mode to a regular vehicle operation mode}; and a disabling instruction circuitry {vehicle processing module 301 may include multiple ECUs that perform instructions, commands and routines, ¶46} determining whether or not to execute the disabling processing {¶103, deactivation depends on factors such as geographic location and/or time duration, wherein the geographic location can be at the end of the shipment process of a vehicle to the end customer (¶3)} using transit point information {tabulate information regarding deactivation conditions and Fig. 9, ¶100-103} related to the remote control at at least one transit point at which the moving object transits in the conveyance process {¶103, deactivation depends on factors such as geographic location and/or time duration, which inherently means deactivation does not occur at earlier times or at locations through which the vehicle moved earlier than reaching deactivation location}, the disabling instruction circuitry determining a disable timing at which the remote control is disabled based on the transit point information {tabulate information regarding deactivation conditions and Fig. 9, ¶100-103}, the disable timing including a timing corresponding to completion of remote control at all transit points at which remote control is executable {¶103, deactivation depends on geographic location, which inherently means all earlier locations the vehicle passes thorough under remote control operation (i.e., before switching over to the normal/regular mode of operation, ¶101) have been passed through}, and the disabling instruction circuitry instructing the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing when determining to execute {vehicle processing module 301, ¶46, has overall control of the vehicle and inherently interacts with automated vehicle processing module 701, ¶94} the disabling processing {¶101-103, deactivation of remote control operations occurs when the deactivation criteria has been met and the remote control module (i.e., automated vehicle processing module 701, ¶94) is deactivated}.
Diamond and Nix are analogous art because they both deal with autonomous movement of vehicle with a connection to the manufacturing environment.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Diamond and Nix before them, to modify the teachings of Diamond to include the teachings of Nix to deactivate a remote control function {¶101-103}, at some point during the shipping operation {shipment of a vehicle from manufacturer plant to end customer (¶3), the end customer location corresponding to the geographic location when the remote control is deactivated, ¶103}.
Regarding Claim 2, the combination of Diamond and Nix discloses all the limitations of the system of Claim 1, as discussed supra. Diamond does not appear to explicitly recite the limitations: wherein the disabling instruction circuitry does not instruct the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing at a time of shipping of the moving object when determining that the disabling processing is not executed.
However, Nix explicitly recites the limitations: wherein the disabling instruction circuitry does not instruct the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing at a time of shipping of the moving object when determining that the disabling processing is not executed {¶101-105, deactivation depends on factors such as geographic location and/or time duration, which inherently means deactivation does not occur at earlier times or at locations through which the vehicle moved earlier than reaching deactivation location}.
Regarding Claim 3, the combination of Diamond and Nix discloses all the limitations of the system of Claim 1, as discussed supra. In addition, Diamond explicitly recites the limitation: wherein the transit point information includes information on a place that the moving object transits through until the moving object arrives at the destination after the moving object is manufactured {Col. 6, Lns. 8-23, a transportation module in conjunction with a transportation scheduling database determines location of vehicle, and whether it has reached an outer-most point 30, 40, 50 , 60, Fig. 1}.
Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Diamond and Nix discloses all the limitations of the system of Claim 1, as discussed supra. Diamond does not appear to explicitly recite the limitations: wherein the moving object is conveyed to the transit point by a device other than the moving object in the conveyance process.
However, Nix explicitly recites the limitations: wherein the moving object is conveyed to the transit point by a device other than the moving object in the conveyance process {¶3, a new vehicle is transported by train to dealership, the dealership corresponding to the geographic location, where the remote control is deactivated, ¶103}.
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Diamond and Nix discloses all the limitations of the system of Claim 1, as discussed supra. Diamond does not appear to explicitly recite the limitations: wherein the transit point information includes information related to whether or not the remote control is able to be executed at the transit point, and the disabling instruction circuitry instructs the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing in a case in which the remote control is unable to be executed at the transit point.
However, Nix explicitly recites the limitations: wherein the transit point information includes information related to whether or not the remote control is able to be executed at the transit point {¶101-103 and Fig. 9, deactivation conditions, which includes geographic location and timing criteria}, and the disabling instruction circuitry instructs the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing in a case in which the remote control is unable to be executed at the transit point {¶3, a new vehicle is transported by train to dealership, the dealership corresponding to the geographic location, where the remote control is deactivated, ¶103; it follows, inherently, that prior to reaching the dealership disabling instructions are not initiated nor carried out at any location}.
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Diamond and Nix discloses all the limitations of the system of Claim 3, as discussed supra. Diamond does not appear to explicitly recite the limitations: wherein the disabling instruction circuitry instructs the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing such that the disabling processing is executed at a timing at which the remote control has been completed at all transit points at which the remote control is able to be executed.
However, Nix explicitly recites the limitations: wherein the disabling instruction circuitry instructs the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing such that the disabling processing is executed at a timing at which the remote control has been completed at all transit points at which the remote control is able to be executed {¶3, a new vehicle is transported by train to dealership, the dealership corresponding to the geographic location, where the remote control is deactivated, ¶103}.
Regarding Claim 7, the combination of Diamond and Nix discloses all the limitations of the system of Claim 1, as discussed supra. Diamond does not appear to explicitly recite the limitations: wherein the transit point information includes information related to whether or not the remote control is executed at the transit point , and the disabling instruction circuitry instructs the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing in a case in which the remote control is not executed at the transit point.
However, Nix explicitly recites the limitations: wherein the transit point information includes information related to whether or not the remote control is executed at the transit point {Fig. 9 and ¶100-101, identification of when the environment is right for deactivation}, and the disabling instruction circuitry instructs the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing in a case in which the remote control is not executed at the transit point {when a new vehicle is transported to a dealership (¶3), the remote control is still active until the dealership is reached (specific geographic location,¶103), where it deactivated so the vehicle is in normal/regular mode of operation, ¶101, when the new owner picks it up}.
Regarding Claim 8, the combination of Diamond and Nix discloses all the limitations of the system of Claim 7, as discussed supra. Diamond does not appear to explicitly recite the limitations: wherein the disabling instruction circuitry instructs the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing such that the disabling processing is executed at a timing at which the remote control has been completed at all transit points at which the remote control is executed.
However, Nix explicitly recites the limitations: wherein the disabling instruction circuitry instructs the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing such that the disabling processing is executed at a timing at which the remote control has been completed at all transit points at which the remote control is executed {¶3, a new vehicle is transported by train to dealership, the dealership corresponding to the geographic location, where the remote control is deactivated, ¶103}.
Regarding Claim 9, the combination of Diamond and Nix discloses all the limitations of the system of Claim 1, as discussed supra. Diamond does not appear to explicitly recite the limitations: wherein the transit point information includes information related to whether or not the transit point includes a transit point disabling instruction circuitry that instructs the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing at the transit point, and the disabling instruction circuitry instructs the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing in a case in which the transit point does not include the transit point disabling instruction circuitry.
However, Nix explicitly recites the limitations: wherein the transit point information {tabulate information regarding deactivation conditions and Fig. 9, ¶100-103} includes information related to whether or not the transit point includes a transit point disabling instruction circuitry that instructs the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing at the transit point {vehicles 101-107 (Fig. 1, ¶30) each include a vehicle processing module 301 (Fig. 3, ¶46) and automated vehicle processing module 701 (Fig. 7, ¶94), thus all the electronics necessary for deactivation (¶103) is inherently at each transit point; locating the same electronics outside the vehicle at a transit point is simply a duplication [MPEP §2144.04.VI.B] or rearrangement [MPEP §2144.04.VI.C] of parts}, and the disabling instruction circuitry instructs the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing in a case in which the transit point does not include the transit point disabling instruction circuitry {when a new vehicle is transported to a dealership (¶3), the remote control electronics within the vehicle is still active until the dealership is reached (specific geographic location,¶103), where it deactivated so the vehicle is in normal/regular mode of operation, ¶101, when the new owner picks it up}.
Regarding Claim 10, the combination of Diamond and Nix discloses all the limitations of the system of Claim 1, as discussed supra. Diamond does not appear to explicitly recite the limitations: wherein the disabling instruction circuitry determines using the transit point information the disable timing at which the remote control is disabled, and instructs the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing at the determined disable timing.
However, Nix explicitly recites the limitations: wherein the disabling instruction circuitry determines using the transit point information the disable timing at which the remote control is disabled {¶103, deactivation depends on geographic location, which inherently means the timing of deactivation is set by arrival at that location at not earlier}, and instructs the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing at the determined disable timing {¶101-103, deactivation of remote control operations occurs when the deactivation criteria has been met and the remote control module (i.e., automated vehicle processing module 701, ¶94) is deactivated}.
Regarding Claim 11, the combination of Diamond and Nix discloses all the limitations of the system of Claim 1, as discussed supra. Diamond does not appear to explicitly recite the limitations: wherein the disabling execution circuitry is included in the moving object, and the disabling instruction circuitry determines using the transit point information the disable timing at which the remote control is disabled, and instructs the disabling execution circuitry included in the moving object to execute the disabling processing at the determined disable timing .
However, Nix explicitly recites the limitations: wherein the disabling execution circuitry is included in the moving object {vehicle processing module 301, ¶46}, and the disabling instruction circuitry determines using the transit point information the disable timing at which the remote control is disabled {¶103, deactivation depends on geographic location, which inherently means the timing of deactivation is set by arrival at that location at not earlier}, and instructs the disabling execution circuitry included in the moving object to execute the disabling processing at the determined disable timing processing {¶101-103, deactivation of remote control operations occurs when the deactivation criteria has been met and the remote control module (i.e., automated vehicle processing module 701, ¶94) is deactivated}.
Regarding Claim 12, the combination of Diamond and Nix discloses all the limitations of the system of Claim 10, as discussed supra. In addition, Diamond explicitly recites the limitation: wherein the disabling timing is a timing at which the remote control has been completed at the at least one transit point {after the vehicle moves through the production environment 20, Fig. 1, and goes to a post-production location, before shipping (Col. 4, Ln. 60 – Col. 5, Ln. 13), the temporary communication device, or dongle (Col. 2, Lns. 29-56), will inherently be removed thus ending remote control}.
Regarding Claim 13, the combination of Diamond and Nix discloses all the limitations of the system of Claim 1, as discussed supra. In addition, Diamond explicitly recites the limitation: further comprising a transit point information management unit that updates the transit point information {transportation scheduling database 71, transportation module 72 of central control system 70-1 (which is connected to remote/cloud based networking, Col. 11, Lns. 3-5), Col. 6, Lns. 42-51}.
Regarding Claim 14 Diamond teaches the limitations: a system {Fig. 1} comprising: a remote control unit {central control system: “the vehicles 80 are equipped with a V2X module 84 for establishing a communication link with the central control system 70-1”, Col. 4, Lns. 32-34} that causes a moving object {80-1, 80-2, Fig. 1} to move by remote control {remotely controlling vehicle, Col. 2, Lns. 64-67}, the moving object being able to move by the remote control in a manufacturing process in a factory that manufactures the moving object {manufacturing environment 5-1, Fig. 1}, and in a conveyance process outside the factory {vehicles remotely moved as instructed by the central control system inside and outside production facility (e.g., 30, 40, 50, 60, Fig. 1), Col. 4, Lns. 21-28}, the conveyance process shipping the moving object after manufacturing from the factory and conveying the moving object to a destination {with respect to Fig. 1, central control module 70-1 sends instructions to fully-autonomous vehicles 80 to guide them through the production process/environment 20 to one of the post-production locations 30, 40, 50 & 60, see at least, Col. 4, Ln. 65 - Col. 5, Ln. 1}, the moving object including a communication circuitry {internal vehicle circuitry or dongle, Col. 2, Lns. 29-56} and a driving control circuitry {vehicle 80 in Fig. 1 inherently include locomotive means}, the communication circuitry having a communication function, the driving control circuitry executing driving control of the moving object {remote guidance of vehicle described in, at least, Col. 4, Lns. 29-38 and Col. 2, Lns. 29-56 and transit points {the examiner interprets a transit point to be any location the vehicle passes through while under remote control; Col. 6, Lns. 8-23, a transportation module in conjunction with a transportation scheduling database determines location of vehicle, and whether it has reached an outer-most point 30, 40, 50 , 60, Fig. 1}.
Diamond does not appear to explicitly recite the limitations: a disabling instruction circuitry determining whether or not to execute the disabling processing using transit point information related to the remote control at, at least, one transit point at which the moving object transits in the conveyance process, the disabling instruction circuitry instructing the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing when determining to execute the disabling processing, wherein the transit point information includes information related to whether or not the remote control is able to be executed at the transit point, and the disabling instruction circuitry instructs the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing such that the disabling processing is executed at a disable timing at which the remote control has been completed at all transit points at which the remote control is able to be executed.
However, Nix explicitly recites the limitation: a disabling execution circuitry {vehicle processing module 301, ¶46} that executes disabling processing for disabling {¶103, remote control operations mode} the remote control {¶17, operating vehicle in a remote control mode, via an automated vehicle processing module (¶94)}, the disabling processing causes a loss of a function of the driving control circuitry of the moving object to execute the driving control according to the remote control {¶101, deactivation conditions leads to change from a remote-controlled mode to a regular vehicle operation mode}; and a disabling instruction circuitry {vehicle processing module 301 may include multiple ECUs that perform instructions, commands and routines, ¶46} determining whether or not to execute the disabling processing {¶103, deactivation depends on factors such as geographic location and/or time duration, wherein the geographic location can be at the end of the shipment process of a vehicle to the end customer (¶3)} using transit point information {tabulate information regarding deactivation conditions and Fig. 9, ¶100-103}related to the remote control at at least one transit point at which the moving object transits in the conveyance process {¶103, deactivation depends on factors such as geographic location and/or time duration, which inherently means deactivation does not occur at earlier times or at locations through which the vehicle moved earlier than reaching deactivation location}, the disabling instruction circuitry instructing the disabling execution circuitry to execute {vehicle processing module 301, ¶46, has overall control of the vehicle and inherently interacts with automated vehicle processing module 701, ¶94} the disabling processing when determining to execute the disabling processing {¶101-103, deactivation of remote control operations occurs when the deactivation criteria has been met and the remote control module (i.e., automated vehicle processing module 701, ¶94) is deactivated}, wherein the transit point information includes information related to whether or not the remote control is able to be executed at the transit point {¶103, deactivation depends on factors such as geographic location and/or time duration, wherein the geographic location can be at the end of the shipment process of a vehicle to the end customer (¶3)}, and the disabling instruction circuitry instructs the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing such that the disabling processing is executed at a disable timing {¶103, deactivation depends on geographic location, which inherently means the timing of deactivation is set by arrival at that location at not earlier} at which the remote control has been completed at all transit points {¶103, deactivation depends on geographic location, which inherently means all earlier locations the vehicle passes thorough under remote control operation (i.e., before switching over to the normal/regular mode of operation, ¶101) have been passed through} at which the remote control is able to be executed {deactivation flexibility, related to, at least, geographic location and time duration, described in ¶103}.
Regarding Claim 15, Diamond teaches the limitations: a server {central control module 70-1, Fig. 1, combined with remote/cloud based networking (i.e., Col. 11, Lns. 3-5)} comprising: a remote control unit {central control system: “the vehicles 80 are equipped with a V2X module 84 for establishing a communication link with the central control system 70-1”, Col. 4, Lns. 32-34} that causes a moving object {80-1, 80-2, Fig. 1} to move by remote control {remotely controlling vehicle, Col. 2, Lns. 64-67}, the moving object being able to move by the remote control in a manufacturing process in a factory that manufactures the moving object {manufacturing environment 5-1, Fig. 1}, and in a conveyance process outside the factory {vehicles remotely moved as instructed by the central control system inside and outside production facility (e.g., 30, 40, 50, 60, Fig. 1), Col. 4, Lns. 21-28}, the conveyance process shipping the moving object after manufacturing from the factory and conveying the moving object to a destination {with respect to Fig. 1, central control module 70-1 sends instructions to fully-autonomous vehicles 80 to guide them through the production process/environment 20 to one of the post-production locations 30, 40, 50 & 60, see at least, Col. 4, Ln. 65 - Col. 5, Ln. 1}, the moving object including a communication circuitry {internal vehicle circuitry or dongle, Col. 2, Lns. 29-56}, a driving control circuitry {vehicle 80 in Fig. 1 inherently include locomotive means}, and a disabling execution circuitry {circuit connection between internal vehicle circuitry and dongle circuitry, Col. 2, Lns. 29-56}, the communication circuitry having a communication function, the driving control circuitry executing driving control of the moving object {remote guidance of vehicle described in, at least, Col. 4, Lns. 29-38 and Col. 2, Lns. 29-56}; and transit points {the examiner interprets a transit point to be any location the vehicle passes through while under remote control; Col. 6, Lns. 8-23, a transportation module in conjunction with a transportation scheduling database determines location of vehicle, and whether it has reached an outer-most point 30, 40, 50 , 60, Fig. 1}.
Diamond does not appear to explicitly recite the limitations: the disabling execution circuitry that executes disabling processing for disabling the remote control, the disabling processing causes a loss of a function of the driving control circuitry of the moving object to execute the driving control according to the remote control; and a disabling instruction circuitry determining whether or not to execute the disabling processing using transit point information related to the remote control at, at least, one transit point at which the moving object transits in the conveyance process, the disabling instruction circuitry determining a disable timing at which the remote control is disabled based on the transit point information, the disable timing including a timing corresponding to completion of remote control at all transit points at which remote control is executable, and the disabling instruction circuitry instructing the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing when determining to execute the disabling processing.
However, Nix explicitly recites the limitation: the disabling execution circuitry {vehicle processing module 301, ¶46} that executes disabling processing for disabling {¶103, remote control operations mode} the remote control {¶17, operating vehicle in a remote control mode, via an automated vehicle processing module (¶94)}, the disabling processing causes a loss of a function of the driving control circuitry of the moving object to execute the driving control according to the remote control {¶101, deactivation conditions leads to change from a remote-controlled mode to a regular vehicle operation mode}; and a disabling instruction circuitry {vehicle processing module 301 may include multiple ECUs that perform instructions, commands and routines, ¶46} determining whether or not to execute the disabling processing {¶103, deactivation depends on factors such as geographic location and/or time duration, wherein the geographic location can be at the end of the shipment process of a vehicle to the end customer (¶3)} using transit point information {tabulate information regarding deactivation conditions and Fig. 9, ¶100-103} related to the remote control at, at least, one transit point at which the moving object transits in the conveyance process {¶103, deactivation depends on factors such as geographic location and/or time duration, which inherently means deactivation does not occur at earlier times or at locations through which the vehicle moved earlier than reaching deactivation location}, the disabling instruction circuitry determining a disable timing at which the remote control is disabled based on the transit point information {tabulate information regarding deactivation conditions and Fig. 9, ¶100-103}, the disable timing including a timing corresponding to completion of remote control at all transit points at which remote control is executable {¶103, deactivation depends on geographic location, which inherently means all earlier locations the vehicle passes thorough under remote control operation (i.e., before switching over to the normal/regular mode of operation, ¶101) have been passed through}, and the disabling instruction circuitry instructing the disabling execution circuitry to execute the disabling processing when determining to execute {vehicle processing module 301, ¶46, has overall control of the vehicle and inherently interacts with automated vehicle processing module 701, ¶94} the disabling processing {¶101-103, deactivation of remote control operations occurs when the deactivation criteria has been met and the remote control module (i.e., automated vehicle processing module 701, ¶94) is deactivated}.
Regarding Claim 16, the combination of Diamond and Nix discloses all the limitations of the system of Claim 1, as discussed supra. In addition, Diamond explicitly recites the limitation: wherein the disabling processing executes irreversible disabling in which the remote control that has been disabled cannot be restored {Col. 4, Lns. 42-49, dongle temporarily attached to vehicle during production to enable remote control communication with a central control system, removal of the dongle inherently ends remote control capability}.
Regarding Claim 17, the combination of Diamond and Nix discloses all the limitations of the system of Claim 14, as discussed supra. In addition, Diamond explicitly recites the limitation: wherein the disabling processing executes irreversible disabling in which the remote control that has been disabled cannot be restored {Col. 4, Lns. 42-49, dongle temporarily attached to vehicle during production to enable remote control communication with a central control system, removal of the dongle inherently ends remote control capability}.
Regarding Claim 18, Diamond discloses all the limitations of the system of Claim 15, as discussed supra. In addition, Diamond explicitly recites the limitation: wherein the disabling processing executes irreversible disabling in which the remote control that has been disabled cannot be restored {Col. 4, Lns. 42-49, dongle temporarily attached to vehicle during production to enable remote control communication with a central control system, removal of the dongle inherently ends remote control capability}.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 2006/0109117 A1 – A deactivation management unit with multiple stage, the stage involving permanent disabling of a system-on-a-chip.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RICHARD EDWIN GEIST whose telephone number is (703)756-5854. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9am-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christian Chace can be reached at (571) 272-4190. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/R.E.G./Examiner, Art Unit 3665
/CHRISTIAN CHACE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3665
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