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 .
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
Acquisition unit in Claims 1-5
Calculation unit in Claims 1-5
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
The three-prong test proceeds below.
Acquisition unit
The Claim Limitation Uses the Term "Means" or "Step" or a Generic Placeholder (A Term That Is Simply A Substitute for "Means")
Although the term “means” is not present in the claims, the limitation of “an acquisition unit” is here a generic placeholder as it does not have structure inherent in the phrase.
The Term "Means" or "Step" or the Generic Placeholder Must Be Modified By Functional Language
The placeholder “an acquisition unit” is here modified by the functional language “that acquires sensor information.” This is purely functional language.
The Term "Means" or "Step" or the Generic Placeholder Must Not Be Modified By Sufficient Structure, Material, or Acts for Achieving the Specified Function
There is no structure in the claims to describe the “acquisition unit” and as such, this limitation invokes 112(f). In the specification and drawings, the acquisition unit is 521 in Fig. 1 and 116 in Fig. 8, and further described in [0021].
Calculation unit
The Claim Limitation Uses the Term "Means" or "Step" or a Generic Placeholder (A Term That Is Simply A Substitute for "Means")
Although the term “means” is not present in the claims, the limitation of “a calculation unit” is here a generic placeholder as it does not have structure inherent in the phrase.
The Term "Means" or "Step" or the Generic Placeholder Must Be Modified By Functional Language
The placeholder “a calculation unit” is here modified by the functional language “that calculates at least one of a position and orientation of the moving object.” This is purely functional language.
The Term "Means" or "Step" or the Generic Placeholder Must Not Be Modified By Sufficient Structure, Material, or Acts for Achieving the Specified Function
There is no structure in the claims to describe the “calculation unit” and as such, this limitation invokes 112(f). In the specification and drawings, the acquisition unit is 522 in Fig. 1 and 117 in Fig. 8, and further described in [0039].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yoshiaki (JP 2019079453 A) – English translation provided by applicant.
Claim 1: Yoshiaki teaches a calculation device, comprising:
an acquisition unit that acquires sensor information acquired by a sensor (Fig. 1, base station 4 and server 5),
and equipment information indicating whether or not a moving object movable by unmanned driving is equipped with an onboard distance measuring device as the sensor mounted on the moving object ([0059]);
and a calculation unit that calculates at least one of a position and orientation of the moving object using the sensor information acquired by the acquisition unit ([0053]-[0056], [0066]),
wherein in a first case where the moving object is equipped with the onboard distance measuring device, the calculation unit uses at least onboard distance measuring device information acquired by the onboard distance measuring device as the sensor information, thereby calculating at least one of the position and the orientation of the moving object ([0066]),
and in a second case where the moving object is not equipped with the onboard distance measuring device, the calculation unit uses, as the sensor information, at least one of image information acquired by an external camera as the sensor installed in a different location from that of the moving object and external distance measuring device information acquired by an external distance measuring device as the sensor installed in a different location from that of the moving object, thereby calculating at least one of the position and the orientation of the moving object ([0096]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 2-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshiaki in view of Aguiar (US 20200184236 A1).
Claim 2: Yoshiaki teaches the calculation device according to Claim 1. Yoshiaki does not teach, but Aguiar does teach,
wherein the acquisition unit further acquires calibration information indicating whether or not calibration of the onboard distance measuring device has been completed ([0016] – determining if sensor is calibrated),
and in the first case, when the calibration of the onboard distance measuring device has been completed, the calculation unit uses at least the onboard distance measuring device information as the sensor information, thereby calculating at least one of the position and the orientation of the moving object, and when the calibration of the onboard distance measuring device has not been completed, the calculation unit uses at least one of the image information and the external distance measuring device information as the sensor information, thereby calculating at least one of the position and the orientation of the moving object without using the onboard distance measuring device information as the sensor information ([0016] – disabling one sensor if the other is incorrectly calibrated).
It would have been prima facie obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the method of checking calibration, as taught by Aguiar, in the device as taught by Yoshiaki, because this allows for a malfunctioning sensor to be isolated and turned off, thus enabling the system to still run. Further, although Aguiar teaches only on-vehicle sensors, it would be obvious that this could be adapted to Yoshiaki’s sensors as the basic idea of turning one sensor off if calibration isn’t done correctly would still work, and be advantageous for the reason above.
Claim 3: Yoshiaki teaches the calculation device according to claim 1,
wherein in the first case, the acquisition unit acquires, in addition to the onboard distance measuring device information, at least one of the image information and the external distance measuring device information as the sensor information (Fig. 1, base station 4 and server 5),
the calculation unit calculates at least one of the position and the orientation of the moving object using the onboard distance measuring device information as the sensor information ([0053]-[0056], [0066]),
and calculates at least one of the position and the orientation of the moving object using at least one of the image information and the external distance measuring device information as the sensor information ([0053]-[0056], [0096]).
Yoshiaki does not teach, but Aguiar does teach, the calculation unit stops calculation of the position and the orientation of the moving object using the sensor information ([0016] – ceasing operation)
in at least one of cases where (i) difference between the position of the moving object calculated using the onboard distance measuring device information and the position of the moving object calculated using at least one of the image information and the external distance measuring device information is greater than or equal to a predetermined position threshold, and (ii) difference between the orientation of the moving object calculated using the onboard distance measuring device information and the orientation of the moving object calculated using at least one of the image information and the external distance measuring device information is greater than or equal to a predetermined direction threshold ([0016] – calibration error greater than threshold).
It would have been prima facie obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to stop calculation, as taught by Aguiar, in the system as taught by Yoshiaki, because this would keep erroneous measurements from being used, and thus increase safety of the device. Further, although Aguiar teaches only on-vehicle sensors, it would be obvious that this could be adapted to Yoshiaki’s sensors as the basic idea of checking calibration and ceasing operations would still work, and be advantageous for the reason above.
Claim 4: Yoshiaki teaches the calculation device according to claim 1, further comprising:
[…]
and a transmission unit that transmits the control signal generated by the signal generation unit to the moving object, wherein in the first case, the acquisition unit acquires, in addition to the onboard distance measuring device information, at least one of the image information and the external distance measuring device information as the sensor information, the calculation unit calculates at least one of the position and the orientation of the moving object using the onboard distance measuring device information as the sensor information ([0096]),
and calculates at least one of the position and the orientation of the moving object using at least one of the image information and the external distance measuring device information as the sensor information ([0053]-[0056], [0066]).
Yoshiaki does not teach, but Aguiar does teach, a signal generation unit that generates a control signal to control operation of the moving object ([0003] – autonomous vehicle);
[…]
and in at least one of cases where (i) difference between the position of the moving object calculated using the onboard distance measuring device information and the position of the moving object calculated using at least one of the image information and the external distance measuring device information is greater than or equal to a predetermined position threshold, and (ii) difference between the orientation of the moving object calculated using the onboard distance measuring device information and the orientation of the moving object calculated using at least one of the image information and the external distance measuring device information is greater than or equal to a predetermined direction threshold ([0016] – calibration error greater than threshold).
the signal generation unit generates, as the control signal, any one of (a) a stop control signal to stop the moving object,
and (b) a change control signal to change a destination to which the moving object moves by unmanned driving, from a predetermined target location to a maintenance site where at least one of a repair process to repair the onboard distance measuring device and a calibration process to calibrate the onboard distance measuring device is performed ([0016] – navigate to service location).
It would have been prima facie obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to navigate to a service location, as taught by Aguiar, in the system as taught by Yoshiaki, because this would keep erroneous measurements from being used, and thus increase safety of the device. Further, although Aguiar teaches only on-vehicle sensors, it would be obvious that this could be adapted to Yoshiaki’s sensors as the basic idea of checking calibration and ceasing operations would still work, and be advantageous for the reason above.
Claim 5: Yoshiaki teaches the calculation device according to claim 1, further comprising:
a notification control unit ([0070]) that notifies a user of specific information indicating that there is a possibility of reduced detection accuracy of the sensor,
wherein in the first case, the acquisition unit acquires, in addition to the onboard distance measuring device information, at least one of the image information and the external distance measuring device information as the sensor information (Fig. 1, base station 4 and server 5),
the calculation unit calculates at least one of the position and the orientation of the moving object using the onboard distance measuring device information as the sensor information ([0053]-[0056], [0066]),
and calculates at least one of the position and the orientation of the moving object using at least one of the image information and the external distance measuring device information as the sensor information ([0053]-[0056], [0066]).
Yoshiaki does not teach, but Aguiar does teach, a notification control unit that notifies a user of specific information indicating that there is a possibility of reduced detection accuracy of the sensor ([0167] – processors notifying technician),
and the notification control unit notifies the user of the specific information in at least one of cases where (i) difference between the position of the moving object calculated using the onboard distance measuring device information and the position of the moving object calculated using at least one of the image information and the external distance measuring device information is greater than or equal to a predetermined position threshold, and (ii) difference between the orientation of the moving object calculated using the onboard distance measuring device information and the orientation of the moving object calculated using at least one of the image information and the external distance measuring device information is greater than or equal to a predetermined direction threshold ([0016] – determining error and notifies technician).
It would have been prima facie obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to navigate to notify a technician, as taught by Aguiar, in the system as taught by Yoshiaki, because this would keep erroneous measurements from being used, and thus increase safety of the device. Further, although Aguiar teaches only on-vehicle sensors, it would be obvious that this could be adapted to Yoshiaki’s sensors as the basic idea of checking calibration and ceasing operations would still work, and be advantageous for the reason above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CLARA CHILTON whose telephone number is (703)756-1080. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 6-2 MT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Helal Algahaim can be reached at 571-270-5227. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CLARA G CHILTON/ Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/HELAL A ALGAHAIM/ SPE , Art Unit 3645
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