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 .
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 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Shimbo et al [US 2022/0118977] in view of Ovadia et al [US 2021/0042701]
Consider claim 1. (Original) A vehicle (the towing vehicle 2 and trailer 3, 3C, see Figs. 1, 5, abstract, para [0038-0040, 0047]), comprising:
a tow vehicle (the tow vehicle 2, see Fig. 1);
a loading platform including a plurality of first external sensors mounted on an exterior of the loading platform (the trailer 3 includes a plurality of sensor groups 7 and 31 such as cameras, IR, LIDAR, radar and/or ultrasonic attached to the towing vehicle 2 and the side of trailer 3 for monitoring surrounding of the trailer/platform 3, 3C, see Figs. 1, 3, 5, 7, para [0004, 0040]); and
a coupling part that couples the tow vehicle and the loading platform (the articulated
vehicle 1 is configured by combining a towing vehicle 2 and a trailer 3 with each other
by an information combination unit 4. Note that, in general, the towing vehicle 2 and the
trailer 3 are physically connected by a mechanism called a coupler although not illustrated, SO that the towing vehicle 2 and the trailer 3 can travel as the articulated
vehicle 1, see abstract, Fig. 2, para [0010, 0036]). But
Shimbo et al fails to disclose wherein the loading platform includes a storage unit
disposed in the loading platform and is configured to store at least a loading platform
type indicating a type of the loading platform and loading information including size information of the loading platform and information of the plurality of first external sensor. However,
Shimbo et al teaches that the trailer 3 comprises one or a plurality of sensors 31 and trailer identifier 32. The tow vehicle 2 ECU 6 includes a storage unit 64 to store a trailer identifier 32. Each of the plurality of trailer 3 identifiers 32 include trailer type information 62a, 63a which is uniquely to each type of the trailer 3. Even in the case of the trailers 3 of the same vehicle type, the configuration of the sensor group 31 to be attached may differ depending on a traveling scene and the use of control. Therefore, even in the case of the trailers 3 of the same vehicle type, it is preferable to assign mutually different trailer identifiers 32 if the configuration of the sensor group 31 is different. That is, in the in-vehicle system of the present embodiment, a type of the trailer 3 is set based on at least one of a type, the number, and an attachment position of the installed sensor group 31, and the trailer identifier 32 corresponding to this type is stored in the trailer 3. Sensor information 7a corresponding to a surrounding environment of the towing vehicle 2 output from the sensor group 7 is input to the ECU 2. In addition, sensor information 31a corresponding to a surrounding environment of the trailer 3 output from the sensor group 31 is transmitted to the towing vehicle 2 via the information combination unit 4 and input to the ECU 6, see abstract, Figs. 1, 2, para [0038-0040, 0044]).
Ovadia et al suggests that the freight system 100 includes multiple trailers 122, corresponding trailer modules 120, and multiple mobile devices operated by freight operators and/or shippers. Each trailer module 120 may correspond to specialized equipment, mounted or otherwise provided within the trailer 122, to enable the computer system 110 to remotely monitor the trailer 122. In some examples, the trailer modules 120 are housed as a fixture within the trailer 122. Alternatively, the trailer modules 120 may be individually attached to the interior of the trailer (see Fig. 1, para [0121]). The trailer module 120 may utilize sensors 134 (e.g., optical or interior sensing, accelerometer, gyroscope) or its satellite receiver 132 to detect when the freight vehicle begins hauling the trailer 122 (see Fig. 1, para [0122]). The trailer module 120 may distribute multiple types of sensors within the interior of the respective trailer 122, in order to facilitate the determination of load information with respect to the packed load. For example, the trailer module 120 may use sensors to determine information such as (i) whether the load is properly packed, (ii) whether there is empty space within the interior of the trailer 122, (iii) the weight of the load, and/or (iv) other information that may be pertinent for selecting a type of freight vehicle to haul the packed trailer (see Fig. 1, para [0127]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skill in the art before the effective filing
date of the invention to use or implement the trailer module 120 located with the trailer/platform including a plurality sensors and trailer/platform information of Ovadia et al to the ECU with the information storage unit 64 and trailer identifiers 62 to store a plurality of trailer identifiers and sensors information of Shimbo et al for easily and expanding used on many different tow vehicle or tractor with a greater accuracy towing and precisely to minimize cost with a higher safety transportation depending on the size, type and weight of each cargo/trailer platform without depending on the tow vehicle or tractor.
Wherein the tow vehicle includes a controller configured to acquire the loading platform
type and the loading platform information of the loading platform and performs sored in the storage unit via a communication link when the tow vehicle and loading platform are coupled, and perform a driving assist of the vehicle based on the acquired loading platform type and the loading platform information (as the combination of the cargo/trailer platform storing size and/or type between Shimbo et al and Ovadia et al as above, wherein the tow vehicle 2 including a vehicle control unit 5 controls a driving assistance based on the acquired the cargo/platform and type of trailer identification information and the cargo/platform type information and type of trailer for driving assisting to the tow vehicle and trailer transportation, see Figs. 1, 2, abstract, para [0007, 0008, 0010, 0012, 0042-0044, 0050-0059]).
Consider claim 2. (Original) The vehicle of claim 1, wherein loading platform information further includes at least a brake system of the loading platform (as the combination of the cargo/trailer platform information between Shimbo et al and Ovadia et al in respect to claim 1 above, and including the brake of the trailer 3, see para [0036]),
wherein the controller acquires the loading platform information and performs the driving
assist of the vehicle based on the acquired loading platform information from the loading platform when the tow vehicle and the loading platform are coupled (as the combination of the cargo/trailer platform information between Shimbo et al and Ovadia et al in respect to claim 1 above, as when the tow vehicle 2 is coupled to the trailer 3, see Figs. 1, 3, 5).
Consider claim 5. (Currently Amended) The vehicle according of claim 2, wherein the
loading platform further includes a harness for electrically connecting to the tow vehicle
(it is possible to control a tail lamp, a brake, and the like of the trailer 3 from the towing
vehicle 2 by connecting cables of an electrical system and a hydraulic system of the
trailer 3 to plugs of the towing vehicle 2, respectively. The information combination unit
4 in FIG. 1 corresponds to cables and connectors configured to transmit sensor
information output from one or a plurality of sensors 31 attached to the trailer 3 to an
ECU 6 installed on the towing vehicle 2, and may be some of the above described
cables of the electrical system or plugs (see Fig. 1, para [0036, 0050]),
wherein the tow vehicle further includes the communication port and a gateway
communicating via the communication link, the communication link including a plurality
of CAN buses, and wherein when the harness is electrically connected to the tow
vehicle, the gateway receives CAN data of a first identifier from the loading platform,
decodes the CAN data of the first identifier to acquire the loading platform type, stores
the acquired loading platform type, and transmits the acquired loading platform type to
the controller (as cited in respect to claim 1 above, and further including the gateway 10
having communication function with external Internet 11 and server 12, see Figs. 1, 9,
10, para [0032, 0104-0107]).
Consider claim 12. (Original) The vehicle of claim 1, wherein a plurality of first external
sensors that detect an object around the loading platform are mounted on the loading
platform, wherein the controller acquires loading platform information including at least
size information of the loading platform corresponding to the loading platform type,
information of the first external sensors, and a brake system of the loading platform from
an external server communicably connected to the vehicle, based on the acquired
loading platform type, wherein the controller performs a driving assist of the vehicle
based on the acquired loading platform information (as cited in respect to claim 1
above, and including size information and braking amount and server 12, see Figs. 1,
9, 10, para [0029, 0033, 0037, 0104-0113]).
Consider claim 14. (Original) The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the controller
acquires data of the steering control table corresponding to the loading platform type
from an external server communicably connected to the vehicle (the steering operation
amount and server 12, see para [0033, 0037, 0104-0113]).
Claims 3, 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Shimbo et al [US 2022/0118977] and Ovadia et al [US 2021/0042701] and further
in view of Zhou et al [US 2023/0100827]
Consider claim 3. (Original) The vehicle of claim 2, wherein the tow vehicle further
includes a plurality of second external sensors (the sensor group 7, see Fig. 1, para
[0037]) that detect an object around the tow vehicle (see para [0040]) and an angle
detector that detects a relative angle between the tow vehicle and the loading platform
(see para 0047]),
wherein the controller (the ECU 2 and ECU 6, see Fig. 1, para [0040-0048]) acquires
detection data of each first external sensor and detection data of each second external
sensor, converts the acquired detection data of each second external sensor from a
sensor coordinate system based on a mounting position of each second external sensor
to a tow vehicle coordinate system based on the coupling part, converts the acquired
detection data of each first external sensor from a sensor coordinate system based on
the mounting position of each first external sensor to a loading platform coordinate
system based on the coupling part, further converts the detection data from the loading
platform coordinate system to the tow vehicle coordinate system based on the relative
angle detected by the angle detector, integrates the detection data of the first external
sensors and the detection data of the second external sensors into the tow vehicle
coordinate system. But
Shimbo et al fails to disclose the controller calculates a relative position and a relative
speed of a detected object relative to the vehicle based on the integrated detection
data. However,
Shimbo et al teaches that the sensor group 7 and the sensor group 31 respectively attached to the towing vehicle 2 and the trailer 3 include, for example, a camera, a millimeter wave radar, laser imaging detection and ranging (LIDAR), an ultrasonic sensor, and the like. In addition, GPS and the like may be included. In addition, the sensor group 7 and the sensor group 31 can be configured using an arbitrary single type or a plurality of types of sensors. Sensor information 7a to a surrounding environment of the towing vehicle 2 output from the sensor group 7 is input to the ECU 2. In addition, sensor information 31a corresponding to a surrounding environment of the trailer 3 output from the sensor group 31 is transmitted to the towing vehicle 2 via the information combination unit 4 and input to the ECU 6 (see para [0040]).
Zhou et al suggests that the cargo vehicle 150, such as a tractor-trailer truck. The truck
may include, e.g., a single, double or triple trailer, or may be another medium or heavy
duty truck such as in commercial weight classes 4 through 8. As shown, the truck
includes a tractor unit 152 and a single cargo unit or trailer 154. The trailer 154 may be
fully enclosed, open such as a flat bed, or partially open depending on the type of cargo
to be transported (see Figs. 1C, 1D, para [0041]). The computing device 202 controls
the orientation of the wheels and direction of the vehicle, a navigation system 220 for
navigating the vehicle to a location or around objects and a positioning system 222 for
determining the position of the vehicle, e.g., including the vehicle's pose (see Figs. 2,
3A, 3B, para [0050]). The sensors of the perception system 224 may detect objects
outside of the vehicle and their characteristics such as location, orientation, size, shape,
type (for instance, vehicle, pedestrian, bicyclist, etc.), heading, speed of movement
relative to the vehicle, etc. (see Fig. 2, para [0055]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skill in the art before the effective filed
date of the invention to use or implement the computing device for determining position
of the truck cargo vehicle around the objects and relative speed of Zhou et al to the
ECU control devices of Shimbo et al and Kamimoto et al for assisting a driver to
minimize and preventing of accident to collide with the object surrounding the tow
vehicle and trailer since the ECUs receives the detected information from each of the
sensor groups 7 and 31 for detecting an object surrounding the two vehicle 2 and trailer
3.
Consider claim 10. Shimbo et al fails to disclose the controller further includes a lane-
change collision mitigation controller, wherein the lane-change collision mitigation
controller includes: a lane-change trajectory predictor that predicts a trajectory of a lane
change based on blinker information, a vehicle speed, a steering angle, a yaw rate, and
lane detection information of the vehicle; an adjacent-lane time to collision calculator
that calculates a time to collision with a following vehicle on an adjacent lane based on
the trajectory predicted by the lane-change trajectory predictor, the relative position and
the relative speed of the detected object calculated by the controller, and the blinker
information of the vehicle; an allowable distance calculator that calculates an allowable
distance based on the trajectory predicted by the lane-change trajectory predictor, the
time to collision calculated by the adjacent-lane time to collision calculator, the vehicle
speed of the vehicle, a relative speed of the following vehicle on the adjacent lane
relative to the vehicle, and a loading platform length included in the loading platform
information; a lane-change determination unit that determines whether or not to allow a
lane change based on the allowable distance calculated by the allowable distance
calculator, a relative position of the following vehicle on the adjacent lane relative to the
vehicle; a steering control table created for each of the loading platform types and for
performing a steering instruction to deter the lane change when the lane-change
determination unit has determined that the lane change is not allowed; and a second
multiplexer that selects the steering control table based on the loading platform type.
However,
Shimbo et al teaches that the optimum arithmetic processing program 64a
corresponds to a program that calculates object recognition information around the
trailer B from radar information on the trailer B side in addition to a camera image and
radar information on the towing vehicle 2 side and realizes automatic travel control on a
highway and driving assistance control to prevent entanglement at the time of turning
right or left in an urban area and collision with other vehicles in front, rear, left, and right
directions, and the like (see para [0047]).
The towing vehicle 2 includes a vehicle control unit 5, the ECU 6, and one or a plurality
of sensors 7. Hereinafter, the plurality of sensors 7 will be sometimes collectively
referred to as the sensor group 7. The vehicle control unit 5 performs travel control for
realizing autonomous driving and driving assistance of the articulated vehicle 1. For
example, a steering wheel operation amount, an accelerator amount, and a brake
amount of the towing vehicle 2 are controlled, and an obstacle is notified to a driver (see
para [0037]).
It is conceivable to attach various sensors for recognition of objects in an external
environment and distance recognition, such as cameras and radars, not only to a
towing vehicle but also to a trailer side. Sensor information acquired by the various
sensors installed on the towing vehicle or the trailer is collected and processed by an
electronic control unit (ECU) installed on the towing vehicle, and necessary autonomous
driving and driving assistance are controlled (see para [0004].
Zhou et al suggests that the processing system 702 includes the triggering of safety
precautions (e.g., pulling over for roads too wet to handle); causing a change in real-
time motion control (e.g., adjusting acceleration/deceleration braking distance, changing
lanes, etc.); making changes to the perception system (e.g., modifying thresholds for
filtering, sensor noise level, sensor field of view adaptation, sensor validation logic,
pedestrian detectors, etc.); changing models for predicting behavior of other road users
(e.g., other vehicles might drive slower, pedestrians or bicyclists might move erratically
to avoid rain/puddles, etc.,); and changing planner behavior (such as where to pick up
or drop off, selecting alternative routes or lanes of travel, etc.). Such information may be
provided to vehicles across a fleet of vehicles, such as part of a general system update
or based on current or projected weather conditions to assist scheduling and routing of
the fleet (see Fig. 7-10, para [0100]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skill in the art before the effective filed
date of the invention to add and/or implement the processing system for changing lane
of Zhou et al to the vehicle control unit to control the distance to/from external object
of Shimbo et al and Kamimoto et al for providing effectively and reliability to avoid potential collision and/or to prevent a collision as for improving safety of the tow vehicle and trailer.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimbo et
al [US 2022/0118977] and Ovadia et al [US 2021/0042701] and further in view of
Zhou et al [US 2023/0100827] and further in view of Boerger et al [US 2021/0082220]
Consider claim 4. Shimbo et al fails to disclose wherein the controller includes a data
conversion table created for each of the loading platform types, the data conversion
table converting a data format of the detection data of the first external sensor into a
data format of the tow vehicle coordinate system. However,
Shimbo et al teaches that the sensor group 7 and the sensor group 31 respectively attached to the towing vehicle 2 and the trailer 3 include, for example, a camera, a millimeter wave radar, laser imaging detection and ranging (LIDAR), an ultrasonic sensor, and the like. In addition, a weight sensor that measures the weight of the vehicle, a tilt sensor that measures a tilt of the vehicle, GPS, and the like may be included. The sensor information 7a corresponding to a surrounding environment of the towing vehicle 2 output from the sensor group 7 is input to the ECU 2. In addition, sensor information 31a corresponding to a surrounding environment of the trailer 3 output from the sensor group 31 is transmitted to the towing vehicle 2 via the information combination unit 4 and input to the ECU 6, see Fig. 1, para [0040]).
Boerger et al suggests that the trailer sensor(s) 202 may be implemented using any
suitable sensors such as, for example, photoelectric eyes, proximity sensors, motion
sensors 204, inductive loop sensors, a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system, etc.
In some examples, the presence/motion detector 112 may include a presence detector
system to detect the presence of personnel/equipment (e.g., people on foot and/or
driving material handling equipment, autonomous vehicles, etc.) within a trailer 300
parked at the loading dock 102 (e.g., loading and/or unloading cargo) or outside the
facility on the approach of the dock 102 (see Figs. 1-4, para [0027]).
The Input/Output (IO) parameter information 706 includes a name for the IO parameter,
an indication of the type of the IO parameter, and a unique address relative to other IO
parameters associated with the corresponding device. Accordingly, in some examples,
the conversion factors (e.g., based on the slope and intercept equation for linear
relationships) enable the conversion of the reported value to the actual temperature. If
the IO parameter corresponds to a non-linear measurement (e.g., an output signal of a
thermistor), the conversion factors may include a linearization table that is selected
based on the type of thermistor as identified by the parameter type stored with the IO
parameter information 706 (see Fig. 7, para [0064, 0065]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skill in the art before the effective filed
date of the invention to use and/or implement the I/O data conversion factors of
Boerger et al to the controller ECUs of Shimbo et al and Ovadia et al and Zhou et
al for providing accuracy and reliable I/O data information to a tow vehicle driver or
operator, as well as to minimize of error or failure in operations.
Claims 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Shimbo et al [US 2022/0118977] and Ovadia et al [US 2021/0042701] and further
in view of Balton et al [US 2021/0229510]
Consider claim 6. (Original) The vehicle of claim 5, wherein when the harness is
electrically connected to the tow vehicle, the gateway receives CAN data of a second
identifier from the loading platform (the control unit 5 determines the identification of a
plurality of trailer types, see Fig. 1, para [0040]). But
Shimbo et al fails to disclose decodes the CAN data of the second identifier to acquire
a diagnostics command for reading loading platform information for reading the loading
platform information, acquires the loading platform information based on the acquired
diagnostics command for reading loading platform information, stores the acquired
loading platform information, and transmits the acquired loading platform information to
the controller. However,
Shimbo et al teaches that the sensor information 7a corresponding to a surrounding environment of the towing vehicle 2 output from the sensor group 7 is input to the ECU 2. In addition, sensor information 31a corresponding to a surrounding environment of the trailer 3 output from the sensor group 31 is transmitted to the towing vehicle 2 via the information combination unit 4 and input to the ECU see Fig. 1, para [0040]).
In Step S3, the ECU 6 causes the processing change unit 63 to select an arithmetic
processing program optimum for the current towing vehicle 2 from among the arithmetic
processing programs stored in the processing information storage unit 64. At this time,
the processing change unit 63 switches a method of selecting an arithmetic processing
program according to a determination result of Step S1. That is, when it is determined in
Step S1 that the trailer 3 is connected, the arithmetic processing program 64a
corresponding to the type of the trailer 3 indicated by the trailer identification
information 62a is selected in Step S3 based on the trailer identification information 62a
output from the trailer identification unit 62 in Step S2. On the other hand, when it is
determined in Step S1 that the trailer 3 is not connected, an arithmetic processing
program set in advance for independent travel is selected in Step S3 (see Fig. 2, para
[0052]).
Balton et al suggests that the connectors 308 and 314 may be configured according to
one or more industry or government standards, such as SAE standards or International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards. For example, the connectors 308 and
314 may be have a 7-pin connector established according to SAE standards J-560 or J-
1067, or ISO standard 1185, by way of non-limiting example. However, other standards
may be applicable based on the desired application and vehicle and/or trailer 102 type
(see Fig. 3, para [0037]). The second communication signal 714b introduced by the
powerline communication controller may include information regarding a target or
destination of the data, such as an identifier of the HMI 326 or an or identifier or an
address of a component to be controlled (e.g., camera motor, rear door motor 120). A
corresponding powerline communication controller 700 receiving the encoded data
may decode the data according to the one or more communication protocols for
example, to obtain the metadata associated (see Fig. 7, para [0065, 0070]). In some
embodiments, one or more processors of the trailer powerline communication
controller 804 may analyze the video or image data to determine whether objects are
present in the imaged regions around the trailer. The trailer powerline communication
controller 804 may send communication signals to the vehicle powerline communication
controller 802 as a result of identifying objects around the vehicle that present a risk of
collision, for example (see Fig. 8, para [0083]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skill in the art before the effective filed
date of the invention to add and/or implement the controller analytically or diagnostically
the encode and decode data of another by the second communication signals of Balton
et al to the ECU and the processing change unit of Shimbo et al and Ovadia et al for assisting a driver to operate the tow vehicle and trailer with correctly and precisely
based on that trailer type being town.
Consider claim 7. (Original) The vehicle of claim 6, wherein when the harnesses
electrically disconnected from the tow vehicle, the gateway erases the stored loading
platform information (as cited in respect to claims 1 and 6 above, wherein the electric
cables or harness cables being unplugged, and then the control unit 5 and ECU 6 to
canceled or erased the of that trailer type data information and identification, in order to
be abled connecting or changing to another trailer type).
Consider claim 8. (Original) The vehicle of claim 6, wherein the controller transmits a
diagnostics command of a loading platform connection to the gateway, wherein the
gateway decodes the diagnostics command of the loading platform connection,
transmits absence of the loading platform information to the controller as a response of
the diagnostics command of the loading platform connection when the harness is not
electrically connected to the tow vehicle, and transmits the loading platform information
as a response of the diagnostics command of the loading platform connection to the
controller when the harness is electrically connected to the tow vehicle (as the
combination between Shimbo et al and Ovadia et al and Balton et al in respect to claim 6 above, and including the gateway 10 having communication function with external Internet 11 and server 12, see Figs. 1, 9, 10, para [0032, 0104-0107]).
Claims 9, 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Shimbo et al [US 2022/0118977] and Ovadia et al [US 2021/0042701] and Zhou et al [US 2023/0100827] and further in view of Nagata et al [US 2022/0180488]
Consider claim 9. Shimbo et al fails to disclose wherein the controller further includes
an automatic emergency brake controller, wherein the automatic emergency brake
controller includes: a trajectory predictor that predicts a trajectory of the vehicle based
on a vehicle speed, a steering angle, and a yaw rate of the vehicle; a time to collision
calculator that calculates a time to collision with the detected object based on a
trajectory predicted by the trajectory predictor, and the relative position and the relative
speed of the detected object calculated by the controller, an automatic emergency
brake warning brake table created for each of the loading platform types and for
performing an alarm instruction and a brake instruction; and a first multiplexer that
selects the automatic emergency brake warning brake table based on the loading
platform type. However,
Shimbo et al teaches that the optimum arithmetic processing program 64a corresponds to a program that calculates object recognition information around the trailer B from radar information on the trailer B side in addition to a camera image and radar information on the towing vehicle 2 side and realizes automatic travel control on a highway and driving assistance control to prevent entanglement at the time of turning right or left in an urban area and collision with other vehicles in front, rear, left, and right directions, and the like (see para [0047]). And furthermore the combination of the relative position and relative speed between Shimbo et al and Ovadia et al and Zhou et al in respect to claim 3 above. The towing vehicle 2 includes a vehicle control unit 5, the ECU 6, and one or a plurality of sensors 7. Hereinafter, the plurality of sensors 7 will be sometimes collectively referred to as the sensor group 7. The vehicle control unit 5 performs travel control for realizing autonomous driving and driving assistance of the articulated vehicle 1. For example, a steering wheel operation amount, an accelerator amount, and a brake amount of the towing vehicle 2 are controlled, and an obstacle is notified to a driver (see para [0037]).
Nagata et al suggests that the system allows the driver of the vehicle to view the
surroundings of the vehicles and/or the trailer efficiently, and results in improved safety
from the improved awareness. A top-down view of the vehicle 102 and trailer 104 may
be constructed based on the image data from the cameras 106 and provided to the
driver, to assist the driver in avoiding objects and other collisions. The vehicle 102
and/or the trailer 104 can automatically brake to avoid a potential collision or prevent a
collision once the system identifies an object 502 in the path of the vehicle 102 and/or
the trailer 104 (see Figs. 1, 4A, 5A, 5B, 8, para [0016, 0064, 0108]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skill in the art before the effective filed
date of the invention to add and/or implement the automatically braking of Nagata et al
to the vehicle control unit to control brake amount of Shimbo et al and Ovadia et al and Zhou et al for providing effectively and reliability to avoid potential collision and/or to prevent a collision as for improving safety of the tow vehicle and trailer.
Consider claim 13. (Original) The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the controller acquires
data of the automatic emergency brake warning brake table corresponding to the
loading platform type from an external server communicably connected to the vehicle
(as the combination between Shimbo et al and Ovadia et al and Zhou et al and
Nagata et al in respect to claim 9 above, and including alert notification such as
beeping or spoken words "BRAKE", see Nagata et al, Figs. 5A, 5B, para [0061]).
Claims 11, 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Shimbo et al [US 2022/0118977] and Ovadia et al [US 2021/0042701] and further
and in view of Chevalier et al [US 2023/0020142]
Consider claim 11. Shimbo et al fails to disclose wherein the controller further includes
a curve warning deceleration controller, wherein the curve warning deceleration
controller includes: an ideal speed calculator that calculates an ideal speed at a curve
entrance based on a radius of a curve and a loading platform weight and a loading
platform length included in the loading platform information, a deceleration calculator
that calculates deceleration of the vehicle based on an ideal speed calculated by the
ideal speed calculator and the vehicle speed of the vehicle; a curve warning brake table
created for each of the loading platform types and for performing an alarm instruction
and a brake instruction; and a third multiplexer that selects the curve warning brake
table based on the loading platform type. However,
Shimbo et al teaches that the plurality of sensors 7 will be sometimes collectively referred to as the sensor group 7. The vehicle control unit 5 performs travel control for realizing autonomous driving and driving assistance of the articulated vehicle 1. For example, a steering wheel operation amount, an accelerator amount, and a brake amount of the towing vehicle 2 are controlled, and an obstacle is notified to a driver (see Fig. 1, para [0037]).
Chevalier et al suggests that the accelerometer may provide information regarding the
direction of movement of the vehicle and/or the trailer. The rate of acceleration and/or
deceleration provides information as to the magnitude of the forces acting upon the
vehicle and/or the trailer (see para [0080]). The sensor (e.g., one or more gyroscopes)
may detect the sway of a trailer. The computer may analyze the sway information with
speed, torque, acceleration, and/or deceleration information to determine how and/or
whether the sway of the trailer is related to speed, torque, acceleration and/or
deceleration (see para [0099, 0100]). The sensors of a trailer may detect the load
distribution of a trailer. The distribution of the load on a trailer may be used to determine
whether the load is safely distributed on the trailer to reduce sway. An alert may be
provided when improper or unsafe low distribution is detected (see para [0103]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skill in the art before the effective filed
date of the invention to add and/or implement the alert of sway curve deceleration of
Chevalier et al to the vehicle control unit to control brake amount of Shimbo et al and
Ovadia et al for generating an alarm to avoid potential collision and/or to prevent a
rollover or tilting of the trailer cause by shaped curve or sway as to improving safety of
the tow vehicle and trailer.
Consider claim 15. (Original) The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the controller acquires
data of the curve warning brake table corresponding to the loading platform type from
an external server communicably connected to the vehicle (as the combination between
Shimbo et al and Ovadia et al and Chevalier et al in respect to claim 11 above,
and including the server 12, see para [0033, 0105-0113]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments, see the amendment, filed on 04/13/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claims 1-15 under Shimbo et al and Kamimoto et al have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Ovada et al, which is substitute for the reference of Kamimoto et al in order to make the rejection smoother.
Applicant’s arguments:
(A) Shimbo does not disclose, teach, or suggest "a storage unit disposed in the loading platform and configured to store at least a loading platform type indicating a type of the loading platform and loading platform information including size information of the loading platform and information of the plurality of first external sensors," and a controller configured to "acquire the loading platform type and the loading platform information when the tow vehicle and the loading platform are coupled," as recited in amended claim 1.
(B) For at least these reasons, claim 1 is patentable in view of Shimbo, Kamimoto, Zhou, Boerger, Balton, Nagata, and Chevalier, alone or in combination. Therefore, Applicant respectfully requests withdrawal of the rejection of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. § 103. Claims 2-15 depend from independent claim 1 and are patentable in view of Shimbo, Kamimoto, Zhou, Boerger, Balton, Nagata, and Chevalier, alone or in any proper combination, for at least the reason that claims 2-15 depend from a patentable independent claim.
Response to the arguments:
(A) It is obvious to use or implement the trailer module 120 located with the trailer/platform including a plurality sensors and trailer/platform information of Ovadia et al to the ECU with the information storage unit 64 and trailer identifiers 62 to store a plurality of trailer identifiers and sensors information of Shimbo et al for easily and expanding used on many different tow vehicle or tractor with a greater accuracy towing and precisely to minimize cost with a higher safety transportation depending on the size, type and weight of each cargo/trailer platform without depending on the tow vehicle or tractor.
(B) It is obvious to combine of the other secondary references Zhou, Boerger, Balton, Nagata, and Chevalier to the dependent claims 2-15 according to the independent claim 1 as above.
Conclusion
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/VAN T TRIEU/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2685
04/202/2026
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