DETAIL ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Notice on Prior Art Rejections
2. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Status of Claims
3. This Office Action is in response to the Applicant's application filed April 9, 2024. Claims 12-31 are presently pending and are presented for examination.
Objections
4. The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: The invention claims foreign priority to RU2021135842. However, the specification lacks cross-reference to this foreign priority. See (b) CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS: See 37 CFR 1.78 and MPEP § 211 et seq.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 12 and 12 recite “CPU”. Acronyms must be defined when used in limitations for a clear interpretation of the claim.
Appropriate correction is required.
Allowable Subject Matter
5. Claims 18-21 and 28-31 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under Nonstatutory Double Patenting, 35 USC § 101, - 35 U.S.C. 112(b), Drawings rejection, 35 USC § 103, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Nonstatutory Double Patenting
6. The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the claims at issue are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement.
A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO internet Web site contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit http://www.uspto.gov/forms/. The filing date of the application will determine what form should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claim(s) 12-31 is/are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim(s) 21-39 of copending App# 18/691,453. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are the same.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Copending App No 18/691,453
(Current App) No 18/699,875
Claim 1: A method for generating a recuperation energy-efficient track for a vehicle in operation equipped with a braking electric recuperation system moving along a portion of a route that includes a possible deceleration point, the method comprising at least the following steps: collecting primary data, which involves obtaining data associated with a first motor vehicle equipped with the braking electric recuperation system; data associated with a portion of a route to be passed by the first motor vehicle, and data associated with a second motor vehicle, wherein the second motor vehicle is also the vehicle in operation and passes the portion of the route after the first motor vehicle, and wherein the data associated with the portion of the route include at least data associated with a possible deceleration point;
Claim 1: A method for generating an energy-efficient track for a vehicle in operation moving along a portion of a route that contains a mandatory deceleration point, that is performed by a CPU of a computer device, the method comprising at least the following steps: collecting primary data, which involves obtaining data associated with a first motor vehicle, data associated with a portion of a route to be passed by the first motor vehicle, and data associated with a second motor vehicle, wherein the second motor vehicle is also a vehicle in operation and passes the portion of the route after the first motor vehicle, and wherein the data associated with the portion of the route include at least data associated with the mandatory deceleration point;
collecting secondary data, which involves generating a track for the first motor vehicle, wherein said track is generated based on how the first motor vehicle passed the portion of the route, and wherein the braking electric recuperation system is activated when the first motor vehicle is braking while moving along the portion of the route and passing the possible deceleration point;
collecting secondary data, which involves generating a track for the first motor vehicle, wherein said track is generated based on how the first motor vehicle passed the portion of the route using the data associated with the mandatory deceleration point;
generating an estimated track for the second motor vehicle, wherein said estimated track is generated based on a track generated for the first motor vehicle; wherein the track for the first motor vehicle is generated by performing the following steps: generating a speed profile of the first motor vehicle on the passed portion of the route, and evaluating energy efficiency of the first motor vehicle on the passed portion of the route;
generating an estimated track for the vehicle in operation, wherein the estimated track for the second motor vehicle is generated based on the track generated for the first motor vehicle;
wherein energy efficiency of the first motor vehicle on the passed portion of the route is evaluated on a basis of efficiency of the braking electric recuperation system of the first motor vehicle; wherein the data associated with the possible deceleration point include one of the following: data associated with a mandatory deceleration point, data associated with a non-mandatory deceleration point, and/or a combination thereof; wherein the data associated with a mandatory deceleration point include one of the following: data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on the portion of the route that is adjoined or intersected by another portion of the route, data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of the route containing an infrastructure element, which controls the movement of motor vehicles on the portion of the route, data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of the route containing a traffic sign providing a speed limit for motor vehicles on the portion of the route, data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of the route containing an obstacle, data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of the route containing a turn, and/or a combination thereof; and wherein the data associated with a non-mandatory deceleration point include one of the following: data associated with a non-mandatory deceleration point on a portion of the route containing an incline, data associated with a non-mandatory deceleration point on a portion of the route containing a visual obstruction, and/or a combination thereof.
wherein the track for the first motor vehicle is generated by performing the following steps: generating a speed profile of the first motor vehicle on the passed portion of the route, and evaluating energy efficiency of the first motor vehicle on the passed portion of the route; and wherein the data associated with a mandatory deceleration point include one of the following: data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route that is adjoined or intersected by another portion of the route, data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing an infrastructure element, which controls the movement of motor vehicles on the portion of the route, data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing a traffic sign providing a speed limit for motor vehicles on the portion of the route, data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing an obstacle, and/or a combination thereof.
7. Claims 13-21 depend from claim 12 and therefore include the same limitation as claim 12 so they are rejected for the same reasons. Claims 22-31 contain the same limitations as to claims 12-21 and are therefore rejected for the same reasons.
Judicial Exception Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
8. 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
9. Claims 12-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. Claim 12 recites “A method for generating an energy-efficient track for a vehicle in operation moving along a portion of a route that contains a mandatory deceleration point, that is performed by a CPU of a computer device, the method comprising at least the following steps: collecting primary data, which involves obtaining data associated with a first motor vehicle, data associated with a portion of a route to be passed by the first motor vehicle, and data associated with a second motor vehicle, wherein the second motor vehicle is also a vehicle in operation and passes the portion of the route after the first motor vehicle, and wherein the data associated with the portion of the route include at least data associated with the mandatory deceleration point; collecting secondary data, which involves generating a track for the first motor vehicle, wherein said track is generated based on how the first motor vehicle passed the portion of the route using the data associated with the mandatory deceleration point; generating an estimated track for the vehicle in operation, wherein the estimated track for the second motor vehicle is generated based on the track generated for the first motor vehicle; wherein the track for the first motor vehicle is generated by performing the following steps: generating a speed profile of the first motor vehicle on the passed portion of the route, and evaluating energy efficiency of the first motor vehicle on the passed portion of the route; and wherein the data associated with a mandatory deceleration point include one of the following: data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route that is adjoined or intersected by another portion of the route, data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing an infrastructure element, which controls the movement of motor vehicles on the portion of the route, data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing a traffic sign providing a speed limit for motor vehicles on the portion of the route, data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing an obstacle, and/or a combination thereof.”.
The limitations of claim 12 presented above, as drafted, are processes that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind but for the recitation of generic computer components. That is, other than reciting “a CPU” nothing in the claims elements precludes the steps from practically being performed as part of human activities. For example, “collecting primary data, which involves obtaining data associated with a first motor vehicle, data associated with a portion of a route to be passed by the first motor vehicle”, as drafted, is a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind where a person is mentally able to collect data. Further, “collecting secondary data, which involves generating a track for the first motor vehicle”, as drafted, is a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind where a person is mentally able to collect vehicle travel data. If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind but for the recitation of generic computer components, then it falls within the “Mental Processes” grouping of abstract ideas. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. For example, “evaluating energy efficiency of the first motor vehicle on the passed portion of the route;” is not a practical application because it is a mere instruction to apply the judicial exception using generic elements. In particular, the claim does not recite any additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. Accordingly, the claim lack of additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claim is directed to an abstract idea.
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, there are no additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept. The claim is not patent eligible. Further, claims 22-31 are also rejected because they amount no more than the same mere instructions of the method of claims 12 in a system which does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea.
Drawings
10. The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings (Fig. 1-8) are objected to because the Examiner may require and is requiring descriptive text labels. The unlabeled rectangular box(es) shown in the drawings should be provided with descriptive text labels” [MPEP 608.02(b) examiner note]. Therefore, descripted text labels must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
11. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(B) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
12. Claims 12-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
13. Independent claim 12 recites “collecting primary data, which involves obtaining data associated with a first motor vehicle, data associated with a portion of a route to be passed by the first motor vehicle, and data associated with a second motor vehicle” It is unclear how data is being collected for both vehicles. The specification dated 04/09/2024 does not define how this feature is determined. As a result of this ambiguity, the precise boundary of the claim cannot be determined. Therefore, the claims are rejected as indefinite under 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
14. Independent claim 12 recites “generating an estimated track for the vehicle in operation, wherein the estimated track for the second motor vehicle is generated based on the track generated for the first motor vehicle” It is unclear how track is generated based on a track generated for the first motor vehicle. The specification dated 04/09/2024 does not define how this feature is determined. As a result of this ambiguity, the precise boundary of the claim cannot be determined. Therefore, the claims are rejected as indefinite under 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
15. Claims 13-21 depend from claim 12 and therefore include the same limitation as claim 12 so they are rejected for the same reasons. Claims 22-31 contain the same limitations as to claims 12-21 and are therefore rejected for the same reasons.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
16. 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 of this title, 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.
17. Claims 12-17 and 22-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Tokura et al, US 2021/0179063, in view of Wang et al. US 2020/0070679, further in view of Jokela et al. US 2021/0009128, hereinafter referred to as Tokura, Wang, and Jokela respectively.
Regarding claim 12, Tokura disclose a method for generating an energy-efficient track for a vehicle in operation moving along a portion of a route that contains a mandatory deceleration point, that is performed by a CPU of a computer device (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 35, 33, 19, 18, 17, 7, “an electric motor and an internal combustion engine that are power sources and a storage battery that stores energy for driving the electric motor and regenerative energy recovered by regenerative braking of the electric motor. The travel control device includes an electronic control device configured to create a speed profile in which a speed of the vehicle is
predicted, estimate a predicted amount of the regenerative energy to be recovered, based on the speed profile, and decide the power source to be used for traveling”), the method comprising at least the following steps:
collecting primary data, which involves obtaining data associated with a first motor vehicle, data associated with a portion of a route to be passed by the first motor vehicle, and data associated with a second motor vehicle, wherein the second motor vehicle is also a vehicle in operation and passes the portion of the route after the first motor vehicle, and wherein the data associated with the portion of the route include at least data associated with the mandatory deceleration point (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 96, 95, 83, 60, 46, 45, 44, 41, 40, “The driving assistance ECU 60 is an ECU that performs functions of driving assistance such as collision avoidance, front vehicle following, and lane keeping. The driving assistance ECU 60 outputs an instruction to control the motion of the vehicle such as acceleration/deceleration and steering angle based on the information acquired from various sensors and the like”);
collecting secondary data, which involves generating a track for the first motor vehicle, wherein said track is generated based on how the first motor vehicle passed the portion of the route using the data associated with the mandatory deceleration point (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 96, 95, 83, 60, 46, 45, 44, 41, 40, 46, “The storage unit 70 stores one or more travel histories of a user. The travel history is information including the speed of the vehicle at each time point during the driving period when the user was driven the vehicle in the past. The storage unit 70 generates a travel history by periodically storing the vehicle speed acquired from a vehicle speed sensor or the like included in the vehicle while the vehicle is in the power-on state,”);
generating an estimated track for the vehicle in operation, wherein the estimated track for the second motor vehicle is generated based on the track generated for the first motor vehicle (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 63, 61, 60, “as a speed limit along a travel route and traffic congestion prediction, and create a speed profile based on the road traffic information. Further, the server that can create a speed profile based on the road traffic information along the travel route may be demanded to create the speed profile via the communication unit 80, and the created speed profile may be acquired”);
wherein the track for the first motor vehicle is generated by performing the following steps: generating a speed profile of the first motor vehicle on the passed portion of the route, and evaluating energy efficiency of the first motor vehicle on the passed portion of the route (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 131, 129, 128, 127, 123, 55, “(Step Sl0l): The creation unit 11 creates a speed profile. The speed profile is information indicating the predicted speed of the vehicle at each time point of the current trip”), (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 115, 4, “a regenerative braking operation needs to be started, based on a position of a vehicle and map information on a stop-needed point or a deceleration- needed point such as a railroad crossing or a curve. In the vehicle driving assistance device, a user can be prompted to operate the regenerative brake at a deceleration that enables efficient recovery of regenerative energy, and a recovery amount of the regenerative energy can be increased.”); and
wherein the data associated with a mandatory deceleration point include one of the following: data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route that is adjoined or intersected by another portion of the route, data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing an infrastructure element, which controls the movement of motor vehicles on the portion of the route, data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing a traffic sign providing a speed limit for motor vehicles on the portion of the route, data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing an obstacle, and/or a combination thereof (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 71, “The estimation unit 12 estimates a predicted amount of the regenerative energy, which is energy obtained by regenerative braking of the electric motor 31, using the approximate model. This step is performed at the start of each period, and the estimation unit 12 estimates a predicted amount of regenerative energy in the period.”), (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 102, 60, 40, 41, “The autonomous driving ECU 65 outputs an instruction to control the motion of the vehicle such as acceleration/deceleration and steering angle based on the information acquired from various sensors and the like in order to perform the function of the autonomous driving.”), (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 4, 40, 115, “When the user depresses the brake pedal to a large extent, or the driving assistance ECU 60 gives an instruction for rapid deceleration with high priority for avoiding a collision or the like, and deceleration of a certain level or more is demanded, the motion manager ECU 50 and the brake ECU 110 control the brake device 111 to generate a braking force in order to generate a sufficient braking force.”).
Tokura fails to explicitly disclose a route containing a traffic sign providing a speed limit for motor vehicles on the portion of the route.
However, Wang teaches a route containing a traffic sign providing a speed limit for motor vehicles on the portion of the route (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 47, 48, 34, 15, 11, 8, 9, “determining, via a resident or remote vehicle controller of the electric-drive motor vehicle, a vehicle origin and a vehicle destination for the motor vehicle; conducting, e.g., via a vehicle navigation system, a geospatial query to identify a designated route to move from the vehicle origin to the vehicle destination; receiving, from a memory-stored map database, road-level data (e.g., speed limits, traffic light locations, stop sign positions, gradients, etc.) associated with the designated route; determining, e.g., via a remote computing resource service based on the road-level data and real-time roadway traffic and disturbance data (e.g., rushhour traffic, inclement weather delays, auto collision, construction, etc.) a predicted motor speed of the traction motor for completing the designated route”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Tokura and include a route containing a traffic sign providing a speed limit for motor vehicles on the portion of the route as taught by Wang because it would allow vehicle speed and torque predictions, along with other vehicle propulsion and auxiliary device models, are employed to derive total energy consumption during the trip and concomitantly provide an optimized charge planning protocol for the vehicle (Wang ¶ 6).
Tokura fails to explicitly disclose a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing an infrastructure element, which controls the movement of motor vehicles on the portion of the route.
However, Jokela teaches a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing an infrastructure element, which controls the movement of motor vehicles on the portion of the route (See at least fig 1-10, ¶ 194, 193, 2, “An example of how V2I information can be used for energy savings is when a traffic light communicates its current and future states to approaching vehicles. This allows approaching vehicles to adapt their approach speed profile so as to potentially avoid stopping at the traffic light, thus saving energy and increasing driver comfort”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Tokura and include a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing an infrastructure element, which controls the movement of motor vehicles on the portion of the route as taught by Jokela because it would allow approaching vehicles to adapt their approach speed profile so as to potentially avoid stopping at the traffic light, thus saving energy and increasing driver comfort (Jokela ¶ 2).
Regarding claim 13, Tokura disclose the method of claim 12, characterized in that the data associated with the first and/or second motor vehicle may include at least one of the following: the type and model of the first motor vehicle, its mass, its aerodynamic characteristics, its wheel formula, its estimated and/or actual energy consumption and data from its acceleration sensors and/or speed sensors, data from its positioning sensors, weight sensors, and wheel speed sensors, and/or a combination thereof (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 4, 40, 115, 85, “when the gradient of the road indicates an uphill road, the traveling resistance is corrected to be larger than when the road is a flat road, and when the gradient of the road indicates a downhill road, the traveling resistance is corrected to be smaller than when the road is a flat road. In (Expression 4), the influence on the requested power P(t) due to the increase or decrease of the potential energy of the vehicle is reflected by the correction of the traveling resistance based on the gradient of the road”).
Regarding claim 14, Tokura disclose the method of claim 12, characterized in that the data associated with the portion of the route to be passed by the first motor vehicle further include at least one of the following data obtained from external sources: the geometry of the portion of the route, the road grade of the portion of the route, the allowed speed on the portion of the route, the quality of road surface of the portion of the route, speed limits on the portion of the route, turns on the portion of the route, weather conditions on the portion of the route, its infrastructure, data associated with a motor vehicle located on another portion of the route, data associated with a motor vehicle located on the portion of the route at the mandatory deceleration point or in its vicinity, estimation of a motor vehicle being present on another portion of the route, estimation of a motor vehicle being present on the portion of the route at the mandatory deceleration point or in its vicinity, and/or a combination thereof (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 102, 60, 40, 41, 59, “The storage unit 70 may acquire a travel route from a navigation system or the like included in the vehicle and store the travel route in the travel history, and the creation unit 11 may create a speed profile based on the travel history having a high similarity to the travel route of the current trip. This method can be executed when a user sets a travel route in the navigation system or the like in the current trip and the creation unit 11 can acquire the set travel route, but the accuracy of the speed profile can be improved”).
Regarding claim 15, Tokura disclose the method of claim 14, characterized in that in case when the data associated with the mandatory deceleration point are the data associated with the mandatory deceleration point located on the portion of the road intersected by another portion of the road and when the infrastructure data of the portion of the road contain data obtained from a traffic control means signaling that it is allowed to cross said another portion of the road without stopping, when the first motor vehicle reaches the mandatory deceleration point, an estimated track for the first motor vehicle is generated, wherein the time that the first motor vehicle requires to pass said another portion of the road moving from the mandatory deceleration point to the end point of passing said another portion of the road is also calculated, and wherein the end point of passing said another portion of the road is not located on said another portion of the road and is located along the direction of movement of the first motor vehicle and along the trajectory that intersects said another portion of the road; and, based on the time calculation, an estimated speed profile of the first motor vehicle for the estimated track for the first motor vehicle is generated, wherein the estimated speed profile contains at least one of the following: the first motor vehicle moving through the mandatory deceleration point without changing its speed; the first motor vehicle moving through the mandatory deceleration point while decreasing its speed to full stop in the mandatory stop point, wherein the mandatory stop point is located along the direction of movement of the first motor vehicle and along the trajectory that does not intersect said another portion of the road; or the first motor vehicle moving through the mandatory deceleration point while increasing its speed so as to pass through said another portion of the route within the time limit that corresponds to the previously calculated time that the first motor vehicle requires to pass said another portion of the road (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 71, “The estimation unit 12 estimates a predicted amount of the regenerative energy, which is energy obtained by regenerative braking of the electric motor 31, using the approximate model. This step is performed at the start of each period, and the estimation unit 12 estimates a predicted amount of regenerative energy in the period.”), (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 102, 60, 40, 41, “The autonomous driving ECU 65 outputs an instruction to control the motion of the vehicle such as acceleration/deceleration and steering angle based on the information acquired from various sensors and the like in order to perform the function of the autonomous driving.”), (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 4, 40, 115, “When the user depresses the brake pedal to a large extent, or the driving assistance ECU 60 gives an instruction for rapid deceleration with high priority for avoiding a collision or the like, and deceleration of a certain level or more is demanded, the motion manager ECU 50 and the brake ECU 110 control the brake device 111 to generate a braking force in order to generate a sufficient braking force.”).
Regarding claim 16, Tokura disclose the method of claim 15, characterized in that the estimated track for the first motor vehicle is generated taking into account one of the following: data associated with a motor vehicle located on another portion of the route, data associated with a motor vehicle located on the portion of the route at the mandatory deceleration point or in its vicinity, estimation of a motor vehicle being present on another portion of the route, estimation of a motor vehicle being present on the portion of the route at the mandatory deceleration point or in its vicinity, or a combination thereof (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 102, 60, 40, 41, 59, “The storage unit 70 may acquire a travel route from a navigation system or the like included in the vehicle and store the travel route in the travel history, and the creation unit 11 may create a speed profile based on the travel history having a high similarity to the travel route of the current trip. This method can be executed when a user sets a travel route in the navigation system or the like in the current trip and the creation unit 11 can acquire the set travel route, but the accuracy of the speed profile can be improved”).
Regarding claim 17, Tokura disclose the method of claim 14, characterized in that in case when the data associated with the mandatory deceleration point are the data associated with the mandatory deceleration point located on the portion of the road intersected by another portion of the road and when the infrastructure data of the portion of the road contain data obtained from a traffic control means signaling that it is not allowed to cross said another portion of the road without stopping, when the first motor vehicle reaches the mandatory deceleration point, an estimated track for the first motor vehicle is generated, wherein the time when the traffic control means would again signal that it is allowed to intersect said another portion of the road without stopping is also calculated; and, based on the time calculation, the mandatory deceleration point is relocated so as to allow the first motor vehicle to move along the trajectory that intersects said another portion of the route without stopping, when the traffic control means signals that it is allowed to cross said another portion of the road without stopping (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 102, 60, 40, 41, 59, “The storage unit 70 may acquire a travel route from a navigation system or the like included in the vehicle and store the travel route in the travel history, and the creation unit 11 may create a speed profile based on the travel history having a high similarity to the travel route of the current trip. This method can be executed when a user sets a travel route in the navigation system or the like in the current trip and the creation unit 11 can acquire the set travel route, but the accuracy of the speed profile can be improved”).
Tokura fails to explicitly the traffic control means signals.
However, Wang teaches the traffic control means signals (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 47, 48, 34, 15, 11, 8, 9, “determining, via a resident or remote vehicle controller of the electric-drive motor vehicle, a vehicle origin and a vehicle destination for the motor vehicle; conducting, e.g., via a vehicle navigation system, a geospatial query to identify a designated route to move from the vehicle origin to the vehicle destination; receiving, from a memory-stored map database, road-level data (e.g., speed limits, traffic light locations, stop sign positions, gradients, etc.) associated with the designated route; determining, e.g., via a remote computing resource service based on the road-level data and real-time roadway traffic and disturbance data (e.g., rushhour traffic, inclement weather delays, auto collision, construction, etc.) a predicted motor speed of the traction motor for completing the designated route”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Tokura and include the traffic control means signals as taught by Wang because it would allow vehicle speed and torque predictions, along with other vehicle propulsion and auxiliary device models, are employed to derive total energy consumption during the trip and concomitantly provide an optimized charge planning protocol for the vehicle (Wang ¶ 6).
Regarding claim 22, Tokura disclose a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores a program code that, when implemented by a CPU of a computer device, induces the CPU to perform steps according to a method for generating an energy-efficient track for a vehicle in operation moving along a portion of a route that contains a mandatory deceleration point (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 35, 33, 19, 18, 17, 7, “an electric motor and an internal combustion engine that are power sources and a storage battery that stores energy for driving the electric motor and regenerative energy recovered by regenerative braking of the electric motor. The travel control device includes an electronic control device configured to create a speed profile in which a speed of the vehicle is predicted, estimate a predicted amount of the regenerative energy to be recovered, based on the speed profile, and decide the power source to be used for traveling”), the method comprising at least the following steps:
collecting primary data, which involves obtaining data associated with a first motor vehicle, data associated with a portion of a route to be passed by the first motor vehicle, and data associated with a second motor vehicle, wherein the second motor vehicle is also a vehicle in operation and passes the portion of the route after the first motor vehicle, and wherein the data associated with the portion of the route include at least data associated with the mandatory deceleration point (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 96, 95, 83, 60, 46, 45, 44, 41, 40, “The driving assistance ECU 60 is an ECU that performs functions of driving assistance such as collision avoidance, front vehicle following, and lane keeping. The driving assistance ECU 60 outputs an instruction to control the motion of the vehicle such as acceleration/deceleration and steering angle based on the information acquired from various sensors and the like”);
collecting secondary data, which involves generating a track for the first motor vehicle, wherein said track is generated based on how the first motor vehicle passed the portion of the route using the data associated with the mandatory deceleration point (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 96, 95, 83, 60, 46, 45, 44, 41, 40, 46, “The storage unit 70 stores one or more travel histories of a user. The travel history is information including the speed of the vehicle at each time point during the driving period when the user was driven the vehicle in the past. The storage unit 70 generates a travel history by periodically storing the vehicle speed acquired from a vehicle speed sensor or the like included in the vehicle while the vehicle is in the power-on state,”);
generating an estimated track for the vehicle in operation, wherein the estimated track for the second motor vehicle is generated based on the track generated for the first motor vehicle (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 63, 61, 60, “as a speed limit along a travel route and traffic congestion prediction, and create a speed profile based on the road traffic information. Further, the server that can create a speed profile based on the road traffic information along the travel route may be demanded to create the speed profile via the communication unit 80, and the created speed profile may be acquired”);
wherein the track for the first motor vehicle is generated by performing the following steps: generating a speed profile of the first motor vehicle on the passed portion of the route, and evaluating energy efficiency of the first motor vehicle on the passed portion of the route (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 131, 129, 128, 127, 123, 55, “(Step Sl0l): The creation unit 11 creates a speed profile. The speed profile is information indicating the predicted speed of the vehicle at each time point of the current trip”); and
wherein the data associated with a mandatory deceleration point include one of the following: data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route that is adjoined or intersected by another portion of the route, data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing an infrastructure element, which controls the movement of motor vehicles on the portion of the route, data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing a traffic sign providing a speed limit for motor vehicles on the portion of the route, data associated with a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing an obstacle, and/or a combination thereof (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 71, “The estimation unit 12 estimates a predicted amount of the regenerative energy, which is energy obtained by regenerative braking of the electric motor 31, using the approximate model. This step is performed at the start of each period, and the estimation unit 12 estimates a predicted amount of regenerative energy in the period.”), (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 102, 60, 40, 41, “The autonomous driving ECU 65 outputs an instruction to control the motion of the vehicle such as acceleration/deceleration and steering angle based on the information acquired from various sensors and the like in order to perform the function of the autonomous driving.”), (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 4, 40, 115, “When the user depresses the brake pedal to a large extent, or the driving assistance ECU 60 gives an instruction for rapid deceleration with high priority for avoiding a collision or the like, and deceleration of a certain level or more is demanded, the motion manager ECU 50 and the brake ECU 110 control the brake device 111 to generate a braking force in order to generate a sufficient braking force.”), (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 71, “The estimation unit 12 estimates a predicted amount of the regenerative energy, which is energy obtained by regenerative braking of the electric motor 31, using the approximate model. This step is performed at the start of each period, and the estimation unit 12 estimates a predicted amount of regenerative energy in the period.”), (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 102, 60, 40, 41, “The autonomous driving ECU 65 outputs an instruction to control the motion of the vehicle such as acceleration/deceleration and steering angle based on the information acquired from various sensors and the like in order to perform the function of the autonomous driving.”).
Tokura fails to explicitly disclose a route containing a traffic sign providing a speed limit for motor vehicles on the portion of the route.
However, Wang teaches a route containing a traffic sign providing a speed limit for motor vehicles on the portion of the route (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 47, 48, 34, 15, 11, 8, 9, “determining, via a resident or remote vehicle controller of the electric-drive motor vehicle, a vehicle origin and a vehicle destination for the motor vehicle; conducting, e.g., via a vehicle navigation system, a geospatial query to identify a designated route to move from the vehicle origin to the vehicle destination; receiving, from a memory-stored map database, road-level data (e.g., speed limits, traffic light locations, stop sign positions, gradients, etc.) associated with the designated route; determining, e.g., via a remote computing resource service based on the road-level data and real-time roadway traffic and disturbance data (e.g., rushhour traffic, inclement weather delays, auto collision, construction, etc.) a predicted motor speed of the traction motor for completing the designated route”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Tokura and include a route containing a traffic sign providing a speed limit for motor vehicles on the portion of the route as taught by Wang because it would allow vehicle speed and torque predictions, along with other vehicle propulsion and auxiliary device models, are employed to derive total energy consumption during the trip and concomitantly provide an optimized charge planning protocol for the vehicle (Wang ¶ 6).
Tokura fails to explicitly disclose a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing an infrastructure element, which controls the movement of motor vehicles on the portion of the route.
However, Jokela teaches a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing an infrastructure element, which controls the movement of motor vehicles on the portion of the route (See at least fig 1-10, ¶ 194, 193, 2, “An example of how V2I information can be used for energy savings is when a traffic light communicates its current and future states to approaching vehicles. This allows approaching vehicles to adapt their approach speed profile so as to potentially avoid stopping at the traffic light, thus saving energy and increasing driver comfort”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Tokura and include a mandatory deceleration point on a portion of a route containing an infrastructure element, which controls the movement of motor vehicles on the portion of the route as taught by Jokela because it would allow approaching vehicles to adapt their approach speed profile so as to potentially avoid stopping at the traffic light, thus saving energy and increasing driver comfort (Jokela ¶ 2).
Regarding claim 23, Tokura disclose the medium of claim 22, characterized in that the data associated with the first and/or second motor vehicle may include at least one of the following: the type and model of the first motor vehicle, its mass, its aerodynamic characteristics, its wheel formula, its estimated and/or actual energy consumption and data from its acceleration sensors and/or speed sensors, data from its positioning sensors, weight sensors, and wheel speed sensors, and/or a combination thereof (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 96, 95, 83, 60, 46, 45, 44, 41, 40, 46, “The storage unit 70 stores one or more travel histories of a user. The travel history is information including the speed of the vehicle at each time point during the driving period when the user was driven the vehicle in the past. The storage unit 70 generates a travel history by periodically storing the vehicle speed acquired from a vehicle speed sensor or the like included in the vehicle while the vehicle is in the power-on state,”), (See at least fig 1-9, ¶ 102, 60, 40, 41, 59, “The storage unit 70 may acquire a travel route from a navigation system or the like included in