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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 01/23/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-4, 6-12, 14-18, 20 remain pending in the application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/22/2025.The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 1-3, 6, 7, 8, 9-11, 14, 15-18, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Son (WO2024075749) in view of Kimura (US20190351780) and Giraldo (US20230090996) and Hayashi (US20250178617).
Regarding claim 1, Son teaches a method for cooling an autonomy computing system of a vehicle, the method comprising ([89]-[133] disclosing a method to cool an autonomy computing system):
receiving, at a controller, information relating to at least one of an environmental condition or an operating state of the vehicle ([87]-[91] disclosing receiving sensor values of external conditions such as traffic condition in the environment of the autonomous vehicle).
determining a predicted computing load of the autonomy computing system of the vehicle based on the received information, the autonomy computing system including at least one set of electronic control units (ECUs) that are configured to operate the vehicle, wherein the at least one set of ECUs includes a first set of ECUs and a second set of ECUs ([87]-[91] disclosing predicting an increased computing load of the computing system that autonomously controls the vehicle including at least one based on the traffic jam detected. At least [132]-[133] disclosing multiple chips included in the system on chip, i.e., set of control units. See [0135] disclosing a plurality of chip parts cooled separately interpreted as the first set and second set of Chips).
determining a predicted heat load generated by the autonomy computing system based on the predicted computing load of the autonomy computing system ([89]-[91] disclosing the processing load increase will make the chips very hot. [91] disclosing the increase of the heat based on the processing increasing);
determining an operating parameter of a cooling system based on the predicted heat load ([91] disclosing a cooling parameter being a start time for the cooling based on the predicted heat generation load), the cooling system including at least one fluid line defining a fluid passageway in thermal communication with the autonomy computing system of the vehicle ([127]-[133] disclosing the cooling is performed by water cooling or liquid nitrogen cooling to provide cooling to the chip box including multiple chips to operate the vehicle autonomously, i.e., there is thermal communication to allow the cooling liquid to lower the Chip temperature);
wherein the at least one fluid line includes a first fluid line defining a first fluid passageway in thermal communication with the first set of ECUs and a second fluid line defining a second fluid passageway in thermal communication with the second set of ECUs, the first fluid line configured to remove heat generated by the first set of Ecus, the second fluid line configured to remove heat generated by the second set of ECUs and wherein the cooling system is operated to provide independent cooling to the first set of ECUs and the second set of ECUs (Son [127]-[137] disclosing selectively cooling the chip that is predicted to overheat only, wherein there are multiple chips “ECUs” and passing the liquid coolant to only the selected ECU, thus it is interpreted that there is at least a first and a second fluid passages that cool each ECU separately, a set can include one ECU).
operating the cooling system based on the determined operating parameter to direct additional cooling through the second fluid passageway and remove increased heat generated by the second ECU in performing the function, thereby facilitating continued operation of the vehicle (the combination of [0089]-[133] disclose the cooling system operates based on the parameter to remove heat from an ECU via fluid passageway, [0127]-[0137] disclosing the increasing of the cooling and cooling means based on the predicted increase of temperature of any part, thus when a part is predicted to work more, the cooling is increased).
While Son does not explicitly disclose an ECU.
Kimura teaches a cooling of an ECU based on predicted loading and predicted heat ([0025]-[0039] disclosing cooling a set of ECUs based on predicted heat and load).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to substitute the ECU of Kimura with the chip of Son yielding predictable results to allow cooling of ECUs in the vehicle thus providing an efficient vehicle control.
Son as modified by Kimura does not teach each of the first set of ECUs and the second set of ECUs including a plurality of ECUs.
Giraldo teaches each of the first set and the second set includes a plurality of components ([0007]-[0021] disclosing cooling a first set and a second set separately wherein each set includes a plurality of components) .
Son as modified by Kimura teaches the cooling of different sets of ECUs, thus the combination of Giraldo’s teaching of cooling sets of components is obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in order to provide a more efficient cooling by cooling parts that can be cooled together improving efficiency. This provides the benefit of cooling multiple parts efficiently without contaminating parts that are not supposed to work together and that need the same kind of cooling type, see Giraldo [0007]-[0021], [0040]-[0045].
Son as modified by Kimura does not teach determining the operating parameter further comprising:
Hayashi teaches determining the operating parameter further comprising: Determining a first ECU in the first set of ECUs is in a failure state or at risk of failure; Identifying a second ECU in the second set of ECUs that performs functions corresponding to functions of the first ECU ([0088]-[0094] disclosing determining that a first ECU has failed and selecting another ECU that has the capability to run the program that is executed on the first ECU wherein when there is a surplus in capability on the second ECU, there is no limitations on the functionality to be performed by the second ECU).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Son as modified by Kimura to incorporate the teaching of Hayashi of determining a failure state of a first ECU of the first set of ECUs; and identifying a second ECU of the second set of ECUs that performs a function that corresponds to a function of the first ECU, wherein the autonomy computing system is operated to accommodate the failure state of the first ECU by relying on the functions of the second ECU in order to prevent comfort of the vehicle from being lowered more than necessary by shifting to another ECU by ensuring the ECU has sufficient capability to run the program and functionality of the other ECU [0088] and for redundancy and improved safety of vehicle operation.
Since Son as modified by Kimura and Giraldo already teaches predicting increased operation of parts will increase the heat generation and cooling only parts that are functioning, thus the combination of the teaching of Hayashi is obvious yielding predictable results in order to only cool the ECU that is working since the other ECU has failed and does not function in the system and does not need cooling. Thus for efficiency as taught by Son, the parts that are necessary to cool are only cooled based on prediction of their functionality.
Regarding claim 2, Son as modified by Kimura and Giraldo and Hayashi teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the information relating to at least one of the environmental condition or the operating state of the vehicle includes a temperature of an ambient environment around the vehicle or a temperature associated with the at least one set of ECUs (Son [88]-[91] disclosing the ambient temperature in the environment around the vehicle included in the information relating to the environment).
Regarding claim 3, Son as modified by Kimura and Giraldo and Hayashi teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the information relating to at least one of the environmental condition or the operating state of the vehicle includes a traffic pattern associated with a location and predicted path of the vehicle (Son [0089]-[0091] disclosing the information including the traffic patterns, [0104]-[0106], [0117] disclosing a driving route and destination of the vehicle and a traffic pattern).
Regarding claim 6, Son as modified by Kimura and Giraldo and Hayashi further teaches the method of claim 1,
Specifically, Hayashi teaches wherein the autonomy computing system is operated to accommodate the failure state of the first ECU by relying on the functions of the second ECU ([0088]-[0094] disclosing determining that a first ECU has failed and selecting another ECU that has the capability to run the program that is executed on the first ECU wherein when there is a surplus in capability on the second ECU, there is no limitations on the functionality to be performed by the second ECU).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Son as modified by Kimura to incorporate the teaching of Hayashi of determining a failure state of a first ECU of the first set of ECUs; and identifying a second ECU of the second set of ECUs that performs a function that corresponds to a function of the first ECU, wherein the autonomy computing system is operated to accommodate the failure state of the first ECU by relying on the functions of the second ECU in order to prevent comfort of the vehicle from being lowered more than necessary by shifting to another ECU by ensuring the ECU has sufficient capability to run the program and functionality of the other ECU [0088] and for redundancy and improved safety of vehicle operation.
Since Son as modified by Kimura and Giraldo already teaches predicting increased operation of parts will increase the heat generation and cooling only parts that are functioning, thus the combination of the teaching of Hayashi is obvious yielding predictable results in order to only cool the ECU that is working since the other ECU has failed and does not function in the system and does not need cooling. Thus for efficiency as taught by Son, the parts that are necessary to cool are only cooled based on prediction of their functionality.
Regarding claim 7, Son as modified by Kimura and Giraldo and Hayashi teaches the method of claim 1, wherein operating the cooling system based on the determined operating parameter to direct the fluid through the fluid passageway comprises operating the cooling system based on the determined operating parameter to selectively direct the fluid through the first fluid passageway and toward each ECU of the first set of ECUs (Son [127]-[137] disclosing selectively cooling the chip that is predicted to overheat only, wherein there are multiple chips “ECUs” and passing the liquid coolant to only the selected ECU, thus it is interpreted that there is at least a first and a second fluid passages that cool each ECU separately, a set can include one ECU).
Regarding claim 8, Son as modified by Kimura and Giraldo and Hayashi teaches method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining an amount of the predicted heat load that is associated with an ECU of the at least one set of ECUs (Son [127]-[137] disclosing predicting the heating of the part “chip” that will reach a temperature over a threshold and will cool that specific chip); and
operating the cooling system to direct fluid to the ECU and provide cooling for the predicted heat load that is associated with the ECU (Son [127]-[137] disclosing predicting the heating of the part “chip” that will reach a temperature over a threshold and will cool that specific chip by using a fluid cooling).
Regarding claim 14, Son as modified by Kimura and Giraldo and Hayashi teaches the method of claim 13, further comprising: wherein the autonomy computing system is operated to accommodate the failure state of the first ECU by relying on the functions of the second ECU when the vehicle performs an emergency maneuver or continues operation.
Hayashi teaches wherein the autonomy computing system is operated to accommodate the failure state of the first ECU by relying on the functions of the second ECU when the vehicle performs an emergency maneuver or continues operation. ([0088]-[0094] disclosing determining that a first ECU has failed and selecting another ECU that has the capability to run the program that is executed on the first ECU wherein when there is a surplus in capability on the second ECU, there is no limitations on the functionality to be performed by the second ECU).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Son as modified by Kimura to incorporate the teaching of Hayashi of determining a failure state of a first ECU of the first set of ECUs; and identifying a second ECU of the second set of ECUs that performs a function that corresponds to a function of the first ECU, wherein the autonomy computing system is operated to accommodate the failure state of the first ECU by relying on the functions of the second ECU in order to prevent comfort of the vehicle from being lowered more than necessary by shifting to another ECU by ensuring the ECU has sufficient capability to run the program and functionality of the other ECU [0088] and for redundancy and improved safety of vehicle operation.
Since Son as modified by Kimura and Giraldo already teaches predicting increased operation of parts will increase the heat generation and cooling only parts that are functioning, thus the combination of the teaching of Hayashi is obvious yielding predictable results in order to only cool the ECU that is working since the other ECU has failed and does not function in the system and does not need cooling. Thus for efficiency as taught by Son, the parts that are necessary to cool are only cooled based on prediction of their functionality.
Regarding claim 16, Son teaches a vehicle comprising: an autonomy computing system including at least one set of electronic control units (ECUs);
at least one sensor communicatively coupled to the at least one set of ECUs ([89]-[133] disclosing processing information at least one sensor), wherein the at least one set of ECUs is configured to process information provided by the at least one sensor and operate the vehicle ([89]-[133] disclosing processing information of at least one sensor to autonomously control the vehicle);
a cooling system including at least one fluid line in thermal communication with the autonomy computing system and defining a fluid passageway for fluid to receive heat generated by the autonomy computing system ([127]-[133] disclosing the cooling is performed by water cooling or liquid nitrogen cooling to provide cooling to the chip box including multiple chips to operate the vehicle autonomously, i.e., there is thermal communication to allow the cooling liquid to lower the Chip temperature); and
a controller configured to: receiving, information relating to at least one of an environmental condition or an operating state of the vehicle ([87]-[91] disclosing receiving sensor values of external conditions such as traffic condition in the environment of the autonomous vehicle).
determining a predicted computing load of the autonomy computing system of the vehicle based on the received information, the autonomy computing system including at least one set of electronic control units (ECUs) that are configured to operate the vehicle, wherein the at least one set of ECUs includes a first set of ECUs and a second set of ECUs ([87]-[91] disclosing predicting an increased computing load of the computing system that autonomously controls the vehicle including at least one based on the traffic jam detected. At least [132]-[133] disclosing multiple chips included in the system on chip, i.e., set of control units).
determining a predicted heat load generated by the autonomy computing system based on the predicted computing load of the autonomy computing system ([89]-[91] disclosing the processing load increase will make the chips very hot. [91] disclosing the increase of the heat based on the processing increasing);
determining an operating parameter of a cooling system based on the predicted heat load ([91] disclosing a cooling parameter being a start time for the cooling based on the predicted heat generation load),
operating the cooling system based on the determined operating parameter to direct additional cooling through the second ECu and remove increased heat generated by the second ECU in performing the function, thereby facilitating continued operation of the vehicle (the combination of [0089]-[133] disclose the cooling system operates based on the parameter to remove heat from an ECU via fluid passageway, [0127]-[0137] disclosing the increasing of the cooling and cooling means based on the predicted increase of temperature of any part, thus when a part is predicted to work more, the cooling is increased).
While Son does not explicitly disclose an ECU.
Kimura teaches a cooling of an ECU based on predicted loading and predicted heat ([0025]-[0039] disclosing cooling a set of ECUs based on predicted heat and load).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to substitute the ECU of Kimura with the chip of Son yielding predictable results to allow cooling of ECUs in the vehicle thus providing an efficient vehicle control.
Son as modified by Kimura does not teach each of the first set of ECUs and the second set of ECUs including a plurality of ECUs.
Giraldo teaches each of the first set and the second set includes a plurality of components ([0007]-[0021] disclosing cooling a first set and a second set separately wherein each set includes a plurality of components) .
Son as modified by Kimura teaches the cooling of different sets of ECUs, thus the combination of Giraldo’s teaching of cooling sets of components is obvious in order to provide a more efficient cooling by cooling parts that can be cooled together improving efficiency. This provides the benefit of cooling multiple parts efficiently without contaminating parts that are not supposed to work together and that need the same kind of cooling type, see Giraldo [0007]-[0021], [0040]-[0045].
Son as modified by Kimura does not teach determining the operating parameter further comprising:
Hayashi teaches determining the operating parameter further comprising: Determining a first ECU in the first set of ECUs is in a failure state or at risk of failure; Identifying a second ECU in the second set of ECUs that performs functions corresponding to functions of the first ECU ([0088]-[0094] disclosing determining that a first ECU has failed and selecting another ECU that has the capability to run the program that is executed on the first ECU wherein when there is a surplus in capability on the second ECU, there is no limitations on the functionality to be performed by the second ECU).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teaching of Son as modified by Kimura to incorporate the teaching of Hayashi of determining a failure state of a first ECU of the first set of ECUs; and identifying a second ECU of the second set of ECUs that performs a function that corresponds to a function of the first ECU, wherein the autonomy computing system is operated to accommodate the failure state of the first ECU by relying on the functions of the second ECU in order to prevent comfort of the vehicle from being lowered more than necessary by shifting to another ECU by ensuring the ECU has sufficient capability to run the program and functionality of the other ECU [0088] and for redundancy and improved safety of vehicle operation.
Since Son as modified by Kimura and Giraldo already teaches predicting increased operation of parts will increase the heat generation and cooling only parts that are functioning, thus the combination of the teaching of Hayashi is obvious yielding predictable results in order to only cool the ECU that is working since the other ECU has failed and does not function in the system and does not need cooling. Thus for efficiency as taught by Son, the parts that are necessary to cool are only cooled based on prediction of their functionality.
Regarding claim 17, Son as modified by Kimura and Giraldo and Hayashi teaches the method of claim 16, wherein the at least one sensor includes an environmental sensor, and the information relating to at least one of the environmental condition or the operating state of the vehicle includes a temperature of an ambient environment around the vehicle or a temperature associated with the at least one set of ECUs (Son [88]-[91] disclosing the ambient temperature in the environment around the vehicle included in the information relating to the environment, at least [119] disclosing the lidar, radar, camera as environmental sensors that collect the information).
Regarding claim 18, Son as modified by Kimura and Giraldo and Hayashi teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor includes an environmental sensor and wherein the information relating to at least one of the environmental condition or the operating state of the vehicle includes a traffic pattern associated with a location and predicted path of the vehicle ([0089]-[0091] disclosing the information including the traffic patterns, [0104]-[0106], [0117] disclosing a driving route and destination of the vehicle and a traffic pattern. At least [0119] disclosing the radar, lidar, camera as environmental sensors).
Claims 9-11,15 are rejected for similar reasons as claims 1-3, 8, respectively, see above rejection.
Claim 20 is rejected for similar reasons as claim 14, see above rejection.
Claims 4, 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Son (WO2024075749) in view of Kimura (US20190351780) and Giraldo (US20230090996) and Hayashi (US20250178617) and Rice (US20190105968).
Regarding claim 4, Son as modified by Kimura and Giraldo and Hayashi teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising to selectively direct the fluid in the fluid passageway toward at least one ECU of the at least one set of ECUs based on the determined operating parameter (Son [127]-[137] disclosing selectively directing fluid towards the determined Ecu based on the chip being used, the parameter is interpreted as being the selected ECU and thus the fluid passes to cool it, the parameter could also be the part that reaches the cooling threshold predicted [134]).
While Son as modified by Kimura does not teach operating a valve coupled to the at least one fluid line.
Rice teaches operating a valve coupled to the at least one fluid line ([0079]-[[0080] disclosing a valve to be opened to allow the fluid coolant to pass to the fluid line to cool the device).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of the bypass valve yielding predictable results and allowing the fluid to be passed through the valve based on a determined amount to allow a maximum amount of fluid to pass to cool the ECUs of Son as modified by Rice. Son already teaches the selective cooling thus the combination with the valve to allow to pass to the selected ECU is obvious yielding predictable results and efficiently cooling only the heated or predicted to heat chip.
Claim 12 is rejected for similar reasons as claim 4, see above rejection.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 01/23/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Upon further search and consideration, the proposed amendment is rejected based on additional prior art references. Giraldo teaches cooling different set of components, each set including a plurality of components, the combination is obvious in order to efficiently cool parts that do not cause contamination to other parts thus improving efficiency while avoiding contamination. With regards to the cooling of the second ECU, the combination of determining the failed ECU is replaced by a functioning ECU replacing its function yields predictable results to continue driving safety of the vehicle, and cooling the functioning ECU is already taught by Son in [0128]-[137], thus the combination would be obvious in order to efficiently cool only the functioning second ECU replacing the first ECu
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to
applicant's disclosure. The prior art cited in PTO-892 and not mentioned above disclose related devices and methods.
US20220089193 disclosing predicting the overheating based on complexity of scene ahead, and reducing the speed to reduce the heating.
US20230219582 disclosing cooling a camera and Lidar based on predicted conditions on route.
US20240314983 disclosing determining a temperature range for the ECU based on a task and operating the coolant based on temperature exceeding that range.
US11875191 disclosing cooling a data center that is generating heat separately.
US20200409361 disclosing cooling a computer to not overheat.
US20200238787 disclosing cooling a vehicle computer.
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/MOHAMAD O EL SAYAH/Examiner, Art Unit 3658B