DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
In the present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, claims 1-14 have been considered and examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Respond to Applicant’s Arguments/Remarks
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 12/12/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claims 1-11, based solely on the limitations as amended, has been fully considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to the new combination of references including prior art being used in the current rejection (see below for detail) under new grounds of rejection, necessitated by amendment.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-6, 8-11, and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Halder (Halder – US 2022/0340171 A1) in view of Fukuo et al. (Fukuo – US 2025/0003196 A1).
As to claim 1, Halder discloses a display device for an excavator, comprising:
a hardware processor (Halder: FIG. 1 the autonomous machine vehicle system (AVMS) 105) configured to
acquire information relating to an operation performed by the excavator from the excavator (Halder: [0028], [0034]-[0035], [0039]-[0044], [0061]-[0063], and FIG. 2-6: As depicted in FIG. 1A, in addition to autonomous vehicle management system 105, autonomous vehicle 100 may include or be coupled to sensors 110 and vehicle systems 115. Autonomous vehicle management system 105 may be communicatively coupled with sensors 110 and vehicle systems 115 via wired or wireless links) when the excavator sequentially performs, through autonomous control, a plurality of operations (Halder: [0028], [0034]-[0035], [0039]-[0044], [0061]-[0063], and FIG. 2-6: Autonomous vehicle management system 105 (also referred to as a controller system) is configured to process data describing the state of autonomous vehicle 100 and the state of the autonomous vehicle's environment, and based upon the processing, control one or more autonomous functions or operations of autonomous vehicle 100. For example, autonomous vehicle management system 105 may issue instructions/commands to vehicle systems 115 to programmatically and autonomously control various aspects of the autonomous vehicle's motion such as the propulsion, braking, steering or navigation, and auxiliary behavior (e.g., turning lights on) functionality of autonomous vehicle 100. Autonomous vehicle management system 105 implements the control and planning algorithms that enable autonomous vehicle 100 to perform one or more operations autonomously),
change a content of a first display field (Halder: [0005], [0038], and FIG. 1-7: The autonomous vehicle management system may then control one or more vehicle systems (e.g., braking system, steering system, propulsion system for driving the autonomous vehicle, electrical systems, auxiliary systems (e.g., systems for outputting information to a driver or passenger of the autonomous vehicle) to perform the actions or subtasks in the plan of action).
Halder does not explicitly disclose when the excavator sequentially performs, through autonomous control, a plurality of operations constituting work whose type is set in the excavator, and
in response to recognizing switching of the operation performed by the excavator based on the acquired information, change a content of a first display field in which the plurality of operations are indicated in order of performance in a display screen.
However, it has been known in the art of controlling operations of excavators to implement when the excavator sequentially performs, through autonomous control, a plurality of operations constituting work whose type is set in the excavator, and
in response to recognizing switching of the operation performed by the excavator based on the acquired information, change a content of a first display field in which the plurality of operations are indicated in order of performance in a display screen, as suggested by Fukuo, which discloses when the excavator sequentially performs, through autonomous control, a plurality of operations constituting work whose type is set in the excavator (Fukuo: Abstract, [0034]-[0036], [0041]-[0046], [0050]-[0054], [0063], FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8-9: When teaching is performed from the management room 1, the work machine 20 is set to a teaching mode by a remote operation from the management room 1. When the work machine 20 is set to the teaching mode, the operator remotely controls the work machine 20 by operating the operation device 8. When the work machine 20 is remotely controlled, a landscape captured by the camera 55 is displayed on the display group 2. The operation content by the remote control is stored in the storage device 13. Thereafter, the work machine 20 is set to an automatic drive mode by a remote operation from the management room 1. When the work machine 20 is set to the automatic drive mode, the work machine 20 performs automatic drive in accordance with a movement taught in advance… a series of motions performed by the work machine 20 is to repeat motions such as excavating (excavate) soil from a soil pit (not illustrated) with the bucket 33, slewing (lift slewing) the upper slewing body 22 toward a dump truck (not illustrated) while holding the soil, removing (soil removal) soil to a loading platform (not illustrated) of the dump truck, and slewing (return slewing) the upper slewing body 22 toward the soil pit), and
in response to recognizing switching of the operation performed by the excavator based on the acquired information, change a content of a first display field in which the plurality of operations are indicated in order of performance in a display screen (Fukuo: Abstract, [0034]-[0036], [0041]-[0046], [0050]-[0054], [0063], FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8-9: When the work machine 20 is being automatically driven, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the management room side control unit 7 displays, on the display device 3, the display image 70 displaying each of the current work content, the motion phase, and the work progress situation).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Halder and Fukuo, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before ethe effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the autonomous control of heavy equipment of Halder to implement when the excavator sequentially performs, through autonomous control, a plurality of operations constituting work whose type is set in the excavator, and
in response to recognizing switching of the operation performed by the excavator based on the acquired information, change a content of a first display field in which the plurality of operations are indicated in order of performance in a display screen, as suggested by Fukuo. The motivation for this is to provide information to an operator of excavator based on status information of the excavator.
As to claim 2, Halder and Fukuo disclose the limitations of claim 1 further comprising the display device for the excavator according to claim 1, wherein the hardware processor is configured to change a content of a second display field relating to the operation after said switching in the display screen, in response to recognizing the switching of the operation, the second display field being displayed separately from the first display field in the display screen (Fukuo: Abstract, [0034]-[0036], [0041]-[0046], [0050]-[0054], [0063], FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8-9: When the work machine 20 is being automatically driven, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the management room side control unit 7 displays, on the display device 3, the display image 70 displaying each of the current work content, the motion phase, and the work progress situation).
As to claim 3, Halder and Fukuo disclose the limitations of claim 2 further comprising the display device for the excavator according to claim 2, wherein the hardware processor is configured to change a content of a third display field relating to another operation other than the operation after said switching in the display screen (Fukuo: Abstract, [0034]-[0036], [0041]-[0046], [0050]-[0054], [0063], FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8-9: When the work machine 20 is being automatically driven, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the management room side control unit 7 displays, on the display device 3, the display image 70 displaying each of the current work content, the motion phase, and the work progress situation), in response to recognizing the switching of the operation, the third display field being displayed separately from the first display field and the second display field in the display screen (Fukuo: Abstract, [0034]-[0036], [0041]-[0046], [0050]-[0054], [0063], FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8-9: When the work machine 20 is being automatically driven, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the management room side control unit 7 displays, on the display device 3, the display image 70 displaying each of the current work content, the motion phase, and the work progress situation).
As to claim 4, Halder and Fukuo disclose the limitations of claim 3 further comprising the display device for the excavator according to claim 3, wherein the hardware processor is configured to highlight the second display field compared to the third display field, in response to recognizing the switching of the operation (Fukuo: Abstract, [0034]-[0036], [0041]-[0046], [0050]-[0054], [0063], FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8-9: As illustrated in FIG. 6, the management room side control unit 7 superimposes and displays a warning image 80 onto the display image 70. Note that the management room side control unit 7 may display the display image 70 surrounded with a frame in red or the like, or may use a different background color of a corresponding part (motion phase, progress situation of work, or the like) of the display image 70).
As to claim 5, Halder and Fukuo disclose the limitations of claim 4 further comprising the display device for the excavator according to claim 4, wherein the hardware processor is configured to change a display mode of a frame line of the second display field, or to enlarge the second display field, in response to recognizing the switching of the operation (Fukuo: Abstract, [0034]-[0036], [0041]-[0046], [0050]-[0054], [0063], FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8-9: As illustrated in FIG. 6, the management room side control unit 7 superimposes and displays a warning image 80 onto the display image 70. Note that the management room side control unit 7 may display the display image 70 surrounded with a frame in red or the like, or may use a different background color of a corresponding part (motion phase, progress situation of work, or the like) of the display image 70).
As to claim 6, Halder and Fukuo disclose the limitations of claim 4 further comprising the display device for the excavator according to claim 4, wherein the hardware processor is configured to gray out the third display field or to reduce a size of the third display field, in response to recognizing the switching of the operation (Fukuo: Abstract, [0034]-[0036], [0041]-[0046], [0050]-[0054], [0063], [0071], FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8-9: As illustrated in FIG. 6, the management room side control unit 7 superimposes and displays a warning image 80 onto the display image 70. Note that the management room side control unit 7 may display the display image 70 surrounded with a frame in red or the like, or may use a different background color of a corresponding part (motion phase, progress situation of work, or the like) of the display image 70…As illustrated in FIG. 8, when the remaining number of times, which is a progress situation of work, becomes “0”, the work machine side control unit 11 stops the motion of the work machine 20 being automatically driven. Note that when a designated work time has elapsed or when excavation of a designated amount of soil is finished, the work machine side control unit 11 may stop the motion of the work machine 20 being automatically driven. Note that the total amount of excavated soil may be calculated by capturing an image of the soil in the bucket 33 with the camera 55, predicting the amount of soil excavated by the bucket 33, and accumulating the amount, or may be calculated from a change amount (decrease amount) from the time of work start of the soil amount inside the soil pit captured by the camera 55…As illustrated in FIG. 9, when the remaining number of times, which is the progress situation of work, becomes, for example, “3”, the work machine side control unit 11 determines that the work machine 20 being automatically driven is in a state of stopping motion soon, and notifies the management room side control unit 7 of the management room 1 of the information. Note that when the designated work time has the remaining 1 minute, for example, or when 95%, for example, of the designated amount of soil has been excavated, the work machine side control unit 11 may determine that the work machine 20 being automatically driven is in a state of stopping the motion soon and notify the management room side control unit 7 of the management room 1 of the information).
As to claim 8, Halder and Fukuo disclose the limitations of claim 1 further comprising the display device for the excavator according to claim 1, wherein the information acquired from the excavator includes information indicating a status of the excavator that changes regardless of the operation, and the hardware processor is configured to maintain displaying another display field relating to the status of the excavator, even upon recognizing the switching of the operation (Fukuo: Abstract, [0034]-[0036], [0041]-[0046], [0050]-[0054], [0063], [0071], FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8-9: As illustrated in FIG. 6, the management room side control unit 7 superimposes and displays a warning image 80 onto the display image 70. Note that the management room side control unit 7 may display the display image 70 surrounded with a frame in red or the like, or may use a different background color of a corresponding part (motion phase, progress situation of work, or the like) of the display image 70…As illustrated in FIG. 8, when the remaining number of times, which is a progress situation of work, becomes “0”, the work machine side control unit 11 stops the motion of the work machine 20 being automatically driven. Note that when a designated work time has elapsed or when excavation of a designated amount of soil is finished, the work machine side control unit 11 may stop the motion of the work machine 20 being automatically driven. Note that the total amount of excavated soil may be calculated by capturing an image of the soil in the bucket 33 with the camera 55, predicting the amount of soil excavated by the bucket 33, and accumulating the amount, or may be calculated from a change amount (decrease amount) from the time of work start of the soil amount inside the soil pit captured by the camera 55…As illustrated in FIG. 9, when the remaining number of times, which is the progress situation of work, becomes, for example, “3”, the work machine side control unit 11 determines that the work machine 20 being automatically driven is in a state of stopping motion soon, and notifies the management room side control unit 7 of the management room 1 of the information. Note that when the designated work time has the remaining 1 minute, for example, or when 95%, for example, of the designated amount of soil has been excavated, the work machine side control unit 11 may determine that the work machine 20 being automatically driven is in a state of stopping the motion soon and notify the management room side control unit 7 of the management room 1 of the information).
As to claim 9, Halder and Fukuo disclose the limitations of claim 1 further comprising the display device for the excavator according to claim 1, wherein the hardware processor is configured to change the content of the first display field such that the operation after said switching is recognizable, in response to recognizing the switching of the operation (Fukuo: Abstract, [0034]-[0036], [0041]-[0046], [0050]-[0054], [0063], [0071], FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8-9: As illustrated in FIG. 6, the management room side control unit 7 superimposes and displays a warning image 80 onto the display image 70. Note that the management room side control unit 7 may display the display image 70 surrounded with a frame in red or the like, or may use a different background color of a corresponding part (motion phase, progress situation of work, or the like) of the display image 70…As illustrated in FIG. 8, when the remaining number of times, which is a progress situation of work, becomes “0”, the work machine side control unit 11 stops the motion of the work machine 20 being automatically driven. Note that when a designated work time has elapsed or when excavation of a designated amount of soil is finished, the work machine side control unit 11 may stop the motion of the work machine 20 being automatically driven. Note that the total amount of excavated soil may be calculated by capturing an image of the soil in the bucket 33 with the camera 55, predicting the amount of soil excavated by the bucket 33, and accumulating the amount, or may be calculated from a change amount (decrease amount) from the time of work start of the soil amount inside the soil pit captured by the camera 55…As illustrated in FIG. 9, when the remaining number of times, which is the progress situation of work, becomes, for example, “3”, the work machine side control unit 11 determines that the work machine 20 being automatically driven is in a state of stopping motion soon, and notifies the management room side control unit 7 of the management room 1 of the information. Note that when the designated work time has the remaining 1 minute, for example, or when 95%, for example, of the designated amount of soil has been excavated, the work machine side control unit 11 may determine that the work machine 20 being automatically driven is in a state of stopping the motion soon and notify the management room side control unit 7 of the management room 1 of the information).
As to claim 10, Halder discloses a display device for a work machine comprising:
a hardware processor (Halder: FIG. 1 the autonomous machine vehicle system (AVMS) 105) configured to
acquire information from the work machine (Halder: [0028], [0034]-[0035], [0039]-[0044], [0061]-[0063], and FIG. 2-6: As depicted in FIG. 1A, in addition to autonomous vehicle management system 105, autonomous vehicle 100 may include or be coupled to sensors 110 and vehicle systems 115. Autonomous vehicle management system 105 may be communicatively coupled with sensors 110 and vehicle systems 115 via wired or wireless links) when the work machine sequentially performs, through autonomous control, a plurality of operations (Halder: [0028], [0034]-[0035], [0039]-[0044], [0061]-[0063], and FIG. 2-6: Autonomous vehicle management system 105 (also referred to as a controller system) is configured to process data describing the state of autonomous vehicle 100 and the state of the autonomous vehicle's environment, and based upon the processing, control one or more autonomous functions or operations of autonomous vehicle 100. For example, autonomous vehicle management system 105 may issue instructions/commands to vehicle systems 115 to programmatically and autonomously control various aspects of the autonomous vehicle's motion such as the propulsion, braking, steering or navigation, and auxiliary behavior (e.g., turning lights on) functionality of autonomous vehicle 100. Autonomous vehicle management system 105 implements the control and planning algorithms that enable autonomous vehicle 100 to perform one or more operations autonomously)
change a content of a display field (Halder: [0005], [0038], and FIG. 1-7: The autonomous vehicle management system may then control one or more vehicle systems (e.g., braking system, steering system, propulsion system for driving the autonomous vehicle, electrical systems, auxiliary systems (e.g., systems for outputting information to a driver or passenger of the autonomous vehicle) to perform the actions or subtasks in the plan of action).
Halder does not explicitly disclose
when the excavator sequentially performs, through autonomous control, a plurality of operations constituting work whose type is set in the excavator, and
in response to recognizing switching of an operation performed by the work machine based on the acquired information, change a content of a display field in which the plurality of operations are indicated in order of performance in a display screen.
However, it has been known in the art of controlling operations of excavators to implement when the excavator sequentially performs, through autonomous control, a plurality of operations constituting work whose type is set in the excavator, and
in response to recognizing switching of the operation performed by the excavator based on the acquired information, change a content of a first display field in which the plurality of operations are indicated in order of performance in a display screen, as suggested by Fukuo, which discloses when the excavator sequentially performs, through autonomous control, a plurality of operations constituting work whose type is set in the excavator (Fukuo: Abstract, [0034]-[0036], [0041]-[0046], [0050]-[0054], [0063], FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8-9: When teaching is performed from the management room 1, the work machine 20 is set to a teaching mode by a remote operation from the management room 1. When the work machine 20 is set to the teaching mode, the operator remotely controls the work machine 20 by operating the operation device 8. When the work machine 20 is remotely controlled, a landscape captured by the camera 55 is displayed on the display group 2. The operation content by the remote control is stored in the storage device 13. Thereafter, the work machine 20 is set to an automatic drive mode by a remote operation from the management room 1. When the work machine 20 is set to the automatic drive mode, the work machine 20 performs automatic drive in accordance with a movement taught in advance… a series of motions performed by the work machine 20 is to repeat motions such as excavating (excavate) soil from a soil pit (not illustrated) with the bucket 33, slewing (lift slewing) the upper slewing body 22 toward a dump truck (not illustrated) while holding the soil, removing (soil removal) soil to a loading platform (not illustrated) of the dump truck, and slewing (return slewing) the upper slewing body 22 toward the soil pit), and
in response to recognizing switching of the operation performed by the excavator based on the acquired information, change a content of a first display field in which the plurality of operations are indicated in order of performance in a display screen (Fukuo: Abstract, [0034]-[0036], [0041]-[0046], [0050]-[0054], [0063], FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8-9: When the work machine 20 is being automatically driven, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the management room side control unit 7 displays, on the display device 3, the display image 70 displaying each of the current work content, the motion phase, and the work progress situation).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Halder and Fukuo, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before ethe effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the autonomous control of heavy equipment of Halder to implement when the excavator sequentially performs, through autonomous control, a plurality of operations constituting work whose type is set in the excavator, and
in response to recognizing switching of the operation performed by the excavator based on the acquired information, change a content of a first display field in which the plurality of operations are indicated in order of performance in a display screen, as suggested by Fukuo. The motivation for this is to provide information to an operator of excavator based on status information of the excavator.
As to claim 11, Halder discloses an excavator monitoring system comprising:
an excavator configured to perform, through autonomous control, a plurality of operations (Halder: [0028], [0034]-[0035], [0039]-[0044], [0061]-[0063], and FIG. 2-6: As depicted in FIG. 1A, in addition to autonomous vehicle management system 105, autonomous vehicle 100 may include or be coupled to sensors 110 and vehicle systems 115. Autonomous vehicle management system 105 may be communicatively coupled with sensors 110 and vehicle systems 115 via wired or wireless links) and to transmit information relating to an operation performed by the excavator (Halder: [0028], [0034]-[0035], [0039]-[0044], [0061]-[0063], and FIG. 2-6: Autonomous vehicle management system 105 (also referred to as a controller system) is configured to process data describing the state of autonomous vehicle 100 and the state of the autonomous vehicle's environment, and based upon the processing, control one or more autonomous functions or operations of autonomous vehicle 100. For example, autonomous vehicle management system 105 may issue instructions/commands to vehicle systems 115 to programmatically and autonomously control various aspects of the autonomous vehicle's motion such as the propulsion, braking, steering or navigation, and auxiliary behavior (e.g., turning lights on) functionality of autonomous vehicle 100. Autonomous vehicle management system 105 implements the control and planning algorithms that enable autonomous vehicle 100 to perform one or more operations autonomously); and
a hardware processor (Halder: FIG. 1 the autonomous machine vehicle system (AVMS) 105) configured to receive the information from the excavator (Halder: [0028], [0034]-[0035], [0039]-[0044], [0061]-[0063], and FIG. 2-6: Autonomous vehicle management system 105 (also referred to as a controller system) is configured to process data describing the state of autonomous vehicle 100 and the state of the autonomous vehicle's environment, and based upon the processing, control one or more autonomous functions or operations of autonomous vehicle 100. For example, autonomous vehicle management system 105 may issue instructions/commands to vehicle systems 115 to programmatically and autonomously control various aspects of the autonomous vehicle's motion such as the propulsion, braking, steering or navigation, and auxiliary behavior (e.g., turning lights on) functionality of autonomous vehicle 100. Autonomous vehicle management system 105 implements the control and planning algorithms that enable autonomous vehicle 100 to perform one or more operations autonomously), perform display based on the received information ([0005], [0038], and FIG. 1-7: The autonomous vehicle management system may then control one or more vehicle systems (e.g., braking system, steering system, propulsion system for driving the autonomous vehicle, electrical systems, auxiliary systems (e.g., systems for outputting information to a driver or passenger of the autonomous vehicle) to perform the actions or subtasks in the plan of action).
Halder does not explicitly disclose an excavator configured to perform, through autonomous control, a plurality of operations constituting work whose type is set in the excavator , and in response to recognizing switching of the operation performed by the excavator based on the received information, change a content of a display field in which the plurality of operations are indicated in order of performance in a display screen.
However, it has been known in the art of controlling operations of excavators to implement an excavator configured to perform, through autonomous control, a plurality of operations constituting work whose type is set in the excavator , and in response to recognizing switching of the operation performed by the excavator based on the received information, change a content of a display field in which the plurality of operations are indicated in order of performance in a display screen, as suggested by Fukuo, which discloses an excavator configured to perform, through autonomous control, a plurality of operations constituting work whose type is set in the excavator (Fukuo: Abstract, [0034]-[0036], [0041]-[0046], [0050]-[0054], [0063], FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8-9: When teaching is performed from the management room 1, the work machine 20 is set to a teaching mode by a remote operation from the management room 1. When the work machine 20 is set to the teaching mode, the operator remotely controls the work machine 20 by operating the operation device 8. When the work machine 20 is remotely controlled, a landscape captured by the camera 55 is displayed on the display group 2. The operation content by the remote control is stored in the storage device 13. Thereafter, the work machine 20 is set to an automatic drive mode by a remote operation from the management room 1. When the work machine 20 is set to the automatic drive mode, the work machine 20 performs automatic drive in accordance with a movement taught in advance… a series of motions performed by the work machine 20 is to repeat motions such as excavating (excavate) soil from a soil pit (not illustrated) with the bucket 33, slewing (lift slewing) the upper slewing body 22 toward a dump truck (not illustrated) while holding the soil, removing (soil removal) soil to a loading platform (not illustrated) of the dump truck, and slewing (return slewing) the upper slewing body 22 toward the soil pit) , and in response to recognizing switching of the operation performed by the excavator based on the received information, change a content of a display field in which the plurality of operations are indicated in order of performance in a display screen (Fukuo: Abstract, [0034]-[0036], [0041]-[0046], [0050]-[0054], [0063], FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8-9: When the work machine 20 is being automatically driven, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the management room side control unit 7 displays, on the display device 3, the display image 70 displaying each of the current work content, the motion phase, and the work progress situation).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Halder and Fukuo, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before ethe effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the autonomous control of heavy equipment of Halder to implement an excavator configured to perform, through autonomous control, a plurality of operations constituting work whose type is set in the excavator , and in response to recognizing switching of the operation performed by the excavator based on the received information, change a content of a display field in which the plurality of operations are indicated in order of performance in a display screen, as suggested by Fukuo. The motivation for this is to provide information to an operator of excavator based on status information of the excavator.
As to claim 13, Halder and Fukuo disclose the limitations of claim 1 further comprising the display device for the excavator according to claim 1, wherein the type of the work set in the excavator is indicated in the first display field (Fukuo: Abstract, [0034]-[0036], [0041]-[0046], [0050]-[0054], [0063], [0071], FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8-9: As illustrated in FIG. 6, the management room side control unit 7 superimposes and displays a warning image 80 onto the display image 70. Note that the management room side control unit 7 may display the display image 70 surrounded with a frame in red or the like, or may use a different background color of a corresponding part (motion phase, progress situation of work, or the like) of the display image 70…As illustrated in FIG. 8, when the remaining number of times, which is a progress situation of work, becomes “0”, the work machine side control unit 11 stops the motion of the work machine 20 being automatically driven. Note that when a designated work time has elapsed or when excavation of a designated amount of soil is finished, the work machine side control unit 11 may stop the motion of the work machine 20 being automatically driven. Note that the total amount of excavated soil may be calculated by capturing an image of the soil in the bucket 33 with the camera 55, predicting the amount of soil excavated by the bucket 33, and accumulating the amount, or may be calculated from a change amount (decrease amount) from the time of work start of the soil amount inside the soil pit captured by the camera 55…As illustrated in FIG. 9, when the remaining number of times, which is the progress situation of work, becomes, for example, “3”, the work machine side control unit 11 determines that the work machine 20 being automatically driven is in a state of stopping motion soon, and notifies the management room side control unit 7 of the management room 1 of the information. Note that when the designated work time has the remaining 1 minute, for example, or when 95%, for example, of the designated amount of soil has been excavated, the work machine side control unit 11 may determine that the work machine 20 being automatically driven is in a state of stopping the motion soon and notify the management room side control unit 7 of the management room 1 of the information).
As to claim 14, Halder and Fukuo disclose the limitations of claim 1 further comprising the display device for the excavator according to claim 1, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to, in response to recognizing the switching of the operation performed by the excavator from a first operation to a second operation among the plurality of operations based on the acquired information, change the content of the first display field in which the plurality of operations are indicated in order of performance in the display screen, such that highlighting is moved from the first operation to the second operation (Fukuo: Abstract, [0034]-[0036], [0041]-[0046], [0050]-[0054], [0063], [0071], FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8-9: As illustrated in FIG. 6, the management room side control unit 7 superimposes and displays a warning image 80 onto the display image 70. Note that the management room side control unit 7 may display the display image 70 surrounded with a frame in red or the like, or may use a different background color of a corresponding part (motion phase, progress situation of work, or the like) of the display image 70…As illustrated in FIG. 8, when the remaining number of times, which is a progress situation of work, becomes “0”, the work machine side control unit 11 stops the motion of the work machine 20 being automatically driven. Note that when a designated work time has elapsed or when excavation of a designated amount of soil is finished, the work machine side control unit 11 may stop the motion of the work machine 20 being automatically driven. Note that the total amount of excavated soil may be calculated by capturing an image of the soil in the bucket 33 with the camera 55, predicting the amount of soil excavated by the bucket 33, and accumulating the amount, or may be calculated from a change amount (decrease amount) from the time of work start of the soil amount inside the soil pit captured by the camera 55…As illustrated in FIG. 9, when the remaining number of times, which is the progress situation of work, becomes, for example, “3”, the work machine side control unit 11 determines that the work machine 20 being automatically driven is in a state of stopping motion soon, and notifies the management room side control unit 7 of the management room 1 of the information. Note that when the designated work time has the remaining 1 minute, for example, or when 95%, for example, of the designated amount of soil has been excavated, the work machine side control unit 11 may determine that the work machine 20 being automatically driven is in a state of stopping the motion soon and notify the management room side control unit 7 of the management room 1 of the information).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Halder (Halder – US 2022/0340171 A1) in view of Fukuo et al. (Fukuo – US 2025/0003196 A1) and further in view of Hiromatsu et al. (Hiromatsu – US 2019/0218749 A1).
As to claim 7, Halder and Fukuo disclose the limitations of claim 3 except for the claimed limitations of the display device for the excavator according to claim 3, wherein the hardware processor is configured to start displaying the second display field and to hide the third display field, in response to recognizing the switching of the operation.
However, it has been known in the art of controlling operations of excavators to implement wherein the hardware processor is configured to start displaying the second display field and to hide the third display field, in response to recognizing the switching of the operation, as suggested by Hiromatsu, which discloses wherein the hardware processor is configured to start displaying the second display field and to hide the third display field, in response to recognizing the switching of the operation (Hiromatsu: Abstract, [0046]-[0048], [0057]-[0059], [0074]-[0076], [0086]-[0098], FIG. 2, FIG. 4, and FIG. 9-10: Next, five guide screens (also referred to as “display screens”) stored in the storage section 34 in the present embodiment are explained in detail. FIG. 9 is a figure illustrating transitions among a plurality of display screens on the display device 29. As illustrated in this figure, there are five types of display screens registered in the storage section 34, which are a travel pattern display screen 39, a normal excavation pattern display screen 40, a slope-tamping pattern display screen 41, an embanking pattern display screen 42 and a loading pattern display screen 43. An arrow placed between two display screens indicates that a transition is possible from one display screen on the starting point side of the arrow to the other display screen on the terminal point side of the arrow. Although, in the example of FIG. 9, bidirectional transitions between the slope-tamping pattern screen 41 and the embanking pattern screen 42 are not possible, it may also be configured to make the transitions possible).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Halder, Fukuo, and Hiromatsu, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before ethe effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the autonomous control of heavy equipment of Halder and Fukuo to implement wherein the hardware processor is configured to start displaying the second display field and to hide the third display field, in response to recognizing the switching of the operation, as suggested by Hiromatsu. The motivation for this is to provide information to an operator of excavator based on status information of the excavator.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Halder (Halder – US 2022/0340171 A1) in view of Fukuo et al. (Fukuo – US 2025/0003196 A1) and further in view of Hamada et al. (Hamada – US 2021/0312721 A1).
As to claim 12, Halder and Fukuo disclose the limitations of claim 1 further comprising the display device for the excavator according to claim 1, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to generate the display screen based on the acquired information, the display screen including a status display field in which information relating to a current operation status of the excavator is indicated, and the first display field in which the plurality of operations are indicated in order of performance (Fukuo: Abstract, [0034]-[0036], [0041]-[0046], [0050]-[0054], [0063], [0071], FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, FIG. 6, and FIG. 8-9: As illustrated in FIG. 6, the management room side control unit 7 superimposes and displays a warning image 80 onto the display image 70. Note that the management room side control unit 7 may display the display image 70 surrounded with a frame in red or the like, or may use a different background color of a corresponding part (motion phase, progress situation of work, or the like) of the display image 70…As illustrated in FIG. 8, when the remaining number of times, which is a progress situation of work, becomes “0”, the work machine side control unit 11 stops the motion of the work machine 20 being automatically driven. Note that when a designated work time has elapsed or when excavation of a designated amount of soil is finished, the work machine side control unit 11 may stop the motion of the work machine 20 being automatically driven. Note that the total amount of excavated soil may be calculated by capturing an image of the soil in the bucket 33 with the camera 55, predicting the amount of soil excavated by the bucket 33, and accumulating the amount, or may be calculated from a change amount (decrease amount) from the time of work start of the soil amount inside the soil pit captured by the camera 55…As illustrated in FIG. 9, when the remaining number of times, which is the progress situation of work, becomes, for example, “3”, the work machine side control unit 11 determines that the work machine 20 being automatically driven is in a state of stopping motion soon, and notifies the management room side control unit 7 of the management room 1 of the information. Note that when the designated work time has the remaining 1 minute, for example, or when 95%, for example, of the designated amount of soil has been excavated, the work machine side control unit 11 may determine that the work machine 20 being automatically driven is in a state of stopping the motion soon and notify the management room side control unit 7 of the management room 1 of the information).
The combination of Halder and Fukuo does not explicitly disclose an image display field in which a bird's-eye view image of the excavator is displayed.
However, it has been known in the art of controlling operations of excavators to implement an image display field in which a bird's-eye view image of the excavator is displayed, as suggested by Hamada, which discloses an image display field in which a bird's-eye view image of the excavator is displayed (Hamada: Abstract, [0104], [0113]-[0114], [0134], [0149]-[0150], FIG. 1, and FIG. 11-12: the 2D map image D3 is an area in which a bird's-eye view image of the work machine 3 is drawn. In addition to the 2D map image which is a bird's-eye view image of the work site, a work machine icon D30, a movement locus D31, and an abnormality occurrence section D32 are drawn on the 2D map image D3. Further, on the 2D map image D3, the estimated work content R may be color-coded and drawn at a corresponding work position for each work content).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Halder, Fukuo and Hamada, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before ethe effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the autonomous control of heavy equipment of Halder and Fukuo to implement an image display field in which a bird's-eye view image of the excavator is displayed, as suggested by Hamada. The motivation for this is to implement a known alternative display to provide information to an operator of excavator based on status information of the excavator.
Citation of Pertinent Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
Tsuzuki et al., US 2025/0215668 A1, discloses work machine, remote operation assisting device, and assisting system.
Matsuoka et al., US 2024/0426084 A1, discloses operation assistance device, work machine, remote operation assistance device, and recording medium.
Gentle, US 2024/0384503 A1, discloses autonomous control of a machine performing grading.
Conclusion
All claims are drawn to the same invention claimed in the application prior to the entry of the submission under 37 CFR 1.114 and could have been finally rejected on the grounds and art of record in the next Office action if they had been entered in the application prior to entry under 37 CFR 1.114. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP §706.07(a). 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 extension fee 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QUANG PHAM whose telephone number is (571)-270-3668. The examiner can normally be reached 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM.
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/QUANG PHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2685