DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to the amendment dated March 19, 2026.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Status
Claims 1-182 are canceled.
Claims 183, 185, and 193 are currently amended.
Claims 184, 186-192, and 194-202 are as previously presented.
Therefore, claims 183-202 are currently pending.
Response to Amendment
In response to the filed amendment, the objection to the claims is hereby withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 183-202 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Independent claims 183 and 193 recite the limitations of “support automated driving” and “supplement and enhances ADS sensing, prediction, decision-making, and/or vehicle control functions”. However, it is not clear if the applicant has possession of these claimed elements. For example, does this language attempt to claim every known or yet to be discovered way to support automated driving? Similarly, does this language attempt to claim every known or yet to be discovered way to supplement and enhance ADS sensing, prediction, decision-making, and/or vehicle control functions? For purposes of examination, “support automated driving” is interpreted as any type of support and “supplement and enhances ADS sensing, prediction, decision-making, and/or vehicle control functions” is interpreted as any type of supplementation or enhancement.
Dependent claims 184-192 and 194-202 are rejected as being dependent from a rejected base claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 183-187, 190-197, and 200-202 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (Kim; US PG Pub #2020/0388161).
As to claim 183, Kim teaches a mobile roadside intelligent unit (MRIU) comprising an intelligent computing module, an intelligent communication module, and an intelligent mobile module (Paragraphs [0035]-[0036] teach a roadside unit vehicle system as a component of a vehicle or car and comprising an on-demand RSU module, a processor, a communication module, a planner module, and a locomotion module; Paragraph [0045] teaches the planner module plans a route and controls autonomous operation of the car via the locomotion module), wherein said MRIU is configured to serve an automated driving system (ADS) by providing, supplementing, and/or enhancing autonomous driving functions for a connected automated vehicle (CAV) (Paragraphs [0058]-[0059] teach the on-demand RSU module communicates information, such as warning signals, suggested speeds, or stop signals, to connected vehicles; Paragraphs [0046]-[0053] teaches multiple levels of autonomous vehicles),
wherein the intelligent communication module is configured to communicate with a Roadside Unit Management Control (RUMC) system (Paragraphs [0072]-[0073] teach a car operating as an RSU communicating with a server);
wherein said RUMC system comprises an emergency service module; and
wherein the emergency service module is configured to:
i) support automated driving in long tail scenarios (Paragraph [0072] teaches the car parks at an appropriate location at a scene according to the instruction sent by the server; Paragraph [0085] teaches an automatic parking of the car according to the received instruction; Paragraphs [0058]-[0059] teach the backup RSU utilized at a construction site or a marathon event);
ii) generate MRIU management and control strategies in response to emergency scenarios (Paragraph [0064] teaches the server extracts data to support on-demand RSU services at an event; Paragraphs [0078] and [0083] teach the server is responsible for the type of environments detected by the car to perform the role of RSU and types of control/computation/communication); and
iii) supplement and enhance ADS sensing, prediction, decision-making, and/or vehicle control functions for long-tail and/or emergency scenarios (Paragraph [0061] teaches on-demand RSU services are designed to stop/slow oncoming vehicles so that runners are safe during a marathon event; Paragraph [0064] teaches the server is responsible for extracting data to support on-demand RSU services).
As to claim 184, depending from the MRIU of claim 183, Kim teaches wherein said MRIU is configured to provide prediction, decision-making, and/or control functions for autonomous driving for a CAV (Paragraph [0030] teaches intention prediction of the ado vehicle detected by the autonomous vehicle operating as the RSU; Paragraphs [0058]-[0059] teach the on-demand RSU module communicates information, such as warning signals, suggested speeds, or stop signals, to connected vehicles).
As to claim 185, depending from the MRIU of claim 183, Kim teaches wherein said intelligent computing module is configured to provide data fusion, data storage, and/or data feature extraction for sensing data and/or multi-source sensing data (Paragraph [0038] teaches a computer readable medium storing data manipulated by the processor when executing the software; Paragraph [0040] teaches processing sensor data in conjunction with the computer-readable medium; Paragraph [0054] teaches merging data and extracting frames); predict a traffic flow state; and/or optimize a moving speed and/or a moving path for an MRIU.
As to claim 186, depending from the MRIU of claim 183, Kim teaches wherein said intelligent computing module is configured to generate control strategies, generate vehicle control instructions, and/or distribute vehicle control information and/or instructions for a CAV (Paragraphs [0058]-[0059] teach the on-demand RSU module communicates information, such as warning signals, suggested speeds, or stop signals, to connected vehicles).
As to claim 187, depending from the MRIU of claim 183, Kim teaches wherein said intelligent computing module comprises an edge computing unit configured to supplement the computing capacity of the ADS (Paragraph [0038] teaches the RSU vehicle system includes a processor; Paragraphs [0058]-[0059] teach the on-demand RSU module communicates information, such as warning signals, suggested speeds, or stop signals, to connected vehicles).
As to claim 190, depending from the MRIU of claim 183, Kim teaches wherein said intelligent mobile module is configured to move the MRIU; and/or to monitor in real-time the movement status and/or energy consumption of the MRIU (Paragraph [0045] teaches planning and controlling locomotion of the car via the locomotion module for autonomous operation of the car).
As to claim 191, depending from the MRIU of claim 183, Kim teaches wherein said intelligent mobile module is configured to be a manual vehicle, an unmanned vehicle, a mobile robot, an unmanned aerial vehicle, a drone, and/or a propeller (Paragraph [0035] teaches the RSU may be a robotic device, a non-autonomous vehicle, or an autonomous vehicle).
As to claim 192, depending from the MRIU of claim 183, Kim teaches wherein said MRIU further includes a sensing module (Paragraph [0036] teaches a sensor module), wherein said sensing module is configured to provide environment sensing to sense the environment and/or to provide mobile state sensing to sense the mobile state of the MRIU (Paragraph [0039] teaches a vision, ranging, thermal, sonar, and/or laser sensor; Paragraph [0078] teaches the type of environment detected by the car).
As to claim 193, Kim teaches an edge computing unit provided in a mobile roadside intelligent unit (MRIU) (Paragraphs [0035]-[0036] teach a roadside unit vehicle system as a component of a vehicle or car and comprising an on-demand RSU module and a processor; Paragraph [0038] teaches the RSU vehicle system includes a processor), said edge computing unit configured to provide edge computing capabilities to serve an automated driving system (ADS) by providing, supplementing, and/or enhancing autonomous driving functions for a connected automated vehicle (CAV) (Paragraphs [0058]-[0059] teach the on-demand RSU module communicates information, such as warning signals, suggested speeds, or stop signals, to connected vehicles; Paragraphs [0046]-[0053] teaches multiple levels of autonomous vehicles),
wherein the intelligent communication module is configured to communicate with a Roadside Unit Management Control (RUMC) system (Paragraphs [0072]-[0073] teach a car operating as an RSU communicating with a server);
wherein said RUMC system comprises an emergency service module; and
wherein the emergency service module is configured to:
i) support automated driving in long tail scenarios (Paragraph [0072] teaches the car parks at an appropriate location at a scene according to the instruction sent by the server; Paragraph [0085] teaches an automatic parking of the car according to the received instruction; Paragraphs [0058]-[0059] teach the backup RSU utilized at a construction site or a marathon event);
ii) generate MRIU management and control strategies in response to emergency scenarios (Paragraph [0064] teaches the server extracts data to support on-demand RSU services at an event; Paragraphs [0078] and [0083] teach the server is responsible for the type of environments detected by the car to perform the role of RSU and types of control/computation/communication); and
iii) supplement and enhance ADS sensing, prediction, decision-making, and/or vehicle control functions for long-tail and/or emergency scenarios (Paragraph [0061] teaches on-demand RSU services are designed to stop/slow oncoming vehicles so that runners are safe during a marathon event; Paragraph [0064] teaches the server is responsible for extracting data to support on-demand RSU services).
As to claim 194, depending from the edge computing unit of claim 193, Kim teaches wherein said edge computing unit is configured to supplement the computing capacity of the ADS (Paragraph [0038] teaches the RSU vehicle system includes a processor; Paragraphs [0058]-[0059] teach the on-demand RSU module communicates information, such as warning signals, suggested speeds, or stop signals, to connected vehicles).
As to claim 195, depending from the edge computing unit of claim 193, Kim teaches wherein said edge computing unit is configured to provide edge computing technology to an intelligent computing module of the MRIU (Paragraph [0038] teaches the RSU vehicle system includes a processor).
As to claim 196, depending from the edge computing unit of claim 193, Kim teaches wherein said edge computing unit is configured to provide edge computing technology to an intelligent computing module of the MRIU to generate control strategies, generate vehicle control instructions, and/or distribute vehicle control information and/or instructions for the CAV (Paragraphs [0058]-[0059] teach the on-demand RSU module communicates information, such as warning signals, suggested speeds, or stop signals, to connected vehicles).
As to claim 197, depending from the edge computing unit of claim 193, Kim teaches wherein said edge computing unit is configured to conduct data fusion and/or data feature extraction for traffic information (Paragraph [0054] teaches merging data and extracting frames).
As to claim 200, depending from the edge computing unit of claim 193, Kim teaches wherein said edge computing unit is configured to predict lane traffic flow parameters and/or the movement state of the CAV (Paragraph [0030] teaches predicting the intention of the detected vehicle; Tables 1 and 2 show that trajectory prediction is a computation type of the RSU).
As to claim 201, depending from the edge computing unit of claim 200, Kim teaches wherein said lane traffic flow parameters and/or the movement state of the CAV are on a microscopic and/or mesoscopic time scale (Paragraph [0030] teaches predicting the intention of the detected vehicle; Tables 1 and 2 show that trajectory prediction is a computation type of the RSU).
As to claim 202, depending from the edge computing unit of claim 193, Kim teaches wherein said edge computing unit is configured to identify, analyze, and/or predict a change of the external environment and/or a moving state of the MRIU (Paragraph [0030] teaches detecting/recognizing an ado vehicle in a region of interest in a captured image and predicting an intention of the ado vehicle in response).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 188 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (Kim; US PG Pub #2020/0388161), as applied to claim 183 above, further in view of Jang et al. (Jang; US PG Pub #2017/0341660).
As to claim 188, depending from the MRIU of claim 183, Kim does not explicitly teach wherein said intelligent computing module is configured to optimize the moving speed and/or the moving path for the MRIU in real time.
In the field of autonomous vehicles, Jang teaches wherein said intelligent computing module is configured to optimize the moving speed and/or the moving path for the MRIU in real time (Paragraph [0108] teaches an autonomous vehicle deciding in real-time the optimal driving speed). 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 autonomous vehicle RSU of Kim with the autonomous vehicle optimal speed determination of Jang because this allows autonomous vehicles to be driven quickly and with the highest safety standards (Paragraph [0086]) so that the vehicle interacts safely with other vehicles (Paragraph [0159]).
Claim 189 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (Kim; US PG Pub #2020/0388161), as applied to claim 183 above, further in view of Park (US PG Pub #2020/0028736).
As to claim 189, depending from the MRIU of claim 183, Kim teaches wherein said intelligent communication module is configured to provide and/or support data exchange between the MRIU and a Road Intelligent Unit (RIU), a Traffic Control Unit (TCU), a Traffic Control Center (TCC), a Traffic Operations Center (TOC), and/or a Vehicle Intelligent Unit (VIU) of a CAV (Paragraphs [0058]-[0059] teach communicating signals with nearby traffic signals and connected vehicles; Paragraphs [0061]-[0062] teach communicating with a traffic signal; Paragraph [0003] teaches communication involving road signs or traffic signals).
However, Kim does not explicitly teach providing and/or supporting low-delay, high-reliability, and/or high-density communication.
In the field of automated vehicle and highway systems, Park teaches providing and/or supporting low-delay, high-reliability, and/or high-density communication (Paragraphs [0107]-[0108] teach ultra-reliable and low latency communication). 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 teaching of Kim with the communication of Park because high reliability and low standby time are key requirements of remote driving (Paragraph [0310]).
Claims 198-199 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (Kim; US PG Pub #2020/0388161) as applied to claim 193 above, and further in view of Jin et al. (Jin; US PG Pub #2020/0005633).
As to claim 198, depending from the edge computing unit of claim 193, Kim does not explicitly teach wherein said edge computing unit is configured to combine mesoscopic traffic information and macroscopic traffic information.
In the field of connected automated vehicle highway systems, Jin teaches wherein said edge computing unit is configured to combine mesoscopic traffic information and macroscopic traffic information (Paragraph [0035] teaches fused RSU data including mesoscopic and macroscopic levels). 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 teaching of Kim with the mesoscopic and macroscopic data of Jin because this helps implement redundancy and load balancing for safety and reliability (Paragraph [0035]).
As to claim 199, depending from the edge computing unit of claim 198, Kim does not explicitly teach wherein said mesoscopic traffic information and/or macroscopic traffic information is provided by a multi-level cloud platform.
In the field of connected automated vehicle highway systems, Jin teaches wherein said mesoscopic traffic information and/or macroscopic traffic information is provided by a multi-level cloud platform (Figure 1 and Paragraph [0089] teach cloud services that support different control levels; Paragraph [0134] teaches the cloud services provide data computation, integration, and/or management at various levels). 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 teaching of Kim with the multi-level data of Jin because this helps implement redundancy and load balancing for safety and reliability (Paragraph [0035]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed March 19, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On pages 7-8 the applicant argues that Kim does not teach the amended subject matter of independent claims 183 and 193. On pages 8-9, the applicant argues that the prior art of Jang, Park, and Jin relied upon in the rejections under 35 USC 103 does not remedy the deficiencies of Kim. The examiner respectfully disagrees.
As to the argument made with respect to the amended subject matter and the teaching of Kim, the rejection above outlines the interpretation of Kim as it pertains to the amended subject matter. Specifically, Kim teaches automatically parking a vehicle, based on instructions from a server, at the scene of a temporary event (the examples provided include a construction site or marathon event). Further, Kim teaches that the server communicates with the vehicle and is responsible for controlling the traffic management at the event. Therefore, Kim reads on the subject matter as claimed in amended independent claims 183 and 193.
With respect to the argument on pages 8-9, since there are no deficiencies with the teaching of Kim, this argument is moot and the dependent claims remain rejected absent arguments specific to the limitations of those claims.
Claims 183-202 remain properly rejected.
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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN W SHERWIN whose telephone number is (571)270-7269. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 7:00-8:00, 9:00-3:00 and 4:00-5:00 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven Lim can be reached at 571.270.1210. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RYAN W SHERWIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2688
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