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 .
Drawings
The drawings were received on December 30th 2025. These drawings are accepted.
Status of the Claims
This Final action is in response to the applicant’s filing on December 30th 2025;
Claims 1-20 are pending and examined below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments with respect to the rejection of claims under 35 USC § 103 have been fully considered but are moot. While the Examiner notes that the applicant is arguing the claim limitations recite " … "…receiving, at the controller, a set of route specific preferences, the set of route specific preferences including at least one of a requirement that the destination include a deviation from the typical grade of an accessibility ramp, a requirement that the route avoids one way streets, a requirement restricting travel areas based on an amount of light in the travel area, a requirement that the route avoid high pedestrian activity zones, a requirement that the route avoid high risk zones, and a requirement that the route avoid large elevation changes and discarding the route specific preferences responsive to completion of the route… “. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn; However, upon further consideration a new ground(s) of rejection is made for Claims 1, 12 and 20 over Rao (Patent No. US11774256B2) in view of Shigemoto (Patent No. WO2020008598A1) and Rao II (Patent No. US20200240804A1).
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 (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 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.
Claims 1-3 and 6-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rao (Patent No. US11774256B2) in view of Shigemoto (Patent No. WO2020008598A1) and Rao II (Patent No. US20200240804A1).
Regarding claim 1 Rao discloses a method for previsualizing a destination comprising: receiving, at a controller, a destination from a user; (See Rao column 11, line 66-67; “the method 500 occurs after receiving the selection of the route from the rider in operation 412.”; also see Rao column 7, line 6-13; “the route determination module 210 to determine the plurality of routes, the route determination module 210 accesses (e.g., via the preference module 208 and/or the account module 206) the preferences of the user (e.g., the driver, the rider, or both). In one embodiment, the route determination module 210 identifies several routes from a first location (e.g., pick-up location; current location) to a second location (e.g., destination or drop-off location).”); retrieving, using the controller, a set of stored route preferences; (See Rao column 4, line 57-64; “FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating components of the networked system 102, according to some example embodiments. In various embodiments, the networked system 102 obtains and stores trip information (e.g., pick-up and drop-off locations, routes, selection of routes) received from the user devices 106, analyzes the trip information to dynamically update preferences of each user, and uses the preferences to determine alternate routes.”);
generating a route to the received destination; (See Rao column 2, line 36-38; “In response to the selection, the networked system causes presentation of a driving route corresponding to the selected route on a device of the driver and the device of the rider.”);
and implementing the route using the controller in response to the user accepting the route; (See Rao column 7, line 54-57; “The route determination module 210 then reconciles the rider selected route with the driver route to derive the driving route that is eventually used to navigate to the destination.”).
Rao does not teach but Rao II teaches, receiving, at the controller, a set of route specific preferences, the set of route specific preferences including at least one of a requirement that the destination include a deviation from the typical grade of an accessibility ramp, a requirement that the route avoids one way streets, a requirement restricting travel areas based on an amount of light in the travel area, a requirement that the route avoid high pedestrian activity zones, a requirement that the route avoid high risk zones, and a requirement that the route avoid large elevation changes; (See Rao II paragraph 0025 and 0045; “The alternate routes displayed to the user can be labeled, by the device interface 202, in order for the user to quickly identify why particular routes are presented. The labels are, in some embodiments, provided by the route determination module 210. For example, the plurality of routes displayed to a rider may indicate that a first route is the cheapest, a second route is the fastest (and may include timing information), and a third route is a rider's preferred route (e.g., chosen a threshold number of times in the past) or the rider's last route between the same locations. The plurality of routes displayed to a driver may, for example, indicate one or more of a fastest route, a route that avoids highways, a most fuel-efficient route (e.g., avoids hills), a route that has a higher probability of picking up a second rider along the way (e.g., for a pool driving scenario), the shortest route, a route that avoids freeways, and so forth… Alternatively, the route determination module 210 analyzes the preferences to determine the most important or strong preferences the driver has. Using this analysis, the route determination module 210 then identifies (e.g., generates) the routes that best satisfy these preferences. For example, if the driver has a strong preference to avoid crossing bridges, the route determination module 210 generates routes that do not cross any bridges.”); and discarding the route specific preferences responsive to completion of the route; (See Rao, paragraph 0037; “For example, the rider selects the fast route between two locations, which requires traversing two large hills. If the driver has a strong preference to avoid hills, then there is a conflict. In these embodiments, the route determination module 210 can determine a driver route based on the driving preferences of the driver. The route determination module 210 then reconciles the rider selected route with the driver route to derive the driving route that is eventually used to navigate to the destination. For example, the route determination module 210 replaces one segment of the rider selected route (e.g., hilly portion) with a segment from the driver route (e.g., along a bottom of hills). Alternatively, the route determination module 210 applies the driver's preferences directly to the rider selected route and replaces the hilly portion with a less hilly portion. In some cases, the derived driving route is presented to both the rider and driver, via their respective user devices 106, along with a request to agree to the derived driving route. If one of the users does not agree, the route determination module 210 can derive an alternate driving route and present the alternate driving route to the users or initiate a negotiation process between the driver and rider via their user devices 106 (e.g., ask rider if they are willing to avoid the hill). This can continue until both users agree on the driving route.”)
Both Roa and Roa II are in the same field of rout image displaying and navigation. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify Roa previsualizing a destination with Roa II receiving and discarding a set of route specific preferences. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of Roa by adding the receiving and discarding a set of route specific preferences to better define the routes for the user to take. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Rao does not teach but Shigemoto teaches, retrieving at least one image of the received destination; (See Shigemoto paragraph 007; “An information communication terminal according to the present invention includes a destination image obtaining unit that obtains a destination image that is a real image of a destination, a display processing unit that displays the destination image on a screen, and a destination image that is operated by a user…”);
generating a previsualization image of at least a portion of the route and displaying the previsualization image to the user; (See Shigemoto paragraph 007; “The destination image acquisition unit 32 acquires a destination image that is a real image of a place that the user wants to set as a destination. The user may use a photographed image captured by the camera 41 as a destination image or an image downloaded from an external server through the communication unit 31 as a destination image. Here, it is assumed that the data of the destination image includes information of the shooting position of the destination image as additional information. When the user shoots a destination image with the camera 41, the destination image obtaining unit 32 obtains information on the position of the information communication terminal 30 at the time of shooting from the shooting position obtaining unit 37, and uses that information as information on the shooting position. Is added to the destination image captured by the camera 41.”).
Both Roa and Shigemoto are in the same field of rout image displaying and navigation. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify Roa previsualizing a destination with Shigemoto retrieving and generating image of the route. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of Roa by adding the retrieving and generating image of the route and will provide better view of the displayed rout. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 2 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the method of claim 1, Rao also teaches, wherein receiving the destination from the user further includes receiving at least one additional destination preference from the user; (See Rao column 2, line 65-67; “FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network environment 100 suitable for providing user control of alternate routes in navigating from a current location to a destination…”).
Regarding claim 3 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the method of claim 1, Rao does not teach but Shigemoto teaches, wherein the at least one image of the received destination includes a static image of a recent state of the at least the portion of the route; (See Shigemoto paragraph 0028-0029; “…the parking point image generation unit 35 adds the information of the parking point to the destination image, A parking point image is generated (Step S106).
Then, the parking point image transmission unit 36 transmits the data of the parking point image generated by the parking point image generation unit 35 to the automatic driving control device 10 of the vehicle 1 using the communication unit 31 (Step S107). At this time, before transmitting the parking point image, the parking point image transmitting unit 36 may inquire the user whether to permit the transmission as shown in FIG. As will be described later, the transmission of the parking point image serves as a trigger for starting the movement of the vehicle 1 to the parking point…”).
Both Roa and Shigemoto are in the same field of rout image displaying and navigation. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify Roa previsualizing a destination with Shigemoto retrieving and generating image of the route. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of Roa by adding the retrieving and generating image of the route and will provide better view of the displayed rout. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 6 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the method of claim 5, Rao also teaches, further comprising identifying, using the controller, a change in a state of the destination based on a change in the at least one image of the received destination and notifying the user of the change; (See Rao column 8, line 11-20; “…The customization module 212 allows the user to select a route that comes closest to the route they want to take and allows the user to move nodes (or points) along the route to change one or more segments of the route. Once the route is customized by the user, the customization module 212 saves the customized route in the profile of the user for future reference. The preference module 208 also makes note of the customized route and, in some embodiments, use the customized route as a preference.”).
Regarding claim 7 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the method of claim 6, Rao does not teach but Shigemoto teaches, further comprising altering the previsualization image based on the change in the at least one image of the received destination; (See Shigemoto paragraph 0043-0045; “The route search device 27 searches for a route from the current location of the vehicle 1 to the destination, and sets the detected route as a travel route of the vehicle 1. The route search device 27 acquires information on the current position of the vehicle 1 from the GNSS receiver 23, and the route search is performed using the map information acquired from the map information storage device 22. As the map information storage device 22, the GNSS receiver 23, and the route search device 27, those provided in a navigation system (not shown) of the vehicle 1 may be used.
As shown in FIG. 15, the automatic driving control device 10 includes a parking point image acquisition unit 11, a map information acquisition unit 12, an analysis unit 13, a vehicle position acquisition unit 14, a surrounding situation acquisition unit 15, and a vehicle control unit 16.
The parking point image acquisition unit 11 transmits the data of the parking point image transmitted from the information communication terminal 30 of the user, that is, the data of the photographed image of the destination to which the information of the parking point of the vehicle 1 is added, via the communication device 21. To get. The map information acquisition unit 12 acquires map information from the map information storage device 22.”).
Both Roa and Shigemoto are in the same field of rout image displaying and navigation. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify Roa previsualizing a destination with Shigemoto adjusting the image of the route. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of Roa by adding the adjusting the image of the route and will provide better view of the displayed rout. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 8 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the method of claim 1, Rao also teaches, wherein the previsualization image includes multiple routing instructions for reaching the destination subsequent to departing the vehicle; (See Rao column 6-7, line 65-5; “The route determination module 210 manages the determination of a plurality of (alternate) routes based on the preferences of the user. In some embodiments, the route determination module 210 determines a plurality of routes from a current location of a vehicle to a destination based on the machine-learned driving preferences of the driver. In other embodiments, the route determination module 210 determines a plurality of routes from a current location of a rider to a drop-off location based on machine-learned preferences of the rider. In these embodiments, the plurality of routes is determined and displayed to the rider prior to the driver picking up the rider, upon start of a trip immediately after the rider is picked up, or while the rider is traveling between the pick-up location and the destination.”).
Regarding claim 9 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the method of claim 1, Rao does not teach but Shigemoto teaches, further comprising transferring the previsualization image to a connected mobile device subsequent to departing a vehicle; (See Shigemoto paragraph 0012-0014; “First, details of the information communication terminal 30 will be described. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the information communication terminal 30. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the information communication terminal 30 is connected with a camera 41, a display device 42, an operation input unit 43, and a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 44. One or more of the camera 41, the display device 42, the operation input unit 43, and the GNSS receiver 44 may be built in the information communication terminal 30. For example, when the information communication terminal 30 is configured as a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a smartphone, the camera 41, the display device 42, the operation input unit 43, and the GNSS receiver 44 are built in the information communication terminal 30. There will be.
The camera 41 is an imaging device for the user to shoot a real image (photograph) of the surrounding landscape. The photographed image captured by the camera 41 is input to the information communication terminal 30.
The display device 42 is a user interface for the information communication terminal 30 to present information to a user in an image or text, and is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display device…”).
Both Roa and Shigemoto are in the same field of rout image displaying and navigation. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify Roa previsualizing a destination with Shigemoto transferring an image of the route. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of Roa by adding the retrieving and generating image of the route and will provide the view of the displayed rout. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 10 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the method of claim 1, Rao also teaches, wherein the set of stored destination preferences includes a set of mandatory preferences and a set of preferred preferences, and wherein the generated route includes all the mandatory preferences; (See Rao column 4-5, line 57-13; “FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating components of the networked system 102, according to some example embodiments. In various embodiments, the networked system 102 obtains and stores trip information (e.g., pick-up and drop-off locations, routes, selection of routes) received from the user devices 106, analyzes the trip information to dynamically update preferences of each user, and uses the preferences to determine alternate routes. To enable these operations, the networked system 102 comprises a device interface 202, a location module 204, an account module 206, a preference module 208, a route determination module 210, a customization module 212, and a data storage 214 all configured to communicate with each other (e.g., via a bus, shared memory, or a switch). The networked system 102 may also comprise other components (not shown) that are not pertinent to example embodiments. Furthermore, any one or more of the components (e.g., engines, interfaces, modules, storage) described herein may be implemented using hardware (e.g., a processor of a machine) or a combination of hardware and software. Moreover, any two or more of these components may be combined into a single component, and the functions described herein for a single component may be subdivided among multiple components.”).
Regarding claim 11 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the method of claim 10, Rao also teaches, wherein each preference in the set of preferred preferences includes a weight and wherein the weight corresponds to an importance of the preference; (See Rao column 7, line 37-45; “weighting is applied by the route determination module 210. For example, if the user has a strong preference for avoiding freeways and a low preference for traveling along a scenic route, the route determination module 210 can apply a higher weight or coefficient to avoiding freeways and a lower weight for traveling along a scenic route. In these embodiments, the top number of alternate routes comprises the highest scoring routes based on the weighting.”).
Regarding claim 12 Rao teaches a previsualization architecture for a vehicle comprising: a controller including a route navigation module and a previsualization module; (See Rao column 3, line 38-42; “the service provider device 106b can correspond to an on-board computing system of a vehicle. The user devices 106 each comprises one or more processors, memory, touch screen displays, wireless networking system”; also see Rao column 7, line 54-56; “ The route determination module 210 then reconciles the rider selected route with the driver route to derive the driving route that is eventually used to navigate to the destination.”; further see Rao column 5, line 27-30; “The alternate routes displayed to the user can be labeled, by the device interface 202, in order for the user to quickly identify why particular routes are presented.”); a preferences database in communication with the route navigation module; (See Rao column 7, line 46-57; “the route determination module 210 may also determine whether there is a conflict with the driving preferences of the driver. For example, the rider selects the fast route between two locations, which requires traversing two large hills. If the driver has a strong preference to avoid hills, then there is a conflict. In these embodiments, the route determination module 210 can determine a driver route based on the driving preferences of the driver. The route determination module 210 then reconciles the rider selected route with the driver route to derive the driving route that is eventually used to navigate to the destination.”);
and wherein the controller is configured to implement a method of receiving, at the controller, a destination from a user, retrieving, using the controller, a set of stored destination preferences, retrieving at least one image of the received destination, generating a route to the received destination; (See Rao column 9, line 19-26; “Alternatively, the route determination module 210 analyzes the preferences to determine the most important or strong preferences the driver has. Using this analysis, the route determination module 210 then identifies (e.g., generates) the routes that best satisfy these preferences. For example, if the driver has a strong preference to avoid crossing bridges, the route determination module 210 generates routes that do not cross any bridges.”; also see Rao column 9, line 55-60; “In operation 310, the plurality of routes is displayed on a user interface of the user device 106 of the driver. In example embodiments, the device interface 202 generates and transmits instructions (or the user interfaces themselves) to the user devices 106 to cause display of the plurality of alternate routes.”).
Rao does not teach but Rao II teaches, receiving, at the controller, a set of route specific preferences, the set of route specific preferences including at least one of a requirement that the destination include a deviation from the typical grade of an accessibility ramp, a requirement that the route avoids one way streets, a requirement restricting travel areas based on an amount of light in the travel area, a requirement that the route avoid high pedestrian activity zones, a requirement that the route avoid high risk zones, and a requirement that the route avoid large elevation changes; (See Rao II paragraph 0021, 0025; “…FIG. 1 may be, include, or otherwise be implemented in a special-purpose (e.g., specialized or otherwise non-generic) computer that has been modified (e.g., configured or programmed by software, such as one or more software modules of an application, operating system, firmware, middleware, or other program) to perform one or more of the functions described herein for that system or machine. For example, a special-purpose computer system able to implement any one or more of the methodologies described herein is discussed below with respect to FIG. 6…The alternate routes displayed to the user can be labeled, by the device interface 202, in order for the user to quickly identify why particular routes are presented. The labels are, in some embodiments, provided by the route determination module 210. For example, the plurality of routes displayed to a rider may indicate that a first route is the cheapest, a second route is the fastest (and may include timing information), and a third route is a rider's preferred route (e.g., chosen a threshold number of times in the past) or the rider's last route between the same locations. The plurality of routes displayed to a driver may, for example, indicate one or more of a fastest route, a route that avoids highways, a most fuel-efficient route (e.g., avoids hills), a route that has a higher probability of picking up a second rider along the way (e.g., for a pool driving scenario), the shortest route, a route that avoids freeways, and so forth.”); and discarding the route specific preferences responsive to completion of the route; (See Rao, paragraph 0037; “For example, the rider selects the fast route between two locations, which requires traversing two large hills. If the driver has a strong preference to avoid hills, then there is a conflict. In these embodiments, the route determination module 210 can determine a driver route based on the driving preferences of the driver. The route determination module 210 then reconciles the rider selected route with the driver route to derive the driving route that is eventually used to navigate to the destination. For example, the route determination module 210 replaces one segment of the rider selected route (e.g., hilly portion) with a segment from the driver route (e.g., along a bottom of hills). Alternatively, the route determination module 210 applies the driver's preferences directly to the rider selected route and replaces the hilly portion with a less hilly portion. In some cases, the derived driving route is presented to both the rider and driver, via their respective user devices 106, along with a request to agree to the derived driving route. If one of the users does not agree, the route determination module 210 can derive an alternate driving route and present the alternate driving route to the users or initiate a negotiation process between the driver and rider via their user devices 106 (e.g., ask rider if they are willing to avoid the hill). This can continue until both users agree on the driving route.”).
Both Roa and Roa II are in the same field of rout image displaying and navigation. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify Roa previsualizing a destination with Roa II receiving and discarding a set of route specific preferences. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of Roa by adding the receiving and discarding a set of route specific preferences to better define the routes for the user to take. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Rao does not teach but Shigemoto teaches, a screen in communication with the controller, such that the controller controls a displayed image on the screen; (See Shigemoto paragraph 0016 and 0019; “As shown in FIG. 1, the information communication terminal 30 includes a communication unit 31, a destination image acquisition unit 32, a display processing unit 33, a parking point designation unit 34, a parking point image generation unit 35, a parking point image transmission unit 36, and a shooting position. An acquisition unit 37 is provided… The display processing unit 33 displays the destination image acquired by the destination image acquiring unit 32 on the screen of the display device 42…”); an image database, a mobile device, and at least one infrastructure camera in communication with the controller; (See Shigemoto paragraph 0023-0024; “After the information communication terminal 30 is activated, when the user takes a destination image with the camera 41 or downloads a destination image from an external server, the destination image acquisition unit 32 acquires the destination image (step S101). ). To the destination image photographed by the camera 41, information of the photographing position acquired by the photographing position acquiring unit 37 from the GNSS receiver 44 is added. Information on the photographing position is added to the destination image downloaded from the server in advance.
Next, the display processing unit 33 causes the touch panel 40 to display the destination image acquired by the destination image acquiring unit 32 (Step S102). FIG. 4 shows an example of the destination image displayed on the touch panel 40.”).
generating a previsualization image of at least a portion of the route and displaying the previsualization image to the user, and implementing the route using the controller in response to the user accepting the route; (See Shigemoto paragraph 007; “The destination image acquisition unit 32 acquires a destination image that is a real image of a place that the user wants to set as a destination. The user may use a photographed image captured by the camera 41 as a destination image or an image downloaded from an external server through the communication unit 31 as a destination image. Here, it is assumed that the data of the destination image includes information of the shooting position of the destination image as additional information. When the user shoots a destination image with the camera 41, the destination image obtaining unit 32 obtains information on the position of the information communication terminal 30 at the time of shooting from the shooting position obtaining unit 37, and uses that information as information on the shooting position. Is added to the destination image captured by the camera 41.”).
Both Roa and Shigemoto are in the same field of rout image displaying and navigation. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify Roa previsualizing a destination with Shigemoto retrieving and generating image of the route. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of Roa by adding the retrieving and generating image of the route and will provide better view of the displayed rout. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 13 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the previsualization architecture of claim 12, Rao also teaches, wherein the screen is a touchscreen interface; (See Rao column 3, line 40-41; “The user devices 106 each comprises one or more processors, memory, touch screen displays…”).
Regarding claim 14 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the previsualization architecture of claim 12, Rao also teaches, further comprising at least one user input device associated with the screen; (See Rao column 14, line 10-17; “The machine 700 may also include an alphanumeric input device 712 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 714 (e.g., a mouse, a touchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointing instrument), a storage unit 716, a signal generation device 718 (e.g., a sound card, an amplifier, a speaker, a headphone jack, or any suitable combination thereof), and a network interface device 720.”).
Regarding claim 15 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the previsualization architecture of claim 12, Rao does not teach but Shigemoto teaches, wherein the controller is a vehicle controller; (See Shigemoto paragraph 0029; “the parking point image transmission unit 36 transmits the data of the parking point image generated by the parking point image generation unit 35 to the automatic driving control device 10 of the vehicle 1 using the communication unit 31 (Step S107). At this time, before transmitting the parking point image, the parking point image transmitting unit 36 may inquire the user whether to permit the transmission as shown in FIG. As will be described later, the transmission of the parking point image serves as a trigger for starting the movement of the vehicle 1 to the parking point. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 7, an inquiry is made as to whether or not to permit transmission of the parking point image by the expression “Do you want to move the vehicle to the parking point?””).
Both Roa and Shigemoto are in the same field of rout image displaying and navigation. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify Roa previsualizing a destination with Shigemoto vehicle controller. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of Roa by adding the vehicle controller to control navigation of the vehicle thought the routs. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 16 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the previsualization architecture of claim 15, Rao also teaches, wherein the image database is remote from the vehicle; (See Rao column 14, line 32-36; “the machine 700 may be a portable computing device and have one or more additional input components (e.g., sensors or gauges). Examples of such input components include an image input component (e.g., one or more cameras) …”).
Regarding claim 17 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the previsualization architecture of claim 15, Rao does not teach but Shigemoto teaches, wherein the at least one infrastructure camera includes a network of infrastructure cameras including a view of an end point of the route; (See Shigemoto paragraph 0042 and 0057; “Regarding claim 16 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the previsualization architecture of claim 15, Rao also teaches, wherein the image database is remote from the vehicle; (See Rao column 14, line 32-36; “the machine 700 may be a portable computing device and have one or more additional input components (e.g., sensors or gauges). Examples of such input components include an image input component (e.g., one or more cameras)…Furthermore, an image of the periphery of the vehicle 1 taken by the on-board camera 25 when the automatic parking is completed may be attached to the parking completion notification. The image allows the user to know that the vehicle 1 has arrived at the parking position, and also serves as a clue for the user to find the vehicle 1 parked at the parking point.”).
Both Roa and Shigemoto are in the same field of rout image displaying and navigation. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify Roa previsualizing a destination with Shigemoto camera. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of Roa by adding the camera and will provide better image of the rout. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 18 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the previsualization architecture of claim 12, Rao does not teach but Shigemoto teaches, further comprising a mobile device in communication with the controller and wherein the controller is configured to transferring the previsualization image to a connected mobile device subsequent to departing the vehicle; (See Shigemoto paragraph 0012-0014; “First, details of the information communication terminal 30 will be described. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the information communication terminal 30. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the information communication terminal 30 is connected with a camera 41, a display device 42, an operation input unit 43, and a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 44. One or more of the camera 41, the display device 42, the operation input unit 43, and the GNSS receiver 44 may be built in the information communication terminal 30. For example, when the information communication terminal 30 is configured as a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a smartphone, the camera 41, the display device 42, the operation input unit 43, and the GNSS receiver 44 are built in the information communication terminal 30. There will be.
The camera 41 is an imaging device for the user to shoot a real image (photograph) of the surrounding landscape. The photographed image captured by the camera 41 is input to the information communication terminal 30.
The display device 42 is a user interface for the information communication terminal 30 to present information to a user in an image or text, and is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display device…”).
Both Roa and Shigemoto are in the same field of rout image displaying and navigation. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify Roa previsualizing a destination with Shigemoto mobile device in communication with the vehicle. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of Roa by adding the mobile device in communication with the vehicle and will allow to display the routes in the vehicle. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 19 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the previsualization architecture of claim 12, Rao also teaches, wherein the controller is configured to update the previsualization image as the route is implemented and to identify a change in a state of the destination based on a change in the at least one image of the received destination and notifying the user of the change; (See Rao column 8, line 11-20; “…The customization module 212 allows the user to select a route that comes closest to the route they want to take and allows the user to move nodes (or points) along the route to change one or more segments of the route. Once the route is customized by the user, the customization module 212 saves the customized route in the profile of the user for future reference. The preference module 208 also makes note of the customized route and, in some embodiments, use the customized route as a preference.”).
With respect to independent claim 20, please see the rejection above with respect to claim 12 which is commensurate in scope to claim 20, with claim 12 being drown to a vehicle architecture, and claim 20 being drawn to a corresponding vehicle.
Claims 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rao (Patent No. US11774256B2) in view of Shigemoto (Patent No. WO2020008598A1), Velusamy (Patent No. US20160302046A1) and Rao II (Patent No. US20200240804A1).
Regarding claim 4 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the method of claim 1, Rao does not teach but Velusamy teaches, wherein the at least one image of the received destination includes a real time video feed including the at least the portion of the route; (See Velusamy paragraph 0033; “Sensor module 204 may receive sensor data from within the time range (e.g., from the 10 seconds before the “bump” to the 10 seconds after the “bump”) and compare the sensor data to one or more other thresholds. For example, the sensor module 204 may determine whether the “swerve” threshold was triggered within that time range. If the sensor data from that time period includes video data and/or image data, sensor module 204 may analyze the video frames to determine tether they captured the images of the road and whether these frames indicate the presence of an obstruction/pothole. The sensor data may include location data, indicating the location of vehicle 116 at the time the sensor data was recorded by sensors 118 and/or device 130. Sensor module 204 may use the location data to retrieve additional sensor data from one or more fixed sensors 114 that are proximate to the location where the road condition was detected by the sensors 118 of vehicle 116.”).
Both Roa and Velusamy are in the same field of rout image displaying and navigation. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify Roa previsualizing a destination with Velusamy a real time video feed. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of Roa by adding a real time video feed and will provide the real time view of the route. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 5 Rao in view of Shigemoto teaches, the method of claim 1, Rao does not teach but Velusamy teaches, wherein the previsualization image is continuously updated as the route is implemented; (See Velusamy paragraph 0033-0034; “Sensor module 204 may receive sensor data from within the time range (e.g., from the 10 seconds before the “bump” to the 10 seconds after the “bump”) and compare the sensor data to one or more other thresholds. For example, the sensor module 204 may determine whether the “swerve” threshold was triggered within that time range. If the sensor data from that time period includes video data and/or image data, sensor module 204 may analyze the video frames to determine tether they captured the images of the road and whether these frames indicate the presence of an obstruction/pothole. The sensor data may include location data, indicating the location of vehicle 116 at the time the sensor data was recorded by sensors 118 and/or device 130. Sensor module 204 may use the location data to retrieve additional sensor data from one or more fixed sensors 114 that are proximate to the location where the road condition was detected by the sensors 118 of vehicle 116.
If sensor module 204 determines that the sensor data from a vehicle triggers one or more of the predetermined thresholds, sensor module 204 may flag the location of the condition as being a monitored or “potentially dangerous” location. Sensor module 204 may flag the location as a potentially dangerous location in database 150. In this example, the location may be denoted as location “L”. Analytics module 210 and/or sensor module 204 may then monitor the location L for a predetermined period of time.”).
Both Roa and Velusamy are in the same field of rout image displaying and navigation. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify Roa previsualizing a destination with Velusamy a real time video feed. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of Roa by adding a real time video feed and will provide the real time view of the route. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
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/L.K./ Examiner, Art Unit 3666
/SCOTT A BROWNE/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3666
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