DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
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 1-2 and 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoon et al. (US 2018/0165526 A1) in view of Luo et al. (US 2025/0065894 A1).
Claim 1. Yoon et al. disclose A method for information transfer between a wheel mounted device and a smart road (FIG. 1-3), the method comprising:
capturing smart road data from a smart road sensor (read as RFID reader on a vehicle 206 as it moves down the roadway, the response 209 from the RFID tag 106 can be used by the vehicle (e.g., an autonomous vehicle) to know if it is correctly positioned in the lane … These active RFID tags 106 can also be integrated with low power passive/active sensors (e.g., moisture sensors, temperature sensors, and/or ambient pressure sensors) to give live feedback of road conditions to the vehicle 206, which could then be transmitted to other vehicles using the third phase illustrated in FIG. 2C [0013 - 0014]) when a wheel mounted device is at a first position (read as RFID reader on a vehicle 206 as it moves down the roadway, the response 209 from the RFID tag 106 can be used by the vehicle (e.g., an autonomous vehicle) to know if it is correctly positioned in the lane [0013]. FIG. 2A-C, the vehicle RFID reader collects info at different locations along the road.), wherein at the first position the wheel mounted device is communicatively coupled with the smart road sensor (read as RFID reader on a vehicle 206 as it moves down the roadway, the response 209 from the RFID tag 106 can be used by the vehicle (e.g., an autonomous vehicle) to know if it is correctly positioned in the lane [0013]. FIG. 2A-C, the vehicle RFID reader collects info at different locations along the road.);
transmitting the smart road data to an autonomy computing system when the wheel mounted device is in a second position (FIG. 2A-C, the vehicle collects data );
computing a time interval between the wheel mounted device being at the first position and the wheel mounted device being at the second position (read as he data acquired from the GatorEye units 100 can also be communicated to waypoints 212 located along the roadway via the communication interface 318. The wireless communication may use 2.4 GHz WFi/BlueTooth/Zigbee protocol or 5.9 GHz intelligent transportation system (ITS) protocol. The data can be sent to a central server for processing and further dissemination of the results to other vehicles through the waypoints 212 [0019]. The data can be transmitted at any time/location); and
modifying a parameter of the smart road data for transmitting the smart road data to an autonomy computing system based on the computed time interval (read as RFID reader on a vehicle 206 as it moves down the roadway, the response 209 from the RFID tag 106 can be used by the vehicle (e.g., an autonomous vehicle) to know if it is correctly positioned in the lane [0013]… be communicated to waypoints 212 located along the roadway via the communication interface 318. The wireless communication may use 2.4 GHz WFi/BlueTooth/Zigbee protocol or 5.9 GHz [0019]. FIG. 2A-C. The data is collected using RFID and transmitted using different protocols. ).
Yoon et al. do not explicitly disclose a wheel mounted device. However, in the related field of endeavor Luo et al. disclose: production vehicles may include accelerometers mounted on an unsprung mass of the vehicle, e.g., a wheel assembly of the vehicle. In some embodiments, such sensors, e.g., attached to or otherwise located in the wheel assembly, may be used to collect information about a road surface profile, as the vehicle travels along a road [0887].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to modify the teaching of Yoon et al. with the teaching of Luo et al. in order to provide a method for providing terrain-based insights to a terrain-based advanced driver assistance system of a vehicle (Luo et al. [0005]).
Claim 2. The method of claim 1, the combination of Yoon et al. and Luo et al. teaches,
further comprising capturing additional smart road data upon the communicative coupling of the wheel mounted device with an additional smart road sensor (Yoon et al.: read as Since more information can be transferred with an active RFID tag 106, many unique addresses can be incorporated into the RFID tag 106 not only providing lane information, but also distance along the lane… These active RFID tags 106 can also be integrated with low power passive/active sensors (e.g., moisture sensors, temperature sensors, and/or ambient pressure sensors) to give live feedback of road conditions to the vehicle 206, which could then be transmitted to other vehicles using the third phase illustrated in FIG. 2C. Additionally, with the very precise positioning system, an additional measure of redundancy/security can be incorporated for surrounding vehicles during operations such as lane changing or approaching traffic stops. [0014]).
Claim 5. The method of claim 2, the combination of Yoon et al. and Luo et al. teaches,
further comprising updating the parameter of the additional smart road data for transmission to the autonomy computing system (Yoon et al.: read as RFID reader on a vehicle 206 as it moves down the roadway, the response 209 from the RFID tag 106 can be used by the vehicle (e.g., an autonomous vehicle) to know if it is correctly positioned in the lane [0013]… be communicated to waypoints 212 located along the roadway via the communication interface 318. The wireless communication may use 2.4 GHz WFi/BlueTooth/Zigbee protocol or 5.9 GHz [0019]. FIG. 2A-C. The data is collected using RFID and transmitted using different protocols.).
Claim 6. The method of claim 1, the combination of Yoon et al. and Luo et al. teaches,
wherein capturing the smart road data comprises transmitting a RF signal to the smart road sensor and receiving an RFID signal response from the smart road sensor system (Yoon et al.: read as RFID reader on a vehicle 206 as it moves down the roadway, the response 209 from the RFID tag 106 can be used by the vehicle (e.g., an autonomous vehicle) to know if it is correctly positioned in the lane [0013]… be communicated to waypoints 212 located along the roadway via the communication interface 318. The wireless communication may use 2.4 GHz WFi/BlueTooth/Zigbee protocol or 5.9 GHz [0019]. FIG. 2A-C. The data is collected using RFID and transmitted using different protocols.).
Claim 7. The method of claim 1, the combination of Yoon et al. and Luo et al. teaches,
further comprising processing the smart road data to determine a speed of an autonomous vehicle (Yoon et al.: read as They can also provide the speed of driving vehicles and overspeed information [0015]).
Claims 8-9, 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoon et al. (US 2018/0165526 A1) in view of Singh et al. (US 2014/0114558 A1).
Claim 8. Yoon et al. disclose An autonomous vehicle (read as control systems of autonomous vehicles [0018]) comprising:
a wheel mounted device on the autonomous vehicle (read as control systems of autonomous vehicles [0018]. FIG. 2A-C), the wheel mounted device configured to communicatively couple with a smart road sensor (read as RFID reader on a vehicle 206 as it moves down the roadway, the response 209 from the RFID tag 106 can be used by the vehicle (e.g., an autonomous vehicle) to know if it is correctly positioned in the lane [0013]); and
an autonomy computing system comprising a processor connected to a memory storing computer executable instructions, the processor, upon executing the computer executable instructions (read as Stored in the memory 306 are both data and several components that are executable by the processor 303. In particular, stored in the memory 306 and executable by the processor 303 are various application modules or programs [0017]), configured to:
receive, from the smart road sensor, sensor data corresponding to a rotation of the wheel mounted device, the rotation of the wheel mounted device comprising:
a first position of the wheel mounted device communicatively coupled with the smart road sensor (read as An RFID infrastructure is presented which can provide a low-cost, feasible, and reliable method for a vehicle to electronically determine its position, lane, and surrounding conditions [0028]. FIG. 2A-C, items 100 located at different locations.), and a second position of the wheel mounted device communicatively coupled to the autonomous vehicle (read as An RFID infrastructure is presented which can provide a low-cost, feasible, and reliable method for a vehicle to electronically determine its position, lane, and surrounding conditions [0028]. FIG. 2A-C, items 100 located at different locations.);
computing a time interval between the first position and the second position;
modify a parameter of the sensor data transmitted to the autonomy computing system (read as RFID reader on a vehicle 206 as it moves down the roadway, the response 209 from the RFID tag 106 can be used by the vehicle (e.g., an autonomous vehicle) to know if it is correctly positioned in the lane [0013]… be communicated to waypoints 212 located along the roadway via the communication interface 318. The wireless communication may use 2.4 GHz WFi/BlueTooth/Zigbee protocol or 5.9 GHz [0019]. FIG. 2A-C. The data is collected using RFID and transmitted using different protocols.); and
process the sensor data to execute autonomous operation of the autonomous vehicle (read as The autonomous vehicles can use these tags to safely navigate roads, even if the lane lines are covered in rain or snow. Additionally, vehicle-to-vehicle communications could be used to add an additional safety measure when performing maneuvers such as changing lanes or slowing at a stop light [0009]).
Yoon et al. do not explicitly disclose a wheel mounted device measuring the rotations of the wheels. However, in the related field of endeavor Singh et al. disclose: commercially available type is mounted to a tire inner liner surface in communication with the tire cavity 14 and electronically generates signals representing a tire rotation pulse count [0043].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to modify the teaching of Yoon et al. with the teaching of Singh et al. in order to measure tire loading and communicate load information to a vehicle operator and/or vehicle systems such as braking in conjunction with the measured tire parameters of pressure and temperature. (Singh et al. [0005]).
Claim 9. The autonomous vehicle of claim 8, the combination of Yoon et al. and Singh et al. teaches,
wherein the processor is further configured to capture additional smart road data upon the communicative coupling of the wheel mounted device with an additional smart road sensor (Yoon et al.: read as Since more information can be transferred with an active RFID tag 106, many unique addresses can be incorporated into the RFID tag 106 not only providing lane information, but also distance along the lane… These active RFID tags 106 can also be integrated with low power passive/active sensors (e.g., moisture sensors, temperature sensors, and/or ambient pressure sensors) to give live feedback of road conditions to the vehicle 206, which could then be transmitted to other vehicles using the third phase illustrated in FIG. 2C. Additionally, with the very precise positioning system, an additional measure of redundancy/security can be incorporated for surrounding vehicles during operations such as lane changing or approaching traffic stops. [0014]).
Claim 12. The autonomous vehicle of claim 9, the combination of Yoon et al. and Singh et al. teaches,
wherein the processor is further configured to update the parameter of the additional smart road data for transmission to the autonomy computing system (Yoon et al.: read as RFID reader on a vehicle 206 as it moves down the roadway, the response 209 from the RFID tag 106 can be used by the vehicle (e.g., an autonomous vehicle) to know if it is correctly positioned in the lane [0013]… be communicated to waypoints 212 located along the roadway via the communication interface 318. The wireless communication may use 2.4 GHz WFi/BlueTooth/Zigbee protocol or 5.9 GHz [0019]. FIG. 2A-C. The data is collected using RFID and transmitted using different protocols.).
Claim 13. The autonomous vehicle of claim 8, the combination of Yoon et al. and Singh et al. teaches,
wherein the wheel mounted device is mounted within the wheel of the autonomous vehicle (Singh et al.: read as commercially available type is mounted to a tire inner liner surface in communication with the tire cavity 14 and electronically generates signals representing a tire rotation pulse count [0043]).
Claim 14. The autonomous vehicle of claim 8, the combination of Yoon et al. and Singh et al. teaches,
further comprising an additional wheel mounted device on an additional wheel of the autonomous vehicle (Singh et al.: read as tire inner liner surface in communication with the tire cavity 14 and electronically generates signals representing a tire rotation pulse count; inflation pressure within the tire cavity; tire cavity temperature; and a tire numerical identification number as output [0043]).
Claim 15. Yoon et al. disclose A smart road system for autonomous vehicles, the system (read as control systems of autonomous vehicles [0018]. FIG. 2A-C) comprising:
an autonomous vehicle (read as control systems of autonomous vehicles [0018]. FIG. 2A-C), the autonomous vehicle comprising a wheel mounted device; and
a smart road comprising a plurality of smart road sensors (FIG. 2A-C, items 100), the smart road configured to:
receive a signal from the wheel mounted device upon communicative coupling of the wheel mounted device with the smart road sensor (read as RFID reader on a vehicle 206 as it moves down the roadway, the response 209 from the RFID tag 106 can be used by the vehicle (e.g., an autonomous vehicle) to know if it is correctly positioned in the lane [0013]), wherein a parameter of the signal corresponds to an angular velocity of the wheel mounted device;
identify the parameter of the signal (read as RFID tags identified by unique IDs [0009]) from the wheel mounted device; and
transmit smart road data corresponding to the smart road, wherein the parameter of the transmitted smart road data corresponds to the parameter of the received signal (read as RFID reader on a vehicle 206 as it moves down the roadway, the response 209 from the RFID tag 106 can be used by the vehicle (e.g., an autonomous vehicle) to know if it is correctly positioned in the lane [0013]… be communicated to waypoints 212 located along the roadway via the communication interface 318. The wireless communication may use 2.4 GHz WFi/BlueTooth/Zigbee protocol or 5.9 GHz [0019]. FIG. 2A-C from the wheel mounted device.
Yoon et al. do not explicitly disclose a wheel mounted device measuring the angular velocity of the wheels. However, in the related field of endeavor Singh et al. disclose: commercially available type is mounted to a tire inner liner surface in communication with the tire cavity 14 and electronically generates signals representing a tire rotation pulse count [0043].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to modify the teaching of Yoon et al. with the teaching of Singh et al. in order to measure tire loading and communicate load information to a vehicle operator and/or vehicle systems such as braking in conjunction with the measured tire parameters of pressure and temperature. (Singh et al. [0005]).
Claim 16. The system of claim 15, the combination of Yoon et al. and Singh et al. teaches,
wherein the smart road is further configured to receive an additional signal from the wheel mounted device upon the communicative coupling of the wheel mounted device with an additional smart road sensor (Yoon et al.: read as Since more information can be transferred with an active RFID tag 106, many unique addresses can be incorporated into the RFID tag 106 not only providing lane information, but also distance along the lane… These active RFID tags 106 can also be integrated with low power passive/active sensors (e.g., moisture sensors, temperature sensors, and/or ambient pressure sensors) to give live feedback of road conditions to the vehicle 206, which could then be transmitted to other vehicles using the third phase illustrated in FIG. 2C. Additionally, with the very precise positioning system, an additional measure of redundancy/security can be incorporated for surrounding vehicles during operations such as lane changing or approaching traffic stops. [0014]).
Claim 17. The system of claim 16, the combination of Yoon et al. and Singh et al. teaches,
wherein the smart road is further configured to update the parameter of the signal from an additional communicative coupling of the wheel mounted device with the additional smart road sensor (Yoon et al.: read as Since more information can be transferred with an active RFID tag 106, many unique addresses can be incorporated into the RFID tag 106 not only providing lane information, but also distance along the lane… These active RFID tags 106 can also be integrated with low power passive/active sensors (e.g., moisture sensors, temperature sensors, and/or ambient pressure sensors) to give live feedback of road conditions to the vehicle 206, which could then be transmitted to other vehicles using the third phase illustrated in FIG. 2C. Additionally, with the very precise positioning system, an additional measure of redundancy/security can be incorporated for surrounding vehicles during operations such as lane changing or approaching traffic stops. [0014]).
Claim 18. The system of claim 15, the combination of Yoon et al. and Singh et al. teaches,
wherein the smart road sensor is an RFID sensor (Yoon et al.: read as These active RFID tags 106 can also be integrated with low power passive/active sensors (e.g., moisture sensors, temperature sensors, and/or ambient pressure sensors) to give live feedback of road conditions to the vehicle 206, which could then be transmitted to other vehicles using the third phase illustrated in FIG. 2C. Additionally, with the very precise positioning system, an additional measure of redundancy/security can be incorporated for surrounding vehicles during operations such as lane changing or approaching traffic stops. [0014]).
Claim 19. The system of claim 15, the combination of Yoon et al. and Singh et al. teaches,
wherein the wheel mounted device is embedded within a tire connected to the wheel (Singh et al.: read as commercially available type is mounted to a tire inner liner surface in communication with the tire cavity 14 and electronically generates signals representing a tire rotation pulse count [0043]).
Claim 20. The system of claim 15, the combination of Yoon et al. and Singh et al. teaches,
wherein the smart road sensor is embedded within the smart road (Yoon et al.: FIG. 2A-C, item 100).
Claims 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination Yoon et al. (US 2018/0165526 A1) and Luo et al. (US 2025/0065894 A1) in view of Watanabe et al. (US 2003/0103243 A1).
Claim 3. The method of claim 2, the combination of Yoon et al. and Luo et al. does not explicitly disclose,
further comprising computing an updated time interval between the communicative coupling of the wheel mounted device with the smart road sensor and the additional smart road sensor.
However, in the related field of endeavor Watanabe et al. disclose: … a packet sending device including a packet generating part dividing encoded media data represented or output at an identical time into packets, a receiving condition information acquiring part acquiring receiving condition information about a condition of receiving the packets from an opposing device, and a packet sending part adjusting intervals at which the packets are sent so that a transmission rate can be varied and performing a sending control of the packets… [0011]. The idea, of adjusting the transmission interval as well as the size of the packets, is clearly disclosed by Watanabe et al.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to modify the teaching of the combination of Yoon et al. and Luo et al. with the teaching of Watanabe et al. in order to provide a transmission system capable of setting an optimal transmission rate at which loss of packet does not occur and transferring packets with high reliability (Watanabe et al. [0009]).
Claim 4. The method of claim 3, the combination of Yoon et al., Luo et al. and Watanabe et al. teaches,
wherein modifying the parameter further comprises increasing smart road data verification in response to a decrease in the updated computed time interval or decreasing packet size of the smart road data in response to the decrease in the updated computed time interval (Watanabe et al.: read as … a packet sending device including a packet generating part dividing encoded media data represented or output at an identical time into packets, a receiving condition information acquiring part acquiring receiving condition information about a condition of receiving the packets from an opposing device, and a packet sending part adjusting intervals at which the packets are sent so that a transmission rate can be varied and performing a sending control of the packets… [0011]).
Claims 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Yoon et al. (US 2018/0165526 A1) and Singh et al. (US 2014/0114558 A1) in view of Watanabe et al. (US 2003/0103243 A1).
Claim 10. The autonomous vehicle of claim 9, the combination of Yoon et al. and Singh et al. does not explicitly disclose,
wherein the processor is further configured compute an updated time interval between the communicative coupling of the wheel mounted device with the smart road sensor and the additional smart road sensor.
However, in the related field of endeavor Watanabe et al. disclose: … a packet sending device including a packet generating part dividing encoded media data represented or output at an identical time into packets, a receiving condition information acquiring part acquiring receiving condition information about a condition of receiving the packets from an opposing device, and a packet sending part adjusting intervals at which the packets are sent so that a transmission rate can be varied and performing a sending control of the packets… [0011]. The idea, of adjusting the transmission interval as well as the size of the packets, is clearly disclosed by Watanabe et al.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to modify the teaching of the combination of Yoon et al. and Singh et al. with the teaching of Watanabe et al. in order to provide a transmission system capable of setting an optimal transmission rate at which loss of packet does not occur and transferring packets with high reliability (Watanabe et al. [0009]).
Claim 11. The autonomous vehicle of claim 10, the combination of Yoon et al., Singh et al. and Watanabe et al. teaches,
wherein the autonomy computing system is further configured to increase sensor data verification in response to a decrease in the time interval (Watanabe et al.: read as … a packet sending device including a packet generating part dividing encoded media data represented or output at an identical time into packets, a receiving condition information acquiring part acquiring receiving condition information about a condition of receiving the packets from an opposing device, and a packet sending part adjusting intervals at which the packets are sent so that a transmission rate can be varied and performing a sending control of the packets… [0011]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Refer to PTO-892.
Additional prior art included in PTO-892 teaches ideas related to the claimed invention. In this regard, Christie et al. (CN 114829973 A) disclose: …an autonomous vehicle may include a sensor array, a time sensitive network switch, a data power interface and a control system. The sensor array is configured to capture one or more objects in an external environment of the autonomous vehicle and generate sensor data based on the captured one or more objects… (Christie et al. – English Translation).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMED RACHEDINE whose telephone number is (571)272-9249. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeanette J. Parker can be reached at (571)270-3647. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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MOHAMMED . RACHEDINE
Examiner
Art Unit 2649
/MOHAMMED RACHEDINE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2646
Prosecution Insights