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 .
Status of Claims
This is the first Office action on the merits. Claims 1-20 are currently pending and addressed below.
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.
Claims 1 and 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuehner US 20220234591 A1 (“Kuehner”) in view of Luo US 20090212935 A1.
For claim 1, Kuehner discloses an apparatus for controlling a vehicle (See at least [0004] of Kuehner – “… a vehicle may comprise an autonomous control system adapted to provide one or more commands to autonomously control one or more systems of the vehicle…”), the apparatus comprising:
a brake pedal configured to specify a deceleration of a host vehicle (See at least [0042] of Kuehner – “… Brake pedal sensor 140 can detect pressure applied to brake pedal 130, which may further affect the applied torque to wheels 170… which corresponds to a deceleration torque…”);
a steering wheel configured to specify a driving direction of the host vehicle (See at least [0064] of Kuehner – “… The steering sensor may be a detector that detects an amount of a steering operation/actuation with respect to a steering wheel 30 by the driver of HEV 100… including the steering angle of the steering wheel or the steering torque applied to the steering wheel of HEV 100…”); and
a processor (See at least [0075] of Kuehner – “… ECU 150 may execute autonomous control of the vehicle, and may include … a calculation unit 214… and a control unit 216…”),
wherein the processor is configured to:
determine that the host vehicle is under autonomous driving control (See at least [0081] of Kuehner – “… Calculation unit 214 may calculate a threshold used for determining whether or not to switch from autonomous control to manual driving or vice versa…”);
determine a brake weight based on at least one of an amount of operation of the brake pedal (See at least [0066] – “The brake pedal sensor may be a detector that detects a stroke amount of a brake pedal, for example, a pedal position of the brake pedal with respect to a reference position… may detect an operation force of the brake pedal … outputs, to the ECU 150, operation information reflecting the stroke amount or the operation force of the brake pedal…” and [0081] of Kuehner – “… Calculation unit 214 may calculate a threshold used for determining whether or not to switch from autonomous control to manual driving or vice versa… the level of actuation of the brake pedal may be excessive enough (exceed a threshold) suggesting that the driver intends to override the autonomous control system 200…”), a gaze of a driver, an area of an input of the driver’s gripping the steering wheel, a strength of the input, a state of the host vehicle, or a deceleration value of the host vehicle controlled based on the autonomous driving, or any combination thereof.
Kuehner fails to specifically disclose change a subject in control over driving of the host vehicle from a system performing the autonomous driving to the driver based on the deceleration value based on the amount of operation and the brake weight exceeding the deceleration value.
However, Luo, in the same field of endeavor teaches change a subject in control over driving of the host vehicle from a system performing the autonomous driving to the driver based on the deceleration value based on the amount of operation and the brake weight exceeding the deceleration value (See at least [0039] of Luo – “… The back-locking element 308 and the pressure sensor 310 help the automatic braking system work harmonically with the regular master cylinder foot braking system … in a situation that the automatic braking system has started working… while the driver's foot braking power is greater than the automatic braking power… the central commanding element 307 can order the solenoid valve 306 to close, so that the automatic braking hydraulic system is no longer connected to the master cylinder hydraulic system. After that, the braking power control will be solely on the driver…”). Thus, Kuehner discloses an autonomous vehicle system that detects a level of actuation of a brake pedal to determine if an the input exceeds a threshold to change the vehicle control from autonomous driving to manual driving, while Luo teaches an emergency braking system for a vehicle that determines whether a driver braking input is greater than an input provided by an automatic braking system after the automatic braking system has started working and in order to override the braking provided by the automatic system with the braking provided by the driver input.
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 apparatus and method as disclosed in Kuehner to include the feature of changing a subject in control over driving of the host vehicle from a system performing the autonomous driving to the driver based on the deceleration value based on the amount of operation and the brake weight exceeding the deceleration value as taught by Luo, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to switch braking power control from an automatic system to a driver as specified in at least [0039] of Luo.
For claim 10, Kuehner discloses wherein the processor is further configured to control a speed of the host vehicle based on a deceleration determined based on the amount of operation (See at least [0042] of Kuehner – “Brake pedal sensor 140 can detect pressure applied to brake pedal 130, which may further affect the applied torque to wheels 170. Speed sensor 182 is connected to an output shaft of transmission 120 to detect a speed input which is converted into a vehicle speed by ECU 150… Accelerometer 184 is connected to the body of HEV 100 to detect the actual deceleration of HEV 100, which corresponds to a deceleration torque…” and [0069] of Kuehner – “… The brake actuator controls, in accordance with a control signal output from the ECU 150, the amount of braking force to be applied to each wheel of the vehicle…” Examiner notes that the speed of the vehicle is controlled based on the control signal output that applies a force to the each of the wheels of the vehicle).
Kuehner fails to specifically disclose control a speed of the host vehicle based on the deceleration value determined based on the amount of operation and the brake weight exceeding the deceleration value.
However, Luo, in the same field of endeavor teaches control a speed of the host vehicle based on the deceleration value determined based on the amount of operation and the brake weight exceeding the deceleration value (See at least [0039] of Luo – “… The back-locking element 308 and the pressure sensor 310 help the automatic braking system work harmonically with the regular master cylinder foot braking system … in a situation that the automatic braking system has started working… while the driver's foot braking power is greater than the automatic braking power… the central commanding element 307 can order the solenoid valve 306 to close, so that the automatic braking hydraulic system is no longer connected to the master cylinder hydraulic system. After that, the braking power control will be solely on the driver…” Examiner notes that the system decelerates the vehicle in accordance with the driver input when the driver braking command is greater than that of the automatic braking system). Thus, Kuehner discloses an autonomous vehicle system that detects a level of actuation of a brake pedal to determine if an the input exceeds a threshold to change the vehicle control from autonomous driving to manual driving, while Luo teaches an emergency braking system for a vehicle that determines whether a driver braking input is greater than an input provided by an automatic braking system after the automatic braking system has started working and in order to override the braking provided by the automatic system with the braking provided by the driver input.
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 apparatus and method as disclosed in Kuehner to include the feature of controlling a speed of the host vehicle based on the deceleration value determined based on the amount of operation and the brake weight exceeding the deceleration value as taught by Luo, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to switch braking power control from an automatic system to a driver as specified in at least [0039] of Luo.
For claim 11, Kuehner fails to specifically disclose wherein the processor is further configured to control a speed of the host vehicle at a predetermined time point based on a deceleration determined based on a difference between the deceleration value determined based on the amount of operation and the brake weight and the deceleration value controlled based on the autonomous driving, and a time duration from when the subject in the control is changed to the driver to the predetermined time point, based on the deceleration value determined based on the amount of operation and the brake weight exceeding the deceleration value controlled based on the autonomous driving.
However, Luo, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the processor is further configured to control a speed of the host vehicle at a predetermined time point based on a deceleration determined based on a difference between the deceleration value determined based on the amount of operation and the brake weight and the deceleration value controlled based on the autonomous driving, and a time duration from when the subject in the control is changed to the driver to the predetermined time point, based on the deceleration value determined based on the amount of operation and the brake weight exceeding the deceleration value controlled based on the autonomous driving (See at least [0039] of Luo – “… The back-locking element 308 and the pressure sensor 310 help the automatic braking system work harmonically with the regular master cylinder foot braking system … in a situation that the automatic braking system has started working… while the driver's foot braking power is greater than the automatic braking power… the central commanding element 307 can order the solenoid valve 306 to close, so that the automatic braking hydraulic system is no longer connected to the master cylinder hydraulic system. After that, the braking power control will be solely on the driver…” Examiner notes that the system decelerates the vehicle in accordance with the driver input when the driver braking command is greater than that of the automatic braking system and maintains the driver braking input as long as the driver braking command exceeds the automatic braking system power). Thus, Kuehner discloses an autonomous vehicle system that detects a level of actuation of a brake pedal to determine if an the input exceeds a threshold to change the vehicle control from autonomous driving to manual driving, while Luo teaches an emergency braking system for a vehicle that determines whether a driver braking input is greater than an input provided by an automatic braking system after the automatic braking system has started working and in order to override the braking provided by the automatic system with the braking provided by the driver input.
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 apparatus and method as disclosed in Kuehner to include the feature of controlling a speed of the host vehicle at a predetermined time point based on a deceleration determined based on a difference between the deceleration value determined based on the amount of operation and the brake weight and the deceleration value controlled based on the autonomous driving as taught by Luo, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to switch braking power control from an automatic system to a driver as specified in at least [0039] of Luo.
For claim 12, Kuehner discloses a method for controlling a vehicle (See at least [0004] of Kuehner – “… a vehicle may comprise an autonomous control system adapted to provide one or more commands to autonomously control one or more systems of the vehicle…”), the method comprising:
determining, by a processor, that a host vehicle is under autonomous driving control (See at least [0075] – “… ECU 150 may execute autonomous control of the vehicle, and may include … a calculation unit 214… and a control unit 216…” and [0081] of Kuehner – “… Calculation unit 214 may calculate a threshold used for determining whether or not to switch from autonomous control to manual driving or vice versa…”);
determining, by the processor, a brake weight based on at least one of an amount of operation of a brake pedal (See at least [0066] – “The brake pedal sensor may be a detector that detects a stroke amount of a brake pedal, for example, a pedal position of the brake pedal with respect to a reference position… may detect an operation force of the brake pedal … outputs, to the ECU 150, operation information reflecting the stroke amount or the operation force of the brake pedal…” and [0081] of Kuehner – “… Calculation unit 214 may calculate a threshold used for determining whether or not to switch from autonomous control to manual driving or vice versa… the level of actuation of the brake pedal may be excessive enough (exceed a threshold) suggesting that the driver intends to override the autonomous control system 200…”), a gaze of a driver, an area of an input of the driver’s gripping a steering wheel, a strength of the input, a state of the host vehicle, or a deceleration value of the host vehicle controlled based on the autonomous driving, or any combination thereof.
Kuehner fails to specifically disclose changing, by the processor, a subject in control over driving of the host vehicle from a system performing the autonomous driving to the driver based on the deceleration value based on the amount of operation and the brake weight exceeding the deceleration value.
However, Luo, in the same field of endeavor teaches changing, by the processor, a subject in control over driving of the host vehicle from a system performing the autonomous driving to the driver based on the deceleration value based on the amount of operation and the brake weight exceeding the deceleration value (See at least [0039] of Luo – “… The back-locking element 308 and the pressure sensor 310 help the automatic braking system work harmonically with the regular master cylinder foot braking system … in a situation that the automatic braking system has started working… while the driver's foot braking power is greater than the automatic braking power… the central commanding element 307 can order the solenoid valve 306 to close, so that the automatic braking hydraulic system is no longer connected to the master cylinder hydraulic system. After that, the braking power control will be solely on the driver…”). Thus, Kuehner discloses an autonomous vehicle system that detects a level of actuation of a brake pedal to determine if an the input exceeds a threshold to change the vehicle control from autonomous driving to manual driving, while Luo teaches an emergency braking system for a vehicle that determines whether a driver braking input is greater than an input provided by an automatic braking system after the automatic braking system has started working and in order to override the braking provided by the automatic system with the braking provided by the driver input.
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 apparatus and method as disclosed in Kuehner to include the feature of changing a subject in control over driving of the host vehicle from a system performing the autonomous driving to the driver based on the deceleration value based on the amount of operation and the brake weight exceeding the deceleration value as taught by Luo, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to switch braking power control from an automatic system to a driver as specified in at least [0039] of Luo.
Claims 2 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuehner in view of Luo, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Suzuki et al. US 20210245774 A1 (“Suzuki”).
For claim 2, Kuehner discloses wherein the processor is further configured to determine the brake weight based on an amount of operation weight determined based on the amount of operation (See at least [0066] – “The brake pedal sensor may be a detector that detects a stroke amount of a brake pedal, for example, a pedal position of the brake pedal with respect to a reference position… may detect an operation force of the brake pedal … outputs, to the ECU 150, operation information reflecting the stroke amount or the operation force of the brake pedal…” and [0081] of Kuehner – “… Calculation unit 214 may calculate a threshold used for determining whether or not to switch from autonomous control to manual driving or vice versa… the level of actuation of the brake pedal may be excessive enough (exceed a threshold) suggesting that the driver intends to override the autonomous control system 200…”).
Kuehner fails to specifically disclose wherein the amount of operation and the amount of operation weight have a correlation, in which the amount of operation weight increases as the amount of operation increases in a state that the amount of operation is included in a predetermined amount of operation range.
However, Suzuki, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the amount of operation and the amount of operation weight have a correlation, in which the amount of operation weight increases as the amount of operation increases in a state that the amount of operation is included in a predetermined amount of operation range (See at least [0085] – “… While vehicle 1 is in a normal condition, the brake pedal position signal which is output to ADK 3 provides the amount of depression of the brake pedal in accordance with the detected value of the brake position sensor. The amount of depression of the brake pedal is represented by a value in a range from 0% to 100%...” and [0090] of Suzuki – “… The brake pedal intervention signal assuming the value 0 indicates that brake pedal 50 is not depressed. The brake pedal intervention signal assuming the value 1 indicates that brake pedal 50 is depressed…”). Thus, Kuehner discloses an autonomous vehicle system that detects a level of actuation of a brake pedal to determine if an the input exceeds a threshold to change the vehicle control from autonomous driving to manual driving, while Suzuki teaches an autonomous vehicle driving system that assigns a brake intervention signal of 0 when a brake pedal is not depressed and 1 when a brake pedal is depressed for a brake pedal is represented by a depression amount ranging from 0% to 100%.
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 apparatus and method as disclosed in Kuehner to include the feature of the amount of operation weight increasing as the amount of operation increases in a state that the amount of operation is included in a predetermined amount of operation range as taught by Suzuki, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to determine if a brake pedal is being depressed or not as specified in at least [0090] of Suzuki.
For claim 13, Kuehner discloses wherein the determining of the brake weight based on at least one of the amount of operation of the brake pedal, the gaze of the driver, the area of the input of the driver’s gripping the steering wheel, the strength of the input, the state of the host vehicle, or the deceleration value controlled based on the autonomous driving, or any combination thereof includes:
determining the brake weight based on an amount of operation weight determined based on the amount of operation (See at least [0066] – “The brake pedal sensor may be a detector that detects a stroke amount of a brake pedal, for example, a pedal position of the brake pedal with respect to a reference position… may detect an operation force of the brake pedal … outputs, to the ECU 150, operation information reflecting the stroke amount or the operation force of the brake pedal…” and [0081] of Kuehner – “… Calculation unit 214 may calculate a threshold used for determining whether or not to switch from autonomous control to manual driving or vice versa… the level of actuation of the brake pedal may be excessive enough (exceed a threshold) suggesting that the driver intends to override the autonomous control system 200…”).
Kuehner fails to specifically disclose wherein the amount of operation and the amount of operation weight have a correlation, in which the amount of operation weight increases as the amount of operation increases in a state that the amount of operation is included in a predetermined amount of operation range.
However, Suzuki, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the amount of operation and the amount of operation weight have a correlation, in which the amount of operation weight increases as the amount of operation increases in a state that the amount of operation is included in a predetermined amount of operation range (See at least [0085] – “… While vehicle 1 is in a normal condition, the brake pedal position signal which is output to ADK 3 provides the amount of depression of the brake pedal in accordance with the detected value of the brake position sensor. The amount of depression of the brake pedal is represented by a value in a range from 0% to 100%...” and [0090] of Suzuki – “… The brake pedal intervention signal assuming the value 0 indicates that brake pedal 50 is not depressed. The brake pedal intervention signal assuming the value 1 indicates that brake pedal 50 is depressed…”). Thus, Kuehner discloses an autonomous vehicle system that detects a level of actuation of a brake pedal to determine if an the input exceeds a threshold to change the vehicle control from autonomous driving to manual driving, while Suzuki teaches an autonomous vehicle driving system that assigns a brake intervention signal of 0 when a brake pedal is not depressed and 1 when a brake pedal is depressed for a brake pedal is represented by a depression amount ranging from 0% to 100%.
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 apparatus and method as disclosed in Kuehner to include the feature of the amount of operation weight increasing as the amount of operation increases in a state that the amount of operation is included in a predetermined amount of operation range as taught by Suzuki, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to determine if a brake pedal is being depressed or not as specified in at least [0090] of Suzuki.
Claims 6-7 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuehner in view of Luo, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Zhang CN 110667689 A (“Zhang”).
For claim 6, Kuehner fails to specifically disclose wherein the processor is further configured to determine the brake weight based on an area weight determined based on the area, and wherein the area and the area weight have a correlation, in which the area weight increases as the area increases.
However, Zhang, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the processor is further configured to determine the brake weight based on an area weight determined based on the area, and wherein the area and the area weight have a correlation, in which the area weight increases as the area increases (See at least page 7 of Zhang – “… The invention is a force detecting steering wheel is pulled to the direction of the driver of the pressure sensor. controller according to the stress condition of the one or more pressure sensors, comparing with the preset pressure threshold value, if the pressure reaches or exceeds the threshold value, then judging whether the braking request occurs, the controller sends a brake command to the brake system…”). Thus, Kuehner discloses an autonomous vehicle system that detects a level of actuation of a brake pedal to determine if an the input exceeds a threshold to change the vehicle control from autonomous driving to manual driving, while Zhang teaches a steering wheel with a braking function that detects a contact of driver on the steering wheel and sends a command to the brake system of the vehicle if the pressure on the steering wheel exceeds a threshold.
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 apparatus and method as disclosed in Kuehner to include the feature of determining the brake weight based on an area weight determined as taught by Zhang, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to send a brake command to brake system if the contact pressure on the steering wheel exceeds a threshold as specified in at least page 7 of Zhang.
For claim 7, Kuehner fails to specifically disclose wherein the processor is further configured to determine the brake weight based on a strength weight determined based on the strength, and wherein the strength and the strength weight have a correlation, in which the strength weight increases as the strength increases.
However, Zhang, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the processor is further configured to determine the brake weight based on a strength weight determined based on the strength, and wherein the strength and the strength weight have a correlation, in which the strength weight increases as the strength increases (See at least page 7 of Zhang – “… The invention is a force detecting steering wheel is pulled to the direction of the driver of the pressure sensor. controller according to the stress condition of the one or more pressure sensors, comparing with the preset pressure threshold value, if the pressure reaches or exceeds the threshold value, then judging whether the braking request occurs, the controller sends a brake command to the brake system…”). Thus, Kuehner discloses an autonomous vehicle system that detects a level of actuation of a brake pedal to determine if an the input exceeds a threshold to change the vehicle control from autonomous driving to manual driving, while Zhang teaches a steering wheel with a braking function that detects a pressure of a driver on the steering wheel and sends a command to the brake system of the vehicle if the pressure on the steering wheel exceeds a threshold.
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 apparatus and method as disclosed in Kuehner to include the feature of determining the brake weight based on a strength weight determined based on the strength as taught by Zhang, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to send a brake command to brake system if the contact pressure on the steering wheel exceeds a threshold as specified in at least page 7 of Zhang.
For claim 17, Kuehner fails to specifically disclose wherein the determining of the brake weight based on at least one of the amount of operation of the brake pedal, the gaze of the driver, the area of the input of the driver’s gripping the steering wheel, the strength of the input, the state of the host vehicle, or the deceleration value controlled based on the autonomous driving, or any combination thereof includes:
determining the brake weight based on an area weight determined based on the area, wherein the area and the area weight have a correlation, in which the area weight increases as the area increases.
However, Zhang, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the determining of the brake weight based on at least one of the amount of operation of the brake pedal, the gaze of the driver, the area of the input of the driver’s gripping the steering wheel, the strength of the input, the state of the host vehicle, or the deceleration value controlled based on the autonomous driving, or any combination thereof includes:
determining the brake weight based on an area weight determined based on the area, wherein the area and the area weight have a correlation, in which the area weight increases as the area increases (See at least page 7 of Zhang – “… The invention is a force detecting steering wheel is pulled to the direction of the driver of the pressure sensor. controller according to the stress condition of the one or more pressure sensors, comparing with the preset pressure threshold value, if the pressure reaches or exceeds the threshold value, then judging whether the braking request occurs, the controller sends a brake command to the brake system…”). Thus, Kuehner discloses an autonomous vehicle system that detects a level of actuation of a brake pedal to determine if an the input exceeds a threshold to change the vehicle control from autonomous driving to manual driving, while Zhang teaches a steering wheel with a braking function that detects a contact of driver on the steering wheel and sends a command to the brake system of the vehicle if the pressure on the steering wheel exceeds a threshold.
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 apparatus and method as disclosed in Kuehner to include the feature of determining the brake weight based on an area weight determined as taught by Zhang, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to send a brake command to brake system if the contact pressure on the steering wheel exceeds a threshold as specified in at least page 7 of Zhang.
For claim 18, Kuehner fails to specifically disclose wherein the determining of the brake weight based on at least one of the amount of operation of the brake pedal, the gaze of the driver, the area of the input of the driver’s gripping the steering wheel, the strength of the input, the state of the host vehicle, or the deceleration value controlled based on the autonomous driving, or any combination thereof includes:
determining the brake weight based on a strength weight determined based on the strength, wherein the strength and the strength weight have a correlation, in which the strength weight increases as the strength increases.
However, Zhang, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the determining of the brake weight based on at least one of the amount of operation of the brake pedal, the gaze of the driver, the area of the input of the driver’s gripping the steering wheel, the strength of the input, the state of the host vehicle, or the deceleration value controlled based on the autonomous driving, or any combination thereof includes:
determining the brake weight based on a strength weight determined based on the strength, wherein the strength and the strength weight have a correlation, in which the strength weight increases as the strength increases (See at least page 7 of Zhang – “… The invention is a force detecting steering wheel is pulled to the direction of the driver of the pressure sensor. controller according to the stress condition of the one or more pressure sensors, comparing with the preset pressure threshold value, if the pressure reaches or exceeds the threshold value, then judging whether the braking request occurs, the controller sends a brake command to the brake system…”). Thus, Kuehner discloses an autonomous vehicle system that detects a level of actuation of a brake pedal to determine if an the input exceeds a threshold to change the vehicle control from autonomous driving to manual driving, while Zhang teaches a steering wheel with a braking function that detects a pressure of a driver on the steering wheel and sends a command to the brake system of the vehicle if the pressure on the steering wheel exceeds a threshold.
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 apparatus and method as disclosed in Kuehner to include the feature of determining the brake weight based on a strength weight determined based on the strength as taught by Zhang, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to send a brake command to brake system if the contact pressure on the steering wheel exceeds a threshold as specified in at least page 7 of Zhang.
Claims 9 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuehner in view of Luo, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Isaji et al. US 20040122578 A1 (“Isaji”).
For claim 9, Kuehner discloses wherein the processor is further configured to determine the brake weight based on a deceleration weight determined based on the deceleration value when the deceleration value is included in a predetermined deceleration range (See at least [0066] – “The brake pedal sensor may be a detector that detects a stroke amount of a brake pedal, for example, a pedal position of the brake pedal with respect to a reference position… may detect an operation force of the brake pedal … outputs, to the ECU 150, operation information reflecting the stroke amount or the operation force of the brake pedal…” and [0081] of Kuehner – “… Calculation unit 214 may calculate a threshold used for determining whether or not to switch from autonomous control to manual driving or vice versa… the level of actuation of the brake pedal may be excessive enough (exceed a threshold) suggesting that the driver intends to override the autonomous control system 200…”).
Kuehner fails to specifically disclose wherein the deceleration value and the deceleration weight have a correlation, in which the deceleration weight increases as the deceleration value increases when the deceleration value is included in a predetermined deceleration range.
However, Isaji, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the deceleration value and the deceleration weight have a correlation, in which the deceleration weight increases as the deceleration value increases when the deceleration value is included in a predetermined deceleration range (See at least [0022]-[0024] of Isaji – “… In a preferred control method of the automatic vehicle braking apparatus, the maximum value of the braking force to be generated by the automatic vehicle braking apparatus is set to somewhere in a range corresponding to 5% to 60% of the estimated maximum braking force… the braking force to be generated by the automatic vehicle braking apparatus is increased within the range of the estimated maximum braking force, when a driver applies none of manual braking, manual steering, and manual accelerating operations when a predetermined time has elapsed after the automatic brake operation or the warning brake operation is started… the automatic brake operation is carried out with a maximized braking force when it is judged that the possibility of avoiding vehicle collision by steering is lower than a predetermined rate…”). Thus, Kuehner discloses an autonomous vehicle system that detects a level of actuation of a brake pedal to determine if an input exceeds a threshold to change the vehicle control from autonomous driving to manual driving, while Isaji teaches an automatic braking system that increases a braking force for the automatic system within a specified range depending on engagement from the driver or possibility of avoiding a collision.
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 apparatus and method as disclosed in Kuehner to include the feature of the deceleration value and the deceleration weight have a correlation, in which the deceleration weight increases as the deceleration value increases when the deceleration value is included in a predetermined deceleration range as taught by Isaji, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to avoid a collision as specified in at least [0024] of Isaji.
For claim 20, Kuehner discloses wherein the determining of the brake weight based on at least one of the amount of operation of the brake pedal, the gaze of the driver, the area of the input of the driver’s gripping the steering wheel, the strength of the input, the state of the host vehicle, or the deceleration value controlled based on the autonomous driving, or any combination thereof includes:
determining the brake weight based on a deceleration weight determined based on the deceleration value when the deceleration value is included in a predetermined deceleration range (See at least [0066] – “The brake pedal sensor may be a detector that detects a stroke amount of a brake pedal, for example, a pedal position of the brake pedal with respect to a reference position… may detect an operation force of the brake pedal … outputs, to the ECU 150, operation information reflecting the stroke amount or the operation force of the brake pedal…” and [0081] of Kuehner – “… Calculation unit 214 may calculate a threshold used for determining whether or not to switch from autonomous control to manual driving or vice versa… the level of actuation of the brake pedal may be excessive enough (exceed a threshold) suggesting that the driver intends to override the autonomous control system 200…”).
Kuehner fails to specifically disclose wherein the deceleration value and the deceleration weight have a correlation, in which the deceleration weight increases as the deceleration value increases when the deceleration value is included in a predetermined deceleration range.
However, Isaji, in the same field of endeavor teaches wherein the deceleration value and the deceleration weight have a correlation, in which the deceleration weight increases as the deceleration value increases when the deceleration value is included in a predetermined deceleration range (See at least [0022]-[0024] of Isaji – “… In a preferred control method of the automatic vehicle braking apparatus, the maximum value of the braking force to be generated by the automatic vehicle braking apparatus is set to somewhere in a range corresponding to 5% to 60% of the estimated maximum braking force… the braking force to be generated by the automatic vehicle braking apparatus is increased within the range of the estimated maximum braking force, when a driver applies none of manual braking, manual steering, and manual accelerating operations when a predetermined time has elapsed after the automatic brake operation or the warning brake operation is started… the automatic brake operation is carried out with a maximized braking force when it is judged that the possibility of avoiding vehicle collision by steering is lower than a predetermined rate…”). Thus, Kuehner discloses an autonomous vehicle system that detects a level of actuation of a brake pedal to determine if an input exceeds a threshold to change the vehicle control from autonomous driving to manual driving, while Isaji teaches an automatic braking system that increases a braking force for the automatic system within a specified range depending on engagement from the driver or possibility of avoiding a collision.
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 apparatus and method as disclosed in Kuehner to include the feature of the deceleration value and the deceleration weight have a correlation, in which the deceleration weight increases as the deceleration value increases when the deceleration value is included in a predetermined deceleration range as taught by Isaji, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to avoid a collision as specified in at least [0024] of Isaji.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5, 8, 14-16, and 19 are objected to for containing allowable subject matter, but would be allowable if the claim rejections from previous sections of this office action were resolved.
The following is an Examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The closest prior art of record is Kuehner US 20220234591 A1 (“Kuehner”), Luo US 20090212935 A1, Suzuki et al. US 20210245774 A1 (“Suzuki”), Zhang CN 110667689 A (“Zhang”), Isaji et al. US 20040122578 A1 (“Isaji”), Oba CN 110914884 B (“Oba”), and Cho US 12559085 B2 (“Cho”).
Kuehner discloses an autonomous vehicle system that detects a level of actuation of a brake pedal to determine if an input exceeds a threshold to change the vehicle control from autonomous driving to manual driving.
Luo teaches an emergency braking system for a vehicle that determines whether a driver braking input is greater than an input provided by an automatic braking system after the automatic braking system has started working and in order to override the braking provided by the automatic system with the braking provided by the driver input.
Suzuki teaches an autonomous vehicle driving system that assigns a brake intervention signal of 0 when a brake pedal is not depressed and 1 when a brake pedal is depressed for a brake pedal is represented by a depression amount ranging from 0% to 100%.
Zhang teaches a steering wheel with a braking function that detects a pressure of a driver on the steering wheel and sends a command to the brake system of the vehicle if the pressure on the steering wheel exceeds a threshold.
Isaji teaches an automatic braking system that increases a braking force for the automatic system within a specified range depending on engagement from the driver or possibility of avoiding a collision.
Oba teaches an invention that tracks a driver line of sight relative to an attention area to assign an degree of attention and the less correlation there is between a point of the line of sight and the area, the less overall attention is assigned, however, Oba does not teach determining a brake weight based on a direction weight associated with the gaze of the driver being included in a predetermined area and assigning relative values of the direction weight based on whether the gaze of the driver is included in the predetermined area or not.
Cho teaches a vehicle system that engages biased braking for a vehicle in the case of a steering system failure to control the yaw motion of the vehicle, however, Cho does not teach determining a state weight of a third value based on the host vehicle not having a need to change the subject in the control over the driving of the host vehicle from the system performing the autonomous driving to the driver because of a cause other than a failure of an autonomous driving device and not having a need to change the subject in the control over the driving of the host vehicle from the system performing the autonomous driving to the driver because of the failure, determining a state weight of a fourth value based on the host vehicle having a need to change the subject in the control over the driving of the host vehicle from the system performing the autonomous driving to the driver because of a cause other than a failure of an autonomous driving device, determining a state weight of a fifth value based on the host vehicle having a need to change the subject in the control over the driving of the host vehicle from the system performing the autonomous driving to the driver because of the failure, determining a brake weight based on the state weights, wherein the third value is smaller than the fourth value and the fourth value is smaller than the fifth value.
As to claims 3 and 14, the prior art of record, taken individually or in combination, fails to teach or suggest the following claimed subject matter:
“wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine, as a direction weight, a first value determined based on a point corresponding to the gaze of the driver is included in a predetermined area;
determine, as the direction weight, a second value determined based on the point not included in the predetermined area; and
determine the brake weight based on the direction weight,
wherein the first value is greater than the second value”
Claims 4-5 depend from claim 3 and claims 15-16 depend from claim 14 and are therefore allowable.
As to claims 8 and 19, the prior art of record, taken individually or in combination, fails to teach or suggest the following claimed subject matter:
“wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine, as a state weight, a third value determined based on the host vehicle not being in a predetermined first state and a predetermined second state;
determine, as the state weight, a fourth value determined based on the host vehicle being in the first state;
determine, as the state weight, a fifth value determined based on the host vehicle being in the second state; and
determine the brake weight based on the state weight,
wherein the third value is smaller than the fourth value,
wherein the fourth value is smaller than the fifth value,
wherein the first state includes a state where there is a need to change the subject in the control over the driving of the host vehicle from the system performing the autonomous driving to the driver because of a cause other than a failure of an autonomous driving device,
wherein the second state includes a state where there is a need to change the subject in the control over the driving of the host vehicle from the system performing the autonomous driving to the driver because of the failure”
Conclusion
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/M.J.H./Examiner, Art Unit 3668
/Fadey S. Jabr/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3668