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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 12-21 are presented for examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
The 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 USC 101..
The claimed invention is directed to a “computer readable medium.” This limitation does not exclude any transitory forms of signal transmission (often referred to as "signals per se"), such as a propagating electrical or electromagnetic signal or carrier wave. Amending the term to include “non-transitory” will eliminate this issue. See MPEP 2106.03..
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102(a)(1)
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 12-15, and 18-21 are rejected under 35 USC 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable over Nordbruch, U.S. 2014/0358327.
On claim 12, Nordbruch cites:
A driving assistance system for a vehicle, wherein the driving assistance system is configured to:
capture one or more circumstances that provide one or more indications of a situation in which the vehicle is situated;
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic program sequence for carrying out a simple method for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 100, the driver is already driving the vehicle, and would like to activate a certain driver assistance system, such as automatic braking, automatic steering and/or automatic evasion by operating input 4. In a following program point 110, arithmetic unit 2 records the request of the driver wishing to activate a certain driver assistance system.
capture a confirmation action performed by a vehicle occupant;
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic program sequence for carrying out a simple method for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 100, the driver is already driving the vehicle, and would like to activate a certain driver assistance system, such as automatic braking, automatic steering and/or automatic evasion by operating input 4. In a following program point 110, arithmetic unit 2 records the request of the driver wishing to activate a certain driver assistance system. After that, arithmetic unit 2, at the following program point 120, checks whether, for example, there is a value for the suitability of the driver for the selected driver assistance system in data memory 9. At the following program point 130, arithmetic unit 2 compares the present value for the suitability of the driver to a comparison value stored in data memory 9. If the comparison at program point 130 yields that the value of the suitability of the driver is less than the comparison value, branching takes place to program point 140. At program point 140, arithmetic unit 2 gives information to the driver via output 4 that the use of the requested driver assistance system is not recommended. Arithmetic unit 2 then monitors at a following program point 150 whether the driver is nevertheless activating the requested driver assistance system by an appropriate input. If this is the case, then the method branches to program point 160, and the requested driver assistance system is activated. However, after program point 140 if, within a fixed time, the driver does not carry out a renewed activation of the driver assistance system, branching takes place back to program point 100.
and
perform a driving assistance function on the basis of the captured one or more circumstances and on the basis of the captured confirmation action, wherein an influence of the captured confirmation action on a performance of the driving assistance function is weighted on a basis of a trustworthiness value which is assigned to the vehicle occupant and has been determined by the driving assistance system on the basis of confirmation actions performed by the vehicle occupant in various situations in the past.
[0027] Arithmetic unit 2 then monitors at a following program point 150 whether the driver is nevertheless activating the requested driver assistance system by an appropriate input. If this is the case, then the method branches to program point 160, and the requested driver assistance system is activated.
[0032] In a schematic representation, FIG. 3 shows a method for ascertaining a value for the suitability of the driver for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 200, a driver drives a vehicle. At the following program point 210, arithmetic unit 2 detects which driver is driving the vehicle. For this, methods such as codes, cameras for recognizing a face or even driving behavior may be used. Arithmetic unit 210 stores the recognized driver in data bank 9 at the following program point 220. Thereafter, arithmetic unit 2 records at the following program point 230 how the driver is behaving while using the active driver assistance system. In this context, the arithmetic unit monitors whether the driver is acting reliably in utilizing the driver assistance system. For this, certain rules and parameters have been stored, using which the assessment of the behavior of the driver, as reliable for the certain driver assistance system, is established. The rules and parameters are able to be established individually for various driver assistance systems. As an example, in an active driver assistance system, automatic ranging is checking whether the driver is falling below the automatically regulated distance from the preceding vehicle by putting his foot on the accelerator, or whether the driver, by his own braking, is increasing the automatically regulated distance from the preceding vehicle. A driver may be graded as unsuitable for the driver assistance system automatic ranging if, during an established time period and/or an established road section he changes the automatically regulated distance in an active manner more frequently than a fixed number. In the simplest case, the driver is able to be valued as unsuitable already when making a one-time change of the automatically regulated distance apart over a road section of 5 km.
[0033] Furthermore, a driver may be regarded as unsuitable for the driver assistance system autonomous driving, i.e. automatic steering and automatic braking and automatic lane keeping, if the driver, upon the return of the responsibility to the driver, does not take over the return to guiding the vehicle within a certain time duration.
[0034] Depending on the driver assistance system selected, additional or even other parameters may be used for assessing the driver as unsuitable.
[0035] At the following program point 240, arithmetic unit 2, for instance, stores for the driving function autonomous driving for driver A the value "unsuitable" in the data bank. The value "unsuitable" may be stored in the form of a 0, for example, and the value "suitable" in the form of a 2. As the comparison value, one might use the value 1 in this example. The stored values are used in the method according to FIG. 2.
On claim 13, Nordbruch cites:
The driving assistance system according to claim 12, wherein the driving assistance system is further configured to:
capture one or more circumstances that provide one or more indications of whether the vehicle is in an operating environment for which a certain driving assistance function is provided;
capture the confirmation action performed by a vehicle occupant in the form of an activation confirmation; and
activate or not activate the driving assistance function on the basis of the captured one or more circumstances and on the basis of the captured activation confirmation, wherein, when determining whether the driving assistance function is activated, the captured activation confirmation is taken into account on the basis of the trustworthiness value.
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic program sequence for carrying out a simple method for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 100, the driver is already driving the vehicle, and would like to activate a certain driver assistance system, such as automatic braking, automatic steering and/or automatic evasion by operating input 4. In a following program point 110, arithmetic unit 2 records the request of the driver wishing to activate a certain driver assistance system. After that, arithmetic unit 2, at the following program point 120, checks whether, for example, there is a value for the suitability of the driver for the selected driver assistance system in data memory 9. At the following program point 130, arithmetic unit 2 compares the present value for the suitability of the driver to a comparison value stored in data memory 9. If the comparison at program point 130 yields that the value of the suitability of the driver is less than the comparison value, branching takes place to program point 140. At program point 140, arithmetic unit 2 gives information to the driver via output 4 that the use of the requested driver assistance system is not recommended. Arithmetic unit 2 then monitors at a following program point 150 whether the driver is nevertheless activating the requested driver assistance system by an appropriate input. If this is the case, then the method branches to program point 160, and the requested driver assistance system is activated. However, after program point 140 if, within a fixed time, the driver does not carry out a renewed activation of the driver assistance system, branching takes place back to program point 100.
[0029] If the interrogation at program point 130 yields that the stored value of the suitability of the driver for the requested driver assistance system is greater than the comparison value, branching takes place to program point 170. At program point 170, the driver activates the requested driver assistance system. Subsequently, the system branches back to a program point 100.
On claim 14, Nordbruch cites:
The driving assistance system according to claim 13, wherein the operating environment for which the driving assistance function is provided is a freeway or a freeway-like road.
[0037] Furthermore, in addition to the requested driver assistance system, additional environmental parameters may be taken into account when averaging the suitability of the driver and/or when selecting the comparison value. In this context, for example, driving on a superhighway, on a country highway or within a town may be valued and be weighted differently. In addition, environmental conditions may be taken into account, such as bad weather, fog, snow, rain when recording the suitability of the driver and/or when selecting the comparison value.
On claim 15, Nordbruch cites:
The driving assistance system according to claim 12, wherein the capture of the one or more circumstances comprises locating the vehicle with respect to a digital map.
[0023] Moreover, navigation system 7 may store data on the course of roads, slopes, roadway lanes etc., or partially data on the infrastructure, such as traffic lights, traffic signs, etc., in a map data bank
On claim 18, Nordbruch cites:
A method for operating a driving assistance system of a vehicle, the method comprising:
in a plurality of situations, in each case:
capturing one or more circumstances that provide one or more indications of the respective situation in which the vehicle is situated;
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic program sequence for carrying out a simple method for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 100, the driver is already driving the vehicle, and would like to activate a certain driver assistance system, such as automatic braking, automatic steering and/or automatic evasion by operating input 4. In a following program point 110, arithmetic unit 2 records the request of the driver wishing to activate a certain driver assistance system.
and
capturing a confirmation action performed by a vehicle occupant;
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic program sequence for carrying out a simple method for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 100, the driver is already driving the vehicle, and would like to activate a certain driver assistance system, such as automatic braking, automatic steering and/or automatic evasion by operating input 4. In a following program point 110, arithmetic unit 2 records the request of the driver wishing to activate a certain driver assistance system. After that, arithmetic unit 2, at the following program point 120, checks whether, for example, there is a value for the suitability of the driver for the selected driver assistance system in data memory 9. At the following program point 130, arithmetic unit 2 compares the present value for the suitability of the driver to a comparison value stored in data memory 9. If the comparison at program point 130 yields that the value of the suitability of the driver is less than the comparison value, branching takes place to program point 140. At program point 140, arithmetic unit 2 gives information to the driver via output 4 that the use of the requested driver assistance system is not recommended. Arithmetic unit 2 then monitors at a following program point 150 whether the driver is nevertheless activating the requested driver assistance system by an appropriate input. If this is the case, then the method branches to program point 160, and the requested driver assistance system is activated. However, after program point 140 if, within a fixed time, the driver does not carry out a renewed activation of the driver assistance system, branching takes place back to program point 100.
determining a trustworthiness value assigned to the vehicle occupant on the basis of the circumstances and confirmation actions captured in the plurality of situations;
[0032] In a schematic representation, FIG. 3 shows a method for ascertaining a value for the suitability of the driver for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 200, a driver drives a vehicle. At the following program point 210, arithmetic unit 2 detects which driver is driving the vehicle. For this, methods such as codes, cameras for recognizing a face or even driving behavior may be used. Arithmetic unit 210 stores the recognized driver in data bank 9 at the following program point 220. Thereafter, arithmetic unit 2 records at the following program point 230 how the driver is behaving while using the active driver assistance system. In this context, the arithmetic unit monitors whether the driver is acting reliably in utilizing the driver assistance system. For this, certain rules and parameters have been stored, using which the assessment of the behavior of the driver, as reliable for the certain driver assistance system, is established. The rules and parameters are able to be established individually for various driver assistance systems. As an example, in an active driver assistance system, automatic ranging is checking whether the driver is falling below the automatically regulated distance from the preceding vehicle by putting his foot on the accelerator, or whether the driver, by his own braking, is increasing the automatically regulated distance from the preceding vehicle. A driver may be graded as unsuitable for the driver assistance system automatic ranging if, during an established time period and/or an established road section he changes the automatically regulated distance in an active manner more frequently than a fixed number. In the simplest case, the driver is able to be valued as unsuitable already when making a one-time change of the automatically regulated distance apart over a road section of 5 km.
[0033] Furthermore, a driver may be regarded as unsuitable for the driver assistance system autonomous driving, i.e. automatic steering and automatic braking and automatic lane keeping, if the driver, upon the return of the responsibility to the driver, does not take over the return to guiding the vehicle within a certain time duration.
[0034] Depending on the driver assistance system selected, additional or even other parameters may be used for assessing the driver as unsuitable.
[0035] At the following program point 240, arithmetic unit 2, for instance, stores for the driving function autonomous driving for driver A the value "unsuitable" in the data bank. The value "unsuitable" may be stored in the form of a 0, for example, and the value "suitable" in the form of a 2. As the comparison value, one might use the value 1 in this example. The stored values are used in the method according to FIG. 2.
and
in a further situation: capturing one or more circumstances that provide one or more indications of the situation in which the vehicle is situated;
capturing a confirmation action performed by the vehicle occupant; and
performing the driving assistance function on the basis of the one or more circumstances captured in the further situation and on the basis of the confirmation action captured in the further situation, wherein an influence of the confirmation action captured in the further situation on the performance of the driving assistance function is weighted on the basis of the trustworthiness value.
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic program sequence for carrying out a simple method for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 100, the driver is already driving the vehicle, and would like to activate a certain driver assistance system, such as automatic braking, automatic steering and/or automatic evasion by operating input 4. In a following program point 110, arithmetic unit 2 records the request of the driver wishing to activate a certain driver assistance system. After that, arithmetic unit 2, at the following program point 120, checks whether, for example, there is a value for the suitability of the driver for the selected driver assistance system in data memory 9. At the following program point 130, arithmetic unit 2 compares the present value for the suitability of the driver to a comparison value stored in data memory 9. If the comparison at program point 130 yields that the value of the suitability of the driver is less than the comparison value, branching takes place to program point 140. At program point 140, arithmetic unit 2 gives information to the driver via output 4 that the use of the requested driver assistance system is not recommended. Arithmetic unit 2 then monitors at a following program point 150 whether the driver is nevertheless activating the requested driver assistance system by an appropriate input. If this is the case, then the method branches to program point 160, and the requested driver assistance system is activated. However, after program point 140 if, within a fixed time, the driver does not carry out a renewed activation of the driver assistance system, branching takes place back to program point 100.
[0029] If the interrogation at program point 130 yields that the stored value of the suitability of the driver for the requested driver assistance system is greater than the comparison value, branching takes place to program point 170. At program point 170, the driver activates the requested driver assistance system. Subsequently, the system branches back to a program point 100.
On claim 19, Norbruch cites:
The method according to claim 18, further comprising: in the plurality of situations, in each case:
capturing one or more circumstances that provide one or more indications of whether the vehicle is in an operating environment for which a certain driving assistance function is provided;
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic program sequence for carrying out a simple method for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 100, the driver is already driving the vehicle, and would like to activate a certain driver assistance system, such as automatic braking, automatic steering and/or automatic evasion by operating input 4.
and
capturing the confirmation action in the form of an activation confirmation for activating the driving assistance function;
[0028] At program point 150, if the driver assistance system is activated anew by the driver, in spite of the rejection by arithmetic unit 2, this decision of the driver is stored in memory 9 by arithmetic unit 2.
[0029] If the interrogation at program point 130 yields that the stored value of the suitability of the driver for the requested driver assistance system is greater than the comparison value, branching takes place to program point 170. At program point 170, the driver activates the requested driver assistance system. Subsequently, the system branches back to a program point 100.
determining the trustworthiness value assigned to the vehicle occupant on the basis of the circumstances and activation confirmations captured in the plurality of situations;
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic program sequence for carrying out a simple method for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 100, the driver is already driving the vehicle, and would like to activate a certain driver assistance system, such as automatic braking, automatic steering and/or automatic evasion by operating input 4. In a following program point 110, arithmetic unit 2 records the request of the driver wishing to activate a certain driver assistance system. After that, arithmetic unit 2, at the following program point 120, checks whether, for example, there is a value for the suitability of the driver for the selected driver assistance system in data memory 9. At the following program point 130, arithmetic unit 2 compares the present value for the suitability of the driver to a comparison value stored in data memory 9. If the comparison at program point 130 yields that the value of the suitability of the driver is less than the comparison value, branching takes place to program point 140. At program point 140, arithmetic unit 2 gives information to the driver via output 4 that the use of the requested driver assistance system is not recommended.
and
in the further situation:
capturing one or more circumstances that provide one or more indications of whether the vehicle is in an operating environment for which the driving assistance function is provided;
[0032] In a schematic representation, FIG. 3 shows a method for ascertaining a value for the suitability of the driver for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 200, a driver drives a vehicle. At the following program point 210, arithmetic unit 2 detects which driver is driving the vehicle. For this, methods such as codes, cameras for recognizing a face or even driving behavior may be used. Arithmetic unit 210 stores the recognized driver in data bank 9 at the following program point 220. Thereafter, arithmetic unit 2 records at the following program point 230 how the driver is behaving while using the active driver assistance system. In this context, the arithmetic unit monitors whether the driver is acting reliably in utilizing the driver assistance system
capturing an activation confirmation performed by the vehicle occupant for activating the driving assistance function; and
[0029] If the interrogation at program point 130 yields that the stored value of the suitability of the driver for the requested driver assistance system is greater than the comparison value, branching takes place to program point 170. At program point 170, the driver activates the requested driver assistance system. Subsequently, the system branches back to a program point 100.
activating the driving assistance function on the basis of the circumstance(s) captured in the further situation and on the basis of the activation confirmation captured in the further situation, wherein the activation confirmation captured in the further situation is weighted on the basis of the trustworthiness value when deciding whether the driving assistance function is activated.
See [0029] above.
On claim 20, Nordbruch cites:
The method according to claim 18, wherein at least one captured circumstance that relates to a time after the respective confirmation action is taken into account for determining the trustworthiness value.
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic program sequence for carrying out a simple method for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 100, the driver is already driving the vehicle, and would like to activate a certain driver assistance system, such as automatic braking, automatic steering and/or automatic evasion by operating input 4. In a following program point 110, arithmetic unit 2 records the request of the driver wishing to activate a certain driver assistance system. After that, arithmetic unit 2, at the following program point 120, checks whether, for example, there is a value for the suitability of the driver for the selected driver assistance system in data memory 9. At the following program point 130, arithmetic unit 2 compares the present value for the suitability of the driver to a comparison value stored in data memory 9. If the comparison at program point 130 yields that the value of the suitability of the driver is less than the comparison value, branching takes place to program point 140. At program point 140, arithmetic unit 2 gives information to the driver via output 4 that the use of the requested driver assistance system is not recommended. Arithmetic unit 2 then monitors at a following program point 150 whether the driver is nevertheless activating the requested driver assistance system by an appropriate input. If this is the case, then the method branches to program point 160, and the requested driver assistance system is activated. However, after program point 140 if, within a fixed time, the driver does not carry out a renewed activation of the driver assistance system, branching takes place back to program point 100.
On claim 21, Norbruch cites:
A computer readable storage medium
Figure 2, and [0027]
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic program sequence for carrying out a simple method for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 100, the driver is already driving the vehicle, and would like to activate a certain driver assistance system, such as automatic braking, automatic steering and/or automatic evasion by operating input 4. In a following program point 110, arithmetic unit 2 records the request of the driver wishing to activate a certain driver assistance system. After that, arithmetic unit 2, at the following program point 120, checks whether, for example, there is a value for the suitability of the driver for the selected driver assistance system in data memory 9. At the following program point 130, arithmetic unit 2 compares the present value for the suitability of the driver to a comparison value stored in data memory 9.
comprising a set of instructions which, when executed by a processing device,
see “program points” disclosed in [0027]
cause the processing device to perform acts of:
in a plurality of situations, in each case:
receive one or more items of information providing one or more indications of the respective situation in which the vehicle is situated;
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic program sequence for carrying out a simple method for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 100, the driver is already driving the vehicle, and would like to activate a certain driver assistance system, such as automatic braking, automatic steering and/or automatic evasion by operating input 4. In a following program point 110, arithmetic unit 2 records the request of the driver wishing to activate a certain driver assistance system.
and receive one or more items of information relating to a confirmation action performed by a vehicle occupant in the respective situation;
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic program sequence for carrying out a simple method for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 100, the driver is already driving the vehicle, and would like to activate a certain driver assistance system, such as automatic braking, automatic steering and/or automatic evasion by operating input 4. In a following program point 110, arithmetic unit 2 records the request of the driver wishing to activate a certain driver assistance system. After that, arithmetic unit 2, at the following program point 120, checks whether, for example, there is a value for the suitability of the driver for the selected driver assistance system in data memory 9. At the following program point 130, arithmetic unit 2 compares the present value for the suitability of the driver to a comparison value stored in data memory 9. If the comparison at program point 130 yields that the value of the suitability of the driver is less than the comparison value, branching takes place to program point 140. At program point 140, arithmetic unit 2 gives information to the driver via output 4 that the use of the requested driver assistance system is not recommended. Arithmetic unit 2 then monitors at a following program point 150 whether the driver is nevertheless activating the requested driver assistance system by an appropriate input. If this is the case, then the method branches to program point 160, and the requested driver assistance system is activated. However, after program point 140 if, within a fixed time, the driver does not carry out a renewed activation of the driver assistance system, branching takes place back to program point 100
determine a trustworthiness value assigned to the vehicle occupant on the basis of the information relating to the respective situations and the respectively performed confirmation actions that is received in the plurality of situations; and in a further situation:
[0032] In a schematic representation, FIG. 3 shows a method for ascertaining a value for the suitability of the driver for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 200, a driver drives a vehicle. At the following program point 210, arithmetic unit 2 detects which driver is driving the vehicle. For this, methods such as codes, cameras for recognizing a face or even driving behavior may be used. Arithmetic unit 210 stores the recognized driver in data bank 9 at the following program point 220. Thereafter, arithmetic unit 2 records at the following program point 230 how the driver is behaving while using the active driver assistance system. In this context, the arithmetic unit monitors whether the driver is acting reliably in utilizing the driver assistance system. For this, certain rules and parameters have been stored, using which the assessment of the behavior of the driver, as reliable for the certain driver assistance system, is established. The rules and parameters are able to be established individually for various driver assistance systems. As an example, in an active driver assistance system, automatic ranging is checking whether the driver is falling below the automatically regulated distance from the preceding vehicle by putting his foot on the accelerator, or whether the driver, by his own braking, is increasing the automatically regulated distance from the preceding vehicle. A driver may be graded as unsuitable for the driver assistance system automatic ranging if, during an established time period and/or an established road section he changes the automatically regulated distance in an active manner more frequently than a fixed number. In the simplest case, the driver is able to be valued as unsuitable already when making a one-time change of the automatically regulated distance apart over a road section of 5 km.
[0033] Furthermore, a driver may be regarded as unsuitable for the driver assistance system autonomous driving, i.e. automatic steering and automatic braking and automatic lane keeping, if the driver, upon the return of the responsibility to the driver, does not take over the return to guiding the vehicle within a certain time duration.
[0034] Depending on the driver assistance system selected, additional or even other parameters may be used for assessing the driver as unsuitable.
[0035] At the following program point 240, arithmetic unit 2, for instance, stores for the driving function autonomous driving for driver A the value "unsuitable" in the data bank. The value "unsuitable" may be stored in the form of a 0, for example, and the value "suitable" in the form of a 2. As the comparison value, one might use the value 1 in this example. The stored values are used in the method according to FIG. 2.
receive one or more items of information providing one or more indications of the situation in which the vehicle is situated;
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic program sequence for carrying out a simple method for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 100, the driver is already driving the vehicle, and would like to activate a certain driver assistance system, such as automatic braking, automatic steering and/or automatic evasion by operating input 4. In a following program point 110, arithmetic unit 2 records the request of the driver wishing to activate a certain driver assistance system.
receive one or more items of information relating to a confirmation action performed by the vehicle occupant;
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic program sequence for carrying out a simple method for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 100, the driver is already driving the vehicle, and would like to activate a certain driver assistance system, such as automatic braking, automatic steering and/or automatic evasion by operating input 4. In a following program point 110, arithmetic unit 2 records the request of the driver wishing to activate a certain driver assistance system. After that, arithmetic unit 2, at the following program point 120, checks whether, for example, there is a value for the suitability of the driver for the selected driver assistance system in data memory 9. At the following program point 130, arithmetic unit 2 compares the present value for the suitability of the driver to a comparison value stored in data memory 9. If the comparison at program point 130 yields that the value of the suitability of the driver is less than the comparison value, branching takes place to program point 140. At program point 140, arithmetic unit 2 gives information to the driver via output 4 that the use of the requested driver assistance system is not recommended. Arithmetic unit 2 then monitors at a following program point 150 whether the driver is nevertheless activating the requested driver assistance system by an appropriate input. If this is the case, then the method branches to program point 160, and the requested driver assistance system is activated. However, after program point 140 if, within a fixed time, the driver does not carry out a renewed activation of the driver assistance system, branching takes place back to program point 100.
and
generate control signals for performing a driving assistance function on the basis of the information captured in the further situation, wherein an influence of the one or more items of information relating to the confirmation action that is captured in the further situation on the performance of the driving assistance function is weighted on the basis of the trustworthiness value.
[0027] Arithmetic unit 2 then monitors at a following program point 150 whether the driver is nevertheless activating the requested driver assistance system by an appropriate input. If this is the case, then the method branches to program point 160, and the requested driver assistance system is activated.
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 may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 16 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Nordbruch, U.S. 2014/0358327.
On claim 16, Nordbruch cites except as underlined:
The driving assistance system according to claim 12, wherein the capture of the one or more circumstances comprises automatic traffic sign recognition.
Nordbruch disclosed:
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic program sequence for carrying out a simple method for activating a driver assistance system. At program point 100, the driver is already driving the vehicle, and would like to activate a certain driver assistance system, such as automatic braking, automatic steering and/or automatic evasion by operating input 4. In a following program point 110, arithmetic unit 2 records the request of the driver wishing to activate a certain driver assistance system.
Nordbruch didn’t disclose the system performing automated driving to include activating the driver assistance system in response to the automatic traffic sign recognition.
In the same art driver assistance, Kornhass disclosed:
[0033] Radar sensors are used, for example, to detect the distance from preceding vehicles. The video sensors of mobile device 110 may be used for lane recognition, a light detection during darkness, a traffic sign recognition, or a vehicle detection. Furthermore, driver assistance system 100 may be equipped with other surroundings sensors, which are not illustrated here in greater detail, for the purpose of detecting the vehicle surroundings; these surroundings sensors may, for example, be sensors from assistance systems such as the anti-lock system (ABS), the traction control system (TCS), the autonomous braking action (emergency braking system in the event of health-related problems of the driver), the electronic stability program (ESP), the traction control system (TCS), the engine drag torque control, the electronic differential lock (EDL), the automatic lighting system, the adaptive curve light, the adaptive high beam assistant, the night vision assistant, the automatic wiper, the head-up display (HUD), the brake assist system (BAS), the automatic emergency braking (AEB), the hill hold control, the hill descent control, the speed control (system for automatically controlling speed), the adaptive cruise control (ACC), the distance warning system, the blind spot detection system, the congestion assistant, the lane recognition system, the lane keeping assistant/lane assistant (including transverse guidance assistance functions such as lane departure warning, lane keeping support, lane change assistance, lane change support), intelligent speed adaptation (ISA), the vehicle-to-vehicle communication, the tire pressure control system, the park distance control (using ultrasonic sensors for recognizing obstacles and distances), the driver drowsiness detection, and the traffic sign recognition. In order to also check these obtained pieces of sensor information, the ascertained data are transferred to radar control unit 120 and fused there accordingly.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention include into Nordbruch the sign recognition feature disclosed in Kornhass such that the claimed invention is realized. Kornhass discloses a known feature of sign recognition and one of ordinary skill would have implemented the driver assistance function disclosed in Nordbruch based on the sign recognition features disclosed in Kornhass for the convenience of informing the driver the necessity of the driver to respond to the request to apply driver’s assistance.
Claims 17 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Nordbruch, U.S. 2014/0358327 in view of Ding, U.S. 2022/0048529.
On claim 17, Nordbruch cites except as underlined:
The driving assistance system according to claim 12, wherein the driving assistance system is configured to output one or more indications to the vehicle occupant on the basis of the captured one or more circumstances and on the basis of the trustworthiness value, in particular in order to make the vehicle occupant aware of a criticality of his confirmation action.
Regarding the excepted limitations, Nordbruch cites:
[0031] Depending on the specific embodiment selected, and before the decision by the arithmetic unit 2 that the driving function be activated, i.e. before program point 160 or 170, an additional exclusionary criterion may be checked. For example, certain speed ranges, weather conditions or driving states of the driver, such as increased fatigue, low attentiveness or drunkenness of the driver may be used not to activate the driver assistance system, in spite of the suitability of the driver for the requested driver assistance system. In addition, depending on the specific embodiment selected, when an exclusionary criterion is present, the activation of the requested driver assistance system may not be permitted by arithmetic unit 2. For instance, when it detects a fatigued driver, arithmetic unit 2 is able to prohibit the activation of fully automatic driving of the vehicle. When detecting a corresponding situation, arithmetic unit 2 outputs an alarm signal to the driver.
Nordbruch doesn’t disclose the except claim limitations. In the same art of driver assistance embodiments, Ding cites:
[0020] The visual recognition and audio recognition above are fused 20 to confirm the presence, location, and direction of travel of the emergency vehicle and an appropriate visual alert or alarm 22 and/or auditory alert or alarm 24 is/are issued to the driver in the ego vehicle 5. The visual alert or alarm 22 may consist of an appropriate display and/or warning light, and the auditory alert or alarm 24 may consist of an appropriate audible sound. A haptic alert or alarm may also be used in conjunction with the visual alert or alarm 22 and/or auditory alert or alarm 24. It should be noted that any alert or alarm utilized may be progressive, escalating from a gently “nudge” to an urgent “insistence” to an ego vehicle-initiated driver-assistance or self-driving operational intervention executed via the ego vehicle's advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) or autonomous driving (AD) and braking/steering systems. The fusion module and process 20 are operable for determining a degree of agreement between the visual recognition and the audio recognition, with significant thresholded disagreements being flagged. Further, the fusion module and process 20 can supplement one of the visual recognition and the audio recognition with the other, thereby enhancing the collective certainty and accuracy of the two.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Nordbruch’s embodiment using the features outlined in Ding such that the claimed invention is realized.
Ding discloses a known feature of assigning an alert or alarm to a driver when encountering an emergency vehicle and the appropriate driver response involving the driver assistance intervention function dealing with the issue. One of ordinary skill would have included Ding’s known feature into Norbruch’s driving assist function to push the driver into making a decision regarding a driver assist function.
Conclusion
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/CAL J EUSTAQUIO/Examiner, Art Unit 2686
/BRIAN A ZIMMERMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2686