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 certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pg. 9, filed 02/11/2026, with respect to the objection to claim 12 have been fully considered and are persuasive.
The Examiner is in agreement that the amendments to claim 12 correct the previously-raised informalities. Accordingly, the objection to claim 12 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see Pgs. 9-12, filed 02/11/2026, with respect to the 35 USC 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) rejection of independent claims 1 and 13 and the prior art rejection(s) of their respective dependent claims have been fully considered but are not are persuasive.
Applicant argues that Ogura fails to disclose “wherein: a recovery point is set to a next checkpoint along the particular route after the autonomous traveling body has performed an inspection and passed a preceding checkpoint, and the control circuitry controls the autonomous traveling body to resume autonomous travel from the recovery point.” The Examiner respectfully disagrees and notes that Applicant’s arguments are directed to features which have not been adequately claimed and are therefore moot.
In particular, Applicant alleges that “Claim 1 provides a specialized recovery logic where the system does not simply return to the physical coordinates of the suspension point. Instead, as supported by paragraph [0286] of the Pre-Grant Publication, the recovery point is set to the next checkpoint subsequent to the suspension point, provided a preceding checkpoint and its associated inspection task were already completed.” However, the Examiner respectfully asserts that the independent claims fail to sufficiently recite each of these features. Claim 1 recites “wherein: a recovery point is set to a next checkpoint along the particular route after the autonomous traveling body has performed an inspection and passed a preceding checkpoint”. Here, it is merely required that the recovery point is set to be a “next checkpoint” along the particular route after the autonomous traveling body has (1) performed an inspection and (2) passed a preceding checkpoint. Contrary to Applicant’s arguments, the “preceding checkpoint” is not required by the claim to be the suspension point. Rather, the preceding checkpoint could reasonably be interpreted as any preceding checkpoint along the particular route. Moreover, the claims do not preclude the recovery point from mapping to the restart position of Ogura. While Applicant argues that “Ogura emphasizes that this restart position corresponds to the exact location of the interruption to prevent the operation from being disrupted”, this is not fully accurate. The restart position of Ogura may be set to “the position where interruption occurred” (see at least [0111]), but may also “be selected to a different operation start position from the position where interruption occurred”. In other words, the selection of the position where interruption occurred as the restart position is a decision made by the system of Ogura. Given the breadth of the limitation “a next checkpoint” and “a preceding checkpoint”, the operation start position of Ogura (see at least [0092]-[0111]) functions as “a preceding checkpoint”, while the recovery point is set to a next checkpoint (i.e., the position where interruption occurred). The position where interruption occurred is known to be after the operation start position (see at least [0104-[0111]). Therefore, the Examiner asserts that Ogura does disclose “wherein: a recovery point is set to a next checkpoint along the particular route after the autonomous traveling body has performed an inspection and passed a preceding checkpoint, and the control circuitry controls the autonomous traveling body to resume autonomous travel from the recovery point.”
Accordingly, the 35 USC 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) rejection of independent claims 1 and 13 and the prior art rejection(s) of their respective dependent claims have been maintained to account for the modified scope of the amended claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
The following is a quotation of 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-5, 13, and 36 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ogura et al. (US 2017/0177002 A1), hereinafter Ogura.
Regarding claim 1, Ogura discloses an information processing system for controlling an autonomous traveling body capable of autonomously traveling on a learned route, the information processing system comprising:
route information memory to store suspension point information indicating a suspension point at which the autonomous traveling body has suspended autonomous traveling on a particular route that is a learned route;
Ogura discloses ([0072]): "Next, how a target travel path R of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 is created will be described. The target travel path R, once created, is referred to as the preset travel path R. The travel path R is stored in a memory 30a of the controller 30. The controller 30 can control the traveling and operation of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 as well as calculate and store the travel path R..." Ogura further discloses ([0100]): "As described above, there is provided a method for setting a travel path R of an autonomous travel work vehicle 1 for the autonomous travel work vehicle to run and operate autonomously by determining positions of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 with the use of a satellite positioning system so as to drive the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 and carry out an agricultural field operation from one end (operation start position X) to another end (operation end position) of the agricultural field H." Ogura even further discloses ([0111]): "During an autonomous traveling operation, whether or not the operation has ended is determined (S14). When the operation ends, the traveling of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 is stopped and ended (S15). When it is not ended, whether or not the operation has been interrupted midway is determined (S16). Conditions for interruption will be described later. If conditions for interruption are not met, the autonomous traveling operation is continued. If the operation is interrupted, the position where interruption occurred is stored in the memory 30a (S17). Once interruption occurs, whether or not the operation can be restarted is determined (S18). If it is to be restarted, the position where interruption occurred is displayed as the restart position (S19), and the process goes back to step 1."
acquisition circuitry configured to acquire current position information indicating a current position of the autonomous traveling body according to an instruction to resume the autonomous traveling;
Ogura discloses ([0043]): "A moving receiver 33 that constitutes a satellite positioning system is connected to the controller 30. A moving GPS antenna 34 and a data receiving antenna 38 are connected to the moving receiver 33. The moving GPS antenna 34 and data receiving antenna 38 are provided on the cabin 11. The moving receiver 33 includes a position calculator for determining positions and transmits latitudes and longitudes to the controller 30, so that the current location can be known." Ogura further discloses ([0111]): "If the operation is interrupted, the position where interruption occurred is stored in the memory 30a (S17). Once interruption occurs, whether or not the operation can be restarted is determined (S18). If it is to be restarted, the position where interruption occurred is displayed as the restart position (S19), and the process goes back to step 1. The restart position after the interruption can be selected to a different operation start position from the position where interruption occurred. At the restart, it is also possible to control the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to automatically move to the restart position when it has moved elsewhere for replenishment of fuel or repair." Ogura even further discloses ([0116]): "When the operation is interrupted, the controller 30 stores the position where it was interrupted, sets this position as the operation restart position when the operation is restarted, and shows this position on the display means 49 or the display 113. Thus positioning, when starting the operation after an interruption, can be carried out easily, so that the operation is prevented from being disrupted."
and control circuitry configured to control the autonomous traveling body to return to the particular route, based on at least the current position information and the suspension point information,
Ogura discloses ([0054]): "The controller 30 in the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 thus obtains position information of the vehicle body determined by the moving receiver 33 from the radio waves transmitted from the GPS satellites 37, 37 at predetermined time intervals, and obtains information on the changes in orientation and direction of the vehicle body from the gyro sensor 31 and the direction sensor 32. Based on the position information and the information on the changes in orientation and direction of the vehicle body, the controller 30 controls the steering actuator 40, the speed change means 44 and the like such that the vehicle travels along a predetermined travel path R." Ogura further discloses ([0111]): "If the operation is interrupted, the position where interruption occurred is stored in the memory 30a (S17). Once interruption occurs, whether or not the operation can be restarted is determined (S18). If it is to be restarted, the position where interruption occurred is displayed as the restart position (S19), and the process goes back to step 1. The restart position after the interruption can be selected to a different operation start position from the position where interruption occurred. At the restart, it is also possible to control the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to automatically move to the restart position when it has moved elsewhere for replenishment of fuel or repair." FIG. 10, included below, demonstrates that upon returning to step 1, the process continues to step S13 and resumes traveling.
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wherein: a recovery point is set to a next checkpoint along the particular route after the autonomous traveling body has performed an inspection and passed a preceding checkpoint,
Ogura discloses ([0092]): "Once the setting is done and a travel path R and operation process steps along the travel path R are generated, the operator drives and moves the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to the operation start position X, and places the accompanying travel work vehicle 100 nearby, to start the operation. The operator then controls the remote controller 112 to start the operation." Ogura further discloses ([0094]): "The operation start conditions are stored in the controller 30 of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1, and when an operation starter of the remote controller 112 equipped in the accompanying travel work vehicle 100 is turned on, the controller 30 determines whether or not the predetermined operation start conditions are met." Ogura even further discloses ([0104]): "Upon this operation of the operation starter, the controller 30 determines the current location of the work vehicle (autonomous travel work vehicle 1) from the GPS signals, and indicates the current location, the operation start position, and position information such as the moving direction of the operation on the display 113 (53)." Ogura still further discloses ([0105]): "At this time, the controller determines whether or not the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 is located at the operation start position, i.e., whether or not it is within a preset range from the operation start position (S4)." Ogura yet further discloses ([0106]): "When the controller determines that the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 is not positioned within a preset range, it does not permit the vehicle to start autonomous traveling." Ogura even further discloses ([0110]): "If there is no abnormality, whether or not the engine 3 has been started is determined (S11)... If it has already been started, the autonomous traveling and operation are started (S13)." Ogura still further discloses ([0111]): "If the operation is interrupted, the position where interruption occurred is stored in the memory 30a (S17). Once interruption occurs, whether or not the operation can be restarted is determined (S18). If it is to be restarted, the position where interruption occurred is displayed as the restart position (S19), and the process goes back to step 1. The restart position after the interruption can be selected to a different operation start position from the position where interruption occurred. At the restart, it is also possible to control the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to automatically move to the restart position when it has moved elsewhere for replenishment of fuel or repair." FIG. 10, included above, demonstrates that the work vehicle 1 being positioned at the operation start position is a predetermined operation start condition. Thus, after the autonomous traveling body has performed an inspection (i.e., measuring position of the work vehicle 1 using GPS) and passed a preceding checkpoint (i.e., starting travel from the operation start position), a recovery point (i.e., the restart position) is set to a next checkpoint along the particular route. The Examiner has interpreted the restart position of Ogura as a next checkpoint, as the recovery point (set as the position where interruption occurred) is subsequent to the operation start position.
and the control circuitry controls the autonomous traveling body to resume autonomous travel from the recovery point.
Ogura discloses ([0111]): "If the operation is interrupted, the position where interruption occurred is stored in the memory 30a (S17). Once interruption occurs, whether or not the operation can be restarted is determined (S18). If it is to be restarted, the position where interruption occurred is displayed as the restart position (S19), and the process goes back to step 1. The restart position after the interruption can be selected to a different operation start position from the position where interruption occurred. At the restart, it is also possible to control the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to automatically move to the restart position when it has moved elsewhere for replenishment of fuel or repair." FIG. 10, included above, demonstrates that upon returning to step 1, the process continues to step S13 and resumes traveling.
Regarding claim 2, Ogura discloses the aforementioned limitations of claim 1. Ogura further discloses:
determination circuitry configured to determine whether the autonomous traveling body is able to autonomously travel to the recovery point.
Ogura discloses ([0100]): "As described above, there is provided a method for setting a travel path R of an autonomous travel work vehicle 1 for the autonomous travel work vehicle to run and operate autonomously by determining positions of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 with the use of a satellite positioning system so as to drive the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 and carry out an agricultural field operation from one end (operation start position X) to another end (operation end position) of the agricultural field H. " Ogura further discloses ([0111]): "If the operation is interrupted, the position where interruption occurred is stored in the memory 30a (S17). Once interruption occurs, whether or not the operation can be restarted is determined (S18). If it is to be restarted, the position where interruption occurred is displayed as the restart position (S19), and the process goes back to step 1. The restart position after the interruption can be selected to a different operation start position from the position where interruption occurred. At the restart, it is also possible to control the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to automatically move to the restart position when it has moved elsewhere for replenishment of fuel or repair." Ogura even further discloses ([0116]): "When the operation is interrupted, the controller 30 stores the position where it was interrupted, sets this position as the operation restart position when the operation is restarted, and shows this position on the display means 49 or the display 113. Thus positioning, when starting the operation after an interruption, can be carried out easily, so that the operation is prevented from being disrupted." Therefore, Ogura determines that the autonomous traveling body is able to autonomously travel from the current position to the recovery point on the route (i.e., travel path R stored in memory 30a).
Regarding claim 4, Ogura discloses the aforementioned limitations of claim 2. Ogura further discloses:
the determination circuitry is configured to determine whether the autonomous traveling body is able to autonomously travel from the current position to the recovery point using one or more learned routes stored in the route information memory.
Ogura discloses ([0100]): "As described above, there is provided a method for setting a travel path R of an autonomous travel work vehicle 1 for the autonomous travel work vehicle to run and operate autonomously by determining positions of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 with the use of a satellite positioning system so as to drive the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 and carry out an agricultural field operation from one end (operation start position X) to another end (operation end position) of the agricultural field H. " Ogura further discloses ([0111]): "If the operation is interrupted, the position where interruption occurred is stored in the memory 30a (S17). Once interruption occurs, whether or not the operation can be restarted is determined (S18). If it is to be restarted, the position where interruption occurred is displayed as the restart position (S19), and the process goes back to step 1. The restart position after the interruption can be selected to a different operation start position from the position where interruption occurred. At the restart, it is also possible to control the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to automatically move to the restart position when it has moved elsewhere for replenishment of fuel or repair." Ogura even further discloses ([0116]): "When the operation is interrupted, the controller 30 stores the position where it was interrupted, sets this position as the operation restart position when the operation is restarted, and shows this position on the display means 49 or the display 113. Thus positioning, when starting the operation after an interruption, can be carried out easily, so that the operation is prevented from being disrupted." Therefore, Ogura determines that the autonomous traveling body is able to autonomously travel from the current position to the recovery point using one or more learned routes stored in the route information memory (i.e., travel path R stored in memory 30a).
Regarding claim 5, Ogura discloses the aforementioned limitations of claim 2. Ogura further discloses:
wherein the determination circuitry is configured to determine whether the autonomous traveling body is able to autonomously travel from the current position to the recovery point using one or more learned routes stored in the route information memory.
Ogura discloses ([0100]): "As described above, there is provided a method for setting a travel path R of an autonomous travel work vehicle 1 for the autonomous travel work vehicle to run and operate autonomously by determining positions of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 with the use of a satellite positioning system so as to drive the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 and carry out an agricultural field operation from one end (operation start position X) to another end (operation end position) of the agricultural field H. " Ogura further discloses ([0111]): "If the operation is interrupted, the position where interruption occurred is stored in the memory 30a (S17). Once interruption occurs, whether or not the operation can be restarted is determined (S18). If it is to be restarted, the position where interruption occurred is displayed as the restart position (S19), and the process goes back to step 1. The restart position after the interruption can be selected to a different operation start position from the position where interruption occurred. At the restart, it is also possible to control the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to automatically move to the restart position when it has moved elsewhere for replenishment of fuel or repair." Ogura even further discloses ([0116]): "When the operation is interrupted, the controller 30 stores the position where it was interrupted, sets this position as the operation restart position when the operation is restarted, and shows this position on the display means 49 or the display 113. Thus positioning, when starting the operation after an interruption, can be carried out easily, so that the operation is prevented from being disrupted." Therefore, Ogura determines that the autonomous traveling body is able to autonomously travel from the current position to the recovery point using one or more learned routes stored in the route information memory (i.e., travel path R stored in memory 30a).
Regarding claim 13, Ogura discloses an autonomous traveling body for autonomously traveling on a learned route, the autonomous traveling body comprising:
a route information memory to store suspension point information indicating a suspension point at which the autonomous traveling body has suspended autonomous traveling on a particular route that is a learned route;
Ogura discloses ([0072]): "Next, how a target travel path R of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 is created will be described. The target travel path R, once created, is referred to as the preset travel path R. The travel path R is stored in a memory 30a of the controller 30. The controller 30 can control the traveling and operation of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 as well as calculate and store the travel path R..." Ogura further discloses ([0100]): "As described above, there is provided a method for setting a travel path R of an autonomous travel work vehicle 1 for the autonomous travel work vehicle to run and operate autonomously by determining positions of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 with the use of a satellite positioning system so as to drive the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 and carry out an agricultural field operation from one end (operation start position X) to another end (operation end position) of the agricultural field H." Ogura even further discloses ([0111]): "During an autonomous traveling operation, whether or not the operation has ended is determined (S14). When the operation ends, the traveling of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 is stopped and ended (S15). When it is not ended, whether or not the operation has been interrupted midway is determined (S16). Conditions for interruption will be described later. If conditions for interruption are not met, the autonomous traveling operation is continued. If the operation is interrupted, the position where interruption occurred is stored in the memory 30a (S17). Once interruption occurs, whether or not the operation can be restarted is determined (S18). If it is to be restarted, the position where interruption occurred is displayed as the restart position (S19), and the process goes back to step 1."
acquisition circuitry configured to acquire current position information indicating a current position of the autonomous traveling body according to an instruction to resume the autonomous traveling;
Ogura discloses ([0043]): "A moving receiver 33 that constitutes a satellite positioning system is connected to the controller 30. A moving GPS antenna 34 and a data receiving antenna 38 are connected to the moving receiver 33. The moving GPS antenna 34 and data receiving antenna 38 are provided on the cabin 11. The moving receiver 33 includes a position calculator for determining positions and transmits latitudes and longitudes to the controller 30, so that the current location can be known." Ogura further discloses ([0111]): "If the operation is interrupted, the position where interruption occurred is stored in the memory 30a (S17). Once interruption occurs, whether or not the operation can be restarted is determined (S18). If it is to be restarted, the position where interruption occurred is displayed as the restart position (S19), and the process goes back to step 1. The restart position after the interruption can be selected to a different operation start position from the position where interruption occurred. At the restart, it is also possible to control the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to automatically move to the restart position when it has moved elsewhere for replenishment of fuel or repair." Ogura even further discloses ([0116]): "When the operation is interrupted, the controller 30 stores the position where it was interrupted, sets this position as the operation restart position when the operation is restarted, and shows this position on the display means 49 or the display 113. Thus positioning, when starting the operation after an interruption, can be carried out easily, so that the operation is prevented from being disrupted."
and control circuitry configured to control the autonomous traveling body to return to the particular route, based on the current position information and the suspension point information,
Ogura discloses ([0054]): "The controller 30 in the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 thus obtains position information of the vehicle body determined by the moving receiver 33 from the radio waves transmitted from the GPS satellites 37, 37 at predetermined time intervals, and obtains information on the changes in orientation and direction of the vehicle body from the gyro sensor 31 and the direction sensor 32. Based on the position information and the information on the changes in orientation and direction of the vehicle body, the controller 30 controls the steering actuator 40, the speed change means 44 and the like such that the vehicle travels along a predetermined travel path R." Ogura further discloses ([0111]): "If the operation is interrupted, the position where interruption occurred is stored in the memory 30a (S17). Once interruption occurs, whether or not the operation can be restarted is determined (S18). If it is to be restarted, the position where interruption occurred is displayed as the restart position (S19), and the process goes back to step 1. The restart position after the interruption can be selected to a different operation start position from the position where interruption occurred. At the restart, it is also possible to control the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to automatically move to the restart position when it has moved elsewhere for replenishment of fuel or repair." FIG. 10, included above, demonstrates that upon returning to step 1, the process continues to step S13 and resumes traveling.
wherein: a recovery point is set to a next checkpoint along the particular route after the autonomous traveling body has performed an inspection and passed a preceding checkpoint,
Ogura discloses ([0092]): "Once the setting is done and a travel path R and operation process steps along the travel path R are generated, the operator drives and moves the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to the operation start position X, and places the accompanying travel work vehicle 100 nearby, to start the operation. The operator then controls the remote controller 112 to start the operation." Ogura further discloses ([0094]): "The operation start conditions are stored in the controller 30 of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1, and when an operation starter of the remote controller 112 equipped in the accompanying travel work vehicle 100 is turned on, the controller 30 determines whether or not the predetermined operation start conditions are met." Ogura even further discloses ([0104]): "Upon this operation of the operation starter, the controller 30 determines the current location of the work vehicle (autonomous travel work vehicle 1) from the GPS signals, and indicates the current location, the operation start position, and position information such as the moving direction of the operation on the display 113 (53)." Ogura still further discloses ([0105]): "At this time, the controller determines whether or not the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 is located at the operation start position, i.e., whether or not it is within a preset range from the operation start position (S4)." Ogura yet further discloses ([0106]): "When the controller determines that the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 is not positioned within a preset range, it does not permit the vehicle to start autonomous traveling." Ogura even further discloses ([0110]): "If there is no abnormality, whether or not the engine 3 has been started is determined (S11)... If it has already been started, the autonomous traveling and operation are started (S13)." Ogura still further discloses ([0111]): "If the operation is interrupted, the position where interruption occurred is stored in the memory 30a (S17). Once interruption occurs, whether or not the operation can be restarted is determined (S18). If it is to be restarted, the position where interruption occurred is displayed as the restart position (S19), and the process goes back to step 1. The restart position after the interruption can be selected to a different operation start position from the position where interruption occurred. At the restart, it is also possible to control the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to automatically move to the restart position when it has moved elsewhere for replenishment of fuel or repair." FIG. 10, included above, demonstrates that the work vehicle 1 being positioned at the operation start position is a predetermined operation start condition. Thus, after the autonomous traveling body has performed an inspection (i.e., measuring position of the work vehicle 1 using GPS) and passed a preceding checkpoint (i.e., starting travel from the operation start position), a recovery point (i.e., the restart position) is set to a next checkpoint along the particular route. The Examiner has interpreted the restart position of Ogura as a next checkpoint, as the recovery point (set as the position where interruption occurred) is subsequent to the operation start position.
and the control circuitry controls the autonomous traveling body to resume autonomous travel from the recovery point.
Ogura discloses ([0111]): "If the operation is interrupted, the position where interruption occurred is stored in the memory 30a (S17). Once interruption occurs, whether or not the operation can be restarted is determined (S18). If it is to be restarted, the position where interruption occurred is displayed as the restart position (S19), and the process goes back to step 1. The restart position after the interruption can be selected to a different operation start position from the position where interruption occurred. At the restart, it is also possible to control the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to automatically move to the restart position when it has moved elsewhere for replenishment of fuel or repair." FIG. 10, included above, demonstrates that upon returning to step 1, the process continues to step S13 and resumes traveling.
Regarding claim 36, Ogura discloses the aforementioned limitations of claim 13. Ogura further discloses:
a detector to perform at least one of gas detection, noise measurement, or temperature measurement.
Ogura discloses ([0039]): "An engine rpm sensor 61, a water temperature sensor, a hydraulic sensor and the like are connected to the engine controller 60, to detect the condition of the engine."
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.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogura in view of Morimoto et al. (US 2024/0099176 A1), hereinafter Morimoto.
Regarding claim 3, Ogura teaches the aforementioned limitations of claim 2. However, Ogura does not outright teach that the determination circuitry is configured to determine whether the autonomous traveling body is able to autonomously travel on a linear route from the current position to the recovery point. Morimoto teaches an automatic travel system, comprising:
the determination circuitry is configured to determine whether the autonomous traveling body is able to autonomously travel on a linear route from the current position to the recovery point.
Morimoto teaches ([0059]): "The tractor moves to the start point of the target route (linear travel route) set as the first route (#5). The automatic travel is started (#6) and the tractor performs straight forward travel until the tractor reaches the end point of the target route (#7). When the tractor has reached the end point of the target route (“Yes” branch in #8), it is checked whether or not there is any linear travel route (subsequent travel route Ln) that the tractor is to travel next (#9), and if there is any linear travel route that the tractor is to travel next (“Yes” branch in #9), the procedure advances to the transition turning travel processing (see FIG. 8) of moving to the next travel route using turning travel (#10)."
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ogura to incorporate the teachings of Morimoto to provide that the determination circuitry is configured to determine whether the autonomous traveling body is able to autonomously travel on a linear route from the current position to the recovery point. Ogura and Morimoto are each directed towards similar pursuits in the field of vehicle routing and navigation. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would find it advantageous to incorporate the teachings of Morimoto, as doing so advantageously allows for returning to the suspension point, and in the event that the vehicle is not able to autonomously travel on a linear route, ending automatic travel, as recognized by Morimoto (see at least [0059]).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogura in view of Nishii et al. (US 2023/0114806 A1), hereinafter Nishii.
Regarding claim 6, Ogura teaches the aforementioned limitations of claim 2. Ogura further teaches:
the autonomous traveling body is configured to switch a traveling mode between an autonomous traveling mode and a remote control mode in which the autonomous traveling body is controlled to travel by a remote operation,
Ogura teaches ([0067]): "As described above, the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 includes the moving receiver 33 having a position calculator that determines the position of the vehicle body of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 with the use of a satellite positioning system, the steering actuator 40 that activates the steering system, the engine controller 60 that is the engine rpm controller, the speed change means 44, and the controller 30 that controls all these. The parallel travel work system allows the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to run autonomously along a preset travel path R stored in the controller 30, and enables operation of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 through the remote controller 112 mounted on the accompanying travel work vehicle 100 that accompanies and operates with the autonomous travel work vehicle 1. The remote controller 112 is portable, as well as removably attachable to the accompanying travel work vehicle 100 and/or the autonomous travel work vehicle 1, so that, during the parallel travel work, an operation can be carried out with the remote controller 112 attached to the accompanying travel work vehicle 100, wherein the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 alone can perform the operation, or, in the event of a trouble on the autonomous travel work vehicle 1, the operator can remove the remote controller 112 and get on the autonomous travel work vehicle 1, or can control or check the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 near the vehicle or in a position where the operator has a good view of the vehicle." Therefore, the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 is capable of switching between an autonomous traveling mode and a remote control mode.
and the determination circuitry is configured to determine whether the autonomous traveling body is able to autonomously travel from the current position to the recovery point on the... route.
Ogura teaches ([0100]): "As described above, there is provided a method for setting a travel path R of an autonomous travel work vehicle 1 for the autonomous travel work vehicle to run and operate autonomously by determining positions of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 with the use of a satellite positioning system so as to drive the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 and carry out an agricultural field operation from one end (operation start position X) to another end (operation end position) of the agricultural field H. " Ogura further teaches ([0111]): "If the operation is interrupted, the position where interruption occurred is stored in the memory 30a (S17). Once interruption occurs, whether or not the operation can be restarted is determined (S18). If it is to be restarted, the position where interruption occurred is displayed as the restart position (S19), and the process goes back to step 1. The restart position after the interruption can be selected to a different operation start position from the position where interruption occurred. At the restart, it is also possible to control the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to automatically move to the restart position when it has moved elsewhere for replenishment of fuel or repair." Ogura even further teaches ([0116]): "When the operation is interrupted, the controller 30 stores the position where it was interrupted, sets this position as the operation restart position when the operation is restarted, and shows this position on the display means 49 or the display 113. Thus positioning, when starting the operation after an interruption, can be carried out easily, so that the operation is prevented from being disrupted." Thus, if the vehicle is following travel path R and autonomous operation is interrupted while following the travel path R, the operation restart position corresponds to the position where the interruption occurred (i.e., a position on travel path R). Therefore, Ogura determines that the autonomous traveling body is able to autonomously travel from the current position to the suspension point on the route (i.e., travel path R stored in memory 30a).
However, Ogura does not outright teach that the memory is to store a remote control route on which the autonomous traveling body has traveled in the remote control mode after the autonomous traveling is suspended. Nishii teaches a management system for an automatic travel vehicle, comprising:
the memory is to store a remote control route on which the autonomous traveling body has traveled in the remote control mode after the autonomous traveling is suspended,
Nishii teaches ([0088]): "The management terminal 3 is a terminal that can remotely control the combine harvester 2 as the associated work vehicle..." Nishii further teaches ([0223]): " In the first work, the automatic mowing travel, as the case may be, is interrupted before the completing of the automatic mowing travel in the unmown area of the work area shape, and in this case, the function control unit 21 stores, in the storage unit 11, the work route related to the interrupted automatic mowing travel as the previous route, thus storing, in the storage unit 11, the data used for the automatic mowing travel of the first work (for example, farm field information such as the work area, work vehicle data of the combine harvester 2, work route, etc.), for example."
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ogura to incorporate the teachings of Nishii to provide that the memory is to store a remote control route on which the autonomous traveling body has traveled in the remote control mode after the autonomous traveling is suspended. Ogura and Nishii are each directed towards similar pursuits in the field of vehicle routing and navigation. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would find it advantageous to incorporate the teachings of Nishii, as incorporating the remote route storage of Nishii advantageously allows for restarting of automated travel using the remote route storage after autonomous traveling has been suspended (see at least [0223]-[0224]).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogura in view of Matsuda et al. (US 2021/0402985 A1), hereinafter Matsuda.
Regarding claim 7, Ogura teaches the aforementioned limitations of claim 2. However, Ogura does not outright teach that the autonomous traveling body is configured to travel to a start point of the particular route based on a determination by the determination circuitry that there is no route for autonomous traveling to the recovery point. Matsuda teaches a vehicle control device, comprising:
the autonomous traveling body is configured to travel to a start point of the particular route based on a determination by the determination circuitry that there is no route for autonomous traveling to the recovery point.
Matsuda teaches ([0045]): "The control terminator 16 is configured to terminate the control by the travel controller 12 in a state of the vehicle 100 being stopped and notify the occupant of the vehicle 100 of the termination of control when, for example, the vehicle 100 cannot travel the original parking route RP and the route calculator 11 cannot calculate the new parking route." Matsuda further teaches ([0046]): "The travel controller 12 can be configured to return the vehicle 100 to a start position of the parking route RP when, for example, the vehicle 100 cannot travel the original parking route RP, there is no occupant on the vehicle 100, and the route calculator 11 cannot calculate the new parking route."
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ogura to incorporate the teachings of Matsuda to provide that the autonomous traveling body is configured to travel to a start point of the particular route based on a determination by the determination circuitry that there is no route for autonomous traveling to the recovery point. Ogura and Matsuda are each directed towards similar pursuits in the field of vehicle routing and navigation. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would find it advantageous to incorporate the teachings of Matsuda, as doing so beneficially allows for alerting the occupant of the vehicle of termination of control, and allows for returning the vehicle to a start position of the route when the vehicle cannot travel the original route and a new route cannot be calculated, as recognized by Matsuda (see at least [0045]-[0046]).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogura in view of Papanikolopoulos et al. (US 2019/0278988 A1), hereinafter Papanikolopoulos.
Regarding claim 8, Ogura teaches the aforementioned limitations of claim 1. Ogura further teaches:
an image capturer to capture an image of surroundings of the autonomous traveling body…
Ogura teaches ([0056]): "A camera 42 connected to the controller 30 is also mounted on the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to take images of the surroundings of the vehicle body."
However, Ogura does not outright teach that based on a determination by the determination circuitry that there is no route for autonomous traveling to the recovery point, the autonomous traveling device is configured to travel to a start point of the particular route. Papanikolopoulos teaches an unmanned vehicle, comprising:
an image capturer to capture an image of surroundings of the autonomous traveling body at a set position on the particular route in autonomous traveling.
Papanikolopoulos teaches ([0041]): "For example, navigation module 44 may guide the movement of unmanned vehicle 12 along a predetermined path to image predetermined portions or regions of crop 17, plants 18, or field 19… For example, processing circuitry 34 may send instructions to control module 46 to cause unmanned vehicle 12 to trigger imaging of imaging device 14 to capture images at predetermined times or intervals along a path of unmanned vehicle 12."
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ogura to incorporate the teachings of Papanikolopoulos to provide that based on a determination by the determination circuitry that there is no route for autonomous traveling to the recovery point, the autonomous traveling device is configured to travel to a start point of the particular route. Ogura and Papanikolopoulos are each directed towards similar pursuits in the field of vehicle routing and navigation. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would find it advantageous to incorporate the teachings of Papanikolopoulos, as doing so beneficially allows for developing a point cloud reconstruction of the vehicle's surroundings based on the images captured at set positions on the particular route, as recognized by Papanikolopoulos (see at least [0041]-[0044]).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogura in view of Friedman et al. (US 2009/0198381 A1), hereinafter Friedman.
Regarding claim 9, Ogura teaches the aforementioned limitations of claim 1. Ogura further teaches:
inspection circuitry configured to check a temperature…
Ogura teaches ([0109]): "Next, whether or not there is any abnormality in the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 is determined (S8). If there is an abnormality, the type of abnormality is indicated (S9)… Abnormalities include, for example... a buildup in oil temperature or water temperature...." The Examiner notes that the controller 30 executes the process shown in FIG. 10 (see at least [0103]), including step 8.
However, Ogura does not outright teach inspection circuitry configured to check a temperature at a set position on the particular route in autonomously traveling. Friedman teaches methods for repurposing temporal-spatial information collected by service robots, comprising:
inspection circuitry configured to check a temperature at a set position on the particular route in autonomously traveling.
Friedman teaches ([0045]): "As an example, the following description will describe a potential application for this method and illustrate its operation. A service robot is used to clean the floors in an industrial facility. It is programmed to follow a path which carries it throughout the facility. A temperature sensor is mounted to the robot, and as it is doing its primary function, it is also recording the temperature of the environment at intervals along the programmed path. The temperature-location data is transmitted to the facility heating system, which maps the position data from the robot to its control zones. It thus can use the recorded temperatures to adjust the heating output of the different zones."
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ogura to incorporate the teachings of Friedman to provide inspection circuitry configured to check a temperature at a set position on the particular route in autonomously traveling. Ogura and Friedman are each directed towards similar pursuits in the field of vehicle routing and navigation. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would find it advantageous to incorporate the teachings of Friedman, as the temperature checking of Friedman beneficially allows for reporting of the temperature-location data to a remote system, as recognized by Friedman (see at least [0045]). In the case of navigating in an industrial facility, this allows for adjustment of heating output of control zones based on the obtained temperature data.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogura and Papanikolopoulos in view of Friedman.
Regarding claim 10, Ogura and Papanikolopoulos teach the aforementioned limitations of claim 8. However, Ogura does not outright teach that the autonomous traveling body is configured to autonomously travel a factory site. Friedman teaches methods for repurposing temporal-spatial information collected by service robots, comprising:
the autonomous traveling body is configured to autonomously travel a factory site.
Friedman teaches ([0045]): "As an example, the following description will describe a potential application for this method and illustrate its operation. A service robot is used to clean the floors in an industrial facility. It is programmed to follow a path which carries it throughout the facility. A temperature sensor is mounted to the robot, and as it is doing its primary function, it is also recording the temperature of the environment at intervals along the programmed path. The temperature-location data is transmitted to the facility heating system, which maps the position data from the robot to its control zones. It thus can use the recorded temperatures to adjust the heating output of the different zones." The Examiner has interpreted an industrial facility as being analogous to a factory site.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ogura and Papanikolopoulos to incorporate the teachings of Friedman to provide that the autonomous traveling body is configured to autonomously travel a factory site. Ogura, Papanikolopoulos, and Friedman are each directed towards similar pursuits in the field of vehicle routing and navigation. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would find it advantageous to incorporate the teachings of Friedman, as the temperature checking of Friedman beneficially allows for reporting of temperature-location data to a remote system, as recognized by Friedman (see at least [0045]). In the case of navigating in an industrial facility, this allows for adjustment of heating output of control zones based on the obtained temperature data.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogura and Papanikolopoulos in view of Suzuki et al. (US 2020/0233431 A1), hereinafter Suzuki.
Regarding claim 11, Ogura and Papanikolopoulos teach the aforementioned limitations of claim 8. However, Ogura does not outright teach that the autonomous traveling body is configured to autonomously travel a medical facility. Suzuki teaches a mobile body and location estimation device, comprising:
the autonomous traveling body is configured to autonomously travel a medical facility.
Suzuki teaches ([0055]): "The automated travel control unit 110 operates the driving unit 108 so as to control conditions (such as velocity, acceleration, and the direction of movement) for movement of the vehicle 10. The automated travel control unit 110 may move the vehicle 10 along a predetermined traveling path, or move the vehicle 10 in accordance with a command provided from outside." Suzuki further teaches ([0160]): "Vehicles according to example embodiments of the present disclosure may be suitably used to move and convey articles (e.g., cargo, components, and finished products) in places, such as, factories, warehouses, construction sites, distribution centers, and hospitals."
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ogura and Papanikolopoulos to incorporate the teachings of Suzuki to provide that the autonomous traveling body is configured to autonomously travel a medical facility. Ogura, Papanikolopoulos, and Suzuki are each directed towards similar pursuits in the field of vehicle routing and navigation. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would find it advantageous to incorporate the teachings of Suzuki, as enabling the vehicle to travel a medical facility allows for beneficial activities such as moving and conveying articles within the medical facility, as recognized by Suzuki (see at least [0160]).
Claim(s) 12 and 34-35 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogura in view of Lee et al. (US 2012/0109376 A1), hereinafter Lee.
Regarding claim 12, Ogura teaches the aforementioned limitations of claim 1. Ogura further teaches:
an image capturer mounted in the autonomous traveling body and configured to capture an image of surroundings of the autonomous traveling body;
Ogura teaches ([0056]): "A camera 42 connected to the controller 30 is also mounted on the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to take images of the surroundings of the vehicle body."
a control terminal to receive an operation by a user;
Ogura teaches ([0056]): "A camera 42 connected to the controller 30 is also mounted on the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to take images of the surroundings of the vehicle body. Video captured by the camera 42 is shown on the display 113… in the remote controller 112 carried by an operator. The operator can check if there is an obstacle from the image showing the front of the vehicle, or check the operating condition of the implement from the image showing the implement, finished condition after the operation, or the positional relationship or the like with the accompanying travel work vehicle 100." Ogura further teaches ([0066]): "The autonomous travel work vehicle 1 is remotely controllable by means of the remote controller 112. For example, the display 113 can show switches, adjust bars, and the like to allow for control through touching of these such as emergency stop, temporary stop, restart, speed change, and engine rpm change of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1; moving up and down the implement, and connecting and disconnecting the PTO clutch. Namely, the accelerator pedal actuator, the speed change means 44, and the PTO switch 45 are controlled from the remote controller 112 via the transceiver 111, the transceiver 110, and the controller 30, to allow the operator to readily control the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 remotely."
However, Ogura does not outright teach a stop-situation memory to store the image captured by the image capturer in response to a stop of the autonomous traveling body according to the operation by the user; a determination circuitry configured to determine a degree of matching between the image stored in the stop-situation memory with an image captured by the autonomous traveling body while the autonomous traveling body travels; and a notification circuitry configured to provide information on the stop of the autonomous traveling body based on a determination that the degree of matching is equal to or greater than a threshold value. Lee teaches a robot cleaner, comprising:
a stop-situation memory to store the image captured by the image capturer in response to a stop of the autonomous traveling body according to the operation by the user;
Lee teaches ([0060]): "The robot cleaner detects image information within a cleaning region during a cleaning operation or a running operation (S310, S320), and stores the image information (S330). Then, once the cleaning operation stopped by a user's intention or by other causes is re-started (S340, S350), the robot cleaner re-detects image information from its position (S360). The robot cleaner compares the detected image with the stored image, and recognizes its position based on a result of the comparison (S370~S400). Here, the position means not a relative position of the robot cleaner measured by a distance sensor (e.g., a gyro sensor, an encoder, etc.), but an absolute position indicating a cleaning region among a plurality of cleaning regions or a room among a plurality of rooms."
a determination circuitry configured to determine a degree of matching between the image stored in the stop-situation memory with an image captured by the autonomous traveling body while the autonomous traveling body travels;
Lee teaches ([0060]): "The robot cleaner detects image information within a cleaning region during a cleaning operation or a running operation (S310, S320), and stores the image information (S330). Then, once the cleaning operation stopped by a user's intention or by other causes is re-started (S340, S350), the robot cleaner re-detects image information from its position (S360). The robot cleaner compares the detected image with the stored image, and recognizes its position based on a result of the comparison (S370~S400). Here, the position means not a relative position of the robot cleaner measured by a distance sensor (e.g., a gyro sensor, an encoder, etc.), but an absolute position indicating a cleaning region among a plurality of cleaning regions or a room among a plurality of rooms."
and a notification circuitry configured to provide information on the stop of the autonomous traveling body based on a determination that the degree of matching is equal to or greater than a threshold value.
Lee teaches ([0061]): "The robot cleaner extracts one or more feature points from the detected image information and the stored image information (S370). More concretely, the robot cleaner extracts one or more feature points having coordinate information with respect to each of the plurality of images" Lee further teaches ([0062]): "The robot cleaner calculates a similarity between feature points based on the feature point information (S380), and recognizes an absolute position based on the similarity (S390, S400)." Lee even further teaches ([0063]): "For instance, when the distance between feature points obtained by the Equation 2 is less than a predetermined value, the robot cleaner determines that the feature points are the same feature point, and matches the feature points with each other. The robot cleaner recognizes its position based on a result of the matching (S400). And, the robot cleaner compares the detected image information with the image information stored in the storage unit before stopping a cleaning operation, thereby determining whether the cleaning region on a recognized absolute position has been already cleaned (S410). The robot cleaner pre-stores therein information on a cleaning operation such as a cleaning path, a cleaning pattern and a cleaning region, and determines whether the cleaning region on the recognized position is a cleaned region or a non-cleaned region based on the stored information. Then, the robot cleaner executes a cleaning operation with respect to a non-cleaned region (S430). If the similarity is less than a predetermined value and thus the feature points do not match with each other, or if the recognized cleaning region has been already cleaned, the robot cleaner moves to another cleaning region to detect image information again." Thus, Lee determines that the feature points do match with each other when the similarity is greater than the predetermined value.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ogura to incorporate the teachings of Lee to provide a stop-situation memory to store the image captured by the image capturer in response to a stop of the autonomous traveling body according to the operation by the user; a determination circuitry configured to determine a degree of matching between the image stored in the stop-situation memory with an image captured by the autonomous traveling body while the autonomous traveling body travels; and a notification circuitry configured to provide information on the stop of the autonomous traveling body based on a determination that the degree of matching is equal to or greater than a threshold value. Ogura and Lee are each directed towards similar pursuits in the field of vehicle routing and navigation. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would find it advantageous to incorporate the teachings of Lee, as incorporating the image memory and matching of Lee beneficially allows for determining whether a task of the autonomous traveling body is finished within a region (e.g., determining whether a region has been cleaned). For example, this arrangement beneficially allows determining whether a region has been cleaned based on the degree of matching.
Regarding claim 34, Ogura teaches the aforementioned limitations of claim 1. However, while Ogura does teach image recognition techniques (see at least [0123]), Ogura does not outright teach image determination circuitry configured to compare a currently captured image of a surrounding situation of the autonomous traveling body with a stop-situation image captured in the past to determine a degree of matching. Lee teaches a robot cleaner, comprising:
image determination circuitry configured to compare a currently captured image of a surrounding situation of the autonomous traveling body with a stop-situation image captured in the past to determine a degree of matching.
Lee teaches ([0060]): "The robot cleaner detects image information within a cleaning region during a cleaning operation or a running operation (S310, S320), and stores the image information (S330). Then, once the cleaning operation stopped by a user's intention or by other causes is re-started (S340, S350), the robot cleaner re-detects image information from its position (S360). The robot cleaner compares the detected image with the stored image, and recognizes its position based on a result of the comparison (S370~S400). Here, the position means not a relative position of the robot cleaner measured by a distance sensor (e.g., a gyro sensor, an encoder, etc.), but an absolute position indicating a cleaning region among a plurality of cleaning regions or a room among a plurality of rooms."
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ogura to incorporate the teachings of Lee to provide image determination circuitry configured to compare a currently captured image of a surrounding situation of the autonomous traveling body with a stop-situation image captured in the past to determine a degree of matching. Ogura and Lee are each directed towards similar pursuits in the field of vehicle routing and navigation. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would find it advantageous to incorporate the teachings of Lee, as incorporating the image memory and matching of Lee beneficially allows for determining whether a task of the autonomous traveling body is finished within a region (e.g., determining whether a region has been cleaned; see at least [0063]). This arrangement beneficially allows determining whether a region has been cleaned based on the degree of matching.
Regarding claim 35, Ogura and Lee teach the aforementioned limitations of claim 34. However, Ogura does not outright teach a notifier to provide a notification corresponding to a probability that the autonomous traveling body stops based on the degree of matching based on the degree of matching being equal to or greater than a threshold value. Lee further teaches:
a notifier to provide a notification corresponding to a probability that the autonomous traveling body stops based on the degree of matching based on the degree of matching being equal to or greater than a threshold value.
Lee teaches ([0061]): "The robot cleaner extracts one or more feature points from the detected image information and the stored image information (S370). More concretely, the robot cleaner extracts one or more feature points having coordinate information with respect to each of the plurality of images" Lee further teaches ([0062]): "The robot cleaner calculates a similarity between feature points based on the feature point information (S380), and recognizes an absolute position based on the similarity (S390, S400)." Lee even further teaches ([0063]): "For instance, when the distance between feature points obtained by the Equation 2 is less than a predetermined value, the robot cleaner determines that the feature points are the same feature point, and matches the feature points with each other. The robot cleaner recognizes its position based on a result of the matching (S400). And, the robot cleaner compares the detected image information with the image information stored in the storage unit before stopping a cleaning operation, thereby determining whether the cleaning region on a recognized absolute position has been already cleaned (S410). The robot cleaner pre-stores therein information on a cleaning operation such as a cleaning path, a cleaning pattern and a cleaning region, and determines whether the cleaning region on the recognized position is a cleaned region or a non-cleaned region based on the stored information. Then, the robot cleaner executes a cleaning operation with respect to a non-cleaned region (S430). If the similarity is less than a predetermined value and thus the feature points do not match with each other, or if the recognized cleaning region has been already cleaned, the robot cleaner moves to another cleaning region to detect image information again." Thus, Lee determines that the feature points do match with each other when the similarity is greater than the predetermined value.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ogura and Lee to further incorporate the teachings of Lee to provide a notifier to provide a notification corresponding to a probability that the autonomous traveling body stops based on the degree of matching based on the degree of matching being equal to or greater than a threshold value. Ogura and Lee are each directed towards similar pursuits in the field of vehicle routing and navigation. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would find it advantageous to incorporate the teachings of Lee, as incorporating the image memory and matching of Lee beneficially allows for determining whether a task of the autonomous traveling body is finished within a region (e.g., determining whether a region has been cleaned; see at least [0063]). This arrangement beneficially allows determining whether a region has been cleaned based on the degree of matching.
Claim(s) 33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogura in view of Galliano, III et al. (US 11,906,313 B2), hereinafter Galliano.
Regarding claim 33, Ogura teaches the aforementioned limitations of claim 1. Ogura further teaches:
the control circuitry is further configured to determine whether the autonomous traveling body is able to autonomously travel to the recovery point…
Ogura teaches ([0100]): "As described above, there is provided a method for setting a travel path R of an autonomous travel work vehicle 1 for the autonomous travel work vehicle to run and operate autonomously by determining positions of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 with the use of a satellite positioning system so as to drive the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 and carry out an agricultural field operation from one end (operation start position X) to another end (operation end position) of the agricultural field H. " Ogura further teaches ([0111]): "If the operation is interrupted, the position where interruption occurred is stored in the memory 30a (S17). Once interruption occurs, whether or not the operation can be restarted is determined (S18). If it is to be restarted, the position where interruption occurred is displayed as the restart position (S19), and the process goes back to step 1. The restart position after the interruption can be selected to a different operation start position from the position where interruption occurred. At the restart, it is also possible to control the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 to automatically move to the restart position when it has moved elsewhere for replenishment of fuel or repair." Ogura even further teaches ([0116]): "When the operation is interrupted, the controller 30 stores the position where it was interrupted, sets this position as the operation restart position when the operation is restarted, and shows this position on the display means 49 or the display 113. Thus positioning, when starting the operation after an interruption, can be carried out easily, so that the operation is prevented from being disrupted."
However, Ogura does not outright teach combining a plurality of learned routes stored in the route information memory. Galliano teaches intelligent route selection for an autonomous vehicle, comprising:
...by combining a plurality of learned routes stored in the route information memory.
Galliano teaches (Claim 8): "the mapping information module for storing mapping information of the vehicle comprising information regarding a plurality of possible routes from the origin to the destination… and a route selection module executed by the computing device of the vehicle for evaluating the plurality of possible routes based on a combination of the identified at least one of the item characteristic, the item identity, at least one additional constraint in connection with delivery of the item, the route types assigned to the plurality of route segments comprising the routes, and the characterizations of the plurality of road segments comprising the plurality of possible routes; selecting one of the plurality of possible routes based on results of the evaluating and automatically causing the vehicle to traverse from the origin to the destination along the selected one of the plurality of possible routes;"
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ogura to incorporate the teachings of Galliano to provide combining a plurality of learned routes stored in the route information memory. Ogura and Galliano area each directed towards similar pursuits in the field of vehicle route management. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would find it advantageous to incorporate the teachings of Galliano, as implementing the combining of a plurality of learned routes stored in the route information memory of Galliano beneficially allows for the consideration of route types and characterizations assigned to a plurality of route segments, and selecting one of the plurality of possible routes based on the results of the combined evaluation, as recognized by Galliano (see at least Claim 8 and Col. 11 line 59 - Col. 12 line 11).
Claim(s) 38 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogura in view of Nishii, and in further view of Aultman et al. (US 2015/0294233 A1), hereinafter Aultman.
Regarding claim 38, Ogura teaches the aforementioned-limitations of claim 13. Ogura further teaches:
the route information memory is further configured to store a stop-situation table comprising... area information associated with the suspension point.
Ogura teaches ([0111]): "During an autonomous traveling operation, whether or not the operation has ended is determined (S14). When the operation ends, the traveling of the autonomous travel work vehicle 1 is stopped and ended (S15). When it is not ended, whether or not the operation has been interrupted midway is determined (S16). Conditions for interruption will be described later. If conditions for interruption are not met, the autonomous traveling operation is continued. If the operation is interrupted, the position where interruption occurred is stored in the memory 30a (S17). Once interruption occurs, whether or not the operation can be restarted is determined (S18). If it is to be restarted, the position where interruption occurred is displayed as the restart position (S19), and the process goes back to step 1."
However, Ogura does not outright teach that the route information memory is further configured to store a stop-situation table comprising a device ID. Nishii teaches a management system for an automatic travel vehicle, comprising:
the route information memory is further configured to store a stop-situation table comprising... a device ID…
Nishii teaches ([0088]): "The management terminal 3 is a terminal that can remotely control the combine harvester 2 as the associated work vehicle..." Nishii further teaches ([0223]): " In the first work, the automatic mowing travel, as the case may be, is interrupted before the completing of the automatic mowing travel in the unmown area of the work area shape, and in this case, the function control unit 21 stores, in the storage unit 11, the work route related to the interrupted automatic mowing travel as the previous route, thus storing, in the storage unit 11, the data used for the automatic mowing travel of the first work (for example, farm field information such as the work area, work vehicle data of the combine harvester 2, work route, etc.), for example."
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ogura to incorporate the teachings of Nishii to provide that the route information memory is further configured to store a stop-situation table comprising a device ID. Ogura and Nishii are each directed towards similar pursuits in the field of vehicle routing and navigation. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would find it advantageous to incorporate the teachings of Nishii, as incorporating the device ID storage of Nishii advantageously allows for restarting of automated travel using the stored information after autonomous traveling has been suspended (see at least [0223]-[0224]).
However, Ogura does not outright teach that the route information memory is further configured to store a stop-situation table comprising an image ID. Aultman teaches systems and methods for automatic metadata tagging, comprising:
the route information memory is further configured to store a stop-situation table comprising an image ID…
Aultman teaches ([0025]): "The method 200 includes applying 210 the created metadata classifier tags to the received or stored data feed… Applying the metadata classifier tags may include tagging or labeling the data feeds with a timestamp, position and changes in vector of velocity of an object. The tagging or labeling of the data feeds may also include an indication of behavior recognition. Applying a metadata classifier tag may include storing a tag with an associated reference in a database, where the associated reference points or refers to a location, event, image and the like within a data feed. Tagging or labeling the data feeds with metadata tags may include physically modifying the image(s), FMV, or audio with relevant information which may be used to notify or clue an analyst to an event within the associated data feed. As non-limiting examples, physically modifying the data feed (e.g., image(s), FMV, audio, etc.) may include altering coloring, manipulating the images, imprinting shapes, labels, timestamps, or embedding other electronic or magnetic signals and the like which may be used to notify an analyst. As an example, the behavior may be a vehicle stopping..."
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ogura and Nishii to incorporate the teachings of Aultman to provide that the route information memory is further configured to store a stop-situation table comprising an image ID. Ogura, Nishii, and Aultman are each directed towards similar pursuits in the field of vehicle sensing systems relating to vehicle stopping. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would find it advantageous to incorporate the teachings of Aultman, as doing so beneficially allows for tagging or labeling image data with relevant metadata tags including a timestamp or label(s), as recognized by Aultman (see at least [0025]).
Claim(s) 39 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogura in view of Husain et al. (US 2024/0116175 A1), hereinafter Husain.
Regarding claim 39, Ogura teaches the aforementioned limitations of claim 13. However, Ogura does not outright teach that the control circuitry is further configured to control the autonomous traveling body to trace back a remote control route, on which the autonomous traveling body has traveled under remote control after the autonomous traveling was suspended, to return to the recovery point. Husain teaches management of autonomous mobile device disconnections, comprising:
the control circuitry is further configured to control the autonomous traveling body to trace back a remote control route, on which the autonomous traveling body has traveled under remote control after the autonomous traveling was suspended, to return to the recovery point.
Husain teaches ([0017]): "The systems and methods described herein relate to management of AMD disconnections from AMD controllers (AMDCs). The system permits an AMD disconnected from its AMDC to retrace its travel path to return to the last location at which the AMD communicated with the AMDC and to reconnect to the AMDC." Husain further teaches ([0060]): "FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an exemplary process 500 that is associated with AMD 102 that loses its connection to AMDC 402, according to an implementation." Husain even further teaches ([0061]): "As shown, process 500 may include AMD 102 halting its mission and recording its state information and other information, collectively referred to as disconnection information."
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ogura to incorporate the teachings of Husain to provide that the control circuitry is further configured to control the autonomous traveling body to trace back a remote control route, on which the autonomous traveling body has traveled under remote control after the autonomous traveling was suspended, to return to the recovery point. Ogura and Husain are each directed towards similar pursuits in the field of vehicle routing and navigation, particularly in relation to interruption of vehicle navigation. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would find it advantageous to incorporate the teachings of Husain, as doing so enables the vehicle to return to the point at which autonomous traveling was suspended and reconnecting to a disconnected controller, as recognized by Husain (see at least [0017]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Anderson et al. (US 2019/0179307 A1) teaches an autonomous robotic autoscrubber, including one or more cameras which capture and store image data at each of a plurality of nodes along a path during movement along the path (see at least claim 38 and [0079]-[0080]). Yamazaki et al. (US 2021/0255614 A1) teaches a parking support device for an autonomous vehicle, including determining whether the vehicle can return on a travel path from an emergency stop position to a middle position or a start position (see at least [0156]-[0157]). Winkle et al. (US 2018/0031296 A1) teaches systems and methods for delivering perishable items, including measuring the temperature in a merchandise storage area at predetermined time intervals during transport from the source location to the destination location (see at least [0020]).
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/F.T.G./Examiner, Art Unit 3662
/DALE W HILGENDORF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3662
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