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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01November2024 is being considered by the examiner.
Status of Claims
Pending
8-19
Objection
8-9, and 14-15
101
8-19
103
8-19
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 8 and 14 objected to because of the following informalities: The limitation "the road" should read "the multi-lane road" for the purpose of clarity and consistency. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim(s) 9 and 15 objected to because of the following informalities: The limitation "the map data" should read "the digital map data" for the purpose of clarity and consistency. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim(s) 9 and 15 objected to because of the following informalities: The limitation "the length" should read "the predetermined length" for the purpose of clarity and consistency. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
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.
Claims 8-19 are rejected under 35 USC § 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an
abstract idea without significantly more.
Step 1
Claim(s) 8 which is a process, and 14 which is a machine, which is one of the statutory categories of invention.
Step 2a Prong 1
Regarding claim(s) 8 and 14, the claim recites, in part, limitations that constitute a “mental process”. The limitations of selecting, determining, and generating, when read in light of the specification, are mental processes capable of being performed in the human mind, which have been identified as being abstract ideas (MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)).
Claims 9-13, and 15-19 depend from claim 8 and 14, do not remedy any of the deficiencies of claim 8 and 14, and therefore are rejected on the same grounds as claim 8 and 14 above.
Step 2a Prong 2
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. In particular, the claim only recites one additional element – using a generic computing component(s) or automations to perform both the generic computing functions in the claim(s). Accordingly, this additional element does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claim is directed to an abstract idea.
Step 2b
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional limitations of using generic computer components and automations amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. Mere instructions to apply an exception using generic computer components and automations cannot provide an inventive concept.
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.
Claim(s) 8-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koh US 20200217685 in view of Kunze US 20180225530.
Koh discloses,
Claim 8 and 14; A method for maneuvering a vehicle on a multi-lane road comprising: receiving a navigation command to carry out a lane change maneuver([0007] Discloses lane change maneuver guidance) from a second lane of the road, via a first lane of a road, to a deceleration lane of the road([0047] Discloses the changing of lanes to the exit lane 402); determining a distance between the vehicle and a starting point of the deceleration lane([0051] In one implementation of the open navigation session, the navigation system 100 can generate the maneuver guidance 302 to include the preparation phase 312 to notify the system user that the user vehicle 212 is currently traveling in the exit-only lane 402), wherein the distance is determined on a basis of sensor data from an environmental sensor and/or on a basis of digital map data([0038] In another example, the specific range or distance can be based on limitations of sensors used to detect the proximately located vehicles 214, [0106] The navigation processing block 702 can be a hardware structure configured to generate the lane position information 704 based on sensor information 738, user vehicle location information 730, map information 722, or a combination thereof); preparing for the lane change maneuver from the second lane to the first lane on a basis of the distance([0040] The maneuver guidance 302 is guidance based on the lane position 208, a speed of the user vehicle 212 and a distance 303 to a navigation event 304).
Claims 9 and 15; Determining a length of the deceleration lane on a basis of the map data and/or on a basis of a predetermined length([0110] In another specific example, the map information 722 can include information of related roadways, such as intersections with the current roadway 206, including merge section 228 of FIG. 2 information such as the location and length of the lane merge section 228); and determining the distance between the vehicle and the starting point on a basis of the length of the deceleration lane([0110] As a specific example, the map information 722 can include lane information 724. The lane information 724 provides details about the current roadway 206. For example, the lane information 724 can be information about the number and dimensions of the lane position 208 on the current road 206. The lane information 724 can include information, such as a count of the roadway lanes 210 for the current roadway 206, which is a count of the number of the roadway lanes 210, an estimated width of the roadway lanes 210, the existence and width of a road shoulder area, a total estimated width of the roadway, a speed limit, or a combination thereof).
Claims 10 and 16; Weighting the sensor data from the environmental sensor, the digital map data, and/or the distance information in order to determine the distance between the vehicle and the starting point of the deceleration lane([0106] Discloses using sensor information to generate lane position information, [0110] Discloses using a map database that contains details of the lanes, the combination of the sensors can determine the starting point of the exit lane which can be the side to side lane limits).
Claims 11 and 17; Outputting advice to a user of the vehicle in order to prepare for the lane change maneuver([0056] It is further understood that the navigation system 100 can present the maneuver guidance 302 that can alert the operator of the user vehicle 212 to merge to an adjacent one of the lane position 208 after the proximately located vehicles 214 has passed), wherein the advice is output before the starting point of the deceleration lane is identified on the basis of the sensor data from the environmental sensor([0054] Further, navigation system 100 can generate the maneuver guidance 302 to include the action phase 314 with instructions to perform the lane change maneuvers 318 at a specific distance 303 or time before reaching the navigation event 304 of the lane merge).
Claims 12 and 18; Allowing the lane change maneuver from the second lane to the first lane after the starting point of the deceleration lane has been identified on the basis of the sensor data from the environmental sensor([0113] The lane determination module 748 can also receive input from a lane camera 710 which means the lanes and starting points are identified by a sensor, [0113] Also discloses that the lane determination module can be coupled to an output device that will notify the operator when they're allowed to change lanes).
Claims 13 and 19; Adapting a longitudinal speed of the vehicle in order to prepare for the lane change maneuver([0056] It is further understood that the navigation system 100 can present the maneuver guidance 302 that can alert the operator of the user vehicle 212 to merge to an adjacent one of the lane position 208 after the proximately located vehicles 214 has passed, the limitation does not require the vehicle to automatically adjust the speed independent of the driver).
However, Koh fails to disclose:
Claim 8 and 14; Detecting a road sign that indicates a distance to an exit of the road; determining distance information indicated by the road sign; and determining a distance between the vehicle and the starting point of the deceleration lane on a basis of the distance information.
Kunze teaches a similar device in the same field of lane recognition.
Kunze teaches,
Claim 8 and 14; Detecting a road sign that indicates a distance to an exit of the road([0038] Optionally, the TSR system may also detect and classify (recognize) motorway exit marker signs, such as shown in FIGS. 5 A, 5B and 5C); determining distance information indicated by the road sign; and determining a distance between the vehicle and the starting point of the deceleration lane on a basis of the distance information([0038] the position of these signs may find use to dedicate the distance where an exit lane may start or whether it may be plausible to detect one. Optionally, that information may be used to do a plausibility check as to whether road signs are dedicated to an exit lane or lanes or not).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include detecting a road sign that indicates a distance to an exit of the road; determining distance information indicated by the road sign; and determining a distance between the vehicle and the starting point of the deceleration lane on a basis of the distance information as taught by Kunze, for the purpose of helping the driver keep track of when they should change lanes to make the exit.
Conclusion
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/John C Merino/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3669
/Erin M Piateski/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3669