Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
DETAILED ACTION
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/12/2024 and 6/15/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-8 and 11- 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Naito (U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2019/0093311) in view of Park, et al. (U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2021/0223400).
Regarding Claim 1, Naito teaches: A work machine (Naito, Para. 0029 – a “wheel loader”) comprising:
a main body (Naito, Para. 0029 – “a main body 5”) including a travel unit (Naito, Para. 0029 – “wheels 3a and 3b”);
a work implement attached in front of the main body (Naito, Para. 0029-0032 – a “work implement 30… mounted to front frame 5a” and “disposed forward of main body 5”), the work implement including a bucket at a tip end (Naito, Para. 0032 – “Work implement 30 includes a boom 31, a pair of lift cylinders 33, a bucket 32”);
a work implement actuator that drives the work implement with respect to the main body (Naito, Para. 0058-0059 – the “controller receives a signal based on the actuation of control lever 120 by the operator, and then causes wheel loader 1 to perform an action in accordance with the actuation”, for example, “boom 31 is raised or lowered by actuation of boom control lever”, where the controller controls “a rotation speed of engine 118” which drives a “hydraulic pump 119” to supply hydraulic oil to lift cylinders to drive the boom);
a travel sensor that detects a state of travel of the travel unit (Naito, Para. 0064 – “controller 110 determines whether wheel loader 1 is traveling forward”);
a work implement posture sensor that detects a posture of the work implement (Naito, Para. 0056 – “a boom angle sensor 112, a bucket angle sensor 113”);
an object sensor that detects an object around the main body (Naito, Para. 0037-0039 – “a sensor 40 configured to measure a distance between boom 31 and a dump truck as a loading target”, where sensor 40 may be “an ultrasonic sensor, a laser sensor, an infrared sensor, and a camera”); and
a controller that provides a command to drive the work implement actuator based on detection values from the travel sensor, the work implement posture sensor, and the object sensor (Naito, Para. 0060-0069, 0092 – the controller 110 “receives results of sensing from sensor 40” and “signals (results of sensing) output from boom angle sensor 112 and bucket angle sensor 113” and determines “whether wheel loader 1 is traveling forward”; where the controller 110 performs operations based on “whether wheel loader 1 is traveling forward”, “whether distance D measured by sensor 40 takes a value less than or equal to threshold value Th”, “a boom angle”, and “a tilt angle” of the bucket), wherein
the controller where in “section Q11”, see Fig. 7B, “wheel loader 1 thus travels toward dump truck 900 while performing boom-raising” to a first bucket height, or first target position, as shown by the “broken line” Lc which “represents a path along which bucket 32 typically moves in the series of operations”, where in section Q21, the “wheel loader” determines “whether distance D to be measured by sensor 40 (i.e., the distance between boom 31 and dump truck 900) takes a value less than or equal to a threshold value”, and the wheel loader continues to move forwards; where “wheel loader 1 (specifically, controller 110) controls boom-raising as illustrated in FIG. 7(B)”).
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Naito, Fig. 7B
While Naito teaches the controller detects a loading target into which loads in the bucket are to be loaded, based on detection of the object, and starts drive of the work implement actuator to operate the bucket, where Naito measures “a distance between boom 31 and a dump truck as a loading target”, such that the loading target is detected (Naito, Para. 0037-0039), Naito does not specifically teach the controller recognizes a loading target into which loads in the bucket are to be loaded, based on detection of the object, and starts drive of the work implement actuator to operate the bucket.
However, Park teaches the controller recognizes a loading target into which loads in the bucket are to be loaded, based on detection of the object, and starts drive of the work implement actuator to operate the bucket (Park, Para. 0045, 0051-0053, 0058-0060, 0071 – an “upper sensor 110”, which may include a “LiDAR sensor” to “recognize an object” and a “ultrasonic sensor” which “may accurately recognize a nearby obstacle”; where a “control system” of a “wheel loader” can obtain “shape information data of surrounding terrain or objects” from the sensors, “calculate a distance to the object”, and provide “work information for an unmanned automated work of the wheel loader”, i.e. “a loading operation of loading a load onto a dump truck”, where the work information may be “a path (work plan)” including control signals “corresponding to joint angle values over time of the boom 20 and the bucket 30”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the work machine of Naito to include the controller recognizes a loading target into which loads in the bucket are to be loaded, based on detection of the object, and starts drive of the work implement actuator to operate the bucket, as taught by Park, in order to improve work efficiency and effectively control a vehicle approach distance by performing unmanned automated work for operations where a driver’s view may be limited (Park, Para. 0003-0004).
In regards to Claim 2, Naito in view of Park teaches the work machine of Claim 1, and Naito further teaches wherein the controller continues drive of the work implement actuator to operate the bucket in the dump direction until the feature point reaches a second target position above the loading target (Naito, See Fig. 7B and Para. 0051-0055 – where “Controller 110 of wheel loader 1 causes wheel loader 1 to perform boom-raising on condition that distance D to be measured by sensor 40 when wheel loader 1 travels takes a value less than or equal to the threshold value”, see section Q22 on Fig. 7B, “the value of distance D measured is less than or equal to the threshold value”, the “wheel loader 1 starts to raise boom 31”, such that the bucket is at a second target position above the “dump truck 900” and “avoids the collision of boom 31 with dump truck 900”).
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Naito, Fig. 7B
In regards to Claim 3, Naito in view of Park teaches the work machine of Claim 2, and Naito further teaches wherein the controller continues drive of the work implement actuator to operate the bucket in the dump direction also after the feature point passes through the second target position (Naito, Fig. 14 and Para. 0040, 0057-0058, 0091-0096 – where the “boom 31 is raised” such that the “bucket 32 is also raised”, or at the second target position, and the “operator decreases a tilt angle (angle θ in FIG. 14) of bucket 32 with an excavated object such as excavated soil loaded on the bucket”, such that the bucket is operated in a dump direction past the second target position; where the “controller receives a signal based on the actuation of control lever 120”, including “bucket control lever 124”, “by the operator” and performs the inputted actuation).
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Naito, Fig. 14
In regards to Claim 4, Naito in view of Park teaches the work machine of Claim 2, and Naito further teaches wherein the work implement has a boom coupled to the main body (Naito, Para. 0032 – “Work implement 30 includes a boom 31”), and the controller starts drive of the work implement actuator to raise the boom before the feature point reaches the first target position (Naito, See Fig. 7B and Para. 0046-0055 – where in “section Q11”, see Fig. 7B, “wheel loader 1 thus travels toward dump truck 900 while performing boom-raising” to a first bucket height, or first target position, as shown by the “broken line” Lc which “represents a path along which bucket 32 typically moves in the series of operations”) and continues drive of the work implement actuator to raise the boom also after the feature point passes through the first target position (Naito, See Fig. 7B and Para. 0051-0055 – where “Controller 110 of wheel loader 1 causes wheel loader 1 to perform boom-raising” after reaching the first bucket height, or first target point, during section Q22, when “the value of distance D measured is less than or equal to the threshold value”).
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Naito, Fig. 7B
In regards to Claim 5, Naito in view of Park teaches the work machine of Claim 4, and Naito further teaches wherein the controller continues drive of the work implement actuator to raise the boom until the feature point reaches the second target position (Naito, See Fig. 7B and Para. 0051-0055 – where “Controller 110 of wheel loader 1 causes wheel loader 1 to perform boom-raising” to a second bucket height, or second target point, during section Q22, when “the value of distance D measured is less than or equal to the threshold value”).
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Naito, Fig. 7B
In regards to Claim 6, Naito in view of Park teaches the work machine of Claim 5, but Naito in view of Park does not teach wherein the controller continues drive of the work implement actuator (Naito, Para. 0057-0058 – where the “controller receives a signal based on the actuation of control lever 120”, including “bucket control lever 124”, “by the operator” and performs the inputted actuation) to raise the boom also after the feature point passes through the second target position (Naito, Fig. 14 and Para. 0040, 0091-0096 – where the “boom 31 is raised” such that the “bucket 32 is also raised”, or at the second target position, and the “operator decreases a tilt angle (angle θ in FIG. 14) of bucket 32”, such that the bucket is operated in a dump direction past the second target position; where the “wheel loader” performs “the predetermined action”, which is “boom-raising”, “on condition that the tilt angle of bucket 32 is greater than or equal to predetermined angle θ1”, where the “controller 110 causes wheel loader 1 to stop the predetermined action” when “tilt angle θ is less than or equal to angle θ2 that is smaller than angle θ1”, such that the boom raises the bucket while the bucket is tilting).
In regards to Claim 7, Naito in view of Park teaches the work machine of Claim 4, and Naito further teaches wherein the controller continues drive of the work implement actuator to raise the boom until drive of the work implement actuator to operate the bucket in the dump direction is stopped (Naito, Para. 0095-0096 – where if “tilt angle θ is less than or equal to angle θ2 that is smaller than angle θ1”, such that the bucket has reached “a predetermined angle” for dumping, then the “controller 110 causes wheel loader 1 to stop the predetermined action, that is, boom-raising”).
In regards to Claim 8, Naito in view of Park teaches the work machine of Claim 4, and Naito further teaches wherein the controller continues drive of the work implement actuator to raise the boom until forward travel of the travel unit is stopped (Naito, Para. 0067-0068 – when “controller 110 determines that the boom angle is maximum (YES in step S10), then, in step S12, controller 110 brings wheel loader 1 to a stop”, where the “controller 110 initiates braking”).
Regarding Claim 11, Naito teaches: A system including a work machine (Naito, Para. 0056 – “a system configuration of wheel loader”), the system comprising:
a work machine main body (Naito, Para. 0029 – “a main body 5”) including a travel unit (Naito, Para. 0029 – “wheels 3a and 3b”);
work implement attached in front of the work machine main body (Naito, Para. 0029-0032 – a “work implement 30… mounted to front frame 5a” and “disposed forward of main body 5”), the work implement including a bucket at a tip end (Naito, Para. 0032 – “Work implement 30 includes a boom 31, a pair of lift cylinders 33, a bucket 32”);
a work implement actuator that drives the work implement with respect to the work machine main body (Naito, Para. 0058-0059 – the “controller receives a signal based on the actuation of control lever 120 by the operator, and then causes wheel loader 1 to perform an action in accordance with the actuation”, for example, “boom 31 is raised or lowered by actuation of boom control lever”, where the controller controls “a rotation speed of engine 118” which drives a “hydraulic pump 119” to supply hydraulic oil to lift cylinders to drive the boom);
a travel sensor that detects a state of travel of the travel unit (Naito, Para. 0064 – “controller 110 determines whether wheel loader 1 is traveling forward”);
a work implement posture sensor that detects a posture of the work implement (Naito, Para. 0056 – “a boom angle sensor 112, a bucket angle sensor 113”);
an object sensor that detects an object around the work machine main body (Naito, Para. 0037-0039 – “a sensor 40 configured to measure a distance between boom 31 and a dump truck as a loading target”, where sensor 40 may be “an ultrasonic sensor, a laser sensor, an infrared sensor, and a camera”); and
and a controller that provides a command to drive the work implement actuator based on detection values from the travel sensor, the work implement posture sensor, and the object sensor (Naito, Para. 0060-0069, 0092 – the controller 110 “receives results of sensing from sensor 40” and “signals (results of sensing) output from boom angle sensor 112 and bucket angle sensor 113” and determines “whether wheel loader 1 is traveling forward”; where the controller 110 performs operations based on “whether wheel loader 1 is traveling forward”, “whether distance D measured by sensor 40 takes a value less than or equal to threshold value Th”, “a boom angle”, and “a tilt angle” of the bucket), wherein
the controller where in “section Q11”, see Fig. 7B, “wheel loader 1 thus travels toward dump truck 900 while performing boom-raising” to a first bucket height, or first target position, as shown by the “broken line” Lc which “represents a path along which bucket 32 typically moves in the series of operations”, where in section Q21, the “wheel loader” determines “whether distance D to be measured by sensor 40 (i.e., the distance between boom 31 and dump truck 900) takes a value less than or equal to a threshold value”, and the wheel loader continues to move forwards; where “wheel loader 1 (specifically, controller 110) controls boom-raising as illustrated in FIG. 7(B)”).
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Naito, Fig. 7B
While Naito teaches the controller detects a loading target into which loads in the bucket are to be loaded, based on detection of the object, and starts drive of the work implement actuator to operate the bucket, where Naito measures “a distance between boom 31 and a dump truck as a loading target”, such that the loading target is detected (Naito, Para. 0037-0039), Naito does not specifically teach the controller recognizes a loading target into which loads in the bucket are to be loaded, based on detection of the object, and starts drive of the work implement actuator to operate the bucket.
However, Park teaches the controller recognizes a loading target into which loads in the bucket are to be loaded, based on detection of the object, and starts drive of the work implement actuator to operate the bucket (Park, Para. 0045, 0051-0053, 0058-0060, 0071 – an “upper sensor 110”, which may include a “LiDAR sensor” to “recognize an object” and a “ultrasonic sensor” which “may accurately recognize a nearby obstacle”; where a “control system” of a “wheel loader” can obtain “shape information data of surrounding terrain or objects” from the sensors, “calculate a distance to the object”, and provide “work information for an unmanned automated work of the wheel loader”, i.e. “a loading operation of loading a load onto a dump truck”, where the work information may be “a path (work plan)” including control signals “corresponding to joint angle values over time of the boom 20 and the bucket 30”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the system of Naito to include the controller recognizes a loading target into which loads in the bucket are to be loaded, based on detection of the object, and starts drive of the work implement actuator to operate the bucket, as taught by Park, in order to improve work efficiency and effectively control a vehicle approach distance by performing unmanned automated work for operations where a driver’s view may be limited (Park, Para. 0003-0004).
Regarding Claim 12, Naito teaches: A method of controlling a work machine (Naito, Para. 0007 – “a method for controlling the wheel loader”), the method comprising:
“a sensor 40 configured to measure a distance between boom 31 and a dump truck as a loading target”, where sensor 40 may be “an ultrasonic sensor, a laser sensor, an infrared sensor, and a camera”); and
causing a travel unit to travel forward to bring a work implement closer to the loading target (Naito, Para. 0029, 0093 – “wheel loader 1, 1A approaches dump truck 900 with an excavated object loaded on bucket 32” and where “wheel loader 1 is self-propelled in such a manner that wheels 3a and 3b are rotated”); and
starting drive of a work implement actuator to operate the bucket in a dump direction while forward travel of the travel unit continues at a time point when a feature point of the bucket reaches a first target position in front of the loading target and higher than the loading target (Naito, See Fig. 7B Below and Para. 0046-0055 – where in “section Q11”, see Fig. 7B, “wheel loader 1 thus travels toward dump truck 900 while performing boom-raising” to a first bucket height, or first target position, as shown by the “broken line” Lc which “represents a path along which bucket 32 typically moves in the series of operations”, where in section Q21, the “wheel loader” determines “whether distance D to be measured by sensor 40 (i.e., the distance between boom 31 and dump truck 900) takes a value less than or equal to a threshold value”, and the wheel loader continues to move forwards; where “wheel loader 1 (specifically, controller 110) controls boom-raising as illustrated in FIG. 7(B)”).
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Naito, Fig. 7B
While Naito teaches detecting a loading target into which loads in a bucket are to be loaded, based on an object detection signal, where Naito measures “a distance between boom 31 and a dump truck as a loading target”, such that the loading target is detected (Naito, Para. 0037-0039), Naito does not specifically teach recognizing a loading target into which loads in a bucket are to be loaded, based on an object detection signal.
However, Park teaches recognizing a loading target into which loads in a bucket are to be loaded, based on an object detection signal (Park, Para. 0045, 0051-0053, 0058-0060, 0071 – an “upper sensor 110”, which may include a “LiDAR sensor” to “recognize an object” and a “ultrasonic sensor” which “may accurately recognize a nearby obstacle”; where a “control system” of a “wheel loader” can obtain “shape information data of surrounding terrain or objects” from the sensors, “calculate a distance to the object”, and provide “work information for an unmanned automated work of the wheel loader”, i.e. “a loading operation of loading a load onto a dump truck”, where the work information may be “a path (work plan)” including control signals “corresponding to joint angle values over time of the boom 20 and the bucket 30”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Naito to include recognizing a loading target into which loads in a bucket are to be loaded, based on an object detection signal, as taught by Park, in order to improve work efficiency and effectively control a vehicle approach distance by performing unmanned automated work for operations where a driver’s view may be limited (Park, Para. 0003-0004).
Claim(s) 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Naito in view of Park, and further in view of Ito (U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2021/0262190).
In regards to Claim 9, Naito in view of Park teaches the work machine of Claim 1, but Naito in view of Park does not teach wherein the controller sets an upper end of a side surface of the loading target recognized by the object sensor as a reference point, and calculates a current position of the feature point relative to the reference point.
However, Ito teaches wherein the controller sets an upper end of a side surface of the loading target recognized by the object sensor as a reference point, and calculates a current position of the feature point relative to the reference point (Ito, See Fig. 12B and Para. 0194-0196, 0294-0301, 0338, 0345 – where the “controller” of a “shovel” acquires a “target trajectory” of a “control reference” point of the work attachment, “for example, the lower end of the bucket 6” and “the target trajectory setting unit 3003 may, for example, obtain the position of the dump truck and the condition related to the loading platform on the basis of the recognition result for objects around the shovel 100 by the space recognition device 70, and derive the target trajectory in accordance with the situation”; Fig. 12B shows a target trajectory of the bucket, where the shovel “lifts the bucket 6 containing the sediment from the position P11 to a position P12 higher than the height Hd of the dump door of the dump truck DT in the boom raising and turning operation”, where the height of the dump door is the reference point).
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Ito, Fig. 12B
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified the method including the above limitations of Naito in view of Park to include wherein the controller sets an upper end of a side surface of the loading target recognized by the object sensor as a reference point, and calculates a current position of the feature point relative to the reference point, as taught by Ito, in order to improve accuracy of the work machine operation and prevent the bucket from colliding with a loading target.
In regards to Claim 10, Naito in view of Park teaches the work machine of Claim 1, but Naito in view of Park does not teach wherein a target posture of the work implement at time when the feature point is located at the first target position is stored in the controller, and the controller controls the work implement actuator to set the work implement into the target posture when the feature point reaches the first target position (Ito, Para. 0301 – where “the target trajectory setting unit 3003 may read, for example, data relating to a predetermined target trajectory from the internal memory or the like, assuming a condition relating to the position of the dump truck and the loading platform of the dump truck” and “the target trajectory setting unit 3003 sets a target trajectory such that sediment is loaded in a predetermined target position of the loading platform of the dump truck for the sediment discharge operation of the shovel”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified the method including the above limitations of Naito in view of Park to include wherein a target posture of the work implement at time when the feature point is located at the first target position is stored in the controller, and the controller controls the work implement actuator to set the work implement into the target posture when the feature point reaches the first target position, as taught by Ito, in order to improve accuracy of the work machine operation and prevent the bucket from colliding with a loading target.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Ishihara, et al. (U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2023/0332374) teaches a loading work support system that supports a loading work of loading a cargo by a loader, where the loading work support system determines a prohibited area that a work apparatus of the loader is prohibited from entering, and computing control inputs for controlling the operation of the loader based on the prohibited area.
Chen, et al. (U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2016/0196749) teaches a method for assisting a hauling truck to spot a loading position with respect to a loading machine at a worksite includes actuating an implement control unit of loading machine to raise an implement of the loading machine for being identified by the hauling truck.
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/H.L./Examiner, Art Unit 3665
/HUNTER B LONSBERRY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3665
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