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
This action is in response to application filed 12/09/2024.
Claim 1-18 is pending in this application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/09/2024 has been placed in record and considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 8-9 are objected to because of the following informalities: The claims end with a semicolon instead of a period. 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.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter.
The claim is drawn to "storage medium". Applying the broadest reasonable interpretation in light of applicant’s current specification and taking into account the meaning of the words in their ordinary usage as they would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art (see MPEP 211.01), the claim as a whole covers a transitory signal, which does not fall within the definition of a process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter (see, e.g., In re Nuitjen, Fed. Cir. Sept. 20, 2007) (slip. Op. at 18) ("A transitory, propagating signal ... is not a process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter. Thus, such a signal cannot be patentable subject matter.")
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(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) 1-9, 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Higuchi et al. (US 2020/0287960 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Dai discloses a resource allocation method that is capable of being used in an in-vehicle device that provides driving assistance functions by communicating with a server ([0008]: the resource manager operates in a distributed manner across multiple vehicles to form a communication server. The communication server is operable to provide the following example functionality: determining a resource need of a vehicular cloud; notifying members of the resource need of the vehicular cloud. [0074]: the vehicle 110 may be an autonomous vehicle or a semi-autonomous vehicle. For example, the vehicle 110 may include one or more Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS systems), the in-vehicle device being a switching in-vehicle device that allocates resources to each function of the in-vehicle device while switching between resources of a service providing device covering a traveling area of a vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle device and resources of a relevant vehicle being the vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle device ([0031]: collaboratively performing sensing of road conditions by on-board sensors of the multiple cloud members; and (4) collaboratively downloading or uploading data content from or to a cloud server (or an edge server). [0149]: the notification module 204 determines, based on the resource demand, an allocation function describing an allocating approach applied by the communication server. For example, the notification module 204 determines the allocation function based on one or more of the following: the resource demand; a number of member vehicles in the vehicular micro cloud; and a total allocation distributed by the communication server, the resource allocation method comprising:
([0032]: Using vehicular micro clouds removes the need for the connected vehicles to access remote cloud servers or edge servers by vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications (e.g., by cellular networks) whenever they need to get access to data (e.g., high-definition road map for automated driving). [0035]: These services are referred to herein as “cloudification services.” These cloudification services include, for example, one or more of the following: dynamic map generation, cooperative path planning, and distributed data storage);
re-executing the allocation processing in response to detecting or predicting a change in a number of vehicles that are present within the traveling area and that cooperate with the server, with use of the processor ([0123]: responsive to determining that the total amount of the one or more resources supplied in the vehicular micro cloud does not exceed the resource demand of the vehicular micro cloud, the allocation function is an increasing function that specifies the total amount of the one or more resources supplied in the vehicular micro cloud so that the resource need of the vehicular micro cloud is met by causing more and more host vehicles to provision the one or more resources to the vehicular micro cloud. [0124]: Responsive to the total amount of the resource “s” supplied to the vehicular micro cloud is less than or equal to a resource demand “D” (e.g., s≤D), a first part of a curve of the allocation function “r(s)” has an increasing slope. The increasing slope indicates that as more and more host vehicles participate to provision the resource to the vehicular micro cloud, a larger allocation is provided to each of the host vehicles).
Regarding claim 2, Higuchi discloses the method according to claim 1,wherein the re-executing includes: judging whether each vehicle present within a nearby area including the traveling area and an adjacent area being an area adjacent to the traveling area is an independent vehicle that does not cooperate with the service providing device a cooperative vehicle that cooperates with the service providing device using fixed resource allocation, or a switching vehicle equipped with the switching in-vehicle device, with use of the processor ([0102]: multiple non-member vehicles (e.g., vehicles 180A, 181A, 180B and 181B) are also depicted, and these vehicles are not members of the vehicular micro clouds 173A and 173B. The non-member vehicles 180A, 181A, 180B and 181B may or may not be members of the vehicular macro cloud 171),;
determining whether or not a vehicle other than the independent vehicle is present within the nearby area, with use of the processor ([0108]: Responsive to the corresponding notification message being verified, the resource managers 199 of the one or more members advertise the corresponding notification message respectively within the vehicular micro cloud, outside the vehicular micro cloud or a combination thereof to invite more vehicles to provision the resource(s) requested in the corresponding notification message); and
executing processing to reallocate, to each function of the in-vehicle device, resources of the relevant vehicle and resources of the server in accordance with available resources of the server, in response to determining that a vehicle other than the independent vehicle is present within the nearby area, with use of the processor ([0147]: one or more demand determination factors include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: historical information about a road traffic volume during the target time period; real-time information about the road traffic volume; positions and resource availability of individual vehicles in the roadway environment that are reported to the communication server; an amount of resources requested by users of vehicular micro cloud services).
Regarding claim 3, Higuchi discloses the method according to claim 2,
wherein the executing processing to reallocate resources includes: determining whether or not the switching vehicle other than the relevant vehicle is present within the nearby area, with use of the processor ([0052]: there are “N” number of vehicles 110 nearby the vehicle 110 having the resource manager 199);
executing processing to reallocate, to each function of the in-vehicle device, resources of the server and resources of the relevant vehicle based on a result of coordination regarding resources of the server with the switching vehicle present within the nearby area and a status of available resources of the server, in response to a result of the determination indicating that the switching vehicle other than the relevant vehicle is present within the nearby area, with use of the processor ([0012]: responsive to determining that the total amount of the resource supplied in the vehicular micro cloud exceeds the resource demand, the allocation function is a decreasing function that specifies the total amount of the resource supplied in the vehicular micro cloud so that the total allocation distributed by the communication server is limited [0041]: ensures that vehicles reserve enough of their resources for use by other members of the vehicular micro cloud(s) so that all requests for cloudification services can be fulfilled within the vehicular micro cloud(s); and
executing processing to reallocate, to each function of the in-vehicle device, resources of the server and resources of the relevant vehicle based on the status of available resources of the server, in response to the result of the determination indicating that the switching vehicle other than the relevant vehicle is not present within the nearby area, with use of the processor ([0012]: responsive to determining that the total amount of the resource supplied in the vehicular micro cloud does not exceed the resource demand of the vehicular micro cloud, the allocation function is an increasing function that specifies the total amount of the resource supplied in the vehicular micro cloud so that the resource demand of the vehicular micro cloud is met by causing host vehicles to provision the resource to the vehicular micro cloud. [0229]-[0230]: responsive to the notification message being verified, the advertising module 254 advertises the notification message within the vehicular micro cloud, outside the vehicular micro cloud...the provisioning module 258 determines a suggested allocation based on the allocation function).
Regarding claim 4, Higuchi discloses the method according to claim 3,
wherein the executing processing to reallocate in response to the result of the determination indicating that the switching vehicle other than the relevant vehicle is present within the nearby area includes: detecting or predicting an increase in the number of cooperative vehicles or the number of switching vehicles present within the traveling area, in response to the result of the determination indicating that the switching vehicle other than the relevant vehicle is present within the nearby area, with use of the processor ([0126]: if the total amount of the resource “s” supplied to the vehicular micro cloud exceeds the resource demand “D” (e.g., s>D), a second part of the curve of the allocation function “r(s)” has a decreasing slope. The decreasing slope indicates that if a total number of the host vehicles that participate to provision the resource to the vehicular micro cloud exceeds a certain number (which already causes extra provisioning of the resource in the vehicular micro cloud. [0146]: the notification module 204 is operable to predict a resource demand in a vehicular micro cloud over a target time period. Specifically, the notification module 204 determines whether a designated time interval elapses since a generation of a last notification message. Responsive to that the designated time interval elapses, the notification module 204 predicts the resource demand in the vehicular micro cloud over the target time period based on one or more demand determination factors);
determining whether or not resources of the server are to become insufficient, in response to detecting or predicting an increase in the number of cooperative vehicles or the number of switching vehicles present within the traveling area, with use of the processor ([0014]: responsive to determining that the total amount of the resource supplied in the vehicular micro cloud exceeds the resource demand, the allocation function is a decreasing function that specifies the total amount of the resource supplied in the vehicular micro cloud so that the total allocation distributed by the communication server is limited); and
in response to a result of the determination indicating that resources of the server are to become insufficient, executing coordination regarding resources of the server with the switching vehicle present within the nearby area, and switching at least some of the resources of the server that have been allocated to functions of the in-vehicle device to resources of the relevant vehicle based on a result of the coordination, with use of the processor ([0041]: provide a solution that ensures that vehicles reserve enough of their resources for use by other members of the vehicular micro cloud(s) so that all requests for cloudification services can be fulfilled within the vehicular micro cloud(s). For example, a resource manager is described below in more detail which is capable of ensuring that a resource need of a vehicular micro cloud is met while limiting a total allocation distributed by a communication server).
Regarding claim 5, Higuchi discloses the method according to claim 4,
wherein the executing processing to reallocate in response to the result of the determination indicating that the switching vehicle other than the relevant vehicle is present within the nearby area further includes: detecting or predicting a decrease in the number of cooperative vehicles or the number of switching vehicles present within the traveling area, in response to the result of the determination indicating that the switching vehicle other than the relevant vehicle is present within the nearby area, with use of the processor ([0125]: value of the increasing slope is determined based on one or more of the following: a value of the resource demand “D” and a number of member vehicles in the vehicular micro cloud. For example, if the resource demand “D” has a value that exceeds a demand threshold (which indicates that the vehicular micro cloud has a large resource demand) and a total number of member vehicles in the vehicular micro cloud is below a member threshold (which indicates that the total number of member vehicles in the vehicular micro cloud is small. [0146]: the notification module 204 is operable to predict a resource demand in a vehicular micro cloud over a target time period);
determining whether or not more resources of the server are to become available, in response to detecting or predicting a decrease in the number of cooperative vehicles or the number of switching vehicles present within the traveling area, with use of the processor ([0127]: a value of the decreasing slope is determined based on the total allocation to be distributed by the communication server. For example, if the total allocation is equal to or exceeds an allocation threshold (which indicates that the communication server provides a large total allocation), a value of the decreasing slope can be decreased so that the allocation is dropped slowly when s>D. If the total allocation is below the allocation threshold (which indicates that the communication server provides a small total allocation); and
in response to a result of the determination indicating that more resources of the server are to become available, executing coordination regarding resources of the server with the switching vehicle present in the nearby area, and switching at least some of the resources of the relevant vehicle that have been allocated to functions of the in-vehicle device to resources of the server based on a result of the coordination, with use of the processor ([0012]: responsive to determining that the total amount of the resource supplied in the vehicular micro cloud does not exceed the resource demand of the vehicular micro cloud, the allocation function is an increasing function that specifies the total amount of the resource supplied in the vehicular micro cloud so that the resource demand of the vehicular micro cloud is met by causing host vehicles to provision the resource to the vehicular micro cloud).
Regarding claim 6, Higuchi discloses the method according to claim 3,
wherein the executing processing to reallocate in response to the result of the determination indicating that the switching vehicle other than the relevant vehicle is present within the nearby area includes: detecting or predicting a decrease in the number of cooperative vehicles or the number of switching vehicles present within the traveling area, in response to the result of the determination indicating that the switching vehicle other than the relevant vehicle is present within the nearby area, with use of the processor ([0125]: value of the increasing slope is determined based on one or more of the following: a value of the resource demand “D” and a number of member vehicles in the vehicular micro cloud. For example, if the resource demand “D” has a value that exceeds a demand threshold (which indicates that the vehicular micro cloud has a large resource demand) and a total number of member vehicles in the vehicular micro cloud is below a member threshold (which indicates that the total number of member vehicles in the vehicular micro cloud is small. [0146]: the notification module 204 is operable to predict a resource demand in a vehicular micro cloud over a target time period);
determining whether or not more resources of the server are to become available, in response to detecting or predicting a decrease in the number of cooperative vehicles or the number of switching vehicles present within the traveling area, with use of the processor ([0127]: a value of the decreasing slope is determined based on the total allocation to be distributed by the communication server. For example, if the total allocation is equal to or exceeds an allocation threshold (which indicates that the communication server provides a large total allocation), a value of the decreasing slope can be decreased so that the allocation is dropped slowly when s>D. If the total allocation is below the allocation threshold (which indicates that the communication server provides a small total allocation); and
in response to a result of the determination indicating that more resources of the server are to become available, switching at least some of the resources of the relevant vehicle that have been allocated to functions of the in-vehicle device to resources of the server, with use of the processor ([0012]: responsive to determining that the total amount of the resource supplied in the vehicular micro cloud does not exceed the resource demand of the vehicular micro cloud, the allocation function is an increasing function that specifies the total amount of the resource supplied in the vehicular micro cloud so that the resource demand of the vehicular micro cloud is met by causing host vehicles to provision the resource to the vehicular micro cloud).
Regarding claim 7, Higuchi discloses the method according to claim 3,
wherein the executing processing to reallocate in response to the result of the determination indicating that the switching vehicle other than the relevant vehicle is not present within the nearby area includes: detecting or predicting an increase in the number of cooperative vehicles present within the traveling area, in response to the result of the determination indicating that the switching vehicle other than the relevant vehicle is not present within the nearby area, with use of the processor ([0126]: if the total amount of the resource “s” supplied to the vehicular micro cloud exceeds the resource demand “D” (e.g., s>D), a second part of the curve of the allocation function “r(s)” has a decreasing slope. The decreasing slope indicates that if a total number of the host vehicles that participate to provision the resource to the vehicular micro cloud exceeds a certain number (which already causes extra provisioning of the resource in the vehicular micro cloud. [0146]: the notification module 204 is operable to predict a resource demand in a vehicular micro cloud over a target time period. Specifically, the notification module 204 determines whether a designated time interval elapses since a generation of a last notification message. Responsive to that the designated time interval elapses, the notification module 204 predicts the resource demand in the vehicular micro cloud over the target time period based on one or more demand determination factors);
determining whether or not resources of the server are to become insufficient, in response to detecting or predicting an increase in the number of cooperative vehicles present within the traveling area, with use of the processor ([0014]: responsive to determining that the total amount of the resource supplied in the vehicular micro cloud exceeds the resource demand, the allocation function is a decreasing function that specifies the total amount of the resource supplied in the vehicular micro cloud so that the total allocation distributed by the communication server is limited); and in response to a result of the determination indicating that resources of the server are to become insufficient, switching at least some of the resources of the server that have been allocated to functions of the in-vehicle device to resources of the relevant vehicle, with use of the processor ([0041]: provide a solution that ensures that vehicles reserve enough of their resources for use by other members of the vehicular micro cloud(s) so that all requests for cloudification services can be fulfilled within the vehicular micro cloud(s). For example, a resource manager is described below in more detail which is capable of ensuring that a resource need of a vehicular micro cloud is met while limiting a total allocation distributed by a communication server).
Regarding claim 8, Higuchi discloses the method according to claim 7,
wherein the executing processing to reallocate in response to the result of the determination indicating that the switching vehicle other than the relevant vehicle is not present within the nearby area further includes: detecting or predicting a decrease in the number of cooperative vehicles present within the traveling area, in response to the result of the determination indicating that resources of the server are to become insufficient, with use of the processor ([0125]: value of the increasing slope is determined based on one or more of the following: a value of the resource demand “D” and a number of member vehicles in the vehicular micro cloud. For example, if the resource demand “D” has a value that exceeds a demand threshold (which indicates that the vehicular micro cloud has a large resource demand) and a total number of member vehicles in the vehicular micro cloud is below a member threshold (which indicates that the total number of member vehicles in the vehicular micro cloud is small. [0146]: the notification module 204 is operable to predict a resource demand in a vehicular micro cloud over a target time period);
determining whether or not more resources of the server are to become available, in response to detecting or predicting a decrease in the number of cooperative vehicles present within the traveling area, with use of the processor ([0127]: a value of the decreasing slope is determined based on the total allocation to be distributed by the communication server. For example, if the total allocation is equal to or exceeds an allocation threshold (which indicates that the communication server provides a large total allocation), a value of the decreasing slope can be decreased so that the allocation is dropped slowly when s>D. If the total allocation is below the allocation threshold (which indicates that the communication server provides a small total allocation); and
in response to a result of the determination indicating that more resources of the server are to become available, switching at least some of the resources of the relevant vehicle that have been allocated to functions of the in-vehicle device to resources of the server, with use of the processor ([0012]: responsive to determining that the total amount of the resource supplied in the vehicular micro cloud does not exceed the resource demand of the vehicular micro cloud, the allocation function is an increasing function that specifies the total amount of the resource supplied in the vehicular micro cloud so that the resource demand of the vehicular micro cloud is met by causing host vehicles to provision the resource to the vehicular micro cloud);
Regarding claim 9, Higuchi discloses the method according to claim 3,
wherein the executing processing to reallocate in response to the result of the determination indicating that the switching vehicle other than the relevant vehicle is not present within the nearby area includes: detecting or predicting a decrease in the number of cooperative vehicles present within the traveling area, in response to the result of the determination indicating that the switching vehicle other than the relevant vehicle is not present within the nearby area, with use of the processor ([0125]: value of the increasing slope is determined based on one or more of the following: a value of the resource demand “D” and a number of member vehicles in the vehicular micro cloud. For example, if the resource demand “D” has a value that exceeds a demand threshold (which indicates that the vehicular micro cloud has a large resource demand) and a total number of member vehicles in the vehicular micro cloud is below a member threshold (which indicates that the total number of member vehicles in the vehicular micro cloud is small. [0146]: the notification module 204 is operable to predict a resource demand in a vehicular micro cloud over a target time period);
determining whether or not more resources of the server are to become available, in response to detecting or predicting a decrease in the number of cooperative vehicles present within the traveling area, with use of the processor ([0127]: a value of the decreasing slope is determined based on the total allocation to be distributed by the communication server. For example, if the total allocation is equal to or exceeds an allocation threshold (which indicates that the communication server provides a large total allocation), a value of the decreasing slope can be decreased so that the allocation is dropped slowly when s>D. If the total allocation is below the allocation threshold (which indicates that the communication server provides a small total allocation); and
in response to a result of the determination indicating that more resources of the server are to become available, switching at least some of the resources of the relevant vehicle that have been allocated to functions of the in-vehicle device to resources of the server, with use of the processor ([0012]: responsive to determining that the total amount of the resource supplied in the vehicular micro cloud does not exceed the resource demand of the vehicular micro cloud, the allocation function is an increasing function that specifies the total amount of the resource supplied in the vehicular micro cloud so that the resource demand of the vehicular micro cloud is met by causing host vehicles to provision the resource to the vehicular micro cloud).
Regarding claims 17 and 18; the claims are interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 1.
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
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.
Claims 10-11, 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Higuchi in view of Yang et al. (US 2021/0295705 A1) in further view of Santamala et al. (US 2022/0198839 A1).
Regarding claim 10, Higuchi discloses the method according to claim 5, wherein: the server of the traveling area includes at least a first server ([0055]: the resource manager 199 may be installed in a variety of connected endpoints located in a roadside environment. The connected endpoints may be connected vehicles (e.g., the vehicle 110) or any other processor-based connected endpoints such as a roadside unit, the edge server 140, the cloud server 160, etc).
However, Higuchi does not disclose the functions of the in-vehicle device include first functions and second functions that require faster response than the first functions, and the switching to resources of the server includes: determining whether or not the server of the traveling area further includes a second server whose response is faster than the first server; and allocating resources of the relevant vehicle to the second functions and allocating resources of the first server to the first functions in response to determining that the server does not include the second server.
In an analogous art, Yang discloses the functions of the in-vehicle device include first functions and second functions that require faster response than the first functions, and the switching to resources of the server includes: determining whether or not the server of the traveling area further includes a second server whose response is faster than the first server ([0086]: the second connected vehicle 103 may select a different server 101, and adjust its vehicle route to proceed through the geographic region of the different server 101. [0087]: This implementation is advantageous, because it enables the server 101 to adjust its deployment of vehicle functions for the second connected vehicle 103 with a different vehicle functions or with a different option of the second vehicle function. [0066]: the deployment engine 206 may estimate the amount of computing resource required to deploy the first vehicle functions for the connected vehicles 103, and compare the amount of resource required to deploy the first vehicle functions for the connected vehicles 103 to the amount of available resources of the server 101 (e.g., the capacity of free memory space, the percentage of available processing capacity, the unoccupied network bandwidth, etc.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filed date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Higuchi to comprise “the functions of the in-vehicle device include first functions and second functions that require faster response than the first functions, and the switching to resources of the server includes: determining whether or not the server of the traveling area further includes a second server whose response is faster than the first server” taught by Yang.
One of ordinary skilled in the art would have been motivated because it would have enabled for adaptively deploying vehicle functions for connected vehicles based on traffic condition (Yang, [0009]).
However, Higuchi-Yang does not disclose allocating resources of the relevant vehicle to the second functions and allocating resources of the first server to the first functions in response to determining that the server does not include the second server.
In an analogous art, Santamala discloses allocating resources of the relevant vehicle to the second functions and allocating resources of the first server to the first functions in response to determining that the server does not include the second server ([0033]: allocating processing tasks and/or aspects thereof may be performed by a task allocation service 114a executing on a system local to the AV 100 (e.g., executing on vehicle processing resources such as vehicle control and/or processing system 104). In further embodiments, processing task allocation and/or aspects thereof may be performed by a task allocation service 114b executing on an edge cloud processing system and/or resources 108).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filed date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Higuchi-Yang to comprise “allocating resources of the relevant vehicle to the second functions and allocating resources of the first server to the first functions in response to determining that the server does not include the second server” taught by Santamala.
One of ordinary skilled in the art would have been motivated because it would have enabled for managing and processing data associated with autonomous vehicles (Santamala, [0003]).
Regarding claim 11, Higuchi-Yang-Santamala discloses the method according to claim 10, wherein: the switching to resources of the server further includes: allocating resources of the first server to the first functions (Yang, [0082]: for each vehicle function associated with a connected vehicle 103 selected for deployment, the server 101 may deploy the vehicle function for the connected vehicle 103 using the available resources of the server 101), and allocating resources of the second server to the second functions in response to determining that the server includes the second server (Yang, [0085]: the second vehicle function may be the function to increase traffic safety and the server 101 may not have enough available resources. [0086]-[0087]: The server substitute request may request the second connected vehicle 103 to select a different server 101 that has sufficient available resources to provide or facilitate the execution of the second vehicle function for the second connected vehicle 103. A different server 101 to perform the early deployment of the second vehicle function for the second connected vehicle 103 if necessary). The same rationale applies as in claim 10.
Regarding claim 14, Higuchi discloses the method according to claim 5.
However, Higuchi does not disclose wherein: the server of the traveling area includes a first server and a second server whose response is faster than the first server, the functions of the in-vehicle device include first functions and second functions that require faster response than the first functions, and the switching to resources of the server includes: allocating, to the second functions, as many resources of the second server as the second server allows; allocating, to the first functions, as many resources of the first server and resources of the second server as the first server and the second server allow.
In an analogous art, Yang discloses wherein: the server of the traveling area includes a first server and a second server whose response is faster than the first server, the functions of the in-vehicle device include first functions and second functions that require faster response than the first functions ([0086]: the second connected vehicle 103 may select a different server 101, and adjust its vehicle route to proceed through the geographic region of the different server 101. [0087]: This implementation is advantageous, because it enables the server 101 to adjust its deployment of vehicle functions for the second connected vehicle 103 with a different vehicle functions or with a different option of the second vehicle function. [0066]: the deployment engine 206 may estimate the amount of computing resource required to deploy the first vehicle functions for the connected vehicles 103, and compare the amount of resource required to deploy the first vehicle functions for the connected vehicles 103 to the amount of available resources of the server 101 (e.g., the capacity of free memory space, the percentage of available processing capacity, the unoccupied network bandwidth, etc.), and the switching to resources of the server includes: allocating, to the second functions, as many resources of the second server as the second server allows; allocating, to the first functions, as many resources of the first server and resources of the second server as the first server and the second server allow (Yang, [0085]: the second vehicle function may be the function to increase traffic safety and the server 101 may not have enough available resources. [0086]-[0087]: The server substitute request may request the second connected vehicle 103 to select a different server 101 that has sufficient available resources to provide or facilitate the execution of the second vehicle function for the second connected vehicle 103. A different server 101 to perform the early deployment of the second vehicle function for the second connected vehicle 103 if necessary).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filed date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Higuchi to comprise “wherein: the server of the traveling area includes a first server and a second server whose response is faster than the first server, the functions of the in-vehicle device include first functions and second functions that require faster response than the first functions, and the switching to resources of the server includes: allocating, to the second functions, as many resources of the second server as the second server allows; allocating, to the first functions, as many resources of the first server and resources of the second server as the first server and the second server allow” taught by Yang.
One of ordinary skilled in the art would have been motivated because it would have enabled for adaptively deploying vehicle functions for connected vehicles based on traffic condition (Yang, [0009]).
However, Higuchi-Yang does not disclose allocating resources of the relevant vehicle to a function that is included in the second functions and to which resources of the second server are not allocatable, and to a function that is included in the first functions and to which neither resources of the first server nor resources of the second server are allocatable.
In an analogous art, Santamala discloses allocating resources of the relevant vehicle to a function that is included in the second functions and to which resources of the second server are not allocatable, and to a function that is included in the first functions and to which neither resources of the first server nor resources of the second server are allocatable ([0033]: allocating processing tasks and/or aspects thereof may be performed by a task allocation service 114a executing on a system local to the AV 100 (e.g., executing on vehicle processing resources such as vehicle control and/or processing system 104). In further embodiments, processing task allocation and/or aspects thereof may be performed by a task allocation service 114b executing on an edge cloud processing system and/or resources 108).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filed date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Higuchi-Yang to comprise “allocating resources of the relevant vehicle to a function that is included in the second functions and to which resources of the second server are not allocatable, and to a function that is included in the first functions and to which neither resources of the first server nor resources of the second server are allocatable” taught by Santamala.
One of ordinary skilled in the art would have been motivated because it would have enabled for managing and processing data associated with autonomous vehicles (Santamala, [0003]).
Regarding claim 15, Higuchi-Yang-Santamala discloses the method according to claim 14. Yang discloses wherein: the allocating, to the second functions, as many resources of the second server as the second server allows includes: determining whether or not resources of the second server are allocatable to all of the second functions; allocating resources of the second server to all of the second functions in response to determining that resources of the second server are allocatable to all of the second functions (Yang, [0086]: The server substitute request may request the second connected vehicle 103 to select a different server 101 that has sufficient available resources to provide or facilitate the execution of the second vehicle function for the second connected vehicle 103. In some embodiments, responsive to receiving the server substitute request, the second connected vehicle 103 may select a different server 101, and adjust its vehicle route to proceed through the geographic region of the different server 101).
However, Higuchi-Yang does not disclose in response to determining that resources of the second server are not allocatable to at least some of the second functions, executing coordination regarding allocation of resources of the second server with another switching present within the traveling area, and allocating as many resources of the second server as possible to the at least some of the second functions in accordance with a result of the coordination; and allocating resources of the relevant vehicle to a function that is included in the second functions and to which resources of the second server are not allocatable based on the result of the coordination.
In an analogous art, Santamala discloses in response to determining that resources of the second server are not allocatable to at least some of the second functions, executing coordination regarding allocation of resources of the second server with another switching present within the traveling area ([0034]: one or more of the vehicle control and/or processing systems 104, the edge cloud processing resources 108, and/or cloud processing resources 110 may interact and/or otherwise communicate to coordinate efforts to dynamically allocate, assign, and/or otherwise send processing tasks and/or associated sensor data 112 and/or coordinate the return of associated responses. [0046]: relevant and/or associated sensor data 112 may be communicated along with allocated processing tasks and/or associated requests. After performing the allocated processing tasks, a vehicle control and/or processing system 104, edge cloud processing resources 108, and/or cloud processing resources 110, may communicate resulting processed data 118 to appropriate systems for further processing and/or action), and allocating as many resources of the second server as possible to the at least some of the second functions in accordance with a result of the coordination; and allocating resources of the relevant vehicle to a function that is included in the second functions and to which resources of the second server are not allocatable based on the result of the coordination ([0033]: allocating processing tasks and/or aspects thereof may be performed by a task allocation service 114a executing on a system local to the AV 100 (e.g., executing on vehicle processing resources such as vehicle control and/or processing system 104). In further embodiments, processing task allocation and/or aspects thereof may be performed by a task allocation service 114b executing on an edge cloud processing system and/or resources 108).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filed date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Higuchi-Yang to comprise “in response to determining that resources of the second server are not allocatable to at least some of the second functions, executing coordination regarding allocation of resources of the second server with another switching present within the traveling area, and allocating as many resources of the second server as possible to the at least some of the second functions in accordance with a result of the coordination; and allocating resources of the relevant vehicle to a function that is included in the second functions and to which resources of the second server are not allocatable based on the result of the coordination” taught by Santamala.
One of ordinary skilled in the art would have been motivated because it would have enabled for managing and processing data associated with autonomous vehicles (Santamala, [0003]).
Regarding claim 16, Higuchi-Yang-Santamala discloses the method according to claim 14. Yang discloses wherein: the allocating, to the first functions, as many resources of the first server and resources of the second server as the first server and the second server allow includes: determining whether or not resources of the first server are allocatable to all of the first functions; allocating resources of the first server to all of the first functions in response to determining that resources of the first server are allocatable to all of the first functions (Yang, [0086]: The server substitute request may request the second connected vehicle 103 to select a different server 101 that has sufficient available resources to provide or facilitate the execution of the second vehicle function for the second connected vehicle 103. In some embodiments, responsive to receiving the server substitute request, the second connected vehicle 103 may select a different server 101, and adjust its vehicle route to proceed through the geographic region of the different server 101).
However, Higuchi-Yang does not disclose in response to determining that resources of the first server are not allocatable to at least some of the first functions, executing coordination regarding allocation of resources of the first server with another cooperative vehicle and another switching vehicle that are present within the traveling area, and allocating as many resources of the first server as possible to the at least some of the first functions in accordance with a result of the coordination; and allocating resources of the relevant vehicle to a function that is included in the first functions and to which resources of the first server are not allocatable based on the result of the coordination.
In an analogous art, Santamala discloses in response to determining that resources of the first server are not allocatable to at least some of the first functions, executing coordination regarding allocation of resources of the first server with another cooperative vehicle and another switching vehicle that are present within the traveling area ([0034]: one or more of the vehicle control and/or processing systems 104, the edge cloud processing resources 108, and/or cloud processing resources 110 may interact and/or otherwise communicate to coordinate efforts to dynamically allocate, assign, and/or otherwise send processing tasks and/or associated sensor data 112 and/or coordinate the return of associated responses. [0046]: relevant and/or associated sensor data 112 may be communicated along with allocated processing tasks and/or associated requests. After performing the allocated processing tasks, a vehicle control and/or processing system 104, edge cloud processing resources 108, and/or cloud processing resources 110, may communicate resulting processed data 118 to appropriate systems for further processing and/or action), and allocating as many resources of the first server as possible to the at least some of the first functions in accordance with a result of the coordination; and allocating resources of the relevant vehicle to a function that is included in the first functions and to which resources of the first server are not allocatable based on the result of the coordination ([0033]: allocating processing tasks and/or aspects thereof may be performed by a task allocation service 114a executing on a system local to the AV 100 (e.g., executing on vehicle processing resources such as vehicle control and/or processing system 104). In further embodiments, processing task allocation and/or aspects thereof may be performed by a task allocation service 114b executing on an edge cloud processing system and/or resources 108).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filed date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Higuchi-Yang to comprise “in response to determining that resources of the first server are not allocatable to at least some of the first functions, executing coordination regarding allocation of resources of the first server with another cooperative vehicle and another switching vehicle that are present within the traveling area, and allocating as many resources of the first server as possible to the at least some of the first functions in accordance with a result of the coordination; and allocating resources of the relevant vehicle to a function that is included in the first functions and to which resources of the first server are not allocatable based on the result of the coordination” taught by Santamala.
One of ordinary skilled in the art would have been motivated because it would have enabled for managing and processing data associated with autonomous vehicles (Santamala, [0003]).
Claims 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Higuchi in view of Yang et al. (US 2021/0295705 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Higuchi discloses the method according to claim 5, wherein: the server of the traveling area includes at least a first server ([0055]: the resource manager 199 may be installed in a variety of connected endpoints located in a roadside environment. The connected endpoints may be connected vehicles (e.g., the vehicle 110) or any other processor-based connected endpoints such as a roadside unit, the edge server 140, the cloud server 160, etc.).
However, Higuchi does not disclose the functions of the in-vehicle device include first functions and second functions that require faster response than the first functions, and the switching to resources of the server includes: determining whether or not the server of the traveling area further includes a second server whose response is slower than the first server; and
allocating resources of the first server to the first functions and the second functions in response to determining that the server does not include the second server.
In an analogous art, Yang discloses the functions of the in-vehicle device include first functions and second functions that require faster response than the first functions ([0086]: the second connected vehicle 103 may select a different server 101, and adjust its vehicle route to proceed through the geographic region of the different server 101. [0087]: This implementation is advantageous, because it enables the server 101 to adjust its deployment of vehicle functions for the second connected vehicle 103 with a different vehicle functions or with a different option of the second vehicle function. [0066]: the deployment engine 206 may estimate the amount of computing resource required to deploy the first vehicle functions for the connected vehicles 103, and compare the amount of resource required to deploy the first vehicle functions for the connected vehicles 103 to the amount of available resources of the server 101 (e.g., the capacity of free memory space, the percentage of available processing capacity, the unoccupied network bandwidth, etc.), and the switching to resources of the server includes: determining whether or not the server of the traveling area further includes a second server whose response is slower than the first server ([0021]: Each vehicle will receive its desired service with the pre-processed traffic information when the vehicle enters the geographic region of the server. Thus, the servers can serve the connected vehicle more accurately and reliably with lower latency); and
allocating resources of the first server to the first functions and the second functions in response to determining that the server does not include the second server ([0065]: the deployment engine 206 may determine whether the available resources of the server 101 are sufficient enough to deploy all first vehicle functions associated with the connected vehicles 103 for the connected vehicles 103 that will be in the geographic region at the future point in time).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filed date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Higuchi to comprise “the functions of the in-vehicle device include first functions and second functions that require faster response than the first functions, and the switching to resources of the server includes: determining whether or not the server of the traveling area further includes a second server whose response is slower than the first server; and allocating resources of the first server to the first functions and the second functions in response to determining that the server does not include the second server” taught by Yang.
One of ordinary skilled in the art would have been motivated because it would have enabled for adaptively deploying vehicle functions for connected vehicles based on traffic condition (Yang, [0009]).
Regarding claim 13, Higuchi-Yang discloses the method according to claim 12, wherein:
the switching to resources of the server further includes: allocating resources of the second server to the first functions and allocating resources of the first server to the second functions, in response to determining that the server includes the second server (Yang, [0085]: the second vehicle function may be the function to increase traffic safety and the server 101 may not have enough available resources. [0086]-[0087]: The server substitute request may request the second connected vehicle 103 to select a different server 101 that has sufficient available resources to provide or facilitate the execution of the second vehicle function for the second connected vehicle 103. A different server 101 to perform the early deployment of the second vehicle function for the second connected vehicle 103 if necessary). The same rationale applies as in claim 12.
Additional References
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicants disclosure.
Kang et al., US 2023/0032183 A1: Systems and Methods for Offloading Computing Tasks from Vehicle Using Characteristics.
Falla Cepeda, US 2022/0394557 A1: Method, Apparatus, and System for Enabling Remote Use of a Vehicle’s Computational Resources via Network Connection(s).
Conclusion
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/J.C.T/Examiner, Art Unit 2446
/BRIAN J. GILLIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2446
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