DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
Examiner acknowledges Applicant’s claim for priority to Japanese Patent Application No. JP2022-136693 filed under 35 U.S.C. 119 and receipt of the priority document filed on 08/30/2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS)(s) submitted on 11/03/2025 and 12/16/2024 has/have been received, considered, and is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS(s) has/have been considered by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-5 and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US. 12103555 B2 to Nasu et al. (Nasu) in view of JP 2019105578 A to Yagi.
Regarding claim 1, Nasu discloses:
A driving assistance device (vehicle motion control device 2) comprising:
planned travel route obtaining means for obtaining a planned travel route along which a vehicle travels (Nasu discloses travel track generation unit 22 including information acquisition unit 22a, road determination unit 22b, travelable region calculation unit 22c (¶ (43) (travel track generation unit 22 receives the travel status information and generates a travel track including information of a travel route, a travel speed, and the like that are to be travel targets of the vehicle, and includes an information acquisition unit 22a, a road determination unit 22b, a travelable region calculation unit 22c, a route planning unit 22d, a nearest neighbor point calculation unit 22e, a route determination unit 22f, and a speed planning unit 22g); ¶ (99) (route planning unit 22d receives the travel status information output from the information acquisition unit 22a, the number…of curves present in the traveling direction of the vehicle output from the road determination unit 22b, the information regarding the curves, such as a length, a width, a curvature…, a turning direction, a start point, and an end point for each of the detected curves, and the determination result…output from the route determination unit 22f as to whether the travel route is within the travelable region, and generates the travel route present in the travelable region)));
coupling-point setting means for setting, when the planned travel route includes a plurality of consecutive curves, a coupling point for the plurality of curves, targeting a curved section including the plurality of curves (Nasu discloses reference points as coupling-points, a plurality of curves, nearest neighbor point calculation unit 22e to set the reference points along the travel path and curves for the plurality of curves and route determination unit 22f to receive the distances from each point along the travel route (¶ (49) (nearest neighbor point calculation unit 22e receives the travelable region output from the travelable region calculation unit 22c and the travel route output from the route planning unit 22d, searches for each point on the travel route…and calculates and outputs the distance between each point and the nearest neighbor point of each point and the distance between each point and the point opposite the nearest neighbor point); ¶ (54) (nearest neighbor point calculation unit 22e calculates and outputs a distance from a certain point present on the travel route to the nearest neighbor point A, a distance from the certain point to the nearest neighbor point B, and a distance between the nearest neighbor point A and the nearest neighbor point B for each point present on the travel route); ¶ (56) (route determination unit 22f receives, from the nearest neighbor point calculation unit 22e, the distance from each point present on the travel route to each nearest neighbor point A present on the travel route, the distance from each point present on the travel route to each nearest neighbor point B present on the travel route, and the distance between each nearest neighbor point A and each nearest neighbor point B, determines whether the travel route is within the travelable region, and outputs the determination result)));
start-vector obtaining means for obtaining a start vector that identifies a position and a direction of a vehicle at a starting point of the curved section for a case of traveling along the planned travel route (Nasu discloses information acquisition unit 22a, road determination unit 22b, route planning unit 22d, and route determination unit 22f, to obtain start point(s), direction, detected curves and turns within a travelable region (¶ (66) (travel status information output from the information acquisition unit 22a, the number…of curves present in the traveling direction of the vehicle output from the road determination unit 22b, information regarding the curves such as a length, a width, a curvature…, a turning direction, a start point, and an end point for each of the detected curves, and the determination result); ¶ (99) (route planning unit 22d receives the travel status information output from the information acquisition unit 22a, the number…of curves present in the traveling direction of the vehicle output from the road determination unit 22b, the information regarding the curves…the determination result…output from the route determination unit 22f…and generates the travel route present in the travelable region)));
end-vector obtaining means for obtaining an end vector that identifies a position and a direction of a vehicle at an end point of the curved section for a case of traveling along the planned travel route (Nasu discloses route planning unit 22d to obtain an end point(s) for the travel path and curves along the planned travel route (¶ (99) (route planning unit 22d receives the travel status information output from the information acquisition unit 22a, the number…of curves present in the traveling direction of the vehicle output from the road determination unit 22b, the information regarding the curves…and an end point for each of the detected curves, and the determination result…output from the route determination unit 22f as to whether the travel route is within the travelable region, and generates the travel route present in the travelable region)));
travel path generating means for generating a travel path recommended for a vehicle to travel along, by combining together a first-half travel path and a second-half travel path, targeting the curved section, the first-half travel path reaching the coupling point from the start vector, and the second-half travel path reaching the end vector from the coupling point (Nasu discloses route planning unit 22d in Example 1 and route candidate planning unit 22h in Example 2 as a travel path generating means wherein a first curve of a travel path combines with a second curve of the travel path (¶ (48) (route planning unit 22d receives the travel status information, information regarding a curve, and a determination result…and generates a travel route); ¶ (76) (like an S-shaped curve, the first curve has a section in which the curvature increases and decreases, and the second curve has a section that is adjacent to the first curve and in which the curvature increases and decreases); ¶ (97) (in step S114, a travel route is generated based on the peak curvature of the travel route at the time of traveling on the curve set in step S104, S108, S111, or S110, the length of each section set in step S112, and the coordinates of the start point of the first curve set in step S113 )); ¶ (99) (route planning unit 22d receives the travel status information output from the information acquisition unit 22a, the number…of curves present in the traveling direction of the vehicle output from the road determination unit 22b, the information regarding the curves, such as a length, a width, a curvature…, a turning direction, a start point, and an end point for each of the detected curves, and the determination result…output from the route determination unit 22f as to whether the travel route is within the travelable region, and generates the travel route present in the travelable region))); and
driving assistance means for providing driving assistance for a vehicle, based on the travel path generated by the travel path generating means (Nasu discloses powertrain system 3 as a driving assistance means for proving driving assistance for a vehicle (¶ (37) (travel control unit 23 sets a target driving force, a target braking force, a target steering angle…so that the vehicle travels following the travel track output from the travel track generation unit 22, and controls the powertrain system 3, the brake system 4, and the steering system 5); ¶ (38) (powertrain system 3 controls a driving force generated by an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, or the like on the basis of an operation by a driver or the target driving force output from the travel control unit 23))).
However, Nasu does not appear to further expressly disclose
a means for generating a start vector(s) or an end vector(s).
Yagi, in the same field of endeavor, further discloses:
a means for generating a start vector(s) and an end vector(s) (Yagi discloses generating both at least a start point vector and an end point vector, wherein each vector is over a curved portion of the travel path, distinguishing the difference between generating a quadratic Bezier curve versus a cubic Bezier curve (see Figs. 3A-B; [0044] (When the start point and the end point are specified, the control unit 20 specifies a Bezier curve that smoothly extends from the start point to the end point, and regards it as a movement locus….in order to specify the Bezier curve, the control unit 20 sets a start point vector at the start point and sets an end point vector at the end point…the start point vector is a straight line vector pointing in the direction of the lane through the start point…end point vector is a straight line vector pointing in the direction of the lane through the end point); [0045] (when the road is a curved road, the direction of the tangent of the curve of the lane is the direction of these vectors…the start point vector is indicated as vector Vs, and the end point vector is indicated as vector Ve); [0046] (which of the cubic Bezier curve and the quadratic Bezier curve is to be acquired is specified based on the relationship between the start point vector and the end point vector…control unit 20 extends at least one of the start point vector and the end point vector to specify an intersection point…if the intersection point is in front of one of the vectors and behind the other…the movement trajectory is specified by the quadratic Bezier curve); [0048] (control unit 20 generates one control point between the start point vector and the end point vector…control unit 20…acquires the intersection point of an extension line of the start vector and end vector as a point P .sub.1…control unit 20 specifies a quadratic Bezier curve whose control point is the start point Ps, the point P .sub.1))).
Therefore, 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 vehicle motion control device of Nasu to incorporate the lane change determination system of Yagi to include a means for generating at least a start point vector pointing in a travel direction and an end point vector pointing through the end point of a direction of travel, wherein each vector takes place over at least a curved portion of the travel path of the vehicle in Nasu, with predictable results, with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Nasu and Yagi for the express benefit of determining both at least a start point vector and an end point vector wherein each vector takes place over a curved portion of the travel route of the vehicle, as explained in Yagi [0044] – [0048].
Regarding claim 2, Nasu discloses the driving assistance device according to claim 1,
wherein the coupling-point setting means sets, as the coupling point, a point between the plurality of curves, using map information including information about markings and targeting a curved section including the plurality of curves, the point being recommended to couple together travel paths of a vehicle that are taken upon traveling around the respective curves (Nasu discloses reference points as coupling-points between a plurality of curves, nearest neighbor point calculation unit 22e setting reference points along the travel path and curves for the plurality of curves and route determination unit 22f to receive the distances from each point along the travel route (¶ (23) (map information storage unit 13 stores general road information used in a navigation system or the like, road information including information related to a curve); ¶ (25) (information of the vehicle, the surrounding environment, and the like detected by the external recognition sensor is…information of…a lane boundary, a lane edge line…sensor 14 recognizes…a lane boundary line, a lane edge line, and the like); ¶ (49) (nearest neighbor point calculation unit 22e receives the travelable region output from the travelable region calculation unit 22c and the travel route output from the route planning unit 22d, searches for each point on the travel route, the nearest neighbor point of each point in the travelable region, and a point opposite the nearest neighbor point of each point in the travelable region, and calculates and outputs the distance between each point and the nearest neighbor point of each point and the distance between each point and the point opposite the nearest neighbor point)) see also (in claim 1, e.g. Nasu)).
Regarding claim 3, Nasu discloses the driving assistance device according to claim 2,
wherein the coupling-point setting means sets the coupling point, based on curving directions of the plurality of curves (in claim 2, e.g. Nasu).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Nasu and Yagi discloses the driving assistance device according to claim 3 in for example the obviousness to combine in the rejection of corresponding parts of claim(s) 1 and 3 above incorporated herein by reference.
Yagi further discloses:
wherein when the curving directions of the plurality of curves are identical, the coupling-point setting means sets the coupling point more to an outer side of curves than a center line of a lane in which a vehicle is planning to travel (Yagi discloses wherein the coupling point may be more on an outer side or an inner side of a curve than a centerline of a lane based on the curve of the target travel path in relation to the curves and the lanes that the travel path follows (see Figs. 3A-B; [0021] (when three consecutive points are the points N .sub.1 , N .sub.2 and N .sub.3…control unit 20 sets the vertical bisector of the points N .sub.1 and N .sub.2 and the vertical two of the points N .sub.2 and N .sub.3…an equal dividing line is calculated, and the point of intersection between the two is regarded as the center of curvature…control unit 20 acquires the distance from the center of curvature to one of the points…as the radius of curvature of the road); [0023] (The lane boundary at the end of the road is a solid line, and the boundary between lanes is a dashed line…in a road with three lanes, the left boundary of the left lane is a solid line, and the right boundary is a broken line…in the central lane, the left and right boundaries are both broken lines, the right boundary of the rightmost lane is a solid line, and the left boundary is a dashed line…on such a road, it is possible to specify the traveling lane by specifying the aspect of the boundary existing on the left and right of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling and the presence or absence of the left and right lanes…on a road having four or more lanes, after the end lane is identified as the travel lane, it is possible to specify the current travel lane based on the number of lane changes from the end lane and the lane change direction))).
It would have been obvious to combine for the reasons set forth in the rejection of corresponding parts of claim 1 above incorporated herein by reference.
Regarding claim 5, Nasu discloses the driving assistance device according to claim 3,
wherein when the curving directions of the plurality of curves are different from each other, the coupling-point setting means sets the coupling point on a center line of a lane in which a vehicle is planning to travel (Nasu discloses wherein the curving directions are different from each other, wherein the curvatures are different sizes and wherein the points are set to the center of a travel lane (see Figs. 4 & 6; ¶ (75) (In step S105, it is determined whether the peak curvatures of the two curves are different based on the information of the peak curvature of each curve existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle acquired in step S101); ¶ (80) (In step S106, it is determined whether the turning direction of the first curve is different from the turning direction of the second curve based on the information on the turning directions of the first curve and the second curve existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle acquired in step S101); ¶ (159) (the plurality of travel routes generated by the route candidate planning unit 22h may have different peak curvatures as well as different lengths of sections and different coordinates of the start point of the first curve); (121) (In FIG. 4, a broken line indicates a route…in which the vehicle travels in the center of the travelable region 70, an alternate long and short dash line indicates a route…in which the peak curvature of the first curve 81 and the peak curvature of the second curve 82 are smaller than the peak curvature of the road shape, and a solid line indicates a travel route); ¶ (138) (In FIG. 6, a broken line indicates a route…in which the vehicle 60 travels in the center of the travelable region 70, a dashed-dotted line indicates a route…in which the peak curvature of the first curve 83 and the peak curvature of the second curve 84 are smaller than the peak curvature of the road shape, and a solid line indicates a travel route))).
Regarding claim 8, Nasu discloses the driving assistance device according to claim 5, comprising:
travel path modifying means for modifying, when the curving directions of the plurality of curves are different from each other, a travel path so as not to include, around the coupling point, a section where the vehicle travels straight ahead along a center line of a lane, the travel path being obtained by combining together the first-half travel path and the second-half travel path (Nasu discloses curved road section(s) wherein the curves are different from each other, straight road section(s) where the vehicle travels straight and section(s) of the travel path the travel path connects (¶ (76) (like an S-shaped curve, the first curve has a section in which the curvature increases and decreases, and the second curve has a section that is adjacent to the first curve and in which the curvature increases and decreases); ¶ (95) (in step S112, the lengths of respective sections of a straight line, a transition curve, and a circular curve on the travel route are set based on the information regarding the curve acquired in step S101); ¶ (100) (vehicle motion control device 2…includes the travel track generation unit 22 that generates, based on information on a curvature of a first curve on a lane existing in a traveling direction of a vehicle and a second curve connected to the first curve, a travel route by setting a curvature of the travel route at a time of traveling on a curve having a smaller curvature between the first curve and the second curve to be larger than the curvature of the curve and setting a curvature of the travel route at a time of traveling on a curve having a larger curvature between the first curve and the second curve to be smaller than the curvature of the curve); ¶ (102) (even in the case of traveling on a continuous curve…it is possible to generate a travel route in which the degree of freedom in generating the travel route is large, the behavior of the vehicle traveling on the curve is small, and comfortable ride is achieved)); see also (in claim 5, e.g. Nasu)).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Nasu and Yagi discloses in for example the rejection of corresponding parts of claim 1 above incorporated herein by reference, a computer program stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium configured to cause a computer to function as:
planned travel route obtaining means for obtaining a planned travel route along which a vehicle travels (in claim 1, e.g. Nasu);
coupling-point setting means for setting, when the planned travel route includes a plurality of consecutive curves, a coupling point for the plurality of curves, targeting a curved section including the plurality of curves (in claim 1, e.g. Nasu);
start-vector obtaining means for obtaining a start vector that identifies a position and a direction of a vehicle at a starting point of the curved section for a case of traveling along the planned travel route (in claim 1, e.g. Nasu & Yagi);
end-vector obtaining means for obtaining an end vector that identifies a position and a direction of a vehicle at an end point of the curved section for a case of traveling along the planned travel route (in claim 1, e.g. Nasu & Yagi);
travel path generating means for generating a travel path recommended for a vehicle to travel along, by combining together a first-half travel path and a second-half travel path, targeting the curved section, the first-half travel path reaching the coupling point from the start vector, and the second-half travel path reaching the end vector from the coupling point (in claim 1, e.g. Nasu); and
driving assistance means for providing driving assistance for a vehicle, based on the travel path generated by the travel path generating means (in claim 1, e.g. Nasu).
It would have been obvious to combine for the reasons set forth in the rejection of corresponding parts of claim 1 above incorporated herein by reference.
Claim(s) 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US. 12103555 B2 to Nasu in view of JP 2019105578 A to Yagi, as applied to the claims above, in further view of CN 110806218 A to Li.
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Nasu and Yagi discloses the driving assistance device according to claim 1 in for example the obviousness to combine in the rejection of corresponding parts of claim(s) 1 above incorporated herein by reference.
However, the combination of Nasu and Yagi does not appear to further expressly disclose, wherein the travel path generating means
calculates costs for combinations of a plurality of candidates for a first-half travel path and a plurality of candidates for a second-half travel path; and
compares calculated costs to select and generate a combination of travel paths recommended for a vehicle to travel along from among combinations of a plurality of candidates for a first-half travel path and a plurality of candidates for a second-half travel path.
Li, in the same field if endeavor, further discloses, wherein the travel path generating means
calculates costs for combinations of a plurality of candidates for a first-half travel path and a plurality of candidates for a second-half travel path (Li discloses calculating the cost for combinations of a plurality of combined nodes along a travel path ([0036] (The main process includes: selecting the parking path from the adjacent nodes of the current node with the least cost and without obstacles…the adjacent node occupied by the object is used as the next node…the next node is used as the current node of the next cycle until the next node is the end node corresponding to the end pose, where the initial value of the current node is set is the local start node corresponding to the local start pose…finally, the local start node, the selected node and the end node are sequentially connected to form a reference polyline path…the minimum parking path cost refers to the shortest parking path length); [0045] (First, define…OpenList as a dynamic set of pre-searched nodes, N RS as the preset number of iteration cycles, f(Nodek) index represents the cost value of node Nodek, and g(Nodek) represents the expansion from the starting node to the current node…the cumulative cost value of Nodek, h(Nodek) represents the estimated cost of extending from the current node to the termination node, then f(Nodek) is the sum of g(Nodek) and h(Nodek)…assuming that Nodechild can also be explored by Nodecurrent , under the assumption that "the parent node of child node Nodechild is Nodecurrent", re-estimate the cost value of Nodechild, and record this alternative cost value as f *))); and
compares calculated costs to select and generate a combination of travel paths recommended for a vehicle to travel along from among combinations of a plurality of candidates for a first-half travel path and a plurality of candidates for a second-half travel path (Li discloses comparing calculated costs to generate travel paths based on combined nodes forming path(s) for a vehicle to travel ([0045] (First, define…OpenList as a dynamic set of pre-searched nodes, N RS as the preset number of iteration cycles, f(Nodek) index represents the cost value of node Nodek, and g(Nodek) represents the expansion from the starting node to the current node…the cumulative cost value of Nodek, h(Nodek) represents the estimated cost of extending from the current node to the termination node, then f(Nodek) is the sum of g(Nodek) and h(Nodek)…assuming that Nodechild can also be explored by Nodecurrent, under the assumption that "the parent node of child node Nodechild is Nodecurrent", re-estimate the cost value of Nodechild, and record this alternative cost value as f *…the g of Nodecurrent should be updated accordingly))).
Therefore, 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 the combination of Nasu and Yagi to incorporate the parking path planning system of Li to include calculating costs for a plurality of routes based on connected nodes along a travel path to increase or decrease cost based on the number of connected nodes as well as comparing the costs of each travel path to find the most cost efficient route of travel for the vehicle, with predictable results, with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Nasu, Yagi and Li for the express benefit calculating and comparing the cost of a plurality of candidate routes based on the number of connected nodes making up said travel routes, as explained in Li [0044] – [0048].
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Nasu, Yagi and Li discloses the driving assistance device according to claim 6 in for example the obviousness to combine in the rejection of corresponding parts of claim(s) 1 and 6 above incorporated herein by reference.
Li further discloses:
wherein for combinations of a plurality of candidates for a first-half travel path and a plurality of candidates for a second-half travel path, the travel path generating means calculates a lower cost for a combination of travel paths with a smaller curvature or for a combination of travel paths with a shorter moving time (Li discloses wherein the cost of the vehicle travel across a parking route curved paths, a lower cost is relative to a shorter route or smaller curvature ([0017] (there is provided a parking path planning apparatus, characterized by comprising: a polyline path generation module configured to generate a polyline path connecting a starting pose to an intermediate partial starting pose; a reference polyline path generation module configured to generate an obstacle-avoidable reference polyline path from a local start pose to an end pose; a curvilinear path generation module configured to generate a plurality of curved paths; the connected path selection module is configured to select a curved path with the smallest deviation from the accumulated distance of the reference polyline path from the plurality of curved paths as a connected path connecting the local starting pose to the ending pose…the parking path generation module is configured to determine a polyline path connecting the starting pose to the intermediate partial starting pose and a connected path connecting the local starting pose to the ending pose without obstacles as the parking path)); see also (in claim 6, e.g. Li)).
It would have been obvious to combine for the reasons set forth in the rejection of corresponding parts of claim(s) 1 & 6 above incorporated herein by reference.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure as teaching the state of the art of driving assistance device(s) and computer program(s), at the time of filing. For example:
US 20210291860 A1 to Kondo; Yoshito teaches, inter alia DRIVING ASSISTANCE SYSTEM AND DRIVING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM in for example the ABSTRACT, Figures and/or Paragraphs below:
“A driving assistance system includes a planned travel route acquirer, a driving assistance section acquirer, and a guide controller. The planned travel route acquirer acquires a planned travel route for a vehicle. The driving assistance section acquirer acquires a driving assistance section on the planned travel route. The guide controller presents at least one icon indicating a point of switching between the driving assistance section and a non-assistance section on the planned travel route.”
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US 20230192074 A1 to Abad; Pablo teaches, inter alia Systems And Methods To Determine A Lane Change Strategy At A Merge Region in for example the ABSTRACT, Figures and/or Paragraphs below:
“A computer-implemented method is provided that involves determining, based on map data, an approaching merge region comprising an on-ramp merging with a road comprising one or more lanes, wherein a truck is traveling on an initial lane of the road according to a navigation plan. The method involves an indication of movement of a vehicle on the on-ramp, wherein the indication of movement is based on data collected by one or more sensors configured to capture sensor data from an environment surrounding the truck. The method involves determining, for the on-ramp and the one or more lanes, respective avoidance scores indicative of a likelihood of an interaction between the truck and the vehicle based on the approaching merge region. The method involves updating the navigation plan based on the respective avoidance scores. The method also involves controlling the truck to execute a driving strategy based on the updated navigation plan.”
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US 20220234577 A1 to Baba; Ichiro teaches, inter alia MOBILE OBJECT CONTROL DEVICE, MOBILE OBJECT CONTROL METHOD,AND STORAGE MEDIUM in for example the ABSTRACT, Figures and/or Paragraphs below:
“A mobile object control device recognizes an object which is located near a vehicle, generates a movement plan for the vehicle, which includes generation of a target trajectory in which the vehicle is to travel and which is obtained by connecting a plurality of trajectory points, and generates, when generating the movement plan, the target trajectory such that a line which is obtained by connecting trajectory points adjacent to each other with respect to a traveling direction of the vehicle does not pass through a risk area including the recognized object.”
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/ROBERT L PINKERTON/Examiner, Art Unit 3665
/HUNTER B LONSBERRY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3665