Tiling Based Approach for Unified Destination Entry

Application No. 18/894,058

• Filed: Sep 24, 2024
• Examiner: PEDERSEN, DAVID RUBEN
• Art Unit: 3658
• Tech Center: 3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
• Assignee: Cerence Operating Company
• OA Round: 1 (Non-Final)

Office Action

DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-14 are currently pending and have been examined in this application. This communication is the first action on the merits.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This action is in response to the application filed 09/24/2024.

Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.

Claim(s) 1-6, 11, 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Niewiadomski (US2024 0369375) in view of Kim (US20200166945).

Claim 1:
Niewiadomski explicitly teaches:
An apparatus for optimizing memory usage in an infotainment system in a vehicle, said apparatus comprising an automotive assistant that executes in said infotainment system of said vehicle,
(Niewiadomski) – “The embodiments of the present disclosure may help to access map data corresponding to elements of interest within a map in a manner that may increase efficiency and decrease an amount of memory used to access the map data.” (Para 0007)
“The vehicle 400 may further include the infotainment SoC 430 (e.g., an in-vehicle infotainment system (IVI)). Although illustrated and described as a SoC, the infotainment system may not be a SoC, and may include two or more discrete components. The infotainment SoC 430 may include a combination of hardware and software that may be used to provide audio (e.g., music, a personal digital assistant, navigational instructions, news, radio, etc.), video (e.g., TV, movies, streaming, etc.), phone (e.g., hands-free calling), network connectivity (e.g., LTE, Wi-Fi, etc.), and/or information services (e.g., navigation systems, rear-parking assistance, a radio data system, vehicle related information such as fuel level, total distance covered, brake fuel level, oil level, door open/close, air filter information, etc.) to the vehicle 400. For example, the infotainment SoC 430 may radios, disk players, navigation systems, video players, USB and Bluetooth connectivity, carputers, in-car entertainment, Wi-Fi, steering wheel audio controls, hands free voice control, a heads-up display (HUD), an HMI display 434, a telematics device, a control panel (e.g., for controlling and/or interacting with various components, features, and/or systems), and/or other components. The infotainment SoC 430 may further be used to provide information (e.g., visual and/or audible) to a user(s) of the vehicle, such as information from the ADAS system 438, autonomous driving information such as planned vehicle maneuvers, trajectories, surrounding environment information (e.g., intersection information, vehicle information, road information, etc.), and/or other information.” (Para 0201)

a speech interface that executes in said infotainment system, said speech interface being in communication with said automotive assistant,
(Niewiadomski) – “The vehicle 400 may further include the infotainment SoC 430 (e.g., an in-vehicle infotainment system (IVI)). Although illustrated and described as a SoC, the infotainment system may not be a SoC, and may include two or more discrete components. The infotainment SoC 430 may include a combination of hardware and software that may be used to provide audio (e.g., music, a personal digital assistant, navigational instructions, news, radio, etc.), video (e.g., TV, movies, streaming, etc.), phone (e.g., hands-free calling), network connectivity (e.g., LTE, Wi-Fi, etc.), and/or information services (e.g., navigation systems, rear-parking assistance, a radio data system, vehicle related information such as fuel level, total distance covered, brake fuel level, oil level, door open/close, air filter information, etc.) to the vehicle 400. For example, the infotainment SoC 430 may radios, disk players, navigation systems, video players, USB and Bluetooth connectivity, carputers, in-car entertainment, Wi-Fi, steering wheel audio controls, hands free voice control, a heads-up display (HUD), an HMI display 434, a telematics device, a control panel (e.g., for controlling and/or interacting with various components, features, and/or systems), and/or other components. The infotainment SoC 430 may further be used to provide information (e.g., visual and/or audible) to a user(s) of the vehicle, such as information from the ADAS system 438, autonomous driving information such as planned vehicle maneuvers, trajectories, surrounding environment information (e.g., intersection information, vehicle information, road information, etc.), and/or other information.” (Para 0201)

a mass storage unit that stores map data and context data, wherein said map data comprises geographic information about geographic areas around said vehicle, said geographic areas comprising first and second geographic areas,
(Niewiadomski) – “A method of obtaining a relative identifier corresponding to a request to access element data corresponding to an element depicted by a map of an area, the map being divided into a plurality of tiles, the map having map data corresponding thereto, the plurality of tiles having respective sets of tile data corresponding thereto, and the sets of tile data being subsets of the map data. Further, identifying a particular set of tile data corresponding to a particular tile, the particular set of tile data being identified based at least on a tile identifier included in the relative identifier. The method may additionally include, identifying a location of the element data in the particular tile data based on an element identifier included in the relative identifier. Further, the method may include accessing one or more portions of the element data using the location of the element data as identified.” (Abstract)
“The embodiments of the present disclosure may help to access map data corresponding to elements of interest within a map in a manner that may increase efficiency and decrease an amount of memory used to access the map data.” (Para 0007)
“The vehicle 400 may include a system(s) on a chip (SoC) 404. The SoC 404 may include CPU(s) 406, GPU(s) 408, processor(s) 410, cache(s) 412, accelerator(s) 414, data store(s) 416, and/or other components and features not illustrated.” (Para 0123)
“The SoC(s) 404 may further include dedicated high-performance mass storage controllers that may include their own DMA engines, and that may be used to free the CPU(s) 406 from routine data management tasks.” (Para 0161)
“The vehicle 400 may further include data store(s) 428 which may include off-chip (e.g., off the SoC(s) 404) storage. The data store(s) 428 may include one or more storage elements including RAM, SRAM, DRAM, VRAM, Flash, hard disks, and/or other components and/or devices that may store at least one bit of data.” (Para 0172)

wherein said context data comprises location-dependent context information about said geographic areas around said vehicle for use by said automotive assistant and by said speech interface when engaging in speech interaction with an occupant of said vehicle, wherein said context data comprises a first subset of said context data and a second subset of said context data,
(Niewiadomski) – “A method of obtaining a relative identifier corresponding to a request to access element data corresponding to an element depicted by a map of an area, the map being divided into a plurality of tiles, the map having map data corresponding thereto, the plurality of tiles having respective sets of tile data corresponding thereto, and the sets of tile data being subsets of the map data. Further, identifying a particular set of tile data corresponding to a particular tile, the particular set of tile data being identified based at least on a tile identifier included in the relative identifier. The method may additionally include, identifying a location of the element data in the particular tile data based on an element identifier included in the relative identifier. Further, the method may include accessing one or more portions of the element data using the location of the element data as identified.” (Abstract)
“In some embodiments, the relative identifier may reference one or more tiles corresponding to a map where the map has map data corresponding thereto, and the one or more tiles may correspond to tile data associated with the map data. In these and other embodiments, the map may be a representation (e.g., a visual representation) of an area corresponding to the map data, and the map may include one or more objects, locations, geographic markers, etc. In these and other embodiments, one or more areas of the map may be subdivided into one or more tiles.” (Para 0021)
“For example, in the context of an ego machine locating map data, the reference tile may correspond to tile data corresponding to one or more locations of the ego machine in the map data corresponding to the map. In some embodiments, the tile identifier corresponding to map data outside of the reference tile may be located and/or identified with respect to the reference tile. Additionally or alternatively, map data including element data corresponding to one or more elements describing one or more objects of interest may be located in tile data corresponding to a tile that is not the reference tile.” (Para 0023)
“The infotainment SoC 430 may further be used to provide information (e.g., visual and/or audible) to a user(s) of the vehicle, such as information from the ADAS system 438, autonomous driving information such as planned vehicle maneuvers, trajectories, surrounding environment information (e.g., intersection information, vehicle information, road information, etc.), and/or other information.” (Para 0201)
Examiner Note: Per BRI, context data may correspond with any form of data which provides any form of context within the above limitations. A plurality of elements and tiles are described including at least a first and a second.

a dynamic memory that stores a copy of said first subset of said context data, and
(Niewiadomski) – “In some embodiments, one or more systems configured to identify and/or access tile data corresponding to one or more tiles may load tile data corresponding to the one or more tiles 212 corresponding to the map 202 onto one or more locations in memory. In some embodiments, the one or more systems may assign one or more pointers 222 to the loaded tile data corresponding to the tiles 212 on the tile directory block 220. In some embodiments, the tile data corresponding to one or more of the loaded tiles—e.g., tiles 212—may be loaded onto one or more locations in memory and each of the tiles 212 may be assigned a corresponding pointer—e.g., the one or more pointers 222.” (Para 0076)
“The vehicle 400 may include a system(s) on a chip (SoC) 404. The SoC 404 may include CPU(s) 406, GPU(s) 408, processor(s) 410, cache(s) 412, accelerator(s) 414, data store(s) 416, and/or other components and features not illustrated.” (Para 0123)
“The GPU(s) 408 may include a high bandwidth memory (HBM) and/or a 16 GB HBM2 memory subsystem to provide, in some examples, about 900 GB/second peak memory bandwidth. In some examples, in addition to, or alternatively from, the HBM memory, a synchronous graphics random-access memory (SGRAM) may be used, such as a graphics double data rate type five synchronous random-access memory (GDDR5).” (Para 0128)

a memory manager that, [in response to a velocity of said vehicle, replaces said copy of said first subset of said context data with a copy of information from said second subset of said context data.]
(Niewiadomski) – “A method of obtaining a relative identifier corresponding to a request to access element data corresponding to an element depicted by a map of an area, the map being divided into a plurality of tiles, the map having map data corresponding thereto, the plurality of tiles having respective sets of tile data corresponding thereto, and the sets of tile data being subsets of the map data. Further, identifying a particular set of tile data corresponding to a particular tile, the particular set of tile data being identified based at least on a tile identifier included in the relative identifier. The method may additionally include, identifying a location of the element data in the particular tile data based on an element identifier included in the relative identifier. Further, the method may include accessing one or more portions of the element data using the location of the element data as identified.” (Abstract)
“In such examples, when the GPU(s) 408 memory management unit (MMU) experiences a miss, an address translation request may be transmitted to the CPU(s) 406.” (Para 0129)
“In some embodiments, element data 254 included in the tile data 252 corresponding to one or more elements may be stored in one or more data structures. In some embodiments, the one or more data structures may include one or more arrays, lists, records, and/or other suitable data structures configured to store element data 254. In some embodiments, the one or more data structures may provide a way to organize and/or manage the element data 254 as well as a mechanism with which one or more systems may identify, locate, and/or access the element data 254 corresponding to specific elements.” (Para 0085)
Examiner Note: Bracketed text not explicitly taught by primary reference, but is taught by non-primary reference later in the rejection. This notation will be used throughout the rejection unless otherwise stated.

Niewiadomski does not explicitly teach:
in response to a velocity of said vehicle, replaces said copy of said first subset of said context data with a copy of information from said second subset of said context data.

Kim, in the same field of endeavor of vehicle maps, teaches:
in response to a velocity of said vehicle, replaces said copy of said first subset of said context data with a copy of information from said second subset of said context data.
(Kim) – “Furthermore, the event information and the road specific speed limit information may be linked to map information or may be updated.” (Para 0266)
“Based on LDM data received through V2X communication, the LDM may store all relevant information (e.g., the present vehicle (another vehicle) location, speed, traffic light status, weather information, road surface condition, etc.) on a traffic condition (or a road condition for an area within a predetermined distance from a place where a vehicle is currently located) around a place where a vehicle is currently located, and distribute them to other vehicles and continuously update them.” (Para 0279)
“For a tile included in the second group, the processor 870 may search for an old tile that needs to be updated among tiles included in the second group using metadata included in each tile, and store at least one tile to replace the old tile in the memory (S1750). In other words, when a tile received from the server is newer than the tile stored in memory, the old tile is updated with a new tile.” (Para 0458)
“Furthermore, the LDM data may include the speed information of another vehicle. The processor 870 may also determine a relative speed of another vehicle using the speed information of the present vehicle and the speed information of the another vehicle. The speed information of the present vehicle may be calculated using a degree to which the location information of the vehicle changes over time or calculated based on information received from the driving control apparatus 500 or the power train operating unit 610 of the vehicle 100.” (Para 0303)
Examiner Note: Neither the claims nor the specification define the way in which velocity is used by the memory manager, merely the broad recitation that that the replacement is “in response to a velocity of the vehicle.” Therefore, any consideration of velocity, motion, or noted lack thereof may correspond to “in response to a velocity of the vehicle.” As recited in Kim 0279, the continuous update of speed data corresponds with this limitation, because the continuous updating of a speed is necessarily responsive to there being a speed.

Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the map method of Niewiadomski with the apparatus for providing a map of Kim. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make these modifications, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order “to provide a map providing device capable of promoting the safety and convenience of a vehicle using minimal information even when a destination is not set.” (Kim Para 0014)

Claim 2:
Niewiadomski in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 1 teach those respective limitations. Niewiadomski further teaches:
wherein said first and second subsets of said context data contain information pertinent to said first and second geographic areas, respectively.
(Niewiadomski) – “A method of obtaining a relative identifier corresponding to a request to access element data corresponding to an element depicted by a map of an area, the map being divided into a plurality of tiles, the map having map data corresponding thereto, the plurality of tiles having respective sets of tile data corresponding thereto, and the sets of tile data being subsets of the map data. Further, identifying a particular set of tile data corresponding to a particular tile, the particular set of tile data being identified based at least on a tile identifier included in the relative identifier. The method may additionally include, identifying a location of the element data in the particular tile data based on an element identifier included in the relative identifier. Further, the method may include accessing one or more portions of the element data using the location of the element data as identified.” (Abstract)
“In some embodiments, the relative identifier may reference one or more tiles corresponding to a map where the map has map data corresponding thereto, and the one or more tiles may correspond to tile data associated with the map data. In these and other embodiments, the map may be a representation (e.g., a visual representation) of an area corresponding to the map data, and the map may include one or more objects, locations, geographic markers, etc. In these and other embodiments, one or more areas of the map may be subdivided into one or more tiles.” (Para 0021)
“For example, in the context of an ego machine locating map data, the reference tile may correspond to tile data corresponding to one or more locations of the ego machine in the map data corresponding to the map. In some embodiments, the tile identifier corresponding to map data outside of the reference tile may be located and/or identified with respect to the reference tile. Additionally or alternatively, map data including element data corresponding to one or more elements describing one or more objects of interest may be located in tile data corresponding to a tile that is not the reference tile.” (Para 0023)
“In some embodiments, the map 102 may be sub-divided into one or more tiles 106. By way of example and not limitation, the tile 106A may correspond to a first sub area of the map 102, the tile 106B may correspond to a second sub-area of the map 102, and the tile 106C may correspond to a third sub-area of the map 102. In some embodiments, together, the one or more tiles 106 may include all, or substantially all, of the area shown by the map 102.” (Para 0045)
“In some embodiments, the tiles 106 may be generated based on tile data that may include information and/or data corresponding to a sub-area corresponding to the tiles 106. In some embodiments, the tile data may include map data corresponding to a particular sub-area corresponding to one or more of the tiles 106. For example, the tile 106A may be generated based on first tile data corresponding to the first sub-area, the tile 106B may be generated based on second tile data corresponding to the second sub-area, and the tile 106C may be generated based on third tile data corresponding to the third sub-area. In these and other embodiments, the first tile data, the second tile data, and the third tile data may include all, or substantially all, of the map data corresponding to the map 102.” (Para 0046)

Claim 3:
Niewiadomski in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 1 teach those respective limitations. Niewiadomski further teaches:
wherein said first and second subsets of said context data contain information pertinent to said first geographic area and said first and second subsets have different amounts of said information.
(Niewiadomski) – “A method of obtaining a relative identifier corresponding to a request to access element data corresponding to an element depicted by a map of an area, the map being divided into a plurality of tiles, the map having map data corresponding thereto, the plurality of tiles having respective sets of tile data corresponding thereto, and the sets of tile data being subsets of the map data. Further, identifying a particular set of tile data corresponding to a particular tile, the particular set of tile data being identified based at least on a tile identifier included in the relative identifier. The method may additionally include, identifying a location of the element data in the particular tile data based on an element identifier included in the relative identifier. Further, the method may include accessing one or more portions of the element data using the location of the element data as identified.” (Abstract)
“In some embodiments, the tiles 106 may correspond to sub-areas of differing size. In some embodiments, the first sub-area corresponding to the first tile 106A may include an area that is different from the second sub-area corresponding to the second tile 106B and the third sub-area corresponding to the third tile 106C. For example, the map 102 may include a total area of 100 square meters. Continuing the example, the first sub area corresponding to the first tile 106A may include fifty square meters, the second sub area corresponding to the second tile 106B may include 30 square meters and the third tile 106C may include 20 square meters such that the combination of the first sub-area, the second sub-area, and the third sub-area may include all, or substantially all, of the 100 square meters in the map 102.” (Para 0047)
“In some embodiments, the tiles 106 may each be generated based on differing amounts of tile data, where tile data may include map data corresponding to a sub-area illustrated by the one or more tiles 106. In some embodiments, the first tile 106A may be generated based on a first amount of tile data, the second tile 106B may be generated based on a second amount of tile data, and the third tile 106C may be generated based on a third amount of tile data, where the first amount of tile data, the second amount of tile data, and the third amount of tile data may include different amounts of tile data. Additionally or alternatively, the first amount of tile data, the second amount of tile data, and the third amount of tile data may be the same.” (Para 0049)

Claim 4:
Niewiadomski in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 1 teach those respective limitations. Niewiadomski further teaches:
wherein said second subset of said context data omits information that was in said first subset of context data.
(Niewiadomski) – “A method of obtaining a relative identifier corresponding to a request to access element data corresponding to an element depicted by a map of an area, the map being divided into a plurality of tiles, the map having map data corresponding thereto, the plurality of tiles having respective sets of tile data corresponding thereto, and the sets of tile data being subsets of the map data. Further, identifying a particular set of tile data corresponding to a particular tile, the particular set of tile data being identified based at least on a tile identifier included in the relative identifier. The method may additionally include, identifying a location of the element data in the particular tile data based on an element identifier included in the relative identifier. Further, the method may include accessing one or more portions of the element data using the location of the element data as identified.” (Abstract)
“In some embodiments, the tiles 106 may correspond to sub-areas of differing size. In some embodiments, the first sub-area corresponding to the first tile 106A may include an area that is different from the second sub-area corresponding to the second tile 106B and the third sub-area corresponding to the third tile 106C. For example, the map 102 may include a total area of 100 square meters. Continuing the example, the first sub area corresponding to the first tile 106A may include fifty square meters, the second sub area corresponding to the second tile 106B may include 30 square meters and the third tile 106C may include 20 square meters such that the combination of the first sub-area, the second sub-area, and the third sub-area may include all, or substantially all, of the 100 square meters in the map 102.” (Para 0047)
“In some embodiments, the tiles 106 may each be generated based on differing amounts of tile data, where tile data may include map data corresponding to a sub-area illustrated by the one or more tiles 106. In some embodiments, the first tile 106A may be generated based on a first amount of tile data, the second tile 106B may be generated based on a second amount of tile data, and the third tile 106C may be generated based on a third amount of tile data, where the first amount of tile data, the second amount of tile data, and the third amount of tile data may include different amounts of tile data. Additionally or alternatively, the first amount of tile data, the second amount of tile data, and the third amount of tile data may be the same.” (Para 0049)
Examiner Note: Any different information by nature correspond to the claimed omission.

Claim 5:
Niewiadomski in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 1 teach those respective limitations. Niewiadomski further teaches:
wherein said first subset of said context data omits information about said first geographic area that is in said second subset of context data.
(Niewiadomski) – “A method of obtaining a relative identifier corresponding to a request to access element data corresponding to an element depicted by a map of an area, the map being divided into a plurality of tiles, the map having map data corresponding thereto, the plurality of tiles having respective sets of tile data corresponding thereto, and the sets of tile data being subsets of the map data. Further, identifying a particular set of tile data corresponding to a particular tile, the particular set of tile data being identified based at least on a tile identifier included in the relative identifier. The method may additionally include, identifying a location of the element data in the particular tile data based on an element identifier included in the relative identifier. Further, the method may include accessing one or more portions of the element data using the location of the element data as identified.” (Abstract)
“In some embodiments, the tiles 106 may correspond to sub-areas of differing size. In some embodiments, the first sub-area corresponding to the first tile 106A may include an area that is different from the second sub-area corresponding to the second tile 106B and the third sub-area corresponding to the third tile 106C. For example, the map 102 may include a total area of 100 square meters. Continuing the example, the first sub area corresponding to the first tile 106A may include fifty square meters, the second sub area corresponding to the second tile 106B may include 30 square meters and the third tile 106C may include 20 square meters such that the combination of the first sub-area, the second sub-area, and the third sub-area may include all, or substantially all, of the 100 square meters in the map 102.” (Para 0047)
“In some embodiments, the tiles 106 may each be generated based on differing amounts of tile data, where tile data may include map data corresponding to a sub-area illustrated by the one or more tiles 106. In some embodiments, the first tile 106A may be generated based on a first amount of tile data, the second tile 106B may be generated based on a second amount of tile data, and the third tile 106C may be generated based on a third amount of tile data, where the first amount of tile data, the second amount of tile data, and the third amount of tile data may include different amounts of tile data. Additionally or alternatively, the first amount of tile data, the second amount of tile data, and the third amount of tile data may be the same.” (Para 0049)

Claim 6:
Niewiadomski in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 1 teach those respective limitations. Niewiadomski further teaches:
wherein said mass storage unit stores first and second tiles that comprise said first and second subsets of said context data, respectively, whereby said first tile has context information about said first geographic area and said second tile has context information about said second geographic area.
(Niewiadomski) – “A method of obtaining a relative identifier corresponding to a request to access element data corresponding to an element depicted by a map of an area, the map being divided into a plurality of tiles, the map having map data corresponding thereto, the plurality of tiles having respective sets of tile data corresponding thereto, and the sets of tile data being subsets of the map data. Further, identifying a particular set of tile data corresponding to a particular tile, the particular set of tile data being identified based at least on a tile identifier included in the relative identifier. The method may additionally include, identifying a location of the element data in the particular tile data based on an element identifier included in the relative identifier. Further, the method may include accessing one or more portions of the element data using the location of the element data as identified.” (Abstract)
“In some embodiments, the tiles 106 may correspond to sub-areas of differing size. In some embodiments, the first sub-area corresponding to the first tile 106A may include an area that is different from the second sub-area corresponding to the second tile 106B and the third sub-area corresponding to the third tile 106C. For example, the map 102 may include a total area of 100 square meters. Continuing the example, the first sub area corresponding to the first tile 106A may include fifty square meters, the second sub area corresponding to the second tile 106B may include 30 square meters and the third tile 106C may include 20 square meters such that the combination of the first sub-area, the second sub-area, and the third sub-area may include all, or substantially all, of the 100 square meters in the map 102.” (Para 0047)
“In some embodiments, the tiles 106 may each be generated based on differing amounts of tile data, where tile data may include map data corresponding to a sub-area illustrated by the one or more tiles 106. In some embodiments, the first tile 106A may be generated based on a first amount of tile data, the second tile 106B may be generated based on a second amount of tile data, and the third tile 106C may be generated based on a third amount of tile data, where the first amount of tile data, the second amount of tile data, and the third amount of tile data may include different amounts of tile data. Additionally or alternatively, the first amount of tile data, the second amount of tile data, and the third amount of tile data may be the same.” (Para 0049)
“In some embodiments, the tiles 106 may be generated based on tile data that may include information and/or data corresponding to a sub-area corresponding to the tiles 106. In some embodiments, the tile data may include map data corresponding to a particular sub-area corresponding to one or more of the tiles 106. For example, the tile 106A may be generated based on first tile data corresponding to the first sub-area, the tile 106B may be generated based on second tile data corresponding to the second sub-area, and the tile 106C may be generated based on third tile data corresponding to the third sub-area. In these and other embodiments, the first tile data, the second tile data, and the third tile data may include all, or substantially all, of the map data corresponding to the map 102.” (Para 0046)

Claim 11:
Niewiadomski in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 1 teach those respective limitations. Niewiadomski does not explicitly teach the following limitations in full. However, Kim further teaches:
wherein said mass storage unit stores a plurality of overlay tiles that collectively include all information in said second subset of said context data, wherein each of said overlay tiles has less than all information in said second subset of context data, and wherein said copy of said information from said second subset consists of fewer than all overlay tiles for said second subset.
(Kim) – “The server manages a map in units of tiles having a predetermined shape and a predetermined size. The size and shape of the tiles may vary depending on a provider providing the map.” (Para 0445)
“The ADAS MAP 1060 may include a first layer 1062 to a fourth layer 1068.” (Para 0318)
“The second layer 1064 may include landmark information (for example, specific place information specified by a manufacturer among a plurality of place information included in the map information) among road-related information. The landmark information may include position information, name information, size information, and the like. The landmark information may include traffic sign information indicating a speed limit, no-passing, a slope, a curvature of a road, and the like. The vehicle and/or the electric component provided in the vehicle may display infotainment information using information included in the second layer 1064, or execute engine power control, headlamp left/right angle adjustment, speed limit cruise control, and the like.” (Para 0322)
“The third layer 1066 may include detailed lane-unit topology information regarding a road, connection information of each lane, and features for localization of the vehicle. Further, the third layer 1066 includes properties (attributes) of lanes, such as color, shape, type and the like, in the lane unit, and may include road furniture, such as a guardrail or a sign face, located on a road.” (Para 0324)
“The fourth layer 1068 may include various dynamic information that may occur on a road. For example, construction zone information, lane information under construction, a variable speed lane, a road surface condition, traffic, and the weather may be included as the dynamic information.” (Para 0326)
Examiner Note: Per BRI, as claimed above, the overlay tiles correspond with map layers. The map layers collectively comprise the full map.

Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the map method of Niewiadomski with the apparatus for providing a map of Kim. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make these modifications, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order “to provide a map providing device capable of promoting the safety and convenience of a vehicle using minimal information even when a destination is not set.” (Kim Para 0014)

Claim 14:
Niewiadomski explicitly teaches:
A method comprising causing an automotive assistant to execute in an infotainment system of a vehicle,
(Niewiadomski) – “The embodiments of the present disclosure may help to access map data corresponding to elements of interest within a map in a manner that may increase efficiency and decrease an amount of memory used to access the map data.” (Para 0007)
“The vehicle 400 may further include the infotainment SoC 430 (e.g., an in-vehicle infotainment system (IVI)). Although illustrated and described as a SoC, the infotainment system may not be a SoC, and may include two or more discrete components. The infotainment SoC 430 may include a combination of hardware and software that may be used to provide audio (e.g., music, a personal digital assistant, navigational instructions, news, radio, etc.), video (e.g., TV, movies, streaming, etc.), phone (e.g., hands-free calling), network connectivity (e.g., LTE, Wi-Fi, etc.), and/or information services (e.g., navigation systems, rear-parking assistance, a radio data system, vehicle related information such as fuel level, total distance covered, brake fuel level, oil level, door open/close, air filter information, etc.) to the vehicle 400. For example, the infotainment SoC 430 may radios, disk players, navigation systems, video players, USB and Bluetooth connectivity, carputers, in-car entertainment, Wi-Fi, steering wheel audio controls, hands free voice control, a heads-up display (HUD), an HMI display 434, a telematics device, a control panel (e.g., for controlling and/or interacting with various components, features, and/or systems), and/or other components. The infotainment SoC 430 may further be used to provide information (e.g., visual and/or audible) to a user(s) of the vehicle, such as information from the ADAS system 438, autonomous driving information such as planned vehicle maneuvers, trajectories, surrounding environment information (e.g., intersection information, vehicle information, road information, etc.), and/or other information.” (Para 0201)

causing a speech interface to execute in said infotainment system and to be in communication with said automotive assistant,
(Niewiadomski) – “The vehicle 400 may further include the infotainment SoC 430 (e.g., an in-vehicle infotainment system (IVI)). Although illustrated and described as a SoC, the infotainment system may not be a SoC, and may include two or more discrete components. The infotainment SoC 430 may include a combination of hardware and software that may be used to provide audio (e.g., music, a personal digital assistant, navigational instructions, news, radio, etc.), video (e.g., TV, movies, streaming, etc.), phone (e.g., hands-free calling), network connectivity (e.g., LTE, Wi-Fi, etc.), and/or information services (e.g., navigation systems, rear-parking assistance, a radio data system, vehicle related information such as fuel level, total distance covered, brake fuel level, oil level, door open/close, air filter information, etc.) to the vehicle 400. For example, the infotainment SoC 430 may radios, disk players, navigation systems, video players, USB and Bluetooth connectivity, carputers, in-car entertainment, Wi-Fi, steering wheel audio controls, hands free voice control, a heads-up display (HUD), an HMI display 434, a telematics device, a control panel (e.g., for controlling and/or interacting with various components, features, and/or systems), and/or other components. The infotainment SoC 430 may further be used to provide information (e.g., visual and/or audible) to a user(s) of the vehicle, such as information from the ADAS system 438, autonomous driving information such as planned vehicle maneuvers, trajectories, surrounding environment information (e.g., intersection information, vehicle information, road information, etc.), and/or other information.” (Para 0201)

storing map data and context data in a mass-storage unit,
(Niewiadomski) – “A method of obtaining a relative identifier corresponding to a request to access element data corresponding to an element depicted by a map of an area, the map being divided into a plurality of tiles, the map having map data corresponding thereto, the plurality of tiles having respective sets of tile data corresponding thereto, and the sets of tile data being subsets of the map data. Further, identifying a particular set of tile data corresponding to a particular tile, the particular set of tile data being identified based at least on a tile identifier included in the relative identifier. The method may additionally include, identifying a location of the element data in the particular tile data based on an element identifier included in the relative identifier. Further, the method may include accessing one or more portions of the element data using the location of the element data as identified.” (Abstract)
“The embodiments of the present disclosure may help to access map data corresponding to elements of interest within a map in a manner that may increase efficiency and decrease an amount of memory used to access the map data.” (Para 0007)
“The vehicle 400 may include a system(s) on a chip (SoC) 404. The SoC 404 may include CPU(s) 406, GPU(s) 408, processor(s) 410, cache(s) 412, accelerator(s) 414, data store(s) 416, and/or other components and features not illustrated.” (Para 0123)
“The SoC(s) 404 may further include dedicated high-performance mass storage controllers that may include their own DMA engines, and that may be used to free the CPU(s) 406 from routine data management tasks.” (Para 0161)
“The vehicle 400 may further include data store(s) 428 which may include off-chip (e.g., off the SoC(s) 404) storage. The data store(s) 428 may include one or more storage elements including RAM, SRAM, DRAM, VRAM, Flash, hard disks, and/or other components and/or devices that may store at least one bit of data.” (Para 0172)

storing a copy of a first subset of said context data in a dynamic memory, and optimizing memory usage in said infotainment system,
(Niewiadomski) – “The embodiments of the present disclosure may help to access map data corresponding to elements of interest within a map in a manner that may increase efficiency and decrease an amount of memory used to access the map data.” (Para 0007)
“In some embodiments, one or more systems configured to identify and/or access tile data corresponding to one or more tiles may load tile data corresponding to the one or more tiles 212 corresponding to the map 202 onto one or more locations in memory. In some embodiments, the one or more systems may assign one or more pointers 222 to the loaded tile data corresponding to the tiles 212 on the tile directory block 220. In some embodiments, the tile data corresponding to one or more of the loaded tiles—e.g., tiles 212—may be loaded onto one or more locations in memory and each of the tiles 212 may be assigned a corresponding pointer—e.g., the one or more pointers 222.” (Para 0076)
“The vehicle 400 may include a system(s) on a chip (SoC) 404. The SoC 404 may include CPU(s) 406, GPU(s) 408, processor(s) 410, cache(s) 412, accelerator(s) 414, data store(s) 416, and/or other components and features not illustrated.” (Para 0123)
“The GPU(s) 408 may include a high bandwidth memory (HBM) and/or a 16 GB HBM2 memory subsystem to provide, in some examples, about 900 GB/second peak memory bandwidth. In some examples, in addition to, or alternatively from, the HBM memory, a synchronous graphics random-access memory (SGRAM) may be used, such as a graphics double data rate type five synchronous random-access memory (GDDR5).” (Para 0128)

wherein optimizing said memory usage comprises, [in response to information concerning a velocity of said vehicle, causing a memory manager that is installed in said vehicle to replace a copy of said first subset of context data with a copy of information from a second subset of said context data, said second subset having been stored in said mass storage unit,]
(Niewiadomski) – “A method of obtaining a relative identifier corresponding to a request to access element data corresponding to an element depicted by a map of an area, the map being divided into a plurality of tiles, the map having map data corresponding thereto, the plurality of tiles having respective sets of tile data corresponding thereto, and the sets of tile data being subsets of the map data. Further, identifying a particular set of tile data corresponding to a particular tile, the particular set of tile data being identified based at least on a tile identifier included in the relative identifier. The method may additionally include, identifying a location of the element data in the particular tile data based on an element identifier included in the relative identifier. Further, the method may include accessing one or more portions of the element data using the location of the element data as identified.” (Abstract)
“In such examples, when the GPU(s) 408 memory management unit (MMU) experiences a miss, an address translation request may be transmitted to the CPU(s) 406.” (Para 0129)
“In some embodiments, element data 254 included in the tile data 252 corresponding to one or more elements may be stored in one or more data structures. In some embodiments, the one or more data structures may include one or more arrays, lists, records, and/or other suitable data structures configured to store element data 254. In some embodiments, the one or more data structures may provide a way to organize and/or manage the element data 254 as well as a mechanism with which one or more systems may identify, locate, and/or access the element data 254 corresponding to specific elements.” (Para 0085)
Examiner Note: Bracketed text not explicitly taught by primary reference, but is taught by non-primary reference later in the rejection. This notation will be used throughout the rejection unless otherwise stated.

wherein said map data comprises geographic information about geographic areas around said vehicle, and wherein said context data comprises location-dependent context information about said geographic areas for use by said automotive assistant and by said speech interface when engaging in speech interaction with an occupant of said vehicle.
(Niewiadomski) – “A method of obtaining a relative identifier corresponding to a request to access element data corresponding to an element depicted by a map of an area, the map being divided into a plurality of tiles, the map having map data corresponding thereto, the plurality of tiles having respective sets of tile data corresponding thereto, and the sets of tile data being subsets of the map data. Further, identifying a particular set of tile data corresponding to a particular tile, the particular set of tile data being identified based at least on a tile identifier included in the relative identifier. The method may additionally include, identifying a location of the element data in the particular tile data based on an element identifier included in the relative identifier. Further, the method may include accessing one or more portions of the element data using the location of the element data as identified.” (Abstract)
“In some embodiments, the relative identifier may reference one or more tiles corresponding to a map where the map has map data corresponding thereto, and the one or more tiles may correspond to tile data associated with the map data. In these and other embodiments, the map may be a representation (e.g., a visual representation) of an area corresponding to the map data, and the map may include one or more objects, locations, geographic markers, etc. In these and other embodiments, one or more areas of the map may be subdivided into one or more tiles.” (Para 0021)
“For example, in the context of an ego machine locating map data, the reference tile may correspond to tile data corresponding to one or more locations of the ego machine in the map data corresponding to the map. In some embodiments, the tile identifier corresponding to map data outside of the reference tile may be located and/or identified with respect to the reference tile. Additionally or alternatively, map data including element data corresponding to one or more elements describing one or more objects of interest may be located in tile data corresponding to a tile that is not the reference tile.” (Para 0023)
“The infotainment SoC 430 may further be used to provide information (e.g., visual and/or audible) to a user(s) of the vehicle, such as information from the ADAS system 438, autonomous driving information such as planned vehicle maneuvers, trajectories, surrounding environment information (e.g., intersection information, vehicle information, road information, etc.), and/or other information.” (Para 0201)
Examiner Note: Per BRI, context data may correspond with any form of data which provides any form of context within the above limitations.

Niewiadomski does not explicitly teach:
in response to information concerning a velocity of said vehicle, causing a memory manager that is installed in said vehicle to replace a copy of said first subset of context data with a copy of information from a second subset of said context data, said second subset having been stored in said mass storage unit,

Kim, in the same field of endeavor of vehicle maps, teaches:
in response to information concerning a velocity of said vehicle, causing a memory manager that is installed in said vehicle to replace a copy of said first subset of context data with a copy of information from a second subset of said context data, said second subset having been stored in said mass storage unit,
(Kim) – “Furthermore, the event information and the road specific speed limit information may be linked to map information or may be updated.” (Para 0266)
“Based on LDM data received through V2X communication, the LDM may store all relevant information (e.g., the present vehicle (another vehicle) location, speed, traffic light status, weather information, road surface condition, etc.) on a traffic condition (or a road condition for an area within a predetermined distance from a place where a vehicle is currently located) around a place where a vehicle is currently located, and distribute them to other vehicles and continuously update them.” (Para 0279)
“For a tile included in the second group, the processor 870 may search for an old tile that needs to be updated among tiles included in the second group using metadata included in each tile, and store at least one tile to replace the old tile in the memory (S1750). In other words, when a tile received from the server is newer than the tile stored in memory, the old tile is updated with a new tile.” (Para 0458)
Examiner Note: Neither the claims nor the specification define the way in which velocity is used by the memory manager, merely the broad recitation that that the replacement is “in response to a velocity of the vehicle.” Therefore, any consideration of velocity, motion, or noted lack thereof may correspond to “in response to a velocity of the vehicle.”

Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the map method of Niewiadomski with the apparatus for providing a map of Kim. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make these modifications, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order “to provide a map providing device capable of promoting the safety and convenience of a vehicle using minimal information even when a destination is not set.” (Kim Para 0014)

Claim(s) 7, 8, 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Niewiadomski (US2024 0369375) in view of Kim (US20200166945) further in view of Rasmussen (US20180101933) .

Claim 7:
Niewiadomski in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 1 teach those respective limitations. Niewiadomski further teaches:
further comprising an overlay operator that receives, from said mass storage unit, a context tile that includes said first subset of said context data and [returns a plurality of overlay tiles, each of which includes a corresponding proper subset of said first subset of said context data].
(Niewiadomski) – “A method of obtaining a relative identifier corresponding to a request to access element data corresponding to an element depicted by a map of an area, the map being divided into a plurality of tiles, the map having map data corresponding thereto, the plurality of tiles having respective sets of tile data corresponding thereto, and the sets of tile data being subsets of the map data. Further, identifying a particular set of tile data corresponding to a particular tile, the particular set of tile data being identified based at least on a tile identifier included in the relative identifier. The method may additionally include, identifying a location of the element data in the particular tile data based on an element identifier included in the relative identifier. Further, the method may include accessing one or more portions of the element data using the location of the element data as identified.” (Abstract)
“In some embodiments, the relative identifier may reference one or more tiles corresponding to a map where the map has map data corresponding thereto, and the one or more tiles may correspond to tile data associated with the map data. In these and other embodiments, the map may be a representation (e.g., a visual representation) of an area corresponding to the map data, and the map may include one or more objects, locations, geographic markers, etc. In these and other embodiments, one or more areas of the map may be subdivided into one or more tiles.” (Para 0021)
“For example, in the context of an ego machine locating map data, the reference tile may correspond to tile data corresponding to one or more locations of the ego machine in the map data corresponding to the map. In some embodiments, the tile identifier corresponding to map data outside of the reference tile may be located and/or identified with respect to the reference tile. Additionally or alternatively, map data including element data corresponding to one or more elements describing one or more objects of interest may be located in tile data corresponding to a tile that is not the reference tile.” (Para 0023)
“In some embodiments, the map 102 may be sub-divided into one or more tiles 106. By way of example and not limitation, the tile 106A may correspond to a first sub area of the map 102, the tile 106B may correspond to a second sub-area of the map 102, and the tile 106C may correspond to a third sub-area of the map 102. In some embodiments, together, the one or more tiles 106 may include all, or substantially all, of the area shown by the map 102.” (Para 0045)
“In some embodiments, the tiles 106 may be generated based on tile data that may include information and/or data corresponding to a sub-area corresponding to the tiles 106. In some embodiments, the tile data may include map data corresponding to a particular sub-area corresponding to one or more of the tiles 106. For example, the tile 106A may be generated based on first tile data corresponding to the first sub-area, the tile 106B may be generated based on second tile data corresponding to the second sub-area, and the tile 106C may be generated based on third tile data corresponding to the third sub-area. In these and other embodiments, the first tile data, the second tile data, and the third tile data may include all, or substantially all, of the map data corresponding to the map 102.” (Para 0046)

Niewiadomski does not explicitly teach:
returns a plurality of overlay tiles, each of which includes a corresponding proper subset of said first subset of said context data

Rasmussen, in the same field of endeavor of vehicle maps, teaches:
returns a plurality of overlay tiles, each of which includes a corresponding proper subset of said first subset of said context data
(Rasmussen) – “Various methods, systems, and apparatus for implementing aspects of a digital mapping system are disclosed. One such method includes sending a location request from a client-side computing device to a map tile server, receiving a set of map tiles in response to the location request, assembling said received map tiles into a tile grid, aligning the tile grid relative to a clipping shape, and displaying the result as a map image. One apparatus according to aspects of the present invention includes means for sending a location request from a client-side computing device to a map tile server, means for receiving a set of map tiles in response to the location request, means for assembling said received map tiles into a tile grid, means for aligning the tile grid relative to a clipping shape, and means for displaying the result as a map image. Such an apparatus may further include direction control or zoom control objects as interactive overlays on the displayed map image, and may also include route or location overlays on the map tile image.” (Para 0011)
“By executing a set of scripts, the web browser then seamlessly assembles the combined set of tiles into the new map view for presentation to the user. Since the old map view in general is still present in the browser, additional scripts may be used to smoothly animate the transition from the old to the new map view, either as part of a panning and/or zooming operation. Moreover, location markers and routes can be overlaid on top of the pre-rendered map tiles, for example in response to user requests for driving directions, local search, yellow page look-ups, and the like.” (Para 0054)

Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the map method of Niewiadomski with the mapping system of Rasmussen. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make these modifications, with a reasonable expectation of success, because “Embodiments of the present invention improve performance by encouraging web browsers to cache individual tiles locally.” (Rasmussen Para 0098)

Claim 8:
Niewiadomski in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 1 teach those respective limitations. Niewiadomski further teaches:
further comprising an overlay operator that receives, from said mass storage unit, a context tile that includes said first subset of said context data and [a plurality of overlay tiles that have been constructed from said context tile, each of said overlay tiles including some information from said context tile, wherein intersections of said overlay tiles in an information space yield a null set].
(Niewiadomski) – “A method of obtaining a relative identifier corresponding to a request to access element data corresponding to an element depicted by a map of an area, the map being divided into a plurality of tiles, the map having map data corresponding thereto, the plurality of tiles having respective sets of tile data corresponding thereto, and the sets of tile data being subsets of the map data. Further, identifying a particular set of tile data corresponding to a particular tile, the particular set of tile data being identified based at least on a tile identifier included in the relative identifier. The method may additionally include, identifying a location of the element data in the particular tile data based on an element identifier included in the relative identifier. Further, the method may include accessing one or more portions of the element data using the location of the element data as identified.” (Abstract)
“In some embodiments, the relative identifier may reference one or more tiles corresponding to a map where the map has map data corresponding thereto, and the one or more tiles may correspond to tile data associated with the map data. In these and other embodiments, the map may be a representation (e.g., a visual representation) of an area corresponding to the map data, and the map may include one or more objects, locations, geographic markers, etc. In these and other embodiments, one or more areas of the map may be subdivided into one or more tiles.” (Para 0021)
“For example, in the context of an ego machine locating map data, the reference tile may correspond to tile data corresponding to one or more locations of the ego machine in the map data corresponding to the map. In some embodiments, the tile identifier corresponding to map data outside of the reference tile may be located and/or identified with respect to the reference tile. Additionally or alternatively, map data including element data corresponding to one or more elements describing one or more objects of interest may be located in tile data corresponding to a tile that is not the reference tile.” (Para 0023)
“In some embodiments, the map 102 may be sub-divided into one or more tiles 106. By way of example and not limitation, the tile 106A may correspond to a first sub area of the map 102, the tile 106B may correspond to a second sub-area of the map 102, and the tile 106C may correspond to a third sub-area of the map 102. In some embodiments, together, the one or more tiles 106 may include all, or substantially all, of the area shown by the map 102.” (Para 0045)
“In some embodiments, the tiles 106 may be generated based on tile data that may include information and/or data corresponding to a sub-area corresponding to the tiles 106. In some embodiments, the tile data may include map data corresponding to a particular sub-area corresponding to one or more of the tiles 106. For example, the tile 106A may be generated based on first tile data corresponding to the first sub-area, the tile 106B may be generated based on second tile data corresponding to the second sub-area, and the tile 106C may be generated based on third tile data corresponding to the third sub-area. In these and other embodiments, the first tile data, the second tile data, and the third tile data may include all, or substantially all, of the map data corresponding to the map 102.” (Para 0046)

Niewiadomski does not explicitly teach:
a plurality of overlay tiles that have been constructed from said context tile, each of said overlay tiles including some information from said context tile, wherein intersections of said overlay tiles in an information space yield a null set

Rasmussen, in the same field of endeavor of vehicle maps, teaches:
a plurality of overlay tiles that have been constructed from said context tile, each of said overlay tiles including some information from said context tile, wherein intersections of said overlay tiles in an information space yield a null set
(Rasmussen) – “As shown in FIG. 11, a square 5-by-5 tile grid array 1100 comprises 25 individual tiles (each of which is defined by red boundary lines). A square clipping shape 1110 (shown as a black rectangle) defines the subset of the tile grid that will be displayed as a map image on the client's web browser. In FIG. 12, the “clipped” tile grid array 1200 is displayed with boundaries that are contiguous with the boundaries of the clipping shape. As mentioned earlier, the map image 805 shown in FIG. 8 is also the result of a larger tile grid array that has been compared with a clipping shape. FIG. 13 illustrates the underlying tile grid coordinates and clipping shape 1305 that may correspond with a set of displayed images, such as those shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. In FIG. 13, each of the 25 tiles within 5-by-5 tile grid array 1300 is represented by a unique set of tile coordinates.” (Para 0091)
“Various methods, systems, and apparatus for implementing aspects of a digital mapping system are disclosed. One such method includes sending a location request from a client-side computing device to a map tile server, receiving a set of map tiles in response to the location request, assembling said received map tiles into a tile grid, aligning the tile grid relative to a clipping shape, and displaying the result as a map image. One apparatus according to aspects of the present invention includes means for sending a location request from a client-side computing device to a map tile server, means for receiving a set of map tiles in response to the location request, means for assembling said received map tiles into a tile grid, means for aligning the tile grid relative to a clipping shape, and means for displaying the result as a map image. Such an apparatus may further include direction control or zoom control objects as interactive overlays on the displayed map image, and may also include route or location overlays on the map tile image.” (Para 0011)
“By executing a set of scripts, the web browser then seamlessly assembles the combined set of tiles into the new map view for presentation to the user. Since the old map view in general is still present in the browser, additional scripts may be used to smoothly animate the transition from the old to the new map view, either as part of a panning and/or zooming operation. Moreover, location markers and routes can be overlaid on top of the pre-rendered map tiles, for example in response to user requests for driving directions, local search, yellow page look-ups, and the like.” (Para 0054)
Examiner Note: As described in Para 023 of the instant application, “wherein intersections of said overlay tiles in an information space yield a null set” corresponds with non-overlapping tiles. Fig. 11, 13, 17 show that the tiles do not overlap.

Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the map method of Niewiadomski with the mapping system of Rasmussen. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make these modifications, with a reasonable expectation of success, because “Embodiments of the present invention improve performance by encouraging web browsers to cache individual tiles locally.” (Rasmussen Para 0098)

Claim 10:
Niewiadomski in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 1 teach those respective limitations. Niewiadomski further teaches:
further comprising an overlay operator that receives, from said mass storage unit, both a context tile unit and [overlay tiles, said overlay tiles corresponding to different overlay levels and comprising first and second overlay tiles], wherein said context tile includes first information concerning first features and second information concerning second features, said first features being within a first administrative region and said second features being within a second administrative region, [wherein said first overlay tile includes said first information, said second overlay tile includes said second information, said first overlay tile omits said second information, and said second overlay tile omits said first information].
(Niewiadomski) – “A method of obtaining a relative identifier corresponding to a request to access element data corresponding to an element depicted by a map of an area, the map being divided into a plurality of tiles, the map having map data corresponding thereto, the plurality of tiles having respective sets of tile data corresponding thereto, and the sets of tile data being subsets of the map data. Further, identifying a particular set of tile data corresponding to a particular tile, the particular set of tile data being identified based at least on a tile identifier included in the relative identifier. The method may additionally include, identifying a location of the element data in the particular tile data based on an element identifier included in the relative identifier. Further, the method may include accessing one or more portions of the element data using the location of the element data as identified.” (Abstract)
“In some embodiments, the relative identifier may reference one or more tiles corresponding to a map where the map has map data corresponding thereto, and the one or more tiles may correspond to tile data associated with the map data. In these and other embodiments, the map may be a representation (e.g., a visual representation) of an area corresponding to the map data, and the map may include one or more objects, locations, geographic markers, etc. In these and other embodiments, one or more areas of the map may be subdivided into one or more tiles.” (Para 0021)
“For example, in the context of an ego machine locating map data, the reference tile may correspond to tile data corresponding to one or more locations of the ego machine in the map data corresponding to the map. In some embodiments, the tile identifier corresponding to map data outside of the reference tile may be located and/or identified with respect to the reference tile. Additionally or alternatively, map data including element data corresponding to one or more elements describing one or more objects of interest may be located in tile data corresponding to a tile that is not the reference tile.” (Para 0023)
“The map 102 may include a visual representation of an area. In these and other embodiments, the map 102 may include a visual representation of, for example, a city, a town, a building, a complex, one or more portions of the foregoing, and/or other areas that may be displayed using the map 102.” (Para 0036)
“In some embodiments, the map 102 may be sub-divided into one or more tiles 106. By way of example and not limitation, the tile 106A may correspond to a first sub area of the map 102, the tile 106B may correspond to a second sub-area of the map 102, and the tile 106C may correspond to a third sub-area of the map 102. In some embodiments, together, the one or more tiles 106 may include all, or substantially all, of the area shown by the map 102.” (Para 0045)
“In some embodiments, the tiles 106 may be generated based on tile data that may include information and/or data corresponding to a sub-area corresponding to the tiles 106. In some embodiments, the tile data may include map data corresponding to a particular sub-area corresponding to one or more of the tiles 106. For example, the tile 106A may be generated based on first tile data corresponding to the first sub-area, the tile 106B may be generated based on second tile data corresponding to the second sub-area, and the tile 106C may be generated based on third tile data corresponding to the third sub-area. In these and other embodiments, the first tile data, the second tile data, and the third tile data may include all, or substantially all, of the map data corresponding to the map 102.” (Para 0046)
Examiner Note: Per BRI, an administrative region may correspond with any region.

Niewiadomski does not explicitly teach:
overlay tiles, said overlay tiles corresponding to different overlay levels and comprising first and second overlay tiles…wherein said first overlay tile includes said first information, said second overlay tile includes said second information, said first overlay tile omits said second information, and said second overlay tile omits said first information

Rasmussen, in the same field of endeavor of vehicle maps, teaches:
overlay tiles, said overlay tiles corresponding to different overlay levels and comprising first and second overlay tiles…wherein said first overlay tile includes said first information, said second overlay tile includes said second information, said first overlay tile omits said second information, and said second overlay tile omits said first information
(Rasmussen) – “Various methods, systems, and apparatus for implementing aspects of a digital mapping system are disclosed. One such method includes sending a location request from a client-side computing device to a map tile server, receiving a set of map tiles in response to the location request, assembling said received map tiles into a tile grid, aligning the tile grid relative to a clipping shape, and displaying the result as a map image. One apparatus according to aspects of the present invention includes means for sending a location request from a client-side computing device to a map tile server, means for receiving a set of map tiles in response to the location request, means for assembling said received map tiles into a tile grid, means for aligning the tile grid relative to a clipping shape, and means for displaying the result as a map image. Such an apparatus may further include direction control or zoom control objects as interactive overlays on the displayed map image, and may also include route or location overlays on the map tile image.” (Para 0011)
“By executing a set of scripts, the web browser then seamlessly assembles the combined set of tiles into the new map view for presentation to the user. Since the old map view in general is still present in the browser, additional scripts may be used to smoothly animate the transition from the old to the new map view, either as part of a panning and/or zooming operation. Moreover, location markers and routes can be overlaid on top of the pre-rendered map tiles, for example in response to user requests for driving directions, local search, yellow page look-ups, and the like.” (Para 0054)
Examiner Note: Any different information by nature correspond to the claimed omission.

Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the map method of Niewiadomski with the mapping system of Rasmussen. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make these modifications, with a reasonable expectation of success, because “Embodiments of the present invention improve performance by encouraging web browsers to cache individual tiles locally.” (Rasmussen Para 0098)

Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Niewiadomski (US2024 0369375) in view of Kim (US20200166945) further in view of Koshelev (US8738638).

Claim 9:
Niewiadomski in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 1 teach those respective limitations. Niewiadomski further teaches:
further comprising an overlay operator that receives, from said mass storage unit, a context tile, [a first overlay tile, and a second overlay tile], wherein said context tile includes first information and second information, wherein said first information is information about first features within said first geographic area, wherein said second information is information about second features within said first geographic area, [wherein said first features have a popularity score in a first range of popularity scores, wherein said second features have a popularity score in a second range of popularity scores, wherein said first overlay tile includes said first information and omits said second information, and wherein said second overlay tile includes said second information and omits said first information].
(Niewiadomski) – “A method of obtaining a relative identifier corresponding to a request to access element data corresponding to an element depicted by a map of an area, the map being divided into a plurality of tiles, the map having map data corresponding thereto, the plurality of tiles having respective sets of tile data corresponding thereto, and the sets of tile data being subsets of the map data. Further, identifying a particular set of tile data corresponding to a particular tile, the particular set of tile data being identified based at least on a tile identifier included in the relative identifier. The method may additionally include, identifying a location of the element data in the particular tile data based on an element identifier included in the relative identifier. Further, the method may include accessing one or more portions of the element data using the location of the element data as identified.” (Abstract)
“In some embodiments, the relative identifier may reference one or more tiles corresponding to a map where the map has map data corresponding thereto, and the one or more tiles may correspond to tile data associated with the map data. In these and other embodiments, the map may be a representation (e.g., a visual representation) of an area corresponding to the map data, and the map may include one or more objects, locations, geographic markers, etc. In these and other embodiments, one or more areas of the map may be subdivided into one or more tiles.” (Para 0021)
“For example, in the context of an ego machine locating map data, the reference tile may correspond to tile data corresponding to one or more locations of the ego machine in the map data corresponding to the map. In some embodiments, the tile identifier corresponding to map data outside of the reference tile may be located and/or identified with respect to the reference tile. Additionally or alternatively, map data including element data corresponding to one or more elements describing one or more objects of interest may be located in tile data corresponding to a tile that is not the reference tile.” (Para 0023)
“In some embodiments, the map 102 may be sub-divided into one or more tiles 106. By way of example and not limitation, the tile 106A may correspond to a first sub area of the map 102, the tile 106B may correspond to a second sub-area of the map 102, and the tile 106C may correspond to a third sub-area of the map 102. In some embodiments, together, the one or more tiles 106 may include all, or substantially all, of the area shown by the map 102.” (Para 0045)
“In some embodiments, the tiles 106 may be generated based on tile data that may include information and/or data corresponding to a sub-area corresponding to the tiles 106. In some embodiments, the tile data may include map data corresponding to a particular sub-area corresponding to one or more of the tiles 106. For example, the tile 106A may be generated based on first tile data corresponding to the first sub-area, the tile 106B may be generated based on second tile data corresponding to the second sub-area, and the tile 106C may be generated based on third tile data corresponding to the third sub-area. In these and other embodiments, the first tile data, the second tile data, and the third tile data may include all, or substantially all, of the map data corresponding to the map 102.” (Para 0046)

Niewiadomski does not explicitly teach:
a first overlay tile, and a second overlay tile…wherein said first features have a popularity score in a first range of popularity scores, wherein said second features have a popularity score in a second range of popularity scores, wherein said first overlay tile includes said first information and omits said second information, and wherein said second overlay tile includes said second information and omits said first information

Koshelev, in the same field of endeavor of vehicle maps, teaches:
a first overlay tile, and a second overlay tile…wherein said first features have a popularity score in a first range of popularity scores, wherein said second features have a popularity score in a second range of popularity scores, wherein said first overlay tile includes said first information and omits said second information, and wherein said second overlay tile includes said second information and omits said first information
(Koshelev) – “The popularity scored map portion data can be used and visually presented in a variety of different ways. While it is anticipated that certain map portions will be very popular--such as those associated with metropolitan area, tourist sites, etc.--the foregoing approach allows for the identification and discovery of map portions--and hence underlying geographic features--that are unexpectedly popular. For example, the popularity scored map portion data can reveal geographic areas and geographic features that become very popular very quickly, following a newsworthy event, such as an earthquake or tornado in the geographic area covered by the map portions. Since the popularity scored map portion data can be processed on a repeated, short period (e.g., 12 or 24 hour) cycle, trends in the popularity data can be identified by measuring the rate of change in the popularity scores for each map portion. Map portions showing high rates of change in their scores, particularly if these scores are relatively low compared to traditionally very popular areas, indicate geographic areas that are of very current and significant interest to the population of users. In some instances, the increased activity as indicated by high rates of change can indicate the occurrence of important events even before such events are reported widely in the news media. This is because mapping systems are often used as primary tools for users planning or under taking actions of interest in particular areas. A high rate of change of the map popularity score for a map portion, when weighted by the zoom level of the map portion (or inversely weighted by the map portion's size) can serve as a leading indicator of a newsworthy event.” (Col 6 Ln 6-34)
“There are many different possible visual representations of the popularity scored map portion data as well. In one embodiment, the popularity scored map portion data are presented to users as an overlay on map tiles, in the form of a heat map, using pixel color as an indicator of the score such as in FIG. 8.” (Col 6 Ln 35-40)

Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the map method of Niewiadomski with the map visualization of Koshelev. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make these modifications, with a reasonable expectation of success, because “Methods of pre-processing the usage data to allow for more efficient analysis of the usage would make improvement of maps faster and easier.” (Koshelev Col 1 Ln 20-24)

Claim(s) 12-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Niewiadomski (US2024 0369375) in view of Kim (US20200166945) further in view of Kalai (US20130147820).

Claim 12:
Niewiadomski in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 1 teach those respective limitations. Niewiadomski does not explicitly teach the following limitations in full. However, Kim further teaches:
wherein said mass storage unit stores a plurality of overlay tiles corresponding to said first subset of said context data, wherein each of said overlay tiles includes a proper subset of said first subset of said context data, and wherein said memory manager is further configured to load, into said dynamic memory, [a superposition of fewer than all of said overlay tiles, wherein the number of tiles in said superposition depends on a distance between said vehicle and said first area].
(Kim) – “The server manages a map in units of tiles having a predetermined shape and a predetermined size. The size and shape of the tiles may vary depending on a provider providing the map.” (Para 0445)
“The ADAS MAP 1060 may include a first layer 1062 to a fourth layer 1068.” (Para 0318)
“The second layer 1064 may include landmark information (for example, specific place information specified by a manufacturer among a plurality of place information included in the map information) among road-related information. The landmark information may include position information, name information, size information, and the like. The landmark information may include traffic sign information indicating a speed limit, no-passing, a slope, a curvature of a road, and the like. The vehicle and/or the electric component provided in the vehicle may display infotainment information using information included in the second layer 1064, or execute engine power control, headlamp left/right angle adjustment, speed limit cruise control, and the like.” (Para 0322)
“The third layer 1066 may include detailed lane-unit topology information regarding a road, connection information of each lane, and features for localization of the vehicle. Further, the third layer 1066 includes properties (attributes) of lanes, such as color, shape, type and the like, in the lane unit, and may include road furniture, such as a guardrail or a sign face, located on a road.” (Para 0324)
“The fourth layer 1068 may include various dynamic information that may occur on a road. For example, construction zone information, lane information under construction, a variable speed lane, a road surface condition, traffic, and the weather may be included as the dynamic information.” (Para 0326)
Examiner Note: Per BRI, as claimed above, the overlay tiles correspond with map layers. The map layers collectively comprise the full map.

Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the map method of Niewiadomski with the apparatus for providing a map of Kim. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make these modifications, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order “to provide a map providing device capable of promoting the safety and convenience of a vehicle using minimal information even when a destination is not set.” (Kim Para 0014)

Kim does not explicitly teach:
a superposition of fewer than all of said overlay tiles, wherein the number of tiles in said superposition depends on a distance between said vehicle and said first area

Kalai, in the same field of endeavor of vehicle maps, teaches:
a superposition of fewer than all of said overlay tiles, wherein the number of tiles in said superposition depends on a distance between said vehicle and said first area
(Kalai) – “The present application describes techniques for fetching map data as a selected subset of entire map data available, by selecting map data tiles corresponding to an area that encompasses a first route and to an area encompassing a secondary route based on the first route. An amount of map data accessed may be adjusted based on a priority of the secondary route.” (Abstract)
“In one embodiment, instead of or in addition to pre-fetching more map data tiles at a first single zoom level for high priority points, the method and system may pre-fetch map data tiles for high priority points at a second higher zoom level. FIG. 12 illustrates the same route of FIG. 6 having areas 506 representing the same size map data tiles as the zoom level of FIG. 6. In addition, FIG. 12 illustrates additional map data tiles represented by areas 1210 of a second higher zoom level. A user wishing to zoom into an area around the origin 502 or destination 504 may initiate a zoom function of the viewing window. When the higher zoom level map data tiles are pre-fetched to one of the client devices 16-22, a response time for rendering those map data tiles may be relatively fast.” (Para 0063)
Examiner Note: Fig 12 shows a greater number of tiles displayed as the vehicle approaches the destination.

PNG
media_image1.png
282
368
media_image1.png
Greyscale

Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the map method of Niewiadomski with the techniques for fetching map data as a selected subset of entire map data available of Kalai. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make these modifications, with a reasonable expectation of success, because “there is a need to have more intelligent mechanisms for retrieving (e.g., downloading) and/or processing map data, in particular map data tiles, to sufficiently satisfy visual requirements of a limited computing device without wasting bandwidth and processing services.” (Kalai Para 0007)

Claim 13:
Niewiadomski in combination with the references relied upon in Claim 1 teach those respective limitations. Niewiadomski does not explicitly teach the following limitations in full. However, Kim further teaches:
wherein said mass storage unit stores a plurality of overlay tiles corresponding to said first subset of said context data, wherein each of said overlay tiles includes a proper subset of said first subset of said context data, and wherein said memory manager is further configured to load, into said dynamic memory, [a superposition of fewer than all of said overlay tiles, wherein the number of tiles in said superposition increases as a distance between said vehicle and said first area decreases].
(Kim) – “The server manages a map in units of tiles having a predetermined shape and a predetermined size. The size and shape of the tiles may vary depending on a provider providing the map.” (Para 0445)
“The ADAS MAP 1060 may include a first layer 1062 to a fourth layer 1068.” (Para 0318)
“The second layer 1064 may include landmark information (for example, specific place information specified by a manufacturer among a plurality of place information included in the map information) among road-related information. The landmark information may include position information, name information, size information, and the like. The landmark information may include traffic sign information indicating a speed limit, no-passing, a slope, a curvature of a road, and the like. The vehicle and/or the electric component provided in the vehicle may display infotainment information using information included in the second layer 1064, or execute engine power control, headlamp left/right angle adjustment, speed limit cruise control, and the like.” (Para 0322)
“The third layer 1066 may include detailed lane-unit topology information regarding a road, connection information of each lane, and features for localization of the vehicle. Further, the third layer 1066 includes properties (attributes) of lanes, such as color, shape, type and the like, in the lane unit, and may include road furniture, such as a guardrail or a sign face, located on a road.” (Para 0324)
“The fourth layer 1068 may include various dynamic information that may occur on a road. For example, construction zone information, lane information under construction, a variable speed lane, a road surface condition, traffic, and the weather may be included as the dynamic information.” (Para 0326)
Examiner Note: Per BRI, as claimed above, the overlay tiles correspond with map layers. The map layers collectively comprise the full map.

Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the map method of Niewiadomski with the apparatus for providing a map of Kim. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make these modifications, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order “to provide a map providing device capable of promoting the safety and convenience of a vehicle using minimal information even when a destination is not set.” (Kim Para 0014)

Kim does not explicitly teach:
a superposition of fewer than all of said overlay tiles, wherein the number of tiles in said superposition increases as a distance between said vehicle and said first area decreases

Kalai, in the same field of endeavor of vehicle maps, teaches:
a superposition of fewer than all of said overlay tiles, wherein the number of tiles in said superposition increases as a distance between said vehicle and said first area decreases
(Kalai) – “The present application describes techniques for fetching map data as a selected subset of entire map data available, by selecting map data tiles corresponding to an area that encompasses a first route and to an area encompassing a secondary route based on the first route. An amount of map data accessed may be adjusted based on a priority of the secondary route.” (Abstract)
“In one embodiment, instead of or in addition to pre-fetching more map data tiles at a first single zoom level for high priority points, the method and system may pre-fetch map data tiles for high priority points at a second higher zoom level. FIG. 12 illustrates the same route of FIG. 6 having areas 506 representing the same size map data tiles as the zoom level of FIG. 6. In addition, FIG. 12 illustrates additional map data tiles represented by areas 1210 of a second higher zoom level. A user wishing to zoom into an area around the origin 502 or destination 504 may initiate a zoom function of the viewing window. When the higher zoom level map data tiles are pre-fetched to one of the client devices 16-22, a response time for rendering those map data tiles may be relatively fast.” (Para 0063)
Examiner Note: Fig 12 shows a greater number of tiles displayed as the vehicle approaches the destination.

PNG
media_image1.png
282
368
media_image1.png
Greyscale

Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the map method of Niewiadomski with the techniques for fetching map data as a selected subset of entire map data available of Kalai. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make these modifications, with a reasonable expectation of success, because “there is a need to have more intelligent mechanisms for retrieving (e.g., downloading) and/or processing map data, in particular map data tiles, to sufficiently satisfy visual requirements of a limited computing device without wasting bandwidth and processing services.” (Kalai Para 0007)

Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Schunder (US20130332069) teaches a map tile update system.
Blumenberg (US20130325326) teaches generating a route spanning multiple portions of a map.
Bethune (US20060170693) teaches map graphics information including a plurality of image tiles stored in a data store.

Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID RUBEN PEDERSEN whose telephone number is [phone]. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th: 07:00 -16:00 Eastern.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, RAMON MERCADO can be reached at [phone]. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.

/DAVID RUBEN PEDERSEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3658

Prosecution Timeline

• Sep 24, 2024: Application Filed
• Feb 12, 2026: Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)