DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
This action is in response to the filing of the Amendments on 08/31/2026. Claims 3 and 13 have been cancelled. Claims 21 and 22 are new.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined
under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ arguments, filed 08/31/2026, with respect to all claims have been fully considered and are persuasive. The prior action has been withdrawn. This Action is NON-FINAL.
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, 2, 10 - 12 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagae (US 20200298850).
Claim 1, Nagae discloses a method performed by an apparatus of a vehicle, the method comprising: determining, based on sensing information transmitted from a plurality of sensors, a virtual road on which the vehicle is traveling, wherein the virtual road is mapped to a road on which the vehicle is traveling, [see Figs 3 - 4, p0019, p0032, p0042, p0057 - control unit 172 determines whether a lane line is drawn on the road surface of a road on which the vehicle 1 is traveling, based on the detection results of the periphery monitoring device 155 acquired in the process of step S101 (step S201); in the determination of step S207, in a case where the LDA control unit determines that the vehicle to be monitored is present (step S207: Yes), the LDA control unit 172 creates (or set) a virtual boundary line (step S208). Subsequently, the LDA control unit 172 specifies the traveling lane of the vehicle 1 based on the virtual boundary line (step S209)];
and wherein the determining of the virtual road comprises determining, based on a driving trajectory of a second vehicle in front of the vehicle, a virtual lane on the virtual road [see Figs 3 – 4 and p0065, p0077 - the vehicle to be monitored is the vehicle 20 in FIG. 4, the LDA control unit 172 sets a line b.sub.3 extending along the front-rear direction of the vehicle 20, as the virtual boundary line, at a position away by a distance Dc in the right-left direction of the vehicle 20 from the lateral side of the vehicle 20 on the vehicle 1 side.
Nagae does not specifically teach controlling, based on the virtual road and a driving state of the vehicle, an operation of a lane following assist (LFA) function of the vehicle.
However, Nagae teaches that LKA is a warning-and-assist system that gently steers you back into your lane if you drift. Further teaching the LDA control unit 172 specifies the right lane edge of the vehicle 1 in its traveling direction, based on the line b.sub.3 as the virtual boundary line [see p0071].
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the device in Nagae to include controlling, based on the virtual road and a driving state of the vehicle, an operation of a lane following assist (LFA) function of the vehicle, as suggested and taught by Nagae, with a reasonable expectation of success, for the purpose of providing a lane keeping assist that responds as lane following assist to keep the vehicle centered within virtual boundaries, preventing accidents and harm to the driver and vehicle.
Claim 11 is similarly rejected as Claim 1, see above.
Claim 2, Nagae discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the sensing information comprises at least one of: a stationary object on the road, a second vehicle located in front of the vehicle, a third vehicle located diagonally in front of the vehicle, a fourth vehicle located diagonally behind the vehicle, a fifth vehicle located behind the vehicle, or a lateral distance relative to the vehicle [see Fig. 4, detecting the second vehicle (20) in front of vehicle (1)].
Claim 12 is similarly rejected as Claim 2, see above.
Claim 10, Nagae discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the controlling of the operation of the LFA function comprises one of: deactivating, based on a determination that forward driving of the vehicle is not available, the LFA function; or maintaining, based on a determination that the forward driving of the vehicle is available, the LFA function activated [see Figs. 3 – 4, p0073 – p0074 – the LDA control unit determines that the vehicle to be monitored is present (step S207: Yes), the LDA control unit 172 creates (or set) a virtual boundary line (step S208). Subsequently, the LDA control unit 172 specifies the traveling lane of the vehicle 1 based on the virtual boundary line (step S209)].
Claim 20 is similarly rejected as Claim 10, see above.
Claim 21, Nagae discloses the vehicle of claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, are configured to further cause the vehicle to: generate a first virtual line on the virtual road based on a lateral distance between the vehicle and a front-side vehicle located diagonally in front of the vehicle [see Fig 4, p0065 the vehicle to be monitored is the vehicle 20 in FIG. 4 (that is, oncoming vehicle), the LDA control unit 172 sets a line b.sub.3 extending along the front-rear direction of the vehicle 20, as the virtual boundary line, at a position away by a distance Dc in the right-left direction of the vehicle 20 from the lateral side of the vehicle 20 on the vehicle 1 side],
and wherein the plurality of sensors are configured to detect at least one target vehicle for detecting at least one driving trajectory of the at least one target vehicle for virtual line generation, the plurality of sensors comprising at least one of: a camera of the vehicle, a light detection and ranging sensor of the vehicle, or a radio detection and ranging sensor of the vehicle [see p0042, The periphery monitoring device 155 is configured to include, for example, a camera that captures an image of the vicinity of the vehicle 1, a millimeter-wave or infrared radar, and a light detection and ranging (LIDAR)].
Claim(s) 9 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagae (US 20200298850) in view of Park (US S 20230182722 A1).
Claim 9, Nagae discloses the method of claim 1, but not specifically wherein the determining of the virtual road comprises determining, based on an absence of any vehicles or objects on the road within an operational range of the plurality of sensors, the virtual road to be a straight road.
However, Park discloses a collision avoidance apparatus for implementing a virtual lane using a global positioning system (GPS), a navigation system, and vehicle information. Further teaching, the processor 2400 may determine whether the generated virtual lanes are straight lanes. When the virtual lanes are straight lanes, the processor 2400 may generate virtual lanes of the entire road by fusing the virtual lanes. Meanwhile, when some of the virtual lanes are not straight lanes, the processor 2400 may disregard virtual lanes other than straight lanes and fuse virtual lanes except for the disregarded virtual lanes, thereby generating virtual lanes of the entire road [see p0084 – 0086].
Park further discloses, See Fig. 10B a vehicle driving with no lanes and no other vehicles, driving vehicle 1000 may generate a virtual lane based on the received information about the width of the entire road. To this end, the autonomous driving vehicle 1000 may generate a virtual lane 4300 corresponding to a central line by dividing the width of the entire road by 2.
The autonomous driving vehicle 1000 may generate a virtual lane based on the received information about the width of the entire road. To this end, the autonomous driving vehicle 1000 may generate a virtual lane 4300 (shown a straight lane) corresponding to a central line by dividing the width of the entire road by 2 [see Fig 10B, p0150 – 0154].
It would have been obvious before the effective date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the device in Nagae, to include wherein the determining of the virtual road comprises determining, based on an absence of any vehicles or objects on the road within an operational range of the plurality of sensors, the virtual road to be a straight road, as suggested and taught by Park, with a reasonable expectation of success, for the purpose of preventing a driving vehicle from colliding with a nearby vehicle by implementing a virtual vehicle and a virtual lane.
Claim 19 is similarly rejected as Claim 9, see above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 – 8 and 14 – 18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim 22 is allowed.
Conclusion
The examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record in the body of this action for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. Applicant should consider the entire prior art as applicable as to the limitations of the claims. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the response, to consider fully the entire references as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RENEE LAROSE whose telephone number is (313)446-4856. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abby Lin can be reached on (571) 270-3976. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Renee LaRose/Examiner, Art Unit 3657
/ABBY LIN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3657
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