DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 08/26/2025 and 10/29/2024 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). Receipt is acknowledged of a certified copy of foreign application JP2023-191113, as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities:
"a relative speed with respect to a predetermined position in the merging lane" should read "a relative speed with respect to [[a]] the predetermined position in the merging lane"
Appropriate correction is required.
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, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2022162597 A HIGUCHI TORU et al. (hereinafter Higuchi), in view of US 20210253108 A1 Ito; Atsushi (hereinafter Ito).
Regarding claim 1, Higuchi discloses: A driving assistance device (see Higuchi at least [0012] a vehicle driving assistance control device 100)
an external environment detection sensor of a vehicle (see Higuchi at least [0016] the vehicle driving assistance control device 100 acquires from the surrounding sensor 13 position information of objects present in the vicinity of the merging vehicle VL and speed information of objects present in the vicinity of the merging vehicle VL); and
a controller configured to control a drive source of the vehicle (see Higuchi at least [0012] a driving/braking control device 14), wherein
the controller controls the drive source so as to change acceleration of the vehicle (see Higuchi at least [0044] The merging plan includes at least one of a vehicle distance plan dplan, a speed plan vplan, and an acceleration plan aplan of the merging vehicle VL and [0076] the merging control unit 104 calculates an acceleration command aref based on the generated merging plan, outputs the calculated acceleration command aref to the driving/braking control device 14) on the basis of relative information including at least any one of an arrival time, a distance, or a relative speed with respect to a predetermined position ahead or another vehicle ahead in a self-vehicle traveling lane in which the vehicle travels (see Higuchi at least [0034] the first main line vehicle VR1 travels for a distance of [XL-(d<sub>０</sub>-d*)] during the merging time T<sub>ｍｒｇ</sub> and [0044] The merging plan generating unit 103 generates a merging plan for causing the merging vehicle VL to arrive at the merging position, and outputs the generated merging plan to the merging control unit 104 . More specifically, the merging plan generation unit 103 generates a merging plan for the merging vehicle VL to reach the merging position calculated and selected by the merging judgment unit 102 within the merging section based on the merging position and merging time T<sub>ｍｒｇ</sub> calculated by the merging judgment unit 102. The merging plan includes at least one of a distance plan d<sub>ｐｌａｎ</sub>, a speed plan v<sub>ｐｌａｎ</sub>, and an acceleration plan a<sub>ｐｌａｎ</sub> of the merging vehicle VL), and a traveling status in another traveling lane as a merging destination on the basis of information of the external environment detection sensor (see Higuchi at least [0020] The main lane vehicle detection unit 101 acquires position information and speed information of surrounding objects from the surrounding sensor 13).
Higuchi does not teach: A driving assistance device comprising an external environment detection sensor; and a controller.
However, Ito teaches: A driving assistance device comprising an external environment detection sensor; and a controller (see Ito at least [0020] The vehicle control device 1 includes an external sensor 2, an internal sensor 3, a positioning device 4, a map database 5, a communication device 6, a navigation system 7, a travel control unit 8, an actuator 9, and a controller 10).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the driving assistance device in connection with a surrounding sensor and a drive/brake control device disclosed by Higuchi to include the controller and external sensor within the vehicle control device as disclosed by Ito. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because incorporation of such a sensor and controller within a vehicle control device allow the device to make educated decisions in assisting the movement of the vehicle, as suggested by Ito (see Ito at least [0018] On a basis of a travel environment around a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as “host vehicle”) mounted with a vehicle control device 1, the vehicle control device 1 performs automatic driving control for automatically driving the host vehicle without involvement of a driver).
Regarding claim 2, Higuchi and Ito disclose: The driving assistance device according to claim 1, further comprising:
a wheel speed sensor configured to detect a speed of the vehicle (see Ito at least [0026] The internal sensor 3 may include, for example, a wheel speed sensor 13. The wheel speed sensor 13 detects a wheel speed of the host vehicle); and
an inertial measurement sensor configured to measure a posture of the vehicle (see Ito at least [0027] The internal sensor 3 may include, for example, an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration generated in the host vehicle and a gyro sensor that detects an angular velocity of the host vehicle), wherein
the controller controls the drive source of the vehicle using information acquired by the external environment detection sensor, the wheel speed sensor, and the inertial measurement sensor (see Ito at least [0040] The travel control unit 8 sets a target travel trajectory for causing the host vehicle to change lanes in the merging section on the basis of the surrounding environment detected by the external sensor 2 and the traveling state of the host vehicle detected by the internal sensor 3. The travel control unit 8 drives the actuator 9 to perform steering control and acceleration/deceleration control of the host vehicle),
determines whether the self-vehicle traveling lane in which the vehicle travels is a merging lane that merges with another traveling lane or whether there is another vehicle ahead in the self-vehicle traveling lane on the basis of the information of the external environment detection sensor (see Higuchi at least [0010] The merging vehicle VL is a vehicle traveling in the merging lane L2 of the road RD),
sets a target position on the basis of relative information including at least any one of an inter-vehicle time, an inter-vehicle distance, and a relative speed with respect to a predetermined position in the merging lane or relative information including at least any one of an inter-vehicle time, an inter-vehicle distance, and a relative speed with respect to the another vehicle in a case where the self-vehicle traveling lane is the merging lane or a case where there is the another vehicle (see Higuchi at least [0168] the merging vehicle VL may complete its movement into the main lane L1 before passing the end point L2e of the merging lane L2),
determines a position at which the vehicle can merge before arriving at the target position in the another traveling lane on the basis of relative information including at least any one of an inter-vehicle time, an inter-vehicle distance, or a relative speed with respect to a preceding vehicle of the vehicle that travels in the another traveling lane acquired from the information of the external environment detection sensor (see Higuchi at least [0042] if, at the merging position, the distance between the merging vehicle VL and other main line vehicles, including the second main line vehicle VR2, is shorter than the safety distance dｓ, the merging judgment unit 102 excludes this merging position from the candidate merging positions, even if the merging position falls within the above four candidate merging positions and [0027] the merging vehicle VL completes merging with the first main line vehicle VR1 and the second main line vehicle VR2 at the end point of the merging section, i.e., the end point L2e of the merging lane L2, while maintaining a first inter-vehicle distance d1 of -d<sub>ｓ</sub> between itself and the first main line vehicle VR1. where d<sub>ｓ</sub> is the safety distance and [0020] The main lane vehicle detection unit 101 acquires position information and speed information of surrounding objects from the surrounding sensor 13), and
controls the drive source so as to change the acceleration of the vehicle according to the determined position (see Higuchi at least [0044] The merging plan generating unit 103 generates a merging plan for causing the merging vehicle VL to arrive at the merging position, and outputs the generated merging plan to the merging control unit 104 and [0076] the merging control unit 104 calculates an acceleration command aref based on the generated merging plan, outputs the calculated acceleration command aref to the driving/braking control device 14).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the driving assistance device disclosed by Higuchi and Ito to include the vehicle control based on wheel speed and inertial measurements of Ito. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because using both internal and external sensor measurements as part of a vehicle control strategy helps the vehicle travel along its intended path, as suggested by Ito (see Ito at least [0040] so that the host vehicle travels along the target travel trajectory).
Regarding claim 11, Higuchi discloses: A driving assistance method of a driving assistance device (see Higuchi at least [0105] a merging control routine executed by the vehicle driving assistance control device) (see Higuchi at least [0016] the vehicle driving assistance control device 100 acquires from the surrounding sensor 13 position information of objects present in the vicinity of the merging vehicle VL and speed information of objects present in the vicinity of the merging vehicle VL), and a controller configured to control a drive source of the vehicle (see Higuchi at least [0012] a driving/braking control device 14), the method comprising:
controlling the drive source so as to change acceleration of the vehicle (see Higuchi at least [0044] The merging plan includes at least one of a vehicle distance plan dplan, a speed plan vplan, and an acceleration plan aplan of the merging vehicle VL and [0076] the merging control unit 104 calculates an acceleration command aref based on the generated merging plan, outputs the calculated acceleration command aref to the driving/braking control device 14) on the basis of relative information including at least any one of an arrival time, a distance, or a relative speed with respect to a predetermined position ahead or another vehicle ahead in a self-vehicle traveling lane in which the vehicle travels (see Higuchi at least [0034] the first main line vehicle VR1 travels for a distance of [XL-(d<sub>０</sub>-d*)] during the merging time T<sub>ｍｒｇ</sub> and [0044] The merging plan generating unit 103 generates a merging plan for causing the merging vehicle VL to arrive at the merging position, and outputs the generated merging plan to the merging control unit 104 . More specifically, the merging plan generation unit 103 generates a merging plan for the merging vehicle VL to reach the merging position calculated and selected by the merging judgment unit 102 within the merging section based on the merging position and merging time T<sub>ｍｒｇ</sub> calculated by the merging judgment unit 102. The merging plan includes at least one of a distance plan d<sub>ｐｌａｎ</sub>, a speed plan v<sub>ｐｌａｎ</sub>, and an acceleration plan a<sub>ｐｌａｎ</sub> of the merging vehicle VL), and a traveling status in another traveling lane as a merging destination on the basis of information of the external environment detection sensor performed by the controller (see Higuchi at least [0020] The main lane vehicle detection unit 101 acquires position information and speed information of surrounding objects from the surrounding sensor 13).
Higuchi does not teach: a driving assistance device including an external environment detection sensor of a vehicle, and a controller.
However, Ito teaches: a driving assistance device including an external environment detection sensor of a vehicle, and a controller (see Ito at least [0020] The vehicle control device 1 includes an external sensor 2, an internal sensor 3, a positioning device 4, a map database 5, a communication device 6, a navigation system 7, a travel control unit 8, an actuator 9, and a controller 10).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the driving assistance method disclosed by Higuchi to include the controller and external sensor within the vehicle control device as disclosed by Ito. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because incorporation of such a sensor and controller within a vehicle control device allow the device to make educated decisions in assisting the movement of the vehicle, as suggested by Ito (see Ito at least [0018] On a basis of a travel environment around a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as “host vehicle”) mounted with a vehicle control device 1, the vehicle control device 1 performs automatic driving control for automatically driving the host vehicle without involvement of a driver).
Claim(s) 3 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Higuchi, in view of Ito, and further in view of JP H1139599 A INOUE HIDEAKI (hereinafter Inoue).
Regarding claim 3, Higuchi and Ito disclose: The driving assistance device according to claim 2.
Higuchi and Ito do not teach: wherein the controller compares the inter-vehicle time of the preceding vehicle with a predetermined time, and sets the acceleration in a case where the inter-vehicle time is shorter than the predetermined time lower than the acceleration set in a case where the inter-vehicle time is longer than the predetermined time.
However, Inoue teaches: wherein the controller compares the inter-vehicle time of the preceding vehicle with a predetermined time (see Inoue at least [pg. 13, para. 12, beginning with “It is to be noted”] the inter-vehicle distance D between the merged main line vehicle C2 and an arbitrary merged vehicle C5 is shorter than a predetermined reference inter-vehicle time t .sub.H), and
sets the acceleration in a case where the inter-vehicle time is shorter than the predetermined time lower than the acceleration set in a case where the inter-vehicle time is longer than the predetermined time (see Inoue at least [pg. 13, para. 12, beginning with “It is to be noted”] It is to be noted that the inter-vehicle distance D between the merged main line vehicle C2 and an arbitrary merged vehicle C5 is shorter than a predetermined reference inter-vehicle time t .sub.H and longer than half the reference inter-vehicle time t .sub.H t .sub.H / 2. When C2 is located behind any merging vehicle C5, the merging vehicle C5 keeps running at the first acceleration α1, and the main merging vehicle C2 temporarily decelerates).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the driving assistance device disclosed by Higuchi and Ito to include the consideration of inter-vehicle timing in acceleration controls of Inoue. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because maneuvering vehicles based on the inter-vehicle timing allows for appropriate spacing once the merging is performed, as suggested by Inoue (see Inoue at least [pg. 13, para. 12, beginning with “It is to be noted”] Is performed so that the traveling position of the merged main line vehicle C2 when the required time Ta has elapsed is rearward in the main line vehicle traveling direction by a distance t .sub.H / 2 which is half the reference inter-vehicle time t .sub.H.).
Regarding claim 4, Higuchi and Ito disclose: The driving assistance device according to claim 2.
Higuchi and Ito do not teach: wherein the controller controls the drive source by changing a setting in such a manner that the acceleration of the vehicle increases as the inter-vehicle time increases.
However, Inoue teaches: wherein the controller controls the drive source by changing a setting in such a manner that the acceleration of the vehicle increases as the inter-vehicle time increases (see Inoue at least [pg. 13, para. 12, beginning with “It is to be noted”] It is to be noted that the inter-vehicle distance D between the merged main line vehicle C2 and an arbitrary merged vehicle C5 is shorter than a predetermined reference inter-vehicle time t .sub.H and longer than half the reference inter-vehicle time t .sub.H t .sub.H / 2. When C2 is located behind any merging vehicle C5, the merging vehicle C5 keeps running at the first acceleration α1, and the main merging vehicle C2 temporarily decelerates and [pg. 13, para. 5, beginning with “That is, the inter-vehicle”] the inter-vehicle distance D, which is the longitudinal distance between the main merging vehicle C2 and the arbitrary merging vehicle C5, is longer than the predetermined reference inter-vehicle time t .sub.H , and the merging main road vehicle C2 and the arbitrary merging vehicle C5 When the vehicle is sufficiently far away, the merging vehicle C5 is maintained at a constant acceleration at the first acceleration α1, and the merged main line vehicle C2 is maintained at the current traveling).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the driving assistance device disclosed by Higuchi and Ito to include the consideration of inter-vehicle timing in acceleration controls of Inoue. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because maneuvering vehicles based on the inter-vehicle timing allows for appropriate spacing once the merging is performed, as suggested by Inoue (see Inoue at least [pg. 13, para. 12, beginning with “It is to be noted”] Is performed so that the traveling position of the merged main line vehicle C2 when the required time Ta has elapsed is rearward in the main line vehicle traveling direction by a distance t .sub.H / 2 which is half the reference inter-vehicle time t .sub.H.).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Higuchi, in view of Ito, and further in view of US 20240071223 A1 OYAMA; Hajime et al. (hereinafter Oyama).
Regarding claim 5, Higuchi and Ito disclose: The driving assistance device according to claim 2.
Higuchi and Ito do not teach: wherein the controller controls a braking means of the vehicle so as to decelerate the vehicle in a case where it is not possible to merge with the another traveling lane before the target position.
However, Oyama teaches: wherein the controller controls a braking means of the vehicle so as to decelerate the vehicle in a case where it is not possible to merge with the another traveling lane before the target position (see Oyama at least [0060] The automobile 7 may... decelerate and stop by an operation of a braking device and [0236] In a case that the first automobile 8 cannot execute the merging into the main road, the first automobile 8 on the merging-side will travel until the end part of the merging section of the merging road, and decelerates and stops at the end part of the merging section).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the driving assistance device disclosed by Higuchi and Ito to include the deceleration of the vehicle in response to difficulty merging of Oyama. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because decreasing the speed of the vehicle increases the time available to seek an opportunity to merge, as suggested by Oyama (see Oyama at least [0244] By continuing the travelling at the minimum speed, the own automobile on the merging-side can travel in the merging section taking as long time as possible, and it is expected that opportunity to travel so as to merge into the main road will increase).
Claim(s) 6, 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Higuchi, in view of Ito, and further in view of JP 2016057880 A TACHIBANA AKIHIDE (hereinafter Tachibana).
Regarding claim 6, Higuchi and Ito disclose: The driving assistance device according to claim 2.
Higuchi and Ito do not teach: wherein, in a case where there is a first preceding vehicle and a second preceding vehicle following the first preceding vehicle as a plurality of preceding vehicles that travel in the another traveling lane, the controller determines a mergeable second position between the first preceding vehicle and the second preceding vehicle, and controls the drive source so as to change the acceleration of the vehicle according to the determined second position.
However, Tachibana teaches: wherein, in a case where there is a first preceding vehicle and a second preceding vehicle following the first preceding vehicle as a plurality of preceding vehicles that travel in the another traveling lane, the controller determines a mergeable second position between the first preceding vehicle and the second preceding vehicle, and controls the drive source so as to change the acceleration of the vehicle according to the determined second position (see Tachibana at least [pg. 2, para. 3, beginning with “The merging support”] The vehicle V1 joins the vehicle V1 traveling between the vehicle (second vehicle) V2 and the vehicle (third vehicle) V3 and [pg. 2, para. 2, beginning with “Hereinafter, a merging support”] merging support means, for example, controlling the traveling of the vehicle so as to merge the vehicles between the vehicles in the merging destination lane without depending on the driving operation of the driver of the vehicle. The merge support means, for example, that a predetermined reaction force is applied to an accelerator pedal and [Fig. 1] host vehicle V1 is shown behind vehicles V2 and V3 at time T=T1 before eventually merging into lane L2 between vehicles V2 and V3).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the driving assistance device disclosed by Higuchi and Ito to include the consideration of multiple vehicles in the adjacent lane of the traveling vehicle in the determination of merging destinations of Tachibana. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because considering the circumstances of multiple neighboring vehicles allows for the most appropriate response when merging the host vehicle into a neighboring lane containing a plurality of other vehicles, as suggested by Tachibana (see Tachibana at least [pg. 8, para. 3, beginning with “In the present embodiment”] it is possible to improve the response to the change in the situation that occurs after measuring the vehicles V2 to V5 at the measurement point P1).
Regarding claim 9, Higuchi and Ito disclose: The driving assistance device according to claim 2.
Higuchi and Ito do not teach: wherein the controller sets the target position at a position ahead of the preceding vehicle, and sets the target position in such a manner that a distance between the preceding vehicle and the target position increases as a speed of the preceding vehicle or the acceleration of the vehicle increases.
However, Tachibana teaches: wherein the controller sets the target position at a position ahead of the preceding vehicle, and sets the target position in such a manner that a distance between the preceding vehicle and the target position increases as a speed of the preceding vehicle or the acceleration of the vehicle increases (see Tachibana at least [pg. 5, para. 3, beginning with “On the other hand”] when the vehicle is accelerating as in the situation of symbol G, the predicted inter-vehicle distances D .sub.23 to D .sub.45 at the junction P2 with respect to the inter-vehicle distances d .sub.23 to d .sub.45 at the measurement point P1 tend to increase and [pg. 2, para. 3, beginning with “The merging support”] The vehicle V1 joins the vehicle V1 traveling between the vehicle (second vehicle) V2 and the vehicle (third vehicle) V3 following the vehicle V2 with respect to the vehicle V1 traveling toward the merge point P2).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the driving assistance device disclosed by Higuchi and Ito to include the passing of preceding vehicles in the adjacent lane of the traveling vehicle and the adaptive target separation distances of Tachibana. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because considering the circumstances of multiple neighboring vehicles allows for the most appropriate response when merging the host vehicle into a neighboring lane containing a plurality of other vehicles, as suggested by Tachibana (see Tachibana at least [pg. 8, para. 3, beginning with “In the present embodiment”] it is possible to improve the response to the change in the situation that occurs after measuring the vehicles V2 to V5 at the measurement point P1).
Claim(s) 7, 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Higuchi, in view of Ito, and further in view of Higuchi, in view of Ito, and further in view of US 12415530 B2 Chiba; Ryoichi (hereinafter Chiba).
Regarding claim 7, Higuchi and Ito disclose: The driving assistance device according to claim 2.
Higuchi and Ito do not teach: wherein the controller controls the drive source in a case where a blinker operation is input and a change in posture of the vehicle that merges from the self-vehicle traveling lane with another traveling lane is measured exceeding a threshold on the basis of the information of the inertial measurement sensor.
However, Chiba teaches: wherein the controller controls the drive source (see Chiba at least [claim 1] in response to satisfying the first extraction condition, the vehicle conducts a lane change from a first lane to a second lane while running forward on a road that is formed in a curved shape by controlling the drive source of the vehicle) in a case where a blinker operation is input and a change in posture of the vehicle that merges from the self-vehicle traveling lane with another traveling lane is measured exceeding a threshold on the basis of the information of the inertial measurement sensor (see Chiba at least [col. 13, lines 8-15] make a determination as to whether... an absolute value of the maximum value of the yaw rate is at least a second threshold value, the turn signal lever being switched from a non-operation state to an operation state and [col. 3, line 19] The yaw rate sensor 35 detects yaw rates of the vehicle 30).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the driving assistance device disclosed by Higuchi and Ito to include the yaw rate and turn indicator inputs in lane-changing determination of Chiba. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because information such as blinker status and high magnitude yaw rate values indicate that a vehicle is likely to change from one lane into another, as suggested by Chiba (see Chiba at least [col. 10, lines 4-8] when the absolute value of the maximum value Ymax of the yaw rate of the vehicle 30 is the second threshold value or greater, there is a high probability that the vehicle 30 is performing a lane change).
Regarding claim 8, Higuchi, Ito, and Chiba disclose: The driving assistance device according to claim 7, wherein information indicating the change in posture of the vehicle includes a yaw rate or a roll rate of the vehicle acquired on the basis of a measurement result of the inertial measurement sensor (see Chiba at least [col. 13, lines 8-15] make a determination as to whether... an absolute value of the maximum value of the yaw rate is at least a second threshold value and [col. 3, line 19] The yaw rate sensor 35 detects yaw rates of the vehicle 30), and
the controller controls the drive source in a case where the yaw rate or the roll rate exceeds the threshold (see Chiba at least [claim 1] in response to satisfying the first extraction condition, the vehicle conducts a lane change from a first lane to a second lane while running forward on a road that is formed in a curved shape by controlling the drive source of the vehicle).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the driving assistance device disclosed by Higuchi, Ito, and Chiba to include the yaw rate and turn indicator inputs in lane-changing determination of Chiba. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because information such as blinker status and high magnitude yaw rate values indicate that a vehicle is likely to change from one lane into another, as suggested by Chiba (see Chiba at least [col. 10, lines 4-8] when the absolute value of the maximum value Ymax of the yaw rate of the vehicle 30 is the second threshold value or greater, there is a high probability that the vehicle 30 is performing a lane change).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Higuchi, in view of Ito, and further in view of Higuchi, in view of Ito, further in view of Tachibana, and further in view of US 20180253976 A1 Inam; Rafia et al. (hereinafter Inam).
Regarding claim 10, Higuchi and Ito disclose: The driving assistance device according to claim 2.
Higuchi and Ito do not teach: wherein, in a case where there is a plurality of preceding vehicles, the controller sets the target position at a position ahead of a head preceding vehicle located at the head of the plurality of preceding vehicles, and sets the target position in such a manner that a distance between the head preceding vehicle and the target position increases as a speed of the head preceding vehicle or the acceleration of the vehicle increases.
However, Inam teaches: wherein, in a case where there is a plurality of preceding vehicles, the controller sets the target position at a position ahead of a head preceding vehicle located at the head of the plurality of preceding vehicles (see Inam at least [0052] When the vehicle platoon 120 occupies a section of a road, an approaching vehicle such as the first vehicle 111 may be willing to overtake the vehicle platoon and [0108] Once the first vehicle 111 has overtaken all the vehicles in the vehicle platoon 120, in this action, the communication device 150 may obtain a sixth indication, that an overtaking of the vehicle platoon 120 by the first vehicle 111 is complete).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the driving assistance device disclosed by Higuchi and Ito to include the determination of the host vehicle to merge in front of a group of vehicles of Inam. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because thoughtfully passing to the front of a group of vehicles can be safest for the host vehicle, as suggested by Inam (see Inam at least [0017] By the communication device determining whether to allow the first vehicle to overtake the vehicle platoon based on the obtained information about the first vehicle, and providing the first indication based on the result of the determining, the communication device is able to ensure a safe overtake of the platoon by the first vehicle in a safe manner).
Higuchi, Ito, and Inam do not teach: sets the target position in such a manner that a distance between the head preceding vehicle and the target position increases as a speed of the head preceding vehicle or the acceleration of the vehicle increases.
However, Tachibana teaches: sets the target position in such a manner that a distance between the head preceding vehicle and the target position increases as a speed of the head preceding vehicle or the acceleration of the vehicle increases (see Tachibana at least [pg. 5, para. 3, beginning with “On the other hand”] when the vehicle is accelerating as in the situation of symbol G, the predicted inter-vehicle distances D .sub.23 to D .sub.45 at the junction P2 with respect to the inter-vehicle distances d .sub.23 to d .sub.45 at the measurement point P1 tend to increase and [pg. 2, para. 3, beginning with “The merging support”] The vehicle V1 joins the vehicle V1 traveling between the vehicle (second vehicle) V2 and the vehicle (third vehicle) V3 following the vehicle V2 with respect to the vehicle V1 traveling toward the merge point P2).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the driving assistance device disclosed by Higuchi, Ito, and Inam to include the passing of preceding vehicles in the adjacent lane of the traveling vehicle and the adaptive target separation distances of Tachibana. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because considering the circumstances of multiple neighboring vehicles allows for the most appropriate response when merging the host vehicle into a neighboring lane containing a plurality of other vehicles, as suggested by Tachibana (see Tachibana at least [pg. 8, para. 3, beginning with “In the present embodiment”] it is possible to improve the response to the change in the situation that occurs after measuring the vehicles V2 to V5 at the measurement point P1).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20170203764 A1 performs acceleration of a vehicle and considers distance thresholds related to merging of vehicles
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/ELLE ROSE KNUDSON/Examiner, Art Unit 3667
/ANSHUL SOOD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3667