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 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.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-20 are pending and have been examined below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments regarding the claim objection and 35 USC 112b have been considered and are persuasive. The objection and rejections are overcome.
Applicant’s arguments regarding 35 USC 102 and 103 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 USC 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.
Claims 1-4, 7-14, 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over US20250060752 (“Hirano”) in view of US20210150429 (“Atanashu”) and WO2018035145 (“Kutila”).
Claim 1
Hirano discloses an autonomous vehicle system (0048) comprising:
a plurality of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in electronic communication with one another (0169 After that the current position of the host vehicle V is specified, the host vehicle V transmits the current position of the host vehicle V to the remote control device 70, the following vehicles, and the vehicle management device 80 (step S08).), each AV comprising:
at least one sensing device (0055 As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the vehicle travel control system S1 includes the vehicle travel control device 1 that is mounted on each of host vehicles V and comprehensively controls traveling of the host vehicles, an in-vehicle sensor 10 that detects an external environment around the host vehicle V, an in-vehicle locator 20 that receives a GNSS signal from artificial satellites SA and reference stations ST and measures a current position of the host vehicle V, an in-vehicle ECU 30 that controls steering, acceleration and deceleration, and the like of the host vehicle V, and an in-vehicle communication device 40 that communicates with an external device.);
at least one processor (0061 CPU); and
a memory having instructions stored thereon, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor (0061 Specifically, the vehicle travel control device 1 is a computer that includes a CPU serving as a data calculation and control processing device, a ROM, a RAM, and an HDD (SSD) serving as storage devices, and a communication interface that transmits and receives information data via the in-vehicle network.) to:
obtain vehicle data and environmental data via the at least one sensing device (0055 As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the vehicle travel control system S1 includes the vehicle travel control device 1 that is mounted on each of host vehicles V and comprehensively controls traveling of the host vehicles, an in-vehicle sensor 10 that detects an external environment around the host vehicle V, an in-vehicle locator 20 that receives a GNSS signal from artificial satellites SA and reference stations ST and measures a current position of the host vehicle V, an in-vehicle ECU 30 that controls steering, acceleration and deceleration, and the like of the host vehicle V, and an in-vehicle communication device 40 that communicates with an external device.);
determine, based at least in part on broadcast data from the at least one sensing device, a plurality of following and coupling parameters for forming a variable AV train (0009 the management unit manages each vehicle to be in a travel state where a plurality of vehicles form a group of platoons while traveling based on position information received from another vehicle different from the vehicle; and the state control unit includes: a determination unit configured to determine, when the management unit manages the travel state where the vehicles travel while forming the group of platoons, whether connection between the platoons is permitted based on the travel state of the vehicle, 0065 The in-vehicle ECU 30 (the integrated ECU 31) is controlled based on the external environment information, the position information of the host vehicle V, and the target vehicle information including the position information of the target vehicle FV, thereby controlling the “relative traveling (follow-up traveling)” of the host vehicle V relative to the target vehicle FV., 0122 the vehicle travel control device 1 can accurately grasp a position (a relative position) of the target vehicle FV relative to the host vehicle V based on environment information around the host vehicle V, the position information of the host vehicle V, 0145, 0146, 0010); and
electronically connect or disconnect, based at least in part on the determined following and coupling parameters, to at least another AV to form the variable AV train (0009 the management unit manages each vehicle to be in a travel state where a plurality of vehicles form a group of platoons while traveling based on position information received from another vehicle different from the vehicle; and the state control unit includes: a determination unit configured to determine, when the management unit manages the travel state where the vehicles travel while forming the group of platoons, whether connection between the platoons is permitted based on the travel state of the vehicle, 0065 The in-vehicle ECU 30 (the integrated ECU 31) is controlled based on the external environment information, the position information of the host vehicle V, and the target vehicle information including the position information of the target vehicle FV, thereby controlling the “relative traveling (follow-up traveling)” of the host vehicle V relative to the target vehicle FV., 0122 the vehicle travel control device 1 can accurately grasp a position (a relative position) of the target vehicle FV relative to the host vehicle V based on environment information around the host vehicle V, the position information of the host vehicle V, 0145, 0146, 0010).
Hirano fails to disclose wherein the connecting or disconnecting is a mechanical connecting or disconnecting. However, Hirano does disclose electronically connecting or disconnecting to at least another AV to for the variable AV train (0009, 0065). Furthermore, Atanashu teaches a system of linking vehicles together to form platoons (abstract), including:
wherein the connecting or disconnecting is a mechanical connecting or disconnecting (0036 Grouping vehicles into platoons is a method that may increase the capacity of a network of roadways while also providing benefits to the vehicles of the platoon. A platoon of vehicles may be a group of vehicles that travel with a predefined distance or range of distance between them, and in some cases, vehicles may be coupled to one another via mechanical means or via electrical/computer-based means such as an “electronic tow-bar”.).
Hirano and Atanashu both disclose systems of linking vehicles to form a platoon. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention to modify the system in Hirano to include the teaching of Atanashu with a reasonable expectation of success in order to provide extra assurance of maintain the vehicles linked in a platoon in a case in which the electronic connection between the vehicles fails.
Additionally, Hirano fails to disclose the step to continuously broadcast the obtained vehicle and environmental data to the at least another AV subsequent to forming the variable AV train. However, Hirano does disclose obtaining vehicle and environmental data (0055). Furthermore, Kutila teaches:
the step to continuously broadcast the obtained vehicle and environmental data to the at least another AV subsequent to forming the variable AV train (0033, 0057 see-through video of the current front vehicle is transmitted to the HMI display in the new leader vehicle. A SendVideoData message 622 is sent from the lead vehicle 604 to another vehicle 606 in the platoon. The message 622 contains video data captured by the lead vehicle 604 in assessing an undetected (or unknown) object. The message 622 has one field, VideoDataStream. The VideoDataStream field is a video data stream that is recorded by a camera attached to the lead vehicle., 0062 At least vehicle 1 and one other vehicle have a driver behind the steering wheel. A person behind a steering wheel may not actually be driving a vehicle. A "see-through" application is running continuously in the front vehicle to transmit video data to the other vehicles in the platoon and to enable other drivers a front view of the platoon.).
Hirano and Kutila both disclose systems of forming platoons of vehicles. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention to modify the system in Hirano to include the teaching of Kutila with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve safety of the system by ensuring that multiple vehicles in the platoon are aware of the vehicle and environmental data of other vehicles in the platoon.
Claim 2
Hirano fails to disclose wherein each of the plurality of AVs is configured to obtain the vehicle data and/or environmental data or form the variable AV train in response to a request or command received from a computing device or at least one mobile device. However, Hirano does disclose the vehicle and environmental data (0055). Furthermore, Kutila teaches:
wherein each of the plurality of AVs is configured to obtain the vehicle data and/or environmental data or form the variable AV train in response to a request or command received from a computing device or at least one mobile device (0029 For some embodiments, a system may receive via a V2X channel from other vehicles or from an ITS service station a message requesting a platoon configuration change. This message may be sent for safety reasons or for maintaining autonomous platooning mode. A platoon may be split into two platoons for multiple reasons, such as overtaking the lead vehicle (or front vehicle) in two sections or passing through road maintenance work where passenger cars use one lane and trucks use another lane., 0065, 0068).
See prior art rejection of claim 1 for obviousness and reasons to combine.
Claim 3
Hirano fails to disclose wherein the instructions when executed by each processor cause each processor to further: self-navigate using the plurality of following and coupling parameters and the broadcast and received data. However, Hirano does disclose self-navigation (0048). Furthermore, Kutila teaches:
wherein the instructions when executed by each processor cause each processor to further: self-navigate using the plurality of following and coupling parameters and the broadcast and received data (0005 continue an autonomous driving mode without disbanding a platoon, 0043 412, 420, a human-machine interface (HMI) 414, 422, a driver state analysis module 416, 424, and a platooning function 418, 426. A communications unit 412, 420 may use a data exchange channel (such as DSRC and 5G) 410 to transmit and receive data to and from platooning vehicles 402, 404, other vehicles 406, and ITS service stations 408.).
See prior art rejection of claim 1 for obviousness and reasons to combine.
Claim 4
Hirano fails to disclose wherein operations of each AV are optimized using one or more algorithms or machine learning models. However, Hirano does disclose operations based on AI (0049). Furthermore, Kutila teaches:
wherein operations of each AV are optimized using one or more algorithms or machine learning models (0070 The lead vehicle may determine the most accurate measurement data (including sensor and video data) or the vehicle using the best object detection algorithms and use data under those scenarios. Note that Kutila discloses that any vehicle may become the lead vehicle, and thus any vehicle may use the recited algorithm).
See prior art rejection of claim 1 for obviousness and reasons to combine.
Claim 7
Hirano fails to disclose wherein each processor is configured to continuously broadcast the obtained vehicle and environmental data using a Bluetooth BLE advertising mode, short-range wireless communication protocol, or Near-Field Communication (NFC) protocol. However, Hirano does disclose wireless communication of information (0065). Furthermore, Kutila teaches:
wherein each processor is configured to continuously broadcast the obtained vehicle and environmental data using a Bluetooth BLE advertising mode, short-range wireless communication protocol, or Near-Field Communication (NFC) protocol (0098 Bluetooth, 0082 the communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel-access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 103/104/105 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 115/116/117 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and/or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and/or High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA). [0083] In another embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 115/116/117 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE- Advanced (LTE- A).).
See prior art rejection of claim 1 for obviousness and reasons to combine.
Claim 8
Hirano discloses:
wherein the vehicle data and/or environmental data includes at least one of speed, location, acceleration, relative distance, or relative speed (0055 As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the vehicle travel control system S1 includes the vehicle travel control device 1 that is mounted on each of host vehicles V and comprehensively controls traveling of the host vehicles, an in-vehicle sensor 10 that detects an external environment around the host vehicle V, an in-vehicle locator 20 that receives a GNSS signal from artificial satellites SA and reference stations ST and measures a current position of the host vehicle V, an in-vehicle ECU 30 that controls steering, acceleration and deceleration, and the like of the host vehicle V, and an in-vehicle communication device 40 that communicates with an external device.).
Claim 9
Hirano fails to disclose wherein each AV is configured to self-navigate using a reinforcement learning model or optimization operation. However, Hirano does disclose optimum connection methods in forming the platoon (0357). Furthermore, Kutila teaches:
wherein each AV is configured to self-navigate using a reinforcement learning model or optimization operation (0042 An exemplary system operates to maximize use of autonomous mode for platooning vehicles while minimizing interventions with drivers and vehicle occupants., 0037 For some embodiments, when an in-vehicle computer detects an incident or lane obstacle that may result in a platoon split, the computer will calculate an optimal number of mini- platoons. Other vehicles may be allowed to be assigned the lead driver (or supervisor) role after checking which vehicles are available. Also, a system will minimize manual driving and generate an optimal number of mini-platoons.).
See prior art rejection of claim 1 for obviousness and reasons to combine.
Claim 10
Hirano fails to explicitly disclose wherein each AV comprises a drive-by-wire component. However, Hirano does disclose sensors used for driving (0217). Furthermore, Kutila teaches:
wherein each AV comprises a drive-by-wire component (0125 Note that various hardware elements of one or more of the described embodiments are referred to as "modules" that carry out (i.e., perform, execute, and the like) various functions that are described herein in connection with the respective modules. As used herein, a module includes hardware (e.g., one or more processors, one or more microprocessors, one or more microcontrollers, one or more microchips, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), one or more memory devices) deemed suitable by those of skill in the relevant art for a given implementation. Each described module may also include instructions executable for carrying out the one or more functions described as being carried out by the respective module).
See prior art rejection of claim 1 for obviousness and reasons to combine.
Claim(s) 11, 12, 13, 14, 17 and 18
Claim(s) 11, 12, 13, 14, 17 and 18 recite(s) subject matter similar to that/those of claim(s) 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8, respectively, and is/are rejected under the same grounds.
Claims 5, 6, 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Hirano in view of Atanashu and Kutila, in further view of US20220388530 (“Patne”).
Claim 5
Hirano fails to disclose wherein each processor is further configured to dynamically switch between obtaining data from the at least one sensing device to at least one mobile device within the AV based on detected environmental conditions. However, Hirano does disclose sources of data to include both the at least one sensing device and at least one mobile device within the AV (0061). Furthermore, Patne teaches a system of collecting data in an autonomous vehicle (claim 1), including:
wherein each processor is further configured to dynamically switch between obtaining data from the at least one sensing device to at least one mobile device within the AV based on detected environmental conditions (0068 In one embodiment, the transport 120 may receive sensor data from one or more occupant devices within the transport 120, where the sensor data from the occupant devices indicates proper function. Occupant devices may include any type of computing device, including but not limited to smart phones, tablets, notebook computers, smart watches, wearable computers and the like. A camera in the occupant device may transmit camera video over a Bluetooth or wi-fi connection to the display or entertainment processor of the transport 120, which may then relay the camera video to the main processor of the transport 120. For example, in the case of a malfunctioning blind spot sensor 130, a transport 120 occupant may use the camera in a smart phone to capture another transport in the transport's 120 blind spot. The smart phone may transmit the camera images to the transport 120, which may replace information from the malfunctioning sensor 130 with the sensor data (e.g., camera images) from the one or more occupant devices. Examiner notes that such technique of switching data sources could be applied to any of the vehicles in the train of Kutila).
Hirano and Patne both disclose systems of data collection from various sources for autonomous vehicles. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention to modify the system in Hirano to include the teaching of Patne with a reasonable expectation of success in order improve vehicle and passenger safety by providing accurate and current data to the autonomous vehicle during sensor malfunction.
Claim 6
Hirano fails to disclose wherein the environmental conditions include at least one of poor visibility, sensor malfunction, and low battery. However, Hirano does disclose capturing environmental conditions (0064). Furthermore, Patne teaches:
wherein the environmental conditions include at least one of poor visibility, sensor malfunction, and low battery (0068 In one embodiment, the transport 120 may receive sensor data from one or more occupant devices within the transport 120, where the sensor data from the occupant devices indicates proper function. Occupant devices may include any type of computing device, including but not limited to smart phones, tablets, notebook computers, smart watches, wearable computers and the like. A camera in the occupant device may transmit camera video over a Bluetooth or wi-fi connection to the display or entertainment processor of the transport 120, which may then relay the camera video to the main processor of the transport 120. For example, in the case of a malfunctioning blind spot sensor 130, a transport 120 occupant may use the camera in a smart phone to capture another transport in the transport's 120 blind spot. The smart phone may transmit the camera images to the transport 120, which may replace information from the malfunctioning sensor 130 with the sensor data (e.g., camera images) from the one or more occupant devices.).
See prior art rejection of claim 5 for obviousness and reasons to combine.
Claim(s) 15 and 16
Claim(s) 15 and 16 recite(s) subject matter similar to that/those of claim(s) 5 and 6, respectively, and is/are rejected under the same grounds.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Atanashu in view of Kutila and Hirano.
Claim 19
Atanashu discloses a computer-implemented method (abstract) comprising:
receiving, by at least one processor, at least one ride hailing request (abstract: receiving a first trip request including a first vehicle identification, a first trip origin, and a first trip destination);
determining, by the at least one processor, one or more optimal docking location(s) based at least in part on the at least one ride hailing request (0005 Methods may include providing for route guidance of the first vehicle along the first route and the second vehicle along the second route. The platooning plan may include a joining location where the first route begins to overlap the second route.);
determining, by the at least one processor, at least one AV route to the one or more optimal docking location(s) (0057 The vehicles may each be provided with a route plan which may be in the form of route guidance, where route guidance not only provides navigational information to follow a route, but also provides information pertaining to platooning and vehicle control. For example, route guidance may include joining locations where the vehicle may join or form a platoon. Route guidance may also include platooning parameters, such as following distance or time gap, speed restrictions, or other information to facilitate travel along the route.); and
triggering, by the at least one processor, docking operations, undocking operations, and/or navigation of at least one variable AV train based at least in part on the at least one AV route (0057 The vehicles may each be provided with a route plan which may be in the form of route guidance, where route guidance not only provides navigational information to follow a route, but also provides information pertaining to platooning and vehicle control. For example, route guidance may include joining locations where the vehicle may join or form a platoon. Route guidance may also include platooning parameters, such as following distance or time gap, speed restrictions, or other information to facilitate travel along the route.),
wherein the at least one variable AV train comprises a plurality of AVs that are each configured to:
determine a plurality of following and coupling parameters for forming the at least one variable AV train (0049 Embodiments described herein may implement a central, cloud-based platoon matching exchange, which may be hosted by a server (e.g. server 12 or platoon matching exchange server 32), which could continually ingest origins, destinations, and acceptable parameters of a trip for a particular vehicle in order to appropriately match each vehicle with a platoon that would most appropriately and efficiently align with the user's planned trip. Parameters for a trip may include, for example, waypoints, types of roadways (e.g., avoiding interstate highways or preferring interstate highways), other vehicles making the trip associated with the user (e.g., if a company has a fleet of vehicles traveling on a given road network sharing routes of the trips partially or entirely), timing of the trip (e.g., departure or desired arrival) etc.), and
electronically and mechanically connect or disconnect to at least another AV to form the at least one variable AV train (0049 Embodiments described herein may implement a central, cloud-based platoon matching exchange, which may be hosted by a server (e.g. server 12 or platoon matching exchange server 32), which could continually ingest origins, destinations, and acceptable parameters of a trip for a particular vehicle in order to appropriately match each vehicle with a platoon that would most appropriately and efficiently align with the user's planned trip. Parameters for a trip may include, for example, waypoints, types of roadways (e.g., avoiding interstate highways or preferring interstate highways), other vehicles making the trip associated with the user (e.g., if a company has a fleet of vehicles traveling on a given road network sharing routes of the trips partially or entirely), timing of the trip (e.g., departure or desired arrival) etc., 0057 route guidance may include joining locations where the vehicle may join or form a platoon. Route guidance may also include platooning parameters, such as following distance or time gap, speed restrictions, or other information to facilitate travel along the route.).
Atanashu fails to explicitly disclose wherein the at least one variable AV train comprises a plurality of AVs that are each configured to continuously broadcast obtained vehicle and environmental data to at least another AV subsequent to forming the at least one variable AV train. However, Atanashu does disclose forming the at least one variable AV train (0057). Furthermore, Kutila discloses a system of forming an AV train (0038 In this scenario, passenger cars 306, 3 10 form a new mini-platoon of cars 3 16, 320 on the right side of FIG. 3. The new mini-platoon of cars 3 16, 320 may make changes, such as slowing down and making maneuvers to pass the obstacle 322, that are not performed by the platoon of big trucks 3 12, 3 14, 3 18. The platoon leader 302 may continue as platoon leader 1 (3 12) of the big trucks 3 12, 3 14, 3 18 while platoon leader 2 (3 16) leads the mini-platoon of cars 3 16, 320., 0039); including:
wherein the at least one variable AV train comprises a plurality of AVs that are each configured to continuously broadcast obtained vehicle and environmental data to at least another AV subsequent to forming the at least one variable AV train (0033, 0057 see-through video of the current front vehicle is transmitted to the HMI display in the new leader vehicle. A SendVideoData message 622 is sent from the lead vehicle 604 to another vehicle 606 in the platoon. The message 622 contains video data captured by the lead vehicle 604 in assessing an undetected (or unknown) object. The message 622 has one field, VideoDataStream. The VideoDataStream field is a video data stream that is recorded by a camera attached to the lead vehicle., 0062 At least vehicle 1 and one other vehicle have a driver behind the steering wheel. A person behind a steering wheel may not actually be driving a vehicle. A "see-through" application is running continuously in the front vehicle to transmit video data to the other vehicles in the platoon and to enable other drivers a front view of the platoon.).
Atanashu and Kutila both disclose systems of forming an AV train. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention to modify the system in Atanashu to include the teaching of Kutila with a reasonable expectation of success in order to increase safety of the following vehicles by providing them with information of obstacles and events ahead of the lead vehicle.
Additionally, Atanashu fails to disclose wherein the determining of the plurality of parameters is based at least in part on vehicle and environmental data obtained via at least one sensing device. However, Atanashu does disclose determining a plurality of parameters (0049). Furthermore, Hirano teaches in a vehicle platooning system:
wherein the determining of the plurality of parameters is based at least in part on vehicle and environmental data obtained via at least one sensing device (0009 the management unit manages each vehicle to be in a travel state where a plurality of vehicles form a group of platoons while traveling based on position information received from another vehicle different from the vehicle; and the state control unit includes: a determination unit configured to determine, when the management unit manages the travel state where the vehicles travel while forming the group of platoons, whether connection between the platoons is permitted based on the travel state of the vehicle, 0065 The in-vehicle ECU 30 (the integrated ECU 31) is controlled based on the external environment information, the position information of the host vehicle V, and the target vehicle information including the position information of the target vehicle FV, thereby controlling the “relative traveling (follow-up traveling)” of the host vehicle V relative to the target vehicle FV., 0122 the vehicle travel control device 1 can accurately grasp a position (a relative position) of the target vehicle FV relative to the host vehicle V based on environment information around the host vehicle V, the position information of the host vehicle V, 0145, 0146, 0010).
Atanashu and Hirano both disclose AV train systems. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention to modify the system in Atanashu to include the teaching of Hirano with a reasonable expectation of success in order to ensure that the AV trains are formed safely in view of objects in the environment.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Atanashu in view of Kutila and Hirano, in further view of Patne.
Claim 20
Atanashu fails to disclose wherein each AV is configured to dynamically switch between obtaining data from at least one sensing device and at least one mobile device within the AV based on detected environmental conditions. However, Atanashu does disclose sources of data to include both the at least one sensing device and at least one mobile device within the AV (0085 Trailing vehicles may use autonomous or semi-autonomous control to maintain following distances and to follow the lead of the vehicle in front of them. This may be performed by one or both of sensors of the trailing vehicle providing information regarding a vehicle they are following, 0091 As shown, map data 102 may be stored in a database and include road information such as the types of road and relevant information such as curvature, topography, maximum heights and widths, etc. A data gatherer 104 may extract data from various sources or scrape data from network elements for regulatory data, traffic, weather, etc). Furthermore, Patne teaches a system of collecting data in an autonomous vehicle (claim 1), including:
wherein each AV is configured to dynamically switch between obtaining data from at least one sensing device and at least one mobile device within the AV based on detected environmental conditions (0068 In one embodiment, the transport 120 may receive sensor data from one or more occupant devices within the transport 120, where the sensor data from the occupant devices indicates proper function. Occupant devices may include any type of computing device, including but not limited to smart phones, tablets, notebook computers, smart watches, wearable computers and the like. A camera in the occupant device may transmit camera video over a Bluetooth or wi-fi connection to the display or entertainment processor of the transport 120, which may then relay the camera video to the main processor of the transport 120. For example, in the case of a malfunctioning blind spot sensor 130, a transport 120 occupant may use the camera in a smart phone to capture another transport in the transport's 120 blind spot. The smart phone may transmit the camera images to the transport 120, which may replace information from the malfunctioning sensor 130 with the sensor data (e.g., camera images) from the one or more occupant devices. Examiner notes that such technique of switching data sources could be applied to any of the vehicles in the train of Atanashu).
Atanashu and Patne both disclose systems of data collection from various sources for autonomous vehicles. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention to modify the system in Atanashu to include the teaching of Patne with a reasonable expectation of success in order improve vehicle and passenger safety by providing accurate and current data to the autonomous vehicle during sensor malfunction.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO892. Specifically, US20240393807 discloses a system of determining whether or not vehicles should travel in a connected state based on a calculated degree of similarity that may be referred to as a degree of similarity between the reservation requests regarding the travel route and the travel time range of the vehicle for achieving the transportation requested in the reservation request. Additionally, US20230343220 discloses a system of forming an AV train of autonomous vehicles through a mechanical connection.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Examiner Krishnan Ramesh, whose telephone number is (571)272-6407. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:00pm.
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, Abby Flynn, can be reached at (571)272-9855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KRISHNAN RAMESH/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3663
Prosecution Insights