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 .
Acknowledgments
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Applicant provided information disclosure statement.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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, 6, 9, 13, 16, and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Colijn (US20190179336A1) in further view of Gottlieb (US20080077464A1).
Regarding claim 1 and similarly claims 9 and 16, Colijn teaches
A vehicle routing and analytics (VRA) computing device comprising at least one processor in communication with a memory, the VRA computing device communicatively coupled to a fleet of vehicles, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to (See figure 4) This shows VRA computing device such as items 410, 440, 420, and/or 430. They are in communication with a fleet of vehicles and include processor and memory as seen here (See para 0053- As shown in FIG. 4, each of computing devices 410, 420, 430, 440 may include one or more processors, memory, data and instructions. Such processors, memories, data and instructions may be configured similarly to one or more processors 120, memory 130, data 132, and instructions 134 of computing device 110) (See para 0061- This information may be retrieved or otherwise accessed by a server computing device, such as one or more server computing devices 410, in order to perform some or all of the features described herein.).
A computer-implemented method for controlling each vehicle of a fleet of vehicles, the method implemented using a vehicle routing analytics (VRA) computing device communicatively coupled to the fleet of vehicles, wherein the VRA computing device includes at least one processor in communication with a memory, wherein the method comprises (See para 0003- One aspect of the disclosure provides a method of assigning a fleet of driverless vehicles to a plurality of parking locations for parking vehicles of the fleet. ) This shows a method. (See figure 4) This shows VRA computing device such as items 410, 440, 420, and/or 430. They are in communication with a fleet of vehicles and include processor and memory as seen here (See para 0053- As shown in FIG. 4, each of computing devices 410, 420, 430, 440 may include one or more processors, memory, data and instructions. Such processors, memories, data and instructions may be configured similarly to one or more processors 120, memory 130, data 132, and instructions 134 of computing device 110) (See para 0061- This information may be retrieved or otherwise accessed by a server computing device, such as one or more server computing devices 410, in order to perform some or all of the features described herein.).
At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a vehicle routing and analytics (VRA) computing device communicatively coupled to a fleet of vehicles, the computer-executable instructions cause the at least one processor to: (See figure 4) This shows VRA computing device such as items 410, 440, 420, and/or 430. They are in communication with a fleet of vehicles and include processor and memory as seen here (See para 0053- As shown in FIG. 4, each of computing devices 410, 420, 430, 440 may include one or more processors, memory, data and instructions. Such processors, memories, data and instructions may be configured similarly to one or more processors 120, memory 130, data 132, and instructions 134 of computing device 110) (See para 0061- This information may be retrieved or otherwise accessed by a server computing device, such as one or more server computing devices 410, in order to perform some or all of the features described herein.).
retrieve a vehicle definition for each vehicle of the fleet of vehicles, each vehicle definition including availability parameters (See fig. 8A) (See para 0073-As noted above, FIG. 8A is an example table 800A for tracking the status of the vehicles of the fleet. As can be seen, table 800 a includes the most up to date information available to the dispatching system for vehicles 100, 100A, and 100B.) This teaches the system receives availability information (i.e. availability parameters) of each vehicle in the fleet.
However it is not clear that Colijn teaches also receiving delivery preferences of the vehicles, however Gottlieb teaches
and delivery preferences associated with the respective vehicle (See para 0031-For example, the vehicle combination may have a weight limit and a volume limit, certain products may not be properly shipped in the same vehicle, trailer or vehicle combination as other products and similar shipping constraints may be a part of the loading simulation. This simulated load may also be applied to trailers within a vehicle combination. Each trailer may have weight, volume, pallet limits or similar capacity limits. Some trailers, vehicles and vehicle combinations may have restrictions on the type of products that can be shipped within them (e.g., an open trailer may not store items that cannot withstand exposure to weather or changes in temperature)) (See para 0052- A constraint may also implement a user's preferences during optimization. For example, a user may have a preference that a particular transportation order be assigned to a particular vehicle combination) This teaches delivery preferences with respect to a vehicle for a certain order and delivery preferences with respect to a vehicle based on the vehicle’s capabilities.
Colijn and Gottlieb are analogous art because they are from the same problem-solving area of management of a fleet of vehicles. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Colijn’s invention by incorporating the method of Gottlieb because Colijn would also be able to look at preferences when determining which vehicle to select to do a task. This would make the system of Colijn more sophisticated since its looking at additional vehicle data in addition to just availability parameters. This would add another layer of analysis.
Colijn further teaches control each vehicle of the fleet of vehicles to travel along a respective optimal route (See para 0077-Once assigned, the dispatching system 410 may send instructions to that vehicle to proceed to the assigned parking location , and the vehicle's computing devices may control the vehicle accordingly.) This teaches that the vehicle is controlled to go along a route. The route is optimal since the system tries to optimize the cost to travel that route as seen here (See para 0086-The routes of all of the vehicles may be compared to determine costs of individual road segments of each route.) (See para 0087-The iterations may be differentiated by adjusting the assignments for one or more vehicles which contributed the greatest costs to the total costs of the previous iteration. The iterations may continue until the costs can no longer be reduced (i.e. the next iteration increases the overall cost) or until the total cost meets, for instance, is less than or equal to a threshold value. )
the optimal route including a scheduled list of tasks for the vehicle to perform The route include tasks the vehicle has to do such as picking up, dropping off, going to a parking space and stopping as seen here (See para 0003-One aspect of the disclosure provides a method of assigning a fleet of driverless vehicles to a plurality of parking locations for parking vehicles of the fleet. )(See para 0069-As part of this, the user may identify a pickup location, a destination location, and, in some cases, one or more intermediate stopping locations anywhere within a service area where a vehicle can stop.) (See para 0072- Vehicle 100B is available to provide transportation services (i.e. is not on it's way to pickup or drop off passengers or cargo).)
receive respective sensor data from each vehicle of the fleet of vehicles as the vehicle is travelling along the optimal route (See para 0048-For example, the position system 170 may include a GPS receiver to determine the device's latitude, longitude and/or altitude position. Other location systems such as laser-based localization systems, inertial-aided GPS, or camera-based localization may also be used to identify the location of the vehicle. ) (See para 0072-Each vehicle may periodically or constantly provide status reports to the dispatching system using network 460. FIG. 7 depicts an example of the information tracked by the dispatching system overlaid on the map information 200. For instance, each of vehicles 100, 100A, and 100B may report that its location as well as other status information. In this example, Vehicle 100 is reporting a system fault at one of its sensors, and does not include any passengers. Vehicle 100A is occupied or providing transportation services to passengers. Vehicle 100B is available to provide transportation services (i.e. is not on it's way to pickup or drop off passengers or cargo).) This teaches the system receives gps sensor and other sensor data as vehicles are on routes doing tasks.
detect, based at least in part upon the sensor data, a respective status of each vehicle of the fleet of vehicles (See para 0072-Each vehicle may periodically or constantly provide status reports to the dispatching system using network 460. FIG. 7 depicts an example of the information tracked by the dispatching system overlaid on the map information 200. For instance, each of vehicles 100, 100A, and 100B may report that its location as well as other status information. In this example, Vehicle 100 is reporting a system fault at one of its sensors, and does not include any passengers. Vehicle 100A is occupied or providing transportation services to passengers. Vehicle 100B is available to provide transportation services (i.e. is not on it's way to pickup or drop off passengers or cargo).) (See fig. 8A) This shows the system determines the status of the vehicles such as being available or on a trip.
and update the vehicle definition for at least one vehicle of the fleet of vehicles based at least in part upon the detected status of the at least one vehicle. (See fig. 8A and 9A) (See para 0076-The dispatching system 410 may also update the status of vehicle 100B in the storage system 450. For instance, table 900A of FIG. 9 provides updated information for vehicle 100B as compared to table 800A.) This shows the vehicle definition information in fig. 8A is updated to fig. 9A. This is based on the status of the vehicle the system determines as taught above.
Regarding claims 2 and 17, Colijn and Gottlieb teach the limitation of claims 1 and 16, however Colijn further teaches
wherein the detected status of each vehicle includes at least one of an availability status, a capacity status, a performance rating, a risk level, and a current location of the respective vehicle (See fig. 8A) This teaches status relates to availability status as seen in fig. 8A. This also shows performance rating which corresponds to performance of the vehicle’s sensor and if it needs to be looked at (See para 0077-For instance, vehicle 100 is reporting a fault, for instance, an overheating sensor of the vehicle's perception system 172.).
Regarding claims 6 and 13, Colijn and Gottlieb teach the limitation of claims 1 and 9, however Colijn further teaches
receive an additional task; and assign the additional task to a first vehicle of the at least one vehicle based upon the updated vehicle definition. Colijn teaches plurality of tasks which correspond to an additional tasks/trips (See para 0075- However, the dispatching system 410 may assign vehicles based on proximity to the passenger's pick-up location in time or distance, availability of vehicles, location of future expected trips for a vehicle relative to the passenger's destination, location of other users requesting trips to the same or nearby destinations (for ridesharing), etc.) This also shows the dispatch system can assign vehicles with respect to additional tasks such as a rideshare event.
Claim(s) 3, 10, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Colijn (US20190179336A1) in further view of Gottlieb (US20080077464A1) in further view of O’Block (US20190147399A1).
Regarding claims 3, 10, and 18, Colijn and Gottlieb teach the limitations of claims 1, 9, and 16, however Colijn teaches
determine, based upon the updated vehicle definition, that the at least one vehicle is unable to complete at least one task of the respective scheduled list of tasks…based upon the respective vehicle definition of an alternative vehicle of the fleet of vehicles (See fig. 9A) This shows that vehicles 100 and 100A are not available to carryout tasks since the status is “depot” and “on trip.” Figure 9A also shows updated vehicle data of the alternate vehicles such as other vehicles in the fleet.
However Colijn doesn’t teach reassigning tasks to other vehicles if one isn’t available, however O’Block teaches
and reassign…the at least one task to the alternative vehicle. (See para 0131- In some embodiments, when the optimal vehicle receives the order request from the dispatch server 104, the order request may be accepted or denied by the optimal vehicle. The optimal vehicle may deny the order request before or during execution of the order request. The optimal vehicle may transmit an order request deferral to the dispatch server 104. The denied order request may include one or more reasons as to why the order request was denied, for example an equipment-related, operator-related, or weather-related reason. When the dispatch server 104 receives an order request deferral, the dispatch server 104 may make the order request available to be reassigned to a second optimal commercial vehicle. In some embodiments, the dispatch server 104 may automatically identify a second optimal vehicle based on the product condition and the vehicle condition and reassign the order request, after receiving an order request deferral, to a second optimal commercial vehicle) This teaches reassigning a task to an alternate vehicle if the first vehicle is not available. The first vehicle not being available also corresponds to the updated vehicle definition that is already taught in Colijn.
Colijn and O’Block are analogous art because they are from the same problem-solving area of a vehicle carrying out tasks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Colijn’s invention by incorporating the method of O’Block because Colijn would also have the capability of reassigning tasks to different vehicles if one vehicle isn’t ready. This would ensure that user requests for transportation services are all met. This would make the art of Colijn more sophisticated since it adds another layer of analysis when determining how a task should be routed.
Claim(s) 4, 11, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Colijn (US20190179336A1) in further view of Gottlieb (US20080077464A1) in further view of Marchildon (US20100299175A1).
Regarding claim 4 and 11, Colijn and Gottlieb teach the limitations of claim 1 and 9, however Colijn further teaches
wherein each vehicle includes a respective plurality of sensors disposed thereon and configured to collect the sensor data, wherein the respective plurality of sensors disposed on each vehicle (See figure 3) (See para 0050- In the case where the vehicle is a passenger vehicle such as a minivan, the minivan may include a laser or other sensors mounted on the roof or other convenient location… In this example, roof-top housing 310 and dome housing 312 may include a lidar sensor as well as various cameras and radar units. In addition, housing 320 located at the front end of vehicle 100 and housings 330, 332 on the driver's and passenger's sides of the vehicle may each store a lidar sensor. For example, housing 330 is located in front of driver door 360. Vehicle 100 also includes housings 340, 342 for radar units and/or cameras also located on the roof of vehicle 100. Additional radar units and cameras (not shown) may be located at the front and rear ends of vehicle 100 and/or on other positions along the roof or roof-top housing 310.) This teaches plurality of sensors on the vehicle.
However Colijn doesn’t teach that the vehicle includes check in and checkout of Cargo, however Marchildon teaches
include at least one sensor configured to identify check-in and check-out of cargo to and from the corresponding vehicle (See para 0162- The truck tag is scanned upon load completion (S1146). Once a truck has been loaded with a complete shipment or has reached capacity, the truck tag is scanned and the truck status is marked as loaded. A truck loaded event may be generated.) This teaches a scanner (i.e. sensor) to identify checking-in of cargo/loaded. (See para 0167- Next, shipping units are unloaded and scanned (S1164). As shipping units are being unloaded off of the truck, the shipping units are scanned and are marked in the ERP system as unloaded. ) This teaches a scanner (i.e. sensor) to identify checking-out of cargo/unloaded.
and wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to: detect the status of the at least one vehicle based upon the cargo checked-in to and checked-out from the at least one vehicle. (See para 0163- The truck tag is scanned upon load departure (S1148), thereby ending the process 1140 (S1149). The truck status is marked as departed, and trailer departure time is recorded. A trailer departure event may be generated.)(See para 0168- A truck unloaded event may be generated.) This teaches based on the loading of the cargo, a status is determined of the vehicle such as departed. This shows based on the unloading of the cargo, a truck status of unloaded is determined.
Colijn and Marchildon are analogous art because they are from the same problem-solving area of vehicle carrying out tasks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Colijn’s invention by incorporating the method of Marchildon because Colijn would also have the ability to have a sensor to determine when something is loaded or unloaded in a vehicle and also when a passenger enters or exits a vehicle. This would give the user of Colijn more insight into the vehicle status as the vehicle is carrying out a task. This would also make the vehicle in Colijn more sophisticated since it would have more sensors.
Regarding claim 5 and 12, Colijn, Gottlieb, and Marchildon teach the limitations of claim 4 and 11, however Marchildon further teaches
wherein to update the vehicle definition of the at least one vehicle, the at least one processor is further programmed to: update at least one of a capacity status, a performance rating, and a risk level of the at least one vehicle based upon the cargo checked-in to and checked-out from the at least one vehicle. Based on the cargo being checked in and checked out of the vehicle, a vehicle capacity status is updated such as loaded and unloaded. (See para 0162- The truck tag is scanned upon load completion (S1146). Once a truck has been loaded with a complete shipment or has reached capacity, the truck tag is scanned and the truck status is marked as loaded.) (See para 0168- After shipping units are unloaded, shipping units are moved to one or more staging areas (S1166). The shipping units are moved from an unloading dock area to one or more staging areas (e.g., work centers). Shipping unit movement may be verified via a barcode scan. A truck unloaded event may be generated.)
Colijn and Marchildon are analogous art because they are from the same problem-solving area of vehicle carrying out tasks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Colijn’s invention by incorporating the method of Marchildon because Colijn would also have the ability to have a sensor to determine when something is loaded or unloaded in a vehicle and also when a passenger enters or exits a vehicle. This would give the user of Colijn more insight into the vehicle status as the vehicle is carrying out a task. This would also make the vehicle in Colijn more sophisticated since it would have more sensors.
Regarding claim 19, Colijn and Gottlieb teach the limitations of claim 16 however Colijn further teaches
wherein each vehicle includes a respective plurality of sensors disposed thereon and configured to collect the sensor data, wherein the respective plurality of sensors disposed on each vehicle (See figure 3) (See para 0050- In the case where the vehicle is a passenger vehicle such as a minivan, the minivan may include a laser or other sensors mounted on the roof or other convenient location… In this example, roof-top housing 310 and dome housing 312 may include a lidar sensor as well as various cameras and radar units. In addition, housing 320 located at the front end of vehicle 100 and housings 330, 332 on the driver's and passenger's sides of the vehicle may each store a lidar sensor. For example, housing 330 is located in front of driver door 360. Vehicle 100 also includes housings 340, 342 for radar units and/or cameras also located on the roof of vehicle 100. Additional radar units and cameras (not shown) may be located at the front and rear ends of vehicle 100 and/or on other positions along the roof or roof-top housing 310.) This teaches plurality of sensors on the vehicle.
However Colijn doesn’t teach that the vehicle includes check in and checkout of Cargo, however Marchildon teaches
include at least one sensor configured to identify check-in and check-out of cargo to and from the corresponding vehicle (See para 0162- The truck tag is scanned upon load completion (S1146). Once a truck has been loaded with a complete shipment or has reached capacity, the truck tag is scanned and the truck status is marked as loaded. A truck loaded event may be generated.) This teaches a scanner (i.e. sensor) to identify checking-in of cargo/loaded. (See para 0167- Next, shipping units are unloaded and scanned (S1164). As shipping units are being unloaded off of the truck, the shipping units are scanned and are marked in the ERP system as unloaded. ) This teaches a scanner (i.e. sensor) to identify checking-out of cargo/unloaded.
and wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to: detect the status of the at least one vehicle based upon the cargo checked-in to and checked-out from the at least one vehicle. (See para 0163- The truck tag is scanned upon load departure (S1148), thereby ending the process 1140 (S1149). The truck status is marked as departed, and trailer departure time is recorded. A trailer departure event may be generated.)(See para 0168- A truck unloaded event may be generated.) This teaches based on the loading of the cargo, a status is determined of the vehicle such as departed. This shows based on the unloading of the cargo, a truck status of unloaded is determined.
Marchildon further teaches update at least one of a capacity status, a performance rating, and a risk level of the at least one vehicle based upon the cargo checked-in to and checked-out from the at least one vehicle. Based on the cargo being checked in and checked out of the vehicle, a vehicle capacity status is updated such as loaded and unloaded. (See para 0162- The truck tag is scanned upon load completion (S1146). Once a truck has been loaded with a complete shipment or has reached capacity, the truck tag is scanned and the truck status is marked as loaded.) (See para 0168- After shipping units are unloaded, shipping units are moved to one or more staging areas (S1166). The shipping units are moved from an unloading dock area to one or more staging areas (e.g., work centers). Shipping unit movement may be verified via a barcode scan. A truck unloaded event may be generated.)
Colijn and Marchildon are analogous art because they are from the same problem-solving area of vehicle carrying out tasks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Colijn’s invention by incorporating the method of Marchildon because Colijn would also have the ability to have a sensor to determine when something is loaded or unloaded in a vehicle and also when a passenger enters or exits a vehicle. This would give the user of Colijn more insight into the vehicle status as the vehicle is carrying out a task. This would also make the vehicle in Colijn more sophisticated since it would have more sensors.
Claim(s) 7, 8, 14, 15, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Colijn (US20190179336A1) in further view of Gottlieb (US20080077464A1) in further view of Kentley (US20170132934A1).
Regarding claim 7 and 14, Colijn and Gottlieb teach the limitations of claim 6 and 13, however they don’t teach
update the optimal route of the first vehicle to include the additional task.
However Kentley teaches update the optimal route of the first vehicle to include the additional task. (See para 0155- A rerouting request system 3616 may handle requests from a user to change various features of current ride request being executed by the AV system 3602 For example, the user may change a destination of the AV system 3602 to a different destination. As another example, the user may request to add additional passengers and reroute the current ride to pick up the one or more additional passengers at additional stops…For example, the battery of the AV system 3602 may need recharging before the new route could be completed. The planner may generate new trajectories and decide whether the new destination or changes to the route may be completed while operating within safe parameters. In one embodiment, teleoperator assistance may be requested by the AV system 3602 to confirm the route changes. In a further embodiment, the route change may affect the demand of other AV systems such that the dispatch module 3654 is notified of the route change. In other embodiments, rerouting requests are reported and recorded by the AV service 3660) This teaches that a route is updated with a rerouting request, this is based on an additional tasks such as picking up additional people.
Colijn and Kentley are analogous art because they are from the same problem-solving area of vehicle carrying out tasks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Colijn’s invention by incorporating the method of Kentley because Colijn would also have the ability to reroute vehicles based on additional tasks. For example, when Colijn determines that a vehicle has to do a rideshare task, it will reroute the vehicle to an optimal route. This will make the system of Colijn more sophisticated since it will be able to handle additional routes and have vehicles handle more complex tasks such as multiple tasks per vehicle.
Regarding claim 8 and 15, Colijn, Gottlieb, and Kentley teach the limitations of claims 7and 14, Kentley further teaches
wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to: update control instructions for the first vehicle to control the first vehicle to travel along the updated optimal route. Kentley already teaches the ability to reroute and this is done with respect to an AV as seen in para 0155. The system also controls these AVs as seen here (See para 0178- FIG. 38 is a network diagram of a system for requesting and controlling an autonomous vehicle system through an autonomous vehicle service, showing a block diagram of an autonomous vehicle management system, according to an embodiment.)
Colijn and Kentley are analogous art because they are from the same problem-solving area of vehicle carrying out tasks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Colijn’s invention by incorporating the method of Kentley because Colijn would also have the ability to reroute vehicles based on additional tasks. For example, when Colijn determines that a vehicle has to do a rideshare task, it will reroute the vehicle to an optimal route. This will make the system of Colijn more sophisticated since it will be able to handle additional routes and have vehicles handle more complex tasks such as multiple task per vehicle.
Regarding claim 20, Colijn and Gottlieb teach the limitations of claim 16, however Colijn further teaches
receive an additional task; and assign the additional task to a first vehicle of the at least one vehicle based upon the updated vehicle definition. Colijn teaches plurality of tasks which correspond to an additional tasks/trips (See para 0075- However, the dispatching system 410 may assign vehicles based on proximity to the passenger's pick-up location in time or distance, availability of vehicles, location of future expected trips for a vehicle relative to the passenger's destination, location of other users requesting trips to the same or nearby destinations (for ridesharing), etc.) This also shows the dispatch system can assign vehicles with respect to additional tasks such as a rideshare event.
However Colijn doesn’t teach updating optimal route and controlling the vehicle on the optimal route, however Kentley teaches
update the optimal route of the first vehicle to include the additional task. (See para 0155- A rerouting request system 3616 may handle requests from a user to change various features of current ride request being executed by the AV system 3602 For example, the user may change a destination of the AV system 3602 to a different destination. As another example, the user may request to add additional passengers and reroute the current ride to pick up the one or more additional passengers at additional stops…For example, the battery of the AV system 3602 may need recharging before the new route could be completed. The planner may generate new trajectories and decide whether the new destination or changes to the route may be completed while operating within safe parameters. In one embodiment, teleoperator assistance may be requested by the AV system 3602 to confirm the route changes. In a further embodiment, the route change may affect the demand of other AV systems such that the dispatch module 3654 is notified of the route change. In other embodiments, rerouting requests are reported and recorded by the AV service 3660) This teaches that a route is updated with a rerouting request, this is based on an additional tasks such as picking up additional people.
update control instructions for the first vehicle to control the first vehicle to travel along the updated optimal route. Kentley already teaches the ability to reroute and this is done with respect to an AV as seen in para 0155. The system also controls these AVs as seen here (See para 0178- FIG. 38 is a network diagram of a system for requesting and controlling an autonomous vehicle system through an autonomous vehicle service, showing a block diagram of an autonomous vehicle management system, according to an embodiment.)
Colijn and Kentley are analogous art because they are from the same problem-solving area of vehicle carrying out tasks. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Colijn’s invention by incorporating the method of Kentley because Colijn would also have the ability to reroute vehicles based on additional tasks. For example, when Colijn determines that a vehicle has to do a rideshare task, it will reroute the vehicle to an optimal route. This will make the system of Colijn more sophisticated since it will be able to handle additional routes and have vehicles handle more complex tasks such as multiple task per vehicle.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure.
Herbach (9368026) Discloses a system having a memory, a plurality of self-driving systems for controlling a vehicle, and one or more processors. The processors are configured to receive at least one fallback task in association with a request for a primary task and at least one trigger of each fallback task.
Wei (20090326991) Discloses a fleet management system that has a chauffeur or driver module and a communication and positioning module associated with each fleet vehicle, and a backend monitoring and control system located at a fleet data center in communication with each vehicle.
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/MUSTAFA IQBAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3625