DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Okano (U.S. Pat. No. 12,304,480).
Regarding claim 1, Okano discloses a deviation suppression control apparatus configured to
execute a deviation suppression control for controlling a lateral travel state of a vehicle to suppress the vehicle from deviating from a travel area when a deviation condition is satisfied, the deviation condition being a condition that is satisfied when the vehicle is predicted to deviate from the travel area (shown in fig. 8) or when the vehicle has deviated (predicted option addressed) from the travel area, wherein, the deviation suppression control apparatus is configured to,
when a suppression condition including a first condition is satisfied, decrease a magnitude of a lateral speed of the vehicle in the deviation suppression control compared to when the suppression condition is not satisfied, the first condition being a condition that is satisfied when there is an object in an opposite area opposite to a deviation side where the vehicle deviates from the travel area (shown in fig. 8 the vehicle decelerating due to an object opposite the side of the deviation).
Regarding claim 2 which depends from claim 1, Okano discloses wherein, the deviation suppression control apparatus is configured to:
end the deviation suppression control when the vehicle reaches a target return position set inside a boundary that defines the travel area (fig. 8 shows a new travel area being defined in the next lane); and
Note: is this “return” meaning a return to a previous travel path? Is this “return” to a lane it was previously in? All positions when driving with a forward speed do not return to a previously traveled position and so must continuously define new positions in the path. This citation is doing that as it gets around the obstacle.
determine that the suppression condition is satisfied when the first condition and a second condition are satisfied, the second condition being a condition that is satisfied in a case where it is predicted that there is the object within a predetermined range of the vehicle when the vehicle reaches the target return position on an assumption that the suppression condition is not satisfied (fig. 8 is shown being aware of the vehicles in the adjacent lane).
Regarding claim 3 which depends from claim 1, Okano discloses wherein, the deviation suppression control apparatus is configured to, when the suppression condition is satisfied, decrease the magnitude of the lateral speed during a time that it takes for the vehicle to reach a target return position set inside a boundary that defines the travel area from a change position, the change position being a position at which a travel direction of the vehicle is changed from a deviation direction in which the vehicle deviates from the travel area to a return direction in which the vehicle returns to the travel area in the deviation suppression control (fig. 8 is shown to have boundaries for braking and for steering avoidance).
Regarding claim 4 which depends from claim 1, Okano discloses wherein, the deviation suppression control apparatus is configured to determine that the suppression condition is satisfied when the first condition is satisfied and a third condition or a fourth condition (third condition option addressed) is satisfied, wherein,
the third condition is satisfied when a subtraction value acquired by subtracting a vehicle width of the vehicle from a width of the travel area is equal to or smaller than a predetermined first threshold value (any object in the lane is treated as one to change into the adjacent travel area),
the fourth condition is satisfied when a ratio of the vehicle width to the width of the travel area is equal to or greater than a predetermined second threshold value.
Regarding claim 5 which depends from claim 1, Okano discloses wherein, the deviation suppression control apparatus is configured to decrease the magnitude of the lateral speed, as an object distance decreases, the object distance being a distance between the object and an opposite boundary on an opposite side of a boundary from which the vehicle deviates of a left boundary and a right boundary that define the travel area (shown in fig. 8).
Regarding claim 6 which depends from claim 1, Okano discloses a deviation suppression control method executed by a computer installed on a vehicle to execute a deviation suppression control for controlling a lateral travel state of the vehicle to suppress the vehicle from deviating from a travel area when a deviation condition is satisfied, the deviation condition being a condition that is satisfied when the vehicle is predicted to deviate from the travel area or when the vehicle has deviated from the travel area, comprising: a first step of determining whether or not a suppression condition including a first condition is satisfied, the first condition being a condition that is satisfied when there is an object in an opposite area opposite to a deviation side where the vehicle deviates from the travel area; and a second step of decreasing a magnitude of a lateral speed of the vehicle in the deviation suppression control compared to when the suppression condition is not satisfied, when the suppression condition is satisfied (The limitations of this claim have been addressed in claim 1 above).
Regarding claim 7 which depends from claim 1, Okano discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer installed on a vehicle to execute a deviation suppression control for controlling a lateral travel state of the vehicle to suppress the vehicle from deviating from a travel area when a deviation condition is satisfied, the deviation condition being a condition that is satisfied when the vehicle is predicted to deviate from the travel area or when the vehicle has deviated from the travel area, the program causing the computer to implement processes of: determining whether or not a suppression condition including a first condition is satisfied, the first condition being a condition that is satisfied when there is an object in an opposite area opposite to a deviation side where the vehicle deviates from the travel area; and decreasing a magnitude of a lateral speed of the vehicle in the deviation suppression control compared to when the suppression condition is not satisfied, when the suppression condition is satisfied (The limitations of this claim have been addressed in claim 1 above).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please review when considering a response to this office action.
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GONZALO LAGUARDA
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3747 email: gonzalo.laguarda@uspto.gov
/GONZALO LAGUARDA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747
/LOGAN M KRAFT/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3747