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 .
This is a Non-Final rejection on the merits of this application. Claims 1-20 are currently pending, as discussed below.
Examiner Notes that the fundamentals of the rejections are based on the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim language. Applicant is kindly invited to consider the reference as a whole. References are to be interpreted as by one of ordinary skill in the art rather than as by a novice. See MPEP 2141. Therefore, the relevant inquiry when interpreting a reference is not what the reference expressly discloses on its face but what the reference would teach or suggest to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. EP23218658.5, filed on 12/20/2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) filed on 12/11/2024 is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding Claim 1 (similarly claims 10 and 19), the recited limitation “store basic-layer map data semi-persistently and to store any refinement-layer map data temporarily” is indefinite because “semi-persistently” and “temporarily” are relative terms without objective boundaries. Although the specification explains that the map client makes “best efforts” to keep the basic layer map data available, may re-download it after restart or memory erasure, and may receive pushed updates from the server (see originally filed spec [0027-0028]), such disclosure describes intended operational behavior rather than providing an objective boundary for what constitutes “semi-persistent” storage. The claim does not specify whether the data must survive a power cycle, persist for a minimum duration, reside in non-volatile memory, or be subject to any mandatory retention condition. Similarly, the limitation “store refinement-layer map data temporarily” does not provide an objective boundary for the duration or condition of storage. While the specification indicates that refinement-layer map data may be deleted or overwritten after it has been used, and that is it to permitted to delete such data after use, the disclosure does not establish a deletion trigger, a defined event marking completion of use or a minimum/maximum retention period. The optional nature of deletion (i.e. permitted to delete) fails to clearly distinguish the claimed temporarily storage from other forms of storage, including caching or semi-persistent storage. Hence, this claim limitation renders the claim to be indefinite.
The term “a neighborhood of the main path” in claim 1 (similarly claims 10 and 19) is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “neighborhood” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Examiner notes that claim 4 further defines “wherein the neighborhood of each path has a size that is inversely related to a local road density of the navigation map”, the limitation fails to define the spatial scope of the claimed neighborhood with reasonable certainty, e.g. the claim does not define how local road density is measured and whether all roads or only certain road classes are considered. Hence, this limitation renders the claim to be indefinite.
The dependent claims that dependent upon independent claims are also rejected under 112 second paragraph by the fact that they are dependent upon the rejected independent claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Regarding claim 19, the claim(s) does not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because claim 19 is directed toward a computer program which is software per se. Therefore, claim 19 is not within at least one of the four statutory categories (see MPEP 2106.03, software expressed as code or a set of instructions detached from any medium is an idea without physical embodiment. See Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp., 550 U.S. 437, 449, 82 USPQ2d 1400, 1407 (2007); see also Benson, 409 U.S. 67, 17S USPQ2d 675 (An "idea" is not patent eligible). Thus, claim 19 does not fall within any statutory category.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-3, 10-11, 15, 17 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stenneth et al. (US 2023/0303111 A1 hereinafter Stenneth) in view of Hansen et al. (US 2010/0324817 A1 hereinafter Hansen).
Regarding Claim 1 (similarly claim 10 and 19), Stenneth teaches A map client for a vehicle (see at least Abstract Fig. 1-2B), the map client comprising:
a geo-positioning module configured to estimate a current position; (see at least Fig. 1-2B [0087-0088]: The vehicle apparatus is configured to determine a current location of the vehicle apparatus and/or receive user input indicating an origin of a route and destination of a route. One or more sensors such as GNSS sensors that enable the vehicle apparatus to determine the location of the vehicle apparatus.)
a wireless interface configured to request and receive map data from a server over a wireless link, wherein the map data is divided into a basic layer and a refinement layer of a navigation map, wherein the basic layer includes road segments of major roads and the refinement layer but not the basic layer includes road segments of minor roads; (see at least Fig. 1-3 [0084-0144]: The vehicle apparatus 20 communication interface 26 for obtaining map fragments corresponding to respective areas along the route. The vehicle apparatus stores (e.g. in a memory 24) a basic map (and/or portions thereof) that is not a high definition map and that includes traversable map elements (TMEs) representing the road segments and/or traversable lanes of at least a portion of a road network and that indicates how the TMEs are connected to one another. The map data of the basic map (corresponds to basic-layer map data) is expected to be valid, accurate, and/or update-to-date for an extended period of time and may provide a high level representation of the topology of the traversable network. The map data of the basic map is not expected to substantially change during the time a vehicle is traversing a route. The vehicle apparatus may obtain a map fragment comprising map data of high definition map for a respective area and, while in the respective area, the vehicle operates based on the map data of the map fragment (corresponds to refinement-layer map data). )
a map-data memory configured to store basic-layer map data semi-persistently and to store any refinement-layer map data temporarily; (see at least [0088, 0156]: the vehicle apparatus 20 stores (e.g., in memory 24 ) a basic map (and/or portions thereof) that is not a high definition map and that includes traversable map elements (TMEs) representing the road segments and/or traversable lanes of at least a portion of a road network and that indicates how the TMEs are connected to one another. However, the basic map is not a high definition map and does not provide a sufficient level of detail for map-based autonomous navigation. In various embodiments, the map data of the basic map is expected to be valid, accurate, and/or up-to-date for an extended period of time (e.g. weeks, months, years). For example, the basic map may provide a high level representation of the topology of the traversable network. For example, the map data of the basic map is not expected to substantially change during the time that a vehicle 5 is traversing a route, whereas the map data of a high definition map may substantially change during the time that a vehicle 5 is a traversing a route. In at least some example embodiments, the memory 24 is non-transitory. The vehicle apparatus 20 may store and/or have access to a basic map and one or more map fragments of a high definition map.)
a path-planning module configured to generate paths according to a planning query using the map data stored in the map-data memory, the generated paths including a main path and one or more alternative paths; (see at least Fig. 1-3 [0086-0144]: The vehicle apparatus is configured to determine a current location of the vehicle apparatus (or an origin of a route) and a destination of a route, generate and provide a route and/or map fragment requests; receives a route and/or one or more map fragments, causes the vehicle to be operated in a sensor-based or map-based navigation based on a location of the vehicle apparatus and/or vehicle. as the vehicle 5 traverses the route 330 , the vehicle apparatus 20 obtains (e.g., requests and receives and/or is provided with (e.g., via a push method and/or the like)) map fragments corresponding to the respective areas 310 . In the illustrated embodiments, the vehicle apparatus 20 obtains a map fragment such that it is expected that the map data of the map fragment will still be valid, accurate, and/or up-to-date while the vehicle apparatus 20 is using the map data of the map fragment to traverse the respective area. For example, when it is determined that the vehicle 5 has reached point 335 A, it may be determined (by the vehicle apparatus 20 or the network apparatus 10 ) that a trigger has been identified that causes the vehicle apparatus 20 to obtain a map fragment corresponding to the area 310 A. For example, the vehicle apparatus 20 may request the map fragment corresponding to area 310 A responsive to determining that the trigger has been identified and then receive the map fragment in response to the request. For example, the network apparatus 10 may provide (e.g., transmit) the map fragment responsive to determining that the trigger has been identified such that the vehicle apparatus 20 receives the map fragment. Similarly, when it is determined that the vehicle 5 has reached point 335 B along route 330 , it may be determined (by the vehicle apparatus 20 or the network apparatus 10 ) that a trigger has been identified and, responsive thereto, the vehicle apparatus 20 obtains a map fragment corresponding to the area 310 B.) and
a path-execution module configured to provide driving instructions for following the main path from the estimated current position, wherein the wireless interface is configured to request refinement-layer map data from the server corresponding to a neighborhood of the main path. (see at least Fig. 1-6 [0086-0144]: As the vehicle 5 traverses the route 330 , the vehicle apparatus 20 obtains (e.g., requests and receives and/or is provided with (e.g., via a push method and/or the like)) map fragments corresponding to the respective areas 310 . In the illustrated embodiments, the vehicle apparatus 20 obtains a map fragment such that it is expected that the map data of the map fragment will still be valid, accurate, and/or up-to-date while the vehicle apparatus 20 is using the map data of the map fragment to traverse the respective area. For example, when it is determined that the vehicle 5 has reached point 335 A, it may be determined (by the vehicle apparatus 20 or the network apparatus 10 ) that a trigger has been identified that causes the vehicle apparatus 20 to obtain a map fragment corresponding to the area 310 A. For example, the vehicle apparatus 20 may request the map fragment corresponding to area 310 A responsive to determining that the trigger has been identified and then receive the map fragment in response to the request. For example, the network apparatus 10 may provide (e.g., transmit) the map fragment responsive to determining that the trigger has been identified such that the vehicle apparatus 20 receives the map fragment. Similarly, when it is determined that the vehicle 5 has reached point 335 B along route 330 , it may be determined (by the vehicle apparatus 20 or the network apparatus 10 ) that a trigger has been identified and, responsive thereto, the vehicle apparatus 20 obtains a map fragment corresponding to the area 310 B. In various embodiments, each of the determined one or more areas is associated with a trigger. In an example embodiment, the trigger for a respective area corresponds to the vehicle 5 being within a particular distance of the respective area and/or the vehicle 5 being expected to be located within the respective area within a particular period of time (e.g., based on the distance along the route until the vehicle 5 reaches the respective area and the vehicle's 5 current and/or expected speed while traversing that distance). )
it may be alleged that Stenneth does not explicitly teach a path-planning module configured to generate paths according to a planning query using the map data stored in the map-data memory, the generated paths including a main path and one or more alternative paths;
Hansen is directed to vehicle navigation system that pre-calculates alternate routes between the approaching the approaching driver decision and the destination locations, Hansen teaches a path-planning module configured to generate paths according to a planning query using the map data stored in the map-data memory, the generated paths including a main path and one or more alternative paths; (see at least Fig. 2-4 [0027-0054]: Fig. 2 illustrates a proposed driving route 200 (corresponds to main path) and alternate route segments (corresponds to one or more alternative paths) that leads to a destination location 202 using map data locally stored, cached, downloaded, or accessible.. The process begin by obtaining a starting location and a destination location for the vehicle utilized to determine one or more potential route sections to be recommended for travel to destination. The proposed route can be saved for use as the default route and pre-calculates at least one alternate route to the destination location before the vehicle reaches an approaching driver decision point. In certain embodiments, an alternate route for the next approaching driver decision point is pre-calculated when the vehicle is near, has passed, or has satisfied the driving maneuver for, the last driver decision point.)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Stenneth’s autonomous vehicle navigation system using non-connected/non-contiguous map fragments with the technique of generating a main path and one or more alternative paths according to a planning query using the map data stored in the map-data memory as taught by Hansen with reasonable expectation of success to provide a system that shows the primary route and one or more alternative routes, along with acceptable paths of travel at each driver decision points, to give options to the driver rather than providing only one proposed route. (Hansen [0019]).
Regarding Claim 2 (similarly claim 11), The combination of Stenneth in view of Hansen teaches The map client of claim 1 (similarly claim 10),
it may be alleged that Stenneth does not explicitly teach wherein the path-planning module is configured to generate, during execution of the main path, one or more additional alternative paths according to the planning query from the estimated current position using the map data stored in the map-data memory.
Hansen is directed to vehicle navigation system that pre-calculates alternate routes between the approaching the approaching driver decision and the destination locations, Hansen teaches wherein the path-planning module is configured to generate, during execution of the main path, one or more additional alternative paths according to the planning query from the estimated current position using the map data stored in the map-data memory. (see at least Fig. 2-4 [0027-0054]: Fig. 2 illustrates a proposed driving route 200 (corresponds to main path) and alternate route segments (corresponds to one or more alternative paths) that leads to a destination location 202 using map data locally stored, cached, downloaded, or accessible.. The process begin by obtaining a starting location and a destination location for the vehicle utilized to determine one or more potential route sections to be recommended for travel to destination. The proposed route can be saved for use as the default route and pre-calculates at least one alternate route to the destination location before the vehicle reaches an approaching driver decision point. In certain embodiments, an alternate route for the next approaching driver decision point is pre-calculated when the vehicle is near, has passed, or has satisfied the driving maneuver for, the last driver decision point. After pre-calculating one or more alternate routes, the multi-route navigation process 300 can save the alternate route(s) for subsequent activation (task 308 ). Thus, alternate routes can be stored for quick and virtually immediate activation if necessary. Such pre-calculation and saving of alternate routes enhances the user experience of the navigation system, and reduces or eliminates delay that is normally associated with on-the-fly dynamic route recalculation.)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Stenneth’s autonomous vehicle navigation system using non-connected/non-contiguous map fragments with the technique of generating, during execution of the main path, one or more additional alternative paths according to the planning query from the estimated current position using the map data stored in the map-data memory as taught by Hansen with reasonable expectation of success to provide a system that shows the primary route and one or more alternative routes, along with acceptable paths of travel at each driver decision points, to give options to the driver rather than providing only one proposed route. (Hansen [0019]).
Regarding Claim 3 (similarly claim 15), The combination of Stenneth in view of Hansen teaches The map client of claim 1 (similarly claim 10),
Stenneth further teaches wherein the wireless interface is configured to request refinement-layer map data from the server corresponding to a neighborhood of the one or more alternative paths. (see at least Fig. 1-6 [0086-0144]: As the vehicle 5 traverses the route 330 , the vehicle apparatus 20 obtains (e.g., requests and receives and/or is provided with (e.g., via a push method and/or the like)) map fragments corresponding to the respective areas 310 . In the illustrated embodiments, the vehicle apparatus 20 obtains a map fragment such that it is expected that the map data of the map fragment will still be valid, accurate, and/or up-to-date while the vehicle apparatus 20 is using the map data of the map fragment to traverse the respective area. For example, when it is determined that the vehicle 5 has reached point 335 A, it may be determined (by the vehicle apparatus 20 or the network apparatus 10 ) that a trigger has been identified that causes the vehicle apparatus 20 to obtain a map fragment corresponding to the area 310 A. For example, the vehicle apparatus 20 may request the map fragment corresponding to area 310 A responsive to determining that the trigger has been identified and then receive the map fragment in response to the request. For example, the network apparatus 10 may provide (e.g., transmit) the map fragment responsive to determining that the trigger has been identified such that the vehicle apparatus 20 receives the map fragment. Similarly, when it is determined that the vehicle 5 has reached point 335 B along route 330 , it may be determined (by the vehicle apparatus 20 or the network apparatus 10 ) that a trigger has been identified and, responsive thereto, the vehicle apparatus 20 obtains a map fragment corresponding to the area 310 B. In various embodiments, each of the determined one or more areas is associated with a trigger. In an example embodiment, the trigger for a respective area corresponds to the vehicle 5 being within a particular distance of the respective area and/or the vehicle 5 being expected to be located within the respective area within a particular period of time (e.g., based on the distance along the route until the vehicle 5 reaches the respective area and the vehicle's 5 current and/or expected speed while traversing that distance). )
Examiner notes that Stenneth teaches requesting map fragments (HD map) for a specific location based on vehicle position and Prior art Hansen teaches generating alternate paths in advance of a decision point using map data. it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Stenneth to request HD map data for locations along one or more alternative paths generated as taught by Hansen with reasonable expectation of success because combining these teachings in a routine manner would result in the vehicle requesting HD map data for areas corresponding to any of the planned alternate paths, as such a modification involves no more than applying known map-request techniques to locations along paths already generated to ensure vehicle has map information ready for all paths it might take.
Regarding Claim 17, The combination of Stenneth in view of Hansen teaches The map client of claim 10, further comprising
Stenneth further teaches updating the neighborhood in accordance with the current position and requesting, if necessary, additional refinement-layer map data from the server corresponding to the updated neighborhood. (see at least Fig. 1-6 [0086-0144]: As the vehicle 5 traverses the route 330 , the vehicle apparatus 20 obtains (e.g., requests and receives and/or is provided with (e.g., via a push method and/or the like)) map fragments corresponding to the respective areas 310 . In the illustrated embodiments, the vehicle apparatus 20 obtains a map fragment such that it is expected that the map data of the map fragment will still be valid, accurate, and/or up-to-date while the vehicle apparatus 20 is using the map data of the map fragment to traverse the respective area. For example, when it is determined that the vehicle 5 has reached point 335 A, it may be determined (by the vehicle apparatus 20 or the network apparatus 10 ) that a trigger has been identified that causes the vehicle apparatus 20 to obtain a map fragment corresponding to the area 310 A. For example, the vehicle apparatus 20 may request the map fragment corresponding to area 310 A responsive to determining that the trigger has been identified and then receive the map fragment in response to the request. For example, the network apparatus 10 may provide (e.g., transmit) the map fragment responsive to determining that the trigger has been identified such that the vehicle apparatus 20 receives the map fragment. Similarly, when it is determined that the vehicle 5 has reached point 335 B along route 330 , it may be determined (by the vehicle apparatus 20 or the network apparatus 10 ) that a trigger has been identified and, responsive thereto, the vehicle apparatus 20 obtains a map fragment corresponding to the area 310 B. In various embodiments, each of the determined one or more areas is associated with a trigger. In an example embodiment, the trigger for a respective area corresponds to the vehicle 5 being within a particular distance of the respective area and/or the vehicle 5 being expected to be located within the respective area within a particular period of time (e.g., based on the distance along the route until the vehicle 5 reaches the respective area and the vehicle's 5 current and/or expected speed while traversing that distance). )
Regarding Claim 20, The combination of Stenneth in view of Hansen teaches the map client of claim 1,
Stenneth further teaches A vehicle comprising the map client of claim 1. (see at least Fig. 1-2B)
Claim(s) 4-7 and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stenneth in view of Hansen and Schuerman et al. (US 2024/0011782 A1 hereinafter Schuerman).
Regarding Claim 4 (similarly claim 12), The combination of Stenneth in view of Hansen teaches The map client of claim 1 (similarly claim 10),
It may be alleged that the combination of Stenneth in view of Hansen does not explicitly teach wherein the neighborhood of each path has a size that is inversely related to a local road density of the navigation map.
Schuerman is directed to system and method for providing data for vehicle automated driving system, Schuerman teaches wherein the neighborhood of each path has a size that is inversely related to a local road density of the navigation map. (see at least [0044]: the map tile 191 corresponds to a geographic area (e.g. a portion of a geographic region or a portion of a road network). The data compiler system 120 may use its tile generator 128 to generate multiple map tiles 191 for respective different geographic areas. The dimensions of the geographic area for a first map tile 191 may be different from the dimensions of the geographic area for second map tile 191—for example, map tiles for urban areas generally have smaller dimensions than map tiles for rural areas (as urban areas generally have a greater density of road segments than rural areas).)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Stenneth and Hansen to incorporate the technique of adapting map geographical region size based on density metrics as taught by Schuerman with reasonable expectation of success to improve vehicle navigation performance ensuring that vehicle requesting map data will get appropriately sized neighborhoods for their path, making processing and path planning more efficient and by varying tile size inversely with road density, the system ensures each tile contain a manageable amount of map data.
Regarding Claim 5 (similarly claim 13), The combination of Stenneth in view of Hansen and Schuerman teaches The map client of claim 4 (similarly claim 12),
the combination of Stenneth in view of Hansen does not explicitly teach wherein the local road density corresponds to a total length of the road segments per unit area of the navigation map.
Schuerman is directed to system and method for providing data for vehicle automated driving system, Schuerman teaches wherein the local road density corresponds to a total length of the road segments per unit area of the navigation map. (see at least [0044]: the map tile 191 corresponds to a geographic area (e.g. a portion of a geographic region or a portion of a road network). The data compiler system 120 may use its tile generator 128 to generate multiple map tiles 191 for respective different geographic areas. The dimensions of the geographic area for a first map tile 191 may be different from the dimensions of the geographic area for second map tile 191—for example, map tiles for urban areas generally have smaller dimensions than map tiles for rural areas (as urban areas generally have a greater density of road segments than rural areas).)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Stenneth and Hansen to incorporate the technique of adapting map geographical region size based on density metrics as taught by Schuerman with reasonable expectation of success to improve vehicle navigation performance ensuring that vehicle requesting map data will get appropriately sized neighborhoods for their path, making processing and path planning more efficient and by varying tile size inversely with road density, the system ensures each tile contain a manageable amount of map data.
Regarding Claim 6 (similarly claim 13), The combination of Stenneth in view of Hansen and Schuerman teaches The map client of claim 4 (similarly claim 12),
It may be alleged that the combination of Stenneth in view of Hansen does not explicitly teach wherein the local road density corresponds to a vertex connectivity of an imaginary graph whose edges are the road segments of the navigation map.
Schuerman is directed to system and method for providing data for vehicle automated driving system, Schuerman teaches wherein the local road density corresponds to a vertex connectivity of an imaginary graph whose edges are the road segments of the navigation map. (see at least [0044]: the map tile 191 corresponds to a geographic area (e.g. a portion of a geographic region or a portion of a road network). The data compiler system 120 may use its tile generator 128 to generate multiple map tiles 191 for respective different geographic areas. The dimensions of the geographic area for a first map tile 191 may be different from the dimensions of the geographic area for second map tile 191—for example, map tiles for urban areas generally have smaller dimensions than map tiles for rural areas (as urban areas generally have a greater density of road segments than rural areas). The tile generator 128 may obtain: from the SD map database 114a, SD map data relating to nodes and arcs for connections and road segments located in the geographic area for the map tile 191; and/or, from the ADAS map database 114b, ADAS data relating to nodes and arcs for connections and road segments located in the geographic area for the map tile 191; and/or, from the HD map database 114c, HD map data relating to nodes and arcs for connections and road areas located in the geographic area for the map tile 191. The map tile 191 may comprises a graph representation of the road network within the corresponding geographic area, with the graph having nodes and arcs in a similar manner to those described above for the SD and HD maps. That is, the map tile comprises a graph representation of the road network with nodes and arcs corresponding to intersections and road segments and because the map tile characteristics varies based on the density of road segments within a graphic area, it would be obvious to quantify such density using vertex connectivity.)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Stenneth and Hansen to incorporate the technique of adapting map geographical region size based on density metrics and representing road networks with nodes and arcs as taught by Schuerman with reasonable expectation of success to improve vehicle navigation performance ensuring that vehicle requesting map data will get appropriately sized neighborhoods for their path, making processing and path planning more efficient and by varying tile size inversely with road density, the system ensures each tile contain a manageable amount of map data.
Regarding Claim 7 (similarly claim 13), The combination of Stenneth in view of Hansen and Schuerman teaches The map client of claim 4 (similarly claim 12),
It may be alleged that the combination of Stenneth in view of Hansen does not explicitly teach wherein the local road density corresponds to a data volume per unit area of the navigation map.
Schuerman is directed to system and method for providing data for vehicle automated driving system, Schuerman teaches wherein the local road density corresponds to a data volume per unit area of the navigation map. (see at least [0044]: the map tile 191 corresponds to a geographic area (e.g. a portion of a geographic region or a portion of a road network). The data compiler system 120 may use its tile generator 128 to generate multiple map tiles 191 for respective different geographic areas. The dimensions of the geographic area for a first map tile 191 may be different from the dimensions of the geographic area for second map tile 191—for example, map tiles for urban areas generally have smaller dimensions than map tiles for rural areas (as urban areas generally have a greater density of road segments than rural areas). The map tile 191 is a quantity of map data formed based on map data 190 obtained from the map repository 112 for a corresponding geographic area. That is, when the system varies tile geographic dimensions based on road segment density, it is necessarily responding to data volume density.)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Stenneth and Hansen to incorporate the technique of adapting map geographical region size based on density metrics as taught by Schuerman with reasonable expectation of success to improve vehicle navigation performance ensuring that vehicle requesting map data will get appropriately sized neighborhoods for their path, making processing and path planning more efficient and by varying tile size inversely with road density, the system ensures each tile contain a manageable amount of map data.
Claim(s) 8, 14 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stenneth in view of Hansen and Disatnik et al. (US 2011/0098915 A1 hereinafter Disatnik).
Regarding Claim 8 (similarly claims 14 & 16), The combination of Stenneth in view of Hansen teaches The map client of claim 1 (similarly claim 10), wherein:
Stenneth further teaches the wireless interface is configured to update the neighborhood in accordance with the current position and to request, if necessary, additional refinement-layer map data from the server corresponding to the updated neighborhood. (see at least Fig. 1-6 [0086-0144]: As the vehicle 5 traverses the route 330 , the vehicle apparatus 20 obtains (e.g., requests and receives and/or is provided with (e.g., via a push method and/or the like)) map fragments corresponding to the respective areas 310 . In the illustrated embodiments, the vehicle apparatus 20 obtains a map fragment such that it is expected that the map data of the map fragment will still be valid, accurate, and/or up-to-date while the vehicle apparatus 20 is using the map data of the map fragment to traverse the respective area. For example, when it is determined that the vehicle 5 has reached point 335 A, it may be determined (by the vehicle apparatus 20 or the network apparatus 10 ) that a trigger has been identified that causes the vehicle apparatus 20 to obtain a map fragment corresponding to the area 310 A. For example, the vehicle apparatus 20 may request the map fragment corresponding to area 310 A responsive to determining that the trigger has been identified and then receive the map fragment in response to the request. For example, the network apparatus 10 may provide (e.g., transmit) the map fragment responsive to determining that the trigger has been identified such that the vehicle apparatus 20 receives the map fragment. Similarly, when it is determined that the vehicle 5 has reached point 335 B along route 330 , it may be determined (by the vehicle apparatus 20 or the network apparatus 10 ) that a trigger has been identified and, responsive thereto, the vehicle apparatus 20 obtains a map fragment corresponding to the area 310 B. In various embodiments, each of the determined one or more areas is associated with a trigger. In an example embodiment, the trigger for a respective area corresponds to the vehicle 5 being within a particular distance of the respective area and/or the vehicle 5 being expected to be located within the respective area within a particular period of time (e.g., based on the distance along the route until the vehicle 5 reaches the respective area and the vehicle's 5 current and/or expected speed while traversing that distance). )
It may be alleged the combination of Stenneth and Hansen does not explicitly teach the path-execution module is further configured to assess whether one of the alternative paths is more suitable for driving from the current position than the main path and, if this is true, it shall adopt this alternative path as new main path; and
Disatnik is directed to dynamic route guidance, Disatnik teaches the path-execution module is further configured to assess whether one of the alternative paths is more suitable for driving from the current position than the main path and, if this is true, it shall adopt this alternative path as new main path; (see at least [0041-0044]: while a vehicle travels along the route, changes in traffic conditions or diversions from the expected driving speed may make the optimal route (namely, the route from the current location along the original navigation route to the destination point) different from the originally-planned route that was recommended by the navigation system. When triggered, the system re-calculates the optimal route from the device's current location to the original destination point. If that route is different from the remaining part of the original route, then the newly-calculated optimal route is used as the active route starting at that time point.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Stenneth and Hansen to incorporate the technique of assessing whether one of the alternative paths is more suitable for driving from the current position than the main path and, if this is true, it shall adopt this alternative path as new main path as taught by Disatnik with reasonable expectation of success because periodically reevaluating route optimality using current position and updated map data improves travel time estimation, safety and overall navigation efficiency.
Claim(s) 9 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stenneth in view of Hansen and Yoshikawa et al. (US 2005/0187702 A1 hereinafter Yoshikawa).
Regarding Claim 9 (similarly claim 18), The combination of Stenneth in view of Hansen teaches The map client of claim 1 (similarly claim 10),
It may be alleged that the combination of Stenneth in view of Hansen does not explicitly teach wherein the minor roads are characterized by at least one of: having a relatively lower traffic throughput capacity, having a relatively lower historic usage, being administered by a lower-ranking road authority.
Yoshikawa is directed to method and apparatus for route searching, Yoshikawa teaches wherein the minor roads are characterized by at least one of: having a relatively lower traffic throughput capacity, having a relatively lower historic usage, being administered by a lower-ranking road authority. (see at least Fig. 6 [0028]: in FIG. 6, the map data may be described in a hierarchical form consisting of at least an upper layer H and a lower layer L. In the upper layer H, a main road network including a single block of upper-layer wide-area map data may be described. The upper-layer wide-area map data may include, for example, expressways and national roads over an entire country. In the lower layer L, a detailed road network including a plurality of blocks of lower-layer local-area map data corresponding to particular regions may be described. The lower-layer local-area map data may include, for example, prefectural roads, city roads and other roads in addition to the expressways and national roads. As described above, the map data may be described in the hierarchical form such that each block of data in the lower layer represents, for example, the details of a small region, and the block data in the upper layer provides, for example, rough information of a wider region. According to the example shown in FIG. 6 (i.e., having two layers), the upper layer H includes all of the regions in the lower layer L.)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Stenneth and Hansen to incorporate the technique of describing map data in a hierarchical form consisting an upper lay including expressways and national roads over an entire country and a lower layer with detailed road network including local area map data as taught by Yoshikawa with reasonable expectation of success for fast route computation that allows efficient reassessment of route optimality.
Conclusion
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/DANA F ARTIMEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 3667
/FARIS S ALMATRAHI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3667