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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
With regards to the rejection of claim(s) 3;
It should be noted that the Applicant has taken a narrow interpretation of the claimed limitations as presently presented. Munishwar is merely being relied upon for teaching a consideration for [0052] “ a score may be assigned by the device to the potential wireless access points, based, for example, on their current loads, radio frequency (RF) signal strength or reliability, or supported communication protocols”. As such, Munishwar discloses a communication protocol scoring system based on signal strength, load, and/or firmware (i.e. protocol).
With regards to the rejection of claim(s) 7;
It should be noted that Courtright is merely being relied upon for a consideration for “adding up the respective scores” as a means for processing/organizing information related to a scoring system.
Accordingly, Applicant's arguments filed 07/06/2026 have been fully considered but are found to be unpersuasive at this time.
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 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, 5-6, and 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang US-20190051159-A1 in view of Kim US-20220140923-A1.
1. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
A method of a first vehicle for driving negotiation, comprising:
broadcasting a **** selection message [0025] for driving negotiation;
(Wang [0025] In any of the disclosed embodiments, each of the autonomous vehicles may further include a respective wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication system. Initiating formation of the coordination group may include changing a coordination group status for the given autonomous vehicle from free to busy, transmitting, to the front autonomous vehicle using the wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication system of the given autonomous vehicle, a coordination request, and receiving, from the front autonomous vehicle using the wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication system of the given autonomous vehicle, a coordination confirmation.)
(Wang [0061-62] autonomous vehicles are in communication range of each other, the autonomous vehicle broadcasting a vehicle information message including at least its vehicle identifier and current driving status, as in 404… the autonomous vehicle receives one or more broadcast messages from other autonomous vehicles, the method may continue to 408. Otherwise, the method may proceed to 410. At 408, the method may include, for each such message it receives, identifying the vehicle type and updating a vehicle information store with vehicle information received from autonomous vehicles within a predetermined range… while any number of other autonomous vehicles broadcasting their vehicle information may be in communication range of the autonomous vehicle)
(Wang [0070] the current driving status including the driving condition and coordination group status, for itself and for any autonomous vehicles from which it has obtained these additional vehicle information elements. For example, in some embodiments each autonomous vehicle may broadcast its current driving status along with any or all of the other vehicle information elements described herein at each time step.)
Kim US-20220140923-A1 discloses in a similar invention field of endeavor, a consideration for a “… relay node”;
(Kim [0101] a method for operating a first electronic device comprising a communication circuitry, the method may comprise: receiving, from a second electronic device operating as a relay node, a signal for indicating to transmit a test signal via a device-to-device (D2D) communication path between the first electronic device and a third electronic device to the third electronic device)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include a relay node with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Kim, for the benefit of extending communication range and providing intermediate signal locations for monitoring and transmitting information.
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receiving a status information message from at least one first surrounding vehicle or at least one road side unit that receives the relay node selection message [0061-62];
(Wang [0061-62] autonomous vehicles are in communication range of each other, the autonomous vehicle broadcasting a vehicle information message including at least its vehicle identifier and current driving status, as in 404… the autonomous vehicle receives one or more broadcast messages from other autonomous vehicles,)
(Wang [0067; FIG.7] to describe a current driving status G for an autonomous vehicle i, where the value of Ni indicates the current driving condition for autonomous vehicle i, and the value Si indicates whether or not autonomous vehicle i is currently being controlled through a coordination group. In at least some embodiments, Si may be set to the value ‘free’ when autonomous vehicle i is not being controlled through a coordination group and is free to join a coordination group, and Si may be set to the value ‘busy’ when autonomous vehicle i is currently engaged in a coordination group.)
(Wang [0070] the current driving status including the driving condition and coordination group status, for itself and for any autonomous vehicles from which it has obtained these additional vehicle information elements. For example, in some embodiments each autonomous vehicle may broadcast its current driving status along with any or all of the other vehicle information elements described herein at each time step.)
selecting a **** for driving negotiation from the at least one first surrounding vehicle or the at least one road side unit based on the status information message [0085];
(Wang [0067; FIG.7] to describe a current driving status G for an autonomous vehicle i, where the value of Ni indicates the current driving condition for autonomous vehicle i, and the value Si indicates whether or not autonomous vehicle i is currently being controlled through a coordination group. In at least some embodiments, Si may be set to the value ‘free’ when autonomous vehicle i is not being controlled through a coordination group and is free to join a coordination group, and Si may be set to the value ‘busy’ when autonomous vehicle i is currently engaged in a coordination group.)
(Wang [0085] Forming the coordination group may include the current vehicle sending a coordination group request to the front autonomous vehicle. If the front autonomous vehicle does not belong to any other coordination groups (is ‘free’), it may reply with a confirmation message to the current vehicle indicating that it is joining the coordination group.)
Kim US-20220140923-A1 discloses in a similar invention field of endeavor, a consideration for a “… relay node”;
(Kim [0035] As another example, the first electronic device 110 may identify the second electronic device 120 by searching for an electronic device having identification information corresponding to identification information (or account information) of the third electronic device 130.)
(Kim [0101] a method for operating a first electronic device comprising a communication circuitry, the method may comprise: receiving, from a second electronic device operating as a relay node, a signal for indicating to transmit a test signal via a device-to-device (D2D) communication path between the first electronic device and a third electronic device to the third electronic device)
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include a relay node with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Kim, for the benefit of extending communication range and providing intermediate signal locations for monitoring and transmitting information.
transmitting a cooperative request message [0098] to the ****, thus causing the **** to generate a cooperative *** message including additional information necessary for negotiation in the cooperative request message [0070] and to broadcast the cooperative **** message to at least one second surrounding vehicle [0098], wherein the cooperative request message includes negotiation request data (i.e. coordination request/assistance request) and message identification information identifying a driving negotiation session [0067, 0070] (i.e. driving status/condition);
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles in order to form coordination group 560 include coordination request 802 (from current vehicle 584 to front vehicle 586), coordination confirmation 804 (from front vehicle 586 to current vehicle 584), assistance request 806 (from front vehicle 586 to assistant vehicle 572), and assistance confirmation 808 (from assistant vehicle 572 to front vehicle 586).)
(Wang [0025] In any of the disclosed embodiments, each of the autonomous vehicles may further include a respective wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication system. Initiating formation of the coordination group may include changing a coordination group status for the given autonomous vehicle from free to busy, transmitting, to the front autonomous vehicle using the wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication system of the given autonomous vehicle, a coordination request, and receiving, from the front autonomous vehicle using the wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication system of the given autonomous vehicle, a coordination confirmation.)
(Wang [0070] the current driving status including the driving condition and coordination group status, for itself and for any autonomous vehicles from which it has obtained these additional vehicle information elements. For example, in some embodiments each autonomous vehicle may broadcast its current driving status along with any or all of the other vehicle information elements described herein at each time step.)
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles in order to form coordination group 560 include coordination request 802 (from current vehicle 584 to front vehicle 586), coordination confirmation 804 (from front vehicle 586 to current vehicle 584), assistance request 806 (from front vehicle 586 to assistant vehicle 572), and assistance confirmation 808 (from assistant vehicle 572 to front vehicle 586).)
(Wang [0067; FIG.7] to describe a current driving status G for an autonomous vehicle i, where the value of Ni indicates the current driving condition for autonomous vehicle i, and the value Si indicates whether or not autonomous vehicle i is currently being controlled through a coordination group. In at least some embodiments, Si may be set to the value ‘free’ when autonomous vehicle i is not being controlled through a coordination group and is free to join a coordination group, and Si may be set to the value ‘busy’ when autonomous vehicle i is currently engaged in a coordination group.)
Kim US-20220140923-A1 discloses in a similar invention field of endeavor, a consideration for a “… relay node, …relay message”;
(Kim [0035] As another example, the first electronic device 110 may identify the second electronic device 120 by searching for an electronic device having identification information corresponding to identification information (or account information) of the third electronic device 130.)
(Kim [0101] a method for operating a first electronic device comprising a communication circuitry, the method may comprise: receiving, from a second electronic device operating as a relay node, a signal for indicating to transmit a test signal via a device-to-device (D2D) communication path between the first electronic device and a third electronic device to the third electronic device)
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include a relay node with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Kim, for the benefit of extending communication range and providing intermediate signal locations for monitoring and transmitting information.
receiving a cooperative response message of at least one second surrounding vehicle from the relay node [0088], wherein the cooperative response message is transmitted from the at least one second surrounding vehicle to the **** in response to the cooperative relay message [0098] (i.e. request/confirmation), and the cooperative response message includes the message **** information and negotiation response data including a response value indicating agree or reject [0085] (i.e. confirmation), and wherein the cooperative response message is received from the **** only after the cooperative response message is confirmed (i.e. confirmation after request) ****, based on the message **** information included in the cooperative response message to correspond to the cooperative request message; and
(Wang [0085] current vehicle sending a coordination group request to the front autonomous vehicle. If the front autonomous vehicle does not belong to any other coordination groups (is ‘free’), it may reply with a confirmation message to the current vehicle indicating that it is joining the coordination group. The front autonomous vehicle may ignore the coordination group request if it currently belongs to another coordination group (is ‘busy’). )
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles in order to form coordination group 560 include coordination request 802 (from current vehicle 584 to front vehicle 586), coordination confirmation 804 (from front vehicle 586 to current vehicle 584), assistance request 806 (from front vehicle 586 to assistant vehicle 572), and assistance confirmation 808 (from assistant vehicle 572 to front vehicle 586).)
(Wang [0025] In any of the disclosed embodiments, each of the autonomous vehicles may further include a respective wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication system. Initiating formation of the coordination group may include changing a coordination group status for the given autonomous vehicle from free to busy, transmitting, to the front autonomous vehicle using the wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication system of the given autonomous vehicle, a coordination request, and receiving, from the front autonomous vehicle using the wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication system of the given autonomous vehicle, a coordination confirmation.)
(Wang [0070] the current driving status including the driving condition and coordination group status, for itself and for any autonomous vehicles from which it has obtained these additional vehicle information elements. For example, in some embodiments each autonomous vehicle may broadcast its current driving status along with any or all of the other vehicle information elements described herein at each time step.)
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles in order to form coordination group 560 include coordination request 802 (from current vehicle 584 to front vehicle 586), coordination confirmation 804 (from front vehicle 586 to current vehicle 584), assistance request 806 (from front vehicle 586 to assistant vehicle 572), and assistance confirmation 808 (from assistant vehicle 572 to front vehicle 586).)
(Wang [0067; FIG.7] to describe a current driving status G for an autonomous vehicle i, where the value of Ni indicates the current driving condition for autonomous vehicle i, and the value Si indicates whether or not autonomous vehicle i is currently being controlled through a coordination group. In at least some embodiments, Si may be set to the value ‘free’ when autonomous vehicle i is not being controlled through a coordination group and is free to join a coordination group, and Si may be set to the value ‘busy’ when autonomous vehicle i is currently engaged in a coordination group.)
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles …)
(Wang [0088] the method includes the front autonomous vehicle confirming membership in the coordination group, which may include sending a coordination confirmation to the given autonomous vehicle.)
Kim US-20220140923-A1 discloses in a similar invention field of endeavor, a consideration for a “… relay node, …relay message”;
(Kim [0035] As another example, the first electronic device 110 may identify the second electronic device 120 by searching for an electronic device having identification information corresponding to identification information (or account information) of the third electronic device 130.)
(Kim [0101] a method for operating a first electronic device comprising a communication circuitry, the method may comprise: receiving, from a second electronic device operating as a relay node, a signal for indicating to transmit a test signal via a device-to-device (D2D) communication path between the first electronic device and a third electronic device to the third electronic device)
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include a relay node with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Kim, for the benefit of extending communication range and providing intermediate signal locations for monitoring and transmitting information.
Kim US-20220140923-A1 discloses in a similar invention field of endeavor, a consideration for a “… identification information”;
(Kim [0035] As another example, the first electronic device 110 may identify the second electronic device 120 by searching for an electronic device having identification information corresponding to identification information (or account information) of the third electronic device 130.)
(Kim [0101] a method for operating a first electronic device comprising a communication circuitry, the method may comprise: receiving, from a second electronic device operating as a relay node, a signal for indicating to transmit a test signal via a device-to-device (D2D) communication path between the first electronic device and a third electronic device to the third electronic device)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include identification information with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Kim, for the benefit of extending labeling and accounting for individual systems or components of a larger operation in relation to one another.
determining whether a cooperative driving is possible based on the cooperative response message (e.g. currently engaged in a coordination group or not).
(Wang [0067; FIG.7] to describe a current driving status G for an autonomous vehicle i, where the value of Ni indicates the current driving condition for autonomous vehicle i, and the value Si indicates whether or not autonomous vehicle i is currently being controlled through a coordination group. In at least some embodiments, Si may be set to the value ‘free’ when autonomous vehicle i is not being controlled through a coordination group and is free to join a coordination group, and Si may be set to the value ‘busy’ when autonomous vehicle i is currently engaged in a coordination group.)
2. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
The method of claim 1, wherein the status information message comprises status information of signal strength, whether firmware is tempered with, broken-down or not, or communication load (e.g. currently engaged in a coordination group or not).
(Wang [0067; FIG.7] to describe a current driving status G for an autonomous vehicle i, where the value of Ni indicates the current driving condition for autonomous vehicle i, and the value Si indicates whether or not autonomous vehicle i is currently being controlled through a coordination group. In at least some embodiments, Si may be set to the value ‘free’ when autonomous vehicle i is not being controlled through a coordination group and is free to join a coordination group, and Si may be set to the value ‘busy’ when autonomous vehicle i is currently engaged in a coordination group.)
(Wang [0070] the current driving status including the driving condition and coordination group status, for itself and for any autonomous vehicles from which it has obtained these additional vehicle information elements. For example, in some embodiments each autonomous vehicle may broadcast its current driving status along with any or all of the other vehicle information elements described herein at each time step.)
5. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
The method of claim 1,
wherein the cooperative response message further includes a timestamp or a driving status information (e.g. busy or free).
(Wang [0067; FIG.7] to describe a current driving status G for an autonomous vehicle i, where the value of Ni indicates the current driving condition for autonomous vehicle i, and the value Si indicates whether or not autonomous vehicle i is currently being controlled through a coordination group. In at least some embodiments, Si may be set to the value ‘free’ when autonomous vehicle i is not being controlled through a coordination group and is free to join a coordination group, and Si may be set to the value ‘busy’ when autonomous vehicle i is currently engaged in a coordination group.)
(Wang [0070] the current driving status including the driving condition and coordination group status, for itself and for any autonomous vehicles from which it has obtained these additional vehicle information elements. For example, in some embodiments each autonomous vehicle may broadcast its current driving status along with any or all of the other vehicle information elements described herein at each time step.)
6. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
The method of claim 5, wherein in the receiving of the cooperative response message and the transmitting of the cooperative response message to the first vehicle, when a plurality of cooperative response messages are received [0070], the relay node sets priorities [0067] for the plurality of cooperative response messages based on the driving status information (e.g. currently engaged in a coordination group or not), and the relay node transmits a corresponding cooperative response message [0025] to the first vehicle according to the priorities (e.g. coordination confirmation).
(Wang [0025] In any of the disclosed embodiments, each of the autonomous vehicles may further include a respective wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication system. Initiating formation of the coordination group may include changing a coordination group status for the given autonomous vehicle from free to busy, transmitting, to the front autonomous vehicle using the wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication system of the given autonomous vehicle, a coordination request, and receiving, from the front autonomous vehicle using the wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication system of the given autonomous vehicle, a coordination confirmation.)
(Wang [0067; FIG.7] to describe a current driving status G for an autonomous vehicle i, where the value of Ni indicates the current driving condition for autonomous vehicle i, and the value Si indicates whether or not autonomous vehicle i is currently being controlled through a coordination group. In at least some embodiments, Si may be set to the value ‘free’ when autonomous vehicle i is not being controlled through a coordination group and is free to join a coordination group, and Si may be set to the value ‘busy’ when autonomous vehicle i is currently engaged in a coordination group.)
(Wang [0070] the current driving status including the driving condition and coordination group status, for itself and for any autonomous vehicles from which it has obtained these additional vehicle information elements. For example, in some embodiments each autonomous vehicle may broadcast its current driving status along with any or all of the other vehicle information elements described herein at each time step.)
10. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
The method of claim 1, wherein in the determining of whether the cooperative driving is possible, the first vehicle determines that the cooperative driving is possible (e.g. busy or free) based on the cooperative response message of the at least one second surrounding vehicle .
(Wang [0067; FIG.7] In at least some embodiments, Si may be set to the value ‘free’ when autonomous vehicle i is not being controlled through a coordination group and is free to join a coordination group, and Si may be set to the value ‘busy’ when autonomous vehicle i is currently engaged in a coordination group.)
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles …)
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles in order to form coordination group 560 include coordination request 802 (from current vehicle 584 to front vehicle 586), coordination confirmation 804 (from front vehicle 586 to current vehicle 584), assistance request 806 (from front vehicle 586 to assistant vehicle 572), and assistance confirmation 808 (from assistant vehicle 572 to front vehicle 586).)
(Wang [0088] the method includes the front autonomous vehicle confirming membership in the coordination group, which may include sending a coordination confirmation to the given autonomous vehicle.)
11. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
The method of claim 1, further comprising:
after the determining of whether the cooperative driving is possible, determining, by the first vehicle, a corresponding vehicle requesting the cooperative driving when the cooperative driving is possible, and performing the cooperative driving with the corresponding vehicle [FIG.1, 5, 10].
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles …)
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles in order to form coordination group 560 include coordination request 802 (from current vehicle 584 to front vehicle 586), coordination confirmation 804 (from front vehicle 586 to current vehicle 584), assistance request 806 (from front vehicle 586 to assistant vehicle 572), and assistance confirmation 808 (from assistant vehicle 572 to front vehicle 586).)
(Wang [0088] the method includes the front autonomous vehicle confirming membership in the coordination group, which may include sending a coordination confirmation to the given autonomous vehicle.)
(Wang [0070] the current driving status including the driving condition and coordination group status, for itself and for any autonomous vehicles from which it has obtained these additional vehicle information elements. For example, in some embodiments each autonomous vehicle may broadcast its current driving status along with any or all of the other vehicle information elements described herein at each time step.)
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang US-20190051159-A1 and Kim US-20220140923-A1, as applied to claim 1 above and further in view of Munishwar US-20190215378-A1.
3. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
The method of claim 2, wherein in the selecting of the relay node, the first vehicle calculates ***a determination*** of the at least one first surrounding vehicle or the at least one road side unit based on the status information, and the first vehicle selects the relay node based on the ***determination*** (e.g. values of “busy” or “free”).
(Wang [0067; FIG.7] In at least some embodiments, Si may be set to the value ‘free’ when autonomous vehicle i is not being controlled through a coordination group and is free to join a coordination group, and Si may be set to the value ‘busy’ when autonomous vehicle i is currently engaged in a coordination group.)
(Wang [0070] the current driving status including the driving condition and coordination group status, for itself and for any autonomous vehicles from which it has obtained these additional vehicle information elements. For example, in some embodiments each autonomous vehicle may broadcast its current driving status along with any or all of the other vehicle information elements described herein at each time step.)
Munishwar US-20190215378-A1 discloses in a similar endeavor, a consideration for communication protocols based on a determination of “…scores”
(Munishwar [0052] At step 525, as described in greater detail above, the device selects a particular wireless access point in the predicted future location for association. In particular, when the device determines that the vehicle should associate with a wireless access point in the predicted future location, a particular device may be selected from among those identified as likely to be available. In some embodiments, a score may be assigned by the device to the potential wireless access points, based, for example, on their current loads, radio frequency (RF) signal strength or reliability, or supported communication protocols. Access points having a score below a threshold value may be filtered out while those having a score greater than the threshold may be presented to a user through a user interface for selection.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include scores with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Munishwar, for the benefit of providing a numerical representation of status values in comparing operational coordination.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang US-20190051159-A1, Kim US-20220140923-A1 and Munishwar US-20190215378-A1, as applied to claim 3 above and further in view of Courtright US-20170180980-A1 and Elhadeedy US-20230224794-A1.
4. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
The method of claim 3, wherein in the selecting of the relay node, the first vehicle assigns ***determinations regarding*** status information ****, and selects from the at least one first surrounding vehicle or the at least one road side unit one with ***available status determination*** as the relay node.
(Wang [0025] In any of the disclosed embodiments, each of the autonomous vehicles may further include a respective wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication system. Initiating formation of the coordination group may include changing a coordination group status for the given autonomous vehicle from free to busy, transmitting, to the front autonomous vehicle using the wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication system of the given autonomous vehicle, a coordination request, and receiving, from the front autonomous vehicle using the wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication system of the given autonomous vehicle, a coordination confirmation.)
(Wang [0061-62] autonomous vehicles are in communication range of each other, the autonomous vehicle broadcasting a vehicle information message including at least its vehicle identifier and current driving status, as in 404… the autonomous vehicle receives one or more broadcast messages from other autonomous vehicles,)
(Wang [0067; FIG.7] to describe a current driving status G for an autonomous vehicle i, where the value of Ni indicates the current driving condition for autonomous vehicle i, and the value Si indicates whether or not autonomous vehicle i is currently being controlled through a coordination group. In at least some embodiments, Si may be set to the value ‘free’ when autonomous vehicle i is not being controlled through a coordination group and is free to join a coordination group, and Si may be set to the value ‘busy’ when autonomous vehicle i is currently engaged in a coordination group.)
(Wang [0070] the current driving status including the driving condition and coordination group status, for itself and for any autonomous vehicles from which it has obtained these additional vehicle information elements. For example, in some embodiments each autonomous vehicle may broadcast its current driving status along with any or all of the other vehicle information elements described herein at each time step.)
Munishwar US-20190215378-A1 discloses in a similar endeavor, a consideration for communication protocols based on a determination of “…assigns individual scores to each of the status information of the signal strength, whether the firmware is tempered with, broken-down or not, or the communication load, calculates the scores…”
(Munishwar [0052] At step 525, as described in greater detail above, the device selects a particular wireless access point in the predicted future location for association. In particular, when the device determines that the vehicle should associate with a wireless access point in the predicted future location, a particular device may be selected from among those identified as likely to be available. In some embodiments, a score may be assigned by the device to the potential wireless access points, based, for example, on their current loads, radio frequency (RF) signal strength or reliability, or supported communication protocols. Access points having a score below a threshold value may be filtered out while those having a score greater than the threshold may be presented to a user through a user interface for selection.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include scores with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Munishwar, for the benefit of providing a numerical representation of status values in comparing operational coordination.
Courtright US-20170180980-A1 discloses in a similar endeavor, a consideration for communication protocols based on a determination comprising “…calculates the scores …adding up the individual scores”
(Courtright [0073] Each of the one or more weighting factors may correspond to a particular attribute of the one or more attributes determined by the scoring engine 130. The total communication score may correspond to a sum of the application of each of the one or more weighting factors to the corresponding attribute…)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include adding up the individual scores with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Courtright, for the benefit of providing a numerical representation of status values in comparing operational coordination.
Elhadeedy US-20230224794-A1 discloses in a similar endeavor, a consideration for communication protocols based on a determination comprising “…and selects …one with a highest one of the scores as the relay node”
(Elhadeedy [0089] At 906, using the at least one processor of the telematics control system 508, the first connectivity score is compared against the second connectivity score. For example, the at least one processor of the telematics control system 508, compares the first and second connectivity scores to determine whether the first or second transceiver has the higher connectivity score. For example, a higher connectivity score is associated with a greater signal strength and wireless communication between transceiver and at least the network 112. As such, the telematics control system 508 uses the determined connectivity scores to determine and select a transceiver having the greatest signal strength and wireless communication abilities.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include selecting a highest one of the scores as the relay node with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Elhadeedy, for the benefit of providing a numerical representation of status values in comparing operational coordination and further configured to choose the best/most effective candidate among options scored.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang US-20190051159-A1 and Kim US-20220140923-A1 as applied to claim 6 above and further in view of Munishwar US-20190215378-A1, and Courtright US-20170180980-A1.
7. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
The method of claim 6, wherein the driving status information includes an acceleration (e.g. speed and heading, maximal), an expected turn-over time information, a past acceleration statistics history, or a vehicle weight, and
(Wang [0065] vehicle information exchanged with and/or stored by autonomous vehicle 510 may include, for autonomous vehicle 510, a vehicle identifier (ID) 528, a position or location indicator for autonomous vehicle 510 shown as center point 514, which may be expressed as coordinates in a two dimensional plane, the length 518 of autonomous vehicle 510, the width 512 of autonomous vehicle 510, the current speed 520 of autonomous vehicle 510, a maximum speed 522 for autonomous vehicle 510, a head degree 516 indicating the direction in which autonomous vehicle 510 is traveling, a maximal deceleration 524 for autonomous vehicle 510, and/or a maximal acceleration 526 for autonomous vehicle 510.)
(Wang [0070] the current driving status including the driving condition and coordination group status, for itself and for any autonomous vehicles from which it has obtained these additional vehicle information elements. For example, in some embodiments each autonomous vehicle may broadcast its current driving status along with any or all of the other vehicle information elements described herein at each time step.)
in the receiving of the cooperative response message and the transmitting of the cooperative response message to the first vehicle,
(Wang [0088] the method includes the front autonomous vehicle confirming membership in the coordination group, which may include sending a coordination confirmation to the given autonomous vehicle.)
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles …)
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles in order to form coordination group 560 include coordination request 802 (from current vehicle 584 to front vehicle 586), coordination confirmation 804 (from front vehicle 586 to current vehicle 584), assistance request 806 (from front vehicle 586 to assistant vehicle 572), and assistance confirmation 808 (from assistant vehicle 572 to front vehicle 586).)
the relay node assigns ***values*** to each of the acceleration (e.g. speed and heading, maximal), the expected turn-over time information, the past acceleration statistics history, and the vehicle weight, and the relay node sets the priorities for the plurality of cooperative response messages ***according to operational data***.
(Wang [0067; FIG.7] to describe a current driving status G for an autonomous vehicle i, where the value of Ni indicates the current driving condition for autonomous vehicle i, and the value Si indicates whether or not autonomous vehicle i is currently being controlled through a coordination group. In at least some embodiments, Si may be set to the value ‘free’ when autonomous vehicle i is not being controlled through a coordination group and is free to join a coordination group, and Si may be set to the value ‘busy’ when autonomous vehicle i is currently engaged in a coordination group.)
(Wang [0070] the current driving status including the driving condition and coordination group status, for itself and for any autonomous vehicles from which it has obtained these additional vehicle information elements. For example, in some embodiments each autonomous vehicle may broadcast its current driving status along with any or all of the other vehicle information elements described herein at each time step.)
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles in order to form coordination group 560 include coordination request 802 (from current vehicle 584 to front vehicle 586), coordination confirmation 804 (from front vehicle 586 to current vehicle 584), assistance request 806 (from front vehicle 586 to assistant vehicle 572), and assistance confirmation 808 (from assistant vehicle 572 to front vehicle 586).)
Munishwar US-20190215378-A1 discloses in a similar endeavor, a consideration for communication protocols based on a determination of “…respective scores”
(Munishwar [0052] At step 525, as described in greater detail above, the device selects a particular wireless access point in the predicted future location for association. In particular, when the device determines that the vehicle should associate with a wireless access point in the predicted future location, a particular device may be selected from among those identified as likely to be available. In some embodiments, a score may be assigned by the device to the potential wireless access points, based, for example, on their current loads, radio frequency (RF) signal strength or reliability, or supported communication protocols. Access points having a score below a threshold value may be filtered out while those having a score greater than the threshold may be presented to a user through a user interface for selection.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include scores with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Munishwar, for the benefit of providing a numerical representation of status values in comparing operational coordination.
Courtright US-20170180980-A1 discloses in a similar endeavor, a consideration for communication protocols based on a determination comprising “…adding up the respective scores”
(Courtright [0073] Each of the one or more weighting factors may correspond to a particular attribute of the one or more attributes determined by the scoring engine 130. The total communication score may correspond to a sum of the application of each of the one or more weighting factors to the corresponding attribute…)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include adding up the respective scores with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Courtright, for the benefit of providing a numerical representation of status values in comparing operational coordination.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang US-20190051159-A1 and Kim US-20220140923-A1, as applied to claim 5 above and further in view of Ikushima US-20230300213-A1.
9. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
The method of claim 5, wherein in the receiving of the cooperative response message and the transmitting of the cooperative response message to the first vehicle,
the relay node transmits a response reception acknowledgement message (ACK) to the at least one second surrounding vehicle transmitting the cooperative response message, and
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles …)
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles in order to form coordination group 560 include coordination request 802 (from current vehicle 584 to front vehicle 586), coordination confirmation 804 (from front vehicle 586 to current vehicle 584), assistance request 806 (from front vehicle 586 to assistant vehicle 572), and assistance confirmation 808 (from assistant vehicle 572 to front vehicle 586).)
(Wang [0088] the method includes the front autonomous vehicle confirming membership in the coordination group, which may include sending a coordination confirmation to the given autonomous vehicle.)
when the at least one second surrounding vehicle ***the vehicle transmits*** the cooperative response message including the driving status information and the negotiation response data.
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles …)
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles in order to form coordination group 560 include coordination request 802 (from current vehicle 584 to front vehicle 586), coordination confirmation 804 (from front vehicle 586 to current vehicle 584), assistance request 806 (from front vehicle 586 to assistant vehicle 572), and assistance confirmation 808 (from assistant vehicle 572 to front vehicle 586).)
(Wang [0088] the method includes the front autonomous vehicle confirming membership in the coordination group, which may include sending a coordination confirmation to the given autonomous vehicle.)
(Wang [0070] the current driving status including the driving condition and coordination group status, for itself and for any autonomous vehicles from which it has obtained these additional vehicle information elements. For example, in some embodiments each autonomous vehicle may broadcast its current driving status along with any or all of the other vehicle information elements described herein at each time step.)
Ikushima US-20230300213-A1 discloses in a similar endeavor, a consideration for communication protocols of a vehicle system status comprising transmissions wherein if a receiver “…fails to receive the response reception acknowledgement message (ACK) within a preset timeout, … retransmits … response data”
(Ikushima [0026] The push delivery unit 121 can repeat transmission of push information to the in-vehicle communication device 10 within a predetermined period. …, a delivery time limit (hereinafter referred to as a retry time limit) is set for the push delivery according to the requested response. When the transmission of the push information to the in-vehicle communication device 10 fails, the push delivery unit 121 repeats the transmission of the push information to the in-vehicle communication device 10 within a predetermined time before exceeding the retry time limit, … When the retry time limit has passed while the transmission of the push information to the in-vehicle communication device 10 has failed, the push delivery unit 121 determines that the push delivery has failed, and ends the transmission of the push information.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include a system where in transmission fails to receive the response reception acknowledgement message (ACK) within a preset timeout, the system retransmits response data with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Ikushima, for the benefit of providing a system capable of retry communication protocols to send data to a system over a period of time/attempts to ensure temporary connectivity does not affect data transmission.
Claim(s) 12-13, 15, and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang US-20190051159-A1 and Kim US-20220140923-A1 in view of Rubin US-20150081201-A1.
12. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
A vehicle for driving negotiation, comprising:
a communication module supporting a vehicle to ***vehicle***; and
(Wang [0017] autonomous vehicles may further include a respective wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication system.)
Rubin US-20150081201-A1 discloses in a similar endeavor, a consideration for communication protocols based on a determination of “…vehicle to everything (V2X) communication”
(Rubin [0054] Fixed equipment, such as road-side unit (RSU) to vehicle communication is sometimes called X2V, or V2X. We use V2V to encompass all variations, including X2V, V2X, and defining cars, trucks, busses, trains, pedestrians, animals, moving sports equipment, construction equipment, fixed or temporary road hazards, government transponders, robots, automated vehicles and drones as "vehicles.")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include V2X with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Rubin, for the benefit of providing a communication system capable of using V2X to communicate with equipment, such as roadside units, and vehicles.
a processor connected to the communication module,
(Wang [claim.11] memory media storing program instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to implement a cooperative driving strategy including, for a given one of the plurality of autonomous vehicles:)
The remaining limitation(s) of claim 12 are similar in scope to those disclosed in re claim 1 and are therefore rejected under the same premise, for more information regarding the rejection please see in re claim 1.
13. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
The vehicle for driving negotiation of claim 12, wherein the status information message comprises status information of signal strength, whether firmware is tempered with, broken-down or not, or communication load (e.g. currently engaged in a coordination group or not).
(Wang [0067; FIG.7] to describe a current driving status G for an autonomous vehicle i, where the value of Ni indicates the current driving condition for autonomous vehicle i, and the value Si indicates whether or not autonomous vehicle i is currently being controlled through a coordination group. In at least some embodiments, Si may be set to the value ‘free’ when autonomous vehicle i is not being controlled through a coordination group and is free to join a coordination group, and Si may be set to the value ‘busy’ when autonomous vehicle i is currently engaged in a coordination group.)
(Wang [0070] the current driving status including the driving condition and coordination group status, for itself and for any autonomous vehicles from which it has obtained these additional vehicle information elements. For example, in some embodiments each autonomous vehicle may broadcast its current driving status along with any or all of the other vehicle information elements described herein at each time step.)
15. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
The vehicle for driving negotiation of claim 12, wherein the processor [claim.11] determines that the cooperative driving is possible based on the cooperative response message of the at least one second surrounding vehicle, and the processor determines a corresponding vehicle requesting the cooperative driving and performs the cooperative driving with the corresponding vehicle when the cooperative driving is possible. [FIG.1, 5, 10].
(Wang [claim.11] memory media storing program instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to implement a cooperative driving strategy including, for a given one of the plurality of autonomous vehicles:)
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles …)
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles in order to form coordination group 560 include coordination request 802 (from current vehicle 584 to front vehicle 586), coordination confirmation 804 (from front vehicle 586 to current vehicle 584), assistance request 806 (from front vehicle 586 to assistant vehicle 572), and assistance confirmation 808 (from assistant vehicle 572 to front vehicle 586).)
(Wang [0088] the method includes the front autonomous vehicle confirming membership in the coordination group, which may include sending a coordination confirmation to the given autonomous vehicle.)
(Wang [0070] the current driving status including the driving condition and coordination group status, for itself and for any autonomous vehicles from which it has obtained these additional vehicle information elements. For example, in some embodiments each autonomous vehicle may broadcast its current driving status along with any or all of the other vehicle information elements described herein at each time step.)
17. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
The vehicle for driving negotiation of claim 12, wherein when a plurality of first cooperative response messages is received, the processor sets priorities for the plurality of first cooperative response messages based on the driving status information included in the first cooperative response messages, and the processor transmits a corresponding first cooperative response message to the vehicle according to the priorities.
(Wang [0067; FIG.7] In at least some embodiments, Si may be set to the value ‘free’ when autonomous vehicle i is not being controlled through a coordination group and is free to join a coordination group, and Si may be set to the value ‘busy’ when autonomous vehicle i is currently engaged in a coordination group.)
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles …)
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles in order to form coordination group 560 include coordination request 802 (from current vehicle 584 to front vehicle 586), coordination confirmation 804 (from front vehicle 586 to current vehicle 584), assistance request 806 (from front vehicle 586 to assistant vehicle 572), and assistance confirmation 808 (from assistant vehicle 572 to front vehicle 586).)
(Wang [0088] the method includes the front autonomous vehicle confirming membership in the coordination group, which may include sending a coordination confirmation to the given autonomous vehicle.)
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang US-20190051159-A1, Kim US-20220140923-A1 and Rubin US-20150081201-A1, as applied to claim 13 above and further in view of Munishwar US-20190215378-A1, Courtright US-20170180980-A1 and Elhadeedy US-20230224794-A1.
14. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
The limitation(s) is similar in scope to those disclosed in the system above and are therefore rejected under the same premise. For more information, please see the rejection in re claim 4.
Munishwar US-20190215378-A1 discloses in a similar endeavor, a consideration for communication protocols based on a determination of “…assigns individual scores to each of the status information of signal strength, whether firmware is tempered with, broken-down or not, or communication load, calculates the scores…”
(Munishwar [0052] At step 525, as described in greater detail above, the device selects a particular wireless access point in the predicted future location for association. In particular, when the device determines that the vehicle should associate with a wireless access point in the predicted future location, a particular device may be selected from among those identified as likely to be available. In some embodiments, a score may be assigned by the device to the potential wireless access points, based, for example, on their current loads, radio frequency (RF) signal strength or reliability, or supported communication protocols. Access points having a score below a threshold value may be filtered out while those having a score greater than the threshold may be presented to a user through a user interface for selection.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include scores with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Munishwar, for the benefit of providing a numerical representation of status values in comparing operational coordination.
Courtright US-20170180980-A1 discloses in a similar endeavor, a consideration for communication protocols based on a determination comprising “…calculates the scores …adding up the individual scores”
(Courtright [0073] Each of the one or more weighting factors may correspond to a particular attribute of the one or more attributes determined by the scoring engine 130. The total communication score may correspond to a sum of the application of each of the one or more weighting factors to the corresponding attribute…)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include adding up the individual scores with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Courtright, for the benefit of providing a numerical representation of status values in comparing operational coordination.
Elhadeedy US-20230224794-A1 discloses in a similar endeavor, a consideration for communication protocols based on a determination comprising “…and selects …one with a highest one of the scores as the relay node”
(Elhadeedy [0089] At 906, using the at least one processor of the telematics control system 508, the first connectivity score is compared against the second connectivity score. For example, the at least one processor of the telematics control system 508, compares the first and second connectivity scores to determine whether the first or second transceiver has the higher connectivity score. For example, a higher connectivity score is associated with a greater signal strength and wireless communication between transceiver and at least the network 112. As such, the telematics control system 508 uses the determined connectivity scores to determine and select a transceiver having the greatest signal strength and wireless communication abilities.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include selecting a highest one of the scores as the relay node with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Elhadeedy, for the benefit of providing a numerical representation of status values in comparing operational coordination and further configured to choose the best/most effective candidate among options scored.
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang US-20190051159-A1, Kim US-20220140923-A1 and Rubin US-20150081201-A1, as applied to claim 17 above and further in view of Munishwar US-20190215378-A1 and Courtright US-20170180980-A1.
18. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
The limitation(s) is similar in scope to those disclosed in the system above and are therefore rejected under the same premise. For more information, please see the rejection in re claim 7.
Munishwar US-20190215378-A1 discloses in a similar endeavor, a consideration for communication protocols based on a determination of “…respective scores”
(Munishwar [0052] At step 525, as described in greater detail above, the device selects a particular wireless access point in the predicted future location for association. In particular, when the device determines that the vehicle should associate with a wireless access point in the predicted future location, a particular device may be selected from among those identified as likely to be available. In some embodiments, a score may be assigned by the device to the potential wireless access points, based, for example, on their current loads, radio frequency (RF) signal strength or reliability, or supported communication protocols. Access points having a score below a threshold value may be filtered out while those having a score greater than the threshold may be presented to a user through a user interface for selection.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include scores with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Munishwar, for the benefit of providing a numerical representation of status values in comparing operational coordination.
Courtright US-20170180980-A1 discloses in a similar endeavor, a consideration for communication protocols based on a determination comprising “…adding up the respective scores”
(Courtright [0073] Each of the one or more weighting factors may correspond to a particular attribute of the one or more attributes determined by the scoring engine 130. The total communication score may correspond to a sum of the application of each of the one or more weighting factors to the corresponding attribute…)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include adding up the respective scores with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Courtright, for the benefit of providing a numerical representation of status values in comparing operational coordination.
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang US-20190051159-A1, Kim US-20220140923-A1 and Rubin US-20150081201-A1, as applied to claim 17 above and further in view of Wei US-20210288712-A1.
19. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
The limitation(s) is similar in scope to those disclosed in the system above and are therefore rejected under the same premise. For more information, please see the rejection in re claim 8.
Wei US-20210288712-A1 discloses in a similar endeavor, a consideration for communication protocols of a vehicle system status comprising “…breakdown information”
(Wei [0020] According to the present disclosure, using the vehicle as a relay vehicle may help the driver to send an emergency message to the communication base station or the roadside smart unit when the source vehicle is not in the coverage of the communication network (e.g., when the source vehicle breaks down in a tunnel or valley and cannot be moved).)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include breakdown information with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Wei, for the benefit of providing vehicle status information relevant to capabilities and operability of a system in relation to a platoon.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang US-20190051159-A1, Kim US-20220140923-A1 and Rubin US-20150081201-A1, as applied to claim 12 above and further in view of Ikushima US-20230300213-A1.
20. Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses
The limitation(s) is similar in scope to those disclosed in the system above and are therefore rejected under the same premise. For more information, please see the rejection in re claim 9.
Ikushima US-20230300213-A1 discloses in a similar endeavor, a consideration for communication protocols of a vehicle system status comprising transmissions wherein if a receiver “…fails to receive the response reception acknowledgement message (ACK) within a preset timeout, … retransmits … response data”
(Ikushima [0026] The push delivery unit 121 can repeat transmission of push information to the in-vehicle communication device 10 within a predetermined period. …, a delivery time limit (hereinafter referred to as a retry time limit) is set for the push delivery according to the requested response. When the transmission of the push information to the in-vehicle communication device 10 fails, the push delivery unit 121 repeats the transmission of the push information to the in-vehicle communication device 10 within a predetermined time before exceeding the retry time limit, … When the retry time limit has passed while the transmission of the push information to the in-vehicle communication device 10 has failed, the push delivery unit 121 determines that the push delivery has failed, and ends the transmission of the push information.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time the instant application was effectively filed to adapt the modified system of Wang to include a system where in transmission fails to receive the response reception acknowledgement message (ACK) within a preset timeout, the system retransmits response data with a reasonable expectation for success, as taught by Ikushima, for the benefit of providing a system capable of retry communication protocols to send data to a system over a period of time/attempts to ensure temporary connectivity does not affect data transmission.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 8 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The problem to be solved by the present invention may be regarded as how to improve vehicle communication relay(s) by filtering/suppressing messages according to vehicle breakdown status.
The closest available prior art at hand;
Wang US-20190051159-A1 discloses in a similar invention field of endeavor, a consideration for “… (Wang [0070] the current driving status including the driving condition and coordination group status, for itself and for any autonomous vehicles from which it has obtained these additional vehicle information elements. For example, in some embodiments each autonomous vehicle may broadcast its current driving status along with any or all of the other vehicle information elements described herein at each time step.)
(Wang [0098] the messages exchanged between these three autonomous vehicles in order to form coordination group 560 include coordination request 802 (from current vehicle 584 to front vehicle 586), coordination confirmation 804 (from front vehicle 586 to current vehicle 584), assistance request 806 (from front vehicle 586 to assistant vehicle 572), and assistance confirmation 808 (from assistant vehicle 572 to front vehicle 586).)”;
A solution to the problem detailed above as proposed in claim(s) 8 of the present application is neither distinctly disclosed in, nor render obvious by, the available prior art at hand, and appears therefor to involve an inventive step.
As such, it should be noted that while the combination of references discloses aspects of the claimed limitations, the disclosure fails to fully capture the structure and interplay of the elements as recited in the claims. Therefore, upon review of the evidence at hand, it is hereby concluded that the evidence obtained and made of record, alone or in combination, neither anticipates, reasonably teaches, nor renders obvious all the features of applicant’s invention as the features amount to more than a predictable use of elements in the prior art. As such, it is this examiner’s opinion that there lacks a sufficient nexus between the prior art and the instant application.
Conclusion
It should be noted that there exists prior art which is pertinent to significant though unclaimed features of the defined invention or directed to the state of art. The following is a brief description of relevant prior art cited but not applied:
Yi (US-20230379664-A1) discloses in a similar invention field of endeavor, a consideration for “… [0101] In order to choose a group leader, various factors may be considered. Generally, within any group, load balancing and channel conditions are examples of considerations for group leader selection. Thus, factors for determining a group leader selection score may include: current state of charge of an energy storage device (e.g., battery) for each user equipment; a channel state metric for each user equipment (e.g., a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), downlink received signal received power (RSRP), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and the like); a remaining target service life; an expected energy cost for performing a group operation (such as a high-power communication or other non-communication operation); and others. In some aspects, these and other factors may be weighted (e.g., using weight parameters) to generate the group leader selection score (e.g., the group leader selection score may be generated as a composite of a plurality of weighted factors).”;
See PTO-892: Notice of references cited.
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 date of this final action.
Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW JOHN MOSCOLA whose telephone number is (571)272-6944.
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/M.J.M./Examiner, Art Unit 3663
/ABBY J FLYNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3663
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