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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 2 objected to because of the following informalities: recites “in-formation” which should read “information”.
Claim 21 objected to because of the following informalities: recites “ma-chine” which should read “machine”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-22 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.
The term “substantially opposite” in claim 1 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “substantially opposite” 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. In particular, what one individual of ordinary skill in the art would find “substantially opposite” is not necessarily the same as what another might find it to be, for example one individual might determined “substantially opposite” to mean as within 179 and 181 degrees of the first direction and a second individual might determine “substantially opposite” to be within 170 and 190 degrees. As such, the metes and bounds of this claim cannot be properly interpreted because one of ordinary skill in the art cannot adequately determine the boundaries of the claim. For the purposes of prior art examination, the term “substantially opposite” has been interpreted to read as “opposite”.
Independent claim 8 recites the same term as independent claim 1 and therefore is found indefinite for the same reasons.
The dependent claims inherit the limitations of the independent claims to which they depend and therefore are found indefinite for the same reasons.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5, 8-18, 21, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) as being anticipated by Keyes et al. (US 20230323612).
In regards to claim 1, Keyes teaches a self-propelled ground processing machine, comprising: (Fig 1.)
- a steering system with a steering element to be operated by an operator and at least one steering actuator, ([0019] steering system includes steering wheel, levers, pedals, and the like for controlling steering by a user, which are steering elements operated by operator, that control steering actuators.)
- a control arrangement for controlling the at least one steering actuator on the basis of an actuation of the steering element, ([0019] steering system control steering, and thereby steering actuator, is operated based on steering input from user and semi-autonomous system.)
wherein the control arrangement is designed to: ([0019], [0038], [0039] operations are performed.)
- when the ground processing machine moves in a first direction of movement, generate path information representing the path covered when the ground processing machine moves in the first direction of movement, ([0038], [0039] when the vehicle travels forwards and then stops and switched to reverse, a prompt is given to the operator to enable autonomous driving based upon the path traveled manually by the vehicle in the first direction. This generates path information representing the path covered when traveling in a first direction.)
- when the ground processing machine moves in a second direction of movement substantially opposite to the first direction of movement, control the at least one steering actuator on the basis of the path information. ([0038], [0039] when the vehicle stops and then is switched to reverse, a query is presented allowing the vehicle to be controlled autonomously, including steering.)
In regards to claim 2, Keyes teaches the self-propelled ground processing machine according to claim 1,
further comprising a position detection system for providing position information representing a position of the ground processing machine during a movement of the ground processing machine, wherein the control arrangement is designed to generate the path in-formation based on the position information. ([0021] position of the vehicle may be determined using position sensor through radio frequency location determination operations and the like while the vehicle moves and operates.)
In regards to claim 3, Keyes teaches the self-propelled ground processing machine according to claim 2,
wherein the position detection system is designed to generate the position information by communication with a radio-based position identification system. ([0021] position of the vehicle may be determined using position sensor through radio frequency location determination operations and the like while the vehicle moves and operates.)
In regards to claim 4, Keyes teaches the self-propelled ground processing machine according to claim 1,
wherein the control arrangement is designed to generate the path information on the basis of steering information representing a steering state of the ground processing machine representing a steering state of the ground processing machine and movement information representing a movement state of the ground processing machine. ([0038], [0039] when the vehicle travels forwards and then stops and switched to reverse, a prompt is given to the operator to enable autonomous driving based upon the path traveled manually by the vehicle in the first direction. This generates path information representing the path covered when traveling in a first direction which includes steering and motion states of the vehicle.)
In regards to claim 5, Keyes teaches the self-propelled ground processing machine according to claim 1,
wherein the control arrangement is designed to control the at least one steering actuator during movement in the second direction of movement on the basis of the path information for moving the ground processing machine with an offset to the path represented by the path information during movement in the first direction of movement. ([0038], [0039] when the vehicle travels forwards and then stops and switched to reverse, a prompt is given to the operator to enable autonomous driving based upon the path traveled manually by the vehicle in the first direction which allows the operator to input a number of paths to fill in a compaction area. This creates a compaction area with an initial pass along one direction driven manually, and future paths including passes in opposite directions driven automatically which are offset periodically to fill the compaction area.)
In regards to claim 8, Keyes teaches a method for operating a self-propelled ground processing machine the ground processing machine comprising a steering system with a steering element to be actuated by an operator and a control arrangement for controlling at least one steering actuator on the basis of an actuation of the steering element, the method comprising: (Fig 9, [0019] steering system includes steering wheel, levers, pedals, and the like for controlling steering by a user, which are steering elements operated by operator, that control steering actuators. Steering system control steering, and thereby steering actuator, is operated based on steering input from user and semi-autonomous system.)
a) when the ground processing machine moves in a first direction of movement, generating path information representing the path covered when the ground processing machine moves in the first direction of movement, ([0038], [0039] when the vehicle travels forwards and then stops and switched to reverse, a prompt is given to the operator to enable autonomous driving based upon the path traveled manually by the vehicle in the first direction. This generates path information representing the path covered when traveling in a first direction.)
b) when the ground processing machine moves in a second direction of movement substantially opposite to the first direction of movement, controlling the at least one steering actuator by the control arrangement on the basis of the path information. ([0038], [0039] when the vehicle stops and then is switched to reverse, a query is presented allowing the vehicle to be controlled autonomously, including steering.)
In regards to claim 9, Keyes teaches the control method according to claim 8,
wherein measures a) and b) are repeatedly carried out alternately. ([0038], [0039] when the vehicle moves forward in a first direction, path information is gathered by saving position data and path data, and when switched to reverse, the vehicle may follow a second pass or path automatically. This alternates at least from a manual drive to an autonomous drive.)
In regards to claim 10, Keyes teaches the control method according to claim 9 wherein
when measure a) is carried out repeatedly, the first direction of movement can deviate from the first direction of movement during a previous implementation of measure a). (([0038], [0039] when the vehicle moves forward in a first direction, path information is gathered by saving position data and path data, and when switched to reverse, the vehicle may follow a second pass or path automatically. When the user inputs only one path with one reverse pass after the manual path and then manually operates the vehicle to drive the next path, the operations are carried out repeatedly. [0024] the travel paths are substantially parallel, not exactly parallel which includes allowing some level of deviation between adjacent paths.)
In regards to claim 11, Keyes teaches the method according to claim 8,
wherein in measure a) the control arrangement controls the at least one steering actuator on the basis of steering information representing an actuation of the steering element. (Fig 9, [0019] steering system includes steering wheel, levers, pedals, and the like for controlling steering by a user, which are steering elements operated by operator, that control steering actuators. Steering system control steering, and thereby steering actuator, is operated based on steering input from user and semi-autonomous system including while traveling manually.)
In regards to claim 12, Keyes teaches the method according to claim 8,
wherein in measure a) the generation of the path information is started upon generation of a path information generation command. ([0038], [0039] when the vehicle travels forwards and then stops and switched to reverse, a prompt is given to the operator to enable autonomous driving based upon the path traveled manually by the vehicle in the first direction. Path information is gathered by saving position data and path data, and when switched to reverse, the vehicle may follow a second pass or path automatically based upon the gathered path information. This generates path information representing the path covered when traveling in a first direction for the vehicle to follow in the autonomous mode.)
In regards to claim 13, Keyes teaches the method according to claim 9, wherein
measure a) the generation of the path information is started when the direction of movement of the ground processing machine is reversed after movement of the ground processing machine in the second direction of movement during an immediately preceding implementation of measure b). ([0038], [0039] when the vehicle travels forwards and then stops and switched to reverse, a prompt is given to the operator to enable autonomous driving based upon the path traveled manually by the vehicle in the first direction. Path information is gathered by saving position data and path data, and when switched to reverse, the vehicle may follow a second pass or path automatically based upon the gathered path information. This generates path information representing the path covered when traveling in a first direction for the vehicle to follow in the autonomous mode. When the user inputs only one path with one reverse pass after the manual path and then manually operates the vehicle to drive the next path, the operations are carried out repeatedly, which includes subsequent manual path operation after automatic path operation in opposite directions.)
In regards to claim 14, Keyes teaches the method according to claim 8,
wherein in measure b) the control arrangement controls the at least one steering actuator on the basis of the path information for moving the ground processing machine with an offset to the path represented by the path information when the ground processing machine moves in the first direction of movement when carrying out measure a). (Fig 4, 8, [0036], [0038], [0039], [0047] condition for automatic control may include vehicle turns to substantially parallel adjacent path for subsequent path with one pass, which is at a predetermined offset from the first path to adjacent path in an opposite direction of the traveled first path.)
In regards to claim 15, Keyes teaches the method according to claim 14,
wherein the offset is determined before carrying out measure b) or/and that the offset remains unchanged when carrying out measure b). (Fig 4, 8, [0036], [0038], [0039], [0047] condition for automatic control may include vehicle turns to substantially parallel adjacent path for subsequent path with one pass, which is at a predetermined offset from the first path to adjacent path in an opposite direction of the traveled first path. This turn occurs while the vehicle is manually operated which requires the offset be determined before carrying out autonomous travel.)
In regards to claim 16, Keyes teaches the method according to claim 8
wherein measure b) is started when the direction of movement of the ground processing machine is reversed after movement of the ground processing machine in the first direction of movement during an immediately preceding implementation of measure a). ([0038], [0039] when the vehicle travels forwards and then stops and switches to reverse, a prompt is given to the operator to enable autonomous driving based upon the path traveled manually by the vehicle in the first direction, which when accepted transitions the vehicle to automatic travel after movement of the vehicle in the forward direction immediately following implementation of the forward movement.)
In regards to claim 17, Keyes teaches the method according to claim 8,
wherein measure b) is terminated when, during movement of the ground processing machine in the second direction of movement when carrying out measure b), an end position of the ground processing machine associated with a start position of the ground processing machine during an immediately preceding execution of measure a) is reached. ([0038], [0039] when only one pass is selected by the user to be traveled in the reverse direction, the vehicle travels from the beginning of the path to the end of the path based on their positions recorded during manual operation of the vehicle.)
In regards to claim 18, Keyes teaches the method according to claim 17,
wherein upon or/and after reaching the end position: ([0038], [0039] when only one pass is selected by the user to be traveled in the reverse direction, the vehicle travels from the beginning of the path to the end of the path based on their positions recorded during manual operation of the vehicle. When multiple paths are determined the vehicle positions itself for the next path after passing an end position of the current path pass.)
- an indication indicating that the end position has been reached is generated
or/and
- the control arrangement controls the at least one steering actuator on the basis of steering information representing an actuating position of the steering element. (Fig 9, [0019] steering system includes steering wheel, levers, pedals, and the like for controlling steering by a user or autonomous system, which are steering elements operated by operator, that control steering actuators. Steering system control steering, and thereby steering actuator, is operated based on steering input from user and semi-autonomous system including while traveling manually and automatically, and further including after having performed an autonomous travel pass.)
In regards to claim 21, Keyes teaches the method according to claim 8,
wherein during measure a), the path information to be used during an immediately subsequent implementation of measure b) is only generated if the ground processing ma-chine has covered a predetermined minimum path length since the start of measure a). ([0024] position information is determined either continuously or at predetermined intervals. [0051] particular position data may be excluded from operator intent determinations based upon velocity. When the compactor is not performing movement or not performing compactor operations, the information may be excluded from driver intent determinations of creating a compaction path. When the positions are found to be under conditions at which the position data should be excluded, the vehicle is determined not to have traveled enough to record position for determining operator intent. This gives at least a predetermined distance of travel based on the speed and the sampling interval of the vehicle at which an intent may be determined to switch to autonomous mode from manual mode, and when there is data excluded for determining intent, the vehicle necessarily has not traveled enough and cannot determine a driver intent to switch to an autonomous mode. This uses a predetermined vehicle travel path length, found from vehicle speed and position sampling time interval to allow a transition from manual travel to autonomous travel and otherwise disallows the transition.)
In regards to claim 22, Keyes teaches the method according to claim 8,
wherein the control arrangement controls a drive system of the ground processing machine on the basis of driving information representing an actuation of a drive element during the implementation of measures a) and b) and after the completion of measure b). (Fig 9, [0019] steering system includes steering wheel, levers, pedals, and the like for controlling steering by a user or autonomous system, which are steering elements operated by operator, that control steering actuators. Steering system control steering, and thereby steering actuator, is operated based on steering input from user and semi-autonomous system including while traveling manually and automatically, and further including after having performed an autonomous travel pass.)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 6, 7, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keyes in view of Takahama (US 20190025825).
In regards to claim 6, Keyes teaches the self-propelled ground processing machine according to claim 1.
Keyes does not teach:
wherein the control arrangement is designed to terminate the control of the at least one steering actuator on the basis of the path information when override information is present.
However, Takahama teaches a driver’s operation, such as steering, may override autonomous control to transition to a manual mode when traveling in the autonomous mode ([0022]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to modify the vehicle control system of Keyes, by incorporating the teachings of Takahama, such that when the vehicle is in autonomous mode, the autonomous mode may be overridden and terminated by the driver and the vehicle transitioned to the manual mode based on a detected steering input of the driver.
The motivation to do so is that, as acknowledged by Takahama, this allows for improved selection of driving mode ([0004]-[0007]).
In regards to claim 7, Takahama teaches a driver’s operation, such as steering, may override autonomous control to transition to a manual mode when traveling in the autonomous mode ([0022]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to modify the vehicle control system of Keyes, as already modified by Takahama, by further incorporating the teachings of Takahama, such that when the vehicle is in autonomous mode, the autonomous mode may be overridden through a steering input from the driver and terminated by the driver and the vehicle transitioned to the manual mode.
The motivation to do so is the same as acknowledged by Takahama in regards to claim 6.
In regards to claim 19, Keyes teaches the method according to claim 8.
Claim 19 recites a method having substantially the same features of claim 6 above, therefore claim 19 is rejected for the same reasons as claim 6.
In regards to claim 20, Keyes, as modified by Takahama, teaches the method according to claim 19.
Claim 20 recites a method having substantially the same features of claim 7 above, therefore claim 20 is rejected for the same reasons as claim 7.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kentley-Klay et al. (US 20250005378) teaches manual override through a driver’s action when in an autonomous mode of a vehicle.
Stahl et al. (US 20200262475) teaches override torque for a steering wheel of a vehicle that allows a driver to override autonomous travel.
Zeitzew (US 20070061053) teaches a vehicle autonomous override condition.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHIAS S WEISFELD whose telephone number is (571)272-7258. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
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/MATTHIAS S WEISFELD/Examiner, Art Unit 3661
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