DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on January 21, 2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 4 – 6, 9, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “select a second vehicle among the plurality of vehicles equipped with a second information acquisition unit ... and reposition the second vehicle to be behind the first vehicle, based on determining that the first vehicle is not equipped with the first information acquisition unit” in the fourth paragraph of the body of the claim. Examiner has been unable to find support for the limitation in the originally filed specification. In each embodiment taught in the specification, a determination is made as to whether or not a first vehicle is equipped with a first information acquisition unit (paragraphs 38, 46, and 51). If it is determined that the first vehicle is not equipped with the first information acquisition unit, then a second vehicle that is equipped with a second information unit is selected (paragraphs 38, 47, and 52). However, if it is determined that the first vehicle is equipped with the first information acquisition unit, then a second vehicle that is not equipped with a second information unit is selected (paragraphs 40 and 53). Then, regardless of whether or not the second vehicle is equipped with the second information acquisition unit, the second vehicle is repositioned to be behind the first vehicle (paragraphs 38, 40, 47, 49, and 52 – 54). Therefore, because the step of repositioning the second vehicle behind the first vehicle occurs regardless of the outcome of the determining step, the step of repositioning is not “based on” the determining of the first vehicle not being equipped with the first information acquisition unit.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER BESLER whose telephone number is (571)270-5331. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 10:30 am - 7:30 pm (EST).
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/CHRISTOPHER J. BESLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3726
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