CTNF 19/062,714 CTNF 97496 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Priority The applicant’s claim to priority JP2024-067365 on 04/18/2024 is acknowledged. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/25/2025 complies with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Malone et al. (20160167653; hereinafter Malone) . Regarding claim 1 , Malone teaches a vehicle comprising: an autonomous driving system (Malone: Fig. 1 Element 12); a vehicle platform that executes vehicle control according to a command from the autonomous driving system (Malone: Fig. 1 Element 10, “ Vehicle 10 is configured to be controlled by an autonomous or remote controller 12 ” ¶ 17); and a vehicle control interface that provides an interface between the vehicle platform and the autonomous driving system, wherein when a communication abnormality occurs between the autonomous driving system and the vehicle control interface (Malone: “ the integrity of the communication, which may be ensured using checksums, message counters, or other communication errors, in any message coming from the external module to the vehicle gateway is compromised the vehicle enters the lockout mode ” ¶ 44), the vehicle control interface does not receive a steering request before the communication abnormality occurs (Malone: “ When the vehicle 10 is in autonomous or remote control mode, communications failures may occur ... ” ¶ 54, “ Steering: steering angle maintained at last valid requested angle ” ¶ 56). Regarding claim 2 , Malone teaches the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein when the communication abnormality occurs, the vehicle control interface continues control corresponding to an accelerator off state (Malone: “ When the vehicle 10 is in autonomous or remote control mode, communications failures may occur ... ” ¶ 54, “ Engine: pedal command interpreted as 0% ” ¶ 58). Regarding claim 3 , Malone teaches the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein: the vehicle platform includes a steering actuator (Malone: “ Communication interface module 14 further communicates with an electronic power steering control 24. The power steering control 24 controls a steering position function 26 for guiding the vehicle 10 ” ¶ 20); and when the communication abnormality occurs, the vehicle control interface turns off steering control in which the steering actuator is used (Malone: “ In the event of a communications failure ... the communication interface module 14 enter the lockout mode discussed above ” ¶ 54, “ In lockout mode the vehicle operations may comprise… ” ¶ 43) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Malone in view of Anderson et al. (11608082) . Regarding claim 4 , Malone fails to teach the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the autonomous driving system is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the vehicle platform . However, in a similar field of endeavor, Anderson teaches wherein the autonomous driving system is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the vehicle platform (Anderson: Fig. 1, “ Unit 100 is a universal system that can be removed from vehicle 104 and mounted on a variety of different models. In this example, vehicle 104 is originally a non-autonomous vehicle that is converted to an autonomous vehicle by unit 100 without permanently modifying vehicle 104. Indeed, unit 100 may be removed from vehicle 104 thereby converting it back to a non-autonomous vehicle ” Col. 5 Lines 55-61). As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of effective filing and with a reasonable expectation for success, to have modified the autonomous driving system of Malone so that it also includes the element of an attachable and detachable autonomous driving system, as taught by Anderson, in order to operate a plurality of vehicles in an autonomous and non-autonomous mode (Anderson: Col. 6 Lines 59-63) . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Iwaki (20240239357) is in the similar field of endeavor as the claimed invention of autonomous vehicle control . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CLINT V PHAM whose telephone number is (571)272-4543. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abby Flynn can be reached at 571-272-9855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /C.P./Examiner, Art Unit 3663 /ABBY J FLYNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3663 Application/Control Number: 19/062,714 Page 2 Art Unit: 3663 Application/Control Number: 19/062,714 Page 3 Art Unit: 3663 Application/Control Number: 19/062,714 Page 4 Art Unit: 3663 Application/Control Number: 19/062,714 Page 5 Art Unit: 3663
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