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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 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.
Claim(s) 15-21,23-28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Schein et al US 2018/0370532.
In Re 15-21,23-24 Schein teaches:
15. (New) A method for operating an assistance system (abstract) for a towing (para 41)vehicle (104) to carry out a turning maneuver (title), comprising:
registering an operator (“operator” para 45) input (paras 39,50 “inputs from operator”) from a user of the towing vehicle, wherein instructions for the turning maneuver are provided by means of the operator input (602 para 45), and wherein the operator input describes a predefined target position (606 “location”) for the turning maneuver (“U-turn”), and
executing the turning maneuver (612 paras 52-53) in an at least partially automated (para 53 “assisting”) manner based on the operator input.
16. (New) The method of claim 15, wherein the predefined target position of the turning maneuver includes a predefined articulation angle (paras 37,42, fig 3) that describes an angle between the towing vehicle and a trailer coupled to the towing vehicle (“angle of the trailer relative to the truck”).
17. (New) The method of claim 16, further comprising:
outputting an environment model (construed as para 31 “U-turn map”) describing an environment of the towing vehicle, wherein the predefined target position and/or the predefined articulation angle is defined based on the environment model (the map contains the paths and targets).
18. (New) The method of claim 16, further comprising: outputting a target position proposal that describes an initial suggestion for the predefined target position (paras 28,36,37, “starting point” and “endpoint”) and/or (optional) an initial suggestion for the predefined articulation angle.
19. (New) The method of claim 18, wherein the predefined target position and/or the predefined articulation angle is defined by means of a modification (para 39 “modify candidate operation” and paras 40-42 “more than one sequence of link e.g. possible paths” and “select” a particular path, note each unique path contains unique positions including unique targets) of the target position proposal.
20. (New) The method of claim 19, further comprising: detecting and characterizing an object (paras 29-33,36,39-42 “object”) in the environment of the towing vehicle that causes the predefined target position to be unreachable (“obstruction), and determining the corrected target position based on the detected and characterized object (para 33 “generate feasible operation of the U-trun by modifying the candidate operation”).
21. (New) The method of claim 15, further comprising: detecting that a trailer is coupled (para 15 sensors detect vehicle parameters including trailer or paras 42-43 and “trailer parameters”, the trailer must inherently be detected to be coupled when planning path for vehicle with trailer and associated trailer parameters) to the towing vehicle, wherein the predefined target position of the turning maneuver includes a predefined articulation angle that describes an angle between the towing vehicle and the trailer (paras 37,42, fig 3) vehicle (“angle of the trailer relative to the truck”).
23. (New) The method of claim 22, wherein the detected and characterized object is at least classified as temporary (para 30 “moving object”) or permanent (“stationary object”).
24. (New) The method of claim 15, further comprising: carrying out a continuous reachability check during execution of the turning maneuver, wherein, during the continuous reachability check, it is verified whether the predefined target position continues to be reachable, and using a corrected target position in lieu of the predefined target position for the turning maneuver if the predefined target position is unreachable (paras 29-33).
25. (New) A computing device (fig 2) for a towing vehicle (para 41), wherein the computing device is configured to carry out the method of claim 15 (see in re 15 above).
26. (New) A non-transitory computer-readable medium (paras 24-26 teaches non-transitory memory) storing instructions executable by a computing device to carry out the method of claim 15 (see in re 15 above).
27. (New) An assistance system for a towing vehicle (paras 41), the assistance system comprising: a computing device (paras 54-55) configured to carry out the method of claim 15 (see in re 15 above); and a display-control device (218 fig 2 notification module) configured to: display (para 36 “visible”) an environment model (construed as para 31 “U-turn map”) output by the computing device, and detect the operator input (212/214 input) from the user.
28. (New) A towing vehicle (para 41) comprising: a trailer hitch (inherent to towing vehicles), and an assistance system comprising :a computing device (paras 54-55) configured to carry out the method of claim 15 (see in re 15 above); and a display-control device (218 fig 2 notification module) configured to: display (para 36 “visible”) an environment model (construed as para 31 “U-turn map”) output by the computing device, and detect the operator input (212/214 input) from the user.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schein et al US 2018/0370532 in view of Yu 2021/096573.
In 22 Schein further teaches carrying out an initial reachability check before executing the turning maneuver (606), wherein, during the initial reachability check, it is verified whether the predefined target position is reachable, and outputting a notification based on the initial reachability check (610).
Schein does not teach however Yu teaches in compliance with applicable traffic regulations (paras 38,51). Yu further teaches illegal turns need to be avoided para 38. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention (AIA ) to add Yu’s regulatory compliance to Schein’s method to avoid illegal turns.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: the prior art not applied lets the user specify a predefined target position for the end of a turning maneuver, and the assistance system then plans and executes the maneuver at least partially automatically toward that target.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CARL C STAUBACH whose telephone number is (571)272-3748. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Interview Agendas can be faxed to examiner at (571)273-3748.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Logan Kraft can be reached at 571-270-5065. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CARL C STAUBACH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747
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