DETAILED ACTION
This is a first action on the merits. Claims 1-25 are pending.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/27/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 1-25 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the equipped vehicle" in lines 3, 9-10, 20, 21, 22-23 and 24. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
In line 2, Claim 1 recites “a vehicle equipped with…” and the claim further goes on to refer to “the vehicle” in lines 9 and 15. From this language, it is unclear if “the vehicle” and “the equipped vehicle” are both referring to the same “vehicle equipped with…” recited in line 2. Under the broadest reasonable interpretation and in light of the specification, the examiner is interpreting “the vehicle” and “the equipped vehicle” to mean the same vehicle referred to in line 2. However, clarification is necessary to eliminate ambiguity.
Independent claims 20 and 23 also have the same discrepancy of referring to both an “equipped vehicle” and “the vehicle” throughout the claims and therefore claims 20 and 23 are also rejected under the same rationale used in the rejection of claim 1. All dependent claims are also rejected under the same rationale used in the rejection of claim 1 by virtue of dependency.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-7, 12, 16, 18, 20 and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. "Wang" (US 2021/0157321 A1) in view of Maeda et al. “Maeda” (US 2020/0210722 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Wang teaches
A vehicular sensing system see at least FIG. 4; sensor system 406, the vehicular sensing system comprising:
a sensor disposed at a vehicle equipped with the vehicular sensing system, wherein the sensor senses exterior of the equipped vehicle, and wherein the sensor is operable to capture sensor data see at least FIG. 4 where vehicle 402 comprises a sensor system 406 which include Lidar, radar, camera, etc. and see at least FIG. 1 and [0009] where vehicle 402 uses sensors to capture sensor data to detect objects in an environment of the vehicle;
an electronic control unit (ECU) comprising electronic circuitry and associated software see at least FIG. 4 and [0098]-[0099]; first computing device 404 and second computing device 418 and memory 422 and memory 438 which can store an operating system and one or more software applications, instructions, programs, etc.
wherein the electronic circuitry of the ECU comprises a data processor operable to process the sensor data captured by the sensor and transferred to the ECU see at least [0098]; processor(s) 420, 436, and/or 450;
wherein, with the vehicle moving relative to an object exterior of the equipped vehicle see at least [0023] where operation 102 (see FIG. 1) can be performed by an autonomous vehicle as it traverses the environment 104, the vehicular sensing system, via processing at the ECU of sensor data captured by the sensor, determines two-dimensional (2D) points associated with the object, and wherein each 2D point corresponds to a respective location on the object see at least [0012]-[0013] where lidar data can be associated with a two-dimensional data representation and data represented in the 2D space can be clustered to determine an object represented in the data. Also see at least FIG. 1; operation 114 and [0027]-[0029] where the clustering operations can be used to determine object data 154 representing the data points 138, 140, 142, 146 and 148 which represent the object 108 in the environment 104;
wherein the vehicular sensing system determines although Wang does not expressly disclose determining the width of the object (as indicated by the above strikethrough), Wang teaches determining the height of the object based on a spatial distribution of a subset of the 2D points associated with the object as the vehicle moves relative to the object (see at least [0031]-[0034]).
wherein the vehicular sensing system determines height of the object based at least in part on (i) 2D points associated with the object see at least [0031]-[0034] where a first height 160 of the object can be determined based on a vertical extent of data associated with the object data 154
wherein the vehicular sensing system, based at least in part on movement of the equipped vehicle relative to the object, determines whether the object is within a path of travel of the equipped vehicle see at least [0024] where operation 110 includes identifying a corridor 112 associated with a trajectory of an autonomous vehicle and also see at least [0107]-[0109] where, when the lidar data is captured via one or more lidar sensors at operation 502, the operation 504 includes removing data outside of a corridor associated with a trajectory for the autonomous vehicle to follow. This process corresponds to determining whether the object is within a path of the travel of the equipped vehicle since the process is only concerned with lidar data (e.g., objects) present in the corridor associated with a trajectory of the autonomous vehicle; and
wherein, responsive to (i) the object being within the path of travel of the equipped vehicle see at least [0024] & [0107]-[0109] and (ii) the determined height of the object exceeding a height threshold, the equipped vehicle is maneuvered to avoid the object see at least FIG. 5, operation 514 and [0113] where the vehicle is controlled based at least in part on the height associated with the object meeting or exceeding a threshold height. Further, see at least [0019] where the vehicle is controlled based on the size of the object being above a threshold. For example, the vehicle may be controlled to generate a trajectory, execute a safe stop trajectory, and the like.
Wang teaches all of the elements of the current invention as stated above except:
wherein the vehicular sensing system determines width of the object based at least in part on a spatial distribution of a subset of the 2D points associated with the object as the vehicle moves relative to the object;
wherein the vehicular sensing system determines height of the object based at least in part on (ii) the determined width of the object.
Maeda teaches that it is known to provide the vehicular sensing system
wherein the vehicular sensing system determines width of the object based at least in part on a spatial distribution of a subset of the 2D points associated with the object as the vehicle moves relative to the object see at least FIG. 2; FIG. 4; [0026]-[0028] and [0039]-[0042] where the object width is determined via a first ultrasonic sensor 22a and a second sensor 22b and is determined based on a plurality of reflection points (e.g., 2D points) detected within a vehicle width. The monitoring ECU 30 obtains a plurality of reflection surface line segments (based on coordinates of two reflection points) at different positions, determines that neighboring plurality of reflection surface line segments belong to the same object and combines them to determine the width of the object;
wherein the vehicular sensing system determines height of the object based at least in part on (ii) the determined width of the object see at least [0047] where the object height information is detected in step S14. Since the object height is determined after the determination of the object width, this corresponds to determining the height based at least in part on the determined width of the object under the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) in light of the specification.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified Wang to incorporate the teachings of Maeda and provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the vehicular sensing system determines width of the object based at least in part on a spatial distribution of a subset of the 2D points associated with the object as the vehicle moves relative to the object; and wherein the vehicular sensing system determines height of the object based at least in part on (ii) the determined width of the object. In doing so, the system is improved by making it possible to recognize the information (e.g., size of the object) on an object existing near the vehicle with high accuracy and as soon as possible [0008].
Regarding claim 3, Wang in view of Maeda is further modified by Maeda to teach:
The vehicular sensing system of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises an ultrasonic sensor see at least Maeda [0018] where ultrasonic sensor 22 is mounted on a vehicle for measuring distance to nearby objects.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have further modified Wang with the teachings of Maeda to provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the sensor comprises an ultrasonic sensor. In doing so, the sensing system utilizing ultrasonic sensors instead of lidar sensors is a simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
Regarding claim 4, Wang in view of Maeda teaches
The vehicular sensing system of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a radar sensor see at least Wang FIG. 4; [0071]; and [0074]- [0075] where the sensor system 406 includes a radar sensor.
Regarding claim 5, Wang in view of Maeda teaches
The vehicular sensing system of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises an image sensor see at least Wang FIG. 4; [0071]; and [0074]- [0075] where the sensor system 406 includes an image sensor.
Regarding claim 6, Wang in view of Maeda teaches
The vehicular sensing system of claim 5, wherein the path of travel of the equipped vehicle is determined at least in part via processing of image data captured by image sensor see at least Wang [0081] where the perception component 426 includes using sensor system 406 to capture one or more images of an environment. Further, see at least Wang [0085] where the planning component 430 can use data from the perception component 426 (including the captured images) to determine a route to travel from a first location to a second location to avoid objects in the environment.
Regarding claim 7, Wang in view of Maeda teaches
The vehicular sensing system of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a lidar sensor see at least Wang see at least FIG. 4 and [0023] where the sensor system 406 includes a lidar sensor.
Regarding claim 12, Wang in view of Maeda teaches
The vehicular sensing system of claim 1, wherein movement of the equipped vehicle relative to the object is determined via at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) a steering angle of the equipped vehicle, (ii) a velocity of the equipped vehicle see at least Wang FIG. 4; 104 and [0024] where the system may identify a corridor 112 associated with the trajectory of the autonomous vehicle based on a current velocity of the vehicle and an acceleration of the equipped vehicle.
Wang is further modified by Maeda in order to teach wherein movement of the equipped vehicle relative to the object is determined via at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) a steering angle of the equipped vehicle. See at least [0057] where movement of the vehicle 50 relative to the object is determined using vehicle information including a steering angle.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have further modified Wang in view of Maeda and provide the determining movement of the vehicle relative to the object based on a steering angle. In doing so, it increases the accuracy of determining whether the vehicle is currently moving toward or away from a nearby detected object.
Further, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have further modified Wang in view of Maeda to incorporate the vehicle’s acceleration when determining movement of the vehicle relative to the object. The vehicle’s acceleration is relevant information when determining the movement of the vehicle and therefore a person having ordinary skill in the art would be equipped to use the acceleration of the vehicle (a well-known component corresponding to vehicle motion) in order to determine the movement of a vehicle relative to a nearby object. This is especially useful in avoiding collisions with nearby objects as the vehicle traverses an environment.
Regarding claim 16, Wang in view of Maeda teaches
The vehicular sensing system of claim 1, wherein maneuvering to avoid the object occurs responsive to determining that distance between the equipped vehicle and the object is equal to a threshold braking distance, and wherein the threshold braking distance comprises a determined minimum distance that the equipped vehicle needs to avoid colliding with the object see at least Wang [0085] and [0095] where the planning component 444 can generate a safe stop trajectory (e.g., a trajectory to stop the vehicle 402 with a “comfortable” deacceleration) in order to prevent a collision between the vehicle 402 and a nearby object.
Regarding claim 18, Wang in view of Maeda teaches
The vehicular sensing system of claim 1, wherein the sensor senses at least forward of the vehicle, and wherein the vehicular sensing system determines whether the detected object is within a path of forward travel of the equipped vehicle see at least Wang FIG. 1; [0067] and [0085] the planning component 430 may determine a path for the vehicle 402 to follow to traverse through an environment while avoiding objects in the environment.
Regarding claim 20, Wang in view of Maeda teaches
A vehicular sensing system see at least Wang FIG. 4; sensor system 406, the vehicular sensing system comprising:
an ultrasonic sensor disposed at a vehicle equipped with the vehicular sensing system, wherein the ultrasonic sensor senses exterior of the equipped vehicle, and wherein the ultrasonic sensor is operable to capture sensor data see at least Maeda FIG. 1; [0018] and [0020] where ultrasonic sensor 22 is mounted on a vehicle for measuring distance to nearby objects;
an electronic control unit (ECU) comprising electronic circuitry and associated software see at least Wang FIG. 4 and [0098]-[0099]; first computing device 404 and second computing device 418 and memory 422 and memory 438 which can store an operating system and one or more software applications, instructions, programs, etc.;
wherein the electronic circuitry of the ECU comprises a data processor operable to process the sensor data captured by the ultrasonic sensor and transferred to the ECU see at least Wang [0098]; processor(s) 420, 436, and/or 450;
wherein, with the vehicle moving relative to an object exterior of the equipped vehicle see at least Wang [0023] where operation 102 (see FIG. 1) can be performed by an autonomous vehicle as it traverses the environment 104, the vehicular sensing system, via processing at the ECU of sensor data captured by the ultrasonic sensor, determines two-dimensional (2D) points associated with the object, and wherein each 2D point corresponds to a respective location on the object see at least Wang [0012]-[0013] where lidar data can be associated with a two-dimensional data representation and data represented in the 2D space can be clustered to determine an object represented in the data. Also see at least FIG. 1; operation 114 and [0027]-[0029] where the clustering operations can be used to determine object data 154 representing the data points 138, 140, 142, 146 and 148 which represent the object 108 in the environment 104. Although Wang utilizes a lidar sensor rather than an ultrasonic sensor, Maeda teaches that it is known to provide an ultrasonic sensor to measure distances to nearby objects;
wherein the vehicular sensing system determines width of the object based at least in part on a spatial distribution of a subset of the 2D points associated with the object as the vehicle moves relative to the object see at least Maeda FIG. 2; FIG. 4; [0026]-[0028] and [0039]-[0042] where the object width is determined via a first ultrasonic sensor 22a and a second sensor 22b and is determined based on a plurality of reflection points (e.g., 2D points) detected within a vehicle width. The monitoring ECU 30 obtains a plurality of reflection surface line segments (based on coordinates of two reflection points) at different positions, determines that neighboring plurality of reflection surface line segments belong to the same object and combines them to determine the width of the object;
wherein the vehicular sensing system determines height of the object based at least in part on (i) 2D points associated with the object see at least [0031]-[0034] where a first height 160 of the object can be determined based on a vertical extent of data associated with the object data 154 and (ii) the determined width of the object see at least Maeda [0047] where the object height information is detected in step S14. Since the object height is determined after the determination of the object width, this corresponds to determining the height based at least in part on the determined width of the object under the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) in light of the specification;
wherein the vehicular sensing system, based at least in part on movement of the equipped vehicle relative to the object, determines whether the object is within a path of travel of the equipped vehicle see at least Wang [0024] where operation 110 includes identifying a corridor 112 associated with a trajectory of an autonomous vehicle and also see at least [0107]-[0109] where, when the lidar data is captured via one or more lidar sensors at operation 502, the operation 504 includes removing data outside of a corridor associated with a trajectory for the autonomous vehicle to follow. This process corresponds to determining whether the object is within a path of the travel of the equipped vehicle since the process is only concerned with lidar data (e.g., objects) present in the corridor associated with a trajectory of the autonomous vehicle; and
wherein, responsive to (i) the object being within the path of travel of the equipped vehicle see at least Wang [0024] & [0107]-[0109] and (ii) determining that the determined height of the object exceeds a height threshold based on the determined width being less than a width threshold, the equipped vehicle is maneuvered to avoid the object see at least Wang FIG. 5, operation 514 and [0113] where the vehicle is controlled based at least in part on the height associated with the object meeting or exceeding a threshold height. Further, see at least [0019] where the vehicle is controlled based on the size of the object being above a threshold. For example, the vehicle may be controlled to generate a trajectory, execute a safe stop trajectory, and the like.
Claim 21 recites substantially similar technical features as claim 16 and is therefore rejected using the same rationale used in the rejection of claim 16.
Claim(s) 2 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Maeda as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Shah (US 2022/0227366 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Wang in view of Maeda teaches
The vehicular sensing system of claim 1, Wang in view of Maeda teaches all of the elements of the current invention as stated above except:
wherein the vehicular sensing system, via information data pertaining to movement of the equipped vehicle, determines whether another object is within the path of travel of the equipped vehicle and, responsive to determining that the other object is within the path of travel and height of the other object fails to satisfy the height threshold, generates a notification alerting a driver of the equipped vehicle of the other object.
However, Shah teaches that it is known to provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the vehicular sensing system, via information data pertaining to movement of the equipped vehicle, determines whether another object is within the path of travel of the equipped vehicle and, responsive to determining that the other object is within the path of travel and height of the other object fails to satisfy the height threshold, generates a notification alerting a driver of the equipped vehicle of the other object see at least [0021]-[0022] and Claim 1 where, during a maneuver of the vehicle, system 12 may determine that the height of an object within the path of the maneuver is lower than a threshold height for alerts and further may determine that an alert is necessary in relation to the object approaching the roof-line of the vehicle.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified Wang in view of Maeda to incorporate the teachings of Shah and provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the vehicular sensing system, via information data pertaining to movement of the equipped vehicle, determines whether another object is within the path of travel of the equipped vehicle and, responsive to determining that the other object is within the path of travel and height of the other object fails to satisfy the height threshold, generates a notification alerting a driver of the equipped vehicle of the other object. In doing so, this provides an improvement of not only detecting the presence and height of an object within a trajectory of the vehicle but also providing notification or alert to the driver of the vehicle [0004] to keep the driver informed and aware of the surrounding environment.
Regarding claim 19, Wang in view of Maeda teaches
The vehicular sensing system of claim 1,
Wang in view of Maeda is modified in view of Shah in order to teach:
wherein the sensor senses at least rearward of the vehicle see at least Shah FIG. 1; 14a and [0012], and wherein the vehicular sensing system determines whether the detected object is within a path of rearward travel of the equipped vehicle see at least Shah FIG. 2 and [0013]-[0014] where one or more ultrasonic sensors may be used to sense objects in the path of the vehicle during a reversing maneuver.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified Wang in view of Maeda to incorporate the teachings of Shah and provide the vehicular sensing system to provide the sensor which senses rearward of the vehicle and wherein the vehicular sensing system determines whether the detected object is within a path of rearward travel of the equipped vehicle. In doing so, this provides an improvement of not only detecting the presence and height of an object within a trajectory of the vehicle but also providing notification or alert to the driver of the vehicle [0004] to keep the driver informed and aware of the surrounding environment.
Claim(s) 9 and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Maeda as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Takahashi et al. "Takahashi" (US 2010/0207806 A1) and Aizawa (US 2013/0120184 A1).
Regarding claim 9, Wang in view of Maeda teaches
The vehicular sensing system of claim 1,
Wang in view of Maeda teaches all of the elements of the current invention as stated above except wherein the vehicular sensing system, via processing the sensor data, determines the width of the object by (i) defining a window region based on a closest 2D point within a region of interest to the equipped vehicle, the window region comprising one or more window bins, and (ii) determining whether the 2D points associated with the object span across a predetermined number of the window bins.
Takahashi teaches that it is known to provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the vehicular sensing system, via processing the sensor data, determines see at least FIG. 11 and [0100]where the window region corresponds to the entire detection range which includes a closest 2D point within the region in front of the vehicle (e.g., region of interest), the window region comprising one or more window bins see at least FIG. 11 and [0100] where the control circuit 80 divides the entire detection range into a preset number of range bins, and (ii) determining whether the 2D points associated with the object span across a predetermined number of the window bins see at least [0101]-[0104] where it is determined that there is a target in one of the longest range bins such that a first target-including range bin is detected. The control circuit 80 goes on to detect whether a second target-including range bin and a third target-including range bin is detected. In other words, the control circuit 80 determines whether the target is detected in at least one of the range bins (i.e., predetermined number of window bins).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified Wang in view of Maeda to incorporate the teachings of Takahashi and provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the vehicular sensing system, via processing the sensor data, determines the width of the object by (i) defining a window region based on a closest 2D point within a region of interest to the equipped vehicle, the window region comprising one or more window bins, and (ii) determining whether the 2D points associated with the object span across a predetermined number of the window bins. In doing so, the system is improved by enabling a radar (or other distance measuring sensor) to quickly and accurately detect an object in calculating the relative distance or relative speed with respect to the object [0005].
Takahashi does not explicitly disclose determining the width of the object, however, Aizawa teaches that it is known to determine the width of the object based on 2D points spanning across a plurality of bins. For example, see at least [0062]-[0063] where the direction of the target object is detected based on a distance bin basis which makes it possible to detect the area in which the target object exists and makes it possible to detect the width of the target object.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified Wang in view of Maeda and Takahashi to incorporate the teachings of Aizawa to provide the determining of the object width based on a plurality of 2D points spanning across a plurality of bins. In doing so, it makes it possible to detect the area in which the target object exists within the detection region and the size and width of the target object with a high accuracy [0062]-[0063].
Claim 22 recites substantially similar technical features as claim 9 and is therefore rejected using the same rationale used in the rejection of claim 9.
Claim(s) 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Maeda, Takahashi and Aizawa as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Ding et al. “Ding” (US 2020/0167578 A1).
Regarding claim 10, Wang in view of Maeda, Takahashi and Aizawa teaches
The vehicular sensing system of claim 9,
Wang in view of Maeda, Takahashi and Aizawa teaches all the elements of the current invention as stated above except
wherein the vehicular sensing system, responsive to determining that the 2D points associated with the object span across the predetermined number of the window bins, determines that the determined width of the object exceeds a width threshold.
Ding teaches that it is known to provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the vehicular sensing system, responsive to determining that the 2D points associated with the object span across the predetermined number of the window bins, determines that the determined width of the object exceeds a width threshold see at least the abstract where an object tracking method includes obtaining an image of an area in front of a vehicle (i.e., window), dividing the image into a plurality of sub-images (i.e., window bins), and determining a plurality of sub-images that satisfy a plurality of threshold conditions. Further, see at least [0069] and [0073] where the plurality of threshold conditions includes a real width of the target object in the sub-image is in a threshold width range. For example, a real width of the target object in the sub-image is in a threshold width range (e.g., greater than a threshold width). In this scenario, the object spans across one window bin.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified Wang in view of Maeda, Takahashi and Aizawa to incorporate the teachings of Ding and provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the vehicular sensing system, responsive to determining that the 2D points associated with the object span across the predetermined number of the window bins, determines that the determined width of the object exceeds a width threshold. In doing so, the system is improved by detecting a dangerous situation in its early stage and notifying the driver to avoid the danger [0003].
Regarding claim 11, Wang in view of Maeda, Takahashi, Aizawa is further modified in view of Ding to teach
The vehicular sensing system of claim 9, wherein the vehicular sensing system, responsive to determining that the 2D points associated with the object does not span across the predetermined number of the window bins, determines that the width of the object is less than a width threshold see at least the abstract of Ding where an object tracking method includes obtaining an image of an area in front of a vehicle (i.e., window), dividing the image into a plurality of sub-images (i.e., window bins), and determining a plurality of sub-images that satisfy a plurality of threshold conditions. Further, see at least [0069] and [0073] where the plurality of threshold conditions includes a real width of the target object in the sub-image is in a threshold width range. For example, a third threshold condition includes limiting the real width of the target object in a range of threshold widths wherein it may be determined that an object is not within a range of threshold widths. In this scenario, the predetermined number of bins is one.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have further modified Wang in view of Maeda, Takahashi and Aizawa to incorporate the teachings of Ding and provide the vehicular sensing system the vehicular sensing system of claim 9, wherein the vehicular sensing system, responsive to determining that the 2D points associated with the object does not span across the predetermined number of the window bins, determines that the width of the object is less than a width threshold In doing so, the system is improved by detecting a dangerous situation in its early stage and notifying the driver to avoid the danger [0003].
Claim(s) 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Maeda as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Steyer et al. (US 2022/0153276 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Wang in view of Maeda teaches
The vehicular sensing system of claim 1,
Wang in view of Maeda teaches all of the elements of the current invention as stated above except wherein the vehicular sensing system, responsive to the determined width of the object exceeding a width threshold, maintains the determined width of the object for a predetermined amount of time irrespective of new sensor data captured by the sensor during the predetermined amount of time.
However, Steyer teaches that it is known to provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the vehicular sensing system, responsive to the determined width of the object exceeding a width threshold, maintains the determined width of the object for a predetermined amount of time irrespective of new sensor data captured by the sensor during the predetermined amount of time see at least [0042] and [0047] where a method comprises determining a bounding box of the object with a certain length and a certain width wherein the bounding box is determined on the basis of positions of a determined subset of one or more cells of the object. Further, see at least [0136]-[0144] where at time t, the object 150 has an actual bounding box having a certain width and a certain length and the object state for object 150 is only updated at consecutive time instants t.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified Wang in view of Maeda to incorporate the teachings of Steyer and provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the vehicular sensing system, responsive to the determined width of the object exceeding a width threshold, maintains the determined width of the object for a predetermined amount of time irrespective of new sensor data captured by the sensor during the predetermined amount of time. In doing so, the system is improved by providing a predetermined time duration (Δt) between two directly consecutive time steps which may aid in reducing processing power.
Regarding claim 14, Wang in view of Maeda and Steyer teaches
The vehicular sensing system of claim 13, wherein determining that the width of the object exceeds the width threshold comprises determining whether the determined width of the object is currently being maintained for the predetermined amount of time see at least Steyer [0042] and [0047] where a method comprises determining a bounding box of the object with a certain length and a certain width wherein the bounding box is determined on the basis of positions of a determined subset of one or more cells of the object. Further, see at least [0136]-[0144] where at time t, the object 150 has an actual bounding box having a certain width and a certain length and the object state for object 150 is only updated at consecutive time instants t.
Regarding claim 15, Wang in view of Maeda is further modified in view of Steyer to teach
The vehicular sensing system of claim 13, wherein the vehicular sensing system, responsive to determining an elapsed time since determining any 2D point from the 2D points exceeds an age threshold, resets the maintained determined width of the object see at least Steyer [0019]-[0020]; [0028]-[0029] and [0120].
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have further modified Wang in view of Maeda to incorporate the teachings of Steyer and provide the vehicular sensing system of claim 13, wherein the vehicular sensing system, responsive to determining an elapsed time since determining any 2D point from the 2D points exceeds an age threshold, resets the maintained determined width of the object. In doing so, the system is improved by continuously updating the 2D points at regular intervals in order to make sure the system always has the most recent data for avoiding collision with nearby objects.
Claim(s) 23, 25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Maeda, Takahashi, Aizawa, Ding and Steyer.
Regarding claim 23, Wang in view of Maeda, Takahashi, Aizawa, Ding and Steyer teaches
A vehicular sensing system see at least Wang FIG. 4; sensor system 406, the vehicular sensing system comprising:
a sensor disposed at a vehicle equipped with the vehicular sensing system, wherein the sensor senses exterior of the equipped vehicle, and wherein the sensor is operable to capture sensor data see at least Wang FIG. 4 where vehicle 402 comprises a sensor system 406 which include Lidar, radar, camera, etc. and see at least FIG. 1 and [0009] where vehicle 402 uses sensors to capture sensor data to detect objects in an environment of the vehicle;
an electronic control unit (ECU) comprising electronic circuitry and associated software see at least Wang FIG. 4 and [0098]-[0099]; first computing device 404 and second computing device 418 and memory 422 and memory 438 which can store an operating system and one or more software applications, instructions, programs, etc.;
wherein the electronic circuitry of the ECU comprises a data processor operable to process the sensor data captured by the sensor and transferred to the ECU see at least Wang [0098]; processor(s) 420, 436, and/or 450;
wherein, with the vehicle moving relative to an object exterior of the equipped vehicle see at least Wang [0023] where operation 102 (see FIG. 1) can be performed by an autonomous vehicle as it traverses the environment 104, the vehicular sensing system, via processing at the ECU of sensor data captured by the sensor, determines two-dimensional (2D) points associated with the object, and wherein each 2D point corresponds to a respective location on the object see at least Wang [0012]-[0013] where lidar data can be associated with a two-dimensional data representation and data represented in the 2D space can be clustered to determine an object represented in the data. Also see at least FIG. 1; operation 114 and [0027]-[0029] where the clustering operations can be used to determine object data 154 representing the data points 138, 140, 142, 146 and 148 which represent the object 108 in the environment 104;
wherein the vehicular sensing system determines although Wang does not expressly disclose determining the width of the object (as indicated by the above strikethrough), Wang teaches determining the height of the object based on a spatial distribution of a subset of the 2D points associated with the object as the vehicle moves relative to the object (see at least [0031]-[0034]).
wherein the vehicular sensing system determines height of the object based at least in part on (i) 2D points associated with the object see at least Wang [0031]-[0034] where a first height 160 of the object can be determined based on a vertical extent of data associated with the object data 154
wherein the vehicular sensing system, based at least in part on movement of the equipped vehicle relative to the object, determines whether the object is within a path of travel of the equipped vehicle see at least Wang [0024] where operation 110 includes identifying a corridor 112 associated with a trajectory of an autonomous vehicle and also see at least [0107]-[0109] where, when the lidar data is captured via one or more lidar sensors at operation 502, the operation 504 includes removing data outside of a corridor associated with a trajectory for the autonomous vehicle to follow. This process corresponds to determining whether the object is within a path of the travel of the equipped vehicle since the process is only concerned with lidar data (e.g., objects) present in the corridor associated with a trajectory of the autonomous vehicle;
and wherein, responsive to (i) the object being within the path of travel of the equipped vehicle see at least Wang [0024] & [0107]-[0109] and (ii) the determined height of the object exceeding a height threshold, the equipped vehicle is maneuvered to avoid the object see at least Wang FIG. 5, operation 514 and [0113] where the vehicle is controlled based at least in part on the height associated with the object meeting or exceeding a threshold height. Further, see at least [0019] where the vehicle is controlled based on the size of the object being above a threshold. For example, the vehicle may be controlled to generate a trajectory, execute a safe stop trajectory, and the like.
Maeda teaches that it is known to provide the vehicular sensing system
wherein the vehicular sensing system determines width of the object based at least in part on a spatial distribution of a subset of the 2D points associated with the object as the vehicle moves relative to the object see at least FIG. 2; FIG. 4; [0026]-[0028] and [0039]-[0042] where the object width is determined via a first ultrasonic sensor 22a and a second sensor 22b and is determined based on a plurality of reflection points (e.g., 2D points) detected within a vehicle width. The monitoring ECU 30 obtains a plurality of reflection surface line segments (based on coordinates of two reflection points) at different positions, determines that neighboring plurality of reflection surface line segments belong to the same object and combines them to determine the width of the object;
wherein the vehicular sensing system determines height of the object based at least in part on (ii) the determined width of the object see at least [0047] where the object height information is detected in step S14. Since the object height is determined after the determination of the object width, this corresponds to determining the height based at least in part on the determined width of the object under the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) in light of the specification.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified Wang to incorporate the teachings of Maeda and provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the vehicular sensing system determines width of the object based at least in part on a spatial distribution of a subset of the 2D points associated with the object as the vehicle moves relative to the object; and wherein the vehicular sensing system determines height of the object based at least in part on (ii) the determined width of the object. In doing so, the system is improved by making it possible to recognize the information (e.g., size of the object) on an object existing near the vehicle with high accuracy and as soon as possible [0008].
Takahashi teaches that it is known to provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the vehicular sensing system, via processing the sensor data, determines the width of the object by (i) defining a window region based on a closest 2D point within a region of interest to the equipped vehicle see at least FIG. 11 and [0100]where the window region corresponds to the entire detection range which includes a closest 2D point within the region in front of the vehicle (e.g., region of interest), the window region comprising one or more window bins see at least FIG. 11 and [0100] where the control circuit 80 divides the entire detection range into a preset number of range bins, and (ii) determining whether the 2D points associated with the object span across a predetermined number of the window bins see at least [0101]-[0104] where it is determined that there is a target in one of the longest range bins such that a first target-including range bin is detected. The control circuit 80 goes on to detect whether a second target-including range bin and a third target-including range bin is detected. In other words, the control circuit 80 determines whether the target is detected in at least one of the range bins (i.e., predetermined number of window bins).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified Wang in view of Maeda to incorporate the teachings of Takahashi and provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the vehicular sensing system, via processing the sensor data, determines the width of the object by (i) defining a window region based on a closest 2D point within a region of interest to the equipped vehicle, the window region comprising one or more window bins, and (ii) determining whether the 2D points associated with the object span across a predetermined number of the window bins. In doing so, the system is improved by enabling a radar (or other distance measuring sensor) to quickly and accurately detect an object in calculating the relative distance or relative speed with respect to the object [0005].
Takahashi does not explicitly disclose determining the width of the object, however, Aizawa teaches that it is known to determine the width of the object based on 2D points spanning across a plurality of bins. For example, see at least [0062]-[0063] where the direction of the target object is detected based on a distance bin basis which makes it possible to detect the area in which the target object exists and makes it possible to detect the width of the target object.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified Wang in view of Maeda and Takahashi to incorporate the teachings of Aizawa to provide the determining of the object width based on a plurality of 2D points spanning across a plurality of bins. In doing so, it makes it possible to detect the area in which the target object exists within the detection region and the size and width of the target object with a high accuracy [0062]-[0063].
Ding teaches that it is known to provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the vehicular sensing system, responsive to determining that the 2D points associated with the object span across the predetermined number of the window bins, determines that the determined width of the object exceeds a width threshold see at least the abstract where an object tracking method includes obtaining an image of an area in front of a vehicle (i.e., window), dividing the image into a plurality of sub-images (i.e., window bins), and determining a plurality of sub-images that satisfy a plurality of threshold conditions. Further, see at least [0069] and [0073] where the plurality of threshold conditions includes a real width of the target object in the sub-image is in a threshold width range. For example, a real width of the target object in the sub-image is in a threshold width range (e.g., greater than a threshold width). In this scenario, the object spans across one window bin.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified Wang in view of Maeda, Takahashi and Aizawa to incorporate the teachings of Ding and provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the vehicular sensing system, responsive to determining that the 2D points associated with the object span across the predetermined number of the window bins, determines that the determined width of the object exceeds a width threshold. In doing so, the system is improved by detecting a dangerous situation in its early stage and notifying the driver to avoid the danger [0003].
Steyer teaches that it is known to provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the vehicular sensing system, responsive to the determined width of the object exceeding a width threshold, maintains the determined width of the object for a predetermined amount of time irrespective of new sensor data captured by the sensor during the predetermined amount of time see at least [0042] and [0047] where a method comprises determining a bounding box of the object with a certain length and a certain width wherein the bounding box is determined on the basis of positions of a determined subset of one or more cells of the object. Further, see at least [0136]-[0144] where at time t, the object 150 has an actual bounding box having a certain width and a certain length and the object state for object 150 is only updated at consecutive time instants t.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified Wang in view of Maeda, Takahashi, Aizawa and Ding to incorporate the teachings of Steyer and provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the vehicular sensing system, responsive to the determined width of the object exceeding a width threshold, maintains the determined width of the object for a predetermined amount of time irrespective of new sensor data captured by the sensor during the predetermined amount of time. In doing so, the system is improved by providing a predetermined time duration (Δt) between two directly consecutive time steps which may aid in reducing processing power.
Claim 25 recites substantially similar technical features as claim 16 and is therefore rejected using the same rationale used in the rejection of claim 16.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Maeda as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Kim et al. "Kim" (US 2016/0082935 A1).
Regarding claim 17, Wang in view of Maeda does not expressly disclose
The vehicular sensing system of claim 16, wherein the determined minimum distance is determined based at least in part on at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) speed of the equipped vehicle and (ii) a road condition of a road along which the equipped vehicle is traveled.
However, Kim teaches that it is known to provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the determined minimum distance is determined based at least in part on at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) speed of the equipped vehicle and (ii) a road condition of a road along which the equipped vehicle is traveled see at least [0028] where an estimated collision distance is a minimum distance which avoids the collision between the vehicle and an object and may vary depending on the vehicle speed.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified Wang in view of Maeda to incorporate the teachings of Kim and provide the vehicular sensing system wherein the determined minimum distance is determined based at least in part on at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) speed of the equipped vehicle and (ii) a road condition of a road along which the equipped vehicle is traveled. In doing so, the method is improved by further customizing the minimum distance threshold to increase safety of the passengers especially since as the speed of the vehicle increases, a larger braking distance is necessary for stopping the vehicle in order to avoid the detected object.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See Form PTO-892.
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/B.R.P./ Examiner, Art Unit 3665
/AMELIA VORCE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3666
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