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 .
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.
Novel/Non-Obvious Subject Matter
Examiner has determined that claims 1-6, 10-12, and 18-19 of Applicant’s claims have overcome having prior art rejections. The reason for this is that Examiner does not believe that, at the time of Applicant’s priority date, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art to combine prior art disclosures to result in the particular combinations of elements/limitations in the claims, including the particular configurations of the elements/limitations with respect to each other in the particular combinations, without the use of impermissible hindsight.
Information Disclosure Statement
Examiner notes that Applicant has cited USPTO Office action(s) in Applicant’s recent information disclosure statement (IDS). Please note that references cited in such USPTO Office action(s) have not necessarily been considered unless separately cited on an IDS.
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.
Claim(s) 7-9, 13-17, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ricci, US 20140310075 A1, in view of Willard, US 20150242944 A1, in further view of Ding, Heng, Zheng, Xiao-yan, Zhang, Yu, Zhu, Liang-yuan, and Zhang, Wei-hua, “Optimal Control for Traffic Congested Area Boundary in Macroscopic Traffic Network,” Zhongguo Gonglu Xuebao/China Journal of Highway and Transport, Vol. 30, No. 1, January 2017, pp. 111-120 (citations are to accompanying English human translation), in further view of Kavner, US 20060056658 A1.
As per Claim 7, Ricci discloses:
- network equipment, comprising: a processing system including a processor; and a memory that stores executable instructions thereon that, when executed by the processing system, cause the processing system to perform operations (Figure 2; Figure 23; paragraph [0233] (communication network); paragraph [0234] (“The vehicle control system 204 may communicate through the communication network 224 to a server 228 that may be located in a facility that is not within physical proximity to the vehicle 104.”); paragraph [0827] (computer, medium, software); paragraph [0887] (computer, medium, software));
- determining, via a sensing device, vehicle information indicating that a vehicle has entered the traffic zone, wherein the sensing device is configured to detect and report traffic details, the traffic information comprising the traffic details (Figure 2; Figure 23; paragraph [0144] (GPS); paragraphs [0227]-[0233] (user profile; GPS data; wireless network; “Further, the communication network 224 can also include wide area communication capabilities, including one or more of, but not limited to, a cellular communication capability, satellite telephone communication capability, a wireless wide area network communication capability, or other types of communication capabilities that allow for the vehicle control system 204 to communicate outside the vehicle 104.”); paragraph [0234] (“The vehicle control system 204 may communicate through the communication network 224 to a server 228 that may be located in a facility that is not within physical proximity to the vehicle 104.”); paragraph [0453] (vehicle information); paragraph [0786] (“Further, the fee area module 2332 can determine different rates charged by a fee area for privately owned vehicles, commercial vehicles, and/or government vehicles. Additionally or alternatively, the fee area module 2332 can determine if discounts are available for the vehicle. For example, a discount may be available if the driver is a senior (i.e., over the age of 65, 70, or some other predetermined age), a handicapped driver, a frequent user, and the like.”); paragraph [0788] (“In some areas, fee areas implement congestion pricing for zones of a city/region that are considered to be congested to try to reduce traffic in those zones.”); paragraph [0803] (“In another example, the payment module 2336 can report the type of the vehicle (private, commercial, public) and pay the fee based on the type of vehicle. Further, the payment module 2336 can report any other type of discount used by the fee area module 2332 to determine a discount available to the vehicle, such as a senior driver discount, a handicapped driver discount, a frequent user discount, a fuel-efficient vehicle discount, and/or a certain number of people in the vehicle.”); paragraph [0828] (“In step 3708, the fee area module 2332 can monitor the position of the vehicle 104 using information from the navigation subsystem. As described above in conjunction with FIG. 35, the fee area module 2332 can determine the vehicle will enter a fee area 3504 in step 3712.”));
- sending metainformation associated with the vehicle to a billing engine (Figure 2; Figure 23; paragraph [0132] (“The term "module" as used herein refers to any known or later developed hardware, software, firmware, artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic, or combination of hardware and software that is capable of performing the functionality associated with that element.”); paragraphs [0227]-[0233] (wireless network; “Further, the communication network 224 can also include wide area communication capabilities, including one or more of, but not limited to, a cellular communication capability, satellite telephone communication capability, a wireless wide area network communication capability, or other types of communication capabilities that allow for the vehicle control system 204 to communicate outside the vehicle 104.”); paragraph [0234] (“The vehicle control system 204 may communicate through the communication network 224 to a server 228 that may be located in a facility that is not within physical proximity to the vehicle 104.”); paragraph [0786] (“Further, the fee area module 2332 can determine different rates charged by a fee area for privately owned vehicles, commercial vehicles, and/or government vehicles. Additionally or alternatively, the fee area module 2332 can determine if discounts are available for the vehicle. For example, a discount may be available if the driver is a senior (i.e., over the age of 65, 70, or some other predetermined age), a handicapped driver, a frequent user, and the like.”); paragraph [0788] (“In some areas, fee areas implement congestion pricing for zones of a city/region that are considered to be congested to try to reduce traffic in those zones.”); paragraph [0800] (“The payment module 2336 can connect to the server 3516 associated with the fee area 3504 to pay the fee automatically.”); paragraph [0802] (“For example, the payment module 2336 can send a signal to fee area transponder 3508 or server 3516 associated with an HOV lane that indicates there are 1, 2, 3, 4, or more occupants in the vehicle 104.”); paragraph [0803] (“In another example, the payment module 2336 can report the type of the vehicle (private, commercial, public) and pay the fee based on the type of vehicle. Further, the payment module 2336 can report any other type of discount used by the fee area module 2332 to determine a discount available to the vehicle, such as a senior driver discount, a handicapped driver discount, a frequent user discount, a fuel-efficient vehicle discount, and/or a certain number of people in the vehicle.”); paragraph [0887] (“In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be partially implemented in software that can be stored on a storage medium, executed on programmed general-purpose computer with the cooperation of a controller and memory, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, or the like.”)).
Ricci fails to disclose wherein the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle. Willard discloses wherein the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle (paragraph [0057] (“Use of a Vehicle Guidance System to assign an initial route from a Central Distribution and Inventory Management System to an autonomous vehicle for purposes of fulfilling a for hire private or public sector surface transportation itinerary.”)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Ricci such that the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle, as disclosed by Willard. Motivation for the modification is provided by Willard in that autonomous vehicles can serve as key answers to various challenges, including in a transportation setting in which a passenger is picked up (paragraphs [0007]-[0017]; paragraph [0057]; paragraph [0099]; paragraph [0619]; paragraph [0683]; paragraph [0687]).
The modified Ricci fails to disclose based on traffic information for a defined geographical area, choosing coordinates for a traffic zone in a portion of the defined geographical area. Ding discloses based on traffic information for a defined geographical area, choosing coordinates for a traffic zone in a portion of the defined geographical area (pp. 2-3, abstract; pp. 6-10). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of the modified Ricci such that, based on traffic information for a defined geographical area, the invention chooses coordinates for a traffic zone in a portion of the defined geographical area, as disclosed by Ding, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
The modified Ricci fails to disclose wherein the sensing device is a roadside unit sensing device. Kavner discloses wherein the sensing device is a roadside unit sensing device (paragraph [0017] (“FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a roadside toll collection sub-system including roadside sensors according to the invention;”); paragraph [0030] (“The system 100 further includes a traffic monitoring and reporting subsystem (TMS) 20 which is connected to the roadside toll collection subsystem 10 and TTP 12 via the network 36.”)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of the modified Ricci such that the sensing device is a roadside unit sensing device, as disclosed by Kavner, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
As per Claim 8, Ricci further discloses wherein the traffic information comprises vehicle information indicative of vehicle traffic in the defined geographical area (Figure 2; Figure 23; paragraph [0144]; paragraphs [0227]-[0233]; paragraph [0234]; paragraph [0453]; paragraph [0786]; paragraph [0788]; paragraph [0803]; paragraph [0828]).
As per Claim 9, Ricci further discloses wherein the vehicle information is further indicative of types of vehicles in the defined geographical area (paragraph [0453]; paragraph [0786]; paragraph [0803]).
As per Claim 13, Ricci further discloses wherein the operations further comprise customizing a billing rate in the metainformation based upon a vehicle type (paragraph [0786]).
As per Claim 14, Ricci further discloses wherein the traffic details comprise types of vehicles in the defined geographical area (paragraph [0453]; paragraph [0786]; paragraph [0803]).
As per Claim 15, Ricci discloses:
- a non-transitory machine-readable medium, storing executable instructions thereon that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, cause the processing system to perform operations (Figure 2; Figure 23; paragraph [0016] (non-transitory); paragraph [0233] (communication network); paragraph [0234] (“The vehicle control system 204 may communicate through the communication network 224 to a server 228 that may be located in a facility that is not within physical proximity to the vehicle 104.”); paragraph [0827] (computer, medium, software); paragraph [0887] (computer, medium, software));
- identifying, via a unit, traffic details comprising vehicle information of a vehicle that has entered the traffic zone, wherein the unit is configured to detect and report the traffic details (Figure 2; Figure 23; paragraph [0144] (GPS); paragraphs [0227]-[0233] (user profile; GPS data; wireless network; “Further, the communication network 224 can also include wide area communication capabilities, including one or more of, but not limited to, a cellular communication capability, satellite telephone communication capability, a wireless wide area network communication capability, or other types of communication capabilities that allow for the vehicle control system 204 to communicate outside the vehicle 104.”); paragraph [0234] (“The vehicle control system 204 may communicate through the communication network 224 to a server 228 that may be located in a facility that is not within physical proximity to the vehicle 104.”); paragraph [0453] (vehicle information); paragraph [0786] (“Further, the fee area module 2332 can determine different rates charged by a fee area for privately owned vehicles, commercial vehicles, and/or government vehicles. Additionally or alternatively, the fee area module 2332 can determine if discounts are available for the vehicle. For example, a discount may be available if the driver is a senior (i.e., over the age of 65, 70, or some other predetermined age), a handicapped driver, a frequent user, and the like.”); paragraph [0788] (“In some areas, fee areas implement congestion pricing for zones of a city/region that are considered to be congested to try to reduce traffic in those zones.”); paragraph [0803] (“In another example, the payment module 2336 can report the type of the vehicle (private, commercial, public) and pay the fee based on the type of vehicle. Further, the payment module 2336 can report any other type of discount used by the fee area module 2332 to determine a discount available to the vehicle, such as a senior driver discount, a handicapped driver discount, a frequent user discount, a fuel-efficient vehicle discount, and/or a certain number of people in the vehicle.”); paragraph [0828] (“In step 3708, the fee area module 2332 can monitor the position of the vehicle 104 using information from the navigation subsystem. As described above in conjunction with FIG. 35, the fee area module 2332 can determine the vehicle will enter a fee area 3504 in step 3712.”));
- in response to the identifying, communicating metadata associated with the vehicle to a billing engine (Figure 2; Figure 23; paragraph [0132] (“The term "module" as used herein refers to any known or later developed hardware, software, firmware, artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic, or combination of hardware and software that is capable of performing the functionality associated with that element.”); paragraphs [0227]-[0233] (wireless network; “Further, the communication network 224 can also include wide area communication capabilities, including one or more of, but not limited to, a cellular communication capability, satellite telephone communication capability, a wireless wide area network communication capability, or other types of communication capabilities that allow for the vehicle control system 204 to communicate outside the vehicle 104.”); paragraph [0234] (“The vehicle control system 204 may communicate through the communication network 224 to a server 228 that may be located in a facility that is not within physical proximity to the vehicle 104.”); paragraph [0786] (“Further, the fee area module 2332 can determine different rates charged by a fee area for privately owned vehicles, commercial vehicles, and/or government vehicles. Additionally or alternatively, the fee area module 2332 can determine if discounts are available for the vehicle. For example, a discount may be available if the driver is a senior (i.e., over the age of 65, 70, or some other predetermined age), a handicapped driver, a frequent user, and the like.”); paragraph [0788] (“In some areas, fee areas implement congestion pricing for zones of a city/region that are considered to be congested to try to reduce traffic in those zones.”); paragraph [0800] (“The payment module 2336 can connect to the server 3516 associated with the fee area 3504 to pay the fee automatically.”); paragraph [0802] (“For example, the payment module 2336 can send a signal to fee area transponder 3508 or server 3516 associated with an HOV lane that indicates there are 1, 2, 3, 4, or more occupants in the vehicle 104.”); paragraph [0803] (“In another example, the payment module 2336 can report the type of the vehicle (private, commercial, public) and pay the fee based on the type of vehicle. Further, the payment module 2336 can report any other type of discount used by the fee area module 2332 to determine a discount available to the vehicle, such as a senior driver discount, a handicapped driver discount, a frequent user discount, a fuel-efficient vehicle discount, and/or a certain number of people in the vehicle.”); paragraph [0887] (“In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be partially implemented in software that can be stored on a storage medium, executed on programmed general-purpose computer with the cooperation of a controller and memory, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, or the like.”)).
Ricci fails to disclose wherein the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle. Willard discloses wherein the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle (paragraph [0057] (“Use of a Vehicle Guidance System to assign an initial route from a Central Distribution and Inventory Management System to an autonomous vehicle for purposes of fulfilling a for hire private or public sector surface transportation itinerary.”)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Ricci such that the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle, as disclosed by Willard. Motivation for the modification is provided by Willard in that autonomous vehicles can serve as key answers to various challenges, including in a transportation setting in which a passenger is picked up (paragraphs [0007]-[0017]; paragraph [0057]; paragraph [0099]; paragraph [0619]; paragraph [0683]; paragraph [0687]).
The modified Ricci fails to disclose based on data associated with traffic in a defined geographical area, configuring coordinates for a traffic zone in a portion of the defined geographical area. Ding discloses based on data associated with traffic in a defined geographical area, configuring coordinates for a traffic zone in a portion of the defined geographical area (pp. 2-3, abstract; pp. 6-10). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of the modified Ricci such that, based on data associated with traffic in a defined geographical area, the invention configures coordinates for a traffic zone in a portion of the defined geographical area, as disclosed by Ding, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
The modified Ricci fails to disclose wherein the identifying unit is a roadside unit. Kavner discloses wherein the identifying unit is a roadside unit (paragraph [0017] (“FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a roadside toll collection sub-system including roadside sensors according to the invention;”); paragraph [0030] (“The system 100 further includes a traffic monitoring and reporting subsystem (TMS) 20 which is connected to the roadside toll collection subsystem 10 and TTP 12 via the network 36.”)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of the modified Ricci such that the identifying unit is a roadside unit, as disclosed by Kavner, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
As per Claim 16, Ricci further discloses wherein the data comprises vehicle data indicative of vehicle traffic in the defined geographical area (Figure 2; Figure 23; paragraph [0144]; paragraphs [0227]-[0233]; paragraph [0234]; paragraph [0453]; paragraph [0786]; paragraph [0788]; paragraph [0803]; paragraph [0828]).
The modified Ricci fails to disclose wherein the vehicle information comprises transponder data obtained via a vehicle transponder. Kavner further discloses wherein the vehicle information comprises transponder data obtained via a vehicle transponder (paragraph [0024]; paragraph [0033]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of the modified Ricci such that the vehicle information comprises transponder data obtained via a vehicle transponder, as disclosed by Kavner, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
As per Claim 17, Ricci further discloses wherein the vehicle data is further indicative of types of vehicles in the defined geographical area (paragraph [0453]; paragraph [0786]; paragraph [0803]).
As per Claim 20, the modified Ricci fails to disclose wherein the coordinates for the traffic zone are configured to modify traffic congestion in the defined geographical area. Ding further discloses wherein the coordinates for the traffic zone are configured to modify traffic congestion in the defined geographical area (pp. 2-3, abstract; pp. 6-10). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of the modified Ricci such that the coordinates for the traffic zone are configured to modify traffic congestion in the defined geographical area, as disclosed by Ding, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. US 12354066 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because: claims 1-20 of the current application are anticipated by claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. US 12354066 B2, as detailed in the following table:
Claim(s) of Current Application
Corresponding US 12354066 B2 Claim(s)
1, 7, 15
1, 7, 15
2
2, 14
3, 10, 18
3, 10, 18
4, 11, 19
4, 11, 19
5, 12
5, 12, 20
6, 13
6, 13
8
2, 8, 16
9, 17
2, 9, 17
14
2, 14
16
16
20
1, 7, 15
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
a. Grush, US 20070225912 A1 (private, auditable vehicle positioning system and on-board unit for same);
b. Burr, US 20100076878 A1 (apparatus and method for implementing a road pricing scheme);
c. Duddle, US 20110106370 A1 (method and system for driver style monitoring and analysing).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHAN ERB whose telephone number is (571)272-7606. The examiner can normally be reached M - F, 11:30 AM - 8 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JEFFREY ZIMMERMAN can be reached at (571) 272-4602. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NATHAN ERB/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3628
Prosecution Insights