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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 6/24/2025 and 5/12/2026 are 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 § 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) 1-2, 9-11, 13, 15-16, and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Pandy, et al. (U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2022/0355858).
Regarding Claim 1, Pandy teaches: A vehicle control method (Pandy, Para. 0007 – “systems and methods for controlling a steering system of a vehicle”), comprising:
when a vehicle is in an autonomous driving mode (Pandy, Para. 0008 – “an autonomous steering development mode”), receiving a first steering signal from a steering column of the vehicle, wherein the first steering signal comprises a first torque signal and/or a first steering angle signal (Pandy, Para. 0008, 0038, 0052 – “receiving, by the one or more computing devices, an input from at least one sensor of the steering system indicative of manual operation of the steering system by an operator of the vehicle” during a “high-authority autonomous control mode”, such as “data indicative of a torque applied to steering system 114 not initiated by control system 130” detected by “steering sensor(s)”);
obtaining holding information of a steering wheel of the vehicle, wherein the holding information indicates whether the steering wheel is held (Pandy, Para. 0008, 0052 – “receiving, by the one or more computing devices, an input from at least one sensor of the steering system indicative of manual operation of the steering system by an operator of the vehicle” such as “data indicative of a driver touching the steering wheel” detected by “steering sensor(s)”); and
controlling, based on the first steering signal and the holding information, the vehicle to maintain or exit the autonomous driving mode (Pandy, Para. 0008, 0052-0053 – once “a driver input is detected at (204)” during a “high-authority autonomous control mode”, “steering system 114 is transitioned, at (210), into being controlled by control system 130 with a low-authority autonomous steering control”, and further determining whether to “exit” an “autonomous steering control” and initiate “manual steering control (Level 0 autonomy)” or return to “high-authority autonomous steering control (e.g., Level 4 or 5 autonomy)”, following “a predetermined time period” after detecting input indicative of manual operation).
In regards to Claim 2, Pandy teaches the vehicle control method of Claim 1, and Pandy further teaches wherein the controlling, based on the first steering signal and the holding information, the vehicle to maintain or exit the autonomous driving mode (Pandy, Para. 0008, 0012, 0052-0053 – determining whether to transition “from the high-authority autonomous steering control to a low-authority autonomous steering control of the steering system” and further determining whether to enable a “manual steering control of a manual input device” or not) comprises:
in response to the first steering signal, determining, based on the holding information, whether the steering wheel is held (Pandy, Para. 0052-0053 – “a driver input may be detected when steering sensor(s) 114A generates… data indicative of a torque applied to steering system 114 not initiated by control system 130”, i.e. a first signal, and determining “whether driver input is still detected after a predetermined time period elapses”, where driver input includes “data indicative of a driver touching the steering wheel”); and
if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is held, controlling the vehicle to exit the autonomous driving mode (Pandy, Para. 0052-0053 – where “when driver input is detected”, i.e. “data indicative of a driver touching the steering wheel”, “autonomous steering control of steering system 114 (e.g., by autonomous computing device(s) 150) is exited and manual steering control (Level 0 autonomy) of steering system 114 is returned to a driver”);
or if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is not held, controlling the vehicle to maintain the autonomous driving mode (Pandy, Para. 0052-0053 – when “when driver input is not detected”, “steering system 114 is automatically transitioned back into being controlled by control system”, e.g. “high-authority autonomous steering control”).
Regarding Claim 9, Pandy teaches: A vehicle control method (Pandy, Para. 0007 – “systems and methods for controlling a steering system of a vehicle”), comprising:
receiving a first steering signal from a steering column of a vehicle, wherein the first steering signal comprises a first torque signal and/or a first steering angle signal (Pandy, Para. 0008, 0038, 0052 – “receiving, by the one or more computing devices, an input from at least one sensor of the steering system indicative of manual operation of the steering system by an operator of the vehicle” during a “high-authority autonomous control mode”, such as “data indicative of a torque applied to steering system 114 not initiated by control system 130” detected by “steering sensor(s)”);
obtaining takeover intention information of a driver, wherein the takeover intention information of the driver is determined based on holding information of a steering wheel of the vehicle, and the holding information indicates whether the steering wheel is held (Pandy, Para. 0008, 0052-0053 – “receiving, by the one or more computing devices, an input from at least one sensor of the steering system indicative of manual operation of the steering system by an operator of the vehicle” such as “data indicative of a driver touching the steering wheel” detected by “steering sensor(s)”; where “driver input” is inferred to be “intended” or “unintentional” based on driver input detected during or after a “predetermined time period”);
receiving a second steering signal from an autonomous driving controller of the vehicle, wherein the second steering signal comprises a second torque signal and/or a second steering angle signal (Pandy, Para. 0052-0053 – where when “data indicative of a torque applied to steering system 114 not initiated by control system 130”, i.e. the first steering signal, is detected, the “steering system” is transitioned to a “low-authority autonomous control mode”, while maintaining “the previously commanded level of autonomy”, or “autonomous steering”, i.e. a second steering signal);
determining a target steering signal from the first steering signal and the second steering signal based on the takeover intention information of the driver (Pandy, Para. 0052-0053 – where if “driver input”, such as “data indicative of a driver touching the steering wheel”, is still detected after or during a “predetermined time period”, the driver input detected before the predetermined time period, “is inferred as being intended”, and otherwise, “the driver input… is inferred as being unintentional”; where the target steering signal is either the driver input, or first steering signal, or an autonomous steering command, or second steering signal); and
controlling, based on the target steering signal, steering of the vehicle (Pandy, Para. 0052-0053 – where if “driver input” is “inferred as being intended”, “autonomous steering control of steering system… is exited and manual steering control (Level 0 autonomy) of steering system 114 is returned to a driver”, where target steering is the driver input, and otherwise, the steering system is transitioned to “being controlled by control system 130… with high-authority autonomous steering control”, where target steering is an autonomous steering command).
In regards to Claim 10, Pandy teaches the vehicle control method of Claim 9, and Pandy further teaches wherein the determining the target steering signal from the first steering signal and the second steering signal based on the takeover intention information of the driver comprises: if the takeover intention information of the driver is that the driver has an intention to take over the vehicle, determining the first steering signal as the target steering signal; or if the takeover intention information of the driver is that the driver has no intention to take over the vehicle, determining the second steering signal as the target steering signal (Pandy, Para. 0052-0053 – where if “driver input” is “inferred as being intended”, “autonomous steering control of steering system… is exited and manual steering control (Level 0 autonomy) of steering system 114 is returned to a driver”, where target steering is the driver input, and otherwise, the steering system is transitioned to “being controlled by control system 130… with high-authority autonomous steering control”, where target steering is an autonomous steering command).
In regards to Claim 11, Pandy teaches the vehicle control method of Claim 10, and Pandy further teaches wherein: if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is held, the takeover intention information of the driver is that the driver has an intention to take over the vehicle (Pandy, Para. 0052-0053 – where “when driver input is detected”, i.e. “data indicative of a driver touching the steering wheel”, based on a “predetermined time period”, “autonomous steering control of steering system 114 (e.g., by autonomous computing device(s) 150) is exited and manual steering control (Level 0 autonomy) of steering system 114 is returned to a driver”); or if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is not held, the takeover intention information of the driver is that the driver has no intention to take over the vehicle (Pandy, Para. 0052-0053 – when “when driver input is not detected”, based on a “predetermined time period”, “steering system 114 is automatically transitioned back into being controlled by control system”, e.g. “high-authority autonomous steering control”).
In regards to Claim 13, Pandy teaches the vehicle control method of Claim 9, and Pandy further teaches wherein the obtaining the takeover intention information of the driver comprises: receiving the takeover intention information of the driver sent by the autonomous driving controller (Pandy, Para. 0051-0055 – where the “control system”, or autonomous driving controller, determines “whether steering system” is controlled by the “control system” in a manner “such that it is difficult for a driver to takeover command of steering system”, and determines or monitors “whether a driver input is detected”, where if so, the “control system” may transition to “low-authority autonomous control mode” or “manual steering control”; where the “control system” may further initiate “manual steering control” upon detection of an internal fault, or loss of communication between systems).
Regarding Claim 15, Pandy teaches: An autonomous driving controller (Pandy, Para. 0019 – “a computing system for controlling a steering system of a vehicle during an autonomous steering development mode”), comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program that is stored in the memory and executable on the processor (Pandy, Para. 0019 – the “computing system” including “one or more processors, and one or more memory devices”, the “one or more memory devices store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, configure the computing system to perform high-authority autonomous steering control of a steering system of the vehicle”), wherein when executing the computer program, the processor is configured to implement the method according to claim 1 (See Claim 1 Above).
Regarding Claim 16, Pandy teaches: A steering controller (Pandy, Para. 0019, 0036, 0045 – “a computing system”, or “control system”, “for controlling a steering system of a vehicle during an autonomous steering development mode”), comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program that is stored in the memory and executable on the processor (Pandy, Para. 0019 – the “computing system” including “one or more processors, and one or more memory devices”, the “one or more memory devices store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, configure the computing system to perform high-authority autonomous steering control of a steering system of the vehicle”), wherein when executing the computer program, the processor is configured to implement the method according to claim 9 (See Claim 9 Above).
Regarding Claim 18, Pandy teaches: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (Pandy, Para. 0019, 0042 – “one or more memory devices”, where the “memory is a non-transitory medium”), comprising a computer program, and wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, to cause the processor to implement the method (Pandy, Para. 0019 – “one or more memory devices store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, configure the computing system to perform high-authority autonomous steering control of a steering system of the vehicle”) according to claim 1 (See Claim 1 Above).
Regarding Claim 19, Pandy teaches: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (Pandy, Para. 0019, 0042 – “one or more memory devices”, where the “memory is a non-transitory medium”), comprising a computer program, and wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, to cause the processor to implement the method (Pandy, Para. 0019 – “one or more memory devices store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, configure the computing system to perform high-authority autonomous steering control of a steering system of the vehicle”) according to claim 9 (See Claim 9 Above).
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) 3-5, 14, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pandy in view of Ichikawa, et al. (U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2017/0315550).
In regards to Claim 3, Pandy teaches the vehicle control method of Claim 2, but Pandy does not teach further comprising: if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is not held, controlling the vehicle to provide an alarm.
However, Ichikawa teaches further comprising: if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is not held, controlling the vehicle to provide an alarm (Ichikawa, Para. 0057, 0070-0072, 0129-0132, 0177-0181 – a “monitor device” which monitors “whether or not the driver holds the steering wheel”, where if an “operation amount”, such as steering, is less than a “threshold” during a “predetermined period of time”, it is “determined that the driver desires continuation of the autonomous driving control”, and a “control state notification unit” displays “a fact that the autonomous driving control is in execution”, i.e. an alarm; where “sounds, visual display, [and] vibration of the steering wheel” can be used to notify the driver).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle control method of Pandy to include further comprising: if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is not held, controlling the vehicle to provide an alarm, as taught by Ichikawa, in order to inform the driver of the current driving mode of the vehicle and prevent erroneous transition of the current driving mode (Ichikawa, Para. 0008-0009, 0181).
In regards to Claim 4, Pandy teaches the vehicle control method of Claim 1, but Pandy does not teach wherein the obtaining the holding information of the steering wheel of the vehicle comprises: photographing the steering wheel by a camera of the vehicle to obtain an image of the steering wheel; and obtaining the holding information based on the image of the steering wheel.
However, Ichikawa teaches wherein the obtaining the holding information of the steering wheel of the vehicle comprises: photographing the steering wheel by a camera of the vehicle to obtain an image of the steering wheel; and obtaining the holding information based on the image of the steering wheel (Ichikawa, Para. 0071-0072 – a “monitor device” which may be a “camera that takes an image of a hand of the driver” and determines “whether or not the driver holds the steering wheel” by “image analysis”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle control method of Pandy to include wherein the obtaining the holding information of the steering wheel of the vehicle comprises: photographing the steering wheel by a camera of the vehicle to obtain an image of the steering wheel; and obtaining the holding information based on the image of the steering wheel, as taught by Ichikawa, in order to determine a driver intention and prevent erroneous transition of the current driving mode (Ichikawa, Para. 0071, 0181).
In regards to Claim 5, Pandy in view of Ichikawa teaches the vehicle control method of Claim 4, and Pandy in view of Ichikawa further teaches wherein the obtaining the holding information based on the image of the steering wheel comprises: if the image of the steering wheel satisfies a condition, determining that the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is held; or if the image of the steering wheel does not satisfy the condition, determining that the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is not held (Ichikawa, Para. 0071-0072, 0180 – a “camera that takes an image of a hand of the driver” and determines “whether or not the driver holds the steering wheel” to check “whether or not the driver has an intention to execute the manual driving”; for example, if the driver does not hold the steering wheel, “the driver has no intention to execute the manual driving”), wherein the condition comprises that, the image of the steering wheel comprises a human hand, or the image of the steering wheel comprises a human hand holding the steering wheel (Ichikawa, Para. 0071-0072 – a “monitor device” which may be a “camera that takes an image of a hand of the driver” and determines “whether or not the driver holds the steering wheel” by “image analysis”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle control method including the above limitations of Pandy in view of Ichikawa to further include wherein the obtaining the holding information based on the image of the steering wheel comprises: if the image of the steering wheel satisfies a condition, determining that the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is held; or if the image of the steering wheel does not satisfy the condition, determining that the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is not held, wherein the condition comprises that, the image of the steering wheel comprises a human hand, or the image of the steering wheel comprises a human hand holding the steering wheel, as taught by Ichikawa, in order to determine a driver intention and prevent erroneous transition of the current driving mode (Ichikawa, Para. 0071, 0181).
Regarding Claim 14, Pandy teaches: A vehicle control method (Pandy, Para. 0007 – “systems and methods for controlling a steering system of a vehicle”), comprising:
when a vehicle is in an autonomous driving mode, receiving a first steering signal from a steering column of the vehicle, wherein the first steering signal comprises a first torque signal and/or a first steering angle signal (Pandy, Para. 0008, 0038, 0052 – “receiving, by the one or more computing devices, an input from at least one sensor of the steering system indicative of manual operation of the steering system by an operator of the vehicle” during a “high-authority autonomous control mode”, such as “data indicative of a torque applied to steering system 114 not initiated by control system 130” detected by “steering sensor(s)”);
obtaining holding information of a steering wheel of the vehicle, wherein the holding information indicates whether the steering wheel is held (Pandy, Para. 0008, 0052 – “receiving, by the one or more computing devices, an input from at least one sensor of the steering system indicative of manual operation of the steering system by an operator of the vehicle” such as “data indicative of a driver touching the steering wheel” detected by “steering sensor(s)”); and
in response to the first steering signal, controlling the vehicle to exit the autonomous driving mode (Pandy, Para. 0008, 0052-0053 – determining to “exit” an “autonomous steering control” and initiate “manual steering control (Level 0 autonomy)” following “a predetermined time period” after detecting an initial driver input such as “data indicative of a torque applied to steering system 114 not initiated by control system 130” and further “driver input” during or after a “predetermined time period”), and
While Pandy teaches the holding information, Pandy does not teach controlling, based on the holding information, the vehicle to provide an alarm.
However, Ichikawa teaches controlling, based on the holding information, the vehicle to provide an alarm (Ichikawa, Para. 0057, 0070-0072, 0112, 0129, 0177-0181 – a “monitor device” which monitors “whether or not the driver holds the steering wheel”, where if an “operation amount”, such as steering, is equal to or greater than a “threshold” during a “predetermined period of time”, it is “determined that the driver desires switching from the autonomous driving control to the manual driving”, and a “control state notification unit” displays “that the autonomous driving control is not in execution (that is, the manual driving is in execution)”, i.e. an alarm; where “sounds, visual display, [and] vibration of the steering wheel” can be used to notify the driver).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle control method of Pandy to include controlling, based on the holding information, the vehicle to provide an alarm, as taught by Ichikawa, to in order to inform the driver of the current driving mode of the vehicle and prevent erroneous transition of the current driving mode (Ichikawa, Para. 0008-0009, 0181).
Regarding Claim 17, Pandy teaches: A vehicle (Pandy, Para. 0008 – “a vehicle”), comprising:
a steering column comprising a steering sensor, and the steering sensor configured to output a first steering signal of the steering column (Pandy, Para. 0008, 0038, 0052 – “steering sensor(s)” which detect “a driver input” such as “data indicative of a torque applied to steering system”, or a first steering signal; the steering sensor(s) including “one or more steering torque and angle sensors for detecting a magnitude and a direction of torque applied to steering system”);
an autonomous driving controller (Pandy, Para. 0045 – “one or more autonomous computing devices 150 and one or more ADAS computing devices 152” configured to “autonomously control operations” and “semi-autonomously control operations” of the vehicle);
the steering controller according to claim 16 (See Claim 16 Above), wherein the steering controller is connected to the steering sensor and the autonomous driving controller (Pandy, Para. 0019, 0038, 0044-0045 – “a computing system”, or “control system”, “for controlling a steering system of a vehicle during an autonomous steering development mode”, the control system having computing device(s) “in operative communication” with “one or more autonomous computing devices 150 and one or more ADAS computing devices 152” and systems of the vehicle, including the “steering system” having “one or more steering sensors”); and
a steering motor connected to the steering controller.
While Pandy teaches the steering controller, Pandy does not specifically teach a steering motor connected to the steering controller.
However, Ichikawa teaches a steering motor connected to the steering controller (Ichikawa, Para. 0069 – a “steering actuator controls, in accordance with a control signal output from the ECU 10, driving of an assist motor of an electric power steering system that controls the steering torque”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle control method of Pandy to include a steering motor connected to the steering controller, as taught by Ichikawa, in order to provide the structure to control steering in both autonomous and manual driving modes.
Claim(s) 6-8 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pandy in view of Chandy (U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2018/0107214).
In regards to Claim 6, Pandy teaches the vehicle control method of Claim 1, but Pandy does not teach further comprising: obtaining sitting posture information and sight line information of a driver of the vehicle, wherein the controlling, based on the first steering signal and the holding information, the vehicle to maintain or exit the autonomous driving mode comprises: controlling, based on the first steering signal, the holding information, the sitting posture information, and the sight line information, the vehicle to maintain or exit the autonomous driving mode.
However, Chandy teaches further comprising: obtaining sitting posture information and sight line information of a driver of the vehicle (Chandy, Para. 0013 – a “camera 36 can detect one or more of: a driver body posture, a driver head pose, a driver eye gaze, and a driver hand position”), wherein
the controlling, based on the first steering signal (Chandy, Para. 0013 – “a handwheel torque sensor 31 is provided for sensing a torque placed on the handwheel”) and the holding information (Chandy, Para. 0013 – “one or more handwheel touch sensors 35” which measure “a grip force or pressure on the handwheel”, contact with the handwheel, etc.), the vehicle to maintain or exit the autonomous driving mode comprises:
controlling, based on the first steering signal, the holding information, the sitting posture information, and the sight line information, the vehicle to maintain or exit the autonomous driving mode (Chandy, Para. 0013, 0016, 0018 – a “decision making module 104 determines whether to transition from an autonomous driving mode to a manual driving mode as a mode command 124 based on the fused state data 114”; where “steering sensor data 110 from one or more of the sensors 31, 32, and 33”, e.g. “a handwheel torque sensor 31”, and “driver state data 112 from one or more of driver state sensors 35 and 36”, i.e. “one or more handwheel touch sensors 35” and “camera 36”, “can be provided to the sensor fusion module 102 to fuse the steering sensor data 110 and the driver state data 112 as a plurality of fused state data 114 aligned in time”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle control method of Pandy to include further comprising: obtaining sitting posture information and sight line information of a driver of the vehicle, wherein the controlling, based on the first steering signal and the holding information, the vehicle to maintain or exit the autonomous driving mode comprises: controlling, based on the first steering signal, the holding information, the sitting posture information, and the sight line information, the vehicle to maintain or exit the autonomous driving mode, as taught by Chandy, in order to confirm that the driver is ready to transition from automatic control to manual control and prevent erroneous transition of the driving mode (Chandy, Para. 0018).
In regards to Claim 7, Pandy in view of Chandy teaches the vehicle control method of Claim 6, and Pandy in view of Chandy further teaches wherein the controlling, based on the first steering signal, the holding information, the sitting posture information, and the sight line information, the vehicle to maintain or exit the autonomous driving mode (Pandy, Para. 0008, 0012, 0052-0053 – determining whether to transition “from the high-authority autonomous steering control to a low-authority autonomous steering control of the steering system” and further determining whether to enable a “manual steering control of a manual input device” or not; Chandy, Para. 0013, 0016, 0018 – a “decision making module 104 determines whether to transition from an autonomous driving mode to a manual driving mode as a mode command 124 based on the fused state data 114”; where “fused state data 114” is a fusion of “steering sensor data 110”, including “handwheel torque”, or a steering signal, and “driver state data 112”, including “a driver body posture, a driver head pose, a driver eye gaze, and a driver hand position”) comprises:
in response to the first steering signal, determining, based on the holding information, whether the steering wheel is held (Pandy, Para. 0052-0053 – “a driver input may be detected when steering sensor(s) 114A generates… data indicative of a torque applied to steering system 114 not initiated by control system 130”, i.e. a first signal, and determining “whether driver input is still detected after a predetermined time period elapses”, where driver input includes “data indicative of a driver touching the steering wheel”); and
if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is not held, controlling the vehicle to maintain the autonomous driving mode (Pandy, Para. 0052-0053 – when “when driver input is not detected”, “steering system 114 is automatically transitioned back into being controlled by control system”, e.g. “high-authority autonomous steering control”); or
if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is held, controlling, based on the sitting posture information and the sight line information, the vehicle to maintain or exit the autonomous driving mode (Chandy, Para. 0013, 0016-0018 – a “decision making module 104 determines whether to transition from an autonomous driving mode to a manual driving mode… based on the fused state data 114”, where “fused state data 114” is a fusion of “steering sensor data 110”, including “handwheel torque”, and “driver state data 112”, including “a driver body posture, a driver head pose, a driver eye gaze, and a driver hand position”; where driver intent to “transition to manual steering” is based on a “combination of a straight body position and/or a straight face/head position and/or an on-road eye gaze and/or an on-wheel hand position, and a sensed EPS input” confirming that “the driver is ready to transition from automatic control to manual control”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle control method including the above limitations of Pandy in view of Chandy to further include wherein the controlling, based on the first steering signal, the holding information, the sitting posture information, and the sight line information, the vehicle to maintain or exit the autonomous driving mode comprises: if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is held, controlling, based on the sitting posture information and the sight line information, the vehicle to maintain or exit the autonomous driving mode, as taught by Chandy, in order to confirm that the driver is ready to transition from automatic control to manual control and prevent erroneous transition of the driving mode (Chandy, Para. 0018).
In regards to Claim 8, Pandy in view of Chandy teaches the vehicle control method of Claim 7, and Pandy in view of Chandy further teaches wherein the controlling, based on the sitting posture information and the sight line information, the vehicle to maintain or exit the autonomous driving mode (Chandy, Para. 0013, 0016, 0018 – a “decision making module 104 determines whether to transition from an autonomous driving mode to a manual driving mode… based on the fused state data 114”; where “fused state data 114” is a fusion of “steering sensor data 110”, including “handwheel torque”, and “driver state data 112”, including “a driver body posture, a driver head pose, a driver eye gaze, and a driver hand position”) comprises:
if the sitting posture information indicates that a sitting posture of the driver is a preset sitting posture, and the sight line information indicates that a sight line direction of the driver is a preset direction, controlling the vehicle to exit the autonomous driving mode; or if the sitting posture information indicates that the sitting posture of the driver is not the preset sitting posture, or the sight line information indicates that the sight line direction of the driver is not the preset direction, controlling the vehicle to maintain the autonomous driving mode (Chandy, Para. 0013, 0016-0020 – a “decision making module 104 determines whether to transition from an autonomous driving mode to a manual driving mode… based on the fused state data 114”, including “driver state data 112”, including “a driver body posture, a driver head pose, a driver eye gaze, and a driver hand position”; where driver intent to “transition to manual steering” is based “transition criteria” including a “combination of a straight body position and/or a straight face/head position and/or an on-road eye gaze and/or an on-wheel hand position, and a sensed EPS input” confirming that “the driver is ready to transition from automatic control to manual control”, where if the “transition criteria” is not satisfied, “decision making module” reverts back “to the autonomous driving mode”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle control method including the above limitations of Pandy in view of Chandy to further include wherein the controlling, based on the sitting posture information and the sight line information, the vehicle to maintain or exit the autonomous driving mode comprises: if the sitting posture information indicates that a sitting posture of the driver is a preset sitting posture, and the sight line information indicates that a sight line direction of the driver is a preset direction, controlling the vehicle to exit the autonomous driving mode; or if the sitting posture information indicates that the sitting posture of the driver is not the preset sitting posture, or the sight line information indicates that the sight line direction of the driver is not the preset direction, controlling the vehicle to maintain the autonomous driving mode, as taught by Chandy, in order to confirm that the driver is ready to transition from automatic control to manual control and prevent erroneous transition of the driving mode (Chandy, Para. 0018).
In regards to Claim 12, Pandy teaches the vehicle control method of Claim 10, but Pandy does not teach wherein: the takeover intention information of the driver is determined based on the holding information of the steering wheel of the vehicle, sitting posture information, and sight line information of the driver; and if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is held, the sitting posture information indicates that a sitting posture of the driver is a preset sitting posture, and the sight line information indicates that a sight line direction of the driver is a preset direction, the takeover intention information of the driver is that the driver has an intention to take over the vehicle; if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is held, and the sitting posture information indicates that the sitting posture of the driver is not the preset sitting posture, the takeover intention information of the driver is that the driver has no intention to take over the vehicle; if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is held, and the sight line information indicates that the sight line direction of the driver is not the preset direction, the takeover intention information of the driver is that the driver has no intention to take over the vehicle; or if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is not held, the takeover intention information of the driver is that the driver has no intention to take over the vehicle.
However, Chandy teaches wherein: the takeover intention information of the driver is determined based on the holding information of the steering wheel of the vehicle, sitting posture information, and sight line information of the driver (Chandy, Para. 0013, 0016, 0018 – a “decision making module 104 determines whether to transition from an autonomous driving mode to a manual driving mode as a mode command 124 based on the fused state data 114”; where “fused state data 114” is a fusion of “steering sensor data 110”, including “handwheel torque” and “driver state data 112”, including “a driver body posture, a driver head pose, a driver eye gaze, and a driver hand position”); and
if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is held, the sitting posture information indicates that a sitting posture of the driver is a preset sitting posture, and the sight line information indicates that a sight line direction of the driver is a preset direction, the takeover intention information of the driver is that the driver has an intention to take over the vehicle; if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is held, and the sitting posture information indicates that the sitting posture of the driver is not the preset sitting posture, the takeover intention information of the driver is that the driver has no intention to take over the vehicle; if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is held, and the sight line information indicates that the sight line direction of the driver is not the preset direction, the takeover intention information of the driver is that the driver has no intention to take over the vehicle; or if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is not held, the takeover intention information of the driver is that the driver has no intention to take over the vehicle (handy, Para. 0013, 0016-0020 – a “decision making module 104 determines whether to transition from an autonomous driving mode to a manual driving mode… based on the fused state data 114”, including “driver state data 112”, including “a driver body posture, a driver head pose, a driver eye gaze, and a driver hand position”; where driver intent to “transition to manual steering” is based “transition criteria” including a “combination of a straight body position and/or a straight face/head position and/or an on-road eye gaze and/or an on-wheel hand position, and a sensed EPS input” confirming that “the driver is ready to transition from automatic control to manual control”, where if the “transition criteria” is not satisfied, “decision making module” reverts back “to the autonomous driving mode”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle control method of Pandy to include wherein: the takeover intention information of the driver is determined based on the holding information of the steering wheel of the vehicle, sitting posture information, and sight line information of the driver; and if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is held, the sitting posture information indicates that a sitting posture of the driver is a preset sitting posture, and the sight line information indicates that a sight line direction of the driver is a preset direction, the takeover intention information of the driver is that the driver has an intention to take over the vehicle; if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is held, and the sitting posture information indicates that the sitting posture of the driver is not the preset sitting posture, the takeover intention information of the driver is that the driver has no intention to take over the vehicle; if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is held, and the sight line information indicates that the sight line direction of the driver is not the preset direction, the takeover intention information of the driver is that the driver has no intention to take over the vehicle; or if the holding information indicates that the steering wheel is not held, the takeover intention information of the driver is that the driver has no intention to take over the vehicle, as taught by Chandy, in order to confirm that the driver is ready to transition from automatic control to manual control and prevent erroneous transition of the driving mode (Chandy, Para. 0018).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Tomatsu, et al. (U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2017/0248954) teaches an autonomous driving apparatus which executes an autonomous driving control of a vehicle. When an override occurs during the autonomous driving control, switching from the autonomous driving control to manual driving is executed, where the override is based on the driver intention.
Takeda, et al. (U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2021/0080949) teaches an authority transfer device is used for a vehicle having an autonomous driving mode in which driving operation is autonomously performed for a driver and a manual driving mode in which driving operation is manually performed by the driver using at least a steering wheel.
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/H.L./Examiner, Art Unit 3665
/HUNTER B LONSBERRY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3665
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