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 .
This is a non-final rejection on the merits of this application. Claims 1-5 are currently pending, as discussed below.
Examiner Notes that the fundamentals of the rejections are based on the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim language. Applicant is kindly invited to consider the reference as a whole. References are to be interpreted as by one of ordinary skill in the art rather than as by a novice. See MPEP 2141. Therefore, the relevant inquiry when interpreting a reference is not what the reference expressly discloses on its face but what the reference would teach or suggest to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) filed on 7/1/2025 has been considered by examiner.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Peterson; Nathan et al. (US 20230365135 A1) in view of LEE; JIN-WOO et al. (US 20120166032 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Peterson teaches, a vehicle driver assistance device including a control device (Fig. 1 depicts processor 122, see at least, ¶41, Peterson) configured to provide a warning or steering assistance for reducing deviation of a host vehicle from a lane (Fig. 4a depicts northbound vehicles having overridden or deviating from the lane generates a warning about the deviation, see at least, ¶58, Peterson), the control device being configured to start the warning or the steering assistance when the host vehicle reaches an assistance start line set along a lane marking defining the lane (lane assist providing slight resistance at the steering wheel should the user try to turn out of the preexisting lane, see at least, ¶55, Peterson), wherein the control device is configured to store, as a deviation point, a point at which the host vehicle has reached the assistance start line (Fig. 4a depicts, location coordinates of a diverted northbound traffic caused by construction works 404 is interpreted as a deviation point, see at least, ¶58, Peterson), and when the host vehicle is traveling at the deviation point and the number of times the host vehicle has reached the assistance start line at the deviation point is a predetermined number of times or more (Fig. 4a depicts, responsive to a threshold amount of northbound vehicles including the host vehicle having overridden the lane assist feature must have reached the assistance start line (deviated from the lane) to activate the lane assist feature, at location 404, see at least, ¶58, Peterson), shift the assistance start line in a direction away from a center of the lane according to the stored deviation amount (Fig. 4a depicts diverting northbound traffic away from a center of the lane in order to avoid the construction area and assistance start line shift is depicted in Fig. 5 block 504, where the device may access GPS coordinates of the left and right bounds of the new route which vehicles should stay to travel the new route, see at least, ¶69, Ref1).
Peterson does not explicitly teach store, as a deviation amount, an amount by which the host vehicle has crossed the assistance start line at the deviation point.
Lee, directed to adaptive lane centering in an autonomously driven vehicle teaches, store, as a deviation amount, an amount by which the host vehicle has crossed the assistance start line at the deviation point (storing a lateral offset from center lane is interpreted as a deviation amount from an assistance start line (middle of the lane), see at least, ¶22, Lee).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, with a reasonable expectation of success, to have modified Peterson’s to incorporate the teachings of Lee which teaches store, as a deviation amount, an amount by which the host vehicle has crossed the assistance start line at the deviation point since they are both related to lane assist methods and incorporation of the teachings of Lee would increase the accuracy of the modified route by measuring an lateral offset from the original route.
Regarding Claim 4, Peterson teaches, a vehicle driver assistance method for providing a warning or steering assistance for reducing deviation of a host vehicle from a lane, the vehicle driver assistance method being configured to start the warning or the steering assistance when the host vehicle reaches an assistance start line set along a lane marking defining the lane (Fig. 4a depicts northbound vehicles having overridden or deviating from the lane generates a warning about the deviation, see at least, ¶58, Peterson), the vehicle driver assistance method comprising: storing, as a deviation point, a point at which the host vehicle has reached the assistance start line (Fig. 4a depicts, location coordinates of a diverted northbound traffic caused by construction works 404 is interpreted as a deviation point, see at least, ¶58, Peterson), and storing, as a deviation amount, an amount by which the host vehicle has crossed the assistance start line at the deviation point; and when the host vehicle is traveling at the deviation point and the number of times the host vehicle has reached the assistance start line at the deviation point is a predetermined number of times or more (Fig. 4a depicts, responsive to a threshold amount of northbound vehicles including the host vehicle having overridden the lane assist feature must have reached the assistance start line (deviated from the lane), shifting the assistance start line in a direction away from a center of the lane according to the stored deviation amount (Fig. 4a depicts diverting northbound traffic away from a center of the lane in order to avoid the construction area and assistance start line shift is depicted in Fig. 5 block 504, where the device may access GPS coordinates of the left and right bounds of the new route which vehicles should stay to travel the new route, see at least, ¶69, Peterson).
Peterson does not explicitly teach a deviation amount, an amount by which the host vehicle has crossed the assistance start line at the deviation point.
Lee, directed to adaptive lane centering in an autonomously driven vehicle teaches a deviation amount, an amount by which the host vehicle has crossed the assistance start line at the deviation point (a lateral offset from center lane is interpreted as a deviation amount from an assistance start line (middle of the lane), see at least, ¶22, Lee).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, with a reasonable expectation of success, to have modified Peterson’s to incorporate the teachings of Lee which teaches a deviation amount, an amount by which the host vehicle has crossed the assistance start line at the deviation point since they are both related to lane assist methods and incorporation of the teachings of Lee would increase the accuracy of the modified route by measuring an lateral offset from the original route.
Regarding Claim 5, Peterson teaches, a non-transitory storage medium storing a vehicle driver assistance program configured to provide a warning or steering assistance for reducing deviation of a host vehicle from a lane, the vehicle driver assistance program being configured to start the warning or the steering assistance when the host vehicle reaches an assistance start line set along a lane marking defining the lane (Fig. 4a depicts northbound vehicles having overridden or deviating from the lane generates a warning about the deviation, see at least, ¶58, Peterson), wherein the vehicle driver assistance program is configured to store, as a deviation point, a point at which the host vehicle has reached the assistance start line (Fig. 4a depicts, location coordinates of a diverted northbound traffic caused by construction works 404 is interpreted as a deviation point, see at least, ¶58, Peterson), and store, as a deviation amount, an amount by which the host vehicle has crossed the assistance start line at the deviation point, and when the host vehicle is traveling at the deviation point and the number of times the host vehicle has reached the assistance start line at the deviation point is a predetermined number of times or more (Fig. 4a depicts, responsive to a threshold amount of northbound vehicles including the host vehicle having overridden the lane assist feature must have reached the assistance start line (deviated from the lane) to activate the lane assist feature, at location 404, see at least, ¶58, Peterson), shift the assistance start line in a direction away from a center of the lane according to the stored deviation amount (Fig. 4a depicts diverting northbound traffic away from a center of the lane in order to avoid the construction area and assistance start line shift is depicted in Fig. 5 block 504, where the device may access GPS coordinates of the left and right bounds of the new route which vehicles should stay to travel the new route, see at least, ¶69, Peterson).
Peterson does not explicitly teach a deviation amount, an amount by which the host vehicle has crossed the assistance start line at the deviation point.
Lee, directed to adaptive lane centering in an autonomously driven vehicle teaches a deviation amount, an amount by which the host vehicle has crossed the assistance start line at the deviation point (a lateral offset from center lane is interpreted as a deviation amount from an assistance start line (middle of the lane), see at least, ¶22, Lee).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, with a reasonable expectation of success, to have modified Peterson’s to incorporate the teachings of Lee which teaches a deviation amount, an amount by which the host vehicle has crossed the assistance start line at the deviation point since they are both related to lane assist methods and incorporation of the teachings of Lee would increase the accuracy of the modified route by measuring an lateral offset from the original route.
Regarding Claim 2, Peterson and Lee teaches, the vehicle driver assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the control device is configured to, when the host vehicle is traveling at the deviation point and the number of times the host vehicle has reached the assistance start line at the deviation point is the predetermined number of times or more, shift the assistance start line in the direction away from the center of the lane in such a manner that the assistance start line is located farther away from the center of the lane as the stored deviation amount increases (Fig. 4a depicts, responsive to the host vehicle traveling at the deviation point at location 404 where a threshold amount of northbound vehicles including the host vehicle having overridden the lane assist feature, northbound traffic is diverted away from a center of the lane in order to avoid the construction area , see at least, ¶58 and 69, Peterson).
Regarding Claim 3, Peterson and Lee teaches, the vehicle driver assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the control device is configured to store neither a point at which the host vehicle has crossed the assistance start line to ensure safety of the host vehicle nor an amount by which the host vehicle has crossed the assistance start line at the point (Fig. 5 depicts block 502 “no” branch does not identify a new path through received sets of location coordinates and the location nor the amount crossed an assistance start line is stored, see at least, ¶67, Peterson).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IRENE C KHUU whose telephone number is (703)756-1703. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 0900-1730.
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/IRENE C KHUU/
Examiner, Art Unit 3664
/RACHID BENDIDI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3664
Prosecution Insights