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 .
Examiner's Note
Examiner has cited particular paragraphs / columns and line numbers or figures in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner. Applicant is reminded that the Examiner is entitled to give the broadest reasonable interpretation to the language of the claims. Furthermore, the Examiner is not limited to Applicants’ definition which is not specifically set forth in the claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
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 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.
Claims 7 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shao et al. (US 20230060713 A1).
Regarding claim 7, Shao discloses a parking management system comprising:
an artificial intelligence (AI) parking manager configured to identify a parking area of a plurality of parking areas by (Shao: ¶ 048; determining a recommended parking lot at least based on the occupation rate of the candidate parking lot during the prediction time period and the parking lot information of the candidate parking lot.) using a trained neural network model based on parking information of a target vehicle; and (Shao: ¶ 127; score prediction model may refer to a model configured to determine the score of the candidate parking lot. In some embodiments, the score prediction model is a trained machine learning model. The score prediction model may be any one or a combination of a recurrent neural network model, a convolutional neural network,) a user terminal configured to output the identified parking area. (Shao: ¶ 026; user platform 110 may display a recommendation result of the parking lot to the user through the terminal equipment (e.g., a displayer).)
Regarding claim 17, Shao discloses parking management method comprising:
identifying one of a plurality of parking areas (Shao: ¶ 048; determining a recommended parking lot at least based on the occupation rate of the candidate parking lot during the prediction time period) using a trained neural network based on parking information of a target vehicle; and (Shao: ¶ 118; may be a machine learning model, such as a recurrent neural network model, a convolutional neural network or other custom model structures, or the like, or any combination thereof. The management platform 130 at least inputs the parking lot features, the candidate parking lot features,) outputting the identified parking area. (Shao: ¶ 026; user platform 110 may display a recommendation result of the parking lot to the user through the terminal equipment (e.g., a displayer).)
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-2, 11-12 and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cho (US 20230026020 A1) in view of Shao et al. (US 20230060713 A1) (the combination of which will be referred to as 'combination Cho' hereinafter). As regards the individual claims:
Regarding claim 1, Cho teaches a parking management system comprising:
a detector configured to detect a target vehicle that enters a parking area (Cho: ¶ 043; vehicle detector 210 may be installed at an gate of the parking lot 50 provided with a plurality of gates to detect the vehicle 100 entering the parking lot 50 or exiting the parking lot 50 to the outside.) . . . a management processor (Cho: ¶ 035; parking location guidance apparatus 200 may select to a location adjacent to an optimal gate of a plurality of gates by taking into account the information on the route to drive when the vehicle 100 exits the parking lot 50 after parking, and transfer the location for the vehicle to park to the vehicle 100) configured to identify a parking space for the target vehicle based on parking information of the target vehicle and parking information of the one or more other vehicles. (Cho: ¶ 057; an empty space of parking spaces adjacent to gate “A” may be selected as a parking location and transmitted to the vehicle)
To the extent Cho is silent about or does not explicitly teach: and one or more other vehicles parked in the parking area; and Shao does teach:
and one or more other vehicles parked in the parking area; and (Shao: ¶ 034; he object platform 150 may obtain traffic information (e.g., traffic flow, pedestrian flow, etc.) around the parking lot based on the monitoring equipment.).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Shao with the teachings of Cho because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of "improv[ing] the [parking spot] recommendation efficiency" (Shao: ¶ 004).
Regarding claim 2, as detailed above, combination Cho teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 1. Cho further teaches:
wherein the detector comprises: a first detector at a vehicle entrance of the parking area and configured to detect the target vehicle entering the parking area; and a second detector configured to detect the target vehicle moving within the parking area (Cho: ¶ 043; vehicle detector 210 may be installed at an gate of the parking lot 50 provided with a plurality of gates to detect the vehicle 100 entering the parking lot 50 or exiting the parking lot)
And Shao teaches: and the one or more other vehicles parked in the parking area. (Shao: ¶ 034; he object platform 150 may obtain traffic information (e.g., traffic flow, pedestrian flow, etc.) around the parking lot based on the monitoring equipment.)
Regarding claim 11, Cho teaches a parking management method comprising:
detecting a target vehicle that enters a parking area (Cho: ¶ 043; vehicle detector 210 may be installed at an gate of the parking lot 50 provided with a plurality of gates to detect the vehicle 100 entering the parking lot 50 or exiting the parking lot 50 to the outside.) . . . identifying a parking space for the target vehicle based on parking information of the target vehicle and parking information of the one or more other vehicles. (Cho: ¶ 057; an empty space of parking spaces adjacent to gate “A” may be selected as a parking location and transmitted to the vehicle)
To the extent Cho is silent about or does not explicitly teach: and one or more other vehicles parked in the parking area; and Shao does teach:
and one or more other vehicles parked in the parking area; and (Shao: ¶ 034; he object platform 150 may obtain traffic information (e.g., traffic flow, pedestrian flow, etc.) around the parking lot based on the monitoring equipment.).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Shao with the teachings of Cho because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of "improv[ing] the [parking spot] recommendation efficiency" (Shao: ¶ 004).
Regarding claim 12, as detailed above, combination Cho teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 11. Cho further teaches:
wherein the detecting the target vehicle comprises: detecting the target vehicle entering the parking area; and (Cho: ¶ 043; vehicle detector 210 may be installed at an gate of the parking lot 50 provided with a plurality of gates to detect the vehicle 100 entering the parking lot 50 or exiting the parking lot)
And Shao teaches: detecting the target vehicle moving within the parking area. (Shao: ¶ 034; he object platform 150 may obtain traffic information (e.g., traffic flow, pedestrian flow, etc.) around the parking lot based on the monitoring equipment.)
Regarding claim 21, as detailed above, combination Cho teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 1. Shao further teaches:
wherein the detector or the management processor comprises an artificial intelligence (AI) parking manager configured to identify a parking area of a plurality of parking areas by using a trained neural network model based on parking information of a target vehicle, and (Shao: ¶ 127; score prediction model may refer to a model configured to determine the score of the candidate parking lot. In some embodiments, the score prediction model is a trained machine learning model. The score prediction model may be any one or a combination of a recurrent neural network model, a convolutional neural network,) wherein the system further comprises a user terminal configured to output the identified parking area. (Shao: ¶ 026; user platform 110 may display a recommendation result of the parking lot to the user through the terminal equipment (e.g., a displayer).)
Regarding claim 22, as detailed above, combination Cho teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 21. Cho further teaches:
wherein the Al parking manager is further configured to provide information about a parking space at which the target vehicle is parked. (Cho: ¶ 040; display 120 may receive and display map information of the parking lot 50, parking location information or the like from the parking location guidance apparatus)
Claims 3 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over combination Cho as applied to claims 1, 11 respectively above, and further in view of Oh et al. (US 20200175870 A1).
Regarding claim 3, as detailed above, combination Cho teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 1. Combination Cho teaches:
wherein the parking information of the target vehicle comprises at least one of a vehicle type of the target vehicle, driver information of the target vehicle, (Shao: ¶ 137; classification features 726 include user attribute features. The user attribute features may include a user name, age, gender, preference features,) a destination of the target vehicle, (Cho: ¶ 010; departure information reflecting device that reflects leaving time information and destination information of the vehicle)
a preferred parking space of the target vehicle, (Shao: ¶ 130; if the user parked in an open-air parking lot for many times, the open-air parking lot has a higher score in the two parking lots with open-air features and underground features, and may be preferentially recommended to the user.) or a parking time history of the target vehicle, (Shao: ¶ 104; evaluation factor may be determined based on a historical parking record of the user)
To the extent Cho is silent about or does not explicitly teach: and wherein the parking information of the one or more other vehicles comprises a parking time history of the one or more other vehicles; Oh does teach:
and wherein the parking information of the one or more other vehicles comprises a parking time history of the one or more other vehicles. (Oh: ¶ 056; processor 150 checks visit history information stored in the storage 140, by using the vehicle numbers of the parked vehicles, identifies the parking time (the duration of stay) of the parked vehicles during the previous visit, and predicts (estimates) the expected departure time in view of the identified parking time during the previous visit).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Oh with the teachings of Cho because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of improving the visibility of the driver who is waiting to park (Oh: ¶ 074).
Regarding claim 13, as detailed above, combination Cho teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 11. Shao teaches
wherein the parking information of the target vehicle comprises at least one of a vehicle type of the target vehicle, driver information of the target vehicle, (Shao: ¶ 137; classification features 726 include user attribute features. The user attribute features may include a user name, age, gender, preference features,) . . . a preferred parking space of the target vehicle, (Shao: ¶ 130; if the user parked in an open-air parking lot for many times, the open-air parking lot has a higher score in the two parking lots with open-air features and underground features, and may be preferentially recommended to the user.) or a parking time history of the target vehicle, and (Shao: ¶ 104; evaluation factor may be determined based on a historical parking record of the user)
Cho teaches: a destination of the target vehicle, (Cho: ¶ 090; optimal parking location considering a next route by using information on the next route (home, other set points) after the driver's parking)
To the extent Cho is silent about or does not explicitly teach: wherein the parking information of the one or more other vehicles comprises a parking time history of the one or more other vehicles; Oh does teach:
wherein the parking information of the one or more other vehicles comprises a parking time history of the one or more other vehicles. (Oh: ¶ 056; processor 150 checks visit history information stored in the storage 140, by using the vehicle numbers of the parked vehicles, identifies the parking time (the duration of stay) of the parked vehicles during the previous visit, and predicts (estimates) the expected departure time in view of the identified parking time during the previous visit).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Oh with the teachings of Cho because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of "improve the visibility of the driver who is waiting to park." (Oh: ¶ 074).
Claims 4 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over combination Cho in view of Oh as applied to claims 3, 13 respectively above, and further in view of Vora (US 20220388546 A1).
Regarding claim 4, as detailed above, combination Cho in view of Oh teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 3. Oh teaches:
wherein the management processor is further configured to: determine an expected departure time of the target vehicle (Oh: ¶ 056; processor 150 checks visit history information stored in the storage 140, by using the vehicle numbers of the parked vehicles, identifies the parking time (the duration of stay) of the parked vehicles during the previous visit, and predicts (estimates) the expected departure time in view of the identified parking time during the previous visit) . . . that has an expected departure time later than the expected departure time of the target vehicle, among the one or more other vehicles. (Oh: ¶ 056; processor 150 checks visit history information stored in the storage 140, by using the vehicle numbers of the parked vehicles, identifies the parking time (the duration of stay) of the parked vehicles during the previous visit, and predicts (estimates) the expected departure time in view of the identified parking time during the previous visit)
To the extent Cho is silent about or does not explicitly teach: and an expected departure time of the one or more other vehicles based on the parking time history of the target vehicle and the parking time history of the one or more other vehicles, respectively; identify, as the parking space, a double-parking space adjacent to a vehicle; Vora does teach:
and an expected departure time of the one or more other vehicles based on the parking time history of the target vehicle and the parking time history of the one or more other vehicles, respectively; identify, as the parking space, a double-parking space adjacent to a vehicle (Vora: ¶ 075; when there is a possibility that more than one spot will become available shortly (e.g., in the next 10-60 seconds), the planner module may choose to double park and wait for the spot most likely to become available first. The planner module or another part of the computing system may then control the signaling system to turn on a blinker and the steering and deceleration systems to pre-position the vehicle in the double-parked location,) (Vora: Clm. 010; evaluating at least one of a time until the autonomous vehicle is scheduled to make a pickup, a maximum wait time, whether another parking spot is currently available, whether another parking spot will become available within a given amount of time,).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Vora with the teachings of Cho because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of minimizing driver inconvenience (Vora: ¶ 070).
Regarding claim 14, as detailed above, combination Cho in view of Oh teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 13. Oh teaches:
wherein the identifying the parking space for the target vehicle comprises: determining an expected departure time of the target vehicle (Oh: ¶ 056; processor 150 checks visit history information stored in the storage 140, by using the vehicle numbers of the parked vehicles, identifies the parking time (the duration of stay) of the parked vehicles during the previous visit, and predicts (estimates) the expected departure time in view of the identified parking time during the previous visit) . . . that has an expected departure time later than the expected departure time of the target vehicle, among the one or more other vehicles parked in the parking area. (Oh: ¶ 056; processor 150 checks visit history information stored in the storage 140, by using the vehicle numbers of the parked vehicles, identifies the parking time (the duration of stay) of the parked vehicles during the previous visit, and predicts (estimates) the expected departure time in view of the identified parking time during the previous visit)
To the extent Cho is silent about or does not explicitly teach: and an expected departure time of the one or more other vehicles based on the parking time history of the target vehicle and the parking time history of the one or more other vehicles, respectively; and identifying, as the parking space, a double-parking space adjacent to a vehicle; Vora does teach:
and an expected departure time of the one or more other vehicles based on the parking time history of the target vehicle and the parking time history of the one or more other vehicles, respectively; and identifying, as the parking space, a double-parking space adjacent to a vehicle (Vora: Clm. 010; evaluating at least one of a time until the autonomous vehicle is scheduled to make a pickup, a maximum wait time, whether another parking spot is currently available, whether another parking spot will become available within a given amount of time,) (Vora: ¶ 075; when there is a possibility that more than one spot will become available shortly (e.g., in the next 10-60 seconds), the planner module may choose to double park and wait for the spot most likely to become available first. The planner module or another part of the computing system may then control the signaling system to turn on a blinker and the steering and deceleration systems to pre-position the vehicle in the double-parked location)
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Vora with the teachings of Cho because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of minimizing driver inconvenience (Vora: ¶ 070).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over combination Cho as applied to claims 1 above, and further in view of Chang (US 20220075857 A1).
Regarding claim 5, as detailed above, combination Cho teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 1. To the extent Cho is silent about or does not explicitly teach:
further comprising: a notifier configured to provide guidance to the parking space,
wherein the notifier comprises: a first notifier installed in each of a plurality of parking spaces provided in the parking area and configured to irradiate light in a preset color or pattern; and a second notifier configured to irradiate light onto a ground of the parking area corresponding to the parking space; Chang teaches:
further comprising: a notifier configured to provide guidance to the parking space, (Chang: ¶ 100; determine a current position of the car, and the control host 9 sequentially turns on the directing lights 93 in the passway to guide the car to the target parking space. I) wherein the notifier comprises: a first notifier installed in each of a plurality of parking spaces provided in the parking area and configured to irradiate light in a preset color or pattern; and (Chang: ¶ 082; at least one illumination light arranged corresponding to one parking space, and one illumination light arranged every a predetermined distance at the passway going to the one parking space) a second notifier configured to irradiate light onto a ground of the parking area corresponding to the parking space. (Chang: ¶ 095; controlling the illumination lights at a specific parking space)
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Chang with the teachings of Cho because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of “sav[ing] power and improv[ing] the control performance.” (Chang: ¶ 083).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over combination Cho in view of Chang as applied to claims 5 above, and further in view of Matsuda (WO 2020162455 A1).
Regarding claim 6, as detailed above, combination Cho teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 5. To the extent Cho is silent about or does not explicitly teach:
wherein the second notifier is further configured to irradiate, in a form of a figure, an area within a parking space or a double-parking space in the parking area at which the target vehicle is to be positioned; Matsuda teaches:
wherein the second notifier is further configured to irradiate, in a form of a figure, an area within a parking space or a double-parking space in the parking area at which the target vehicle is to be positioned. (Matsuda: ¶ 048; a rectangle having a size corresponding to an empty parking space may be projected in the on-street parking area. Parking guidance image 130 may be projected in a specific color such as blue, which is set to display (guidance) an empty parking space. Further, the parking guidance image 130 may show fee information (for example, a number, a character, or a symbol indicating a parking fee per hour) together with the arrow image or instead of the arrow image.).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Matsuda with the teachings of Cho because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of not “blocking the road for other users” (Matsuda: ¶ 003).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shao as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Chang (US 20220075857 A1).
Regarding claim 8, as detailed above, Shao discloses the invention as detailed with respect to claim 7. Shao teaches:
. . . a destination of the target vehicle, (Shao: ¶ 135; It may be understood that, for a plurality of candidate parking lots with close distances (e.g., a certain preset distance range) in a certain area, the more parking records the user has, the higher the probability that the parking lot is selected by the user is.) a preferred parking space of the target vehicle, (Shao: ¶ 130; if the user parked in an open-air parking lot for many times, the open-air parking lot has a higher score in the two parking lots with open-air features and underground features, and may be preferentially recommended to the user.) or a parking time history of the target vehicle. (Shao: ¶ 104; evaluation factor may be determined based on a historical parking record of the user)
To the extent Shao is silent about or does not explicitly teach: wherein the parking information of the target vehicle comprises at least one of a vehicle type of the target vehicle, driver information of the target vehicle, Chang does teach:
wherein the parking information of the target vehicle comprises at least one of a vehicle type of the target vehicle, driver information of the target vehicle, (Chang: ¶ 085; database 142 is included in the control host 9. The detection device 1, 1′ recognizes a current user ID and sends an ID signal Sp associated with the current user ID to the control host).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Chang with the teachings of Cho because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of “sav[ing] power and improv[ing] the control performance.” (Chang: ¶ 083).
Claims 9 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shao as applied to claims 7 and 17 respectively above, and further in view of Cho (US 20230026020 A1)
Regarding claim 9, as detailed above, Shao discloses the invention as detailed with respect to claim 7. To the extent Shao is silent about or does not explicitly teach:
wherein the Al parking manager is further configured to provide information about a parking space at which the target vehicle is parked; Cho does teach:
wherein the Al parking manager is further configured to provide information about a parking space at which the target vehicle is parked. (Cho: ¶ 040; display 120 may receive and display map information of the parking lot 50, parking location information or the like from the parking location guidance apparatus).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Cho with the teachings of Cho because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of "provid[ing] information on parking spaces that satisfy a preferred location or condition for each driver." (Cho: ¶ 005).
Regarding claim 18, as detailed above, Shao discloses the invention as detailed with respect to claim 17. Shao discloses:
wherein the parking information of the target vehicle comprises at least one of a vehicle type of the target vehicle, driver information of the target vehicle, (Shao: ¶ 137; classification features 726 include user attribute features. The user attribute features may include a user name, age, gender, preference features,) . . . a preferred parking space of the target vehicle, (Shao: ¶ 130; if the user parked in an open-air parking lot for many times, the open-air parking lot has a higher score in the two parking lots with open-air features and underground features, and may be preferentially recommended to the user.) or a parking time history of the target vehicle. (Shao: ¶ 104; evaluation factor may be determined based on a historical parking record of the user)
To the extent Cho is silent about or does not explicitly teach: a destination of the target vehicle, Cho does teach:
a destination of the target vehicle, (Cho: ¶ 090; optimal parking location considering a next route by using information on the next route (home, other set points) after the driver's parking).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Cho with the teachings of Cho because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of "provid[ing] information on parking spaces that satisfy a preferred location or condition for each driver." (Cho: ¶ 005).
Regarding claim 19, as detailed above, Shao discloses the invention as detailed with respect to claim 17. To the extent Shao is silent about or does not explicitly teach:
further comprising: providing information about a parking space at which the target vehicle is parked; Cho does teach:
further comprising: providing information about a parking space at which the target vehicle is parked. (Cho: ¶ 040; display 120 may receive and display map information of the parking lot 50, parking location information or the like from the parking location guidance apparatus).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Cho with the teachings of Cho because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of "provid[ing] information on parking spaces that satisfy a preferred location or condition for each driver." (Cho: ¶ 005).
Claims 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over combination Cho as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Matsuda (WO 2020162455 A1).
Regarding claim 15, as detailed above, combination Cho teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 11. To the extent Cho is silent about or does not explicitly teach:
further comprising: irradiating light in different colors based on whether the one or more other vehicles are parked in respective parking spaces among a plurality of parking spaces provided in the parking area; and irradiating light onto a ground of the parking area corresponding to the parking space. Matsuda does teach:
further comprising: irradiating light in different colors based on whether the one or more other vehicles are parked in respective parking spaces among a plurality of parking spaces provided in the parking area; and irradiating light onto a ground of the parking area corresponding to the parking space. (Matsuda: ¶ 048; a rectangle having a size corresponding to an empty parking space may be projected in the on-street parking area. Parking guidance image 130 may be projected in a specific color such as blue, which is set to display (guidance) an empty parking space. Further, the parking guidance image 130 may show fee information (for example, a number, a character, or a symbol indicating a parking fee per hour) together with the arrow image or instead of the arrow image.).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Matsuda with the teachings of Cho because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of not “blocking the road for other users” (Matsuda: ¶ 003).
Regarding claim 16, as detailed above, combination Cho in view of Matsuda teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 15. Matsuda teaches:
wherein the irradiating light onto the ground of the parking area corresponding to the parking space comprises irradiating, in a form of a figure, an area within a parking space or a double-parking space in the parking area at which the target vehicle is to be positioned. (Matsuda: ¶ 048; a rectangle having a size corresponding to an empty parking space may be projected in the on-street parking area. Parking guidance image 130 may be projected in a specific color such as blue, which is set to display (guidance) an empty parking space. Further, the parking guidance image 130 may show fee information (for example, a number, a character, or a symbol indicating a parking fee per hour) together with the arrow image or instead of the arrow image.)
Claims 10 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shao as applied to claim 7 and 17 respectively above, and further in view of Vora (US 20220388546 A1)
Regarding claim 10, as detailed above, Shao discloses the invention as detailed with respect to claim 7. To the extent Shao is silent about or does not teach:
further comprising: a management processor configured to provide information for guiding the target vehicle to a parking area selected from among the plurality of parking areas through the user terminal; Vora teaches:
further comprising: a management processor configured to provide information for guiding the target vehicle to a parking area selected from among the plurality of parking areas through the user terminal. (Vora: ¶ 034; autonomous driving computing system may employ a planner module 223, in accordance with the navigation system 220, the positioning system 222 and/or other components of the system, e.g., for determining a route from a starting point to one or more destinations, selecting a pickup and/or drop-off point or zone for each location, or for otherwise making modifications to various driving aspects in view of current or expected pickup).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Vora with the teachings of Cho because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of minimizing driver inconvenience (Vora: ¶ 070).
Regarding claim 20, as detailed above, Shao discloses the invention as detailed with respect to claim 17. To the extent Shao is silent about or does not explicitly disclose:
further comprising: providing information for guiding the target vehicle to a parking area selected from among the plurality of parking areas through a user terminal; Vora does teach:
further comprising: providing information for guiding the target vehicle to a parking area selected from among the plurality of parking areas through a user terminal. (Vora: ¶ 034; autonomous driving computing system may employ a planner module 223, in accordance with the navigation system 220, the positioning system 222 and/or other components of the system, e.g., for determining a route from a starting point to one or more destinations, selecting a pickup and/or drop-off point or zone for each location, or for otherwise making modifications to various driving aspects in view of current or expected pickup).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Vora with the teachings of Cho because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of minimizing driver inconvenience (Vora: ¶ 070).
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over combination Cho as applied to claim 21 above, and further in view of Vora (US 20220388546 A1)
Regarding claim 23, as detailed above, combination Cho teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 22. To the extent Shao is silent about or does not explicitly teach:
wherein the management processor is further configured to provide information for guiding the target vehicle to a parking area selected from among the plurality of parking areas through the user terminal. Vora does teach:
wherein the management processor is further configured to provide information for guiding the target vehicle to a parking area selected from among the plurality of parking areas through the user terminal. (Vora: ¶ 034; autonomous driving computing system may employ a planner module 223, in accordance with the navigation system 220, the positioning system 222 and/or other components of the system, e.g., for determining a route from a starting point to one or more destinations, selecting a pickup and/or drop-off point or zone for each location, or for otherwise making modifications to various driving aspects in view of current or expected pickup).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Vora with the teachings of Cho because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of minimizing driver inconvenience (Vora: ¶ 070).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure Komanduri (US 9997070 B1) which discloses lighting devices each of which have a display, a controllable general illumination light source, and an occupancy sensor. When a user enters the parking garage in a vehicle, the display of lighting devices outputs directional arrows and communicates with other lighting devices to direct the user to a vacant parking space.
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/C.P./ Examiner, Art Unit 3663
/ANGELA Y ORTIZ/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3663
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