DETAILED ACTION
This Non-Final Office Action is in response to the amended claims filed on 9/26/2025.
Claims 1-15 are currently pending.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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) 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gao et al. (US 2024/0227793).
As to claim 1 Gao discloses a computer system (figure 2) for motion control of a vehicle (figure 1 #100) based on artificial flow guidance, AFG (paragraph 0010), wherein a plurality of tracking points are defined in relation to the vehicle (paragraph 0010), the computer system comprising processing circuitry configured to:
use AFG to determine a target acceleration value (target motion direction) for each tracking point (paragraph 0067);
determine a desired acceleration value for each tracking point based on the target acceleration values and on a structural constraint between the tracking points; and cause motion control of the vehicle based on the desired acceleration values (paragraph 0099).
As to claim 2 Gao discloses the computer system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to cause the motion control of the vehicle by transforming the desired acceleration values to desired global motion parameters for vehicle motion management. (The pipe is a motion parameter to keep the vehicle within parameters see figure 12A and paragraph 0100)
As to claim 3 Gao discloses the computer system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the desired acceleration values sequentially (Shown in figure 4 the acceleration or target motion in sequence as the vehicle is to travel down the path), starting from a specific one of the tracking points in an initial determination step,
wherein the initial determination step comprises determining the desired acceleration value of the specific tracking point (goal point) as the target acceleration value for the specific tracking point (paragraph 0015), and
wherein each further determination step comprises determining the desired acceleration value of a considered one of the tracking points based on the target acceleration value for the considered tracking point, the desired acceleration value determined for a respective tracking point in a previous determination step, and the structural constraint (the “pipe” shown in figures 4, 12 and paragraph 0100 acts as the constraint) between the respective tracking point and the considered tracking point. (Paragraph 0055 discloses the formulas to track the points as they move along the goal path. Further confined in paragraph 0059)
As to claim 4 Gao discloses the computer system of claim 3, wherein each target acceleration value relates to a target speed and a target curvature, wherein the initial determination step is conditioned on compliance with target speed and target curvature for the specific tracking point, and wherein each further determination step is conditioned on compliance with target curvature for the considered tracking point. (paragraph 0042)
As to claim 5 Gao discloses the computer system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the target acceleration value of a particular tracking point by acquiring an AFG velocity reference for the particular tracking point, and determining a flow acceleration for the particular tracking point based on a gradient (lateral deviation) of the AFG velocity reference at the particular tracking point. (paragraph 0014)
As to claim 6 Gao discloses the computer system of claim 5, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the gradient of the AFG velocity reference by application of a two-dimensional curvilinear coordinate system defined for a reference point on the reference path. (The two-dimensional coordination system is shown in figure 3)
As to claim 7 Gao discloses the computer system of claim 6, wherein the curvilinear coordinate system has a first basis along the reference path and a second basis perpendicular to the first basis, and wherein magnitudes of the first and second bases are related by a scaling value in a Cartesian coordinate system. (figure 14)
As to claim 8 Gao discloses the computer system of claim 7, wherein the scaling value is a function of an arc curvature of the reference path at the reference point and on a lateral displacement of the particular tracking point from the reference point. (shown in figure 3)
As to claim 9 Gao discloses the computer system of claim 5, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the target acceleration value of a particular tracking point by adjusting the flow acceleration (figure 6 #640) for the particular tracking point using AFG feedback (figure 6).
As to claim 10 Gao discloses the computer system of claim 9, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to limit the AFG feedback by application of an AFG feedback saturation threshold (paragraph 0077).
As to claim 11 Gao discloses the computer system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to limit the target acceleration value by application of a target acceleration saturation threshold (paragraph 0101).
As to claim 12 Gao discloses a vehicle comprising the computer system of claim 1. (figure 2)
As to claim 13 Gao discloses a computer-implemented method for motion control of a vehicle based on artificial flow guidance, AFG, (paragraph 0010) in relation to a reference path, wherein a plurality of tracking points (figure 4) are defined in relation to the vehicle, the method comprising:
using, by processing circuitry (figure 10 #1010) of a computer system (figure 10), AFG to determine a target acceleration value (paragraph 0067, target motion direction) for each tracking point;
determining, by the processing circuitry (figure 10 #1010), a desired acceleration value for each tracking point based on the target acceleration values and on a structural constraint (shown in figure e 12A) between the tracking points; and
causing, by the processing circuitry (figure 10 #1010), motion control of the vehicle based on the desired acceleration values (paragraph 0099).
As to claim 14 Gao discloses a computer program product comprising program code for performing, when executed by the processing circuitry, the method of claim 13 (paragraph 0098).
As to claim 15 Gao discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (1200) comprising instructions, which when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform the method of claim 13 (figure 6).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHERMAN D MANLEY whose telephone number is (571)270-5539. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 7-5:30 est.
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SHERMAN D. MANLEY
Examiner
Art Unit 3747
/SHERMAN D MANLEY/Examiner, Art Unit 3747
/JACOB M AMICK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747
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