nuTonomy Inc.

Patent Trials and Appeals Board

Jul 29, 2020

15298970 - (D) (P.T.A.B. Jul. 29, 2020)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www.uspto.gov
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
15/298,970 10/20/2016 Karl Iagnemma 46154-0036001 1676
152764 7590 07/29/2020
FISH & RICHARDSON P.C.
P.O. BOX 1022
MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55440-1022
EXAMINER
ANWARI, MACEEH
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
3663
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
07/29/2020 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address(es):
PATDOCTC@fr.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte KARL IAGNEMMA and
HARSHAVARDHAN RAVICHANDRAN
Appeal 2020-001099
Application 15/298,970
Technology Center 3600
Before JENNIFER D. BAHR, CHARLES N. GREENHUT, and
GEORGE R. HOSKINS, Administrative Patent Judges.
BAHR, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 134(a), Appellant1 appeals from the
Examiner’s decision to reject claims 1–20. We have jurisdiction under
35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We REVERSE.

1 We use the word “Appellant” to refer to “applicant” as defined in
37 C.F.R. § 1.42. Appellant identifies the real party in interest as Aptiv
PLC. Appeal Br. 4.
Appeal 2020-001099
Application 15/298,970

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CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER
Appellant’s invention is directed to “identifying stopping places for an
autonomous vehicle.” Spec. 1:3. Claim 1, reproduced below, is illustrative
of the claimed subject matter:
1. A computer-based method comprising:
selecting, by a vehicle computer, a proximity region that
is within a first distance from a goal position;
obtaining, by the vehicle computer, a goal region by
excluding from the proximity region one or more portions of
the proximity region where stopping is not feasible;
discretizing, by the vehicle computer, the goal region into
a set of potential stopping places, wherein each potential
stopping place includes an area that accommodates a footprint
of the vehicle;
determining, by the vehicle computer, a quality score for
each potential stopping place;
in response to the vehicle identifying a stopping place
from the potential stopping places in the goal region within a
specified period of time,
causing the vehicle to drive autonomously to and stop at
an identified stopping place with the highest quality score; and
in response to the vehicle not identifying the stopping
place from the potential stopping places in the goal region after
the specified period of time,
allowing a human teleoperator to cause the vehicle to
drive to a different stopping place of the potential stopping
places.
REFERENCES
The prior art relied upon by the Examiner is:
Name Reference Date
Zhou US 2012/0078504 A1 Mar. 29, 2012
Ramanujam US 2015/0346727 A1 Dec. 3, 2015

Appeal 2020-001099
Application 15/298,970

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REJECTION
Claims 1–20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as unpatentable over
Zhou and Ramanujam.
OPINION
Appellant’s independent claim 1, which is directed to a computer-
based method, recites, in pertinent part,
in response to the vehicle identifying a stopping place
from the potential stopping places in the goal region within a
specified period of time,
causing the vehicle to drive autonomously to and stop at
an identified stopping place with the highest quality score; and
in response to the vehicle not identifying the stopping
place from the potential stopping places in the goal region after
the specified period of time,
allowing a human teleoperator to cause the vehicle to
drive to a different stopping place of the potential stopping
places.
Appeal Br. 30 (Claims App.). Independent claims 8 and 15 recite, in
pertinent part, “one or more non-transitory storage media storing instructions
[that,] when executed by the one or more computer processors [(claim 8) or
one or more computing devices (claim 15)], cause performance of operations
comprising” the steps recited in claim 1, including those quoted above. Id.
at 31–32, 33–34. Appellant argues that Zhou and Ramanujam do not teach
or suggest this feature. Appeal Br. 17–20; Reply Br. 3 (arguing that, even if
Zhou’s traveler is considered to be a “teleoperator,” as claimed, “Zhou’s
traveler traverses the vehicle regardless of satisfaction of a specific condition
of ‘the vehicle not identifying the stopping place from the potential stopping
places in the goal region after the specified period of time,’” as claimed).
Appeal 2020-001099
Application 15/298,970

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The Examiner cites Figures 3–6, 8, and 10 of Zhou as disclosing, “in
response to the vehicle not identifying the stopping place . . . after the
specified period of time, allowing a human teleoperator to cause the vehicle
to drive to a different stopping place of the potential stopping places.”
Ans. 4, 8–9. However, we do not find, nor does the Examiner specifically
identify, any disclosure in any of these drawing figures regarding specifying
a period of time in which a stopping place must be identified, much less
taking any action in response to a stopping place being identified or not
identified within such a specified period of time.2 The Examiner also cites
“col. 20 line 17- col. 21 line 64” and “col. 6 lines 27-32” of Zhou in regard
to this claim limitation. Id. at 8–9. Notably, Zhou has page numbers and
paragraph numbers, and does not include column and line numbers.3
Speculating that the Examiner’s reference to column 6, lines 27–32, may be
intended to direct our attention to paragraph 55 (page 3, second column,
lines 27–32) of Zhou, and the Examiner’s reference to column 20, line 17, to
column 21, line 64, may be intended to direct our attention to paragraphs
176–191 (spanning page 10, second column, and page 11, first column), we
have reviewed these sections of Zhou’s disclosure, but we discern no
mention therein regarding specifying a period of time in which a stopping
place must be identified, much less taking any action in response to a
stopping place being identified or not identified within such a specified
period of time. In paragraphs 180–186, Zhou disclose various search

2 Figure 2 illustrates display interface 202 displaying route travel time, as
well as departure time and estimated arrival time, and Figure 4 illustrates
details regarding times of operation of the destination location.
3 Ramanujam, likewise, uses page and paragraph numbers, but does not
include column and line numbers.
Appeal 2020-001099
Application 15/298,970

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techniques for searching for an area for storing vehicles, but mentions
nothing about specifying a period of time in which a vehicle storage area
must be identified or in which the search iterations must be completed, much
less taking any action in response to identifying or not identifying a vehicle
storage area within the specified time period.
The Examiner also cites paragraphs 50–52 and 68–73 of Ramanujam
in addressing this limitation. Ans. 9. Ramanujam teaches that “”[i]f a first
parking area on the list does not have any available parking spaces, then the
autonomous vehicle 320 may drive to a second parking area on the list, and
so on.” Ramanujam ¶ 50; see also id. ¶ 52. In paragraphs 67–73,
Ramanujam teaches examples of methods of parking an autonomous
vehicle, but does not mention specifying a time period for identifying a
stopping place or taking any action in response to identifying or not
identifying a stopping place within the specified time period.
For the above reasons, the Examiner does not establish that the subject
matter of claims 1, 8, and 15, or their dependent claims, would have been
obvious. Accordingly, we do not sustain the rejection of claims 1–20 as
unpatentable over Zhou and Ramanujam.
DECISION SUMMARY
Claims
Rejected
35 U.S.C. § Reference(s)/Basis Affirmed Reversed
1–20 103 Zhou, Ramanujam 1–20

REVERSED