Obviousness — US Patent 12233871

To analyze the obviousness of US patent 12233871 under 35 U.S.C. § 103, we must determine if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art would have been obvious to a Person Having Ordinary Skill in the Art (PHOSITA) at the time of the invention. A PHOSITA is a hypothetical person who is presumed to know the relevant art and possess ordinary creativity, capable of combining known elements to achieve predictable results. The analysis involves considering the scope and content of the prior art, the differences between the claims and the prior art, and the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.

The core of US122333871, as defined by independent claims 1 and 8, is a motor vehicle with a drive system (or controller) that automatically changes between drive and reverse modes in response to a sequence of detected steering and brake inputs, without the operator explicitly indicating a direction.

Level of Ordinary Skill in the Art

For this patent, a PHOSITA would likely be an automotive engineer or a software engineer specializing in vehicle control systems. They would have knowledge of vehicle dynamics, sensor technology, control algorithms, and human-machine interfaces in the context of automotive applications. They would also be familiar with existing vehicle parking assist systems and automatic shifting mechanisms.

Prior Art Combinations and Motivation for Obviousness

The patent itself lists several prior art documents. We will examine how a combination of these could render the claims of US12233871 obvious.

Key Prior Art References and their relevant teachings:

US20110080305A1 (Ford Global Technologies): Vehicle Park Assist System and Method for Parking a Vehicle Using Such System. This reference describes a system for parking a vehicle, which inherently involves maneuvering between forward and reverse gears and utilizing steering inputs. While it may require explicit driver confirmation for direction changes, it establishes the concept of automated assistance in parking maneuvers involving both steering and gear changes.
US9085321B2 (Mando Corporation): Unparking control system and unparking control method using the same. This patent explicitly addresses "unparking" and describes a control system and method for it. Unparking often involves sequences of reverse, steering, stopping, shifting to drive, steering, and moving forward.
US20200404192A1 (Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.): Vehicle-mounted device. This patent mentions a vehicle-mounted device, and while the abstract does not immediately reveal specific details relevant to automatic gear shifting based on steering and brake inputs, the broad classification and context of vehicle control systems suggest it could encompass components or principles applicable to automated vehicle maneuvers.
US11932230B1 (Bulletproof Property Management, Llc): Vehicle gear selection control. This patent shares the same title and assignee, and is a parent application to US12233871B1. It is highly likely to contain very similar or foundational teachings regarding vehicle gear selection control, possibly including elements of automatic shifting in response to vehicle conditions. Given that US12233871B1 is a continuation of an application which is a continuation-in-part of US11932230B1, it's highly probable that US11932230B1 discloses many of the core concepts, possibly lacking only the specific combination of steering and brake inputs for non-directional gear selection.
CNET Cars, "Elon Musk explains Auto Shift feature in Model S," YouTube (Jun. 11, 2021). This non-patent literature directly discusses an "Auto Shift" feature, indicating public knowledge of automated gear shifting in vehicles, even if the specific mechanism isn't fully detailed in the snippet. This demonstrates the existence of a desire and at least some implementation of automatic gear selection.

Obviousness Argument:

A PHOSITA, at the time of the invention of US12233871, would have been motivated to combine the teachings of these prior art references to achieve automated gear selection during parking/unparking maneuvers without explicit directional input from the driver.

Combination 1: US9085321B2 in view of US11932230B1 and general knowledge (as evidenced by CNET Cars video).

US9085321B2 (Unparking control system): This reference teaches a system for unparking. Unparking fundamentally involves shifting between reverse and drive, and manipulating the steering. This patent would teach a PHOSITA the overall goal and context of automating the unparking process, including the need for gear changes and steering adjustments.
US11932230B1 (Vehicle gear selection control): As a parent patent with the same title and assignee, this patent would likely disclose systems for "vehicle gear selection control," potentially including automated aspects. It's reasonable to infer that it lays the groundwork for detecting conditions that would prompt a gear change, even if not explicitly detailing the non-directional aspect based on both steering and brake inputs.
CNET Cars, "Elon Musk explains Auto Shift feature in Model S" (2021): This demonstrates the public awareness and industry trend towards "Auto Shift" features, signifying a desire for more automated and less driver-intensive gear selection, especially in common maneuvers like parking. It suggests that the concept of automatic gear shifting, without explicit driver direction, was already being explored or implemented.

Motivation to Combine: A PHOSITA, aware of unparking automation (US9085321B2) and general vehicle gear selection control (US11932230B1), and also recognizing the industry trend and user desire for hands-free or less-explicit gear selection (CNET Cars video), would be motivated to integrate these concepts. The gap addressed by US12233871 is performing the gear change without operator indication of a direction in response to a sequence of detected steering and brake inputs.

It would be obvious to a PHOSITA to combine the unparking control system of US9085321B2 with the general concept of automated gear selection (as may be found in US11932230B1 and indicated by the CNET video) to reduce driver input and improve convenience during unparking. Specifically, the "sequence of detected steering and brake inputs" as the trigger for the non-directional shift would be a predictable design choice. In an unparking scenario (as depicted in FIG. 2 of US12233871), the driver naturally steers one way in reverse, then brakes to stop, and then steers the other way to go forward. A PHOSITA would readily recognize this pattern and devise a system to interpret these common driver actions as an implicit signal for a gear change, rather than requiring an explicit directional input like a screen swipe. The "brake tap" or similar non-directional confirmation mentioned in US12233871 (e.g., in claims 4 and 11, and in the description as "brake tap sequence 140 or other non-direction indicating signal such as a button click, voice command, or visually-detected gesture") is a logical user interface element for confirming an automated suggestion, rather than specifying a direction. This "confirmation" step, as opposed to a "directional indication," is aligned with the goal of reducing driver burden.

Example of obviousness applied to claims:

Claim 1: "The drive system operable in response to a sequence of detected steering and brake inputs when in a first one of the drive mode and reverse mode to change to the other of the drive mode and reverse mode, without operator indication of a direction."
- US9085321B2 teaches an unparking system requiring shifts between reverse and drive and steering.
- US11932230B1, as a parent, would establish a foundation for automated gear selection.
- The CNET video demonstrates a general drive towards "auto shift."
- A PHOSITA would recognize the typical unparking sequence (reverse with steering, stop, then forward with opposite steering) and be motivated to automate the gear change at the stop point. Using the observed steering and brake inputs as the trigger, without requiring an explicit directional input from the driver, would be a predictable next step in improving user convenience, especially given the established problem of driver distraction with screen swipes in parking situations (as described in the background of US12233871). The "brake input" could serve as the non-directional "operator indication of approval" (as described in US12233871's detailed description), which aligns with the claim's "without operator indication of a direction."
Claims 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14: These dependent claims further specify the "sequence of detected steering and brake inputs." For example, detecting a steering angle in one direction, then a brake application, and then a steering angle in an opposite direction (Claims 2, 5, 9, 12). These specific patterns are directly reflective of typical unparking maneuvers (as illustrated in FIG. 2 of US12233871, showing steering angles and velocity during unparking). A PHOSITA would naturally program an automated unparking system to recognize these common steering and braking patterns as indicators of an impending gear change. The "brake tap" (Claims 4, 11) as a non-directional confirmation signal is also an obvious implementation for user acceptance in an automated system, as it provides a simple, universal input. Similarly, detecting the release of an accelerator and subsequent brake application (Claims 7, 14) are also routine observations in vehicle control systems and would be obvious to incorporate into an automated gear shift logic during parking maneuvers.

Therefore, the combination of existing unparking automation systems (like US9085321B2), general automated gear selection concepts (like US11932230B1), and the clear industry trend towards reducing driver input for gear changes (as evidenced by the CNET video), would lead a PHOSITA to the claimed invention of US12233871. The specific sequences of steering and brake inputs described in the dependent claims are simply predictable implementations of such an automated system designed for common parking and unparking scenarios.