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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 6/4/26 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 6-9, 14, 15, 18, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR-20190041613 (KR’613) in view of KR-1020190106208 (KR’208).
Re: claims 1, 6-9, 14, 18, and 20. KR’613 shows in figures 1 and 2 an electronic brake system comprising: a hydraulic pressure supply device 30 including a motor 32, and configured to generate a hydraulic pressure by rotating the motor to move a piston 313 in a first direction or a second direction; a hydraulic circuit shown for example at 317 configured to guide the hydraulic pressure generated by the hydraulic pressure supply device to a wheel cylinder FL, RR. etc. a motor position sensor configured to detect a rotation of the motor; a pressure sensor within element 100 as described configured to detect a hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic circuit; a storage configured to store a characteristic map of a stroke of the piston and hydraulic pressure as recited in claim 2; and a controller 50 configured to determine a target stroke change amount corresponding to a target pressure based on the characteristic map as described in the paragraph starting “The storage section 90” by virtue of the map of the piston stroke-pressure relationship, and is configured to detect if hydraulic pressure is greater than or equal to a reference pressure as described in the paragraph beginning “The electronic control unit 50 ensures the braking performance by correcting the pressure error”, but is silent with regard to a motor position sensor, the controller particularly configured to identify a position of the piston based on the rotation of the motor, and identifying whether the target pressure is securable based on the position of the piston and the target stroke change amount, and controlling a direction change of the piston based on whether the predetermined target pressure is securable.
KR’208 teaches in figures 1 and 6 and in claims 1 and 4 a motor position sensor MPS and identifying whether a target pressure is securable based on the position of the piston and the target stroke change, and controlling a direction change of the piston based on whether the predetermined target pressure is securable.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified the brake system of KR’613 to have included the motor position sensor and the controller to be configured to identify whether a target pressure is securable based on the position of the piston and the stroke change and control a direction change of the piston based on whether the target pressure is securable, in view of the teachings of KR’208, in order to provide a means of ensuring that the actual brake pressure matches the desired brake pressure to output by the brake system.
Re: claim 15. KR’613, as modified, teaches in the third paragraph under the description of embodiments in KR’613 the brake system comprising a pressure sensor configured to detect a hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic circuit, wherein the controller is configured to determine the operation mode as the high-pressure mode based on at least one of the detected hydraulic pressure, a vehicle speed, whether an antilock brake system (ABS) control is performed, whether an electronic stability control system (ESC) control is performed, or an input of a user or particularly based on at least the detected hydraulic pressure.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4, 10-13, 16, and 17 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new grounds of rejection do not rely on the combination of references used in the prior Office action of record.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MELODY M BURCH whose telephone number is (571)272-7114. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 6:30AM-3PM, generally.
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mmb
June 12, 2026
/MELODY M BURCH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616
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