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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claims 1-44 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Marchais et al. (US Patent 10,726,683; IDS dated 01/18/2023; hereinafter Marchais) in view of Marchais et al (US Publication 2021/0174777; hereinafter Marchais_2).
With regards to claims 1 and 21, Marchais teaches a method and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer program instructions stored thereon to implement the method (col. 2, lines 14-23), comprising:
applying a first frequency signal (first tone at a first frequency f1; col. 6, lines 8-21) to an electromechanical actuator (col. 4, lines 47-56) and measuring a first response of the electromechanical actuator to the first frequency signal (col. 5, lines 6-16); estimating electrical parameters of the electromechanical actuator based on the first response (col. 5, lines 6-16 and col. 6, lines 41-63);
applying a second frequency signal (second tone at a second frequency f2; col. 6, lines 8-21) to the electromechanical actuator (col. 4, lines 47-56) and measuring a second response of the electromechanical actuator to the second frequency signal (col. 5, lines 6-16); and estimating mechanical parameters of the electromechanical actuator based on the second response and the estimated electrical parameters (col. 5, lines 6-16 and col. 6, lines 41-63).
However, Marchais is silent regarding the first frequency signal being a high frequency signal and a second frequency signal being a low frequency broadband signal.
Marchais_2 teaches a method of applying tone signals to monitor a parameter of an electromagnetic load (abstract; similar to Marchais in col. 4, lines 38-56) comprises applying a first frequency signal being a high frequency signal ([0091-0092]) and a second frequency signal being a low frequency broadband signal ([0093]), and determining electrical/mechanical parameters of the electromagnetic load ([0070, 0111]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of driving a high and low frequency signals in the manner as taught by Marchais_2 as the first and second frequency signals to the method of Marchais with reasonable expectation of estimating electrical and/or mechanical impedances ([0063]; Marchais_2) as originally intended.
With regards to claims 2 and 22, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 1 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, respectively, wherein said applying the high frequency signal and said applying the low frequency broadband signal are performed concurrently ([0093]; Marchais_2).
With regards to claims 3 and 23, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 2 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 22, respectively, wherein the high frequency signal and the low frequency broadband signal are selected such that they do not produce harmonics that interfere with each other ([0093]; Marchais_2).
With regards to claims 4 and 24, Marchais, as combined with Marchais, teaches the method of claim 1 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, respectively, wherein said applying the high frequency signal is performed prior to said applying the low frequency broadband signal ([0088, 0091]; Marchais_2).
With regards to claims 5 and 25, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches the e method of claim 1 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, respectively, wherein said applying the high frequency signal is performed after said applying the low frequency broadband signal ([0087, 0092]; Marchais_2).
With regards to claims 6 and 26, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 1 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, respectively, further comprising: said estimating the electrical parameters and the mechanical parameters of the electromechanical actuator during calibration of the electromechanical actuator during manufacture of a device that includes the electromechanical actuator (col. 4, lines 57 to col. 5, line 16 of Marchais and [0119] of Marchais_2).
With regards to claims 7 and 27, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches (citations to Marchais) the method of claim 1 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, respectively, further comprising: said estimating the electrical parameters and the mechanical parameters of the electromechanical actuator during operation by a consumer of a device (col. 1, lines 13-24; Marchais) that includes the electromechanical actuator (col.3, lines 28-35).
With regards to claims 8 and 28, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 1 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, respectively, wherein the electrical parameters and the mechanical parameters are obtained in less than 50 milliseconds ([0122]; Marchais_2).
With regards to claims 9 and 29, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 1 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, respectively, wherein said applying the high frequency signal and measuring the first response and/or said applying the low frequency broadband signal and measuring the second response are repeated multiple times to improve signal-to-noise ratio ([0093]; Marchais_2).
With regards to claims 10 and 30, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 1 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, respectively, wherein the low frequency broadband signal spectrally covers a frequency band centered around a range of a mechanical resonant frequency experimentally predetermined from a sample of instances of the electromechanical actuator ([0086, 0090]; Marchais_2).
With regards to claims 11 and 31, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 1 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, respectively, wherein the low frequency broadband signal comprises a sinusoidal waveform multiplied by a window (col. 6, lines 13-16; Marchais).
With regards to claims 12 and 32, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 11 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 31, respectively, wherein said applying the low frequency broadband signal and measuring the second response is repeated multiple times ([0093]; Marchais_2); and
wherein for each time of the multiple times, one or more of the following is adjusted: a frequency of the sinusoidal waveform; an amplitude of the sinusoidal waveform; an integer number of cycles of the sinusoidal waveform ([0104]; Marchais_2); and a type of the window.
With regards to claims 13 and 33, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 11 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 31, respectively, wherein the high frequency signal is sufficiently higher than a frequency of the sinusoidal waveform of the low frequency broadband signal to avoid overlap in respective frequency responses thereof ([0085-0093]; Marchais_2).
With regards to claims 14 and 34, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 1 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, respectively, wherein the high frequency signal is sufficiently high to avoid interference with the first response from a mechanical resonance of the electromechanical actuator ([0085-0093]; Marchais_2).
With regards to claims 15 and 35, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 14 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 34, respectively, wherein the high frequency signal is approximately an order of magnitude higher than a resonant frequency of the electromechanical actuator ([0090]; Marchais_2).
With regards to claims 16 and 36, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 1 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, respectively, wherein the high frequency signal is outside a band of a resonant frequency of the electromechanical actuator ([0085-0093]; Marchais_2).
With regards to claims 17 and 37, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 1 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, respectively, wherein said estimating the mechanical parameters comprises: calculating a back emf voltage using the estimated electrical parameters (col. 5, line 47 to col. 6, line 21; Marchais) and the measured second response; and using the calculated back emf voltage and the measured second response to estimate the mechanical parameters (col. 6, line 52 to col. 7, line 44; Marchais).
With regards to claim 18 and 38, Marchais, as currently combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 1 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, respectively. However, Marchais, as currently combined with Marchais_2, is silent regarding wherein the electrical parameters comprises a direct current (DC) electrical resistance (Re); and wherein said estimating the electrical parameters comprises: estimating Re based on the first response; and applying a predetermined scaling factor to the estimated Re to compensate for shift of a real component of an impedance of a coil portion of the electromechanical actuator at high frequency.
Marchais_2 further teaches a method of estimating an impedance of an electromagnetic load (abstract) including electrical parameters comprises a direct current (DC) electrical resistance (Re) ([0109]); and wherein said estimating the electrical parameters comprises: estimating Re based on the first response ([0070]); and applying a predetermined scaling factor to the estimated Re to compensate for shift of a real component of an impedance of a coil portion of the electromechanical actuator at high frequency ([0109]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of estimating the resistance as taught by Marchais_2 to the method of Marchais to additionally estimate parameters of the electromagnetic load ([0107-0113]; Marchais_2).
With regards to claims 19 and 39, Marchais, as currently combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 1 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, respectively. However, Marchais , as currently combined with Marchais_2, is silent regarding wherein said estimating the electrical parameters comprises compensating for an offset of a circuit used to measure the first response.
Marchais_2 teaches a method of estimating an impedance of an electromagnetic load (abstract), wherein said estimating the electrical parameters comprises compensating for an offset of a circuit used to measure the first response ([0109]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of estimating the resistance as taught by Marchais_2 to the method of Marchais to additionally estimate parameters of the electromagnetic load ([0107-0113]; Marchais_2).
With regards to claims 20 and 40, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 1 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, respectively, wherein the electrical parameters comprise a direct current (DC) electrical resistance (Re) and an electrical coil inductance (Le) of the electromechanical actuator ([0093]; Marchais_2); and wherein the mechanical parameters comprise a resistance at resonance (Res), resonant frequency (FO), and quality factor (Q) of the electromechanical actuator, or equivalents thereof (col. 5, lines 6-16; Marchais).
With regards to claim 41 and 42, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 1 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, respectively, wherein said applying the high frequency signal and said applying the low frequency broadband signal takes less than 25 milliseconds total ([0110]; Marchais_2).
With regards to claim 43 and 44, Marchais, as combined with Marchais_2, teaches the method of claim 1 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, respectively, wherein the electromechanical actuator comprises a haptic transducer of a vibro- haptic system (col. 1, lines 13-24; Marchais).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QUANG X.L NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1585. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9AM-5PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, STEPHEN D. MEIER can be reached at (571) 272-2149. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/QXN/Examiner, Art Unit 2853
/STEPHEN D MEIER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2853