DETAILED ACTION
This is a first Non-Final Office Action on the merits in response to the application filed 06/15/23. Foreign priority to a corresponding JP application filed 12/25/20 has been received and is proper. Claims 1-11 are currently pending yet all are rejected as detailed below.
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.
Tsuda in view of Shoichi
Claim(s) 1-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsuda (U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2023/0373589) (priority date: 10/05/20) in view of Shoichi et al. (JP 2006-027521). Tsuda is directed to a vehicle brake fluid pressure device in a motorcycle. See Abstract. Shoichi is directed to a motorcycle with an auxiliary wheel. See Abstract.
Claim 1: Tsuda discloses a brake system [Figs. 1-2] for a straddle-type vehicle [para. 0028] which includes at least one operator (L2) operated by a rider, wherein a mechanism portion (K2) including a friction applying device (R) which brakes a wheel [para. 0054] of the straddle-type vehicle (100) with a frictional force corresponding to at least a movement of the operator is provided, the mechanism portion further includes an operator movement sensor (31) for detecting the movement of the operator and an actuator (41) unitized with the friction applying device (50), further, a control unit (200, 240, 250, 270) which controls an output of the actuator (R1) [see para. 0055 (mechanical drum with brake shoe)] based on a detection result of the operator movement sensor to change the frictional force applied to the wheel (4) by the friction applying device (50) during normal braking is provided. See Figs. 1-3.
Tsuda discloses all the limitations of this claim except for the actuator applying a frictional force in a non-energized state, e.g., for a normal parking, default/self-locking operation. Shoichi discloses an electromechanical drum brake for braking a wheel in a motorcycle (V) as well, wherein when the actuator (S2) is in a non-energized state, the frictional force is applied via the drum to the wheel (W) by the friction applying device (a2) due to the urging force of a spring (Sp2). See Translation. This is similar to the instant application, which relies on an “urging member such as a spring” built into the friction applying device to provide the braking force when the actuator is non-energized. See Application, at para. 0030. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to modify Tsuda such that the brake device applies a brake force when the actuator is in a non-energized state with a reasonable expectation of success because this ensures a default/self-locking brake operation. This is especially useful in a parking brake situation, where energy/actuation is only needed to release the brake, but ensures that the brake is applied regardless of actuator functionality (i.e., malfunction).
Claim 2: Shoichi discloses that when the actuator is in an energized state, the frictional force applied to the wheel by the friction applying device decreases as the output of the actuator increases. See Translation.
Claim 3: Tsuda discloses that the control unit is unitized with another control unit (200, 220, 230, 260) which changes a frictional force applied to another wheel (at F) different from the wheel. See Figs. 1, 2.
Claim 4: Tsuda discloses that the control unit is unitized with the friction applying device and the actuator. See Figs. 1, 2.
Claim 5: Tsuda discloses that the control unit (62) is unitized with the operator movement sensor (92).
Claim 6: Tsuda discloses that the control unit controls the output of the actuator to change the frictional force applied to the wheel by the friction applying device during a slip control operation for controlling a slip of the wheel. See Fig. 2 (240); Fig. 4.
Claim 7: Tsuda discloses that the slip control operation includes an operation in which anti-lock braking control is executed. See Fig. 2 (260); Fig. 4.
Claim 8: Tsuda discloses that the slip control operation includes an operation in which spin suppression control is executed. See Fig. 4.
Claim 9: Tsuda discloses that the slip control operation includes an operation in which side-slip suppression control is executed. See Figs. 2, 4.
Claim 10: Tsuda discloses that the wheel braked by the friction applying device is a rear wheel of the straddle-type vehicle. See Figs. 1, 2.
Claim 11: Tsuda discloses a straddle-type vehicle which includes the brake system according to claim 1. See Figs. 1, 2.
Conclusion
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VISHAL SAHNI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3657
/VISHAL R SAHNI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616 December 11, 2025