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 .
Accordingly claim 11, 19 and 25 have been amended. Claims 1-10 and 12-13 and 20 have been cancelled. No new claims were added. Therefore, claims 11, 14-19 and 21-25 remains pending in this application.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the voltage control system as recited in currently amended claim 25 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 11, 14-18, 21-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Referring to claim 11, nowhere in the specification describes the limitation “A control device for a motor vehicle comprising a voltage supply module, wherein: the voltage supply module is configured to: deactivate a first subset of the plurality of functional modules”. According to the specification (i.e. Pub No. US 2024/0051480), instead the control device 1 in Fig. 1-2, comprise a voltage supply module 10 [see 0030]. It is understood, that the control device 10 in Figs. 1-2 includes a voltage supply module 10. The specification disclose that the voltage supply module 10 is configured to draw electrical energy for providing the intermediate voltage from one or more capacitors of functional modules [see 0016]. Further, the specification disclose in the event of a temporary interruption of the external voltage supply, the voltage supply module 10 can therefore continue to supply a supply voltage, hereinafter intermediate voltage, to a specified group of functional modules 21 to 24. Other functional modules 22 to 24, such as the functional modules 22 to 24 designated above as functional modules of a lower priority, may be deactivated for the time period in which the external voltage supply is interrupted [see 0038]. Furthermore, the specification disclose in the event of a temporary interruption of the external voltage supply 2, electrical energy can then be drawn from an electrical energy store, for example a capacitor in the functional module 22, and provided to the voltage supply module 10 via the respective DC-to-DC converter 11 in order to provide the required intermediate voltage [see 0044] and discloses in the event of an interruption of the external voltage supply 2, a multi-stage approach is, where applicable, also possible, in which, for example, in a first phase, the functional modules 22 to 24 to be deactivated are first put into a safe state, e.g., into a standby mode, in a controlled manner and, in a further phase, the functional modules are subsequently completely deactivated. In this way, uncontrolled operating states or signal flows may possibly be avoided [see 0049]. However, the claim recites a voltage supply module configured to deactivate the first subset of the plurality of functional modules, however nowhere in the specification does it disclose the voltage supply module configured to control deactivation of the first subset of the plurality of functional modules. This limitation contains new subject matter.
Claims 14-18 and 21-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph because the claims are dependent upon base claim 11.
Referring to claim 25, nowhere in the specification describes the limitation “A control device for a motor vehicle comprising a voltage control system, wherein: the voltage control system is configured to: deactivate a first subset of the plurality of functional modules”. According to the specification (i.e. Pub No. US 2024/0051480), instead the control device 1 in Fig. 1-2, comprise a voltage supply module 10 [see 0030]. It is understood, that the control device 10 in Figs. 1-2 includes a voltage supply module 10. The specification disclose that the voltage supply module 10 is configured to draw electrical energy for providing the intermediate voltage from one or more capacitors of functional modules [see 0016]. Further, the specification disclose in the event of a temporary interruption of the external voltage supply, the voltage supply module 10 can therefore continue to supply a supply voltage, hereinafter intermediate voltage, to a specified group of functional modules 21 to 24. Other functional modules 22 to 24, such as the functional modules 22 to 24 designated above as functional modules of a lower priority, may be deactivated for the time period in which the external voltage supply is interrupted [see 0038]. Furthermore, the specification disclose in the event of a temporary interruption of the external voltage supply 2, electrical energy can then be drawn from an electrical energy store, for example a capacitor in the functional module 22, and provided to the voltage supply module 10 via the respective DC-to-DC converter 11 in order to provide the required intermediate voltage [see 0044] and discloses in the event of an interruption of the external voltage supply 2, a multi-stage approach is, where applicable, also possible, in which, for example, in a first phase, the functional modules 22 to 24 to be deactivated are first put into a safe state, e.g., into a standby mode, in a controlled manner and, in a further phase, the functional modules are subsequently completely deactivated. In this way, uncontrolled operating states or signal flows may possibly be avoided [see 0049]. However, the claim recites a voltage control system configured to deactivate a first subset of the plurality of functional modules, however nowhere in the specification does it disclose a voltage control system configured to control deactivation of the functional modules. This limitation contains new subject matter.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 19 is allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 19, the prior art references of record failed to teach or suggest a voltage supply method for a control device, the method comprising the following steps: in a normal mode of operation, providing an electrical supply voltage from an external electrical voltage source to a plurality of functional modules of the control device, wherein each functional module of at least a first subset of the plurality of functional modules includes a respective capacitor and the providing of the electrical supply voltage includes supplying the electrical supply voltage to each of the respective capacitors of the first subset of the plurality of functional modules; detecting an interruption of the electrical supply voltage from the external electrical voltage source at an input terminal of a voltage supply module of the control device; and in response to the detection of the interruption: deactivating the first subset of the plurality of functional modules and generating and providing an intermediate voltage as an energy supply to a second subset of the plurality of functional modules by drawing electrical energy from respective capacitors of the deactivated first subset of the plurality of functional modules, which capacitors were previously supplied the electrical energy from the external electrical voltage source during the normal mode as set forth in the claimed invention.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 11, 14-18, 21-25 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TERRENCE RONIQUE WILLOUGHBY whose telephone number is (571)272-2725. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Rexford Barnie can be reached at 571-272-7492. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TERRENCE R WILLOUGHBY/Examiner, Art Unit 2836 3/21/06
/REXFORD N BARNIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2836