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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 08/31/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Claims 1-2, 5-9, 12, and 16 have been amended. Claims 1-16 are currently pending
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 and 16 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.
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, 3-4, 6, 11, and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hussain (US 2013/0091694) in view of Eisele (US 2012/0245780) in view of Blesken (US 2017/0220712) and further in view of Timofeev (US 2021/0129915).
Regarding claim 1, Hussain teaches an electronic conversion kit for a motor vehicle, in which an internal combustion engine is exchanged for an electric traction drive with electric motor (Fig. 1, Vehicle control unit (VCU) kit 100 is used to convert a combustion engine into an electric drive motor (i.e. electric motor controls traction of wheels used by the electric vehicle and thus is an electric traction drive); Paragraph 0012, Conversion kit apparatus for converting a hydrocarbon fuel drive vehicle into a Hybrid Electric Drive Vehicle is claimed wherein electric motors, a battery and a Vehicle Control Unit (VCU) are used), the conversion kit comprising: at least one bus module, configured to couple at least an existing bus system and/or existing control device of the motor vehicle (Fig. 2, VCU 200 (i.e. same embodiment as VCU 100 in Figure 1) contains controller area network bus, flexray bus, and digital and analog I/O interface protocol bus modules 222 and 224 (i.e. bus module) which connect with existing bus of vehicle; Paragraph 0044, VCU contains… interfaces required to manage all of the systems involved in controlling a hybrid vehicle) and at least a new bus system and/or a new control device of the electric traction drive (Fig. 3, VCU 300 (i.e. same embodiment as VCU 100 in Figure 1) contains new buses 301 which connect to processors of VCU and new control devices 303-307 and 309-318; Paragraph 0089, communication channels 0-11 in an exemplary configuration of a VCU would comprise a centralized system control and processing of data to and from all units via bi-directional communication channels 301), and comprising a processor circuit (Fig. 2, VCU 200 contains processors 205 and 210), which is configured to receive signals from the at least one existing bus system, existing control device, new bus system or new control device, and to pass the signals (Fig. 11, VCU 1100 receives driver control inputs 1118 from the existing bus system, processes the signals via 1104, and passes the signals to VCU main processing system 1102; Paragraph 0153, Display and Data Input Processing system 1104 is electronically coupled to various driver control inputs 1118… whereby Driver control settings and responses are monitored and passed to other processing systems).
Hussain does not teach the conversion kit comprising: receive signals from the at least one existing bus system and/or existing control device and/or new bus system and/or new control device, to translate the received signal using redetermined signal conversion and to pass the translated signals to at least one of the existing control device, the new control device, the existing bus system, or the new bus system.
Eisele teaches the conversion kit (Fig. 1, Hybrid management control unit 6 converts between internal combustion and electrical; Paragraph 0014, the electric machine discharges the energy accumulator and converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Conversely, when operating as a generator the electric machine charges the energy accumulator, converting mechanical energy into electrical energy) comprising: receive signals from the at least one existing bus system and/or existing control device and/or new bus system and/or new control device, translate the received signal using a predetermined signal conversion, pass the translated signals to at least one of the existing control device, the new control device, the existing bus system, or the new bus system (Fig. 1, Hybrid management control unit 6 receives data from first data bus 1 (i.e. existing bus) and translates to second data bus 8 (i.e. new bus); Paragraph 0020, hybrid management control unit 6 converts protocols and/or contents of the data between the first data bus 1 and the second data bus 8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hussain’s conversion kit to incorporate the teachings of Eisele and enable protocol translation between the communication bus systems of Hussain.
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make the modifications in order to accommodate for a wide range of diverse and heterogeneous vehicle control modules which utilize different standards and protocol types, thus ensuring proper coordination between the vehicle control modules over the lifetime of the vehicle (See Eisele: Paragraphs 0007-0010).
Neither Hussain nor Eisele teaches the conversion kit comprising artificially generate signals of at least one assembly of an internal combustion engine of the motor vehicle using a restbus simulation, wherein the restbus simulation comprises a simulation of signals of at least one missing or non-existent component of the internal combustion engine.
Blesken teaches the conversion kit comprising artificially generate signals of at least one assembly of an internal combustion engine of the motor vehicle using a restbus simulation (Fig. 2, Restbus control units 2a and 2b generate simulated signals of an internal combustion engine; Paragraph 0040, FIG. 2 that only one single, joint restbus control unit model is generated for the restbus control units 2a, 2b as program code 5 for simulating the restbus control units 2a, 2b… Paragraph 0041, messages exchanged between the restbus control units 2a, 2b can be exchanged within the restbus control unit model or within the program code 5… Paragraph 0009, In this way, it is possible to simulate all required variables, for example of a motor vehicle engine—if applicable the entire motor vehicle with engine, drive train, chassis, and driving route—in the simulation environment), wherein the restbus simulation comprises a simulation of signals of at least one missing or non-existent component of the internal combustion engine (Fig. 2, Units 2a and 2b are virtual and thus non-existent engines; Paragraph 0039, the restbus control units 2a, 2b are implemented as separate virtual control units (V-ECU)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hussain/Eisele’s conversion kit to incorporate the teachings of Blesken and include restbus simulation of the internal combustion engine.
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make the modifications in order to test simulated vehicle components in a risk-free manner thus improving vehicle development pipelines and reducing costs (See Blesken: Paragraphs 0009 and 0010).
The combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken does not teach the conversion kit comprising wherein the internal combustion engine is removed from the motor vehicle.
Timofeev teaches the conversion kit comprising wherein the internal combustion engine is removed from the motor vehicle (Fig. 5, Remove internal combustion engine in step 505 and couple electric motor and batteries in steps 510 and 515; Paragraph 0054, Initially, the internal combustion engine and all supporting components in the engine compartment are removed from the engine compartment (step 505). Next, one or more electric motors 106 are coupled to one or more axles of the vehicle (step 510) and one or more high-voltage batteries 108 are attached to the vehicle (step 515)).
Hussain, Eisele, Blesken, and Timofeev are analogous arts because they are in the same field of endeavor of controlling bus communication systems of a motor vehicle.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hussain/Eisele/Blesken’s conversion kit to incorporate the teachings of Timofeev and enable the entire internal combustion engine of Hussain to be removed and replaced by high power electric motors and batteries.
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make the modifications in order to implement an improved, simple, and cost effective solution for conversion of fossil fuel based vehicles and/or for facilitating simultaneous production of each (See Timofeev: Paragraphs 0007 and 0055).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev teaches the conversion kit of claim 1. Hussain teaches the conversion kit comprising wherein the processing circuit is further configured to detect a predetermined signal pattern of an emergency brake situation based on a respective signal of an accelerator sensor and/or a brake pedal sensor and/or a brake pressure signal of a hydraulic brake circuit and/or an automatic emergency brake and/or a distance radar and to transmit a switching signal for switching and/or deactivating and/or reducing a drive torque of the electric traction drive in case of a detected emergency brake situation (Fig. 3, Channel 10 is used to receive brake sensor data and used to brake (i.e. switch torque); Paragraph 0090, Channel 10 on the VCU 301 is used to monitor and control communications from driver inputs such as, accelerator, brakes, hand brake, shift, modes).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev teaches the conversion kit of claim 1.
Blesken teaches the conversion kit comprising wherein the processor circuit is further configured to: generate an artificial operating signal of an internal combustion engine using the restbus simulation depending on a current motor state of the electric motor (Fig. 2, Restbus control units 2a and 2b generate simulated signals of an internal combustion engine when it is in a driving state; Paragraph 0009, In this way, it is possible to simulate all required variables, for example of a motor vehicle engine—if applicable the entire motor vehicle with engine, drive train, chassis, and driving route—in the simulation environment); signal it to at least one existing control device of the motor vehicle (Fig. 2, Restbus control units 2a and 2b generate simulated signals of an internal combustion engine; Paragraph 0040, FIG. 2 that only one single, joint restbus control unit model is generated for the restbus control units 2a, 2b as program code 5 for simulating the restbus control units 2a, 2b… Paragraph 0041, messages exchanged between the restbus control units 2a, 2b can be exchanged within the restbus control unit model or within the program code 5 based thereon… Paragraph 0009, In this way, it is possible to simulate all required variables, for example of a motor vehicle engine—if applicable the entire motor vehicle with engine, drive train, chassis, and driving route—in the simulation environment); and/or simulate an operation of at least one component missing in the motor vehicle, wherein the component missing is at least one of a fuel pump, injection system, a catalyst, or a mass airflow sensor, wherein the artificial operating signal comprises a signal of an engine rotational speed (Fig. 2, Restbus control units 2a and 2b generate simulated signals of an internal combustion engine when it is in a driving state where the engine is rotating at a speed; Paragraph 0009, In this way, it is possible to simulate all required variables, for example of a motor vehicle engine—if applicable the entire motor vehicle with engine, drive train, chassis, and driving route—in the simulation environment).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hussain/Eisele’s conversion kit to incorporate the teachings of Blesken and include restbus simulation of the internal combustion engine.
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make the modifications in order to test simulated vehicle components in a risk-free manner thus improving vehicle development pipelines and reducing costs (See Blesken: Paragraphs 0009 and 0010).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev teaches the conversion kit of claim 1. Hussain teaches the conversion kit comprising wherein the processor circuit comprises a data interface for receiving vehicle-individual software configuration file and is configured to configure (Fig. 11, VCU 1100 contains data interface 1112 which connects to master database 1126 which enables transfer of vehicle configuration data to diagnostic and run-time monitoring system 1106 which is used to configure the VCU; Paragraph 0154, Central FMI Server 1124 provides access to the Master Database 1126 of historical Driver travel/route data, vehicle configuration and performance data, terrain data as well as other vehicle operation or Driver related data… Paragraph 0156, Diagnostic & Run-time Monitoring System 1106 comprises processes to run a special set of Conversion Diagnostic programs to assist in the Conversion of the Vehicle from its existing Hydrocarbon Fuel drive system to a Hybrid electric drive system) and/or to operate the signal conversion and/or the restbus simulation depending on the software configuration file of the motor vehicle received via the data interface in the motor vehicle, wherein the software configuration file includes a communication matrix with signal types and/or communication parameters of the at least one existing bus system and/or the characteristic lines of the existing components (The limitations above are alternatives due to ‘and/or’ conjoiner and the italicized limitations are taught by Figs. 5A-D which shows a table of communication parameters of components attached to the existing bus system such as E1, E2, G1, G2, M1-4, etc.; Paragraph 0094, FIGS. 5A-5D represent an exemplary data structure for the sensor and control data).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev teaches the conversion kit of claim 1. Hussain teaches the conversion kit comprising wherein the processing circuit is further configured to pass state signals of the electric traction drive via the at least one existing bus system to a connectivity module of an external radio-based interconnection of the motor vehicle (Fig. 2, Signals receives via CAN bus and interfaces 222 and 224 can be transmitted via external radio 280; Paragraph 0154, Cellular Data Networking 280 in FIG. 2, or Wireless networking 290 in FIG. 2. This connection to the Internet 1122 enables the VCU to communicate through the Real-time Communications System 1122 with the remote Central Fuel Motion Inc (FMI) Server 1124), wherein the processor circuit is in particular configured to transmit the state signals via the connectivity module to a software application of an Internet server and/or a portable mobile device and/or to a remote control server for a demand and response charging behavior for grid stabilization and/or for price-optimized charging/discharging (Italicized limitations are taught in the group of ‘and/or’ alternatives by Fig. 11, VCU transmits signals via Internet 1122 to servers 1124 which run software application that communicates with master database 1126).
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev teaches the conversion kit of claim 1. Hussain teaches a motor vehicle with a purely electric traction drive, characterized in that at least two bus systems are connected via a conversion kit according to claim 1 in the motor vehicle (Fig. 2 shows first bus system 222/224 and Fig. 3 shows second bus system 301 within the VCU, wherein a purely electric traction drive 313 is controlled).
Regarding claim 16, Hussain teaches a method for operating a motor vehicle, subsequently converted to an electric traction drive (Fig. 1, Vehicle control unit (VCU) kit 100 is used to convert a combustion engine into an electric drive motor (i.e. electric motor controls traction of wells used by the electric vehicle); Paragraph 0012, Conversion kit apparatus for converting a hydrocarbon fuel drive vehicle into a Hybrid Electric Drive Vehicle is claimed wherein electric motors, a battery and a Vehicle Control Unit (VCU) are used), the method comprising: coupling at least one bus module overall at least an existing bus system and/or an existing control device of the motor vehicle (Fig. 2, VCU 200 (i.e. same embodiment as VCU 100 in Figure 1) contains controller area network bus, flexray bus, and digital and analog I/O interface protocol bus modules 222 and 224 which connect with existing bus of vehicle; Paragraph 0044, VCU contains… interfaces required to manage all of the systems involved in controlling a hybrid vehicle) and at least one new bus system and/or a control device of the electric traction drive (Fig. 3, VCU 300 (i.e. same embodiment as VCU 100 in Figure 1) contains new buses 301 which connect to processors of VCU and new control devices 303-307 and 309-318; Paragraph 0089, communication channels 0-11 in an exemplary configuration of a VCU would comprise a centralized system control and processing of data to and from all units via bi-directional communication channels 301); receiving, at a processor circuit of the at least one bus module (Fig. 2, VCU 200 contains processors 205 and 210), signals from the at least one existing bus system, existing control device, the new bus system, or the new control device (Fig. 2, VCU receives signals from 222 and 224 and outputs them to serial bus in Fig. 3, 301).
Hussain does not teach the method comprising: translating, at a processor circuit, the signals by means of a predetermined signal conversion.
Eisele teaches the method comprising: translating, at a processor circuit, the signals by means of a predetermined signal conversion (Fig. 1, Hybrid management control unit 6 receives data from first data bus 1 (i.e. existing bus) and translates to second data bus 8 (i.e. new bus); Paragraph 0020, hybrid management control unit 6 converts protocols and/or contents of the data between the first data bus 1 and the second data bus 8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hussain’s method to incorporate the teachings of Eisele and enable protocol translation between the communication bus systems of Hussain.
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make the modifications in order to accommodate for a wide range of diverse and heterogeneous vehicle control modules which utilize different standards and protocol types, thus ensuring proper coordination between the vehicle control modules over the lifetime of the vehicle (See Eisele: Paragraphs 0007-0010).
Neither Hussain nor Eisele teaches the method comprising passing the signals and/or artificially generates missing signals of at least one component of the internal combustion engine using a restbus simulation, wherein the restbus simulation comprises a simulation of signals of at least one missing or non-existent component of the internal combustion engine.
Blesken teaches the method comprising passing the signals and/or artificially generates missing signals of at least one assembly of an internal combustion engine using a restbus simulation (Fig. 2, Restbus control units 2a and 2b generate simulated signals of an internal combustion engine; Paragraph 0040, FIG. 2 that only one single, joint restbus control unit model is generated for the restbus control units 2a, 2b as program code 5 for simulating the restbus control units 2a, 2b… Paragraph 0041, messages exchanged between the restbus control units 2a, 2b can be exchanged within the restbus control unit model or within the program code 5 based thereon… Paragraph 0009, In this way, it is possible to simulate all required variables, for example of a motor vehicle engine—if applicable the entire motor vehicle with engine, drive train, chassis, and driving route—in the simulation environment), wherein the restbus simulation comprises a simulation of signals of at least one missing or non-existent component of the internal combustion engine (Fig. 2, Units 2a and 2b are non-existent engines; Paragraph 0039, the restbus control units 2a, 2b are implemented as separate virtual control units (V-ECU)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hussain/Eisele’s method to incorporate the teachings of Blesken and include restbus simulation of the internal combustion engine.
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make the modifications in order to test simulated vehicle components in a risk-free manner thus improving vehicle development pipelines and reducing costs (See Blesken: Paragraphs 0009 and 0010).
The combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken does not teach the method in which an internal combustion engine is exchanged for an electric traction drive with an electric motor comprising wherein the internal combustion engine is removed from the motor vehicle.
Timofeev teaches the method in which an internal combustion engine is exchanged for an electric traction drive with an electric motor comprising wherein the internal combustion engine is removed from the motor vehicle (Fig. 5, Remove internal combustion engine in step 505 and couple electric motor and batteries in steps 510 and 515; Paragraph 0054, Initially, the internal combustion engine and all supporting components in the engine compartment are removed from the engine compartment (step 505). Next, one or more electric motors 106 are coupled to one or more axles of the vehicle (step 510) and one or more high-voltage batteries 108 are attached to the vehicle (step 515)).
Hussain, Eisele, Blesken, and Timofeev are analogous arts because they are in the same field of endeavor of controlling bus communication systems of a motor vehicle.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hussain/Eisele/Blesken’s method to incorporate the teachings of Timofeev and enable the entire internal combustion engine of Hussain to be removed and replaced by high power electric motors and batteries.
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make the modifications in order to implement an improved, simple, and cost effective solution for conversion of fossil fuel based vehicles and/or for facilitating simultaneous production of each (See Timofeev: Paragraphs 0007 and 0055).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hussain (US 2013/0091694) in view of Eisele (US 2012/0245780) in view of Blesken (US 2017/0220712) in view of Timofeev (US 2021/0129915) and further in view of Nee (US 2013/0162182).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev teaches the conversion kit of claim 1. Hussain teaches the conversion kit comprising wherein the processor circuit is further configured, for the signal conversion, to receive a gear selection signal, which signals an engaged reverse gear, from an existing transmission of the motor vehicle (Fig. 4, VCU 401 obtains gear shift signals to control the motor of the vehicle and enables the vehicle to reverse gear and also receives sensor signals and acceleration signals; Paragraph 0092, VCU 401 can also be connected to one or more controls or sensors on an internal combustion engine 411 as well as to sensors on various driver units 407 such as accelerator, brakes, hand brake, gear shift… Paragraph 0076, Forward/Reverse direction selection and operating mode).
The combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev does not teach the conversion kit comprising wherein the processor circuit is further configured, for the signal conversion, to limit a reversing speed.
Nee teaches the conversion kit comprising wherein the processor circuit is further configured, for the signal conversion, to limit a reversing speed (Fig. 2, Limit the torque in the reverse direction limits the speed in step 206; Paragraph 0027, control system 134 may control the electric drive system 102 to produce a desired propulsion of the machine 100 in the forward or the reverse driving directions. The control system 134 may manage torque commands for the motors 116, 118 by taking into account a number of factors, such as operator requests, current machine speed, engine power availability, machine speed limits… Paragraph 0028, control system 134 may determine a desired torque to transmit to the motors 116, 118 based on… speed limits).
Hussain, Eisele, Blesken, Timofeev, and Nee are analogous arts because they are in the same field of endeavor of controlling a motor vehicle.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev’s conversion kit to incorporate the teachings of Nee and limit a reversing speed of the vehicle.
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make the modifications in order to efficiently provide safety in vehicle handling to both passengers and pedestrians (See Nee: Paragraphs 0002-0004 and 0031).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hussain (US 2013/0091694) in view of Eisele (US 2012/0245780) in view of Blesken (US 2017/0220712) in view of Timofeev (US 2021/0129915) and further in view of Ukaew Ananchai, “Model Based System Design of Conceptual Drive-by-Wire ECU Functions for Electric Vehicle Conversion”, April 8, 2013 (04-08-2013), (See NPL filed 05/02/2024 in Information Disclosure Statement and Application Wrapper).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev teaches the conversion kit of claim 1. The combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev does not teach the conversion kit comprising wherein the processor is further configured to adjust a currently applied torque of the electric traction drive for adjusting the driving speed with calculation of a brake effect and/or recuperation power for a speed control, and herein to receive a respective actual value of a current torque and/or a current amperage of the electric traction drive and a respective value of a current driving speed and a rated speed as an input, and to transmit a respective rated value of a new torque and/or a new rotational speed and/or a new amperage and/or a new brake power of the recuperation as an output to the electric traction.
Ukaew Ananchai teaches the conversion kit comprising wherein the processor is further configured to adjust a currently applied torque of the electric traction drive for adjusting the driving speed with calculation of a brake effect and/or recuperation power for a speed control, and herein to receive a respective actual value of a current torque (The limitations above are alternatives due to ‘and/or’ conjoiner and the italicized limitations are taught by Page 415, Figure 8, torque calculation module of drive by wire ECU calculates a torque value) and/or a current amperage of the electric traction drive and a respective value of a current driving speed and a rated speed as an input, and to transmit a respective rated value of a new torque (Page 415, Fig. 9, Drive by wire ECU transmits torque command as an output) and/or a new rotational speed and/or a new amperage and/or a new brake power of the recuperation as an output to the electric traction (Page 416, torque setpoint calculations are performed to indicate a new torque value).
Hussain, Eisele, Blesken, Timofeev, and Ukaew Ananchai are analogous arts because they are in the same field of endeavor of controlling a motor vehicle.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev’s conversion kit to incorporate the teachings of Ukaew Ananchai and provide adjustments to the brake and torque values of the vehicle.
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make the modifications in order to improve the drivability and driving preference of EVs while enabling flexible design parameters to be tested, thus reducing design cost (See Ukaew Ananchai: Page 411, Columns 1-2, Paragraphs 1-3).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hussain (US 2013/0091694) in view of Eisele (US 2012/0245780) in view of Blesken (US 2017/0220712) in view of Timofeev (US 2021/0129915) and further in view of Sato (US 2015/0232095).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev teaches the conversion kit of claim 1. The combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev does not teach the conversion kit comprising wherein the processor circuit is further configured to receive a respective actual value of a detection of a preceding object and a current distance to a recognized object as an input for an automatic speed adaptation, and to transmit a respective rated value of a new torque and/or a new rotational speed and/or a new amperage and/or a new brake power of the recuperation as an output to the electric traction drive, wherein the output is in particular realized as an incremental control for the torque and/or the rotational speed and/or the amperage and/or the recuperation power.
Sato teaches the conversion kit comprising wherein the processor circuit is further configured to receive a respective actual value of a detection of a preceding object and a current distance to a recognized object as an input for an automatic speed adaptation, and to transmit a respective rated value of a new torque and/or a new rotational speed (Fig. 1, Vehicle distance sensor 40 and vehicle speed sensor 42 are used to determine a speed value of a preceding vehicle which is transmitted to the controller 20; Paragraph 0023, controller 20 detects relative speed from changes in the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle obtained from the inter-vehicle distance detector 40 and calculates risk from the inter-vehicle distance, relative speed, and vehicle speed) and/or a new amperage and/or a new brake power of the recuperation as an output to the electric traction drive, wherein the output is in particular realized as an incremental control for the torque and/or the rotational speed and/or the amperage and/or the recuperation power (Italicized limitations in ‘and/or’ alternatives group taught by Fig. 1, Controller 20 is able to control the speed relative to the preceding vehicle in order to safely decrease the rotational speed of the vehicle to ensure probability of crash is 0; Paragraph 0023, collision risk, which is the probability the inter-vehicle distance becomes 0, can be determined by comparing the safe inter-vehicle distance determined in accordance with vehicle speed and relative speed and the detected current inter-vehicle distance, and by increasing the current inter-vehicle distance when shorter compared to the safe inter-vehicle distance).
Hussain, Eisele, Blesken, Timofeev, and Sato are analogous arts because they are in the same field of endeavor of controlling a motor vehicle.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev’s conversion kit to incorporate the teachings of Sato and include a vehicle distance detector and speed sensor to determine a probability risk of crashing of a preceding vehicle.
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make the modifications in order to reduce the chances of vehicle crashes, thus improving the safety of the driver and traffic (See Sato: Paragraphs 0003, 0004, and 0038).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hussain (US 2013/0091694) in view of Eisele (US 2012/0245780) in view of Blesken (US 2017/0220712) in view of Timofeev (US 2021/0129915) and further in view of Heyne (US 2020/0243060).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev teaches the conversion kit of claim 1. The combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev does not teach the conversion kit comprising wherein the processor circuit is further configured, for a parking assistance, to transmit a speed signal to at least one acoustic signal sound generator for activating the respective signal sound generator, and/or to receive a respective signal of the start of a parking maneuver and a parking sport arrangement and/or parking sport size and a current driving speed and a current steering position of a steering wheel and a current position of a gear selector lever as an input and to adjust torque and/or rotational speed of the electric traction drive as an output during a started parking maneuver depending on the adapted steering position of the steering wheel.
Heyne teaches the conversion kit comprising wherein the processor circuit is further configured, for a parking assistance, to transmit a speed signal to at least one acoustic signal sound generator for activating the respective signal sound generator, and/or to receive a respective signal of the start of a parking maneuver and a parking sport arrangement and/or parking sport size and a current driving speed and a current steering position of a steering wheel and a current position of a gear selector lever as an input and to adjust torque and/or rotational speed of the electric traction drive as an output during a started parking maneuver depending on the adapted steering position of the steering wheel (The limitations above are alternatives due to ‘and/or’ conjoiner and the italicized limitations are taught by Figure 1 which shows electric vehicle performing acoustic sound generation in speakers 3 and 6; Paragraph 0023, control unit 4 then actuates the external loudspeakers 3, so that said external loudspeakers output an anti-phase sound which damps or eliminates at least a portion of the background noise surrounding the vehicle 1).
Hussain, Eisele, Blesken, Timofeev, and Heyne are analogous arts because they are in the same field of endeavor of controlling a motor vehicle.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev’s conversion kit to incorporate the teachings of Heyne and include acoustic sound generation speakers on the vehicle of Hussain.
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make the modifications in order to alert road users and/or pedestrians during parking, thus ensuring user safety while reducing the noise to the driver (See Heyne: Paragraph 0013).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hussain (US 2013/0091694) in view of Eisele (US 2012/0245780) in view of Blesken (US 2017/0220712) in view of Timofeev (US 2021/0129915) and further in view of Biebach (US 2018/0134361).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev teaches the conversion kit of claim 1. The combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev does not teach the conversion kit comprising wherein the conversion kit includes at least one adapter plug for a respective bus terminal plug.
Biebach teaches the conversion kit (Fig. 1, Connection box is a conversion kit adapted for electric motors Paragraph 0030, system components, for example, a battery or an electric motor can be connected alternatively to one component controller) comprising wherein the conversion kit includes at least one adapter plug for a respective bus terminal plug (Fig. 1, Connection box within vehicle enables conversion to electric traction drive; Paragraph 0053, FIG. 1 wherein, in a connection unit (Connection Box) at least one component controller (Device Control Unit—DCU) is provided which is connectable to individual system components (Device) via the component interface… Paragraph 0097, component controllers are preferably provided in the form of separate hardware components, for example in the form of plug-in cards).
Hussain, Eisele, Blesken, Timofeev, and Biebach are analogous arts because they are in the same field of endeavor of controlling a motor vehicle.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev’s conversion kit to incorporate the teachings of Biebach and include a bus plug connection receptacle for the vehicle controller unit of Hussain.
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make the modifications in order to enable efficient exchange of new system components to the vehicle when a component failure occurs or when routine maintenance is required while reducing installation complexity and decreasing cost (See Biebach: Paragraphs 0011 and 0012).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hussain (US 2013/0091694) in view of Eisele (US 2012/0245780) in view of Blesken (US 2017/0220712) in view of Timofeev (US 2021/0129915) and further in view of Kshatriya (US 2011/0083918).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev teaches the conversion kit of claim 1. The combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev does not teach the conversion kit comprising wherein the processor circuit is further configured to perform a heating/ventilation control of an additional heater depending on an operating input of a driver and/or to control a previous air conditioning of the motor vehicle, if the electric traction drive receives a charging current in particular from a charging station and/or a remote control command via a radio-based communication link.
Kshatriya teaches the conversion kit comprising wherein the processor circuit is further configured to perform a heating/ventilation control of an additional heater depending on an operating input of a driver and/or to control a previous air conditioning of the motor vehicle, if the electric traction drive receives a charging current in particular from a charging station and/or a remote control command via a radio-based communication link (Italicized limitations are taught in group of ‘and/or’ alternatives by Fig. 1A, Inputs are receives at motor controller 106 which includes ventilation; Paragraph 0042, Motor control unit 106 receives one or more inputs from various sensors, circuits and/or other components of the vehicle such as internal combustion engine 102, electric motor 104, battery 108. The inputs may include digital inputs (e.g., brake, hand brake, clutch, reverse, air conditioning).
Hussain, Eisele, Blesken, Timofeev, and Kshatriya are analogous arts because they are in the same field of endeavor of controlling a motor vehicle.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev’s conversion kit to incorporate the teachings of Kshatriya and include an HVAC input control for the driver to input.
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make the modifications in order to allow for flexibility in controlling HVAC systems, thus enhancing user experience and comfort.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hussain (US 2013/0091694) in view of Eisele (US 2012/0245780) in view of Blesken (US 2017/0220712) in view of Timofeev (US 2021/0129915) and further in view of Scott Christopher, “Some of the challenges to your modern EV conversion – CANbus – Harden Electric”, May 11, 2020 (05-11-2020), (See NPL filed 05/02/2024 in Information Disclosure Statement and Application Wrapper).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev teaches the conversion kit of claim 1. The combination of Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev does not teach the conversion kit comprising wherein the processing circuit is further configured to transfer signals from the at least one new bus system and/or new control device via the at least one existing bus system to an OBD2 socket for a diagnostic function.
Scott Christopher teaches the conversion kit comprising wherein the processing circuit is further configured to transfer signals from the at least one new bus system and/or new control device via the at least one existing bus system to an OBD2 socket for a diagnostic function (Pages 2-3, OBD will be retained, so you can still use your Bluetooth OBD Dongles and nearly any mechanic can connect to the car using off the shelf OBD tooling).
Hussain, Eisele, Blesken, Timofeev, and Scott Christopher are analogous arts because they are in the same field of endeavor of controlling a motor vehicle.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hussain/Eisele/Blesken/Timofeev’s conversion kit to incorporate the teachings of Scott Christopher and allow existing OBD2 diagnostic plugin devices to be used with the EV converter.
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make the modifications in order to seamlessly integrate a variety of electronic components with the electric vehicle conversion kit, thus avoiding custom wiring and splicing while reducing costs (See Scott Christopher: Page 3, Paragraph 4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 12 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US PGPUB 2022/0010855 to Liebert discloses that transforming internal combustion engines to electric vehicle engines is conventional.
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/H.Z.W./Examiner, Art Unit 2184
/HENRY TSAI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2184
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