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 .
Status of claims
Claims 2, 4-12 are cancelled.
Claims 1 and 3 are amended.
Claims 13 and 14 are newly added.
Response to arguments
With respect to Applicant’s remarks filed on 12/19/2025; Applicant's “Amendments and Remarks” have been fully considered. Applicant’s remarks will be addressed in sequential order as they were presented.
Applicant remarks:
Inoue does not teach -amended claim 1, specifically “sudden deceleration determination permission information”.
Okuda does not remedy this deficiency.
Office Response:
Please see new mapping above, specifically the mapping for the independent claims.
Applicant further argues that the other independent claims which recite similar features are allowable and the dependent claims are also allowable since they depend on allowable subject and the Office respectfully disagrees. It is the Office's stance that all of the claimed subject matter has been properly rejected; therefore, the Office's respectfully disagrees with applicant’s arguments.
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, 13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatented over JP2013133078A to Machida (herein after “Machida”) in view of KR 20190068014 A to Kim (herein after “Kim”).
Regarding claim 1, Machida teaches A hybrid vehicle control system configured to perform a control of a hybrid vehicle comprising an engine (see Machida engine 11) , an electric motor (see Machida motor 12) , a driving wheel, a clutch (see Machida Hydraulic clutch 16) , and a continuously variable transmission, the hybrid vehicle control system comprising (See Machida Figure 1, para [0015]Figure 1 is a skeleton diagram showing an overview of the drive system that drives a hybrid vehicle, and Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an overview of the control device that controls the drive system in Figure 1.)
a transmission control unit (see Machida TCU 42) comprising a processor configured to control the continuously variable transmission (See para[0005] For example, when a continuously variable transmission (CVT) is used as a hydraulic transmission, insufficient hydraulic pressure can reduce the clamping force on the pulley, which in turn can cause the chain to slip against the pulley, potentially damaging the pulley, continuously variable transmission 18) , the continuously variable transmission comprising a primary pulley, a secondary pulley, and a driving force transmission member (See para[0025] The continuously variable transmission 18, which functions as a hydraulic transmission, is installed between the hydraulic clutch 16 and the motor 12, and is configured to change the rotational speed of the engine 11 and the motor 12 to produce output.The continuously variable transmission 18 includes a primary pulley (input member) 23 and a secondary pulley (output member) 24, with a chain 25 wrapped between the pulleys 23 and 24.)
, the primary pulley being coupled to each of the engine and the electric motor to allow for torque transmission between the primary pulley and each of the engine and the electric motor (See para[0033] the HEVCU 41 applies correction control and other functions to the ECU 43, enabling optimal control of the engine speed and driving torque of the engine 11.) , the primary pulley being coupled to the electric motor such that a rotational speed of the primary pulley coincides with a rotational speed of the electric motor, (See Machida para [0048]After the engine 11 is started, the rotational speed of the engine 11 (800 rpm) exceeds the rotational speed of the motor 12 (primary pulley 23) (for example, 300 rpm)) the secondary pulley being coupled to the driving wheel to allow for torque transmission between the secondary pulley and the driving wheel, (See para[0028] The driving force of the secondary pulley 24, transmitted from the primary pulley 23, is transmitted to the drive shaft 29 via the parallel shaft 26, the third gear mechanism 27, and the output clutch 28.
The driving force transmitted to the drive shaft 29 is output to the axle 31 on which the drive wheels are mounted via the differential gear 30.
In other words, the secondary pulley 24 is connected to the axle 31 in a way that allows power to be transmitted.)
the driving force transmission member being wrapped around between the primary pulley and the secondary pulley the driving force transmission member comprising a chain; (See Machida para[0025] The continuously variable transmission 18 includes a primary pulley (input member) 23 and a secondary pulley (output member) 24, with a chain 25 wrapped between the pulleys 23 and 24.)
an oil pump coupled to the engine via a first one-way clutch to allow for torque transmission (See Machida para[0020] The first one-way clutch 15 is connected to the engine 11 side of the hydraulic pump 20 via the first gear mechanism 19,) , and coupled to the electric motor via a second one-way clutch to allow for torque transmission (see Machida para[0020] the second one-way clutch 17 is connected to the motor 12 side of the hydraulic pump 20 via the second gear mechanism 21. ) , the oil pump being driven by one of the engine and the electric motor having a higher rotational speed; (See Machida Abstract hydraulic pump 20 is provided which is connected at the side of the engine 11 and at the side of the motor 12 in the hydraulic clutch 16 and driven by one of the engine 11 and the motor 12, which is being rotated faster)
a motor control unit (See Machida MCU 44) comprising a processor configured to control the electric motor (See Machida para [0034] The motor 12 is electrically connected to the MCU 44.
The MCU44 controls the motor 12 based on the motor torque request signal TQM from the HEVCU41) and coupled to a motor speed sensor, the motor speed sensor being configured to detect the rotational speed of the electric motor (See Machida para[0039] However, the vehicle speed may also be detected directly based on a detection signal from a rotation sensor (not shown) that detects the rotational speed of the axle 31 (see Figure 1).) ; and
an engine and hybrid vehicle integrated control unit (See Machida HEVCU) comprising a processor communicably coupled to each of the transmission control unit and the motor control unit (See Machida MCU 44) via a communication network, and configured to comprehensively control the engine and the hybrid vehicle (See Machida para[0030] As shown in Figure 2, the control device 40 includes a HEVCU (Hybrid Vehicle Control Unit) 41 that comprehensively controls the hybrid drive unit 10 (see Figure 1), and the HEVCU 41 is electrically connected to a TCU (Transmission Control Unit) 42, an ECU (Engine Control Unit) 43, an MCU (Motor Control Unit) 44, and an ISG motor 13.), wherein the processor of the transmission control unit is configured to:
repeatedly perform, at a first cycle (See para[0040] During times t1 to t2, the engine 11 is stopped) , a first determination process of determining whether all of following conditions (i), (ii), and (iii) are satisfied:
(i) the engine is stopped, the clutch (see Machida Hydraulic clutch 16) is interposed between the engine and the continuously variable transmission and is disengaged, and the hybrid vehicle is driven by the electric motor; (See Machida para[0053] A hydraulic pump 20 is provided which is connected at the side of the engine 11 and at the side of the motor 12 in the hydraulic clutch 16 and driven by one of the engine 11 and the motor 12, which is being rotated faster. An HEVCU, a TCU, an ECU and an MCU respectively cooperate to perform internal combustion engine start control for starting the engine 11 while maintaining the disconnected state of the hydraulic clutch 16 when a vehicle speed is reduced suddenly when traveling by the motor 12 under a stopped state of the engine 11 and the disconnected state of the hydraulic clutch 16.)
(ii) a speed of the hybrid vehicle, calculated based on a signal received from a vehicle speed sensor configured to detect a rotational speed of the driving wheel, is lower than or equal to a first predetermined speed (See Machida para[0039] However, the vehicle speed may be directly detected based on a detection signal from a rotation sensor (not shown) that detects the rotation speed of the axle 31 (see FIG. 1).); and
(iii) the rotational speed of the primary pulley is lower than or equal to a first predetermined rotational speed, (See para[0044] the rotational speed of the primary pulley 23 also suddenly decreases from N1 to N2 (N1> N2) as the vehicle speed rapidly decreases. It will be. Therefore, the rotational speed of the motor 12 having the rotary shaft 12a that supports the primary pulley 23 also decreases rapidly with a rapid decrease in the rotational speed of the primary pulley 23, whereby the amount of oil supplied from the hydraulic pump 20 also increases. Decreases rapidly.) and
in response to determining that all of conditions (i), (ii), and (iii) are satisfied (See Machida para[0043]-[0044]) , send sudden deceleration determination permission information to the motor control unit (See Machida MCU 44) (See para[0046] n the subsequent step S4, since the hybrid vehicle is decelerated suddenly and the rotational speed of the motor 12 is rapidly decreasing, the cranking request signal CR is output from the HEVCU 41 to the ISG motor 13, thereby rotating the ISG motor 13. The engine 11 is started by being driven. Here, the engine torque request signal TQE, the spray request signal TH, and the target spray speed )
the processor of the motor control unit (See Machida MCU 44) is configured to:
only after receiving the sudden deceleration determination permission information, repeatedly perform, at a second cycle (See Machida para[0042] Motor-driven driving region (time t2 to t3)]) shorter than the first cycle,
a second determination process of determining whether all of following conditions (iv), (v), (vi), and (vii) are satisfied:
(iv) a rotational speed of the engine is lower than or equal to a predetermined engine speed (see Machida target rotational speed, TN, para[0048] After the engine 11 is started, the rotation speed (800 rpm) of the engine 11 exceeds the rotation speed (for example, 300 rpm) of the motor 12 (primary pulley 23),para[0047] The rotational speed of the engine 11 after starting is set to 800 rpm, which is the idling speed); and
(v) the rotational speed of the electric motor detected by the motor speed sensor is lower than or equal to a predetermined motor speed; (See Machida para[0044] the rotational speed of the motor 12 having the rotary shaft 12a that supports the primary pulley 23 also decreases rapidly with a rapid decrease in the rotational speed of the primary pulley 23, whereby the amount of oil supplied from the hydraulic pump 20 also increases. Decreases rapidly.)
(vi) the speed of the hybrid vehicle is lower than or equal to a second predetermined speed (See Machida para[0042] followed by [0044] Therefore, the rotational speed of the motor 12, which has a rotating shaft 12a supporting the primary pulley 23, also decreases sharply in accordance with the rapid decrease in the rotational speed of the primary pulley 23, and as a result, the amount of oil supplied from the hydraulic pump 20 also decreases sharply.); and
(vii) a rate of decrease in the rotational speed of the electric motor detected by the motor speed sensor is greater than a predetermined rate of decrease (See para[0044] Therefore, the rotational speed of the motor 12 having the rotary shaft 12a that supports the primary pulley 23 also decreases rapidly with a rapid decrease in the rotational speed of the primary pulley 23,), and in response to determining that all of conditions (iv), (v), (vi), and (vii) are satisfied.
However, Machida does not expressly mention or otherwise teach control the electric motor so that an output torque of the electric motor changes toward zero for a predetermined time from a time when the processor of the motor control unit(See Machida MCU 44) determines that all of conditions (iv), (v), (vi), and (vii) are satisfied. Nevertheless, Kim same field of endeavor teaches the engine and hybrid vehicle integrated control unit via the communication network (See Kim para[0090] Referring to FIG. 7, the computing system (1000) may include at least one processor (1100), memory (1300), user interface input device (1400), user interface output device (1500), storage (1600), and network interface (1700) connected via a bus (1200).),
control the electric motor so that an output torque of the electric motor changes toward zero for a predetermined time from a time when the processor of the motor control unit(See Machida MCU 44) determines that all of conditions (iv), (v), (vi), and (vii) are satisfied(See Kim para[0052]The motor torque control unit 260 controls the motor torque to converge to a zero value when the running vehicle speed or RPM is maintained over a predetermined time or when the running vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined vehicle speed.).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to combine Machida’s control device for hybrid vehicle with Kim’s condition where motor torque control towards zero for predetermined time in order to allow to increase significant attention and effort to the development of technologies such as Electric Vehicles (EVs)(see para[0002]).
Regarding claim 13, Machida and Kim remain applied as claim 1. Machida teaches wherein the processor of the motor control unit (See Machida MCU 44) is configured to, when a predetermined period of time elapses after a reduction of the output torque of the electric motor is started, stop the reduction of the output torque of the electric motor. (See Machida para[0058] For example, if the decrease in the rotational speed of the motor 12 (rotating shaft 12a and primary pulley 23) per unit time is large, the rotational speed of the rotating shaft 12a after a predetermined time has elapsed can be estimated, and the engine 11 can be started before that predetermined time has elapsed.).
Regarding claim 14, Machida and Kim remain applied as claim 1. However, Machida does not expressly mention or otherwise teach wherein the output torque of the electric motor is reduced to 0 Nm. Nevertheless, Kim same field of endeavor teaches wherein the output torque of the electric motor is reduced to 0 Nm.( See Kim para[0052]The motor torque control unit 260 controls the motor torque to converge to a zero value when the running vehicle speed or RPM is maintained over a predetermined time or when the running vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined vehicle speed.).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to combine Machida’s control device for hybrid vehicle with Kim’s condition where motor torque control towards zero for predetermined time in order to allow to increase significant attention and effort to the development of technologies such as Electric Vehicles (EVs)(see para[0002]).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatented over Machida in view of Kim and US5371446A to Imazeki (herein after “Imazeki”).
Regarding claim 3, Machida and Kim remain applied as claim 1. However, Machida does not expressly mention or otherwise teach wherein the motor speed sensor has higher resolution than the vehicle speed sensor and has a shorter sensing cycle than the vehicle speed sensor. Nevertheless, Imazeki same field of endeavor teaches wherein the motor speed sensor (See Imazeki motor speed sensor 31) has higher resolution than the vehicle speed sensor (See Imazeki vehicle speed sensor 45, [column 7] In brief, according to the first preferred embodiment, if the vehicular speed sensor 45 and the motor speed sensor 31 are both normal, the detected motor rotational speed N0 is fed back to the signal control part 4. If the motor speed sensor 31 is abnormal, and the vehicular speed sensor 45 is normal, and the detected gear ratio is smaller than the predetermined value X0, the motor rotational speed N2 as estimated and computed in accordance with the detected vehicular speed has high resolution and good accuracy) and has a shorter sensing cycle than the vehicle speed sensor (see Imazeki figure 3).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to combine Machida’s control device for hybrid vehicle with Imazeki’s higher resolution of motor speed sensor than vehicle speed sensor in order to allow to provide a system for driving an electric automotive vehicle having excellent responsibility and efficiency, and sufficient reliability (see column 1).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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/NAZIA AFRIN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3666
/SCOTT A BROWNE/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3666
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