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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/16/26 has been entered.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, and 5-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sumiya et al. (US 2006/029310) in view of Nishibe (US 5,488,276).
Regarding claim 1,
Sumiya discloses (Fig. 2):
A motor control apparatus (Fig. 2, 1) comprising a controller (3) with a microcomputer (31, ¶0024-¶0025), wherein the controller (3) is configured to control drive (¶0026)
based on electric power supply from an electric power source (Battery, ¶0024-¶0026); control the drive of each of the plurality of motors so that a temperature of elements of the controller does not exceed a heat resistance upper limit (Fig. 4, S3, coil temp threshold 1, ¶0068); detect lock of the motors based on drive information of the motors (Fig. 3, t6, stuck state, ¶0058-¶0060); and when the lock of two or more of the motors has been detected (point t9, upper threshold, coincides with Fig. 4, S8), limit a lock time that is a drive time of these motors in a locked state (stops operation, S10, ¶0072).
They do not disclose:
of each of a plurality of motors
However, Nishibe teaches (fig. 3):
of each of a plurality of motors (Fig. 3, 22, multiple motors, one for each door, Col. 3:48-55)
Regarding claim 1, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the motor control device from Sumiya that detects if a motor is locking and during this, calculating the motor coil temperature and disabling the motor if it is over a temperature threshold (¶0058-¶0061) and applying this method of operation to the driving circuit from Nishibe that controls a plurality of motors for each door (Col. 3:48-55) that also detects the lock time and calculates a temperature to prevent overheating in a motor (Col. 8:13-19). This would further prevent multiple motors from burning out due to over heating when they enter a lock state.
Regarding claim 2,
Sumiya discloses (Fig. 2):
wherein the controller is configured to: calculate a heat generation level value (Fig. 4, s2, S7) based on the lock time of each of those motors whose lock has been detected (¶0061); and when the heat generation level value has become greater than or equal to a preset allowable time (Fig. 3, t9, t10), stop the drive of at least one of those motors whose lock has been detected (¶0061-¶0062).
Regarding claim 5,
Sumiya discloses (Fig. 2):
A motor control apparatus (Fig. 2, 1) comprising a controller (3) with a microcomputer (31, ¶0024-¶0025), wherein the controller (3) is configured to control drive (¶0026)
based on electric power supply from an electric power source (Battery, ¶0024-¶0026); control the drive of each of the plurality of motors so that a temperature of elements of the controller does not exceed a heat resistance upper limit (Fig. 4, S3, coil temp threshold 1, ¶0068); calculate a heat generation degree in each of the motors (Fig. 4, S2, S8, ¶0058-¶0062); and when a total value of the heat generation degrees in the motors has become greater than or equal to a preset allowable value (S8), performs an output limitation to lower a drive voltage applied to at least one of the motors which is being driven (stops motor, ¶0061-¶0062).
They do not disclose:
of each of a plurality of motors
However, Nishibe teaches (fig. 3):
of each of a plurality of motors (Fig. 3, 22, multiple motors, one for each door, Col. 3:48-55)
Regarding claim 5, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the motor control device from Sumiya that detects if a motor is locking and during this, calculating the motor coil temperature and disabling the motor if it is over a temperature threshold (¶0058-¶0061) and applying this method of operation to the driving circuit from Nishibe that controls a plurality of motors for each door (Col. 3:48-55) that also detects the lock time and calculates a temperature to prevent overheating in a motor (Col. 8:13-19). This would further prevent multiple motors from burning out due to over heating when they enter a lock state.
Regarding claim 6,
Sumiya discloses (Fig. 2):
wherein: the heat generation management unit relaxes the output limitation when the total value has become less than the allowable value during the output limitation (Fig. 4, t11, ¶0061-¶0062).
Regarding claim 7,
Sumiya discloses (Fig. 2):
wherein: the controller is configured to calculate the heat generation degree in each of the motors based on at least one of a voltage of the electric power source, an outside air temperature and a rotational speed of the motor (¶0031).
Regarding claim 8,
Sumiya discloses (Fig. 2):
A motor control apparatus (Fig. 2, 1) comprising a controller (3) with a microcomputer (31, ¶0024-¶0025), wherein the controller (3) is configured to control drive (¶0026)
based on electric power supply from an electric power source (Battery, ¶0024-¶0026),control the drive of each of the plurality of motors so that a temperature of elements of the controller does not exceed a heat resistance upper limit (Fig. 4, S3, coil temp threshold 1, ¶0068); calculate a heat generation degree in each of the motors (Fig. 4, S2, S8, ¶0058-¶0062);when a drive command for one of the motors is detected with a total value of the heat generation degrees in the motors being greater than or equal to a preset threshold value (Fig. 4, S8), suspend the drive command (S10, ¶0072); and when the total value has become less than the threshold value, execute the drive command that was suspended S9, continues operation, ¶0073).
They do not disclose:
of each of a plurality of motors
However, Nishibe teaches (fig. 3):
of each of a plurality of motors (Fig. 3, 22, multiple motors, one for each door, Col. 3:48-55)
Regarding claim 8, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the motor control device from Sumiya that detects if a motor is locking and during this, calculating the motor coil temperature and disabling the motor if it is over a temperature threshold (¶0058-¶0061) and applying this method of operation to the driving circuit from Nishibe that controls a plurality of motors for each door (Col. 3:48-55) that also detects the lock time and calculates a temperature to prevent overheating in a motor (Col. 8:13-19). This would further prevent multiple motors from burning out due to over heating when they enter a lock state.
Regarding claim 9,
Sumiya discloses (Fig. 2):
A motor control apparatus (Fig. 2, 1) comprising a controller (3) with a microcomputer (31, ¶0024-¶0025), wherein the controller (3) is configured to control drive (¶0026)
based on electric power supply from an electric power source (Battery, ¶0024-¶0026),control the drive of each of the plurality of motors so that a temperature of elements of the controller does not exceed a heat resistance upper limit (Fig. 4, S3, coil temp threshold 1, ¶0068); detect lock of the motors based on drive information of the motors (Fig. 3, t6, stuck state, ¶0058-¶0060); and when a drive command for one of the motors is detected during the drive of another one of the motors which is in a locked state (when temperature is above limit S8, ¶0072-¶0073), cancel the drive command (S10).
They do not disclose:
of each of a plurality of motors
However, Nishibe teaches (fig. 3):
of each of a plurality of motors (Fig. 3, 22, multiple motors, one for each door, Col. 3:48-55)
Regarding claim 9, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the motor control device from Sumiya that detects if a motor is locking and during this, calculating the motor coil temperature and disabling the motor if it is over a temperature threshold (¶0058-¶0061) and applying this method of operation to the driving circuit from Nishibe that controls a plurality of motors for each door (Col. 3:48-55) that also detects the lock time and calculates a temperature to prevent overheating in a motor (Col. 8:13-19). This would further prevent multiple motors from burning out due to over heating when they enter a lock state.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 4 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 1/16/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding applicant’s arguments pertaining to claims 1-2, and 5-9, applicant argues that having one switch from Nishibe which controls several motors is not a microcomputer that controls each of a plurality of switches, however, element 50, in Nishibe, from Fig. 1 is used to control the routine from Fig. 5A and is referred to as a controller for controlling the windows based on the routine from Fig. 5A, as such, this would be a microcomputer, and taught in Col. 5:61-Col. 6:10. Furthermore, Applicant argues that Sumiya does not control the drive of each of the plurality of motors so that a temperature of elements of the controller does not exceed a heat resistance upper limit. However, as previously argued, Sumiya teaches calculating a coil temperature of a motor and detecting the temperature of the controller from 33. It would have been obvious then to simply combine this with Nishibe and perform this task on multiple motors as taught by Nishibe where it also detects pinching and can calculate a temperature in a window. As such, examiner is maintaining the rejections of claims 1-2, and 5-9.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Swanson (US 2014/0145666) – integrated circuit motor controller
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/C.S.L./Examiner, Art Unit 2846 /KAWING CHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2846
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