DETAILED ACTION
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: Trailer Brake Valve responsive to autonomous/manual modes of driving.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
This objection is withdrawn due to the amendments made to the claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 13-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Boulivan (U.S. Pat. No. 10,549,742).
Regarding claim 13, Boulivan discloses a method for operating a brake control system, the method comprising:
providing a first signal (shown in fig. 8 the pressure in the line, CL and SL, signals the valve disclosed in col. 8, lines 49-52) to a trailer brake valve (pv1) based on an actuation of a master brake cylinder (col. 2, lines 2-5) when operating a vehicle in a first mode;
energizing a control valve (EV1, CL line) thereby allowing a proportional pilot pressure to be provided to the trailer brake valve as a second signal when operating a vehicle in a second mode, wherein the trailer brake valve is configured to selectively operate a trailer brake assembly using the first signal when the vehicle is in the first mode and to switch to using the second signal when the vehicle is in the second mode (the pressure in the line feeding PV1 changes the valve); and
actuating a trailer brake assembly based on the first signal or the second signal (fig. 3).
Regarding claim 14 which depends from claim 13, Boulivan discloses further comprising: de-energizing the control valve when the first signal is detected (108).
Regarding claim 15 which depends from claim 13, Boulivan discloses wherein the trailer brake assembly includes one or more control line brakes fluidly coupled with a first fluid circuit and one or more supplementary line brakes fluidly coupled with a second fluid circuit (shown in fig. 2).
Regarding claim 16 which depends from claim 15, Boulivan discloses further comprising: actuating a pilot valve (ev2) to engage the one or more supplementary line brakes in an event of a detected control line leak (col. 11, lines 40-55).
Regarding claim 17, Boulivan discloses a brake control system comprising: a trailer brake valve fluidly interposed between a vehicle brake assembly and a trailer brake assembly, the trailer brake assembly including one or more control line brakes fluidly coupled with a first fluid circuit and one or more supplementary line brakes fluidly coupled with a second fluid circuit; a brake module operably coupled with the vehicle brake assembly and configured to provide a first signal to the trailer brake valve; and a control valve configured to provide a second signal to the trailer brake valve, wherein the trailer brake valve has dual pilot inputs (CL and SL lines disclosed in col. 8, lines 49-52) and is configured to receive the first signal at a first pilot input and the second signal at a second pilot input and to switch which pilot input is active based on whether the vehicle is operating in a first mode or a second mode, and and wherein the first fluid circuit is segregated from the second fluid circuit (the limitations of this claim have been addressed above in claim 13 and fig. 2).
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) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Boulivan (U.S. Pat. No. 10,549,742) as applied to claims 17 above, and in view of Goers (U.S. Pat. No. 10,933,852).
Regarding claim 20 which depends from claim 17 respectively, Boulivan does not disclose further comprising: a safety valve manifold interposed between the trailer brake valve and the trailer brake assembly.
Goers, which also deals in trailer brakes, teaches further comprising: a safety valve (10 is a considered a safety valve placed as the last valve before the brakes) manifold interposed between the trailer brake valve and the trailer brake assembly.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have modified Boulivan to have the safety valve of Goers because this is a suitable safety measure (col. 1, lines 42-48).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-12 are allowed.
Claims 18, 19 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claims 1-12, 18 and 19: the claims require that the control valve and the brake module both produce signals that the trailer brake valve respond to based on whether the system is driven autonomously.
Claim 8 requires two different brake lines with different fluids in the lines, one of those fluids being a glycol fluid and the other a petroleum based fluid that feeds the same brakes. This is a novel combination with the claims from which it depends.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 05/18/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues on pages 7-8 for the amendments made to the claims which have been addressed above.
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.
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GONZALO LAGUARDA
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3747 email: gonzalo.laguarda@uspto.gov
/GONZALO LAGUARDA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747
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